Platteville Tuggers is in its first year at UW-Platteville. The team hopes to compete in their first match Dec. 5. From front: junior Amber Langmeier, freshman Melissa Weller, senior Sarah Becker, sophomore Korissa Prine and junior Alisha Parrt practice their pulling skills.

Tug-of-war is not just a Homecoming event anymore.

Those who enjoy pulling the rope can live out their fun with the new Platteville Tuggers club, started last year by the club coach and president, Amber Langmeier.

“Starting a club here at Platteville has always been one of my goals since I started, and to see it finally happening is so rewarding,” Langmeier said.

The Tuggers do not just pull for fun; there is a lot of practice and skill involved in the event. Participants even have a chance of going to championships to tug for titles.

“It’s not just crazy jerking, and pulling,” said Langmeier. “It’s a great way to stay in shape and make new friends too.”

Langmeier loves tug-of-war. The sport has allowed her to travel to Canada during the summer for competitions. She traveled to the Netherlands to pull in the 2006 World Championship, where her team placed 4th in the open 560K weight class.

Like any other sport there are rules and regulations when it comes to tug-of-war. There are certain weight classes for men, women and co-ed teams. Special shoes must be worn for outdoor and indoor matches, and members are not allowed to wear gloves.

The Tuggers have not had a match this year, but are hoping to set up the first of many matches as an indoor match on Dec. 5 in Oregon.

There are currently 10 members of the Platteville Tuggers. Practices are every Monday from 3-4 p.m. and Wednesdays from 5:30-6 p.m. Practices are open to anyone interested, and people can join at any time.

“Practices are fun, but still a work out, and of course it motivates people to be better,” said Langmeier.

If you are interested in joining the Platteville Tuggers, contact Amber Langmeier at langmeiera@uwplatt.edu.

Photograph by Karmen Mallow
Senior middle hitter Lisa Bell serves up the ball during the Homecoming Yell match against Ashford University.

“Any win brings confidence. Ashford was good competition, and it was a great atmosphere,” head coach Deb Schulman said. “It was a fun win.”

Schulman said that most of the girls get excited for the game during Homecoming week and that some of the freshmen tend to get a little nervous.

The first game was an even matchup against the Saints, with the Pioneers keeping ahead during the game. Ashford handed over the victory when the serve went out of bounds, giving the Pioneers their first set win.

Ashford scored the first point in the second match, but the Pioneers quickly came back to take the game. The Saints fell short of victory after narrowing UW-P’s lead from eight to two points. Ashford managed to upset the Pioneers by taking one victory during the third match-up in the four games played.

During the fourth set, the Pioneers jumped back with kills from junior Melissa Hillebrand, 17, and freshman Samantha Rampart, 13. Hillebrand finished the night for the Pioneers with the final kill.

Photograph by Karmen Mallow
The team huddles together before beginning play. The Pioneers defeated the Saints in four sets.

Following the victory, the volleyball team holds a 14-7 record. The Saints fell to a 16-11 record. UW-P is currently ranked fifth in the WIAC, with a conference record of 2-2. Hillebrand led the ladies with 19 points, followed by Rampart with 13.5 points; both players are outside hitters.

“I think the team did really well,” freshman Sara Beran said. “We tried new lineups, and everyone stepped up and worked really hard.”

Coach Schulman said the team will continue working on passing, which has consistently improved this season.

“With good passing, there’s good offense,” Schulman said.

The Pioneers will host UW-River Falls at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16 in the Williams Fieldhouse.

Photograph by Kate Olsen
Eva Vega, diversity trainer, public speaker and a former New York City comedian, performed as part of Hispanic Heritage month.

According to the UW-Platteville Web site, Vega is a diversity trainer, public speaker and former New York City comedian.

Vega has worked in university programs for 12 years, and has been a diversity trainer for eight years. This is her second time speaking in Wisconsin, and her first time at UW-P.

Vega was born and raised in New Jersey. She grew up in a traditional Puerto Rican home, yet she did not understand or speak Spanish, with the exception of a few phrases.

Vega started off by telling the audience about her childhood and her life up to where she is now. Vega spoke about the expectations put on Latinos to fit into stereotypes. They discussed what stereotypical Latinos are expected to eat, wear and speak. Vega experienced racism during college and while working at a university. For instance, Vega once went into a store, and an employee yelled at her to get out and called Vega a racial epithet. Another example was while in line to go through security at the airport. Her belongings were taken from her and she was asked a series of questions about her intentions.

According to FBI statistics, hate crimes against Latinos have increased over the past six years.

Vega also spoke about racial jokes that people say everyday like “it’s no big deal.” Vega stated that many people in the U.S. are xenophobic, defined as people who have a fear of people who are not from America.

“Everyone in this room has the power for leadership,” Vega said.

Student Organization of Latinos has many other events planned for Hispanic Heritage Month.

“I enjoyed what Vega spoke about. It was very enlightening,” Vanessa Martinez, communication technologies major and also the president of SOL, said.

Fresh off the release of his first comedy album, comedian Dan Cummins performed for the first time at UW-Platteville. Cummins has shared his jokes with radio listeners of “The Bob and Tom Show,” and has performed on Comedy Central. Cummins started performing comedy on stage in 2000.

The night started off with students signing up to win the “best seat in the Haus,” which included VIP seating on a couch directly in front of the stage, and $10 to use at the Pioneer Haus. The winner was Morgan Beatty, a sophomore business administration major.

Cummins’ jokes varied greatly ranging anywhere from religion, hygiene, awkward moments and even to saving animals, in an attempt to appeal to as many audience members as possible.

“I found the comedic styles of Cummins both inappropriate yet enjoyable,” Nichelle Lewis, sophomore communication technologies major, said.

Cummins’ jokes reached out to UW-P students in a vulgar way.

“His jokes were mildly foul yet completely hilarious,” Beatty said.

Cummins gave each joke a clever and sometimes crude title, which made the jokes even funnier to the audience. For example, he made a joke about an elderly couple engaging in intimacy, and the title of the joke was “Still Got It.”

Cummins also incorporated the city of Platteville and the university into some of his jokes. A couple of those included jokes about the university not having a mascot that runs around, and there being not much to do around town.

The next comedian in Campus Programming and Relations’ stand-up series is Ronnie Jordan who will perform Oct. 3.