December 10, 2015

CARROLL NEWS THE

Thursday, December 10, 2015

The Student Voice of John Carroll University Since 1925

Vol. 92, No. 9

AAA airs grievances

HLC program reviews: one semester later Katelyn DeBaun

Mary Frances McGowan

Editor-in-Chief

Managing Editor

Students may notice their professors are not as available as they were in previous years, they are frequently in meetings with other faculty members and grading is taking longer than usual. Part of this may be caused by program reviews mandated by the Higher Learning Commission.

After being placed "on notice" by the HLC in March, John Carroll University was expected to undertake a series of steps to improve the University's standing with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

According to the official letter sent to the Rev. Robert Niehoff, S.J., from the HLC last spring, the University is at risk of not complying with six components of the HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation. These primarily center on lack of specified learning outcomes, incomplete program reviews, “limited evidence of functional assessment” and lack of communication between the faculty and the administration, as well as between faculty and the HLC Board of Trustees.

As a result of the HLC’s findings, the University must file a “Notice Report” during the summer of 2016 and must undergo a number of steps to be taken to improve its accreditation status. These steps include evidence that the University has "implemented a student outcomes assessment plan showing how data are being used consistently across all programs and courses in all departments.” In addition, the HLC requires all academic programs within John Carroll to “complete a program review for all programs by fall 2016,” according to the University’s website.

Provost and Academic Vice President Jeanne Colleran said, “As soon as we received the news, the faculty rolled up its collective sleeves and began working on improving our assessment practices.”

“Almost every academic program has completed or will soon complete a thorough review,” Colleran continued.

“There has been full commitment. We took the opportunity to build better processes and resources within the University.”

However, she added the program reviews have “place[d] additional pressure on faculty.”

Carrie Buchanan, assistant professor in the Tim Russert department of communication and theatre arts, echoed this sentiment.

“We [are] already short staffed, so to be spending all this time working on these reports is very challenging,” she said. “I’m behind on my grading. I thought, having achieved tenure, I was going to be up to speed and up to date with all of my grading, and it turns out this is just as tough of a semester as it was last year when I produced my final tenure dossier, which was a humongous amount of work.”

Buchanan stated the communication department had an assessment plan in the early 2000s and were told by unnamed administration officials not to implement it.

“I honestly don’t know who it was,” Buchanan said. “We did have these assessment plans and I think it was determined that it wasn’t a top priority. Maybe it wasn’t worth the investment of all that time. I don’t know. We didn’t go ahead with them.”

Unable to use those plans, the communication department has since had to work to implement a new plan.

“We have to prove that we’re doing what we say we’re doing,” Buchanan said. “If we say we’re teaching students to write competently for a variety of media, we have to show that they’re both writing competently and in a variety of media, and that this is true for all or most of our students. We have to figure out if we’re achieving that goal and to what degree.”

“It’s not a matter if students got A’s, B’s or C’s on courses,” she continued. “It’s a matter of if they’re actually demonstrating the capacity to do the work.”

Associate Dean, associate professor of English and integrative core curriculum director Peter Kvidera said the HLC program review process has not greatly impacted the implementation of the new core curriculum, which began this semester.

“The new integrative core curriculum, in many ways, anticipated the recommendations of the HLC program review,” Kvidera stated. “The HLC review is asking the University to enhance its assessment of academic programs based on university and department or program learning goals…because the integrative curriculum was designed according to the University academic learning goals, by completing the core, each student will have done the work that addresses each of these goals.”

Kvidera added that the program review process has not changed the way he teaches his courses. He said that the “HLC’s requirement for more effective and transparent assessment measures have…been a benefit to [his] teaching.”

See HLC , p.3

Photo by MaryFrances McGowan

Seniors Mercedes Lewis (left) and Tatyana Atkinson (center) presents University President, the Rev. Robert Niehoff S.J. with the demands.

As the tide of the racial justice movements initiated by students at the University of Missouri continues to extend to Yale, Fordham, University of Michigan and Loyola of Chicago, among others, John Carroll University is no exception.

On Thursday, Dec. 3, members of the African American Alliance entered classrooms unannounced and presented students in attendance with a list of demands previously presented to the Rev. Robert Niehoff, S.J., on Friday, Nov. 20. The African American Alliance (AAA), the black cultural organization on campus, occupied Niehoff’s office and presented him with a list of 10 demands that ask for systematic changes attempting to cease instances of racial injustice on campus. AAA is now aiming to have their message heard by the broader campus community.

The students’ demands include a student-led diversity committee, a black cultural center, hiring more black professors and implementing a more effective bias reporting system.

During last week’s demonstration, members of AAA spoke with students and professors, answered questions and invited students to participate in an open forum discussion being held Thursday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. in the D.J. Lombardo Student Center. In describing AAA’s reasoning behind disrupting classes, member Tyra Sadler said, “We wanted students to feel the way we feel in our classes on a day to day basis. We often are the only black students in our classes and we feel uncomfortable, which sometimes distracts us in class as well.”

Associate professor of political science, Sara Schiavoni, had her lecture interrupted by AAA. Coincidentally, the class was addressing civil rights and was discussing AAA’s demands.

“The students came in very respectfully and held signs that said, ‘we demand to be heard’ and ‘we demand to speak,’” Schiavoni said.

See WALK-IN , p.2

Correction on the behalf of The Carroll News:

We would like to address errors made in the Nov. 19, 2015 issue of The Carroll News, regarding the article titled, “JCU meal plan more expensive than other colleges using Ararmark.” The prices given for the John Carroll University on-campus meal plans, $5,740 and $4,980, represent year-long meal plans. The graphic pictured on the front page was made in error, comparing these to semester-long meal plans, providing a greatly misleading view of the prices. In addition, Director of Residence Life, Lisa Brown Cornelius, was given an incorrect title in the article.

The Carroll News apologizes to Lisa Brown Cornelius and Andrew Powell, the Interim Food Services Director, for these errors.

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Inside this issue:

Index Campus Arts & Life Sports World News Business Diversions Editorial Op/Ed Classifieds

2 4 6 8 10 15 17 18 20

AP

AP

Review of NBC’s “The Wiz Live!”, p.4

Mass shootings in California, p.12

Campus

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Dec. 10, 2015

Campus Briefs Christmas Carroll Eve

Photo from Flickr Creative Commons

Christmas Carroll Eve will take place on Saturday, Dec. 12. It will begin with a musical performance by the JCU Jazz Band at 7:30 p.m. in the D.J. Lombardo Student Center atrium.

At 8:45 p.m. there will be a candlelit procession from the atrium to the Church of the Gesu for 9 p.m. mass for all students and faculty.

Mass will be followed by a feast in the Schott dining hall and end with Christmas Carroll bingo from 11 p.m.-1 a.m. in the Schott dining hall.

“Space” retreat focuses on peace Campus ministry is hosting a drop-by “retreat” during the first three days of finals week.

This retreat is called, “Space” and will take place in the O’Dea room of the D.J. Lombardo Stduent Center.

The space is meant to allow students and faculty to reflect on peace in the community, in their hearts and in the world.

It begins on Monday, Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. and continues until Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 9 a.m.

Raffle to win study room for finals week

Photo from Flickr Creative Commons

Grasselli Library is having a raffle for one student to win a private study room during finals week.

To receive a ticket to enter, students must check out a book, movie, or other piece of technology.

Students can receive a ticket by asking a librarian for help finding a book, article, or more.

The raffle ends on Thursday, Dec. 10. Four winners will be chosen on Friday, Dec. 11.

The winners will have their choice of either Sunday, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of finals week as the day to use their private study room.

The Carroll News

Sophomore donates bone marrow to complete stranger Laura Bednar Campus Editor Sophomore Max Quinn has taken part in something that people are only allowed to do twice in a lifetime. He first saw a college football player on ESPN “SportsCenter” who had gone through a website called bethematch.com, where he was matched to be a bone marrow donor to someone with leukemia.

Quinn then decided that this was something he wanted to do.

“The more people on the list, the more chances there are to save lives,” he said.

Quinn began the application process over the summer by using four cotton swabs on the inside of the mouth and sending them in to the medical staff behind bethematch.com. If the swabs show that the donor is eligible to donate, you are put on the list of possible donors. Once the donor list is narrowed to 500 people, each donor is asked if they wish to proceed. After Quinn agreed, he received a call in September saying he may be a match to between two or 12 people. He had bloodwork done and in October, he was told he was a perfect match for someone.

It is unusual for the process to move so quickly, as many people on the donor list are not called until ten or 15 years after applying. “It was a shock when I found out. I wasn’t sure how to feel. I was nervous,” said Quinn.

Five days before donating on Nov. 11, Quinn had to take painful injections of medicine in order to make his bones produce extra marrow. This medicine makes the bones work extra hard and Quinn said, “I felt tired, weak and my knees hurt. But I knew it would help [someone] out.”

Only certain hospitals in Ohio do the actual donation step of the process. So after receiving a physical at the Cleveland Clinic to make sure he was healthy, bethematch.com covered the expenses for Quinn to fly to Washington, D.C. for the donation.

The physical was thorough and Quinn said he was asked about every possible disease he may have had because one factor could mess up the entire process.

The usual way of retrieving marrow is to use a needle to extract the marrow through the hip. In Quinn’s case, the injections he received produced more marrow and stem cells in his blood stream. The doctors then took the cells out from the blood through centrifuge, which separates the plasma in blood from the cells. The marrow was taken out and his blood was replaced into his system. The entire process took 6 hours.

Quinn’s donation went to a 71-year-old man in England who was on his death bed from leukemia. Different countries have different rules as far as communication between donor and recipient. In the United States, they may have anonymous contact for up to a year. After that they may meet if each party agrees.

From WALK-iN, p.1

Photo courtesy of Max Quinn

Max Quinn stands with his marrow donation at the hospital. The marrow donation process took six hours to complete.

In England, those involved may have anonymous contact for two years before they are allowed to meet or speak on the phone. Right now, each side only knows the other’s age, gender and location. “I was more willing to donate to a kid. I was deterred at first when I heard it was a 71-year-old man,” Quinn continued, “I realized that he is someone’s Grandpa and I would want someone to do the same for my Grandpa, who is 80.”

The doctors will know after 45 days whether the marrow recipient is doing well or has rejected the marrow. Quinn will be notified either way. After almost a week of recovery, Quinn returned to school.

Adjunct professor in the Boler School of Business, Robert Smith, said when Quinn flew to Washington, D.C. it was the only class he missed. “I think it's the kind of selfless act that tells you a lot about Max and a lot about JCU students, who tend to see a higher purpose in life.” Smith continued, “It's inspiring to know that a young man would become a bone marrow donor, despite all the hassle, simply to help a fellow human being.”

Donors must wait one year before donating again and Quinn plans to register on Nov. 11, 2016 to do so.

Editor’s Note: To find out more about bone marrow donation visit bethematch.com or contact Max Quinn at jmquinn18@jcu.edu.

“[They] simply discussed their demand letter and asked if the students had any questions.”

“I understand what the students are trying to do,” Schiavoni continued. “And I appreciate that they have identified institutional issues and have offered solutions.”

Sophomore Calli Dieglio, a student in Schiavoni’s class, added her opinion. “There were maybe eight to 10 of them standing in the front of our classroom and then they explained to us that if we feel uncomfortable, that it is okay because that is how they feel on a daily basis.”

John Yost, associate professor of psychology, also had his class interrupted by the demonstration. “They respectfully asked me to stop what we were doing so that they could make their statement. A student in the class thanked the members of AAA as they left,” said Yost. “I’m 100 percent for it as I do not think they would be taking the measures that they are taking if they did not think it was necessary.”

While Yost and Schiavoni were supportive of AAA’s method of activism, Schiavoni explained that doesn’t apply to all faculty.

“I’ve spoken to some other colleagues and I think that some faculty members were uncomfortable, especially so close to finals, feeling like they needed to get through material,” she said.

Other members from AAA also facilitated conversations about their demands and asked department heads to distribute them. Associate professor and department chair of philosophy Dianna Taylor was among them.

Taylor said that, following AAA’s demonstration, she did research pertaining to other Jesuit colleges with black cultural centers.

She found that not many Jesuit schools have them.

“I think this would be a way that John Carroll could be a leader among the Jesuit schools to step up and do something,” Taylor said.

“I think it is important for students who are underrepresented on this campus to have their own space.”

“They are asking to be heard,” she continued. “That indicates that they are not being heard. To be clear about that, I don’t mean that they ‘think they aren’t being included,’ they’re right, they’re not.”

Despite this support, there has been some backlash following AAA’s demonstration. Students were vocal via Yik Yak, an anonymous social medium. After AAA disrupted classes, the app quickly became a center for negativity. Some posts included derogatory language and insults toward the organization.

In response to the negative feedback, Sadler said, “As people continue to mock us, we still stand proud and bold. We have not yet disrupted the peace and we are fighting for what we believe in.”

The next known step for AAA is a meeting with Niehoff on Monday, Dec. 14.

Campus Safety Log

Dec. 3, 2015 At 11:40 p.m., a JCU resident alerted the RA of the smell of marijuana.

A student admitted to smoking marijuana and the rest of his stash along with paraphernalia was confiscated.

Dec. 2, 2015 At 11:31 p.m., there was an intoxicated male in the RecPlex. He faces underage drinking charges.

These incidents are taken from the files of Campus Safety Services, located in the lower level of the Lombardo Student Center.

For more information, contact x1615.

UHPD Crime Blotter

Nov. 28, 2015 At 2:30 p.m., a University Heights resident reported that someone stole a woman’s wallet. The wallet contained a ring which is valued at $1000 and the perpetrators attempted to charge $4000 on her credit cards. The suspects still has not been caught.

Nov. 24, 2015 On Tuesday at 3:45 p.m, a 27-year-old woman, employee stole $506 in cash and merchandise from a retailer. She was arrested and charged.

Incidents taken from the University Heights police blotter at Cleveland.com.

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The Carroll News

Dec. 10, 2015

President Niehoff signs national pledge for climate change Elissa Filozof Staff Reporter On Wednesday, Nov. 16, the President of the University, the Rev. Robert Niehoff, S.J, signed a national pledge for climate change. The pledge involves a number of different colleges including John Carroll and calls for schools’ commitments to be energy efficient, as well as to educate their students on sustainability.

The document, the last page of which Niehoff signed, promises to address the social environmental challenges facing local and global communities through the Ignatian model of experience, reflection and action, curricular and co-curricular programming and by deepening of the University’s commitment to sustainability. It also promises to conserve natural resources and reduce consumption, waste, energy usage and our overall carbon footprint. Finally, the pledge commits to identifying, promoting and implementing sustainable practices in all aspects of the University’s operations.

Among those in attendance at John Carroll University’s Nov. 16 sustainability committee meeting were professor in the biology department, Rebecca Drenovsky, Facilities Scheduling Manager Rory Hill and the Associate Vice President for Facilities, Carol Dietz.

Dietz, who has chaired the Committee since its 2010 launch, explained, “John Carroll University is signatory to the American Campuses on Climate Pledge along with 217 other colleges and universities, representing over 3.3 million students across the country,” Dietz continued. “These schools include religious institutions, historically black colleges and universities, women’s colleges, technical schools, community colleges, all schools in the Ivy League and a variety of public and private universities located across more than 40 states.”

The campaign, modeled after the American Business Act on Climate Change precedes the upcoming United Nations Climate Negotiations in Paris, at which world leaders will seek to reach an agreement concerning an international clean energy and climate action agenda. During this time, signatories to the Climate Pledge hope that their chain of eco-friendly initiatives on campuses across America will impact the decisions the United Nations ultimately makes with regard to this issue.

It is not only universities that are actively striving to enhance their efforts to go green; massive conglomerate corporations such as Berkshire Hathaway, Walmart, UPS, Apple, Coca-Cola, Google and Microsoft have all set ambitious targets for climate action in promotion of a low-carbon, sustainable future.

As a Jesuit institution, John Carroll’s mission statement is to inspire individuals to excel in learning, leadership and service in the region and in the world. John Carroll is in its tenth semester of tangible endeavors to improve its score on the Sustainability Report Card released by the Sustainable Endowments Institute each year.

In addition to the University Sustainability Committee, JCU has worked in recent years to realize its vision for an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable campus and community through increased recycling and reduced waste, the use of biodegradable containers in the Schott Dining Hall and the installment of bike racks and the creation of a bike co-op.

In accordance with the goals of this newest “green” measure, Niehoff has pledged John Carroll to not only reduce its utility consumption and campus carbon footprint, but also to educate students and the public on the “benefits of renewables and low-carbon energy” through a number of programs and initiatives. Students can expect to see an “increase in the number of recycling and water bottle refill stations in academic and administrative buildings on campus,” as well as an “increase the use of native plants in campus gardens to reduce water and fertilizer use” in the coming semesters.

From HLC p.1 “I see this process, ultimately, as a way to make the John Carroll experience for our students even better. So while [it is] tough now, it’s good in the long run,” he concluded.

Tom Pace, professor of English, agreed that the HLC review has not changed how he teaches his courses, although he said that it “may change” as the department learns about its teaching through the review process. He also stated it has been neither a positive nor negative experience for him. “It is what it is,” he remarked.

However, Pace added that the program review has taken time away from working with students outside of class. “My attention to issues of assessment and the new core—which are wrapped up in the HLC review—have taken time I might normally spend working individually with students during office hours and in other contexts.”

Cecile Brennan, assistant professor in the department of counseling, agreed with Kvidera and Pace, saying the HLC program reviews have not changed how she teaches her courses, but added that it makes her “much more mindful of the importance of explicitly stating to students” what learning outcomes are being emphasized for each course.

“In essence, at the class level, the process helps me to validate not only that students are learning, but what exactly they are learning,” she stated.

Brennan also remarked that the program review process has been “time-consuming,” and in the future, the process should “occur continuously, not as a relatively sudden process.”

Despite this, she said that she sees “a good deal of value in the entire process.”

“Undergoing a review requires faculty and administrators to take an in-depth look at student learning and where the department or the program needs to go in the next three to five years,” she said.

Buchanan voiced a similar response to the review process, saying it is “quite a good process.”

“It is holding us accountable for what we’ve been saying,” she said. “People have come up with new ways to measure how accountable [we’re] being. We didn’t realize how helpful those ways would actually be, and that it was worth devoting the time to it.”

Following the report to be filed in July 2016, a team from the HLC will return to JCU in September 2016 to review its accreditation status, according to Colleran, and will notify the University administration of their decision in February 2017.

“Everything we are doing will make JCU a stronger institution,” Colleran said. “I have confidence that we will have a successful HLC visit.”

“Gifts that Give Twice” holiday sale aims to increase awareness of fair trade Julie Hullett Staff Reporter “Gifts that Give Twice” is a holiday sale featuring fair trade products, held by Campus Ministry, Students for Social Justice’s Fair Trade Committee, and the Center for Service and Social Action. The sale begins on Wednesday, Dec. 9 and goes until Thursday, Dec. 10 in the O’Malley Center atrium at John Carroll University.

“Gifts that Give Twice” sells products provided by the Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade “Work of Human Hands” line. Farmers and artisans in over 30 countries, including places such as Ghana and India, make these products.

This year, JCU Fair Trade surveyed students to determine what products they would like to see at the holiday sale. Based on student responses, the sale will consist of scarves, coffee, tea, chocolate, home décor and Christmas decorations. There will be hot chocolate samples available and holiday music will be playing during the sale.

In previous years, “Gifts that Give Twice” was a smaller event.

It was held before Thanksgiving rather than before Christmas, and there was one table set up outside of the CSSA office. CSSA has tried to increase sales and spread awareness of fair trade by making this a larger event.

Junior Kaylee Quanbeck, member of the Fair Trade Committee, said she strongly believes that JCU has a duty to help people who are not fairly paid for their work, as John Carroll is a fair

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trade certified university as of 2014.

Quanbeck said, “We’re a fair trade certified university now and we’re a Jesuit university so it’s important for our values to make sure everyone knows what that is and how they can make a change based on their consumption.”

Without fair trade rules, producers can be exploited. When a producer wants to sell a product, they usually sell it to a middleman. The middleman then sells it to a larger corporation and decides how much money to keep for himself and how much to give the producer. Fair trade rules cut out the middleman so the goods can go directly from the producer to the business.

Quanbeck explains, “They all make a living wage because of this. We make sure that the money gets back to the people who deserve the money.” Some of the money goes to the producers and it also helps fund community development projects, children’s education, and other helpful programs.

Junior Sabrina Luce helped plan the “Gifts that Give Twice” sale. She believes that it is important to educate the JCU community about fair trade. “People don’t really know when they purchase something where it came from.” Luce continued, “So it’s very important for the John Carroll students to understand and bring awareness to it.”

Unfortunately, fair trade is not common at large businesses and malls such as Target and Beachwood Place. Small familyowned stores are more likely to carry fair trade products. One such store is Ten Thousand Villages on Cedar Rd. in Cleveland

Photo by Annie Brennan

The display case shows some of the fair trade gifts that will be available for students and faculty to purchase in the O’Malley center atrium on Dec. 10.

Heights. Some grocery stores also sell fair trade products.

With help from John Carroll faculty, staff and students, the Fair Trade Committee is able to improve the working conditions of people all around the world.

Luce said, “We’re hopeful that our event will be more successful than years passed. We spent a lot of time figuring out how to reach students and faculty.” Luce continued, “It’s completely different than what we’ve been doing in the past.”

Campus Calendar : DEC. 10 - DEC. 16

Thursday

Cultural Event: Caribbean in Cleveland from 9-11 p.m. in the D.J. Lombardo Student Center atrium.

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Friday

One-time service opportunity in Mayfield Village from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

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Saturday

Christmas Carroll Bingo from 11 p.m.1 a.m. in the Schott Dining Hall.

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Sunday

“‘Twas the Night Before Finals” event in the Intramural Gym from 6-9 p.m.

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Monday

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Tuesday

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Wednesday

GOOD LUCK ON FINALS!

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Dec. 10, 2015

The Carroll News

NBC’s “The Wiz” Live brought energy and magic in successful performance Morgan Osheka Arts & Life Editor

MUSICAL REVIEW “NBC’S The Wiz Live”

After a series of lackluster live performances such as “The Sound of Music” in 2013, starring Carrie Underwood, and last year’s performance of “Peter Pan” starring Allison Williams and Christopher Walken, NBC brought “The Wiz” to life on Thursday, Dec. 3.

Surprisingly, NBC brought out all the stops and aired an unexpectedly, crowd pleasing performance of “The Wiz.” Compared to NBC’s two previous live musical performances, “The Wiz,” hands down, has been NBC’s best performance yet.

With an all-star cast featuring Queen Latifah as the Wiz, Mary J. Blige as the evil witch Evelline, Amber Riley as the good witch Addaperle and Uzo Aduba as Glinda, NBC could not have chosen a better cast to portray each role.

“NBC’s The Wiz Live” welcomed nineteenyear-old Shanice Williams in her first acting role as Dorothy.

With this being Williams’ first professional role in musical theater, doubts about whether or not she could fill this iconic role as Dorothy were high.

However, Williams took audiences by storm as a brave, innocent, stubborn and

spunky Dorothy with powerhouse vocals. Her professionalism to keep up with such seasoned accompanying cast members was impeccable as she held her own throughout her performance. Williams maintained high energy with a captivating smile during the entire show as she took audiences with her along her journey to Oz. NBC also welcomed back Stephanie Mills as Aunt Em. Mills portrayed Dorothy as part of the original Broadway cast and NBC’s decision to feature Mills in the live performance of “The Wiz” was a nod toward the traditional Broadway show. Mills sang a heartfelt condition of “The Feeling That We Had” with vocals similar to the iconic Judy Garland.

Along her magical journey to Oz, Dorothy’s trio of the Scarecrow, played by Elijah Kelley; the Tinman, played by Ne-Yo; and the cowardly Lion, played by David Allen Grier took the show to another level with their impressive performances.

Kelley’s soulful performance of the Scarecrow, previously played by Michael Jackson in the film version of The Wiz, could not have been more perfect. Ne-Yo’s smooth vocals brought an R&B vibe to his performance while Grier brought comedy and ferociousness to his furry character.

“Glee’s” Amber Riley was a bit too cheerful as Addaperle, but brought the house down with her amazing vocal range. Uzo Aduba briefly entered as Glinda toward the end of the show, but gave a touching and heartfelt performance sending Dorothy back to Kansas.

As the two most iconic actors in the cast, Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige gave powerful performances in their own way. Latifah, as the gender-bent role of the Wiz, brought strength and sincerity to her role, starting off strong and ending with a fun and energetic farewell. Blige gave an unexpectedly wicked performance as the evil witch Evelline, with her malicious attitude and villainous charisma.

Aside from the cast, the production of “NBC’s The Wiz” was captivating in all aspects. Tony Award winning acting director Kenny Leon brought color, magic and the childhood story of “The Wizard of Oz” to life through dance, costume, set design and

unexpected surprises along with TV director, Matthew Diamond.

Teaming up with Cirque du Soleil, choreographers created whimsical, dramatic and electric dance numbers throughout the show as dancers modernized the magical world of Oz and took audiences to another world through acrobatics and energetic ensemble numbers.

Heavily focused on choreography, “The Wiz” was portrayed as a dance heavy show, creating a more enjoyable viewing experience for audiences.

Scenic designs and set creations envisioned Oz as a colorful, otherworldly place that included digital effects, fireworks, a gigantic mechanical talking head and an illuminated yellow brick road.

Costume designs, created by Akron’s own Paul Tazewell, were impeccable, paying extra attention to detail from the individual styling of each character to the impressive hair and

makeup execution. Costumes were made more modern to bring a fresh new take on the classic musical and showed that a lot of time was put into action to making each costume as perfect as it could be.

To sum up the entire performance, “NBC’s The Wiz Live” exceeded expectations and took audiences by surprise. Unlike the first two live performances of “The Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan,” the actors became completely enveloped in their characters and made the performance believable. With lively energetic numbers including “Ease on Down the Road” and “Everybody Rejoice,” the cast connected with the audience, bringing a joyful experience to the television screen.

With such highly praised critic reviews, it will be interesting to see how NBC tops the performance of “The Wiz” next year when the network chooses another musical to bring to live on television.

AP

“NBC’s The Wiz Live” featured an all-star cast including Ne-Yo (far left) as the Tinman and Elijah Kelley (far right) as the Scarecrow and introduced nineteen year old Shancice Williams (middle) as Dorothy in her first professional performance.

John Carroll University’s Tim Russert Department of Communication and Theatre Arts presents:

S N O I T I AUD Sweet Charity for...

A Musical Comedy!

-Please bring a piece of music (we can provide select show tunes) that best shows your vocal range -Please wear shoes you are able to dance in

Audition Times Thursday, Dec. 10th 7:00-9:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 11th 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 13th 5:00-7:30 p.m.* (All Auditions in Kulas Auditorium) *Possible Callbacks on Sunday

Scripts can be picked up in OC 49 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. after December 3rd

The Carroll News

Arts & Life

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Dec. 10, 2015

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DisneyLife streaming service competes with Netflix in the UK Anne Ertle

The Carroll News

Photo from Twitter

DisneyLife is currently offered in the UK only as a new streaming service providing Disney movies, games, music and more.

Fans of The Walt Disney Company’s works, ranging from movies to television shows, music and books, will be excited to learn about the company’s newly offered streaming service, DisneyLife.

According to DisneyLife.com, the system is “a unique digital membership giving you access to our biggest collection of Disney movies, kids’ TV box sets, books, music and apps, in one place for the first time.” This unprecedented access will set customers back about $15 a month.

However, DisneyLife is only available currently in the United Kingdom.

DisneyLife is available as a streaming website akin to Netflix or Amazon Prime. The system also offers an accompanying app that is available on iOS and Android devices.

The new streaming service will be available in five different languages including English, French, Spanish, Italian and German. Users can interact with DisneyLife’s site, including a feature in which they can create their own profiles with Disney characters such as Elsa from “Frozen” or Mickey Mouse himself as profile avatars. The site will come complete with controls and settings that can be customized so that parents can limit the amount of time that their children spend using DisneyLife.

“I would love to have all my favorite Disney movies in one place. DisneyLife would make it easier so I don’t have to lug around DVD boxes or track down specific Disney movies which are only released every few years,” said sophomore Gina Barni. “I bet that the kids that I babysit for would love it, too. It would be a nice service to offer because people of all ages would probably take advantage of it. I definitely hope that this is something that they do decide to offer here in the United States.”

However, North American Disney devotees may not have access DisneyLife anytime soon.

According to The L.A. Times, “The Burbank entertainment behemoth has no plans to offer a stand-alone subscription service in the U.S., where the company has constructed a web of lucrative contracts with payTV operators. Those carriage contracts for Disney television channels bring in more than $10 billion a year in revenue.”

However, analysts say, such a move could eventually happen. “The European over-the-top offering does provide the company with the platform, the know-how and the data insights necessary to do so,” Nomura Securities media analyst Anthony DiClemente wrote in a report late Wednesday.

“People are so dedicated to the Disney corporation, so I would think that this would be a very successful idea for their company,” said junior Claire Fraser, who claims that the United States should implement the DisneyLife system. “DisneyLife could be a great way for the Disney company to tailor their markets to a really specific audience. I think it would work especially well for families and it would be a lot easier for parents to have all of their kids’ favorites in one place. However, having DisneyLife could mean removing Disney movies from other sites such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, which could create a lot more competition for streaming services,” said Fraser.

When asked about the DisneyLife system, junior Megan McBride said, “I think the service sounds way too expensive. Fifteen dollars a month is a lot of money, especially when services like Netflix are available for half the price. Netflix may not have a large selection of Disney programming to choose from, but it’s a good value. It seems like anything that DisneyLife offers you could find elsewhere for less money. You can rent movies and books from the library, you can listen to the music from movies on YouTube. Maybe I would feel differently about DisneyLife if I had kids of my own, but it just doesn’t seem worth it to me.”

Ultimately, plans to provide the DisneyLife streaming service to other countries is still a hypothetical idea.

Editor’s Note: Information from DisneyLife.com and The L.A. Times was used in this report.

What are you looking forward to this holiday season?

-Compiled by Kayla Navratil, Staff Reporter

“Spending time “Leaving “Snowboarding “Hanging out with my family for Rome in with my with friends and friends.”

January to friends.” from high - Jess Cook, study abroad in - Kyle school and Freshman the spring.”

Holdsworth, not doing - Bridget Sophomore homework.”

O’Brian, - John Ready, Sophomore Senior

“Drinking hot cocoa next to my fireplace.”

- Alyssa Coleman, Senior

Sports

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Fast Break

www.jcunews.com

Men’s Basketball

Blue Streaks cruise to seventh straight victory to open season Joe Ginley

Jacob Hirschmann Sports Editor

Are the Warriors for real?

I’ve never seen anything like what the Golden State Warriors are doing right now.

Ever since the Detroit Pistons won the NBA Championship in 2004, I’ve religiously followed the NBA, and I’ve never seen a team as dominant as the Warriors are right now.

The mid-2000s Los Angeles Lakers were close, but to see a team start a season 22-0 is ridiculous.

After winning the NBA Championship over the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, many media pundits were saying that the Warriors were bound to take a step back. Talk about how the Warriors got lucky by avoiding injuries on their own team and running into teams riddled by injuries ran rampant in the offseason, and the Warriors heard every word.

Before the season even began, during preseason, Warriors PG and reigning MVP, Stephen Curry, was being interviewed and jokingly said, “I just want to say, I apologize for us being healthy. I apologize for us playing who’s in front of us.”

He continued, “I apologize for all the accolades we’ve received as a team and individually. I’m very, truly sorry. We’ll rectify the situation this year.”

Curry was obviously kidding, but there was clearly something behind what he said. The Warriors were and still are upset that nobody gave them respect after last year.

Now, they have all the respect in the world.

Curry is lighting the league on fire. Currently averaging a leagueleading 32.4 ppg, along with 5.8 apg and 4.9 rpg heading into Tuesday night’s matchup with the Indiana Pacers, these numbers aren’t even the most impressive part of Curry’s season so far.

Having already made 116 threepointers this season, Curry is on pace to shatter his own record for three-pointers made in a season (286), which he set last season.

The craziest part? He’s shooting over 47-percent from three-point land this season, the best percentage of his career.

Bottom line, the Warriors are for real good and scary.

Over the last few paragraphs, I detailed just how great the Warriors have been, and I haven’t even touched on Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, how deep their bench is or the fact that they are doing all of this without Steve Kerr, who finished second in Coach of the Year voting last season.

The Warriors will lose eventually, I think. But make no mistake, this is a historically great team.

I’m not saying they are going to break the record, but I can guarantee that as long as this team stays healthy, they will be within reach of the Chicago Bulls’ 72-10 record for best regular season down the final stretch in 2016.

Contact Jacob Hirschmann at jhirschmann16@jcu.edu

The Carroll News

Staff Reporter

As it turns out, seven is a lucky number for the John Carroll University men’s basketball team.

The squad’s seventh straight win to start the 2015-16 season came on Saturday, as the Blue Streaks defeated Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, a historically tough place for JCU to play.

Entering Saturday’s contest, the Blue Streaks had a record of 7-24 against the Polar Bears in Ada. History did not play a factor in JCU’s dominant 86-68 victory.

JCU advances to 7-0 overall, 5-0 in Ohio Athletic Conference play.

The fast start marks the team’s best since the 2004-05 season, when Mike Moran’s men made the NCAA Division III “Sweet 16.”

The Blue Streaks rolled early, scoring the game’s first six points and capturing a 25-15 lead by the

halfway point of the first half. Domination in the paint combined with a pair of early 3-pointers by senior Will Starks paved the way for the Blue and Gold.

JCU utilized its advantage in the paint to increase the lead. Following a Ryan Farragher 3-pointer, the Blue Streaks held a 47-20 lead with 4:33 left in the half. JCU’s offense slowed down at the end of the period, but the Blue Streaks still carried a 49-30 lead into the break.

The second half began like the first, as the Blue and Gold started hot, using a 10-5 run to extend the lead to 59-37 with 15:20 remaining.

Senior Simon Kucharewicz added extra oomph with a dunk off a fast break with 12:50 left.

Even as time passed the Blue Streaks kept up the pressure on offense, keeping the lead above 20 points until the three minute mark of the second half.

At the end of the contest, JCU

Inside The Box Score

Ohio Northern John Carroll

1st 30 49

2nd 38 37

Final 68 86

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Kucharewicz

Caputo

Linane

18

9

6

Photo courtesy of JCU Sports Information

Sophomore guard Brian Papich blocks a shot during the first half of JCU’s 86-68 win over Ohio Northern University on Saturday, Dec. 5 at the ONU Sports Center in Ada, Ohio. stood as the clearly superior challenger with an 86-68 win.

Kucharewicz led the charge for JCU with 18 points and eight rebounds. Junior David Linane (15) and Farragher (14) closely followed the Kucharewicz in points, while junior Doug Caputo narrowly bested Kucharewicz (8) with nine rebounds in the victory.

Kucharewicz strongly believes the dedication he has to the practice is what has put him in position to play so well early on in the season.

“Coach Spence [Roule] did a great job getting on me during practice. It’s just the little things like moving my feet. I know I can have those games every night. I just gotta play smart and not scared.”

Kucharewicz continued, “[It’s all about] practice. You practice how you play and at the end of the day I know that tomorrow’s game isn’t guaranteed because you can get hurt at any time. So I’m just going to play my heart out every game.”

The Blue Streaks return to action on Saturday, Dec. 12 with a 3 p.m. road matchup with Wilmington College. The Quakers own a 1-5 overall record, 0-2 in OAC play.

After their matchup with the Quakers, JCU will host Marietta College on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 2 p.m., before heading to Daytona Beach, Florida to compete in the Land of Magic Classic against The College at Brockport and Bridgewater State University.

Women’s Basketball

JCU falls to ONU, drops to 0-2 in OAC play Joe McCarthy

Assistant Sports Editor

John Carroll University Women’s Basketball is just ankle deep into the Ohio Athletic Conference schedule, but the Blue and Gold have already seen some of the toughest talent the conference has to offer.

In just their second game of the conference schedule, the Blue Streaks were unable to find that first OAC win. A physical game with the conference leader Ohio Northern University would continue that

search for the Blue Streaks with a 67-62 loss to the Polar Bears.

JCU made a strong case for a victory in the early parts of the contest against the #24 nationally ranked Polar Bears. A 26-point performance in the opening quarter was sparked by a 12-2 run to start. The hosting Blue Streaks had the Polar Bears on their heels when they were leading 21-6 just mid-way through the opening frame.

ONU would make a push in the second quarter with a 12-4 run to start, trimming the Blue Streak lead to 38-33 heading into the in-

Photo courtesy of JCU Sports Information

Sophomore Shmoo Pryor races down the court for a fastbreak during the first half of JCU’s 67-62 loss to ONU on Saturday, Dec. 5 at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Inside The Box Score

Ohio Northern John Carroll

1st 18 26

2nd 15 12

3rd 14 10

4th 20 14

Final 67 62

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Battaglia

Cairnie

Spahar/Pryor

18

10

termission.

Physicality was the theme of the second half, and most of the scoring was done the hard way by home team. John Carroll was responsible for 34 points in the paint, besting the 24 from the Polar Bears. For the game, JCU shot 41.9 percent from the floor, but had 22 turnovers.

With one minute remaining, junior guard Katie Battaglia made a steal at half court and added the easy transition bucket to tie the game at 62. Ohio Northern would close out the game and get the win by scoring the final five points.

Battaglia was the leading scorer for the Blue Streaks with 18 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Sarah Cairnie had the most support when she chipped in 11

5

points and grabbed 10 rebounds to register a double-double.

The 67-62 loss now sets the Blue Streaks back to a 4-3 record and a 0-2 mark in the conference.

The loss also marks the first backto-back loss in the regular season; something that has not happened since the 2012-2013 season and is the first of head coach’s Kelly Morrone’s tenure with the Blue Streaks.

OAC play will continue for the Blue Streaks as they have three more games slated before a back-to-back non-conference stint. The Wilmington College Fightin’ Quakers will pay a visit the University Heights in search of a victory against the Blue Streaks on Saturday, Dec. 12; this has not happened in the last four meetings.

Sports

The Carroll News

www.jcunews.com

Men’s Swimming and Diving

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Women’s Swimming and Diving

JCU places fifth at Blue Devil Invite Blue Streaks earn first at Fredonia Invite Jacob Hirschmann Sports Editor

Wheeling Jesuit University took home first place in the Fredonia Blue Devil Invite, finishing with 725 points, as the John Carroll University men’s swimming and diving team placed fifth, earning 446 over the three days.

Over the first two days of the Blue Devil Invite, the Blue Streaks hung around near the top of the leaderboard, despite earning only one victory.

That lone victory came courtesy of freshman Tom Pacak, who placed first in the 500 free with a time of 4:42.89.

Although there were no other individual victories, there was another highlight on day two, as freshman Jack Garrow broke a

school record in the 200 Backstroke, finishing with a time of 1:57.03, beating the school record held by Eric Rapp in 1994 by almost a full second.

Both Pacak and Garrow put together strong performances on day three as well. Pacak placed first in the 200 Free with a time of 1:42.72. Garrow earned a fourth place finish in the finals of the 100 Back with a time of 53.33.

Another pair of freshmen earned points for the Blue Streaks in the 200 Breast. David Kirtek placed third with a time of 2:12.81 and Egan Paul earned a fifth place finish with a time of 2:14.61.

JCU will have a long layoff as their next meet will be after Christmas break, when they will host Oberlin College on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m. at the Johnson Natatorium for their third non-conference meet.

Photo courtesy of JCU Sports Information

Junior Corey Kehm swims the third leg of the 400 Medley Relay to start day two of the Fredonia Blue Devil Invite that took place from Dec. 4-6 in Fredonia, New York.

On day two, sophomore Carly Adams earned a victory in the 200 backstroke with a time 2:07.81, while junior Margaret Zagrobelny placed sixth in the same event with a time of 2:17.40.

That first place finish by Adams, along with other solid performances throughout day two, helped JCU head into day three with victory on their minds.

The Blue Streaks did not let up on day three though, as seniors Lindsey Fano, Ann Murhpy, junior Amanda Casamatta and Adams earned first place in the 200 Medley Relay at the start of the day.

Adams then placed first in the 400 IM later in the day, and Fano earned a victory in the 200 Breast to seal the victory for JCU. With the win, the Blue Streaks now have four victories on the season.

Jacob Hirschmann Sports Editor

After claiming the lead over the nine-team field in day one of the State University of New York at Fredonia Invite on Friday, Dec. 4, the John Carroll University women’s swimming and diving team held on over the final two days, earning first place as a team over the three day competition, finishing with 697 total points.

The Blue Streaks bested Allegheny College (614 points), Oberlin College (611), Wheeling Jesuit University (589) and the hosts, the SUNY Fredonia (387) to win.

A strong day one for JCU gave the Blue Streaks all the momentum they needed to continue their dominance over the last two days of the event.

Photo courtesy of JCU Sports Information

Junior Margaret Zagrobelny races toward the finish in 100 Back, eventually placing in second with a time of 59.88, helping JCU to a first place finish at the SUNY Fredonia invite.

THIS WEEK IN BLUE STREAKS ATHLETICS Men’s Basketball

Wrestling

Women’s Basketball

JCU @ Wilmington College Saturday, Dec. 12 3 p.m., Wilmington, Ohio

Cleveland State Open Saturday, Dec. 12 9 a.m., Cleveland, Ohio

JCU v. Wilmington College Saturday, Dec. 12 3 p.m., University Heights, Ohio

Streaks of the Week

Women’s Swimming

Carly Adams Sophomore

Adams was a main contributor to JCU’s title-winning performance at the Fredonia Swimming and Diving Invitational. The sophomore was a part of the winning 200 Medley Relay team as well as winning the 400 IM.

Women’s Basketball

Wrestling

Men’s Basketball

Men’s Swimming

Katie Battaglia Junior

Mike Buckiso Senior

Simon Kucharewicz Senior

Tom Pacak Freshman

The North Royalton native had a team leading 18 points to go along with seven rebounds in JCU’s loss to ONU. Battaglia was the main scorer for the Blue Streaks after earning the leading scorer mark for the first time this season.

The senior added his first collegiate title and helped the Blue Streaks to a third consecutive RIT Invitational title. Buckiso added a pin in his first match to go along with a quick victory of just 1:03 in the title match.

JCU improved to 7-0 with the help of the senior’s gameleading 18 points against ONU. The forward shot 67-percent from the floor in the contest, and bumped up his season scoring average to 8.7 points per game.

Pacak continued to impress for the Blue Streaks when he won the 200 Free, by a full second over the rest of the field. The victory time also earned the freshman his top time in the event for the season.

World News

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Mass shooting in California causes Obama to address nation John Desrosiers Ryan Brown The Carroll News

Gunshots tore through San Bernardino, Calif. as Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik attacked a company Christmas party on Wednesday Dec. 2. The shooting left 14 dead and 21 injured. The suspects were killed after a pursuit and firefight with the police.

Evidence showed the husband and wife team had planned the attack, and that they had dropped off their child at a relative’s house just before arriving at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.

Furthermore, they had Go-Pro cameras on them, with body armor, extra ammunition and explosives, according to The New York Times. This lends to the narrative that this was a more than a random attack, but one that anticipated a protracted engagement with the police.

The FBI has since found significant links between the perpetrators and the Islamic State group, the notorious terrorist organization that has made repeated threats against the United States and vowed an attack on American soil. These links are so significant, that the FBI has declared this a terrorist attack.

According to The New York Times, Malik declared allegiance to the Islamic State group soon before the attack.

However, the terrorist group did not plan this attack. These individuals are believed

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The Carroll News

to have acted on their own, but did so in the name of the Islamic State group.

Authorities have also stated that the couple had an IED facility capable of manufacturing the multiple explosives they found in the possession of the deceased suspects. With the evidence stacking up, it is clear that this was not a spur of the moment attack, but a disciplined act of terror.

According to The New York Times, Farook was a U.S. citizen born in Illinois.

Farook had recently visited Saudi Arabia and was a “devout Muslim,” according to his family. He met Malik on a dating website, and in July 2014 he went to Saudi Arabia to marry Malik. The New York Times says Malik was a very private, isolated individual. She always had her head covered, and Farook’s family said they never even saw her whole face.

According to the Diocese of San Bernardino, the Bishop of San Bernardino said, “Please join me in praying for all the victims of this horrific incident and their families… Let us come together now in unity and bring light to the darkness of this day.”

On Sunday night, President Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office, which he has not done very often during his two terms as commander in chief. He talked mainly about the fight against terrorism in the Middle East and domestically. According to The New York

AP

A makeshift memorial is laid outside the San Bernardino building that was attacked on Dec. 5.

Times, Obama’s speech was in response to the mass shooting in San Bernardino. He acknowledged that this attack was carried out by radicalized individuals saying, “It is clear that the two of them had gone down the dark path of radicalization.”

Obama was also very clear in saying that the Islamic State group did not direct this attack, these two people acted on their own. According to The Los Angeles Times he said, “So far, we have no evidence that the killers were directed by a terrorist

organization overseas, or that they were part of a broader conspiracy here at home.”

Obama also took some time during his speech to address gun control. According to whitehouse.gov, Obama wants to make sure no one on a No Fly List is able to buy a gun of any kind. Obama ended by reassuring the American people that the Islamic State will not win, and America will prevail.

Editor’s Note: Information from The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and whitehouse.gov was used in this report.

British forces begin airstrikes against the Islamic State Ryan Brown

World News Editor

The United Kingdom became the next country to join the war against the Islamic State group by voting on Wednesday Dec. 2 in Parliament to approve airstrikes in Syria, according to The New York Times. British lawmakers voted to go ahead with Prime Minister David Cameron’s plan to launch an attack against the terrorist group in Syria by a vote of 397 to 223.

This was not an easy decision for the parliament, and only passed after many impassioned speeches from people for and against sending more Royal Air Force planes into the Middle East. The UK has had forces in Iraq since 2014 launching AP airstrikes against the Islamic State group; British Defence Minister Michael Fallon talks to British pilots in Cyprus on Dec. 5. this vote has opened the airstrikes up to doing attacks in Syria as well. “patience.”

The strikes started the morning of Dec. Prime Minister Cameron was very The Conservative Party, which holds 3 with six targets. British authorities much in support of this measure the majority in Parliament, hopes to regain say the attacks were “successfully” according to The Associated Press saying, administered. Even attacking an Islamic the status as a powerful global actor with “Do we work with our allies to degrade State-controlled oilfield, according to the these attacks, according to The New York and destroy this threat and do we go after BBC. Times. these terrorists in their heartlands, from The fight to defeat the Islamic State Not all British citizens agree however, where they are plotting to kill British group is not going to be quick, Prime outside Parliament there were many people? Or do we sit back and wait for Minister Cameron warns. BBC reports he protesters holding signs that said “Don’t them to attack us?” said fighting this enemy is going to require Bomb Syria” The New York Times

reported. The Labour Party, which is to the left of the Conservative Party, was divided on this issue. Jeremy Corbin, the new leader of this party, did not support these airstrikes and voted no, according to The New York Times.

However, many in his party did support the measure, including Hilary Benn who is the Party’s spokesman on foreign affairs according to the BBC. Because Benn supported the plan, Cameron got the majority he needed to get the plan off the ground.

According to The Associated Press, the Royal Air Force will be using Tornado and Typhoon fighter jets in the coming mssions.

These fighter jets will hold Brimstone missiles that have the capability to hit moving targets. British authorities are hopeful that this will be the most accurate way to eradicate targets, and also reduce civilian casualties.

President Obama supports the British involvement in the war saying, according to The Associated Press, the Islamic State group is a “global threat that must be defeated by a global response.”

Editor’s Note: Information from The New York Times, The Associated Press and the BBC was used in this report.

World News Transportation bill passes Congress

The Carroll News

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Joe Kukral Staff Reporter

Congressional leaders have finally passed a bill that addresses a pressing issue among many Americans: the country’s crumbling infrastructure. Assuring the measure that was passed on Tuesday Dec. 2 will remedy many of the ailing bridges and roads, Congressional leaders are convinced the anatomy of the bill was suitably orchestrated. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a margin of 359 to 65, and passed the Senate by a margin of 83 to 16.

The qualms among the leaders, which have hindered progress in the past, had subsided for the joint interest in providing the country’s roads a means of renewal.

Consisting of $305 billion and allocated over a 5-year period, the spending measure is hoped to alleviate the dire uneasiness posed by the country’s highways, roads and bridges.

The compromise and lack of foresight in drawing up the bill has provided an insufficient effort to fund it properly, according to The Washington Post.

Utilizing a cut in dividend payments to the Fed banks and reallocating it to highway funding will not offer a long term financing solution, especially when compounded with the added revenues of selling the reserves of Federal oil. Standing at a former 6 percent return, the new dividend rate will be set to the rate of return on 10 year Treasury bonds which are currently pegged at 2.2 percent.

The Fed’s cut in dividend payments – formerly a much appreciated buffer – to fund infrastructure is not the only means in which they are subsidizing America’s travelers. The second subsidy is A draining of the Federal Reserve’s Rainy-

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day Fund which stood at $29 billion now to be diminished to $10 billion.

However, the glaring issue in funding resides in the complete negation of the country’s gas tax. Currently held at 18.4 cents per gallon, the tax has not been adjusted since 1993. Eroded by inflation due to no index and staggered by the respectable surge of energy efficient cars, the gas tax has had revenue shortfalls amounting to 70 billion since 2008, according to The New York Times.

Though, the bill does empower states to make more confident and bold investments in their infrastructure, withstanding the fact that the bill is a short term investment measure. Not only would states receive a 5 percent increase in highway project funding in the first year, but local transit systems would also receive an 8 percent boost.

Dec. 10, 2015

Ryan’s Report

The bill also reauthorizes the ExportImport Bank, according to Reuters, which has been met with fierce conservative opposition. However this bill renews it’s charter through Sept.

30, 2019 with some reforms including a lower lending limit.

The spending measure, could be seen as nothing but a stopgap in a glaring hole of mess and needed fix. Only a long term measure could reveal the cumulative requisite need to address the issue comprehensively according to the Washington Post. Further entailed is that the bill is only funded through the first three years. The bill has already passed the Congress and now lays fate to President Barack Obama.

Editor’s Note: Information from The New York Times, Reuters, The New York Post and The Washington Post was used in this report.

AP

Spending was increased for projects like this one in California in a bipartisan supported bill.

Pentagon allows women to fight in all combat roles Robin Goist Staff Reporter

All U.S. military combat positions are being opened up to women, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Thursday, Dec. 3. According to The Associated Press, the decision allows women to fill about 220,000 jobs that are currently limited to men, including infantry, armor, reconnaissance and some special operations units.

According to The Washington Post, Carter announced the decision comes after years of research and debate on the role of women in the military.

“There will be no exceptions,” Carter said.

“This means that, as long as they qualify and meet the standards, women will now be able to contribute to our mission in ways they could not before.”

The New York Times reported two women made history in August by becoming the first female soldiers to complete the Army’s Ranger School, but they could not apply to join the 75th Ranger Regiment, an elite special operations force - until now.

The Washington Post reported that women will now be eligible to join the Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces and other Special Operations Units. It also opens the Marine Corps infantry, a battlehardened force that many service officials had openly advocated keeping closed to female service members. In fact, Marine General Joseph Dunford, whose branch of service was the only one to request the ability to make exceptions to the new rule, was not in attendance for the announcement, according to NPR. According to The Associated Press, about 10 percent of the military remained closed to

AP

Skylar Anderson is the first woman to be a combat engineer in the United States Army. women before Thursday’s announcement, Carter said. Another 110,000 jobs in careers like artillery officer were opened in a series of decisions since 2013.

NPR reported the policy move will take effect after 30 days, Carter said.

The Washington Post reported these changes started in January 2013, when thenDefense Secretary Leon Panetta announced he was rescinding a longtime ban on women serving directly in ground combat units.

Panetta gave the services until this fall to research the issue.

Carter said the decision does not mean that most combat positions will become quickly and evenly balanced between genders, according to The Associated Press.

He said there are “physical differences on average” between men and women and that “thus far, we’ve only seen small numbers of women qualify to meet our high physical standards” for some units.

He acknowledged that “some service members, men and women, have a perception that integration would be pursued at a cost of combat effectiveness.” However, Carter replied to that concern by saying: “The military has long prided itself on being a meritocracy.”

President Obama issued a statement after Carter’s announcement, according to NPR. He said, “Today, the Defense Department is taking another historic step forward by opening up the remaining 10 percent of military positions, including combat roles, to women. As commander in chief, I know that this change, like others before it, will again make our military even stronger. Our armed forces will draw on an even wider pool of talent.”

Editor ’s Note: Information from The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Associated Press and NPR was used in this report.

Ryan Brown

World News Editor

Do not be afraid There are a lot of things Obama has supported in his two terms as President that I disagree with. But in his speech on Dec. 6 to the nation on terrorism, there was one part that he and I can agree on.

The one thing President Obama is absolutely correct on is not giving into the fear the Islamic State group is trying to instill in not just America, but the whole world. The Islamic State group’s goal is for the world to cower in fear and not leave their houses and not travel out of fear that they are going to die in a terrorist attack.

Of course, all of these attacks are scary.

But giving into the fear plays right into the hands of the Islamic State group. The attacks in Paris, Beirut and now in San Bernardino (which, by the way, the Islamic State group did not direct) are scary occurrences that have completely stopped people in their tracks. But how we react to these tragedies is important.

If we really want the Islamic State group to think they are losing this war, we will not be afraid. Instead of staying home and hunkering down scared for our lives, people should be uniting and standing in solidarity with each other. We must let the Islamic State group know that they cannot and will not win this war.

Another thing that the world needs to realize is that not all Muslims are bad people. The Islamic State group loves to see the Muslim hate being spewed in America by those who do not know who the real enemy is. Just because someone is Muslim, does not in any way shape or form mean they are a part of the Islamic State group.

In fact, any time anyone says all Muslims are the problem are just causing the Islamic State group to jump up and down and high five each other.

This type of rhetoric is only helping the Islamic State group’s cause. They want this war to be between the world and all of Islam. They want people to think that just because someone is Muslim they should be associated with the terrorist group and they should be hated.

The people saying that Islam is the problem do not fully understand the problem. Calling for the discrimination and turning away all Muslims that want to enter our country is only going to help the Islamic State group. If America were to deny all Muslims a safe haven in this country, where are the Muslims that are trying to come to America, where they can live and worship freely, going to go? The answer is nowhere.

They will have to stay in a war-torn area.

Then, because they are angry at the United States for turning them away based on solely their religion, they might join the Islamic State group.

Good Muslims are not part of the problem, they are part of the solution. If we want to see a big ideological shift away from radical extremism, the only people who are going to cause that big shift are the people over in the Middle East who are trying to live life without a war going on in their backyard.

Contact Ryan Brown at rbrown18@jcu.edu

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The Carroll News

Uber delivers furry friends and Volkswagen experiences alltime low in sales for 2015 smiles to customers Nicole Spindler

Business & Finance Editor

Photo from Flickr Creative Commons

Uber uses its popularity to give back to local animals shelters in specific cities.

Jacqueline Witwicki The Carroll News

Seen as a pioneer in its market, Uber has been able to develop an affordable transportation system that caters to the digital world.

Through service, users are able to arrange transportation from the convenience of their smartphones.

While the company has created controversy due to the spotty methods of screening their drivers, Uber has largely been able to retain its value as a brand.

As a way to “fluff” the company’s somewhat tainted reputation, Uber has announced that it will begin delivering puppies that are up for adoption through the use of their app.

In the same way that one would order a car, an individual can use their Uber account to order puppies, and eventually kittens to be delivered to their door.

Uber has decided ot call this event the “Puppy Bowl.”

This service is available in Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas, Washington, DC, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Seattle according to Time Magazine.

Uber stated that it hopes to provide the service to over twenty cities within the next month.

These furry friends are all adoptable, as the company has partnered with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as well as Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl.

When ordering a puppy or kitten, one can expect to pay $30 for every hour of puppy-fueled joy, according to CBS News.

This specific price is designed to be affordable and easy to split among friends or acquaintances that may want to share in an hour filled with puppy or

kitty love.

Viewing the decision to provide their service to their customers from a business standpoint, the company can expect to gain more populariy and profit from this new program.

However, it remains to be seen whether this gain will be financial or in another realm of business. From this new program, Uber can expect to gain both brand recognition and improve its reputation in a positive way.

Beyond being a product and service offered to customers, puppy and kitten Uber is an advertising technique.

Uber is able to offer a service so seemingly interesting and desirable that they receive free advertising in the form of extensive news coverage.

Considering the Uber business as a whole, this decision is considered by many to be an incredibly intelligent one on their part because the added news coverage may reduce advertising costs for Uber.

They are able to provide an in-demand service that currently, cannot be found anywhere else, while also redirecting allegations of scandal and protecting their brand image.

Therefore, on the next day Uber offers its Puppy/Kitten Delivery Service.

The service is supposed to allow customers to enjoy the puppies and support the local animal shelters that provide them.

The Uber Newsroom made a statement that they will begin to schedule more days for kittens to be delievered at the same cost and time allocations with the followng weeks.

Editor ’s Note: Information from Time Magazine, Uber Newsroom, CBS News and The Wall Street Journal was used in this report.

Volkswagen car sales in Britain and the United States dropped by roughly 20 percent in November compared with 2014.

The company has been taking this toll due to the company’s emissions testing scandal that occurred in September.

Information from ABC News, along with statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, reports that as of last Friday, there were 12,958 Volkswagen registrations last month in the U.K., compared to 16,196 registrations in November 2014.

Although the overall auto sales rose by 3.8 percent globally, Volkswagen’s market share in Britain dropped to 7.2 percent from 9.4 percent a year earlier. Other Volkswagen Group trademarks, such as SEAT, Skoda and Porsche, also suffered drops in Britain sales according to The New York Times.

The drop in sales was similar to the 25 percent slump reported in the United States, the epicenter of Volkswagen’s scandal.

Just in October alone, Volkswagen’s global car sales plunged 5.3 percent.

The company, which rivals Toyota for the title as world’s largest car maker, admitted in September that its diesel vehicles had cheated on U.S. emissions tests.

Volkswagen admitted that it had installed the cheating software in 11 million cars globally. Volkswagen admitted that 482,000 two-liter and 85,000 six-cylinder diesel vehicles in the U.S. contained the software, according to The Washington Post.

In Europe, about 8.5 million cars have it, though there is no confirmation the cars cheated on European tests according to ABC News.

The sales numbers for November are being closely observed because of a lag

of several weeks in between the time a car is purchased and when it becomes registered.

Globally, since the scandal, the company sold about 30,000 fewer Volkswagen branded cars in October compared to the same month last year.

The month’s figures, however, will not be available to the public until Dec. 15.

Since the scandal in late September, Volkswagen has set aside 6.7 billion euros ($7.2 billion) to cover the cost of fixing the cars, acccording to Bloomberg.

However, experts reporting from The New York Times say the scandal will cost the company much more, in part through the lost sales.

The emission scandal came at an unexpected and troubling time for Volkswagen.

Recently, the company has been struggling with weakening sales, especially in emerging markets besides the United States and the United Kingdom.

Sales in China, Volkswagen single biggest market, grew 1.8 percent in October, but are 6.5 percent down so far this year.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that it sold 50 percent fewer cars in Brazil and saw its sales drop by 25 percent in Russia.

For the past three months, Volkswagen has been trying to contain the crisis.

It has replaced its CEO and offered cash payouts to owners hit by the scandal in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The sales of the entire Volkswagen Group, which also owns Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, were down 3.5 percent in October according to The Washington Post.

The drop in Volkswagen-branded car sales was partially offset by the success of Porsche, Volkswagen Group’s luxury brand. Volkswagen saw an 18 percent growth in sales in October.

Audi sales grew by 2 percent, while Seat was down 3 percent and Skoda 2.7 percent.

Editor’s Note: Information from Bloomberg, The New York Times and The Washington Post was used in this report.

Photo from Flickr Creative Commons

Volkwagen experiences a devastating drop in car sales during the month of October.

Boler Business : Shopping this holiday season is not on everyone’s list Nicole Spindler

Business & Finance Editor

‘Tis the season to celebrate various holidays and purchase gifts for loved ones.

Despite the seasonal sales and deals various stores offer throughout the month of December, millions of Americans are still feeling the strains left over from the 2008 recession.

The recession left people struggling to find jobs and left pay stagnant.

Since then, the employment and pay have not improved adequately.

The persistent pressures on many households continue to be a drag on holiday sales and are forcing retailers to cut prices aggressively This reduction in prices is an extra perk to shoppers but a drain on retail profits.

Stores are under siege now that shoppers have the flexibility to compare prices

anywhere simply with a glance at their mobile phones.

While Americans have always shopped for bargains, now many households have a legitimate need for bargains.

Bloomsberg provided statistics and stated the median income for U.S. households is still about 5 percent below where it was before the recession.

Income advances are starting to gain traction, but it won’t be until 2018 or 2019 that the median household income surpasses the peak hit in 2007.

Retailers know they are still facing an uphill battle to get economical shoppers to spend.

Currently retail stores are concerned about the condition of the economy because it simply has not recovered the way it has in prior recessions, and it still is dampening the shopping spirit.

Although income growth has picked up slightly, consumers appear cautious about spending, with real consumption slowing down.

Consumers are saving more than expected,

rather than spending as anticipated.

Although saving is good for consumers who have learned from the recession that a rainy-day fund can be a great thing to have handy in case jobs disappear again, it is not what retailers want to see.

Low unemployment numbers do not represent the full picture of how American households are surviving on their incomes since the recession.

The participation rate has been falling and economists have blamed many factors such as people getting discouraged in the tough job market after the recession, retiring and going to college.

With the unemployment rate at about the level economists consider “full employment,” or the level where all who want to work have jobs, economists earlier this year were predicting strong holiday shopping.

So far, customers have failed to live up

to expectations; consumers today will pay for the latest “must-have” gadget if they like it, but then be cautious about spending elsewhere for other people.

Black Friday just happened to arrive on the calendar at a time when many people were waiting for their next paycheck.

Consumers tend to go shopping on payday or the day after getting paid.

As consumers try to balance out the demands on their pocketbooks and are attracted to online deals, the strains are visible for most retail stores.

Ultimately, the strength of the holiday shopping season this year will be determined by and dependent on online shopping.

It is quite interesting to see how recession that took place over seven years ago can still have an immense effect on consumers today.

The recession in 2008 has establishied the growing trend of making consumers more catious about how they are spending their money.

The Carroll News

Easy Econ

Business & Finance

11 New material makes buildings bomb resistant www.jcunews.com

Marielle Buffamonte Business & Finance Editor

Marielle Buffamonte Business & Finance Editor

Why do we care about China?

Many people question why the Chinese economy is so important to that of the United States. We are immensely different in a cultural and governmental sense. However, our economies have been deeply intertwined for a number of reasons.

For starters, China has the second largest economy in the entire world, behind the United States. The U.S. remains the economic top dog by a landslide when measured by gross domestic product.

To put things into perspective, the United State’s GDP is approximately $17 trillion while China’s is just over $10 trillion.

China has previously been considered to be the labor capital of the world. Its ability to produce many products far below the price of other competitors has made them very wealthy. This year, China was the highest exporter in the world.

Their cheap exported goods have been a major leading factor in the current period of low inflation in the United States. The United States pays for their imported goods from China in U.S. dollars.

Instead of converting those dollars to their yen, China turns around and buys U.S. treasury debt with them.

China, to date, holds the second highest amount of the United State’s foreign debt, as China was previously surpassed by Japan. as the highest holder of U.S. foriegn debt. Both hold approximately $1.2 trillion dollars of U.S. debt in Treasury bonds.

The federal government issues bonds to cover the cost of the national budget deficit. Having this cost covered has allowed the U.S. government to enjoy the past eight years of low inflation and low interest rates.

It appears to me that this direct correlation, along with unemployment rates and GDP have been a determining factor in the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to keep inflation rates stagnant.

China has reported they are expecting to see a slower rate of growth in the upcoming year, which is not surprising to most people whole follow world economics. This slowed rate of growth directly affects the United States in several ways.

First and foremost, trade between the United States and China may slow. If China experiences a period of declining growth, they will be less likely to import goods from other countries around the world, thus fueling the trade deficit the U.S. is experiencing now with China.

A trade deficit is a term used to describe the situation where a country imports more goods from a country than it exports to that same country.

This decline in importing of U.S. goods may make them less likely to lend the United States money in the form of purchased bonds. This means that less of United States’ debt is being covered, and could affect the U.S. fiscal policy as well as the price of Treasury notes.

It is now popularly believed that the FOMC will be raising interest rates next week for the first time in eight years.

It is my speculation that the anticipated raising of interest rates is partly due to the apparent economic stability of the United States right now, as well as the notion that we will not be able to rely on China to lend us money in the future.

As China holds a good portion of U.S. debt, and is one of their biggest trade partners, it is evident that their economy has been meshed with that of the United States, and is therefore important in any economic decision made by the U.S.

In light of the recent terrorist attacks around the world, it has become increasingly important for local and federal governments to create enviornments that foster safety and peace of mind for its citizens.

Just earlier this week, Auxetics Technologies, Ltd. has created a material, Zetix, that is bomb-resistant and has many uses. Auxetics Technologies, Ltd. is a company based out of the United Kingdom that manufactures these types of materials.

Zetix is an auxetic material that is able to absorb the shock from an explosion, and disperse the energy without tearins.

An auxetic material is one that expands as it is stretched out. This unique property provides a high demand for such materials.

Zetix is not limited to containing the blast of a bomb; it can also be used for a number of other things.

It has the possibility of enhancing the usefulness of a seatbelt, and creating more secure body armor for service men and women.

It could also be used to create better sutures, or the material used when there is need for stitches, as it won’t harm body tissue.

This material creates unlimited possibilities in the realm of safety precautions.

Luckily, this new material is a fraction of the price of other similar products.

Although Zetix is comprised of the

Dec. 10, 2015

Top countries affected by terrorism and number of attacks in 2015 1. Iraq: 3370 2.Afghanistan: 1591 3. Nigera: 662 4. Pakistan: 1821 5. Syria: 232

6. India: 763 7. Yemen: 512 8. Somalia: 469 9. Libya: 554 10. Thailand: 366 Information from Cityam and Statista

same expensive components as its counterparts, it uses much less of them to yield an even better result.

According to Gizmodo, Zetix uses the same components but in a 1-to-100 ratio.

This amazing cost difference is even more noteworthy when one considers the fact that Zetix can be reused.

In comparison, most other bomb resistant materials can only absorb the shock of one bomb before its structure is compromised.

The science behind this material is in its structural components.

Imagine a bungee cord being stretched.

To compensate for the added length, it must become thinner.

Now imagine that same bungee cord

with a thin rope wrapped around it.

When it is stretched, the thin rope becomes taught and the bungee cord extends in a spiraling pattern.

With Zetix, every fiber of the fabric has been created using that method which is actually allows it to get wider as it is stretched.

Having this specially stretching fabric between a civilian and a bomb going off could potentially save their life.

This powerful material was developed

by Patrick Hook, managing director of Auxetix Ltd., who said the fabric can “provide sustained protection and gives emergency services extra time to rescue trapped or injured people.”

Editor’s Note: Information from Bloomberg.com, Gizmodo and howstuffworks.com

Facebook CEO donates $45 billion to charity The Associated Press

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is shaking up yet another sector - the charity world - with his surprise announcement that he and his wife will devote the bulk of their wealth, or about $45 billion, to philanthropic works.

The move will eventually put him and his wife, Priscilla Chan, in the same philanthropic echelon as Bill and Melinda Gates.

It also involves a new type of philanthropic structure that differs from traditional foundations, although details on that remain scarce.

Zuckerberg made his pledge on Facebook in celebration of his daughter Max’s birth.

The Zuckerbergs said Tuesday they will, over time, commit 99 percent of their Facebook stockholdings to such causes as fighting disease, improving education and “building strong communities. ” The couple had previously pledged to give away at least half their assets during their lifetime, but hadn’t provided specifics.

The announcement stunned the charity world.

“It’s incredibly impressive and an enormous commitment that really eclipses anything that we’ve seen in terms of size,” said Phil Buchanan, president of the nonprofit Center for Effective Philanthropy.

The new organization, called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, will pursue its initiatives through a combination of charitable donations, private investment and promotion of government-policy reform.

By comparison, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has an endowment of just over $41 billion, which includes wealth donated by the Microsoft founder and his friend, the businessman Warren Buffett.

The new initiative will be organized as a limited liability company, however, rather than as a nonprofit foundation.

“They want the most flexibility and they are going to use a wide variety of activities to achieve their mission,” Rachael Horwitz, a Facebook spokeswoman, said via email.

“So in that way this is not a foundation nor is it entirely charitable.”

The notion of investing money in companies that tackle social issues isn’t new, but it has gained more currency among a younger generation of philanthropists, particularly in the tech world.

Zuckerberg has also shown a previous interest in influencing public policy.

He led other prominent Silicon Valley figures in forming a group, FWD.us, that lobbied and gave donations to congressional candidates in an unsuccessful effort to promote immigration reforms.

Depending on how much of the new effort is devoted to lobbying, it could raise new questions about the influence of money in today’s politics, some experts said.

In the letter to their daughter, Zuckerberg and Chan described their goals as “advancing human potential and promoting equality.”

They added: “We must make long term investments over 25, 50 or even 100 years.

The greatest challenges require very long time horizons and cannot be solved by short term thinking.”

While Zuckerberg promised to release more details in the future, he said the couple will transfer most of their wealth to the initiative “during our lives.”

The couple will be in charge of the initiative, although Zuckerberg won’t be quitting his

day job.

“I have a full-time job running Facebook,” he told The Associated Press in an interview last month, during which he discussed the couple’s approach to philanthropy.

Of his job at the social network, he added, “I’m going to be doing this for long time.”

The Facebook co-founder is one of the world’s wealthiest men.

He and Chan, a 30-year-old pediatrician, have previously donated $100 million to public schools in Newark, New Jersey, and pledged $120 million to schools in poor communities of the San Francisco Bay Area.

They’ve also given $75 million to the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where Chan did her medical training.

In a statement, Facebook said the couple’s plan to transfer their shares over time won’t affect his status as controlling shareholder of the company.

The company said Zuckerberg has committed to dispose of no more than $1 billion of Facebook stock every year for the next three years.

Zuckerberg and Chan had announced on Facebook last July that they were expecting a daughter, after Chan had three previous miscarriages.

Horwitz said a 7-pound, 8-ounce baby was born early last week, but declined to say which day.

Photo from Flickr Creative Commons

Above, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan hold their newborn daughter.

The NBC/John Carroll University “Meet the Press” Fellowship is awarded to a John Carroll University graduating senior motivated to pursue a career in political journalism. The Fellowship is a nine-month (September – May) position at “Meet the Press,” NBC’s Sunday morning public affairs program and the longest running television program in the world.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 For more information, please contact: Department of Political Science 216.397.4311 • jcu.edu/politicalscience -ORThe Tim Russert Department of Communication and Theatre Arts 216.397.4378 • jcu.edu/communications

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Diversions

15

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The Carroll News

Sudoku NAME THAT TUNE!

DECEMBER 20th Edition

LYRIC:

So the world goes round and round With all you ever knew They say the sky high above Is Caribbean blue...

Dec. 10, 2015

Wisdom from a JCU Student:

“Don’t abandon your game plan in the fourth quarter.

-Jacob Hedley ‘17

HINT:

90’s New Age track, throw-back.

Photo from Google Creative Commons

December 15th edition

LAST ISSUE’S

WINNER:

Richard Kristosik Richard Kristosik is a freshman who is an excellent workout guru and is always ready to make someone’s day!

Photo courtsey of Richard Kristosik

Be the first to email at Diversions Editor Matt Hribar and you’ll be featured as the next winner of the toon!

3 Headlines That Will Not Be In The Next Issue...

1.

Winter break extended until 2020.

2.

Why is there homework during the week before finals?

3.

Library employees lock students out of building, ultimatium of “having to only use books” is given.

THE PROS & CONS OF DATING ALTERNATIVES & BAD BOYS 911 WHY INTERVENING IN YOUR FRIEND’S LOVE LIFE WON’T WORK AND WHY YOU SHOULD JUST BE A GOOD FRIEND

Dear Hribar, My friend John is in the most annoying relationship in the history of Sutowski Hall. His behavior is completely erratic these days with his girlfriend, Stephanie. They are always posting pictures on social media about how much they love each other and they’re always around.

Every time I see John, Stephanie’s on the trail. John used to be fun, but now he’s living like he’s in his mid-forties.

The other day he asked for soup from the Inn-Between even though he used to be a Hamlin sandwich guy. Stephanie is addicted to candles, and the other day in class he kept talking about his favorite and least favorite winter candles (guess what? He likes them all so much so there wasn’t a least favorite). Me and my friends are thinking about giving John an intervention and stopping this relationship once and for all. What do you think, Hribar?

-John’s Intervention Planning Friend Dear JIPF, This is the worst thing I’ve heard about since someone in Campion decided to use a slightly flammable machine which turned out to cause a fire in the building. Discouraging relationships is proven not to work. In a study conducted by Driscoll, Davis & Lipetz (1972), it was discovered that when parents intervene in their children’s love lives, the parents end up causing their children to fall in love with the disapproved individual.

Forbidden love is strong love because resistance and obstacles make the relationship solid. What you need to do, JIPF, is be a supportive friend to John while he and Stephanie continue to date.

Alienating John with a anti-Stephanie intervention will cause him to cut you and your friends off by some degree and will cling onto Stephanie. And by doing such, John and Stephanie will be to-

gether longer than they would if you had left your snooty nose out of it. You may disapprove but you simply can’t show it, lest you create the Romeo and Juliet of John Carroll. And if they end up getting married, then hopefully their love and self-identity is true, even if he doesn’t eat Hamlin sandwiches anymore.

Dear Hribar, I’m a campus goody-two shoes who sticks to the law and code, both legal and moral. I would never harm a fly, and if I do, I make sure to correct my wrong and upgrade my character so that the harm I create never happens again. However, I have a terrible secret. I really like bad boys! I like the type of bad boys who rebels against the system and don’t align with the mission of society. I’m a fan of bad boys who will sit in a chair in a backyard or who will occasionally violate a law on a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

I’m personally outraged, but that rage turns into a heavy crush on any bad boy that struts past me. Why am I feeling this way?

-I’m A Good Person Dear Good Person, Don’t worry about justifying the behavior, that’s just what you like. Maybe you’re looking for a thrill or perhaps opposites attract. Either way, bad boys are usually adventurous and unpredictable, two things to which you may not necessarily relate. It’s okay to like a guy who has qualities that you yourself do not have. Some of the best relationships are built on opposites. However, sometimes individuals who are too polar don’t work! Those relationship binaries can keep a duo from becoming stale, but could also create arguments and taxation on a couple. If you continue to engage with these “bad boys,” don’t lose sight of you who are and don’t do anything that

would get you in trouble. Doing misdemeanors just because you’re interested in the deviant doing the crime does NOT mean you should commit a crime!

Dear Hribar, I’m a John Carroll student who is trying extremely hard to get a fellow student named “Lee” to notice me. I’ve gone out of my way multiple times, but Lee doesn’t seem to recognize me! At this point I’m frustrated to the point where I want to move on. Luckily, I have a couple ideas of who I want to talk to next such as Alex and Blaine. Yet I’m still sort of hooked on Lee. Hribar, what do you think I should do in this tough spot?

-Possibilities Pat Dear Possibilities Pat, This is a common scenario. Creating alternative dating opportunities gives yourself the power in the situation. For example, Lee, Alex and Blaine may all be slightly interested in you (or perhaps Alex and Blaine are at least). And perhaps for all three boys, you are their only current dating possibilities.

“Power develops in exchange networks when some people can be excluded from a relationship that they value” (Markovsky, Willer and Patton 1988, Lovaglia, “Knowing People”). If Lee values the friendship or relationship s/he has with you, then they will feel mo-

tivated from the exclusion that occurs when you spend time with (or even focus on) Alex and Blaine. Be forewarned, with power comes responsibility! While you may tow a few individuals around, they may find themselves with other romantic possibilities themselves. You can go from being their main choice to an alternative if you keep them placed as an alternative in your plan of attack.

Also, to talk to Alex and Blaine doesn’t guarantee that you have influence on Lee’s decisions. Perhaps he is not romantically interested or perhaps by being placed next to Alex and Blaine he is soured from you as well. My advice here is that while dating alternatives do offer you more power, they come with steep prices. Just ask Lee once and for all if he’s interested. If he is then that’s great.

If he’s not then move on to find someone who will be your main slice and your alternative for every situation.

Email things you overheard on campus, awesome pictures, funny stuff & more to The Carroll News Diversions Editor: mhribar16@jcu.edu

SNOW CLOSING WINTER INFORMATION 2015-2016 The Department of Integrated Marketing and Communications will notify the media if the University decides to close during unfavorable weather conditions. The University’s policy is to close only in the event of extreme weather conditions; decisions are made based on short and long-term meteorological reports.

While our goal is to have as many people as possible on campus when we are open, the University realizes that some students and employees live a significant distance from campus. Consequently, the administration does not expect individuals to place themselves in a dangerous situation to get here. We encourage you to use your best judgment in deciding whether it is safe to drive when confronted with severe weather.

SNOW CLOSING ADVISORIES Integrated Marketing and Communications personnel will provide an advisory to the University community through the closing advisory phone line. If the University is closing, the system’s message will be changed to give the details of the closing.

• For the LATEST CLOSING INFORMATION, call 216.397.4666.

Please wait until after 6:30 a.m. to begin calling, so that University personnel have an opportunity to make a decision and change the message.

• For decisions on EVENING CLASSES, call after 2 p.m.

Integrated Marketing and Communications uses a coded system to alert the media of a closing; this system is designed to prevent unauthorized personnel from calling the media. Closings will also be posted on the University’s home page at jcu.edu by 6:30 a.m.

DELAYED OPENING In the event inclement weather poses – for a limited period of time – an extraordinary risk to the safety of students and employees who drive to the University, the University will announce a “DELAYED OPENING” • This delay will be for two or three hours, using 8 a.m. as the regular opening time.

-An announced 2-hour delay = 10 a.m. opening.

-An announced 3-hour delay = 11 a.m. opening Employees whose functions are required earlier than the normal office opening time should consult their area vice president for instructions.

• Classes scheduled during the hours affected by the delay will be cancelled.

As with classes cancelled when the University is forced to close early because of weather, faculty whose classes are cancelled as a result of a delayed opening may, at their discretion, attempt to schedule a make-up class. These makeup classes can only be scheduled if they do not penalize students who are unable to attend.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions, please contact the Interim Executive Director of Communications and Senior Director, Media Relations, Tonya Strong-Charles at 216.397.1958 or tstrong@jcu.edu.

Editorial

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The Carroll News

Editorial

Dec. 10, 2015

List of demands given by AAA

When you think of colleges known for their political activism— Kent State in the ‘70s, Mizzou right now— John Carroll University doesn’t typically come to mind. However, in a recent demonstration by John Carroll’sAfricanAmericanAlliance (AAA) group, the highly politicized issue of racial inequality was brought to center stage, as they demanded to have their complaints heard by the faculty and student body.

AAA delivered a letter of formal demands to University President the Rev. Robert Niehoff and distributed letters to various students around campus that highlight some of the issues that they have encountered as black students at John Carroll. To provide a few examples, the letter said, “We demand that there be a black cultural center on campus available to black students at all times,” and, “We demand the implementation of a position in the counseling center for a black counselor who’s main purpose and role is to focus on issues black students deal with.” This demonstration created a buzz among the student body and the faculty alike, and it continues to be heard as we head toward the holiday break.

Naturally this is a very emotional, controversial topic. It is clearly a problem if a group of students on campus feel as if they are receiving different treatment due to race or ethnicity. John Carroll strives to be an understanding and inclusive institution. If there is indeed a problem with racial acceptance, as is outlined in the AAA letter, it must be addressed and solved by the entire student body and administration. It is commendable

Graphic by Katelyn DeBaun

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

LSC room pertaining to the pressing issue.

Constructive dialogue should be held in official meetings and events that are aimed

“

that there is scheduled a discussion that will be held Thursday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m in the

“So far we have no evidence that the killers were directed by a terrorist organization overseas, or that they were part of a broader conspiracy here at home.”

at solving the reported problems with bias. It is important that constructive dialogue be fostered between all members of the John Carroll community so that we can create a comfortable, inclusive learning environment.

Students should be reminded that this is a situation that requires constructive dialogue from the entire John Carroll community in order to relieve the situation. Students should also be reminded that they must remain sensitive to the complaints of other students on campus. If there is a problem with inclusiveness at John Carroll University, it is not

–President Obama on the shooters of the San Bernardino massacre

just in the best interest of black students to solve racism on campus, but it is in all of our interests to work together to fix it. This is an issue that impacts the entire community and everyone ought to have a hand in the matter. Insensitivity will not solve a problem of disconnect. The problem has been brought to light, and now it is time for a solution to be found collectively.

HIT & miss

Hit: Christmas decorations are lighting up Cleveland neighborhoods Miss: Students are still at risk for sickness when consuming Chipotle Miss: The Browns are the first NFL team eliminated from playoff contention Hit: Research in psychology suggests that experiences make humans happier than possessions Miss: The San Bernardino shooters had been practicing their aim at a target range in the Los Angeles area just days before the massacre last week Hit: A woman in Uruguay crawled into a narrow, underground pipe to rescue puppies Hit/miss: The winter weather has been extremely tame Hit: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife will donate 99 percent of their Facebook shares, about $45 billion, to charity Hit/Miss: The Bengals are now the #1 seed in the AFC Hit: Christmas break begins next week! Miss: Final exams start Monday...

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The Carroll News is published weekly by the students of John Carroll University.

The opinions expressed in editorials and cartoons are those of The Carroll News editorial staff and not necessarily those of the University’s administration, faculty or students.

Signed material and comics are solely the view of the author.

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KATELYN DEBAUN kdebaun16@jcu.edu

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Dec. 10, 2015

The Carroll News

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OURVIEW

Ballin’ with the mission in mind

Noelle Saluan

Assistant Editorial & Op/Ed Editor

The majority of John Carroll University students have never been in jail. However, when the doors of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center (CCJDC) slam shut behind a courageous, strong willed and faith filled group of John Carroll University students this week, that assumption will have been completely forgotten.

Michael Gong and Ned Barnes, two alumni of John Carroll University, have started a legacy that will forever embody the Jesuit mission of living as “men and women for and with others.” While volunteering at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center in a program called Passport to Manhood, they felt that there was not enough opportunity to get to know the residents.

Gong and Barnes wanted to foster a deeper connection between the residents and the volunteers to create an environment of encouragement and openness. After brainstorming, they developed an idea for a nonprofit

service organization that would be dedicated to spending genuine time with the residents.

They suggested that a group of JCU students could come to CCJDC and play basketball with the residents to create a comfortable environment.

Also, as a part of a Jesuit tradition of hospitality, they would like to share a meal and genuinely converse and spend time with the residents afterwards as a mentor figure.

They presented this concept to the CCJDC and they loved the idea that is now called The Carroll Ballers.

The Carroll Ballers began their journey to the CCJDC in the fall of 2012. Seven male JCU students willingly gave up their free time on a Friday night to shoot some hoops and share a meal and good conversation with the residents of the CCJDC. The amazing integrity and passion of the Carroll Ballers has inspired not only the community of JCU, but the residents themselves to want to make positive changes in their lives.

The time the residents spend with the Carroll Ballers ultimately shows them there are people who believe in them and who want them to succeed.

Margaret Finucane, professor in the Tim Russert department of communication and theatre arts, and faculty advisor for The Carroll Ballers, interviewed several of the residents

Wonderword:

inquiring why it matters if the Carroll Ballers come to the CCJDC. Remembering an interview she had with a previous resident she recalls her reaction, “I honestly thought they would tell me it’s different, I get to go out and play basketball. But it was actually the conversations that mattered to them.”

“Because they are not afraid of us, they want to be here and they want to talk to us,” Finucane continued.

This unique quality of the Carroll Ballers is the difference the residents of the CCJDC needed to feel, to know someone cares.

JCU is a Jesuit institution dedicated to living out a mission of “men and women for and with others.” For the students of JCU, Carroll Ballers is allowing them to understand more and become open to growth and change.

The foundation of this organization can be taken from the pages of the Bible: “When I was imprisoned, you came and visited me.”

The students will quickly come to realize that living out the Jesuit mission through this organization doesn’t mean just visiting the residents, it goes far beyond that. This organization is helping the residents to see themselves differently and in a positive light.

Contact Noelle Saluan at nsaluan18@jcu.edu

What does pusillanimity mean?

“Isn’t that something Silvester the cat said?”

Emily Rogers, graduate student

“The word someone says when they have to go to the bathroom but there are no stalls open.”

Kaitlyn Saviola, freshman

Pusillanimity: Cowardliness

“It’s being greedy and conceited”

David V, graduate student

Katelyn’s Candor :

Katelyn DeBaun Editor-in-Chief

German supermarket Edeka released a Christmas commercial last week, and it went viral after being posted online. If you have not seen it as of yet, I recommend you go watch it, but I’ll give you the short version.

The ad opens with an elderly man listening to a voicemail from his adult daughter making some excuse as to why she would not be coming to see him for Christmas.

A few scenes pass in rapid succession and we see the elderly man spend three Christmases alone. He grows more saddened and desolate with each passing year.

Following this, viewers see all three of his adult offspring told that he has died, and they and their families reunite for his funeral.

Spoiler alert: A few frames later, they walk into their father’s home to find him alive and well, in an unexpected plot twist. He comments, “How else could I have brought you all together?” And, in typical feel-good Christmas advertising fashion, the family is overjoyed and sits down to enjoy a meal together.

Now, I really do not enjoy having my emotions toyed with. I avoid most “feel-good” movies like the bubonic plague. I will change the channel if an ASPCA or Save the Children commercial comes on television. I have even banned my family from ever showing the movie “Pay it Forward” in my presence. But this commercial struck a chord with me.

Although this is a German advertisement, the overall idea can be applied to the American society.

After all, we live in a culture where importance is placed on having careers, staying busy and, to be frank, a sense of selfishness.

Just as the individuals in the commercial made excuses not to see their aging father, we tend to

Making time make excuses not to do things that are supposedly important to us.

Are we really so busy that we can’t make time for these things?

Is it absolutely necessary for us to stay this busy?

Of course not. That’s a rhetorical question.

Also, I’m not talking about the people working minimum wage and barely getting by every month—we know why these people are so busy, and that’s a topic for a whole other column (stay tuned).

I’m talking about solidly middle class America. Despite the old adage, “less is more,” people tend to live by the idea that more is more.

We keep working harder and harder in some attempt to gain more and more—wealth, material items, notoriety; you name it, that’s probably something people are working toward.

This drive and need for validation is starting to get in the way of what truly matters in life.

Family time gets sacrificed for overtime. Hobbies are abandoned for the sake of being promoted or getting a raise.

This isn’t the way life should be.

While it was not an entirely correct or ethical choice for the father in the commercial to fake his own death and stage a funeral in order to see his family, who was more wrong: he, or his children who neglected to make any time for their father over the course of at least three years?

While it might be unrealistic for someone to fake their death to this measure for any reason beyond something occurring in a James Bond movie, the actions of his children aren’t quite so unthinkable.

This holiday season, take some time to actually enjoy the holidays.

Spend time with family. Do something you enjoy. Spend time with the friends you haven’t seen since God knows when. And carry this thought into 2016. After all, you shouldn’t just spend time with your family and friends for the sake of a holiday. Make an effort all year round. Make the time.

Contact Katelyn DeBaun at kdebaun16@jcu.edu

McGowan’s Manifesto: The war on X-mas is over (if you want it)

Mary Frances McGowan Managing Editor

As warm lights adorn quaint town squares and the soft blanket of snow lays gently on the ground, it’s difficult not to get into a holiday state of mind.

As much as I would love to maintain the cynical journalist stereotype, I am not afraid to admit that I love this time of year so much, it brings tears to my eyes. Whether my weeping is from an end to the academic purgatory that is finals week or the celebration of the birth of a messiah is yet to be seen, but I will let you know when I figure it out .

While this time of year can soften the stoniest of hearts, there are always members of our society who believe it is their birthright to be absolutely enraged about nothing at all, and worse yet, turn a season that should be focused on love into a bigoted war

of Christian exceptionalism. If you’re as intuitive as I think you are, kind reader, you would ascertain that I am talking about the absolute joke that is “The War on Christmas.”

Let me begin by saying that I was raised Catholic, and while my affection for some of the dogma has disintegrated, I still maintain a sincere respect for the religion I was raised in and understand how emotional one’s connection to faith can be. As someone who has struggled with religion my entire life, I often find that “high holy days” bring my faith back to earth, because I use the day to focus on my private spirituality and the people I love. Sadly, when fundamental Christians claim their holiday, one of 14 official religious celebrations during the month of December this year, is the only cause worth celebrating, the heartwarming sentiments that all holidays can provide turn into a political, childish nightmare.

I will spare you all of my thoughts regarding the fact that Christmas actually began as a pagan observance of the winter season and that historically, Jesus most likely wasn’t even born in December, but instead of dwelling in

the past, I’ll fast forward to our current state of yuletide affairs.

The term “War on Christmas” originated from the wise lips of Bill O’Reilly (note my sarcasm) who was offended by the fact that many advertisers, government bodies (namely public schools) and retailers were refraining from saying “Merry Christmas” and instead using the more inclusive option of “Happy Holidays.”

Although I too object to the gross consumerism that has been on the rise over the last decade of holiday seasons, I’m not sure why Christians feel as if they are being attacked by using a term that celebrates the identities of all, not just the select few. I’m sure we can all remember the Starbucks’ red cup “controversy” that rocked the nation in early November, which claimed the newly minimalistic red cup was an attack on the Christian faith. I must say, I’m interested to know where Christians find the whimsical Santa Claus doodles of former Starbucks cups in the bible, but surely, if Donald Trump validates a movement, it’s real, right? When Trump chimed in on the conversation, he encouraged his followers to boycott Starbucks and fol-

lowed that statement with the promise that if he is elected President of the United States, “we will all be saying Merry Christmas, I can tell you that.”

While this isn’t a surprising statement from a man who is also in favor of allChristian militias, I think their might be a bigger problem here. We live in a country that thrives off of exceptionalist mindsets and elitist egos.

As the dominant religion in the United States, it would make sense that something as trivial as a red cup would throw Christians into a tizzy.

Think about it. Christians are not assumed to be terrorists or doubted for their legitimacy like most other practicing faiths in this country are. When a dominant class of people is suddenly asked to give up a wee bit of power for the sake of inclusivity, they revolt.

We see the same reaction in most social movements, including “meninists” in relation feminist movements, from some Caucasians in relation to racial justice advances. Christians in this country are not constantly under siege for their beliefs. There is no such thing as a “Christian Free Zone” as is being done to Muslims nationwide in an unfair and incorrect punishment

for the actions of the Islamic State group. Christians have the privilege of comfort. Jeff Schweitzer, noted commentator for The Huffington Post, put it this way: “There is no war on Christmas; the idea is absurd at every level. Those who object to being forced to celebrate another’s religion are drowning in Christmas in a sea of Christianity dominating all aspects of social life. An 80 percent majority can claim victimhood only with an extraordinary flight from reality.” For the Christians who do not feel threatened by holiday inclusivity (and I would argue most don’t), it is important to do what Jesus would have probably done, and love everyone. If you are someone who abides by the War on Christmas mentality, there are ways to work on opening your heart. Start by talking to people of other faiths and learning their story; you’ll probably find that we all have more in common than we have at odds. Maybe attend a prayer service of a different faith and learn how others worship. My friends, the War on Christmas is over (if you want it).

Contact Mary Frances at mmcgowan17@jcu.edu

Op/Ed

19

www.jcunews.com

The Carroll News

Dec. 10, 2015

The Gebhardt Collection:

The Op/Ed Top Ten:

Think FAST

Best Christmas Movies

1. It’s a Wonderful Life 2. A Christmas Story 3. A Charlie Brown Christmas 4. The Grinch (Jim Carrey’s version) 5. The Year Without a Santa Claus

6. Miracle on 34th Street 7. The Santa Clause 8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 9. The Polar Express 10. A Christmas Carol

—Compiled by Katelyn DeBaun, Editor-in-Chief, and Mary Frances McGowan, Managing Editor

Madeline’s Montage: I’ll be home soon, Mom!

Madeline Sweeney Editorial & Op/Ed Editor The weeks after Thanksgiving leading up to Christmas break are probably the worst school days of the entire year.

In a matter of three weeks, students must complete all final assignments and finish up with final exams.

For me, that means turning in four research papers, a final project and reading discussions all the while being sick with the stomach flu.

These have been the worst two weeks of the year, but that’s life.

We get those weeks sometimes.

In order to maintain my sanity, I’ve been writing to Christmas music and taking breaks to think about all the amazing Christmas traditions I’m going to take part in when I pack up my blue Mountaineer next Friday and drive all the way back home to Michigan.

Christmas with my family is quite literally the most wonderful time of the year. It is when my immediate family is at their best.

This year, my mother keeps saying we’re “Putting Christ back into Christmas.” Now, when my beautiful, talented mother puts her mind to something, she gives her whole heart to the idea.

I have now been preparing myself to come home to new Christmas rituals.

Last year, out of the blue, my mother bought a pickle ornament and hid it in the tree. She heard the idea from a friend and thought it’d be a cute little thing to do, thus starting (I think) a new Christmas tradition: the first kid to find the pickle ornament receives a “special prize!”

She also gave each of her four children a little gift at the dinner table, so we sat and had Christmas dinner in paper crowns.

Although each year brings new surprises, there are certain traditions my family has stayed true to since the start.

Since we’ve all grown up and

have our own relationships, the family usually isn’t together until Christmas Eve day. When we are all fully present, the fast-paced kitchen work begins.

My sister and I bake holiday cookies with my mother. We usually stick to the basics: candy-cane cookies, gingerbread men, orangedrops (Dad’s favorite) and classic sugar. I would prefer if we made the equivalent mass in chocolate chip cookies, but for the holiday’s sake, I always let it slide.

If my mother wasn’t in an absolute rush to decorate the house, the tree would still be ornament-less, only being clothed by the colored lights my father placed the night before.

We usually have a late start to decorating the real tree my father cut down on some friend’s property, so we take time on Christmas Eve to fill it up with old and new ornaments including a half-broken nativity scene made of popsicle sticks and two “baby’s first Christmas” ornaments (because apparently only the two oldest children deserved them…Mom...Dad).

That night, all six of us get dressed to party, because midnight mass is definitely a party.

We wear dresses and suits, and sit down to a nice, late dinner before going to hear the most beautiful angel, my mother, sing in the choir. Her “Ave Maria” is unbelievable.

Christmas Eve was the first time I sat at the table, all dressed up, and had a glass of champagne with my family (I will not disclose the age I was when this occurred at this time). It was a moment of pride. I had embodied enough maturity to hang with the adults while drinking, even if I drank a little too fast for my parents’ liking.

After mass the kids all rush to bed and wait for Santa to come, but when we wake my parents better not catch us in the living room by the tree.

The tradition stands that the first one up climbs into bed with Mom upstairs and we wait for everyone else to slowly trickle into her bedroom. My father will already have been making coffee and preparing the video camera. When everyone is present we sit at the top of the staircase and wait to take a photo and hear my dad say, “Go ahead.”

Christmas is a very special time in my house, as it is for many others. I will always hold these traditions close to my heart, and as I lay here studying my life away and writing papers, I remember Christmas, and my family, are just around the corner.

Contact Madeline Sweeney at msweeney16@jcu.edu

Ben Gebhardt Editorial & Op/Ed Editor

Okay, as far as news in politics goes, the passing of the new highway-funding bill definitely isn’t the sexiest topic—particularly when you think of all else that is going on, like the presidential race, the shooting in California, and the new Greek budget and the Lake Chad suicide bombings.

Nonetheless, the highway-funding bill (officially called the FAST act) is actually the most pertinent piece of news regarding our everyday lives. So in that light, I think that it ought to be talked about a little bit, as it contains some provisions that the majority of you probably aren’t aware of.

So, what exactly is the FAST act? Well, as are all of the bills that Congress devises, it is rather complicated legislation that, simply put, provides a long-term budget that funds the repair/construction of the American transportation infrastructure. Over all, it is widely heralded as a progressive, bipartisan agreement, and for the most part I agree.

For the past dozen-or-so years, the incompetence of Congress has been epitomized in its inability to pass any sort of long-term budget to keep our roads up to date. Instead, Congress has had to rely on passing last

Faculty Corner Mouthing the words on social justice Every day, I feel guilty. I am a tenured faculty member with fulltime employment, job security, health-care and other benefits, terrific resources and generous support from staff and fellow faculty members. Meanwhile, in the next classroom and the office down the hall, equally qualified people do much the same job for half the pay.

Those people are adjunct or visiting professors, also known as “contingent faculty.” They are earning poverty wages, without benefits, while I am middle class. Perhaps even worse than that, their jobs are precarious. Try to imagine what it’s like, not to know where your income will be coming from when the next semester begins. It’s no way to live.

Yet these are highly qualified people. All have at least a master’s degree and many have doctorates.

Many are still paying off the student debt they acquired to earn those degrees.

We don’t have reliable figures on what adjunct faculty earn because the contracts are individual and secret. But a very quick survey of adjuncts I know revealed that it’s

minute, short term highway funding extensions (36 of them, according to Reuters).

All of those short-term, provisional budgets proved very inefficient. Many projects couldn’t get the money that they needed and all of the operations were slow going.

Therefore, nobody can dispute that the FAST act is beneficial in that regard–well-kept roads and faster construction projects are good for everybody.

But the bill covers far more than merely the method of paying for our highway maintenance. It changed up how much the government gives to major banks, how much of our petroleum reserves we will be using, and who can work as a truck driver in the United States.

And the bill’s impact on the third of those issues is what gives me pause. Although we don’t really pay it much mind, the trucking business in America is gigantic. American Trucking Associations statistics reveal that it is a $600 billion-dollar industry that employs over 3 million drivers. Currently, by law, you must be at least 21 years of age to attain a CDL license and work as an interstate trucker. However, the FAST act is probably going to make it so that 18 year olds can start driving truck across state lines—and I really do not think that’s the best idea.

Think about it. Semi trucks are everywhere, they are big (weighing in at 80,000 pounds) and they are very dangerous. Most of us are pretty desensitized to their presence sheerly because we are so used to sharing the road with them, but they are very about half what I make per course, even if I calculate that using only half of my salary, since about half my time is spent on research, advising, service to the college and my profession and other duties.

My guilt is part of the burden that full-time faculty and administrators bear at John Carroll and other Jesuit universities, where at least ostensibly, we care deeply about social justice. Yet every day I see evidence in our own hallways that we are just mouthing the words.

This situation is not the choice of faculty and, frankly, we are almost powerless to change it. The choice is made by administrators, who have gradually inched up the level of part-time faculty from a minority to a majority of our academic workforce over the past decade. The 2015 John Carroll Fact Book states that only 46.3 percent of our faculty in the 2014-15 academic year were full-time. Just a few years ago, in 2011, 54.5 percent were full-time.

We crossed the halfway point in the past few years.

In the fall of 2014, at the 28 Jesuit institutions in the United States, 57 percent of faculty were contingent (most part-time, some full-time), without access to tenure and job security, according to a new report by the Faculty Forward movement, to which I and many

serious safety hazards. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that semi trucks cause one in every ten traffic related deaths—and the vast majority of those that end up dying are civilians, in standard cars.

Now think if 18 year olds took to the roads in 80,000-pound trucks. According to the CDC, 16-19-year-old males account for more traffic accidents than any other demographic (and keep in mind that trucking is an extremely male-dominated line of work). Is it really in our best interest to have 18-year-old men driving 80,000 pound trucks for hundreds of miles, all across the nation? Personally, I think not.

Why let the most accident-prone group of drivers get behind the wheel of a big rig?

The trucking industry’s interest in letting 18 year-olds-work is probably stems from the current labor shortage with which they are grappling—but letting younger drivers drive trucks isn’t the answer. Currently, the bill is only experimenting with drivers under the age of 21, restricting the privilege to military veterans. I don’t mind people from the military driving if they are under 21, as they typically have past experience operating large vehicles. But to potentially lower the age requirements for the general public would be bad news for everybody on the road.

Contact Ben Gebhardt at bgebhardt18@jcu.edu

other faculty, both tenured and contingent, belong.

The Faculty Forward report (online at http://facultyforwardnetwork.org/reigniting-the-mission/) includes a survey of 353 faculty from 24 of the 28 Jesuit institutions that found many of us are concerned about the direction in which our institutions are headed, on this issue and others, such as student debt and rising tuition rates. The following is a quote from that report: “While Jesuit institutions strive to promote social justice, the everyday reality is that many Jesuit colleges and universities have moved toward a corporate model in higher education that has lead to a dramatic shift away from investment in educators and affordable, accessible college education. This report chronicles the Jesuit college and university faculty perspective and how a crisis in higher education is undermining the Jesuit tradition.”

I urge members of the John Carroll community to read the report and consider what they can do to change the situation. At some Jesuit colleges, there will be protests and other actions on Dec. 10 against this situation. Watch for these and support them if you can.

By Carrie Buchanan

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