The Woods

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Popularity: 17% [?]

By Danya Long
Editor-in-Chief

The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College soccer team continues the fight to keep at least a .500 win percentage for the 2010 season. With only two games left in the season before nationals, the Pomeroys have earned their 5-5-1 record so far. They faced off against Berea College, rival Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and Kaskaskia College since the beginning of October.
On Oct. 2, the Pomeroys took on Berea College at home. Starting the month off right, SMWC came away with a 7-0 win. The Pomeroys controlled possession during the majority of the game, not allowing Berea the opportunity to score. Senior Erin Pugh, who was named USCAA women’s soccer player of the week for her performance against Berea and Trine University, began the scoring for SMWC early in the game. She received a pass from senior Britt Simmerman in the 8th minute and found the top right part of the goal.
Senior Briauna Davis assisted Pugh in the 23rd minute to score the second Pomeroy goal. To finish the first half, sophomore Logan Jones received a ball from junior Jessica Black and added the third goal, making the score at halftime 3-0 in favor of SMWC.
Pugh struck twice more in the second half, once assisted by Black and the other was unassisted. She left the game with four goals, the most ever scored in a single game by a Pomeroy player.
Freshman Alice Trejo Wilson added the last two goals for SMWC. Her first was about the 85th minute as she found her way around the last two defenders. The second came just three minutes later, finding the bottom left corner of the net. The team’s 7-0 win gave them a record of 5-4.
A cross-town rivalry was held on the RHIT soccer field on Oct. 6 against SMWC. In a very well played and hard-fought game, but the Pomeroys couldn’t quite overtake the Engineers.
Rose-Hulman took control on the kickoff, but SMWC quickly got the ball back and nearly scored on the drive. The Engineers made a lot of attacks on the goal, forcing SMWC senior goalkeeper April Baranowski to make some very crucial saves. Until the very end of the first half, the game remained at 0-0. With just over a minute left in the half, RHIT was able to find the goal and end the half with a 1-0 lead.
The second half showed more Engineer control of possession. They scored their second goal early in the second half off a corner kick that got hit in. Another RHIT goal ended the game with a 3-0 score and a loss for the Pomeroys. This loss evened the record for SMWC at 5-5 with only three games left in the regular season.
On Oct. 14, the Pomeroys traveled to Kaskaskia College. SMWC was “out for revenge” against the team that had earlier defeated them in the season, according to Head Coach Mike Aycock. While the Pomeroys controlled possession most of the first five minutes, they were unable to break the Kaskaskia defense. The offense out-possessed their opponents in the attacking third 24-14, but the half ended with the scoreboard still reading 0-0.
The second half was much the same as the first. Kaskaskia scored a goal with about 32 minutes left in the game, making the score 1-0.
Shortly after the goal, a collision happened between Simmerman and a Kaskaskia defender. The defender went up for a header and made contact with Simmerman’s head instead of the ball. Simmerman was forced out of the game because of the threat of a concussion.
The Pomeroys were able to answer this goal with one of their own with 13 minutes to play. Pugh got around the right side of the defense and found the top left part of the goal, evening up the score at 1-1. Baranowski made a crcial save just before the buzzer, keeping the score tied at the end.
With the score even, the Pomeroys went up against Kaskaskia in double overtime, both periods 10 minutes each. Both teams fought hard, but neither could put another ball in the goal. The game ended in a tie at 1-1.
The tie is better than a loss, but this means that the two remaining home games for SMWC will be very important, said Aycock.
The Pomeroys will take on Oakland City University at home on Oct. 19. Later that week they will host Robert Morris-Springfield on Oct. 23.
Shortly after the last two games, the SMWC soccer team will find out if they earned a bid to the USCAA National Tournament to be held at Virginia Tech on Nov. 4 through Nov. 6.

Popularity: 29% [?]

By Jade Scott
Editor-in-Chief

The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods cross country team finished 7th out of 12 teams at the Gibson Family Classic in Terre Haute on Saturday, Oct. 9.
With more than 100 runners present at the Gibson meet, four out of the ten SMWC runners placed in the top 50 but times were not as good at Gibson as they had been previously.
“It was a really hot day, and I think that since we had fall break it got to us because we had so much time off,” said Caitlyn Tinsley, sophomore.
The top five runners were sophomore Stephanie Runyon with a 24:28 and placing 13th, freshman Logan Fry with a 25:49 and placing 32nd, sophomore Cassandra Barnett with a 27:13 and placing 43rd, sophomore Kat Williams with a 27:48 and placing 46th, and sophomore Lauren Sutton with a 29:07 and placing 58th.
Not only was weather a factor, but the course was also a challenge.
“Gibson is a good course for spectators to watch but it is all around a tough course,” said Jennifer Hughes, sophomore.  “The way the course is set up there are a lot of hills that you have to run and you have to know the layout of the course.”
SMWC also traveled to Louisville, Ky. for the Greater Louisville Open on Saturday, Oct. 2. They placed 28th overall as a team out of 34 teams.
Once again the runners had challenges facing them during the meet.
“The course was really dusty and I was worried about it getting into my eyes,” said Sutton. “Luckily the dust did not affect me like I thought it would and I had my personal best record.”
Normally SMWC cross country runs in competitions against other Division III teams, but since they won Nationals in 2009 the team was placed into a Division II race.
“Being in a DII competition gave us more people to compete against,” said Runyon. “Most of the time there are people bunched together during the race but in this one everyone was evenly spaced out.”
Top five runners at the Louisville Open were Runyon with a time of 19:07, Barnett with a time of 21:42, freshman Danika Espinoza with a time of 22:00, freshman Lyndsi Woolems with a time of 22:41, and freshman Kimberly Lane with a time of 22:46.
With the National Tournament less than five weeks away, the team is trying to keep their focus on their goal.
“At our team camp back in August we made a team goal to win nationals again,” said Runyon. “We are down to our last meet and even though we may be getting tired we have to keep our eyes on our goal.”
The team also traveled to Owensboro, Ky. for the Brescia College Invitational on Saturday but official times were not available. Go to woodsnewspaper.com for coverage.

Popularity: 20% [?]

By Zahra Adni
Staff Writer

The Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College Golf team played their last match of the fall season at the Centre Invitational in Danville, KY on Oct. 2, 2010.
The match ended with a team score of 381 and they placed 4th. The team’s overall performance this season has been solid.
They have come a long way and have shown a lot of improvement in their game.
Some of the players still believe that there is room for more individual improvement.
“I liked the invitational a lot and I’m looking forward to playing again. The course was pretty easy except for being blind on every hole and hoping our ball landed in a good spot,” said freshman Michaley Kinser.
As for improvement on her game, Kinser said that she slowly improved and she believes that the team improved this season as well.
Kinser scored a 108 at the match.
Danielle Rosselli, junior, scored a 98 overall at the Centre Invitational.
“This season hasn’t gone so well for me,” said Rosselli. “At first I didn’t think I would like the invitational because the golf course was really hilly but I think that if we played the same course next year I would like it; it was different but fun!”
The other players’ scores were as follows: Katelyn Gosnell 93, Faith Jones 106, and Kelsey Fuqua 84.           The SMWC Golf team will play their next matches during the spring season starting on March 9th.

Popularity: 20% [?]

By Danya Long
Editor-in-Chief

The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College softball team finished its fall season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses. The Pomeroys went on the road in October and came away with a 5-3 record against the competition.
On Oct. 2, The Pomeroys traveled to Dupo, Ill., for the Diamond Sports Fall Ball tournament. The first game put them up against Illinois Central College, and proved successful for SMWC as they came away with the first win of the tournament.
The first two innings were scoreless for SMWC, while ICC put up one run.
In the third inning, ICC scored another run, making the score 2-0. SMWC struck back with a run of its own.
Sophomore Ashtynn Masterson walked to start off the inning, and freshman Shelby Barnett doubled to leftfield to drive home Masterson.
The fourth inning showed a stronger offensive Pomeroy team. Senior Aubrey Stich led off the inning with a walk. Sophomore Melena Minning hit a double to centerfield, scoring Stich after she advanced on a passed ball.
Another walk was issued to sophomore Leah Miller, followed by a single to right by sophomore Garnett Stenger that brought home Minning.
Senior Chelsee Gerber reached on an error by the second baseman, and then Barnett was issued a walk that scored Stenger. SMWC’s last run of the inning came from a single hit down the third baseline by sophomore Kelsey Rosselli that scored Gerber.
In the fifth inning, the Pomeroys started the inning with two strikeouts; Miller then singled, and Stenger drove her home with a single to left.
ICC came back and scored one run in the 7th, but couldn’t overcome the deficit. The Pomeroys won with a score of 7-4.
The second game of the tournament was a close game, but ended in the Pomeroys first of two losses for the tournament, both to William Woods University.
SMWC struck first, scoring two runs in the first inning. Barnett started out by hitting a double, but got thrown out at home on a single to right field by Stich. Junior Sarah Goelz singled and scored Stich after she stole a base and advanced on an error. A single was hit to centerfield hit by junior Libby Wright, and then Rosselli reached base on an error that scored Goelz.
In the second inning, Gerber and Barnett both drew walks, followed by a single to left centerfield by senior Katelyn Tillotson that caused an error; the error scored both Gerber and Barnett.
The Pomeroy offense struggled in the last half of the game, not scoring another run. William Woods University took advantage of their opportunity and scored a total of five runs in two innings, making the final score 5-4, with SMWC on the losing end.
The third game of the tournament was against Parkland College, and added another win to the Pomeroys’ record.
In the third inning alone, SMWC scored five of their six runs, four of which came from a grand slam hit by Goelz. The sixth run came in the fifth inning when Gerber singled and was hit in on a double to the outfield by Barnett.
Parkland only managed to plate four runs, resulting in a 6-4 win for the Pomeroys.
SMWC took on William Woods University for the second time of the tournament in their fourth and final game for the weekend.
The offense for the Pomeroys struggled even more this game, with eight strikeouts and no runs scored.
William Woods went on to score five runs in the game, not letting up in the final game. The final score of 5-0 gave the Pomeroys a 2-2 record for the tournament.
Next, SMWC traveled to DePauw University for a doubleheader on Oct. 7. Winning by only a single run, the game proved to be a close one for both teams.
Barnett and Tillotson scored the only two runs for the Pomeroys in the game, both hitting doubles and then scoring on an error in the fourth inning.
DePauw managed to get one run across in the sixth inning, but it wasn’t enough to win the game. The 2-1 final score gave SMWC a 7-6 record on the season so far.
Game two of the doubleheader against Depauw was filled with hotter Pomeroy bats than the first.
The offense was able to score one run in the first inning, three runs in the second inning, and then topped it off with another three runs in the seventh inning.
Barnett scored two runs for SMWC, including a two-run homerun in the seventh. The DePauw offense was only able to put one run on the board in the second inning.
The Pomeroys swept the doubleheader with a final score of 7-1 and a season record of 8-6 going into the last tournament of the fall season.
SMWC traveled to Bloomington for the Indiana University Classic on Oct. 9. The first game was against Indiana University Southeast.
The Pomeroys scored a quick run in the first inning due to two errors that allowed Barnett to score. They wouldn’t score again until the sixth inning, when Stich hit a leadoff solo homerun.
SMWC scored a second run in the inning on a double hit by Rosselli and an error that allowed Minning to score.
IU Southeast managed to get a single run in the seventh inning, but still couldn’t score enough. The final score of 3-1 gave the Pomeroys another win for the season.
The final game of the fall season for SMWC was a rough one against Indiana University.
While the Pomeroys started out strong by scoring three quick runs in the first inning, that would be the extent of their runs.
IU dominated the offense, scoring 18 runs in the game. A final score of 18-3 left the Pomeroys with a final record of 9-7 for the fall season.
Gerber showed her pride in the team’s victorious season. “Overall we had a good fall season. Our team has a lot of potential. I look forward to a successful spring season,” said Gerber.
SMWC is scheduled to begin its regular spring season in February.

Popularity: 26% [?]

By Jena Thralls
Staff Writer

Being locked up in a dorm room all winter long can get old pretty fast. When school work is overwhelming and money gets tight, it seems so easy to become stressed, irritable, or maybe even a tad bit blue. Here are some of the most random things recommended to keep in your dorm room during the school year:
Plants:  One study at Washington State University showed that people in a room with Chinese Evergreen had a 4-point drop in their systolic blood pressure. The minor and routine care that is needed to take care of the plant can help ease your mind. Plus the presence of a plant is calming and welcoming to the mind. On the days you want to hide under a blanket all afternoon, it gives you encouragement to open up curtains for some sunshine.
The right scent:  The scent you chose for your dorm room can affect your mood every day. If you’re not a morning person, perhaps you might try showering with a citrus or peppermint scented body wash. The scents trigger your brain cells to wake up. If you are stressed during finals week, consider a lavender scent. It is one of the most relaxing of scents.  For more information on calming scents visit http://www.essortment.com/all/aromatherapysce_tund.htm.
The right color: Red might seem warm and may be your favorite color, but when it comes to stress this color is a no-go. It is an exciting color, and triggers the brain to react with spunk. Colors like green, blue, and even pink can help balance and stimulate the human brain. For more details on behavior and colors visit http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/stress-and-color.html.
Chamomile tea: This tea has been used for thousands of years to relieve stress. It was well-known for its curative properties. It can relax muscle tissue and relieve your body of tension and nervousness. It also helps with many other health factors. It may help regulate periods, induce sleep, soothe skin irritation, improve digestion, alleviate common cold symptoms, and even more. So when you are feeling the jitters, have a cup of tea!
Almonds: Almonds are a crunchy and nutritious snack. Enriched with magnesium, zinc, vitamins E and B2, they are sure to help relieve stress. If you’re not much for almonds, try digging into blend of trail mix. Dried fruits and nuts can not only relax your nerves, but they can grant you a day full of energy.
A journal: You might not be the writing kind of person, but keeping a journal can help you stay organized and relieve your stress. When you have those days when you just want to explode and feel like there’s no one to talk to, take it out on your journal! The chances are that when you’re finished, you’ll feel a sense of contentment. Some people don’t keep journals as a result of the fear that someone will hack into them and read, but who cares! If they care enough to read it, then they must be intrigued by your lifestyle. Take it as a compliment and do the “write” thing.
Invest in these six things and enjoy your upcoming stress-reduced winter months. Also keep in mind that exercise is vital in maintaining a stress-free lifestyle.

Popularity: 28% [?]

By Britt Simmerman
Guest Columnist

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” –e.e. cummings
When I read these 12 words now I realize the truth in them. With the recent flux of teenage suicides related to bullying, it is hard to dispute the existence of this growing problem.
In the past few months the media has shed light on the deaths of many young men and women. Numerous stories center on the students’ sexual orientation, as more and more of today’s homosexual, bisexual, or transgender youth are taking their own lives.
As a homosexual, my heart aches for these teens. As a human being, my stomach turns with guilt at a society that condones the acts that lead to these events.
When I hear of these acts of bullying, violence, and suicide, my mind flashes back to the summer after my freshman year of college.
I had returned home for the summer months, full of excitement for the free time ahead  but my excitement would not last long.
My friends from high school were not answering my calls and plans to hang out were being cancelled for no reason.  I wasn’t sure what was happening until my phone rang one morning.
I answered the phone to a disguised voice on the other end simply stating, “We don’t hang out with gays.” Short. Simple.
I was shocked for two reasons: I had not come out to any of my friends from high school at this time and I never thought my “friends” would treat someone that way.
The calls kept coming, increasing in severity, until the day I received my first death threat. I didn’t understand why or how people could react in this manner, especially since I had never publicly even acknowledged my orientation. Thankfully, just as quickly as the harassment started, it abruptly ended. However, this did not change the effect on my life that the bullying would have.
My experiences of bullying are based on my sexuality, as are many of the stories featured in news reports today.
Other recent cases are based on other factors though.  Children, teenagers, and young adults alike are dodging attacks of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse for traits such as intelligence, weight, income level, and many other facets of one’s life.
While I empathize and sympathize with the victims of bullying, I have to ask: What makes it seem okay for bullies to engage in their abusive behavior?
I am afraid that the answer lies in each of us. We are all guilty, in some way, shape, or form, of bullying. I will openly and honestly admit that I have made fun of people, whether to their faces or behind their backs. I have told others stories before I knew the validity of the information.
The sad truth is this: we are all guilty. I wholeheartedly feel that, in the same way that it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a social culture to raise a bully.
Bullying stems primarily from the societal standards that we have put upon ourselves.  We want to be well-liked, successful, beautiful, and more or less “normal.” We push ourselves to these limits and shun those who we think do not live up to these standards as well as we do.
Bullies are targeting those who they feel skew these standards.
It’s okay to be smart, but not too smart. If you’re overweight, you must be lazy. If you’re homosexual, you just don’t fit into our social scheme. Whatever the attack, it all seems to stem from an unwillingness to budge from these views in which we have all been indoctrinated. I am not saying that we are all horribly doomed as a society by any means. I am saying that we have the power to change it.
We all have a responsibility now.  These teenagers who have suffered at the hands of bullies cannot be forgotten. We should not sweep this problem, along with their stories, their humiliation, or their deaths, under the rug. It is time to take it upon our selves, as the future leaders of our world, to change the way we think and act toward one another.
Whether we agree with another’s life decisions, feel threatened or jealous of another’s talents, or just feel a general dislike toward another person, we must remember that every person has the basic human right to respect.  Every person, regardless of orientation, race, religion, intelligence or income level, has the right to live a life free of fear. Bullying rips this right away from them.
Now, more than ever, it takes a great deal of courage for a person to grow up and become who they really are. It’s time to stop making it more difficult, and time to start applauding the courage it takes to be your self.

Popularity: 31% [?]

By Jena Thralls
Staff Writer

She sat in class feeling confused and frustrated for the majority of her days in elementary and junior high school years. She was segregated from the “normal kids” with a group of other disabled students.
“They treated us as if we all had the same disability,” says Jennifer Richards, a senior at Saint Mary-of-the Woods College. Born with a detached retina in one eye, Richards has dealt with a life-long experience of vision impairment.  She says she believes her teachers lied to her parents about her behavior in class. Teachers told her parents that she wasn’t asking for help when she needed it.
“I was asking for help, but they would refuse me,” Richards says.
But when Richards was 10 things changed. On Aug. 1, 1990 the American Disabilities Act was passed. The Act legally protected Americans with disabilities from discrimination. The ADA also promised equal opportunity for employment and proper accommodation for those who are disabled in schools or on work sites.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 36 million Americans have a disability.
“When the disabilities act passed, things got a lot easier,” she said.
Today, a child with vision impairment would not be segregated from an average class of students.
“Because of this act I have the right to more time on tests and assignments, and the right to request ‘accommodations as needed’,” she says.
She also has the right to be treated as any other student.
“When I auditioned for the music department at SMWC, everyone made me feel that I belong here and they wanted me,” Richards says.
Music is her passion. She dreams of being a professional recitalist one day. For a challenge, she has most recently taken up piano lessons.  She spends most of her spare time reading.
SMWC Learning Resource Center assures that Richards and other students with disabilities have the accommodations they need. Students meet with Kimberly LaComba, ADA Advisor, in order to discuss proper accommodations.
“We recognize these needs and support them,” LaComba says.
Students receive a letter to present to their instructors.
“It is very important for a student to submit this information so that she receives the accommodations she deserves,” LaComba says.
Richards says Saint Mary-of-the Woods, the fourth college she has studied at, has been willing to work with and understand her. She says she has earned a valuable education.
“In 7th or 8th grade they told me I would never make it through high school, and then in high school I was told I would never make it through college,” Richards says. “It has taken me longer than most other people, but I have made it through, and I have learned more than I ever did even in high school.”

Popularity: 23% [?]

By Robin Plank
Guest Columnist
It has been a month since I started the Woods External Degree Program at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, and this 57-year-old brain is panting and sweating like an aging baby boomer at the gym.
Sometimes a person just has to take the plunge. But diving back into college work that you haven’t done since the 1970’s is not easy. It’s kind of like trying to get back into those old bell-bottom jeans you once wore—not going look the same way.  That is if you can get them on, and that’s a real big “if.”
I like to listen to the radio when doing mindless activities like washing dishes, driving, etc. If I am in the doctor’s office I will always pick up the newspaper and see what is going on because I am interested in news and commentary. If someone comments on current events, I smile and plunge into the conversation. It is one of my pleasures in life.
But that is not the case since I started the WED program; my brain is full.
I do not want to hear any more about Obama’s foibles. I do not want to hear about Jon Stewart bashing FOX News. And I do not want to hear about the Democrats and the Republicans in Congress slinging mud and then wrestling in it—I just want peace. Blessed peace.
It is one thing to be stimulated, it’s another to be inundated, and boy, have I let myself in for it by taking 12 credit hours of classes.
It is really the short-term memory problems that are bothering me the most, as well as decreased comprehension. I have to work so much harder at this than I used to in order to make anything stick.
My mental post-it-notes have just been used too many times—they keep falling on the floor!
I must admit though, I am enjoying the class work even if it is challenging for me. But after studying several hours a day my head just needs a rest! Just some mindless girlfriend chatter on the phone or even Japanese anime cartoons with my daughter.  Whatever it takes so I just don’t have to think!
Also, I appear to be at war with my new laptop.  It is a good thing that there is not a gun lying around the house because I have been provoked beyond reason to commit “cyber murder”.
I have made more than one call to Gizmos Galore’s nerd patrol trying to gain insight into how to talk some reason into my laptop. But no, if I solve one problem, another emerges.
My laptop excels at being a difficult and I can just imagine it smirking whenever it hears me muttering under my breath and threatening to run magnets over its hard drive.
It is not like I am new to computers but why put in all those keyboard shortcuts that I am always hitting inadvertently, causing hanging indents, line spacing changes, and other unknown (to me) formatting problems!
And the touchpad, don’t get me started on the touchpad! I am constantly hitting it, setting off more fireworks. Can anyone explain why “help” doesn’t actually help half the time? Who designs these things? Don’t they ever test drive them with real people? We are not software engineers! We are just poor dumb schmucks with fumbling fingers!
I need my geek right beside me, not 100 miles away. If Gizmos Galore really wanted to please their customers, they would offer us a “geek for a week.”
Or, do you remember, “soap on a rope?” Well, how about “geek on a leash?” Instead of a service dog, I would have an IT service professional who would go everywhere with me, even to the WiFi hot spots.
Well, I do feel better now. A good whine is sometimes just what a girl needs to get going again; that and chocolate.
Now where did I hide that Halloween candy I just bought with the chocolate tarantulas and extra squishy gummy brains? Maybe under the bed? Sigh—maybe while I’m on my hands and knees looking for it, I’ll find that mental sticky note that will tell me where I hid it!

Popularity: 28% [?]

By Juliette Faraone
Staff Writer

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is now sponsoring outings to the Honey Creek Mall and Wal-Mart, rides included.
Student Development Specialist Deb Light and Administrative Assistant for Student Development Lisa Behringer arrived at this idea after much discussion over the difficulty some students have finding rides into town.
Light said, “There have been a number of faculty and staff that have volunteered to drive. We ended up having about 15 people volunteer.”
The goal of campus-coordinated shopping trips is to provide a service otherwise inaccessible to most students without cars, and especially International students.
A total of eight trips have been scheduled over the course of this semester, the next on Oct. 19.
Various faculty and staff members are scheduled to drive the school vans to shopping destinations on different dates. The first faculty member to participate was Assistant Professor of Journalism Lori Henson.
“You take for granted how easy it is to run errands when you have a car, so I think this is a good service for the college to provide,” Henson said.
Space is limited to six students, and each student is required to pay a $5 at the time of registration.  This deposit will be returned to the student immediately before departure.
Those interested in signing up may do so through Behringer at the front desk in Le Fer.  Before trips, students will meet at the console at 6:30 p.m., with each shopping trip ending at 9 p.m.

Popularity: 21% [?]