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Mercyhurst enrollment breaks records

Mercyhurst College expects a banner year in enrollment when it opens its doors for the 70th year in September.

"It is going to be a record year for the college both in

terms of quality and quantity," said Dr. William P. Garvey, who begins his 17th year as president of Mercyhurst. "We expect over 1,000 new stu­dents, which will

push our student body to an all-time enrollment figure

of more than 2,700 students.

This certainly is a very positive note on which to open the college," Garvey said, reflecting on the college's first-year enrollment in 1926 which numbered 25 students.

Mercyhurst's burgeoning student body forced college officials in mid-July to limit further fall enroll­ments to local students, adult stu­dents and McAuley Division stu­dents, or to qualified out-of-town students who did not need campus housing.

"Housing is at capacity this fall," Garvey explained. "We do not have an empty bed on either our Erie or North East campus for the fall term.

"Our freshman class will be 90 percent residential, which has been characteristic of the admission pic­

ture at the college for the past five years," Garvey said. He noted that while 20 percent of the freshman class still come from Erie County, about half of them choose to live on campus.

Andrew Roth, dean of enroll­ment at Mercyhurst, and who has headed the Mercyhurst admission office for the past 15 years, said the Class of 2000 is expected to come in at a record-breaking 442 tradi­tional-aged students, which is 70 more than last year's class of 372. This year's Mercyhurst freshmen were selected for admission from an unprecedented application pool of 1,753. The enrollment dean also expects 133 new upperclass trans­fers, 182 new students at the Mercyhurst-North East extension center, 141 new students at the Mercyhurst-Wayne extension cam­pus, and approximately 107 new adult students who will be seeking their four-year degrees.

Two of Mercyhurst's high profile and unique majors - anthropology/ archaeology and the research intel­ligence analyst program - are among the most popular majors chosen by the freshman class. "These programs have attracted 60 new majors," Roth said, "and they consistently attract some of the brightest of the new incoming stu­dents." He added that these two programs also draw students from all over the country, thereby broad­ening the geographic diversity of the freshman class to more than 30 different states. •

Mercyhurst / \ / \ / \ s\ M F

V

V O L . 1 3 , N U M B E R 2 , S U M M E R 1 9 9 6

FEATURES The Pride of Mercyhurst Champagne and tuxedos signal the elegance of the event. Mercyhurst dedicates its new Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center at the 20th Year Finals of the D'Angelo Young Artist Competition.

Campaign Tops $12 million Continuing the Dream raises almost twice its goal.

The Heart and Soul of Mercyhurst Christ the King Chapel is restored to its original beauty.

Passing the Torch of Health a n d Fitness Twelve new graduates of the Mercyhurst Physical Therapist Assistant Program go to the Olympics.

Profile of the Mercyhurst President How the teacher-coach climbed his way to the presidency of Mercyhurst College.

The Wearing of the Green Mercyhurst Student Ambassadors proudly don their green blazers.

That Thing You Do! The Mercyhurst banner and the old gym survive final editing of Tom Hanks' November release.

Strike Up the Band New pep band rocks the house and rolls the Lakers to victory.

Salvation through the Classics Strengthen the mind and many of our worst problems will die." * t

Writing for Focus Writing across the curriculum is introduced as part of the mathematics curriculum at Mercyhurst-North East.

Stepping Out of Mercyworld Mercyhurst graduates its largest senior class at the 68th commencement.

Remember When...The Big Boy Heist Elby's Big Boy tries out college living for a night in 1974-

Laker Lacrosse Goes Division I Mercyhurst's newest varsity sport competes against high-profile teams in Division I.

The Mercyhurst Magazine is published twice a year, in the winter and summer. by the Office of External Affairs. The Magazine has a distribution of 10.800. It is published as a companion piece to Mercyhurst Today issued in the fall and spring. The Magazine is produced to showcase faculty talent and to spotlight new programs and unusual and interest­ing aspects of Mercyhurst College.

The Magazine's address is: 501 E. 38th St.. Erie, Pa. 16546 Telephone (814) 824-2285 E-mail address: mdaly@paradise.mercy.edu

Send change of address to: Mercyhurst Magazine Mercyhurst College. Erie. Pa 16546 Attention; Karen Enslish

Chairman of the Board Atty. William C. Sennett

President Dr. William P. Garvey

Editor Mary Daly '66

Editorial Assistant Angela M. Sulivan

Feature Writers Dennis Condon

Mary Daly Ed Hess Jr.

Don McQuaid Michael Plasha Angela Sullivan

Circulation Coordinator Gary L. Bukowski '73

Cover Photo: John Fontecchio

ETC. 1996 b r i n g s record e n r o l l m e n t

Inside front cover

Mascot h a s n o mercy Page n

Mercys e l ec t n e w leader Page 16

Lakers n e w foo tba l l f ie ld Page 20

Arts S Enter ta inment Inside back cover

An Old Fash ioned Fourth of July Back cover

Mary D ' A n g e I o

F £ Lx L- O Lx Lvl I K G

m i R ( t ii o M i i i i i n i f

B Y D O N M C Q U A I D

The (enter is a bold and

ratturin? statement of the future

of the arts at fflerqhunt,

the health of the college

as a whole and the

cultural aspirations of the

p a t e r Erie com munitg.

It was one of those rare moments when major forces within the life of the college, all of which had achieved great momentum on their own, came together in a single event to create a surge of pride in Mercyhurst unmatched perhaps since the founding of the school itself seven decades ago. It was, to use Catherine McAuley's term for an impressive event, "an occa­sion. it

The three forces that converged on the evening of April 20, 1996, were the gala dedication of the $3.6 million Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center, the 20th Year Finals of the D'Angelo Young Artist Competition and the official conclusion of the Continuing the Dream capital fund drive.

Although it had only been seven weeks since the Center made its debut with a per­formance by acclaimed pianist Andre Watts, already the imposing new facility showed signs of becoming to the Erie area what Lincoln Center is to New York City and the Kennedy Center is to Washington, D.C.

Designed by the Erie firm of Evans/Salata Architects, the center seats 824 and has a performance stage of 3,400 square feet. As such, it is the only facility between Erie and Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Cleveland capable of handling the technical requirements of the most elaborate produc­tions, including ballet and opera.

Created specifically as a showcase for the performing arts, the Center is a bold and

reassuring statement of the future of the arts at Mercyhurst, the health of the college as a whole and the cultural aspirations of the greater Erie community.

In his remarks at the dedication of the Center, Mercyhurst President Dr. William P. Garvey said that while most citizens of northwestern Pennsylvania connect the name D'Angelo with lifesaving cardiovas­cular surgery, "at Mercyhurst the D' Angelo name stands for music, which can also heal the heart."

"George and Mary D'Angelo have left their mark on Mercyhurst by raising our consciousness of the fine arts which, in the turbulent 70s in America, took a back seat on most college campuses to various forms of popular culture," Garvey said. "Together George and Mary have enriched the Erie community through their leadership in the Erie Philharmonic and later at Mercyhurst by underwriting the major prizes in the D'Angelo Competition and then as major benefactors for our School of Music and Performing Arts Center."

Following his remarks on the D'Angelos, Dr. Garvey announced the final $12.3 mil­lion total for the Continuing the Dream cap­ital fund drive (see story on page 4). The collective gasp of surprise and delight elicited by the announcement seemed to hover in the air in the dazzling new facility throughout the finals in voice that followed.

The jury for the 1996 compe­tition in voice, the most illustri­ous in the 20-year history of the D' Angelo Competition, was comprised of Carlo Bergonzi, Gail Robinson, John Wustman, Dame Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Home and Yelana Kurdina. The finalists at the competition were drawn from across the U.S. and Canada, and included two sopra­nos, a mezzo soprano, two bari­tones and a tenor.

Because of the unique nature of this competition, the audience itself, with men in tuxedos and ladies in evening wear, gave an added dimension of elegance to the event, as did the champagne served at intermission.

Following a competition marked by numerous moments of artistic excellence and enthusiastic outbursts of appreciation from the audience, the prestigious adjudica­tors announced the winners: tenor Gregory Turay, 23, of Raymond, Wis., first place, with a $10,000 award and contracts for two performances at the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center; baritone James

Westman, 24, from Stratford, Ontario, sec­ond place, with a $5,000 cash award; and soprano Lynette Tapia, 22, of San Clemente, Calif., third place, with a $3,000 cash award.

The tall, athletic Turay is only the second tenor in the history of the D'Angelo Competition to win first place.

He received his B.A. degree in music from the University of Kentucky, where he is presently working on his master's degree. He has performed with the Eugene Oregon Opera, the St. Louis Opera and the Kentucky Opera. He was the winner of the Young Concert Artist Competition and took second place in the McAllister Awards competition.

For Turay it was a major step in the launching of his career. For those who attended the entire event, it was an evening to remember for a lifetime. For Erie it was the social event of the year. And for the col­lege it was an opportunity to project as never before its commitment to the per­forming arts as a vital component of the nationally known Mercyhurst of the twenty-first century. •

Mary D Angelo, for whom the Performing Arts Center is named. Grand Prize Winner Gregory Turay, and Dr. George Dy Angelo

Don McQuaid is a

regular contributor to

the Mercyhurst

Magazine.

« i m E i

Mercyhurst Campaign Tops $12 Million In what Gary Bukowski, architect of Mercyhurst's recently

completed capital fund drive, likes to refer to as a blitzkrieg cam­paign, the college raised an unprecedented $12.3 million in just 18 months and entirely within the Mercyhurst Family.

Mercyhurst officials had originally hoped to raise $6.2 million in-house when the campaign was announced in 1995.

The total raised in the Continuing the Dream Campaign is the largest amount of money ever raised in so short a time in Erie and represents the most successful fund-raising endeavor in the 70-year history of the college.

The singular success of the drive made possible the recent opening of Mercyhurst's $3.6 million Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center as a debt-free facility.

It will also make possible a $1.5 million Phase I addition to the college's library. Ground is expected to be broken in the spring of 1997 for that structure which will house the new computer system, a Great Reading Room, and a new entrance incorporating the cir­culation desk and automated catalog.

According to Bukowski, the vice president of institutional advancement at the college, the proposed three-storied, gabled roof structure will add 7,200 square feet to the existing

Hammermill Library, and when coupled

The total r a i d in the w i t hf ;7 ;° v e "

ments to the existing struc­ture, will double the library's

r capacity to 300,000 volumes.

Other pro­jects support­ed by the drive include $6.1 million for the endow­

ment and $300,000 for improvements in the departments of sci­ence, human ecology, culinary arts, and in Christ the King Chapel.

One of the reasons for the success of the Continuing the Dream drive — perhaps the single most important reason — was the level of giving by the Mercyhurst College board of trustees who con­tributed $7.8 million to the campaign. Alumni, parents and friends of the college also made significant gifts to ensure the success of this effort.

Continuing the Dream Campaign is

the largest amount of money ever

raised in so short a time in Erie.

Gary Bukowski, vice president of institutional advancement

Four of the major gifts during the drive were million-dollar gifts. The top trustee gifts included a gift of $2.5 million, one of $1.2 million and a third for $1 million. A fourth million-dollar gift was in the form of a Charitable Remainder Trust established by retired AMSCO executive Herbert Hafenmaier and his wife, Catherine.

The campaign was called Continuing the Dream to honor the vision of the Sisters of Mercy who founded the college, believing that someday Mercyhurst would become a great institution. Thanks to the generosity of all who contributed to the campaign, their dream is coming true.D

Amounts Raised by Categories

Category

Concert Hall

Library

Endowment/Business Chair

Culinary Arts

Science Equipment

Human Ecology Offices

Chapel Improvement

Goal vs. Amount Raised

Goal

$3,000,000

$1,750,000

$750,000

$450,000

$150,000

$50,000

$50,000

S6,200,000

1 Donations

$3,250,000

$2,189,000

$6,167,000

$525,000

$149,000

$50,000

$50,000

$12,380,000

4 [ i ( v II y i s T m n u z I ii E

B Y - M A R Y D A L Y

When alums of at least 10 years return to the col­lege, they are usually

awestruck at how the campus has spread to the west and to the east and to the south. "It's not the campus we knew, but it's beauti­ful," are words often heard at Homecoming. But then comes the question of concern: "You didn't touch the chapel, did you?" And until the past two years, college officials hadn't. In fact, the chapel had not been painted since 1977, and no one is quite sure when major repairs were last done to the Chapel of Christ the King, which is so much a part of every Mercyhurst student's experience.

And so there is good reason why college officials are more than a bit excited to welcome back alums this year to showcase the heart and soul of the campus. While much of the work done to the Chapel is not readily visible to the untrained eye, nor should it be, over $80,000 has been put into its restoration and that of the small mortuary chapel called the Queen's Chapel. Of that total, $50,000 was pledged by an anonymous donor to the Continuing the Dream Campaign, and almost $15,500 was con­tributed by alumni, current and past parents, and friends of the college.

The bricks on the outside were repointed, soffit work completed, and window frames were restored and repainted. All of the casings for the stained glass windows were repaired, prompting students to happily point out, "the win­dows actually stay open now!" Inside, all the pews were removed, and the marble floor was stripped and then given 12 coats of wax the way the young Sisters of yesteryear did each summer.

The deep golden walls of the chapel were painted a creamy yel­low, the sanctuary was carpeted in deep green, and the Queen's Chapel was carpeted with a deep burgundy. And while a new altar

for today's liturgy and a matching lectern were purchased, the original marble altar and storybook mural above it both remain intact.

The sound system in the chapel was enhanced with antiphonal speak­ers, and a $38,000 Rodger's organ, powerful and rich in sound, was pur­chased and placed at the left front of the chapel where four side pews were removed for its inconspicuous fit. The original pipe organ remains in the choir loft, but the cost to bring it up to standard is estimated at over $75,000, which would only be the beginning of costly annual repairs that it would need.

By all accounts, a great deal of work was done to preserve the chapel as alums remember it. That was the challenge of the project and it is the beauty of the finished product. •

of Mercyhurst

k been put

into to restoration and

that of the small mortuarij

chapel called

the Oueen i (hapel.

s u m fll E R 1 9 9 6

Passing the Torch of Health and Fitness

Twelve recent graduates of Mercyhurst's two-year-old Physical Therapist Assistant Program were among health-care profes­sionals who passed the torch of health and fitness to 10,788 Olympic hopefuls this summer.

Over 50,000 people applied for the vol­unteer positions including 4,100 sought for medical and health-care assistance. The Mercyhurst crew was chosen for their expertise in the areas of injury prevention and treatment and therapeutic massages. "We were pleased to have a highly skilled group of PTAs provide specialized sup­port," said Pressley Harris, Olympic spokesperson. "They were a wonderful resource, and they assisted our athletes to be at the top of their form. We couldn't have done it without them."

The Mercyhurst crew worked at one of the 121 athletic aid stations scattered throughout the Olympic Village. "To be able to work with other professionals from all over the world and know that what you do can make or break an athlete's career is an extraordinary responsibility," said Chris Opladen, academic coordinator of clinical education of the PTA program, who orga­nized the trip to Atlanta and was a chief athletic trainer at the Olympics.

"It helped the new graduates to grow as highly skilled professionals and it was great exposure for Mercyhurst." Opladen assisted the sportsmedicine director by coordinating

r

QCO 1

Atlanta 1996 all administrative, personnel and logistical operations at the station as well as provided physical therapy.

The volunteer trip began when outgoing PTA Club President Margaret Magovich read an article about Olympic volunteers and contacted the Olympic staff. The accep­tance process included two application forms, phone interviews and a security check.

Dressed in official Olympic polo shirts and shorts, the Mercyhurst team worked with the gymnastics, basketball, archery, diving, kayaking, track and field, and soc­cer teams.

It took an almost decathlon effort of fund raising activities to afford the $6,000 need­ed for the 18 days in Atlanta. The months preceding the Olympics were spent working at massage-a-thons, and selling cookbooks, T-shirts and mugs. Mercyhurst provided the ground transportation and gave the students $1,000 which the group used to pay for their housing at Emory University, where

the U.S. women's gymnastics team also stayed during their gold-medal Olympics. The rest was up to the students to raise or to underwrite personally.

The old adage, "No pain, no gain," cer­tainly described the pocketbook pinch to the Mercyhurst volunteers, but despite the cost per person, the lucky dozen agreed the experience was priceless. "Potential employers will appreciate having employ­ees who have worked at the Olympics," volunteer Joe Gehringer said. "It is an impressive credential to have. It was a great professional experience. No doubt about it."

The two-and-a-half year associate degree program began in September 1994 to meet the occupational needs of area physical therapists. The current director, Glenn Labrozzi, was appointed in November 1994. At that time, there were only six PTAs in the Northwest Pennsylvania region. On May 19, 1996, 28 students grad­uated from the first class and have already secured positions with health-care facilities. The program was accredited by the American Physical Therapy Association and the State Department of Education in January 1996. Approximately 30 students are enrolled in the program each year; how­ever, the Class of '96 will always be remembered for achieving Olympic heights in their profession.

Not a bad way to start a career. •

III E It ( V R S T n i n i i:

in the Making B Y K A T H L E E N L I N S E

He loved sports, but was short and slight with average talent. So he put his passion into coaching instead of

playing and pursued another love: history. The boy who was "too small" now enjoys stature as a renowned historian, educator, community leader and college president. But ask Dr. William Garvey of Mercyhurst College about his long list of accomplish­ments and there's no hesitation: "My best experiences have been in coaching; there's no stronger influence, no stronger impact."

His passions have made Bill Garvey our top "history coach" and his best game was the Erie Bicentennial: the greatest celebra­tion of community spirit Erie has ever seen. Born of his conviction that this was a won­derful occasion to gain a sense of who we are — by understanding what we came from — the Bicentennial was truly a gift to the people of Erie. He is quick to empha­size, "Our children are losing their past and being robbed of their heritage. The Bicentennial was the ideal way to re-dis­cover our history and bring it to life — for all of us."

And the man who loves bringing history to life takes pride likewise in the biggest birthday bash ever enjoyed in Erie — Mercyhurst's Old Fashioned Fourth of July festivities. His inspiration? He recalls being in Philadelphia on July 4, 1976. The Marine Band was playing in Independence Hall; the fireworks were illuminating the night sky. "It was so dazzling and patriotic and I thought: What are we doing in Erie? Nothing! You know, John Adams wrote of July 4: The future generations must cele­brate with ceremony so that America never forgets."' But Bill didn't want a scattering of smatterings; he wanted to re-create the Philadelphia Fourth! So he did.

"It's getting scary," he chuckles, refer­ring to the enormous crowd that grows each year — and he regrets he can't control the weather. But he is pleased. "The people of Erie have responded tremendously! They are learning to appreciate, with pride and enthusiasm, all that we have."

When Erie's history coach isn't re-creat­ing, what does he do for recreation? Bill admits to constant reading, for both plea­sure and his profession. "Reading is the

best way for me to relax." He "indulges" in fiction and enjoys biographies — especially those of the Greeks and Romans — because "They have so much to teach us. There are amazing parallels between our history and theirs."

So what keeps a coach like Bill Garvey fueled for the game, since he can't live on books alone? He confesses to a fondness for fresh lemon or graham cracker cream pie.

He returns to history as his day wraps up: "One of my favorites is Cicero — I admire him as a great patriot and a speaker of such eloquence. I would like to have been Cicero in my previous life." Then he laughs, referring to his love of lemon pie: "And I would look great in that toga! I was born for a toga!"D

Kathleen Linse was a faculty member at

Mercyhurst College for seven years teaching in the

Mercyhurst College Career Institute and later for

the freshman studies program. She is now the man­

aging editor of Lake Erie Chautauqua Magazine

where this story first appeared.

i 9 9 6

The Wearing of the Green

Michael Fuhrman, second from the right, with the 1996 Ambassadors

The "wearing of the green" has taken on new meaning at Mercyhurst. No, there aren't leprechauns hiding in the

Grotto or Garvey Park. Instead, forest green jackets bearing the Mercyhurst crest are proudly worn by members of the Student Ambassador Club.

You can spot them giving tours, taking tickets at the Mary D'Anselo Performing Arts Center and greeting visitors at a vari­ety of campus events. What is a little harder to spot is the thorough training they receive in order to become official representatives of the college.

The organization was formed in the fall of 1992 to assist the admissions department with providing tours of the college for prospective students. Michael Fuhrman, formerly the coordinator of fine arts recruit­ing and now director of the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center, is the founding father of the Ambassadors and has been their guiding light for the past five years. He trained the students and developed lec­tures and tour experiences to inform poten­tial Ambassadors of the history of the col­lege and its plans for the future. It was also Fuhrman who insisted on high standards and professional attitudes which gave the Ambassadors a sense of elan.

On close observation, an Ambassador's training becomes apparent. If you were on a scavenger hunt and needed to know who built the Grotto, how Garvey Park got its name, or which Russian composer's work is on the design of the windows in the D'Angelo School of Music, a leprechaun's magic would pale in comparison to the sto­ries the students in green can spin.

According to Andrew Roth, dean of enrollment services, these stories have given the admissions department a big boost. "The Ambassadors are a terrific addi­tion to the admissions office," he said. "They have professionalized the tours by increasing the quality of information pro­vided to parents and prospective students, enabling the admission counselors to utilize their time with families more effectively."

But so rigorous is the training to become an Ambassador, that out of a class of 70 who begin the two terms of training, only

with people than just selling." Other Ambassadors who proclaim the

merits of the club are Kodi Marx and Lisa Stafford. Stafford, a double major in art therapy and psychology and vice president of the Ambassadors, said that the club is nurturing her professional skills. "I have gained confidence in speaking to individu­als and groups and my leadership and time-management abilities have improved," she said. "But most importantly, as a tour guide we are part of the first impression of the college, and it is very satisfying to me when I see some of the new students in the club and remember taking them on their initial tour of Mercyhurst."

Marx, a sportsmedicinc major, shares

The Ambassador Oath I pledge to be a true representative of Mercyhurst in the best

traditions of the college and will always seek to act with

competence, class, and with the Sisters of Mercy concern for the well-

being of others. As an Ambassador, I am committed to serve the

college with generosity, professionalism, and grace which

characterizes the true meaning ofCarpe Diem.

10 to 15 stay the course to be inducted each spring at the Ambassadors' Investiture Ceremony. It takes a major commitment to get to that point, but those who do, reap what they sow.

"During tours a genuine relationship develops that is honest and is based on the guide's experience of the college," Ron Rambally, president of the Ambassadors, said. "It is more about the art of interacting

Kodi's sense of pride. "The college has such a rich tradition and history," she noted. "I feel fortunate to have been able to get to really know the heart of the col­lege." She added, "The training was intense, but I'm glad I did it. When I wear my green jacket I feel a sense of pride in my accomplishments."•

8 ill E R ( Y II 0 n I fll M I) Z I II E

t

B Y M I C H A E L P L A S H A

That Thing You Do/ Little did Gloria Sedney and Lois Hoffman, physical education teachers at Mercyhurst in 1964, know that their small linoleum gym would be the setting for a key scene in the new Tom Hanks' movie, "That Thing You Do!"

Written and directed by Hanks, it will be released in October 1996 by 20th Century Fox. In it he plays the manager of The Wonders, a pop band from Erie, who begin their journey to fame at a battle of the bands music competition held at Mercyhurst.

According to Nancy Home, assistant to the producer, the scene will be set entirely in a small gym specially created to look like a Mercyhurst facility in that era. Mercyhurst will be identified once in the dialogue and by a Mercyhurst banner hanging in the gym. However, the school colors were changed by the production designer to better complement the overall design of the movie. Exterior shots of the campus and any other reference to Mercyhurst were cut in the editing process.

The Wonders compete against a folk act and a brass band. After winning the contest, they play at a fictional Italian restaurant near the Erie airport before traveling to California to begin a recording career. The movie depicts their rise and fall in the music industry, while capturing what life was like in Erie and the rest of the coun­try in 1964.

How well the movie portrays that year — and the flavor of Erie at that time — will no doubt be judged against the screen of our own memories. "Hello Dolly" and "Fiddler on the Roof were smash hits on Broadway. "Goldfinger" and "Mary Poppins" were popular at the box office. "Games People Play," "Herzog" and "Corridors of Power" were on the bestseller list.

Teenagers were dancing to the Watusi, Frug, Monkey, Funky Chicken and various versions of the Twist. Cassius Clay won the world heavyweight boxing title from Sonny Liston, and the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series.

The cultural mood was upbeat. "There was a lack of cynicism," said Hanks in an interview. "In 1964, everybody still believed in

the carousel of progress." It was perhaps that sense that anything was possible that inspired the campus aspirations of Joyce Savocchio '65 and JoAnne Courneen '64.

Both recently reflected about that era and agreed that life on campus and in the world was changing in a positive way.

"There was a true spirit of adventure and Mercyhurst was filled with lively, upbeat people," said Sister JoAnne Courneen, newly elected president of the Sisters of Mercy. Sister JoAnne finished her senior year at Mercyhurst in 1964 in the cadet teaching pro­gram. "The college was beginning to break out of the mold of for­mal etiquette and was on the verge of great change that happened five years later when Mercyhurst went coeducational."

Savocchio, now Mayor of Erie, began her leadership climb in the spring of 1964 when she became the first commuter student to be elected senior class president at Mercyhurst. "I felt the change firsthand and I knew things were different," said Mayor Savocchio. "Back then it was unusual for someone who was com­ing from a public school tradition as well as being a day student to become class president."

Both Courneen and Savocchio have a special interest in Hanks' upcoming movie. "The Sisters who founded the college would be delighted that Mercyhurst has made it 'big time' in more ways than one. We are honored that Mr. Hanks liked the name 'Mercyhurst' so much that he wanted to use it in his film."

For Savocchio, she is doubly excited to have her city show­cased as well as her alma mater recognized. "Opening night is going to be tremendously exciting for us," she said, adding, "We realize that other towns will also be featured in the movie, but we are the opener.

"I remember that linoleum gym," she mused. It was right out­side of the students' lounge where some people say I took up resi­dence and became quite the pinochle player!"

No doubt about it, for people with Erie or Mercyhurst ties, see­ing the upcoming film is definitely going to be that thing to d o O

ii m m t R 9 9 6

Strike up the Band! B Y M I C H A E L P L A S H A

Ewri] time the hand

plat]ed at a haietha

p e last tjear,

the Laken won.

They come from several states and their majors range from interior design to pre-med, but one thing they have in common is a love for music and school spirit. This energetic feeling is being expressed in the bouncy melodies and rousing rhythms of the D'Angelo School of Music Pep Band. And it is being heard in the joyful sounds of enthusiasm trumpeted by students, faculty, alumni and athletes.

The result: every time the band played at a bas­ketball game last year, the Lakers won. Attendance and support at games reached new crescendos. Interest in the instrumental program at the D'Angelo School of Music has grown. And perhaps most importantly, the pep band is provid­ing students with another opportunity to prepare for meaningful careers after graduation.

"My career goal is to teach music in a high school, start my own pep band, and work with the school orchestra and marching band," said Mary Zelenka, music education major and a 1996 graduate from Berea, Ohio. "In addition to playing violin in various school of music programs, the pep band was a very fun place where I could conduct, play my trombone and support the college." Zelenka had played the trombone in high school and during sum­mer breaks from Mercyhurst, but didn't have any opportunities to play on campus until the pep band formed. She feels the experience strengthened her ability to obtain a teaching position.

For sophomore music education major Jim Foley, playing in the pep band is continuing his dream of eventually becoming a divisional music director for the Salvation Army. "My father is a minister in the Salvation Army, and I learned how to play tuba in their brass band," he said. "The pep band is more along the style of the Salvation Army bands and Steven Lyons (head of the music education department) is teaching me a lot of the skills Til need to conduct and arrange their music. Plus it is a blast! I didn't think it would be accepted as much as it was, but even during our first game students sat behind us and supported us. It has been a very welcome surprise."

These comments and experiences are very gratify­ing to Lyons who formed the pep band in September 1996. "We thought it would be important to the school atmosphere," he said. "We don't just play tunes, we motivate the audience and get them involved." Even though the band is the musical equivalent of cheerleaders assisting the Laker mascot with his antics, their biggest cheerleader is probably Head Basketball Coach and Assistant Athletic Director Karl Fogel. "Without question they added a great deal to the atmosphere and made it a great place to play college ball." he said. "It pumps the players up to have so much support. Our home record was much better than our away record, and they helped make the difference. I'd like to take them on the road with us next year."

10 E K ( V I I M T U (I I I II t

The popularity and success of the pep band is also assisting the D'Aneelo School of Music with enrollment and academic goals. 'The band is pri­marily D'Angelo Music School students," Lyons explained. The 1995-96 edition had 22 members, and those who did not graduate in the spring are coming back in September. "We are also reaching out to high school students who may enroll here in the future," Lyons said, "and the band has become so popular that even some of our vocal majors are dusting off their old instruments and playing with us. It has definitely increased interest in our instru­mental program. Next year I would love to see alumni dig up their instruments and join us."

The song most associated with the pep band is the Mercyhurst Fight Song composed by Shannon B. Roberts, a composer and arranger at the University of Utah where Lyons is a doctoral stu­dent. The next project will be a Mercyhurst College Song. But for now, the pep band has its hands, fingers and spirits full playing such popular songs as Story In Your Eyes, Tequilay Another One Bites the Dust, Respect and YMCA. Regardless of what they play, each song is the sound of joy bringing a new spirit of energy and excitement into campus life and to the dance moves of The Old Man in the Sea.D

Michael Plasha is a

freelance writer from

Erie, PA.

Mascot has no mercy! Twenty-five years after Laker athletics began, the teams finally

have a mascot. Called "The Old Man in the Sea," the costumed character has a repertoire of shenanigans bringing the crowds to their feet with side-splitting laughter and heartwarming cheers.

The seafaring mascot in his nautical clothing was the award-winning design submitted by Hockey Coach Rick Cotkin, who had the drawing in his files since he came to Mercyhurst in 1988. Naturally the original drawing had skates, a hockey stick and gloves, but Kevin Segedi '98, a graphics design major, modified the sketch to give it universal use for all Laker sports.

Suited up in a blue, green and white team uniform, with a Laker jersey number 00, the mascot's costume has an enlarged sculpted head weighing 15 pounds, and is caricatured with a jut­ting chin, an oversized nose and a no-nonsense grin.

Three Mercyhurst students went down in Mercyhurst history as the first to fill the Old Man's shoes. Winning the honor at a stu­dent rally organized by Student Activities Committee Chairman Brian Marshall '97 and held on January 25, 1996, were Jeffrey Dulemba '96, a recent graduate of the hotel, restaurant institu­tional management program, Jennifer Feser '97, a social science education major, and Jennifer Houck '99, a biology education major.

Whether he's on the ice at a hockey game or in the stands at a basketball game, the Old Man kindles the fires of Lakermania without any mercy.

S 0 P 9 9 6 1 1

•••f-V'-'." i-"'"'••'* — ,

# • • •

few , > > • • - : • •

V A T I O N

CLASSICS

99

roc/: the following from a book: "A prevalent notion is that

the great mass of people cannot understand and cannot

form an independent judgment upon any matter; they can­

not be educated, in the sense of developing their intellectual pow­

ers, but they can be bamboozled. The reiteration of slogans, the

distortion of the news, the great storm of propaganda that beats

upon the citizen twenty-four hours a day all his life long mean

either that democracy must fall a prey to the loudest and most

persistent propagandists or that the people must save themselves

by strengthening their minds so that they can appraise the issues

for themselves."

12 m t R C V H U R S T m n o n z i n E

1 i|ou instill courage in the

student, leavin? no proposition

unquestioned or unexamined,

the intellect will thrive"

Is this the latest condemnation of public education by Sowell, Bloom or any number of self-praised neo-conservative intellectu­als? No. It is from the preface to "The Great Conversation," written half a century ago by Robert M. Hutchins.

The state of education has not progressed since then. In fact, it has fallen. Hutchins foresaw what has happened to the American school, given the persistent efforts among educators to propagate ideas which bear little relevance to education and academics.

We have put our trust in the school system to teach our children. That trust has resulted in increased illiteracy, aimlessness and dependence on authority. Johnny can't read, but, worse, Johnny can't think. He can't, as Hutchins wrote, "Form an independent judgment upon any matter."

As a tutor, I see what's happening. A student of mine claimed her teacher told the class she didn't fully understand the concept she was teaching. Nevertheless, she went ahead and taught it as best she could. It gives a new twist to the expression, "The blind leading the blind."

My evidence of what's happening comes not only from my observations, but also from those of friends who teach. One told me she is going back for a master's degree in a new field, away from secondary education.

"You've heard the stories about these schools," she said. "They're all true. They can't read, they don't understand. It's exas­perating."

There is other evidence of this decline, but the obstacles raised by bad education can be overcome.

How? Firing incompetent instructors only begs the question: How did they get there in the first place? We could restructure teacher certification to weed out the incompetent. Certification does attract those with the least ability, but you also need to attract the best and brightest — weeding out the worst doesn't guarantee the best.

I have a simpler solution: Return to a liberal education. Bring back the classics, develop the curriculum around the great thinkers and great ideas of the West, and cut out the extracurricular non­sense. Concentrate on one language. Develop empathy between dissimilar students based on the intellect, not on race, creed, or gender. Teach the history of the world and of ideas, the great as well as the wretched. The minds of children are pliant. If you instill

courage in the student, leaving no proposition unquestioned or unexamined, the intellect will thrive.

Too simplistic? Some may charge me with trying to drag stu­dents back to some Golden Age when the schoolmaster drilled his pupils till their eyeballs sprawled lifeless on the desk and their lips dribbled and murmured. But just look to Kenneth Brannaugh and others who would revive the classics in a palpable and interesting way. Let's take them as our guides.

While Homer, Aristotle, St. Aquinas, Dante, Rabelais, Shakespeare, Montaigne, Locke, Jefferson, Shelley, Dostoyevsky and the like are challenging, they have been the wellsprings of Western thought for more than two thousand years. The difficulty will rest squarely on educa­tors. To develop the liberal curriculum, educators must read their writings and learn to express their ideas. No harm can come of this.

But harm will come to us if we do not address the academ­ic needs of our children. It takes no great mind to notice the rise in cults, rash causes and political demagoguery that have gripped our nation. We are reaping the seeds we sowed decades ago, seeds of destruction and despair plant­ed long before Hutchins wrote:

"Strengthen the mind and many of our worst problems will wilt and die."D

Stephen Mclntyre is a freelance writer

from Omaha, Neb. His article first

appeared in The Reader and is

reprinted with permission.

E R 9 9 6 13

In the Mathematics Classroom Writing for Focus B Y D E N N I S C O N D O N

Teachers are fountains of information, constantly willing to gush on about their various disciplines. In mathematics and sci­ence especially, it seems that educators tend to assume that the whole reason for our existence is to impart the arcana of our sub­jects. We are well-prepared with the infor­mation itself, but perhaps not so well-pre­pared to develop teaching processes that enable our students to integrate and react to that information. I want to share with you some of my attempts at developing alterna­tive teaching processes.

Writing Across the Curriculum, seen by many of us as primarily a way of improving the students' presentation of knowledge, could instead be one of the teaching processes which enables students to inte­grate and react. Perhaps more attention should be paid to the powerful role which language plays in the production of knowl­edge.

Writing Across the Curriculum will almost certainly improve students' writing, but will writing improve students' learning? It is this shift in emphasis that has led writ­ing teachers such as Bard College's Paul Connolly to suggest that "Writing Across the Curriculum" be replaced by the phrase "Writing to Learn." Arthur Powell in his article in Research and Teaching in Developmental Education (fall 1993) writes "...both writing and mathematics are instru­ments for ordering thoughts about things and thoughts about thoughts. Reasonably, therefore, we can imagine mathematics edu­cators...exploring ways of employing writ­ing as support for mathematics learning. Process-product writing encourages stu­dents to express their responses to mathe­matics and prompts students to write and analyze their mathematical autobiographies. These writing activities focus on the intel­lectual and emotional energies of the stu­dents."

The writing activities I have tried in my classroom are similar to the process-product approach outlined by Powell in his article. But while Powell would have "...writing activities focus on the intellectual and emo­tional energies of the students," my approach is to attempt to use writing to focus the energies of the students. In other words, students are "Writing for Focus."

I have categorized the writing done in my classroom into two areas of intent: writ­ing to focus the students on their immediate personal goals in the mathematics class­room, and writing to focus on historical

developments in mathematics and on present-day applications of mathematics.

In the first category, dealing with imme­diate personal goals, students write their mathematical autobiographies, they write their expectations for the class itself and for themselves in the class, and they pre-write daily on their academic progress, study plans, etc.

The autobiography is used as a means for the instructor to get to know the student and, more importantly, as a method for the student to recognize and deal with any background problems or math phobias that might be impeding his or her learning.

Students take the autobiographies very seriously. They are obviously concerned that I be made aware that they are starting

their careers with me burdened by some very definite handicaps. Excerpts from some biographies include: • "/ have not been in school since 1972. I

expect to personally overcome my fear of failure in this class. I have always had a stigma toward the subject because of early failures."

• '7 took Business Math in high school and took Basic Algebra here at Mercyhurst last fall. I understood it but failed the final test and had to repeat it. I guess you could say I have a math phobia."

• "...in my school we only had to have two math courses. I took General Math and Business Math. I feel I am fine at every­day math but algebra is too abstract."

14 1 [ R ( V R S T 0 1 1 2 I

• "This will be a personal challenge with a hope of conquering the brain damage done by years of marriage, motherhood and the insufferable unbalanced check­book. "

As you can see, a good autobiography can also tell me something of the students' sense of humor.

Next the students write expectations for the course: What do I think this course is about? Is it going to be difficult for me? What grade do I want? How hard am I will­ing to work for the grade I want? This par­ticular section is an important part of writ­ing for focus because it is here that the stu­dents set goals and do some very important self-evaluations. These expectations are updated periodically so the student can re­assess and re-focus. A typical student's journal reads:

Man 9:1 was under the impression from the opinions of others who have taken this course that it is quite difficult. I'm expect­ing to probably get a C but would like to do better.

Apr. 20: At this point I have reached my goal as far as the letter grade, but still feel I could do better. My priorities seem to be in different areas this term — whether right or wrong, I don't know. I need to make some adjustments.

Another student wrote: Mar. 9:1 struggled with Basic Algebra

but have come into this class with an open mind. Vve decided to take one day at a time and have also made a goal for myself of a B in this class.

Apr. 20: So far I am very pleased with myself and this class. I am maintaining a B but that could change. I have so little faith in myself when it comes to math, but I find this class very interesting. I was really stretching it when I hoped for a B, but I guess I can do it.

In both these examples it is interesting to note that the students seem slightly sur­prised that they actually attained their goals as far as letter grades were concerned.

In the third writing in the category deal­ing with immediate personal goals, students are given several minutes at the beginning of class and/or at the end of class to free-write on what is crucial for that day: Am I prepared for this class? If not, what more could I have done to be prepared? Are there questions I need to ask? Writing at the end of class, the student might ask: How did I do today? Did I understand what went on in class? If not, were there questions I might have asked to make things clearer? Was I a player or a spectator? Along these lines stu­dents have written:

• "I'm not real sure how to do the prob­lems that we had on the quiz- My room-

*

Uli) approach h to

attempt to w writing to

focus the energies

of the students. 9

mate has been helping me but I'm still kind of fuzzy on it. I'm going to Mr. C Monday morning for help. I think writing before and after class is good because it gives me an idea of what is wrong. "

• "Well first off I'm going to talk to Ms. Gates about a tutor. Then I'm going to work on quadratic equations. I need to know the steps to follow, and I have to work through the problems. I REALLY need to practice."

The objective of this pre- and post-writ­ing is to increase the students' awareness of what is happening in the classroom and to make them realize that success demands involvement. It is done to encourage stu­dents to become active participants in the learning process and to help them acquire a personal ownership of that process. Done regularly, it becomes an instrument through which students reflect on what they have done, center themselves on what they are about to do, and propose strategies that will help ensure success in the mathematics classroom. This free-writing does consume a considerable amount of time — I estimate a total of two class periods in a term — but I feel it can be justified. It gets students set­tled and focused so much more quickly that I think it is "cost effective."

In the second category — appreciation of historical developments in mathematics and present-day applications of mathematics — students write more formally and for credit. My course syllabus requires a brief summa­ry on the historical material in each chapter and a report to be written and presented in class on an historically significant person or topic in mathematics. Some of the papers done were on Renee Descartes, Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), the Hindu-Arabic influence in mathematics, cartography, Isaac Newton and craps: the probabilities. The intent here is to let students see that mathematics was developed by real people, and that it is used in real-life situations. Also, I had hoped that the summaries and reports would be a means of getting non-math-oriented students involved in, and

appreciative of, mathematics. These writing for focus techniques have

been used with two groups of "at-risk" stu­dents — the first group being traditional first-year college students in the Foundations of Education program at Mercyhurst/North East, and the second group being non-traditional students in one-and two-year programs in the McAuley Division.

The students in the first group are defined as being at-risk because they are coming to college with records of poor achievement in high school. The students in the second group are defined as at-risk because they have been out of the educa­tional system for periods ranging from two to twenty years.

All the writings the students have done have been productive in varying degrees between the two groups. Both do well writ­ing the autobiographies. I feel they are gen­erally honest about their mathematical his­tories, and as a result, I am able to deal more realistically with the various learning problems we encounter throughout the course.

The traditional-age students seem to ben­efit more from the daily few minutes of free-writing than do the non-traditional stu­dents. Adult students generally have little need for the motivation provided by the daily free write. These people come to class prepared, alert and ready to work.

When historical summaries and oral reports become due however, the non-tradi­tional students really hit their stride. Their papers are thoroughly researched and well-written, and their oral presentations are gen­erally excellent. It is not at all unusual in this group for the oral reports to provide springboards for valuable class discussions.

Some of the ideas put forth here are mine; some have been adapted from other educators who, like me, are fumbling to develop alternative teaching processes — processes which hopefully will enable stu­dents to integrate and react to the informa­tion we bombard them with in every class. I am convinced that Writing to Learn can be a valuable tool in the mathematics class­room, and further, that Writing for Focus can be a worthwhile part of Writing to Learn. •

Dennis Condon is an instructor

of mathematics in Mercyhursfs

McAuley Division.

E 9 9 6 15

Mercys Elect New Leader A hundred and sixty-five years may have

passed since Catherine McAuley began her ministry by reaching out to the homeless of Dublin, but judging from the enthusiasm and commitment of Sister JoAnne Courneen, newly elected president of the Sisters of Mercy, it could just as well have been last year.

"Much of my volunteer work in recent years has been with the homeless, and I will continue to be involved with them as presi­dent of the order," Sister said. From 1984 to 1988, Courneen and Sister Patricia Whalen were early members of Help House on West Second Street in Erie, the forerun­ner for the Mercy Center for Women. "The plight of the homeless is sympto­matic of the lack of a strong family unit," Courneen said. "We've seen a marked increase in the number of homeless in the Erie area in recent years," she added, "and one of the problems facing them is the number who have been involved with sub­stance abuse."

A native of Union City, Pa., Courneen received her B.S. degree in elementary edu­cation at Mercyhurst, a master's in adminis­tration and supervision from John Carroll University and — through a National Science Foundation grant in math and computer sci­ence — undertook further studies at

"The nab of the Order

are set bij the com muniti)

it Is the job of leadership

to carry, them out"

Shippensberg State College, Gettysburg College and Georgetown University.

From 1963 to 1967 she taught and served in administrative positions in Erie area Catholic schools, and from 1987 to 1996 she was president of Mercyhurst Preparatory School. She is a member of the board of trustees of Mercyhurst College and the Mercy Center for Women and is chair of the Diocesan Committee for the Tri-Conference Retirement for Religious.

In her new lead­ership post, she suc­ceeds Sister Maura Smith who provided the leadership of the Order for eight years.

Asked what her vision is for the Sisters of Mercy, Sister JoAnne replied, "I hope to provide the type of leadership that will

• enrich the individual lives of the Sisters and empower them

to continue in the ministries that are such an integral part of our lives. That means work­ing together to find ways to strengthen what we believe are already wonderful ministries.

"The goals of the Order are set by the community — it is the job of leadership to carry them out. Mother McAuley was always interested in working with lay people, and so are we. She looked around and saw what the needs were and found ways to respond to them, just as the Sisters in Erie are doing today."D

From the beginning, she was there

Early alums remember her as the Sister of Mercy who was responsible for the pomp, cir­cumstance and elegance of the college's May Day pageantry. Alums from the 60s remember her as the nun with the stage whisper who worked in the periodicals in the Weber Library. The Sisters remember her as the gifted young reli­gious who Mother Borgia Egan depended on to bring a sense of artistry and panache to gradua­tion, Christmas festivities and state dining room dinners.

In addition to having a dis­tinctive flair for putting on events, she was an exceptional­ly talented musician who once headed the college's music department. At the peak of her professional life, her hearing deteriorated which forced her to choose another career. She became a periodicals librarian.

Mercyhurst history will remember her as the Sister of Mercy who set the standard for doing Mercyhurst events with elegance and elan and who helped create the early image of the college by her distinctive flair. This gifted woman, Sister Jane Frances Raffetto, the last living charter faculty member of the college when it opened seven decades ago this year, died on May 9, 1996. Sister was 95.

16 [ 1 ( ! II I I S 1 H 6 H Z 1 H E

Senior Awards Carpe Diem Award, Jessica Cuffia;

Mother Frances Warcle Adult Student

Award, Patricia Titus; Bishop's Award

for Academic Excellence, Mary Zelenka

and Amy Lombardo; Sister Carolyn

Herrmann Service Award, Theresa

Schroeck; Sister Eustace Taylor

Leadership Award, Gagan Suri. Also

President's Associates Achievement

Award winners Matthew Kinnear,

anthropology'/archaeology; Janice Hill

and Samantha Peterson, business; Joy

Dlugost education; Gregory Hischuck

and Karen Weston, hotel, restaurant &

institutional management; Tamara

Valovich, human development; Megan

Circle, humanities; Kristin Balon and

William Sauve, natural sciences and

mathematics; Faith Lifshen and Kirill

Kalmykov, performing arts; and

Kathleen Fox, social sciences.

Graduate program award winners:

Michelle Garvey, James V Kinnane

Award in the Administration of Justice,

and Sister Michele Marie Schroeck,

Outstanding Graduate Student in

Special Education.

Stepping out of

We had done it 67 times before. The first time there were only four students, but this time there were 424 of them.

The college had grown, the faculty had grown, and the 68th graduating class had hit an all-time high. So had the weather.

The sun shown brightly on May 19 with record-high temperatures that day and for the graduation awards dinner the night before. The heat may have dampened their clothes but not the spirit of the Class of 1996 who cheered on the senior award winners.

Sunday morning after Mass and brunch the graduates and their families made their way downtown to the Avalon Hotel to lineup for the academic procession. Barry McAndrew had been part of the academic procession 31 other times. But this year was special. For the 1996 Teacher of the Year, it was a day that would recognize and celebrate his career as one of Mercyhurst's finest.

For Patricia Titus, a mother of seven, the

day marked the fulfillment of a dream. For Jessica Cuffia, the Carpe Diem Award win­ner, it was the concluding moment as the college's first woman Student Government president in 22 years. And for Mary Zelenka and Amy Lombardo, it was a triumph of excellence.

The colorful pageantry of the graduates, faculty and trustees walking down State Street to the Warner Theatre was punctuated by blue, green and white ribbons on the lamp­posts signaling to Erie that this was Mercyhurst's Day.

Many years ago, these graduates, then infants, took their first step into life. It was a moment filled with anticipation and excite­ment for their families. Now it was time to take another first step in life. The graduates were ready, the families were filled with pride, and the cameras were focused — this time to capture the moment the Class of 1996 stepped out of Mercy world. •

111 (II E R 9 9 6 17

R E M E M B E R W H E N

B Y M A R Y D A L Y

y office was tucked in a lit­tle cubby hole to the right of •the Preston entrance to Old

Main directly in line with the corridor which led to the men's dormitory. The nuns had moved out of their Preston Hall convent and the college had con­verted the tiny stark rooms to double occupancy and made the wing into the first men's dorm.

It was 1970 and the dorm was filled with the young and the restless, the Preston Bandits, great guys, chock-full of personali­ty and raging testosterone, and always get­ting into trouble.

One of my favorites was John Wojdyla from outside Pittsburgh. He was a hand­some kid with a John Travolta smile. Somehow I inherited him as my work study. It was during that time that I learned about "great lungs" and why Charlie Rufo was always drinking Donald Duck orange juice.

I was a big sister to some of those first guys. Only four years out of college myself when they came as freshmen, I was Mercyhurst's public relations director and hardly an administrative threat in those young men's eyes.

There had not been a dull moment since they arrived on campus and over the next four years, they became a part of my life. I still treasure the picture of us together in the '74 yearbook at the college Christmas dinner.

They were seniors now with only two months till graduation. It was March 27,

1974, and the guys were living in the new Sesler Apartments which had opened that fall.

John stopped by to change the recording on the Mercyhurst information hotline. "Hey, Mar, did you hear the news about the Big Boy?"

I was almost afraid to ask. "What about it?" "Someone stole him, what a heist!" After a few more questions, John told me

that the story was all over the afternoon newscasts. Someone had actually taken the seven foot, 150 pound Big Boy that stood holding his sandwich at Elby's 38th and Peach streets restaurant.

"Do they know who did it?" I thought I'd ask.

"Naw, they don't have any idea," he grinned.

That was the tip-off. "John, you didn't happen to have had anything to do with it, did you?"

"Not me, Mar. How could you ever think that?" His boyish grin gave him away,

"Then, you know who did, John, I can tell. Was it Sport? Don't try to pull another one on me like you did the last time," I warned.

"Would I do that?" he laughed. I knew the answer to that. As a Preston resident, John had come hobbling on crutches into the office, his leg in a cast up past his knee. The story was that he had fallen down the steps the night before. But later that day I heard a different story from Bill Kennedy, dean of students. Wodillie, as the guys called him, had broken it on a dare going down the Sisters' old laundry chute.

"Level with me, John, where is it? I want to know, now."

Sure enough, he told me that in the wee hours of the morning, the young and the rest­less pulled their best prank ever, captured the Big Boy and were holding him hostage in one of the Sesler Apartments. That afternoon "The Simple and Easy to Please Liberation Army," as they identified themselves, phoned JET news and offered as ransom: Big Boy sandwiches and cokes that Saturday for every Mercyhurst student with ID.

John was one of Larie Pintea's boys on.

18 E K l l I I i l (Id II Z I II E

our first crew team. And if John knew something about the story, Lane's

"peck of trouble" was somehow involved. There was no doubt about that.

By night Pintea was the managing editor of the Morning News paper, but by day, he was the coach of the crew team and a member of the Mercyhurst board of advisors. He was a hard core newsman, a former police reporter, the

consummate journalist for whom the story was everything. But he had a great love for the college and its former President Sister Carolyn Herrmann, and he turned out to be a real friend of Mercyhurst, particularly when it meant suppressing the shenanigans of our first men students.

This wasn't the first time the pioneer men got themselves into a jam. When trou­ble brewed we could count it as a sure bet: Larie's boys would be at the heart of it.

By the same accounting, his boys always knew they could count on him to run inter­ference, after all, he was their "Coach." And he never let them down.

I couldn't wait to tell the Coach about this latest escapade, but before picking up the phone, 1 said to John, "Wodillie, go tell your buddies to get that thing out of there. I don't know how you got it here and I don't care how you get it back. Just do it before you guys get caught. This is serious!"

Jack Riley '74. Gene Egan, Sport Collins '74, Dan Egan

"Wooooooooooooo, the little lady's hot, I'm out of here!" and away he darted across the campus.

I burst into laughter as I watched him head over to the apartments, but I never cracked a smile in front of him. The Big Boy heist was safe with me. I didn't tell my boss or Kennedy but I immediately called Larie. "You had better get up here, Coach, it was YOUR guys who took the Big Boy!"

"I knew it!" he roared, "I just knew it!," he repeated, laughing hysterically. "Where is it?"

"They have him over in a Sesler apart­ment."

"Do Garv and Kennedy know? Did you tell them?" Larie needed to know.

"No, I don't want the guys thinking I squealed on them. This WILL be the last straw with Kennedy, he's about had it with them and it's only eight weeks until they graduate.

"Will you please come up here and take care of things," I pleaded. And then I added, "You won't put it in the paper, will you?"

And so, once again, it was the Coach to their rescue. He talked to Dean Garvey and Mr. Kennedy and kept me out of it entirely. Later Larie talked to his friend Police Chief Sam Gemelli and to the manager of Elby's. Charges would be dropped if the Big Boy was returned.

The next day, Wodillie came in grinning like a Cheshire cat, "Good one, huh, Mar? We really had you going there, didn't we!"

A few years ago, Elby's brought the Big Boy back and along with him came a show­case of promotional items. I bought a small replica of the Big Boy and sent it to the Coach as a souvenir of the heist that took place 20 years earlier. No card seemed necessary.

By that time, he had retired after over 40 years at the paper and from his coaching duties at the college. But he remembered the heist all right, and echoed Wodillie's words in the message of thanks he left on my voice mail, "Good one, Mar, good one!"D

Mary Daly '66 is now vice president of external

affairs at the college. John Wojdyla '74 lives in

Champ/in. Minn., with his wife. Cathy and two

daughters Megan. 15. and Angle. 14. He's been a car­

rier for Federal Express since 1982. Dave "Sport"

Collins '74. one of the perpetrators of the Big Boy-

heist, became a top salesman and today owns his own

company. Alpine Books in Brookfie/d. Wis., where he

lives with his wife. Deborah. John and Dave have

remained best friends through the years. Their wives

say they have heard about the Big Boy heist more

times than they care to remember.

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B Y H D H E S S J R

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Football Comes Home Since the inception

of the Mercyhurst College football pro­gram in 1981, two facts have remained constant. The first is that the Lakers have played every one of their home games at the 10,000-seatErie Veterans' Memorial Stadium. The second is that there has always been constant exploration into the concept of playing games on campus

instead of at the municipal stadium. There was no reason to think that the 1996 season

would be any different than the previous 15 years. Then came the announcement by the Erie School District that the stadium would be closed this fall to all activities due to renovations to its artificial turf.

Quarterback Matt Golga '97

With this decision, the college administration was forced to immediately turn the concept of playing games on campus into a reality. The Sisters of Mercy granted the college permission to convert one of the three athletic fields into a football field, and the board of trustees approved the funding for the project. Now residential students will no longer have to travel to "home" Laker football games. With the field located on the south end of campus, most students will walk about the same distance they do for classes.

The field will be a modest facility with improve­ments considered on a yearly basis. A scoreboard, goalposts, fencing, pressbox and bleachers with a seating capacity of 1,100 will all be part of the field for the 1996 season.

The Lakers play four home games this season -Robert Morris College on Sept. 7; St. John Fisher College on Sept. 28; Monmouth University on Oct. 5; and the Homecoming game against Gannon University on Oct. 12.

Lacrosse Goes Division I The Laker lacrosse program begins a new era in

athletics at Mercyhurst and in Erie sports as it trav­els into the uncharted waters of Division I competi­tion. Laker lacrosse will be the first sport in the local area to ever play exclusively at the Division I level and be classified as such.

But this is just the latest innovation the college has undertaken in the sport of lacrosse. Mercyhurst is the first area college to offer women's lacrosse. The women's varsity squad completed its first sea­son last spring and the men's lacrosse team will make its debut in the spring of 1997.

'The NCAA allows a Division II member, like Mercyhurst, to reclassify in one men's and one women's sport with the exception of football and basketball." according; to Pete Russo, director of athletics at the college. "We have petitioned for reclassification with the NCAA in men's and women's lacrosse, and when it is approved, we must conform to all Division I requirements for two years before the sport is officially certified. That approval is expected in September 1998."

Russo said that at the present time the college does not wish to elevate its entire athletic program to the Division I level, however, lacrosse will give the college a taste of Division I play against high-profile academic and athletic institutions. "We think

it is a great move to take advantage of the NCAA single sport provision while developing Mercyhurst lacrosse as a highly visible sport," Russo said. With the new Division I status, Laker lacrosse will play teams like Ohio State University and Duke University as part of the 1997 spring schedule.

Coach Peter Ginnegar has been hired as the new head coach of the Laker men's and women's lacrosse teams. Ginnegar comes to Mercyhurst from Cornell University, where he was the assistant coach of the men's lacrosse and men's soccer teams. Both of those squads were ranked among the top 10 in the nation, and both garnered spots in the NCAA playoffs in 1995.

Ginnegar, who holds a master's degree in athletic administration from Springfield College, has coached for 16 years on the collegiate level as a head coach or assistant. Before his coaching stint at Cornell, Ginnegar spent two years as the head coach of the men's lacrosse team at the University of California-Santa Barbara. His wealth of coaching experience on the Division I level should lend immediate credibility to Laker lacrosse, the newest varsity sport at Mercyhurst. •

Eel Hess '92 is the sports information director at Mercyhurst.

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20 E R ( V II 0 M T ii u z MI i:

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Lawrence Otis Graham lecture "Harlem on My Mind," 7:30 p.m., TLT The author of 11 nonfictional books and stories on race/ethnic relations, Graham will discuss civil rights and diversity.

Squonk Opera, 8 p.m., TLT

Quartetto Celato, 2:30 p.m., PAC Featuring an exciting mix of classical favorites, operatic arias, traditional melodies, tangos and gypsy fiddling.

October

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James Hollis lecture "Psyche and Soul: The Enactments of Soul through Myth," 7:30 p.m., TLT This Zurich-trained Jungian analyst, author and international speaker will discuss mythology and active imagination for those new to the journey of Jungian psychology as well as the experienced traveler.

Yesterday...A Tribute to the Beatles, 8:30 p.m., PAC Considered the most authentic, visual and exciting imitation Beatles act to date, this group of "lads" will lead you through the 60s from the mop-top era to Sergeant Pepper.

"Hooley," 8:30 p.m., PAC Celebrating the Irish roots of Mercy hurst College, this multi-talented group of musicians, singers, songwriters and dancers will perform traditional Celtic music.

"Lethal Viruses, Ebola, and The Hot Zone," 7:30 p.m., TLT Colonels Nancy and Jerry Jaax are among the world's leading specialists on "hot" (extremely infectious) viruses and high-hazard biological research.

Ceraldine O'Crady, violinist, 8 p.m., TLT

Cregory Norbert, guitarist, 7:30 p.m., PAC

New York Wind Soloists, 2:30 p.m., PAC Fresh and innovative programming by five well-known solo artists on flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn.

"The Meeting" (drama), 7:30 p.m., TLT A powerful drama about the lives, philosophies and times of Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.

November 1 62 Blue Jeans, Ballet £ Bolero, 8 p.m., PAC

Featuring unique works by students and faculty of the Mercyhurst Dance Department.

Blue Jeans, Ballet £ Bolero, 2:30 p.m., PAC

Percussion Ensemble, 7 p.m., TLT Spotlighting the talents of students of the D'Angelo School of Music.

II Dee Stewart, trombonist, 8 p.m., TLT

December 3 Jeffrey Bimbaum lecture "Madhouse — The Private Turmoil of

Working for the President," 7:30 p.m., TLT Bimbaum provides a fascinating look at the Clinton White House through the years of six top staffers.

PAC — Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center TLT — Taylor Little Theatre

For ticket information call (814) 824-3000.

Lawrence Otis Graham September 17

Yesterday October 5

New York Wind Soloists October 2 7

The Meeting October 30

Films for Discussion Discussion at 7:15 p.m.,

Film at 7:30p.m. in the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center

Sept. 18 Welcome to the Dollhouse

Sept. 25 II Postino (The Postman)

Oct. 9 Shanghai Triad

Oct. 23 Anne Frank Remembered

Nov. 6 When Night Is Falling

Dec. u Crumb

Dec. 18 I Shot Andy Warhol

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Mercvhurst NA / \ /K

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501 E. 38th St. Erie, PA 16546

Forward and Address Correction

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

P A I D Erie, PA

Permit No. 10

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As the fireworks lit the night sky over Mercyhurst College, Dr. David Kruszewski was one of many who couldn't describe the brilliant fire­balls any other way. "Awesome," he said. And he wasn't the only one. "Awesome" was Scott Pohl's description of the celebration during an interview with a local reporter. And the same word was on the lips of those who enjoyed the organ recital by world-class recording artist Hector Olivera. "Awesome," they described him.

For the 13th year in Erie and the fifth year in North East, Mercyhurst

College welcomed the community to its campuses where the

area's largest Independence Day

celebrations are held — J at Mercyhurst's Old

Fashioned Fourth of July. In addition to providing a place

for the Erie and North East commu­nities to come together to celebrate our nation's independence, the Old Fashioned Fourth of July is a splen­did way for visitors to see the beauty of the Mercyhurst grounds.

When the bands struck up Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" launch­ing the fireworks on both campuses, a sea of flags waved on the ball-fields in a salute to Old Glory. It was — you guessed it — awesome.