Complete PDF of New Issue

We invite you to view our newest issue in its entirety by clicking on the above link! Please help us promote our paper in anyway possible, whether fellow students, alumni, faculty or family. Any person not living at Villanova can pay to have the paper mailed to them each issue! This is a great issue and we hope you enjoy it!!

See below for some select articles and features, including audio files of Chris Fujimoto’s interview with Jay Wright!!

- Matt and Deena    Co-Editors in Chief

Change You Can Eat – An Inside Look at Dining Services by Nick Schaefer

Special Olympics Weekend at Nova a Success as Always by Julianne Dudley

Nova Hillel: Small but Significant Jewish Group - by Ted Winston

Hope and Change 2009 by Anthony Pontarelli

“Abortion Isn’t Free” by Shauna Segadelli

Karma: Do We Always Get What We Give? By Ali Flukes

Exclusive Jay Wright Interview after Kutztown Exhibition Game – 11/5/2009

Exclusive Jay Wright Interview after Kutztown Exhibition Game – 11/5/2009

Jay Wright General Comments after Kutztown Exhibition Game – 11/5/2009

Scottie Reynolds Comments after Kutztown Exhibition 

Kutztown’s Mascot – Wow!! Sesame Street anyone? Or maybe a stuffed bear you would give to a baby.

Pretty good offense (110 points) but pretty bad defense (84 points). Jay was not happy. Listen to his interview to see how much work, especially on defense, Jay feels his team still needs before they will be ready to really compete.

Antonio Pena – 29 minutes – 11 points – 7 rebounds – 3 Assists – 4 fouls

Scottie Reynolds – 29 minutes –  27 points – 7-11 FG  – 4 assists

Corey Fisher – 26 minutes – 18 points – 6-11 FG – 5 assists

Corey Stokes – 25 minutes – 13 points – 5-6 FG,  3-4 3ptr – 4 rebounds – 4 fouls

Taylor King – 21 minutes – 17 points – 4-5 FG,  4-4 3ptr – 4 rebounds

Mouphtaou Yarou – 26 minutes – 8 points – 6 Rebounds – 4 fouls

Isaiah Armwood – 9 minutes – 4 points – 2 rebounds

Dominic Cheek – 14 minutes – 2 points – 3 rebounds – 4 fouls

Maalik Wayns – 17 minutes – 8 points – 2-5 FG, 1-2 3ptr – 3 assists

Maurice Sutton – 4 minutes – 2 points – 1 rebounds – 2 fouls

Click Here to View the Issue in its Entirety

Selected Articles:

Point/Counterpoint: Abortion by Shauna Segadelli and Deena ElGenaidi 

College of Arts & Sciences: Student Advisory Board by Thomas David

Hoops Mania: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Chris Fujimoto – with Photo Feature 

The Villanova Times – September 30th, 2009

Also, click here to check out the schedule for the Respect Life Week, taking place from Oct. 4th – Oct. 9th.

Email us at vutimes@gmail.com if you are a Villanova student who is interested in writing for us, or becoming involved in any other aspect of the newspaper.

If you would like to make your own blog posts on our blog, please email us.

The Last Word: The Great New Jersey Debate

An Overview of the 2009 Wildcat Football Season: Past, Present and Future

By Chris Fujimoto

Click here for photos. Photos Courtesy of Matt Crawford

          The #2 Ranked Villanova Wildcats have stormed out to a 4-0 start with wins over Temple, Lehigh, and most recently a demolition over Northeastern. For the Wildcats the rush attack has been the pulse of the offense with the Wildcats rushing for over 100 yards in three of their four wins and rushing for over 300 yards in two of the wins. Andy Talley’s squad rushes the ball from all positions. Junior Quarterback Chris Whitney has topped 100 yards rushing in two games which adds another element to his already effective passing game. The two running backs Angelo Babbaro and Aaron Ball have contributed to a balanced running attack for the ‘Cats and the elusive and athletic Matt Szczur is always a threat rushing the ball from the aptly named Wildcat position.  Currently Villanova is second in the CAA in rushing offense behind James Madison, averaging 228 yards per game. The powerhouse Villanova offense is also second in the CAA in scoring offense averaging 33.8 points per game. The Pass Offense for the Wildcats hasn’t necessarily struggled but it is currently second to last in the CAA averaging only 150 yards a game. What is characteristic with the offense this season is that the pass isn’t implemented to light up the stat sheet, it is meant to be efficient. The small ball passing game ranks second in completion percentage, third in the CAA in touchdowns, and leads the CAA with only one interception thrown all year. Senior receiver Brandyn Harvey is the leading receiver for the team and has great size to help Whitney in the passing game and is a great blocker. Senior Antwon Young has been a surprise this season. The Quarterback has emerged as a reliable player who can spell Whitney in long periods and is showing off his passing and rushing abilities that made him the starter two years ago.  The one weak spot of Villanova’s offense has been the offensive line. Villanova Quarterbacks have been sacked 12 times this season, worst in the CAA

          As impressive as the Villanova offense has been so far, the defense has been just as impressive, if not more impressive. The defense leads the CAA in scoring defense, giving up only 12.8 points per game. Linebackers Osayi Osunde and Terrence Thomas lead a tenacious defense that is very disciplined. Junior John Dempsey is one of the leaders of the secondary that has forced eight interceptions. The Villanova defense may be good at keeping opponents out of the end zone but overall the defense has been average, at best. In overall defense Villanova ranks sixth, conceding 279 yards per game. The defense needs to continue to be as strong as it has been through the first four games for the Wildcats to continue their run toward a championship.

          The toughest part of Villanova’s schedule is coming up within next few weeks. Next weekend the 2^nd ranked Wildcats will play the 5^th ranked William & Mary Tribe on Versus, the first Nationally Broadcast CAA game. Villanova then travels on a 2 game road trip against New Hampshire and nationally ranked James Madison, who knocked Villanova out of the playoffs last season. The game that the entire FCS division will have circled occurs on November 7^th, #2 Villanova at #1 Richmond. Last season the Wildcats upset Richmond at home when Richmond was ranked #1 and Andy Talley’s squad hopes to repeat the task. If the offense and defense plays at the caliber they have been performing at, they will have a great chance.

Check out the Articles Section of This Website for Featured Articles

Click here for PDF version of the issue. VU Times 9.16.09

Email us at vutimes@gmail.com if you are a Villanova student who is interested in writing for us, or becoming involved in any other aspect of the newspaper.

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By Matt Crawford

The following is an essay I wrote for a political science class a few weeks ago, which expands on the anti-tobacco legislation currently in Congress that I mentioned in my opionion article in today’s edition of The Villanova Times.

Tobacco-related diseases kill more than 434,000 people annually and cost the nation approximately $96 billion in health care costs (Carroll, 2009). It is estimated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that 21 percent of U.S. citizens smoke totaling more than 45 million people. However, cigarettes and other tobacco products are still subject to less government regulation than food, drugs, cosmetics and even dog food. Over the past decade, legislation has been proposed that would fix that sad reality. In the final two years of the Bush Administration, bills were proposed that would have placed the tobacco industry under the watchful eye of a governmental agency, namely the FDA, but none ever became law. H.R. 1108, which passed in the House in 2008, would have given tobacco regulation powers to the Food and Drug Administration. The bill died in the Senate. Now, H.R. 1256, virtually the same bill as H.R. 1108 with a few more anti-tobacco measures, has passed the House by a vote of 298-112.

I am a lobbyist with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Since H.R 1256 would impose regulation on tobacco, as well as prohibiting flavored cigarettes, other than menthol, our organization is encouraged by it. The bill, titled “The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act” would allow the FDA to eliminate any misleading or youth-focused advertising and labeling. “The agency would be able to regulate the contents of tobacco products, make their ingredients public, prohibit flavoring, require much larger warning labels and strictly control or prohibit marketing campaigns, especially those geared toward children” (Werner, 2009). Still, H.R. 1256 should be a lot tougher than it actually is. Of course, tobacco cannot be completely banned, but why not ban nicotine? Nicotine addiction is labeled as one of the toughest addictions to break. It logically follows that the removal of nicotine from cigarettes would cause a decrease in the amount of smokers. Of course, the obstacle is the strong tobacco lobby, which is one of the largest contributors to individual congressmen, and who would surely be up in arms if a bill ever proposed to ban nicotine.

Another problem with H.R. 1256 is its exemption of menthol-flavored cigarettes from its ban on flavored cigarettes. Not only does flavoring attract more smokers, especially young smokers, but menthol cigarettes are chosen by a whopping 80% of African-American teenage smokers (Saul, 2008). Upon realizing this, The National African-American Tobacco Prevention Network, which originally supported the bill, has now become one of its largest critics. This discontent and racial disproportionality can be used to our advantage to pressure Congress to produce tougher anti-tobacco legislation.

Of course, a tougher proposal would be increasingly difficult to get support for in Congress as a result of the immense contributions from the tobacco lobby as well as significant opposition from congressmen from tobacco-producing states. To enact stricter measures such as bans on menthol flavoring and nicotine, we must identify those members of Congress who would be willing to go up against the big tobacco corporations. Furthermore, we need to make sure either the current H.R. 1256 or a stricter proposal will be able to pass the Senate and not face the same grave as did H.R. 1108. Although we will continue to push for stricter measures, in the end we may need to be satisfied with H.R. 1256 as it currently stands. Our lobbyists can work towards this goal, first by identifying key members of congress and important committees as well as using the media to our advantage by utilizing advertising campaigns and demonstrations by certain anti-tobacco groups, such as the aforementioned National African-American Tobacco Prevention Network.

Although not directly involved in the legislative process, H.R. 1256 has the backing of President Obama who has himself struggled to quit smoking. The failed H.R. 1108 did not have the support of President Bush in 2008, who actually threatened to use a veto if the bill ever made it to his desk. Obama appears to be devoted to giving regulatory powers over tobacco to the FDA, something which Bush was not willing to do, for multiple reasons. Opponents have always argued that the FDA is not capable of handling such a large industry, on top of the industries it already regulates. Another reason is that Republicans have historically received much more contributions and campaign support from the tobacco industry than the Democratic Party has. Figure 2 shows this reality quite clearly, although the gap is decreasing as more Democrats are being elected in tobacco-producing states. Figure 1 shows that now, in 2009, Republicans still receive more funds from big tobacco, but now the difference is only 100,000 dollars. President Obama is not from a tobacco-producing state and thus has never been the recipient of enormous contributions, from Phillip Morris, for example; although tobacco corporations have surely donated some money to Obama in the past. Stricter anti-tobacco legislation, if it can make it through both chambers, should face little opposition from Obama, and he could perhaps use the executive office to make sure anti-tobacco legislation makes it through the Senate.

Further evidence of Obama’s support of the anti-tobacco lobby is that he recently nominated William V. Corr to the number 2 position at the Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Corr is actually the executive director of my anti-tobacco group, The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Both Corr’s nomination and Obama’s support for H.R. 1256 are positive signs for the future of anti-tobacco legislation.

In the past, Corr has worked for Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), who is now chairman of the House committee on Energy and Commerce and was formerly the chair of the health subcommittee. There also exist under this committee the subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection and also the subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations – both which could play roles in making H.R. 1256 stricter. In the subcommittee on Health, Frank Pallone (D-NJ) is the chair and Nathan Deal (R-GA) is the ranking Republican. Deal is from the tobacco-producing state of Georgia and would not support tougher measures and actually voted against the passage of H.R. 1256. Pallone, on the other hand, was praised for his hard work and support of H.R. 1256 in a statement by Matthew Myers, the president of The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. When even stricter anti-tobacco measures are pushed for, Pallone is by no doubt a U.S. representative who can be counted upon and could be resourceful based on his position as chair of the health subcommittee.

Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Henry Waxman, sponsored both the failed H.R. 1108 and the more promising H.R. 1256. This committee is important to any anti-tobacco legislation since these bills are typically referred to that House committee first. Joe Barton (R-TX) is the ranking Republican on the committee, and voted against the bill. Even so, Waxman and other supporters in this committee did great job getting significant bipartisan support for H.R. 1256 ensuring its easy passage through the House. Because of their strong work on H.R. 1256, Waxman, Pallone and others, mainly Democrats, can possibly be successfully lobbied to push for even tougher anti-tobacco legislation in the future.

House Republicans have proposed anti-tobacco regulation proposals of their own. Representative Steven Buyer (R-IN) sponsored a bill as an alternative to H.R. 1256. Buyer’s bill, H.R. 1261, titled “The Youth Prevention and Tobacco Harm Prevention Act,” was introduced March 3^rd. The alternative bill likely has no future because of the passage of H.R. 1256 by such a large margin. Buyer also proposed House Amendment 71 to Waxman’s bill the day before it was to be voted on. The amendment was to create a Tobacco Harm Reduction Center under the Department of Health and Human Services, as opposed to the FDA, to regulate all tobacco products and to establish “a regulatory scheme to provide for tobacco prevention, education, and cessation programs.” The amendment was voted on along with H.R. 1256 and failed by a vote of 142-284. Buyer, along with cosponsor Mike McIntyre (D-NC), spoke on the floor about their alternative proposal. As do most opponents of giving FDA regulation powers over tobacco, they argued that their bill would actually be tougher on tobacco and that the FDA is not equipped to handle such regulatory powers. They also charged that H.R. 1256 would unfairly put smaller tobacco corporations out of business eventually, such as Lorillard Tobacco Co, but would not affect Philip Morris for example. Lorillard Tobacco Co. said in a statement that among other problems, Waxman’s bill “leads to an industry monopoly by locking in the huge market share of our largest competitor while eliminating our ability to communicate with our adult smokers” (Werner, 2009). In McIntyre’s speech on the House floor, he claimed that “Mr. Waxman’s… provisions will put many companies and growers out of business, and we absolutely cannot afford to lose any more jobs.” A decrease the amount of people smoking, which is exactly the goal which we should all be striving for, will naturally as a consequence lose some jobs and eventually some small companies may go out of business. A decrease in the tobacco industry would be a sign that the legislation is working. Buyer’s claims in support of his bill are misleading in that his bill is by no means tougher than H.R. 1256. Waxman’s legislation would allow regulation of cigarette ingredients, labeling, advertising and place a ban on flavored cigarettes. Buyer’s legislation only proposes regulation powers to an alternate agency other than the FDA. Major public health groups, including the American Medical Association, have written to lawmakers asking them to oppose Buyer’s bill, contending it would leave tobacco companies without meaningful regulation and able to make untested claims about the health effects of their products (Werner, 2009).

            In the Senate, the situation is very similar. In 2007, Senator Ted Kennedy sponsored a bill, S.625, which would also have given the FDA regulatory powers over tobacco. S.625, which was the Senate’s counterpart to Waxman’s original H.R. 1108, was never voted upon. Kennedy is the chairman of the Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and will be influential in pushing H.R. 1256 through the Senate now that it has passed the House. In 2007, an alternative bill, S.1834 was proposed by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), similar to Buyer’s House alternative. Enzi is the ranking Republican on Kennedy’s committee, which is the most important Senate committee for the tobacco issue. Enzi criticized Waxman’s bill by writing “H.R. 1108, would, in fact, coddle Big Tobacco while protecting the industry’s best tools to recruit and addict your children to tobacco.  That’s why the nation’s largest cigarette maker – Philip Morris – helped write the bill and is one of its strongest supporters” (Enzi, 2008). Enzi further pointed out the failure to ban menthol flavoring, although it does not appear that his bill would have banned any of the flavorings. However, if Enzi truly wants H.R. 1261 to be tougher and to ban menthol flavoring, he could be a vital and important Senator in the Republican Party, especially because of his committee position.

            In response to H.R. 1256, Waxman’s bill, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) has sponsored S.579, introduced to the Senate in early March. The bill is very similar to Buyer’s failed proposal in the House and would create an office outside the FDA to regulate tobacco. But one only needs to look at Burr’s biography to see his true motives behind this bill. Burr, who is also on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, went to Richard J. Reynolds high school in Winston-Salem, NC. Ever hear of tobacco giant RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company? Not only did he go to the high school named after the tobacco company, but RJ Reynolds was his 2^nd largest contributor during the 2006 election cycle, giving him 109,950 dollars (sourcewatch.org). Furthermore, The Winston-Salem Journal reported on March 23, 2009 that Congressman Burr had received $355,000 from tobacco interests since 1995 (second only to Mitch McConnell). Although, Burr is reportedly anti-tobacco after he quit smoking in 1998 after making a televised vow to do so, he is not to be counted on and obviously represents the large tobacco interests of North Carolina. Keep in mind that his proposal, S.579, was also supported by Senators Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Representative Melvin Watt (D-NC) have voiced their opposition to Burr’s proposal, and both can be counted on to support the H.R. 1256 as well as future tougher legislation. Watt can be important since even though he is a North Carolina representative, he has crossed swords with North Carolina’s tobacco lobby before. The Almanac of American Politics noted that “On one issue after another, he [Watt] has risked unpopular stands to defend principle.”

            Congressmen like Watt, who stand up to lobbyists and value principle over representing all interests, are what are necessary for the toughening of anti-tobacco legislation. H.R. 1256 will face opposition in the Senate but should succeed. For the first time since the Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the FDA needed congressional approval to regulate tobacco an agency will finally regulate one of the unhealthiest products in the United States. However, to be completely successful and fair, menthol flavoring must be banned along with the other flavorings. Menthol attracts most young smokers and a disproportionate percentage of African-American teenage smokers. For the passage of Waxman’s H.R. 1256 and the further toughening of future legislation, advertising must be made use of and even demonstrations. Those such as North Carolina’s senators must be discredited and those aforementioned congressmen who back the bill and would not be opposed to further strengthening of anti-tobacco legislation must be lobbied heavily, especially those in the most important congressional committees. H.R. 1256 is a step in the right direction, and I am fully confident that with a little work, it will be written into law sooner rather than later.

Yesterday, Scottie Reynolds announced that his name will be enterred into the NBA Draft, which will be taking place in about two months. Reynolds will not be hiring an agent and is keeping open the possibility of returning to Villanova next year. Even so, he appears to be very serious about the draft and will be working out more than ever in the next few months. He stated that he will be working out 3 times a day, with basketball activities, lifting weights and even a good amount of work in the pool. This experience will be good for Reynolds, who even if he does not decide to go to the NBA next year, will surely enter the draft next year and be drafted well enough after his senior season with the Wildcats is complete.

Dante Cunningham, graduating from Villanova this year, will also be in the NBA draft and likely will be drafted ahead of Reynolds. Reynolds has stated that he will eventually finish his four year degree at Villanova no matter what happens, and joked about that decision being “for his mom.” He will also continue going to class as he said, “I will continue going to my classes. But on the basketball court, I am doing this with 100 percent effort. It’s not just about going through the experience. I want to prepare myself in the best way I can and make the most of this opportunity.”

Some other Villanova basketball news, released just prior to the basketball banquet tonight:

Anderson and Clark are co-winners of the 2009 Villanova Basketball Award

Cunningham and junior Scottie Reynolds are co-winners of the Most Outstanding Player Award

Tchuisi is the winner of the Jake Nevin Award “for his selfless dedication to the program”

Reggie Redding, a junior guard from Philadelphia, is this year’s recipient of the Paul Arizin Award, given to the athlete demonstrating the greatest improvement in his game (one might ask what about Dante? I suppose the Most Outstanding Player Award was sufficient to honor his outstanding improvement.)

Corey Stokes is to receive the Alexander Severance Award, which is given to the player who shows both athletic and academic excellence.

By Chris Fujimoto

“We have some compassion for Jay and his club because they had a great, great year, and I’ve been there. I was there a year ago. It feels like somebody just reaches in, jerks your heart out and shakes it right in front of you. There’s nothing worse than the feeling of your season being over with and knowing how close you came. But I’m hopeful that Jay and his players will think about what a great, great year it was.” – UNC Coach Roy Williams.

“They did a great job of bringing this team together and teaching us how to play Villanova basketball for 40 minutes. That’s something that we concentrated on throughout the season. We didn’t know when it was going to click, but it started clicking, and it was all because of the seniors and their strong will to will this team to do that. It would have been easy for them to be satisfied and just let us do what we wanted to do, you know. We were, what, fourth in the Big East, or third. I forgot what we were. I guess we were like, I don’t know, tops in the — in the top 25. It was easy for them to just let back and throw in the towel and not push us. But they kept pushing us. That’s why we continued to get better. And they took us on a great ride. You know, we just tried to do that day in and day out. We sorry that it’s over, but they’ll never be forgotten.” -Scottie Reynolds on the Senior Class“Always tell our guys, There’s nothing wrong with failing. You can’t fear failure. And when it happens, you’ve got to learn from it. So I really want us to learn from this tonight. You know, we didn’t play our best game. The number one reason is Carolina played better tonight. You got to give them credit. But there are things we could have done and should have done that we have to learn from. And then tomorrow, I’m going to make sure that this senior class is celebrated. I’m going to work hard at it. To answer your question, I’m gonna do everything I can tomorrow that they’re feeling great about themselves.” – Jay Wright

Sure, I can just use quotes to describe last night’s game. I can even talk about how it was to be there on the court, sitting through the game. I won’t do either of those. We all saw the game, we all have our own opinions on…what went wrong, what Villanova didn’t do…how mch better UNC was…but I don’t think that, taking last night’s game in to perspective, any of those things are important. We have to do what Jay Wright said he was going to do: celebrate the team, celebrate the seniors, and learn from a tough loss against a great team.

I’ll be honest. If you asked me at the beginning of the Big East season that this team would make it to the final four, I would laugh. I thought the team was good, but they had their flaws. But they converted me, I became a believer while sitting through their dismantling of Marquette at the Pavillion. Sure, the defense wasn’t there but with the offensive firepower they had along with the defense that had shown at times. I believed this team could make a run. Even when filling out my brackets I had Villanova going to the final four in all seven brackets I made. Sure, my picks were biased but I believed that if this team could put every piece together, they could move on to Detroit.

As a writer, I began to believe even more during the tournament. Sitting through beatings against UCLA and Duke I listened to Jay Wright and the players and began to buy in that this was a team that was destined to go far. Their offense was clicking and their defense was tenacious. I was on the court when the team celebrated their amazing win over Pitt. They laughed, cried, and celebrated. The press conference was light-hearted after with Scottie and Jay joking about the final play. Dante was wiping down the trophy with a napkin and reporters joked with Jay Wright about how the championship hat matched his suit.

Coming in to Detroit no one gave the Wildcats a chance to beat UNC. People said that it would be close and that Nova would be the most relaxed team at the Final Four, but UNC simply was the better team. I believed Nova matched up well and if they put together a great game, they had a chance..They had a chance, until about 3 minutes in to the second half.

You had to feel for the players. Dwayne, Shane, and Dante all fouled out. All of them looked on in disbelief as they finished their final collegiate game, on the bench. This Senior class has been amazing. We all know about the accomplishments they’ve picked up. But, what we don’t know is the impact they’ve had off the court. They bought in to Jay Wright’s system and knew they had to step up in the absence of 3 NBA players on the ‘06 team. They stepped up, and provided an example for the rest of the team about what Villanova basketball is: a tough, physical, never giving up brand of basketball that is the identity of the team. These players will be missed. Shane Clark, Frank Tsuchi, Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham gave their heart and soul for Villanova Basketball from the first time they stepped on the court until the last time they stepped off the court, last night. They will be remembered for what they accomplished and not what they couldn’t.

But, life moves on. This team still has a lot of experience and potential. It is crazy to think that this team will add Taylor King and four of the best recruits in the nation. The question will be: with all the talent on the team, will there be enough playing time to go around? And will all the talent translate into success? This year’s team was built on chemistry and learning the system. Next year’s team will be more talented but the four new freshmen and King may struggle to learn to play the Wright way. Everyone in the Nova Nation can only hope for more success on the main line.

For now, though, we have to remember this season and remember both its highs and its lows for a season like this one may never come again.