Brian Izzo | The Informer

While drinks went down into students’ stomachs this weekend for Spring Fling, the men’s lacrosse team went down to Stony Brook with an overtime loss.

By a 10-9 score in the final home game on Al-Marzook field it only took six seconds for the Sea Wolves to score in the sudden death period and create a three-way tie for second place with Hartford, Stony Brook and UMBC.

“The kid made a great play,” Peter Lawerence, Hartford (7-5, 2-2) head coach said in a Hawks All-Access video on Stony Brook defender J.J. Laforet face-off win that lead to the game winner. “I wish we had just slid to him.”

“We told our guys coming into knowing that he’d do that and when he goes into transition he wants to shoot himself and thats exactly what he did.”

Just before overtime, it was Kevin O’Shea who scored for the Hawks, his third of the game and the fourth time he has scored three times in one game, to tie the game with 2:08 left to play.

Thinking his Hawks easily hit the goal cage at least five times in those final minutes to net a goal and prevent overtime, Lawrence said, “We had so many chances there in the end, we were getting the looks we wanting to, [we] just couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net.”

Throughout the whole game both America East teams went back in forth as stnoy Brook scored the first two goals, followed by a Hartford goal, followed by another Stony Brook goal and then another HArtford goal to close out the first.

In the second, Stony Brook scored first followed by two Hartford goals, but it was Stony Brook who next scored to start the third quarter.

Hartford would go on to score three straight, followed by a Stony Brook goal and then another Hartford one before entering the fourth, where Stony Brook scored their own three straight goals, before Hartford scored the final.

O’Shea led Hartford on offense, with three goals on eight shots, while Andrew Cacchio scored three goals as well, on three shots.

In goal for the Hawks, Frank Piechota made 10 saves on 33 shots, while allowing the 10 goals.

Jeff Tundo led Stony Brook on offense with three goals on seven shots, while Dan Shaughnessy made 10 saves on 28 shots by Hartford and allowing nine goals in the cage for the Sea Wolves.

Up next for the Hawks, in their final game of the season, is Vermont in Burlington, VT on Saturday, April 27, before the America East tournament begins on May 2.

Woah, I am not getting a good feeling.

Sometimes, I do, most of the time of I do, when it comes to reading about other journalists story work for newspaper, magazines or online outlets.

However, two weeks ago I came across Electronic Dance Music (EDM) artist Avicii’s status update regarding a GQ article by a freelance journalist who followed her throughout a couple performances and festivals, I do not.

I became overwhelmed with mixed emotions about the journalism field that is today, and moreover the importance of people doing their job appropriately and properly as they should.

“GQ, my thoughts on the article. I would normally not even care but this article really got to me, how it could even be published with so little truth and misquotations,” Avicii started off her update with, before going one to set the context of her argument.

Much like what I am doing now, she set the context, by explaining that a freelance reporter, Jessica Pressler, followed her and her crew for four to five days while she was on tour, up until new years.

Avicii then went on to describe her thoughts on the word of Pressler in her article, which encompassed claims of incorrectly labeling her fans as “douchebags,” contradicting herself on describing how she arranges and performs his lives sets and the simple mistakes she made, such as incorrectly naming tracks.

“I wouldn’t address this and bring more attention to it if I really didn’t feel that this article was truly unfair and incorrect,” Avicii said. “She draws up this disgusting picture of the electronic music crowd being constantly high, ugly, uneducated, dumb and “douchy”, while I feel they are caring, loving, positive and the complete opposite of what she says.

“Sure people do drugs and party but that is nothing exclusive to this music genre,” Avicii furthered her claim with. “It looks like the journalist wanted the GQ readers to buy into that stigma.”

“We hoped they could unveil and communicate the reason for there being so much love within, and how such a great community has risen organically for, this music genre,” Avicii lastly said. “The problem was that a journalist that knows nothing of electronic music was sent to be on the road with me for a couple of days and then tried piecing together what it’s all about. She failed miserably.”

And that’s where I don’t get that good feeling.

As a journalist I can understand where Avicii is coming from and agree with her.

Having read the article, although Pressler is writing a feature story for a feature magazine, as opposed to a “hard news” story or outlet that requires strictly facts, and is allowed to take some personal liberties in describing and expressing what happened, through words, I don’t think she does so fairly.

Having read the first two pages, I do not think that her depictions of events are entirely wrong, as I have been to a rave during my study abroad trip in London, but she does not provide the proper contextual framework for the story that she appears to be attempting to write, which is a look at Avicii’s life and career that has taken off just as quickly as the EDM genre has.

Her depiction and writing is entertaining and draws me into the career of Avicii, and what it entails, but not so much his life. Her angle is not clear, inappropriate then for anything she is trying to “inform” (as that’s what the ultimate purpose of journalism is) about Avicii and doesn’t do any justice with this piece.

Now, as a heart throbbing journalist willing to push this heart through any asthma or pollen infested (no pun intended) situation, not accurately, objectively and fairly reporting an event or series of events grinds my gears more than Facilities inability to maintain proper air conditioning levels. What?

And that’s what Pressler did.

Now, as a hardworking individual that feels that if somebody is going to do something, they might as well do it right and to the fullest possibility that they can, and that doing some incorrectly, and then also having that incorrect job upset others, is about the worst thing anyone could do, not fully doing the job that someone has been set out to do sniffles my nose more than Keanu Reeves performance in Hardball.

Because if you’re not going to do something right, then what’s the point of doing something at all? If you’re not doing something that has an end goal that is right, and going to make the world a better place, there is no point. Unfortunately, I hate to say it, as I say it rarely with my beliefs that everything happens for a reason, the world would be a better place without it.

Whether you are a journalist, coal worker or stock broker, make sure that when you set out to do the job that you are going to do it correctly. That you are going to do it well and better than many others could ever do.

Mistakes happen, and it’s alright that things are not perfect the first time they come around, but for the fields of journalism, or any other field that produces product that do need perfection, otherwise a mistake can’t be taken back, make sure that you are going to make it worth it.

Especially in the professional world, where people are paid, and a lot of time and effort is put into things, because, well, that’s all people do in the professional field. They are professionals, they solely focus on what it is they are doing, because they are the best at it.

We fortunately as college students don’t have to necessarily worry about that. While making sure we do everything right and to the best of our ability, we have the opportunity to explore our options, and get involved with something that we may not necessarily be the best at.

That is what college is for, that is why we are all here.

For the case of Pressler, she is out in the professional world, again getting paid for her services. She certainly can write about whatever she wanted to, as a freelance journalist, but I will say that she shouldn’t.

As Avicii said, it appears that “a journalist that knows nothing of electronic music was sent to be on the road with me for a couple of days and then tried piecing together what it’s all about.” We can try to go out on the road with anything we’d like and together what it’s all about the best we can, and should, because it won’t be long before we can’t. Because if we do, we may do more damage than good, and, ain’t nobody got time for that.

3,100 attendees saw President Obama speak at the University of Hartford on Monday, April 8, on federal gun legislation. Nicholas Milluzzo | The Informer

President Barack Obama came to the University of Hartford on Monday, April 8 to speak about reducing gun violence in an effort to push congress to pass “Common Sense” measures on stricter federal gun regulation. He gave the following remarks:

From the White House Press Office…

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Connecticut.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Well, thank you so much, everybody.  Let me begin by thanking Nicole, and Ian, for your brave words.  (Applause.)  I want to thank them and all the Newtown families who have come here today, including your First Selectman, Pat Llodra.  (Applause.)  Nobody could be more eloquent than Nicole and the other families on this issue.  And we are so grateful for their courage and willingness to share their stories again and again, understanding that nothing is going to be more important in making sure the Congress moves forward this week than hearing from them.

I want to thank all the educators from Sandy Hook Elementary who have come here as well — (applause) — the survivors –

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:  We love you, Obama!

THE PRESIDENT:  I love you back.  I do.  (Applause.)

– the survivors who still mourn and grieve, but are still going to work every day to love and raise those precious children in their care as fiercely as ever.

I want to thank Governor Malloy for his leadership.  (Applause.)  Very proud of him.  I want to thank the University of Hartford for hosting us this afternoon.  (Applause.)  Thank you, Hawks.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank the people of Connecticut for everything you’ve done to honor the memories of the victims — (applause) — because you’re part of their family as well.

One of your recent alumni, Rachel D’Avino, was a behavioral therapist at Sandy Hook.  Two alumni of your performing arts school, Jimmy Greene and Nelba Marquez-Greene, lost their daughter, Ana — an incredible, vibrant young girl who looked up to them, and learned from them, and inherited their talents by singing before she could talk.

So every family in this state was shaken by the tragedy of that morning.  Every family in this country was shaken.  We hugged our kids more tightly.  We asked what could we do, as a society, to help prevent a tragedy like that from happening again.

And as a society, we decided that we have to change.  We must.  We must change.  (Applause.)

I noticed that Nicole and others refer to that day as “12/14.”  For these families, it was a day that changed everything.  And I know many of you in Newtown wondered if the rest of us would live up to the promise we made in those dark days — if we’d change, too; or if once the television trucks left, once the candles flickered out, once the teddy bears were carefully gathered up, that the country would somehow move on to other things.

Over the weekend, I heard Francine Wheeler, who lost her son Ben that day, say that the four months since the tragedy might feel like a brief moment for some, but for her, it feels like it’s been years since she saw Ben.  And she’s determined not to let what happened that day just fade away.  “We’re not going anywhere,” she said.  “We are here.  And we are going to be here.”  And I know that she speaks for everybody in Newtown, everybody who was impacted.

And, Newtown, we want you to know that we’re here with you.  We will not walk away from the promises we’ve made.  (Applause.)  We are as determined as ever to do what must be done.  In fact, I’m here to ask you to help me show that we can get it done.  We’re not forgetting.  (Applause.)

We can’t forget.  Your families still grieve in ways most of us can’t comprehend.  But so many of you have used that grief to make a difference — not just to honor your own children, but to protect the lives of all of our children.  So many of you have mobilized, and organized, and petitioned your elected officials “with love and logic,” as Nicole put it — as citizens determined to right something gone wrong.

And last week, here in Connecticut, your elected leaders responded.  The Connecticut legislature, led by many of the legislators here today, passed new measures to protect more of our children and our communities from gun violence.  And Governor Malloy signed that legislation into law.  (Applause.)

So I want to be clear.  You, the families of Newtown, people across Connecticut, you helped make that happen.  Your voices, your determination made that happen.  Obviously, the elected leaders did an extraordinary job moving it forward, but it couldn’t have happened if they weren’t hearing from people in their respective districts, people all across the state.  That’s the power of your voice.

And, by the way, Connecticut is not alone.  In the past few months, New York, Colorado, Maryland have all passed new, common-sense gun safety reforms as well.  (Applause.)

These are all states that share an awful familiarity with gun violence, whether it’s the horror of mass killings, or the street crime that’s too common in too many neighborhoods.  All of these states also share a strong tradition of hunting, and sport shooting, and gun ownership.  It’s been a part of the fabric of people’s lives for generations.  And every single one of those states — including here in Connecticut — decided that, yes, we can protect more of our citizens from gun violence while still protecting our Second Amendment rights.  Those two things don’t contradict each other.  (Applause.)  We can pass common-sense laws that protect our kids and protect our rights.

So Connecticut has shown the way.  And now is the time for Congress to do the same.  (Applause.)  Now is the time for Congress to do the same.  This week is the time for Congress to do the same.  (Applause.)

Now, back in January, just a few months after the tragedy in Newtown, I announced a series of executive actions to reduce gun violence and keep our kids safe.  And I put forward common-sense proposals — much like those that passed here in Connecticut — for Congress to consider.  And you’ll remember in my State of the Union address, I urged Congress to give those proposals a vote.  And that moment is now.

As soon as this week, Congress will begin debating these common-sense proposals to reduce gun violence.  Your senators, Dick Blumenthal and Chris Murphy — they’re here — (applause) — your Representatives, John Larson, Rosa DeLauro, Elizabeth Esty, Jim Hines, Joe Courtney, they are all pushing to pass this legislation.  (Applause.)  But much of Congress is going to only act if they hear from you, the American people.  So here’s what we have to do.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I love you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT:  I appreciate that.  (Laughter.)  Here’s what we’ve got to do.  We have to tell Congress it’s time to require a background check for anyone who wants to buy a gun so that people who are dangerous to themselves and others cannot get their hands on a gun.  Let’s make that happen.  (Applause.)

We have to tell Congress it’s time to crack down on gun trafficking so that folks will think twice before buying a gun as part of a scheme to arm someone who won’t pass a background check.  Let’s get that done.  (Applause.)

We have to tell Congress it’s time to restore the ban on military-style assault weapons, and a 10-round limit for magazines, to make it harder for a gunman to fire 154 bullets into his victims in less than five minutes.  Let’s put that to a vote.  (Applause.)

We have to tell Congress it’s time to strengthen school safety and help people struggling with mental health problems get the treatment they need before it’s too late.  Let’s do that for our kids and for our communities.  (Applause.)

Now, I know that some of these proposals inspire more debate than others, but each of them has the support of the majority of the American people.  All of them are common sense.  All of them deserve a vote.  All of them deserve a vote.  (Applause.)

Consider background checks.  Over the past 20 years, background checks have kept more than 2 million dangerous people from getting their hands on a gun.  A group of police officers in Colorado told me last week that, thanks to background checks, they’ve been able to stop convicted murderers, folks under restraining orders for committing violent domestic abuse from buying a gun.  In some cases, they’ve actually arrested the person as they were coming to purchase the gun.

So we know that background checks can work.  But the problem is loopholes in the current law let so many people avoid background checks altogether.  That’s not safe.  It doesn’t make sense.  If you’re a law-abiding citizen and you go through a background check to buy a gun, wouldn’t you expect other people to play by the same rules?  (Applause.)

If you’re a law-abiding gun seller, wouldn’t you want to know you’re not selling your gun to someone who’s likely to commit a crime?  (Applause.)  Shouldn’t we make it harder, not easier for somebody who is convicted of domestic abuse to get his hands on a gun?  (Applause.)

It turns out 90 percent of Americans think so.  Ninety percent of Americans support universal background checks.  Think about that.  How often do 90 percent of Americans agree on anything?  (Laughter.)  And yet, 90 percent agree on this — Republicans, Democrats, folks who own guns, folks who don’t own guns; 80 percent of Republicans, more than 80 percent of gun owners, more than 70 percent of NRA households.  It is common sense.

And yet, there is only one thing that can stand in the way of change that just about everybody agrees on, and that’s politics in Washington.  You would think that with those numbers Congress would rush to make this happen.  That’s what you would think.  (Applause.)  If our democracy is working the way it’s supposed to, and 90 percent of the American people agree on something, in the wake of a tragedy you’d think this would not be a heavy lift.

And yet, some folks back in Washington are already floating the idea that they may use political stunts to prevent votes on any of these reforms.  Think about that.  They’re not just saying they’ll vote “no” on ideas that almost all Americans support.  They’re saying they’ll do everything they can to even prevent any votes on these provisions.  They’re saying your opinion doesn’t matter.  And that’s not right.

AUDIENCE:  Booo –

THE PRESIDENT:  That is not right.

AUDIENCE:  We want a vote!

THE PRESIDENT:  We need a vote.

AUDIENCE:  We want a vote!  We want a vote!

THE PRESIDENT:  We need a vote.

AUDIENCE:  We want a vote!

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, I’ve also heard some in the Washington press suggest that what happens to gun violence legislation in Congress this week will either be a political victory or defeat for me.  Connecticut, this is not about me.  This is not about politics.  This is about doing the right thing for all the families who are here that have been torn apart by gun violence.  (Applause.)  It’s about them and all the families going forward, so we can prevent this from happening again.  That’s what it’s about.  It’s about the law enforcement officials putting their lives at risk.  That’s what this is about.  This is not about politics.  (Applause.)  This is not about politics.

This is about these families and families all across the country who are saying let’s make it a little harder for our kids to get gunned down.

When I said in my State of the Union address that these proposals deserve a vote — that families of Newtown, and Aurora, and Tucson, and a former member of Congress, Gabby Giffords, that they all deserved a vote -– virtually every member of that chamber stood up and applauded.  And now they’re going to start denying your families a vote when the cameras are off and when the lobbyists have worked what they do?  You deserve better than that.  You deserve a vote.

Now, look, we knew from the beginning of this debate that change would not be easy.  We knew that there would be powerful interests that are very good at confusing the subject, that are good at amplifying conflict and extremes, that are good at drowning out rational debate, good at ginning up irrational fears, all of which stands in the way of progress.

But if our history teaches us anything, then it’s up to us –- the people -– to stand up to those who say we can’t, or we won’t; stand up for the change that we need.  And I believe that that’s what the American people are looking for.

When I first ran for this office, I said that I did not believe the country was as divided as our politics would suggest, and I still believe that.  (Applause.)  I know sometimes, when you watch cable news or talk radio, or you browse the Internet, you’d think, man, everybody just hates each other, everybody is just at each other’s throats.  But that’s not how most Americans think about these issues.  There are good people on both sides of every issue.

So if we’re going to move forward, we can’t just talk past one another.  We’ve got to listen to one another.  That’s what Governor Malloy and all these legislative leaders did.  That’s why they were able to pass bipartisan legislation.  (Applause.)

I’ve got stacks of letters from gun owners who want me to know that they care passionately about their right to bear arms, don’t want them infringed upon, and I appreciate every one of those letters.  I’ve learned from them.  But a lot of those letters, what they’ve also said is they’re not just gun owners; they’re also parents or police officers or veterans, and they agree that we can’t stand by and keep letting these tragedies happen; that with our rights come some responsibilities and obligations to our communities and ourselves, and most of all to our children.  We can’t just think about “us” –- we’ve got to think about “we, the people.”

I was in Colorado.  I told a story about Michelle.  She came back from a trip to rural Iowa; we were out there campaigning.  Sometimes it would be miles between farms, let alone towns.  And she said, you know, coming back, I can understand why somebody would want a gun for protection.  If somebody drove up into the driveway and, Barack, you weren’t home, the sheriff lived miles away, I might want that security.  So she can understand what it might be like in terms of somebody wanting that kind of security.

On the other hand, I also talked to a hunter last week who said, all my experiences with guns have been positive, but I also realize that for others, all their experiences with guns have been negative.

And when he said that, I thought about the mom I met from suburban Chicago whose son was killed in a random shooting.  And this mom told me, I hate it when people tell me that my son was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  He was on his way to school.  He was exactly where he was supposed to be.  He was in the right place at the right time, and he still got shot.  (Applause.)

The kids at Sandy Hook were where they were supposed to be.  So were those moviegoers in Aurora.  So were those worshippers in Oak Creek.  So was Gabby Giffords.  She was at a supermarket, listening to the concerns of her constituents.  (Applause.)  They were exactly where they were supposed to be.  They were also exercising their rights — to assemble peaceably; to worship freely and safely.  They were exercising the rights of life and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  So surely, we can reconcile those two things.  Surely, America doesn’t have to be divided between rural and urban, and Democrat and Republican when it comes to something like this.

If you’re an American who wants to do something to prevent more families from knowing the immeasurable anguish that these families here have known, then we have to act.  Now is the time to get engaged.  Now is the time to get involved.  Now is the time to push back on fear, and frustration, and misinformation.  Now is the time for everybody to make their voices heard from every state house to the corridors of Congress.

And I’m asking everyone listening today, find out where your member of Congress stands on this.  If they’re not part of the 90 percent of Americans who agree on background checks, then ask them, why not?  Why wouldn’t you want to make it easier for law enforcement to do their job?  Why wouldn’t you want to make it harder for a dangerous person to get his or her hands on a gun?  What’s more important to you:  our children, or an A-grade from the gun lobby?  (Applause.)

I’ve heard Nicole talk about what her life has been like since Dylan was taken from her in December.  And one thing she said struck me.  She said, “Every night, I beg for him to come to me in my dreams so that I can see him again.  And during the day, I just focus on what I need to do to honor him and make change.”  Now, if Nicole can summon the courage to do that, how can the rest of us do any less?  (Applause.)  How can we do any less?

If there is even one thing we can do to protect our kids, don’t we have an obligation to try?  If there is even one step we can take to keep somebody from murdering dozens of innocents in the span of minutes, shouldn’t we be taking that step?  (Applause.)  If there is just one thing we can do to keep one father from having to bury his child, isn’t that worth fighting for?

I’ve got to tell you, I’ve had tough days in the presidency — I’ve said this before.  The day Newtown happened was the toughest day of my presidency.  But I’ve got to tell you, if we don’t respond to this, that will be a tough day for me, too.  (Applause.)  Because we’ve got to expect more from ourselves, and we’ve got to expect more from Congress.  We’ve got to believe that every once in a while, we set politics aside and we just do what’s right.  (Applause.)  We’ve got to believe that.

And if you believe that, I’m asking you to stand up.  (Applause.)  If you believe in the right to bears arms, like I do, but think we should prevent an irresponsible few from inflicting harm — stand up.  Stand up.  (Applause.)

If you believe that the families of Newtown and Aurora and Tucson and Virginia Tech and the thousands of Americans who have been gunned down in the last four months deserve a vote, we all have to stand up.  (Applause.)

If you want the people you send to Washington to have just an iota of the courage that the educators at Sandy Hook showed when danger arrived on their doorstep, then we’re all going to have to stand up.

And if we do, if we come together and raise our voices together and demand this change together, I’m convinced cooperation and common sense will prevail.  We will find sensible, intelligent ways to make this country stronger and safer for our children.  (Applause.)

So let’s do the right thing.  Let’s do right by our kids.  Let’s do right by these families.  Let’s get this done.  Connecticut, thank you.  God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

President of the United States Barack Obama will speak on campus on Monday, April 8 in the Sports Center at a time still undisclosed.

Doors will open for students, faculty and staff at 2:30 p.m. that have tickets attending, while the speaking will be simulcast  live on whitehouse.gov. and around campus at the following locations, for those unable to attend:

• Wilde Auditorium 
• Woods Classroom in Mortensen Library
• KF classroom in Mortensen Library
• Suisman Lounge in Gengras Student Union
• United Technologies Hall, Room 320
• Dana Hall, Room 201 (Mali I)
• Regents Commons in the Shaw Center
• Goodwin Café in Mortensen Library

Those looking watch the simulcast are asked to be in place by 4:15 p.m. in order to not miss the speech.

Classes have been canceled between 3 and 10 p.m. today, in anticipation of road closures and significant travel delays, the Provost said in an email to Hartford community on Friday. The deadline to add/drop a course is extended to Tuesday, April 9 as a result as well.

In an email from Lee Peters, Vice President of Student Affairs, Thursday evening, the following parking, traffic and Sports Center modifications will be made:

Parking

• On Sunday, April 7, students parked in Lot N must move their cars to any available, legal, non-reserved parking spaces in Lots A-F. If parking is not available in those lots, call Public Safety at 860.768.7985 to be directed to available space. Cars that are not moved from Lot N by 6 a.m. on Monday, April 8 will be towed. Lot N will remain unavailable for student parking until 8 p.m. on Monday, April 8. Cars assigned to Lot N must be returned there by noon on Tuesday, April 9.
• On Monday, April 8, no cars will be allowed to park in any spaces between the K-lots and N Lot. This means no parking in front of or behind the Complexes, in Lots L and M, the Commons loading dock area, and the Sports Center staff lot. Faculty, staff, and students who usually park in these spaces can park in available spaces in K and F Lots or in any legal, non-reserved parking spaces in any lot on campus. If parking is not available in those lots, call Public Safety at 860.768.7985 for direction to available parking.

Traffic

• Preferred access to and from campus on Monday, April 8, is via the Mark Twain Drive entrance, which is off Albany Avenue, just east of Bloomfield Avenue if you are traveling toward Hartford.
• Vehicle access between the K Lots and Lot N will be blocked to through traffic from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, April 8. Cars and the campus shuttle will not be able to drive completely around the campus.
• A single, widespread stoppage of vehicular traffic on campus should be expected at any time on the afternoon of Monday, April 8. This stoppage will be for all vehicles entering or exiting the campus and will last for an extensive period of time.

Fitness Center, Health Services and Physical Therapy access

• On Monday, April 8, the Fitness Center in the Sports Center will close at 10 a.m. and will not resume regular hours until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9.
• On Monday, April 8, Health Services and Physical Therapy will be closed. Click here to locate available health resources on that day.

Visit http://wp.me/pN9pl-gdYc, facebook.com/HartfordInformer and @UHaInformer on Twitter for up to the minute coverage of President Obama’s speaking.

On Monday, April 8, President Obama will be visiting campus to speak about federal gun legislation.

President Barack Obama’s visit to campus all began when the Vice President of University Relations here at the University of Hartford answered his office phone on Monday afternoon.

It began then, because that’s when that man, John Carson, was called by a White House spokesperson, asking if it would be all right for the Commander-in-Chief to visit the school for a speaking.

Saying certainly to the White House’s inquiry, Carson said, and then getting the OK from President Walter Harrison, discussions then began on how the University would be able to accommodate the president’s visit, resulting in a decision was made on Tuesday, April 2.

Monday, April 8, 44th President of the United States Barrack Obama will be speaking in the Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavillion, and will be speaking about federal gun legislation.

“On Monday, April 8, President Obama will travel to the University of Hartford where he will continue asking the American people to join him in calling on Congress to pass common-sense measures to reduce gun violence,” the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.

The first reason Carson shared as to why Obama and the White House chose the University of Hartford was the success the school had in hosting former President Bill Clinton’s visit over Halloween weekend in 2010 to support Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy’s campaign for his position.

Another reason Carson shared as to why UHa was chosen is the school’s approximate location from Bradley International Airport, also commenting that air travel will be Obama’s method of transportation to and from the school, at least he thinks, and not by a helicopter that will land on the Village Lawn, as some students thought.

Although the announcement of the visit came on Tuesday, April 2, it wasn’t until Thursday, April 4 when the exact details of when the event will be, where it will be, who can attend and more were officially released to the public.

The reason for that Carson explained, is because of how tightly secure the campus must be for the president’s appearance, as Stephen Busemeyer, Breaking News Editor at the Hartford Courant explained the safety of the president is the number one concern of the country, outside of nuclear warfare.

As a result of the school extending across Bloomfield, Hartford and West Hartford, multiple police departments will be involved in providing security alongside Public Safety, Connecticut State Police and the president’s secret service, who was at the University on Wednesday beginning their preparations, as confirmed by Harrison.

That, along with traffic needing controlling is why the White House was in charge of exactly how the event would go, and that is why the details were not immediately available.

Carson shared through Wednesday afternoon though that University’s Public Safety and Facilities were in the process of making preparations for the event. However, neither Public Safety not Facilities wanted to comment on anything without having the official specifics released.

Having been to Washington before with Harrison to speak with congressional members, and constantly interacting with Connecticut state officials, Carson is very excited about the president’s visit and is confident that hosting him will go very well.

For constant up to the minute coverage of President Obama’s visit to campus, visit hartorfinformer.com,facebook.com/HartfordInformer and follow @UHaInformer on twitter.

Pope Francis’ debut as the new pope.

With Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, coming to school this past week, knowing who world leaders are couldn’t be more prevalent to us students here than before.

However, while Kagame was a fundamental leader of the Tootsie tribe in the Rwandan civil war against the Hutu tribe, and was crucial to the prevention of genocide in his country, it’s important to know which leaders are actually worth following.

For instance, the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, which, as of yesterday evening, a new one, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, pronounced Ber-GOAL-io according to the New York Times, was chosen.

He will be Pope number 266.

For that reason alone, the fact that he is the 266 pope in all of the papacy’s existence is enough for people to not have a care about him anymore.

Try to think of things in this world, that involve that number, 266.

The number of years we the United States have been a country? That’s 236 years, going on 237.

The number of YouTube videos with over 100 million views? That’s only 138.

The number of countries that participated in the 2012 Olympics in London? That’s only 204.

By bringing up and comparing all these numbers, its clear that there have been a lot of popes, and with the pope being a person, who lives to be at least 80 or so, that’s a lot of years that the pope has been around.

In fact, since year 33, when the first pope, St. Peter, was introduced, and not only is that around when the Bible was written, it is yea, a year that is so old it is counted in double digits.

But not only does the fact that Pope has been around, since you could pretty much be literal in saying, “forever,” the fact that the church still uses smoke to signify the decision of a new pope being made is another reason to move on from following him.

Tradition and keeping everything a secret, enclosed, until a decision is made may be all very nice, and as a brother of a Fraternity, I respect that such decisions are taken seriously and made through such methods.

However, I guarantee you that if the University can get the President of Rwanda to speak at our school, than tradition and secrecy were not at mind when the church conceived the idea to use smoke.

In a world that had no newspaper, no phones, no internet, no nothing, they were thinking how could they best get the message out to the people that a decision had been made.

“Smoke. Let’s just send a bunch of smoke into the sky signifying the change. That’s noticeable. People will see that,” were probably the words that came out of their mouth.

So if the idea of having something around still, that has been around for more years than the age of our country, or still uses primitive communication technology involving sending dust particles into the sky.

Yes, the fact that he is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church does warrant respect for him. He is chosen after over 100 cardinals, under the age of 80, deliberate with each other about who the next one will be.

And with 1.2 billion of the over 7 billion people in the world being Roman Catholic, that’s 14 percent of people that do have a connection with him.

But, that connection is minimal if people do appreciate that connection I’m willing to bet, because this isn’t the Holy Roman Empire anymore.

With such a large empire, which was based so largely on religion, having the pope, a figurehead, a leader, is certainly appropriate then. And we may still have Catholicism around today, but we don’t have it dominating a majority of society today.

We have other governments; we have international communications and economies linked between multiple countries.

The pope may be a very nice gentian and been quite beneficial to peoples life’s, but at this day and time, it’s time for him to move on.

It began with a dinner conversation between Max Koskoff and Lee Peters while at a conference, when Koskoff proposed the idea of engaging the school community by utilizing twitter.

Over a year and a half and 700 downloads later, on January 11, the University began doing so when they released the UH Mobile app, available on the App Store and Google Marketplace.

Based off of the University’s system for recording grades, financing and, “everything else in the world we do here,” Koskoff said, Banner, the app provides a directory, events calendar, news, campus links, grades and schedule features.

“Banner’s parent company Lucian built the app as the framework and then we put our information and our code into that framework,” Koskoff said. “Lucien provided the framework…[Lucien] had the idea that, ‘Hey, this is what a lot of schools are doing.’”

With that framework available, Koskoff, along with Peters, set out to get the information for the app.

“Lee and I put together all of the map information, we were more data collectors in the sense of figuring out what is where,” Koskoff said. “We also put together the student services tabs and again, trying to figure out what departments we want on this.”

Koskoff went on to say, “We were in general the information collectors, but a lot of credit goes to ITS in building the code for it.”

With Koskoff and Lee gathering the information, and ITS writing the code, the app was hoped to be out before the end of fall semester last year, however ran into approval difficulties.

“It was suppose to be Midnight Mania, that app itself was kind of done for Midnight Mania, it was built,” Koskoff said. “However, when we did our original timeline, we expected Apple to go two to three weeks with the turnaround. Apple actually took about four months for a turnaround, with several different versions of the app.”

According to Koskoff, the turnaround from Apple, or approval to distribute the app, took so long because of the standards they have on what they allow in their app store and what defines an app.

“They want to see very native features to the phone, to make it good, to make an app worth having in their app store,” he said. “Whenever we submitted [a version of the app], [apple] got back to us, the said, ‘It just isn’t what we’re up to,’…and it was mostly we weren’t using native phone functions like using geolocation, slide using calendar.”

Having said that he thought the app turned out great, despite the several revisions it took, Koskoff said that everything that was suppose to be in version, got in it.

The Twitter feature of the app in this version, available through the campus links icon, already works with engaging the community, according to Koskoff, but does so with the use of the hash-tag “#uharthawklife.” Any tweets that display in the twitter will be tweets that use that hashtag.

Another feature that requires students effort, the Self-Service Center, requires student to log in everytime they wish to use it. Such is the case Koskoff said, for security reasons, so that if someone were to lose their phone, the phone-finder person would not have instant access to that original phone users information.

Anything else that they want in the app, Koskoff said stay tuned for version two, such as a photostream.

“We are working on a photostream project for version two, called ‘Hawks in Flight’ in which you can take pictures at an event or wherever you are on campus that shows school spirit, being committed to the community or even just spelling out Hawks or posing as a Hawk, and you can upload it to the system, and the rest of the community of app users can see it and then comment on it more and inspire others,” Koskoff said.

As for when version two will be out, Koskoff said hopefully by the start of the freshmen orientations. However, until then, Koskoff said students should just download the app and explore it.

A car getting the boot in C commuter lot.

The four-wheeled vehicles that we operate are, safe to say, the most popular method of transportation by people in today’s world.

Cars, that is, the vehicles that we use for getting around from home, to the grocery store, to school, have become crucial to the transportation means of several individuals.

Despite cars being essential to transportation, the ability to use cars as a means for myself, friends and other students to get to school, as commuters, has been taken away from us. Thanks to the ill purposeful parking enforcements of Public Safety.

It all can be understood through the parking situation with which I just dealt.

To begin my situation, that is, what Public Safety did to my car, they banned it from campus at the end of last fall 2012 semester as a result of accumulating 5 tickets, which I can understand and am ok with having done. It was my fault for not parking in the proper areas or during the proper times to get those five tickets.

I only worsened my situation by failing to meet up Public Safety due to my busy schedule, as a result of still driving to the campus I still received tickets for trespassing from the start of the spring semester up until a few weeks ago. At which point, I not only received trespassing tickets, I also had my vehicle towed from campus to the lot of Cross Country Automotive, the company through which the University has an exclusive towing contract.

With the situation reaching the point to where I accumulated 12 tickets and had my car towed at least 4 times in the span of two weeks, I finally visited Public Safety.

To no surprise, they explained to me that because I have amassed 12 tickets, that even if I was to pay a reinstatement fee, which would wipe clean the first five tickets I got, I would still have my car banned, as with seven tickets remaining after the first five were wiped, I would reach a 5 point limit and be banned again.

With only being allowed to pay one reinstatement fee, reaching a maximum ticket count of 5 tickets twice, while still having two tickets left over, because of my continuous putting off of talking to Public Safety, I am not allowed to have a vehicle on campus at all. Ever.

However, although I accept it, I do not agree with it, which is why I feel the need to voice my opinion about it. My way of getting to school has been deprived of me. I am a commuter student that drives my car to get to school, and I have paid all my tickets. I have to be able to attend classes and graduate, but I can’t risk more tickets and towings.

In the middle of the semester, I am forced to find a new way of getting to and from school.

Other students who have been placed in similar situations and can no longer have a vehicle on campus at all, despite being commuters, have shared similar disagreements about such policies. Even a mother of students here has reached out to me about her parking dissatisfaction as well and gone as far to contact Public Safety herself.

They provided her with a letter, which she in turn provided to me, which in part reads: “With the large number of vehicles on campus at any given time during the business and academic day, it requires several rules being put in place to maximize the availability of parking spaces. Our parking enforcement efforts are designed to gain voluntary compliance with parking regulations. We strive for consistency in our enforcement efforts and offer a fair appeal process for those cited. Our department continues to evaluate the parking policies every year to ensure that they are fair, efficient and enforceable. They are updated as required.”

I think it’s great that Public Safety attempts to gain voluntary compliance with parking regulations by making students to learn that you must follow the rules the hard way, but what about when those parking enforcement efforts inhibit a student’s ability to attain the education they pay for and merit?

When they do, those parking enforcement efforts may deprive a student’s ability to benefit from his or her education. Since parking infractions in the “real world” in life beyond colleges and universities may impose fees on individuals, but never prohibit or restrict an individual to carry out the responsibilities they have, such as Public Safety has done here, what is the lesson to be learned here?

Since there is no instances of this in the “real world” what preparation for the real world is this providing, since that ultimately is what colleges and universities are for, correct?

If I am aware of the situation, have paid all of my tickets and am willing to continue to get ticketed and towed for having my car on campus and pay the fines that result from such, if it means being able to drive my car to campus and receive the education I am paying for, as I please, why can’t I be allowed to do so?

I know it may be ridiculous to do such a thing, but that is my decision if I want to do it or not. It should not be Public Safety’s as it is now, which has put my peers and I in a situation that forces us to change our ability to receive the education we pay for.

It’s a simple concept to demonstrate.

Utilizing certain establishments for the certain tasks they are established for.

For whatever task it may be, utilize that certain establishment for the certain task it is you are trying to accomplish, because that establishment was established because it is the best thing for the task it is you are trying to accomplish.

It makes sense. Trust me.

In the case of establishments here on campus, let’s talk about us, The Informer, the school’s student run newspaper. Utilize us for getting the word out about what it is that you are doing.

I use us as an example in an effort of self-promotion or raising self-awareness.

Genuinely, I don’t.

I do so, in an effort to help you guys, our readers, the student body, the most crucial and critical part to our University here, with promotion and raising awareness for whatever it is you may be involved in.

Sincerely, I do.

A lot things come from the various organizations that you may or may not be a part of, and the work that you accomplish, through SGA, Greek Life, National Hispanics Unidas and many more. It is the governing that you enact, the philanthropies that you offer and the cultural awareness that you raise that makes University of Hartford what it is.

Come to us with what it is that you are doing, so we can make sure people take not and are aware of that.

We have been taking classes on and practicing very often the task of finding out something, whether it be on our own or through a campus organization reaching out to us, and then crafting a written story for our readers and the rest of the student body to be informed about.

We are here to help you. Under our masthead name “The Informer,” reads, “Officially keeping you informed since 1976.”

We are an establishment that does have a main purpose of documenting and recording events that occur, as they occur, so that people can know what happened when, and how and why it happened. We newspaper people, called “journalists,” are the people willing, able and very good at uncovering the full story of what happened, and telling more than just the obvious, surface layer of truth behind it.

However, the main purpose, and reason for this editorial, is to inform you guys, the student body, that we, “The Informer” are here and work our hardest to do that.

Take the Muslim Student Association for example. An organization on campus, that may not be popularly known, no offense to them, it’s just certain campus organizations may no be as recognized as others, came to us, to inform us, actually, of an event they were having.

It was their Eid Al-Adha Dinner they were hosting, and they were hosting it for the first time.

They came to us at The Informer to notify us of the event, so we could attend, cover and present the event in our paper, so the rest of the student body could experience what happened.

I went to cover it.

I talked to people who attended and took photographs of what was going on, and was able to be a part of an event that I would not have known was happening nor that it did happen, unless Iyas Azzuni came to me to make sure it was covered and told to the rest of the students.

That enlightenment to learn about the work and events from you guys can be experienced from you as well.

Other organizations, such as a recently started up athletic club, community service group or academic society, deserve to be recognized for what it is that is being done.

As I said, you guys, the student body, are the most crucial and critical part to our University here. It is you guys, who, through your scholastic studying, career advancement and social experimentation, comprise what makes this University.

Utilize us, so you guys can gain the full appreciation and recognition you deserve.

The University has a Sub-scale See-Thru Nuclear Powerplant (above), the only in the Northeast. | Courtesy of NECN.COM

The University brought national attention to campus when it unveiled its Sub-scale See-Thru Nuclear Power Plant in United Technologies Hall last Friday, Feb. 15.

Designed and built by undergraduate and graduate students in the University’s College of Engineering, Technology and Architecture (CETA), under the direction of Professor Tom Filburn, the Sub-scale See-Thru Nuclear Power Plant is a training tool for University students, because it allows students to see what is happening within the nuclear reactor.

“Students learn from touching things and so a computer model gives them some information but when they can actually turn the valve and turn the pumps on and see the water flowing and see the boiling and the heat transfer going it just reinforces the subject matter,” Filburn said in video coverage by NBC.

With the University of Hartford being the only education institution in the Northeast with such a device, students can learn the inner workings of nuclear power with glass where metal would be, and thus can actually seen the inner workings of it.

“The fact that this is see-through, we can see that boiling happening in the reactor,” Graduate student Jason Smith said in that same NBC coverage.

Paid for with a $121,000 grant from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, $5,000 from Westinghouse and $10,000 from Dominion energy, the training tool will also be useful to new hires entering into the region’s nuclear power industry.

“There’s a tremendous number of folks that are going to be retiring from the existing nuclear plants,” Peter Lyons of the U.S. Dept. of Energy, said in that same NBC coverage.

“Many, many openings for new students with this type training and the opportunity to work with, essentially, a real life, mini reactor here in a completely safe environment is a wonderful learning tool.”