From day one, the CCSU softball team had one goal in mind, to win a Northeast Conference title.

They took one step closer to achieving that goal last weekend, clinching a spot in the upcoming tournament and securing at least a share of the regular season title.

With 16 wins, the Blue Devils have set a new single-season conference wins record this season and with two games to play can, for the third year in a row, break the overall season wins record. Central split the two games on Saturday with Robert Morris by scores of 3-1 and 2-3, but swept Quinnipiac in Hamden on Sunday with two mercy rule victories.

Last Saturday, the top team in the conference came to New Britain with basically the opportunity to host the conference tournament on the line. Robert Morris sat at 10-2 coming into the double-header, one game ahead of CCSU in the loss column.

In the bottom of the first, sophomore Kat Malcolm showed off her speed immediately. With one out, the centerfielder beat out a short groundball to the pitcher, but the ball was overthrown allowing Malcolm to circle the bases for the first run of the game.

In the second inning, all six batters to walk to the plate, three from each team struck out.

In the bottom of the third, CCSU extended its lead. Brittany Ernst bunted for a base hit to lead off and then with one out, Malcolm was back at it. She doubled to right field scoring Ernst from first. Nicole Springer followed with a single through the right side driving in Malcolm.

Robert Morris pitching held the usually potent Blue Devil offense in check, giving up only five hits while striking out eight times.

The Colonials scored their lone run in the top of the seventh, it was unearned.

In game two, Robert Morris jumped to a quick 1-0 lead after Ashley Gerhart led off the game with a home run out to right field.

After threatening with a runner on third in the first, but not scoring for CCSU, nine straight batters were retired in order for both sides, but the Blue Devils got one back in the third.

Springer, playing her last regular season home game at CCSU recorded her second RBI of the day, driving in Ernst from second, who had singled earlier in the inning.

The game would remain tied into extra innings until Lauren Hackett of RMU hit a 2-run double to center, giving the Colonials a 3-1 lead. Kelsey Barlow, another senior, led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Colonials avoided the sweep by a score of 3-2.

Sunday spelled more good news for the Blue Devils as they traveled south to Quinnipiac for their final two games of the conference schedule as CCSU made quick work of the Bobcats.

In the first game, both Arielle Bruno and Malcolm homered in what ended up being a seven run fifth inning, en route to a 9-0 victory in five innings.

Game two was much of the same and CCSU walked away with a 11-2 victory and got to go home early.

“We’re just playing well, it’s fun to watch and to be around,” said coach Jeff Franquet.

Barlow had herself a weekend. She capped the four games set with her third long ball of the day in game two on Sunday, securing Player of the Week honors in the conference. Laura Messina just did what she always does and that’s perform. She recorded another shutout and now has 11 on the year. Her victory in the final game of the weekend gave her 23 this season, which broke her own record of 22 that she set last season.

“It doesn’t matter who we play, if Laura’s throwing well and we’re hitting the way we can, we can beat any of those teams,” said Franquet, on Messina being ready for the tournament. “We’ll be ready, you can bank on that.”

Central travels to Maryland-East Shore on Wednesday for its final double-header of the season before they rest up and prepare for the conference tournament on May 9-11. As it stands right now, Robert Morris will be hosting the tournament because they hold the tiebreaker, which is victories over Monmouth University. CCSU lost both games to the Hawks whereas RMU swept them. In order for the Blue Devils to host the conference tournament and be the top seed, RMU needs to lose one out of four games this weekend against either Sacred Heart or Quinnipiac and all four games will be played in Moon Township, Penn.

“I just want to win these two games on Wednesday, get to 32 wins, break the single-season win record,” said Franquet.

Central would love to host the tournament and if the crowd last weekend was any inclination of how it will be, CCSU will definitely have a home field advantage.

“The atmosphere was phenomenal, there was playoff atmosphere, it really was electric out there on Saturday and that was awesome,” said Franquet. “It was just a great day.”

There is no doubt CCSU will be watching the scoreboard this weekend.

Central Connecticut State University’s Blue Devils wide receiver Deven Baker has earned himself a tryout for the Oakland Raiders from May 9-12. Baker will be the fifth player in CCSU history to be affiliated with the National Football League.  All of these players have seen a future in the NFL under current Head Coach Jeff McInerney.

Baker spent three successful seasons with the Blue Devils after he transferred from Temple. He proved to be one of the best receivers in the University’s history. He finished his three seasons with 105 career receptions and 1,413 yards.  He finished fifth in receptions and eighth in receiving yards. Baker’s best season came his senior year.  He totaled with 42 catches for 609 yards. The more impressive stat is his six receiving touchdowns which led the Blue Devils.

Baker and his family members have not yet commented on the recent news. Tommy Meade, CCSU’s Assistant Communication and Media Service Director, released a press release with this statement on April 28.

In their first ever trip to the NEC tournament, the Central Women’s Lacrosse tteam suffered a devastating 11-10 loss in the semifinals to Bryant on Saturday, which ended their season. CCSU finished the season with a 7-2 record in conference play and 9-9 overall.
It appeared as though the Blue Devils would be victorious when they went up 10-8 with 12 minutes remaining in the second period on a goal from Elyse Malecki, but that would  be Central’s final goal of the season. Kimberley Sniffen scored her fourth goal of the game with 9:24 remaining to bring Bryant’s deficit to one and Lisa Vandel scored the game tying goal with five minutes left. With the game tied at 10-10 with five minutes remaining, Bryant’s Lisa Vandel crushed CCSU’s hope when she scored the game winner to propel the Bulldogs to the championship versus Monmouth.
Central’s Falynn McCartney scored just before halftime and Central trailed at halftime by two. In the second half CCSU opened up with goals from Amanda Toke and Claire Healy to tie the game at seven apiece. Later in the game Toke would score her second goal of the game to give Central a 9-8 lead.
Goalkeeper Morgan Tullar accumulated 13 saves on 24 shots and finished the season tied for second in conference play with a 7.78 goals against average as well as a .50 save percentage which also placed her at second overall. Tullar and Cierra Ward were placed on the NEC all tournament team for their defensive efforts in the semifinals.
Central’s Healy scored two goals and finished the season with 21 goals and seven assists. Toke scored two goals to tally 28 goals for the season and seven assists.
Malecki, a freshmen, finished third on the team in goals with 24 and three of the team’s five top scorers will be returning next season as the lacrosse team will look to continue their success under Coach Kelly Nangle.
Kimberley Sniffen led the Bulldogs with four goals on nine shots and Haley Bloom, Katherine Keckeisen and Vendel scored two goals each.
Monmouth topped Bryant 9-7 to earn their second straight championship and earned one of the 26 bids to the NCAA tournament.
Despite ending the season on a four game losing streak, the team clinched their first berth in school history to the NEC tournament. Since Nangle has taken the reins as head coach, the team has vastly improved with back to back winning records in the NEC and the Blue Devils set a school record with seven conference wins in 2013.
Prior to being hired by Central, Nangle served as an assistant coach at Rutgers where she was in charge of the defense and finished second in goals against average in 2011. CCSU’s defense finished the season with a 7.78 goals against per game which earned them second overall in the conference.

By Morgan Skovich

1. Firefly Music Festival:  On June 21 – June 23 head on down to Dover, Delaware for some of your favorite bands. Great names such as The Red Hot Chili Peppers, MGMT, Foster the People, Matt and Kim, Big Gigantic, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and dozens more will make its way into your own backyard. Attractions this festival holds along with these musicians is an arcade, an onsite brewery, hammock hangouts, an onsite wine bar and much more. Tickets are still available at Standard Pricing – $258.

2. Bonnaroo: Bonnaroo isn’t just a show – it’s a way, a spirit and a vibe. It is a four-day adventure with 150 epic performances such as Mumford and Sons, Paul McCartney, Macklemore, Billy Idol, Portugal the Man, Patrick Watson, etc. From June 13– June 16.  Join the 80,000 campers who infest 700 acres of Manchester Tennessee. Tickets are still available for purchase – $269.50.

3. Made in America: Budweiser’s second annual Made in America Festival will once again benefit the United Ways of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, Lancaster County, PA. It’s scheduled for Labor day weekend on August 31 and Sept. 1. It’ll contain an electric lineup such as Beyoncé, Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Deadmau5, Empire of the Sun, Phoenix, Wiz Khalifa and many more. Tickets went on sale April 17 and are available now – $168.70.

4. Gathering of the Vibes: Gathering of the vibes will take place at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Ct. July 25-July 28. This event will feature John Butler Trio, The Roots, The Black Crowes, John Scofield and many more. Early bird tickets have sold out, but Way Advance ($195) and VIP ($475) tickets are still on sale. VIP ticket holders will receive perks like expedited entry, parking with easy in/out access, shaded camping areas with catered meals, snacks and beverages, air conditioned bathroom trailers and hot showers.

5. Alive@Five: Alive@Five is a concert series with live music from national headliners, which attacks after work crowds. Columbus Park is the place to be during the summer as Stamford Downtown supplies you with great music, great dancing and great times! The Stamford Downtown Special Services District and the City of Stamford produce Alive@Five on the Heineken Light Stage in partnership with Stamford Town Center, Reckson and BevMax. Just one of their many performances occurs on July 12 and Matisyahu is headlining. You must be 21 and older to get into the concert area after 7 pm. Hands will be marked for under 21. Under 21 cannot leave and re-enter.

It all started three years ago when I was a freshman at this University. I was not sure what to do, where to go and what the next step would be to pursue my career. I was uncertain if I was even interested in being a journalist; I always liked to write, I had a talent for it, but there was no motivation.

I was in sort of a limbo until I arrived at The Recorder. I was told by an acquaintance that I should get down there. I told him, “yes, totally, I’ll be there next week” and asked when the meetings were. He told me the date and I was destined to make it there for the next meeting.
It took me three weeks to get to that damn meeting. Every Monday I would walk out my door and make a quick beeline back to my dorm because I was so nervous. I had no idea what it was going to be like, I was scared out of my mind.

I walked into my first meeting literally shaking to the bone to find to my surprise that there were all students there; ordinary, yet more cultured students than I was at the time. There I met the Editor-in-chief Mike Walsh who helped me write my first article and eventually helped me obtain my own voice. He was my mentor for a year after he graduated when Nick Proch took his place.

Under Proch, I moved from a staff writer to News Editor and eventually Managing Editor where I learned how a publication worked. I saw how much work is put into a weekly production- with layout, editing, copy editing, photos- the list goes on. I traveled to Orlando and Seattle where I met and have kept relationships with journalists across the country.

I was Editor-in-chief at The Recorder for my junior year and it was one of the most difficult, yet most rewarding jobs I have ever had. I learned what the entire staff needed to do in order to get The Recorder on the stands every Wednesday.

I saw growth in The Recorder this year. I saw growth in many of those who had just joined, like our Photo Editor, Erin O’Donnell, and the publication gain a different, yet developing image from our Layout Editor, Sean Ferris. The Upgrade section was one of our strongest throughout thanks to Danny Contreras and Acadia Otlowski and the News section developed tremendously thanks to Amanda Webster, who managed the entire section on her own, even if that meant writing it all by herself at times.

The sports section has taken a better turn this semester with coverage of solely CCSU sports with writers under Matt Aveni like Corey Pollnow and Derek Turner that have taken coverage to a whole new level. Joe Suczcynzki wrote opinion pieces every week contributing to the lonely opinion section where there would be comics from Erik Valad, my column and Justin Musczynski’s column. The staff writers were  terrific, taking on stories and making their own style, developing clips for their future.

The website has been at its best state that I have seen since I started with thanks to Rachael Bentley for kickstarting it’s rejuvination and Erik Durr for updating it each week since. The copy editor team has grown to work together in one copy voice, making sure that we all don’t make complete idiots of ourselves each week. They are real troopers for dealing with my constant oxford commas and misplacement of semi colons. Thank you Maxine Eichen, Tj Coane and Hayley Smith.

I met Justin Muszynski on our trip to Orlando and we have been working together ever since. We’ve traveled to Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco together and have developed a great dynamic. Muszynski is a tremendous leader, journalist and one of the greatest friends I have ever made. He will be an asset tremendously missed when he graduated this May. Thank you for being an awesome co-pilot.

With the help of this team, as well as Dr. Vivian Martin, Sue Sweeney and Chelsey Baude The Recorder thrived this year and will continue to do so. I’d like to thank my boyfriend, Ian Mangione, for dealing with me every Tuesday. You are the most supportive and loving person I have ever met.

I have full confidence that The Recorder will continue to grow and succeed within the next year. Best of luck to the staff next semester as well as Amanda Webster, and thank you all for one of the best years of my life.

In a country full of processed foods, prescriptions and pills for everything, living the healthy life is not so easy. It is without question why the sickest of Americans are the poorest. Eating correctly is both costly and inconvenient in our fast-paced society.

It is a wonder, however, how foods high in saturated fats, refined sugars and chemical flavorings remain the leading cause to America’s growing rates in obesity, diabetes and heart problems- yet continue to sell daily.

With the use of pharmaceutical companies prescribing drugs to the needy as covered by their insurance provider, why would people switch their diets committing time and effort to a new way of living when their doctors say a pill taken with an eight-ounce glass of water every morning can do the same?

At least half of Americans are taking a prescription drug and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a little more than 21 percent of Americans have taken three or more prescription drugs in the last month.

Joey Aucoin of Tampa, Fla. contributed to that 21 percent. Aucoin wanted to find an alternative to his regimen of four prescription pills and two shots of Byetta daily. Aucoin, for lack of a better phrase, was sick and tired of being sick and tired. In the documentary, Forks Over Knives, it shows his daily regime included taking two pills for diabetes, one pill for high blood pressure, one pill for high cholesterol, and the Byetta shot to treat diabetes once before breakfast and once every night before dinner. To start a healthier, new beginning he began eating a whole-foods diet as directed by Matt Lederman, an M.D. trained in internal medicine and after eight weeks, Aucoin found himself 30 pounds lighter and free of his prescriptions.

As described by WebMD the term whole-food means, “Foods that are as close to their natural form as possible.”

Now, for a moment, take a walk through your day in meals. Out of the dishes and delicacies, analyze which ones are truest to their form. Is the strawberry filling in your Toaster Strudel the same as eating a few ripened strawberries? Does your cup of Ramen actually taste like shrimp? And did it ever dawn on you what McDonald’s chicken nuggets were made of prior to the ad-campaign stating now made with all white meat?

Ever since the 1973 farm subsidiary bill to expand crops and mandate a corn surplus, American products have been widely saturated with the infamous high fructose corn syrup. As advertised in the last five years as being “fine in moderation,” its uses are range anywhere from ketchup, drinks, dressings, cookies, crackers, hot dogs and more. Ultimately, this and the saturated fatty fillers are what make our Western diet so calorie rich and nutrient poor.

Processed foods are rich in the sense they have highly condensed forms of fats and sugars that are not naturally found in foods from nature. You are gaining twice the density of food needed for your body to feel satisfied with half the nutrients. Forks Over Knives director, Lee Fulkerson, takes the viewer through this process and shows how scientists, nutritionists and American citizens alike have come across life-altering moments where diet and health’s growing correlation come to a breaking point.

If it is so easy to turn your health completely around by merely choosing to eat different foods, why has America not jumped on the whole-foods diet? For many people, the convenience and satisfaction brought on by fast foods and processed goods overpowers its health effects simply because they are not immediate. To some people, they are just words. However, for others, “I really shouldn’t eat this,” may actually mean that you really should never eat that.

Notably, in a country where health care is not free, the poor struggle to maintain a healthy life even with the endless options our country thinks it offers. Nevertheless, the wealthier you are in America, the healthier you can be, with ample access to the various methods offered for an easier life. Whether it is shopping at the organic foods store, meeting with your trainer once a week or getting a sufficient night’s sleep, poverty affects the long-term life more than the public may realize. As Chicago’s Commissioner in Health Terry Mason stated, “Poor people are poor in everything.”

Mason also assured that “people want stuff that’s fast. People want stuff that’s quick. They like the taste of something salty, they like the taste of something fried,” in Forks Over Knives. Besides the negative stereotypes and stigmas attached to overweight Americans eating at drive-throughs and purchasing extra-large, over-sweetened, salted and buttered everything, the health ramifications go beyond the initial discomfort than feeling too full.

With no less than 40 percent of Americans considered as obese, the Western diet needs a face-lift and a tummy-tuck for that matter. Unfortunately, America is so embedded in the corporate aspect of food production that it overrides any formal acknowledgment on how it has affected society’s growing health issues. We look at a once-natural way of living off the land as now seemingly archaic and untrustworthy.

As Doug Isle, Ph.D. phrased it in Forks Over Knives, “It isn’t that people become more self-indulgent. It isn’t because they’re lazier than they ever were. What’s happening is their mechanisms of cessation are being fooled.”

Our nation has been taught to trust the food and products sold in stores over the deeply embedded concepts from other cultures. Out of fear, we avoid trying or trusting the remedies of other countries. They live off their land, eat plant-based diets, and as statistics show, have less heart disease, diabetes, and lower obesity rates than America ever has.

It is a hard pill for our culture to swallow, but we should have trust in those people most. As Hippocrates, the father of Western Medicine, once said, and as ascertained by people like Aucoin, Lederman and Isle: “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

A few days before the grand opening of Spring Awakening, members of the Musical Theatre club put on a private showing to members of the Student Government Association. It is based off of 2006′s musical adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s 1917 original play. It’s a coming of age story that takes place in early 20th century Germany.

The music was beautiful integrating slow, sad acoustic solos with hard, angry rock songs. The musical numbers in the production really elaborated the characters teenage angst.

John Hickok, the director of the play has a great résumé directing famous productions all over the world and United Sates including Los Angeles, New York City and London.

The play starred Zach Heidorn, Melanie Gawlak, Sam Wolf and Julia Idarola.

Wendla (played by Gawlak) asks her mother, (Idarola) how a woman becomes pregnant. Her mother won’t tell her because she can’t talk to her about the subject feeling like she just shouldn’t have sex let alone learn about it.

Melchior (Heidorn) speaks to his friend Moritz (Wolf) about what he does to pleasure himself and offers him a book with erotic writing in it. Moritz is later expelled from the school and commits suicide after his father disowns him and he denies a girl from sleeping with him.

Melchior meets Wendla in the woods and sleeps with her. Wendla later gets a checkup and finds out she is pregnant. Wendla’s mother brings her to get a back alley abortion, which she dies from.

Melchior doesn’t know about Wendla’s pregnancy until a group of schoolboys take a letter she wrote to him and all masturbate around it.

Melchior later finds out Wendla had passed away when he sees her gravestone. Then Melchior speaks to a woman in the cemetery and the whole cast, dressed in modern day clothing come back up for one last song.

The production was rather odd. I liked the rock music taking place in an early 20th century. The content, however, was what interested me the most. There was nudity in the production that captured both mine and the rest of the audience’s attention.

The actors did a pretty good job altogether. I’m not a huge fan of musicals but this one was pretty interesting. I’d love to see the school do Once, that’s a musical I’d go to. But I’m impressed with the amount of talent our CCSU students have both singing and acting. All of the actors and actresses did a great job on this production.

This March, a group from The Recorder traveled to San Francisco for the National College Media Convention. Alongside going to sessions and touring the beautiful city, the group took a tour of Alcatraz.

Before it was the infamous prison, Alcatraz was the site of a U.S. military prison from the late 180s to 1933.

Alcatraz prison operated from 1934-1963 and housed some of America’s most difficult and dangerous felons. Al “Scarface” Capone (1899-1947) and murderer Robert “Birdman of Alcatraz” Stroud (1890-1963) were among the few that were imprisoned at “The Rock,” a nickname that stuck with Alcatraz

No one successfully escaped The Rock, although there were more than a dozen known attempts made over the years. The prison was closed down due to high operating costs and starting in 1969, the island was occupied by a group of Native American activists. Now, it is a popular tourist destination.

It was said that there was no “successful” escape from Alcatraz, but there was one that might have been a possibly successful escape. Based off a true story, Escape from Alcatraz depicts the escape of three prisoners, Frank Morris, John Anglin and his brother Clarence Anglin with the help of Allen West who was known as the mastermind of the plot, but couldn’t escape due to technical difficulties. Morris had carried out his escape within a year of his arrival at Alcatraz.

The men had dug through the vents in the back of their individual cells and placed dummies in their beds that they made from newspaper, the leftover cement from their digging and human hair. The group escaped through the vents and into the utility corridor. They climbed the pipes up to the roof and boarded a raft that they had made and disappeared into the dark bay. Their bodies were never found; no one knows if their escape was successful.

The film stars Clint Eastwood as Morris, Fred Ward as John Anglin, Jack Thibeau as his brother Clarence and Larry Hankin as Charley Butts, the spinoff character of Allen West. The movie was filmed in 1979, 16 years after the prison was shut down. The film was well done, but what made it more interesting was the fact that I was actually there and previously toured the prison prior to watching the film. I enjoyed looking through photos I took and seeing that these actors were where I stood.

The film was very real- there were no censoring like there was in the tour. The film didn’t keep out the violence, the sexual assault between the prisoners or even the relationships between the caucasian and African American prisoners on the island. It was if I was taking my own personal second tour of The Rock. The director, Don Siegal, depicted the story and the prison very well and made it an engrossing, interesting story making the audience have no choice but to root on these felons attempt to escape out of the prison. While watching, it was difficult not to sympathize with the prisoners, especially Butts, who had a dramatic scene when he was unable to escape.

Escape from Alcatraz is a good film to watch if you toured the prison or not. It is suspenseful and has the full package of an older, classic film. It is a wonderful portrayal of what the prison looks like and what life was like at The Rock.

Last Wednesday long-time NBA center Jason Collins invited two Sports Illustrated writers into his home.  During this interview he told both writers that he was gay.  Collins is the first active NBA, NFL, MLB or NHL player to come out and say that they were gay.

Last summer at the age of 33, he finally told his family members that he was in fact gay.  Collins did not tell his secret under any duress, he had no pressure from his family and no one “caught” him. He just thought it was the right time to get it off his chest.  He was simply tired of sitting home alone keeping his secret to himself.

This announcement has come with both its negative and positive feedback.  Many current players are backing him and his sexual orientation while others are not so supportive.  Two Los Angeles Lakers superstars, Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant, supported him on twitter and said that they were glad he was finally comfortable enough to come out.  Many other former players congratulated him such as Baron Davis and his former teammate on the New Jersey Nets, Jason Kidd also came to his support.  As we all know something like this does not come without any negative comments.  Newly acquired Miami Dolphins wide receiver, Mike Wallace, went to twitter and was not fully supportive of Collins.  He took down his post and apologized for his comments after the fact, but that was after he realized how offensive his views were.

Collins is currently a free agent; he played last season with the Washington Wizards.  Hopefully this latest news about Collins doesn’t have an effect on his free agent status and he is able to find a team and a locker room to support him.  This is a more important issue than just a man saying that he is gay.

Collins is officially the first current athlete in the four major sports in America to say he is gay.  I personally would like to congratulate him for coming out and being comfortable with himself.  This is more than a major step for sports. It’s important for our society as a whole.  It is not a surprise that there are gay professional athletes, but it is disappointing that they don’t all feel confident enough to be open about it.  Perhaps Collins’ coming out will encourage more gay athletes to be comfortable with whom they are.

Jason Collins has always been a great teammate and representative for the NBA.  He will have to battle through a lot of adversity in the next couple of months but he is a strong enough man to cope with it. I’m sure that he was aware of the battle that he might have to face with certain aspects of our oppressive society.

At the end of the day everyone has differences whether it is skin color, religious views or sexual preferences but it is not just tolerance of these differences that we need it is acceptance of them.