Connecticut will be the 49th state in the country to allow Sunday liquor sales. Sarah Wilson | The Informer

Sunday liquor sales were approved by the Conn. Senate on Tuesday by a 28 to 6 vote.

The bill, which has been modified since the original proposal by Governor Malloy, will also allow liquor to be sold on Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. In addition, it will allow package stores to sell one item per month at a discounted rate, and items such as cheese, crackers and olives are permitted for sale as well.

Original versions of the bill attempted to take into account the high prices of liquor in our state, the reason many speculate is responsible for the large number of Connecticut residents who travel across state borders to purchase alcohol.

However, no studies have been conducted to determine whether the majority of those who leave the state to make their purchases do so because of price, or because of hours of operation.

The six votes against the bill all came from Republicans, most of whom were concerned about the impact the bill would have on mom-and-pop package stores. According to the Hartford Courant, Sen. Len Fasano (R) said, “I’m going to vote no because I think it’s going to hurt small businesses. … With all due respect, it’s not going to be a revenue driver to any significant degree.’’ The concern was that the small businesses who already work to make a small profit would lose money by having to pay to stay open seven days a week, and unregulated prices would create too much competition among larger, highly stocked stores.

However, Rep. Kathleen Tallarita D-Enfield told the Norwich Bulletin, “It’s about business doing business as they so chose.” She said the law would generate an extra $5.2 million for Connecticut.

Governor Malloy’s original proposal was to change the pricing regulations on liquor and beer. According to the Norwich Bulletin, consumers in Connecticut can sometimes pay $5 to $9 more for a 1.75 liter of liquor than in neighboring states. In a meeting with the Hartford Courant Editorial board in January, Malloy stated, “I’m trying to help the consumer here.”

However, the version of the bill that will pass is more of a compromise, and will not affect the pricing aside from allowing a store to give a small discount to give consumers some options when it comes to shopping around for the best price.

Because it was originally his own proposal, Malloy will sign the bill into law, allowing Connecticut to join the large majority of the country and making it the 49th state to allow Sunday sales.

Sophomore catcher James Alfonso prepares his bunt for a bat during a home game against Binghamton over the weekend. Brian Izzo | The Informer

Without a win since April 17, the Hartford baseball team picked on up after getting two victories amidst a six game schedule in five days.

Most recently of which, the second of those two victories came against Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn. on Wednesday.

The Hawks’ bats only had three hits for the entire game compared to the Blue Devils’ 11, but were able to take a 3-2 victory at the game’s end.

Hartford’s stretch away from home began when the Hawks traveled to Hanover, N.H. for a 13-6 loss to host Dartmouth on Tuesday, despite out hitting the Big Green with 15 hits to 12.

Freshman pitcher Freddy Adunjar started on the mound for the Hawks, lasting two innings after giving up four hits, seven walks and eight earned runs in his start against the Dartmouth bats.

Meanwhile the Hartford bats got seven hits, but just two runs against Louis Concato, who got his fourth win of the year after pitching four innings for the Big Green.

In the top of the third inning, Hartford began a comeback against Concato after going down 5-1 in the first inning, but couldn’t keep Dartmouth off the scoreboard in the bottom half of the third as the Big Green went on to score six more runs.

Both teams would go on score only six runs combined for the remainder of the game to give the contest its final game score.

Before taking the road, the Hawks hosted Binghamton at Fiondella Field for back-to-back double headers on Saturday and Sunday, only able to beat the Bearcats in one game out of the four played in total.

The lone win came in a 4-2 victory in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader, before losing the nightcap of Saturday, 7-3, and then both games the following day, 11-2 and 2-1, to give the Hawks their first victory since April 17 when they defeated Quinnipiac at home, 11-6.

Fiondella Field will remain as the site for baseball’s next games on Saturday and Sunday when they host UMBC for back-to-back doubleheaders on each day at 12 p.m.

Coach Don Ferguson has been with the University of Hartford women’s volleyball team for seven seasons. Adam Manison | The Informer

After seven seasons with the University of Hartford women’s volleyball team, Head Coach Don Ferguson has stepped down, leaving behind a volleyball program that he had helped turnaround.

“It was a very, very difficult decision,” said Ferguson.

“I put a lot of thought and hard work into this program and it is extremely difficult for me to leave right now but it was more about the opportunity that’s presented for me and my family, in terms of stability and quality of life.

“I’m leaving the program in a much, much better position than when I first took over…and to be honest, I think next year’s team will be the best that I’ve ever had there at Hartford.”

Ferguson has already accepted a job at another volleyball program to continue his career as a Head Coach, but did not want to disclose where since that location had not officially released this information to the public yet themselves

He does rest assured with how this decision was a very difficult one for him and that the students he’s come across throughout his tenure at UHa have had a great impact on his life.

“I’m extremely thankful for everything here at Hartford and the students, besides the student athletes, I’ve really had the chance to get to know a lot of the students there, whether I’m playing pick-up basketball with them or just them coming out and supporting our program have been absolutely amazing,” said Ferguson.

In the 2010 season, Ferguson coached the team to the most conference wins in school history with three, and in 2011 repeated that performance. In his most recent season, the team finished 12-18 on the season, including those three wins, and nine losses, within the conference.

“You can’t really define our season with the amount of wins we had, it was successful because it showed we can compete with anybody we played”, said Ferguson. “To have the freshman make a huge difference and have the corner stone for the building of the future, I think that it was an amazing season.”

Although the team was unable to finish above .500 in any of Ferguson’s seasons as Head Coach, he knew that there was more than just winning when he accepted the job.

“I think the goal was to change the culture, and the players have done a phenomenal job doing that, the accountability of all the players is great and we walk into matches looking for wins, which hadn’t been the case in the past,” said Ferguson.

More than anything else, Ferguson prided himself and his career on how much he’s been able to watch the players grow on his team and off the court, as people.

“We’re responsible for a team that’s lead the department in community service and three of the last five years has received the (Amateur Volleyball Coaches Association) National Award for academics, so we’ve done so many things that I’m proud of,” said Ferguson.

Spencer Allan Brooks | The Informer

Although over budget, this year’s Spring Fling proved to be one of the best in the University’s history.

According to Lee Peters, Vice President of Student Affairs, this year had only a handful of transports and only one trespassing arrest. Transports are counted as anytime a student has to go in an ambulance to the hospital, usually because of alcohol poisoning.

“We had lots of great student behavior and a decrease in vandalism,” Peters said. “For the last three years, we’ve stepped up security. With that and the conjunction of students responding to our request to be civil and enjoy responsibly, things were good.”

Last year’s Spring Fling caused $40,000 worth of damage including light cases being broken, destroyed exit signs, siding ripped off buildings, broken windows, a broken elevator and graffiti. However, this year, Peters reported that a number was not given out because the campus did much better.

“Because I didn’t get a number, I’m thinking it is because we did so much better and that the damages that did occur are nothing more than what would usually happen in four days,” Peters said.

However, there was one thing that was apparent with this year’s fling. In no way did the University break even.

“We were $30,000 short,” Peters said. “However, we did find funding. No university general funding money went to Spring Fling. It was all in student fees and revenue.”

Along with charging for the Friday night concert, Spring Fling was originally budgeted with $110,000 from Campus Activities Team. From concert tickets, guest fees and alumni fees they got back $84,000. This year was the most the University has ever spent on Spring Fling.

“We are evaluating everything for next year,” Peters said.

The Hartt School Theatere Division is set to end their seasonal run of plays and musicals with William Shakespeare’s situational comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew,” which has been used as an inspirational device for many stage adaptations and films alike.

Also a special part of the production is that President Walter Harrison will be playing the part of Christopher Sly in the full run of the show.

The play surrounds the proceeding engagement between Petruchio, a man of Verona, and Katherina, the shrew as suggested by the title.

Headstrong and adamant, Katherina initially resists the union, however, Petruchio cunningly forces her to undergo a series of torments, meant to transform her into the perfect wife and a believer in love. Meanwhile, an additional plot entails a competition between a group of suitors to win the affections of Bianca, Katherina’s coveted younger sister.

Directed by Hartt theater professor Bob Davis, the cast is composed of junior and senior acting and musical theater majors, as well as some sophomores.
It stars junior acting major Matt Reddick, who valiantly took on the role of Eddie in Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge” back in October.

This time around, Reddick portrays Petruchio, the equivalent to Heath Ledger’s Patrick Verona from the 1999 film “10 Things I Hate About You,” for the Shakespeare-impaired.

Reddick will have his hands full attempting to tame fellow junior Tara Reuter, who assumes the role of Hartt’s very own shrew, Katherina. At the same time, junior Caitlin Blauvelt plays Bianca, whose conflictions present her with three men yearning for her love and attention.

Among them are Lucentio, junior Andrew McMath, Gremio, senior Scott Caron, and Hortensio, junior Will Macke. Katherina and Bianca’s father, Baptista Minola, is helmed by senior Joel Dommel and was hilariously played by comedian Larry Miller in “10 Things.”

Having intensely studied Shakespeare while abroad in London earlier this semester, the junior acting students are ready to employ the skills they have learned for their last performance of the academic school year.

“I’m glad we’re ending with a comedy,” Reddick says. “It’s a fun show and we have a great cast. It makes me pumped for senior year.”

“The Taming of the Shrew” will take place in Roberts Theatre at the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on May 3-5 with a 3:00 p.m. matinee on May 6.

This final issue of The Informer of the academic year also means this is the last “Below the Fold” written by yours truly.

It feels like just yesterday I was sitting in a hotel ballroom in Los Angeles listening to a journalism advisor from University of Tampa talk about the rise in popularity of college sex columns. Since then, it has been a year full of sarcastic sexual commentary and awkward situations.

How I will miss the drunk biddies approach me in the Village telling me how much they love reading about exercise induced orgasms, or the Konover employees and facilities staff divulging that they find my articles “interesting.”

You (the reader) and I have had our highs and lows. The highs being the many positive and encouraging emails I’ve received. One low being the time I suggested that geeks have sex and nerds don’t, an article that sparked controversy among the readership.

The process of writing about sex is a long and hard (pun intended). Over the year we’ve observed everything from doing the dirty in public, to sex during final exams, to how celery can make you a babe magnet.

For weeks I’ve been thinking about how I would approach my last column. Perhaps an all out blowout, maybe examining proper fellatio technique or the Hamlet dilemma of “to swallow or not to swallow.” But this hasn’t just been a forum about sex, BTF has also evolved to include health and relationship issues.

I decided that I’ll share with you what I think is the most important thing about relationships I’ve learned during my four years here.

You don’t need anyone to be the best you. I often find that teens and twenty-somethings become obsessed with finding a mate, whether they realize it or not. It’s an issue that has been cropping up for many of my friends lately. Whether it be dealing with the end of a relationship or expressing frustration with their lack there of. Seriously though, you would think these people were stage four cancer patients the way they talked about being miserable. Although it’s always important to be the friend that can console or lighten the mood, sometimes I just wanted to shake them and wake them up. Of course, if that were the case, a good chunk of my friends would be dead from some strange adult form of shaken baby syndrome.

Even here in the Informer’s newsroom, there has been enough relationship drama to inspire a bestselling book (stay tuned for that). You might think us journalists are just geeky Communication School students, but over the past year I’ve observed a slew of situations that had me looking around for an MTV camera crew. I’ll omit the details to prevent retaliation among my fellow staffers.

To keep it simple, I painfully suggest you just follow the recent wise phrase “yolo.” You only live once, so why not be happy all the time? As for sex, have it, don’t have it, do whatever you want. Whatever you do, just be you.

courtesy of josiahblacksblog.blogspot.com

We all hear the question: What do you want to do before you die?

While some are much farther along in their bucket list, some of us haven’t even started and I must say, I’m one of the non-starters.

When people hear that I haven’t even considered writing one, I’ve gotten some strange looks sometime, but it’s for good reason. I just don’t find a reason for writing things down to do before I die when I’m only 20. It’s simply way too young to consider death. Rather, you only live once. Live in the moment.

My thinking about bucket lists began when I heard the story of Avery Canahuati, a five month old with spinal muscular atrophy. Canahuati’s parents’ made a blog with Canahuati’s bucket list. With only a few months to live, her parents wanted her to have a good life before she passes. They put things on the list such as college visits or throwing the first pitch of a ball. To accomplish many of these feats, her parents have brought her along and attempted to complete the list and give Canahuati a “real” life.

It’s an inspiring way to deal with a baby’s terminal illness, however I guess I never understood quite the purpose of a bucket list. Call me a realist.

When sitting on my deathbed one day, I feel a bucket list would just depress me that I haven’t checked them all off.

Hollywood loves bucket lists. You have the 2007 comedy drama, “The Bucket List” along with plenty of others that glorify this issue.

History does not seem to support bucket list. Bucket list is loosely derived from the idiom “kick the bucket.” “Kick the bucket” of course comes from the act of hanging someone. It came from the kicking the pail out from under the to be hanged’s feet, therefore killing them by tightening the noose. So according to history, a bucket list is supposed to be a list of things to do before you’re hanged. This is obviously why I have not worked on one. I don’t plan on being hanged that’s for sure.

It’s not really psychologically healthy to create a bucket list. A bucket list or at least the ones I’ve heard are usually full of outrageous crazy feats that have maybe a 2 percent chance of happening in one’s life. Quite frankly, it’s depressing. I refuse to make one.

While sitting on my deathbed one day, when I look back on my life, I will be more proud of the fact that I’ve lived and what I’ve accomplished, not what I haven’t checked off the bucket list. Life is about living. Yes, there are things I want to do before I die, but I’m not spending my time compiling them into a list. I refuse to sit down and concentrate on things I have not done. Rather, I will take life as it’s thrown at me, every curveball and fly ball.

YOLO.

After defeating Vermont in OT at home last week senior Michael Cudmore (above) and the rest of the men's lacrosse team were unable to keep the Hawk’s playoff chances alive. Adam Manison | The Informer

Although being on a three-game win streak and having beat Stony Brook two weeks prior to this, the Hartford men’s lacrosse team was unable to beat Stony Brook Wednesday night in the first round of the America East Championship at their home in Stony Brook, NY.

As the number four seed, the Hawks went down 3-0 in the first quarter to the top seeded Seawolves and despite outscoring their hosts in the second and third quarters, 2-1 and 4-3 respectively, an even 2-2 score in the fourth period put an end to Hartford’s second go at a conference championship as Stony Brook took a 9-8 victory.

With a win, men’s lacrosse Head Coach Peter Lawrence could’ve have given Hartford’s program their second in a row and second ever conference crown, however his Hawk’s were un able to fully comeback even with 10 more shots than their counterparts.

Contrary to Hartford’s previous two games against Vermont and Stony Brook before that, which resulted in overtime victories after the Hawks were able to score in the remaining seconds of regulation. The Seawolves did not surrender their lead this time around.

In addition to takes more shots, Hartford also ended with six penalties for a duration of four penalty minutes, four more penalties and two minutes and 30 seconds more penalty time than Stony Brook.

To get the Hawks to the Conference Championships, Hartford scored a goal within the last second of regulation to send their game against Vermont into overtime for the second week in a row on Saturday.

Down 9-7 to the Catamounts on Almarzook-Field with 3:17 left in that game, Hartford seniors Martin Bowes scored with 37 seconds left before fellow senior Aiden Genik scored as time expired to keep the Hawks playoff hopes alive, as Bowes would score again in less than 90 seconds of overtime to complete their comeback victory.

“Its like we put our seniors our there at the end and they made plays, which was awesome to see,” Lawrence said after that game. “They were like, ‘we’re not going anywhere’.”

Lawerence and his Hawks though will be going back to off-season now and do so with twelve seniors currently on the roster.

Despite having a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Hawks allowed the Pioneers to score three runs to take a 4-3 first game victory.

In the opening game of the double header, Hawk’s senior pitcher Siera Sheehan started on the mound and lasted for all six inning while giving up six hits, two of which were home runs and four earned runs.

Hartford’s offense saw shortstop Kate Wacyk go 2-3 from the plate and first basemen Chelsey Mooney bring in two RBIs against Sacred Heart’s starting pitcher Taylor Lane and releif pitcher Kacie Wentworth.

In the ensuing nightcap Hartford Head Coach Diana Consolmagno and her Hawks scored early again, but were unable to score any more as Sacred Heart completed the sweep with a 4-1 victory.

Over the weekend, Consolmagno and her Hawks finished a three-game series against Boston University with a 2-0 loss after losing both games of a doubleheader against the Terriers as well on Saturday, 1-0 and 11-1.

Two days before that however, softball got their ninth win of the season on Thursday, April 26 against in-state rivals University of Connecticut by scoring their largest amount of runs in a single outing since 2009.

A 13-4 come from behind victory for Hartford in Storrs, Conn. saw four different Hawks record multiple hits, including senior centerfielder Shannon Simpkins who went 3-5 to lead them all.

Fellow senior pitcher Sheehan headed the Hawks defense on the mound with her start that lasted all seven innings, while striking out four, to improve her record to 8-10 on the season.

Hartford went 11-32 as a team from the plate, with five walks, to tally nine RBIs as Simpkins was followed by Andrews, Haines and Butler, who hit the game’s only triple, with two hits apiece, and Kelly and Maxwell, who hit the game’s only home run, with one hit a piece.

The Hawks were down 4-0 after the Huskies were able to garner three hits, four walks and capitalize on one Hartford fielding error in the first inning.

In the top of the third and fifth innings however, Hartford was able to put together five runs in each, in addition to one run in the second, fourth and seventh innings, and allow just three UConn runs in the fifth, to take the final score’s victory.

Softball’s final game of the season against Maine will begin with a doubleheader at home on Saturday.

Out of the six schools and 31 golfers who competed, the Hawks carded a combined three-day score of 1000 to take third place overall.

Hartford finished eight strokes behind second place Fairfield, who finished 61 strokes behind the first place winners, Siena.

After the tournament concluded, the MAAC announced the 2012 All-Academic honorees, which featured five Hawks.

Junior Sarah Sideranko, sophomore Aubrey Ungvarsky and junior Kirsten Lapointe from the competition were named to the list, while Elizabeth Creighton and Claire Crouch who did not compete in the event, were named to the list as well.

Following suit of the events leading up to this, Hartford’s top finisher was Sideranko, who shot a 233 overall score to tie for second overall with Siena College’s Kylie Strijek.

Sideranko shot a second best final round score of 77 to allow her to move up one position in the standings from her day two finish at third.

Behind Sideranko finished Ungvarsky in fourth place after a final round score of 79, her best day of the tournament, allowed her to finish two strokes ahead of Kristyna Pavlickova, Katie Nelson, Elise Lemons and Cortney Tilley, who all took fifth.

Senior Emily Linn finished on improvements from her second round score by four strokes in the final round with an 86 score finish.

Linn tied Niagara’s Natalie Wisiewski for the 20^th overall slot with a combined 54-hole 261 score total.

Senior Marissa Kallaugher also had her best score in her final round with an 87 to tie for 23^rd overall by carding a combined score of 267, while LaPointe finished 27^th overall with a 269 in her three days of playing.

The women’s golf team will now enter the offseason with two seniors currently on the roster.