Alternative Spring Breaks

For five days of their spring break, 22 Geneseo students and one alumnus joined forces with students from around the country to clean the garbage-ridden Ohio Riverbed.

The students volunteered for the Alternative Spring Break program of Living Lands and Waters, a not-for-profit environmental organization that stages land and riverbed restoration projects across the country. The 59 volunteers came from Iowa State University, Finger Lakes Community College, Hobart College, Geneseo and Wayne State University and worked side-by-side with the LLW crewmembers including founder, Chad Pregracke.

The Ohio River is believed to be one of the most polluted waterways in the United States, containing millions of pounds of agricultural and industrial pollutants, as well as tons upon tons of solid waste.

The volunteers worked in motorboats on the river as well as on the surrounding floodplains where much of the waste is deposited when the water level recedes. The 15 tons of trash they collected ranged from bottles, tires and refrigerators to 55-gallon drums of chemicals, which were transported to LLW's barge to be sorted and recycled when possible.

"It's something that not many people are aware of, but it's a huge problem," explained Geneseo sophomore Lindsay Gips. "The more people involved the better. This trip made me realize that even though we were a small group, we were able to make a big difference."

The group's motivation and passion came from many different sources. For Iowa State senior, Josh Sevcik it was personal: "Last year Alternative Spring Break came to my hometown, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to help with the flood aftermath. This year I went to give back to the program."

While the amount of garbage in the river may seem insurmountable, the efforts of organizations like LLW prevent the trash from accumulating while simultaneously raising awareness of the issue. "It's very tangible," said Geneseo alumnus Henry Adams. "You can see the difference we make, and the positive attitude of the crew is amazing." It was Adams' third year involved with the program.

LLW's quest has been showcased in numerous news stories and books, and will soon be featured on the Discovery Channel. The hope is that by showing the public how large of a problem this is, knowledge will work as a preventative measure, encouraging people to use proper disposal methods rather than using the river as a dumping site. Cleaning up the aftermath is only half of the battle.

Many of the volunteers said they plan on returning next year. According to Geneseo sophomore Bridget Hardiman, the reason was simple: "We only have one world," she said. "This is my home and I'd like it to be clean."

For more information on LLW and its programs, visit livinglandsandwaters.org.

Incidental Amusements

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second HelpingI never got around to listening to it cuz I had homework and then "The Hills" was on but the track listing says that "Sweet Home Alabama" is on it and I like that song so I'm sure it's fine.4/5 stars

Radiohead - OK ComputerI listened to half of some song about an android. It was SO weird … hella ghey. If they ever want to make it big they should rap more, and do some songs with Kanye or JT. Also, WTF kind of a name is Thom? How do you even say it, is it a "th" sound or just a hard "t"? Maybe they can write some ghey song about some stupid android named Thom. Ghey/5 stars

Paramore - Riot!They're so awesome and I love Hayley Williams she's such a cool girl and I want to be just like her she's so comfortable with herself that she doesn't care what people think of her and "Misery Business" is such a sweet song and they're easily the best rock band around right now and they had a song in Twilight which was SO awesome. Cept mom wouldn't let me see Twilight with my friends cuz I was grounded but I just downloaded it online so the joke's on her.5/5 stars

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter IIIMom doesn't let me listen to rap because it has bad words but she's stupid because I hear people at school say those words all the time. The other day she took my iPod after she caught me listening to him but I know where the b---- hides everything so I took it back. I like how he has songs about candy too, a lot of rappers are really vulgar but Weezy is cooler than them even when he's rapping about lollipops. 4.5/5 stars

Jonas Brothers - A Little Bit Longer

Incidental Amusements

This article is very hard for me to write, not because it's dealing with a complicated issue - it's more of a physical difficulty in raising my arms.

Wednesday was the Food Expo; the magical day once a semester where food providers vie for Campus Auxiliary Services contracts. It is a glorious day for gluttony, but in my four years I've seen too many overeager students doubled over with stomach pains from overeating. I've had years of experience with these expos, gaining knowledgeable insight and hardly noticeable weight each time. I think I can give some pointers to make the most of this window of free food:

1. Stretch: Like any athletic endeavor, proper stretching is important. Making sure your legs are ready is doubly important because you're going to be carrying a lot of weight around with you, first in samples and packaged food and later in folds and jiggling fat.

2. Come Prepared: Conventional wisdom would tell you to come hungry, but conventional wisdom has all sorts of ridiculous claims and sayings like "Beer before Ipecac, never been sicker." Sure, feeling hungry will give you the idea that you can eat a lot, but you're not used to handling that quantity of food. I suggest prepping with years of overeating and little to no exercise until you can prick yourself and measure the awesomeness in your veins.

3. Learn Food Expo Etiquette: Specifically, that there is none. It is every man, woman, child, man-child and mannish woman for himself. This is not the military, people: I will and usually do leave people behind. Keep in mind that it's going to get crowded in the Ballroom so don't be afraid to use those elbows. It's dog-eat-dog out there, especially around the "discount meat" table.

4. Pacing: The slower you eat, the more aware you are. This is a problem. As far as I remember, when I went to the Expo, I ate one long, multi-flavored string of food. Granted, it made rating the foods a bit difficult but I just wrote in "the cheesy, buffalo chocolate fish thing" as my top pick. My apologies if they actually develop this food for next year, but this leads us into our final rule.

5. Ruin the Menu for Returning Students: Since I'm graduating, I don't really care what gets added to the menu. But I do care about cruel humor, so I made sure that if it were soy-based, organic or heart-healthy it would be on next years' menu. Don't look at me like I'm a monster. The class before me thought it would be funny to request gluten-free food. Instead of being mad, just pass it on to the following generation. Class of 2011, maybe you could request a menu option for foods that won't be fully digested in your poo. Imagine: a table of corn kernels, grass and Barbie heads (don't ask, just take my word for it). A semester of that will make next year's Food Expo even grander.

In Case You Missed It...

In case you missed it, spring has sprung.

Or, for a less clichéd observation, warm weather has finally arrived in Geneseo and people across campus are screaming about how much they LOVE IT!

Frisbees seem to have metastasized over the course of a few hours, Birkenstocks have been fished out from the backs of closets and Dave Matthews' vocal chords are belting far and wide. It's barely 50 degrees outside and every plot of soupy grass has been taken over by barefoot wannabe neo-hippies.

Everyone loves when the weather gets warmer and the burden of ice and snow melts away along with our memories of the first few topics of humanities (Antigone is who again?). Even me, a pale-skinned indoor girl, can appreciate the smell of the new approaching season because it means I get to wear my super cool sunglasses. I'm not about to set up a volleyball net on 'Daga Field and blast my new Jack Johnson album out my window, though.

Call me a Debbie Downer or a Negative Nancy, but I don't see the big deal about this week. There's still schoolwork to be done before spring break - not to mention the work that's due after - there's still a visible amount of snow on the ground, which means the grass is still muddy, and the weather still drops to 30 degrees at night. That does not sound like any reason for pre-emptive celebration to me.

I would for once like to appreciate the feeling of warm air and the tawny hue of a sunny day without worrying about getting conked in the head by a flying plastic dinner plate haphazardly thrown by a giggling girl, or an acoustic guitar carried by the Bro who kinda/sorta knows how to play.

There's plenty of time for Spring Fever to infect college kids everywhere, and now is certainly not the time.

Incidental Amusements

Woe is Jeremy! As I write this, I am currently 0-for-2 in graduate school admissions … I am apparently very rejectable.

I suppose this shouldn't come as much of a shock to me. After all, you have to consider the number of times I've been slapped, beaten up by totally un-cool boyfriends and maced with both the spray and Medieval varieties. But somehow written rejections always hurt more. Maybe it's because they put the thought into it, maybe it's because it technically costs them money to tell me I suck (which means a singing telegram must really be the ultimate insult). The point is, applying to grad school sucks chicken ovaries. Sucks 'em clean.

I realized how horrible a process it was when I first started. It's not like applying to college, where you can fill out one application and send it to a dozen schools. Every school wants something different and nothing that you send will ever be good enough. Who wants to hear about me? I'm boring! I just assumed they'd rather hear about something interesting like a man with rockets for feet that can make women's panties unravel with his steely gaze. And so that's what I sent them. I refuse on principle to believe that that's why I've gotten two rejections and a job offer from Harlequin Publishing so far.

Maybe the problem doesn't lie with me. Maybe we're all expected to lie a little, like when you say you've been a good student on the SOFIs, or when you tell your partner you're on the pill as you listen to the unrelenting ticking of your biological clock. I suppose in hindsight my advice for you younglings is to tell graduate schools what they want to hear.

People love royalty and hate learning geography (sorry Dave Robertson) so perhaps you should include a brief statement in your application informing the admissions office that you are the last remaining heir of the Grand Duchy of Svetletoniaheim. You know Svetletoniaheim, it's up there between Lornadoone and Snickerdoodle.

Perhaps the best advice of all is to have a backup plan. Maybe yours will be a job or an internship. I don't want to give too much away, but you should probably hope I get into one of my other schools because my backup plan involves taking you all with me in a blaze of glory and Geneseo University Store chicken oil. Every time your chicken poppers are too dry, that's me hoarding grease for my fire.

I hope you've learned something from our little chat and can use my advice for your own applications assuming there are still graduate schools in the country that are not smoldering piles of ash and broken dreams. Or law schools, which are already like that but without the ash.

In Case You Missed It...

In case you missed it, everyone seems to be "going green" these days - a noble cause for people to want to save the planet and everything.

There are groups on campus like Geneseo Environmental Organization, and even a brand new residence hall set to open next fall devoted to sustaining the earth and her natural resources. That's all well and good, but I'd prefer it if these environmentally friendly hippies would stop harping on me for my use of bottled water.

"Listen kids," I'll say to my grandchildren as they sip out of their Nalgene bottles. "There was a time when all you had to do to drink water was shell out $1.50 and you got a plastic container with fresh, filtered water already in it!"

I'm not into the whole tap water thing. Who knows where that comes from? I'm content knowing that when I crack open a bottle of Poland Spring, the water I drink comes from the best water in Poland … or Maine … or Poland, Maine.

I recently wrote a paper examining my relationship with bottled water, and I honestly had no idea the hold it had on me. Of course there are those new-fangled Brita filters and all this other crazy technology that I can pay even more money for to make my otherwise questionable tap water clean, but why bother? I'll take that 24-pack of water bottles instead. The brand of water doesn't matter much. I'll drink Poland Spring, Dasani, Aquafina, but not Nestle. Anything but Nestle.

I'm not saying that I'm completely numb to helping the environment. After I finish the bottles I almost always recycle them … or at least let them collect in my recycle bin until they flow all over my floor and under my bed and start making friends with the dust bunnies. Recently I've actually saved the bottles and refilled them with a 1-gallon jug (of Poland Spring, that I purchased), just so that I have the same portable container of the .5-liter water bottle to tote around with me.

I've tried to make the switch to those "green" water bottles, really, I have. But it's just so hard when I see a case of water, standing at attention in the aisles of Walmart and Wegmans. They are the faithful little pre-packaged soldiers that contain the chemical compound to sustain my life. When I pass them by they morph into sad puppies at a pet store, their droopy eyes making me feel guilty for neglecting them.

In Case You Missed It...

In case you missed it, the clean-shaven look is out. Sorry, straight-laced mama's boys, you're not en vogue anymore. Our society is in full-throttle scruff mode.

We've been slowly moving entering the dawn of the mustachioed man for a few years, but now it's here. Mustaches are fuller, beards are thicker and a man's face will never be subject to the wind and cold.

The ever-popular muttonchops, the delightful hybrid between sideburns and mustache, is also making its harshest comeback since the '70s and '80s. Follicle-friendly men, you might as well ride the beard bandwagon while it's still around.

Perhaps you're not a trendy guy, but facial hair is one accessory you don't have to buy. If it goes out of style, you can just shave it off. What are you going to do now that you've spent $40 on that fedora hat you got last summer? Or $15 on those neon Kanye West "sunglasses?"

This trend is especially useful for the gents who feel like they've been blessed (cursed?) with a perpetual baby-face. Instant man-ification: grow some facial hair. You'll instantly feel more mature and confident; especially since that cute alternative girl in your literature class is eyeing you (just remember to buy a pair of Converse All-Stars, or else she'll lose interest in a few days).

Merely having the ability to grow a patch of hair on your face is not enough to suffice though. Cultivating a stellar 'stache takes more care and responsibility than that. Grooming is key - no one likes an unruly mass of face-pubes.

If you don't trust my authority on the matter (since I don't have the ability to grow facial hair, nor would it be socially acceptable for me to do so), take a note from Brad Pitt - with a trimmed goatee, he looks suave and devastatingly handsome. Left un-groomed, however, he looked like something the Cowardly Lion would have a crush on.

Blue wave competes at Kenyon Invitational

This past weekend the Geneseo Blue Wave traveled to the Kenyon College Last Chance Invitational, and both the men's and women's squads were successful as five Geneseo swimmers qualified in five events.

The name of the meet is exactly as it suggests. The Last Chance Invitational was one last meet for swimmers who were close to NCAA provisionally qualifying times to try and lower their times enough to make the cut.

On the men's side two swimmers qualified in what head coach Paul Dotterweich called "a palace, designed for speed." Sophomore Ken Pink was second in the 200 breaststroke in a provisional time of 2 minutes, 4.82 seconds.

Pink also finished fourth overall in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 58.01. Fellow sophomore Josh Kaplan posted an NCAA provisional and school record time of 51.79 in the 100 backstroke.

Dotterweich said he had nothing but praise for all of his swimmers. "To be honest with you, they exceeded my expectations going into that meet." Dotterweich said that the energy at the meet, as well as the additional members of the Blue Wave who made the trip, helped to push those swimmers who qualified even further. Several swimmers who didn't compete at the SUNYAC meet last week traveled to Kenyon so that they would be able to end their season at a high-profile meet.

On the women's side, junior Michelle Rodriguez had two qualifying swims, guaranteeing her a spot in the NCAA meet. Rodriguez won the 100 freestyle in a time of 1:53.74 and set a school record in her second qualifying swim of the meet, coming in second place overall in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.94.

Dotterweich said he also used the meet as an opportunity to let Rodriguez swim in the 200 backstroke, an event she normally doesn't compete in. According to Dotterweich, her time would have put her first in the SUNYAC meet.

Two other female swimmers made a provisional cut for the NCAA meet this past weekend. Freshman Meghan Green posted a time of 5:03.85 in the 500 freestyle and senior Sierra Achin won the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:22.39. Dotterweich pointed to Achin's swim as an example of how the meet as a whole went for the team. "She dropped two seconds to a time that will make the NCAA, so it was worth for us to go there," he said.

It's still unclear how many Blue Wave swimmers will compete in the national meet in March. The SUNYAC championships are among the earliest conference championships in the country, so the team has to wait to see how many swimmers across the country will make the provisional cut.

Dotterweich said he believes that as many as five other athletes could be joining Rodriguez at Wooster College in Minneapolis, Minn., the home of the 2010 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.

Incidental Amusements

There are laws in this great country of ours to protect the rights of disenfranchised groups. In these Obama-driven, post-racial times we have no need for petty bigotry and discrimination.

You know who still does that? Those filthy Dutch. But we're better than that. Or at least, that's what I thought until I came down with a cough and sore throat.

I used to be "just one of the guys," doing guy stuff. We'd mess around, share cans of soda, watch the game, breathe on each other's faces, you know, male bonding. As soon as I started showing symptoms it was like I was a whole different person to them … to everyone, really.

When I showed up to work at my internship hacking up phlegm as I often do these days, they told me they didn't want me in their office. I was so undesirable that they wouldn't even let me work for free; all of this because I'm epidemiologically different. But I'm still the same Jeremy you've all come to know and worship, for Jeremy's sake!

I don't understand why we "infected Americans" are thought of as being worse or inferior to you "normals." What can you do that I can't? If anything, getting sick has greatly aided my ability to multitask. Now I can make copious amounts of mucus and small-d--- jokes at the same time. And then there's my coughing. You normals seem to cringe whenever I do it - especially on your food - but I don't see how it's any different than the music you listen to nowadays. They're both awful.

Also, a lot of famous, important people were sick. Where would we be without the contributions of Typhoid Mary, Alphonso Ausgustus Gonorrhea or that monkey in Outbreak? One could argue that their illnesses made them great. And dead, I suppose. Maybe I'll just take some medicine and lie down.

Incidental Amusements

I put ridiculous things in my body. Yes, I know that we've all seen that on Chatroulette, but let's save the weekend talk for the weekend. I'm talking nutrition.

Food is fuel, food is fun and food can be a great sense of pleasure, from the cook who prepares a sumptuous meal for his closest friends to the woman who gives the zucchini at the store a second glance. Though I may understand the rules of good nutrition, I'm pretty sure they don't apply to me (this is also my murder defense).

I generally concern myself with the Geneseo food groups: the distilled group, the deep-fried group, the buffalo chicken group, the three-day-old group, the Five Second Rule group, and energy drinks. If my physiology is anything like the common hummingbird, I should have a good, steady heart rate of around 240. Thanks to switching to energy drinks from, well, all other liquids, I'm already over halfway there. My blood is moving through my veins so fast I can actually feel it.

I consider myself an energy drink connoisseur, from the sweet and playful Monster to the dry and verdant AMP and even the precocious ... um, berrytastic 5 Hour Energy. And then, when trying to get energy to write this very column, I cracked open a Sugar Free Rockstar energy drink from GUS.

Now, I've swallowed a lot of foul things in my life, sometimes for money, but I have never had an energy drink quite as bad as this one. How bad is it? Bad enough for me to decide to write an entire column based around it. So yeah, that bad. I no longer wonder what the gel inside a Dr. Scholl's pad tastes like anymore.

I mean, I drank it all, and if I'm ever in that position where it's the only energy drink available I'll drink it again. I'm weak. But it's definitely given me pause to consider why I do these things to myself. Why do I drink things I know I won't like? Why do I eat things that I know I won't be able to keep down? For that matter, as I write this, why do I attend classes I don't pay attention in? I don't know, but the fact that I haven't slept since Feb. 8 may be a factor. Maybe it's time I lay off the enerzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

In Case You Missed It...

In case you missed it, RuPaul's "Drag Race" is now in its second season. Airing on the Logo channel, "Drag Race" features a slew of drag queens who compete to be the "next big one". The show is essentially a mix between "America's Next Top Model" and "Project Runway," but it has a little something extra (just like the contestants).

RuPaul, arguably America's most prominent drag queen, hosts the show as both a man and a woman, making the contestants jump through hoops to find their inner queen. Some of this season's challenges include a dramatic photo shoot with two hunky men, and a country-style commercial shoot.

The crux of the show's appeal comes down to the catwalk, which the contestants have to do each week, dressed in outfits they've made themselves. This is no Calvin Klein fashion we're talking about -- the contestants bring a whole new meaning to glitter, sequins, and drama.

Most of the contestants do their best model-esque walk, popping their faux-hips and pursing their heavily made-up lips. But some of them, like the recently eliminated, voluptuous Mystique, tried impressing the judges with their impressive (albeit frightening) split.

Now you may wonder who would possibly be able to sit on a judges panel and rate these over-the-top drag queens on their "performance" each week. In addition to RuPaul, we have Santino Rice, former "Project Runway" contestant and Merle, former contestant on Bravo's most recent reality show, "Launch My Line."

Each week we're accompanied by two guest judges, who are apparently as equally qualified to judge queens as the regular judges. For example, we've had Dita Von Teese, burlesque extraordinaire, and comedienne Kathy Griffin so far this season.

Perhaps this show isn't for everyone. Not everyone could handle keeping track of all the contestants in their ever-changing looks and personalities. However, when we get contestants with names such as JuJuBee, Jessica Wild, and Pandora Boxx, it's hard not to be intrigued right off the bat.

Men's basketball splits weekend

Last Friday the Geneseo men's basketball team took on SUNY Oneonta and were handed a solid 71-57 defeat, but bounced back to secure a last-minute win against SUNY New Paltz the following day.

Although in past weeks the team has proved they are capable of handling teams of any caliber, Oneonta - third-place in the SUNYAC standings - proved to be too much for Geneseo. Facing an 11-point deficit by halftime, the Knights scrambled back to within four in the second half, but never managed to take the lead.

Senior Brandon Simpson did his part, leading Geneseo with 17 points and nine rebounds, including going 6-8 from the foul line. Sophomore John Drazan went 5-5 from the field to finish with 12 points on the night, while fellow sophomore Abe Miller contributed 10 points and five rebounds in the loss.

Head coach Steve Minton pointed to Oneonta's strong ball handlers and ability to finish plays as two elements that wore out Geneseo's defense as the game went on.

The next day saw more of the nail-biting action that Geneseo has become accustomed to this season. After battling to establish a 31-26 lead at halftime, the Knights allowed the Hawks to take off on a second-half run and fell behind after consecutive three-pointers.

Drazan capped off a solid weekend by tying New Paltz with 1 minute, 14 seconds remaining and finishing with 14 points on the night. Minton called Drazan's impact "a very pleasant surprise." In a not-so-surprising turn of events, it was up to Simpson to carry the team to victory, as he sank a game-winning baseline jump shot with only 10 seconds to play.

It was the second week in a row Simpson took the role as go-to-guy for Geneseo; he scored the game winner against SUNY Oswego last Friday. Minton noted that now that Simpson has established himself as a game-changer, he can "act as a decoy" and open up options for other members of the team. Sophomore Mike Hoy, one of the young emerging leaders for the Knights, led Geneseo with 15 points.

Another player who has been asserting himself in the Knights lineup is sophomore Ethan Estabrooks. Estabrooks, who was a defensive sub against New Paltz, was key in the final minutes to secure the final possession for Geneseo. The breadth of Geneseo's scoring helped separate them from their opponents, as the Knights bench outscored the Hawks bench 18-2 in the second stanza.

Minton said that the string of close games that Geneseo has played lately has been a positive thing, especially since the Knights have been finding ways to come out on top. Minton added that he "can't be disappointed" with younger contributors, such as Hoy, gaining such valuable experience.

Geneseo now sits at eighth place in the SUNYAC standings with just four games left in the regular season. The Knights are 6-8 in conference play and 7-14 overall. The top eight teams in the conference make the playoffs; Geneseo currently holds the tiebreaker over both ninth-place Oswego and seventh-place New Paltz.

Minton said that the team will not settle for eighth place and looks to move up the ranks "spot to spot." The team returns to Kuhl Gymnasium on Friday at 8 p.m. to take on SUNY Brockport and continue its quest for a conference title.

Sex and the 'Seo: Valentine's Day Edition

True, Valentine's Day is generally a commercial holiday - one designed by greeting card companies to boost the sale of chocolate and roses nationwide. But the idea behind it is honestly something to admire.

Contrary to what most men believe, Valentine's Day is not about spending money and getting a little somethin' somethin' in return. It is about showing someone that you truly appreciate them - through actions, not through a bouquet that will be dead within the week.

And if you're single, embrace it. I know there are plenty of people in your life who love you unconditionally - this day is for them, too.

A handwritten note, a homemade dinner, an offer to take the garbage out for a change or a $1 shout-out in The Lamron (sorry, had to do it) are all simple things to make this a day to be celebrated and respected, not avoided.

Ignore the hype and take a look at what this holiday is supposed to be: a day of love, as cliché as that sounds. To me, that sounds like something that should be embraced whole-heartedly.

Seriously, it started out as the memorial of a martyred saint, and now it's a day when men are expected to give their significant others chocolate, diamonds, dinner or flowers or all manner of other things.

I'm sure there will be some hate mail for me saying that in this age of politically correct feminism, Valentine's Day is in fact not necessarily a material holiday, but can be a spiritual course of enlightenment for the couple who doesn't succumb to the temptation. To those hate mail senders, I say this: You're wrong.

Valentine's Day has been embedded like Christmas into our minds. It's a social obligation at this point. Imagine getting no presents at Christmas (or Hanukkah). Even if you had called every person you knew and said, for example, "Don't get me any presents this year, Ethel. Just make a donation in my name somewhere," I can almost guarantee you'd be at least a little bit sad that there was nothing to unwrap when the time came.

In the same way, Valentine's Day has become a consumerist trap: men buy women expensive, frivolous and often red things. They are rewarded with love and affection, which usually fades back to normal within a week.

Thus I come to the crux of the advice for my fellow men: pick some random day and pretend it's Valentine's Day. But don't do it on Feb. 14.

Business enrollment up

Though enrollment in business-related majors nationwide is at a historic low, Geneseo's Jones School of Business is experiencing just the opposite - more business majors than it has ever had before.

According to Inside Higher Ed, an online chronicle of issues affecting colleges and universities, the percentage of entering freshmen who plan on majoring in business fell from 16.8 percent in 2008 to just 14.4 percent in 2009. The 2009 figure is the lowest since 1974 when it stood at 14.0 percent.

"We are not seeing a drop [at Geneseo]," said Michael Schinski, interim dean of the School of Business. "Our enrollment is at historic high levels. We have more of a problem of having too many students rather than not having enough."

Indeed, enrollment in accounting, business administration and economics programs has been so high that last year the School of Business raised the minimum grade point average required for admission from a 2.74 up to 2.85. Schinski said that class sizes had grown too large and that there was insufficient funding available to add faculty lines. The more stringent requirement was enacted to make entrance into school of business majors more competitive, reducing the number of students in those programs.

Despite this, Schinski said that many business classes are filled to capacity with upwards of 35 students.

Business enrollment at Geneseo has fluctuated; enrollment was steady during the 1980s, but class sizes dropped to as low as 10 to 12 in the mid 1990s and the college had to work to attract students to the major.

Within School of Business majors, enrollment has increased most dramatically within the accounting program, which expanded from 139 majors in 2003 to 252 in 2009.

Schinski offered no insight as to why Geneseo is attracting more business majors than ever when the major is losing popularity nationwide, but said, "I like to think that it's a good reflection on our program." He noted that students may be wary of entering financial careers at a time when there is so much perceived instability on Wall Street.

Incidental Amusements

My name is Jeremy Frank and I'm almost one week clean. It's been roughly seven days since I've felt those heady highs, lost hours of the day, alienated my friends and loved ones and neglected my personal hygiene. I've gotten myself a one-way ticket back to the real world. I have kicked Farmville.

I was level 43. I was the King of Farmville. I was the Muhammad Ali of Farmville, except without the mannish daughter. I planted and harvested like nobody's business! Float like a farmer, sting like a farmer, and also farm. But the many hours I played started to get to me. I started seeing the world ... differently.

Thankfully being a Farmville addict doesn't make you a filthy hippie pansy like dependency on some other drugs. There was no peace, free love or sharing with me. As far as I was concerned, this land wasn't "ours," it was mine and I was going to plant some damned pumpkins on it even if I had to compost your still-warm carcass for fertilizer.

But that's all behind me. One day, and I say day because it was 4:18 in the morning and I had to get up to harvest my 4-hour blueberries, I realized I hit rock bottom. I already had the million-coin villa and had upwards of a million more in my reserves. I only kept playing until I got all the blue ribbons, I told myself, but they kept adding more. I couldn't sell my old stuff because there might be a ribbon for it down the road. It was at that moment I realized I had become a sort of crazed hermit, collecting scraps and hoarding them in my den like some sort of animal. I didn't want to go out like my Uncle Marty, who died alone in his house full of old newspapers. When I die in a raging paper-fueled house fire, I want to take people with me!

I truly am one of the lucky ones to be able to combat my addiction in such a supportive place as Geneseo. I think this will be a good environment for me. Maybe, just maybe, I can take this empty void in my life and fill it with something wholesome and collegiate like sex and alcohol. You know, get me back on the straight and narrow, or as it will likely turn out, the staggering and two inches wide.

In Case You Missed It...

In case you missed it, a significant sporting event happened last Sunday which brought together men, women and children for a night of excitement. Yes, I'm talking about the Puppy Bowl.

For the sixth year in a row, Animal Planet has graciously provided us with this show as a delightful alternative to the actual main event of the evening, the Super Bowl, for people who think that the former has anything to do with the latter.

The premise of the show? Get around 10 puppies to play with each other in front of a stadium-like backdrop. There are no actual points, but for a bit of eye-candy, we get some unenthusiastic cheerleader bunnies.

Animal Planet does its best to make the show just like a real football game, complete with exclusive camera angles (right in the puppy's water bowl!), an actual (stuffed?) football, and a cheeky, albeit a bit creepy, referee. There are even slow-motion instant replays, so that you won't miss a minute of puppy play!

The Puppy Bowl is a way for non-sports lovers to provide their own insight to an otherwise inaccessible game. "Look at those silly men fighting over that ball! Why can't they be as cute and cuddly as those puppies when they gnaw at each other?"

The best part about the PBowl is that it has been going on for years. Just imagine the possibilities for its future. A bigger trophy, matching puppy uniforms, coaches! The ideas are essentially endless.

So do not fret, non-sports lovers. You too will be able to understand the ins and outs of a typical game of football just from paying attention to these adorable pups.

Zuckerman takes Ithaca position

Business professor Mary Ellen Zuckerman has accepted an offer to serve as the dean of Ithaca College's School of Business, reports that college's Web site.

Zuckerman was dean of Geneseo's School of Business from 1999 to 2008 and was awarded the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service in 2006.

"I am delighted to welcome Dr. Zuckerman as dean of Ithaca's oustanding School of Business, which is poised to move toward even higher levels of quality and reputation," said Kathleen Rountree, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Ithaca. "Her strong commitment to teaching, learning and community engagement is evident in her career accomplishments, and I am confident she will be a proactive, energetic and creative leader."

Zuckerman will begin the new position on July 1.

The GameVine: Welcome Back to Rapture

BioShock 2Available for: XBOX 360, PS3, PC

The first journey to Rapture left many gamers wanting more and on Feb. 9, 2K Games opens up a bathysphere for fans everywhere with Bioshock 2.

Although there was fear that the second installment of this dystopian adventure would just be more of the same, there are plenty of new elements to the game to quell such worries.

First of all, the player now steps into the diving boots of Subject Delta, the first Big Daddy ever created. A Little Sister tells Delta that they have been asleep for some time and that Eleanor is waiting for them. There are still Little Sisters in Rapture, the little girls that have transformed into collectors of genetic material known as ADAM. This ADAM is used to make plasmids - injections that mutate the subject's genes and give them abilities such as a fistful of lightning or summoning a swarm of insects to distract an enemy.

As Delta, the player can choose to keep a Little Sister with them so they'll harvest ADAM out of fallen splicers (ADAM junkies) around while Delta fends off the crazed inhabitants of Rapture that try to attack her while she collects. With the ability to use plasmids and weapons at the same time rather than separately, along with the thrilling new weapons - like Rosie's rivet gun and the hydraulic drill - being a Big Daddy will surely be an empowering experience.

Just when Delta feels that there is no longer a threat in Rapture to fear, they'll hear the horrifying scream of the Big Sister. She's strong, powerful and wants to stop them in their quest to find Eleanor. These Big Sisters act as the "army" of Sophia Lamb, the new altruistic leader of Rapture, protecting the best interests of Rapture as far as Lamb is concerned.

There's also the added aspect of a multiplayer mode where players work together to get the Little Sister, fighting in Rapture in a year before the civil war.

This game will not disappoint any gamer, from the Bioshock fanatic to the Rapture newcomer. This role-playing game/shooter hybrid will allow players to explore new sections of Rapture, deal with a new, power-hungry leader of an opposite ideology of Andrew Ryan and fight a new foe in a diving suit: the Big Sisters.

Track team dominates, record broken at BU's Terrier Classic

This past weekend the Geneseo track and field teams traveled to Boston to compete in the Boston University Terrier Classic, as both the men's and women's squads turned in classic performances, including the nation's best time this year in the men's distance medley relay.

"The Terrier Classic provides great competition coupled with an atmosphere that is very conducive to great performances," said the men's team's captain, junior Bobby Henchen. "Our team looks back on this event as a huge success."

The most outstanding performance of the weekend came from the men's distance medley relay team, which consists of freshman Lee Berube, sophomores Ryan O'Connor and Henry Potter and senior Pat Gallagher. Finishing with a time of 9 minutes, 55.22 seconds, the Knights now own the SUNYAC record and currently the fastest time in the nation in the event. Berube anchored the Knights' win as he broke a 33-year-old SUNYAC record with a fourth-place time of 8:17.29 in the 3,000 meters.

The Knights win in the DMR is something that deserves special recognition in the eyes of their peers. "Geneseo is the only Division III school to qualify for nationals," said senior women's captain Liz Montgomery. "They beat Division I schools like Brown University and American International, which is something to really be proud of."?

Montgomery had an excellent performance of her own, finishing 11th overall in the 5,000-meter race in 17:35.02, which qualified her for the NCAA meet. She will be joined by fellow senior Tim Chichester who finished 19th overall in the men's race with a time of 14:32.84.

Several school records were broken over the weekend, including one by freshman Rachel Serpe in the women's pole vault. Serpe finished with a measurement of 3.05 meters, ninth overall in the competition, and her vault was the best ever by a Geneseo athlete.

Also in the men's 4-x-400 meter relay, freshman Kevin Bronson, junior Niko Brown and sophomore Steve Fitch joined Henchen to finish with a time of 3:22.18, to set the all-time record for Geneseo.

"As a whole, this is one of the best meets I have ever been a part of while at Geneseo," Montgomery added. "I am proud of those who have qualified for the NCAA's and everyone who participated. We gave it our all in Boston, and it really showed." The Knights will be in action once again this weekend on Feb. 6 as they travel to Syracuse University.

Undefeated Blue Wave seeks another SUNYAC championship

The Blue Wave had a strong finish to cap off their regular season schedule this past Saturday, as both the men's and women's teams defeated SUNY Oswego by more than 40 points.

The women's team finished the regular season at 9-1 with a 152-112 win over the Lakers. The men's 158-103 victory put them at an undefeated 10-0.

Head coach Paul Dotterweich's plan included using these last couple of weeks to evaluate his swimmers and pick the best lineups to earn yet another SUNYAC championship. He said he tries to take emotion out of his decisions, treat everybody the same and pick the swimmers that ultimately have the best opportunity to win.

"We train to win the conference and hopefully go onto nationals, not to win dual meets during the season," sophomore Dan Strothenke said. Their unmatched success in the regular season is just a roadmap to the championship.

That outlook may be perceived as overconfidence, but both the coach and the athlete dissuade that notion. "We don't mean to sound cocky, but we are pretty confident," Strothenke said. "We worked hard all year during practice. We won last year, and it wasn't even that close. We just know where we stand."

"It's hard not to be confident," Dotterweich said. "Other programs circle Geneseo on their schedule." Dotterweich also acknowledged the role of the individual swimmers' confidence in their success. "You have to be confident in your ability," he said. "If you don't believe in yourself and your team, you're not going to perform to the best of your ability."

After 11 straight championships, the expectations are there. Dotterweich said the alumni, the administration and the team all expect another championship. At the meet on Saturday, a Blue Wave alumnus' T-shirt read: "Blue Wave Dynasty," and on the back: "A Decade of Dominance."

Dotterweich said these expectations are not, however, weighing the team down. "They feed of the pressure; it pushes them to the next level."

This special Blue Wave team feeds off pressure, competition and each other. The men's bleached hair, a tradition started several years ago, doesn't go unnoticed on campus, and neither do their shouts as they cheer their teammates on from the edge of the pool.

The Blue Wave will try to achieve their season-long goal as they compete next weekend, Feb. 11 to 13 at Erie Community College, with hopes to bring home yet another conference banner.