Not a textbook education cadets’ weekend trip photo essay | page five
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COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 55
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Q&A: Veteran advocates for gays in military HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN RALLIES FOR END TO ‘DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL’ POLICY IN BLACKSBURG GORDON BLOCK news reporter Former United States army service member and Christiansburg resident Cindy Mitchell will be in Blacksburg today to speak out against the U.S. military’s sexuality policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Serving for two years, Mitchell rose to the rank of private first class, and left the service under an honorable discharge. Mitchell’s husband still serves as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve. Mitchell will be one of three featured speakers for the Blacksburg leg of the “Voices of Honor: A Generation Under ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’” tour. The nationwide tour, put on by the Human Rights Campaign in conjunction with Servicemembers United, will look to rally support to end the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The policy, enacted in 1993, allows for gay soldiers to serve provided they do not engage in “homosexual conduct.” As a part of the policy, individuals joining the armed forces would not be asked about their sexuality. Mitchell spoke with the Collegiate Times on Tuesday about her time in uniform, gays in the military, and her own upbringing in Georgia.
debate? MITCHELL: I don’t think it hurts morale at all. As long as they got in there and did their job, they were all a part of the team and got the mission completed. It never affected morale at all. It’s a job. We were paid to do our job, and when we were at work we did our job. That was it.
COLLEGIATE TIMES: Why are you coming out against “Don’t ask, don’t tell?” What makes this an issue you care about? MITCHELL: When I served, there were many homosexual people that are in the military, that I’m very close friends with, that I worked with everyday. I didn’t think it was right for somebody to tell you that because of your sexual preference you can’t serve your country. If they’re willing to sacrifice their time and their life for their country, it shouldn’t matter what their sexual preference is.
CT: Was the productivity of any of your homosexual service members an issue? MITCHELL: Not at all. When they came to work, they were at work. All personal lives, even those of heterosexual people, were left at the door when they came in.
CT: About how many homosexuals would you say you worked with? Was this really widespread? Mitchell: Oh yes, definitely. In basic training, just out of MARK UMANSKY/SPPS the about 25 females that went through, about eight or nine were The “Voices of Honor: A Generation Under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’” tour advertises itself on the Drillfield. homosexual. MITCHELL: No. Not at all. Everybody covers. When I got to my actual Basically, they can threaten you with knew, nobody said anything. CT: Was it surprising to see this high duty station, one of my (Nondischarge if you come out and say you Commissioned Officers) was of a number? CT: One of the issues that have MITCHELL: Yes and no. When are homosexual. homosexual. come up in the discussion about A lot of the military police I was you enlist, they tell you as a recruit CT: Do you feel you were breaking “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is the impact friends with were homosexual, and you cannot be a homosexual, but I never had a problem with them they cannot force you to tell. It’s the rules by not reporting your fellow on unit morale. What are some of your thoughts on this aspect of the something to keep under the officers? whatsoever.
Bus GPS tracker plans move ahead
CT: What impact do you see if the government changed its mind on “Don’t ask, don’t tell?” What do you think would happen? MITCHELL: I think for individuals it would boost morale, because people could be true to themselves, and not try to hide behind a shield. They would feel more comfortable at work. For the military as a whole, we all fight for one thing, for freedom. Who are we to tell somebody because of their sexual preference that they can’t fight for their country? When there are numerous heterosexual people, it would do nothing but boost the whole morale of not only individuals but also the military as a whole.
Grand old forum
AMANDA PASQUARIELLO news staff writer Students worried about missing the bus may get a little help from the computer science department in the near future. The Student Government Association and computer science department are working on a GPS based Blacksburg Transit bus-tracking device to make transportation more efficient. The program would connect the GPS devices to Twitter. A mobile version for cell phones and iPods would help students determine where the bus is and when it would arrive at the various stops. The total estimated cost for the project is $34,800, including delivery costs to Web and mobile applications such as Twitter, iPhone, mobile and browser clients, and the work crew to install the GPS units. The SGA is funding the project. Project managers had to receive grants and look into all possible ways to make sure that the GPS systems would be a feasible solution for transportation problems at Virginia Tech. Additionally, over the past two years, SGA president Brandon Carroll has been working closely with the computer science department, mainly Travis Webb, one of the directors of the project, to seek ways to make transportation on campus more reliable and efficient. When Tech students were asked in an SGA survey last school year what change they wanted to see in the university, a majority had an answer related to transportation. Carroll said many students’ main complaints were not parking, but rather transportation. He was inspired to install a GPS system in BT buses after hearing student comments. “The university is not really addressing the transportation issue at Tech simply by building the parking garage,” he said. “There are two ways to approach the
JAMIE CHUNG/SPPS
Sophomore student Stephen Carey was announced as the BT’s three millionth bus rider.
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on the web
Track the busses at www.bt-tracker.com
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transportation problem at Tech: Either increase supply of parking, or decrease demand. One way to decrease demand is to make an alternative better.” Carroll said he wants to transform the BT into “a reliable, viable option for students.” Students who take the bus to go off campus or to the Math Emporium, such as freshman Kathleen Felter, would directly benefit from the addition of the GPS units. “The bus systems have been unreliable,” Felter said. “They are inconvenient because they do not come at
the scheduled time.” Felter said she supported the proposed GPS system. “Then I can see exactly where the buses are and (it) will always be reliable,” she said. The project recently made progress as the Commission on Student Affairs supported the placement of the GPS systems on all of the BT buses. The project will go forward through the summer. Carroll said it is his goal to have it completed and the GPS units installed by the fall semester. “Making the Blacksburg Transit more reliable will help all students and faculty with their means of transportation,” he said. Plans for the BT tracker can be accessed at www. bt-tracker.com, which provides a working model for the tracking program software.
Six Republican candidates for the 9th district Congressional seat discussed issues and answered questions on Tuesday. photo by michael mcdermott/spps
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new river valley news editor: zach crizer university editor: philipp kotlaba newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/540.231.9865
april 28, 2010
COLLEGIATETIMES
A global game
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blacksburg headlines
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Three arrested for car break-ins
BROWN MAYWEATHERS
WATERMAN
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hree Blacksburg men were arrested early Monday morning for a series of car break-ins. Shawn Mayweathers, James Waterman, and Joseph Brown, all 18, were each charged with grand larceny, three counts of theft of credit cards, and petit larceny. At 3:15 a.m. Monday, Blacksburg Police responded to calls that three men were going through cars near the 1000 block of University City Boulevard. The three fled when police arrived, but police gave chase and soon found the three when they searched the area. Montgomery County deputies and Virginia Tech Police also assisted in the arrest. The three were transported to MontgomeryCountyMagistrate, and are now in the Montgomery County Jail without bond. According to the release no court date had been set. claire sanderson, ct news staff writer
Virginia Tech’s women’s basketball team takes it to the hoop against a Russian club team in Cassell Coliseum on November 10, 1996. Tech won the exhibition game 69-68. photo by dan kim
William and Mary student found dead in Virginia Beach DAN PARSONS & MIKE HOLTZCLAW mcclatchy newspapers The College of William and Mary student reported missing Monday morning was found dead of an apparent suicide, in a Virginia Beach hotel parking lot. Ian Kramer Smith-Christmas, 21, a junior from Stafford County, was found inside his car by Virginia Beach police around 4:30 p.m., Monday. Smith-Christmas was last seen by a friend around 9:30 p.m., Saturday. When his parents showed up for a planned visit and couldn’t find their son, they called police, said Deputy Chief Dave Sloggie, with the Williamsburg Police Department. Investigators with the Virginia Beach police department have said
Smith-Christmas likely committed suicide. It was the second time since February the campus community has mourned the loss of a student by suicide. Ginger Ambler, vice president for student affairs at the university, issued a campuswide statement this morning saying “the worst of fears was confirmed late last night,” when police released information on Smith-Christmas. Ambler said his death is a “tragic loss to our whole community.” “To his family, his friends and loved ones, his faculty and all those who are grieving, we extend our support and deepest sympathy,” Ambler said. Smith-Christmas was a geology major at the university and a member of both Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma honor societies, according to Ambler’s
statement. He was an active member of the College’s Outdoor Club and enjoyed hiking, boating, diving and spelunking. The university is offering counseling to students. The Counseling Center, located on the second floor of Blow Hall on Richmond Road, will be open until 7 p.m Tuesday. The center can also be reached at 221-3620. Counselors are also on call any time by calling William and Mary police at 221-4596. Residence Life staff, the Dean of Students Office, campus ministers, and Ambler’s office are also available on a priority basis for anyone needing assistance. In February, Dominique T. Chandler, of Portsmouth, a senior transfer student to the university, was found dead in her on-campus dorm room of an apparent suicide.
College disciplines professor after racially charged song rendition MATT KRUPNICK mcclatchy newspapers MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary’s College of California has punished a singing instructor, who is the brother of a college trustee, for his choice to use a song that uses racist terms in a voice class last month. College leaders said Monday the incident called into question Louis Lebherz’s future at the school. The musician already has been forced to apologize to the class and to complete diversity training, said Beth Dobkin, the college’s provost. Lebherz, an artist in residence at Saint Mary’s, had been asked to teach classes this year, Dobkin said. His choice to use the original version of the show tune “Old Man River,” which refers to slaves and AfricanAmericans in derogatory terms, will affect his employment, she said. “It already has, but I can’t tell
you to what extent,” Dobkin said. “We’re continuing to discuss our future relationship with him.” Lebherz did not respond to messages left on his home and mobile phones Monday. His brother, Saint Mary’s trustee Philip Lebherz, also did not respond to a phone message. In a letter written to the African-American student who raised the complaint, Lebherz apologized for his choice of the original score. The offensive language was taken out of later versions of the song. “I sincerely wish to apologize to you for my insensitivity in having a student sing a song which called attention to the racial problems that were and are a serious problem for our nation, and also for our own institution,” Lebherz wrote to senior E. J. Youngblood. The incident came at a particularly fragile time for the Catholic school. Administrators have tried
to make the college a more welcoming place for minorities since 2008, when regional accreditors criticized the school for having shoddy race relations and a lack of diversity. Accreditors earlier this year commended the college for improvements, but students this month protested several areas of weakness, including a lack of tolerance among employees and a shortage of minority professors. Youngblood said he does not believe the college has responded strongly enough to his grievance. “I want him to be fired but, realistically, I know that’s not going to happen because his brother is on the board of trustees,” said Youngblood, who dropped Lebherz’s class after the March 4 incident. Dobkin said the college has followed its disciplinary rules to the letter and that she does not know of any contact related to the matter betweenPhilip Lebherz and college officials.
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nation & world headlines
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Goldman executives deny wrongdoing WASHINGTON — Goldman Sachs traders who helped the firm rack up billions of dollars in profits from secret bets against the housing market told a Senate investigating panel Tuesday, that they had done anything wrong. Among the four present and former traders was Fabrice Tourre, the 31-year-old Goldman vice president accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 16 of fraudulently helping a Goldman client rig an offshore deal that cost two European banks $1 billion. “I am saddened and humbled by what happened in the market,” said Tourre, a Frenchman who took time off last week from his London-based job. “But I believe my actions were proper.” Dan Sparks, the former head of Goldman’s mortgage department, told the panel that his team had no legal duty to tell investors that it was betting against its own products. “You’ve got no regrets? You ought to have plenty of regrets,” Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin, the chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, told the four witnesses. During what was shaping up to be a daylong hearing, Levin and other panel members confronted the witnesses with more than 170 subpoenaed e-mails and documents selected to show that the firm safely exited the subprime mortgage market before the housing crash and simultaneously made billions of dollars from negative, or “short,” bets. The bets Goldman took out involved purchasing exotic instruments called credit-default swaps. They work like an insurance policy, with a buyer being compensated if the underlying deal goes sour. Beginning in December 2006, Goldman began a strategy to reduce its subprime risks by selling off its dicey securities and secretly making exotic bets against the market and the products it was selling to its clients. by chris adams and greg gordon, mcclatchy newspapers
CORRECTIONS JUSTIN GRAVES -Contact our public editor at publiceditor@ collegiatetimes.com if you see anything that needs to be corrected.
opınıons 3
editor: debra houchins opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
april 28, 2010
Dire job market offers graduates hidden chances to find life’s true calling T
his spring 16 million college graduates will face a job market with nearly 10 percent unemployment and more than 7 million people out of work. Finding a job, any job, will be challenging. Yet, paradoxically, this challenge offers a hidden opportunity to pursue a meaningful life, not merely a livelihood. In stronger economic times, many graduates made hasty career decisions, picking the high-paying or prestigious job offered by recruiters at college job fairs without reflecting on their own strengths and values. By taking that first job, they would jump onto a career track, only to wake up years later realizing they’d been living somebody else’s life. Today’s challenging job market gives graduates time: time to focus on their strengths, ask important questions, and anchor their work to their deepest values. Used wisely, this time can enrich their futures with discernment practices often ignored during times of job abundance. Of course, we must all find work to support ourselves, but since work occupies nearly half our waking hours, it should mean more than a paycheck. Research shows that people who find meaning in their work are happier and healthier, able to see new possibilities and make it through difficult times. Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl even found that a sense of meaning gave people the strength to survive in a Nazi concentration camp while others lost hope and died. Finding meaningful work in these turbulent times takes strategic planning. By balancing purpose with practicality, graduates can make this time work for them. I recommend three key strategies. One, don’t panic. Stress and anxiety only sabotage us. Neuroscientists have learned that fear shuts down our capacity for long-range planning, impulse control, creativity, and problem-solving skills needed to meet the current challenge. Reduce stress by reflect-
ing on your values, which a recent UCLA study found lowers cortisol levels and strengthens our immune systems. Then begin a daily stress management practice: exercise, meditate, stay connected with friends. Two, build positive momentum by discovering your strengths. Recent Gallup studies have found that most people dwell on their weaknesses, but when we focus on our strengths, we are happier, healthier, and more successful. Ask “What am I good at? What do I love to do?” Reflect on what brings you joy, take a personal inventory at the college career center, or find your “signature strengths” with the VIA-IS survey on www. authentichappiness.org. Three, make a plan. Short term: get a temporary job to pay the bills through the college career center but don’t give up on your dreams. Chart a direction that combines your strengths and values and set a specific “stretch” goal you could reach in six months. Map out three steps to your goal — you might join a professional organization, do volunteer work, get advice from alumni, find an internship, or arrange an information interview in your field. Then think strategically: come up with one possible roadblock and back-up plan for each step — what you’ll do if that step doesn’t work out. Maintain your motivation: see yourself achieving your goal, remember a time when you overcame a challenge, and tell yourself, “I can do this, too.” Finally, keep your eyes and ears open. Learn from the process and build on your plan. If something doesn’t work out, try something else — but keep moving forward. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”
DIANE DREHER -mcclatchy newspapers
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MCT CAMPUS
Suicide rate increases in teens as an effect of bullying In
the last decade, our nation has witnessed a new phenomenon among the youth in America. A spike in bully-related suicides among teens and preteens has caused school administrators and legislators to rethink the current course of action when dealing with bullying in the school system. Currently, what often happens in response to bullying cases is something close to nothing. Bullying, the trademark of angstfilled teenage years, has always been viewed as a rite of passage or just simply an unpleasant part of growing up. However, what began as “harmless” taunting has transformed into shocking acts of hatred, verbal harassment and physical abuse. Unfortunately, the systems in place to protect the children entrusted to the public and private schools in this country have not evolved with the times. They continue to ignore and disregard bullying, leaving children to fend for themselves. Yet, with the current disturbing rate of suicides, it has become overwhelmingly obvious that such treatment of bullying is neglectful if not unlawful. But aside from the negligence of teachers and administrators, why the sudden swell in suicides? Bullying just isn’t what it used to be. Kids aren’t necessarily crueler, but instead have a greater accessibility to methods of reaching their peers after the school bell rings. Social networking tools like Facebook and MySpace have created an avenue for bullies to publish hateful stories, circulate false rumors to the masses at a rapid rate and destroy any refuge from the taunting and tormenting — even
when the victim comes home. In fact, according to I-Safe, an organization dedicated to Internet safety education, 42 percent of children have been subjected to online bullying. Of those, 58 percent have not told their parents. When the latest case of bully-related suicides hit the press and airwaves in January, many were shocked. After all, Phoebe Prince, a transfer student from Ireland, was only 15 when she hung herself at her Massachusetts home after another high school day of relentless tormenting. Her younger sister discovered her body hanging in a closet. If this case seems out of the ordinary, I can regrettably inform you it is anything but unique. More and more cases of bully-related suicides are occurring at younger and younger ages. In the aftermath of a case like Prince’s, who should be held accountable for her death? The school administrators who blatantly ignored the taunting and teasing she endured each day? The wretched students who created the hell that was Prince’s life? Or perhaps the little mongrels’ parents, who are obviously not teaching their children the value of humanity, empathy or kindness? In reality, no one is usually charged in these cases. Prince’s memory fades and the bullies choose a new victim to antagonize. Yet for whatever reason, these nine children involved with Prince’s demise are indeed facing criminal charges that include assault, human rights issues and even statutory rape. Should these children be found guilty of these charges when they are — with the exception of at least one — minors themselves? And should the new trend in cases like Prince’s be to criminal-
ly charge those thought to be most responsible for the victim’s angst? In my mind, it is a travesty in this nation’s school system when teachers, who are grown adults and should possess a sense of moral obligation to help victimized children, stand by and watch a girl literally be tormented to death simply because they were too busy, too callous or too mean spirited to care. The backlash against the students to me is justified, but in a sense, only one step towards solving a two-fold problem. School officials should be standing right next to the children involved, facing similar charges. In order to convey the level at which bullying should not and cannot be tolerated because of tragedies just like Prince’s, the legal system needs to establish concrete laws delineating bullying as abuse. Those responsible for these deaths must be held accountable for the abuse or negligence to stop it. It would appear that school officials should be able to internalize the problem and stop it without involving the legal system. Yet, time and time again, faculty members have demonstrated their unwillingness, or inability, to prevent physical and verbal abuse. If school officials will not take responsibility for the safety of their students, someone must.
BROOKE LEONARD -regular columnist -senior -economics major
Previous columns about meat industry missed crucial points W
send an e-mail to opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com with your letter or guest column attached.
hen I first read Ingrid Newkirk’s article “You can’t be a meat-eating environmentalist” (CT, April 20), I naturally assumed that, being Earth Week, surely someone would call her out on her polarized “meat-eating or environmentally-conscious” position. The next day, I read such a response from Erin Rockwell in “Anti-agriculture claims need further examination” (CT, April 21), but I found myself sinking into disappointment the further I got in her column. It seems to me that both sides currently highlighted in the debate about livestock production are missing the point. The fact is that raising livestock under the industrial model, whether with the abuses vilified by Newkirk or just “business as usual” as Rockwell described, is both unhealthy and unsustainable, not just for us but for the animals and the environment. Let’s start with the animals themselves. In her column, Rockwell argues that the waste of resources argument made by Newkirk is false because livestock feed is of a quality too low for human consumption, not just feed corn but also cottonseed hulls, distiller’s and brewer’s grains, and soybean meal. What’s not being addressed, however, is the fact that ruminants like cattle are designed to eat grass, and feeding them grain instead of grass destroys the microbial population in their gut and can lead to serious health problems. In addition, housing them in feedlots creates conditions in which diseases can develop and spread rapidly, necessitating regular use of antibiotics that the scientific community has not thoroughly tested for effects on human health. In contrast, raising livestock on pasture and allowing them to pursue natural diets allows the animals to maintain healthy biological functions. The question we should be asking is not under what conditions can we mass produce
livestock for consumption, but should we be mass-producing in any way that so radically alters their natural states? Tied directly to this are concerns of environmental health, the most important of which are water quality and soil fertility (There are admittedly many other concerns, but for the sake of brevity I’ll focus on these two.). Water is, after all, an increasingly scarce resource, and soil is the foundation for all our food, whether we eat crops directly or feed them to the animals we eat. One of the major problems with industrial livestock production is the absence of a closed-loop system. Instead of raising cattle on pasture, where they can graze and leave their droppings, returning nutrients to the soil and out of the water supply — ultimately improving the health of the whole system — the industrial model will ship feed corn from Iowa to a feedlot operation in Texas, leaving a massive manure lagoon to pose health risks through leaching into groundwater instead of those excess nutrients going back to the soil from which they came (And yes, there are strict standards for manure lagoon safety, but the fact is that as many of these lagoons age and their liners begin to deteriorate, farmers already in debt for all their equipment, patented seeds and chemical inputs can’t afford to fix them.). Finally, we can talk about how industrial animal products affect human health. While it’s true that meat and other animal products provide proteins and fats that we need for a wholesome diet, not all meat is created equal. Grass-finished beef has 50 percent lower saturated fat, three times as much vitamin E, and up to five times more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA, an omega-3 fatty acid) than industrial beef. Many studies have shown that CLA can significantly reduce incidence of
cancer, and many other studies have shown that over-consumption of beef (assumed to be industrial, since it’s been the only easily available option for so long) increases risks of cancer and heart disease. Pastured eggs also contain significantly higher levels of omega-threes then their industrial counterparts. The logical conclusion, one that has been reached by many in the scientific community, is that eating grass-finished beef and dairy and free-range pastured eggs can help improve human health. This overview of an alternative system is, regrettably, extremely brief and missing many important facets that would require much more space than I have here, but the issues I’ve covered should serve to highlight some of the flaws in relying solely on a framework of industrial agriculture when making arguments. Granted, this closed-loop, sustainable system isn’t something that can be implemented across the board anytime soon. However, it is not only a viable option, but as more and more people become aware of the possibilities and benefits of such a system, it is becoming a reality in places around the world, including here in the U.S. It seems to me that both Newkirk’s and Rockwell’s positions suffer from a lack of exposure to ideas about agriculture that fall outside the currently dominant industrial paradigm. Maybe it’s time to look past our preconceptions and have an informed debate about the future of our food system.
HEATHER TAYLOR -regular columnist -senior -philosophy major
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MASTER BEDROOM WITH OWN BATH $400/month. June 1 2010- May 31 2011. Female roommate wanted. Furniture available. Has washer/dryer, fireplace, garbage disposal. Split electric and cable bill with roommates. For pics, other questions, and to take a look email Joss at vtredskins1421@yahoo.com
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BIKE CARRIER Car-top -Bike carrier Steel (Unisport) Wheels do not have to be removed. $150.00 540.552.2854
*****BARTENDING***** MAKE UP TO $300/ DAY. No Experience Necessary. Training Available. 1-800-965-6520 EXT210
ROOMATE NEEDED 3rd Floor 2BR Condo. Close to VT on BT. 1 Roommate needed. $470/ mo includes utilities, cable, internet. Inquire at 804-337-2291 or djohn89@vt.edu
4 Bdr. 2 bath condo. 1yr. lease available Aug.1st. 20010. 280.00/mo. per student. Call 540-230-2964. leave message. NAGS HEAD 4 month Student Summer Rentals May to August, $450/ mo/ person, seabreezerealty.com 252.255.6328 252.255.6328
Personals ADOPTION Pediatrician and hubby in northern Virginia wish to adopt newborn. Approved by licensed child-placing agency. Med/legal expenses. Loving home! Contact us toll free 1-866581-5494 www. EdandMargaretB. freehomepage.com
Only 1 apt left. 4BR $1360. 210 Prices Fork Rd. across street from campus. Ethernet incl. Email ksoddo@aol.com 540.552.0582
Help Wanted HOOPTIE RIDE The Hoopite Ride is currently hiring drivers with good driving records. Must be at least 23 years old. Earn $ while having fun! Call Ken @ 540998-5093 hooptieride@verizon.net
RECENT COLLEGE GRADS: NOVA BOUND? Internships + Entry Level Jobs IT, Marketing, Engineering, Sales, Acct, Fnan, Admin Visit: www.rocsjobs.com
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SUMMER JOB IN NOVA Do you like Ice Cream? $13/hr Scoops2U.com 571.212.7184
SUMMER PHOTO ASSTS & TYPISTS Photo Assistants: Work MondayThursday during orientation (July 6-23) in the mornings until about noon helping new freshmen get their yearbook photos taken in Squires. Must be friendly and punctual for a morning shift. Must be able to be on your feet and active for 3+ hours. Fridays off! This is a paid hourly position and eligible for work study (optional). Every assistant also gets a free t-shirt. Typist/ Data Entry: Must pass a typing test and be able to type minimum 75 wpm accurately. Work July 6 - 24, flexible hours, entering photo data. Typists may also be Photo Assistants. To apply for one or both positions, fill out an online application at collegemedia.com/ join
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april 28, 2010
page 5
A cadet stands watch in an attempt to provide 360 degree security while other patrol members prepare equipment for an assault on the enemy position.
Weekend Warriors
BY DANIEL LIN| spps
C
adets don’t take the average weekend getaway. This past weekend, Virginia Tech Army ROTC members attended a field training exercise at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant, where they joined cadets from Radford University, Marion Military Institute, Liberty University and the University of Virginia. There were 564 cadets in attendance, where they were split almost evenly between two locations within the ammunition plant, known as Radford and Dublin. Both FTX sites were administrated by fourth-year cadets and cadre, active duty officers and enlisted personnel, usually comprised of ROTC instructors. Third-year cadets were sent to the Dublin location, where ammunition bunkers were spread out across rolling fields and wooded areas. Exercises conducted there were designed in preparation for the Leadership Development and Assessment Course, which is a five-week summer camp in Ft. Lewis,
Wash. There, cadets will have their leadership skills evaluated and receive additional individual training. Upper class cadets participated in day and night land navigation and patrolling, both of which are heavily graded at LDAC. First and second-year cadets were sent to the Radford location for a Field Leadership Reaction Course, where squads of 10 cadets underwent land navigation courses and ropes courses similar to those found at civilian summer camps. There, they rotated assignments as squad leader, and were evaluated on their leadership performance based almost entirely on their actions, instead of the completion of the tasks. The courses were similar to some of those at LDAC, and underclass cadets able to recall how certain tasks are successfully completed may have an advantage as upperclassmen at LDAC.
A reconnaissance team sent out by the patrol searches for a weapons cache, but in addition to the expected enemy soldiers, it also finds two civilian hostages.
Cadets plan a way to navigate across the rope course over the “Gorge of Doom,” with three long pieces of wood. The FLRC mission required the cadets to transport ammunition across the gorge.
Squad members attempt to move an oil drum over two “pressure sensitive” walls and a threefoot wide “minefield” with a crane they assembled with given materials and their belts.
A cadet sits down to recompute coordinates given to him the morning of Saturday, April 24, 2010. Cadets often recalculated their given coordinates to help ensure accuracy in the field. The cadets were required to locate the points and be able to indicate they had reached them.
april 28, 2010
page 6
Offense packed with talent, defense losing spotlight For
the past decade, the success of the Virginia Tech football program has primarily come from a stingy, overpowering defense. Defensive coordinator Bud Foster has made a name for himself and the Virginia Tech football team, collaborating with head coach Frank Beamer and establishing a defensive tradition. For years, the Hokies have won games without offensive prowess, getting the job done on the defensive side and winning the battle f o r
field position with great special teams, minimizing the work that needs to be done on the offensive side. The 2010 season might be a bit different. This year, the Hokies will present the Atlantic Coast Conference with an awfully difficult task when the offense takes the field. With ACC Rookie of the Year Ryan Williams returning at running back, poised for a successful encore to his breakout freshman year and Darren Evans, the Hokies’ leading
REBECCA FRAENKEL/SPPS
rusher in 2008, returning from injury, an extremely talented tandem backfield shifts the focus to offense for once. Approaching the 2009 season, Evans was without a doubt Tech’s starting running back and was thought to be a crucial part in the Hokies’ success. When he tore his anterior cruciate ligament just before the season started, however, fans across the nation fell into a state of panic. That panic was quickly erased when Williams seized his opportunity, jumping into the starting role and breaking Tech and ACC records alike. Now, as the two return healthy, ready and able for the 2010 season, the Hokies have possibly the best one-two punch that exists in any college backfield. With redshirt junior Evans, the Hokies have a true smash-mouth running back. He is almost impossible to take down on the first hit and is an excellent option in short yardage situations. On the other hand, Williams isn’t exactly easy to bring down either. Just ask North Carolina State cornerback Earl Wolff, who Williams dragged 15 yards en route to a touchdown last season. In addition to the ability to break tackles, Williams is exceptionally agile and quick, making him one of the best backs in the nation. When you put those
two together, you have the start of an offense that can not only eat up the clock and dominate the time of possession battle, but one that can also put up points in the blink of an eye. What makes the Hokies running back situation so unique is that the talent doesn’t stop there. Redshirt junior Josh Oglesby was moved to fullback this spring in an attempt to keep him more involved in an offense where carries could be limited. But when you consider the fact that Tech also has sophomore sensation David Wilson, who was the 2008-09 Gatorade Virginia Football Player of the Year in high school, you’ve got quite an issue. In an ideal world, Tech would be able to redshirt Wilson and save a year of his eligibility while the backfield is so jammed with talent. Things don’t always go according to plan though, and Evans’ injury last season is a perfect example of that. The one worry some fans have is that the offensive line will hinder the running game’s ability to dominate. Those fans shouldn’t pay too much attention to the Hokies’ statistics in the spring game, as four of the six players unable to participate in the game were offensive linemen. Beamer isn’t worrying, so neither should anyone else. If the Hokies are able to run the ball as effectively as some expect, Williams and Evans won’t be the only ones who benefit. With a great running game, senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor could be looking at his best season ever. With an established running game, the use of the play action pass and Taylor’s ability to scramble become even more valuable.
If the Hokies present opposing defenses with a stacked backfield including Williams and Evans at the same time, they won’t be easy to defend. In fact, that will be nearly impossible. Imagine a middle linebacker’s thoughts as he stares down a Hokies’ offensive set that includes Taylor, multiple wide receivers and a backfield including Williams and Evans. Who covers whom? With two 1,200-plus-yard rushers on the field and a dual-threat quarterback like Taylor at the helm, it will be a tough call. Teams playing against the Hokies will now defend against the run. If Taylor decides to play-fake and instead drops back to pass, defenses will more often be out of position than they ever have against the Hokies. Ultimately, the offense will rely on the same principles that it always has and will try to run the ball down its opponents’ throats. The difference is that this year, the rushing attack will be more dominant than ever and it will be difficult for any team not to respect that. While defense has ruled Blacksburg for years, offense, for once, has a chance to do so in 2010. But for it to do so, the Hokies offense will test the question, “Is there such thing as too much talent?” As the date gets closer and closer to the Labor Day matchup against Boise State, Hokies fans everywhere pray that the answer is “no.”
NICK CAFFERKY -sports staff writer -freshman -communication major
Instrumentals prove superior while vocals disappoint on Kaki King’s latest album K
aki King’s new release “Junior” offers a very uneven listening experience. The album recalls her past moderately assertive album “Dreaming of Revenge” more frequently than the unassuming coherence of her earlier efforts. Sadly, this is because the best moments on “Junior” are reminiscent of Katherine King’s highly successful transition from percussive acoustic instrumentals to electronically-infused atmospheric pop on the album “Until We Felt Red;” these gems are likely to be lost on listeners who refuse to traverse a moat of pop-rock sensibility. Which isn’t to say that the rock songs on the new album are completely without merit, but simply to say that they fail to live up to the promise of both Kaki King’s early albums and more recent outstanding compositions like “Air and Kilometers” or “Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers.” Equally, the transitions between the more up-tempo and vocally oriented tracks and the lushly multitracked guitar-focused slow songs can be a little jarring. In fact, they suggest that there was little cogent attempt to create an album; instead, “Junior” retains a somewhat arbitrary-seeming sequence of individual tracks. But, given that most listeners will download a track or two from the iTunes Store or on BitTorrent, perhaps this criticism suggests outmoded expectations. Despite these critiques, fans of contemporary indie pop bands like Tegan and Sara or The Bird and the Bee might find in Kaki King’s rock songs more sophisticat-
ed and compositionally rewarding versions of a popular hipster aesthetic, while her retro angle might discover unexpected vocal similarities to bands like Liz Phair. In the process, one can hope that they notice the amazing “folktronica,” math-rock and post-rock elements that are cleverly folded into some of the best songs. If so, perhaps these instrumental interludes will ultimately lead them to discover the ground-breaking and beautiful experimentation of Kaki King’s early albums. One track in particular, “Hallucinations from My Poisonous German Streets,” should send new listeners looking through the back catalog. Though it opens with an instrumental figure interweaving slide guitar with a rather minimal electric piano harmony and an understated down-tempo beat, the track changes course about halfway through and introduces a slowly delivered mumble with gradually building percussion. Digitally processed guitar closely follows her pretty vocals, emphasizing the pleasing interplay of timbres while diminishing the focus on lyrical content. Pairing Jordan Perlson’s stellar
drum chops with organ-like slide guitar riffs, the conclusion evokes a sense of profound and abstract drama. But most of the pop and rock tracks showcase vocals, especially the paranoia-inducing opener “The Betrayer,” the prog-rock encounter with a “runaway delivery truck” on “Death Head,” and the depressing and simple composition “Sunnyside.” On “Sunnyside,” King self-consciously meditates on a failed relationship and feelings of loss, abandonment and absence. Her lyrics offer a pastiche of self-reproach, angry four-letter words, mild irony and over-wrought nostalgic metaphor that evoke early Bright Eyes, while her voice suggests the morose simplicity of Azure Ray: “Now all we can say we have are some photographs and a Wiener Dog that chews up everything I love and all the things you left behind . . . You’re the girl I lost in Sunnyside/ You’re the girl I lost to Sunnyside.” The best tracks on the album feature no vocals at all. Indeed, the stand-out track is the three-part instrumental “My Nerves That Committed Suicide,” which complements a hypnotic finger-picked steel guitar with an ethereal lead on lap steel guitar before the finger-picking modulates to a more aggressive strummed electric rock sound and Perlson’s drums kick in to bring the track to a climax. Quickly following is a quiet denouement that recapitulates the laid-back introduction. Similarly, the electrofolk interlude “Everything Has an End Even Sadness” meanders through a landscape of finger-picked guitar, synth
you might also like... “Sainthood” by Tegan and Sara
Kaki King
The newest release from the Canadian indie queens, “Sainthood” tempts listeners down a different channel than what they’ve expected. They wear their influences on their sleeves. They let you into their personal lives. They write the best lyrics they have written thus far — and that’s saying something.
“It’s Blitz” by Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Less rock and more electronica make this album so excellent. The lyrics aren’t difficult to stomach, the beats make you dance and the guitar complements the music wonderfully. It’s an obvious progression from its other earlier work, but this album makes the next step excellently.
“You Are Free” by Cat Power
Album: Junior Bottom Line: “Junior” proves to be a decent album with a few excellent moments throughout it.
Sure, Chan Marshall’s voice is difficult to understand at times, but finally an album put together about self-understanding and growing up emerges. This album is a favorite from the early 2000s, and it has stood its ground well over the past few years.
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seagulls, ballad drumming and a harmony part that sounds like it could have been harvested in Clara Rockmore’s garden. Combining a conservative folktronica aesthetic with a neo-minimalist composition-
al strategy akin to Tortoise, “Sloan Shore” offers an equally compelling example of Kaki King’s immense talent for crafting beautiful instrumentals. Certainly, we could hope for more from Kaki King, or perhaps wish that she separated her wildly different approaches to songwriting by releasing two shorter albums. But, doubtlessly, other critics will see in the album’s incoherence a virtuous eclecticism. And,
despite the weaknesses of some of the more up-tempo rock songs in comparison to both earlier releases and her more stately compositions, overall “Junior” proves to be a decent album with a few excellent moments.
TODD STAFFORD -WOOVE contributor -graduate student -English
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