Friday, April 30, 2010 Print Edition

PAUL KURLAK/SPPS

Protest cost town $5,000 for extra law enforcement S

the Blacksburg Jewish Community Center, at the corner of Roanoke Street and North Main Street and outside Blacksburg Middle School.

Phelps-Roper, the daughter of WBC founder Fred Phelps, applauded local law enforcement efforts during the protests.

“In this place they are doing a wonderful job,” said Phelps-Roper while standing behind a traffic barrier during the demonstration.

She said many other police forces fail to protect the group’s First Amendment rights.

There were no arrests in relation to the protests.

ix Westboro Baptist Church protesters cost the Blacksburg Police Department $5,579.27, according to Lt. Joe Davis.

The protesters, who visited Blacksburg on April 9 in response to the death of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, drew throngs of counter-protesters. WBC members set up at three different Blacksburg locations throughout the day.

In addition to Blacksburg Police, law enforcement officers from Montgomery County, Christiansburg and Tech assisted in controlling the demonstrations.

WBC members, led by Shirley Phelps-Roper, protested outside

Friday, April 30, 2010

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

by ct news staff

www.collegiatetimes.com

COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 57

News, page 4

Features, page 2

Opinions, page 5

Sports, page 7

Classifieds, page 6

Sudoku, page 6

Engineers to take robot to NASA competition LUNAR MINING CHALLENGE PROJECT BRINGS AEROSPACE, MINING ENGINEERS TOGETHER KEENAN ARMSTRONG news staff writer Virginia Tech engineering students will compete in NASA’s Lunabotics Mining Competition to develop robotic technology that could be used to excavate the moon someday.

The Tech Lunabotics team has been working on developing a robot for this competition since last September, according to senior aerospace engineering student and team leader Vishnu Vinlay.

The team is currently finishing construction of the robot that should be ready for testing by May 10.

When the nearly $7,000, fourwheeled, motor-powered robot is completed, it will weigh 169 pounds, reach a height of 10 feet and be able to carry more than 432 pounds of simulated moon dust.

“Since September, for about three months, we were engaged in the systems engineering process and planned for the spring semester,” Vinlay said.

The construction of the robot began in February of this year.

Along with Vinlay, the eight-student team is comprised of seniors Jon Hegg, Sophie Puydupin, Andre Robinson, and Jin Share, who are all aerospace and ocean engineering majors, along with seniors Richard Overstreet, Brent Slaker, and Isaac Witt, who are all mining engineering majors. Electrical engineers and other aerospace students have volunteered time to the project as well.

“The goal for this competition is to harvest and collect lunar regolith simulant (simulated moon dust) to demonstrate robotic technology that could be applicable on the moon,” one of the project’s faculty advisers, Kevin Shinpaugh, said.

According to Erik Westman, another of the project’s faculty advisers, the robot will feature a unique excavation element.

“The students could have taken the safe route and used a similar excavation method of prior competitions,

which would be a variation of the bucket wheel excavator,” Westman said. “Instead, they chose to use a vertical auger.”

The auger is a drill bit-like excavation method that is distinct from the more common rotating bucket wheel method. Using the auger method was a difficult decision.

“One of the major challenges was designing the excavation unit,” Vinlay said. “There have been professional competitions like this, before but none of the designs have used an auger.”

Vinlay believes the auger will be able to excavate 2.6 pounds of simulated moon dust per second. He said the unique design gives the team confidence.

“We are very confident that we will do well. We think our design is innovative and effective,” Vinlay said.

Moon dust is rich in oxygen and aluminum. These valuable natural resources can be recovered through a chemical process, according to Shinpaugh.

According to NASA’s rules, the competition will place 24 university-designed robots in head to head

contests to excavate and collect as much simulated moon dust as possible from a 308-square-foot, sandbox-like field within 15 minutes. The sandbox will include obstacles similar to lunar terrain with craters and rocks.

The team able to excavate the most simulant mass will win $5,000 and VIP invitations to a Kennedy Space Center launch. The competition will be held May 25 through May 28, at the Space Center in Florida.

While winning the competition is the ultimate goal, it was not what initially attracted the team to the project.

“Aerospace engineering students involved in this competition were particularly interested in space robotics.

Some of us are thrilled by the idea of sending a rover to the moon. That is what pulled us toward it,” Vinlay said.

“The mining engineering students were also interested in using their skills in a space mission. They thought this would be the best platform to try something similar to that.”

The team is continuing to debate a potential name for their robot.

“We are debating between Lunar

COURTESY OF TYLER OVERSTREET

The $7,000, 169 pound robot will go to NASA competition on May 25.

Gobbler and Augermedes — Augermedes because Archimedes invented the screw mechanics, which the auger uses to pull the (simulant) up,” Vinlay said.

The team is looking forward to completing the robot for May’s contest.

“We are all very excited about the completion. We have worked hard on it for the past seven months,” Vinlay said. “We will have the robot fully functional before the 10th of May and test it rigorously so that we do a good job at KSC.”

Three-year bachelor’s Gulf spill spreads in waters full of marine life degree programs “ gaining popularity RENEE SCHOOF & KAREN NELSON

A major concern to me is the coral reef ecosystem on the tip of Florida. ... It’s a really sensitive system.

mcclatchy newspapers

LARYY GORDON mcclatchy newspapers LOSANGELES — KaylaBortolazzo is about to finish college in just three years, a rare accomplishment that some educators around the country hope to make more common.

A resident of Redding, Calif., Bortolazzo is enrolled in a special program at Southern Oregon University that waives some introductory classes for academically gifted students and gives them first dibs at course registration. So in the fall, the 20-yearold English education major will head to graduate school and then, she hopes, a teaching career — with a year’s worth of unspent tuition dollars still in her family’s pocket.

Bortolazzo said she knows that finishing college in three years won’t work for most students and that many are not rushing to graduate into a depressed economy. But she recommends a fast track “to anybody who is really motivated, feels they have the time to commit to it and really wants to get out in the job market.”

Students like Bortolazzo are drawing attention these days as families look to reduce tuition bills and colleges try to stretch limited budgets and classroom space. About a dozen, mostly small, U.S. colleges and universities now offer formal routes to earning a degree in three years instead of the usual four or five. And many others, including the University of California, are studying ways to start such an option.

“It’s really indefensible in the current environment for universities not to be exploring more efficient use of their facilities and how to save students time and money,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), a former U.S. Education Department secretary who is a strong advocate of three-year degrees.

Even if they make up a minority of

college populations, he said, “some wellprepared students can do their work in three years, and colleges should create a track for them.”

Not everyone agrees. Some educators worry that academic quality could suffer in three-year programs, which usually waive some requirements or push students to take very heavy course loads. Others say that most college students just need the extra year to grow up — and to explore.

Daniel Hurley of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities said it is misguided to focus on three-year degrees when most college students struggle to graduate in five or even six years. Many such students are under-prepared academically, have financial problems or can’t enroll in oversubscribed classes, he said.

Hurley, the association’s director of state relations and policy analysis, also said it was unrealistic to assume that most students start with the fixed major and career choices that a threeyear degree requires. “Many students change majors, and thank God we did.

Otherwise we would be miserable and underemployed,” he said.

Nevertheless, the number of such programs is growing, experts say. Among schools that offer or will soon launch three-year degree programs are Seattle University, Bates College in Maine, Har twick College in New York, Lake Forest College in Illinois, Manchester College inIndiana, Lipscomb University in T ennessee and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Public universities in Rhode Island and Arizonaalso are studying the idea.

A UniversityofCalifornia commission searching for efficiencies in response to state budget cuts is examining the fasttrack degrees as one option. A proposal unveiled last month involved greater see DEGREES / page four

WASHINGTON — Oil from a ruptured drilling rig could harm all kinds of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico, from the Atlantic tarpon and bluefin tuna that have key spawning areas nearby to endangered sea turtles, commercial fisheries, migrating song birds and marine mammals.

The spill gushed oil at the rate of about 210,000 gallons a day Thursday and was headed toward the wetlands and shrimp, crab and oyster nurseries of Louisiana, possibly arriving overnight Thursday. It’s too early to know the toll yet, and the worst damage is expected when the oil hits wetlands and beaches. Still, experts say that one of the nation’s biggest oil spills threatens many animals in the open water as well.

Fast currents and strong winds could spread the steady flow of black goop over wide areas, just at a time when birds are migrating north and some big fish are heading into that part of the Gulf to spawn.

“The timing couldn’t be worse for a number of fish,” said Jerald Ault, a professor of marine biology at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

Atlantic tarpon, an important sport fish in Florida, spawn from now to mid May in the Gulf and they’ll be “right in the highway where this stuff is going to come through.” The young are especially vulnerable to toxics from the oil spill, and the fishery already is in a precarious state, Ault said.

The overfished Atlantic bluefin tuna return from vast distances to spawn in an area very close to the spill, where the water is warm and full of nutrients flowing from the Mississippi River.

The same area also supports the shrimp industry and many other fish.

The conservation group Oceana in 2005 mapped a hot spot of blue-

JERALD AULT PROFESSOR OF MARINE BIOLOGY

COURTESY OF MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

fin tuna sightings near the damaged rig.

Fast currents and winds will move the oil generally south and east, possibly around Florida and up the East Coast as far as Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, Ault said.

“A major concern to me is the coral reef ecosystem on the tip of Florida.

Technically it’s the only living coral system in the continental U.S., and it’s a really sensitive system,” Ault said.

Coast Guard officials worked to put booms to protect environmentally sensitive areas. They also spread chemicals that disperse the oil. Officials also set up five staging areas — in Biloxi and Pascagoula, Miss., Pensacola, Fla. Venice, La., and Theodore, Ala. — to protect sensitive areas on shore.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O’Hara said there had been no reports of oil-damaged wildlife found as yet. Much will depend on how the oil travels and how effective the booms are in containing it, she said.

The Gulf also is home to endangered sea turtles that are crossing the

Gulf now, moving to their nesting grounds on sandy beaches.

There are four species of sea turtles in the Gulf, and all of them are endangered.

“Obviously, they don’t need any more insults than what they’re already exposed to,” said Jackie Savitz, the pollution campaign director at the conservation group Oceana.

Turtles and marine mammals usually don’t try to avoid oil slicks, she said. They run into trouble when they eat oil or it blocks their airways.

Savitz predicted the spill would have high costs for tourism and fisheries.

“Louisiana, after Alaska, is the second largest seafood producing state,” said Ralph Portier, a microbiology professor at Louisiana State University who has worked around the world cleaning up oil spills.

Portier grew up in southern Louisiana, where rich fisheries and oil have long co-existed, much as they’ve done in Alabama, Texas andMississippi.

The oil headed toward that area would harm its oyster industry and could have a significant effect on

crab and shrimp nursery areas.

“Every crevice, creek, bayou, bay, where water flows in and out of coastal grasses — that’s the habitat for all these coastal nurseries. If we lose it or it’s impacted, we have a real long-term effect,” Portier said.

The Gulf Restoration Network is particularly concerned about a pod of sperm whales that feeds in the area covered by the oil sheen, saidAaron Viles, the conservation group’s campaign director.

Its other top concerns include the least tern, an endangered shore bird; the brown pelican, the state bird of Louisiana, and migratory birds heading north over the Gulf.

Mozart Dedeaux, education director of the Pascagoula River Audubon in Mississippi, said the outlook was bad for birds along the Louisianaand Mississippi Coast because this is breeding season for many shore and sea birds.

Those breeding areas under immediate threat include the Chandeleur Islands and Gulf Islands National Seashore in Louisiana andMississippi and the Active Delta in Louisiana, which includes Delta National Wildlife Refuge and Pass-aLoutre Wildlife Management Area.

Dedeaux said Audubon was putting out a call for people trained in rehabilitating oil-coated wildlife.

“The efforts to stop the oil before it reaches shore are heroic, but may not be enough,” added Melanie Driscoll an Audubon bird conservation director. “We have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, including a true catastrophe for birds.”

2 features

editor: topher forhecz featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com / 540.231.9865

april 30, 2010

COLLEGIATETIMES

Festival uncorks Virginia’s finest wines and local cuisine LIZ NORMENT features reporter As the wine flows and the music blasts, loosened bodies begin boogying to the tunes.

Blacksburg’s second annual food, wine and art festival, Fork and Cork, will feature regional wineries, local cuisine, art and live entertainment.

“We expect nothing short of a fun-filled afternoon with great food, drink, and good old-fashioned rockin’ honky-tonk,” said Dan Dunlap, guitarist for 3 Minute Lovin’, a band that will play at the festival, and owner of Rocket Music.

Presented by the Blacksburg Partnership, tomorrow’s festival aims to educate those interested in learning more about pairing wines with meals while keeping the wine tasting glasses full.

Diane Akers, president of the Blacksburg Partnership, said the food and wine will be accompanied by live and local music, and art.

She said that the event will be much bigger than last year’s with 20 wineries, 38 artists, eight food vendors and three bands attending.

According to Kroger’s bistro head chef Chris Martin, the festival’s basic premise is simple.

“People like to eat and drink good things,” Martin said.

With 20 wineries represented and food pairings like Martin’s chosen demonstration, the festival’s lineup attempts to please the finest of palates.

“It’s something exciting to get out in front of people and teach them different cooking techniques, something they haven’t seen before,” Martin said.

Martin will be cooking seared sea scallops with an orange saffron sauce, which will be paired with a wine from Chateau Morrisette under the demonstration tent.

“The wine is sweeter, so I chose to complement it with seafood,” Martin said. “The saffron has earthy tones, so it naturally goes really well with wine.”

The grapes and the wineries that breathe life into them will take center stage. Dan Gibbs from VM Wines is looking forward to sharing his vineyard’s finest wines again.

“We had a great time at Fork and Cork last year, and we’re glad to be a part of it again,” Gibbs

PAUL KURLAK/SPPS

Kroger’s bistro head chef Chris Martin will whip up his tastiest cuisine at tomorrow’s Fork and Cork food and wine festival. said. And much like a fine wine, “each year, it only gets better.”

Gibbs sees his winery’s participation in the festival as an additional push into the “be local” effort.

“It’s part of the whole movement. We need to get away from looking overseas to France and Italy for wine,” Gibbs said. “We make some darn good wine here in this state.”

Virginia is currently fifth in the nation in wine production and with good reason. Although VM Wines only produces about 8,000 cases each year, the wines produced are received with strong reception.

“People are always surprised after they taste our wines, saying, ‘Wow, look you’re just a little farm out here and ya’ll make some real good

wine,’” Gibbs said.

Festivals such as Fork and Cork help even smaller wineries gain exposure, even if it just goes to Virginians.

“Talking about going green, we’re a farm winery so we grow our own grapes,” Gibbs said.

“There’s no importing, so the money is kept here locally.”

Virginia Tech alumnus Richard Classey saw the potential in tapping in to the local wine scene in the New River Valley. As a chemistry major, Classey learned a good amount about wine making — as well as drinking — as a college student.

“It’s actually a fairly common career choice for chemistry majors,” Classey said.

After planting a successful test grapevine

strip at his family farm less than an hour from campus, Classey established Fincastle Winery, which proudly produced its first vintage in 2001.

Fincastle will be pouring a selection of six signature wines, including a Viognier, Chardonnay and Sangria. In addition to the promotional aspects of the festival, Classey is mostly looking forward to helping to educate others about wine culture.

“A lot of people don’t know much about wine — especially college students,” Classey said. “A festival is a great place to learn just where your tastes lay in the vast world of fermented grape beverages.”

Classey recognizes that in the world of wine, people can visit their local grocer’s wine aisle

and easily be met by over 3,000 bottles — it’s easy to get lost.

“It can be a random gamble buying a bottle based on some numeric write-up that probably doesn’t correspond with your taste,” Classey said. “The trick is to find wines that you yourself enjoy.”

As festivalgoers sip wine and taste cuisine, they will also be entertained with music by Virginia-grown bands Bruiser, Monkey Fuzz and 3 Minute Lovin’.

Dunlap looks forward to pleasing the crowd with 3 Minute Lovin’s sound, which is much like the complexity of a good wine. It is hard for even an expert to describe.

“How many adjectives do you want? We’re kind of a rock-a-billy, alternative country, Bakersfield, roots rock ’n’ roll, honky-tonk kind of sound,” Dunlap said. “Dare I say it’s great drinking music?”

3 Minute Lovin’s music selection was as strategic as the wine and food pairing selections.

“Many have commented about how well our music fits with this venue, and we absolutely agree,” Dunlap said. “We’re honored that we’ve been asked to play. It’s going to be a great party.”

While attendees please their palettes and ears, they also receive an alluring shopping experience. Shop owners in First & Main are enthusiastic about the business the event will bring and anticipate rises in sales as spending inhibitions are sipped away.

Aaron Jarrells, general manager at Books a Million, remembers seeing the numbers from last year’s Fork and Cork.

“It’s basically like a free advertisement that serves the whole shopping center,” Jarrells said.

He looks forward to the event attracting people to First & Main who may not usually have a reason to visit the development.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to expand our customer base,” said Jarrells, adding that at the bookstore, customer service is always a strong point. “Anytime people come in they generally leave with a good impression and want to come back.”

To tease the palate of both cocky connoisseurs as well as Rioja rookies, Saturday promises to be an event that is equally as surprising as the sangria, as charming as the chardonnay and as memorable as the merlot.

‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ most recent freaky film in lengthy line of horror remakes RENE RODRIGUEZ mcclatchy newspapers The only things Hollywood likes as much as sequels are remakes – and no genre is better suited to constant reincarnation than the horror film.

Hey, if it scared them once, it’ll scare them again! Right?

Well, yes. And no. I am not one of those hardliners automatically outraged by the news of a horror classic’s

being rehashed for a new generation.

As a concept, remakes have great potential, especially when you’re dealing with a movie that has not aged well (and many horror films are products of their times and don’t weather the years).

In honor of Friday’s arrival of a new take on “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” we’ve compared a few recent horror remakes and their originals. This is only a partial list. A comprehensive

one would fill a book.

–‘THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE’ Made on a tiny budget by director Tobe Hooper, the original 1974 shocker drew its considerable power from the feeling that it was really happening, shaky acting and all. Despite the ominous title, the film contained little to no gore – the opposite of the graphic, tedious 2003 remake, in which director Marcus Nispel includ-

ed a shot through the gaping hole in the head of a woman who had just blown her brains out. The original was genuinely disturbing – the stuff of nightmares. The remake is just gross and nihilistic.

–‘DAWN OF THE DEAD’ George A. Romero’s seminal 1979 classic set a standard for graphic gore – and made flesh-eating zombies as popular as vampires and werewolves.

The notion of a remake seemed blasphemous – until you saw director Zack Snyder’s from 2004, which cleverly spun the shopping-mall setting into a larger, more apocalyptic scale.

Snyder also did inventive things with the undead, including the appearance of the first (to my knowledge) zombie baby, ravenous right from the womb.

Unfortunately, the characters spent much of the film needlessly bickering (the lazy screenwriter’s crutch) and were not nearly so memorable as the original’s quartet of heroes. But the remake gets bonus points for one of the best death-by-chainsaw bits ever filmed. Watch where you point that thing!

–‘LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT’ Wes Craven made his directorial debut with this nasty 1972 shocker about two young women who run afoul of a gang of murderous creeps.

Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s “The Virgin Spring” but as shoddy-looking as a snuff film, the movie was a product of its tumultuous era – Vietnam, the Charles Manson murders and the curdling of the free-love 1960s into rampant drug addiction and crime.

The 2009 remake lacked subtext, and director Dennis Iliadis filmed in a sleek style that was the mirror opposite of Craven’s documentary realism.

But the remake was still surprisingly effective, especially when the bad guys took shelter in the house of one of the girls they had brutalized, and the parents exacted sweet revenge. Craven’s

film was unpleasant and crudely harrowing. The remake settled for a gory good time that answered the burning question “What would happen if you stuck someone’s head in a microwave?”

–‘THE HILLS HAVE EYES’ Another early Craven effort, made in 1977 about a family stranded in a desert populated by cannibals, showed considerable growth on the director’s part. Its menacing feel hinted that even major characters could get killed at any moment, and some – remember the shocking massacre inside the trailer? – did. Director Alexandre Aja’s 2006 cover was brutally sadistic, sometimes to the point of being unwatchable, but Aja did not shy away from duplicating the surprise twists of the original. Bonus: The mutant cannibals were a “lot” uglier this time, thanks to advances in make-up effects.

–‘PSYCHO’ When Gus Van Sant announced his intention to remake Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 masterpiece – one of the most influential movies of the past 50 years – almost everyone assumed the director had lost his marbles. But Van Sant delivered a “Psycho” that was almost a shot-for-shot replica. Unable to overcome the memories of the original and simply too tame for today’s audiences, the movie flopped and was critically reviled. But I watched it again recently and appreciated it as a one-of-a-kind cinematic experiment: The movie is not meant to supplant Hitchcock’s but to serve as an alternate-universe take on the story.

–‘THE THING’ Released in the summer of 1982, when “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” was spreading feel-good vibes about aliens around the world, John Carpenter’s “The Thing,” a hair-raising remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic “The Thing From Another World,” was roundly

ignored by audiences. But over the years, the incredibly gross (and scary) movie has amassed a huge fan base – and for good reason. Rob Bottin’s elaborate creature effects remain just as astonishing today – the stuff of gruesome beauty.

–‘HALLOWEEN’ Seeing John Carpenter’s groundbreaking horror picture in a theater in 1978 was a riotous, you-had-to-bethere experience. To this day, I’ve never seen a movie that made the audience scream so often or so loudly. The film is often credited for inventing the slasher genre, although some diehards argue that 1974’s “Black Christmas” got there first. By the time Rob Zombie remade “Halloween” in 2007, the sight of a masked killer with a knife was woefully tired, and Zombie’s attempt to illuminate Michael Myers’ twisted psyche was noble but misguided.

Zombie’s 2009 sequel, “Halloween II,” was even worse, inexplicably changing the personalities of the survivors of the first film (they became practically different characters) and giving the Ginsu-loving Myers visions of white horses. Ugh. –‘FRIDAY THE 13TH’ A big part of the appeal of the 1980 box-office smash was how seedy and low-rent the movie felt. (It was shot independently on a low budget, then picked up by Paramount Pictures and given a lavish promotional campaign.)

Today, its elaborate murders still hold up, thanks to the work of make-up genius Tom Savini, but everything else reeks of bad acting and shoddy direction. The sleek 2009 remake, actually more of a condensation of the original and its first three sequels, was infinitely better acted and photographed, but the thrill was gone. There wasn’t even a single good jump scare. Camp Crystal Lake has been wrung so dry that a proposed sequel to the remake has been permanently scrapped.

april 30, 2010

page 3

he she

He said: Frolicking in your birthday suit with buff minions deemed unfortunate I

am not a human nutrition, foods and exercise major, but I’ll pretend I am.

I’ve just been released from my metabolic nutrition class, and I’m swinging by Hokie Grill for a preworkout snack. Enlightened by the day’s lecture about the importance of fruit in one’s diet, I snag a banana. I figure I’ll be running, and I don’t want a cramp to cause my violent collapse on the treadmill.

With a banana in hand, I stroll into the gym locker room. I turn the corner of an aisle only to nearly collide with none other than my metabolic nutrition professor. He came for a quick jog immediately after teaching, and he’s already done. Now there are two bananas out in the open, and his most definitely isn’t on the food

“

Finally! Let me bask in this pantlessness. I’ve been waiting all day to let my guy fly.

pyramid.

Yes, I stand before my stoic, naked academic superior in what I feel is one of the most undesirable contexts ever. We exchange pleasantries as he sidesteps me for the shower, but nothing about the interaction is pleasant. I find the nearest trashcan and fiercely Lebron James-dunk the fruit; my next trip to Kroger will involve dry heaves when passing the potassium. I simultaneously curse the thought of the next metabolic class where I’ll only be able to envision the post-exercise version of my instructor.

Maybe you’ve also experienced such a jarring confrontation at Virginia Tech. You get to know a faculty member in a specific setting, and suddenly they are stripped of that environment as well as their entire wardrobe. The course syllabus didn’t

mention “full-frontal” anywhere in its requirements.

Baring your body — farmer’s tan, birthmarks, questionable hairs and all — includes an inherent level of vulnerability. I suppose it’s not as much of an exposure as all the lies, deceit and regret we internalize (unless you’re a saint), but you’ve still crafted a notion of who you are with your clothes: crisp and professional, indie and eccentric, organic and elemental, ad infinitum.

Without those literal layers, your tangible core is on display; these are my shapes, sizes and colors — are you surprised?

Although I perceive dropping trou as having a significant consequence, I’ve come to find that other people view it far more lightheartedly (e.g. the lead singer of the band Of Montreal performing in the buff for half of a concert in February). Some promote that it’s our natural state, and it should be embraced. I don’t shake a fist at the opinion. When alone at your apartment, a few extra towel-less minutes after a shower are nice.

While I don’t shun every instance of communal nudity — locker rooms being nearly the sole exception — I don’t find participating in them liberating to any degree. Even skinny-dipping with friends holds scant appeal. When I see a lonesome body of water, my default impulse isn’t to rid my entourage of their attire. Some people are bewildered as to why it’s not on my bucket list.

Before hitting the weight room, for example, I treat the exchange of boxers for spandex shorts like it’s a whirlwind NASCAR pit stop. The locker room is not a place of physical catharsis.

“Finally! Let me bask in this pantslessness. I’ve been waiting all day to let my guy fly.”

Yet some folks transform in

that context like all constraints — material and social — have been released. They frolic about, talking up every familiar face while you force your rigor-mortis neck from shifting to their casually displayed man bits.

It’s somewhat paradoxical since I always thought there was a “no chitchat” rule in men’s bathrooms — and that’s just when flies are open.

So when the zippers actually hit the floor, we’re all slap-on-the-back buddies?

Despite sharing a hesitance for appearing in the buff, I might suggest that I’ve shown you a fair amount of literary skin this year. Alas, this is the final “He Said, She Said” column Laken and I will produce. There are facts about myself I question if I should have offered including my adolescent gymnastics endeavors, my enthusiasm for SpongeBob, or how many pairs of jeans I owned (one).

But it’s certainly worth the potential embarrassment if it ever provided even the slightest of Friday chuckles. (I know it didn’t for some: I’d see people open our page only to immediately turn it without any consideration. Fair enough.) Laken and I aimed for topics that lent themselves to arguably frivolous humor.

We didn’t assign our writing roles unrealistic, escalated value; if anyone found a fraction of insight in our 700 words, then what a stellar bonus.

If you’ve read this far today or any day before, thank you. Cheers to your future.

RYAN ARNOLD -features reporter -senior -communication major

Immediate.

Unfiltered.

Linkalicious.

SAID

She said: Don’t be brash, don’t flash, but why not expose the bare buns?

F “ rom the time I was a young girl, my family did everything possible to mortify me.

Regularly, my older brother and my mom purposefully acted stupid in public: making loud, inhuman grunts and snorts, running as though one or more legs had become petrified, and then loudly screaming, “LAKEN RENICK! LAKEN RENICK!” just in case somebody failed to recognize that I was related to the two biggest hooligans in the general area.

As an 11-year-old, I was more embarrassed of them than my questionable Napoleon Dynamite-esque wardrobe of sweatpants and snow boots in the summer.

Thankfully, these exercises in mortification allowed me to become accustomed to being abashed — even more than my childhood choice of clothes.

Eventually, I became an adult impervious to embarrassment.

Upon first reading this, a general resistance to mortification might seem beneficial. It might make it easier to talk to that cutie across the room or allow you to ace the scores of interviews awaiting you once you graduate. If you’re not worried about saying something stupid, then social situations get easier, right?

Don’t be fooled. This “gift” can be a double-edged sword.

Although I excel at keeping my cool during awkward situations, my general disregard for embarrassing myself makes me unintentionally act ridiculous.

I have the four-letter vocabulary of a truck driver and tell stories that would make my religious grandmother reel in her grave. Most of the things that come out of my mouth have a definite shock value, so I’ve offended the

faint-of-heart and managed to say the wrong thing to the wrong person.

For example, my older, very professional boss forced me to explain why I’d laughed when the maintenance man told us he was done working on a Cleveland steamer. And without any hesitation, I told him — and didn’t get a raise that year.

I’m also pretty sure that most of my friends have seen me only partially clothed at some point during my undergraduate career. Skinny-dipping, strip poker and “truth or dare” have all occurred at some point, and I’ve never had a problem participating. All people are ugly when they’re naked, so why worry?

OK, so maybe it’s not only that I don’t get embarrassed easily. I’m just comfortable with being exposed.

No, I’m not implying that I wear a trench coat to campus and flash people or typically find myself streaking.

With these two things — a lack of abashment and coziness with being exposed — comes a great deal of honesty. Why cover up the truth if you don’t mind?

My willingness to “bare all” has snaked its way into my columns this past year. Though I run the risk of being judged by strangers, I don’t pretend to be any cooler or more suave than I am in real life just because I get something published every week.

In fact, I try to write about the stupidest things I’ve ever done. My horrible childhood wardrobe that I mentioned earlier? That’s pretty much a deep, dark secret.

So why be so honest in a piece that will be read by hundreds of people who I don’t know?

Easy.

......radio for

Skinny-dipping, strip poker and ‘truth or dare’ have all occurred at some point, and I’ve never had a problem participating. All people are ugly when they’re naked, so why worry?

Whether you’re graceful or clumsy, sober or drunk, we all do dumb things. In being honest about the fact that I, too, do a lot of stupid things, I’ve tried to give a different spin on the column for the year.

The marvelous part is that I won’t get embarrassed about any of the unflattering stories you know about me.

But in this past year, I have been very proud to have a column, and I thank all of you who have approached me to comment on my work.

From the girls in the thrift store, who caught me while I was riding on a stationary bike, to the people in West End who stopped to show appreciation to food service workers, to the guy who offered to split a bottle of wine with me — thank you.

And for those I’ve never met who have read my column every week, thanks to you also.

I couldn’t have done this without my wonderful readership.

everyone

LAKEN RENICK -features staff writer -senior -English major

4 news

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

april 30, 2010

[

blacksburg headlines

]

Former St. Louis University president involved in sexabuse lawsuit ST. LOUIS — Former St. Louis University president Daniel O’Connell is at the center of an unusual lawsuit involving allegations of sexual abuse by church clergy.

The breach of contract lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court, accuses the Jesuits of Missouri Province of violating terms of a 2003 settlement, which followed allegations O’Connell abused a college student. The terms called for the organization to keep the priest out of teaching or ministry positions that would allow one-on-one contact with women.

O’Connell was SLU’s president from 1974 to 1978.

The 2003 settlement stems from an alleged 1983 encounter between an unidentified New York woman and O’Connell, who was then a chaplain at Loyola University in Chicago.

The sexual relationship allegedly took place in Rome where the 20-year-old student was studying abroad through a Loyola program.

Wednesday’s lawsuit, which seeks nearly $1 million in damages and other costs, says O’Connell has been allowed, on at least two occasions, to teach seminars and classes — at Georgetown University and at Fordham University. by tim barker, st. louis post-dispatch

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

COLLEGIATETIMES

FDA approves immune-boosting therapy THOMAS H. MAUGH II mcclatchey newspapers LOS ANGELES — The Food and Drug Administration approved a new immune-boosting therapy for prostate cancer on Thursday, the first therapeutic vaccine for cancer ever approved by the agency. The approval opens the door to a whole new approach to cancer therapy, adding a unique weapon to the arsenal of oncologists.

The vaccine, Provenge, has been shown to extend survival in patients with advanced prostate cancer by four months, more than twice as long as chemotherapy, and to increase threeyear survival by 38 percent.

Patient advocates who have been fighting for Provenge’s approval since the FDA initially rejected the drug in 2007 were overjoyed.

About 192,000 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in the United States in 2009, making it the second most common type of cancer in men after lung cancer, according to the

National Cancer Institute. About 27,000 men died from it last year.

The therapy has been a long time coming.

It has been two decades since immunologist Edgar G. Engleman of the Stanford University School of Medicine first discovered a way to harness the body’s immune cells to fight prostate cancer. Along the way, several other highly touted vaccines against melanoma and lung and prostate cancer, among others, appeared to offer great promise only to fall by the wayside when clinical trials did not support their initial successes.

Engleman’s aim was to ramp up the body’s immune system by exposing it to proteins the cancer cells made, priming the body to fight the cancer more fiercely. First he collected specialized immune cells called dendritic cells from the patient’s blood. Then he mixed them with proteins collected from the surface of prostate tumor cells and injected them back into the patient in three doses at two-week

intervals.

He eventually co-founded the Seattle company now known as Dendreon Corp. to bring the vaccine to market.

Provenge’s marketing appeared imminent in 2007 when an advisory panel for the FDA recommended its approval. But agency officials were concerned that, even though the vaccine extended lifespan in men with metastatic cancer who did not respond to hormone-deprivation therapy (the first-line treatment approach in prostate cancer), it did not slow tumor growth.

Kantoff and co-workers found that, compared with a placebo, Provenge extended the median survival of patients from 21.7 months to 25.8 months. Though 4.1 months may not seem like much, the only approved chemotherapy for advanced prostate cancer — Taxotere, known generically as docetaxel — extends survival by a little more than two months.

Taxotere is also associated with powerful side effects, including bone

and muscle pain, allergic reactions, decreases in white and red blood cell counts and nerve damage.

The approval of Provenge had been widely expected following the ASCO meeting because the results of Kantoff’s study “met the expectations that the FDA and the company had agreed to,” said Dr. Stanton Gerson, director of the University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center in Cleveland and a member of the FDA advisory committee.

The biggest drawback to the vaccine may be its cost, which analysts estimate will be about $70,000 to $100,000 for a course of treatment. Part of the reason for the high cost is that white blood cells must be removed from each patient by a process called plasmapheresis and sent to a laboratory where they will be converted into an individualized vaccine. Researchers are conducting trials to see if they can improve the clout of the vaccine by giving it to patients in combination with chemotherapy.

Degrees: Students graduating quickly from page one

use of summer school and possibly streamlining requirements for some majors. Proponents estimate that if 5 percent to 10 percent of those undergraduates finished their degrees one term earlier than they do now, the university could educate 2,000 to 4,000 more students. The plan would require approval from the school faculty and regents.

“In times of declining resources and a difficult economy, we need to look at the most efficiencies possible without diminishing the quality of education provided by the UC system,” said Catherine Casserly, an education expert who is a member of the subcommittee that proposed the idea.

Some students have always managed to graduate in three years, often by earning college credits in high school by taking Advanced Placement courses and attending summer school.

UC reports that 2.9 percent of its students do so and the U.S. Department of Education says the national figure is 2.3 percent at four-year schools.

(About 59 percent of University of California students graduate in four

years, and that total rises to 78 percent and 82 percent, respectively, in five and six years. Nationally, 36 percent of students who start at four-year schools finish in four years; 53 percent and 57 percent do so in five and six, federal figures show.)

The formal three-year paths typically promise priority registration for classes and special counseling to get past bureaucratic roadblocks.

Such a leg-up could appeal to UC students who complain that budgetrelated course reductions have made it difficult to enroll in the classes they need to graduate in four years.

“The university would have to provide access to the right courses at the right time and better advising so you don’t get detoured along the way,” said Keith Williams, a UC Davis senior lecturer in exercise biology who co-chaired the subcommittee.

And even if many students want to stay in college’s warm cocoon as long as possible during the recession, the hard economic times are encouraging others to reduce tuition spending, administrators say.

“We believe it’s our responsibility

as educators to help families find a way to keep an independent college education within their grasp,” saidMargaret L. Drugovich, president of Hartwick College, a 1,450-student liberal arts school in Oneonta, N.Y., which started offering a three-year degree program last fall.

Under Hartwick’s plan, students take an extra course each semester and an intensive class in the otherwise optional January term between semesters. An initial 23 students signed on, and Drugovich estimates that up to 15 percent of students eventually will participate.

Not all majors are eligible; some performance and arts departments say it takes four years to develop the necessary skills. As for criticism that students need time to grow up, Drugovich said: “Not every student is the same. To say you have to stay a fourth year just for the purpose of maturing is wrong.”

Hartwick biology major Daniel Meier, 19, of Ellenville, N.Y., said he joined the program in order to start medical school a year early or take a year off to work or do community service before further education. His

family has an added incentive: His twin brother, Nickolas, is also atHartwick and on the school’s fast track.

The heavier class load is a bit stressful, Daniel Meier said, “but you realize it’s going to benefit you in the long run. You have to concentrate on why you are doing it.” The biggest personal change was having to quit the football team for the less-demanding rugby club, which allows members to miss practice if they have to study, he said.

Southern Oregon University in Ashland, where Bortolazzo attends, permits some students with excellent high school grades and test scores to skip some basic courses and go directly to those required for their majors, according to Curt Bacon, director of the school’s 12-year-old Accelerated Baccalaureate program.

One of its goals, he said, is to “attract higher-quality students.” This year, about 40 of the university’s 4,400 undergraduates have signed up, a figure Bacon said is kept small by the reluctance of many first-year students to commit so quickly to a major.

[

nation & world headlines

]

6 out of 10 migrant women raped in Mexico, activists say MEXICO CITY — As many as six out of every 10 Central American women and girls are raped as they pass through Mexico hoping to cross illegally into the United States, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

The rapists include criminal gang members as well as local authorities in collusion with them, said Rupert Knox, an Amnesty Internationalresearcher on Mexico.

Knox called on Mexico to take action to end a “really chilling panorama” faced by migrants passing across its borders even as the nation complains about a tough new immigration law in the state of Arizona.

In irate response to the Arizona law, which Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed last Friday, Mexico issued a travel warning alerting citizens who are traveling to or residing in Arizona that they might face harassment. Aeromexico suspended some flights to Arizona, and the government of the Mexican state of Sonora canceled an annual meeting scheduled for June with its Arizona counterpart to protest the new law.

The London-based human rights group issued a 48-page report titled “Invisible Victims” that says that tens of thousands of migrants, nearly all of them from Central America, fall prey to gangs that rob, kidnap or rape them as they cross Mexico.

Much of the abuse occurs in the southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, where criminals who are in cahoots with conductors and local, state or federal police halt freight trains, which often are carrying hundreds of illegal migrants, it said. Problems are also severe in Tabasco and Veracruzstates. by tim johnson, mcclatchy newspapers

opınıons 5

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

april 30, 2010

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

Your Views [letter to the editor]

Listen to both sides of debate

T

he agriculture industry and the surrounding issues have finally surfaced in our own school’s newspaper. The CT has done an awesome job representing both radical sides of the issue and has opened up the floor to much discussion on the topic. However, I fail to connect the dots on how this original column “You can’t be a meat eater, environmentalist,” (CT, April 20) and all of the responses give us a clear view of the issue at hand. The original article calls for production animal agriculture to approach zero, with all production species surviving extinction in zoos.

The two following responses on April 21 defend agriculture but seem to lean toward the side of small, happy farms, with happy animals. The final columnist, “Previous columns about meat industry missed crucial points” (CT, April 27), used Google skills to attack commercial production agriculture and advocate grazing based systems.

There you have it, the agriculture issue in a nutshell. Which category do you fall under? Are you the vegan who doesn’t touch meat or use a flyswatter? Are you an organic, all-natural, grassbased, happy-cows person who reads the label on your ground beef to ensure that it did in fact come from a happy, healthy cow? Or are you the fanatical beef advocate that overlooks animal welfare in order for efficient, mass meat production?

Wait now, you’re screaming at a newspaper right now. You’re telling me you don’t belong to any of these groups and that you are more moderate with your feelings toward agriculture. Or maybe you don’t drink milk unless it says antibiotic-free, but you aren’t worried about the other issues. I hear you, and I

hope you don’t belong to any of the radical groups I’ve outlined above.

So, now I have to give you my opinion on the issue. I will try to figure out how much methane a happy cow produces versus how much methane a sad cow produces, or maybe I will pull out some more controversial research on CLAs that I found through Google. I could find out how many gallons of water you used to shower with this morning or how much water you put on your lawn this past summer and compare it to production agriculture. Or maybe I will do the research that started this all.

Maybe I will walk up to a fence and see how the cows look back at me and then create humanlike feelings for all of them.

There are tons of viewpoints about agriculture that I could take a position on, and I can argue each side of every one of them if you want me to. On the other hand, you have gotten plenty of opinions in the last few days about agriculture and where your meat, milk and eggs come from.

Like the first columns suggested, we are in an age where we have all kinds of information at our fingertips just waiting to be discovered. We all know that the media is not always reliable in delivering the facts, so don’t rely on the shock columns that you will read condemning or defending agriculture. It is imperative that you check out both sides of these issues before you form an opinion. Remember, the decisions you make regarding production agriculture have a direct effect on the millions of individuals involved in agriculture. Do your research, talk to a farmer, read what Pam Anderson has to say, make a good decision, and be open minded.

Alex Steer Senior dairy science major

Facts about policy encourage appeal “D

on’t ask, don’t tell” is an issue that has been in the press lately, yet many do not know entirely what it is or why it should be repealed. Officially titled Department of Defense Directive 1304.26, the policy states “Sexual orientation will not be a bar to service unless manifested by homosexual conduct. The military will discharge members, who engage in homosexual conduct, which is defined as a homosexual act, a statement that the member is homosexual or bisexual, or a marriage or attempted marriage to someone of the same gender.” The policy was passed as a compromise in that the armed forces would not focus on sexuality but on “acts and conduct.” Currently around 13,000 troops have been discharged for reasons stated above.

In my opinion, this policy is ludicrous and unfair to all Americans for reasons that DADT removes much-needed personnel in the armed forces and it is a discriminatory policy. As stated earlier, around 13,000 servicemen have been removed from the armed services since the policy’s inception in 1993.

Let’s think about that number. That is 13,000 airmen, sailors, infantry and marines, among others, who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and defend the sovereignty of the nation. Out of those 13,000, many are servicemen who are highly specialized, greatly needed and very difficult to replace such as language translators, engineers and strategists. Currently for each service member discharged the U.S. government pays an estimated $22,000 to $43,000 per person or around $290 million to enforce DADT. At a time when we have plans to continue fighting in Afghanistan among other places, the last thing the military needs to be doing is discharging people because of their sexual orientation.

Even more important is the fact that this law is discriminatory and unconstitutional. This policy tells a group of Americans that they are not worthy of service, that they are not equal. Because they sought out their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they are to be punished and excluded from their heterosexual counterpart. One of the arguments in support of this is if lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Americans were allowed to openly serve, the unit cohesion would be diminished. When I hear this argument, the first thought that comes to mind is, “So lying about oneself to those in which there must be a strong trust is better?” The truth is scientific study has shown that being openly LGBT in the armed forces in no way diminishes unit cohesion or readiness. DADT is nothing more than an affront on the rights of American citizens and must be repealed if we are to truly live under the principle that all people are equal under the law.

So in closing, I want to leave you with some facts. The United Stated is one of the few Western nations that still bars LGBT citizens from serving in its armed forces. Great Britain, Australia, Canada and Israel already allow open service by lesbian and gay troops, and none report morale or recruitment problems. Many great military minds such as Colin Powell, Mike Mullen and Robert Gates have stated that DADT is a failed policy and support its repeal. Therefore, I feel that there is no excuse whatsoever for this policy to stand today and that it must be repealed as soon as possible.

JUSTIN GODARD -guest columnist -junior -political science major

we’re YOUR newspaper. send a letter to the editor and express your views. send an e-mail to opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com with your letter or guest column attached.

MCT CAMPUS

Veganism has no merit compare to other diets V

egetarianism, veganism and omnivory are the three dietary lifestyles found in America today.

There are significant differences between the three and variations within them. For my purposes, I will differentiate the vegetarian from the vegan as someone willing to eat dairy. Omnivores, which include the majority of Americans, partake in the consumption of dairy, meats and plant products.

Before we examine the arguments for veganism, which can be both intellectually lazy and canting, I will state that as far as I have researched vegetarianism appears to be the healthiest diet. A well-balanced omnivorous diet is a close second, and veganism is a sad and desperate third place.

Let’s begin with the ethical argument for veganism that notes the “inhumane” treatment of animals in their processing and consumption. Note that, according to Dictionary.com, to be humane is to have humanity — the condition of being human and thereby having compassion.

Many vegans I have spoken to state explicitly that they are uncomfortable devouring sentient beings. Their notion of what is sentient, however, is remarkably ambiguous and is incorrectly applied to some species and not others without any clear distinction as to why.

For example, if the definition of sentient requires that you have power of perception through the senses then plants are included since they can sense and react to stimulus.

But if you state that an organism must have both perception of the senses and be conscious (self-aware), then many animals fall short, such as with cows, chickens and insects.

Few animals are in fact sentient in the fullest sense of the word.

Cows, chickens and many other barnyard creatures are not among them.

The other hypocrisy I find common to vegans is their focus on animal pain and a general disregard for human suffering.

A valid argument against the meat industry may be that human lives are injured in the process but vegans and vegetarians often cite only animal mistreatment. It is a strange arrangement of priorities. The same could be said of the clothing industry. Vegans tend to note the evils of these industries as per how they affect animals, disregarding entirely the people.

Slaughterhouses have among the highest on-the-job injury rates of any profession, and the clothing industry exploits millions of children around the globe for clothing processing.

Yet it is still rare that I hear vegans and vegetarians express concern for people over animals.

If one is distraught by the treatment of cows or chickens in the food industry and your argument is predicated on the inhumane treatment (lack of compassion) of living beings, does this compassion not extend to human beings mistreated in the same industry? A similar comparison could be made to the clothing industry and the child labor that is exploited in the creation of apparel. I wonder how many vegans are conscious of where their clothes came from. Whether you bought it first or second hand you are potentially wearing a symbol of immense oppression.

Another argument made for veganism and against eating animals is that human beings have no part to play in the global ecosystem; that we are apart from the natural world.

These ideas are never explained by vegans — they are simply stated as self-evident. Since the genetic code is largely universal, meaning the genes of lions and tigers and humans share much in common and are redun-

“

A valid argument against the meat industry may be that human lives are injured in the process but vegans and vegetarians often cite only animal mistreatment. It is a strange arrangement of priorities. The same could be said of the clothing industry. Vegans tend to note the evils of these industries as per how they affect animals, disregarding entirely the people.

dant in function and expression, one cannot say that human beings are outside of the natural world since our genetic material spawns from it. To conclude, human beings are entitled to participate in the natural world in the same fashion as other predators — to prey without regret or guilt.

Vegans often make the claim that people would not starve if we relied on their mode of diet exclusively.

This is based on largely bogus studies that do not take into account governmental corruption, limitations of the environment, habitat destruction and cultural preferences.

Veganism is a luxury of the developed world because people in the West have access to the very broad selection of plant foods one requires to be a successful vegan. Indeed, grocery stores in America provide options to food not normally found in our geographic region or even hemisphere of the world. We also have the means to purchase such options and live under a system making certain that we are granted equal access to the foods we don’t just need but desire — which is why it bothers me when yuppie, well-to-do, white, middle class vegans have the expectation that the global community, or even national community, follow their persnickety dietary lead. It is not only morally presumptuous, but also arrogant, and it is a product of their over-privileged lifestyles that leads them to the ignorant conclusion that the world can afford to be vegan.

While it may be true that a vegan world would require less space for food it would not necessarily mean that there was any less habitat destruction. I might argue that more food means more people that require more space to live and thus less space for animals — you know, the creatures that vegans are so concerned about.

I might also argue that meat’s connection to starvation is incidental and it has less to do with meat and more to do with corrupt systems of government unwilling to provide for their people.

I might then further destroy vegan notions of a world-of-plenty by pointing out that to provide the battery of plant species one requires for a healthy vegan diet would demand climate controlled settings not viable in many countries. Geographically speaking, all plants cannot grow everywhere. That greatly limits what plant material you can grow in a given area. This means global shipping would still be required, biotechnology would remain a must, and insecticides and pesticides would have to remain because a local community cannot provide all vegan necessities or provide the world over with its dietary demands.

There is then the cultural issue.

Cultures around the world have an intimate connection with the act of hunting and eating meat products. It is unrealistic and not within anyone’s authority to say that their cultural mores are more

responsible than another’s, especially when you are a community as dishonest as vegans who state things such as, “vegan diets are universally healthier than omnivorous counterparts.”

While it is true that there are some benefits to veganism, they are not universal or consummate by any means.

According to the American Dietetic Association, vegan diets, if poorly balanced like any other diet, can cause serious health problems.

Among them are anemia, rickets, cretinism, osteomalacia in children and hypothyroidism in adults. A deficiency in vitamin B12, which is very difficult to come by in plant products, can cause neurodegenerative diseases. If stores of this vitamin are not sufficient before becoming a vegan, problems could ensue.

Studies show that vegetarians willing to eat dairy products are in much better shape than vegans when it comes to this kind of vitamin build up.

Even the Vegan Society and Vegan Outreach organization state that vegans must take fortified foods and vitamins to maintain a healthy diet of B12 vitamins. What is more unnatural than taking a man-made vitamin?

How do vegans get off discussing the “nature” of things when their diet dictates that they pop a pill to avoid malnutrition?

Iron is another issue. It is poorly absorbed in vegetarian and vegan diets, because human beings are not meant to be strictly herbivorous — so says our vestigial cecum and our inability to digest cellulose.

Calcium and vitamin D supplementation are yet another unnatural route vegans must take to compensate their deficient diets. It is exceedingly difficult for these individuals to get the vitamin D they need from a strictly veggie diet, especially in the winter.

The bottom line here is that a vegan diet is no different from any other diet in its greatness or efficiency, or benefits. If it is improperly conducted it can lead to malnutrition, just like how an omnivorous diet can lead to complications if imbalanced as well.

Vegans need to wake up and smell the coffee. They also need to stop pushing their agenda like religious fanatics. People who eat meat are not murderers nor are they unnatural. The only thing unnatural here is having to take a man-made dietary supplement because your nutrition is not up to par.

Human beings have both planteating and meat-eating teeth, molars and canines respectively.

We are genetically set to consume both materials.

Now that you have some facts about veganism you might understand why everyone is not jumping on the bandwagon. Vegan diets can be expensive, flavorless, culturally unattractive, dangerous, monolithic and inaccessible. It is for these reasons that most vegans, in my experience, tend to be middle- to upperclass people who have access to the needed resources to make such a diet possible, and even then they do not have the facts about healthy veganism.

Talk to a professional nutritionist if you choose to go vegan and get the facts about what you need to do to maintain a healthy diet.

JOHN DRIESSNACK -regular columnist -junior -biological sciences major

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april 30, 2010

page 7

NCAA basketball tournament to expand to 68 teams NIEL BEST mcclatchy newspapers The NCAA men’s basketball tournament will grow from 65 to 68 teams, with all 67 games shown on live national TV, pending expected approval Thursday from the Division I board of directors.

The fact CBS and Turner partnered on a new 14-year, $10.8-billion contract to carry the event was no surprise; their bid had been deemed a favorite to beat out ESPN’s.

But it had been widely expected the field would grow to 96 teams — notion that has been harshly criticized among fans and in the media for months.

Instead, the NCAA found a way to wring enough revenue from a 68-team event spread across four TV outlets to meet its financial needs.

The decision not to expand to 96 also preserved the NIT, whose future had appeared bleak.

“It’s a positive development for us to be able to continue with the NIT and the rich tradition it brings to college basketball,” NCAA senior vice president Greg Shaheen said.

The NCAA has not determined precisely how the 68-team format will be structured. But regardless of when games are played in the early rounds, they will be on CBS or one of three widely distributed cable channels — TBS, TNT and truTV (formerly Court TV).

That means an end to the long tradition of complaining about CBS’ decisions on when to switch in and out of games in progress.

Beginning next year, CBS and Turner will split the regional semifinals.

CBS will continue to show the regional finals and Final Four through 2015, after which it will split the regional finals with Turner every year and Turner will get the Final Four in even-numbered years.

ESPN, which shows hundreds of

DANIEL LIN/SPPS

Duke University forward Kyle Singler climbs out of press row after saving a loose ball during Duke’s win over Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. regular-season games, eventually reached its limit in the bidding; it might be marshaling resources to make a strong run at the 2014 and ‘16 Olympics.

Jim Isch, the NCAA’s interim president, insisted on a conference call that plans for a 96-team field never were

in place, and rejected the notion the association backed off in the face of criticism.

CBS, which has carried the NCAAs since 1982, had a contract through 2013, but with $2.1 billion still to pay it was pleased to have the NCAA opt out of the deal and allow it to partner

with Turner.

The 2016 Final Four won’t be the first major sports championship to move to cable. The BCS Championship Game will be on ESPN in January 2011.

The contract includes TV, Internet and wireless rights, so live streaming

of games is expected to remain in some form.

The NCAA could have risked trying to get a huge rights deal after 2013, around the time several pro sports contracts expire.

Reaching an agreement now allowed it to lock in revenues that

provide the vast majority of funding for all NCAA operations.

The Division I men’s basketball committee passed a recommendation for an expansion to 68 to the board Wednesday, and it likely will be approved officially next week.

With an increase in brain tumors, Stars such as Jolie, Costner are going doctors learn to confront death undercover in this summer’s movies ROBERT W. BUTLER

DEBORAH L. SHELTON

mcclatchy newspapers

mcclatchy newspapers CHICAGO — As Dr. Richard W. Byrne labored for more than three hours to remove a malignant tumor from his patient’s brain, he knew his efforts would not defeat the deadly cancer.

The goal was to buy time. Time for the 44-year-old patient to spend with his wife and two young children.

Time for the man to enroll in a clinical trial for a new chemotherapy drug that could possibly offer a cure.

A neurosurgeon at the Brain Tumor Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Byrne treats people diagnosed with brain cancers that almost always kill. He is the one to break the bad news and the one patients rely upon when the prognosis is the worst imaginable.

In his office, clocks line the top of a cherry wood bookcase. The neurosurgeon received them as presents from families — expressions of gratitude not for a cure but for the gift of time.

In an area of medicine that many might view as bleak, Byrne finds inspiration, a sense of reward and hope. In addition to buying precious weeks or months for terminally ill patients, he contributes to research into these deadly cancers, hoping to see progress in treatment within his lifetime.

“What keeps me going is the fact that there are a lot of people who need us. Most of them come to us desperate and scared,” said Byrne, whose penetrating gaze and low-key presence convey both intensity and calm.

As Byrne operated on John Petro, his 44-year-old patient, he concentrated on removing as much of the tumor as safely possible. Petro was diagnosed in June with a malignant glioma, the same type of aggressive cancer that killed the late Ted Kennedy in August at age 77. Petro’s cancer was a type called glioblastoma multiforme. The surgery was his second in about nine months.

Finding and removing a tumor among variations of gray brain tissue requires patience, persistence and a keen eye, along with sophisticated equipment. Cancer cells infiltrate the brain much like a spot of red paint diffuses when dropped into a can of white, Byrne explained. Even if the red spot (the tumor) can be removed, it’s not possible to safely take out all of the pink, the area where cancer cells mix with normal tissue.

The goal is to cut out as much of the cancer as possible and kill the rest with chemo drugs and radiation.

As he methodically removed the cancerous mass, Byrne was mindful of what he and Petro share in common. A year apart in age, they live in neighboring western suburbs — Petro in Downers Grove and Byrne in Oak Brook — and Petro’s children, a 4-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, are close in age to Byrne’s two daughters, 8 and 10.

In a field where death is a constant,

ALEX GARCIA/SPPS

Neurosurgeon Dr. Richard Byrne, left, checks on patient John Petro after performing brain surgery on him at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, March 4, 2010. “you can’t help but see your own mortality,” Byrne said near the end of the surgery.

The number of brain tumors diagnosed in the United States has increased in recent years for reasons that are not clear. Among the debated causes are better detection and statistics, the aging of the population and possible exposure to unknown environmental causes, according to Deneen Hesser, research director for the American Brain Tumor Association, based in Des Plaines.

Also, more cancer patients live through their initial treatments and develop metastatic disease, which sometimes spreads to the brain.

The day before his surgery, Petro was hopeful.

“Everyone wants to talk about the prognosis — it’s kind of like, how long do you have?” Petro said, as he sat cross-legged on his hospital bed wearing a Fighting Illini T-shirt. “But (Byrne) said: ‘I feel positive about this.

Let’s not talk about dying.’”

Byrne has treated several brain cancer survivors who have lived as long as five or 10 years. They serve as reminders of what is possible.

“I returned to work and to a life with four children who were so grateful to have a father,” David Rowland wrote in an e-mail to Byrne in 2008.

Rowland, a labor and employment lawyer with the Chicago law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP, had two surgeries in 2004 for an aggressive brain cancer called anaplastic astrocytoma.

“Thank you for saving my life.”

Reached at his office last week, a cheerful Rowland said he continues to do well.

Doctors cannot accurately predict how long a brain cancer patient will survive, Byrne said, and patients should hold on to hope that they will live long enough for a cure to be discovered.

“Of course there are days when you see somebody who is suffering and you realize how much trouble they are in,” Byrne said. “That can be depressing. You have to keep your

focus and realize that what you are going to do for this helps.”

Byrne, 45, said medical students were not taught how to talk about death when he was studying at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. But now at least half of U.S. medical schools say they teach their students how to deliver bad news, and all of them teach wellness courses that cover the impact of dealing with stressful situations, such as the death of patients, said Dr. John E. Prescott, chief academic officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Chairman of the department of neurosurgery at Rush, Byrne performs between 100 and 150 brain tumor operations a year, as well as surgeries on patients with epilepsy and benign brain tumors, some of them life-threatening.

Fueled on a breakfast of coffee and Diet Pepsi, he might juggle surgeries, hospital rounds, clinic appointments, meetings, teaching, paperwork, dictation, reading and research, depending on the day of the week.

In one recent week his clinic schedule included four people with malignant brain tumors and six others with benign tumors, all new cases.

Emergency appointments are common.

Petro was working his job as a project manager for PepsiCo on June 18 when a pinpoint of red light partially obstructed his vision, like someone shining a laser in his eyes. Later he learned that a large, fast-growing tumor had triggered a series of seizures.

Byrne performed surgery just four days later and Petro received standard radiation and chemotherapy. Then Petro signed up for two clinical trials studying possible new treatments.

Within four weeks of enrolling in the second trial, an MRI showed the tumor had returned. Malignant glioblastomas frequently grow back.

Petro had the second surgery on March 4, and went home two days later. He is recovering well.

Angelina. Tom. Ashton. Bradley.

Scarlett. Leonardo.

What are they doing this summer?

Spying.

In fact, 2010 is the summer of the spy, with a crowd of covert types hitting movie screens through Labor Day. Even in a year without a James Bond movie (and given the current financial gyrations of the series’ home studio, MGM, it may be a long time before 007 once again sips a shaken martini), we have some major stars doing some sneaky stuff.

And, wonder of wonders, many of these are not sequels, prequels, reboots or adaptations of TV shows.

Exhibit A is Angelina Jolie, who stars in “Salt” (opening July 23).

Jolie is terrifically adept at mixing spying and sex, as evidenced by”Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Wanted.” When it comes to blending drop-dead gorgeous and drop-dead dangerous, she has few peers.

In “Salt,” Jolie plays CIA agent Evelyn Salt, whose career and very life are threatened when a Russian defector denounces her as a mole. To clear her name she goes on the run ... which, of course, only makes her look guilty.

Directed by Phillip Noyce (a veteran of numerous Jack Ryan adventures) from a script co-written by the great Brian Helgeland (“L.A. Confidential”), the film co-stars Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Observed from the distance of a few months, “Salt” would seem to have some of the elements that made Kevin Costner’s “No Way Out” a spy classic. We’ll see.

In “Iron Man 2” (May 7), Scarlett Johansson plays industrialist Tony Stark’s new assistant, Natalie Rushman.

All good Marvel disciples know Natalie turns out to be Natasha Romanoff, the Russian-born spy Black Widow (love that black leather bodysuit), but who is Natalie/Natasha really working for?

Weaponeer Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell)? Revenge-minded Whiplash (Mickey Rourke)? The super-super-spy Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)?

The production team behind the smash original, including director Jon Favreau, returns, along with Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. Don Cheadle steps into the role originated by Terrence Howard.

The undercover operatives of “The A-Team” (June 11) get a big-screen update with Liam Neeson leading the bunch. Bradley (“Hangover”) Cooper is already stealing the trailer with his comic performance as “Faceman” Peck; also on tap are Sharlto Copley (fresh from his triumph in “District 9”), Jessica Biel and Patrick Wilson. The iconic character of B.A. Baracus, originated by Mr. T, is being played by mixed martial arts veteran Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Directing is Joe Carnahan, whose slam-bam style (“Narc,” “Smokin’ Aces”) should be just right.

An unsuspecting woman gets caught up in the globe-hopping adventures of a rogue agent in “Knight and Day” (June 25). Since the agent is played by Tom Cruise and the lady by Cameron Diaz, this action comedy/romance should pay off big time.

It helps that the man behind the camera is James Mangold (“3:10 to Yuma,” “Walk the Line”).

In the futuristic “Inception” (July 16), Leonardo DiCaprio plays a corporate spy with a fantastic edge — technology that allows him to eavesdrop on the dreams of others. Christopher Nolan (of the “Batman” franchise) wrote and directed this thriller; along for the ride are Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page and Michael Caine ... for starters.

Will Forte’s “SNL” character MacGruber, an ex-special operative, can turn common household items into just about any gizmo he needs.

Well, at least that’s what happened in the “McGyver” TV show that spawned this spoof. Forte’s “MacGruber” (May 21) is usually all thumbs.

Other covert operations: “The Expendables” (Aug. 13): Sylvester Stallone directs and stars alongside Jet Li and Jason Statham in a tale of mercenaries betrayed on a mission. The trailer shows the cameos of Bruce Willis and the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Killers” (June 4): The honeymoon is over for newlyweds in this action comedy about a wife (Katherine Heigl) who learns her husband (Ashton Kutcher) is a hit man.

“Despicable Me” (July 9): In this animated adventure, Steve Carell is an aspiring supervillain whose scheme to steal the moon is interrupted by three orphan girls aiming to adopt him as their dad.

“Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” (July 30): Talking pets duke it out as a feline mastermind plots to subjugate cats and dogs everywhere. Check out the celeb voices: Alec Baldwin, Chris O’Donnell, Roger Moore, Bette Midler, Jack McBrayer, Joe Pantoliano.

sports 8

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

april 30, 2010

Quit slacking, Hokie Nation

No. 18 Hokies hope to stay hot against Eagles JOE CRANDLEY sports reporter

NIELS GOERAN BLUME/SPPS

Hokies fans sit and watch during Tech’s 10-0 home victory over Liberty on March 24 at English Field.

EVEN THOUGH HOKIES CONTINUE TO RISE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS, FANS NOT RESPONDING Lane Stadium – best homefield advantage in America.

Cassell Coliseum – feared by all in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

English Field – average 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference game attendance, 924?

For a baseball team playing so well this season, Hokies fans sure aren’t showing much support.

Sure, the weather was a bit cool in March for the two series against Maryland and Wake Forest, but that never stopped football fans from packing it in at a football game or driving on ice to a basketball game.

The most appalling part of the whole situation is that the games at English field are free. No lottery, no season tickets, just free.

And it’s not like the Hokies aren’t out there playing some great baseball.

They’ve ascended to No. 18 in the Baseball America rankings, and two players on the team — Austin Wates and Jesse Hahn — are basically locks to be first round draft picks.

This isn’t the old team that was the doormat of the ACC. These guys are contenders, and they deserve some student support.

If 40,000 folks can show up to watch a glorified football scrimmage featuring backups and walk-ons in the spring game, surely many of those same people, especially students, can get together and cheer on the baseball team for the low, low price of free, like they did at the spring game last Saturday.

Just like in football and basketball, a big-time crowd can create an advantage, one the Hokies have lacked for years, but don’t take my word for it.

“It factors into umpires and everything else,” said Pete Hughes, head baseball coach. “If you get a huge crowd in a stadium and they’re going to react on every call — it’s been

[

on the web

]

Check out the CT’s Web site at www.collegiatetimes.com for game coverage this weekend.

scientifically proven that it sways an umpire’s call, so there is a home-field advantage if you can get a fanatical, educated crowd out there, like our fans can be.”

When Hughes left Boston College to be the head coach at Virginia Tech, he came with the intention of changing the baseball culture in Blacksburg from a losing one to a winning one.

As this season has shown, the players have bought in after some rough seasons, and now it’s time for the fans to as well — it’s part of the reason Hughes came to Tech.

“That was my goal when I took this job,” Hughes said. “It was to make sure Hokie Nation got crazy about our sport, and we’re the next one in line because football has been football for a long time, and basketball has got it cranked up now. You can’t get a ticket in there and the energy level is awesome. That was my goal when I got this job. I wanted to coach a baseball team and have Hokie Nation be a part of the excitement. There’s so many games in the year, but on a weekend series, we got an ACC weekend, we’ve gotta have an edge with some excitement in that ballpark.”

Just down the road, Virginia is selling out in its new fancy ballpark.

Clemson and Miami rank in the top 25 in attendance each year, but the real crowd for Hokies fans to aspire to hails from Florida State and its notorious “Animals of Section B.” “They’re rabid fans, man,” Hughes said. “They’re emotionally tied to every pitch that’s thrown. They’re loud, they’re educated in the sport

and they are fanatical about the team they’re cheering, and with that comes a lot of energy in the stadium. With that comes a lot of noise, and they’re rooting for you. That other team becomes better, gives them an edge.

I know when we have a good crowd at our place, it gives our kids an edge adrenaline wise.”

The Animals started back in 1977, and today they’re known nationwide as some of the best fans in the country which makes Florida State such an intimidating place to play.

They sing songs, heckle the other team and overall make a day at the ballpark a fun experience for fans and a tough time for opposing teams.

Other groups around the country such as the “Texas Tech Hecklers,” the “Left Field Baum Squad” at Arkansas, and the fans in right field at Ole Miss take pride in their ability to negatively affect pitchers and individual players throughout a weekend through their clever lines, sharp wit and energy.

With two ACC home series left, the Hokies have two prime heckling opportunities in Boston College and Duke. So learn everything about the other teams, get out to English field, cheer on the Hokies, come with your best one-liners, and keep it clean and funny.

Like Hughes said, football has been football, and the basketball crowd has arrived, so to those looking to make a further impact on the Tech sports landscape, get out to English Field this weekend and bring the same Hokie Nation intensity over there, too.

JOE CRANDLEY -sports reporter -senior -communication major

In the past month, the Virginia Tech baseball team accomplished what many in the Atlantic Coast Conference felt was impossible.

The No. 18 Hokies (29-14, 11-10 ACC) faced the grind of an ACC schedule unmatched by any other in the conference and finished with a 7-5 record and three series wins.

This grind, in consecutive weeks, included No. 4 Florida State, No. 16 Miami, No. 1 Virginia and No. 8 Georgia Tech.

While head coach Pete Hughes always exudes confidence in his team and the desire to accomplish more, he is nothing but happy with the way his team performed in April.

“If you told me seven-of-five, I would have signed up for it a year ago immediately without even asking questions. ... We come out seven-of-five from the team that was voted second to last in the ACC. Sign me up, man. I’m all for it, that was great.”

Tech may have navigated a difficult path in the last month, and the ACC juggernauts are gone from the schedule, but some pretty stiff competition awaits the Hokies.

The Boston College Eagles (2417, 12-9 ACC), a program revived

by Hughes before coming to coach at Tech, will take on the Hokies this weekend in a three-game series.

The Eagles did not play well early in the season, especially against ACC opponents on the road, but the team appears to be on the right track with back-to-back series wins over North Carolina State and Wake Forest in addition to a series win against Maryland.

Unlike Tech, the Eagles have not played well against the powers of the ACC, including series losses to Clemson, Miami and Virginia, but BC is riding high and Hughes is not taking them lightly despite Tech’s stellar competition as of late.

“These guys are playing good,” Hughes said. “They’re confident.

They swept the last two series.

There’s nothing like winning to give you confidence, so they’re going to come in here with an edge. So, they’re scary, really. They’re tough too, because they win late. We’re going to get everything we can handle by the end of this weekend.

Hopefully we can win the series.”

On paper, Tech leads the Eagles in almost all offensive and pitching categories, but BC still possess some dangerous hitters in its lineup, such as senior leadoff man Robbie Anston, and front line pitching that can keep up with any team in the conference.

Boston College junior lefty Pat Dean holds a 3.50 ERA and a 5-0 record so far this season, and Hughes believes he’s as good as any pitcher in the conference. He will pitch on Friday against Tech’s own junior lefty, Justin Wright (4-3, 3.52 ERA), who has been phenomenal in the month of April despite only recording one win.

Saturday, the similarities will continue for the starting pitchers.

Both teams will start sophomore right-handers with incredible talent, but each fails to hold it all together at times.

For Tech, Mathew Price (5-3,

PAUL KURLAK/SPPS

Steve Domecus rounds the bases against Miami on April 9.

5.50 ERA) will take the mound again after an impressive two-day outing against Georgia Tech last weekend. Price pitched lights out on Saturday and Sunday because the game was rained out in the middle of the fourth inning, and he seems to have his confidence back after pitching poorly against Miami and Virginia.

Hughes attributes Price’s performance last weekend to the improvement of his secondary pitches, which kept the Jackets’ hitters off of his dominant fastball.

The seven innings, six hits, two earned runs and eight strikeouts against Georgia Tech were especially impressive considering the Jackets start six left-handed hitters.

OppositePricewillbesophomore right-hander Mike Dennhardt (35, 6.57 ERA), who sports a 95 mph fastball. Dennhardt pitched well his last three times out, so even with an inflated ERA, he could be a dangerous matchup for the Hokies.

Sunday will also feature excellent starting pitching.

After taking off a start because of soreness, junior Tech righty Jesse Hahn (5-2, 2.81 ERA) will return to the mound. Considering Hahn’s next-level potential, Hughes did not want to start him with a sore arm against the Yellow Jackets last week, but it’s nothing that Hokies fans should be worried about.

For the Eagles, junior John Leonard (2-0, 2.45 ERA) will start, and he has been excellent since returning from injury. Leonard has

only made four starts and pitched 18.1 total innings this season, but the righty holds a 15:6 strikeoutto-walk ratio and has only allowed five earned runs so far.

Like most weekend series in the ACC, the final outcome will likely come down to who has the better bullpen, and Tech actually has the advantage this week.

Despite the solid starting pitching, the Eagles do not have a true shutdown reliever like the Hokies do in Ben Rowen (4-1, 2.65 ERA), and the rest of their relievers fail to impress.

Tech has also received a boost in the pen in recent weeks with the return of junior lefty Sean McDermott, who had been held out from play because of shoulder tendonitis. Now, his velocity is back as well as the rotation on his secondary pitches, and he’s ready to contribute to a thin Hokies bullpen.

“McDermott’s getting healthy, and the ball was jumping out of his hand at Georgia Tech,” Hughes said. “I was fired up to see that.

He’s finally feeling like his old self, and that’s a pivotal kid that we’ve missed all year.”

In addition to McDermott and Rowen, freshmen Jake Joyce and Joe Mantiply were crucial out of the pen in the last month, and they should see some more time this weekend.

The first game will be played on Friday at 5:30 p.m., the second Saturday at 2 p.m. and the third Sunday at 1 p.m.