Author: The Ranger News

Tough night for the women as the men bring home a third straight regional division championship on Senior Night.

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It was a very successful night for the Ranger men as they brought home a third straight GLVC East championship to DeSimone Gymnasium. Their game was never really in doubt, but Lewis did manage to keep competitive until the final buzzer. The women’s game was very competitive early, but the Flyers pulled away in the second half, spoiling the emotional Senior Night for our ladies.

The girl’s game started out very slow, with both teams talent taking center court. Neither team was really able to get a rhythm early because both were causing turnovers and playing great defense. Whenever one side made a shot, the other countered immediately, whether it was a layup or three. The shooting for the Ranger women was uncharacteristically off tonight. The team couldn’t cash in on free throws throughout and their jumpers weren’t falling. While our women couldn’t hit a shot, the Flyers were staying true to their name and pushing the ball in transition, getting layups and hitting their shots. Though the Flyers are the second ranked team in the country, they didn’t dominate the game as expected. We were getting the shots we wanted. Unfortunately, it was just one of those off nights. The Flyers ran away with the game, 60-46.

Though the team lost, this doesn’t diminish the season they have had thus far and isn’t an indication on what is to come. This was the final home game for seniors Gaby Bronson, Jennifer Blunt, Sarah Mlachnik, Maddie Johnston and Justine Boerger, who have been very successful in their time playing for the Rangers. Their journey isn’t over yet. They are going into the GLVC tournament ranked fourth, having a first round bye.

Unlike the women, the men’s game started out with the Ranger men jumping out to a very quick 11-4 lead in the first five minutes. They were pushing the ball often early in the game, with Jimmy Gavin seemingly taking over towards the end of the half. They penetrated throughout, never settling for jump shots unless they were necessary. But when they did shoot, it seemed as though they couldn’t miss throughout the duration of the game. The all-time leader in three point baskets made went on a personal 6-0 run midway through the second half. The Flyers put on a show though, throwing up a pretty nasty lob towards the end. But when they tried it again, Gavin was having none of it. Free throws sealed the game and the guys won, notching their 25th win on the season, the most in program history, 73-68.

Seniors Jordan Mach, “Ziggy” Riauka, Tavaris McNeil and Mohammed Mohammed played their last game in DeSimone, but they all have their eyes on now capturing the GLVC tournament championship. They will go into the tournament ranked third, getting a first round bye in the tournament.

The men’s tournament begins on March 5, while the women kick off their tournament on March 6. Both conclude on March 8. The tournament will take place in St. Charles, Missouri.

Article by Jalen Perry

Student/Staff Spotlight Series: Jazz Professor, Russ Johnson

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“It smelled like Franksville during sauerkraut season,” confessed Parkside’s jazz professor, Russell Johnson, reflecting on just one of the interesting yet unusual experiences in his time as a jazz musician. It was on stage in France, playing aside the legendary jazz musician Lee Konitz that Russ encountered the offensive smell.  “I’m sitting there, eyes watering, next to this legendary saxophonist thinking, ‘what’s going on?’” he said. Konitz then proclaimed “I’ve got cabbage on my knees!” The then 80-year-old Konitz had visited a homeopath in France to alleviate pain he was having in his knees just before his gig with Russ. There they had applied ointment and then wrapped his knees with cabbage leaves, the culprit of the pronounced smell.

This is what you can expect from Russ. He’s chock-filled with interesting and amazing stories, which is expected, considering that he has played the trumpet since fifth grade, “…played in 45 different countries and been to every state except for 4 in the U.S.”, and has been a sideman with countless main jazz figures such as Lee Konitz, Steve Swallow, Bill Frisell and many more. Not only has he been a sideman in many bands, but he leads a few of his own bands. His main band that he leads is called “The Meeting Point Quartet,” in which he composes all the music himself. They released a record last year, which was incredibly well-received and made the “Best CDS of 2014” list. He has had an extremely fulfilling and successful career as a jazz musician, and still does, but has worked incredibly hard to get to where he’s at.

He first started playing the trumpet in the fifth grade after his older brother, who also played the trumpet, introduced it to him. Ironically, he says music wasn’t a part of his household. No one really played or listened to music, other than his brother. Russ then began borrowing many of his brother’s jazz records and recalls specific records that have “changed his life,” such as Miles Davis’ records “Workin’,” “Steamin’,” “Cookin’” and “Relaxin’”. At age 16 he then went to a jazz camp which “solidified that he wasn’t alone” and was an affirmation of his career path. After that, his parents couldn’t stop him from practicing his trumpet. Russ has always been completely devoted to his career as a musician. He says that he “never had a job other than playing his trumpet, from age 19 to 45, when he started teaching.” So how has Russ Johnson, this notably successful jazz musician, come to grace Parkside with his presence, and what made him choose Parkside?

After living in one of the greatest U.S. jazz communities for 24 years, New York, he started teaching at Parkside in January of 2010. During his first year and a half of teaching, he was dedicated to commuting from New York to Parkside for a year and a half until he moved here in 2011. But what finally drew him out of the bustling Big Apple to the quiet Midwest? His family. When it came time to enroll his daughter in school, he wasn’t confident about raising his daughter in the Brooklyn public schools. Russ tells me he actually grew up in Racine and was familiar with the location, schools and people here, so that is why he looked into transferring to this area. One of the most appealing things about Parkside for Russ is that it is only an hour from Chicago, another major jazz community. “My playing career is extremely important and I’m still very active… so Parkside is a perfect fit,” said Russ.

Besides the location, Russ says that the students are what he likes the most about Parkside. “I knew the general type of student that I was going to be working with,” he said. “I get as much from them as they get from me. I have some very, very talented students that I work with.”  Even with the relatively new musicians, Russ said that “it’s unbelievably fulfilling… to see them develop as musicians and people.” He also said that some students are so strong that they even push him forward in his career.

To conclude, I asked Russ if he had any advice for other young musicians and students. “It requires so much hard work, and dedication, and you need to be fully committed… and then the pay-off is incredible,” he said. Russ also had further advice for music students. “Create a practice journal and go into it with a plan, and this can go for any type of study,” he said. “Finding ways to organize your time is extremely important. And it is very easy to waste your time, to pick up your instrument and just have fun. It’s not about having fun, it’s about working really, really hard and the fun will come later. It is unbelievably rewarding, but it requires a lot of work”. He also said that choosing you career path really isn’t “a decision.” You just know. You have to go with your passion, but prepare to work hard. So in Russ’s words, find what’s in your heart, work hard and it most surely will pay off in the end. It definitely did for Russ.​

I can’t think of a better way to hit off our Student and Staff Spotlight series, which honors outstanding members in Parkside’s community, than by showcasing professor Russ Johnson. It was a privilege and joy to interview Russ. He is an all-around stand-up guy with amazing talent, passion and dedication to his career. We are most blessed to have him here at Parkside, as a mentor, fellow colleague, friend, professor or just as a great person in general.

Article by Liv Gripko

Show Us the Money

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It’s the beginning of another semester here at Parkside, and with the new semester comes the never-ending errands of getting all of your books ordered, buying new school supplies and paying for tuition. But in order to cross these tiresome items off of your “To Do” list, you’re going to need money. With financial aid refunds not being available until nearly three weeks into the semester, that can seem like a hard task to accomplish. Many college students heavily rely on their financial aid refunds for school supplies and living expenses, and many students begin to wonder why it takes so long for them to receive the reimbursement that they’re entitled to.

According to the Financial Aid office the school received all financial aid disbursements for this semester on Feb. 3, but the “reimbursement process” requires them to hold the money for approximately 11 days as is described under financial aid information, according to the office’s website: “If your financial aid exceeds the balance due on your account, a refund will be generated by the close of business on the 11th day of class.” Although this information explains the process of holding reimbursement money, it still does not explain why the Financial Aid office needs to keep the remaining refund for nearly two weeks after the appointed date.

Current nursing student Kathryn Rotsch feels personally affected by the new refund process and took the initiative to speak to the Dean of Students in an attempt to get some of her questions answered regarding the change in the refund policy. In the interview, Kathryn Rotsch asked why the refund process changed in the first and what the benefits of the new process are. “The change was made in part because the school feels like students are walking away from Parkside without a degree and astronomical debt,” said Rotsch of the response she received in her meeting with the Dean of Students. “This was a way to control that. Many student were changing classes, incurring extra charges from add or drop fees after the disbursements were given because add and drop dates are mostly done by the end of the first two weeks.”

The new refund process was organized to help students wisely budget their refund money and minimize their debt usage. But as current senior Trevor Henkel points out, many students use their refund money for expenses besides school. “I use it for food, gas, possible expenses for my car if needed and other random things,” said Henkel. While the Dean of Students does offer an accommodation letter for landlords, some students still feel as though the new process is not entirely intended for their best interest. “I feel that even though Parkside says they’re doing it for students who want to add or drop classes, it’s actually them forcing a lot of us to purchase the books from the book store,” Henkel explained. “It should go back to the way it originally was.”

While many students want the process to revert to the schedule followed in previous years here at Parkside, some realize that that might not happen. After talking with the Financial Aid office, Kathryn Rotsch feels as though they are willing to listen to suggestions, but ultimately that things won’t be changing anytime soon: “They recognized that the situation is not perfect and they will continue to work on the issues I brought up, but they will not go back to how it was,” said Rotsch. Although the current financial aid refund process leaves some students feeling unheard and dissatisfied, some students hope for future changes to be made that will accommodate both the Parkside administration and Parkside students.

Article by Chelsie Aloisi

Campus Bookstore Gets Mixed Reviews

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When you walk into the campus bookstore, you notice that they have a wide variety of items for sale having to do with college life. You can purchase a sweatshirt, a pennant, disc golf accessories, computer accessories and coffee mugs–almost everything you could need! Oh yeah, they also have books as well. The campus bookstore has textbooks for all of the classes available in the UW-Parkside curriculum, either on-site or via their website, Neebo.com. The question is, if they have all of these items, why doesn’t every student use them to get what they need?

A lot of students today get their textbooks from online sources such as Amazon.com or Chegg.com, because the prices they find online are lower than what they find in the campus bookstore. The bookstore has tried to negate that with a price matching policy, but that policy is not listed on the website. According to some of the students that we encountered in the bookstore, a few think that the way the bookstore’s price matching policy works can be difficult, and sometimes it seems to make no sense. One student, “Matt” told us about his frustrations. “I went in to get a book for my online class, and I had found it listed brand new for $0 on Amazon, but the bookstore only had it used, and for $40,” he said. “I asked the clerk if she could match the price and she said no because they were not exactly the same. I asked her why she couldn’t match the price of a new book to a used one, and she simply shrugged.” Matt went on to tell us that he thought the student employee wanted to help him out, but that the policy simply did not allow her to do so.

We interviewed several other students as they exited the bookstore, with the promise of keeping their identities anonymous. Several students seemed to have the same reasons for choosing to shop at the bookstore—they were shopping at the bookstore rather than on an online website due to the fact that they either did not have the money to shop online or that they were counting on their financial aid disbursement. But because of the university’s new policy of holding the student’s aid refund for 11 days into the semester, they could not buy anywhere else but at the bookstore, which has a policy of allowing students to buy books now and then pay when their financial aid gets released by the university.

One especially irate sophomore, who was an English major, told us, “I feel like I am being forced to buy from the bookstore, like the university wants me to spend my money here, even if I don’t want to, and frankly, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

We tried to contact the bookstore manager, Diane Sessa, but she declined to comment on these issues, telling us that the bookstore was very busy because they were doing so much business, and that she couldn’t spare five minutes to discuss the students concerns with us.

Some students didn’t seem to mind. They had found books online, even though the bookstore had those same books, and the price matching pledge was honored. Some students were indifferent and just liked the idea of walking into the store and walking out with what they wanted without waiting. We talked to over a dozen students and each one of them had a different view on things. The bookstore is here if you need it, and has policies in place to make it competitive, just as long as everything falls into place perfectly.

Biggest Night in Hollywood? Must be Oscar Season!

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Coming up tonight (Feb. 22) is the night all of Hollywood waits for, from the time that they wake up hung over from the after-party the next day. With hundreds of movies being released each year, the ones selected for this honor have bragging rights for the entirety of the year, as well as an automatic place on the Academy. They therefore hold the fate of the following nominees for all categories. That being said, let’s look at what and who has the potential to hold the future nominees’ lives in their hands (at least in the some of the major categories).

Best Actor: The nominees for best actor this year hail from a range of genres that include comedies to bio-pic dramas. It would seem that Eddie Redmayne is leading the race for his role in “The Theory of Everything,” a dramatic bio-pic about Stephen Hawking’s life. Redmayne won best actor in a dramatic role for this character at the Golden Globes earlier this year and this is his first Oscar nomination. Bradley Cooper is nominated for his role in “American Sniper,” another bio-pic about deceased war veteran and Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. This is Cooper’s third Oscar nomination for the role of best actor in a leading role. Also nominated is Golden Globe winner Michael Keaton for the dramedy “Birdman.” Although this is Keaton’s first Oscar nomination, he did win the Golden Globe for this very role in the category of best actor in a comedy or musical. Steve Carell is also celebrating his first nomination at the Oscars for his role in the true story “Foxcatcher” after breaking out of his type-casting from “The Office.” The final nominee is Benedict Cumberbatch for his role in another bio-pic, “The Imitation Game.” Cumberbatch is a first time nominee and is primarily known for his roles in BBC’s “Sherlock” and Khan in the latest “Star Trek” installment.

Best Actress: I really feel that the race for best actress in a leading role could be anyone’s win. I’ll start with Julianne Moore who is the Golden Globe winner this year for best actress in a dramatic role. She shows up with her fifth Oscar nomination for her role in “Still Alice.” Marion Cotillard returns for possibly another win after her last nomination and win in 2008. She seems to have most of her luck in her French films, her last win being from “La Vie en Rose.” This year’s nomination is for the drama “Deux Jours, Une Nuit,” translated as “Two Days, One Night.” To match Redmayne, Felicity Jones is also in the running for best actress for her role as Stephen Hawking’s wife in “The Theory of Everything,” landing her her first Oscar nomination. Reese Witherspoon comes back to the Oscars also hoping for her second win, her first being for her role in “Walk the Line.” She now runs for best actress for her bio-pic “Wild,” proving that she’s come a long way since “Legally Blonde.” The final nominee is Rosamund Pike in her first Oscar nomination for the suspense-thriller “Gone Girl.”

Best Picture: Most of the films up for best picture also have actors or actresses up for the honor of the best. There are two films that are favored for the win: “Birdman” and “Boyhood.” “Birdman” stars Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Zach Galifinakis along with others and is written and directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who is now a five-time Oscar nominee. “Birdman” tells the dramedy of a washed up actor who is trying to regain his fame in Broadway. “Boyhood” stars Ethan Hawk, Patricia Arquette and Ellar Coltrane in the role of his life. Literally. Written and Directed by Richard Linklater, it revolutionizes acting by following the same cast throughout 12 years of their lives in a coming-of-age film. “American Sniper” was directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller and Kyle Gallner, and as previously described, shows the life of Chris Kyle. “Selma” tells the story of Martin Luther King’s march from Selma to Montgomery to gain equal voting rights for African Americans in the U.S. It stars David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo, and was directed by Ava DuVernay. Previously described in under “Best Actor” and “Best Actress” was “The Theory of Everything” telling Stephen Hawking’s life and work and was directed by James Marsh. “The Imitation Game” reveals the true story of World War II mathematician Alan Turing and stars Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch and was directed by Morten Tyldum. Wes Anderson brings a bit of quirk to the category with “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” starring Ralph Fiennes, Adrian Brody, Willem Defoe, Edward Norton and many other cameos. The final film in the running stands as the underdog . “Whiplash,” starring J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller, is Damien Chazelle’s film that kind of came out of nowhere and blew everyone away. But hey, who doesn’t love an underdog?

Well folks, that’s all I have room for! Be sure to keep to trnonline.org for a full list of the winners after the big night.

 

Article by Krista Skweres