Jae Crowder takes the ball to the basket against Cincinnati. Photo by Daniel Alfonzo/daniel.alfonzo@marquette.edu

Marquette is one of the Big East’s hottest teams, and facing Rutgers on Wednesday will be the easiest remaining game on the schedule.

But the Golden Eagles (22-5, 11-3 Big East) know any Big East contest can be a difficult one, which is why they must remain focused on the present as they close out their conference schedule.

Coach Buzz Williams has instilled a “just today” attitude in his team, which is focused on accomplishing daily goals before looking forward.

“We focus one day at a time,” junior guard Junior Cadougan said. “We’re built on ‘just today.’ Coach puts that in our heads to just take care of today and then we’ll worry about tomorrow. We need to focus on what we’re doing now.”

Associate head coach Tony Benford echoed those sentiments.

“You have to worry about today. You have to get better today,” Benford said. “When you come in the gym every morning, your mindset has to be  ‘Let’s get better right now.’”

Rutgers will travel to Milwaukee having dropped seven of its last eight games. It is 1-9 on the road but enters the bout with Marquette with some momentum. Despite dropping a 74-64 contest to No. 2 Syracuse on Saturday, the Scarlet Knights were within two points with less than three minutes to play.

“It’s been a tough year for those guys, but they’re capable of winning,” senior forward Jae Crowder said. “If we do what we do, we’ll be fine. We can’t afford to get off to a slow start like we have done at home.”

Slow starts had plagued the Golden Eagles until Saturday. A quick transition offense in the first half helped Marquette outrun Connecticut, leading to a 79-64 win in Hartford, Conn.

That first half saw Marquette make 13 field goals. Of those baskets, the Golden Eagles used an average of 11 seconds before the shot was taken.

Cadougan, who led that charge with eight assists, said the lethal transition offense is a combination of an executed game plan and will to work harder than the opponent.

“We just have the mindset to go out and play our hardest and see what happens,” Cadougan said. “And we’ve been playing harder and are coming out with victories.”

Part of the reason for the improved transition offense is the emergence of sophomore forward Jamil Wilson.

Since sophomore forward Davante Gardner went down with a knee injury on Jan. 28, Wilson has logged over 32 minutes a night and has averaged 11.4 points and 5.6 rebounds. He has recorded a block in 11 straight games.

The Golden Eagles have 74 fast break points in their four wins since losing Gardner, who is expected to miss his sixth straight game against Rutgers.

Williams originally thought Gardner would have returned by last Saturday, but a focused squad that now goes only seven players deep has lessened the blow left by Gardner’s absence.

That focus has led to a 13-1 home record, including a perfect 7-0 record in Big East play.

Benford said home dominance was a team goal at the start of the season.

“Our goal going into the season was that we would take care of home, and we’ve done that so far,” Benford said. “So we have to continue to have that mindset and come out with great energy. That’s the whole key for us is to step on the floor with great energy.”

With hopes of a top four conference finish and subsequent double-bye in the Big East Championship Tournament, Marquette is still playing for plenty.

“We’re getting antsy,” Cadougan said. “Everyone wants to play in their conference tournament and play in the NCAAs. But we just have to be patient and finish the (regular) season strong.”

He’d pursued Ann heavily the summer before college began, visiting her at work and reminding her constantly of his admiration for her. By the end of the summer, he’d become so frustrated with Ann’s frostiness that he gave her the silent treatment one night in the car.

“What do you want?” Ann asked, exasperated.

“I want to date,” he said.

“Fine. Let’s date.”

If that wasn’t enough of an omen for a loveless relationship, there was an abundance of others. Ann continued to introduce her boyfriend to friends and family as her “friend.” Their conversations were insipid and fizzled fast, and Ann, a writer and lover of quirky romances, cringed every time he fed her cliches about how their “unstoppable” love was “meant to be.”

Needless to say, they didn’t last long, and it was Ann’s guilt that kept her playing the girlfriend role for as long as she did. It was her first relationship, and she thought it was normal to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of someone else’s.

“(Unrequited love is) like a conspiracy of silence, where one person doesn’t want to openly speak rejecting words and the other doesn’t want to hear it,” said Dr. Roy Baumeister, a psychologist at Case Western Reserve University, in a recent New York Times article.

In fact, 98 percent of Americans have experienced this kind of lopsided “love,” according to the same article.

Over the weekend, I read an article in The Atlantic by Stephanie Fairyington in which she claimed that “romantic relationships are never mutual.”

I hate to say it, but I found myself agreeing.

In almost all of my relationships, one person has always been more committed than the other. The committed one usually finds the carefree person even more irresistible because of the distance they create. Cue an ugly, endless chase.

These roles can switch throughout the course of a relationship, and they often do. In a matter of weeks, I’ve seen myself go from a stone-cold cynic set on denying the other person the privilege of calling me their girlfriend to an enamored fiend begging them to stay.

According to pop culture writer Chuck Klosterman, this is standard. “Every relationship is fundamentally a power struggle,” he has said, “and the individual in power is whoever likes the other person less.”

My experiences — along with my friends’ — may affirm this, but others’ don’t.

Last week, I watched a short film produced by McSweeney’s and the Stanford MRI lab in which contests participated in a “love competition” — they allowed their brains to be monitored for five minutes while they thought about a person they loved.

The person whose brain produced the most neurochemicals related to the experience of love (and thus, won the contest) was a 75-year-old man named Kent Pells.

“Today I’m gonna be loving (my wife of fifty years) Marilyn Pells,” Kent announced to the cameras.

Marilyn also competed, but did not tie with her husband, nor place in the contest.

Kent and Marilyn’s love is the kind that Stephanie Fairyington wrote fearfully of, where one person’s heart throws off the see-saw’s balance, and even science can prove it.

Like Fairyington and plenty of others, love is something I’ve always tried to measure, to put in technical terms. Kent and Marilyn simply refer to it as “fun,” “blessed,” and “a good trip.” They married only three days after meeting and say they are just as much in love as they were back in 1961. I think a huge part of their success is probably the absence of the anxiety and jealousy that comes along with obsessing over the possibility of unrequited love.

If it’s true that only 2 percent of Americans have managed to avoid unrequited love affairs for the course of their lives, maybe there’s something people like me can learn from them: stop keeping score.

According to Carolyn Smith, executive director of Student Health Service, STIs are increasing across the United States, and Marquette students are not immune from that increase.

“If it’s prevalent in the community,” Smith said, “it will be prevalent here.”

Luckily, statistics suggest Marquette students with STIs still remain below the national average. According to the 2009 National College Health Assessment, in the prior 12 months, 4 percent of Marquette students reported being diagnosed or treated by a professional for an STD/I, while 5.1 percent of college students nationwide reported the same.

However, Marquette students are less likely to use condoms than students nationally; 50 percent of Marquette students had in the prior 12 months, versus 56.8 nationwide.

The Center for Health Education and Promotion was unable to administer the NCHA survey in 2011 but will administer the survey this spring.

Last year SHS tested 133 people for STIs, and about 2 percent of the STI tests were positive.

STIs are caused by bacteria, parasites or viruses, usually transmitted by sexual activity with an infected person. With the exception of viral infections such as genital herpes, genital warts, hepatitis and HIV, most STIs can be cured.

Smith said it is hard to gauge exactly how prevalent STIs are on campus because many students choose to be treated or tested for STIs off-campus.

Smith said the three most prevalent STIs on Marquette’s campus are human papillomavirus, chlamydia and genital herpes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2010 the three most commonly reported STIs on college campuses were HPV, chlamydia and gonorrhea. Smith said these infections are prevalent across the country and are easily transmitted through all forms of sexual contact.

She also said that the number of sexual partners Marquette students have might partially explain the lower STI rates.

According to 2009 NCHA data however, 51 percent of Marquette students reported having two or fewer sexual partners, while 13 percent reported three or more partners and 35 percent reported zero partners.

The 2010 STD Surveillance report by the CDC said estimates suggest that young people ages 15-24 represent 25 percent of the sexually-experienced population but acquire nearly half of all new STIs. According to the American Social Health Association, by the age of 25, half of all youth will acquire one or more sexually transmitted infections.

In the U.S. alone there are approximately 19 million new cases each year, according to the American Social Health Association, about half of which occur among the ages 15-24.

Bill Brozon, public health educator for the City of Milwaukee Health Department, cited three specific behaviors that place youth at the greatest risk for STIs, HIV and unintended pregnancy:having multiple, sequential or concurrent sex partners; engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse; and selecting a partner at higher risk.

He said one approach to reduce the behavior risks is to utilize the “ABC strategy”– Abstinence, Be faithful to one partner – or, if “A” or “B” cannot be achieved, use Condoms.

“But even if every agency, organization, or parent in the community delivered these messages, it still might not be enough to solve the problem of STIs,” Brozon said, adding that even the ABC strategy has its faults.

“There may be a discrepancy between young adults’ STI status and self-reported sexual behaviors regarding abstinence,” Brozon said. He also said that the downplaying of the effectiveness of condoms creates a breakdown in the ABC strategy.

“Most HIV/STI transmission or pregnancy risks occur because of condom non-use or inconsistent use,” Brozon said.

While Marquette students are less likely to contract an STI, their awareness may not be better than that of other college students. About 80 percent of people who have a sexually transmitted infection experience no noticeable symptoms.

Smith said she has found there’s a lack of understanding about STIs among students.

“Students need to know what they are, how they’re transmitted and how to protect themselves,” Smith said.

After abstinence, Smith said that consistent and proper condom use is the best way to prevent contracting STIs.

April is STD awareness month, and starting in March Student Health Services will begin a big educational and testing push.

“The only way to really know if someone has an STI is to get tested,” Smith said.

Students said they think their peers are knowledgeable about sexual health and STIs.

Ryan Vincent, a senior in the College of Business Administration, said he thinks most students are knowledgeable about sexual health and sexually transmitted infections. He said most people received sexual education in high school where they were taught about sexual health and STIs.

“People are definitely knowledgeable (about STIs),” Vincent said. He said most people take precautions to prevent contracting diseases and infections through sexual activity.

Melissa May, a senior in the college of Arts & Sciences, agreed.

“Most people know about (STIs) but they don’t ever think that it will happen to them,” May said. She said this causes some students to not take precautions, such as using contraception, when engaging in sexual activity.

In her piece, Ms. Malloy chastises Marquette students who participated in a Pro-Capitalism rally last semester. To the author, these students represent privileged elites who thoughtlessly and arrogantly throw their success in others’ faces. I could not help but feel queasy reading these judgmental words. I was completely shocked when the final sentence of the submission claimed that this rally served to create a “deeper fissure in [Milwaukee’s] social landscape.”

I could not help but get the impression that the mindset of the writer was truly more divisive than a simple rally celebrating the success of capitalism. This submission separated the world into two distinct social classes: elite Marquette students with wealthy families, and the people of Milwaukee, for whom a Marquette education is “unattainable” and “untouchable.”

I reject this narrow worldview. I attended the Pro-Capitalism rally and certainly do not consider myself to be part of an elite class. I did not attend a private high school in Virginia with five-figure annual tuition, and I am concerned that celebrating the most successful economic system the world has ever seen would be confused for throwing success in another person’s face.

The truth is, capitalism has provided for both Ms. Malloy, myself and our families. Capitalism could also provide for every single person in Milwaukee if our government leaders would allow it to. Instead of developing careers, many people in our city and country have been fooled into believing that welfare programs can lead them to prosperity. As a result, many of the less fortunate among us are trapped in a never-ending cycle of government-funded housing, food stamps and apathy.

Capitalism creates opportunity and raises living standards in ways that no other economic system can. For me, rallying around this fact does not demean anyone. It provides hope that we can choose any career we desire and achieve anything we put our minds to.

Craig Maechtle

Senior, College of Business Administration.

The theme attempts to pop the infamous “Marquette bubble” to get more students familiar with their neighbors. But what exactly is a neighbor? Is it the person who lives directly next to you? Is it the people at the bus stop at 12th and Wisconsin with whom you avoid eye contact? Is it the person who lives across the state line?

We at the Tribune believe that being a neighbor is not about proximity of living. Whether you live in a crowded subdivision or the middle of a cornfield, you have neighbors — about 7 billion of them, in fact.

The agenda for Mission Week 2012 certainly focuses on our neighbors in Milwaukee with events such as an area bus tour and a community research workshop. But it also focuses on areas far beyond our immediate surroundings. Thursday, there will be a screening of the documentary “Old South,” which follows a black neighborhood in Georgia as it battles a Confederate college fraternity. Similarly, the keynote address given by Dr. Bernard Amadei will focus on our neighbors, not in Milwaukee, but in the developing world.

Clearly the people responsible for planning this year’s Mission Week were aware that there are local, national and international neighbors. But were you?

“Who is my neighbor?” is a good question and Mission Week itself is a great idea. But why does it have to take a week-long event to get some people to engage with others? The world is constantly shrinking with the unstoppable spread of globalization, and we cannot ignore it. We must concern ourselves with everyone’s issues, not just our own. That means experiencing a week of service during Mission Week and then applying its theme toward others, 365 days a year.

Some people may argue that most volunteers only help people who are less fortunate because it makes them feel better about themselves. But we believe Mission Week (and service in general) shouldn’t be about helping the less fortunate. It should be about helping anyone and everyone. We’re not talking about charity; we’re talking about genuine human compassion.

Ideally, we would like everyone to venture outside themselves to make a difference for others, but make sure you do it for the right reasons. You should not be helping other people simply because Marquette tells you to. You definitely should not be serving others just because an editorial in the Marquette Tribune told you to either. You need to be helping others because it is the humane thing to do.

Some people talk about putting up a fence to keep their next door neighbors away. Some neighbors call the cops when the music is too loud. There are those neighbors who dog-sit for you when you’re on vacation or who help you shovel your driveway. But there are also neighbors in the next state over and across the ocean that are working toward common goals.

Regardless of the country you were born in, the kind of food you like, the way you get to work or what you do on your days off, you are the same as everyone else, and we’re all neighbors. We hope that you can remember that, even after Mission Week is over.

The Alliance School on Walnut St. in north Milwaukee greets its students with a colorful mural at the school’s front doors.

It’s a Thursday afternoon and Jill Engle’s art class at The Alliance School is in full swing. Scraps fly. Colored pencils are scattered across the tables. Every so often a roar of laughter envelops the room.

Students chat with each other — about school, their projects, what they are wearing or what they are doing after school.

Occasionally, students spill in and out, relaying a message from the teacher next door or the office upstairs.

They are laughing about inside jokes or a funny new story.

They talk about having a sleepover this weekend or a new movie they want to go see.

If it wasn’t for a decision made by Alliance’s founder and lead teacher, Tina Owen, to open Alliance seven years ago, most of these students and teachers would not have known each other.

But today, sitting in the art class, they act like family.

The Alliance School is a small charter school for grades six through 12 in the Milwaukee Public School system. Alliance is known around Milwaukee and the nation for being a safe haven for students who didn’t feel comfortable at other schools. The school has made a name for itself by creating a safe learning environment for any and all who need it: gay, straight, black, white, Christian, atheist and all variations in between.

Those things don’t matter at Alliance.

And currently in Engle’s art room, the only thing that matters is cardboard.

The room is covered inch-by-inch in cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes. There are scissors in each student’s hand — all cutting furiously.

Today the students are making 3-D objects from cardboard.

“I like what ya’ got going on here,” Engle says. She stands behind a table of students. One boy is making a basketball hoop that he wants to start painting red for his favorite team, the Chicago Bulls. She pauses and watches his progress.

“Check this out,” she says. “It might make it easier.”

She bends down over the table and sketches a variation of the original design on the cardboard then says, “There, now just cut around that and you’ll be good!”

Another student across the room picks up his large cardboard box and yells across the room at Engle.

“Hey Jill, we got any more tape?” he says. He is always in Engle’s classroom, even when he is not in class. He is wearing a bright blue cardigan and a striped shirt underneath. His forearm is covered with brightly colored bracelets, all homemade. (“I just like making new things, trying out how creative I can be,” he says. “I can do that here.”)

Engle, looking back at her student, sighs: “No, no tape. We are all out.”

Engle has already spent $1,500 of her own money on art supplies for her students. And three months into the school year, they are already out.

She turns to the rest of the class: “From now on we are going to have to bring in our own tape and glue. We don’t have anymore to give you all.”

One student sitting at the next table is making a bouquet of flowers. She cuts huge petals out of an old UPS box. Her short black hair is tucked under a black knit hat that falls to the left side of her face. She is wearing a white shirt and black jeans that cling to her small frame. When she smiles, she flashes a slight gap between her two front teeth.

She sits diligently. Her hands tightly grip her yellow pencil. Her face is about three inches away from the soft brown cardboard surface. Her pencil line is sharp and dignified. If she misses her mark by a centimeter she erases it and starts over.

Under her breath, almost murmuring, she sings.

Once she is satisfied with her petal, she cuts it out with the same intensity that she drew it. Every so often, she sets the scissors down and stretches her small, thin fingers and arms. One-by-one she cracks her fingers and shakes out her hand.

After a few painstaking minutes devoted to detail, she sits up straight, smiles a small simple smile and holds up her petal.

She shouts to Engle across the room, and holds up a gigantic cardboard petal.

Engle smiles back, her eyes glazing right over her plastic-rimmed glasses, and yells back: “You go girl!”

Alliance: Its Birth

In 2003, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a non-profit organization set up by Bill Gates and his wife, announced it would give $17.25 million to the Technical Leadership and Assistance Center of Milwaukee, a non-profit organization that focuses on education reform. The Technical Leadership and Assistance Center was given the money with the instructions to help restructure Milwaukee’s large high schools by creating smaller and more autonomous schools. From then on, it took proposals for charter schools to be set up within the Milwaukee Public School System.

Tina Owen, founder and lead teacher (principal) of Alliance, was unsure whether she could do it, or even if her idea was worth proposing. But she saw a problem in Milwaukee’s education system – and the education system as a whole.

She decided something had to be done.

In July of 2003, she took a leap of faith. She sent the Technical Leadership and Assistance Center her proposal.

The proposal was to create what she considered the “perfect school” — one built on the foundation of complete and total acceptance.

“Everyone can remember a time he or she didn’t want to go to school because of bullying,” Owen said about her proposal. “When I spoke to people about that — about creating a school where bullying wasn’t the kids’ experience — everyone understood it. Everyone agreed that all students deserve that.”

Owen knew that the only way this was going to work was if she made people identify with her mission. She wanted to make people see that bullying, feeling excluded and alienation were not a part of the educational experience — or at least should not be.

One in four teens is bullied at least once in his or her life. Nine out of 10 LGBTQ students are harassed. A shocking 160,000 students stay home from school — any given day — because they are afraid of bulling. And every seven minutes, a child is bullied, all according to the organization Stomp Out Bullying.

In all of these bullying cases, adults intervened four percent of the time, and students intervened 11 percent of the time. In the rest of the cases, 85 percent, the bullying carried on.

Owen wanted to created a school where this wasn’t the case.

A few months later, the Technical Leadership and Assistance Center accepted her proposal. Owen’s dream was slowly turning into reality.

And in 2005, after a year and half of preparation and determination, Alliance opened its doors to a flood of students who needed a place to call home.

Alliance is painted a simple light gray-blue. From the outside, the school isn’t much to look at.

It has a few windows, each with intricate trim on the edges, telling of the time period when the building was built — around 1920. But sitting between the modern, and much newer, Roosevelt Middle School and Elm Creative Arts School, the building looks even older.

There is no grand entrance, only a simple concrete staircase leading up to two daunting black doors.

There isn’t much that is welcoming about the building. That is, except for one thing. A mural greets all the students and visitors as they walk into Alliance.

With the backdrop of the humdrum gray walls, the colors on the mural pop: crimson, jade, a blushing pink, gold, cobalt, sky blue, purple and all shades in between. The colors swirl together in intricate shapes.

It is the first sign that this school is different — it is something special. The mural depicts people of all types of people interacting. There are symbols of love, equality and peace intricately entwined with the people on the mural.

It reminds each student of his or her mission at Alliance: respect and accept everyone.

A personal proposal

For the 175 students who go to Alliance, it usually means they were often considered a “non-traditional” student at another school. This means they are at risk of dropping out, for various reasons, were bullied, or needed a different teaching technique.

But at Alliance, they do not have this label. It is left at the front door. And soon the “non-traditional” student becomes simply a student.

It is the school Owen had always dreamed of. And one she wanted for herself. Owen was what she described herself as a “non-traditional” student.

Since she was young, Owen moved around a lot: Kentucky, New Jersey, Guam, Greece, Texas.

As she says, “I grew up everywhere.” Her father was in the Air Force, and her family was always moving from base to base.

That was up until Owen was 13, when her father went to prison.

The members of her family relocated back to the United States, where they had not lived in several years, and settled in El Paso, Texas. From then on Owen moved in and out of foster care and group homes.

She became a mother at 17 and had another child shortly after. “Emotional wreck” is a phrase she uses to describe herself.

During her high school years, she said she was simply pushed to get through. Her counselors advised her only to get enough credits to graduate. Ever since she was 13, she had been pushed through the system.

“I was a good student,” Owen said. “But I just didn’t come from that kind of world.”

College wasn’t the goal for Owen. Her world meant taking care of her children and graduating high school.

Shortly after graduation she moved to Milwaukee, where she had family.

In Milwaukee she was able to find a job and opportunities to make ends meet for her children. Most importantly it offered her another opportunity: college.

Owen was 22. She wanted a future for, not only herself, but also for her two children. She pulled out the Milwaukee phone book and flipped to the yellow pages. She went straight to “C.” C, for college.

She pointed her finger on the first name she saw: Marquette University.

She started off as a journalism major on track to go to law school.

But as she was sitting in her freshman year English course, a fellow student introduced herself to Owen. She told Owen she was an education major, and that one day she wanted to become a teacher.

“That moment was like a light bulb went off in my head,” Owen said. “It was just a moment where I got it. It all came together.

She decided to be a teacher: “It became my calling — my vocation.”

Owen’s vocation has brought a world of opportunity to the 175 high school students at Alliance School.

Nevertheless, an equally important necessity many students may not consider is securing health insurance.

Julie Bach, an office assistant at Marquette’s Center for Health Education and Promotion, said if students become sick while enrolled as undergraduates, the pre-paid $136 fee included in tuition costs should suffice for Student Health Service visits for minor illnesses.

“The health service offers preventative measures,” Bach said. “Although should something more serious happen, there is a wide referral process.”

Bach said newer developments in serving students include the addition of X-ray screenings.

However, many students like Barrett Heald, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, believe many of Marquette’s health services are often insufficient.

“I’ve heard other people say that the cost and hassle of going there doesn’t pay for what we need,” Heald said.

Heald added that the issue of students solely paying for their insurance is somewhat irrelevant to many students.

“I am fortunate enough that my health care bills are always accounted for,” Heald said. “I personally do not know anyone at Marquette who can’t pay for insurance.”

While some situations may force undergraduate students to larger health facilities like hospitals and clinics, Marquette does offer health care plans for graduate students through independent companies.

Tracy Tillman of Rust International Associates, one company with an insurance plan offered for Marquette graduate students, said her company’s plan costs about 30 to 40 percent less than typical insurance plans. She said the coverage is comprehensive and includes a drug card.

The plan is available to all full- and part-time graduate students carrying a credit load of 6 credits or more, according to the Marquette student health insurance web page.

According to the company’s website, coverage costs $500 to $600 per semester and ranges from basic coverage to premium prices.

Marquette also offers a voluntary student health insurance plan available to all undergraduate and graduate students through the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, which is underwritten by WPS Heath Insurance. The plan covers between 60 and 100 percent of cost depending on the health care provider. Student health centers are completely covered.

Some students, like international students at Marquette, may find difficulty in funding health insurance plans or transferring their coverage to American plans.

However, Tillman said because they have enrolled in a university and must pay tuition, such students have already proven their financial stability.

Heald said such assumptions may affect these students, because financial responsibility pertaining to tuition does not necessarily indicate sufficient funds for health care.

“It’s wrong to assume since they have money for tuition, they can also pay for health care,” Heald said.

Renay Austin, manager of patient access and registration at Aurora Sinai Hospital on Wells Street, noted the influx of Marquette students seeking health treatment and said students use both their parents’ insurance and student-coverage plans.

Austin described Marquette as a prestigious university with few students lacking insurance or adequate funds to pay for their healthcare needs.

She added that Marquette seemingly serves patients in self-diagnosing their students as needed, but admits that certain situations must require hospitalization, and in turn, insurance payments.

Undergraduates seeking university-provided insurance may consult the university’s Office of Risk Management, where numerous healthcare options are offered. However, such plans are equal in price to graduate plans.

Marquette’s Student Health Service was unavailable for comment as of press time.

Winter captured Marquette’s first-ever conference title with a time of 1:52.99. The Golden Eagles finished 9th at the championship meet, their highest finish since 2006.

“Going into the race I had a lot of confidence to at least get top three,” Winter said. “I knew what the race was going to be like, and that it was going to be a tactical race.”

The strategy on when to kick was all planned out ahead of time between Winter and coach Bert Rogers.

“We knew it going into the meet that (Winter) was going to be a contender,” Rogers said. “After the prelims and the field sorted out, we both knew that he had an actual chance to win it. It went as we hoped.”

Sprinting captain Tyler O’Brien ran in what Rogers called “the deepest 200-meter field” in the last few years. The senior tied his school sprinting record in the preliminary round at the banked track at the Armory — a distinct advantage for runners — and then ran .10 seconds slower in the finals resulting in a seventh place finish.

Redshirt junior Jack Hackett ran a tactical race by coming out of the gates strong and leading early on. In 2011, he had placed and scored for Marquette and not much would change in 2012 with his time of 4:11.30, good for fifth place. He added four points to the Marquette total.

Upperclassmen that had toured New York City and the Armory before knew that it would be strictly business on their visit in 2012 and that there was no need to get caught up in the lights.

Senior thrower Jonathan Kusoswki set the Marquette record in the weight throw with a 63 feet and 1/4 inch toss. He said he had been waiting for a performance like this one after missing time due to a back injury.

“We took it as any other week. We didn’t want to get ourselves too excited,” Kusowski said. “Once we got there, the atmosphere took over for itself. It felt good, and everything pieced together to get the throw that I was looking for.”

Even sophomore Carlye Schuh didn’t see an issue with the setting. Before the meet, she was hoping to break the 19 foot mark —a goal she achieved with a leap of 19 feet and 1 1/2 inches, moving to second in the Marquette record book. Schuh would score four of the six points for the women’s team, which would finish in 15th place with six points.

There will be one more indoor meet as the Alex Wilson Invitational takes place at Notre Dame in two weeks and could serve as a last chance meet for upperclassmen to move up in the record books. For those not competing, Rogers has decided to amp up the intensity of training and conditioning.

“We’re going to start gearing up with some hard training for the next couple weeks as we prep for the outdoor season,” Rogers said.

The Rev. Douglas Leonhardt, associate vice president of Marquette’s Office of Mission and Ministry, celebrated Mass and delivered the homily to kick off Mission Week Sunday evening at the Church of the Gesu. He was scheduled to hold the Mass with University President the Rev. Scott Pilarz, but Pilarz was unable to officiate due to illness. Leonhardt was excited for the week’s events.

“Mission Week calls the community to reflect on the mission of Marquette as a Catholic Jesuit University from different perspectives,” Leonhardt said in an email. “This year it is through the lens of the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke’s Gospel. From this parable comes the theme of Mission Week.”

With a variety of events occurring each day of the week, Leonhardt said students, faculty and the public can choose which event is right for them and see what they can do to make a difference.

“We will focus on our neighbors who are local, national and international,” Leonhardt said. “We will reflect on and examine how we can network with the neighbors to connect, support and learn from them.”

The week’s events are highlighted by keynote speaker Bernard Amadei, founding president of Engineers Without Borders, who will speak today (Tuesday) at 4 p.m. in the AMU ballrooms. Ash Wednesday services at the Church of Gesu and Chapel of the Holy Family will also be held, and Phil Nyden, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Urban Research and Learning at Loyola University in Chicago, will speak Thursday about combining university and community knowledge in research. Thursday, there will be a screening of the work-in-progress documentary “Old South” by College of Communication professional-in-residence Danielle Beverly.

The Rev. Edward Mathie, director of Campus Ministry, attended another event, a discussion Monday morning on the hookup culture in the U.S. by Jennifer Beste, associate professor of theological ethics at Xavier University in Cinncinnati.

“The conversation was terrific,” Mathie said. “She was absolutely marvelous. … She has been working on this for seven years or so at Xavier and what she has is fresh data from listening to students. This is incredible.”

Beverly has been working on “Old South” for three years. Two College of Communication seniors, Ciara Jones and Sade Hood, who are assisting in the production.

The documentary follows the second-oldest black neighborhood in the state of Georgia as it faces gentrification by a University of Georgia fraternity that holds an annual antebellum parade and flies a Confederate flag both during the parade and outside its house.

Beverly noted that since she began her filming process, the fraternity has been instructed to take down its Confederate flag after the parade stopped in front of an all-black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, which was celebrating the foundation of its chapter.

The fraternity was secretly given money by the university to occupy the land three blocks from campus, but one four-generation family refused to give in to the buyout and “leads the fight to indicate why it’s hurtful,” Beverly said.

After showing a few clips from the film, there will be a discussion and reception.

“I’m eager to hear people’s reactions,” Beverly said. “It’s about a university and their ignoring of the very community they live in. … If any real change will occur, it will be with the young people.”

Ed. note for logo: This story is part of a Marquette Student Media collaboration for Mission Week. Check online later in the week for coverage from Student Media Interactive on the Tribune’s website, and from the Marquette Journal. 

Between 11:48 a.m. and 11:49 a.m. a student reported that unknown person(s) removed her unsecured, unattended property estimated at $1,920 from the AMU. MPD was contacted.

Thursday, Feb. 16

At 3:12 p.m. a person not affiliated with Marquette trespassed in the AMU and was taken into custody by MPD.

At 7:52 p.m. a student reported that unknown person(s) removed his unsecured, unattended property estimated at $255 from Valley Fields.

Between 7:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. unknown person(s) entered a student’s secured, unattended vehicle in the 900 block of N. 17^th Street. Nothing was taken, and the vehicle was not damaged.

Friday, Feb. 17

At 2:19 p.m, a student reported that an unknown person(s) accessed his logged-in email account without his consent in the AMU.

Saturday, Feb. 18

At 12:51 a.m. a student reported being sexually assaulted by a student acquaintance in an alley in the 900 block of N. 15^th Street between 11:54 p.m. and 11:56 p.m. on Fri., 2/17. MPD was contacted.

Sunday, Feb. 19

At 2:21 a.m. a student acted in a disorderly manner outside Campus Town East.

At 3:14 a.m., MPD took a student into custody for abusing the 911 system outside a business in the 1600 block of W. Wells Street.

Between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., DPS observed a person not affiliated with Marquette loitering outside a business in the 1600 block of W. Wisconsin Ave. MPD was contacted and took the subject into custody for outstanding citations.

At 7:36 p.m., a student was in possession of a controlled substance in Abbottsford Hall. MPD was contacted.

At 9:16 p.m., a student reported being sexually assaulted by a student acquaintance in a residence in the 900 block of N. 17^th St. between 12 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. MPD was contacted.

Down 2-1 late in the third period in the Mid Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association’s Championship game, the Marquette men’s hockey club went all in, pulling their goalie to get an extra attacker on the ice in hopes of sending the game into overtime.

The Golden Eagles ended up conceding an empty-net goal to Robert Morris and losing 3-1, but those on the Marquette roster believe their team gained much more than it lost.

“Getting to that game was big for our club,” said Will Jurgensen, junior and team captain. “All year our club has grown in status around campus through our Facebook and Twitter profiles, and we were able to string together a lot of wins to back up the talk and make a name for ourselves.”

The Golden Eagles cruised through the regular season, finishing with a 20-3-1 record and securing the No. 1 seed for the MACHA North Division. Sophomore forward Kevin Dolan said the season wasn’t without its rough moments, but that the Golden Eagles dealt with its issues quicker than anyone had anticipated.

“I had high expectations for our team, and we exceeded them,” Dolan said. “We brought in a new coach and a few new freshmen so I expected that there would be some growing pains. They were there during the first six games, but then we went on to win 17 of our last 18.”

In the playoffs Marquette knocked out Missouri State 4-2 in the quarterfinals and defeated McHenry College 5-4 in the semifinals, earning the right to square off against Robert Morris, the No. 1 seed in the MACHA South Division, in the championship.

Jurgensen said his team was well aware of the scale of the game going in, and that it was the first time the Golden Eagles would have been considered underdogs all season.

“That championship game was probably one of our best played games of the season,” Jurgensen said. “We had watched (Robert Morris) completely destroy their playoff competition first hand, and we knew that we would have to play our best hockey of the year to have a chance, and I think we came really close to that.”

Goaltender RJ Bennett, the team’s lone senior, said Robert Morris’ experience factored into the loss, but that Marquette’s youthful talent, on the other hand, gives the Golden Eagles the chance for a bright future.

“They were the more experienced team. They had a couple of guys who were 24 and 25 years old, and I’m the oldest player on our team at 22,” Bennett said. “The fact that we got so far this year with half of our team being new and that I’m the only player leaving this year gives them a great foundation. This was by far the most talented team I’ve been a part of.”

Bennett said that the team’s success along with its efforts at branding itself has increased its presence on campus in a big way.

“We had a lot more presence on and off the ice this season,” Bennett said. “I feel that we are the most recognized we have ever been. It’s almost like being a basketball player with strangers coming up to us and congratulating us and wishing us well.”

Jurgensen said even off-campus interest in the club has reached an unprecedented  level after Marquette’s big run.

“The number of emails I’ve already received from kids who are interested in playing hockey here is unbelievable,” Jurgensen said. “We’ve gotten emails from a lot of other teams as well who have seen what we are able to do and want us to play them. It’s huge for us because we weren’t really anything special before this season.”

The report suggested possible factors contributing to the rise including a provision in the state budget that allows Milwaukee students to attend any private school in the state, the expansion of the voucher program to include all of Milwaukee County and the City of Racine and increased voucher eligibility to families of four.

In addition, once a student is eligible for a voucher, they remain eligible for following years even if the family’s income grows beyond the cap. Milwaukee’s voucher program is the oldest in the nation.

The forum’s report also found many of the new voucher students had actually already been enrolled in private schools.

“We looked at the total enrollment for each school voucher and non-voucher students,” said Jeff Schmidt, a Public Policy Forum researcher. “If they grew more (in) vouchers than enrollment, we assumed the students were already enrolled in private schools.”

Schmidt said it won’t be certain until next year how big of an impact the regulatory changes had on the enrollment spike.

Coinciding with the new regulatory changes, though, 2,202 additional students are using vouchers, each costing $6,442, which increases the program’s total cost by $14.2 million.

Marquette Educational Policy and Leadership associate professor Ellen Eckman said there are some issues with the new regulatory change.

“The difficulty is that (the regulatory changes) were never approved,” Eckman said. “The state is having trouble making these schools accountable. There is declining enrollment in public schools and it is difficult for taxpayers.”

Others, like Marquette political science associate professor John McAdams, said the expansion of the voucher program is ultimately a good thing for education in the state.

“There is pretty good evidence that competition makes public schools better,” McAdams said. “People aligned with public schools would rather have a monopoly. They’re like the American auto industry fighting Japanese imports decades ago. But now American cars are pretty good because of it.”

McAdams said vouchers provide an option for parents who see their kids struggling in public schools.

“(Voucher schools) tend to get students who are struggling because parents want to look somewhere else (besides public schools),” McAdams said.

Eckman disagreed with that mentality.

“They are both taxpayer-funded schools,” Eckman said. “You have one large group of schools scrutinized and another one that is not.”

The forum’s report showed that standardized test scores for the 2010-2011 school year, in which the first-year voucher schools were required to administer standardized tests, were lower among voucher schools than public schools. Data is not yet available for the 2011-2012 school year.

You hear the superlatives every telecast.

“This Marquette team has more intensity than any team in the country.”

“Marquette plays harder than you. And I don’t care who you are.”

“The Golden Eagles practice harder than most teams play.”

ESPN analyst Len Elmore dubbed Marquette the junkyard dogs a few seasons ago for their scrappy, never-day-die style of play, and now the whole country has bought in to this frame of mind that the reason the Golden Eagles play like warriors is because of the rugged training they undergo every day.

I don’t buy it.

As any good journalism professor would tell their students, you have to show, not tell. I can’t just say Jae Crowder should be a lock for an All-Big East First Team selection.

If I want to be taken seriously I have to show you that he has the second best offensive rating in the conference according to Ken Pomeroy’s stats, behind only Kevin Jones, scoring 16.2 points per game and grabbing a shade under eight boards.

So when I hear national analysts rave about Marquette’s work ethic and practice ethos I can’t help but be a bit skeptical. It’s my nature to want to see proof.

As a wise woman once told me, believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.

With this as my basis, I petitioned the Marquette athletic department to be allowed to see a practice at the beginning of the year. I wanted to see for myself what exactly made their practices so special.

I was told the chances were slim but they would see as the year went on.

October, November, December and half of January passed by the time I decided to once again put in a request to see a practice, this time with a qualifier that I need not see the full thing, just an hour or so.

Nope.

I understand the Marquette Tribune name doesn’t carry the same weight as the ESPN or Journal Sentinel brands do — whose reporters are routinely green-lighted with access — but at some point, it’s not enough to simply mollify the big boys.

Take a look at what one of the premier basketball schools in the country did just last week. Kentucky is no stranger to success, leading the nation with 51 NCAA Tournament appearances — Marquette is tied for 11th with 29 — and is fresh off a trip to the Final Four last year, yet it still caters to the peons.

The Wildcats opened up the doors to their Memorial-Coliseum practice facilities on Wednesday and allowed all students, faculty and staff to watch practice. About 2,000 people showed up for the one-of-a-kind event, including ESPN camera crews that transmitted the practice live via ESPNU.

Now I get that the fervor over Kentucky basketball in the bluegrass state is akin to year-round Linsanity so I’m not using this as an example of how committed fans are, but rather how beneficial openness is.

What is the Marquette athletic department scared of? If we got to see a practice would it be like Dorothy pulling back the curtain on the Wizard?

I think not. Fans love Marquette and are dying to get more information about what makes this spunky bunch tick.

Last season a camera crew followed Marquette from bootcamp up to the game against the Badgers, providing never-before-seen coverage of what goes into becoming a successful team, all the while turning mundane activities into marketing gold.

One of the first episodes shows Buzz calling a team meeting and giving a life lesson about how their true character is revealed through adversity. It is inspiring and portrays exactly why he is such a special coach.

Here’s another chance for priceless marketing. I’m not even saying open up the Al to everyone for a practice — although I do think it’s a great way to manufacture interest. We’ll prove its worthwhile. Just let a few non big-wigs get in on the action.

The initiative includes monthly “1MU” discussions for first-generation students, as well as groups called Multicultural MEN (Male Empowerment Network) for males from underrepresented backgrounds and DIVA (Diverse Individuals Valuing Another) for women from underrepresented backgrounds.

John Janulis, interim coordinator for Multicultural Affairs, said the series is intended to help students build relationships with other students and also as a place where students can talk about the issues they may be facing, including academics or even getting settled on campus. He said the aim is for the dialogues to be student-led and student-centered.

“I’m a 30-year-old white male who works full time here,” Janulis said. “I don’t experience the university the same way as students. We want students to talk about issues they way they want to talk about them.”

Janulis said GPS can hopefully accomplish just that.

“Our role in Multicultural Affairs is to create an opportunity for students to dictate what gets talked about, how it gets talked about and for students to become agents in themselves in navigating the university and creating change,” he said.

Carla Cadet, assistant dean of Multicultural Affairs, said the different groups have common threads, including students building leadership skills and community with each other and Marquette. She said GPS also hopes to help more students stay at Marquette.

“As we look to support different communities — racial, first-generation, LGBT students — one way we thought we could help shape and build communities within these groups is to allow students to feel connected with the campus to stay at Marquette for all four to five years of their college experience,” Cadet said.

But the groups are not focused on the idea that something is wrong with the university, Janulis said.

“We view this as a bunch of people passionate around the issues, sharing their experiences on campus and how to help each other be successful at Marquette,” he said.

Jennifer Solorio, a senior in the College of Communication, attended the first-generation college student discussion and enjoyed it.

“I’m a second semester senior and haven’t seen much outreach to first-generation students,” Solorio said. “The series is very much needed — first-generation goes beyond race and economic background. I would definitely love to continue working on it.”

Cadet said GPS will provide insight into other ways to reach out to students, but it will take time to raise awareness of the new series.

“It’s really about students finding what other students are doing, what faculty or department can help, how different campus resources can help provide answers and letting students learn from other students about different access points,” Cadet said. “It’s an opportunity for students in population to get together and offer perspectives.”

The annual concert, set for March 29 in the AMU, will pair the Huntington Beach, Calif.-based group, famous for their 2006 hit song “Here (In Your Arms),” with local band The Fatty Acids.

MUSG commissioner and senior Kathleen Ward said she thinks The Fatty Acids will be popular with the Marquette community.

“[Their genre] is definitely something positive that would fit well into Marquette’s mission, but we also just loved their music,” she said.

Josh Evert, singer and keyboardist for the band, said he’s excited to work with Hellogoodbye.

“It’s really cool to be able to open for Hellogoodbye,” he said. “This isn’t our first time playing in front of a large crowd, so we’re not too stressed about it.”

Like Hellogoodbye, The Fatty Acids’ music falls into the pop genre. The band has released two LPs since forming in 2007: 2010′s “Stop Berries, Berries, and Berries, Berries” and 2011′s “Leftover Monsterface.”

“I think song writing for me has always been an emotional outlet; I just write about whatever is engaging me at the time, whether it’s personally or politically,” Evert said.

Evert said The Fatty Acids, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, enjoy playing for college students. He said it will be their first time on the Marquette campus.

“We want to play on campuses as much as we can because that’s where we find a responsive audience and get to meet people our own age,” Evert said.

MUSG co-commissioner and College of Communication sophomore Sasha Molin booked both bands along with Ward, choosing The Fatty Acids based on their locality and genre.

“I’ve seen The Fatty Acids in concert a couple times,” Molin said. “They’re like the old Hellogoodbye, but with more lights.”

This year’s concert is the first in which the headlining band was chosen by students. A survey sent out in the fall semester offered a number of bands as options, including Secondhand Serenade, Voice Avenue and Lights.

“I know a lot of students think MUSG makes all the decisions, so this was a good way to make them feel involved,” Molin said. “I think the fact that students voted for Hellogoodbye is going to make the show that much more enjoyable.

“There were bands we were rooting for, but we didn’t try to persuade the students either way.”

Tickets for students will be on sale today in the Brooks Lounge for $12. Tickets for the general public go on sale March 6, for $15.