Tower as Liberal Rag

Michael Kelley

Comrades, I come bearing two pieces of news, both shocking. First, I've sold out, and second, The Tower is NOT a "liberal rag." Both these things are true because I've been writing for Boston College's newspaper (hence the selling out), which is so liberal it is Marx's collective works to The Tower's Mein Kampf.
Many (ok, at most five) of you remember me as a staff writer who brought you mediocre coverage of sports such as field hockey, women's basketball, and softball (notice a common theme in those three? yes I'm a chauvinist pig). Around last November you must have realized that my articles had stopped appearing, and broken out in a cold sweat, curled up in a fetal position on your futon, and wondered how you could get up on each Friday afternoon without the promise of my literary works.
Well, I had joined Boston College as a commuter student in its night school. First of all, I didn't flunk out of CUA (my GPA last semester there was my highest ever when I left, a robust 2.6), and no, I didn't get denied from BC's day program. It just costs the equivalent of the GNP of Guam to attend there each semester in the day, so I go at nights. Anyway, I joined The Heights, BC's newspaper.
The first newspaper meeting I attended showed how different the two papers are. The Sports Editor told us new writers he was happy to see us there, and that we could write as much or as little as we want. In other words, I could do one article every other month, and be listed as a full-time staff writer. By contrast, at The Tower, you had to cover one sport each season, and be on the phone every day working on your weekly articles.
The articles are assigned by the process of passing around a sheet of paper and signing your name next to any available spots. Thus, it isn't determined by seniority, but by who is sitting closest to the right of the SE. I picked up on this and started getting there early to sit next to him so I could get first dibs. This led to receiving the coveted "Nationally televised BC-Notre Dame men's basketball article" assignment one week, and the SE wondering if I was gay, since I kept making a big deal about sitting next to him. As you've figured out by now, I'm a typical heterosexual chauvinist male, but if misconceptions about my sexuality is the price I have to pay to ask coaches questions on post-game press conferences televised on ESPNEWS, pass the leather chaps and German techno music. At The Tower, new writers get the sports that no one actually reads about (field hockey was my first), while the senior writers get the cream of the crop (football, men's basketball). In other words, if you're spirit isn't crushed by two years of your only fan feedback being your parents telling you how proud they are of your substandard articles, you might get a chance to cover something good your senior year.
The mentoring program is something CUA is better at, with Washington Post Sunday Editor James Rowe providing feedback on writer's articles each Wednesday to raise their talent level. At The Heights, it follows its liberal content with the liberal "we're just happy with who you are", leaving us to teach ourselves. At the aforementioned super-important basketball game, the senior writer on hand was me (experience: one week), the junior writer a girl who had never written for any newspaper, including high school. For comparison, think of The Tower sending two brand-new writers to cover the 2001 National Championship game for men's basketball, with articles reading like a transcript of The Chris Farley Show.
"Uhh, Matt Hilleary, remember when you dunked on that guy in the first half? That was awesome!"
Now onto the "liberal rag" you claim The Tower to be. The Heights has multi-issue series on acceptance of gay students, its own sex columnist who gives advice on topics that I can't even mention since The Tower would never let them see print, and archives from 2000 show that the staff had a collective crush on Al Gore during the election.
I've had people from Catholic ask me if I'm coming back next semester (21 year old freshman, think of the possibilities!) or if I miss The Tower. Put it this way, The Tower and I didn't always agree, it held me to standards higher than I thought were fair, while The Heights allows me to use it to my content, holds me to no standards, and has liberal views regarding sexuality. Basically, The Heights is the sorority girl who let you go farther than you expected, didn't care if you wore sweatpants and a pizza-stained beater and played video games all day, while The Tower is the girl next door who you realize was better than you thought, despite your differences. Now which one do you think you'll remember 20 years from now?
And now, if you'll excuse, me I have to write 800 words about why Tom Daschle is God. Actually I can write 500 words, and I can send it to BC whenever I want or not at all. Remember in liberalism, there are no standards.

P.S. See you Tower folk Thursday night!

Telemarketing

It's happened too many times in the last two months. My roommate and I have had our deep morning sleep interrupted by telemarketers trying to sell each of us credit cards. I figured that I might have easily signed up for something on the internet that gave my phone number to these companies, but then after speaking to many fellow students, I have learned that I am not the only one receiving these calls. In fact many of my friends have received the same offers.

This leads me to a simple conclusion. Either CUA has been selling our phone numbers to a credit card company or some other on-campus agency with our information has sold them. In either case, I feel that CUA is ultimately responsible for these early morning wake up calls. It is my hope that CUA either admits to selling the numbers or investigates the source that has been giving them away. The student body needs to know that it can trust its university with its private information.

March on Washington: April 1, 2003

PLEDGE

"I pledge to march on Washington, D.C. when the University of Michigan Law School affirmative action case, Grutter v. Bollinger, is heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. I will march so that the voices of millions of people of all races in this country who stand for integratio and equality will be heard by the Court. I will not let Brown v. Board of Education be effectively overturned. A new youth-led civil rights movement is standing up and fighting for integration and equality and I am a proud participant in it. I pledge to march and to organize to make the dream of full equality and justice a reality in my lifetime."

Please visit www.bamn.com for more information on this historic march on D.C. If you are interested in joining students at CUA in rallying support for this event, please contact the Black Law Students Association at blsacua@yahoo.com.

Donna M. Peterkin (3D)
BLSA President

Community Must Take A Greater Look At Norton Issue

Over the last several weeks in The Tower, there has been much debate about the events concerning about the un-invite of DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. While in many ways, I have found the debate to be interesting, and seen many students, faculty and alumni write about the matter, I do believe that a key issue has been overlooked.

Through the uninvite of Norton, both the students and the faculty it appears denied themselves an opportunity to act upon the core issue that Catholics hold so strongly. Rather than being pro-active, the"activist" response to pushing our university's obvious pro-life agenda was nothing more than lazy and apathetic. Students were led to believe that emailing was all they needed to develop a response that would truly have meaning or have an "impact" upon DC's representative to Congress. In fact, by only sending out emails, the students denied themselves an opportunity, and the faculty took away a teaching moment that could have created a victory in the pro-life movement that could have been lasting.

It is my understanding that there was never an opportunity to challenge Norton on her views, nor did faculty on CUA's campus step in to encourage groups to collectively act,(in person). Much could have been gained from inviting Norton at a later date to a debate about life issues, and holding her accountable for her views, or for once there could have been a small demonstration staged that got the point across to Norton. By choosing to uninvite Norton, students wanting to become more actively involved in the pro-life movement were denied an opportunity to challenge a member of the most powerful body in this country. Instead of bringing her to the table, students were sheltered not only by the faculty but by themselves. They were also denied the opportunity to develop a working relationship with her.
It was not until I was challenged and encouraged by a member of the faculty to develop and work with her that I began to understand what an activist response was. Before this, I was one of those people who thought "activism" was sending out an email to the right person. I was truly proven wrong. This was one of the most profound learning experiences I had during my four years. I hope others gain the opportunity to have a similar experience.

By discouraging activism, CUA will lag behind other institutions across the nation, who do not have the opportunities for civic engagement that our nation's capitol presents. Academically, our university can compete with those schools ranked above or deemed, "better" than ours, but in the terms of real world education and activism, the school is falling behind. Unfortunately on the campus, wining and dining is highly rewarded and activism is silenced. The CUA community and its students simply deserve better.

As an individual now working in Catholic social ministry, I have learned that our faith thrives upon our obligation to the community and larger society to actively engage in social change and the political process. Since I have left CUA, I have also become even more aware of the larger role that the Church plays in transforming social thought about issues other than abortion. Catholics throughout the world are at the forefront of the fight for worker and civil rights, and the fight to end poverty. This involves both liberal and conservative Catholics. Most importantly involved in these struggles is an emphasis upon social justice. In the pursuit of social justice we seek to create large scale and institutional change, and emphasizes small victories in the struggle for a more just society . By not issuing a challenge to Norton, students were prevented from and prevented themselves an opportunity to gain a small victory in a larger struggle for the reversal of Roe v. Wade. An Email "victory" falsely led them to believe that they had "won."

Our society has reached a point where we must act, and the challenges we face will be much greater than the one issued by what is becoming known as the Rep. Norton affair. If not taught how to or encouraged to act, then the real world education of our students will continue to suffer. The students also will lack the skills required to foster social change in a world outside the walls of CUA. Most importantly, they will not have to be part of an act that further embarrasses our public officials to whom we owe the utmost respect to, yet rely upon us to challenge them more than ever.

Community Must Take A Greater Look At Norton Issues

Over the last several weeks in The Tower, there has been much debate about the events concerning about the un-invite of DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. While in many ways, I have found the debate to be interesting, and seen many students, faculty and alumni write about the matter, I do believe that a key issue has been overlooked.

Through the uninvite of Norton, both the students and the faculty it appears denied themselves an opportunity to act upon the core issue that Catholics hold so strongly. Rather than being pro-active, the"activist" response to pushing our university's obvious pro-life agenda was nothing more than lazy and apathetic. Students were led to believe that emailing was all they needed to develop a response that would truly have meaning or have an "impact" upon DC's representative to Congress. In fact, by only sending out emails, the students denied themselves an opportunity, and the faculty took away a teaching moment that could have created a victory in the pro-life movement that could have been lasting.
It is my understanding that there was never an opportunity to challenge Norton on her views, nor did faculty on CUA's campus step in to encourage groups to collectively act,(in person). Much could have been gained from inviting Norton at a later date to a debate about life issues, and holding her accountable for her views, or for once there could have been a small demonstration staged that got the point across to Norton.
By choosing to uninvite Norton, students wanting to become more actively involved in the pro-life movement were denied an opportunity to challenge a member of the most powerful body in this country. Instead of bringing her to the table, students were sheltered not only by the faculty but by themselves. They were also denied the opportunity to develop a working relationship with her.

It was not until I was challenged and encouraged by a member of the faculty to develop and work with her to develop an activist response to an issue on campus. Before this, I was one of those people who thought "activism" was sending out an email to the right person. I was truly proven wrong. This was one of the most profound learning experiences I had during my four years. I hope others gain the opportunity to have a similar experience.

By discouraging activism, CUA will lag behind other institutions across the nation, who do not have the opportunities for civic engagement that our nation's capitol presents. Academically, our university can compete with those schools ranked above or deemed, "better" than ours, but in the terms of real world education and activism, the school is falling behind. Unfortunately on the campus, wining and dining is highly rewarded and activism is silenced. The CUA community and its students simply deserve better.

As an individual now working in Catholic social ministry, I have learned that our faith thrives upon our obligation to the community and larger society to actively engage in social change and the political process. Since I have left CUA, I have also become even more aware of the larger role that the Church plays in transforming social thought about issues other than abortion. Catholics throughout the world are at the forefront of the fight for worker and civil rights, and the fight to end poverty. This involves both liberal and conservative Catholics. Most importantly involved in these struggles is an emphasis upon social justice. In the pursuit of social justice we seek to create large scale and institutional change, and emphasizes small victories in the struggle for a more just society . By not issuing a challenge to Norton, students were prevented from and prevented themselves an opportunity to gain a small victory in a larger struggle for the reversal of Roe v. Wade. An Email "victory" falsely led them to believe that they had "won."

Our society has reached a point where we must act, and the challenges we face will be much greater than the one issued by what is becoming known as the Rep. Norton affair. If not taught how to or encouraged to act, then the real world education of our students will continue to suffer. The students also will lack the skills required to foster social change in a world outside the walls of CUA. Most importantly, they will not have to be part of an act that further embarrasses our public officials to whom we owe the utmost respect to, yet rely upon us to challenge them more than ever.

Jerry Reynolds 02'
University of Michigan, School of Social Work
Archdiocese of Detroit, Student Intern

Discrimination against Working Students

I was told by a professor a month or so ago that by holding down both a full-time job and a full-time education (an unfortunate reality of life for those of us who don't keep neatly stacked bundles of $36,295 on the bureau) I was in violation of university policy. Surprised, I looked it up and found the professor to be right (Undergraduate Announcements, p.25, under "Enrollment.")

Upon engaging in dialogue with the Dean of Students and the Vice-Provost, they agreed to remove that regulation from the next year's Announcements. But what I find more troubling is the fact that neither of them knew of this rule, one I find to be a major violation of student rights (i.e., being free to decide for themselves how much they can work while in school.) This is the second time this year I've been reprimanded for not having read the Announcements cover to cover, and the second time I've encountered school officials who agreed with me that certain policies therein were foolish, outdated, and/or unfair. How long has it been since this thick and mysterious tome has been revised, with the goal of effectively and fairly managing a prestigious university in mind? Have the students of CUA ever been allowed to defend themselves against archaic and impersonal regulation they don't know are in existence?

Emily Oren
Senior
Classical Civilizations

As the Snow Falls, Spring Sports Begin Their Seasons

Baseball

Emphasizing the quality pitching that has returned this year, the CUA baseball team will go as far as their three senior arms will take them, according to head coach Ross Natoli.

Seniors Doug Sherry, Adam Weiss and Eric Cortina are the arms that will have to toss this senior heavy team to victory. “Our senior pitchers are guys that will keep us in games, and our overall quality of pitching is the best it has been in the past four years,” said Natoli.

At the other end of the pitch is what Natoli says is the Cardinals’ other strength. Juniors Timothy Bottomly and Bernard Dennis are two of the best catchers in the league and will split time behind the plate, according to Natoli. Dennis will also contribute to the bullpen as one of CUA’s best-returning closers.

Offensively, middle of the line-up will not change for the C-birds. Seniors Justin Siller and Mike DeNicola as well as junior Daniel Conway will provide CUA with solid, experienced 3, 4 and 5 hitters.

Natoli said that with the addition of several new impact players, the team is deeper than last year. He said that success in their upcoming trip to Florida will give them a good footing when they return home to play crucial conference games against York, Salisbury and Mary Washington.
“Our team has a chance at the conference championship. We are in a position to win it this year,” said Natoli.

Men’s Lacrosse

Still waiting for their first conference win in school history, the CUA men’s lacrosse team begins its sixth season as a varsity team, with the best talent the program has ever seen, according to head coach Brooks Singer.

Playing in the Capital Athletic Conference, one of the toughest in Div. III lacrosse, CUA will open up competition tomorrow against conference foe Salisbury, the third-ranked team in the country. “The Salisbury coach and myself are very confident that the field at Salisbury will be in good enough condition to play our game this weekend,” said Singer.

After Salisbury, Singer and his team look forward to their next game against DeSales on March 1 and their next two conference games versus York and Marymount after their trip to Orlando, Fla. over spring break.

We’ve come close to a conference win; one, two goals away. We definitely have the talent to compete with York and Marymount,” said Singer. With academics, recruiting and parental support at an all-time high, Singer said that the only way for this program to improve is to win more games, starting with their first conference win. “I know we have the talent to do it, it’s just a matter of believing we can do it,” said Singer.
If CUA wants to win they will have score goals, and senior Ryan Welsh will lead the strong corps of attackmen. Welsh received the team MVP award last year and is the high scorer on the team with 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists). Junior attackman Eric Slagle, who led the team in goals with 23 goals, will also add to the offensive barrage.

With 67 ground ball wins last year, senior John Bracken hopes continue this hustle and lead a solid group of midfielders, including the return of fifth-year senior Jimmy Nalls from his absence last season. Nalls will bring back the 61.5 face-off winning percentage and 37 points from the 2001 season. According to Singer, the midfield defense is also one of CUA’s strong points.

“Defense was the focus of recruiting this year. Freshman Justin Boyer and Ben Mullen are two players that will have a definite role in the defense this year. Graham Simm and Ted Moralle [juniors] will help with defensive leadership and get the defense to play as a unit,” said Singer. Junior Matt Monfet will back up the defense minding net for the second straight year.

With 36 men on the roster, Singer’s program is showing definite signs of growth. “This is the first time we have too much depth at all the positions,” said Singer, who will have a tough time finding enough time to satisfy the talent he has this year.

Women’s Lacrosse

The CUA women’s lacrosse team has come a long way in just their sixth year at the varsity level. Two years ago they ended the season with a 4-9 record and no wins in the Capital Athletic Conference. Last year head coach Kristine Manning led her squad to an amazing turnaround, notching a 10-8 overall record going 2-3 in the competitive CAC.

This year they hope to maintain and improve, according to coach Manning. “There is a lot of excitement, and we have a new confidence for the coming season.”

The team will have to find their success this year without four highly talented players who graduated last spring. “They will definitely be missed,” said Manning, “but our returning players as well as our freshman group have had strong showings in the preseason.” This year the team will be led by returning seniors Anna Gateau and Colleen Boland, who were named to the All-CAC Second-Team last year.
Competition in the CAC is some of the toughest in Div. III lacrosse, and St. Mary’s, Salisbury and Mary Washington are all among the top teams in the nation. The Cardinals have struggled in their previous years with conference games, and are still looking for their first victories against Mary Washington and Salisbury.

The Cardinals will face Goucher in their season- and conference-opener at the DuFour Field this Thursday, if the field is playable. “Right now I have a lot of confidence in the talent of this year’s team,” says Manning. “In fact, it is the snow that is our only real setback right now.”

Softball

With a new coach and a young, anxious team, the CUA softball team is optimistic they will improve upon three years of wallowing in mediocrity, according to first-year head coach Bruce McConkey.

McConkey will attempt to imbed his trademark never say die attitude into the girls who finished two games below .500 last year.

“Our team is anxious to compete. This team is made up of a excellent corps of nine girls. They are absolutely capable of winning the league this year,” said McConkey.

McConkey, a resident of College Park, Md., was hired in December replacing head coach Dean Ferrington. McConkey attended the University of Maryland and has lived in the D.C. area his entire life. While at UMD, he wrestled and developed his never quit attitude. McConkey has played on men’s softball traveling teams and has coached numerous women’s softball teams. Most recently he was the assistant coach at Good Counsel High School in Wheaton, Md. under Lenny Messick. Messick joins McConkey here at Catholic as an assistant, although McConkey refers to them as a “coaching staff” rather than separate entities.

“I am very impressed with the toughness of this team,” said McConkey. The toughness of the defense will be CUA’s strong point this season, led by senior captain Jessica Cisper, who will play shortstop for the Cards.
Cisper will be joined in the infield by senior first baseman Kristen Werdann, sophomore second baseman Cailin Fitzpatrick and junior third baseman Jessica Payne.

Freshman pitcher Natalie Banaszenski has also made an early impression on McConkey, who sees her as the building block to a good rotation.
“This team is enjoying themselves, but still working hard,” said McConkey, who is preparing his team to face Div. I Colgate in Maryland on March 1st at noon.

Men’s Tennis

The men’s tennis team will begin their season during the University’s spring break, competing in three matches against Div. III colleges Elizabethtown, Benedictine and Wilks in Hilton Head, S.C.
However, with the recent accumulation of snow, the tennis team has not been able to get out on the courts to fully prepare themselves.
Sophomore Jon Stevens said, “We haven’t been on the courts as much as we should, Coach wanted us out there for 12 practices before spring break and we have only been able to hold practice twice.”

“The snow has mostly affected our outdoor training, we have had little to no court time before heading down to compete in Hilton Head. But we have been training indoors as a supplement and we should be in really good shape,” junior captain Jon Halbach said.

Although the team is young, the men seem very optimistic about continuing to develop throughout the season according to Stevens. Also, Stevens says that the strong team unity will contribute to their success and will provide another rewarding season for Coach Dowd with a winning record.

“Our goal for this spring is to have a winning season and to beat big conference rivals like Goucher and York,” said Halbach.

Women’s Tennis

After a relatively successful 2002 season, the CUA women’s tennis team hopes to improve upon their third-place finish in the Capital Athletic Conference and 14-3 record.

The team will be led by senior Mo Hegedus and junior Kate Dempsey. Sophomores Kathleen Hegedus, Michelle Sazonov and Emily Bresnahan-McRae round out the top five for the Cards.

Several players will be vying for the sixth and final starting spot, which opened up when junior Michelle Braley left the team to study abroad.
Head coach Dana Dowd, class of 1989, returns for her fourth year at the helm of the women’s tennis team. Dowd’s father, Marty Dowd, is entering his 39th year as coach of the CUA men’s team, while her mother is the Associate Athletic Director at Catholic.

Cardinal Profiles:

Sean Duggan, an undecided sophomore major from Springlake, N.J., fell into the track and field team, where he found his nitche - throwing shot put.

An ankle injury forced Duggan to quit playing basketball his sophomore year in high school, but that didn’t stop him from digging into a new sport. “I was looking for another sport to participate in and my dad thought I could probably do well in track because he used to be involved in track as well,” said Duggan.

Duggan came to Catholic just last year and immediately made an impact on the team. “It seemed like I kept improving in all my events and my coaches motivated me and they thought if I kept with it, I could do pretty well with it, so I decided to do it at Catholic,” Duggan said.

Last season, Duggan was the indoor track conference champion in shot put and was All-Conference in weights and shot put. He was also named outdoor shot put champion along, weights champion and was All-UCAC in shot put.

This season Duggan has many goals that he hopes to accomplish. “I hope to be an All-American in the shot put and in the weights. Nationals are coming up on March and I have qualified for them this year. Academically, I hope to stay around a 3.0 and keep my grades up while I am competing,” said Duggan.

“Hopefully I will be getting my qualifying marks up so that way I can be seeded higher at nationals,” said Duggan. Currently he is nationally ranked fifth in weights and sixth in shot put.

“The team this season is small but it is a benefit because we are able to motivate each other. I also have been working closely with Matt Quinn, the weight coach. It is kind of ironic because I took his hammer and weight record from him and I didn’t even throw in high school. I have picked the sport up quickly and he has really helped me to shed some light on to the events and help me with my technique,” Duggan said.

Bowman on Sports

With the Presidents’ Day Blizzard dropping at least 18 inches of snow onto the CUA campus and more in the surrounding areas, the CUA athletic department has just begun to feel the brunt of the storm.

Just as the first flakes began to fall, both CUA basketball teams were forced to reschedule their game last Saturday to yesterday because opponent St. Mary’s was wary of the driving conditions. This just shows the inability of anyone south of the Mason-Dixon line to handle snow. I understand safety comes first, but when it hasn’t even started snowing yet and isn’t supposed pick up until the next day, why would you cancel an opportunity to play the best Div. III basketball team in the nation.

After finishing second in the CAC championships, the men’s and women’s swim team was forced to stay two extra nights in Fredericksburg, Va., and wait for the roads to improve enough to travel home by bus. But when the snow stops on Monday morning you would think the roads would be passable later that day. It shouldn’t take two days to plow, let alone the entire week it has taken the crews in D.C.

In the long run, the CUA’s spring sports will be the ones most affected by the snow. Baseball was forced to cancel its first four games of the season and will travel to face Randolph-Macon on Sunday rather than host what would have been their fifth home game of the year, according head baseball coach Ross Natoli. Natoli went on to say that their last game before leaving for Florida, during spring break is doubtful.

Talbot said that realistically no one will be able to practice or play CUA’s outdoor fields and courts until at least after spring break. “Space and time are limited when all the sports must be indoors, but we will do our best to schedule enough practice time for the spring sports and basketball,” said Talbot. The teams will have to make due until they travel to more tropical destinations for spring break. Florida, here we come!

Women’s Basketball Suffers Back to Back Loses

The scoring touch for the women’s basketball team has been visibly absent from campus this week. Maybe it’s still snowed in. Wherever it is, any momentum that the women’s basketball team hoped to carry into the postseason is missing in action.

Dropping consecutive home games to York on Wednesday and St. Mary’s yesterday, the Cardinals’ three-game win streak came to a halt with a resounding thud.

Cardinal starters went 3-of-29 from the floor last night at the DuFour Center while the team shot a meager 25.8 percent as St. Mary’s pulled out a 51-45 victory.

By virtue of good rebounding, led by freshman Laura Kaye with a game-high 10 boards, Catholic (11-13, 6-7 CAC) managed to keep the game close, and was down only 21-19 at the half.

St. Mary’s (12-10, 6-6 CAC) hit the floor running after the break, going on a 15-5 run to begin the second half, extending the lead to 36-24.

Catholic responded with a 7-0 run of their own, capped by a freshman Katie Murtha three-pointer with 8:47 remaining to bring the Cardinals within three, 36-33.

The Seahawks pulled away again until a freshman Lindsay DiRomualdo trey with 27.5 seconds left in regulation made the score 49-45. Any hopes of a last minute comeback were stifled as St. Mary’s made two free throws down the stretch and held firm defensively to win 51-45.

Sophomore Aim

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