Frostburg Lacrosse Narrowly loses to St. Mary's.

Frostburg played its second conference Lacrosse game against St Mary's college this past saturday at one. St Mary's is a phenomenal school from an athletic standpoint, putting up a quite an impressive display in other sports in the CAC (Capital Athletic Conference), such as swimming, where they placed second overall. Despite an impressive last quarter rally and impressive individual performances from sophomore Chris Rios and freshman Spenser Love, Frostburg narrowly lost to St. Mary's with a score of nine to St. Mary's ten.

The Bobcats (6-4 overall, 0-2 in the CAC) scored two goals in the final minute of the game. Unfortunately, time ran out for the bobcats down in St. Mary's (6-4 overall, 2-0 in the CAC). Frostburg put up a great fight throughout the game, however.

FSU came back from a 4-1 deficit early in the second quarter with five straight goals for a 6-4 lead with  10:32 showing in the third quarter. St. Mary's  and Frostburg traded goals before St. Mary's went on a five-goal run on their own for an eventual 10-7 lead with 7:47 on the clock in the final quarter. It was only in the final minute that Rios and Love scored their combined two goals for the endgame score of 10-9.

Though FSU only lost by one point, the team was outshot 49-22. Junior goalkeeper Tyler Haines stopped 16 shots, eight of which were in the first quarter as FSU were trailing 2-1 after the opening frame.

St. Mary's staggering 49 shots are their second highest count for the season and at least ten were fired in each quarter. St. Mary's made an attempt to run away with the game in the first quarter, holding a 17-2 lead in shots after one.

After Rios and Loves exploits, Juniors Ryan Serio, Lucas Flag, and Andy Luhmann combined efforts to score the five goals that gave them their 6-4 lead. It was notably the first action of the year for Flaig.

Will Lerch (Three total goals, one assist) and Ben Love (three goals) each scored two more goals in the final half for St. Mary's, in addition to one more from Lerch that would eventually bring them to their game winning score of 10.

Frostburg has its next game this Wednesday against St. Vincent at 7:00 PM.

For more information on the Men's Lacrosse team, visit:
http://www.frostburgsports.com/index.aspx?tab=lacrosse&path=mlax

He is Risen

"He is Risen"

By: Sabrina Stone

            Across the world today, March 31st, many people are celebrating Easter. A day where Christians rejoice Christ rising from the dead and proving to be the Savior he had claimed he was all along. Easter festivities vary and could include any of the following: attending a church service, participating in an egg hunt, dyeing hard boiled eggs, or gathering and having a meal with family members. Also anyone who had taken part in lent was able to indulge themselves today with whatever they gave up for the forty day span between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

            Me and my family have been lucky enough to attend the annual Back River United Methodist Church sunrise service for the past several years. It is a beautiful service opened to the public every Easter morning. The service starts at 6am. Instead of having service in church it is held outdoors at Rocky Point Park. The address for this location is 2200 Rocky Point Road Essex MD 21221.

            Before service starts coffee and donuts are offered to everyone. Lory Cantin is the Reverend there and she is a very powerful speaker. She quoted early off in the sermon "God has a plan for every individual sitting here in front of me today. It is important to have a relationship with God to avoid losing sight of this plan." She is very inspiring and tries to blend personal examples and experiences with biblical lessons. The message being presented seems so much more meaningful when you can apply it to something personal. Another important member of the service is a dog named Opi.

Opi is the usher during the sunrise service. Erinn Robinson, a member of the church stated, "I dont like dogs, but I love Opi." I have never seen a dog around that many people act so gentle and calm. Much less a dog that runs around with a basket in his mouth collecting money!

Special music is also offered during the service thanks to a long time church member named Barb Thomas. After she sang "They Could Not" it seemed as if the entire congregation was at ease and completely content. The birds were flying across the bay, chirping and eating. Barb stated "I have sang in many different places in front of many different people but this will always be my favorite." After the final message was given we began singing the last song during which the sun started peeping out from the horizon. They time the sunrise perfectly with the order of the service so it is a beautiful end to a wonderful service.         
           Back River United Methodist church sunrise service is something to seriously consider next Easter if you happen to be in the Baltimore area. Even after the service is over you can explore the park and the nature within in. It is a total of 375 acres that overlooks the Chesapeake Bay. There are several picnic areas, pavilions, and shaded groves to sit around and reminisce or chat with family and friends once the service is over. There are also a couple playgrounds, a volleyball court, and a fishing pier if you enjoy physical activities or have children. It has always been a worthwhile service that I would encourage anyone strongly to go check it out. For more information about Back River United Methodist Church click here to visit their website.

Leadership in the Frostburg Community

Leadership in the Frostburg Community

By: Sabrina Stone

 

            On Thursday, February 21st, Dr. Terrance Roberts spoke at the Lane Manicur Assembly Hall located on Main Street in Frostburg, Maryland. This meeting focused on building relationships in the community, discovering more about Western Maryland, race relations, and off campus student housing. This meeting is annually; they provide snacks and live music, it is free of charge, and open to the public.

            Dr. Terrance believes that by having people step up into leadership roles and getting the community involved with students will help form a much happier and healthier area to live in. Concerns from the community included the obscene partying, and the very recent stabbing and shooting. Dr. Terrance quoted "We have to evaluate where we are and where we want to be. You are not going to be able to see an immediate change."  

            During the meeting Dr. Terrance asked questions to each of the groups being discussed. He started with the off campus student housing group, which is the newest addition to the community and leadership project. The objective of this group is to provide students whom live off campus a place to go when they're having problems and need advice. This could include problems with a roommate, disliking a class, or even just simply adjusting to college life. This group would serve as a counseling unit for people who cannot just report their problems to and RA. The second group was called discovering Western Maryland. They are working on broadcasting Frostburg State University and showing support throughout the community by painting paw prints on the street at intersections and hanging FSU flags throughout the town. The third group was focusing on race relations in Western Maryland. This group specifically is interested in learning about different cultures and racial backgrounds. The group members recently attended and African American history speech and had a lot of wonderful interactions with African American students that attend Frostburg. They spoke about any problems or racial tensions that were present or felt. The final group was about building relationships. This group was geared towards planning more meetings and events that the public could attend and become interested in. Dr. Terrance made a point in the presentation he stated, "There are expectations that students here at Frostburg State University have for the community, as there are expectations the community has for the students here at Frostburg State University. By learning and interacting with one another we can determine a happy medium so everyone can be prosperous and content." Attendees of this presentation were able to walk around to these different groups and not only learn more about them but also offer suggestions. There will be another meeting held sometime next year to recollect on the improvements made in each group over a year.

            Elesha Ruminski, a professor at Frostburg State University, was another main advocate in this meeting. She is involved with the leadership program offered at the University. After the group meetings took place and everyone had a chance to walk around Professor Ruminski gave serious insight for students and people in the community. She briefly discussed leadership roles and responsibility and what it meant to be a leader. She ended the night by saying, "Being a leader does not necessarily mean you are a president of the SGA or the CEO of a company. A leader is simply an individual that has a positive impact and can provide useful information or aid to another individual. We are all leaders in our own ways."

Bach at Leipzig

As people walked through the double doors of the performance art building there was a rush of energy. It was just that feeling of anticipation, that draw towards actual art or complete creativity. People seemed as if they couldn’t wait to be seated. Students and locals walked up to the usher and gave him their tickets. He slowly ripped it in half and politely gave them the choice of entering through the left or right door. They grabbed their ticket stub and continued towards the entrance. Darrell Rushton greeted people and reminded everyone to turn off all of their electrical devices with witty humor.  Everyone quickly grabbed their seats and quietly conversed with each other until the play began.  The lights slowly dimmed and the production started.  

The play Bach at Leipzig took place in 1722 around the time when religion was law. The director of St. Thomas church and master of St. Thomas school has died. In a predicament like this they have to hire a new director of music and the school. Six of Europe’s finest musician’s came out to audition for the position of being director of not only the school but the coordinator of music in general. These six gentlemen wanted this position because having this position not only made you famous but also made you the best. This position meant composing all of your own music, teaching the best to become even greater, also having the power to change music to your liking and not being questioned about it. So these six gentlemen were considered the best but with every artist there is a slight bit of insanity.  Joahann Martin Steindorff was the musician that this play started with.  Joahann was the helpless romantic he loved music but he also loved his women. Joahann was the soft hearted musician that would lend a hand to anyone in need. But his kindness was taken for weakness and he ended up taking the fall for something he didn’t do. He also believed that “music should be used not only to celebrate God but also could be for love” or secular uses.  Georg Friedrich Kaufmann was the ditzy but funny one. Everyone looked at Kaufmann as someone not to take serious but he always seemed to be at the right place at the right time. Georg Balthasar Schott was the brown nose of the bunch. He was like the secretary of the head master and one of the most conniving characters. He is the one that sent two letters to Joahann saying that he was the director’s greatest student. He also bribed one of his colleagues into quitting his audition so he could have one less musician to worry about.  Georg Lenck is one of the funniest characters in the play; he was a thief, a gambler, and a liar, but he did all of them so well. He seems like the type of guy that would be able to get himself in and out of any sticky situation.

Over all this play was definitely a great performance. There was unspeakable drama, stomach aching laughter, and amazing sword fighting. This play seems to be about power and the things that people will do to receive that type of glory. Some wanted to cheat their way to the top; others wanted to bribe their way to the top.  True talent has a way of always over coming all adversities. Art has a way of stopping a war or swaying a nation and making people realize its true depth. Bach in the end stopped everything in its track. There was so much confusion in the church. There were people fighting, blood spilled, and a war outside but Bach seemed to calm the storm with his music. They paused, saying, how we can destroy something so beautiful; the gun fire stopped, the swords stopped clashing and everyone mellowed their minds. Tai Lowery said “I really enjoyed the performance.” Bach at Leipzig was a great production and the audience seemed to enjoy every bit of it.

SGA Meeting 3/28/2013

            On Wednesday, March 28, 2013 at 7:30pm the SGA had a meeting in the Lane center. During this meeting, there were 23 people in the panel which were called the senate. There were also 30 people in the audience which was called the gallery. During this meeting they first started off with the people from Aramark. Aramark is the place that provides the food on the Frostburg campus. Aramark is in charge with the food in Lane, Chesapeake, Subzero and Cat Trax. During this first part of the meeting, people were able to speak and tell what they thought about the food on campus.

            “Why is meal plan taking away on Sunday in the Lane center?” said RJ.

In response to his question, the people in charge of Aramark stated that there has not been a meal plan in Lane for over 3 years. They also stated that a meal plan in Lane on a Sunday is not supposed to occur and it is not set by the University. Many of the Frostburg students had a lot to say about the food on campus.

“Recently there has been numerous people that have come to me and talk about how there has been hair in their food. In the past it was very rare but recently it has been a growing problem, we have received about three or four complaints within this month” said one of the SGA senates.

Jeff McKinley stated he would look into. However, he stated that all staff wears hair nets. As a student at Frostburg state University and a person that eats at these places I do see the staff wears hair nets on a daily.

“Why do they run out of the main food during late night? For example if they are having chicken quesadilla they run out of chicken and it’s nothing left but the tortillas and cheese. I don’t want that, we pay too much money out of pocket to deserve these crazy meals” said one of the students.

The Aramark director Jeff McKinley explained that he was sorry about that but they just hired a new chef from California and he/she just began last week. He said hopefully there will be more changes and he wants us to be able to talk to them. He said students should fill out the comment cards, come to the director dinners, or talk to them on Facebook and Twitter so that they know what to change or know what we do/do not like. Both of the directors were very nice and understanding and wanted to make changes for us. However, they needed to know what to change because without our voice they would not know.

After the Aramark discussion, organizations were asked to come up to ask for money for the cause that they thought was important. There were numerous organizations that came out and waited for the chance to speak to the SGA board and ask for money. Moreover, only three organizations were able to speak and receive a certain amount of money before the money was gone. After the third organization asked for money, there was not any more money left for SGA to give out to the other organizations. Some of the organizations that came out asked for money for certain events that were coming up during the spring 2013 semester.

The SGA meeting was very interesting. It also gave the Frostburg students a voice to talk about certain things that they wanted to speak upon. More students that have a problem with something that they do not like or want to compliment something that they enjoy should come out and speak at the SGA meetings. The SGA meetings are for the student body, therefor emore students should come out and express their voice in important matters.

By: Desiree Allison-Towson

Connected in a Way

Frostburg State University in Partnership with Sustaining Campus & Community

            On March 26, 2013, Frostburg State University in partnership with Sustaining Campus and Community held their second dialogue series session at the Lyric Theater located at 20 E Main Street in Frostburg, Maryland. This session described the ground rules of discussing a variety of issues in the community and guests talked about their personal experiences of helping the community.

            Coming through the doors of the event, on the left side, there was a table with a sign-up sheet, brochures of Communications Studies at Frostburg State University, pens, markers, blank sticker name tags, and handbooks of Frostburg State University history and Frostburg documentations of 2012. Working at the table was Frostburg State University senior Rashya Jones, “The Sustaining Campus and Community Dialogue Series seems to be a great way for local residents, students and faculty/staff to connect, find common ground and collaborate for the better of FSU and the city of Frostburg. Great projects are under works!” she said. Also, along the left side there were tables with water, iced tea, sandwiches, soup, and a variety of small rectangular cut cakes for everyone to enjoy. The audience sat at round tables, sitting up to eight persons comfortably, while eating and listening to the speakers. A stage with five chairs and a microphone stand with a brick wall as the background is where the speakers spoke.

Guest speaker Dr. Marvin Johnson, founder and executive director of the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, began the event by discussing the ground rules. At the community meetings a person has to have an open mind and focus on listening. Have a conversation and not a debate, because if there is more of a debate not many people will want to share their ideas out loud. Be respectful and promote equal participation, even if someone has not participated ask them ‘what do they think?’ so that everyone can be part of the conversation.  Facilitators have the job of keeping the conversation on track and having fun with the conversations so that everyone can have a good time. Lastly, closer to the end of the meeting you will seek solutions and common ground after looking over the ideas that was written down on a flip board. Dr. Johnson connects the ground rules to discussing common interests such as living in the same locale, building relationships, and race relations. “We are all connected, not just a community living together but a community having common interest.” Dr. Johnson concluded. After applauding for Dr. Johnson, Frostburg State University senior Safiyq Hinton comments, “This a great opportunity for students to interact with long term residents and bridge our differences.”

After guest speaker Dr. Johnson discussed the ground rules, other guest speakers shared their giving to the community. Reverend Tim Smith, Pastor of Frostburg Church of the Nazarene, and his church ministries are involved in child sponsorship, children school packs, school and after school programs, water projects, hospitals, health care clinics, HIV and AIDS, microeconomics projects, and the Nazarene disaster relief providing crisis care kits. Pastor Everett Spence from God’s Ark of Safety initiated the Frostburg food bank program and have children day care. Pastor Spence and his church are planning to have another children’s day care in Frostburg, open up healing rooms, and a recovery program.  President of Neighborhood Friends Care, Ken Fisher, works with in town churches and Frostburg State University student volunteers to help people in the Frostburg community with such things as snow shoveling, leaf raking, cleaning gutters, repair handicap ramps, painting, and clean closets.

Having to come together as a community, meeting to discuss issues, and following the ground rules will surely make a difference in the community. An event like this is a great way for everyone in the community to join so that more ideas can be recognized and discussed. Kendra Emery, Frostburg State University student, agrees and also added “I think the dialogues are a great way to combine the community and students.” Help experience a great future for Frostburg and get involved.

-LaVonne Sauls

The Community Of Frostburg; the "Connective-ness" of Faith.

Sustaining Campus and Community Dialogue Series

by: Christine Parisi

                 On Tuesday March 26^th, an event was held at the Frostburg Lyric Theatre entitled, Sustaining Campus and Community Dialogue Series, which spoke of how the University and the community work together by building and strengthening relationships to make Frostburg a better place. Dr. Elesha Ruminski, Chair and Associate Professor of Communication Studies opened the event by welcoming everyone and inviting them to take part in food and conversation. Dr. Ruminski then introduced Dr. Marvin Johnson, founder and executive director of the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, to the floor.

                Dr. Marvin’s comforting words led the evening to a great start when he highlighted the importance of “recognizing our connective-ness.” He goes on to say that we are all connected somehow and not one person is better than another. Therefore, we must come together as a community and assist one another.

                Speakers from the event included members from Frostburg’s “faith community”; those of which were Pastor Tim Smith, senior pastor of the Frostburg Church of the Nazarene; Pastor Everett Spence, senior pastor at God’s Ark of Safety; and Ken Fisher, president of Neighborhood Friends Care. Each spoke on what their church and organization is doing to reach out to the community.

                Pastor Tim Smith explained how his church is involved in child sponsorship, children school packs, school and after school programs, water projects, hospitals, health care clinics, and disaster relief, which includes sending out packages of clothes and food to people in need. Pastor Tim states, “Disaster response can help us many times overlook our personal conflicts by joining together with other people on a common cause.”

                Pastor Everett Spence of Frostburg’s God’s Ark of Safety began his introduction agreeing with Dr. Johnson by saying “I appreciated so much what Marvin had to say, about the community and how we are all attached to one another because through the church we really realize that”. God’s Ark of Safety supports seventeen different “missional” groups, ten of which are overseas and the remaining seven residing locally. The local groups include, Salem’s Children’s Trust, The Union Rescue Mission, Calvary Christian Academy, Tri-State Teen Challenge, First Way Pregnancy Center, Covenant Counseling, and He’s Alive Radio. Pastor Spence emphasized the importance of children and family. “Children are the future,” he stated. The church hopes to add “healing rooms” and additional daycare facilities. Pastor Spence closed by stating the recent contact he had with Teen Challenge, which approached him with the idea of starting a “celebrate recovery program,” which will aid those in addictions recovery.

                Last from the faith community was Ken Fisher of Neighborhood Friends Care, an organization that started roughly six years ago with a concern that people were not getting the care and assistance they needed or deserved. Neighborhood Friends Care is a faith based ministry that was once envisioned to be lead by a network of caring people from the churches. The organization was originally under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church but since then has moved under the umbrella of the foundation of Frostburg. Neighborhood Friends Care helps elders and people in need by mowing lawns, raking leaves, or simply just by being a comrade to the lonely.

                The organization is seeking out students from Frostburg State University in order to reach out even more to members of the community. Mr. Fisher’s concluding remarks were, “We just want to help people, and we need people to help people.”

                A few other organizations followed the ministers,” including the Building Relationships Group, Discovering Western Maryland, and Pride at Frostburg, each with new and uplifting ideas to help strengthen and build a better community.

                By the end of the event many of the community members and students were excited and optimistic about the ideas presented. 

Dr. Marvin Johnson, founder and executive director of the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution.

                

Open Mic Night

On February 20th the BSA (Black Student Association) and Iota Fraternity hosted Open Mic Night in the Lane Center Loft. Musical performances, poetry readings, and stand-up comedians were made open to the Frostburg public. The event began at 7:30 pm and was meant to end 9:30, but other performers who found the courage to sign up towards the end of the showcase caused the event to end at 10.

http://www.frostburg.edu/clife/diversity/student-organizations/black-student-alliance-bsa/

The Sweetest Place On Earth!

 

66^th Annual Pennsylvania Maple Festival Parade
Meyersdale Pennsylvania

 By: Kayla Miller

On Saturday March 23, 2013 Meyersdale Pennsylvania held their 66^th annual parade. Meyersdale might be a small town but is known as the sweetest place on earth because of the pure maple syrup they produce. Every year the town holds the Pennsylvania Maple Festival that is full of events. A week full of tree tapping for pure maple syrup, Maple Queen Pageant, Crowning the new queen, Car shows, the Legend of the Magic Water play, plenty of food and so much more.

The town had been blocked off for hours in order to line up all the parade participants. The crowd of people that had bundled up to enjoy the parade was lined up on both sides of the street. Everyone was waving and smiling at all the participants making their way through town even though they were shivering. The rosy cheeked children were laughing and racing each other to get to the candy that was thrown at them.

The Meyersdale Police Department had started off the parade followed by the Meyersdale Volunteer Fire Department. One of the biggest hits of the parade was of course the fire departments. The children stood at the edge of the street waving and yelling for the fireman to blow their truck horns. Some of the participants from fire departments included Meyersdale, Salisbury, Somerset and Berlin all from Pennsylvania, Grantsville, Eastern Garrett County and Frostburg all from Maryland were some of the volunteer fire departments that were in the parade.

The Maple Festival holds a scholarship pageant for high school seniors from the area. There were 16 princesses this year. The parade was full of bright and shiny convertibles driving them through the parade in their gowns. The Pageant float brought through this year’s Maple Queen Ranita Bowers-Thomas a senior at Berlin Brothersvalley High School in Berlin Pennsylvania. Abigail Homa 5 from Meyersdale Pennsylvania said, “I hope to be the maple queen when I get bigger because they wear big pretty gowns.” Everyone was excited, jumping and waving as the queen made her way through the parade.

Steven Homa a local and member of the Meyersdale Volunteer Fire Department said, “I have a great time driving the engine though the parade with my wife and daughter. The parade crowd this year was smaller than what it has been in the past but this could be due to the weather.”

Scott Deal had said, “This is my first time here at the festival, I came as a young child but do not remember much. If the weather had been nicer I believe the crowd would have been much greater. The parade was nice I enjoyed the high school bands, the old cars, military personnel groups and every other participant. I also, enjoyed going to Festival Park where I watched how maple candy was made and walking through the old county store.”  

After the hour long parade the town quickly cleared out of all the people. Many made their way to the Fire Department to get warm, socialize and eat as others made their way to the various food vendors and Festival Park.

The crowd may not have been as big as previous years due to the cold weather but it still brought people from all over to share in the Maple Festival Festivities. The sweetest place on earth still brought out the sweetness in everyone. If you want to know more about the Pennsylvania Maple Festival visit their webpage at http://www.pamaplefestival.com/.

 

 

Frostburg's Historic Palace Theater Screens "Amour"

 By: Sarah Galvin 336.002

In this photo from IMDb, an advertising poster for "Amour" shows Trintignant as the character Georges. (AP Photo/IMDb)

On Friday, March 15, 2013, Frostburg's Palace Theater presented a screening of Austrian director Michael Haneke's "Amour," a French film staring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva. The movie, having won 41 awards and collected an additional 37 nominations internationally, recently received the 2013 Oscar for Best Foreign Film. 
 

Huff and Donna Gerry, locals at Friday night's showing, admitted the only reason they were familiar with the film was because of the Academy Awards. Donna Gerry confessed she did not know what to expect while watching the movie. She had seen "Amour" mentioned on the Academy Awards and thought it “looked intriguing” enough to drag her husband to the Palace for an evening out. Huff Gerry shrugged complacently and grasped his wife's hand. The couple have only attended two prior viewings at the theater but agreed that it is always an enjoyable experience. Donna Gerry explained that she found the Palace's history fascinating, and Huff Gerry, balancing his soda in his lap, commented, “I miss the cup holders that other places have, but besides that, it's a nice theater.” 
 

As Donna Gerry mentioned, the Palace is widely appreciated across the community as a piece of local history. The theater originally opened as Dreamland in 1906, but it was forced out of business in 1981; its single projector and viewing room were not competitive with the more efficient theaters showing multiple movies at once. Several years later, members of the community united to reopen the theater, and years of local fundraisers, involving countless volunteers, were necessary before it could be re-brought. In 2002, Frostburg celebrated finally paying off the theater's mortgage. The Palace established its regular film series in 2003, and since then, classic, independent, foreign films, and documentaries have found their place in the community. 
 

While the vast majority of the audience on Friday was middle-aged or older, Meghan Coburn and Maura Krautner were two of a handful of attendees under the age of 40. Coburn and Krautner are seniors at Mountain Ridge High School and find the Palace just as inviting as the older generations. “It's so cool,” they both repeated. “And people don't usually text here,” added Coburn. The students, seeing "Amour" as part of their French class in school, said they have been frequent guests at the Palace since childhood. 

In this photo released by the Palace Theater, the Palace's marquee lights up Frostburg at 31 East Main Street. (AP Photo/Palace Theater)

The Palace Theater is located on Frostburg's Main Street, squeezed in amongst the small stores that line the surrounding blocks. Its vintage marquee is impressive and eye-catching from the street, yet viewers stepping into the Palace do not find overbearing grandiose. The Palace rejects mainstream commercialism, proudly boasting an artsy, retro atmosphere that is both intimate and welcoming. Audience members entering the theater on Friday were greeted by the overwhelming scent of fresh popcorn. However, the smell of the popcorn is perhaps the only similarity between a Palace Theater experience and a typical movie theater experience. The small concession stand sold an array of non-commercial and healthier versions of movie snacks, including their organic popcorn, organic candy, and all-natural sodas. 
 

The old-fashioned film projector draws the eye in the Palace Theater waiting room on Friday, March 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Sarah Galvin)

Past the initial lobby, guests paused in a small waiting room decorated with the Palace's signature red and black floral wallpaper and an old-fashioned film projector. The audience members chatted cheerfully with each other and the few workers moving between stations at the box office, concession stand, and theater entrance; the Palace seemed to be filled not with visitors and employees, but with friends. There was a strong sense of community as the group of about 60 viewers dispersed to fill a third of the theater's seats. Smooth jazz played in the background while the audience waited for the film to start. Promptly at 7:30, one of the employees, Sean Henry, bustled to the front of the room to personally introduce the previews and "Amour."
 

Henry spoke to the audience warmly and informally, opening with “Hopefully you're all here to see 'Amour' because that's what we're showing!” He thanked the local world language teachers who sponsored the "Amour" screening and referenced the previews for the theater's next two films: "Tabu" and "Barbara." Unfortunately, he could not confirm the Palace's exact future schedule because emergency renovations to a front lobby wall will be taking place soon after the weekend's "Amour" viewings. Until the building has been secured, the Palace's coming events are in limbo. Henry assured the audience that the Palace would be back as soon as possible and explained that everyone should be on the lookout for news updates on the renovation process. 
 

Right from the beginning, "Amour" had a powerful impact on the audience. The film did not have a musical score, and the striking silence during the opening credits immediately set the movie's somber tone. "Amour" follows the retired music teachers Georges (Trintignant) and Anne (Riva) as their love faces the heart-wrenching challenge of Anne's declining health. A stroke victim, Anne becomes increasingly dependent on Georges for care, and Georges must find ways to cope with helplessly watching his wife suffer. In raw, brutal honesty, the film shows both the triumphs and pains of love and death. Although highly critically acclaimed, "Amour's" dark and mournful tale left Friday's audience impressed but somewhat uncomfortable. There was an awkward silence as viewers slowly rose to depart after the film. “I don't even know what to say,” said Coburn, sharing a deeply troubled look with Krautner. They agreed the movie was well done but were too affected to process it beyond Krautner's statement that it “puts life in perspective.” Huff and Donna Gerry had similar reactions, nodding enthusiastically to agree that "Amour" is a quality film, but they were otherwise too overwhelmed with the movie's melancholy to comment further. 
 

"Amour's" final showing is Saturday night at 7:30, and for anyone looking for a poignant film experience, the Palace is the place to be. The box office opens at 7 on Saturday for "Amour," and more information about the Palace Theater is available online and through their Facebook group.

It's Your Que To Win

On Saturday February 23, 2013, the brothers of Iota Phi Theta hosted their annual stroll-off competition. The event’s location was at the ARMAH room in the Lane Center. All of the participants included the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity incorporated, Omega Psi Phi fraternity incorporated, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity incorporated, and the hosts themselves, Iota Phi Theta fraternity incorporated.

All of these five fraternities are part of an organization called the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), which has a total of nine Greek fraternities and sororities. The nine Greek organizations in the NPHC are known as the “Divine Nine”. It was initially formed for African Americans who wanted to join Greek life but could not because of their skin color. So they decided to form their own Greek letter organizations. The first organization that was formed was Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which was formed in 1906; following them was Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority 1908; Kappa Alpha Psi in 1911; Omega Psi Phi fraternity also in 1911; Delta Sigma Theta sorority in 1913; Phi Beta Sigma fraternity in 1914; Zeta Phi Beta sorority in 1920; Sigma Gamma Rho sorority in 1922; and Iota Phi Theta sorority in 1963.

A stroll-off is a competition in which each fraternity would do a kind of dance routine as a group, and would be adjudicated on how well or poorly they executed the choreography. Factors that are included in the judging are creativity, concise movements, and timeliness of the overall routine. These competitions are often in the order of when the fraternities and sororities were founded. This means that the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha were the first to perform.

The brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha came out in black sweaters with their Greek letters sewed in with gold. They came out with the song they are known for strolling with, “Knuck if you Buck” by Crime Mob. I asked one of the students in the congregation how he thought they did and he responded by saying “that they did not have any energy in their routine”. The DJ also had a part to do in this as there were several pauses in the music while the fraternity was still performing.

Up next were the brothers of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, who are known as the “Ques”. They came out with tank tops and their usual army fatigue shorts. They had a Latin style routine with one of the brothers wearing a sombrero and also doing the salsa to a Latin beat. This got the crowd very engaged and people were already deeming them the winners of the whole competition.

The brothers of Phi Beta Sigma were next. They had on cardigan sweaters with black slacks, white shirts, and black ties. They started their stroll to the song “Pop That” by French Montana. Their routine was very well-executed with very little to know flaws.

Iota Phi Theta fraternity incorporated was the last to go. They encouraged some interaction from the crowd by going up to a random female on the front row and performing a slight seduction on them.

Followed by the stroll-off competition was the after-party, where the winners were to be announced. As most people assumed already, the brothers of Omega Psi Phi fraternity incorporated won the competition.

The Vagina Monologues: Expect the Unexpected

There’s a lot to say about the Vagina Monologues, a play by 1 Billion Rising and Frostburg State theatre members, that opened up this past weekend on Friday and Saturday, February 22nd and 23rd. This production was made to raise awareness about violence against women, including domestic abuse, manipulation, and rape, and is a very bold play. Words such as “cunt,” “pussy,” “vagina,” and “coochie snorcher” are used quite frequently during the production as a sort of ice breaker for the crowd, and it was clear who was and was not comfortable with this from the amount of people trying to quietly leave even before the first intermission. Prominent Frostburg State University girls, like Kai White and Lucille Blumberg, all made presentations of different women’s testimonies throughout the country to various questions posed to them during their interviews. Each interviewee had to respond to very unusual and unorthodox questions, such as “If your vagina could talk, what would it say?” and “What clothes would your vagina wear?” This play is something that delves into the roots of a woman’s sexuality, ranging from females as young as 6 and as old as 72 years old.

The reactions of the crowd were just what would be expected from the content and choice of words used by the performers. Despite the adult-rated language and performances, it was more than just profanity and possibly obscenity; rather, it was to exemplify the scrutiny of the woman and identify those double-standards in life which we accept as the norm. There were lesbian references – including a couple of the interviewees, there were sex references and imitations of female orgasms, and even personal stories of sexual encounters that the interviewed women had experienced during their lives. One example of the stories shared with the crowd on the two nights that the Vagina Monologues was performed is the account of a young teenage girl who had a sexual encounter with another young woman in her twenties. The woman was a neighbor of the girl’s family, as well as a beautiful lawyer, and the girl’s mother had allowed for them to spend time at the woman’s house (don’t let the words confuse you). It was there that the young girl learned how she enjoyed the sexual companionship of a female and not of a male, as she told the woman that she doesn’t like kissing boys. Although the girl never saw the woman again, the experience had changed her life as well as what she thought of her “coochie snorcher,” as the young girl’s mother referred to the vagina as.

There is not much more to say about the Vagina Monologues without retelling more of the stories shared in the production. The Vagina Monologues really is a collection of monologues from women across the country of all ages who were interviewed about their vaginas; hence, Vagina Monologues became the self-explanatory title. However, the one major thing that caught my attention the most is one of the final performances by an FSU student with a trimmed Mohawk. Her character was a woman who was once a lawyer and then became a paid female dominatrix. She illustrated for the entire crowd the sounds and body movements of over a dozen different female orgasms while sitting in a chair, each with its own unique name. It’s hard to imagine that some of the men in the crowd weren’t standing at attention during some parts of this particular act.

As I was an indoor usher for the Vagina Monologues, I got close to a front row seat to the production in addition to being able to see the crowd’s reactions to some of the content displayed onstage. It was a prime position for me to both observe both the performers and the audience, as well as joke around with one of the stage managers, Donnie. The experience overall was enjoyable once the awkwardness of certain words was taken away and I applaud 1 Billion Rising for creating and coordinating such a significant, complicated, and daring production.

Frostburg Students Attend NICAR 2013

by Skye Pinney

This past Thursday through Sunday, Professor Andy Duncan and FSU students Caitlin Megonigal, Shawn Pillai, Chris Ullery and I attended the annual IRE NICAR Computer-Assisted Journalism conference in the Hyatt-Regency Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.

Much of the conference was geared towards journalists who have experience using data collection and analyzation tools. Experts in the field held 50-minute-long panels and classes to cover topics from the problems with “cherrypicked” evidence from big data to joining lists of people in Excel to find the “bad guys.” However, not every panel and class required familiarity with such tools. Basic classes in Python and Access were provided, as well as an even more basic class on the journalistic tool anyone can use- Twitter.

Doug Haddix (@DougHaddix), director of the Kiplinger program at Ohio State University, taught the class on commonly overlooked Twitter tools. At the front of a room of 40 or so journalists set up with laptops, Haddix explained browsing categories to search for particular beats and using the hashtag to tune into conversations and see what is trending in certain areas. “It’s a way that we can form a community around that event or topic,” he said. “We can think of the hashtag as a channel.”

Haddix also explained common twitter mistakes as well as the underused but powerful option to make lists on Twitter, inviting the class to subscribe to the NICAR 2013 list. With lists, users can keep up with certain groups of people’s tweets without following each person. They can add people to different lists and choose to keep them public or private. Clicking on “member of,” some will be surprised to see what lists they are on, while others may never know. He then showed the class websites for advanced twitter searches like topsy.com and snapbird.org, stating, “This is where you can find the needle in the haystack.”

The Kiplinger program in Public Affairs Media is designed to keep journalistm students from across the globe updated in the fast-changing world of digital news media. The program teaches its students to use online sources like Twitter and Youtube to tell news stories in engaging ways. Haddix states that aside from a little personal use, he uses Twitter mainly for work and as a way to save time and keep up. “I can’t imagine being a journalist without Twitter,” he said after the class was over.

Keeping up with news can be as easy as checking one’s Twitter feed, especially if he or she follows the Twitters of multiple news sources, and this can be done just about anywhere with the use of a smartphone or tablet. As people's use of devices increases, so does their use to us. Some apps in particular have gained popularity amongst journalists. In the panel “Covert reporting: using technology to cover your tracks,” ESPN’s Paula Lavigne described some of the apps she uses to research and find data without revealing her identity. One app, SpoofCard, lets a person make calls while disguising his or her number, with the option of having the number appear as another person’s number from the recipient’s contact list. The caller’s real number will not even appear on the recipient’s phone bill, and users can choose to record conversations and access them on their accounts. Conversely, the app TrapCall unmasks restricted numbers, records incoming calls, blacklists harassing callers, and even transcribes voicemails. Lavigne explained that if someone she is trying to reach for a story won't answer her calls, or if she does not want someone to know her personal number, she uses SpoofCard.

Apart from learning more about the use of devices and social media in journalism, Caitlin, Shawn, Chris and I left the conference with an understanding of the importance of interpreting data to better news stories. Chris says that he learned how to look at data, such as 911 response times, that he can use at any local level. Caitlin found the conference “very beneficial,” saying, “it really got me interested in learning more about data analysis.” She attended 3 introductory classes on Access.  Shawn states, “The NICAR conference illustrated how much raw, unorganized data is out there, on the web or otherwise, just waiting to be collected, arranged, and interpreted... Creating custom scripts to automate the collection and organization of data allows journalists to dive right into what we do best: extrapolating meaningful conclusions from an organized data set.”

When Shawn admitted that he had a lot of catching up to do in data journalism, Ron Campbell, an investigative reporter at the Orange County Register, replied, “Attending NICAR gives us all a sense of how much catching up we have to do.” In the constantly progressing world of information technology, it can be hard to stay current, but at the NICAR conferences, data miners, researches, and writers alike combine their efforts, casting a net of resources and knowledge for the entire journalism community.

This trip was made possible by grants from the FSU Foundation, the FSU Honors Program, and the FSU English Department.

"The Innovator of Violence" Invades Frankfort High School

 by Nicholas Amick, ENG 336.002

As Chris Cline taunts the Frankfort High School crowd, Tommy Dreamer prepares to do battle.

On Saturday, March 2, 2013, Frankfort High School hosted the Elite Pro Wrestling Alliance’s “Night of the Elite 14” event in the gymnasium. Fans from far and near gathered to witness an evening that included two cage matches, an intense six person tag-team match, and much more. Throughout the entire show, there was not a single occurrence that drew more excitement than the main event, which was a heavyweight championship match between the “Innovator of Violence” Tommy Dreamer, the current champion, and “Too Fine” Chris Cline.

                As Tommy Dreamer entered the ring to defend his title, fans could only look on in amazement. After all, Dreamer has been a household name to wrestling fans since the nineties, due to his reign as champion in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later work in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE); WWE is widely regarded as the most popular and successful wrestling organization in history. “I can remember watching him all the time when I was younger and wanting to be like him,” said Doug Jones, 27, of Piedmont, WV. “I brought my son tonight and I hope he gets the same thrill out of watching him that I did. The guy is an animal.” When the bell finally rang, fans held their breath in anticipation of the first strike. Fans patiently watched as Dreamer and Chris Cline circled each other for nearly a minute, exchanging only insults. When the two men finally grappled in the center of the ring, they simply exchanged submission holds, which did little to gain the approval of the crowd.  When the submissions came to an end, however, fans received a violent reminder of why they came to the event.

                Shortly after the two opponents stopped trading submission holds, Tommy Dreamer demonstrated how he earned his nickname, the “Innovator of Violence,” to the Frankfort High School crowd. In an audience that consisted mostly of parents and children, the level of brutality that occurred was extremely shocking and somewhat unsettling. Dreamer began this assault by stealing a water bottle from the bell-keeper’s table and practically crushing it onto Chris Cline’s face. He then led Cline through a crowd of screaming fans, where Cline was repeatedly slammed onto the wood surface of the bleachers. Once the action returned to the ring, the violence became almost sadistic. Dreamer returned to the bell-keeper’s table and, this time, stole the ring bell and bell hammer. After knocking Cline to the floor, he placed the bell over Cline’s genital area and proceeded to strike it with the bell hammer; Cline violently convulsed on the floor as he received these blows. Although the gymnasium was filled with excited cheers from the fans, it was clear that certain members of the crowd were uncomfortable with the extreme level of violence, appropriately referred to as “hardcore wrestling” by wrestling fans. “I understand that these guys are professionals and they take plan all of this out, but I was really surprised by just how far he went with that ring bell,” said Nancy Stevens, 46, of Winchester, VA. “I really thought about taking my kids out of the gym at that point.”

                While some fans seemed upset by the violence level of the main event, it was clear that they were outnumbered by fans who only wanted to see more. The excited screams of the fans were nearly deafening late into the match when Tommy Dreamer, channeling his classic ECW humor, bit the forehead of Chris Cline. “It tastes like wood,” Dreamer informed the crowd. The climax of the match resulted in the largest audience response of the entire evening. After asking a fan if he could “borrow a chair,” Dreamer brought a metal chair into the ring, placed Cline in a headlock, and slammed his head onto the chair; this move is commonly known to wrestling fans as the “DDT.” The crowd jubilantly rose to their feet as Dreamer, in exhaustion, fell onto Cline and scored the pinfall, successfully retaining his championship title. “I cannot believe everything that happened in that short of a match,” said Ian Beck, 20, of Cresaptown, MD. “Dreamer beat that guy with everything but the people sitting in the crowd. I loved watching him wrestle.” Following the match, Dreamer grabbed a microphone from ringside and assured fans, like Mr. Beck, that he is grateful that people are still excited to watch him do what he loves. “I’d like to thank everyone for coming out tonight,” said Tommy Dreamer, channeling his classic ECW persona. “I always know that, every time I come to West Virginia, you guys are some sick hardcore freaks and I love you guys. God bless.” Dreamer then dropped the microphone and rolled under the bottom ring rope into a sea of waiting “hardcore freaks.”

                The Elite Pro Wrestling Alliance is a locally operated wrestling organization; they are based in Short Gap, WV. For more information regarding the Elite Pro Wrestling Alliance and any of their upcoming events, please visit their Facebook page. Tommy Dreamer is a former ECW champion and WWE superstar; he is the current heavyweight champion of the Elite Pro Wrestling Alliance. For more information regarding his career and life, please visit his official website.

Blizzard of Bucks Was a Blizzard of Fun

The University Programming Council hosted Blizzard of Bucks, “The Original Crazy Game Show!”, on Wednesday, February 13, 2013, from 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm.  The event was held at the Lane University Center Alice R. Manicur Assembly Hall.

ARMAH was transformed into a Hollywood-style game show with lights, music and audience participation.  Laughing, screaming and clapping filled the auditorium as contestants stuffed balloons in their overalls; used boxing gloves to put a pillow case on a pillow; and sucked candy with a straw from a large bowl and transported it to their opponent’s side and placed it on top of a straw inside a McDonald’s cup.  Like on the game show The Price Is Right, the audience cheered as the contestants walked to the stage and progressed through each game before time was up, vying to step into the “Incredible Money Machine” for a chance to win $500.

Nina Filipowich and Jason Hudy, hosted, the fast-paced event.  They kept the audience engaged and contestants on their feet, explaining and demonstrating the games rules and encouraging audience participation.

The games consisted of three rounds, with three games each round.  Contestants were eliminated in each round, until one person was left to face the winner of the preliminary games, Guy. 

After the elimination games were completed, Guy, was declared the winner again and entered the “Incredible Money Machine”.  Guy raced against time, grabbing swirling money and bundles at the bottom of the machine.  After 30 seconds in the money machine, Guy walked out with a little more than $50, in addition to his earlier winnings, totaling over $70.

There were no losers at Blizzard of Bucks.  Finalists went away with $20 cash and all contestants received a Blizzard of Bucks t-shirt.  Even the audience got the opportunity to win money.  Cash was given for the following: the person with a hole in his or her sock; the person wearing red fingernail polish; the person wearing an article of clothing with a Frostburg State University logo on it; and the person with a USB on the his or her key chain.

Travis, a junior business major, and contestant in the candy game, had this to say: "I like the Blizzard of Bucks program.  It was very insightful and it gave me the opportunity to get some extra cash."

Everyone was given the opportunity to go on stage and make money but only a few were willing to take that chance.  Was Travis nervous on stage?  "No.  It is mind over matter.  If you have a high self-esteem, there're no such thing as being nervous", he said.  His courage paid off literally.  "I made about $50-something-odd dollars", said Travis.

When asked why he chose to host Blizzard of Bucks as opposed to another event,  Robert “Coop” Cooper, Director of the University Programming Council, said, “We looked at our vendors and asked what event would be cool for the students.  We used them before and decided to go with them.”

Blizzard of Bucks is not only cool, fast-paced, wacky and fun, but simple to re-create.  Use or purchase inexpensive items, call family and friends and have your own blizzard of fun.  The following are the games played at Blizzard of Bucks:

Round One:

Game One

Fasten a belt with a basket and ball attached to a cord around your waist.  Crawl and toss the ball in the basket.  The last person to complete this game is eliminated.

Game Two

Walk to where your opponent is with balloons between your knees.

Game Three

Stuff balloons inside a pair of large pants.  Have someone pop and count the balloons when time is up to determine the winner. 

Round Two:

Game One

Attach a clear box with a hole in it with colored balls around your waist with the box facing the back.  Shake all .the balls out of the hole in the box.  The first person to empty the box wins.

Game Two

Take a pillowcase off and put it back on wearing boxing gloves.

Game Three

Take turns selecting an envelope off a stand.  Continue until an envelope with a picture of penny is shown.  The person who selects that envelope wins the game.

Round Three:

Game One

Hold and shuffle 39 red cups from the top to bottom until 1 blue cup is on top.

Game Two

Put headbands with pedometers around your forehead and shake your thirty seconds.  The person with the most number of “steps” win.

Game Three

You and your opponent walk back and forth balancing a tall stack of Frisbees and cups.  If your stack topples over, stack the Frisbees and cups, and continue walking toward your opponent.  Whoever reaches his opponent’s table first wins.

Final Elimination Games before Going into the Money Machine

Suck up three, same-color Skittles or M&Ms out of a large bowl of candy and walk to your opponent’s table.  Put the candies on top of three straws in three McDonald’s cups.    The person who puts all three candies onto the three straws first wins.

Flip clothespins in the air, catching them on a pizza pan.

In the final game, two contestants wear baseball caps (or any brim hat), pick up a tooth brush from a cup with the hat’s brim, walk to the opponent’s side and place the toothbrush in the opponent’s cup still using the hat’s brim.

Students interested in helping plan events like Blizzard of Bucks, should visit the University Programming Council Office, room 222, in the Lane Center.