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Vol 72 No. 6 16546 DecemberStudents voice concerns at forBy Carrie TappeMerciad editor

T "T"~T^ Jessica Russell/MerciadphotographerMercyhurst hosted the 8th annual Christmason Campus Dec. 12.

Rumors of costly computer print-outs was thefirst opic of lastweek's Mercyhurst Student Govern-ment forum, which drew over 100students to Mercy Heritage Hall.The forum, the first this school year,was an opportunity for students tovoice concerns to a panel of collegeadministrators. Paying for computerprintouts in the library and labsseemed to top the listThomas Billingsley, executivevice president of administration,addressed the question saying, "Weare beginning to experience aninordinate number of uses ofprinting properties. For example, inthe fall term, over 200,000 copieswere made in the library al one ."In an attempt to control spiralingprinting costs, Printing Technolo-gies will install six new printers inthe library. Starting in January,every registered student w ill begiven a debit card for 100 free rcopies. Visitors to the library willpay 10 cents per copy.In the fall term, over200,000 copies wereGrant prepares HRIM for future madein theubniy aione.

The Statler Foundation recentlyawarded the Hotel, Restaurantand I nsti tutional ManagementDivision a $58,570 grantAccording to Gary Bukowski,vice president of institutionaladvancement, the foundation iscomm i tted to supporting highereducation programs in thehospi tal i ty industry.The grant marks the first timeMercyhurst has receivedfunding from the StatlerFoundation. I9 John Wolpcr, chairman of theHRIM division said the fundswill be used to develop a newcomputer lab for HR1Mstudents.!"

"The computer lab will givestudents the hands-on experiencethey need to compete in the jobmarket of the 21st century. Plus,:will have AutoCAD capabilities,which will be used when thedivision begins its facilities andproperty management program,expected to open with the start ofthe 1999-2000 school year,"Wolper said.Work should begi n on the labsometime next year.According to W olper, thefacilities and property m anage-ment program will enablestudents to enter the hospitalityindustry as property managersrather than corporate managers.

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-Thomas BillingsleyBillingsley said, T hi s will notbe the only way you can get printedcopies. Students continue to havethe option to put their files onto afloppy disk and take it to anotherlocation... and print out whateverthey want on their own."3Students showed concerns forstaffing and equipment in the libraryand library hours. Kathy Noce,assistant to the president for

technology, addressed the problemwith the computers and askedstudents for suggestions for improv-ing the system. Students suggestedthat during m idterms and finals, thecomputer lab in Old M ain be leftopen longer, technicians be on dutylater at night, and on Sunday, thatthe library open at 10 a.m.Concerns were voiced abouthousing and the fines charged at theend of theyear. One student saidshe was charged $30 for a showercurtain left in her apartment and

questioned the "outrageous Mfine," adding that when she!moved into the Warde 1Townhouses, the walls wereonly spot painted. Manyresidents of the WardeTownhouses stated com-plaints about spot painting.The female student said,"We're called preferredhousing and we're chargedmore money to live there ...*>When it's painted tike that, Idon't buy thaf I - |JAnother student told thepanel that his friend wascharged $85 for a damageddoor in McAuley Hall thatstill wasn't fixed. The studentasked where the money wentBillingsley and Tyrone JMoore, associate dean of[student services, asked thatstudents with housingproblems see Moore or BillKerbusch in maintenance^F *The problem will beaddressed within 48 hours if Billingsley said. Headded that he feels some ofthe fees are out of line and hesaid he will re-evaluate them.A question was raisedabout restrictive policiesconcerning the number of A'sgiven in a course. Accordingto some students, many vprofessors say they've beentold to restrict the number ofA's given, which in turn ^lowers the overall grade pointaverage of students and makesit harder for graduates tocompete for admission tograduate school.Dr. William P. Oarvey,president, responded, "Well,that is very encouraging thatthey (professors) are restrict-ing A's. I t's in your bestinterest that the A's berestricted. Throughout the

country, there is a seriousproblem with grade inflation.Because of that, there is moreand m ore disregard for theQPA 's. Getting into graduateschool increasingly dependson the score you get on yourCRE's because they can'ttrust the grades.What we have done is anattempt to drive grades,encourage faculty to be morechallenging in awardinggrades so that an A means

something... so we arecontinue as being part competitive college incommitment to create academically challengienvironment," GarveyOne student said thfaculty members talk apolicy and tell a class tdon't agree with the repolicy and say that theadhere to t ILA question was about restrictivecies concerning number of A's ga course. I

The student said, "Inoticed that you' ve useword *we* in decidin. A's or in encouraging faculty, Lwas curious aWhether the faculty wasthis decision, because Inever had a faculty memprofessor forany of mythat have agreed to thisfact, al mosf al1, if not afaculty that I have had fhave blatantly told the cfirst day about the policthey do not support it Icurious as to why the pothe way it is if you havefaculty and various eduwho are supposed to enand are not endorsing iMany students res pwith clapping. G arvey s"extremely disappointethe faculty would makecomments, i.J*4Academic standardresponsibility of everybthey (professors) don 't wcommit to the standardsinstitution, they shouldout in front of theapprocommittees of thecollegstand in front of a classrpander to the popularitystudents... the faculty'simportant, but it is not tvoice,'' he said. Garveyany questions regardingpolicy should be raised academic dean.Issues dealing with iing enrollment were alsodiscussed. Many studenthey were upset becauseSee Forum, page 2

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DECEMBER 17,1998ARTS& TH E MEROADENTERTAINMENTG u e s t a r t i s t i n r e s i d e n c eMercyhurst wel-comesinationallyrecognized moti-vational speakerBy Alison GiesMerciad writerAlan Scofield, a nationallyrecognized motivational moverand creativity expert, will be aguest artist in residence with thedance department Jan. 5 to 9.He will host a series of classes,workshops and lectures atDanceSpace. His visit is partiallyfunded by an Academic Enrich-ment Grant.Scofield is the founding Directorof Young Imaginations, an agencyfor arts education. He has workedall over the country with corpora-tions and schools and on theprofessional stage to h elp individu-als find "their strength and

inspirations to perform withexcellence." t ]His series at the college willfocus on unifying the mind andbody through movem ent Classeson improvisation are open forstudents and faculty t o observethroughout the week.'The Challenge of Stayinginspired," a lecture and slide show,will be held Jan. 7 at 8 p. mWnTaylor little Theater ;"Stirring Young 1 maginations," aworkshop with a goal to "spark theimagination and help childrenacquire creative too ls," will beheld Jan. 9 from 10 a.m. to noonfor children and their parents.The series ends with a seminar,'Time and Energy at Your tCommand," Jan. 9 at 1:30 p. m.There is no fee for participation inthe series. >All classes and talks are open forobservation by students, faculty orcommunity m embers.For more information call theMercyhurst dance department atEXL2256. . ia fcsForward Hall

Not your typicalcoffeehouseBy BUI MelvilleMerciad editorWhen most people want to see livemusic i n Erie, three options areavailable the Warner Theater, abar such as Th e DocksiderorCalam ari's, or a small coffee-house. However, there is anotheroption, the Forward H all, a newcoffeehouse/music club whichcaters to eclectic m usic tastes.The Forward Hall was opened bythe same people who own fGrasshopper, a hippie boutique, afew doors down^Atfirstglance, itlooks similar to other coffee-houses, except for the dance floorand large stage near the back wall.Several sets of couches arearranged near the stage as well,and a large coffee bar sits alongone of the walls.During the w eek, the ForwardHall is relatively quiet, making it aperfectplace to study whileenjoying a few cups of coffee.The weekends, however, are adifferent story. ^For a m inimal cover charge(usually $5), one can see a bandwithout the worry of going to a

bar Thus far, the Forward Hall hashosted such bands as The Recipe,The Derek Trucks Band andsev eral other acts touring thecountry. Both bands played tolarge crowds.i 1Local favorites such as HypnoticClambake and Cleveland'sEkoostik Hookah have also played.Clambake will play the upcomingNew Year's Eve show, iOther upcoming shows includeYolk, who play Saturday, Donnathe Buffalo Jan. 15, andMercyhurst's Gloss Jan. 22.Even though the Forward Hall isa relatively new establishment, ithas a lived-in feel to it, withhardwood floors and tapestriesadourning the walls. Despite itssize, the Forward Hall is an easyplace to get comfortable in.Senior Allison Byrnes, w horegularly spends several nights aweek at the Forward Hall, said,'The Forward Hall is just whatErie needs. It's huge, it's comfort-able, and it offers g reat music. It'smuch better than any othercoffeehouse in Erie."Currently, the Forward Hall isopen from 5-11 p.m.Thursday toSaturday. On band nights, it staysopen later. jThe Forward Hall is located atWest 24th and Peach Streets.

r Alan Scofield, seen here at one of his motivational seminars, will be a guest artist in esidenceat tMercyhurst dance department Jan. 5 t o 9. He will hold several lectures throughout his stay.H o l i d a y (movie l ineupBy Heather CvitkovicMerciad editorThe holiday season is a time whenproduction companies put out theirbiggest movies of the year and thisholiday is no exception,Warner Brothers is releasing twonew movies this season andDreamWorks, Steven Spielberg'sbrainchild, is eleasinga cartoon.The first elease,which came outDec, 11, is "Jack Frost," starringMichael Keaton."Jack Frost" is the tale of a manwho's trying to be a father, ahusband and a breadwinner whilehe's trying to do what he loves todo. Ultimately he ealizes hat ifyou don't pay attention to thepeople dearest in your life family you could lose itall.Jack, an often-traveling bluesmusician, spent little time with hisson.| Rushing home one eveninghe is killed in a car accident andrealizes the mistake of not beingthere for his son. His mourning sonbuilds a snowman in homage, andJack "came to life one day* torepair lost time.In addition to Keaton, the filmstars Kelly Preston and is directedby Troy Miller. It has receivedfairly decent reviews, achievingthree stars. It is rated PG for somemild language. It is definitely aholiday movie that children andadults can enjoy.Warner Brothers is also releasinga love story this season.' In a film*

that could have been called"Sleepless in Manhattan," TomHanks and Meg Ryan play NewYorkers who can' t stand eachother in person but are completelycompatible on-line in "You ve GotMail," which opens Dec 18.The film ells the story ofKathleen Kelly, played by Ryan,who owns a children's bookstorein New York. It is a profitablestore, until Foxbooks, a mega-chain of super-sized bookstores,!begins building across the street.Joe Fox, Hanks' character, anexecutive with the family-ownedfirm, is directly responsible for thisparticular branch; K athleen *idespises Joe. The future of hervery livelihood is in jeopardy.When the two are not workingthey are logged onto their comput-ers, where each has met a wonder-ful friend. Little do they know thatthey are talking to each other.The movie has received a lot ofpraise. Many critics are saying thatthis movie, in combination with"Frost/' will save the falteringWarner Brothers studio. Thosewho have attended early screen-ings were pleased with the movie.Last is DreamWorks' productionof the Bible-based"Prince ofEgypt," A lot of publicity sur-rounds this movie, and even Wal-Mart is promoting it.The movie is DreamWorks firstattempt at an animated cartoon andone of he first times any moviestudio has attempted to do a

cartoon with such strong themes. ?The movie tells the storMoses, who led the slaveEgypt and of Ten Commafame. It opens in Egypt asHebrew mother places herson in a basket and puts thein the river. After a perilojourney, the basketfloatsroyal palace where it is spthe queen. She approachebasket and marveling at thbeautiful baby inside, adoas his own Shenames himMoses lives his life beliis the son of the pharaoh ucalled by God to lead the sout of Egypt. From there this well-known history.The movie is based on thof Exodus" in the Bible. \DreamWorks employed setheologians to ensure thatfollowed the scripture accuThe fact that this moviestrong religious themes has

up quite a bi of controverpeople in the religious comare angered by the fact thathe greatest triumphs in reltradition is being portrayedcartoon. .The movie features the vValKilmer, Michelle PfeiRalph Fiennes, Sandra BuJeff Goldblum. It is rated PGthe intense depiction of elerelated to the struggle of thpeople leavingEgypt. It win theaters everywhere Dec

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PAGE 4 THE MERQAD DECEMBER 17,1998

OPINIONEditorial*Sa ve the treesBy now, it would be safe to *-assume that m ost students (if notall) are aware of the new copyingpolicy the administration plans toimplement after wh iter break.While we are sure that nothingbut good intentions lay at the |root of this endeavor, we cannot Onedraft alone may be' 30pages or more. (Keep in mindthat these projects require severaldrafts and numerous pages ofcopied research in order to reachcompletion.)Unfortunately, that means thestudents will have to cough upthe dough for the third or fourth(sometimes fifth and sixth)drafts. That, as we are all know,would be quite expensive indeed.Do not m isunderstand thepoint. We are not advocatingthat the school pay for all theexpenses we incur as studentshere.We simply feel that restrictingthe number of copies for the

second half of the academic yearto 100 appears unreasonable tomany students, especial1yupperclassmen. ,While efforts to dispel excesscopying is commendable,'perhaps a solution better suitedto the needs of the studentswould be more effective. Thereare other options. &-. & >We wonder if the administra-tion considered those?At least through our forcedconservation we are all doing ourpart to help the environmentf*

Impeachment looms

l;*'e Hi e E PU&UCMS

Shawntae frioward

CXMPUSQU. EiS TIO N"I think the copy card is a goodidea, but thecomputer servic e'charge should be omitted fromour tuition."Patrick ForeFreshman. Political Science"I disagree, I think we arepaying enough through thecomputer fee." *'Nicole SeneseFreshman, Computer Systems"This copy card idea is yetanother attempt to gain morerevenue from the students. Don'twe already pay a computerfee?* *Paul IckesSophomore, R/JAP"As long as they have a decentamount of copies free per year, Idon't see a problem with it." ;Curtis Walsh"I think it is a bad idea becausewe pay a computer fee andtuition. To pay for paper isunreasonable, especially withseniors working on projects.*?Alicia Oliver >Senior/HRIM *MI think that we need to con-

The Mercians inquasked students howabout the new copydiscussed at the recforum.think sider what the an academic institutiwhether or not these are here to service thneeds of the studentsthe amount of paperneeds ID be done awapay enough in fees asWalter Szpak e#*&Senior, R/IAP"I understand that evshould be saving paplimiting the amount tand charging us for thoutof line." TJocelyn Plttser Junior, Interior Desig"I think that it is a goobecause I have neverthan 100 copies in thyears that I have beenJack O'Donnell i 'Junior, Criminal Justi"There is no reason whave to pay for extra cbecause the computeralready on our tuitionWhere is all that monRyan SnoekSophomore, Businessmentrests' with Senate

HaverKari Wells

The subject is nauseating. It iseverywhere we look, but I amforced this week to express how Ifeel about the impeachmentprocess currently underway.Newspapers, m agazines andtelevision will not let us escapethe hearings in W ashington, yetpeople do not seem to care. Whyis this? f * ? iThe looming event is one ofhuge proportions. The majorityof citizens do not w ant himimpeached, but nothing is beingdone. People are becoming moreapathetic to the political process^as a whole.I am a political science m ajor,but I have been doing all that Ican to avoid the impeachmenthearings. I cannot speak foreveryone, but I feeL an over-whelming sense of defeat Thereis a feeling of hopelessness, andthere is nothing I can do to stopthis mockery of the Americanpolitical system. ^What is most discouraging isthat the Republicans mightactually win. This must be thefeeling the Rebels experienced at

the end of "The Empire StrikesBack" (not that Clinton or theDemocrats are anywhere close tobeing on par w ith LukeSky walker o r Han Solo).The R epublicans have beentrying to Impeach Clinton sincehe was first elected into office.They have embarked on anendless stream of campaigns andinvestigations to dig up enoughdirt to get rid of him, includingWhitewater, illegal campaigncontributions and Paula Jones.

They have spent millions oftaxpayer dollars trying tooverthrow a man who was -elected by those same taxpayers.I am screaming at the top ofmy lungs, "Why is this beingallowed to happen?!!" -If Clinton is impeached, AlGore will become the nextpresident, which would not beterrible considering he will bethe popular incumbent in the2000 election. Many people haveexpressed this sentiment as a

way to rationalize why weshould not retaliate forCongress's current actions.There are two problems w iththis argument *The urst problem is that theRepublicans are not stopping *with Clinton. In fact, they arealso investigating Gore, hopingto tarnish his reputation.My second problem with the"Goreas president" argument isthat the Congress is performingan illegal function of their power.

Clinton should neverasked a single questiosex life. Ejaculation is"high crime o r misdemCongress and Repubtrying to gain more poexpense of our constitWe can only hope thSenate has more brainHouse of Representatithat the new year willend to all news coveraMonica Lewinsky andcharges.

Have Mercy i B y I JHhawnkae. M'&iovu/allj L 'S jvs++tot -rhS P*p*rf

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DECEMBER 17.1998Th e m ail bagStudent upset with portrayal of Police and Safety DepartmentTHE MERCIAD PA

I am writing this to address myconcerns on the articles pub-lished in the Oc t 2 9 issue of theMerciad.I With all due respect to thewriters, whom I would like tothink of as educated individualssince they are Mercyhurststudents, the articles that mentionour* v Police and Security Depart-ment were very upsetting, to saythe least I *uI am neither employed by, nordirectly connected to the Policeand Security Department here oncampus. I am just a student withenough education to recognizepoor journalism and biasreporting.A reputable new spaper shouldreport honest facts and informa-1tion. It should not instill n egativ-ity, nor should it present such a,distorted view that the readersare allowed to o r should I say begforced to view an entity such asour 'Police and Security Depart-ment in an unjustifiable light

I n order to provide a moresecure environment for allstudents on cam pus, the transi-tion to a Police and SecurityDepartment was allowed afterdirect review and evaluation ofthe necessity.The personnel employed by thePolice and Security Departmentare all professionally trained andcertified to provide the bestservice and protection available:Take for instance, OfficerDonald Ott. Officer Ott is aseasoned veteran of theEriePolice Department, who hasdecided to render his profession-alism and training to enhance ourdepartment's reputation.The allegations highlighted inthe Oct. 29 issue of the Merciadconcerning the elevator incidentrest dangerously on slander,libel, and defamation of charac-ter. If I were Officer Ott, I wouldnot hesitate to resolve the

apparent bias and lies in courtThe allegations printed by thepaper, were not only damagingto the overall image of the Jofficer, but also to the depart-;ment My concern p rimarily isthat other individuals, not onlystudents, read this paper and toprovide a forum for such anegative view of ourdepartmentis definitely in poor taste. ;The least the paper could have*done w as substantiate the ,allegations. A sentence whichindicated that Officer Ott couldnot be reached for comment onlyindicated to me and possibly toothers that the paper was rushedfor deadline. The M erciad shouldattempt to present itself as astudent published paper with *|dignity and straight forth honest'reporting;' ^ t,For a paper to print suchallegations without fully investi-gating the validity of the matterreflects a disservice to all of us.When one reads of the con-ceived shortcomings of a Policeand Security Department, thedamage produced is appalling tothose seeking to understand andlearn the truth. $.Officer Ott, probably becausehe is so professional, will takethe insults in stride and continueto do a professional job. I don'thave to put up with this. This isprimarily why I am responding.I can recall an incident, very irecently mind you, when OfficerOtt ana other professionals ofour Police and Security Depart-ment were involved in saving thelives of a few students oncampus who drank themselvesinto unconscious stages. Theircondition was so bad, they had tobe taken to the hospital, and fromthe time of discovery to arrival,they w ere completely unrespon-sive. *To understand the seriousnessof such an incident, imagineMEPOAD

Jessi GentileCarr ie TappeStephen Nolan?Bill Melville $Heather CvitkovicKarl WellsJessica RussellShawntae Howad

Editor-in-ChiefNews EditorSports EditorFeatures EditorA&E EditorSenior WriterPhotographyCartoonskTheJMerciad is the student-produced newspaper of Mercyhurst

Bo x 161,501 East 38th St |16546. Phone: 824-2376.Th e M erc iad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters mustm e rvierc withheld on request under

,

be sicned but your name can oe wjumwu v,.. ^vv^^rS S S J i . Letters a* due on the Tuesday^beforepublicatiorfand should be no longer *an 500 words

being so intoxicated that -nothing, even amm onia ampulesunder the nose, could not reviveyou. The arrival of paramedicsand the immediate responsive-ness, as well as theprofessionaltraining of our Police andSecurity Department saved thelives of these students. I wonderif they said "thank you?"If Officer Ott was so insensi-tive as the Merciad tried todepict him, someone may havedied or at least went to jail orcourt, neither of which occurredor would have been a desirablealternative. **** * *' ^A similar incident at EdiriboroUniversity recently cost a fewstudents an arrest and morenotoriety than wasnecessary.-The incident was published inall the area papers and thestudents have yet to feel the fullimpact of their actions.Thank you, Officer Ott foriyour understanding and yourcompassion in handling thecases here differently. I am surethe students involved in theincidents here at least will nothave to suffer the embarrass-ment of a criminal record alongwith the embarrassment of thehospital v isitFurthermore, an issue regard-ing response time to the smokealarm during the play wasmmentioned. If I recall the articlesai d about 10 mi nutes passed' ..Why wasn't it mentioned thatthe total ti me included receivingthe call, arrival of the officers,locating the problem, diagnosisof theproblem and its finalresolution?The paper saw fit to attack our

Police and Security DepartmentYes, I say our Police and SecurityDepartment because thanks totheir efforts a disaster wasprevented, especially since thealarm is only a local one whichdoes notringdirectly'to the fire;department Also not one wordwas mentioned about the imbecilewhoattempted to usea fryerlocated near a smoke alarm.Let's get real. How aboutreporting the facts? The P oliceand Security' Department hasattempted numerous times toprevent embarrassment to the Mstudents here.'Just ask those who*'!have had contact How many havereally received harsh penalties?Did you know "underage drink-ing" could land you a stiff fineand possible suspension of your .driving privileges as well as otherpunitive restrictions if the matterwas referred to the courts insteadof being handled in house?Our Police and SecurityDepartment is here to serve andmaintain the tranquil setting we?are all proud of. The officers,whom the paper would have you jbelieve spend all their time"busting beer parties," have in*fact went over board to help guidethe students on the right rackwithout undue embarrassmentThis is not the case on othercampuses.We would indeed have a lotmore serious incidents on thiscampus i f our officers were not asalert and well trained as they are.[- I just would like to seea properpositive image reflected of w hichall of us could be proud. After all,it is our Police and SecurityDepartmentOne student made a remark

about maybe now we can gbike racks since our PoliceSecurity Department will beinstituting a bike patrol oncampus. I w onder if she hasconsidered how much saferwill be once it is in effect?The next time you see onour Police and S ecurity Depment officers, take ume to sand say "hello." You willfireal caring person behind thbadge. Don t knock what yodon t understand. No mattewhat the paper says or printWhen the police respond tyour *beer party," ask youryou and your friends createown Frankenstein by breakithe rules or law and createdsituation w hereas someone in a complaint When you thabout it, that's the real reasopolice responded there in thplace. They d on't just cruisaround looking for parties tbreak up. Someone has to cin first Think about it fIn cohclusion, I would likappeal to all the students atMercyhurst to speak up andyour voice be heard when oPolice and Security Departmis attacked by rumors and vlies.

Ray AbdelazizDue to length, portions ofletter were no tprinted.

m

Edito r's note: The article osmoke alarm at the PAC waletter to the editor. The Merstands by its reporting of thealleged elevator incident

The security of a promiseSkedaddleBarb Tompko

On the back pages of thenewspaper, wars are fought,nations collapse and greatdiscoveries are made.A whole other life exists. Catalysts take shape, andburgeoning dictators get theirstart as insignificant d etails.Some of ihemost importantinformation winds up on thejournalistic back burner asgroundwork for future antago-nism. -I (Perhaps it is anachronistic, butI have always assumed that "apromise is a promise." It is a*sacred trust that you do not takeadvantage of. *Flipping through the remote,clustered sections of the Sundaypaper, vajnly searching for anarticle relating somehow toliberal education, I happened

upon a piece regarding Russiannuclear enhancem ent (According to the article, stepsare being taken to construct anuclear reactor in Iran w ithRussia's help. By building thisreactor, Russia is aiding theIranians in developing nucleartechnology. J.Russia's justification for this aidlies in a 1995 promise betweenthe two nations in wh ich Russiaagreed to help Iran establish a1,000-megawatt light-water,reactor in die country. Gallantly,of course, Russia must honor itscommitment *gTapping into my vault of trivialknowledge; I was able to discernthat in January 1993 another(apparently less binding) vow wasmade between Russia and theUnited States.This treaty, START II, mutuallyagreed to eliminate the heavyproduction of ICBM's (Interconti-nental Ballistic Missiles), anddramatically reduce the totalnumber of strategic weapons bytwo-thirds.

Weassured each other of steadfast desire to eradicatenuclear weapons. Weacknoedged our mistakes and madamends for ou r posterity andourselves*We assumed that die insenthoughts weconjured wouldnever be sold or replicated.Since die collapse of the SUnion, die United States hasmoderately subsidized R ussnuclear scientists to distract from a temptation to sell theexpertise. A pparently, die mand the promise were notenough.But, it takes two parties toabandon a principle. Themajority of Am ericans areuneducated on this issue, orsimply m isled. As citizens,also have an obligation touphold.Irrational decisions mayoverpower realism. But, is irational to forfeit thesecuritthe entire world?Russia seems to think so

*

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PAGE 6 TH E MEROAD DECEMBER 17.1998

F E A T U R E S - -Three Finish DoctoratesBy Bill MelvilleMerciad editorA doctorate usually constitutesthe highest degree offered inmost fields of study, and usuallytake about seven years tocomplete.Recently, three members of theMercyhurst community, JoanneMcGurk, Tom Forsthoefel andGerry Tobin com pleted doctor-ates in their respective fields. *McGudc, instructor of English,has taught at Mercyhurst since1988. She began course work forher doctorate in 1994 at theIndiana University of Pennsylva-nia, and successfully defendedher dissertation there thisOctober. McGurk taught f ul 1*time during her doctoral work.In her dissertation, McGurkfocused on rhetoric and linguis-t i c s . "Questioning Theory:Bakhtinian Reflections on aCollege Writing Curriculum**refers to 20th Century Russiantheorist Mikhail Bak htin, whosecritical works have gainedprominence in the last 20 years.When asked how finishing herdoctoral work felt, McGurk said,"It was kind of bittersweet^because I enjoyed writing thedissertation, but it also felt goodto complete things.**Forsthoefel, assistant professorof religious studies since 1997,had his dissertation accepted inOctober as well. This Friday, hewill attend his graduation atUniversity of Chicago.During the last year, \Forsthoefel has spent nearly allhis free time Working on hisfc

Dr. Joanne McGurk Dr. Tom Forsthoefeldissertation. He describes theexperience, which he began in1991, as "the hardest thing I everhad to do."In his dissertation, Forsthoefelused a philosophical analysis ofreligious experience. For hissources, he primarily usedcontemporary Western religionand philosophy. To supplementthat material, he used medievalSanskrit texts dealing with thenature of the divine and religiousexperience and the works ofcontemporary Indian mystics.Forsthoefel, whose educationalbackground is in South Asianreligions, said he hopes thedissertation will help himprovide better understanding inthe Hinduism course he willteach during spring term.Before coming to Mercyhurstthis year, Gerry Tobin, directorof counseling services, spent ayear at Norwich University inVermont fulfilling pre-doctoralinternship requirements. AtLoyola University, where hecompleted his Ph.D, all candi-dates must complete a 2,000- yhour internship, which Tobinaid amounts to a full vear of

Photos by Gerritt ShuffstallDr. Gerry Tobin

work.For his dissertation, Tobinfocused on how late adolescentstry to examine their lives withinthe context of faith development"One of the highlights of lateadolescence is the cognitivecapacity to analyze the events intheir 1 ives, particularl y painfulexperiences, and to attempt tomake sense of God in theirlives,'* Tobin said, regarding hisdissertation."I'm glad to be finishedworking on it, but even moreprofoundly, I'm glad it's nolonger working on me. There'ssomething in choosing all of thisthat's vocational for me. It's partof who I am,** he added.

Tutoring: notjust a paycheckBy Bill MelvilleMerciad EditorFor senior Research/ IntelligenceAnalyst Program/computerscience major Oto HIincik, sparetime is not frequent Between!research papers and playinghockey and tennis, however,HJincik still finds time to tutorother students.While we often hear about the*motivations of people who needhelp, we don't often hear thereasons why some people chooseto become tutors. * jjIn the case of H lincik, who hasbeen a tutor for three years, theinitial satisfaction of helping

people came in terms of money,but soon he realized that byhelping other students/he helpedhimself. *"At first I needed the extramoney. Later I realized thathelping others to understand thematerial reinforced my ownknowledge. Generally, I learn alot by helping the students withtheir assignments,** Hlincik said.Hlincik said he began totutor during his sophomore year,when he felt ready to help otherstudents in subjects he studiedpreviously.In addition to feeding hisknowledge, Hlincik said he feelsgratification when he sees

students who begin to understanddifficult concepts after a tutoringsessions."It makes me feel really goodwhen the people I tutor get agood grasp on material that theythought was incomprehensible.They are often amazed and lookforward to the next class wherethey can demonstrate what theyhave learned,** Hlincik said.Students who need help withassignments or with understand-ing course material can findtutors like Hlincik through thetutoring program. A list of tutorsappears on the bulletin board'across from Egan 10 if you areinterested.

Linville co-authors pawith Nobel laureateBy Karl RepenningMerciad writerMercyhurst professor routinelyco-author books and papers withprofessors from other universi-ties. But few are like D r. DonaldLinville assistant professor ofbiology, who co-authored apaper with a*J998 Nobel Prize 1laureate/Linville, originally fromBingham ton, N. Y., earned his undergraduate degree in biologyfrom Cornell University and laterearned bis doctoral in pharmacol-ogy from the Southern IllinoisUniversity. He later traveled toMontreal, Canada, where heworked on postdoctoral researchat McGill Un iversity."t: Around that time* it wasdiscovered that there was amolecule that would cause theblood vessels in the body todilate. This enzyme is callednitric oxide, or NO. Ferid Murad,who later won the Nobel Prizefor medicine this year, was ableto explain how this moleculeworked.Linville knew that there was a^pharmaceutical out there that ,.would block the synthesis of NOin the bloodflow,more specifi-cally, in the cerebral cortex ofthe brain. This idea became themain focus of Linville*s doctoralstudy at McGill. In 1990, the twomen collaborated their informa-tion on nitric oxide and presentedit together in St. Louis.

Photo: GerrDr. Donald Lin

When asked how ting came about, Linviplained, "My adviser was the primary investhe study and w as worMurad at the time."When asked to desexperience, while keepmind that many studenfind themselves in a sisituation, he explainedhad given plenty of prbefore this col 1 aboraft "A presentation of nalways exciting on evecan be intimidating, hknow that the room isexperts,** Linville saidLinville decided toMercyhurst because thsis is placed on teachiresearch."A larger universitymore interested in thethat you do, rather thateaching that goes on classroom. This is undable because that is wmake all their money,to teach, he said.

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8/6/2019 The Merciad, Dec. 17, 1998

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SPORTS DECEMBER. 17,1998 TH E M BROADATHLETE Hockey'sOFTHE WEEK Eric Ellis

Sophomore left-winger Eric Ellis, from Hamilton Ontario, wasnamed most valuable player at the Hamilton tournament thisweekend when the Lakers faced State University of New YorkCollege at Cortland Dec. 11 and Hamilton College Dec. 12. 4.Against Cortland Ellis had one goal and one assist to help theLakers to a 6-5 win to place them in the tournament final. ;On Dec. 12 against the Hamilton Continentals Ellis scored onegoal and had two assists in the 6-2 Laker victory.El I is has scored four goals and has seven assists for the season.

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The club team returnwinning ways Dec. 5 asoundly defeated St Bon their own ice 10-3.Coach Bill Shannon his multi-talented goalMcKinnon who scoredan assist Senior wingeBertani had two ]victory. WThe Lakers won agaweekend at John Carrosity 9-0. Freshman goaNick Lordi recorded hicareer shutout *The club team, 6-2 fseason, will play hostJan. 15 at 7 p.m. in thehurst Ice Center.

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8/6/2019 The Merciad, Dec. 17, 1998

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PACE 8 THE MERC3AD DECEMBER 17,1998LAKERSPORTS

M e r c y h u r s t s u r v i v e s ! s c a r e . w i n s H a m i l t o n T o u n r n a m e n tBY David LeiseringMerciad writer

It was a tale of two differentperformances by the M ercyhurstLaker hockey team last weekendat the Hamilton Tournam entMercyhurst survived a scareFriday afternoon againstCortland State, a team that was1-11 entering the game, and thendominated Hamilton Saturday enroute to its first tournamentchampionship of the season.**We did not play very wellagainst Cortland, Mercyhurst 0head coach Rick Gotkin said. "Itwas kind of a wake-up call for usand we responded by playing avery good game againstHamilton." , *In Friday's match, Mercyhurstneeded freshman Tom