COLLEGIATETIMES
friday october 12, 2007 blacksburg, va.
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sports WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM TIES CLEMSON 1-1
VIRGINIA TECH PONDERS UPGRADES AS MORE AND MORE UNIVERSITIES ARE TAKING CAMPUS LIVING TO A NEW LEVEL
Virginia Tech’s women’s soccer team tied Clemson 1-1 on Thursday after two overtimes. Courtney Foster scored for the Tigers in the 64th minute of play, and Marika Gray responded for the Hokies in the 90th minute to force extra time. Clemson goalie Ashley Phillips recorded two saves, while Tech goalkeeper Ashley Owens finished with three saves. Tech moves to 4-5-3 (0-3-2), and Clemson goes to 8-2-2 (1-1-2) after the contest.
LOFTY ASPIRATIONS
ruises and scrapes often accompany stories of students falling off their university-supplied mattresses. A few universities, such as American University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, have opted to provide students with full size mattresses in answer to complaints lodged by tired and sore students. AU upgraded 115 upperclassmen from twin size to full size mattresses this year in the hopes of competing with off-campus housing. With cycles of large incoming freshman classes, particularly this year, coupled with on-campus housing guaranteed only to freshman, this is a not an important issue for Virginia Tech “Some students will want to move off-campus after their freshman years, some want to stay with us
B
PUT UP YOUR DUKES
the whole time they are here,” said Kenneth Belcher, the associate director for Occupancy Management Housing and Dining Services. “For us [upgrading the mattress size], is less about competing with off campus and more about giving what the students are asking for.” Only 57 percent of students living on campus are freshman, and the remaining 43 percent are returning and graduate students. However, a number of students choose to move off campus during some part of their stay at Tech. Fred Culpepper, the manager of Mattress King, located in Christiansburg, says he has a lot of students moving off campus for the first time coming into the store and purchasing a mattress.
see BEDS, page three
Check out the CT’s preview of the Duke football game this weekend in Durham. page ten
features WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PARTY JAM? The CT’s He Said/She Said columnists discuss beloved college ballads this week. page four
news LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST DIDDY Millionaire mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who nearly topped Forbes’ 2007 Hip Hop Cash Kings’ List, was sued this week for swindling a business associate and battering a concert promoter. James Sabatino, a friend and business associate of slain Bad Boy rap star Biggie Smalls, filed a $19-million lawsuit against Combs contending that the hiphop entrepreneur never paid him after buying exclusive audio and video recordings Sabatino had made of Smalls’ 14 years.
weather PARTLY SUNNY high 59, low 36
coming up TUESDAY’S CT Wondering where to go in town to get a haircut? We’ll tell you the best deals and best cuts around town.
ON THE WEB Check out a video of the Chili Challenge on campus yesterday, at www.collegiatetimes.com
correction In the story “Renowned theologian speaks to campus,” which ran in Wednesday’s CT (Oct. 10), there was a factual mistake. Dean Bork is an associate professor in Landscape Architecture, not an assistant Architecture professor. The Collegiate Times regrets this error.
index News.....................2 Features................4 0pinions................5
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An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 104th year • issue 153
l • story by Kerry O’Connor photo illustration by Sally Bul
New university alert systems tested across nation MICHELLE RIVERA
ct news reporter After the Virginia Tech shootings in April, the need for mass emergency alert systems has proved to be a priority among many universities across the nation. Tech itself has integrated the VT Alerts system, an emergency notification system that sends messages via text and voice messages to non-VT phones, emails to non-VT accounts and instant messages through AOL, Yahoo!, and MSN. Students, staff and faculty may voluntarily sign up to be alerted by this system. Additionally, a siren system has been introduced to notify those outside on campus that there is an emergency situation. “VT Alerts is but one part of a multifaceted system that the university has had for many years now to alert students and staff in critical situations,” said Mark Owczarski, Tech university spokesman. The system exists to complement the previously existing one, which broadcasts emergency messages through the university homepage, mass e-mails to university e-mail accounts, phone messages to VT phones and help from the media. Approximately 18,000 students have subscribed to the new system, representing about 60 percent of the university community. VT Alerts is used through the company 3N
(National Notification Network). Similar to Tech’s new system, the University of Delaware has recently created UD Alerts and also tested the system earlier this week, according to James Flatley, chief of UD police department. The test went well, with 98 percent of texts sent out and 96 percent of e-mails sent and received. Their texts, voice messages and e-mails system are used through the company Send Word Now and are
“VT Alerts is but one part of a multifaceted system that the university has had for many years now to alert students and staff in critical situations.” - MARK OWCZARSKI UNIVERSITY SPOKESMAN also voluntary. “We have 27,000 e-mails in the system because we send out e-mails through the university e-mail addresses that everyone is provided with, and we have 10,000 cell phones subscribed to the system,” Flatley said. Not only have alert systems been created and tested at the beginning of this academic year,
UC Berkley posts lecture videos online for students JESSICA DANIEL
ct staff writer The University of California, Berkeley, has found yet another way to use the widely popular video-sharing site, YouTube, by incorporating it into university classrooms as an important teaching tool. At the same place where any video can be shared online, college lectures are also now available. The school announced last Wednesday that it had begun posting course lectures on the Web site. Physics, chemistry and biology lectures are the courses currently available on YouTube, as well as a lecture on search engine technology by one of the Google cofounders. Initially, physics teacher Richard Muller and other professors at UC Berkeley agreed to have their lectures videotaped as an experiment the university was conducting. “I was asked by the university to try an experiment,” Muller said. “They were eager to find new ways to use the Internet, and I agreed because this was for the convenience of my students.” UC Berkeley is the first university to offer full course lectures on YouTube, and Muller thinks other schools will follow their lead. “I think (posting lectures on YouTube) is an exciting development and other schools are likely to do the same,” Muller said. Although Muller and his colleagues offer their lectures online, attendance is still necessary in his class for the benefit of inclass learning. “My students still come to class because they want to learn and because I require them to,” Muller said. “I think the in-class experience is more beneficial to them.” Like many schools, UC Berkeley is trying to advance its technology to further convenience its students. Virginia Tech assistant professor James Ivory sees this teaching application in Tech’s future, but to be used with caution. “Virginia Tech has always tried hard to deliver content to students with online applications and helping faculty create Power Points for lectures,” Ivory said. “I can almost assume Virginia Tech will be more forward with this technology, and
I hope they will take into consideration that video lectures changes the dynamics of teaching interaction. Even little things like technology can change how a message is received.” While the message of a lecture may not be received in the same way, it doesn’t seem to affect the number of YouTube users subscribing to the Berkeley link. More than 2,000 people have already accessed the site within the past week. UC Berkeley also posts videos from outside the classroom on YouTube. Footage from campus life, course lectures and athletic events are also available. There are currently over 300 hours of course lectures and campus events accessible on the Web site. This isn’t the first time UC Berkeley has digitally distributed its lectures. Since 2001, guest speeches, course lectures and special events have been recorded and posted on the school’s webcasting system and made available to anyone on or off campus. In 2006, the university began an audio podcasting program with more than 25 courses available. Recently, the university has also made it possible for anyone to download lectures onto iTunes for free. “The school’s intention is to keep the lectures on an access-free basis,” said Janet Kodish, chief administrative officer at UC Berkeley. “I certainly hope other schools will follow in our lead now. They have in the past with offering lectures on webcasting and iTunes.” The videos available on YouTube are much longer than the 10-minute limit that the site specifies. The owners at Google made an exception for the university so that they could post longer videos to include their entire lectures. Muller supports the new experiment the university is trying out and hopes that by making his and other course lectures easily accessible, more people will find it easier to learn. “I think this is a wonderful idea,” Muller said. “We don’t know what this will be like in five years, but many people around the world are now able to educate themselves, and as someone who is passionate about teaching I find that very rewarding.”
they’ve been put to use during recent critical situations. St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., recently put into effect a text and voice message system with the company Mir3, and when a student strolled around campus with a rifle, the system was tested in a real, critical situation. Tom Lawrence, vice president for public safety of St. John’s, said no one knew that the man was carrying a gun, but they were notified minutes later, and the student was apprehended six minutes after that. Students received messages via the emergency notification system eight minutes later, notifying them that a man with a rifle was apprehended on campus and that everybody should stay in place because they suspected that there was another person who may also be a threat. “Currently it’s about 11,000 subscribed to the system out of about 20,000 people in the university,” Lawrence said. Like St. John’s, the University of WisconsinMadison has also been forced to find ways to notify their university community of an emergency situation. Because UW-Madison’s text messaging service is in development and was not available for use when a suicidal gunman was reported on campus on Sept. 25, the university found that they had to find another way to alert the community. Jason Whitney, UW-Madison police department
sergeant, said the police department works with the university media personnel and IT group to send out mass e-mails. “Everyone helps to get the message out as quickly as possible,” he said. However, the university also made the quick and innovative decision to utilize one of the most widely trafficked websites on the web, Facebook. For $85, the university posted fliers on Facebook website to notify their students that there was a situation on campus, said John Lucas, UW-Madison university spokesman. The campus network has over 50,000 members. “The flier said that there was a campus emergency, students should click here for details, and that was up and running in a very short amount of time during the situation,” Lucas said. “It had 40,000 views and of those views, 4,000 of those clicked it and went through to the Web site, which had more information on the situation.” Lucas stressed that using Facebook was a great, instantaneous tool, but it was only used to complement the e-mails sent out. The voluntary text and voice message system currently in development will also be a complementary tool. Across the nation, these new notification systems have broadened the scope of mass communication methods and have shown to be innovative and successful in the short time that they have been in operation.
Hungry Hokies
SALLY BULL/SPPS
The Muslim Student Association’s second annual Fast-a-Thon was held yesterday. Over 70 participants fasted from sunrise to sunset, after which they shared a meal in the Graduate Life Center. The event raised over $1,000 for the homeless of Roanoke.
Scrabble supports adult literacy KERRY O’CONNOR
ct staff writer With a dictionary on hand, The New River Valley Literacy Volunteers (NRV-LV) hosted a Scrabble tournament last night as a charity event. James “Bud” Robertson, alumni distinguished professor of history and noted Civil War historian and author, emceed the event, which took place on the first cool evening this fall at the GERMAN Club Manor. The event kicked off at 5:30 p.m. with a silent auction offering donated items such as a night’s stay at the Rockwood Manor and Hokie memorabilia signed by Frank Beamer. A refreshment table offering drinks and light dinner, as well as a cash bar offering beer and wine, were set up among the spacious and elegant rooms of the
manor boasting stone fireplaces, gilded frames picturing distinguished alumni, and wooden floors where participants lined up to put their vocabulary to the test. “I think it’s a great cause,” said Elaine Clark, a member of the NRV-LV and participant in last night’s tournament. She entered the tournament with two of her friends, all of whom were sporting red hats last night and playing on behalf of the Red-Hat society. “There’s always that hope (of winning), but what I’m really interested in is the silent auction.” Volunteers of the NRV-LV greeted people at the entrance, handing out nametags, troubleshooting, and encouraging good-natured rivalry. People could sign up as teams of three for
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see SCRABBLE, page two
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2 news
university editor: caroline black email: universitynews@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
october 12, 2007
new river valley editor: kevin anderson email: nrvnews@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 1 - 3 p.m.
campus news editor: meg miller email: campusnews@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Scrabble: Organizers hope to Ravi Zacharias discusses his make evening an annual event lifelong search for answers BEN BYARD
ct staff writer
PAUL PLATZ/SPPS
The Senior Scrabblers team works to find the perfect word as the New River Valley Literacy Volunteers hosted a tournament yesterday for charity. from page one
$90 or as an individual for $30. All the proceeds will fund the NRV-LV organization. “We assist adults in need of basic literacy, commandeered specifically to folks below the fifth grade reading level and folks who need help with English as a second language,” said Mark Williams, president of the board of directors for the NRV-LV. In past years, the NRV-LV’s signature event has been the annual used book sale at the New River Valley Mall. This event annually generates around $10,000; however, the organization initially projected a profit around $20,000. “Other literacy programs throughout the nation have used Scrabble
tournaments successfully. We felt we could not only do that as well, we could do better because we are housed between two major universities,” said Donna Webster, executive director of the NRV- LV. “It’s a natural fit.” If the coincidence of Webster’s last name isn’t apparent, it just so happens that the emcee of the tournament happens to be one of Virginia Tech’s literary treasures. Robertson, a renowned Civil War expert and author who has written several books and programs pertaining to Civil War Studies and even made regular appearances on the National Public Radio, gave a voice of sincere enthusiasm to the event. “I’m here because I believe in the literacy association and what it does. I’m just here to emcee the event and
tell a couple funny stories,” Robertson said. “I’m amazed at the amount of people who showed up. Apparently Scrabble has become a national pastime just like Chess.” Hasbro, the corporate owner of Scrabble, donated the Scrabble boards used in the competition. Webster expressed this contribution was initiated as a response to the April 16 tragedy that affected this area. While this was the first Scrabble tournament the NRV-LV hosted, it hopes to make the tournament its signature event. The organization was very happy with the turnout for the event and anticipates planning another tournament to be held next year. “I think this is a good opportunity to promote literacy,” said Jamie Garst, executive director of the GERMAN Club Alumni Association.
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Ravi Zacharias is a native Indian theologian who has since immigrated to the United States. In between speaking at venues across the globe, he was here to speak at Virginia Tech for two nights in an open forum entitled “Finding Answers amid Life’s Greatest Losses.” Ben Byard (Collegiate Times): So Dr. Zacharias, you’re from India? Ravi Zacharias: Yes, indeed. Born and raised there. Spent the first 20 years of my life there, and then, after that, my father moved to Canada. Spent 10 years there; following that, the U.S. I’m very much Indian: my native language, my upbringing, and my early memories. CT: If your background is Indian, why did you change to Christianity? RZ: The thing about India is, they say, that it is the most religious country in the world. My own spiritual journey was from total skepticism to the commitment to Jesus Christ. At that point, I didn’t even realize all of the ramifications. It was just what I felt was the most reasonable and plausible explanation of all of life’s deepest questions. That is my candid answer for you. CT: And that’s very most important to you overall?
RZ: I think it very important for everybody. If the hunger of your spirit is unmet, you basically exist — you’re not really understanding what life is all about. And if your questions are unanswered, you either become skeptical or cynical, or believe there are no answers, which means the questions become meaningless. CT: You found your answers. Why are you speaking to people? RZ: I was in business, preparing for a business career, but my commitment to Christ and the transformation was so dramatic, and real, and unshakable, that I believed there are millions of people in the world who are in the same pursuit, especially on university campuses. University students at that stage of their lives are really asking the right questions. I never planned on it; I just get invited to speak. Before long, I began my studies in philosophy and religion. CT: Do you have any favorite places at which to speak? RZ: Asia’s in my blood. I love going back to that continent. I go to India four or five times a year, but I don’t know if I’d call them favorites. They are places to which your memories haunt you, so you go back and make those connections. The Asian culture I can connect with great ease. Europe’s a tough continent — any newism is birthed in France or Germany. You have to get through an awful lot of barriers before you can get to the
reality. So where am I most at home? I’m at home where God’s given me. I just love living in America. I’m honoured to live in America, especially the South. As far as venues, the place doesn’t matter so much as the need. CT: So why are you here so soon after April 16? RZ: It seems as though the trouble spots of the world are where my meetings were coming from. I was 25 when I was invited to speak in Vietnam, and I have spoken in the Middle East recently. When this tragedy hit, it weighed on my heart. People from so many parts of the world … I said, “My word, in a peaceful community like that, something that ravaged so much.” To be honest with you, I don’t feel worthy of this. It’s not a comfortable invitation because there’s a lot of pressure in your soul. Time is not a healer. Time is a revealer of how God does the healing. And, so, I’m here to be part of that process, and if there’s a little bit I can add to it, so be it. CT: Any final things you wanted to say? RZ: I just want to thank the organizing body and the university leadership for allowing such a meeting to take place. I’m very grateful to them. It speaks well of the administration and their generosity of heart. So I just want to say a big thank-you for having me here.
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friday, october 12, 2007
news in brief EXTREME MAKEOVER: CAMPUS EDITION Members of the student body hammered away on the Drillfield, indicating their demand for change at Virginia Tech. Daniel Strickland and Alex Stewart, co-directors for constituent outreach for Tech’s SGA coordinated the Extreme Makeover campaign, a program for students to tell SGA what they would like to see changed on campus. The SGA filled 150 T-shirts and two boards with suggestions for Tech on Wednesday and Thursday this week, when the campaign took place. While many suggestions were left on the T-shirts, some were recurrent. The top three suggestions included reinstating the “Stick It In” cheer, improved parking on campus and more gyms, said James LaRue, codirector of community initiatives for SGA. “Everyone’s shirts say ‘Stick It In’ on them, pretty much,” LaRue said. However, other suggestions were less obvious. “One person told me yesterday, ‘preserve more green space,’” LaRue said. Other common suggestions were to have air-conditioning in the dorms, free laundry, changing the Math Emporium and more buses. Strickland said that the campaign is intended to gather student concerns with campus life and hewanted the campaign to catch students’ attention with a distinctive way of gathering information. “It’s kinda unique with the T-shirts,” Strickland said. After gathering all the concerns, tallying the results may take several weeks to a month, Strickland said. Strickland hopes to put together reports for the eight committees within the SGA by winter break. In
the spring, the SGA will have a forum informing students of the changes that have been made. Reports will be made for only the most realistic suggestions. For instance, a suggestion written to have beer in the dining halls may not be implemented, LaRue said. -Rosanna Brown, CT News Staff
EMPORIUM BACK ON TRACK AFTER SYSTEM CRASH After the system crash on Tuesday afternoon that shut down the Math Emporium, many classes are now back up and running. Math Emporium officials said the computer system error took a long time to correct because it affected a crucial file within the system as opposed to the database. “We pretty much had to rebuild the system from scratch,” said Mike Williams, associate professor of mathematics. Not only did the crash make it impossible for students to take tests after 4 p.m., but the results of any tests taken on Tuesday before 4 p.m. were deleted as well. Some professors are requiring that their students retake the tests while others are allowing them to “self-report” their grades. Williams said the crash came as a complete surprise to Emporium officials and described it as coming like a “bolt of lightning.” “We really feel bad about it, but its just one of those things,” Williams said. “We’re doing our best to fix it.” The system has not yet been completely repaired. Williams said it is an ongoing process to get all of the testing files restored. -Peter Hurley, CT News Staff
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Beds: Available space is a limitation from page one
“Most students go for the full-sized bed because it gives them the extra room they need,” Culpepper said. “Some of them even get queen size.” A fitted and comfortable bed is essential to receiving a full night’s rest. The average adult needs seven to eight hours of sleep nightly in order to fully function the next morning. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation is common among college students and can seriously affect productivity and performance. “We found in our research that students are sleeping on questionable quality beds,” said Bert Jacobson, head of the School of Educational Studies at Oklahoma State University and 2007 better sleep spokesperson for the Better Sleep Council. “Sleep is
important to everyone, and research has shown without enough sleep, the effects can parallel how you act under the influence of alcohol.” Most Tech dorm rooms have extra long twin-sized mattress, which are 80 x 36 inches, with the exception of Cochrane Hall, which holds a number of beds that are 84 x 36, and Donaldson Brown Graduate Student Life Residence Hall, which retained a number of full size mattresses from its history as a hotel. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American is one inch taller and 25 pounds heavier than they were 40 years ago. Many feel this should be taken into account and that full size mattresses, which provide 20 extra inches of width, should be offered.
Space limitations become an issue when considering increasing the mattress size. West Ambler-Johnston, which is the largest residence hall, housing 882 beds, has an average room size of 12x14 feet, leaving little room for extra mattress space. Many students even choose to loft their beds to provide more room inside their dorms. “Sometimes they want to build different loft configurations,” Belcher said. “Typically we won’t allow it because of fire codes. Often we make mattress exceptions for medical reasons, but any kind of exception made always takes in account the other person in the room because space is a premium.” Dorm beds are often much more than just beds, and many would welcome the extra space. Dorm beds
often assume other identities such as study space, couch, guest room and even recreational space. “Loft-diving should be considered a sport,” said Heather Claggett, sophomore communication major, and former resident of West AJ. “Basically, you are in a squatting position at the foot of one bed and you push off the mattress, jumping to the other bed — avoiding hitting the ceiling — and flying yourself out like superman, attempting to land as softly and gracefully as possible on the opposite loft. My bed was my home; I studied in my bed, I read in my bed, I watched TV in my bed.” While Belcher hints that while fullsize mattresses may be seen in some of the new dorms in construction, most on-campus residents will be sleeping on twin-sized mattresses.
Solving conflicts are a full-time job for Dale Robinson CARLY HODNETT
ct staff writer Dale Robinson is the conflict resolution program manager for Virginia Tech, a position within the Office of Equal Opportunity that provides numerous solutions for resolving faculty and staff disputes. The Office of Equal Opportunity strives to provide various resources to promote diversity within the university. Primarily, Robinson provides mediation for faculty and staff. Q: Is conflict program manager a new position at Tech? A: It is a new position that was in the making in May 2006. Kevin McDonald came to Equal Opportunity with a vision for the office to include a conflict and resolution program. Maggie Sloane (associate director for compliance and conflict resolution) did a national search. I was chosen and then I came here in July 2007.
Q: What would take place in a mediation session? A: The session is completely voluntary and informal. Also, it’s confidential. It’s a quick and peaceful way for people to come together to form a resolution. There are two mediators who help the two parties think through different options to fix any conflicts or problems. The mediators don’t provide any suggestions. The two parties have complete control over the final decision, so it’s a win-win situation. Q: Are the mediation sessions accessible to students or only the faculty and staff? A: Currently, it is only for administrators, faculty and staff, but there has been discussion for a student program in the future. Q: In your position, do you work solely by yourself or is there a group that you oversee? A: There are over 30 trained mediators on campus. They are all
volunteers. I listen in on their meetings, where I help with their development. I’m not there as their coach, but to help develop by observing. Their first meeting is Oct. 18, which is internationally known for Conflict Resolution Day. Q: What do you think of the Blacksburg and Tech communities? A: My wife and I love the area. We enjoy doing outdoor activities, especially hiking and mountain biking. Also, we enjoy the community spirit making; we felt very welcome. We look forward to being more active in the community. Q: Where were you before you came to Blacksburg? A: I was at the Tennessee Human Rights Commission for nine years, where I started the mediation program for employment and housing complaints. Before that, I was located at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. In 1995, we started a smaller form of media-
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tion for faculty and staff grievance. I’m fairly familiar with the Virginia area because I was at The College of William & Mary for 10 years, where I was the lead equal opportunity and affirmative action officer. Q: What made you decide to join the Tech community? A: I really wanted to start another mediation program. In the past, I wasn’t able to focus 100 percent on mediation, yet here I’m able to focus on something I really love. It’s great to work at a university that recognizes that conflicts happen within any organization. It speaks highly for Virginia Tech that they offer a way to solve conflicts on their own. Also, I have family and friends that live in Richmond, so being at Virginia Tech enables me to see my family and friends more frequently. For more information pertaining to the Office of Equal Opportunity and mediation: http://www.oeo.vt.edu/ site/v4/.
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october 12, 2007
Rocking out and jamming to a perfect party mix of music If you’re a college student, you probably like music. You probably also like free stuff. So by the transitive property, it’s natural to assume CHRIS that you like free music. If you GUSTIN don’t, I can’t help regular you. Stick around columnist though, maybe you’ll like next week’s article. But for the most part, we listen to music constantly in our everyday lives. Between parties, riding the bus to class, and just sitting around listening to music while we study, the songs we like to hear tend to crop up often. If you are one of the many who has been through the music download minefield, however, you HE SAID know what a pain it can be to try and get a hold of certain songs. File-sharing programs can be unreliable, and no one wants to get a JR for downloading Avril Lavigne. In fact, no one wants to download Avril Lavigne to begin with. But the point is that we do it. We have no money and limited options, so we are often driven to questionable, backalley methods for obtaining our music. A good party just isn’t a party without the right mix of music; it’s important to balance country, rap, rock and various 80s songs, although such a playlist can be difficult to put together. Luckily, there are a lot of safer, less sketchy options available for downloading that will help provide you with your music fix, whatever it may be. Follow these methods and you can crank that Soulja Boy at your next party, while avoiding the legal repercussions (getting supermanned). Recently, a lot of companies have started offering free music downloads for college students. At some point they
decided that rather than fight us, they might as well accept the inevitable and figure out a way to make money from it. If you like vanilla pudding and low-risk investments, this is the option for you. It’s all the excitement of downloading, but with a condom, kind of. That is to say it’s safe and 99.99 percent effective, which means that you’ll get the songs that you wanted, but you won’t be able to take them off your computer. Maybe it’s more like 75 percent effective. I’m bad at percentages. So it’s like downloading, but with some free condoms you got from a weird homeless guy. If you’re into fancy condoms you can probably find a way around the copy protection and put all your free music on your iPod, allowing you to jam out to Journey while you ride the bus. I’m not advocating that though. (Yes I am). Anyway, if you like the sound of this, check out Ruckus Player. If Ruckus sounds like your kind of bag, but you don’t want to deal with waiting for downloads or they don’t have the song you want, try YouTube. A lot of users upload songs that they like, and chances are that if your song is recent and popular, it’s somewhere out there. Unfortunately, listening to music
A good party just isn’t a party without the right mix of music, it’s important to balance country, rap, rock and various 80s songs, although such a playlist can be difficult to put together. through YouTube is like awkwardly making out in the back of a movie theater. There’s no playlist option, so you’ll have to keep searching for your next song, the quality is going to be lower, and chances are you didn’t bring any condoms with you, which means no safe downloading. Plus, one of those guys with the cone flashlights will
probably yell at you at some point and you’ll have to get your mom to come pick you up. But the upside is that at least you’ll be getting some action. If there’s that one song that you have to hear, this option will supply your fix, dirty though it may be. If you like popcorn on your shoes and over-the-shirt groping, YouTube may be your girl. One of the better options available though is to go directly to the source. A lot of bands have begun posting free music on their official Web sites in hopes of cutting back on illegal downloads and to help promote fan loyalty. Bands such as Muse and System of a Down have provided non-downloadable full versions of their albums on their Web sites. There are some downsides: the tracks can’t be saved to a hard drive, playlist options tend to be limited, and you may have to install a third party music player. But most of the time, the quality tends to be high and the track selection tends to be very complete. This option is sort of like getting free, officially-licensed condoms from the lead singer of your favorite band. (I promise that’s the last condom analogy). If there’s a band you’ve been craving, but you don’t have the cash to buy their album or you’re not sure if you want to invest, give the official Web site a check. MySpace is another option, but it’s not one I support. You might find the song you want, but you’ll also have to sift through all those crappy glitter animations. Seriously, that place is like Christmas when you find out the cat ate all the tinsel off the tree and threw up on the presents. The point is, there are a lot of options available. Of course, for as many legal options as there are, nothing is going to beat the taste of pure, uncut, illegal downloads. If you choose to download illegally though, protect yourself. Watch out for uploads and be careful about how much bandwidth you use. If you get creative, you can get whatever you want.
CT’s Party Playlist
BEN MACDONALD/COLLEGIATE TIMES
“Just a small town girl … livin’ in a lonely world… ” Hmm, this song sounds very familiar, like I’ve heard it somewhere before. SHARON Maybe that’s PRITZ because at roughly 2 a.m. the power ct features cords of this editor infamous Journey song can be heard belting from every apartment party and fraternity house in the New River Valley. Usually symbolizing “last call” for parties, it’s a time for fists and “Rock On” symbols in the air. In fact, when the opening keyboard of the song starts, a hush seems to fall over the crowd as an extra two seconds is needed for every intoxicated person to realize just what song it is. SHE SAID And as soon as those neurons click, a roar emits from the group. The sounds of Steve Perry seem to bring all of us fellow partiers together under the one notorious party song. The soundtrack of our college years seems to dabble in most genres of music because for many situations, we seem to have established a song to accompany them. For instance, in frightful fits of dancing energy, Soulja Boy can stop anyone in mid-action for a dance-off and provacative singalong. At other times, when we’re feeling particularly low, thinking about how much our lives suck and how things couldn’t get much worse, any song from Britney Spears’ cleverly and “ironically” entitled new album “Blackout” (good to know that this
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title can assure us that this album truly is something near and dear to Brit’s heart) can shine some perspective on our own collective sanity. Rap music is the forerunner of a weekend as we bump and grind on each other, batting eyes at prospective singles. Phrases like “Superman that ho” (Note: never do this to a woman) push us even further into a hormonal frenzy. Personally, I’d love to see us branch out our party music. Though “Buy You a Drink” certainly sets an obvious theme when you’re downtown or at a friend’s party, who wouldn’t want to pump a keg while jamming to the soulful stylings of Celine Dion’s greatest hits? Country music seems to be the stereotypical genre associated with most women our age. Whether it be the mellow and harmonious Rascal Flatts or the crooning of baldy Kenny Chesney, many women can be seen (and heard) driving down Patrick Henry with windows down and country blasting. And though many guys will attest that they hate country, they are the very guys who throw an arm around a friend and sway back and forth during the chorus of “Friends in Low Places,” (again, another fun song to sloppily sing to on a weekend night). Country music also seems to have weird power over us; perhaps it is a subliminal message. If you’re ever in an argument, put on a country song, and I guarantee you that the fighting will cease as everyone feels compelled to sing along. Not only does music impact our party scene, it also creeps into our every day lives. All over campus, students can be seen walking around with earbuds in their ears. I’m all for
music accompanying me as I traipse across the Drillfield, but I feel we can all agree that it’s fairly embarrassing seeing friends around campus, yelling their names, and then after flailing your arms and racing toward them, you realize they’re listening to iPods. If you’re a people-watcher, seeing those listening to iPods can be fairly entertaining. There are always those who just listen to their music, as it’s just a pleasant addition to their lives, just some background noise, if you will. Then are those who are pretty much starring in their own musicals while waiting for the Blacksburg Transit. You know these people from their “Night
Though “Buy U a Drank” certainly sets an obvious theme when you’re downtown or at a friend’s party, who wouldn’t want to pump a keg while jamming to the soulful stylings of Celine Dion’s Greatest Hits? at the Roxbury”-esque head-bopping, foot-tapping and lip-synching. Speaking of musicals, there seems to be a new addition to our collective iTunes library: musicals. With the avalanche that was “High School Musical,” more than a handful of college girls can admit to being a little in love with the music (and perhaps Zack Efron as well). Guys, we don’t expect you to get this, but if you ever say something to the effect of, “We can do this!” don’t look shocked if a girl immediately replies, “We’re all in this together!” And if she breaks out in dance, so be it.
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editor: laurel colella email: opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
october 12, 2007
Police Truck – Let’s ride, lowride A recent report from the Los Angeles Police Department revealed that even it can’t deny that last May’s MacArthur Park GABRIEL donnybrook was anything but what MCVEY it was: a gross vioregular lation of citizens’ columnist rights by an outof-control law-enforcement agency. Two-hundred and forty-six were left with injuries after police fired rubber bullets at peaceful protesters and reporters and beat them with batons, some as many as 100 times. It was also recently revealed that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies engaged in a sanctioned “competition” to see who could arrest the most suspects in “Operation: Any Booking.” Spokespeople defended the actions, calling it a “morale booster.” While Los Angeles may have a historic problem with its law-enforcement agencies, the difficulty is not confined to the West Coast. For example, last November, Atlanta police officers lied to obtain a noknock warrant. They entered the home of a 92-year-old woman unannounced. They then shot her 39 times after she fired a single shot in self-defense at what she (quite reasonably) believed were home-invaders. In Blacksburg last week, students demonstrated against police brutalization of a local man. Nathaniel Lewis was allegedly dragged to the ground by his hair and sprayed with capsicum (pepper spray), apparently for mouthing off. In dealing with society’s more dangerous elements, too often police develop a sense that they have to employ forceful techniques to deal with potentially risky people before the situation escalates … and too often that leads to suspects being subjected to excessive force. Police advocates often highlight the
dangers of police work and the mental strain this can place on our peace officers. But as former Attorney General Janet Reno said, “effective policing does not mean abusive policing.” It’s long past time to restrain some of the more dangerous factors in our police departments and police work. First, the federal government should only issue grants to those departments that can concretely demonstrate that they are taking steps to respect citizens’ rights and rein in abuse. Second, every police department needs to have a civilian review panel to evaluate any questionable actions by law-enforcement officers. Departments need to have a review system that “flags” officers who show signs of abusive conduct, especially if they are the subjects of multiple complaints. There should also be a special prosecutor specially charged with pursuing cases against abusive officers. Third, it’s time to end the militarization of police work. Over the past 25 years, departments have increasingly been resorting to the use of militarystyle weapons, tactics, training, uniforms and even heavy equipment in civilian police work. Military forces have a very different mission than peace officers. Soldiers infiltrate their enemy’s territory, destroy his base and kill him. Peace officers are supposed to protect the rights of citizens, serve the public trust and uphold the law. These missions are not compatible and lead to an adversarial disposition between the department and the public that they police. Most police officers are hard-working and honest people who do their best to protect us from crime and criminals. But for too long we’ve allowed lawenforcement to occupy a sacred cow status in our society. A responsible citizen, actively engaged in civil society, should be just as interested in protecting the rights of even the most egregious offender as in the safety and effectiveness of our police officers. Until we do, it’s “No siree, Jack, we’re just givin’ tickets.”
Editorial national issue
Benefits of posting notes on YouTube YouTube has allowed University of California at Berkley to extend the 10-minute limit for videos in order to post full lectures on the website. Now, UC Berkley students can go on to YouTube and watch lectures in the comfort of their own rooms. In an interview with the CT, UC Berkley physics teacher Richard Muller said that the university is experimenting with the idea of videotaping lectures to see if it could develop into a helpful learning tool for students. UC Berkley has currently only posted lectures for physics, biology and chemistry. Janet Kodish, chief administrative officer at UC Berkeley told the CT, “I certainly hope other schools will follow in our lead now.” For a school whose motto is “Invent the Future,” it would certainly be logical for Virginia Tech to take this opportunity to follow UC Berkley’s lead in utilizing all mediums of technology when it comes to education. Posting lectures on YouTube is an excellent idea to give students greater opportunities. Granted, the availability of lectures on the computer will encourage students to stay in bed as opposed to actually attending classes. However, actually attending classes has added benefits such as the opportunity to ask questions after class and interact with other students. A solution to decreased class attendance would be to make attendance mandatory. This would deter many students from just depending on the online lectures. The videotaped lectures would primarily be a resource for students who miss classes due to inevitable problems, such as sick-
ness or a family emergency. The lectures would also be a useful tool for reviewing and studying — students would have the opportunity to fill in any holes in their notes or just generally go back to the information. Putting the lectures on YouTube would have benefits for students who are not taking the courses as well as the students who are enrolled in them. A student considering taking a particular class the next semester would have the chance to sort of “preview” the course by watching a lecture online. That way, the student can decide if the class fits with his or her preferences regarding lecture styles and if he or she likes the teacher. The fact that lectures are videotaped and posted for the public would also encourage teachers to re-evaluate their teaching styles and work toward becoming more useful. Teachers would make more of an effort to be engaging or helpful if they knew that anyone from prospective students to administrators could view the lectures at any time. With such tools as Hokie SPA and Blackboard, Tech is already using the Internet to keep students informed and organized. Posting lectures on YouTube is the next step in utilizing the Internet to widen resources for students. Videotaped lectures would be an added study tool, as long as students don’t take advantage of the opportunity by disregarding their responsibilities as students to attend classes. The editorial board is composed of Amie Steele, Joe Kendall, Saira Haider, Laurel Colella and Sara Mitchell.
Have an opinion? write a letter to the editor at opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com
The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
Letters to the Editor “Sustainability” no longer sustainable If you’ve been to www.vt.edu lately, then you know from the pictures and captions that pop up throughout the Web site that Sustainability Week is fast approaching (Oct. 22 to 27). Although Virginia Tech has undertaken many initiatives to promote environmental responsibility on campus, whether we are truly making an effort to be “sustainable” is another matter. The difference lies in what the ideal of sustainability has become. The original movement essentially embodied a commitment to appropriate practices that would ensure both valuable resources and human and environmental health and justice to future generations indefinitely. Of late, the word has been tossed around so freely that unfortunately it has turned into more of a myth/political tool than a description of meaningful change. Sustainability now in many ways rivals the likes of “the American dream” and “freedom and liberty” in both vagueness and emptiness. Corporations, universities and politicians across America have adopted so-called “sustainability commitments” in order to associate themselves with what is now being considered a positive idea. In essence, making sure that other people know you value sustainability has become more important than actually following its original principles.
For example, Tech has made a commitment to use biodiesel in many of its vehicles and operations. However, the blend is 20 percent actual soybean biodiesel with 80 percent petroleum diesel, which essentially defeats the purpose. Also, for biodiesel to make any difference at all on a large scale, according to Princeton researchers, it would take about 1/6 of the world’s cropland to make it happen. Is that really sustainable? No; so let’s stop claiming that it is for PR purposes. We are, however, making strides as a campus in other ways (e.g. greener design standards, creating a more walkable community, etc.), and it is important to recognize this as well. Why don’t we, then, use Sustainability Week as an opportunity to reclaim the word for what it actually means and in the process close the gap between who we think we are and who we actually are, both individually and as a university. Matt Ells junior, political science and urban affairs and planning
Victory in Giles County I was delighted at the recent victory in Giles County where the board of supervisors voted no to the proposed kennel. When it was first announced that the family whose kennel burned to the ground in Bland County was hoping to move its business to Giles where restric-
tions were lower, animal rights groups, welfare groups, shelters, and concerned citizens banded together and made their voices heard. As the president of Virginia Tech’s student animal rights organization, NRV-CARE, I was excited that the puppy-mill was stopped, but the fight is not over. Beginning in March of this year, Zooquatic Pet Center in Christiansburg began selling puppies from one of our nation’s largest puppy brokers, the Hunte Corporation, who receive their animals from questionable sources. Zooquatic has since received numerous complaints from customers, concerned citizens, and animal rights and welfare groups, has been questioned or negatively portrayed by local news sources, has been taken to court for unlawful animal sales, and has had four protests staged outside the store. However, the puppy sales continue. The victory in Giles County gives me hope that if all those individuals and groups concerned with this cruel industry cooperate and act together as they did with the proposed Giles kennel, the puppy mill sales in Christiansburg can be stopped as well. Puppy mills are cruel canine factory farms and no one should breed or buy while others die. I hope Tech staff and students will do their parts to let Zooquatic know we will have no part of this. Corey L. Wrenn graduate student, sociology
Gamers struck by shock and awe PHILIP SEWARD regular columnist While the concept of universal, public health care seems appealing from a distance, the implementation of such a program would require— I’d like to interrupt this cliché college newspaper column full of biased statistics and expert opinions unearthed from the deepest reaches of Wikipedia for a special report that even a looming table of data scooped out of a Google search can’t refute: this week, my friends, will go down in history. Wednesday, in the early morning hours (at least on this side of the pond), hardcore gamers, Nintendo devotees, and Sega fankids — heck, I’d go far as to say the video game gods themselves — all over the world, were hit with a spiny little ball of shock and awe that would make Dubya jealous. Announced at a press conference in Japan and later confirmed on the official webpage, Sonic the Hedgehog is now officially confirmed as a playable character in the upcoming Wii title, “Super Smash Bros. Brawl.” So what’s the big deal? In case you’re not familiar with the “Super Smash Bros.,” it’s a series of fighting games that, traditionally, featured characters from established Nintendo franchises. Characters everyone knows and loves, such as Mario, Pikachu, and Fox McCloud engaged each other in a combat system loosely designed to emulate the simple control scheme of Nintendo’s flagship Super Mario games. Unlike the esoteric nature of other fighting games, where each character has an extensive list of techniques requiring unique input sequences, the special moves of the fighters in the Super Smash Bros. series are limited to a few and are controlled by the same button combinations for every character. Like most other Nintendo-produced series, “Super Smash Bros.” is also more “family-friendly” than other fighting games, featuring no gore or blood effects and focusing on knocking opponents out of the arena instead of simply knocking them out or killing them. Despite the family-friendliness of the series, hardcore, or traditional, gamers locked onto the series as well, and the two games already released have been massively successful on the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo Gamecube consoles, despite the latter’s commercial failure relative to the other sixth-generation consoles, Sony’s Playstation 2 and Microsoft’s XBox. With the release of Nintendo’s quirky, untraditional and, consequently, extremely popular new console, Wii, came the promise of a new entry into the “Super Smash Bros.” library: “Super
Smash Bros.: Brawl.” Immediately, Nintendo announced that a character not owned by Nintendo would appear as a playable character: Solid Snake, from Konami’s Metal Gear franchise. This, of course, seemed to break the tradition of Nintendo characters only in Smash Bros. and led to much speculation among fans. Who else might appear in “Brawl?” It’s likely that Nintendo intended for this type of speculation to occur, as it’s a great marketing ploy. And with the Wii, it almost seems as if Nintendo has pulled off some sort of marketing voodoo. Even my mom, who was initially confused by iTunes when she finally got an iPod, wants a Wii. But let’s face it, the Wii is a pretty ingenious piece of equipment. While Microsoft, champion of the bulky and unnecessary, and Sony, the entertainment technology giant, focused on bigger, badder machines with more power, better graphics, and more hooplah, Nintendo produced a smaller, cheaper, friendlier machine that looks like an iPod mated with the original Nintendo Entertainment System and raised it on an organic diet on the outskirts of Silicon Valley. Nintendo chose to target non-traditional gamers with Wii, knowing the hardcore gamers would probably buy the system anyway, and although this is often a complaint among that crowd, Nintendo was right in most of these cases — they bought it anyway. Those who didn’t probably bought a PS3, which is often relegated to the duties of a cheap high definition DVD player, mostly due to its game library’s lack of strong titles. In addition to Nintendo’s focus on the
WiiFit, an upcoming Wii title, will use a piece of hardware called the Wii Balance Board, and will require the player to perform physical actions such as heading soccer balls and yoga. unconventional gamer their newfound commitment to the unconventional game. “WiiFit,” an upcoming Wii title, will use a piece of hardware called the Wii Balance Board, and will require the player to perform physical actions such as heading soccer balls and yoga. The balance board is sensitive to the weight and motions of the player, using this information to control the character on screen. The balance board, also at Wednesday’s press conference, demonstrated its ability to assess the player’s body mass index. “WiiFit” will hit Japanese shelves first, but you can almost definitely expect it to make a
splash in the land of the super-sized order freedom fries when it makes its debut on our side of the pond next year. Why such a fuss over Sonic? Well, back in the day (and the fact that I can say that makes me feel really, really old), Nintendo’s biggest rival was Sega. In fact, one of Sega’s early slogans was “Genesis does what Nintendon’t.” With Sonic as Sega’s long-standing mascot, to even think of Sonic appearing in a game with Nintendo characters would truly be video game blasphemy. Lately though, Nintendo and Sega have been working together, and that opened the door for the possibility of Sonic’s inclusion in Brawl. Early on, Nintendo and Sega officials denied this possibility, but let’s face it: they would have been silly to not include him. The blue hedgehog topped the list of most-wanted characters in both Japan and America, and fanservice sells games. That’s a simple fact. Sega would be shooting itself in the foot if it refused the idea, and while Sega has in the past been quite talented in the foot-shooting department, it’s beginning to look like they’ve handed that torch over to Sony. There was never any doubt that Brawl would be an epic release, and despite its recent release delay (delayed to Jan. 24, 2008 in Japan; the release date in North America has yet to be redetermined), announcements like these will keep gamers on their toes and make the already amazing-looking game even more incredible. But Nintendo seems to be spreading that trend throughout the Wii universe: other announcements at Wednesday’s press conference included the launch of the “WiiWare” service, which will allow people to download entirely new games directly to their consoles. These games will mostly be simple, but some promise to be very interesting, such as one called Pokémon Farm, which will allow gamers to download their many captured Pokémon characters from their Nintendo DS consoles to their Wiis and raise them in a ranch-like setting. Players will also be able to take snapshots of themselves with their Pokémon. So what’s next for the massively successful Wii? Perhaps “WiiDebate” — a game that will challenge college students to beat a dead horse with the same tired points and counterpoints about universal health care, over and over again, while still attempting to maintain a facade of verity through biased, but “expert” opinions and directed statistics? Eh, I think it’s better settled over a round of Wii Boxing. But seriously. Sonic the Hedgehog. “In Super Smash Bros.” This game is going to be EPIC.
Collegiate Times Editorial Staff Editor in Chief Amie Steele Managing Editors Joe Kendall, Saira Haider Production Manager Claire Craft Public Editor Colleen Webster News Editors Kevin Anderson, Caroline Black, Meg Miller Associate News Editor Ashley Oliver News Reporters Rosanna Brown, Michelle Rivera, Peter Hurley, Andrea Woods Features Editor Sharon Pritz Associate Features Editor Drew Jackson Features Reporter Katelyn Lau Opinions Editor Laurel Colella Sports Editor Ryan McConnell Associate Sports Editor Charles Barrineau Sports Reporters T. Rees Shapiro, Torrey Smith, Bryan Wright Head Copy Editor David Harries Copy Editors Mary Hardbarger, Kati Ann Leonburger, Cate Summers, Alexandra Mandzak Photo Editors Sally Bull, Kyle Swanson Layout Designers Josh Son, Krystal Stevens, Melanie Welzel, Jenna Wolfe Graphic Designer Ben MacDonald Online Director Christopher Ritter Multimedia Editor Colin Smith Multimedia Producer Christina Pfeifer Senior Web Producer Tim Tutt Web Producers Jon Boblitt, John Edstrom, Gabreil Martinez Community Content Editor Sean O’Mara Web Staff Timothy Lee Collegiate Times Business Staff Business Manager Robert Bowman Marketing Manager Whitney Ludvik College Media Solutions Staff Advertising Director Xavier L. Herrera Ads Production Manager Anika Stickles Asst Production Manager Ashley Shoemaker Ads Production/Creation Kristin Claeys, Sarah Ford, Kaiesha Morgan, Alyssa Peltier, Catherine Worsham Assistant Advertising Directors Ashley Culbreth, Patrick Fitzgerald, Katelynn Reilly National Account Executive Robbie Zayas Account Executives Jenna Given, Don Janocha, Beau King, Katy McCall, John Welch Assistant Account Executives Kayla Clements, Blythe Dalton, Tara Darby, Amy Guzewicz, Ashlee Goodwin, Jennifer Himlich, Kelli Lyman, David Ross, Mike Walsh, Suzanne Watkins Marketing Manager Devin Armstrong Student Publication Photo Staff Director of Photography Shaozhuo Cui Business Manager Jim Dickhans
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friday, october 12, 2007
Fall into this weekend’s annual fall festival at Smith Mountain Lake SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE’S FALL FESTIVAL BOASTS CONTESTS, BAKED GOODS, CRAFTS AND ENTERTAINMENT AT SAUNDERS PARKWAY MARINA TERESA TOBAT
features reporter On Sat. Oct. 13, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Smith Mountain Lake Fall Festival will be held for the 20th and final time. Fall Festival is sponsored by the White House Association, an organization that focuses on giving back to the community. This will be the last one sponsored by the association due to lack of help, said president Barbara Barnes. The festival is at Saunders Parkway Marina at “The Point,” at the end of Smith Mountain Lake Parkway. Parking and admission are free. When attendees arrive, they can register to win door prizes and enter themselves in a drawing to win half of a “pot-o-gold.” Upwards of 20 door prizes have been donated and include: wine glasses, Christmas ornaments, newspaper subscriptions, a purse and shirts. Prizes will be distributed every 30 minutes starting at 10 a.m. The “pot-o-gold” grows as people buy $1 or $5 tickets. Half will be donated to the organizations that White House Association is helping. Five food vendors pay a $40 fee to rent a booth, but all the money they make on Saturday is theirs to keep. Expect polish sausages, barbecue, hot dogs, chicken, steak and cheese, cotton candy, funnel cakes, nachos and snow cones. The Mentow Baptist Church Youth Group, located in Huddleston, Va., will sell baked goods. In addition to the food available, there will be craft vendors and a flea market. Each pays $30 per booth. Chuck Neudorfer, who has worked
with fall festival for six years, coordinates the craft vendors and flea market. Neudorfer, secretary for the White House Association, expects about 30 vendors. Look for jewelry, cosmetics, knitting, woodworking, toys, embroidery, as well as fundraising and political literature. Neudorfer said items they receive “vary somewhat every year. In the past we’ve had replacement windows, truck bed linings and home cooking supplies.” As of Tues. Oct. 9, he was still receiving vendor applications. A dunkin’ booth will start at 10 a.m. and finish around 3:30 p.m. Prominent members of the community, including a sheriff candidate, two principals and Neudorfer, chairman of the board of supervisors for Bedford County, will be submerged if someone hits the right spot. Anyone can participate. It’s one dollar for three balls. At 11 p.m. musician “Nicky” Blanton, who, according to Barnes, “everyone loved” last year, will perform until 1 p.m. and then play from 3 p.m. until the festival ends. At 1 p.m. the “Womenless Beauty Contest” will start. This competition consists of judging the most beautiful man dressed in drag. They have three contestants this year. “Balloons and blondes seem to be popular with this. Once we have someone do this, it’s hard to get them back. It’s a guy thing,” Barnes said. The first place winner of the contest is crowned and given a bouquet. They can choose from a lady’s watch, boat battery and ski vest, or restaurant gift certificate and two concert tickets. The other two take what’s left. From 2 to 2:30 p.m. the SML Harmeneers Barber Shop Chorus
will play. Other contests include: Ugly Vehicles, Antique Tractors and Antique Cars. The best antique car is chosen by the people; all others are judged by the three pageant judges. Winners are announced at 3:30 p.m. The local fire department, the Bedford County police and the SML Fireboat will all be there. The festival also has activities for children, including a carousel, Smokey the Bear and “Candy Top” the clown, costume contest, blowups and a Virginia Bass Federation casting skills competition. All the money raised from the dunkin’ booth, rented craft and food booths, and the carousel go to Huddleston Elementary, Moneta Elementary, Body Camp Elementary, six local fire and rescue squads, and the community. Last year, more than $2,000 was raised and over 2,000 people attended. They anticipate 3,000 this year. “It’s a day to come out and have fun,” Bames said. “We’ve got something for everybody. Most of the time if it’s new people they’re in awe of the setting. You’ve got Smith Mountain in the background.” The 40-mile long Smith Mountain Lake has an endless list of things to do year round. Linda Nardin, media relations and marketing manager for Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce, suggests going to visitsmithmountainlake.com to get an idea of what is available. A cruise around the lake costs $15, and camping in SML state park will cost $19 for a campsite and $24 for a site with electrical power and water, taxes not included. Smith Mountain Lake’s next big event is the SML Fall Chili Challenge on Sat.,
PHOTO COURTESY OF BARBARA BARNES
At the annual Smith Mountain Lake Fall Festival sponsored by the White House Association, vendors will sell a variety of foods and crafts. This is the last year that Smith Mountain Lake will host the festival. Nov. 3 at Bridgewater Plaza from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. They’re expecting 22 teams to show and cook up their finest chili. Prizes will be given out to winners in the categories of: Smith Mountain Lake’s Best Chili 2007, People’s Choice Chili and Outstanding Showmanship. Last year, the challenge saw about 2,500 people, and this year they expect 3,500. This is Virginia’s best-kept secret, but it won’t be that way for long. The New York Times did a story on the festival last June. What’s unique to SML is its size, cleanliness, profound serenity and great beauty. “You can have an outdoor experience any time,” Nardin said.
Radiohead continues to impress with release of new album, ‘In Rainbows’ On October 1, British band Radiohead announced the upcoming release of its newest CD entitled “In Rainbows.” In a WILLIAM revolutionary and GLYNN radical move, the band opted to regular allow fans to precolumnist order the album by naming their own price for it. The album became available for download the morning of Oct. 10 with an additional option to purchase a premium box set including vinyl and extra mate-
rial that would arrive in the mail sometime after December 3. Fans were doubtlessly pleased with each 1 and 0 that manifested themselves on their hard drives that morning. Beginning with a glitchy Aphex Twin-esque minimalist drum cadence, the song “15 Step” sets off the introduction to the album with driving and disjoint force. Thom Yorke steps in with his signature airy and ethereal vocal style, introducing the human-but-not-sohuman element of the band. Johnny Greenwood’s guitar is the next piece added to the puzzle; staccato but
MUSIC REVIEW
smooth jazz chords able to alleviate the tension created thus far. In this moment you have the perfect auditory metaphor for Radiohead: push the listeners as far as you can with experimentation and then bring them back in with familiarity. This dichotomy of balancing futuristic and challenging musical cues against a trustworthy formula makes the album cohesive, flowing and rewarding all around. What shines through in this album is the overall balance of Yorke’s musical id against the band’s instrumental sensibilities. Last year, Thom spread his wings without any restraint on his solo album “The Eraser,” a work that was
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much more focused on production technique and experimentation than full band songwriting. Seeing what the uninhibited front man can do, the more tangential directions taken on this album are validated without any necessity for apology. Long time Radiohead fans will recognize many of the elements on this album immediately, but not in any manner that would be considered recycled more than referential. “Weird Fish/Arpeggi” has guitars overlap and structure similar to that of “Hail To The Thief,” and the song “House Of Cards” is wrapped up in all the sublime ambience of “Amnesiac.” At this point in their career, Radiohead has
successfully diverged from their early connections to R.E.M. and The Smiths and has begun to influence bands such as Muse and Coldplay. When you hear the exposed innocence and beauty of the song “Reckoner,” it is easy to see that Yorke and company have come into their own with the ability to channel their individual talents into something more significant than the individual parts. On the whole, this album provides a fairly accurate insight into the future of music, both in respects to content delivery as well as literal content. Radiohead has met and exceeds the expectations of many and
RADIOHEAD GRADE: A prove to be innovators in their own respects. The only lamentable aspect of this album at this point is that if you missed the pre-order, it won’t be available until early next year. At that time, physical copies of the CD will appear in your local record store, creating a contrast akin to the difference of sending a letter via pony express rather than email. The changes are starting now, and it would be wise of you to pay attention to them.
page
sports 7
editor: ryan mcconnell email: sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw noon - 2 p.m.
october 12, 2007
Michigan’ s dubious Goalkeepers Aigner and Dunn keep team distinction not saved by interests first as they battle for playing time Harbaugh’s Cardinal
PAIR OF GOALIES HELP ANCHOR THE HOKIES AS THEY CLIMB IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS AND CONTINUE UNBEATEN STREAK
DREW SHARP
detroit free press
TORREY SMITH
ct sports reporter Virginia Tech men’s soccer goalkeepers Markus Aigner and Brendan Dunn come from very different backgrounds, but they share the same common objectives — to keep the ball out of their net and to lead the Hokies to victory. Through 11 games this season, the two keepers are doing an exceptional job of just that. The Hokies began the season with sophomore Brendan Dunn, a native of New Rochelle, N.Y., starting in goal. He was the logical choice because he had shared the starting duties the season before with Drew Czekanski, and Dunn’s results did everything to merit his position as the starter. In the first six games of the season — all of which Dunn started — the Hokies compiled a 5-1 record, with two of the five wins coming against ranked opponents. However, Dunn’s seventh start against William & Mary didn’t prove to be quite as providential. Dunn was replaced at halftime by junior Markus Aigner, a transfer from Taufkirchen, Germany who has held the starting role ever since. “Brendan was clearly the number one guy for the first part of the season,” said head coach Oliver Weiss. “Then slowly but surely as Markus became eligible, he also became better in training and has done a good job since then.” Aigner couldn’t play in the early stages of the season due to a delay in eligibility because he didn’t finished tests at the University of Munich until August. But since he came in at halftime against William & Mary, he has posted a 2-0-3 record with 0.97
MATT BOONE/SPPS
Markus Aigner, pictured here on the far right in a team huddle during the Wake Forest game on Oct. 5, has only allowed an average of 0.97 goals per game since moving into the starting role earlier in the season. goals against average while helping the Hokies climb to a top 10 national ranking. The Hokies recorded their first shutout of the season against Richmond in Aigner’s first career start and picked up another shutout Tuesday against VMI with Aigner playing the first half. “When you haven’t given up goals, that’s when you try to stick with the goalkeeper you have,” Weiss said. Dunn played just over 36 minutes of the VMI game in a substitute role, as did Stefan Caulfield, Tech’s third goalkeeper, who played 8:43 minutes of the game. “Obviously you want to play as a keeper, but I understand the situation that (Aigner) has come in and done really well,” Dunn said. “Everyone wants to play, but if we win, that’s all that really matters at
the end of the day.” Dunn’s positive attitude and effort towards creating what Weiss calls “a total team” has helped both players adjust to their new roles and continue to win games. Dunn and Aigner have developed a friendship off the field, and their healthy competitiveness has produced results on the field. “When you have two very good keepers, it’s good for both of them,” Aigner said. “They compete, and everybody wants to be the number one keeper so you can push each other … You always must be very concentrated during practice, and that’s very good to improving yourself.” The results have spoken for themselves recently, with Tech currently riding a 10-game unbeaten streak. The Hokies are 7-0-3 over that span,
which ties the longest unbeaten streak in school history. The Hokies have also soared up the rankings and currently sit eighth in the nation in the NSCAA/Adidas poll, thanks in large part to their ability to keep the ball out of their own net. “We are climbing the rankings so, you know, people are looking to giving us their best game every game,” Weiss said. “I feel very comfortable having three keepers that will help us win as many games as possible.” The Hokies will look to establish a new school record unbeaten streak Saturday night in College Park, Md. when they take on ACC foe University of Maryland in a game Markus Aigner is again expected to start for the Hokies. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Insane remains the operative word for the college football season. Nine of the top 10 teams in the Associated Press preseason poll have at least one loss. Three of those teams — Michigan, Texas and Louisville — have two at the season’s midpoint. The year took another huge step toward the absurd when Stanford became the first victorious 40 — point underdog in college football history, stunning an unbeaten and seemingly unbeatable No. 2 USC on Saturday. It begs the question: What ticked off U-M more, losing to Appalachian State or seeing Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh — the former Wolverine who’s now in the doghouse for his recent anti-Michigan remarks-accomplish something that has eluded Lloyd Carr? The great debate is which upset was biggest and the nominees are: Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32. You may have heard about this one, so we’ll move on. Syracuse 38, Louisville 35. The Cardinals were a popular BCS title game wildcard prediction with probably the best NFL quarterbacking prospect, one time Heisman candidate Brian Brohm. Syracuse was ranked 107th among the 119 Division 1-A programs entering the game. The Orange and Notre Dame were the only two upper-division programs still winless three weeks into the season. Stanford 24, USC 23. Harbaugh should have worn gangster apparel on the sidelines because this was a con job right out of “The Sting.” It’s a scam he has worked since his early days on the job in Palo Alto, tossing out rumors that USC coach Pete Carroll was likely headed for the NFL after the season and broadcasting how these Trojans might be the best team ever assembled. USC took the bait. May I have the envelope please? And the winner is ... Appy State! How could it not remain the biggest
stunner? There are three criteria for determining the magnitude of an upset. There’s the basic shock factor, the David-beats-Goliath subplot, and, finally, the historical significance of the accomplishment. Stanford has beaten USC before. The last time the Trojans lost a home game was against the Cardinal six years ago in Carroll’s first year with the Trojans. The Appalachian State win over Michigan ranks as one of the greatest shockers in sports history because it was the first time that a smallerdivision team defeated a ranked upper-division program — let alone one ranked fifth nationally like the Wolvies. USC was a bigger Goliath than Michigan, but there’s no smaller David than Appalachian State, especially when you consider it eventually fell to Wofford, a little North Carolina school with barely 3,000 students. Stanford and Syracuse have struggled mightily of late, but both boast rich football traditions. Both have produced Heisman Trophy winners. Despite every surprise imaginable — let’s not forget Notre Dame needing six games to record its first win — nobody still saw Appalachian State coming. The strongest irony is that it was Harbaugh, of all people, who potentially let Michigan off the hook with Stanford’s upset. He remains a source of consternation in Ann Arbor for his comments earlier this year that U-M relaxes its academic requirements for football players. His acidic words--some might call them treasonous--made many think Harbaugh’s name should be removed from consideration as Carr’s successor. But Harbaugh showed why he belongs on the Michigan short list and why nothing can be taken for granted, especially in this strange season. He got an inferior team to believe it could achieve something it realistically couldn’t expect to achieve. And that’s the definition of excellent coaching.
DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
page 8
friday, october 12, 2007
S.C. garners title of the ‘real’ Carolina
Duke: 5-1 vs. 1-5 matchup from page ten
MARJORIE RIDDLE
mcclatchy newspapers COLUMBIA, S.C. — The “real Carolina” could be draped in the Gamecocks’ garnet and black — or the Tar Heels’ Carolina blue, depending on which fans you talk to. But historically, the decision goes to South Carolina. The debate dates to Colonial times, according to a local historian, and is heating up in anticipation of Saturday’s matchup between USC and North Carolina, the first time the two teams have met on a football field since 1991. And the TV broadcast of the game puts announcers smack in the middle of the debate. South Carolina fans have complained that during sports matchups between the teams, broadcasters refer to North Carolina simply as “Carolina,” but generally call USC “South Carolina.” ABC announcers Dave Lamont, Jesse Palmer and Vince Welch will
try to stay out of the battle of the Carolinas by identifying the teams specifically as “North Carolina” and “South Carolina,” said Mike Humes, spokesman for ESPN, an ABC affiliate. South Carolina has history on its side, said Walter Edgar, a South Carolina history professor and director of USC’s Institute for Southern Studies. In the late 1690s, when Carolina was a province stretching from southern Virginia into Florida, Charleston was the capital, and the northeastern part of the province was referred to as “North Carolina,” he said. “North Carolina fans just have to deal with that. From the beginning, they were never the real Carolina,” Edgar said. “The North Carolina fans will just have to get over it, but they probably never will.” South Carolina is the real Carolina because it typically has better football and baseball teams, even if North Carolina has a better basketball team, said David Hord, a lifetime Gamecock fan and
football season ticket holder for 28 years. South Carolina is “the real Carolina; we’re the home of the South, really,” he said. The USC athletics department is declaring its stance on the real Carolina by selling game-day Tshirts with the phrase, “We are Carolina.” (The slogan is not trademarked, according to an online search done by Karen Sewell with the national Patent and Trademark Office.) USC head coach Steve Spurrier himself began promoting the “We are Carolina” chant this summer. From June through Oct. 1, the department sold 10,000 of the shirts. “This is the first year we’ve ever really pushed a game-day shirt,” said Jeff Crane, director of marketing for the USC athletics department. “We’re pretty excited about it and hope to make the game-day shirt something we do every year.”
acclaimed middle linebacker Vince Hall. “Obviously it’s a big blow to us,” Foster said. “You lose a guy that’s got great experience (and) had a lot of snaps under his belt — one of the premier players in the country.” Attempting to fill Hall’s shoes Saturday will be Brett Warren. The redshirt junior has 10 total tackles this season and 41 over his career. Despite a relative lack of experience, don’t look for Warren to be shell-shocked Saturday afternoon. Warren indicated that, at this point in his career, he is fairly comfortable with the defense. Better yet, his teammates are comfortable with him as well. “It’s going to be different but … Brett’s an excellent player,” said senior linebacker Xavier Adibi. “He’s going to step up. If Brett was anywhere else, he’d probably be starting anywhere else because he’s playing behind an all-American player.” But the game focus is more than just the Tech defense and Duke offense. “(We’re) playing probably our most talented opponent, Virginia Tech, this week with all the team speed and the explosiveness that they bring,” Roof said. “They seem to score points in bunches, whether it be with their defense, their offense or special teams.” A key to the game could be how the game plays out early. Roof maintains that it’s imperative the Blue Devils play smart and don’t give the Hokies any short fields during the game, especially
FILE PHOTO/SPPS
Kenny Lewis Jr. tries to get around a pair of Blue Devil defenders during last year’s game at Lane Stadium which the Hokies won, 36-0. early. “The speed of the game is something that you’ve got to catch up with, and there’s very few teams in college football that possess the team speed that they have,” Roof said. “If you look at what they’ve done in the first quarter to teams, they’ve got a huge first quarter advantage … and I think some of that is just getting used to the speed they attack
you with whether it’s defensively, with the special teams, or offensively.” How well the Blue Devils adjust to Tech’s team speed and defense looks to go a long way in determining the outcome of Saturday’s game, which is set to kickoff at noon at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. Lincoln Financial Sports will televise the game and it will air locally on WDBJ-7.
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DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
friday, october 12, 2007
page 10
DUKIN’ FILE PHOTO/SPPS STAFF
IT OUT
When Tech has the ball...
T
Hokie Offense Key Player: QB 5 Tyrod Taylor
Branden Ore
5-11, 205, Jr
FB 39
Carlton Weatherford
5-10, 230, Sr
WR 4
Eddie Royal
5-10, 180, Sr
WR 81
Justin Harper
6-4, 214, Sr
TE 83
Sam Wheeler
6-3, 258, So
LT 76
Duane Brown
6-5, 308, Sr
LG 67
Nick Marshman
6-3, 357, Jr
C 58
Ryan Shuman
6-3, 314, Jr
RG 66
Sergio Render
6-4, 326, So
RT 77
Ed Wang
6-5, 312, So
Blue Devil Defense DE 54 Greg Akinbiyi Defense DT 3 Vince Oghobaase
6-4, 270, So
DT 91
Ayanga Okpokowuruk
6-4, 270, So
DE 99
Wesley Oglesby
6-6, 250, Fr
LB 31
Vincent Rey
6-0, 255, So
LB 34
Michael Tauiliili
5-11, 235, Jr
LB 6
Marcus Jones
6-3, 220, Jr
CB 7
Leon Wright
5-9, 165, So
SS 28
Adrian Aye-Darko
6-2, 210, Jr
FS 27
Chris Davis
6-0, 205, Sr
CB 24
Glenn Williams
4
THINGS THINGS
to watch this
WEEKEND
6-2, 250, Jr
5-10, 185, Jr
story by charles r. barrineau, ct associate sports editor
6-1, 206, Fr This year: 48-95, 552 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT RB 28
he No.12 Virginia Tech Hokies will travel down Tobacco Road Saturday for a Coastal Division game against the Duke University Blue Devils. As a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Hokies have owned the series against the Blue Devils, going 3-0 with a combined score of 12217—Duke has been held scoreless the last two meetings. But this year’s game may be a bit different than in years past. The Blue Devils, although 1-5 (0-3), have been a bit more competitive as of late. Not only did Duke win at Northwestern, it kept games within one score against Wake Forest and Navy. The Blue Devils were also competitive into the fourth quarter against Miami and Virginia. “They’re very, very capable,” said Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer. “They’re a better football program this year than they have been the last (few) years that we’ve played.” The Hokies had better watch out if they don’t want to be the team against whom Duke finally puts all the pieces together. Leading the Blue Devils in assembling the pieces to a victory is their starting quarterback Thaddeus Lewis. The true sophomore enters Saturday’s game as one of the top passers in the ACC. Thus far this season, Lewis has completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 1491 yards. The South Florida native has also thrown 15 touchdown passes to his seven interceptions — a marked improvement from the three touchdowns to five interceptions he threw through as many games last season. “He’s athletic and he does a great job for them,” Beamer said. “I think he’s a real threat throwing the ball (and) he’s a real threat running the football.”
But for Lewis to be able to throw the ball downfield the Blue Devils have to find a way to somewhat neutralize the Hokie defense that can, at times, stifle the opposition. “There’s been an emphasis on protecting our passer,” said Duke head coach Ted Roof. “He’s got to have time to get the ball off when we do throw it and we’ve challenged our (offensive) line, our (running) backs (and) our tight ends about taking caring care of their business.” But it’s not just on Lewis and his blockers to carry the Duke offense; the wide receivers must do their part as well. Thus far this season, Blue Devil wide receivers have done their part in passing game, with the top four wide receivers combining to average nearly 210 yards and two touchdowns per game. “Our receivers are a strong part of this team,” said Jomar Wright, who has 346 yards receiving and three touchdowns this season. “We have to make plays with the ball in our hands, yards after catch (and) making the first guy miss. And also we have to do a great job of getting separation … and we have to go out there and do our job every play.” Roof realizes that the Blue Devils must be realistic in terms of their offensive capabilities and not dig themselves into deep holes on drives. “We’ve got to play better and execute better,” Roof said. “We’ve got to stay manageable. We can’t get into a bunch of 2nd and 16s and 3rd and 18s and things like that because those types of situations, against a defense like Virginia Tech, just compound themselves.” But Stifling the Duke offense could be a bit more challenging for defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s unit this weekend with the loss of much
see DUKE, page eight
When Duke has the ball... Blue Devil Offense
Offense
Key Player: QB 9 Thaddeus Lewis 6-2, 190, So This year: 109-191, 1491 yds, 15 TDs, 7 INT RB 21
Re'quan Boyette
5-10, 210, Jr
FB 22
Brandon King
6-2, 260, So
WR 81
Jomar Wright
6-1, 200, Sr
WR 15
Eron Riley
6-3, 200, Jr
TE 80
Nick Stefanow
6-4, 235, Sr
LT 74
Cameron Goldberg
6-6, 280, Jr
LG 60
Zach Maurides
6-6, 290, Sr
C 68
Matt Rumsey
6-4, 285, Sr
RG 61
Rob Schirmann
6-5, 285, Jr
RT 70
Fred Roland
6-8, 310, Jr
Hokie Defense DE 49 Chris Ellis Defense DT 39 Carlton Powell
6-5, 267, Sr 6-2, 293, Sr
DR 59
Barry Booker
6-4, 290, Sr
DE 90
Orion Martin
6-2, 256, Jr
LB 11
Xavier Adibi
6-2, 236, Sr
LB 33
Brett Warren
6-1, 238, Jr
LB 41
Cam Martin
6-2, 211, So
ROV 17
Kam Chancellor
6-3, 220, So
CB 18
Brandon Flowers
5-10, 200, Jr
CB 1
Victor Harris
6-0, 203, Jr
FS 25
DJ Parker
6-0, 198, Sr
1. REACHING 100
2. READY IN RELIEF
3. BACK IN ACTION
4. AIR THADDEUS
Tyrod Taylor should be able to pass for over 100 yards for the first time this weekend. In addition to having one more week of practice under his belt, Taylor will be licking his chops as the Blue Devils are second-to-last statistically in pass defense in the ACC. Through six games, they have yet to play a ranked team and have managed to allow an average of 259.8 passing yards per game.
Tech will be without the familiar # 9 jersey of Vince Hall after the star linebacker suffered a broken wrist at Clemson. Without Hall, redshirt junior Brett Warren will assume the starting role while fellow redshirt junior Jonas Houseright will serve as Warren’s backup. The two backers have made 50 tackles combined in their Tech careers, a mark that is 315 tackles short of Hall’s career total.
Ed Wang will finally get the first chance to play a game at right tackle. The sophomore came to Tech as a tight end but moved this summer. Things were delayed however, when Wang broke his left ankle before the season started. His return to the starting lineup will allow Nick Marshman to move back to left guard and will strengthen a unit that has been often-criticized.
Even though his Blue Devils are 15, Thaddeus Lewis’ passing has been a bright spot. The sophomore is tied for first in the ACC with 15 touchdown passes, third in passes completed, and third in total passing yards. Tech’s secondary, which is currently ranked sixth in the ACC in pass defense, will have to be on its game to prevent Lewis from gouging it downfield.
EQUAL HOUSING
OPPORTUNITY