It comes only once a year, but when it does, all of our eyes are collectively glued to the nearest television screen. In a rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl, both the New England Patriots and New York Giants return to the promised land for the first time since that memorable game in which the Giants shocked the world by defeating the then-undefeated Patriots. Now that these two teams are due to face each other again, only one question remains.

Can the Giants once again pull off the upset over the favored Patriots?

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots come into Super Bowl XLVI with more pressure on them than people may realize. The combination of Brady and head coach Bill Belichick may be the greatest quarterback/head coach combo in NFL history by the time all is said and done. However, if the Patriots again fail to defeat the Giants in the Super Bowl, critics will always point to the fact that the duo of Brady/Belichick could never defeat the duo of Giants quarterback Eli Manning and head coach Tom Coughlin.

On the other hand, Manning has the chance to pass his brother Peyton in Super Bowl victories – something that few would have ever thought would happen. After  having a record of just 6-6 on Dec. 4, the Giants have since caught fire as they have won six of their last seven games and seem to be playing their best football of the season at the most crucial time.

Taking this into consideration,  this once again begs the question: Can the Giants pull off another upset over the Patriots?

While, yes, there is no doubt that the Giants are more than capable of winning their second Super Bowl in less than five years, I don’t see it happening.

Love him or hate him, Tom Brady is one hell of a competitor and beating him in two straight Super Bowls is easier said than done. The Patriots have plenty of question marks on defense, but Belichick specializes in shutting down opposing offenses when it means the most with exotic schemes and game plans.

Therefore, I think the Patriots hang on to get revenge against the Giants and leave Indianapolis on Sunday as Super Bowl champions, winning their fourth title since 2000.

Final score: New England Patriots 27, New York Giants 23.

Follow @ZachMentz on Twitter or email him at

Saturday, Jan. 28 was no normal Saturday for the John Carroll University men’s basketball team (14-4, 9-3 OAC), who entered the weekend one win shy of 1,000 in the storied program’s history. Standing in the way was a talented and tough Ohio Northern University (9-10, 5-7 OAC) team that beat them earlier this season by a score of 82-71 in Ada, Ohio.

Now, the Blue Streaks had home court advantage on their side and from the get-go, they came ready to play.

With 18:26 to go in the first half of play, the teams were tied at two points a piece. From there, the score would never be tied again.

JCU dominated the Polar Bears by playing stout defense and being aggressive on the boards. After a 10-0 run with about six minutes left in the half, JCU had jumped out to a 14-point lead, 28-14, and wasn’t done yet.

The Blue Streaks closed the rest of the first half on another huge run, 14-7, that had them walking off the court at the break, up 42-21.

Junior Kyle Hubbard’s 12 points and six rebounds in the first half powered the Blue Streaks’ offense in the opening half.

As the second half began, the Blue Streaks continued to stay ruthless on both sides of the ball. With just 12:57 to go in the game, a monster dunk by senior Mark Hester electrified the crowd at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center and really laid any hope of a Polar Bear comeback to rest.

The last hurrah for JCU came with one minute to go when freshman Jake Hollinger slammed a thrilling dunk of his own that put an exclamation point on the game. The final buzzer sounded and for an honored JCU men’s basketball program, win number 1,000 was a part of history as the final score was 83-56.

Proud program alumni joined the team on the floor after the game to celebrate the milestone together. A gratified JCU head coach Mike Moran took a minute to speak about what being a part of win number 1,000 meant to him.

“You have to appreciate the numerous quality athletes and people you’ve been associated with,” said Moran. “It’s like a long, long relay race where people keep handing the baton off, and we’ve been lucky that the chain hasn’t been broken. It opens your eyes to the beauty of the program, the kids, and the University itself.”

The 27-point rout was the largest margin of victory for the Blue Streaks this season as a strong overall team effort showed just how dominant JCU can be. Five players finished with double-digit point totals and JCU out-rebounded ONU 41-26 on the day.

Perhaps the most impressive performance of the game though went to junior Kenny Janz, who finished the game with his first career double-double as he recorded 10 points and 12 rebounds.

“We all knew that we had to play aggressive, and with a chip on our shoulder, because we’ve lost to them three out of the last four times,” said Janz.

With five Ohio Athletic Conference games left on the schedule, John Carroll can write their own destiny for the conference tournament as they currently remain in a tie with Capital University for first place. The top seed in the conference hosts the OAC tournament at the season’s end.

“Our consistency right now is so important,” Hubbard emphasized when talking about the team’s remaining schedule. “In the past we’ve won three games and then we’d lose and right now we can’t let that happen. We’ve just got to ride the train all the way to the top.”

Next up for the Blue Streaks is another OAC game at Otterbein College this coming Saturday, Feb. 4. Tip-off will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Westerville, Ohio.

With the loss and a Muskingum victory over Heidelberg on Saturday afternoon, the Blue Streaks fall into a tie with the Fighting Muskies for eighth place in the Ohio Athletic Conference, which is the lowest a team can finish in order to be eligible for the postseason OAC tournament.

The Blue Streaks (6-12, 3-9 OAC) were paced by sophomore standout Missy Spahar, who had a team-high 20 points and five rebounds. Her performance marks the 10th time in her career she has finished with 20 or more points in a single game. Spahar is also in the top three in the OAC in both points and rebounds per game.

As a team, the Blue Streaks remained competitive throughout the first half. A layup by freshman Meghan Weber at the nine minute mark put the Blue Streaks up by three for the meantime, 16-13. The Polar Bears would then quickly respond, closing out the half on a 14-6 run going into halftime with only a 27-22 lead.

The Polar Bears would, however, continue right where they left off at the end of the first half. ONU came out of the second half gates with a vengeance as they reeled off an 11-2 run over the span of the first four minutes of the half. Then, with a little under seven minutes left to play, the Polar Bears led by as many as 26 points, having outscored the Blue Streaks 34-13 in the first 13-plus minutes of the second half.

Ohio Northern (16-3, 10-2 OAC) was led offensively by junior Morgan Dumbaugh who had a game-high 22 points. Sophomore forward Cenzie Yoder and senior forward Kara Dysert each hit double figures in rebounding, combining for 23 total boards. Ohio Northern out-rebounded the Blue Streaks by a final count of 45-32 on the day.

Missy Spahar aside, there was really no offensive spark from the Blue Streaks. The Polar Bears defense, which ranks second in the OAC, held the Blue Streaks to 29.4 percent shooting from the floor, including also holding them to only 20 percent from the land of three.

One impressive superlative though for the Blue Streaks was their 93.3 percent shooting percentage from the foul line, marking their best shooting performance from the charity stripe all season. They went 91.7 percent from the line on Jan. 21 against Capital University. Sophomore Allie Lustig, who leads the OAC in assists per game with 4.9, continued her offensive efficiency as she recorded five assists in the loss to ONU.

With six games left to play in the regular season, the Blue Streaks began a three-game homestand last night when they hosted last place Heidelberg University. They will next face off with the Otterbein College Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center. Sophomore forward Hilary Liwosz scored a career-high 20 points in their last meeting on Dec. 17 in Westerville, Ohio. The Cardinals defeated JCU, 72-64.

Coming into the Invitational, the Blue Streaks had won three of their previous four meets and seemed to be finding their collective groove as the regular season begins to wind down. Upon arriving in Wheaton,  the Blue Streaks used their recent success as momentum as JCU ended the weekend by finishing in 11th place out of the 31 teams at the tournament. Considering the Blue Streaks left Illinois last year by finishing in 22nd place, the more recent mark of 11th an impressive placing in its own right.

Senior Sean Gill led JCU on the weekend as he was the highest placing Blue Streak, finishing in fifth place in the 165-pound weight class with a record of four wins and two losses. Freshman Terner Gott competed in the 157-pound weight class and took sixth place after finishing with three wins and one loss on the weekend. The lone loss for Gott came to the top seed in the 157-pound weight class, Elias Iarson of Trine University.

Despite being unseeded, both junior John Cobos and senior James Nemunaitis finished in seventh place in their weight classes, wrestling in the 125-pound and 197-pound weight classes, respectively. Both Cobos and Nemunaitis finished with four wins and two losses on the weekend.With 62 total team points, the Blue Streaks finished one spot ahead of No. 21 Elizabethtown College.

Next up on the Blue Streaks’ schedule is a bit of a drought as the team will not compete again until Friday, Feb. 17 when they play host to the Muskingum University Fighting Muskies at home in the DeCarlo Varsity Center. The meet against Muskingum will be the Blue Streaks’ last regular season competition before the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships take place on Saturday, Feb. 25 in Tiffin, Ohio

Both the men’s and women’s teams finished in fourth place out of five teams, but still had plenty of impressive performances to hang their hats on.

On the women’s side of the bracket, sophomore Anna Busta edged out two of her teammates to claim first place in the 3,000-meter run, finishing with a time of 11:06.63. Freshman Bridget Hanna and sophomore Alyssa Singer finished narrowly behind Busta, claiming second and third place with respective times of 11:06.75 and 11:16.07.

Hanna claimed first place for the Blue Streaks in the one-mile run, finishing with an impressive time of 5:25.63.

Sophomores Gab Kreuz and Nicki Bohrer also picked up important victories in the distance events as Kreuz won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:25.93 while Bohrer took first place in the 1,000-meter run, finishing with a time of 3:10.01. Freshman Danielle Sample also picked up important points for the Blue Streaks on the day, winning the triple-jump event with a distance of 10.75 meters.

Overall, the women’s team finished fourth as a team in the meet, behind host Baldwin-Wallace (218), Mount Union (189.5) and Ohio Northern (117.5). Heidelberg placed fifth with 42 team points.

For the men’s team, the Blue Streaks were led by junior Pat Burns and senior Will Rial in the 3,000-meter run. Burns finished in first place while Rial took second place in the event, finishing with respective times of 8:59.78 and 9:05.12.

Junior Mike Minjock also turned in an impressive performance as he took first place in the long jump event, recording a distance of 6.46 meters. Sophomore Cory Biro sealed fourth place in the 55-meter hurdles by clocking a time of 8.04 seconds. Freshman Rocky Mitolo also picked up points for the Blue Streaks by finishing fourth in the shot put event.

The men’s team finished in fourth place overall with 103.5 total points on the day. The Blue Streaks finished fourth overall behind Mount Union (201.16), Ohio Northern (188) and Baldwin-Wallace (137.33) while Heidelberg University took fifth with 90 points.

Busy schedules continue into next weekend as both teams will compete in the University of Mount Union Jim Wuske Invite on Saturday, Feb. 4 in Alliance, Ohio.

The Blue Streaks men’s team came into the event having won three of their last four meets, including four of their last six, and were looking to add another “W” to their tally. Luckily, the Blue Streaks were able to accomplish that task as they defeated the Yellow Jackets by a meet score of 124-104 on the day.

Freshman David Calcaterra was able to spark the Blue Streaks scoring efforts as he finished in first place in the 1,000 Free event with a finish time of 11:10.97. Senior Brennan Schloendorn finished in first place in the 200 Free event with a time of 1:48.04 while fellow senior Alex Vereshchagin also picked up an important win in the 50 Free with an impressive time of 21.97.

From there, the Blue Streaks (7-5, 3-1 Ohio Athletic Conference) finished in either first or second place in eight of the nine remaining events, thus sealing the victory for JCU on the men’s side of competition.

While the men’s team was able to pick up the always needed win over Baldwin-Wallace, the women’s team was not to be outdone as they also defeated the Yellow Jackets by a final meet score of 142-90. Since beginning the season by losing each of their first five meets, the Blue Streaks (6-7-1, 2-2 OAC) have since gone 6-2-1 in their last nine meets, and continued that same type of high grade performance against Baldwin-Wallace.

The combination of the Adams sisters, junior Julia Adams and freshman Karyn Adams, proved to be lethal as they each took first in their respective events to start the meet. Julia Adams claimed first place in the 1,000-meter Free event with a time of 11:32.31 while sister Karyn finished in first place in the 50 Free event with a time of 25.78. Freshman Victoria Watson also clocked in at first place in the 200 Free event with a finish time of 2:02.74.

Senior Brittany Krauth turned in another impressive performance, as she has done all season, as she picked up the win in the 200 Butterfly event with a time of 2:20.01. Freshman Danielle Ketterer placed second in the 1 Meter Diving event with a score of 219.35 while senior Melissa Fillmore also took second place in the 200-yard Breaststroke with a time of 2:37.17.

Once again, freshman Karyn Adams took first place in the 100 Free event (55.91) while sister Julia also picked up another first place finish in the 200 Backstroke (2:16.55). Sophomore Rachel Libertin rounded out the impressive individual finishes for JCU as she took first place in the 500 Free event with a time of 5:36.04.

After celebrating Senior Day in spectacular winning fashion, both Blue Streaks teams officially commenced the 2011-12 regular season and will now shift their focus towards the postseason. Both JCU teams will next compete in the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships held in Akron, Ohio from Thursday, Feb. 16 through Saturday,  Feb. 18.

The original Social Security Act was passed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat. Medicare and Medicaid were created under the Social Security Act of 1965, an amendment to the aforementioned legislation, under the Democratic administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Furthermore, the Democrats, again under President Johnson, ushered in an era of racial equality and ousted the discriminatory ways on the past when they passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, simply amazing. My point is Democrats have traditionally, and historically, been the catalysts behind the major social and financial reforms in this country’s short history. As for your Republican examples, Gov. Pataki and Gov.Christie, and let’s remember that under Gov. Pataki, mismanagement of the state budget led to an increase of $33 billion in state spending, not exactly the best track record. In regards to Gov. Christie, in the Tax Foundation’s 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index New Jersey was ranked the last state in the Union, “New Jersey scores at the bottom by having the third-worst individual income tax, the fifth-worst sales tax, the 13th-worst corporate tax, and the second-worst property tax.”

I digress.

Why has President Obama done a terrible job? What hasn’t he achieved while in office that he didn’t promise on the campaign trail? Give us examples and stop this empty rhetoric that does nothing for civil discourse other than push the bumper-sticker GOP slogans. Are there things President Obama could do better? Absolutely. But, I’m afraid you are blinded by the tunnel-vision displayed by the Republican Party. You talk about invoking President Reagan and his pragmatic approach, well then, why won’t Republicans come to the table on issues of higher taxes for millionaires, job creation, education reform and lowering but tightening the corporate tax rate? It would be pragmatic of them, or is that only when it’s something Republicans are pushing?

Regardless, Sam, articulate your points a little better, do your homework before writing a commentary of this topic and stop with these baseless claims on ineffectiveness. Your logic was the only thing ineffective in this commentary.

I can never fathom why anyone would want to ban any book, but I was especially shocked to hear the great bard had fallen victim.

Curious as to what other books were thought unfit for students, I looked it up. Among the banned and challenged classics listed on the American Library Association’s website were F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22” and Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”

Also on the list: “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee (one of my all-time favorite books). I read it for the first time in sixth grade and many of the themes were difficult to comprehend completely. It’s a story that confronts major issues: racism, rape, treatment of the mentally ill, and injustice.

It was a difficult first read, but because it was challenging I went back to read it for a second, third and fourth time.

Many of these books are censored for various reasons: violence, sexuality, language, or controversial viewpoints. They make people uncomfortable and I think that is exactly why they shouldn’t be banned.

The best works are those that make their readers or audience a bit uncomfortable. They take us out of our comfort zones and teach us something new.

Some of my favorite works were those that made me a bit uncomfortable, but they gave me a new perspective. Sometimes they teach me about a different culture or group of people, transport me to a new world or make me confront difficult issues.

I think it’s funny that in a country where we espouse the value of free speech, we ban literature. If we allow students to read these books, expose them to viewpoints that perhaps aren’t orthodox, but teach them to read it critically, we teach them to evaluate other points of view. Isn’t that what an education should do? Shouldn’t we teach students to challenge what they think they know? Censorship only undermines that goal.

Censorship is a slippery slope; we risk losing that right which we hold most dear (speech) and by banning books, rather than protecting students, I think we harm them.

We should challenge them to read controversial books critically. It tends to be in the controversial works that the most powerful statements are made.

I am grateful to have been exposed to great works that may be questionable to a few. These are the ones that taught me the most about life, the world and human beings.

Many of our daily practices are performed on almost a subconscious level. We are guided by our intuition and our automatic evaluation and reaction in most situations. This employs the reasoning capabilities of the brain and most of our reasoning is based on experience. This experience can be a real-life encounter or be absorbed from the experiences or teachings of others. Thus, our instincts are not ingrained naturally as some might think, but rather they can change as our lives change.

The knowledge we have gained over time is liable to be false if the experiences that have been taught to us are faulty. Life experience isn’t usually able to be checked on Wikipedia. Your gut feeling can be wrong.

I wouldn’t say that I am the ultimate authority on life, but I do tend to adopt lifestyle choices that many find to be counter-intuitive. Many who do this might be called “indie,” “hipsters” or “non-conformists.” However, I do not blindly go about doing things only because they defy convention. I just happen to find that convention sees things backwards a lot of the time.

The most significant example of this is pain and suffering. It is normal to think that pain is a bad thing. After all, it hurts. Have you ever thought about what that pain means? Surely, it means you just took a fist to the face or something of the like. But what is your body doing when you feel pain? You might be surprised to find out it is actually doing good things.

When you feel physical pain, your brain is receiving messages to protect that area because it’s already damaged enough and needs to heal. You can take anti-inflammatories but that only encourages you to further damage the injury. Inflammation has a beneficial purpose. When something gets swollen, blood carrying leukocytes will be cleaning up the injury site, mopping up pathogens and healing the injury.

There is a similar correlation to emotional pain. You feel emotionally torn up because something has damaged you. You might get reclusive because you don’t want to experience further suffering.

The point is that pain and suffering, both physical and emotional, is a sense natural and necessary to life. Perhaps it should be avoided, but it happens unexpectedly sometimes. Unless you know what the true meaning behind the suffering is, chances are you won’t conduct yourself in the most beneficial way possible if it is encountered.

The neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl was an important figure in existential therapy, more specifically “logotherapy.” Among the main principles of his methods is finding meaning in life even in times of suffering. This isn’t to say that everything happens for a reason, but that something can be gained from every situation. We also have freedom to find meaning in what we do and experience, even if these bring suffering beyond our control.

According to Frankl, “We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: 1) by creating a work or doing a deed; 2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and 3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.”

We can’t always control what we are being taught and the things by which we are influenced. However, we always have the power to change the way we view things. This can be as simple as tweaking the minute ways you live your life so that you are smarter, healthier or stronger. It can also be as complex as dealing with deep emotional turmoil. Essentially, we shouldn’t go about life like sheep, blindly accepting influences and conditions. Instead, find your own way of going about things.

Having doubts about the legitimacy of this method?

It got Frankl through almost three-and-a-half years in a concentration camp.

Unless you are trying to defend a murder case in court and you are referencing your knowledge of the rules of a good perm, then I don’t see what the appeal of Cosmo is. And since most girls aren’t Elle Woods, it just seems like a dirty magazine to me.

Playboy, Hustler and magazines of the like are often criticized for such obtuse objectification of women. They are kept behind the counter and you must be 18 to purchase them. After all, it would be just awful to expose minors to such risqué content!

But maybe pictures aren’t the only content that can have this effect. Words are powerful. As the saying goes, “The pen is mightier…” And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the word “penis” is hidden in that common phrase.

I know – sex sells. I am not saying that Cosmo shouldn’t do what it does. Its very good at it, and it knows how to sell its product. But as Cosmo readers, you have a duty to yourselves to be wary of what you believe.

I happened across a recent issue and flipped through the pages. As they say, it’s good to know what the enemy is thinking; so naturally I had to find out what you girls are reading.

What I saw was simply astonishing. And kind of gross, if I do say so myself.

One article advised that you will turn your man on if you tell him, “your abs are so lickable.”

Never ever, ever, ever, ever say this. Ever.

If you have to say this to turn your guy on, please, find another guy.

And this isn’t the only reproachable advice that Cosmo provides. So many of Cosmo’s pages are filled with fallacy. So I caution you ladies to be very careful when discerning what to believe in these tempting tabloids.

Now, some Cosmo girls have told me that they subscribe to the magazine mainly for its fashion sections. Well, as I browsed the pages, I came across one title of particular interest: “Shoe Addict –Points for sex appeal.”

Hold on a second. If you’re going for sex appeal, don’t attach a skinny 6 inch spike to the bottom of your heels. That’s not sexy, that’s terrifying. Plus, it just seems impractical. How do you walk in heels like that?

Trust me, a decent guy will find qualities other than how high your heels are or how short your dress is to be the attractive ones. So don’t break your ankles skankifying yourselves for the myth of sex appeal. If you look remotely like a woman, chances are very good that you’re already turning us men on.

Now don’t get me wrong – I did find one page with good advice on it, so I guess the magazine isn’t all gutter-minded malarkey.

This one article, tucked at the bottom of an obscure page in small print, offers nonsexual moves that can “bring you two closer.” Such moves include snuggling under a cozy blanket or going out for a delicious dinner.

As a guy, that sounds like a very lovely evening. No heels necessary, and the dirty talk can sexify somebody else’s bedroom.

So ladies, if you’re looking for actual advice on sex, love and dating, I wouldn’t refer to Cosmo. Instead, try looking inside your own heart – you’ll know if your man is worth it (whether emotionally or sexually).

And your heart doesn’t cost you $3.99 a month.

Apparently, the beard wasn’t growing on him that much.

While I agree with my fellow staff member that “occasionally, we must don a little furriness to assert our true masculinity,” I value being clean-shaven. Here are some thoughts on not looking like I have a furry animal on my face.

The Biblical figure Samson needed his long hair to keep his strength. But, in many cases, the beard is not man’s best friend. Alexander the Great, the king of Macedon and famous Greek military leader, was unique among his contemporaries because he kept a clean face. He reportedly told his soldiers to do the same, out of fear that their combatants would grab hold of their beards to easily kill them.

St. John the Apostle is often depicted in art without a beard to represent his youth. If this really was the case nearly 2,000 years ago, then he was one smart disciple. Why blend in with the other 12 when you can stand out with a clean face?

And who said having a beard automatically meant wisdom? Peter, the “rock” on whom Christ would build His church, was consistently rebuked for saying the wrong things. Thomas doubted Jesus’ resurrection. Both are depicted in art as having beards, but lacked in the faith department. Meanwhile, John wrote a gospel, a few letters and a book about the end of the world. He even is referred to as the “beloved disciple,” which might mean he earned some brownie points from God for keeping a shaven look.

While a man may grow a beard to take pride in his masculinity, being clean-shaven also makes a statement to the ladies: I take pride in looking good, and I value the importance being well-groomed. A man can have confidence in his appearance by flaunting his youthful look. And I’m pretty sure the ladies would rather kiss a man’s smooth cheek rather than a scruffy one.

I’ll admit it – Mr. Bayer’s list of famous beard-wearers is impressive. But, I think I can top it with a list of clean-shaven figures: every U.S. president since William Howard Taft, the Dalai Lama, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, my father, Bob Noll, Mick Jagger, Fr. Niehoff, Babe Ruth, Seth Meyers, John Belushi, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, Tom Brokaw, Hercules (the Disney version), Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Aladdin and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Now, while I believe a clean face is the way to go, I concede that certain events warrant some amount of facial hair. “No-shave November” and “Jesus beard January” are perfect examples of months where a fast from shaving is necessary. If your favorite hockey team is in the Stanley Cup playoffs, then show solidarity with the players in growing out your beard, just as they do. Planning to spend some time camping in the woods? Your shaver is one thing I think you could live without for a bit.

So, even if growing a beard might be cool for a week, or a month, or a year, I highly suggest keeping your face baby-like. No need to grow up – and grow a beard – too quickly. Let your clean-shaven face shine for all to see.

If you don’t, then you might have a hairy situation on your hands.

Students are always saying that they wish the sporting events at John Carroll drew in as much of a fan base as they do at bigger schools. This makes sense because sporting events can make the University money, create a community bond and make the overall experience of college more enjoyable. With all this being said, I have a question myself: if so many people wish sports were a bigger deal, why do so few people attend them?

It’s true that John Carroll is a Division III school so our student body is much smaller than that of a Division I or II school. But we still have great teams to come out and support.

The football team finished .500, the men’s basketball team is currently 14-4, men’s soccer finished 12-8, women’s soccer finished 14-8, hockey is currently 15-9 and softball finished 26-14. Not only did very few people attend any of these team’s games, even fewer knew when the games were. Great teams deserve great fans. What better incentive is there to watching your school play than knowing that you’ll be watching a winning team? Yes we go to a small school, but the level of attention that sports get is decided by us, the student body.

Attending sporting events not only benefits the students in the stands, but also the athletes playing. As a former high school athlete I know I always played better when I knew someone I cared about was watching. Even if you’re not a sports fan, if all your friends were attending a basketball or hockey game, you would probably go too. This would open up doors to meeting new people and making more friends.

If students came out to support John Carroll, this would increase school spirit and make students prouder to be a Blue Streak.

In addition to good times and new friends, the money that you pay to get into games will go to the University. That means better facilities, more on-campus events, more of all kinds of things that increase your well being at John Carroll.

So next time you’re watching a Division I basketball or football game, and you think to yourself “I wish John Carroll sporting events were like that,” make it happen. Find out when the games are and spread the word, bring friends, make T-shirts, get the student section rowdy. If you’re on a sports team, make yourself known, tell people when the games are and get them hyped about them.

So we’ll never have the same fan base as Notre Dame, who cares? Make sports a big deal at John Carroll by changing things up. If a few people lead, others will follow.

This is clearly something that a large part of John Carroll’s student body wants, because I know I’m not the only one that hears people complain about sports not being a big enough deal here. Sporting events can really enhance the social experience of college and benefit everyone involved. If you want sports to be a big deal at Carroll make them a big deal.

Go Blue Streaks!

Previously violations were sent directly to the hearing board. The aim of this change is to build a relationship between the residents and the area coordinators. The hope is that this will make more of a learning experience out of disciplinary action and consequently decrease the likelihood of violations occurring again.

When a rule is violated, the point of discipline is to enforce the idea that breaking the rules has consequences. Sanctions are in place to dissuade violators from repeating the wrong action. However, this message is sometimes not powerful enough. By talking with residents instead of just punishing them, a more personal and direct impact will be placed on students, which will accomplish the goal of this change.

When making this change, Student Union was not originally involved in the process. This goes against what Residence Life and the Dean of Students hope to accomplish by showing a disconnect between the students and administration and the governing bodies of the student body.

By decreasing the influence of the hearing board in decisions, the perspective of students is being removed from the decision making process. Hearing board officers already must abide by the minimum sanctions laid out by Residence Life, essentially making the hearing board useless.

To improve the disciplinary processes of this University, the role of a student’s peers should be increased. The perspective of students should also carry more weight when decisions are being made. Not considering this is not taking appropriate measures to ensure justice is reached.

Ensuring students learn from their mistakes is very important. But, inserting more outside powers in a situation only distances the students from their government.

The tax takes 6.2 percent of a person’s income and uses it to pay for Social Security benefits. The proposed cut would drop this down 2 percentage points and would benefit over 160 million Americans. The cut will also not have any effect on a person’s future Social Security benefits.

Congress passed an extension of this tax cut right before they took their holiday break but that extension only lasts two months. It will expire on Feb. 29. If the policy is not renewed it would raise the taxes for those 160 million Americans. Four million Americans may even lose their unemployment insurance benefits.

House and Senate meetings began on Tuesday to figure out how to finance the 2 percent tax reduction.

“We should be able to get it done,” said Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz). “The Joint Select Committee identified a lot of good offsets and so the opportunity for us to get it done is there.”

Other Republicans are also optimistic about the extension. “There’s a broad agreement on doing the payroll tax holiday through the end of the year. Republicans and Democrats agree on that,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “The problem is the paying for it.”

Republicans want to include job creation measures. Part of those measures is to create the Keystone pipeline, which would stretch  from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Republicans also want less environmental regulations for businesses.

The Democrats’ counterproposal is to place additional taxes on millionaires. The fear is that the ideological differences will lead to brinkmanship. But even Republicans leaders believe they will overcome these obstacles.

“We are in a formal conference with the Senate, and I’m confident that we’ll be able to resolve this fairly quickly,” said Speaker of the House John Boehner.

But Republican confidence rests on the assumption that Obama will agree to make the concession of the pipeline. No agreement has been made yet.

Obama may need to compromise considering the payroll tax cut is his “most pressing matter,” according to his spokesman Jay Carney. Obama plans to fully push for the extension in Congress in the upcoming weeks.

“This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and those who are struggling to get into the middle class,” said Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Alan Krueger. “While the continued expansion is encouraging, faster growth is needed to replace the jobs lost in the recent downturn and to reduce long-term unemployment.”

Expanding the payroll tax cut would be “key to avoiding recession,” according to Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, a financial risk management firm.

The economy will be the biggest determining factor for the 2012 elections. If Obama and many Americans want to retain their current living situations, Washington must make the necessary compromises to get the economy rolling.

The president asked an online town hall questioner Monday to send him her husband’s  résumé, insisting he wanted to look into why the man remained out of work despite his background as a semiconductor engineer.

“I meant what I said, if you send me your husband’s  résumé, I’d be interested in finding out exactly what’s happening right there,” Obama told the questioner, Jennifer Wedel of Fort Worth, Texas. He told Wedel that according to what he was hearing from industry, such high-tech fields are in great demand and her husband “should be able to find something right away.”

Wedel told Obama that despite what he said, her husband had been out of work for three years. She wanted to know why foreign workers were getting visas for high-skilled work.

The exchange came as Obama appeared in a live video chat room known as a “Hangout,” part of online search giant Google’s social networking site Google Plus.

He was answering questions submitted via the Google Inc.-owned video site YouTube, as well as interacting live with Wedel and four others in the Hangout.

The post-State of the Union session was part of the White House focus on social media. In past such events – with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and earlier YouTube sessions following previous State of the Union addresses – Obama answered questions that had been submitted via online networks. But Monday’s event allowed him to interact with a selection of his questioners, leading to more substantive exchanges as they pushed him on his stances.

Wedel’s insistence that the president’s claims about the demand for high-skilled workers weren’t being born out for her husband led to the president’s offer to take a look at his résumé.

“I’ll have to take you up on that,” she told him. And Obama came back to it after covering a range of issues in the 45-minute session, telling Wedel, “Remember to send me that information!”

Obama got a variety of questions on the economy, and defended his policies on small businesses and innovation.

An Occupy protester sent in a video saying she was out of work and asking Obama: “I need help. I’m 53. What am I going to do?”

The president’s response, in part: “The most important thing I can do for folks who are out of work right now is grow the economy.” The president was also asked about online piracy. Congress recently delayed action on legislation cracking down on online piracy after opposition from Internet companies including Google.

Obama said he thought it was possible to protect intellectual property that creates jobs in the U.S., while still respecting the integrity of the Internet as an open system.

More than 133,000 questions were submitted and voted on by YouTube users. Google officials selected the questions to ask based in part on those results.

Organizers said the No. 1 voted question was about the potential extradition to the U.S. of Richard O’Dwyer, a British student accused of setting up a website that gave people access to films and TV shows for free in violation of copyright laws.

Obama said he wasn’t personally involved in the case but the administration wanted to ensure that intellectual property is protected “in a way that’s consistent with Internet freedom.”

Then why does it seem that the shows on these channels are drawing in massive audiences of college students and adults? Clever writing?  Terrific animation? Heavily disturbing subtext?

Sometimes it’s all of the above.

A cartoon with one of the bigger followings is “Phineas and Ferb” on the Disney Channel. The show is about two kids whose adventures consist of constructing grand inventions aimed at a singular goal of having fun that day. They also have a pet Platypus named Perry (pictured above). Perry the Platypus also doubles as a secret agent who must stop the “evil” Dr. Doofenshmirtz, whose round about plans on attaining dominance of the Tri-State area occasionally pose a minimal threat.

It’d be difficult to find a residence hall that didn’t have a poster of Perry the Platypus somewhere inside of it. Phineas and Ferb memorabilia and clothing are constantly selling out, and not just in the children’s sizes.

The reason for this show’s popularity is obvious: it’s a show made for kids with the occasional humor that adults would love. The writing is witty and constantly clever. It’s appealing for all ages.

Other shows are a little more perplexing. Shows like “Adventure Time,” “The Misadventures of Flapjack” and “Regular Show” on Cartoon Network have a darker side, and are experts at getting things past the radar. On paper, “Adventure Time” is the story of a boy and his dog and the adventures they share.

It seems harmless, except that they live in a surreal world where bizarre fantasy death traps are around every corner, lonely witches threaten to swallow people with their butts and the dog can stretch his limbs into infinite space. It’s all very hilarious, but it’s also dark.

Parents might find it a problem when they catch their kids watching a show where talking balloons fly into the sky cheering, “Hooray! Finally we can die!”

In “The Misadventures of Flapjack,” a young sailor boy and his friend Captain K’nuckles go on adventures looking for candy. Except that candy is often used as a metaphor for drugs, and that the show has used a creepy old man dressed as a little boy and an eyeless stray cat for laughs. It’s brilliantly hilarious and more than a little disturbing at the same time.

“Regular Show” manages to subtly be even more horrifying (and hilarious) than both the previous shows combined. In it, a blue jay and a raccoon work for a gumball machine as groundskeepers at a park.

The humor is so dry and offbeat that it just doesn’t seem like a children’s cartoon. The characters regularly drink beer and sometimes get drunk, and words like “pissed” and “screwed” are often used. Not to mention talking hot dogs walk around and occasionally eat humans.

Erik Vesnick, the VP of home entertainment of Cartoon Network has claimed that these shows attract two kinds of viewers. “The 6 to 11-year-olds who typically comprise a cartoon audience,” he said, “and older animation fans who grew up with ‘The Simpsons’ and similar shows.”

What about these shows is attractive to college students? The shows have a fair share of humorous pop culture references and many of the jokes are very YouTube-friendly, allowing them to reach new audiences in short periods.

To put it simply, they’re very funny shows for all audiences. One user comment by a parent about “Regular Show” on commonsensemedia.org stated, “Don’t you dare let your kids watch this show!” Another simply said, “Best. Show. Ever.”

Are you watching yet?

Now, it seems like these competitors could be the least of Nintendo’s worries. As it falls into financial trouble, Nintendo is looking to invest in the future.

The company has been through hard times before. After dominating the market with the original Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo faced huge competition in the Sega Genesis, and in the past years, the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo Gamecube both failed to outsell their competitors.

The Nintendo Wii however, has sold almost 98 million units worldwide, and was the most successful console of this past generation. Also, the Nintendo DS has annihilated Sony’s PSP in the portable market. So then why the financial trouble?

A little over a week ago, the company released its quarterly earnings, and it wasn’t pretty. The company reported profits of $631 million for the October to December period, representing a 61percent quarterly drop. Forecasts have been significantly lowered to due these reports as well.

Nintendo has predicted a net loss of $838 million (ending in March 2012). If this holds true, it would mark Nintendo’s first annual loss in a full 30 years.

This is the result of a number of things. Nintendo’s newest portable, the 3DS, was launched with an extremely bloated $250 price tag. Along with that, the system had a pretty pitiful handful of launch titles. Its only two first-party releases were re-releases of classic Nintendo 64 games.

Sluggish sales forced the company to admit defeat and implement a premature price drop. After the system’s price was changed to $170, sales for the 3DS skyrocketed. Unfortunately, analysts have reported that they are selling at a loss.

Another reason for Nintendo’s recent struggles is its inability to support its current console, the Wii. Sales for the Wii have dropped, perhaps because there aren’t many more potential buyers, or maybe because a high quality game hasn’t come out for the system in ages.

Besides last year’s phenomenal “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword,” the new releases for the system have been mostly boring collections of mini games and unsuccessful ports of games from other systems. Added to this, Nintendo has failed to import successful Wii games from Japan that have an audience in the United States.

Lucky for all the rabid Nintendo fanboys out there, the company isn’t worried. According to them, the 3DS will start garnering profit soon enough. New big name releases like “Super Mario 3D World,” “Resident Evil: Revelations” and the upcoming “Kid Icarus: Uprising” are finally drawing large amounts of people to buy the system.

Nintendo’s real secret weapon is that its new system, the Wii U, is going to be a revelution in gaming. The system, which is slated for a late 2012 release, is apparently three times as powerful as the Xbox 360, and boasts an interesting new controller.

Just like the Wii’s innovative Wiimote controller, the Wii U comes with a tablet controller, not unlike an iPad, which also is equipped with the standard controller buttons. The graphics on the tablet screen are just as powerful as they will be on your TV, and if you want, the games can be simply played on the tablet. Have to go somewhere but just can’t bear to tear yourself away from your brand new game? Simply change the setting so your game is on the tablet and you instantly have a portable gaming device.

In addition to that, the company has stated that they are entirely committed to bringing in third-party developers to make solid games, which was something the Wii was severely lacking. So far, feedback has been terrific from companies such as Capcom, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.

Nintendo has also promised an all new online gaming service, The Nintendo Network. The company has infamously been stuck in the stone age when it comes to online play, and this is a huge step forward for them.

The Wii U’s goal is to win back the “hardcore gamer” audience that was turned off by the Wii’s casual attitude, while still maintaining that casual audience.

The future is uncertain for Nintendo. After being unveiled last year with a few awesome technology demos, the Wii U is said to be officially revealed in its final form at this year’s E3 convention. Nintendo is seriously hoping that after this year’s presentation, Wii would like to play.

Former Senator Rick Santorum grabbed 13.3 percent of the vote.

Rep. Ron Paul claimed that he is not backing out of the race after posting only 7 percent of the vote. 

Prior to this win, it seemed as though the wheels were coming to a halt for Romney.  After a recall from an earlier Iowa victory and a devastating blow in South Carolina.  For many candidates, these factors could have been rather detrimental. Certainly for Mitt Romney, the latter loss may have brought about painful comparisons to the 2000 John McCain campaign.

However, cutting his losses in South Carolina, the former Massachusetts governor realized that Florida had to be a must win.

Not only would victory look better, but the state’s winner-take-all issue is vital as well.  To obtain this goal, Romney had to face up to one of the bitter realities of modern day campaigns: the negative attack.

When Romney began his quest for the presidency, he preferred to stump with the sense of optimism.  He generally attempted to point to America’s greatest strengths and future potential.

When it would come down to criticism, it would be saved for President Obama. It sounded rather naive at times, but for the first couple of months it carried him forward.

Once Gingrich began to make a comeback, Romney realized he had to take further action.  He moved beyond the issues, attacking the public past of Gingrich, questioning his tenure as Speaker of the House in the 1990s and the time he worked for Freddie Mac.

According to The New York Times, the Romney campaign aired an ad that referred to Gingrich making a profit from the housing crisis while other Floridians suffered.

Meanwhile, in the Gingrich camp, the mood remained somewhat mixed.  Several, including the former Speaker of the House, went into the Florida primary with a sense of optimism.  Gingrich began to imply that the Romney camp was beginning to run scared, according to The New York Times.

But as the week continued, it was Gingrich who seemed to be on the defensive. The first mistake came from an ad attacking Romney by portraying him as anti-immigrant, meant to appeal to Cuban Americans.

This was sharply criticized by Sen. Marco Rubio, the popular Cuban-American senator who remained neutral in the primary, “I didn’t think it was accurate.”

Then Gingrich slipped up in what should have been his specialty, a debate forum.

Addressing the current state of the space industry, he proposed that he would establish a colony on the moon during his presidency.

In response, Romney looked at his opponent and said that he would fire any advisor who proposed such a policy.

Romney’s change in approach, as well as increased spending, appear to be paying off. Recent polls showed him maintaining a steady lead in Florida leading up to the primary.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Romney’s support ranged across many areas and demographics.

He lead among Hispanics, veterans, men, women (largely put off by Gingrich’s personal life) and even has a slight edge on evangelical voters.

Certainly, Gingrich has hinted that he is willing to take his campaign to the convention, which hasn’t happened in the Republican Party since 1976.

Either way, it should be an interesting campaign, in the weeks and possible months to follow. One thing is for sure, no matter who wins, the party must strongly unite in order to take on the president in November.

When it comes to election, the goal is all too clear: get to the end and come out victorious.  That’s all well and good; it should be the primary goal for these candidates.  But at the same time, I cannot remember the last time where an election had even 50 percent of its time devoted to the issues. Now it seems as though candidates are faced with an endless barrage of attacks.  Don’t get me wrong.  This may sound cynical on the surface, but I believe that negative attacks are sometimes vital. If one candidate tends to disagree with another candidate’s positions, then he/she has a right to attack. That being said, it can only go to a certain point.

In the last 50-some years, we can look at the changes in style of campaigning. The first appearance of negative ads were in 1964, when LBJ aired the infamous daisy ad against Barry Goldwater. By 1988, things had gotten much worse. Both candidates George Bush and Michael Dukakis seldom covered the issues of that year in order to make jabbing attacks at each other. While voters still went to the polls, they nevertheless expressed their discontent for the careless conduct of both candidates. In recent years, this has continued to play out. President Bush and John Kerry both chose to go after the others’ Vietnam War records. There was the attack on Obama about issues ranging from his religion to place of birth.  Meanwhile, the Democrats chose to find any picture of  John McCain with then-unpopular president Bush and claim to be his natural heir, ignoring any of his actual votes in the Senate.

I am still not sure what to expect.  Early on Mitt Romney seemed to be pursuing a course of positive focus. It is true that he attacked Obama, but this was all a matter of his policies as President.  Of course, once Newt Gingrich began to creep up on his lead, negativity seemed to be the only way to go. Fortunately, it seems as though Romney has managed to focus on Gingrich’s public career rather than his three marriages. Likewise, Gingrich has seemed to attack Romney’s record as governor instead of his Mormon faith.  It is signs such as these that give me hope.

If the candidates behave themselves and do their job, I will be happy. Voters have a job too. In today’s society, many seem upset with stories pertaining to gossip. Polls had shown that many Americans either had problems with Romney merely because of his faith and with Gingrich because of his marital history.  Personally, I do not believe that a candidate for public office should be chastised for his/her private life.  If Americans had always done this, some of our greatest leaders would have never been elected. So, at the end of the day, it is just as much the job of the American voter as it is the presidential candidates to understand the serious matters facing the nation and vote on what really counts.

If the GOP wants to finally start building party unity and momentum, Mitt Romney’s victory in Florida should be the signal fire for those who actually care about building strength for the presidential election (which is now only a surprisingly close 10 months away).

And this is why:

Romney can stop dividing his party by ending his carpet-bombing of Gingrich with negative ads. Romney spent over $9 million in Florida, whereas Gingrich spent only $3.8 million.

To be frank, as much as I dislike Gingrich, there is not much honor in resorting to a relentless campaign of television and radio ads tearing apart your opponent (one TV commmercial ended saying “If Newt Gingrich wins, this man would be very happy,” as a picture of Obama showed on the screen).

In 2008, Romney also led all candidates in Florida by spending $5.6 million, followed by Rudy Giuliani at $3 million, and Sen. John McCain at $2.1 million.

McCain, despite spending the least on advertising, still won.

Romney learned from his mistakes and spent more. Not only did he spend more, but he spent more on negative advertising than self-promotion advertisting.

So what does this say about our political culture?

Last week, for those of you who read, I talked about how boring the candidates have become and how the race has almost lost a sort of integrity that past races seemed to have.

This year, especially in Florida, mud-slinging has been rampant. It’s always been present, but Romney may have just clinched the nomination with this looked-down-upon tool.

But, Romney is running by legendary Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis’ famous motto, “just win, baby.”

Romney stepped his finances and advertisements into high-gear, causing the American people to question where to the draw the line on how we should advertise politics and perhaps even how much money we should spend on campaigns.

Should we condemn Romney for his somewhat dishonorable tactics to win Florida then? Romney himself acknowledged that his negative ad blitz was working very well leading up to the primary.

We should not – yet at least. Perhaps this was a necessary evil. Perhaps Newt was hurting his party by hanging on, delaying the inevitable and hurting Romney in the process.

This could create a huge push forward for Romney against Obama. But if he does not live up to his promises, Romney will be branded as a power seeking mud-slinger.

Instead of resorting to mud-slinging to bring down his fellow Republican candidates – and thereby divide his party – he can aim his guns at Obama, which he already started in his victory speech after clinching Florida, “Mr. President, you were elected to lead, you chose to follow, and now it’s time to get out of the way.”

Whatever the case, the GOP needs to make their decision now.

The newly built McDonald’s is located on 2234 Warrensville Center Rd., on the corners with Bushnell and Lansdale Roads.

It will open its doors for the first time at 6 a.m. on Feb. 8.  The hours will be 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily.

The opening of the fast food restaurant chain is causing quite the conversation on the John Carroll University campus. Students are waiting excitedly for the opening date as the restaurant will be less than a mile away from the campus.

Sophomore Nick Sciarappa, expressed his anticipation of the restaurant’s opening.

“McDonald’s, for many including myself, is a little paradise where one can indulge in a good American tradition: eating delicious Big Macs and other greasy delights,” he said.

Senior Jeff Sigmund, a resident on Lansdale Road, is particularly looking forward to the opening of the McDonald’s.

“It can be helpful to students to have multiple support services in the same area,” Moroney said.

Although Student Services has moved into one building, academic advising has not moved and there is no timetable yet for moving this office, said Moroney.

“Over the last two years, we made some changes and it seemed to make sense to move the office instead of staffing two areas. We wanted to pull everyone together,” said Director of Financial Aid Claudia Wenzel.

It was done out of necessity due to the staffing constraints of the office with two of its staff members on maternity leave. The divided offices have always had a strong relationship but when working together as a full staff [in Rodman], they can better serve the mass quantities, said Wenzel.

The move of the offices from the Administration Building to Rodman happened after the first week of drop/add this year, said Wenzel.

“We didn’t want to cause students unnecessary grief. They are used to seeing that and instead we wanted to wait and not confuse them,” said Wenzel.

There are currently no Student Service staff in the Administration Building office. Signs are posted in the previous office directing students to the new locations they have moved to in Rodman.

Although the move has been hectic, the Student Service staff has been trying to pull through, said Wenzel. She has been consolidating with the staff and together they have been using their resources and skills to try to get through this as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

“We want to see if this is working for the students here at JCU and if we should make it a permanent thing,” Wenzel said. Student Services is going through a turbulent time, now implementing a new portal on campus that students can access themselves, according to Wenzel.

“Students will definitely find this much easier when dealing with registration, financial services and other student needs. We won’t have to go to multiple buildings to get questions answered,” said junior Julia McCormick.

Senior John Winstel said, “It was confusing to know where to go for questions about money or classes. I think merging the offices into one building makes the most sense.”

Wenzel said, “Student Service is really changing a lot, we can now be proactive instead of reactive and I hope to hear back from students on how the move impacts them.”

Beginning this semester, the Office of Residence Life and the Office of the Dean of Students revised the hearing board process for students who are written up in residence halls.

In previous semesters, all students in violation of residence hall policies, such as underage alcohol consumption, were sent directly to the Student Union Hearing Board.

While the hearing board will still be responsible for some part of the ruling on students who have violated the policies, area coordinators will now also be incorporated into the hearing process.

“Residence Life requested that we assign hearings to area coordinators if the student who allegedly violated a policy lives in their building,” said Dean of Students Sherri Crahen. “They want to give area coordinators more of an opportunity to get to know their residents, to meet with them, to talk with them about any possible policy infractions, and to talk with the residents about the impact that their behavior has on the community.”

Assistant Director of Residence Life John Mack said that the ultimate goal is to build community within the residence communities.

“It might just be the first time that you and that area coordinator have sat down and talked. It’s also [about] getting to know that person too,” he said.

He also explained that when you know the people with whom you live, it is harder to cause trouble, vandalize the halls or disturb the other residents.

“When you have conduct situations that take place in your residence hall, doesn’t it kind of make sense for you to meet with those students and to talk with them and to get to know them? The whole goal in conduct is to try to not have the behavior repeat itself,” said Crahen.

However, this change in the distribution of cases has caused concern from the Student Union Hearing Board.

SU Vice President for Communications Lizzie Trathen said, “Student Union was not originally included in the planning and implementation of the revisions to the judicial process for students. We share the Office of Residence Life’s goal of building relationships between the area coordinators and their residents; though we have hesitations about the implementations that these changes may have on these relationships.”

Since this does affect the jurisdiction of the hearing board, Crahen explained the perspective of her office and Residence Life.

“We are not saying we are eliminating the Student Union Hearing Board,” said Crahen. “What we are saying is we’re trying to look at this from the perspective of being an area coordinator.”

Mack emphasized the importance of building the relationship between the area coordinators and the residents.

“It’s a different way of connecting with them [the residents],” he said. “When you’re meeting with the hearing board, you’re still building that community, but you’re building it with people across campus; whereas with the area coordinator you’re talking with someone who is also in that building.”

Ingrid Michaelson is the folk singer/songwriter behind the many songs featured in commercials and television shows. She has done several collaborations with artists like Sarah Bareilles, has opened for Jason Mraz and has released four studio albums.

Michaelson’s fifth studio album “Human Again” was released last Tuesday and immediately took the number one album spot on iTunes.  Upon releasing the news that she was producing a new album, Michaelson warned her fans that “Human Again” would be much darker than her previous work.  After listening to the 13 tracks, this album indeed touches on darker subjects.

The themes that are present on the album have to do with daily life and relationship struggles. Michaelson’s “This Is War,” “Black and Blue” and “Palm of Your Hand” all contain lyrics that suggest romantic or relationship strains. Also in the track “In the Sea,” the lyrics are about the distress of having a lover or friend let you fall and not pick you back up.

There are also uplifting tracks and light-hearted ballads.  The acoustic “How We Love” is a track that reflects how “we love to love when it fills up the room/but when it leaves, oh, we’re cursing the stars.”

The ballad “Keep Warm” is about having someone in your life that can keep you warm and return your affection.

“Human Again” showcases a much bolder and mature side to Michaelson.  Since her debut as an artist, she has been given a cutesy and quirky persona. But in her newest installment, that persona has dissolved to reflect her growth as a singer and a songwriter.

This new album doesn’t just feature the ukulele or piano ballads. The choices of instruments and new musical elements add more depth and darkness to the album. In some tracks, electronica, a full orchestra and synths are used as a new style that Michaelson has never tried before.

The first track, “Fire,” begins with rapid strings and builds to a full orchestra powerhouse. A later track, “Black and Blue,” uses synths to create different sounds and a new-wave vibe. But she still does include emotional piano ballads like “Ghost” and acoustic tracks like “How We Love.”

This album shows Michaelson’s growth as an artist. But I do miss some of her up lifting quirky songs like “Everybody” or “Be OK.” All artists try different genres and styles to show a different side of their talent.

However, sometimes too much change isn’t a good thing. Michaelson should have included one or two more lively tracks that were similar to her older work. The dark and bold tracks are just as memorable but they dampen the entire mood of the album.

Michaelson accompanies her album release by announcing her “Human Again” spring tour. The concert dates run from April 9 until May 17.  She will be making appearances in cities across the United States and Canada.

“Human Again” is a breath of fresh air in the redundant pop music industry. It is a fuse of love ballads, up beat tracks, and acoustic classics.

There is a familiarity to Ingrid Michaelson’s music. Her amazing  vocals and relatable lyrics make her fifth album one of her best. Some of her songs may just show up in the next commercial or television show you watch.

4/5 Streaks

This is a great idea and improvement on the past.

In the past, the Spring Concert has not drawn as much attendance and SUPB even made the concert free last year in an attempt to increase the number of attendees.

Tickets to regularly scheduled tour concerts will be purchased and sold (most likely at a discounted rate) to JCU students. This will give students the opportunity to see highly popular bands that would otherwise be too expensive to bring to JCU.

Since the concerts will be off campus and include the general public along with JCU students, the atmosphere of the concerts are likely to be much more enthusiastic and less restricted. The locations are larger and will ensure higher quality seating and sound quality than the on-campus varsity gym.

The University will also be providing transportation to the concerts which makes getting to the concerts much more safe and accessible.

Since there are so many options, students might have to be selective with the acts they see, as a student’s budget tends to be limited.

There will also be on-campus performances by local and student bands. Having this variety of concerts will cater to the different musical tastes of students and boost interest and attendance. It will also give students many opportunities to see a concert if personal scheduling conflicts should come up.

This new approach to the Spring Concert greatly improves upon the past options. Enthusiasm and anticipation is already noticeable among the student and participation is bound to blow past numbers out of the water.