The Welsh Breakdown- The Gauntlet 2: King Kong Prevails

Episode Grade: B-

Tonight, we open the scene with Beth talking to David. Beth admits that she has a reputation. Does she mean THAT kind of reputation? Is she coming on to David? I hope he is smarter than that, who knows where she has been. Nah, she just meant that no one on the team likes her. She confesses that she was disappointed when she found out Tonya wouldn't be on this challenge. You're alone on those feelings, Beth. We flashback to the "Inferno II," where Tonya threw Beth's clothes in the pool. Ha, I love that scene more and more every time I see it. But then I think of Beth having no clothes and having to walk around in her birthday suit and I immediately vomit.

Team House. The teams receive the clue, "Have you been pulling your weight?" The girls discuss the upcoming mission. Beth says she hopes there is running involved because she is great at running. Yeah Beth, but I doubt the mission involves chasing after the ice cream man. Montana starts talking trash on Beth to the camera. Montana, you are not one to talk. Your parents named you after a freakin' STATE. And not even one of the good ones. Sure, they could have picked a nice one everyone visits, like California, but no, they picked one that most people go their entire lives without visiting. For these reasons and more, I will now be calling you Idaho. Anyway, Idaho tells the camera how one would think that after 10 years, "there would be some personal growth in Beth, but there hasn't. The only growth has been is in the thighs." Snicker.

Day of the mission. The host, RJ Brevin, explains the mission entitled "Rickshaw Races." Hey, I remember rickshaws from that episode of "Seinfeld." Will homeless people be carrying these, too? Well, Jamie looks enough like a homeless person with that greasy mane of hair he is sporting. The Veterans Team must pick a male and female to sit this mission out since they have more teammates.

The teams discuss their strategies. Idaho immediately says that Beth should not sit out because she bragged about being a good runner before. Beth insists she should sit out since she weighs the most. No kidding, Beth. You look like a giant standing next to Ruthie. Therefore, we'll call you Beth Kong from here on out. By the way, I enjoyed your most recent movie, even if it was three hours long.

Anywho, chaos erupts as Idaho and Beth Kong argue over which girl will sit out. Idaho's all, "I-Da-Ho? No, U-Da-Ho!" Eventually, the team decides that Idaho and Syrus will sit out. The teams huddle together. Grampa Timmy gives his team some words of encouragement and tells them how movies only cost a nickel when he was growing up! Kids these days, with their boomboxes and their baggy jeans, they just don't know!

The mission begins. The Veterans Team takes an immediate lead. However, Robin and her mondo konchongas quickly lose said lead. Beth Kong performs well, and what would you expect from a giant ape that can climb to the top of a New York City skyscraper? Puh-lease. The Rookies Team wins.
Gauntlet Deliberation. The team votes for Ruthie to compete against Beth Kong in reverse tug-of-war. Ruthie sobs because, "it's like 2,000 pounds up against two." Heh, snort.

Gauntlet. JT Chevin welcomes everyone. JT asks Beth Kong if she is going to try her hardest. She tells him that she almost wants to just walk away from it all. Derrick stands in the back with his fingers crossed silently shouting, "Please do!" Snicker. Word, Derrick

The competition begins. Ruthie is crawling on the ground trying her hardest. Beth looks like she is barely even trying, but the earth does shake with every giant step she takes. After the slow-motion camera dramatizes the entire thing, Beth Kong grabs the flag, starts beating her chest with her fists and demands she be given all the bananas in the land. Ok, just the first part is true.

After the Gauntlet, Idaho apologizes to Beth Kong for their earlier argument. She explains that they "are women in their thirties," and they shouldn't behave like that. Probably shouldn't wear your shorts that short either. Just sayin'. After Idaho leaves, Beth Kong gives the camera a look of disgust. I wonder how much she got paid to star in "King Kong" anyways.

Team House. Ruthie says goodbye to everyone. Beth Kong moves into the Team Captain Bedroom, where I pray she will not be getting lucky. She talks about how excited she is. Outside, she tells the camera that she cannot wait to take Idaho down. All the way down to Chinatown! She says, "If you're gonna f*** with me, then I'll just f*** you harder!" Insert your own lesbian joke here, because my editor would surely censor mine out.

Next week: there is a lot of talk about alliances. Great, because that plotline hasn't already been played out in every season thus far. I'm almost looking forward to my comps on Monday.

Campus News Briefs

University Cheerleaders Place Fifth at National Competition
The University's Cheerleading squad placed fifth overall at the Universal Cheerleading Association's national competition for Division II/II schools at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The team had previously qualified to go on to the national finals by placing fourth in the semifinal competition. The team was able to compete due to $5,000 of contingency funds provided by the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) to help finance their trip.

USG Sponsors Architecture Student Exhibit
The Academic Branch of USG will be sponsoring an exhibit in the Pryzbyla Center of work by University undergraduate architecture students next Thursday. The exhibit will be held in the third floor fishbowl from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

University to Hold Memorial Mass for Zack Billotte Today
The University is holding a memorial Mass this evening for senior politics major Zack Billotte who died unexpectedly on January 2. The Mass will be held at 5:00 p.m. in Caldwell Chapel, and will be followed by a reception at approximately 6:00 p.m. At the reception Zack's friends and family will share some stories about his life.

Residential Network Registration Extends to Ryan, Millennium Halls

The University's new residential network registration system was implemented in several residence halls in the northern area of campus without major problems. Beginning today, students in Millennium South will be required to use the system before accessing general Internet, according to Betsey Ramsey, of the Center for Planning and Information Technology (CPIT) which administrates the University network.

Registration has gone smoothly, according to Ramsey, as problems that students encountered have only been related to the configuration of individual computer systems. In addition, some temporary network outages occurred as the system was put into action and the software was switched into use. Residential network (ResNet) technicians worked with students to ensure that their connections were restored as soon as possible.

"The problems that were encountered have been mostly due to an issue on the student's computer, such as incorrect TCP/IP network setting or the browser temporary file cache needing to be cleared. ResNet technicians have been onsite in the residence hall when the system was enabled to assist students with these problems," Ramsey wrote in an email to the Tower.

Ramsey also stated that the online website for network registration has been updated with information instructing students how to configure their computers so that they are able to access the Internet after registration. In addition, each student residing in the halls where the system has or will be put in place received an email from Peter Sanderson-Kilchenstein of ResNet explaining the system and providing links to information on how to configure individual systems for use with the new system.

"So far we have added three residence halls to RNR [Residence Hall Network Registration] with very few problems, and we're expecting even fewer issues with this hall. Nonetheless, I will be available to assist with any questions or issues with the network registration system," Sanderson-Kilchenstein wrote in an email to students living in Millennium South.

Regan Hall was the first residence hall enabled with this system at the end of last semester. Other residences were brought online in the past two weeks. Officials expect Gibbons Hall to be the next location where the system is installed.

The network registration system requires students to register their computer using their University provided username and password before gaining access to the general network. The system registers each user with a particular computer, Internet-enabled game device or other electronic devices.

ResNet officials decided to implement network registration in order to be able to identify and deal with problematic computer systems in an expedited manner. Many other universities across the country have implemented similar systems to ensure network stability and security.

Besides network registration, the University has also provided antivirus software to students living on campus at no extra cost to protect their computers. "[While] there have been no major virus outbreaks on campus since the start of the spring semester, the McAfee VirusScan 8i antivirus software that the university makes available for free student download has been enhanced to include an anti-spyware module. Students are strongly encouraged to install this latest version," Ramsey said.

Average Tuition to Increase by 5.6% Next Year

The University's Board of Trustees raised costs to attend, live, and eat on campus across the board with average tuition cost was increased by 5.6 percent per semester for the 2006-2007 Academic Year. Two programs, the National Catholic School of Social Service (NCSSS) and the Intensive English program at Metropolitan College saw tuition costs increased next year after lasts year's cost freeze.

Students in all schools except Law, Engineering, Architecture, and the National Catholic School of Social Service (NCSSS), will have to pay $13,100 per semester, up from this year's cost of $12,400 per semester, according to a letter to students and parents sent home over Christmas break written by University President Rev. David M. O'Connell.

The cost of attending the School of Engineering will be increasing by the same amount as other undergraduate and graduate programs, but costs more due to the greater number of credits those students take. The increase for the school of Architecture and Planning will be approximately 5.1 percent and tuition for students in the School of Law will increase by approximately 4.0 percent.

Students in the NCSS will see their tuition increase by the greatest amount - 6.0 percent. Their tuition however is less than other programs at a cost of $8,900 per semester. The Intensive English program also saw an increase this semester of 5.2 percent to approximately $6,800 per semester. These two programs last year saw no increase while other programs saw tuition increases of approximately 5.0 percent.

According to this letter, cost for housing and meals will increase as well, both by an amount of 5.0 percent to cover costs associated with these services on campus. The cost of housing and meal plans will vary based on types of dorm rooms and amounts of meals.

O'Connell wrote in the letter that the tuition and fees increase was approved to continue the University's commitment to "improve academic programs and technology and to improve the campus and retain world-class faculty."

Despite the increase, O'Connell claimed in this letter that the cost of attending the university was less than many other private institutions, ranking 88th in terms of total student charges for this academic year.

Student Activity Fee Should Not Go into Exec-board's pocket

The issue most deserving of scrutiny this week is that USG is going to propose a referendum which essentially pays each of the five officers $8,000 a year, the fruit of the proposed increase in the Student Activity Fee (SAF). This is beyond absurd - before the scholarships went entirely to their education and came out of the general fund; now they want the money to go straight from us into their pockets.

The nature of the problem arises from the nature of student organizations. Why do people join student orgs? To be part of the group and participate in what's involved, not make money. When the administration revoked the scholarships for student orgs (The Tower included), it was devastating for some and meant leaders had to find the up-to-$12,000 they were counting on. The traditional way of making money is to get a job; or you could pay yourself with money meant for activities. When USG officers ran for their offices, they knew there would not be financial compensation. And if this year is proving more difficult than imagined, don't run again.

Let's not overlook the fact that being a USG officer has its share of perks, including individual offices, supplies, computers and use of University vans. Moreover, all this assumes that officers deserve perks above and beyond putting 'USG Officer' on their resumes and doing the job they ran for and were elected to do, which, by the way, is essentially a popularity contest in the first place.

There must be dozens of things $40K could do, all relating to student activities. The money for the Student Union's second year could come from this; so could any number of events or even the newspaper program. Did it occur to USG to ask students what they would want their SAF increase to facilitate? The bottom line is that all of this money, straight from students, should go to something that benefits more than five people.

President Daryl Lloyd, while competently leading USG this year and making significant improvements, makes it sound like a salary is the thing that would keep these officers accountable. Shouldn't being elected by the student body keep them accountable?

They argue that they perform a service - what about the other student org. leaders who perform services and put in long hours? What org president doesn't put in long hours? This would set a ridiculous precedent. Program Board's officers provide a service and word hard; should they be paid? RHA's? Students for Life's?

This referendum grossly exaggerates USG's influence and productivity. That they don't deserve about $8K a year is obvious. Think about it: how long does it take an average college student to make $8K? This is not their money to put in their pockets. We're all very grateful for their hard work and could show them so when they run again next year.

Granted, in order for this to go through, the proposal would have to pass through USG's red tape and they would have to amend the constitution. Even if it doesn't pass, though, they're still considering paying themselves - which still cuts directly into student activity and organizational funds. Worst of all, they are going about in an underhanded way full of deceit and discontented staffers. All this is an indication of how shady this proposal really is.

Tell us your opinion by writing to cuatower.forum@gmail.com and vote at cuatower.com.

Clint Farrell

Swimming: Women Defeat Salisbury 112-88; Men Lose Close Meet 11-92

In an evenly matched Capital Athletic Conference match last Saturday, the Lady Cards were able to pull off a close victory 112-88 with Catholic's points coming from a field of different swimmers and events. The men were unable to take points in some key events, but still had a great match, losing a close meet losing 111-92.

For the women, freshmen Krystal Dole (50,100 Free) and Leigh Ann Scoppetuolo (200,500 Free) both won their two events. Also adding to the points were junior Liz McGinn (100 Back) and sophomore Caroline Casey (200 IM) who both won their respective events. The women were also able to go home with a win in the 400 Medley Relay thanks to the effort of McGinn, Olivia Chasse, Casey and Scoppetuolo.

The men, despite winning a few events, were unable to come away with a victory. Senior Paul Czar won first place in both the 50 freestyle and 100 back. Senior James Sanders won his 1000 free race, and sophomore Reik Foust took first in the 200 IM. Freshman Andrew Kalna came through with a win in the 100 fly.

The Cardinals finish their CAC season in a duel meet, Saturday on Senior Day, against Goucher and Galludet at the Dufour center at 1 p.m.

Women's Basketball: Second Half Comeback Leads to Victory

After nearly falling to Goucher on Saturday the Lady Cardinals came home to the DuFour Center, staged another comeback, and won their sixth game in a row on Wednesday against York.

Last Saturday at Goucher the Cardinals fell behind early in the game by nine points, but were able to take a ten-point lead with a little over five minutes remaining in the game. Goucher then went on a quick 12 - 0 run over the next three minutes to take the lead. The game continued back and forth until two free throws by Shannon Mertz forced overtime. In the extra period freshman Kristen Linderoth led the way with ten points.

For the game Linderoth led all scorers with 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds off the board. Mertz also had a double double for the Cards scoring 10 while grabbing 12 rebounds.

On Wednesday, a second half comeback was the recipe for success. Entering the half the Cards trailed York by five. With thirteen minutes to play, the ladies trailed by thirteen and needed a quick scoring burst. A three pointer by senior captain Lindsey DiRomualdo sparked the run. Consecutive lay ups by Mertz and Linderoth drew the Cards closer and eventually a Maria Rojas three pointer capped the 15 - 2 run which brought the Cardinals back.

Mertz had another strong game with 15 points and Linderoth had 13 points and eight rebounds. Jackie DeBorger had 12 points and seven assists and freshman Liz Koruda added 12 points in the victory.

The Cardinals head to Gallaudet on Saturday for another match in the Capital Athletic Conference. The game is at 2 p.m. Their next home game is on Wednesday against Salisbury at 6 p.m.

Samantha Bray

Pipe Leak Causes Engelhard to Loose Heat Over Weekend

A pipeline that delivered heat to Engelhard Hall had been leaking about 1700 to 2000 gallons of water a day, until last weekend when outside contractors and Facilities Maintenance and Operations found the problem and repaired it. The construction however led to the heat being shut off to the third floor of Engelhard Hall on Sunday.

According to Bob Fawbush, Associate Director of Facilities Maintenance and Operations (FMO), a leak was noticed in the pipe, when thousands of gallons of water were mysteriously vanishing. FMO hired an outside contractor to test where the location of the leak was with listening equipment.

This was a difficult endeavor due to the unique nature of the leak. Usually when there is a leak the water rises to the surface making the ground noticeably wet and muddy which makes locating the leak easier, but with this pipe the water was going straight downward," Fawbush said. He added that the water might have leaked into a cavity in the ground.

The contractor narrowed the problem down to a two-foot area. FMO dug a test hole and found the problem. There was a half-inch hole in the pipe. When workers found the hole they noticed that the pipe itself was deteriorating due to its 18-year age. Fawbush stated that the pipes are reaching the end of their life expectancy. So 21 feet of pipe was replaced.

During this construction students who lived on the top floor of Engelhard Hall endured a temporary loss of heat on Sunday. "When you replace a pipeline you need to vent the line to get the air out of the system, there was a problem with the vent," Fawbush said. What had happened was while water was reaching the first and second floors the air was preventing the water to get to the third floor, and the water would just circulate around the first two floors. While the students bundled up the construction crew was hard at work to fix the problem. "We worked from four am to four pm on Sunday to fix the heat problem," he added.

Heat was restored to the parts of Engelhard Hall by late Sunday afternoon, and all major construction is finished. The sidewalk leading to and from Centennial Village's South Gate, and right up to Engelhard Hall's entrance where the construction was located is still blocked off due to need to replace the bricks in the sidewalk.

Next Page »