Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Print Edition

Imagine living here instead of your cozy apartment see our Collegiate Living insert to read about the architecture student who made this field his home.

BRIAN CLAY/SPPS

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903

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COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 5

News, page 1

Features, page 2

Opinions, page 3

Sports, page 5

Classifieds, page 4

A heavy load to carry

Police ID parking lot suspect PRITCHARD ROBBERIES REMAIN UNSOLVED

Haiti pleas for longterm aid, tents JACQUELINE CHARLES & SCOTT HIAASEN

LIANA BAYNE news reporter Virginia Tech police have identified a suspect after investigating several incidents that occurred Monday afternoon while still persuing a string of weekend robberies.

According to an e-mail sent by the Virginia Tech Police Department at 10:33 p.m. Monday evening, information from several persons who responded to requests from the police led to the identification and location of the individual, who is now at an undisclosed off-campus location.

According to the police, between 2 and 2:30 p.m. a man approached two female students near the BreakZone on the first floor of Squires Student Center.

He began speaking to them and acted “odd and disoriented,” according to the press release. Uncomfortable with the situation, the two left the area, where the man allegedly followed them for a short distance before walking towards Kent Street.

Then, at approximately 2:45 p.m., a man approached and entered an occupied vehicle in the parking lot outside of the university bookstore on campus.

After he got into the vehicle, he allegedly asked the occupants of the vehicle where they were going and asked for a ride. They declined and the man left the car, walking toward Hokie Grill.

In both cases, the suspect was described as a white male between 5 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall.

He was reportedly wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans and carrying a black backpack.

He has short dark brown hair and may have “scratches or scars on his face,” the press release said. He may have referenced the name “Daniel” during the two interactions.

Although the descriptions of the suspect from the two incidents were similar, it was not known whether thes e two events were related until the suspect’s apprehension later Monday evening.

This incident has similarities to one that occurred on Monday, Jan. 18 near the greenhouses on Washington Street just past the traffic circle. Tech police advised students of this incident via an e-mail press release.

In a separate, earlier incident, a white male, described as being about 6 feet tall and having dirty-blonde hair, allegedly attempted to enter a moving vehicle on Washington Street. After he was unable to enter the vehicle, he walked away toward McComas Hall. The man was described as wearing a plain black hoodie and blue jeans. His hair was cut in a “buzz” style.

Tech police representatives declined to provide further comment on the three incidents.

Tech police are also investigating a string of burglaries that occurred in Pritchard Hall over the weekend.

In an e-mail press release sent to students on Monday night, Tech police said that on Saturday, Jan. 23, six separate burglaries occurred Friday night. In all cases, an unidentified person entered unlocked dorm rooms and stole “various, easily portable items such as MP3 players, cell phones and cash,” according to the press release.

In some cases, the victiams were asleep in their rooms when the burglaries allegedly occurred. No one was harmed in any of the incidents, the press release said.

Individuals with more information on these events are encouraged to contact the Tech police at 540-231-6411.

Sudoku, page 4

mcclatchy newspapers

DANIEL LIN/SPPS

Rising book prices weigh heavily on student budgets HOLLY HACKER mcclatchy newspapers Textbooks are not included in the sticker price of a college education, but they cost the average student at a four-year public institution more than $1,000 a year.

Rising textbook prices have inspired University Bookstore and Tech Bookstore to search for new ways of lowering students’ financial burden.

According to the College Board’s 2009 report on Trends in College Pricing, books and supplies cost students at four-year public schools $1,122 per year on average, or $561 per semester.

The Southern Regional Education Board, which is the accrediting body for Virginia universities, published an article on rising textbook prices titled, “Focus on Rising College Textbook Prices.”

The article said college textbook prices increased almost twice as quickly as the overall rate of inflation from 1986-2004.

Local textbook retailers are working to offer more affordable prices, mainly using two strategies: an increased availability of used books and textbook rental programs.

Dave Wilson, associate director for University Bookstore, acknowledges prices have increased. The

[

online poll

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Go to www.collegiatetimes.com to tell us how much you spent on books this semester.

University Bookstore, which is located on campus near Newman Library, and Volume Two Bookstore are both owned by Virginia Tech Services, Inc. “Yes, prices have gone up,” Wilson said. “Publishers tend to increase prices yearly.”

Wilson said his bookstore has been testing a textbook rental program.

He said about 30 titles have been available to rent at the University Bookstore, and said plans are in place to expand the program in the fall.

The independent Tech Bookstore, on South Main Street, already has a rental program in place for the spring 2010 semester.

Its program requires the student to pay 50 percent of the book’s price and return it by the last day of exams.

If the book is not returned, they will be charged for the rest of the book.

Currently, Tech Bookstore offers rentals on more than 300 books.

Internet startups are jumping on the rental bandwagon, too.

A California-based company called Chegg lets students order textbooks online and have them shipped

via UPS. The four-year-old company has rented more than 1.5 million textbooks this year.

So many sites have popped up it’s hard to keep them straight: BookRenter.com, CampusBookRentals.com and TextBookRentals.com are just a few.

Not every textbook can be rented.

Experts say books need to have a decent shelf life so they can be rented several times. A bookstore won’t recoup its costs if the fourth edition of a book is quickly replaced by the fifth.

A 2005 federal study reported that publishers revise textbooks every three or four years.

Nor does renting always make sense. Students who need their books beyond one semester class are better off buying. If a student needs a book immediately, waiting for books from Amazon.com and Half.com might not be possible.

Consumer advocates say textbook rental programs help by offering more choices.

The University Bookstore is currently offering rentals on only 30 titles. He said certain books couldn’t be offered to rent.

“I have to rule out any books that come bundled with online access codes,” Wilson said.

The SREB report listed bundling as a major factor of the increase.

Capital campaign progresses toward billion dollar donation goal

Bundling is the practice of packaging supporting materials such as supplemental guides or online logins, along with the books.

Books up for rental are usually books that can be reused.

Wilson said University Bookstore also discounts its textbooks.

“We actually discount our books by up to 10 percent,” Wilson said.

“We just decided we would be efficient — to make a little less profit than other university bookstores.”

Wilson said that while the University Bookstore is Tech’s official on-campus bookstore, it does not receive any university funding.

SREB lists rental programs and used books as effective strategies for lowering costs.

“We’re very aggressive in searching for used books,” Wilson said.

“We’ve developed a relationship with used book companies around the country.”

Virginia requires faculty members to confirm all bundled materials will be used in class.

The state also mandates universities to provide a list of required textbooks be made available to students.

The SREB report, however, states Virginia does not specify when the list must be available. nrv news editor zach crizer contributed to this story

campaign monies raised VT

from jul. 1, 2003 to dec. 31, 2009

2,375 days

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generous holiday season has propelled Virginia Tech’s capital campaign toward its billion-dollar goal.

The Campaign for Virginia Tech, started in Oct. 2007, raised $27.3 million between Nov. 30 and Dec. 31, 2009. Michael Kiser, spokesman for the campaign, said the holiday number was not unusual.

“We usually have a very good December,” Kiser said.

He added that the holiday giving has been strong even with a down

economy.

“We’ve been seeing lately signs of recovery in terms of giving,” Kiser said.

“We’re not quite where we’d like to be, but we’ve had some pretty strong support.”

Kiser said the campaign is still on schedule to hit its goal of $1 billion raised

by December 2010.

“We’re a little ahead of the curve on this,” Kiser said. “I think that says a lot about the strength of our support.” gordon block, news reporter

as of aug. 31, 2009 as of sept. 30, 2009 as of oct. 31, 2009 as of nov. 30, 2009 as of dec. 31, 2009

$825.4 million $845.9 million $854.3 million $863.9 million $891.2 million

$891,191,346 total raised 2,375 days in campaign

$375,238.46 per day of campaign LINDA NGUYEN/COLLEGIATE TIMES

Rebuilding Port-au-Prince could take a decade or longer and ultimately completely reform the way Haiti is organized, foreign leaders said at a conference Monday.

Conference members also used the meeting as a microphone for an urgent need now in the quakeshaken nation: tents.

“Anybody who’s got those tents, get in touch with us,” said John Holmes, United Nations undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.

Haiti’s prime minister, JeanMax Bellerive, told envoys from 19 other countries and international organizations that the Jan. 12 earthquake crippled not just the city of Port-au-Prince, but the entire country. In the future, he said, Haiti’s authority and its resources must be decentralized.

“In 30 seconds, Haiti lost 60 percent of its gross domestic product,” Bellerive said. “We need to review the whole country.”

While the conference is focused on long-term reconstruction, Bellerive also passed along a more urgent appeal for immediate assistance from Haiti’s president, Rene Preval.

Bellerive said his country needs at least 200,000 tents to provide shelter to those left homeless.

“I could continue on all of these emergencies, there are many,” Bellerive said. “It is very difficult for me to talk reconstruction when we do not take these other matters into account.”

In Haiti, the Preval government said the need for tents was dire because the country’s first rainy season begins in about 10 days.

Holmes also said the main water system in Port-au-Prince is now operating again. Even before the earthquake, the water system failed to reach much of the city’s residents. Critically, Holmes said, relief agencies will focus on providing ready-to-eat meals for thousands of displaced people for at least the next two weeks.

By Monday morning, IOM estimated, some 692,000 people were living in 591 scattered settlements — tent cities set up, many spontaneously, to shelter people left homeless by the 7.0 earthquake on Jan. 12.

“It is likely that this figure is much higher, even though many people have left the capital to seek shelter in other towns and villages,” the IOM said.

Correction -In “Blacksburg’s Movers & Shakers” special section (CT, Jan. 22), the ‘So who’s who?’ listing should have read as follows: Geof Allen, Bob McGrath, Caroline Smith, Krisha Chachra, Kristina Hartman, Matt Manganti, Matt Saunders, Stephen Prince, Nathan Melenbrink, and Fatumata Yarmah.

The Collegiate Times regrets this error.

2 features

editor: topher forhecz featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865

january 26, 2010

COLLEGIATETIMES

German Club: Plenty of philanthropy, no lederhosen LIZ NORMENT features reporter The German Club at Virginia Tech is not a language or cultural organization. It does not celebrate Oktoberfest in a tent outside of its manor each year nor does it have any current members named “Hans.”

Most people who are aware of the club’s presence often associate them as the people dressed in suits, selling programs before football games.

While this may tempt tailgaters to scoff at the club’s apparent lack of school spirit — wearing ties instead of jerseys, selling programs instead of playing flip-cup — it is actually just the opposite.

“Sure, we’d love to be out there tailgating, but selling programs shows how strong our dedication is to this university,” said Chris Valdes, a senior psychology and history major and the current president of the German Club.

The money that the members make from the programs goes directly to the university. Selling programs for $5 each goes to put on the club’s largest event: the Midwinters Dance.

The yearly event dates back as far as the German Club itself, which was established in 1892. This makes it one of Tech’s oldest traditions put on by the oldest organization on campus.

The German Club was actually the successor to the Cadet Dancing Club,

BRIAN CLAY/SPPS

Senior psychology major Chris Valdes (right), junior electrical engineer Luke Wells (middle) and public and urban affairs senior Dan Knisley (left) discuss the various historical pieces in the German Club Museum. an organization dedicated to putting on dances for students at Tech. The club put on four to five dances a year, which became known as “Germans” from a popular dance at the time, the German Waltz. The organization

later changed its name to the German Club in 1892.

Alumnus Drew Marrs recognized the philanthropic aspects of the club and joined in spring 2005.

“I saw that the members were men who, first and foremost, understood what ‘Ut Prosim’ means,” Marrs said.

“I admired their leadership and how they were able to serve the university.

To me, it showed how they had such an enjoyable fellowship aspect.”

Marrs came into Tech already involved with the football team and later became a student athletic trainer.

At first he was hesitant to get involved with an organization that could take away from his other involvements.

“The German Club honored my other commitments and encouraged leadership to the university,” Marrs said. “We understand that at times you have to support leadership by stepping back.”

Some of the major efforts on the part of the club are duties undertaken for The Big Event, Relay for Life and Hokies United. The club also offers its house, the German Club Manor, as a service to the university and the community. The Manor is used for events, meetings, dances and as a place for alumni to stay on gameday weekends.

“

The German Club at Virginia Tech ... does not celebrate Oktoberfest in a tent outside of its manor each year nor does it have any current members named ‘Hans.’”

“It’s used as a place where people can come together and to provide a place for community members or students when they need it,” Marrs said.

In addition, members of the German Club take the initiative to help out with smaller things, most of which often go unrecognized.

“We feel we should care regardless of recognition,” said David Glenn, a junior building construction major.

“There’s a quote I always think of — ‘From none other than thyself expect applause.’ It reminds me that even if no one finds out about it, i nternally we know we’re doing the right thing.”

The club’s fall philanthropy, a competition for campus sororities called “Gold Rush,” gives the winning team money toward their own chosen philanthropy.

“We like showing them that we’re supportive,” Marrs said, “and it’s

BRIAN CLAY/SPPS

Senior psychology major Chris Valdes (right) and junior electrical engineer Luke Wells (left) tour the German Club Museum which can be found in one section of the Club’s Manor on Southgate Dr. always a fun event.”

Their biggest event is the Midwinters Dance, which will take place on Feb. 6. In its 117th year, the dance still upholds many of the traditions that it did over a century ago: a live band, semi-formal attire and an invitation to every student at the university.

In a museum that recently opened in the Manor that is dedicated to Midwinters, memorabilia dating back to the early 1900s can be found commemorating the event.

Not only did past attendees have a keen eye for fashion, but also a sharp ear for music. Guest bands at past Midwinters included Duke Ellington,

B.B. King and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

This year the German Club hosts band The Dickens, from New York.

“They came two years ago and were phenomenal,” Valdes said. “They play a lot of popular music, older songs that everyone knows and always get people dancing.”

However, beyond the many traditions and events that the club holds, the members recognize that it is the time they have spent together that is the motivation to continue with their efforts.

“It’s our fraternal nature that makes us strong,” Glenn said.

opınıons 3

editor: debra houchins opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES

january 26, 2010

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

Our Views [staff editorial]

Directing power to the hands of victims This editorial is in response to a prompt from the Christian Science Monitor asking college students, “How do we demand more from young men?”

A

rape occurs every two minutes, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. It can be scary to think that the victim is someone you know, but it’s almost scarier to think that the perpetrator is someone you know.

Or is it?

We acknowledge that abuse happens to both genders.

However, one in five college women experience rape or attempted rape during their college years.

The usual suspects come to mind: big organizations such as fraternities and sports teams have a stereotypical reputation for contributing to the sexual assault that is present on college campuses. Valid or not, violent video games and rap music get blamed for perpetuating violence and creating demeaning stereotypes toward women.

But it is wrong to only blame these things when all it takes for sexual assault to continue is one friend to stay silent. When it comes down to it, we need to demand more of each other in our actions, even when it’s difficult.

We realize that confronting friends who engage in sexual assault is much easier said than done. But think about how much your friends influence you in preferences and activities. This isn’t a bad thing at all.

Be it an organized group or not, it could be extremely influential if one would feel empowered by standing up to show that respecting women is expected in a group of friends.

Empowerment is also in the hands of the victims. A lot of culture norms put blame on the victim for putting herself in the situation, and this is why 60 percent of rapes go unreported, according to RAINN. Including unreported incidents, only six percent of rapists spend time in jail. At that rate, what guy would feel worried about his actions? If we decrease the number of assaults that go unpunished, at the very

least, from a legal standpoint, a potential perpetrator could feel less secure about his actions.

Even in reports of assault, a lot of focus is put on how the victim got into the situation. To a certain extent, this is logical. If the victim reports the assault, then you hear it from her side.

But then it is too easy to break down what the victim could have done differently to prevent the act from happening.

This reasoning could potentially create a wide assumption that the fault is on the victim. If the victims felt less of a stigma, then the emphasis could be placed where it should be: on those who commit the assaults.

We should absolutely feel responsible for our personal safety, but we need to shift from demanding more from the victims to demanding more from the perpetrator.

However, a lot can be done before a person even steps foot on a campus and it becomes the responsibility of their peers.

A 2006 study by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute reported that 83 percent of participants believe today’s youth has a higher sense of entitlement than 10 years ago.

And this is ultimately what sexual abuse comes down to: a sense of entitlement.

You can create a spectrum of entitlement. On one end is the more mundane such as expecting a good grade in English just because you’re a good writer.

The other end is where it gets dangerous: expecting a sexual encounter because it’s what you want.

We need to halt college-age students’ senses of entitlement to prevent what psychologists call adolescent egocentrism — the idea that everything is about you.

If victims felt empowered to report the assault and if friends felt empowered to not let a joke or action slide in their group, then even one potential perpetrator could lose their power to get what they feel entitled to.

The Collegiate Times editorial board is comprised of Bethany Buchanan, Debra Houchins, Sara Mitchell, Scott Masselli, Gabi Seltzer and Peter Velz.

MCT CAMPUS

Discovering responsibility moving into ‘modern world’ T

his question continues to be the topic of those apprehensive of the steep technology learning curve, the clash of politics in the face of domestic and international problems and the growing contention between all of our identities and the cultures they represent. What does it even mean to live in the “modern world” compared to the world our predecessors lived in?

I suspect the world has always been politically polarized, with conflicts around every turn ... but today’s problems have larger implications: environmental politics hold our planet’s future in the sway and clashes of East and West shake our very identities as Americans (and other nationalities alike).

So, how can we, as the generations growing up in this time of crisis in our lives and the world, face what can only continue to change around us?

First, there is the obvious step in our lives that most of us have in common — education. Education is vital to how we are prepared to pick up the pieces of disputation that have become our world. Of course, most of you reading this know to take your education seriously. But do you know how to inspire others to take their education seriously as well?

I have younger family members, as many of you do, and instead of sending them the newest and most exciting toys as gifts, I send them books. It is true that people are reading fewer books.

Yes, call me boring or bookish, I won’t disagree with you, but it is our responsibility to invest in the intellectuality of those who will come after

us, just as the ones who came before us did. Next time you find yourself in a position to be a mentor to someone younger, think of the person who inspired you to attend college — now is your chance to be that person to someone else.

We must also realize the value of being conscientious. Many of us are aware of what is happening around the world, but the well of knowledge and understanding is bottomless. There will always be causes, domestic and international, that need more attention than they receive.

I am truly inspired by all of the love and concern that Virginia Tech has poured into different programs to help Haiti.

My only hope is that it does not fade away once the media finds some other catastrophe or tragedy to show us what we need to care about. I challenge everyone to care, care about Haiti, care about suffering in other countries, care about suffering in this country — it is a crucial step in alleviating misery, something this modern world is rank with.

As another columnist, Gabi Seltzer, mentioned, there are countless student organizations on campus that look to tackle the endless problems of our world.

There is a passion for everyone, and I am confident in the hundreds of student groups on campus you could find one that suits your interests.

On the matter of differing ideologies, which seems to be the source of huge divides between people of equal humanity, I think many of us are on

“

It is our responsibility to invest in the intellectuality of those who will come after us, just as the ones who came before us did.

the right track.

Again, conscientiousness should be applauded as a key in resolving many of the intellectual obstacles that keep us from progress and from embracing our brothers and sisters around the world.

Respect is of course proper when facing opposition, but nothing means more to the healthy spirit of debate and inquiry than the quest for understanding. Religions, traditions, sciences, we all try to explain our purpose, life’s meaning, but it is time that we focus on what we all have in common — not what makes us different.

The world is changing, with or without us. Only through taking advantage of our education, and inspiring that attitude in others, can we develop the spirit of understanding we need to tackle the modern world’s problems — in peaceful and non-condescending ways.

NICOLE FAUT -regular columnist -international affairs graduate student -Honors Council

Independents are calling the electoral shots B

arack Obama won the presidency in 2008 by assembling a broad coalition of Democrats and Independents, but since the summer, independents have been deserting Obama’s cause, and not only in Massachusetts.

That’s what has White House strategists and Democrats in Congress most worried about this fall’s elections: Independents, the country’s most fickle voters, are in the driver’s seat.

They’re unhappy about the economy, worried about the potential costs of the Democrats’ health care bills and disappointed that Obama’s promises of bipartisanship didn’t come true.

And they’re quick to fire a party that isn’t delivering the goods — as they did in Massachusetts’ special Senate election last week.

“They are the least loyal voters to a president of any party,” Democratic pollster Mark Mellman said last week. “That’s why they’re called Independents. They took George W. Bush down too.”

Since 2006, there has been a massive “de-alignment” from party allegiance, with more voters calling themselves Independents today than at any time since the invention of modern polling.

In Massachusetts, more than 50 percent of voters actually register as Independents — in part because that

allows them to vote in either party’s primary.

And the trend isn’t confined to New England; nationwide, the number of voters who call themselves Independent has risen to 37 percent in the Gallup Poll, against 33 percent who identify themselves as Democrats and 27 percent as Republicans.

In recent months, Independents’ sentiment has started to swing away from the Democrats. Over the course of 2009, the share of Independents who said they “leaned Republican” grew from 31 percent to 40 percent; those who leaned Democratic dropped from 47 percent to 38 percent. Many of those Independents voted for Bush in 2004 and Obama in 2008, but they didn’t turn into liberals along the way.

The Independents’ underlying ideology has actually been fairly stable, even if their voting pattern hasn’t.

“They’re conflicted centrists,” said Andrew Kohut of the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, which did a major study of independent voters last year.

“They are closer to the Democrats on social issues, but they’re closer to the Republicans in being skeptical about big government.”

That last factor is part of what’s hurting Obama and the Democrats now.

Independents are “leery of government control of health care,” Kohut said, “even though they say they favor

health care reform.”

For months, Republicans have charged that Obama’s health care proposals would raise costs to middleclass taxpayers without giving them much in return, and polls show that the charge has stuck.

Most voters who identify themselves as Democrats continue to support the health care bills, but most Independents now say they do not.

Another thing that unifies Independents is their anger.

They were angry about the federal government’s bailouts of Wall Street banks — a big-government policy Obama endorsed, even though it was launched by his predecessor.

Obama’s first reaction to the Massachusetts election was to unleash his inner populist, proposing tougher measures to regulate banks and telling voters that he’s every bit as angry about the economy as they are.

But that could be a tough sell. Obama campaigned on hope, not resentment.

He’s famous for being cool — the opposite of angry.

Can the unflappable Obama turn himself into a credible rabble — rouser by pounding the podium in his State of the Union address on Wednesday?

Not likely.

In any case, most Independents — contrary to claims from the “tea party” camp — are looking for bipartisanship and centrism, not bloody-

shirt populism.

Bruce Reed, a former aide to Bill Clinton who now heads the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, says Obama needs to make a more dramatic move back to the middle — much as Clinton did after losing Congress to the Republicans in 1994. Reed says his party’s problem is straightforward: Liberal leaders in Congress overestimated their mandate and overreached.

“Among some Democrats, there was a hope that because the country had so many problems, people would welcome an all-out government effort,” he said. “But Americans are as reluctant as they always have been to rely on government to solve problems.”

In Massachusetts and elsewhere, he said, voters “are sending a message that they want Obama to be the president he campaigned as” — a centrist, not a liberal. “They want him to succeed, and they want Congress to help.”

Obama and his aides haven’t decided how far in Reed’s direction to go yet, especially on the unfinished business of health care.

But they’ve already decided to go at least partway. That’s why you’re already seeing Obama put renewed emphasis on bipartisanship and deficit reduction; Independents love both.

And it’s a reason White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, an old ally of

Reed’s from their Clinton days, has begun exploring the prospects for a more centrist, stripped-down health care bill — to the anguish of liberals who already feel they’ve given up too much.

Republicans crowed about the Massachusetts results, of course, but their strategists know that those fickle Independents were voting against an unimpressive Democrat, not endorsing the GOP program.

The public doesn’t like the Democratic leadership in Congress, but it admires the current lineup of congressional Republicans even less.

“We have the ability to win the majority. It doesn’t mean we are going to,” Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the GOP’s chief recruiter for House races, said carefully at a breakfast with reporters on Thursday. “There is an opportunity; it is what you do with it.”

It may not look like it now, but Obama and his Democrats are lucky to have 10 months to figure out the message of those Massachusetts independents.

DOYLE MCMANUS -mcclatchy newspapers

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january 26, 2010

page 4

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sports 5

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january 26, 2010

In last minute win, Hokies better off being lucky than good HUDSON’S LAYUP WITH FIVE SECONDS REMAINING LIFTS HOKIES OVER BOSTON COLLEGE, 63-62 ALEX JACKSON sports editor A Dorenzo Hudson layup with five seconds remaining in Saturday afternoon’s game against Boston College won a game that the Hokies probably should have lost this past weekend.

After Virginia Tech surrendered a lead it held for much of the game, Hudson’s layup ended a back-andforth second half that gave the Hokies a much-needed 63-62 win, improving their Atlantic Coast Conference record to 2-2.

“You win a game like that, and it gives you a chance to have a special season,” said Tech head coach Seth Greenberg.

“That’s what I told the guys. You need to win a game or two like that to do something special.”

Despite being out-shot 55 percent to 38.6 percent out-rebounded 29-23, the Hokies still managed to find a way to win Saturday.

And while their star player, junior guard Malcolm Delaney, made just four out of 15 shots and the Hokies lost nearly every battle in the box score, Greenberg couldn’t help but smile after the game.

“I think that winning cures a lot of ills,” he said. “You know, winning ... the food tastes better, practice is more fun, even though it’s raining, the sun is shining. I mean, that’s just the way it is.

“Am I that much smarter now because Dorenzo Hudson picked up a 50-50 ball and laid it in and we got a stop with five seconds to go? I don’t think so. I mean ... we got fortunate.

We made a play.”

Tech entered halftime with a 38-29 lead after playing an impressive first period, but despite its first half dominance, the game was far from over.

In the second half, the Eagles came out strong, beginning with a 14-4 run, erasing the Hokies’ lead and giving BC a one-point edge with a little more than 13 minutes remaining.

The Hokies’ early second-half struggles were a product of one of Tech’s worst shooting slumps this season.

After Hokies’ forward Victor Davila hit a layup with 17:07 remaining, the Hokies didn’t score a field goal for nearly seven more minutes.

A jumper from Jeff Allen with 10:26 remaining finally ended that slump,

however, and put the Hokies back up by one.

In the final 10 minutes of the game, the two teams traded baskets, and it wasn’t until the final minute that the game was decided.

Two free throws from BC sophomore guard Reggie Jackson put the Eagles up by three with 29 seconds remaining, the Hokies responded.

In a must-score situation, Delaney quickly got to the line on the ensuing possession and hit both of his free throws, cutting the Eagles’ lead to just one.

[

on the web

]

Check the CT’s Web site at www.collegiatetimes.com for a photo gallery of BC game.

On the ensuing inbounds, the Eagles got the ball in but couldn’t get it up the court as Terrell Bell and his teammates trapped Eagles’ junior guard Biko Paris alongside the baseline to force a jump ball.

With the possession arrow pointing in the Hokies’ direction, Tech got the ball back with just 21 seconds remaining for one final shot.

After the game, Hudson recalled the final half-minute of the thrilling win.

“We knew coming into the game it was going to take one stop, one 50-50 ball,” Hudson said.

As time ticked down, Delaney drove into the lane and handed the ball off to Davila in the post. Davila then went up for a shot, but before he could get it off, he lost possession and the Hokies looked to be all but finished.

Fortunately for the near 10,000 Tech fans that filled Cassell Coliseum, that wasn’t the case.

After losing the ball off of his knee, Davila scrambled for possession and got a little help from his teammate, Hudson.

“That’s what I was hoping for,” Hudson said. “If he was to put it up, I was going to try to tip it in.”

With five seconds remaining, Hudson retrieved the ball and put the Hokies up one with a layup — which would be the eventual game-winner.

“To try to do something special over the length of the season, you’ve got to get lucky,” Greenberg said.

ALL PHOTOS BY MARK UMANSKY/SPPS

Juniors, forward Jeff Allen (left), guard Dorenzo Hudson (middle) and forward Terrell Bell (right) compete against Boston College Saturday.

Hudson led the Hokies in scoring Saturday, finishing with 18 points and four rebounds.

His layup was just the revenge the Hokies wanted after losing to the Eagles in virtually the exact same scenario last year.

On Jan. 31, 2009, the Eagles defeated the Hokies 67-66 in Massachusetts thanks to a last second score under the basket as well.

The difference between this year and last, Allen said, was defense.

“We just went out and played good defense,” he said. “There’s more desire this year. You know, last year we had a lot of desire, but you know, we weren’t tough enough as a team. This year, we’re tough enough as a team where we’re certainly not going to lose that game. That’s our mindset.”

Delaney credited defense for the win as well.

“We just went cold in the second half, but that’s when our defense sunk in,” Delaney said. “Last year, we went on shooting slumps, and we didn’t stop them so we didn’t have a backup plan.

This year we have a backup plan.

“That’s the type of game we lost

last year,” he continued. “We were in the same position at BC last year; they missed a shot and got a tip-in.

That probably knocked us out of the (NCAA) tournament. It just shows how tough our team is that we can go and get a win like that.”

Delaney went down after the final play of the game, grabbing his shoulder and appearing to be in a lot of pain. After the game, however, he said

he was fine. He felt confident he’d be ready for the next game at Virginia on Thursday.

“Yeah, I’m not hurt,” he said. “I wasn’t hurt, it was just the speed of the game.”

As Hokies fans will be relieved to hear Delaney is alright, Greenberg is relieved, at least for now.

“One play is the difference between being miserable and being able to

breathe,” Greenberg said. “I can breathe tonight.”

The Hokies head to Charlottesville for their next game against the Cavaliers at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Tech’s in-state rival will enter the game near the top of the conference standings, with a 3-1 mark against ACC teams and a 12-5 overall record.

The game will be televised on Comcast Sports Net.

page 6

january 26, 2010

Men’s tennis takes two, drops one in weekend matches “

GARRETT RIPA sports reporter The nationally ranked, No. 27 Virginia Tech men’s tennis team concluded this weekend’s Hokie Challenge with team victories over both No. 49 Indiana and No. 63 Harvard.

Tech’s only setback came against a No. 21 Auburn squad.

The challenge was played in a round-robin format with eight singles flights and four doubles flights.

Hokies’ sophomore Luka Somen (3-0 over the weekend) and junior Will Beck (2-0) won their respective singles flights while senior Yoann Re, junior Sebastian Jacques (3-0 in doubles), and sophomores Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci and Somen (2-1) came out on top of their doubles flights.

No. 100 ranked Jacques, who is returning from a hip flexor injury in the fall, played his first singles match since his injury on Sunday, narrowly losing 6-4, 0-6, 7-5.

After blasting Josh Tcan from Havard in the second set and possessing a 5-4 third set lead,

We got exactly what we were hoping for in terms of a lot of practice matches... I think it was great preparation for us to get ready for the upcoming matches.

JIM THOMPSON HEAD COACH

LUKE MASON/SPPS

LUKE MASON/SPPS

Junior Will Beck (left) and sophomore Patrick Daciek compete in the Hokie Challenge this past weekend.

Jacques could not close out the match.

However, Jacques isn’t completely healthy yet, which possibly contributed to his loss in the third.

“I don’t think he’s there yet. ... It’s something that’s going to take some time to heal,” said Tech coach Jim

Thompson.

The other ranked Tech player, No. 75 Patrick Daciek, lost his first two singles matches of the weekend to Santiago Gruter from Indiana and Andy Mies from Auburn.

“The last few matches were pretty tough,” Daciek said. “The guy I

played the first day, (Indiana) put him at four the first day and then they moved him up to number one.

“Yesterday my confidence was a little off. Today (Thompson) dropped me down so I could regain my confidence and get everything going again.”

Thompson’s strategy worked as

Daciek dropped from the fourth spot to fifth spot in the singles lineup and went on to defeat Alistair Felton from Harvard 6-3, 7-5.

The usual top singles player for the Hokies, senior Yoann Re, notched two singles victories, only losing to nationally ranked No. 24 Tim Puetz from Auburn.

Re was the only Tech player to qualify for the NCAA singles tournament this past season. His No. 55 national ranking earned him a spot in the prestigious field of 64.

To get back in the national rankings, Re believes he needs to accomplish two goals. “(I need) one more ranked win and no unranked losses this semester,”

he said.

That opportunity will come Wednesday when the Hokies host No. 15 University of Kentucky at the Burrows/Burleson Tennis Center at 2 p.m.

“It’s going to be tough,” Re said.

“Their first guy is top-10 in the nation.

We have a good team so it should be a really good match.”

“We’re going to get real fired up,” Daciek added. “My doubles partner Will (Beck) just transferred from Kentucky so he knows the team pretty well.”

In men’s tennis, if a player transfers to a school in a different conference, he don’t have to sit out a season, enabling Beck to play at Tech this year after playing for Kentucky last year The Hokies hope they’ve ironed out any ruffles in their game and will be ready for the battle on Wednesday.

“We’ve got exactly what we were hoping for in terms of a lot of practice matches,” Thompson said.

“I think it was great preparation for us to get ready for the upcoming matches, which are huge.”

look down.

pick up.

page 6

january 26, 2010

Men’s tennis takes two, drops one in weekend matches “

GARRETT RIPA sports reporter The nationally ranked, No. 27 Virginia Tech men’s tennis team concluded this weekend’s Hokie Challenge with team victories over both No. 49 Indiana and No. 63 Harvard.

Tech’s only setback came against a No. 21 Auburn squad.

The challenge was played in a round-robin format with eight singles flights and four doubles flights.

Hokies’ sophomore Luka Somen (3-0 over the weekend) and junior Will Beck (2-0) won their respective singles flights while senior Yoann Re, junior Sebastian Jacques (3-0 in doubles), and sophomores Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci and Somen (2-1) came out on top of their doubles flights.

No. 100 ranked Jacques, who is returning from a hip flexor injury in the fall, played his first singles match since his injury on Sunday, narrowly losing 6-4, 0-6, 7-5.

After blasting Josh Tcan from Havard in the second set and possessing a 5-4 third set lead,

We got exactly what we were hoping for in terms of a lot of practice matches... I think it was great preparation for us to get ready for the upcoming matches.

JIM THOMPSON HEAD COACH

LUKE MASON/SPPS

LUKE MASON/SPPS

Junior Will Beck (left) and sophomore Patrick Daciek compete in the Hokie Challenge this past weekend.

Jacques could not close out the match.

However, Jacques isn’t completely healthy yet, which possibly contributed to his loss in the third.

“I don’t think he’s there yet. ... It’s something that’s going to take some time to heal,” said Tech coach Jim

Thompson.

The other ranked Tech player, No. 75 Patrick Daciek, lost his first two singles matches of the weekend to Santiago Gruter from Indiana and Andy Mies from Auburn.

“The last few matches were pretty tough,” Daciek said. “The guy I

played the first day, (Indiana) put him at four the first day and then they moved him up to number one.

“Yesterday my confidence was a little off. Today (Thompson) dropped me down so I could regain my confidence and get everything going again.”

Thompson’s strategy worked as

Daciek dropped from the fourth spot to fifth spot in the singles lineup and went on to defeat Alistair Felton from Harvard 6-3, 7-5.

The usual top singles player for the Hokies, senior Yoann Re, notched two singles victories, only losing to nationally ranked No. 24 Tim Puetz from Auburn.

Re was the only Tech player to qualify for the NCAA singles tournament this past season. His No. 55 national ranking earned him a spot in the prestigious field of 64.

To get back in the national rankings, Re believes he needs to accomplish two goals. “(I need) one more ranked win and no unranked losses this semester,”

he said.

That opportunity will come Wednesday when the Hokies host No. 15 University of Kentucky at the Burrows/Burleson Tennis Center at 2 p.m.

“It’s going to be tough,” Re said.

“Their first guy is top-10 in the nation.

We have a good team so it should be a really good match.”

“We’re going to get real fired up,” Daciek added. “My doubles partner Will (Beck) just transferred from Kentucky so he knows the team pretty well.”

In men’s tennis, if a player transfers to a school in a different conference, he don’t have to sit out a season, enabling Beck to play at Tech this year after playing for Kentucky last year The Hokies hope they’ve ironed out any ruffles in their game and will be ready for the battle on Wednesday.

“We’ve got exactly what we were hoping for in terms of a lot of practice matches,” Thompson said.

“I think it was great preparation for us to get ready for the upcoming matches, which are huge.”

look down.

pick up.