When I return from England after this semester I will come back to a Millersville
transformed. The new student center truly is “seizing the opportunity.” The growth over the past
ten years that the university has seen in enrollment made the old SMC seem outdated and
downright pathetic at times. It did not give the perception of a true student center like others you
will find throughout the country. The new SMC will give Millersville students, employees,
faculty and visitors the ability to have a true heart for the campus community.

The SMC is not the only improvement Millersville is making. The new Visual &
Performing Arts Center will hinder music education for now, but when completed will be a focal
point not just for the university but community at large. The Anchor is something that puts the
galley to shame. Updating the downstairs has rejuvenated campus living. I could only wish
having the opportunity to walk into the Anchor from my dorm instead of Gordy’s and the galley.
The hip functional use of the space makes it a place that students want to hang out in.

The old saying out with the old and in with the new seems to be the new direction that
Millersville is heading. In a few years almost all students on campus will not remember the old
Millersville that is being replaced presently. Grabbing that cheesesteak at The Galley before a
thirsty Thursday night, playing pool at Club de’ville, trying to use up the rest of your flex at
Gordy’s the last week of school all of this will be gone.

My senior year will come and go and Millersville will continue to move forward with
improvements in the future. But try not to forget the old Millersville and the times you and your
friends had there. It really is strange to see it go.

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I know I’m risking the wrath of all the Twihards out there, but I have to say it: “Twilight” wasn’t good, and “New Moon” wasn’t much better.

Before I’m attacked with life-size cardboard cutouts of Edward and Jacob, however, allow me to make a full disclosure. I’ve read all the books, and seen the movies in theaters, one of which may have been the midnight showing on opening night. I am not proud of this.

Even though I’m not a fan of the series, I understand why people love it so much. “Twilight” and “New Moon” do a pretty accurate job portraying teenagers, complete with lip biting and an almost unbearable amount of angst.

Despite this, there are some things seriously wrong with the people of Forks, and most of it revolves around relationships, especially Edward and Bella’s.

In “Twilight,” Bella and Edward realize they’re meant to be together a few weeks after meeting, even though Edward is a vampire and has a serious jones for her blood. Some people might consider this a deal breaker, but Edward and Bella don’t think so, and are instead perfectly content to spend every moment together, staring at each other.

The few friends Bella made before meeting Edward become largely abandoned in favor of the Cullens by “New Moon,” and I don’t like that Stephanie Meyer makes it seem romantic to spend every waking moment with a significant other. Friendships are important, and it’s scary to see someone who is so willing to give up anything and everything for another person, even if that person is an attractive, sparkly vampire.

Then there’s the issue of teams. “Twilight” fans are either Team Edward or Team Jacob. But interestingly, no one ever seems to be on Team Bella. In Ms. magazine, Carmen D. Siering writes, “There is no Team Bella. Bella is a prize, not a person, someone to whom things happen…”, instead of someone who actually doing things within the story. Siering continues, “Bella does nothing that suggests she is a person in her own right. If Meyer hopes that readers see themselves as Bella, what is she suggesting to them about the significance of their own lives?”

I can’t really blame Meyer for continuing these stereotypes of fragile girls who need saving, but I don’t like that she uses them. My main issue with “The Twilight Saga” is that so many girls want their lives to emulate Bella’s, and have a boyfriend like Edward.

But Edward isn’t a good boyfriend. Telling someone, “You’re my only reason to stay alive, if that’s what I am,” as Edward does in “New Moon”, isn’t love; it’s dysfunctional. And outside of the time spent with Edward, Bella doesn’t do anything except go to school and read “romantic” novels like “Wuthering Heights.” Speaking of which, the relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff is probably the most dysfunctional in all of literature, but I digress.

It seems that the mania surrounding “Twilight” has become bigger than the series itself. These fans are so obsessed that the story to them has become real. And this is the problem; “The Twilight Saga” shouldn’t be a model for anyone’s life. Young girls often dream about a devastatingly handsome man sweeping them up and away to a perfect life and everlasting love, like “Twilight,” but unfortunately, real life rarely works that way.

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Their newest release, “Daisy,” released on September 22 and continues to weaken boundaries assumed by their previous labels; making the band all the more difficult to classify.

For fans and followers, “Daisy” is a continuation of the emotionally packed, atypical song structures found on their last album, “The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me.”

The first track, “Vices,” opens with a disconcerting hymnal; a sample that envelops the album by appearing again at the end of “Noro,” and suddenly shifts into the loudest, brashest song Brand New has written.

Jesse Lacey chooses screaming vocals, which bring to mind some of the songs on their 2003 release, “Deja Entendu.”

However, this unexpected charger does not represent the majority of sound in the album because the next two songs, “Bed” and “At The Bottom,” slow down and mellow out.

These tracks, along with “You Stole” and “Daisy,” show Brand New’s most recognizable sound.

Delicate guitar work, preformed and written primarily by guitarist Vince Accardi, and vocals construct a brooding groove that builds tension, which is perfectly broken by crashing drums and at times, Lacey’s loudness.

His voice soars and it cracks. His screams and whispers even come off as honed and practiced. Also, layering is often a gimmick for many bands, but Brand New masters the technique and makes it seem effortless and natural.

This provides the somewhat gloomy album with a sound not far from beautiful.

Lacey’s lyrical content has progressed along with the band’s instrumentals.

His words are piercing, chilling, and rhythmic, and they seem to fit nicely in the common mood that pervades the last album: disheartenment. “You Stole,” one of the standout tracks on “Daisy,” may contain some of the lowest lyrics on the album: “So we just hurry up only to wait/And add to the list of all the places we hate/And I’ll pretend like I’ve got something to say but I’ve got nothing.”

Christian spirituality and religious iconography comprises a portion of the lyrics as well, although it verges not on any form of evangelism.

These images are almost as pessimistic as the rest of the album. With the closing track, “Noro,” leaving the listener with, “Well, God knows I’ve tried/I’m on my way to hell,” it is easy to feel that hope is not Lacey’s strong suit.

With despair aside, “Daisy” is a success. Many can safely say that Brand New have labored their way over the last five years to a sound like no other.

The fact that they flawlessly weave beautifully brooding music with lyrical moroseness is impressive and pleasant.

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Many of you may be wondering—what kind of story has both young adults and forty-something’s going crazy over fictitious characters and plots?

The answer? The Twilight series by Stephenie Myers.

The Mormon author published the first novel, Twilight in October of 2005, and its popularity has been on the rise ever since.

Fans everywhere display the vampire paraphernalia.

From Facebook bumper stickers to cotton t-shirts, Myers has definitely capitalized on her modern day twist of the Romeo & Juliet love story.

When Summit Entertainment put Myers’ first book onto the big screen in November 2008, the hype intensified.

At this point, I was laughing at my college friends who lined up for the midnight showing of what I thought would be the most ridiculous book turned movie.

A human falls in love with a vampire.

That was all I needed to know to keep me from picking up one of the books.  Nonetheless, Twilight was everywhere.

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, who portrayed the main characters of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, were on magazine covers across the country.  And they still are.

New Moon, the second book in the series, has also been turned into a major motion picture and will be released November 20, 2009.

The first film was criticized by some of Myers’ readers, who claimed that the movie did not meet the expectations from the book.

Twilight fans were anxiously waiting to see which actor would live up to the written description of Edward Cullen, and when they found out it was Robert Pattinson, some thought the portrayal fell short.

However, most young girls, and even older women too, have grown fond of this newly successful actor.

If you have not read the book or seen the film, you better jump on the bandwagon.

Men and women both seem to be in awe with the love story that Myers has concocted.  For some readers, it is the way the author describes each character with the utmost intricacy.

For others, it is the complicated relationship that exists between the human (Bella Swan) and the town vampire (Edward Cullen).

Others are fascinated by the love triangle that exists between Bella, Edward, and the werewolf, Jacob Black, who happens to be Bella’s best friend.

No matter what your preferred genre, there is enough mystery, love, suspense, and action in this series to appeal to anyone.

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