SG elections are heating up, and with eight candidates – each with his own merits and weaknesses – the decision is sure to be tough. Throughout the week, opportunities to hear the candidates discuss the issues will help students narrow down the choices. The vice-presidential debates are going to be held today at 7 p.m. in the Rat. On Wednesday, the presidential candidates will discuss their platforms, same time, same place. Here’s a brief intro to the gentlemen who hope to serve you as SG President next year:
An Ambitious Bunch Part 1 of 2
SG elections are heating up, and with eight candidates – each with his own merits and weaknesses – the decision is sure to be tough. Throughout the week, opportunities to hear the candidates discuss the issues will help students narrow down the choices. The vice-presidential debates are going to be held today at 7 p.m. in the Rat. On Wednesday, the presidential candidates will discuss their platforms, same time, same place. Here’s a brief intro to the gentlemen who hope to serve you as SG President next year:
THE WRAP
but She’s keeping the dream house
The hottest couple in all of history is finally over…
Barbie and Ken have recently split and the world is up in arms. Mattel announced last week that Barbie and Ken were splitting due to differences; apparently the couple, which have been connected for over 40 years now, have decided that it was time for a break. Barbie, who has been marketed as everything from a doctor to a pop diva has outshined Ken for several years now, surviving without Ken’s commitment. Rumor has it that Barbie is now heading to Cali to work on her already glowing tan and frolic in the surf with new crush, Australian boarder Blaine. Only time will tell if Ken will become vengeful and fraternize with Barbie’s hot friends, Teresa and Lara. Can we say mnage?
SEARCHING FOR A JOB?
Ambitious and hopeful? Word is out that stations are looking for new VJ’s in, forget this…South America. Talent agencies are scouring the country for new VJ’s for shows related to ones that air on what used to be music channel MTV. Hit up the COM school for applications and make sure to give a shout out to The Hurricane for letting the word out.
HAAA-VAhD GETS DIRTY… in the yaaahd, in the backseat of yah caaah..
Announcement, Announcement…Harvard University has just approved a student porn magazine. Featuring art, sex advice, and fiction, the glossy pages are supposedly “a publication for freedom of expression.” Titled the H-bomb, Harvard’s new porn mag will feature everything and anything sexual, the only stipulation is no on-campus photos, due to university liability.
And for all the single mingles out in MIA, guess what? You survived Valentine’s Day. Congratulations, it wasn’t so bad.
CD REVIEW
Lockwood is self-labeled as industrial rock, and a few tracks on this album might please fans of that genre. His song “Meat Parade” is the most (if not the only) ear-friendly song, and it is supposedly getting played on college radio stations around the country. The first minute of the track “Do Not Disturb” is actually entertaining, as Lockwood’s arrangement is somewhat upbeat. This lasts for about a minute until he slows it down and it reverts to the monotonous, depressing sound that makes up most of the album.
Lockwood’s only real success is his dark but poetic writing. The lyrics could be enough to give this album more consideration if you could only hear them over the thumping bass and repeating machine noises in the background.
This CD is worth checking out for those who are into rather abstract and dark industrial rock that does seem to have some depth. It’s a shame that a lot of people won’t appreciate Lockwood, because he is an artist with something to say. As far as music goes, however, it takes more than just an artistic streak to produce something that people will want to listen to.
Matt Dingerdissen can be contacted at m.dingerdissen@miami.edu.
CONCERT REVIEW
The Tooth and Nail Records Tour kicked off at The Factory in Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday night, but without one key component – its headliner Further Seems Forever, who, due to turmoil within the band, were forced to withdraw from the tour.
Lead singer Jason Gleason decided to leave the band several weeks ago in the midst of recording a new album and with this headlining tour looming in the horizon. It seemed for a while that the band had temporarily patched things up and were planning to make this their farewell tour. Unfortunately, at the last minute things fell through again.
This leaves four other Tooth and Nail bands to carry out a national tour without the help of its well-known band Further Seems Forever. These bands, Emery, Watashi Wa, Me Without You, and Anberlin, certainly have their work cut out for them.
Emery opened the show Thursday night. I have to admit that, thanks to I-95 traffic, I didn’t get to see their set. After sampling some of their music, they seem to follow the recent trend known as “screamo.” After bands like Thursday hit it big, pop punk bands started to incorporate a little bit of screaming into their music and the latest fad was born. Emery does what they do pretty well, but sadly it’s not very original.
Next up was the California band Watashi Wa. They played a lively and somewhat infectious set of poppy rock. The highlight of their set, and one of the higher points of the night, was when they covered the Police song “Message in a Bottle.” You could tell that these guys were doing what they loved, and that in itself made their collection fun.
Playing third in the line up was possibly Tooth and Nail’s most unique band, Me Without You. They’re an innovative rock band with catchy, and sometimes scary, melodies sometimes reminiscent of bands like Cursive. Lead singer Aaron Weiss either speaks or screams most of the lyrics, but when he screams it’s not like your average hardcore voice. He screams with a kind of emotion that is seldom found in music. UM Freshman Julian Ferraldo had this to say of the show: “Nothing really stood out to me besides the music of Me Without You. I thought they were pretty good even though [Weiss] scared me.” Me Without You was the only band to really get the crowd into their performance.
Closing the show in the absence of Further Seems Forever was Orlando’s own Anberlin. They’re a rock band with instrumentals similar to pop punk but vocals that are hard to label. It was clear that the members had talent, that their music was solid, but the audience was just not feeling their arrangement. While they certainly performed with energy, they just don’t seem to have what it takes to be a headlining band, or at least not yet. They finished the show and neglected to give an encore. However, nobody in the audience seemed too disappointed by that.
Matt Dingerdissen can be contacted at m.dingerdissen@miami.edu
BOOK REVIEW
So everyone knows that in college, reading for fun is not a popular activity. Lengthy rosters for book clubs are not in existence, conversations about the latest Stephen King novel have vanished, and leisurely reading doesn’t even come close to making it on to the “things to do this weekend” list. However, Michael Patrick Welch has succeeded in capturing audiences with his wildly free-spirited tale, interestingly called The Donkey Show. From the title to the cover to the content, Welch has seemingly found the perfect combination. True to marketing style, the book attracts attention: its cover proudly decorated with stars and a target encircling nothing other than a donkey, the book screams to be picked up. And one look at the bottom line reading, “written and performed by the white bitch” seals the deal. Who wouldn’t want to pick up a book with a donkey, a target and a line stating that the author is a “white bitch”?
The Donkey Show is divided into acts with each act separated into chapters, comically named His Story, The Story (proper), and Love Story. The acts unfold the story of Patrick, a free spirit who, after quitting his job as a writer for a paper in Tampa, Florida, escapes to Costa Rica; only to finally come to rest in world famous French-inspired New Orleans. Much like Welch’s own story, Patrick is a free spirit, moving from place to place with no ties and with utter faith that everything will fall in to place. Brought to the bluesy city by a friend he met in Costa Rica, Patrick moves into the back room of some stately white plantation home and splits his time in the city between work and sitting at the coffeehouse across the street from his beloved abode. Work also only occurs when Patrick needs to pay rent and consists of jobs such as bussing tables, working at an animal shelter, and teaching at an inner city school. Except for Patrick’s neighbor who is a tarot reader, he is rather friendless, scouring the city with his bike for life. The middle chapters of the book begin to describe the debauchery that occurs during Mardi Gras, one of the wildest parties on earth that takes place in late February, early March. Holding the readers’ attention, the rest of the story depicts a tale of love, friendship, and in the end, pure irony.
Despite the fact that the story is a following of someone’s life, Welch’s writing style, mixed with a unique sense of humor, keeps the attraction. Even before reading the first sentence, the “author’s notes” including reminders to spell check street names, watch for any inconsistency, and use more descriptions of body language, foreshadow the humor interlaced in the text. Still wondering about that title? According to Patrick, the idea for The Donkey Show comes from a co-worker at a fine dining restaurant named Jude, apparently at a show in Mexico where women have sex with a donkey is related to the food industry, “making money and getting fucked.”
Cover to cover The Donkey Show is an entertaining account of the daily life of a free spirit, a characteristic that many humans yearn for. Quoted by Welch, “…his curiosity had tried to swallow all of these things, it has devoured and appropriated them.” Reflecting the quote, The Donkey Show peaks curiosity and keeps it, an endangered trait when it comes to college reading. Read The Donkey Show when you get tired of reading endless chapters of text books and realize that words on a page can be entertaining.
Joanna Davila can be contacted at j.davila1@umiami.edu .
coconut GROVE
A delectable cuisine, miles of art exhibits, and great entertainment – this past weekend, the Washington Mutual Coconut Grove Arts Festival enveloped the bustling streets of the Grove transforming the quaint village with its expansive stretches of white tents boasting wide selections of food, art, and music.
The Coconut Grove Arts Festival is among the nation’s best in outdoor fine arts festivals. Celebrating its 41st anniversary this year, 330 artists exhibited their work to over three-quarters of a million people.
The myriad array of art at the festival was festively welcomed by all, as thousands of visitors paraded the streets and crowded the artists’ tents in order to view the work. The fine art being showcased included paintings of watercolor and oil, jewelry and metalwork, sculptures, glass, sketches, digital art, and photography, craftwork and much more.
One was easily able to get lost in the moment, reveling in the splendor of Miami’s blue skies this past weekend, along with just being present at one of South Florida’s notable cultural events. The festival, as mentioned, attracted over three-quarters of a million people spanning from art connoisseurs, aficionados and patrons to novice collectors – but above all, art enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in the culture that the festival provided.
The talent of the artistes was commendable, along with the innovative styles that many used. However, no two paintings were alike. The artists present at the festival made their way from different parts of the U.S. and even the world to display their creative and novel pieces. The 41st annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival was truly a success, not dictated by the approximate four million dollars in artwork sold, but by the accomplishment of bringing to Miami an aura of refinement, flair, and artistic culture.
Christie Asencio can be contacted at c.asencio@umiami.edu
Briefs
Football
The Hurricanes will make their inaugural appearance this fall when they begin play in the Atlantic Coast Conference. We want you to be a part of the action when the Hurricanes host ACC opponents, Florida State, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Clemson at the Orange Bowl this season. The Hurricane Ticket Office is now accepting new season ticket orders for the 2004 season. For information on how to guarantee your 2004 Miami Hurricane football season tickets, call 305-284-CANES in Dade or Broward or 1-800-GO-CANES and a ticket representative will call you with the information.
In other football news, prized recruit Willie Williams surrendered to authorities Tuesday morning at Broward County Jail on charges of violating his probation.
Miami Athletic Director Paul Dee released this statement regarding Williams’s arrest.
“With the events of [Tuesday], including both the issuance of the arrest warrant for Willie Williams by the Broward County circuit judge and the filing of charges in Gainesville by the State’s attorney regarding the incidents of last weekend, the University of Miami has determined that it will delay the processing of the application for admission of Willie Williams.”
According to the Miami Herald, this means that UM has not made a final decision on whether or not it will admit Williams. His letter-of-intent is not official until the university admits the student.
The Hurricane will continue to update further developments in Williams’s situation.
Equestrian
The University of Miami Equestrian Team traveled to Atlanta, GA this past weekend for the Emory-Georgia Tech-Georgia State IHSA show. Despite 36-degree weather and snow flurries throughout the day, the team managed to collect seven points.
Lara Radojcic placed fifth in Novice Over Fences, while Megan Salazar stole second in the Novice Under Saddle class. Also in Novice Under Saddle, Hallie Sheade, Daria Baker and Kristina Moser took home third, forth and fifth respectively.
At her first show ever, Sally Gales received sixth place in the Walk/Trot division. The team will be visiting Savannah College of Art and Design on March 27th for their last show of the semester in Savannah, GA.
-compiled by the sports information department
Cohen takes over as top singles player
When Todd Widom decided to leave Miami to join the professional ranks, the men’s tennis team was left with a giant void at the top singles spot. Freshman Josh Cohen has filled that role admirably.
The 5’11” freshman from Weston, Fla., has a lot of similarities to Widom. He enters college as a No. 1 singles player and has huge expectations. He has to adjust to a higher level of tennis and the pressures of being a student athlete.
“I have played tennis since I was a little kid, so it really was not a huge adjustment,” Cohen said. “The only difference is that college tennis is a team sport and when you play when you are younger, it is more of an individual thing.”
On the court, Cohen is very demanding of himself. He prides himself on being intense, hard working, and serious. He doesn’t fool around on the court and wants to win and improve his tennis skills.
“I am a hard worker and a serious player. I work hard on my game, and I am very aggressive and confident on the court,” Cohen said.
While Widom had the opportunity to turn pro, Cohen does not expect the same thing to happen to him. He wants to stay at the University of Miami and graduate with a degree in sports administration.
“I’ve actually talked to Todd, and I think he made a good decision to turn pro,” Cohen said. “I don’t have any plans to do that. I want to be here for four years and get my degree.”
Cohen’s talent may run in his family. His parents have been influential in his success by supporting him and being there for him throughout his career. His 14-year-old sister is one of the best young players in her region. Cohen is close with his family and very complimentary of his sister.
“My sister is a great player,” Cohen said. “She is in the top five in her age group.”
Cohen is only a freshman and already establishing himself as one of the better players in the nation. He has several important milestones he would like to reach this year.
“My goals are to get my team in the Top 25, win the Big East title, and I would like to get myself into the top tier of players around the country,” Cohen said. “Some of those goals may be high but I think they are all realistic.”
The good news for ‘Canes fans is that Cohen is only a freshman. He has said he has no intention of leaving, and if that turns out to be true, UM will have a great player at the top singles spot for the next four years. With the move to the ACC looming next year, having a top player like Cohen will keep the men’s tennis team in championship contention.
Darren Grossman can be contacted at d.grossman@umiami.edu.
Starting pitchers look to lead ‘Canes back to Omaha
If the baseball team makes a second consecutive trip to Omaha for the College World Series, they can thank their veteran pitching staff for leading them there.
After advancing to the Series last May, the Hurricanes enter the 2004 season with high expectations and national attention. The main reason for the preseason hype is the return of all three of the ‘Canes’ starters: J.D. Cockroft, Vince Bongiovanni, and Brandon Camardese. The Hurricanes will be further boosted by the comeback of former No. 1 starter Dan Touchet, who missed most of last season following elbow surgery.
When Touchet went down last season, Cockroft was taken out of the bullpen and named the top starter for the Hurricanes. Head Coach Jim Morris’s gamble was proven right by Cockroft’s 11-3 record and 2.72 earned run average.
Cockroft said that the sudden change in roles did not affect him very much.
“The transition from the bullpen wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be because I feel like relieving is tougher than starting,” Cockroft said.
Cockroft came through with several clutch performances, including a 1-0 victory over Florida Atlantic in the Regionals.
“J.D. did pretty much a perfect job [in the No. 1 spot],” Touchet said. “He just did whatever we needed….the transition [from reliever to starter] went smoothly.”
This season, Cockroft will be asked to set the tone for the rest of the rotation by winning the opening games of each series, starting with Friday’s match-up with the Florida Gators.
Cockroft said that being asked to face every team’s top starter is no bargain.
“Starting on Fridays is tough because you have to set the pace for the rest of the series. Everybody follows you, so you have to get off to a good start,” he said.
Bongiovanni will follow Cockroft in the rotation. The junior throws a fastball that consistently reaches the high 80’s and uses a nasty breaking ball as a strikeout pitch.
Bongiovanni has battled through the off-season workouts with only one thing on his mind.
“The experience in Omaha was unbelievable,” Bongiovanni said. “I mean, pitching in front of that many people was amazing. We want to get back there.”
As for Camardese, the junior was sometimes criticized for giving up big innings, despite finishing the regular season with a 9-2 record. The southpaw said that he has worked hard to avoid mental breakdowns this season.
“I’ve just worked on locating my pitches better, being able to spot them with ease,” he said. “Last year I left too many pitches over the middle.”
Morris said he let each pitcher know where they were at coming into the season.
“With J.D. we’re looking for him to probably repeat – I mean, he pitched so well last year…Brandon has to be more consistent. He seems to have lapses one inning out of four or five…Bongie’s just got to throw strikes and work on his breaking stuff,” he said.
The past year has been a trying one for Touchet, however, as the senior had to watch his teammates play in Omaha while recovering from season-ending elbow surgery.
Touchet said he is ready to earn back the No. 1 spot in the rotation that he lost when he was hurt.
“That was the toughest thing, to watch them go out there [in Omaha],” Touchet said. “Of course, I wanted them to do well, but I haven’t been to Omaha yet. That was where I wanted to be that year. I definitely want to be back in the No. 1 spot and lead this team to Omaha.”
Before the injury, Touchet was 2-0 with a 1.93 earned run average in three starts. Morris was quick to point out that the Hurricanes still have Touchet in their immediate plans.
“We feel like he is one of our top guys, but we just want to be careful with him and take him along slowly. When he gets ready then we’ll get him in there,” Morris said.
Cockroft said that the first two series against Florida and Tennessee will serve as a litmus test for the ‘Canes.
“The first two series will be a defining point of where we are at as a team and what we need to work on individually,” he said.
The Hurricanes will begin their regular season tonight at 7 p.m. at Mark Light Field against Florida.
Eric Kalis can be contacted at e.kalis@umiami.edu.
Hurricanes fall to Boston College
No matter how hard the men’s basketball team has played, they cannot seem to break their current losing streak.
Guillermo Diaz had 21 points but it wasn’t enough as the ‘Canes fell in overtime 74-72 to Boston College at the Convocation Center. The loss is the team’s sixth in a row and drops the Hurricanes to 13-11 on the season and 3-7 in the Big East.
Miami shot 52 percent from the field in the first half, but struggled in the second half, going just 34.8 percent on 8 of 23 shooting and couldn’t make big plays down the stretch.
“It’s gut wrenching,” Head Coach Perry Clark said. “I’ve never been in a situation like this where nothing goes your way. We haven’t caught a break and you don’t play for breaks, but at the same time, you would think you would get one eventually.”
Will Frisby made two free throws with 0.8 seconds on the clock to force the game into overtime. However, the Hurricanes fell to 0-4 in overtime this season after a Darius Rice shot was off the mark and a put back attempt by Karron Clarke missed.
Rice and Diaz did not start the game because of what Clark called a “private team matter.” Once Rice got in, he struggled, shooting three for 10 from the field, including key misses at the end of regulation and overtime.
“The second shot I was clobbered by two guys, I took it right at them and made sure to draw the contact, but didn’t get the call,” Rice said. “I want to take the shots that get this team out of the slump and help us win.”
Clark cited the defensive lapses late in the game along with the poor shooting down the stretch as some of the reasons that the game slipped away.
“We can’t make stops defensively when we need to and that hurts us,” Clark said. “If we aren’t getting it done offensively, we need to step up the defense and we have been unable to do that.”
Boston College was led by freshman Jared Dudley’s 24 points and seven rebounds. Boston College improves to 16-7 with the victory and 5-5 in the Big East. The loss leaves the Hurricanes on the outside of the Big East tournament picture after a Virginia Tech win.
The Hurricanes return to action Saturday against the Syracuse Orangemen at 2:00 pm at the Convocation Center. With six games left to play, every game will be important if this team wants to make the postseason.
“This isn’t the right way to leave the Big East,” Rice said. “There are six games left to go so it’s not over yet.”
Darren Grossman can be contacted at d.grossman@umiami.edu
BACK ON TRACK
The women’s basketball team (17-4, 6-4 in the Big East) bounced back from its three-game dry spell, defeating St. John’s (9-13, 3-8) 85-74 Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.
The Hurricanes were coming off back-to-back-to-back losses against Notre Dame, Rutgers, and UConn, which dropped them out of the Top 25 in the AP Poll. They entered the game Tuesday at No. 23 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll and eighth in the Big East.
UM leads the all-time series with the Red Storm 18-6 and has won the last eight meetings, including a 79-60 win in Jamaica, N.Y., on Jan. 4 of this year. The ‘Canes did not have their best stuff in reaching the 11-point win margin, but were happy to escape with a victory.
“I think we played hard,” sophomore leading-scorer Tamara James said. “We shot well from the free throw line, but not as well as I thought we would shoot. We came out and played hard cause we needed to win and despite the turnovers and the fouls, I think we showed up.”
The ‘Canes shot 48.3 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from three-point range, and 78.1 percent from the line. They held St. John’s to 32.8 percent in total field goals, including 23.1 percent of three-pointers. However, they struggled with a whopping 25 personal fouls, 31 turnovers, and a mere 17 offensive rebounds. James and senior Shaquana Wilkins each had 16 points, and Wilkins added a team-high seven total rebounds. Junior Yalonda McCormick had six steals. Senior Chanivia Broussard went seven-for-seven from the line and added three blocks on the night. Junior Fallon Phanord enjoyed her first career start, while sophomore Tatjana Marincic was also able to play some quality minutes.
The first half started with a James lay-up as the ‘Canes pulled ahead early on. They began to lose the lead, however, in the middle of the half when St. John’s closed in. After two free throws from St. Johns’ Kati Kurtosi, the Red Storm had the score tied with five minutes remaining, but Miami awakened once again, gaining a 38-31 lead going into halftime.
UM picked up the pace and shot ahead 57-40 early in the second half. The ‘Canes held a 24-point lead with just under 10 minutes remaining, but couldn’t hold onto it. The Red Storm came alive in the final minutes, providing a few scares, but the Hurricanes kept St. John’s momentum down at the very end and finished their opponents off. There were 15 personal fouls in the second half alone for Miami.
“Obviously, 25 personal fouls is way too many in a ballgame, especially when you have a lead,” Head Coach Ferne Labati said. “We had a 24-point lead with 9:45 to go, and we lost the lead and didn’t score…We changed the combination of the lineup and told them they really had to work hard to maintain and increase the lead.”
James felt the shakiness of the game, but noted that a win was necessary.
“I don’t think we’re back on track because we still have to box out and rebound way better than we did,” she said. “[But] we played as a team tonight, and I think we’re satisfied with ourselves.”
The victory was sweet, indeed, but one is not nearly enough for the Hurricanes.
“That was a big drought but we had three tough games,” Wilkins said. “It feels good to beat [St. John’s], but that’s not the end. We have to win some more games to make a statement.”
Miami takes on Virginia Tech Saturday at 2 p.m. in Blacksburg.
“We’re one-and-one in the month of February and we’ve got to fight our way into the tournament,” Labati said. “February’s huge, and that’s important to us.
“I’m satisfied with the effort; we’re not satisfied with the focus yet. That’s the thing. A win at Virginia Tech would be huge. So, we’re looking forward to the trip up there.”
Melissa Teich can be contacted at m.teich1@umiami.edu.