Breaking the silence

photo illustration by Florrie Bassingbourn

By Shawna Paul

We are all too aware of the lasting scars that soldiers have long after they leave the battlefield. Nightmares, flashbacks, images and sounds that are burned into their minds can be recalled without a moment’s notice. 

These symptoms are not relegated only to those who have fought during wartime, however.  There are women and men who have never been to war, but who bear the mark of their own private battlefield. In an instant they hear, smell and see what was happening around them at the time they were sexually assaulted.

The statistics are daunting: one in four college women will be sexually assaulted during their time at school, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, and nine out of 10 of these victims will know their perpetrators.

Sexual assault has been called a silent crime, with more than half estimated to go unreported for a variety of reasons including shame, fear, and the hope that it can just be forgotten.

At Fitchburg State University, however, steps are being taken to break the silence with programs such

Workouts strengthen body and mind

Workouts can help students beat stress.

By Kyle Anderson

Why do college students spend their time at the gym instead of in the library studying?  Is it only to stay in shape?  Or are there other reasons?

When asked, many students say that getting some exercise is a great way to balance out schoolwork and other related stresses. This may be especially true during stressful times like finals week.

Michael Baird, a senior at Fitchburg State, claims that exercising helps work off the anger and stress that can build up during the day. “When I go to the gym, it takes my mind off of all the negative things throughout my day,” Baird says. “I not only am trying to stay fit, but also am looking to work off all the stress that

‘Prototype 2’ worth the wait

By Tyler Trull

Finally, after an almost three-year wait, “Prototype 2” has hit the market. With the first game’s launch in early June of 2009, fans were immediately grabbing for more in the open-world adventure game. While the initial reaction for some Sony fans was that of skepticism (as the game bore a concept similar to the Playstation 3 exclusive title “Infamous,” which was released a mere week preceding “Prototype”), the gameplay and main character automatically gave a feeling of uniqueness. Fans of the game were then eager to get a sequel, as the first game had a very open ending.

“Prototype 2” is the sequel we deserved.

The original “Prototype” followed a man infected and against a system. The infection had caused the entire city of New York to become barricaded and quarantined, the special Blackwatch services moving in to control the masses. Your character, Alex Mercer, was there to fight the powers of the Blackwatch and Gentek biological research team, eventually foiling their plans to nuke the city to eradicate the virus.

Now, the story may have been weak, but it was not the reason most played this game; the main draw stood in what your character could pull off. Mercer could shape-shift into the last person he “consumed,” allowing him

Facebook: The social disease

photo illustration by AJ Cann

By Emily Varno

We all know how it goes: mindless clicking, endless scrolling, pointless reading of things we don’t even care about. We are the Facebook generation, and we’re taking it too far.

“I use Facebook a couple times a day, but I still think it’s very overused,” says sophomore Gina DiTommaso. “I gave it up for Lent and didn’t really miss it. I think it causes a lot of drama and jealousy and impacts self-esteem and confidence. I honestly think not using it for that long made me realize life goes on and if someone really needs to talk to you, there are more direct ways of communication.”

These days, though, Facebook seems to control our lives. We have it at our disposal wherever we go: on the laptops we bring to class, on the iPods and cell phones that we have on us at all times. Many advertisements now, online

Spurs spotlight Ginobli

1 San Antonio Spurs vs. 8 Utah Jazz; Spurs win series 4-0 to advance to Conference Semis

Player Spotlight: Manu Ginobli; shooting guard, San Antonio Spurs (50-16)

Manu Ginobli puts his court vision to good use for the San Antonio Spurs. (file photo by Keith Allison)

By Kendell Sweeney-Thomas

A team effort really carried the Spurs into the next round of the 2012 playoffs as they truly showcased the depth of their current squad against the 8-seed Utah Jazz. Ginobli didn’t exactly leave San Antonio or Salt Lake City fans’ mouths agape with superstar numbers, but his ability to come off the bench and influence each game of the sweep with his court vision and hustle was more than apparent. His hustle was more surprising due to his return from injuries to his hand and oblique before the playoffs and Coach Gregg Popovich expertly monitored his minutes as he’s done often in the past.

Ginobli, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan have been the nucleus of this Spurs team season after season. Now their experience with working in tandem toward championships combines with the depth of size and athleticism filling in around them. Ginobli showed in this series that he trusts in his talented teammates but also has no

Creative ‘Visions’ on exhibit

Students prepare their work for exhbit in “Visions.” (photo by Colleen Magyar)

By James Paleologopoulos

Communications students who submitted their work and were accepted had the fruits of their labor on full display during Fitchburg State’s yearly “Visions” exhibition, with selected works remaining on view through June 29 in the hallway of Sanders Administration building.

Students majoring in film/video, graphic design, and professional communications had their “best original work” selected by a panel of communications faculty members; the works were presented to the campus and community on April 25 during a five-hour-long showcase covering a variety of mediums and subject matter.

“It’s different every time in terms of major diversity,” said Rob Carr, a communications media professor. “I was glad to

How to survive finals

By Ashley Morganelli

Studying for finals is very hard, but not knowing how to balance your daily life with multiple tests at once is even harder.
Luckily, there are strategies for making this stressful time more manageable. The following top 10 tips and tricks for surviving finals were provided by Access Services Librarian Linda LeBlanc and her colleagues:

1. Don’t wait until the last minute to contact a librarian for help.

2. Set a schedule. Budget time for material review several days ahead of a final, and then a refresher the day before.

3. Take the time to get organized. Make sure you review what is on the exam or required for the final paper. Make sure you have all the appropriate notes and readings readily available before you sit down to study.

4. Reduce distractions. Don’t study in your dorm or house – find a quiet place in the library or get a table at a café. Find a place where you’re unlikely to run into your friends. Don’t keep the Internet open on your computer. If you work

The hardest job in the NHL

By David Bray

Brendan Shanahan

Last spring, when Brendan Shanahan accepted the job as NHL vice president of player safety, fans knew it would only be a matter of time before the future Hall of Famer became one of the most unpopular figures in the National Hockey League. At first, the move was considered a breath of fresh air, as Colin Campbell had been in the position for 12 years, but it would not be long before somebody got mad about a suspension or lack thereof.

Unpopularity comes with the territory. The vp of player safety is the one ultimately responsible for handing out supplemental discipline (fines and suspensions for misconduct on and off the ice) to players and coaches. No matter how fair and consistent the league disciplinarian tries to be, they are bound to upset every fan base in the league at some point. Midway through the first round of playoffs with “Shanaban” in charge, it has become obvious that Shanahan’s series icing empty net goal in 2002 or his mocking of a female fan will not be the most memorable moments of his career.

Shanahan won over many hockey fans early in the season when he started making video explanations for all the suspensions that were issued. However, questions have risen recently about Shanahan’s consistency. One of the first suspensions he issued was an eight-game ban for Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman James

The sound of music

By Kevin Boudreau

Photo credit: Lost Cabin Recording Studio’s Facebook page

Legendary blues pianist Ray Charles once said, “I was born with music inside me. Like my ribs, my kidney, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me – like food or water.” That same force that Ray Charles speaks of can also be seen in local music studio owners Patrick “Sev-One” Burns and Bob “BeastOnBoards” Jameson who, two years ago, opened the doors to their “place of music worship” Lost Cabin Recording Studio.

But the real question is do local recording studios, like Lost Cabin, really have a big effect on the music industry? Some local musicians, like local rappers Javier “40 $tacks” Ramos and Zackary “Keatsa” Keating, would agree; others, like local musician Robert Reynolds II, would choose to disagree with this claim.

“Definitely, they (local recording studios) keep it (the music industry) going,” says Ramos, “they’re (Lost Cabin Recording Studio) doing professional work

Lenticular art- an American perspective

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By Dana LeMarbre

Dana LeMarbre (Photos by Stephanie Beresh)

While traveling through the halls of the Sanders Administration Building several weeks ago, I couldn’t help but notice the art work that covered the walls of the pedestrian plaza. What caught my eye was not only the uniqueness of the visuals, but the display of some historic figures that are unfavorable to American ideologies and should arguably not be displayed on the walls of an American University.

The lenticular images displayed by artist Richard Cutrona caught my eye for two reasons. First, the artwork is of a three dimensional quality, and who doesn’t like 3D? When viewing Mr. Cutrona’s art, many positions have to be taken in order to see and understand the image. It is kind of like being a small bird that pecks away at sunflower seeds from a feeder. Images of worldly events such as President Bush being told about the attacks of 9/11, while reading to school children and familiar images of Osama Binladin are clearly displayed through this cool and intriguing medium of lenticular art. Images such as these are important for us as American citizens to remember the tragedy’s that occurred on that fateful day in September of 2001.

The second reason I took interest at Mr. Cutrona’s art, is that some