Conservatives Consistent or Judgmental

Joseph Kider -

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, various articles and responses have been written about the cancellation of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's book signing. The last academic year has seen a growing number of these debates, such as the Rusted Root 'controversy' and the Pro-life 'conquest', to name just a handful. These events have raised an issue on what is consistent with the University's values, or even greater the University has no consistent values.

Critics of Congresswoman Norton's book signing might hold credibility if they were consistent in their protests. Where are they when Ben & Jerry's provide free ice cream? Why not hand out flyers every time someone fills their cup with Pepsi at South? And can one wear Levi jeans on campus or should we ban them in the student handbook? This raises the question, what one must do to warrant a 'ban' from this campus. Why Norton, and not Pepsi?

The fundamental problem with the conservative viewpoint on campus originates with an inability (fear) to deal with change. Hence why the church believed the sun still revolved around the Earth until the 1990s. Allowing a speaker on campus that holds a different moral viewpoint on certain issues will not unravel campus morality, nor will it make any difference in the debate itself. It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

Diversity & the CUA Bookstore!

What a week it has been for CUA in the local news! We made the Washington Post! Instead of reading the coming and goings of campus life in this one sided publication, members of the CUA family were reading about an apparent controversy in a more prominent local newspaper. My only question surrounding this whole episode is just how controversial of a matter was it? If you ask me it was a pretty open and shut case of truth winning the day over the liberal relativism of our modern day society.

How dare the College Republicans, along with members of Student's for Life, shut out diversity on this campus! Diversity, what a loaded phrase! It has become the rallying cry far too often of every liberal in this nation. What the members of College Republicans and Student's for Life did was to stand up and defend our beliefs. Is this not something that you liberals fight for every day? The right to have your voice heard is so paramount and fits in so nicely with you rallying cry of DIVERSITY! However, it is kind of fun to watch you all squeal and squirm when your voice is drowned out by the truth of the other side.

In order to explain our argument I will use an example. If a group of predominantly female students (we must give ther perception that men are involved for diversity's sake gals) organized a club and a lecture about battered women, how would you all take to the suggestion that you needed to invite a person who just published a book on the positive effects of beating women. I mean come on, this person has done some real work on the subject, and we all know how worthy the opinion of the other side is - for diversity's sake you should have a person like this on your panel. You all would cry foul and rightfully so, you should! Not only is the opinion of a person like this not necessary, it is also indefensible, unjustifiable, and morally unacceptable!

Maybe now you can understand that is how many of us feel when presented with the pro-choice position on abortion. You don't have to believe what we believe, but we are at the Catholic University of America. That seems worth repeating, and members of the group that invited and advocated for Rusted Root to come to campus read carefully, this is The Catholic University of America! D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton's position on abortion is anti-Catholic, and in my opinion is anti-human! She is akin to that pro-spousal abuse advocate that all would agree has no place at a battered women's discussion or any reasonable discussion for that matter. Part of our mission as students here at CUA is to respect the mission of CUA. That mission in many instances is pretty un-diverse! Like I often say about the nation we live in, you have two choices, you can either love it or leave it! Perhaps, those who hold diversity as their highest good should leave it!

CAC Announces Weekly Awards

Three Catholic University athletes were honored on Monday for their performances during the week of Jan. 20-26. Senior forward Matt Hilleary and sophomore swimmer Jim Horstmann were named Capital Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week, while senior basketball forward Carol Schnepp was named to the CAC honorable mention list.

Hilleary has come alive as of late and now leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game. He also leads the conference in blocked shots, having swatted away 39 balls this season.

Horstmann cut through the water against Marymount University and led CUA to its closest win this season. Horstmann won the 200-meter individual medley and the 100-meter freestyle event. This was his third straight double win meet.

Schnepp was recognized for her role in CUA’s loss to St. Mary’s and their victory against Goucher. Schnepp was the Cardinal’s only player in double figures for both games scoring 20 and 16 points respectively.

Duggan Leads Track as It Commences Winter Season

The indoor track season began on Jan. 18 as the men’s and women’s teams competed at the Lebanon Valley College Invitational. The men’s team also participated in the Christopher-Newport Open last Saturday.

Sophomore Sean Duggan won the 35-pound weight throw and the shotput for CUA with tosses of 54 feet and 15.44 meters respectively. Duggan also placed first in the 35-pound weight throw and barely missed first place in the shotput at the Christopher-Newport Open last Saturday.

“Sean is one of the best throwers in the weight and the shotput in Div. III right now,” said head coach Jerry McGee.

Duggan will lead a team of mainly field event participants according to McGee. “Although we have few runners this season, we have a very strong field corps,” said McGee.

After tearing both ACL’s last year, senior Kevin Hare also shows promise in another field event, the pole vault, according to McGee. McGee said that junior Peter Clark and sophomore Raul Yepez will also help the team succeed this winter.

Senior Katie Iannacone and sophomore Sheila Dollarton finished seventh and eighth respectively in the pole vault for the women’s team.

Iannacone will lead the women’s team this season. Although the team is young with only a few returning girls, many of the freshman are coming off a very strong cross-country season, according to indoor track and cross-country coach Joe Fisher.

Iannacone said that the team sees the indoor season as preparation for spring track and field. Iannacone aims to use the winter season to achieve the team goal of competing well during the Capital Athletic Conference championships at the end of the spring season.

The men await their next meet, the Delaware Invitational, on the weekend of Feb. 7, while the women will next be in action tomorrow at the Widener Invitational.

Cardinal Profiles:

To those who follow women’s athletics at CUA and think that you have heard the name of Laura Kaye before, three things: 1.You have. 2. Get used to it. 3. Be thankful for it.

The lean 5’7” freshman has quickly made a name for herself in both soccer and basketball at Catholic University, and has done so in a sporting world where off-season training and specialization have made successful multi-sport athletes an ever-increasing rarity. In fact, Kaye is even somewhat surprised at her dual-sport success. “In high school, my main focus was soccer,” said Kaye, a 2002 graduate of Bishop Ireton H.S. in Annandale, Va., “but I did play four years of varsity basketball. I wasn’t really expecting to play [at CUA].”

Kaye talked to head basketball coach Maggie Lonergan in the fall, and was encouraged to try out. However, Kaye’s demanding soccer schedule made it impossible for her to attend tryouts. Lonergan, realizing the caliber of athlete she was dealing with, allowed Kaye to join the team late along with returning senior Jackie Yacenda, who also played soccer. It was a fortuitous premonition.

Kaye did not see much playing time at first, needing some time to adjust to the college game and Lonergan’s system. Soon her minutes began to increase. “I rode the bench at the start of the year, but eventually I began to see some playing time in the first half,” said the post player, who now averages over 20 minutes a game and is currently a regular on the Cardinals’ starting lineup.

As her minutes have risen, so have the other numbers on Kaye’s stat sheet. Kaye has led the team in boards in four of the last five games and is currently second on the team in rebounds per game (5.6) and is tied for second in season steals (23).

The business major is grateful that she has helped to improve CUA soccer and basketball. “I love both sports, and my teammates are great. I’m glad I don’t have to choose between one or the other.”

Bowman on Sports

In a passionate and articulate speech to congress, President Bush explained why an attack on Iraq is warranted. But even as it seems obvious that we are going to war, the sports of this nation should and must continue to operate.

As college students in the capital of the free world, a war would cause much stress on our campus. It could spark more terrorist attacks against Washington, D.C., family or friends in the armed services could be placed in the line of fire and a drawn out conflict could reinstate the draft.

But every time we have gone to war there is one area of our lives that has remained constant allowing us to remain Americans: sports.

Sports provide the citizens of this great nation with a universal Prozac that can distract us from the necessary war we have or will endure. Even one of our greatest presidents realized the need for sports during wartime. “I honestly feel it would be best for [sports] to keep going. … [Americans] ought to have a chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before,” said Franklin Roosevelt when asked why he did not attempt to cancel baseball during World War II.

Luckily here at CUA we have a sports program worth watching to help distract us from the realities of the situation to come. In fact after six days of worrying about President Bush’s speech and the possible outcome, the CUA basketball team, ranked fourth in the nation, will be returning to DuFour to provide us with some excellent sports entertainment.

It may seem ridiculous that a simple contest between two college or professional teams could help us keep our sanity during times of conflict. But during every single war this country has fought, the men and women residing in the states have found comfort in sports.

During World War I, Major League Baseball continued on as an American tradition, rallying the hopes and dreams of a nation looking further the cause of democracy. And even in 1918 when the Secretary of War declared baseball players eligible for the draft, baseball continued to keep up the morale of Americans though losing many of their better players to service, including the greatest player ever, Ty Cobb.

In fact, during the 1918 World Series, patriotism hit an all-time high. For the first time during a baseball game, “The Star Spangled Banner” was played to a rousing applause from the crowd during the seventh inning stretch. This began the tradition of playing “The Star Spangled Banner” during every baseball game from then on, 13 years before it became the National Anthem.

World War II was no different. President Roosevelt demanded that baseball remain operating, though it was again raided of some of its all-star players. Baseball even expanded during WWII, when the Women’s Professional Baseball League, portrayed in the film A League of Their Own was organized.

Vietnam saw less of an involvement by baseball heroes, but it still attempted to unite a nation against Communism. During this war, 1st Lt. Bob Kalsu, a Buffalo Bills offensive lineman, was the only professional athlete causality.

Our next major conflict was Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf during the early 1990’s. Super Bowl XXV, held just after troop deployment, was exactly what was needed to support a nation in turmoil. The pre-game celebration, Whitney Houston’s rendition of the National Anthem and the fact it was one of the best Super Bowls ever, proved the effect sports can have on a nation at war.

In recent memory, football, baseball and the other major sports responded just as well to the tragedies of 9/11/01. Dedications, ceremonies and excellent play brought this nation back to life, while not forgetting the events of that ominous day.

Now as this war against terrorism continues, and we expand the fight against other evildoers of the world, sports become that much more important. They are crucial to relief and distraction during this disturbing time.

And emphasis on patriotism and the realization that there are more important things than sports have allowed the major sports, specifically football and baseball, to continue to operate. If war falls upon this nation again, we must continue to attend sporting events to give us something else to talk about, but more importantly, to keep our sanity.

W. Bball Loses Again

To the casual observer, it may appear that for every step the CUA women’s basketball team takes forward, two steps are taken back. Such was the case last week as the Cardinals dropped consecutive games at McDaniel and York following an impressive home victory versus Goucher last Saturday.

Wednesday, the Cardinals (7-10, 3-4 CAC) had to battle a barrage of Spartan three-pointers, falling 68-62 to their Capitol Athletic Conference rivals in York, Pa. The Cardinal loss came as Catholic allowed a season-high 12 opponent three-balls in the game.

Leading 37-32 at the half, CUA held its last lead of the game with 6:15 to play after freshman Laura Kaye iced the back end of a three-point play. York (9-9, 5-2 CAC) quickly responded with their potent outside attack and finally pulled away with six unanswered points in the final minute to end the game 68-62.

“[York] was a heartbreaking loss,” said Kaye, whose team committed a mere 11 turnovers in the de feat. “We played really well the entire game, but we know that we have a tough schedule. That game is over and we have to go from here.”

Prior to their York loss, CUA dropped a non-conference game 73-64 to the Green Terror of McDaniel College (13-3) on Jan. 27. Freshman Anne Maguire came off the bench to go 5 of 9 from downtown to score a career-high 15 points.

In their most recent home game, the Cardinals began the second half on a 14-0 run and were able to ride it out on their way to a 61-51 CAC victory over the Goucher Gophers (5-10, 1-6 CAC) on Jan. 25.

The Cardinals got a solid performance from Kaye, who nearly had a first half double-double, going 4-of-4 from the field for eight points and pulling down 11 first half rebounds. Senior forward Carol Schnepp netted 10 points of her own in the first half and paced the Cardinals with 16 points on the evening.

The Catholic lead grew as large as 20 points with less than six minutes to play as freshman Katie Murtha knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to extend the lead, 58-38. The Cardinal bench finished with 20 points. “Our bench did do a great job tonight,” said coach Lonergan following the game, “We have a very deep bench and they had the opportunity to put in some quality minutes for us.”

“It was a good game and it felt awesome to get back on the winning side. It was a total team effort and even though the game went back and forth, we held our own and played until the finish,” said Kaye.

Following Saturday’s game, senior guard Amy Tyluki was honored for having the most career assists in CUA women’s history. While the mark sat at 315 after the Goucher contest, Tyluki broke the previous record of 253 nearly a year ago, after an 11-assist performance against Goucher on Feb. 19, 2002. “Its really nice to be recognized like this,” said Tyluki, “but its more my teammates than me. I just get them the ball, they’re the ones doing the scoring.”

The Cardinal’s next game is a home CAC contest against Gallaudet on Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.

CUA Outswims Marymount

The Cardinal swim teams won their last meets of the regular season, beating conference foe Marymount last Friday. The women won 121-72, while the men squeaked by with a four point, 102-98, victory.

The Cardinals were led by senior Kelley Anne Creazzo and sophomore Kathy Jenko, who each won two events. Creazzo was triumphant in the 200-meter individual medley and the 500-meter freestyle, and Jenko used her skills in freestyle to bring home victories in the 100-meter and 200-meter events. The women took first place in eight out of the 10 races.

Sophomore Jim Horstmann once again led the team in race wins, helping the men to a third straight victory, with his two top finishes. Sophomore Will Giannoble and freshmen Paul Czar and Steve Gyurisin also captured individual victories for the Cards.

Czar emphasized the team’s ability to work together as a reason for the CUA’s success this year.

The Men grabbed ahold of second place in the Capital Athletic Conference with their victory against Marymount. They are now 7-2 on the year and 6-1 in the CAC.

The women finished up the conference regular season with a record of 6-1 in the conference. Both teams trail Mary Washington College, who is in first place.

“We should do well at CAC’s. Mary Washington is the superior team in the conference and it will take some hard work in order to get enough points to beat them at the conference championship,” said Czar. “I am keeping my fingers crossed for a win.”

The swimmers will next be in action at the CAC Championship, hosted by MWC on February 14-16.

Men’s Basketball Slaughters Goucher:

The men’s basketball team extended its winning streak to five games, rolling past Goucher 83-67 Saturday and registering a roaring come-from-behind victory at York College Wednesday, 82-77. The Cardinals are ranked fourth in the nation by d3hoops.com and hold the top spot in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Cards are unbeaten in the conference with an overall record of 16-2 overall.

Junior forward William Morley led the way in the win for the Cardinals, pouring in 22 points to mark his sixteenth straight game with double figure scoring. Wednesday’s performance put Morley only eight points away from the 1,000 career point milestone. Senior forward Matt Hilleary notched 14 points, while senior guard Craig Avallone added 12 points.

The Cardinals started off the game shooting poorly. CUA managed to shoot 47.4 percent from the field in the first half, but only sank three of 11 three-point attempts. York led by as many as 10 points five minutes into the game. A 9-0 run cut the deficit to one point, but a 9-2 York run stretched the Spartan lead to 30-22 with 9:23 remaining in the half. The lead swung back and forth during the remaining minutes as neither team could take control. Freshman Patrick Satalin, who has been playing well of late, sunk a huge three-pointer with five seconds remaining to cut the York lead to 40-39 at halftime.

York opened the second half strong, rolling to a nine point lead in the first five minutes. With the Spartans holding a 64-58 lead with 6:35 remaining in the game, an Avallone layup sparked a 16-0 Catholic run, opening a 74-64 Cardinal lead. York rallied, but CUA would hold on for the five point win.

“We played really well the last six minutes of the game,” said head coach Mike Lonergan. “When we don’t shoot well and play good defense, we’re in big trouble. The absence of [senior guard] Kevin Wise has been huge.” Wise missed his fourth straight game Wednesday with a sprained ankle.

“Even though we weren’t consistent,” said Lonergan, “I’m proud of the guys for battling hard.”

The Cardinals faced another big test last Saturday, hosting the Goucher Gophers; a physical team known for playing tough defense. The Gophers and the Cards have had many storied battles in the past six years, including a four-point CUA win at Goucher in the 1999 NCAA tournament. Catholic would win this one as well, outlasting the Gophers 83-67.

Hilleary and Morley led the way for the Cardinals, each scoring a game high 20 points. Hilleary grabbed eight rebounds and Morley added four. Two other Cardinals scored in the double figures. Avallone poured in 18 points, while sophomore Will Jawando added 10 points in his second career start.

“We played well,” said Lonergan, “but I was disappointed at the occasional sloppy play. We were able to execute well in the second half to pull away.”

Goucher’s physical defense held Catholic’s offense in check for the first fifteen minutes. The Gophers hung around, cutting the Cardinal lead to 26-24 with 4:14 remaining in the first half. But a jumper from Jawando sparked a 12-3 run to class out the half.

The Gophers did not go away in the second half, cutting the Catholic lead to 58-51 with nine and a half minutes remaining. Avallone responded with consecutive three-pointers. Goucher did not get closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

“I’m thrilled to be 16-2,” said Lonergan. “Every team gets pumped for us, which makes it fun.”

The Cardinals return home tomorrow afternoon to host the Gallaudet Bisons at 4 p.m. at the DuFour Center. The Cardinals rolled past Gallaudet Dec. 7, winning 83-47. The status of Wise and Avallone are in doubt for tomorrow. Avallone had his wisdom teeth removed yesterday, while Wise is still recovering from an ankle injury.

Terrorist attacks rekindle draft concerns

Terrorist attacks and U.S. military troops sent overseas have caused a wave of concern about the reinstatement of the draft.

Many are concerned the United States will reinstate the draft because the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld said there is “not a chance of reinstating the draft.”

Staff Sgt. Richard Reese, station commander for the Huntington, W. Va., army recruiters, said that in order to implement a draft there must a certain sequence of events that start within Congress.

The Selective Service remains in the caretaker position now, according to its website, but continues to register all males 18 years old and above. A man will be fined up to $250,000 and put in jail for up to five years if he does not register.

“Maintaining the Selective Service System and draft registration provides a hedge against unforeseen threats and a relatively low-cost ‘insurance policy’ against our underestimating the maximum level of threat we expect our Armed Forces to face,” President Clinton told Congress in 1994.

If the draft were to be reinstated, a crisis must occur which would require more than the volunteer military. Congress must pass a bill that the President signs.

“Congress sets forth a number and that’s what our recruiting numbers are based on,” Reese said.

Congress decides how many people should be in the volunteer military at any time.

Stacey Adkins, a former Marshall University student from Huntington, is scheduled to start his service in the Air Force on Feb. 18.

Reese said that although he couldn’t comment on the draft because he didn’t really know a lot about it, he did know that the Armed Forces were achieving their recruiting goals most of the time.

When a draft is implemented, the policy states that the men would be picked through a lottery starting with those who have their 20th birthday that year and would continue up to the age of 25. Men under the age of 20 years would not be drafted.

A high school student would be postponed until he graduated, but college students could only postpone until the end of the semester or academic year, if a senior.

Once a man is picked in the lottery, he must go through a physical, mental and moral evaluation; those who pass will receive induction orders to report within 10 days.

During a draft, the individual does not get to choose which branch of the military he reports to because the draft can be issued for one branch at a time. He will simply go where he is needed.

Since 1980 there were many discussions to register women in the Selective Service when President Carter proposed a bill and Congress declined it.

A court case challenged the decision in a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by saying it violated the due process of the Fifth Amendment and was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court case Rostker v. Goldberg (1981).

The case stated that because the induction for the Selective Service is for combat, males and females should be treated differently.

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