STUDENT VOICER I V E R F A L L S

www.uwrfvoice.com

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N

September 26, 2008 Volume 95, Issue 2

Eric Pringleeric.pringle@uwrf.edu

It was a night of high-flying tricks and dan-gerous maneuvers Sept. 16 as the world-famous Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats per-formed in the Knowles Complex on campus.

After performing at UW-River Falls lastspring, the acrobats made a return visit lastweek to showcase their unique skills to apacked house of students and communitymembers.

“The agency[Golden DragonAcrobats] con-tacted us aboutbooking them oncampus and DAC[ D i v e r s i t yA w a r e n e s sCommittee] andSEAC [StudentE n t e r t a i n m e n tand ArtsC o m m i t t e e ]thought it wouldbe a fun, enter-taining andunique show,”Student EventCoordinator Karyn Wells said in an e-mailinterview.

According to Wells, the decision to invite theGolden Dragon Acrobats to campus again hadmuch to do with the fact that many studentswere unable to see them last year due to lackof seating.

“They [DAC and SEAC] thought it wouldbe a good idea to invite the Golden DragonAcrobats to campus again, as they had to turnaway hundreds of people last year when it wasin Abbott Concert Hall,” she said. “Since theevent took place in Knowles Complex, wewere able to seat more than 600 additionalpeople with a total attendance of approximate-

ly 1,000.”Throughout the show, the acrobats demon-

strated solid flips, tumbling and balancingacts. They also created interesting visualshapes and images.

“It was amazing,” student Christina Bergrensaid.

The act which received the most applausewas near the end of the show when one of themale acrobats continued to stack chairs oneach other and perform breathtaking acts of

strength and balance. Hewas nearly touching theceiling of the KnowlesComplex and shouted out“One more?” to the audi-ence. He then proceededto pile another chair ontothe stack to further pushhis limits.

“The chair guy was real-ly cool,” freshman AshleyCress said. “I couldn’tbreathe!”

The Golden DragonAcrobats “represent thebest of a time honored tra-dition that began morethan 27 centuries ago...ourcompany has traveled

around the world to all 50 states and to over65 countries on five continents,” according totheir Web site.

The 16 acrobats, who have been training inthe art form since youth, have won severalawards around the world, including theNational Association of Campus Activities(NACA) Entertainer of the Year Award.

Wells attended the show and said she feltthat “it was a huge success. I was pleased tosee so many of our students attend this eventand the audience seemed engaged and excitedthe entire performance.”

Acrobats showcase daring stunts to enthusiastic crowd

Adrianne Pattersonadrianne.patterson@uwrf.edu

The night was completewith a jazz band, singingchoir and a grandpiano, all contributingto UW-River FallsFoundation’s 60thanniversary celebra-tion.

The Foundation wasestablished in 1948,making it the firstWisconsin state col-lege foundation thatsolely commits tofunding for scholarships, spe-cial fundraisers, grants andimproving the campus andexperience for students andfaculty.

The Foundation has devel-oped two main goals for theUniversity. To provide schol-arships for students and toraise grants for the faculty,

students andundergraduates,according to DanMcGinty, theinterim executivedirector of univer-sity advancementand interim presi-dent of the UWRFFoundation.

“TheFoundation pro-

vides an opportunity for stu-dents to research over thesummer,” Amanda Liesch, aninternational studies seniorand recipient of a $2,500

grant for her research project,said.

According to the UWRFFoundation informationbrochure, over half a decadeago President EugeneKleinpell and E.P. Rock intro-duced the idea of a founda-tion, previously known as theRiver Falls State TeachersCollege Foundation, to theUniversity with the first cam-paign titled, “Feed the FalconFieldhouse Fund.”

Even though the assets fellmore than $240,000 short ofthe goal, the University fundheld strong to raising moneyand advancing the UWRFcampus.

UWRF Foundation celebrates 60years of support to the campus

Professor dies after battle with leukemiaPhillip Bock

phillip.bock@uwrf.edu

Kamal Adam, assistant professorof agricultural engineering technolo-gy, died Sept. 23 followinga yearlong battle withleukemia.

Adam was recently hos-pitalized in the intensivecare unit at the MayoClinic with severe pneu-monia, according to apress release from the UW-River Falls Public Affairsdepartment.

The funeral was Tuesday in Ames,Iowa.

Adam was diagnosed with anagressive form of leukemia last falland was undergoing intensive

chemotherapy and radation therapy.Earlier this year he recieved a bone

marrow transplant from his sisterand was expected to recover.

Adam first taught at IowaState before coming toUWRF in 2005. He spe-cialized in seed sortingtechnology and machineryand was in the process ofdeveloping a program oncampus based on his spe-cialization.

“He really loved teachingand loved hisstudents,”Lisa Owens,

CAFES dean’s assistant, said.CAFES faculty and staff had

organized a meal delivery pool forAdam’s wife Salma and their threechildren while Adam was in the hos-

pital, and they plan on continuingthat pledge, Owens said.

The Agricultural Mechanics Club,which Adam advised before hisdiagnosis, helped the family withtasks such as mowing the family’slawn and keeping their drivewayplowed in the winter, Dean Olson,agricultural engineering departmentchair, said.

“It’s an extreme shock to us,”Olson said. “Our hearts go out to hisfamily.”

Adam is survived by his wife,Salma Atroon, and three sons, Talal,Shihab, and Mustafa.

Cards and donations can be deliev-ered to the CAFES dean’s offofficein room 210 of the Ag Sciencebuilding.

Blake Gandrudblake.gandrud@uwrf.edu

Student Life Event Coordinator Karyn Wellshas assumed dual responsibilities as she takeson the job of the Wisconsin in Scotland pro-gram coordinator.

Wisconsin in Scotland is run through theGlobal Connections office in Hagestad Halland is one of many travel abroad programs.Although there are twelve major programslisted on their official Web site, GlobalConnections Director Brent Greene said thereare literally hundreds of options. Students areable to join any program that they can find atany school that they can collaborate with.

“We’d be doing our students a significantdisservice if we sent you out of [UW-RiverFalls] without some sense of that bigger glob-al world and how to interact in that,” Greenesaid.

Specifically, the WIS program has been on

campus since fall 1986 and the University par-ticipates in the program with UW-Stout andUW-Superior in the West Central WisconsinConsortium.

“[Wisconsin in Scotland program coordina-tor] is a new position,” Wells said. “It’sbecause they need somebody in a central loca-tion to manage the Consortium schools.”

Wells works as a liaison between theschools, setting up meetings and keeping themup-to-date on the program. However, Wellssaid that she sees it as an interim positionbecause in the future a director would likelyassume the same responsibilities.

She said her goals include increasing studentawareness and participation in the program.Since the program is undergoing restructuring(it went from five core schools to the currentthree), Wells said that it has led some studentsto believe that the program was not going to

See Acrobats page 3

See WIS page 3 See Foundation page 3

Sarah Schneider/Student VoiceTwo members of the Golden Dragon Acrobats perform a lift during their routineSept. 15 at the Knowles Complex. The acrobats performed for nearly 1,000 people.

Wells aims to raise awareness forWisconsin in Scotland program

“The agency [Golden DragonAcrobats] contacted us aboutbooking them on campus and

DAC [Diversity AwarenessCommitte] and SEAC [Student

Entertainment and ArtsCommittee] thought it would

be a fun, entertaining and unique

show.”Karyn Wells,

Student Event coordinator

Dan McGinty

TENNIS, PAGE 6

Falcon team beginsseason undefeated at

3-0

RODEO, PAGE 8

Large crowds flock toexciting action at

annual UWRF Rodeo

BAND, PAGE 2

Community members,students join forces to

create new band

Kamal Adam

Sally King/Student VoicePhotos of Adam and his family sit on the window sill in his emptyoffice of the Ag Engineering building.

Editor's note: Information for this section is taken from River Falls Police and UW-River Falls Public Safety incident reports.

RIVER FALLS POLICE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Student Voice 2 NEWS September 26, 2008

VOICE SHORTS

Voice Shorts compiled by

Natalie Conrad

Community members join UWRF Band in concertCaleb Stevens

caleb.stevens@uwrf.edu

This semester will mark the first timeever that community members and stu-dents will join together in a cooperativeband at UW-River Falls.

The University Band, who will havetwo performances during the fall semes-ter, has already begun practicing. Musicprofessor Andrew Parks was chosen asthe conductor for the band after playingin a community band for the last 10years.

“We combined two ideas; we took thiscommunity band that’s only runningthrough the summer and combined itwith the extra students we weren’t ableto fit in the symphony band,” Parks said.Previously, UWRF had two bands oncampus. The Symphony Band is, andwill remain, the premier band. But now,instead of having a concert/pep bandthat plays at sporting events along withhaving concerts, the music departmentsplit it into a pep band and theUniversity Band.

Some students, like Kimberly Cone,have the opportunity to play in morethan one band. Cone plays in the WindEnsemble in the Symphony Band alongwith playing the French horn in theUniversity Band.

“I enjoy the different types of music.”Cone said. “Wind Ensemble is a chal-lenge technically whereas UniversityBand challenges my range and my abil-ity to blend.”

Though combining community mem-bers and students in one ensemble isnew to UWRF bands, it is not the first

time it has been done on campus. TheSt. Croix Valley Symphony Orchestra,which has always included communitymembers since it began in 1899, hasbeen under the direction of music pro-fessor Kristin Tjornehoj for the last 16years.

Along with directing the orchestra,Tjornehoj founded the St. Croix ValleyCommunity Band, which only performsduring the summer, 25 years ago.

“People [in the community band] havepressured me for a while for a year longband,” Tjornehoj said.

Tjornehoj, the mastermind behind theUniversity Band, said the idea wassparked last June when the communityband invited students on the band’s tripto Prague.

“It was interesting because at first thestudents weren’t too crazy about goingon a trip with older adults and olderadults weren’t crazy about going on atrip with students,” Tjornehoj said. “Butas the trip went on the interactionbetween students and adults was unre-al.”

Tjornehoj chose Parks to be the direc-tor of the band because he was the “mostnatural choice” because of his involve-ment with the community band and atUWRF.

According to Parks, there are current-ly only three community members,compared to 18 students, in theUniversity Band. Cone said the interac-tion between the two groups has thus farbeen positive.

“I really enjoy playing with people ofall ages,” Cone said. “The communitymembers don’t think about us as ‘col-

lege students,’ they treat us like musi-cians; there’s a lot of respect.”

Maria Olson has been a member of theSt. Croix Valley Community Band since1995 and will be a percussionist for theUniversity Band this fall.

“My hope for the University Band isthat we will build a fun, enjoyable, greatsounding ensemble that band memberswill be proud to play in and UWRF as awhole can be proud of,” Olson said in ane-mail interview. “I think the interactionbetween community band members andstudents is great. Students get to benefitfrom the experience of community bandmembers and community members getto stay young hanging out with stu-dents.”

Parks said although the expectationsfor the band are not extremely high, helikes to conduct challenging music andwill choose music to challenge the stu-dents and community members.

“The trick is to try and choose a rangeof music that satisfies everybody, so thateverybody is happy,” Parks said. As far as the music he will choose toconduct with the band this semester,Parks said he will challenge the musi-cians.

“I like to conduct the classic band lit-erature, something that you can reallysink your teeth into,” Parks said.“Maybe it’s difficult for the players andyou’re going to have to help them solveproblems; and also challenging to con-duct.”

The University Band’s performancesare scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 and aholiday extravaganza at 7:30 p.m. Dec.11.

UWRF launching CityWatch programNathan Sparks

nathaniel.sparks@uwrf.edu

UW-River Falls is implementing a new campus security pro-gram called CityWatch that will be used to quickly notify stu-dents and faculty in the case of an immediate danger on cam-pus.

Blake Fry, special ssistant to the chancellor, sent e-mails toall students Aug. 28 with information on how to sign up forCityWatch. The message instructed students to log onto eSIS,click on the “Self Service” link and then the “PhoneNumbers” link. There they can add the most appropriatephone number, mark it as an emergency notification numberand save it to eSIS to be used in the CityWatch program.

“CityWatch enables UWRF to send out emergency notifica-tions to the campus community via voice messages, text mes-sages and e-mail,” Fry said in an e-mail. “This emergencynotification system will only be effective if a majority of thecampus population provides an emergency notification num-ber.”

Fry gave further details on the program in a telephone inter-view.

“CityWatch was not only more affordable than some othersystems, it provides greater capabilities,” Fry said. “UW-LaCrosse has their own partnership with the City of La Crosse,and they also chose CityWatch.”

The recent school shootings at Virginia Tech, NorthernIllinois and Delaware prompted other colleges across thenation to reconsider their safety and emergency plans. In2007, UW System President Kevin Reilly assembled a securi-ty task force to investigate the safety and risk management ofWisconsin’s universities.

New amendments were also added to the Clery Act on col-lege security in August. Colleges are now required to immedi-ately alert the campus and surrounding community of anyimmediate threat to their students’ safety.

UWRF was already working on the CityWatch initiativebefore the UW task force or the Clery Act amendments, Frysaid.

“I think they’re still in the process of implementing it,” RiskManagement Officer Connie Smith said. “It’s a joint effortbetween the city, county and the University. A method of com-munication is really what it’s all about.”

Smith also heads UWRF’s Continuity of Operations pro-gram, which is designed to manage recovery efforts, repairsand insurance reimbursement in case a disaster happens.Senior psychology major Julie Markfort said she generally feltsafe at the University, day or night.

“Most of the time the buildings are pretty well lit and there’speople walking around…and there’s always Public Safetygoing somewhere or another.” Markfort said.Freshman communicative disorders major Linnea Osterbergalso said she was not concerned about safety at UWRF.

“I’ve never been worried about it. I’ve been with other peo-ple every time I walked somewhere.” Osterberg said. Sheadded that she would be “a little nervous” walking aroundcampus at night.

According to Public Safety’s Web site, the department focus-es on preventing crimes from occurring rather than reacting tothem after they happen. In those cases, UWRF usually turns tothe River Falls Police Department. Public Safety’s site alsopoints out other precautions such as UWRF’s 20 outdooremergency phones, and an escort option for students who donot want to walk through campus alone in the evening.

Director & DJ positions still available

Stop by North Hall 306for an application

Listen Live @ www.uwrf.edu/wrfw

September 15-Brandon M. Andrews, 18, was cited for speeding. -A bike was reported stolen from the bike rack outside of Parker Hall.

September 16-Amy B. Aho, 19, was cited for failure to obey a stop sign.

September 17-Kellianne Welna was cited for a hit and run.

September 19-Peyton E. Ramm was thrown from a horse during the rodeo and was taken to the RiverFalls Area Hospital after complaining of shoulder, neck and back pain.

September 20-A broken side mirror was reported on pickup truck in E-lot by Johnson Hall.

September 21-Andrew J. Celt, 18, was found unconscious outside the University Center. He was taken tothe River Falls Area Hospital for treatment of alcohol poisoning.

Fall Graduation Deadline is ApproachingThe deadline to apply for Fall Commencement is September26, 2008. Applications are available in the Registrar's Office,105 North Hall. For more information contact the Registrar'sOffice at 715-425-3342. Information regarding graduationand commencement can be found athttp://www.uwrf.edu/commencement/.

Y Lot to Transition to Metered ParkingWithin the next couple of weeks, Y lot will be changed backto metered parking. To accommodate all Y lot permit hold-ers, the 2nd portion of Q lot will be changing back toemployee parking. So, Y lot permit holders will be assignedto Q lot and some to C lot. If you have any questions or con-cerns regarding this issue, contact Wendy Penny atwendy.penny@uwrf.edu or extension 3133.

Cyclist killed in traffic accidentDustin A. Turtle, 22, of River Falls was killed Sept. 22 whenhis bike was struck by a motor vehicle. Turtle was travelingwestbound on County Road U and was struck by the vehiclewhile attempting to cross Highway 35. The driver of the car,UWRF student Aaron B. Cernohous, 23, of Hudson,received non-incapacitating injuries during the collision.

New aspects of the Multicultural Student Services increase program advantagesSara Pitcher

sara.pitcher@uwrf.edu

The administrative structure ofMulticultural Student Services is undergoingchanges that will include dividing the admin-istrative structure, hiring of new staff andcreating new programs that will increase theability to serve individual students’ needs.

“The emphasis at the University is how wecan concentrate people separately so that stu-dents get exactly what they need,”Multiculture Student Services CoordinatorLinda Alvarez said.

The changes started two years ago withnew buildings and the reorganizing of admin-istrative offices into separate departments.The Dean of Students Office, which used tobe responsible for student health and coun-seling, career services and multi-culturalservices, was dissolved in Jan. 2007 tobecome a division of Student Affairs.

“Student Affairs absorbed the health andcounseling center, judicial affairs and wascharged with determining how best toaddress programs, support and advising forour Heritage Student Organization and ourGBTQ population on campus,” AssociateVice Chancellor for Student Affairs GreggHeinselman said.

The goal is to make each service suited forthe student. Instead of placing all aspects ofUniversity life into one program, they havenow split up these features to better accom-pany the students.

“[The reorganization] will bring expertisefor the students and it will also provide betterprogramming,” Special Assistant to theChancellor Blake Fry said.

The hiring process has begun for a socicul-tural program coordinator who will be part ofthe Student Life staff. They will be responsi-ble for supporting and advocating program-ming for multicultural organizations and the

Gay Straight Alliance. “We’re looking to recruit and hire an indi-

vidual that will be an entry-level professionalthat will work directly with students,”Heinselman said.

The new hire will be involved in studentclubs and organizations, cultural programs,the Diversity Awareness Committee and willbe active in the community. The screeningfor applicants will take place in October anda new individual will be hired this winter.Students can also be involved in the hiring ofthe socio-cultural program coordinator byvoicing their opinions in the meetings. Themeetings will be open to the public.

Along with the division of Student Affairsand the hiring of a socioculture programcoordinator, there are new programs that arein development. One program is theEmerging Leaders Institute. The EmergingLeaders Institute brings students and profes-sors together to create innovative ways to get

students’ contribution for success, accordingto their Web site.

Workshops are also being put together toenhance students’ life. These workshops willprovide leadership skills and study skills thatwill encourage academic success. There areexpected to be two workshops a semesterthat will be open to all students on campus.There will be two team leaders who will begetting students’ input on what they wouldlike to see covered in these workshops.

“Part of our mission will be reaching out tostudents in a variety of capacities,” Alvarezsaid.

With the collaboration of these changes tothe Multicultural Student Services, studentswill be able to seek help with academic suc-cess as well as personal growth.

“It’s a positive step,” Heinselman said, “Itwill begin to lay a foundation for program-ming in support of some identified popula-tions.”

Corrections:

In the September 19 issue of the Student Voice, anarticle about CAFES food science program incorrectlyreported that Advanced Food Products, LLC donatesmoney to the University.The company does have a history of hiring food sci-ence majors, but does not contribute money directly tothe University.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, theUniversity concentrated on retaining a rela-tionship with UWRF alumni well after theygraduated through an alumni magazine, a dis-tinguished alumni award, annual alumni giv-ing drive and a visiting professor program.

From the first student telethon estab-lished in 1971 to the creation of theStudent Alumni Association in 1985, theFoundation has raised over $400,000 andawarded more than 260 scholarships.

According to the UWRF Foundationinformational brochure, in the 1980s theStudent Alumni Association and theFaculty Grant Program was established.The Foundation continued to grow, and by theearly 1990s, the Foundation assets and schol-arship programs both reached $1 million.

In 1994, the Foundation helped raise fundsfor the Swensen sundial, which is located onthe Kleinpell Fine Arts building.

Two years later, the Reach for the FuturesCapital Gifts Campaign was created thatlaunched more academic scholarships, sup-ported new and advanced technology, provid-ed support towards the growth of the campusfaculty and the Wisconsin AcademicExcellence Scholarship.

The Lucile Sprigg gift was the largest dona-tion given to the foundation, according toMcGinty. The $1 million gift, given in mem-ory of Roy and Maude Spriggs, was donatedto establish scholarships among the leaders ofthe student body.

The UWRF Foundation has always seen “asteady growth” since the beginning of thenon-profitable organization, McGinty said.

“Within the last five years, the foundationhas received $1.5 million each year, entirelyfrom gift income,” McGinty said.

The continued success of the foundation hasbeen maintained thanks to the “37,000 alumniof UWRF,” McGinty said. “Without a doubt,people love this University and we hope forthem to support it.”

According to McGinty, alumni, along withcorporate support and friends of the campus,have donated by direct mail pieces, throughthe fall telethon, spring phone charity eventsand through the UWRF Foundation Web site.

“The Foundation keeps alumni informedabout how the campus is developing,” AmyRobak, a junior majoring in conservation andland-use planning, said.

Without the donations from the alumni andother supporters, the annual changes made tocreate a safe and educational environment forthe students and faculty would not be possi-ble.

“We are forever grateful of donators. Wecannot thank them enough,” McGinty said.

Going into 2008, the Foundation has morethan $14.1 million in net assets,583 scholarships were grantedand the future goals for theUWRF campus, students and

staff are strong.According to McGinty, future fundraising

campaigns will center on the improvement ofthe health and human performance center andremodeling Ramer Field. “The act of soliciting will help reach the $2

million goal over the next two to three yearsbeginningt h i ss p r i n g , ”M c G i n t ysaid.

TheUniversity,s t u d e n t sand facultyb e n e f i t

from the Foundation and everything they hopeto improve and maintain on campus.

“I really hope the Foundation continues tobe able to support undergraduate research,summer grants and school year grants,”Liesch said. “The Foundation does a lot ofwork that’s not visible to us.”

Besides raising funds for the University, stu-dents can help the UWRF campus by improv-ing the experience of the next generation ofundergraduates and faculty.

“Share the message about how special thiscampus really is,” McGinty said. “And howspecial our teachers really are.”

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Wells also said she believes thatthe acrobats’ appearance on campusserves to teach about “the impor-tance ofstrength, flex-ibility andteamwork—not just on thestage but inour daily livesas well ... theacrobatic arthas existed inChina formore than2,000 years and I hope this inspiredindividuals to learn more about, andappreciate, this art form.”

Aside from the acrobats, there are

many other Wyman Series eventssponsored by DAC and SEAC,including the annual Unity in theCommunity to be held next April.

“I think [events like this] reallyexpose people to different culturesand makes it fun,” Cress said. “I’ddefinitely come back next year.”

Wells said the goal of the programis to raise awareness and showcasediversity.

“An important part of the colle-giate experience involves broaden-ing one’s horizons and learningabout other people, cultures and tra-ditions,” Wells said. “DiversityAwareness Committee strives to cre-ate awareness of the unique qualitiesof all students at UW-River Fallsand, ultimately, celebrate these newdifferences.”

continue. As a result, GlobalConnections is working evenharder to recruit students forthe program.

Every semester, faculty andstaff are drawn from all threeConsortium schools and addi-tional schools that want toparticipate in the trip toScotland. Students maintain aregular class schedule of atleast 12 credits in addition toScottish courses taught byScottish faculty, a weeklyScottish-focused field trip,optional internships atScottish businesses and gen-eral immersion in Scottishculture.

Although the level ofimmersion is largely left up tothe students, they quicklyadapt to the new setting.Study Abroad and Lead PeerAdvisor Daniel Bochman saidthe confidence that studentsgain is one of the program’sbiggest assets.

“When [the students] firstget there, you notice that theyneed to be walked to the busstop that’s just up the hill,”Bochman said. “And by theend of the March, they’re offto Barcelona for the weekendby themselves.”

More than just beingexposed to Scottish culture,Wells and Bochman said thatstudents are near Edinburgh,which is the travel hub ofEurope and the number onetourist city for Europeans.One of the draws is that verylittle rebuilding has been donein the city and much of theoriginal city is intact.

“If you want to see anauthentic city, Edinburgh is

the one to see,” Bochmansaid. “And you’re going intoan international environmentthere.”

Students stay at DalkeithHouse, a 300-year-old manorin the Midlothian region ofScotland. Greene described itas an idyllic setting.

“Imagine the old days [and]this college in the East whenthe U.S. started with the fac-ulty living with the students,”Greene said. “That’s whatwe’re creating in an interna-tional setting.”

The cost of participation in

the semester-long programduring the fall and spring is$7,495, while the 6-weeklong summer program is esti-mated at $5,495. The costcovers tuition, shared rooms,and meals while school is insession, bus tokens and offi-cial field trips, according tothe WIS official Web site.

“WIS is the absolutely bestfull semester study abroadvalue in the nation,” Greenesaid. “Typically similar pro-grams would cost anywherefrom $10,000 to $16,000plus.”

The low cost does not comeat the expense of quality.

Greene said that it is theway that the program is struc-tured with its economy ofscale. The participating uni-

versities split the costs of fac-ulty salaries, and students arerequired to work at least fourhours a week so less is spenton in-house staff.

“Students are used to main-tain many aspects of the pro-gram in Dalkeith House,whether it’s cleaning respon-sibilities or cooking responsi-bilities,” Wells said. “Iremember when I was there asa student, I worked in thekitchen.”

Wells participated in theprogram in 2001 as a student,while Bochman is a currentstudent that has participatedin the program. Both said thatit was a positive, life-chang-ing experience that led togreater independence, greaterconfidence and greater globalawareness.

Katie Herr, a senior Englishmajor, said that the programwas the most amazing experi-ence of her life. She said sheenjoyed the live-in communi-ty at Dalkeith House, havingFridays off to travel and beingin a new culture and experi-encing new things.

Along with many other trav-el abroad programs, the WISprogram is facing problemswith the low value of the dol-lar. The withdrawal of twoConsortium schools from theprogram at the end of summer2007 also increased the finan-cial burden on the remainingschools. Global Connectionscombats higher costs by con-tinually seeking to increasethe number of participatingschools and the program isopen to students outside ofthe three Consortium schools.

Expansion could involveincorporating Minnesota andIowa schools, Bochman said.However, a specific plan onhow the program will beexpanded is currently is in theworks.

“There will be some prettyimportant discussions in thenext few months about thefuture of the program andwhich direction it is going togo,” Wells said. “It is a reallyexciting time right now forthe program.”

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WIS: Future of program still undecidedfrom page 1

Foundation: Fundraising efforts to focus onhealth and human peformance center, Ramer Field

from page 1

Sarah Schneider/Student VoiceThe Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats perform a routine Sept. 15 at the Knowles Complex. This is thesecond straight year the acrobats have performed on campus, as they were also at UWRF last April.

“If you want to seean authentic city,Endinburgh is the

one to see.”Daniel Bochman,

study abroad & leadpeer advisor

“We are forever gratefulof donators. We cannotthank them enough.”

Dan McGinty,interim president of UWRF

foundation

Karyn Wells

Sally King/Student VoiceUWRF junior Emily Pfannes calls students to remind them about attending the University Foundation’sScholarship Dinner, to be held Oct. 5.

VIEWPOINTS September 26, 2008Student Voice 4

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play ads and classified ads must also besubmitted no later than Wednesday atnoon.

Single copies of the Student Voice are free. Printing is paid forthrough student fees.

Editorials represent the opinion of the Student VoiceEditorial Board and are prepared by the editorial staff.

STUDENT VOICEUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN RIVER FALLS

EDITORIAL

Editor Phillip BockAssistant Editor Ben Brewster

Front Page Editor Eric PringleNews Editor Ken WeigendViewpoints Editor Abby MaliszewskiSports Editor Alayne HockmanEtcetra Editor Jenna Nelson

Chief Photographer Sally KingStaff Photographers Sarah Schneider

Jonathan Lyksett

Assistant Sports Editor Joe EnglehardtAssistant News Editor Natalie Conrad

Cartoonist Emily EckChief Copy Editor Andrew Phelps

Proofreader Aaron Billingsley

General Manager Kirsten BlakeAd manager Megan Leoni

Circulation Manager Nathan HoweOnline Manager Cristy Brusoe

Faculty Advisor Andris Straumanis

After the incessant complaining in past yearsabout the food service provided by Chartwells, theUW-River Falls’ students and administration madea good choice in making the switch to Sodexo.

Since the switch to Sodexo, we have noticed anincrease in some areas, such as overall food quali-ty. But some problems still need to be addressedto fully win the approval of the student body.

During the initial bidding process Sodexo madea presentation to Residence Life in which theytouted a diverse menu for the Riverside Commonsarea.

The current menu at Riverside Commons doesnot seem to reflect these same values. The foodchoices seem to be the same day by day and con-sist of unhealthy choices such as pizza, chickennuggets, corndogs, sandwiches, a salad bar andnot much else. Where are the diverse food choiceswe were lead to believe would be a staple to thisnew food provider?

The variety of options slightly improve at theother dining venues, but only Ultimate Baja offerstransfer options. The prices at World of Wings,Sub Connection and Mein Bowl are high enoughas to scare off students with meal plans.

More transfer options should be available sinceall students who live on campus are now requiredto purchase meal plans.

Cleanliness is also becoming a concern now thattrays are no longer available. Sodexo had goodintentions with eliminating trays, but it is resultingin unforeseen consequences on the overall cleanli-ness of Riverside Commons.

Crumbs and spills that were once caught by thetrays are now accumulating on the tables. Duringpeak hours students are hard-pressed to find tablesthat are not littered with crumbs, spills and vari-ous dirty silverware. The goal of reducing wasteby removing the trays is a noble one, but studentsshould be able to expect to sit down at a tablewithout having to eat in the prior student’s filth.

This problem is not solely on Sodexo; it shouldbe a common courtesy to clean up after yourselfwhen leaving a table.

It is to be expected that small problems creep upwhile the new food provider adapts to our cam-pus, but that is why it is important to addressthese problems now before popular opinionchanges and Sodexo becomes the new Chartwells.

Sodexo’s currentmenu lacks variety

We are nearly a month into thesemester and undoubtedly many

of you have had a chance to nestlecomfortably into some semblance of aroutine. For some, that may be callinghome during commercial breaks inhopes of coercing your mother to getthe lead out on that care package. Forothers, it’s walling yourself into yourroom and getting your 4.0 on. Stillothers may be putting on just the rightpair of baggy jeans or glitter lip glossand heading out to someone’s saggingporch or dingy base-ment for a houseparty.

Hopefully, howev-er, some of you aretaking advantage of afew of the eventsgoing on aroundcampus.

Contrary to popu-lar belief, collegedoes not have to experienced solelythough exam (or breathalizer) scores.Part of college life, as new studentsshould learn and old ones shouldknow, is getting more out of yourtuition than a classroom education.

For as small a campus (and town) asRiver Falls is, it can put on a hell of ashow as far as student entertainment isconcerned. It also strikes a pretty goodbalance between educational eventsand ones catered to pure amusement.

Last week I attended the Golden

Dragon Acrobats show, part of thisyear’s Wyman Series, which alwayscomes up with great events. I went tosee them last semester and their per-formance was so flooring it compelledme to invite eight other people tocome along this year.

My jaw is still on the ground. My point is, if you don’t attend at

least some of the events that interestyou, you may miss a presentation sogreat it brings you back the next year,or dislocates various parts of your

anatomy. Some events coming

up in the near futureinclude a presentationby George Watsky, aslam poet performing inthe Falcon’s Nest at 8p.m .on Thursday Sept.25th, which looks to beamazing.

That same night,from 6 to 8 p.m., all you can eat tradi-tional Arabic food is being served atJourney House (across from Karges).Speakers will talk about elements ofArabic culture as well, all for the low,low price of $1.

Being that my cupboards and walletare almost empty, I am likely to be thejerk in line next to you eating directlyout of the dish and growling atpassersby.

“Coffee with The Times” is anexample of a series great for those of

you academically minded, or thosewho wish to be. The sessions are heldin the Breezeway of Davee Libraryand include discussion, opinions andrefreshments.

Social and political organizationsput on a great deal of informative (andfun!) events on campus. They includeregular meetings of each organization,public debates, as well as puttingtogether panel discussions, providingvoter, volunteer and campaign infor-mation and bringing in guest speakers.

I am particularly excited aboutAyisha Zaki, an international speakerfrom Beirut, Lebanon hosted by theUnion of Democratic Progressives, anewly formed group here on campus.She will be discussing issues sur-rounding US foreign policy in theMiddle East at 7 p.m. on ThursdayOct. 2 in the St. Croix River Room(third floor of the University Center).

So let us get up, dust off the Doritocrumbs, and experience somethingthat will cost us almost no brain cellsand no money. Trade that inevitableunderage drinking violation for somewicked blisters in the next ping-pongtournament.

Actually have something to say thenext time you are asked about currentevents. Trade stories about somethingmore interesting than that time lastweek when you passed out in yourroommate’s bed. Go, experience,enjoy!

KatieHeimer

Events scheduled for entertainment, variety

There are really only two conditions of the human mind:very, very happy or about to become very, very happy.

Which are you today? I’m both.A long-distance friend e-mailed me today with this mes-

sage. Although this is a passage from the book “Notesfrom the Universe,” by author Mike Dooley, it struck meat a time I was feeling blue. We are only happy or will behappy.

For those who believe in fate, that allthings happen for a reason, do you believein the universe as your energy source?

The powers that be want you to be suc-cessful. Your happiness is the goal of theuniverse, if it believes in goals. To be insync with this universe is acknowledgingthe universe thrives on your dreams com-ing true.

Do you know your surroundings? The environment that your soul reaches out to for com-

fort, sustainability, prosperity; are you in sync with it? She tells me, “You can always tell an old soul by how

friendly they are to trees.” Understand your earth. Understand that earth provides

life for you and your friends. Love your earth.Do you love your job? If not a job you have, do you love

your school? These things provide you with the means ofhaving the things you want and need. Care for thesesources but do not dwell on them.

Many tell me of their anxiety. They never learned inschool or their jobs how to relax. First steps to relaxation:breathe, hang loose, enjoy and nothing will hurt.

“What inspired you this week?” she asked me. Onlydeadlines and politics filled my head this past week, so Ithought. But why did I do the things I did? My actionswere fueled by impulsiveness and routine. Can my impul-siveness lead to inspiration?

A soft melody and a brooding voice in bedroom rockinspire. The bright color in changing leaves inspire. A

wasp trapped in a classroom of North Hallinspires.

Caleb Stevens wrote about his way ofsaving time in last week's Student Voice. Ibelieve Stevens is exactly right in his theo-ry. Don’t fool yourself into thinking thatyou won’t get the grades if you don’t pushyourself harder. Relax. Take a break fromthat stressful course and obnoxious class-mates. Get your priorities straight and real-ize your own health is more important than

a silly deadline that is only important to your instructor,who probably doesn’t like you anyway.

The universe is waiting for you to realize this. Take thetime to clear your head of the dirty dishes piling up, thebig exam looming over your head, the guilt of eating toomuch ice cream and the shrinking numbers in your bankaccount.

As you’re reading this, don’t feel bad for zoning out inclass or getting up to leave early. Lay back, sip a cold one,read the Student Voice and chill out.

You can achieve bliss. You can have anything you want.You can have Zen. The universe wants you to.

TeresaAviles

Universe wants human mind to be happy

Something on your mind?Write a letter to the editor.

Submit your letter to editor@uwrfvoice.com or deliver it in the box outside 304 North Hall.

Ihope I’m not the only one who hasa love/hate relationship with their

major. My major is marketing com-munications, and academically, it’sbeen real enjoyable so far. Thebreadth of the marketing field is sortof what drew me toit in the beginning.But I can’t help butfeel ambivalenttoward the obnoxiousand sometimes evilnature of marketing.Sure, the profs willall say “We’re inno-cent! We’re onlydelivering value tothe customer.”

Junk mailers, spam e-mail, relent-less internet pop-ups, Jared Fogle,insidious advertising, the menace ofadware, the slow erosion of personalprivacy—all of these are unfortunateside effects of the field I’m dedicat-ing myself to.

Most subjects under the marketingumbrella are fine by me. Downrightfascinating even. But it’s hard toignore all the tiny things that makeme want to hurl bowling balls at mytelevision set or my computer screen.

First of all, advertising is EVERY-WHERE. It seems to inhabit everyavailable inch of space in the publicsquare. This is sure to get worse astime passes. For example, the worldof sports is one utterly dominated bysponsorships and corporate over-crowding. Beach volleyball playerssometimes play with corporate logosscreened onto the ass portion of their

bikinis or shorts. We have to dealwith places called “Cingular Field”or the Phoenix Coyotes superbly-named “Jobing.Com Arena” (I'mserious. Wikipedia that shit).

Promotional events are nonstop:come get aMinnesota Twinsposter schedule pre-sented by HardwareHank! Or get aMichael Cuddyer batpresented by WasteManagement! Or jointhe “CelebrateDiversity Day” at thedome, presented by

McDonald’s! All real Metrodomepromotions.

Lots of promotions are sweetbecause they entail the giving of freestuff to the masses. Most people likethis, but the price we pay is total cor-porate saturation. Go to a sportsgame—notice that everywhere youlook there's a freakin’ logo or brandimage or company name. Absurdlyenough, I’ve even seen baseball play-ers on TV wear brand-imprinted eyeblack!

Good advertising is a nice thing toenjoy from time to time. The bestcommercials on TV are like littlemovies—they can be downrightenjoyable. But bad advertising is aplague and a curse. No Dr. Scholls,I'm not “gellin.” Don’t ever ask methat again. Tell me what else is price-less, Mastercard! Your shrewd advicereally helps me set my priorities. Weall know the one word to describe

Kraft Krumbles: they’re KRUMBE-LIEVABLE. AndFreeCreditReport.com somehowmanages to make credit reports evenless hip than they were before.

Judging from these dreadful com-mercials and the swarm of otherobnoxious ads in mainstream media,I’d say most people in the marketingindustry right now are unimaginativeand completely out-of-touch. Perhapsthis wouldn’t be giving them a fairshake, though. The unfortunate reali-ty in many cases is that in this indus-try, advertising serves one purpose:to increase profits. Creativity andoriginality are often tossed to the sideas dollar signs become the only thingto focus on.

Why do we put up with so muchadvertising? Why do we sit andwatch fifty minutes of crappy com-mercials before the movie starts atthe theater? According to CNETNews, 95 percent of all e-mail sent in2007 was spam. How do we keepfrom lighting ourselves on fire?

Well, advertising does have lots ofpurposes. Ads keep content onlinefree and relatively convenient. Theylet us know about important events,promotions and products. They evenhave the power to define our cultureand how we interpret it. But in thewords of comedian Bill Hicks, “Youscumbags, quit putting a goddamndollar sign on everything on thisplanet!”

Joe is interested in movies, religion, politics, culture and people.

JoeHager

Advertisments saturate society, plague populous voicesSTUDENT

Student Voice 5VIEWPOINTSSeptember 26, 2008

“Makes me want things I don’t need.”

Alex Halverson,senior

“It can be negative a lot of the time, it kind of encroaches on our lives, you can’t really escape it.”

Calleigh Stavig,junior

“It doesn’t make me want to buy it,doesn’t change my mind.”

Paul Schreiner,freshman

Cassie Seifert,freshman

Student Voices compiled by Sarah Schneider.

Changmean Kin,senior

“It doesn’t make me want to buy something new, unless I wanted it before.

I enjoy watching the commercials.”

“Sometimes it’s annoying, makes me want to buy stuff sometimes.”

What do you think of advertisingand how does it effect you?

How many dollars do we spend annually on advertising, and to what ends? After askingmyself this question I decided to try and get to the bottom of it. I did a quick Web

search and found a Web site called adage.com, which may be familiar to some business andmarketing majors.

Though it is a somewhat complicated and messy Web site, it has somevery useful information, such as market data for the annual amount ofmoney spent on advertising, which was my goal in the first place. I wentdown to the Marketer Family Trees section which documents the amount andwhat kind of spending by the top 100 companies in America.

There were no cut and dried statistics as to just how much money wasbeing spent overall, so I decided to do a little math of my own and added thefirst ten companies spending totals together to reach an amount larger than$11 billion.

Now I felt a little closer to the answer and could make an educated guessthat the United States was spending somewhere over $110 billion dollars a year on advertis-ing. The list was ordered alphabetically, so the numbers should be representational of theaverage, as the standings were staggered.

To me this amount is shocking and suggests a reality which can be upsetting. Perhaps ifsome of that money could be better appropriated, it would not have led me to such disdainfor the media and advertising. However, I could come to only one conclusion, that the massmedia is constantly pushing new advertising on us and trying to cram new and advantageousproducts down our throats, with little or no real benefit to society. The Gap alone spent near-

ly $400 million on advertising in 2007. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for capitalism and free markets, but society is coming to

a point where profit margins are becoming more important than humanity. It seems that whatyou buy defines who you are, and this seems entirely contrary to the naturalorder of humanity.

With something as simple as clothing, many people fall under the falseassumption that clothing style represents a group—as though no matter what,each person should constantly be seeking affirmation as a part of the group.It is entirely plausible that today our idea of what it is to be a “group” andwhat these groups mean to us are not notions created by us, for us, but creat-ed by a mass marketing machine built to sell, sell, sell.

Does anyone else find it disturbing that we separate ourselves from eachother based on labels created by external forces? It is as though we are allislands in a vast ocean—interconnected by our foundations, but all with dif-

ferent features. We are afraid to cross the water and meet someone new simply becauseadvertising has told us that “this island is scary,” or “this island will hurt you,” or “this onewill reject you.” Our islands are being connected in more ways than we have ever imag-ined—from the television to the radio to the cable, yet it is possible that we need to be look-ing closer at these outside influences and how closely they are affecting our lives.

Zach generally spends his time forming opinions, though when he is not doing that, he is trying his damndest to destroy

them.

ZachHauser

Branding battles result in billion dollar spending, product pushing

Icannot help but indulge in the over-whelming possibility that our textbook

operations could be more corrupt thanthe old mafia.

That is, of course, ifthe mob is not alreadymanaging the operationswithin our textbooklibrary to some degree.

My story is one of biasand truth.

Last spring semester Iturned in my books with-out any fines or problems. Three monthslater, I received a notice that one of mybooks was covered with “a red sub-stance.”

Not knowing what was going on, orhow a red substance made its way into abook I never opened or even knew I haduntil the end of the spring semester, thesituation was beyond me. However, thefolks down at the textbook servicesmaintained that since I was the last touse the book I was guilty of the crime athand.

The first thing I thought of was mydesire for a fair trial where both sides ofthe story could be heard. In realitythough, textbook services is the judgeand jury: God of all book penalties—rivaling communism at the height of itsreign!

Being the intuitive or obnoxious per-son I am, I asked why they did notnotice this red goo when I turned thebook in. They quickly got defensive andexplained they would have.

My first response was “you’re anidiot,” my second response was “you'rean idiot.” Let’s just clarify this—theywould have caught it but since they didn’t, I am fined.

That is not a misprint, readers. Clearly I had not deceived the all-

knowing textbook services, but I knewprotesting was as point-less as expecting to turnin books without getting afine. So I paid my unjusttrial with the money I hadhoped would go towardrent, food and a bowlingleague this fall.

The story continues. Iwent back into the shrilly

basement this fall and felt similar toO.J., except I was innocent. All theworkers stared me down like hawks. Iam certain they were instructed to makesure I did not spray red goo on otherbooks, since I was that kind of guy.

All went smoothly and I received mybooks no questions asked. However, Iwas forced to drop a class and turned thebooks in a week later.

My naive nature led me to believe Iwas in the clear. No. I needed to turnthem in four days after the class wasdropped. Their reasoning was that otherspotentially needed my books. I noticed,however, that there were at least 10 to 15books identical to mine sitting harmless-ly on the shelf.

I did not argue, I simply realized that abook checked out is an inevitable fine.

So freshmen beware, it is a battlefielddown there and their bullets are fines.Our bullets are futile words that wethink can help our situation. So, keepyour ear to the grindstone UW-RiverFalls.

Eric is an English education major with a coachingminor and aspiring hand model. He loves the GoldenGophers, basketball and his girlfriend Rebecca.

Yours truly was sitting in an unnamed classon the first Friday back from summer vaca-

tion—which, by the way, is not a vacation at all. Back before I traded my ninja

turtles for a check card and col-lege debt, I had real summervacations.

I had vacations that wouldmake Chevy Chase blush. Iwould sleep until 10 a.m., get upto turn SportsCenter on and thensleep for the rest of the morninguntil 1-2 p.m. I know we allremember those days.

I’d spend all day making up games in the yardinvolving wooden tennis rackets (until theybroke), a homemade water balloon launcher(until it broke) and a cardboard box/spaceship(until it broke). I broke a lot of stuff—but nevermy own bones, which is nice.

After it all broke I’d retire tomy room with a buddy and playsome Tecmo Bowl. Personally Inever got into Tecmo SuperBowl. I respect those who madethe transition to Bo Jackson, butI could never get over the bril-liance of Walter Payton andWillie Gault.

The point is this my friends:somewhere along the line summer vacationturned into an involuntary summer work pro-gram and, I don’t know about the rest of you,but I never got it back.

It all began four years ago. At the time I didn’trealize it, but after my senior year of highschool I embarked on the final summer “vaca-tion” of my life. No worries, no responsibilities.I just blew all of my high school graduationmoney and headed off to Augustana College flatbroke (except for a little financial assistancefrom the old man).

After breezing through my freshman year ofcollege, I came back home ready for some sum-mer relaxation. But to my surprise the financialsupport had all but run its course and my parents

expected me to work.After a little bit of diligence, I got an inter-

view with Bradley & Sons Maintenance. My jobinterview consisted of theowner, Duane Bradley, scream-ing at me in a bank parking lotusing a lot of expletives (that Iwill not include in this columnbecause I, unlike many of theother “writers” for this paper,hold myself to some journalisticstandards).

Long story longer, I aced theinterview and broke into the

work force by mowing lawns (actually I didn’tmow, I ran the trimmer aka weed whipper) witha retired police officer in Woodbury.

That was the worst summer of my life. I usedto see myself trimming when I closed my eyes. Ialmost quit like five times, never talked to any-

one but the boss at work becauseI didn’t speak Spanish andvowed to never mow lawnsagain.

And I never did, except for thesummer after that.

I look back at my former sum-mer vacations with appall andthe ten-year-old kid inside mewonders how anyone could ever

be excited for summer to be over and school tostart back up.

That is where I am at: sitting in school ecstaticto not be working manual labor for 50 hours aweek. I look forward to a lifetime of non-manu-al labor jobs because I hate it, but after workingthem I respect the men and women who workthem even more.

I worked my final manual labor job this pastsummer. I built retaining walls, which is muchbetter than mowing lawns, for 50 hours a week.Let me tell you, it sucked. But on July 4 mywife gave birth to my son Levi and, even thoughwork stunk, and even though it wasn’t a vaca-tion, it was the best summer of my life.

CalebStevens

Once-upon-a-time summer vacationsmorph into laborious hours of pain

Textbook services rule as dictatorship over students

I went back into the shrilly

basement this falland felt similar toO.J., except that I was innocent.

... somewhere along the line

summer vacationturned into an

involuntary summerwork program ...

Eric Bertrameric.bertram@uwrf.edu

Student Voice 6 SPORTS September 26, 2008

Two years ago I sat in my dormroom in Stratton Hall glued to ESPNNews. TheAmericanLeagueMostValuablePlayerannounce-ment wasgoing toflash on thescreen any second and I hoped thatJustin Morneau would defeat the heav-ily favored Derek Jeter. The announce-ment came, and after reading it five orsix times in disbelief, I jumped up andscreamed in victory.

This season, Twins fans may have asimilar celebration as Morneau chaseshis second AL MVP award.

Morneau has turned it up to anotherlevel. His main competition for theaward would seem to be White Soxoutfielder Carlos Quentin, Angels clos-er Francisco Rodriguez, Rangers out-fielder Josh Hamilton, Red Sox firstbaseman Kevin Youkilis and Red Soxsecond baseman Dustin Pedroia. To cutout the fat, let’s look at some of thesecandidates’ qualifications.

The easiest one to weed out isQuentin. He has had a great season forthe White Sox, but he broke his wristslapping down his bat in frustrationafter missing a Cliff Lee fastball inearly September. Quentin’s stats (.288,36 HR, 100 RBI) are great, but howcan you vote for a guy with such hand-eye coordination?

The other candidate that can go isRodriguez. Rodriguez broke the singleseason save record Sept. 13 with his58th save, but is that really talent? Thesave record is more luck in my opin-ion.

One’s team must put their closer in asituation to save, so if the team pres-ents enough close games, the closerwill rack up saves. If Rodriguez is tobe considered, then Twins closer JoeNathan must be as well. Despite hav-ing fewer saves (36), Nathan has a bet-ter ERA (1.03 to 2.38) and WHIP (0.92to 1.27) than Rodriguez in the samenumber of innings.

Hamilton has a great story. He wasaddicted to almost every drug on theplanet and has come back to fulfill hispotential of being a first overall draftpick by the Tampa Bay Rays in 1999.

Hamilton was all-world before theall-star break (.310, 21 HR, 95 RBI),but has dropped off since then (.291,10 HR, 29 RBI).

That would leave Morneau againstPedroia and Youkilis. Youkilis has verysimilar stats to Morneau (.310, 25 HR,102 RBI), but his team is hurting him.

Youkilis has played in 133 gamescompared to Morneau’s 149 games.

The fact is that the Red Sox have somany weapons that Youkilis can have aday off and isn’t as important to theSox attack as Morneau is to the Twinsoffense.

Remember, the name of the award isMost VALUABLE Player. Youkilis is agreat player, but there are better play-ers around him. What does Youkilis dowith Delmon Young hitting behind himrather than David Ortiz?

That leaves Morneau and Pedroia.The Red Sox public relations depart-ment (aka ESPN) would say thatPedroia is valuable because he’s turnedit on in the second half and it’s prettysweet to see a 5-foot-9-inch guy near-ly drop to his knees and smack a dou-ble down the line.

While Pedroia has great leadoff stats(.327, 17 HR, 78 RBI, .877 OPS),Morneau has even better cleanup hitterstats (.312, 23 HR, 124 RBI, .911OPS). Think about cleanup hittersaround the league. Most of them goup to the plate and try to hit the ball ashard as they can, or strikeout trying(see Ryan Howard). Morneau has achance to get 200 hits as a cleanup hit-ter - which doesn’t happen often.

Should Morneau win his secondMVP award, he’ll join elite company.Some of those names include JoeDiMaggio, Ted Williams and MickeyMantle. To be honest, Morneau is oneof the special talents in baseball thatdeserves such a distinction. Withouthim, the Twins would be radically dif-ferent.

ChrisSchad

Chris is a 22-year-old senior majoring in journalism.He is also the sports director for 88.7 FM WRFW andis the play-by-play voice for the Falcon football andhockey teams.

Justin Magilljustin.magill@uwrf.edu

2008 has started eerily similar to last yearfor the UW-River Falls soccer team, postinga 1-7 record after a 2-14-3 finish last season.

“We are still learning how to win,” FalconHead Coach Sean McKuras said. “We’re notwhere we need to be right now.”

The Falcons are in last place in the WIACthrough three games with losses to UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse.

UWEC is the three-time defending WIACchampions and has not lost a conferencegame in the past three seasons. They are 1-0in WIAC play this year.

Through eight games, UWRF has beenoutscored 18-7 and is averaging less than 10shots a game. Opponents are attemptingmore than 15 shots a game on the Falcons.

“We have to find a way to put the ball inthe back of the net,” McKuras said. “We areable to compete, but we have to finish.”

The season has started with stiff competi-tion as UWRF has played against three con-ference champions. Eau Claire, the 2007Minnesota Intercollegiate AthleticConference champions Concordia College-Moorhead (Minn.) and the College of St.Scholastica, the 2007 Upper Midwest

Athletic Conference champions.The remaining schedule has no easy

games, senior Amy Piersak said.“There’s no give away game for us this

year,” she said.” All games will be a chal-lenge. No 12-0 games will happen thisyear.”

Of the 21 players on the Falcon roster, theyhave six freshmen and are one of the oldestteams in the conference, but are still at thebottom when it comes to wins and losses.UW-Superior has 14 freshmen and UW-Whitewater has 13, but are also at the bot-tom of the WIAC standings.

Last season UWRF finished seventh in theconference with only one win in conferenceplay against Superior, who finished last with nowins in the WIAC.

“It’s been tough,” Piersak said. “Little thingsneed to click like a clock. If one of the handsisn’t working, then it all falls apart.”

McKuras is in his seventh season as headcoach and has not had a losing season until lastyear. The most wins the Falcons had since he

has taken over was 17 in 2003, six of thosecoming in the WIAC, which was also goodenough for the conference championship.

He had double digit wins from 2002-06.There are eight regular season games left beforethe WIAC playoffs. The Falcons will need tofind a way to shut down opponents and not letthem score late in the game and put them away,McKuras said.

“We have not played poorly,” he said. “We do

have to put away teams at the end of games ifwe want to get back on track.”Piersak is playing her final season for theFalcons. She is a fifth year senior, given anoth-er year of eligibility after a knee injury and saidshe wants to end her career on a good note.

“I just want us to improve upon last year,” shesaid.

The Falcons’ next home game is Oct. 15against UW-Superior.

Paul Stantonpaul.stanton@uwrf.edu

The 2008 season will bring new challenges to the Falcon tennis team,but with a 3-0 start already under their belt, the Falcons intend to keeptheir winning ways through veteran leadership and a strong work ethic.

One of the biggest challenges facing the Falcons is losing last year’s

WIAC singles and doubles champion Kozue Matsumoto. Falcon tennis coach Lee Lueck said he understands the sig-

nificance of losing a player of this magnitude. “Losing Kozue Matsumoto to New Orleans University on a

full ride scholarship has forced every player up one position,”Lueck said. “It will take time for each player to adjust to thisnew level of play.”

Time the Falcons may not have. Throughout the years, theWIAC has consistently produced stiff competition for theFalcons.

Lueck said he expects UW-Whitewater to be the team tobeat in 2008.

“With a quality coach, located in a prime recruiting area(Milwaukee, Madison, and Chicago), and with outstandingindoor and outdoor facilities, they are posed for years to comeas a power in the WIAC.”

As the Falcons look ahead in the season, they will bedependent on a few familiar faces to help carry the load. Oneof those faces being juniorKatie Ostrowski.

Ostrowski, WIAC’s dou-bles champion from last year,will replace her former dou-bles partner Matsumoto asthe Falcons new number-onesingles player.

With Ostrowski leading theway, the Falcons will also look for strong veteran leadershipfrom their two senior co-captains, Katie Anderson and MindyRudiger, and quality play from junior Lindsay Gillman.

“I think we are going to have a lot of close matches and ifwe fight hard, which I know we can, then we’ll be able to pullout wins,” Gillman said. “I also want to fight as hard as I canin every match. I want to walk away, win or lose, and feel likeI did everything I could to push my opponent.”

The Falcons start a tough conference stretch this weekend,with three meets in two days against UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stevens Point and a non-conference bout against Concordia.

Only time will tell how good the UWRF Falcon tennis canbe in 2008, but Lueck said he is confident in his team.

“All 13 players understand that improving in tennis is aprocess and that there will be many peaks and valleys duringthat process,” he said. “Being the smallest university in thetennis WIAC, I am very proud of how my players force everyteam to bring out their best.”

Morneau couldbe next AL MVPFalcon soccer off to rough start

Renae Bergh/Student VoiceFalcon women’s soccer player Megan Rasmussen attempts to kick the ball away fromUW-La Crosse’s Sara McClellan in a Sept. 20 match-up against the Eagles.

Falcon tennis looks to fly high

Jon Lyksett/Student VoiceJunior Falcon tennis player Lindsay Gillman returns the ball during arecent practice at a tennis court at the Knowles Complex. The Falcons areoff to a sweeping start this season with a record of 3-0.

Check out the Student Voice online at

www.uwrfvoice.com

“It will take timefor each player toadjust to this new

level of play.”Lee Lueck,

Falcon tennis coach

“There’s no give away gamefor us this year.”

Amy Piersak,senior soccer player

Boy meets girl. Boy losesgirl. Boy gets girl back. Andwe all saw it coming. It’s thesame old song and dance,sung so many times that I’msure we could all dance thesteps in our sleep. And maybethat is the appeal, the inherentsafety to be found just thisside of recognition. The tiredstory arc may be beaten downthrough years of abuse butfilmmakers still feel a nag-ging sense of familiarity tug-ging at theirartistic visionthat keepsthem safelystranded apartfrom the path less traveled.

And that is precisely thecancer that plagues “Igor,” thelatest thread-bare in a longtrend of time-worn CGI fami-ly-friendly platitudes.Director Anthony Leondisfalls flat on his face trying tocontrol a roller coaster scriptpenned by Chris McKenna.

The story begins in familiarterritory, flirts cautiously withdanger but ultimately surren-ders itself to the trite annals ofasepticism.

In the dreary land ofMalaria, mad scientists rule.As is customary, every scien-tist has their own hunch-backed assistant named Igor,who, as untouchables, aren’tallowed to invent. But thatdoesn’t stop one Igor (JohnCusack) from dreaming. After

a lab accident leaves hismaster in pieces, Igordecides to pursue hisFrankensteinian dream andbreathe life into his mon-strous creation. But a brainwash gone awry leaves hismonster, self-named Eva(not Evil), an aspiring actresswannabe with aspirations of

playing Annie on Broadway.The set-up poises itself for a

creative burst of originality.The veritable Mary Shelleypenned “Iron Giant” story ofunconventional creature loveis rotted from the inside outby a Tipper Gore-level obses-sion with remaining political-ly correct.

In its black heart, “Igor” isan adult-oriented satireembellished in drab shadesof Burton, substituting some

of them a c a b r ew i t hpoignantcriticisms

on Hollywood culture - thisPG “child’s” movie slamsactor culture in far moreclever and comical waysthan “Tropic Thunder”could ever hope for (Eva’sto-do list includes adoptingchildren from all over theglobe and becoming anenvironmentalist while con-tinuing to jet-set in privateplanes).

Unfortunately, this darkcomedy is mixed with toomuch half-and-half: half thefilm is farce and satire whilethe other half is familialbanality, half the film isgood...

“Igor’s” evil wit isbetrayed by the misplacedshoulder angel who pressesChigurh’s cattle gun against

your head and fires the film’sovert moral into your brain:“It is better to be a goodnobody than an evil some-body.”

And even while it stubborn-ly clings to this idea ofpreaching the straight andnarrow to its younger view-ers, “Igor” dips its toes intothe deep end.

“Igor” could have been ashining example of adult-comedy in an ironically ani-mated package, but insteadgives in to peer-pressure,denying its base, edgierinstincts in favor of a plain,unassuming coffin.

Student Voice 7ETCETERASeptember 26, 2008

KenWeigend

Ken is a senior journalism major with a film studies minor. He has aspirationsto write film reviews as a career. His favorite genres are drama and comedy.

A.J. is a senior journalism student who has been reviewing movies foralmost 10 years. He digs horror movies and documentaries the most.

Theater holds history, provides entertainmentTeresa Aviles

teresa.aviles@uwrf.edu

The line of people standing andwaiting is followed up throughVeteran’s Park, past Foster Sportsand into the classic Falls Theatre.Inside there is a young boy collect-ing ticket money, but he gives noticket. Instead he tells you to enjoythe show.

The next line is for the fresh pop-corn that cost 50 cents, or a candybar for 75 cents. The low prices ofthe popular entertainment venue in

town are one of its many features.An old fashioned movie poster of“A Sainted Devil,” starring RudolphValentino, adds to the classic filmnoir feeling of the theater’s lobbywith a classic cinema-style benchsitting in the center near a velvetrope.

The Falls Theatre is a familyowned local business of River Fallsthat provides first run movies at anaffordable price. Located on MainStreet in downtown, the theaterattracts people of all ages that arewilling to pay only $3 to see one ofthe latest films in a River Falls his-

torical landmark building. “I go there because it’s super cheap

and they have decent movies,” saidChris Solomon, student and movie-goer. “One thing I do like about it—and—don’t like about it is that theyonly have one movie.”

Before the theater was built, thebuilding was a confection shop andharness shop from 1884 to 1912. In1912, the plot housed a tailor, a drycleaning business and a pool hall,according to the HistoricPreservation Committee of PierceCounty. The theater was built in1927 by Emil Carisch and P.W.

Ramer, who was once on the Boardof Normal School Regents and whothe UW-River Falls’ athletic field isnamed after.

Stan McCulloch then purchasedthe theater in 1972 as “a labor oflove,” according to the theater’sWeb site.

McCulloch owned the theater forover 30 years before his death. Hisfamily has taken over the theater,but has kept it running successfullywith the same values he had instilledin the business. Michelle Maker,McCulloch’ss youngest daughter, isthe current owner of the theatre.

In the lobby is a trophy on displayfrom a Kare-11 special in 2003 forthe Upper Midwest Regional EmmyAward. Kare-11 reported on the the-ater, or “soft theater,” for “StanísLegacy,” which is also a book that isavailable for purchase online and invarious local businesses of RiverFalls.

Most movies shown are at both the7 p.m. and 9 p.m. showings, butoccasionally there are two differentfilms. On Saturday and Sundaythere is a 2 p.m. matinee showing.Movies change once a week orevery other week on Fridays.

‘Igor’ wastes potential, misses target audience

I really miss the days whenanimated films seemed moreinnocent. It’s a shame thatthey’ve begun focusing moreon attracting viewers withbig-name talent rather thanwith an eye-catching style ora great story. Heck, “WALL-E” worked just fine, and thelead character’s voice was

nary more than a fewbleeps and blorps. “Igor” isthe latest star-heavy cartoonfeature, and although it hasa clever story and loads ofpotential, they’re ruined bythe endless cycle of badpuns and slapstick the flickeventually becomes.

Welcome to Malaria, akingdom straight out of aUniversal horror movie.Every night is a dark andstormy one, and the localeconomy consists of creatingdiabolical inventions withwhich to hold the world infear. Behind every mechani-cal monster or death ray,

there’s a mad scientist andan Igor, a hunchbackedassistant who does most ofthe work but gets none ofthe credit. But after hismaster is felled by anexperiment gone awry, oneparticularly intelligent Igor(voiced by John Cusack)finds himself needing todevise some-thing to pres-ent at theu p c o m i n gEvil ScienceFair. Luckily,he has theperfect idea: an undeadcreature designed with thesole purpose of destroyingeverything in sight. As itturns out, though, Igor’screation (voiced by MollyShannon) is more interest-ed in acting than in terror-izing the countryside, caus-ing Igor to wonder whethera life of evil is worth pursu-ing after all.

One thing that struck meright off the bat about“Igor” was its truly bizarresense of humor. Scenesranging from an immortal

bunny (voiced by SteveBuscemi) who’s constantlycommitting suicide, to a cho-rus of blind kids singing “ICan See Clearly Now,” defi-nitely appealed to my warpedside. These parts were a blastto watch and, for a while, Iwas having more fun with“Igor” than I ever thought Iwould — that is, until Iremembered it was a kiddieflick. From then on, the gal-lows humor took a back seatto corny puns (“Kill-oseum”— ha, ha) and in no time,“Igor” began resembling lit-tle more than a bad episodeof “The Addams Family.”

The film’s worst offenders,though, are its own castmembers. Buscemi was a riotas the suicidal rabbit andShannon gives a sweet turnas Igor’s creation (who pum-mels other evil inventionswhile singing a tune from“Annie,” no less), butCusack was so-so. Sean

H a y e sannoyed asa motorm o u t h e dbrain in a jarand, in thefilm’s most

gross injustice, comedy greatEddie Izzard soundedabsolutely bored as a rivalscientist out to topple Igor.

This is usually where I’dsay that kids will enjoy“Igor” more than adults, butI’m not so sure this time. Thedark comedy might go overthe heads of many little ones,while their parents may findsome sections of the flick alittle too goofy for their owngood. “Igor” is a decentenough movie that tries toplease everyone but ends uppleasing no one.

A.J.Hakari

Movie ratings are based on a scale from one to five. A filmthat scores five stars is worth seeing. A film that scores one

star is horribly acted or directed, with no substance.

“The film’s worstoffenders, though,

are its own castmembers.”

On Sept. 2, 2008, the Tampa sex-tet, Underoath released their sixthstudio album entitled “Lost in theSound of Separation.” Two yearsafter Underoath released their heav-iest album to date, “Define the GreatLine,” which was certified gold anddebuted as high as No. 2 on theBillboard, much of their success wasoverlooked and almost forgotten asUnderoath nearly went to hell andback as a band. It allbegan while rumorsswirled around that leadvocalist SpencerChamberlain was bat-tling a substance abuseproblem and he couldn’tget his act together. His problem ledto the band dropping early off ofWarped Tour 2006.

The band approached what manyspeculated to be the end. It was a

dark and scary time for the band.Only months later, Aaron Gillespieresponded to the fan based rumors -“If there was something seriousgoing on like that and he was inrehab, we’d have to tell the press.But it’s just not true.” The band laterreleased a statement that the reasonthey had dropped off of WarpedTour was due to personal conflictswith each other’s religious views.They felt they needed to take timeoff to work on friendship. And thatthey did, having since released a livealbum titled “Survive,Kaleidoscope” which interestinglyenough, reached No. 81 on theBillboard.

Underoath began recording “Lostin the Sounds of Separation” inMarch 2008 and formally released

to the press thedate of Sept. 2,2008, at the endof recording inApril. The titleof the album wassaid to bederived from the

lyrics of a song titled, “We Are theInvoluntary.” The album hasreceived nearly all positive feedbackas is peaked to No. 8 on theBillboard within its first week. The

album is much darker, heavier andborderline psychotic. “Lost in theSound of Separation” is composedof eleven chaotic, melodic andpunch you in the mouth tracks. Theycover a wide array of styles dis-played by Underoath over the lastdecade. This album should, with aserious sit-downlisten, move you.I don’t knowhow or whateffects it willhave, but if youtruly take thetime to look upthe lyrics anddelve into what am a s t e r p i e c eUnderoath has composed, you willforever be musically changed. Thisalbum will shock the hell out of yourcochlea with the thunderous growlsfrom the depths of Chamberlain’slarynx. There are many melodiesboth done by guitar, synth and keysthat will calm you, and only a meresecond later, your eardrums will beblasted with rip-chords and riffs youdidn’t know were possible.

The first track on the album“Breathing in a New Mentality,”reminded me much of the first trackoff “Define the Great Line,” “In

Regards to Myself.” It started outslow, building with insane amountsof chordal anticipation, then beforeyou even realize what hit you,Chamberlain’s howls of earsplittingvocals screaming, “I’m the desper-ate, and you’re the savior! There’sbeen something else talkin’ in my

ear. Someonesave me!”

This song isloads heavierthan what manythought was “tooheavy” on“Define theGreat Line.” Ifyou thought thelast album was

heavy, consider it infantile. The sec-ond track “Anyone Can Dig a Holebut it Takes a Real Man to Call itHome,” doesn’t waste a second indirecting the listener where the restof this album is going to go.

At points during the album, itseems that Chamberlain andGillespie are clashing vocally, yetcoming out in separate melodic har-monies proclaiming their faith. “AFault Line, A Fault of Mine” keepsthe pace going like a mine cart outof control with no hope of slowingdown. Possibly the heaviest track

on the album is “The Only Survivorwas Miraculously Unharmed.” It’ssomething Underoath has nevereven attempted. With ear-shatteringroars from Chamberlain combinedwith power cords and razor sharpriffs from guitarists Tim McTagueand James Smith, the song quicklytakes a turn from synthetic soothingmelodies right back to in your facehowling from Chamberlain. To behonest, the album doesn’t let up forone second. The only break you getvocally from Chamberlain is track10, but even that only lasts forthree-and-a-half minutes.

The album then sets you on arollercoaster ride into the depths ofcontemplation with the final track,“Desolate Earth The End Is Here.”“Lost in the Sound of Separation”takes you from an emotional plungeknown as Underoath’s strugglethrough their darkest times. It givesyou their best effort to date, analbum that you will never forget, nomatter if you listen to it once or athousand times. This album for real.This is Underoath’s way of tellingthe fans, there is hope for the futurefor the future of this band.

‘Underoath’ thrives with sixth album despite rumors, personal conflicts

ErikWood

“This album will shockthe hell out of your

cochlea with the thunderous growls from

the depths ofChamberlain’s larynx..”

“This albumshould, with a

serious sit-downlisten, move you.”

“...this dark comedyis mixed with too

much half-and-half.”

Student Voice 8 FEATURE September 26, 2008

2008 Homecoming Events “Fiesta de la Noche”

Monday, September 29th9:00 a.m...Medallion Hunt first clue posted in UC

3:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m...Homecoming kickoff on UC lawnKickoff includes mechanical bull riding, obstacle course

4:00 p.m...Royalty voting begins online

Tuesday, September 30th9:00 a.m...Medallion Hunt second clue posted in UC

9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m...Food drive competition at RiversideCommons

1:00 p.m...Organization competition on UC lawn7:00 p.m...Royalty salsa dance competition in Falcon’s Nest

Wednesday, October 1st9:00 a.m...Medallion Hunt third clue posted in UC

9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m...School supply competition at RiversideCommons

7:00 p.m...Lip Sync: Livin’ La Vida Loca in North Hall

Thursday, October 2nd9:00 a.m...Medallion Hunt final clue posted in UC

9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m...Pop tab competition at Riverside CommonsNoon...Taco eating competition for royalty, obstacle course on

UC lawn4:00 p.m...Winner of Medallion Hunt posted at UC Information

Desk

Saturday, October 3rd10:30 a.m...Homecoming Parade in downtown River Falls

11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m...Homecoming BBQ on UC lawn1:00 p.m...Homecoming football game vs. UW-Stevens Point at

Ramer Field

For more information, visit http://www.uwrf.edu/homecoming

44th annual River Falls rodeo rides into townAndrew Phelps

andrew.phelps@uwrf.edu

Cowboys, cowgirls and rodeo enthusiastsacross the Midwest all gathered at theCampus Laboratory Farm at UW-River Fallsto attend the 44th annual Falcon FrontierDays Rodeo.

The event took place Sept. 19 and 20.Riders from schools all over the Great Plainsarea attended the event, some even traveling12 hours or more to compete. In addition toMinnesota and Wisconsin, other states repre-sented included North Dakota, SouthDakota, Nebraska and Iowa. This was anofficial National Intercollegiate RodeoAssociation competition. The NIRA includesover 3,500 members from over 135 collegesand universities. Operating much like theNCAA, the NIRA makes sure standards ofcompetition are followed, as well as providescholarship opportunities for students,according to the program given out at therodeo. College rodeo participants usuallytravel to around 10 events a year, hoping toqualify for the College National Finals.

Competition was broken down into threecategories: timed events (team roping, tiedown steer wrestling), women’s events(break away roping, goat typing, barrel rac-ing) and riding events (saddle, bareback andbull riding).

UWRF’s own Jordan Cook took top honorsin the barrel racing event with the winningtime of 34.42 seconds, narrowly edging outher nearest competitor by .17 seconds. Barrelracing is considered a classic women’s rodeoevent, and requires extreme balance and pre-cision. South Dakota State University fin-ished first in the men’s team event, andDickinson State University (N.D.) triumphedin the women’s team event.

The UWRF Rodeo Club deserves all the credit for stagingthe competition, as members are responsible for planning,organizing and running the event.According to 2008 Rodeo Queen KaylaWesoloski, a three-year member of theClub, “Club and team members hit thepavement to find sponsors to supportthis rodeo; they truly show what agroup of people can do when workingtogether.”

Nick Burke, vice-president of theClub, stated that the school does not financially support theClub in any way. “It’s up to us to cover our own costs,” hesaid.

Rodeo can be an extremely rough and dangerous sport, a factthat all riders embrace. After watching one bareback rider limpoff after taking a particularly ugly spill, announcer Jesse

Knudsen casually remarked “he got slammedharder than a Jagerbomb on boys’ night out.”

The crowd was in a good mood throughout theevent, and was eager to cheer on their fellowUWRF students taking part in the competition.Andrew Bauer, a senior finance major, said heenjoyed the event even though he had neverbeen to a rodeo before this fall.

“I had a good time. My favorite part was thebull riding,” he said. “Plus, the cowgirls were cute.”

Many families from the River Falls area were also in atten-dance.

Cheri Loeffler, a River Falls resident and mother of three,says coming to the rodeo has become an annual event for herfamily.

“The kids love it. It is a fun event, and an enjoyable way tospend time together with the family,” she said.

Overall, UWRF Rodeo Club members were pleased with theway the competition turned out. “I would say everything wentsmoothly and according to plan. There may have been a fewminor injuries, but that is the sport of rodeo,” said Burke.When asked whether the club is planning to bring back therodeo next fall, he replied enthusiastically, “absolutely.”

The club members are planning additional events at UWRF,including a rodeo roundup in the spring.

Sally King/Student VoiceA rider participates in the saddle bronc competition Friday, Sept. 19. UW-River Falls held its 44th annual rodeo which attractedcowboys, cowgirls and fans from the Midwest. The UWRF Rodeo Club plans the competitions and is in charge of running theevents. The club members are planning a rodeo roundup in the spring.

“I had a good time. Myfavorite part was thebullriding. Plus, thecowgirls were cute.”

Andrew BauerUWRF senior

Sally King/Student VoiceAbove: One of the cow-boys participates in thetie down steer wrestlingcompetition during theUW-River Falls RodeoFriday, Sept. 19. In addi-tion to the breakawayroping competition, therodeo featured barrelracing, bareback riding,goat tying, team roping,bull riding and saddlebronc riding.

Right: A participant fallsto the ground as he isthrown from his mountduring the bronc ridingevent Friday, Sept. 19.South Dakota StateUniversity won first placefor the men’s teamevent, while DickinsonState University in NorthDakota took first placefor the women’s teamevent.