Tt rE NG ET A
page 6
Travis Johnson
Forget the Cowboys who
are back to their winning ways.
The New Orleans Saints are
America’s team now. While it
looks like the Saints couldn’t
win a game against your local
high school squad, we want to
see them win, bad.
Americans rally around
those in despair, much like the
people of New Orleans, a city
left in ruins after hurricane
Katrina ravaged the gulf coast
weeks ago. Can you remember
rooting for the Giants,
Yankees, Rangers, Knicks or
any other New York team after
the tragedies of September 11?
Super Bowl XXXVI, which
followed the 9/11 events, had
a patriotic theme to it with the
Super Bowl logo shaped like
the United States. The New
England Patriots won that
game and I can remember my
household cheering for the
Patriots. As a matter of fact, it
might be fair to say most non-
St. Louis fans were hoping the
Patriots would win - if not
because they were the
underdogs with a young
quarterback, then because their
team name and mascot were
symbols that Americans could
identify with after the shock we
all suffered as a nation.
Back to New Orleans where
the death toll is in the hundreds
(almost 1,000 for the state of
Louisiana) and still climbing,
those who did survive have
been left with no shelter or
food, and the city will need to
be completely rebuilt. What is
left for these people? Hope.
People heal best when they are
able to identify with and care
for others in a similar situation
and hope for the next day to
get better. The people of New
Orleans all experienced the
same disaster; many are
without homes. The
Superdome, home of the
Saints, was also damaged by
Katrina, leaving the local
football team homeless for this
season. The football team is the
symbol many can identify with
and while I’m sure the NFL
wasn’t the first thing on these
people’s mind these last few
weeks after such a disaster, these
people need a return to
normalcy. The Saints playing
ball again in week one was step
one on a long journey to
recovery.
I can’t tell you how many
headlines in newspapers,
online, and on television read
positive for the Saints who
traveled to Carolina to take on
the Panthers, a possible Super
Bowl team, in week one. The
Saints won 23-20 with three
seconds remaining.
Of course the non-sports fan
might say, “How can you think
about and look forward to
football after what has
happened?” That is a difficult
question to answer, but it is said
best by observing the fact that
people need hope to recover
from traumatic events such as
9/11 and hurricane Katrina.
Sports are all about hope. Hope
that your team can prevail
when they’re the underdogs,
when their best players have
been injured, or when they
have been criticized by the
media.
Saints quarterback Aaron
Brooks said after the win, “In
the back of our minds, we
know we have to give them
one tiny bit of hope. We have
complete faith in what we are
doing because every time we go
out there, it is our job to give
them hope that every day will
be a better day.”
The Saints probably won’t
win the Super Bowl, but you
could say they are playing for
something more important.
They are taking the field every
Sunday to uplift the souls of
the people of New Orleans. Ill
root for the Saints next week. I
think the majority of America
will too.
the Fousth. Wall
Fax: 814-234-0474
southgateapartments
@hotmail.com
Residence from page 1:
Alto Hall says Ronjon Ray,
“It’s nice to have a personal
shower. Here at the Hall,
people trash our public
bathrooms that everyone has to
use as if they are their personal
showers.”
“You don’t get as much
privacy in a public bathroom,”
says Brad Mellot
Air conditioners and
personal showers are plusses for
the Gates. So what do residents
at the Hall have going for
them? Penn Gaters do admit
there are a few trade offs
between the different halls.
“The rooms are nicer, but
the long walk (to classes) is a
downfall,” admitted Kristin
Pugliese about the Penn Gates.
The walk from the Gates to
the General Studies building is
significantly longer than from
the Hall. While one can expect
a two and a half minute walk
to class from the Hall, a Penn
Gater will spend much more
time walking — perhaps seven
and a half minutes.
For some students, the social
atmosphere of the Hall is more
desirable than the amenities the
Gates offer. Mike Davis started
out last year living in Penn Gate
IT but then moved to Mont
Alto Hall during the second
semester. “Penn Gate was
boring,” Davis says, “no one
really came out of their rooms.
At the Hall everyone knows
everyone.”
Upperclassmen Ashley
Sellers and Lauren
Martinchick, who have both
lived in the Hall for three years,
describe it as a place that is
more sociable than the Gates.
“Here it’s more open, plus it’s
closer to everything,” says
Sellers.
The bottom line is, all of
these halls offer laundry
facilities, televisions, student
lounges or study areas, snack
machines, and student parking.
Basically it comes down to a
choice between the more social
Mont Alto Hall, or the more
private Penn Gates.
RE
Re ER TRA ET SBT
RE
AR