Beth Amodeo’s production of “Call Me Goliath” created curiosity inside and outside of the FDU community. The Barn’s small theater barely held all the people who attended the last performance on March 11.

Amodeo, who wrote “Call Me Goliath,” is a theater, creative writing, and English literature senior who started this play as a sophomore.

“I am by no means finished with this play…and there have been quite a few rewrites of it since then. It’s taken a lot of time to make it ready for any type of performance,” she said.

“Call Me Goliath” is Amodeo’s senior writing project.

The play is about two brothers, Stanley and Liam, who were abandoned by their parents due to Liam’s uncontrollable mental illness. Stanley, the older of the two, dreams of going to college and making something of himself. Liam, who has an incredible talent for playing piano, has delusions and flashbacks of his parents coming back and talking to him.

Throughout the play, Liam asks Stanley’s live-in girlfriend to call him Goliath. It’s very clear that Liam hates her, and he keeps plotting her departure by telling her that Stanley beats him. Goliath is presented as his other personality, the one that brings out the bad in him, and in all of the characters.

The play ends with Stanley’s girlfriend shooting Liam (from what the audience can assume), in an act of desperation.

“It was a wonderful experience being in ‘Call Me Goliath’ because it is such a captivating and intelligently written play,” said student Angeline-Rose Troy, who played Stanley and Liam’s mother, Theresa.

“The character of Theresa is such a conflicted woman who plays many roles in her day to day life: mother, caregiver, wife, lover,” said Troy.

In the play, Theresa is flustered and often at a loss for what to do. She is also seen with the gun that eventually kills Liam.

After the play, Amodeo, the cast and the director all collected on stage for a 15-minute “talk back” where the audience got to ask any questions and give criticism if they wanted. Discussion about the characters ensued, including who exactly the main character was, Stanley or Liam.

“It’s mostly Stanley’s story, but you could make the argument that its Liam’s too. It’s really up for interpretation,” said Amodeo.

The interpretation line kept coming up in all the answers and quickly became a joke between cast and audience.

Although Amodeo doesn’t plan on writing another play to be produced at FDU, she feels broadened by the experience.

“This entire journey has been a really spiritual process for me. I don’t believe that art happens by accident or that writing this play was all about me and the crazy ideas that pop out of my own head,” she said.

“Honestly, writing this play has taught me a lot about listening and being open to the impossible.”

ANGELA SPARANDERA
Assistant Editor

I have a small addiction. I create people and tell them what to do. I create the same people over and over again, and watch them act out the plans I have made for them. They are always thin, attractive, rich, and have great furniture. Their houses stay clean from the maid, and a job promotion is just a skill bar away. Their children never miss a homework assignment. Their gardens never go untended, and their love life is unbelievable. I feel organized when I play The Sims.

Marcella Lockston is the pop star of Calpurnia Heights. I worked her way up from a gas station attendant to the spiked haired, spandex wearing, serial dating rocker that she is today. Her boyfriends are many, her obligations few; one dog (Biscuit), and of course, her booming career. She started out like the rest; a template. I chose the lazy, half closed eyes, and the jet black hair to contrast her milky skin, dressed her in brown boots, cut shorts, and a white tank top.

My room is tidy. I know where most things are. The extra pens in the desk drawer, the body lotion under the bed, and even the most obscure of items, like thank you cards, I know where those are too; top shelf of closet to the left in picture box labeled “childhood photos.” I know that when my boyfriend sleeps over and leaves his toothbrush in the shower that I have to take a deep breath and handle it until he leaves. The status of my room is in my hands. The comfort of neatness makes me happy. I play the Sims best when my room is clean.

Marcella has no write up in the game, but I know that she eventually wants a family. She wants to be a single mother, not held down by one of the many men that she dates. Her daughter will be named something outrageous, like Radiator, or Fleece. Her career will reach the top, and then slowly dwindle because she wants it to, because I will make her have twelve children, if the game doesn’t lock up first (which it often does). She will adopt, she will play the guitar, and she will finally fall in love with the cleaning man, who has been there in the background her whole life and took her this long to notice. I will wrap her life up into a simple story; a pink ribbon ending.

I never thought I would have a planner. I always thought I wouldn’t want to be bogged down by plans; that I could frolic around and bump into people and places and spontaneously become fabulous. I have sadly learned that this is impossible. I can’t even tell my boyfriend if I’m available for Saturday if I don’t have my planner in my hand, not because I’m tremendously busy, but because I don’t remember. Sometimes, I study the planner for twenty minutes at a time. I sit in a desk or on a sofa and go over each event, assignment, teeth cleaning, TV program, or car payment schedule. Somehow reading it, memorizing it even, makes me think I will accomplish them without difficulty, that I won’t forget or I’ll do the assignment ahead of time, or I’ll diminish all of my debt because I wrote it down.

Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have three children, two large golden retrievers, and a vegetable garden. Mr. Stewart is in charge of the test research lab in Calpurnia Heights. Mrs. Stewart is a stay at home mom who has an affair with Mr. Andy Howard a block down every afternoon after the children have hurried off to school. Every day I try to make Mrs. Stewart paint, either before or after her “lunch” with Andy. It’s good for her; she needs to expand her horizons. She’s never had a job, and she doesn’t go out much, and before Mr. Stewart finds out about Andy and leaves her for good, alone with the children, she should have a profitable craft of some sort to support her family.

I want to live without plans. I hate it when someone gives me a “remember the date” or makes weekend plans that must include me. I love going; I hate planning. If I think about all the written events in my planner, and realize that I have no weekends, I’ll just cry. Or more realistically, I’ll clean. I’ll make my bed, straighten the comforter until it looks like I haven’t slept in it for days, dust the dresser, clean the toilet bowl, and re-stack my books. I may not have a weekend, but I have a clean room.

The Sims releases the same obsessive-compulsive satisfaction that I get when I clean my room. I don’t feel productive when I play the game, however. I pause my own life and progress Mrs. Stewart’s, Marcella’s, and the Howard girls’. But it’s the same tidying away of loose pens, good, the girls did their homework, of vacuuming the floor, excellent Mr. Stewart got a promotion, of putting a clean duvet on the comforter, very nice work on that last painting Mrs. Stewart. I know where they are, how they are arranged, and what they are going to be doing tomorrow.

There are three speed levels to the game, regular (slow), medium (slightly sped up), and high (lightning). I play the game mostly on high. I watch them make pancakes, clean the bathroom, garden some tomatoes, call the kids and husband for breakfast, and watch them eat in less than 30 seconds (our time). If something gets out of hand, simply slow down. That’s part of The Sims beauty, slowing down on command. If, for instance, in real life someone caught on fire, one would not be able to briefly stop time and grab a fire extinguisher or run upstairs to the telephone without fear of being too late. In the Sims, this is possible. If a Sim catches on fire, pause the game, tell another one to grab the phone and call the fire department. And what if there isn’t another Sim, you ask? Exit the game and start over. You may have regressed back a skill point or two, but at least they aren’t dead.

It was recently when I had just cleaned my room. The bed was made, all the pens, clothes, toothbrushes, and slippers were in their assigned areas and I was ready to play. I clicked into Calpurnia Heights, and searched for the Stewart residence. Their house was gone. I retraced my game from last night, remembering that I built their house from ground up with the carpet, wall, and paint tools. Where was their house?! I started a slight panic as I went over each Sims house, I moved the pointer from the Greber’s to the Kilhent’s to Marcella’s place and I still couldn’t find their house. The program deleted my house. THE PROGRAM DELETED MY HOUSE.

This has only happened one other time in Sims history. Poor Mr. and Mrs. Ishmay, they had two daughters and lucrative careers. I was looking forward to getting those girls married, but my computer crashed right in the middle of my game, and I lost them forever. It’s too frustrating to create them again, and it just wouldn’t be the same. I had to move on.

I frequently save my games because something bad could happen at any moment. I went downstairs for a muffin one day, and both my Sims were burned to death. They forget to take things out of the oven sometimes, and when you don’t put a fire alarm on the wall, the firemen don’t come, and there go your Sims. So now, I save. If I don’t like what happens, I exit into the neighborhood, and re-enter their house from the last save point, and everything is back to normal. Mr. Stewart has caught Mrs. Stewart numerous times with Andy, but he doesn’t know it.

I used to be cruel. Before the saving ritual, I used to drown them. The first version of the game only allowed children to grow up until about 10 years old. They stayed that way … forever. They didn’t become teenagers, and they didn’t become adults, so if you decided to have kids, you had kids until, well … you killed them. The only way to assure death in the game (besides leaving them without a fire alarm, which could take “months”) is to get them very tired, and make them go swimming, then take away the ladder. I know, try not to judge. I really wouldn’t drown actual children; they grow up. Why would you make a game where the kids didn’t grow up? What other choice did they leave me? I had to do something. They were just eating the food, and hanging around, and doing homework all the time for no reason. They were trapped in middle school, how awful. I freed them, really, and it created a happier game, for them and for me. The next version allowed teenagers and adults. Drowning doesn’t really occur anymore.

Sometimes I’m afraid that I will treat the people in my life like I do Marcella, or my room, that I will trap them into one of the lined spaces in my planner. That I will tidy them under my bed or in a drawer and expect them to be there doing whatever I had them doing when I left. I don’t want to control my boyfriend, which is why is so very vital to shut my mouth about the toothbrush, even though when I take a shower it makes my skin crawl to think that shower and body wash items have made their way into his bristles, and that when he asks me where his toothbrush is, I don’t shriek back, “YOU PUT IT IN THE SHOWER, STUPID!” It’s important to keep the controlling within Calpurnia Heights.

Angela is a successful writer residing in Calpurnia Heights. She lives there with her fiancé Jesse, the famous filmmaker of Evergreen Fields. They have a large cottage, two cats, and an expensive fruit juicer. Angela wants children one day, but feels that her career is more important right now. Her house is cleaned by Martha the maid, and her days are mostly spent writing. Maybe she will buy a beach house in the town over, maybe she will raise a few children and love them even more than writing and maybe, she will find that one day, The Sims will become just a silly game that she can play whenever she wants to have some fun, instead of trying to get control of her life in the small ways that she can.

ANGELA SPARANDERA
ASSISTANT EDITOR

Spring is coming. The thawing of the winter occurs, and so do a lot of sinus problems.
Headaches are an uncomfortable and sometimes debilitating pain that work their way around the face, head and neck. Many people suffer from headaches, and when it comes to treatment, they often reach for the nearest bottle of aspirin. However, getting rid of your headache could be as simple as going to the chiropractor twice a month, some patients believe.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, “People seek chiropractic care primarily for pain conditions, such as back pain, neck pain and headache.”

Tension headaches are the most common types of headaches seen by a chiropractor. Poor posture, misalignment of the neck and stress are just a few of the problems that could be causing these headaches.
“There are a couple of different treatments for headaches that I use,” said Mike Maher, the practicing chiropractor at Mount Olive Chiropractic Center.

Treatments are done on a case-by-case basis, depending on the severity. Maher said, “What I concentrate on doing is working on the upper cervical region,” or the upper neck region.
What the chiropractor is setting out to do is realign the spine to its original curvature, which is thrown out of alignment from everyday activity.

This is known as the adjustment, the procedure known to most people as “cracking the back.” The goal of the adjustment is to ease the tension built up in the neck that is causing the headaches.
Although adjustments might improve tension headaches, there are other possible solutions.
Mechanical traction is a device that restores the normal cervical curvature. The traction device uses a restraining grip placed on the jaw of the patient, while the patient sits with his or her head tipped back. Mechanical traction works gradually, meaning every time will be just a little longer than the last, until the neck is back to normal.

On top of regular adjustments and traction, there is also trigger point therapy. Many of Maher’s patients like cold laser because it is non-invasive, and even relaxing. The cold laser “puts a blue light to the tissue and causes the cells in the area to replicate themselves. It increases blood flow to the area, which allows everything to heal itself properly. It’s similar to photosynthesis in the way of replication.” The patient lies on a table head down for five minutes while the laser eases the muscles of the neck.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine states on its Web site, “Ongoing research is looking at effects of chiropractic treatment approaches, how they might work, and diseases and conditions for which they may be most helpful.”

Relief of headaches after seeing the chiropractor could take about four to six weeks, depending on the severity of the headaches.
One patient said chiropractic has really helped her headaches. “I think I’ve only gotten one in the past year,” she said.

For people at home, Maher suggests cold and ice therapy. “Twenty minutes on the area, twenty minutes off,” he said. “But if it’s more of a chronic type headache that lingers, then put heat on it, twenty minutes on, and an hour off.”

ANGELA SPARANDERA
ASSISTANT EDITOR

My gynecologist called me fat. Actually, it was the nurse who comes in before the doctor, but still, called me fat. As I sat on the raised, paper covered examination table, I thought about how I didn’t shave my legs. Nancy, a rather round woman herself had a pleasant demeanor and decent small talk skills.

“So what are you studying at school?”

“Creative writing, I love it.”

“Oh, that’s great. And have you ever had an STD before?”

She slipped the question in there very nicely.

“No.”

I slid down on the table, and ripped the paper.  Why do they cover it with the flimsiest of papers? They know that the paper is going to rip and that bare bottoms will be touching the table, but still insist on buying the crappiest kind.

Nancy sat in the corner of the small room in front of a laptop, reading me questions.

“Do you smoke?”

“No.”

“Take drugs?”

“No.”

“I’m going to take your blood pressure now.” Nancy swiveled her way over to my arm and stood up. She put both hands around the top of my arm and squeezed gently.

“Okay, I’m gonna have to get the one for us voluptuous girls, be right back!”

I’m sorry, what? Did Nancy just call me voluptuous? Nancy just called me fat. Nancy thinks that I belong in the same category as her. Nancy wants me to be in her club. Dammit, Nancy, you just ruined my day.

These visits are the pinnacle of awkwardness, and now I had to feel like a hairy heffer as a woman examines my vagina. My confindence has plummeted. Thank you, Nancy.

Nancy walked back in the room with the “voluptuous girl” blood pressure measurer and a paper dress for me to don when the doctor comes.

As my blood pressure was being taken, Nancy continued with the small talk.

“…so then my daughter tells me that she lost her cell phone, because there aren’t any pockets in a toga! And I told her that if she loses another cell phone, she’s on her own.”

She reads the little circle of pressure and puts it down on her chair.

“How is my blood pressure?”

“It’s a little high for your age, it should be between 80 and 100, it’s just probably because of your weight.”

Nancy! You did it again. The doctor still was not ready for me, so Nancy and I chatted some more about her daughter.

“She loves college, joined a sorority, she’s getting great grades, and I think she found a boyfriend too.”

Nancy thinks nothing of the comments she made. She thinks that a young woman like myself couldn’t be affected by words like that. What’s some jokes between a couple of fatties?

“Oh, that’s great, yeah college is awesome. Way better than high school.”

“Claudia doesn’t even want to come home on weekends. She said the only thing she hates there is the food. She has the same lovely genes that you and I do, so I tell her to eat lots of veggies.”
I’m done. Where is the fucking doctor? I have never in my life wanted the woman who is about to inspect the most private part of my body to arrive early, but Nancy has caused a slight rage inside me.

Nancy darts her eyes towards the hallway and claps her hands together.

“All right, I’m going to leave the room for a second, it looks like the doctor is just about ready to see you. Just put on that dress, and she’ll knock when she’s ready. Nice to meet you Angela.”
I hate you.

As I slipped my clothes off, I wondered how much of a medical emergency I was. Should I be worried? Am I that friggin’ big that I need a separate tool to take my blood pressure? Does everyone tear the paper?

Everything was off except my bra. They don’t need to look up there, all the examining will be happening below the equator, so I didn’t see the need in completely stripping down.
Knock.

“Angela? It’s Nancy, again. I just wanted to grab something I forgot in there.”

I quickly jumped up to the table again, so my bottom was not revealed to Nancy, god knows what sort of comments she had for it.

“Oh honey, you have to take off everything, including your bra. Nice try!”

When Nancy left, I unhooked my bra and sat stark naked in my paper dress, vulnerable and cold.  When the doctor came in, she did the usual and then asked me to sit back up so I could answer a few questions.

“When was the last time you got your period?”

“It’s a little late, why did you notice something? Is something wrong?”

“No, not at all, sometimes that happens, it’s usually caused by a fluctuation in weight.”

BY ANGELA SPARANDERA
ASSISTANT EDITOR

On Jan. 22, Roe v. Wade, the historic Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion, celebrated its 36th anniversary.

The decision in Roe’s favor, made in 1973, is still being discussed across America, including at the highest level of government.

The issue of abortion has been a hot topic for years. It brings up questions of religion, women’s rights, and even doctor’s rights.

Former President George W. Bush, who is pro-life, supported the Parental Notification Law, which required parents to know 48 hours in advance of a minor’s planned abortion.

Bush also supported the ban of partial birth abortion, as does President Barack Obama.

One of the main questions this decision brings up in 2009 is the question of life. When does it begin? Many say at the time of conception, and others think it is when a fetus is developed. In Roe v. Wade, the court decided that it is the woman’s right to abort the child up until the child is “viable,” or able to “potentially” live outside the womb, which is about seven months or 28 weeks, according to a copy of the case on findlaw.com.

Although abortion is a contentious issue, the president in office has the power to change some legislation on the subject, as Obama has done within his first weeks in office.

According to MSN.com, on Jan. 26, Obama reversed Bush’s ban on funding “international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option.” This ban, known as the Global Gag Rule, has been going back and forth since President Reagan, who was the first to ban the funding. When President Clinton came into office, he stopped the ban, then Bush reinstated it, and so on, allowing the bill to become a partisan ping-pong game.

On the subject of life, it brings further questions about stem cell research. According to CNN.com, on Sept. 25, 2006, President Bush vetoed the bill for stem cell research, saying “it crosses a moral boundary.”

This was after his decision in 2001 to allow for restricted research.

According to LAtimes.com, Obama is expected to lift the restrictions on stem cell research shortly.
Opinions of college students and recent graduates are varied, but four out of five students who were interviewed were pro-choice.

“I am tired of hearing that people who are pro-choice value the miracle of life any less than anyone else. A baby who is born deserves to have a biological mother who loves it more than anything, and who is willing to sacrifice anything for their child. It is never a casual choice, an easy way out, and the psychological reverberations will probably continue to affect the lives of those who do have an abortion at least as much as the actual birth of a child,” says Laura Sullivan, a recent college graduate.

Roe v. Wade has certainly come a long way from a heated trial. It is now normal for this subject to come up in a debate or political discussion.

BY ANGELA SPARANDERA
ASSISTANT EDITOR

Fairleigh Dickinson University is expanding its resources by building a brand new addition to the historical library at the College at Florham.

“We have been thinking about a new library for number of years. The Monninger Center will be an exciting place for students to study, conduct research, and work collaboratively,” said College at Florham Provost Kenneth Greene.

With an increase in students, and technologies becoming older, the Monninger Center for Learning and Research “will be the premier example of an academic center outfitted for the 21st century,” according to a brochure distributed by FDU NOW.

Expanding to the 32,000 square foot library, the new building will be built in between the current campus library and the Student Center, leaving just a short distance to the Student Center.
The Monninger Center will feature new group study spaces, a computer lab and seminar rooms. “It will also have the latest technology. The existing reference room will be converted to a 160 seat auditorium that will have ITV capability,” said Greene.

Also, the existing Orangerie, the library’s current “quiet room,” will be transformed into a café where students can talk, read and relax.

Another very friendly feature about the building is that it will be a “green” building. One of the goals was to make an energy efficient building. If curious, an artist’s drawing of the new building is on a sign near the entrance to the Orangerie.

The Monninger Center will cost approximately $25 million to build, but before construction can begin, FDU must receive approval from the Florham Park Board of Adjustment and find financing.
Former University Trustee John Monninger, who graduated in 1965, and his wife, Joan, initiated the center’s creation with a $1 million gift, according to the FDU NOW Web page.

“The University was there for me when I needed it. I wanted to be there when it needed me,” Monninger said in a brochure featuring the new building.

Bonds will be sold to raise money for construction that will begin next spring. In addition to bonds, the center has set aside some naming opportunities for other contributors to consider. Donors can buy an auditorium seat with their name on it for $1,000.

Other donation options include paying for the atrium or the center entryway for $500,000, which would result in naming the areas after the donor. Another option is to pay for a casual study nook, which will cost $25,000.

The estimated construction time is set for Fall of 2010. “Construction can take 15-18 months. If all goes well, the Monninger Center addition may be completed by the start of classes in 2010,” said Greene.

“It is a symbol of the University’s commitment to academic excellence,” said Greene.

ANGELA SPARANDERA
Assistant Editor