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wednesday march 4, 2009 blacksburg, va.
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sports RE GETS ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS For the second time this year, Tech tennis player Yoann Re has been named the ACC Player of the Week. The junior won both of his singles matches this weekend, including a victory over No. 6 Dominic Inglot of Virginia. Re, who won this same award last month, has a dual match record of 9-0.
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Classifieds..............6 Sports....................7 Sudoku..................6 An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 106th year • issue 26
C/G The Virginia Tech Transportation Department predicts that parking prices will increase $30 for the 2009-10 school year with a 20 to 30 percent increase by fall 2010. Parking pass prices are predicted to rise between $300 and $400 total within the next four years. Jessy Miller, female member at large for the class of 2011 and co-director for constituent outreach, said the Transportation Department informed SGA House and Senate members of the changes at a Transportation Summit, held on Tuesday, Feb. 17. These increases aim to relieve the costs of the Perry Street Parking Deck, with construction scheduled to begin in July 2009. This will be Tech’s first-ever parking structure, providing more than 1,300 parking spaces. Its location will be in the Perry Street and Prices Fork commuter parking lot. Steve Mouras, director of transportation and campus services, said in order to pay for the new parking garage, Tech has to take out a loan that it plans on paying back over a 20-year period. The maintenance of one parking garage usually amounts to about $1.7 million to $2 million annually, Mouras said, so Tech has to space out expenses over several years. Each new parking garage addition will cause a $100 increase in the cost of parking passes. According to Tech’s Web site, the Perry Street Parking Deck is intended to be “aesthetically interesting, functionally efficient and extremely safe. It is supposed to be somewhat open, allowing light and airflow through.” The exterior of the parking lot is likely to be built of Hokie Stone and architectural concrete, along with glass at the exterior of the staircases and elevators. The new parking structure will be situated in the Prices Fork parking lot near Bishop Favrao Hall. The project is a design-build, meaning that the architecture and engineering firm, along with the contractor, develop a design together. An average parking garage takes between 14 and 16 months to build. Miller said there was a proposal to create a system where people who use the garage would pay more for parking passes. However, this proposal was rejected. Mouras said that Tech is one of the only
ct news staff writer Virginia Tech’s Office of Emergency Management has partnered with the Tech Police Department to create a one-page instructional document on classroom emergency preparedness. When released, the emergency preparedness document was meant as a consideration for instructors to supplement to their syllabi and discuss at the beginning of the semester. Titled “Emergency Preparedness…It’s Every Hokies’ Responsibility,” the document gives the acronym “HOKIE” to describe steps in planning ahead for an emergency, as well as steps to take in the event of other specific emergencies like workplace violence and power outages. Michael Mulhare, who started his position as director of emergency management in November, teamed with Assistant Chief Tom Foster to develop the emergency preparedness document. “Our main goal is to make the university as disaster resilient as possible,” Mulhare said. “There are four steps to emergency management — preparation, planning, response and mitigation — with the main focus on preparation and planning.” Foster added that he wanted to create something that provided useful information and was readable and handy. “The acronym is something people will read because it is interesting, but also gain information from,” Foster said. While it was at the discretion of professors to include the document in their syllabi, some teachers made safety and emergency preparedness paramount. “I pointed out the document to my students, and we made a plan for a meeting place in case of an emergency,” said Marlene Preston, director of undergraduate programs for the department of communication. “It makes sense to me to have a plan before an emergency happens.” But with the distribution of the document at the discretion of professors, there are concerns that some students may never be educated on
GORDON BLOCK
ct news reporter
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Proposed parking structure location
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college campuses that does not yet have a parking garage on site. He said the difference in cost between structural and surface parking lots is substantial. A parking garage usually costs about $18,000 to $20,000 per parking space, so for 100 spaces the cost would total $2 million. A surface parking lot in comparison costs about $3,000 per space.
YEAR-LONG COMMUTER PERMIT PRICES TECH: $114 UVa: $192 JMU: $192 GEORGE MASON: $200 UMD-COLLEGE PARK: $213 WILLIAM & MARY: $305 Mouras said Tech still has one of the “best deals in town” on parking passes. Tech’s parking passes are cheaper than other institutions. Mouras said there are 15,000 spaces
Tech drafts disaster documentation BILLY MITCHELL
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SAMANTHA HARLAN
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Delta Upsilon returns to Tech after 14 years
Parking structure funded by rate hike
its content. Mulhare and Foster feel that this will not be a problem, as this is only one of many up-andcoming angles to emergency preparedness that students will be exposed to in the near future. “The inclusion of the document is encouraged, but the faculty and staff enjoy a level of independence,” said Mulhare. “Requiring it to be included would take away from this. We are developing a culture of emergency preparedness, and the document is only one part.” Faculty and staff around the university are beginning to give their feedback on the document and it is mostly positive, Mulhare said. “From the faculty and staff I’ve heard back from, they’ve mostly been supportive and appreciative of the document,” Mulhare said. Next in the line for the ongoing development of emergency management is a “desktop reference” that Mulhare said will be about 20 pages and involve more specific information. He hopes to have this available for download from the Internet in the near future. It is currently in draft form. “There’s a lot of spread-out information with different organizations such as student affairs, the police department, and environmental health and safety. We’re trying to bring it all together,” Mulhare said. In addition to the emergency preparedness document, there are also several other items that can be found on the police department’s Web site, www.police.vt.edu. “Students that haven’t seen the document or any other emergency plan can visit our Web site and get the same information,” Foster said. “There’s a slideshow that you can access that runs automatically with the ‘Voice of the Hokies,’ Bill Roth, that covers the same points as the one page document.” With a campus as large as Tech’s, Mulhare and Foster emphasize the importance of being prepared in any situation and hope the emergency preparedness document will inform the university on how to do so. “Emergency preparedness starts at the individual level,” Mulhare said. “Anything can happen at anytime, anywhere, so everyone needs a plan.”
and 20,000 permits. A yearlong commuter-parking permit at Tech currently costs $114. Comparatively, the University of Maryland-College Park has more than 21,000 parking spaces and two parking garages that house 800 and 1,700 vehicles. An annual commuter-parking permit costs $213. At James Madison University a commuter-parking permit costs $192 for a year; at University of Virginia it costs $192 a year; at George Mason University it costs $200 a year; at William & Mary, a yearlong permit is $305. “Students will be disappointed at the end of the day; cheap, inexpensive surface parking lots are not an option any longer,” Mouras said. “The problem is most people’s perceptions of adequate parking is too refined.” Mouras said that Tech has enough parking and that anyone could find parking any day of the week. The SGA will set up on the first Friday of each month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m outside of West End to discuss parking issues and receive input from students.
After more than a decade out of Virginia Tech’s Greek system, the Delta Upsilon fraternity made its return to Tech in a ceremony held Monday evening. The fraternity colony can now participate in activities with other fraternities, with the exception of voting in Interfraternity Council meetings. During a 30-minute colonization ceremony for the fraternity in the banquet room of Hillcrest Hall, the group initiated its charter class of 21 members. Founded in 1834 at Williams College, the organization was created as the first non-secret fraternity, priding themselves on abstaining from hidden rituals and hazing. The fraternity has faced a tumultuous history at Tech since its first campus chapter was organized in 1982. The chapter lost its charter in 1995 after having too few members to meet national organization standards. After a failed attempt to revive the fraternity in 1999, there were no attempts to bring back the fraternity until 2008. Senior hospitality and tourism management major Ricky Carpentieri, who was elected as the first president of the newly formed chapter, was a major player in resurrecting the inactive fraternity. Getting interest in forming a fraternity chapter that wasn’t recognized by either the school or the national organization at the time presented some challenges. “A lot of people didn’t realize we were just an interest group. They were hesitant to join a group that wasn’t a real fraternity,” Carpentieri said. “Every time we got more people, they dropped out because they didn’t realize we were not official.” The fraternity’s luck changed with the freshman class of fall 2008. “When they came in, we got nine guys really quick, and they started pulling their friends,” Carpentieri said. “It’s been growing ever since.” Anchoring the effort was colony advisor Francis Bush, who was a member of the fraternity while at the University of Florida, where he graduated in 1985. Bush, a professor of accounting and statistics at Virginia Military Institute, took the position despite having to drive nearly an hour and a half each way to reach the Tech campus. “I’m probably the closest DU alum in the area, and I was willing to come down to work with them,” Bush said. “I came down for the first meeting, and next thing you know, we’re working together on this.” Bush felt a sense of duty to reach out to his fraternity. “This is how an alum gives back to his fraternity,” Bush said. “You can give time or you can give treasure, or you can give both.” The quick pace of the group’s colonization surprised Carpentieri as the group had only been approved the previous week. “They approved the colonization on Thursday and said we’re coming up Monday to do it,” Carpentieri said. Gordon Bothun, leadership consultant for the fraternity’s international headquarters, was excited with what he saw in Tech’s charter class. “I think this fraternity is going to work adamantly to end any Greek stereotype that is out there and work to create a new culture for Greeks on campus,” Bothun said. Bothun will spend the rest of the week in Blacksburg training the officers of the chapter. The fraternity will now work to add to its membership. Carpentieri hopes that an open recruiting policy along with a short pledge time will encourage students to join the fraternity. Carpentieri was excited about the future prospects for the chapter. “We have a lot of young guys that we’re definitely going to try to instill the fact that this is something that is ours and is special to us,” Carpentieri said. “We can make this the best fraternity on campus.”
West End plans renovations KELSEY HEITER
ct news reporter West End Market plans to add additional seating, among other renovations, to accommodate the growing number of students buying meal plans. The project is set to begin in January 2010, with an estimated completion date of August 2010, before students return to campus for the fall semester, said West End Manager John Barrett. “We are going to add new men’s and women’s restrooms by the Gobbler,” Barrett said. “We are also going to work on doing more work behind the scenes, so it is a better environment for our customers to dine in.” Additional renovation plans include adding new storage space and kitchen space to previously existing areas, Barrett said. “We are also going to add employee locker rooms to make life easier for our employees,” Barrett said. Katie Gehrt, marketing and communications manager for Dining Services, believes that after the renovation West End will be able to serve more customers because the seating areas will not be as crowded during peak meal times. “I know that West End will make every effort to ensure that the renovation will not affect regular service, and they will do the repair that will affect service after West End closes for the summer,” Gehrt said. The renovation project will cost just shy of $6 million, according to Barrett. “We will be breaking ground behind and in front of West End, allowing us to work on multiple parts of the project at once,” Barrett said. “We hope to utilize spring break to work on a lot of the project, and then once final exams are over, West End will be closed for the summer until students return. Everything should be finished by the time students return in the fall.” Ted Faulkner, associate director of dining, believes the West End renovation will provide great opportunities for the dining facility. Faulkner said that the renovation project was initially proposed due to business demands and the continued meal plan growth among students residing on and off campus. “We have 18,000 meal plan holders onand off-campus, and as the meal plans offcampus grew, we saw the demand and the need for more seating in our dining facili-
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Caitlin Lee, a junior English major, pours syrup during West End’s brunch in April 2008. West End will spend just under $6 million renovating its facilities. ties,” Faulkner said. “The university is expanding the academic side of campus in 2012 and that should relieve some stress from the dining centers on the dormitory side of campus,” Faulkner said. Barrett said that the project will affect the flow of students because there is going to be construction on both sides of the building, but there will not be any safety issues to worry about, and the construction should not interrupt the students’ lives at all. “Knowing that an additional 100 seats are coming over there will help students drastically,” Barrett said. “Due to the concern of the lack of finding seating in West End, that will be alleviated thanks to the added seating.” Barrett said that dining services has been working on the West End proposal for a couple of years now. “We have a rush throughout the whole day instead of just a rush during lunch and dinner,” Barrett said. “West End is open essentially all day, from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., which helps students with avoiding the rush times.” West End does not have plans for expanding dining options, Barrett added. “There are no plans for new additions to the shops in West End,” Barrett said. “We are going to be taking out some seats in the Gobbler for space for the restrooms, but that is the only thing that will affect any of the shops. There will be a rectangular addition built onto the side by Wrap World for the restrooms.”
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Barrett said that they are going to expand the seating area in front of Bistro Firenze. “Where the seating is now, we are going to open that area up and add between 100 to 150 seats between the inside seating and the outside patio,” Barrett said. “There are going to be two entrances added on the side of West End where Leaf and Ladle is, and the outside seating is going to be outside by the Chop House.” The design of West End is going to change a lot. “The inside seating will widen the seating area tremendously and the exterior design will look different due to the roof type,” Barrett said. “Around August we will be putting up pictures of what the finished West End product will look like.” Barrett believes that even with the extra seating that West End will provide, the dining hall will still receive the same amount of business. “There are more students buying meal plans because of the economy and they do not want to have to go out and buy food on a weekly basis, so West End is becoming more frequented throughout the day, ” Barrett said. “I think that West End is going to present itself in a more inviting atmosphere because of the expansion of additional indoor and outdoor seating,” Faulkner said. “Seating has always been inadequate in terms of the venue, so the renovation will enhance the overall dining experience for our customers.”
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march 4, 2009
Wing program aims to ease transition to college life DEMI ARGIROPOULOS
ct news staff writer Wing — a theme housing program in Slusher Wing — is one of several residential housing programs that are open to freshmen at Virginia Tech. It is designed to ease the transition to college and incorporates a fall semester course that covers topics ranging from proficiency with technology to putting together a cover letter and resume. Currently, Associate Director of Residence Life James Penven is working to recruit facilitators to teach First Year Seminar, a course exclusively designed for students in the Wing program. Since its inception in 1997, First Year Seminar’s small class size, rang-
ing from eight to 12 people, has allowed students and teachers to form intimate relationships that are nearly impossible in the large lecture classes that tend to dominate freshman schedules. Alice Wagner is currently a senior psychology major who worked alongside Matthew Grimes, assistant director of Residence Life, while teaching a section of the course this past fall. She noted the strong connections she was able to make with her students and mentioned that she has even been asked to write a few letters of recommendation for internships that her students are pursuing. In addition to aiding the transition to college and engaging upperclassmen, First Year Seminar has also opened doors for teachers and administrative
faculty all over the university. While teaching First Year Seminar is included in Grimes’ job description, the position is open to all university faculty who want the opportunity to work with first-year students. Grimes noted that teaching this course has enabled administrators to break up the daily 9-to-5 grind behind a desk and interact with students. This ability to work with freshmen is made possible through the efforts of the Department of Residential Life. Penven utilizes the Tech Web site by posting notices to attract university faculty to the position. Potential facilitators must have a master’s degree and are required to submit recruitment forms that indicate their interest and availability, along with a resume or curriculum vitae.
“Because this process has worked so well and yielded great teachers, I’ve not had to include interviews as a part of the application process,” Penven said. Penven’s recruitment work also involves providing the facilitators with the training and support needed to teach First Year Seminar. He describes the great diversity of those interested in teaching the course. “I’ve had folks in the Wood Science Department that have taught (students). It’s a mix across the board.” Penven mentioned that in recognition of the hard work and planning that goes into teaching First Year Seminar, teachers receive $1,500 in professional development funds and TAs are awarded three credit hours. This stipend that instructors receive
a lot of people have; we’re just a lot closer,” Wheeler said. “We’re all in the same themed housing, so we all have something in common. And in that first week or so, it’s huge to have something in common with someone that you can talk about.” Grimes described the focus and curriculum of First Year Seminar as aiming to provide freshmen with all of the social and academic skills necessary to succeed at Tech up front and thereby give these students a “leg up.” Grimes recalled the quote he hears over and over again from his students: “My friends didn’t figure this stuff out until junior year, but I found it out first semester of freshman year because I was in Wing.”
can be used for anything university related that supports their roles within Tech. Grimes does not receive this stipend, though he has used professional development funds in the past to purchase books to use as supplements in the classroom. He mentioned one book, “Navigating Your Freshman Year,” that cited “some good ideas from students to students with regards to making it as college freshmen.” Freshman Greg Wheeler, an aerospace and ocean engineering major, chose to apply to the Wing program to ease his transition and learn the study habits necessary to juggle a heavier workload. “Being in the Wing program, the community there is really important. It’s a different experience than I think
Study: Violence has many factors A recent study maintains that the widely-held perception that mental illness is a strong predictor of violent behavior is unfounded. The Intricate Link Between Violence and Mental Disorder, authored by Eric Elbogen, an assistant professor in the forensic psychiatry program at the UNC School of Medicine, was published in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. Immediately following Seung-Hui Cho’s April 16 rampage, the coverage by media outlets began to question his mental state. Days after the shooting, it was revealed that Cho had a history of mental health concerns. The study analyzed statistical data from two-wave, face-to-face interviews conducted in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. In the 2001-03 first wave, the NESARC interviewed 43,093 U.S. citizens. These interviewees were asked a series of questions to determine lifetime mental health, substance use, various demographics and socioeconomic information.
Of the original sample, 34,653 were eligible for re-interview in the second wave in 2005. In this interview, respondents were asked whether they had committed acts of violence in the time period between their first and second interviews. The results show that as a singular factor, mental illness does not significantly increase the risk of violence as compared to other risk factors. Only 50 subjects, who reported unaccompanied severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression, said they had been violent in the two-year span between interviews. Catherine Rossi, who provides counseling to locally afflicted persons as a mental health support specialist at New River Valley Community Services, said her practical experience shows much of the same. “It is my experience that those with mental disorders are no more prone to violence than the next person,” Rossi said. Instead, the study showed that mental illness could only significantly predict violence when combined with other co-occurring factors, such as substance abuse and a history of
TOP 10 PREDICTORS OF FUTURE VIOLENCE 1. Age (younger people are more likely to commit violence) 2. History of violence 3. Male gender 4. History of juvenile detention 5. Recent divorce or separation 6. History of physical abuse 7. Parental criminal history 8. Recent unemployment 9. Mental illness with substance abuse 10. Recent victimization violence. Participants in this category were 10 times more likely to commit acts of violence than those who suffered solely from mental illness. Furthermore, the study ranked the co-occurring factors of mental illness and substance abuse only ninth on the list of the top 10 predictors of future violence. Stronger predictors included age (younger people are more likely to commit violence), a history of violence or a recent divorce or separation. Elbogen said while the scrutiny of
laws and policies after April 16 to help those with mental illness were a positive change, focusing on mental illness may miss more significant factors. “If you concentrate on those with mental illness alone, you’re going to spend a lot of time on people who aren’t that great of a risk,” Elbogen said. “That’s why you need to look at the factors beyond mental illness.” Richard Ferraro, assistant vice president for student affairs, supervises the Cook Counseling Center and said that Tech has attempted to avoid focusing on just one mental health issue. “It’s helpful not focusing so much on whether a person is violent, but whether that person needs help,” Ferraro said. “That’s what is important in reaching out.” Ferraro added that Tech had stepped up its services in response to campus violence. “We have a care team that is enhanced, in terms of trying to help students, that meets on a regular basis. We have threat assessments team that meets on a regular basis. We have case managers that will deal with students with special difficulty … so there’s been an intensification of services,” Ferraro said.
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march 4, 2009
‘Wrath’ offers stellar guitar, immature lyrics There was a time in my life where I couldn’t stand metal. I’m sure if I’d heard Lamb of God’s newest disc, “Wrath,” the rock-solid riffs TOM and angsty whiteMINOGUE boy lyrics would staff have encouraged writer me to give metal a second chance. The album blazes an unexpected and more hard-lined edge than the band’s previous record, 2006’s “Sacrament.” Cutting through the sludge of the previous album, “Wrath” stands out as a blueprint for melodic metal. Still present is the dichotomy of acoustic finger picking and thrash metal solos, but with a musical hook between the two, if not a lyrical one. Despite my personal bias as a critic, there are aspects of the album that I can definitely appreciate in terms of the musicality of the entire venture: progressive changes in time signature, impossibly intricate guitar solos, extended sections of wailing on the double-bass of the drum kit. However, I just cannot get over how little the vocals of the album suit the sheer ambition of the music. The instrumentalists here are respectively the Wagners and Chopins of hardcore rock, so why would they have a singer who sounds like a mix between the Cookie Monster and Satan? Instead of accentuating the many strengths of the music that they’re playing, it just makes the songs seem ridiculous. Aside from the tone of the voice,
there’s also the matter of the lyrical content, which works against the album’s favor. The most egregious offender here is “Everything or Nothing” in which the vocalist grunts, “Everything learned, forgotten and dead/Everything turns to nothing,” a statement that probably could have come out of a middle school student’s journal. Even worse is when the band attempts to communicate its moral misgivings about modern society. For all the intensity and soaring musicianship of “In Your Words,” there’s the opening line of “A sacred cash cow with sickly tits/ Dripping temptation for hypocrites,” which manages to completely undercut the best song on the record. Yes, the world is a bad place. Yes, everyone learned about end rhyme in middle school as well. What Lamb of God lacks in thematic terms is ambiguity. I won’t generalize this to the entirety of metal, but they’re missing what contemporaries such as Shadows Fall have in spades — that is, the willingness to engage the musical progression with a thematic one as well. If you can’t take more than a simpleton viewpoint on these topics of life and death, war and peace, then what’s the point of attempting to do so when the music can already do so without words? This brings us back to that dichotomy of metal. The enjoyment of the genre is dependent on a listener’s attitude toward killer riffs put through a nails-on-a-chalkboard filter. It’s only when this tightrope walk is thrown off balance by an adolescent’s perspective that the whole record comes undone.
Lamb of God’s “Wrath” Tom’s Grade: CJonathan’s Grade: A You might also like: PANTERA “Cowboys From Hell” KILLSWITCH ENGAGE “As Daylight Dies” UNEARTH “The Oncoming Storm” AFTER THE BURIAL “Rare Form”
If I wasn’t a Hokie, I’d probably be a Ram. Although I’m from Northern Virginia like so many others, I could see myself JONATHAN enjoying these YI years somewhere features between the Phillip reporter Morris building and Cary town, going to show after show. If you look beyond the aesthetic stench of our capital, there’s something about the Richmond music scene that makes me feel right at home. It is clearly evident that’s where music is being made. The Fan district has cradled bands such as Gwar as well as the motor machine, Lamb of God. No introduction necessary. If Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho has faith in state-side manufactured machines, we need not to attempt to restore faith in good ol’ ’merican metal. The Richmond native’s highly anticipated fifth studio album, “Wrath” hits shelves this week and is another stab to set the standard in a dawning age of American metal. Acts in metal’s new era must polish their dynamics in order to stay ahead of the race, and more importantly, stay confident in their sound. Drummer Chris Alder said, “(Wrath) is going to surprise a lot of people. Typically bands that get to where we are in our career begin to slack off, smell the roses and regurgitate. We chose a different path. No one wants to hear another band member hyping a new
record. ‘Wrath’ needs no hype.” But supposedly change comes naturally. “We’ve never stayed in one place too long, and the Band’s evolution continues. There is an aggressive shift in the material and our approach. The bar has been raised,” Alder said. “Wrath” begins with an acoustic prelude which is fairly common, similar to As Lay Dying and Darkest Hour’s latest approach, “Deliver Us.” The instrumental ballad, “The Passing,” is a song probably intended to pump up the crowd. Much like the calm before the storm, “The Passing” catapults into “In Your Words,” an arsenal of riff-tacular mania. “Indict the blameless, transparent designs, pathetic and shameless, a legend in his own mind, dethroned by lies,” screams Randy Blyth. “A cheap Machiavelli plots his demise.” Chris Alder’s drum work is enormously pulse-driven, exemplified through the grind-core inspired, “Fake Messiah,” which offers tickling fills with reiterating double-bass. Blyth’s growl once again proves to be commandingly inimitable. His ferocity tears through our cerebrums in the album’s closer, “Contractor,” a thematic commentary on the American dream. Even for an aging band, Lamb of God has always offered supreme guitar work. Although Willie Alder and Mark Morton give their solo input, “Wrath” is much more of a cohesive record, offering a stronger groove with an ample supply of repetitive, melodic riff-age. But repetition doesn’t concern the mosh-pit.
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wednesday, march 4, 2009
DIY: Clothes that fit every body To flatter the hourglass or pear figure and draw attention to your waist or create the illusion of curves, try the Button Down Contrast Skirt: Materials: Two oversized button-down shirts (vertical stripes are most flattering and create the illusion of a longer, slimmer figure) Needle and thread Elastic, cut to fit snuggly on your natural waist Cost: $6 to $10 Time: One hour
MARY ANNE CARTER features reporter
Since Eve’s initial realization and horror that she was naked, women throughout history have been uncomfortable with their bodies and obsessed with weight. Dieting on everything from grapefruit to tapeworms, achieving the ideal figure has caused more than just hunger pangs — starvation, infertility and a lifelong battle with eating disorders have become problems for many women. Last week, Virginia Tech featured a number of programs and speakers to promote National Eating Disorder Awareness Week to draw attention to the fact that according to sources from Brigham Young University-Idaho, about four-fifths of college girls suffer from some disordered eating habits. Yet, no matter how many times the dangers of eating disorders are reinforced by those around you, the decision to love your body must come from within — and the best way to boost your confidence is by dressing the part. With just a few old button-down shirts, you can make a flattering jumper or skirt sure to showcase your best assets. ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY MARY ANNE CARTER
For those wishing to draw attention to their bust or create the illusion of a bust is the
Button Down Jumper:
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Lay shirt flat and cut away the sleeves and the collar. Hold onto the sleeves for Step Six.
Cut a section down the length of the sleeves (I included the buttons on the cuff for flair). Hem these so they are about an inch wide.
Lay both shirts flat and cut away the sleeves and the collar of each shirt.
On one shirt, cut across the shoulders so that it is open on both the top and bottom. On the other, cut the buttoned panel from the front of the shirt and cut out the back panel. Lay the back panel on the back of the other shirt and hem so that there are a few inches of the other shirt still showing, but it covers the majority of the back of the shirt. Lay the buttoned front panel directly over the buttons on the shirt and pin in place, leaving a few inches of the other shirt exposed on opposite edge.
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Sew the contrasting panels on the shirt where it has been pinned. Cut under where the sleeves on the shirt are so that it is straight across. This will be the waist of the skirt. Fold this in so it is the desired length (should be worn on the natural waist) with enough room to insert elastic.
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Materials:: One button-down shirt (darker colors are more flattering, as are vertical stripes, though bold prints are fun, too) Needle and thread Cost: $3 to $5 Time: One hour
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Sew down the waist, but leave a small gap in the side of the skirt. Make a small incision so you can insert elastic here around the band of the skirt. Attach elastic to a safety pin and push it around the band of the skirt, using the safety pin as a guide to pull the elastic through. When it comes full circle, sew the ends together.
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Cut the back straight across but leave as much of the material as possible. Cut the front straight across at the bottom of the armholes. Fold over and pin both. Turn the shirt inside out and sew down the sides to make it a sack. The top should be about five inches lower in the front than the back, but the bottom should match up. Try the garment on — depending on your shape, you may want to make it tighter on sides. Adjust accordingly.
Attach straps made from sleeves. I made mine about an inch from the sides, but they can be attached however you find flattering. Sew the plain part under the front and the cuffs over on the back so the button details are exposed.
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opinions 5
editor: laurel colella, david mcilroy email: opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
march 4, 2009
EDITORIAL
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Photos and coffins: Deciding how to best honor the fallen The following editorial appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Friday, Feb. 13: The Obama administration should reverse a policy that forbids the media from photographing the flag-draped coffins of fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The ban was put in place in 1991, during the first Gulf War, under President George H.W. Bush. Prior to that, photographers were allowed to take pictures of the caskets as they returned on transport planes to the nation’s largest military mortuary. President George W. Bush renewed the ban during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, saying he wanted to be sensitive to military families. Bush said photographing the caskets might put undue pressure on family members of the fallen to attend the event at Dover, even though they might not be able to afford the cost of traveling there. Critics accused Bush of trying to sanitize and censor the war. Vice President Biden, while serving as a senator from Delaware in 2004, complained that fallen soldiers were being “snuck back into the country under the cover of night.” With the election of President Obama, some officials, including Sen. Frank Lautenberg, DN.J., have called for lifting the
ban. Obama said he is waiting for a Pentagon review of the ban, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested that he is open to changing the policy. Gates should lift the ban, while trying to be as sensitive as possible to the wishes of families. It’s not an easy call, and not all military families feel the same way about the issue. Some relatives believe it’s an invasion of privacy, or an exploitation of their loss to foment antiwar sentiment. Other families feel that allowing photographs is a way to honor the military dead, and that banning photographs amounts to the government hiding their loss. Still others believe that the soldiers’ sacrifices, and the war itself, tend to be forgotten by the public unless photographs are permitted. That’s why Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., who voted in favor of using military force in Iraq, also favors allowing the media to photograph the returning caskets. If a family objects, arrangements should be made to accommodate its wishes. But photographs should be allowed in other cases, because the public should be able to see the cost of war. Without the visible proof, casualty reports don’t reflect the true sacrifice.
Freedom of speech applies to everyone I always laugh at the hyperbole surrounding freedom of speech arguments, because the author of such hyperbole rarely acknowledges that the “other side” has a right to freedom of speech as well. In Chad Van Alstin’s opinion piece, “N.Y. Post cartoon satirically gets to root of problem” (CT, Feb. 26), the New York Post cartoon was just a “harmless” expression of free speech … while those offended were “The Race Card Police.” Isn’t the freedom of speech for everyone? Neal Boortz says that you do not have the right to not be offended; however, this statement doesn’t strip an offended person of his First Amendment rights. Alstin, as a “firm believer in freedom of speech,” you should understand this. So, to suggest that a person who exercises her or his First Amendment rights needs get a hobby seems a bit hypocritical. President Barack Obama did not write the stimulus bill, but that will not stop people from associating him with the bill. It certainly didn’t take Alstin very long to tie the president to the bill. Satirizing the authors of the stimulus bill as monkeys when most people are going to associate the bill with the president (who happens to black, if you hadn’t noticed) was a bone-headed move by the creator of the cartoon. But it is his right to create such work. At the same time, people who didn’t like that work have the very same right to express themselves. Leonard Vaughn senior, biochemistry
Column failed to explain all the facts accurately
Tech basketball is deserving of support from the community One of my favorite things this semester has been going to cheer on the men’s basketball team in Cassell Coliseum. Basketball is my LIZA favorite sport to MILLER watch. It is fast regular paced, high-scorcolumnist ing and overall an exciting experience. Whether we win or lose, I never leave Cassell disappointed — or without a voicemail from my mom about how cute that A.D. Vassallo is. Saturday I went to Cassell to cheer on the Hokies against the Duke Blue Devils. It was the White Out game, and so I obediently put on the white T-shirt that I bought earlier from the bookstore and reserved just for this occasion. The weather was poor and so I grabbed my black raincoat and blue scarf before braving the rain on my walk up Washington Street. I was still cold from the walk, so I left my scarf on for most of the first half. I was admiring the sea of white in the stands, interrupted with specks of blue by the Duke fans when I realized that I myself was accidentally representing the opposing team’s colors. I hastily removed any traces of blue and black and yelled loudly for the Hokies as if reaffirming my allegiance. I know it is silly, but I couldn’t help but think that this fashion faux pas would never have happened during the maroon effect and orange effect games of football season. In Lane, if the maroon and orange weren’t enough to know who I was supporting, the fans around wouldn’t have let me get away with wearing colors from the opposing team in the student section. And so, metaphorically speaking (and granted, maybe it’s a weak metaphor at best), my experience in Saturday’s contest against Duke sums up how I’ve felt all season long. Hokie basketball just doesn’t get the same spirited support as Hokie football. Not that the fans in Cassell aren’t just as intense as those in Lane Stadium — sometimes I don’t know if I’m cheering for the team or for
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the long-winded season ticket holder behind me, who can yell one note for longer than most synchronized swimmers can hold their breath underwater. It is other parts of the community that I find disappointing. My roommate who didn’t win season tickets in the initial lottery has been left to sign up for tickets game by game, and has had to pass up two tickets because she had a class or a group meeting that interfered. On football games, it seems the entire campus shuts down in anticipation of the game. I know that one reason for that is simple common sense: football attracts more people to campus that need to be accommodated, logistically speaking. Even still, the air of excitement that seems to exist on campus during football game days, whether home or away, seems to be lacking for basketball season. My frustrations grew when I learned that my sorority scheduled an important event the same time as the last home game against UNC. An event that if missed carries a hefty fine — which, added on top of the $72 I paid for my season tickets, leaves me feeling like I am losing money either way. It is frustrating because I know that if this were the last football game of the season there would be no scheduling conflicts. Granted basketball doesn’t have the same long tradition at Virginia Tech as football does, but at a school with such incredible spirit and support there should be enough to last for both seasons. The basketball team this year has delivered an exciting season in one of the toughest basketball conferences in the country. Our basketball team is great. A few more breaks, a few less in and outs, and a few more favorable ref calls and we would be in the top 25. OK, maybe I’m biased, but no one can argue that our team has a world of potential. I know this article may incite comments among some of you. Don’t worry; this is not my debut as a sports journalist. I am simply saying that I have enjoyed every second of the men’s basketball season this year and if you are able to attend, they deserve our support on Wednesday’s contest against the Tar Heels.
When I began reading Chad Van Alstin’s column, “N.Y. Post cartoon satirically gets to root of our problems” (CT, Feb. 26), I agreed with the gist of what he was saying. Though I am a liberal, and I didn’t agree with the message of the Post’s cartoon, I found it funny nonetheless, and certainly found no intentional racism. Thus, I was just as shocked as he appears to be when the P.C. police made an issue of it. However, as I read further into Van Alstin’s piece, I became shocked and disappointed at something that amounted to little more than a pathetic lie. It’s one thing to object to the stimulus package. It drew a near party-line vote in Congress, and there are many respectable reasons to oppose massive government spending. But if you are going to write against it in a public forum such as the CT, don’t write things that simply aren’t true — and the entire final third of the piece is a driveling partisan fabrication.
While the bill did move through Congress at a rather speedy rate, it most certainly was available for reading, both to all the members of Congress as well as the general public. There was no conspiracy to force votes by not revealing the bill. Just Google “stimulus bill text,” and you can find half a dozen Web sites (recovery.gov, senate.gov — even the Huffington Post) that have the full text. How else would such august individuals as Sean Hannity have picked the bill apart, finding every bit of “pork” he could scream about, unless he could read the bill? CT, you need to fact check these columns before lies like this come into the public sphere. And if you can’t find anyone to do it, I know a chimp who could use some employment. Kyle Gardiner freshman, political science and philosophy
Clarification ultimately offers more confusion The column “Clarification about creationism, evolution” (CT, Feb. 25) does clarify some issues, but it muddles others on account of its fallacious reasoning and misguided assertions. Though the authors rightly dismiss young-earth creationism as irreconcilable with modern science, they offer more illogical creationist propaganda than should be acceptable at an institute of higher learning. First, they make a distinction between micro- and macroevolution with the intention of claiming macroevolution to be flawed. Their arguments against macroevolution, however, consist of nothing but a logical fallacy known as argument from ignorance. Many people may not be able to grasp the sheer magnitude of genetic change across many thousands of generations. However, in no way does this imply that macroevolutionary processes such as speciation do not occur because of natural selection. As creationists often do, they quote Darwin’s admission that a single example of irreducible complexity would undermine the theory of evolution, while ignoring the text that follows: “I can find out no such case. “No doubt many organs exist of which we do not know the transitional grades ... (but) we should be extremely cautious in concluding that an organ could not have been formed by transitional gradations of some kind.” Michael Behe, a fringe biologist, claims to have found multiple examples of irreducible complexity in nature, and as a result is often referenced by creationists. However, Behe’s claims are soundly rejected by the scientific community. It is less likely that irreducibly complex organs exist than it is that Behe and his followers lack
either the desire or the imagination to hypothesize their transitional forms. Next they quote Darwin again, this time regarding the absence of geological evidence for evolution. Creationists often claim the supposed lack of transitional fossils as evidence against evolution, but take the time to analyze any paleontology book and you’ll find that in reality, an abundance of transitional fossils have been found since Darwin’s time. Additionally, Gould did not “resort” to proposing punctuated equilibrium in response to a perceived lack of fossil evidence. It is a simple fact that science is continually corrected, changed and refined to fit our observations of the world around us. Such is the nature of scientific discovery, and the theory of evolution is no exception. Note that I am arguing in favor of the acceptance of evolution, not against belief in creation. Thanks to the concept of theistic evolution, which exists to reconcile the two, the theory of evolution need not be interpreted to demean religious belief in any way. If you wish to believe in creationism, it is your prerogative to do so. However, do not attempt to prove creationism by disproving evolution. That method is used all too often by many who do not realize that it is merely establishing a false dichotomy, which is a logical fallacy. I could contrive any number of preposterous claims to explain the origin of life, but all of them would remain unproven were evolution shown to be incorrect. It is impossible to demonstrate the veracity of any one idea solely by proving a competing theory to be false. You don’t need to attack science in order to validate your faith. It’s called faith for a reason, and unless you stubbornly insist on interpreting the creation story literally, it is justifiable to both keep your faith and accept the sound science behind evolutionary theory. Jayton Gill Senior, computer science
Collegiate Times Editorial Staff Editor in Chief David Grant Managing Editors David Harries, Sara Spangler Public Editor Cate Summers Special Sections Editor Meg Miller News Editors Caleb Fleming, Sara Mitchell News Reporters Gordon Block, Zach Crizer, Justin Graves, Riley Prendergast, T. Rees Shapiro, Rebecca Thomas News Staff Writers Shannon Aud, Will Thomas, Ryan Trapp, Gabe McVey Features Editor Bethany Buchanan Features Reporters 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, Thandiwe Ogbonna, Kristen Walker, Michelle Rivera Layout Designers Go-Eun Choi, Velechia Hardnett, Kelly Harrigan, Rachel McGiboney, Mina Noorbakhsh, Josh Son Illustrator Mina Noorbakhsh Multimedia Editor Phillip Murillas Multimedia Producer Candice Chu Multimedia Reporters Kevin Anderson, Bryce Stucki, Peter Velz Online Director Sam Eberspacher Collegiate Times Business Staff Business Manager Ryan McConnell College Media Solutions Staff Advertising Director Patrick Fitzgerald Asst Advertising Directors Tyler Ervin Jenna Given, Katelynn Reilly Ads Production Manager Anika Stickles Asst Production Manager Allison Bhatta Ads Production/Creation Breanna Benz, Jennifer DiMarco, Lisa Hoang, Rebecca Smeenk, Lindsay Smith, Lara Treadwell National Account Executive Account Executives Libbey Arner, Aaron Brock, Maggie Crosby, Brandon Collins, Oran Duncan, Judi Glass, Alex Iskounen, Kendall Kapetanakis, Marcello Sandoval, Amanda Sparks, Jennifer Vaughn Assistant Account Executives Carissa Nichols, Diane Revalski, Tyler Terhune Marketing Manager Sayali Shirgaonkar Office Manager Kaelynn Kurtz Student Publication Photo Staff Director of Photography Sally Bull Business Manager Paul Platz
Efforts should be made to accommodate more students at basketball games As a member of the class of 1974, I attended every home basketball game during my four years on campus. Sitting in Cassell Coliseum during the Florida State sell-out game on Feb. 21, I counted well over 200 empty seats — seats that could have been occupied by Virginia Tech students. Why can’t a system be worked out that would allow students to enter Cassell shortly before halftime to fill in the empty seats? Nancy McNally Schwenk Alumna, ’74
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march 4, 2009
Protecting the Cassell: The adventures of Orange Mann THOMAS EMERICK
ct sports editor Imagine stepping to the free-throw line in overtime while thousands upon thousands of screaming college students attempt to rupture your eardrums. Now imagine raising your eyes toward the hoop to catch the following vision: a grown man gyrating in fullbody orange spandex and a maroon cape. North Carolina State would indeed come up empty in their first two free-throw trips of overtime and fall behind quickly in the Hokies’ dramatic 91-87 home victory on Feb. 8. “With him going crazy back there, I can see how it could be distracting,” Virginia Tech forward J.T. Thompson said with a chuckle. While many know this as the day the Hokies’ season tee-
tered before one of the most riveting comebacks in school history, it also marked the arrival of an unexpected hero — Orange Mann.
Chapter 1: A hero arises An undeniable, or — depending on whether he’s behind your basket — unavoidable element of the periphery, Orange Mann has been spotted by jumbotron, television camera and Atlantic Coast Conference basketball player alike since he began to assert his abilities against the Wolfpack on Feb. 8. I t ’ s uncertain which world he calls home or the full extent of his powers, but this capedcrusader has aided protection of the Cassell by swooping into the front row behind the opposition’s basket and busting a few moves. For two hours. “To have people cheer more because I’m making a fool of myself, I guess, would be the best power that Orange Mann has,” said Orange Mann. “I want him jumping and doing e v e r y t h i n g ,” Tech guard Hank Thorns said. “I want him to get the whole crowd into it. When our crowd gets into it, we get into it.” As long as Orange Mann — who was first spotted on Jan. 29 — uses his power for good, Cassell authorities don’t see SALLY BULL/SPPS
why he shouldn’t be allowed to. “We noticed him the night of the Clemson game when all the students were wearing the black Tshirts; he kind of stood out in his orange costume,” said Alicia Longworth, assistant director of sports and marketing promotions at Tech. “He brought a lot to the student section and had a lot of passion for the game, clearly, if he’s willing to wear that uniform and dance any time the band is playing.” Orange Mann not only ensured his vigilante activism was acceptable with Cassell authorities, but also received their help with his cause starting with Tech’s home game against Florida State on Jan. 21. Prior to the game, he contacted Longworth over obstacles presented to him by ushers and security. With Longworth’s help, the necessary costume adjustments were made to continue his saga. Another superpower possessed by Orange Mann, besides dance moves that pump volume out of his section, is the license to enter games he didn’t receive a lottery ticket for and claim seats. The latter power is not used for evil, as Longworth said he could only take vacant seats that lack ticket holders when he edges down to taunt opposing free-throw shooters. Just a nod from his spandex-encased head is all the ticket he needs. Granted, these are all abilities that anyone with a standby ticket can enjoy, but few do it with such noticeable flair or fabric. “I’ve never pointed at him, but I’ll make sure I point at him next time,” Thorns said. “I’ll definitely show him some love.”
Chapter 2: Orange Mann joining forces? The Collegiate Times convinced Orange Mann to go out in public, albeit briefly, for an interview to discuss his thoughts on his role as Blacksburg’s orange knight, and if he worries for the safety of a copycat. “If I had friends also get suits and stuff, it might get out of hand. … It’s a possibility, though,” said Orange Mann, who uses two “n’s” to differentiate himself from your run-of-the-mill Supermanor Spiderman-type character. To his surprise, another mysterious creature from planet Spandex confronted him in the stands prior to the Duke game. The tension could’ve been cut with a knife, but it soon became clear that this was no nemesis.
“I was kind of inspired by Orange Mann,” said Maroon Man, with one “n.” “And then I just kind of figured, what the hell.” The brash young addition to Cassell’s strange may still be short on power, but it’s hard to question the kid’s spunk. “With Orange Mann and Maroon Man, we cannot be stopped!” Maroon Man said. After Maroon Man’s pregame profession, a rather stunned Orange Mann summed up his thoughts. “It’s impeccable, incredible, applicable.” How Maroon Man fairs in the Robin role and if they can agree on where to order their next suits from should play a huge part in deciding whether this tandem will fight together in the future.
Chapter 3: Realizing his powers
The beginning of Orange Mann didn’t happen on a whim. This concept’s base actually traces back three months before his trademark Tech flag was purchased or the spandex finally arrived from
South Korea. The idea actually came to him while watching the FX television show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
ON THE WEB To see Orange Mann bust a move in suave brown corduroys, check out www.collegiatetimes.com That fateful September, Orange Mann saw an episode where the show’s three main characters try out for the Philadelphia Eagles. One of the threesome accidentally takes acid and dances around a parking lot tailgate in a green spandex suit. Never has inspiration been so keenly defined. “I thought it’d be really funny to have a superhero that nobody really wanted just dancing around at the game and stuff,” Orange Mann said. Two months of planning, Ebay-ing and shopping at the Tech bookstore
later, Orange Mann was born. “My mom ordered (the spandex suit), and it came in on Christmas Day, actually,” Orange Mann said. “Probably the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten.”
Chapter 4: Orange Mann has no jurisdiction Thorns and guard Terrell Bell first met Orange Mann at a party two weekends ago, but knew him from his performances at Cassell long before. Still, many Tech students remain unaware of this mystery figure roaming the Blacksburg party scene, as his sparse entries have been mostly greeted with confusion thus far. “They didn’t really know what it was,” Orange Mann said. “But some people would recognize me and told those people…” “I wish I was a better dancer because they gave me the dance floor once I got there, and I kind of just wiggled around and left. It was so dark I couldn’t really see their reactions.”
see ORANGE MANN, page eight
page 8
wednesday, march 4, 2009
With tournament hopes breaking, Vassallo’s last run Tech attempts for Heel-ing victory on home stage JOE CRANDLEY
ct sports reporter With Virginia Tech’s NCAA tournament hopes in limbo, the visiting North Carolina Tar Heels may breathe new life into the Hokies’ chances. The Tar Heels face off with Tech in a nationally televised game on ESPN tonight at 7 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum. “The great thing about this league is you get another opportunity, and the other opportunity is North Carolina this Wednesday,” said head coach Seth Greenberg. “So, that’s what we’re preparing to do, and I think our guys are excited about the last week of the season and being in the chance to get to postseason play.” Tech’s tournament resume contains a few blemishes, but a win over Carolina may prove to be all they need to reach the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore Malcolm Delaney understood the urgency of the next game shortly after falling to Duke on Saturday afternoon. “We’ve got another chance,” the guard said. “It was a tough loss, but we can rebound. That didn’t really hurt us at all.” Carolina features an entire team full of NBA prospects, but Greenberg and his players aren’t about to take on a loser’s mentality. “We’re confident going into every game. If you don’t play to win in this league, you may as well not play,”
Greenberg said. “We play in this league, we play a great schedule against great teams, and our guys expect to win just like the other team’s guys expect to win.” Despite the loss on Saturday, the Hokies put together a solid couple of games last week, defeating Clemson on the road and playing themselves back into the game against Duke in the second half. “If we play as hard as we did (Saturday), we’ve got a chance,” senior A.D. Vassallo said. “North Carolina’s a great team, don’t get me wrong. They’re the best for a reason. But we’ve got them at home. We’ve got to forget that we lost to Duke. We can’t keep reminiscing about it. We have to go to work and get ready for Wednesday.” Even though Tech maintains a positive outlook and hopes to capitalize on playing Carolina on a national stage, the Heels remain focused and realize what lies before them as they approach their regular season showdown at home with Duke on Sunday. “Going into Virginia Tech on Wednesday will be a huge challenge for us,” Carolina head coach Roy Williams said. “Senior day, Vassallo, Delaney, Allen — they’ve really got a good basketball club. They’re fighting for NCAA possibilities and they should be an NCAA team in my mind completely, but it will be a big challenge for us.” During Atlantic Coast Conference play this season, the Heels have averaged just over 87 points per contest,
No. 2 North Carolina at Virginia Tech Wednesday, 7 p.m., ESPN
#23: G, Malcolm Delaney 18.4 ppg
#5: G, Ty Lawson 6.5 apg
#10: G, Hank Thorns 2.7 apg
#22: G, Wayne Ellington 14.9 ppg
#40: G/F, A.D. Vassallo 8.7 ppg
#14: F, Danny Green .450 3-pt percentage
#0: F, Jeff Allen 8.7 rpg #34: C, Cheick Diakite 4.0 rpg
#21: F, Deon Thompson 6.2 rpg #50: F, Tyler Hansbrough 21.3 ppg SARA SPANGLER/COLLEGIATE TIMES
running up and down the floor in a high-paced transition game that overwhelms many teams. In losses against Boston College and Maryland, Carolina only managed 78 and 76 points respectively in regulation. The Eagles and Terrapins played excellent transition defense, taking away the easy buckets that the Heels thrive on. “I think when you play North Carolina you’ve got to take them out of transition,” Greenberg said. “I think you’ve got to defend the post early and efficiently, and you’ve got to make sure you limit the catch and shoot and easy scoring positions for (Danny) Green and (Wayne) Ellington.” Keeping point guard Ty Lawson in check will prove to be the ultimate test for Tech. The Hokie guards must stay in front of Lawson, possibly the quickest guard in the nation, to stop penetration to the hoop and easy dishes for spot-up threepointers in transition to sharpshooters Ellington and Green. When Lawson moves and can pass the ball to the outside as well, senior forward Tyler Hansbrough, who averages 21.3 points per game, becomes that much more effective due to a spread-out defense. On average, North Carolina produces 19 assists compared to only 13.4 turnovers, but in losses against Wake Forest and Maryland, the Heels only managed nine and five assists, respectively, while committing 18 and 15 turnovers. Still, the X-factor for Carolina is Ellington, who averages nearly 15 points per game. Lauded for his pure shooting stroke by many, the senior only connects on 38 percent of his three-pointers, well below the 49 percent that Lawson shoots and the 45 percent for Green. Even then, Ellington can catch fire from beyond the arc: Against Maryland at home he went 7-9 from three-point range and put up 34 total points. If Ellington can find his shot, there may be too much offense on the floor for the Hokies. Though Carolina possesses the ability to light up the scoreboard, their defensive prowess is lacking. The Tar Heels rank 11th in the conference in scoring defense and 10th in three-point percentage defense due in part to their up-tempo playing style and injury to defensive stopper Marcus Ginyard.
Clemson, who ranks just below Carolina in that same category, gave up 11 treys to the Hokies last Wednesday on only 19 attempts. Provided Vassallo and Delaney shoot well, Tech can keep itself in the game with the three-ball. How well Tech responds to Carolina’s fast-paced style depends on the status of sophomore point guard Hank Thorns, who shined against
Clemson but had to sit out for Duke due to hypernutremia. “ We ’ r e waiting to hear this morning (Monday). He had to get a blood test this morning to make sure his levels are fine,” Greenberg said. “If they are, we’ll limit him in practice, see how he feels after practice, and obviously he’ll be day to day.” Had Thorns played against Duke, the outcome may have been different. Instead, Delaney, the only other point guard on the team, had to run the offense by himself and snapped his consecutive double digit scoring streak at 32. Wednesday night will be the last regular season home game for the Hokies, and senior forwards Vassallo and Cheick Diakite will be honored.
ED LUPIEN
ct sports reporter Wednesday could possibly be the last time A.D. Vassallo steps onto the court at Cassell Coliseum wearing a Hokie uniform. As Tech hosts North Carolina in its final home contest of the regular season, senior forwards Vassallo and Cheick Diakite will be honored for their Tech hoops tenures. They each near the end of their respective fourth full season of college basketball play and, subsequently, near the end of their eligibility as collegiate players. Vassallo, in particular, will be highly celebrated. The Puerto Rican native currently ranks ninth on the Hokies all-time scoring list with 1,698 points and needs only nine more this season to pass Ace Custis for eighth place. While he leads the team with 18.7 points per game this season, Vassallo has had somewhat of a roller coaster senior year, getting into on- and off-court altercations, which have prevented him from starting in two games for the Hokies. Despite these periodic disturbances, there is no doubt in the small forward’s mind that he has grown since first arriving on campus in 2005. “I’m more mature now,” Vassallo said. Vassallo has also been inconsistent at times on the court, notching only four points in the Hokies’ early season last-second overtime loss against Xavier and seven points in the team’s LUKE MASON/SPPS
25-point loss at Duke. “I just learn from those games and put them behind me and keep on playing and improving,” he said. “As long as I don’t [perform that way now], I feel a lot better.” His unpredictability has not diminished his importance to this team as he has also become a more versatile player. He is now able to make the adjustments needed to get a shooting rhythm going. He does not have to rely heavily on his three-point shot, which was known to be the star’s main source of points throughout the former part of his collegiate career. “It shows difference,” Vassallo said. “Years before, if I didn’t really hit shots from the three point line, I didn’t have a great game. But I guess I did little different things with driving the ball and offensive rebounds a little bit and try to get the game going.” Vassallo has proven that he can single-handedly keep his team in the game. Case in point — his latest effort in the Hokies’ seven-point loss at the hands of Duke this past Saturday. “At halftime, I asked him how many points he had and he told me five,” said guard Terrell Bell. “Then I asked him, ‘Is this your half?’ and all he said was, ‘We’ll see.’” Vassallo then went out and posted 21 points in the second half, accounting for over 50 percent of his team’s scoring effort. Off the court, Vassallo has proven to be just as valuable to his team as experience has turned the senior into somewhat of a guiding light on a young team. “He taught me to work hard all the time,” said Bell, one of the team’s seven sophomores. Although his time mentoring and the high scoring for the maroon and orange is nearing an end, Vassallo still knows he has work to do and remains focused on one goal: the NCAA Tournament. He also firmly believes that Wednesday’s game against North Carolina is the only thing standing in the team’s way of an automatic bid — a goal that the small forward will not stop pursuing until he helps his team achieve it. “I just want to win (this game),” Vassallo said. “If we win that game, we’re in the tournament, so I can feel better.”
Orange Mann: Sweeping Blacksburg with the art of dance from page seven
Tech student Zeina Toure hosted that party. “So, Orange Mann came to our party out of nowhere, and, when he came inside, everyone just kind of formed a circle,” Toure said. “He was surrounded by everyone, and he just started doing these dance moves and everything.” “And as fast and as sudden as he came into our house, he just left, and we didn’t see him for the rest of the night.
So I don’t really know what happened there.”
Chapter 5: Orange Mann Goes Cyber To expand what he calls “the Orange Mann phenomenon,” Tech junior computer engineering major Andrew Moore has made the spandex-ed wonder digital. A hybrid of cinematographic superassistants Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox, Moore serves as Web
designer for OrangeMann.com. “Right now we have a couple video ideas I’m hoping to get started on once this gets off the ground a little more,” Moore, dressed like a normal college kid, said. “We’re going to hopefully get some videos up of him at games dancing around.” Visitors can find photos of Orange Mann, a forum for discussing, among other things, “your sexual experiences with Orange Mann” and “Orange
Thoughts” — the Orange Mann’s thought of the day.
Orange Mann: The Epilogue When Tech’s home slate inevitably reaches its end against North Carolina at around 9 p.m., what becomes of Orange Mann? Will he vanish into the night, live in the forest behind Lane Stadium, scale the peaks of Appalachia? Who will the bench-warming opponents of Tech’s
spring teams point and laugh at? Orange Mann said that he will take his act outdoors as well, with appearances at non-revenue sports and, later, football. With two years left until his projected graduation, Orange Mann sees plenty of time to not only wreak havoc on visitors’ psyche, but also to inspire the next hero to pick up the mantle — much like Charlie’s acid-dance on “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” sparked his desire.
“I think Orange Mann will never end at Tech,” Orange Mann said. “I think we’re going to just keep passing it on.” Longworth said the use of Orange Mann is certainly a question the marketing and promotions department will talk about in the off-season. “I thought it was pretty cool,” Bell said. “A fan that would put on spandex and come to the game and dance around … I want to say thanks to him for his support.”