Issue 8 The Current

Vol. XXIV March 5, 2010 St. Petersburg, Florida Issue 8

The Official Student Newspaper of Eckerd College

Where in the world is Gulport?This hidden gem is only 15 minutes away

Arts & Entertainment — Page 12

Shutter Island review

The book and movie compared

Arts & Entertainment — Page 18

The (not so many) faces of HollywoodVanity Fair cover lacks diversity

Viewpoints — Page 8

2 Friday, March 5, 2010

news & features

Executive Board

Managing EditorMeagan Bemis

[email protected]

Editor-in-ChiefPetra Stevenson

Copy EditorEmily Krumm

Director of AdvertisingCaitlin Gerry

Asst. AdvertisingAbby Gestl

[email protected]

Faculty AdviserTracy Crow

Editorial Board

News EditorLaurel Ormiston

Entertainment EditorFrancie Devine

[email protected]

Viewpoints EditorCatee Baugh

[email protected]

Photography EditorsShawn Craine

Erin Linebarger

Sports EditorMax Martinez

[email protected]

Sports PhotographerDoug Thayer

Staff WritersJaclyn New

Jeralyn DarlingJohnny Jones

Sarah MalhotraSarah Yost

Will CreagerAbby Gestl

Shelby HowellKasey KilinskiPalmer Suk

Contributing WritersHolly Eikenberg

Mitchell Ann CrowleyKirsten Sengstacky

Ashley Daniels

• Feb. 19, 2010 •• Vol. XXIV Iss. 7 •

By ABBy Gestl

Staff Writer

Eckerd Alumna Susan Slaugenhaupt headed “The Promise of Our Genome” CPS event on Feb. 22. Slaugenhaupt graduated from Eckerd in 1985, and is now Co-Director of the Genetics and Genomics Unit of the Massachusetts General Hospital Clinical Research Program. In the event, she talked about genetic research and how it works, concluding with her current research on treating a rare genetic disease.

Slaugenhaupt explained the basics of genetics, then moved into a discussion of different types of genetic illnesses. She outlined the basics: such as the fact that common diseases tend to cluster in families, but not all relatives have them due to the natural variation in which traits are inherited. Slaugenhapt then talked about more “complex” disorders that still show an inheritance pattern, but cannot be linked to a single gene and are influenced by other factors such as lifestyle and

environment. Consequently, these polygenic disorders are difficult to treat because it is harder to determine what part of the DNA strand is to blame. Such disorders include diabetes and heart disease.

Slaugenhapt also lectured on the International HapMap Project. Since 2002, the organization has been mapping the human genome in order to track genetic variation. The alumna specifically discussed their use of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which can be used to determine what the one percent variation in human DNA actually is. Genetics can now allow us to answer the question of human migration by looking at DNA variations over time.

Slaugenhapt’s current research centers on Familial Dysautonomia, a genetic disorder caused by a change in one part of the DNA from thymine to cytosine. The disease is tissue specific. Slaugenhapt’s lab is attempting to manipulate the gene and so far they have found that they are able to alter some of the production levels of the corrupt tissue. Soon, they hope to have clinical trials for a treatment of the disease.

CPS event explains promise of human genome

Car Recalls: Are you driving a defective vehicle?

Toyota Recalls2005-2010 Avalon2007-2010 Camry (not hybrid)2009-2010 Corolla2008-2010 Highlander2009-2010 Matrix2004-2009 Prius2010 Prius2009-2010 RAV42008-2010 Sequoia2005-2010 Tacoma2007-2010 Tundra2009-2010 VENZA

Honda RecallsCertain 2001 and 2002 Accord, Civic,

Odyssey, and CR-V models, as well as 2002 Acura TL models. One Honda Pilot and one Acura CL vehicle, both produced in 2002, are also included.

To check if your car is on a recall list, first look up your VIN (vehicle identification number) which can be found on either your insurance identification card, vehicle registration card or at the base of the windshield/top of your dash near the driver’s side.

Check online:• Honda owners: http://owners.honda.

com/recalls or call (800) 999-1009• Acura owners: http://owners.acura.

com/recalls or call (800) 382-2238• Toyota owners: http://www.

toyotaownersonline.com/sscinfo

Friday, March 5, 2010 3

news & features

Eckerd students Take Back the Night

By PetrA stevenson

Editor-in-Chief

Take Back the Night began March 4, kicking off a week of special events and speakers. The Women’s Resource Center (WRC) organizes the Eckerd chapter of the national event.

According to the Take Back the Night (TBTN) Foundation Web site, TBNT began in Brussels during the 1976 International Tribunal on Crimes against Women. Since then, colleges, universities and women’s centers have used the term to sponsor events promoting awareness of violent acts against women. The foundation itself was created in 2001, and aims to end all sexual violence against women.

Although TBTN has been a yearly tradition at Eckerd since the mid-90s, the EC program has been expanded over the last two years, growing from a single-night rally to a weeklong multi-faceted event.

“We do it for a week because it’s such an expansive issue,” said Alex Morrison, club head of the WRC. “Everyone has an opportunity to come out and support it in some way.”

TBTN is historically linked to women’s fears of walking alone at night, though Morrison does not believe that walking across campus at night is a problem at Eckerd. “That’s the difference between going to a small liberal arts school like Eckerd and a large university,” she said.

Most students agree. According to a recent poll, 79 percent of respondents have no problem crossing campus late at night. Twenty-one percent feel unsafe

in only in some areas, or on weekends, when non-students are more likely to be on campus.

“We live in a gated community,” said a male communications major in response to the survey. “If you don’t feel safe here, you will never feel safe.”

A female environmental studies major added, “For the most part campus is well lit, but some areas that don’t get a lot of traffic--- such as near the chapel--- can be spooky at night.”

However, Morrison’s main concerns with campus life are variations of sexual assault and harassment---and even just the way people talk to one another. One especially difficult issue has to do with the fuzzy line between drunken hookups and rape.

“If you see a girl who’s a freshman who’s drunk at Nu, maybe you should look out for her,” Morrison said, stressing that students need to take care of each other. “The problem is that we don’t respect each other,” she added. “And that’s just wrong…it’s difficult to see that we’re the best and brightest when we refuse to treat each other as the human beings that we are.”

Next fall, the WRC will begin a peer-counseling program.

“Sometimes you just need someone to talk to, to make you feel like yourself again,” Morrison said. “That’s what we want to offer.”

She further explained that WRC is more about community than politics, and that the center is open to anyone who wants to use it. “It [the WRC] is about more than just women. It reaches past that. And there are men involved too.”

photo courtesy of eckerd.eduJohn Prendergast spoke March 4 at the CPS event “Rape as a Weapon of War.”

A woman walks alone down a dark, deserted street. With ev-ery shadow she sees, and every sound she hears, her pound-ing heart flutters and skips a beat. She hurries her pace as she sees her destination become closer. She is almost there. She reaches the front door, goes inside, collects herself, and moves on forgetting, at least for tonight, the gripping fear

that momentarily enveloped her life.

—from takebackthenight.org

Take Back the Night Schedule March 4—13

Friday, March 5The Personal is Political: screen printing workshop(location TBD)

Saturday, March 6Get Out and Get Active: a day of service for women’s em-powerment.Service trips include CASA and Girls, Inc. Meet at mail-boxes by 1 p.m.

Sunday, March 7Bagels and Breasts (breast-casting)Fox Hall 10 a.m.—1 p.m.

Dine & Discuss: Body Image3—5 p.m. in the WRC. Lunch provided!

Monday, March 8Take Back the Night Double FeatureMiller Auditorium 6—9 p.m.

Tuesday, March 9Dine & Discuss: Campus Sexu-al Assault: Initiating Advocacy on Eckerd’s Campus.

WRC 5—7 p.m.

Wednesday, March 10Dine & Discuss: Post-Femi-nism in Pop Cuture: From the Spice Girls to Lady Gaga.WRC 5—7 p.m. Potluck—please bring food to share!

Thursday, March 11Men Against Rape. This day is a resource for men on campus to learn more about how to promote respect and aware-ness at Eckerd. Rally 12—1:30 p.m. in Hough QuadDine & Discuss 5—7 p.m. in Student Lounge

Friday, March 12Self-defense WorkshopStudent Lounge 5—7 p.m.

Saturday, March 13Never Stand Apart: Live paint-ing, clothes swap, PRIDE drag show, and live musicHough Quad 6—midnight

Annual event rallies against sexual violence


news & features news & features

Campaign for Eckerd College in full swing

By JAclyn new

Staff Writer

Despite the nation’s economic troubles, The Campaign for Eckerd College has managed to raise $72.1 million out of its eventual goal of $80 million. Although the gap between the numbers looks small, there’s still work to be done to ensure the campaign accomplishes the nine initiatives laid out in 2008.

“The final several million dollars of any campaign are generally the most challenging to raise,” says Matthew Bisset, Vice President for Advancement at Eckerd College.

A large proportion of the money donated thus far comes from trustees. “Our trustees are amazingly dedicated individuals, with their hearts, with their minds, and with their wallets,” Bisset remarked. One of the largest donations was made by the board chair and his wife, Miles and Parker Collier, who offered a $25 million challenge gift. The challenge? To donate. The Colliers promise to match any gift of at least $25,000, which is now known as the Collier Challenge.

The campaign was launched with the intention

to raise funds to further develop several aspects of the Eckerd community. As described by President Eastman,“This campaign is an opportunity for the entire Eckerd community to unite and leave something more behind to further enrich the indomitable spirit of Eckerd College for the next 50 years and beyond.”

“We’ve raised a lot of money toward scholarship aid, travel abroad scholarships, professorships here at the college, as well as areas of capital projects,” stated Bisset.

The campaign priority with the largest required fund is the Center for Molecular and Life Sciences. The building will cost $30 million to construct, with $11 million remaining as of February. The new building is projected to be around 51,000 square feet and will allow Eckerd scholars and faculty to engage in research projects, as well as stay up-to-date on the most recent advances in the international scientific realm.

Another campaign priority is the Center for Ceramic Arts and Sculpture. The future studio will allow for more space to throw pottery, state of the art kilns and private studios for students.

Dear Alumni and Friends of Eckerd College,

The College recently closed its formal 50th Anniversary celebrations. Many of you joined us as we spent more than a year reflecting on the past, at the same time pursuing the objectives of our capital Campaign, which will secure our future. Today, the State of the College is the best in its 50 years and continues to improve despite these challenging economic times.

This is no accident. We have enrolled the largest freshman class in the College’s history, improved retention, filled our residence halls and done it all with fewer resources than most. This hard work, combined with the incredible generosity of our Trustees, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, friends and supporting organizations, have positioned us well.

In fact, last fiscal year the College had the highest-ever Annual Fund, received $9.7 million in gifts and $19 million in gifts and pledges. With a recent gift of nearly $3 million, our Many Experiences, One Spirit Campaign total has surpassed $70 million toward our $80 million goal. We are grateful to all of you who kept Eckerd among your philanthropic priorities during this tumultuous year.

Every year we publish the Report to Donors to show our appreciation to those who provide financial support for the College, and we hope you enjoy perusing this online version, which is contributing to our efforts to reduce the College’s carbon footprint, saving money and providing you with a user experience that a printed document cannot. I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities in this site to learn more about the centerpiece of our Campaign, the Center for Molecular and Life Sciences.

I welcome your feedback, and thank you again for giving of yourself and your resources to Eckerd College.

Donald R. Eastman IIIPresident

A letter from the President...

photo courtesy of eckerd.edu


news & features

Campus raccoons ‘freaky’ — but not rabid

By FrAncie Devine

Entertainment Editor

When sitting outside the pub or walking to your car at night, do you feel like something is watching you? Well there is: raccoons.

Opinion of the raccoon presence on campus is varied. Some students find them annoying and others, adorable. According to an informational series of Wildlife in Connecticut, raccoons are closely related to dogs and bears. Their senses of hearing, sight, and touch are especially acute, and they are skilled climbers. A common belief that a raccoon in daylight has rabies, though possible, is not always true. The informational series states that raccoons go where the food is, and will alter their schedules accordingly. However, “unprovoked aggression, impaired movement, paralysis or lack of coordination, unusually friendly behavior and disorientation” can suggest rabies infection. Director of Campus Safety, Sylvia Chillcot says while she has been director, there have not been any incidents with raccoons on Eckerd campus. But, are preventative measures

needed? According to Ryan Arnold, who oversees campus groundskeeping, “We do not currently utilize any products to deter raccoons and squirrels, mostly because the issues have not been so severe that such a treatment has

been warranted. Otherwise, aside from the occasional trash bag being ripped open overnight, there really isn’t much damage from raccoons.” While there have been no attacks on students, New York Daily Times reported in October of last year that Gretchen Whitted,

a 74- year-old of Lakeland, Fla. was viciously mauled by a pack of raccoons while trying to usher them out of her backyard. Whitted was treated for numerous cuts. This should serve as a reminder to the community that even though raccoons generally have a laid back demeanor, the potential for violence is always present, as with all animals. Eckerd raccoons tend to be inoffensive, but are known to sometimes startle students. Eckerd Alum (2009), Kate Sayer said,

“When I was running one time, six raccoons climbed out of one tree in size order. It was freaky.”

Pinellas County is encouraging rabies eradication, which is most commonly seen in raccoons. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Kameel Stanley reports that animal services, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are dispensing oral rabies vaccination pellets alongside every road within the county for research purposes. Pinellas was also chosen because its rabies program has been successful since 1995, when 30 cases were reported. Since 2005,

the number dropped to zero, and since 2005 the numbers have remained nominal. The next step is to collect blood samples from the raccoons to determine if raccoons have remained healthy. The raccoons on campus, while usually daunting because of size, tend to be harmless, and even funny. Laurel Ormiston, a junior, remembers an incident from a year ago. “While seated on the library steps, we saw a raccoon come out of the trash can near Fox Hall holding a

MacDonald’s bag,” she said. “It pulled out half a hamburger and chowed down.” While raccoons and squirrels are often seen as calm, harmless animals it is important to remember that they are wild and should be given due respect. The best way to avoid an incident would be refraining from feeding them, and to keep a safe distance. Whether you find them cute or a furry menace, they are an important part of the natural ecosystem, and here to stay.

“We do not currently utilize any products to deter raccoons and squirrels, mostly because the issues have not been so severe that such a treatment has been warranted. Otherwise, aside from the occasional trash bag being ripped open overnight, there really isn’t much damage from raccoons.”

—Ryan Arnold, groundskeeper

photo courtesy of Wikicommons

News Briefs

Eckerd College Trustee receives National Volunteer of the Year

Award

Grover C. Wrenn, Vice Chairman of the Eckerd College Board of Trustees, has received the Bill Franklin National Volunteer of the Year Award.

The award was given in February by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Recipients are honored for advancing their institution through fund-raising, alumni relations, student recruitment and the long-term effect of their volunteer efforts.

Wrenn may be most familiar to the student body by virtue of a building: Wrenn House in the Iota Complex is his namesake. Wrenn has a long history with Eckerd College: he was there in 1960 to assist in the campus groundbreaking back when the institution was Florida Presbyterian College. While at FPC he wrote for the student newspaper, participated in religious life and was elected first chief justice of the honor court. Although he transferred and completed his undergraduate degree from Clemson University, Wrenn returned to volunteer with Eckerd College in 1990, making it clear his experiences with Eckerd have had a lifelong impact.

By lAurel ormistonNews Editor

Nominations for the Academic Honor Council

The newly approved Academic Honor Council needs members! Students may be self-nominated, nominated by other students, or nominated by faculty, staff and administra-tors. The council will evaluate cases regard-ing violations of academic honesty and will advise related education and programming. The first term for the council will be fall 2010. Send your nominations to Professor Anthony R. Brunello by Eckerd College Web Mail or through campus mail. The closing date for nominations is March 27.


news & featuresnews & features

By Sarah Katherine yoSt

Staff Writer

Journalist Lisa Ling settles herself at the podium at Mahaffey Theater in downtown St. Petersburg. Her shiny black hair rests on both shoulders. She adjusts the microphone and places both hands along the edge of the podium. She is not here, she makes clear, to talk about the highly publicized arrest of her sister Laura Ling and friend Euna Lee by North Korean military. Ling is here to commemorate The Florida Holocaust Museum and to talk of her experiences that parallel the hatred of the Holocaust in today’s global news.

“Now that you know, you can’t pretend that you don’t.” This was the chilling quote she would leave with us at the conclusion of her recent visit to St. Petersburg where she spoke to an audience of about 900 mostly college students. Ling confessed that Oprah Winfrey had been the one to share that line with her: and as Ling vowed, “I will never forget.”

Gayle Sierens, a former news Co-anchor for WFLA-TV News Channel 8 and sports reporter for Tampa NBC affiliate, introduced Ling that night as someone who gives “ a voice to the voiceless.” She praised Ling by adding, “It comes from witnessing the worst and dreaming of the best of people…we all deserve a voice in the world.”

While some would call Ling an activist, Ling herself affirms, “I call myself a journalist because I

am a journalist. If people consider me an activist, they can certainly do so.”

Ling has had more than twenty years experience on television. She grew up in Carmichael, a tiny town in Sacramento, Calif. Her parents divorced when she was 7. Ever since she was little, she has had a fascination with television: she spoke vividly about how she would pretend to be Marcia from “The Brady Bunch,” making her younger sister Jan and her grandmother the maid, Alice.

At 16, Ling started with Channel 1 News as an intern in a Sacramento newsroom that chose high school students across the country to be a part of the station. Ling was sent with the Red Cross as a corresponding team member. When 21, she landed in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on a hot summer day. She admitted to experiencing a considerable shock when she witnessed young boys carrying bazookas. “What’s going to happen to those boys ten years from now?” she said she asked herself then. “I wonder if this scene is going to come back to haunt us?”

Ling’s voice was strong--clear and confident. She spoke of her experience on “The View,” and how it allowed her to do one of her first stories, a story she covered in China. She spoke of the Chinese government’s One Child law, a law that only allowed Chinese families to have one child. Because of that law, most couples discarded their daughters in hopes of having a boy. Thousands upon thousands of baby girls, Ling reported, were abandoned or

aborted. Ling had become so pained by this fact that she decided to cover it.

Throughout her experiences, Ling referred to herself wearing, “condemnatory American glasses,” meaning that when faced with a story, she had a predetermined, biased opinion already in motion. Ling expressed that the “glasses” would come off after seeing the country or the person’s point of view. She would not so much change her opinion; but alter it to see the other side, stating, “There is no black and white. There are so many layers.”

Ling also talked about her present life, collaboration with “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and the graphic, savage pieces she has covered throughout that collaboration: gang rapes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, and sexual trafficking in the U.S.. Both are stories she believes the world should know about, and learn from.

Ling lastly spoke of her walk of faith, reciting a poem to her audience and leaving the theater with a note of responsibility for the college students. “If you take this time without the hindrance of a spouse—no offense—to immerse yourself in other world cultures, you will certainly have a plethora of jobs available to you.”

Ling’s audience awarded her presentation with a standing ovation as she nodded her head in thanks, and walked off stage.

Journalist Lisa Ling speaks at Mahaffey Theater

Pulitzer Prize-winner Lane Degregory visits EckerdBy lAurel ormistonNews Editor

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lane DeGregory lectured to members of Exploritas Feb. 18. The features writer for the St. Petersburg Times focused the presentation on her article which won her the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 2009: “The girl in the window.”

Safely sequestered from wandering students in the Spoonbill room of the CEC, DeGregory recalled her memories of the summer of 2008. The story of Danielle, a feral child, unfolded: from her discovery at age 6 in a feces-covered room to doctor’s predictions that the best Danielle could hope was life-long residency in a nursing home, to the Lierow family spotting her photo on a brochure cover- a chance glance that led to adoption and new life as Dani Lierow. DeGregory, in February 2008, wrote about Dani’s new life. The article was published in the St. Petersburg Times in July, and the Pulitzer Prize awarded in 2009.

Like her subject, DeGregory herself is a remarkable story. Dressed in a vibrant purple dress, the bohemian garb reflected its wearer: passionate and multi-faceted. Growing up in the post-Watergate era of investigative journalism, DeGregory pursued journalism in a time when women were new to the

work force. She became a thriving writer in Virginia for over a decade before settling down in near-by St. Petersburg in 2000. This was a woman who marched to her own drum. As she spoke, her voice was cheerful and slightly squeaky, her eyes bright and alert. With frequent interjections of humor, DeGregory came across as the type of woman you’d want to luncheon with: girly, gossipy, “Sex and the City,” style. She writes with finesse on a subject as delicate as a severely autistic child just as effortlessly as she dresses. Feminists, rejoice.

The discussion of the story that brought DeGregory to the media spotlight was accompanied by a video of the Lierow family, showing the audience the daily activities Lane DeGregory witnessed from living with the family in 2008. Sometimes, this type of work- called immersion journalism- happens in a battlefield. Here, the battle was of another sort- a struggle to quietly tell a tale (that could easily be tabloid fodder) in a way the reflected the values of the family DeGregory lived with for four months. The Pulitzer she held in her hand says it’s a battle she’s won. The prize, by the way, she refers to as “a crystal egg thingy.”

Throughout the presentation, the elderly audience listened with rapt attention. Not one head nodded off in the darkness of the projected film, and when the lights came on, there was no awkward silence. Questions for the journalist after

her formal presentation came easily and with genuine knowledge, which created a comfortable environment for both lecturer and listener. DeGregory’s presence would be as welcome and well-suited to the Coffee House as Fox Hall. The journalist will next visit Eckerd to speak to the Advanced Journalism class April 20.

To read the text of “The Girl in the Window,” v i s i t h t t p : / / w w w . t a m p a b a y . c o m / f e a t u r e s /humaninterest/article750838.ece.

photo by Laurel Ormiston


news & features

Addicted to tanning?

You might have TANOrExiABy Holly eikenBerG

Contributing Writer

“I hit up the tanning bed because you can’t look good when you’re not tan,” says Eckerd Senior Joe Dabah, after vacating his room in the tanning salon where Jay-Z’s latest hit was blasting a few moments earlier. “Why do you think I moved to Florida?”

Dabah, along with many others, have allotted time for indoor tanning into their weekly schedule. With the unusually cold weeks Floridians have been experiencing this winter, getting a tan has been nearly impossible.

Believe it or not, there was a time when being tan actually used to mean you were unrefined. According to an article on fashion-era.com, “Pale skin was a mark of gentility [in the nineteenth century]. It meant that a woman could afford to stay indoors. Getting suntanned was then considered vulgar and coarse.” Parasols became popular to keep the sun off one’s face during the same era. Other extremes, such as drinking vinegar or avoiding fresh air, were taken to stay fair skinned. Can these extremes be compared to what present day women and men go through to stay tan?

“Tanorexia” is a term used to describe those who are overly obsessed with tanning. Michelle Cook, owner of Tanning Cove on 4th Street, says she has met and spoken with many people dealing with this problem. One client of hers will no longer allow herself to go indoor tanning because she would go to several tanning facilities per day to achieve the darkest tan imaginable. Many of Cook’s clients also resort

to spray tanning because their skin will no longer absorb the ultraviolet light tanning beds provide. Even with a spray tan, many are left splotchy due to sun spots. These are areas of the skin that no longer tan. They develop by overexposure to the ultraviolet light and are treated by medication prescribed by a doctor.

John DeLorenzo has been a client at Tanning Cove since 2007, and is now a part-time employee. He says he likes to go indoor tanning because he does not always have enough time to spend outdoors getting a tan when he is working full-time. “Many men prefer indoor tanning for the same reason. Everyone wants to look good.” When asked about “tanorexia,” DeLorenzo said, “Anyone can become addicted to anything that makes them feel good.”

Popular media, including shows such as “Jersey Shore,” promote tanning to the extreme. Junior David Regidor, a fan of the show, says, “G.T.L. Gym, tan, laundry. Being tan looks good whether I’m at the beach or catching behind the plate. I’m not addicted, but I like some color.”

Becoming addicted to tanning, whether indoor or outdoor, can be harmful to your skin and lead to diseases. Melanoma is one skin cancer related to over-exposure, and it can be fatal. Other less fatal forms of skin cancer, Basal Cell being the most common, are also related to overexposure. Sunburns increase your chances of these diseases. Sunspots and rashes can also develop on the skins surface if you spend too much time in a tanning bed, or at the beach. Sunscreen, sun block and staying indoors are a few ways to avoid these problems.

Although there are negatives, tanning can benefit

the body as well. Mayoclinic.com says vitamin D, which one can get from the sun (as well as other food sources such as eggs and fish) helps maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus It also aids in the absorption of calcium, helping to form and maintain strong bones. Vitamin D may also provide protection from osteoporosis, hypertension (high blood pressure), cancer and several autoimmune diseases. Also, seasonal affective disorder often occurs in the winter when people are exposed to less sunlight. People tend to be in better moods when the sun is shining and do not feel as stressed.

Best advice—take everything in moderation, and that includes the sun.

photo courtesy of WikicommonsDoes “Snooki” promote an unrealistic ideal of tan-ness?

CPS event addresses U.S. and Native American justice systemsBy erin lineBArGer

Photo Editor

Judge Randal Steckel recently came to Eckerd to speak about the differences between Native American and the U.S. government’s system of justice. An ex-public defender in the U.S. court system and now a tribal judge, Chief Judge Steckel is familiar with the ins and outs of each system. By the end of his talk, it was clear the two methods are night and day. He touched on the issues of child custody, child welfare, drug and alcohol addictions, and mental health, to name a few, and the different ways these would be handled in the respective court systems.

Currently, Steckel is Chief Judge for the Suquamish Native American tribe in the state of Washington. His job means caring about the 1,000 or so members of the tribe. As he himself put it, he has to “really give a damn about the people.” Quite a striking statement when contrasted with the U.S. system: where people are often viewed as “just a file” and kids in DSS custody are sometimes shuffled from foster home to foster home. Steckel stated that the Native American justice system takes good care of the kids who must be taken away from their parents, saying that, “Almost 100 percent of these kids are placed with extended family. We do not lose kids to the system.”

A hypothetical case offers an example of the ideologies behind each governing body. Imagine, if you will, that a pregnant woman is taking drugs and endangering the life of her child. In the state of Washington, no one could stop her. There, law dictates that the fetus is not a baby until it is born: at which point, the state could take custody of the child if they deemed necessary. Contrast this to the Native American justice system. There, it’s child abuse. If she planned to keep the baby, tribal law enforcers would prevent her from taking drugs. The officers have the power and responsibility to ensure the health of the pregnant woman and her

unborn child, by whatever measures necessary.

In the end, Chief Judge Steckel said it all boils down to a matter of perspective. Are the people coming through the court system individual people, or just another file to deal with? Anyone who has had to go to court in the U.S. probably knows how rare it is to be treated like a person who will matter once their legal affairs end. Our stereotypical image in the U.S. of the lawyer as a liar and manipulator speaks volumes. There are exceptions of course, but our culture does not encourage caring for others based only on their built-in worth. Naturally, our legal system reflects that.

viewpoints


EDITORIAL

“Amusing

Musings”

“I live in the eternal present—I just float.”

—A creative writing professor on why he never knows what day it is.

“I’d send out hundreds of e-mails—basically spam. I’d spam teachers.”

—A guest lecturer on promoting his grassroots organization.

“I do this thing where I taste termites wherever I go. They taste like what they’re eating.”

—An anthropology professor on eating termites.

“You mean ‘hook up’ in the Eckerd College way?”

—A creative writing professor clarifying the meaning of “hooking up.”

By Meagan BeMisManaging Editor

Vanity Fair (VF) is a maga-zine known for its attention to fashion and upkeep with what’s “in,” but recently the magazine has been criticized for touting the “what’s in” as girls who are all the same: white, thin and beautiful.

For those of us who pay any attention to popular culture, this won’t come as much of a surprise, but the lack of diversi-ty shown on the February 2010 issue cover and center spread sent media critics on a rampage. On the cover were the so-called “new celebrities” of 2010, cho-sen by the editors of VF. Of the nine young women featured, all shared the same, well, features. Most noticeably, the girls were all white.

Even with the strides this country has made the past year, we are still, seemingly, at a standstill when it comes to giv-

ing air time to “minorities.” Col-umnist for Yahoo.com’s Shine Joanna Douglas put it bluntly when she said, “While we’d like to think celeb bible Vanity Fair puts a great deal of thought and planning into its annual ‘New Hollywood’ issue, this year the editors really limited their scope when it came to choosing the next big stars. (Or perhaps they overemphasized the ‘Fair’?)”

It is easy to dismiss this ac-cusation by suggesting, “Well, maybe there just were no mi-nority stars in the works this year,” or “Maybe someone just forgot?” But, when it comes down to it: editors really don’t make mistakes, they choose ev-erything for a reason and they choose carefully.

The editors of VF made care-ful decisions as to whom they would choose to boost as “up-and-coming” and of whom they would leave out. So, the notion that somehow someone forgot to include diversity is out of the

question. And as for a lack of mi-nority up-and-comers, Douglas mentions specifically Zoe Sal-dana (“Avatar” and “Star Trek 2009”) and Freida Pinto of the 2009 “Slumdog Millionaire.”

What blindsided me most about the article from VF is its use of adjectives for describing the lovely women they chose. The adjectives, although well thought out, are completely lacking in diversity.

For example, writer Evge-nia Peretz begins the article in VF about the cover girls as such, “The Cupid’s-bow lips, the downy-soft cheeks, the but-ton nose: 27-year-old Abbie Cornish (“Candy”) has those Ivory-soap-girl features we’re so familiar with, and yet hers is a face it’s hard to stop star-ing at…” These carefully chosen descriptions come loaded with meaning. It’s hard to attribute Ivory-soap-girl features to a

The (not so) many faces of HollywoodVanity Fair shows its true colors by lacking color altogether

courtesy of Wikicommons

See DIVERSITY on PAGE 10

“If you were writing about sex and you were writing sensuously, what woud you want the reader to do? No, don’t tell me.”

—A creative writing professor on sensuous writing.

viewpoints


EDITORIAL

So close, and yet so farBy ashley Daniels

Contributing Writer

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean yet the most foreign to many Americans. Restrictions on travel date back to President Kennedy’s administration in the early 1960s. It was the Bay of Pigs. The Cold War. The Russians were moving dangerously close to establishing a foothold in North America, something we just couldn’t and wouldn’t tolerate. And so we closed Cuba to American travel. And now, talk is that President Obama is considering the lifting of these sanctions.

I was recently sitting outside of El Ambia Cubano, a Cuban restaurant in the heart of Melbourne, Fla. The topic of an open Cuba was on the table, so to speak, between my uncle and me. Uncle Roy was born in 1939 in a small rural town about four hours outside of Havana. My uncle can only recall certain memories of his life in Cuba. He left Cuba at the age of 6, returning only four times, most recently in 1955 to visit family. All of his trips back were prior to the Castro revolution. “Things seemed normal [in Cuba],” he recalled.

Uncle Roy believes in the U.S. restrictions. “What kind of relationships does [America] want

to open up? And what is the American objective in opening up [Cuba],” posed Uncle Roy. “What’s in it for us? Why do we want to open up relations? What does Cuba have that America wants? And to me that answer isn’t clearly expressed, nor can I formulate it. But it should be driven by what is good for the United States.”

During our discussion, Uncle Roy was doing most of the talking since I did not have much of an opinion. Curiosity did strike me, however. I wanted to know more.

In the early 1960s, travel itself was not banned; however, the embargo regulations placed restrictions on any financial transactions related to travel to Cuba. In turn, this resulted in the 1963 to 1977 travel ban under the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACA) issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Since then, there have been many legislative efforts to ease and then tighten

restrictions on travel to Cuba. In 1977, under the Carter Administration, changes were made that ultimately lifted the travel ban. Then under the Reagan Administrations in 1982, travel to Cuba was restricted yet again. This provision, however, did allow for travel-related transactions by certain travelers. Once Bush took office, he tightened regulations extensively, adding new regulations to family visits, educational travel and travel for those in amateur and semi-professional international sports.

Now, under the Obama Administration the restrictions on Americans visiting Cuba are being eased. Cuban Americans can now visit their families in Cuba. Today, the regulations that are in place are less limiting than those from 1963-1977 but are more limiting than those in place from 1977-1982 when there essentially was no ban.

Like all government policy, there’s going to be two sides to every issue. The Open Cuba policy is no different.

According to Mark P. Sullivan, Specialist in Latin American Affairs, both sides feel strongly that they have the perfect solution. But can there be a perfect solution when dealing with a communist country like Cuba?

Those who believe lifting the travel restrictions argue that the ban hinders U.S. efforts in being an influential force on Cuba’s political and economic conditions. They say it is a 50-year-old policy that is irrelevant to modern day. Another argument made by supporters is it threatens the First Amendment right of free speech. They make the point that Americans can travel to other communist governments around the world, for example China and Iran. So why shouldn’t Americans be allowed to travel to Cuba?

According to an Orbiz Worldwide poll, two-thirds of Americans are in favor of lifting the current travel ban. Since Americans are free to travel anywhere in the world, except Cuba, proponents are urging U.S. leaders to reserve the law. In an effort to help the reversal, an Internet Web site, OpenCuba.org, was created for Americans to sign the petition. Currently, the site has 100,000 petitioners, with 7,593 signatures from Florida. The OpenCuba.org campaign believes that “Americans should have the

freedom to travel where they choose, and travel – and the resulting exchange of ideas between people from different countries and culture – can be a powerful force for peace and understanding.” Those in favor of an open Cuba believe it has the potential to build a stronger tourism industry that will benefit the lives of Cuba’s population.

Supporters for the lift of travel restrictions like to point out how human rights activists in Cuba are for the lift themselves. In the Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, Cuban human right activist Elizardo Sanchez said, “The more Americans on the streets of Cuban cities, the better for the cause of a more open society in Cuba.”

Here is where supporters of maintaining the travel restrictions step in. They state that the reality of the human rights situation is obscured in the sense that American tourist will not be engaging with ordinary Cubans. Stating Europeans and Canadians travel to Cuba where they stay in tourist hotel thus having no effect on the human rights situation in Cuba. These supporters already believe there are enough Americans traveling to Cuba for reasons that support the Cuban people and not the Cuban government. They fear that increased American tourists will pour into Cuba , and that the money they spend will go straight to supporting Castro. Ultimately, lifting the travel restrictions will eliminate the U.S. control on Cuba.

For my uncle, the issue of opening Cuba is quite personal. He feels that the Cuban people “have to help themselves” before America can open up the gates to travel. However, Americans are free to disagree with their government, unlike Cubans.


CUBA


woman of color. Ivory soap is, as it turns out, white.

And as Peretz goes on to describe the history of these girls, she eloquently explains their times in Catholic board-ing school and their growing up as the daughter of an op-eratic soprano and legendary theater director.

I mean, most of these girls didn’t have it rough. They didn’t have to work hard to get where they are. Honestly, I don’t think many of them even broke a sweat on their trips to the top. Peretz even refers to Rebecca Hall’s (“Vicky Cristi-na Barcelona,” “Frost/Nixon”)

track to stardom as a “waltz.”

And, frankly, I would have to disagree with the talent of some of them. Anna Kendrick is a pretty bad ac-tress (“Twilight,” “Up in the Air”), and the role she was given in “Twilight” didn’t require much acting. Kristen Stewart (also “Twilight”) has not shown much adaptability in her acting; she’s really the same in every role. Amanda Seyfried (“Mean Girls”) also

didn’t have much to live up to in her role of the “dumb blonde” in “Mean Girls,” yet these girls are being touted as the “hottest, most up-and-coming stars of the decade.”

On the other hand, the hard work of Evan Ra-chel Wood (“Thirteen,” “Across the Universe”) has earned her a place on the list. H o w e v e r , she is given

much less a t t e n t i o n

than others even though she is already an award-winning actress. And Emma Stone (“Superbad,” “Zombieland”) actually dropped out of high

school to pursue acting and worked really hard (with Mom by her side) to achieve her goal sans high school diploma. But, again, she is not given as much attention as those who seem-ingly fell into their careers.

But, what is the real mes-sage Hollywood is sending by continuing to have the same (but different) faces grace the red carpet year after year and patting the heads of those who really didn’t work that hard to get there? Sadly, if you have perfect pouty lips, near-per-fect features, milky-white skin, connections in Hollywood and a super-slim frame, then you just might be the right kind of girl.

DIVERSITYcontinued from Page 8


Parents weekend: too soon, freakishly cleanBy Jeralyn Darling

Staff Writer

I feel like one has to entertain their parents 24/3 over Family Weekend, leaving little or no time to finish a Western Heritage book, write a short story or even write an article for The Current (like the one you are reading). Two and a half weeks after freshmen student returned from winter break, flags were blowing in the air, trashcans were full of dust discarded from vacuums, and parents roamed the campus. My parents were among those visiting. Two weeks after break? Two weeks? I barely had enough laundry to do to make sure my basket was empty before they arrived.

Personally, I’m against the whole Family Weekend thing, but my family only lives four hours drive away. I did speak to a few students who were genuinely excited to see their families, and that’s great; but perhaps next year’s Family Weekend could be in the middle of the semester, not right after break. Perhaps, like other colleges, we could even have Family Weekend in the Fall Semester.

I did enjoy a few things that the weekend brought. The food on campus was delicious. Recycling bins were finally emptied. My dorm smelled like various cleaning products and Febreeze (the polar opposite of when the toilets were leaking last semester). In fact, everything was clean and I love clean things. But, when my parents come, I put on a show. Yes, I do keep my room fairly clean, but when Mom and

Dad are coming, I go the extra mile. Something along the lines of “look Mom and Dad, see how clean I can keep this room? Maybe next semester you’ll help me pay for off-campus housing since I’m so good at cleaning up after myself,” and the sort.

Wal-mart probably loves Family Weekend more than any homesick freshman. Air purifier and scented aerosol sales must skyrocket during the week before parents arrive, because I know what our dorms smell like, and it is not Apple Spice & Delight or Morning Breeze. I admit to using Crisp Linen scent instead of washing my sheets after only sleeping in them for three nights. My roommate’s larger vacuum was broken, so I crawled around my floor using my little handheld dust buster because my mom, go figure, is allergic to dust mites (and shrimp, if you were wondering).

The activities on the schedule for the parents looked sincerely interesting. However, on weekends, my parents prefer to go to bed early and wake up late, so they missed quite a few of these. We did manage to go to the Dali museum, where I saw quite a few other Eckerd students shuffling around with a relative over each shoulder. My mom and dad loved that, as did I but things hadn’t changed much since the last time I had gone (except they took the Lobster Telephone off display – lame!). Dundu Dole African Ballet was a lot of fun and I heard our Improv group did an excellent job, as well.

Parents also meandered around the club fair, signing their students up for random clubs (I am now a member of the Macaroni and Cheese club). I also

saw a lot of visitors in the bookstore buying various teddy bears and blankets; EC-MOM and EC-DAD shirts were a big hit as well. Also, the various sporting events were a nice break after walking around our vast campus (here’s the beach, the library… uhm…).

My parents and I managed to miss every single meal that was planned: President’s Breakfast, Waterfront Luncheon, etc. But, with every family registration packet there was a list of restaurants that were suitable to take your parents. I would like to extend my warmest appreciation to whomever decided to throw that in there because I was getting a little sick of pub food and the occasional Top China run. Go to Moon Under the Water in Downtown St. Pete and order chicken pot pie, that’s all I have to say.

Next Family Weekend, I recommend that students band together to diminish the whole overbearing parent vibe. For example, my roommate and I, along with a few other dorm mates and their families, all went to dinner together. Students sat on one end of the long table, parents and siblings on the other – much easier to handle.

By Sunday night things were almost back to normal here on campus and the charade had ended. Our parents can think what they like about the school we love. I know my parents are convinced that the hallways always smell of potpourri and my hamster does not have the ability to poop. I, however, know the real Eckerd College. We may not be Apple Spice & Delight, but if that’s what we have to tell our parents to help them love Eckerd like we do, then so be it.

EDITORIAL

viewpoints

PerspECtivesQ: What do you think ECOS does?

By erin lineBarger

Photo Editor

“Holds meetings, delegates where the money is spent. They just approved academic honesty court.”

—Samantha Salfity (right), juniorFrank Feretti (center), juniorJoe Michaloski (left), junior

“I have no idea what ECOS does. They send me lots of e-mails.”

—Alie Pickard, sophomore


viewpoints

“They’re the student government. And they provide [cigarette containers] for the campus.”

—Blair Weeks, freshman

“They provide funding for the waterfront.”

—Johanna Ramer(center left), freshman

“I work for them. We plan events for the students. Palmetto Productions is not the only organization that puts on students events. ECOS funds all the clubs on campus and gives a certain amount of money for whatever materials they need. They’re constantly thinking of things to better the community and student life.”

—Ben Flagg(center right), sophomore

arts & entertainment


The age-old debate: book or movie?

By Allie SolAn

Contributing Writer

Maybe you’ve noticed that plenty of movies these days are actually based on bestsell-ing books. There’s “My Sisters Keeper,” “The Lovely Bones” and most recently the Nicho-las Sparks novel, “Dear John.” Let’s not forget Eckerd Alum Dennis Lehane’s “Shutter Is-land.”

While many of these movies turn out to be box office hits, others do not survive largely because they haven’t remained true to their source. What do authors think about the adap-tations? Many authors tend to be disappointed with the big screen adaptations. So why is

it that authors sell the rights to film companies when they know their craft isn’t likely to be preserved?

Jodi Picoult’s award win-ning novel “My Sister’s Keeper “made it to the big screen this past summer and seemed des-tined to be a sure-fire winner at the box office. However, Picoult’s huge fan base left in disappointment, thanks mostly to the significantly dif-ferent ending. The ending in the novel, while surprising, left readers in awe, but satis-fied. The film adaptation was completely opposite and seen as a stereotypical Hollywood ending, which disappointed both viewers and devoted Pi-coult fans.

After the release, Picoult left a message on her Web site stat-ing, “Yes, I know the ending is different, having the ending changed would certainly nothave been my choice. I wrote the ending very intentionally because I wanted to leave the reader with a certain message, and changing that ending changes that message. Yes, I know some of you are very upset. I didn’t change it. The author has no control over the movie, and it was hard for me to accept too.” Word traveled of the different ending, and the drastic change caused the movie to flop.

One book adaptation that was number one at the box office, despite the noticeable

changes from the novel, was Nicholas Spark’s 2007 book “Dear John.” The movie did not fail to attract thousands of sappy teenage viewers, but those viewers who are fans of the Sparks novel noticed the differences between the movie and book, even though most were subtle.

Avid Sparks reader and for-mer Eckerd student Allie Free-man was highly disappointed with the film. “I could not be-lieve how much they changed (the plot of the book in) the movie, vital parts of it too. Like the difference between who lives (and) who dies and the setting (was different). I don’t understand why authors want to see their stories in the

movies if they are just going to be changed.”

Without spoiling the end-ing for those who have not seen it, one major differ-ence that Freeman pointed out was how the movie did not explain the characters’ personal lives before they met each other, which has a huge effect on the rest of the movie/book. While there has not been any feedback from Sparks yet, many fans believe that he must be dis-appointed.

So why risk compromising a novel’s integrity? Is it re-ally all about money? Or a once-in-a-lifetime opportu-nity to see your art brought to life?

VS.

Oscar’s pumped up: more categories, more excitementBy CAitlin GerryDirector of Advertising

On March 7, there will be more questions concerning the Academy Awards than what designer one is wearing. Between revelations made last year and new surprises this year, the night promises a bit of nail biting.

The biggest factor is the new number of nominees for best picture: 10 instead of five. The change was made for last year’s ceremonies because, ac-cording to Melena Ryzik of the New York Times, “…Academy members could not think of 10 good movies, period.”

Months before the announce-ment of this year’s nominees, the question of whether or not to resume doubling the cat-

egory of best picture was in debate. As Ryzik noted, there were several objections to the change because it would lower the award’s prestige. Directors complained, as well. Never-theless, the Academy chose to double the category, and ap-pears pleased with the result: a wide range of movies in the race, which possibly increases the night’s viewer ratings.

The new variety of nomi-nees has Academy members, critics, and audiences alike ex-cited for the ceremonial event. Nominees include: the CGI sensation “Avatar,” the inspir-ing “The Blind Side,” the com-ing-of-middle-age story “Up in the Air,” and the British pe-riod film “An Education.” The collection also includes anoth-er Disney and Pixar animated

film “Up.” “Up” is the first animated

film nominated for best pic-ture (instead of only best ani-mated film) since 1991 when it was “Beauty and the Beast.” More history defying films in the running include “Pre-cious,” based on the novel Push by Sapphire which is the first film with a black director (Lee Daniels) to be nominated for best picture. “Avatar” sur-passed “Titanic” of being the highest grossing movie ever at the worldwide box office.

As any adjustment would, a few concerns follow the ex-pansion of nominees. In light of last year’s 10 nominations, the Academy voting process has changed. Instead of each of the 6,000 Academy mem-bers naming one favorite, vot-

ers are now required to rank the films from first choice to 10th choice. This new system could now change the result of who goes home with Oscar. It is pos-sible that votes for number one could be spread so thin among the nominees that a film ranked more times as number two or three could become the winner.

In past years, an average of 10 films receive various nomi-nations. This year, however, 42 films have received nomina-tions in all the other categories besides best picture. ABC pre-dicts a larger viewing audience. However, because of the num-ber of production companies, seating in the theater may prove to be a challenge. Screenwrit-ers, production CEOs, produc-tion designers, etc., may find themselves excluded from the

guest list. No wonder that with all the

new developments added to this year’s award ceremony, the Academy has recruited two co-medians to host: Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

illustration by Caitlin Gerry


5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

To advertise your event with The Current, contact Entertainment

Editor Francie Devine [email protected]

Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday ThursdayWednesday

Events

March 5—18


6:30 p.m.Int. Cinema Series Double Feature“Nollywood Babylon”/ “The Figurine”(Miller Aud.)

7 p.m.- 2 a.m.First Friday

6:30 p.m.CPS:The Aesthetics of Repressed Masculinity(Miller Aud.)

7 p.m.CPS: Taking Action: Reflections on Service Learning and Social Justice in Africa(Miller Aud.)

7:30 p.m.CPS:From the Holo-caust to Darfur: If We Had Only Learned Our Les-son*Free tickets required (Progress Energy Center for the Arts-Mahaffey Theater)

6 p.m.Int. Cinema SeriesDouble Feature“Funny Ha Ha”/ “Mutual Apprecia-tion”(Miller Aud.)

6:30- 7 p.m.CPS:John Prendergast: “Stopping Child Soldier Recruit-ment”(Studio @ 620)

SafeRide Trial Ends

7 p.m.CPS:Sports: A Bridge Across Racial Divide(Miller Aud.)

7:30 p.m.CPS:Who Moved My Human? Using Satellite and Spa-cial Technologies to Map Humans, Malaria, Mosqui-toes. (Fox Hall)

1:30 p.m.CPS:Poetry with Professors(Triton Room)

5 p.m.Been There, Done That(Triton’s Pub)

7 p.m.CPS:Chasing Tornadoes

7:30 p.m.CPS:Negotiating Peace: The Con-flict in NorthernUganda(Fox Hall)

8 p.m.Open Mic(Triton’s Pub)

11 a.m.- 3 p.m.Career Fair(Fox Hall)

9 p.m.Dana Gilmore(Triton’s Pub)

9 a.m.Photojournalism Workshop with Bradley Ennis and Kristin Harrison

7 p.m.Int. Cinema Series“Beeswax”(Miller Aud.)

11 a.m. Catholic MassWeekly (Chapel)

7 p.m.Ecumenical Christian WorshipWeekly (Chapel)

7 p.m.Waterfront Fire Night(Waterfront)

Crop Walk -See Campus Ministries or Sevice Learning for more information

Take Back the Night March 4- 11

Explore Eckerd


arts & entertainmentREVIEWS

Park Shore Grill: Elegant dining that won’t break the bankBy SArAh KArpfContributing Writer

Downtown on Beach Drive, across from North Straub Park and the ma-jestic Vinoy Yacht Basin, and where gigantic blue umbrellas beckon for an alfresco dining experience, is the Park Shore Grill. Recently, my friend Emily Wright (Eckerd alum ’09) and I decid-ed to wander in for lunch.

A retro-chic hostess joyfully escorted my friend and me to our table. Rich mahogany columns and pearly mosaic tiles of blue, green and purple surround the interior, creating a feeling of move-ment. At the front of the restaurant is a matching mahogany bar dazzled with two large TVs mounted on the walls. Identical waterfalls streamed above the TVs, creating a fun and relaxing at-mosphere. This unique twist gave the sensation of an underwater paradise. I had trouble choosing between Park Shore Grill’s lunch specials: the Ty-son’s Trio and the Park Shore Picnic. The Tyson’s Trio is a 3-course meal displayed on one platter. This lunch special normally consists of the chef’s specials of the day and varies in price. The Park Shore Picnic lunch special is a flat rate of $16, and provides you a salad, main course and dessert.

We started our meal with fluffy warm rolls that steamed and melted

in our mouths with a spread of light and smooth butter. The Park Shore House Salad was a successful start to the meal: sugar-coated pecans and crumbled Gorgonzola cheese on top of a bed of fresh mixed greens, lightly drizzled with a creamy vinaigrette ac-companied by walnuts mixed with dried cranberries; a wonderful con-

trast of sweet and tart with a blast of cheese. Gary, our waiter, brought us generous portions of our main course. I enjoyed the grilled salmon fillet with lemon caper butter sauce and angel hair pasta, and was caught off guard by the pleasant smell of zesty lemon. In every bite, there was a subtle blend of seasoning and salmon grilled to per-

fection. Creamy butter sauce mixed with the capers added a surprise and tang to the pallet.

Wright fancied the sautéed jumbo shrimp with herbs, lemon, garlic and butter tossed with angel hair pasta and sprinkled with fresh parsley. Every spoonful was swarming with a mix of fresh herbs that pleasantly seasoned the pallet against the warm lemon butter sauce. These two dishes, quite similar with ingredients, were pleasantly dif-ferent in taste. The salmon was dressed in a heavier creamy sauce, while the shrimp was more light and seasoned.

Finally, we indulged in a wonder-ful dessert. The only complaint would have to be that there wasn’t enough chocolate. The pearly white plate was delicately drizzled with a raspberry gar-nish. In the center of the plate lay a milk and white chocolate miniature cup with a scalloped trim. The chocolate cup was filled with a raspberry mousse that lay in a bed of whipped cream light and fluffy. According to Wright, “The des-sert was a perfect treat to end a dense and satisfying meal.” The dessert was perfectly balanced: not too sweet, not too bitter. The raspberry garnish add-ed a perfect contrast to the richness of the chocolate and whipped cream. The Park Shore Grill is an elegant and plea-surable dining experience and worth every penny.

By KASey KilinSKi

Staff Writer

Tsunami is a Japanese steakhouse and sushi bar located on 2176 Tyrone Blvd.

As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted by the upbeat staff. It was lunchtime on a Saturday, and there was no wait. We were asked where we would like to sit: a booth, the sushi bar or a hibachi grill.

The atmosphere of Tsunami is warm and invit-ing due to the dim lightning and the friendly staff. Classy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling glowing in green, pink, and blue add to the warmness of the restaurant. The assortment of meal options has the potential to please every hungry customer.

We ordered the Bui Go Ki Beef Bento Box, giving us the choice of the “light” and “full” version. We or-dered the “light” as an appetizer, and were surprised when there was nothing small about the light por-

tion. The bento box was split into sections with an almost overwhelming amount of food. For under $10 the Bento Box included soup/salad, tempura (shrimp, sweet potato, broccoli, onion, and mush-room), rice, vegetables and of course the beef. The always plain tasting white rice becomes deliciously seasoned when added with the vegetables. The beef was so tender it almost melted in my mouth and was served with scrumptious sautéed mushrooms and onions. There was so much food that I’m curious how big the “full” portion would be.

The sushi menu also had many options. The Dou-ble J Roll may be the best sushi I have ever had. It contained crabstick delight, cream cheese, avocado, smelt roe and scallion rolled in rice/soy paper, served panko style with eel sauce and yum yum sauce.

Overall, Tsunami Japanese Steakhouse was a de-lectable experience, especially for lunch which left me stuffed and with leftovers .

Tsunami offers waves of flavor

photo by Kasey KilinskiA lunchbox style meal featuring rice and chicken with sauces for dipping and drizzling.

courtesy of parkshoregrill.com



5000 34th St. South727-866-7200

Eckerd College Student Discount

Medium 1 topping $5.55Large 1 topping $7.77

Medium 1 topping, bread stix, & 2-20oz sodas $11.50Large 1 topping, bread stix, & 2-20oz sodas $13.50

Valid for carryout & delivery($2 delivery charge applies)

By Johnny JoneS

Staff Writer

Ugh, not again.This is what goes through my

head every semester when I have to buy my textbooks. I am sick of spending a small fortune at the college bookstore every semester only to be handed a measly couple of dollars upon the book’s return. If you’re like me and are tired of shelling out an arm, a leg and a potential third vital body part for your textbooks, I finally have some good news.

The ridiculous price of textbooks has driven me to alternate means of acquiring my books that don’t leave me feeling robbed. Here are several solutions to lighting your money on fire, I mean, buying your books from the bookstore:

Colin Barceloux turned his own frustrations into profit by found-ing his own textbook renting com-pany, BookRenter.com. The company rents textbooks for as little as 30 days and as long as

125 days (semester). You can also purchase books through the site for prices generally below retail value.

Chegg.com is another rental site with comparable prices to BookRenter that offers the op-tion to sell your used textbooks through them as well. They ran a clever marketing campaign on campus this February when they taped promotional coupons dis-guised as dollar bills to dormitory doors.

Amazon.com offers a seem-ingly endless bounty of textbook options. The second version of the Amazon Kindle, the compa-ny’s groundbreaking digital book reader, became available for pur-chase on Feb. 23. The Kindle saves trees and has a screen contrast that makes it surprisingly easy to read.

In 1997, UC Berkeley student Anirvan Chatterjee established BookFinder.com. The site al-lows users to search through over 100,000 booksellers’ inventories worldwide. Now people can pur-chase from a selection of millions of books and buy them directly

from booksellers without a third-party markup.

Eckerd College students have re-sponded to the high cost of text-books in their own way: The Un-official Eckerd College Bookstore. Students can join this Facebook group and post textbooks they are

trying to buy or sell. The social net-working site’s setup makes the task of searching for other Eckerd stu-dents looking for your books easier than ever.

Between all of these options, it has become incredibly simple to get textbooks at an affordable price.

Sites provide solutions to woes of textbook buying

courtesy of Wikicommons



Shutter Island: a good read and an intense thrillerBy CAtee BAuGh

Viewpoints Editor

For a while, I thought ev-eryone at Eckerd College made a fuss about Dennis Lehane because he was an alumnus of the college.

Then my parents bought me the novel Shutter Island for Christmas, and I saw what all the fuss was really about.

Wow. If you want a good read and can deal with an author toying with your mind and emotions, you need to read this book.

It’s a page turner in the classic sense of “Thank God I read this over Christmas vacation so I had the time to do nothing but sit in my room and read.” I devoured this book in a day and a half. Each chapter ending provides one more signifi-cant detail of a cliffhanger, so that you have to read on to see what happens.

Part of what makes the page turning so compelling is the development of com-plex relationships between the characters and the accu-racy of Lehane’s detail. The hurricane, the hospital, the migraines and the drug ef-fects are all real and freak-ing scary.

But although this novel keeps you wondering what will happen next, it isn’t designed to keep you guess-ing. You are with protago-nist Teddy Daniels on a wild ride, sure that he will reveal all information in due time. Yet the idea of the informa-tion’s existence gives you a sinking feeling in your stomach.

Until you reach the end, that is. When all of a sudden

the curtain is thrown up and the blinding light of one fact shines on the narrative.

Reading the end of Shut-ter Island is like realizing you need glasses after read-ing the whole book without them. Afterwards you go back and see how every-thing fits into this new, big and scary picture.

That said, the picture of the movie is visually stun-ning. Shutter Island itself sits in the water like some hulking beast, although un-fortunately the heavy-hand-ed music beats you over the head with the idea that the island is bad.

The visuals of Daniels’ past and his involvement in the liberation of Dachau were also handled with beauty

and gruesomeness, which was really the combination needed. Unfortunately, the film did so well with it that it began using the Holo-caust visual in places where it wasn’t called for.

Luckily, the characters of Daniels and his antagonist Dr. Cawley were captured fairly well on film. We nev-er really suspect any of their deep secrets until we need to.

However, the complexity of Daniels’ relation with his partner Chuck was severely cut back for reasons I can’t understand. To me, that ex-change created some of the greatest tension in the book. The movie also cut some of the tensest escape scenes involving near-electrocu-

tion and near-drowning.The use of codes, while

prevalent in the book, were lacking in the movie. Only one of them was present in the film, but at least I can understand that decision-it’s hard to translate the in-ternal workings of the mind onto the visual medium of film.

But the two faults I could not forgive the movie for were the change of names and the ending. Two char-acters who are important in name only were imported from the book, and their names were changed.

Secondly the ending was changed ever so subtly in the movie, but it shifts the tone completely. One line of dialogue from Daniels was

added into the movie, and it is the last line spoken. It changes the final tone from one of futility and despair to one of noble suffering. And as a writer, I know how important endings are. So don’t mess with them, di-rectors.

In conclusion, the movie is visually stunning and generally well done. I know I’m a nitpicker looking for the little details, but if you want a truly five-star expe-rience, read the book.

To get a copy of the book visit amazon.com or your local bookstore. Trust me, it’s a welcome investment that will soon pay for itself because you’ll read it once and come running back for more.

press photo

sports


By Will Creager

Sports Writer

For the second time this season, Eckerd played, and trounced, Clearwater Christian. The first time these two teams met, back on Feb. 11, the Tritons routed the Cougars 20-6 behind Minervo Labrador’s two-homerun performance. The second meeting was not much different, as Eckerd (10-2) won big once again, this time by a score of 35-7.

The game started out poorly for Eckerd, as they allowed four runs in the top of the first inning, two more in the second and another in the third. However, as cold as their pitching started, the Triton’s offense started off hot as they put up two runs in the first on a two-run single by center fielder Chris Clinton, then picked up five more runs in both the second and third innings. Both of these rallies were started by the bottom of the order, and right fielder Labrador hit a pair of homeruns (one in each inning) to cap off the scoring.

However, Eckerd was not satisfied with its 12-7 lead after the first three innings, and continued to add to it. In the fourth, the Tritons got two more runs on an RBI ground out by third baseman Stephen Pelc and an RBI double by second baseman Matt Abraham.

Then the offense really exploded, picking up nine more runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, extending the lead to 25 runs. Eckerd was finally shut down in the seventh, but scored three more runs in the eighth on RBI hits by left fielder Joe Dabah and catcher Aaron Shapiro and a bases-loaded walk from third baseman Kevin Rea. All three were in the game as defensive replacements.

Meanwhile, Eckerd’s bullpen kept throwing shutout innings. After starting pitcher Anthony Katchuk lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs on five hits and five walks, the bullpen settled down the Cougars offense. They combined for 6.1 innings, while allowing no runs on seven hits, no walks and seven strikeouts.

The Tritons managed their 35 runs on 25 hits, a low number considering the enormity of the run total. However, the Tritons were patient and drew 17 walks and picked up 10 extra base hits, including three doubles from Abraham and two doubles from shortstop Matt Heller. They also stole five bases in the game.

To score 35 times in one game, a team needs to have a few players who step up big at the plate. Those performances came from Abraham, the squad’s leadoff

hitter, who went 4-5 with two walks, five runs scored, three runs driven in and a steal.

Heller, hitting behind Abraham, went 3-5 with three walks, six runs scored and six runs driven in. In the third spot was Labrador, who went 2-2 with the two homeruns, a walk, four runs scored, six runs driven in, and was hit by a pitch twice.

The win was a nice way to recapture the team’s momentum after losing their previous game, 9-3 to Saint Leo, in a non-conference match up on Tuesday, Feb. 16. Eckerd still has four more games against Saint Leo this season.

Baseball wins big to continue hot start

photo by Doug ThayerThe Tritons’ pitching staff has been a big reason for its success in 2010.

With win streak at five, Tritons prepare for 15th-ranked Tampa

vs.

What: #15 Tampa (12-5) @ Eckerd (10-2)

When: Friday, March 5 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 6 at 1 and 4 p.m. (DH)

Tritons Baseball hosts rival University of Tampa, currently ranked 15th in the country, for a three-game weekend series concluding with a double header on Saturday. The games are the first Sunshine State Conference matches for each squad.

By Max Martinez

Sports Editor

On the verge of a three game series with the mighty University of Tampa Spartans, the Tritons are in unfamiliar territory.

After easily sweeping a doubleheader last weekend versus St. Anslem’s to run their win streak to five games, Triton baseball is, at least in one respect, ahead of Tampa in the standings. The Triton’s 10-2 start gives them a slightly higher winning percentage than the Spartans (12-5), a rarity in recent years. Tampa won back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007, solidifying its place as a Division II powerhouse.

Despite a poor performance in 2009, Eckerd has put together a strong start that includes a 9-1 home record. While the Tritons have not faced an opponent quite like Tampa yet, momentum is on their side. The Spartans lost their previous two games, to #22

Valdosta State, by a combined score of 22-2. If the Triton’s bats, namely Minervino

Labrador (.404, 7 HR, 22 RBI) and Matt Heller (.423, 17 runs scored, 11 RBI), stay as hot as they have been, they have a shot at upending the Spartans, who have only had two games where their opponents scored more than ten runs. Eckerd has averaged 11.5 runs per game so far this season.

Tampa’s offense has been almost as explosive in 2010 as well, with seven everyday players hitting above .300. Outfielder Jared Simon leads the team with 6 homeruns and 26 RBIs, as well as a monster .390 average. Infielder Brad Roberts, arguably the team’s best hitter so far, has a .406 average to go along with 22 runs scored and 12 RBIs.

The series will be the first SSC conference matches for both schools, and the only conference opponent to visit Eckerd until the last week of March, when Florida Southern rolls into town. Florida Southern is ranked #1 in the nation going into March.

SportsMen’s Tennis

Sunday, March 7v. University of Southern Indiana12 p.m.

Monday, March 8v. University of Indianapolis3 p.m.

Wednesday, March 10v. Post University3 p.m.

Friday, March 12@ Florida Southern3 p.m.

sofTball

Saturday, March 6@ Webber International (DH)1 p.m.

Saturday, March 13@ Flagler1 p.m.

Monday, March 15v. Carson Newman (DH)5 p.m.

Friday, March 19Hillsdale College (DH)5 p.m.

baseball

Friday, March 5v. Tampa7 p.m.

Saturday, March 6v. Tampa (DH)1 p.m.

Tuesday, March 9@ St Leo6 p.m.

Thursday, March 11v. St Ambrose (Iowa)7 p.m.

WoMen’s Tennis

Monday, March 8v. University of Indianapolis3 p.m.

Tuesday, March 9v. Valparaiso University2 p.m.

Friday, March 12@ Florida Southern3 p.m.

Saturday, March 13v. Palm Beach Atlantic12 p.m.

By Max MartinezSports Editor

Growing up in Delaware, you learn some things pretty quickly. The three things absolutely every Delawarean knows, no matter how young or clueless they may be, are simple: Delaware was the first state; nobody outside of a 100-mile radius nobody knows Delaware exists; and virtually nobody important or newsworthy, with the exception of our Joes (Flacco and Biden), comes out of Delaware.

Even then, Flacco is from Jersey and Biden was born just over the border, in Pennsylvania.

So it should surprise no one that upon waking up and checking ESPN.com on a recent Wednesday morning, I was I shock.

There it was, at the very top of the news stories, above professional athletes from legitimate states like New York or California: “13-year-old Quarterback David Sills commits to USC.”

Intrigued by the headline, I soon learned that little David Sills is an eighth-grader at Red Lion Middle School, approximately 20 minutes south of my house in Delaware.

Leave it to a middle school student to put Delaware back on the sports map. The six-foot eighth-grader had verbally committed to the University of Southern California, one of the most well-known, competitive programs in Division I football. Because of his age, USC could not formally offer a scholarship, but a verbal commitment takes advantage of an NCAA loophole.

To put David’s (I refuse to refer to an eighth-grader by his last name) accomplishment in perspective, a typical varsity high school player in Delaware is excited just to get a chance to walk on at the University of Delaware (a Division I-AA school).

Within hours, David was on the front pages of Yahoo, ESPN and The Sporting News. Today, searching “David Sills” on Google returns 1.32 million results. Delaware has less than 900,000 people.

So, with David Sills as the biggest name in the state overnight, where does that leave him? Apparently, in the middle of a national debate on recruiting procedures and ethics.

Without ever entering a varsity football game, or even going to a high school dance for that matter, David was set. Sure, he still needs to play four years of football, pass high school and the SATs, but even with mediocre results, he has a full ride to USC waiting for him.

But how young is too young? Did USC go too far by offering a scholarship to an eighth-grader? Were David’s parents pressuring him or the school to make a decision? Is he really 13, or have we finally found the Danny Almonte of football?

For starters, David is in fact 13, although he doesn’t look it. Standing a whopping six feet tall, David towers over his middle school competition, adding some comedic value to his highlight reel, a video that has garnered over 700,000 views on youtube.

But his height doesn’t negate the fact that, whether his skills on the field show it or not, David is far too young to make a decision regarding college football.

It’s not his fault though. Faced with the opportunity to go play football for his dream school down the road, David did what any 13 year old would do; He agreed to play, and celebrated with some ice cream. If I were offered a contract to play for the Houston Astros when I was 13, with the lone condition being that I had to graduate high school, I would have accepted in a second.

Truth is, most of us would have done what David did. In a way, he made a very adult decision by choosing a college.

Enter Lane Kiffin. At the time of the signing, Kiffin was still brand new at USC, after bolting from the University of Tennessee after one lousy season. Tennessee fans were upset, USC was still in shock from a disappointing 2009 season, and Kiffin needed a distraction, something to keep USC fans excited about the future of the Kiffin era.

Steve Clarkson, a personal coach for quarterback recruits across the country, knows a good quarterback when he sees one. Clarkson has coached Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Leinart, Jimmy Clausen and Matt Barkley. Clarkson’s work has kept him in touch with USC over the years, as Leinart attended the college while Barkley is the current starter for the Trojans.

According to ESPN, Clarkson and Kiffin were talking about a recruit from the Trojan’s most recent incoming class when David Sills came into the conversation. Clarkson, reminding Kiffin

Big prospect from a small state

See SILLS on PAGE 21

sports



By MitChell ann CroWley

Contributing Writer

Eckerd College has its share of avid sports fans. Not only can you find them at sporting events, you can also find them in front of their televisions on any given day, for any given game. Many of us can cite a number of reasons why we watch sports, ranging from the simple to the psychological. At the most simple, we watch because we want to see who wins. On more complex levels, watching a team or a sport satisfies an emotional need to experience the intensity of being a part (no matter how small) of something larger than ourselves. Baseball author George Will summed it up nicely: “Sports serve society by providing vivid examples of excellence.” Eckerd Junior Tom Battey agrees. “I watch sports because I have a pretty varied athletic background, and I appreciate watching athletes play well.” Baseball, football and basketball would be, for obvious reasons, the most popular sports to watch; after all, they are on TV most often. But there is surprising popularity with soccer and rugby, as well. On some Saturdays, groups of Eckerd students will gather to watch Six Nations rugby matches on BBC, or to record professional soccer matches. And during the Winter Olympics, there was no shortage of extreme sports to watch . “I love watching the snowboarding,” says Senior Carrie Coffin. “It makes me want to go snowboarding so badly.” Coffin has been a snowboarder since she was very young.

Battey professes to be more of a fan of the Summer Olympics, “but I do like to watch the luge, bobsled and aerial skiing.” Battey’s suitemate Anthony Gianotti confesses that he does find the Olympics entertaining, but he’s “glad it’s only once every four years.” “I’m definitely more of a baseball fan,” Gianotti adds, “If I didn’t love the Yankees, I’d be excommunicated from my family!” Like Gianotti, most of us have one team we follow through thick and thin. This loyalty sticks with the fan through state and country boundaries, like Battey’s loyalty to both the Florida Gators and England’s national rugby team. The idea of being a fan in a sea of fans spanning multiple continents is both inspiring and intimidating, and adds to the intensity of any professional sport. Of course, the level of inspiration varies. “Watching the Yankees inspires me to drink when they lose,” Gianotti says. Battey, a former baseball player, has a different answer. “Every time I watch baseball, it continues my passion for the sport, since I have had limited time to play since entering college. It also reminds me of the level playing field of competition.” Of course, there are other reasons to watch

sports. Battey’s roommate, Evan Bollier, admits that he is not as much of a sports fan as his friends. “I like to watch sports because it’s bonding time with my friends. I only watch the really big games, like the Super Bowl, MLB World Series, Daytona 500… I really only watch when there isn’t anything else to do.” But even Bollier has a sport weakness: surfing. “I love watching the Hawaii Big Wave Surfing Competition,” he confesses. There is no shortage of watchable sports on television today, from American football to rugby to surfing to (at least recently) curling. When we watch professional, national and even some college teams play, we are reminded that there are other people out there, just like us, cheering on our teams, living and dying for a sport and feeling the passion and inspiration that can only come from, as George Will said, vivid examples of excellence.

courtesy of WikicommonsFans cheering at the start of Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa. The Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event every year, drawing around 100 million viewers each broadcast.

Why we

of his ability to find and produce great college quarterbacks as he did with Clausen and Barkley, said, “Well, I’ve got a kid now who is better than all of them and he’s in Delaware. You gotta take

a look at him.”Kiffin listened to Clarkson and took a look, and just hours later, he was on

the phone with David’s family. By the time anybody knew anything about it, the young quarterback had verbally committed to his dream school, and Kiffin had the news story he needed to make a splash at USC.

Immediately, the media was crying foul. The debate over whether or not David was old enough to make such a commitment was shown on ESPN’s “Around the Horn” the very next day.

But the real problem that may emerge from Kiffin’s recruitment (even if the entire recruiting process took a few hours) of such a young player will not end up being whether or not a 13-year-old can make such a decision. This incident will serve as an ugly precedent for future recruiting strategies. Recruitment of middle school-aged players has been occurring in basketball for a while. Recently, DePaul University offered a scholarship to a 14-year-old eighth-grader.

The world of recruiting in college football is already an intense race for prized high school players. It wasn’t that long ago when coaches only focused on high school juniors and seniors. The rise of sites like rivals.com brought freshmen and sophomores into the mix. Until David, nobody thought of formally recruiting anybody below high school.

That’s not to say schools weren’t aware of stellar players who were still playing in Pop Warner leagues. Matt Barkley was known throughout the coaching ranks around the age of 14 or 15. But nobody called Mr. and Mrs. Barkley to talk about the possibility of Matt coming to their school.

If, ten years from now, we have elite middle school footballers, and I mean the top .1 percent of players, verbally committing to various Division I programs, we’ll know we have a problem. If, then years from now, professional and collegiate scouts start showing up to fall afternoon matches between seventh grade squads, we’ll know we have a problem.

By then, David will be graduating college and entering the NFL draft, unless he decides being the Tiger Woods of football (with or without the mistresses) isn’t the career for him. And when they list his hometown of Bear, DE in the media guides, people will still ask the same thing they do today: Where’s Delaware?

SILLScontinued from Page 20

watch sports

sports


By Kirsten sengstaCKe

Contributing Writer

“You have to have a certain drive for perfection,” remarks sophomore Ashley Daniels. “Each dancer has to try their best to make each move flow into the next one. They have to make it look easy no matter how hard the technique may be.” Daniels has been dancing since she was 6 and this is her first year as a member on the Eckerd College Dance Team.

The Dance Team has become a staple to the men’s basketball half-time shows, but what is dance really?

Is it just the fluid motion and movement of one’s body to a beat, or is it something more? Is it an artistic form of expression that provides entertainment and provokes thought? Is it an example of sheer athletic ability and endurance? Should it be considered a sport?

If you ask some of the ladies on the Eckerd College Dance Team, they would define dance as essentially all of the above.

According to Senior Captain Meghan Meehan-Draper, who has been dancing since she was 5 years old, dance is “an art form that requires an incredible amount of athletic ability.”

Junior Captain-in-training Kelsey Sutherland, who has also been dancing since the age of 5, goes on to explain that dancing is “the movement of one’s body rhythmically in a pattern of steps expressing oneself through music.”

A common misconception that dancers will say

the general public has about dance is that it is not a sport.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, sport is: “An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.”

Don’t even question their athletic ability. Just ask members of the Dance Team. They will say that dance certainly qualifies as a sport.

“It is certainly more of a sport than race car driving, or bowling, or even golf I think,” says Meehan-Draper. “Dance requires so much more out of your body. If you look at the really good dancers, men or women, they are really strong, really flexible and really agile.”

In its beginnings, the EC Dance Team was considered among the student population as a source of entertainment, but not necessarily in a good way; it was allegedly perceived as a joke.

In the 2007-2008 season under new leadership, the Dance Team turned into what it is recognized as today. Receiving the title of best club at Eckerd last year, the members of the Dance Team now hope to eventually compete.

“I get e-mails like every other day from Florida Cheer and Dance Association asking us to compete with them,” says Meehan-Draper, “but we just don’t have the budget to compete.”

Which begs the question: with a growing respect throughout the Eckerd community, should the Eckerd College Dance Team be considered its own sport or athletic program?

The answer is yes for Sutherland.“We have as much dedication as any other sports

team at EC,” she says. “We practice every night, we perform as much as we can, we do fundraisers and we help provide with some school spirit at basketball games.”

Junior Rachel Kraft has been dancing for 15 years, and though she sees dance as more of an art form than a sport, she believes that the Dance Team has what it takes to qualify as its own athletic program.

“We work just as hard as the other athletes and I think people appreciate and enjoy what we do (when they see us perform).”

Daniels agrees. “I really think we have the potential to compete at a high level.” She believes that what makes the dance team a sport in her eyes is “our dedication and passion to perform to the best of our ability whenever we take to the court or stage.”

Being considered an actual sport or athletic program is something that really means a lot to Meehan-Draper, who has been with the Dance Team throughout the transition. When the topic came up, the delight unmistakably spread across her face.

“I definitely think we should be recognized as part of the athletic program. We would attract so many more people to the school if people could be recruited for Dance Team. It would be so awesome.”

To dance, or not to dance?photos courtesy of Kirsten Sengstacke

Left: The 2009-2010 Dance Team. Above: Ju-nior Kelsey Sutherland doing a break-danc-ing move called a Stall.

sports

By Johnny Jones

Staff Writer

The men’s basketball team made one thing clear during its penultimate home game against Lynn College on Feb. 20: they run this house. The Tritons forced the game into double overtime before finally putting away the Fighting Knights in front a season-high 1,059 fans in MacArthur gymnasium on Family Weekend. Senior guard John Harper scored 18 points, two of which came on two free throws with four seconds left in overtime to force the second OT, to help Eckerd (16-8, 9-5 SSC) defeat Lynn (13-12, 7-7 SSC) in a wild 85-82 finish. Eckerd got off to a slow start, trailing 13-4 to open the game. This was mostly due to several unforced turnovers that plagued the Tritons throughout the game. With just under six minutes remaining, Eckerd finally came alive and finished the half on a 9-0 run. The Tritons were down 34-32 heading into the break. The second half was a neck and neck race that included seven ties and five lead changes. With 3:37 to go, Lynn’s Chris Hall pushed the lead to 64-58. On the next two Eckerd possessions, senior forward Zaronn Cann and Harper each sunk three-pointers, thinning Lynn’s lead to 66-65 with 1:46 left on the clock. Eckerd would recover and take a timeout with 29 seconds remaining in regulation. On the inbound pass, redshirt freshman guard Woody Taylor connected with junior guard Lance Kearse on a lob pass that put the Tritons ahead by one with 26 seconds left. Cann swatted Hall’s shot on the following play, but Lynn guard Rodney Kennedy was fouled while trying to recover the loose ball. He missed his first shot before making his second, sending the game into overtime. After an early lead in the first OT, another basket from Hall put Lynn back ahead 74-72 with 1:02 to go. Hall tried to take a three for the win but missed and fouled Harper, who had recovered the ball. Harper hit both of his free throws with four seconds left to send the game into double overtime. In double overtime, a layup by Taylor and a Harper three-pointer gave the Tritons a 79-74 lead with 2:39 left to play. Eckerd maintained a five-point lead until the closing seconds, when a layup by Lynn’s Brandon Kennedy at the buzzer sealed the game at 85-82.

Tritons take down Lynn in double OT

photo by Doug ThayerMackenzie Dawson slides into home in a Feb. 23 doubleheader sweep against Ave Maria.

Wins, losses and a tie, oh my!By Max Martinez

Sports Editor

February may be the shortest month of the year, but to Eckerd softball, it felt like forever.

After splitting their first three double headers of the season, the Tritons (5-9-1) headed into the “Eckerd Triton Spring Invitational” with a 3-3 record and hopes to emerge from the weekend slate of games with a winning record.

Instead, they left having lost all six games of the invitational. Through the weekend, the Tritons were outscored 51-13, and three games were called off early due to the mercy rule. Two of the games, Friday’s match up with Tampa and Sunday’s with St. Leo, were against conference foes that Eckerd still has to face multiple other times this season. Luckily, the games did not count as official conference matches, allowing the Tritons to escape with an unblemished 0-0 conference record.

The final game of the invitational was the closest Eckerd would come to a victory. Unlike previous games where the Tritons fell behind early, starting pitcher Alex Koronkiewicz held off St. Leo’s bats until the seventh inning, providing the Tritons with a chance to take the lead. Kirsten Cox capitalized on the opportunity in the top of the sixth with a single through the middle, scoring Amelia Czelatka.

Only one out separated Eckerd and a win, but

St. Leo refused to go down. An RBI double by Ana Castillo tied the score and sent the game to extra innings. Errors would eventually cost the Tritons the game, as Elysha Agen scored on a passed ball, clinching the victory for St. Leo by a score of 5-4 in 11 innings.

Recovering from a 0-6 weekend is no easy task, but just two days later the Tritons bounced back against Ave Maria, a NAIA school. After losing three games due to the eight-run mercy rule, Eckerd turned the tables and finished off Ave Maria in five innings in game one, and six innings in game two. Pitching paved the way, as Mackenzie Dawson threw a one-hitter in the first game. In game two, Koronkiewicz and Logan Rohrbach combined to throw a two-hitter with seven strikeouts between them.

Softball’s hellish week concluded with a weather-shortened match at Northwood University. An early homerun by Northwood’s Melissa Richards made the score 2-0 in the third, but Eckerd responded the next inning with two runs of its own. Dawson tied the game in the fourth on a double, scoring Alex Sasso. The rain waited until the seventh inning to start coming down hard, halting the game and forcing the cancellation of a planned second game later in the day. It is only the second tie in program history, the last coming in 2004.

The Tritons play their next home game on March 15, in a doubleheader versus Carson Newman.


sports

To dance, or not to dance?

Bats stay dormant as softball drops six

straight.

Baseball rolls to 10-2 record, defeats Clear-water Christian 35-7

Page 22

Page 19

Page 23

photo by Doug Thayer

Sophomore Emily Wiemken swings at a pitch in a Feb. 23 game against Ave Maria. The Tritons won both games of the double header.

sports

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