march 29th issue

The Lions’ Pride SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 VOLUME LI NO. 17 SINCE 1965

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Check outwhat’s inside

this issue!

Page 3David Perskey

New Med schoolclub

Page 2S.E.R.V.E. photo

essay

Page 5Monster fishPlaystation 4

Page 6The Serpent

Page 7GLE-O

Praise and Worship

Page 4Battle of the

studentsiPhones help with

surgery

Page 8The journey ofDoug Logan

That sinking feeling

On Feb. 28, asinkhole opened upunder Jeffery Bush’s, 36,bedroom in his house.The four other people inBush’s home escaped,but not Bush himself.The tragedy of thatnatural disaster leftmany Florida residentsworried as anothersmaller sinkhole openedup not too far awayfrom the 30 feet wideand 20 feet deepsinkhole that killedBush. Education canhelp people understandwhat sinkholes are andhow they are created.

What are sinkholes?They are thedeterioration oflimestone or chalk fromacidic water. Sinkholestake years to dissolvethe top layer oflimestone or chalk, sowhy does Florida haveso many? It is becauseFlorida has limestonethrough-out the wholestate beneath our feet.When the soluble rockdissolves too much, itcan no longer supportthe top soil that makes

By Jessica MillerAsst. Layout Editor

up the surface and itbreaks into the hole andforms a sinkhole. Theseare natural sinkholesthat form; however,sinkholes can also formbecause of theconstruction of water orsewer lines.

Why do sinkholeshappen? Sinkholes are anatural event that helpsrain water to percolateinto the deeper Earth. InFlorida, sinkholes helpto refill the aquifer andcreate groundwater.However, sinkholesoccur in numerous areassuch as acid rain.

As for the massivesinkhole that crackedopen that Thursdaynight, it evoked a longbattle of trying to saveBush’s life. Rescue crewstried for hours to movedebris and search forBush’s body, but couldnot get too close becauseof the size and dangerthe sinkhole presentedto rescue crews.

“I heard a loudcrash, like a car comingthrough the house,”Jeremy Bush, JefferyBush’s brother, toldpolice.

Jeremy tried to help

his brother when heheard Jeffery screamingfor help. He went intothe bedroom and sawhis brother’s bed fallinginto the hole. Jeremytried to save his brother,but could not manage toget him out of the hole.After hours of puttinginto the cavity listeningdevices, they concurredthat Bush was to bepresumed dead. Thesinkhole was presumedto be dangerous to thecommunity, and it wasdecided to collapse thehouse and try to fill it assoon as possible. Amemorial was held forBush, and many felt likethey could start thegrieving processes.

“I know in my hearthe’s dead. But I justwant to be here for himbecause I love him. Hewas my brother, man,”said Jeremy Bush to TheTimes.

Sadly, anothersinkhole started to openup in Seffner. While notnearly as large as the onethat killed Bush, it stillposed a threat and leftthe community worriedof what will happennext. The sinkhole is 8

feet wide and 10 feetdeep. It sits between twohomes, and authoritiessay that it is currentlynot a threat to thehomes nearby; butresidents wereevacuated as aprecaution.

Sinkholes cansometimes be abrupt,but there can be signs towarn if a sinkhole isoccurring close to you:- Check for freshcracks in thefoundation, floor, or wall

A door does not setright or does not shutwhen it once did

A tree might startleaning

There might be adepression in theground

Sinkholes are aserious threat in Floridaand can sometimesresult in tragedy.However, it is importantto remember thatsinkholes are a naturaloccurrence and need tohappen in order forrainwater to reach intothe ground. One can beprepared as much aspossible while stillallowing the natural tooccur.

S.E.R.V.E. trips prove to be successful

This past weekfive groups ofstudents went onS.E.R.V.E. trips toEcuador, Costa Rica,Mexico, the FloridaKeys, and Cove crest(located in Georgia).These trips weredesigned to showhow service can berewarding, not onlyfor the communitiesvisited, but also forthe ones serving thecommunities. Thosethat went on thesetrips felt that theywere very successful.

Mandy Altu, theprogram director ofS.E.R.V.E., had a lotof insight on the

By Brendan GormanContributing Writer

groups thatparticipated in theSpring Break trips.She described each ofthe trips, in detail,and showed how theywere so successful.

The trip to Mexicowas to help bringtechnology to theregion they visited bybuilding a computerlab. Theyaccomplishedbuilding thiscomputer lab throughbringing laptops andother technologies,which were notpreviously available tothese people beforethey came. The tripwas interesting as itwas a returning tripbecause they hadalready built the lab,

itself, two years agoand was able to seetheir work befinished, whichMandy described as“exciting”.

The next trip wasS.E.R.V.E. Ecuador,led by Ally Vincent, toa working boy’s camp,which used to be anorphanage, is now afamily orientedorganization to findjobs and help peoplerealize the talents andskills they alreadyhave to obtainemployment.

Mac Culkeen led atrip to Costa Ricaaccompanied by anorganization calledAppleseedExpeditions whichincorporates

education and servicesinto one throughstressing conservationthrough educating thepeople. Lexi Paul led atrip to the FloridaKeys, which was arecreated andhopefully continuingtrip where theyworked in a wild birdsanctuary, helpedRCNA which helpsmigrant children tomentor them and helpwith landscaping andthe upkeep of thefacility.

The final trip wasto Covecrest in TigerGeorgia, led by JessaAlbert.

“This was a veryspiritually harnessingtrip which focused onpersonal reflecting

and helping rebuildthe campsite,” saidAltu.

This trip had aninteresting aspect asthese students wereable to meet with aSaint Leo alumnus,Amanda Cassar thepast StudentGovernment UnionPresident and 2012graduate, which Altusaid was “very cool”.One thing that Altulet us know was thatthese trips do notrequire religiousaffiliation or for theperson to be religiousbut they do require areflection before,during, and after thetrip to show how thecore values applied to

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The Lions’ Pride, Friday, March 29, 2013 -2

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Campus News

Advisor: Mrs. Valerie Kasper

Newsroom

Tara McLoughlin, Editor in Chief Shane Holman, Managing Editor

Matthew Hewitt, Advertising Manager Katie Gwinn, Layout Editor

Racheljoy Capitola, Copy Editor Jessica Miller, Asst. Layout Editor

THE LIONS’ PRIDE

Advisor: Mrs. Valerie Kasper

(352) 588-8316Student Activities Center, Office 106

Letters to the editor to The Lions’ Pride should be nomore than 500 words in length and should not includeprofane or slanderous language. We reserve the right toedit for grammar, spelling, and libel; as well as theright to publish or not. All submissions should be sentto [email protected]. Letters to theeditor must be submitted with student’s name, year,and major. Faculty and staff members must includerank and department. Please include a phone number(not a publication) so we can verify authorship.

33701 State Road 52 Saint Leo, FL 33574

S.E.R.V.E. Ecuador 2013 Spring Break

Equatorial line at Intiñan Solar Museum in Quito, Ecuador) Anyone who could successfully balance an egg on the equatorearned a certificate and a stamp in their passport)

Digging out the foundation for a new house on the side of themountain.

Basilica of the National Vow in Quito Group photo inside the Basilica of the National Vow

Students took a boat ride around Cuicocha, a lake in the crater ofa volcano in the Andes Mountains)

Photo Essay by Eva Keller the trip, that thetrips are “more core-valued based thanreligious based.”

The S.E.R.V.E.operation at Covecrestfocused on the morereligious aspects of thestudent organizationand is well known astrip for the morecatholic oriented of thestudent body.Covecrest is a well-known religiouscompound wherestudents workedunder groundskeeperMichael Berry to shapeup the camp groundsfor its Life Teen Campprograms it hosts fromlate May to earlyAugust.

“The scenery wasbeautiful,” saidS.E.R.V.E participantJarrod Gasper.

“I would definitelydo it again.”

The complex islocated in Georgia’smountainousnortheast nationalforest accompanied bytwo waterfalls, whichthe students readilyswam in despite theinclement weather. Forfaith and reflection youcan also find solitudeat the camp’s 100-yearold chapel.

Ultimately, the vibefrom all of thesegroups was that thesetrips were verysuccessful and eachmember took a lotfrom their trip,learning that servingthe community isquite rewarding.

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News

Jocelyne HilaryContributing Writer

Pre-med club comes to the University

A premedical club hascome to Saint LeoUniversity and word isgetting around campus.The premedical club hadtheir first meetingWednesday, Feb. 20, and agreat group showed up.Premedical majors andscience enthusiasts areeager and ready to getstarted with this club.Some great things arealready being talked about,and this club is hitting theground running.

The club is being runby Dr. Carey, the professorfor Anatomy and

Physiology. He is makingsure that students areinvolved and there will beactivities for thePremedical students to getinvolved with. A few tripsthat are already beingtalked about are a trip to ahospital where thepremedical club canactually watch a real timesurgery take place. Thiswill be a great opportunityfor any student who isinterested in the medicalfield to get a good lookwhat there day to dayactivity will consist of.

There is also talk of atrip to Nova SoutheasternUniversity to go look attheir medical school andsee what they are looking

for from a premedicalstudent. This will helpstudents to get ready fortheir up and comingfutures. As Dr. Careyreminded the students atthe meeting, the trail ofeducation that all of themare on is not going to beeasy. It is going to take a lotof hard work and youneed to really want it.

There were a fewwords that really stuckwith the students at themeeting: “I’m not aquitter, I won’t give upand I’m not going away.”Dr. Carey spoke these toeveryone letting thestudents know he is thereto help.

The premedical club

of the University will striveto provide members of theclub with volunteeropportunities as otherexciting events. Thepremedical club followsthe core values, such aspersonal development,respect, community, andpersonal stewardship byoffering various volunteeropportunities and ways tobe active and helpful oncampus, while also gainingthe understanding of thepremedical field.

“I am so happy thatthe pre medical club hasfinally come to Saint Leo.Now there is a place that Ican go to express my fulllove for the medical fieldand share that with people

who have the sameinterests,” said Junior CasieStrohson.

The main founder ofthe premedical club,Anuradhika Lepoth, said,“I want to just say thatevery pre-med majorshould join the clubbecause we’re in thistogether, and by having aclub we can work togetherto achieve our goals.”

This club is somethingthe pre medical studentshave wanted for a whileand now it is here. Thisshows all Saint Leostudents that you can getanything with dedicationand hard work.

David Persky has a plan to helpNydjah Istatia

Contributing Writer

This semester, Dr.Persky became the chairof the UndergraduateCriminal JusticeDepartment. He hasworked for ourUniversity for nearlyfourteen years, and hasexcelled in leadershiproles while maintaininghis teaching career. Dr.Persky began his careerwith our university as aprofessor of variousbusiness and law relatedcourses. Throughout histenure, he worked hisway up to becoming theacademic programsadministrator forContinuing Education,the Dean, and headditionally spent sevenyears as the assistant ofDr. Arthur F. Kirk, Jr.,the president of SaintLeo University. His newoffice is located inCrawford Hall, wherehis successful career isevident by a wall full ofaccolades.

As the Chair of theCriminal JusticeDepartment, Dr. Perskyhas severalresponsibilities andgoals and describessome of them as follows:

“I plan to stayfocused on issues of thestudents and faculty.Our department iscontinually reviewingcourses to make themcurrent and up to date,

finding relevanttextbooks, and keepingbook costs reasonable.We review syllabi andmake sure our adjunctfaculty is properlyskilled… We look forthe best facultymembers to teach.”

Dr.Persky’s tenure inthe President’s officehelped him to learnwhat is important tostudents and faculty. Hewas exposed to manydifferent situations andbecame familiar withhandling the concernsof students. Facultymembers in theCriminal JusticeDepartment havedistinct needs as well.He reflects on the pastdecade of service as aprofessor of law,criminal justice,business, and relatedcourses to assess theirneeds. Recently, he hasventured into teachingsport business andgraduate law classes.

“I have a PhD inhigher education, amasters in counseling,and a Juris Doctor” Dr.Persky explains. “I wasalso the universityattorney for spring andsummer of 2011.”

Another aspect ofhis role as theDepartment Chair ishelping to find newfaculty members.Currently his searchcommittee has beenapproved to hire three

new professors, one forthe Virginia center, onefor the savannahGeorgia center, and theyneed a weekendprofessor to teach adultlearners on campus.Every search committeeis comprised ofmembers of thedepartment and facultyfrom anotherdepartment. This mix ofexpertise helps to bringin a fresh, newperspective and tocreate a multifacetedfaculty.

Dr. Perskyexplained what he looksfor in each candidate:”We look for the best fit,we strive to achieveexcellence. Dr. Kirkstrongly encourageseach department to lookfor the best candidatewho will be a good fit,not just someone whocan teach. We look forsomeone who knowsabout Saint Leo culture,knowledge about ouruniversity, and someonewho has a greatunderstanding of whatit means to teach insuch a close-knitcommunity.”

This strategy forpicking facultymembers helps toimprove the quality ofeducation for studentstremendously. Findingprofessors who canconnect with eachstudent and who canunderstand their needs

is what makes ourcampus a comfortablelearning environment.

Dr. Persky is verydedicated to improvingthe criminal justiceprogram and is workingtoward making majorchanges to improve thequality of education thatis offered on campus.

“I am currentlyworking with a studentto make a more formalpre-law society. I workwith Dr. Little as pre-law advisor to build apre-law society that willgrow and thrive in thesemesters to come.”

He went on todescribe his goal ofcreating Moot Courtcompetitions that ourstudents can competein. In thesecompetitions, studentstypically research legalcases, prepare a legalbrief, and each sideargues their side. Thisdebate-like style oflearning resemblesintercollegiate sports inmany ways, anduniversities are knownto compete against eachother. The CriminalJustice Department isvery confident aboutacquiring strategicinitiative funds that willhelp launch thiscompetition.

Dr. Persky plans onworking with studentsand faculty in theComputer InformationSystems program to

develop a cyber securitycrime seminar. He says:

“Everyone is fairlyhigh tech in one way oranother. Because of this,the level of cyber crimeis way up. I want towork on developingprograms in that area.When our studentsgraduate and enterwork force, they willfind themselves dealingwith cyber crime, andthis training will helpthem to handle iteffectively.”

On February 19th,there will be a seminaron human sextrafficking held at theOcala center. Accordingto Dr. Persky, there arealready 125+ students,faculty, and members ofthe Criminal Justiceprofession who areregistered to attend. Heestimates thatattendance will reach upto 160 persons. CurrentCriminal Justiceprofessionals who areattending may not havea college education, andseminars of this sort canhelp inspire theseprofessionals to attendour university. Dr.Persky is adamant aboutpromoting ourUniversity and theCriminal JusticeDepartment.


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By Eriqua McGheeContributing Writer

Campus NewsStudents battle it out for top chef

The atmospherewas tense as thecoordinator revealedthe mysteryingredient: porktenderloins. Teams ofstudents were pittedagainst one anotherin the third annualBattle of the StudentsCook Off. Students inthe event could be inpairs or come as asingle participant.Two of the five teamspresent were femalesand the rest, males.The students had tomake a dish thatcontained themystery ingredientand present it to allfour judges.

The challenge wasparticularly difficultfor the contestantsdue to one of thejudges beingvegetarian. Teamshad to create asimilar vegetarian

version of the dishthat carried the sametaste and quality.When the timerstarted, the team ranto the Fresh Marketarea to collect thevegetables needed fortheir dishes.

The dining areawas full of deliciousaromas, and it washard to tell what thecontestants werecreating. In themiddle of the Cook-Off, the MC of thenight gave the judgesthe opportunity towalk around and askthe teams about theirdish. Ms. Plecenik,Vice President ofBusiness Affairs, waspleased to see TeamAaron create avegetarian based dishwith a pork twist onit: stuffed tomatoes.The contestants didtheir best to meet allthe requirements towin the judges over.

The hour went by

very quickly and oneteam, Team Dextonia,presented their dishbefore the hours end.The team presented adish from her nativeland, Peru. It had rice,pork and vegetablesin it, and for thevegetarian the cheesereplaced the meat.The judges seemedimpressed with TeamDextonia’s dedicationand presentation.Then the next team,Team David, served apork linguini dishwith potatoes andvegetables. Theheartiness of his mealgave the judges a tasteof pure Italy with anAmerican twist. TeamKatie was the thirdgroup to present, andthey made mandarinpork with stir-fry. Thejudges were in awe bythe simplicity of thefood’s presentation.

Team Aaroncreated stuffedtomatoes with cheesy

bread at the lastminute of the hour.The delicate taste andoriginality gave thejudges an elegant vibeto the dish. TeamDakota served aclassic fried pork withmustard sauce,mashed potatoes withhomemade gravy, andfresh gardenvegetables. The judgesloved his approach toa classic dish andquickly began to scoreit.

When scores werecalled, everyone heldtheir breath. Team

Dextonia and TeamKatie tied for secondrunner up and TeamAaron swept up firstrunner up. The newChampion was noneother than TeamDakota. He won atrophy, a grill, beachaccessories, andbragging rights. Hewas very happy withbeing the winner ofthe Student Off. Hehopes one day he willopen his ownrestaurant, and hewants to keep hispassion food alive.

Photo courtesy of Eriqua McGhee

iPhone plays role in surgery

iPhones havewithout a doubtproven to be efficientfor purposes otherthan calling andtexting. With the builtin iPod, great camera,imessage, internet andnumerous apps, onewould thinkeverything wasachieved. However,one function manywould not havesuspected the iPhoneto be able to do is cureintestinal worminfections. Now howdoes any cellulardevice achieve this, letalone an iPhone?

Intestinal worminfections are verycommon, affecting upto two billion people ayear. Most of thesevictims, however,come from moreunderdevelopedcountries. Intestinalworm infections canoccur due to variousreasons including theconsumption of filthywater, raw food, andon rare occasions skin

By Jocelyne HilaryContributing Writer

absorption. The bestcure for this isprevention as theseintestinal parasites candeteriorate their host’shealth.

Typically,when theseparasites haveentered thebody, they areknown to infectgastrointestinaltracts. Despitebeing able tothrive anywherein the humanbody, theseworms tend toprefer theintestinal wallsof their hosts.Symptoms ofthis parasiticinfection varyfrom minorconsequencessuch as fatigue,fever, dizziness,to more seriousproblems suchas abdominalpain, lungcongestion, and rectalprolapse.

In rural Tanzania,intestinal worminfections are verycommon among

children. This inspiredscientists to takesamples of the learningenvironment andcheck for signs ofpossible parasite

infections.What made this

experiment stand outfrom others is the factthat the use ofequipment was unique.

The researchers usedan iphone to play therole of a microscopewhile obtainingsamples. The cellular

device had an$8 ball lensattached to theoriginalcamera lenswith doublesided stickytape and aregular torch.

The devicewas then usedto takesamples ofobjects indifferentrooms, hopingto identify anyeggs so thatthe parasitescould beremovedbeforebecominghazardous.Dr.IsaacBogoch, aspecialist ininternal

medicine at TorontoGeneral Hospital, wasintrigued bysmartphonemicroscope apps andwanted to “recreate it

in a real world.” Thespecialist hadexpressed that the onlyreason he had used anApple device wasbecause that was hispersonal handsetdevice. Despite onlybeing a test trial, theiphone had picked up70 percent of presentsample infections and90 percent of heavilyinfected samples. Thisis not as efficient asmicroscopes, but it is ahuge step in the futureof smartphone usageand the use of costefficient equipment.

The result of theexperiment had greatlyhelped identifying theeggs of the parasiteswhich were present inhighly infectedsamples. This isoptimistic news as thiscould help diagnosemany children as theidentification of eggscould substantiallyprevent thedevelopment ofintestinal infections.

Photo courtesy of wikicommons.org


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Campus NewsAshley Reynolds

Contributing Writer

Monster Fish Invade Florida’s Waters

Playstation 4 Press Release Takes Media ByStorm

Ashley ReynoldsContributing Writer

On Feb. 21, Sonyannounced theupcoming release ofits new gamingconsole, thePlaystation 4.

The PS4 will bethe first of the nextgeneration of gamingconsoles, joined bythe yet-unannouncedXbox 720. It’s set torelease in late 2013,just before the holidayrush.

The announcementcame as somewhat ofa surprise. Rumors ofthe Xbox 720 have

been circulating formonths, and manyexpected the pressrelease for the newXbox to come first.

The specs for thenew system areimpressive: an eightcore CPU, high-speedmemory, Blu-ray andDVD support, andHDMI output. Thenew controller has atouchpad, and thesystem will be able totrack where thecontroller is in theroom using the PS4Eye, a Kinect-inspiredcamera that goes withthe system. ThePlaystation network isalso being improved,and social media is a

priority. Gamers willbe able to connect toFacebook and othersites to share theirachievements whileplaying.

Most exciting isthe PS4’s ability toconnect to the Vita.The Vita isPlaystation’s mobilegaming system. Withthe PS4, gamers willbe able to stream thePS4 games directlyonto their Vita.

Gaming companiesare already developinggames for the newsystem. Notably,Assassin’s Creed 4,which comes out Oct.30, will be releasedfor both PS3 and PS4.

So come holiday2013, will we beseeing the new systemaround campus? Well,the cost of a newsystem is always hefty.Sony didn’t release astatement about thecost, but estimates areabout 600 dollars.Other gamers arewary of purchasing asystem after it firstcomes out. When theXbox 360 was firstreleased in 2005, thesystem had problemswith the infamous“red ring of death,”which caused it tocrash withoutwarning. Thesegamers wait a year ortwo after the initial

release for the glitchesto work themselvesout and the price todrop.

All the same,people are gettingexcited for the newsystem’s release. Somestudents are alreadysaving up money topurchase the PS4immediately after itbecomes available.Expect excited gamersto be talking aboutthe new system,gossiping about howit’ll compare to theXbox 720, and postingabout it to theirFacebook pages.

Photo Courtesy of Wikki Commons

Biologist KellyGestring caught a 14pound fish in BrowardCounty, nearly breakingan international record,and he isn’t happy aboutit. The species of fishGestring caught was abullseye snakehead, aninvasive species in Florida’sfreshwater systems. It canbreathe air, enabling it tosurvive outside of waterfor days. They werediscovered in BrowardCounty’s waters in 2000,and haven’t beeneliminated since.

While the snakeheadsare relatively contained byBroward’s canals and floodcontrol systems, otherinvasive species arespreading out of control.The lionfish, one of themost devastating invasivespecies, has taken overFlorida’s coastal waters.These fish are a particularconcern because theyhunt the juvenile fish thatpopulate Florida’s reefs.This completely decimatesthe native fish population.Another issue is theirpoisonous spines keepother predators fromhunting them, so theirnumbers go unchecked.

Overhunting of thejuvenile fish sparks a chainreaction: with no juvenilefish, the adult fish

population drops. Thismeans less food for othernative predatory fish, whosuddenly have to competewith the lionfish. Evenhigher on the food chain,second and third levelpredators also have less toeat. In time, the lionfishcould outcompete thenative predators,completely cutting offupper-level predators fromtheir food source.

There is concern thatthe snakehead will spread,much like the lionfish did,and take over all ofFlorida’s fresh waters.

22 other non-nativespecies have been found in

Florida’s fresh waters.According to the FloridaFish and WildlifeConservationCommission, over fivehundred nonnative speciesof fish and wildlife havebeen found in Florida.

So how do thenonnative species getthere? Aquarium ownersare the primary culprits.When the fish get too bigfor their tanks or theirowners tire of them, theyare often released into thewild. Some marine speciesalso travel in ships’ ballastwater. Ships take onforeign water over thecourse of their trip,

sometimes capturingforeign fish as well. Whenthese ships arrive at theirdestination, they releasethe ballast waters, and thefish are released as well.This is how the greenmussel was introduced tothe Tampa Bay area.

Other fish, such as thesnakehead, are popularseafood. Breeders releasethese fish deliberately sothey can sell the meat.Snakehead in particularare common in Asianseafood markets.

Controlling thesespecies is tricky. With nonatural predators, theirpopulations can explode

quickly. Some exoticspecies exist in nonnativewaters for years beforethey are even discovered,causing even moreproblems.

Biologists and wildlifeexperts encourage citizensto hunt nonnative fish. Inthe Bahamas, this hasproven hugely successful.Lionfish is a popular meal,known for its sweet, whitemeat. The Florida Fish andWildlife ConservationCommission is promotingpeople to eat the invasivesnakehead. Despite its uglyappearance, apparently it’sdelicious. Happy eating.


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By Jessica Miller Asst. Layout Editor

Arts & EntertainmentThe Serphent: One Person, One Society, One Lemming

One lemming. Asociety that thinkseverything is black orwhite. One lemming.People who have troublebeing sympathetic orempathetic. The Serpentis a play that addressesthe kind of previouslymentioned actions. Aplay that embodieshuman actions andfollies, and addressesthem so the audience hasno choice but to criticallythink while notwatching, butexperiencing.

The Serpent is notthe average play. Thereare no props, costumesare dehumanized in away that the entire castwears black and there isvery minimal to nomake-up. Not the usualplay in any sense, butthat is the point. TheSerpent is not meant toentertain, give hope, norsmiles. Rather, TheSerpent is to be an eye-

Eve in the Garden ofEden to the pain andsuffering that is occurringin modern times.Humans contribute moreproblems to the worldbecause of greed, pride,envy, lust, racism,bullying and numerousother sins that are moredestructive such associetal sins, such as thetragedy that is genocide.

The play is set to beafter the Vietnam War; atime of great tragedy andconfusion. People wantedto be different, to breakfree, and discover whatfreedom really is. All thewhile a war was going on.This is where The Serpentstarts, with an autopsy ofa body. The cast slowlytakes the body apartseparating what makes ahuman a human,physically at first, butthen the play breaksaway to the next scene,and goes deeper thanflesh. The actors use story

into the sources of painand suffering that arewithin those stories intoscenes of pure words andemotions. This is to givethe audience anunderstanding of howhuman folly hasdeveloped through-outyears and years.

“Blind man’s hellscene when we weredoing a confession wasone of the most powerfulscenes in the play,because it makes youthink, ‘what am Iashamed of?” Said seniorHeather Galvin.The Serpent is intendedto make one really thinkabout their place in theworld, and how they areslowly shaping it becauseof their individualactions. The play goesfurther to point out thatwhen many thoughtscombine into one strongdirection that society has,it really shapes thetreatment of others. The

of thesetragedies orthen related tothe firsttemptation, anapple tree in theGarden of Eden.The cast do nothave roles,rather theyembodyidentities thatevery humancan relate to.The play breaksdown eachevent like thestory of Adamand Eve andCain and Abel

opener into the actionshumans have took sincethe days of Adam and

telling of some famousevents in history that hadgreat tragedy. All the sins

A lemming is a smallrodent. It has a migrationpattern that moves it inmasses of hundreds andthousands. Thelemmings will try tocross land only, but,when the time comes,being adept swimmers,will jump carelessly offof cliffs into water inorder to reach theirdestination. They areoften confused with thethought that they arecommitting masssuicides, but it is not so.However, lemmings canbe compared quite wellto humans. Onelemming, or one human,gets an idea, and sends itoff to the masses. It then

convinces the others thatit’s idea is good and true,and takes that one withit, and that one gathersanother, and another tillthere is a huge migrationof one thought or feeling.The mass becomes such astrong drawl, that theindividuals start to stopquestioning why they dosomething, and just do it,even if it means runningoff a cliff. This onethought can be as likehow the serpent gave athought to Eve, and Evegave a thought to Adam.

“I felt we [Humans]needed it,” said directorof The Serpent andProfessor DavidMcGinnis talking abouthumans needed that play

at this point in history, sothat we can see thesuffering they havecreated from selfish ideasand stop suffering fromcontinuing.

The cast of TheSerpent receivenumerous insights, asdid the audiences thatexperienced the play inone of the manylocations the castperformed. The reasonfor the multiplelocations, according toMcGinnis, is to provethat a set and props arenot needed in order toproduce great andmemorable work. Inaddition, it also forcenumerous people, whodid not see the whole

play for one reason oranother, to see snippets ofit, and get some kind of a‘this is something that ishappen’ experience asstudents and staff walkedby on their way tosomewhere.

The Serpent createdmany memories for thosethat had any experiencewith the play; everyonegets something uniqueout of it, and enjoys thereal-life lesson feeling,compared to pureentertainment. In time,with the insights thathave been gained,hopefully, people willbring it forward andcreate a brighter futurefor all.

societal‘norms’ canbe verydangerous ifthey aresomethingthat isharmful toothers. Thereis a scenethat is quitepowerfulcompared tothe others,which couldbereferenced toas “OneLemming.”

Photo Courtesy of Jessica Miller




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Arts & EntertainmentGLE-O, The Untold Story of the “True” Directions

Annie HaysContributing Writer

If anyone everwanted to know thetrue story of collegethat the brochurescan’t tell them, theywould have to lookno further than GLE-O: The Untold Storyof the “True” Direc-tions.

The musical fol-lowed a variety ofstudents during oneyear at St. GLE-OUniversity. Act One isset as the first semes-ter at GLE-O. Ms.Melis (Amy Persaud),the drama ministryteacher at Saint GLE-O University, tries toput on the showWicked in her classDrama Ministry 123.

After receiving animpressive colorcoordinated resumefrom Tina the biologymajor (ElizabethPanek) and hearingsome impressiveauditions from Barbiethe blonde (AnysiaWeicht), Lori theScottish exchangestudent ( JeniferMacDonald), Nikkithe stuck up over-

achiever (NoelleBertossi), and more,the cast was ready tostart rehearsals.

Meanwhile,Cookie the cheer-leader (Haley Wing) istrying to help the shyFreshman Lynn(Lindsey Thilmony)become a popularcheerleader. Thenwhen Nikki finds outshe did not get thepart in Wicked shewanted, she decidedto hold The Wizard ofOz the same weekendto get revenge.

All throughout themusical, the cast dealswith their personalissues and insecuri-ties. They rangedfrom Barbie’s fears ofnot being able to payfor college and thusnot being able tograduate, Layne’s(Jake Gates) drugaddiction, Tina’sstruggle to makestraight A’s, Marshall’s(Danny François)attempted suicide,and Charlie’s ( JamilahRay) struggle with hergirlfriend.

College is a blast asthe musical proved.The audience and I

were in stitches formost of the perfor-mance. Cookie’sstereotypical dumbcheerleader antics andTina’s hyperactivenerd persona in par-ticular were abso-lutely hysterical.

The musical alsoshowed the not so funpart of college. One ofthe songs sung duringthe first day of school- “What is this Feel-ing?” - showed thelove/hate relationship

between Nikki andStacy (Genny Feiler),whom were two polaropposite roommateswho didn’t get alongfor most of the musi-cal.

But in the end,after the cast had toendure trials, tribula-tions, and nasty lovetriangles, they allpulled together toovercome their diffi-culties as a dramaministry.

This musical was

perfect for anyoneaffiliated with college,especially the SaintLeo community.Incoming freshmencan get a humorousand serious look atcollege, seniors canlaugh at all the thingsthey will soon beleaving, and profes-sors will be inspiredto be as helpful andcaring to their stu-dents as Ms. Neliswas.

Praise and WorshipAnnie Hays

Contributing Writer

Every Wednesdayfrom 9 to 10 p.m.,Campus Ministry

gathers in the St. JudeChapel to celebratePraise and Worship. Oras Campus MinisterMatt Cranley calls it:

“Our opportunity to

reunite ourselves to Godand refocus our heartsback on our creator.”

On the outside, thisevent mainly consists ofMatt playing his guitarand singing modernChristian songs. Most in

attendance sing along,and sometimes those inattendance even get tosee Fr. Stephan Browndancing along to Matt’smusic.

“My favorite part isthe singing because Ifeel that we’re unitingour prayers to God,”said Senior JosephinaBrugalette.

But the mostimportant part is whatyou do not see. Whilethere is time forintermittent quiet timefor prayer andreflection, many inattendance see thewhole experience as aprayer, and a verypowerful one at that.

“Every time I come Ifeel that God revealssomething new to methrough prayer,” saidJosephina.

Even Cranley, whohas been doing this foryears, says, “Every time

Photo Courtesy of Annie Hays

I praise and worship Ifeel like I’m renewedand refreshed. I’mexcited to go back outthere to my studies andjob.”

While Praise andWorship is aboutpersonally reconnectingwith God, it is also acommunity event.

“I like the fact thateveryone’s coming notout of obligation like onSundays, and we taketime out of our week tofocus on somethingbigger than ourselves.”But then personally “ithelps me deal with mymother’s sickness,” saidJunior Abi Fox.

So who is invited toparticipate in thismoving experienceevery week?

“Anybody, everyfaith, anybody whowants to praise God iswelcome,” said Cranley.

Photo Courtesy of Annie Hays

Campus Minister Matt Cranley passionately leads Praise and Worship every Wednesday.


pride-online.net

SportsInside the Journey of Doug Logan

Corey SacconeContributing Writer

Former MajorLeague Soccercommissioner, DougLogan, tells his storyabout working upthrough the sport andentertainmentindustry.

As an attendee ofManhattan College inNew York, DougLogan wanted tobecome a sports writerhis freshman year.Throughout highschool he was aletterman, enjoyingsports such as soccerand boxing amongothers.

The newspapergave Doug one option,and that was to coverthe cross countryteam. As heapproached Hall ofFame Coach, GeorgeEastment, the firstwords to come out ofCoach Eastment’smouth were: “Haveyou ever run the crosscountry course?”

Once Logan repliedby saying “no,” Coachthen told him he wasnot allowed to talk tohis athletes untilrunning the course.

Running the courseeveryday with theathletes and becomingclose gave himvaluable informationfor his articles. Loganalso covered track andfield and baseballthroughout hisfreshman andsophomore years. Hewas promoted toassistant editor, butafter his sophomoreyear his sports writingdays were put to rest.

Before getting hiscareer started, Dougworked at thelegendary ballpark ofYankee Stadium. Hewitnessed games bythe New York Giantsplay, the Yankees, andstars such as Mantleand Mays controlcenter field. All ofthese scenes werecaught up and downthe aisles of YankeeStadium as a beervendor.

As Chief ExecutiveOfficer of U.S.A Trackand Field, Logan

worked with the paidstaff and promotedthe sport. They puttogether a team tobring to Beijing wherethey won 23 medals.He then challengedthe federation bysetting a goal to havethe U.S win 30 medalsin London this pastsummer; and not onlywere they to be 30medals, but 30 “clean”(Nonperformanceenhancing) medals.Being highly doubtedby many, the U.Scame only one short,and took 29 medals inLondon.

“I always set goals,and I’m public aboutthe goals I set. Thebest thing to do topromote is to promotea winner,” said Logan.

Although it mayseem that Mr. Logan isall about sports, hecertainly knows athing or two about theentertainmentindustry.

As senior VicePresident of OgdenEntertainmentServices, he helpedpromote the companywhich was the fifthlargest promotionalcompany in the world.The companycompiled andpromoted shows suchas Michael Jackson,Neil Diamond, PaulMcCartney, RollingStones, Madonna, andmany more.

His big strike camein the 90’s. Loganowned a CBA(ContinentalBasketballAssociation) team inCalifornia called theSan Diego Wildcards,so he spent sometime out on the West

Coast. He was drivingto meet friends atPebble Beach to playgolf when he got a callin August 1995 aboutbeing thecommissioner ofMajor League Soccer.

After thinkingabout the offer for awhile, he agreed to aninterview which wasset for the secondweek of October ofthat year. He wasoffered the job twoweeks later. MLS helda press conferenceabout the hiring theweekend beforeThanksgiving.

So the fun beganin April 1996 as theleague opened to playin 10 cities. Loganspent about 80percent of his time onthe road because hewas running 11businesses, 10 cities,plus the league itself.The league averaged17,000 fans per gamethat season.

“The day of thechampionship game itwas pouring. The

stadium had acapacity of 37,000,and we had 35,000people at the gamestanding and cheeringthe whole time. Thefield was under seveninches of water at onepoint,” said Logan.

The game wentinto extra time andD.C United beat L.AGalaxy. Before histenure ascommissioner wasover, the leagueexpanded intoChicago and Miamifor a total of 12 teams.Today MLS is up to 19teams (16 being in theU.S and 3 in Canada).

While withMLS,Logan and his staffwere named SportsIndustrialists of theYear by the SportsBusiness Daily. Thishonor came followingthe first completedseason by MLS. DavidStern and the NBAwere the firstrecipients of thisaward, and the MLSfollowed by beingsecond.

“I thought I wasgetting an interview,not an honor. The callcame as a completeshock when we got it.I couldn’t do it myself.It was certainly a teameffort,” said Logan.

In 2001, a group ofinvestors looked atwhat Mr. Logan didwith soccer and askedhim to sit down anddraw up a businessplan for a possibleNational RugbyLeague. Logan helpedfinance the potentialdeal, but after manyattempts Rugby justwas not a go.

“I’m not sure if Ican see a Rugbyleague coming toAmerica. There are somany successfulsports right now as itis,” he said.

The AmericanSoccer team is rankedvery well in ournation, while the U.SRugby National teamis ranked 24. Thatwon’t necessarily helpthe case becauseAmericans like toback a winner. Loganalso went on to helppromote the ArenaFootball League.

Mr. Logan provedthat no matter whatindustry, there isalways room to moveup and exceedexpectations. Heworked his waythrough ups anddowns in both thesport andentertainmentindustries, yet henever gave up on hisjourney.

Photo courtesy of Corey SacconeCorey Saccone and Doug Logan

march 29th issue

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