THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MERCYHURST COLLEGE SINCE 1929 THE ERCIAD Vol. 79 No.M 1 Mercyhurst College 501 E. 38th St. Erie Pa. 16546 September 14, 2005 Bask in the last rays of summer... Katie McAdams/Photo editor Picnic tables beckon Erie residents to a beach-side feast. The last sun filled days of Many think the summer is coming to a close, but the warm sunny beaches provide a summer attract many Mercyhurst students to Presque Isle to barbeque, play volley- daily getaway from the stress of a hectic college schedule. For more information on ball and soak up the sun. these activities and numerous others, turn to page 3. Busy athletic schedules may force students to jeopardize academics additional load many athletes undertake. sports schedules may jeopardize this By Corrie Thearle Students not only deal with full course policy. News editor loads, they have extremely large athletic At the beginning of the year some schedules to follow as well. freshman athletes missed the first day As another year begins at Mercyhurst, The Athletic Department has an of classes to attend sports events. Some the college is engulfed in a wave of attendance policy that lays down faculty members feel that the first day activity. specific rules for student athletes to of class is extremely vital and do not Students across campus juggle aca- adhere by. wish students to be absent. demic schedules and extracurricular Athletes are allowed to miss up to four However there is no specific rule in activities. Fall athletic teams have classes per term on Mondays, Wednes- the attendance policy that forbids ath- already been in full swing since the end days or Fridays. These students are also letes to miss the first day of class. This of summer. permitted to miss only three classes on absence is considered one of the ones Mercyhurst takes incredible pride Tuesdays and Thursdays. allotted to athletes. in its athletic teams, praising students If students miss any classes beyond The general concern among some for their excellence both on and off the ones they are allotted under the faculty members is that student athletes the field. academic policy, they are subject to a are being pressured to break the atten- Freshmen must take This fall however some faculty mem- faculty members’ absentee policy. dance policy. bers are extremely concerned about the There is a rising concern that some Many students are under team policies which require attendance to all sports online alcohol course games and practices. When push comes to shove, these “We know that students on campus students may find themselves between By Jack Thearle Contributing Writer are going to drink,” Przybylski said. a rock and a hard place. Students are “This program is not intended to stop forced to choose between academics them, but to increase a student’s knowl- or athletics. Every academic year, Mercyhurst edge of the consequence of alcohol Many students have athletic scholar- College introduces many new programs consumption.” ships that they may depend upon to and activities for the student body, Residence Life staff members are attend Mercyhurst. especially freshmen. hoping that this form of alcohol edu- Athletic Director Peter Russo firmly This year, the decision has been made cation will help students make better supported the Athletic Departments to introduce a mandatory online alcohol decisions before drinking based on what commitment to the attendance policy. information course for all incoming they have learned from the program. He stated that academics always take freshmen. They will be comparing the number priority over athletics. Alcoholedu, created by the group of this year’s alcohol violations to those The department has the authority to Outside The Classroom, is a method of the past, hoping to find a drop in the withold a student from an athletic event of alcohol education that is less of a number of occurrences. if necessary. test and more of an online survey. The To make this program a success, Resi- Mr. Russo has promised that the Ath- survey takes students’ responses to a dence Life staff needs to have a serious letic Department will revist all sports series of questions and shows a possible response from the freshmen class. schedules and prevent any attendance scenario based on the decisions that one In the hope of enticing the students problems that may arise. makes when answering. to take the online survey seriously, they Mercyhurst College is a place of Penny Przybylski, Hall Director of the will be walking around freshman areas Katie McAdams/Photo editor higher education and the Athletic Egan Dormitory, is one of the mem- and asking questions about what the Student athletes Jaque Sluga and Don Cummings dedicate time to Department promises to enrich, not bers of Residence Life who is helping students learned from the survey. study while balancing a busy athletic schedule. hinder that process. with the project. Please see Alcohol on Page 2 News Opinon Features Index Delve into the secrets Compare points of view from Put down that bag of News...............................2 of the dead with the each gender with Mr. and Ms potato chips and open Features.........................3 Malarky. Forensic Anthropology up to healthier eating! Opinion...........................4 Department. Page 4 Page 3 Opinion...........................5 Page 2 A&E.................................6 Arts & Entertainment Sports Sports.............................7 Building at Mercyhurst Sports.............................8 North East (left) dedi- Art Gallery showcases Women’s Volleyball is red cated to Michele and Tom work of Professor Cardot. hot at 10-1. Ridge. Page 6 Page 8 inside this issue Page 2 PAGE 2 THE MERCIAD September 14, 2005 NEWS To contact: [email protected] Unlocking the secrets of the dead These lectures included infor- hurst professors travel to Chile’s They also focused the lectures By Katie Walker mation on identifying the trauma capital Santiago. on basic forensic anthropology. Contributing writer that occurred to the body, the age This was after they had sent “We taught the basic informa- and sex of the victim. three of their investigators to tion that can be learned from Mercyhurst continued show- Because of terrible incidents Erie during the summer of examining human remains,” ing its strength in the fi eld of that occurred in the past, there 2004 to learn forensic science commented Dirkmaat. applied forensic science when is a great need for the offi cials techniques during the forensic Symes presented to the group three members of the Mercy- in Chile to know information re- anthropology department’s an- the basics of bone trauma, muti- hurst College’s anthropology garding forensic anthropology. nual short courses. lation and dismemberment along department traveled to Chile in According to Dirkmaat, the “The government’s main con- with how to recognize cases deal- August. military dictatorship that ruled cern was to educate police inves- ing with those topics. They provided seminars in Chile in the 1970s and 1980s is tigators and medical examiners Cabo-Perez set the ground- their field on the tactics used blamed for the disappearances so they are able to use expert work on general anthropologi- when identifying crime scene of many Chilean cases involving knowledge on the identifi cation cal issues, statistics and how to information and also human those missing people continue to of human remains so they can analyze bones. remains. surface today. pass that information along to Dirkmaat lectured on his spe- Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat, associate The military dictatorship led by the right people,” said Dirk- cialty: outdoor crime scene re- professor of anthropology and General Augusto Pinchoet ruled maat. covery, forensic anthropology, director of forensic science, Dr. Chile from 1973 to 1990. While in Chile, the trio not only mass fatality and victim identi- Steven Symes, associate profes- Photo by Dennis Dirkmaat During that 23 year time span presented a week of lectures, but fi cation. sor in forensic and biological an- Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat and a Chilean law enforcement offi cial more than 3,000 Chileans were also conducted hands-on-work- The three faculty members not thropology and applied forensic help Chilean police investigators and medical examiners. executed or disappeared and shops in which they worked with only assisted the government science, and Luis Cabo-Perez, another 27,000 were imprisoned Chilean offi cials on open cases. and police, but gave the Chilean director of laboratory studies, ducted short lectures to police This information would be or tortured. Dirkmaat, Symes and Cabo- people hope for the future as made the trip to Chile. investigators and medical exam- used to identify and deal with The Chilean government re- Perez each presented lectures in well. The three professors con- iners in the country. discovery of human remains. quested that the three Mercy- their fi elds of specialty. North East building dedicated to Michele, Tom Ridge Director of the Erie County chael McQuillen sees the build- Although much of the funding By Robert Hodge Library system. ing’s beauty as remarkable. was provided by the state and Contributing writer “I look forward to seeing this “This building is a wonderful federal governments, that money building fi lled with books, jour- blending of striking architecture also came from taxpayers, in- On August 26, Mercyhurst nals, computers and most of and functionality,” he said. cluding the taxpayers of North Northeast dedicated its new all, students using them,” said The funding for the building East and of Erie County. Health and Safety building in Michele Ridge. came from a capital grant of A $1 million gift was given by honor of former Gov. Tom and Tom Ridge served as Pennsyl- $2 million that was awarded to the Orris C. Hirtzel and Beatrice Michele Ridge.