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KEEPING AN EYE ON P.I.Mauro, students earn college $250kgrant to continue peninsula research

‘Hurst up against tough competition in RecycleMania

Page 3 Page 4

Worldwide, people’s

voices need to be heard

Page 6

Photo essay: P.U.C.K.at ‘Hurst

Page 8

Read the story on Page 2

ErieiteAppetite:Calamari’s

Tyler Stauffer photos

NEWSPage 2 February 2, 2011

Mercyhurst College Assistant Professor of Biology Steven Mauro, Ph.D., recently helped the college secure a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA).

He and a team of Mercyhurst students have researched contaminants in Presque Isle State Park’s recreational waters since 2006. The grant will enable such research to continue.

“Over the course of the last fi ve years, 26 students have done summer research projects,” Mauro said.

A major portion of the sizable grant is used to pay student salaries and purchase equipment the students need to conduct their research. The remainder of the money goes to giving the students opportunities to present their research at scientifi c meetings.

“We do the research, but at the end of our process, we submit our data to the health professionals, and we provide suggestions on where contaminants might be coming from based on the data that we have,” Mauro said.

He and the students also offer possible solutions to the contamination based on their results.

The remediation plans provide research-based sug-gestions to government agencies and health offi cials.

Mauro explained what the students did during the water testing process.

“We started off trying to determine what’s in the waters in a faster way than it is normally done,” Mauro said.

Normally, water testing can take 24 hours or longer, which means that people may be swimming in poten-tially contaminated water for a day or more before anyone is aware of it.

During the water testing, “we look for pharmaceu-ticals that people may have fl ushed down the toilet” Mauro said, “along with agricultural contamination, such as estrogen given to cows and Diuron, a chemical which is a fertilizer, along with Fluoxetine, the active ingredient in anti-depressants.”

Some of these substances fi nd their way into the lake because Erie’s wastewater treatment plants elimi-nate enviro-contaminants, such as bacteria and viruses, but treatment does not get rid of all the chemicals that fi nd their way into the system.

Once the student researchers fi nd the likely source of the contaminants, health offi cials use the research results to prevent that source from further accessing the waste treatment system.

Testing is done on Presque Isle Beaches One, Two, Six and 10. Beaches One and Two tend to be more con-taminated than the others tested.

Mauro explained how Mercyhurst qualifi ed for the EPA grant.

“We decided the project was doable and that we could fulfi ll all of the grant requirements,” he said. “We proposed a good project, and we know what we’re doing.”

By Mike GallagherContributing writer

’Hurst receives grant to research, protect Presque Isle beaches

Mercyhurst College received a $250,000 grant to research contaminants in Presque Isle State Park’s waters. Testing is done on Presque Isle Beaches One, Two, Six and 10.

Tyler Stauffer photo

Larceny Friday, Jan. 28

BurglaryThursday, Jan. 27

Grotto Dining RoomClosed

3808 Briggs Ave.Closed

Liquor Law Violation Friday, Jan. 28

3926 Lewis Ave.College discipline

Liquor law violationSaturday, Jan. 29

Duval ApartmentsCollege discipline

Jan. 27 - 29, 2011

News BriefStudents help others during spring break

Several Mercyhurst College students will spend their spring break in San Pedro, Honduras, helping children and youth living with HIV and AIDS.The students will help at the Casa Corazón de la Misericodia

(Heart of Mercy House) orphanage.The orphanage was started by two Honduran Sisters of

Mercy in response to the urgent need to care for the increasing number of children with HIV who were orphaned or aban-doned due to the death of a parent from an AIDS-related illness.The students are seeking donations to help these children.

All donations will go directly to the orphanage.To donate to this mission, e-mail Marta Baran at mbaran@

mercyhurst.edu.

Page 3February 2, 2011 NEWS

’Hurst competes in RecycleMania

The RecycleMania initiative is a friendly competition in which col-leges and universities across the country seek to maximize recycla-ble waste, while minimizing non-recyclable waste within a prescribed time period.

In other words, we’re up against bigger schools to save as much as possible.

The competition begins on Feb. 6 and ends on April 2. Participat-ing colleges are required to provide recyclable and non-recyclable waste weight totals prior to the start of the competition.

These weight amounts will be compared to the weight totals taken

at the end of the competi-tion in order to calculate a recycling rate, which will deter-mine Mer-cyhurst’s place in both state and national standings.

Gannon and Penn State Behrend are also competing in this year’s RecycleMania competition.

The main objective of Recy-cleMania is to promote sustain-ability practices and increase students’ eco-awareness through-out college communities across the nation.

All members of the Mercyhurst

com-munity are

encouraged to reduce waste and recycle as much

as possible; including members of the North East and West cam-puses.

Any student or faculty member seeking additional information about RecycleMania and how they can support Mercyhurst’s participa-tion can contact Brittany Prischak, Mercyhurst’s Sustainability Offi cer, or the Green Team.

By David CullenContributing writer

Bins for recycling are located across the Mercyhurst campus.Jill Barrile photo

FEATURES February 2, 2011Page 4

How was spring term class

registration for you?

“I didn’t have any issues registering; I actually got into all my classes for once.”-Ann Marie Gibson, junior

“I didn’t have any prob-lems with registration. I went directly to WebAd-visor and it all went very smoothly. I did have to be signed into one class after registration, but even still, it wasn’t a problem.”-Kaleigh Hubert, sophomore

“As one of the first stu-dents in the sophomore class, I was immediately blocked out of all my classes, except my major classes. Scheduling is definitely not conducive to a working student and makes maintaining a job difficult at times.”-Joe Pudlick, sophomore

Erieite Appetite: Calamari’s

With friendly service and fan-tastic food, Calamari’s Squid Row Restaurant offers an exceptional eating experience.

The atmosphere is relaxed and laid back, allowing customers to walk in and seat themselves wherever they would like. Within

30 seconds, a server appeared at our table, ready to take our drink orders and give us menus.

The menu has a wide variety of foods, including flat bread pizzas, salads, wraps, soups and burgers.

A portion of the menu is devoted to the Strip District of Pittsburgh, with sandwiches made in the style of Primanti Brothers restaurants.

I ordered artichoke dip as an appetizer and the Keystone Burger for an entrée.

After ordering, the appetizer only took about 10 minutes to arrive at our table, hot and ready to eat. The creaminess of the dip and the saltiness of the deep-fried pita chips went well together, and the burger had flavor to match.

It was cooked exactly the way I asked and was smothered with American cheese, bacon and bar-becue sauce. The side of onion rings were nicely breaded and had a good crunch.

Throughout our meal, many of the staff stopped at our table to see how everything tasted. They were extremely friendly and seemed genuinely interested in making our meal enjoyable.

The location of the restaurant, however, is not the greatest.

Calamari’s is located at 1317 State Street, close to the Cell Block. This can make it very dif-ficult for carless Mercyhurst stu-dents to reach the restaurant.

The location is the only off-

putting aspect that I could find about this establishment for college students. The food was incredible and the service was unbeatable. I would highly rec-ommend this restaurant to any student on campus, provided you can get there.

By Liz ZuraskyStaff writer

Groundhog Day provides students with shadow opportunities

Groundhog Day is upon us, and people are eagerly waiting to see if winter is nearing its end or if we’ll have another six weeks of it. Groundhog Day, held on Feb. 2, originates from German customs brought from Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Mercyhurst College Com-munication Department has come up with its own way to celebrate Groundhog Day—by having its students participate in a shadow day.

On Wednesday, a dozen commu-nication students will be excused from classes to shadow a local pro-fessional working in the communi-cation fi eld.

“The communication depart-ment chair, Dr. Anne Zaphiris, pioneered this event three years ago for her students to gain hands-on experience in the com-munication field,” said Hilary Mando, the department’s gradu-ate assistant.

“The date just happened to fall during the winter term, which led her to pair it with Groundhog Day. Besides, what better way is there to celebrate the groundhog seeing its shadow?”

Students will be shadowing local organizations and professionals such as:

• Erie Community Access Tele-vision’s (CATV) production coor-dinator

• Erie Insurance’s Strategic Mar-keting Department

• Mercyhurst College’s Public

Relations/Marketing director• The associate director of public

relations and the director of corpo-rate communication at ERIEZ.

“We hope that it will ultimately prepare them for the next step in their careers,” Mando said. “This is a great networking event for stu-dents as well as a chance for them to practice how to act appropriately and professionally in a work envi-ronment.”

The shadowing opportunity is both an exciting and highly edu-cational experience for communi-cation students. They will have a chance not only to experience what it is like to work in the communica-tion fi eld, but will have a chance to explore the area most interesting to them.

One of the students participat-ing, senior Kristen Ribelli, will be

shadowing at WJET-TV with week-end Sports Anchor Ken Brown, as well as the main Sports Anchor Craig Smylie. Ribelli’s dream job is reporting at athletic events, so the shadowing opportunity was a par-ticularly exciting one.

“We see the sports on TV, but what really goes into it? I hope to gain great insights and tips from professionals who have had experi-ence in this fi eld and can teach what goes into being a knowledgeable sports reporter/anchor,” Ribelli said.

Another participating student, sophomore Aaron Loncki, will be shadowing LECOM’s marketing department.

“Classes only show you so much,” Loncki said. “I don’t know exactly what path I want to take, but I’ll know it when I see it.”

By Lynn DulaStaff writer

Calamari’s offers an artichoke dip appetizer.Liz Zurasky photo

The Keystone Burger entree is offered at Calamari’s.

Liz Zurasky photo

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Page 5February 2, 2011

Erie Festival of Dance creates sense of community

Mercyhurst College hosted the biannual Erie Festival of Dance this past weekend.

The Festival of Dance is an Erie Dance Consortium event founded in 2000 to help bring the dance organizations in the Erie commu-nity together.

The festival certainly accom-plishes that task. Currently under consortium president Sarah Purvis, the sixth dance festival presented more than 20 local groups in two onstage perfor-mances and several other small vignettes.

The two large performances, which included a “showcase” mati-nee and gala evening performance, were held in the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center on Satur-day.

Other small presentations were given in the Cummings Art Gallery during intermission as well as at the VIP reception.

Haley Bradstreet, a Mercyhurst dancer and administrative intern for this year’s festival, praised the consortium’s set up of the festival.

“I think — because it occurs every other year — the festival is a really special event,” she said.

“It brings all Erie’s artistic minds together. Also, having a gala and a showcase gives everyone a chance to perform.

“It also gives performers a chance to watch one another. The little performances create a whole day of dancing. It’s not just a performance, it’s an event,” she said.

Along with the local talents,

the festival featured Lehrer Dance from Buffalo, N.Y. The dynamic group took the stage with comedic and athletic feats that dazzled all in attendance.

Senior dance major Christine Wilbur was particularly excited by

Lehrer’s presence at the festival.“They were a great addition to

the festival. It opened up so many more possibilities for all of us to learn,” Wilbur said.

Lehrer Dance taught a master class Saturday afternoon between performances for all festival par-ticipants.

More than anything, the festival serves as a fun and strong bond-ing experience for artists in the Erie community. Solveig Santillano, Mercyhurst dance professor and co-artistic director of SoMar Dance Works, said the festival really helps her to build a community within the arts.

Certainly the performances were proof that arts in Erie are flourishing. The performances not only exhibited extraordinary talents, but were very wide rang-ing in style, including everything from classical ballet to Indian cultural dance, as well as swing dance.

By encompassing all forms, enabling social connection, and exhibiting excellent artistic prow-ess, Erie’s arts scene staged quite a festival.

The Erie community has much to look forward to from the con-sortium in 2013.

By Claire HindeStaff writer

The Liturgical Dance Ensemble was one of many Erie-based groups to perform this weekend.Jill Barrile photo

Orgel’s support from family takes her to the stage

Kirstan Orgel, a sophomore music performance major, is a young woman trying to pursue what she loves, with the undy-ing support of both family and friends.

“If my parents didn’t believe in me in the beginning I don’t know if I could believe in myself now,” she said.

Orgel fi rst began singing at the age of three.

A well-rounded musician from Geneva, Ohio, who loves every-thing from opera to pop music, Orgel became serious about singing in high school.

She says she threw herself into every music ensemble and show she could get into.

The decision to major in music in college was made, and it was

quite an easy one with the support of her family and her passion for music.

Through the recommenda-tion of her voice teacher at the time, Kirstan auditioned, and was accepted to the D’Angelo School of Music.

When asked how she balances the stress of academics and her musical development, Kirstan responds saying “I do the best I can, taking everything one day at a time through the help of a few, great friends.”

Tuesday at Student Forum, Orgel performed a stunning German art song titled “Auf die Nacht in der Spinnstuben” (At Night in the Spinning Rooms), by Johannes Brahms.

Orgel says this piece was chosen for her by her vocal instructor so as to better familiarize herself with singing in the German language.

At the recital her voice sounded

beautiful, light and innocent. The piece told of longing for

love, loneliness and comparing herself to other girls.

Throughout the longing felt in the piece, it is difficult for an audience member to believe that this beautiful girl in her beautiful red gown and wavy blonde hair would be experiencing such feel-ings.

But such is the beauty of the stage when you can take on a role completely unlike your own life and make it believable to your audi-ence. And this is exactly what Orgel does.

And for Kirstan Orgel, her family’s support has helped her to become the performer that she is today.

It is their help, her strong perse-verance, and her love for music that has brought her to the stage, and molded her into the performer she is today.

By Natalie PertzContributing writer

Kirstan Orgel (right) sang a piece by Brahms this Tuesday at Student Forum.

Tyler Stauffer photo

September 3, 2008 OPINIONPage 6 February 2, 2011

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The Merciad is the official student-produced newspaper of Mercyhurst College. It is published throughout the school year, with the exception of

finals weeks. Our office is in Hirt, Room 120B. Our telephone number is (814) 824-2376.

The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and names will be included with the letters. Although we will not edit the

letters for content, we reserve the right to trim letters to fit. Letters are due Mondays. by noon and may not be more than 300 words. Submit letters to box PH 485 or via e-mail at opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu.

If you don’t want it printed . . . don’t let it happen.EditorsEthan Magoc Kelly Luoma Alaina RydzewskiVictoria GricksNick GlasierAlex StacyKaitlin BadgerTyler StaufferEthan JohnsChrissy MihalicDaniela CarcamoBill WelchBrian Sheridan

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The views expressed in the opinion section of The Merciad do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercyhurst College, the staff of The Merciad or the Catholic Church. Responses on any subject are always welcomed and can be e-mailed to opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu.

Worldwide, people’s voices need to be heard

The ‘Jasmine Revolution’ in Tunisia, the riots in Egypt and other protests throughout North Africa and the Middle East serve as a reminder that repressive gov-ernments and their business cro-nies can only be tolerated for so long. When people do not have an outlet for their rage, this is what will happen.

The civil unrest reached critical mass only when the silent major-ity could no longer tolerate low pay, unemployment, corruption and a general lack of development in all spheres of the economy and education.

In a speech a few weeks ago, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience in Qatar,

“People have grown tired of cor-rupt institutions and a stagnant political order.” She was referring to the Middle Eastern dictator-ships, but she could very well be talking about our own country. We have many comparable, but arguably less intense troubles, in the U.S.

Many elected offi cials believe that whoever receives the most votes in any election has won the “will of the people.” Whose “will of the people” are these politi-cians talking about?

On average, less than half of America’s voting population exercise its right to vote. The typical winner takes home only slightly more than half of the vote. This means that the winner of the elected office only has support from maybe a third of the voters.

The other two-thirds of the citizenry are voiceless because

their candidate lost or they opted out of voting for one reason or another. Most elected officials from both parties lack this per-spective.

It is understood that the elected offi cial speaks for a small percent-age of the most vocal part of the population. Who speaks for those that lost or didn’t vote? Should our leaders ignore the will of the rest of people?

Since the mid-1990s, our politi-cal pendulum has swung back and forth between political extremes, and people running from one side of the room to the other in des-peration.

Both political parties make promises only to fail repeatedly because of the bureaucratic mal-aise in Washington. Politicians are just not willing to achieve deci-sions on problems that will simply get worse the longer we put them off.

If any government does not listen to their public, which feels powerless, then they will look at other means to voice their con-cerns. The power of social web-sites, Twitter, cell phones, etc. can give the populace the outlet they require.

Information on these net-works spread like a virus. It created a groundswell of sup-port everywhere at once, just like what happened in Tunisia and Egypt. That is what makes mob rule so terrifying – the lack of leadership. Without a leader or some other political faction instigating the civil unrest, the government can’t destroy it and

nobody can control it. This is true “people power.”

Our country is broken. If we do nothing about these prob-lems, then we all deserve the type of leaders that are put into power. We deserve them because we allowed them to destroy our way of life.

Many people take a jaundiced eye towards politics and think their vote doesn’t mean much. I guess things will have to get much worse for much longer in this country before we all get furi-ous. We are not close to a boiling point, but things are beginning to simmer.

By Thomas SnippertStaff writer

Laker TV adds fresh comedy to lineup

It all started back in September 2010 when we decided to make a comedy show. Since that time, the idea has evolved and taken shape, and it eventually took on a life of its own. The resulting concept became something we never anticipated.

One of the first decisions made for the show was the name “Organic Banana.” Humorously, this was the very first title sug-gested and we instantly thought that it perfectly embodied the spirit of randomness that we hoped to inject into our show.

The format of “Organic Banana” is a new concept, and certainly new for Laker TV. It is the first situation comedy in the history of Laker TV. The show takes place entirely out of the studio, and it chronicles a fic-

tionalized version of our lives. Each episode has a plot that fol-lows our adventures as college students at Mercyhurst.

But “Organic Banana” is not just a sitcom, it would more accurately be classified as a “skitcom.” It is part situ-ation comedy, and part sketch comedy. In each episode, the plot is occasionally interrupted by a comedic sketch. With this format, you never really know what to expect on an episode of “Organic Banana.”

You may have seen some of our work on the cooking show “A Dash of Awesome” earlier this year, which we completely pro-

duced ourselves, with Matt direct-ing and Brady editing. You may have also seen our appearances in the Parkhurst commercials that aired during each episode of “A Dash of Awesome.”

With “Organic Banana” we plan to capture the same comedic energy of those commercials for an entire half hour of random-ness and hilarity.

We’ve spent a great amount of our free time on this show. For the entire first half of this school year, we have been per-fecting the concept and devel-oping our own unique style of comedy.

Search “Organic Banana” to like our page on Facebook and keep updated on new episodes, behind-the-scenes footage and special events.

Be forewarned — in our screening tests, eight viewers died. The cause is unknown, but it’s speculated that their minds were blown.

By Brady Greenawalt and Matt TelehaContributing writers

WHEN TO WATCH

If you want to watch Organic Banana, tune in to Laker TV, Channel 19, each Tuesday at 8 p.m., as well as Wednesdays at 4 p.m. and Fridays at 7 p.m.

Sports Page 7February 2, 2011

Ezzo swings way through fi nal Laker season

In eight short months, Mercy-hurst College senior Kim Ezzo will be graduating from Mercyhurst as an interior design major.

During her time here at Mercy-hurst, the Youngstown, Ohio, native has made her mark, and swung her way into record books as a part of the Lakers women’s tennis team.

As a freshman, Ezzo was named First Team All-GLIAC, and led the team with a 16-6 singles record. Ezzo fi nished her sophomore season 13-7, including going 10-6 at the No. 1 singles spot as well as being named to the All-PSAC West First Team.

As a junior last season, Ezzo once again was added to the All-PSAC West First Team and topped the Lakers with a 21-5 mark, and helped the Lakers capture their fi rst NCAA Tournament victory over East Stroudsburg.

She spent her years as a Laker being a “real quite leader” as tennis coach Ray Yost says.

“She lets her racquet do the talk-ing. I will miss having a player in the

top position that has the record and respect that she has throughout the conference,” he says.

After four years at the net, Ezzo says she “will defi nitely miss just being part of a team.”

In high school, Ezzo mainly trav-eled to tournaments on her own.

“I never really got to be a part of a team, especially one with such tal-ented players,” Ezzo says.

Yost says the most rewarding part

of coaching Ezzo is the knowledge that she will spare no effort each time she steps on the court. And in one word, he described her as reli-able.

Ezzo wants to be remembered

for her sportsmanship and match attitude.

“Records are always there to look at, but people usually forget about the things that players really work hard to control,” she says.

By Rachel O’ConnorStaff writer

Mercyhurst College senior Kim Ezzo hopes to lead the women’s tennis team to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The Lakers reached the tournament’s second round before losing to Cal (Pa.). They fi nished with a record of 20-9.

Ethan Magoc photos

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Ezzo, an interior design major, said she most enjoyed the team aspect of her college athletic experience.

Ethan Magoc photo

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Sports Page 8February 2, 2011

There was skating and music, but this was no Disney on Ice per-formance on a recent

January Friday night at the Ice Center.

Instead, it was Mercyhurst’s newest club on campus, Pick Up College hocKey (P.U.C.K.)playing pick-up games to some of today’s hottest club tunes.

The group began this fall when freshmen Alex Neri, Evan Chris-tenson, Randy White and Drew Klobuchar fi rst met. Neri, one of the co-presidents, played high school hockey and wanted to con-tinue on the ice in college.

When he found other freshmen who shared his love of hockey, an idea was born. Although relatively new, P.U.C.K. has gained promis-ing support with 32 active studentmembers and a number of faculty who join in the action.

“P.U.C.K. is probably one of the largest clubs on campus—if not this year, next year for sure,” said Co-President Evan Christen-son.

This club is not just for the gentlemen.

Freshman Brittany Shavatt is an active member who can skate circles around many of her male counterparts (bottom left).

“I heard they were starting a club and decided to join” she said. Shavatt also plays for the Erie Lady Lions, a traveling club hockey team.

P.U.C.K. meets once or twice a week and requires participants to have a helmet and gloves for safety. Beyond that, P.U.C.K.’s only other requirements are skates, sticks and lively music.

If interested, e-mail Neri at aneri62@lakers.mercyhurst.edu.

Photo essay by Scoot Williams

P.U.C.K. at ‘Hurst