After the series finale of The Joe Show

by Joseph Landini

Sitting here in Lakeview 18 with days away from graduation I realize what I have done and accomplished. At Franklin Pierce I have accomplished many things in communications, not just because of my own abilities but with the help from some amazing people. My tests, papers, and work is done, all I can do now is reflect and say thank you to many. 

Not many know that when I was young and in middle school that I would sit in my room watching NBA games. What was different was that I would use my camcorder and tape the game, turn the volume down on the TV, and do commentary by myself. At Franklin Pierce, my old hobby became a true reality as I was blessed enough to be a part of the Ravens Sports Network. I was blessed to be able to call an NE-10 Baseball Championship game, along with other pivotal games in Franklin Pierce Athletics.

Out of all the sports though, Women’s Basketball and doing play by play for the majority of their games, was the best job ever. Following a team and really learning about how a player plays is a blessing in disguise. My first two thank you go out to Casey Williams and Rich Raymond. I would not have the opportunity to do all those basketball games without Casey, our Raven’s Sports Network leader. Without him running from the game to the Fitzwater, to put me on the radio in the studio, then back to put my voice with the video on the tricaster, I would never have been heard. Casey is so multi-talented, and will be successful wherever he goes, any employer would be crazy not to snatch him up quickly.

At the start of the season I was looking for a great color guy who legitimately cared about broadcasting and someone who saw it as an art not just something to do. Around the third game I asked Rich (Raymond) to be my color guy, and to my pleasure he nailed it. Rich, although sometimes nervous, has great things to say and adds to a broadcast in epic form. Rich was there from the UConn preseason game, all the way to our loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. I can sit here and say I would not be able to accomplish what I did with the Women’s Basketball team without Rich. Rich was able to capture the “Broadcast MVP,” Fitzy and despite small jealously, I can truly say he deserved it. He is a great roommate and best friend too.

Broadcasting was not the only way I was able to follow women’s basketball, as I wrote numerous articles about them in the Pierce Arrow. At the start of this year, Molly Buccini and Alyssa Dandrea asked me if I wanted to contribute to their paper. When asked I thought it would be a great opportunity, and it was. I was given the freedom to write on what I wanted, and of course I wrote a lot of articles on sports. Two full semesters later, and an “Outstanding Sports Writing” Fitzy award in my pocket, I found this a major success. I could not be more grateful for Molly and Alyssa to have asked me to write for the Arrow.

Staying with writing, Professor Paul Bush gets my next thank you, and maybe my biggest one. With his 15 page syllabus, and his demand of professionalism I knew I was in for a hell of a ride. Doing endless amount of work for The Exchange in the classroom, and outside the classroom one may wonder why to stay in. Well I stayed with it, and ended up having Professor Bush for all eight semesters of my college career. It was the single greatest academic decision I made. Bush taught his students the importance of professionalism, and why it coincides with the real world. His classes were like a typical day in the real world. Despite all the days being caught on Facebook, and him seeing conversations I didn’t want anyone to see, Bush’s lessons were more beneficial than anything imaginable. This is my opportunity to say thank you to Professor Paul Bush for everything you taught me.

Last but certainly not least, The Joe Show. Not many know how the show came about. At the start of junior year I was taking a class called “Writing for the Media,” with Professor Blake Wood. One of our assignments was to do a talk show and interview a guest. As we did that assignment, and I was interviewing classmate Zack Thamm I thought to myself, this could become real. After that, I went to the FPTV people and asked if they were interested in putting on a talk show. Three seasons later I sit here and have already taped my last show. The entire FPTV executive board is to thank for this. I cannot thank Mike Davies, executive producer, enough for the advice he gave me, and the time he took out of his schedule to help me. If Davies wants to do something in TV, then there is no stopping him.

Sean Carroll and Ally Billingsley are the other two I need to thank. I have known Sean since the first day of school. As my next door neighbor, I was able to get to know him and truly call him my great friend. Being with The Joe Show since the first season, Sean was able to create a small fan base for himself, with his small rants and his constant small shots on the host. Despite those small shots on me, Sean was great and will be great in whatever he does. Ally came in the second season and really shocked me with how well she did. Off the camera I knew Ally had an amazing personality and an entertaining one at that, but I did not know how that would transition on camera. To the benefit of the show, Ally hit her segment right on the head, and gave funny responses to ridiculous questions for two long seasons. With the Joe Show ending, the Ally Show will begin in the Fall of 2011. Stay tuned to FPTV, as I know Ally will do a phenomenal job, and I hope she does better than I do.

With the show I was on a quest for an award. After missing out on it in 2010, the 2011 “Host of the Year,” Fitzy was on my mind all season. The hard work, stress, and worries came to an end on May 2^nd when Eric Taverna presented me the award I’d be striving for. I said it then and I’ll say it again, that award was my greatest accomplishment at Franklin Pierce University. To see a project or something you work so hard on come full circle is the most amazing feeling in the world. I am beyond grateful for everyone in FPTV, and anyone ever involved in my show. From passion to stress and from tacos to meatloaf, The Joe Show I can say was the single greatest piece of work I put together.

Sitting in Lakeview 18 with five days to go, I sit here and finally feel accomplished. I know I had the ability to do great things, but without the people I mentioned above there is no success. I will miss the work I put in, and the fun I had. Thank You.

The idea of doing laundry in Edgewood is dreadful for those students who live there.

In my personal opinion I believe that Edgewood has the worst laundry set up on this entire campus. The building only has three washers and three dryers total that serve for both Edgewood and Monadnock.

“I always have to wait to do it late at night cause I either have classes during the day or the washer and dryers are always being used,” said Edgewood resident Melanie Ortez.

(photo: Google)

Not to mention the lack of washers and dryers for the two buildings, but there is always one of each broken. Every week it changes which washing machine is going to stop at 10 minutes left leaving your clothes sitting in a pool of sudsy water. I think we have all come to the realization that the middle dryer doesn’t spin when you turn it on.

“There are not enough washer and dryers between the two buildings,” said fellow Edgewood resident Brittanie Reine.

Taking notice of the hall, I always see people going down with their laundry in hopes that there will be an opening for them. However, they quickly come back upstairs with a full basket of dirty clothes complaining there are no openings. You often see people sitting down there waiting for the time to tick down on the open washing machines and dryers so they can beat everyone else from getting them.

On top of the complaints about how there are not enough machines, people often complain about how people move the clothes from the machines and put them on the table or floor so they can use it. I often go down to the laundry room and people are taking clothes out and sneakily looking around to see who’s coming down the stairs to make sure it’s not their clothes they are taking out.

There is very limited solutions to the problem. The laundry room is extremely tiny and you can tell that they used the space as much as possible by putting just those six machines in. In order for a change to occur, the most reasonable solution would be expanding the size of the laundry room.

 
Alycia Brandt
portfolio: alyciabrandt.weebly.com

Molly Buccini
portfolio: mollybuccini.weebly.com
website:extraordinarystories.weebly.com

 
Sean Carroll
portfolio: seanleecarroll.blogspot.com

Alyssa Dandrea
website: extraordinarystories.weebly.com
portfolio: alyssadandreaportfolio.weebly.com

Andrea Garcia
portfolio: wix.com/andreamarilyn/portfolio
website: Alottaart.blogspot.com

 
Meghan Graf
Portfolio: meghangraf.weebly.com
Blog: graduatingseniorstips.blogspot.com/p/about-us.html

 
Tom Jurkowski
Portfolio: trjportfolio.blogspot.com

Melissa Koszer
portfolio: koszerm.blogspot.com
website: extraordinarystories.weebly.com
Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/melissakoszer

Nick Marro
portfolio: nickjmarro.weebly.com
website: fpintramural.blogspot.com
Bleacher Report profile: http://bleacherreport.com/users/446123-nick-marro

 
Amanda Panaro
Portfolio: amandapanaro.blogspot.com
Blog: graduatingseniorstips.blogspot.com/p/about-us.html

Whitney Pettibone
Portfolio: whitneypettibone.blogspot.com
website: thefreshmanguide.weebly.com

Rich Raymond
portfolio: richraymond.blogspot.com/
website: fpintramural.blogpsot.com/

Heather Riley
portfolio: heatherrileyportfolio.blogspot.com
website: graduatingseniorstips.blogspot.com

Ben Spittle
portfolio: bspittle1023.blogspot.com
website: fpintramural.blogspot.com

 
Mike St. Jean
website: fpintramural.blogspot.com
portfolio: stjeansblog.blogspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=D3oC8DL-G3o

On Tuesday May 3 Residential Life sponsored a surprise an “end of the year fun event” in front of Cheshire Hall, featuring a slip ‘n’ slide, jello wrestling, snacks and more.

(photo: Google Images)

by Zoe Alcantara
edited by Alyssa Dandrea

It is convenient to have an on campus gym for students to use at basically all hours of the day. Unfortunately, some people on campus, particularly women, feel uncomfortable using the facilities because of a gender imbalance.

I’ve never really been the gym type, but when I did visit the Bubble, I always noticed the gender division.  The side with the elliptical, treadmills, and mats is most commonly used by women.  The other side, which includes weights, leg, arm, and abdominal machines, is used heavily by men.  In the weight room, I would always see men pumping iron, and on occasion a couple of girls would be in there.

On Tuesday, I interviewed seven women that go to the Bubble quite frequently. Freshmen Michelle Spinney goes every day and uses the treadmill and elliptical, but never the weight room. “If there are a lot of boys, I won’t go,” Spinney said. “Boys think we can’t do it like they can. It’s intimidating.”

Spinney goes with her three friends, Kim Webb, Rachael Lynch, and Erin Whitney.  Lynch said that she strongly agrees with Spinney on the situation. “I feel like all the boys know what they’re doing,” Lynch said. Depending on how many men are in the weight room, Lynch may not go over.

However, the other two girls said that they are not as uncomfortable as Spinney and Lynch. “I don’t really care what people think,” said Whitney as she came back from the weight room. Webb agreed and said, “It’s not as intimidating as it used to be.”

When I walked into the male-dominated part of the Bubble to interview the group of girls, I was intimidated and I wasn’t even thinking about working out.  While I was only there for a half hour, I counted 12 men in the weight room, 22 playing basketball, and two who were playing tennis, on the field, and using the elliptical or tread mill. On the other hand, there were only seven women at the Bubble with six on the cardio side.

Senior Mary Holland, who works at the Bubble 6-12 hours per week, said that it is definitely dominated by males. According to Holland, the time of day determines how many men and/or women there are working out.

Holland works out about five times a week, and said that when she was younger it was much more intimidating than it is now. “I know these guys. I’m comfortable with doing what I want now.” But as a freshman, she was self conscious about going into the weight room, and felt like she was being judged.

Even some students who do not go the Bubble daily are not enthusiastic about the atmosphere. Freshman Colby Houdlette said, “It isn’t a comfortable environment for me. The machines are always being used and I hate the lighting.”

For most girls I interviewed, they felt more comfortable going over to the weight room with a friend or two.  Different times of day can also make a difference. According to Holland, there are many less people working out in the morning than in the evening. As a result, some women may feel more comfortable going earlier in the day with less people to intimidate them.

Andrea Garcia
Managing Editor

website
TwoShows.blogspot.com
portfolio:
AndreaMarilynGarcia

Sean Carroll
portfolio:
seanleecarroll.blogspot

Alyssa Dandrea
website:
extraordinarystories.weebly
portfolio:
alyssadandreaportfolio

Alycia Brandt
portfolio: alyciabrandt.weebly.com

Molly Buccini
portfolio:
mollybuccini.weebly
website:
extraordinarystories.

Taylor Damon
Sophomore

Brett Bosley
Freshman

Bobby Driscoll
Freshman

Today, U.S. wind power capacity represents more than 20 percent of the world’s installed wind power, and generates more energy than nuclear and coal combined.

There is high demand for other sources of energy due to lack of oil, and harnessing energy from wind is becoming more popular. In this area, it feels like Chicago because of all the constant wind. It would make sense for a wind farm to be built near campus.

In fact, New Hampshire’s first commercial wind farm was built in 2009 in Lempster, north of Keene. Currently, RMT Inc. runs the state’s largest wind farm in Coos County, a 99-megawatt project that has the capacity to power about 25,000 homes each year.

(Photo: Google)

Recently, Spiralairfoil, a company based in Hillsborough, NH, came to campus to demonstrate one of its six working wind turbines.

Dan Parker, founder of Spiralairfoil, says he has created these turbines “to give something back to the world.”

Parker invented a wind turbine design that resembles an oversized drill bit, which he says could revolutionize the wind energy market because the turbine can deliver three to five times more power than a three-blade windmill and can begin harvesting at much lower speeds.

Parker designed his turbine five years ago, and only began showing his work this year. “Wind is a no brainer,” Parker said.

“Although we have a low budget, we continue to grow,” Parker said. Each new turbine is an improvement from the previous. Parker says the company breaks one down and builds another back up.

The blades on Parker’s wind turbine are helical blades, which are quieter and turn on lower wind speeds.

Greater use of the nation’s abundant wind resources for electric power generation will help stabilize energy costs, and improve our environment, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In New Hampshire alone, wind resources could provide 60 percent of the state’s current electricity needs.

As the Spring semester comes to a close students become more and more concerned with the high prices at The Raven’s Nest, a.k.a The Pub.

“The prices are a little steep, especially when you’re out of pub points,” said sophomore Sam Kelley.  “I don’t think they’re outrageous, but some of the food seems a little overpriced.”

There is no question that a foot long sub at The Pub will run you more than the five dollar foot long at Subway, or anything off of the dollar menu at McDonald’s.  However, can we ever expect the Raven’s Nest to be able to compete with prices like those? Absolutely not.

“We set our prices in comparison to our local competitors like Pizza Haven, Pizza Pie, Crossroads, North of the Boarder, Subway, McDonald’s, Mr. Mikes, and Dunkin’ Donuts,” said Pub manager Nancy McMillan.  “The chains like Subway are a different animal, but we still do our best to make things fairly priced so that we can compete.”

At the beginning of every semester McMillan visits the local competitors and checks out their menu to plan the prices at the pub.

“Some of our prices are higher than others are and obviously some are lower, but I believe we have a good balance between the two so that business does well and we also meet the student’s needs,” said McMillan.

Sophomore Amo Houghton said, “I think they should be open later, like until 1 or 2 a.m., and they should have breakfast food available at all times of the day.”

The issue of the pub’s hours has been discussed a lot throughout the semester. If the pub was open until one or two in the morning on weekends people wouldn’t have to find designated drivers to Mr. Mikes.

“The problem with opening up the pub until one or two in the morning on weekends is that the pub’s workers are mostly made up of students and, let’s be honest, there isn’t a huge line of students signing up to work from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. Thursday through Sunday,” said McMillan.

“Another problem with having the pub open more hours is that it would probably take hiring someone from the outside to come in and work, which would take away from the student’s opportunity to have an on campus job,” McMillan said.  “If we hire someone from the outside to work for 40 hours a week that one person would take up about three or four student’s jobs and that is clearly not in the best interest of the students who are searching for employment on campus.”

The most reasonable solution for the students with issues with the pub’s hours and prices is simple.

Stick to the pre-made food section of the pub, which consists of sandwiches, salads, fruit cups, yogurt, and vegetables.  McMillan’s research has showed that the pre-made food at the pub is “significantly cheaper than our competitors.”

And for the students who want the pub to be open later and or students looking for employment, contact Nancy McMillan at McMillann@franklinpierce.edu.