1 Work

Most definitely the least fun of all the 10 ideas for summer vacation, working is also the most practical. Working in your hometown over the summer allows some students with the freedom to focus only on studies during the school year. The more money students make over the summer, the more they have to live on during the rest of the year. However, some students use the money earned over the summer for entertainment during those warm months. Summer job money is often used for activities with high school friends back at home.
“I’m going to be working at Hershey Park this summer,” said Clarion student Shawn Hallowell.

2 Take a Summer Class

Taking classes during summer is unpopular among the typical student population, but it can be a saving grace for others. Summer classes at Clarion provide students with a chance to get ahead (or catch up) with three-week or six week courses that count for credit. Summer courses often provide an opportunity to take electives because these courses often have condensed content. This is perfect for classes that are fill-ins, but not recommended for core classes in your major. Soon-to-be Clarion graduate, Janelle Zabresky, will be taking this summertime opportunity.
“I’m going to Fort Lauderdale to get a head start on law school,” Zabresky said.

3 Volunteer

Volunteering is another unpopular, yet rewarding choice of activity for summer vacation. It provides students with a chance to do something worthwhile, either within your community or in a foreign land. Volunteering also gives students a chance to meet new people during events or projects and sometimes results in lasting friendships. Volunteering is a great thing because you are helping other people in need, feeling good about yourself and another plus; volunteering looks great on your résumé. Clarion University student Philip Wass is planning on volunteering as part of his summer internship.
“I am doing public relations work for the theater department here at Clarion,” Wass said.

4 Go on a Vacation Whether it is a planned vacation with the family or an unexpected road trip with old friends, vacations provide a

great sense of relaxation in summer months. Beach trips are popular over summer vacation, but mountain-hiking trips can be fun too. Mountainous regions provide vacationers with cooler weather and more exercising activities than beach areas. Foreign countries are also becoming more popular with vacationing families over the summer.

5 Go to a Concert

Summer provides students with the best time of the year for concerts. Summer is known for its free concerts in parks during the summer and also it’s the season for county fairs. Many county fairs are able to provide locals with popular musicians of various styles. Whether the band is well-known or not, concerts provide students with a place for socializing with others and having a good time.

6 Go to a Theme Park

Theme parks offer students with a variety of different activities all in one place. Most parks offer visitors with a plethora of rides, a water park and a midway filled with games. Parks also provide a wide choice of food vendors to satisfy any craving you may have. Theme parks are a perfect location for a summer day because they cater to all types of personalities and adventurers.

7 Exercise

Summer provides the perfect opportunity to jump-start an exercise and diet plan. Sunny weather is a great backdrop for a new start regarding exercise and meal changes. During the summer, students have the ability to go outside and walk or run in their hometown. Summer is also a good time to start training for a marathon or other type of race. Many marathons are held as charity events, so students could spend their summers getting themselves in shape and running for a good cause too. Clarion University senior Elijah Daubenspeck enjoys exercising during the summer.
“I like to play basketball and ride my bicycle on summer break,” he said.

8 Host a Barbeque

Summer is the perfect time to get all of your old friends together (or new ones) and family for a barbeque or picnic. Another alternative to a barbeque is having a fire at night and inviting friends to sit around it and eat s’mores and mountain pies. Hosting events like these are a great way to catch up with friends you haven’t seen for while and share stories from the past year.

9 Go to the Drive In

Drive-in movies offer a glimpse of old-time fun with a hint of romance. Instead of taking the traditional car to drive-ins, borrow someone’s pick-up truck to take to the movies. Then take along folding chairs to set up in the back of the truck and take a cooler for whatever you may need during your movie viewing experience.

10 Have a Summer Fling

Summer provides the perfect backdrop for a quick summer romance on vacation or back at home. Getting to know someone new or getting reacquainted with an old friend can be a fun summertime adventure that might result in something more once the season comes to an end.

Senior outfielder and pitcher Erik Kempton eyes up the incoming pitch in a doubleheader against Mercyhurst on Saturday. (Neal Henry / The Clarion Call)

Clarion ended its 2010 campaign with an upsetting weekend series against the Mercyhurst Lakers. On Friday the Golden Eagles traveled to Merycyhurst for the first of four games to come.

The year long struggles for the Golden Eagles continued as they dropped game one of the doubleheader by a score of 17-3.

Freshman pitcher Luke Prazenica received the loss (1-3). Prazenica went only three innings, allowing eight runs (six earned) on six hits, while striking out two and walking two.

Clarion’s offense was never able to get started as they got nine hits but only three runs. Leading the offense was Tom Briley (2-4) and Erik Kempton (2-4) who were the only hitters to get multiple hits. Briley also had two of the RBIs while Kempton recorded the other one.

Clarion was hoping to make it more of a game in game two of the doubleheader. Game two was more of a pitcher’s duel, but Clarion still fell by a score of 2-1.

Brandon Slater (0-6) was the tough luck loser as he had a perfect game going into the fifth inning. Slater was not able to get any offensive support as he went six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits, while striking out four and allowing two walks.

Leading the offense was sophomore Ken Morgan (2-3) with the only multi-hit game.

Clarion returned home on Saturday for its regular season and home finale at Memorial field.

None of this mattered again to Mercyhurst as they were able to sweep the Golden Eagles. The Lakers once again stomped all over Clarion in game one with an 11-2 victory.

Gregg Bandzuh took the loss in the game going four innings. Bandzuh also allowed seven runs (four earned) on eleven hits, while striking out one and walking one.

Briley (3-4) led the offense with the only three hit game. Jason Krimsky (2-2) and Chad White (2-3) also recorded multi hit games.

The Golden Eagles best offensive explosion came in game four as they fell by a score of 12-7.

Mercyhurst took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a RBI triple and a wild pitch by Clarion pitcher Eric Panko.

The score stayed the same until the top of the third where Mercyhurst tacked on another run via a sac fly to make it 3-0.

Clarion rallied back in the bottom of the third to tie the score at 3-3. Kempton led off the inning with a walk, followed by a single by Sean Zimmerman. After a groundout that advanced the runners to second and third, Morgan delivered the big blow. With one out and runners on second and third, Morgan blasted his team leading seventh home run of the year to even the score.

Mercyhurst quickly retook the lead in the top of the fourth with a single tally to make it 4-3.

With the game still in reach, the Lakers opened it wide open with a four run fifth inning to increase their lead to 8-3.

Mercyhurst would then all but seal the victory with another four run tally to make it 12-3.

Clarion would try to make a comeback by putting up another three spot on the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out in the inning, junior Nate Weiss singled to start the rally. After a walk and a strikeout, Zimmerman delivered a two run double. With two outs in the inning, Krimsky delivered a RBI single to cut the deficit to 12-6.

It was a little too late as the Golden Eagles were only able to tack on one more run to lose the game 12-7.

Panko took the loss for the Golden Eagles. Panko went five innings allowing eight runs (five earned) on eleven hits, while recording two walks and four strikeouts.

Leading the offense was Briley (2-3) and Zimmerman (2-5) with multi hit games, while the latter also recorded two RBIs. Morgan also recorded three RBIs on his home run.

Clarion finished their season with a record of 6-34 and 1-23 in the PSAC West.

On Saturday April 24, six of Clarion’s alumni were awarded with various distinguished awards. Guests of the evening were treated to a performance by The Clarion University’s Show Choir, under the direction of student Benjamin Rowan and adviser Julie Findlan-Powell. Elementary and secondary students from the community were also involved in the performance.
Many of the winners of the awards are well-recognized and remembered for their time at Clarion.
David Gibbons won the Distinguished Alumni for Venango Campus. Gibbons received both an associate degree in 1986 and a bachelor’s degree in 1992. He is the president of UPMC Northwest in Seneca and a member of the Venango Campus Advisory Council.

The late Frank Roco, a 1962 graduate and up until 2008 a member of the Clarion University Alumni Association Board of Directors, received the Distinguished Service Award for his efforts in the Alumni Association. He was active in the Clarion community as well as on campus.

Robert Girvan, a professor of Sociology in Clarion, received the Distinguished Faculty Award. He has been a professor at Clarion for almost 36 years and is active in the community. He plans on retiring this year.

The Distinguished Alumni for Clarion University was given to F. Suzanne (Stewart) Jenniches, a 1970 graduate. She is the vice president and general manager of the Government System Division of Northrop Grumman. She assisted in developing electronically scanned radar for the B-1B bomber, according to Clarion’s website.

The Distinguished Volunteer Award went to Alpha Gamma Phi fraternity. The fraternity is recognized for its alumni efforts and raising $120,000 in scholarship money, as reported on the Clarion’s website. Founded in 1930, the Gammas are the oldest fraternity on campus.

And last but not least, the Distinguished Achievement Award went to former student of Clarion, Reggie Wells Jr. His father and mother are also alumni of Clarion and have received various awards for their hard work and dedication. Wells is well known for his draft to the Arizona Cardinals in 2003 and playing as the team captain in the 2008 Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“The Alumni Association Distinguished Awards are awarded by the Clarion University Alumni Association Board of Directors. The Board comprises approximately 25 alumni. It accepts nominations from fellow alumni, faculty and staff and friends of the university, then decide as a board who to recognize each year for each award,” said Brooke Murray, assistant director of Alumni Relations and Annual Fund.

She said this was the first time the awards were held in Pittsburgh. The Duquesne Club was able to hold more guests and attracted the alumni who live in the Pittsburgh area.

“We wanted to elevate the prestige of the awards, and therefore combined with our annual fundraising gala event, Extravaganza, which last occurred at Eagle Commons in February 2009 to highlight its opening,” said Murray.

Murray also said that the atmosphere really made the evening a thing to remember and was a nice way to honor the recipients of the awards.

Zeta Tau Alpha is a nationally recognized women’s fraternity that was founded on Oct. 15, 1898 at Longwood University in Farmville, Va. The chapter at Clarion University is known as Delta Iota, and it was installed April 30, 1960, which made it the 107th link of Zeta Tau Alpha. The fraternity’s charity is breast cancer education and awareness. Members work with several organizations, such as Susan G. Komen For the Cure and the National Football League.

Zeta Tau Alpha’s colors are turquoise and steel gray, and the national symbol is the strawberry. The local symbol is the bunny.
According to their Facebook page, the purpose of the fraternity is to intensify friendship, promote happiness among its members, to perform such deeds, and to mold such opinions as will conduce to the building up of a purer and nobler womanhood in the world. Their open motto is “seek the noblest,” and their flower is the white violet.

According to Katie Harbison, former chapter president of Delta Iota, said “exploring the Greek community has a potential new member can be a time of intimidation, but ZTA members say they are confident it will feel like home. There is always a sister to help study, go out with, or just listen. The relationships with the sisters will extend well beyond the normal casual friends into lifelong bonds.”

Harbison said, “Greek Life is a valuable part of college life. It provides students with numerous opportunities from scholastic to social.”

Harbison said, “The bonds students make with their sisters will last beyond their college years, and the memories created will last a life time.”

Harbison said, “Joining a sorority is a wonderful opportunity to participate in different activities and positions around the campus. ”
“Beginning with the many leadership positions offered as early as student’s first year, ZTA offers a wide variety of resources for personal development,” said Harbison.

“From campus involvement in Greek Games and Homecoming to local service projects, there are so many opportunities ZTA maintains while opening doors to the community,” Harbison said.

Harbison also mentions the philanthropic work of the fraternity as a whole ;“There is also the charity developed for the Susan G. Komen Foundation (breast cancer education and awareness) and a wide variety of social opportunities,” said Harbison
Harbison said, “Zeta Tau Alpha is the opportunity for every woman to realize her potential.”

Lead singer of Tantric, Hugo Ferreira performing the bands hit “Down and Out” Friday night. (Samuel Dixon / The Clarion Call)

This year’s CampusFest featured two headliners, whose respective styles of music are vastly different.

Friday night headliner Tantric is a hard rock band, originally based out of Louisville, Kentucky, whose singles “Breakdown” and “Down and Out” have earned them moderate radio success during the past decade.

Front man, Hugo Ferreira, whose subtly narcissistic persona and distinct voice serves as the main focal point of “Tantric’s” music.

The band was founded by Ferreira in 1999 under the original moniker of Carbon 14, which Ferreira decided was an “awful” band name.

After signing to Maverick Records and changing their name, Tantric recorded three full-length albums. Sadly though, the band behind Ferreira fell apart.

“The lineup kind of dissipated because everyone was having babies,” said Ferreira.

This forced him to go on and recruit members of what would form today’s Tantric who in Ferreira’s opinion is a “better band.”

With the new lineup came a new element to the band’s sound, as Ferreira enlisted long-time friend Marcus Ratzenboeck to play electric violin.

Ratzenboeck, who has a master’s degree in violin from Indiana University, and Ferreira were curious to see how an electric violin would sound through a guitar amplifier.

They were pleasantly surprised with how the violin sounded and quickly adapted it to the band, adding a refreshing element to their sound that sets them apart from other bands within their genre.

Tantric’s latest album “Mind Control” is the second record released by the band’s current form and features the band at it’s most aggressive state.
“We wanted to make just a straight, in-your-face rock record,” said Ferreira, in effort to contrast the bands past records that were more spacey and ambient.

Tantric’s performance at CampusFest was certainly tolerable.

The downfall of the set was that despite all the high quality equipment, the band’s sound was mixed terribly.

Those who attended and were interested in hearing more than just the drummer were sadly disappointed.

The drums were so overbearing that listeners could only notice the vocals and guitars during the softest moments of the bands set.

Even Tantric’s most interesting element, the violinist, had no chance of cutting through the mix and was basically unheard throughout the performance.

The set reached its low point when drummer Richie Monica ungracefully took center stage and proceeded to thrash and bombard his way through what the band affectionately called a “drum solo.”

The incident went along sloppily for about five minutes and quickly wore out it’s welcome, leaving audience members confused.

To Monica’s credit though, the drum solo’s unraveling could easily have been accredited to the concerts numerous  sound issues, but nevertheless the audience was left unamused and slightly bored as a result.

Vocalist Ferreira was solid at his job at front man, doing his best to woo over the crowd. Ferreira’s singing, when audible, was spot on, and the harmonies sung with bassist Erik Leonhardt were impressive.

After CampusFest, Tantric plans to keep on touring in support of the bands latest album.

Also they are currently in the writing stage of a new album with hopes of heading in a different direction for the band.

Their sound has varied from album to album, so their new material possibly could deserve some attention.

Guitarist Ryland Blackinton and bassist Alex Surez of Cobra Starship in the Tippin locker rooms before their show at CampsFest. (Lamont Sinclair / The Clarion Call)

Somewhere near the other side of the pop music spectrum is Cobra Starship, the second headliner of CampusFest’s double-header.
Lead vocalist Gabe Saporta, after disbanding from his pop-punk group Midtown in 2005, created Cobra Starship.
According to the bands official biography, their name stems from a hallucination Saporta allegedly endured after suffering a cobra bite to the neck while visiting the Southwest.
Apparently, while clutching his neck in pain, the cobra began to “school him on the dance floor.” That moment was when the inception of Cobra Starship evidently began.
Regardless of how ridiculous or far-fetched that all sounds the band surprisingly sticks to it.
Snake bite or not Saporta, with some help from William Beckett of The Academy Is…, Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes and Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds, wrote the debut single “Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)” which was released on the “Snakes on a Plane” movie soundtrack.
The music video premiered in summer 2006, aptly in time for the premiere of the movie and was an instant hit on the Internet and mainstream media.
The success of the single inspired Gabe Saporta to recruit some fellow New York City club-goers, guitarist Ryland Blackinton, bassist Alex Suarez, drummer Nate Novarro and keytarist Victoria Asher.
Three albums, a spot on The Warped Tour and countless other shows across the world later, Cobra Starship has asserted itself as one of the hottest bands around.
Sound-wise Cobra Starship are a interesting mix of various elements of pop music.
They basically mix hip-hop influenced dance beats with ‘80s-esque synthesizers, and upbeat pop-punk tempos into one radio-friendly package that has garnered some significant success recently.
Guitarist Ryland Blackinton, elegantly described their sound as “Justin Timberlake, if he wasn’t as good looking or as good at making music.”
Cobra’s approach to song writing is strange when compared to most.
Unlike most bands who rehearse their music constantly while writing, Cobra spends most of the songwriting in front of a computer screen.
“We start with a beat, layer in the melody and then try to structure it from there,” said bassist Alex Suarez, who along with Ryland Blackinton does the majority of the production, “rehearsal in usually the last step.”
Alex Suarez attributes the diversity of Cobra’s music to the fact that they get bored easily and try not to stick to one sound throughout their records.
“I don’t think we listen to anything, that sounds like what we make,” said Suarez. Cobra Starship’s show at CampusFest was more than entertaining.
Their recent popularity produced a much larger turn-out than Friday night’s Tantric.
Openers Josh Gracin and Advocate were adequate in entertaining the crowd.
Fellow opener Matt Nathanson’s potty-mouthed humor and great singing voice put the crowd in the perfect mood to watch Cobra Starship.
Cobra Starship’s set featured all their hits and was sure to please the average fan.
The sound on Saturday night was significantly better than the previous night, allowing everyone in the audience to hear all the various keyboards, guitars, and keytars featured in Cobra Starship’s music.
The improved sound really allowed front-man Saporta to shine.
Though he does not have the strongest vocal talent, Saporta has a animate swagger, and his charisma instantly sends energy to the crowd.
The majority of the drums in Cobra Starship’s music are comprised of electronic beats, it was impressive to hear how well the songs transferred to a live drummer playing them.
Nate Navarro is a stellar drummer, and he did a fantastic job keeping the dancy feel Cobra’s known for, as well as adding a distinct energy not found on their recordings.
Cobra’s encore was the highlight of the evening as they returned to the stage to perform their single “Good Girls Go Bad,” which was for most of the audience the song they waited the whole evening to hear.
Though their music may not be ground-breaking or pioneering, Cobra Starship enjoys writing catchy pop songs.
In addition to their highly energetic live performances shows why they were a perfect headliner for this year’s Campusfest.
Campusfest biggest mistake was splitting the headliner to two different days.
Having all the bands play on the same night would have provided a great mix of different musical genres, creating the festival atmosphere that the UAB was trying to achieve.
Sadly, CampusFest’s overall turnout was a let down.
Granted there was more people who attended the Saturday night show than the Friday show, it still felt like there were more UAB members around than concertgoers.
UAB did a great job selecting production companies as the entire event’s stage and lighting was well put together and looked professional.
Hopefully UAB can see this Campusfest as a stepping-stone to having more music come to Clarion.

After hearing some of the outrage from both on and off-campus sources, Ramsey and The Call editorial staff had a couple of weeks to reflect.  What the university community got back was Mike Ramsey’s April 22 letter, which is simply breathtaking in its dishonesty from beginning to end.  He begins with some adolescent blather that his work was a “political cartoon,” the purpose of which was to “stoke controversy and initiate debate.” First of all, the cartoon had no political message at all; it was, again, simply an expression of bigotry against Catholic clergy.  Moreover, with reference to the claim that the purpose is to “stoke controversy,” I would suggest that this is an unworthy goal.  Any boor can take the low road Ramsey took and create controversy simply by insulting people; that is hardly an aim to be respected.

To initiate debate is laudable, but one does not initiate substantive dialog with crude insults.  Instead of addressing forthrightly the actual content of his cartoon, Ramsey now changes the subject, dishonestly,  to a theme in no way present in the original cartoon, that is, a criticism of the way the bishops and the Pope dealt with the crisis.  Ramsey shed no light, giving us only inflammatory rhetoric and outright lies.

Let us begin with the false claims.  First, it is not true that Church officials are currently “cowing their victims into silence with threats of hell-fire.” Canon law grants no such authority to a bishop, and there is no conceivable church moral teaching that could possibly be construed by anyone to mean that one would go to hell for reporting the truth about abuse. It is not in fact a theme in any responsible discussion of the issue. Secondly, in response to recent media reports, the Vatican most certainly did not “blame the victims,” nor did the Vatican claim that the victims were “conspiring to bring down the Pope . . .” Third, to say that Benedict XVI is someone who believes that “infallibility means never having to say you’re sorry”  is a slur that utterly misrepresents the Pope’s attitude, as evidenced in recent, highly publicized statements of apology, most notably in his trip to Malta where he again met with victims.

Finally, he claims that “Vatican officials” have engaged in “what are unquestionably breaches of the law,” and for this are relying on “diplomatic immunity.”

The truth is that diplomatic immunity was mentioned in response to frivolous and groundless lawsuits naming the Pope. Can you imagine if every anti-American lawyer around the world could compel U.S. Presidents to come to their country to give testimony at will in civil lawsuits?  No state filed criminal charges against the Pope, and there is no credible evidence that the Pope violated civil law in the United States or anywhere else.

In at least six other ways, Ramsey is misleading, although given his abysmal level of ignorance on the subject, I am reluctant to say deliberately so.  First, he clearly suggests that the church is currently “protecting child rapists,” an inflammatory and unfair generalization on two accounts. First, as the Newman Association tried to explain to him, the bishops in the United States turned the entire situation around in the last decade, and there is no institution in the United States that has more systematically investigated abuses and run the guilty out than the Catholic Church.  Secondly, while sexual activity with adolescent males is utterly opprobrious and merits the severest penalties, it is not generally called “child rape” when committed by anyone else other than a priest.
Thirdly, the letter blurs important distinctions in time.  An honest discussion would note that the most widely publicized recent episodes (Wisconsin) were thirty-six years old, and that a similar abuse today would most certainly be handled according to the current “zero tolerance” policy.

Fourth, he grossly misrepresents the current Pope’s role in the Wisconsin cases, where a priest abused deaf boys until 1974.  It was not until 2001 that Pope John Paul II shifted responsibility for dealing with such cases to then Cardinal Ratzinger’s Office, the Sacred Congregation for the Faith, so the only issue that said Congregation was dealing with in 1998 was the far narrower question of a canonical trial. The civil authorities were fully aware of the case and had decided not to prosecute.

Ratzinger’s office gave the go ahead for the trial, but, as the 1998 meeting in Rome to discuss the case showed, it would have been very difficult to complete a case with thirty-five year old accusations, a lack of available evidence, when the priest was near death.  This had absolutely nothing to do with the legitimate complaints made against bishops who, following the therapeutic models of the times, sent abusers off to therapy and reinstated them.  Fifth, the doctrine of infallibility in Catholicism has absolutely nothing to do with any of this, as it extends solely to doctrinal matters of faith and morals under tightly defined circumstances, and in no way extends to the Pope’s administrative decisions, much less his apologies.

Finally, he claims that “they compared criticism of the Church to the persecution of the Jews. . .” Well, “they” did not. One priest did, and it was reported that the Pope clearly distanced himself from the remark, and the priest later apologized. Can The Call not find someone with even a minimum level of competence to discuss such matters?

The Catholic community will certainly survive the immature ramblings of Mike Ramsey, but there will be a negative, long-term side effect.  All honest people know that neither Ramsey nor The Call staff would have published such contemptible attacks against the other major world religions, still less against ethnic minorities.  Everyone knows that had Ramsey targeted any number of other groups, there would have been a mad dash by administrators, faculty, and student groups to denounce the outrage roundly. Note that this did not for the most part occur. The astute observer is left to wonder about the incessant talk of allegedly university-wide commitments to values such as “tolerance, “diversity,” and “multiculturalism.”

These values were clearly not in play.

-Thomas Rourke
Author, The Social and Political Thought of Benedict XVI

As I reflect on this past year as editor, I cannot believe how much has happened. As an editor, I have strived to provide readers with the latest and most interesting news. This often proved to be a daunting task and I would find myself along with fellow editors saying, “Nothing ever happens in Clarion.”

However, this is not true. So much has happened this year. From the stabbing in Eagle Commons and the closing of the Siler Center in the fall to the retirement of a president and the announcement of the failed attempt to toll I-80 this spring.

While we may not have had an abundance of crime and scandals to cover, we did cover what mattered. I am extremely proud of everyone who worked with The Clarion Call this year. It took the dedication of so many individuals to produce a weekly paper.

This past month, The Clarion Call has been accused of bigotry, hate and indecency for shedding light on a national issue that newspapers across the country were also addressing via articles, letters to the editor and political cartoons.

It was the mission of The Call to bring about a forum of discussion in regard to the issue.

As a Christian, I do not hate Catholics, nor any other religion for that matter. If Jewish rabbis were involved in a molestation scandal I would have had no issue running a similar cartoon.

I thank Dr. Rourke for completely missing the point of the cartoon and making me feel more confident than ever with my decision to run the cartoon that week by his outlandish statements against The Clarion Call.

It was this event that made me realize how much I’ve developed in my time at Clarion. Normally, I would have cared what Rourke thought, but thanks to my experiences at Clarion I’ve gained a new sense of self. These lessons didn’t come from the classroom, but from my involvement on campus

When I first came to Clarion, I never saw myself becoming the person I am today. In fact, being the editor-in-chief is ironic in that I almost repeated my senior year of high school due to some difficulty in my journalism class. My experiences at Clarion have taught me more in four years than any class ever could have.

I came to Clarion as a shy guy, with little confidence and little knowledge of what I wanted to get out of my college experience. However, I did know that the best way to get anywhere was to start getting involved with an organization within my major.

I worked with WCUB-TV news as a reporter,  weather man and an anchor for two years. While I enjoyed working in these positions, I realized that the broadcasting field wasn’t the right field for me.
Just as I began doubting my interest in broadcasting, I met previous editor-in-chief, Lindsay Grystar.

Grystar convinced me to start working with The Call. It was this meeting that jump started my career at the newspaper.

I urge everyone at Clarion to become involved on campus. The more you experience, the more you learn about yourself. Whether you’re involved in a educational organization or a social organization, the experiences and different people you will meet will directly mold you into the person you are destined to be.

I’ve met my best friends in college by taking a risk and joining a fraternity. While extremely scary at first, if I would never have joined, I’d never have met the amount of people I have met through Phi Delta Theta, something I wish I would have done earlier in my college career. The fraternity has taught me  that being able to  appreciate different people from all different walks of life is a great quality to have while making my journey through life..

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and individuals have very little control over the destiny of their life. The best thing to do is to embrace circumstances and move forward. You can’t be afraid to try new things and step out of your comfort zone. If you don’t challenge yourself, you’ll never know yourself.

As I leave Clarion after four years, I will never forget the people I’ve met who have shaped me to be the person I am today: the original stoop kids on Becht stoop, the gentlemen of Phi Delta Theta, the ladies of Gemmell, the Dietz Place crew, my friends at WCUB, former and current editors of The Clarion Call, my RA co-workers, the United crew and my ride or die friend Sue.

Thanks to everyone for four wonderful years and good luck to the future generations of golden eagles.

Primary elections are held to select nominees to represent political parties in upcoming elections.

Voters will have less dilemma in the ballot box than previous years.

Of the nine contests affecting the region, eight feature unopposed Republican incumbents.

There are races in both parties for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, as well as a U.S. Senate seat.

The ballots do not yet include third-party or write-in candidates.

All 203 state House seats will be determined in this year’s elections.

The 63rd District includes all of Clarion County and the northern end of Armstrong County, where Republican incumbent Donna Oberlander is unopposed.

Republican incumbent Scott Hutchinson is unopposed in the 64th, which covers all of Venango County and the northern tip of Armstrong County.

Kathy Rapp, Republican incumbent, runs unopposed in the 65th, which includes all of Warren and Forest counties and parts of McKean County. Also on
the ballot are all 435 U.S. Congress seats.

The 5th district covers much of Northwestern Pennsylvania including Forest, Clarion and most of Venango counties.

Democrat Michael Pipe and Republicanincumbent Glenn Thompson run uncontested.

In the state Senate, half of the 50 seats are up for election.

Clarion’s 21st District is not part of that half, but the 50th District, covering Crawford and Mercer counties and part of Erie County, has Republican incumbent Robert Robbins running unopposed.

In the race for the governor’s seat are Democrats Dan Onorato, Jack Wagner, Anthony Williams and Joseph Hoeffel.

On the Republican ticket are Tom Corbett and Samuel Rohrer.

By law, Gov. Ed Rendell cannot seek another term.

Vying for the Democratic nod for lieutenant governor are Doris Smith-Ribner, Scott Conklin and Jonathan Saidel.

For the office of Lieutenant governor, both parties have nominees for the voters’ approval

On the ballot for the Republicans are Steve Johnson, Jean Craige, Russ Diamond, Chet Beiler, Jim Cawley, Billy McCue, John Kennedy, Stephen Urban and Daryl Metcalf.

Candidates for one of Pennsylvania’s two U.S. Senate seats will be decided.

The Democrats will run Joe Sestak and incumbent Arlen Specter. The Republicans will run Peg Luksik and Pat Toomey.

A hearing will be held May 6 before District Magistrate Duane L. Quinn for 12 students, and a separate hearing will be held in Knox for one student, according to information filed with the district magistrate.

The game was for the championship of intramural basketball and involved a team of university basketball players and a team of university football players.

Melvin Dixon of Philadelphia was charged with riot, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, obscene language or gesture.

Charged with disorderly conduct and harassment were Joseph Long of Pittsburgh and Matthew Long of Pittsburgh.

Others facing charges of riot, disorderly conduct and obstructing administration of the law were Andre Martin of Philadelphia, Lamar Gary of Philadelphia,
Damon Brockington of Philadelphia, Willie Goldwire of McKees Rocks, Patrick Parker of New York, Jeffery Joyner of Philadelphia, Shameel Carty of New
York, Braheem Foy of Philadelphia and Tarran Prince also of Philadelphia. Donovan Norman of Aliquippa was charged with disorderly conduct, according to police reports.

Police reported the incident occurred after a fight broke out following a foul on a play by the football team.

Joseph Long and Matthew Long allegedly shoved Patrick Parker, and spectators rushed to the basketball court causing a riot, according to police reports.

The fight dispersed when Clarion Borough Police arrived to investigate. Once outside the recreation center, Dixon allegedly resisted questioning by a police officer, and another fight broke loose.

A group of males, defending Dixon, began harassing police, according to police reports.

Dixon allegedly instructed the others to attack the officers, and Police Officer Rein Pold sprayed Dixon with mace, which quickly caused the accused to cease, according to police reports.

Police arrested Dixon and called for medical assistance. Dixon was treated at the scene and released into police custody, according to police reports.

The assembly of around 50 concerned citizens reached a tentative agreement with constructors. The bridge will close from March 1, 2011, to May 15.

Travelers will be detoured more than 15 miles, along Route 899.

River Road joins Route 36 at the Cooksburg Bridge and crosses Toms Run 300 yards upriver.

The closure will effectively cut the park in half.The current bridge is supported by steel beams and has a weight limit of 17 tons.

The new concrete bridge will be 60 feet long and have no weight limit.

Concerns of area businesses and citizens range from the impact on the local tourism economy to the potential for delayed emergency response.

“Local businesses and concerned citizens got involved in the debate,” said Marcia Gordon, Department of Conservation of Natural Resources (DCNR) park
operations manager for Cook Forest and Clear Creek State Parks.

DCNR manages and protects parks throughout the state.

“We’re all aware that the bridge must be replaced,” said Gordon, “and we understand there will be an impact.”

Gordon applauded the efforts of the attendees.

“The local business owners helped to negotiate the dates. Everyone would like to see the impact at a minimum,” said Gordon.

Residents raised concerns of delayed emergency response through the duration of the construction.

“Local fire departments know the roads well,” said Gordon.

Life Flight helicopters can land by River Road in several places upriver from the bridge.

“With the posted detours,” said Gordon, “there should be little delay in response to an emergency.”

Residents will have another opportunity to voice their concerns and become informed.

“After another public meeting, newer dates may be arranged,” said Gordon.

According to Gordon, PennDOT has pledged to repair any township roads used in the detour.

“We discussed several timelines,” said state Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-63).

“Inevitably, the construction will take place during a profitable time for the area,” said Oberlander, “but both sides are accommodating to the best of their ability and financial constraint.”

“Many businesses in our district will be affected,” said Oberlander.

The bridge is in Forest County, less than 200 yards east of the Clarion County border. The bridge is just outside Oberlander’s district.

“Not everyone is satisfied with the idea of a detour,” said Oberlander.

Clarion University was subject to notable technical difficulty when many of the computers on campus were rendered inoperable.

“The PC issues we experienced at the university starting on Wednesday were the result of a faulty software update from our anti-virus software vendor (McAfee),” said Sam Puleio of computing services.

According to Puleio, an update from MacAfee triggered “false positive” virus detections on Windows XP systems on campus and many other groups.

The PCs were not actually infected with a virus, but many systems using McAfee software were rendered inoperable with continuous error messages and broken network connections.

Systems running with Vista and higher and Macs were not affected by the problem.

“A fix was identified Wednesday afternoon, and teams from Computing Services immediately began to patch university PCs,” Puleio said.

“Almost all smart classrooms and computer labs were repaired Wednesday evening,” Puleio said.
Puleio advises individuals who were impacted by this issue should visit the McAfee web site for steps to repair the problem.

The Computing Services Help Desk is also available to answer any questions.

“Frequent updates to anti-virus software are a necessary practice to maintain defenses against the constant discovery of new viruses,” says Puleio.

“To mitigate risks with any similar erroneous updates in the future,” said Puleio, “the vendor needs to implement better quality control practices within their enterprise solutions before updates are released to business customers.”

Puleio also says they are re-examining internal procedures in processing updates from the vendor to full-scale updates through a broader test group before such updates are implemented.

Mat Karda, a freshman computer science major weighed in on the topic.

Karda was not directly affected by the virus, but had associates and friends who were subject to the virus.

“From my understanding, there is a message that says the computer will shut down in a minute, then shut off,” said Karda.

Puleio said there was no emergency text because the Eagle Alert System is reserved for life-threatening events or campus closings, and the PC outages did not qualify as such a crisis.

“After 40 years of public service, including the last 32 here at Clarion, I am going to enter a little more relaxed phase of life,” said Grunenwald.

“I am very much looking forward to having more personal time and schedule flexibility,” said Grunenwald, “a luxury that I have not enjoyed for many years.”

Grunenwald is leaving behind many things at Clarion, including the new Eagle Commons dining facility and Science and Technology Center, projects completed during his time as president.

“I hope that people remember me as a guy who gave his very best, working hard to advance the university that he loved,” Grunenwald said.

The university president has had many experiences, and the most memorable was his arrival and inauguration.

“I remember clearly driving down Wood Street to the university for the first time for my interview for a faculty position,” said Grunenwald.

“I remember participating in the ceremony that made Clarion a university rather than a state college,” said Grunenwald, “and I will never forget the inauguration ceremony, when I became president.”

Grunenwald remains modest about his contributions as president.

“The university has had many important advances over the last 30 or so years, but none of those were my own,” said Grunenwald.

“Projects and programs that advanced academic excellence, new and up-graded facilities and highly effective university fundraising were all things that our university community did together,” said Grunenwald.

“Certainly, I played a role in some of these, but the achievement belongs to all of us,” he said.

Grunenwald noted that working for Clarion has changed him.

“I have been fortunate to be able to grow and develop as a professional under the guidance of senior faculty members past and present, who have been my role models,” said Grunenwald.

“I have been blessed in being able to draw limitless energy and expansive dreams from all of the students that I have met,” Grunenwald said.

“I have become a person who believes that by working together, we can do just about everything.”

Grunenwald has left an impression on many in the university community, including students.

“It’s very sad,” said Jonathan Winkler, a senior advertising major, “I’d like to see him give me my diploma rather than someone unfamiliar.”

“He’s really transformed this university into something great,” Winkler said, “and it will be even greater after the construction is finished.”

Junior accounting major Nathan Yost also had positive things to say about Grunenwald.

“He’s an excellent leader, speaker and speech writer,” he said.

“He is a phenomenal individual,” said Yost.

Yost added that the phrase, “Fly Eagles Fly,” a staple in Grunenwald’s speeches, has inspired him through much of his college career.

“I remember crying at my orientation when he said it,” said Yost, “He’s an awesome motivator,”

“I have nothing but the utmost respect for the man,” said Yost.

Junior biology major Dharm Patel said, “I woke up educationally when (Grunenwald) said ‘Fly Eagles Fly,’ I realized where my life was going.”

Patel pointed out Grunenwald’s contributions to Clarion’s student community.

“He’s done much good for Clarion’s Greek life,” said Patel.

Grunenwald does not plan to simply disappear from the Clarion University campus and the community.

“I intend to stay active in economic development and university fundraising,” said Grunenwald, “as well as remaining close to the university.”

“I would like to play some golf and think that I still have a little game left,” Grunenwald said on a more personal note.

“And most importantly,” Grunenwald said, “I am looking forward to spending time with my wife, who has made my life the most joyful of journeys.”

Clarion area citizens assemble peacefully across the street from the Clarion County Courthouse for the Tax Day Tea Party. (Raquel Rust / The Clarion Call)

CLARION, Pa., April 22 – After the national anthem and an opening prayer, taxpayers voiced their concerns April 15 at the Tax Day Tea Party in the park across the street from the Clarion County Courthouse.

The controversial, grassroots movement centers on the core principles of fiscal responsibility, free market practices and limited government.

Clarion College Conservatives Treasurer Meagan Grau was pleased with the amount of people drawn to the demonstration.

“We wanted to get the community involved, and spread conservative ideals. What better way than a conservative tax day tea party?”

“People do care about the course of the government,” said Grau.
“They don’t want Washington running their lives.”

Many in attendance cited rising partisanship as a chief issue.

“We are not concerned with the things that divide us,” said Mike Armstrong, CCC president.

“We don’t live in a poor America or in a rich America. We don’t live in a Democratic America or in a Republican America.”

“We owe it to future generations to promote fiscal responsibility and limited government,” said Armstrong.

“We have been lied to, and we are now fed up,” said Clarion County Commissioner Dave Cyphert.

“Washington, listen up. It is not cannons or muskets, nor thunder from a gathering storm you hear in the distance, it’s the people of America raising their voices.”

Demonstrators cited public opposition to Democrat-sponsored legislation as a source of their discontent.

The health care bill is “good for the tea party movement,” said Elizabeth Bryan, researcher at the Commonwealth Foundation, “because now we have an example that exposes the liberal agenda as a naked power grab.”

It took District Attorney Mark Aaron almost 90 seconds to list the taxes levied against the average taxpayer.

“Before real estate taxes, school taxes and sales taxes, we are already at 42 percent taxation on a wage-earning American,” said Aaron, “and I think we have enough taxes, and we don’t need any more.”

“We have a terrible narcotics problem in Clarion. Our budget for the Clarion Narcotics Enforcement Team provides us with one part time officer,” said Aaron.

“That is inadequate,” said Aaron, “and the money we need goes up the chain to the state and federal government.”

“Pennsylvania is losing population and jobs because our government gets in the way of business,” said Rep. Donna Oberlander.

“Creativity, ingenuity, and the entrepreneurial spirit are met with stacks of paperwork, and regulations and restrictions,” said Oberlander.

“We are, as a nation, standing on a precipice,” said keynote speaker and U.S. Senate candidate Peg Luksik. “We are either going to stand up and fight to keep the America we know and love, or we are going to become something completely different,” said Luksik.

Luksik said that the framers of the Constitution “began the conversation by putting in writing that the state is not the highest authority.”

Not all in attendance were of the conservative persuasion.

Behind the gazebo, some could be seen with signs protesting the protest. One read “Tea Party? More Like White Whine!”

“I’m here because I believe health care is a human right. I know, first hand, what it is like to not have health care,” said Emily Young.

The Tea Party movement has taken root in all 50 states. These and other taxpayers will soon have another opportunity to have their voices heard on election day.

As a political cartoonist, there’s nothing I like to see more than my work stoke controversy and initiate debate. Indeed, this is the primary reason for the existence of political cartoons. On April 1, Holy Thursday, I drew a cartoon about the Catholic church that did exactly that.

Some called it bigoted. Others said it was offensive to run a cartoon criticizing the church during Holy Week. It even prompted a letter from Clarion University President Joseph P. Grunenwald to each member of The Call’s editorial board and its faculty adviser questioning the decision to publish the cartoon.

While the cartoon may have been offensive to some, any implication that The Call wasn’t well within its rights under the First Amendment to publish it is ludicrous. It’s much more offensive that the officials of a major world religion are protecting child rapists while cowing their victims into silence with threats of hellfire than a political cartoon ever could be.

When the last major round of allegations erupted nine years ago in Boston, the Vatican’s response was to write it off as “an American problem.” That excuse won’t hold water this time around, as allegations pile up in Ireland, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and elsewhere.

There won’t be a convenient scapegoat like Cardinal Law this time either, as the allegations implicate church officials at the highest levels in conspiring to sweep cases of abuse under the rug.

One case, in which a single priest in Wisconsin molested as many as 200 deaf boys over a period of decades, reached then-Cardinal Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI. Ratzinger turned a blind eye to the case and the sexual predator died a priest after being moved to another diocese, a pattern that has become all too familiar.

The conduct of the Catholic church on this issue has been disgusting. When faced with the reality of predator priests in their midst, Bishops, Archbishops, Cardinals — and at least one Pope — have responded by doing everything in their power to minimize damage to the church, even if that means protecting rapists and silencing the victims of their abuse.

Initially the Vatican’s response was to blame the victims, accusing them of conspiring to bring down the Pope through “petty gossip.” Next they compared criticism of the church to the persecution of the Jews while blaming the presence of rapists in the priesthood on homosexuals.

Desperate, flailing deflections like this go a long way toward explaining why the Associated Press describes the Holy See as being in “full damage control mode.” Or why Vatican officials have been forced to rely on diplomatic immunity, ‘Lethal Weapon 2’-style, to avoid potential prosecution for what are unquestionably breaches of the law.

I guess infallibility means never having to say you’re sorry.

Scott Bearer encourages students to get involved protecting ecologically important lands and waters to preserve biodiversity. (Raquel Rust / The Clarion Call)

Forest ecologist and scientist Scott Bearer, Ph.D. encouraged Clarion students to “get involved and stay informed.” Representing The Nature Conservancy, Bearer presented dozens of students with good reasons to get involved on Monday night in the Science and Technology Center.

TNC leads the worldwide conservation effort, protecting ecologically important lands and waters. Its mission is the preservation of plant and animal biodiversity.

Operating in all 50 states and more than 30 countries, TNC’s more than one million members help protect 120 million acres and 5,000 miles of rivers.

Bearer emphasized the need for private land management in rural Pennsylvania.

“54 percent of Pennsylvania forests are privately owned. Of those, only 2 percent have management plans,” said Bearer.
Forestland covers 60 percent of the state.

“We have been degrading the forests by cutting down all the healthiest trees,” said Bearer, “and 50 years of deer over-browsing has been a problem.”

Bearer discussed other threats the forests face.

“Pests like the gypsy moth blight hundreds of acres every year,” said Bearer.

The gypsy moth was imported in 1869 in an endeavor to create an American silk industry.

“The emerald ash borer is also very dangerous to forests,” said Bearer.

Believed to have originated in China, the emerald ash borer has killed tens of millions of ash trees in the northeastern U.S. and Canada, according to emeraldashborer.info.com.

“For over 50 years, fire suppression in Appalachia has led to unnatural and dangerous ecological conditions,” said Bearer.

The long-term build up of organic material on the forest floors can lead to fires.

“In 2009, TNC helped to pass prescribed fire legislation at the state level,” said Bearer.

Prescribed fires are controlled by professionals and limited in scope. Forests also face pressure from developing energy industries.

Thousands of Marcellus shale natural gas wells have been installed across the state. The materials used in the extraction process can adversely affect the local environment.

“The future is now,” said Bearer, “but we have to do things the smart way.”

Several Earth Week activities are scheduled at Clarion. They include: “Birds of Prey,” 7 p.m. April 22 in Gemmell Student Complex; a Nature Art Show at Artfunkels April 23; and a tree planting at Bear Town Rocks, Clear Creek State Park and a recycling drive at Clarion County Park, April 24.

Clarion infielders meets at the pitcher’s mound before the inning in the cold weather.

Last Friday the Clarion Golden Eagle’s softball team took on the defending national champions, Mansfield University.

In the first game, Clarion erupted for four runs in the third inning to jump out to a 4-0 lead.
Rebecca Lynch, Kacie Nemeth, Nicole Lollo, and Carlie Cook put Clarion up by four going into the fourth inning.

Clarion added two more runs in the fourth inning to increase their lead to 6-0.
Mansfield finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning with a score from Megan Trutt.

The final score was Clarion 6, Mansfield 1.

In the second game, Mansfield had a strong third inning as they ran in five runs.

In a strong surge to come back, Clarion was able to run in two runs in the 5th inning and two more in the bottom of the seventh, but this would prove to be too little too late as the Lady Eagles would fall to Mansfield 5-4.

The very next day, Clarion would take on Lock Haven University in a double header.

In the first game, Lock Haven would jump out to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning.

In the bottom of the second, Clarion would answer back with a run to tie it up 1-1 off a Lollo score.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Lady Eagles would come alive as they ran in four runs off scores from Baun, Lollo, Lynch, and Lindner.

Another big inning for the Lady Eagles found Clarion scoring four runs in the bottom of the fourth, three in the fifth, and four in the sixth to propel Clarion to a dominating 12-3 victory.
In game two against Lock Haven, Clarion trampled Lock Haven 9-7.

Clarion scored first in the first inning with Rebecca Lynch and would jump out to an early 1-0 lead.
Lock Haven had a strong second inning scoring six runs. Clarion answered back in the bottom of the second inning with six runs.

In the fourth inning Clarion picked up another run by Cook.
In the top of the fifth Lock Haven brought in one run and Clarion answered with a run of their own making the score 9-7.
This would be the end of scoring for both teams.
In an interview with Head Coach Nicole Banner, she said, “the team’s last four games foreshadow where the Clarion Softball Program is moving.”
“It is a new era here and big changes will be occurring,” Banner said. She stated her seniors could not have asked for a better send off.
The team finally came together as a team and she said she was very proud of them as a whole.
The weather was miserable, in cold, snowing conditions, but the team came out with the attitude that they were going to win, no matter what.
As for next year, she said she is very excited for the team’s incoming freshmen.
“They will challenge and push the team’s upper classmen to improve every day. As a unit, the team will continue to improve and work in the off season.” Banner said.
Banner continued stating, “This is a new era in the team’s softball program.”
“They will demand respect, expect to win, and win with class.”

The plot doesn’t take a genius to put together; a highschooler decides he wants to emulate the antics of the costumed heroes of comic books and dons his own yellow and green costume in the quest to free the streets of fear by kicking some butt and taking some names.
Through his journey, he meets the vigilante crime fighting team (who aren’t too keen on letting the bad guys walk away alive) known as Big Daddy and Hit Girl.
However, as costumed justice begins to interfere with the activities of a local crime lord, the criminal head’s son hatches a plot to join up with the vigilantes and snare them in a trap to get rid of the costumed menaces.
To get some basic things out there, this is not a kid’s film. This flick is violent, crude and at times incredibly dark. However, that does not mean this film is anything but fantastic. The film is a gleefully realistic satire on the conventions on the super hero origin story to begin with, then slowly treads into the warped parody of most glorious comic book insanity that many have come to relish.
Nicolas Cage hasn’t been doing much in the way as far as respectable cinema is concerned, but in “Kick Ass,” he redeems himself to those who were fans of his work in “Face/Off,“  “Con Air” and “The Rock.”
His voice as the hero Big Daddy is a glorious pistache on the Adam West version of the Batman voice, which people can’t help but feel a little warm and fuzzy hearing that Nic Cage still has that quirkiness that made audiences fall in love with him all those years ago.
Also worthy of much acclaim are the film’s relative newcomers, Aaron Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz.
Johnson serves a completely believable mid range comic book nerd, and has a sort of counter-charisma as Kick Ass; he’s dorky enough and has enough depth to be real, and it is in his realism that he becomes endearing, despite his blunders.  One quote sums up the film perfectly.

However, if any one actor should stand out in this flick, it is the psychopathic 11-year-old, portrayed by Moretz. Indeed, Moretz steals the show.The entire time one watches this movie, it never really dawns upon the viewer the logistics of Hitgirl. Moretz is convincing enough that audience members not only buy into the idea she is a pre-teen killing machine, they eat it up.
Audience members cheered and whooped as Hit Girl tears apart a gang of drug dealers in her first in-costume appearance within the film.
Hit Girl may be an action hero to rival the likes of Ash J. Williams of the “Evil Dead” Trilogy, Harry Calahan of “Dirty Harry,” John McLane of “Die Hard,” or even the legendary John Rambo. Oh, and she’s about 12 years old.
The score is pretty decent. I recognized parts of it from “28 Days Later,” which while unusual, served remarkably well to build certain emotions in certain scenes.
However direction is really where this piece stands out. The action scenes are amazing, with each and every scene done in a different style.
One moment the scene will jump back and fourth between onlooker and Kick Ass mid fight perspective, to the next scene where it’s a tracking shot of Big Daddy just tearing criminals apart in a lumber treatment warehouse.
All in all, “Kick Ass” is a wonderful and enjoyable romp of a movie. It’s not for the faint of heart or the squeamish, but for those with the constitution for swearing 11-year-olds, comic book insanity and tastefully luscious amount of gore, this is the film for you.
“Kick Ass” is rated R for Violence, Language, and some sexuality.

Mike Ramsey / The Clarion Call

If you know of Circa Survive, then you obliviously know their vocalist, Anthony Green. Green is easily the most popular vocalist amongst the indie-rock scene, first gaining recognition as the lead vocalist on Saosin’s debut E.P. “Translating the Name.”
Green’s breathtakingly good performance gave Saosin instant critical acclaim and the E.P. spread feverishly throughout the Internet.
Despite Saosin’s success, Green surprisingly left the band and went on to create Circa Survive.
It’s debut release “Juturna” and follow-up “On Letting Go” showed potential and quickly gained popularity as many Saosin fans transferred their attention to Green’s newer endeavors.
However, for every great song Circa Survive created; there were two forgettable ones, leaving a lot of listeners let down.
So with fans still holding onto the hopes that Green and company will finally create their masterpiece, Circa Survive releases its next attempt “Blue Sky Noise.”
With major label, Atlantic Records backing the band, many fans were afraid that Circa Survive was destined to fade away into obscurity like Green’s earlier band Saosin did after  it signed to a major label.
Amazingly though; on “Blue Sky Noise,” Circa’s sound remains intact as it blends a more straightforward and focused rock sound with the ambient guitar work and soothing vocals it’s known for.
The production quality is top-notch, creating huge walls of sound while letting each instrument remain clear and articulate.
The album’s two opening tracks, “Strange Terrain” and the first single “Get Out,” are fantastic one-two punches that are instantly interesting and catchy. The two tracks flow perfectly into one another and are perfect complements.
Green transitions from lively and relaxed to aggressive and in-your-face effortlessly giving the listener chills as he screams “get out” with everything he’s got.
The momentum carries over smoothly into the next track “Glass Arrows.” This song sounds similar to older Circa records and is the closest “Blue Sky Noise” will get to it. The album is so impressive at this point that it is sad to hear what happens.
At around 2:17 into “Glass Arrows,” what could possibly be the worst transition in musical history happens. Listeners start to hear high-pitched voices screaming along with a drumbeat reminiscent of war drums.
The music that happens is so odd and unnecessary that it kills every ounce of momentum created. “Blue Sky Noise” never fully recovers from this misfortune, as the following tracks fail to stand up and assert themselves from the others.
The next three tracks “I Felt Free,” “Imaginary Enemy” and “Through the Desert Alone” are listenable, but seem to desperately have a need to showcase a huge, livid chorus that is so obnoxiously catchy that it fails to stick with the listener.
Not to say that the singing or that the melodies are too blame, Anthony Green is a fantastic singer, but that the production has abused the common fad of layering the vocals.
How can the listener get a personal connection to a vocalist when there are four different voices layered upon each other simultaneously?
“Get Out” is the album’s best track because you can actually get a sense of the emotion in Green’s voice, as it has almost no vocal layering. The most interesting track on the second half of the album is the instrumental track “Compendium.”
Circa has always had top-notch musicianship, though normally out shadowed by their vocalist; they show here that they have stepped up their game.
“Compendium” creates a great climax that is sadly let down by the lackluster closing track “Dyed in the Wool,” which is only slightly interesting due to the gang vocals used in the chorus.
It’s seems as though  fans will have to keep waiting on Circa Survive’s masterpiece. After listening to “Blue Sky Noise,” the scene may realize that Green may not be worth all the praise he gets.

All proceeds from LUNAFEST benefit the Breast Cancer Fund and V-Day’s Spotlight Country.  Eighty-five  percent of the proceeds is donated to different community nonprofit organizations, and 15 percent is donated to the Breast Cancer Fund.

LUNAFEST was created to bring people together through different causes and awareness for women’s issues, to promote women filmmakers and to support women’s nonprofit organizations throughout the United States and Canada.
LUNA established LUNAFEST in 2000.  Each year, LUNAFEST brings about 20,000 women together through watching these award-winning films.
The night started off with Carly Masiroff introducing LUNAFEST and telling the audience a couple facts about LUNAFEST and introducing the short films.  The films ran from one minute to 19 minutes in length.
The first one, “A Summer Rain,” was about a little girl from Israel who moved to the United States with her best friend.
It was hard for her to adjust to American life, but after awhile she made a friend with someone else who was unfamiliar with the American life.
Another film was called “Plastic.”  It was about a young woman getting ready for a date. When she looked in the mirror, she was able to change herself just like the girl in the magazine she was looking at.
But, then she realized that the best way to look is how you really are.
“Roz (and Joshua)” was the third film.  It was about how a woman separated from her son when he was only a couple months old.  After 12 years, she is able to see her son three times a week.  She works hard and hopes that one day soon she will be able to be with her son all the time.
The next one was called “Monday Before Thanksgiving.”  It was about a woman who lost her mother, and in the course of a year she felt like she lost everything.
She thought that she needed a man to make her happy, but in the end she realized that she makes herself happy and life is great.
A clip called “DIY: Emancipation 101,” was about women and riding bicycles. Other films included: “The Kinda Sutra,” which featured people talking about the ways that people told them babies were formed;   “A Vida Politica,” the story of a Brazilian hairstylist who believes beauty a form of activism; “Anjali,” the story of a girl who saw her father betray her mother; “ Omelette,”  a film about a mother trying to deal with the rise of inflation in the community.
The last short film was called “The McCombie Way.” This short film was about an old woman who lives in the middle of the desert and works hard every day.
Even though she is old, she still keeps her head up and is able to inspire young people and to convince them that they can do whatever they put their minds to.
For more information about LUNA or LUNAFEST, visit lunafest.org.

As the student registered, Diana Brush, associate director of the Career Fair, encouraged them to sit down and take the time to look over the map and information that was handed to them before entering the fair. Each student was presented with a layout map of the MPR that listed the companies that were present, and helpful tips on gathering information and meeting the people in the companies.
The MPR was filled with representatives from national and local businesses: Abraxas, AFLAC, Altoona Regional Health System of Medical Technology, Bayer, Blue Sky Therapy, Career Services, Clearfield Jefferson Community Mental Health Center, Commission of Pa. Civil Service, Enterprise Rent a Car, Forever Broadcasting, Gear Racewear, Inc., Hamot Medical Center, Insphere Insurance Solutions, MetLife, Northwest Savings Bank, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, Pencil Me In, PLS Logistics Services, Premier Therapy, Prudential, Social Security Administration, Travel Centers of America, U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Navy.

Dan Mormak, a representative for PLS, said he was pleased to meet people from Clarion. “Our HR [Human Resource Director] is actually a graduate from Clarion.

“We had a new hire in April that was from here, and the one girl that is interning for us now in also from Clarion. We would like to expand on that and recruit some more students from Clarion. We are hungry to compete for more students.”

Mormak said that PLS, started in 1991, is in Cranberry Township and is a top rated company in Pittsburgh that is expanding and actively growing. By being in Clarion, the company hopes to offer multiple full time positions for students that have graduated in business marketing or communications.

Career Services had a table set up with useful information for any student interested. They had handouts on how to conduct mock interviews, setting up resumes and tips for internships. Some of the student employees of Career Services, were there to also help students get on the right path.

“We are here to offer our services that are available all year round. We offer help and this fair that is free to all alumni. Not many schools offer that,” said student worker Caitlin Jones.

Clarion University student and employee of Career Services. Nicole Cadigan, a senior at Clarion, will be graduating this spring with a degree in business managing and industrialization with a minor in leadership. She stopped by the job fair to open herself to the job market and see what future employers could offer her.

“I’m for networking and job perspectives. The Insphere is nice because it is working from home. But it is based on commission. I’d like to get into the medical field because it will always be there. People will always be sick,” said Cadigan.

The women at the table from Clearfield Jefferson Community Mental Health Center said that there is a full list of possible employment areas that the company is offering. This is the company’s second time working through a career fair with Clarion.

“We hope to get a few resumes and contacts for long term employment. We won’t turn any one down,” said Melissa Terwillige.

Tuesday April 20, continued the Career fair with personal interviews with students that were already registered. Unlike Monday, it was not open all students. Some of the companies that were seen on Monday were in Egbert Hall to conduct more one-on-one time with the interested students

Additional information about the companies seen at the Career Fair or contact information, can be found at clarion.edu/130393.

Artist Profile: Emily Byrtus (Chantel Wilson / The Clarion Call)

Emily Byrtus is a senior graduating this spring. She is earning a CFA in art with a dual concentration in graphic design and drawing, as well as three minors in history, art history and honors courses.

Byrtus’ series, titled “A Series of Tubes” after the quote from Senator Ted Stevens regarding the nature of the internet.

“I like to present things in a way they haven’t been presented before,” said Byrtus, “or in ways they’re not likely to be presented in.”

Her present series depicts the relationship between man and technology.

Byrtus sees herself as somewhat of a nerd, which would lend to the nature of the series, but she also wanted to present the nature of art in a non-gendered way, as opposed to the angular masculine portrayal common in art.

Byrtus sees technology as integral to society and chooses to represent it with wires and tubes, rather than those angles commonly used to represent technology.

The interpretation is totally up to the viewer.
“I enjoy the experience between the viewer and the piece,” said Byrtus.
“It’s a very unique relationship. It can’t be forced.”
Byrtus takes a lot of her ideas on art from the feminist movement.
“With the feminist movement, a lot of what they do deals with identity,” said Byrtus.
“A lot of my work deals with identity and how it’s formed, even in pieces not dealing with women.”
Regarding particular artists and their influences, she is a fan of Roy Lichtenstein and his comic-esque style of art, as well as comic book illustration.
She holds a particular interest in the work of Ben Templesmith, who has illustrated such works as “30 Days of Night,” “Wormwood” and “Criminal Macabre.”
“I like his use of lines,” Byrtus said.
While Byrtus said she does not try to imitate the comic book style, she admires it for its great composition and line work. “They don’t get the same respect as traditional illustration and drawing,” she said.
She enjoys Marcel Dzama for his minimalist use of color, as well as his use of ink and water color. She is also influenced by the work of Kothe Kollwicz, a German expressionist, drawer, printer, and sculptor, who Brytus admires for her gorgeous expressive lines and breathtaking depictions of human figure.
She also enjoys the work of Rodin and his relationship between figure and environment. Another favorite is the contemporary illustrator Aadi Salman, who worked on the Silent Hill Omnibus.
Amongst her favorite artists are the Russian Constructivists, Steward Davis, Pierre Dotreleau,and many abstract artists.
She said while abstract art isn’t her favorite to work in, it’s very interesting to view.
In the future, Byrtus plans on continuing to develop her art, as well as becoming involved in the video game industry by bringing more artistic ideas to industry.
“Video games are in a cool place right now,” said Byrtus. “It’s kind of like how cinema was when Citizen Kane came out.  There’s not much of an artistic point, but we’re slowly getting more and more.”
Byrtus hopes to push towards broadening the types of games that focus as much on artistry as they do on game play for the general public, as well as dealing with the depictions of people and situations, such as with women, minorities and the disabled.
Byrtus’ advice to those entering the art field is to learn to deal with criticism.
“You need to be able to give out and take it,” said Byrtus.
Byrtus said that in the art world, people will come out and say what they don’t like about the art, and it is the duty of the artist to figure out what they didn’t like, and how they can improve.
“My art has improved by 400,000 since I arrived here,” said Byrtus, “and it’s only getting better.”

Recycle – Recycling is a great way to help reduce the number of items in landfills that are not conducive to decomposition. When things in a landfill do not decompose, they just sit there taking up unnecessary space in dumps. Some of these items may include aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and glass containers. Recycling allows items like these to be deconstructed and reused in the manufacture of new items. Recycling bins are located in buildings around the Clarion campus.

Don’t Use Plastic Shopping Bags – Plastic shopping bags are not biodegradable even when they claim to be. According to a consumer article on library.thinkquest.org, plastic shopping bags never disintegrate fully. Another concern surrounding plastic bags is the ink used to create the logo on the bag. It is made of cadmium and is toxic when released into the earth. Consumer advocates suggest choosing paper over plastic or even taking along a canvas bag from home to reduce the build-up of plastic bags in landfills.

Use Cloth Diapers – Americans throw away over 18 billion disposable diapers a year. If laid end to end, this diaper chain could reach the moon and return seven times. According to an article on 50waystohelp.com, parents use 5,000 to 8,000 diapers per child until they are old enough to be potty-trained. One way to reduce the number of diapers in landfills is to use cloth diapers on children. Cloth diapers, when used in conjunction with biodegradable liners, are an efficient way to dispose of waste. Cloth diapers can be reused up to 100 times and will decompose in one to six months.

Use a Low-Flow Shower Head – If a four-person family showered for five minutes a day, in one week, they would have used an average of 700 gallons of water. By replacing a traditional shower head with a low-flow model, a family can cut water usage by 50 percent. Another option is to purchase an aerated shower head. This model mixes air with water in order to reduce water usage without decreasing water pressure.

Compost – Composting allows families to turn their organic waste into a useful material rather than dispose of it in a landfill. By collecting organic waste like banana peels, grass clippings, and eggshells, families can start their own fertilizing resource for household and garden plants. Also add kitchen scraps to your compost pile to reduce the waste of older leftovers.

Switch to a Low-Flow Toilet – On average, 44 percent of indoor water use goes to flushing the toilet. Low-flow toilet models are good for the environment because they reduce the amount of water used with each flush. However, if a new toilet is not in the budget, use a water saving short-cut like placing a small milk jug in the tank to displace some of the water.

Rethink Transportation – Hybrids are a resourceful idea to cut down on fuel emissions in the atmosphere, but they are an expensive means to an end. Bicycling is a cheaper and ‘good for you’ solution to transportation, but it can also be impractical, especially in rural areas. However, there is a reasonable alternative to the transportation dilemma: carpool. Carpooling with friends or family members is an effective answer to reducing fuel emissions into the atmosphere.

Stop Junk Mail – If you saved all unwanted junk mail that you get throughout the year, it would equal approximately one and a half trees. Across the U.S. almost 100 million trees are wasted every year on junk mail. One way to help is to recycle the junk mail you do receive, but there is a better solution. To help stop junk mail, write to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, 11 West 42nd Street, P.O. Box 3861, New York, NY 10163-3861.

Switch to Fluorescent Bulbs – A home’s lighting can make up 25 percent of the electric used. By switching a home’s incandescent light bulbs to fluorescent ones, you can save energy in your home. Fluorescent light bulbs may be more expensive to begin with, but they last longer and are more efficient than the traditional incandescent ones.

Get Involved Locally – Find out what is going on in your own neighborhood. Look for community clean-up programs to get involved in or start your own. Research adopting a highway through PennDOT’s program to get involved in cleaning up your area. The Clarion area, along with the hometowns of Clarion students, could always use a good clean-up.

William Lowe speaks to students about the education system and progresses in technology. (Neal Henry / The Clarion Call)

Clarion University welcomed William C. Lowe, best known as the “Father of the Personal Computer,” Tuesday, April 20 at 3:30P.M. in Still Hall’s Carter Auditorium. Lowe is a former executive of Moore Corporation, New England Business Services, Gulfstream Aerospace, Xerox Corporation and IBM.

Lowe has served as CEO of two Fortune 1000 companies with 25 plus years experience in an accomplished career where he was known for strategic work, for delivering and sustaining revenue and profit gains with highly competitive U.S. retail market.

He has managed budgets in excess of $10 billion in development and manufacturing with worldwide plant operations. Lowe launched the IBM Personal Computer and is best known as the “Father of the Personal Computer” for leading the team that developed IBM’s PC.

In 1991, he received a major global award for the greatest Technology Product Innovation in the United States along with Bill Gates.

Lowe has recently worked as a strategic advisor for entrepreneurial companies including a Chicago based company that went public in 1999.

Lowe has traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America in order to oversee and review global operations with several major companies.

He has overseen global manufacturing and plant operations including large scale research, planning, production, manufacturing, outsourcing, supplier and distribution efficiencies and delivery with IBM, Fuji Xerox, Rank Xerox and Gulfstream Aerospace.

He went to work for IBM in 1962 as a product test engineer in Endicott, N.Y. In 1975, he became director of development and manufacturing operations for IBM’s GSD (General Systems Division) in Atlanta.

It was in his role as systems manager of entry-level systems for GSD in Boca Raton, Fla., that Lowe had the greatest influence.

In 1980, IBM was ready to enter the personal computing market dominated by Apple, Commodore and Atari, and set a one-year deadline.

Neal Henry / The Clarion Call

Lowe convinced the company that in order to meet the deadline it would have to depart from its customary style of building business machines with proprietary parts.

He also led the industry in manufacturing computers with off-the-shelf parts, a move that benefited consumers by lowering the cost of computer purchases and repairs, but at the same time made it easy for IBM’s competitors to make PCs.

The team’s approach of using open architecture not only ensured the PC was delivered on schedule, but also changed the manufacturing practices of the industry. Buying off-the-shelf parts was a decision that helped to make giants of Intel, Microsoft and other providers of computer components and software.

In 2009, Lowe published a book with Cary Sherburne, a well-known author, consultant, and journalist titled “No Nonsense: Practical Strategies for Success.” The book talks about the importance of innovation. He said that the problem with some big companies is that they continue to use the methods that got them to the top even if those methods are not working anymore.

He explained that his passion is to solve the education crisis in America. He said it seems like students are just being taught to pass tests. The education system is behind in time and should be using the new technology to its advantage. Students get bored with teachers lecturing and some can’t handle it and drop out of school. Education would be much more effective using technology.

Lowe mentioned some statistics from a YouTube video titled ‘Did You Know.’ China will soon become the No. 1 English speaking country in the world. The 25 percent of India’s population with the highest IQ’s is greater than the total population of the U.S. The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 didn’t even exist in 2004. Schools are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist. 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online. There are 31 billion searches on Google every month. In 2006 that number was 2.7 billion. It is estimated that a week’s worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.

Lowe said he had no idea that the PC was going to be such a success. His innovation was a stepping stone for the technology today and the technology of tomorrow. The facts above prove how much of an impact technology has on everyone’s lives.

Basically every college student owns their own laptop. It is like a necessity and without it that student feels lost. It is the same with a person’s cell phone. It is a wonder how anyone every functioned without the technology of today.

Lowe emphasized the importance of innovation and he wants to see a change in the education system because what they are doing now is apparently not working because there are still plenty of kids dropping out of high school every day. Without innovation there is no way to move forward.

On Friday afternoon, the two teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader at Clarion.
After a rain shortened game one on Friday that saw the Golden Eagles fall to Lock Haven 8-2 in six innings, the rain started to come down hard, forcing game two to be postponed.

In the first game of the tripleheader on Saturday, Clarion was the home team due to the makeup of the second game on Friday.

Being the home team didn’t help them that much as the fell to Lock Haven by a score of 13-2.
Eric Panko (0-5) continued his struggles by recording the loss.

Panko went 6.1 innings, while allowing nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits, and recording nine walks and six strikeouts.

Leading hitter for the Golden Eagles was Scott Berkes with a 2-4 day at the plate.

Sean Zimmerman and Ken Morgan recorded the only two RBI’s for Clarion.

Clarion was looking to put up more of a fight in the second game of the doubleheader.
Lock Haven got out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

Clarion pitcher Brandon Slater got off to a rough start as he let up a leadoff home run to Mark Strouse.

The Golden Eagles strike back quickly with two runs of their own in the top of the second.

Clarion took advantage of the Lock Haven pitcher struggling to find the strike zone.

Zimmerman led off the second inning with a walk. After a strikeout by Jason Krimsky, Morgan and Spencer White worked back to back walks to force the bases loaded.

Freshmen Jordan Labue reached on a fielder’s choice to third base, scoring Zimmerman to tie the game at 1-1.

With two outs in the inning, Chad white got another clutch hit with an RBI single, plating Spencer White for a 2-1 lead.

The threat would end soon after Labue would get caught stealing home.

With Slater settling in over the next few innings, Clarion was able to add onto their lead in the top of the fourth.

For the second time in the game, Zimmerman led off the inning reaching base, this time via a single.

Krimsky then followed with a walk.

Morgan followed with a single, loading the bases for the second time in the game.

After a pop out by Spencer White, Labue recorded his second RBI of the game, via another groundout to third base.

Clarion seemed to all but seal the victory, by tacking on three more runs in the sixth inning.

After the first two hitters were retired, Labue delivered again to start the rally with a double.

The next batter was Chad White who singled in Labue for his second RBI of the game.

The bases were loaded once again after Nate Weiss was hit by the pitch and Tom Briley walked.
With the bases loaded, the Golden Eagles received a break when Berkes was also hit by the pitch to bring in a run.

Clarion tacked on one more run via a wild pitch that scored Weiss to take a 6-1 lead.
With a good lead in tact, it was all up to the pitching to get the job done.
Slater hit a rough patch in the game, allowing seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to blow the game.

Clarion was not able to threaten in their last at bat to lose the game 8-6.

Slater (0-5) took the loss going 5.1 innings. Slater allowed seven runs (three earned) on seven hits, while recording four walks and seven strikeouts.

Chad White led the offense with a two hit game.

White and Labue also recorded two RBI’s each to lead the team.

Clarion was not able to rebound from the tough loss, as Lock Haven completed the sweep in the third game by a score of 14-3.

Clarion traveled to Seton Hill University yesterday for a non conference doubleheader.
The Golden Eagles woes continued as they lost both games, 6-2 and 4-3 respectively.
Kevin Gnacinski took the loss in game one for Clarion.

Gnacinski went 5.1 innings allowing five runs (two earned) on nine hits, while recording two walks and two strikeouts.

Five players on Clarion paced the offense with one hit each.

Clarion was looking for a split in game two of the doubleheader.

Berkes was pitching a gem through the first five innings, as Clarion held a 3-0 lead.
Everything fell apart in the sixth when Berkes surrendered four runs. Clarion failed to comeback in their last at bat.

Carly Masiroff / The Clarion Call

Erin Davies has been the victim of discrimination for being a lesbian. However, she has not let that keep her down. Rather than let the phrases “fag” and “you are gay,” which were sprayed onto her car, make her feel bad about herself, she decided to keep them on her car and drive around the countryside, from Florida to California, from Tennessee to Canada, spreading the message that hate is wrong.

Davies visited Clarion University April 15, three days from the three-year anniversary of the date that her car was sprayed. Her visit to Clarion was sponsored by the local chapter of Allies, an organization of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered and straight individuals who have come together to work for the presentation of human rights of all individuals, and the Clarion Young Democrats.

During her visit, she displayed her rainbow-colored, refurbished Volkswagen Beetle, dubbed the “Fagbug,” and presented a documentary about her yearlong journey driving around the country with the hateful words sprayed on her car.

Davies said the journey allowed her to uncover more serious stories. The documentary has aired at 35 film festivals.

“I’m really proud of it,” said Davies.

Davies said she decided not to paint over the graffiti on the car.

“It became a thing I couldn’t escape, so I decided to embrace it,” she said.

Erin Davies visited Clarion University to speak on hate crimes against the gay and lesbian community. (Carly Masiroff / The Clarion Call)

When her car was defaced, she was a graduate student at Russell Sage College in New York. After she resolved to keep the paint on her car, one of her friends bought the Web domain fagbug.com, and Davies created her own MySpace page. She decided to travel around the country and gauge people’s responses to the graffiti on her vehicle.

Over the course of her journey, she encountered sympathy and solidarity from those around her. However, she said she was dumped by her girlfriend and turned on by her friends. She also occasionally experienced negativity from those who view being gay as a sin. Despite this, she continued on, determined to share her message.

She traveled through 41 states, received 85,000 blog hits, made headlines in five countries, sold 1,000 Fagbug stickers, interviewed more than 500 people, spent 300 nights away from home, recorded 110 hours of footage, encountered 50 other unrelated hate crimes, spoke at 25 schools, participated in 11 gay pride events, had seven people attempt to remove the graffiti from her car and replaced four broken windows.

“I’ll look back and be really proud I did it,” she said.

Regarding future plans for the Fagbug, Davies said she hopes to someday cross paths with the person who did the graffiti to her car.

“I’m not betting on it, but I feel the probability is increased if I keep driving this,” said Davies. “I feel it’s inevitable our paths will cross.”

Davies’ car presently no longer sports the graffiti, but instead has a rainbow paint job she got shortly after completing her journey. The response has been more drastic, with more derogatory slurs hurled at her, but also many thumbs up from those who saw her. The new car has been subject to attacks with eggs, keys, garbage cans and people messing with her windshield wipers.

Davies said she likes the new paint job. “People will respect my car because it looks more businesslike,” she said.

The new appearance seems to attract more police attention. Davies said she had received two tickets for having lettering on her car larger than two inches, as well as many pullovers.

Davies said she hopes to eventually put the car into its own museum with a wall of notes placed on the Fagbug, as well as an interactive section for kids. In the museum, she said she also hopes to establish her own brewery.

“One gay beer stands out amongst the straight beers,” Davies said.

She’s also working on a children’s book, called “The Rainbow Car,” based on her experience.

“This was a wonderful grass-roots sort of approach to documentary making,” said Kelly Surgalski, a senior environmental biology major and president of the Clarion chapter of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance. “I thought it was great.”

“Hopefully, more people having Fagbug stickers will make the community more open to the gay and lesbian community,” Surgalski said.

The Reconciliation Act stops banks and private lenders from offering Stafford Loans to students and also authorizes all student college loans to be offered through the U.S. Department of Education.

Kenneth Grugel, director of financial aid at Clarion University, issued an advisory to students and their parents that Student Stafford Loans will no longer be issued on June 30.

Direct loans from the federal government will take the place of private loans.

All students enrolled at any university or college will need to complete a new Master Promissory Note with the USDOE if they wish to borrow funds for the new academic year.

Students will also have to fill out an entrance interview at the Federal Student Aid web site at StudentLoans.gov. “There won’t be any change in how much students receive,” said Grugel. “The only change will be a decrease in interest rates.”

Hopefully everybody will be up to date with this by the fall,” said Grugel.

Karen M. Whitney has been teaching for the last 25 years. (Lamont Sinclair/ The Clarion Call)

CLARION, Pa., April 22 – Karen M Whitney, a potential candidate for president of Clarion University, said she sees herself as one in a long line of teachers.

“I view myself as an educator first,” she said, citing her family’s long line of educators.

Whitney has been working in higher education for 30 years, starting as a resident adviser and working her way up, including working in executive administration for the past 10 years.

She has been teaching for the last 25 years. She also writes and presents scholarly papers on a regular basis.

She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in public administration and her doctorate in higher education administration.

Should she become president, her goals include advancing the university’s enterprises, promoting the “Clarion values” with pride and enhancing the university’s resource base.

Her overall goal is growth in all areas for the university.

“A president’s job is to protect and to progress, to fight for funding,” said Whitney.

She said she is very impressed with how the university leverages its funding and wishes to increase that if she becomes president.

In the face of what Whitney said she sees as an inevitable decline in funding, her goal is to try to reduce that decline for Clarion students by having a steady cash flow into the university.

Whitney said she sees herself in the mid-range of qualification in the fundraising department, having raised $2.7 million for her own portfolio.

She said she hopes to increase enrollment and student retention at the university.

She said she hopes that, at some point, the university will work so students can have more of their college degrees paid by scholarships and be less dependent on student loans.

Whitney said that, in her view, it is up to the state to help provide education to students who need it.

“It’s morally wrong for a state to control education and not fund it,” said Whitney.

She noted that many of the students at Clarion come from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Erie, and part of the reason is the personal connections between Clarion alumni and those communities.

“It goes beyond the driving distance relationship,” she said.

When asked for specific strategies on how to increase enrollment and cash flow, Whitney said she would have to look at what’s working for the university before formulating a decisive plan.

Alexia Pursley, a senior industry relations and management major who attended the session in Hart Chapel, praised Whitney.

“I enjoy her subjective appeal to the functional areas of education, which makes an obvious balance of rationality and insight,” said Pursley.

“I think she will act in faculties’ and students’ best interest and to fullest extent of her being,” said Pursley.

Pursley said she is confident Whitney will take the students’ interests into account and take a path of success to achieve the university’s overall goals. She says she’s looking forward to an administrator who seeks to actively increase student engagement in the university.

“As business student, she appeals to me in that she evaluates the situations such as budget cuts, she is dedicated to finding what went well and what didn’t,” said Pursley.

She also said she felt a calm she hasn’t felt with some of the other speakers.

“I did not feel anxious;” said Pursley, “I felt completely comfortable, like I could ask her anything. She seems very relatable.”

As a presidential candidate, Whitney said she sees possibilities and promise at Clarion.

“I can see Clarion’s desire to do good in the world,” said Whitney, “and its potential to do more.”

Protests to preserve trees along South Street. (Caitlin McGill/ The Clarion Call)

CLARION, Pa., April 22 – Discussions about widening South Street by eight feet started in April 2009.

Safety and traffic concerns forced the Clarion Borough to consider changes on South Street.

The idea to widen South Street, which is located off Wood Street near Wendy’s, resulted due to a discrepancy last year between the Clarion Borough and Gannett Fleming Engineering over fixing a staircase on North Riverview, according to the Borough.

It is thought that the widening of the street will better serve the residents who have no choice but to park there.

An article in The Clarion News mentioned that the project would allow for easier parking and traffic flow along the street, improve neighborhood safety by slowing vehicles down, provide for necessary street repairs, and provide improved American with Disabilities Act compliant sidewalks and curbs.

For weeks now, the citizens of Clarion have been rallying against the proposed reconstruction.

Protests have arisen to preserve the current width of the street and adjacent trees. Signs and ribbons are posted on trees in front Fred Cherico’s mother’s house.

Cherico is a member of Concerned Citizens of South Street.

The signs say things such as “Save the Trees” or “Vote Against Cutting Us Down.”

Megan Shewell, a senior communication major, held an on-air roundtable discussion on WCUC-91.7FM on Tuesday, April 6.

The citizen groups offered alternatives to council to alleviate concerns.

These options included completely removing parking from the street and widening smaller portions on both sides of South Street.

This would include south side between Fifth and Sixth avenues and its north side between Sixth and Eighth avenues.

This would leave the trees and streetscape untouched. An alternative that was discussed included widening South Street four feet on both sides..

The borough is anticipating about $120,000 in 2010 CDBG funding, but no official allocations have been announced.

“People should understand that if they have any questions or alternatives, that they should talk to Borough Council, and they will answer all of their questions,” said Shewell.