Sunday, October 31, 2010

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD

FOOTBALL

OVERTIME VICTORY FOR FIGHTING SCOTS
By Monmouth College Sports Information

Monmouth made the most of their second chance and posted a 16-13 come-from-behind overtime win over Carroll, knocking the Pioneers out of a share of first place in the Midwest Conference.

Trailing 13-0 with 9:59 remaining in the game, the Scots staged the second fourth quarter rally in two weeks, this time forcing overtime. Michael Davis hauled in a Brik Wedekind pass for a 27-yard gain to the Carroll one yard line. Trey Yocum capped off the 69-yard drive with a one-yard TD plunge to trim it to 13-7 with 6:40 left. Monmouth got the ball back near midfield with 48 seconds remaining with no timeouts left as Wedekind hit four different receivers, ending with a five yard toss to Davis to tie the game at 13 with 14 seconds to go. After the extra point kick was missed, the Scots kicked long and held Carroll to force the extra period.

The Scots’ defense bent, but did not break in the extra session and gave the Scots a chance when Carroll’s 23-yard field goal sailed left. Monmouth kept the ball on the ground on their possession, moving to the Carroll five. Matt Batton then atoned for the missed extra point, hitting the winning 22-yard field goal in overtime. The Pioneers dominated the Time of Possession, holding the ball for more than 40 minutes and outgaining the Scots 345-266. Rod Ojong led Monmouth’s defense with 15 tackles. Peyton Lumzy added 12.

CROSS COUNTRY
By Monmouth Sports Information

MONMOUTH, Ill. – Paced by two school records, the Monmouth College women’s and men’s cross country teams placed second and fourth, respectively, at the Midwest Conference Championships held Saturday at Gibson Woods Golf Course.

Monmouth’s women tied the school record with five all-conference runners as senior Mary Kate Beyer picked up her fourth all-league honor. Beyer also set the Monmouth record for a conference championship time with a 21:53.05 over the 6K course to place second.

Three sophomores and a freshman also achieved all-conference status. Sophomore Rachel Bowden earned her second all-league honor in as many years, running a 23:13.00 to place fifth and classmate Aron Jackson took 12th with a 23:36.79. Freshman Alyssa Edwards was just 10 seconds back in 14th position after running a 23:46.61. Tori Beaty – another sophomore – was Monmouth’s final all-conference runner in 18th place after touring the course in 23:54.22.

On the men’s side, senior Geoff Bird and junior Jon Welty each earned all-conference status for the second time in as many years. Bird’s second-place time of 25:27.86 was a Fighting Scots’ record for the 8K Midwest Conference Championships. He was just three seconds behind the winner, Alexander Reich of Grinnell. Welty clocked a 26:29.05 to place 18th.


VOLLEYBALL

Univ. of Chicago 3, Monmouth College 2

Monmouth College 3, North Park University 1

Monmouth College 3, Anderson College 2

Illinois Wesleyan 3, Monmouth College 0

Friday, October 29, 2010

NEWSWIRE LANDS CAMPUS INTERVIEW WITH CONGRESSMAN HARE

By Ryan Bronaugh

Congressman Phil Hare, Democratic Representative of Illinois’ 17th district, visited the Monmouth College campus this week for a one-on-one interview with the Warren County News wire. Taking time out from a hectic schedule nearing the close of a “toss up” election campaign, Hare discussed the future of Illinois’ district structuring, negative campaign ads, and his efforts to get students and young adults out and voting in this November’s election.

With tight elections come slanderous, often demonizing, campaign ads and this year’s election campaigns have been no exception. All over the country, media in all its forms have been utilized to reach out to voters in the attempts to scare or depress voters, and the election for the seat in the 17th district of Illinois has been no exception. Phil Hare’s first response to the question of why his, and Schilling’s, campaign has chosen to run negative ads was to address that, while this election is the worst he has personally encountered, he has heard from other representatives in other states, that it could be a lot worse. He did add; however, “I’ve been around this business for thirty years, and this is as bad as I’ve seen it.”

Hare first addressed the April 1st campaign ad which featured the Congressman’s statements on The Constitution. He said the statement was taken out of context, and that he was addressing the person, who had just knocked a woman out of her seat in an attempt to get into the congressman’s face and badgering him and the crowd, and not the question on what he thought of the constitution; which he avers he had answered already several times. After he made the statement that, “I don’t worry about the constitution on this,” (speaking of the proposed healthcare reform) and the camera man’s reply of a snickered, “jackpot!” he knew that he had been bullied into a trap, and “the entire thing was an ugly scene.”

Hare maintains that he knows where his financial support comes from, and that his ads are not negative, but designed to bring facts to the surface, and will always be directed to the issues and never designed to harm [Schilling], or his family. He also said that negative campaign ads “are designed to depress voter turnout,” and that the real down fall of them is the message they send to people wanting to get into “this business” when they do are not directed solely at the issues at hand. Hare said that under democracy it is legal to accept help from third party donors and not report it, but the problem with it is, “it promotes the idea that anyone can come in and purchase a seat.” Hare added that people who do these types of acts do not always understand the consequences of their actions.

Hare’s message to Monmouth College students was in regards to financing school. He said he believes that investing in the education of the youth always has a good return investment. He began with by bringing attention to the fact that the party has recently given the Pell Grant its largest raise ever, and that by cutting out the “middle man” they have freed up billions to go into the federal student loan program.

If he is reelected Congressman Hare plans to introduce a bill that will wipe out the debt and interest owed in student loans for students who work for five years in areas of high priority in their given fields. “This is not limited to teaching,” he said. The bill, which Hare said his office is in the middle of scoring right now, would allow students to work in their fields of interests based on a community demand. “Rather than leave the state of Illinois to pursue work elsewhere based on pay, or to take a job in desperation because they know they have student loans to pay off, they will be allowed to work to doing what they like and to free themselves of debt.” He pointed out that the bill will also allow businesses’ to pass cost on.
This Tuesday will mark another election filled with high angst and the possibility of many changes in Washington, and Illinois’ 17th district will be a part of it. Concerning the election campaign Phil Hare said, “As angry as I am, and I am angry, I have nothing bad to say about [Schilling’s] family, or him. I’m here to help you do whatever you want to do, not tell you what to do.”

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Monday, October 25, 2010

LOVE YOUR BODY

By Courtney Gosney

This month Monmouth College is celebrating vaginas! In recognition of Fine Arts Month and National Love Your Body Day, a number of events were scheduled to promote women’s issues and awareness. The first event was to end fat talk and promote a healthier body image among women. “Fat Talk Free Week” is aimed at raising consciousness about the dangers of fat talk and the impact it has on women’s overall self-esteem and confidence. This event coincided with “National Love Your Body Day” that was celebrated Wednesday. Many women around campus wore “Love Your Body” t-shirts to support the cause.

To wrap up the week, the theatre department presented the Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. The participants of the production are also carrying out a number of “Happenings”, different displays around campus to gain awareness for the production, including, among other acts, chalking the sidewalks of campus with different vagina terminology. The show includes a series of monologues that analyze issues that affect women all over the world. They cover a range of topics including: relationships, sex, motherhood, menstruation, sisterhood, development of personal identity and women’s empowerment.

The show brings particular attention to the shocking rate of domestic violence committed against women each year. Co-Producer, Lorena Johnson-Miles, said she hopes the monologues “…bring light to the women’s rights issues that are still very prevalent in our society today and encourages women on campus and in the community to make a stand for change

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD

FOOTBALL
Beloit 34
Monmouth 27

VOLLEYBALL
Iowa Wesleyan 3
Monmouth 1

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Monmouth placed first of ten teams at Illinois College.

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Monmouth placed first of eight teams at Illinois College.

WOMEN'S SOCCER
Monmouth tied Lawrence 1-1, lost 1-0 to St. Norbert

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

NO ORDINARY CANNON

BEHIND THE BIG BANG
By Kelsey Beshears

The Monmouth College cannon that is shot off every homecoming game was a class gift given to the school by the Class of 1903. According to Jeff Rankin, Director of Communications for Monmouth College, there was a big rivalry between the class of 1903 and 1904. Some members of the Class of 1904 were apparently so discouraged and envious of the great gift given by the previous class, that several members stole the cannon and dumped it into Cedar Creek. Their first plan was to take it to Oquawka and dump it in the Mississippi River but it got stuck in the mud when they were trying to load it into the wagon.

In the senior yearbook, a “wanted” poster appeared, offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the thieves. This was not just an idle threat. The cannon was federal property, and the theft was considered a felony. During the summer of 1904 a grand jury was convened to look into the matter. Most of the alleged perpetrators, as well as some of the young women of the class, were questioned, but all kept silent and the state’s attorney eventually dropped the case. But according to Rankin “The senior class would never forget the outrage”

During the first summer it was in the creek, the cannon partially surfaced and came into plain site, but one of the students of the class of 1904 buried it with rocks. On their commencement day, members of the class of ‘04 went to the creek, dug up the cannon, dug a trench, and buried it 30 feet away from where it previously located.
The rivalry of the two classes was never-ending. On the 25th anniversary of the class of 1903, students of 1904 hoped to dig out the cannon and to present it to the class as a goodwill gesture, but the plan never took place.
“Garrett Thiessen, the legendary Monmouth chemistry professor, became obsessed with locating the cannon and led some unsuccessful search parties near the Cedar Creek Bridge, said Rankin. Finally, on October 9, 1952, Thiessen was able to enlist the aid of Illinois Power Company, which sent an employee along on the search with an electronic device used to locate gas pipes. At 5 p.m., after working 2-1/2 hours, Eugene Painter of the power company was downstream with the metal detector, away from where the college party was searching, and located the cannon barrel sticking 6 inches out of the creek bed under several inches of water. According to Rankin, they were able to drag the barrel to a small island and from there they attached a cable from a wrecker truck on the bank.”

The cannon was then displayed outside Thiessens office so it wouldn’t be stolen again. Rankin goes on to explain that “Finally, during commencement weekend of 1954, on the 50th anniversary of the graduation of the Class of 1904, a ceremony was held in which former student Wallace Barnes apologized for the theft and symbolically turned the cannon back to the surviving members of 1903. Today, some 148 years since its manufacture, 106 years since its theft and 56 years since being officially returned to the class that donated it, the cannon continues to be a fascinating piece of Monmouth College lore. Little did the Class of 1903 realize when they dreamed up the idea for their class gift that it would be the most memorable class gift in the college’s history.

Monday, October 18, 2010

ELECTION FERVOR HITS HOME

A Candidate Speaks to Monmouth College
By Ryan Bronaugh

According to most polls, the Illinois 17th Congressional District, which includes Monmouth, is one of many “toss up” districts that the Democrats could lose in this year’s congressional elections.

The Warren County Newswire conducted a one-on- one interview with the Republican candidate Bobby Schilling this week. Schilling is running to replace Democratic Representative Phil Hare who stepped in as the Representative in 2006 after his long time predecessor and mentor Lane Evans, chose to retire. Hare was then elected into the House in November of 2008. According to his website Bobby Schilling, the owner of the small pizza store St. Giuseppe’s Heavenly Pizza in Moline, IL, was inspired by the 2008 presidential election and began considering to run for the House soon after. His endorsements include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney. His website says his support is built at the “grassroots level,” and adds that approximately one-third of his campaign volunteers are registered Democrats.

One issue discussed during our interview with Schilling was the future of the 17th District in regards to its current geographical layout. The District, which was designed to include Democratic strongholds, stretches from the northern area of Sterling, through Moline, as far south as the East ST. Louis suburbs and back north into Springfield, includes Galesburg, Monmouth, and Macomb without covering Peoria, Beardstown, or Jacksonville. Illinois will undergo redistricting in 2011, as is custom for states following a census. Bobby Schilling stated that the redistricting, “has not been discussed,” at this point, but that he believes Iowa’s Congressional map should be used as an example for Illinois. Schilling stated that the unfortunate side to redistricting is that it “allows the politician to choose the voter opposed to the voter choosing the politician.” Illinois will most likely lose a District in 2011, when asked if this is a concern for him Schilling replied, “no matter what happens it seems it will benefit us.” As far as who is primarily to blame for the shape of Illinois’ Districts—Schilling claims, “both parties are to blame.”

We asked Schilling why his campaign, as well as his opponent’s, has chosen to run negative campaign adds rather than adds that focus only on his accomplishments. Schilling said, “Its unfortunate, [positive campaign adds] was the direction we started in. [Hare] comes in with lies and deceit and we must respond by hitting him on his voting record.” Schilling added, “[Hare] has voted 99% of the time with Nancy Pelosi. Why pay someone from our District who is not representing the voice of Western Illinois? We don’t align with Washington elitists.”
Schilling said he has made efforts to reach out to young and minority voters. “I’m not really sure what other Republican campaigns are doing, but we have tried to bring people to our rallies by hosting local popular bands, and by just getting out and speaking to people,” Schilling stated. He claims that he has seen a positive response from minority voters who have approached him on many occasions thanking him for not leaving certain rural areas out of chosen rally locations. “They say that I am a man from under the hills,” referring to an upper-class area of Rock Island where Schilling is from, “but I want to send the message that I am running for all Illinoisans.”

Congressman Hare has so far declined an interview with the Warren County Newswire.

HOMECOMING VICTORY

SCOTS HANG ON TO EARLY LEAD
By Kenneth Collins

(MONMOUTH) The Monmouth college football team roughed out a win against the Foresters of Lake Forest, defeating them by a score of 27-10 in front of an ecstatic crowd for a perfect ending to homecoming weekend. Senior wide receiver Matthew Shepherd and freshmen running back Trey Yocum led the way for the fighting Scots by scoring 2 touchdowns each as the Scots now improved to (4-3) and keep their chances going towards winning conference.

The fighting scots came out firing as they scored 4 touchdowns in the first half, which 3 of those touchdowns came in the 2nd quarter as freshmen quarterback Brik Wedekind hooked up with Shepherd twice in less than 1:30. On the defensive side of the ball Junior linebacker Cory Bishop led the team with 10 tackles, Junior line backer Adam Hoste had a fantastic day recording 9 tackles and an interception and Junior Defensive back Erick Weber recorded 2 interceptions. Senior Defensive back Fletcher Morgan also had a big game recording 8 tackles and coming up clutch with big plays at the right moments. “We played a very solid first half” said Senior Captain and starting defensive end Trevor Newton. “We told ourselves before the game that in order to win conference we need to win out the rest of games, and our guys just came out ready to play and it definitely showed in the first half.

The second half of the ball game was then a different story as the Fighting scots werent able to put any more points on the board and GAVE up 10 points. With 9:10 left in the game Lake Forest Kicker Tim Gruzwalski booted a 26 yard field goal to put the score to 27-10 which would end up to be the final score. Monmouth punted the ball away 5 times in the second half struggling to find any type of steady rhythm for both sides of the ball. “The second half was a poor reputation of how football showed be played by us and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we wish would of played a lot better on both sides of the ball” said Newton. Although Monmouth wasn’t able to play as well as they would have liked they were still able to have a +5 turnover ratio to finish the game. “We didn’t end the game that we would have liked to end it but we came out with the victory and that’s all that matters. We now have to put our focus towards next weekend and get ready to for another big game against Beloit.” The Fighting Scots will travel to Beloit, Wisconsin next weekend, Saturday, October 23 at 1pm to face Beloit College

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

DOWNTOWN MONMOUTH GETS A LIFT

Monmouth Bakery To Open On Main Street
By Joe Florio

(MONMOUTH) A $30,000 loan has been given to a new business in the city of Monmouth’s downtown district. The new business is a bakery that is being financed with a loan from the city’s revolving fund. It will be located at 200 E. Main, across the street from the Bijou Pub. The downtown coffee shop that had been in that location closed last month, joining a number of other stores in the downtown district have closed their doors in recent years. The loan was officially approved by the City Council this week following a presentation by Eric Hansen, Monmouth’s administrator.

“The revolving fund loan is separate from the downtown development grant”, said Hanson. The loan provides low interest loans to small businesses” The revolving fund loan has been in the cities possession for ten years and is a city wide loan so it’s not confined to the downtown area.“The owner of the business applied for the loan and she took advantage of it” commented Hanson. “The city has concerns for vacancies”

When asked if there was any help from the college in rebuilding Monmouth Hanson commented that the downtown development grant and the revolving fund loan are not related to the college but the college is a key driver in renovations to the city of Monmouth. The latest proof of the Colleges revival help is the Alpha Xi Delta women’s fraternity house being built on the corner of Broadway and S. 8th St. Both the city and the college are actively involved in reviving the city of Monmouth.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

WEEKEND SCOREB OARD

FOOTBALL
St. Norbert 48
Monmouth 2

VOLLEYBALL
Monmouth 3
Lake Forest 1

Kalamazoo 3
Monmouth 0

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Carroll 4
Monmouth 1

MEN’S SOCCER
Carroll 2
Monmouth 1

Saturday, October 2, 2010

THEATRE REVIEW

The Learned Ladies
By Joe Testolin

An outstanding cast made Moliere's "The Learned Ladies" an evening of fun and entertainment at Wells Theater this weekend. The Monmouth College Crimson Masque preformed this 17th century French classic to enthusiastic audiences. This 2010 take on Molière's 17th-century play The Learned Ladies was a smart and sharp rendition of the classic and flowed as breezily as music.

This version of The Learned Ladies was translated into English verse by Richard Wilbur and was directed by Janeve West. The entire work is performed in rhymed couplets, yet the rhyme doesn't intrude. In fact, it is so subtle that it would be possible to hear the entire play without being certain that is was rhymed. But still the flow and pacing of the play are enriched by its presence.

Moliere's play concerns a middle class Frenchman, Chrysale (played by Nick Dadds), who has a wife and two daughters. His wife (Ariel Guerrero), his sister (Ivy Bekker), and his older daughter (Emily Frazer) have fallen under the spell of a charlatan named Trissotin (Mike Carioto), who plans to use their money to build his academy for women. Trissotin also aspires to marry the younger daughter and thereby acquire a lovely and rich wife. Henriette (Mary Bohlander), the younger daughter, has her own marriage plans. She loves the poor but handsome Clitandre (Austin Wearsch), who earlier courted her sister without success. The central conflict of the play concerns the husband's sponsorship of one candidate for bridegroom while the wife supports the other.

This rendition of The Learned Ladies by Moliere provided a comical and insightful way to describe “how we show our knowledge” as stated by director Janeve West. This play is set in the year 1672, so it includes a lot of older English which is hard to understand for our time, but the way it is used allows the language of the play to flow and almost have a rhyme to each verse.