Friday, November 21, 2008 Print Edition

COLLEGIATETIMES

friday november 21, 2008 blacksburg, va.

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news CARILION NAMES ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR RESEARCH AND OPERATIONS Thomas Campbell has been named the assistant director for research and operations at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and program manager for the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science.

Campbell accepted the position at Tech after spending three years as a senior research scientist with ADA Technologies in Littleton, Colo.

HOKIE CLUB FUNDS LOCKER ROOM FACILITY Virginia Tech will spend between $13 million and $15 million, funded by the Hokie Club, on a new football locker room facility. The Tech athletic department plans to begin construction next summer on the building, which could be completed in time for the 2010 season. The facility would be located in Jamerson Athletic Center.

sports H2OKIES CONTINUE TENNESSEE INVITATIONAL THIS WEEKEND The Tech swimming and diving squads will wrap up their stay in Knoxville for the Tennessee Invitational. The four-day competition, which includes teams from the University of Tennessee as well as the University of Kentucky, concludes on Saturday. Both the men and women’s team are 2-1 on the season.

tomorrow’s weather SUNSHINE high 38, low 15

corrections If you see something in today’s paper that needs to be corrected, please e-mail our public editor at publiceditor@collegiatetimes.com, or call 540.231.9865.

coming up TUESDAY’S CT There will be no new issues during Thanksgiving break. The CT will resume on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

index News.....................1 Features................2 0pinions................3

Classifieds..............4 Sports..................B1 Sudoku..................4

An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year issue 107

Turner Street parking in the works ZACH CRIZER

ct news reporter Anticipating the building of the new Center for the Arts on the intersection of North Main Street and Alumni Mall, university and town officials are supporting an attempt to add four acres of residential and retail space off of Turner Street, straddling Barger Street. The development would be an addition to Collegiate Square.

With approval of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, Virginia Tech Foundation CEO Raymond Smoot and local developer Bob Pack are now exploring a mixed-use development project that would add to downtown Blacksburg.

However, parking space is the priority.

Smoot said the project is a response to the Virginia Tech Arts Initiative, which works to invest more space on campus

for the arts, including the Center for the Arts “There is no way on campus to develop enough parking to make up for what we’re losing plus cover additional need for the arts center,” Smoot said.

Pack said his development could include up to 600 parking spaces, which would help alleviate the stress of losing 350 parking spaces to the Center for the Arts.

Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam is also interested in the future of the development.

“It is important that the arts center be integrated within the town,” Rordam said. “It’s important that the parking is not right there.”

Town Manager Marc Verneil said this new Collegiate Square development goes along with many town initiatives.

“You need to have that mass of people,” Verneil said. “You need to have foot traffic.”

While the parking for the Center of

the Arts is one main initiative of the potential project, other uses are also being considered.

Retail space is required to meet Blacksburg zoning requirements.

Graduate student residences and university office space are also elements expected to be included in plans.

Revenue generated from the project will be used by the Virginia Tech Foundation to support the Center for the Arts and bring bigger acts to Blacksburg.

“At the end of 25 years, the ownership of the underlying land will pass to the foundation,” Smoot said. “Revenue will be utilized to support programs of the arts center.”

Smoot said he hopes the revenue will enable Tech to bring in major acts that usually would not perform in college towns.

Although the project is still in the exploration phase, all parties said it is an important accompaniment to Center of

the Arts construction.

“We certainly want to have this parking available by the time we move on the site for the arts center,” Smoot said.

Pack said he would like to get started

by June 2009, but admitted that was optimistic.

No matter how long the process takes, Pack says he has the patience to stay with it.

He presented a color-coded map of the Collegiate Square area, which he said was created in 1999, when he first began planning the project.

Over the past 10 years, Pack has worked to bring multiple ownership groups on board. Currently, five separate ownership groups own the four-acre plot being looked at for development. Smoot said the university probably could not have worked with all the separate owners, but Pack has “chipped away” at the property to make it ready for the project.

“Assembling the property was the

biggest challenge,” Smoot said. “Bob (Pack) got these entities together.”

Verneil said the town is not directly involved with the project, but it is pleased with the ideas presented.

“The best use is mixed-use,” Verneil said.

Rordam praised another development Pack was involved with, Kent Square.

He said it has been used as a model of mixed-use town developments at major mayor conferences.

Pack, along with architect Tom Koontz, was in charge of Kent Square, and Pack said Koontz would be involved with the new Collegiate Square as well.

All parties expressed optimism that the project could move forward.

“It’s very exciting to see that prospect out there,” Rordam said. “We want Blacksburg to become the arts center of Southwest Virginia. This is just another step.”

Academy brings police life to students PHILLIP NICHOLS

ct news staff writer When looking for a way to develop a closer connection between students and the police force, Officer Geof Allen designed a program to give students the ability to get a closer look into the world of law enforcement; and through this, the Virginia Tech Student’s Police Academy was born.

“It was probably more curiosity than anything else,” said officer Katie Biniek, a former student of the academy who went on to join the Tech police department.

“I had thought about becoming a police officer, but I really wasn’t sure before I did the academy.”

The academy is a four-and-a-half-weeklong course that has provided students with an in-depth look into the police department for four years. It allows students who either want to go into law enforcement to learn more about what the job entails, or who are just curious with the opportunity to explore the field.

“We thought we could have a good PR tool for students,” Allen said. “And have a free, fun class, as well, for the ones that were interested in law enforcement as a career.”

Since the program has started, they have had three sociology students from Tech go through the program and be hired by the police department. The students graduated from the class, received an internship with the police department and they were hired once they graduated. One of those has gone on to join Tech’s SWAT team.

When the department first created the program it only had the need for one class per year. Now, with a high demand to enter the class, they have added another in the spring.

There are 35 students in a class who get to go through many of the things that real officers do on a daily basis.

The program starts out with the basics of self-defense training and then progresses to even more police-related activities. Students receive weapons training and go out and fire the same weapons that the police department uses.

They even have the opportunity to have one of the K-9 dogs bite them through a special training suit. The activities of the Police Academy show all of the hard work that goes

COURTESY OF THE STUDENT POLICE ACADEMY

Students investigate a mock crime scene in a Slusher kitchen, as part of the four-week program with the Virginia Tech Police Academy. into being a police officer on a daily basis.

“The academy gave me a great insight into police work and also provided me the opportunity to intern with the VTPD the following fall semester,” Biniek said.

They also get to go through a crime scene investigation case where they examine a mock scene to figure out exactly what happened.

A kitchen in Slusher Tower is transformed into a murder scene, with former members of the class as victims.

They make the fake blood with dye to make room an authentic crime scene. The students have to follow different clues that are laid around the victim and try and figure out what really happened.

“They really make sure you know the difference between the real law enforcement and television,” said sophomore Patrick Burt, who took the class his freshman year and continues to help with the program. “Although, law enforcement does have its perks, but with those perks they show you the hard work, time, and devotion that go into it.”

Allen also said that most people have a sensationalized misconception of police officers thanks to television and movies, and that the class helps bring students back to reality.

The class allows Allen to teach students topics that police officers deal with, but in a more fun and enjoyable way. One of the largest things the academy provides is the ability for

students to see that the police officers at Tech are not “out to get them,” as many students believe.

“My favorite part was interacting with all of the different officers. Most interactions people have with the police are when something bad has happened, but this gave us the opportunity to see the officers in a positive light and really understand how much they do,” Biniek said.

“Everyone was very helpful and answered any questions we had; they all seemed just as excited to be there as the students were.”

“Students can learn that we are actually nice people, we are not the same image of law enforcement that they have in their head,” Allen said.

For some, RAs remain too close for comfort BECCA THOMAS

ct news reporter In the beginning of the school year, 167 students at Virginia Tech were placed in temporary housing.

Of the students temporarily housed, 129 became roommates of RAs while the rest were placed in converted lounges. As of Nov. 12, there were 24 students still rooming with resident advisors, while some in the process of being offered standard spaces, said Kenneth Belcher, associate director for occupancy management.

Belcher said that students receive a list of rooms available in different residence halls and are then able to choose where they’d like to move when offered standard spaces.

“I understand that that’s the only place that they could put displaced students,” said one RA, who wished to remain anonymous. “So, I understand the situation and that the housing office can’t do much and are doing the best they can.”

One problem RAs have encountered while in a temporary housing situation is that their roommates have access to the master key of their hall, which is located in a closet of the RA’s room.

“We are working on the issue as we speak,” said Leon McClinton, director

SALLY BULL/SPPS

A view of room 985 in Slusher Tower where Reilly O’Connor, freshman psychology major, shares a room with her RA, Amber Ballard. of residence life. “And have plans to address the problem.”

Another issue that is apparent to several RAs is that residents may hesitate to approach them with any personal concerns when someone else is present and living in the room with them.

John Ryding, a resident advisor in Vawter Hall, explained that he’s run into this problem before, and has found it necessary to bring residents to a storage closet on his hall when talking.

“We definitely want to provide a setting where they can have private

conversations and it’s a priority to us,” McClinton said. “When you consider all the factors, we aren’t able to provide our RAs with a private room, and that’s out of our control.

I can understand and appreciate the concern and issue about RAs with roommates because it can impact how they do their job.”

When displaced students room with RAs, a result is a loss of personal space.

One resident advisor has felt this issue has taken away from doing his job.

“I think it’s a great experience, to inspire and be a leader for a group of my peers, but (having a roommate) has taken away from my job,” Ryding, a junior computer engineering major, said.

The primary concern for residence life is removing students from resident advisors’ rooms, and then removing students in converted lounges, where many former members of the Corps had been placed.

“At the beginning of the semester, during move-in, I was checking people in and someone came in with a piece of paper and had moved out of the lounge in this hall,” Ryding said.

“They were moving to another building instead of getting someone out of an RA’s room.”

The overcrowding on-campus has become a recurring issue with which Residence Life deals.

“We plan to do this every year,” Belcher said. “With a university of our size we lose students at the beginning of the school year, and we plan to have 100 to 150 students in temporary housing.”

Any student still living in temporary housing after Oct. 20 was eligible for a refund that increases with each week until they have received an offer for permanent housing. Resident advisors receive a check, and residents see the amount subtracted from the cost of their housing contract.

The first week (Oct. 20 to Oct. 26), students still in the temporary housing situation would receive $46, and the following week would receive $92.

By the semester’s end, the amount will rise to $413, and housing expects that all temporary residents will be addressed by this time.

“I wouldn’t say that the compensation is fair,” the RA who chose to remain anonymous said. “We weren’t paid for the first two months we had roommates, but it’s manageable.”

Resident advisors were made aware when they were selected and during their training that in the event of overflow housing, they may be placed with a roommate, Belcher said.

“The experience is what you make it,” Ryding said. “And like all jobs, there is stuff that you have problems with, but I’ve had a fun experience.”

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editor: bethany buchanan email: features@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: w 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., f 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

november 21, 2008

A Fashionable Fall THE WORLD OF FASHION CHANGES DAY BY DAY, BUT OVERALL IT’S EASY TO SEE THE TRENDS ON CAMPUS. WE RANDOMLY PICKED TWO HOKIES TO ASK THEM ABOUT THEIR STYLE AND WHAT MAKES THEIR OUTFIT.

by Kirsten Gravely

W

hen it comes to fashion for girls this year, we all know what you are picturing — the North Face fleece with the jeans and UGG boots. While that is part of the current trend, other fashions are making a comeback, and a few different twists on accessories are what it’s all about this year.

The main issue seen around campus for the boys is the baggy pants. They are no longer in style; who wants to see your

Senior political science major Steve Gillett and junior marketing major Lindsay Curtis pose for several pictures in front of Torgersen Bridge.

it’s chilly out. The basic black is always a must, but venture out with some crazy color to match items in your wardrobe and make them complete.

Accessories, accessories, accessories.

Spice it up! The scarf look is the easiest.

Pair up a matching color, fold the scarf in half, wrap around your neck and pull through the loop for the latest style in how to wear them. A pair of earrings or even a headband can help pull off a great look.

Steve Gillett

Lindsay Curtis

tudents take what they wear seriously around here — at least that’s the case for senior political science major Steve Gillett.

As a guy, he doesn’t stick to following the fashion trends, but likes to always look presentable.

“You never know who you are going to run into throughout the course of the day,” Gillett said.

Looking stylish, Gillett was wearing a collared white shirt under a sweater vest, a tie to match and some comfortable khakis with a school-spirited vintage VPI belt buckle.

“I’d say my style overall has to be comfortable yet functional,” Gillett said. “I don’t want something that looks sloppy or unpresentable.”

Gillett feels as though fashion leaves an impression, even if it’s just seeing someone in class.

“The professor and your classmates have taken the time to prepare and talk to you, so you owe them the respect to look presentable and show that you care as well,” Gillett said.

unior marketing major Lindsay Curtis knows what’s up when it comes to fashion. Sporting a cerulean blue long-sleeve shirt with a black top layered over it, a black and blue scarf, and jeans tucked into UGG boots, she keeps up to date with the latest trends.

“It’s how you present yourself to the world.,” Curtis said. “I look at France and Paris and shows like that.”

Curtis said that her routine consists of figuring out whether to wear jeans, and then builds her outfit from there. She loves the accessory aspect to fashion, doting a long necklace with a crystal ball charm on the end.

“I think they definitely make the outfit,” Curtis said.

When it comes to where to shop, Curtis gets her fill at H&M, Urban Outfitters and Target, where she shops the most. For her, brand names aren’t the most important thing.

“I don’t know if they are that important as long as you look good. I mean, I got this scarf at Charlotte Rousse for $5,” Curtis said.

S

MICHAEL SHROYER/SPPS

underwear? Girls have the issue when it comes to sizing of clothing. Though you want to wear a size 4 or 6, wear something flattering that doesn’t make you look like you are trying to squeeze into it. Black is always becoming, and this year you can spice it up with some bright colors: Citrine, earth red and dark olive are seen quite a bit lately.

Pea coats are back! I’ve seen so many girls doting around in a pea coat and some jeans. Simple, yet stylish when

J

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editor: laurel colella, david mcilroy email: opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

november 21, 2008

EDITORIAL

Temporary housing continues to negatively impact students At the start of fall semester, 129 students were displaced into the rooms of resident advisors, because of limited on-campus housing. As of Nov. 12, 24 students were still rooming with resident advisors, while some are in the process of being offered standard spaces, said Kenneth Belcher, associate director for occupancy management.

While the university was left with limited options because of overcrowding, there are a number of problems with having residents live with RAs. First being the issue of privacy.

When roommate conflicts exist, or residents are having personal issues or other concerns, they would be hesitant to talk to their RA if there is another person in the advisor’s room who lives on their hall.

More intense conversations, have, in some instances, been forced to take place in storage closets, as RAs can’t have discussions in front of a third party and can’t kick people out of their rooms, either.

Roommates of RAs also have access to the master key of the hall, which is located in the closet of the RA’s room.

While we’d like to hope that most residents are upstanding and honest, giving people other than RAs access to the key isn’t in the best interest of all residents in the hall. RAs shouldn’t have to worry about being able to perform their job while at the same time keeping their duties as a representative of the school separate from their interactions with roommates.

When the university accepts freshmen, housing must make an estimate about how many students it thinks will move off campus, once the incoming students arrive.

The department also averages into that estimate how many students will be kicked off campus for disciplinary reasons.

However, if it estimates wrong, which it clearly has in years past, RAs are left having to live with roommates. Given that they have a lot of responsibilities above and beyond those of a resident, it is unfair to force RAs, who had expect-

ed to receive their own rooms eventually, to still be living with roommates.

While we understand there was an overcrowding issue, it is unacceptable that there are still RAs living with roommates — an unfair situation to both parties involved. To many RAs there is definitely still the matter of a supposed temporary situation.

Some people can’t set up their rooms the ways they intended to. Those living in rooms meant for just resident advisors have even less space while trying to accommodate a roommate in such a tight space. Temporary residents, who are expected to just get up and move when a room opens up elsewhere, will not be able to adjust, make new friends, and feel truly at home in their residence halls if they know they will be expected to move out at any time.

Additionally, as freshmen in college, it is likely that students will go out and consume alcohol. While illegal, we’re not going to pretend that those not of age don’t drink.

Students placed in temporary housing should never be afraid to go back to their room, for fear of getting in trouble with their RA roommate, especially if they’ve come straight home and are attempting to behave as responsibly as possible.

It is understandable that housing has to plan for overflow because once people drop out they’re going to have so many vacant spots that it seems like a waste. However, the estimating was just so off this year and we fear it will only get worse. The process by which the school removes residents from RA rooms is simply unfair.

Some RAs have to live the entire semester with a roommate, while others never have a roommate at all. Temporary residents take away from the RAs doing their jobs and make it an overall less positive experience.

A 9-year-old girl was recently sold as a bride in order to pay off a debt to Afghani drug traffickers with ties to the Taliban. This comes as a result of U.S. “Drug War’s” efforts to eradicate poppies, the plant from which opium and heroin are derived.

Afghanistan produces 93 percent of the world’s heroin to fill our demand. The most effective way the United States and other countries can both reduce our demand for poppy and cut out the Afghani drug trafficking middleman is to buy the poppy now.

With the intention of aiding Afghani farmers with the seeds they need to grow other crops, we can assist them by building roads to get their crops to the market.

This, however, will not be enough. As long as there will be demand for drugs, no drug policy

I’ve written a few times this semester about the logistics and nuances of how the newsroom operates.

To recap, section ediCATE tors give out story ideas, reporters SUMMERS pick them up and public compile articles, editor copy editors read them for grammar, style and punctuation (the hardest and most thankless job in my opinion), editors place them on the page, they get another once-over, and are then sent to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, located in Bluefield, W.Va., to be printed.

Ideally, all this happens by deadline and the printer doesn’t hate us for delaying the process. But we certainly do not live in a utopia, so unfortunately our end of the paper does occasionally arrive in Bluefield past deadline.

Last week, several Collegiate Times staffers took a trip to our printer’s plant in Bluefield, WVa., to get a better idea of how our actions here in Blacksburg affect the printing process an hour-and-a-half away in Bluefield.

Peter Velz, one of our multimedia reporters, recorded the day in the newsroom leading up to the trip. The video can be seen on our Web site in the multimedia section. If you’ve read my columns so far this semester and are curious to put faces to the names I’ve been dropping, check out the video and get a glimpse of a day in the newsroom and the people who fill it.

Our editorial adviser suggested the idea to our editor-in-chief and managing editors some time ago, and they

decided it should be a field trip for the entire staff.

It was to be a learning experience.

Reporters, copy editors and section editors alike were invited to go in order to see how their actions affect the production and delivery of the paper down to the minute. The goal was to expose every level of the editorial hierarchy to the process so that they may all better understand the daily (and nightly) course of events.

The video begins with a synopsis of a day in the scheme of filling the paper and an introduction of the editorial staff.

Bethany Buchanan, features editor, and her reporters are shown at their weekly section meeting. T. Rees Shapiro, campus news editor, is caught dancing in the middle of the office floor (which happens frequently, believe me).

Thandiwe Ogbonna, copy editor, explains how she reads and re-reads stories not just on the server but after they are placed on the page for errors in style, grammar and mechanics.

Layout designers and photo editors demonstrate how they lay out the pages and crop or adjust the photos.

The pages were turned into PDFs and sent to the printer by deadline last Tuesday evening, and then the intrepid adventurers departed from the office in Squires around 11 p.m.

The staffers arrived at the plant around 12:30 a.m. and met with Leigh McVey, Bluefield Daily Telegraph printing and production guru, who gave a brief explanation of what they would see before they toured the plant.

Each night, we turn out Adobe InDesign pages into PDF format

before sending them to the printer.

These pages are then turned into huge negatives of each paired page. For example, the first and last pages are on the same negative because they are on the same sheet of newsprint in the paper. These negatives are then used to generate metal plates that are used to impress images on newsprint.

The finished, collated product that comes out of the press at this point are sent to a room where about 15 people add any inserts or special sections inside go between the fold. If there are no inserts, the pages are sent to a machine that counts and stacks them, then forwarded on to another machine that binds and folds them into bundles of 50. From there, the papers are loaded onto a van and take the 1.5-hour drive back to Blacksburg to fill many newsstands throughout campus and town.

We recently switched to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph from one that was closer to Blacksburg. Since the switch, the quality of the printed issues has improved, and we are very thankful for Bluefield’s hard work and initiative. There have been times when Leigh has called the newsroom to inform us that the date on the front page was wrong and that she fixed it for us before print. So, big thanks to Leigh for being our copy editor from afar.

The video is short and it’s interesting. I encourage anyone who has ever wondered how or why stories make it to the page to watch it. We like to think we’re a fun bunch, and I think the video’s laid-back nature will let each of you see that. Check it out in the multimedia section of collegiatetimes.com, “A visit to the printer in West Virginia, or how I learned to love the CT.”

that focuses only on the supplyside will succeed.

I urge you to contact Sen. Jim Webb and Senator-elect Mark Warner to ask that they hold a hearing to discuss whether our domestic policies toward opium and heroin are subverting our mission in Afghanistan.

Dispensary clinics have been successful at reducing heroin demand in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Canada and even Kentucky in the 1960s.

For America and our allied forces to effectively defeat the Taliban Muslim extremists, we must quit dragging our feet in the ground by waging the War on Drugs and begin developing sensible drug policies at home and abroad.

Kristopher Reinertson senior, political science, sociology Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Virginia Tech Chapter President

Your letter could be here e-mail us at: opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com

Collegiate Times Editorial Staff Editor in Chief David Grant Managing Editors David Harries, Sharon Pritz Public Editor Cate Summers Special Sections Editor Meg Miller News Editors Caleb Fleming, Ashley Oliver, T. Rees Shapiro News Reporters Gordon Block, Zach Crizer, Gabe McVey, Riley Prendergast, Rebecca Thomas News Staff Writers Shannon Aud, Laura Duke, Justin Graves, Michelle Rivera, Lindsey Taylor Politics Editor Candace Sipos Features Editor Bethany Buchanan Features Reporters Kirsten Gravely, Topher Forhecz, Teresa Tobat, Jonathan Yi Opinions Editors Laurel Colella, David McIlroy Opinions Staff Sally Bull, Jackie Peters Sports Editors Thomas Emerick, Brian Wright Sports Reporters Joe Crandley, Justin Long, Ed Lupien, Melanie Wadden Sports Staff Writers Garrett Busic, Matt Collette, Lindsay Faulkner, Hattie Francis, Alex Jackson, Mike Littier Copy Editors Erin Corbey, Sara Mitchell, Thandiwe Ogbonna, Kristen Walker Photo Editor Kelly Harrigan Associate Photo Editor Go-Eun Choi Layout Designers Christine Fay, John Kayrouz, Ben MacDonald, Josh Son, Sara Spangler Illustrator Mina Noorbakhsh Multimedia Editor Phillip Murillas Multimedia Producer Matthew Langan, Becky Wilson Multimedia Reporters Candice Chu, Bryce Stucki, Peter Velz Online Director Christopher Ritter Web Developer Jeff Klassen Collegiate Times Business Staff Business Manager Ryan McConnell College Media Solutions Staff Advertising Director Patrick Fitzgerald Asst Advertising Directors Sarah Ford Jenna Given, Katelynn Reilly Ads Production Manager Anika Stickles Asst Production Manager Alyssa Peltier Ads Production/Creation Breanna Benz, Alllison Bhatta, Lisa Hoang, Kaiesha Morgan, Mike Payne, Lindsay Smith, Lara Treadwell National Account Executive Joey Mazzei Account Executives Libbey Arner, Oran Duncan, Tyler Ervin, Jennifer Heimlich, Kavish Hemrajani, Jimmy Henderson, Dustin Hurst, Alex Iskounen, Kelli Lyman, Marcello Sandoval, Amanda Sparks, Jennifer Vaughn, Amanda Whitt Assistant Account Executives Alexandra Boddie, Lauren Klooster, Kaelynn Kurtz, Carissa Nichols, Molly Vaira Marketing Manager Robert Zayaz III Office Manager Joey Mazzei Student Publication Photo Staff Director of Photography Sally Bull Business Manager Paul Platz

Voice your opinion. Readers are encouraged to send letters and comments to the Collegiate Times.

The editorial board is composed of David Grant, Laurel Colella, David McIlroy, Sally Bull, Jackie Peters, Alexandra Kaufmann and Jenna Marson.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Southwestern Virginia can stop “Opium Brides”

Multimedia provides look into daily newsroom life

The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903

T. NOWICKI/MCT

Obama can set example for CEOs by forgoing his salary JOHN C. BERSIA mcclatchy-tribune news service President-elect Barack Obama has already demonstrated a sensible impulse: to make haste slowly as he prepares to tackle the nation’s pressing issues in a pro-active, bipartisan manner. His next steps wilzl be most effective if they captivate, inspire, energize and assist Americans.

Obama has no choice about the No. 1 priority, the economy, and he cannot avoid great expectations, however unrealistic those might be. Preoccupied with rising unemployment, business failures, the home-mortgage morass, tight credit and general uncertainty about the future, Americans want answers.

And they have little patience.

Fortunately, opportunity knocks from the conversation on the most recently spotlighted ailing sector: the auto industry. Obama favors swift emergency help; I am certain that some kind of bailout will emerge.

As I have said in the past, federalgovernment financial props for suffering businesses are hardly ideal, but the nation cannot afford to sit idly by as unusually turbulent circumstances ravage economic icons.

It is essential, though, for Obama to set the tone for these and other debates about bailouts by underscoring his own commitment to cut spending and willingness to sacrifice.

He should start by voluntarily reducing his own presidential salary.

Some have argued that Obama would ensure the greatest impact by entirely waiving his compensation for at least a year. Others, such as presidential-studies scholar Stephen

Wayne of Georgetown University, contend that Obama is not really a rich man by today’s standards. Thus, Wayne says, a partial reduction would be sufficient.

Either way, Obama would provide a leadership path for others to follow.

Indeed, should he agree to a salary reduction, he would be positioned to press the heads of businesses seeking government bailouts to cut their personal salaries by the same percentage. Not only would such a decision impress employees, shareholders and consumers, it would save jobs.

Wayne adds that Obama, in his inauguration speech, should include some of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s nothing-to-fearbut-fear-itself language. Although today’s crisis falls well short of The Great Depression, Americans are no less in need of a remedy for their jittery nerves.

Beyond rhetoric, Obama should display his trademark, can-do optimism by outlining ideas to stimulate the economy during the long term, including a strategy much bolder than any presented in the campaign to rebuild the “infrastructure of America.” To me, that concept, broadly defined, means not only transportation systems, communications and public utilities but schools, military capabilities devoured by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and energy alternatives.

Along the way, an overarching goal should be to respect and protect the environment. That kind of initiative would put people back to work and leave the nation in an enhanced position once the recovery comes.

Regarding other matters, Obama should use the inauguration to sig-

nal that one of his major, first-year goals will be to revitalize U.S. global leadership.

Much of that effort will be political: sending out the right signals, underscoring multilateral intentions, taking advantage of good will and getting dialogues going. But it also will require taking the initiative, in cooperation with other countries, to facilitate peacemaking, combat threats such as terrorism and climate change, and promote globally beneficial economic practices, particularly freer trade.

A specific issue that I hope Obama will seize and make his own received a brief mention in his post-election acceptance speech: slavery. It came up in a historical context related to a 106-year-old Atlanta voter. Sadly, slavery not only remains but thrives in the 21st-century world.

A clear, powerful, anti-slavery statement, as part of an expanded emphasis on human rights, belongs in Obama’s inauguration speech.

Although he cannot issue an Emancipation Proclamation for the world, he can declare the realistic objective of substantially ending slavery within a generation.

Finally, Obama must reach across the political aisle early and often, and not simply in terms of a bipartisan selection process for his Cabinet and other key positions. He is, I believe, too smart to pursue much of the intensely liberal agenda that so many people fear, especially those who declined to vote for him. To succeed and make a difference sooner rather than later, he must govern from the middle.

If Obama starts with these steps, he surely will captivate, inspire, energize and assist Americans.

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friday, november 21, 2008

He said, She said: Battle of the sexes moves into kitchen stadium Delicacies are a funny thing.

When you were a kid, it was a hamburger and some greasy fries that looked like the meal you get TOPHER for saving the FORHECZ president’s life. features Things, of course, change with time. reporter We all learned this, when we could no longer get children’s tickets to movies or play in the ball pen at Chuck E. Cheese’s without getting weird looks. Our appetites may have become a little more refined (Chipotle, anyone?), but the second your confused little eyes molested all the selections of food in D2, what you cooked for yourself made little difference.

If you look at it from the beginning, a college freshman’s cooking habits pretty much fall underneath what can fit in a bowl and be put in the microwave or be wrapped in a paper towel and be put in the microwave. There are the staples: ramen, Hot Pockets and the edible mystery boxes that are hotdogs. This food is more of a means of immediate sustenance when you have the mental capacity of a 4year-old during the late night hours — which is pretty much the only way to justify eating Hot Pockets. Cooking when you’re a freshman really isn’t that high up on the list of priorities, but the food just keeps coming.

“A man’s main cooking apparatus is the grill. It is probably the most appealing method of cooking there is to the male gender.

Once the move off campus happens, the necessity of cooking becomes more the case. This is when the differences of the sexes really take form. Guys are sentimental creatures; we like to hold onto the past and celebrate it. That is why we generally cook foods that remind us of our childhood. Chicken nuggets, taquitos, pasta, pizza or mac and cheese — what more could a boy want?

Some jazzercise, perhaps?

A man’s main cooking apparatus is the grill. It is probably the most appealing method of cooking there is to the male gender, unless there’s a microwave out there that plays Gears of War and can recite all of “Fear and Loathing” verbatim. Guys love grilling because it combines all of their favorite things. In a world without TRL, standing outside surrounded by

your friends and an ungodly amount of lighter fluid, beer and dead cow meat makes everything seem a little more sensible. Not to mention that it tastes great with mustard.

Girls like cooking things that might have one or two steps more than throw on fire and wait till pink. In particular, girls always seem to always be especially more excited about baked goods than guys. Guys don’t spontaneously pop off the couch and announce “I’m making cookies, should they have sprinkles?” It’s not really in our DNA to make such statements. We may consume the cookies like we went to Belgium and imported t h e

when guys are cooking; why else did God make chips? It’s more about the eating than it is the cooking.

So maybe guys could afford to expand their cooking repertoire past the different selections Oscar Mayer has, but all the familiar terrain has been conquered. Men crave a new breed of food, which is what takes place when the person with the mental capacity of a 4-year-old on late nights moves off campus. Suddenly, cream cheese, raisins, Doritos and a bagel looks like something the Food Network delivered. The insurmountable problem being that they forget the recipe come morning.

chocolate chips for that specific batch, but screw the exodus to Kroger. Girls, on the other hand, will race each other into diabetes with mountains of cookies, brownies, cakes and stuff that contains apples, yet is still completely unhealthy.

In theory, girls seem to like the process of cooking. They love the planning and preparation, the time it takes to add flavors and that personalized touch.

They like to have side courses and things such as Waldorf salads that aren’t really salads. The concept of side courses never really comes up

MINA NOORBAKHSH/COLLEGIATE TIMES

I would love to see Emeril Lagasse and Martha Stewart duel in a free-forall battle of the cooking-all-stars chef-off — you BETHANY know, kind of like BUCHANAN watching Michael Jordan and features Dennis Rodman editor go one-on-one on the court. There’d be a Barbie doll perfectly stirring her home-made cake mix at 30 mph with a plastic smile, a lot of “bams!” and caterpillar eyebrows glaring at you and a couple of CIA agents lu r k i n g stoi-

cally about in the audience.

What would they do differently?

Emeril’s Creole fried chicken would deliciously contribute to the cholesterol build-up in your arteries, and Martha’s five-tier wedding cake with the edible flowers and bride and groom figures would fool the eye into believing that it would be to-die-for if it weren’t for the unjust substitution of Splenda.

It’s really interesting to think that as gender roles have evolved over time, so has the possession of the kitchen changed hands. More guys now enjoy making their own meals. June Cleaver wouldn’t have let her hubby even dare think of entering her feminine domain of cabinets and glory — good thing that thought never crossed his mind, as she was expected to have his food ready for him as soon as his car door was heard shut outside in the driveway.

But now that we’re all in our college years, self-sufficiency is a priority for both sexes alike. Mommy, unfortunately, won’t drive five hours every day just to feed you.

But there’s no need to worry about the girls.

For us, cooking is just another art at which to excel and reign superior. She must have skill, creativity, a keen intuition and a functional George Foreman grill — you know, to remove all of that disgusting fat. Girls, as usual, are much more structured when it comes to preparing a meal: With a recipe card and an arsenal of spices, measuring cups, spatulas, cookie sheets, cooking mitts and a stuffed fridge, she’s ready to whip out that recipe book and cook up a storm.

Well, I guess “bake up a

storm” would be more appropriate.

It must be that additional X chromosome that provide us with that inherent, almost compulsive desire to bake. In fact, that’s all I can do without threatening the lives of those around me. I can’t even make hot chocolate without having problems, but I can make and decorate cakes that would put your grandmother to shame. With orange and maroon sprinkles.

Watching a guy cook, on the other hand, it’s almost like being thrown back into a high school chemistry class. He’s surrounded by rowdy-hungover-come-on-man-let’s-see-whathappens-when-you-throw-that-whitestuff-over-the-flame buddies and foolishly provided with a lit Bunsen burner (in college, that Bunsen turns into a macho grill, but the friends remain the same).

“For us, cooking is just another art at which to excel and reign superior. She must have skill, creativity, a keen intuition and a functional George Foreman grill...”

He finds preparing a meal is more of an experiment — if I add a dash of this and a sprinkle of that, what will it taste like then? Probably like a dish that, if it were thrown in a lake, would give the fish a couple extra eyes and another tail.

It doesn’t even matter if he doesn’t have the exact ingredients necessary to properly cook said dish. No sauce for that spaghetti? No need to run to Food Lion — there’s ketchup in the fridge — that’ll work just fine.

In addition to that super-sized bottle of Heinz, guys always have an assortment of marinades and spices, a couple slabs of meat, but really nothing else substantial. If anything, this is a moment to envy and give credit to that innate male ingenuity. To devise some god-forsaken edible concoction out of worcestershire sauce, spam and ramen noodles cooked in the microwave is definitely a feat of engineering.

And I love it when these guys, just trying to be oh-so-sweet to their gal pals, serve it up to their ladies with a ridiculously proud grin on their faces — as the girls fake a smile and muster up the courage to try it.

Take a gulp, darling, and don’t worry about that extra five pounds of fat that’ll be yours once you stomach the mystery. Just know that you’ll have revenge once Christmas rolls around and your boyfriend devours a couple dozen of your chocolate chip cookies.

page 6

friday, november 21, 2008

‘Twihard’ fans anticipate book-turned-movie’s release

TWILIGHT WHERE: Regal New River Valley Stadium 14 SHOWTIMES: Nov.21, 11:15am, noon, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00p, 4:00, 5:00, 6: 15, 7:00, 8:00, 9:15, 10:00, 11:00 RUNTIME: 2hrs.

“Oh my God, Stephenie Meyer, what are you thinking?” Kinser said of how she reacted when she reached that part in the novel.

The film “Twilight” opened today at midnight and while Kinser is anticipating the film, she said she realizes it will probably not be as good as the book.

Kinser said if the movie turns out to be not what she expected, “I’ll be OK. I’ll just re-read the books a few times and everything will be fine.”

Freshman history major Hunter

KYLE MOIR/SPPS

Freshman history major Hunter Davis shows off his Zune player, complete with the ‘Twilight’ soundtrack. Davis went to the midnight premiere of the movie last night at Regal New River Valley Stadium 14 Christiansburg. series, he re-read “Fahrenheit 451,” and explored “The Grapes of Wrath” for the first time.

Davis said he has no real complaints about the books, but sometimes finds that physical relations aren’t well explained. For example, the vampires

are able to drive their cars at incredibly fast speeds without crashing.

Davis said he is excited to see the film and hopes it rivals the book in terms of quality.

He attended one of the midnight showings of the film at the Regal New

• M as lis • Su oney t • Ex ccess • Fu perie n nce

Junior human development major Amanda Kinser was supposed to be studying for a class on family relationships when she started reading the first book of the “Twilight” series. Kinser learned more about family relationships, just in a different way.

Her sister, mother and grandmother have read the books and have become enthralled with the international saga.

The “Twilight” series focuses on the relationship between vampire Edward Cullen and teenager Bella Swan.

Edward is one of the “good vampires” who only drink animal blood, never imbibing the human variety.

“I never thought I would like a book about vampires,” Kinser said. “I found out that I love vampires.”

She is not alone. About 17 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide.

Kinser was perusing through Facebook bumper sticker’s last spring, when she stumbled upon sticker that read, “Cedric Diggory died and came back as Edward Cullen.” The sticker refers to actor Robert Pattison who portrayed Cedric in the Harry Potter films and is now taking on the role of the lead male character in the “Twilight” movie, Edward Cullen.

Kinser said Edward is one of the characters who made her love the series.

“You fall in love with Edward Cullen.

You really do,” she said.

Kinser said “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer writes Edward “with

Davis was the first one to introduce the “Twilight” series to his family. His mother, sister and aunt have all read them.

Davis is a self-described “Twihard” or a die-hard fan of the fantasy novels.

He was looking at movie Web site imdb.com and found something about the “Twilight” film. After he saw that, he put the books on reserve at his local public library. After waiting five weeks for the novel, he read “Twilight” in two days.

“I was shocked at how good it was,” Davis said. “Each chapter has its own climax — a profound moment of suspense that always provides enjoyment.”

While some of the novels’ critics say that author Meyer’s writing style is too simple, Davis likes Meyer’s conversational approach.

“You feel like you’re in the conversation itself,” Davis said.

Meyer’s style sometime hides things about the characters, and sometimes brings out unknown facts, he said.

Davis said he liked reading about Edward and Bella’s relationship and appreciates the complexity of Edward’s character.

“He has a lust for Bella’s blood, but he loves her,” Davis said.

For Davis, the relationships the characters have mirror real-life pairings. “(The books) have proven to be a great influence in my life. They’ve proven to be very helpful,” Davis said.

“It tears in the soul.”

Reading the “Twilight” books has made him want to expand his literary horizons. After reading the fantasy

istm

ct features reporter

a lot of passion.”

Besides the romance between Edward and Bella, Kinser said she likes the humor in the books — which Kinser sees in Bella’s sarcasm and oneliners — as well as the depth of Meyer’s characters.

Kinser said she thought the fourth book in the series, “Breaking Dawn,” was bizarre at times and hard to get through.

While on their honeymoon, Bella becomes pregnant with a baby who is half human and half vampire.

Chr

TERESA TOBAT

River Valley Stadium 14 Christiansburg, wearing a “Twilight” T-shirt as opposed to an elaborate costume.

For sophomore accounting major Mandy Grivnovics, the “Twilight”

see TWILIGHT, page B2

page B1

friday, november 21, 2008

The man under fire: Stinespring weathers public ire ED LUPIEN

ct sports reporter There’s no denying the fact that offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring has come under heavy fire from the media and fans in recent years for, what some consider, questionable play calling and lack of offensive production.

But Stinespring has kept his position throughout all the condemnation and has remained in good standing with head coach Frank Beamer, STINESPRING who has stuck by his offensive coordinator since Stinespring was promoted to the position in December of 2001.

Beamer even successfully lobbied for a five-year contract for Stinespring several years ago.

“If anybody can come into my office Friday afternoon and convince me he’s more knowledgeable than Bryan Stinespring, I’ll listen to him,” Beamer said in a press conference earlier this season. “Until then, I’m going to continue to listen to Bryan.”

Stinespring joined the Tech coaching staff in 1990 as a graduate student after coaching four years of high school football.

“I came to Tech to get my master’s degree and try to get some collegiate coaching experience,” Stinespring said.

“I did that for two years in hopes to make an impression on coach Beamer.

After the 1992 season, I was hired onto the staff. It was one of the best days in my life.”

Since Stinespring’s first season as offensive coordinator in 2002, Tech’s total offensive numbers have slowly declined. The Hokies have only had a top-40 offense once in the last seven years and ranked 99th and 100th

nationally in total offensive yards in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Because the Hokies’ offense featured several NFLcaliber players such as wide receivers David Clowney and Eddie Royal and running back Branden Ore in the past two seasons, much of the blame was placed on Stinespring for poor statistics.

“A lot of people pay attention to stats and where you are in comparison to other teams,” Stinespring said. “All I really get caught up in, though, is how we’re doing record-wise. If you’re doing a nice job on offensive, defense and special teams, then the only stat that really matters is the final outcome of the game.”

This season, however, the offensive numbers have been even lower than the average under Stinespring. Currently, Tech is ranked 113th out of 119 Division I-A teams in the country with 280 yards per game of total offense. The Hokies have also averaged 120 passing yards, good for 112th in the country.

“I think the reason for the poor statistics from the offense is that we’re not getting yardage in chunks,” Stinespring said. “We’ve had a tough time coming by the big plays — whether it’s running the ball, throwing the ball or yards after catch. We’ve only had a few plays this season that have gone for 20 or more yards. I think some of it is due to inexperience and injuries, and some of it is due to our inability to explode.

When you’re not capitalizing on those big time plays, I think those absence of yards adds up.”

Amidst the decline in production from his offense, Stinespring’s coaching philosophy remains simple.

“My goal is to put our players in a position to be successful on and off the field,” Stinespring said. “I try to do the best I can preparing the players that I’ve been put in charge of. I try to make sure I’ve placed them in a fundamental situation in which they’re going to be successful come Saturday.”

Stinespring claims that he focuses solely on this objective. He has repeatedly insisted that he does not pay attention to the assessments from the media or fans.

“I don’t know how you pay attention to negative criticism,” Stinespring said.

“It is just part of this game. I’m not going to get on ‘www.’ and see what everybody else is saying. I don’t have time for that.

If I did, I would probably play with my kids instead. When you start paying attention to criticism, I think you are taking away your attention from what your responsibilities are. My responsibilities are to prepare my players for success.”

One of the most influential sources of criticism toward Stinespring has been a Web site bluntly titled “Fire Bryan Stinespring” (firebryanstinespring.blogs pot.com). The site has been dedicated to critiquing the weekly performance of Stinespring, while suggesting more suitable coaches for the job of offensive coordinator.

“If anybody can come into my office Friday afternoon and convince me he’s more knowledgeable than Bryan Stinespring, I’ll listen to him.”

- FRANK BEAMER HEAD COACH The “Hokie Guru,” a Tech alum and football season ticket holder, is the site’s creator.

“If we want to get beyond a 50-50 shot of getting into the ACC title game (much less win the title), Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games, and potentially the national championship game, we have no choice but to replace our offensive coordinator, Bryan Stinespring,” said the Hokie Guru, who wished to keep

his identity concealed.

The site was created in January on the night the Hokies lost to the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2007 FedEx Orange Bowl. It has since gained exposure from several sources of media, especially from those who wish to cite an example of the pulsating support for Stinespring’s resignation or termination of his contract.

“I honestly don’t even keep track of how many hits the site gets,” the Hokie Guru said. “I do know that my site is the first one that comes up when one searches on ‘Fire Bryan Stinespring.’ It was also mentioned in the Lincoln Star Journal.”

The site has strongly grown in popularity since the 2008 season started, with the Hokie Guru posting more because of what he considers to be unacceptable offensive performances.

“In our game against Western Kentucky University this year, we managed only 243 yards total offense,” the Hokie Guru said. “Western Kentucky University is a team in its first year in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Also, in our losses to Boston College and Florida State, Tech’s offense managed only 240 and 243 yards, respectively. Tech has also not had a wide receiver catch a touchdown pass this year.”

Stinespring’s most dedicated critic did, however, commend the offensive coordinator on his recruiting skills. Prior to becoming the team’s offensive coordinator, Stinespring was the Hokies’ recruiting coordinator for eight years.

“If the Hokies replace Bryan Stinespring, the offensive coordinator, they also have to replace his ability to recruit,” the Hokie Guru said.

But the Hokie Guru believes the burden that Stinespring bears as the team’s offensive coordinator outweighs the success he’s had as a recruiter.

“Tech has the single most predictable offense in the country,” the Hokie

Guru said. “Stinespring clearly does not change schemes from week to week.

The misdirection in the Florida State game was one of the rare changes I have seen this year. Tech’s offense is the easiest offense to prepare for in the country. It seems that it is based on a mobile QB running for his life.

“When something is working, however, like the running game did against Kansas in the second quarter of the 2008 Orange Bowl, Stinespring abandons it.”

Stinespring’s peers are aware of the media and public’s view and do not endorse it.

“People are on him all the time,” said associate head coach and running backs coach Billy Hite. “It’s wrong. I think the people who are on him don’t know if the ball is a balloon or stuffed.

He’s everything you’re looking for in a football coach. What he means to this football team is immeasurable.”

The Hokies currently rank first in the nation in turnover differential, having the best ratio of turnovers on offense to turnovers created on defense in the country.

Tech has remained at the top of this category for most of the season. This stat, however, is continually disregarded, as the Hokies have not reached the end zone on many of the turnovers that they have created, scoring 20 offensive touchdowns this season — good for 100th in the country.

Perhaps the best rationale for lack of offensive production and an explanation that could justify Stinespring’s performance as the team’s offensive coordinator this season could be the fact that he has had to work with only four returning starters on this year’s offense. In addition, three of the Hokies’ four top receivers this season are freshmen.

“In our last six games last year, when we started to protect up front better, we threw the ball pretty well,” Hite said.

“We have a young group of receivers right now. Everything is not going to be perfect. But a year from now, we’re going to be a heck of a lot better. Some of those people complaining right now will stop soon because it’s not going to be this way next year.”

Stinespring was the offensive coordinator during quarterback Bryan Randall’s 2001-04 tenure. Randall is Tech’s all-time leading passer, and holds school records with 6,508 career yards passing and 48 career touchdowns.

Stinespring was also the offensive coordinator with Tech’s top two career receiving leaders, Ernest Wilford (200003) and Eddie Royal (2004-07), who caught 126 and 122 passes, respectively. during their collegiate careers.

“He understands the game of football,” Hite said. “Not only does he do a great job coaching, he does a great job calling plays and recruiting. The kids that he’s signed in this program have been absolutely unbelievable. He’s a loyal and dedicated guy. … This game means so much to him and he does everything he possibly can to make sure the Hokies win on game day. He spends 90-plus hours a week preparing our team to win.”

Even though some criticize his play calling as at times predictable — including Tech linebacker Purnell Sturdivant, according to a Roanoke Times article printed on Wednesday — Stinespring continues to see potential for success in every play he calls.

“Of course I wish I had some plays I’ve called back sometimes,” Stinespring said. “That’s just part of coaching, though. You always want to be in a perfect scenario and part of the game plan week-to-week is preparing plays that have opportunities for success. There’s always opportunity for success after the play has been designed and after the defense aligns itself, though. I’m never going to call a play that doesn’t have a chance for success.”

Tech routs North Carolina Central Hokies defeat Fairfield, RYAN TRAPP

ct sports staff writer Tech snatched a lead right off the opening tip and never looked back in an 81-45 trouncing of North Carolina Central at Cassell Coliseum.

The Hokies’ (3-0) bench kept an early lead safe and sound in scoring 40 points on the night. Junior guard Lakeisha Logan leaped off her seat to ignite Tech with a team-leading 19 points, draining three of five from behind the arc, all on her birthday.

“You’re always excited on your birthday,” said Logan. “I was happy it could translate to the court. It was just fun to come out and be in that rhythm.”

The win over the Lady Eagles (0-3) saw a consumate team effort, with scoring come from 10 different Tech players.

“We have a very deep bench,” Tech head coach Beth Dunkenberger said.

“We want our players not to just fill in while someone takes a break, but step it up and make a difference in the game.”

In its first ever match-up with the Lady Eagles, Tech fired off to a hot start right from the get-go, launching a 9-2 run in the first five minutes of the game. It continued to expand on its lead, establishing a comfortable 22point cushion at halftime, 42-22.

Tech continued its relentless onslaught in the second half, finishing the game with a season high in points.

The Hokies’ stifling defense, which hasn’t allowed more than 54 points over its past three contests, continued to play a huge factor. With the combination of centers Brittany Gordon and Amber Hall policing the interior, Tech amassed seven blocks and 16 defensive rebounds in the first half

alone.

Hall, a 6’2” senior, and Gordon, a 6’4” sophomore, each notched three blocks. The Lady Eagles would sport a season-low 29.6 field goal percentage for the game.

Gordon led the Hokies with seven boards on the night while Utahya Drye added 6. Tech outrebounded NC Central by a 40-27 margin.

Tech dominated the interior throughout on offense as well, scoring 28 in the first half and allowing the Lady Eagles only two points from the paint.

Fast breaks were key throughout the game. Tech’s forced a number of awkward and blocked shots, leading to several fast break opportunities.

Capitalizing off these, Tech was able to tally 15 against the Lady Eagles in transition.

“We’ve tried to put an emphasis on our ability to move the ball and score in transition,” Dunkenberger said. “I feel like the practice we’ve put in came through in a big way tonight.

Showing they were able to score from anywhere on the court, the Hokies shot 60 percent from the field in the first half, and their unselfish demeanor lead to an ACC seasonhigh 27 assists and 63.2 team field goal percentage.

Freshman standouts and fellow roommates Brittany Lewis and Shanel Harrison continued to show their promise.

“They have a chemistry that’s still a little raw,” Dunkenberger said, “But it’s showing more and more development as the season has gone on.”

Free-throw shooting posed a bit of a problem for the Hokies, as they shot only 44 percent from the line in the first half, going 4-9. They continued to struggle from the line throughout, finishing with only five points in 12

advance in Puerto Rico THOMAS EMERICK & BRIAN WRIGHT

ct sports editors

CHRIS STACK/SPPS

The Hokies’ Brittany Gordon battles for a rebound with North Carolina Central’s Jori Nwachukwu. Gordon grabbed a game-high seven boards. trips to the line.

Blaire Houston led the way for UNCC, scoring 15 points, and Jori Nwachukwu also put up impressive numbers with 14 points and six rebounds.

One category NC Central prevailed was steals, winning by an 8-7 total.

Shani Grey has fit in quite well replacing injured guard Brittany Cook, who is out for the season due

to surgery on her right knee. She posted seven points and three assists in the first half alone.

“As a team we all felt like we needed to step up to cover the loss of a great player,” said Logan. “We’ve been able to do a great job of it so far.”

In its first road test of the season, Tech next travels to Fairfax, Va., to face George Mason on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Tech men's basketball team pulled away to a victory over the Fairfield Stags, 74-57, in the opening round of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off, played in San Juan.

Senior and Toa Baja native A.D. Vassallo led all scorers with 24 points, shooting nine-of-16 from the field.

“I thought that A.D. made some really nice basketball plays,” said head coach Seth Greenberg. “I’m happy he’s on my team.”

A 15-point first-half lead by the Hokies was trimmed to nine at intermission.

Tech scored the first five points of the second half, but that was countered by an 11-2 run to cut the margin to four points with just over 12 minutes remaining, but Tech — now 3-0 on the young season — took control after that. It responded with a 9-0 run to help them pull away from Fairfield.

Freshman Victor Davila, also from Puerto Rico, had a perfect shooting day. In 17 minutes, Davila, from Canovanas, scored nine points and grabbed two rebounds.

“I think Victor Davila has a chance to be really special,” Greenberg said.

“He just has a real good feel of how to play. When he gets more aggressive, where he can help Jeff rebound the ball, he has a chance to be really good.”

Jeff Allen tagged on another 18 points while leading the Hokies in both rebounds (eight) and blocks

(five). Tech had eight blocks total.

Fresh off a clutch second-half shooting performance in a close victory over Mount St. Mary’s on Monday, Malcolm Delaney notched 10 points and four assists.

The Stags, out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, were held to a 37 percent shooting effort from the field, while Tech was at just over 56 percent — a season high.

The Hokies also won the rebounding battle, 32-30.

“We made stops and then made some plays,” Greenberg said. “When we get stops, we were pretty good.

We still have to get better defensively, but we got some stops.”

Forward Greg Nero came off the bench to pace Fairfield with 13 points and six boards, both team bests. Herbie Allen added 11, while Anthony Johnson scored 10 points for the 1-2 Stags.

With sophomore J.T. Thompson sidelined for the third consecutive game after undergoing surgery on an inguinal hernia, the Hokies trotted out a starting lineup of Allen, Vassallo, Delaney, Dorenzo Hudson and Cheick Diakite.

Diakite tallied seven points and four rebounds in 21 minutes of play, while Hudson did not score — attempting only two field goals — in 19 minutes, but did record two rebounds and an assist.

The Hokies will face Xavier — who reached the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA Tournament — in the second round on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

The 3-0 Musketeers topped Missouri in their first round contest by a score of 75-71.

Friday’s game will be televised on ESPNU.

EQUAL HOUSING

OPPORTUNITY

page B2

friday, november 21, 2008

Consumers hesitate to buy Blu-ray players AARON BARNHART

mcclatchy newspapers Feb. 19, 2008, was supposed to be a watershed day in the history of home entertainment.

That was the day consumers could finally march into stores and buy the next generation of DVD player with confidence that they hadn’t just blown $400 on the digital equivalent of the Betamax machine.

It was the day Toshiba announced it was throwing in the towel on its HDDVD format, one of two competing standards for encoding discs for highdefinition video. After two years of rivalry, HD-DVD had lost the format wars to Blu-ray, a standard backed by Sony.

Named for the bluish laser used to etch the data, Blu-ray had a disc capacity five times greater than its predecessor, enough to hold the mass of information needed to play super-sharp HD video with state-of-the-art sound.

Toshiba’s surrender freed the tens of millions of us with HDTV sets to jump off the fence and go get that high-def DVD experience we’d been waiting for.

Funny thing: Here it is nearly nine months later, and almost everybody is

still sitting on that fence.

We’re still looking at it,” said Jim Waddick of Kansas City, who owns a 62-inch projection TV and home theater system. He sees the $200 to $300 price tags on Blu-ray players, and the limited choice of models, and wonders if Hollywood really is on board with this latest shiny-disc format.

One reason there hasn’t been a run on Blu-ray players is that not that many titles are out on Blu-ray discs. Tens of thousands of movies and TV shows have been released on DVD, but the number of Blu-ray titles available hasn’t even cracked the 1,000 mark (though it will by Christmas).

“It’s important to remember that it’s still a very new technology,” said Shawn DuBravac, an economist with the Consumer Electronics Association.

“And not every product is meant to have the adoption rate of DVD players. You probably won’t see that with Blu-ray.”

So why invest in one?

From personal experience, I can say that Blu-ray delivers a top-of-the-line home theater experience that meets or exceeds the sensory effect of watching network shows like “CSI” and “24” in high def. Blu-ray discs hold a gargantuan amount of data – 50 gigabytes per

disc, or the equivalent of more than 10 DVD-R discs – which means that video quality need not be compromised.

Online services and cable and satellite TV all compress HD video to make the download times faster. Compressed video is often noticeably less sharp and fluid than uncompressed video. That’s obvious to most people who compare the video quality of Blu-ray to downloads (or even HD movie channels like HBO and Starz).

It’s worth remembering that most Americans picked the inferior VCR format over Betamax and that laser discs never really caught on, and that when people first brought HDTVs into their basements, it was to watch standarddefinition movies and TV programs on their big screens; even when high-def cable was available, many didn’t spring for it. Superior video quality is nice, but price and convenience matter, too.

After Blu-ray won the format war, Microsoft raised the white flag. The software and video game giant had supported the losing HD-DVD format in its Xbox consoles but has repeatedly denied any plans to switch to Blu-ray.

Instead, Microsoft says it will support digital downloads.

Even when price isn’t a factor, con-

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sumers are balking on Blu-ray.

Take Jim Waddick. In addition to three dozen high-def channels available through Time Warner Cable, Waddick can rent HD movies through Time Warner’s video-on-demand service. He even has a Mac mini hooked up to his TV for downloading and watching HD titles straight from the Internet.

Robert Bruce, proprietor of SoundFX in Kansas City, said his high-end customers are asking about download services more than they are about Blu-ray.

One such service, which is on display prominently in his showroom, is the Vudu box. This small, Internet-connected appliance can instantly download more than 10,000 movies and TV shows at fees that start at 99 cents. Vudu has more than 1,100 high-definition downloads starting at $4, which means its HD library is larger than the total number of Blu-ray titles on the market.

“We want Blu-ray to succeed, we really do,” Bruce said. “But the feedback we get from our customers is that there aren’t that many titles that grab you. If the ‘Star Wars’ trilogy was out (on Blu-ray), if all the ‘Lord of the Rings’ were out, and were really well done, people would be telling us, ‘I’ve gotta have that.’”

That could start to change this holiday season. For instance, the animated hit “WALL-E” won’t be offered in HD on Vudu, but it will be available on Blu-ray discs. If studios start favoring Blu-ray in that fashion, it would probably have an effect similar to when Tower Records stopped carrying, well, records.

And the CEA’s DuBravac argues that Hollywood hasn’t begun to exploit the full potential of Blu-ray. With its massive storage, for instance, “you can actually have the director’s picture superimposed over the movie, pointing things out” — in other words, a video commentary track. (Or perhaps even a hologram — what “Star Wars” nut wouldn’t like to see the image of George Lucas beamed into his own film?)

With retailers desperate to avoid the holiday blues, it still may be a Blu-ray Christmas after all.

At an average $315, the cost of the average Blu-ray player has declined 14 percent in the last year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. Still, $315 is several times the sticker price of a typical first-generation DVD player.

Price cuts should be announced in the next couple of weeks, as retailers fearful of a soft holiday shopping season do whatever they can to get customers into stores. Blu-ray players under $200 should soon become a common sight.

Even so, the CEA estimates only 1.7 million of the new devices will be sold in 2008 but projects sales will triple in 2009, to 5.8 million units.

Twilight: A biting Vampire love story

KYLE MOIR/SPPS

Davis poses with his collection of books from the ‘Twilight’ saga, including ‘New Moon,’ ‘Eclipse,’ and ‘Breaking Dawn.’ from page six

series was introduced to her by her younger sister. Grivnovics gave into her sister’s pleas and read the books.

Except for a little trouble getting through the first few chapters of the first book, she was hooked.

“There are so many stories about vampires ... this is a more humanistic approach. They can go out in the sunlight and they don’t sleep in coffins.”

-MANDY GRIVNOVICS ACCOUNTING MAJOR The element that kept her reading was “The amazing romance that I think any girl in the world would love to have in real life.”

Grivnovics said Edward is “the perfect male specimen.”

While she said she enjoys the complexity of Bella and Edward’s relationship, their bond is too simple and easy

at times.

Grivnovics said she didn’t like how Meyer switched points of view in the fourth book, from Bella’s to another character’s at a pivotal moment in Bella’s story.

“There are so many stories about vampires,” she said. “This is a more humanistic approach. They can go out in the sunlight and they don’t sleep in coffins.”

Grivnovics attended the midnight premiere in Christiansburg last night.

However, she had a different actor in mind to play Edward because “his hair is too big,” Grivnovics said. “It’s ridiculous.”

She also said that because Edward isn’t human and is described by Meyer as perfect, it’s difficult to find someone like that.

Grivnovics said she has never been to Washington, where the majority of the story is set, and is looking forward to the film’s scenic takes.

“I’m sure they’ll be many people that hate it and people that love it,” Grivnovics said of the film. “At least give it a shot.”

page B3

friday, november 21, 2008

MANASA VALIPA/SPPS

Patrons look at Judith Leiber Handbags’s collection on the second floor in the Shaftman Gallery. Held in the “arms” of an off-white colored tree-like sculpture are orbs which hold clutches and other accessories in the shapes of a piece of candy, a rose and a monkey’s head. Each piece has been decorated with tiny crystals that sparkle in the light.

Taking a closer look at Taubman TERESA TOBAT

ct features reporter Junior computer science major Sabrina Kilian collaborated on an art project that is now being exhibited in the same museum as works by Norman Rockwell and Jasper Johns. The museum is Roanoke’s newest addition to the art community, the Taubman Museum of Art. Kilian and a group of artists, musicians and computer scientists of the Digital Art Research Collective at Virginia Tech have created an electronic arts exhibition, titled “Revo:over,” which is currently displayed in the MediaLab on the second floor of the museum.

“Revo:over” is a work that reveals itself through participation. There are five works of art inside the dark room that is the MediaLab. Each work of art interacts with the others and responds to actions including touch, motion, sound and silence.

Kilian contributed to the “Dome Garden” part of Revo. The Dome Garden looks like half a dome that has been placed on top of a cylinder. The dome is made out of skylight glass and measures approximately four feet across. Inside the dome are digital fish that “swim” to whoever happens to be moving over the glass.

Kilian began working on this project this past summer.

“I’ve been thrilled to work on it,” Kilian said, who went to the Taubman’s opening day. “I have a piece in a museum opening.

It’s going to be one of those days I hold onto for a long time.”

Kilian was responsible for the technical aspect of the project and wrote code for Flash player to create the fish program and said while this code isn’t the longest she’s ever written, it was the most challenging. There’s a camera positioned above the dome that sends a signal to the fish telling them to swim if the camera senses movement.

On the museum’s opening day, Kilian watched as people interpreted the dome in different ways. She said there is no correct interpretation.

“I think it’s about gesture,” Kilian said of the art project. “…People want to understand art. People say they get art. I don’t know if this has an ‘it.’”

Kilian worked alongside Simone Paterson, an assistant professor of new media, to create the finished dome. Paterson taught Kilian and asked her to come on board after seeing her work.

Paterson worked on the concept design, 3D modeling and graphics as well as the sound and music of the dome. The concept of the dome comes from rock pools that are found in Paterson’s native country, Australia.

“Looking into a rock pool is like looking into a different world,” Paterson said.

Paterson created the 3D fish and had to keep the fish simple so as not to overload the computer with information. She also supplied music for the dome. When the dome senses movement, you can hear the sound of Paterson playing the harp. She said the process of creating the dome was both challenging and enjoyable.

“This is a world-class venue. It’s crazy it’s here in Roanoke,” Paterson said of the museum. “I think it will improve the profile of art in the area. Boost the art economy. Think of a place like New York where arts invigorate the community. They increase the value of the property. Art can do a lot for a community.”

The Taubman opened Nov. 8, and students and educators alike are hoping the museum will revitalize the art world of Southwest Virginia.

T. Truman Capone, head of the school of visual arts, said he was the “producer” of Revo and supplied a space in Christiansburg so the contributing artists could lay out their work in the approximate space they would have in the Taubman.

Capone said Revo represents how art is merging with technology.

“Five years ago, that would have been a problem,” Capone said of the blending. “But now traditional is mixing with contemporary and there’s e-painting and drawing.”

Capone said the region is becoming more “art conscience” and after 35 years in the area, he is excited to see that happen.

He also mentioned how art can be used as an educational tool.

“Collaboration deals with a big component of education,” Capone said. “How do we teach art to become critical and creative thinkers?”

As far as Tech’s future relationship with the museum, “We favor it,” Capone said. “They have to be flexible and we have to flexible.”

Kimberly S. Templeton, director of external affairs, said the museum would like to continue its relationship with Tech.

“You guys are such a resource. We are eager to develop a relationship with Tech,” Templeton said. “You are designing cutting-edge stuff.”

Hokie Stone is used in the interior and exterior of the Taubman, and Templeton said it was to show off the role Tech plays in Southwest Virginia.

“We are cemented to Virginia Tech through Hokie Stone,” Templeton said.

She also said she’d love to see feedback from students in the

TAUBMAN MUSEUM ADDRESS: 110 Salem Ave SE, Roanoke HOURS: Tues–Wed, Fri–Sat: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thurs: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday: Noon–5 p.m.

PRICES: General $8.50; Students with ID: $6.50; Groups of 10+ with tour: $7.50; Groups of 10+ without tour: $7 form of e-mails and speaking with the Taubman’s volunteers.

Virginia resident Mark Jenkins, a Tech alumnus, is one of the artists displayed in the museum.

Jenkins creates lifelike sculptures that he fashions out of packing tape and his girlfriend’s clothes. He places his creations in natural settings, such as streets in places around the world, including Washington, D.C., and Prato, Italy.

One of Jenkins’ sculptures had to be removed from its original location on an outdoor terrace of the Taubman because people thought there was a person precariously sitting on the edge and flooded the police with phone calls.

Jenkins said he wasn’t bothered by the removal of his statue.

“Most of my pieces have a short lifespan when they are out on the street,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins said his works were intentionally not given their own gallery to make viewers experience the full effect of his art.

“My pieces don’t have title cards in the museum. I’m not mentioned in many of the press releases. I wanted to play with people. I wanted to catch people off guard.”

His sculpture is of a man lying down in the fetal position on the floor in a corner of a gallery of 17th century Italian art wearing tennis shoes and a plaid button shirt.

The deputy director of the Taubman asked Jenkins to display his work in the Roanoke museum. Jenkins said it was nice to have a show that was located in close proximity to Blacksburg.

“They bring in a wide range of artists,” Jenkins said of the museum as a whole. “This opens up a lot of room for things to grow.”

Aimee Drysdale, a fifth-year senior graphic design major, was one of the 10,000 people who visited the Taubman on opening day.

Drysdale said the museum was neat and housed some unique art, including the exhibit Pens and Needles: Drawings for Tattoos.

The exhibit features different sketches for potential tattoos — including nautical themes, such as topless women and mystical creatures such as dragons. Hung up on one wall of the gallery is various tattoo drawings that includes the work of two tattoo artists from Blacksburg’s Hot Rod Tattoo.

“You don’t normally recognize tattoo artists,” Drysdale said.

She said she thought the museum would have more galleries.

She said would make return visits if she knew there would be new art.

Drysdale said she hopes the museum would help make Tech’s graphic design program more prominent.

“When I first got here, graphic design was small and no one cared about it,” Drysdale said. “Maybe people will start looking at our program.”

Senior art major Elyse Ward also visited the museum on opening day and said her overall impression of the museum was favorable.

“They had a variety of art,” Ward said. “Hopefully, people who aren’t into museums will go and see other people’s art.”

Ward said she liked seeing the work of more renowned artists that she was learning about in class alongside works by local artists. She has had dinner at the home of one of the artist’s currently displayed in the museum.

“It’s an amazing space,” Ward said of the 81,000 square foot building. “The architecture was phenomenal.”

When you first step inside the Taubman on the corner of Salem Avenue and Williamson Road in Roanoke, you find yourself standing in a 4,300-square-foot atrium. Above you is a triangular roof that is made out of a glass-looking material — which allows the light from outside to fill the lobby. The first floor also houses an auditorium, café and gift shop.

The floors of the atrium are a soft brown color and the whites are white. After you visit the front desk on your right when you first walk in, there is a glass composite staircase beside the counter that leads up to the second floor of the museum.

The staircase wraps around from the second floor to the first floor lobby, and when there is less light in the atrium, the stairs become gently illuminated by light underneath each step.

The walls of the second floor are bright white, except a few of the galleries — which are painted to complement the artwork inside.

Ward said she liked the Judith Leiber Handbags’s collection on the second floor. Leiber’s works are displayed in the Shaftman Gallery whose walls are painted black and contrast with the bright white light of the title card near the entrance of the gallery.

When asked whether she thought the museum would bring more art to Southwest Virginia, Ward said, “One can only hope.”

MANASA VALIPA/SPPS

A work titled Figure Hurlantes by Emile-Antoine Bourdelle. The piece is decorative and can be found in the early modern gallery.

MANASA VALIPA/SPPS

A roadside view of Roanoke’s newest addition, The Taubman Museum of Art.

MANASA VALIPA/SPPS

Tech alumnus Mark Jenkins creates sculptures that are so lifelike, such as the one pictured above, museum-goers peered over Jenkins’ statue, asking, “Is he OK?”

page B4

friday, november 21, 2008

SPEAK OF THE DEVILS

THE HOKIES MAY BE SENDING A CHRISTMAS CARD TO ATLANTA. THAT’S BECAUSE THE GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS, BY VIRTUE OF THEIR WIN THURSDAY AGAINST MIAMI, MAY HAVE HELPED GIFT-WRAP THEM AN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP BERTH. BUT, FIRST, THEY MUST WIN THEIR FINAL TWO CONTESTS AT LANE – THE FIRST OF WHICH COMES AGAINST DUKE. WITH FOUR WINS THIS YEAR, THEY HAVE ALREADY EQUALED THEIR TOTAL NUMBER OF VICTORIES FROM 2004-2007. HOWEVER, THEY MAY BE WITHOUT STARTING QUARTERBACK THADDEUS LEWIS, WHOSE STATUS IS UP IN THE AIR AFTER SUFFERING A FOOT INJURY LAST WEEK AGAINST CLEMSON.

Key players Key Player: LB 34 Michael Tauiliili 5-11, 235, Sr

Blue Devil Defense

The ACC’s leading tackler – with 111 – also has two interceptions and three forced fumbles. This senior from Houston is a major reason why the Blue Devils have improved on defense this season.

Hokie Offense

Key Player: Offensive Line

Neither Sean Glennon nor Tyrod Taylor received good pass protection in the Hokies’ loss to Miami, as the Hurricanes racked up a season-high seven sacks. The offensive front must also block well for running back Darren Evans, who had just 43 yards in 17 carries last week.

Hokies, Blue Devils to duke it out; Despite injuries, Blue Devils press on Tech tries to extend series reign BEN COHEN

the chronicle

MATT COSTELLO

ct sports reporter Hokie fans may shouldn’t check Duke off as an easy victory.

The Blue Devils may have the worse record in the Atlantic Coast Conference (1-5), but they’re still responsible for big wins over Virginia and the previously ranked Vanderbilt Commodores.

Head coach Frank Beamer recognizes that the era of Duke as doormat in the ACC may soon be over.

“Beating teams like Virginia and Vanderbilt shows Duke is a team that plays hard,” Beamer said.

Even with the two solid victories, the Blue Devils are currently on a three-game losing streak against ACC opponents. Last week, they suffered a rough 31-7 loss against the Clemson Tigers and in the process lost star quarterback Thaddeus Lewis to a sprained ankle.

Lewis’ status for the game against the Hokies is still questionable. With him potentially out of the lineup, the Duke offense could suffer. Lewis currently leads the ACC in touchdown passes with 14 and is ranked third in passing yardage per game, averaging 189. Duke wide out Eron Riley might be much less effective as a result of Lewis’ absence. Riley has seven touchdown receptions on the year and averages 63 yards receiving per game.

Leading the Blue Devil offense if Lewis is unable to perform would be junior Zack Asack, who saw significant playing time last weekend against Clemson. Asack finished the game completing 10 of 22 passes for 61 yards along with one touchdown and two interceptions. In his entire career at Duke, Asack has totaled seven passing scores and 10 picks.

More pressure will be put on Asack and the passing game now that running back Clifford Davis is out. Asack — also a threat to run — must find a way to move the football against a Hokie defense that is coming off a solid performance last week against the Miami Hurricanes. The Hokies’ defense allowed just one touchdown and forced the Hurricanes to settle for three field goals.

Quietly leading the Hokies’ defense in total tackles this season is Purnell Sturdivant, who has 71. The statistics may not show how much improvement the Tech defense has made, but the senior linebacker has recognized the significant improvement.

“As the season went on, we developed more chemistry on

defense,” Sturdivant said. “Just because we lost last weekend, we still played great defense.”

The Hokies’ defense will be up against a Duke offense that has averaged 22 points per game this season, with much of it through the air. Tech’s pass defense has been up and down all season, intercepting opposing quarterbacks nine times this season while allowing 10 touchdowns.

On the offensive side of the ball for Tech, Beamer has not announced whether he will use the dual-threat quarterback system with Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon or plug Taylor back in as the full-time starter.

Glennon finished the game against the ’Canes throwing for 98 yards, and completing six of eight attempts, while Taylor threw for 75 yards to go along with 43 yards rushing and two touchdowns with his legs. The offense overall struggled the entire game, only managing 250 yards of total offense followed by six punts.

Tech was unable to establish the running game against the Hurricanes’ front seven — only producing 77 yards on the ground. Freshman tailback Darren Evans only managed 43 yards on 17 carries in the defeat. Beamer and the offensive coaching staff recognized the problems with the running attack after watching the game film.

“We didn’t block consistently enough, and we just lost the individual battles upfront,” Beamer said.

The Hokies will try to duplicate their rushing performance of two weeks ago against the Maryland Terrapins when they produced 273 yards. The Duke defense currently ranks 10th in the ACC when it comes to rushing defense, allowing 145 yards per game. If the Tech offensive line wins the battle upfront, Duke could be in for a long game.

Anchoring the Blue Devils defense is senior middle linebacker Michael Tauiliili, who is the ACC leader in tackles with 111 on the season already. Tauiliili will try to keep the Hokies’ rushing offense out of the end zone as Tech has 17 rushing touchdowns on the year.

After losing their third consecutive road game, the Hokies return home, as the remainder of their regular season — including the finale versus Virginia — will be played at Lane Stadium. The players know it’s a comforting feeling to play in front of the home crowd.

“Anytime you get to play at home it’s big,” said redshirt junior safety Dorian Porch. “Getting back to playing in front of our fans is good for us.”

The contest against the Blue Devils will kick off around 5:30 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU.

Starting quarterback Thaddeus Lewis didn’t practice Tuesday, starting running back Clifford Harris will be sidelined with a broken arm Saturday and the real starting running back, Re’quan Boyette, has missed all season with a broken leg. Duke’s wide receiving corps has been subject to change almost every week, and its four-member secondary could be composed of two backups in tomorrow’s game against Virginia Tech.

Three weeks ago, head coach David Cutcliffe welcomed his team to November, the month that he said would define the Blue Devils. So far, it has only managed to injure them.

A 0-3 November record has turned the once-surging Blue Devils into a reeling squad seemingly destined to anchor the bottom of the ACC once again.

But it has also battered more than just Duke’s bowl chances.

“Every team has injuries — it’s just the course of the season,” said offensive tackle Kyle Hill. “Especially toward the end of the season, people get bumps and bruises.

Every team goes through the same thing.”

Duke might feel this effect more acutely than others, though, because more of its skill players have been hindered with injuries.

Lewis left Duke’s 31-7 loss to Clemson Saturday in the first quarter with a foot sprain. He’s listed as day-to-day, but the starting play caller did not practice Tuesday, and much of Cutcliffe’s Tuesday press conference was devoted to questions about his backup, Zack Asack.

Cutcliffe announced that Harris — the team’s leading rusher — who emerged as the starter when Boyette went down in the summer, will be out of Saturday’s game, but could return for the Blue Devils’ regular season finale against North Carolina Oct. 29.

Five of Duke’s top wide receivers — Eron Riley, Austin Kelly, Raphael Chestnut, Johnny Williams and Donovan Varner — have all been hampered by some sort of ailment this year. All but Riley have missed at least one game, even though the entire stable is relatively healthy now.

Duke announced that cornerback Leon Wright would miss the rest of the season Oct. 30 after the junior reaggravated a left hamstring injury. Cornerback Jabari Marshall is also day-to-day, and defensive end Wesley

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Oglesby has missed three of the last four games with a leg injury.

Getting nicked up and worn down at the end of the season is natural for a college football player, but the injury bug that has bitten Duke has been on the severe side.

“We’ve always had guys beat up,” Asack said, who will start if Lewis is unable to play Saturday. “But in one game with a lot of our starters being hurt and getting hurt — I don’t think I’ve seen it in a long time. Guys have been playing their butts off, so you kind of expect it the way they’ve been playing, but it’s unfortunate.”

And it doesn’t help that the teeth of the Blue Devils’ schedule was reserved for the end of November.

Clemson, Virginia Tech and North Carolina were billed as three of the ACC’s top four teams at the beginning of the season, and while none of those teams are in first place in the topsy-turvy league, their talent base and athletic play is still mostly superior to Duke’s.

Add in the fact that the Blue Devils haven’t had a bye week since Oct. 11, and the injuries and lack of chance to recover starts to result in more lopsided losses.

“It was like the ACC said, ‘We’re going to put you through a test your first year,’” Cutcliffe said of his team’s slate. “We play seven games in a row to end the year, five of those are in November and all five of them are big, critical ACC games. We could’ve used an open date somewhere along the way, but we didn’t get that, didn’t draw that card.

We just have to play with what we’ve got.”

Which, right now, is less than what Duke had in August.

And just as Asack was forced to fill in on one tackle’s notice Saturday, more of Duke’s backups have been called on to replace ailing starters as the season has progressed.

It gives credence to Cutcliffe’s telling his reserves that they need to be ready, but it’s still not ideal.

Cutcliffe said he won’t burn any redshirts by inserting players who haven’t seen the field yet — the most relevant case being that of highly touted quarterback Sean Renfree. Now, in addition to preparing for a win, he has to hope the Blue Devils remain as healthy as they are against the Hokies and Tar Heels, because the list of replacements is thinning by the game.

“I try to keep it away from my brain,” safety Glenn Williams said of the possibility of going down with an injury. “It’s just a part of college football — you take the good with the bad.”

Ben Cohen is the sports editor of Duke University’s student newspaper, The Chronicle.