’Hoo dat? Tech’s victory | page eight
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Friday, January 29, 2010
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COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 8
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Dining center planned behind McBryde
COURTESY OF VIRGINIA TECH
LIANA BAYNE news reporter Voracious students stumbling out of academic buildings craving a gourmet meal may be satisfied in 2012. Japanese teppanyaki, Qdoba, gourmet pizza, fresh fruit smoothies, crab cakes or made-to-order crepes are among the food offerings planned for a new dining hall. Construction is about to begin on a three-story, 90,000-square-foot multipurpose dining and academic building that will be located on the academic side of campus on Old Turner Street next to the ICTAS building. Rick Johnson, director of housing and dining services, said the building has been “a long time coming.” “We’ve been working on this for over 10 years,” he said. Construction is scheduled to begin in June, according to Sherwood Wilson, vice president of administrative services. Johnson said that the 700-seat, twofloor dining area would be “super busy” once open because of its location near academic buildings. In addition to the 700 seats inside the building, there will be a heated patio designed to provide extra seating during colder months of the year, along with a walk-up, outdoor ordering window on the second floor for students in a rush. The building, which has a projected budget of about $45 million, does not yet have an official name. “Until such time as a donor is named, it will be called the Academic and Student Affairs building,” Wilson said. Although most of the revenue to be generated will come from the 18,000 Virginia Tech students who already hold dining plans both on and off campus, Johnson said he hopes for about a million dollars of extra revenue per year to be generated from cash sales to faculty, staff and students not on meal plans. In terms of the variety of cuisine to be offered, the facility will “combine the best parts of West End and Hokie Grill,” Johnson said. West End has only self-branded dining, meaning that all of the recipes are proprietary to Tech. Hokie Grill, on the other hand, only has branded dining such as Chick-fil-A and Pizza Hut. The first floor will actually be “below ground level,” Johnson said, similar to the main entrance of Derring Hall. This floor will feature VT Pizza, a gourmet pizza parlor; Jamba Juice, a national smoothie and fruit juice company; and a self-branded bistro featuring upscale items like steak and crab cakes. A 200-seat dining area dedicated to the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets is also planned for the first floor. Johnson said that this area would help replace Shultz Hall, as the current corps dining facility will be turned over to the performing arts center renovation project slated to begin sometime this year. Johnson said that the dining room is designed with long tables to “preserve the traditions of the corps all eating together.” The cadets eat dinner together four nights per week. The second floor of the building will have the main entrance, opening onto Old Turner Street. It will also contain dining and seating.
Johnson said that this floor would have a Brueggers Bagels, a self-branded bakery, espresso, a crepes and gelato area, a soup and salad area, a Japanese teppanyaki grill and a Qdoba Mexican grill. Johnson is especially proud of the final two items. “This will be the first Japanese grill on a university campus as we understand right now,” he said. The grill area will be able to seat 40 people at a time. Chefs will cook at the table in front of diners, similar to the setup of Kabuki Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi in Christiansburg, Johnson said. He also said that the Qdoba would be the first to be featured on a college campus as part of a student meal plan. “Qdoba is very excited for this contract,” Johnson said. “They usually like to be really close to a college campus, but for us to be able to get them on campus is very exciting.” Johnson said students have been “very helpful” with the design process since its conception. A student advisory committee has worked with architects and designers for the past few years. Two years ago, the SGA passed a “fully supportive” resolution in favor of the building, Johnson said.
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Listen to Rick Johnson explain the new dining hall’s layout on www.collegiatetimes.com.
The student body in general also seems to support the idea of a dining hall on the academic side of campus. “I think it’s a good idea because I really, really don’t like walking across the Drillfield when it’s freezing outside to go eat,” said chemical engineering major Christy Mays. “It will be nice to just stay over there and maybe get work done, but also just have fun and not be hungry.” Biology majors like sophomore Parastou Modjarrad will be able to use the building because of its proximity to many science buildings. “Putting a dining hall there is a really good idea since there are mostly science classes across campus,” Modjarrad said. The third floor of the building will feature six multi-purpose classrooms that Johnson described as medium size, able to seat between 50 and 75 students. The office for Services for Students with Disabilities will also find a new home on the third floor of the building. The building is being designed according to sustainability guidelines governed by LEED. A resolution passed by the Board of Visitors in June 2009 states that all new buildings constructed on campus will be up to the standards of at least a “silver” LEED rating. “We are absolutely committed to reducing the carbon footprint on campus,” Wilson said. Contracts with branded food companies Jamba Juice and Qdoba are being finalized, Johnson said. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year. The building is expected to be open to the public in August 2012. staff writers claire sanderson and jen dawood contributed to this story
Lighting up Times Square
COURTESY OF ALDEN HALEY
The Lumenhaus hosted visitors among the hustle and bustle of Times Square in New York City. The house, created by Virginia Tech architecture students, was featured on “Good Morning America.”
Year-long wait ends for historic home LIANA BAYNE news reporter The house that used to be home to Beverly Taylor’s business sits dormant on Main Street, as its historic home label delays its sale and renovation. Commonly known as the BennettPugh House or the Taylor’s building, 103 S. Main St. has been unoccupied since 2007. After Taylor’s husband and business partner passed away that year, their self-business, Taylor’s Frames & Things, was forced to close. Taylor had tried unsuccessfully since 2005 to sell the building and the property on which it sits, which was assessed at $17,590 in 2008. The house needs significant work to be brought up to code for use as a commercial or residential location, Blacksburg building official Cathy Cook said. “There are structural issues,” Cook said, “but it can be fixed with a bit of money.” In January of 2009, Taylor went before the town Historic Design Review board to request a demolition permit for the house as a condition of selling the property. The board, however, was reluctant to grant the permit immediately. John Bush, recently elected
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JENNIPHER BOYD/COLLEGIATE TIMES
Blacksburg Town Council member, was one of the founding members of the Historic Design Review board in 1999 and has served on it continually since its creation. Bush said that while the main function of the board is advisory only — meaning that most home owners do not have to adhere to board suggestions — the one area in which
the board does have mandate control is demolition of what are known as “contributing structures,” those buildings that were 50 or more years old when the board was created in 1999. When the board was created, a survey was conducted of all historic homes and buildings in the Blacksburg area in order to establish historic districts. Those homes that
were 50 plus years old were classified as contributing; those less than 50 years old are known as non-contributing structures. The contributing structures have been registered not only with the town, but also with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Bush said. “We have buildings from every time period,” Bush said. “It’s a great, lively mix of buildings.” The board wishes to help owners preserve and maintain their historic homes and properties. Bush said if homeowners wish to do small renovations, or change the interior of their houses, the board does not care. When homeowners want to perform major construction to the exterior of the building or build an addition, however, the board works with the owner in an advisory review process of the construction plans. Bush said the only thing the board has “teeth,” or regulatory power, on is the demolition of buildings classified as contributing structures. “If you own a contributing structure, we feel you really shouldn’t do that (demolish the building),” Bush said. “We prefer that you consider selling that to someone who can use it, not tear it down.” see HOUSE / page two
2House: news Town council
university editor: philipp kotlaba new river valley news editor: zach crizer newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
january 29, 2010
COLLEGIATE TIMES
Big laughs after a big win
policies in question from page one
So when Taylor brought her request for a demolition permit before the board last January, it did not grant it immediately. Instead, it asked her to leave the house on the market for a one-year grace period, in case a buyer could be found. “The problem,” Bush said, “was that she bought it for more than it was worth, so they couldn’t sell it easily.” Although Taylor had the house and surrounding property on the market since 2005, the board requires a one-year grace period from the time that the owner requests a demolition permit. Since she didn’t ask until January 2009, the house remained for sale. Taylor appealed the board’s mandate of leaving the house on the open market for a year to the town council, but the council supported the original decision. The year has expired, and Taylor can now move forward. Taylor declined to comment on the specifics of the sale, or on the potential buyers Bush referenced. She also declined to comment on the status of her demolition permit. Director of Planning and Building Anne McClung said that Taylor, however, has not yet applied for a demolition permit, although she is now eligible. “It’s been on the open market for a year,” McClung said, “so she is eligible to apply.” If Taylor chooses to apply for a demolition permit, McClung said that the permit would be granted to the “entity who can do the demolition,” in conjunction with Taylor. Tayor cannot apply for a permit without having a demolition company co-apply. Bush said two potential buyers have come into the picture. “There’s one developer who wants the property but he’s not willing to buy it unless there’s a demolition permit included,” Bush said. “But another gentleman came along who has purchased an option on
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The problem was that she bought it for more than it was worth, so they couldn’t sell it easily. JOHN BUSH TOWN COUNCILMAN
the property who wants to renovate it.” Bush said that the individual who has purchased an option of the property would have the right to either purchase the property first, or else refuse to buy it. “I’m hoping he will make this venture work,” Bush said. “The great news is if that happens, what that shows is that the process works.” The board is currently considering an amendment to its ordinance controlling homeowners’ demolition of historic contributing structures, town ordinance 1222. The amendment, yet to be voted upon, would also restrict the new building that could be constructed on the property after the historic building is torn down. There has been controversy among property owners concerning the proposed amendment. It was originally supposed to be voted on in December, but because of protests from homeowners, the vote was pushed back. Talks and town meetings are ongoing; Bush said he hopes for action to be taken on the amendment by March or April. “It would help with the appropriateness of construction in the historic district,” Bush said. “We’re trying to ensure that big mistakes are avoided.” However, McClung said the other party interested in renovating instead of demolishing Taylor’s house “is about to close on it.” “He is trying to go through with the sale,” McClung said. McClung said she expects the property sale to be completed within about a month.
Comedian Ronnie Jordan performs in Commonwealth Ballroom to end a game watching party of the Hokies men’s basketball team’s overtime win over in-state rival Virginia. photo by niels goran blume
Summit to focus on Asian community CLAIRE SANDERSON news staff writer
......radio for
everyone
The Asian and Asian American community at Virginia Tech will be the focus of today’s 13th Annual Diversity Summit. The event will be held from 2-5 p.m. in Squires Commonwealth Ballroom and is intended to open conversations about diversity on campus. “Essentially, it is an educational tool that is put on by the university
annually,” said Ross Edmonds, a member of the University Libraries Diversity Committee. “It is a way for the university community to come together to talk about diversity.” Sponsored by the Commission for Equal Opportunity and Diversity, with help from the Division of Student Affairs, SGA and the Office for Equity and Inclusion, the summit is titled, “Insight and Perspective into the Asian/Asian American Community at
Virginia Tech.” The day will consist of discussions, as well as polling and identity items that highlight different perspectives of the Asian and Asian American community at Tech. The summit will come to a close with “a panel of undergraduates, graduates, and faculty discussing their experience as Asians at Virginia Tech,” Edmonds said. According to Edmonds, the summit will focus on the Asian-American com-
munity because though it is one of the largest minority groups on campus, issues relating to Asian Americans are often overlooked. “We want people to understand that they are actually a very diverse group from many different countries and experiences,” Edmonds said. The event is open to all students, faculty and staff at Tech as well as residents of the local community.
Researchers find new method to create biofuel SUZANNE BOHAN mcclatchy newspapers WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Researchers have engineered a microbe that produces biodiesel fuel directly from plant waste and grasses, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Nature. The development was hailed as a major milestone in a federal initiative to develop new forms of transportation fuels to ease the country’s dependence on foreign oil and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. “This is a very important advance,” said Jay Keasling, chief executive of the Joint Bioenergy Institute in Emeryville, Calif., and acting deputy director of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., which manages the Joint Bioenergy Institute. “One, we engineered (the bacteria) to produce a diesel fuel. What’s important
about that is, it’s not ethanol.” Energy Secretary Steven Chu sent an excited message praising the advance, Keasling said. The institute, which opened in late 2008 with the mandate of developing commercially viable alternates to corn-based ethanol within five years, has a $125-million Department of Energy grant. It opened after the passage of a federal law mandating for energy security and environmental reasons production of at least 36 billion gallons per year of biofuels by 2022. It also limits the amount allowed for conventional biofuels, such as those made from corn, to 15 billion gallons annually by 2022. Energy officials are pushing to limit ethanol production, partly because it uses a human food crop and valuable cropland to produce fuel. Ethanol also has to be delivered in trucks, a pollution source — because it corrodes pipelines. “This was about making a fuel that
would work with our existing infrastructure” for diesel, Keasling said. Institute scientists in Emeryville collaborated with researchers at LS9, a biotechnology firm in South San Francisco, to engineer a bacteria that overcame the primary challenges of extracting fuel from tough plant material called “cellulosic biomass.” The biomass can be taken from agricultural waste material or can be grown on marginal land unsuitable for farming. The bacteria, a strain of the laboratory work horse E. coli, can convert materials such as straw, wood chips or grass directly into fatty acids used as fuels. These plant-derived fatty acids are called “nature’s petroleum.” To enable that, scientists spliced in genes that allowed the E. coli to create an enzyme that breaks down the plant material, releasing complex sugars. “It just reduces the overall cost, and now you have the possibly of doing it
in a single pot instead of two,” Keasling said. But scientists didn’t stop there. To produce enough fatty acids to make it commercially feasible, they had to rig the bacteria to keep eating, even after it no longer needs to, and to release the fatty acids it produces. They succeeded in taking off the bacteria’s internal controls over fatty acid, or biodiesel, production. The challenge now is going from laboratory flask to commercial-scale fermentation tanks to produce vast quantities of fuel. Institute scientists will continue working with LS9 researchers on that, with hopes of developing an economically viable production system within two years. Worldwide demand for diesel fuel is growing, the Nature study noted. The scientists also plan to manipulate bacteria to produce biodiesel for jet planes.
features 3
editor: topher forhecz featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/540.231.9865
january 29, 2010
COLLEGIATETIMES
he she
SAID
She said: Be a good friend, even behind online persona
JAYME MARTIN/COLLEGIATE TIMES
He said: New technology makes talking obsolete I received a peculiar gift over the holidays that implied I’m both a drunk and an amnesiac, and it wasn’t a calendar marked with upcoming visits to Alcoholics Anonymous. A stack of 12 “beer bands” — essentially Live Strong bracelets — offer easy identification of drinks by sliding them around the bottle, assuming many similar beverages are nearby. Not only do they vary in color, but they also display suggestive labels. At a party you could avoid unwanted flirtation by slipping on the aqua “tease,” or invite the desperate masses with the pink “slut.” The dude sipping O’doul’s can rock the green “wimp.” Even though they’re meant as jokes, some people wouldn’t argue the claims. Lasting trends occasionally arise such as vanity license plates or AIM screen names, which compel people to insert generalized self-portraits. Lately it’s snuck into the most popular social networking Web sites to which many of us are shackled. They aren’t really outright declarations, but the content is telling. You encounter it immediately after logging onto Facebook. I’m not anti-status, there are plenty of insightful thoughts or humorous links on my homepage, and I appreciate
being stimulated in such ways. I shake my head, though, when posts are simply inane or carry irritating themes that breed tags (excessive complaints about a schedule for a certain curriculum: depressed; play-by-play of cuddle time with a significant other: codependent). Yet considering how much we’re willing to say online, it’s striking how reserved we can be in person. Last week, syllabus reviews were often accompanied by student introductions. “Tell me a few things about yourself?” the professors asked. The floor then rumbled with groans and chairs swiveled as friends gazed at one another with synchronized eye rolls. Providing just a hint of personal background is a burden in that context; nervous feet and fingers tap as hometowns and career interests are rattled off. But I imagine a decent portion of those hesitant folks updated their profile statuses not an hour beforehand with mosaic detail. Had I been Internet “friends” with some of them, I could have added to their remarks, the details of their lunch or, more thrilling, the progress on their laundry. The obsessive forums this technology created has curiously affected us.
For whatever reason, we feel our consciousness deserves constant broadcast. There’s a desire for recognition or celebrity because otherwise maybe we’d feel somehow less significant, less successful. It’s ironic that we’re usually not doing or saying anything noteworthy. But even “real” celebrities can be confounding in this regard. It might make them appear more accessible to the public, but in some instances I’d rather keep them idealized in my head. Conan O’Brien used to have a mocking segment called “Twitter Tracker.” A loud narrator shared, or rather yelled, what he called “sweet tweets,” having brushed aside all the dull ones. The tweets were purposefully anticlimactic though, such as this gem from Miley Cyrus: This line is insane! Am I ever going to get my latte? “Who cares?” O’Brien rightfully asked. I just read in “Rolling Stone” that John Mayer frequently tweets about poop ... actually, that’s funny. Thankfully, some stars use the tool to benefit their fans. Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has shared his whereabouts with the promise of free tickets for big matches. Watching wicked violence isn’t my release, but he’s made
many cauliflower-eared people happy thanks to Twitter. And while we might not be capable of such heights, it’s still worthwhile to contemplate what we virtually put forward as being somehow desirable or positive. I mean, we’re essentially encouraging a unique form of stalking and the goal is not to bore or annoy your followers into retreat. You know you’re waiting for those “likes” and comments, even if they do come from someone you befriended three years ago and have forgotten. Ultimately, is there any true harm if “what’s on your mind?” falls short of beautiful prose? I guess not, although people might secretly pass judgment, but that’s inherent in most aspects of life. Maybe I just need to loosen up — on the dance floor, perhaps? That will require some liquid confidence however, and the crowds could be dense. I’ll have to grab the blue “total bitch” to prevent a mix up.
RYAN ARNOLD -features reporter -senior -communication major
If you’re my Facebook friend, chances are that you’ll immediately disqualify me from giving out any advice on “netiquette.” Because I’ve lost so many brain cells during my collegiate career, I like to document my day in order to remember it later. Unfortunately for my friends, my Facebook status is the most convenient way to do this so I update way too much. But in reality, I know this incessant posting is a no-no. I’m sure that some of my fellow Facebook junkies desperately want to unfriend me. Even if I’m the scourge of status updates, I can still offer a bit of advice about online activity that might distance friends or followers. I have a Twitter account that I use regularly. Because I am constrained to 140 characters, I can complain, celebrate or just hash out a bit of my day without getting too carried away. But the worst part about Twitter is that you can “retweet.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with Twitter, a retweet is basically reposting a tweet that someone else has written. I have a few friends that I follow on Twitter because I know them, and I’m curious about just exactly what snippets their minds will produce. However, instead of producing their own material, they retweet the words of others. But that’s just the thing. I don’t want to hear about your friend’s friend’s opinion on the upcoming Apple iPad or crap somebody’s dad said. I’m following the one person whose own quirky thoughts are nowhere to be found in a mire of supposedly entertaining retweets. I continue following these people, hoping that a flash of personal brilliance will show itself somewhere in their updates. Facebook itself has a lot more room for content and therefore a lot more room for personal expression. But considering Facebook’s seemingly god-like ability to allow comments on anything ever, you have to be very careful about your interactions. A good rule is using the “like” button to break the ice. If you haven’t really talked to someone in five years, you can still “like” something of theirs to show that yes, you’re reading and yes, you do care. It’s short, somewhat impersonal and completely non-threatening. But with commenting, it’s easy to
cross the line. Unless we’re bosom buds or exchanging bodily fluids, don’t comment on every single thing I post — especially if your opinion is lessthan-welcome. For example, I posted a celebratory update exclaiming “I got a great internship at such-and-such!” My first comment was from a guy who always has an opinion on everything — and shares it. His infuriating response? “Eh.” Way to take a digital dump on my dreams, guy. Another way to lose brownie points with your friends: tagging pictures. If you have a picture of me where I’m so crazy-drunk that I resemble Jack Nicholson, please don’t post a picture and tag me in it. Please, be humane. Nobody likes unflattering pictures of herself. But the most common, horrible thing I see regularly on Facebook is people being hateful in their status updates. And I’m not talking normal hateful like “my job sucks,” “Organic Chemistry sucks” or “the weather sucks.” I’m talking about outrageously bigoted things that my “friends” happen to say. For example, one person I know wrote, “All the Muslims need to be kicked out of the country, like they’re doing in Australia.” Seriously. Why you’d ever put that as your status on Facebook beats me, particularly because Australia never decided to kick out its Muslim population in the first place. I cited Snopes.com on this one and told the guy to at least be an informed ass rather than just an ignorant one. He unfriended me, but it was worth it. So the next time you feel the urge to tweet or post, a rule of thumb is to make sure that you’re a nicer version of you, even if you feel the need to post six updates an hour. After all, it’s always better to be annoying than a jerk — online as well as in real life.
LAKEN RENICK -features staff writer -senior -English major
january 29, 2010
page 4
Former 98 Degrees artist releases second solo album as free download CHELSEA GUNTER
CT: How do you feel about your new album? TIMMONS: It’s been a very difficult process, but I’m very happy with my songs. It’s a totally different album. I worked with my old band writing songs. It was like a party where things weren’t over thought. We worked on a lot of club songs with a variety of tempos. I am happy and proud of the work. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be releasing the album for free.
features staff writer 98 Degrees broke into the music industry in 1998 with its debut album “98 Degrees and Rising,” which included the hit singles “Because of You” and “I Do (Cherish You).” The band earned multiplatinum records, sold more than 11 million CDs, earned eight Top-10 singles and a Grammy nomination. After 98 Degrees separated, Jeff Timmons, the founder of the group, began working on his solo career. In August 2004, he released his first solo album, “Whisper That Way,” which gave him Top 20 hits on both the Billboard and Radio & Records charts. Jeff Timmons spoke with the Collegiate Times over the phone. He discussed his past with 98 Degrees, his career after the group and his album that was released for free last December. COLLEGIATE TIMES: How are you today? Where are you today? JEFF TIMMONS: Good. I’m in Laguna Beach interviewing with some tech guys about my upcoming CD.
COURTESY JEFF TIMMONS
Jeff Timmons’ new album is available for CT: The 98 Degrees official Web site was last free download on his official Web site.
updated in 2004 claiming that 98 Degrees is not breaking up. Is that still true? Can fans expect a reunion? TIMMONS: Yeah. We did not break up, but we all decided to go in a different direction. I had a family and two kids that I wanted to spend time with, Drew was on “Dancing with the Stars,” Nick was involved with his “Newlyweds” reality TV show, and Justin decided to go into politics. We all wanted to do our own thing. I don’t see us getting back together anytime soon, but it could happen.
CT: How do you feel about your first solo CD? TIMMONS: I feel like it was an accomplishment because I did it by myself. I wrote some songs with my friends and it was a young effort. It was not very polished and it wasn’t the same big time production I was used to. I wasn’t satisfied. Most artists believe that there is always something you can do better. I over did it and I didn’t officially know what I wanted to do with my music yet. It was a
CT: After you released your first solo album, you participated in the VH1 reality TV show “Mission: Man Band” in 2007. The show attempted to form a new group with various members of successful pop acts in the past. How did that experience go for you? TIMMONS: VH1 as well as MTV used to be powerful tools within the music industry. They used to decide who made it and who didn’t. As a group or an artist you needed their support. To be honest, I never wanted to do it. Reality TV is never reality. However, VH1 agreed to a lot of stuff for my upcoming CD so I got involved. None of us were intending on forming a group. We were all there in order to work on and promote our own projects. The guys I was working with are all talented and dedicated artists who sold millions of records as well. While the show was not successful, the experience was fantastic. It was a difficult situation that tested me as a person. You can only get stronger from adversity and being with those guys was great. CT: What made you decide to release another album? TIMMONS: “Whisper that Way” was good but not good enough, so I decided it was time to get back into the studio.
CT: Releasing a free album must be expensive. How can you afford to release your music for free? TIMMONS: I can’t. It is not something I can make money off of. But, I just pay for the Web site tracking fees so fans can download my music. CT: Do you miss 98 Degrees? Have you found any challenges as a solo artist? TIMMONS: You’re always going to have challenges. Our group had a million challenges. We were a very hands-on group. The challenge of what the label wanted to sound like was a problem. I used to originally miss it. We had fans and sold millions of records, so we lived the dream and traveled across the world. But there was no time off. As a solo artist, I like it better. If I was in a group I couldn’t give my record away for free. CT: You created a multimedia distribution company called iamMedia. What made you decide to form this company? TIMMONS: Originally I was going to record companies, but it’s getting harder to distribute CDs in stores. For example, Wal-Mart isn’t happy with the music business so they’re about to get rid of CDs altogether. I wanted to make records more available in highly trafficked stores like grocery stores or gas stations, so I partnered up with a guy who distributes to these types of stores.
PHOTOGRAPHER/SPPS
CT: Then you began working on your solo CD, “Whisper That Way,” which was released in 2004. Why did you decide to stay involved in the music industry? TIMMONS: I love music. I was originally involved with a band in Ohio until I decided to pursue music in L.A. I love being in the studio. I fell in love with it. I wanted to stay involved because I still wanted to try music, experiment and write. My love for music never stopped, even when we got off the road.
great experience, and at the end of the day I like how it helped me become a better producer and artist.
CT: Why did you decide to release the album for free? TIMMONS: It is extremely expensive to get your song on the radio. I have a lot of friends in the radio business that will play it. However, I’m totally non-traditional. I wrote my own album and most people don’t do that. All the traditional boundaries are coming down now. I want my music out there and I want to get more fans. In the future this might be the way that music is released. Selling CDs is too expensive and record companies won’t reduce the prices, so people get online and download the music instead. This is a way for fans to get the music. If they choose to download my music then it gets out there and people get to see what I’m doing as an artist. If I give it away for free then it’s not about the money, it’s all about the music.
opınıons 5
editor: debra houchins opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
january 29, 2010
The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
Make the plan one to increase voter turnout R
ecently, the United States Supreme Court handed down a bombshell ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, completely overturning one precedent and partially overturning another. The divisive 5-4 ruling, which dealt with the contentious issue of campaign finance laws, has resulted in equal division amongst Americans. Those who agree with the court reiterate its findings, including the importance of maintaining First Amendment principles for all groups. Those who follow the dissenters assert that without the regulations, democracy will be lost in a flood of ad campaigns funded by corporations. In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that I would find it difficult to disagree with Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion. As he stated, there is “no principled way to distinguish between media corporations and other corporations and that the dissent’s theory would allow Congress to suppress political speech in newspapers, on television news programs, in books and on blogs.” As Justice Samuel Alito noted, the exception made for media corporations in the time periods corporations cannot support endorsements before elections is “simply a matter of legislative grace.” For me, the problem is more so the potential application to other cases rather than a sympathy for corporations. For those who know the history, or want to look it up, the case bears an interesting resemblance to the 1977 case National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie. Still, regardless of my opinions on the case, the implications remain the same. Furthermore, it is doubtful that anything I say in the next 400 words or so will change your opinion on the matter. For better or worse, the 2010 campaigns will be affected by the ruling. Though this year’s elections may see it to a higher degree, the presence of special interests and lobbies is nothing new. Instead of continuing a back-andforth on idealism versus pragmatism, we have to develop new ways to confront the decision as it stands. As many political thinkers have noted, voter turnout is an area of great concern. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in the 2008 presidential election that was noted for a record turnout, only 64 percent of the voting-age population cast its ballot for the next leader of the free world. Think about this: More than one-third of the nation remained silent on the biggest issues of our time. I don’t mean to sound preachy or condescending in citing these facts, but I know these statistics are partially to blame for the current condition of politics. Corporations have founded interests in the actions of our representatives. They are motivated by profit, and justifiably so; deft management allows firms to expand and create jobs — without bailouts from the American taxpayer. They send lobbies to Washington to ensure these things. But there is a certain amount of dangerous self-interest that is also sent to Washington, a self-interest that must be held in check to create a fair society for all Americans. However, because of Citizens United, increased voter turnout is one of few Constitutional means of shifting power back to — forgive me — Main Street. The logic behind this is simple. I acknowledge (but don’t necessarily
like) that the primary motive of elected officials is to remain in power. Because of this common motive, there is a common action: Representatives are loyal to the people who ensure their reelection, whoever that may be; as the saying goes, “dance with the one that brung ya.” Right now, those with intense political motives, i.e., special interest groups, dominate the polls, and thus dominate the dance floor. By increasing voter turnout among those not seeking direct profit, but merely a government to represent them, we can dilute the power of special interests and refocus our politicians on our problems, not those of mega-corporations. Another important facet of this plan is increasing turnout in primary elections. Except for 2008’s Democratic Primary, those elections are generally glossed over lightly, especially in Congress and at the state level, where national media focus is rare. Still, these elections are incredibly important. Because of the overwhelming dominance of the two major parties, primaries are the only way to flesh out the details; for example, will the Republican Party be defined as laissez-faire liberal, or as Christian conservative. This is an important distinction to voice one’s opinion on in the two-party system, since the only feasible alternative (sorry, Ralph Nader) is to vote for the Democratic candidate, whose platform may be as unattractive as his counterpart’s. Anyone who has ever lamented that he can’t agree 100 percent with his senator, or felt like he had to choose between the lesser of two evils, should sympathize with this point. But the problems of the general election are suffered twice as acutely by the primary system. Voter turnouts are much lower, and as a result, those who do vote are usually those with a good deal of investment in one candidate over another. Because of this, these huge decisions of party direction are made by a handful of people who reap the benefits if they bet on the right horse. If the American people become motivated enough to cast their ballots in the general elections and even in the primaries, the rewards are astounding. But the loftiest goal that would be attainable is that politicians would come to approach an issue looking to solve a problem, rather than please a group. Instead of dancing with the lobby that “brung” them, they could solve the healthcare problem in a way that is effective for the people, not lobbies, and be re-elected, because the people, unlike lobbies, do not care about the solution — they care about the results. I cannot forget, though, that under this plan, we are all interdependent. Without your neighbor voting, your vote may not be powerful enough to solve the problem. In the end, we all have a stake in our political system to fight for, or corporations and government will put a stake in us.
SCOTT MASSELLI -regular columnist -sophomore -economics major
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Do not hold rape victims accountable for the crime I
wrote a column several weeks back that addressed, among other things, the right of women to wear “revealing” clothing without being accused of whoredom or “asking” to be raped. Several individuals responded to that column and some actually made the claim that rape cases are the fault of both the victim and the rapist. Naturally I was astounded that someone would fault one among our sisters as asking for what some might believe to be the worst experience one could suffer on this green Earth, and so I am going to respond to this popular and masculine notion now — that rape is somehow partial in its allocation of guilt, lending itself to both the raped and the rapist. There is an intriguing story called the “Rape of Mr. Smith” that relates robbery with rape and how similarly they could be investigated in terms of fault if seen in the same light. Mr. Smith, a business man and dressed as such, is robbed while on the street. His interrogators accuse him of “asking” to be robbed because he is not only a philanthropist, already prone to just “handing out” money to anyone, but also lavishly dressed, and so it is assumed on the part of the officers that he put himself in the position of being robbed, whether he wanted to be or not. Though consent is the real issue here, just as it is in rape, what is muddled by the officers is past behavior; by doing so they validate the erroneous and ad hominem argument that because he formerly gave out money he could not object to doing so against his will. The same thought process occurs when investigating the rape of escorts, prostitutes, erotic dancers or ladies out on the town. Because these individuals engage in what is believed to be high-risk behavior, or because they sell sex, or are looking to “hook up,” or even because they have engaged in sex with that individual before, it is assumed, and by a largely male-driven law enforcement institution, that these women are at fault for the violation of
their own bodies. If you subscribe to this silly notion, and that is the only way I can describe it since it is child-like in its logic, then I would be forced to ask the same about gun owners or hunters, or thrill seekers, or morbidly obese people, or those who have contracted diabetes by way of a poor diet. If we are going to penalize women for rape, holding them accountable for assaults against them, then why don’t we hold the unhealthy accountable for their medical conditions by depriving them of healthcare? Or refuse insurance or any kind of medical aid to someone made a paraplegic after a failed attempt bungee jumping? What about a child who commits suicide with his parent’s gun? Should we penalize them for providing the murder weapon, even if it is done inadvertently? There needs to be intent behind actions. Merely because a woman seeks the attention of a man does not mean she is seeking to be violated. A storeowner may seek to attract customers with his products; this does not mean he wishes to be robbed. To debase this heinous idea even further, I will add that it depends on the idea that rape is solely a matter of sex and that it depends on the man being enticed by the woman at hand. To begin, if I shoot someone with a gun it does not mean I killed the person because of gun laws or out of my passion for the right to bear arms. In the same way, sex is the vehicle of rape or the tool, not the point. The point is power. There is no more empowering way to destroy an individual than to take the control she has over her own body away from her. This is backed by the well-documented fact that elderly women, children, and even infants are raped. Young, beautiful women are not the only subjects to the evils of some men. This argument further cheapens men in that it turns them into animals no more capable of controlling themselves than an adolescent dog look-
ing to mount his first female. Are the men making these arguments really so deprived of will power that they must rape women that are simply too handsomely dressed? The argument that women are at times responsible for their rape depends on several erroneous factors that are easily debunked. These arguments include the notion that women must want to be raped and signal such when they dress inappropriately, rape is about sex and thus lust and therefore depends on the individual being highly attracted to the woman, men are incapable of controlling their lust and lack will power over their desires, and because a woman sells sex or desires sex that she cannot object to being raped. All of these arguments suggest a serious misunderstanding of the psychology of rape and of the human condition. It is also concrete evidence that America remains a patriarchal system under which women are forced to compromise their liberties to survive. Rape is in fact such an entrenched part of American culture that it is often featured in excruciating detail in our cinema. Recognizing the facts about rape and understanding the ways in which patriarchy enforces it are key in diminishing its presence in our country. It is critical to know that rape is a crime against all women and never against just one isolated individual, since it is a means of subjugation. Instead of rationalizing its sick and toxic existence in our society, we need to obliterate it with extreme legal action and an overhaul of institutions that strive to obfuscate its dangers.
JOHN DRIESSNACK -regular columnist -senior -biology major
Look beyond your horoscope to learn the history of astrology D
o you believe that horoscopes apply to you or anyone and reliably predict anything that will happen in someone’s life? If so, is there any reason why you believe in them? Do you know anything about the belief system of astrology besides the fact that people make horoscopes? Astrology claims that at birth and afterwards, the positions of the stars and planets greatly influences events in people’s lives, despite the fact that the positions of the stars change very little in a given year or decade or century even. In what way would the position affect someone? Is it a gravitational or electromagnetic force? Well, neither. Since your doctor at your birth actually has a stronger magnetic pull on you than all of the planets combined (the doctor’s gravitational force being 34 times that of Jupiter’s) is some indication of the position of the doctor with respect to the stars. Also, if it were gravitational, astrology would have no way to predict anything for thousands of years since any accurate distances to the planets have only been known in the last century. The interaction couldn’t be the two short-range forces, the weak and the strong force, since the scales are too small, and it couldn’t be electromagnetic! Most objects are neutral so any electric field would have no measurable influence on the planet, much less a person. So if it’s not due to the fundamental forces, and it interacts with us, what would be causing it? If it affects us it must have a natural cause.
Any other explanation of supernatural effects is a moot point and would not be predictable in the way astrologers claim they can predict things. The idea that one’s sign has a play over his personality has often been demonstrated to be wrong, and the method to determine one’s sign used thousands of years ago has not been updated. Because of the earth having a slow wobble with a period of 25,700 years, the position of the constellations changes when compared to the months. The signs were originally determined based on what constellation was blocked by the sun. As the Earth goes around the sun, the sun falls roughly in between some constellation and the Earth. The constellation blocked by the sun at one’s birth indicates one’s sign. So the constellation Aries fell on March 21 and ended around April 19 initially, but now this same 30-degree patch of sky is blocked by the sun between April 19 and May 13, formerly the time when Taurus was blocked. Astrology has not updated though, and it still predicts certain personality characteristics with something other than the original definitions of someone’s actual sign. The validity of characteristics based on a person’s sign has even been tested. Every so often a survey is done of a group of “time twins,” two people born within five minutes of each other. These people are all the same sign, and are born when the stars move extremely small distances
compared to that of a month’s duration, so the idea is that they should have very similar characteristics. But no study has found any correlation between the birth time of a person and his personality. Other studies have been done where each person is given a horoscope for another sign, and told that it is for his sign. He is then asked his opinion on how well it applies to him. Again no correlation has been found. The horoscopes can apply to simply too many people and aren’t specific enough, and therefore lose any predictability. It is estimated that hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on astrology in some form or another in the U.S. each year, and even Nancy Reagan consulted an astrologer in the 1980s to make sure that meetings were planned on good enough days astrologically. A very thorough paper “Is Astrology Relevant to Consciousness and Psi?” was written by Geoffrey Dean, which explains very well the errors in astrology, in case there are those who would like to have a longer and more well written explanation of why no one should pay a dime toward astrology.
BRIAN ROPER -regular columnist -senior -physics major, astronomy minor
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january 29, 2010
Speculation continues about future of Eagles’ McNabb
Terps top Tech women, 60-44
BOB BROOKOVER mcclatchy newspapers FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A source close to Donovan McNabb told the Eagles’ quarterback he had been traded on Wednesday. Former Eagles receiver and current ESPN analyst Cris Carter couldn’t have been more than 10 feet away from McNabb when he delivered the news. “I heard you just got traded to St. Thomas (Aquinas) for two number ones and future considerations,” Carter told McNabb after the NFC finished its first practice for Sunday’s Pro Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. St. Thomas Aquinas is the high school where the NFC practiced on Wednesday, and Carter is an assistant coach there. That he could joke with McNabb about being traded is proof the subject, as usual, has both national and local appeal. McNabb, for his part, continued to maintain that he isn’t going anywhere. The Eagles quarterback wouldn’t discuss what Andy Reid told him during his exit interview after the team’s playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys, but he indicated that his coach told him at some point the same thing he said to the media the day after the season ended. Reid has said twice that he expects McNabb to be his quarterback next season.
KUMAR VEETRAG/SPPS
Junior Brittany Gordon jumps for the opening tip-off Thursday.
T
he Virginia Tech women’s basketball team fell to the University of Maryland Terrapins, 60-44 Thursday night. The loss drops the Hokies’ overall record to 12-8 and their record against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents to 2-4. A layup from Tech guard Alyssa Fenyn put the Hokies up one point with just over 15 minutes remaining and another lay-in by guard Shanel Harrison gave the Hokies a three point lead early on. The Hokies were unable to hold on, however, as the Terrapins regained the lead with four minutes and 14 seconds remaining in the first and never looked back. Tech made just 29.3 percent of its shots in the game and the Hokies were also outrebounded by the
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Terrapins 49-35. Hokies’ forward Utaha Drye led the team with 15 points and four rebounds on the night while Fenyn added 11 points and four rebounds herself. The women’s basketball team will next take on Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Yellow Jackets enter the game ranked 25th in the nation, boasting a 17-5 overall record and 3-3 mark against ACC opponents. The game will not be televised locally. by ct sports staff
“That’s all that matters,” McNabb said during a one-on-one interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I heard it when he said it to you guys, but I heard it before anyway. I think a lot of people look too far into things with all the assumptions and this could happen. He told everybody I’m going to be there, and I’m his guy. I don’t see anything that anybody should look into.” The looking and speculation, of course, will continue. Minnesota became the latest seemingly possible trade destination for McNabb because Brett Favre is saying that he’s unlikely to return for another season with the Vikings. No chance of that story changing, is there? St. Louis and Arizona are on the list, too. “I don’t even get into that ... until that would happen,” McNabb said when asked about the speculation. “I love being in Philly. I’ve been there 11 years, we’ve had a lot of success over the years, and I don’t believe in starting somewhere and going somewhere else to finish your career. “I believe in starting somewhere and finishing what you started. My goal was to win a Super Bowl and bring it back to Philadelphia. I think they deserve it. We’ve given them some great years, but we haven’t been able to finish. I think good things have to happen pretty soon.” McNabb acknowledged that his
backup Kevin Kolb is probably getting antsy having spent the last three seasons as the quarterback in waiting. “I’m sure he is,” McNabb said. “Who wouldn’t want to play? Kevin has worked extremely hard, and he’s a good quarterback. He can make plays. They’ve seen that, everybody has seen that. We all can make plays, but it’s a decision that someone is going to make, and whatever the decision is we’ll go from there and see what happens.” McNabb and Reid are the lightning rods for disappointed fans every time the Eagles fall short of a Super Bowl title, and the electrical storm becomes more intense with each passing year. The quarterback insisted that none of that bothers him. “I let other people think about that,” McNabb said. “For me, the grass being greener is really what field you’re playing on. When you’re in Philadelphia, obviously, there are ups and there are downs. I’ve been a part of it for 11 years, so I don’t let it affect me.” McNabb has one year left on his contract. Unlike a year ago around this time, McNabb did not lobby for an extension or raise. He received a $5.3 million raise without an extension last June. Attempts to reach McNabb’s agent, Fletcher Smith, Wednesday were unsuccessful.
“I don’t think we should really focus on that,” McNabb said. “I love playing the game, and that’s what it comes down to. I am under contract for another year. We don’t know what’s going to happen in 2011. We just don’t know. If I have to come back and play (in Philadelphia), hey, that’s great, I would love to. I love this team, and I love being around these guys and competing. I think good things could happen for us.” The 2011 season is uncertain today for McNabb because he does not have a contract, but also for the NFL and its players. The NFL exercised an option to reopen the collective bargaining agreement, and some people suspect the league will lock out players for the 2011 season if the two sides don’t reach a new deal. As for McNabb and the Eagles’ on-field future, he said he believes the Eagles are close to being a Super Bowl contender, despite the two endof-the-year losses to Dallas. “We’re not far at all,” he said. “We went on a six-game winning streak, we made good things happen with an explosive offense, the defense came around, everybody started playing well, and then those two games hit, which is unfortunate, but it happens. For all of us, we have to refocus on what we have to do to come back strong next year, put it together and hopefully find ourselves wherever the Super Bowl is.”
Tim Tebow’s throwing motion an issue at Senior Bowl JEREMY FOWLER mcclatchy newspapers MOBILE, Ala. — From one knee, a 12-year-old Tim Tebow started blasting spirals 30 yards downfield. Weeks later, 40 yards. By the end of the season, 50 yards. The Lakeshore Rangers of the Jacksonville Pop Warner scene officially had a 125-pound linebackerturned-quarterback, but coach Dave Hess noticed early on a twitch in Tebow’s throwing motion. Not that it mattered much back then. “He was also a pitcher in Little League, so he had the sidearm throw,” Hess said. “He went right from baseball to football as far as the throwing motion. But he could do everything on the field, all the accuracy drills, hit all the spots while on the run or
planted.” Such an anecdote has echoed throughout Tebow’s career but has come to an abrupt halt at this week’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Tebow always had an elongated throwing motion that dipped somewhere between his back and his belt buckle, but he was too good and efficient to need drastic change. Only now is he attempting to quicken a motion that became habitual ever since his younger days as a Little League pitcher in the Jacksonville area. Tebow became high school and college football’s best player despite his motion because of his leadership, athleticism and ability to make clutch throws in the spread offense. But this is the NFL, where cornerbacks eat up the slightest hesitation on a slant route.
Coaches who grew up watching Tebow in Jacksonville say he always had a hybrid motion — half quarterback, half pitcher with a 9 o’clock release. The way his arm dips behind his back like a snake has actually gotten worse since he arrived at Florida, according to Hess and Craig Howard, who coached Tebow at Jacksonville Nease High School. Online videos have shown Tebow taking about a half-second to release the ball at a high school football camp but almost a full second at his senior year at Florida. “He never dipped it that low when he was here,” Howard said. “We would work on mechanics and accuracy every day, and we always thought his motion, though it was different and elongated, was steady, reliable and at a solid point of release. It looked more
compact when he was in high school. And he’s such a smart player that it didn’t matter all that much.” As much as Tebow’s arm has been debated in the NFL process, his mental capacity to absorb an NFL offense might be the most crucial aspect if a team gives him a chance at quarterback. Shane Matthews, a former Gators quarterback and 14-year NFL veteran, says he has no doubt Tebow can learn the ways of the NFL — if given the enough time. “NFL teams can help him develop,” Matthews said. “It will be a long process for him, but he’s certainly an NFL-caliber player who will just need time crafting all the tools to be a great quarterback. He’ll learn how to make all the reads, the footwork, everything as long as he’s with the right team.”
january 29, 2010
page page8A
Hokies respond in overtime to defeat resilient Cavaliers JOE CRANDLEY sports editor In a game where the Hokies had every right to believe they had been beaten, they simply didn’t quit Thursday night, and they were rewarded with an Atlantic Coast Conference road win over in-state rival Virginia, 76-71. “That was just a really good basketball game,” head coach Seth Greenberg said. “Both teams competed at a high level. I was really proud of our resiliency.” Down 10 points with slightly less than three minutes to go, the Cavaliers (12-6, 3-2 ACC) appeared to have the game in hand, but the Virginia Tech (16-3, 3-2 ACC) trio of juniors in Malcolm Delaney, Dorenzo Hudson and J.T. Thompson dug down deep and kept fighting. The Hokies then hustled like never before and rattled off 13 straight points in a hurry to reclaim a 6562 lead over a stunned UVa team and crowd with 10 seconds remaining. Shocked but not defeated, the Cavaliers put the ball in the hands of star sophomore Sylven Landesberg to take the last shot, but the Hokies defended the play and forced a pass to fellow sophomore Sammy Zeglinski with one second on the clock. With a well guarded, desperation three, Zeglinski drained a prayer and knotted the game at 65-65 to force the game into overtime. Still riding high from simply getting back into the game, Tech charged into the overtime period and took over against the deflated Wahoos. Led by the hustle of Thompson, Tech jumped out to a 70-65 lead with 2:49 left in the period. Again, Zeglinski nailed another deep three-pointer to pull the score close at 70-68, but Thompson simply would not let the Hokies lose. “We had so many guys step up,” Greenberg said. “J.T. Thompson was so tough and determined. It was good to see him play that way. That was a piece that had been missing.” Thompson fought hard down low
One upped
“
That was just a really good basketball game. ... Both teams competed at a high level. I was really proud of our resiliency. SETH GREENBERG HEAD COACH
on the offensive end for another quick two points to push the lead to four, and then he sealed the game by poking the ball away from behind Zeglinski on UVa’s subsequent possession with 40 seconds left. Hudson recovered the ball and passed back to Thompson, who was then fouled before he could get a quick score. Still calm, he drained two free throws to make the score 73-68 with 37 seconds remaining, sending Hoo fans flooding to the exits to the chants of “let’s go Hokies.” “(Thompson) was a big time player for us,” Hudson said. “Jeff (Allen) went down late, and J.T. played big for us, got some big rebounds, allowed us to feed the ball and played tough. He made the right plays, dove on the floors for balls.” Thompson ended the game with 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half and overtime after being forced into action because Allen was ejected for a flagrant foul with 13:41 left in the second half. “I didn’t see the play,” Greenberg said. “I spoke to Jeff and he said he secured the ball, he chinned the ball, and he turned and didn’t see Jeff Jones who was a teammate of his in AAU. That’s all I know.” Still, despite Thompson’s heroics in the second half of the game, not enough can be said about the performance of Delaney and Hudson, who played 42 and 43 minutes respectively and scored a combined 45 points. After the game, Delaney, who scored 27 points alone, exited the floor of the John Paul Jones arena with a limp, an IV and a W. “It’s tough to get a win like that on the road, especially going into the Miami game,” Delaney said.
UPCOMING ACC GAMES
LUKE MASON/SPPS
Sun, Jan. 31 - at Miami Thur, Feb. 4 - vs. North Carolina Sat, Feb. 6 - vs. Clemson Wed, Feb. 10 - at NC State Sat, Feb. 13 - vs. Virginia
Hokies’ junior forward Terrell Bell rises up in an attempt to score during the second half of Tech’s 75-69 win over UVa on Thursday night.
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