Adrian College’s performance of “Titus Andronicus”  played in Downs Hall Threatre from April 11 to April 14.

“I really like the atmosphere that Downs Theatre has, both as an actor and a spectator,” said senior Teddy Drusell. “When I go to see a show, I feel like I am in the middle of the action, and as an actor, I feel as if it is easier to project and not worry about someone not being able to hear me in the smaller theatre.”

This Shakespearian production is surrounded by the controversy as to whether or not Shakespeare actually wrote it. If Shakespeare did write it, it was one of his first.

“‘Titus’ obviously has a different writing style compared to anything I have been in,” said Drusell. “The language was rather intimidating at first, but once I got an idea of what my lines were, the fact that Shakespeare writes in iambic pentameter allowed for me to avoid paraphrasing, because if I did, the line I tried to deliver would sound off.”

All scenes took place with no change of scenery in order to display the production as if a Renaissance-period acting troupe was performing “Titus” in the streets of Medieval Europe for people who pass by.

“The show was definitely for a more ancient audience, but I still enjoyed it,” said sophomore Danielle Whitley.

A couple major highlights from the play included the mutilation of Lavinia (Meg Kisch), in which the sons of the Queen of the Goths, Demetrius (Teddy Drusell) and Chiron (Tim Harkleroad) ravished her and cut off her hands and tongue. The blood was depicted with red streamers.

“This is an Asian form of acting, to use streamers as blood, and may not be recognizable at first, but [it] gets the point it is trying to make eventually as the audience realizes what it symbolizes,” said Micheal Allen, professor of threatre.

One of the main scenes portrays Death, Murder, and Rape coming to trick Titus (Ian Hugins), who is thought to be mad. Death, Murder, and Rape are really the Queen of the Goths and her sons.

This scene symbolizes Titus’s journey to becoming mad, but the impostors do not fool him, and he gets his revenge upon Demetrius and Chiron.

Another major highlight was the scene in which Titus had clearly reached madness and baked Chiron and Demetrius  into a pie, which he made the Queen of the Goths (Alisha Brink) eat. This set off a chain reaction of death in which Titus killed the Queen, and Saturninus (Matthew Pecek) killed Titus.

“I loved portraying my character. He was so childish and irrational; it was fun. There were times I could scream, cry, and laugh in all one scene,” said sophomore Matthew Pecek.

“Titus Andronicus” concludes Adrian College’s Theatre productions for Spring 2012, but there are many 2012-2013 productions to look forward to, such as; “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “Doubt,” “A Parable,” “Diana of Dobson’s,” and “Anatomy of Gray.”

“Social media is integration of technology, social interaction, words, photos and video,” said the presenter of the program, Janet Creque, the web content editor for the public relations office.

Some examples of social networking sites that Creque discussed during the brown bag included Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Skype, Youtube, and Google. Creque also played a video clip from socialnomics.com, which gave some insight into just how extensive the world of social networking is. According to the video, if Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s third largest nation. Also, if Wikipedia were made into a book, it would be 2.25 million pages long, and take over 123 years to read.

“The video was amazing,” said freshman Madison Cox. “I think it should be shown to students more.”

The clip stated that whereas 90 percent of customers trust online peer reviews of products, only 14 percent trust advertisements.

“I thought the video was very interesting, and very shocking,” said freshman Megan McPherson.

Creque explained that there are several ethical dilemmas that arise from the expansion of social networking. For her presentation, she focused on concerns of privacy and ethics in the workplace.

“There’s no real set rules on what is right and wrong,” Creque said. “It’s so new that nobody knows what to do with it yet.”

For instance, there is not a lot of privacy allotted by the Internet. People do not have to get someone’s permission to post a picture of them online.

Creque also addressed several questions concerning the workplace, such as whether companies should be able to ask their employees for their log in information into networking sites, and whether social media is a personal thing or if it should be shared with coworkers and employers.

“There’s been a lot of ethical concerns with social media in the workplace,” Creque said.

Creque also explained that managing your online reputation is important. She offered a bit of advice about posting online such as using common sense, being honest, and reading the terms of service and privacy settings for networking sites.

Oftentimes, adolescents do not realize how available and potentially damaging something they put online can be. No one should post something that they might regret.

“I’m a big proponent of educating kids about social media,” Creque said.

Right now, there is no way to absolutely delete something that is posted online. People should be careful what they post, because future employers and organizations could find information that might be deemed inappropriate.

“I feel like [this presentation] was an eye-opener,” Cox said. “I never really thought about the things I post.”

McPherson was also impressed with this final brown bag event.

“I found it to be very interesting, and it made me even question some of the things that I do,” she said. “I would definitely say that it gave me a different outlook.”

For those who wish to view the video that Creque showed about the expansion of social media, follow this link: http://www.socialnomics.net/2011/07/05/social-media-videos-2011/.

“It’s an event where we get students involved to help around the community,” said senior Heather Muylle.

Muylle is currently interning for the student activities office, and one of her responsibilities was to organize C.O.W.

“I personally think it’s a good thing to have on campus, because it gets students involved and brings more awareness of what’s happening in the community,” Muylle said.

Muylle got in touch with the presidents of the various student organizations on campus to see who was interested in participating in C.O.W.

“A lot of students contacted me,” Muylle said. “There were about 70 students [who participated].”

There were four different locations that students were able to volunteer for the week including the Humane Society, the Hope Center, the Salvation Army, and the YMCA.

Volunteers got to pick which one of the four locations that they wanted to work for.

Junior Clara Bauman, the president of People Against Animal Cruelty (PAAC), chose to volunteer at the Humane Society and encouraged her club members to volunteer as well.

“I got the C.O.W. list by email because I was the president,” Bauman said. “The Humane Society was on there, and I thought, by golly it’s time to go there.”

Bauman, along with fellow PAAC member junior Chelsea Howe, volunteered at the Humane Society last Thursday and Friday.

“The first day, we grabbed two dogs at a time and took them for walks,” said Bauman. “The second day we combed cats.”

The pair of PAAC members performed other tasks for the animal shelter as well.

“It was cool,” Bauman said about the volunteer experience. “They needed help with walking and playing with animals, which is what we like to do anyways.”

President of the Art Club, Shannon Kynion, also encouraged the members of her organization to volunteer. She chose the Salvation Army thrift store as their destination for volunteering.

“I liked their mission statement and what they’re all about,” Kynion said. “I thought it was good.”

Kynion, along with some other Art Club members, helped organize the store and hang up clothes. Kynion found the store employees to be very nice and welcoming to volunteers.

“They wanted us to come back,” she said.

According to Kynion, oftentimes college students get a bad reputation for not wanting to get involved within the community.

“It’s important to show people that we do want to get involved,” she said. “It’s important to give back. We are a part of this community.”

Kynion also said that she really appreciates the purpose of C.O.W.

“I think that it is a great idea, and I think they should continue it and maybe it’s even something we should do a couple times a year,” she said. “It reminds people we should be involved in the community.”

For this final show of the year, the seniors that have their artwork on display are Samantha Giovenco, Amy Merson, and Kate Slack.
Samantha Giovenco has a variety of photography pieces in Valade gallery.

“This work has been a way for me to deal with feelings of fear and anticipation of the next chapter of my life,” said Giovenco.

Most of Giovenco’s pieces depict nature in black in white. One piece is a picture of a dilapidated barn. Another is a close-up shot of an old staircase leading down to a cracked sidewalk. Yet another is the picture of lilies floating on a lake.

“For me, photography has become a tool for dealing with the plethora of conflicting emotions that accompanies a major change in my life,” said Giovenco.

Amy Merson has several pieces in the show, all in black and white. All of her photos are of dogs, small and large.

“Through the lens of a camera, I capture the essence of true beauty in unfavorable conditions,” Merson said.

In the images, individuals can see the wanting, desperate faces of dogs that just want a home. One in particular is a dog’s tags zoomed in to reveal the words “Adopt Me” around his collar.

“I hope through my photographs to achieves much for the dogs in shelters,” Merson said.

Kat Slack has one piece in the show, but her piece captures the entire room.

“This work was created to emulate an environment that has been modified by those who work for oil companies,” Slack said.

Her piece is made of clay pottery, and forms bands stacked on top of each other to form different lengths of towers. Some are simple, and others have a metallic shine.

“The glazes are reminiscent of the flashy metallic of steel and metal associated with factories, and the dullest glazes are almost symbolic of a puddle of in oil in a parking lot,” Slack said.

Amy Merson’s artwork is for sale, and 40 percent of what is earned will go towards the animal shelter. Bids are accepted in five-dollar increments. Bid sheets are available in Shipman Library.

Daniel Martin Morency performed “Be Prepared” from Disney’s “The Lion King” as Scar. Pecek, Martuch, and Hudgins played the three hyenas.

On March 6 at 7:30 p.m., senior Daniel Martin Morency performed his senior voice recital in Dawson Auditorium.  Morency sang pieces in different languages, time periods, and genres.

Morency started his recital off with two songs from “The Songs of Travel” by R. Vaughan Williams. The first was entitled “Bright is the Ring of Words” and the second was “Let Beauty Awake.”

In complete contrast with the first two pieces, “Arise Ye Subterranean Winds” from “The Tempest” by H. Purcell was next. This piece was more up tempo and had quicker note changes than the first two.

Morency then showed this audience his skills in German. He performed two pieces from “Die Zauberflot” by W.A. Mozart. The first piece was called “In Diesen Heilgen Hallen,” which roughly translates to “In These Hallow Halls”. The second piece was called “O Isis und Osiris” which was a song about two Egyptian Gods, Isis and Osiris.

Ending the first act, Morency performed “Votre Toast” from “Carmen” by G. Bizet. Carmen is a French opera that is set in Spain.

Morency opened the second act with the song “I’m All Alone” from the musical “Spamelot” by E. Idle. During this song, Morency was expressing how sad he was that he was all alone, and yet throughout the whole song, sophomore Mat Pecek was right beside him.

Morency also performed pieces in different languages, different time periods, and genres during his senior show. He sang two pieces in German from “Die Zauberflot” by W.A. Mozart.

“Heaven’s Light/Hellfire” were next performed by both Morency and Pecek. This piece was from Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” by A. Menken. Pecek sang “Heaven’s Light” which led into Morency singing “Hellfire.”

“‘Heaven’s Light’ was my favorite piece that I sang in Dan’s recital” said Pecek.

“The song fit my voice very well and I am happy he asked me to sing it with him.”

The next piece was another Disney song: “Be Prepared,” from “The Lion King,”  which was performed with Morency as Scar, and Pecek, senior Tim Martuch, and junior Ian Hudgins playing the three hyenas.

“I was not expecting Dan to ask me to be in his recital, but I am so glad he did,” said Hudgins. “I really enjoyed doing it.”

The next piece was from the musical “La Cage aux Folles” called “Song on the Sand” by J. Herman.

Next was a song entitled “Father, How Long?” from the musical “The Civil War” by F. Wildhorn.

“He is such a natural performer and he puts on some incredible shows,” said Pecek.  “My favorite piece that he sang was definitely ‘Father How Long’ from The Civil War.”

Morency ended his recital with two pieces from the musical “Les Miserables” by C.M. Schonberg. The first was entitled “Stars” and the second was “Empty Chairs and Empty Tables”.

“‘Empty Chairs and Empty Tables’ was my favorite song to sing in my whole recital because I love “Les Miserables” and I have a real connection with the show,” said Morency. “I feel like it went well. I was as great as I knew I would be.”

Various works of art are on display in Mahan over the course of the month until April 15. There are many types of media displayed in this show, including drawings, paintings, prints, and sculptures.

Select students were invited to display their work in the hallways of Mahan, based on their performance over the course of Fall and Spring semesters and their potential of continuing art in the future. Students who participate in this show also have a chance to have their work displayed in Mahan for one year.

Adrian College holds this invitational art show every year for a vast array of reasons.

“One reason is for visiting students to see art in the same building that they will be working in and being able to see what students can achieve here. Secondly, it is for our annual faculty and staff reception,” said Art Professor Deborah Campbell.

Lindsey Bunio has six pieces on display on the second floor of Mahan. One is a gray and white pencil drawing with a view of the seashore. The three major pieces are all close-ups of insects and have watercolor backgrounds, but are mostly colored pencil.

“I like my art to reflect the living aspects of nature,” Bunio said.

In one, a butterfly is perched on a flower eating the nectar, the second is a bee perched on a green leaf, and the third shows the evolution of the butterfly from a cocoon all the way through metamorphosis.

“The terrace in front of Caine is a great place to get an overview of everything,” Bunio said.

Junior Matt McKeen has three carefully crafted, natural-colored ceramic pieces on display on the first floor of Mahan. He aims for his work to be put to practical use, for instance, being displayed as a showpiece in people’s homes.

“I like people being able to see my work [on display]. I like it when they can see the content behind the work, and see the craftsmanship that was put into it,” McKeen said.

These works of art are in Mahan leading up to a soiree on April 15 that faculty and staff are invited to attend.

At this soiree, faculty and staff decide on a piece that they would like to hang in their office for the next academic year.

The piece chosen is framed before being displayed, but must be returned to the art department or the artist the following year.

The display is completely free of charge for faculty and staff, and allows for any person who visits the faculty art offices to be exposed to the work and atmosphere of AC’s art department without even stepping foot into the rest of the art building. It also shows support for AC’s art students, and gives them some experience with having their work be displayed in a professional style.

“From what I know at this point, the Small Business Association of Michigan is focused on servicing the needs of the small business community,” Janna D’Amico, the director of career planning said in an email interview. “Intern in Michigan, powered by Classroom to Career, is an online service that helps students connect with internship opportunities.”

According to the official SBAM website, the organization’s mission is to “help small and medium size companies succeed by leveraging buying power, engaging in political advocacy and promoting entrepreneurship.”

Intern in Michigan is a resource for individuals searching for jobs and for employers as well. This site works to connect students to employment that matches their interests and experience.

“It’s so competitive to find a job,” said Kellie Carnahan, the assistant director of the career planning office. “It’s not just about having a degree, it’s about having the hands on experience to back it up.”

According to Carnahan, internships can be extremely valuable to students because they illustrate that the student has had the experience necessary to qualify them for particular careers.

The partnership between SBAM and Intern in Michigan was formed partly in response to the economic situation in Michigan. Unemployment is high, and many college graduates are leaving the state. In fact, unemployment in Michigan is nearly 10 percent. However in some areas, like Detroit, unemployment is as high as 19 percent (huffingtonpost.com.)

Many students here at AC are being directly affected by this problem. They are seeing many of the people around them leave the state in search of work.

“Unless you have really deep connections with people… then you are forced to go outside Michigan,” said Junior Kate Westmaas. “My sister’s roommates had to move because there were no employment opportunities in Michigan.”

The partnership is hoping to encourage students to remain in Michigan by helping match graduates with employment opportunities. The AC career planning office helps to connect students with jobs, as well as internships during their college career.

“The partnership will help the small business [world] pre-screen talent and make connections between the students and the companies,” said D’Amico. “This is just another effort for Michigan to try and retain its talent.”

According to Carnahan, one change that might be a result of the affiliation between these two companies is that they will have more employment options available to students.

“We try to connect students with [the agencies] in our databases,” said Carnahan.

The career planning office currently has over 600 internships in its database. The office also specializes in helping students write, organize, and perfect their resumes.

“It’s never too early to come in [to the career planning office],” said Carnahan.

“The sooner they start, the better their resume is going to look.”

D’Amico does not think that the partnership between SBAM and Intern in Michigan will have any drastic effects on Adrian College students.

“I do not feel this will have any negative effects for college students,” she said.

“If nothing else, it is creating more internship opportunities for students and showing small businesses the benefits of taking on our best and brightest students as interns.”

Source: Huffington Post

Boghosian spoke on “Constraints on dissent: First Amendment limitations in contemporary America”. The First Amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

Her job mainly consists of travelling to different protests and observing law enforcement’s interaction with the protestors, in order to make sure that the protestor’s civil liberties are upheld. If civil rights are violated, she sues in defense of the plaintiff.

“It was cool to see someone who goes to protests but doesn’t really participate in them. They just see if the police are going to mess up,” said freshman Chelsea Gouine, fundraiser chair for the Pre-Law Club.

After 9/11, the United States cracked down on security, and law enforcement started to increase intelligence, surveillance, aggressive use of informants, and an expanded definition of terrorism. Police misconduct is at an all time high. Misconducts include spying, working with corporations, committing perjury, and arresting without probable cause.

“If we don’t use [protesting] and test the limits when the government is strict and the people are afraid, we risk losing those rights,” Boghosian said.
While states don’t completely violate civil rights when implementing ordinances, they are restricted.

“We found ordinances passed that state protestors must have a permit if they are over 50 people and it only lasts an hour,” Boghosian said. Individuals in New York City cannot use their bikes if they are in a group of more than 50 people.

The media exaggerates the protestor’s threat, and state and federal governments react with excessive force in order to scare protestor’s from changing the status quo.

“When people are afraid to come out of their homes, that is unfortunate because we are a country that’s known for our freedom of speech, and we’ve had people die for it,” Boghosian said.

According to Boghosian, law enforcement is overly anxious to fire their rubber bullets and spray mace into a dense crowd.

“When people are passionate about a cause we are going to see people say things that might be considered a threat,” said Boghosian. Most individuals are not threatening towards other individuals or officers, but officers are likely to retaliate in order to scare individuals away from future protests.

“I think that sometimes it is easy to get caught up in civil liberties arguments and lose sight of the realities enforcement; particularly [because] choices often have to be made in the heat of the moment,” said senior Jamie Besier, President of Pre-Law Club. “Her presentation did a good job of addressing the importance of protecting civil liberties, but doing so in a way that still allows for the safety concerns of enforcement personnel to be factored in.”

On March 29-30; Feminist Empowerment Movement (FEM) hosted their third annual Vagina Monologues.

The monologues are part of a nationwide campaign every year that aims to bring awareness to what is happening to women all across the world. The monologues cover a variety of different topics including rape, genital mutilation, giving birth, and men.

The monologues are the brainchild of Tony Award winning playwright Eve Ensler. The monologues originally started out as a comedy sketch, but soon turned into  something much bigger. To create the monologues, over 200 women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds were interviewed.

The answers that the women provided helped to create the first ever Vagina Monologues. The Vagina Monologues also helped to create the national V-Day Campaign. Every Feb. 14, there is a worldwide campaign to end violence against women and girls and to promote awareness of this violence.

“I think the Vagina Monologues are a great way to educate people on what is happening to women in different parts of the world,” said senior Jamie Hollingshead, vice president of FEM and the producer for the show this year. “The show helps to educate people through humor.”

The Vagina Monologues that were performed helped to raised money for   the Catherine Cobb Domestic Violence Shelter, which is a local organization. They also helped to raise money for the National Organization for Women in Washington D.C.

This year, 15 Adrian College women participated in the monologues. Due to the number of women that auditioned, some parts of the monologues had to be cut.

“We didn’t have enough people to do the full script,” said senior FEM president and director of the monologues, Amila Zecevic. “We had to cut a couple monologues, and we added a new ending to make up the deficit.”

The ending included the full cast reading statements about how they are fed up with the lack of caring and awareness about the violence towards women and girls around the world.

This year’s cast consisted of nine seniors and six juniors. It also included a performance of John Mayer’s song “Daughters,” performed by senior Will DeYoung.

FEM hosts The Vagina Monologues every year in March. Auditions for the monologues typically start around November. Due to this year’s cast being juniors and seniors, underclassmen are highly encouraged to try out.

“More people should think about FEM,” said junior Clara Bauman, a performer in the monologues. “There are a lot of juniors and seniors in the club, so there is a huge need for more people to be interested and join FEM. If you enjoyed the show, then you’ll enjoy the club.”

For more information on FEM, contact Jamie Hollingshead or Amila Zecevic at jhollingshead@adrian.edu or azecevic@adrian.edu. FEM meets in the Vivian Conference Room on the second floor of Caine every Wednesday at 8 p.m.

For more information on the Vagina Monologes or how you can get involved and help to spread awareness about violence against women and girls, visit vday.org.

Adrian College is an institution founded on tradition. One of its most recent customs has been Ribbons of Excellence Day, held every spring semester.

The Ribbons of Excellence are five categories or “ribbons”  – developing creativity, caring for humanity and the world, learning throughout a lifetime, thinking critically, and crossing boundaries and disciplines – which support the College’s mission statement. The idea is derived from the Cane Ceremony, in which a colored ribbon with the names of every graduating senior is tied to the Shepherd’s Crook each year. It is passed from the president of the senior class to the president of the junior class at commencement.

Tuesday marked the fourth installment of the prestigious event. Student presentations in all five disciplines were presented to peers, faculty and staff, and family members. Heather Schuyler, assistant professor of athletic training education, organized the day’s events.

“What I take from Ribbons of Excellence is how each student takes what they learn and can turn it into a format for others to comprehend,” said Dave Napieralski, coordinator of Greek Life and theme housing. “It’s very exciting as an administrator to see this.”

There were numerous presentations all day, the earliest beginning at 9 a.m., and ending with a series of poster sessions at 5 p.m. in the Adrian-Tobias Room.

One of the early afternoon sessions was given by junior Sarah Nietupski, who explored the work of Ludwig van Beethoven and how he used the horn (not the French horn) in two major works. She opened her presentation with a performance of “Sonata for Horn and Piano, Opus 17” to illustrate one of Beethoven’s composing techniques called Rondo form.

Nietupski went on to introduce Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica,” explaining that it was the first major symphony to include three horns. She played excerpts from Movement III to emphasize her point.

Other sessions, such as junior Cyle Rogotzke’s, were focused on contemporary issues. Rogotzke spoke on the lack of health literacy – the ability to understand health information – in the United States. He conducted a campus wide survey in which he discovered that students could identify certain doctoral professions and recognize the difference between a deductible and co-pay, but had difficulty distinguishing health care plans and understanding medical information.

“I thought it would be a good way to further educate myself in my chosen field,” Rogotzke said. “It’s also a good resume builder…It’s important for students to show what they can do and for other students to learn other aspects of education.”

Still other presenters, such as senior Lauren Fabian, engaged themselves in a text and presented their findings. Fabian’s speech was centered on the biblical characters of John the Baptist and Isaac, specifically focusing on their birth narratives. She concluded that both characters never achieve their potential and are overshadowed by the next major character in each story.

“I like how it gives people the opportunity to show their senior research in a professional setting,” junior Annie Gigowski said.

The day concluded with a special honors ceremony, which celebrated the academic accomplishments of AC students. Senior Krystin Stiefel was honored with the first-ever award given for an exceptional Ribbons of Excellence presentation. Her speech focused on comparing the cleanup of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown from over 25 years ago to the recent disaster at Fukushima in Japan. The faculty voted her presentation the best of the day.