The Prospector (Helena, Mont.) 1916-2015, March 22, 2012, Image 1

Carroll College Student Newspaper Helena, Montana Volume 98 Edition 5 March 22,2012 T he i P r o s p e c t o f J Amazon Trip page 9 Beer needs baseball, baseball needs beer It’s the time of year when spring has sprung. Major league baseball has started, and the students are thirsty for some sun, suds, and fun. Those who have attended Carroll’s Softball Weekend know it’s a great experience and one of the most fun times during the year. “It’s the one thing I look forward to all year long,” said John Holland, a junior English major from Butte. “It’s a great weekend with some great games and some great people.” However, some students feel that there is something missing. “The Rule” makes it a day of hide-and-go-drink off property for the students who choose it. The weekend’s rule states: No alcohol on the property of Batch Fields Softball Complex. It is time to repeal the rale and lighten up, and let the students of Carroll College have fun. \Beer needs baseball, and baseball needs beer - it has always been thus,” states Peter Richmond, a New York Times bestselling author. I’ll toast to that. Students who participate in the tournament have mixed feelings about “The Rule.” Some feel that alcohol would give the tourney a ballpark attitude with rowdy fans and flamboyant cheers. “I feel that allowing the students to have alcohol at the complex would cut back on the drinking and driving,” said Ryan McCormick, a junior sociology major from Fallon, Nev. “People would stay at the complex area which would give you bigger crowds and louder cheers during the games.” Softball Weekend has not always had the NO alcohol rule in effect. In fact, Patrick Hands, director of student activities and leadership, remembers that during the early 1990s, there was a keg on second base. “When I played, people had to drink from the keg to advance to third base,” said Harris. “But society has definitely changed since then.” The rale was changed in the spring of 2007. The Helena Police Department felt there were too many problems and public complaints. Harris stated that the Helena Police Department ultimately said that the tournament could no longer be held unless a zero tolerance contract was signed by each student participating in the tournament. “It was a game changer for the people who put on the tournament,” said Harris. D> Jacob Orrino Student Opinion More Softball Weekend pages A permanent fixture of Carroll PHOTO BY GARY MARSHALL Ryann Lannan Staff Writer When Suzie Conroy began working for Sodexo in August 2001 cleaning tables in Carroll’s dining hall, she had no idea the impact it would have on her life, or the impact she would have on Carroll. “Carroll basically saved my life,” said Conroy. Conroy currently works as the facilities “floater,” the custodian who floats from building to building, filling in as needed, and “making the cleanest toilets in all the Hand.” In 11 years, Conroy has held five differ­ ent jobs at Carroll. “She’s like a permanent fixture of the college,” said Kathy Martin, Conroy’s former su­ pervisor at the Corette Library. “Everyone knows and loves her. The students know her, the professors know her. She’s a part of the family.” When Conroy, a mother of four, joined the Carroll family in 2001, she was in the middle of an extremely mentally and physically abusive marriage that would not be officially over until “At that point it was so bad, I had no ego left,” she admitted. But working at Carroll changed that. Suzie Conroy “I had friends,” she said. “I remember coming home from work, and I was happy. Suzie’s husband would always say, ‘You can’t seriously think those people really like you. They don’t love you.’ But I knew he was wrong.” It was the friends and the relationships she made at Carroll, she said, that gave her the strength to eventually leave her husband. “I loved the people I worked with at Carroll,” said Conroy. “I loved being with the kids.” That love was returned not just to Suzie, but to her family as well. When her grandson, Ian, had open-heart surgery during her first year at Carroll, the football team produced a get-well video and signed a football for him. “We still have the football and video,” said Conroy. “They mean a lot to the entire family.” In 2003, Conroy began working in the old coffee shop which, she said, was her favorite of all the jobs she has worked. “I really just loved being with the kids, even though sometimes they weren’t so nice at night,” she said. When Suzie was made the daytime supervisor in 2006, she told her son, Zach, who also worked in the coffee shop, that if the kids ever gave him any trouble at night, to take their ID cards away. “I’d come in in the morning, and my drawer would be full of cards,” she said with a laugh. Conroy took no nonsense from students, \Everyone knows and loves her. The students know her, the professors know her. She's a p a rt o f the family.\ -Kathy Martin More Suzie page 3 Carroll's Circle K Clothing Drive wins award _______ Carly Garrison _______ Staff Writer More than 3,000 pounds of clothing were donated during a clothing drive for the Stuff-a-Bus Organization, put on by Circle K. Five hundred pounds was donated by the students at Carroll College. The great success led to Carroll’s chapter of Circle K receiving the Collection Award for having the largest amount of clothing donated. “It was really the Carroll students who did it,” said Whitney Miller, a senior biol­ ogy major from Lewistown, Mont. Miller is also the president of Circle K at Carroll. “I feel it is important to give back to people that are less fortunate,” said Ali Mildenberger, a donor who is a junior communications major from Hamilton, Mont. “It’s the least I can do to contribute my clothing to help individuals in this small way.” “It [the clothing] completely filled my Ford Focus,” Miller said. She added that there were five carloads of clothing, all collected from the boxes placed in the dorms around campus. Circle K clubs around the state teamed up with Kiwanis to support the Stuff-a- Bus program. Stuff-a-Bus is dedicated to raising materials including clothing, school supplies, and toys for kids in need. Circle K is a non-profit service organi­ zation within college communities that is a branch of the Kiwanis organization. The club serves at the community, state, and international levels. The clothing was hauled to a conven­ tion in Bozeman on Feb. 25 and 26, where it was sorted and brought to the Stuff-a- Bus building just off of Main Street in downtown Bozeman. The conventions are held for the purpose of electing new state delegates, participating in service projects and presenting awards. Circle K of Carroll was recognized for their excellence in retrieving clothing donations that far exceed the other clubs. “Other clubs asked ‘how did you do it?”’ Miller said. She mentioned that the club set boxes out, but it was the students who really helped. If anyone has clothing that they still want to donate, Miller encourages donat­ ing to the Stuff-a-Bus in Bozeman. Any­ one can also donate clothing to any of the thrift stores around Helena. “We tutor at elementary schools, go to nursing homes, and we have actually sent a few members to Guatemala to do service work,” Miller said. If anyone would like to get involved with Circle K they are encouraged to contact Whitney Miller at wmiller@caroll. edu. INSIDE Softball Weekend Preview, p. 4 Countdown to annual event begins! Patrick Harris' impact at Carroll, p. 8 Acts as a second father to students St. Patty's Day Shananigans, BackPage Students take Butte by storm