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Freshmen Year

Walking into a hall much unknown,

New faces, new places, lots of bad food,

Classes with professors that left us mind blown,

But come thirsty Thursday and up went the mood.

Hanging out in the worst of all building C,

Studying for an American history test,

Praying that I can do much better than a D,

Because mom will know I didn’t give it my best.

Setting the foundation for the next three years,

Trying to find our way in a career,

A career that won’t leave us in debt and tears,

Hopefully what we chose won’t kick our rears.

Looking forward to becoming a sophomore

Our second year at Cal was anything but a bore.



Sophomore Year

Moving up the street to 646 Park,

A house full of five guys was always live,

And packed sometimes just like Noah’s Arc,

The house was a buzz like a beehive.

Quickly our reputation grew large,

Known as the strobe light house by girls,

None of us were ever in charge,

Mostly due to constant hurls and twirls.

All was fine good times were had,

Until one freezing cold January night,

No one could see things going bad,

But we discovered the Cal PDs might.

To tell the long painful story short,

Try your best not to end up in court.



Junior Year

I couldn’t wait to return to school,

Being home and under 21 was a tease,

All work and no play I was no fool,

But it was a lifestyle that did not please.

A third year of college brought me my own apartment,

It was just one of the changes in the year,

Another was a switch in my major department,

One that I had hoped to bring me cheer.

My favorite part of the year was turning twenty one,

And a good group of friends to be around,

Like every year at school I wasn’t ready to be done,

I was enjoying the new company I had found.

All good things come to an end however,

Junior year was a year to remember forever.



What Comes Next

May 18 2013 is graduation day,

A day that will be bittersweet for sure,

Rough times ahead I’ve heard them say,

A job fresh out of school will surely be the cure.

Unfortunately for me work is no sure thing,

Bills, loans, and uncertainty are on the plate,

Unlike rappers and athletes I will have no bling bling,

What I will have however is a nice clean slate.

A fresh beginning awaits me as I join the work force,

Looking for anything that doesn’t pay minimum wage,

Labor like that for a graduate is no recourse,

A job like that and I’ll feel as if I’m in a cage.

Whatever comes next I hope it’s sweet as honey,

God willing it will be if I make a lot of money.

        October 14, 1992, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.  Game 7 of the National League Championship Series and for the second straight year it is the Pittsburgh Pirates versus the Atlanta Braves.  The Pirates take a two run lead into the bottom of the 9th.  They are three outs away from the World Series. 

       Due to some sloppy play and a bad call the bases are loaded with two outs.  Stan Belinda is on the mound facing Francisco Cabrera, a sparingly used bench player.  Cabrera lined a single to left tying the game.  The winning run rounded third, but Bonds gunned him down at the plate sending the game to extra innings.  Bonds won the game with a home run in the 19th inning, the longest extra inning playoff baseball game in history.  The Pirates go on to face the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series and win the series in five games in front of their home fans at Three Rivers Stadium.  Bonds hit .500 with four home runs, having a Reggie Jackson like World Series.

      In the offseason Bonds, feeling a sense of commitment to Pittsburgh, signed a record 15 year deal worth $150 million.  Bonds led the Pirates to ten straight division titles and three more World Series.  With the success of the franchise, a new stadium is built to replace out of date Three Rivers Stadium.  Beautiful PNC Park is opened in 1998.  Every game has sold out since its opening.

      Bonds went on to win multiple MVP and Gold Glove Awards and eventually broke Hank Aaron’s home run record.  He hit number 756 at PNC Park in front of his loving fans.  It carried the outfield stands and landed in the Allegheny River. 

        After the bombing at the Boston Marathon that took the lives of three and injured 183, many questions about security remain, especially at events with big crowds.  It might have been impossible to prevent what happened in Boston, given the distance and openness that a marathon has.  But, at other sporting events that happen year round, security has become relaxed as the memories from 9/11 fade away.  At many stadiums across the country, fans walk in and could easily bring a weapon with them with no difficulty.

         However, one stadium that has had the same policy since 9/11 is Heinz Field during Pittsburgh Steeler games.  Fans waiting to enter the stadium stand in a long line at the gate to be padded down by security.  That security guard checking fans as they enter Heinz Field could very well be a Cal U student. 

         Students majoring in sports management are required to work Steeler games, serving as security guards or concession stand workers.  Senior Michael Price and junior Jeremy Keenan are both sport management majors and have worked a good number of Steeler games.  But after this week, they are questioning whether they should be put in the position they are as security guards.

 The thought of having to deal with a potential threat never came across Price’s mind.

         “When I worked as a security guard I mainly dealt with the drunks walking in,” he said.  “While I was padding them down I never really thought what would happen if I found something I shouldn’t have.  I’m not really sure what I would have done in that situation.”

         Keenan pointed out that while there were police in the area, if a problem arose the untrained and unarmed security guards would be the first ones in harm’s way.

         “If someone was carrying a concealed weapon and I found it, that person would still have me in a bad position,” said Keenan.  “I’m not trained in hand to hand combat and the fan could easily have his way with me.”

         Keenan also said that because some security guards are just college students, they do not do the best job searching fans.  Games with extremely cold temperatures also cause problems for the inexperienced security guards because fans have extra layers of clothes on, giving them more places to hide prohibited items. 

         With the Boston Marathon bombing fresh in his mind, Price thinks there should be a change in how the security is done at Heinz Field, especially using students.

         “I really think Heinz Field should use police or trained security guards to pad down fans entering games,” he said.  “I’m a sports management major; I wouldn’t ask a cop to organize an intramural sports league and we shouldn’t ask untrained students to do the police’s job.”