MSUB The Retort v89i1

7/28/2019 MSUB The Retort v89i1

1/12

The Voice of Montana State University Billings for Over Half a Century

www.MSUBretort.orgFebruary 1, 2013 Volume 89, Issue 1

MSU Billings says farewell to University relations director dan carter

University and Gov-

ernment Relations

Director, Dan Carter,

left his current position with

MSU Billings on January 25.

Carter began working atMSU Billings in August of

2004 after an outstanding ca-

reer at the Billings Gazette.

His tenure at MSU Billings

found him working alongside

Chancellor Ron Sexton from

2004 2010, and Chancel-

lor Rolf Groseth from 2010

present. Dans competence

and results have been obvi-

ous to all throughout the state

with whom he has worked,

commented Chancellor Gro-

seth. As a campus, we will

feel a deep sense of loss and

void from his departure andhe will always command our

attention and our respect. On

a personal note, he was one of

the people who encouraged

me to come to Billings and

will continue to be a trusted

advisor.

Carters earnest one-on-

one interactions with local

media garnered him praise

by many members of the

press. Although he spent

much of his time cultivat-ing relationships through-

out the community; Carter

may be best known for his

time spent working with

state and local ofcials on

behalf of MSU Billings

and the Montana Universi-

ty System.

His legacy, however,

will be one of compassion

and caring for all Montana

students. Dan was the rst

person I would turn to when I

needed advice, said ASMSUB

President, Isaiah Garrison. In

May of 2012, Carter wasawarded the inaugural Stu-

dent Advocate Award from

the Montana Board of Regents.

Carter also was awarded the

Golden Service Award and

the Walter and Charlotte Pip-

By MSU BILLINGS

NEWS SERVICES

penger Excellence in Innova-

tion Award in 2011 and 2012

respectively.Carters caring for the

youth of Montana went far

beyond mentoring college-

aged students. Each year

Dano graciously volunteered

his time to be a counselor

at Montana Boys State, re-

marked co-worker Debbie

Brown. It was time he didntnecessarily have to spare, but

he was more than willing to

give knowing he was making

a difference in a kids life.

Famous screenwriter, Ani-

ta Loos once wrote, Mem-

PATRICIA HAMPTON

News & Campus Life Writer

Career Services assists students in the journey from college to career

T

raversing the cen-

ter of the Montana

State University Bill-

ings Main Campus, one

passes buildings which re-

main nameless without prior

knowledge or closer exami-

nation.

On rst glance, they can

be identied by a clock tower,

a wall of glass reecting the

rims, or exceptional height.

But amongst all of these there

is one ofce that is particular-

ly easy to recognize from the

outside looking in.

Career Services is situ-

ated on the south of the rst

oor of the Library Build-

ing. Its wall of windows look

out on both the path that cuts

across the western half of the

campus, but also that leading

north to the entrance of the

main building itself.

This vantage, described

by some as "prime real estate"

allows this ofce to be at the

heart of the campus, much as

the staff are eager to be at the

heart increasing the success

of future, current, and former

students in the business world.

The motto of Career Ser-

vices is to "Explore Hire Ed-

ucation," and they provide

many FREE services to assist

individuals in doing just that.

From the outset of a student's

journey from college to ca-

reer, Career Services is avail-

able to guide, advise, and pro-

vide information.

In terms of assisting with

UPCOMING

CAREER SERVICES

EVENTS

February 6:

Ask an Executive :

US Marshals Service/

Dept. of Justice

February 14:

Career Fitness Fair

2013 from Noon 3pm

February 20:

Ask an Executive:

Wells Fargo

February 27:

Ask an Executive:

The Center for Chil-

dren and Families

March 13:Ask an Executive:

Billings Public

Schools

April 3: Ask an Execu-

tive:

Billings Clinic

April 10:

Ask an Executive:

Youth Dynamics

April 26:

Teacher Recruitment

Interviews 2013 from

9:00-3:00 at Univer-

sity Campus College

of ED #122

Career Counseling and Job

Searches, during the 2011-

2012 year, they critiqued 922

resumes, and held 365 Coun-

seling Appointments. Dur-

ing the same year, 241 stu-

dents were placed in intern-

ships with the help of Career

Services.

Employers themselves of-

ten approach this Ofce to

recru it new employees. In

the elds of Business and In-

dustry, 107 companies inter-

viewed individuals through a

Career Services event, draw-

ing in 551 student partici-

pants. In education, 21 school

districts arranged interviews

through the campus. Career

Services frequently updates

their web postings, and adver-

tised a total of 1,698 full-time

positions in 2011-2012 (vis-

it CareerLink to view these

postings: www.myinterfase.

com/msubillings/student).

By visiting the Career Ser-

vices website, the public, cur-

rent students, and graduates

are able to submit questions,

as well as view information

about upcoming Career Ser-

vice sponsored events, such

as the weekly Ask an Exec-

utive which takes place each

Wednesday from 11am to

1pm on both the Main Cam-

pus and at the City College.

On Thursday, February

14th, Career Services will be

sponsoring its annual Career

Fair. Students have the op-

portunity to attend this event

and meet with employers.

This is a chance to ask ques-

tions about specic compa-

nies or positions in a specic

eld, hear real world accounts

in a students area of interest,

and be exposed to a multitude

of career opportunities open

to college graduates.

For more information

about Career Services, please

visit their website at www.

msubillings.edu/careers.

ory is more indelible than

ink. Dan Carter was some-

one who used ink to create

memories. A quick search

of the MSU Billings ar-

chived stories will dis-

play nearly 1,000 entries.

All penned by Dan Carter.Many were written about an

outstanding alumni, faculty,

or staff member, but more

often than not, Dan wrote

about students. Of special

interest were those students

who overcame obstacles in

their lives to persevere and

attain a degree at MSU Bill-

ings.

The pinnacle of any stu-

dents career is that moment

when they read their name in

the commencement program.

It is that snapshot in time

where years of hard work be-come reality. It is this indeli-

ble memory of parents rejoic-

ing, grandparents weeping,

and siblings focusing on the

road ahead where Dan Cart-

er shined the brightest. He

would spend tireless hours

making sure every graduate

was properly represented in

the program and that the de-

gree they achieved did not go

without notice. Every student

who held their head up high

as they walked across thestage heard their name read

aloud by Dan Carter. All told,

that is nearly 5,000 individu-

al memories. Memories, that

wont soon be forgotten.

When asked about Carters

nal days at MSU Billings,

Chancellor Groseth reected.

I know that ExxonMobil is

fortunate to be the beneciary

of our loss. However, all of us

in Billings are fortunate that

Dan will continue to be in the

area and to be active in point-

ing out the things that will

improve our community andour state. We send him with

our best wishes and want him

to know he will always have

a home at Montana State Uni-

versity Billings.

During the 2011-2012 year, Career Services

critiqued 922 resumes, held 365 counseling

appointments and placed 241 students in

internships.

Dan Carter announces graduates at the 2009 MSU

Billings commencement ceremony.


2/12

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no responsibility can be taken by The Retortor Montana State University Billings for any er-

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Montana State University Billings

Student Union Building 2281500 University Drive

Billings, MT 59101

Phone: 406-657-2193Fax: 406-657-2388

E-mail: [email protected]

Guidelines & Policies

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Faculty Advisor

Editor-in-Chief

Business Manager

Design Editor

Copy Editor

Online Editor


Sports Writer

A&E Writer

Outdoor Writer

Columnist

Columnist

Contributing Writer

Contributing WriterContributing Writer

Dan Carter

Leah Campbell

Nathan Evans

James Dean Hickman

Shawna Willoughby

Chris Claus

Patricia Hampton

Cory Lovec

Serene Crees

Tabby Maust

Holly Daniels

Tiff Hall

Nicole Mosure

Leanne GilbertsonAustin Finn

September 13, 2012

September 27, 2012

October 11, 2012October 25, 2012

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March 7, 2013

April 4, 2013

April 18, 2013

September 21, 2012

October 5, 2012

October 19, 2012November 2, 2012

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The Retort encourages the submission of student writing including, but not limited to: re-views, features, editorials, creative writing, or Letters to the Editor. Articles must be under 600

words in length, typed and include a rst and last name and phone number. Submissions writ-

ten anonymously will not be published. The Retort reserves the right to edit for space or for the

reasons stated above. All writing should deal with subject matter relevant to the students, fac-

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All submitted writing become the property of The Retort and cannot be returned.

Please submit writing to [email protected] or access our submission page on our web-

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Room 220. Please direct questions or comments about submissions to [email protected]

Welcome

back! As

The Retort

staff takes its rst,

gasping, anticipatory

breath of the new se-

mester, I cant help

but notice the ippant

nature of Little Tina,one of the ofce sh, or the soothing ambi -

ance of the new ofce color scheme with its 50

Shades of Brown carpet and cucumber vomit

wall paint. With all this t ranquil scenery laid

out before me, I am able to take a deep sigh

and begin to feel condent about the upcom-

ing semester.

This semester, The Retort welcomes some

old faces, and new. In the beginning when I

rst met my, at times, perplexing assistant

editor, Chris Claus, we discovered we had

two things in common our commitment to

making a quality paper that had an, at the

least, halfway presentable website and our

passive aggressive attitudes when it comes to

disciplining staff when they miss deadlines(me being more passive and Chris being more

aggressive). I only pray that Chris is able to

maintain his sanity (what little is left, that is)

for the next semester as he learns the ins and

outs of editing, layout and actually answering

the Retort ofce phone.

New to The Retort is opinion writer Holly

Daniels, copy editor Shawna Willoughby and

Business Manager Nathan Evans. You can

check out their bios on page 3 or online at

msubretort.org under staff bios. We are also

very excited to announce our rst online col-

umnist, Kendra Carter, who will be writing

The Liberty Review. Check out her great piece,

Go Voluntary at msubretort.org.

And while The Retort welcomes new faces,

it also must say goodbye to old(er). Dan Car ter,

our beloved advisor, will be leaving us for

other ventures. I have worked with Dan since

I started layout for The Retort in 2009 and

can honestly say he provided an abundance of

knowledge about journalism and always made

me feel at ease when I felt bombarded with

the strange quirks of newspaper editing. The

Retort will miss you, Dan. Good luck!

Looking ahead, you, dear reader, can an-

ticipate more of the things you enjoyed lastsemester: controversial opinions that may

make you question your beliefs or make them

stronger, updates on events and news at MSU

Billings, writing contests for gift cards, movie

and book reviews, captivating feature stories,

sports interviews, Ask Tiff, and perhaps an-

other article on how shallow people are (be-

lieve it or not, this was our most popular ar-

ticle online).

I also want to remind you that February 1st

is the deadline for turning in the MSU Bill-

ings scholarship application. This is a great

opportunity for students to get scholarships

and it doesnt matter what major you are or

how far along in college you have come. Re-

member that the application requires an essayand 3 letters of recommendation. For more in-

formation about applying for scholarships, go

to http://www.msubillings.edu/scholarships/

apply. I can say from personal experience, ll-

ing out the application is worth the time and

effort.

As always, at The Retort, we love our vol-

unteer writers and encourage anyone to write

for us! If you think this is something youd

be interested in, please shoot us an email at

[email protected]. Now take a deep

breath in and let the joys of new beginnings,

new classes and the count-down to summer

begin.


3/12

3

KENDRA CARTEROnline Columnist - The Liberty Review

NATHAN EVANSBusiness Manager

Meet The retorts newest staffBy PATRICIA HAMPTON


HOLLY DANIELS

Opinion Writer

Holly Daniels is a veryopinionated person.

Seriously, she has an

opinion on almost anything

and she likes to back those

opinions up with facts. She is

working toward a bachelor of

ne arts with a minor in Soci-

ology so she knows what she

is talking about most of the

time. One of here favorite past

times is beating people over

the head with truths such as

feminism. She dreams of one

day transforming this country

into a socialist utopia along

the lines of the federation inStar Trek. She plans on doing

this with the help of her Iron

Man style suit just as soon as

she gures out how to build

an arc reactor. We nally g-

ured that if we cant get her

to shut up we might as well

get her to write all her blath-

er down.

Nathanael Nate Ev-

ans is a non-tradition-

al student with his

hand in many cookie jars. In

addition to taking over as the

Business Manager of The Re-

tort, he is also; the ManagingEditor of The Rook for 2012-

2013, a member of the Uni-

versity Honors Program, a

full time student, an entrepre-

neur, a husband, and the fa-

ther of three children.

Iwas raised, but not born

in Billings, MT. I was al-ways the weird girl

in school and not much

has changed since. Eventual-

ly I had a daughter, got mar-

ried and then divorced. Now

as a single mom to a seven

year old Im pursuing a ca-

reer as a mortician and bid-

ing my time at MSUB while I

complete my general studies

before transferring to a mor-

tuary school. (Yes, I have

worked with dead bodies.

I've worked at a funera l home

before. No, it really isn't that

Featured Club: DVAAS

An organization still

in its infancy, the

Domestic Violence

Abuse Awareness Society

(DVAAS) has been and con-

tinues to be dedicated to rais-

ing awareness and preven-

tion of domestic violence and

abuse. To kick off the 2013

year,this has meant Words of

Hope Cranes, domestic vio-

lence prevention photo shoots,

and a Comedy Tsunami event

this coming March.

The nation was shaken to

the core on December 14th

when reports of the Sandy

Hook Elementary Schoolshooting spread. Yet another

act of violence, of evil, had

rocked the country at the

expense of twenty-six lives,

including those of twenty

young children.

In response to these terri-

ble losses, DVAAS members

pulled together to show New

Town support and to let it be

known that even those as far

away as Billings, Montana,

were mourning the losses

with the affected community.

On Saturday, January 5th, the

DVAAS group sponsored the

"Words of Hope Cranes" event.

It was held in the Banquet

rooms of the Student Union

Building from noon until

6:00pm. The goal was to fold

one thousand origami cranes,

and attach words of hope,

well-wishes, and prayers to

send to the Sandy Hook com-

munity.

DVAAS has continued to

participate in other anti-do-

mestic violence campaigns.

The previous day had found

several DVAAS core mem-

bers participating in a domes-

tic violence awareness photo

shoot by Chris Claus Photog-

raphy. The subjects held signs

with phrases such as "Rela-

tionships Should Heal Not

Hurt," "Domestic Vio-

lence Prevention Begins With

Me," and "Domestic Violence

Hurts Everyone!"

Throughout the nine

months since DVAAS be-

gan, the community has

been a signicant compo-

nent of its support system.

Not only have community

members expressed interest

in being on-going members

of the planning and organiz-ing committee, but have also

brought fundraising ideas to

the group, as well as

organizing events which

would benet the organiza-

tion's cause.

Recently, DVAAS was ap-

proached by Diane Kylander,

proposing Comedy Tsunami

as a benet for domestic

violence awareness, where

DVAAS will be the benecia-

ry. This event will be held on

March 9th at Bones Brewery.

The evening will begin with

the doors opening at 6:00pm.

During the dinner (which

will span from 7:00pm until

8:00pm), the Spiral Skies Bel-

lydancers will perform for the

audience. Comedy Tsunami,

a comedy routine performed

by six comics (Mark Dawson,

Tamara Upton, Mark Kram-

lich, Larae Lowenstein, Di-

ane Kylander, and Jim Huer-

tas), will take the stage. Mark

Dawson, an MSUB alumnus,

will act as Master of Ceremo-

nies. Winner of t he 2011 Mon-

tana Comedian of the Year,

Dawson has recently had the

opportunity to open multiple

shows in Las Vegas for Lou-

ie Anderson. Tamara Upton,

also known as "The Queen of

TMI," often presents herself

with professional dress and

manners, before whipping out

her sharp wit and often ugly

truths of womanhood. Since

Mark Kramlich was a teen, he

has always wanted to try his

hand at comedy, and while

he is still learning, Kramlich

feels right at home on the

stage. LaRae Lowenstein was

born and raised in North Da-

kota, and is passionate about

comedy and making her audi-

ence laugh. Diane Kylander,the featured comic of the eve-

ning, is sixty-nine years old,

and has been called "Billings'

Golden Girl." She often par-

ticipates in open-mic nights

around Billings, and has per-

formed at the Comedy Store

in Hollywood. Kylander has

had numerous years of perfor-

mance experience, and is now

focusing on stand-up and pro-

duction, and writing a book.

Jim Huertas - the headliner

for the event - was born and

raised in Los Angeles, and

now lives in Billings working

as a Police Ofcer, and enjoys

emphasizing how to "Make

Success Your Only Option" in

his routines on stage.

Following the Comedy

Tsunami performance, a band

will be on hand to perform for

several hours. The fee for this

event is $25 VIP seating ($30

at the door on the night of the

event), and $20 for general

admission, and includes ad-

mission to the event, as well

as dinner.

For more information, visit

www.DVAAS.org.

gross, etc.) My major inter-

ests include

politics and philosophy.

Im currently the secretary of

the Yellowstone County Re-

publican Central Committee,

and I also served as the sole

grassroots organizer for Ron

Pauls campaign during 2012.

I've been known to be a vora-

cious reader and I consume

knowledge with great enthu-

siasm. I also actively sup-

port and contribute to localart and music. People tell me

I am eclectic. I draw from all

kinds of diverse subjects no

matter if its contradictory or

not. I like what I like. My in-

terests can be obscure; I have

tattoos and a sarcastic

personality. I think that

about sums it up.

SHAWNA WILLOUGHBY

Copy Editor

Hi! I am a senior work-

ing on an extend-

ed English major. Id

love to wind up editing books

one day, so Im looking for-

ward to some great experi-

ence working here at The Re-

tort! I got some practice in

last year as copy editor of The

Rook, which I am doing again

this year. Outside of school, Ienjoy hanging out at home

at least until summer, when I

spend as much time as I pos-

sibly can camping, prefera-

bly with as many of my kids

and grand kids as can join me!

I also love to read, though

lately, doing so for fun has

seemed like a bit of a novelty.

If Im not working on home-

work or lost in a book, I can

be found with either jewelrytools and wire or else a cro-

chet hook and some yarn in

hand, making gifts or inven-

tory for my Etsy shop, called

The Crafty Dragons Lair.


4/12

4

SERENE CREES

A&E Writer

As a child I loved sto-

ries like The Chron-

icles of Narnia, The

NeverEnding Story, Lord of

the Rings, and The Hobbit. So

I was thrilled when they all

started coming out as mov-

ies. I have been waiting sincethe last L.O.T.R. came out for

them to do The Hobbit! I had

it so built up in my mind that

I was sure that I was going

to be disappointed when I -

nally saw itand I wasnt! It

was actually better than I had

anticipated and what made it

even more so was that it wasmy rst experience

seeing a movie in 3D.

I know that some peo-

ple are not fans of the

3D fad but I love it! My

friend and I sat in the

second row and it was

like we were actually

there!

I absolutely loved every-

thing about this movie. I

thought they did a great job

with costumes and the effects

were fabulous! There was

nothing I would change about

the movie. It was funny, ad-venturous, and had lots of ac-

tion to keep the long movie in-

teresting and engagingand

with the 3D thrown inwhat-

ever youre looking for, Id

say this movie is a win-win! This has always been

one of my favorite sto-

ries and I LOVED the

version that came out in 1998

(with Liam Neeson, Claire

Danes, Uma Therman, and

Geoffrey Rush). So, I was re-

ally excited to see this mov-

ie because it combined some

of my favorite elements: mu-

sic, a story from another pe-

riod, and my Christian views.

Well, I was very, VERYdisappointed!!! The vocals

by many of the characters

were horrible. I was actual-

ly REALLY surprised at how

many of them used poor tech-

nique; weak breath support

and control, atrocious diction

and enunciation, quite a few

of them were singing with

their throat and not their di-

aphragm, Mr. Tongue was

constantly in the way--the

whole movie I wanted to get

a tongue depressor and beat

their tongues into submis-

sion (private joke amongst vo-cal majors)--oh, and some of

them were even singing the

The Hobbit: an unbelievable journey Les Miserableswrong voice part!!The reason I picked up on

all of this is because I was

a vocal major for three se-

mesters and have taken

voice lessons since I was

ten. So, though I dont pre-

tend to be Doug Nagel (my

previous voice teacher in

our music dept.), I do have

many years of experience.

As for the rest of the

movie, though they did

do a great job with act-

ing the story, the cos-

tumes, and sets, I was very

disappointed in the ef-fects in the beginning and

throughout other parts of

the movie. I was surprised

that it was so easy to tell

when they were using digital

effects. They could have used

some help from the special

effects team from The Hobbit

(which was AWESOME!).

I was also very frustrated

at how legalistic they were in

portraying Christian doctrine.

I will admit that it was pret-

ty typical of that time period

due to the Catholic inuence.

But I do wish they wouldhave used more of the origi-

nal story in developing the in-

teraction that changed Jean

Valjeans life when he was

granted grace and forgiveness

by the priest. I also think that

the story glories death and

that is not a good message ei-

ther.

Overall I would say I was

disappointed by many as-

pects of the movie, but I still

found it entertaining and I

would recommend it for peo-

ple who arent affronted by

high squeaky voices, archaicspecial effects, or depressing

doctrines of death.enjoy!

DREDD

On a dreary Friday af-

ternoon in early Jan-uary, I found my way

to my local Redbox and de-

spite my subconscious pleads

to get something at least half-

way intellectually stimulating

like 2016: Obamas America

or something historical like

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire

Hunter, I went for something

different: Dredd.

This action-and-violence

packed movie is a remake of

the 1995 Judge Dredd which

starred Sylvester Stallone.

Though I have not seen the

95 version, I have heard thatthe two lms bear little re-

semblance. Despite this, I am

still not at all compelled to

see the rst one.

In general, to my surprise,

Dredd has received most-

ly positive reviews. On Rot-

tenTomatoes.com, Dredd re-

ceived 4 out of 5 stars. Per-

haps to appreciate this lm,

one must be familiar with

the original British comics

or view the movie in 3D but

even so, the unoriginality of

BREAKING DAWN part 2

Winter Break Movie Fest

The Retorts picks of best

and worst winter flicks

The Twilight Saga:

Breaking Dawn Part 2

hit theaters with much

anticipation. From avid read-

ers of the saga to fans of just

the movies, all alike were

anxiously eager to see this -

nale.

The best part of this movie

for me was seeing it with an

old friend who was home for

the Holiday break.

I read the books in highschool, well almost all of

them--I got bored halfway

through Breaking Dawn and

had to force myself to go back

and nish it a year later. Af-

ter reading the books it only

made sense to see the movies,

of course.

This movie begins with

newborn Bella Cullen; she is

nally a vampire just as she

has been pining for since the

rst movie. She and Edward

have a child, Renesme, who is

half human and half vampire.The rst long scene of

the movie, which really

stands out, is a sex scene

between Bella and Edward

in a beautiful house that

the Cullens have provided

in the middle of the woods.

My complaint with this

scene is that this series is

maturing too fast for most

of its audience. The movies

have gained interest from a

younger generation.

It is one thing for a scene

like this in a book being

read by younger readers,although I still dont en-

tirely agree its appropriate.

But the line between fanta-

sy and reality becomes more

blurred when it is seen on the

big screen.

Is this really what we want

our children watching and

thinking that the ideal fanta-

sy should be?

Aside from the over-inti-

macy of the main vampires,

the rest of the story ows

seamlessly to the point where

you are sure that the ght

scene is really happening.And if you are like me you al-

most cry when you see Carl-

isle attacked by the Volturi;

he was my favorite character,

what can I say?

You later learn this is just

a vision from Alice Cullen to

the Volturi, so I have to give

the movie makers props for

making it so seamless.

The makeup and clothing

was just as wonderful on the

Cullen family as it has been

in the other movies.

Animation did a great job

with the werewolves and thetransformation. They have

succeeded in making you

think that Taylor Lautner and

the others really are were-

wolves in their normal lives.

The soundtrack was okay;

its lost a little bit of steam

from the others, but all in all

my main disgruntlement with

this lm was the wasted time

on things not important to the

story.

the story as a whole strikes

me as an utter failure: com-

plete with good guys ver-

sus bad guys, the veteran cop

who must train the underesti-

mated rookie all which takes

place in a futuristic world that,

despite its technology (like adrug that makes everything

move in super slow motion),

cant seem to handle an apart-

ment complex drug lord who

also happens to be a former

prostitute.

But, I suppose maybe I

didnt get this movie to watch

the main character embark on

some journey of self-discov-

ery and eventually fall spon-

taneously and madly in love

with the rookie in the nal

LEAH CAMPBELL

Editor-in-Chief

NICOLE MOSURE

Contributing Writer SERENE CREESA&E Writer

scene. As a science c-

tion action ick, I got this

movie to see how messedup some people think our

world is going to be in a

few hundred years and

based on this lm, theres

going to be super-cops

with burdensome red hel-

mets (I still dont know

how that thing was help-

ing instead of hindering),

badass girl psychics, ho-

micides abounding, blood,

guts and guns. I guess

things could be worse,

right?


5/12

5

LEANNE GILBERTSON

Northcutt Steele Gallery Director

Montana State Uni-

versi ty-Bi l l ings

Department of

Arts Northcutt Steele Gal-

lery features the work of Co-

rey Drieth from January 17

through February 21. Drieths

solo exhibition entitled De-

votional consists of gouache

paintings on wood that ex-

plore contemplative religious

experiences through the ma-

nipulation of line, color, tex-

ture, and scale. Drieths seem-

ingly minimal works createcomplex, meditative illusions

of light and space that reward

close viewing.

Drieths works begin with

basic design and construc-

tion materials of gouache and

Ox (for P.G.), Gouache/Ink/Aquarel/Wood

wood. Using an economical

aesthetic, Drieth creates a vi-

sual dialogue between paint-

ed surface and wooden sub-

strate, producing a resonance

that is expansively mysteri-

ous yet intimately familiar. In

our media-saturated existence

of de-humanizing speed, clut-

ter, and noise, Drieths works,

lled with stillness, quietude,

and subtlety, serve as both a

foil to the frenetic activity of

contemporary life and a meth-

od of sustenance within it.Drieth is Assistant Profes-

sor of Painting and Drawing,

as well as the Co-Director of

the Visual Arts Program, at

University of Colorado, Colo-

rado Springs. He has an active

QDear Tiff,

Ive been in school

for over 2 years now

and each semester there

seems to be some huge crisis;

my health, a death, or a break

up. Each semester I struggle

so hard with how to deal with

life AND be a good student.

I look around at other people

and they seem to cope with

everything with no problem.I feel like by the end of each

semester Im barely holding it

together and when a new one

starts I dread it and cant wait

for it to be over. How do I deal

with everything without be-

ing near catatonic by the end

of the semester?

-Pre-Catatonic Charlie

ADear Pre-Catatonic

Charlie,

I want you to know

that you are not alone. I think

most students feel over-

whelmed by the end, and

sometimes beginning, ofeach semester (thats why we

NEED winter and summer

breaks). However, each per-

son handles the stresses of

school and life differently. If

how you are handling what

life throws at you is not work-

ing, then you need to look

at your coping mechanisms

and decide what is and isnt

healthy. We cant control life,

but we can control how we re-

spond to it. The following is

a list of some healthy ways

Northcutt Steele gallery features corey drieths devotional exhibitionexhibition record of solo and

group exhibitions and is rep-

resented by the Jen Bekman

Gallery in New York. He re-

ceived his MFA from Univer-

sity of North Carolina and his

BFA in Art and BA in Philos-

ophy/Comparative Religious

Studies from Colorado State

University.

A conversation with the

artist will be held on Thurs-

day, February 21 beginning at

4pm in the Northcutt Steele

Gallery and a closing recep-

tion will follow from 5pm

7pm. The conversation, re-ception, and exhibition are all

free and open to the public.

The Nothcutt Steele Gal-

lery is located on the 1st oor

of the Liberal Arts Building

on the MSUB campus and is

that I, and other people, use to

cope with stress.

*TAKE A DAY OF REST:

There have been studies done

by secular psychologists and

they have found that there are

signicant benets to taking

a day off to rest. These stud-

ies have found that if you set

aside a specic day each week

and you make sure your dayis entirely restful--you dont

go to school or work and you

dont do any school work,

housework, or even paying

bills--they say if you take

this time and use it to have

some alone time and have

some fun (with or without

people), then you will actual-

ly accomplish more the rest of

the week than if you worked

the whole seven days! There

are health benets to resting

also. The studies have shown

that people who take a day of

rest over the course of a yearhave lower weight and blood

pressure, and they also have

an increase in immune sys-

tem function as well as an in-

crease in the production of

happy hormones!!

*HAVE A GOOD SUP-

PORT SYSTEM: Having

people you can talk to is re-

ally important. We all need

friends, yes, and it is impor-

tant to have healthy friend-

ships, but having a relation-

ship that is specically for the

purpose of you being able to

vent safely is even more so.

Some people go to counsel-

ing, others have mentors or

pastors they talk to, but we all

need a safe place to talk about

what is going on in our lives.

I personally have a few

older women that I go towhen I need advice because I

nd talking with mentors is a

good way to get different per-

spectives. Plus, sometimes if

you only have one mentor s/

he may not be available when

you need him/her. Also, no-

tice I said older. It is great to

have friends your own age,

but having people older than

you in your life provides you

with wisdom you dont have

yet. I love the expression:

"Learn from my mistakes so

you dont have to make the

same ones.*HAVE GOOD TIME

MANAGEMENT: I recently

read a book about how to not

waste time and it was AMAZ-

ING (How to Get Control of

Your Time and Your Life by

Alan Lakein). There was a

whole list of things that eat

up our time and procrastina-

tion was the #1 thing that I,

and most people, are guilty of.

There are some things that I

get done right away but there

are others that I constant-

ly put off (in some cases for

YEARS!). If you have issueswith procrastination then I

would recommend reading

this book.

*KEEP YOUR HOME/

DORM ROOM TIDY, FREE

OF CLUTTER & GET OR-

GANIZED: There have been

numerous studies on the ef-

fects of clutter and disorga-

nization and how it increas-

es most peoples stress level

a messy and cluttered home

usually equals a messy and

cluttered life.

QDear Tiff,

Ive been in a re-

lationship for about

3 months and I think Im in

love. Should I tell the person?

-In Love In Silence,

A

Dear In Love In Si-

lence,

Well, rst thing:you said you think you love

this person. I would say that

unless you are SURE you

love them, dont say anything.

Words are like toothpaste out

of the tube; once its out there,

its OUT THERE! The next

thing I think you need to con-

sider is how long, or rather

how short, you have been to-

gether. If you had been dating

a year then I would not have

any concerns, but given the

short duration of your rela-

tionship, I would suggest that

your feelings are more infatu-

open MondayFriday from

8am to 4pm. For more infor-

mation visit: www.msubill-

ings.edu/gallery and www.

facebook.com/northcuttsteel-

egallery.

Blue Abstraction, Gouache/Ink/Charcoal/Wood

MSUBillings.edu/TheRook

Montanas Premier Collegiate Art and Literature Journal

To submit, Apply, contact us, or read previous volumes go to:

PoetryShort StorysCritcal EssaysCreative Nonfiction

Visual Art

Deadline March 17th

ation, lust and happiness than

love. Im sure you DO care

for this person, but it takes

time to get to know someone

to the point of loving them.

That way you know the good

and the bad and it is no longer

happy feelings but a choice

to love them in their entirety

and no matter what.

One last thing, I would also

recommend thinking about

your expectations for their

response. If you are wanting

to hear that this person loves

you back, then I would advise

that you watch their actions

to see if they reect the kind

of love you would want. After

all, tr ue love is not just a noun,

its a verb.


6/12

6

Comic courtesy of www.XKCD.com

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togetrid

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ber, or website for further information-If you would not like to include your name or contact info in the ad, we

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Please direct questions about Classieds to [email protected].

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid 4dr, Automatic, 2WD,A/C, CD, 70K miles, Great mileage! $12000 Ask forBailey 406-652-3314


7/12

7

PATRICIA HAMPTONNews Writer

What fascinates

readers, and keeps

them coming back

for more?

How do the most well-

known authors earn their rec-

ognition and appreciation?

More specically, what is

it about the works of Nicho-

las Sparks that keeps his base

of readers and movie-goers

growing with every passing

day?

Nicholas Sparks has writ-

ten fteen novels, and co-written one memoir with his

brother Micah. Without ex-

ception, Sparks novels have

been featured on the New

York Times Bestseller list,

and in total have sold over

fty million copies in the

United States alone.

This February 14th, the

release of Safe Haven will be

the eighth of Sparks novels

to be adapted into lm, fol-

lowing The Lucky One, Mes-

sage in a Bottle, A Walk to

Remember, The Notebook,

Nights in Rodanthe, Dear

John, and The Last Song.But that is all just back-

ground now for getting into

what is truly interesting about

Sparks as an author. What do

people love about him?

From the stand-point of

Kylie Warhman, I think

people like him because of

his talent for creating stories

that catch people's eyes and

that most of his works are ro-

mance which most girls typi-

cally like to read. This is the

perception of a majority of

The raw truth behind nicholas sparks popularity

readers and viewers. While

not necessarily going so far as

to say that Sparks works are

chick-icks, they do appeal

highly to the female popula-

tion, which is often attributed

to the romantic nature of the

pieces.

While he is publicly recog-

nized and praised more often

by women than by men, very

few men (though admittedly

they do exist) are not familiar

with at least his name. Blake

Norbury, a sophomore stu-

dent at MSU Billings, enjoys

reading Nicholas Sparks and

commented that His use of

words and how he portrays

the characters is very, very

real and believable...his sto-

ries reect who he is as a man

and as a human being who

knows what love is. Clearly

from this, conclusions can be

drawn that what some readers

are drawn to is the pure hu-

manity behind the writing.

In order for these works

to have as great an impact as

they do, there must be more

to their popularity than the

romance novel that women

enjoy as Warhman expressed,

and the humanity appreciated

by individuals such as Nor-

bury.

Nicholas sparks captures

the hearts of hopeless roman-

tics, explained Nikki Linn,

a sophomore in the Health

and Human Performances

Health Promotion program at

MSUB. He bases his stories

off of events that happen in

everyday life and gives those

who are struggling with the

same issues he writes about

the knowledge that someone

is out there for you. Whether

its a widowed man or abused

woman, people of all types

can nd love even in a hope-

less state. As we read we ex-

perience the characters' hard-

ships. We cry when they cry,

we love when they love...

So many situations are

faced in Sparks novels, that

individuals face and have dif-

culties with each and every

day. As romances, of course

love and all of its connected

emotions and reactions are

explored in these pieces, but

beyond that are the emotions

and situations that are more

difcult and even avoided.

Loss is a strong compo-

nent in these pieces not only

the loss of love with a sig-

nicant other (whether short

lived, or long term) but also

the loss, and ensuing empti-

ness, brought on by a death.

How can you say good-bye to

someone you love, when you

know that youll never see

them again? Once someone

is taken from us, how can we

ever look at life in the same

light, with the same happi-

ness, that we were once able

to?

Sparks portrays that it is

not about getting over or for-

getting about a difcult pass-

ing and loss, but about nding

joy in life again, in what we

do or in the others who we

love.

Reading Sparks novels,

or watching their lm adap-

tations, succeeds in leaving

the audience raw, having to

experience t he circumstances

and emotions of the charac-

ters, and in turn experiencing

those emotions for their own

situations. The vicarious ex-

perience that the audience has

with the character can lead

to a certain degree of insight

into ones own joys and pains.

If some opposing view-

points were not presented

then this review would be

somewhat incomplete. Ac-

cording to Christa Bigelow,

an English major on the Main

Campus, I like his work, and

my only complaint would be

that his stories seem to have

a singular pattern. The man

and woman come together in

a point in their lives and make

a connection, something or

someone tries to break them

apart, and in the end they usu-

ally end up together. I still like

his stories because each story

is set in a very nice beauti-

ful way, and even though youknow they are going to be

with each other it doesn't stop

the reader from reading. He

can draw in his audience in

a very special way, he makes

his characters relatable and

the audience roots for the

couple to be together.

The conclusion can be

drawn that the primary forces

involved in Sparks popular-

ity can be traced to the subject

matter of the material, the

well-written and descriptive

passages, and most impor-

tantly, the humanity and abil-

ity to truly capture the reality

behind the ctitious moments

that he creates. Freshman

Erin Robinson, studying both

English and History, sums

up the essence of Nicholas

Sparks nicely, highlighting

the fact that he allows us to

escape from reality for a little

while. He paints a world that

has a happy ending. He also

shows that everything is go-

ing to be okay in the end, that

someone really does love you.

A thing many people forget.


8/12

8

HOLLY DANIELS

Opinion Writer

Gun control is always

a hot button issue, es-

pecially in states like

Montana where guns are a

way of life. I have always be-

lieved that people should be

able to own guns because in

places like Montana and Wy-

oming they are often a neces-

sity. I have personally owned

guns ranging from a little .22

all the way up to a semi auto

AK47. Sometimes, these guns

are necessary. When I livedout in the country, it was nec-

essary to have guns to protect

the livestock from predators.

Growing up, most of our meat

Gun Control Shouldnt Even Be a Debatecame from wild game that my

dad and brothers hunted. That

said, there are some guns that

are not a necessity for normal

everyday gun owners.

For example, the AK47

was a fun gun. I loved tak-

ing it out to the range and

just throwing as many bullets

as I could down range and

punching multiple holes into

the target all at once. How-

ever, that was just for fun.

That AK was never going to

be used for hunting, it wasn't

accurate enough. It was never

going to be used for home de-fense because with that many

high-powered bullets coming

out of it we would have been

more likely to wreck up the

house than hit an intruder.

That gun was purely for fun.That gun was designed for a

specic purpose, to put as

many bullets as possible into

a large area in a short amount

of time. It was designed for

warfare. That is why it wasclassied as an assault rie.

Did we need that gun? Of

course not. We had it because

it was fun. It was useless for

any other purpose.

Even though this gun was

a whole lot of fun to shoot and

really useless unless we want-

ed to make a whole bunch of

things be full of holes at the

same time, it was surpris-

ingly easy to obtain. My ex-

husband simply walked into

a gun shop, gave them some

money, they checked with the

ATF to make sure he wasn't aterrorist, and they gave him a

gun. Nobody asked if he knew

how to use it responsibly or

even if he knew how to load it.

He gave them money and they

gave him a gun. It was more

difcult to buy our car than it

was to buy that gun. This is

where I run into the ridicu-

lousness of the situation.

In order for me to buy a

car and be able to drive it I

have to get a title and license

it with the state. I also have

to have a driver's license that

I had to pass a test to obtain.

The state requires this to

make sure that I know what I

am doing when I get behind

the wheel of a car and that

way I have less of a chance ofhurting myself or somebody

else. They make me register

my car with the state of Mon-

tana so if something happens

that involves that car they

will know who the owner is.

At this point in time the only

hoops that need to be jumped

through are for those who are

purchasing fully automatic

military weapons.

Now if for every gun that

was purchased, what if we re-

quired the person purchasing

it to obtain a license by com-

pleting hunter's safety? Thatwould ensure that the gun

owner at least knew the ba-

sics of gun safety and would

be less likely to have an acci-

dent involving that gun. What

if we also required guns to be

licensed with the state when

they were purchased or sold?

Aside from any paranoid fan-

tasies about a gun owner

database or some silly non-

sense like that, wouldn't that

be helpful if a gun was used

in a crime?

These restrictions are no

more stringent than those

that are put on vehicles. Re-

sponsible, law-abiding citi-

zens should have no problem

following these restrictions.

These restrictions do not in-fringe on the second amend-

ment, people would still be

allowed to own and purchase

guns, but they would en-

sure that those who owned

guns knew how to use them

responsibly. Unfortunately,

there seems to be an idea that

regulating something is the

same as restricting it. That

is not true. We do not restrict

who can and cannot drive a

car so long as they meet the

requirements to be able to op-

erate that vehicle in a safe and

responsible fashion. Why is itso hard to suggest that we do

the same thing with guns?

Want to go vegan? doyour homework first

NICOLE MOSURE

Contributing Writer

Vegetarians, vegans,and semi-vegetarians.

I love them all, and

personally tend to lean to-

ward the latter. This column

is in no way intended to bash

this lifestyle. However, there

is a difference between being

a vegetarian because it is the

cool thing to do or believing it

will actually make you popu-

lar, and actually having a rea-

son to not eat meat.

Vegetarianism is a way of

life, not just something you

take on because all of your

friends are doing it. It is really

important that people begin to

realize this.

Most people do choose

this lifestyle because of their

views on meat and the treat-

ment of mis-treatment of ani-

mals that make the food, but

it is those who choose it for

different reasons that give

vegetarians a bad name.

A vegan is a person who

does not eat any animal by-

products, including dairy,

eggs and honey; a vegetarian

is someone who does not eat

any form of meat; a semi-veg-

etarian is one who does not

eat red meat but may eat shor poultry.

For one thing, I would like

to take a minute to point out

that people need to clarify

their views on red meat in-

stead of saying that they

can't have meat. What does

this mean? Are you allergic to

beef or pork like some are al-

lergic to sh? Will your throat

close and kill you if you eat

meat? Why not simply say, I

am a vegetarian. I prefer not

to eat meat.

The other issue that seems

to appear is that vegans and

vegetarians make huge dealsabout not being able to eat

certain things. This, again, is

another example of an over-

reaction. When you made the

decision about your lifestyle,

you should have realized that

there will be times when it

may be harder for you to nd

something to eat that meets

your lifestyle. This, however,

is no reason for you to com-

plain and throw a t about the

food from which you have to

choose. Be aware of what you

are getting into and all that it

entails.

For those of you who areconsidering veganism or any

of the aforementioned life-

styles, look into it and take

into consideration your cur-

rent way of life. Are you in-

volved in school activities

where you travel and where

it may be harder for you

to maintain your new life

choice? Think about your

family life: can it support this

decision?

So, before you make the

decision to lead this lifestyle,

do your homework. Know the

facts and what you need to do

to keep yourself healthy.


9/12

9

HOLLY DANIELS

Opinion Writer

AUSTIN FINN

Contributing Writer

Billings Police DEPartment:

Disregard of Justice?

On the morning of

January 6th, Daniel

Brawley, 29, was shot

and killed by Billings Police

Department ofcer Dave Punt

after Brawley had broken

free of his zip tie handcuffs,

crawled into the driver's seat

of Punts patrol car, started

to drive away and struck Of-

cer Punt. Punt then red

nine shots at Brawley, con-

necting once in the torso, kill-

ing Brawley. Punt has since

been placed on administra-

tive leave, but Police Chief

Rich St. John defended Punt,

saying, "He was in imminent

danger that the suspect was

going to run him over," and

A Culture of ViolenceE

ven though I self iden-

tify as a liberal I have

always had an open

stance regarding guns. I be-

lieved that I should be able

to go out and shoot the big-

gest gun I could get my hands

on at random things at the

shooting range and then go

get some universal health

care after a y'all look at this"

moment. However, all of that

changed after the Sandy Hook

school shooting. For me, thiswas different from the other

school shootings. I remember

Columbine and thinking that

was a tragedy, that if those

poor kids had some other way

to get their point across then

maybe it wouldn't have hap-

pened. As with many of the

school shootings, there was

a reason, however sick and

twisted, behind the killings.

Sandy Hook held no reason

for me. It was senseless kill-

ing of young innocent chil-

dren. These children did not

bully the shooter, they werenot engaged in activities he

found reprehensible, they

were killed in cold blood for

no other reason than he had a

gun and wanted to use it.

Mass killings like this of-

ten spur the gun debate and

light the res under politi-

cians to do something about

the problem. However, guns

are not the only issue here.

Even if these shooters did not

have access to guns there are

still other ways to kill mas-

sive amounts of people. Those

other methods may take more

time, effort, and planning, but

they have been used in the

past and could be used again.

In 1927 a school board mem-

ber (who I refuse to mention,

look it up if you need to know)

used explosives to blow up

the elementary school in Bath,

Michigan, and killed 45 peo-

ple. The issue with the mass

killings is not the guns, it is

the culture of violence that is

so pervasive in this country.

Now, I'm not about to

blame video games or mov-

ies for mass shootings, sincethey aren't the problem ei-

ther, but they are a symptom

of the same thing. For some

reason violence is viewed as a

Most of us have prob-

ably heard about the

so-called scal cliff

crisis in Washington, DC,

last month but at the same

time, most of us probably did

not pay much attention to it,

thinking that it wouldn't af-

fect our lives much one way oranother. Unfortunately, some

of the deals made to avoid the

scal cliff do directly affect

college students and the wait

isn't over yet.

The scal cliff was basi-

cally a giant wave of spend-

ing cuts that were set to go

through automatically. If a

deal hadn't been reached then

cuts to social security, medic-

aid, and student services such

as grants and FAFSA loans

could have been drastic. Pres-

ident Obama and Congress

came up with a deal at t he last

minute which delayed some

of the cuts and saved other

programs.

The American Opportunity

Tax Credit allows a tax credit

to help with undergraduate

costs by allowing students

to write off expenses such as

books and tuition. This tax

credit was extended through

2017 after already being ex-

tended in 2010. With this tax

credit students can qualify for

up to $2,500 for four years.

That tax credit was on the

chopping block for the scal

cliff and was saved at the lastminute, but may still expire

in 2017. A tax deduction al-

lowing students to claim up

to $4,000 in tuition expenses

was also in danger of expir-

ing but will continue through

2013. Education Savings Ac-

counts, accounts that can be

What is the fiscal cliffand will it affect me?HOLLY DANIELS

Opinion Writer

used to specically save for

college, were changed and

students can now keep up to

$2,000 in those accounts in-

stead of only $500. The deal

also allows students to keep

deducting up to $2,500 for

student loan interest on their

taxes indenitely when previ-

ously they could only do that

for ve years.Even though these boons to

students were saved, we aren't

out of the woods yet. In true

congressional fashion some

of the problems were simply

delayed until March. FAFSA

cuts are still up for debate, as

are Pell grants. Cuts to these

programs could mean that

fewer students qualify for the

loans and grants that they rely

on to pay their tuition and stay

in school. These cuts could

also affect students with work

study jobs, since they are part

of nancial aid.

Since Congress has turnedthis into a partisan issue, it is

a safe bet that the end of Feb-

ruary will bring more arguing

and ghting over whether stu-

dents should suck it up and get

another job or if they should

extend the current nancial

aid available to us. President

Obama has shown in the past

that he wants more people to

go to college and economists

agree that a higher rate of

education amongst the gen-

eral population can boost the

economy, but will that be

enough to save our student

aid? This is one of the many

reasons why it is important

to vote and research who youare voting for to nd out their

stance on the issues that af-

fect you. At this point in time

the most effective way to deal

with this situation is to write

to Congressman Steve Daines

at 222 North 32nd Street Ste

900, Billings MT, 59101 or

call him at 406-969-1736 and

let him know how you feel.

Check out www.hufng-

tonpost.com/sheila-simon/

congress-pushing-college-

students, www.kimt.com/

content/localnews/story/

College-students-still-fear-

Fiscal-Cliff, thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com, www.irs.gov/

uac/American-Opportunity-

Tax-Credit, www.acenet.edu/

news-room/Pages/Fiscal-

Cliff-Tax-Incentives-College-

Students and daines.house.

gov for more information and

to view my sources.

that he took appropriate ac-

tion to protect himself from

imminent injury or death.

I am one of those people

who live by the words of the

infamous Jack Weinberg,

Dont trust anyone over 30.

I always doubt the honesty

and sincerity of anyone with

something to lose, and Of-

cer Punt and Police Chief St.

John are no exception. There

is video of the incident on the

Billings Gazettes website,

which I would recommend

everyone go see. I wont de-

scribe it here, because its re-

ally something you need to

see for yourself. Was Brawley

attempting to strike Ofcer

Punt, or was he trying to es-

cape and Ofcer Punt ran into

We have set up a society

where violence is always

the answer.means to an end. If something

doesn't go somebody's way

the rst reaction is violence.

You need not look any farther

than the comments section of

any internet forum to see evi-dence of this. If a funny pic-

ture of a cat sitting on a girl's

lap gets posted the comments

are full of people expressing

their intent to do awful things

to the girl. Anybody who dis-

agrees with them is told s/he

is going to be violently as-

saulted. Yet for some reason

this is OK. That is standard

behavior, especially on the

internet, and nobody even

thinks twice about it.

When violence becomes

standard is it any wonder

that mentally ill individu-

als might turn to violence

if they want to get their sick

and twisted point across? For

these people violence is the

answer because we have set

up a society where violence is

always the answer. Boyfriend

cheated on you? Break his X-

box with a bat! Best friend

stole your favorite shoes and

lost them? Slap the bitch! Feel

like society is ignoring all of

your cries for help and you

have no recourse to feel like

you make your mark on the

world? Shoot everything!

As a society we need to

look at why those answers are

considered acceptable to even

suggest. Why is it hilarious

to threaten to break some-

body's stuff because you are

displeased with them? Why

is it acceptable to threaten

violence when somebody

disagrees with you? Why is

violence in general so steeped

into the American society that

we don't even notice it any-

more? Perhaps we all need to

take a long look at ourselves

and nd out if we are part of

the problem or if we are will-

ing to stand up and say, Vio-

lence is not an acceptable an-

swer.

Check out www.slate.com

to view my sources and get

more information.

the car? Should Ofcer Punt

have red his weapon at all,

and if he did, should he have

aimed inside the cabin? And

if he had, should he have red

nine rounds?

To me, this seems like a

histrionic manifestation of

the attitudes of the modern

police force. They seem to

think they are untouchable,

and if you question them at all,

you are viewed as disrespect-

ful and even unpatriotic. Ive

dealt with this attitude from

the Billings PD rsthand

more times than I can count.

The press conference of this

event, which is also on the

Gazettes website, is a great

example of this. It was like a

state run newspaper interview

of a Middle Eastern dictator,

with journalists asking ridic-

ulously trivial questions, like,

Where is the rst clip (of the

event) from? and, Is Ofcer

Punt still on administrative

leave? Their job is not to de-

fend city ofcials, its to seekjustice and hold offenders of

this accountable.

St. John has also stated,

I've said since the beginning

that my top priority in this

is Ofcer Punt's well-being."

Really? Not pursuing justice

or the liberty and freedom of

the citizens of Billings? Not

keeping the power of the po-

lice force in check? Not being

transparent with the public?

I wont shed any tears for

Mr. Brawley. He was a repeat

offender and a convicted felon,

who had broken into numer-

ous homes in Billings over the

last decade. I also dont wish

any ill will on Ofcer Punt.

Ive actually heard hes a re-

ally nice person. But this isnt

about Mr. Brawley or OfcerPunt or Police Chief St. John.

This is about the Billings

Police Department overstep-

ping their boundaries as the

protectors of the citizens of

our community. The Billings

Police Department thinks

they can do whatever they

want, say that it was justied,

and the general public will

stand by them. And generally

speaking, they do this very

well. But this time, they shot

and killed someone. They, in

general terms, executed Dan-

iel Brawley. That is not the

way our justice system works.

If we let them get away with

this, it will just reinforce that

they can do whatever they

want, even kill people.

As a community, or at leastas a body of students, we need

to be aware of these kinds of

things. We need to question

the actions of our ofcials, on

every level. The disregard of

justice by t he Bi llings Police

Department wont get any

better if we stand idly by and

let things like this happen.

They are supposed to protect

and serve us, not the other

way around.


10/12

10

MSU BILLINGSMSUB Athletics

MENS Basketball returns after two week road trip

Photo by MSUB Media Relations

A Harbowl Superbowl XLVIICORY LOVEC

Sports Writer

The Yellowjackets (9-9,

2-5 Great Northwest

Athletic Conference)

are coming off of a come-

from-behind win at Northwest

Nazarene (Idaho), 63-61.

Omar McDade recorded a

20-point performance for the

second straight game. The

senior nished 21 points; two

nights after totaling a team

season-high 26 points. More

importantly, MSU Billings

snapped a three-game losing

streak with their seventhvictory over NNU in the last

nine meetings.

First and foremost, it's

nice to be back home playing

a game, MSUB Head Coach

Jamie Stevens said. It seems

like we have been gone for a

while. It's also nice to be back

into a routine with school

nally beginning. Obviously,

this is an important week

for our team. The win last

Saturday gave us some life

and was a good win, but

only if we can take care of

business at home this week.

Both teams are really well

coached and will play hard.

We have to match that and

hopefully knock down some

shots.

Montana State Billings

holds a slim 10-9 advantage

in the all-time series against

Saint Martin's. However, the

Yellowjackets have won four

of the past six, including the

last three. SMU's last win

in the series was on Dec. 30,

2010, 70-54, in Bil lings. MSU

Billings has won six of the

nine all-time meetings in

Billings.

The Montana State

University Billings' athletic

marketing department

recently announced thatThursday will be ve-dollar

family night at Alterowitz

Gymnasium. An entire family

can come to the MSU Billings

and Saint Martin's game

Thursday for ve dollars.

Saint Martin's University

(6-8, 2-4 GNAC) enters the

matchup with Montana State

Billings after losing three of

its last four games and ve of

its last seven. The Saints have

won one of their four true road

contests this season. SMU

lost its two conference road

outings at Alaska-Fairbanksand Alaska-Anchorage.

Saint Martin's is last in the

conference in points per

game (67.7), and eld goal

percentage (.419).

The Saints are paced by

Roger O'Neill. The senioris averaging 15 points per

game, which is eighth in the

Great Northwest Athletic

Conference. But, it may be

Brady Bomber who is the

most dangerous with the

ball. The senior is dishing out

4.1 assists per outing (4th in

the GNAC), and is third in

the conference in assist-to-

turnover ratio. He is also sixth

in the conference in steals per

game (1.5). Rei Jensen's 7.4

rebounds per game is fth in

the GNAC.

In the last meeting, anextremely athletic and

aggressive defense made the

difference on Jan. 28, 2012,

as Montana State University

Billings wore down the Saints

en route to a 82-74 win inside

Alterowitz Gymnasium.

For the second time this

season, MSUB as a team

were balanced across the

40 minutes of play, making

the same number of shots as

well as attempting the exact

same number in both the

rst and second stanzas. The

Yellowjackets ended the night

shooting a 51.7 percent from

the eld that included going

10-of-21 from three-point

range as four different players

hit at least one three-pointer.

Four players also scored in

double-digit points for CoachStevens and staff.

Saturday, MSU Billings

welcomed Western Oregon

(7-7, 2-4). Western Oregon

University enters the week

having lost ve of its last

seven contests,but snapped a

four-game losing

streak with a 78-

60 home win over

Simon Fraser in

its last outing.

Andy Avgi leads

WOU with 17.3

points and 5.2

rebounds per

game. He is third

in the GNAC in

points per game.

The freshman is

also third in the

conference witha .601 eld goal percentage.

As a team, Western Oregon

is 10th the conference in

scoring margin, being

outscored by an average of

3.1 points per outing. WOU

is second in the GNAC in

turnover margin and third in

steals per game (8.5). Another

freshman, Devon Alexander

leads the Great Northwest

Athletic Conference in steals

per game (2.7). He is the

lone player in the conference

averaging at least two steals

per outing. Alexander was

15th in NCAA Div. II in stealsper game last week.

In the last meeting, fth-

seeded Montana State

University Billings came

out ring on all cylinders,

particularly in the second half,

to upset the fourth-seededWolves, 80-75, in the second

men's quarternal game of

the 2012 Great Northwest

Athletic Conference

Basketball Championships.

Both teams opened the game

shooting the ball extremely

well from the eld in the rst

half as both teams shot over

50 percent. MSUB ended

the night shooting 50.8

percent from the eld after

opening the game on a .516

clip while WOU ended the

game shooting 47.5 percent

after opening the game with

a 51.5 percent performance

in the opening stanza. The

Yellowjackets were led by

four players who ended the

game in double gures.

Currently, the

Yellowjackets' Kalob Hatcher

and Jarrell Crayton are high

in statistical categories in

the Great Northwest Athletic

Conference. Hatcher leads

the conference in assist-to-

turnover ratio (3.6) and is

third in assists per game (5.1).

Crayton is fth in scoring

per game (15.7) and third

in rebounds per game (7.7).Hatcher is also in the top ve

in NCAA Div. II in assist-to-

turnover ratio, and Crayton

is in the top 10 in several

statistical categories in the

GNAC.

As soon as the Balti-

more Ravens pulled

off yet another stun-ning win over a seemingly

better team to win the AFC

Championship, the stage for

the Super Bowl was set. The

biggest story? Well, that can

be argued, but most would say

that it would be not about the

teams themselves or the play-

ers, but of the head coaches.

Yes, most of the focus of

this game has been centered

upon two men who grew up

in the same household, and

whose age differs by all of 15

months: John and Jim Har-

baugh, the head coaches ofthe Baltimore Ravens and

San Francisco 49ers, respec-

tively. Only one time in his-

tory have brothers coached

against each other, and that

was the Thanksgiving Day

matchup last year between

the Ravens and 49ers, which

many were labeling as the

Harbaugh Bowl. Well, now

fans truly have a Harbaugh

Bowl (or simply Harbowl),

as the two will face off Sun-

day, February 3rd in Super

Bowl XLVII. The brothers

couldnt hate the attention

any more than they do. They

would much rather focus on

the game than simply about

the similarities in their genet-

ics.

With all of the focus on the

head coaches, there has not

been much talk of the proud

history of the two franchises.

Both teams have never lost a

Super Bowl (S.F.: 5-0, Bal.:

1-0), and the Ravens have the

best playoff winning percent-

age of all time, while San

Francisco can boast having

arguably two of the 5 best

players in NFL history (Joe

Montana and Jerry Rice). The

Ravens could put Ray Lewisout on top by winning the

Super Bowl, as he is set to

retire after the game. And as

for the game itself, for what

its worth, this is only the

second time in history that a

Super Bowl is a matchup be-

tween two teams that lost the

previous years Conference

Championship (Super Bowl

XXX, Pittsburgh vs. Dallas).

Yes, with all of the story lines

this Super Bowl is one of such

intrigue that some have spec-

ulated that maybe it was a

setup. So perfect. So magical.

The Ravens and Ray Lew-

istheir prodigal sonTHE

franchise. He is quite possibly

the player who more than any

other player in NFL history

epitomizes his team. When

one thinks about the Ravens,

they think Ray Lewis; they

think of defense, of hard hit-

ting, and of passion. Ray

Lewis deserves all the respect

that one can have. Playing in

his 17th year in the league,

Ray Lewis remains a force

both with his play and with

his passion and leadership.

There is little doubt in any ar-

gument that Ray Lewis may

be one of the best motiva-

tional leaders everwhether

in sports or not. There is also

little doubt that Ray Lewis is

at the upper echelon of best

NFL defensive players ever,

and is certainly in the conver-

sation of at least Top 5 for best

linebackers ever. And at the

beginning of this postseason,

the epitome of the Baltimore

Ravens, the quintessential

Raven, said that this year was

his last ride; that no matter

what happened in this play-

offs, this would be his last

year. So, with the looming

shadow of every game possi-

bly being Ray last game, the

Ravens have played inspiring

football to rst beat the India-

napolis Colts at home (Lewis

last home game), then de-

feating heavily-favored (and

#1 seed) Denver

Broncos on the road,

and nally defeat-

ing (again, heavily-

favored) New Eng-

land on the road

to advance to the

Super Bowl. Lewis

has a chance that

not many have had(John Elway and Je-

rome Bettis come to

mind): to ride into

the sunsetthat is,

to retire after win-

ning a nal Super

Bowl.

The 49ers have

their story to tell as

well. After coming so close

last year to winning the NFC

Championship (barring two

fumbles on special teams

the 49ers may have won),

then seeing the team that

beat themthe New YorkGiantsgo on to win the

Super Bowl, the 49ers were

quite ready for the season

to start. They were ready to

prove themselves. The most

surprising 49ers story this

year is that Head Coach Jim

Harbaugh chose to switch

quarterbacks over halfway

through the season, pulling

veteran Alex Smith, who led

the 49ers to the NFL Cham-

pionship last year and who

had a quarterback rating of

104.1 through the 9 games he

started this year, for second-

year quarterback Colin Kae-

pernick. His bold move seems

to have paid off.

Yes, there has still been

much talk of the quarterbacks,

but when isnt there? After

all, the NFL is a quarterback-

driven league. And whetherit is analysts jumping on the

Colin Kaepernick band wag-

on and saying that he could

become one of the best quar-

terbacks ever because of his

duel-threat ability (he throws

quite well, as he was a for-

mer pitcher, and also runs a

4.53 second 40-yard dash), or

others saying that Joe Flacco

has nally shown that he is

deserving of the title of be-

ing an elite quarterback,

quarterback conversation has

been of much debate. Current

Ravens quarterback Joe Flac-co has the most road playoff

wins of all-time already, as

only a 5th year player. The 8

postseason wins in 5 years for

the Ravens are both most for

a quarterback and for a head

coach in that time span, and

they have one more game to

try to extend those records.

So, with all of these story-

lines in mind, be sure to join

the mass of over 110 million

Americans and tune in Febru-

ary 3rd for Super Bowl XLVII.


11/12

11

Womens Basketball Team Look to Get

Back on Track against Falcons

After coming

up empty

handed

against two top 10

nationally ranked

opponents, the

Montana State

Billings women's

basketball team

returns home where

they have yet todrop a game.

Following their

lopsided defeat

against No. 10

Simon Fraser;

MSUB had a strong

outing against No.

MSU BILLINGS

MSUB Athletics

Photo by MSUB Media Relations

The Super Bowl is annu-

ally the most watched

sporting event in

America. It has become a

spectacle, and is not only

viewed as a sporting event,

but a pop culture phenom-

enon. With Super Bowl XL-

VII right around the corner, I

thought it would be appropri-

ate to give some records and

facts about the Super Bowl;

impress your friends with

these bits of knowledge on

game day:

Mike Lodish, defensive

lineman for the Buffalo Bills

and Denver Brocos, holds the

record for most Super Bowl

appearances as a player, with

6 (winning 2).

Not Surprisingly, Jerry

Rice holds the record for

points scored (48) and touch-

downs scored (8) in the Super

Bowl

Four players have scored

3 touchdowns in a single

Super Bowl, and not surpris-ingly, three are 49ers (Roger

Craig, Jerry Rice, and Ricky

Watters). The other is Terrell

Davis.

Defensive end/outside

linebacker Charles Haley

is the only player to win 5

Super Bowls, winning two

while with San Francisco and

3 while with Dallas.

The three highest single-

game passing yardage totals

each belong to the same man:

Kyrt Warner. In his three Su-

per Bowls, Warner through

for 414, 377, and 365 yards,yet only won one of the

games.

The San Francisco 49ers

have two of the three highest

point totals in Super Bowl his-

tory, 55 (vs. Denver, XXIV),

and 49 (vs. San Diego, XXIX).

Super Bowl V (Cowboys

vs. Colts) was known as the

Blunder Bowl or Stupor

Bowl, because it was lled

with poor playing and ofciat-

ing, many penalties and turn-

overs. The teams committed

a combine 11 turnovers, with7 coming from the winning

team (the Colts). Dallas had

10 penalties for 133 yards. It

is the only Super Bowl in

which the games MVP was

given to a player from the

winning team: Chuck Howley

of the Cowboys.

The Buffalo Bills had 0

turnovers in a Super Bowl

XXV loss to the New York

Giants. Two years later, the

Bills were annihilated by the

Dallas Cowboys, committing

a Super Bowl record 9 turn-

overs.

One-game-wonder TimmySmith (Washington) holds the

record for most rush yards in

a single Super Bowl, with 204

(vs. Denver, XXII).

The Washington Redskins

scored 35 points in the 2nd

quarter of Super Bowl XXII

vs. Denver. They were down

10-0 at the end of the 1st quar-

ter, and scored 42 unanswered

to win 42-10.

Miami (vs. Dallas) is

the only team to not score a

touchdown in the Super Bowl.

The managed a eld goal in

the game, and lost 24-3.

After months of debate,

and of hockey fans

des

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