One year ago, the Grizzlies let a double-digit lead slip away in the championship game. On Tuesday night, they made certain it didn’t happen again.

The Oakland University men’s basketball (26-8) team picked up the biggest win in program history by knocking off IUPUI 76-64 in the Summit League Tournament finals and will be among the field of 65 teams in next week’s NCAA Tournament.

“This legitimizes us,” OU head coach Greg Kampe said. “I told (my players), ‘If you win tonight, you’ll be the best team ever. The statistics say you’re the best Summit League team ever.’”

Senior forward Derick Nelson, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, saved the biggest game of his career for the one that mattered most by scoring a career-high 36 points. He overcame a myriad of injuries, including a back injury that nearly sidelined him for the game.

“Nelson has given up so much of himself to be a part of this team this year,” Kampe said. “Tonight we were so bad early that he just put the team on his shoulders.”

Any amount of hyperbole would still fail to capture the excitement, relief and satisfaction the Golden Grizzlies experienced having achieved their ultimate goal. The automatic NCAA Tournament bid is locked up and the team will be a March Madness participant for just the second time in school history.

Oakland won all three games of the Summit League Tournament this week by double-digit margins and finished conference play with a staggering 20-1 record.

“This was our goal,” senior point guard Johnathon Jones said after the game. “We go out there every day as a team, and that’s what we did today.”

Jones had previously been on the losing end of two conference championship games in his Oakland career.

OU began the game 0-for-9 from the field and looked nervous as it fell behind by eight points in the early going.

“The turning point of this game was when we went to a zone (defense),” Kampe said. “We came out and we couldn’t make a shot. They were killing us. We couldn’t guard them and they were flying by us. So we went zone and we hadn’t played zone all year. Our kids were smart enough and mature enough to figure it out.”

With the Jaguars leading 20-13 with 9:18 remaining, Nelson single-handedly went on an 11-point scoring run and gave the Grizzlies their first lead on a 3-pointer at the 6:32 mark of the first half.

By the end of the half, Nelson had scored 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting.

“Me and J.J. talked about it from the beginning of the year, that this was our last chance to get to the NCAA tournament,” Nelson said. “I didn’t want to be thinking I could have done something more to help us out. Tonight, I had a big game.”

Oakland’s scoring surge came with Jaguars star Robert Glenn on the bench with two early fouls. Keith Benson was forced to sit down when he collected his third personal foul, but it didn’t slow the team’s momentum.

Following a timeout call by Kampe, OU ran down the clock on the last possession of the half. Junior Larry Wright missed a pull-up jumper from the left side, but was fouled on the play and sank his two free throws.

The Grizzlies led 35-27 at the half.

Nelson’s scoring onslaught continued in the second half. He put the Grizzlies up by 10 points with 16:36 to play when Glenn lost control of the ball and Nelson was sent on his way to a fastbreak layup.

Blake Cushingberry, who was silent in the first half, hit on back-to-back 3-pointers to put Oakland ahead 56-40 with 9:55 remaining.

From here it was simply a matter of running down the clock.

When the final horn sounded, all of the dedicated Oakland students who spent the week in Sioux Falls rushed the court and celebrated alongside players and coaches.

Benson scored eight points on the night, while collecting 17 rebounds and six blocks for the second consecutive game.

Wright finished with 16 points, while Jones had seven assists and played all 40 minutes of the game.

The Grizzlies will be returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 when it stunned the conference and won as the seventh-seeded team.

“I thought that the championship in 2005 really changed the program … This is just going to continue that,” Kampe said.

Oakland will learn when and where it will play its first round NCAA game on “Selection Sunday,” March 14. Eight cities in all corners of the country host opening round games. ESPN.com consistently projected the Grizzlies as a 13 or 14 seed throughout the regular season, but Kampe said he thinks a higher seed is entirely possible.

“We have expectations to win. We have a goal board in our locker room, and on that goal board is to make the Sweet 16,” Kampe said. “So we’re not happy just to be there.”

The NCAA Tournament begins Thursday, March 18.

_______

Click below to view the center spread that appeared in the 3-10-2010 issue.

The Oakland University student congress election meet-and-greet session, held on Monday at 6 p.m. in the Fireside Lounge, featured free food and fun in the form of a candidate dance-off.
Students were able to formally meet the three OUSC presidential candidates and their respective running mates.
The three tickets running in this election are Brandon Gustafson and Amy Ring, Cameron Schea and Mike Diedrich, and Saman Waquad and Laura DeSanto: each president and vice president, respectively.
“I wanted to come and find out more about the different platforms,” sophomore Billy Polaczek said. “I have Facebook … I just felt like I should come meet the candidates themselves.”
The six executive office candidates circulated the room and spoke with attendees for the first of the two-hour event.
Waquad and DeSanto had campaign literature in tow while Gustafson and Ring passed out blue and white campaign buttons in their quest to garner votes for the election.
Schea and Diedrich mingled empty-handed with their every-man approach of a campaign.
“I want someone who represents what the students want,” Polaczek said. “I voted for the Dayag/Waquad ticket last year but I will get a more solid view on all of the candidates before casting my vote.”
About 50 people were scattered around the lounge at the very beginning of the event hosted by the OUSC elections committee, but the number dwindled to about 30 after about half an hour.
Most attendees were drawn in by the free food, but some came to support the candidates or learn more about OUSC.
“One of the candidates is a fraternity brother, and I wanted to support him,” said  junior Lou Teeter, a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, of Gustafson.
OUSC administrative assistant and elections commissioner Bill Hamilton admitted that he was weary of the “6:30 mark” where many students would leave the event for once-weekly classes.
Presidential candidate Schea, a sophomore, remarked that the turnout for the meet-and-greet event seemed low, “at least compared to last year.”
Polaczek admitted that he was only drawn into the event by the music being played by OU student Joshua King.
Polaczek said that he has been interested in getting involved with OUSC for some time but “just really never knew how and when to do it.”
Hamilton said that there were currently 10 students who submitted their declaration of candidacy for 26 available legislator positions in OUSC.
He said that the race is not as heated, as spots are “automatic” if less than 26 legislators are on the ballot.
The deadline to declare candidacy passed last Friday, but students can still be voted in as legislators by becoming a write-in candidate.
“Part of our platform right now is to let students know how to get involved with congress,” vice presidential candidate Ring said. “(We want to) let them know we exist, what we do and how to get involved.”
Gustafson said he would like to hold fireside chats with students if elected in order to “know all the issues.”
Involvement is also a centerpiece to the Waquad/DeSanto campaign.
“OUSC needs to make sure that they’re advertising more,” said DeSanto, who is not currently a member.“Out of 19,000 students; most students don’t know about OUSC.”
Schea and Diedrich are also advocates of increased campus visibility for OUSC.
“Student involvement really is key to getting the most out of Oakland,” Schea said. “Oakland can be anything and everything you want it to be.”
Hamilton said he is working on stepping up exposure of the campaigns and OUSC in general and has enlisted the help and guidance of former OUSC public relations chair and presidential candidate Janelle Arbuckle and former OUSC admistratie assistant and elections commisioner Jennifer Doptis.
“It’s a conjoined effort to get the word out about elections,” said Hamilton of the six-member elections committee. “There is never a large turnout. We’re a commuter school; people don’t care.”
He requested a $5,000 budget for the elections from OUSC, up 500 percent from last year’s $1,000, and was ultimately granted $3,500 at the OUSC meeting earlier on Monday.
The money will go toward the cost of and the advertising of the presidential and vice presidential debates, the winners’ announcement event and a newly created presidential address.
After the candidates introduced their platforms, Hamilton surprised them with an impromptu dance competition.
Schea and Diedrich won with their dance to Aqua’s “Barbie Girl.”
Students can vote for the candidates of their choice, based on either dance ability or platform, in the Oakland Center’s Gold rooms March 29 and 30.
The last day of voting is March 31, during which students must find their own way to a computer to cast a vote at www.oakland.edu/voteou. The site will be activated closer to the election dates.

Oakland University carried a six-game winning streak into the quarterfinal matchup, but that momentum came to an abrupt halt in the second half against the Leathernecks when OU just couldn’t get its shots to fall.

“They’re shocked still,” Grizzlies coach Beckie Francis said. “It still hasn’t set in. There are still people crying in the locker room with towels over their heads.”

Oakland’s cold shooting throughout the game was the main culprit, with the team converting just 30.4 percent of its shots from the floor, including an anemic 21.4 percent in the second half.

“I just think the basketball gods did not want us to win,”  Francis said. “As the game went on, I think we started getting tight. When you can’t get shots to fall, you get tense and the other team gets more relaxed.”

In contrast, the Leathernecks saved their best shooting performance of the season for the big stage with a steady 44 percent in each half. Following the opening minutes, WIU never experienced a scoring drought.

“We looked at their field goal percentage for the year, they don’t shoot like that. We’re the best defensive team in the league and they hit all their shots. I give them all the credit for that. They were patient and they should have won the game,” Francis said.

Western Illinois’ 37 points in the second half were more than it scored in the entire game in the last meeting between the teams back on Jan. 30.

Senior Melissa Jeltema, who was named first team all-Summit League on Thursday, scored 16 points for OU, but 14 of those points came in the first half.

“In the entire game, they were doubling me. I didn’t get the looks and I just didn’t hit the shots that I needed to,” Jeltema said.

The Grizzlies got off to a good start in the game, beginning on an 8-0 run. But they immediately allowed WIU back into the game and OU lost its lead just four and a half minutes later at 13:27 of the first half.

The two teams traded leads over the remainder of the half and the Grizzlies went into the break with a 32-31 lead following a tough layup from directly beneath the basket by Jeltema.

Calhoun scored the first four points of the second half to push Oakland’s lead to five.

But the game took a turn when WIU’s Anneloes Kodde tied the game up, 38-38, at the 16:12 mark. A 2-point jumper by Anne Borgertpoepping on the next possession put the Leathernecks ahead and Oakland never regained the lead.

Down the stretch, the Grizzlies only got as close as four points with 2:50 remaining. In the final three and a half minutes, Oakland failed to convert a field goal while in desperation mode.

WIU sealed the game on free throw shots down the stretch, while Oakland couldn’t convert several open opportunities at the other end of the court.

Freshman Bethany Watterworth struggled throughout and was just 1-for-9 shooting in the follow-up to her 32-point performance a week ago.

Sharise Calhoun, the Grizzlies sophomore guard, was the team’s most efficient scorer going 5-for-10 from the field and finishing with 16 points to match Jeltema for the team-high.

This outcome marked just the third time in Summit League history that a No. 7 seed defeated a No. 2 seed. It was also the Grizzlies’ earliest exit from the tournament since 2004.

Possible postseason play in a tournament other than the NCAA’s will be determined later this week for Oakland.

DAN SIMONS

Mouthing Off editor

Cosmopolitan magazine is the instruction manual of the stupid, the travel guide of the ignorant, and the bible of the damned.

Let me explain. A friend of mine was reading an issue of Cosmo out loud and the utter stupidity of it all stopped me in my tracks. I’ve always suspected that those magazines, brightly colored in every hue of pink imaginable, did not contain much award winning literature or life changing advice.

And then I finally read one, and was appalled. My job is too easy sometimes.

Of the 247 pages in the Oct. 2009 issue (You know, the one with Megan Fox airbrushed, photo-shopped and her soulless stare on the cover) 140 pages are full page ads, 15 of them before you get to the table of contents. This means the magazine is just over 56 percent ads. Of the $20 for a yearlong subscription, you’d be paying $11.33 for the ads.

Cosmo just made me do math, another reason I have to hate them.

This doesn’t even count all the pseudo-ads that look like an article at first, or even the ads that are clearly just promotional. “All Night Long” was just a thinly veiled promotion for 12 products you can use to cover up any signs that you just got laid.

Oh, and then there is the sex advice.

Cracked.com has an article called “Seven sex tips from Cosmo that will put you in the hospital.” Most of that article, and mostly everything printed in Cosmo, is too off color even for this Mouthing Off editor.

Most of the counter arguments against Cosmo’s sex advice is “Don’t bite that” and “Don’t put a finger in there.”

Sadly, several Cosmo readers who wished to remain anonymous tell me this is the same advice run in most every issue.

That’s like Mouthing Off telling you the best cure for a headache is methamphetamine. Week after week after week, just worded differently.

Sex related or not, the worst part of all this advice is that most of it is given with the reasoning that your man will like this. Decades of feminism and the strife of hundreds of women just went right down the shitter.

“Bad girl sex — 12 moves to show him your really naughty side.”

“His girlfriend wish list — Do you have these nine surprising traits?”

“50 sex tricks — Trust us: You’ll be the first girl naughty enough to try #43 on him.”

The only advice not centered around pleasing a man is the workout advice, and even then it is to tone your body to make him happy. Scour an entire year’s worth of Cosmo and you might have enough literature that is legitimately self-empowering to fill a napkin.

And by self-empowering, I mean things like “Hair that says ‘Hire me!’,” where you can forget about your resume and experience, as long as you have a stylish bob or the right highlights, you’ll be hired in no time!

There is an old joke where any man caught reading a Playboy claims “I’m only reading it for the articles.” In truth, the articles in Playboy are actually really insightful, well written, and relevant.

“The sex positions he lust’s for” and “What he thinks about when you’re butt naked” are none of these things.

If the world were run by me, aside from energy drink fountains being placed in every building and all dogs being cyborgs with rocket launchers, then reading Cosmo would be just as damning, if not more so, as a man reading a Hustler, Penthouse, or other pornographic material. Naughty pictures vs. mind poison.

A subscription to Cosmo magazine should be a deal breaker for any man, and shameful attribute for any woman.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Maxim to go read. They have an article about how to blow up your own car.

He said, she said — others reactions, other magazines

Bryan Culver, web editor

“Nine item Wish List?” More Like three.

Amongst all of the ads, every once and a while Cosmo has a nugget of entertaining material. It ranges from the obnoxious, questionable fitness article,  “When Your Nipples Act Weird” and of course, what men want. We’re hard-to-figure-out creatures apparently.

An article dedicated to getting him to tell you the truth points out that most men hide details to avoid a fight. Listen, unless you suspect him of cheating, don’t push the issue.  We generally know what will and will not start a fight, yet we forget that not telling you will probably enlist a bigger fight. Just let it go. Girlfriend wish list. “Do you have these 9 surprising traits?” reads the cover. Let’s dive in to see what Cosmo has for this issue:

“She Has Passion and Ambition” — How is this surprising? For men who are looking for a girlfriend and not a hookup, we want to make sure we don’t have to constantly support you for you to do anything. As much as women like to fix up men and take special interest in those of us who aren’t going anywhere, men don’t. We have tasks from work, which often sit in the back of our head when we get home. We don’t want to worry about you.

“She Never Gets Crazy-Jealous” — This is my favorite. Don’t get jealous, at all. Yes when you get jealous we find it “flattering.” It however quickly becomes annoying. Really annoying. Remember, men don’t want to have to worry about you, much less do we want to have to worry about what you think of what we do. Men avoid fights. We really hate them. So don’t build one up over stupid jealousy. Thanks.

These traits and the rest were probably the safest Cosmo was willing to publish. They are obvious but won’t piss off women either.

Remember women, Cosmo likes money. Any business does. So, if they were to give you the key to getting men, you found the guy, happy ever after, you would have no direct need for them any more. They however choose to give you the wrong tips in the more intimate category. The smartest advice they purposefully get incorrect. Why? Because guys won’t want to break up with you initially for it, well depending on how off it is, and it’ll send you back to their issues trying to figure out some new ideas. Cycle repeats.

Women, here are the key things to getting, and keeping, a man:

* Don’t be too “out there”:  we don’t want to have to hide your potentially crazy stalker like tendencies from our friends.

* Don’t drunk text us at 3 a.m.:  If we aren’t hanging out with you by this hour, we probably won’t start. And we probably won’t respond, either. Men sleep too, you know.

* Don’t have massive credit card debt and admit not caring about it or your collection calls:  We work for the money we have, not to fix your mistakes.

GABI JAYE, staff reporter

After reading an article in a men’s magazine, I feel like I either need to take a shower or puke … maybe both.

Needless to say I felt offended and degraded by the article I read while also feeling bad for those interviewed.

I read an article called “Happy Valentine’s Lay” in Maxim, a men’s magazines. The piece gave men advice about how this cheesy holiday was the best time of year for one-night stands and commitment-free hookups.

Want to know the ironic part? This article was written by a woman.

I don’t agree with anything that was written. The fact that a woman, who has an unspoken bond with other members of her sex, would give this derogatory advice to men is sickening.

It’s magazines and articles like this that are the reason that men think it’s OK to “use them then lose them.” I felt like I was reading the opinion of a bunch of slores (slut + whore) with daddy issues.

Maybe I’m old-fashion and too optimistic, but I believe in relationships and appreciate Valentine’s Day.

Who can honestly say they want a hookup with a stranger we will be gone once the fun is over?

KAY NGUYEN, Campus editor

I’d like to think that I am a fashionista. You/Local editor Annie Stodola agrees, as do all the people who complimented my Diane von Furstenberg dress today. I like to read Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire and Vanity Fair.

All of those magazines contain over 80 percent advertising content. The rest of any of the publications contains a few articles and even more pretty pictures of clothes.

Basically, I pay to look at clothes and figure out where to find them — or at least lust after them.

My main beef with men’s magazines is the lack of fashion credits: The fine print that tells you who made that outfit in the picture, how much it is and where you can find it.

The same way I like the fact that I know Anne Hathaway’s dress on the cover of Vogue was made my Donnatella Versace, I’d like to know where she got the dresses and beautiful lingerie she wore in GQ.

I went through a nice cross-section of Maxim and Men’s Health magazine: fashion credits were rarely used.

Damn it, Maxim, if you want my man to oogle a woman in a dress, can I find out where to get said dress?

The hockey season for the Oakland Grizzlies led up to a disappointing final game on March 6 at nationals. We were ranked ninth among the teams competing. Our first game was Saturday at 5 p.m. in Chicago and the whole team was brimming with excitement.

The day before the big game, we were all just trying to stay loose and have some fun as a team. We were anticipating the next day but tried to keep our nerves calm. We shared very few words about the game at all. We were just relaxing in the hotel rooms together and having a good time. A few pranks were had but all in good humor. 

Game day started with a pasta lunch with the whole team — pasta is always best before a game like this. We took some down time at the hotel before going to the rink. A lot of nerves were flowing through the team. We’re a young team and only a few players on the team have ever played in a national tournament. It was just hours before the game, and I was feeling good; a little nervous, of course, but mostly excited. 

The team always stretches before games together. Even after all of our pre-game preparations, we were still feeling pumped and we couldn’t wait to hit the ice. We knew we just had to go out there, play our game and we would be fine. 

Our game was versus Minot State University, ranked eighth. We were the underdogs from the very start, but knew we had it in us to win. The game was very intense; we were down 2-0 after the first period. We had a great start but then started to fall apart near the end of the period, and that’s when they capitalized on our mistakes. Minot State took advantage of turnovers in our zone. We had seen faults like this in our team before this year but nothing we had to worry about. 

Knowing we had to pull it together if we wanted to win, we put everything we had on the ice and came back very strong in the second period; we scored a goal and tightened the race to 2-1. We didn’t have much of a pep talk in the locker room; we all knew what we had to do and it was only a matter of doing it. If we played our game, we would end up on top.

As the third period started we were very confident that we would end up on top if we played like we did in the second. Third period was do or die being down a goal. Continuing our momentum from the second period, we scored with 10 minutes to go in the game to tie it up at 2-2. We had a few solid scoring opportunities, but the puck couldn’t find the back of the net. 

Time slipped away and we headed into overtime. In the locker room after the third, we knew we were playing good and had them on their heels. Even then there were no worries on the bench that our year may be over. We were back to playing Oakland hockey.

We came out in overtime in control of the pace and puck. 

A few slipups put the puck in our zone where they got a scoring opportunity and whacked away at the net and eventually closed the game.

It was a very sad time in the locker room, as it was the last game the seniors would play. It was a very emotional moment for the whole team to see the season end before our eyes. There was not much we did wrong in the overtime period, but that’s what’s amazing about the game. It came down to one shot, and that’s all it takes. 

After the game we went right back to the hotel. All-in-all, it was a very good, hard fought game. We trained all season for this weekend and it was very disappointing to see us not make it further in the tournament. Overall, it was an excellent season; we all had a hell of a time becoming family and spending the time we did together. 

I plan to stay on the team next year. I will be gaining weight and strength during the off-season, developing quicker feet, and just trying to stay in hockey shape. You always want to beat your last year’s points, so that’s a goal of mine for next year. I see the future team staying high in the standings and going far in the national tournament. We are only losing three seniors and a few kids here and there for personal reasons. For the majority of the team staying, I see us being very strong. 

With the team being so young, this was the first time at the tournament for most of us. Now that we all have experience, we know what to expect and that knowledge will be beneficial to get us further into the tournament next year.

I am a feminist. Maybe I’ve been brainwashed. Maybe I’m finally seeing the light. Or maybe it’s a combination of the two. Full disclosure: The two classes I’m taking this semester are PS 311 Women in Politics and COM 325 Gender Communication.

Five days a week I’m reminded of the struggles society has faced, stemming primarily from differences in sex or gender. More specifically, I’m reminded of the challenges women have met.

I’m living, eating and breathing this controversial topic. I knew I would be inspired to write something before the semester ran out.

Defining feminism

It’s a subject that’s debated all the time: What is a feminist?

Feminism, defined by Merriam-Webster, is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. I think we can all get on board with that.

By societal standards, however, feminism is commonly defined in much different terms. Bra burners, radicals, man haters, lesbians, the list continues. There is a negative connotation associated with the word, and many people are afraid to identify as such because of those negative associations. One of my textbooks calls it “the other f-word.”

I’ve asked my peers and mentors if they consider themselves feminists. Some said yes, but more often the answer was along the lines of, “Well, sort of. I believe women should be treated equally and everything, but still …” And then they do this little verbal dance, to make sure they don’t sound like one of those stereotypical nutjobs who hate men. A lot of uneasy, wishy-washy fluff. The hesitation in their answers is disheartening.

I know why there are stereotypes; they didn’t occur from thin air. So I can understand why someone wouldn’t want to be compared to the radical, negative stereotype, because some of these people really DO exist. But these are the radicals, and they don’t have to be the representation of feminism unless we allow it.

Another common misconception is that only women can be feminists. I’d like to let people in on what seems to be a little known secret: “Feminist” is not synonymous with “woman.” Men can be feminists too!

Feminism’s biggest mistake

Speaking of men, an important question needs to be asked: Are they the real enemy? I think the feminist movement does itself a huge disservice if it labels men as the only problem. Men are not the only ones who perpetuate the problems feminists are trying to fight. If you read this week’s Mouthing Off column on page 29, you’ll notice how ridiculous some of the material is that  Cosmopolitan spews.

A magazine that claims to be about female empowerment, Cosmo focuses primarily on sex and often how to please a man. They throw in a bone here and there about more serious issues like health and safety, but for the most part Cosmo just teaches women how to be pretty.

I fully support catering to the many different needs of women, but I think there’s more to life than which jeans will make my ass look hot, or how to flirt with my eyes.

The point is that in 2010, women are just as culpable of the same infractions as men. Yes, men set the stage a very long time ago for female oppression, but they are not the only ones in charge nowadays, and it’s time to stop blaming them for the problems of today.

Looking to the future

Another issue I take with the feminist movement is how much time is spent discussing the past, and how oftentimes that leaves little room to talk about the future. I understand that it’s important to know where we’ve been to help see where we’re going, but at some point you have to let go of the past. And what boggles my mind is that while I hear about how much women were oppressed, belittled and berated, I don’t hear nearly enough about the steps feminists took to change the treatment of women. We can’t change what’s happened, so it’s time to stop harping on it. And if we insist on examining history, let’s look at the solutions, not the problems. That’s what’s going to help further the movement.

Despite how much education’s focus is placed on the past, I think that men and women of my generation take for granted the struggles of the first and second wave of feminism. Women today have the right to vote, and they’re treated more equally today than ever before. It’s difficult for us to remember a time when that wasn’t possible. And just because we’ve broken those barriers, it doesn’t mean the work is done.

Inequality is still prevalent

One of the clearest pieces of evidence that men and women aren’t completely equal can be found in our language. Our language is still pretty sexist if you think about it. We’re starting to weed out some of the obvious words: Fireman is now firefighter, policeman is now police officer, etc. Champ Kind had it wrong in “Anchorman”: “It is anchorman, not anchorlady! And that is a scientific fact!”

But what about the word “whore”? We don’t actually have a male equivalent for whore, unless we add a prefix. We did an exercise in my class where we had to list all the negative terms for men and women who are promiscuous. The female list was longer. And most of the male terms weren’t that offensive. It’s because today, even with magazines like Cosmo that celebrate female sexuality, women are still held to different sexual standards than men. A woman who sleeps around is a slut. A man who sleeps around is just a man. His biology makes him do it.

Another secret? Biology makes women want to have sex too.

What’s one of the biggest insults you can throw at a man? Call him a woman. Not only are you taking away his masculinity, but you are going to a whole new level by comparing him to a woman. I will never understand why that’s a bad thing. When you insult a man by calling him a woman, you are quite literally placing women below men in the order of respect and importance.

“Grow some balls” is a directive order to garner courage. Are testicles really the source of courage? Or do we just equate our genitals to our characteristics? I don’t need balls to be courageous, and I don’t think it’s my ovaries doing the work either.

Feminism still has its place in society, and it is an important one. I only wish that it could be a bigger force with a better image.

OU grad Tim Rath keeps his cap and gown "in a closet somewhere."

Hoards of hopeful graduates poured into the bookstore Tuesday to buy their caps and gowns during the graduation fair that continues through March 10.

Forking out an extra $42 for a one-time-use, mandatory cap and gown doesn’t accurately symbolize this momentous occasion for Oakland University students.

We’re used to this image of an all-inclusive and environmentally conscious experience, and frankly, kind of wish that extended to caps and gowns.

Having to buy a black synthetic potato sack — err, “regalia” — for this one day just trashes the concepts of a no fee system and a sustainable future ingrained here at OU.

Commencement is a culmination of years of hard work and huge tuition bills, in exchange for the promise that our education will last a lifetime.

Understandably, it is tradition to wear a cap and gown and to have a tassel dangle in your face. The wardrobe does pull together the atmosphere.

That being said, there’s no reason we can’t incorporate our existing philosophies at OU into how we dress for commencement.

This editorial is a call to action for students to come together and find a way to reuse this garb, starting with the estimated 2,000 students to graduate May 1. With a few individuals willing to pitch in, we can create a program to save the closets of Southeast Michigan from the burden of stashing roughly $168,000 worth of caps and gowns annually from OU’s graduates.

We need a couple bright minds willing to work out the logistics and to carry this through, so graduates willing to donate their cap and/or gown won’t be doing so for nothing.

We need a place to store the gowns safely between commencements, an inventory system and a dry cleaning facility willing to clean and press the gowns at a really good price to which we can send students.

If you’re interested in helping, e-mail The Post editors at oakposteditor@gmail.com. If you’re graduating, you can clean your gown and turn it in at or outside of 61 Oakland Center, to be one of the first to be recycled at OU.

This is the kind of legacy seniors should be leaving behind.

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) robotics has been challenging high school students to build a functioning robot specified to certain game requirements since 1992.

And since 2002, my old high school, Bishop Foley, has been building bots to compete in each year’s competition. The 2010 game is called Breakaway. No, it wasn’t inspired by the Kelly Clarkston song, and is similar to a soccer game with towers and speed bumps.

Team 910, the Foley Freeze, allied with team 70 (Goodrich High School’s Martians) and 67 (Huron Valley’s Heroes Of Tomorrow – HOT) dominated the finals of the Kettering district this Saturday and brought home gold.
The 2010 robot can run 15 seconds of autonomous movement with the programming code we’ve worked on since day one; with manual control it can gather and shoot balls and will soon be able to clear a 12-inch high speed bump on the track.

Six long, hard weeks were put into this award winning masterpiece. And we couldn’t be more proud.
But once our voices are gone, our legs are weak from jumping and cheering, and all our banners are on display, we have time to think and are left to wonder:

A small team of 16 year olds built a functioning robot. What the HELL is the future?

As much as I love robots and watching them pin opponents and shoot soccer balls, I’ve always kept a big fear secret. What happens when our robots get smart? And I don’t mean able-to-lock-on-to-a-target-with-a-camera smart, I mean like, taking over the world smart.

That’s right; we spend six weeks building the very thing that may cost us our jobs, maybe even our future LIVES. Scary, isn’t it?

Call me crazy, but remember what people thought of computer technology way back when? “Psh, yeah right; like THAT will ever happen.”

Guess what. It happened. I’m typing on it right now. And one day this little laptop of mine is gonna take offense to a sentence I write, snap its lid down on my hands and take me to human prison.

We all have hopeful dreams of living in peace with the mechanic beings; no, sorry, we dream of living in peace while the bots do all the dirty work for us. Technology users expect miracles from the robots we use today. If it’s not working right, whose fault is it? Not the ones who built it, of course.

We build them so we can use them. When they start building themselves … we may find ourselves with much less than losing our gaming platform.

No more will robots do math for us. They’ll make us remember everything an overabundance of technology made us forget. We’ll have to pull out our rusty old bicycles because cars will boycott us for all the years we used them.

The future is a dark and gloomy place where the newspapers are printed in binary.

I can see the future government now. President Optimus Prime sits beside his vice present, R2D2, to address the future Senate. Of course, they’ll have to speak with them via telecommunications; you can’t expect the Borg to just fly down from the Delta Quadrant with the click of a mouse.

Hopefully Bender will have some sort of something position too; but us humans won’t have a say at all.
You can’t say we haven’t been warned. We’ve had movies like Terminator, The Matrix, A.I., even Wall-E tried to warn us.

We already know that the robots that may one day bring our groceries inside could one day later drop the eggs on purpose. Our ignorance may lead us to our impending doom.

Unfortunately, robots are so damn awesome that even these thoughts can’t stop me from returning every year to help build one as long as humans are around. Maybe they’ll even take pity on us FIRST kids when they’re exacting their revenge.

Team 910, you have my undying love and support until the robot overlord tells me to stop.

OU picked up their first win of the season on Friday with a score of 6-4 over the Tigers. Oakland sophomore Matt LaMothe had a no-hitter for 8 innings before Tigers sophomore Drew Martinez tripled to lead off the ninth inning. LaMothe got two more outs before junior Mark Leichtman finished off the game.

LaMothe gave up just two hits, three earned runs, struck out five, and walked three Memphis batters.

Junior Ryan Waldhart led with offense with two hits and three RBIs. Tommy Jablonski was 3 for 5 with one RBI and one run scored, while freshman Aaron Cieslak and sophomore Tim Ryan had two hits each.

The Grizzlies were unable to follow up their impressive win with another, falling to Memphis 7-1 on Saturday. Jablonski had two hits for OU, while junior Tim Ryan scored the team’s only run on a deep fly ball by sophomore Aaron Cieslak in the top of the sixth inning.

Memphis’ offense struck early, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first off sophomore starter Kyle Teague. After adding three more runs in the fourth inning, Oakland loaded the bases in the sixth inning but was unable to rally.

In the series’ Sunday finale, the OU offense came alive with seven hits and six runs, but their defense couldn’t keep up, as they fell 16-6. Memphis scored eight runs after just two innings, and sealed the Grizzlies’ fate with a six-run eighth inning.

Cieslak and Waldhart both had two hits each, while junior D.J. Jarrad had two RBIs to go with two runs scored

Oakland’s schedule continues on the road, as they will take on Wright State this Friday, March 12.

Oakland softball (6-13) took on the Morehead State Tournament this past weekend, winning two of their three games.

In Saturday’s game, the Grizzlies fell 4-2 to the University of Pittsburgh (4-7). Sophomore Brittany Doyle pitched six strong innings, giving up just four runs on nine hits. She also had four strikeouts and three walks.

Senior Ashley Sullivan (1 for 3) and sophomore Kylie Schalz (2 for 2) drove home both of the Grizzlies’ runs while senior Katie Dreyer had Oakland’s only other hit.

OU’s offense heated up in their next two games in the tournament; OU beat conference foe IPFW 6-5 and Georgetown College 5-1 in consecutive games on Sunday.

Against the Mastodons, sophomore Leah DiCristofaro went 2 for 3 with two RBIs while freshman Erin Galloway hit her first career home run, a solo shot to center field.

In seven innings of work, Oakland starter Marisa Everitt (1-2) gave up three earned runs on six hits, struck out seven and walked four batters.

In Sunday’s second game, Georgetown College kept the game close; the score was just 2-1 in favor of Oakland after the fourth inning.

OU sealed the victory in the fifth inning, getting doubles in four consecutive at-bats from Dreyer, senior Haley Emerson, DiCristofaro and freshman Dani Dulberg, scoring three more runs. DiCristofaro and Dreyer had two hits each while Emerson drove in two runs.

Doyle, pitching on just a day’s rest, allowed three hits, one earned run, and had five strikeouts.

Oakland opens up their conference season with a road doubleheader against Centenary College on March 12 and 13.