February 4, 2014

Viewfinder: Taping of “The Chew”

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By now most students have no-ticed a weekly email from Student Health 101 - and officials say it’s worth reading. The newsletter features articles that provide helpful health infor-mation. Topics range from finding out how to use certain equipment in the gym, tips for eating healthy and even non-related polls asking students about social networks. However, the magazine has only been a mailbox staple since Sep-tember 2013. According to Angela Evans, Director of the Health and Wellness Center, the Student Health 101 magazine and the school are in a new relationship. “Student Health 101 is a health journal that we subscribed to this year for the very first time,” she said. “So, Misericordia pays a fee to this and then it’s free to all of our students and all of the parents of our students. So there is a parents’ edition and a students’ edition.” Student Health 101’s journal is available to over 500 four-year in-stitutions and community colleges in the U.S. and Canada. “This magazine is nationwide. It’s across the whole country,” Evans said. “So, because not everyone comes into the Health Center, I somehow wanted to capture your attention to teach you healthy tips and lifestyles. So that’s why I sub-scribed to this electronic journal.” A chance for a $1,000 giveaway is included in the email from Student Health 101 every month. Students follow a link which directs them to a quick survey regarding the articles from that week’s issue. After the survey is completed, the student gives his or her full name and e-mail address which completes the survey, and they are officially qualified to win the prize money. One winner is selected among the 500+ schools that subscribe to the journal.

Evans says Student Health 101 has the funds to give away $1,000 each month. “There’s a lot of money that [Misericordia] pays to be a part of this magazine,” said Evans. “It’s based on that, plus there’s a lot of sponsorship within the journal. They have people who will put ad-vertising in there, so they’re paying for that.” Although the chances of a stu-dent from Misericordia winning the raffle is slim, Evans assures that the giveaway is legitimate. “It’s a pretty big company that runs this, and they indeed give out the money,” she said. “Every month, you can see who has won beforehand, so I had asked my representative when I heard about this, ‘Why [is the magazine] just randomly giving away $1,000 every month?’ and she said that it’s a way of collecting data so that it benefits our school,” Evans said. The data Evans refers to is infor-mation that helps her structure programs. “I get a report every month from Student Health 101. So let’s say that for whoever decides to go in to try and get that raffle for the $1,000. Part of it is that you have to answer some readership type questions. Then I get the report on that. So then I can gear my pro-gramming here according to what students want based on what they said in the raffle,” Evans said. One program that Evans has cre-ated as a result of the information is the “5, 4, 3, 2, 1 + 8” plan, which she plans to implement this spring. “It’s a health program where it’s five fruits and vegetables a day, four glasses of water a day, three laughs a day, two hours or less of television a day, one hour of exercise and eight hours of sleep, and I came up with that based on the survey that they took from the

health one,” Evans said. Evans said this year’s first-year class was instrumental in making this program a possibility because of their interest in health and fitness. However, Evans said lack of awareness among students is a reason it has been difficult to use data to help guide her programs. “This is why people don’t know about it, because we just started it this year so it’s really just intro-duced to our first-year students, but it’s open for everybody.” Even some first-year students are unaware of the Student Health 101 magazine, despite the $1,000 in-centive. First year physical therapy major Bob Ide is one of them. “Honestly, I don’t read the maga-zine,” said Ide, “just because it’s not something that’s always on my mind. I’m more concerned about my schooling and classes.” Ide feels many of his fellow stu-dents also feel the same way. “I have a feeling that other students do not read them either. I have a feeling they open them just to get it out of their inbox.” Through Sept. the online maga-zine reached 1,371 visits among students, parents, faculty and staff. Throughout Oct. that number dropped to 735 total visits. No data was available for Nov. or Dec. Despite the declining statistics, Evans is adamant on readership. “I try to speak with my represen-tative from Student Health 101 and she gives me ideas on how we can increase our readership. For example, we have something called ‘Table Tents’ that we can put in the cafeteria that talks about Health 101,” Evans said. Even with the declining numbers, a silver lining can be found among the students who have taken part in the $1,000 survey. Of the 263 students who have taken part in the poll in Sept.

and Oct., 86 percent said they learned something that they would apply to their daily lives, and 62 percent said they had seen or read something in Student Health 101 that caused them to want to get involved on campus, ask for help, take advantage of campus resources, or improve their health. Misericordia also has a Student Health 101 Facebook page in an attempt to spread the word. “There’s a few people on it, but I don’t know how to get it out to every student to just ‘like’ it on Facebook, and once a week they put phenomenal tips on there and they’re really pretty fun. The videos are fantastic. They’re hysterical, they’re educational – there’s cook-ing videos, and exercising videos – there’s so much information.” Evans said the advantage of ‘lik-ing’ the Student Health 101 page is that students can get quick tips without reading an entire article. “Sometimes you don’t feel like reading the whole journal, but if you subscribe to them on Face-book, every week you’re going to get some kind of cool thing.” Evans assures students she is the only one who has access to infor-mation asked by Student Health 101, calming any privacy concerns. “The only person that knows about this or has access to any-thing Student Health 101 is me. Not even my boss, Kit Foley. No-body has access to this. And then I show her the usage numbers, but that’s it,” Evans said. Evans said the surveys satisfy a need. “I like knowing the voices of the students. I’m here for them, and I just want to do what they want so that’s why I find this information more relevant than anything that I can read in my journals because this is you,” Evans said. evansr4@misericordia.edu

By Rob Evans, Reporter

By Tayrn Talacka, Reporter Junior Alexa Cholewa often catches herself noticing the signs, many signs, as she walks through the hallways of classroom build-ings, dormitory buildings, seem-ingly every one. “Caution, wet paint,” they say. Cholewa, an accounting major, doesn’t understand why painting takes place during the school week when the campus is the busiest, and she said she felt caught off guard by the work. The painter said there simply isn’t any other time. David Randazza, the main-tenance painter who has been touching up buildings on campus for 20 years, said he paints cam-pus buildings year-round. Randaz-za said in the summer, he paints about five or six hundred dorm rooms, so the other buildings have to be painted while students are on campus in the spring and fall. “Once April comes and everyone leaves, I start dorm rooms.” Insalaco Hall is one of the build-ings Randazza began to paint. He said the paint on the walls had to be changed to a lighter shade because the original green color was too dull. Randazza said the new color will be brighter and will give the building a nicer look. Randazza said student traffic can be a problem because students touch the wet paint even though the signs are there to warn them. “I’m very cautious about what I paint, and when and where,” said Randazza. “I don’t want anyone to get paint on them.” Randazza said he goes back

and re-touches the surfaces after students walk by. He said it is common for his paint projects to be sullied by students and that fixing the marks they leave is just a part of his job. He said summer work is easier because he doesn’t have to post signs, and he can just paint whatever rooms and walls he wants. Some students wish they had received information about the painting projects. “I feel like they happened with no warning,” said Cholewa. “I understand that things need to be painted, but a little heads up would have been nice.” Cholewa said the painting process has never damaged her personal items, but she said her backpack had a close call. “I had a class in Insalaco where the room was freshly painted, and being so accustomed to my rou-tine, I placed my bookbag on the floor right next to the wall. Luck-ily, the area where I was sitting already had dried, but if it hadn’t, I would have been very upset.” Alex Smith, a junior communica-tions major, said students don’t intentionally touch the wet paint. Smith said she wishes the mainte-nance crew would choose a better time to paint. “There’s not logic to it,” said Smith. “I think they’re just trying to get it done as quickly and ef-fectively as possible, but they’re not considering the places, the dates, and the times when it could be most effective.” Smith said painting on weekends

Continued on page 4

‘Healthy’ Chance for $1,000

PAINTING POSES PROBLEMS

Senior Jessie Mierzejewski performs in Orlando, Fl. at Universal Cheerleading Association College Cheer and Dance National Championships. The Cougars placed third against schools from around the country. In the squad’s previous travels to Disney they placed fifth and fourth. See page 4 for more on their victory.

COURTESY OF TARA SINCLAIR FOR THE HIGHLANDER

COUGARS CELEBRATEIN MICKEY’S HOUSE

By Brittany Hayes, Reporter

Health Care Choices Risky The Affordable Care Act is prompting many traditional and non-traditional students to search for new health insurance options, including those offered by colleges and universi-ties. Misericordia is the only college in the surrounding area that does not offer a student health plan. Kit Foley, Vice President of Stu-dent Affairs, said the university has never offered a health plan to students but rather refers them to insurance plans that serve the sur-rounding areas. Paul Adams, Vice President of Student Affairs at Wilkes Uni-versity, said Wilkes requires all resident students, student athletes and international students to provide verification of medical insurance at the time of enroll-ment. If those students do not have insurance of their own, they are able to purchase a plan through the university. In addition, Wilkes offers a health insurance plan for alumni. King’s College also offers student plans. Robert B. McGonigle, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, said King’s offers an alternative health plan for students unable to receive insurance through their parents. This coverage, on average, costs students $1400.00 per year. Health Care Management profes-sor Dr. Ron Petrilla said the sheer

size of a university may enable it to negotiate favorable rates for members. “[Misericordia] may able to use its purchasing power to negotiate with insurance companies to lower the cost,” Petrilla said. But Petrilla warned that school plans are not always a good alter-native to private insurance. “Some plans that are school plans only cover students while school is in session,” Petrilla said. Many students are instead investigating options under the Act, which allows people without medical insurance to choose a plan and enroll online. They also have the choice of taking no action and opting to pay a penalty. After entering some personal in-formation, the site gives students a quote on insurance available in their area of residence. These plans are broken up into

levels, explained Dr. Allen Minor, Director of Health Care Studies. “There are different levels, from a basic plan to the platinum level of coverage. Each level – silver, gold, platinum - has the same coverage so you can go see the prices. You know that you are getting the same coverage for the price quoted on the exchange,” Minor said. Most college students now have the advantage of staying on their parents’ plans until age 26. How-ever, some do not have coverage from their parents and some adult learners do not have an employer that offers health insurance. These students are left to pay out-of-pocket for their insurance, and this can be costly. Students who opt to go without insurance are required to pay a $90 fee for the first year, but this fee can go up to $700 the following year. Petrilla said students should

consider getting some sort of basic coverage rather than opting to pay the fee. “Explore all of your options, as some-thing is better than nothing. Most stu-dents are still of an age where they feel they are relatively healthy, and they are gambling on that,” Petrilla said. Petrilla said it doesn’t take a serious accident to set someone back financially, but an

average illness can be very expensive. “They have the

mindset that they’re healthy, young and in relatively good shape, but things go around and you need to be prepared for your garden variety cold and flu. You can pay $250 to $1000 out-of-pocket to treat that,” Petrilla said. Typically, students without an in-surance plan have to look for plans that are affordable - and accepted by local hospitals. The average cost of an insur-anc plan from Geisinger is about $200.00 monthly, but that includes a yearly deductible of nearly $6,500. Similarly, Blue Cross Blue Shield offers plans from $250.00 a month with a yearly deductible of up to $6,300. Minor said students with high deductible plans are relatively healthy and might only have to visit a doctor a few times a year.

A screenshot of the HealthCare.gov website. Enrollment ends March 31.MARY BOVE/THE HIGHLANDER

Continued on page 4

February 4, 2014highlandernews.net2

CONTACT US

STAFF

The Highlander is a free, biweekly publication produced in conjunction with MU Communications Department. Any full-time student is encouraged to join the staff. We are a member of the American Scholastic Press Associa-

tion, Associated Collegiate Press and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

INTEGRITYThe Highlander works to produce up-to-date, clear, accurate reporting. If any information is inaccurate or not covered thor-

oughly, corrections and information will appear in this area. Opinions and views expressed in The Highlander in no way reflect those of Misericordia University or the Sisters of Mercy. The Highlander Staff welcomes students, faculty and reader response.

The Highlander reserves the right to edit submissions for grammatical errors and length. All submissions must be signed. Letters to the Editor and/or materials for publication may be submitted by any reader. Items can be sent via e-mail.Ellen Hoffman - Editor-in-Chief

Courtney Garloff - Print EditorArthur Dowell - Web EditorMary Bove - Multimedia Editor

Alexa Cholewa - Business Manager

Alexandria Smith - Web Master

Melissa Sgroi - AdvisorMisericordia University

301 Lake StreetDallas, PA 18612

msgroi@misericorida.edu570-674-6400570-674-6737

hoffmae3@misericordia.edu

CONTRIBUTORS

News

Nicole BattistaRob Evans

Donya ForstBrittany Hayes

Josh HortonTori Dziedziak - Content Manager

Gabriella Lengyel - Social Media Manager

highland@misericordia.edu

Campus is rapidly changing with new sports, buildings and academic programs, but one thing remains the same: few male stu-dents are taking leadership roles in clubs and organizations. Only nine male student leaders are serving in all 33 clubs regis-tered with Student Government Association (SGA). Sr. Jean Messaros, Vice Presi-dent for Mission Integration, said she is puzzled by the dearth of male participation. “People have to look into their hearts and see what they’re pas-sionate about. There is plenty of room for more clubs and creativ-ity, and I don’t know why we aren’t seeing that from more male students,” Messaros said. Director of Student Activities Darcy Brodmerkel thinks there may be many reasons men are staying away. “Many of the male population is involved with sports on campus,” said Brodmerkel who also serves as SGA advisor. “When they have a busy sports schedule with practices and games as well as a busy academic schedule, many shy away from picking up clubs and letting down a group of their peers because they can’t invest.” Brodmerkel does not believe there is a lack of effort among male students, and she sees a lot of male leadership on campus.

Brodmerkel also serves as advisor for the school’s summer orienta-tion program and has seen male participation ris-ing. Last summer, three men served as orientation co-ordinators for the first time ever. Senior his-tory major and president of SGA Catie Becker said men participate in waves. “When looking back, I would say there were a lot more male leaders my freshman year compared to now,” said Becker. “I’ve seen a dropoff in the last few years, but I believe there will be a wave of guys willing to lead many of the clubs and organi-zations on campus.” Sophomore biology major Zack Sabaday made it a point to get involved early in his college career. He is involved with Peer Advocates, SAFE, SAPE, Biology Club, and he is was orientation coordinator last summer. Sabaday believes there is plenty of male involvement, but the

numbers appear low because of the amount of women enrolled. “I believe our lack of male in-volvement is simply due to males being overshadowed by the num-ber of females on campus. I’m sure more males would be involved around campus if we had more,” Sabaday said. Messaros wishes there were a way she could get males more in-volved. Many clubs and organiza-tions are required to do a certain amount of service, and she would

like much of the student population that receives the Catherine McCauley Scholarship to continue doing service. “The reason many of our students receive the scholarship is because of the service and involvement they had in high school. It upsets me that so many get the scholarship and settle. I’d

like to see more students get involved with

clubs they are passionate about and show it off,” she said. Messaros believes if more males did get involved and find that they enjoy what they are doing, more would sign-up for clubs. Many athletics teams are re-quired to do service. Each October, the men’s lacrosse team helps set up and prepare for the Dallas Harvest Festival and break it down at the end of the event. On first year move in day every

August, the football team helps orientation leaders carry resi-dents’ belongings to the third and fourth floors of the dorms. This lessens much of the heavy work-load for first year students and their parents. Administrators notice and appre-ciate the work, but Messaros said she wishes more athletes would get involved when their chosen sports are not in season. She said few do, and they have some time for extracurricular activities, but she does not see the students par-ticipate as much as she would like. Men in leadership positions can be role models and set an example for all students, she said. “Maybe because the first years don’t see the upperclassmen males in key roles, so they feel they would not enjoy it,” said Messaros. “Nobody knows for sure until they give it a try, and I just hope people challenge themselves to try new things. We could always hope for a 50/50 ratio, but for now, we work on it.” Peer Advocates, a club designed to help first year students get adjusted through FYE class, only has three male members. There is a list of all students on the board outside of the SGA office, and for the last two years, there has only been one male member. “The males who get involved are very dedicated,” said Brodmerkel.

“We just have to continue to do new things in recruiting and hope for the best. We can’t and won’t ever force anybody into anything here.” dowella@misericordia.edu

By Arthur Dowell, Web Editor

Trip Axed After Lack of Interest

Men Missing in Student Leadership Roles

By Gabriella Lengyel, Social Media Manager

Organizations With Male Presidents

Biology Michael PheasantCampus Clippers

Aaron OrchardClass of 2016

Michael PheasantDead Alchemist

Society Jeremy OskoHistory Club

Matthew HoroskiKanjam United

Zachary KoenigsbergSports Management

Association Paul Stewart

Students Spreading Disability Awareness

Terry Murgallis

Melanie QuintanillaCasey SaylorTara Sinclair

Taryn TalackaJohn Young

Clockwise from the top, students pose for a picture in front of The Chew’s sign. This picture was taken before the students started a 10 hour bus ride from New York City back to campus during a snowstorm.Preparing to go on camera, host Carla Hall puts the finishing touches on her Asian trail mix for the other four hosts to taste. Hall is known for her time on the reality show Top Chef. Between takes Hall danced with the audience.Host Clinton Kelly wishes everyone safe travels in the snow. Kelly is known for his time as the host of What Not to Wear. The Chew also features Daphne Oz, Michael Symon and Mario Batali.

Chewfinder: Students Brave Snow for Taping of “The Chew”

MARY BOVE/THE HIGHLANDER

MARY BOVE/THE HIGHLANDERThe multi-cultural club discusses their next event while meeting in the Henry Student Lounge. This club has two male members.

The Italy Literature and Film course offered by the English de-partment ran every summer since 2012, but officials will now run the program every other summer instead of annually. The program is a three credit, 30 day course in Florence, Italy run by English professor Dr. Scott Blanchard. “It is carried out on the campus of Santa Reparata International School of Art, where there are computer resources, classrooms and a social center,” Blanchard said. “Students buy and prepare their own food and have classes four days per week, leaving them ample time to travel.” An average of 21 students have gone on the trip in the past two years. Each year the number of students diminishes. “The trip must generate enough funds to pay for its leader’s air fare and apartment rental,” he said. The overhead charge had to be increased by $100 per student. This rearrangement of accommo-dations forced the leader to pay for his or her own food. Previ-ously, the leader received a food allowance. “A certain number of students have to be registered to go, and it has to be merited for the trip to take place,” Carolyn Yencharis Corcoran, Assistant Director of Insalaco Center for Career Devel-opment said. Other study abroad programs are offered through Misericordia departments. For example, the business department is offering the opportunity to study abroad for a semester at the Swiss School of Management in Rome. It is open to students with business-related majors. “It’s a new venture. We have not had any students do this yet.” The occupational therapy department holds a study abroad program to travel to health care

facilities in Honduras during spring break. A course titled “Health Care in Ghana” was created coopera-tively with the University of South Dakota. “It is run through the USC and it focuses on what the health care system is like in Ghana,” Corcoran said. “All of these trips are Mercy mission-based programs.” There are options for students looking to study abroad that do not require semester-long experiences. MU works with two program providers, Global Links Learning Abroad and Arcadia University, which are known for providing experiences in most any country students might choose. The affiliations enable students’ grades to transfer to MU. Several universities are available to fit the goals and desires for each student’s ideal experience,” Corcoran said. Some students, however, cannot take semester-long study abroad experiences even if they want to. “The health care majors can’t possibly take off a full semester. The curriculum doesn’t allow that. The short term study abroad programs are really great as a substitute,” Corcoran said. Financial issues might also get in the way of a semester-long trip especially if students choose a trip through Global Links Learning Abroad or Arcadia University. If students take a study abroad trip through MU, like the business department, their financial aid still applies. Corcoran used the example of the McCauley Scholar-ship which many students receive. “I really hope in the future these programs expand and the student interest expands as well,” she said. “I would love to see students have a well-rounded study abroad expe-rience to have both a service and an academic major experience.” lengyelg@misericordia.edu

February 4, 2014highlandernews.net 3News

CAMPUS PEER ASSOCIATE RECRUITMENT

Campus Peer Associates (CPAs) is the umbrella name for the Peer Advocates and Peer Educator groups sponsored by the University Counseling Center.

Peer Advocates are students who are generalists in

that they do not work on a specific issue like the Peer Educator groups do. Each fall semester they focus

on assisting first-year students adjust to Misericordia University and college life itself

(through FYE and other programs).

In addition, throughout the year they participate in service and offer programming (for their peers of all years and majors) that is focused on education and awareness of relevant issues to college students,

service and advocacy.

Peer Educators are students who are members of the Sexual Assault Facts & Education (SAFE) Peer

Educators, Substance Abuse Peer Educators (SAPE), and HOPE (Healthy Options Peer Educators), which

focuses on body, mind, and spirit. These groups are committed to educating and raising their peers’

awareness on these specific issues.

Beginning Monday, January 20, applications for CPAs (which includes all of these groups) will be

available online (From the e-MU page, click on Cam-pus Services and then under the CAPS Center, click

the link for Campus Peer Associates).

The deadline to return applications is Friday, February 7.

Any questions can be directed to Dr. Cindy March, Coordinator of the Campus Peer Associate Program,

at 674-6366, or cmarch@misericordia.edu.

EATING ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR

Tuesday, February 12, 2014 in the CAPS Center from 1-3 p.m. and in the Anderson Lobby from

4:00-5:30 p.m. Free and confidential.

CAPSCORNER

STUDENT ON THE STREETValentines Day is quickly approaching and it’s time to think of date ideas. We asked students in Banks Student Life Center what their favorite romantic comedy is. If you have a question you would like us to ask, email the newspaper editorial staff at Highland@misericordia.edu.

“Crazy Stupid Love, because I really like Steve Carell,” said his-tory major Mathew Levine.

“(500) Days of Summer, because of Zooey Deschanel,” said busi-ness major Irwin Maldonado.

“Hitch, because I like any movie with Will Smith in it and it was funny,” said business adminis-tration major Deanna Darling.

“My favorite is Date Night,” said IT major Ryan Hackett.

“My favorite is Love Actually,” said SLP major Caitlin Vitale.

“Wedding Crashers, because Owen Wilson is awesome,” said GLNS major Mike Scarnato.

The Mary Kintz Bevevino Library chucked its outdated VHS collection to make space for new study rooms. Jennifer Luksa, Head of Collec-tion Resource Management, said the collection was taken away because it wasn’t growing or be-ing used by students and faculty. Sleek DVDs have replaced the need for bulky VHS tapes, and so the collection was barely touched. Most of the tapes hadn’t been taken off of the shelves for almost two decades. “The library made the decision, along with the support of admin-istration, to withdraw the VHS collection,” said Luksa. “Some of the VHS tapes had not been checked out since the move into the current library in 1999.” Luksa said library workers proposed the idea, which was approved by the administration and supported by the deans. Luksa said very few VHS titles were converted to DVD because of copyright laws and regulations. If a copyright holder didn’t grant the library permission to convert a tape to a DVD, the process couldn’t be done. “The library must adhere to copyright guidelines,” said Luksa. “As long as a title is available in an alternate format, such as DVD, the library must purchase the title in the alternate format.” Luksa said that there was one instance when a VHS tape was converted to DVD format. A faculty member had a tape that

he wanted turned into a disc, but it was not available as a DVD, so the library could not buy it. The li-brary had to contact the copyright holder about the tape. “It was discovered that actually two studios held rights to the VHS title,” said Luksa. “Because the library exhausted all avenues, it was decided that the VHS tape could be used to create a DVD.” Luksa said that this was the only instance she could remember that a tape was converted to a disc. Luksa said when the decision was finally made to withdraw the collection, faculty and students were able to play a part in the project. They could not assist with the project unless they were library student workers, but the VHS tapes were available for them to take. Luksa said faculty mem-bers were able to keep the tapes in their departments if they wished, and students could keep them for their own use. “An email was sent to each aca-demic department asking them to send a representative or repre-sentatives to the library to look at

the collection in their respective areas,” said Luksa. “Faculty were encouraged to take VHS tapes and house them in their depart-ments or offices if desired. Luksa also said the tapes were made available to students after the faculty looked at them, and some students took the tapes. Martha Stevenson, the former Director of Library Services, worked with Luksa on the project. Stevenson made sure that admin-istration and staff were aware of the plan and the project was completed. “I think it was something that needed to be done,” said Steven-son. “It went well.” Luksa said withdrawing the collection took the entire Fall 2013 semester, and Luksa said she enjoyed the work because it would make room for study areas that benefits students. The most demanding job, she said, was removing the tapes.. “My favorite part of the project was knowing that the library was moving forward,” said Luksa. This project continues the library’s effort to become more technologically friendly. iPads are available for students to borrow, and Luksa said the library has always been tech-forward, begin-ning with the addition of Internet access on campus. She said the Internet allowed the library to use CD-ROM indexes instead of main-taining paper files, and it provided an online catalog. Technology has made the library much more user-

friendly, and additional technolo-gies are always being added. “The library is a great place to test new technologies,” said Luksa. “I would love to offer more streaming capabilities, and I would love to see the library’s e-book collection expand.” Luksa said she is happy to work with faculty and students to meet their needs. She said she witnessed the construction of the Mary Kintz Bevevino Library, and she helped switch the library clas-sification system from the Dewey Decimal system to the Library of Congress system. “This project impacted the entire collection,” said Luksa. “It needed the assistance of all library staff and student workers.” Stevenson left her position at the library on Jan. 21, and Luksa is serving as Interim Director of Library Services until the position is filled. Luksa said the new study rooms in the library will be installed dur-ing spring break 2014. talackat@misericordia.edu

By Taryn Talacka, Reporter

LIBRARY MAKESMORE STUDY SPACE

Service, one of the four charisms of the Sisters of Mercy, is most likely ingrained in every student’s mind, but its rewards are more than personal or even spiritual - student volunteerism can lead to employment. Graduate Aimee DiLucido, an English literature major with a minor in philosophy, is a Denver, Colorado Math Fellow/Ameri-Corps State Member with Denver Public Schools/Blue Print Schools Network. DeLucido teaches math inter-vention courses at Martin Luther King Jr. Early College, a combined middle school and high school, to groups of three to five students, with the goal of eliminating math achievement gaps. DiLucido began her volunteer experience through a service learning class during her junior year by helping at Ruth’s Place, a women’s homeless shelter. From there, she became the Spirituality on Tap leader, Praise and Worship leader, and served with Habitat for Humanity in Washington during an alternative spring break trip through Campus Ministry. “The particular group that I served with in Spokane, Wash-ington with Habitat for Human-ity really embodied to me what it meant to come together for a common purpose and serve. We took care of each other, got really close, despite having to sleep on the floor together every night and share two showers amongst the 25 of us,” DiLucido said. The Habitat trip inspired DiLu-cido to serve with the National Ci-vilian Community Corps for a year upon graduation, working with Corps members who were seeking alternative routes to obtain their General Education Development (GED). “Through the mountains of struggles they had to go through to take advantage of their second, third, and even fourth attempt at receiving a GED diploma,” DiLu-cido said, “I was inspired to join Denver Math Fellows as my way of contributing to and learning from a preventative program for youth.” DiLucido is just one example of someone who found her career through volunteering. Carolyn Yencharis Corcoran, Assistant Director of Career Development, also landed her first job through volunteer work. She was volunteering at the Adult Literacy Training and Assistance Program as a teaching assistant to an English as a Second Language teacher for a variety of students from China, Russia, Vietnam and Israel. Corcoran put that volunteer experience at the top of her re-sume, and it got her a job. She was hired as an English as a Second Language instructor in Japan. Volunteer work also may allow students to practice the skills necessary for their careers. Chris Somers, Director of Campus Min-istry, said physical therapy stu-dents have taught nursing classes in Guyana. Some transferable skills learned while volunteering are problem solving skills, team-work, and making do with less.

Employers are looking for well-rounded individuals, Somers said. “They are not just looking for Johnny who got a 3.9 GPA and that is all he ever did.” Volunteer work gives students the opportunity to network, which is the number one way to find job or internship opportuni-ties, according to Corcoran. Corcoran said volunteering also provides students with good refer-ences, which will help demon-strate the student’s qualities and work ethic and increase his or her appeal to prospective employers. Corcoran and Somers agree that most businesses do participate in community service, and Somers said serving others is a lifelong activity. “Giving back to the community and wanting to help your fellow man, the giving of your time when you’re not being paid. That says a lot to a potential employer,” Corcoran said. Working without pay shows that an individual is a hard worker with or without an incentive. Somers said getting involved in Campus Ministry is easy. Students may pick and choose their hours and the type of service work that interests them. “You don’t have to say, ‘I’m going to go every week to the soup kitchen.’ You could just go one time and that’s it, or once a month,” Somers said. DiLucido recommends volun-teering to anyone who likes to be around others and likes having fun. She said it is not necessary to have a history of service work. “Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘Anyone can be great because anyone can serve.’ I truly believe this. Service is for everyone,” DiLucido said. DiLucido came to MU as a student athlete and an aspiring musical theater performer. She did not think she had time to get involved. A small step towards service put her where she is today. Through service, DiLucido learned about herself, others and the community. “These experiences have pre-pared me to walk into any job with enough self awareness to know when to step up and lead, when to be led, when to ask for help, and when to not to take things personally,” DiLucido said. Somers said that she thinks forming a relationship with a child or an elderly person in the course of service builds the self-esteem. There are many opportunities for students who are considering service upon graduation. Students have gone to the Mercy Volunteer Corps, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, AmeriCorps, and sites in California and Colorado. Somers said that doing service for a year gives the individual experience and exposure, and is a great idea if they cannot find im-mediate employment. “Expand your college experience with service,” Somers said. For more information, visit Chris Somers in the Campus Ministry office located in Banks Student Life Center. battistn@misericordia.edu

Good Deeds CanLead to Good Jobs

WOODWORTH IN MEMORIAM Jeff Woodworth was employed for the last 9 years as a HVAC technician at MU. Jeff was very talented in his profes-sion and earned the nick name “MacGyver,” be-cause he could fix anything. In 2009, Jeff was the recipient of the “Exemplary Service Award”, a well deserved and earned award. Jeff always

had a smile, greeted everyone with a friendly hello, always asked

about other people’s families, always offered to help and never had a bad word to say about any-one. His famous saying was “it is what it is”. Jeff leaves behind a wife and 2 sons, ages 8 and 10. He will be sadly missed by the MU community.

PAUL MURPHY FOR THE HIGHLANDER

A photo illustration of the DVD selection in the Mary Kintz Bevevino Library.

TARYN TALACKA/THE HIGHLANDER

By Nicole Battista, Reporter

Above are examples of students serving the Dallas community as well as the country to help those in need in any way possible.

KRISTEN SAMMUELS FOR THE HIGHLANDER

February 4, 2014highlandernews.net4 Sports

Cougars Lineup Change Lands 24th DIII RankingBy Josh Horton, Reporter The only difference between this year’s baseball team and last year’s Freedom Conference Champion-ship team is pretty much every-thing. Head Coach Pete Egbert said it’s nice that the team was recognized as the 24 best division III team in the nation, but he said there are many unknowns. “It’s still very early to tell if we’re going to be that good,” Egbert said. “I have a huge concern that we lost 73 percent of our innings and we lost 48 percent of our at bats. So, you can’t replace that. You have to replace it, but I don’t know that the formula is necessar-ily that easy.” In other words, Egbert is saying that there aren’t many guys on the roster who have had many college at bats or have thrown many col-lege innings. What the Cougars lack in experience, Egbert hopes to make up with athleticism. Part of the reason Egbert feels the program has been successful is its athletes. However, All-American outfielder Kenny Durling graduated. So he and his coaching staff are recruiting athletes. The Cougars may not hit the most home runs in the Freedom Conference, but that’s fine. Egbert would rather them lead the league in stolen bases or on-base percentage. “From a recruiting standpoint, this is the direction we’ve gone. We’re trying to bring in athletes. Usually the athletes are high school shortstops or high school center fielders,” Egbert said. “Last year we had five kids on the field who were all high school short-stops. That gives you options, because you’re athletic. If you can play baseball, you can play baseball.” Three guys who can definitely play baseball, and play baseball

the way Egbert wants them to play baseball, are Julian Faria, Joe Ta-gliarini and Ryan Cacchioli. They are entering their senior year in the program and have been a vital part of the infield. Cacchioli will be the team’s starting shortstop. He finished last season second on the team in batting average (.354), third in hits (54), and he led the team with 16 stolen bases. He played in 46 games last season.

Tagliarini appeared in 47 games and started 44 of them. He finished the season with a .301 batting average and a .429 on-base percentage. He also proved to be one of the league’s top first base-men by posting a .993 fielding per-centage and had just three errors in 406 chances. “I’m definitely excited for my senior season,” Tagliarini said. “We have a good mixture of some guys who have been here a while and some freshman and sopho-mores that should be really good. How we do this season is going to depend on whether or not those guys step up.” Faria returns behind the plate

for the Cougars. He played in 40 games with 35 starts and was sec-ond on the team with 14 doubles, three home runs. Defensively he committed just four errors in 241 chances. With Tagliarini and Cacchioli being the veterans on the team, Egbert is looking for some sopho-mores to fill the open spots in the infield. The Cougars are looking to Chris Boroch to be the team’s everyday second baseman. Egbert

expects another sophomore, Kyle Lindsay, to take over at third. One of the biggest question marks for this year’s team is the outfield. As of late January, Egbert wasn’t sure what his outfield would look like when the team opens its season in mid-February. “In the outfield we’re really young, and we really don’t know what we’re going to do yet,” Eg-bert said. “We’re going to mix and match in the outfield quite a bit and just see what happens.” Mike Comerford, Nick Hair, Jeremy DeCotis, Zillur Rahim and Andy Bush are just a few guys in the mix for the outfield spots heading into the season. Egbert

said he isn’t afraid to move guys around regardless of the position they played in high school. “If you can catch, you can catch. Yeah, the position is different. Yeah, the ball comes off the bat differently. Yeah, you’re not as involved in the game, so there is some downtime,” Egbert said. “It’s more of a mental adjustment than anything else. If you’re athletic, that can make up for a lot.” The team may have lost pitchers

who threw the bulk of the innings last year, but the Cougars return Ryan Dorosh. Egbert expects Do-rosh to be the team’s top pitcher who will get the bulk of the in-nings this season. “Dorosh turned out to be a pretty good pitcher last year and we’re going to look to him to be our ace this year. Last year he had pretty much out pitched everyone, including (Evan Robaczewski). He’s a top of the line starter for this conference. After that, we got a ton of question marks.” Egbert said he hasn’t started looking at other teams yet and he isn’t making comparisons. He ex-pects to see everyone’s best pitch-

ers and knows every team will be trying to knock the Cougars off this year. “Everyone is going to save their best guys for us and be geared up to play against us. We can’t take days off. We can’t just show up and win games, because we may be better talent wise,” Egbert said. “We’ve really got to prepare every single day and stress the impor-tance of that to our guys.” With a high ranking comes high expectations. Although the roster may look different on paper, the Cougars still expect to compete at a high level and play deep into May. Egbert hopes his team will use the national ranking to boost their confidence, but he also wants to make sure it doesn’t make them overconfident. “There’s a fine line between being confident and being cocky though. We have to caution against being overconfident and making sure they know while it is nice to get that recognition, we lost a ton,” Egbert said. “Are we that good? Probably not. We’re going to have to prove that we’re that good.” The baseball team’s 2014 sched-ule includes: 3/14 DeSales University at 3:30, 3/15 at DeSales University at noon, 3/19 at Arcadia University at 4:00, 3/21 Manhattanville College at 3:30, 3/22 at Manhat-tanville College at 1:00, 3/25 at Moravian College at 4:00, 3/28 at Eastern University at 3:30, 3/29 Eastern University at noon, 4/1 Keystone College 3:30, 4/5 Fairleigh Dickinson University at noon, 4/8 Gwynedd Mercy College at 3:30, 4/9 Widener University at 3:30, 4/11 Delaware Valley College at 3:30, 4/17 Kings College at 3:004/25 Wilkes University at 3:30 hortonj@misericordia.edu

The cheerleading squad finished third at the Universal Cheerlead-ing Association College Cheer and Dance National Championships in Orlando, Fl. in January - the high-est ranking in school history. The Cougars competed in the Open All-Girl Division against Division III institutions and com-munity colleges throughout the country. Leading the team was head coach Tara Sinclair. Courtney Pentka assisted. This was the Cougar’s sixth time to compete and the third time that the squad qualified for finals within the last three years. “To make this our third consecu-tive year on making it to the final rounds is amazing,” said Sinclair. The Cougars finished in 5th place in 2012 and in 4th in 2013. “We are consecutively getting better and better every year,” Sinclair said. “You can see that we are definitely working our way to the top.” The squad pushed forward at the nationals, finishing second in the semifinal round, behind The Col-lege of New Jersey, before advanc-ing onto the final round. “We have five seniors who are leading, and they did a fantastic job getting the team together, keeping them unified and posi-tive,” said Sinclair. The coaches and the team agreed the effort has been paying off. “The coaches and captains gave inspirational leadership from amazing warm-ups to fantastic performances that were supported by the love and cheers of alumni, friends and family,” senior captain Sarah Richard said. Richard accredited much of the team’s glory to the hard work of the coaching staff. “None of this would have been possible without the organization and the leadership of our coaches, Tara Sinclair and Courtney Pentka. This season they have outdone themselves by balancing a new marriage, a newborn baby and all the time that they put in to train us for top placement at nationals.” During the final round the Cou-gars fell short and were pushed down to third after Nassau Com-munity College placed above them with TCNJ in first. “Our first performance was defi-nitely stronger and we tweaked things for the second perfor-mance, but then we had some bobbles which caused us to lose some points,” Sinclair said. Sinclair was happy with third place because a victory of some sort was well deserved by her

hardworking team. “We finished in third which, we are so excited and happy about. We are really happy about what we put out there on the mat because it really was a clean performance and there was definitely an el-evated level of difficulty this year,” said Sinclair. Richard agreed that her team put in enough effort to deserve the win. “The 26 sisters on the MU cheer team are fully deserving of this title because they have worked so hard together since the start of the season,” said Richard. Finishing in 3rd made this the best finish in the school’s history for the girls. “The whole program came to-gether to pursue our passion and dream ambitiously through and through and never gave up until we were titled as third in the na-tion in the Open All-Girl division,” said Richard. The third place win did not come easily for the team. Extra work and dedication was necessary to even make it close to the finals. “In the beginning of the year we set rigorous goals that the team exceeded. These goals included difficult stunting, tumbling skills, academic excellence and time well spent in the community with ser-vice that gives back through our many blessings,” Richards said. In order for the team to qualify for nationals there are many ele-ments which, are required to be met. A skills tape needed to be provided in advance which demon-strated the team’s techniques and skills and also showed that safety guidelines were being followed. A crowd tape also needed to be provided which, showed the team’s ability to lead the crowd and the team’s involvement on campus. “This really helps create a better name for the program and for the university. It is not easy; it requires a lot of time and a lot of energy,” Sinclair said. While in Florida, the cheerlead-ing team dedicated its entire Friday to practicing and preparing for Saturday night’s final rounds. After all of their hard work paid off and they achieved third place, the cheerleaders gathered together on Sunday and returned to ESPN Wide World of Sports to watch the other divisions of cheerleading teams in their final rounds. Sinclair said that watching these routines “gives us something to aspire to.” Later on that day, the team celebrated the accomplishment

in the parks of Disney by visiting the attractions, dining and taking advantage of the rides. “This being my last year, I could not have asked for anything more than the great weekend the MU cheerleading team had at the 2014 Universal Cheering Association College Nationals. The accomplish-ment should bring Cougar pride to

the all of the countless people that made all the hard work leading up to each element of the champi-onship weekend possible,” said Richard. “We are so lucky to be a part of a family like the Misericordia Uni-versity’s cheerleading program,” Richard said. quintanm@misericordia.edu

Disney Offers Bronze for CougarsBy Melanie Quintanilla, Reporter

Julian FariaRyan Cacchioli Joe Tagliarini

would be better, and choosing a time when not many students are on campus is crucial. “On weekends, most of the people here are the kids who can’t go home, so it’s not the same volume of students as it would be during the week.” Randazza said that he is the only painter on campus and has never received help with his projects. He said that painting every building is a challenge, but he enjoys it. “It’s a non-stop battle painting here,” said Randazza. Randazza said he has helped with a lot of projects on campus. He painted the entire Henry Stu-dent Lounge and helps take care of the buildings on and off cam-pus. Randazza said he painted all of the dorm rooms in MacDowell, McHale and Alumnae Halls, along with 18 townhouses. Over winter break, he painted the entire An-derson athletic complex, too. “People don’t understand that I can’t get to everything. When I first started here, there were only seven buildings, and now there are 27,” he said. Randazza said there is a process for painting rooms on campus, especially dorm rooms, where surfaces are often damaged. “I go on each floor separately, and I do all the wall repairs on all the rooms and the whole floor,” said Randazza. “Then when I go, I just have to paint them all.” Randazza said his schedule is always full of new jobs to take care of on and off campus. He said when he learns about a job, he put it into his planner, and he gets started on it as soon as he can. “With all these buildings, you just keep going and going.” talackat@misericordia.edu

PAINTING,CONTINUED

Continued from page 1

“If you’re well and you’re not likely to need care, then go for the cheapest plan because you’re not going to use it very much. If you’re spending $100 to $200 for an of-fice visit from time to time, then you don’t want a high deductible,” Minor said. Another variable to take into consideration is the co-pay. Co-pays are amounts students must pay out-of-pocket for an office visit or medication. Co-pay for the standard Geisinger plan is as much as 50 percent of the total cost. A Blue Cross Blue Shield plan includes no co-pay until the de-ductible is met. So until the $6,300 deductible is paid, students will have to cover all expenses on their own. If paying a few hundred dollars monthly doesn’t seem feasible, stu-dents might see if they qualify for Medicaid, a government program, which provides health insurance at a lower cost. Students can apply for Medicaid by going to www.medicaid.gov and filling out a questionnaire about their income and living situation. Confirmation - acceptance or denial - is immediate. Minor said a student who has a relatively low or non-existent income should qualify to re-ceive some sort of aid from this government-run program. Petrilla said Medicaid can greatly benefit some non-traditional adult learners as well. “A single mother attending school, probably working, but the employer doesn’t have insurance – the kids might be covered by Medicaid,” Petrilla said. Minor said when health is on the line, it is sometimes reasonable to take drastic measures such as moving to a state that offers higher quality Medicaid. “Look at the exchanges and see if you qualify for Medicaid. Move to a state that provides the expanded Medicaid coverage. That’s pretty drastic, but it’s an option.” Students might also seek a job that provides some medical cover-age or enough disposable income to pay for care out-of-pocket. Petrilla said students should think about the possibility of tak-ing time to obtain their degrees if it means they can keep a job that will pay for insurance. “If you can keep a job that covers [health insurance], grab it, even if it means taking longer to obtain your degree. You can’t not think about these things because one good illness can turn things around for you in a hurry. You’re not invincible – something can really hurt in the pocket but also change whether or not you graduate as

well,” Petrilla said. Students who are still on their parents’ insurance plans are also running into trouble on campus be-cause some out-of-state students’ insurance plans are not compat-ible with the hospitals or doctors located within the Wyoming Valley. Students have to pay out-of-pocket for medical emergencies or travel hours home to receive the care that they need. This can become a serious problem for a student who does something even as simple as rolling their ankle. The lack of crossover between plans means a simple injury can cost thousands of dollars if the student’s insurance is not honored. Petrilla said students must double-check with their insurance agencies to make sure coverage is honored by local providers. Students without medical insur-ance should also look into services on campus, including flu shots and other vaccines. Petrilla said a simple vaccine can run up to $150 without insurance to cover it. MU offers other preventive measures such as hand sanitizer, which is located in every building to prevent the spread of illness. The university also recommends students go to the Health and Well-ness Center if they fallen ill and can be easily treated. hayesb@misericordia.edu

Top, members of the cheerleading squad perfom their routine for the judges. Bottom, first year Cori Aull stunts during the Nation-als performance in Disney World in January.

CHOICES RISKY, CONTINUEDContinued from page 1

Blue Cross Health PlansmyBlue Choice/ Platinum:

$250.00 deductible. This plan offers no deductible

for prescription drugs and coverage almost anywhere in

the world with BlueCard.myBlue Choice / Gold: $1,000.00 deductible.

This plan offers no deduct-ibles for specialist and doc-tors office visits as well as

prescription drugs.Geisinger Health Plans

Marketplace Extra 1/Platinum Plan - $203.94

monthly This plan offers no deduct-ible. With this plan there is a $15.00 charge for generic brand prescriptions and a

$55.00 charge for non-pre-ferred brands.

Marketplace Extra 2/Gold Plan - $195.25 monthly

with a $500.00 deductible. There is a $20.00 fee for

generic brand prescriptions and an $85.00 fee for non-

preferred brand.

COURTESY OF TARA SINCLAIR FOR THE HIGHLANDER

February 4, 2014highlandernews.net 5News

By Courtney Garloff, Print Editor

A work portfolio may be a necessity of the modern-day job interview, but the rising popular-ity of online portfolios might soon make hard copies obsolete. “I see online portfolios being used more and more and so I think it can be a really good asset

for a job seeker,” said Bernadette Rushmer, director of the Insalaco Center for Career Development. “It’s an online record of what you have done in the past. You would usually bring in hard copies of what you have done,” said as-sistant communications professor Dan Kimbrough. Kimbrough said portfolios showcase students’ best work to potential employers. “When looking for a job, your GPA doesn’t matter. It’s all about what you can do,” said Kimbrough. Traditionally, a portfolio consists of physical pieces of work, such as publications, projects or design artifacts, and each one will differ depending upon the job seeker’s background and career path. “For example, a teacher may have lesson plans in [his or her portfolio],” said Bernie Rushmer, Director of the Insalaco Center for Career Development. “In the past, you would usually bring hard copies [to job inter-views]. If you were a journalist, you would bring in actual copies of the newspaper and if you were an artist you would bring in your big easel with all of these things,” said Kimbrough. Online portfolios generally re-quire students to purchase domain names and a host, which is what senior communications major Mary Bove did for her online port-folio that she uses to showcase her digital photography. “I use it to post galleries of my photos as well as an ‘about me’ page,” said Bove. Bove purchased her domain name from godaddy.com and used creativemotiondesign.com to cre-ate her website.

Bove said job seekers with digital portfolios can send links to an unlimited number of potential employers and hard copy portfo-lios must be sent one at a time. “When I apply for an internship, I send [the prospective site super-visor] a link to my website because

It shows all that I have done,” said Bove. Rushmer said digital copies have their advantages. “The advantages are the low cost and that there is no printing cost. Also, you have more than one copy to give to employers,” said Rushmer. “I think there are no disadvan-tages. You can put [online] a lot of stuff and share more,” said Kimbrough. There is a variety of options when it comes to choosing how to create an online portfolio. Rushmer suggests using College Central Network, a resource pro-vided to students by the univer-sity with no fee. “Its available free of charge. All you have to do if you don’t have one is create a free account,” said Rushmer. She said students can log on to collegecentralnetwork.com, go to the Student Central link and click “Create an account.” This site offers sample portfolio templates and it allows students to design their own. There are also ready-made templates for many majors, including music and communications. “It works for any major,” said Rushmer. College Central Network can also be used to create a resume and as a search engine to help students find jobs and internships. Kimbrough has an alternative method to creating an online portfolio. He suggests buying your name on the Internet and using it as your personal website to post your best works. “Owning your own domain name and hosting account and control-

ling your name should be a man-datory thing,” said Kimbrough. Kimbrough cautions students to be aware of what they post online and to control their names on the Internet. Negative online reputa-tions may hinder one’s chances of landing a job.

“If there is someone else with your name in the same field, that may hurt you in the long run,” said Kimbrough. Bove warns that creating your own website is rewarding but is not as quick and easy as you would think it would be. “It looks easy but it is not.” The process of creating her on-line portfolio took Bove over two months to complete. Between taking photos and deciding what pictures to put on the site. “It takes awhile to refine every-thing and takes awhile to pick out what you want to show to the world,” said Bove. If someone chooses to make a website, Bove suggests using a view counter to see how many people are viewing the website and where they are from. Another way to create a portfolio online is to link a Tumblr page to an Internet domain. This can be used for pictures or to post a resume. Kimbrough also suggested hav-ing professional Facebook and Twitter pages that are used to post blurbs about specific career fields. “Separate yourself from every-thing else,” said Kimbrough. Other websites that can be used to create online portfolios are squarespace.com, wix.com, carbonmade.com and behance.net. For more information about how to create an online portfolio or for more information about College Central Network, contact the Insalaco Center for Career Development. garloffc@misericordia.edu

STUDENTS GO DIGITAL TO SHOW OFF PORTFOLIOS

Above, a snapshot of Bove’s online portfolio featuring a photo of Rob Zombie taken during the summer at Mayheim Fest.

MARY BOVE/ THE HIGHLANDER

New Staffer Doing the ‘Write’ StuffBy Casey Saylor, Reporter

The Writing Center welcomes new Writing Coordinator Mat-thew Hinton to its staff. According to Student Success Center (SSC) Director Amy Lahart, the previous Writing Coordinator Jennifer Novatny made a career choice to return to the classroom and is now teaching on a high school level in a nearby school district. Hinton’s self-defined job descrip-tion includes acting as a liaison between students and the Writing Center, creating the Writing Proficiency Exam (WPE), work-ing with the Target Program and organizing grammar studios and workshops. Before joining the Writing Cen-ter team, Hinton spent four years on campus as an adjunct English professor, instructing English literature on campus by night and other area schools by day. Even with his new position, however, he still instructs an African American literature class on Tuesday nights. After four years as a nighttime adjunct professor, Hinton said, “It’s weird to see Misericordia in the day time.” By the light of day, Hinton describes campus as “a beauti-ful place to work,” but maintains that “the nicest thing about it is definitely the people.” “The campus has been very warm and welcoming. It’s nice to feel like there is some familiarity already,” Hinton said. Hinton describes himself as “crafty” and a “book-nut,” and has recently found himself intrigued by “hardboiled private detective fiction” and converting old, un-wanted instruments into lamps. A couple tricks of his many trades are on display in his office, and he invites students to stop by the Center to see him anytime. Prior to his return to his home-town of Harvey’s Lake, Hinton ran

a record store in South Carolina, thus resulting in the nearly 2000 records he has at home. But while he enjoys English and music, Hinton describes his “real passions” as teaching and theatre. “There is a performance aspect to teaching,” Hinton said. “Not that I don’t know what I’m talking about, but the nervous energy [of speaking in front of a crowd] is good for me.” He is vice president of the Wil-kes-Barre-based Gaslight Theatre Company, where he additionally serves as an actor and playwright. Although he’s still getting settled, Hinton hopes to get involved with the on-campus theatre program, The Misericordia Players. “In time I’ll be there,” Hinton said. “I’m sure.” Lahart describes Hinton as eager to be a part of the campus com-munity and a great addition to the Writing Center Team. “He’s only been here less than a month, but he’s gone around to get to know people and is definitely bringing energy to the office,” said Lahart. Lahart said this same enthusi-asm is reflected in Hinton’s work with the students, especially his interest in working with individu-als on a developmental level. “He shares the kind of passion we have down here for working with students on a personalized basis,” Lahart said. Lahart adds that along with Hin-ton’s education and experience, his personable, engaging and col-laborative nature really stood out to her in the interview process. SSC Coordinator Bruce Riley also expresses his enjoyment working with Hinton, describing him as “a strong asset to have down here [in the tutoring center].” Hinton has no shortage of new ideas as he settles in, ranging

from plagiarism workshops to writing-out-loud methods. There is, however, one idea that he is particularly excited about. “I hope to bring some of the fun back into writing, because writing is fun,” said Hinton. Hinton plans to do this through educational video sketches, an idea he likened to ABC’s School House Rock series. Through a sequence of funny, educational, one-minute videos, Hinton hopes to bring production value to writ-ing while creating a trick making hard-to-remember writing rules catchy and memorable. “He is extremely creative,” said Lahart. “These kinds of initiatives are an energized creativity for the Writing Center, allowing us to reach out to students differently.” She adds that new people always bring some change to the program by the use of their new eyes and new ideas. “Matt will bring his personalized touch here,” said Lahart. “I’m sup-portive of his creative talents.” Hinton implores students to take advantage of the Writing Center, adding that upcoming workshop dates will be announced shortly. “We’re here to serve you,” Hinton said. “And it’s free! Free editing isn’t always available in the real world, so take advantage of it now that you’re in the bubble of college.” Lahart adds that she is looking forward to hearing from students on the types of things they want provided at the Writing Center and reminds them about the con-tinued accessibility of Hinton and the Writing Center tutors. The Writing Center is open Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. and 5-9 p.m., and Friday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. saylorc@misericordia.edu

Feeling Blue, Valentines Day WoesBy Alexandria Smith, Web Master

As a holiday that has long been marketed toward couples as a once-a-year testament to their love, Valentine’s Day can be very difficult for singles. Alternatively known as ‘Singles Awareness Day’ (SAD), people’s negative feelings have manifested within popular culture, including internet memes, blogs and even the 2010 film “Valentine’s Day.” But these anti-Valentine’s Day sentiments did not just come out of nowhere. “There are many more people on campus that do experience the sad feelings [of being alone] than what people realize because of the commercialism aspect. You just get blasted with the images [of consumerism] on TV, in maga-zines, on the radio, you know, and the stores [saying], ‘Get your gifts now!,’” said Dr. Cindy March of the CAPS Center. The urgency of consumer-ist expression surrounding the holiday is very real and very much alive. As recently as 2013, the Los Angeles Times projected that the average person would spend $9.9 billion overall - $134.08 on din-ner, with sweets, flowers and jew-elry as the next major purchases. March worries that students who do not have a significant other may harbor feelings of inadequacy. “I often feel that people do get sad on that day because they do

feel that if they don’t have that partner in their life, that they’re not lovable, or they’re not worthy of someone, you know, thinking or recognizing the goodness of who they are,” said March. She also believes that, for some students, basing an entire rela-tionship on a single day can create a misconstrued sense of love with serious emotional consequences. “I think there is a false recogni-tion sometimes among those that have partners [among women] that, ‘If I get that box of candy and I get those flowers, that’s the symbol I’m loved. That means I’m loved.’ But, you know what? It could be great on Valentine’s Day in terms of getting those flowers and candy, maybe going to dinner, going out for coffee, whatever, but then what about the other days of the year, or the other days of the week? How does one assess the quality of a healthy relation-ship at that point because flowers and candy do not equal a healthy relationship, you know? It might be a bonus, there’s nothing wrong with it, but you can’t gauge the health of your relationship on it,” said March. Health & Wellness Center Direc-tor Angela Evans feels that roman-tic love is something that does not stay the same over time and having certain expectations can be detrimental to a relationship. “Romantic love waxes and

wanes. Even when you’re in a ro-mantic relationship, it’s good, it’s bad, it’s good, it’s bad. Just think about any of your friends who are currently in relationships,” Evans said. “They might be in a relationship and feel totally alone, and then, trust me, those who are in relationships and are alone are jealous of their single friends on Valentine’s Day because they probably wish that they were by themselves on Valentine’s Day.” Evans encourages students to get out of unhealthy relationships even if Valentine’s Day is when they come to grips with troubled pairings. “There are kids on campus that are being physically, mentally and emotionally abused by their boyfriends and girlfriends, but they don’t know how to get out of that situation, so here comes Valentine’s Day and they feel all alone. So, romantic love waxes and wanes.” Evans believes that while roman-tic love may shift, real love does not change. “True love – agape love, love for one another, love that God showed for us – that’s what lasts. That’s what your parents have for you, what you have for your grandparents, what you have for your dog. That’s what lasts.” smitha10@misericordia.edu

Hinton poses next to The Writing Center wall in the Student Success Center.CASEY SAYLOR/ THE HIGHLANDER

February 4, 2014highlandernews.net6