Coats for Character gives to those in need

By Corrine McCallum

Cardinal Staff

Coats for Character, a program that makes sure grade school students have a chance to stay warm during the winter is one of the easiest programs he has worked with, said founder Clarence Russell at the Winona School Board Meeting on Thursday Nov. 21.

Winona citizen Clarence Russell has been running the Coats for Character program for nine years. “The program was designed to help all of the kids in need of a winter jacket in the elementary grade,” Russell said.

Russell said it is also one of the easiest programs he has fundraised for. “I raise the money locally, so then the jacket money can be spent locally,” he said. Russell said he tries to raise around $2,000 a year to supply 900 jackets to school kids.

Russell came up with the idea to make sure kids who were in need of the jacket weren’t made fun of for being less fortunate.

“Every student does something of the character building nature to earn a jacket in the classroom,” Russell said. It is not just the poor kids that are receiving the jackets, its any student who does something character building and then is rewarded with the jacket. “Because the kids have to do something of the character building nature, which is what the school teaches as well as parents, so it just kind of reinforces that.”

The students who are building their character are not the only ones receiving the benefits of it, the teachers are too, Russell said. “We found that the teachers recognized that they were role models.”

Directing class takes to the stage

By Paul Schmitt

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Students in the Theatre & Dance Department’s Directing I class recently brought their skills, which were developed over the course of the semester, to the Page Theatre’s black box theatre on Monday, Dec. 9.

The class, taught this semester by Gale Childs Daly of the Great River Shakespeare Festival, is designed to give students fundamental knowledge of directing techniques and gives them the chance to direct their own scene from a play, which they presented on Monday.

Part of this process involves working through problems on an individual basis, sometimes without much help from others. Sophomore theatre major Gabriel Verges said, “Directing is a very personal and individual art, so I think that the only way for us to really figure out what kind of directors we are individually is simply to work through everything on our own, even when it gets tough.”

Because the class is a major requirement for all theatre majors, not all the students of the class intend to become directors. Karina Kim, another sophomore theatre major, said “Since I am a technician/design focus, it has helped me not only improve basic acting and directing, but to better understand what a director needs to consider when creating a set or lighting a show. Although I don't do acting or directing personally, it is still important for me to know what happens on all levels of a theatrical process.”

On his class experience as a whole, Verges commented that, as a professor, Childs Daly “provided us saplings with the water and sunlight and we've done the rest.”

Indoor Soccer Every Friday grows in popularity

By Wilson Kubwayo

Cardinal Staff

Photo by Wilson Kubwayo.

Over 30 students participated last Friday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m., in Indoor Soccer Every Friday (ISEF), an club founded by former men’s soccer athlete, Valentin Reyes Cosme.

Cosme is a senior seminarian who’s love for soccer runs deep. ”I want to show my love for soccer by providing an opportunity for every soccer fan to participate, and have fun,” said Cosme. “Whether a participant is a learner or a pro, both are welcome to join and help build the community we need,” he said.

ISEF club began two years ago, but recently became more available to the public when Cosme created a Facebook page for it. Cosme admits that Tessa Scanlon, a senior Cardinal soccer player, came up with the idea.

The hopes for ISEF are for participants to have fun, exercise and establish a community on Campus. While the ISEF club is still growing, Cosme hopes that it becomes bigger so others can take over what he has started by making it available for everyone who wishes to play soccer.

The Hoang, a senior who participated in the ISEF last Friday said, “I like soccer, but I am not a soccer player, so every Friday I get an opportunity to play while I improve on my skills.” Hoang quoted Fr. A.C Fabian, saying, “You know good, better, best; never let it rest till the good become better, and better becomes the best.”

Every participant is required to dress indoor soccer gear, and ready to play with both men and women. Faculty and staff are also invited to participate. For more information, visit the Indoor Soccer Every Friday Facebook page.

Undergraduate art exhibit

By Ena Moats

Cardinal Staff

The Lillian Davis Hogan Gallery has hosted an all-student art show since Nov. 21, which displays a variety of mediums, ranging from pieces in acrylic, clay, graphite, photography, and even yarn.

Three pieces were determined to be first, second, and third place, judged by former art student Brianna Nelson. The awards included Evanescent Decay, an acrylic painting by Anna Segner, in first place; stoneware entitled Fall Hunt by Allison Swenson, in second place; and an oil painting by Macy Johnson called Lily Pond in third place and several other works received honorable mentions.

Reikel Biechler, exhibitor and junior at SMU, said, “I appreciated how the judge selected pieces that were very diverse in medium and design.”

Anna Segner, a junior art major, offered an explanation of her piece, which pictures a finger painted woolly mammoth on a wooden panel that Segner found in the basement of Saint Joe’s residence hall. “The piece, Evanescent Decay, was an approach at capturing the movement of death to deterioration to renewed life,” she said. ”I have always been inspired by the idea of the romanticized final death of extinction, particularly within the woolly mammoth species, so I kind of wanted the piece to embody a cave painting.”

The art exhibit will be open for viewing in the Toner gallery until the end of the semester.

Orchestra celebrates Britten with winter recital

By Paul Schmitt

Arts & Entertainment Editor

In celebration of English composer Benjamin Britten’s 100th birthday, the Saint Mary’s University Chamber Orchestra performed selections from his repertoire on Dec. 8 in Figliulo Recital Hall.

The recital, titled “Britten’s Centennial,” included the composer’s pieces “Simple Symphony” and “Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings,” along with the Tchaikovsky work “Andante Cantabile for String Quartet.” Joining the orchestra for “Serenade” were Mark Mowry, Ph.D., a professor of voice at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, as the tenor vocalist, and Regina Barbosa, a senior public relations major from SMU, on french horn.

“Typically the piece is played by graduate students and professionals, so it was a challenge for us as undergrads, but we pulled it off. And, of course, having Dr. Mowry was a big help too,” said Barbosa.

The “Hymn” movement, which featured Barbosa was most difficult for the orchestra to pull off, said freshman viola player Aly Cross, because “while the strings pizzicato the entire time,” referring to the technique of plucking an instrument’s strings instead of using the bow, “Regina has a very busy melody.”

Made up of only eight students, the orchestra itself is quite small, though Cross said, “We all have a lot of power that is able to fill the recital hall.”

Movie Review: “Catching Fire” Awes All

By Elizabeth Hayes

Cardinal Staff

The new knockout sensation hit theatres nationwide on Nov. 22, and has been burning up the box office ever since.

The second movie in The Hunger Games trilogy, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” is being termed the most popular holiday movie of the year due to its intense plot, memorable soundtrack, and phenomenal imagery. 

The film follows star-crossed lovers Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) as they become the targets of the corrupt government of the Capitol after winning the 74^th Annual Hunger Games and spark a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.

The plotline of the film is relatively close to the best-selling novel written by Suzanne Collins. In an interview with Empire Magazine, director Francis Lawrence said, “I remember specifically that even when we had some different dialogue and there was a different interpretation of the scene, we just said `You know what? Let’s do what’s in the book.”

Thrilling actions scenes that precisely convey the ferocity and tension of the moment keep the audience on the edge of their seats throughout the feature. Overall, “Catching Fire” is a successful major motion picture with a befitting combination of humor, action, and adventure that compliments the expert portrayal of the characters as well as the captivating soundtrack.

Women’s hockey season update

By Katie Krull

Feature Editor

SMU's Mary DeBartolo heads up ice with the puck during a non-conference game against St. Scholastica on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Photo by Chris Ebert.

The Saint Mary’s University women’s hockey team has two more conference games against Saint Catherine’s University with a chance to improve their conference record of 2-4 before winter recess.

The Cardinals started their season facing powerhouse teams Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Saint Thomas before playing St. Catherine's University for two more games. Although many games resulted in losses, the effort, gameplay and cohesive teamwork that the Cardinals executed is predicted to help them in their upcoming games. It certainly helped them sweep the College of Saint Benedict both at home and away, resulting in two wins for their season.

The Cardinals are set to return the first week of January for a non-conference double-header against Lake Forest College, in Illinois. The Cardinals will then conclude their non-conference season with three more games before returning for the second scholastic semester. After that, the Cardinals will return to conference play, said Head Coach Terry Mannor, with the hopes of getting to playoffs.