107 - Issue 16

The headache of final examsTips, Test Taking, Student Thoughts, Help, and

More to Get you Through

Roman Verzub

December 1, 2008

Finals Week

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SubmissionsEditorials, Articles , Letters to the Editor, Student Columns, Etc.:cauldroneditors@hotmail.com

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Nick CaminoChristopher EnochJayson GerbecSairah ZaidiLaura KrawczykRoman Verzub

Faith LarraineRobert Ivory

Steve ThomasMichael QuinteroFrank GrigonisAnne Werner

Christina NiehausDan LangshawEric SeverEmily OuztsDrew CappyAlexes SpencerMelissa AlewineCheryl D. MelloJonathan ‘Killstring’HerzbergerBob DemyanRobert RozborilStephanie BerhannanRon ArnettLeah JureskoNathan Genovese Kyle GibsonRaymond Carr

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Volume 107 no.11 - 11/3/08

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FEAturEThe Headache of Final Exams

1873READ THE CAulDRON ONlINE

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Nick CaminoChristopher EnochJayson GerbecSairah ZaidiLaura KrawczykRoman Verzub

Faith LarraineRobert Ivory

Steve ThomasMichael QuinteroFrank GrigonisAnne Werner

Christina NiehausDan LangshawEric SeverEmily OuztsDrew CappyAlexes SpencerMelissa AlewineCheryl D. MelloJonathan ‘Killstring’HerzbergerBob DemyanRobert RozborilStephanie BerhannanRon ArnettLeah JureskoNathan Genovese Kyle GibsonRaymond Carr

DAy iN thE LiFE Non-Traditional Students Call CSU Their Second Home

Studying for finals stressing you out? That is nothing compared to the stresses that an overlooked population of students here at CSU face.

Imagine each and every day never really ending. You wake at the early crack of dawn to work a full time job, 40 hours a week. After finishing eight hours of work, your day is not over, but is just beginning because now it is time for you to head to CSU for classes.

As you are scrabbling along the way to class, some how you find a quick minute to grab a fast bite to eat and a caffeine boost of some well-needed Starbucks coffee. Then bam! – you are in class for several hours until it is time to go home.

However, upon your return back home your day is still not over, you have to make sure your kids have had their dinner, done their homework, and then tuck them into bed. Once your kids are sleeping peacefully in their nice comfortable beds, it is now your turn to start your homework and then after a few hours of homework now you can finally crash and officially declare your marathon of a day is OVER!

Now you might be wondering who this overlooked population of students is. Well it’s simply the non-traditional student, who is sitting right next you in class. It is no surprise with tough economic times that campuses like

Cleveland State have seen increases in the non-traditional student population. In order to compete today in our every changing global economy, one needs to have at least a bachelor’s degree as a standard requirement for employment at any job.

The average age of a CSU student is not 19, but somewhere close to 26. Most of students who are under the age of 26, and even some professors, do not fully understand the struggles or courage it takes to return back to college in order to finish a dream – a college degree.

The best way to understand what life

is like as a non-traditional is to hear it straight from the source. Luckily for this writer, he has an evening class in which several of his classmates are non-traditional students. Cassandra Jones, Patty Foxwall, and Dawn Lee sat down for an impromptu panel discussion about being a non-traditional student at CSU. “Finishing college was always a goal of mine; my first attempt at college ended when my finances didn’t pan out and it took me a long time to decide what I really wanted to do with my future,” Foxwall said.

All of the ladies agreed with Foxwall about the necessity in completing a life’s dream, a college degree for various reasons. Some of them have been away from school for more than 12 years, which also poses additional stresses in adapting not only the change at home but their second home, CSU.

“It is so stressful keeping up with all the new technology,” Lee explained. Others, like Jones, feel they are “being selfish going back to school and being away from my family.”

Of course there is nothing selfish about one working to better oneself and the lives of their family. All of the students agreed the reward for being a non-traditional student is the boost of energy and motivation they receive by being surrounded by their younger classmates.

They also agreed that having waited so long to return back to school has actually helped them get a better education. Because each of them have experienced a great deal of life already it has only helped give them a deeper understanding of the classes they are taking and a unique wisdom to pass along to their fellow classmates.

So maybe before you judge a non-traditional classmate and just think of them as some old guy or gal taking a college class. You might actually want to take a chance and just talk with them to learn about their life or better yet the wisdom and advice that might actually benefit your own future. However, the only way to realize this, is to just spend a day in the life of a non-traditional student a CSU.

Dan langshaw

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It’s a struggle being a journalist.

Because we have come to the end of this semester, I thought I would write about something that I really know about. With six to seven years of experience under my belt, I think I understand most of the trials and tribulations of the job.

Being a journalist makes you an enemy. People want to know what you are saying about them and some of them go through drastic measures to find out. I have received quite a bit of interesting comments…and not about the stories I write, but about myself in general. I really love it when people try to judge me for who they think I am through my writing.

Some people like to say that it makes you allies as well, but I beg to differ. Those allies are simply just people who like to kiss ass for ad space and publicity. But, not everybody is bad.

You do get to meet and talk to a lot of interesting people. And some of those people just really like talking about their craft or their jobs. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Being a print journalist isn’t going to make you much money. Sure, being in broadcast and maybe in radio can help you to at least live comfortably. Being in print…not so much. According to the PayScale website, the average journalists makes about $30,000 to a possible $60,000 a year, based on experience. PayScale also says that $30,000 is about $12 an hour. That’s not living comfortably. That is living semi-comfortably…maybe.

I know it may not seem like it because this is an opinion column, but there is a lot of research that can go into journalism. When I was in broadcast I had to call people, do online research, look through files, books, magazines, etc. It was a lot of work that most people don’t know about. And writing for print has the same terms as well.

Also, something that really rips my heart apart, print journalism is dying. Everything is going online. People’s jobs are being switched over to digital media and some people are even getting laid off. It is sad that no one wants the feeling of holding a fresh newspaper in the morning.

There are laws for journalists and there are laws that don’t have journalists in mind that go against them anyway. Take for instance the shield law.

The shield law states that no journalist has to share his or her notes or sources to a law official. It should also say, if someone is holding a gun up to your head or you’re some sort of a hostage…you give them up to stay alive. But then you have to think about the other persons lives that you are diminishing if you have to give up their names.

The world of journalism is scary. It’s

dangerous and brutal. You have to be careful who you talk to, who you quote, how you quote them, etc. Most people don’t know that it is UNETHICAL to show them a draft of your work that you have written about them before it goes to print. Well, to whoever reads this, now you know.

It’s hard. It’s difficult. It’s a true struggle to want to be and to actually be in this profession. Some of us do it for the thrill. Some of us do it for the recognition. Some of us do it for the passion of writing. Some of us can’t do anything else. I, myself, fit into each category. I actually want to be an architect…can’t do math so well though. But I believe that I am a great writer. I believe that I can make it in this profession.

The people at this paper wouldn’t be here if they didn’t believe in themselves.

thE StruggLEBeing a JournalistFaith Larraine

mr. Pissed by Frank Grigonis mrpissed.com

With the election of Democratic Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the liberal movement in this country rejoiced.

Long endorsed by key liberal establishments, The New York Times and MoveOn.org, Obama seemed like their golden boy. He may, finally, quell the constant stream of liberal complaining, especially now that the Democrats have won a hefty majority in Congress.

See, for the past forty years, America’s liberals have been telling a series of narratives as to why they have not been in power. The Republican party, through bad luck, dirty tactics, and tragic intervention, has had people like Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove cause people to vote against their own economic interests.

Jimmy Carter was too conservative. Bill Clinton was too conservative. Bush won because of the Supreme Court, and Bush won again because Kerry was “swiftboated.”

The laymen might simply believe that the majority of Americans, who Newsweek describes as “center-right,” just don’t buy into liberal ideas and economic policies.

Enter Barack Obama.The Senator established his whole

presidential campaign on “change” from the previous four years – the Bush Administration years – that he says are the cause of everyone’s problems, here and abroad. If only liberal values were in both the presidency and the Congress,

he argues, everything would magically become better.

The only difference on taxes between Obama and Bush, is that Obama is a classic “tax and spend” liberal – wasting American tax dollars and forcing us to pick up the bill, and Bush is all spend – still wasting American tax dollars on ineffective domestic policies and programs, while causing China to pick up the bill in the billions we borrow from them. It may shock many in the American Left to see just how similar policy-wise Obama is to Bush. Here’s an alphabetical list:

• Abstinence Education – President George W. Bush expanded abstinent education programs significantly during his term. His budget for 2009 includes another $28 million, for example, all in an effort to “teach both abstinence and contraception to teens.” Obama, all the way back in April, said that “we want to make sure that, even as we are teaching responsible sexuality and we are teaching abstinence to children, that we are also making sure that they’ve got enough understanding about contraception.” Change? What change?Affirmative Action• - In 2003, in a speech at the University of Michigan, Bush said he was in favor of diversity of all kinds, including racial. He argued,

however, that the method used to achieve it was “fundamentally flawed” because it depended solely on race. He said that other factors, like socioeconomic status should be considered – this would include poor, white students as well. Obama now agrees. He is ready to change the focus of affirmative action programs altogether, away from race to economic class. When asked about affirmative action in a debate in Philadelphia with Sen. Hillary Clinton, he said that his own privileged daughters should not get affirmative action, but that working-class students of all races should. I am sorry, did you say you wanted to “change” something?Budgets• – President George W. Bush proposed 19 budgets during his time in office. Obama has voted for every single one of them. Where is the change?Capital Punishment• - Like Bush, Obama strongly supports the death penalty. He recently spoke out in opposition to a Supreme Court decision that denied the death penalty for child rapists. In his 2006 memoir Obama wrote, “I believe there are some crimes – mass murder, the rape and murder of a child – so heinous that the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage by handing out the ultimate (capital) punishment.” Do you see change coming? I don’t.Education• – Just like Bush, Obama strongly supports charter schools. Also like George W. Bush, Barack Obama strongly supports merit pay for teachers. He voted and supported Bush’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers, for example. Is there “change” we are supposed to see here?Economics• - Though this is clearly one of the main issues where Obama tried to separate himself from Bush, the fact is that Obama told reporters he agreed with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and President Bush’s $700 billion bailout package. Where’s the change here?Energy• - In 2005, President Bush signed the $12.3 billion Energy Policy Act that he said “promotes dependable, affordable, and environmentally sound production and distribution of energy for America’s future.” Obama voted for the energy plan and called it a “…first step toward decreasing America’s dependence on foreign oil.” This may be true, but how is Obama exactly going to claim to be the anti-Bush “change” candidate?

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WiLL LibErALS EVEr bE SAtiSFiED? The “Change” We Don’t Need

Roman Verzub

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news ENOCHIAN POlITICAl NOTEbOOk By ChrIstopher enoCh

So it looks like the President-elect’s Cabinet will be complete just in time for the holiday season.

In last week’s Opening Statements, mention was made of Obama’s presidential transition activities and some of the iconoclastic figures he’s tapped to handle the nation’s affairs. From the Democratic Party’s 2008 Primary, four out of eight contestants (Obama, Clinton, Richardson, Biden) will soon reside within the Executive Branch as President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Commerce, and Vice-President respectively. Prominent supporters of the primary’s two major candidates as well as party insiders make up the second tier of the President-elects nominations.

While this aura of Democratic unity may bring reminisces of Abraham Lincoln’s “team of rivals,” the nominations of individuals who will run other such Department posts, like Janet Napolitano (Homeland Security), Eric Holder (Attorney General), Rahm Emanuel (Chief of Staff), and Tom Daschle (Health and Human Services) as well as the appointment of former Obama campaign advisors and strategists such as Robert Gibbs (Press Secretary) and Valerie Jarrett (Assistant to the President) may end up seeming more like a team of cronies to your average GOP onlooker than anything associated with America’s celebrated 16th President.

Even David Axelrod, Obama’s former chief campaign strategist and politico is all lined up to replace a man whose campaign practices he spent the last two years campaigning against: Karl Rove. In another late incident of overwhelming irony, Samantha Power, a former advisor to the Obama campaign who was booted from the campaign after calling Hillary Clinton a “monster” in the primary seasons, is set to preside over the transition team which will propel Mrs. Clinton to the top of the State Department.

America’s presidential elections are zero-sum games. The winner takes all: the spoils, the bragging rights, and the Cabinet nominations (though the Senate confirms them). So while many previous Republican voters might feel isolated by this delightfully supercharged upcoming Democratic administration, hopes of bipartisanship in Cabinet appointments as

well as the rest of the Executive branch linger on in the form of other recent nominations.

Robert Gates, current Defense Secretary, will stay on for at least until 2010. Gates has a fantastic relationship with Democrats and Republicans in Congress, as well as a strong career in government over the last 20 years which includes previous positions as Director of Central Intelligence and Deputy DCI as well. There may be no more qualified individual for such a position, and given that Gates carries out Obama’s decisions, he may be a “slam dunk” pick to continue his present career in government.

Other Obama picks, such as Peter Orszag for the Office of Management and Budget, a protégé of Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and Tim Geithner, Obama’s tapped pick for Treasury Secretary and current New York Federal Reserve Bank of New York President will also enjoy bipartisan support for their intellectual prowess in previous economic affairs.

This sentiment will carry over to Obama’s pick for National Security Advisor, retired General Jim Jones. Apart from being a former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and the chairman of the Atlantic Council of the United States, Jones is currently undergoing useful praise for his role as the United States envoy for Middle Eastern Security. Foreign policy-minded Republicans should be more than satisfied that a man like Jones will have Obama’s ear for at least the next two to four years.

Speculation continues. Prominent media outlets have predicted names like retired General and former Secretary of State Colin Powell for Secretary of Education, Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor for Secretary of Agriculture and even Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head up the Environmental Protection Agency.

Massive agendas, such as the one proposed by our President-elect, require massive amounts of competence and support to implement. The question is: can Obama please all Americans when appointments and nominations come to push and shove? Furthermore, given the weight of this critical election and the President-elect’s yet to be proclaimed “mandate”, does he even need to?

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Eric Holder

Janet Napolitano

Rahm Emanuel

Tom Daschle

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blACk FRIDAy PuRE mADNEss David Edwards

A grizzled detective stands at a violent crime scene, fenced in by yellow caution tape. He exhales slowly, an exasperated acknowledgment that he has no idea which way to turn. Suddenly, a stray bit of something catches his eye. Slipping it into a plastic bag, he tells his colleague “Call the lab – we’ve got something for ‘em.” A couple commercial breaks later, and everything is wrapped up neatly – just in time to roll credits.

But does real forensic science work that way?

The Student Government Association thought it might be worth a look, and last Tuesday, hosted a forum with two local experts in the field. Naturally, The Cauldron was on the scene.

Things started off with Linda Spurlock. The newly appointed Director of Health at the Museum of Natural History, Dr. Spurlock took some time out from preparing her debut exhibit (an evolutionarily anthropological look

at history, debuting near the end of February) to share her expertise in bio-profiling and facial reconstruction with the assembly.

Detailing techniques in the reconstruction process, Spurlock walked the audience through the process of building a face from a skull, and creating a workable sketch from said mold. Spurlock’s work has brought closure to a few cases already, and CSU is proud to have her on board (Look for her to begin teaching the odd class next semester).

Up next, Robert Mensforth, took the class through his detective work on the case of one Stephen G. Yano, a student at Dayton University found dead in 2004, ruled a suicide. Forensic Anthropologist Jennifer Clark first brought the case to Dr. Mensforth’s attention. Fresh from two years of working on mass graves in Iraq (some of Clark’s work provided instrumental evidence in the prosecution of Saddam Hussein) Clark learned of the Yano case through her Martial Arts instructor – Gary

Yano, Stephen’s father. Looking through the coroner’s report, she

felt that important details had been overlooked, if not outright ignored. Working together, Clark and Mensforth are in process of piecing together the argument to have the case re-examined – and as the audience was walked through the various stages the body goes through after death, and the various ways that outside influences can affect them, it became clear that Clark and Mensforth are in fact, on to something very real.

As of press time however, the Montgomery County Coroner’s office has yet to re-examine the case.

So in both the theoretical and the practical, the past, present, and hopefully the future, CSU’s forensic anthropologists are indeed solving mysteries both grim in nature, and grave in importance. However, they do not – to the best of this reporter’s knowledge – roll credits upon completing a case.

The customers walked through Target with a look of urgency on their faces, as one after another grabbed carts. The majority of the mob headed straight towards the back, near electronics, as Black Friday officially began last week.

Lisa Whiggiton said she had been everywhere that morning – Kohls and Wal Mart were the first two stops before Target.

“Wal Mart had GPS systems and televisions, but it was hard finding parking because it was so busy,” Whiggiton said.

For many others, it was their first time, like Larry Schmidt, who got a couple of microwaves and various other appliances.

“I thought it would be a little more extreme,” Schmidt said, even though he confessed that some of the items he wanted to get had already been sold out.

His friend on the other hand, Ray Gilliland, said that he has been doing this for a while.

“I have been to other stores looking for DVDs.” It is more than just about saving money for him, saying, “For me, it is like a family tradition.”

Another first-timer to the seasonal shopping spree was Michelle Fronk. She had wanted

to get a TV, but did not want to freeze in line waiting, so she remained in her car until the store opened. Much to her chagrin, tickets for TVs were only being passed out in the line. This experience has dissuaded her from future Black Friday excursions, saying, “I probably will not do it again.”

Traditionally, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, when everything goes on sale. While Black Friday itself is not a holiday, it is a sign that Christmas is coming. The term was originally used to refer to traffic in Philadelphia, but has been changed by the media and retailers as the day sales are supposed to increase dramatically.

Nick Carras, a customer of Target who showed up with his girlfriend at 6:30 a.m. – half an hour after the doors had opened – said that he would be doing it again. Carras did not get a GPS system or Kodak digital Camera, but instead purchased some toys.

“I got some Airhogs for $10 off,” he said. Store Manager Brad Bolander of Target

in Macedonia, Ohio said that the turnout was overall fairly successful.

“It was a healthy turnout, a lot of folks coming in early,” Bolander said.

Westing House TVs, Kodak digital cameras, and GPS systems were just a few of the products on sale.

Unlike many who camped out, eager to get their hands on a new TV or camera, Kim Loyd and her family went without expectations.

“We did not know what we wanted,” Loyd admitted. “We wanted the experience of what it is like waiting for the store to open. We are novices – we thought that we would only have to wait 15 minutes.”

She said that the recent events in the economy seemed to produce less people than she expected, however, Best Buy’s turnout was rather high.

Bolander remained ambiguous when it came to the economy.

“I do not know if it would have been as bad,” Bolander stated. He said that the two-hour rush seemed to go by with minimal problems.

“Any issues that came up where resolved fairly quick and most people left with a smile on their faces.”

There was one complaint Loyd had, but it was not about the store – it was about the climate.

“I wish it was a little warmer.”

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AsGA FORumForensic Science & CSIJonathan ‘Killstring’ Herzberger

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8THE PuPPy mIll PANDEmICCSU Course Challenges Students to Peacefully Solve World ProblemsLaura Krawczyk

The measure of a civilization is how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable members. Words such as these have resounded from the mouths of great leaders across the ages, from Mahatma Gandhi to Hubert Humphrey and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It has always been an archetype of sorts to defend the helpless and defenseless.

Then how much can you tell about a place from the way its animals are treated?

Professor Robert Charlick’s PSC 327 class, Politics of Peaceful World Change, advocates methods of nonviolent communication to solve global problems and conflicts. For the final assignment of the semester, students were challenged to take on a project of their own and influence peaceful change.

Hilary and Donna Corbett, both of whom had already contributed time to Ohio Puppy Rescue, and adopted their rescue dogs, chose this cause to promote awareness at their table, set up in the Main Classroom last Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This is the scene: mesh cages crammed with dogs, stacked in rows from floor to ceiling. Many are so severely malnourished that rib cages are showing, and folds of skin dangle from bodies, a sign of dehydration. Females are forced to breed each time they’re in heat, often with a brother, son, or other close relative, causing hereditary defects, and are killed once they’re unable to reproduce. Puppies are weaned well before the recommended eight to ten weeks. There are lesions all over their bodies from feces and urine acid burns, with the wounds left open and untreated – in many dogs, it also causes eye degeneration and consequent blindness.

These, as well as several-hours long international flights without food or water, or cross-country travel in the backs of semis in the middle of summer without air conditioning, are just a few of the horrendous inhumane acts committed to puppy mill dogs. Consequences of this treatment often lead to poor temperament from a lack of socialization, care, exercise, or human contact.

When unknowing and unprepared families who buy these animals from pet shops encounter the effects of this haphazard breeding, they rarely have the patience, concern, or money to tolerate the poor dispositions of these animals, facing either skyrocketing vet bills, or the more convenient “disposal” of their sickly, mean, or high-maintenance pet, often to the pound.

After WWII, farmers in the mid-west searched for an alternative crop to produce extra

income. Demand for puppies was increasing, and the urge to supply it was exploited. The dogs, because of ignorance or negligence, were housed wherever was most convenient and least expensive – chicken coops or rabbit hutches. Veterinary bills were considered an expendable luxury, and it wasn’t until several years later, when the negative effects of this type of care were discovered, led to the very first government act in defense of these animals in 1966: the national Animal Welfare Act.

Sold via internet, newspapers, or pet shops, many pet mills and backyard breeders avoid the required license from the USDA, which would insure a minimum amount of space for each dog, shelter, a veterinary program, and appropriate sanitary procedures to assure cleanliness, among others. The law which requires USDA licenses also doesn’t apply to

commercial breeders, who sell directly to the public, and amendments to many state laws haven’t been made because of the burden it would put on responsible breeders.

Many of Ohio’s puppy mills are located in Amish country, roughly Holmes and Tuscarawas counties. There, they have some of the highest concentrations of puppy mills found anywhere in the United States; with a human population in Holmes County of 39,000, they issued 470 kennel licenses.

This information was offered at the Corbett’s table last Tuesday. The first step, awareness, was accomplished. The next will be change.

If the Pet Animal Welfare Statute is passed in the 110th Congress, it would require breeders selling more than six litters to be licensed by the USDA, and source records for animals bred overseas.

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Faith/Fatherhood• - George Bush is well known for his faith-based initiatives. He expanded the ability for faith-based providers to get funding, for example. Obama, who rallied against Bush’s policies here, still managed to find a way to support them, saying he would “expand” faith-based initiatives during his administration. He used a speech given on Father’s Day this year to echo President Bush’s Fatherhood Initiative. This case isn’t clear – Obama’s shift in positions may mean real change, or it may just be more of the same politics.FISA• - Obama supported George Bush’s bill to give immunity to telecomm companies that participated in his warrant less wiretapping program. Bush argued this was necessary, saying that “this vital intelligence bill will allow our national security professionals to quickly and effectively monitor the plans of terrorists outside the United States, while respecting the liberties of the American people.” Though he opposed it last year, Obama has since shifted positions, saying that “Given the grave threats that we face, our national security agencies must have the capability to gather intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the

American people.” It’s almost seems as if Obama and Bush have the same speech writer. Obama’s shift has angered a number of liberal groups. The Washington post reported that he had “angered liberal groups.”Gay marriage• - Obama and Bush agree that marriage should remain between one man and one woman. As far back as 2004, Obama said. “Gays . . . should not marry.” In a 2007 Senatorial debate, Obama said “I agree with most Americans, with Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Cheney, with over 2,000 religious leaders of all different beliefs . . . Personally, I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.” Is there a so-called “change” here?Gun Control• - Despite his past endorsement of gun control measures, Obama reacted to the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold people’s right to bear arms in a way that directly parallels the administration’s. Obama now says that he believes now that “the Constitution confers an individual’s right to bear arms.” Change indeed. In his position, that is.Middle-class tax cuts• - While he never voted for them, Obama is now pushing them. “We’ve got to help the middle class,” he said. Had he looked a bit

deeper, he would have seen that Bush has been. In 2001 he signed the Tax Cut Bill, saying that “tax relief is an achievement for families struggling to enter the middle class. For hard-working, lower-income families, we have cut the bottom rate of federal income tax from 15 percent to 10 percent. We doubled the per-child tax credit to $1,000, and made it refundable . . . Tax relief is an achievement for middle-class families squeezed by high energy prices and credit card debt.” Is there even a need for Obama’s “change” if it’s just going to be more of the same?National security• - Obama voted yes to preauthorize George W. Bush’s USA Patriot Act, just as the Bush Administration wanted. Yep, that’s definitely the change we need.Offshore Drilling• - Most Republicans, including Bush have sought offshore drilling. Until recently, Obama opposed it. Now he’s shifted to being for it. In Nashville, Tennessee he told an audience, “We’re going to have to explore new ways to get more oil, and that includes offshore drilling.” The change we need, right?

So congratulations America, you have elected exactly the kind of liberal change we need – none. I guess liberals will keep complaining and nothing will ever get done. Wonderful.

wIll lIbERAls EVER bE sATIsFIED? Continued from Page 5

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It’s nearing the end of the semester, and the weather is getting colder.

For many people, their first thought revolves around one of the three F’s: food, family, and football. Yet for students, the focus is on a different f - final exams.

Final exam season is stressful for many, and can sometimes be the dealmaker between passing a class or having to pay a whole lot of money and spend a whole lot of time retaking it. That is, of course, assuming it is offered the next semester. Some classes are only offered once a year or even once every two years, and then you are stuck - especially if you needed that class to graduate.

Some students cram the night before, others wait until the last minute - each final is different - but in the end, no one is quite confident enough to know exactly what their fate will be come finals.

Tips for Studying

DON’T PANIC! First, make sure you know how much each final is worth in your course. Remember that it is only one (sometimes small) component of your grade, and can sometimes only help you go from a B to a B+.

On the other hand, don’t be too relaxed. Finals can sometimes be significant parts of your grade (upwards of 30%). Don’t slack - take the time and study.

Students should start studying as early as possible. This may mean covering a chapter or two a night until the exam.

It would be wise not to wait until the last minute, so students with questions have time to get clarification from their professors.

Many students find it useful to go through their notes and summarize or re-write them - making them neater and more organized.

Get enough sleep - pulling an “all nighter” will likely leave you oblivious to anything you have learned. There is a reason “sleep deprivation” is used as a form of torture.

You need to resist the urge to relax on “off” days - just because you have no school doesn’t mean you don’t still have a final coming up. Choosing to party on an off day is wasting time you could be using to learn more.

The headache of final

examsTips, Test Taking, Student Thoughts, Help, and More to Get you Through Finals Week By Roman Verzub

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Taking the Test

This cannot be stressed enough - arrive on time for the exam. In fact, arrive EARLY if you can. Ensure that you have enough time to find the testing center, which can sometimes be far away from your normal classroom. Furthermore, there is a reason exams are scheduled to be as long as they are - chances are you will need every minute of the exam time given. Also, don’t count on finding convenient parking right before exam time - come early.

Make sure you also have a good breakfast before you take an exam - you will need energy, and lots of it.

Keep a mental note of the point breakdown for each section of the test. A section of 20 questions worth half a point each can be saved for last, while a section with five essays worth 60 points each is extremely important should be taken first.

Objective exams, so called because they make a special claim at fairness - everyone gets the same questions and the same possible answers, give you the opportunity to use your deductive reasoning skills. Cross out obviously incorrect answers and think through your remaining choices. Also, keep an eye out for “distracter” answers - those put in there by test-makers to try to trick you.

Look at qualifiers very carefully. “Never,” “Sometimes,” “Always,” “Generally,” etc. can change the meaning of the question significantly. Pay very close attention to them.

For essays you should read the questions through first quickly to give your subconscious the first stab. Even if you draw a blank, the answer - or at least a stepping stone to an answer - can come to you when you’re working on a different part of the test.

Watch your time! Don’t spend your whole time writing an off-topic rant. On the other hand, if the professor has given you four hours to write an essay they probably expect you to use that time - don’t write half a page and “bounce outta there.”

Getting Help

You’ve no doubt heard about CSU’s excellent tutoring service, right? Oh you haven’t. Read on.

MC 110W is CSU’s Tutoring and Academic Success Center. They offer free assistance in specific courses, free information about general success strategies, and even free workshops about general topics like study planning, note-taking, active reading, and much, much more.

They also offer walk-in tutoring (no appointment needed) Mon. through Thur. from 11:00 in the morning to about 3:00 in the afternoon. During the last week of classes, Dec.1 through Dec. 5, these hours will be extended. However, it would be wise to check to make sure the specific course is available on the specific day.

Keep in mind you probably won’t be the only student seeking tutoring, so make sure you find out if it’s something you need to pursue as early as you can.

What Students Think

Students have mixed reactions and varying strategies they use to prepare.Pharmacy student Gabe Samad suggests starting early. “Start studying a

month before the text to get a head start,” he explained.Most students are not too fond of finals, but they do have their high points.“It’s at a perfect time of the year [to have exams],” said psychology major

Frank Hudsom. “We get out and then its right on to the holidays.”Hudson describes his study method as a “semi-cram.”“I start studying a week before finals, for a few hours a day on the different

subjects. I always start from the beginning because those are the things that you are most likely to forget. The night before the test I cram all the info that I missed the week before and make sure I know everything else,” he said.

He also recommends some background noise while studying.“Listening to music while studying is extremely helpful, any time of music

will do... because you are still stimulating brain waves that increase brain activity,” he said. “The only problem is you cannot listen to any new music while studying, you will deviate attention from studying to trying to listen to the new tune.”

Music major Brandi Vandervort suggests not blowing off your exams.“Finals are really important, so don’t make it a joke,” she suggested. “Save

the parties for next semester or when you go home.”Vandervort says her method of studying ensures that everything is covered.“I read through all of my notes, homework assignments, and tests,” she said.

“I usually start when the professor gives me a study guide or a week before, which ever comes first.”

With tuition as expensive as it is, it’s important to get your money’s worth. Don’t procrastinate - start early and study hard.

Good luck!

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A JAzzy kiND oF guy Faith Larraine

DDr. Mark Gridley, a psychology lecturer at Cleveland State University, has a musical background that goes back to fifth and seventh grade years.

Gridley was a self starter. He had three generations of musicians in his family but none were jazz musicians. He started playing the flute in the fifth grade and saxophone in seventh grade. Gridley stated that he has always liked the sound of the flute.

“My elementary school had a program where students could get lessons if they picked an instrument,” Gridley said. “I picked the flute because I liked the sound.”

Gridley had his own radio show in high school and in junior high school he gave lectures on jazz. His teacher allowed him to tell other students what jazz was.

“The radio station was called WOAK,” Gridley said. “It was a tiny wattage. The show was an hour.”

When Gridley first came to Cleveland, Ohio he started out as somewhat of a small timer.

“I started to get gigs with different commercial bands and got a reputation for being able to sight-read other band’s arrangements,” Gridley said.

Later on he started his own concert series while he was teaching at Case Western Reserve University. Soon after, he was invited to play with the pit orchestra of the Front Row Theater. According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, this theater was built in 1974, seated about 3,200 people, and cost approximately $3 million.

“It was very important to be able to play more than one instrument in the pit orchestra,” Gridley said. “I could play jazz and I had a reputation for being an improviser. I had sight reading, doubling (playing more than one instrument), improvising, and I was a strong flutist.”

One of the many famous people to play at the Front Row Theater was Sammy Davis, Jr., a great American entertainer and a member of the Rat Pack in the 1960’s. Gridley said that it was the thrill of a lifetime working with Davis.

“He would have a spotlight on his feet and one spotlight on me and I was required to improvise with my flute,” Gridley reminisced. “I was totally free, and he improvised a dance to my flute and I never knew when he was going to stop. He had an arm signal when he was going to stop. It was a real big thrill. At the last night of the gig, he asked me what my name was and he reached down and shook my hand. I got chills up and down my spine just remembering that.”

While in graduate school getting his doctorate of psychology, Gridley taught a jazz history course at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU).

“I had students interested in learning jazz and I taught them what Jazz was,” Gridley said. “I brought in my band and showed them what they do. I showed how each member played their instruments and I would improvise. I brought in all my horns and my flute. I had a trumpet player come in as well.”

Gridley had found out that the Case music

department chair, Dr. John Seuss, was looking for someone to bring the department up to date. He wanted a jazz course and Gridley was delighted to participate.

“The department chair called it History Styles of Jazz,” Gridley explained. “He still comes to some of my concerts.”

Gridley wrote his book Jazz Styles for his students who were taking the history of Jazz Styles at CWRU.

“I would put notes on the chalkboard and then I started making handouts,” Gridley said.

Gridley asked one of the other professors at CWRU over for dinner and asked him to introduce him to an editor so that he could turn his collection of notes into a published book. He gave him the name of his acquisitions editor.

“He had been looking for someone who could write a jazz book,” Gridley said. “He knew there was a market. He took my manuscript and sent it out to other professors and they kind of adopted it. He gave me a contract.”

Gridley also has a band named Gridley’s Trio. On Dec. 6, they will be playing at Pete’s Tavern in Cleveland Heights from 9 p.m. to midnight.

“Pete’s is a very friendly, humble bar with good bar food and a psychology major for an owner. You can also shoot darts and play pool while you listen to the music, if you wish,” Gridley said.

Pete’s Tavern is at 1318 Warrensville Center Rd. Cleveland, OH 44121.

“I could play jazz and I had a reputation for being an improviser.

I had sight reading, doubling (playing more than one instrument),

improvising, and I was a strong flutist.”

As the semester draws to a close, we here at The Cauldron are looking forward to a hard-earned break, and the chance to enjoy the holiday season with some mind-blowingly awesome music. We imagine you may be in much the same position – and we’ve got an advance copy of Santa’s “nice” list – turns out you made the grade! So, enjoy this quadruple-stuffed, extra-special holiday edition of the Cauldron Concert Calendar, and we’ll see you cats and kittens next semester! ~ Killstring & Tex

Alexes’ Pick: 12/6 Bring Me The Horizon at Peabody’s AND/OR 12/27 Affiance at Peabody’s

As you will read later on in this column, there are a lot of good shows this month, almost enough to make me regret my plans of jumping on an Amtrak and heading back to Texas, but I will be here for Bring Me The Horizon. Metal from the UK?! I can’t turn that down, not for 15 bucks, and ladiesss (and some gents), just in case you’re the type that goes to concerts to stare at hot guys, may I introduce to you Bring Me The Horizon vocalist, Oli Sykes? Now, once you’ve had your fill of metal and

hot metal musicians with British accents, (and after Christmas rolls around, and your grandma gives you that 15 dollars you spent on Bring Me The Horizon) you should go to Peabody‘s and see Affiance. Why? Well, for starters, they’re local musicians, not only that, but good local musicians, not the kind who play shows somehow and leave you baffled as to how they still manage to get put on bills. AND (yes, there’s more!) to top it off, it’s only $12.

Jonathan’s Pick: 12/23 Return Of Simple w/His Hideous Heart, Vibronics, Amory Sivertson at the Grog Shop, OR Madison East w/Run Run Addington, Parse, Call Me Constant at Peabody’s

There’s a plethora of amazing shows in December – Jeremy Enigk shouldn’t be missed, Paul Wall and Wu-Tang (FOREVER!) are going to bring their respective houses down, and between Dragonforce and the 9th installment of Chimaira Christmas, there may be nothing left of the city we call home. But on Christmas Eve’s eve, some of the best acts in Cleveland are playing, and it’s a win-win deal. Madison East brings their new singer

and improbably soulful Alt-rock (along with the tragically underrated Run Run Addington) to Peabody’s - and that same evening, indie rockers Return of Simple will grace the Grog. If their thoughtful piano rock doesn’t charm you, I would make the case that you are dead inside, and can feel no joy. These bands truly represent some of the best Cleveland has to offer, and either of these shows is a pithy $6 – that’s a value meal at Taco Bell. Best gift idea under $10 this year – even if it’s a gift for your self.

Worse than Coal: 12/20 Jagermeister tour w/ Hinder, Trapt, Revelation Theory, Backbone.

Someday, we humble music journalists will be rolling around in piles of money, from all the awesome rock news we’ve dished up. When that day comes, we’re going to buy a rocket, strap Hinder to said rocket, then launch said rocket into the heart of the sun. An affront to any and every band that ever had an original thought, Hinder is everything that’s wrong with the commercial radio/record label system. Don’t give them your $25. Give it to us, for the rocket fund. We’d also yet again recommend that you avoid Mushroomhead.

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movie reviewJames Bond: Quantum of Solace

Richard KukowskiJames Bond movies always have certain features. Every person in the audience knows that there will be action, a hot girl, and that someone close to Bond will die. Daniel Craig, the sixth Bond in this famous action series, did a great job of portraying Bond’s character in this film, and yet stayed true to Bond heroism. Quantum of Solace continues straight from Casino Royale so, if you plan on watching it I advise first off that you re-watch Casino Royale at home.

An interesting thing portrayed in this film is that the villains are coming straight from top corporations, and from high ranking people in powerful governments, like America and Britain. An interesting thing that all of the government officials involved say, is that if they didn’t work with villains, then they’d have almost no one to work with. That’s the main excuse for why Bond needs to be put down.

Now, the action, the beginning scene is a nice little bit of driving. A few bullets exchanges, some extremely sharp turns, a little police involvement, a few crashes, some interestingly difficult traffic, and even an explosion or two.

I enjoyed that Bond’s car wasn’t a super car. Sure it was a nice sporty thing, but bullets went through the window, and the door broke off. Basically it was your normal everyday brand new really expensive sports car. The whole movie ended up including a few more similar chases. The chases weren’t limited to roads though; there was an amazing boat chase, and a skillful plane chase. We even had a running chase, which while conducted with Bond doing the chasing, was definitely a fun chase to watch in the theater.

The plot line developed in this film instead of turning in all different directions. We started off not knowing our enemies or allies, and developed into them in a steady fashion before coming to a climax and winning. There were losses, and while we saw those losses affected Bond, and saw him demonstrate that he remembered them as the movie went all, he was able to move on. Even his allies were slightly horrified at how quickly he moved past his friend’s deaths to continue on with the mission.

Even though the movie portrayed top people in the governments as being evil, it did offer some redemption. Our slightly lower ranked people were good guys and helped Bond, and in the end they too won. The villains were removed and the heroes, who risked everything to be heroes, were rewarded accordingly.

J Normally, anyone who expects a movie to be anything like it’s novel counterpart deserves to be slapped in the back of the head with a large, wet fish (preferably bass). In the case of Twilight, fans got lucky. The movie sticks to the book as well as any movie could, and the writers even took the liberty of grabbing some of the between-the-lines portions of the book and giving them bigger roles in the movie, an overall good move.

The special effects are superb in the fight scene, and the baseball game is, quite frankly, really fun to watch. Edward’s moment in the sunlight is also done well, so subtly that it keeps everyone’s favorite Cullen from looking too artificial.

However, on the note of artificiality, there are some instances of too much makeup in an attempt to achieve the token vampire

porcelain-toned skin, and the scenes that require the vampires to run at superhuman speeds and jump inhumanly long distances are extremely unconvincing.

It is also worth mentioning that even if the movie sucked like the vampires in it, it’s worth a watch just for the soundtrack which includes an assortment of today’s most trendy and talented artists such as Paramore, Linkin Park, Mutemath, Collective Soul, and, in true Stephanie Meyer fashion, Muse. What more can you ask for in a soundtrack?

With that said, the movie is overall a good watch, and for once, it can be said that reading the book actually enhances the experience rather than just guaranteeing that the movie-goer will leave the theater planning to pay the writers and director a private visit in an exceedingly dark alleyway.

twilight reviewDoes the Vampire Movie Measure Up?

Alexes Spencer

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Emery’s While broken hearts prevail heals hearts of Embittered Fans by Alexes Spencer

After 2007’s I’m Only A Man hit stores, Emery’s MySpace was flooded with comments, everything from love to words that can only be described as something between hate and extreme abhorrence (with a few expletives thrown in).

Most true fans of Emery hated the album, saw it as something to be cast aside and forgotten about until Emery redeemed themselves with a return to the better days of songs like Walls and Studying Politics.

Well, fans, the time is here. With the release of their EP, While Broken Hearts Prevail, Emery has regained their standing with fans, while managing to keep most of the followers they gained with the pop-laden I’m Only A Man.

The album features both the soft and heavy

sides of Emery, with songs like The Smile, The Face following in the footsteps of their debut album, The Weak’s End and songs like The Edge of the World fulfilling the needs of those who needed another song like Miss Behavin’.

The album is the best Emery ever had to offer, something that can only be described as an example of every good quality the band has. The music features the chilling vocal harmonies of Devin Shelton and Toby Morell, the combination of dark and light music, the heavier and lighter sounds, the rough screams of Josh Head, and the usual heavy-laden and somber lyrics.

This album is the quintessence of Emery, a necessary part of any Emery fan’s collection, and THE album that all Emery fans will recommend to their friends in the future.

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As I sit at my desk, piles of CDs, DVDs, press releases, publicity shots, and broken headphones surrounding me, two things become immediately evident: firstly, that I need to clean my desk, and secondly, 2008 has been a busy year.

So as we at The Cauldron wave goodbye to 2008, and I attempt to find my way through this past year’s releases, that, well… perhaps we ought attempt to help you, our intelligent and well-loved reader to do the same.

However, this is CSU – we’re Vikings. No ordinary awards countdown would do – so rather than rank our entries in some arbitrary order, we recognize the best entries for what it was that made them stand out, and offer up our top choice for the medium. Obviously, opinions will differ, and we encourage you to send your hate-mail constructive criticism to us at cauldroneditors@hotmail.com.

Well then - tongue planted as firmly in cheek as we can muster, The Cauldron is proud to present the first ever Midgard Awards – the very best from this Viking Planet.

Music (With input from intrepid music journalist, Alexes “Texas” Spencer)

Best Rap Album with Pizzicato Strings, trumpet, and overblown political stances: Flobots – Fight With Tools.

Although technically released in October of 2007, this record was bloody well impossible

to find until the ‘bots won a local radio station contest, and consequently had the single “Handlebars” find its way into national radio around April 2008, so we’re

counting it as eligible. From start to finish, there’s a sardonic wit, splashes of light-hearted humor, and a fiery, driving passion that’s been sorely needed in the genre since the dissolution of Rage Against The Machine in 2000. Additionally, the compositional chops being flexed by this band make as compelling a record as Danger Mouse, Dre, or anybody else has mustered. Flo-tastic.

Honorable mentions: DJ Green Lantern w/Immortal Technique - 3rd World, The Roots - Rising Down.

Best totally unexpected move that somehow didn’t suck: Say Hi – The Wishes and the Glitch.

Ok. Many of you have never heard of Eric Elbogen, or this band. Having said that, for an act that had built up a die-hard following of loyal hipsters, and whose last release was an electro-pop record entirely about Vampires to shorten its name (from “Say Hi To Your Mom”), let go of all the current band members, move to Seattle, and write a bunch of heartfelt songs on a self-built computer is hardly the sort of thing one’s agents might recommend. But Wishes is an amazingly delicate record – earnest without whining, intricate without sounding like it, and powerful without shouting. An absolute gem.

Honorable mentions: Kanye West – 808 and Heartbreak, Jakob Dylan – Seeing Things, Norma Jean – The Anti-Mother, NIN – The Slip, REM – Accelerate.

And the 2008 Midgard award for best album goes to... Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid.

Avid readers will remember Kid from the reoccurring column, Now Hear This. For those who missed it, allow us to summarize: The Seldom Seen Kid is a breathtaking journey through a gorgeous and painstakingly crafted watercolor canvas of music. Epic, stirring, and beautiful, Kid takes the best of bands like U2 and Coldplay, and ditches all the pretension, commercialism, and ego-tripping, simply delivering a masterpiece.

Honorable mentions: TV on the Radio – Dear Science, Underoath – Lost in the sound of separation, MGMT – Oracular Spectacular, Emery – While Broken Hearts Prevail, Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend.

Film (With input from studious Biology Major, J.A. Vincenty)

Best case for why being the good guy is no fun at all: The Dark Knight

Congratulations, Bruce Wayne – your love interest left you, died, and you bet everything on a losing horse. Oh, and every cop in the city is after you. Man, this was totally the best thing you could have done with a couple hundred billion dollars.

There’s little left to be said about Nolan and Bale’s somber noir-ish take on Gotham, other

than that you should see it. Repeatedly. Honorable mentions: Milk, Cloverfield.

Best case for why being the good guy might be worth it anyway: The Forbidden Kingdom

Sure, people may have been expecting something completely different when they saw that Jet Li and Jackie Chan were collaborating – certainly not a lighthearted fable that serves as a prologue for one of the great classical folk tales of Chinese literature – but if viewed for what it is, that is to say, equal parts Neverending Story and Sun Wukong’s journey to the west – there’s a quaint coming of age story that will warm the coldest of hearts. A fairytale with roundhouses.

Honorable mentions: Iron Man, Pineapple Express, Quantum of Solace.

And the 2008 Midgard award for best film goes to... Wall-E

Sure, this is a pretty standard underdog story dressed up with robots – but I’ve always been a firm believer that if it can be done in space, it will be better done in space. Or it could be the fact that the animation gurus at Pixar communicated so much through body (er, chassis) language, that viewers cannot help but fall in love with the titular hero, and his girl-bot Eve. Absolutely charming.

Honorable mentions: Role Models, Burn Before Reading, Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Video Games

Most pretentious game that still turned out pretty good: Braid.

A downloadable game for the Xbox 360, Braid is full of tongue-in-cheek nods to Mario, clever uses of time manipulation, and gorgeous watercolor-inspired visuals, and a heart-wrenching soundtrack. It’s also buried in heavy-handed, I-am-smarter-than-you metaphor, and incessant winking at how bloody clever designer Jonathan Blow is. But despite – or perhaps, because of all these,

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THe CAuldron’S ‘MidgArd AwArdS‘- BeST of 2008THE yEAR IN musIC, mOVIEs, AND mORE

Jonathan ‘Killstring’ Herzberger

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THe CAuldron’S‘MidgArd AwArdS‘- bEsT OF 2008Continued from Page 15

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FLAShbAck 1977 Chia Pets

Faith Larraine

Ch-ch-ch-Chia! These things became so popular in the 80’s and were still popular around the early 90’s. They are still being made today, but it was the commercial that reminds us of its wave of thunder. Did your mom have one? Your dad maybe? A friend? Did you have an infamous Chia Pet? And if, what kind!?

HistoryThese collectibles were created by Joseph

Enterprises, Inc., who also make the Smart Clapper (and nothing else), in San Francisco, California. They were first used in 1977 and became popular by the 80’s.

Chia’s scientific name is actually salvia hispanica. It is part of the Mint family and originated in the central valley of Mexico. Chia seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been research for decreasing the risk of coronary heart disease. The seeds contain 20% protein, 34% oil, 25% dietary fiber, and antioxidants. There are no known toxic components in chia seeds. They can be eaten raw, or the sprouts can be used in salads and/or sandwiches.

The Pets The first Chia pet was simply named

“Chiapet”, but that was later changed in 1982 to Chia Ram.

The second group of Chia pets that came about was the Chia Bull, Chia Puppy, Chia Kitten, and Chia Tree. The Chia Bull would be discontinued by 1995, but brought back in 2006. The Chia Tree could be used as a candle holder.

The third group came out in 1993 and was composed of the Chia Bunny, Chia Turtle, and a Chia Herb Garden. The Chia Herb Garden came with six plastic pots, six drip trays, plant food, growing mix for each pot, six packets of different herbs, six plant markers, and a recipe book. The Garden was discontinued by 1996.

The Chia Pig, Chia Frog, Chia Hippo, and Chia Head came out in 1995. Chia Head would later be renamed Chia Guy and Chia Ram would be discontinued.

Group 5 had the Chia Elephant, Chia Kid, Chia Professor, Chia Clown, and the Chia Terra Cotta Herb Garden. As the Terra Cotta Herb Garden was introduced the original Herb Garden was discontinued. The Chia Terra Cotta Herb Garden contained four flower pots, four drip trays, four Chia growing sponges, six packets of a variety of

herbs, plant markers, drip tray liners, and a recipe book.

The Chia Cow and the Chia Lion Cub were both introduced in 1998.

When the new millennium hit, out came the Chia Dinosaur, Chia Elmer Fudd, Chia Taz, and Chia Tweety. The other Looney Tunes characters, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, would not be introduced until 2003. The ones distributed in 2000 also came with Watch Me Grow Chia Cards. These cards displayed a holographic image that changed from a bare Chia pet, to a full grown chia pet. The Chia Mr. T was also introduced in 2000, but only for a limited time.

2002 was the year of the Chia Scooby-Doo, Chia Shaggy, and the Chia Homer Simpson. The Watch Me Grow Chia Cards were discontinued.

Other than Bugs and Daffy, the Chia Bart Simpson also came out in 2003.

The tenth group of Chia pets included the Chia Shrek, Chia Donkey (from Shrek), Chia Garfield, Chia Crocodile, a Chia Cat Grass Planter, and the Gourmet Chia Herb Garden. The Chia Cat Grass Planter had Sylvester and Tweety on it. It included Cat Grass seeds, which were sweet oats and wheat grass. If you had a pet cat, you could indeed let them munch from this planter. The Gourmet Chia Herb Garden made the Terra Cotta Garden discontinued. The Gourmet included four flower pots, four drip trays, four growing sponges, six different packets of gourmet herb seeds, and a recipe book.

The last group created in 2006 included the Chie Bear, Chia Alex and Chia Marty from the movie Madagascar, the Chia Ram and Chia Bull were reintroduced, and the Chia Kid, Chia Clown, and Chia Lion Cub were discontinued. Some things were added to the Chia pet packages such as the Chia Alarm Clock and the Cuddly Chia Puppy and Cuddly Chia Cub were introduced. The Chia Alarm Clock was created to celebrate 25 years of Chia Pet. The clock looks like the Chia Puppy at full growth and plays the Chia pet jingle when it sounds. The Chia Cuddlies were plush toys made with soft fabric that resembled Chia sprouts. They also play the Chia pet jingle.

In 2007, the Chia Watch appeared. It was a digital watch with a clear wristband and had stamps of Chia pets on it.

Chia Pets are still available in stores and online.

Braid is a wonderfully quaint experience – and anything that blends time travel, jigsaw puzzles, feral demon kittens and J. Robert Oppenheimer is worth your fifteen bucks.

Honorable mentions: Fable 2, (X360) The World Ends With You, (DS) The Pit, (X360) Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

Best Reason to not start a real band: Rock Band 2

Let’s face it: being in a real band is a ton of work. But being in a Rock Band Rock band is a ton of fun – and can even teach you how to play the drums. Get some friends together, and take air guitar to the next logical level on pretty much any console in existence.

Honorable mentions: Guitar Hero III (Various), Audiosurf (PC), Singstar 1&2 (PS3)

And the 2008 Midgard award for best game goes to... Fallout 3

The original two Fallout games are all-time classics. Their ability to blend gallows humor with an utterly bleak post-apocalyptic landscape, serious moral conundrums, and the option to proceed through the story in any number of ways set the stage for the modern age of western RPG’s – games like Knights of the Old Republic, the Elder Scrolls series, Mass Effect, Fable, and so on. Fitting then, that things have come full circle with Bethseda Softworks’ Fallout 3 (available on PC, X360, and PS3.) Blending the values of the original with the Oblivion-esque open world gameplay it inspired, this vision of a post-nuclear Washington D.C. is equal parts haunting, disturbing, engaging and melancholic. But it’s always compelling.

Honorable mentions: LittleBigPlanet (PS3), Grand Theft Auto IV (Various), Sins of a Solar Empire (PC), Gears of War 2 (X360)

And that’s going to wrap it up for this year – as always, feel free to tell us how wrong we are at cauldroneditors@hotmail.com, or comment on the online article. Enjoy the rest of the year, and we’ll be back with more snarky coverage in January.

Love, ‘Killstring’ and The Cauldron A&E Staff.

TO THE sTuDENTs OF Csu:

THANks FOR ANOTHER GREAT sEmEsTER!!!

sEE yOu NExT yEAR

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When the Cleveland State men’s basketball team left for Miami, FL last week, morale was down. After a bad shooting game against the powerhouse Big 12 Kansas State Wildcats, the Vikings were in need of road trip to forget about the 69-59 loss at the Wolstein Center.

The Vikings found themselves in foul trouble throughout the game, along with their 37.5 percent shooting from the floor. The Vikings’ J’Nathan Bullock and Cedric Jackson both ended with four fouls and spent significant time on the bench, when the forest green and white were scratching and clawing to stay in the game.

“We’re in a stage now, that we need to do few things better,” Vikings head coach Gary Waters said after the loss. Despite the tough opponent, the Vikings were still complimented on their tough work.

“It’s a quality basketball team, it’s a team that wins,” Kansas State head coach Frank Martin said after the Wildcats beat the Vikings for the second time in two meetings, as well as the Vikings losing in the second annual McClendon Scholarship Classic.

The Vikings did not play so well against the Wildcats, but were able to rebound in Florida.

And rebound they did as Bullock answered with a game high 22 points, and nine rebounds. With that production from the Vikings senior leader, the Vikings were able to beat Saint Leo University, 72-62 in the first round of the O’Reilly Auto Parts College Basketball Experience Classic in Miami, FL.

Not only was the production from Bullock a good sight to see, but the Vikings as a team shot 50 percent from the field and were able to keep Saint Leo quiet in their backyard (only a four hour drive to Miami).

The Vikings then faced the Rockets of Toledo on the same court on the next night, with the same outcome.

For the Vikes, their instate rivals were again no match as Toledo had no answer for

the Vikings 54.5 shooting percentage, as well as five Vikings in double digits. 17 points from the once struggling Chris Moore and 10 from Jeremy Montgomery helped put the Rockets on ice. Cleveland State rocketed past Toledo, 77-56, but their last game of the tournament was their best.

After leading Florida International for most of the game, the Vikings saw their lead lost and trailed by five with just over 12 minutes to go. Cleveland State’s defense to center stage and brought Coach Waters’ squad back into the game. With Bullock again leading the scoring with 16 points, the Vikings were able to make the run that would put away the Golden Panthers for good.

With their 66-58 win, the Vikes wonn their first title of the year and their first team tournament title since 2000-2001. Not only does this leave the team with a 4-2 record, but it leaves the Vikings in good spirits as they find their first Horizon League opponents on the schedule at the Wolstein Center on Tuesday and Thursday.

“It’s difficult, but everybody has to do it,” the coach said of facing Valparaiso and Butler, then not playing another Horizon League team for nearly a month.

As for the women’s squad that has continually played well, a 68-63 win was edged out to another tough MAC team, the Toledo Rockets. The team was also proud to have the Horizon League’s Player of the Week, Dominique Butler, home after their two game road swing.

After dropping a tough 61-60 loss to the Ball State Cardinals in the third round of the Preseason WNIT, the Vikings were led by the 19 points from Kailey Klein and Jessica Roque against the Rockets on Wed. night at the Wolstein Center.

“Every game is a team game, tonight was no different,” junior Jessica Roque said after the game.

The Vikings scored most their points in the first half of the year and led, 33-27. But, just as they did against Ball State when the Vikes made a run, the Rockets were able to come back and take the lead 61-60 with under 2:30 left to go in the game.

“We were in the other position, but we were able to hit shots in the end of the game that were important and got some defensive stops,” Peterson Abiad said. “We will learn from this.”

With a layup from Shawnita Garland (who finished with 11 points), a Stephanie Crosley layup (which came from her own rebound), and a Garland free throw, the Vikings would take a four point lead and not let Toledo back into the game.

For Coach Kate Peterson Abiad, it was her 50th career win at Cleveland State, just the third Vikings coach to do so.

“There was a time when wins were tough to come by, so I am very grateful that we can play maybe not our best game, and still be able to pull out a win,” coach Peterson Abiad said of the win.

Now that the Vikings have seen more situations that will help them in the long run, the women will face the University of Akron on December 3, at the James A. Rhodes Arena, in Akron, OH. The Vikings and Zips have been very competitive during their last eight meetings, as the Vikes have won the last five of eight in the series. The all-time record for the series is 23-16 in favor of Cleveland State.

The Vikings will then play the Golden Flashes of Kent State that Saturday at 3 pm at the Wolstein Center. The Golden Flashes have won the past five meetings.

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Robert Ivory

cSu bASkEtbALL tEAmS StAy oN trAckMen’s Basketball Squad Breeze through Tournament, Women Stay Perfect

Stephanie Crosley J’Nathan Bullock

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HOCkEy AT Csu?A CSU Student and Hockey Player’s Look at the SubjectRaymond Carr

HHockey in Cleveland has a rich tradition dating back to 1907.

The tradition began at the old Elysium rink that was located on E. 107th Street and Euclid, in Cleveland Ohio. Until 1920 hockey was played informally and recreationally until the inception of the first organized team in the city, the Cleveland Blues. The Blues played in the United States Hockey League. Other Pro Hockey teams in Cleveland were: Indians (1929-34) and Falcons (1934-37).

Hockey flouurished until 1934 when Al Sutphin took over as the truculent hockey mogul and owner of the Falcons. Civic leaders broke ground for the Cleveland Arena on May 16, 1937: Sutphin influence brought together miracle workers responsible for the funding of this historic project.

The Arena was located at 3715 Euclid. Ave, a stones throw from Fenn Tower, now part of Cleveland State University. It was the home of many great hockey seasons including nine Calder Cup Championships; the last of which coming in 1963-64. The Arena held 9,847 spectators: sold out much of the time during the 40’s and 50’s; considered the golden era of hockey.

The Arena was regarded by fans as a great venue for hockey, as it was modeled after the legendary Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto Canada. Hockey with the Cleveland Barons started in 1937, as a new team and a new building the Barons franchise set the foundation for a rich and storied hockey tradition in Cleveland. Cleveland hockey was a top dog on the sports scene during those glory years.

Owner Al Sutphin did miss a golden opportunity to join the National Hockey League at one point, and the Barons would have been the seventh NHL team (Sutphin felt financially it would be more profitable to operate as a minor league team). This decision has haunted passionate hockey fans for decades.

The Cleveland Arena closed its doors forever in 1974, a sad time in our community.

The Richfield Coliseum opened in October of 1974 as professional hockey lived in the hinterlands known as Richfield, Ohio, with the Crusaders (74-76) and the NHL Barons (76-78). A hockey drought lasted until 1992 when the Lumberjacks moved to Cleveland from Muskingum, MI. The Richfield Coliseum was used until the spring of 1994, when in the fall of ’94,

Gund Arena was opened, now known as the ‘Q’ and has been home to the Lumberjacks (IHL), Barons (AHL), and the (AHL) Lake Erie Monsters.

The love of hockey has never left the hearts of many of us fans, it’s a way of life as well as a mindset, its how the hockey lover lives. A face off is the way the game of hockey starts; dropping a puck between opposing players battling for control , a simple concept that leads to the puck in the net for a goal, that with team work is a winning formula: that can be established here at Cleveland State.

Hockey enthusiast at Cleveland’s top University would be well served by staring a hockey program of their own. The sport of hockey encompasses all that is good in athletics: agility, sportsmanship and it builds strong interpersonal schemas. Hockey is a sport that deserves as much respect as any including basketball, baseball and swimming.

Starting a hockey program at CSU should be something that would seem obvious because of the voluminous amount over 40 high school hockey programs and even more youth programs in the Greater Cleveland area. The hockey participant’s numbers in our area ranks in the top ten of major cities in America.

Where would CSU play? The options: Convert the Wolstein

Center to accommodate hockey; Cleveland Heights, Strongsville, Lakewood, Winterhurst, to name a few, should be the home for the Vikes until a home rink can be established.

Large numbers of players who might not end up in a elite college hockey programs, who want to play again, could have an opportunity at Cleveland State. Many students, like myself, who love the sport and dream about being a star NHL player, realize it’s a dream, but playing hockey is a possibility for those who might not be ready for next level.

The burning passion and unrelenting desire will drive people like me to help create a hockey tradition at Cleveland State University someday. With the success of the Lake Erie Monsters, the minor league hockey club and affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL could help spark even more interest in the sport at the University.

Students considering playing might feel compelled to follow their dream and blaze a new trail in a frozen tradition at CSU.

Courtesy of SGS Cleveland