Students protest for Trayvon Martin

Photos by Joe Castillo.

ALEXIS CAMARENA
Digital Editor

The College at Florham campus does not normally see a lot of activism, so when word of a rally in the front of Hennessy Hall spread, there was some sense of apprehension, fear that the rally to raise awareness about the Trayvon Martin controversy would get out of hand.

The rally was initiated by students, and was held on March 28 at noon. The movement, called “I Am Trayvon Martin,” seeks to inform the public about what many believe to be the injustice surrounding the death of 17-year-old Trayvon, a high-schooler from Miami, Fla., who was shot and killed in a surburban neighborhood while visiting his father.
Much obscurity surrounds the killing, claimed to be an act of self-defense by the shooter, George Zimmerman.

There has been much media coverage and public debate concerning the case. The shooting has incited many, who believe his death to be the result of racial profiling and hate and seek answers.

Antoinette Miles, a senior and political science major, was the primary organizer of the event.
Miles came up with the idea for the rally during a discussion of the shooting.

“Our generation suffers from ‘slack-tivism,’” she said.

“We think that by posting a status on Facebook about an issue, we’re doing something about it, or because we reteweeted something or posted a YouTube video about it, we’re making a difference. I wanted to really do something about it, and get the word out to the entire campus. Many people think it’s just a racial thing…a ‘black’ thing. But everyone should be upset about it…it’s not about race, it’s about what’s right and what’s wrong,” Miles said.

Miles, with the help of the Association of Black Collegians, Yvonne Bodden of the Office of Campus Life, and two members of the NAACP, orchestrated a peaceful protest.
The protest brought out more than 50 students and several faculty members and administrators.

Protesters were asked to come wearing hoodies, with their hoods up.

Trayvon was wearing a hoodie with the hood up at the time of his death.

Students could also be seen eating packets of Skittles and drinking cans of Arizona iced tea. Both of those items were found on Trayvon’s body.

In addition, Rev. Sidney Williams Jr. assisted in organizing the event, saying a few words and leading the protesters in a prayer.

The prayer was led to the sound of “What’s Going On?” by artist Marvin Gaye. The church’s musical director played the song on the saxophone.
“As Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere,’” said Williams.

“People may think this does not affect them because it may not have touched them directly, but it has touched all of us. It affects all of us.”

At the end of the rally, the participants gathered on the Hennessy Hall steps for a picture for “A Million Hoodies For Trayvon Martin.”

FDU students rallied together on March 28 to remember Trayvon Martin. The rally was led by senior Antoinette Miles, who is wearing a hoodie in support of the movement, “A Million Hoodies for Trayvon Martin.”

Trita Parsi speaks to FDU about Iranian foreign policy

MONIQUE VITCHE
Staff Writer

On March 28, Trita Parsi, head of the National Iranian-American Council in Washington, D.C., spoke to FDU students and Madison-area residents about Iran’s foreign policy with the United States and Israel.

Parsi, an expert on Middle East foreign policy, released his second book, “A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran,” earlier this year. In it, he examines the administration’s early negotiation attempts with Iran.

The forum, presented by FDU’s Office of Global Learning, was moderated by Jeffrey Laurenti of The Century Foundation. Laurenti began by asking Parsi what would be the likelihood that either Israel or the United States would go to war with Iran in the immediate future.

“Secretary of Defense Panetta puts the risk of a military confrontation before April at 50/50,” Parsi answered. “I think it’s important to realize that the threat is real.”
He mentioned that there has been a noticeable gravitation toward a confrontation and urged that there will continue to be such gravitation until the parties involved muster “the political will” to reach a solution.

Briefly comparing the Obama administration with the previous administration, Parsi noted that he does not see as a strong desire for military action as there was in 2002 when then-President Bush declared that Iran was part of an “axis of evil” in his State of the Union address.

Parsi was critical of the media’s coverage of the ongoing tension surrounding Iran and the possibility of a nuclear weapons program. He asserted that Iran did not have an active nuclear weapons program or weapons of mass destruction.

“We could end up in a situation like that a couple years down the road but not today,”Parsi said.

Since President Obama took office in 2009 there has been criticism over his inability to effectively negotiate with the leaders in Iran. Critics have claimed that the Obama administration had no real intention to negotiate. Parsi disagreed, saying that the Obama administration has been “quite genuine about diplomacy but that the political space that the administration had to pursue diplomacy was limited.”

The Obama administration’s early attempts at diplomacy took place in October, roughly nine months after his inauguration.

The administration felt that there was a 12-month window for which diplomacy would have to come about, but lost most of that time due to various situations and circumstances, including the Iranian presidential elections.

“By the time President Obama managed to get everyone to the table, the policy had become a gamble on a single roll of the dice. It either had to work right away or not at all,”said Parsi.

The American proposal involved Iran shipping most of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia so it could be further enriched. It would then be sent to France to be converted into fuel pads for use in a nuclear reactor that supplies medical isotopes to treat Iranian cancer patients.

When Iran discovered that France – which had not kept its part of a previous nuclear deal with Iran – had a role in the negotiations, the talks came to a stalemate.
“This was not a failure of diplomacy,” Parsi said. “This was the abandonment of diplomacy.”

It was not the end of the negotiations, however.

In May 2010, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Brazilian President Lula were able to get Iran to agree to the fuel swap by allowing Turkey to hold Iran’s LEU in an “escrow account” while the fuel pads were being processed.

This appeared to be a significant diplomatic breakthrough, but the United States did not accept the agreement.
The United States had gone to the United Nations Security Council to pass sanctions on Iran.

“With sanctions, you enter a negative dynamic,” Parsi said. “Both sides are trying to make it as painful as possible for the other side to continue with its policy.”
As the United States continues to impose sanctions on Iran and does not come to an agreement, the Iranians will continue to make advancements in their nuclear program.
“Eventually the government no longer controls the dynamic,” Parsi told the audience. “It is the dynamic that controls the government.”

Parsi left the audience with a reminder about diplomacy and democratization. “Wars do not produce democracy; peace does.”

Poetry event held at FDU Florham

Asia Project presents a spoken-word performance in the Bottle Hill Room.

SAMANTHA REBA
Staff Writer

On March 26, FPC hosted the event, “Tea Party and Speak Easy,” in the Student Center.

The event included a poetry reading by student Sandra Saad and a performance by Asia Project, a spoken-word group.

Nicholas Fulchini, a member of FPC, viewed the event as a fun addition to FDU.

“It’s basically FPC’s campus theme of ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ So they went along with the theme of a tea party,” said Fulchini.
He also commented on Asia Project’s speak easy, noting that it is a traveling group.

Students stayed in the Student Center for the duration of the performance. Chairs were set up in a cozy and comfortable setting for students to sit and sip on their tea and cappuccino.

Saad, a senior, started the show by reading a piece of poetry.

The audience was wide-eyed as Saad’s hand movements and tone of voice silenced them.

Students in the audience even held up their camera phones to record her speech, which was followed by the performance by the Asia Project.

The Asia Project is composed of a traveling poet, accompanied by his brother-in-law, who plays the acoustic guitar.
The group has been featured on HBO and Def Poetry.

Last year, the Asia Project went on a massive college tour that included more than 180 colleges.
Katie Ford, the president of FPC, was responsible for bringing the group to campus.

The group seemed to enjoy the intimate crowd, as well as the “Alice in Wonderland” theme.
They also had the crowd laughing due to candid jokes about sex and New Jersey.

The Asia Project opened up with the idea of breathing – manipulating it throughout the body to get through days and events.

The fact is that breathing is all we can do. The world is stressful, so just breathe. “When the dust settles, all we can do is breathe.”
This poem was written in honor of an old friend of the poet who battled cancer for five years.

The poem also meant a lot to the poet because he had been diagnosed with cancer, though he has been cancer-free for six years.

Being diagnosed with the illness made him realize the beauty of life, so he quit his job and decided to follow his passion of writing poetry.

The group went on to talk about beauty, the kind of beauty that people no longer see within themselves.
They ended it with the line, “You will always be beautiful to me.”

Ashley Markovic, who attended the event, enjoyed the true emotion that the poet conveyed.

“It was really good. I loved how raw it was and the way he included himself in it,” Markovic said.
They group also spoke about love.

The poet read what he wrote to his wife, Jessica.

He started it from the moment they made their relationship official to the day before the wedding.
“Love her with nothing less than everything,” he said.

The group ended the event with this last line: “Nobody is better at being you, than you.”

Women’s History Month event features mayor/JBWS director

Helen LeFrois, mayor of Newton and director of development at JBWS, spoke at a Politics on the PublicMind Women’s History Month event.

MELANIE ANZIDEI
Managing Editor

On March 29, Politics on PublicMind hosted a presentation by Helen LeFrois, who serves as both the mayor of Newton and director of the Jersey Battered Women’s Service (JBWS). The event was held in honor of Women’s History Month.

LeFrois spoke about the misconceived perceptions that the public may have in regards to non-profit organizations and government sectors. Being “a mother, woman and elected official,” as she described, LeFrois serves as a valuable source behind what it’s really like to be a part of two potentially conflicting careers.

In short, she explained how she “weaved together two of [her] passions.”

As an undergraduate student, LeFrois knew she wanted to be a part of politics. She used to imagine herself as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.

But after complications with her father’s health and other unexpected life changes, she found herself as a homeowner and mother in a small, suburban town in New Jersey.
In her new home, LeFrois made plans to remodel, as most new, excited homeowners do.

To her surprise, she found that her home couldn’t be restored in any way since she unknowingly purchased property in the town’s historic district, where homes are expected to maintain the town’s original aesthetic appearance.

This setback drove LeFrois to becoming an active member of her town’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee, on which she strove for a new mandate requiring that potential homeowners be informed they are purchasing homes in the historic district.

As a mother, LeFrois also found herself volunteering at her children’s schools. Her constant and growing involvement within the community led her to becoming a part of her town’s council, and she was eventually elected mayor.

“I always wanted to give back to the community,” said LeFrois. Her “spark,” as she called it, to become more involved with the community was something that was constant throughout her entire career, even in college.

This spark drove her to joining JBWS. Eventually, she became the organization’s director of development.

“In the old days, non-profits weren’t something that you would aspire to,” explained LeFrois. “Today it is.”

She explained how today universities offer majors that are geared toward non-profit related careers. For example, some majors may involve business management of non-profits.
However, most non-profits depend on volunteers, while for-profit or government organizations have employees that are paid through a steady salary.

Another difference between non-profit organizations and for-profit organizations is that money raised goes to different places.

“Non-profits are still a business,” explained LeFrois. “At the end of the day, the money goes back to the mission, as opposed to profits [where the money] goes to the shareholder.”

Now, LeFrois found herself as a part of two organizations that could be misconceived as contradicting careers. She explained that both organizations aren’t as different as many people may assume. “It’s possible to be in both,” said LeFrois.

According to LeFrois, both careers require the same kind of person. In order to be successful in either a government sector or non-profit organization, one must be a servant leader, a phrase coined by Robert Greenleaf’s “The Servant as a Leader” essay. A servant leader “begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead,” according to greenleaf.org.

“We need more leaders with these characteristics,” said LeFrois.

LeFrois believes that today’s youth are more enticed to becoming service-leaders.

Due to the competitive nature of the current corporate world, students are expected to do more, and are thus more likely to be more involved in all kinds of organizations. These demands indirectly benefit students.

The presentation, which lasted almost two hours, was the last PublicMind event until next semester.

In October, PublicMind anticipates three events, one dealing with campaign advertising in light of the presidential election.

Review: ‘Gypsy’ musical makes anticipated opening

MEGAN HEINTZ
News Editor

Friday’s performance of the musical “Gypsy” showed the talent and professionalism of Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Visual and Performing Arts Department.

It is said to be one of the most quintessential and beloved musicals of the 20th century and is the ultimate story of the aggressive stage mother, Mama Rose (Carole Healey), and her quest to get her daughters into show business, something she wishes she had done when she was younger.

Rose, Baby June (Zoe Considine) and Young Louise (Montana Byrne) travel throughout the United States in the 1920s when vaudeville is dying and burlesque is booming.
For this production, directors Stephen Hollis and Allen Cohen decided to bring in children from the community, as well as a professional actress to assist in the enhancement of the musical.

Mama Rose is such a major part of the show and so demanding, the two thought it would be “unfair and unrealistic to expect a student to carry off the emotional and technical skills the role requires,” according to the playbill.

Healey has acted and directed in many major regional theaters throughout the United States, including The Oregon Shakespeare Company, Missouri Repertory Company and Two Rivers Theater Company.

She has also been on television shows like “Law and Order” and “Guiding Light.”

Healey made Mama Rose a loathed character, which was the point. There were many times where I wanted to go on the stage and yell at her; this is how you know she did her job well.

Arguably, Healey is not the only actress with impressive credits to her name. Considine could be considered a professional actress as well. Most recently, she was on Nickelodeon’s Kids Promo Awards with Will Smith and Cameron Diaz and “Saturday Night Live,” where she played HPV girl with Kristen Wiig.

Byrne has sung alongside Elmo, Rosita and Baby Bear on “Sesame Street” and with talented recording artists like Kenny Rogers.
The musical went off without a hitch, initially.

Yet no more than ten minutes into the show, the adorable Baby June ran off the stage during her song. The others in the scene with her kept going, making the audience think that it was part of the show.

Yet everyone quickly learned that she fell ill.

Luckily, it was at the point of the show where Baby June was no longer a baby anymore so June (Julie Dwoskin) was able to take over the role.
Friday’s performance included some beautiful songs and great acting.

A favorite of mine was “If Mama was Married,” which showcased Louise (Megan Barrios) and June’s voices perfectly. The harmonies in that song were enough to leave me with chills.

“Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” a song that many people have probably heard before, was another hit. Healey sang the song with intense passion.

Furthermore, some of the most memorable acting came from Mama Rose’s love interest, Herbie (Reuben Natan), and quick-witted secretary, Miss Cratchitt (Ashley La Selva), whose simple walk to answer the telephone got audiences laughing every time.

Overall, the play was entertaining. If you have not yet seen “Gypsy,” there are still some performances left: April 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. and April 15 at 2:30 p.m.

Odd Future’s newest work packs more punch than a bully

MELISSA KRENEK
Entertainment Editor

Tyler, the Creator and his clan of cartoons have done it again!

The now 21-year-old and his group Odd Future have always delivered raunchy yet lyrical pieces, and most people hate them for it.
Sure, most of the songs deal with fellatio and fornication, and not always the consensual kind, but it’s what the people want. Their debut album does not fail to deliver.

“The OF Tape Vol. 2” features all members of Wolf Gang (Odd Future), though the obvious forerunners are Tyler, the Creator, Hodgy Beats and Frank Ocean.
In fact, the album should have featured just these three men, since everything else that didn’t involve them was worthy of the skip button.

Though controversial, it is the most lyrical piece of work out in the game today, and what other rappers out right now can speak about dinosaurs, zombies, talking trees and Lunchables and make it catchy?

The album starts with an introduction to its members, entitled “Hi,” a minute-and-a-half of each member being degraded verbally.

It paints a nice picture of what is to come, a light hearted yet vicious attack on everyone and everything.

“Analog 2” is the first song on the album that could be a universal hit, and features R&B favorite Frank Ocean and Tyler, The Creator.
We have seen their undeniable chemistry in “She,” and they bring this same romantic/sadistic message with “Analog 2.”

Ocean does his usual cooing with the hook, “Meet me by the lake at ten/If I’m not there just call/And if you need a way there/ I’ll ride you on my handle bars.”
Tyler even tones it down in this one, talking more about romance than rape. One line could be straight out of a poem, “It’s summer camp Golf Wang where the talking trees are.”

Just as we begin to enjoy the lighthearted jam, Tyler brings back the demonic voice in the end.
The creepy voice talks about how the lake is deep and his date will need a life jacket.

This brings us back to reality, and realizes that the fictional date will most likely end up at the bottom of the lake in Tyler’s land of make believe.
Frank Ocean is featured again on the next track entitled “Snow White,” with Hodgy Beats, both men proving their ways with words.

Hodgy jumps onto the track with a griping first couple of lines,“Gold chain and some J’s like Nas in illmatic/ I’m so real, I’m something to feel, peel fabric./ My folks kill, the hunt every meal, meat cabbage/ Lyrically get out of my way, protein the beats raddish.”

Ocean brings in a natural element to the song. His soothing voice echoes, “Snow so white, moon so bright/ They’re on a playground making canines fight.”
Paired with the lyrics is a simple drum beat mixed with a dramatic synthesizer, with the occasional howling and growling in the background.

Tyler, the Creator joins Hodgy again on “P,” a song where no one is safe from his judgments. Hodgy talks about killing people, while Tyler takes it way too far, as he usually does.

Listeners will be shocked hearing, “So after the showers with Sandusky,/ me and Sean Kingston went and rented a couple jet skis.”
In one line Tyler manages to poke fun at the Penn State scandal as well as the near fatal accident of a pop singer.

But this is what fans love about him, his most famous being his “stab” at Bruno Mars in his hit song “Yonkers.”

Tyler takes it even farther than that here, even referencing Casey Anthony. “You know Casey Anthony, was handling/Dropping her kids off so she could come out and dance with me.”

This shocking track is juxtaposed with Frank Ocean’s ballad called “White.”

Unlike other R&B artists out now, not every song on his repertoire are “panty-droppers,” in fact, most are more depressing than sexual.

Though simplistic, “White” holds more sensuality than any Trey Songz or Chris Brown track out right now, with a lyric like “I woke, you were there, tracing planets on my forehead.” Who needs a complicated beat and a six pack?

“White” reads more like a poem than a song, and is a refreshing break from all the shenanigans occurring around it.

The album ends with “Oldie,” a 10-minute track that features all the members of Wolf Gang. It has almost too much personality for one song to handle.
Overall the album was impressive, and though controversial, Odd Future knows how to stir the pot.

Most rappers out right now talk about two things, women and money.
Though usually paired with a catchy beat, this formula gets old.

Odd Future is the first rap group since Wu-Tang to bring the street rap back into the mainstream, and doesn’t rely solely on a “killer beat” like Rick Ross’s Maybach group.
Many people are outraged by the acceptance of Wolf Gang’s content, but this ideology is no different from why people like slasher films and violent television.

Why can Eli Roth write a film about sex and death but Tyler, The Creator can’t write a song about it?

Assessment of the Supreme Court’s health care hearings; Conservative judges attempt to strike down ‘Obamacare;’ bad news for women

MONIQUE VITCHE
Staff Writer

From March 26 to 28, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments regarding the constitutionality of President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, referred to by critics of the legislation and the media as “Obamacare.”

Here’s what happened over the course of the three days:

In the first day of arguments, the justices had to decide whether or not they could even proceed with hearing the case.

According to the Anti-Injunction Act from the 1800s, a lawsuit cannot be brought before a court if its purpose is to restrain the collection of a tax.

The health insurance mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act, whose constitutionality is being brought into question, would impose penalties on those who refuse to purchase health insurance by 2014.

Both parties – the Obama administration and the lawyer representing the 26 states that oppose the health care law – argued that the case can be heard.

The second day of arguments had Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., the administration’s lawyer, being asked tough questions from the Court’s four conservative justices on whether the federal government can essentially force its citizens to buy health insurance.

This was where we encountered what I would like to call “Broccoli-gate” (although I am sure someone else has already called it that). Justice Antonin Scalia seems to think that if the federal government could force Americans to buy health insurance, then it could make them buy broccoli.

I beg to differ.

Not buying broccoli doesn’t make it unavailable to those out there who want to buy it (I’m not one of them, I must confess).

However, the current fractured state of the American health care system makes insurance unaffordable – and as a result, unavailable – for those who really need it.
On the final day of arguments the justices focused on the following question: if the individual mandate is struck down, what other parts of the law would have to be struck down as well?

Scalia said that the whole law had to go because the individual mandate is “the heart of the statute and the statute cannot survive without the heart.”
I pick on Scalia because he compared reading the 2,700 page document to “cruel and unusual punishment” when asked if he or any of the justices had actually read the document prior to the hearings.

As someone who has been following the health care reform debate since Obama first proposed it, even I have not read the entire document.
I have, however, read a few hundred pages of it and was part of a phone conference with the Department of Health and Human Services.

You know what? I understand why Scalia thinks it’s funny that someone would ask him that question. He is a justice on the highest court in the United States, after all, so I imagine that he is kind of busy. However, a simple Google search would have provided some insight on exactly what is in the legislation – and what is not.

That is right – the “Cornhusker kickback” he was talking about to Paul Clement, the attorney for the 26 states, is not in the final version of the Affordable Care Act.
While other justices held different positions on what additional provisions should be struck down along with the individual mandate, the Obama administration made a suggestion to the Court.

If the mandate is struck down, the administration says the provisions that prohibit insurers from declining coverage or charging higher premiums because of pre-existing conditions must also be struck down.

That’s where I started to get scared.

Not mandating everyone to buy health insurance is one thing, but to remove those provisions is certainly something I would not want to happen.
The health care law is more than just an individual mandate.

It allows young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance until the age of 26.

The lifetime caps that insurance companies place on the amount of care they will cover will no longer be allowed.
Preventative services like visits to the OB-GYN and birth control will be offered free of charge.

Women will not be charged more than men for the plan, which happens in many states across the nation.
And if Scalia has his way, this could all be gone.

Trayvon Martin: The death of a young black man

AYINDE J. STEVENS
Staff Writer

By the time this article goes to print, 17-year old Trayvon Martin will have to been dead for 40 days. He will have been buried for 34 days, this coming after he was “murdered.”

Fairleigh Dickinson University has had the Hot Topics event, “Black History Black Voices: Race in the Media,” an event which I covered.
There was something that freshman Shaquille Hobson had said about young black men that somehow has made it to this piece.

Hobson said that “it is hard for a young black man to do something positive.”

Hobson may not have been speaking from experience, but rather about the epidemic of young black men being cut down in their prime. Whether it’s from the police brutality experienced in the big city, a bad home life, or just life in the “streets,” young black men have been easy pickings for a long while.

When the police arrived at the scene, they found Trayvon dead with a gunshot wound to the chest. Zimmerman was near the body with a weapon.

He was treated at the scene and sent to the police station, where he gave his statement and was released. Zimmerman claims that the whole thing was in self-defense; he claims that it was Trayvon who attacked him.

Since Zimmerman was treated at the scene, the only physical remnant proving an altercation between him and Trayvon took place is that Zimmerman has a broken nose.
This probably means that Trayvon did put up a fight before being shot by Zimmerman, however, since there is no evidence that either man started the fight, Zimmerman is still a free man.

After a nearly daylong search, Trayvon’s father, Tracy Martin, found his son in the last place a 17-year-old should be: the morgue.

The defense Zimmerman is holding on to is the Stand Your Ground law, a law in Florida (similar to laws in 21 other states) that allows a person to defend himself outside the normal self-defense confines of his own home.

While the law is tough to crack, Zimmerman will have to do much better.

According to a New York Times article on March 21, which gave a general background of the law, the defendant is given the “benefit of the doubt.”
The article also says that the law is used by “gang members, drug dealers battling drug dealers, and people involved in road rage encounters.”

This proves that the law is too broad and doesn’t have a good track record of actually doing what it should, which is to help defend those who really do need the law.
I’m not saying that Zimmerman is abusing the law, but rather with some of the evidence against him, parts of his story won’t hold up, if he is ever put to trial.
The response to this incident is overwhelming.

For one, people are upset that another young black male is killed in a senseless crime.
They are also upset at the police for not being forthright with the information in the case, and they are upset that Zimmerman is free.

We’ve had million hoodie marches, rallies in cities big and small in the United States, President Obama speaking about it, politicians condemning it, and here on campus our own rally.

Reverend Sidney Williams Jr. of Bethel AME Church of Morristown was a guest speaker at the FDU event and he reminded those gathered that this is not a black and white issue, it is an American issue.

Why?

Because everyone wears a hoodie. I have two. I don’t regularly wear them, but that’s not because I could suspected by the police (and I’ve seen those with hoodies being stopped by the cops), but it’s because it’s not the style I want to wear.

However, just because you do or don’t wear a hoodie you shouldn’t be suspected of a crime.

If you have been wondering why I worded the title the way it is, it’s because off the top of my head I can list at least…eight incidents where a black man has been killed by the police and all of the defendants got off.

Yes, in most cases they were fired, and I can only identify the victims in two occasions, but the m/o is the same… Black man suspected of something, police pursue, black man is shot, facts look muddy, people protest, suspect and victim are placed through the ringer, case goes to trial, sometimes a jury, sometimes it’s just the judge, but the outcome is the same.

They get off.

So if Zimmerman, who is not a cop, can get off by hiding behind some lousy law what does it mean for me if I’m next?…

FDU baseball team gets revenge against Misericordia; Offense scores 13 runs to get key conference victory at home

STEVEN MACRI
Sports Editor

Death by Home Run.

If you also add in senior FJ Lucchetti’s strong pitching performance and some timely hitting, you get a Fairleigh Dickinson University victory over the number 12 ranked baseball team in Division III.

The Devils beat the defending Freedom Conference champions, Misericordia University, in all aspects of the game.
The Devils had a small dose of revenge from last year’s championship game, which they lost 9-3, by clobbering the ball all over the field and eventually winning 13-4.
The Devils offense was near impossible to stop, pounding out 17 hits.

The baseball team put runs on the board early for Lucchetti, putting up four runs in the first.
Senior outfielder Matt Joiner had an RBI triple to get things started. Sophomore Frank LaGuarina added another run with a sacrifice fly. Next in line was senior first baseman Ryan Fandel, who hit the first home run of the day, a two run shot.

After the first inning it was smooth sailing for the FDU baseball team.
The Devils almost shot themselves in the foot with a few early errors and a home run by Misericorida that cut the lead in half, 4-2.
The Devils quickly answered back in the following inning with a two-run single by senior third baseman John Pieper.

Lucchetti pitched six strong innings in which he gave up three runs (two earned) with seven strikeouts, before handing the ball over to senior Mike Winters, who was able to pitch two solid innings of relief.

The Devils were able to run away with the game after a five-run inning during the eighth. Joiner started the scoring off for the inning with a three-run home run to deep right field. Senior catcher Nick Marcucci finished off the scoring with a sac fly to drive in a run.

The Devils handed the ball over to their reliable closer, senior Chris Laudati, who worked a masterpiece of a ninth inning to end the game. Laudati struck out two batters and did not surrender a run. This game brought him one step closer to the record for most appearances all time for FDU.

Laudati also has a chance at breaking the saves record this season also.

The home run group of Fandel, Joiner and LaGuarina each had good days at the park. Fandel went 3-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Joiner continued his hot season going 3-5 with a home run and four RBIs. LaGuarina was 3-4 on the day, with a home run and three RBIs. Pieper also had a good day hitting, going 2-4 with two RBIs.

The Devils had a hard fought week, losing to Rutgers-Camden, 9-5, and beating Stockton, 6-5, in a close one, so a comfortable win against a quality team was needed.
The Devils handed Misericordia their first Freedom Conference loss of the season, and FDU improved to 9-3 (5-2 Freedom).

The Devils look to continue their two-game winning streak with a few conference games coming up in the next week.
They will finish up the series with Misericordia and play a non-conference game against Baruch College, which will lead them into their other rival series against Manhattenville.

The Devils will have an opportunity to move up in the standings over the next week with some Freedom conference powerhouses on their schedule.

Golf teams off to cold, windy start

STEVEN MACRI
Sports Editor

The men’s golf team was supposed to have a match at Centenary College, but the game was urgently cancelled due to the possibility of an on-campus shooting. The Devils had to regroup and wait for their tournament at Moravian on March 26.

Junior Billy King said, “At first I was curious at the severity of the shooting, then I tried clearing my mind since we ended up having practice instead of the match. The cancelled match didn’t really affect our mindset; we were able to get another practice in and will likely make the match up later in the year.”

The Devils took the trip to Pennsylvania on Thursday to compete in an 18-team tournament at Moravian University. The golf team did not have ideal conditions on that day due to the 45 mph winds.

According to fdudevils.com, the Devils posted a team score of 356, which was good for placing 14th overall in the tournament.

Some of the top performers in the tournament were junior Andrew Gordon, who shot 82 and placed 13th.

King had a score of 87 on that day, while senior David May had a 90.
The Devils are stuck at .500 on the season with a 2-2 record.

“Our team so far has performed sub par in my opinion. It is still early in the season so we are still working on our game since the season just started. We can improve by practicing more and being a more committed team by dedicating ourselves a lot more,” King said.

“Moravian was not a good tournament for just about all of us. One of our co-captains Andrew Gordon played decently for the hard conditions but the team had a very, very bad day at Moravian. I myself played very bad, the conditions contributed a little to the bad golf since it was cold and windy.”

The Devils returned to action Monday in a Tri-Match with King’s College and the University of Scranton.

In advance of the Tri-Match, King said, “Those teams are both very good. Seeing as we lost to King’s two weeks ago, we are going to have to focus, play smart and make sure we play very well.”

They did just that.

According to fdudevils.com, the Devils beat both King’s and Scranton.

The woman’s golf team opened up its spring season with a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Invitational on March 26. Seven teams competed on that cold and windy day. According to fdudevils.com, the Devils had a score of 524.

Sophomore Megan Heintz led the team with a score of 116, which had her finish 11th in the tournament.

Some other key performers were freshman Athena Fuentes, who followed closely behind Heintz with a score of 120. Sophomore Helena Riede finished with a 137.

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Daily Archives: April 5, 2012