In their hearts and minds

Assistant women’s hockey coach recovers as team pushes forward

By Ethan Magoc
Editor-in-Chief

Mercyhurst’s women’s hockey team faces

a monumental task this weekend in Boston.
But a hockey game—even an NCAA quar-
terfinal match that would send the Lakers to
their third-consecutive Frozen Four—seems
inconsequential when compared with the
battle the team’s assistant coach, Kristen
Cameron, has fought the past six months.
Cameron set out for a bicycle ride on the
evening of Sunday, Sept. 12. She pedaled all
the way to Summit Township, making her
way at about 6 p.m. on the shoulder along
a stretch of road at 9071 Peach St. when
50-year-old Erie resident Allen Francis Peters
struck her with his 1979 Chevrolet Caprice.
Cameron was thrown 50 feet from her
bicycle. Peters kept driving for another 300
yards, pulled over and examined his dented
Contributed photo
hood and shattered windshield.
Assistant coach Kristen Cameron, who would have sat in the bottom left between goaltender Hillary He then drove home.
Pattenden and coach Michael Sisti, remains a strong motivator for the women’s hockey team this year. Continued on page 2

More Inside & Online

Plain White T’s Living the Values: Photos: Dervish Opinion: A call
scheduled to play Michelle Ellia brings traditional for Catholic
Spring Fest if relishes role with Irish folk music Church to accept
contract approved D’Angelo Center with flair, humor homosexuality
Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6
Page 2 NEWS March 9, 2011

Hockey coach Kristen Cameron’s

rehabilitation ahead of schedule
Continued from Cover
A witness followed him and
reported his address to the police
who then arrested him on 14
charges. He pleaded guilty to two
DUI-related charges Tuesday and
will face up to 10 years and six
months in an April sentencing.
Cameron was rushed by ambu-
lance to Hamot Medical Center,
where, according to women’s
hockey head coach Michael Sisti,
“she needed two very long, very
serious operations to stay alive.”
She suffered a broken back and
three neck fractures. She has also
been unable to walk, and a Decem-
in each day on small tasks like get-
ting dressed.
Prior to the accident, Cameron-
was just beginning her second
season coaching at Mercyhurst. She
helped the team reach the Frozen
Four in 2010 by assisting with on-
ice instruction, scouting, video
breakdown and day-to-day office
duties.
“(Coaches) Paul (Colontino) and
Louis (Goulet) have had to handle
her workload,” Sisti said with a
smile, “so that’s been interesting.”
Well respected among the play-
ers, Sisti said she brings a dynamic
aspect to the team’s staff because
an outpouring of support she has
received from all over Canada, from
her home region of Prince Edward
Island and from Mercyhurst. A
Facebook support page for her and
her parents, Brian and Joanne, has
garnered more than 1,100 people,
and countless fundraising events
have taken place on both sides of
the border.
“It’s been really tough at times,”
said the 25-year-old Cameron. “I
have little things around my room at Tyler Stauffer photo
the hospital, and it’s just to remind
me every day that there is so much An inch of water flooded the third floor of McAuley Hall. The
support for me.” water was cleaned up 30 hours after the incident occurred.
“It’s done nothing but help the

Flood in McAuley
ber report by Toronto’s National she is “closer in age to the girls, recovery process,” she said.
Post stated she was paralyzed from playing women’s hockey like the The motivational relationship
the chest down. By the end of girls have.” between Cameron and her players

2010, she had been transported to
a hospital in Toronto, where she
has continued daily rehabilitation
efforts.
Her team will be playing on the
road Saturday against Boston Uni-
versity in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Sixth-seeded Mercyhurst defeated
Hall cleaned
is symbiotic. They’re playing for a
championship this season as much
for her as they are for themselves,
for Mercyhurst and for Erie, Sisti

These now include working on
transfers from her bed to a wheel-
chair and strengthening her upper
body in an attempt to regain inde-
pendence.
“It doesn’t happen overnight,”
Cameron said Monday morning by
telephone in her first public com-
ments to the Erie news media. “It
takes time.”
Still, some of the hospital’s
occupational and physical thera-
pists tell Cameron that her drive
and determination to earn back
independence have put her reha-
bilitation ahead of schedule.
She has steadily regained range
of motion in her shoulders and
hands since early January, honing
BU in 2010 in Erie, and the Terriers
will be out for revenge.
A complete team effort will be
needed, Cameron said, offering
some advice for the team.
“Just do it together, stay together
as a team,” she said. “I think they’ve
got to the point that they’re doing
that.”
Mercyhurst’s play on the ice and
several players’ visits to her hospital
during academic and season breaks
have provided Cameron inspira-
tion.
“I can’t put into words how
motivational they have been for
me,” she said. “(It was) so great to
see them.”
Cameron also acknowledged
said.
“This is (a year) that made the
girls grow up,” he said. “It’s a real
life situation. It’s very traumatic.”
Cameron declined to speak
about the past—the collision or
the man who caused it. Perhaps
the early success of her rehabilita-
tion stems from that focus on the
future.
And should she watch, from her
hospital bed, the Lakers win this
weekend, her focus will shift to
making the three-and-a-half hour
trip from her hospital to Tullio Arena
for the semifinals on March 17.
“As long as everything falls
into place,” she said, “I should be
there.”
30 hours later
By Alaina Rydzewski
Features editor
At about 4 a.m. on Feb. 13, third
floor McAuley Hall residents dis-
covered an inch of water in the hall-
way and in half of the rooms.
Someone had clogged the sinks
with paper towels and left the water
running, causing a flood.
The water leaked all the way down
to Police & Safety on the first floor.
The resident assistant who stu-
dents notified, sophomore Joe
Pudlick, immediately called Police
& Safety, as RAs are required to do
on weekends, so Police & Safety
up the water. Maintenance then left
the building, Outside Administrator
Larry Kerr said.
On Monday at 10 a.m., nearly
30 hours after the flooding, a staff
member showed up to shampoo
the carpets.
Standard procedure for this kind
of incident is for Police & Safety
to call the first on-call maintenance
person, and if they cannot come,
then call the second and the third,
and if neither of them can come,
call Kerr or Physical Plant Manager
Ken Stepherson.
The reason only the first on-call
maintenance person was called, Police
& Safety said, was because after the

Peters pleads guilty in DUI accident

By Ethan Magoc
Editor-in-chief
Allen Francis Peters avoided trial and accepted a plea
bargain in Erie County Court Tuesday afternoon.
He entered guilty pleas for a second-degree felony
count of aggravated assault while driving under the
influence and a misdemeanor DUI which, when com-
bined, carry a maximum sentence of 10 years and six
months and a $35,000 fine.
Peters faced 14 charges stemming from a Sept. 12 car
crash in Summit Township that left Mercyhurst wom-
en’s hockey assistant coach Kristen Cameron recover-
ing in a Toronto hospital and unable to walk.
He had been expected to begin trial March 14 but
entered a guilty plea Wednesday before Judge John Gar-
hart.
The remaining 12 charges, including reckless endan-
germent, failure to stop or render aid and driving with-
out an inspection, were dropped.
Peters appeared calm in court and wore street clothes.
He has been free on bond since September.
The prosecution requested the misdemeanor DUI
charge remain standing due to Peters’ level of blood
alcohol content at the time of his arrest. Police discov-
ered a BAC rate of .187, more than double Pennsylva-
nia’s legal limit.
He faces sentencing at the Courthouse on April 26 at
8:45 a.m. before Judge Ernest J. DiSantis.
can then call maintenance.
While waiting for the on-call
maintenance person to come
clean it up, Pudlick and his resi-
dents got out their towels and a
mop and started to clean up the
worst of it. Pudlick drove to Warde
Hall to retrieve a fan so that the
floor could dry.
Maintenance didn’t arrive that
Sunday morning, saying the weather
was too bad to drive in. He said he
would be there at 4 p.m. later that
day, about 12 hours after the flood
occurred.
On Sunday at 4 p.m., mainte-
nance deemed that Pudlick and
residents had sufficiently cleaned
source of the flood had been discov-
ered and remedied, the incident was
considered taken care of.
The flooding had stopped, but-
that didn’t help McAuley residents
who lived with wet hall and bed-
room carpets until Monday.
What further frustrated building
residents and RAs was that a simi-
lar flooding incident had occurred
the previous weekend. Maintenance
did not show up at all, even though
a clean-up had also been recom-
mended through the RAs and
Police & Safety.
Assistant Director of Residence
Life Jessica Provenzano, who over-
sees freshman living areas, could
not be reached for comment.
March 9, 2011 NEWS Page 3

Former ’Hurst employee News Briefs

sells 104.9 Jazz FM Watson’s killer gets 23 years to life

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Steven Pieper, former boyfriend of

By Alaina Rydzewski
Features editor
Jazz FM, Mercyhurst College’s
radio station, recently experienced
a huge change. 104.9, one of the
college’s two broadcasting frequen-
cies, was sold.
Jazz FM now operates solely on
88.5.
Mercyhurst College did not
choose to sell 104.9, and neither did
Jazz FM Director Mike Leal.
Why?
The college didn’t own it.
Bill Shannon, an Erie resident
and former Mercyhurst employee,
bought the frequency from the
Federal Communication Commis-
sion (FCC) for $1 in 1984, and on
Feb. 22, 2011, he sold it for $62,500
to Citadel Broadcasting, according
to the FCC website.
For the previous 10 years, Mercy-
hurst had a contract with Shannon
allowing the use of the frequency at
no charge. Shannon was the former
manager of WMCE. That agree-
ment expired three years ago.
When Leal found out that Citadel
Broadcasting was interested in pur-
chasing the frequency, he contacted
the college but received no response.
“I did ask the school if they were
interested in pursuing the idea of
purchasing it, but I never received
any official word back from them,
just ‘heard’ that administrators were
The blue circle indicates the reach of the 104.9 frequency,
which Jazz FM used from 1984 to 2011.
not interested in helping to pay for
it,” Leal said.
Over the years, 88.5 has gotten
permission from the FCC to
increase its power, and it is now
three times stronger than 104.9.
Thus, the sale “should not affect
listeners at all,” Leal said.
“Since he was actively selling it,
we felt it was important to turn it
off and alert our listeners to tune
to 88.5.”
The station will remain in pos-
session of the 104.9 broadcasting
Google Maps
equipment, which will be used as “a
back-up auxiliary for 88.5. In other
words, (the equipment) will be used
as a back-up in case we lose power
to our main transmitter,” Leal said.
He noted that Shannon only owned
the license, not the equipment.
Why should listeners care?
The main importance, Leal said,
is to “alert listeners and get them
used to hearing the jazz signal on
88.5 FM, especially as we get closer
to our Spring Membership Drive
later in March.”
murdered Mercyhurst student Jenni-Lyn Watson, was sen-
tenced Tuesday to 23 years to life in prison for Watson’s
November murder.
Pieper, 21, strangled Watson, 20, in her home while she was
home on Thanksgiving break, then dumped her body in a
nearby park. He had previously planned to take the case to
trial, but pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Feb. 15.
Two years were taken from his possible sentence of 25 to
life.
“You deserve to spend the rest of your life in prison,” Onon-
daga County Judge Anthony Aloi said to Pieper Tuesday in
court, according to WSYR of Syracuse.
Pieper and Watson had dated for more than a year before
she broke up with him last fall. He apologize and described
the murder as “cowardly and self-centered,” according to The
Post-Standard of Syracuse.
Former hockey players’ hearing scheduled
Kyle Just and Jordan Tibbett, former Mercyhurst College
hockey players, will face a preliminary hearing in their sexual
assault case on Wednesday at 2 p.m. before Erie District Judge
Joseph Lefaiver, 460 E. 26th St.
The case, which underwent two continuances in November
and February, began in November when a woman told police
the two sexually assaulted her and forced her to perform a sex
act on them on Nov. 14 in a Briggs apartment.
They were each charged with a sexual assault felony count and
released on $10,000 bond. Since their prison release and sub-
sequent departure from Mercyhurst, they joined junior hockey
league teams. Just competes with the Pembroke Lumber Kings
in Ontario and Tibbett plays for the Youngstown Phantoms.

Plain White T’s tentatively to play Spring Fest

By Kelly Luoma
Managing editor
A Facebook status leaked late
Monday night that the Plain White
T’s may play at Mercyhurst College’s
Spring Fest this year.
Junior Michelle Tatavosian
posted on her Facebook that the
Plain White T’s would play at Spring
Fest after a friend directed her to
look at the band’s website.
The Plain White T’s website
shows the band will play at Mer-
cyhurst College on Friday, May 6,
which is the night of Mercyhurst’s
Spring Fest concert.
Student Activities Council (SAC)
Chair Char Lichtinger asked Tata-
vosian to remove the post from her
Facebook.
She told Tatavosian that “noth-
ing’s official. Please take it down,”
Tatavosian said.
Tatavosian removed the post.
“People should be allowed to put
on Facebook saying the Plain White
T’s are coming if you can find it on
their website,” she said.
Lichtinger explained the reason-
ing for asking Tatavosian to remove
her Facebook status.
“We don’t want people’s hopes to
get up if it doesn’t work out,” she
said.
There is a chance that the Plain
White T’s will not perform at Spring
Fest.
“Nothing has been finalized
at all,” said Sarah Allen, assistant
director for the Center for Stu-
dent Engagement and Leadership
Development.
Allen received a 22-page contract
from the band on Friday, which she,
Lichtinger and Colleen O’Hara,
Mercyhurst Student Government
events coordinator, will review.
Allen will send the contract back
with revisions.
Sharrin Summers, executive dri-
ector of publicity for Hollywood
Records, said the two parties will
work as quickly as possible to final-
ize the contract.
“There could be a possibility that
they could back out,” Allen said.
If Plain White T’s backed out now,
SAC has no other bands in mind.
If everything goes as planned,
You Hang Up, which features actor
Frankie Muniz, and Romantic Era,
comprised of Mercyhurst and
Gannon students, will open for the
Plain White T’s.
SAC planned to announce these
bands in April through a video via
Facebook. SAC typically waits until
the contract is signed to announce
the Spring Fest band.
“It’s all very disappointing to us
that it has occurred this way,” Allen
said.
Lichtinger said she wished the
announcement of the band would
have gone as planned, but despite
the surprise being ruined, she is
excited about the concert.
“I’m happy people are excited,”
she said.
Plain White T’s is “our first
choice, and we got them, hope-
fully,” she said.
Page 4
Living the Values: Michelle Ellia
By Alaina Rydzewski
Features editor
The values and mission of Mer-
cyhurst College are integral parts of
the vision and realization not only
of the college itself, but also of the
way students and faculty carry out
their daily lives. The values affect
their actions, thoughts and lives as
a whole.
Michelle Ellia, assistant market-
ing manager at the Mary D’Angelo
Performing Arts Center, experi-
ences this every day—she gradu-
ated from Mercyhurst in 2007 and
has been working here ever since.
“As an alum and employee of
Mercyhurst College, the work I do
is promoting what we offer here. I
am the megaphone—I engage and
encourage the community to par-
ticipate in the events we have,” Ellia
says.
Ellia graduated with a communi-
cation major with a business minor
and believes her choice of study has
served her well thus far.
“My business minor made me
aware of how we are a connection
to the outside world.”
She sees the values and the mis-
sion in her job and life on a regu-
lar basis, and appreciates what they
‘Mustache Bowling’ to support AdPro
By Lynn Dula
Staff writer
AdPro, the student chapter of
the American Advertising Federa-
tion, will hold “Mustache Bowling,”
a benefit at Rolling Meadows Bowl-
ing Alley on Saturday from 1 to 4
p.m.
The fundraiser will benefit AdPro
and its student scholarship fund,
and also raise money for students
to attend an AAF career conference
in Chicago.
“AdPro is a great way for students
to work in a team environment and
get real world experience,” senior
Laura McCarty said. “Design and
marketing students get the chance
to design and promote items for
Michelle Ellia has experienced the values of Mercyhurst Col-
lege in her daily life since she started as a student in 2003.
have brought to the college and to
the PAC.
“What the PAC really represents
is more of Mercyhurst College’s
clients, fundraiser events and other
events that we put on throughout
the year.”
“Not only does Adpro create a
great social environment, but its
tie to the AAF also allows students
to participate in career conferences
and fairs,” said senior Lisa Bathory,
AdPro and student chapter AAF
president.
Aside from the professional ben-
efits of AdPro, the organization
also volunteers in the community
and organizes events within the col-
lege.
“Throughout the year, AdPro
is involved in a variety of differ-
ent activities from social events to
art shows to community service,”
Bathory said. “We also do annual
Halloween parties, White Elephant
FEATURES
Ethan Magoc photo
vision to educate the whole person,
which is what the tradition is. We
enhance that not only in the Mercy-
hurst College community, but also
parties and recruitment parties
which allow students to be more
involved and meet other students
outside our major. We also volun-
teer in Christmas on Campus.”
The other advantage of AdPro is
the student scholarship fund.
“Each year, the American Feder-
ation of Northwestern Pennsylva-
nia awards thousands of dollars in
scholarships to regional college stu-
dents working towards degrees in
advertising, graphic design, journal-
ism and related fields,” AFNWPA
President Brian Amick said. “This
fundraiser will help us continue to
provide these important scholar-
ships, and will also allow us to con-
tinue our mission of improving the
local business community through
professional development, net-
March 9, 2011
What is your
favorite part of a
in the Erie community, too, with the
events we have.” new term?
An example of this is the
Guelcher Film Series. Documenta-
ries like “Food, Inc.” and “Enron:
The Smartest Guys in the Room”
open the eyes of students and com-
munity members to things they may
never have been exposed to before.
“We use the arts as a platform.
The purpose is to transform people “Having a completely
and introduce them to issues they
clean slate and knowing
didn’t know were issues. It gives
that right now I have the
people a chance to see what is out
there, take a risk, experience some- opportunity to do every-
thing new,” Ellia says. thing right this term.”
The cultural events that the PAC -Jane Henry,
brings to the community also serve
junior
as an outlet for dance and music
majors to express themselves, thus
enhancing the intellectually creative
value.
“It gives them the opportunity,”
Ellia says, “to expand their horizons
by providing things that are chal-
lenging and them to take these risks
and challenge themselves.
“The arts helped me to find my
niche, and that is what being a part “Getting to see my
of Mercyhurst College and the lib- roommates when we get
eral arts is all about,” she says.
back from break, as well
as seeing all my friends.
Editor’s note: Living the Values
will be a monthly series featuring college Knowing that I don’t
employees who also graduated from Mer- have a test right around
cyhurst College. the corner, and major
papers are due at the
end of the term. When
spring term starts, it’s
nice because the weather
working, and professional recogni- begins to change and it’s
tion opportunities.”
“Mustache Bowling” has been
absolutely gorgeous.
organized by Bathory, the Perform- -Alianna Whiteaker,
ing Arts Center Assistant Marketing sophomore
Manager Michelle Ellia, and other
AdPro board members, includ-
ing McCarty and seniors Margaret
Moltz and Debbie Brunner.
So for an “evening of mischief
and mustaches,” simply “round up
a team of up to five bowlers, put
on some ’staches and come bowl
for a good cause,” states the event’s
brochure. “Starting fresh, getting
Students must be 21 years and to meet new people and
older to attend the benefit. The cost
syllabus days!”
is $20 per person and $15 for stu-
-Bryan Byrnes,
dents. Questions can be directed to
Michelle Ellia at extension 2194 or sophomore
mellia@mercyhurst.edu.
March 9, 2011 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
‘Winter’s Bone’ proves to be a harsh yet honest
By Claire Hinde
Staff writer
The Guelcher Film Series pre-
sented each Wednesday in the
Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts
Center has a knack for showing
films that expose part of the
heart of life.
Such films from this season
such as “That Evening Sun,” are
often a bit harsh, showcasing a
cross section of life and human-
ity.
These films are always out-
standing in the film world.
Today’s presentation of “Win-
ter’s Bone” is no exception. The
film will be shown in the PAC at
2:15 and 7 p.m.
Winner of Best Picture and
Missourifilm.org photo Best Screenplay at the Sundance
Jennifer Lawrence portrays Ree Dolly in a gripping tale of Film Festival, “Winter’s Bone”
Ozark life. tells an incredible story of family
codes and perseverance.
Dervish brings Irish folk music with a flair
On Friday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m., Irish band Dervish came to the PAC
with its eclectic blend of traditional and contemporary music.
Seventeen-year-old Ree Dolly
sets out to save her family’s
Ozark home, up for repossession
when her father put the property
up for his bail and skips town.
As she pushes through lies,
obstacles, and threats to save her
family’s property, a tale of over-
whelming and shocking suspense
unravels.
Her struggle becomes almost
tangible to the audience, as the
drama hangs menacingly in the
air.
Jennifer Lawrence takes the
lead as Ree, receiving the New
Hollywood Award at the Holly-
wood Film Festival.
The young actress is beginning
to make waves in the film world
from her sudden beginnings at
age 14.
Despite the twirling world
of Hollywood that is becoming
more and more enamored with
her, Lawrence seems to have a
Tyler Stauffer photos
Page 5
very honest approach to acting.
When interviewed by Tribute
Movies, Lawrence said about the
roles she’s chosen “they’re not
stupid. So many scripts are stupid
for young blonde girls.”
She goes on to speak about the
authenticity of the film and the
role locals played in its making.
One can find hope for the film
industry in such an honest pre-
sentation of a story.
A desperate version of the
American dream, “Winter’s
Bone” shows the audience a piece
of humanity and importance of a
place to call home, whether it is
perfect or not.
Presenting a spectacular script,
astounding performances, and
genuine honesty in its making,
“Winter’s Bone” is a feature
worth seeing, especially with no
cost to students.
Tickets are free for students
with a Mercyhurst ID.
Page 6
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.
Lady Gaga speaks out against intolerance
By Caitlin Handerhan
Staff writer
As I eagerly waited in line
with thousands of other little
monsters outside the concert
last Saturday, politics was the
last thing I expected to be think-
ing about after an evening with
Lady Gaga.
Despite an unforgettable
night with great seats, intricate
set design, insane lights, epic
songs and the mother monster
herself, I came away from the
concert with much more than I
ever expected.
In between songs, Gaga
addressed the crowd, and it was
Gays deserve Catholic acceptance
By Mike Lado
Staff writer
So, my last three columns were
about the economy and spending.
But it’s time to dwell on one of
the most controversial issues of
our time: homosexuality.
As a Catholic college, Mercy-
hurst holds a special meaning to
Catholics like me who identify as
gay. When I arrived here earlier in
the year, I was shocked, albeit in
a good way, that we have a Gay-
Straight Alliance on campus. At
first, I thought Catholicism and
my gayness were incompatible.
However, I realized that, despite
popular opinions and what main-
stream media says, the Church
actually strives to include LGBT
people in its community.
I am not saying there isn’t
homophobia in the church. I
agree with popular opinion on
this, that more outreach work
needs to be done by the Catholic
Church towards LGBT people.
For more columns, visit merciad.mercyhurst.edu/opinion.
then that I heard something that
resonated with me far more than
any of the driving beats in her
chart-topping songs. Keeping
with the theme of her latest hit,
“Born This Way,” Gaga began a
monologue about religion, bul-
lying and how un-Christian it is
to hate.
Recounting how bullying
marred her own adolescence,
she wove together her message
of acceptance throughout the
show. She boldly called out all
those who discriminate, includ-
ing the religious right for its
persecution of the gay commu-
nity. She even gave the Buffalo
crowd the e-mail address of a
New York State Senator threat-
ening to block equality legisla-
For example, the Sisters of
Mercy of the Americas are very
friendly to LGBT people. I was
browsing their website one day
and came across an article by a
nun named Sister Ann McGov-
ern. In the article, titled “Homo-
sexuality: From Tolerance to Love
and Appreciation,” she explains
that the Catholic Church needs
to focus on integrating LGBT
people into the church.
The U.S. Conference of Cath-
olic Bishops also released an arti-
cle called “Always Our Children.”
This article was intended for par-
ents of the faith who have teens
who identify as LGBT. The arti-
cle encourages parents to reach
out to their LGBT son/daughter
and to try to understand what
they are going through.
I am a gay Catholic, and when
I came out last year, I expected to
find support. Instead, I found a
priest who told me to change my
thinking and find a girl.
How homophobic is that?
Officially, the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops
says the following: “The Chris-
OPINION
tion, encouraging her followers
to voice their views.
In light of the recent contro-
versy surrounding the Westboro
Baptist Church and its ignorant
protests at military funerals,
Lady Gaga’s message to reject
hate hit home more than ever
before.
The Westboro Baptist
Church has declared that Presi-
dent Obama, members of the
Supreme Court and United States
military are “going to hell for
being part of the United States’
wicked, gay-condoning culture,”
according to the congregation’s
attorney.
While I feel it is within that
church’s constitutionally pro-
tected rights, it is appalling to me
tian community should offer its
homosexual sisters and brothers
understanding and pastoral care.
More than 20 years ago, we bish-
ops stated that “Homosexuals
should have an active role in the
Christian community.”
The Catholic Church has a
landscape of varying opinions
on LGBT people, those that
range from extremely homopho-
bic clergy (like I experienced),
to those who are understanding
men and women who care about
the LGBT people in their parish.
I call on the Bishop Donald W.
Trautman to address this issue
in the Diocese of Erie. I am not
saying the Church should con-
done same-sex activities or mar-
riage; in fact, I am very happy
being gay and living a chaste
lifestyle that is sanctioned by the
Church for LGBT people. What
I am saying is that the Church
needs to stamp out homophobia
and welcome LGBT people with
open arms, saying “We love you,
God loves you, and you don’t
have to face these feeling alone.”
March
September 9, 2011
3, 2008
to see the protests of the West- have fueled the success of Gaga’s
boro Baptist Church; their mes- latest hit, “Born This Way.” The
sages include signs claiming hell message throughout her work
and damnation for those they transcends traditional boundaries
have deemed different. and is something that everyone
For me, I have never under- can identify with.
stood and, frankly, cannot agree As I left the arena and my first
with the idea that religion can be Lady Gaga experience, I still felt
used to justify hatred of another frustration toward the religious
person. Rejecting someone for right movement, but it was a
their lifestyle, political views, or refreshing experience to see my
even who they are is wrong, and political beliefs reaffirmed along-
using religion to rationalize the side 18,000 others in the audi-
hatred is worse. ence. Politics juxtaposed with
If you believe that God is the pop culture was never the factor
divine creator, how can a person I thought would be the most
be discriminated against and memorable part about my first
hated for being true to how they Monster Ball, but then again, you
feel? never know what to expect with
Perhaps it is this frustration Lady Gaga.
with hypocritical sentiments that
If you don’t want it printed . . . don’t let it happen.
Editors Positions @mercyhurst.edu
Ethan Magoc Editor-in-Chief editormerciad
Kelly Luoma News Editor newsmerciad
Alaina Rydzewski Features Editor featuremerciad
Victoria Gricks Opinion Editor opinionmerciad
Spencer Hunt Sports Editor sportsmerciad
Alex Stacey A&E Editor entertainmentmerciad
Kaitlin Badger Graphics photomerciad
Tyler Stauffer Photo Editor photomerciad
Ethan Johns Web Editor ejohns89
Daniela Carcamo Ad Manager admerciad
Bill Welch Adviser wwelch
Brian Sheridan Adviser bsheridan
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.
March 9, 2011 Sports Page 7

Women’s hockey slighted with NCAA berth

the Terriers still received the third
By Spencer Hunt seed.
Sports editor Boston College earned an appro-
priate seed. They won their confer-
The Mercyhurst College women’s ence, beating Northeastern in the
hockey team is fresh off its ninth championship game. This is the
straight College Hockey America same Northeastern team that beat
championship and thought it might BU, who got seeded above Boston
host an NCAA quarterfinal game College. However, Boston College
this weekend. has one of the tougher trips to the
All season, they have been among championship, needing to beat No.
the top five teams in the country. 5 Minnesota and the winner of
But much to the Lakers’ and the Wisconsin/Minnesota-Duluth
their fans’ surprise, they were match-up to reach the title game.
passed over Sunday night during Finally, Mercyhurst. They managed
the NCAA field selection. After a to win yet another conference title,
sound 29-5-0 record and a national finishing it off with a come-from-
ranking ranging between three and behind victory against host Syra-
five all season, a fourth seed seemed cuse. The Lakers finished fourth
reasonable. But the top four seeds and fifth in the major polls. Some-
were the University of Wisconsin, how, that’s the seed they got.
Cornell University, Boston Univer- Even though the seeding did not
sity, and Boston College. pan out quite as the team had
Wisconsin and Cornell were obvi- hoped, the Lakers seem hungry to
ous choices for a first and second earn their place among the elite in
seed. They both won their respect- women’s hockey.
tive conferences and had only four “Everyone deserves to be in the
total losses between them. They final eight, and it won’t be an easy
deserved their ranking. The final road,” head coach Michael Sisti
two spots were up for grabs. said.
Boston University finished the Assistant captain Jesse Scanzano
season 4-4-1 in its last nine games was equally displeased with the
and lost in the conference semi- seeding.
Ethan Magoc photo
finals to Northeastern University. “It is what it is. It’s just one game,”
With a win at Boston University on Saturday, the Lakers could make their third-consecutive Scanzano said. ”We want revenge
Yet even after their rocky finish,
appearance in the Frozen Four. on everyone.”

Bus to Boston planned

for women’s hockey fans
Want to go to Boston for the Lakers quarterfinal
game against Boston University?
Thanks to SAC, the Athletic Department, and
the President’s Office, a bus has been made
available for students.
There are 52 tickets available. To reserve your
spot, go to the Student Union at 9 p.m. on
Thursday. A $10 cash deposit is needed (it will
be returned the day of the trip).
The bus will leave Saturday at 4 a.m., and return
3 a.m. Sunday.
March 9, 2011 Sports Page 8

Mercyhurst sends four to national tournament

By Matt Cirell
Staff writer
Four of the wrestling team’s student
athletes—Mike Pollard, Fred Hale,
Jordan Shields and Londele Cox—have
earned quite a bit of success this
season. All four landed a spot in the
NCAA Division II national wrestling
tournament March 11 and 12.
These student athletes, as well as the
rest of the team, proved tough enough
to lift Mercyhurst to a top 25 ranking
in the national Division II poll.
Mercyhurst will compete against such
top contending schools as Nebraska-
Omaha, Augustana and Newberry.
“It’s going to be very hard,” 157-
pound wrestler Jordan Shields said.
Shields has an impressive record of
24-4.
“There will be no strikeouts in this
tournament. It comes down to the
simple fact that the tougher guy wins.
I am tired now, but when I get to the
tournament, I’ll feel like a kid in a candy
store,” he said.
Mike Pollard will join Shields. The
freshman wrestler weighs in at 197
pounds and has set the school record
for pins in a season. Pollard also has
an impressive record of 26-10 with
18 pins.
Senior Fred Hale will compete as a
heavyweight with a record of 13-5.
Hale’s explosive strength and quickness
will make him a formidable competitor
in this national tournament.
Freshman Londele Cox, meanwhile,
begins his first national competition
at 184 pounds. Cox is from Pittsburgh
and was a four-sport athlete in high
school in wrestling, football, baseball
and track.
“It is very exciting,” coach Mike
Wehler said. “It will be tough for
the two freshmen being that it’s their
first time at nationals, but they are all
tough and they all have enough talent
to win.”
Last season, Wehler coached the team
to a 14th place finish in the national
tournament and has high hopes for the Ethan Magoc photo
four qualifiers this year. Redshirt junior Fred Hale, left, is one of four Mercyhurst wrestlers headed to
the Division II National Tournament. Coach Michael Wehler is at his right.

Men’s basketball season ends

Ethan Magoc photo Ethan Magoc photo

Mercyhurst’s Iddo Cohen goes up for a shot against Slippery Rock’s Maron Brown (30) during the first Mercyhurst’s Olivier Dupiton, holding crutches,
half on Tuesday, March 1, at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Slippery Rock won the PSAC tournament Bryheem Charity (21), and Shelton Jackson (15)
quarterfinal game, 51-45, and ended the Lakers’ bid for a conference title. The Rock lost in the title walk off the court following their team’s 51-45 loss
game to IUP. Mercyhurst, meanwhile, was passed over for a bid to the NCAA tournament despite a to Slippery Rock on Tuesday, March 1, at the Mercy-
recent No. 25 national ranking. hurst Athletic Center.