1995_03 Insight March 1995

              MARCH 15,1995
Lifestyle
Goal-Oriented
Martin Nilsen is a
student on the move
By Laurie Gibson
Staff Writer
"FREESSNNNOOO GOOAALLL!!" Falcons announcer Brian Anthony roars into the
icropho
has become second nature to Nilsen. "Thai's
probably why it's so relaxing."
He first touched the ice at age 4, when his parents took him to Icelandia in West Fresno. He's
been playing hockey al Selland Arena for nearly
Fans are cheering, clapping, dancing and iwo decades. He estimates thai his father, Pete,
high-fiving under the bright lights of Selland a Fresno fircfighier, has spent tens of thousands
Arena. Down on the ice, the grinning Fresno of dollars on hockey over the years,
players pump their hockey sticks in the air. Nilsen. a Fresno native, went to Kerman High
Martin Nilsen wears No. 14. He skates back School for two years. He left the Valley at 17.
to center ice. The CSUFjunior crouches, ready moving to Duluth, Minn., to play hockey for a
to handle thc next faceoff for the Falcons. Hc high school team there.     Hc says his parents
watches ihe ref 's hand.
In a flash, the ref throws the jel-black puck
onto the ice. Niisen stabs for the puck, knocking it across thc rink to teammate Wes Gentles.
Two opponents charge after thc puck. The
had mixed feelings about him leaving home.
"They were happy for me because I was doing
something lhat I liked. Bul, of course, they missed
mc." Nilsen is the youngest of three children.
He rented a room and attended Duluth East
ref leaps out of the way.  The puck, players    High School his junior and senior years. "It was
and slicks all crash into the boards.
Boom!
Four hundred pounds hit the Plexiglas at full
speed. The crowd bellows.
Five minutes later the buzzer sounds. The game
is over. The Falcons win. Players and coaches
shake hands and head for the locker rooms, slopping at the edge of the rink to sign autographs.
Thc next morning. Nilsen thc scmipro
hockey player becomes Nilsen the college student. He's off lhc ice and in the classroom.
Nilsen looks like any other 22-ycar-old guy
on campus; he hardly fits thc tradilional image
of a hockey player. Lanky,  ^^^^^^^^^^^^
blue eyes and blond hair.   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Nordic. His expression is  piayers gr^h at
open. calm, easy-going.        * *"iT»-*^ O*"^ ««
He v
textbooks al the start of the
semester. He hangs out seVS, Swinging
with his friends in the quad. f    ' »      ,°
There's no hint of aggres- With Clenched
sion. no trace of stereotypi-  £•    , iciiueu mc university oi
cal jock machismo. No IlStS,    dead Set Oil     Wisconsin but didn't play
kind of like (the movie] "Youngblood." bul I
didn't gel any lea." he says.
Nilsen weathered the transition from a Fresno
summer to a Minnesota winter and its 150-de-
gree temperature drop from June lo January.
"I just got used toil"
The emotional adjustment wasn't much of a
problem either.
"I had lots of friends in hockey and ihcy kept
me real busy. I lived with two med Students, so
that was a good influence on me. They were
studying all ihe lime and when I had parties,
they told me lo keep il quid," hc says.
^^^^^^^^^     And he played hockey.
^^^^^^^^™     Duluth East placed second
in ihe state championships
during Nilsen's senior year.
The tournament drew nearly
20.000 fans a night.
"It was pretty incredible."
he says.
After high school, hc at-
lended lhc University of
swagger.
Even when he
skates, Nilsen is
the move.
connecting. Fans
leap to their feet,
An athlete from a nonath- yelling fOT blOOd\
letic family, he likes down- J        '       O
hill skiing, mountain biking and golfing. He also
hockey. Nilsen says "politics" kepi him off the ice thai
year; he didn't like thc
In his skates, uniform and
helmet, he stands nearly 6
^^^_^^__ feet 6 inches. His height is
an advantage, he says, "because of the reach."
"Size is pretty important in hockey."
Hockey's rough. On the ice again in a chilly
Selland Arena, the players sprint across the rink.
plays roller hockey and lifts weights.
His major is mechanical engineering, but he's
taking four business classes this semester. It's
a light schedule — 14 units — Nilsen says.
He's in school Monday through Friday and    They're elbowing and shouldering each other
spends about 30 hours a week working at Play    for a shot at the puck.
It Again Sports on Blackstone Avenue.
Nilsen is also a member of the Bulldog Hockey
Club, a leam composed of players from CSUF.
He plays center or wing. Weekly practices usually start between 9 and 11 p.m. and last two
He's on the ice 15 hours a week.
How much sleep does he gel?
Hc laughs. "Not enough," he says. Like most
college students. Nilsen skips classes once in
a while to catch up on sleep.
Hockey is "really an addicting game." Nilsen
says, because it's fast-paced and hard-hitting.
It lets him get rid of aggression.
"'In a way, it's relaxing to play." he says. Because he's spent 18 years on ice skates, hockey
Crack!
A player launches the puck at thc goal wilh a
slap shoi. Il spins and bounces across lhc ice in
a blink. The goalie lunges to protect his nei.
A spray of shaved ice flies from the edge of a
skate blade. Pat Benetar's "Hit Me With Your
Best Shot" explodes through the P.A. system. A
couple of shoves between opponents erupts into
a helmcls-off free-for-all. Players grab at each
other's jerseys, swinging with clenched fists,
dead set on connecting. Fans leap to their feet,
yelling for blood.
Refs break it up. and thc players head for thc
penalty box. "Bad Bad Boys" flashes across thc
electronic signboard above the rink. Time for
another faceoff.
CSUF junior Martin Nilsen checks his options on the ice.
Courtesy photo
Fights break out "because you got a bunch of
guys skating around and they've got weapons.
People get hit and it's irritating." Nilsen says.
Certain players project a menacing presence,
like sharks.
"Their job on the leam is to intimidate."
Though Nilsen hasn't been hurt in any fights,
he has racked up some injuries. Last season, he
took a hit that tore the muscles of his right shoulder. He was out of action for two games.
Last month, he got smacked in thc face with a
hockey stick. The gash on his forehead took six
stitches.
With the constant contact, slippery playing
surface and lightning pace, hockey can be dangerous. But fear has no place in the rink.
"If you're playing afraid, then you shouldn't
be out there."
Solidly hit. a puck can clock in at 90 mph.
When he's on the ice, Nilsen doesn't ihink about
the possibility of gelling hurt, even though hc rarely
wears a face shield. It interferes with his vision. He
wore one before hc was with thc Falcons.
Bulldog Hockey Club coach Esko Siipola and
Falcon assistant coach Glenn Heintz. both former
Falcon players, have been Nilsen's biggest athletic influences. The two were his hockey heroes
when was growing up. Nilsen says.
Heintz. has known Nilsen for more than 15
years. Hc says Nilsen's success as a semipro
player is the result of determination.
"Hc hung in there and slowly improved himself. He's worked at it (and) made his own
breaks." Nilsen always looks for ways to become a belter player. Heintz says.
Hc was Nilsen's coach in Fresno's junior
See HOCKEY, page 10
Sign-ups for air guitar competition are rolling
♦ Applications for air
guitar now available in
University Student Union
By Michelle Henry
Staff Writer
Thwaaanng! It's Air Guitar time
again.
Applications for the 15th annual Air
Guitar competition, held in conjunction wilh Vintage Days, are now being accepted in University Student
Union Room 306.
The theme is "Here and Now." and
groups arc encouraged lo impersonate bands from the last 20 years. Coordinator Gerald McLean said lhc
concert will be indoors if weather
poses a problem.
Applications are due March 31.
All CSUF groups, including those
unaffiliated with on-campus organizations, are encouraged to participate.
Lack of interest has been a problem in thc past, but McLean is cer
tain this year will be spectacular. H<
said he's pulling the focus back on
performances. "It's going to be 100
percent Air Guitar. We have a lol
planned."
Air Guitar lost over S12.000 last
year and hopes for a better turnout
this time.
Auditions will be held 10 a.m. to 4
April 2. Appointments
should be made with a USU representative.
Approximately 10 to 14 groups
will be chosen from those who apply.
Air Guitar is scheduled for Friday.
April 21. Gates will open at 7 p.m..
and thc show will start at 8 p.m.
Artificial
sun gives
jump on
tanning
♦ College students swarm
tanning salons in time for
spring break, warmer days
By Christi Fuller
Staff Writer
The blossoms are on thc trees. The
birds are singing and shorts-weather
is close at hand.
But many students shudder at the
thought of baring their lily-white legs
to the rest of thc world.
To tan or not to tan — lhat is the
question.
Of course, outdoor tanning is virtually impossible wilh this pre-spring
weather. Even if thc sun does come
out. many students are too busy
studying for midterms to lie out.
The alternative is indoor tanning,
or what critics call "fake and bake."
Stephanie Hartman, sales and customer service representative for Forever Tans in thc University Village
Shopping Center, says students are
flocking to make appointments.
"This is our busiest time of the
year." Hartman says. "The majority
of our customers are students, and
everyone wants a tan by spring
break."
CSUF senior Stephanie
Mendenhall. 22. says she plans on
tanning at the beginning of April.
But Mendenall is not doing it for
spring break.
"I'm getting married in May, and I
want to be tan for my wedding,"
Mendenhall says. "I feel I look a lot
better with a tan."
If Mendenhall wants that tan on
lime, she may want to think about
making hcr appointment early,
Hartman says.
Forever Tans is booked three to four
days in advance even though it opens
at 5 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m.
"People arc getting crazy, even hostile, when they can't get the sessions
they want." Hartman says.
So what about thc dangers involved
with indoor tanning?
"Indoor tanning is not safer than
tanning in natural sunlight," writes
Jennifer Oliphant in a recent article
in the American Journal of Public
Health. "Moreover, severe ultraviolet radiation bums [from indoor tanning) increase the risk for malignant
melanoma."
According to the American Cancer
Society, malignant melanoma is the
deadliest form of skin cancer in
people under 30.
Mendenhall says she tans at a salon
only for special events. "I've thought
about the dangers, but I don't really
care. Everyone has to die at one time,"
Mendenhall says. "Seriously though,
I'm careful not to bum, so I don't feel
I'm putting myself in danger."
Hartman says that indoor tanning
is unsafe only if the tanning salon
doesn't follow safety precautions.
"All of the girls lhat work here are
taking a tanning course to become
certified, and we keep up on all the
journals," Hartman says. "We pass
out pamphlets on the risks and benefits of tanning, and if someone demands more time than they need for
their skin type, we will not allow it."
Hartman says common sense can
overcome the risks. "We want to educate people to tan correctly. You can
only get as dark as your skin allows."
Hartman says that many of their
customers arc doctors and nurses.
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
presents
CHINA SEMESTER '95
August 25 - Decenber 1,1995
at Hangzhou University in China's most beautiful city
16 students only
$3,500 includes Air Fare (round trip), Room & Board, CSUF fees (12-18
units), and 2 weeks travel to Shanghai, Nanjing, Xian, Chengdu,
Chongquing, Wuhan, & Guangzhou, etc.
Courses offered in English include: International Management, Strategic
Management, Chinese Language, Philosophy, Literature, History, Art,
Independent Study, etc
Some Capstone Clusters available upon request
Deposit of $500 due on April 15
For more info: Susan Anich, School of Social Sciences (209) 278-3013
OR
Dr. Jia Wang, Dept of Management CSU, Fresno
Fresno,CA 93740-0007   (209)278-4977