COLLEGIATETIMES
wednesday february 20, 2008 blacksburg, va.
www.collegiatetimes.com
news ROBBERY ON HARDING AVENUE A female was knocked to the ground and robbed of her purse on the 400 block of Harding Avenue yesterday. The suspect was described by the victim as a white male, 5’8” of a medium build, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. Blacksburg Police responded to a complaint of a robbery at 1:20 p.m. and began an investigation of the incident. Harding Avenue Elementary School went into lockdown after police notified them of the incident. The police ask anyone with any further information regarding this incident to contact the Blacksburg Police Department at 540.961.1150.
NEW ‘PHISHING’ SCAM AT TECH A new set of “phishing” scam e-mails has affected users of Tech’s WebMail system. The e-mails appear to be from legitimate support groups and are request that users enter their personal information, specifically passwords. “Phishing” scams are designed to steal personal data such as passwords, bank account information, phone numbers and other types of personal information. They are often executed through e-mails and appear to be real organizations with legitimate logos. The university is warning users, saying that the IT support organizations at Tech “will never request such information, especially passwords, to be sent through e-mail.” It asks anyone who has replied to these messages to change their passwords immediately at my.vt.edu or at contact 4Help at 540.231.4357.
weather RAIN AND SNOW high 46, low 15
corrections “Virginia Tech faculty members elected to positions in GSA,” (CT, Feb.14) should be clarified. As chair, Karen Roberto will be a voting member of the Council of the Society; she is a non-voting member only as chair-elected. “’Hokie Nation’ named Virginian of the Year,” (CT, Feb. 19) should be clarified. The Statler Brothers were not all brothers. Don and Harold Reid are brothers, while the other two members were Jimmy Fortune and Phil Balsley. The Collegiate Times regrets these errors.
Potential aid scam targets Tech students
beer AS A
CALEB FLEMING
boost? ALCOHOL, RICH IN CARBOHYDRATES, MAY GIVE WORKING MUSCLES AN EDGE AFTER STRENUOUS EXERCISE hile most would reach for a bottle of water or a Gatorade after a workout, new evidence has surfaced that suggests reaching for a pint of your favorite lager may also be an adequate source of post-workout hydration. That’s right: Researchers from Granada University in Spain published results from a recent study that tested the hydration powers of water versus beer, and a results were surprising. After students performed strenuous exercise until exhaustion in 104 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, one group was given two pints of beer while the other group drank the same amount of water. Both groups were then allowed to drink as much water as they wanted and their hydration levels were tested soon after. The tests revealed a slightly better measurement in the beer drinkers than those who drank water. Surprising? According to common principles of nutrition, this finding may be scientifically grounded. However, the same science may keep you from downing a six pack after your next run. During exercise, the average person may lose close to a liter of water in sweat, through which a person can lose significant amounts of electro-
W
ans and
LAURA ASPEN
ct staff writer Mark Bratton, executive chef of West End Market dining hall, will be traveling to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to share some of his favorite dishes with the students there. The university is hosting chefs from eight schools around the country in a Visiting Chef Series, which seeks to bring new food to its students as well as a chance to make connections between universities. The invitation comes after Tech was honored with the No. 1 ranking on the Princeton Review’s list of best campus food. “The Visiting Chef Series is better than any NCAA competition — everybody wins,” said Ken Toong, director of food services at UMass Amherst. “I am looking forward to it; it is a great way to network and create brotherhood between chefs while enhancing campus life.” The Visiting Chef Series has been going on since the end of January and will continue through mid-April, featuring a chef from one of the eight universities each week. Mark Bratton will be serving his dishes on Wednesday, Feb. 20 during the dinner shift in UMass Amherst’s newest and busiest dining hall, Berkshire. An estimated 3,000 featured meals will be served, including West End Market’s famous London broil and salmon. Through the series, Massachusetts students
will not only have the chance to enjoy Bratton’s cuisine, but they will also learn more about Tech and get a “taste” of our campus life. The Hokie Bird will be traveling with Bratton to distribute T-shirts and other Tech memorabilia. In return for Bratton’s presentation at Berkshire dining hall, the UMass Amherst has agreed to send one of its chefs to Tech to share some of the Amherst students’ favorite meals. When the chef comes to visit, Tech students will have the opportunity to enjoy another school’s flavor, which will include Thai cuisine, one of the Massachusetts’ program’s most popular meals. Robert Franek, author of Princeton Review’s Best 366 Colleges, recognized Mark Bratton and his peers for the hard work they have done, as well as Tech students for their opinions. “Virginia Tech has been on our list of top 20 schools for ‘Best Campus Food’ for three years, moving from ninth in 2005, to second in 2006 and to No. 1 in 2007,” Franek said. “That ranking is a real credit to chef Bratton and his staff because it is totally based on how Virginia Tech students rated their campus cuisine and dining hall services. For our ranking tallies last year, at no other school did students rate their campus food more highly than Virginia Tech.” Tech’s No. 1 position relies solely on students’ answers on surveys and their additional responses. “From what I understand from the responses we got, you can have a big selection of all differ-
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year • issue 22
water when it comes to replenishing glycogen. So how does beer, which contains about 10 grams of carbohydrate per 12 ounces, compare to these stereotypical thirst quenchers in its ability to hydrate and replenish glycogen? A review paper published by the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Loughborough University, UK, states that synthesis of glycogen in both the muscles and the liver of animals is impaired, even when relatively low levels of alcohol are consumed. Alcohol slows both digestion and absorption of glucose, the key ingredient used to make glycogen, so if alcohol is used to replace a high carbohydrate meal after exercise, beer will simply not make the cut. While a pint of beer might be a better means of hydration than one glass of water, water does not show the same potential to slow the synthesis of glycogen, nor does it show the same potential to dehydrate if consumed in larger amounts. “Low alcohol beverages aren’t too bad for hydration, especially if you begin a bit dehydrated, but higher alcohol content beverages are detrimental,” said Janet Rankin, a Virginia Tech
see BEER, page four
MARK UMANSKYI/SPPS
Mark Bratton, executive chef at West End, will take part in the Visiting Chef Series. ent kinds of foods at any time of day at Virginia Tech,” Franek said. “I certainly didn’t have that when I was in school.” Christy Aldridge, a junior accounting major and office assistant at Owens Dining Hall, gave her opinion on campus food and the collaboration with UMass Amherst. “I think it’s pretty cool that we share our good food ideas with other universities,” Aldridge said. “As long as I continue to get the same great food here, I’m OK with it.”
The Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid recently reported to have been notified of a financial aid scam targeted toward students at Virginia Tech. According to the financial aid office, students and parents received letters addressed from the College Financial Advisory, a business that the university does not endorse. The letters appear to be from an official financial aid organization, which seems to have acquired personal information on undergraduates from Tech. The College Financial Advisory requests that enrolled students send in a student aid profile form and $48 to their organization in order to evaluate the student and determin their financial need. The university has stated that it does not have any relationship with the College Financial Advisory and strongly recommends that students not send personal information. Barry Simmons, financial aid administration director, could not be reached for comment on the potential financial aid scam. Research conducted by FinAid, a public organization providing financial aid tips to students, shows that thousands of students and parents nationwide reported collective losses of more than $100 million yearly, a figure attributed to trusting families being swindled initially by companies claiming to be “federal” aid providers. According to Myrna Cross, a call-center employee with the Federal Student Aid organization, the most common type of financial aid scam involves an illegitimate company posing as the federal government. “We hear a lot of reports of someone calling and leaving a message, saying they are the government needing you to call them back and give personal information,” Cross said. “We will never call you and ask for unsolicited information. As far as the Federal Student Aid is concerned, we will only send you mail, such as your PIN number or your student aid report, if you’ve requested it by mail.” Though it is easy for students seeking financial aid to fall into the trap of an organization posing as the office of Federal Student Aid, Cross noted that there are several things one can look to for verification.
“As far as the Federal Student Aid is concerned, we will only send you mail such as your PIN number or your student aid report if you’ve requested it by mail.” - MYRNA CROSS FEDERAL STUDENT AID EMPLOYEE “Basically, if you have an e-mail from FAFSA@cpsemail.ed.gov, it is from us and legitimate,” Cross said. “We don’t make calls.” Cross also stated that students should never send their information to anyone but the government. “If they are in doubt, call our number and we can let them know where they are with their federal aid,” Cross said. “If they think they have been victimized, they can call the credit reporting agencies to sort everything out.” Kathleen Kincheloe, the assistant director of communications for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, noted that in addition to being aware of a message’s source, parents and students who find themselves doubting the credibility of an organization should go through a multi-step process. “Do research on the financial aid source,” Kincheloe said. “Is it their college or university? Is it a reputable national organization? Is it a business in a field you’d like to go into? If they are getting help from a private lender or getting information from a bank, I’d definitely recommend students contact their college and ask if they’ve had any history with the office before.” Kincheloe added that if a scholarship or financial
see SCAM, page two
University ups its research spending by $45 million University spends millions more on research Increase of from 2006
Check out a video of Mark Bratton, an exective chef at West End, on our Web site.
Classifieds..............7 Sudoku..................7 Sports....................9
story by james spencer
Tech’s top-ranked food hits the road
Find out how the Hokies fare against Maryland in College Park tonight in Thursday’s CT.
News.....................2 Features................3 0pinions................5
ll/spps
sally bu
lytes like sodium and potassium. Depending on the intensity of the exercise, one can also deplete significant amounts of the fuels used to power physical activity. While activities of lower intensity tend to utilize fat as a primary fuel source, more demanding activities rely on glycogen, a storage form of glucose, which is found primarily in muscles. The degree to which muscle glycogen can be re-synthesized after exercise is a key component in recovering from strenuous aerobic exercise and is a marker for how well people can perform during their next workout. Depending on a beverage’s carbohydrate content and how quickly after exercise it is consumed, certain drinks will replenish glycogen stores better than others. Sports drinks consisting mainly of water and a glucose-fructose syrup will always be the best choice for post-exercise recovery. Drinking products such as Gatorade and Powerade are especially good hydrators because they contain key electrolytes such as sodium, which aid in fluid retention and encourages drinking. Pure water, on the other hand, may succeed in quenching thirst and replacing fluids to some degree, but beverages laden with carbohydrates will always have an advantage over
TOMORROW’S CT
index
dickh by jim stration
lu
photo il
$45.2 million
coming up
ct news reporter
Total research expenditures for 2007
$366.99 million $366 illi BEN MACDONALD/COLLEGIATE TIMES
TECH RANKED NO. 54 OUT OF 600 IN LATEST RESEARCH RANKINGS BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION CANDACE SIPOS
ct news reporter According to a recent report to the National Science Foundation, Virginia Tech spent $366.9 million on research expenditures in the fiscal year 2007, an increase of $45.2 million, or 14 percent, from 2006. Tech again outpaced the nationwide growth rate of 4.3 percent; in 2006, Tech saw a spike of $31 million, or an 11 percent increase in expenditures. “It’s general discussion right now about how important it is for the country to retain its competitiveness in terms of science and technology and innovation,” said Maria Zacharias, public affairs specialist at the NSF. “There’s a feeling in the scientific community that the federal government needs to do more to advance science.” The National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency which has an annual budget of about $5.92 billion, awarded Tech $321,722 for research and development in the fiscal year 2006. All universities who receive grants from NSF must annually report on their research-related efforts and results. Out of the more than 600 universities that submitted information to NSF,
JEFF SLOYER/SPPS
Callie Raulfs, a graduate student in biochemistry, and Sachi Desai, a senior in biology, work with a protein solution at the Fralin Biomedical and Life Sciences Institute. Tech came in at No. 54 in the latest rankings, two spots up from its 2006 position. “We’re very excited to move up two spots, but we’re more excited by the percentage growth that
we’re seeing,” said Roderick Hall, associate vice president of Tech’s Office of Research. “We’re
have a news tip? want to see something in the CT? e-mail tips@collegiatetimes.com
see RESEARCH, page two