Merrimack College Merrimack ScholarWorks The Beacon College Publications & Events 2-13-2009 The Beacon - Vol 7 No. 8 - February 13, 2009 Merrimack College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/beacon Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Merrimack College (2009). The Beacon - Vol 7 No. 8 - February 13, 2009. Available at: https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/beacon/42 This Newspaper is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications & Events at Merrimack ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Beacon by an authorized administrator of Merrimack ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. !! e! id Ins ns m The student newspaper of lu Merrimack College Co w Established 2001 Ne Vol. VII, Number 9 Friday, February 13, 2009 www.merrimackbeacon.com SGA debates increase in activity fee “Phi Kaps” give back By Michael Salvucci Editor-in-Chief The Student Government Associa - tion (SGA), in order to obtain more money for clubs, is debating on raising the student activity fee by as much as a 100 dollars for next year. Clubs and organizations want more money, the student body wants a major concert, and SGA with its current funds simply cannot meet all of these demands. Their possible solutions are to either re-allocate the money from parking passes from the general school fund to SGA, raise the student activity fee an additional 100 dollars, or some sort of combination of the two. Club sports such as club hockey, suck up a lot of SGA’s money. Their plan is to separate club sports from the SGA budget. If the activity fee is in fact raised by 100 dollars, 35 of it will go strictly to club sports, the other 65 will go to SGA. Members of Phi Kappa Theta pose behind their letters This money will be dispersed to “Phi Kaps,” as an extraordinary number of phil - a success. clubs and organizations as they need it. By Joe Bonano they are anthropic events. As a new initiative this year, Members of SGA still are up in the Staff Writer known, or While all of those activities Phi Kappa Theta brought Cell air about what route they should actu - members of the Phi Kappa Theta cannot be described here, we will Phones for Soldiers to campus. ally take on the matter. Fraternity here at Merrimack, try look at some of the recent ones. Cell Phones for Soldiers is a na - Some members argue that raising to live by their mission statement As many of you are aware of, the tional non-profit organization that the activity fee in this economy could in many ways, which calls upon Merrimack community is con - collects used cell phones, along potentionally be a turnoff for prospec - them to “…Actively develop men stantly involved in various philan - with donations to allow deployed tive students who will already have to to be effective leaders who pas - thropic activities that range from soldiers to call home. pay upwards of 40,000 dollars to come sionately serve society, Fraternity collecting “Cell Phones for Sol - Calling from overseas is cost here. and God.” diers” to the Spring Weekend Car prohibitive and the fact that fami - Oher members argue that a 100 Phi Kappa Theta has been at Bash Fundraiser. But also, many lies want to communicate created dollars is not really all that much and Merrimack since February of 1960 of you may not know that mem - an opportunity for some goodwill. will probably go unnoticed. and in those forty-nine years it has bers of Phi Kappa Theta are dedi - More information as it becomes managed to initiate and support cated to making these fundraisers see PHILANTHROPIC page 3... available Glenn Hoffman comes on as new Athletics Director By: Ashley Saris Cross country, fundraising and facility updates which But I do firmly believe that whether Staff Writer hockey, basket - will include the Lawler arena comple - times are good or bad, it all comes ball, lacrosse, tion. The arena is expected to be up to down to relationships and spending field hockey, softball, baseball, foot - league’s standards by the end of the time with people and really explain to ball, soccer, volleyball, seem like it completion. Fundraising is to be ele - people what you need and why you could be quite handful doesn’t it? But vated by the support of alumni dona - need it. Any person that is going to not for Merrimack College’s new Ath - tions and putting the sports of give money, it’s a big investment on letic Director, Glenn Hofmann, the job Merrimack College out there for the their part. You need to prove to them title is nothing new for him. Hofmann world to see through all forms of that they’re investing in something was previously the Assistant Athletic media. special and that comes down to rela - Director of Niagara College in upstate In an interview with Mike tionships with people.” New York. McMahon, a writer for the Eagle Trib - Although Merrimack is known Of the many challenges that une, Hofmann mentioned working on for their position as part of the Hockey soon face him, Hofmann is fully aware Lawler Arena’s renovations. He East League, many are wondering of the main issues that are now in his stated, “There is no question that hands. Some of these issues are these are challenging economic times. see HOFFMAN page 3... SubmisCsioons.n.....t....e......n.....t....s ........ 2 In This Issue! School News................................. 3 Merrimack Hockey to play at Wisonsin next Health and Fitness.......................5 Merrimack “Q on the Q”: year?? Entertainment..............................6 Recycles!! Senior Edition!! Opinion..........................................8 turn to page 10 to find Sports...........................................11 page 3 out more! page 9 Page 2 The Beacon February 13, 2009 Editorial Board Editor in Chief Michael Salvucci Submissions Photography Editor F Courtney Cutler Notes from Abroad By Jenna Vinci market. Every day, there Beacon Contributor are vendors with their F Copy Editor products under tents I have now been in Florence for ex - Abigail Clark right outside our door. actly two weeks, and I am absolutely The apartment is old and A in love with everything about this charming, with the News Editior city. It is the most beautiful place I Church of San Lorenzo di - Kyle Neary have ever been! I am lucky because T rectly across the street. I get to experience this semester Our vast living room win - Layout Editor with two of my closest friends from dow overlooks the Duomo S high school, who happened to have Lauren Dello Russo to the right and the chosen the same location and study leather market down abroad program. below. The apartment is The travel days were long filled with antique furni - and strenuous and left us jet-lagged N ture and décor, and has a and disoriented for the first few hidden, winding staircase Staff days. However, as tired as we were which leads to our ter - when we arrived, we were even more O race. The terrace over - eager to explore our new home. The Michael Annetti looks the red rooftops of first two nights were spent in a hotel Joseph Bonanno Florence, and is ab - with everyone else from the Aca - C Robert Braczyk solutely beautiful enjoy - demic Programs International Julie Burgholzer ing the sunsets. group. John Connolly Florence is so dif - A The first week had lengthy Marki Conway ferent from an American days because we acted as tourists, Alicia Cyr city. People who have going everywhere and snapping pic - E Courtney DeSisto studied here in the past tures of everything. The program my favorite qualities of Firenze. The Jeff LeBlanc have said that it is really difficult to gave us sneak-peaks of everything in city is immaculately clean; I have Timothy Linehan get involved in the local culture, but B the city that we would want to do never seen a bottle or can thrown on Eileen Milligan if you really try to immerse yourself this semester, such as visit the the side of the road. The Polizia pa - Shannon Nickerson completely, it can be done. My fa - Duomo and outside of the Uffizi Art trol the streets on a regular basis, Christopher Powell vorite part of Museum, the Piti Palace, and the but they are very friendly, which Lauren Reilly Ponte Vecchio. gives a nice feeling of security when E Ashley Sarris walking around. I much prefer Bryanna Violette walking around to get somewhere Molly Warren G instead of driving. Not only does it give you a good dose of fresh air and exercise, but it makes the city more E personal because whenever walking down the street, you can never go far L without hearing “Ciao!” or “Buon - giorno!” from someone close by. An - other great quality of Florence is the L Advisor way they preserve the atmosphere of Dr. Russell Mayer the historical district, which is where I live and go to school. When O Political Science, Chair walking down the street, you are not bombarded with in-your-face adver - CCustomer Service tisements and billboards around every corner, as you would be in an Advertising the week is always American city. This allows the true The Beacon is the best and most effi - going to the Mercato Centrale, to get On the fourth preserved beauty of the city to still cient way to reach the Merrimack our fresh groceries. We are getting be seen, and allows you to easily College Community. To place a day in Italy, we moved into our K to know the vendors and visit the Classified, Print Advertisement, or apartments.