The Torch Online

New dorm upsets Queens residents

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

It seems time does not heal all wounds.
The community living near the latest St. John's off-campus residence building, located on 172-14 Henley Road, said they still are unhappy over their incoming college neighbors, nearly two years after the University's first announcement of the dorm's construction.

Room selection process frustrates some students

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

This year's room selection process has undergone some major changes. Instead of being a one-day process, it is now taking place over the course of an entire week, from Monday, April 20 to Friday, April 25.
Dominic Petruzzeli, director of Residence Life, said he feels a week-long room selection is more beneficial to everyone in the long run.

SJU creates partnership with successful bank

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

St. John's gained a new ally in the business field over the weekend when Dr. Muhammad Yunus, one of the world's leading figures in microfinance and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, visited to announce a partnership between the University and Grameen Bank.

Originally established in Bangladesh by Yunus, the bank is known for giving small loans to people who are unable to secure loans from standard banks in an effort to lift them out of poverty.

SJU reveals commencement speaker for Queens campus

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Rwandan Genocide survivor and author Immaculée Ilibagiza will deliver the commencement address at this year's graduation on the Queens campus, University officials announced yesterday.

Ilibagiza is the author of the New York Times best-selling autobiography, Left to Tell, which chronicles her 91 days spent in a bathroom with seven other women to escape the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.

St. John's "taking out the trash" for Recyclemania

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

St. John's finished in the 35th percentile across New York State and in the 46th percentile across the nation in its first year in Recyclemania, according to the results released on April 17.

Recyclemania is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-sponsored 10-week national recycling and waste minimization competition from Jan.

Student seeks to form gay awareness group on campus

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Sophomore Kyle Collins is in the process of organizing a student-led initiative to create an official lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) group on the Queens campus by petitioning students and co-sponsoring events on campus to increase awareness.

Food services at SJU have seen their ups and downs

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

In the last four years, I have written often about conditions on campus that affect the lives of St. John's students. I have written about the construction that has turned our campus into an obstacle course of dirt piles and cut down available parking spots for commuters, the effectiveness of the laptop program and how it can better serve students, the intricacies of the housing selection process, and possible ways to improve the turnout of SGI elections.

Gate 7 has a long history with Queens students

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

St. John's has been, of late, fining students for climbing a ladder. A well situated, convenient, University-built ladder, right here on campus.

The ladder in question, also known as the gate at Gate 7, has been the cause for strife among some students and administrators since the controversial decision was made to close it at 7 p.

Has the St. John's experience improved in the past four years? No

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

It is a question you hear every election season: are you better off now than you were four years ago? Graduating seniors at St. John's may be asking themselves that question this year as they prepare to move on from their college lives, having spent the last four years here.

Has the St. John's experience improved in the past four years? Yes

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

In retrospect, it's often hard to tell what has changed more: our environments or ourselves. Four years ago, I came to St. John's with little perspective and little idea of what I wanted out of life. Now, preparing to leave, I have no more an idea of where I'll end up than when I started.

Administration goes survey happy on student e-mails

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Every student at St. John's can attest to the constant flow of surveys and University e-mails that seem to clutter up their inboxes on a daily basis. On one hand, the University e-mailing system provides a convenient way for the school to stay in contact with their students.

From right to left

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

I had it all planned.

The few and proud who put themselves through the weekly reading of the words in this space know that I have been saying the same thing, in different ways, for weeks.
Norm Roberts and Lance Stephenson have been the protagonists of the story I've been trying to tell for a while now.

Odds without ends

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

When I began my tenure as Editor-in-Chief as a sophomore in Spring 2007, the University was reeling from one of the most controversial decisions it had made in recent history - a controversy that, two years later, half the current undergraduate student body likely has never
heard about.

Scene and heard

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Gossip-we're all guilty of it-intentionally or not. While in real life, gossiping can be hurtful, let's face it-it's also addictively fun. But the characters on my favorite TV show, Gossip Girl, take talking about each other to a whole new level, and I have to admit, I love every second of it.

Has Twitter become as big a phenomenon as Facebook?

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

When senior Andrew Conti first came to St. John's in 2005, Facebook was the obvious social networking site of choice for most college students. Four years later, though, a slew of new networking sites have appeared on the Internet, with Twitter leading the pack - so much so that it has emerged as one of Conti's favorite new services.

Capturing the 'Red Storm' spirit

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

If there's one thing that interests college students, it's Internet videos.

Walk around any college campus, and you will hear at least one conversation about the latest and greatest YouTube craze. Look at a college student's Facebook page and you'll see links to their favorite videos.

Flames of the Torch

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

If you have participated in the Office of Residence Life's 2009 room selection process, you may have some negative things to say about your experience acquiring a room for next year.

This year's room selection process has been modified significantly from past years, the biggest change being the switch from a single Saturday to a week-long event.

Running for a cause

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Senior Andrew Conde is up for a major challenge: he, along with senior Sean McGrath and recent graduate Rory Quinn, are preparing to run in the Long Island Marathon on May 3.

The race begins in Nassau County on Charles Lindbergh Blvd. in Uniondale and ends at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow.

A story that is almost inspiring

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The sports film genre is a dangerously tricky one. Any sport can provide a great, heart-wrenching tale if you look hard enough. But when it comes to capturing that story on film, it is very easy for the story to fall victim to severe melodrama, or simply be too complicated to be told well.

Art in Twenty Six Letters

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Tangled Alphabets is a bizarre exhibit that has recently opened at the Museum of Modern Art and is going to be turning heads while on display from April 5 to June 15. The exhibit was put together by Latin American conceptual artists, León Ferrari and Mira Schendel.

Conspiracy gets creative

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Films about government conspiracy have run rampant as of late, and exhausted audiences often dread seeing the same actors play the same parts over and over. When a movie is able to break the mold and make this tired concept work in a new and interesting way, audiences rejoice with this breath of fresh air.

Distinctively Bob Dylan

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Since 1962, there have been three things certain in life: death, taxes, and a new Bob Dylan studio album every couple of years. And next week will see the release of Dylan's latest studio recording - his 33rd, to be exact - entitled Together Through Life. The album, thrown together in far less time than 2001's Love and Theft and 2006's Modern Times, serves as a musical departure from those aforementioned masterpieces.

NYC's favorite film festival

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Seven years ago, in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro developed a film festival to help New York City celebrate the culture that it is famous for.

That was the beginning of The Tribeca Film Festival, which is now recognized as one of the most important film festivals in the world.

Televison goes wired

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Just as the Internet has developed legitimacy over the years, the activities created through it have also become validated. As a result, Web series have become one of today's most popular entertainment forms.

The popularity of Web series first swelled during the 2007-08 Writers' Strike.

Twitter to a promotion

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

All that time you spend on Facebook and following your buddies on Twitter will finally pay off.

According to Dan Schawbel, a personal branding expert, this may actually not be so farfetched. In his new book Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, he claims that the power of social media such as Facebook, blogging, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn can be used to our advantage.

After ten years, Red Storm athletics to get a mascot

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Get ready for a big addition to the Red Storm roster.

After a near 10-year hiatus, St. John's sports teams will once again have a mascot. Starting Thursday and lasting until May 4, students, alumni, fans and faculty will have the opportunity to vote for a costumed presence on the sidelines of Red Storm athletic contests.

Hall of Fame St. John's basketball coach Lou Carnesecca talks hoops recruits and New York's team

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The Torch: Do you miss coaching?

Looie: No, but I have a good reason. I was there 22 years. I left with a good taste. I got burnt out, and I got a lot done. After 22 years, it was time for me to go.

Dean Smith and John Wooden still have offices at North Carolina and UCLA and give advice to Roy Williams and Ben Howland.

Johnnies struggle to find their young pitching staff's identity against Cincinnati

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

A new shift in team philosophy is never a simple transition for any college baseball team.

Last year, the St. John's baseball team relied mainly on its depth of talented pitching staff, which led it to its second consecutive Big East regular-season title as well as, for five of them, the MLB First Year Player Draft.

SJU lacrosse falls to Notre Dame for sixth straight loss

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The St. John's lacrosse team continued its fall from grace on Sunday by losing to No. 3 Notre Dame, 12-2. It was the team's sixth consecutive loss since defeating then-No. 5 Georgetown on Feb. 28, a victory that earned a national ranking.

Seniors Bobby Fitton and Trevor Michaelsen had goals for the Red Storm, while senior captain Jamal Jones and rookie Harry Kutner each added an assist.

Softball coach Kvilhaug says team's recent slide is not a major concern

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Though the St. John's softball team finished last week with a 2-3 record after splitting series with South Florida and Seton Hall and falling to Long Island University, head coach Amy Kvilhaug doesn't think the recent slide is a cause for concern.

"I thought we had a lot of good things come out of the week," Kvilhaug said.

The Torch Managerial Board LXXXIV

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:00:00 GMT

Biographical and contact information for The Torch Managerial Board LXXXIV

College Newspaper Awards

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:00:00 GMT

A complete listing of recent awards won by The Torch