Firefighters put to the test in training exercise
The Blacksburg Fire Department partakes in a monthly training exercise by fighting an artificial fire in houses slated for demolition. The exercise involved different scenarios for increasing the department’s efficiency, said Curtis Whitte, a training officer for the department. photo by daniel lin
Thursday, January 28, 2010
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‘Our sorrow is etched in our faces’
Obama calls on country to solve its ‘deficit of trust’ MARK SILVA mcclatchy newspapers WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, staking a new commitment to fiscal restraint while renewing his bid for an overhaul of the nation’s health care system, called on Americans Wednesday night to repair “a deficit of trust.” The president, addressing the nation and a joint session of Congress in his first State of the Union address, suggested that the nation’s budgetary deficit is not the only problem confronting Americans. “We have to recognize that we face more than a deficit of dollars right now,” the president planned to say, according to prepared remarks released by the White House. “We face a deficit of trust — deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years.” With this address, in the aftermath of
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walking the Copeley Road Bridge. With police now labeling the case as a homicide investigation, authoriI-64 Iv yR d ties are continuing their search for clues at the 742-acre Anchorage Farm where Morgan’s body was uncovered. Police have not established a time or cause of death in Harrington’s case. With wintry weather expected for Human remains were found the upcoming weekend, police are at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday several miles outside of in a race against time to locate eviCharlottesville by the dence that could lead them to a susproperty’s owner. pect. While a $150,000 reward had been established through the Jefferson Area Rd Crimestoppers for information on Trail a c an Mon Morgan’s disappearance, Fred Payne, the organization’s treasurer, said that BRIAN CLAY/SPPS they were still waiting for more inforThe Harringtons attend a vigil for Morgan on Oct. 22. mation from police before the reward would be issued. “It’s too early to get into those details,” Payne said. “We don’t know what all the facts are.” Payne added that should the reward be given, it would be the group’s largest payout, besting the $60,000 given for information in 2008 that was used to find a serial rapist. With police expected to hold onto the body until next week, no funeral has been scheduled. Morgan’s father said that the discovery of his daughNATHAN DENNY ter’s body had brought him some news staff writer resolution. “We were hoping to find Morgan A team from Virginia Tech’s College alive but at least we now have some of Engineering is currently working on peace and we’re able to have some building a group of fully autonomous closure,” he said. ground vehicle robots. Those with information about The group, operating out of the the case are encouraged to contact Robotics & Mechanics Laboratory, Virginia State Police at 434-352-3467. hopes to be selected to compete in the 2010 Multi-Autonomous Groundrobotic International Challenge at Australia in November. COURTESY OF DANIEL HONG The team, led by professors Dennis Hong, Tomonari Furukawa, Alexander Tech’s COUGAR robot can wirelessly communicate with its peers. Leonessa and Andrew Kurdila, will be was selected with nine other colleges in order to reach the more distant building a team of unmanned robots. What will make these robots revolu- and universities across the globe to one. “The robots will be able to form a tionary is not only their ability to oper- receive $50,000 in funding toward the chain, or a relay, to communicate,” ate autonomously, but also their ability project. Following site visits this June, five said Paul D’Angio, another graduate to interact with each other. The robots a special election in Massachusetts that will be programmed to work together of the 10 schools will be selected to student on the team, who is in cost his party a super-majority and thus to map out an unfamiliar environment compete in the event in Australia and charge of the robot hardware design. real control of the Senate, the president receive an additional $50,000 in fund- “And if one gets disabled, another will and to detect threats. was attempting a delicate political pivot. take over its task. It’s a lot of team “They will recognize objects ing. “Rather than fight the same tired batThe demonstration site for Tech’s work.” of interest,” said Ryan Colby, a tles that have dominated Washington Although these robots are not much graduate student who started working team will be in Danville, where an area for decades, it’s time for something new,” with the project team at the begin- will be set up that simulates the envi- larger than a remote control car, they the president planned to say. “Let’s try will have plenty of power. They will ning of fall semester. “And what makes ronment of the competition. common sense.” In addition to the prestige that win- be able to reach speeds of 62 mph and this unique is the cooperative aspect.” After a first year in office focused Colby and several colleagues are ning the competition would bring, a are equipped with lasers capable of on a $787 billion economic stimulus working on the integration of the lot is at stake. First place takes home disabling recognized enemies. act, recession recovery and pursuit of Currently, the team is in the process ground vehicles, which will have $750,000; second place, $250,000 a health care overhaul that could cost them all work together to complete and thirdplace, $100,000. The money of completing the first vehicle named more than $1 trillion over 10 years, the would be used to fund further research COUGAR, short for Cooperative tasks. president now is touting fiscal restraint. Unmanned Ground Autonomous “It’s easy to get a vehicle to go from at the winning school. The president — who plans to for The robots will be equipped with Robot. This will be used as the model point A to point B,” Leonessa said, “but a three-year freeze in discretionary if you’ve got eight vehicles to get from what is called “Mesh Network.” This to build several others like it. spending apart from national security Once the prototype is completed, A to B — getting shot at, avoiding is a wireless network that will help the in the 2011 budget that he proposes obstacles, looking for targets and run- robots communicate with each other months of testing will follow to perfect on Monday — also is creating his own ning away from enemies — it becomes beyond the limits of normal wireless each aspect of the robot. According to budget commission to examine spendLeonessa, the team is making steady communication. a whole different problem.” ing and taxes in the aftermath of the When one robot is too far away to progress The process began with a proposal Senate’s rejection this week of bipartisan “We hope to have the first one done communicate with another, it will cresubmission last July. see UNION / page two From a pool of 23 applicants, Tech ate a link through other, closer robots by the end of the month.” ge F arm
Standing with her husband, Dan, and her son, Alex, at Charlottesville’s Copeley Road Bridge, the area where her daughter Morgan was last seen alive, Gil Harrington spoke on the pain she felt in knowing her daughter was gone. “Our sorrow is etched in our faces,” Harrington said. “Our pain has been carved in our hearts.” Virginia State Police announced Wednesday that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner concluded that remains found at Anchorage Farm, HARRINGTON approximately 10 miles from the bridge, belonged to Morgan. While police Tuesday were “fairly confident” that they had made an accurate identification, dental records supplied by the family allowed police to make their final determination. “I can tell you, having seen them ... that girl even had some lovely bones,” Gil Harrington added. Morgan’s discovery Tuesday brought to an end a 101-day search that began when she vanished in Charlottesville on Oct. 17, 2009. The 20-year-old junior education major went missing during a Metallica concert at the University of Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena. After being spotted in several locations around the arena and neighboring U-Hall, Harrington was last seen
Copeley Road Bridge - This bridge was where the last known sighting of Harrington occured. She was seen hitchhiking around 9:30 p.m.
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John Paul Jones Arena
Site of Metallica concert Morgan Harrington was attending the night she disappeared.
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Harrington family reflects on tragic end to search
Engineers answer challenge for ‘interactive’ battle robots
Apple launches iPad tablet device REX CRUM mcclatchy newspapers SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc. put an end to months of speculation on Wednesday when the company unwrapped the iPad, a new touchscreen tablet computer that Chief Executive Steve Jobs said would revolutionize how people access their digital content and change the future of personal computing. Jobs introduced the device at an event in San Francisco. The iPad will go on sale in 60 days and start at $499 for a 16-gigabyte model without a 3G wireless connection. In 90 days, the 3G tablets will be available, topping out at $829 for a 3G device with 64 gigabytes of memory. The iPad has a 9.7-inch screen and looks similar to an enlarged version of Apple’s popular iPhone. Jobs said the iPad is designed to fill a gap between the iPod touch and iPhone and its MacBook line of laptop computers. “We asked if there was room for a third category in the middle, something between a laptop and a smart phone. To create a new category, it needed to be far better at doing some key tasks such as browsing the Web, doing e-mail, sharing photos, watching video, gaming and reading e-books,” he remarked in his presentation. see APPLE / page two
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new river valley news editor: zach crizer university editor: philipp kotlaba newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
january 28, 2010
COLLEGIATETIMES
[Monday, Feb. 1] Wondering what's going on around the 'burg? Check out the events of the upcoming week.
[Thursday, Jan. 28]
[Saturday, Jan. 30]
What: DJ Flex Where: Awful Arthur's When: 10 p.m. Cost: Free
What: Relay's Best Dance Crew Where: Squires Commonwealth Ballroom When: 6 p.m. Cost: $4 in advance, $6 at the door
[Friday, Jan. 29] What: Hackensaw Boys w/Pert' Near Sandstone Where: Attitudes When: 9 p.m. Cost: $12 in advance at www.inticketing.com, $14 at the door; 18 and up with a valid ID.
What: Hannah Sewell Where: Gillie's When: 7 p.m. Cost: Free
[Sunday, Jan. 31] What: Tes La Rok Where: Awful Arthur’s When: 9 p.m. Cost: $5
What: Tu B'shvat Monday Lunch with Hillel Where: Squires Old Dominion Ballroom When: 11 a.m. Cost: Free Bring a can of food for the local food bank and enjoy a seder lunch with Hillel, TEVA and Friends of Israel.
[Tuesday, Feb. 2] What: From Slavery to School — The Founding Era of the Christiansburg Institute in the New River Valley Where: Graduate Life Center Room F When: 7 p.m. Cost: Free What: DJ Lil Fos Where: Sharkey's When: 9 p.m. Cost: No cover
If you would like an event featured in our calendar, e-mail featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com with event details, including cost.
[Wednesday, Feb. 3] What: BSA Presents — Precious Where: Squires Colonial Hall When: 7 p.m. Cost: Free
GO
to collegiatetimes.com/calendar for a full listing of events. TO DO
THANDIWE OGBONNA/COLLEGIATE TIMES
Union: Obama firm on agenda, calls for bipartisanship from page one commission. With national unemployment running at 10 percent, the president also is proposing new initiatives to help the middle class, with additional aid for college loans and additional tax credits for children. And he is promoting new tax cuts for small businesses as well as breaks for all businesses that the White House says should result in a 10 percent reduction in taxes that corporations pay this year and next.
Obama, who last year called on Congress to pass health care legislation, issued a new call for health-care reform without adding any specific direction that leaders might heed. “By the time I’m finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance,” Obama planned to say. “I will not walk away from these Americans, and neither should the people in this chamber.” Obama reaffirmed his commitment to the fight against terrorism. He addressed the wars in Afghanistan,
which he is escalating, and Iraq, where he is scaling back, and the challenge of containing the nuclear ambitions of Iran. And the president, reiterating a promise made before, said he would call on military leaders to finally find a way to repeal a policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” for gays and lesbians serving in the armed forces. In the midst of continuing controversy over bonuses that bailed-out Wall Street investment companies have awarded, Obama is pressing for
Apple: Jobs shows off new ‘iPad’
new federal regulation over banks aimed at averting another credit crisis like the one that prompted a federal rescue of failing banks last year. But he attempted to strike an optimistic tone about the prospects for recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression. “I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight,” Obama planned to say. “Despite our hardships, our union is strong. We do not give up. We do not quit.”
mcclatchy newspapers
KARL MONDON/MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
from page one
Jobs also took a dig at netbooks, the ultrasmall laptops that other companies have released in an attempt to serve this market. “The problem is netbooks aren’t better at anything. They are just cheap laptops,” he said. Apple announced a range of prices for the device. The iPad will come in versions with only WiFi connectivity, and those versions will range from $499 for 16 gigabytes, $599 for 32 gigabytes and $699 for 64 gigabytes. Each of those can come with a 3G wireless service from AT&T Inc. for an extra $130. The data plans for the 3G service range from $15 for 250 megabytes of data per month to $30 per month for unlimited data. Apple said the iPad battery will run up to 10 hours on a single charge. Gene Munster, who covers Apple
for Piper Jaffray, said he believes that the iPad will gain wider consumer acceptance in 2011, after Apple likely cuts the price or updates the next version of the device. Munster said he would like all versions of the iPad to be closer to $400 for more consumers to feel like they could afford a top-line 3G version. Still, Munster said Apple has its eyes on the future of mobile computing with the iPad. “They do need to bring the price down more, but the point is they made a statement with this, even if it doesn’t go mainstream for a year or more.” Apple shares turned higher and closed up 1 percent to $207.88 after the event. The stock has more than doubled in the past 12 months — in part due to speculation for the possibilities of the device. The iPad is being targeted at media
uses such as listening to music, watching movies and playing video games. The device is also geared heavily toward readers, with newspaper publishers in partnerships with Apple to market their content on the device. One new competitive area for Apple is books. In association with the new iPad, Apple has launched an online bookstore, through which users can purchase and download books. That could make the device a threat to the fast-growing market for e-readers, such as the Kindle from Amazon. com Inc. “I think Amazon definitely has to be concerned,” said Tim Bajarin, president of technology-research firm Creative Strategies. “All the ebook distributors are going to have to reevaluate their platforms and how they appeal to the public.”
the numbing weight of our politics.” The formal Republican response to the address comes from Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, whose election victory last year was part of a GOP sweep that continued in Massachusetts this year. “The president’s partial freeze on discretionary spending is a laudable step, but a small one,” McDonnell planned to say. “The circumstances of our time demand that we reconsider and restore the proper, limited role of government at every level.”
Geithner, Paulson and Federal Reserve defend controversial AIG payments KEVIN G. HALL & GREG GORDON
Steve Jobs debuts Apple’s new iPad at the Yerba Buena Gardens Theater in San Francisco.
The political environment surrounding this address was fraught with challenges. Obama, who promised to “change the way things work in Washington,” faces a Congress sharply divided since his party’s loss of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts this month. “We face big and difficult challenges,” Obama planned to say. “And what the American people hope _ what they deserve _ is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences, to overcome
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a hostile congressional committee Wednesday that the only way to rescue the insurance giant American International Group in 2008 was to pay U.S. and foreign banks the full face value of $62 billion in bets on risky securities. Without massive government intervention, AIG would have collapsed, sending the world financial system into ruin, Geithner said. Democratic and Republican committee members, whose staffers have been sifting through 250,000 subpoenaed documents from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which Geithner headed at the time, challenged his contention. They charged that Geithner catered to the same Wall Street firms that caused the financial crisis, costing millions of Americans their jobs. Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican, told Geithner that his handling of the AIG bailout warrants his removal. Two other members of the government trio that spearheaded the massive taxpayer bailouts of the financial industry rallied to defend Geithner, who headed the New York Fed when the decision was made to stop trying to negotiate discounted settlements with AIG. Henry Paulson, who was Treasury secretary at the time, told the House of Representatives Oversight and Governmental Affairs Committee that he had no role in the negotiations that settled the banks’ insurance-like
contracts, called credit default swaps, with AIG for 100 cents on the dollar but that the action was critical to avoiding “an absolute disaster.” Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke sent the committee a letter defending the action. Geithner said that the New York Fed faced “terrible choices” in early November 2008 with only days to try to negotiate a discount on the contracts, many of which insured securities backed by dicey subprime loans. When the banks didn’t budge, he said, AIG faced threats of a downgrade by credit-rating agencies that would have sent it careening into bankruptcy with worldwide ramifications. Goldman Sachs received a total of $14 billion on its exotic bets with AIG, and Merrill Lynch got $6.2 billion. France’s Societe Generale got $16.5 billion and Germany’s Deutsche Bank received $8.5 billion. If Fed officials forced a tougher settlement, he said, “Market participants would have lost confidence in AIG, leading to the company’s collapse.” “The steps that were taken were motivated solely by what we believed to be in the public interest,” said Geithner, seemingly undaunted and at times combative. “We did not act because AIG asked for help. “We could not credibly threaten not to pay. That meant putting AIG into bankruptcy. At the time, we were working desperately to rebuild confidence in the financial system. Any suggestion that we might let AIG fail would have worked against that vital aim. We could not risk a protracted negotiation.” Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general tracking the use of taxpayer bailout funds who recently issued an
audit challenging the Fed’s decisionmaking , told the committee that the Fed could have negotiated “in a more forceful way” to resolve the swap contracts. Barofsky, who disclosed this week that he’s opened investigations into the Fed’s candor about the matter, recalled that Paulson, Bernanke and Geithner leaned weeks earlier on failing investment bank Bear Stearns to accept $2 a share to turn over its assets to banking goliath J.P. Morgan Chase. “They could have just tried a little harder” with AIG, Barofsky said, and that might have saved “billions, even tens of billions of dollars.” The committee’s ranking Republican, Darrell Issa of California, pressed Chairman Edolphus Towns of New York to issue a subpoena for the New York Fed’s records. However, after the release of embarrassing Fed e-mails suggesting efforts to conceal the terms of the AIG bailout, Democrats joined in criticizing President Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary. Their new populist demeanor came a week after a Republican won the Massachusetts Senate seat of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy in a stunning upset, and some senators came out in opposition to confirming Bernanke for a second term. Towns opened the hearing by saying that the full payout to major banks amounted to giving them “a piggy bank full of taxpayers’ dollars and (saying) ‘help yourself.’” Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, his face reddening as his voice rose, rejected Geithner’s assertion that he lacked authority to take another course.
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editor: debra houchins opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
january 28, 2010
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Too soon to judge Obama’s approach to foreign policy I
f you’re trying to grade President Obama’s foreign policy one year after he took office, my advice is: Wait until next year. It’s tempting to jump the gun and call his foreign policy a washout. After all, the sky-high global ratings inspired by Obama’s victory have not yet produced any tangible foreign-policy triumphs — in the Middle East, South Asia, or on global warming. Even an early Obama supporter like security expert Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine that Obama “has not yet made the transition from inspiring orator to compelling statesman. Advocating that something happen is not the same as making it happen.” But I believe it’s much too soon to pass judgment: 2010 will be the critical year for strategies that the Obama team has set in motion —“on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, the Arab-Israeli peace process, and other key issues. By year’s end, we’ll be able to judge whether his emphasis on diplomatic “engagement” as substitute for — or complement to — military force can produce results. Critics who deride Obama’s insistence on “engagement” are ignoring historical currents. The Bush administration’s debacle in Iraq, rescued at the last minute, has sharply diminished America’s clout and influence abroad. So did the Bush team’s abandonment of Afghanistan (squandering the gains of a successful war there), which permitted al-Qaeda and the Taliban to revive. Obama rightly understood that we could no longer act like the sole superpower of the 1990s, nor can we still rely primarily on force. We don’t have the resources. Our military is overstretched and our budgets grossly overextended. And our global clout — the ability to persuade or compel other nations to follow our lead — has been sharply eroding as our economy sinks. If Sen. John McCain had won the presidency in 2008, he would have been forced to recognize the same foreign-policy realities Obama had already grasped. Where the Obama team slipped up was in overestimating how far, and how quickly, their man could advance on a current of global good feelings. They also failed to grasp how swiftly U.S. influence would erode as America’s economic troubles grew. Case in point: Iran. In his inaugural address, Obama included this nowfamous phrase aimed at Tehran: “We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” He hoped his outreach to the Muslim world, and his efforts to “engage” its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would bring results during his first year. He also hoped that smoothing relations with Moscow and Beijing would persuade them to back harsher sanctions against Iran if it failed to curb its nuclear program. The policy made sense. The idea of waging a third U.S. war — with Iran — precipitated by U.S. or Israeli bomb strikes is crazy. The U.S. military does not want a third war.
But China and Russia were reluctant to endorse harsher sanctions as America’s global position weakened and Iran’s energy resources beckoned. Moreover, political upheaval within Iran made the regime less willing to deal. The president’s personal popularity took him only so far. The same was true on Mideast peace talks, where his global appeal had little resonance inside Israel and could not, alone, win Arab concessions. Nor could his charm persuade a rising China and India to limit carbon emissions, which they believe means limiting growth. In 2010, the Obama team will be more seasoned and, hopefully, more realistic. Its strategy of engagement — diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — will be tested by approaching deadlines in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. On Iran, if Tehran continues to develop the capacity to build nuclear weapons, pressure will mount in some U.S. circles and within Israel for a military strike this year. Obama must repel this pressure, while pressing for new sanctions. Bombing Iranian sites would not end Tehran’s nuclear program, but would inflame the region, while undercutting the best hope for change within Iran — the growing domestic opposition to the regime. In Iraq, the number of U.S. soldiers will drop sharply this year. But it will take keen U.S. attention and regional diplomacy to get Iraq successfully through March elections and prepare the country for the exit of most or all U.S. troops in 2011. And this year, Obama’s new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan will be fully tested, with hopes that his troop surge can be reversed in 2011. The U.S. military and the White House insist that Islamist militants cannot be defeated solely by military means. It will take skillful political engagement with the weak Afghan and Pakistani governments to ensure that increased international aid goes for jobs, thus undercutting the Taliban. And U.S. military commanders must also persuade their Pakistani counterparts to destroy Taliban havens within their country. At the same time, it will take astute, behind-the- scenes U.S. diplomacy to help restart Pakistani-Indian talks over Kashmir, a conflict that fuels Pakistan’s Islamist fervor. And, in the end, it will take regional diplomacy, promoted by the United States, to woo key Taliban leaders to drop their links with al-Qaeda and reenter the Afghan political process. The beginnings of such diplomacy will be on view at the London conference on Afghanistan next weekend. We’ll be in a better position to judge the success of Obama’s efforts at engagement by this time next year.
TRUDY RUBIN -mcclatchy newspapers
MCT CAMPUS
Banking industry doesn’t deserve public respect I
have probably spent $500 in my life on overdraft fees. Call me financially irresponsible. Call me poor. Call me extravagant. I have heard it all from my parents. I hate overdraft fees immensely. The concept itself demonstrates the faulty business model upon which the banking industry has thrived for several decades. A long time ago, in a white-collar criminal’s mind far away, high-ranking bank officials developed a method to protect their customers from public humiliation. If a consumer in a grocery store writes a check for a week of groceries for his family, the money from the account is withdrawn at a time of the merchant’s discretion. If the money is not available in the checking account, then the bank will cover the charge for a small fee that was originally $25. Today, at my bank (Wachovia, if you are wondering), the charges are $22 for your first overdraft, and $35 for all subsequent offenses. The bank heads rationalized this fee by assuming that the consumer’s paycheck has yet to post to their account, so a small fee incurred would have no effect on the financial health of the consumer. Unfortunately, this “Overdraft Protection Program” is a common “feature” of most free checking accounts, and with the prevalence of the debit card, it has provided a new and powerful revenue stream banks cannot live without. This overdraft fee system is under scrutiny in the major bank reforms in the United States. According to a Los Angeles Times article from November 2009, the banking industry has brought in $21.5 billion
through overdraft and similar fees from the first six months of last year, which is more than the total amount from 1999. Should you be worried? Probably not. The legislation zeroing in on overdraft fees calls for a cessation of these charges, effective July 1. Many bank officials find this legislation a serious threat to the ability to maintain operation. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Bank of America is looking at losing somewhere between $150 and $200 million without these fees. Come July 1, this revenue will not be available to the banks. How are they going to make up this money? Cutbacks? Ha, yeah, right. I am neither a student of business, economics, nor anything like that. I’m an English major, but I can tell you that if a company is not able to make money on an imaginary product that was sustaining them the way overdraft protection was, then beware of rising interest rates and other fees to take its place. Whatever happened to the traditional bank practices? As I recall, a bank is set up to provide loans from the Federal Reserve to members of the community. It makes its business on the interest charged on the loans made to the borrowers. A bank is supposed to be a place where you can deposit your money and have it resting there safely. Do you remember the days when free checking accounts you signed up for paid you yearly interest? No? That’s because we were just children in
those days. With the countless instances of negative press the banking industry has had over the past year, it is remarkable to learn that banks such as Bank of America will be experimenting with other methods of income, such as tacking on annual fees to credit cards and free checking accounts. It will be the end of free checking. According to AmericanBanker. com, the poorest 16 percent of the American bank consumers pay for nearly 90 percent of these overdraft fees. It is sort of difficult for the lower class to pull itself up when they cannot afford to pay rent, bills or groceries. Honestly, I would be so crazy as to advocate not giving a bank your business until the bank reforms are in place in July. I cannot trust them to leave my credit card’s interest rate alone — what if they decide to retroactively raise my interest rate? They say in the fine print of my welcome packet that the terms of the contract are “subject to change.” It wouldn’t be the strangest thing to happen. My mother’s credit card through Discover saw such a retroactive rise in interest rate. Like the terms of her credit card, my business with the defunct banking industry is most likely subject to change.
BEN WOODY -regular columnist -senior -English major
Comic books still relevant in contemporary entertainment O
ne of my favorite things about going home is catching up with the months of comic books I have not read. My days of covering my ears whenever I hear “Hal Jordan this” or “Batman and Robin that” are temporarily over. As a form of entertainment, comic books reigned supreme for previous generations of young adults. Despite their waning popularity in the past decade, the comic industry is still alive and well. While my tastes in comics do not change drastically, the titles I read usually do. Usually. By this I mean I prefer small story arcs and miniseries to long-running series. Some recent miniseries that I have enjoyed, which most of you have read months ago, includes “No Hero” by Warren Ellis, “Incognito” by Ed Brubaker, and “Strange Tales” by various independent writers. “No Hero” was excessively violent and truly disturbing. In other words, just Warren Ellis — a unique writer to say the least — being Warren Ellis. Writer Brubaker’s “Incognito” also concluded while I was at school and I was most pleased with the ending. Now I know what the Brubaker-diehards are all yelling right now and it’s this: “Hey Stupid! ‘Incognito’ is just ‘Criminal’ with superheroes! Why aren’t you reading ‘Criminal’? You should be.” This is all well and true, but I like domino masks and ray guns. This story was also quite bloody with many adult themes. Reader discretion is advised. On a significantly lighter note, “Strange Tales” was fun for all ages of those who enjoy insanity in their literature. For those scratching their heads with the sharp ends of their fingers, “Strange Tales” was a three issue series put out by Marvel that
truly featured some of the best talent from the indie comics scene. Even Jason, the man who is so indie he has only one name, did a story for Marvel. Jhonen Vasquez, creator of “Invader Zim,” had a story in the second issue that had just the right combination of “Good Lord!” and “Oh God!” to make it really funny. I could go on about the Tony Millionaire story and the Max Cannon stories, but as those with high school diplomas say, “I will digress.” In the world of superheroes, there is “Blackest Night.” I know it has been with us since August, but bear with me as I just caught up. “Green Lantern” is one of the titles I have been reading for a while. I started with the “Sinestro Corps War” and I haven’t looked back. I admit I was hesitant about another big DC event book after being royally burned with “Final Crisis.” Grant Morrison has written many great stories, but “Final Crisis” is not one of them. Geoff Johns is rocking the universes with “Blackest Night.” The story has been unraveling so nicely in these first five issues. Johns has such love for the DC Universe too. He writes Barry Allen with the utmost respect. It’s a good a feeling when the publishers get the correct writer on the right book. Speaking of which, Jonathan Hickman has made the “Fantastic Four” fun again. The last time that happened was when Mark Waid was writing it back in the early 2000s. If you’ve ever wanted to get down with first family of Marvel now is the time. Robert Kirkman continues to be awesome with his writing in “Invincible.” I started reading “Invincible” at the same time I started “Green Lantern,” and both of those books
have been flawless. If you are searching for a great superhero book outside of Marvel and DC, then “Invincible” is your book. Finally, I want to tell you about “Chew.” “Chew” is a new series by Image Comics, written by John Layman with art by Rob Guillory. I read the premise for this series and thought it was stupid. I read a preview for the first issue and thought it was even more stupid. When I heard the first issue was on its fourth printing, something rather unheard of for any story, I decided to buy a copy. Wow. You know when you have a fever and you are just completely burning up and then your mom brings you a huge glass of ice water and you feel 10 times better? That’s what reading the first issue of “Chew” was like. The writing is incredibly fresh, witty and fun. The art is simply the perfect complement for the writing. It has a fun, expressive, cartoonish look that allows for an enormous range of storytelling. Please check out “Chew.” Finally, for everyone who was wondering, “Is he really talking about comic books?” The comic medium is greatly overlooked in this nation. For too long comics have been held as a sub-art form whose ideas are only truly good when adapted to film or are only for children. The answer is, “Yes, I am.” Thank you for reading.
VINCENT GUIDA -regular columnist -sophomore -ISE major
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features 5
editor: topher forhecz featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
january 28, 2010
COLLEGIATETIMES
‘Beer and Loathing’ serves up spring Going Wilder: Cast, break debauchery without the hangover crew get things rolling A
s college students, it’s not uncommon to have a mental file saved of all your best drunk stories, always ready to divulge in an effort to impress someone at a party or defend oneself from an obtrusive “never have I ever” call out. Keith Strausbaugh, however, took his inebriated tales to the extreme by boldly publishing an extensive 87-page account of a weeklong spring break excursion in Panama City, Fla., dripping with entertaining sarcasm and debauchery. A graduate of Old Dominion University, Strausbaugh had a rather non-traditional start to his writing career. He declared criminal justice as a major with no apparent knowledge of what he wanted to do with his life. However, after he had his first one-night stand, his career plan changed. While his epiphany wasn’t exactly to become a male escort, after that experience he truly embraced his passion for entertainment writing. He recounted the details of the night with a few pages of text and e-mailed it out to his
close friends. Although the girl probably wouldn’t have appreciated such an explicit account, the reception from taking a fairly common occurrence and infusing it with raunchy details and witty comparisons was enough to encourage Strausbaugh to sally forth. From this meager beginning, Strausbaugh developed a very particular writing style. He recalls a distinct change in his college essays at the time: “I thought, what if I just write how I want, with more personality, and see what happens?” This initiative led to a mission involving seven guys in a Blacksburg apartment armed with a box of Franzia, a pen and some paper. Following a week’s worth of drunken debauchery, the wine was used to ward off the inevitable, earth-shaking hangovers that had been two steps behind them all the way home from Panama City. The pen and paper? That would eventually become Strausbaugh’s first book, “Beer and Loathing in Panama City.”
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Beer and Loathing in Panama City: A Bloodthirsty Spring Break Exodus by Keith Strausbaugh
While the majority of college students have learned to adopt a strict “what happens on spring break, stays on spring break” policy, for one ODU student and six Hokies, their adventures called for the exact opposite: a recount so thorough, so epic it deserved publishing, even at the risk of landing in the hands of every girlfriend, mother and grandma they left behind in Virginia who still maintain a vision of their tame behavior sprinkled with a few wine coolers. After that initial night, Strausbaugh spent the remaining weeks at ODU writing, whether in class or on the beach. The only times he took to pause were in order to cure the occasional writer’s
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“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” by Hunter S. Thompson Synopsis: The first experiment in Thompson’s legendary gonzo journalism takes readers on a frantic trip into the one of the world’s most notorious cities.
“The Modern Drunkard” by Frank Kelly Rich Synopsis: This book takes a witty and look at the ins-andouts of bar life, from the different types of bartenders one may encounter in a night, to what your drink of choice says about you.
“I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” by Tucker Max Synopsis: One of the more popular tell-all books in recent memory, Max’s graphic descriptions of his exploits tap into his love for alcohol and women while keeping you both engaged and disgusted.
block with a quick phone call to ask questions such as, “Phil, when was the sex wheel contest, Wednesday or Thursday?” Finally developing after lots of hard work, dedication and hazy recaps, “Beer and Loathing” is a complete and honest account of a college student’s rite of passage. It is that familiar mix of beer, beach, sun and liquor that has come to define spring break — a week where inhibitions are traded for cheap cover charges and no one asks twice about a case race at sunrise. Strausbaugh, not quite a seasoned veteran but at least a survivor, offers the best advice he can to spring break virgins beginning to plan for their own unforgettable adventure with his line, “Rule number one: don’t get arrested; lawyers are more expensive than lap dances.” However, he also doesn’t neglect the essentials: “Oh, and bring your bathing suit. Leave your conscience at home.” Bottom line: “Beer and Loathing” is littered with compelling descriptions, extensive cultural knowledge and surprising inspiration. Strausbaugh’s writing is boldly intelligent, repulsive yet addictive. It’s a full 87 pages of debauchery to inspire even those with the weakest tolerance to call a few buddies and have a case race.
LIZ NORMENT -features writer -senior -international business major
Welcome to week two of Going Wilder, your special guide into the world of Virginia Tech’s upcoming production of Thornton Wilder’s “Skin of Our Teeth.” If you’re joining me for the first time, my name is Dan Waidelich and I am a cast member in the show. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Wilder will open for audiences Feb. 18, but before that happens the cast and crew still have a lot left to do. We’re working hard on it. Last week, I discussed the basic audition process and how actors get involved in a production. That’s half the battle. Well, probably less than half. That’s a fourth of the battle. Now it’s time to take a look at the bulk of getting a show on its feet: the rehearsal process. “Skin” is a grand fantasy about the struggles humanity faces and our tendencies to repeat the past. Whether we are in the ice age, dealing with a flood or picking up after a war, the cast members will need to immerse themselves in this crazy world. That process started, as productions usually do, with a full cast and crew read-through. Essentially that’s when all members sit around in a circle and — wait for it — read through the play. The idea of a read-through might sound dull, but this is where the cast really starts to hear the tone of the play and begins to put voices to characters. The natural rhythms and flow of the play start to appear and gives the actors a blueprint of where the play is going. I love acting, but I also don’t want anyone to overlook the work of the “techies,” or those crewmembers who turn the stage into a living, breathing theatrical world. Our lighting, sound, set and costume designers have all shared their vision with the rest of the assembled cast at this point. Before actors even get into the theater to rehearse, we know what the techies have waiting for us. Their aim is to make Squires
going
er d l i W
Studio Theatre look like a destroyed, debris-filled wasteland. That’s the actors’ stage for “Skin.” That’s our playground. So how does the cast go from merely reading the words in a book to being unleashed on our stage, ready to perform? That’s the question we are all still trying to answer. Essentially, we bring everything we have to our characters. We find out who they are, who they were and how we can play that role as genuinely as possible. “Skin” is a play that speaks to all the problems plaguing our society from war to global warming, but we’re concentrating on something a bit less controversial: the importance of family and education in society. Director Greg Justice was very upfront about that from the beginning, so the actors and the techies are using his concept as a lens for all our efforts from here on out. The rehearsal process is still in its beginning stages. I have little more to offer at this point, except my opinion that things look to be progressing well. I promised readers last week that I would do my best to help create a quality show. My promise this week is simpler. I promise you that I have an excellent feeling about this show. Make sure you come back next Thursday for another update on the rehearsal process of “Skin” and another walk on the Wilder side.
DAN WAIDELICH -staff writer -senior -communication major
sports 6
editors: joe crandley, alex jackson sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
january 28, 2010
Hokies head to Charlottesville to take on surprising Cavaliers ED LUPIEN sports reporter Continuing the search for its first road conference win of the season, the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team travels to Charlottesville to meet in-state rival University of Virginia in a 7 p.m. contest tonight. The Hokies are 2-2 in conference play while boasting a 15-3 overall record this season. They are coming off a onepoint victory over Boston College on Saturday. There is currently much concern, however, from Tech head coach Seth Greenberg regarding his team’s offense. It currently ranks last in the ACC in field goal percentage and ninth in scoring offense and rebounding offense. “I think there are definitely areas in which we can improve,” Greenberg said. “We can cut harder, hold our screens longer, come off screens better, and we can move the ball a little bit quicker. We are a bit offensively challenged at the moment. We don’t have a ton of guys who have made a lot of shots but we create our offense out of our defense. Hopefully we can get better. It’s still January.” While the conference’s leading scorer, Malcolm Delaney, has struggled as of late, averaging nine points over the Hokies’ last two games (pedestrian compared to the junior’s overall season average of 19.5), fellow guard Dorenzo Hudson has become a more go-to player in Greenberg’s offense. Hudson has averaged 14 points since his historic 41-point outing against Seton Hall in Cancun on Jan. 2. “I think he’s a much more confident player but I’m more excited about what he does away from the stat sheet,” Greenberg said of Hudson. “He’s really
MARK UMANSKY/SPPS
Junior forward Jeff Allen attempts to put up a shot between Boston College’s Corey Rajji and Rakim Sanders in the first half Saturday. given us great leadership in the locker room. He’s done a great job with our underclassmen explaining the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of what we do. He does a terrific job of holding others accountable.” Virginia (12-5, 3-1 ACC) returns home after losing 69-57 to Wake Forest on Saturday, its first conference loss of the season. “We’re coming off a game in which we didn’t play well,” Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said. “Our key is to learn from the areas in which we weren’t really strong and prepare for a talented, well-coached Tech team.” Despite Delaney’s recent struggles, Bennett is still making the guard a focal point of his game plan comparing him to Wake Forest’s heralded point guard Ishmael Smith, who torched the
Cavaliers for 21 points last weekend. “They’re both terrific guards and we really didn’t do a good job on Smith,” Bennett said. “He had his way with us in a number of different phases of the game. With Delaney, they use him in a lot of different ways. With players like those guys, you’ve got to make them earn the baskets and that’s what was disappointing for us with Wake Forest. We didn’t make them earn a lot of baskets that they had.” Greenberg had high praise for Bennett, who is in his first season at Virginia after spending the past six at Washington State, where he earned Associated Press Coach of the Year honors in 2007. “They’re extremely well-coached, extremely disciplined on both sides of the ball,” Greenberg said. “When you
prepare for Virginia, you start with (Sylven Landesberg) and then Mike Scott.” Landesberg, a sophomore guard, is currently fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game. The reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, Landesberg has scored in double figures in every contest he has played this season. Junior forward Scott heads the Cavaliers’ low-post presence and leads his team, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game. He has three double-doubles on the season. “They also have a lot of different guys who can score the basketball,” Greenberg added. “(Sammy Zeglinski) can make shots. Mustapha Farrakhan can make shots. Jeff Jones can make shots.” Zeglinski is currently the most efficient three-point shooter in the conference. He has hit slightly less than 47 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. The sophomore point guard, along with Jones and Farrakhan, who both shoot more than 40 percent, leads a Cavalier team that ranks first in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage. “You’ve got to be aware of their good ball movement,” Greenberg said. “They’re not packed in and their rotations are short. I think they’re an extremely confident team right now. They should be, they’ve won a lot of games. Until the other night, they had won eight or nine in a row.” Greenberg noted that he has not put any emphasis on the rivalry while preparing his team for the contest. For him, it is just another important conference game. “It’s a rivalry game for the fans, alumni and students,” Greenberg said. “It becomes a bigger game for us because it’s a league game and both teams are
having some success at the moment. Both are fighting to stay alive and remain relevant in the league. Obviously it’s an in-state rivalry, but it’s also a league rivalry. It’s something that your players are aware of. “We understand how big of a game it is because they need to win their conference home games and we need to try to find a way to break through on the road,” he continued. “To everyone surrounding the game, it takes on a greater significance. For the coaches, it’s the next game and it’s a game that we need to find a way to win on the road.”
MARK UMANSKY/SPPS
Tech men’s tennis upsets No. 14 Kentucky, Re tops No. 8 Quigley in process MICHAEL BEALEY sports staff writer Upset. It’s an all too familiar word in the vocabulary of Kentucky Wildcats athletics this week. After its No. 1 ranked men’s basketball team fell to unranked
South Carolina on Tuesday, its No. 14 men’s tennis squad lost to the No. 27 Hokies Wednesday afternoon. “Anytime you have a win like that, it’s impressive,” said men’s tennis head coach Jim Thompson. “But I think what was most impressive was we were down in the doubles and we didn’t give up. I was really proud of the way we were really fighting for all the matches. We didn’t have anybody give up.” Tech started off the afternoon with two close losses in the doubles matches, surrendering the one doubles match point to Kentucky. The Hokies appeared to be slipping after losing the first set in three of their six matches. However, the Hokies roared back with victories over two top-40 ranked
opponents. Tech’s Luka Somen defeated No. 39 Alexi Musialek 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, and Yoann Re pulled off a huge upset of No. 8 Eric Quigley 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. Both matches elicited an explosion of cheers from the Tech crowd and stunned looks from the Kentucky coaching staff. “Yes, it was pretty good,” Re said. “At the end, I was a little tired but I really played well in the third set. “I think that I was more fit than him. ... The whole match was pretty exciting.” Thompson praised Re after the match for never letting his opponent intimidate him. “I don’t think a lot of people gave (Re) a chance in that match,” Thompson said. “The guy was ranked eighth in the
country, so that’s a huge performance by him.” Tech also received singles victories from Kentucky transfer Will Beck over Alex Lambropoulos 6-1, 6-3 and Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci 7-5, 6-4 against Brad Cox. Tech’s No. 75 Patrick Daciek also defeated Alberto Gonzalez 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. “I think I played pretty good,” Tocci said. “It was hard to play against (Cox) because he has a good serve. You have to use your chances, and I had some chances and won some important points.” Tocci also believes there are areas for improvement in his game. “I am not serving really good right now and my forehand I think right now is my weakest part, but I was playing pretty good with volleys and my backhand,” he said. Tech’s only singles loss came when Kentucky’s Anthony Rossi defeated No. 100 Sebastien Jacques 6-0, 6-2, who played just his second match since a hip flexor injury in the fall. While the team’s victory starts off Tech’s 2010 dual match season on the right foot, Thompson wants his team to stay focused on preparing for its upcoming opponents. “We have got one of the toughest schedules we have ever faced,” Thompson said. “We know there is going to be some ups and some downs, and today was certainly one of the best ups we’ve had. There will be some downs during the season too, but (the goal is to) just stay evenkeeled and try to improve every time we go out.” The Hokies’ next matchup comes when they travel to Champagne, Ill., on Jan. 29 to face off against No. 15 Illinois in the LUKE MASON/SPPS first round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-Off Junior Will Beck and sophomore No. 75 Patrick Daciek compete in a Weekend.
doubles match during the Virginia Tech Challenge this past weekend.