vol. 7, issue 11
DESCRIPTION
RMU Sentry Media is the student-run publication at Robert Morris UniversityTRANSCRIPT
PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Remembering MarcoPage 5
Men’s basketball SuccessPage 13
NEWS SPORTSMusical theatre jazz classPage 7
OPINIONSaying goodbye to Dr. FrantzPage 10
FEATURES
News April 19, 2012Page 2 NewsApril 19, 2012 Page 3
The year was 1994. It was then that print media on-campus essentially vanished. The year 2006 saw the return of “The Sentry,” and now, “The Patriot,” RMU’s former yearbook, is scheduled to return next year thanks to a recent push from RMU President Gregory Dell’Omo. Ever since Dell’Omo became president of RMU seven years ago, he questioned the absence of a yearbook and began to advocate for its return. “At the time [when the yearbook disappeared], it was still a heavily commuter school. It was sort of a different model, and the yearbook and newspaper and all of those things sort of fit what I want to accomplish by making this more of a transformed experience for students, a more traditional college environment,” Dell’Omo explained. When Dell’Omo made his latest request for a yearbook, Dean of Students, John Michalenko, approached Beth Miller, assistant director of the Career Center, as well as John Locke, director of
student activities and leadership development, to compose a proposal. “It’s something Student Life has always wanted to do,” stated Locke, who will serve as a co-advisor along with Miller for the yearbook. From the research they conducted for the pro-posal, Locke and Miller found that the popularity of college yearbooks is mixed. “[A yearbook] needs to be part of the culture and that will take time, but I’m pretty confident that we have such a close-knit campus that it will work,” he stated. At this time, Locke has received five applications for the editor-in-chief position and hopes to fill an additional seven to ten spots, including photogra-phers, copywriters and designers, by the start of the fall 2012 semester. As a former high school and college yearbook edi-tor, Miller attested that the skills she learned from composing a yearbook prove to be very useful. “[It’s] another avenue for students to feature their skills,” she said, “and work in a deadline situation.” The yearbook will be completed through an online
site called Herff Jones, and all RMU students will be encouraged to submit their own photos for inclu-sion. However, the class of 2013 will remain the focus because the yearbook is meant for them and will be given to them for free, including those graduat-ing in Dec. 2012, while underclassmen will have to pay for a copy if they wish to have one. Any money made from yearbook sales will go directly to the production of the yearbook, according to Locke. Both Locke and Miller along with Dell’Omo and Michalenko view the return of “The Patriot” as a valuable conclusion and permanent memory of stu-dents’ time at RMU. “We believe in traditions and class affinity, and we believe that this builds it,” said Michalenko. “Having a memento of something to bring you, a hard copy, I think is kind of cool.” Previously, “The Patriot” was produced from 1962 to 1994, and editions are stored in the Heritage Room located on the third floor of the Nicholson Center, according to Miller. Follow @RMUpatriot for all the latest updates.
For the past two semesters Carrie Moniot’s media management class has hosted political debates as part of their final project. However, this semester the students of COMM 4800 are changing it up and putting on their own version of the hit show “Family Feud.” “It was a group decision that we wanted to do something fun and en-tertaining, and something that would go beyond a class project” said group leader Debra Ostrander. “We didn’t want it to be ‘let’s just do this because it’s for class’ but wanted to do it to have fun doing it.” Originally, the group planned on having a game show titled “Are You Smarter Than an RMU Freshman?” However, those plans for that fell through. “It evolved to RMU Feud because there was a question raised from the class about not having enough par-ticipants as far as faculty goes,” re-called Christine Sonson, the head of the advertising group. “The students were afraid that the teachers would feel like they were undermined a bit if they didn’t know the answers to the questions so we felt that we wouldn’t have enough participants.”
Participating in the game show on the faculty side will be Jim Vincent, John Locke, Heather Pinson, and Ar-mand Buzzelli, as well as students from various on campus organiza-tions. “Our ambitious and talented commu-nication students really have created a great project, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it,” said Locke. “I’ve always wanted to be on this show, so I plan on bringing my A-game.” When coming up with the idea, the class decided that they wanted their project to be more than just a game show and wanted something good out of it. Any proceeds the class raises from sponsors, participants or audi-ence members will be donated to the Marco Giovengo Memorial Fund. “We were thinking of how our over-all project could benefit something of good,” said Sonson. “The whole dona-tion or fundraiser for something came up. Somebody mentioned Marco’s name and we all agreed immediately.” Overall, the class is looking to step out of the shadow of classes who have come before them and put on a show that everyone can enjoy while raising money for a good cause. “The political shows were kind of ‘been there, done that’ so we just thought it was time for something new,” Ostrander said. “So we figured
why not do something completely op-posite? This is different than politics and all based on RMU and the ques-tions for the game are RMU based as well, so it’ll be a fun time.” The event will be held on Monday April 23, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in the TV
Studio on the Robert Morris campus and will be a 30-minute show. If stu-dents are unable to make it out, the show will also be broadcast live on RMU-TV, which is channel 98 on-campus.
Robert Morris University Patrick Henry Room 118 6001 University Blvd Moon Township, PA 15108 www.rmusentrymedia.com ISSN #1934-8878 April 19, 2012 Volume 7, Issue 11-Monthly
Student Media Advisor
Carrie Moniot
Editorial Staff
The Sentry is a student-written, student-managed newspaper serving Robert Morris University and Moon Township. It is published monthly except during semester breaks, holidays and prior to final exams. Editorial Policy: Editorials are based on the opinions of the editors of The Sentry and do not necessarily reflect the views of the students, faculty, or administration.
Corrections/clarifications: Readers should report any story or photo errors to The Sentry. All legitimate errors will be corrected in print the following edition. Letters Policy: The Sentry welcomes letters to the editor but does not guarantee publication. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Anonymous submissions will not be published.
Leah MooseNews Editor
Sabine CherenfantOpinion Editor
Sybile CherenfantFeatures Editor
Brooke SmithSports Editor
Alyssa BensonCopy Editor
Marissa HomerAd Manager
Matt PolaskiPhoto Editor
Alexandria AntonacciOnline Editor
Tom KlabnikMultimedia Editor
Anthony LivecchiArt Director
Business Staff
Police Blotter: April 12 - April 164/12 - Suspicious Vehicle - Officers viewed a vehicle driving around the NAC complex. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the vehicle fled the area and off campus.
4/12 - Departmental Information - A resident student wanted a report on file dealing with a nonresident student confronting them. A report was written in case any further ac-tions were to occur.
4/13 - Medical Emergency - This depart-ment was advised of a female student having trouble breathing by the nurse’s department. Valley Ambulance was contacted and trans-ported the student to Sewickley Valley Hos-pital for further treatment.
4/13 - Accident - This department was ad-vised of a motor vehicle accident in the Up-per Massey parking lot. Both parties’ infor-mation was obtained and a report was issued for insurance purposes.
4/13 - Underage Drinking - Residence Life reported an intoxicated male outside of Han-cock Hall. The male was taken into custody and issued a citation for underage drinking. The male was transported to the Coraopolis Police Department for lodging until sober.
4/14 - Student Conduct - Residence Life re-ported an underage drinking party in Lex-ington Hall. All of the occupants admitted to consuming alcohol and were advised they will be sent through Judicial Affairs for judg-ment.
4/15 - Student Conduct - Officers were called to Concord Hall for a noise complaint. The
incident ended up being an underage party with one occupant being transported to Se-wickley Valley Hospital for being passed out. All parties involved were advised they would be sent through Judicial Affairs for judg-ment.
4/15 - Student Conduct - A student came and reported an incident with someone from an ex-relationship. Both parties were advised to cease all forms of communication with each other, or charges can be filed against them.
4/15 - Accident - Complainant called and re-ported their vehicle being hit while parked in the gazebo parking lot. Pictures of the dam-age to the vehicle were taken and a report was written for insurance purposes.
4/16 - Medical Emergency - This department was advised of a student having problems with their blood sugar levels. Valley Ambu-lance transported the student to Sewickley Valley Hospital for further treatment.
4/16 - Departmental Information - This de-partment was advised of a student on the shuttle bus having some questionable items. The student was contacted and the items were props for a film project. The items are being stored at the Barry Center to avoid any further related incidents.
4/16 - Fire Alarm - Guardian reported a fire alarm activated in Ross Hall. The alarm pan-el showed a point of activation, which was checked with negative results. The building was clear of any signs of smoke or fire and the alarm system was reset.
Romo’s RoundupComPiled by ANdReA ZANAGlio
Thur, April 19RmU ldol - 9:30 p.m. - Nicholson Food Court
Ninth Annual media Arts Gold Show - 5:30 to 8 p.m. - downtown media Arts Gallery
Fri, April 20Undergraduate Research Conference - 11:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Third Floor of Sewall CenterSpring 2012 documentary Showcase - 3 to 4 p.m.
- media Arts HouseMon, April 23
RmU Feud - 7:30 p.m. - AmC TV Studio - Patrick Henry 120Tues, April 24
Final exams beginAlmost midnight breakfast - 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.
- Nicholson Food CourtFri, May 4
Graduate Commencement Ceremony - 4 p.m. - Sewall CenterFri, May 5
Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony - 9:30 a.m. - Sewall Center
NEWS BRIEFSComPiled by leAH mooSe
• The franchise Dunkin’ Donuts was an-nounced in October to be coming to the Moon area in Hometown Pizza’s former building. Recently, a sign outside of the newly renovat-ed restaurant advertised the grand opening of Dunkin’ Donuts to be April 23.
• RMU Idol will take place on Thursday, April 19 at the Nicholson Food Court. Perfor-mances will begin at 9:30 p.m. and Chenee Cleveland and Jessica Olin of NSCS will host the event. The judges for the night include Jim Vincent, Andrew Toole and Julianne Michalenko. Admission is $1 and will go to-wards the Marco Giovengo Memorial fund.
• On Friday, April 20, the Spring 2012 Docu-mentary Showcase will take place at 3 p.m. Dustin Zemel, visiting documentary film-maker, will be presenting his documentary involving RMU students. The event will be held at the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foun-dation House for the Media Arts and is be-ing put on by the Media Department here on campus.
• On Friday, April 20, there will be a free concert at the gazebo. Blaming Murphy will perform live from 1 to 2 p.m. The event will be sponsored by Baja Club and RMU Associa-tion of Musicians. The genre of the band is described on the flier to be punk/alternative/ska.
BY ALYSSA BENSONCoPy ediToR
Media management class puts spin on ‘Family Feud’
The media mangement class participates in a dress rehersal of their show on Monday, April 16. Host Christopher Baginski is set to bring humor to the show.
PHoTo by bill PATTeRSoN
The Patriot returns to preserve memoriesBY ANDREA ZANAGLIOASST. NeWS ediToR
NewsApril 19, 2012 Page 5
Marco Giovengo, a RMU student who passed away on March 16, will be hon-ored on May 5 at the undergraduate commencement ceremony. “We have invited his family to join the president and the dean of the School of Business on stage during the awarding of diplomas,” explained Lawrence Tomei, senior assistant pro-vost for academic affairs. His parents have accepted the in-vitation to receive the posthumous degree earned by Giovengo, who was majoring in sport management, and was supposed to graduate with a BS-BA at the end of this semester. “That is the right thing to do,” stated Maureen Keefer, the assistant dean of students. “He earned the degree.” Alpha Phi Omega, a community ser-vice fraternity, hosted a memorial in
honor of Giovengo in the Rogal Chapel on April 13. The Giovengo family and many members of the RMU communi-ty were in attendance, including RMU President Gregory Dell’Omo. To commemorate his time at RMU, a slideshow was played at the ceremo-ny. Sophomore Chauncey Alexander also performed a poem to open up the ceremony and celebrate the life of Gio-vengo. After Alexander’s performance, the attendees were invited to share their thoughts. Dell’Omo was the first to take the stage to talk about Gioven-go’s involvement on campus. He stressed how Giovengo fought a battle everyday and did so with cour-age. Lastly, Dell’Omo wished that half of the RMU students were as involved as him. Danny Bonaventura, a junior sports management major, and Giovengo’s
best friend, also spoke during the cer-emony. Bonaventura, who remained by Gio-vengo’s side during his last moments, painted a picture of who he was to the attendees. Treadwell Lewis, a junior, spoke about how he got to know Giovengo. “He was hard-working, and he had a great sense of humor,” said Lewis. Jen Crawford, the director of annual giving, announced that a significant amount has been raised for the Marco Giovengo Memorial Fund. Many stu-dent organizations on campus partici-pated. For instance, the RMU Jam Blues Band and the RMU Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity chapter, two organizations that Giovengo was a member of, col-laborated with Dr. Suzan Parker’s Ad-vocacy Collaboration and Leadership class to fundraise for the memorial
fund. They started the fundraiser on April 9 and ends on April 20. Parker explained that after learning the news of Giovengo’s death, she sug-gested to her class to do their capstone class project helping with the fund. “The class overwhelmingly agreed that they would rather do that than work on other community service projects,” explained Parker, who also added that the students reached out to other students that they knew. Many other RMU students volunteered to help out with the project, including members of the RMU men’s basket-ball team. They received donations from Giant Eagle, Panera Bread, and Family Vid-eo to add to the list of those donating to the memorial fund. “The family will make a decision on where they would like to see the mon-ey go,” explained Keefer.
Students and parents alike were sent emails and letters in early March stat-ing that RMU was increasing the tu-ition, room and board for the academic school year of 2012-2013. Standard tuition increased by 4.5 percent and was raised to $23,410 per year while room and board was in-creased to $9,730 per year. In lieu of these increases, RMU students have been left wondering why exactly tu-ition increases each year and what the process is in making these decisions. As a member of the RMU Board of Trustees, Gary Claus explained the process the Board of Trustees and other officials go through when deter-mining tuition, room and board. One of the first things the officials start off with in determining the follow-ing year’s tuition, room and board is determining what the costs will be to operate the university. “This includes maintaining the high-quality academic programs and cam-pus experiences that we believe make an RMU degree so valuable. Most of the costs are fixed, which means that we incur them merely by opening our doors every day and holding classes. These include faculty and staff sala-ries and benefits, which includes health care and retirement contribu-
tions, as well as the cost to maintain and update our facilities and technol-ogy,” said Claus. The second part in determining tu-ition, room and board costs is making sure the budget is balanced; spending is watched with a very close eye to en-sure they do not go over the budget. For instance, to help save expenses, they are not filling vacant spots for staff if it is not absolutely necessary. “Most of our revenues come from tuition, but the cost of tuition does not cover the true cost to educate a stu-dent. We supplement tuition through fund-raising and revenues from other sources such as outside conferences and events that lease our facilities,” Claus explained. “For instance, the Holiday Inn, also known as York-town hall, will generate a tremen-dous amount of net revenue through not only student housing but as well as guest hotel rooms, conferences and events.” The third and final part is the stu-dent’s ability to pay the tuition. “Over the last several years we have increased spending on financial aid significantly. Ninety percent of RMU students received some sort of finan-cial aid, so relatively few students are paying the full tuition,” said Claus. “Part of the budgeting process in-cludes estimating enrollment and re-tention for the coming year, and we
also look at the tuition that is charged by other institutions. RMU is among the lowest-priced private institutions, and when institutional aid is taken in-to account, we are comparably priced to Pitt and Penn State.” Claus also explained the process and rationale behind the housing situation on campus now and in the near future. “RMU admitted fewer new students in the Fall of 2011 than it did the previous year. The reason we faced a shortage of on-campus housing again this year was that our retention, the number of students who return to complete their studies, increased dramatically,” said Claus. “This is a good sign because it means that our
students are happy with the educa-tion and experiences they are receiv-ing here. Our goal is to provide hous-ing for every student who wants it, but that does not mean that we can provide every student with their first choice of housing.” Tuition, room and board increases have become a very common theme heard around campus in recent weeks. Many students openly voice their opinion over the issue. Freshman, Kathryne Hopkins, is just one. “I think RMU is really pricey and when it gets raised even more, it re-ally makes me mad because I feel as if I am paying enough to go here; I don’t want to pay even more.”
Designated Drivers receive Free Pop
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WINGS, SUDS &
SPUDS SALOON
Day of Action
Populate Social Media with messages or
statistics about sexual violence
April 3rd
National Alcohol
Screening Day
April 5th ,
11am-1pm Cafeteria
Open Mic Night
Read poetry or sing a song about sexual violence
April 10th @ 9pm
Cafeteria
Kick the Silence
Play kickball and donate toiletries to the
Beaver County
April 16th @ 5pm
Nicholson Front Lawn
Take Back the Night
Candlelight Vigil for victims of sexual
violence
April 18th, 8:30pm
Gazebo
Thursdays In Black Wear black on
Thursdays in April to stand in solidarity
with victims of sexual violence
BY ALYSSA BISHOPCoNTRibUToR
Examining the recent tuition, room and board increases
PHoTo by leAH mooSeRoom and board costs will be raised for the 2012-2013 school year.
Remembering Marco GiovengoBY SABINE CHERENFANToPiNioN ediToR
Page 7OpinionApril 19, 2012Page 6 April 19, 2012 OPINION
Tired of sitting in classes? Bored of presentations, papers, projects, and other homework? If you want to take a class that is all about fun, musical theater jazz class is your best choice. It is getting more and more popu-lar. The opportunities to learn how to move well, get in shape, and become more flexible attract RMU students. “There is only one dance class; it is a fairly new program. It is a commu-nication major but it emphasizes the-ater,” said professor Lisa Elliot, who has been teaching this class for five years at Robert Morris, and has been teaching dance for 31 years.
Jazz class is not only about that par-ticular style of dance. According to El-liot there are many different styles of dance. “What I teach is a combination of a little bit of classical ballet, a little bit of modern dance, even hip hop, and things that are lyrical. It has a lot of emphasis of other studies,” she said. Elliot says jazz is more abstract and all encompassing, so everyone can find something special for himself or her-self. “Jazz dancing is a form of dance that showcases a dancer’s individual style and originality,” said Treva Beding-haus. “Every jazz dancer interprets and executes moves and steps in their own way.
The class is not hard. Elliot says to pass the Jazz dance class you just have to come to every class. If you want to get an A, show hard work and passion. It does not matter how talented you are or if you had any experience on that field. “I have to look at each person sepa-rately, because I have some people who have had years and years of dance training,” said Elliot. “I have some-body in the back row who might be an athlete who has had no dance training whatsoever, so I have to grade based on where the students start from.” Students really like jazz class. Lakeshia McCloud, who takes jazz class this semester, says that one of
the reasons for her choice was that ev-eryone said it was a great class. Mc-Cloud thinks, It is really fun and en-joyable. Every Tuesday and Thursday she and her classmates come to Massey Hall to dance and have a good time while receiving 3 credits for that class. Dur-ing the class time students stretch, do some ab exercises, and repeat or learn new dance movements. “It is a good work out,” says Almi-ra Mekezhanova, who also takes the class this semester. “It keeps me in shape and I am more flexible. And it is a lot of fun!”
There is something that has been on my mind recently, and I cannot seem to shake it. It is about girls who date guys who treat them like the dirt they walk on. I hate to admit it, but I used to be one of those girls who let her boyfriend walk all over her and say anything he wanted to, but I have grown up and grown into my own skin. I have learned that I do not deserve to be treated like that. It takes a lot for girls these days to see just how beautiful and worthy they are of a great relationship. For some reason, there are girls who still think that being treated like crap is normal and acceptable, and I com-pletely understand the idea of “love is blind,” because I have lived it. You develop such strong feelings for
a person that you let red flags slide because you think, “he did not mean it,” “he will not do that again,” or “he was just mad”. You make excuses for them because you think you “love” them. But is there a time when you wake up and realize just how destructive the rela-tionship really is? It took me a year to realize that I needed to end things with my ex. He was so good at manipulating the situ-ation and turning things around to me, where I would be the one feeling bad; but in fact, he should have been feeling the regret. I learned that in a relationship when you love someone, you never say mean things to them, you never do things to purposely hurt them, and you never make them feel like less of a person than they are. I know that we all have our breaking points where there is only so much a
person can handle or put up with un-til they finally are just done with it, but should we be feeling that the first time a man ever talks down to us or makes us feel less about ourselves? Why do we wait so long to realize we are in a toxic relationship? We con-tinue in this vicious cycle because we believe that we love this person who treats us so poorly. I do not know if it is because girls think that they cannot do any better or that they just start to believe all the negative things their boyfriends are saying so that they think they should be lucky that their boyfriend wants them. I now realize, for me, I did not want to be alone. I was insecure in my own skin, and I was not truly happy with who I was. I thought I needed a man to complete me, when in reality I needed myself to feel complete. It was not until I ended this relation-
ship that I started to appreciate my-self, and as silly as this may sound, I started to love myself. I learned that I deserve the world. I should never be talked to disrespectfully and I should never allow a man to determine how I feel about myself. I think it is about time that other girls realize what they are doing to themselves by being in such damag-ing relationships. If they would just open their eyes, they would see they are missing out on what it is like to be in a healthy relationship with someone who loves them unconditionally and would nev-er say or do anything to hurt them. They need to find that inner confi-dence and never let it go. Everyone deserves to be with someone who brings out the best in them, not tear them down.
You don’t deserve to be treated like the dirt you walk onBY LAURA DEELYSTAFF WRiTeR
Sex, drugs and rock ’n roll…BY ANNAH CHULAMSTAFF WRiTeR
Since we are in college, I decided to get a little spicy, and write my last article about a topic that everyone wants to talk about: sex, drugs, and rock ’n roll. Friends that have known me since I arrived sev-en months ago will agree when I say that dating in America is very different from dating in Brazil. Take flirting, for example. So many times my American friends had to warn me “Annah that was flirting.” I thought it was just some innocent friend-ly talk. This might sound a little bit ridiculous, but I had to learn how NOT to flirt, because the way I acted, the things I said and the way I said them were always sending the wrong impression to boys eyes and ears. It might sound exaggerated, but it is not. I had to train myself to not stand too close, not touch too much, no sexual innuendos here, and not wiggle with body language. So, if you go to Brazil or Marshall Hall, my residen-cy, get hugged by a beautiful dark haired woman, get touched in the arm in the middle of a conversa-tion, it might be just a friendly conversation. Or, it might be just me flitting, but not flirting, around. According to my title, I guess I should now talk about drugs. However, drugs are really not my thing, and I would be fooling everyone if I pretended to know much about them. So, I will talk a little bit more about sex. Since we already covered flirting, let us move on to dating and, more specifically, teenage dating. If I could sum up American dating in a few steps, it
would be: guy asks girl out, girl plays hard to get, girl gets upset because guy doesn’t ask her out again, guy becomes confused, a friend tries to help but messes everything up, and then girl moves on while guy is still confused. In some rare occasions, the friend actually does help, the two lovebirds go on a date, and the rest is just a facebook relationship status change away. Now, let us talk about Brazilian teenage dating. I hate to say it but for us hanging out is making out. After a while of “hanging out,” guy and girl might be enjoying each other’s company and decide to start a real relationship, with exclusivity, flowers on Valentine’s Day, and meet-ing the parents. Or, if they are not really into the whole relationship thing, the situation can just stay as it is: simple and casu-al. I know it may sound confusing, but trust me, it is easier than what I found up here: drama and more drama. I feel like I have to skip the rock ’n roll part and write about the hardest thing I have ever had to learn in my entire life: the difference between talk-ing and “taaaalking.” I am not sure how it works in other countries, but I am pretty sure that in Brazil, when we say two people are talking, that only means they are hav-ing a conversation. Well, in America, depending on how many A’s you pro-nounce, that could either mean a con-versation or that two people are in the
process of dating. It took my friends a lot of effort, countless days, and even a drawing, which I still have hanging on my wall, to make me understand that when two people are “taaalking” they can’t really “taaalk” to anyone else, even though they can still talk, as in have a conversation. And if a girl is “taaalking” to a guy and that guy is “taaalking” to some other girl as well, then the two girls automatically hate each other, even though he is the one to blame. Well, I guess all I have to say is: welcome to Amer-ica and this confusing thing called dating.
Musical theater jazz class: All about funBY YULIA VASILYEVASTAFF WRiTeR
Here, our motto is that attending RMU is life changing, and in only my second semester, I can say RMU has changed my life. I was always one of those kids who disliked going to school, but at RMU, I can say I enjoy school. The uni-versity’s six core values and mission statement are nothing less than the truth. Every professor that I have cares about each student and makes an effort to learn who you are quite well. Up to this point, my profes-sors strive to reach out and help each student in whatever they need. The faculty members are always sup-porting RMU, and I always see them at campus sporting events and activi-ties. There is nothing better than see-ing your own professor supporting not only you, but also the entire student body. I, for one, always ask for help when I struggle, and the Center for Student Success is a blessing. The counselors and tutors not only help me, but also many other students who need help. Student Life and the Student Civic Engagement offices are always orga-nizing events throughout the school,
and I am extremely proud of their ef-forts for offering a large variety of ac-tivities for students. This school has a culture I did not find on any other college visits. The students are welcoming and care about one another, and the blend of students at RMU makes it unlike oth-er universities.
Finally, our Presi-dent, Dr. Gregory Dell’Omo is excep-tional. Unlike other col-leges, Dr. Dell’Omo is seen on a daily basis interacting with fac-ulty and students; he is an excellent people person and truly takes into account student concerns. I am extremely proud
of how our president works with the students and has continued to make RMU into a welcoming university. Robert Morris University tells the truth, they care for the individual student. The people at RMU make it special, and make it a place that feels like home. During my first year here, I have gotten involved with RMU TV and RMU Radio, as well as the Non-Profit Alliance Program and a few other or-ganizations. They keep me involved and have truly enhanced my experi-ence at RMU. RMU has changed my life, has it changed yours?
RMU - changing livesBY MIKE FUNYAKSTAFF WRiTeR
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“i am extremely proud of how our president works with the students and has
continued to make RmU in-to a welcoming university”
Photo Credits:
Chelsey Frey
Austen Czapla
Alyssa Benson
Reflecting upon another year
Photo Credits:Matt PolaskiMaria MautiBill Patterson
Page 11FeaturesApril 19, 2012April 19, 2012Page 10 Features
This past fall, Dr. Andrea Frantz announced that she was stepping down as the department head and associate professor of communica-tion at Robert Morris University (RMU) to return to Buena Vista University (BVU) in Storm Lake, Iowa, where her journey began al-most 23 years ago. Frantz and her husband, Mi-chael, left nearly 15 years ago and now plan to return. “We are going home,” Frantz said. “We are going back to the university where we started our careers in 1989.” Her decision to go back home was a difficult one. “There was a lot of soul searching that we had to do with all of this, but in the end, it seems it was the absolute right decision for us, both personally and professionally,” she explained. Frantz will assume the position of associate professor of digital media at BVU. “When I was first there it was a mass communication department, and now it has really changed to this digital media focus and it’s really based on storytelling across platform,” she said. “So it’s a good fit for me.” According to an interview Frantz did for the “Change a Life” cam-paign, she was not born a commu-nicator, and like many other stu-dents, her decision to be a writer, especially a journalist, did not happen overnight.
She met several creative and outstanding mentors throughout her journey. Among them was her third grade teacher who was aware of her struggles with speak-ing in public. “[She told me] you need to under-stand that when you have a pencil in your hand, you can talk, you can talk through writing,” said Frantz. “She changed my life that way and helped me understand that I could be a writer,” she added. Frantz began teaching journal-ism courses at RMU as an associ-ate professor of communication in fall 2009. At the end of that aca-demic year, in spring 2010, she be-came the department head of com-munication. In addition to teaching journal-
ism courses, Frantz is the advisor to the Society for Collegiate Jour-nalists (SCJ), which is a national organization for students in the journalism concentration. In March of this year, Frantz won the 2012 Outstanding New Advisor Award from SCJ, and was recognized with the RMU Student Government Association’s Distin-guished Teaching Award in 2011. She also organized, and ran, the Festival of Five Freedoms, which celebrated the First Amendment. Frantz has witnessed the journal-ism program at RMU grow a lot since her arrival three years ago. “We have moved forward in the
About two hours away from Pittsburgh, is the city in which the biggest mine disaster took place. More than 361 workers died from this explosion, including 170 Italian immigrants. Dr. Joe D’Andrea, a retired professor of the Moon Township school district and an honorary doctorate receiver from Robert Morris University (RMU), be-came the driving force behind the commemoration of the Italians who died in the explosion. He explained that most of the workers were immi-grants recruited in Europe by agents. They would ar-rive in New York, and would travel to West Virginia to work 10 hours a day in the mine.
“Labor was cheap,” explained D’Andrea. “The com-pany was making good profit.” The companies owned everything, including the stores and the poorly conditioned houses, in the towns where the workers lived. Therefore, the money they earned went back to the companies. “They were called company towns,” said D’Andrea. There was barely any government supervision in the mine. “The conditions were not safe,” explained D’Andrea. “If you come out at night, you’re lucky.” Men and male children starting at age 13 or 14 worked at the mine, while the women stayed at home
An unforgettable disaster close to Pittsburgh
PHoTo by JeRemy mCCAUd
Dr. Frantz prepares for the Festival of Five Freedoms with her students.
BY DANTE VERMECoNTRibUToR
Saying goodbye to Dr. Andrea FrantzBY MIKE FUNYAKSTAFF WRiTeR
Updates on the Wayne Center
Robert Morris University’s Wayne Center construction
BY SYBILE CHERENFANTFeATUReS ediToR
PleASe See FRANTZ,PAGe 12
PleASe See WAYNE CENTER, PAGe 11
PHoTo by bRoCk SWiTZeRThe construction of the Wayne Center continues to progress as its fall opening date approaches.
Director of Planning and Design of Robert Mor-ris University (RMU) Bill Joyce offers updates to those wondering about the construction site at the Wayne Center. “As soon as RMU completed the agreement to sell the downtown building to Duquesne Uni-versity, the university also agreed to vacate the building by May 2012”, explained Joyce. As a result of this, a new building is being con-structed to house the Media Arts Department. The former Wayne Center, which was home to the facilities department for RMU, has since been moved off campus. As of now, the construction site resembles a maze. However, the construction workers are aware of what is going on. The new section and center of the existing building has taken shape into a steel frame. Work is currently underway to enclose the cen-ter section of the building. The center section will be three stories high. Two of its floors will feature more than 65 offices for faculty mem-bers. As people look at the site, brick placements have begun in the back of the building and around the existing structure. Starting on the left side of the existing building, workers have started to lay bricks, which caused the look of the building to change. The workers have also started to work on the right side. What used to be the outside of the Wayne Cen-ter will
PleASe See REMEMBERING HISTORY, PAGe 12
CoNTiNUed FRom PAGe 11
have a fresh look. This new look is changing the buildings appearance. Looking into the building, observers can see that workers have installed the framework for classrooms and hallways. Work is on schedule- the framework on the upper levels should begin soon. As of now, the underground utility work is complete, and the closing of the second and third floors structures is almost complete. At this time, duct-
work and electrical work is being com-pleted. “As of right now, construction on the first floor is to be completed by August along with portions of the second floor for faculty that was downtown,” added Joyce. In addition, the rest of the second floor and third floor will be completed soon after. By the start of the 2012-2013 school year, the Media Arts Department will have its own building on campus.
Compared to the former Wayne Cen-ter that was 20,000 square feet, the new home for the media arts will be 53,000 square feet. The first floor will have a café, art gallery, and academic space. Included are new lighting rooms, computer labs, and drawing studios along with wood and metal shops. “The classrooms and Labs will in-clude tables with electric outlets ‘state of the art’ Teaching Podiums, Projec-tion and Smartboards with flanking
whiteboards,” added Joyce. “The Me-dia Arts Labs will have Mac Technol-ogy utilized by the Media Arts Pro-gram. The Screening Room will have tiered seating and “state of the art” A/V systems for both film screening and lectures.” Most of the general-purpose class-rooms will be similar to room 119 lo-cated in the new business building. Architect Ross Bianco was the one who designed the new media arts building. IDG is working as the production ar-
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curriculum and certainly with the co-curric-ular, with making The Sentry an area of con-vergence, so that television, radio, and print are all together on that website,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of advancement of students in that particular area toward where the indus-try is right now. It’s very exciting to me that I could be part of that, and be part of the vi-sion.” Frantz gets very excited when talking about her journalism classes. Last Spring, she and Christine Holtz, professor of media arts, went with 19 journalism and photography students to Sneem, Ireland. The students interviewed or photographed the residents of Sneem. After returning from Ireland, the photography students produced photo books while the journalism students produced articles and video documentaries. Frantz ultimately believes students need to connect with the community from the start. “It’s one thing to be in a classroom and talk about connecting with a community, which is at its heart what journalism is,” said Frantz last summer in the “Walk, Click, Pause” ar-ticle found in the university’s Foundations Magazine. “It’s another thing completely to have students go into a community and con-nect with it on a real level, and that’s what’s happening here.” RMU will partner with Marywood Universi-ty to produce a book with a poetry component after they return from Ireland. Next year, Frantz hopes to include the study abroad trip to Sneem in her course at BVU, and ultimate-ly partner with both RMU and Marywood. “It will be a great opportunity for all those students to get to know other students who are doing the same things,” said Frantz. Frantz holds a Ph.D. in Rhetorical and Pro-fessional Communication, and a Master of
Arts in Rhetoric and Composition from Iowa State University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English, from Simpson College. Before coming to RMU, Frantz was a ten-ured associate professor of communication studies at Wilkes University, and a mass communication and English instructor at BVU. Frantz believes that students grow when they are doing something uncomfortable and unfamiliar. “I hope they remember me as someone who supported them, but pushed them because my goal is always to push students out of their comfort zones and into a place where they can grow,” said Frantz. “I’d love for them to think of me as the person who pushed them.” Frantz would also like students to think of her as someone who was a strong advocate for their voices. “I do believe in the importance of students’ voices, and students having a say in their ed-ucation, and their educational environment,” she said. “And if they remembered me as the hardest teacher they’ve ever had, I’m OK with that too, because I don’t want to be easy; I don’t want them to slack in my class.” According to Frantz, her position as a jour-nalism professor will be filled by Dr. Anthony Moretti from Point Park University. “[Moretti] comes to us from the broadcast journalism field,” she said. “He also has great experience in sports reporting, so he’ll be a good fit here.” Moretti, a former professional journalist, earned his Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in 2003. Frantz’s love for her students made her de-cision to leave RMU a very difficult one. “To leave is very difficult emotionally,” said Frantz. “The hardest part for me is leaving my students.”
Frantz, departing RMU for BVU
to take care of the children and maintain the houses. On a cold December 6, 1907, the men and children went to work at 5:30 a.m. to return home 12 hours later. It was 10:20 a.m. when the explosion started. “The dogs were howling,” explained D’Andrea. “The women... knew that something awful had happened. They all rushed to the... mine.” The women and children were screaming for their loved ones in different languages. “It was a scene out of a biblical movie,” explained D’Andrea. No one could enter the mine then because it was too hot. Later on, the women were asked to recognize what was left of their men. One woman recognized her hus-band by his red socks. The men left behind one thou-sand or-phans and 300 wid-ows. “Only one man survived,” said D’Andrea. “He was from poland.” Unfortunately, that man, Pe-ter Urban, died about 19 years later in that same mine. The explosion was felt from about five kilometers away. Railroad tracks and buildings shook. The company, Fairmont Coal, which is no longer in ex-istence, did not provide any compensation to the survivors so they wouldn’t assume guilt for the incident. However they did provide a land to bury the deaths. As a result, a commission, the Monongah Mining Fund, was created to collect a fund for the survivors. Donors across the country and two from Mexico and Cuba contributed to the
commission. It allowed the surviving family members to receive 300 dollars for the hus-bands and 100 dollars for ev-ery child who died. “I came to know about this incident in 1983,” said D’Andrea. He heard of it at a conference, and became curi-ous since then. “I returned storming in my office,” he explained. However, bureaucratic work took him away. He started to actively research on the in-cident in 1992. He asked his brother to find a professor at an American university from Monongah. He then met with that professor there. Most of the Italians who per-ished, 87 of them, were actu-ally from Molisse, one of the smallest regions of Italy and D’Andrea’s hometown.
As soon as he learned of the number of those who were from M o l i s s e , he reached out to the town. “I took a plane [and] had a press
conference,” D’Andrea. He in-formed the people of Molisse about its possible relatives burried in Monongah. The United States and the Italian government have been very involved in commemorat-ing those who perished in the incidents. The Italian donated two thousand dollars to re-store the cemetery. There also have been countless conferenc-es held for the incident. “Conferences were held, scholarships were given, [and] students were involved,” said D’Andrea. “They knew about Monongah.” “Why is this important?” said D’Andrea. “History is a bucket of ashes, [and] those ashes are the best fertilizers for the gov-ernment.”
The importance of remembering historyCoNTiNUed FRom PAGe 10
PHoTo by CARRie moNioTDr. Frantz poses with SCJ members during a trip to New York City for the CMA conference.
CoNTiNUed FRom PAGe 10
“IT WAS A SCENE OUT OF A
BIBLICAL MOVIE”
- dr. Joe d’Andrea
Just last year Nicole Sleith, freshman pitcher on the Robert Morris Univer-sity softball team, was leading Yough to a WPIAL Class AAA championship and winning Player of the Year ac-colades. This year, she has fit like a glove in the Colonials lineup. Coming into the 2012 season, head coach Craig Coleman had three solid pitchers that he planned to use in dif-ferent situations throughout the sea-son. However, after an injury to senior ace, Alexa Bryson, his plans had to change a bit. “I never expected Lex [Bryson] to get hurt, and I really thought we were go-ing to have a three-headed monster on the mound,” said Coleman. “We were going to change pitchers frequently, and we had a plan for how we were go-ing to do that, but that all went out the window with Lex’s injury.” Once Bryson went down, both Sleith and sophomore, Geena Badolato were called upon heavily. As conference play began, the freshman has been re-lied on to carry a majority of the load for her team. “I have just stayed positive and tried to limit my pitch counts,” she said of the increased role. “Lex is always there for me with advice when I need it, so even though she’s not playing, she still helps us out a lot.”
Thus far, Sleith has com-piled a 17-10 record with a 1.79 era and 176 strikeouts in 172 innings pitched. Most recently, she combined with Badolato to throw a no-hitter against Mount St. Mary’s. The Northeast Conference (NEC) has also recognized Sleith’s success as she has been tabbed Pitcher of the Week once and Rookie of the Week three times. Sleith admits she’s learned a lot so far in her transition from high school softball to NCAA Division I softball. “In high school, the pace of the game was much slower, and here everything is much more sped up so that was something I had to adjust to,” she said. “Also, I had to learn to mix up my pitches to try and keep the batters off bal-ance because every batter in college is capable of hitting a homerun at anytime, and that wasn’t the case in high school.” Coleman looks at his pitcher and believes that for a freshman, with no prior college experience, she’s handled herself very well. “So far I think she’s been tremen-dous especially considering the fact that she’s a freshman and she hasn’t been exposed to this kind of pressure,”
he said. “As far as Nicole is concerned she came in here with no experience and she’s done great.” Coming into her freshman season, Sleith wasn’t sure what she should expect, other than a solid Colonials lineup. “My expectations were high for us as a team,” she said. “I knew we had a lot of returning talent along with many freshmen that would make an
impact.” Now that the season is winding down, her sight is on conference games against NEC rivals, as well as the post-season tournament. “I know that conference games are the most important, so I just try to help our team win in anyway that I can.”
Men’s basketball aims to build off of successful season
At the beginning of the 2011-2012 col-lege basketball season, Robert Mor-ris head coach Andy Toole set a goal for his team to capture the Northeast Conference title and advance to the NCAA tournament. Although the Colonials were unable to do so, the club did tie numerous pro-gram records and won two contests in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament before falling to Fairfield on March 21. Despite the fact that the Colonials were not able to participate in the “big dance,” RMU still accepted a post-season bid and guard Velton Jones was just happy that the season was extended. “Everything happens for a reason,’’ stated Jones about the title
game loss. “People hadn’t forgotten the championship game, but we were moving on and we were in another tournament.’’ According to Toole, being a part of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament was a “positive experience” for his team. “With the number of guys we have returning, I think that the use of the postseason tournament hopefully will pay dividends for us next year,” explained the second year skipper. “We’re always looking for anything we can to help us improve the program and increase our ability to be success-ful, and I hope that the [CIT] can do that for us.” RMU trailed for much of its first matchup in the tournament against the Indiana State Sycamores, but the
Colonials were able to use a 16-3 run to come away with the win and faced-off against Toledo four days later. Although it was the second round of the tournament, the result was the same. The Colonials escaped with a 69-51 win in front of 1,321 fans. “Going to Indiana State and get-ting to travel together as a team was a great experience. It’s a town that loves basketball,” said Toole. “Toledo wasn’t a great atmosphere but it’s just another opportunity for our guys to go different places, play against different programs and compete against good players.” It was the quarterfinals at however, when RMU was attempting to break the single-season wins record that proved to be the season-ending con-
test. Although Fairfield crushed the Colonials hopes of setting a new pro-gram record for wins with 27, Toole is hopeful that RMU can continue to be successful in the future if his players begin to work towards improving their weaknesses. “I want everybody in this program to work every day because if they im-prove themselves with whatever their deficiencies are, we can come back as a much stronger team,” said Toole. “I want everyone to step up and attack their weaknesses because the stronger the pieces, the stronger the whole.” Nearly all of Robert Morris’s players will return to the court for the Colo-nials during the 2012-2013 campaign,
Sleith fitting right in with Robert Morris University softballBY ALYSSA BENSONCoPy ediToR
Freshman pitcher, Nicole Sleith, has quickly adjusted from pitching in high school to pitching at the college level.
PHoTo by dAVe bRoUS
BY NICK BUZZELLIASST. SPoRTS ediToR
PleASe See BASKETBALL,PAGe 15
Page 14 Page 15sports April 19, 2012 sportsApril 19, 2012
Bridges, will be graduating, and five players will be entering their senior seasons in the fall. Karon Abraham, RMU’s star guard who was suspended this season, was released from the program six days after the cam-paign ended due to violations of team policies and will not be suiting up for the Colonials dur-ing his junior season. “In the best interests of our program we’ve decided to dis-miss Karon Abraham from the Robert Morris University men’s basketball team,” Toole said in a statement on March 27. “We’re disappointed that Karon will no
longer be part of our program, but we hold our student-athletes to extremely high standards, not only on the court but off the court, as well.” Although RMU was unable to set a program record for wins in a season, Toole was proud of his club’s performance this year. “I would have been happy for our guys [if we could have won 27 games],” added Toole. “Right now it might not seem important to them, but when you look back on your career, to say that you were a part of a team that tied the wins record in the history of a program is something you can be proud of, especially a program like Robert Morris.”
A lot of people consider hockey players to be egotistical and rude. However, members of the Robert Morris Univer-sity men’s hockey team are proof that this stereotype is incorrect. Through-out the year, the team participates in various youth hockey camps at the RMU Island Sports Center. Colonials such as current senior for-wards Ron Cramer, Nick Chiavetta, and Trevor Lewis along with sopho-more, Colin South all work at camps down at the RMU Island Sports Cen-ter. All four remember attending camps when they were younger, which makes working these camps reward-ing. “I believe my first hockey camp was when I was four years old so quite a long time ago,” said Lewis. “I do as many as I can, and anytime I’m need-ed I try to help.” While the Colonials do enjoy work-ing with the kids, sometimes working with them can cause minor issues. A lot of the issues mainly happen with the younger kids because they tend to have a shorter attention span. “It can be a challenge to figure out a way to explain things to them. Every kid is different and they all have a dif-ferent way of learning,” said Cramer. “They all have different ways for them to relate to things, and you have to re-alize how to communicate with them and help them learn.”
Although it can be a challenge, the Colonials realize that it is important for kids to attend these camps in order to enhance their skills. “The season has just ended for a lot of these kids, so their skills haven’t re-ally been toned, and a lot of them have tryouts coming up,” said Chiavetta. “It’s good for them to get on the ice and work on those skills and any time you can get on the ice, it’s important to do so.” Working at these camps has taught the Colonials a lot of things that aren’t hockey related. “It has made me be-come more patient because they have a hard time picking things up right away,” said Lewis. “Working at these camps has taught me two things that can be applied to something other than hockey,” said South. “The first is that myself, and others as well, need to be good role models and try to set a good example whenever we can. Also it has taught me that if I am involved in anything whether it’s school or work or any-thing else I need to work hard.” Everyone has different reasons as to why they keep working as counselors at the camps. For Lewis, it’s the fact that he loves working with the kids and it allows him to thank them for their continued support of the Colo-nials. “They support us a lot throughout the season and to give some time back to them is something I feel is impor-tant,” said Lewis.
South also enjoys working with the kids especially when they are good lis-teners and eager to learn more about hockey. “Working with the kids and watching them improve and have fun while they are doing it is quite enjoyable.” “Just watching the kids get better and with playing here we get to see them throughout the year and having them come up and say ‘hi’ is reward-ing and more rewarding than the av-erage summer job,” added Cramer. The fact that all of the Colonials work together really helps build team unity. “It has given us a different perspec-tive on one another with how we act around the kids,” said Lewis. “I think it’s a great way to have us spend time together outside of school and the hockey season.” The Colonials have learned to real-ize that not all kids are as passionate about hockey as they are, but they know that they still have to find out how to keep these kids interested while they are on the ice. “Sometimes it gets a little frustrating when the kids don’t listen but as long as we make sure they have fun I think it’s usually a success,” said Lewis. Juggling school, hockey camps, their commitments with the Colonials and other commitments can be quite tax-ing, but the Colonials never use that as an excuse to not help out at the hockey camps. “It’s not too bad trying to juggle these things,” explains Lewis. “I would say
just trying to stay on top of things can be hard and it’s important to be good with time management.” South, a Pittsburgh native, realizes that hockey is rapidly growing in this region, and he is excited to be a part of it. “Watching and being a part of the growth of Pittsburgh hockey has been incredible,” said South. “The differ-ence in the amount of and quality of players since I started playing is amazing and hopefully it will continue to grow.” South also realizes that it is critical for the Colonials to be a part of the growth of hockey in Pittsburgh. ”Hopefully as a team our success will only further increase the kids wanting to play hockey and someday play for Robert Morris. Any chance the team gets to interact with young players we jump on it,” explained South. “As far as that aspect goes I think our team does a really nice job.” Members of the NCAA men’s hockey team plan on continuing to work these camps for as long as they can, because they know it not only brings joy to the kids but themselves as well. “The community around the rink and Robert Morris University really sup-ports our team, so to see them out in the stands and to come on the ice with us makes it all the better,” said Chiavetta.
BY BROOKE SMITHSPoRTS ediToR
NCAA men’s hockey team gives back to the local hockey community
PHoTo by AlySSA beNSoNPHoTo by bRooke SmiTH
Senior, Ron Cramer, lines up on the goal line to demonstrate a skating drill for the young hockey players.
Senior, Nick Chiavetta, watches as a group of youth hockey players works on a drill.
The Robert Morris University club volley-ball team appeared to be disoriented at the start of the season. With only two return-ing starters the young squad faced many challenges that only a “team” could over-come. It started when the team named former player, Doug Dzurko, as the head coach. “As a first year coach he really handled the team and the entire situation well,” said outside hitter, Gus Brown. “He helped us overcome the challenges to start playing as a team”. The Pennsylvania Ohio Volleyball League (POVL) had scheduling conflicts, which re-sulted in a shorter more compact season. The Colonials played the same amount of matches in less time, resulting in less prac-tice. With the lack of practice the season start-ed out rather rough for the Colonials. In the first tournament at Grove City all three matches were lopsided in favor of the op-posing teams. “That was the turning point, we learned to become a family,” said Brown.
With the young and inexperienced team, the Colonials knew this was going to be a building season. They hung in there with every team and never lost a match by more than five points. “As the year went on there was definitely much improvement,” said Head Coach, Doug Dzurko. Even the match against rival Waynesburg Univer-sity came down to the final point. Despite the Colonials not making the playoff cut or a national tournament ap-pearance they were happy with the season as a whole. “We’re young and aiming to prove ourselves,” said Brown. “We want to make a name for RMU volleyball”. Dzurko has no doubt that the club will be a top contending team next season. “There’s definitely pride in our team, we overcame so many challenges and that shows char-acter,” he said. With only two seniors de-parting this spring, the team will have that experience they lacked this season. With the building season under their belt, the Colonials are already aiming for play-offs and nationals next year. “We learned to play on top and play above other teams levels,” said Brown. “Our goal is to be the team to beat”.
BY TROY KALLENBORNCoNTRibUToR
A season of building for men’s club volleyball Colonials look to next seasonCoNTiNUed FRom PAGe 13
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