theSaint - Aquinas College

Heartside Pride is coming up! 

Aquinas’ largest community 

volunteer effort takes place on April 

21. Look inside for all the details. 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 

Volume 31, Issue 14 

>>NEWS 

Commencement info | 3 

The Saint has everything you 

need to know about coming 

graduation celebrations at 

Aquinas. 

Costa Rica speaker at AQ | 3 

Wege Foundation speaker Dr. 

Daniel J. Janzen is slated to 

speak on tropical rainforests 

in Costa Rica and their place in 

the environment. 

>>A&E 

Isle of Marvels | 5 

Aquinas’ theater department’s 

latest effort features 

steampunk science fiction 

strangeness. 

Student art on display | 5 

The All-Media Student Art 

Show is on display at the 

AMC. Get The Saint’s take 

on Aquinas’ student artists, 

inside. 

>>SPORTS 

Women’s Lacrosse | 8 

The Aquinas Women’s LAX 

team heads to Rome, Georgia 

to compete in the national 

tournament. 

AQ Cheer goes national | 8 

Aquinas’ cheer team competed 

at nationals in Daytona, 

Florida. Read how they did, 

inside. 

page 2 

New technology 

at the library 

By Alyssa Frese 

Staff Writer 

In an always technologically 

advancing society, it is important to 

stay up to date and familiar with 

new devices. Codirector of the Grace 

Hauenstein Library Shellie Jeffries 

and the rest of her library staff have 

taken great measures to make sure that 

Aquinas College students and faculty 

have access to popular devices and 

digital formats such as Nooks, Kindles, 

and e-books. “Last August, the library 

began subscribing to a service that 

provides access to electronic books and 

we were able to add 72,000 new titles 

to our online catalog,” she said. “All 

those e-books are searchable in TomCat 

and many are defi nitely gett ing used 

by students. We are also buying many 

individual reference books as e-books.” 

According to Jeffries, a survey 

of students, staff and faculty last fall 

showed interest in electronic books, 

but not as a priority. “As we’re able to 

By Samantha Swartout 

Staff Writer 

As the 2011-2012 school year comes 

to a close, so do the 125th Anniversary 

celebrations of Aquinas College. 

Over the past year, the four 

Dominican charisms of Prayer, Service, 

Study and Community were emphasized 

with huge events on campus. 

The last pillar, Community, will be 

celebrated on April 24, 2012, with a benefi t 

dinner and concert. The event, called 

“One Enchanted Evening” will celebrate 

the donors and benefactors of Aquinas. 

Tickets will cost donors $175 each and 

will help to further benefi t students of 

Aquinas. This event will feature a strolling 

gourmet dinner through campus with live 

music at each stop. On Monday, April 23 

at 4:30 p.m. there will be a free concert 

for students and faculty to enjoy. Alumni 

Sara Jakubiak (’02) and Dr. Andrew Fleser 

(’00) will be performing at the Performing 

Arts Center. 

“The whole year went extremely 

well. Our two years of planning paid 

off beautifully and the entire board 

is very happy with the results,” said 

Gary Eberle, Aquinas English professor 

and Master of the Revels for the 125th 

Anniversary Planning Committ ee who 

has spearheaded the year’s events. “Along 

with the larger events were smaller events 

that also deserve recognition. The Scott 

Turow event raised $40,000+ alone and 

we are hoping to raise at least that with 

‘One Enchanted Evening,’” said Eberle . 

The pillar of Prayer was highlighted 

on Sept. 14, 2011, with a formal blessing 

and rededication of the college and 

campus. There was a vast array of 

speakers representing each of the pillars 

from students to professors to Marywood 

Sisters. Students representing on-campus 

MIRIAM PRANSCHKE / THE SAINT 

iPads for your use: Junior Brianna Harris holds one of the new iPads available in 

the Grace Hauenstein Library’s Media Department. The library has been updating 

their collection of electronic media devices for students to use. 

Since Aquinas is a leader in the 

sustainability education movement, 

it is only fitting that the entire 

campus should work to create a 

more sustainable environment. 

To do this, some members of the 

Aquinas community who are highly 

committed to sustainable practices 

have devised a plan to eliminate 

all municipal waste generated by 

the college by May 2014. This team, 

composed primarily of dedicated 

students, has been meeting three 

times a week in order to brainstorm 

and get the zero-waste plan into 

action. 

The goal of the plan is to decrease 

the capacity to hold waste on campus 

by 10 cubic yards per semester. The 

same method was used at Cascade 

Summer fitness tips | 4 Men’s tennis keeps on winning | 7 

theSaint 

Is ready for summer. So ready. 

Aquinas’ 125th 

wraps up 

The year-long anniversary celebration of 

Charisms concludes with “Community” 

add more e-books to our collection and 

more people use them, this att itude may 

change,” she said. 

The Media Department’s iPads, 

Nooks, Kindles, Wii consoles and most 

recent Kindle Fire come with books 

preloaded onto them. The uploaded 

literature is composed of mostly nonfi 

ction titles. However, for those who are 

loyal print readers, fear not: the library 

will continue to purchase print editions 

alongside electronic ones, according to 

Jeff ries. 

The library plans to add more to 

their technology collections as new 

concepts and inventions gain student 

att ention. “Our intention with all of 

these gadgets is to provide students 

with the opportunity to play with them 

and, with the e-readers, a chance to read 

popular books that the library doesn’t 

usually buy for our collection. We’re 

happy with the usage we’ve seen for all 

our new ‘toys’ and hope to expand our 

off erings in the future,” said Jeff ries. 

clubs, organizations, teams, music groups 

and Aquinas in general met at the Cook 

Carriage House for a memorable march 

to Touchdown Mary where hundreds 

gathered for the blessing ceremony. 

In October and November the pillar 

of Service was highlighted. In October, 

a special commemorative token was 

mailed to thousands of Aquinas alumni 

and friends. The recipients of these coins 

were asked to share their stories of service. 

Along with the mailing of the tokens was 

the All Saints Day Summit on Service 

held on Nov. 1. Sr. Anna Maria Santiago 

was the keynote speaker and spoke of the 

Dominican tradition of service. Hundreds 

of stories were shared on the Aquinas 

website, with a map showcasing locations 

of service done by Aquinas students, 

alums and community members across 

the world. 

On March 13, 2012, Eberle gave a 

speech about his 60 years in the Catholic 

intellectual tradition. This was followed 

later in the month and into April with 

lectures by Sr. Barbara Reid on the 

Dominican Intellectual Tradition and 

renowned Catholic theologian George 

Weigal, who discussed the future of 

Catholic higher education. The final 

Study event was a student “Talk Back” 

which consisted of a panel of fi ve students 

representing various clubs on campus 

who discussed their personal views on the 

identity of Aquinas College as a Catholic 

school on Tuesday, April 17. 

The goal of these events was to not 

only take a look into the past, but to get 

everyone excited about the future of the 

college. “We wanted to look to the past and 

build a future,” said Eberle. “We have laid 

a great foundation this year–we gave the 

college a lasting eff ect and will go into the 

future with a united story and history with 

the celebration of our charisms.” 

By Rachel Luehm 

Staff Writer 

JONATHAN TRAMONTANA / AQUINAS 

Focus on the Charisms: Aquinas students process with banners listing the Dominican 

Charisms in St. Andrew’s Cathedral during the 125th Anniversary Mass, celebrated 

by Bishop Walter Hurley on Sept. 18, 2011. 

Working toward zero 

waste on campus 

Engineering, a Grand Rapids-based 

sustainable engineering firm, to 

eliminate all waste over the course 

of five years. 

The plan will be put into action 

incrementally. “Basically, it’s a ninestep 

process that will be used every 

year until we get to zero-waste,” said 

senior Stephanie Krajnik, who is one 

of the leaders of this plan. 

This new zero-waste policy will 

mean that the students, faculty, staff 

and campus dining will need to 

rethink their use and disposal of the 

items they purchase, use, and come 

in contact with. It will also mean that 

there will need to be more education 

on how to dispose of waste other than 

using the trash can. Recycling, upcycling 

and composting, as well as 

thinking about how much and what 

a person is buying before they buy it, 

and simply using objects creatively 

rather than just tossing them will 

need to be implemented. 

Some waste reducing measures 

have already been implemented 

and successful for Creative Dining 

Services, Aquinas’ food service 

provider. Two large trash dumpsters 

and a single compost bin for Wege 

waste have been replaced with two 

compost bins and only one dumpster. 

This saves on waste going to the 

landfill. 

Although these initiatives were 

started by the on-campus club 

Students Striving for Sustainability 

(S3), it does not mean that others 

cannot get involved. Anyone is 

invited to help out with the effort. 

All interested in joining can contact 

Krajnik via email at sak001@aquinas. 

edu. 

AQ SIFE claims another victory in 

Chicago regional competition 

By Laura Rico 

Staff Writer 

On Monday April 16, Students 

In Free Enterprise (SIFE)attended the 

Regional Competitions in Chicago, 

Illinois. The team took home it’s 11th 

win, earning a spot in the SIFE national 

competition in Kansas City May 22-24. 

Ten students presented on five 

projects that SIFE has worked on 

throughout the year. “Our projects this 

year have met all judging criteria, which 

were qualitative and quantitative factors 

of economic, environmental, and social 

empowerment of people in need,” said 

AQ SIFE’s President Tom Olson. 

Hopes were high going into the 

competition. Before the competition, 

Aquinas professor and SIFE advisor 

Masato Yamazaki said, “We have been 

winning every year since 2009. Of course, 

we hope to win this year again. This is our 

tenth anniversary year.” 

The team did not disappoint. Senior 

Brianna Scott, presenter for the Help 

Japan Volunteer Program, was proud 

of the team’s accomplishments. “We 

represented Aquinas well and brought 

honor to the school,” said Scott . 

Despite technical malfunctions, with 

movie devices failing to work during 

her group’s presentation, Scott said 

she and her peers were able to pull off 

a presentation that was, “straight to the 

point, just what the judges wanted.” 

The projects discussed included: 

the Steepletown GED and Fitness 

Project which assists GED students 

at Steepletown through tutoring and 

providing physical fitness programs, 

and the Help Japan Volunteer Program 

which contributes to the KIE Kintetsu 

International’s Volunteer Program, 

Kizuna, and helps to send more 

volunteers to Japan for rebuilding eff orts. 

The other three projects presented 

were the The Magnanimous Salsa 

Project; the Energy Project that supports 

successful energy conservation education 

at Congress Elementary School; and the 

If The Shoe Fits Project, which provides 

athletic shoes to students in Grand 

Rapids and a Malawi microfi nance eff ort. 

Even with this victory, Aquinas’ 

SIFE team is not taking a break. “Aft er 

having a widely successful year, AQ SIFE 

will throw themselves into next years 

projects with even more fervor,” said 

Elizabeth Ochs, AQ SIFE’s president-elect 

for 2012-2013. “We are excited about our 

win at regionals and it has only motivated 

us to work even harder to place higher at 

nationals than ever before. “

news 

Aquinas: Roger Durham presents 

on Saudi Arabia excursion 

Aft er two weeks in Saudi Arabia, Aquinas professor 

Roger Durham will be presenting insights 

he gained from his experience with the Aquinas 

College community on Tuesday, April 24 at 12:30 

p.m. in the Wege Ballroom. He will focus on the 

topics of gender, religion, culture, environment 

and political economy in relation to oil resources. 

Bidding adieu 

monica rischiotto |news editor Heartside 

This is prett y typical. It is 2 a.m. on a 

Monday night, roughly 12 hours before 

sending this issue of The Saint to print. 

When it comes to writing my column, 

procrastination consistently seems to get 

the best of me. I admit to experiencing a 

slightly repulsive adrenaline rush from 

reserving these late Monday nights 

every other week. They are complete 

with excessive coff ee drinking, late night 

thinking, pizza ordering, Pandora blaring 

hours that for me subconsciously defi ne 

the heart of the college experience. They 

make for stories I can salvage and share 

with my grand kids, with my sparkly 

clean dentures and all, stories that begin 

with, “Back in the day…” 

It is nights like these when Sports 

Editor Dan Meloy and I are fi rst in line 

for Wege breakfast at 7:15a.m, strolling 

in with baggy eyes, disheveled looking, 

ready for a morning nap. And it’s hard to 

believe it is coming to an end. 

Refl ecting on the last four years of 

writing for The Saint, whether as an 

editor or a writer, there seems to be a 

common thread. I spent many late nights 

in the fl oor lounges of Regina fi nishing 

articles my freshman year, scrolling 

through emails of interview responses, 

looking up cross country, baseball and 

basketball stats that felt like reading 

a different language. Also included 

were regurgitating Mlive articles and 

organizing Recyclmania results into a 

reader friendly format. 

Writing for The Saint provided 

the stepping stones to meeting new 

people, learning about events, clubs and 

traditions on campus. And by writing 

about them, I felt like I was a part of 

something. I wanted to be in the know at 

a place I started out hardly knowing at all. 

I wanted to meet the leaders, the cool kids 

on campus, talk with the professors who 

were praised and make connections with 

those who worked behind the scenes. 

That being said, the late nights felt 

like saving the best for last. Writing 

articles for the paper is almost like 

entering a different world. Trying to 

provide the most accurate form of truth 

becomes the task at hand. And whether 

it is about sports, an event on a campus, 

or world news, there is a heavy load of 

responsibility that goes with sharing the 

“right” information in the “right” way. 

Yet when it comes to writing my 

column, this gets a litt le complicated. 

My goal at hand is not to be neutral, but 

rather to choose a side. And yet, more 

oft en than not, the experience of trying to 

refl ect on my own views and ideas has 

led me to realize the world we live in is 

not always so black and white. 

That being said, countless numbers 

of times I have writt en a column, read 

it over, and questioned myself. Does it 

make sense? Did I consider all sides of 

the argument? Who am I to write on this 

issue? And the questions go on and on 

until I fi nally convince myself that time 

has become a factor, and I must go with 

whatever falls on the page. 

The opportunity to write a column has 

perhaps more than anything allowed me 

a chance to learn about myself. It can be 

a rude awakening when your world is at 

one time neatly organized into a list of 

rights and wrongs and then when given 

a chance to wholeheartedly support (or 

criticize) a particular side, it can be more 

challenging than expected. And perhaps 

more than anything, it can be a somewhat 

unsett ling experience to observe where 

the process of writing down your beliefs 

takes you. 

Professor Gary Eberle once said 

during class, “The more you learn, the 

more you realize how much you don’t 

know.” That was oft en my experience 

with writing this column. I would start 

off having a concrete answer, a strongwilled 

stance on a certain issue, and by 

the end, the grey side began to immerge, 

questioning the exclusivity of my point, 

challenging me to doubt the limited 

knowledge I have and construct an 

opinion off of it. 

And yet at the same time Alexander 

Hamilton’s quote, “If you don’t stand 

for something, you’ll fall for anything” 

(thanks to my seventh grade teacher) is 

always consistently fresh on my mind, 

reminding me that the grey zone can’t 

become a halt to analytical and critical 

thinking, both with the mind and the 

heart. 

Without further ado, my sincere 

appreciation for those who entertained 

my att empts to explore my own views, 

and a warm welcome to sophomore 

Laura Farrell who will be thoughts will 

be gracing this space for the 2012-13 year. 

Grand Rapids: New movie theater 

coming your way 

The owners of Celebration Cinema have announced 

that a new multi-purpose movie theater 

will be built downtown on the south side of 

the Van Andel Arena on the corner of Ionia and 

Oakes streets. There is currently a city parking 

lot in the location. Developers have proposed a 

two year project, hoping for an open by 2014. 

Michigan: Holland and Greenville 

hospitals in top 100 nationally 

Holland Hospital and Spectrum Health United 

in Greenville received national awards, ranking 

7th in clinical care and organizational performance. 

Mercy Hospital in Cadillac and Munson 

Medical Center in Traverse City were also selected 

as outstanding medical facilities that placed 

in the top 100. 

Pride 

On April 21, Aquinas students, faculty and staff 

will join the Heartside neighborhood downtown 

for spring cleaning and beautification 

By Brian Kalchik 

The Saint Reporter 

On Saturday, April 21, students 

from all across Aquinas College will be 

participating in service projects in and 

around the Heartside area as part of the 

annual AQ service tradition Heartside 

Pride Clean-Up, 

sponsored by 

Aquinas’s CAVA 

(Community 

A c t i o n 

Volunteers of 

Aquinas) on- 

campus student 

group. Some of 

the projects will 

include cleaning 

leaves, debris, 

and garbage 

from streets 

and parks of 

the Heartside 

neighborhood 

in downtown 

Grand Rapids. 

“1984 was 

the first year 

of Heartside. 

A small group 

of students 

from Aquinas 

came with the 

‘Hunger Clean- 

Up’ (now known 

as Heartside Pride), and they cleaned up 

the Heartside area and raised money that 

was donated to diff erent organizations,” 

said Eric Bridge, the CAVA advisor. 

“The rewarding part of this experience 

is the personal connections that you can 

develop with the residents.” 

This movement is now a city-wide 

event with colleges and universities 

participating. Around 150-200 

volunteers from Aquinas are expected 


Staff Writer 

to participate. 

According to junior Abby Samotis, 

CAVA president, this is the biggest and 

most rewarding event of the year for 

the CAVA group. “I’m very excited this 

year, we have had a lot of community 

help and sponsors that are helping 

make this project a success. We also 

caliber shows how much commitment 

and appreciati on I have for the Aquinas 

College community. I can’t wait to 

spread this same appreciation to my 

fellow Saints!” 

Sophomore Madison Gabriel has 

plenty of experience with helping out 

others. “I have been on the Selma and 

Kentucky 

Spring Break 

trips, being 

on both of 

those events 

was aweinspiring, 

and now I 

can make 

an impact in 

the Grand 

Rapids area. 

This will be 

my second 

Heartside 

and being 

able to 

work with 

a different 

group of 

people than 

last year 

will also be 

COURTESY JENNIFER KALCHIK 

The ladies of Casa Hogar (left to right): Students Gabriella Cicantelli, Ana Cujar, Erin 

Miller, Jennifer Kalchik, Taylor Spellis, Ariel Timm, and Paige Shesterkin pose for a photo. 

page 2 

THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012 

3 

NEWS 

Exploring the rainforests in 

Celebrating mother 

earth and a healthy 

dose of AQ pride 

A recap on SpringFest and a look 

forward to Earth Day on April 22 

By Chuck Hyde 


Last Saturday, April 14, was 

Aquinas’ annual springtime bash: 

Springfest. 

C a m p u s 

organizations 

got together to 

put on various 

events in and 

around the 

Cook Carriage 

House. Food 

and drinks 

were supplied 

all day in the 

Moose, with 

several clubs 

present. AQ 

Sound had a 

table and were 

giving out 

CDs with the 

completion 

of a survey; 

Ukeknighted 

was present, 

giving free 

u k u l e l e 

lessons; and 

AQPB hosted 

their Style Your Sole event, based 

around the recent Toms shoes that they 

put on sale. 

The day began with a 5k run/walk 

put on by Casa Hogar to raise money 

for the Peru trip. It was sophomore 

Anastasia McRoberts’ fi rst 5k event; 

she seemed happy with how it turned 

out: “It was a nice way to wake up.” 

Ukeknighted, a fairly new club 

on campus, was perhaps the most 

lighthearted and friendly of the 

groups. Their lessons were fun and 

informative for anyone wanting to 

Costa Rica 

The Wege Foundation Lecture Series brings biologist Dr. 

Daniel J. Janzen 

By Samantha Swartout 

Staff Writer 

On Thursday, April 19, 

from 4 p.m.-5 p.m. the 16 

annual Wege Foundation 

Speaker Series will take 

place. This year’s topic is 

“Tropical Conservation 

through Biodiversity 

Development” and will be 

presented by Dr. Daniel 

H. Janzen. 

Dr. Janzen is advisor 

to international political 

leaders and is a worldrenowned 

conservation 

biologist. He has devoted 

his life to his career 

and has a passion for 

tropical environments 

and the species that live 

in them. His passion 

has led him all the way 

to Costa Rica, where 

he has been devoted to 

protecting and preserving 

the biodiversity in the 

tropical forests. Through 

his dedication to this 

project, it has become 

COURTESY RONI RANVILLE 

Spring is in the air: With SpringFest successfully kicking off the end of the year, Earth Day 

is just around the corner on Sunday, April 22. 

the oldest, largest and 

most successful ecosystem 

restoration project in the 

world. 

This project and others 

have established Dr. Janzen 

as a world-renowned, 

highly awarded biologist. 

He has been awarded 

the Crafoord Prize in 

Sweden, the Kyoto Prize 

in Japan and a MacArthur 

Fellowship. 

While speaking at the 

Wege Foundation Speaker 

Series, Janzen will discuss 

his work to restore the 

ecosystem in Costa Rica, 

why he chose his career 

path and why it should 

matter to the rest of the 

world what is happening 

in the rain forests of Costa 

Rica. 

The lecture series is 

open to the public and is 

free. To hear Dr. Janzen 

speak, head over to the 

Wege Ballroom at 4 p.m. on 

Thursday, April 19. 

2012 Spring Commencement info 

The Saint Editorial Staff 

Rainforests we should care about: With only a handful of Aquinas 

students studying in Costa Rica each year, Dr. Daniel J. Janzen will 

share why everyone should get to know the country’s rainforests. 

learn more about ukulele. The club 

president, sophomore Marin Haff ey, 

started to group to unite the many 

ukulele players and would-be players 

on-campus. She hopes to further 

expand the club next year. 

One of the more moving events 

was put on by sophomore Nicole 

Klco. She was at a table in the Moose 

with a simple request: she wants your 

handprint. She was having students 

dip their hands in paint and press onto 

a piece of paper. People would then 

write notes before giving the fi nished 

product to her. The fi nished stack of 

prints is going to Spencer, a six-yearold 

boy with cancer. She did this as 

a project for Lent, rather than giving 

something up. The rest of the day 

was fi lled with other fantastic events. 

AQPB hosted a band in the Moose, 

Scratch Track. There were even more 

music-related 

activities 

throughout 

the evening. 

There was also 

Laxapalooza 

going on at the 

same time, with 

Lacrosse games 

all day. 

Woodward 

Area Council 

m e m b e r s 

and RAs 

collaborated to 

put on “Rock 

the Block.” An 

evening of free 

food, including 

cotton candy 

and snowcones, 

with musical 

performances 

by Taylor Nefcy, 

Jelly, and a 

performance 

by the improv 

troupe ICE. 

Coming up on April 22 is another 

spring-themed event. Earth Day 

is bringing about more festivities, 

including yoga, Ada bike repairs, a 

batt le of the bands by AQ Sound, and 

another band, the Bergamots. 

According to senior Paige 

Shesterkin, there will also be “an 

Introduction to Baptiste Power Vinyasa 

Workshop with Gazelle Animalia.” The 

125 Mile Dinner was also that day, with 

all ingredients being harvested within 

125 miles of campus. 

COURTESY MIRIAM PRANSCHKE 

The Commencement ceremony is Saturday, May 5, starting at 2 p.m. and will be hosted in the Sturrus Sports & 

Fitness Center. This event does require a ticket prior to arrival. Each graduating senior is given fi ve tickets to disperse to 

family and friends. 

Starting at 10 a.m. that same Saturday is the Baccalaureate Mass at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. This event does not 

require a ticket, but has limited seating so students wishing to att end are encouraged to arrive early. 

The speaker for this year’s Commencement is Fred P. Keller Jr. Keller is an East Grand Rapids High School alum 

of 1952 who went on to graduate from Cornell University in 1966 with a degree in material science and engineering. 

Keller is founder, CEO, and President of Cascade Engineering. Located in Grand Rapids, Cascade Engineering is 

dedicated to business with focuses on recycling and sustainability. 

Honorary Degree Recipients are Marilyn Drake, Sr. Marjorie Vangsness, Paul Nelson, Harry J. Knoopke, and 

Edward Balog. 

Several changes have been made to the Commencement ceremony. Jan Sommerville, Assistant to the President 

and Executive Secretary to the Board of Trustees, said, “The biggest change to the commencement ceremony is we are 

trying to keep the entire program to 90 minutes. Since most of our guests have to sit in the bleachers, we are doing 

everything we can to shorten things up for them. Some things we have done toward the 90-minute goal: the president’s 

remarks will be shortened; the honorary degree recipients will not address the guests aft er their degree has been 

bestowed, and students will wear their hoods to the ceremony rather than have “hooding” be part of the ceremony.” 

Students are encouraged to att end the Baccalaureate Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Cathedral on Saturday May 

5 and to att end Commencement at 2 p.m. at Sturrus Sports and Fitness Center on the same day. 

InPictures: 

News Editor Monica Rischiotto E-mail saint.editors@aquinas.edu Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint 

THE SAINT WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012 

The new 

Duncan in town 

Welcoming baby Leo to the AQ community: Aquinas College history professor 

Jason Duncan and his wife Amy Richards had their fi rst child, Leo Jason Duncan, 

on April 9. Leo weighed in at seven pounds and 15 ounces. Congratulations! 

AQ Chef 

receives city 

award 

By Yasmeen Ahmed 


Andrew Eggert, who received 

the award for Chef Professional of 

the Year from the American Culinary 

Federation, is also a chef at Aquinas 

College’s very own Wege Cafeteria. 

Eggert started cooking and baking at 

a young age with his mom. Going to 

college, he never lived on campus so 

he always had a chance to cook. He 

graduated from Grand Valley State 

University, but also attended Grand 

Rapids Community College for the 

culinary program. 

Eggert started working at 

Native GR news 

reporter and 

CBS anchor Mike 

Wallace dies 

By Cassandra LaMacchia 


Mike Wallace, the longtime 

CBS newsman, died on Saturday 

surrounded by the company of his 

family. Only a month shy of his 94 

birthday, Wallace lived a long and 

respected life working for CBS since 

1951, and later earning the spot as 

the newsman for TV magazine “60 

Minutes” in 1968. Mike Wallace 

draws his roots back to Michigan 

where his broadcasting career kicked 

off. 

After graduating from the 

University of Michigan in 1939, 

Wallace worked for WOOD radio 

station right in Grand Rapids. After 

six months working with WOOD, 

he relocated and worked through 

successive promotions in Detroit 

and then Chicago. Eventually, the 

opportunity arose for Wallace to 

work with CBS where he planted 

his feet for 38 consecutive seasons. 

COURTESY JASON DUNCAN 

Wege about two years ago. In addition 

to cooking some of Wege’s fi nest meals, 

Eggert also assists signifi cantly with oncampus 

banquets. He was nominated 

and voted for by his peers in the 

American Culinary Federation. Eggert 

really enjoys cooking, especially the 

art of it, and is also extremely fl att ered 

by this award. “Something that is great 

about this line of work is that it is very 

rewarding and I also really enjoy the 

creative aspect, as well as the problem 

solving that comes with cooking. It 

is a very humbling experience to be 

recognized by my peers,” he said. 

Recyclemania 

results are in 



Rec yclemania, a national competition 

for colleges to “greenify” their campuses, 

has come to an end and the results for 

Aquinas College are something to be 

celebrated. According to Jessica Eimer, 

Director of the Center for Sustainability 

at Aquinas, “Overall, our waste to landfi ll 

is down by 14% and our composting is 

up by 700%.” 

The signifi cant increase in composting 

is greatly thanks to the Students Striving 

for Sustainability on-campus group who 

placed composting containers in all the 

houses on campus. An eff ort to make 

using the large green bins more user 

-friendly. 

The group is currently working 

on a zero-waste plan proposal that 

sets goals working for a no waste 

campus beginning in 2020. Students 

Striving for Sustainability along with 

the participation of Aquinas students, 

faculty, and staff placed Aquinas at 162 

out of 605 colleges across the country in 

the Grand Champion category with an 

overall campus recycling rate of 25%. 

“Aquinas community members 

have really pulled together to seriously 

address the waste issue on campus 

over the past year, and we need your 

continued involvement and interest,” 

said Eimer. 

He became known as the tough guy 

who asked interesting questions that 

often led to game-changing responses 

from the interviewee. Grilling his 

subjects, Wallace once stated he 

walked “a fine line between sadism 

and intellectual curiosity.” The length 

of his career with CBS news resulted 

in many interesting interviews with 

many interesting people, from Jack 

Kevorkian, the controversial assisted 

suicide proponent, to Nixon’s righthand 

man John D. Ehrlichman after 

the Watergate affair. 

In the 38th year of his career, 

Wallace earned his 21st Emmy for 

interviewing the president of Iran, 

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 

“ABC World News” anchor Diane 

Sawyer publicly commented about 

the death of Wallace: “Mike’s energy 

and nerve paced everyone at ’60 

Minutes.’ He was the defining spirit 

of the show.”

opinion 

>> FROM THE CROWD 

APPLAUSE TO... 

The Saint’s editors, for cranking out this issue in 

record time; 

Leo Jason Duncan, for making his way into this 

world; 

Professors who hand out study guides; 

Dan Meloy, for providing us with intriguing 

historical facts and constantly cross-referencing 

the AP Style Guide; 

Nicholas Signore, for closing financial loopholes 

like a boss and having mad whiteboard skills; 

Monica Rischiotto, for putting names with faces 

while fighting sleep deprivation, and staying 

awesome while doing it. 

HECKLES TO... 

Trees that fall down in the street; 

Pre-test stress; 

Arizona, for defining “pregnancy” as starting 

“two weeks before conception;” 

North Korea’s wholly unimpressive rocket 

launch; 

Catastrophic laptop failure right before a paper is 

due; 

Post-graduation plans, or lack thereof. 

from our view 

A new, excellent president. An entire cycle of events to celebrate 

125 years of Aquinas, year-round. A complete restructuring of Student 

Senate. Even new bowling and hockey teams. It is easy to see 

that this has been a big year for Aquinas, loaded with changes, challenges, 

and celebration. 

As the leaves turn greener and the weather gets warm, papers 

are being written and exams are inching closer. For a lucky group of 

seniors, another big change, challenge, and celebration is approaching: 

graduation, and life after college. 

With that, The Saint is having some of its own changes, too. 

Some of the best editors we have ever had are taking off into the real 

world and graduating: News Editor Monica Rischiotto, Sports Editor 

Dan Meloy, and Managing Editor Nick Signore. They have taken 

countless hours to keep our campus informed and connected, issue 

after issue. Their dedication has been astonishing, the fresh ideas 

they have brought in have been huge, and it is truly bittersweet to see 

them leave. 

However, a new cadre of editors that is just as capable is stepping 

in. Laura Farrell will be taking over the News section, Alyssa Frese 

will be heading Sports, and Katherine Mata will be our new Managing 

Editor. They have some big shoes to fill, but we feel confident in 

their skills, and trust their knowledge and experience. 

Congratulations to those editors that are graduating! It has been 

great having you at The Saint, and we will all miss you and your 

work dearly. And, to our new editors, congratulations as well! We 

cannot wait to see what you will bring to The Saint. 

theSaint 

Editor-in-Chief 

News Editor 

A & E Editor 

> > 

2011-2012 EDITORIAL BOARD 

Matt Kuczynski 

Monica Rischiotto 

Stephanie Giluk 

Sports Editor 

Photo Editor 

Managing Editor 

Adviser Dr. Dan Brooks 

*** 

Please note that the views expressed on this page are those of their 

respective author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of The Saint 

as a whole. 

MISSION 

The Saint has worked diligently for the past 30 years to produce an informative, 

entertaining and journalistically-correct student publication. The Saint is 

distributed by students at Aquinas College and in the surrounding community. 

Our goal is to continue to provide an open forum for the ideas, views and 

concerns of the Aquinas community. 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 

All letters must include a signature, typed or handwritten, and include a phone 

number for the sole purpose of verification. The Saint reserves the right to edit 

letters to the editor based on content, punctuation, length and libel issues. 

Letters should not exceed 300 words. We will not print anonymous letters to 

the editor and will not accept letters to the editor over the phone. 

>> write us a letter! 

e-mail — saint.editors@aquinas.edu, 

or use the form on our website. 

physical copies – AB, Room 2 

Dan Meloy 

Miriam Pranschke 

Nick Signore 

By Monica Rischiotto 

News Editor 

Managing Editor Nick Signore Management E-mail saint.business@aquinas.edu Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint 

page 4 


Deadlines have a 

By Matt Kuczynski 

Editor-in-Chief 

Exam week is fast approaching, 

and that final push of research, paper 

writing, and studying is becoming 

the norm for students. Pretty 

much all over campus, the same 

complaints are heard: 

“I don’t have enough time!” 

“I wish we could get an extension 

on this project. . .” 

“Why is this due so much sooner 

than my other papers?” 

“I’ve been in the library ALL 

DAY.” 

Granted, I understand these 

complaints, being a student myself. 

There have always been bushels 

of things to do in these last three 

weeks: papers to write, research 

to finish, projects to complete. It 

seems like so much stress to make 

that deadline. Social lives disappear. 

Reading “for fun” becomes 

some sort of far-off dream. Finding 

time to go out anywhere, or even 

finding time to leave the library, 

seems like an impossible quest to 

find a long-buried treasure that may 

or may not exist. 

It is at this point in the year that 

Point Counterpoint 

good side 

even the healthiest among us turn 

to ramen noodles for a quick carb 

burst to keep us going and to keep 

our stomachs happy. 

But is there any chance that 

having these deadlines imposed on 

us helps us in any way? Do deadlines 

function as more than just a 

way to make us freak out the night 

before something is due? There has 

been academic research done on just 

these questions. The evidence, unfortunately, 

points in favor of our 

strictest deadline-enforcing professors. 

A 2002 study, published at MIT, 

took groups of people and gave 

them proofreading tasks to do over 

the course of 21 days. One group 

had a rigid progress deadline every 

seven days, another chose their 

own deadlines during the course of 

the project, and a third group only 

worked with a general final deadline 

in mind. As it turns out, those with 

the strictest seven-day deadlines 

made the fewest mistakes, had the 

fewest late submissions, and earned 

the most from the project. Those 

with self-imposed deadlines came in 

second, and those with no deadlines 

The lone moviegoer 

Movies are social 

affairs 

Before I delve into the core of why 

a movie should be an artistic experience 

shared with another, let me first 

establish that I have nothing against 

solitude. Even though Myers & Briggs 

overwhelmingly defines me as a selfproclaimed 

extrovert, I appreciate solitude 

just as much as the next person. 

Merton, Thoreau, and Ms. Dickinson 

have a happy home on my shelf. Yet 

while hiking, cycling, or going for an 

evening stroll by one’s self can serve as 

a spiritual, meditative, and clarifying 

experience, movie watching falls into a 

separate category. 

Unless you watch movies for a 

living, take physical notes on special 

effects, study the diction of actors, or 

analyze the inconsistencies that lie beneath 

the surface, then movie watching 

is very much rooted in the joy of a 

shared experience with another. Think 

about the first time you watched your 

favorite movie. The real life emotions of 

elation or sorrow that built up in your 

chest and were ready to burst when 

you walked out of the movie theater, 

emotions not meant to be kept inside. 

Similarly, it is the worst feeling after 

you read a book and there is no one 

to talk to about the new ideas that have 

consumed your mind. The reading experience 

almost feels unfulfilled until 

I’ve had the opportunity to discuss its 

contents with someone else. 

Staying healthy for the summer 

By Paris Close 

The Saint reporter 

placed except the end one ended up 

scoring the poorest in earnings, late 

submissions, and errors made. 

So maybe, just maybe, there is 

something to be said for all these 

worn-out, caffeine-fueled nights 

catching up with those benchmark 

deadlines for all the projects and assignments. 

Maybe those seemingly 

brutal turn-in-or-else days actually 

help us. Granted, I could go without 

the havoc of this last month’s 

staggered due dates, trying to remember 

to eat and sleep as I type 

away the hours, but I’m starting to 

realize that these deadlines help me 

stay afloat. 

Never in my four years of college 

education did I think I would 

say this, but kudos to those professors 

who make drafts and project 

proposals due ahead of time, and 

are willing to suffer our futile pleas 

for extensions. You keep us on our 

toes, and, according to academics at 

MIT, anyway, you’re helping us get 

better grades in the process. 

That said, can I get an extra 

week for my term paper? 

Tips to keep your body happy, even during exams 

Imagine this: You’re a hungry 

college student heading for the cafeteria. 

You’re considering something 

healthy, perhaps the chef’s salad or 

maybe even the veggie wrap. 

Suddenly, you’re there and the 

smell of greasy food tempts you to 

reassess your options. But keep in 

mind, cheeseburgers and French 

fries won’t help you get the body 

you want. Beat your cravings by 

snagging a veggie wrap with pita 

chips instead and you’re off to a 

great start. But eating is only half 

the battle; you’ll need to start exercising 

too. 

After a long day of school, you 

get to your dorm and either fall 

asleep or procrastinate with Facebook 

and television. You never realize 

the load of homework that needs 

to be done until it’s almost midnight. 

By the time you finish, 3 a.m. 

is already approaching. That essentially 

means that whole “working 

out” idea for tomorrow isn’t going 

to work out after all. 

Between classes, school activities 

and those dreaded late nights 

There is no escaping the influence 

of social norms and expectations, but 

it’s not the fear of sitting by myself in 

a packed movie theater that leaves me 

longing for a movie watching partner. 

It’s after the movie. The beauty and art 

of film, whether it be Oscar worthy or 

tasteless humor, seems lost, even insignificant 

if I walk out of the movie theater 

by myself, without the opportunity 

to discuss, to share the experience, to 

disagree and argue over what has just 

been witnessed. 

Experiencing art, at both its highs 

and lows, can be a solitary event. The 

experience of watching a movie for the 

first time is parallel to reading a book, 

or looking at a painting. It is not to be 

interrupted, but as for the after party, 

you want someone to dance with, even 

if you step on each other’s toes. 

Give me room to 

think at the movies 

By Daniel Meloy 

Sports Editor 

Tying my shoes and grabbing the 

car keys before heading out the door, I 

announce to my parents that I am heading 

out to the movies. “Are you going 

with somebody?” my mother asks. I 

reply no and that I just want to go to 

the movies. “Oh,” my mother replies, 

“well, have a nice time.”As I make my 

way out the door and drive to the theater 

I ponder my mother’s comments. 

Is she disappointed that I go to things 

by myself? 

Anyway, as I approach the ticket 

counter and order one ticket for The 

of studying—the idea of exercising 

rarely seems to cross your mind. 

So how can you escape this college 

clutch? 

Well, by eat healthier snacks 

and exercising regularly, you’ll 

be in shape in no time. Easier said 

than done, right? Not necessarily. 

Although adjusting to a healthier 

lifestyle can be difficult for college 

students, it’s not at all unachievable. 

Here are some helpful tips to 

get you started on your quest to a 

more fit and confident you: 

First, get motivated by setting 

goals. Looking to achieve a six-pack, 

tone up or just shed a few pounds all 

together? Have a clear focus. Goals 

are self-motivators that push you to 

achieve. 

Eat in moderation, by setting 

limits. This means you’ll have to 

sacrifice certain foods, but remember 

you’re working towards something: 

a better you. 

To get started, substitute those 

candy bars with energy bars, hamburgers 

with veggie burgers, and 

snack on fruits and vegetables. 

These switches give protein boosts 

which help you burn fat by gaining 

Hunger Games, the ticket vendor gives 

me the most peculiar look. As I order 

my popcorn and drink and make my 

way to the theater, I notice this cold 

feeling from the theater employees who 

notice that nobody is accompanying 

me to the silver screen. 

As the trailers to the movie roll a 

question lingers in my head: Is society 

looking down on me for doing things 

by myself? 

Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy 

being social. I love going out with my 

friends and being part of the social 

“scene.”But is it so wrong that I like to 

do things by myself and have certain 

thoughts just in my head and nowhere 

else? 

In an ever-connected world where 

we are always on Facebook, Twitter, 

and Reddit, it seems that we never have 

time to ourselves. It’s a sad day when 

you have to actively set your status 

as idle. In the good old days that was 

just called taking a walk by yourself. 

It seems we as a society have lost the 

ability to be by ourselves and do an old 

pastime—thinking. 

I’ll ask my friends and others if 

they want to go out and do something, 

but if they are all busy and just don’t 

want to go, I am not just going to sit in 

my room and twiddle my thumbs. Why 

should we let the plans and schedules 

of others dictate what we are doing? 

There is a saying that if you cannot 

be good for yourself, you will never 

be good for others. Well, consider me in 

that first part of the phrase. And allow 

me to go to the movies in peace. 

muscle. 

Don’t rob yourself of the foods 

you love, this can make you depressed 

and less motivated to continue 

with your journey. So reward 

yourself with a Snickers bar every 

now and then, but don’t make this 

habitual in your diet. Remember 

you have limits, so save the snack 

for the weekend. 

For those who can’t make it to 

the gym, utilize your resources. If 

you don’t have weights, lift those 

heavy textbooks and do exercises 

that don’t require fitness machines, 

like push-ups, sit-ups and even 

jumping jacks. Create a routine; exercise 

three times a week for at least 

20-30 minutes. 

Last but not least, hydrate yourself 

by drinking water. You’ve probably 

got a pile of soda cans stashed 

somewhere in your dorm. What 

about water bottles? Drink eight 

8-ounce glasses a day to flush out 

those toxins responsible for the extra 

baggage you’re carrying around. 

Use these tips regularly, keep 

your goal in mind, and you’ll beat 

the bulge in no time.

arts & entertainment 

Books: Pulitzer Board gets picky 

with fiction 

No Pulitzer Prize was awarded to a fi ction 

book for the fi rst time in 35 years. The Pulitzer 

Board failed to reach a majority necessary 

to pick a winner. The finalists included 

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, The Pale King, 

by David Foster Wallace and Train Dreams by 

Denis Johnson. 

I’m your 

biggest fan 

stephanie giluk | a&e editor 

This past Saturday, I had the good 

fortune to att end the Chicago Comic 

and Entertainment Expo, or C2E2. 

While there was, of course, plenty of 

awesome nerd stuff going on, there 

were also several signings and panels 

throughout the day. I was excited to 

get some swag signed by a group of 

paranormal romance/urban fantasy 

authors that were doing both a signing 

and a panel that day. The authors there 

included Karina Cooper (Dark Mission 

series), Jeaniene Frost (Night Huntress 

series), Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse 

novels), Christina Henry (Black 

Wings series), Chloe Neill (Chicagoland 

Vampires series), and Pamela Palmer 

(Vamp City series). 

First, I must confess I have a weakness 

for vampire books (excluding 

Twilight, of course). I love the whole 

urban fantasy genre and I’d pick a 

Laurell K. Hamilton book over, say, 

Jonathan Franzen’s new opus any day. 

So when I say I’m only familiar with 

Harris’s and Frost’s books, it’s only because 

I haven’t had the time to buy and 

read everyone else’s books. But I will. 

Meeting authors I read in person 

is a very strange experience. I tend 

to idealize the writers I like, thinking 

they’re these perfect looking, artistic, 

eccentric and brilliant people who sit 

in front of their laptops/desktops and 

pound away at the keys, producing the 

esteemed literature I pick off the shelf. 

I don’t think of a writer as a normal 

(well, semi-normal) everyday person 

like me. They are a higher class of being, 

a person who has batt led through 

the ever-crowded and competitive 

market of all the various sub-genres of 

fi ction and produced something bett er 

than average. 

Take Harris, for example. She was 

arguably the most well-known author 

at the event, and the Sookie Stackhouse 

books are (in)famous for their humor, 

violence, and vampy sex scenes. Harris, 

in real life, looks like a Sunday 

school teacher or someone’s matronly 

grandmother, but she writes vampire 

novels that were edgy enough to inspire 

HBO’s True Blood, also known for 

its sex and violence. She was incredibly 

nice and sweet and sassy, but she 

was also a real person. 

Frost, whose books I also enjoy, 

was very nice as well, but it was still 

weird for me to see her in person. As 

she signed a litt le bookmark for me, 

I told her I couldn’t wait for her next 

book to come out, and she seemed 

happy I said something. While this 

was gratifying for me, I was also 

very aware that I was one of at least a 

couple hundred people gett ing things 

signed, and while she might remember 

the sentiment, she won’t remember 

me personally. I like to think what 

I say matt ers to this highly successful 

author, but in reality, I know I’m just 

a fan. 

Being a (sort of) writer myself, I 

tried to place myself in these ladies’ 

shoes. If I achieved the level of success 

that they have, I would be ecstatic 

and very lucky, I know. It would 

also be strange for me to talk to and 

meet people that have read and liked 

my work. Writing is such a personal 

and risky thing, done by many other 

more talented people that it would 

be incredible to fi nd even a small fan 

base. I would like to think fans’ comments 

and excitement would stick in 

my memory and make me feel prett y 

awesome, but I just can’t imagine what 

it would be like to have the amount of 

fans these authors do. 

Maybe they see us, their fans, as 

unreal. How crazy is it that people like 

their books so much they’ll stand in 

line for hours just to meet the people 

that craft these incredible worlds for 

them? I can only hope they enjoy talking 

and interacting with their fans as 

much as the fans get a kick out of meeting 

them in real life, not just through 

the pages of a book. 

Because even writers need a litt le 

encouragement sometimes. Proof that 

they matt er to people, and that making 

up stories and writing them down isn’t 

crazy, that people really do need ways 

to escape their own lives and enter a 

world they wish existed. That’s what 

good entertainment’s all about, aft er 

all. 

Music: One album is not enough 

for Green Day 

The rockers Green Day have announced they 

will be releasing three new albums between 

September of this year and January 2013. The 

albums will be titled ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!, and 

will be the band’s fi rst releases since 2009. Though 

the band has not spoken about the albums’ sound, 

they have no doubt of its epic-ness. 

Steampunk is coming to 

Aquinas in Isle of Marvels 

By Laura Farrell 

Staff Writer 

Known for their excellence in producing 

top quality plays and musicals, 

the Aquinas Theatre department, under 

the direction of Randy Wyatt , may 

have set a new standard for theatre at 

Aquinas College. Inspired by various 

minor novels by Jules Verne, Wyatt 

wrote the latest performance’s original 

script, Isle of Marvels. 

Set in a steampunk fantasy world, 

this original play is sure to impress and 

enlighten audiences of all interests. 

Steampunk is a genre and culture that 

combines the elements of science fi ction, 

horror, fantasy, alternative history, 

and speculative fi ction, all of which are 

found in this intricate story. 

Isle of Marvels tells the story of the 

“Persian Marvels,” a talented string 

quartet, played by the skillful group of 

seniors Owen McIntee and Duncan Mc- 

Cargar and sophomores Rachel Varley 

and Louis Allen, who fi nd themselves 

suddenly displaced aft er trying to 

make their way to San Francisco, CA. 

The man of mystery that off ers such 

hospitable service to them turns out to 

be Dr. Calistus Munbar, played by senior 

Jason De Jager, who has brought 

the musicians to his man-made Clockwork 

Island of invention. 

This island, run on steampunk 

technology is inhabited by the world’s 

E-books: Amazon owns your 

Kindle and your soul 

Amazon’s hold on the e-book market grew 

stronger last week due to a lawsuit fi led by the 

U.S. Dept. of Justice against Apple and fi ve other 

publishers for trying to fi x the price of e-books. 

Apple claims it was trying to break the monopoly 

Amazon held and still holds over e-books, but 

failed to convince the court. 

By Sam Swartout 

Staff Writer 

page 5 

THE SAINT |WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012 

> TUPAC SHAKUR 

Deceased rapper Tupac Shakur 

made an appearance at the Coachella 

music festival last Sunday. Shakur’s 

hologram appeared onstage to give 

a performance with Snoop Dogg 

that also featured appearances from 

Nicki Minaj 

has reloaded 

A & E Editor Stephanie Giluk E-mail saint.editors@aquinas.edu Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint 

COURTESY MTV.COM 

Student art show a display of talent and skill 

By Sarah Branz 


Whether you like abstract 

art, modern art, or beyond, you 

are bound to fi nd something to 

enjoy at the Annual All-Media 

Student Show held at Aquinas’ 

Art and Music Center. 

Extending its usual limitations 

of a single room, the gallery 

includes the whole upper 

level, fl ush from wall to wall 

with a variety of photography, 

paintings, ceramics and much 

more, showcasing the talents 

of AQ art students from sophomores 

to seniors. 

Portraits are a popular 

theme at this year’s show. 

Black and white photos of 

sincere looking individuals 

speckle one wall, while paintings 

of fall- and spring-themed 

self-portraits balance out the 

other end of the gallery. 

There was also a large 

group of an oft en overlooked 

type of portrait, the ceramic 

bust. The expressions varied 

from whimsical to serene to 

SARAH BRANZ/THE SAINT 

foreboding, covering nearly On-campus art: Aquinas students get a chance to present their skills at the AMC for the All Media Student Show. Pictured: Triptych 

every inch of the emotional I by senior Liz Maxian. 

spectrum. 

dent study, Triptych I shows the procurately, quickly and fl uidly,” she said. temperature, weather, and ambiance 

Teapots, bowls and plates also gression of a painting, starting with a Though the color scheme remains of locations around campus, such as 

had their place. Most were colorfully stark and simple portrait of a woman the same throughout the three panels, Wege pond. 

designed with patt erns reminiscent on one panel and ending with a lay- the progressing defi nition and intrica- The pieces include print, hand- 

of either the orient or nature, though ered and paint-saturated rendition of cies give the two successive panels a writing, and sketches of the location, 

some were decorated only with a sim- the same portrait on a third panel. feeling akin to watching a time-lapse accurate right down to the ducks and 

ple gloss. 

The project began as a speed exer- video. “The regression from a more elegantly drooping fl owers. The colors 

The gallery also certainly does not cise in which she was only allowed to solid form to gesture can be interest- were natural and calming, a refl ection 

lack in paintings and prints. 

work one hour for the fi rst panel (far ing for viewers to see,” she said. of the campus that emanated a certain 

In particular, Triptych I by Liz right), 30 minutes for the middle, and Another prominent piece, titled stillness and loyal att ention to detail. 

Maxian, who is a senior double major- 15 minutes for the last (far left ), said From the Nature Journal of Bernadett e Po- The Annual All-Media Student 

ing in Spanish and art, was eye-catch- Maxian. 

irier, was done by Bernadett e Poirier, a Show opened Sunday, April 1, and will 

ing in that it was the only triptych, a “The series was a challenge for senior dual major in biology and art. run until Sunday, May 6. Go to aqui- 

three-panel painting, on display. me to get away from obsessing over A series of four mixed media nas.edu/art/gallery for gallery hours. 

Completed during an indepen- details and to be able to work more ac- pieces, the nature journal records the 

MIRIAM PRANSCHKE/THE SAINT 

Marvelous: Sophomore Louis Allen takes to the stage at an Isle of Marvels rehearsal. 

Performances will take place April 19-21. 

most affl uent characters. Some of these 

characters are the leaders of the two 

separate parts of the island, Nat and 

Jemma. Sophomore Catie Berg shines 

as southern, outspoken Jemma while 

sophomore Anthony Emery, as Nat, 

struggles against Dr. Munbar for the 

future of the island. 

Diana, Nat’s bright daughter, was 

perfected by senior Lindsey Hansen. 

Diana falls for Jemma’s strapping son, 

played by sophomore Neil Steichen. 

The rest of the characters make their 

way to the island by sea and a steam 

punk elephant. Freshman Taylor Nefcy 

and sophomore Robert Bennett play 

Colett a and Vasquez, who mysteriously 

make their way onto the island and 

cause some commotion. 

Besides the excellent acting, Isle of 

Marvels showcases the excellent background 

work of the Aquinas Theatre 

Department. The detailed costumes 

and intricate sets bring the audience 

into the world of the marvels. From 

vampires to robots to a classic story of 

young love, the cast and direction of 

Isle of Marvels does not disappoint, offering 

something for everybody. 

The show will be at the Performing 

Arts Center April 19-21 at 8 p.m. 

and April 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 

general admission, $5 for students and 

$6 dollars for Aquinas faculty and staff . 

With the perfect mix of outrageously 

explicit raps, upbeat songs 

for radio airtime and empowering 

songs for women, Nicki Minaj’s second 

record, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, 

has risen to the challenge of 

being better than her first. 

Released on Tuesday, April 3, 

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded sold 

over 253,000 copies in its first week 

and sat comfortably at the top of 

the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. 

Minaj beat Adele in sales by over 

100,000 copies and while the rapper 

was rising to the top, Madonna 

was dropping to number eight, with 

only 48,000 copies sold that week. 

There is one negative thing to 

be said about Minaj’s second record. 

“Roman Holiday” is one of the stupidest 

songs ever heard. Normally 

Minaj’s different voices, inspired by 

her numerous alter egos, are something 

to be praised, but in this song, 

not only does she sound terrible, the 

opening lyrics and chorus take away 

from the different verses that could 

have had some power if the chorus 

sounded better. 

With the 

bad, however, 

comes a lot of 

good. There 

are a ton of 

huge names 

with featured 

raps on Minaj’s 

album: Lil 

Wayne, Drake, 

Nas, Chris 

Brown (good 

or bad, you 

choose), Rick 

Ross, Cam’ron, 

Young Jeezy, 

Charlemagne 

and Bobby Valentino 

are just 

a few of the 

COURTESY UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC RECORDS guests represented 

on Pink 

Friday: Roman 

Reloaded. 

One of the great tracks on this 

album is “Champion.” This is not 

only a great song for airplay, it is 

also one of Minaj’s songs aiming 

to help empower young women 

with less fortunate upbringings. In 

the first verse, Minaj raps, “This is 

for the hood, this is for the kids/ 

This is for the single mothers.” This 

song is dedicated to the champions 

who have overcome what life has 

thrown at them. 

Another female-empowerment 

song is “Marilyn Monroe.” Minaj 

uses part of one of Monroe’s famous 

quotes in her lyrics, singing, “If you 

can’t handle my worst/ You ain’t getting 

my best” and “Take me or leave 

me/ I’ll never be perfect/ Believe me 

I’m worth it.” This song sends the 

positive message that young women 

should know not to settle for a man 

who doesn’t know what they are 

worth. 

This is a fantastic album with 19 

phenomenal songs (the first song being 

the only exception). Hot tracks 

to listen to include: “Fire Burns,” 

“Sex in the Lounge,” “Right By My 

Side” and “Young Forever.” 

Roman’s turn: Minaj’s latest album is a crazy, fun ride.

6 A&E 


Staff Writer 

Titanic in 3D might just 

be worth seeing 

True love: The epic story hasn’t aged a day in the 3D remastering of Titanic. 

It has been one hundred years 

since the tragic ending of the “unsinkable” 

RMS Titanic. And it has 

been fifteen years since director 

James Cameron brought the story 

of the ship to life, creating a masterpiece 

of a movie and pushing the 

limits of special effects and budgets. 

So naturally, when new blockbusters 

began to test the records of Titanic, 

Cameron had to bring back Jack and 

Rose to the silver screen somehow. 

COURTESY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX 

Spring Jazz Night 

AQ gets jazzy: Spring is a time for fl owers, fi nals and jazz. 


Staff Writer 

On Thursday, April 12, the 

smooth sounds of the AQ Jazz Band 

filled Kretschmer Hall for AQ’s annual 

Spring Jazz Night. Directed by 

Dr. Paul Brewer, the band consists of 

fifteen talented musicians. The fifteen 

student ensemble is made up of 

freshman, sophomores, juniors and 

seniors alike. 

The program started off with 

a delightful song, “C Jam Blues” 

by Duke Ellington, a favorite of the 

night. The piece featured senior Justin 

Dore on the trumpet and freshman 

Alex Martinez on the alto saxophone. 

Dore and Martinez were quite 

impressive and were not afraid to improvise 

their solos. The group played 

a few more hits before switching it 

up, featuring the many guitarists of 

the group. Dore was again featured 

The answer: 3D. 

For those of you who have never 

seen it, Titanic tells the story of 

the maiden and sadly final voyage 

of the massive ship Titanic. Rose 

DeWitt Bukater, played by Kate 

Winslet is a seventeen year old betrothed 

to rich man, Cal Hockley 

(Billy Zane). Having everything in 

life, Rose should be more than content, 

but instead she is searching for 

more excitement and meaning. Jack 

Dawson, a strapping young American, 

wins his fateful ticket in a poker 

game minutes before launch. He 

ends up saving Rose from her at- 

tempted suicide and 

the rest is history. 

I must admit, like 

a lot of people, I have 

always been a sucker 

for anything Leonardo 

DiCaprio, and Titanic 

is no exception. As 

one of the most popular 

love stories of the 

modern age, Titanic 

pulls at just about every 

heartstring. 

As much as I love 

the story, I was more 

than skeptical about 

all of this 3D business. 

It is no secret that 

bringing Titanic back 

to theaters is nothing 

more than trying to 

save Cameron’s pride 

and records. And being 

3D, a college student 

nearly has to 

pay an arm and a leg 

(around $12) now to 

even get in. So, going 

in with little to no expectations, 

I was quite 

surprised. 

The movie became 

so real looking, 

it seemed as if I was 

actually there, watching 

it all go down. The 

3D effects made the 

characters look ridiculously 

real, as if you 

could reach out and touch them. It 

made the whole story, especially 

the ending, incredibly more sad and 

tragic. I have seen this movie upwards 

of twenty times, but I felt the 

most touched by it after seeing the 

3D version. 

So, the main question, is it worth 

spending the money? If you are a Titanic 

fan, absolutely. If you are just 

a movie fan, absolutely. Most of us 

have never seen it on the big screen 

and it makes the movie a whole new 

experience. Cameron’s work paid 

off and Titanic 3D pushing the ever 

growing limits of cinema. 

Final jazz concert of the season went out 

on a good note 

but with Justyn Kirchner this time. 

They played “Manha de Carnaval” 

by Morgan Lewis and “Sugar” by 

Stanley Turrentine. 

Accompanied by percussion, this 

section of the concert was one of the 

highlights of the night. Senior Chelsea 

Funk, who also plays the flute, 

was then joined back on stage with 

the whole band as she sang vocals 

to “Do Nothing Till You Hear from 

Me” by Ellington. Funk was excellent 

and her voice only added to the great 

sound of the band. The band rounded 

out the night with the funky sounds 

of “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock. 

The other two seniors in the group, 

senior Kyle Tomcyzk, who plays the 

drums, and Dore, who plays trumpet 

and guitar, truly made their last jazz 

concert one to remember. 

Of his final AQ band performance, 

Tomcyzk said, “I have to say 

that playing with Doc Brewer, Justin 

MORGAN DANTZER/ THE SAINT 

and all the other members of the Jazz 

band throughout the last five years 

has been one of the most rewarding 

experiences I have had at Aquinas 

College. While I am incredibly grateful 

for the experience I have had I 

am excited to pursue new endeavors 

that may prove equally rewarding. I 

really hope that I can come back in a 

few years and see how the group has 

continued to grow and evolve in its 

style. Also, no one may have told you 

but our official name is the intergalactic 

psychedelic Jazz Band.” 

The band had a great time along 

with the audience and it showed on 

stage. Junior clarinet player Kaitlin 

Koett said, “Jazz Band is a lot of funwe 

just get together and have a good 

time!” The Jazz Band always welcomes 

new members and will start 

back up next year. 



A & E Editor Stephanie Giluk E-mail saint.editors@aquinas.edu Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint 


Instrumental Ensemble 

had students making 

wonderful music together 

By Katherine Mata 

Staff Writer 

As spring struggled to get a foothold 

next to winter’s cold shoulders 

and summer’s hot fl ashes, members of 

the Aquinas community were able enjoy 

performances by the instrumental 

ensembles. Students musically skilled 

at all sorts of instruments proudly 

took the stage and performed classics 

for the audience. 

Aquinas’ music department never 

fails to dazzle the community with 

performances. The spring concert of 

the instrumental ensemble was no exception. 

The students who put in hard 

work and dedication can be proud of 

their performance. From the moment 

the guitars warmed the audience’s 

hearts to the last note the brass ensemble 

held proud, not a single soul could 

sit still. “I liked the concert because it 

was incredibly peaceful,” said junior 

Colin Farley. “The students performed 

very well.” The audience, which was 

made up of all ages, was able to fi nd 

a rhythm within his or her-self rekindled 

as toes tapped, heads bobbed, 

and smiles lit the performance hall. 

Much of the music performed 

were classics that audiences have cherished 

over time. The guitars strummed 

beautifully to Celso Machado. The guitar 

ensemble started the concert with 

a Brazilian beat. The beat was hard 

to resist and the audience was ready 

for more. The fl ute ensemble joined 

the guitars as they won the audience 

with music by Nicolás Luis Cuccaro 

and Juan Ventura Cuccaro. A favorite 

for many audiences is Mozart. Playing 

Mozart’s Divertimento No. 1 in D 

Major K. 136 was the string quartet. 

Generally, Mozart never fails to inspire 

the audience as they enjoyed every 

second of the performance. “The Irish 

Suite performed by the Saxophone ensemble 

was my favorite,” reveals Farley. 

“It had an upbeat tempo and was 

lively.” The students proved to the audience 

that they can master any style 

of music. 

The performers have every right 

to be proud. Their hard work and 

dedication to the music department is 

clear. The love the performers have for 

their music resonates strong as soon 

as the fi rst note is played. Audiences 

responded joyfully to the music and 

wanted more when the performance 

was over. Concerts put on by the Aquinas 

music department are always special 

for the community. Not only do 

Aquinas students have the opportunity 

to watch their fellow students perform, 

but members of the Grand Rapids 

community can come appreciate 

the performances Aquinas has to off er. 

The music department has more 

concerts coming up before the end of 

the year is here. Students are strongly 

encourages to check out a concert or 

two before the semester is over. The 

hard work and dedication the performers 

put in to each concert pays off . 

Aquinas’ music department will never 

fail to surprise and inspire audiences 

of all ages. 

American Reunion fails to 

live up to expectations 

Hearing about the 

fourth American Pie movie, 

this fan was extremely excited, 

having enjoyed all the 

previous movies in the series. 

The American Pie fi lms 

were a product of this generation, 

so many fans may 

be eager to see what the 

outrageous gang would do 

next. 

COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES 

The main character Jim 

(Jason Biggs) sets things off , 

Pied: The latest Pie movie is a litt le stale. 

as usual, by being accident prone and 

up to his inappropriate antics. As the 

boys reunite on the eve of their high 

school reunion, there is an abundance 

of madness, caused by none other than 

Stiffl er (Seann William Scott ) who goes 

all out with his performance and becomes 

the heart of the movie. While 

Stiffl er is stuck in the past, the rest of 

his old friends are tied down to a job or/ 

and a signifi cant other. 

As the weekend goes on, Stiffl er 

somehow gets the boys into damaging 

others’ property, going to a high school 

party and preying on under-aged girls, 

which places Jim once again in tricky 

situations while he is already having 

troubles on the home-front with his 

wife. 

The next door neighbor, Kara (Ali 

Cobrin), whom he used to babysit as a 

litt le girl, shows up and presents some 

problems for Jim. While Cobrin attempted 

to play a charming young girl, 

her acting was atrocious and diffi cult to 

watch. 

All the while Jim’s dad, played 

by Eugene Levy, is still coping with 

the death of his wife until Jim pushes 

him to join an online dating service. 

Everything comes together in the end, 

although the movie brings up many 

messy circumstances in the form of old 

feelings, the diffi culty balancing family 

life and a romantic life, the importance 

of friendship and moving on from a 

loss. 

The humor did not quite meet expectations. 

There were some very funny 

parts, but there was also some very bad 

acting, as well as some seriously corny 

dialogue. Is it worth paying to go see 

some of your favorite characters? If you 

consider yourself a part of the American 

Pie fan-base, then yes, go see the movie 

and judge for yourself. Many, however, 

might feel let down by this lackluster 

reunion.

sports 

Red Wings: Detroit trails 2-1 to the 

Nashville Predators in NHL playoffs 

Aft er losing 3-2 on Sunday, the Detroit Red 

Wings now trail the Nashville Predators 2-1 in 

the NHL Western Conference Quarterfi nals. The 

Wings fell behind by two goals twice in the game 

and were unable to overcome the defi cit. Detroit 

played game four last night and will play game fi ve 

Friday night in Nashville in the best of seven series. 

Reporting 

the passion 

of others 

dan meloy | sports editor 

Wrapping up my fi nal days at 

Aquinas College, I have been in a rather 

refl ective mood as of late. Yes, I know 

that opening was a cliche amongst cliches 

but hang on, it’s going somewhere. 

During my four years of covering 

sports at Aquinas College, I have been 

pondering several questions, oddities 

and moments that seem to stick out in 

my mind. 

College sports is a great part of the 

American cultural conscience, or rather 

NCAA Division I sports are part of the 

American cultural conscience. The truth 

of the matt er is that outside of schools 

such as Michigan, Michigan State or 

even Central Michigan, not many tend 

to care about small college sports. 

You would notice this by simply 

polling Aquinas students on campus 

about how savvy they are about Aquinas 

sports. You’ll notice that they’ll 

know more about the SEC football season 

then about the WHAC men’s soccer 

outlook, and if you are one of those 

people, shame on you for not reading 

The Saint. 

But it is easy to understand why 

more people follow the big schools 

more, even those who att end Aquinas. 

Big schools equal big budgets, and big 

budgets equals big talent. The competition 

level of the Big Ten and ACC for 

outstretch that of the WHAC and the 

MIAA. Therefore more people pay attention 

to what happens on the “national” 

collegiate sports scene. It also 

doesn’t hurt to have a nice, fat contract 

with ESPN. 

But I will say that it is an utt er falsehood 

to say that small college sports are 

not worth watching. Take away the big 

names, the corporate endorsements, 

the media hype and what you get is one 

of the most remarkable things in all of 

humanity: The pursuit of perfection, 

the drive to succeed, the harnessing of 

individual or collective eff orts in order 

to achieve an objective for the sake of 

achieving the objective. And for me, 

that is why I follow sports. That is why 

I chose to write about sports in the fi rst 

place. 

There is nothing bett er as a journalist 

than write about people who genuinely 

have a passion for what they are 

doing. And in NAIA athletics that is 

what you mostly fi nd, passion. 

In college athletics, only a slim majority 

of student-athletes will play professionally 

and an even smaller number 

of student-athletes from the NAIA 

ranks will play in the pros. 

This leaves you with a bunch of 

athletes who participate in a sport for 

the sole enjoyment of what they do. Yes, 

they do get scholarships, but full rides 

are unheard of at the small college level. 

And I would say that covering 

sports at the small school level has to 

go down as one of my favorite pastimes 

during my stay at Aquinas College. 

There’s a great feeling in seeing one of 

your friends score the winning goal of a 

championship game, knowing that the 

school’s star point guard lived in your 

residence hall and goes through all the 

fi rst-year rigors as you do, or yacking 

up on Facebook about the basketball 

team beating Calvin and making it as 

big of a deal as your friends who go 

to Michigan and Michigan State about 

their sports teams. 

One of the biggest things that infuriates 

me is the statement that Aquinas 

does not have “real” sports. If that is the 

case, then the only logical conclusion 

is that Aquinas is not a “real” college. 

And if you are one of those who submit 

to this thinking, then might I ask you 

leave this school because Aquinas is 

bett er off without you. 

I am proud of the work I have done 

over my four years with The Saint and I 

hope to continue telling other people’s 

stories sometime in the future. I’ve 

cheered, I’ve heckled, I’ve yelled and 

I was threatened by a deranged parent 

from Madonna aft er I suggested that 

her son was a mile off side and had the 

mental prowess of a mineral. 

So thank you Aquinas, you have 

provided with me with a lot memories 

both in athletics and in life in general. 

Now time for my fi nal passionate 

rant: Go Saints. Calvin is predestined 

to lose. The MIAA schools won’t play 

Aquinas out of fear of losing. Davenport 

should not qualify for college 

sports since they fail to meet half the 

requirements. And most of all, 

Go Aquinas! For life. 

Sturrus Center: Construction on 

phase two set to begin–seriously 

At the April 4 Student Senate meeting, Aquinas 

College president Juan Olivarez announced 

that construction of the second phase of the 

Sturrus Sports and Fitness Center will begin 

this summer. President Olivarez announced that 

the construction time line was made possible by 

securing a multi-million dollar donor. 

Men’s lacrosse 

looking for back to 

back playoff berths 


Staff Writer 

The Aquinas College men’s lacrosse 

team has had a prett y balanced 

season. The Saints have a record of 7-7 

going into their fi nal games of the regular 

season against Ferris State University 

on Tuesday, April 17, and Oakland 

University on Saturday, April 21. 

In recent games, the Saints won 

against U-M Dearborn 8-2, Northwood 

University 17-7 and Siena Heights University 

7-4. 

The Saints are determined to win 

these fi nal two games and return to the 

Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association 

Tournament which has only been done 

once in school history, last year. The 

Saints need to stay motivated as a team 

and be willing to help each other out 

and push the boundaries. With a win 

over Ferris State the Saints will have 

qualifi ed for the CCLA Playoff s. 

“My goals for the rest of the season 

are to motivate the team as much as I 

can with my play and my actions,” said 

senior midfi elder Jordan Matheny. “I 

hope that through senior leadership we 

can help the younger players see that 

we can make it deep into the playoff s 

and overcome the obstacles that lay before 

us.” 

The Saints have had to rely on upperclassmen 

leaders to take the reins 

and work really hard, as there are a lot 

of freshmen who are new to the team 

this year. “We have a group of fi ve se- 

Women’s tennis on a 

roll heading into WHAC 

Championships 

By Laura Rico 

Staff Writer 

Aft er a pair of 9-0 victories the 

Aquinas College women’s tennis team 

is 11-7 and 2-2 in the Wolverine-Hoosier 

Athletic Conference heading into 

the WHAC Championships this Saturday. 

On March 31, the Saints hosted 

the University of Northwestern Ohio 

and lost 6-3. In the singles competition 

sophomore Lauren Ramey and freshman 

Gina Kukulski defeated their opponents 

6-0, 6-2 and 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. During 

the doubles competition freshman 

Daniela Fonseca and Kukulski won 

their set 8-4. 

“The competition was very good. 

Even though we lost we had close 

matches and we can beat them,” said 

Ramey. 

On Thursday, April 5, the women 

went against Alma College and won 

6-3. In the singles competition Ramey 

won 6-0, 6-4, sophomore Jessica LeMire 

won 7-6, 6-0, Kukulski won 7-5, 6-4 and 

sophomore Jen Staup won 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 

(10-8). In the doubles competition Ramey 

and Fonseca won their set 8-3 and 

LeMire and Kukulski won 8-4. 

Next Aquinas dominated Indiana 

Tech with each Saint recording a victory 

in their match. Ramey won 6-1, 6-0, 

Fonseca 6-3, 6-0, LeMire6-0, 6-1, Senior 

Emily Decker 6-0, 6-0 and freshman Jes- 

sica Gast 6-2, 6-0. Aquinas won all three 

of the doubles competitions aft er Indiana 

Tech withdrew from the meet. 

The winning streak continued 

when they women played rival Cornerstone 

University on April 11 and 

won 9-0. Ramey won 6-0, 6-0, Fonseca 

6-0, 6-1, LeMire 6-1, 6-1, Decker 6-1, 

6-3, Kukulski 6-2, 6-0,and Gast 6-0, 6-0 

in the singles competition. In the doubles 

competition Ramey and Decker, 

LeMire and Hendrick, and Fonseca and 

Staup all won when Cornerstone withdrew. 

“In preparation for the WHAC 

and regional tournaments, which are 

just around the corner, we have been 

solidifying our doubles play and trying 

to keep everyone healthy and injuryfree,” 

said LeMire. 

“I think that the team has a really 

great chance of succeeding in the coming 

conference tournament and regionals,” 

said sophomore Kelsey Moellmann. 

“We are playing the best tennis 

of the season and are ready to have 

some competition in our near future.” 

The WHAC Championship is 

scheduled for this Saturday April 21. 

On Wednesday, April 25, the women 

will play against Grand Rapids Community 

College at 3 p.m. and will compete 

in the Regional Championship 

will take place on April 27. 

Tigers: Detroit takes an early lead 

in the AL Central 

It is never too early to think about division 

races. At least, that is what Tiger fans are thinking 

aft er Detroit has started the season with a 7-3 

record. The Motor City Kitt ies are a half game up 

on the Chicago White Sox for the division lead. 

Third baseman Miguel Cabrera has been shining 

of late with three home runs and nine RBIs. 

MORGAN DANTZER / THE SAINT 

Evading the defense: Freshman midfi elder Zack Brancheau tries to juke his way 

around a Grand Valley State defender. 

niors who have been at this for three 

years. They want to win. We have a 

large group of freshman all over the 

fi eld and they are willing to learn what 

it takes to win,” said men’s lacrosse 

head coach Luke Griemsman. 

The freshmen in return have had 

to work really hard and be very att entive 

and willing to do extra work and 

learn new techniques to be successful. 

“We have a nice crop of hard working 

freshman. Don Boyer, Mitch Ringer 

and Austin Ensing are just a few that 

have been really great this season,” said 

Griemsman. 

The biggest challenge for the 

Saints this season has been staying consistent 

throughout each game. “I hope 

the team continues to strive towards 

greatness. We must continue to work 

towards putt ing together a complete 

off ensive and defensive game for four 

quarters,” said assistant coach Doug 

Seites. “At this point in the season, it’s 

all or nothing for the team. These last 

two games are extremely crucial.” 

“I have had a great experience as 

a freshman this far. I am learning a lot 

more about lacrosse and fundamentals. 

If we play the way we know we can 

there’s no doubt that we can make it to 

the CCLA Tournament,” said freshman 

defender Mitch Ringer. 

Aquinas will close out their regular 

season this Saturday against Oakland 

at 1 p.m. 

Sports Editor Dan Meloy E-mail saint.editors@aquinas.edu Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint 

page 7 


> MEN’S TENNIS 

The Aquinas College men’s tennis team will 

be competing in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic 

Conference Championships in Grand Rapids this 

Friday and Saturday. The Saints are 21-1 and 4-0 

in the WHAC. The team is currently ranked 13th 

in the NAIA and are favorites to win the WHAC. 

Men’s tennis set to win 

WHAC and regional 

championships 

Softball team 

looking for 

continuity 



Coming into their doubleheader 

against Hope College on March 29, the 

Aquinas College women’s soft ball team 

was 14-9. 

Unfortunately, the Saints were not 

able to sustain their momentum, losing 

both games to Hope by scores of 6-2 

and 4-3 respectively. Outstanding performances 

included senior shortstop 

Whitney Stratt on with three hits and 

the only runs batt ed in during the fi rst 

game. In the second game, sophomore 

infi elder Ashley Milheim had two hits 

and two RBIs respectively. “We only 

played six and a half innings that day,” 

said junior fi rst baseman/outfi elder Renae 

Tuburgen.“We left a lot of people 

on base.” 

The Saints started off slowly in a 

doubleheader against Indiana University 

Southeast, losing 5-3. A four run 

third inning put the Saints in a hole 

they could not climb out of. A highlight 

included a two-run home run by 

Stratt on. The Saints bounced back in 

the second game as they beat IUSE 9-3. 

Two four run innings in the fourth and 

sixth helped the Saints pull away. Highlights 

included a solo home run from 

Tubergen as well as a solid pitching 

performance from sophomore Rebecca 

Shineldecker. “We defi nitely struggled 

and didn’t hit in the fi rst game, but in 

the second game we were on fi re, hitting 

anything and everything. We just 

need to fi nd a way to play two complete 

games rather than one,” said senior 

outfi elder Taylor Turcott . 

The Saints continued with a doubleheader 

against Davenport Univer- 

KATHERINE MATA / THE SAINT 

The return volley: Sophomore Nik Artaev forehands a return shot across the 

court. The men’s tennis team is an astonishing 21-1 this season, crushing big name 

opponents like Grand Valley State University and Lake Superior State University. 

By Rachael Luehm 

Staff Writer 

The Aquinas College men’s tennis 

team is on a hot streak as they have 

won 20 out of 21 meets and are 4-0 in 

the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. 

The Saints have won all fi ve of 

their April meets, three of which were 

shut out victories. Currently Aquinas is 

ranked 13th in the National Association 

of Intercollegiate Athletics. 

On Wednesday, April 11, the 

Saints beat school rival Cornerstone 

University 9-0 with sophomores Aaron 

Hendricks and Nik Artaev and junior 

Kyle Masteller all winning straight sets 

against their opponents. Then Hendricks 

and Artaev paired up to defeat 

their opponents in the doubles matches 

along with Masteller and senior Travis 

Wolfe, both winning straight sets yet 

again. 

The team is looking to make the 

national tournament this May, which is 

located in Mobile, Alabama, on May 13- 

17 as well as win the WHAC Champi- 

onships. In order to qualify for nationals 

the team must win the regional title 

or get an at large bid which is based 

on their ranking at the national level. 

In order to win the regional meet they 

must beat schools like the University of 

Northwest Ohio. 

“We played [Northwest Ohio] 

this weekend and it was a very close 

match,” said Artaev. “We ended up 

winning but we weren’t happy with 

the result.” Aquinas defeated Northwest 

Ohio 6-3. Artaev later said that the 

UNOH “fans created a hostile environment 

for us.” 

The men will have to focus on 

what they need to do to overcome the 

environment that may await them with 

the next game against Northwest Ohio 

and move on to the championships. 

The team will travel to Indiana to 

face Valparaiso University today at 4 

p.m. 

This weekend the Saints will take 

part in the WHAC Championships in 

Grand Rapids. The following weekend 

Aquinas will head to Lima, Ohio for 

the Regional Tournament. 

sity and just like the past two series, 

the Saints started off slowly in the fi rst 

game, losing 6-4. Notable individual 

performances included sophomore 

catcher Torie Lowe, who notched a 

home run and junior outfi elder/catcher 

Lindsey Stewart, who had two RBIs. 

The Saints found their stride in the 

second game, winning 6-4. Notable 

performances included junior pitcher 

Carlie Giarmo throwing a four hitt er 

through seven innings, as well as sophomore 

third baseman Sadie Stowell, 

who had two RBIs. 

As of now, the Saints are 18-17 

overall and 1-3 in the Wolverine- Hoosier 

Athletic Conference. Soft ball head 

coach Crystal Laska is pleased with 

the team so far. “We are still trying to 

fi nd ourselves and our identity, our 

biggest obstacle is being contagious, if 

one person is doing well, everyone else 

is doing well, but if one person is not 

doing well, the whole team feeds off of 

that. We are still trying to fi x these issues, 

but there is some time to correct 

them before the conference tournament 

starts,” said Laska. 

The Saints split a four game Easter 

tournament with wins against Judson 

University and McKendree University, 

as well as losses to Davenport University 

and Olivet Nazarene College. On 

April 11 Aquinas came back from the 

break with a doubleheader loss to Cornerstone 

University, losing 4-1 and 7-2. 

In the fi rst game, the Saints were shutout 

aft er the fi rst inning. In both games, 

the Saints left a total of 12 runners on 

base. 

Aquinas will host U-M Dearborn 

this Saturday at 1 p.m. and Madonna 

this Sunday at 4 p.m.

8 

SPORTS 

Women’s lacrosse prepares 

for playoffs 

MIRIAM PRANSCHKE/ THE SAINT 

Looking towards the tournament: Freshman defender Meaghan Farrell and the 

rest of the women’s lacrosse team are heading to Georgia for the NWLL Tourna- 

ment. 



At the conclusion of regular season, 

the Aquinas College women’s lacrosse 

team is 14-5 overall and 7-3 in the 

National Women’s Lacrosse League. 

Riding a seven game winning 

streak and winning their fi nal three 

league matches, the Saints are heading 

to Rome, GA, for the NWLL National 

Tournament. 

On April 14, the Saints defeated 

Missouri Baptist University and Siena 

Heights University in their fi nal two 

league games to secure the fourth seed 

in the NWLL Tournament. 

However, the most pivotal game 

of the season came on April 13 when 

the Saints defeated Shorter University 

16-10 to leapfrog the Hawks for fourth 

place in the league. From the opening 

whistle the Saints were ready as Aqui- 

By Dan Meloy 

Sports Editor 

nas jumped out to an 11-4 lead at the 

half. Haley Jacob, Alexandria Burns 

and Lauren McCarty all scored three 

goals in the Saints crucial win. 

With a fourth place fi nish the 

Saints will once again face Shorter in 

the NWLL Tournament quarterfi nals. 

On March 31, the Indiana Tech 

University game turned into a shootout 

with goals coming everywhere and 

from everybody. Unfortunately, the 

Saints were on the short end losing 20- 

15. Seven diff erent Saints scored. 

“We played a tough game, but we 

only played for 50 out of the 60 minutes, 

we need to play a full 60 minutes 

every game,” said junior midfi elder 

Liza Flewelling. 

The Saints had no problems with 

an 8 a.m. start against Ferris State University 

on April 1, thrashing the Bulldogs 

27-1. Aquinas had a well balanced 

att ack, with 15 Saints scoring during 

the game. According to sophomore defender 

Alisa Skluzacek, everyone got 

involved on both sides, off ense and defense. 

“Usually the defense never gets 

to play off ense, but in this game, everyone 

played every position and that can 

help us in the long run. It was super 

fun,” said Skluzacek. 

In their second game of the tournament 

Aquinas had a tougher test, but 

defeated John Carroll University 16-2. 

Six diff erent Saints scored in the game. 

“We came out strong, everyone was 

on point and this was one of our best 

games of the year,” said sophomore attacker 

Bailey Terebinski. 

In the championship game against 

St. Mary’s College, the Saints had an 

even tougher matchup but pulled away 

late in securing the championship with 

a score of 14-9. Five diff erent Saints 

scored in the match. “This is the best 

we’ve played this year and we put it 

all together for a full 60 minutes. We 

played strong defense, with our goalie 

[junior captain Breanne Stockall] making 

save aft er save for us. We played 

together and moved the ball up and 

down the fi eld really well,” said freshman 

att acker Alexandra Burns. 

Overall, women’s lacrosse head 

coach Frank Rogers likes the Saints’ 

progress throughout the season. “If we 

keep this type of intensity and purpose 

of play up for the rest of the year,” said 

Rogers. “We have a really good chance 

of gett ing to nationals.” 

In another shootout, the Saints prevailed 

over Hope College 25-16. Aquinas 

jumped out to a 19-6 halft ime lead 

and cruised the rest of the way. Ten different 

Saints scored and Aquinas outshot 

Hope 41-30. 

Aquinas will face Shorter on April 

19 in the NWLL Tournament. 

Sports Editor Dan Meloy E-mail saint.editors@aquinas.edu Phone (616) 632-2975 Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint 


Senior Jacob Jeffers sets 

an example with all the 

right moves 

MORGAN DANTZER / THE SAINT 

Pushing the boundaries: Senior Jacob Jeff ers’ leadership on the fi eld translates off 

the fi eld. 


Staff Writer 

For many student-athletes, the 

stress of being a team player and a 

student can be overwhelming, but senior 

men’s lacrosse player Jacob Jeff ers 

makes it look eff ortless. Jeff ers has 

been on the Aquinas College men’s lacrosse 

team since his freshman year at 

Aquinas and is still playing as hard as 

ever. 

“I got my start playing lacrosse my 

freshman year of high school,” said the 

Grandville native. “I grew up playing 

hockey and a lot of the hockey players 

played lacrosse so it seemed natural 

for me to go out for lacrosse as well.” 

Jeff ers played the midfi elder position 

throughout high school, however, 

when he arrived at Aquinas the team 

was in need of a face-off midfi elder. Jeffers 

willingly took up that role. “It was 

a transition but we made it work,” said 

Jeff ers. 

Aquinas outdoor 

track and field off to 

a quick start 

By Chuck Hyde 


In the last three weekends, the 

Aquinas College men’s and women’s 

track and fi eld teams have had a moderate 

amount of success. 

The Saints opened the year up 

with a home meet at Houseman Field 

in Grand Rapids. The teams followed 

their opener with two away meets: the 

Spartan Invitational in East Lansing 

and the Don Kleinow Memorial in 

Adrian. 

The team opened strong on March 

31, despite the cold and rainy weather 

that caused the previous day’s events to 

be moved to that day. There were many 

great accomplishments from Aquinas 

athletes. One of these was sophomore 

Alicia Dorko’s performance in the pole 

vault that qualifi ed her for nationals. 

The Aquinas women’s 4x100 and 4x200 

relay teams took fi rst, along with freshman 

Erika Heston in the 100-meter hurdles. 

On the men’s side of the meet, the 

Saints swept the fi rst three places in the 

100-meter dash with fi ft h year senior 

Rumeal McKinney taking fi rst place. 

The Saints also took the top places in 

the 1000-meter run. 

When asked about his feelings on 

the coming season, McKinney said that 

aft er they “get the rust off ” from the 

off season he thinks that the team will 

be going to very good places. He had 

hopes for the 4x100 relay team to make 

it to nationals and for him to possibly 

make it to the Olympic trials. 

The next weekend, on April 7, 

McKinney’s hopes were shown to be 

Jeff ers has had a successful lacrosse 

career thus far. It took much 

dedication and hard work on his part 

but he would not have been able to do 

it all on his own. “My high school coach 

helped make me the player I am today. 

My junior and senior year, he took me 

under his wing and helped me work on 

fundamental skills,” said Jeff ers. 

Jeff ers has used his leadership and 

skill to be a leader on the fi eld to both 

his coaches and teammates. “Jacob is 

a rarity in today’s game of lacrosse, a 

complete midfi elder. Not only is he one 

of the best face-off men around, all-conference 

in fact, but he is a big part of our 

off ense and a strong defensive player 

as well. As a coach it’s great to have a 

player like Jacob who you can trust at 

all times and who would stay on the 

fi eld the entire game if we asked,” said 

assistant coach and former teammate 

Doug Seites. 

“Jacob has been a team captain for 

valid. The relay team qualifi ed for nationals 

with a time of 41.80 seconds. 

The Spartan Invitational went fairly 

well for the men, though the women 

did not fare quite as well. Junior thrower 

Emily Smith did however take second 

in the discus. Senior Samantha 

DeStefano also set the school record in 

the 200. McKinney took fi rst in the 100 

again and freshman Brad Perschbacher 

took second in the 5000. 

On April 14, the Saints traveled to 

Adrian and put in a good eff ort. The 

men and women’s 4x100 meter relay 

teams both took fi rst. Junior Ryan Helminiak 

took fi rst in the high jump and 

the women swept the fi rst three places 

of the 100. 

Aft er several meets, both teams feel 

fairly confi dent about the upcoming 

season. Senior Maddie Koenig thinks 

that with this good class of freshman 

they have a lot of potential. About the 

Grand Rapids Open, she said, “[They] 

do well even in these bad weather conditions.” 

With much of the season still 

ahead of them, senior Mike Gravelin 

think that these fi rst meets are “the fi rst 

step to take back the WHAC.” 

The Saints go to Houseman Field 

once again for the Ernie Mousseau 

Track & Field Classic this Saturday, 

April 21. 

The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic 

Conference Championships will take 

place in Adrian for both teams on May 

4. The Aquinas Twilight meet will take 

place at Houseman Field on May 9. 

Baseball team looking to make a run at 

Two weeks before the Wolverine- 

Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament, 

the Aquinas College baseball is 

17-23 and 7-13 in WHAC play. 

Last weekend, the Saints lost four 

games against league leaders Indiana 

Tech University. Aquinas never led in 

any of the games in the series. 

With the four losses the Saints are 

now in seventh place in the WHAC. 

Aquinas needs to be in the top fi ve in 

the WHAC Tournament 

the WHAC in order to qualify for the 

WHAC Tournament. 

“We haven’t played our best baseball 

yet and are hoping to get the bats 

hot soon,” said baseball head coach 

Doug Greenslate. “We hope to make a 

late season run to secure a spot in our 

post season tournament. Our league is 

the most competitive it has ever been. 

Every team has a chance to win.” 

On the weekend of March 31-April 

1 the Saints split a four game series with 

Concordia University. Junior infi elder 

Cheer team 

places seventh 

in the nation 

COURTESY LAUREN MCCARTY 

Taking home the hardware: The Aquinas College cheer team poses with the trophy 

they won at Nationals on April 11-15 in Daytona, FL. 

By Dan Meloy 

Sports Editor 

The Aquinas College cheerleading 

team competed at the National Cheer 

Association Collegiate Championships 

in Daytona, FL, on April 11-15. 

The Saints, under the direction of 

second year head coach Emily White, 

fi nished in seventh place in the National 

Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 

Small Coed Division. 

Nine teams qualifi ed for the national 

championship in Aquinas’ division 

and fi ve teams got to advance out 

of the preliminary round. Aquinas fi nished 

in eighth place in the preliminary 

round and was placed in the Challenge 

Cup. 

The bott om four teams of the pre- 

liminary round were placed in the 

Challenge Cup. 

The winner of the Challenge Cup 

got to advance to the fi nal round along 

with the top fi ve in preliminaries. 

However, Aquinas fi nished second 

in the Challenge Cup and fi nished seventh 

overall in the competition. 

Aquinas did well in the competition 

but still rued some of their mistakes. 

“Aft er going over our score sheets,” 

said junior Amy Stover,“if we had gotten 

zero deductions on Thursday we 

would have placed fourth in prelims 

and would’ve gone straight to fi nals.” 

The competition was a great ending 

to a fantastic year for the cheer team 

as they look forward to another year 

and pitcher Nick Kissane led the Saints 

with four runs batt ed in during the series. 

Aft er splitt ing a series against 

Purdue North Central University, the 

Saints took home two of four games 

against city rival Davenport University 

on April 7 and April 9. Senior fi rst baseman 

Michael Wood had fi ve RBIs in the 

series to lead Aquinas in off ensive production. 

On April 11, Aquinas defeated 

Olivet College 6-5 in 10 innings. Junior 

outfi elder and pitcher Michael Penny 

scored the winning run aft er Olivet 

threw a wild pitch. 

Yesterday the Saints faced Hope 

College at Fift h-Third Ballpark in their 

annual crosstown showdown at the 

home of the West Michigan Whitecaps. 

“The game at Fift h/Third Park is 

going to be a good experience for us,” 

said Kissane. “Not only do we get to 

play at a professional stadium but we 

get to play for a great cause. The money 

we raise is going to cancer awareness 

and the players get to play for a loved 

one they may have that has batt led cancer.” 

Kissane currently leads the Saints 

off ense with a .331 batt ing average and 

26RBIs. Sophomore pitcher Kaleb Ort is 

Aquinas’ leading pitcher with a 3-3 record 

and a 3.95 ERA. 

The Saints return home today to 

face Purdue North Central at 4 p.m. 

and return to conference play against 

Lourdes College on April 21-22 at 1 p.m. 

at Kimble Stadium in Wyoming, MI. 

the past two years. He does the right 

things and sets a great example to the 

younger players on how to work hard 

and get into the type of shape needed 

to be a great player. Jacob is a classic 

lead by example type of leader. There 

are not many people who work harder 

on the lacrosse fi eld than Jacob Jeff ers 

does. Jacob never gives up on a play or 

takes a play off . He is one of the best 

face-off midfi elders around and really 

can control a game in the middle of the 

fi eld with his face-off ability and nose 

for ground balls. When he leaves, he 

will hold a lot of records for face-off s 

and ground balls, but he has meant 

more to this program than just statistics,” 

said Seites. 

Lacrosse is not the only aspect of 

college that Jeff ers excels at. The biology/math 

double major has achieved 

academic success in the classroom and 

has completed two summer research 

projects. “The summer aft er my sophomore 

year I got to study woodpeckers 

at a nature reserve. I looked at their 

eating and nesting habits. The project 

dealt with deforestation,” said Jeff ers. 

“My other research project last summer 

was at Hope College and it was more 

mathematically based. It was a mathematical 

model involving sand dunes. 

It was nice because I got to spend a lot 

of time at the beach.” 

Jeff ers has a premed focus with 

his double major, however he is in no 

hurry to get off to med school just yet. 

“I want to get a job for at least a year 

then potentially apply for med school,” 

said Jeff ers. 

The fi nal part of his college career 

and lacrosse season is winding down 

quickly. Jeff ers hopes to fi nish off strong 

and make very minute count. “I really 

want us to make it back to the CCLA 

tournament this year. Last year was the 

fi rst year we made it and I know if we 

work hard we have the potential as a 

team to do great things.”

theSaint - Aquinas College

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