Volume 60, Issue 2 September 13th, 2011

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REMEMBRANCE

Student Senate Organizes Event to Discuss and Commemorate Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks

A Student Senate-organized event in memory of the Sept. 11th attacks was held last Friday in the Campus Center.

“This Sunday,” began Louis Coplin, HVCC’s Director of Student Life, “Marks the official tenth anniversary of what has become a historic, memorable [day].”

The event consisted of a discussion by a panel of five speakers, followed by questions and comments from the audience; along with the screening of a video called “Remembering 9/11” that was played in the Maureen Stapleton Theater at noon.

The panelists and all those in attendance also shared a moment of silence during the event. This was followed by a joint prayer for all those affected by the events which took place that day.

The panel consisted of Professors John Ostwald and Dawn Hopper, Public Safety director, Fred Alberti; Student Senate President Chad Coumbes, and Student Senate Vice President Josh Hotaling. Each

of the panelists talked about what they had been doing at the time of the attack took place and their experiences in the days and weeks that followed.

“I was teaching in a classroom in BTC,” said Professor Hopper, remembering that historically somber day, “When I was summoned by another faculty member to come out because a plane had hit one of the towers.”

After the discussion, some of the audience members shared their thoughts and asked the panelists’ questions. Louis Coplin also asked the panel and the audience members questions about their opinions.

During the discussion, Professor Hopper and Professor Ostwald talked about the experience of going to NYC after the attacks to offer grief counseling to the families of the deceased.

“I was completely unprepared for what I was going to see,” Professor Hopper said. “Nothing, no years of a PhD, nothing, no nights working in the trauma units in ERs, could ever have prepared me for any of it.”

“Dawn and I walked…to

Ground Zero and I remember there were a lot of ashes on the ground,” explained Professor Ostwald. “She said to me, ‘these are the remains of human beings.’”

Professor Ostwald solemnly went on to say, “Even though it was ten years ago, I’ll never forget the experiences that I had down there.”

The other three members of the discussion panel also shared their stories from that day. Senate President Coumbes, described the events taking place around him as, “a blur.”

“It was just a standard day until an ominous voice came over the loudspeakers,” the Senate President recalled. “Disbelief ran over the faces of my fellow classmates as we looked around at one another. This is what shellshock must be like.”

Senate Vice President Hotaling, recalled his young and naïve reaction to the news that day.

“When you’re ten years old, you really don’t know why this is happening, what else is going to happen,” Hotaling explained. “I remember being so angry that I couldn’t go out for recess, not

knowing...”The fifth panelist, Fred

Aliberti, HVCC’s Director of Public Safety, was an Albany police sergeant ten years ago when the attacks took place.

“The police chief…immediately deployed additional extra officers throughout the city of Albany,” he recalled. “At that point, things were so fluid, we had no idea if they were going to be flying planes into Corning Tower, or whatever.”

That same week, Alberti was sent by the Mayor of Albany, Jerry Jennings, to accompany some families from Albany to Ground Zero to look for their missing family members.

“And I said, ‘okay,’” Alberti recalled, with tears welling up in his eyes and his voice choking up, “’That’s a tough mission, but we’ll do the best we can.’”

After the panel shared their stories, the audience was given a chance to share comments, ask questions, and discuss the events of 9/11 with the panelists.

Professor Hopper also discussed the atmosphere of pain and suffering created by 9/11. “There was a raw pain,” she said. “There were parents who

had only children who worked in those buildings.”

Many of the changes of the instituted in the aftermath of 9/11 were discussed, including the increased security measures at U.S. airports, the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, and the spread of anti-Muslim sentiments.

“Because of the destructive, violent behavior of a small group

[within] a culture,” Professor Ostwald reflected, “Many of the people of the culture have been condemned.”

A decade has passed since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001; yet no one has forgotten the events and the aftermath of that tragic day. In the words of Professor Hopper, “We have to remember.”

The panel along with Louis Coplin, director of Student Life (far right) discuss their memories of the Sept. 11 attacks and the impact they had on their lives to students and faculty in the audience (From left to right: Public Safety Director Fred Alberti, Student Senate President Chad Coumbes, Student Senate Vice President Josh Hotaling, Professor Dawn Hopper and Professor John Ostwald).

Frank Appio

Students and Faculty listen to the panel discuss the impact of the 9/11 attacks on their lives.

Frank Appio

FATIMA HUSSAINSTAFF WRITER

September 13th, 2011

Page 2

News

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EDITORIAL BOARDEDITOR-IN-CHIEF: MARTIN ROBINSONMANAGING EDITOR: TEMBA “EVERY DAY” KNOWLESBUSINESS MANAGER: SPENCER KUHNCOPY EDITOR: JENESSA MATISPHOTO EDITOR: ROMONDA MENTORNEWS EDITOR: ZACH HITTCREATIVE EDITOR: MONET THOMPSONSPORTS EDITOR: DAMIETE MACHARRYWEB EDITOR: DAVID ELLIS

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College. Any unauthorized use of the newspaper’sname and/or articles with-out permission

is strictly prohibited. Violators will be prosecutedto the fullest extent of the law and of HudsonValley Community College’s penal system.

Additional information regarding printed materialcan be obtained by contacting The Hudsonianoffice on the second floor of the Siek Campus

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please attend our weekly meeting on Mondaysat 2 p.m. in the meeting room next to our office.Or, you can fill out an application during office

hours. The Hudsonian does not discriminateagainst race, gender, age or ethnicity. However,if you join The Hudsonian, please remember weare only students like you and not professionals.

The Hudsonian would like to congratulate our Managing Editor, Temba “Every Day” Knowles for recieving the Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise scholarship. Knowles was chosen from of hundreds of candidates from community colleges across the nation to recieve one of only 180 availible scholarships. The scholarship was open to only Phi Theta Kappa members who have shown leadership qualities, to help offset the financial burdens associated with attending a community college.

The Fall Semester got off to a delayed start when classes were canceled on the first day in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irene, but things soon picked up the pace and the first week of classes was an overall success according to many students.

“I really like my classes, [and] I really like my teachers,” said Amanda Hess, Individual Studies freshman. “Everyone’s been really helpful,” she said.

Her enthusiasm was shared by other students, both new and

returning, whom were excited about their classes and ready for a fresh semester.

“I enjoyed the first week, I like how small the classes are, and I like everyone here,” said Gretchen Lynn Flubacher, freshman Individual Studies. “I enjoy my Psychology class a lot.”

Not everyone on campus feels quite so energized by the beginning of the semester, though. According to Brian Ullmann, Physical Education major, classes have been “pretty boring so far, just going over the syllabus and stuff.”

Stephen Oduor, freshman

Computer Science, seems to agree with this assessment of the first week. In his words, “It’s been all right, but kind of slow, just basic stuff.”

In spite of the fact that classes were slow for the first few days, students expressed plenty of appreciation for their professors. “They’re really cool,” said Sarah O’Sheia, freshman Fine Arts. “They’re a lot better than they were in high school.”

Corbin Gale Tracy, freshman Liberal Arts, said of his instructors, “I like their personalities. I think I’ll be able to get along with them, and they teach the way I learn.”

Corbin was not alone in his fondness for the faculty’s way of teaching. “I really like their teaching techniques,” said Gretchen Lynn Flubacher. “I dig it.”

Of course, the start of the semester is about much more than just classes. Buying books was on many people’s to-do list, a task that went well for some and painfully for others.

Long lines at the Viking’s Cove bookstore and the cost of books were two main issues on students’ minds.

“The lines were crazy,” said Sarah O’Sheia, after explaining how she accidentally got into the prepack line. “I got my books and stood in that line for 15 minutes.”

Stephanie Brooks, senior Individual Studies, had quite a different experience. “Three minutes in line, not even. The line wasn’t even a long wait,” she said.

As far as prices were concerned, according to student Amanda Hess, “They’re pretty expensive, but they’re college books so you can expect that.”

Many students found ways to lower the steep cost of textbooks, however. “I bought all my books on Amazon,” said Amanda Margaret Jones, Theater Arts freshman. “And I rented my math book on chegg.com.”

The cancelation of classes on the first day was problematic for students and faculty alike. Classes were initially only canceled until noon, causing many people to arrive on campus only to find out they were

canceled for the whole day.“I have to take two buses

to get here,” said Victoria Cole, senior Marketing major. “I got here and heard kids talking about how classes got canceled all day, and I was like…okay, now I've got to get back on two buses to go home.”

“I drove [and] I got all the way down here,” explained Jonathan Hyatt, freshman in Electrical Construction and Maintenance. “And then my girlfriend texted me telling me that class got cancelled today.”

Students were not the only ones affected by the cancelation. “It lost me a lecture day,” said Professor Elizabeth McLean. “I’m a day behind, which is hard at the beginning.”

Quite a few new students got lost around campus while searching for their classes. “I went in circles in a few buildings,” admitted Victoria Cole, a senior who was previously an online student.

“In my advertising class, one girl thought it was one of the science classes,” she went on to explain. “She had the wrong room number.”

“Some guy in my integrated algebra class just went, ‘oops-a-daisy!’ and got up and left,” described Corbin Gale Tracy. “It was pretty funny.”

Other than these specific issues, various comments, complaints, and opinions about the campus and everything in it were flying around throughout the first week.

“Parking is stressful,” said Gretchen Lynn Flubacher.

“Beyond stressful.”“In the library, I think the air-

conditioning becomes too cold,” complained Stephen Oduor. “So I like staying out.”

“The campus is really nice,” said Amanda Margaret Jones. “It’s really big.” Another student, Brian Ullmann, however, described the campus as “too hilly.”

“They should make the Day Care Center closer and more accessible, especially for students who take the bus,” said Stephanie Brooks. “I’m a single mom and I want to take my son to the Day Care Center, but it’s too far.”

Senior students, faculty, and staff members also had plenty of advice to offer to freshmen.

“Pay attention to the parking because pretty soon they're going to start giving out parking tickets,” warned Bruce Reardon from the Energy Department. “They usually give you a little bit of grace, but after a while they don’t have patience.”

“Use all that Hudson Valley has to its fullest potential,” stressed Lily Victoria Schoenbach, Individual Studies senior. “If you come here and do well, then you can go to any SUNY you want and pursue any career you want.”

“Always talk to your professors,” advised Professor Elizabeth McLean. “Communicate with them, and if you’re having a question or a problem, don’t just disappear. We’re here for you. Talk to us.”

Classes Delayed, Then Canceled

MARTIN ROBINSONEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

8/29 - HVCC delayed the start of Fall Semester classes until 12 pm. According to Dennis Kennedy, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing, the decision to delay classes was due to difficult driving conditions and partial evacuations in the surrounding areas caused by the after effects of Hurricane Irene.

At 11 a.m. e-mails were sent to all staff and faculty from HVCC President, Drew Matonak, canceling classes for the rest of the day, following a request from the Rensellaer County’s 911 system. Announcements of the decision were played throught the afternoon and was posted on the college website, Facebook, and Twitter pages.

However, campus offices and buildings remained open, providing services to students and faculty.

“It was a little inconvenient,” said Karissa Olsen, freshman Individual Sutdies. “But now I had time to figure out my schedule.”

Campus News Recap

9/01 - Many students spent their early afternoon at the annual Welcome Back BBQ, held by the Student Pavillion.

“I was a nice event,” said Mike King, freshman Physical Education. “I wasn’t expecting something like this.

The event organized by the Student Senate to welcome back returning Hudson Valley students, had a live DJ, carnival

Students Enjoy Food, Games at Welcome Back BBQ

games, free food, and sumo-wrestling suits for students.

According to college officials at the event, it was estimated that 2,000 students were present for the event based on the amount of food consumed.

“I’m still getting used to the college thing,” said Chris Walsh, freshman Liberal Arts. “However, the BBQ was pretty fun to start the year off.”

Many students enjoyed the food and music provided at the

event, like Collin McCormick, senior Physical Education.

“The [Welcome Back BBQ] was nice”, said McCormick. “The food was pretty good, the mucic was pretty good. Overall, everything was good.”

“I got some good food,” said Arianna Sokaris, senior Biological Sciences. “However, I wish that I had more time to do the Sumo Wrestling with my friend at the BBQ.”

MARTIN ROBINSONEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Check us out on the Web

Students Prepare for Semester During First Week of Classes

Students heading to classes in the BTC.Fatima Hussain

Students play some carnival games at the Welcome Back BBQFrank Appio

Students getting their food at the BBQFrank Appio

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E-mail the Advertising Dept. for more details.

FATIMA HUSSAINSTAFF WRITER

FeaturesSeptember 13th, 2011

Page 3

Hudson Valley Community College, known for its strong and diverse academic programs, is doing more than just educating students. It’s enabling them to get self exposure, while promoting their school at the same time.

Airing over the last two months, there was a series of Hudson Valley commercials running on the Internet and local TV stations called, “I See It.” I had the honor of being selected for this commercial, and as a Broadcast Communications major, this was a tremendous experience, along with being a resume builder for me.

When I first arrived on set it was a little intimidating, because I arrived about 45 minutes late and I didn’t know what to expect. Students were already on the set preparing their lines, so I just eased into the background until I was noticed by Megan Barillo, one of the production staff.

Barillo and another female production staff member told me I had an extremely engaging smile. They immediately told the director who agreed with their assessment and started feeding me lines to say in front of the camera. I was told nothing was guaranteed because there were many scenes shot of various students over the past couple of days. Knowing how film and editing works I realized it was a small chance I would make the commercial, especially after showing up late and missing a majority of the shoot.

When the commercial aired,

I was pleased to find my voice over was used in the commercial. My line was, “The professors are great.” I was also in the background smiling and laughing in the very last scene, wearing a green HVCC t-shirt. I figured this would be the extent of my exposure.

After a month, I was suddenly receiving various texts from colleagues, friends, relatives and other students telling me my face was on billboards on 787 and I-90. This could not have come at a better time, as I’m currently negotiating an acting contract for an independent film I’m co- starring in, called “Biblical Prophecy.”

The film company is based in the upstate area, so word got out to the director that my face was everywhere. Needless to say I owe that to HVCC and Rochester based company, Cognitive Marketing.

Cognitive Marketing was responsible for doing all of the casting and filming of the commercial. The company was hired in 2007 to help market and promote the Hudson Valley brand. According to Megan Barillo, who was also Project Manager for Cognitive, this was the first year they offered this opportunity to students.

“In past years, alumni and faculty were used and there was even a spot done with HVCC President Drew Matonak,” said the Cognitive Project Manager.

Barillo’s job, among other things, was to coordinate with the producers and students involved, making sure everyone knew times and locations of each shoot.

According to Barillo, about 10 different commercial spots have been produced since 2007, not including radio ads, which Cognitive was also responsible for. “They want to get the younger students straight out of high school to apply to Hudson Valley,” she said.

“Their goal is to get a lot of students to Hudson Valley because of how great a school it is and the great value financially it is. There was a lot of footage taken, and although it’s a 30 second commercial spot, they

will still use the extra footage for things like behind the scenes footage, to be used for other spots and other online YouTube style videos,” said Barillo.

The casting and auditions where held on the second floor of the Campus Center in last April. All of the promotion for casting was done using Facebook, the college’s web site, and signs posted throughout the Campus Center. Students were chosen based on their look, smile, and speaking abilities.

Destiny Vazquez, a first year

student in the Registered Nursing program, said she goes to every event that Hudson Valley has and is also involved in the dance team. Vasquez said she almost didn’t attend, but was encouraged by a fellow student and was glad she attended.

“I felt it was a great opportunity and it showed me you have to definitely have patience because we stood for awhile and had to keep doing it over, but besides that, I thought it was pretty cool,” said Vasquez.

Philip Morrissey, senior

Liberal Arts, was cast as an extra for the commercial and also had a few lines. According to Morrissey, he noticed a few billboards on campus and decided to get involved.

“It’s not as easy as it looks; it takes a lot of time to get things ready, especially with commercials and broadcasting, said Morrissey. “It was a great experience and a great way to show school pride [and] really good to show what Hudson Valley and the community is about in a positive way. “

HVCC Ad Campaign Takes Capital Region By StormTEMBA “EVERYDAY” KNOWLESMANAGING EDITOR

When you think of first impressions, you probably think of your physical appearance, your clothing, your speech, and your manners. While all these things are important in a general sense, they probably won’t influence your teachers or affect your grades as much as the first written assignment you hand in for a particular course. So to make a strong first impression on paper, consider the following six tidbits of advice.

Make sure your assignment is typed and handed in on time. You’re in college now. That means handwritten papers are no longer acceptable. Even if you don’t have a computer or a word processor at home, as a Hudson Valley Community College student, you have a computer account here on campus and numerous computer labs available to you. Take advantage of them, and give yourself plenty of time to complete the assignment on schedule. A first assignment that is typed and on time may lead your professors to think that you are organized and prepared.

Write to the correct length. If your professor asks you to write two full pages, don’t write one or three. Believe it or not, teachers have a specific purpose in mind when they assign the length of an assignment. They may want you to be precise and direct in a short assignment, or they may want you to provide examples and background information in

a longer paper. Writing to the requested length may lead your instructors to conclude that you can follow directions and are willing to do so.

Use a strong thesis early in your paper. Your thesis is your main idea, and your thesis belongs, generally, at the end of your first paragraph. Your thesis also lets your reader know where the essay is headed and how it’s going to get there. Here’s an example of a strong thesis: “The Hudson River should be dredged for four main reasons.” A strong thesis in the proper location will let your instructors know you are serious about what you have to say.

Use transitions to move your readers from one idea to the next. If you’re writing about the four reasons for dredging the Hudson, you should use words like “first, second, third, and fourth” to separate your reasons. Yes, a new paragraph will indicate that you’re moving on to a new idea, but without a transition, the reader might not know if the new idea is still part of the previous reason or a new reason altogether. Transitions make your writing more clear and make you appear ordered and logical.

Have a strong conclusion. Just as your thesis introduces your main idea, your conclusion reminds the readers of that idea and allows them to remember your idea and think about it. You may want to conclude with a summary, a challenge, or a call to action. A strong summary shows that you are secure and confident.

Use the spellchecker and the grammar checker on your computer and proofread carefully. In the days before computers, teachers may have been a bit more lenient. They might have forgiven a spelling error, for example, if it looked more like a typing error. Today, however, you can’t let anything slide by. Your professors expect you to use the tools available to you. Your professors also expect you to catch the errors that the computers miss. A paper that is free of spelling errors and typos will show you to be a competent and careful writer.

First impressions – either positive or negative – are hard to overcome. This semester, take your time with that first writing assignment and make a great first impression on your instructors.

The Writing Center is located on the second floor of the Marvin Library, and you can go there for help at any stage of the writing process.

***

Copyright 2011 © by Jim LaBate at Hudson Valley Community College.

Writers’ BlocJIM LABATEWRITING SPECIALIST IN THE WRITING CENTER

Keep an eye out for more

Writers’ Bloc in The Hudsonian

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One of the HVCC billboards seen around the highways of Capital RegionTemba Knowles

September 13th, 2011

Page 4

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Last year, the Decline of Western Civilization became more evident with the controversial Supreme Court decision, “Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission," ruling that corporations cannot be banned or limited from political spending during elections. Our justice system is now on the brink of partisan divide and there is growing criticism over their favoring of big businesses' interests. The Supreme Court is America’s highest court, and its recent rulings affect the very pillars of our democratic/capitalist system.

There have been almost a century of laws significantly restricting the use of corporate money in elections, and even

our founding fathers were concerned with the influence businesses could exert on the country’s politics. However, in its 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court decided to strike down virtually all of those precedents.

The Court’s reasoning concluded that, "If corporations are people, then any limiting of corporate treasuries for campaigns would be a classic example of government censorship." Such a statement is deeply disheartening on its own, and horrific when you consider today’s battles between private interest, politics, and progress.

A floodgate has been opened that will only further corrupt our political process. When corporations decide to throw their weight behind candidates it will now fall to us, the individual citizen, to fight back and raise as

much money.Additionally, there is

curiosity surrounding how the statute will be used in further legal debates. If corporations are considered people then what is next? Should they be taxed the same as a normal citizen is? Can they be accused of crimes like normal citizens? What about the right to marriage?

Before the Supreme Court's ruling, it was primarily individuals who were throwing money at their chosen candidate. With big business now able to throw their weight around, the balance of political influence and money has changed. Perhaps, this decision and the potential outcomes mark another sign of the Decline of Western Civilization.

THE DECLINE OFWestern Civilization

NATE McCLELLANSTAFF WRITER

Do You Have Something to Say

That You Want Everyone to Hear?

E-mail us Your Letters to the Editor

and we might publish it in our next edition.

hudsonian@hvcc.edu

Check Out More Adventures of Vinny the Viking, only on The Hudsonian!

CORRECTIONSIn last weeks issue, the issue number was not placed in the newspaper. The issue number was 1.In the “What Do You Really Know About HVCC” article, the writer Temba “Every Day” Knowles was incorrectly identified as the Web Editor. Knowles’ correct title was Managing Editor.

David Ellis was not listed as the Web Editor on the Editorial Board listing in last weeks issue.

The two photos of the taclke dummies and goal post were that go with the article “New Team, High Expeectations for Football Team” were incorrecly labeled. The correct labels are the incorrect ones reversed.

ReviewsSeptember 13th, 2011

Page 5

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“Colombiana” is the latest offering from director Olivier Megaton. It’s written by Luc Besson, best known stateside for films such as “Léon: The Professional”, “La Femme Nikita”, “The Fifth Element” and the “Transporter” series. It’s yet another in a long line of action films from Besson.

The film opens in the year 1992, with the primary antagonist, Don Luis (Beto Benites), a cartel leader, sharing a heartfelt goodbye with an old associate of his. It’s clear the associate wants out of the business for good. Of course, in the movies and all too often in real life, the only way one leaves organized crime is in a body bag, so as soon as the associate has left, Don Luis orders a hit on him and, naturally, his whole family. The associate – who turns out to be the father of the heroine, Cataleya, played in her ten-year-old form by Amandla Stenberg – has obviously seen this movie before, as he immediately realizes what’s going to happen and rushes home to organize an escape.

Young Cataleya watches in horror as her parents make their final stand and are gunned down right in front of her. Cataleya makes her escape in an intense parkour (it’s always parkour these days) chase through the streets of Bogota. This is where Megaton shows his capabilities as an action director, avoiding the inexplicably popular “shaky cam” in favour of steady shots following Cataleya as she uses every trick she knows to

evade her pursuers – who end up outfoxed a little too easily by a ten-year-old girl to remain credible adversaries – and reaches the safety of the US Embassy in Colombia.

The next day, she swears revenge on Don Luis. After an attempt at enrolling her in a school that doesn’t go quite as smoothly as he hoped, her uncle takes on a mentor role, training her in the ways of the assassin.

The film cuts to California, fifteen years later. Cataleya, now

Colombiana Has Good Performances, Fails to Deliver Originality

played by Zoe Saldana, now on the FBI’s radar after a series of murders has led the FBI to send an investigator (Lennie James). Cataleya’s been busy, as we find out, with enough victims to earn herself serial killer status and the FBI’s attention.

From here the plot splits between Cataleya’s quest for revenge and the FBI’s investigation, with occasional highlights of her obligatory love. Sadly, the early scenes had much more promise than the main plot.

While Saldana acts decently when she isn’t sounding strangely disembodied and makes a valiant attempt at showing a human side to Cataleya, there are a number of factors holding the film down.

Firstly, it plays all the standard revenge-movie/on-the-run/FBI-procedural tropes to the hilt as if compiling some sort of checklist. The mentor urging his protégé to get out while she still can (no points for guessing what happens to him), the FBI good/CIA evil dynamic (while they

never become more than minor baddies, the few CIA agents who appear are presented about as smugly and unsympathetically as they can without distracting from the main plot), the love interest trying to figure out what their mysterious lover actually does, even the one-on-one talk between the killer and head investigator. It’s all there, without a trace of irony or any attempt to shake up the formula, and while the film is rather well-made within these constraints, it certainly suffers for it. There’s a setup a decent way into the film that all but gives away the ending if you’re paying any attention.

No matter whom she’s up against, both as an adult and child, Cataleya never seems to have any trouble outwitting and outfighting everybody. While she’s supposed to have spent the better part of her life training to be some kind of elite hitwoman, there’s no excuse for not allowing anyone in the film to present any real challenge, or for presenting her abilities as those of a highly-trained individual than having her appear to teleport at least once. When action is a film’s main selling point, or is implied to be, one shouldn’t neuter it by making it so nothing hinders the protagonist at any juncture; one of the keys to a good action feature is a character the audience cares about being put in thrilling and dangerous situations, which this film doesn’t really do.

Cataleya is usually a step or two ahead of everyone else, but by the end of the film – the one time anyone can really stand up to her without being immediately torn through like wet tissue – is when she meets Marco again in

the climax. As the only person to give her any sort of difficulty, one would almost find themselves rooting for him if Mollà hadn’t done so well in making him the one truly creepy villain in the film. Every word and action in his few scenes seems to exude slime, and at points, Mollà seems to be one of the few people actually putting in an effort. His performance seems to belong in a better film, or at least one with more depth.

If a lack of depth isn’t a deterrent, however, “Colombiana” is at least watchable. As a film, it knows what it wants, namely to be a roughly B-level actioner, and does the job decently at least. It’s certainly not on the level of some of Besson or Megaton’s other films, nowhere near “The Fifth Element” or “Taken”, but it does the job well enough if you’re looking for something you can just take at face value and don’t mind an overly-faithful approach to the formula.

My recommendation is to wait until it can be rented on DVD or Netflix, but for a better look at Besson’s work check out “Léon: The Professional” first.

With Netflix’s recent price hike and the loss of Starz Entertainment’s content (effective next February), Redbox has an opportunity to take over what was primarily Netflix’s territory.

Redbox president Mitch Lowe announced plans of an online movie service that, like Netflix, would charge a subscription fee (instead of the “per movie” policy of Amazon VOD and Itunes). Redbox’s one dollar (per night) DVD rentals may be an alternative to Netflix users who think the price hike is just not worth it.

Netflix has decided to charge users $7.99 for the DVD rental

plan and the Online Streaming plan, meaning that users who formerly spent $9.99 for both plans are now charged $15.99. This price hike has led some customers to cancel their service and look for alternatives, like Blockbuster, whose prices are still more than Netflix with a one DVD at a time plan for $9.99. Blockbuster also boasts having movies 28 days before Redbox and Netflix. Games and Bluray are also available for rent, and a 30 day free trial is currently available from Blockbuster.

Redbox does have an advantage against both Netflix and Blockbuster and that is simply location. With 33,300 locations, conveniently placed at supermarkets, Walmarts and drug stores, it is easier and quicker for

people to rent and return movies. They also now offer games for two dollars a night for Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, with titles like Dead Island and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

If they decide to go through with the plans for online streaming, the future of Netflix could be jeopardized. However, for now, Netflix still has one of the largest libraries of content available for streaming, and is also available on many devices including Xbox, Wii, iOS and Android.

Alternative services for online streaming include Hulu Plus, Amazon VOD and Walmart’s Vudu. The two latter services are pay per movie, while Hulu Plus is subscription based.

Will Redbox to Take Over Netflix Territory? What Could

it Mean For You?

KYLE GARRETTSTAFF WRITER

Zoe Caldana playing Cataleya in ColumbianaCourtesy of epochtimes.com

Could Redbox be the next Nexflix?Monet Thompson

MONET THOMPSONCREATIVE EDITOR

We’re on the Web! * * * * www.thehudsonian.org

Look out for more movie reviews in

The Hudsonian

Page 6

The Back Page

Soccer has always been something of an ignored sport in the United States, especially in comparison to its popularity elsewhere in the world, and college soccer seldom gets the same attention as sports like football and baseball. Our own team has been around for quite

some time, yet has never got much recognition or enjoyed a great deal of success, with their last Region III championships coming in 1962 and 1963 – nearly fifty years ago.

Coach Travis Cooke, the most recent of HVCC men’s soccer’s head coaches, has sought to change that. Since Coach Cooke, who has been around the sport of soccer for much of his

life since high school, took over in July of 2006, the team has steadily begun faring better from season to season.

In 2008, the men’s soccer team was among the top five in the nation, including a top two spot for four consecutive weeks, while in 2009 they made it to the Region III quarterfinals. Just last year, they made it to the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first

game.The team has already played

four games this season, including a 4-0 loss to Herkimer County Community College, who have dominated the division for twenty-two consecutive years, in the opening game, but their coach feels there’s a good chance of doing better this year.

Everyone on the squad is an experienced player, from high

school or other colleges, and we have four people returning from last year. Returning stars Joseph Lombardo, Kyle Kline, Jarret Farrell and Tyler Mashaware are used to working with each other and Coach Cooke, giving them an advantage in teamwork and some perspective on the team. Other players to watch include Ryan Hanehan for attack, and defensive players Bret Gruener and Sean Maruscsak, and a prevailing attitude among the veterans seems to be that this is the best squad yet, with strong offense and defense along with good chemistry that leads to instinctive teamwork, which is vital in any sport.

Cooke himself isn’t so sure, however, and actually cited teamwork as a weakness of this new squad, as most of the players are used to the teams they’ve left behind on coming to HVCC. Soccer is a sport where players need to work together without any hesitation if they want to have any success, on top of being just as physically demanding as sports like football, prizing speed, stamina and explosive force over brute power and upper-body strength. Soccer games are ninety minutes long, and unlike in football or baseball, the players only get one break at halftime. Both teams are constantly moving, so conditioning is incredibly important.

The key to success, of course, is practice. The Vikings spend several hours a day, up to three days a week, on

a professionally-researched training program Coach Cooke has based on English Premier League teams like Arsenal F.C. out of North London. Cooke’s training methods can be summed up in one phrase: “No lines, no laps, no lectures.”

Coach Cooke doesn’t have his players run for the sake of running, doesn’t do line drills and doesn’t waste time lecturing them when they could be learning by doing. Conditioning is done with drills and bodyweight exercises like push-ups and crunches, and everything done in practice is directly applicable to games. Instead of laps, players do step drills and practice passing or dribbling the ball up and down the field, and simulation games are common, especially at the end of practices.

A typical soccer squad has twenty people in a game, so the Vikings have a surplus, and not every player goes to every game, so with the practice games everyone gets some experience under their belt, working on plays and strategies to use in the actual season. Practice games also give the squad more of an opportunity to get used to each other, and with the start of the season, Cooke has taken to doing game briefs, going over what went right and wrong in the previous game to give his players more of an idea of what to work on.

The men’s soccer team’s next game is on Tuesday, September 14th, at Tompkins Cortland Community College.

Were You Seen On Campus?

Building Up the HVCC Soccer Team

The HVCC Soccer Team takes a rest during a hard practice.Kyle Garrett

Have any pictures of you and your friends at any campus events?

E-mail them to:hudsonian@hvcc.edu

We’ll put them up on our brand new website!

www.hudsonian@hvcc.edu

A student speaks to a potential employer during the Part-Time Job Fair in the Campus Center last Wed.Frank Appio

Students walking to their desinations during a rainy WednesdayFrank Appio

Students walk to upstairs Campus Center, while Part-Time Job Fair continues downstairs last Wed.Frank Appio

KYLE GARRETTSTAFF WRITER