World Loses Star, Daughter Loses Mother

Whitney Houston’s explosive career lasted for three decades. Within these years she earned two Emmys, six Grammys, 22 American Music Awards, and 30 Billboard Awards.

Sadly, this “musical dream” came to a tragic end on Feb. 11, when the iconic singer passed away at the age of 48. According to Sky News, the singer was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Houston’s hairdresser and bodyguard discovered her body when they went to check on her because she was late for an interview.

Police found prescription drugs used to treat anxiety in Houstons’ room. These drugs included Xanax, Valium, and Lorazepam. In addition, according to TMZ, she had beer and champagne with her last meal. Consequently, there are many rumors and speculations circulating which are attributing Houston’s death to a mixture of these substances.

The world found out about Houston’s passing in a very “21st century manner.” According to CBS News, the first time the singer’s death was shared with the public was on Twitter through Whitney’s hairdresser’s niece’s tweet.

Houston leaves behind an 18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown. Brown has been hospitalized for extreme stress twice since her mother’s death. Additionally, according to the Hundustan Times, Brown is now on suicide watch. It is reported that she is inconsolable and has been conveying that she no longer wishes to live.

Although Houston’s death has made news headlines for days due to her stardom, it is important to remember that at the end of the day, she was a mother. This fragmented family is now forced to mourn with the eyes of the world upon them.

 -Kim Nania

Social Media Manager

#LoveIsLouder Brings Attention to Anti-Bullying Movement

There is a new movement flooding the social networking world. #LoveIsLouder is a phrase that is starting to trend in the Twitter world. Actress Brittany Snow, MTV, and The Jed Foundation, started the program. Hundreds of thousands of people are joining this movement to raise awareness against bullying, negative self-image, discrimination, loneliness, and depression.

Anybody can join the movement, tweeting positive tweets and using the “hashtag” #LoveIsLouder to show support in the fight to end these issues. Pictures of celebrities are trending with the phrase #LoveIsLouder written on their hand. The overall message is that love is louder than any voice that brings you down. You can even shop #LoveIsLouder gear at their website (KIM PUT THIS LINK IN FOR THE WORD WEBSITE: www.loveislouder.com/store/storebutton). Joining the movement is as easy as clicking a button, you can follow the foundation at https://twitter.com/#!/LoveisLouder.

If Twitter isn’t the social networking site of your choice you can like the foundation on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/#!/joinloveislouder, along with 109,798 people already. The strategy behind the movement is simple. According to the site, “The Love is Louder movement is all about taking action. Some actions are simple like reading positive messages that remind us we aren’t alone or uploading our photos or artwork.”

We have all been through tough times and have looked for the support of others to get through it. This movement is working to fight the words that hurt and bring us down. The foundation asks for your help, saying, “With your help, we are getting even louder.”

 -Brittany Mezzancello

Asst. Sports Editor

10 Guilty Pleasures

When living in a house with six girls, you can imagine the effort behind making time for the gym and stocking our refrigerator with organic food from Trader Joe’s.

Eating healthy has always been important, but it has recently become a “cool trend” among students as opposed to just a necessity. I personally will never be able to completely give up a fountain soda of Sprite and an order of cheese fries, which is why after the end of a long week full of stress and an even longer weekend full of hangovers, nothing is better than ending it with a Fat Sunday.

It is a day that used to be considered Sunday Funday, but has reinvented itself into another new ‘cool trend’ around campus. It consists of doing absolutely nothing but camping out on the couch with some friends and eating anything and everything that is unhealthy. It allows even the biggest health freak to indulge in their guilty pleasures.

Below are my top 10 recommended guilty pleasures that will be worth every penny even on a tight college budget. Enjoy!

1.     Merit Canteen’s BLT with melted cheese and a large order of French fries

2.     Chipotle

3.     Nachos with hot sauce

4.     A black and white milkshake from Coldstone

5.     Sour belts (or any candy that is gummy and sour for that matter)

6.     Five Guys bacon cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles

7.     Salt and vinegar chips

8.     Homemade rice crispy treats

9.     Penne alla Vodka

10.  Onion Rings

- Kim Rooney

 Asst. Mind and Body Editor

The Three Weeks of the Super Bowl

In reality the Super Bowl lasts for three weeks. It lasts from the last game, where we find out who is in the Super Bowl all the way up until the week after it. Why?

It gives the fans something to talk about as well as resting the players up for the big game. I know that at Sacred Heart it started right after that last playoff game, I saw students immediately wearing their jerseys and shirts around campus to support either the New York Giants or the New England Patriots.

I thought it would stop there. It definitely didn’t.

We started to receive e-mails the weeks before the Super Bowl about the party foods that Chartwells was selling, and even our professors were bold enough to ask who everyone was rooting for, which, in my classes, sparked many debates between the students. Our professors were sorry they had asked. Facebook blew up with the amount of statuses about the Super Bowl as well as individual players. Photos either bashing the Giants or Patriots circled the social media website that sparked arguments between the different fan bases.

Things almost went to a standstill the week before the game but gathered in intensity, as it grew closer. I know that my entire house was divided: Giants fans against Patriots fans. However, we came together with a common goal in mind, and that was food, commercials, and the halftime show. I live out in Stratford on the beach so it was only natural that we wanted to host the party. We made all of our food and talked about either how bad or how good Madonna was during the halftime show — not to mention had a good laugh at the commercials that were playing and even got into debates about that as well.

On game day the tensions ran high both from the teams and the fans and in my house everyone was on the edge of their seats. It is bittersweet, and pretty awesome for those of us who are Giants fans. The overwhelming joy and enthusiasm skyrocketed after the Giants won (since we dominated the house) and we even had a celebratory drink afterwards.

The celebrations continued after the Super Bowl on Tuesday with the parade in New York City, where the team was given their keys to the city. From watching the parade on TV (unfortunately, since I had class…) it was pretty obvious that the fans were going crazy for their team and that the team members were having fun while they were on their floats, or sometimes off them. Victor Cruz even had the fans salsaing.

 -Brianna Vitlo

Style Editor

Understanding SOPA

SOPA—if you have a Facebook, use Google as your go to search engine, have a blog, or just use the Internet on a daily basis then you probably recognize this.

SOPA, the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” is a bill that seeks to protect copyright material and stop any piracy of content on the Internet. This includes copying an image without properly getting permission from the source and downloading a movie or song illegally. I personally never heard of SOPA or would have even given it a second glance if it weren’t for the massive public boycott of the bill by major sites as such as Google, Twitter, Yahoo, and Wikipedia.

If you went on Google on Thursday, Jan. 19, you would’ve seen the famous Google logo completely blocked in a form of protest against this bill. Even though the bill targets copyright laws, many organizations and individuals who protest it are doing so because of the risk of censorship of the Internet. Basically, the main issue that the terms of this bill are very broad, so any website that may contain copyrighted material will be targeted by officials. In essence, it is a legal issue and the penalties of being caught are extremely serious.

Many people oppose this bill on the grounds that the Internet will become a place that is severely restricted. Bloggers will constantly be afraid of releasing information that would be deemed “stolen” by the government; therefore, they would have to be really careful about what they can put up on their blogs. It seems only right that things like movies and music should be protected, but in a lot of instances this information is not stolen but instead shared with others on the Internet. For example, if I love a TV show and find an image from the latest episode and put it up on my blog then under SOPA I could be harshly penalized because I didn’t properly get permission from the production company. Also, if SOPA were to be passed then I probably wouldn’t have even gotten access to the image in the first place.

Overall, SOPA would mean monumental changes for the type of information you can have access to and be able to share with your friends. For now, the bill has been delayed due to public opposition. Most of the Internet community fears that the bill could mean the end of freedom of speech and expression.

-Felicia Carlini

Mind and Body Editor

Tips for Weathering Winter Roads

Two Januaries ago a huge storm hit Southern Connecticut and consequently my hometown of Stratford, Conn. The day the storm hit was also my best friend’s birthday. I planned to take her to Panera and I really didn’t want to cancel on her because I had previously canceled two of our planned lunch dates. Therefore, I decided to brave the snow and ice and drive to her house.

As I was leaving my house my mother told me that she thought it was a bad idea for me to go out. Of course I disregarded this comment — I’m a good driver and it was just a little ice.

Things went smoothly as I drove a cautious 20 mph down the main road. I soon had to turn down a steep hill and I neglected to fully stop at the stop sign in front of the incline. Once on the hill I began to accelerate very quickly and I pushed my foot down onto the brakes, which slid. At this point I began to get nervous because at the bottom of the hill there was an SUV stopped at a stop sign. I swerved my car to the right in an attempt to avoid the SUV, but realized that if I kept going right I would run my car into the front window of a house. I turned back to the street and had no other choice but to let my car speed down the hill. The nose of my car ended up going underneath the SUV, crushing the radiator and totaling the car.

The snowy months are fast approaching and many of you may find yourselves in a similar situation. Although I completely understand that there are times when we must leave the house in terrible weather; there are also instances in which our errands or friends can wait. You must never forget that winter road conditions are dangerous — no matter how good of a driver you are or how big your car is.

In a perfect world we could all postpone class and work for snow and ice. However, in the real world this is not the case. Needless to say, there will be times when you simply must drive in icy and snowy conditions. In these situations you might want to consider some of the following tips.

1.      Always brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels begin to lock up you should start to ease your foot off the break.

2.      Keep your lights on and your windshield clean

3.      Do not assume that since you have an SUV you do not need to be careful in inclement weather. SUVs equipped with all-wheel-drive (AWD) can give a false sense of security. In reality all AWD can do is help you accelerate or keep moving; it will not help you keep traction on a snowy turn.

4.      Remember that the stopping distance on icy roads is twice that in regular conditions.

I know that these rules are boring; however it is essential for you to remember some basic information about safe driving in the winter weather. I was lucky. I was not hurt in my accident. Many other people are not so fortunate though. The recollection of just a few of these rules truly does have the ability to save your life.

-Kimberly Nania

Social Media Chair

Almost Time to Go

Spring semester 2012. It’s a time I’ve been waiting for since I began my studies at Sacred Heart back in fall of 2008. In a few short months that anticipated, dreaded, loaded day will be here — graduation. With just about three months left, I have to squeeze a lot of fun, work, and growing up into quite a small amount of time.

It seems, now more than ever, that there just aren’t enough hours in the day or days in the week. Between classes and Pioneer, Spectrum and mentoring, senior projects and independent studies, the time for a social life seems next to impossible. And of course I need to fit in the typical senior activities, hanging out with roommates, and going to visit friends. Though finding the time may be a struggle, I’m doing my best to take the time and enjoy my last semester.

And while I feel like I’m in my own personal crunch time, Pioneer is in its own crunch time (as always). Pioneer has been part of my Sacred Heart life since sophomore year so this semester is bittersweet for me. I’m trying to contribute to the best issue yet, but am also not ready to let it go.

Luckily, with Pioneer’s hectic beginning-of-the-semester schedule, there’s no time to think about missing it yet. We’re well into the spring issue and are currently in the beginning stages of writing article and planning photos and layouts, working hard. Updates will come throughout the semester. We hope you all enjoyed out last issue and will like the spring issue even more.

-Kelley Bligh

Editor-in-Chief

Enjoying Christmas: Like You Did When You Were Younger

December is notoriously stressful for everybody. However, for us college students, I think we have it harder than other people because we have to deal with the end of the semester crunch and finals on top of our Christmas shopping and other holiday preparations.

Remember the days when Christmas was an enchanting time? When it was something you looked forward to all year? I do, and I miss those days.

No, I don’t want to go back to being a child, but I want to be able to enjoy the holidays. After finals, I just want to sit on my couch eating Christmas cookies (that my mother baked) and watch “Christmas Vacation.”

However, during past winter breaks, the first two weeks are spent frantically running to every mall in N.J. trying to find the perfect presents for my family and friends.

And then comes the wrapping. As someone with no artistic talents, I consider wrapping a fine art. As a perfectionist, my presents don’t go under the tree until they are literally picture perfect. It usually takes me a few tries to get the bows perfect and the wrapping looking like a Macy’s commercial.

It seems that as I’ve gotten older, Christmas is not as exciting as it used to be!

Yes, I get a thrill out of watching my family open their presents from me, however, they are usually not totally surprised because I got them something they asked for.

Then last year, during my family’s Christmas Eve party, my mood brightened, and I rediscovered the joy that Christmas brings.

Usually during present time, the adults hand out envelopes, now that most of the kids have grown up. However, some of my cousins have had children recently.

Last year, as we gathered around my cousin’s 2-year-old and watched her open her presents, and I saw her little face light up, my Grinch suddenly disappeared.

So yes, Christmas is different when you’re older, but that doesn’t mean it has to be any less exciting or joyful, especially when you remember what it’s really about.

As we get caught up in the commercialism of Christmas (not to sound like Charlie Brown), I think we forget what it’s all really about.

It’s not about the presents, the parties, the trees, or the decorations.

The holidays are about spending time with family and enjoying each other’s company. It’s about traditions — honoring old ones and creating new ones.

So if you’re feeling like Cindy Lou Who (“Where are You Christmas?”), Charlie Brown (“Can anyone tell me the meaning of Christmas?”), or the Grinch (simply hating it), just think of what Christmas means to you, and your spirits will brighten.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

- Arielle Mangiaracina

Elements Editor

Finals

It’s that time! Finals week is fast approaching and I am sure everyone is starting to freak out and starting to cram. Whether you have a ton of finals or only a few, there are a few tips that you can do to keep in mind as the weeks go on.

Make sure you sleep! It’s how the body and brain regenerate and lets you digest all of the information that you’ve just taken in. Make sure to shut down any social network site and any type of gaming devices, since they only take away from your studies and serve as a distraction. Make sure you eat — it’s energy for your brain and body, so make sure you are getting enough nutritional intakes. Take some time out for yourself and friends to give you a little pick-me-up while studying. Try not to cram too much … you most likely won’t retain any of the information that you are taking in.

Be sure you stake out your parking spots in the library lot and your favorite study room, because I guarantee you will be spending many, many hours there. Form study groups, since studying in groups of two or three people can help you while you’re trying to absorb information. If one person doesn’t know something maybe the other two can help to explain the material until you get it.

Good luck to everyone on their finals and have an amazing winter break!

- Brianna Vitlo

Style Editor

Autistic and Artistic

According to an article in the New York Times, an autistic 20-year-old named Justin Canha went to a job interview for cartoon drawing, which is a big talent and love of his. He surprised everyone there when he first walked in because he made a loud welcoming statement. Kate Stanton-Paule, a teacher from his school, was with Canha for the interview and is in charge of a program for students like Justin. They want these kids to have the same opportunities as everyone else, and want to help them to find jobs.

There are many different opinions on this subject. Some say that it may not be good for businesses to have autistic kids as workers, because they may not be able to work that well. Others feel that working is good for autistic kids because there will be less time needed for one-on-one care and these kids can discover their own potentials and talents.

I think autistic kids should be allowed a place in the workforce because many of them are very intelligent and talented. They deserve a chance like everyone else. I know an autistic young man who is related to a family friend. He graduated from Fairfield University and is now in his mid-twenties working for computers. He is very intelligent, but unfortunately, he cannot live on his own or do simple things like tying his shoes.

People like Justin and the young man I know have great skills to offer to businesses, so they should have every opportunity to receive a good, high-paying job. It is very good to know that people with autism are being accepted in the workforce and in society.

- Julie Baumgart

Asst. Elements Editor