The Award-Winning Student Newspaper of St. John's University
Access DeniedSome students upset over the University's room selection process
The 289 available spots in the new townhouses may have been filled during this year's room selection day on Saturday, April 12, but the housing procedure could not escape controversy.
Students complain that a points requirement for the townhouses was enforced during the beginning of the day, but as other on-campus accommodations filled to capacity later that day, students who would previously have been deemed ineligible were able to gain rooms in the townhouses because building space needed to be filled.…
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Odds without endsFinding the Perfect Balance
Tens of thousands of Americans tuned in this past weekend as Pope Benedict XVI said mass before 60,000 people at Yankee Stadium. The event, which concluded the Pope's historic trip to the United States, was considered by many to be the most pivotal moment of his visit.…
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'Iron Man' - a solid film
When Jon Favreau announced Robert Downey Jr. would be portraying billionaire playboy and self-built superhero, Iron Man, many questioned the decision. Did he have the swagger? Could he even pull off being a superhero in general? "Iron Man" has landed and the doubts have been put to rest: Robert Downey Jr.…
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Torch Online reviews: Radio Ready 2008
The annual Spring Concert, known as Radio Ready 2008, ended with a soulful ride as R&B artist Keyshia Cole gave her St. John's fans a performance to remember. The chant of "Keyshia, Keyshia!" erupted in the audience as hundreds of fans waited impatiently for her stage arrival.…
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Quality ControlGTA IV and Miley photos illustrate parents' need for supervision
Since you last saw this column, there were two events that were dominant within the entertainment industry: the release of Grand Theft Auto IV and the publication of Miley Cyrus' Vanity Fair photographs. My point is not to talk up Grand Theft Auto (though I could easily turn this into a weekly GTA blotter) or to judge Miley Cyrus.…
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InterrogationThe cast of Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay interviewed by Torch
In anticipation of "Harold and Kumar: Escape From Guantanamo Bay," we had the sat down with part of the film's cast for an interview. The following is a part what took place. Torch: How did the sequel come about? Kal Penn: It was put on hold for a while. Even after it was green-lit, we didn't know for a long time whether we were going to make a second one or not.…
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Torch Online Reviews: Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
It has been a couple years since we left our friends Harold and Kumar at their apartment building, fresh off a "successful" trip to White Castle. But although they got their burgers, Harold failed to get the girl -- so why not travel out of the country to get her?
That is where the new film, "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," takes off from.…
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HBO acquires rights to Dr. Brady's OpusSJU Communications Chair Dr. Frank Brady sells film rights to his acclaimed book about Bobby Fischer
To add to the numerous and noteworthy journalistic achievements of Dr. Frank Brady, Chairman of the Mass Communications Department, he has recently sold the rights to his book on the life of World Chess Champion Bobby Fisher. The book, entitled Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy, is going to be made into an HBO film.…
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Two guards downLarry Wright and Mike Cavataio decide to play their college basketball elswhere
Men's basketball head coach Norm Roberts made recent reports official when he announced Monday that guards Mike Cavataio and Larry Wright would be transferring from the University at the end of the academic semester. They are the eight and ninth players to transfer during Roberts' tenure as coach.…
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FeaturedTorch Receives accolades from press associationThe Torch was recently recognized by the American Scholastic Press Association, one of many national organizations for college newspapers. The newspaper received perfect scores for content coverage and art, advertising and illustrations. It also had very high scores in editing and creativity, giving it a score of 965 out of a possible 1000 points.Panel sheds light on health care industryThe St. John's chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives held their first healthcare panel in Council Hall on Saturday, April 19. The purpose of the event was for students interested in a future career in health care to gain more insight on the field.Cell phone drive aims to help soldiersSt. John's is taking part in a cell phone drive, sponsored by national non-profit organization, "Cell Phones for Soldiers." The goal of this group is to collect used cell phones, chargers and batteries and exchange them for prepaid calling cards for soldiers stationed out of the country.Project Runway's Mychael Knight speaks to St. John's studentsBest known for his appearance on season three of BRAVO's "Project Runway," the German born and Atlanta based fashion designer, Mychael Knight, shared with St. John's students his journey to success and the fashion business through his eyes on Thursday April 24, 2008 in the Little Theatre.Red Storm land second recruit for '08-'09Norm Roberts announced Wednesday that he received the Red Storm's second signed National Letter of Intent of the off-season. After signing combo guard Quincy Roberts on Tuesday, the men's basketball head coach introduced another high school guard to the Red Storm faithful: 6-foot-4 Kentucky All-State TyShwan Edmondson.ESPN, InStyle Reps Speak with StudentsFashion and sports, two topics that are usually located at opposite ends of the spectrum, came together when David Cummings of ESPN the magazine and Delora Jones of InStyle magazine were featured for a panel discussion on Monday, April 14 in Marillac Hall.King's CourtFinal (and midterm) gradesFor St. John's athletics, another year is nearly in the books and, while the teams saw their share of ups and downs, the collective overall standing of the programs is something to commend. As I embark on putting forth my final piece of wisdom to The Torch, I have graded each team's performance this season and, as much as it pains me to admit it, the grades are generally better than my own.SJU should get its priorities straightSt. John's outdid itself last week and made an administrative move infuriatingly representative of the endemic de-academicization plaguing our University, a move desecrating the symbol of most real universities' source of power, of knowledge: our library. The school is to be removing what I assume to be at least hundreds (but probably thousands) of books from the intellectual center of our University in order to build temporary offices.After-School All-Stars shoot for successThe national program After-School All-Stars and SJU team up to give underprivileged children opportunites to get ahead in life by focusing on academics and athleticsAccording to asasny.com, there are as many as fifteen million children who have nowhere to go after school in the United States. The program and the people dedicated to it are working to give these children a safe haven. After-School All-Stars is a national organization that was founded in 1993 in Los Angeles by Arnold Schwarzenegger, in which he offered a place for at-risk children to go.Suffering inspires SJU studentLegal Studies major Angelita Gonzalez publishes her first collection of poetrySt. John's University undergraduate Angelita Gonzalez has been through a lot in her short 20 years on Earth. Her father passed away in a tragic accident before she was a month old and her relationship with her mother is tumultuous to say the least. It is her confidence, personable attitude and natural beauty that shine through upon first meeting her, but Gonzalez offers the world a private look at her personal life in her first published work, Fly High, which was published in August 2007.Small forward on the big screenRed Storm's Otoja Abit to star in upcoming Film Club productionWhile many Division-I collegiate basketball players are anxiously anticipating this summer's NBA draft, St. John's own Otoja Abit has different plans. The six-foot-six senior forward, who joined the Red Storm as a walk-on in 2004, has ambitious goals of launching an acting career - a dream he has had since he was eight years old, before he even thought about playing basketball.Timely hitting takes down Tigers, Red Storm continue winning waysTwo-out hitting was the name of the game for St. John's last night against Princeton, as the Red Storm managed to knock in half of their runs with their backs against the wall in the Johnnies 6-2 victory at Jack Kaiser Stadium last night. "With two outs you can't try to do too much," said Gino Matias, who had a key two-RBI, two-out hit early in the game. |