Thursday, September 10, 2009
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
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COLLEGIATETIMES 106th year, issue 82
News, page 2
Coffee & candidate
Features, page 3
Opinions, page 5
Classifieds, page 6
Sports, page 7
Sudoku, page 6
U Car Share graces campus KELSEY HEITER news reporter
HANNA TEACHEY/SPPS
Susan Anderson, a Blacksburg Town Council candidate listens to town members discuss issues at the Easy Chair Coffee Shop.
Illusionist puts on ‘Super’ show
The U Car Share program, initiated in Blacksburg this semester, aims to offer a simple and ecologically friendly mode of transportation for students. Debbie Freed, alternative transportation manager for Virginia Tech, said she wanted to incorporate the U Car Share program at Tech after working with a similar program at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. “I was thinking about doing car sharing at Tech, and the concept seemed like something that would do well on campus,” Freed said. “U Car Share is able to insure students ages 18-21, which is easy.” Freed added that Tech was looking to have fewer vehicles on campus, so the program is a way to give people occasional use of a vehicle when they need it. U Car Share is a national program that is part of U-Haul. “There is a U-Haul business in Blacksburg, so those folks can come out and maintain the cars for us so there really is a minimal amount of effort and no monetary commitment to Virginia Tech to bring the service onto campus, so it is a win-win situation for people who want to use the cars and for Virginia Tech,” Freed said. “The signs that are placed in front of the U Car Share parking spots on campus were provided for us as well, so we did not have to use any monetary funds to begin this
MARK UMANSKY/SPPS
A U Car Share truck sits in a spot in the Cassell Coliseum lot. program.” The program offers different car models to users of the service, with one popular option being less environmentally friendly. “We have two types of hybrids on campus, a Toyota Prius, and a Honda Civic, we also have a Mini Cooper, Toyota Yaris, Ford Focus, and a Ford F-150 pickup,” Freed said. “The F150 has been getting a lot of use for students who want to move things around campus, so it is really great for moving large loads.” Freed said all of the cars that are on campus meet the green standard for their type of vehicle.
“The F-150 uses more gas than the Prius does, but, as a full size pick-up truck, it is one of the greener models,” Freed said. “All of the cars that we have are very fuel-efficient.” Hilary West, communications coordinator for Tech’s transportation services, said she is looking forward to what the program will bring to Tech and the community. “We are doing a U Car Share ribbon cutting at our Active Community celebration on Sept. 16, and we have been working with a couple of U Car Share representatives regarding the celebration,” West said. “We were told that for the ceremony there is a
promotion for free membership for all Virginia Tech faculty, staff and students, so there is code specifically for that as well to waive the registration fee during the promotion, which runs through Oct. 30th.” West said that this is the only carsharing program in the southwest area of Virginia. “It is a new concept for people,” West said. “We have had a positive response from the start of the program, which was August of this year.” Freed said the program sends Tech a monthly spreadsheet to track their progress in the program. see U CAR SHARE / page two
Cultural construction
COURTESY OF KEVIN CONNOR
Proposed cultural center invites diverse religions BY PRIYA SAXENA | news staff writer NIELS GORAN BLUME/SPPS
Illusionist Mike Super at Burruss Hall performing a card trick.
WINNER OF NBC’S TV SHOW “PHENOMENON” READS MINDS, TELEPORTS AND VISITS TECH MARY ANNE CARTER features reporter Voodoo, mind reading, levitation and teleportation are all in a day’s work for illusionist Mike Super. Since he first started dabbling in magic at the age of six, he has earned a number of awards including winning NBC’s show, “Phenomenon,” in 2007. Yet his best tricks may be those preformed off stage. “My favorite wasn’t even in the public eye,” Super said. “We were touring and we were driving and the police pulled me over for speeding.” Having already accumulated a number of speeding tickets in various states, he resorted to magic. “I was like, ‘Hey, if I can read your mind, would you consider giving me a warning?’” recounts Super with a smirk. “I said, ‘Well, just pick a number like one through one hundred and I told him the number. He’s like, ‘Hold on a minute,’ and another car comes, and next thing you know, I’m stand-
ing on the side of the road doing slide hand magic for police and they totally let me go. They were totally like putting handcuffs on me and I’d turn around and get out of them.” When he is not evading speeding tickets, Super spends his time touring. He visited Virginia Tech last night, where he preformed in Burruss Hall. The Collegiate Times sat down with Super before the show yesterday. COLLEGIATE TIMES: You began magic at the age of six. How did you get started? MIKE SUPER: I did. Went to Walt Disney World, actually this sounds really cheesy, but I went to Walt Disney World to this little magic shop that used to be on Main Street, U.S.A., it’s not there anymore, but I saw this old guy doing little magic tricks that children torture their parents with, and I was one of those kids. I didn’t want to ride anything, so my mother had to make a deal, I just see Q&A / page four
Plans to build a cultural center and apartments at 102 Mountain Breeze Dr. in Blacksburg have been resubmitted to town officials and will be considered at meetings beginning next week. The cultural center will function as a religious center, but it will not focus on one religion. Rather, the center will provide a place to practice Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity. Radford resident Manas Ranjan has revised his proposal after withdrawing an initial plan in July. “This is something which our Indian community has tried for some time now, but funding is a huge issue,” Ranjan said. “It’s not easy for 25 or 30 families to come up with this funding.” Ranjan said the apartment complex on the land will serve as a major source of funding for the cultural center, and the revenue will provide the necessary funding to go through with his plan. Ranjan does not know how much it will cost to construct the apartments and center. However, he does estimate the cost to be between $550,000 and $700,000 for the 5,000square-foot building. “The prices for construction have gone down a bit in the area, but the Blacksburg area hasn’t changed,” Ranjan said. “It all depends on the final bids for the contract. We’ll see what happens once we get approval. Decorations will probably cost another $100,000.”
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It all depends on the final bids for the contract. We’ll see what happens once we get approval. MANAS RANJAN BUILDING PLANNER
He said month-to-month expenses would also need to be dealt with. The culture center will have an Indian culture library and will offer free yoga classes. Ranjan said he chose the location because of its proximity to the North Main Street Blacksburg Transit route. He hopes the center will serve as a place for all practitioners of all religions to practice, especially those who do not have centers of worship in Blacksburg. “Students can walk in and do prayers whenever they want to,” Ranjan said. “The reason why it will be a Hindu religion center on a regular basis is because Muslims already have a mosque in Blacksburg, and the Jewish community already has its own place in Blacksburg.” Ranjan has not yet begun planning specific religious activities yet, but non-Hindu holidays will be celebrated too. “We have some members of our community who are Christian, so we will celebrate Christmas and other festivities. Sikhs and Hindus will probably use this building a lot,”
Ranjan said. A town decision could be reached by November. The Blacksburg Planning Commission will review the proposal in a work session Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. No public comments will be taken during the work session, which will take place in the Blacksburg Police Station. A public hearing on the topic is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 6 in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building. “I wanted to start construction early in September and October, but Blacksburg and many neighborhoods felt that the design would overpower the neighborhood’s overall building concept,” Ranjan said. “We’re looking for a design that will complement the neighborhood’s design.” Ranjan expects the actual construction to take about six months depending on the weather and other conditions. If Blacksburg approves the project, he expects the construction to start next year. Engineer Kevin Connor has been working on the engineering and design for the project. He estimates the total construction time to be a year and a half. Ranjan said he is optimistic the project will be approved. “We’re going to be here, and we’re going to take care of this,” Ranjan said. “It will be something our Indian community can be proud of. No matter what religion they believe in, they can be proud of it.”
september 10, 2009
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LooP In the
Wondering what's going on around the 'burg? Check out the events of the upcoming week.
Thursday, September 10
Sunday, September 13
What: Burden Boat Project by Kurt Ernest Steger When: 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Where: Perpectives Gallery Cost: Free
What: Japanese Film Festival When: 3 p.m. Where: The Lyric Cost: $1
What: Author Ethelbert Miller Reading When: 7 p.m. Where: Volume II Bookstore Cost: Free What: Jugbusters When: 9:30 p.m. Where: The Cellar Cost: Cost of food
Monday, September 14 What: Skydiving Club Meeting When: 7 p.m. Where: TOTS Cost: Free What: VT Cheerleading Tryouts When: 7 p.m. Where: Rector Field House Cost: Free
Friday, September 11
Tuesday, September 15
What: ZZ Top When: 4 p.m. Where: Roanoke Civic Center Cost: $43 and up
What: Cha-Cha Lesson and Social Dance When: 7:30 p.m. Where: Blacksburg YMCA Stuart Event Room Cost: Free
What: Down Home Gospel/ The Jug Busters/ The Sigmon Strangers When: 6:30 p.m. Where: Floyd Country Store 206 S Locust St., Floyd Cost: Free What: Sons of Bill When: 10 p.m. Where: Attitudes Cost: $10
Wednesday, September 16 What: Zumba Fitness Class When: 6:30 p.m. Where: McComas Hall Gym Cost: Free to VT patrons What: VT Cheerleading Tryouts When: 7 p.m. Where: Rector Field House Cost: Free
What: Movies on the Drillfield presents Star Trek When: 11 p.m. If you would like an event Where: Drillfield featured in our calendar Cost: Free
e-mail featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com
U Car Share: Program starts without cost to univeristy from page one
“There are also rating systems for the cars, so people can comment on how their time using the car was,” Freed said. “Most of the feedback has been very positive on the cars.” There are added benefits for people who are a part of the commuter alternatives program, Freed said. “People involved in the commuter alternatives program can get a free membership,” Freed said. “Anyone who wants to can join the program, and there is a $25 membership fee for people who don’t belong to the commuter alternatives program.” Freed said another perk of the program is that people do not have to be affiliated with Tech to join. Cost for the program offers two different options, depending on what students or faculty would like to use the cars for. “There is a per-hour fee, but when you go to the U Car Share Web site online, it will explain their two different options,” Freed said. “One option is when someone does not want to go very far, but they want to use the car for a few hours, the cost is $4.95 plus $0.59 per mile, and the other option is $9.50 an hour with unlimited miles up to 180 miles, so if you wanted to go a distance, that would be the billing option that you would choose.” The program’s cars are placed around campus in various lots. “We have two cars in the Coliseum lot, one in the Derring lot, one on the
MARK UMANSKY/SPPS
Ford F-150 is a popular option among the fleet of smaller cars. Drillfield, and we will have two in the Squires lot,” Freed said. “You get more bang for your buck the more people you can get in the car, so we would certainly encourage use for one person, or anyone, to be a member, but the more people you put in the car, the better it is for the environment.” When students register, they will be given instructions on how to reserve cars for the amount of time that they would like. “Students will receive what looks like
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nation & world headlines
a credit card from the U Car Share company when they join, and it actually corresponds to a transponder that is in the car,” Freed said. “Students will go online, make their reservations, and then they will take the card out to the car and place it on a designated area on the windshield that unlocks the car and then you have access to the car. The key is then hidden in the glove box inside of the car.” Freed said gas is included in the hourly fee paid by the user.
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US says Iran nuclear ‘breakout’ capacity WASHINGTON — Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program is nearing a “dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity,” and the country may have enough low-enriched uranium that, if it’s enriched further, could produce one nuclear weapon, a top U.S. diplomat said Wednesday. “We have serious concerns that Iran is deliberately attempting, at a minimum, to preserve a nuclear option,” U.S. ambassador Glyn Davies said in a speech to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. Obama is trying to persuade Iran to join international talks on its nuclear program, and he has asked for a response from Tehran by month’s end. Simultaneously, the United States is trying to gather support for tougher economic sanctions if Iran refuses to suspend its nuclear work. Iran Wednesday handed what it said was a package of diplomatic proposals to envoys representing the six nations dealing with Iran’s nuclear file — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S. Iran says it’s enriching uranium to fuel civilian nuclear power reactors. The United States and leading European countries, pointing to Iran’s past deceptions about its nuclear development and refusal to allow full IAEA inspections, say the Islamic Republic is intent on acquiring nuclear weapons. The six nations offered Iran face-to-face talks in April, an offer Davies reiterated Wednesday. by warren p. strobel, mcclatchy newspapers
Uruguay allows gay adoption, in a first for Latin America MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Uruguay, long-regarded as one of the most progressive countries in Latin America, set a standard for the region by allowing same-sex couples to adopt children with a bill that passed the Senate on Wednesday. While gay rights activists celebrated the passage of the bill, the Roman Catholic Church voiced its opposition, beginning with a strongly worded statement released in August by the Archbishop Nicolas Cotugno of Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital city. The bill was approved 17-6, with most of its support coming from legislators of the ruling leftist Frente Amplio coalition, which has a majority in Congress, and from two of the three senators of the opposition Partido Colorado. The measure passed the lower house in August and is expected to be signed into law soon. The adoption legislation allows couples in legalized civil unions to adopt regardless of their sexual orientation. by federica narancio, mcclatchy newspapers
Interpreter, British soldier die in Afghan raid that frees reporter KABUL — British commandos on Wednesday freed a New York Times reporter who had been taken captive by insurgents, but the reporter’s Afghan interpreter and a British soldier died in the pre-dawn raid, NATO officials and the interpreter’s family said. Reporter Stephen Farrell and interpreter Sultan Munadi were taken captive last Friday as they interviewed villagers in Kunduz province in the aftermath of a NATO airstrike that caused dozens of deaths in the area. In a statement Wednesday, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan confirmed the raid and said a NATO soldier also died during the firefight. A public affairs officer had no information on other casualties. Farrell is the second New York Times reporter to be kidnapped in Afghanistan within the past year. The difficulties facing journalists have increased in recent years as the Taliban insurgency spreads through much of Afghanistan. Foreign journalists routinely hire Afghans to assist in interpreting and reporting the news. by hal bernton and hashim shukoor, the seattle times and mcclatchy newspapers
features 3
editors: topher forhecz, teresa tobat featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
‘Bridges’ joins university, local artists Drugstore health clinics treating more ailments
DAN WAIDELICH features reporter The latest art show at the Virginia Tech Holtzman Alumni Center, “Bridges,” is one of the first products of an effort to connect the unversity with artists from the New River Valley. The art exhibit is sponsored by CommunityArtsWork, which is an alliance composed of Tech, the Blacksburg Regional Art Association and other local arts-based organizations. CommunityArtsWork, an organization originally spearheaded by Tech’s Outreach Program Development and the Blacksburg Regional Art Association, has spent around two years making an exhibit like “Bridges” a reality. President of the BRAA Nancy Norton said finding an appropriate gallery space and fostering the correct collaborative spirit has been a lengthy, trying experience. Despite the drawn out planning process, the hard work has paid off with the opening of the exhibit. CommunityArtsWork hopes that its efforts will help others examine the connections between the university and the community that surrounds it. “Bridges” highlights the work of Truman Capone, director of the School of Visual Arts, as well as 17 other local artists.
exhibit information • Exhibit runs Aug.31– Dec. 2009 • Opening reception on Sept. 2, 4:30-6 p.m. • Free Admission “I have a lot of bridges that connect colors and energies,” Capone said. “All those colors and all that different work I have are bridging the show.” Capone’s work seamingly bridges random objects, colors and ideas and blends them together. Varied textures and geometric shapes dominate Capone’s art where they mix together with bright, yet earthy colors. The pieces from community members in the exhibit deal with the theme of “Bridges” in a much more literal sense. Spans and trestles are presented in photographs and paintings that examine the theme in different ways.
BRUCE JAPSEN chicago tribune
HANNA TEACHEY/SPPS The “Bridges” exhibit was sponsored by CommunityArtsWork, an effort that seeks to unite university and community artists.
CommunityArtsWork organizers planned for “Bridges” to be a juried exhibit in order to ensure that only the very best pieces from around the area were selected. Denise Detrich, director of the Rudolph E. Lee Gallery at Clemson University, was chosen as the juror for the show. Detrich had free reign to choose which pieces would comprise the exhibit. “There was some really good work,” Detrich said. “And I was pleased with what I had to choose from.” Capone, who oversees a faculty that works on both national and international scenes, agreed with Detrich on her assessment of the local work. “It’s wonderful,” Capone said. “I have seen where art did not get attention, but now people are actually seeing. Having a presence is a wonderful thing, and the community is working at the same level. There is a kind of infusion. These kind of shows are really good.” CommunityArtsWork hopes to continue providing the public with the opportunity to experience a synthesis of art from Tech and the area’s artists with further exhibits in the future. Until then, “Bridges” will fill the second floor of Holtzman Alumni Center until December, giving students, faculty and local art appreciators plenty of time to experience this unique blend of artwork.
HANNA TEACHEY/SPPS
Truman Capone, head of the School of Visual Arts, standing with one of his pieces featured in the Holtzman Alumni Center Gallery.
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CHICAGO – Amid the economic downturn and slow growth for retail and outpatient medical care services, pharmacy giants Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. are rolling out specialized services at their in-store clinics, going beyond treatment of routine maladies. Launched over the last four years to care for such simple ailments as ear and sinus infections, strep throat or pink eye, retail clinic operators now are training nurses to do specialized injections for such chronic conditions as osteoporosis and asthma. In addition, they are offering treatments for advanced skin conditions that include removal of warts and skin tags or closing minor wounds. Care for minor “sprains and strains” also is being offered at some retailers, and pilot projects are under way for breathing treatments and special infusions of drugs derived from biotechnology. “We want to create a health corner a real center that looks like you are walking into the doctor’s office,” Walgreens Chief Executive Gregory Wasson said of the Deerfield, Ill.based retailer’s Take Care brand clinics. There is a business reason for adding services. Walgreens and CVS have slowed their expansion of clinics and are instead making attempts to boost revenue by adding new lines of business in their clinics. Typically staffed by advanceddegree nurses known as practitioners, most of the nation’s more than 1,100 retail health clinics are open seven days a week, with no appointment needed. The model has been greeted by health insurers, employers and consumer groups as one way to address the rising number of uninsured Americans, estimated at more than 46 million. Retail clinics not only market themselves as a convenience, they also can be less expensive, providing a competitive threat to primary care doctors and even specialists. Costs for services for those paying outof-pocket at retail clinics generally runs $55 to $75 compared to $100
or more for a visit to a primary care physician. The physician community says consumers should look at the added services by clinics with skepticism, particularly when it comes to care for chronic ailments. And doctors say what a consumer may see as routine may turn out to be something worse. “A sprain could be a muscle tear or a break, for crying out loud, so how does a (retail) clinic know when the patient comes in that they are going to treat a sprain?” said Dr. James Milam, president of the Illinois State Medical Society. “When my nurse gives an injection, I am here. The patient needs a regular doctor who has a history with the patient, knows their history, their family history and their illnesses.” But retailers say they are not going beyond “scope of practice” laws that regulate what nurse practitioners can and cannot do. The clinics are under physicians’ supervision, though doctors usually are not on site. “These are new services we were not providing that our customers asked us to provide,” said Chip Phillips, president of MinuteClinic, a CVS subsidiary. MinuteClinic said this spring that it added treatments for sprains, acne, wound care and motion sickness and testing for tuberculosis. And in Ohio, clinics are piloting a program to provide asthma patients with nebulizer breathing treatments. In Florida, Walgreens has launched a pilot program at its Tampa and Orlando clinics to provide injections for patients with asthma and osteoporosis. “A high percentage of new drug development is targeted toward biologics that will require clinical administration,” Walgreens spokesman Michael Polzin said. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which works with several outside companies to staff clinics in its stores, has remained focused on “providing the stay-well and get-well services that we have always done, such as ear infections, sore throats and bladder infections,” said spokeswoman Christi Gallagher, adding that the company is “always looking for ways to better serve our customers.”
september 10, 2009
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Q&A: Super turned fascination with magic into career from page one
wanted to watch the magic tricks, so she said, we’ve spent too much money just being in here, so if you ride, at the end you can buy something and that’s how I got started. CT: How did you progress from being in school and being a kid to actually being an illusionist? MS: Oh my God, I well I’ve always done magic and I started doing little kids birthday parties so I was like nine years old and would be doing like, I was the older magician at sevenyear-old’s birthday parties and they would like pay me to do that, and so I did that for a little while and then in high school, I would do restaurants. ... I would go around and do table magic. I’d just walk around and kind of repeat what I did at the other tables and people would come back and see me ... and then in college I started touring the college circuit and doing really well there, by the time I was getting interviewed for a position, I was making more money doing magic than what they were going to start me off you know, in a position doing (computer science) and I couldn’t take the pay cut. So I just kept building the show and building the show and I’m just very lucky, I’ve been really, really blessed, so that’s sort of like the progression and then I started doing arts shows and theaters, I was working on a couple TV shows when NBC called ... and I did (the TV show) “Phenomenon.” ... We are working on other TV projects, but they won’t air until, like 2010. CT: When you got involved with the TV show “Phenomenon,” did you go into it thinking, “Oh, I’m going to win?” MS: I absolutely no, I didn’t. I didn’t even want to do “Phenomenon.” I was executive producing my own TV series, but it was on a cable channel, you know, that’s a lot less viewers than network TV, and I had managers going, “I think you should do it,” but I think everyone’s first fear is, “Well I don’t want to go on and be the first one voted off, you know?” ... And then I wanted to be on the show, like down the road, I started seeing the TV promos running for it on NBC ... and everyone’s going like, “Why aren’t you doing the show?” So then I was going to do the show, and then by that time they wanted to be very real and mysterious, and like claim you have these powers and ... that’s not at all my personality. ... They wanted me to be a character
kind of thing, and I didn’t want to do that, so then I became the alternate ... and then we decided to ... change the contract and then it was done ... I was very lucky. CT: So what is the difference between a magician and an illusionist? MS: Some people say that an Illusionist does things with boxes and things of that nature and a magician you know, doesn’t do — to me it’s all interchangeable, really, to me it is. Magician, illusionist, I actually always call myself a “mystifier” ... I can read minds, I can do an escape, I can do an illusion, I can do close up magic, you know. CT: You got to work with mentalist Uri Geller and illusionist Criss Angel on “Phenomenon.” How was working with them? MS: ... It was an interesting dichotomy because Criss ... is very “nothing is real,” and I agree, I’m the same way. And then you have Uri Geller who is actually from like the ’70s, he’s the one who created “spoon bending” like in “The Matrix” ... and magicians don’t typically like him because
he claims to be real even though, in our opinion, he is not, you know. So it was interesting having those two as sort of like, commentary judges because Criss thinks nothing is and Uri thinks everything he does is real and Criss wants to expose it. ... I didn’t think I would like Uri Geller at all. ... I thought I would hate this guy because I thought he was a sham on this but I honestly, after weeks of being around him ... I don’t believe anything he does is real, but I think he really believes what he does is real, like he’s somehow convinced. He’s the nicest guy ever, you know. Now Criss, a little closed off. CT: Did you study with an apprentice at some point? MS: Kind of, that’s a good way of putting it. Yeah, there’s no “Magician State.” You know what I mean, to go and take classes, so a lot of books and videotapes of magicians, and watching, trying to learn. And there’s lots of magic clubs. ... You get around other magicians and you share ideas. Magic is a lot like an instrument you learn basic principles, for instruments, that would be a scale, if you learn a
NIELS GORAN BLUME/SPPS
Left: Illusionist Mike Super at Burruss Hall. Right: Two weeks before the show, Super mailed a tape with predictions of the day’s newspaper headlines kept under guard. He correctly predicted the headlines. scale on any instrument, you have the potential to play any song in the world. Some of them are more difficult than the others ... but the basics of deception are the same. ... You start trying your own stuff or take something traditional and try to change it just a little bit. CT: How often do you introduce new tricks? MS: It’s been hard because the last couple months I haven’t been able to, and I really love working on new stuff. ... You never know what’s going to slow you down but, I’m always creating new stuff like all the time, or trying to change an idea, but every couple months you know, maybe two or three new things go in the show. Or sometimes I’ll try to bring something old back that I haven’t done for a few years. ... I get a lot of requests now to do what I did on “Phenomenon” and stuff, like the voodoo magic where I control someone’s body. ... It’s almost like a being a musician; some people
will want to see your greatest hits. CT: You do voodoo and these dangerous things, and Houdini lost his life to magic. Where do you draw the line? MS: It’s very funny because a lot of people see like an escape on stage and everybody kind of just sits there, and honestly nobody, not even me thinks that like, the danger is real, or that anything could really go wrong. But what’s funny about that is even in things that are considered safe ... it can be more dangerous than the audience actually thinks. ... While it’s pretty safe, there’s always that, “How many times can you do something and then that freak thing happens?” ... I’ve done the risky stuff, for like publicity stunts, but it’s more of a onetime thing. CT: What’s been your favorite stunt that you have pulled off? MS: I haven’t done the whole, David Blaine frozen in ice ... but I was doing
a bunch of radio station action in Pittsburgh ... and they were doing this whole “Challenge Mike Super” thing. ... They had a banker bring all these bills, they selected one of the bills, I had to sign it, I had to teleport it from there to their destination of their choice, but they couldn’t tell me, I couldn’t know where it was going to be before I did the trick, and I actually ended up teleporting it, and it freaked them out because they were trying to get me. ... And I’ll call up for a morning radio show, and I’ll call up and possess one of the DJs live on air and it’s intriguing that they love doing it and they are always like “this is going to be stupid” and then when I do what I do, they freak out. ... I possess the DJ’s body through the phone, I’m not even in the studio. CT: You did something here where you sent ahead the headlines of the newspaper for the day. MS: I did, and I love doing that too. ... I’ll send them the prediction ... they keep it secure and I don’t touch anything, there’s no switches, it’s not a magic trick, and yet I have no special powers, it has nothing to do with that. CT: So you truly can predict it? MS: No, it’s not. ... It’s all a physiological thing. ... it’s all very real, it’s all very legit, but I’m not a “see-er,” I have no psychic abilities or anything like that ... but if I am wrong, I always refund the tickets to everybody who pre-bought tickets to the show. ... It’s always like a little bet I do with the community. ... I’ve had newspapers print half a headline, that makes no sense ... but I got it, which is good. And it freaks the newspaper editors out ... and they are the ones who knows no one is in on it, so it freaks them out.
opinions 5
editor: debra houchins opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
september 10, 2009
The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
Your Views [letters to the editor]
Stinespring needs to go The time has come for Bryan Stinespring to be fired as Offensive Coordinator at Virginia Tech. I know that Frank Beamer is extremely loyal to Stinespring but the facts do not lie and enough is enough. Last year our team averaged 303.43 yards per game which is 103 out of 119 Division I-A teams, according to the NCAA Web site. We had a worse offense than Duke, the same Duke that lost to a I-AA team this past weekend. We averaged a paltry 129.07 passing yards per game, which places us at 111 out of 119 teams. Now let’s take a look at 2007. We averaged 330.5 yards of total offense, which puts us at 100 out of 120 teams. We did better in total passing yards per game with 196.86 yards per game, but that still ranked us in the lower 70 percent at 85 of 119 teams. 2007 was the year that we had Eddie Royal, Josh Morgan, and Justin Harper as wide receivers; all were drafted in the 2008 NFL draft. If you can’t run a passing offense with 3 NFL wide receivers then you should not be an offensive coordinator. In 2006 we averaged 295.15 yards per game which put us at 99 out of 119 teams, and 181.77 passing yards per game which
ranks us 82 of 119 teams. Our 155 total yards against Alabama this weekend put us at 106 of 118 teams which opened their season. Our 91 passing yards put us at 107 of 118 teams. We also only managed 11 first downs this past weekend. In 2008 we were in the Red Zone (the area inside the opponent’s 20 yard line) 58 times. Of those 58 times we scored 43 times or 74 percent, ranking us 105 of 119 teams. Of those 43 times we scored only 27 were touchdowns which is 46.6 percent of the time we were in the Red Zone. Scoring touchdowns 46 percent of the time from inside the opponents 20 yard line is unacceptable. These horrible numbers do not lie, they are not my opinions they are the facts. The time has come for Bryan Stinespring to be relieved of his duties. When your team is perennially ranked in the top 25 but the total offense of that team has not been ranked higher than 99 out of 119 teams for the past 3 years then there needs to be a change. There has to be a change. Just imagine what we could accomplish if our offense even improved a little.
Judd Smith Senior Political Science Major
US needs to let go of grudge against Cuba W
hen President Obama’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, was asked last month to define “success” in those countries, he said, “We’ll know it when we see it.” That comment isn’t as flip as it seems (see below). But it illustrates the difficulties of explaining why we should get further involved in Afghanistan. Even as President Obama considers whether to send more troops, public opinion is turning against the Afghan war because Americans can’t figure out what we are doing — or where we are headed. So it’s not enough for Obama to say, “This is a war of necessity,” not of choice. If he truly believes this (as I do), he must spell out our strategy to the American people and explain why it’s worth the costs. If Obama doesn’t take a firm lead, others will shape the debate and narrow his options, just as they have done with health care. And we’ll all pay the price. The president should start by clarifying the strategic reasons we are in Afghanistan and what we are trying to achieve there. Americans grasp, as the president has said, that “we want to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan and prevent their return to either country in the future.” But many ask, logically, why fight the Afghan Taliban if al-Qaeda is now based inside Pakistan? And are those jihadis in caves still a strategic threat to us? What most Americans don’t know is that top Afghan Taliban are tightly linked with al-Qaeda leaders and radical Pakistani jihadis. Al-Qaeda still gives strategic guidance and training to groups aiming to attack Europeans or Americans. But even more dangerous is the group’s avowed goal of destabilizing the Pakistani government and getting its hands on that country’s nuclear weapons — which it has threatened to use against the West. Strategic experts in Pakistan fear the jihadis could penetrate military or nuclear installations. This puts the jihadi threat inside AfPak in a different category than that presented by Somalia and other unstable backwaters. Our presence in Afghanistan is, in part, a holding action while we seek to stabilize Pakistan and persuade its military to focus more on fighting internal jihadis than on archenemy India. Were Afghanistan to revert to Taliban control, the blowback would be felt inside Pakistan, where terrorists would be immeasurably strengthened. Critics say we could handle this threat by firing drones and missiles at jihadi bases from offshore and sending in special forces. Obama should explain to Americans why this idea is a pipe dream. Targeting terrorists requires on-theground intelligence and cooperation. We would lose both inside Afghanistan were the Taliban to retake the country. Without good intelligence, we’d be left with the option of bomb, bomb, bomb the country — killing civilians with little prospect of achieving our objective. And if we left Afghanistan, our intelligence on targets inside Pakistan also would shrink. Moreover, we’ve twice tried the mini-
malist approach to Afghanistan and it led to disaster. The first time, we got 9/11. The second time, after the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban, our neglect produced the mess we have now. The president’s biggest challenge is to clarify why the Afghan war is not hopeless — and why it’s not analogous to the Soviet occupation there in the 1980s or to Vietnam. Polls have made clear that Afghans don’t want the Taliban back in power; they will tolerate a temporary NATO presence if it provides them with security and a better life and then hands over to Afghans. Hand over to whom, skeptics ask? Indeed, the Afghan central government is weak and corrupt and may lack all legitimacy after disputed elections. And it will take years to build up a credible Afghan army. To these complaints, Obama can offer two rejoinders. First, his Afghan war is just starting. As Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates put it last week, this mission “has been underresourced almost since its inception.” In other words, the Bush administration let Afghanistan go hang while it focused on Iraq. That is changing, and the new president deserves a chance to set things right, especially since he has a top civilian and military team in Kabul. Second, there is a plausible U.S. strategy in place, which would focus immediate economic aid and military resources on limited geographical areas where the Taliban challenge is strongest. The goal: Try to create “ink spots” within which people can see that their lives are improving, and which can be expanded outward. The broader strategy: Demonstrate that the U.S. commitment is firm, and shift the Afghan mood, which perceives the Taliban as winning. If Afghans believe the Taliban can be ousted, they will provide more intelligence to their own and NATO forces and may be willing to stand up to Taliban threats. If locals see they can get jobs, they may quit the Taliban payroll. The strategy must be flexible. If national Afghan leaders are recalcitrant, U.S. commanders and diplomats can work with local and regional leaders, as they did in Iraq, until Kabul is forced to take notice. If the Afghan army grows slowly, the U.S. military may turn to tribal militias in the short term. This brings me back to Holbrooke’s “We’ll know it when we see it.” As I saw in Iraq, once an ink-spot strategy starts to work, it opens new opportunities for progress. If midlevel Taliban leaders see the wind shift, they may choose to enter politics or business. If Pakistani military commanders see Americans making a firm commitment to South Asia, they may fight harder against their own jihadis, which will in turn help the Afghans. A lot of ifs, but you get the picture. And you see why this complex strategy is tough for Obama to explain because it draws together so many pieces. But it is not impossible to do so. And the time to do it is now.
TRUDY RUBIN -columnist, mcclatchy newspapers
MCT CAMPUS
Accusations have no place in Blount, Hout conflict A
fter the opening week of the 2009-2010 college football season, what have we all learned? Irony provides tremendous amounts of humor and, well ... irony. I’m referring to LeGarrette Blount’s much-replayed sucker punch, which landed with precise execution on Boise States’ defensive lineman Byron Hout’s face. This punch, which will live in infamy, happened during the NCAA’s “sportsmanship week.” While the irony does provide humor, this is a very sad occurrence. Blount’s career as a college athlete is over. He will have to sit out the rest of the year for attacking Hout. On the other hand, the more curious part of the story is Hout’s side. What did he say to anger Blount and why wasn’t he punished for it? The first instinct by the media was to say that Blount reacted to a racial slur Hout threw his way. It seems like a logical assumption; racism is deeply rooted in American history and has been a source of frustration for minorities. But could an alternative view be that Blount is a raging lunatic and let the game get the best of him?
Blount had been in trouble before for missing team meetings, events, etc., but he was reinstated before Oregon’s spring practice. ESPN also reported that he talked about how he wanted to get revenge for the beating the Oregon Ducks took from the Broncos in Eugene the year before. So we already know that this was the game on his mind through summer practices. The frustration of the loss reached a tipping point after the game when Byron Hout tapped Blount on the shoulder to get his attention and shouted something in his face. Without a doubt, Hout deserves to be reprimanded as well for provoking Blount. There is no place in football for that kind of pointless trash after a hard game. However, to blame the altercation on a racial slur allegedly said by Hout seems to be jumping the gun. Accusations have no place in this conflict. They will only compound the issue and further demonize both players. No one will know for sure what was said except for the two players involved. Even when they recount what happened, the facts will be dis-
torted to improve their own images and defame the other’s. The bottom line here is that both parties need to keep moving on with the season and keep their mouths shut as they have been doing. Arguments over whether or not Blount’s suspensions and Hout’s lack of punishment are fair will continue for years. This is a pointless argument, but it will be perpetuated by fans with nothing better to do than gripe about issues that are irrelevant. As a person with no stake in this overblown issue, I can say it was very easy to sit back and laugh at the fireworks going on in Boise, Idaho. Week one of college football is now over, and I realize why I have missed it so much since last January. Let the games begin.
JACOB CRAIG -regular columnist -senior English major, biology minor
McDonnell is for family values in a time of political misbehavior L
ast Tuesday a document surfaced authored by current Virginia Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell that had quite the “macaca” impression. The document is McDonnell’s master’s thesis he wrote while attending Regent University School of Law, founded by famed evangelist Pat Robertson. Within the infamous thesis, McDonnell divulges his Christian-based roots, showing his concern for the well-being of the American family structure and the importance of marriage. Unfortunately, McDonnell gets slightly off-track when he insists that the government should show preference against “fornicators” and “feminists” and all other sorts of outsiders that conservatives are worried about. In the nearly 100-page document, McDonnell stresses the importance of a good family and the positive influences it can have on children, as well as the values that can be passed along from generation to generation and displayed in the public eye. There are only trace references to the bigotry mentioned above. The work is an honest, genuine and otherwise respectful piece of academia, worthy enough to earn McDonnell his Juris Doctor in law. However, in an election that is for a state as wildly diverse as Virginia, the Creigh Deeds camp would be crazy not to beat this horse to death for the duration of this campaign. In a time when governors across the country are letting their extramarital affairs, prostitution affiliations and greed get the best of them, it’s nice to hear that someone still cares about the family. At the expense of insulting several different groups.
The most recent moment of gubernatorial scandal was the Republican Gov. Mark Sanford soap opera this summer, where he took a leave of absence from South Carolina’s state legislation to relax after a particularly intense session. His destination was the Appalachian Trail, but then his car was discovered at an airport parking lot and he was seen exiting a terminal the next day after a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. He had spent a week in Buenos Aires with his mistress, a woman he claimed to have deeper feelings for than his own wife. Aside from the extramarital mess his Republican party renounces time and time again, the question arose of whether he financed his trip on the state’s checkbook. As he came out and shed a tear over the probability that he did, in fact, love his mistress more than his wife, the media sort of remained speechless until daytime talk shows took up the issue. All the opinion columnists wondered, was he right to admit this? This is so unprecedented. And it was. He and his wife have quite the baggage to unpack, but at the same time, he should not have brought his wife next to him and made her stand beside him foolishly as he admitted to being in love with someone else. We’re allowed to fall out of love, I think. If our relationships don’t work, then don’t try to fall back in love with each other. Just move on, and keep it out of the limelight. The same thing happened with former Democratic New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, whose affair as “Client 9” led him to a ruined political career. But the King of Indiscretion Award for the 2008-09 year goes to former Democratic Illinois Gov.
Rod Blagoyevich, who infamously tried to auction off newly elected Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat. Instead of remaining hush-hush about this scandal, Blagoyevich has made windfall profits since the scandal by appearing on news talk shows and even writing his autobiography. Scandal sells, and Blagoyevich knows that we’re buying his story. So why are these three other governors’ stories more important than McDonnell’s? The argument that the McDonnell camp has released is very feasible. It has been roughly 20 years since the thesis was published, which is plenty of time for his views to mature. Also, a basic purpose of composition is to interpret the audience. With the understanding that the audience is the faculty of a university rooted in conservative ideals, a heavy emphasis on traditional family values is important. The first people in McDonnell’s acknowledgements on the front page are his parents, whom he thanks for the opportunity to grow up in a stable household. That’s all McDonnell is wishing for — the chance for more American children to get the chance he got. Unfortunately, he had to disparage some people in the process. But that’s his right. He is allowed to articulate his beliefs, and it his constitutional right to do so. Just, he should have had more discretion over his diction.
BEN WOODY -regular columnist -junior English major
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Gergen sisters not an ordinary duo
sports 7
No Weaver, no problem for golfers JOSH PARCELL staff writer
CALLIE HYDER/SPPS
BRIAN CLAY/SPPS
Tech volleyball redshirt senior Jill Gergen (right) and assistant coach Jayme Gergen (left) do their jobs against East Carolina University.
DESPITE DIFFERENCES, JILL AND JAYME GERGEN REUNITE AT TECH STRIVING FOR A SIMILAR GOAL RAY NIMMO sports reporter Two young sisters visit the Grand Canyon and enjoy a masterpiece of nature. Jill Gergen walks ahead of her family, and the view inspires her. Noticing a chipmunk in a nearby tree, she smiles and meanders along the canyon’s edge. She continues ahead, looking left and right, allowing her feet to instinctively lead the way. She is in no danger. She knows how close she is to the edge. No fear. Her older sister Jayme stays back with the family and carefully observes her younger sister. The more important masterpiece of nature — the sisterly bond — begins to exert itself. Muscles tense up and nerves tingle. Jayme is nervous. She wonders if Jill knows how close she is to the edge. Jayme expresses her anxiety to her mother who reassures her everything is all right. As different as people can be from their siblings, the bond between them created at birth never goes away. It’s no different for Jill and Jayme, but that bond might be stronger than most. “I won’t let anything bad happen to her,” Jayme said. That sisterly bond comes with a side effect of sibling rivalry, though. Ask your doctor before starting your daily dose of Gergen attitude. A game of dodgeball showcased the attitude. “Keep your eye on the ball” is the motto. Jill wasn’t looking, and Jayme
pegged her right in the face. No “I’m sorry.” Just “That’s why you keep your head on a swivel.” Never-say-never is an incorrect phrase for the Gergen sisters. They definitely have ‘never’ in their vocabulary, except ‘never’ is followed by ‘quit,’ ‘die’ and ‘stop.’ Jayme is in her fifth year as an assistant coach for Virginia Tech volleyball. Jill, a redshirt senior, plays libero on the team. The two come from Topeka, Kan. — almost one thousand miles from Blacksburg, Va. How did they end up here? The journey began for Jayme when she signed to play with Georgia Tech and started her career there in 2001. During her tenure, she was an American Volleyball Coaches Association honorable mention All-American, first-team All-ACC honoree, and Academic AllDistrict selection. She finished her career ranked second in career hitting percentage for Georgia Tech (.353), fifth for career block assists (426), and total blocks (473). Meanwhile, Jill was anything but jealous. She wanted to be just like her sister. When she stopped growing at 5 feet 6 inches, the realization came that her goal would not come true. “My mom wrote me this letter before a tournament, one time,” Jill said. “(My mom) said, ‘Jillian, you’ve got to jump out of (Jayme’s) footsteps and start making your own.’ I think that really just inspired me, and I think I’ve done a great job making my own. Hers are great to follow — they’re just a little too
big for me.” Current Hokies head coach Chris Riley was the head coach for Towson University at the time, and Riley wanted to bring Jill there. Unfortunately, Riley didn’t have a scholarship for the libero position, so Jill was left to find a school elsewhere. She landed at the University of Nebraska-Kearney for her freshman year in 2005, but the experience wasn’t what she had hoped for. Luckily, Riley became the head coach at Tech, and she talked to him about joining the team. Her sister, Jayme, had been an assistant coach with Virginia Tech the year prior to Riley’s arrival, so it was an added bonus. “Everything happened the way it was supposed to happen,” Jill said, looking at her sister. Not wanting to appear a coach’s favorite, Jill and Jayme decided to keep their sisterhood quiet in the beginning. “We really wanted to keep that separate for her,” Jayme said. “It was going to be better for her experience to establish herself as a teammate and player.” The sisters easily kept the secret. They sound alike, but Jayme talks much faster than Jill. They don’t look too much alike, Jayme being 6-feet tall and Jill 5-feet-6inches, so no one noticed. Since then, the two of them are easy to recognize and remember, but for different reasons. “If you have Jayme Gergen as a friend, you’ll have her as a friend for life,” Riley said. “She’ll never forget you. She’ll always be there.” When asked what each admired about the other, their eyes met, and, within half a second, all the memories and stories of their lives were unlocked.
Both of them said, “You go first.” “No, you go first.” “I’ve met very few people who have such a sunny disposition,” Jill said, “and are just so sweet to everyone. I think her personality is one of a kind.” Jayme smiled and pondered her admirations of Jill. “What I value most about Jill is her fight,” Jayme said. “It’s the size of the fight in the dog here. This kid has battled it out in a lot of different ways in life. She never quits. She never gives up. She just keeps working because she knows if she works hard, good things are going to happen for her, and they have ... and she’s amazing.” Maybe the most admirable trait both have is their love of their family. So many times people mention family as the most important part of their lives. The love these sisters have for their mom, dad and brother is palpable. Jill talked about taking a characteristic from her family members and using them in all aspects of her life. She chose her dad’s patience, her mom’s persistence, Jayme’s dedication and her brother Jake’s fearlessness. “If I could take a little bit of every single person in my family, I think I’d be superwoman,” Jill said. If that’s the case, superwoman is a closet mathematician. Jill loves being a math major and teaching math to people who don’t understand it. She’s finishing her undergraduate program in math and starting her master’s degree in education. Yes, that’s right, Jill wants to be a math teacher. The reasoning behind it, though, may not be what you’d expect. Teachers used to tell her she wasn’t see GERGENS / page eight
Competing against the nation’s best in the Atlantic Coast Conference can be tough, but the 2009 Virginia Tech golf team is up to the challenge. Gone is the decorated leader Drew Weaver, who, after four outstanding years, is on a quest to make the PGA Tour. The Hokies kicked off preseason practice two weeks ago in search of Weaver’s replacement. Several players seem ready to make that move. Junior Garland Green returns as one of the players vying for the No. 1 spot in the Hokies’ lineup. Last season, Green posted an average score of 74.6, fifth on the team. However, a good summer has Green at the forefront of the race for the top spot. “Garland had a great summer, so we expected him to be playing well coming into this season,” head coach Jay Hardwick said. Freshman Mikey Moyers has also had a fruitful start to the preseason, trailing Green by only two shots through six rounds of the team’s qualifying. Moyers is one of three freshmen making up the core of a very young team in 2009. The other freshmen on the team are Jacob Everts and Marc MacDonald. MacDonald came from Zimbabwe and has quite the adjustment ahead of him in the United States. He has only ever played on courses where the distances are marked in meters rather than yards, which can cause some tricky issues during a round. “Jacob has the ability to shoot some really low numbers,” Hardwick said. “He is a really good putter, he just needs to play more consistently, which will come as he becomes better adjusted at Tech.” Junior Marshall Bailey played in his second U.S. Amateur Open in late August, missing the cut by six shots. Still, the experience of playing on the biggest stage golf has to offer for amateurs will pay dividends this season.
“Having Marshall play in two major championships gives him great experience that will help him tremendously this season,” Hardwick said. Despite his success on the national level, Bailey is keeping a level head about the upcoming season. “I take it one tournament at a time and just play the best I can. I don’t really have any expectations in the long term,” Bailey said. The captain of the team is junior Aaron Eckstein from Salem, Va. When practice began, the players voted on who they thought would be the best leader for the group this year, and Eckstein got the nod. “It means everything to be named captain since the players elect you. Knowing that your teammates think you are a good leader means a lot, and I am very honored,” Eckstein said. Eckstein came out of the gates strong last fall before tailing off in the spring season because of some swing changes he was working on. The changes in his swing forced Eckstein to be pushed out of the lineup most of the spring. But after a summer’s worth of hard work, his swing is coming back into shape. “I haven’t played great yet after making the swing change, but I’m looking forward to having a great season,” Eckstein said. Blake Redmond rounds out the seven-man roster, and he looks to improve on a promising freshman season last year. He averaged a score of 75 last season, including a low round of 70, but he looks to have a stronger season during his sophomore campaign. “Blake has added some yardage (to his drives) over the summer, which is always important in this game, and he will contend for a spot in the starting lineup,” Hardwick said. The Hokies are taking on some of the toughest competition in the country. The ACC has produced some of the best collegiate players in the nation in recent years. The Walker Cup, which features see GOLF / page eight
september 10, 2009
page 8
Golf: Young but talented, ready for 2009 Gergens: Coaching and
playing for successful year
from page seven
10 American amateur golfers in a week of competition against Europe, consists of three former ACC golfers. Brendan Gielow of Wake Forest, Nathan Smith of Duke and Tech’s own Weaver are all representing the conference in the prestigious tournament. That level of talent makes for a competitive battle for the championship, which coach Hardwick is ready to embrace. “Having such a strong conference is great for our program, and we have a lot of teams to contend with,” Hardwick said. The Hokies’ qualifying rounds determine what slots the players will fill in the lineup once the regular season begins. Rounds are played at nearby courses, including Blacksburg Country Club and the Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech in Radford. Incoming freshmen are at a disadvantage during qualifying having never played the courses until practice began. Moyers doesn’t need to make
from page seven
MICHAEL SHROYER/SPPS
Virginia Tech junior golf captain Aaron Eckstein, of Salem, Va., tees off in Blacksburg on April 21, 2008. any excuses, however. On his first attempt on the Blacksburg Country Club course, he managed to shoot a 62. Youth will be served for sure with
this team, but the group won’t let that stop them from making a deep run in the postseason. Coach Hardwick is very confident in his squad.
“We will compete on a national level and want to compete for the conference championship. We just want to do the best we can. The kids are absolutely motivated.”
good at math, and she took the lowest math courses in grade school. “When I tell people I’m a math major back home, they just drop their jaws,” Jill said. “I’m not good at it, but I love it.” It sounds modest, but Jill doesn’t always understand the math at first, and it takes a while to click in her head. That’s precisely why she believes she can be a good teacher — understanding how the student thinks. Jayme also understands how players and people think. She majored in psychology at Georgia Tech, and it’s paid dividends in her coaching career. Trying to get a group of players to commit to the same goal can be tough for any coach, but Jayme does it well. Besides coaching during the season, she also coaches a club team in the spring and is the volleyball camp coordinator for the many summer camps at Virginia Tech. “Jayme’s willingness to help people is
completely based on her personality,” Riley said. “She’s going to be a great head coach some day. She’s going to win more games than I’ve ever won. Her kids will run through walls for her, no question.” Having both Jill and Jayme on the same coaching staff after Jill graduates could be an interesting team, much like Seth and Brad Greenberg years ago for Tech basketball, but it probably won’t happen. Jill’s passion is teaching, but volleyball is something she will always love. She is still considering coaching high school volleyball along with being a math teacher. The dynamic duo might not be completely separated after this year. “I always told Jayme she should be a high school psychology teacher — that way we can have lunch breaks together,” Jill said jokingly. Either way, the Gergen sisters will always be a pedal-to-the-metal pair, ready to take on the world — but watch out for cliffs and canyons.