msub the retort v89i1
TRANSCRIPT
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7/28/2019 MSUB The Retort v89i1
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The Voice of Montana State University Billings for Over Half a Century
www.MSUBretort.orgFebruary 1, 2013 Volume 89, Issue 1
MSU Billings says farewell to University relations director dan carter
University and Gov-
ernment Relations
Director, Dan Carter,
left his current position with
MSU Billings on January 25.
Carter began working atMSU Billings in August of
2004 after an outstanding ca-
reer at the Billings Gazette.
His tenure at MSU Billings
found him working alongside
Chancellor Ron Sexton from
2004 2010, and Chancel-
lor Rolf Groseth from 2010
present. Dans competence
and results have been obvi-
ous to all throughout the state
with whom he has worked,
commented Chancellor Gro-
seth. As a campus, we will
feel a deep sense of loss and
void from his departure andhe will always command our
attention and our respect. On
a personal note, he was one of
the people who encouraged
me to come to Billings and
will continue to be a trusted
advisor.
Carters earnest one-on-
one interactions with local
media garnered him praise
by many members of the
press. Although he spent
much of his time cultivat-ing relationships through-
out the community; Carter
may be best known for his
time spent working with
state and local ofcials on
behalf of MSU Billings
and the Montana Universi-
ty System.
His legacy, however,
will be one of compassion
and caring for all Montana
students. Dan was the rst
person I would turn to when I
needed advice, said ASMSUB
President, Isaiah Garrison. In
May of 2012, Carter wasawarded the inaugural Stu-
dent Advocate Award from
the Montana Board of Regents.
Carter also was awarded the
Golden Service Award and
the Walter and Charlotte Pip-
By MSU BILLINGS
NEWS SERVICES
penger Excellence in Innova-
tion Award in 2011 and 2012
respectively.Carters caring for the
youth of Montana went far
beyond mentoring college-
aged students. Each year
Dano graciously volunteered
his time to be a counselor
at Montana Boys State, re-
marked co-worker Debbie
Brown. It was time he didntnecessarily have to spare, but
he was more than willing to
give knowing he was making
a difference in a kids life.
Famous screenwriter, Ani-
ta Loos once wrote, Mem-
PATRICIA HAMPTON
News & Campus Life Writer
Career Services assists students in the journey from college to career
T
raversing the cen-
ter of the Montana
State University Bill-
ings Main Campus, one
passes buildings which re-
main nameless without prior
knowledge or closer exami-
nation.
On rst glance, they can
be identied by a clock tower,
a wall of glass reecting the
rims, or exceptional height.
But amongst all of these there
is one ofce that is particular-
ly easy to recognize from the
outside looking in.
Career Services is situ-
ated on the south of the rst
oor of the Library Build-
ing. Its wall of windows look
out on both the path that cuts
across the western half of the
campus, but also that leading
north to the entrance of the
main building itself.
This vantage, described
by some as "prime real estate"
allows this ofce to be at the
heart of the campus, much as
the staff are eager to be at the
heart increasing the success
of future, current, and former
students in the business world.
The motto of Career Ser-
vices is to "Explore Hire Ed-
ucation," and they provide
many FREE services to assist
individuals in doing just that.
From the outset of a student's
journey from college to ca-
reer, Career Services is avail-
able to guide, advise, and pro-
vide information.
In terms of assisting with
UPCOMING
CAREER SERVICES
EVENTS
February 6:
Ask an Executive :
US Marshals Service/
Dept. of Justice
February 14:
Career Fitness Fair
2013 from Noon 3pm
February 20:
Ask an Executive:
Wells Fargo
February 27:
Ask an Executive:
The Center for Chil-
dren and Families
March 13:Ask an Executive:
Billings Public
Schools
April 3: Ask an Execu-
tive:
Billings Clinic
April 10:
Ask an Executive:
Youth Dynamics
April 26:
Teacher Recruitment
Interviews 2013 from
9:00-3:00 at Univer-
sity Campus College
of ED #122
Career Counseling and Job
Searches, during the 2011-
2012 year, they critiqued 922
resumes, and held 365 Coun-
seling Appointments. Dur-
ing the same year, 241 stu-
dents were placed in intern-
ships with the help of Career
Services.
Employers themselves of-
ten approach this Ofce to
recru it new employees. In
the elds of Business and In-
dustry, 107 companies inter-
viewed individuals through a
Career Services event, draw-
ing in 551 student partici-
pants. In education, 21 school
districts arranged interviews
through the campus. Career
Services frequently updates
their web postings, and adver-
tised a total of 1,698 full-time
positions in 2011-2012 (vis-
it CareerLink to view these
postings: www.myinterfase.
com/msubillings/student).
By visiting the Career Ser-
vices website, the public, cur-
rent students, and graduates
are able to submit questions,
as well as view information
about upcoming Career Ser-
vice sponsored events, such
as the weekly Ask an Exec-
utive which takes place each
Wednesday from 11am to
1pm on both the Main Cam-
pus and at the City College.
On Thursday, February
14th, Career Services will be
sponsoring its annual Career
Fair. Students have the op-
portunity to attend this event
and meet with employers.
This is a chance to ask ques-
tions about specic compa-
nies or positions in a specic
eld, hear real world accounts
in a students area of interest,
and be exposed to a multitude
of career opportunities open
to college graduates.
For more information
about Career Services, please
visit their website at www.
msubillings.edu/careers.
ory is more indelible than
ink. Dan Carter was some-
one who used ink to create
memories. A quick search
of the MSU Billings ar-
chived stories will dis-
play nearly 1,000 entries.
All penned by Dan Carter.Many were written about an
outstanding alumni, faculty,
or staff member, but more
often than not, Dan wrote
about students. Of special
interest were those students
who overcame obstacles in
their lives to persevere and
attain a degree at MSU Bill-
ings.
The pinnacle of any stu-
dents career is that moment
when they read their name in
the commencement program.
It is that snapshot in time
where years of hard work be-come reality. It is this indeli-
ble memory of parents rejoic-
ing, grandparents weeping,
and siblings focusing on the
road ahead where Dan Cart-
er shined the brightest. He
would spend tireless hours
making sure every graduate
was properly represented in
the program and that the de-
gree they achieved did not go
without notice. Every student
who held their head up high
as they walked across thestage heard their name read
aloud by Dan Carter. All told,
that is nearly 5,000 individu-
al memories. Memories, that
wont soon be forgotten.
When asked about Carters
nal days at MSU Billings,
Chancellor Groseth reected.
I know that ExxonMobil is
fortunate to be the beneciary
of our loss. However, all of us
in Billings are fortunate that
Dan will continue to be in the
area and to be active in point-
ing out the things that will
improve our community andour state. We send him with
our best wishes and want him
to know he will always have
a home at Montana State Uni-
versity Billings.
During the 2011-2012 year, Career Services
critiqued 922 resumes, held 365 counseling
appointments and placed 241 students in
internships.
Dan Carter announces graduates at the 2009 MSU
Billings commencement ceremony.
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Montana State University Billings
Student Union Building 2281500 University Drive
Billings, MT 59101
Phone: 406-657-2193Fax: 406-657-2388
E-mail: [email protected]
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Columnist
Contributing Writer
Contributing WriterContributing Writer
Dan Carter
Leah Campbell
Nathan Evans
James Dean Hickman
Shawna Willoughby
Chris Claus
Patricia Hampton
Cory Lovec
Serene Crees
Tabby Maust
Holly Daniels
Tiff Hall
Nicole Mosure
Leanne GilbertsonAustin Finn
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The Retort encourages the submission of student writing including, but not limited to: re-views, features, editorials, creative writing, or Letters to the Editor. Articles must be under 600
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Please submit writing to [email protected] or access our submission page on our web-
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Welcome
back! As
The Retort
staff takes its rst,
gasping, anticipatory
breath of the new se-
mester, I cant help
but notice the ippant
nature of Little Tina,one of the ofce sh, or the soothing ambi -
ance of the new ofce color scheme with its 50
Shades of Brown carpet and cucumber vomit
wall paint. With all this t ranquil scenery laid
out before me, I am able to take a deep sigh
and begin to feel condent about the upcom-
ing semester.
This semester, The Retort welcomes some
old faces, and new. In the beginning when I
rst met my, at times, perplexing assistant
editor, Chris Claus, we discovered we had
two things in common our commitment to
making a quality paper that had an, at the
least, halfway presentable website and our
passive aggressive attitudes when it comes to
disciplining staff when they miss deadlines(me being more passive and Chris being more
aggressive). I only pray that Chris is able to
maintain his sanity (what little is left, that is)
for the next semester as he learns the ins and
outs of editing, layout and actually answering
the Retort ofce phone.
New to The Retort is opinion writer Holly
Daniels, copy editor Shawna Willoughby and
Business Manager Nathan Evans. You can
check out their bios on page 3 or online at
msubretort.org under staff bios. We are also
very excited to announce our rst online col-
umnist, Kendra Carter, who will be writing
The Liberty Review. Check out her great piece,
Go Voluntary at msubretort.org.
And while The Retort welcomes new faces,
it also must say goodbye to old(er). Dan Car ter,
our beloved advisor, will be leaving us for
other ventures. I have worked with Dan since
I started layout for The Retort in 2009 and
can honestly say he provided an abundance of
knowledge about journalism and always made
me feel at ease when I felt bombarded with
the strange quirks of newspaper editing. The
Retort will miss you, Dan. Good luck!
Looking ahead, you, dear reader, can an-
ticipate more of the things you enjoyed lastsemester: controversial opinions that may
make you question your beliefs or make them
stronger, updates on events and news at MSU
Billings, writing contests for gift cards, movie
and book reviews, captivating feature stories,
sports interviews, Ask Tiff, and perhaps an-
other article on how shallow people are (be-
lieve it or not, this was our most popular ar-
ticle online).
I also want to remind you that February 1st
is the deadline for turning in the MSU Bill-
ings scholarship application. This is a great
opportunity for students to get scholarships
and it doesnt matter what major you are or
how far along in college you have come. Re-
member that the application requires an essayand 3 letters of recommendation. For more in-
formation about applying for scholarships, go
to http://www.msubillings.edu/scholarships/
apply. I can say from personal experience, ll-
ing out the application is worth the time and
effort.
As always, at The Retort, we love our vol-
unteer writers and encourage anyone to write
for us! If you think this is something youd
be interested in, please shoot us an email at
[email protected]. Now take a deep
breath in and let the joys of new beginnings,
new classes and the count-down to summer
begin.
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3
KENDRA CARTEROnline Columnist - The Liberty Review
NATHAN EVANSBusiness Manager
Meet The retorts newest staffBy PATRICIA HAMPTON
News & Campus Life Writer
HOLLY DANIELS
Opinion Writer
Holly Daniels is a veryopinionated person.
Seriously, she has an
opinion on almost anything
and she likes to back those
opinions up with facts. She is
working toward a bachelor of
ne arts with a minor in Soci-
ology so she knows what she
is talking about most of the
time. One of here favorite past
times is beating people over
the head with truths such as
feminism. She dreams of one
day transforming this country
into a socialist utopia along
the lines of the federation inStar Trek. She plans on doing
this with the help of her Iron
Man style suit just as soon as
she gures out how to build
an arc reactor. We nally g-
ured that if we cant get her
to shut up we might as well
get her to write all her blath-
er down.
Nathanael Nate Ev-
ans is a non-tradition-
al student with his
hand in many cookie jars. In
addition to taking over as the
Business Manager of The Re-
tort, he is also; the ManagingEditor of The Rook for 2012-
2013, a member of the Uni-
versity Honors Program, a
full time student, an entrepre-
neur, a husband, and the fa-
ther of three children.
Iwas raised, but not born
in Billings, MT. I was al-ways the weird girl
in school and not much
has changed since. Eventual-
ly I had a daughter, got mar-
ried and then divorced. Now
as a single mom to a seven
year old Im pursuing a ca-
reer as a mortician and bid-
ing my time at MSUB while I
complete my general studies
before transferring to a mor-
tuary school. (Yes, I have
worked with dead bodies.
I've worked at a funera l home
before. No, it really isn't that
Featured Club: DVAAS
An organization still
in its infancy, the
Domestic Violence
Abuse Awareness Society
(DVAAS) has been and con-
tinues to be dedicated to rais-
ing awareness and preven-
tion of domestic violence and
abuse. To kick off the 2013
year,this has meant Words of
Hope Cranes, domestic vio-
lence prevention photo shoots,
and a Comedy Tsunami event
this coming March.
The nation was shaken to
the core on December 14th
when reports of the Sandy
Hook Elementary Schoolshooting spread. Yet another
act of violence, of evil, had
rocked the country at the
expense of twenty-six lives,
including those of twenty
young children.
In response to these terri-
ble losses, DVAAS members
pulled together to show New
Town support and to let it be
known that even those as far
away as Billings, Montana,
were mourning the losses
with the affected community.
On Saturday, January 5th, the
DVAAS group sponsored the
"Words of Hope Cranes" event.
It was held in the Banquet
rooms of the Student Union
Building from noon until
6:00pm. The goal was to fold
one thousand origami cranes,
and attach words of hope,
well-wishes, and prayers to
send to the Sandy Hook com-
munity.
DVAAS has continued to
participate in other anti-do-
mestic violence campaigns.
The previous day had found
several DVAAS core mem-
bers participating in a domes-
tic violence awareness photo
shoot by Chris Claus Photog-
raphy. The subjects held signs
with phrases such as "Rela-
tionships Should Heal Not
Hurt," "Domestic Vio-
lence Prevention Begins With
Me," and "Domestic Violence
Hurts Everyone!"
Throughout the nine
months since DVAAS be-
gan, the community has
been a signicant compo-
nent of its support system.
Not only have community
members expressed interest
in being on-going members
of the planning and organiz-ing committee, but have also
brought fundraising ideas to
the group, as well as
organizing events which
would benet the organiza-
tion's cause.
Recently, DVAAS was ap-
proached by Diane Kylander,
proposing Comedy Tsunami
as a benet for domestic
violence awareness, where
DVAAS will be the benecia-
ry. This event will be held on
March 9th at Bones Brewery.
The evening will begin with
the doors opening at 6:00pm.
During the dinner (which
will span from 7:00pm until
8:00pm), the Spiral Skies Bel-
lydancers will perform for the
audience. Comedy Tsunami,
a comedy routine performed
by six comics (Mark Dawson,
Tamara Upton, Mark Kram-
lich, Larae Lowenstein, Di-
ane Kylander, and Jim Huer-
tas), will take the stage. Mark
Dawson, an MSUB alumnus,
will act as Master of Ceremo-
nies. Winner of t he 2011 Mon-
tana Comedian of the Year,
Dawson has recently had the
opportunity to open multiple
shows in Las Vegas for Lou-
ie Anderson. Tamara Upton,
also known as "The Queen of
TMI," often presents herself
with professional dress and
manners, before whipping out
her sharp wit and often ugly
truths of womanhood. Since
Mark Kramlich was a teen, he
has always wanted to try his
hand at comedy, and while
he is still learning, Kramlich
feels right at home on the
stage. LaRae Lowenstein was
born and raised in North Da-
kota, and is passionate about
comedy and making her audi-
ence laugh. Diane Kylander,the featured comic of the eve-
ning, is sixty-nine years old,
and has been called "Billings'
Golden Girl." She often par-
ticipates in open-mic nights
around Billings, and has per-
formed at the Comedy Store
in Hollywood. Kylander has
had numerous years of perfor-
mance experience, and is now
focusing on stand-up and pro-
duction, and writing a book.
Jim Huertas - the headliner
for the event - was born and
raised in Los Angeles, and
now lives in Billings working
as a Police Ofcer, and enjoys
emphasizing how to "Make
Success Your Only Option" in
his routines on stage.
Following the Comedy
Tsunami performance, a band
will be on hand to perform for
several hours. The fee for this
event is $25 VIP seating ($30
at the door on the night of the
event), and $20 for general
admission, and includes ad-
mission to the event, as well
as dinner.
For more information, visit
www.DVAAS.org.
gross, etc.) My major inter-
ests include
politics and philosophy.
Im currently the secretary of
the Yellowstone County Re-
publican Central Committee,
and I also served as the sole
grassroots organizer for Ron
Pauls campaign during 2012.
I've been known to be a vora-
cious reader and I consume
knowledge with great enthu-
siasm. I also actively sup-
port and contribute to localart and music. People tell me
I am eclectic. I draw from all
kinds of diverse subjects no
matter if its contradictory or
not. I like what I like. My in-
terests can be obscure; I have
tattoos and a sarcastic
personality. I think that
about sums it up.
SHAWNA WILLOUGHBY
Copy Editor
Hi! I am a senior work-
ing on an extend-
ed English major. Id
love to wind up editing books
one day, so Im looking for-
ward to some great experi-
ence working here at The Re-
tort! I got some practice in
last year as copy editor of The
Rook, which I am doing again
this year. Outside of school, Ienjoy hanging out at home
at least until summer, when I
spend as much time as I pos-
sibly can camping, prefera-
bly with as many of my kids
and grand kids as can join me!
I also love to read, though
lately, doing so for fun has
seemed like a bit of a novelty.
If Im not working on home-
work or lost in a book, I can
be found with either jewelrytools and wire or else a cro-
chet hook and some yarn in
hand, making gifts or inven-
tory for my Etsy shop, called
The Crafty Dragons Lair.
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SERENE CREES
A&E Writer
As a child I loved sto-
ries like The Chron-
icles of Narnia, The
NeverEnding Story, Lord of
the Rings, and The Hobbit. So
I was thrilled when they all
started coming out as mov-
ies. I have been waiting sincethe last L.O.T.R. came out for
them to do The Hobbit! I had
it so built up in my mind that
I was sure that I was going
to be disappointed when I -
nally saw itand I wasnt! It
was actually better than I had
anticipated and what made it
even more so was that it wasmy rst experience
seeing a movie in 3D.
I know that some peo-
ple are not fans of the
3D fad but I love it! My
friend and I sat in the
second row and it was
like we were actually
there!
I absolutely loved every-
thing about this movie. I
thought they did a great job
with costumes and the effects
were fabulous! There was
nothing I would change about
the movie. It was funny, ad-venturous, and had lots of ac-
tion to keep the long movie in-
teresting and engagingand
with the 3D thrown inwhat-
ever youre looking for, Id
say this movie is a win-win! This has always been
one of my favorite sto-
ries and I LOVED the
version that came out in 1998
(with Liam Neeson, Claire
Danes, Uma Therman, and
Geoffrey Rush). So, I was re-
ally excited to see this mov-
ie because it combined some
of my favorite elements: mu-
sic, a story from another pe-
riod, and my Christian views.
Well, I was very, VERYdisappointed!!! The vocals
by many of the characters
were horrible. I was actual-
ly REALLY surprised at how
many of them used poor tech-
nique; weak breath support
and control, atrocious diction
and enunciation, quite a few
of them were singing with
their throat and not their di-
aphragm, Mr. Tongue was
constantly in the way--the
whole movie I wanted to get
a tongue depressor and beat
their tongues into submis-
sion (private joke amongst vo-cal majors)--oh, and some of
them were even singing the
The Hobbit: an unbelievable journey Les Miserableswrong voice part!!The reason I picked up on
all of this is because I was
a vocal major for three se-
mesters and have taken
voice lessons since I was
ten. So, though I dont pre-
tend to be Doug Nagel (my
previous voice teacher in
our music dept.), I do have
many years of experience.
As for the rest of the
movie, though they did
do a great job with act-
ing the story, the cos-
tumes, and sets, I was very
disappointed in the ef-fects in the beginning and
throughout other parts of
the movie. I was surprised
that it was so easy to tell
when they were using digital
effects. They could have used
some help from the special
effects team from The Hobbit
(which was AWESOME!).
I was also very frustrated
at how legalistic they were in
portraying Christian doctrine.
I will admit that it was pret-
ty typical of that time period
due to the Catholic inuence.
But I do wish they wouldhave used more of the origi-
nal story in developing the in-
teraction that changed Jean
Valjeans life when he was
granted grace and forgiveness
by the priest. I also think that
the story glories death and
that is not a good message ei-
ther.
Overall I would say I was
disappointed by many as-
pects of the movie, but I still
found it entertaining and I
would recommend it for peo-
ple who arent affronted by
high squeaky voices, archaicspecial effects, or depressing
doctrines of death.enjoy!
DREDD
On a dreary Friday af-
ternoon in early Jan-uary, I found my way
to my local Redbox and de-
spite my subconscious pleads
to get something at least half-
way intellectually stimulating
like 2016: Obamas America
or something historical like
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire
Hunter, I went for something
different: Dredd.
This action-and-violence
packed movie is a remake of
the 1995 Judge Dredd which
starred Sylvester Stallone.
Though I have not seen the
95 version, I have heard thatthe two lms bear little re-
semblance. Despite this, I am
still not at all compelled to
see the rst one.
In general, to my surprise,
Dredd has received most-
ly positive reviews. On Rot-
tenTomatoes.com, Dredd re-
ceived 4 out of 5 stars. Per-
haps to appreciate this lm,
one must be familiar with
the original British comics
or view the movie in 3D but
even so, the unoriginality of
BREAKING DAWN part 2
Winter Break Movie Fest
The Retorts picks of best
and worst winter flicks
The Twilight Saga:
Breaking Dawn Part 2
hit theaters with much
anticipation. From avid read-
ers of the saga to fans of just
the movies, all alike were
anxiously eager to see this -
nale.
The best part of this movie
for me was seeing it with an
old friend who was home for
the Holiday break.
I read the books in highschool, well almost all of
them--I got bored halfway
through Breaking Dawn and
had to force myself to go back
and nish it a year later. Af-
ter reading the books it only
made sense to see the movies,
of course.
This movie begins with
newborn Bella Cullen; she is
nally a vampire just as she
has been pining for since the
rst movie. She and Edward
have a child, Renesme, who is
half human and half vampire.The rst long scene of
the movie, which really
stands out, is a sex scene
between Bella and Edward
in a beautiful house that
the Cullens have provided
in the middle of the woods.
My complaint with this
scene is that this series is
maturing too fast for most
of its audience. The movies
have gained interest from a
younger generation.
It is one thing for a scene
like this in a book being
read by younger readers,although I still dont en-
tirely agree its appropriate.
But the line between fanta-
sy and reality becomes more
blurred when it is seen on the
big screen.
Is this really what we want
our children watching and
thinking that the ideal fanta-
sy should be?
Aside from the over-inti-
macy of the main vampires,
the rest of the story ows
seamlessly to the point where
you are sure that the ght
scene is really happening.And if you are like me you al-
most cry when you see Carl-
isle attacked by the Volturi;
he was my favorite character,
what can I say?
You later learn this is just
a vision from Alice Cullen to
the Volturi, so I have to give
the movie makers props for
making it so seamless.
The makeup and clothing
was just as wonderful on the
Cullen family as it has been
in the other movies.
Animation did a great job
with the werewolves and thetransformation. They have
succeeded in making you
think that Taylor Lautner and
the others really are were-
wolves in their normal lives.
The soundtrack was okay;
its lost a little bit of steam
from the others, but all in all
my main disgruntlement with
this lm was the wasted time
on things not important to the
story.
the story as a whole strikes
me as an utter failure: com-
plete with good guys ver-
sus bad guys, the veteran cop
who must train the underesti-
mated rookie all which takes
place in a futuristic world that,
despite its technology (like adrug that makes everything
move in super slow motion),
cant seem to handle an apart-
ment complex drug lord who
also happens to be a former
prostitute.
But, I suppose maybe I
didnt get this movie to watch
the main character embark on
some journey of self-discov-
ery and eventually fall spon-
taneously and madly in love
with the rookie in the nal
LEAH CAMPBELL
Editor-in-Chief
NICOLE MOSURE
Contributing Writer SERENE CREESA&E Writer
scene. As a science c-
tion action ick, I got this
movie to see how messedup some people think our
world is going to be in a
few hundred years and
based on this lm, theres
going to be super-cops
with burdensome red hel-
mets (I still dont know
how that thing was help-
ing instead of hindering),
badass girl psychics, ho-
micides abounding, blood,
guts and guns. I guess
things could be worse,
right?
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7/28/2019 MSUB The Retort v89i1
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5
LEANNE GILBERTSON
Northcutt Steele Gallery Director
Montana State Uni-
versi ty-Bi l l ings
Department of
Arts Northcutt Steele Gal-
lery features the work of Co-
rey Drieth from January 17
through February 21. Drieths
solo exhibition entitled De-
votional consists of gouache
paintings on wood that ex-
plore contemplative religious
experiences through the ma-
nipulation of line, color, tex-
ture, and scale. Drieths seem-
ingly minimal works createcomplex, meditative illusions
of light and space that reward
close viewing.
Drieths works begin with
basic design and construc-
tion materials of gouache and
Ox (for P.G.), Gouache/Ink/Aquarel/Wood
wood. Using an economical
aesthetic, Drieth creates a vi-
sual dialogue between paint-
ed surface and wooden sub-
strate, producing a resonance
that is expansively mysteri-
ous yet intimately familiar. In
our media-saturated existence
of de-humanizing speed, clut-
ter, and noise, Drieths works,
lled with stillness, quietude,
and subtlety, serve as both a
foil to the frenetic activity of
contemporary life and a meth-
od of sustenance within it.Drieth is Assistant Profes-
sor of Painting and Drawing,
as well as the Co-Director of
the Visual Arts Program, at
University of Colorado, Colo-
rado Springs. He has an active
QDear Tiff,
Ive been in school
for over 2 years now
and each semester there
seems to be some huge crisis;
my health, a death, or a break
up. Each semester I struggle
so hard with how to deal with
life AND be a good student.
I look around at other people
and they seem to cope with
everything with no problem.I feel like by the end of each
semester Im barely holding it
together and when a new one
starts I dread it and cant wait
for it to be over. How do I deal
with everything without be-
ing near catatonic by the end
of the semester?
-Pre-Catatonic Charlie
ADear Pre-Catatonic
Charlie,
I want you to know
that you are not alone. I think
most students feel over-
whelmed by the end, and
sometimes beginning, ofeach semester (thats why we
NEED winter and summer
breaks). However, each per-
son handles the stresses of
school and life differently. If
how you are handling what
life throws at you is not work-
ing, then you need to look
at your coping mechanisms
and decide what is and isnt
healthy. We cant control life,
but we can control how we re-
spond to it. The following is
a list of some healthy ways
Northcutt Steele gallery features corey drieths devotional exhibitionexhibition record of solo and
group exhibitions and is rep-
resented by the Jen Bekman
Gallery in New York. He re-
ceived his MFA from Univer-
sity of North Carolina and his
BFA in Art and BA in Philos-
ophy/Comparative Religious
Studies from Colorado State
University.
A conversation with the
artist will be held on Thurs-
day, February 21 beginning at
4pm in the Northcutt Steele
Gallery and a closing recep-
tion will follow from 5pm
7pm. The conversation, re-ception, and exhibition are all
free and open to the public.
The Nothcutt Steele Gal-
lery is located on the 1st oor
of the Liberal Arts Building
on the MSUB campus and is
that I, and other people, use to
cope with stress.
*TAKE A DAY OF REST:
There have been studies done
by secular psychologists and
they have found that there are
signicant benets to taking
a day off to rest. These stud-
ies have found that if you set
aside a specic day each week
and you make sure your dayis entirely restful--you dont
go to school or work and you
dont do any school work,
housework, or even paying
bills--they say if you take
this time and use it to have
some alone time and have
some fun (with or without
people), then you will actual-
ly accomplish more the rest of
the week than if you worked
the whole seven days! There
are health benets to resting
also. The studies have shown
that people who take a day of
rest over the course of a yearhave lower weight and blood
pressure, and they also have
an increase in immune sys-
tem function as well as an in-
crease in the production of
happy hormones!!
*HAVE A GOOD SUP-
PORT SYSTEM: Having
people you can talk to is re-
ally important. We all need
friends, yes, and it is impor-
tant to have healthy friend-
ships, but having a relation-
ship that is specically for the
purpose of you being able to
vent safely is even more so.
Some people go to counsel-
ing, others have mentors or
pastors they talk to, but we all
need a safe place to talk about
what is going on in our lives.
I personally have a few
older women that I go towhen I need advice because I
nd talking with mentors is a
good way to get different per-
spectives. Plus, sometimes if
you only have one mentor s/
he may not be available when
you need him/her. Also, no-
tice I said older. It is great to
have friends your own age,
but having people older than
you in your life provides you
with wisdom you dont have
yet. I love the expression:
"Learn from my mistakes so
you dont have to make the
same ones.*HAVE GOOD TIME
MANAGEMENT: I recently
read a book about how to not
waste time and it was AMAZ-
ING (How to Get Control of
Your Time and Your Life by
Alan Lakein). There was a
whole list of things that eat
up our time and procrastina-
tion was the #1 thing that I,
and most people, are guilty of.
There are some things that I
get done right away but there
are others that I constant-
ly put off (in some cases for
YEARS!). If you have issueswith procrastination then I
would recommend reading
this book.
*KEEP YOUR HOME/
DORM ROOM TIDY, FREE
OF CLUTTER & GET OR-
GANIZED: There have been
numerous studies on the ef-
fects of clutter and disorga-
nization and how it increas-
es most peoples stress level
a messy and cluttered home
usually equals a messy and
cluttered life.
QDear Tiff,
Ive been in a re-
lationship for about
3 months and I think Im in
love. Should I tell the person?
-In Love In Silence,
A
Dear In Love In Si-
lence,
Well, rst thing:you said you think you love
this person. I would say that
unless you are SURE you
love them, dont say anything.
Words are like toothpaste out
of the tube; once its out there,
its OUT THERE! The next
thing I think you need to con-
sider is how long, or rather
how short, you have been to-
gether. If you had been dating
a year then I would not have
any concerns, but given the
short duration of your rela-
tionship, I would suggest that
your feelings are more infatu-
open MondayFriday from
8am to 4pm. For more infor-
mation visit: www.msubill-
ings.edu/gallery and www.
facebook.com/northcuttsteel-
egallery.
Blue Abstraction, Gouache/Ink/Charcoal/Wood
MSUBillings.edu/TheRook
Montanas Premier Collegiate Art and Literature Journal
To submit, Apply, contact us, or read previous volumes go to:
PoetryShort StorysCritcal EssaysCreative Nonfiction
Visual Art
Deadline March 17th
ation, lust and happiness than
love. Im sure you DO care
for this person, but it takes
time to get to know someone
to the point of loving them.
That way you know the good
and the bad and it is no longer
happy feelings but a choice
to love them in their entirety
and no matter what.
One last thing, I would also
recommend thinking about
your expectations for their
response. If you are wanting
to hear that this person loves
you back, then I would advise
that you watch their actions
to see if they reect the kind
of love you would want. After
all, tr ue love is not just a noun,
its a verb.
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6
Comic courtesy of www.XKCD.com
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CLASSIFIED SECTION
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Please direct questions about Classieds to [email protected].
2006 Honda Civic Hybrid 4dr, Automatic, 2WD,A/C, CD, 70K miles, Great mileage! $12000 Ask forBailey 406-652-3314
-
7/28/2019 MSUB The Retort v89i1
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7
PATRICIA HAMPTONNews Writer
What fascinates
readers, and keeps
them coming back
for more?
How do the most well-
known authors earn their rec-
ognition and appreciation?
More specically, what is
it about the works of Nicho-
las Sparks that keeps his base
of readers and movie-goers
growing with every passing
day?
Nicholas Sparks has writ-
ten fteen novels, and co-written one memoir with his
brother Micah. Without ex-
ception, Sparks novels have
been featured on the New
York Times Bestseller list,
and in total have sold over
fty million copies in the
United States alone.
This February 14th, the
release of Safe Haven will be
the eighth of Sparks novels
to be adapted into lm, fol-
lowing The Lucky One, Mes-
sage in a Bottle, A Walk to
Remember, The Notebook,
Nights in Rodanthe, Dear
John, and The Last Song.But that is all just back-
ground now for getting into
what is truly interesting about
Sparks as an author. What do
people love about him?
From the stand-point of
Kylie Warhman, I think
people like him because of
his talent for creating stories
that catch people's eyes and
that most of his works are ro-
mance which most girls typi-
cally like to read. This is the
perception of a majority of
The raw truth behind nicholas sparks popularity
readers and viewers. While
not necessarily going so far as
to say that Sparks works are
chick-icks, they do appeal
highly to the female popula-
tion, which is often attributed
to the romantic nature of the
pieces.
While he is publicly recog-
nized and praised more often
by women than by men, very
few men (though admittedly
they do exist) are not familiar
with at least his name. Blake
Norbury, a sophomore stu-
dent at MSU Billings, enjoys
reading Nicholas Sparks and
commented that His use of
words and how he portrays
the characters is very, very
real and believable...his sto-
ries reect who he is as a man
and as a human being who
knows what love is. Clearly
from this, conclusions can be
drawn that what some readers
are drawn to is the pure hu-
manity behind the writing.
In order for these works
to have as great an impact as
they do, there must be more
to their popularity than the
romance novel that women
enjoy as Warhman expressed,
and the humanity appreciated
by individuals such as Nor-
bury.
Nicholas sparks captures
the hearts of hopeless roman-
tics, explained Nikki Linn,
a sophomore in the Health
and Human Performances
Health Promotion program at
MSUB. He bases his stories
off of events that happen in
everyday life and gives those
who are struggling with the
same issues he writes about
the knowledge that someone
is out there for you. Whether
its a widowed man or abused
woman, people of all types
can nd love even in a hope-
less state. As we read we ex-
perience the characters' hard-
ships. We cry when they cry,
we love when they love...
So many situations are
faced in Sparks novels, that
individuals face and have dif-
culties with each and every
day. As romances, of course
love and all of its connected
emotions and reactions are
explored in these pieces, but
beyond that are the emotions
and situations that are more
difcult and even avoided.
Loss is a strong compo-
nent in these pieces not only
the loss of love with a sig-
nicant other (whether short
lived, or long term) but also
the loss, and ensuing empti-
ness, brought on by a death.
How can you say good-bye to
someone you love, when you
know that youll never see
them again? Once someone
is taken from us, how can we
ever look at life in the same
light, with the same happi-
ness, that we were once able
to?
Sparks portrays that it is
not about getting over or for-
getting about a difcult pass-
ing and loss, but about nding
joy in life again, in what we
do or in the others who we
love.
Reading Sparks novels,
or watching their lm adap-
tations, succeeds in leaving
the audience raw, having to
experience t he circumstances
and emotions of the charac-
ters, and in turn experiencing
those emotions for their own
situations. The vicarious ex-
perience that the audience has
with the character can lead
to a certain degree of insight
into ones own joys and pains.
If some opposing view-
points were not presented
then this review would be
somewhat incomplete. Ac-
cording to Christa Bigelow,
an English major on the Main
Campus, I like his work, and
my only complaint would be
that his stories seem to have
a singular pattern. The man
and woman come together in
a point in their lives and make
a connection, something or
someone tries to break them
apart, and in the end they usu-
ally end up together. I still like
his stories because each story
is set in a very nice beauti-
ful way, and even though youknow they are going to be
with each other it doesn't stop
the reader from reading. He
can draw in his audience in
a very special way, he makes
his characters relatable and
the audience roots for the
couple to be together.
The conclusion can be
drawn that the primary forces
involved in Sparks popular-
ity can be traced to the subject
matter of the material, the
well-written and descriptive
passages, and most impor-
tantly, the humanity and abil-
ity to truly capture the reality
behind the ctitious moments
that he creates. Freshman
Erin Robinson, studying both
English and History, sums
up the essence of Nicholas
Sparks nicely, highlighting
the fact that he allows us to
escape from reality for a little
while. He paints a world that
has a happy ending. He also
shows that everything is go-
ing to be okay in the end, that
someone really does love you.
A thing many people forget.
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8
HOLLY DANIELS
Opinion Writer
Gun control is always
a hot button issue, es-
pecially in states like
Montana where guns are a
way of life. I have always be-
lieved that people should be
able to own guns because in
places like Montana and Wy-
oming they are often a neces-
sity. I have personally owned
guns ranging from a little .22
all the way up to a semi auto
AK47. Sometimes, these guns
are necessary. When I livedout in the country, it was nec-
essary to have guns to protect
the livestock from predators.
Growing up, most of our meat
Gun Control Shouldnt Even Be a Debatecame from wild game that my
dad and brothers hunted. That
said, there are some guns that
are not a necessity for normal
everyday gun owners.
For example, the AK47
was a fun gun. I loved tak-
ing it out to the range and
just throwing as many bullets
as I could down range and
punching multiple holes into
the target all at once. How-
ever, that was just for fun.
That AK was never going to
be used for hunting, it wasn't
accurate enough. It was never
going to be used for home de-fense because with that many
high-powered bullets coming
out of it we would have been
more likely to wreck up the
house than hit an intruder.
That gun was purely for fun.That gun was designed for a
specic purpose, to put as
many bullets as possible into
a large area in a short amount
of time. It was designed for
warfare. That is why it wasclassied as an assault rie.
Did we need that gun? Of
course not. We had it because
it was fun. It was useless for
any other purpose.
Even though this gun was
a whole lot of fun to shoot and
really useless unless we want-
ed to make a whole bunch of
things be full of holes at the
same time, it was surpris-
ingly easy to obtain. My ex-
husband simply walked into
a gun shop, gave them some
money, they checked with the
ATF to make sure he wasn't aterrorist, and they gave him a
gun. Nobody asked if he knew
how to use it responsibly or
even if he knew how to load it.
He gave them money and they
gave him a gun. It was more
difcult to buy our car than it
was to buy that gun. This is
where I run into the ridicu-
lousness of the situation.
In order for me to buy a
car and be able to drive it I
have to get a title and license
it with the state. I also have
to have a driver's license that
I had to pass a test to obtain.
The state requires this to
make sure that I know what I
am doing when I get behind
the wheel of a car and that
way I have less of a chance ofhurting myself or somebody
else. They make me register
my car with the state of Mon-
tana so if something happens
that involves that car they
will know who the owner is.
At this point in time the only
hoops that need to be jumped
through are for those who are
purchasing fully automatic
military weapons.
Now if for every gun that
was purchased, what if we re-
quired the person purchasing
it to obtain a license by com-
pleting hunter's safety? Thatwould ensure that the gun
owner at least knew the ba-
sics of gun safety and would
be less likely to have an acci-
dent involving that gun. What
if we also required guns to be
licensed with the state when
they were purchased or sold?
Aside from any paranoid fan-
tasies about a gun owner
database or some silly non-
sense like that, wouldn't that
be helpful if a gun was used
in a crime?
These restrictions are no
more stringent than those
that are put on vehicles. Re-
sponsible, law-abiding citi-
zens should have no problem
following these restrictions.
These restrictions do not in-fringe on the second amend-
ment, people would still be
allowed to own and purchase
guns, but they would en-
sure that those who owned
guns knew how to use them
responsibly. Unfortunately,
there seems to be an idea that
regulating something is the
same as restricting it. That
is not true. We do not restrict
who can and cannot drive a
car so long as they meet the
requirements to be able to op-
erate that vehicle in a safe and
responsible fashion. Why is itso hard to suggest that we do
the same thing with guns?
Want to go vegan? doyour homework first
NICOLE MOSURE
Contributing Writer
Vegetarians, vegans,and semi-vegetarians.
I love them all, and
personally tend to lean to-
ward the latter. This column
is in no way intended to bash
this lifestyle. However, there
is a difference between being
a vegetarian because it is the
cool thing to do or believing it
will actually make you popu-
lar, and actually having a rea-
son to not eat meat.
Vegetarianism is a way of
life, not just something you
take on because all of your
friends are doing it. It is really
important that people begin to
realize this.
Most people do choose
this lifestyle because of their
views on meat and the treat-
ment of mis-treatment of ani-
mals that make the food, but
it is those who choose it for
different reasons that give
vegetarians a bad name.
A vegan is a person who
does not eat any animal by-
products, including dairy,
eggs and honey; a vegetarian
is someone who does not eat
any form of meat; a semi-veg-
etarian is one who does not
eat red meat but may eat shor poultry.
For one thing, I would like
to take a minute to point out
that people need to clarify
their views on red meat in-
stead of saying that they
can't have meat. What does
this mean? Are you allergic to
beef or pork like some are al-
lergic to sh? Will your throat
close and kill you if you eat
meat? Why not simply say, I
am a vegetarian. I prefer not
to eat meat.
The other issue that seems
to appear is that vegans and
vegetarians make huge dealsabout not being able to eat
certain things. This, again, is
another example of an over-
reaction. When you made the
decision about your lifestyle,
you should have realized that
there will be times when it
may be harder for you to nd
something to eat that meets
your lifestyle. This, however,
is no reason for you to com-
plain and throw a t about the
food from which you have to
choose. Be aware of what you
are getting into and all that it
entails.
For those of you who areconsidering veganism or any
of the aforementioned life-
styles, look into it and take
into consideration your cur-
rent way of life. Are you in-
volved in school activities
where you travel and where
it may be harder for you
to maintain your new life
choice? Think about your
family life: can it support this
decision?
So, before you make the
decision to lead this lifestyle,
do your homework. Know the
facts and what you need to do
to keep yourself healthy.
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9
HOLLY DANIELS
Opinion Writer
AUSTIN FINN
Contributing Writer
Billings Police DEPartment:
Disregard of Justice?
On the morning of
January 6th, Daniel
Brawley, 29, was shot
and killed by Billings Police
Department ofcer Dave Punt
after Brawley had broken
free of his zip tie handcuffs,
crawled into the driver's seat
of Punts patrol car, started
to drive away and struck Of-
cer Punt. Punt then red
nine shots at Brawley, con-
necting once in the torso, kill-
ing Brawley. Punt has since
been placed on administra-
tive leave, but Police Chief
Rich St. John defended Punt,
saying, "He was in imminent
danger that the suspect was
going to run him over," and
A Culture of ViolenceE
ven though I self iden-
tify as a liberal I have
always had an open
stance regarding guns. I be-
lieved that I should be able
to go out and shoot the big-
gest gun I could get my hands
on at random things at the
shooting range and then go
get some universal health
care after a y'all look at this"
moment. However, all of that
changed after the Sandy Hook
school shooting. For me, thiswas different from the other
school shootings. I remember
Columbine and thinking that
was a tragedy, that if those
poor kids had some other way
to get their point across then
maybe it wouldn't have hap-
pened. As with many of the
school shootings, there was
a reason, however sick and
twisted, behind the killings.
Sandy Hook held no reason
for me. It was senseless kill-
ing of young innocent chil-
dren. These children did not
bully the shooter, they werenot engaged in activities he
found reprehensible, they
were killed in cold blood for
no other reason than he had a
gun and wanted to use it.
Mass killings like this of-
ten spur the gun debate and
light the res under politi-
cians to do something about
the problem. However, guns
are not the only issue here.
Even if these shooters did not
have access to guns there are
still other ways to kill mas-
sive amounts of people. Those
other methods may take more
time, effort, and planning, but
they have been used in the
past and could be used again.
In 1927 a school board mem-
ber (who I refuse to mention,
look it up if you need to know)
used explosives to blow up
the elementary school in Bath,
Michigan, and killed 45 peo-
ple. The issue with the mass
killings is not the guns, it is
the culture of violence that is
so pervasive in this country.
Now, I'm not about to
blame video games or mov-
ies for mass shootings, sincethey aren't the problem ei-
ther, but they are a symptom
of the same thing. For some
reason violence is viewed as a
Most of us have prob-
ably heard about the
so-called scal cliff
crisis in Washington, DC,
last month but at the same
time, most of us probably did
not pay much attention to it,
thinking that it wouldn't af-
fect our lives much one way oranother. Unfortunately, some
of the deals made to avoid the
scal cliff do directly affect
college students and the wait
isn't over yet.
The scal cliff was basi-
cally a giant wave of spend-
ing cuts that were set to go
through automatically. If a
deal hadn't been reached then
cuts to social security, medic-
aid, and student services such
as grants and FAFSA loans
could have been drastic. Pres-
ident Obama and Congress
came up with a deal at t he last
minute which delayed some
of the cuts and saved other
programs.
The American Opportunity
Tax Credit allows a tax credit
to help with undergraduate
costs by allowing students
to write off expenses such as
books and tuition. This tax
credit was extended through
2017 after already being ex-
tended in 2010. With this tax
credit students can qualify for
up to $2,500 for four years.
That tax credit was on the
chopping block for the scal
cliff and was saved at the lastminute, but may still expire
in 2017. A tax deduction al-
lowing students to claim up
to $4,000 in tuition expenses
was also in danger of expir-
ing but will continue through
2013. Education Savings Ac-
counts, accounts that can be
What is the fiscal cliffand will it affect me?HOLLY DANIELS
Opinion Writer
used to specically save for
college, were changed and
students can now keep up to
$2,000 in those accounts in-
stead of only $500. The deal
also allows students to keep
deducting up to $2,500 for
student loan interest on their
taxes indenitely when previ-
ously they could only do that
for ve years.Even though these boons to
students were saved, we aren't
out of the woods yet. In true
congressional fashion some
of the problems were simply
delayed until March. FAFSA
cuts are still up for debate, as
are Pell grants. Cuts to these
programs could mean that
fewer students qualify for the
loans and grants that they rely
on to pay their tuition and stay
in school. These cuts could
also affect students with work
study jobs, since they are part
of nancial aid.
Since Congress has turnedthis into a partisan issue, it is
a safe bet that the end of Feb-
ruary will bring more arguing
and ghting over whether stu-
dents should suck it up and get
another job or if they should
extend the current nancial
aid available to us. President
Obama has shown in the past
that he wants more people to
go to college and economists
agree that a higher rate of
education amongst the gen-
eral population can boost the
economy, but will that be
enough to save our student
aid? This is one of the many
reasons why it is important
to vote and research who youare voting for to nd out their
stance on the issues that af-
fect you. At this point in time
the most effective way to deal
with this situation is to write
to Congressman Steve Daines
at 222 North 32nd Street Ste
900, Billings MT, 59101 or
call him at 406-969-1736 and
let him know how you feel.
Check out www.hufng-
tonpost.com/sheila-simon/
congress-pushing-college-
students, www.kimt.com/
content/localnews/story/
College-students-still-fear-
Fiscal-Cliff, thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com, www.irs.gov/
uac/American-Opportunity-
Tax-Credit, www.acenet.edu/
news-room/Pages/Fiscal-
Cliff-Tax-Incentives-College-
Students and daines.house.
gov for more information and
to view my sources.
that he took appropriate ac-
tion to protect himself from
imminent injury or death.
I am one of those people
who live by the words of the
infamous Jack Weinberg,
Dont trust anyone over 30.
I always doubt the honesty
and sincerity of anyone with
something to lose, and Of-
cer Punt and Police Chief St.
John are no exception. There
is video of the incident on the
Billings Gazettes website,
which I would recommend
everyone go see. I wont de-
scribe it here, because its re-
ally something you need to
see for yourself. Was Brawley
attempting to strike Ofcer
Punt, or was he trying to es-
cape and Ofcer Punt ran into
We have set up a society
where violence is always
the answer.means to an end. If something
doesn't go somebody's way
the rst reaction is violence.
You need not look any farther
than the comments section of
any internet forum to see evi-dence of this. If a funny pic-
ture of a cat sitting on a girl's
lap gets posted the comments
are full of people expressing
their intent to do awful things
to the girl. Anybody who dis-
agrees with them is told s/he
is going to be violently as-
saulted. Yet for some reason
this is OK. That is standard
behavior, especially on the
internet, and nobody even
thinks twice about it.
When violence becomes
standard is it any wonder
that mentally ill individu-
als might turn to violence
if they want to get their sick
and twisted point across? For
these people violence is the
answer because we have set
up a society where violence is
always the answer. Boyfriend
cheated on you? Break his X-
box with a bat! Best friend
stole your favorite shoes and
lost them? Slap the bitch! Feel
like society is ignoring all of
your cries for help and you
have no recourse to feel like
you make your mark on the
world? Shoot everything!
As a society we need to
look at why those answers are
considered acceptable to even
suggest. Why is it hilarious
to threaten to break some-
body's stuff because you are
displeased with them? Why
is it acceptable to threaten
violence when somebody
disagrees with you? Why is
violence in general so steeped
into the American society that
we don't even notice it any-
more? Perhaps we all need to
take a long look at ourselves
and nd out if we are part of
the problem or if we are will-
ing to stand up and say, Vio-
lence is not an acceptable an-
swer.
Check out www.slate.com
to view my sources and get
more information.
the car? Should Ofcer Punt
have red his weapon at all,
and if he did, should he have
aimed inside the cabin? And
if he had, should he have red
nine rounds?
To me, this seems like a
histrionic manifestation of
the attitudes of the modern
police force. They seem to
think they are untouchable,
and if you question them at all,
you are viewed as disrespect-
ful and even unpatriotic. Ive
dealt with this attitude from
the Billings PD rsthand
more times than I can count.
The press conference of this
event, which is also on the
Gazettes website, is a great
example of this. It was like a
state run newspaper interview
of a Middle Eastern dictator,
with journalists asking ridic-
ulously trivial questions, like,
Where is the rst clip (of the
event) from? and, Is Ofcer
Punt still on administrative
leave? Their job is not to de-
fend city ofcials, its to seekjustice and hold offenders of
this accountable.
St. John has also stated,
I've said since the beginning
that my top priority in this
is Ofcer Punt's well-being."
Really? Not pursuing justice
or the liberty and freedom of
the citizens of Billings? Not
keeping the power of the po-
lice force in check? Not being
transparent with the public?
I wont shed any tears for
Mr. Brawley. He was a repeat
offender and a convicted felon,
who had broken into numer-
ous homes in Billings over the
last decade. I also dont wish
any ill will on Ofcer Punt.
Ive actually heard hes a re-
ally nice person. But this isnt
about Mr. Brawley or OfcerPunt or Police Chief St. John.
This is about the Billings
Police Department overstep-
ping their boundaries as the
protectors of the citizens of
our community. The Billings
Police Department thinks
they can do whatever they
want, say that it was justied,
and the general public will
stand by them. And generally
speaking, they do this very
well. But this time, they shot
and killed someone. They, in
general terms, executed Dan-
iel Brawley. That is not the
way our justice system works.
If we let them get away with
this, it will just reinforce that
they can do whatever they
want, even kill people.
As a community, or at leastas a body of students, we need
to be aware of these kinds of
things. We need to question
the actions of our ofcials, on
every level. The disregard of
justice by t he Bi llings Police
Department wont get any
better if we stand idly by and
let things like this happen.
They are supposed to protect
and serve us, not the other
way around.
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7/28/2019 MSUB The Retort v89i1
10/12
10
MSU BILLINGSMSUB Athletics
MENS Basketball returns after two week road trip
Photo by MSUB Media Relations
A Harbowl Superbowl XLVIICORY LOVEC
Sports Writer
The Yellowjackets (9-9,
2-5 Great Northwest
Athletic Conference)
are coming off of a come-
from-behind win at Northwest
Nazarene (Idaho), 63-61.
Omar McDade recorded a
20-point performance for the
second straight game. The
senior nished 21 points; two
nights after totaling a team
season-high 26 points. More
importantly, MSU Billings
snapped a three-game losing
streak with their seventhvictory over NNU in the last
nine meetings.
First and foremost, it's
nice to be back home playing
a game, MSUB Head Coach
Jamie Stevens said. It seems
like we have been gone for a
while. It's also nice to be back
into a routine with school
nally beginning. Obviously,
this is an important week
for our team. The win last
Saturday gave us some life
and was a good win, but
only if we can take care of
business at home this week.
Both teams are really well
coached and will play hard.
We have to match that and
hopefully knock down some
shots.
Montana State Billings
holds a slim 10-9 advantage
in the all-time series against
Saint Martin's. However, the
Yellowjackets have won four
of the past six, including the
last three. SMU's last win
in the series was on Dec. 30,
2010, 70-54, in Bil lings. MSU
Billings has won six of the
nine all-time meetings in
Billings.
The Montana State
University Billings' athletic
marketing department
recently announced thatThursday will be ve-dollar
family night at Alterowitz
Gymnasium. An entire family
can come to the MSU Billings
and Saint Martin's game
Thursday for ve dollars.
Saint Martin's University
(6-8, 2-4 GNAC) enters the
matchup with Montana State
Billings after losing three of
its last four games and ve of
its last seven. The Saints have
won one of their four true road
contests this season. SMU
lost its two conference road
outings at Alaska-Fairbanksand Alaska-Anchorage.
Saint Martin's is last in the
conference in points per
game (67.7), and eld goal
percentage (.419).
The Saints are paced by
Roger O'Neill. The senioris averaging 15 points per
game, which is eighth in the
Great Northwest Athletic
Conference. But, it may be
Brady Bomber who is the
most dangerous with the
ball. The senior is dishing out
4.1 assists per outing (4th in
the GNAC), and is third in
the conference in assist-to-
turnover ratio. He is also sixth
in the conference in steals per
game (1.5). Rei Jensen's 7.4
rebounds per game is fth in
the GNAC.
In the last meeting, anextremely athletic and
aggressive defense made the
difference on Jan. 28, 2012,
as Montana State University
Billings wore down the Saints
en route to a 82-74 win inside
Alterowitz Gymnasium.
For the second time this
season, MSUB as a team
were balanced across the
40 minutes of play, making
the same number of shots as
well as attempting the exact
same number in both the
rst and second stanzas. The
Yellowjackets ended the night
shooting a 51.7 percent from
the eld that included going
10-of-21 from three-point
range as four different players
hit at least one three-pointer.
Four players also scored in
double-digit points for CoachStevens and staff.
Saturday, MSU Billings
welcomed Western Oregon
(7-7, 2-4). Western Oregon
University enters the week
having lost ve of its last
seven contests,but snapped a
four-game losing
streak with a 78-
60 home win over
Simon Fraser in
its last outing.
Andy Avgi leads
WOU with 17.3
points and 5.2
rebounds per
game. He is third
in the GNAC in
points per game.
The freshman is
also third in the
conference witha .601 eld goal percentage.
As a team, Western Oregon
is 10th the conference in
scoring margin, being
outscored by an average of
3.1 points per outing. WOU
is second in the GNAC in
turnover margin and third in
steals per game (8.5). Another
freshman, Devon Alexander
leads the Great Northwest
Athletic Conference in steals
per game (2.7). He is the
lone player in the conference
averaging at least two steals
per outing. Alexander was
15th in NCAA Div. II in stealsper game last week.
In the last meeting, fth-
seeded Montana State
University Billings came
out ring on all cylinders,
particularly in the second half,
to upset the fourth-seededWolves, 80-75, in the second
men's quarternal game of
the 2012 Great Northwest
Athletic Conference
Basketball Championships.
Both teams opened the game
shooting the ball extremely
well from the eld in the rst
half as both teams shot over
50 percent. MSUB ended
the night shooting 50.8
percent from the eld after
opening the game on a .516
clip while WOU ended the
game shooting 47.5 percent
after opening the game with
a 51.5 percent performance
in the opening stanza. The
Yellowjackets were led by
four players who ended the
game in double gures.
Currently, the
Yellowjackets' Kalob Hatcher
and Jarrell Crayton are high
in statistical categories in
the Great Northwest Athletic
Conference. Hatcher leads
the conference in assist-to-
turnover ratio (3.6) and is
third in assists per game (5.1).
Crayton is fth in scoring
per game (15.7) and third
in rebounds per game (7.7).Hatcher is also in the top ve
in NCAA Div. II in assist-to-
turnover ratio, and Crayton
is in the top 10 in several
statistical categories in the
GNAC.
As soon as the Balti-
more Ravens pulled
off yet another stun-ning win over a seemingly
better team to win the AFC
Championship, the stage for
the Super Bowl was set. The
biggest story? Well, that can
be argued, but most would say
that it would be not about the
teams themselves or the play-
ers, but of the head coaches.
Yes, most of the focus of
this game has been centered
upon two men who grew up
in the same household, and
whose age differs by all of 15
months: John and Jim Har-
baugh, the head coaches ofthe Baltimore Ravens and
San Francisco 49ers, respec-
tively. Only one time in his-
tory have brothers coached
against each other, and that
was the Thanksgiving Day
matchup last year between
the Ravens and 49ers, which
many were labeling as the
Harbaugh Bowl. Well, now
fans truly have a Harbaugh
Bowl (or simply Harbowl),
as the two will face off Sun-
day, February 3rd in Super
Bowl XLVII. The brothers
couldnt hate the attention
any more than they do. They
would much rather focus on
the game than simply about
the similarities in their genet-
ics.
With all of the focus on the
head coaches, there has not
been much talk of the proud
history of the two franchises.
Both teams have never lost a
Super Bowl (S.F.: 5-0, Bal.:
1-0), and the Ravens have the
best playoff winning percent-
age of all time, while San
Francisco can boast having
arguably two of the 5 best
players in NFL history (Joe
Montana and Jerry Rice). The
Ravens could put Ray Lewisout on top by winning the
Super Bowl, as he is set to
retire after the game. And as
for the game itself, for what
its worth, this is only the
second time in history that a
Super Bowl is a matchup be-
tween two teams that lost the
previous years Conference
Championship (Super Bowl
XXX, Pittsburgh vs. Dallas).
Yes, with all of the story lines
this Super Bowl is one of such
intrigue that some have spec-
ulated that maybe it was a
setup. So perfect. So magical.
The Ravens and Ray Lew-
istheir prodigal sonTHE
franchise. He is quite possibly
the player who more than any
other player in NFL history
epitomizes his team. When
one thinks about the Ravens,
they think Ray Lewis; they
think of defense, of hard hit-
ting, and of passion. Ray
Lewis deserves all the respect
that one can have. Playing in
his 17th year in the league,
Ray Lewis remains a force
both with his play and with
his passion and leadership.
There is little doubt in any ar-
gument that Ray Lewis may
be one of the best motiva-
tional leaders everwhether
in sports or not. There is also
little doubt that Ray Lewis is
at the upper echelon of best
NFL defensive players ever,
and is certainly in the conver-
sation of at least Top 5 for best
linebackers ever. And at the
beginning of this postseason,
the epitome of the Baltimore
Ravens, the quintessential
Raven, said that this year was
his last ride; that no matter
what happened in this play-
offs, this would be his last
year. So, with the looming
shadow of every game possi-
bly being Ray last game, the
Ravens have played inspiring
football to rst beat the India-
napolis Colts at home (Lewis
last home game), then de-
feating heavily-favored (and
#1 seed) Denver
Broncos on the road,
and nally defeat-
ing (again, heavily-
favored) New Eng-
land on the road
to advance to the
Super Bowl. Lewis
has a chance that
not many have had(John Elway and Je-
rome Bettis come to
mind): to ride into
the sunsetthat is,
to retire after win-
ning a nal Super
Bowl.
The 49ers have
their story to tell as
well. After coming so close
last year to winning the NFC
Championship (barring two
fumbles on special teams
the 49ers may have won),
then seeing the team that
beat themthe New YorkGiantsgo on to win the
Super Bowl, the 49ers were
quite ready for the season
to start. They were ready to
prove themselves. The most
surprising 49ers story this
year is that Head Coach Jim
Harbaugh chose to switch
quarterbacks over halfway
through the season, pulling
veteran Alex Smith, who led
the 49ers to the NFL Cham-
pionship last year and who
had a quarterback rating of
104.1 through the 9 games he
started this year, for second-
year quarterback Colin Kae-
pernick. His bold move seems
to have paid off.
Yes, there has still been
much talk of the quarterbacks,
but when isnt there? After
all, the NFL is a quarterback-
driven league. And whetherit is analysts jumping on the
Colin Kaepernick band wag-
on and saying that he could
become one of the best quar-
terbacks ever because of his
duel-threat ability (he throws
quite well, as he was a for-
mer pitcher, and also runs a
4.53 second 40-yard dash), or
others saying that Joe Flacco
has nally shown that he is
deserving of the title of be-
ing an elite quarterback,
quarterback conversation has
been of much debate. Current
Ravens quarterback Joe Flac-co has the most road playoff
wins of all-time already, as
only a 5th year player. The 8
postseason wins in 5 years for
the Ravens are both most for
a quarterback and for a head
coach in that time span, and
they have one more game to
try to extend those records.
So, with all of these story-
lines in mind, be sure to join
the mass of over 110 million
Americans and tune in Febru-
ary 3rd for Super Bowl XLVII.
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7/28/2019 MSUB The Retort v89i1
11/12
11
Womens Basketball Team Look to Get
Back on Track against Falcons
After coming
up empty
handed
against two top 10
nationally ranked
opponents, the
Montana State
Billings women's
basketball team
returns home where
they have yet todrop a game.
Following their
lopsided defeat
against No. 10
Simon Fraser;
MSUB had a strong
outing against No.
MSU BILLINGS
MSUB Athletics
Photo by MSUB Media Relations
The Super Bowl is annu-
ally the most watched
sporting event in
America. It has become a
spectacle, and is not only
viewed as a sporting event,
but a pop culture phenom-
enon. With Super Bowl XL-
VII right around the corner, I
thought it would be appropri-
ate to give some records and
facts about the Super Bowl;
impress your friends with
these bits of knowledge on
game day:
Mike Lodish, defensive
lineman for the Buffalo Bills
and Denver Brocos, holds the
record for most Super Bowl
appearances as a player, with
6 (winning 2).
Not Surprisingly, Jerry
Rice holds the record for
points scored (48) and touch-
downs scored (8) in the Super
Bowl
Four players have scored
3 touchdowns in a single
Super Bowl, and not surpris-ingly, three are 49ers (Roger
Craig, Jerry Rice, and Ricky
Watters). The other is Terrell
Davis.
Defensive end/outside
linebacker Charles Haley
is the only player to win 5
Super Bowls, winning two
while with San Francisco and
3 while with Dallas.
The three highest single-
game passing yardage totals
each belong to the same man:
Kyrt Warner. In his three Su-
per Bowls, Warner through
for 414, 377, and 365 yards,yet only won one of the
games.
The San Francisco 49ers
have two of the three highest
point totals in Super Bowl his-
tory, 55 (vs. Denver, XXIV),
and 49 (vs. San Diego, XXIX).
Super Bowl V (Cowboys
vs. Colts) was known as the
Blunder Bowl or Stupor
Bowl, because it was lled
with poor playing and ofciat-
ing, many penalties and turn-
overs. The teams committed
a combine 11 turnovers, with7 coming from the winning
team (the Colts). Dallas had
10 penalties for 133 yards. It
is the only Super Bowl in
which the games MVP was
given to a player from the
winning team: Chuck Howley
of the Cowboys.
The Buffalo Bills had 0
turnovers in a Super Bowl
XXV loss to the New York
Giants. Two years later, the
Bills were annihilated by the
Dallas Cowboys, committing
a Super Bowl record 9 turn-
overs.
One-game-wonder TimmySmith (Washington) holds the
record for most rush yards in
a single Super Bowl, with 204
(vs. Denver, XXII).
The Washington Redskins
scored 35 points in the 2nd
quarter of Super Bowl XXII
vs. Denver. They were down
10-0 at the end of the 1st quar-
ter, and scored 42 unanswered
to win 42-10.
Miami (vs. Dallas) is
the only team to not score a
touchdown in the Super Bowl.
The managed a eld goal in
the game, and lost 24-3.
After months of debate,
and of hockey fans
des