Final Four Shutout
COLLEGIATETIMES WEDNESDAY
www.collegiatetimes.com
March 28, 2007
SGA candidates suit up
Students share study abroad tales ROSANNA BROWN CT Staff Writer
The fast-paced ACC hits the brakes in March failing to put a single team in the Final Four. Sports pg. 8 > SALLY BULL/SPPS
Ben Folds unfolds on stage
After spending a day around Blacksburg, Folds takes stage. Features pg. 6 >
News Notes Hammerin’ Hokies fall to James Madison Dukes The Virginia Tech baseball team (15-11) lost an 8-6 road game at James Madison University Tuesday. The Hokies held a 6-5 lead going into the eighth inning, before the Diamond Dukes rallied against Hokie relief pitcher Rhett Ballard. Tech returns to action Friday evening at home, with the first pitch against the University of Virginia. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. from English Field. The Hokies’ fourth Atlantic Coast Conference series of the season will also be part of the Commonwealth Challenge.
Aaron Bock, sophomore finance major votes at the SGA booth in Squires Student Center, run by Alyssa Katz, freshman political science major. Students can vote at the booth again today.
SGA Revolution presidential candidate speaks about change
oneSGA candidate says student voices should be heard
ALEXANDRA HEMENWAY CT News Reporter
MEG MILLER CT News Reporter
SGA Revolution’s motto is “What has SGA done for you?” and SGA presidential candidate Ryan Smith insists that this question is pertinent and applies to all Virginia Tech students. “The students need to feel like they have an SGA that cares about them and that can really do something for them,” Smith said. “We need to not just listen to students but to administer change, so when you ask students what SGA does for them they don’t quietly stare at you.” Smith insists that a change in the structure of SGA is necessary and strongly believes that everyday students’ issues should be carefully considered and addressed by the student government, and believes that if the student body votes for SGA Revolution he will ensure that this change is made. “The main reason I’m running is because I have talked to a lot of students and I have noticed that most students feel that SGA hasn’t addressed students’ needs,” Smith said. “I wanted to show the everyday student that they can have a connection to SGA.” Smith’s ticket includes Graham Burkholder for vice president, Yusuf Abugideiri for treasurer and Hannah Minchew for secretary. “We are representative of the students because we have not been in SGA since freshman year,” Smith said. “Our qualifications are more diverse, for example our vice president is an engineering student, and he has seen issues that have not yet been addressed. Our treasurer is an accounting and finance major, he has some great experiences with maintaining a budget and our secretary is a representative of Greek life here at Virginia Tech. We all have unique experiences that I feel will benefit the students.” SGA Revolution contends that since their ticket is compromised of such a diverse group of students, they can better
Adeel Khan, a sophomore business major, is running for 2007-2008 SGA president on the oneSGA ticket under the slogan “oneSGA to represent EVERY student, oneSGA to work for REAL CHANGE, oneCHANCE to vote on March 27 and March 28.” Yesterday started off the first of two SGA election days, and Khan proved to be “one” busy candidate. Beginning his day at 8:55 a.m., Khan, also the webmaster of the oneSGA website, had to wake up in time to put up a link to the SGA voting site to create easy access for students wishing to vote. The rest of the day was spent campaigning and interacting with students and organizations. “A lot of supporters and the four members of the ticket were interacting with students in every way possible in order to gain support for the election,” Khan said. He said he and the other members of the ticket tried to use every outlet they could to reach out to students and organizations, including Facebook, e-mail, friends’ away messages and going dorm to dorm to talk to students about SGA and the elections. Ryan Gleeson, the vice president candidate, Zebib Bahta, the secretary candidate and Amanda Mitchell, running for Treasurer, are also on the oneSGA ticket along with Khan. The members of the ticket met as freshmen while participating in the Freshman Leadership Experience in SGA, and are now serving their second year in SGA. “Having served on the SGA for two years, not only myself, but all four members of the ticket have met and interacted and formed relationships with the students and the administration,” Khan said. “These relationships will take us far in establishing legitimacy between the students and the administration.” Khan said that one of the major issues he is most concerned with is the representation of the students.
REVOLUTION pg. 2 >
ONE pg. 2 >
Clothesline shows colors of violence
Tincher named co-national player of the week Junior pitcher Angela Tincher was named Co-National Player of the Week by the Amateur Softball Association Tuesday after pitching two gems over the weekend. Tincher completely baffled Florida State batters on Saturday and posted a perfect game, which she then followed up with a one-hitter Sunday against the Seminoles. This season, Tincher has posted a 20-3 record with a 0.43 ERA and 330 strikeouts in 155 innings. The Hokies’ ace joined Oklahoma third baseman Norrelle Dickson — who became Oklahoma’s all-time career hits and runs leader last week — as Co-National Player of the Week.
Food Safety Education Campaign ready for Drillfield If you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen … or Drillfield. Knowledge on cooking may be a rarity in college, especially when it comes to which temperatures are safe when cooking meat products. This Wednesday, March 28, The Food Safety Education Campaign will be on the Drillfield from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. “Take a Bite” is a demonstration on how to cook meat properly using a meat thermometer and will be on display for interested students crossing the Drillfield. The event is sponsored by Food Science and Technology.
WEATHER
77 LOW 46 HIGH
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 104th Year, No. 94 Blacksburg, Va. March 28, 2007
ERIC CONNOLLY/SPPS
Lauren Rode, freshman biology major looks at The Clothesline Project T-shirts hanging on the Drillfield yesterday.
MICHELLE RIVERA CT Staff Writer In an effort to raise awareness of violence against women in the community, The Clothesline Project is being displayed on the Drillfield through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The clothesline consists of 455 T-shirts with colors ranging from white to black to signify how hundreds of women have been victims of and affected by violence. “Looking at the line is both empowering and horrifying,” said Susan Anderson, professor of mathematics and event organizer of The Clothesline Project. The shirts are both old and new; a colorful compilation of testimonies that women in Blacksburg and surrounding communities have put on display to show that violence is a real and prevalent problem. “I saw the clothesline last year and signed up (this semester) with my sorority to help out because I thought it was important,” said Amanda Meno, sophomore international studies major and volunteer for the project. The shirts are color-coded: White is for women who have been killed by violence. Yellow and beige are for women who have been battered or assaulted. Red, pink and orange are for those raped or
sexually assaulted. Blue and green signify child sexual abuse or incest. Purple shirts are for women who have been attacked because of their sexual orientation. Black shirts are for those handicapped by violence. Each shirt is unique and tells the story of an individual. Their stories are meant to create an image of hundreds of women standing shoulder to shoulder, telling and sharing their stories of violence in color to those who pass by, Anderson said. “It’s cool to see these shirts made by women from the community and surrounding communities,” said Amanda Clarke, senior history major, Womanspace member and volunteer for the project. “I also made a shirt for a friend who had been raped.” The Montgomery County chapter of the National Organization for Women raises funds for all the materials so that those wishing to make a shirt may do so free of charge. Prior to displaying the shirts, Tech’s Women’s Center will host a workshop for women affected by violence to make a shirt, and it is open this week Monday to Friday. Other sponsors include Womanspace and the Women’s Resource Center of the New River Valley. Creating the shirts not only raises awareness of violence against women,
but also helps women with the healing process, Andserson said. “A person has to be a certain way along their healing process in order to want to create a shirt,” she said. “I think that the actual process of deciding what you want to put on the shirt — what words, graphics and pictures — and then physically creating the shirt really aids in the healing process.” However, it is not only women who create the shirts. Anderson recalled one man and his son making a shirt in honor of their wife/mother who had been murdered. The Clothesline Project is a national project and was brought to Blacksburg in 1994 by Montgomery County NOW. The shirts are usually displayed twice a year, once per semester, and all the shirts are locally made. Each shirt was made by women from Virginia Tech, Radford and the community or surrounding communities. “The reason that the Clothesline Project was brought to Blacksburg was to show that violence occurs in all communities, including our own,” Anderson said. “Violence crosses all economic, religious and ethnic lines. It’s not an issue that happens “over there” in someone else’s community. It’s pervasive in our society.”
Studying abroad may be a challenge financially and logistically, but some students are up for the challenge and eager to immerse themselves in cultures that are very different from our own. The following students were persistent in pursuing their dream to study abroad and received a $1,000 Scholarship from the ACC Academic Collaborative to help aid their education abroad. Audrey Froelich, sophomore international studies major, is currently attending American University in Dubai. She left for her semester Jan. 12. Froelich had her mind set on learning Arabic and learning more about the middle-eastern culture. She spent a little less than a year planning her trip. “There are scholarships, grants and even ways to do research through other companies and get paid for it,” Froelich said. Froelich was disappointed that she wouldn’t learn much Arabic while in Dubai since the predominant language is English. “If you really want to learn Arabic, don’t come to Dubai … if you want a really cultural experience, I would recommend Dubai … It is a purely international experience here,” she said. Froelich also mentioned that Dubai is not a typical middle-eastern town. “I was assuming a totally Arabic culture, but the university I am going to is very international … probably 10-20 percent of them are local … If you’re looking for a true middle-eastern experience I wouldn’t recommend Dubai, but I wouldn’t trade coming here for anything.” Dubai is a city of “superlatives,” Froelich said. From the tallest tower in the world to the best hotel and an indoor ski resort, the excessiveness can become overwhelming. “Dubai has a lot to offer, but what everyone will realize that it does take a toll on your budget,” she said. Shannon Harris, a junior majoring in animal and poultry sciences has found herself attending Curtin University in Australia. Due to the international communication required to compile data for this article, AOL Instant Messenger was used. While in Australia, Harris was quick to notice the difference between the United States and down under. “Most every shop closes at 5 p.m. and nothing is open on Sundays ... Shopping for the first time was hard because I didn’t recognize any brands. They have ‘late night’ shopping on Thursday which goes to very late — 9 p.m.” Harris also mentioned some of the environmental differences. “Australia is really into global warming and environmentalist (issues) so we hear about it a lot. (This is) because of the massive ozone hole they have … the sun here is pretty strong and apparently … they have a high rate of skin cancer because of it,” she said. The teaching style is also more relaxed and the education is not as rigorous. Harris noted that they called all their teachers by their first name and that she’ll attend class “maybe once or twice a week instead of three to four (times a week).” Some major differences between Curtis and Tech were the meal plans and sports. There are no meal plans, but instead, students can pay for the food that they have on campus. There are also no varsity sports teams, just intramural ones. Timothy Johnson, a junior majoring in agriculture and applied economics is having a very different experience from Harris. He is attending the University of the Free State in South Africa. Johnson noted that the largest cultural change between South Africa and the states was the level of racism. “People think we have racial tension in the states … they should really come to South Africa,” he said. The Afrikaners influenced racial tension in the 1990s, but are no longer in power. However, Johnson said the stigma still exists. “Afrikaners are not in power anymore, but their influence is still seen on campus,” he said. Johnson said the new government in South Africa is promoting programs such as Black Economic Empowerment, which gives jobs to black people in order to promote more economic equality between the races. However, Johnson’s school is still slow to integrate. “Hostiles (dormitories) and classes are segregated … for the most part,” he said. Johnson said he knows his experience in South Africa is one of a kind and has been a huge eye-opener. “I kind of feel like I’m changing, it’s an experience that … has broadened my horizons as far as talking to different people … it’s a great experience to see things outside of the U.S.,” he said. For Froelich, Harris and Johnson, their experiences abroad have all proven to be one of a kind and advantageous to their education. For students interested in studying abroad, they can visit the office in Litton Reaves 1820.