THE VOICE OF THE STUDENTS AT DeSALES UNIVERSITY FORTY-EIGHTH YEAR, ISSUE 14APRIL 30, 2014

A&EHutton Jackson reviews Transcendence

OnlinEwww.TheMinstrelDSU.com Like us on Facebook Follow us @TheMinstrelDSU

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Spring Chorale Concert May 2-3

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MAydAy PArAdE rOcks sPring Fling

By Garrett McDivittThe Minstrel

sPOrtsFeatured Athlete: Mark Fuse

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On Friday April 25, the DeSales community came together to put on a benefit concert for El Sistema, a charity dedicated to giving children free music lessons every day. The event, known as Spring Fling, has become an annual spectacle, with all money raised from ticket sales going to a chosen charity. The event is run by DSU Live. Senior Christian Ellett is the club’s president.

“This was my second year in charge of Spring Fling, so I really wanted to surpass all expectations,” Ellett explained. “I really wanted to focus on making the production value the best we could make it. This included having a bigger stage, having more professional security and more visuals like strobe lights and banners hanging in the venue.”

Over 300 DeSales students and people from surrounding communities came out to support the cause and see some great live music. Divided By Friday, Transit and We Are the In Crowd all warmed the crowd up for a few hours after the doors opened, playing a variety of original and cover pop-punk hits. We Are the In Crowd, in particular, got the crowd excited. They began their set with a few songs from their February full-length album, Weird Kids, before returning to crowd favorites from their first

album, Best Intentions. The three bands all led

up to the headliner, Mayday Parade, who took the stage at 9:30 p.m. At this point, the crowd was primed for their set and accompanied the band in singing along with their long catalogue of songs dating back to 2007. Fans particularly appreciated when a piano was wheeled out for Mayday frontman Derek Sanders. Most of the band’s hits are guitar-backed, but crowd-pleasers “Miserable at Best” and “Stay” feature Sanders accompanying his vocals on the piano.

It was a great night of music and memories that were all wrapped up in the form of charitable donation.

Steven Liu is the program director of the Lehigh Valley chapter of El Sistema. He was inspired to join El Sistema after seeing a TED talk from the charity’s creator. Luckily, the Allentown Symphony wanted to expand their social responsibilities and start an education program. Liu is one of 50 people to have ever received the training to be an instructor for El Sistema, and upon his completion, he was hired by the Allentown Symphony to start an El Sistema chapter.

Liu started off with no instruments, teachers, money or music, but in a little over two months, he was able to secure teachers, 90 instruments, $35,000 in donations and 60 children to start the program.

Music can be a strong

deterrent for youth who would otherwise be in troubling situations. Liu described how the only difference between what the children of El Sistema do and the children who go to traditional schools is that the ones in El Sistema partake in two hours of music lessons a day. These children are not chosen from a pool of privileged or gifted students. In fact, Liu often searches for the students who have attendance or behavior issues in school because he feels if these students were interacting with school differently, they will now look forward to going to school and thus have better behavior.

“We are interested in the production of citizens. So on one hand we can test for their knowledge of scales,

notes or music theory. But that is not the goal,” said Liu. “It wouldn’t tell us if we are accomplishing what we want. It’s about helping people in need.”

There are no prerequisites to join El Sistema. It is open to any child who wishes to join. Not only is it making school more enjoyable, the children in the program are testing higher than those in other local schools. The only difference in the curriculum is mandatory music lessons five days a week.

Another bonus is safety. Peak crime hours in Allentown are from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. That is precisely when El Sistema holds their after school lessons.

“Something inherently ties us together as humans

Pop punk bands We Are The In Crowd (left) and Divided By Friday opened for Mayday Parade, along with Transit. Photos courtesy of Hopeless Records

through music,” said Liu. “We’re not trying to replace what is already in schools, but in fact build off of it. If a child doesn’t have harmony with those in their community or family, how will they be able to be in harmony with anyone in their life?”

Derek Sanders, the lead singer of Mayday Parade, spoke before the show about the importance of music in the lives of children throughout cultures.

“I started playing music when I was 11 or 12 years old. It had an obvious impact on my life for many reasons. It allowed me to stay out of trouble and make sure I wasn’t doing anything I shouldn’t have been doing. It also gave me a valuable vessel to express myself in a healthy way and associate with kids who liked music as much as I did.”

On April 25, DeSales University allowed friends to listen to a great concert with four extremely talented bands, but it also allowed hundreds of people to donate their money to people who also want to engage personally with music. Through the hard work of DeSales students and staff, dozens of children in the community will have more funding for programs to keep them safe, in school and experience the power of music.

Spring Fling DonateS all proceeDS to el SiStema charity

Mayday Parade headlined the 2014 DeSales Spring Fling. Photo courtesy of altpress.com

The Minstrel APRIL 30, 2014PAGE 2

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sPring chOrAlE cOncErt sEt FOr EArly MAy

The Minstrel is DeSales University’s only student-

run news publication. It is published seven

times per semester and is advised by Karl Babij. The staff meets on scheduled

Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. in the McShea ResLife Lounge. All

meetings are open to the University community.

The editors reserve the right to edit all

submissions for libel or length. The views

expressed in this paper reflect the views of the

individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Minstrel or

the university.

Please feel free to contact us at minstrel.desales@gmail.com

Editor-in-Chief:Dan Beck

Layout Editor: Adam Zielonka

News Editor:Kate Bortz

A&E Editor:Hutton Jackson

Feature Editor:Garrett McDivitt

Opinion Editor:Katie Kusik

Sports Editor:Matt Metzler

Editors & Staff Spring 2014

Staff Writers:

Austin Berner, Kellie Dietrich, Will Edwards, Bridget Festa,

Alexa Manzo, Jaclyn Silvestri, Jaci Wendel

On May 2 and 3 at 8 p.m., the DeSales University Chorale will hold their annual Spring Chorale Concert.

The concert will be led by choir director J. Bennett Durham, who has been with the choir at DeSales for five years now. He is a man with his hands in many pots – he is also the music director for the spring musical, The Music Man.

The concert, entitled “Sing Me to Heaven,” tells the story of the rise and fall of humanity, beginning with songs about yearning for the promised land and leading all the way up to songs about hope and freedom.

Durham called the concert an “arch of emotion.”

“One set of songs focuses on some of the hardship or sorrow or pain of existence, and another set focuses on healing or hope,” said Durham. “All of the songs are connected by human experience.”

The concert will feature a few sets of songs from the University Chorale and Schola Cantorum, an auditioned

By Sarah HollywoodContributing Writer

choir. Durham prided the concert

itself on being relatable to all audience members.

“A lot of this music expresses something, and it feels authentic,” Durham explained. “There is a really simple and clear point of human expression. Without being able to explain it, all of the pieces are identifiable.”

For the seniors involved in choir, it is a bittersweet moment – this will be their last concert at DeSales. The senior class makes up a large majority of Chorale and over half of Schola, which has a huge impact on the choir as a whole.

“It’s tough,” said Durham. “I didn’t really realize before just how big of a part the Class of 2014 had always been throughout.”

Andrea Guarino, a senior, has been involved in both Schola and Chorale in all her four years at DeSales.

“It’s hard to believe that this is my last choir concert,” said Guarino. “The songs are so moving and breathtaking this semester that I know I’m going to have a difficult time keeping it together during the concert.”

A standing tradition amongst the spring concert is for all graduating seniors to perform a song together. This lets them display their hard work and the contributions they have made to the choir over the past few years.

“In pretty much every way possible, it’s hard to imagine people in this senior class not being a part of choir,” Durham said.

This year, the senior class will be singing a song called “Prayer of the Children,” a song that was also sung a few years ago by Schola Cantorum.

“It was a song that I picked because it’s one of

those things that appeals to the sense of humanity,” said Durham. “We can apply it to many different contexts, and I think it’s something that everyone can identify with.”

The concert will surely prove to be an emotional roller coaster ride for audience members and all involved, especially the senior class and Durham.

“This class is so tied to my experience here that it will be very different without them,” said Durham. “I’m proud of what they’ve done, and I’m thankful for what they’ve brought to choir. But it is a little bit bittersweet to think about where we’ll be without them.”

JuniOr curtis cAPPucinO BEAts thE BulldOg

On Thursday, April 23, the Beat the Bulldog Stock Trading program came to a close. The winner of the contest was junior Curtis Cappucino.

“I got interested in the trading stocks program because I am an accounting

By Katie KusikThe Minstrel

and finance major, and I wanted the experience,” said Cappucino. “It was a great learning experience, and it just so happened that I had the highest return.”

The Beat the Bulldog Trading Program was open to all students willing to participate. Professor Bradley Barnhorst created the program in order to launch the new

The New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Chris Okula

PPL Trading Room and give students, faculty and staff some experience in trading stocks because he believes it is a necessary life skill.

“I hadn’t previously done anything with the stock market before the competition,” said Cappucino. “I applied what I learned from finance classes that I have taken at here, and it worked out pretty well.”

Playing the real stock market is tricky business for even the most intelligent and experienced people. Professor Barnhorst set up the program so students could gamble with fake money, what he called Bulldog bucks, and learn from the experience.

“I didn’t really use a strategy except for buying stocks when the Dow Jones was low and selling them once the Dow Jones rallied,” said Cappucino. “It didn’t always work, but it seemed to be the most efficient strategy. It also helped to read the news of companies that you own stock in so you know when to sell them or buy more.”

Criminal justice major Paul Gormly has been interested in personal finance for some time, and he saw this program as a perfect opportunity expand his

knowledge on the subject.“The computer program

that we used was a little tricky to figure out,” said Gormly. “But once I figured it out, it was up to me to create the best portfolio out there.”

As a piece of advice for the students who are interested in the program in the future, Cappucino said, “I advise other people to diversify their portfolios. I lost a lot of money from having a high weighted average in one company. Fortunately, the company rallied and I was able to cut my losses at a small price while having large gains in other companies. As an investor, you can’t be afraid to lose money, but in the end, your gains need to be more than your losses.”

The business department also sponsored a trip to New York City on Friday, April 25. The students who went on the trip were able to visit the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art and attend a New York Yankees game.

Overall, the stock program was a huge success and something that the students of DeSales can look forward to each semester.

Photo courtesy of DeSales Flickr

The Minstrel PAGE 3APRIL 30, 2014

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at. FEAturEs

FrEshMAn BOrgstrOM nOMinAtEd FOr “BEst ActrEss in A shOrt FilM” At FEstivAl

Photos courtesy of Ally Borgstrom

nice when something like this happens.”

After working with Borgstrom on the film, Gloman has very high hopes for the up-and-coming actress’s future.

“She’s a very good actress, and it seemed like she needed very little effort to pull off the character given to her,” says Gloman.

Though she has had many great experiences early on in her acting career, Borgstrom has big plans for the future. “I definitely want to do more student films while I’m here, preferably something along the lines of an action film. I think that would be really fun to do,” she says. “Broadway is always a goal in the future. I love live theater and film, so I can see myself doing either one in the future. I’m not entirely sure which one I’m leaning towards right now, but hopefully it will all work out

to age rapidly. According to Gloman, “So Little Time” is “a magical story that has never been told before.”

“This isn’t the first film that I’ve worked on with [Gloman],” says Borgstrom. “It’s definitely the biggest one I’ve done, and it was a great learning opportunity for me. There were a lot of monologues, and trying to work with the sets for each decade was a really fun challenge for me as an actress.”

Gloman believes that he made the right decision in casting Borgstrom for the role. “She is an incredibly talented lady, and though she was busy a lot and schedules were tough, it was nice to have someone like her around to help pull this story off that I saw in my head,” says Gloman.

Borgstrom was incredibly humbled by the entire experience, and is simply thankful for the recognition. “It’s just really funny. In my senior year of high school, I won Best Actress at the Freddy Awards, and was completely in shock over it. I’m having the same kind of feeling with this nomination,” says Borgstrom. “Most actors aren’t expecting anything like this at all, so it’s always a surprise, and it’s always something you’re grateful for. We’re our own worst critics, and it’s always

later.”Alongside “So Little

Time,” Borgstrom has appeared in a music video filmed on campus, acted in

vAllEy vOyAgE: cAsA tOrO MExicAn grillTucked away in the

corner of the Fairmount Village Shopping Center, next to the Weis, Casa Toro is a hidden gem of a Mexican restuarant. The dimmed lighting and acoustic guitar music create a relaxing ambiance. I was immediately taken by the friendly service and the complimentary chips and salsa.

The front of my menu claimed, “At Casa Toro, we

Spending all that extra flex money might be on your mind as the semester winds down. However, de-stressing in preparation for final exams week often requires a trip off-campus. Take a very short drive up Route 309, and you can find yourself at Casa Toro Mexican Grill.

want to make your stomach smile. We’re serving up the best Mexican fare in the Valley.” I was about to find out the truth in this statement. They offer a wide variety of appetizers, salads and favoritos, standard Mexican fare such as burritos, enchiladas and chimichangas. They also list four hamburguesas, some with a spicier Spanish flavor and one classic American

burger, the “North of the Border,” for “less a d v e n t u r o u s amigos.”

My waitress recommended the Pollo Cilantro Burrito special, a tortilla of grilled chicken, c h e e s e , veggies and creamy, spicy cilantro sauce. If hot and

By Adam ZielonkaThe Minstrel

spicy is not your thing (I know it isn’t mine), you can still enjoy Mexican food. My waitress suggested two platters: the “Combo Toro” features a mini chicken burrito, chicken flautitas and cheese enchilada, and “Tres Amigos” features a soft taco, chicken tostada and cheese enchilada. I opted for the Tres Amigos and had no regrets, from the entrees down to the side of rice. I was

surprised at just how big the platter was, and I was served very quickly. I left satisfied in every sense of the word.

If you are interested at dining out at Casa Toro before the semester ends, get there soon for their five-day Cinco de Mayo celebration. For the first five days of May, they will be hosting a variety of unique food and drink specials and live entertainment.

By Kate BortzThe Minstrel

The DeSales University theater program has undoubtedly fostered some wonderful talent, as many graduates are finding work on the stage or behind the camera. Ally Borgstrom, a very hardworking first-year musical theater major, has received recognition not only for her acting within the DeSales community, but also from judges at the Jersey Shore Shorts Film Festival on Sunday, April 27 in Asbury Park, N.J. Here, she was was nominated for “Best Actress in a Short Film.” Though she did not win, she is very grateful for the consideration.

“So Little Time,” directed, produced and shot by TV/film professor Chuck Gloman, tells the story of a young woman sending her fiancé off to war. Before he leaves, he has two requests: that they meet in the same spot every year and that she never change. Borgstrom’s character travels through the decades and upholds her promise by never physically aging. Her fiancée (played by sophomore theater major Shawn Gies) never shows up. The end of the film provides a heart-breaking sense of relief for Borgstrom’s character, as she is finally able to see her fiancée as a ghost and begins

anti-bullying skits at local schools, made a cameo in a student film entitled Felt Mile (directed by junior Alec Maksymowych), is

Photo by Adam Zielonka

performing in Act I’s The Music Man and appeared as a jealous little sister in another Gloman film entitled “My Dad’s a Little Strange.”

Photo courtesy of Lehigh Valley Live

The Minstrel APRIL 30, 2014PAGE 4

a&

eArts & EntErtAinMEnt

Del tha Funkee Homosapien first gained true fame on Gorillaz’ eponymous debut album, rapping on tracks like the hit “Clint Eastwood.” He teamed up with producer Dan the Automator for this 2000 release. As the title of the album suggests, the year is 3030, and Deltron Zero is a mech-soldier and interplanetary computer prodigy. He’s fighting against an oppressive 31st century government that has stripped citizens of their human rights, including hip hop. The sci-fi feel is a unique take on the genre, and it’s beautifully mastered by Del’s flawless flow.

Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

MBDTF dropped in 2010, a year after he infamously stole the mic from Taylor Swift at the Grammys. While many were not particularly familiar with his previous albums, the Grammys incident prevented many listeners from even checking out West’s next album. But MBDTF turned hip hop on its side upon its release. Kanye brilliantly blends his patented rapping style with an ear for pop music that turned out

an album that will surely go down as a classic. I mean, how could you go wrong with a line like “too many Urkels on your team, that’s why your win’s low”?

Milo – I wish my brother

FivE rAP AlBuMs FOr PEOPlE whO dOn’t likE rAP

Overall Rating: 4/10

S.H.A.R.K Grade:

(Rates, on a scale of 1-5, how much Suspense, Humor, Action,

Romance and Kid-friendly material is in the movie)

1- None to Very Little, 2- Little, 3- Average, 4- Much,

5- Very much

S: 4 H: 1 A: 3 R: 3 K: 2

By Dan BeckThe Minstrel

Combining spoken word poetry and a beat seems like something we can all get into. Poetry is a brilliant form of self-expression, and everyone can get on board with a catchy beat. Despite this, rap and hip-hop music seem to have disenchanted many music listeners.

Maybe it’s a tendency to adhere to race roles. Maybe it’s an insistence of modern rappers to eschew rhythm and basic rap aesthetics in pursuit of the next great hit song. Or maybe it’s the offensive lyrics or subject material that no one can relate to. Whatever it is, for many music listeners, rap is quickly tossed out as a genre that’s “just not for them.”

Rap music, for lack of a better word, has received a bad rap. Music is one of the best forms of expression, and, quite possibly, no genre brings that out the way rap can. Here are five albums that try to debunk the myth that rap music is not as accessible as other forms of music.

Deltron – 3030

tranScenDence: An intErEsting PrEMisE thAt suFFErs FrOM POOr stOrytElling

Johnny Depp stars in Transcendence, the directorial debut of The Dark Knight Trilogy and Inception cinematographer Wally Pfister, about a scientist whose consciousness is uploaded to a computer.

Transcendence tells the story of terminally ill Dr. Will Caster, a premier

By Hutton JacksonThe Minstrel

scientist specializing in artificial intelligence. During the last few days of his life, Will decides to undergo an operation that will upload his consciousness into a computer in order to preserve his brain. With the help of his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and colleague Max Waters (Paul Bettany), Will’s consciousness is successfully transferred into the system he invented, known as P.I.N.N.

Evelyn and Max continue to communicate with Will, but as Will rapidly evolves, the two begin to worry whether it is truly Will at all or something else entirely.

The film contains an all-star cast of Depp, Hall, Bettany alongside Morgan Freeman, Kate Mara and Cillian Murphy. All are good in their respective roles, but due to little character development, the talented cast is mostly wasted. No performance stands out as special, and most of the characters are one-dimensional.

Another issue is pacing. The film moves so fast in the beginning that the audience doesn’t have any time to get invested in the characters. Even worse is after a rushed beginning, the film slowly drags on and never picks up again until the final ten minutes. The ending itself is nothing but a confusing mess with a dissatisfying and unclear resolution.

The film also suffers from a lack of a clear tone. The film wavers from a futuristic drama to a sci-fi thriller and fails to commit to either genre, leaving

the audience with confusion on how to feel towards the characters and their actions.

Transcendence does deserve credit for attempting to tell a unique and risky story. It attempts to explore the idea of what would happen if we let technology become advanced beyond our control in a way that has not been done before. In this way, the film deserves some admiration for being both creative and thought-provoking, traits that are uncommon in a movie industry that would rather produce sequels, spin-offs, remakes and reboots over unique and innovative films.

If Transcendence doesn’t end up boring you and you’re able to stay invested in the movie, you’ll still likely be left dissatisfied and confused by the end of the film. In the end, a potentially pioneering sci-fi film is bogged down by poor pacing, an unclear story and an overall boring plot.

Transcendence is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and sensuality.

Photo courtesy of outkast.com

Rob was hereRory Ferreria is better

known by his rapping alias, Milo. He attends a small Catholic liberal arts school in Wisconsin called St. Norbert College that may resemble, oh, I don’t know, DeSales. He is, for all intents and

purposes, a hipster rapper. He raps about his vegan lifestyle, his addiction to Pokémon and Kurt Vonnegut novels. His beats, like on the above album, are distinctive and his flow is solid. He is

Photo courtesy of thedailyzombies.com

a breath of fresh air in the rap scene and something completely different worth checking out.

OutKast – StankoniaOutKast are the kings of

making accessible rap, and that is an easy conclusion to come to given their super-

hit “Hey Ya,” which is the greatest rap/pop crossover song of all time (and while we’re at it, maybe the best song of all time). Stankonia was the predecessor to Speakerboxx/The Love Below, which featured “Hey Ya.” The group is comprised of Big Boi and Andre 3000. It was a match made in heaven, and the group toes the line of pop and rap throughout the entirety of Stankonia, demonstrating this brilliance on tracks like “So Fresh, So Clean,” “Ms. Jackson” and “B.O.B.”

A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory

A Tribe Called Quest must have rummaged through their parents’ jazz collection as kids, because The Low End Theory is the perfect bridge between modern rap and the genre’s roots in jazz music. The rap group was dedicated to the authentic jazz sound, using mainly just a bass and drums. The album stays true to rap as a spoken word experience, and the result was one of the most influential rap albums of all time. Mainly, Tribe were able to convince us all that jazz is, and will always be, cool.

The Minstrel PAGE 5APRIL 30, 2014

On the street...By Bridget Festa

The Minstrel

...If you could be any fictional character, who

would you choose?

“Forrest Gump, because I would want to run like him”

“Aladdin, because my favorite animal is

a monkey and who wouldn’t want a

genie? Also, I’d treat my girlfriend like a

princess, and my wife like a queen.”

--Evan GetzeyFreshmanSpanish

--John FierroFreshman

Sport Management and Marketing

“Bobby Boucher, because ‘I love my Momma’”

a&

e Arts & EntErtAinMEnt

--Dominic CarlineoJuniorSport and Exercise Scrience

“I would want to be Mrs. Weasley because

she killed Bellatrix.”

--Julie FarmerSophomore

Theology and Math

“Pocahontas, because she listens to the “Colors

of the Wind” and has many animal friends”

--Cait DaileySenior

Musical Theatre

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER FOR SENIORS!

Monday, May 12: Graduation Clearance -In order to graduate, students must satisfy all obligations to the University by 12 p.m., including payment

of outstanding balances, completion of exit interview, return of all library books and completion of Graduate Information Form

Friday, May 16: Baccalaureate - 5-7 p.m.: Room check-in for families and students who are staying overnight on campus in Donahue Hall - 6:30 p.m.: Students assemble for Procession of Graduates at Dooling Hall - 7 p.m.: Baccalaureate Mass at Campus Mall (weather permitting) - 8 p.m.: Midnight: Dinner at the University Center

Saturday, May 17: Commencement - 10:15 a.m.: Graduates assemble for academic procession - 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Commencement Ceremony at Campus Mall (weather permitting) - 12:30 p.m.-1 p.m.: Outdoor Reception at McShea Student Center Area

The Minstrel APRIL 30 2014PAGE 6

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To find the solution to this Sudoku puzzle, visit our Facebook (DeSales Minstrel).

Also follow us on Twitter,@TheMinstrelDSU, and check

out our website atwww.TheMinstrelDSU.com

Across

1- Swampfever 8- To the extent that 15- Making amends 16- Pride woman 17- Shaped like a hood 18- Wears away 19- Bambi’s aunt 20- Steals 22- Gives off 23- Name on a bomber 25- Employs 26- Author Calvino 29- Failed to 31- Soaking spot 34- Continue 36- Director Jean-___

Godard 37- Seed cover 38- 1920’s decorative school 40- Established 42- Make weary 43- Limb of a felled tree 45- Decrees 46- That, in Tijuana 47- Member of the dog

family 49- Take the role of 50- Cool! 52- Color anew 54- Future oak 56- This can be guilty or not

guilty57- DDE’s command 60- Love affair62- Citizen army65- Vinegary66- Rudimentary component67- Capital of Ontario68- Family of rulers

crOsswOrd PuzzlEDown

1- Merlin, e.g.2- ___ impasse3- “Damn Yankees” role4- “Wheel of Fortune” buy5- Narrow inlet6- Emcee’s job7- Ancient8- ____, poor Yorick9- Bro or sis10- Land covered with trees

11- Make ___ for oneself 12- Divide anew into districts

13- I’d hate to break up ___

14- Flat sound21- Remove water from a

boat23- Evade24- Seward Peninsula city25- Sam, e.g.26- Angry27- Garr and Hatcher28- Star-gazer30- Batman and Robin, e.g.

32- Utah’s ___ Mountains 33- Consecrate 35- Acclaim

37- Wonderland girl39- Suffix with ball41- WWII event44- Female child47- Gun48- Judged51- Muse of love poetry53- Every 24 hours54- I smell ___!55- Designer Chanel56- 100 centavos57- French summers58- Hue59- Like Cheerios61- Director’s cry63- Author Deighton64- ___ little teapot...

The Minstrel PAGE 7APRIL 30, 2014

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lAcrOssE rEBOunds AFtEr rOugh stArtBy Hutton Jackson

The Misntrel

After starting 0-7, the DeSales lacrosse team had appeared to hit a wall. The team that had high hopes entering the season was now desperate for a win. The team got that much needed win against Immaculata on March 28 and then proceeded to win their first four conference games and earn a Freedom Conference playoff berth for the second season in a row.

Not only did the team earn the program’s third ever conference playoff berth, it also secured the second overall seed and the program’s first-ever home playoff game where they took on King’s College on Tuesday, April 29.

The team finished their regular season with a 4-2 Conference record and 5-10 overall. Despite a slight decline from their 8-7 regular season record in 2013, the team sees this 2014 season as step in the right direction.

“Despite our 0-7 start, I never felt that this team was a bad team,” says head coach Mike Schambach. “We lost several close games and played three of the top 35 teams in the

country, including 14th ranked Union. All of these games served the purpose to prepare us for our conference games.”

The first half of the team’s season did prepare them, with the team going on to have crucial wins against King’s College and FDU-Florham. The team was able to rally behind its several key starters and turn the season around.

The team has received steady production from attackmen junior Ryan Loughlin, senior James Guerrier, and senior Evan Burns, who replaced the injured junior Ryan Rowse midway through the season. Loughlin and Guerrier lead the team in scoring with 31 and 24 points respectively. Burns leads the team in assists with 13 and also a recorded four goals.

First year Justin Wilson leads the midfielders with 17 points and both senior Jacob Bernier and junior Nate Blevins have at least 12 points this season. Junior midfielder Lance Bracale’s return to the line up has also provided a much needed spark. After coming back from an ankle injury midway through the season, Bracale has had eight goals and four assists in the last seven games.

Junior midfielder Dylan Baxter has provided a boost at face-offs with a percentage of 48.7 percent and leads the team in groundballs with 75 total.

However, it is the defense led by sophomore goalkeeper Matt Warnken, who has played tremendously well, that has helped the team hold seven of their last eight opponents to

Junior Lance Bracale, shown above playing against Arcadia, scored four goals against Misericordia last Wednesday. Photo by Pat Jacoby

One of my responsibilities as editor-in-chief of The Minstrel is to send a PDF of each issue that we put together to the printing company, where they do a fantastic job every other week. Each PDF is titled with two numbers. The second number is the number issue for the semester. But the first number is the number of years The Minstrel been in publication. This year, that number is 48.

Every time I see this, it’s a giant reminder to me of the great responsibility I have as editor-in-chief. The nook where the editors call home every other weekend in McShea is filled with countless copies of past issues. I read all about the building of Heights one through six in 1984, when Harry Kalas visited and the now-scrapped plans for a new McShea building in 2005. Many editors like myself have toiled for long hours to bring the DeSales community the best possible campus newspaper every two weeks. I take it upon myself to follow the tradition of the former editors, as well as forge a new path to bring an even better

paper to newsstands.For some students, The

Minstrel doesn’t mean much. For them it’s a simple prop amongst the sprawling 480 acres that our liberal arts college encompasses. It’s a shoe dryer (newspaper is a fantastic way to dry out wet shoes, by the way), or a chance to draw moustaches on the faces in the photos (you’ll probably stop reading and start doing that now). But I hope it’s been more than that for most students. I hope that the student body and the faculty have picked up an issue on a Wednesday in between classes. Even if you only have time read an article or two, I hope you have enjoyed the great journalism from your fellow students and the even better stories that they tell.

The 14 issues of the 48th year of The Minstrel wouldn’t be possible without the great work of a few people. I’ll be passing the reigns of the “in-chief” position to Kate Bortz (known affectionately as “Bortz”) next year. She previously served as layout editor and currently serves as the copy and news editor. I can’t think of a

From the editor’s desk...better person to take over. She’s a top-notch writer and grammar pest (which is a compliment). I have full faith she’ll continue to move the paper forward and (more importantly) keep the music selections in the layout room on point.

Layout editor Adam Zielonka has been a phenomenal asset to our team. The layout position is tiresome and tedious. Adam’s dedication to putting out an beautiful looking paper hasn’t gone unnoticed. He’s also a tremendously gifted writer and is constantly dedicated to making his next story his best. The rest of the staff, like my fellow graduating seniors, Matt Metzler and Garrett McDivitt, have also done a great job contributing high quality stories. I look forward to visiting DeSales next year and picking up a great issue of The Minstrel.

Our faculty advisor this year, Professor Karl Babij has been a welcome addition to the faculty and staff. A big thank you is also in order for Professor Rob Spicer, who served as the faculty advisor for the previous four years and

was instrumental in bringing The Minstrel to what it is today.

Now, I must leave Center Valley as I prepare to graduate. It’s bittersweet because as much as I’ve enjoyed my time here, I’m ready to apply the skills I’ve learned to the real world. I’m excited for the curveballs that life will throw my way, and not as excited to pay back my student loans. The Minstrel has obviously played a big role in my time at DeSales and I hope that, even in a small way, it’s played a role in yours. This campus is not perfect. The parties are lackluster, the food isn’t earth-shattering and the cops will probably never stop giving out pointless parking tickets. But at least The Minstrel can still write about it.

Keep keepin’ it real, DeSales,

Dan BeckEditor-in-Chief - The Minstrel

P.S.: If you know anyone that is hiring (particularly in journalism or a related field) have them give me a call.

seven goals or less. Warnken himself currently has 146 saves for the year and a save percentage of 61.3 percent, which is the best among starting goalies in the Freedom Conference.

Despite statistical success, the team’s ultimate goal is to win its first ever MAC Freedom Conference championship.

Getting to the championship is not good enough for Coach Schambach. “We want to compete with Eastern University and I believe this program is on the right track to take the conference title from them.”

The Freedom Conference championship will take place on Saturday, May 3 at a time and place TBD.

The Minstrel APRIL 30, 2014PAGE 8

sPOrts

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FEAturEd AthlEtE: MArk FusE

Athlete: Mark Fuse

Year: Senior

Sport: Baseball

Position: Outfielder

It has been a rainy season for Bulldog baseball, but the team has endured its many postponed and cancelled games to win the Freedom Conference regular season title, with a conference record of 17-4 (24-13 overall as of April 27). The team will play fourth-seed Manhattanville College on Friday, May 2, in the first round of the Freedom Conference Tournament. Winning the tournament would earn the team a berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

One of the many top-form players in this season’s lineup is senior rightfielder Mark Fuse. Fuse became a regular starter last season, when he ranked second on the team in batting average (.366), along with 59 hits, 36 runs and 21 RBI. As of April 27, Fuse has a batting average of .347, 33 hits, 10 runs batted in, 21 runs scored, three doubles and a triple. He also has not made a single fielding error this year. The Minstrel caught up with Fuse to discuss his

Major: Sport and exercise science

Hometown: Hatfield, PA

Honors: Honorable Mention All-Freedom Conference 2013; MAC Spring Academic Honor Roll, 2012 and 2013

“From 6 a.m. lifting sessions to being

available at any time to work on the field, to our

relentlessness after getting behind in a game or

even after starting the season 1-7, this group of

guys has never stopped battling or pusing to do

better. That is something you can’t teach but is

definitely necessary for success.”

Photo by Pat Jacoby

senior season, his favorite DeSales baseball memory and his plans for after graduation.

Minstrel: When and how did you start playing baseball?

Fuse: I started playing when I was five, playing tee-ball. I was playing in my backyard with my dad well before that, though.

Minstrel: What made you decide to come to DeSales?

MF: My reason for coming to DeSales was its size. While our campus is spread out, it is small in terms of class size. It is far more personal than my

high school was, which was an academic draw for me. Athletically, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play baseball here. The great coaching and great history behind the team are both huge reasons why I wanted to play at this university.

Minstrel: How has the team been able to work around all the inclement weather this season?

MF: The weather certainly hasn’t made it easy, but we have spent a lot of time on the field putting the tarps on, getting the infield dried out or even shoveling snow so that we can play our games. We have had days where we could not practice outside, so we utilize our indoor batting cage and the rec courts to get as much work done as we can for our next games.

Minstrel: What about the team and your teammates are you most proud of?

MF: I am most proud of the work ethic of my teammates. From 6 a.m. lifting sessions to being available at any time to work on the field, to our relentlessness after getting behind in a game or even after starting the season

By Adam ZielonkaThe Minstrel

The Minstrel would also like to congratulate junior

golfer Casey Schermick and sophomore softball pitcher

DJ McCauley for being named Freedom Conference

Players of the Week in their respective sports for the

week of April 14-20, and senior first baseman Brian

Mauro for breaking DeSales baseball’s career record

for doubles, with 60 as of April 26. Great job, Bulldogs!

1-7, this group of guys has never stopped battling or pushing to do better, and that is something you can’t teach but is definitely necessary for success. When something needs to be done, it gets done and the guys are always positive and confident.

Minstrel: How do you feel you have impacted the team as a senior, on and off the field?

MF: That’s a tough one. I think on the field, I have contributed mainly by example. Being in my fourth year, I know how coach wants things done, and I know how it all works in our league and schedule. I am by no means perfect, but I have a good idea of what should be done and how to handle situations. Off the field, I think I have contributed mainly through giving advice. If guys need help figuring out how to manage their time, what certain things mean academically or with scheduling, I am always ready to offer advice and show them what may work best.

Minstrel: What is your favorite memory from your DeSales baseball career?

MF: Picking my favorite memory is a tough thing to do because there are quite a few. Last year, simply being an everyday starter was awesome to me. I worked very hard for that opportunity, and the successes I had and seeing that pay off was really cool. My favorite memory would include my freshman year Texas trip. I was the only freshman in a room with a senior (who was our coach’s son) and two juniors. The three of them were best friends, but they brought me into their room and taught me a lot of what I know now. They took me everywhere with them in Texas and we did everything together including eating with each other’s families. To feel so included and

like a member of the team before really doing anything on the field to prove myself was something I will never forget.

Minstrel: How else are you involved on campus outside of baseball?

MF: Other than baseball, I am involved with the Character U program as well as the Exercise is Medicine club.

Minstrel: What are your plans for after graduation?

MF: After graduation, I am going to be starting graduate school here at DeSales in the new Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Minstrel: What advice can you give younger students and student-athletes?

MF: For all students, make the best of every

opportunity you are given at this university. There are plenty of chances to expand who you know and expand on the knowledge you already have, so make the most of it. My advice to younger student-athletes would be to cherish every moment. Don’t give up on anything and always put forth your best effort regardless of how tired you are or how you feel. Your time on your team seems like a long one, but four years will go by so quickly. Make the best of every opportunity you have on and off the field. You never know who is watching.