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RICH SUGG/MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Friday, March 19, 2010

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COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 32

News, page 2

BOV to consider Oak Lane expansion GORDON BLOCK news reporter An expansion of the Oak Lane community, along with changes to Virginia Tech’s weapons and interim suspension policies, are on the agenda as the university’s Board of Visitors meets this weekend.

The Finance and Audit Committee and the Buildings and Grounds Committee are considering approval of a new Phase IV space to the Oak Lane community.

The cost of the houses would be split between the Greek chapters and university. Greek chapters will pay about a third of the cost of the project to the Virginia Tech Foundation, while the university would take on the rest of the cost. The proposed houses would range in cost from about $2 million-$4 million each.

“We won’t actually know that until the designs are completed, and we know what the corporations want to build,” said Sherwood Wilson, vice president of administrative services.

Ed Spencer, vice president for student affairs, said that the expansion could be seen as a discount for the university.

“It is the same thing as building a new residence hall,” Spencer said. “Instead of having the whole cost of project, we’ll save a third of the costs of each house.”

Funding for the project will come from auxiliary revenue from Tech’s residential programs. The university hopes to get the Board’s approval for $23.5 million in support for the project.

Tech would own the new houses, and the Greek chapters would be the primary residents of the houses. While a chapter losing its charter would lose its house, it would have the ability to regain it own house upon it reapproval.

Currently, the three Greek chapters that have signed onto the space are Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Chi, and Beta Theta Pi. Robert Sowell, a junior economics major and president of Tech’s chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, said the proposed move to an on-campus residency has sparked much debate between fraternity brothers.

“There’s a lot of push back,” Sowell said. “We’ve been in our house for 40 years.”

Sowell said the house’s age has impacted its value.

“Being so old, it’s hard to justify continually putting money into the house,” Sowell said. “It’s like putting money into a black hole. We’re just not getting as much return out of it.”

While only three chapters have formally expressed interest in the first space, the new Phase IV area at full capacity could hold 17 chapter houses. The proposed expansion of the Phase IV housing area may threaten the existence of the Virginia Tech Golf Course. While the newly proposed space can sustain five houses, any additional houses would stretch over to land used by the golf course, effectively ending the course’s use.

“We’re trying to avoid doing that until we have to,” Spencer said.

A member of Sigma Chi, Spencer said the proposed addition would bring a short-term increase in quality of life for Greek students, along with a longterm increase in alumni loyalty and contributions.

“Greeks are the biggest donors of all,” Spencer said.

The Student Affairs and Athletics Committee will consider two changes to university policy for students, one regarding the storage of ammunition in on-campus residence halls and the other based on the administration of interim suspensions.

The proposed change to Tech’s weapons policy would bar students from storing ammunition in oncampus residence halls. Currently, students are not allowed to store firearms. The proposed change for ammunition would leave exceptions for the storage of BBs and paint balls.

The resolution would also prohibit the storage of stun weapons, defined as “any device that emits a momentary or pulsed output... designed to temporarily incapacitate a person.”

Rohsaan Settle, associate director for the Office of Student Conduct, will make the proposal to the board and said it could be considered a matter of see BOARD / page two

Features, page 4

Opinions, page 5

Sports, page 8

Classifieds, page 6

Sudoku, page 6

Softening the crash University alters investment plan, withstands economic downturn CALEB FLEMING news staff writer Virginia Tech’s endowment performance saw a $78 million decline in assets, or 14 percent, despite being labeled as one of the nation’s best-managed endowments.

Tech’s performance was ranked second in the country behind Washington State University, according to John Cusimano, Tech’s associate treasurer for investments and debt management.

Endowments become especially important in times of financial distress when they are often used to offset some potential tuition increases.

The ranking is a product of an analysis conducted by 24/7 Wall Street, a financial blog. The blog used figures released by Commonfund, an investment firm for universities and other nonprofit organizations, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers to compute its rating system.

As of December 31, 2009, the preliminary market value of all endowments held by the Virginia Tech Foundation totaled $470 million.

Furthermore, the $470 million consists of 34.4 percent Global Equities, 10.5 percent Real Assets, 24.6 percent Marketable Alternative Assets, 14.2 percent NonMarketable Alternative Assets, 10.9 percent U.S. Fixed Income and 5.4 percent cash.

Tech’s high ranking, in conjunction with its 14 percent decline in endowed assets, is indicative of a national trend in which both public and private universities have been hurt by the nation’s recession.

“In the past several years we have seen a significant drop in the value of endowments with the drop in the economy and the market,” said Paul Hassen, vice president for public affairs of the Association of Public and Land Grand Universities.

The average investment return in uni-

versity endowments was a negative 18.7 percent in the 2008-2009 fiscal year that saw endowments nationwide experience their worst losses since the Great Depression.

“All sources of revenue pretty much dried up at once and still are dry,” said John Griswold, executive director of Commonfund Institute. “Many bonds basically stopped trading, and even if you had liquid treasuries, not many endowments carried those kinds of investments so they were depleted pretty quickly to transfer money over to the operating budget.”

Griswold noted that the decline of endowments, while serious, is not catastrophic.

“Endowments are there to provide annual steady income, hopefully growing overtime,” Griswold said. “They are often there as rainy day funds, and (last year) it was pouring. It was a very difficult year in all areas.”

Universities tap into their endowment funds during a recession at the same time one would see tuition raised, much like Tech has been forced to do in recent years.

At Tech, Cusimano said shifts in investment strategy, or diversification, minimized risk and maximized return.

“We resisted the urge to leverage the fund during an extended period of low return expectations,” Cusimano said. “We maintained a relatively small amount of illiquid assets, and we converted our fixed income allocation to all U.S. Treasury and Agency securities prior to the market correction.”

Leveraging the fund during an extended period of low return expectations could have given the university more bang for its buck, but also runs the risk of the investment moving against the university and creating a loss much more significant than if the investment had not been leveraged.

Illiquid assets are investments that are difficult to sell and must be converted into cash quickly because of uncertainty surrounding its value and infrequent trading.

Best and Worst University Endowments

2010

TOP 10 BEST Institution

Percentage Loss

1. Washington State 2. Virginia Tech 3. University of Utah 4. NC State 5. College of William and Mary 6. Pepperdine 7. Dalhousie 8. Georgia Institute of Technology 9. McGill 10.University of Missouri

Absolute Dollar $59 million $78 million $81 million $81 million $85 million $27 million $50 million $27 million $118 million $143 million

9 14 14 15 15 14 14 8 13 14

TOP 10 WORST Institution

Percentage Loss

1. Harvard 2. Yale 3. Duke 4. Brown 5. Syracuse 6. University of Minnesota 7. Cornell 8. University of Southern California 9. California Institute of Technology 10.Grinnell

30 29 28 27 33 27 26 26 26 27

Absolute Dollar $10.9 billion $6.5 billion $1.7 billion $730 million $327 million $312 million $1.4 billion $918 million $483 million $396 million SOURCE: 24/7WALLSTREET.COM

By maintaining a standard of liquidity, the university was hurt less by the market failures in 2008.

U.S. Treasury and Agency securities are often safe investments because they are debt obligations backed by the United States government for a specified time period.

Treasury securities are considered to be very safe, and essentially guarantee that interest and the original amount of the investment will be paid on time.

By making changes to investment plans, Cusimano said the university should be able to effectively capitalize on future opportunities and continue its relative recent invest-

ment success.

And in its method of diversification, Tech is not alone. Griswold said in the last decade, Commonfund has seen many universities make moves in this direction.

“The purpose is to find a strategy or asset class that doesn’t move at the same time in the same direction as stocks and bonds,” Griswold said. “Now, you still have to do all the usual work on monitoring and performing good risk management so you don’t fall prey to unusual risks, particularly fraud and also risks you didn’t anticipate.” see ENDOWMENT / page two

Young college student prevented from studying abroad KATHLEEN MEGAN mcclatchy newspapers HARTFORD, Conn. — To Colin Carlson, it’s clearly a case of discrimination.

As a double-degree honors student with a 3.9 grade point average at the University of Connecticut, he was a natural candidate for an African ecology course offered this semester that involved a summer field study in South Africa.

In fact, when he decided to go to UConn, it was partly because this course particularly addressed his interests in the interplay between culture and the environment.

However, Colin, a prodigy, is 13 years old. And he believes that the professor who is teaching the course turned him down last fall because of his youth.

His mother, Jessica Offir, offered to pay her own way on the trip to chaperone Colin and to release the university from any liability, but the university response remained a firm “no.”

Colin, who plans to earn a doctoratedegreeandthenalawdegree, says, “If you don’t feel comfortable taking a 13-year-old just because you don’t, then it’s the same thing as if you don’t feel comfortable having a black student on your trip or having a woman on your trip.

“If you can’t teach any student that the university deems capable

MICHAEL MCANDREWS/MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Colin Carlson claims age discrimination is holding him back. of taking your class and teaching them, then you shouldn’t be teaching. You can’t pick and choose your students based on personal comfort.”

Colin and his mother, Jessica Offir, contend that the decision violates the university’s anti-discrimination policy and state and federal civil rights law.

The Coventry family has filed a complaint with the university’s Office of Diversity and Equity and with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

Mike Kirk, spokesman for the university, said he can’t comment

on cases where litigation may be involved. However, he said, when it comes to trips abroad, “generally speaking, student safety is our number one concern.”

If his mother accompanies him on the trip, Colin doesn’t see any reason for the university to worry about his safety any more than other students. “Yes, something could happen,” he said. “I could get eaten by a lion, but I am at just the same risk as any other student.”

If the university believes it’s unsafe for him, Colin said, “by that logic, no one should be going on the trip and UConn should

not be offering a study abroad program.”

Colin started taking courses at UConn at age 9 and matriculated as a freshman last year.

He has excelled at UConn, and professors who have worked with him have nothing but praise for both his academic talents and his ability to get along easily with other students.

His lawyer, Michael H. Agranoff, said that although it appears that Colin’s age was the reason he was not allowed into the course, it is not clear exactly why his age is a problem. “Given the fact that UConn did accept him,” said Agranoff, “I’m not sure yet what UConn’s problem really is.”

After he was turned down for the African field ecology course, Colin was admitted to another ecology and evolutionary biology course that also involves field study in South Africa. But that course focuses on plants rather than animals, which are his greater interest. In addition, because he applied late for the course — delayed while waiting to hear whether he was accepted into the African field ecology course — there was no grant money left. He expects that his family will have to pay his way at close to $4,000, plus the cost of his mother’s travel expenses.

Colin fears now that the uni-

versity might find a way to keep him from going on this field trip, as well.

Offir said, “We are willing to do anything and everything to assuage their fears on the liability front.” Colin said he also fears that his financial aid might be in jeopardy.

Until now, Colin said, his education has gone smoothly at UConn, and he has enjoyed it greatly.

“I’d like to say that I am really shocked that the university would behave this way. I don’t go looking for fights. I’m generally a very agreeable person,” he said.

Professor Carl Schlichting, the professor who has agreed to have Colin in his class and on the South African trip, said in an e-mail that he “easily qualifies for inclusion” and is “a fine student.”

Professor Isaac Ortega, the professor who was teaching the class to which Colin was not admitted, was out of the office and could not be reached for comment.

Chris Simon, a professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology and Colin’s adviser, said that he is a “fantastic student” who “asks the kinds of questions that usually come from graduate students or a colleague” and is “very mature.”

2 news

new river valley news editor: zach crizer university editor: philipp kotlaba newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/540.231.9865

march 19, 2010

[

nation & world headlines

]

Five Americans in Pakistan charged with terror offenses SARGODHA, Pakistan — Five American students caught in Pakistan last year were charged Wednesday with terrorism-related offenses, and they’ll face a full trial and the prospect of a jail sentence. The men alleged that Pakistani police had tortured them.

The men, all Muslims from 18 to 24 years old from the Washington suburbs, were arrested in the central Pakistani town of Sargodha in December. They had traveled to Pakistan after making contact with an Islamic extremist over the Internet.

The case fueled fears in Pakistan that radicalized Americans were now traveling to South Asia or the Middle East to receive terrorist training.

Shahid Kamal, their defense lawyer, told McClatchy Newspapers that there were six charges against the men.

“The crux of the charges is that they tried to wage war against Pakistan and its allies, that they tried to fund proscribed organizations, and that they induced and directed people to commit terrorist acts,” Kamal said. by saeed shah, mcclatchy newspapers

CORRECTION In “Helicopter project takes off” (CT, March 18), the accompanying photograph was courtesy of Kevin Kochersberger. However, credit was incorrectly attributed to “Ken Kocherberger.”

The Collegiate Times regrets this error.

JUSTIN GRAVES -Contact our public editor at publiceditor@ collegiatetimes.com if you see anything that needs to be corrected.

COLLEGIATETIMES

& world Board: Ammo ban on BOV agenda [ nation headlines ] from page one

consistency.

“The main point we’re focusing on is having ammunition stored with guns,” Settle said.

Settle noted plans had been made to allow for students to store ammunition with Virginia Tech Police Department. The department currently offers storage for on-campus students’ firearms.

“Now we have created a mechanism for ammo to be stored at VTPD, it allows us to move forward to this resolution,” Settle said.

The proposed change has brought disapproval from student groups.

Anderson Wise, a senior history major and president of the Pistol and Rifle club at Virginia Tech, opposed the resolution.

“It feels like it completely inconveniences sportsmen who live on

campus,” Wise said.

Wise noted that many freshman members of his organization, along with many officers of the organization, live on campus.

Spencer said the issue of firearms and ammunition on campus was similar to the idea of pets in residence halls.

“You can have a pet in an off-campus living situation, but you have to give that up to live on-campus,” Spencer said.

Ken Stanton, a graduate student studying engineering education and founder of the Tech chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, said the rule chaange “has no reason behind it,” and that it was based on speculation on the danger of firearms. Stanton also worried a lack of storage space within Tech police would effectively ration stu-

dent ammunition capacity.

Changes to Tech’s interim suspension policy are also being considered. The plan would allow for university administrators to immediately remove students labeled a risk to themselves or others.

In the past, students who had not been available for a hearing could not be processed through the system. Some examples of this include students who were incarcerated or were not able to be contaced.

“This gives us the opportunity to continue the process while still allowing students the opportunity to schedule a hearing,” Settle said.

Not on the agenda for the meeting is a discussion of Tech’s non-discrimination policy.

The policy received attention following a letter from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli,

which advised state schools to remove protections for gays from non-discrimination policies to comply with Virginia law, adding that only Virginia’s General Assembly could authorize their inclusion in such policies.

The letter led to the issuing of Executive Directive 1 from Gov. Bob McDonnell, which emphasized a “standard of conduct” prohibiting any discrimination, including those based on sexual orientation.

The Board of Visitors is the only university body that could change this policy.

The board will also consider some building construction projects, the creation of a new research corporation, and compensation plans for graduate assistants. The Board of Visitor’s meetings will take place March 21-22.

Endowment: Tech opts for low-risk funds from page one

But while Cusimano indicated the university’s desire to steer away from illiquid assets, Griswold noted the imperative nature of being careful with exposure to liquid investments, indicating a delicate balance.

Liquid investments, including venture capital, hedge funds and private equity, often do not return capital for five to ten years, Griswold said. Despite the risk, these investments sometimes promise double-digit returns, making them somewhat enticing.

“That’s where some of the big schools like Harvard and Yale got caught,” Griswold said. “They weren’t getting returns because of the collapse of the economy and markets. The contracts they sign when they go into those funds require them to continue to pay capital in, but you have to make sure you have enough liquidity available.”

Strategies for investment do not change when considering a pri-

vate university and a public university, Cusimano said. The common denominator in investment strategy is the size of the endowment program.

“Large programs can afford their own internal staff, allowing them to do their own research, be more nimble, and take on more risk,” Cusimano said.

And while many universities have been affected considerably by the loss of endowment funds, others have fared much better.

“It differs from institution to institution, but what we’ve seen is institutions that are highly reliant on their endowments having to cut back on programs and financial aid somewhat, to conserve the value of their endowment,” Hassen said. “Every institution has rules about how they use their endowment earnings and how much they can spend in a given year, and when returns are lower than hoped for or expected, they need to adjust

how they spend those earnings.”

And though there has been a steady decline in endowments and investment returns in recent years, Griswold expressed some optimism in seeing signs of economic recovery.

However, he was skeptical regarding the slowing in the increase of the unemployment rate, noting that many individuals who are jobless have stopped actively seeking employment, thus excluding them from the statistic. On the other hand, there is a decline in the number of jobs being lost, along with several other uplifting signals.

“The housing prices have firmed up from where they were in freefall, and you can see some decent earnings in corporate America,” Griswold said.

“You do still have enormous government intervention in the economy, if nothing else through free money to the banks. They are pumping liquid-

......radio for

“

Large programs can afford their own internal staff, allowing them to do their own research, be more nimble, and take on more risk.

JOHN CUSIMANO ASSOCIATE TREASURER FOR INVESTMENTS AND DEBT MANAGEMENT

ity in and people think that will have to be paid back in the form of higher inflation down the road.”

Hassen agreed.

“I think people are hopeful of getting back into a positive mode ... the economy is starting to recover very slowly, so we would hope that endowment values would begin to increase with the economic recovery,” Hassen said.

everyone

Missile strike kills militant with role in CIA bombing WASHINGTON — An al-Qaida militant suspected of playing a key role in a suicide bombing at a CIA base in eastern Afghanistan died last week in Pakistan, apparently in a retaliatory missile strike by a CIA drone, a U.S. counterterrorism official said Wednesday.

The death of Hussein al-Yemeni was the latest blow to al-Qaida’s leadership from stepped up U.S. drone attacks inside Pakistan’s tribal area following the Dec. 30 suicide bombing.

Four CIA officers, three agency security guards and a senior Jordanian intelligence officer died in the suicide bombing at a top-secret CIA facility in Khost, Afghanistan.

The bombing was carried out by a Jordanian double agent recruited to spy on al-Qaida and was a huge embarrassment to the CIA. The U.S. counterterrorism official, who requested anonymity to discuss the case, said al-Yemeni was killed on March 8 in Miram Shah, the administrative center of North Waziristan, one of seven regions bordering Afghanistan that constitute Pakistan’s semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Area.

According to Pakistani news reports, at least six unidentified militants died March 8 in a missile strike in Miram Shah by a CIA-controlled drone aircraft. The CIA refuses to acknowledge it’s using drone aircraft.

Al-Yemeni “was a conduit in Pakistan for funds, messages, and recruits, but his real specialty was bombs and suicide operations,” the U.S. counterterrorism official said.

“He’s thought to have played a key role in the attack on December 30 at Khost.”

Al-Yemeni, described as being in his late 20s or early 30s, had contacts with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the network’s affiliate based in Yemen, the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban and the Haqqani network, an Islamist insurgent organization based in Miram Shah. by jonathan s. landay, mcclatchy newspapers

march 19, 2010

page 3

Boy’s story of mother’s death angers conservatives LES BLUMENTHAL mcclatchy newspapers WASHINGTON — Conservative talk show hosts and columnists have ridiculed an 11-year-old Washington state boy’s account of his mother’s death as a “sob story” exploited by the White House and congressional Democrats like a “kiddie shield” to defend their health care legislation.

Marcelas Owens, whose mother got sick, lost her job, lost her health insurance and died, said Thursday he’s taking the attacks from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Michelle Malkin in stride.

“My mother always taught me they can have their own opinion but that doesn’t mean they are right,” Marcelas, who lives in Seattle, said in an interview.

Marcelas’ grandmother, Gina, who watched her daughter die, isn’t quite so generous.

“These are adults, and he is an 11year-old boy who lost his mother,” Gina Owens said. “They should be ashamed.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told Marcelas Owens’ story to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the White House health care summit last month. Murray also has spoken about it on the Senate floor. Last week, Marcelas was in the nation’s capital to speak at a health care rally and to meet with Senate Democratic leadership.

Limbaugh, Beck and Malkin are skeptical about the story, saying there were other forms of medical help available after Marcelas’ mother, Tifanny, lost her health insurance.

They lambasted Democrats for using the story.

“Now this is unseemly, exploitative, an 11-year-old boy being forced to tell his story all over just to benefit the Democrat Party and Barack Obama,” Limbaugh said on March 12, according to a transcript his show. “And, I would say this to Marcelas Owens: ‘Well, your mom would still have

ROD LAMKEY JR/MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

An 11-year-old Washington state boy whose mother died after she lost her job and her health insurance after becoming sick has come under fire from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and columnist Michelle Malkin, who have all accused health care reform advocates of exploiting Marcelas Owens, seen here testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 10, 2010. (Rod Lamkey Jr./MCT) died, because Obamacare doesn’t kick in until 2014.’ “ Beck, according to a transcript of his March 15 show, pointed out that Marcelas’ recent trip to Washington was paid for by Healthcare of America, a group that has been lobbying for a health care overhaul.

“That’s the George Soros-funded

Obama-approved group fighting for health care,” Beck said. “Since all of the groups are so concerned and involved now, may I ask where were you when Marcelas’ mother was vomiting blood?”

Beck, who’s from Mount Vernon, Wash., said there were plenty of programs in Washington state that could

have helped Tifanny Owens.

Malkin dismissed Marcelas as “one of Obama’s youngest lobbyists” who has been “goaded by a left-wing activist grandmother,” promoted by Murray and has become a regular on the “pro-Obamacare circuit.”

Malkin also suggested there were other programs that could have

helped Tifanny Owens, adding, “It’s not clear that additional doctors’ visits in the subsequent months would have prevented her death.”

Tifanny Owens died in June 2007 of pulmonary hypertension, which is described as high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs that can lead to heart failure. The disease is consid-

ered rare. While there’s no cure, it can be treated.

The treatments can cost as much as $100,000 a year and must be “consistent and constant,” said Katie Kroner, the director of advocacy and awareness for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.

“It’s extremely important to have health coverage,” she said.

Tifanny Owens was an assistant manager at a fast food restaurant when she became sick in September 2006. As she became sicker, she missed work and was eventually fired, leaving her without health insurance.

She was treated twice in an emergency room and died at age 27 after a week of unconsciousness. Gina Owens has custody of Marcelas and his two younger sisters.

Gina Owens said her daughter didn’t qualify for Medicaid. State officials said that without knowing the details, it was impossible to speculate on whether Tifanny Owens would have qualified.

Tifanny Owens might have been eligible for Washington state’s basic health care plan, which is aimed at the working poor. The plan has had a long waiting list for some time, said Sharon Michael of the Washington state Health Care Authority.

“Right now, we have 100,000 people on the wait list,” Michael said.

Limbaugh has gone after young people before. In 2007, he told listeners that Democrats were exploiting an 18-year-old Yup’ik Eskimo and that her congressional testimony on global warming made him want to “puke.”

Murray said she was appalled at how vicious the health care debate has become.

“The mom in me is getting really mad,” she said. “You don’t tear apart an 11-year-old because his mom died.”

Marcelas said he’ll never know if his mother might have lived if she had health insurance.

“At least if she had it she would’ve had a fighting chance,” he said.

Milwaukee benefits from Few African Americans serve NCAA tournament games in top U.S. diplomatic posts TOM DAYKIN mcclatchy newspapers MILWAUKEE — Paul Melotik is a longtime Milwaukee bar operator and a Wisconsin native, so he’ll be cheering for the Badgers in Friday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

But forgive Melotik for adding Xavier University’s Musketeers to his list of favorite teams.

As many as 300 Xavier fans are converging Friday morning on his tavern and restaurant, McGillycuddy’s, for a breakfast and pep rally prior to their team’s tournament game vs. University of Minnesota, at the Bradley Center.

“We’re gonna let ‘em take over the place,” said Melotik, who figures the party will generate around $4,000 to $5,000 for his business.

McGillycuddy’s is just one of dozens of downtown restaurants, bars and hotels that will benefit from the fans coming to Milwaukee for the tournament’s opening round at the Bradley Center, which runs through Sunday.

There will be four games played on Friday, with the winners meeting in two games on Sunday.

The economic impact from tournament visitors is estimated at $2.2 million by Visit Milwaukee, the agency that markets the city to convention and meeting planners.

That figure is calculated by taking the 3,500 hotel room nights that have been booked for fans and others drawn by the tournament, and multiplying it by an average of 1.5

persons for each room. That figure is then multiplied by $250, which is the amount of average spending expected from fans.

That comes to more than $1.3 million in direct spending.

That direct spending figure is then multiplied by 1.67 to measure the “ripple effect,” such as hotel workers buying items with their increased pay. Using that multiplier, the total economic impact comes to around $2.2 million, according to the agency.

That’s considered a conservative estimate, said Dave Fantle, Visit Milwaukee’s vice president of public relations. Unlike a convention group, sports fans have a lot more “down time” to spend their money, Fantle said.

Also, there will likely be hotel rooms used beyond the 3,500 room nights that have already been committed, he said.

McGillycuddy’s, like other downtown bars, was already going to pick up additional business, Melotik said.

He had been planning to open around 10 a.m., one hour earlier than normal, to accommodate fans preparing for the Bradley Center’s first game, which has an 11:25 a.m. start.

But landing the Xavier gig essentially amounts to having a private party, starting at 9 a.m. Melotik was told to expect 250 to 300 people at McGillycuddy’s, which has an indoor capacity of around 300, with room for more on its patio. Melotik and his crew will provide a breakfast buffet

at $15 apiece for Xavier fans, who are being directed to the bar by the university’s alumni association. And, yes, even at 9 a.m., the bar will be open.

A second pre-game reception is scheduled for Sunday — assuming Xavier beats Minnesota.

McGillycuddy’s got the booking after Xavier’s alumni association scouted out sites in Milwaukee and the other tournament opening round cities a few weeks ago in preparation for an expected tournament appearance, said Tom Brady , an association official.

McGillycuddy’s was attractive because it’s a short walk to the Bradley Center, and it has enough space to handle a large crowd, said Brady and Shannon Cassidy Cox , president of the association’s Milwaukee chapter.

When the tournament pairings were announced on Sunday, and Xavier found out it would be traveling to Milwaukee, the booking with McGillycuddy’s was confirmed.

Of the eight opening round locations, Milwaukee is the closest to Cincinnati, where Xavier is located.

Brady and Cox expect a lot of fans to make the roughly seven-hour drive from Cincinnati. There also is a large Xavier alumni base in the Chicago area.

“Xavier is a small school,” Cox said.

“But what I have found is that the people are hard-core, and loyal.”

And, Melotik hopes, hungry and thirsty.

PAUL RICHTER & TOM HAMBURGER mcclatchy newspapers WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has fallen short in its efforts to promote AfricanAmericans to key frontline diplomatic posts, department officials and diplomats said, despite efforts to increase diversity under two black secretaries of State and a black president.

The State Department has high numbers of black employees overall, and some prominent AfricanAmericans in top positions, such as Susan E. Rice, ambassador to the United Nations. But officials said few minorities were climbing to senior frontline posts that wrestle day to day with some of the nation’s most urgent international challenges in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Only one U.S. embassy in Europe is led by a black ambassador, for example.

The situation has stirred concern at the top ranks of the State Department, and officials are searching for new ways to bring minorites into such positions.

“It is essential that we make new progress on our diversity agenda,” Philip Gordon, the assistant secretary of State for Europe, said in a recent statement to the European bureau.

State Department data from September — the most recent available — show that of the 32 diplomats then heading embassies and other U.S. missions in Europe, only one, John L. Withers, the ambassador to Albania, was black. However,

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Withers says he will leave that post later this year.

There are no African-Americans among the 10 ambassadors or other chiefs of mission in South and Central Asia, or the 18 in the Near East, and only one among the 17 in East Asia.

However, 11 of the 37 missions in Africa were then headed by AfricanAmericans. Over the last decade, the department chose 36 black diplomats for embassies in Africa, but only three for embassies in Europe — Iceland, Albania and Slovenia.

Overall, African-Americans make up about 16.3 percent of the State Department’s employees, compared withabout12.8percentoftheU.S.pop-

ulation. But of foreign service officers serving overseas, 6.9 percent are black.

The shortfall of black diplomats in top embassy jobs has long troubled African-American diplomats.

“It’s a concern that many of us have,” said Ruth A. Davis, who oversaw the foreign service as director general from 2001 to 2003 and who retired last month. “We would like to change it.”

Nancy Powell, who oversees the foreign service as the department’s director general, said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was committed to naming more minorities to top jobs. “The number will be better,” after new assignments are made this summer, she said.

4 features

editors: topher forhecz featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865

march 19, 2010

COLLEGIATETIMES

he she

SAID JAMIE MARTYN/COLLEGIATE TIMES

He said: Cramming for tests transcends all disciplines W

hile I toured the architecture school during freshman orientation, the professor/guide stressed that we weren’t expected to arrive with all the skills of a designer.

“We will teach you how to draw,” he assured us.

That never happened. Trial and error, along with older student mentors, informed us how to make a building look decent on paper.

What my professors did actively shape, however, was my approach to exams. And by “approach,” I mean the complete neglect of them until the last possible thread of time. (The exam-deprived architecture curriculum doesn’t quite endorse the value of an exam either.)

It reminds me of my apartment sink, which is in a constant state of overflow. I would take the daily material from my non-design courses and pile it like dirty dishes. I’ll handle that situation, uh, sometime. Say, when no more clean spoons exist or flies abound — it’s happened.

It wasn’t a lack of interest but biased priorities.

Architecture students learn to chain themselves to their desks in “studio,” the mysterious subculture where sleep is mocked. And considering a portion of studio is lit-

erally underground, you’d think it would be primed for slumber. Rather, the glowing environment hosts the heavy-eyed strides of designers convinced their drawings and tiny cardboard building models supply their very heartbeats. (It also showcases caffeine addiction at its best.

Or worst.)

Sometimes the professors made it feel that way. The anxiety of a biology exam, for example, was laughable in comparison to a “pin up,” the peer-and-professor review of design projects. After countless nocturnal sessions, a pin up could result in praise or the advice to consider any career besides architecture. Forget cellular tissue; get the Kleenex.

With that weight crushing my spine and pride, the urgency to study for other classes only registered when a professor wrapped up a lecture with, “I’ll see you next time for the exam.”

My eyes filled like helium balloons.

“What? They’re kidding, right?”

In that volcano of academic dishes sat the syllabus without a crease of attention. With the exam confirmed, I chugged information as furiously as the coffee that kept me upright.

I tweaked through tests and managed decent marks, but the recovery was awful. I did all things, architecture or otherwise, during the grave-

yard shift, and my body didn’t like constantly teetering on the edge of a coma.

And while that’s not why I switched to communication, I still shake my head when my architect roommate walks out our door consistently after 10 p.m. for a studio marathon.

Yet my departure didn’t particularly cure my habit; I still ignore my scholarly to-do list. And so might you. While architecture might be an extreme example, it’s become obvious that many students outside the discipline postpone studying almost as severely. Papers coated in highlighter are shuffled until the test itself falls on the desk.

It’s something easily labeled as procrastination or, more insulting, entitlement born of our silver-spoon generation. We deserve good grades just because. We want to be entertained and not educated. And while I suspect those assertions are true in some cases, it’s not even across the board. The conscious delay could be argued as a methodology, however quirky. We hear about the calm before the storm, but what about its inverse? Sometimes chaotic studying yields a composed performance.

But if we’re on the same page, this is mostly in reference to multiple choice and true-or-false analysis of intellect. Short answers and essays

certainly endure, but the bubble sheet often dwarfs their appearances.

Fingering through a Rolodex of facts branded in the brain from the prior evening doesn’t necessarily translate as knowledge.

Yet those who ration their studies aren’t better off by default, either.

There isn’t a universal gauge of preparation. And should exams be seen as the swords that knight us or the daggers that end us? Sometimes we let ourselves believe it. Ultimately, few of us will have the need to boast exams to potential employers.

“Please see my resume for my degree — oh, and here are several Scantrons, each with a fat ‘A’ at the top.”

But your profession will expect you to perform, even if it’s not by filling in the appropriate circles. That’s an exam you don’t want to fail. The letters we receive now can be somewhat forgiving but pink slips are not.

For now though, I need some dish soap.

RYAN ARNOLD -features reporter -senior -communication major

She said: Testing teaches how to psych yourself out B,

D, A, C, C, C, C ... crap.

You’re confidently bubbling in your multiple-choice test when suddenly you realize you have a problem.

Glancing over your Scantron, you tell yourself that only an idiot would make four answers in a row the same letter. Your professor, having produced a perspiration-inspiring test, is obviously not an idiot.

You brace yourself, grasp your eraser, and begin to re-delve into the information packed in your brain.

In college, tests make you question your decision about higher learning.

Chances are that even simply writing your name on the test fills your stomach with acidic dread.

In Introductory Psychology, not only have I become reacquainted with the multiple-choice tests, but I’ve also learned that you shouldn’t cram the night before. Kurt Hoffman urged us to instead pace ourselves — patiently chew on the cud of information so as to digest it better.

I ignored the warnings. The night before my psychology midterm, I crammed.

Like any college student, I have better things to do than to study all the time.

Of course I’d rather watch the obnoxious jerks on “Ghost Adventures” than memorize Somebody’s Theory of Speculative Speculation.

And alcohol? Who can study with such dangerous stuff as that around?

Once upon a time, I decided to have a few beverages to relax me while cramming for a huge literature test.

Instead of reading Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” as planned, I woke up the next day with a huge amount of drool congealed on my face and neck and no time to possibly finish the book.

Oh, and guess what text most of the test questions were on?

Thankfully, such multiple-choice tests in my major are rare. Most often, we English majors are subject to the scourge of all engineering students: the test essay.

The test essay requires the test taker to take what he knows about a subject and apply it. Instead of simply narrowing down a few choices, you have to have an extensive (and impressive) body of knowledge to even begin to answer the question.

Because of this testing style, I tell my friends that instead of a B.A. in literature, I should be earning my B.S.

When you don’t really know on a test essay, you spread it on thick. You hope that, through the muck, your professor won’t catch wind of your actual ignorance.

In fact, once I did a whole essay on Chaucer’s story about chickens, and how the chickens actually represented a pent-up priest’s sexy yet sexist views about women.

That topic is really stupid. But in the scramble-and-scrawl of the test essay, an otherwise dumb idea suddenly seems like your golden ticket to passing the class.

But for me personally, no other form of exam outdoes the most dreaded of all test forms: true/false.

I feel like whoever writes true/false questions is the Dick Dastardly of testing, trying to foil you at every turn.

“True or False: Most fish have gills.”

You can’t think of any fish that don’t have gills. But it might be a trick.

You panic.

You know that there’s an exception to every rule, and maybe it’s just some weird cavefish that doesn’t like its picture taken.

Maybe they’re trying to see if you know that whales aren’t fish. So why didn’t they just ask you that in the first place?

And then you think about lungfish, but you’re pretty sure they have a set of gills too. So the lungfish settles it. You mark down “false” because all, not most, fish must have gills.

You get it wrong, and you hate fish a little after that.

But no matter whether it’s “multiple guess,” a heap of mental dung in essay form, or profanity-inducing true/false, the key to any test is to relax as much as you can.

Forget it. Push aside the fact that this test is worth 50 percent of your final grade. Don’t dwell on the fact you probably shouldn’t have watched all those reruns of “Full House” instead of studying. Just believe in your testtaking prowess.

Unless, of course, you just marked down the last nine answers as “B.” Then you might need to worry.

LAKEN RENICK -feature staff writer -senior -English major

opınıons 5

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

march 19, 2010

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

Your Views [letters to the editor]

Letter from Seth Greenberg

T

hanks to all that found their way to the Cassell for our game against Quinnipiac on Wednesday. To see the early student turnout and to feel the energy was a key element in helping our players rebound from their disappointment of not being invited to the NCAA Tournament. Having said that, it’s on to the second round and two-time national champion, the University of Connecticut.

Monday night, ESPN. What better way to show the basketball world what Virginia Tech basketball is all about than to pack the Cassell!

This has been a season of celebration. Twenty-four victories and a win away from tying the victory total of the winningest team in Virginia Tech history and we want you to be part of it. Connecticut is as talented a team as there is in the country, as proven with wins over Texas, Villanova and West Virginia, all NCAA Tournament teams.

Our players showed their char-

Reconsider St. Patty’s coverage

B

eing born and raised in Ireland, I found your feature “Clovers and cocktails” (CT, March 17) about St. Patrick’s Day slightly disappointing. It saddens me to think that the day dedicated to celebrating my home country and culture is seen by many around the world as simply an excuse to drink excessive amounts of alcohol, even if it is green.

However, I would have expected a student newspaper that is normally of such a high stan-

acter, their resolve and competitive spirit by coming to play and compete on Wednesday. But now we need to take it to another level. The stakes are higher; the competition is as good as any in the country. This will be an NCAA Tournament game.

We need to create an NCAA Tournament environment.

We need your help in creating the type of atmosphere that enabled us to go 16-1 in Cassell Coliseum. The energy and ownership was good on Wednesday; we need it at the highest level on Monday.

A lot has been said about the Big East Conference being the premiere conference in the country this year. We need to let our friends in Storrs know what ACC basketball and ACC ownership is all about. I truly believe we have the most passionate student body in all of college basketball, but the only way to show the nation that is by being there on Monday night, as we tip off versus the Huskies.

Seth Greenberg Men’s basketball head coach dard to at least highlight some of the finer aspects of Ireland, be it our music, literature, national sports or the contributions of the many Irish (and IrishAmericans) to the United States and the world. While there is nothing particularly wrong with an article reviewing various alcoholic brews, considering that it is also very much a family holiday, was it not inappropriate to solely address alcoholic beverages as a topic in your feature?

Jason Quigley Mechanical engineering major Third-year exchange student

MCT CAMPUS

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The Cuccinelli Report KATIE BIONDO/COLLEGIATE TIMES

Extend Hokie Respect to Tech employment

Letter from Cuccinelli follows letter of the law

As

V

a community, Hokies are supposed to respect themselves and their opponent during athletic events.

This extends not only to the players but also to the fans, encouraging those at sporting events not to boo opponents or participate in mean spirited chants.

I support this policy, but as a member of the Hokie Nation, I sincerely hope that we can extend this tradition and policy to all Hokies — no matter who they are.

I am referring, of course, to what is now called Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s discriminatory letter that was sent out on March 5, 2010. In this letter, Cuccinelli stated that Virginia’s public colleges and universities should take all language out of their policies that protects people from being discriminated against because of sexual orientation, since only the General Assembly has that right.

This is very offensive and backward and I sincerely hope that Virginia Tech faculty, students and staff, as well as the administration, are willing to stand up against discrimination and bias based on sexual orientation.

Colleges and universities have always been sacred ground, more or less free of interference from government, businesses and other outside organizations. While I realize that Tech gets most of its funding from the state, we still have to oppose it on this issue, or our credibility could be compromised.

Students, faculty and staff need to be able to feel free when they are learning or working, because higher education is one of the most important institutions in our country. This is where people are trained for their future jobs or earn a degree that will help them on their way to achieving their dreams.

However, college is also seen as a place for people to find themselves, to grow up into the person they hope to be, and to meet lifelong friends. It is utterly ridiculous and unfair that some of our students would be prevented from or feel uncomfortable in doing so just because of their sexual orientation.

Also, if Tech is going to attract the best faculty and staff, then it is important we do not discriminate in any way. I’m not saying that a faculty member, if considering Tech, would choose not to take a posi-

tion here because of our policy on sexual orientation, but it could be a contributing factor and it may reflect badly on Tech if we do not stand up to this letter or change our current policy.

According to the Facebook group, “Virginia Tech Says ‘No’ to Ken Cuccinelli’s Discriminatory Letter,” there are already more than 1,600 Hokies who do not support his action, and the group continues to grow by the day.

The members have been respectful toward the government of the Virginia, but they have been adamant in their refusal to accept the terms of this letter and any other actions to discriminate based on sexual orientation. I sincerely hope that the Tech administration and those who must respond to this letter take a look at this group and consider the fact that so many Hokies are against this when deciding further action.

I also strongly encourage all Hokies who oppose such measures to take action to make their voice heard by our state’s government.

You can e-mail the Attorney General on his Web site, you can call his office or send him a letter. There are also some who are trying to get a petition sent around for all Hokies to sign who do not support such discriminatory actions.

However, whatever you do, please do it respectfully. The Hokie Nation is one that respects all who are members, no matter how different they are from us.

We also respect our opponents, no matter who they are. Hate mail and yelling at those who work at Cuccinelli’s office will get us nowhere. Instead, let’s make clear and firm arguments for why we do not support the contents of this letter and show Cuccinelli and those in the government that at Tech, we do not stand for discrimination of any kind.

GABI SELTZER -regular columnist -sophomore -philosophy and history major

irginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has no reason to defend his letter that repeals discrimination protection for non-heterosexual individuals in the workplace, college applications process and anywhere else.

That fact embarrasses me, a Virginia resident.

Cuccinelli’s infamous letter to state agencies — including public universities such as Virginia Tech — repeals the supposition that non-heterosexuals receive the same protection from discrimination that other minority groups receive.

The law does not explicitly provide this protection, which means those agencies that uphold this protection with Virginia as its underwriter and authority must no longer do so.

But, for a state that has its fair share of bigotry in its past (see Prince George County’s reaction to Brown v. Board of Education), the fact that non-heterosexuals are not protected from discrimination is not surprising.

Something that will surprise me would be the utilization of the repeal. I assure you that there is no agency around the state that will deny access to a program, job or whatever based on the sexual orientation of the applicant or worker. Nobody is that ignorant. Although the ridiculousness rests in the perfect legality of this situation, it does not explicitly say so in the law; it hints to it, but there are no provisions for nonheterosexuals.

It is the debate of the antinomy of the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law (shoutout to Mr. Ed Weathers, my Literature and the Law professor). Is it more important to follow what the law actually says over what the law means?

Take, for example, speed limits. If Cuccinelli is against the inclusion of nonheterosexuals in anti-discrimination, then he better drive the speed limit on his way home from work tonight.

The law exists to protect minority groups such as non-whites and non-males. But, according to the Richmond TimesDispatch, Cuccinelli’s letter states, “A public university simply lacks the power to create a new specially protected class under Virginia law.”

Virginia has designated non-heterosexuals as a distinct class already, as voters in 2006 voted against a marriage definition that would provide non-heterosexuals the

legal right to marriage.

The law also does not permit driving faster than the posted speed limits — even for one mph over makes a driver subject to a fine. I hope he does not exceed 55 mph on the Downtown Expressway. Although I raise this speed limit issue lightheartedly, it is a good example of the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law.

Minorities are protected from discrimination in Virginia, and from what I understand, there are far more heterosexual individuals in this state than non-heterosexual individuals. This fact, by definition, makes anyone who is not heterosexual in the minority.

Thus, the non-heterosexual minority in this state must be protected from discrimination.

Gov. Bob McDonnell already has stated his disapproval of Cuccinelli’s letter.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done about this directive because of its failure in Virginia’s General Assembly.

But until either a November vote changes this law or the General Assembly recognizes this disrespect for all its minority citizens, all we can do is sit in opposition to this law or write to our delegates and state senators.

For now, it is law. Cuccinelli’s strict interpretation of the law is not illegal in any way, but it certainly would have been more ethical had he overlooked the progressive thinking that public universities had in place.

But please do not fret over this issue.

Regardless of Cuccinelli’s letter, no worthy state agencies will discriminate against non-heterosexual individuals. Not in this society they won’t. And if state agencies do discriminate against non-heterosexual individuals, I want the Virginia’s kangaroo court of a General Assembly to feel all the shame the American media can load upon them.

But Cuccinelli’s letter just states the letter of the law. It’s legal to discriminate against non-heterosexuals in Virginia.

It’s legal to discriminate in Virginia.

What else is new?

BEN WOODY -regular columnist -junior -English major

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COLLEGIATETIMES

Online community helps adventurous travelers connect LIZ NORMENT features reporter When first-year graduate sociology student Catherine Cotrubi travels, she has the choice of more than one million couches worldwide to choose from. This is because Cotrubi is a member of Couch Surfing, an online community devoted to connecting travelers in more than 230 countries and provinces around the world.

“The idea of it is really international relations in its purest form,” Cotrubi said. “It’s a network of people who love to travel, love getting to know other people and aren’t afraid to go out of typical comfort zones to get to know others.”

To Cotrubi, this virtual community is about more than just having multiple places to crash for the night, it’s about cultivating the true spirit of travel. Cotrubi feels that American writer and avid traveler Bill Bryson’s following words best embody this spirit: “To my mind,” Bryson wrote, “the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.”

The site was initially created with the intention of connecting travelers in order to have a place to “surf,” or stay as a guest in the homes of locals in whichever city they find themselves.

Currently, the Web site has more than one million members.

First-year graduate physics student Andrew McGowan’s experiences hosting were more about showing surfers parts of the area that they may have otherwise missed.

“A few students from Russia stayed with me for a weekend,” McGowan said, “and I ended up taking them up to D.C., out on the Rappahannock River and showing them a lot of aspects of Virginia they would have never seen before.”

For him, couch surfing is more

than just a good way to cut down on expenses, but it is the best way to travel in order to truly experience an area.

“It is a good way to save money, but the most valuable thing is that it provides an opportunity for cultural exchange,” McGowan said.

By making a personal connection first, travelers are able to see the area through the eyes of someone who knows much more than tourist brochures.

“If you go to a city and you don’t know anybody, the degree to which you can get to know the city and people there is much smaller,” McGowan said. “Couch surfing helps you to break through the tourist part and connect with people on a different level.”

Amro Tawfic, a first-year masters student in crop and soil sciences, first got involved with couch surfing while attending his school at the University of Cairo in Egypt. Though seemingly on the other side of the world, one of his most rewarding experiences with the Web site was a connection he made with the local community in the New River Valley.

“Last year, I was unable to go back

[

on the web Visit www.couchsurfing.com to make a profile and see more than a million couches open up internationally.

]

home to Egypt for Christmas and really had nothing to do in Blacksburg,” Tawfic said. “Someone contacted me from Roanoke through Couch Surfing and invited me to have Christmas with their family. It was really nice to reach out like that.”

While couch surfing may have its perks, surfers are encouraged to exercise caution when planning to travel in this way. There are safety precautions set up on the Web site. When evaluating their options, most surfers trust the profiles of their fellow members.

“The safety protocols in place only work (with) participants exercising caution,” McGowan said. “It’s always good to have a backup plan, just in case.”

Profiles on the Web site include

basic information and additional sections to offer viewers deeper insight into the lives of members, such as each participant’s “current mission,” “personal philosophy” and “amazing thing done/seen.” Through these areas, surfers are able to narrow their searches and build the travel experience they desire.

Cotrubi, who has never had a negative experience with the site, encourages travelers to be as flexible as possible when making plans.

“You usually get a feeling if you trust someone or not, but regardless, try to be open-minded, and roll with the punches,” Cotrubi said. “With most travel you do things on the fly anyway.”

In such instances, like when multiple couches are occupied in an area, surfers can connect with others traveling to their city and offer information about the neighborhood.

“We’re all connected,” Tawfic said, “by a sense for discovering new things, for going out in the world and meeting new people.”

For Tawfic, the connections of solid relationships and potential meetings are the best part.

“It’s like a connection to the world,” Tawfic said.

RANDY LEWIS LOS ANGELES — Virtually from the beginning of a career that’s closing in on the half-century mark, Neil Young has been both an obsessive archivist and a passionate believer in the nexus of rock music and film.

That combination goes a long way toward explaining why he’s made considerably more films than your average rock star and why he has returned time and again to the concert film genre attempting to find fresh approaches.

It also explains his friendships and collaborations with the likes of Jim Jarmusch (who directed 1997’s “Year of the Horse: Neil Young and Crazy Horse Live”) and Jonathan Demme (2006’s “Heart of Gold”), filmmakers who share his let’s-try-anything sensibility.

When Young and Demme last met

A

fter a good amount of research, I myself was both curious about couch curfing and anxious to have some travelers occupy my own couch, and this allowed me to show them Blacksburg from my point of view. After joining the site and filling out my profile as honestly and openly as possible, I waited.

About two weeks later, a request popped up — two graduate students from the University of Tennessee at Chatanooga were interested in crashing on my couches for a night as they traveled to Delaware to visit friends over spring break. I briefly checked out their profiles — their photos looked fairly average and overall un-serial killer-like, their taste in music each unique and goodnatured, their travel experience varied; but more than that, their request came with a compliment on my Jeep, Bruce, who accompanies me in my own profile photo.

Admittedly, I’m a pushover for vehicle flattery, so I wrote back just a few minutes Total n umber later. of Cou chSurfe After some brief r s : A 1,748,7 verage Numbe correspondence, the A 1 g 4 e: 28 r of co Numbe uch su details were sorted out r of co r fe rs in A uch su Top co — my two “friends” ntarctic rfers in uchsur a: 70 United fing cit would arrive Thursday States y: Fra : 3 night. Over the next few nce, ll e-de-F 90,288 Couch days I began sharing my ( 3 r 0 ance, ,952) surfers Paris travelin excitement with whomg at th e mom ever I came in contact inform ent: 3 ation c 11,680 ourtes wit.Muchtomychagrin, y of co uchsurfi PHOTOGRAPHER/SPPS this enthusiasm was not ng.org reciprocated.

Most thought I wouldn’t CLAY COLLIN/COLLEGIATE TIMES make it to my coveted spring break trip the next day on account of some mysterious “incident.”

My mom just went silent on the phone, and I could practically see her shaking her head in disagreement, yet knowing creatively, they captured a largely solo was at his most raucous, plugging in his guitar sans pick. there was little at this point she The film includes several corneracoustic performance by Young at with the help of a band of longtime could ever do to change her stubNashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium associates, including multi-instru- stone numbers from his vast reperborn daughter’s mind. My roomin a film every bit as warm and sweet mentalist Ben Keith, bassist Rick toire — “Cinnamon Girl,” “Cowgirl mates shared my enthusiasm at Rosas and Crazy Horse drummer in the Sand” and the timeless “Like as its title. first, then admitting later they a Hurricane” — but also gives In “Neil Young Trunk Show” (open- Ralph Molina. had talked in private about their On screen, director Demme jetti- a generous sampling from the ing Friday for a one-week engagedoubts. ment at the Nuart Theatre in Los sons that real-world linearity, ping- “Chrome Dreams II” album, which All day Thursday I let these Angeles), it’s as if the pair needed to ponging across the two segments, helps avoid excessive repetition, given doubts get the best of me. Should show the world they hadn’t gone soft a strategy that heightens the energy the number of concert films Young I have been so quick to invite in the movie’s taut 82 minutes. The has put out over the last four decades. and squishy in their old age. them? Is there really such a thing “Trunk Show,” shot during Young’s decision also better serves a guerrilla The audio is characteristically crystalas an international commu2007-08 Chrome Dreams II tour on filmmaking style that weaves together line. nity built solely on some blind Young was 62 on this tour and just a stop at the venerable Tower Theater grainy Super 8 film footage and prisin Upper Darby, Pa., documents the tine high-def video. Hand-held cam- two years past a life-threatening brain “Caution: Rocker at Work” mise-en- eras on stage and on the theater floor, aneurysm. In the end you sense he scene of that set and reconfigures the along with others mounted in a vari- truly is interested only in capturing actual structure of those shows in ser- ety of nontraditional places, combine and sharing the wild ride that he’s all to create surprising perspectives in too aware he’s on. It’s not about ego vice of filmmaking.

— not with the unforgiving, inchesWhen this writer covered that tour such a well-trod genre.

Demme also sends cameras through away shots of his thinning hair, grayat the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, the show was neatly divided into two the theater’s hallways and into dress- ing sideburns and expanding jowls.

It’s not always pretty, but “Neil halves: The first, acoustic, presented ing rooms, at one point looking in Young at his most open and emotion- as Young contends between numbers Young Trunk Show” is very much ally naked; for the second half, Young with a split fingernail from thrashing rock ‘n’ roll.

Couch

Surfin

g Fact

Neil Young’s Chrome Dreams II tour ‘very much rock ‘n’ roll’ mcclatchy newspapers

Couch surfing provides new friends, experiences

Immediate.

Unfiltered.

Linkalicious.

21st century news doesn't wait for a print run.

s

“

The surfers, my roommates and I spent the rest of the evening enjoying cheap beer and good conversation at a few fine select Blacksburg establishments.

hope that people are basically good?

I did my best to dismiss these thoughts. I made a batch of sangria as I awaited their arrival, and had a glass to calm my nerves.

When my surfers pulled in around 10 p.m., I ran out to introduce myself. They brought gifts of homemade cookies and some Tennessee-made whiskey.

We stood around my kitchen, vaguely gettingto know each other.

I made an obscure attempt to joke about my relief that they weren’t ax murderers. The kitchen air became thick with nervous laughter as our sangria consumption increased. I realized at that point they likely had their own doubts about me, and so I attempted to make my guests as comfortable as possible.

Within about an hour we were warmed up, and I was more than ready to play tour guide.

The surfers, my roommates and I spent the rest of the evening enjoying cheap beer and good conversation at a few fine select Blacksburg establishments.

The next day my surfers pulled out of my driveway and left me with the assurance that, with a little discretion and a lot of trust, couch surfing has the potential to become a worldwide movement at not only providing cheap accommodations, but building trust and friendship among spirited travelers.

LIZ NORMENT -features reporter -senior -international business major

sports 8

editor: alex jackson sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES

march 19, 2010

Hokies hope to handle Huskies in second round of NIT ALEX JACKSON sports editor After defeating Quinnipiac in its first round game of the National Invitation Tournament Wednesday, the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team will face the University of Connecticut in the second round of play Monday at Cassell Coliseum.

Monday’s game will be Tech’s second opportunity to prove it was worthy of a bid in the NCAA Tournament.

After the Hokies took Quinnipiac out of the game early and dominated for the duration of the game, it was clear they weren’t going to lie down and take an NIT bid for granted.

“I feel like we’ve got something to prove,” said junior guard Dorenzo Hudson. “I feel like we should have been in the (NCAA) Tournament. It hurt us more this year, because we were expecting to be in there. We thought we had a locked spot.”

Hudson’s teammate, junior guard Malcolm Delaney, echoed those sentiments.

“We know where we should be playing right now,” Delaney said. “But we’re still playing basketball, and there’s a lot of teams not playing basketball. ...

We’re trying to win a championship.”

The first-seeded Hokies enter Monday’s contest hoping to advance past the second round of the NIT for the first time since 2008.

Last year, the Hokies fell to Baylor in the second round of the tournament after barely beating Duquesne

in the first round. In 2008, the Hokies defeated University of Alabama at Birmingham to advance to the third round of play, eventually falling to Mississippi 81-72.

This year, Tech’s second-round opponent is a strong Connecticut team that almost made the NCAA Tournament itself.

The fourth-seeded Huskies enter Monday’s matchup coming off their only win in five games — a first round, 59-57 victory over fifth-seeded Northeastern University.

While that isn’t the most impressive of recent resumes, fans must not forget that this is the same Connecticut team that just weeks ago, was poised to make a run at the NCAA tournament.

After winning games at Villanova, now a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and at Rutgers, the Huskies defeated West Virginia, now a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament on Feb. 22 for their third straight win and appeared ready to make a strong run at the big dance.

Four straight losses to close the season, however, including an embarrassing 73-51 loss to St. John’s in the first round of the Big East Tournament, erased any chances the Huskies may have had at getting a Tournament bid.

Nevertheless, the Huskies are an experienced and talented bunch.

Connecticut’s attack is led by senior guard Jerome Dyson, who averages 17.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and anchored by an impressive downlow presence in senior forward Stanley

Robinson, who averages 14.7 points and 7.9 rebounds.

Below the basket, Robinson and fellow senior forward Gavin Edwards (10.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg) helped the Huskies outrebound their opponents 39.5-35.5 this season.

Along the perimeter, Dyson and sophomore guard Kemba Walker have helped the Huskies outshoot their opponents 45 percent to 39.3 percent on the year. Walker is averaging 14.5 points and an impressive five assists per game this season and is Connecticut’s biggest threat from beyond the arc, converting on 34.3 percent of his threepoint attempts.

“Connecticut is really talented and very athletic,” Hokies head coach Seth Greenberg said. “They have size and shot makers.”

If the Hokies want to get past the Huskies, their starters will have to continue their diligent work on the defensive end to contain a dangerous Huskies starting lineup.

Wednesday, Tech junior forward Terrell Bell was given the duty of guarding Quinnipiac’s leading scorer, James Feldeine. Feldeine, who averaged 16.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season, was held scoreless against the Hokies.

“Terrell Bell did an absolutely phenomenal job guarding Feldeine,” Greenberg said.

On Monday, the Hokies will face a much similar guard in Dyson in terms of size and threat. Dyson, like Feldeine, is a 6-foot-4-inch scorer who leads his team with ferocity inside and outside of the perimeter.

Bell will most likely be called on again, and his performance could be just as important as anyone’s Monday, including Tech’s leading scorer Delaney, who put up 25 points in the Hokies’ first-round win.

Greenberg isn’t worried about being let down, though. He knows his players.

“We had everything to lose and not a whole lot to gain,” Greenberg said after Wednesday’s win. “For them to come out and play as hard as they played and be ready when the ball went up ... that’s why it hurt so much for me and for them on Sunday.”

“I told them before the game, ‘If you are who I know you are then you’ll come out and play hard,’” he said.

Wednesday’s win and the Hokies’ performance confirmed his thoughts.

“That’s who they are.”

The Hokies and Connecticut will go head to head in the second round play of the NIT on Monday, March 22 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.

MARK UMANSKY/SPPS

Virginia Tech junior guard Dorenzo Hudson elevates in the lane for a second half score during Tech’s 81-61 victory over Quinnipiac on Wednesday night. Hudson finished the game with 19 points and two assists, despite shooting a paltry five for 17 from the field during the Hokies’ first round win at home.

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