Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Print Edition

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

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

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COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 58

News, page 2

Features, page 3

Opinions, page 5

Sports, page 7

Classifieds, page 6

Sudoku, page 6

Lacrosse student charged in UVa death CT NEWS STAFF

AUDREY CATE/SPPS

Senior T.C. Jones uses his electric wheelchair to travel around Virginia Tech’s campus. Only five students are registered with wheelchairs at Tech.

Disabled students blaze different campus routes

BY SARA MITCHELL | editor-in-chief

SARA MITCHELL/COLLEGIATE TIMES

Freshman Sarah Gilbert switched dorms because of elevator issues.

hen T.C. Jones doesn’t immediately go to shake your hand, don’t be offended. He doesn’t shake hands often.

In fact, his hands have only recently re-learned to write legibly — or rather, legibly enough for him to read, the senior computer science major says.

And his hands’ most important task is to guide his wheelchair — the manual one for short trips and the electric model for longer days on campus.

Jones is one of about five registered students on campus in a wheelchair, but one of hundreds with a disability. Although he became disabled after enrolling at Virginia Tech, many students need to consider disability access and accommodations when deciding on a school.

Tech is tasked with reasonably accommodating students with disabilities, and while those who use the campus disability services have called them helpful, only a handful of students in a wheelchair are currently at Tech.

[

FEW AND FAR BETWEEN According to the Disability Statistics Center at the University of California in San Francisco, about .06 percent of the population uses a wheelchair — but the number of Tech students in a wheelchair who work with Tech’s Services for Students with Disabilities office fits on one hand.

Rick Ferraro, assistant vice president for

two-part series

This story is part of a series on disability access on campus. Find the second installment tomorrow.

]

student affairs, attributed the small number to self-selection of prospective students — a student with a disability might find Tech’s size and weather conditions intimidating, and immediately disregard it.

“We tell them the truth,” he said of prospective students. “They do have to understand what they’re dealing with.”

Ferraro said that newer universities have an advantage with modern buildings that are more accessible. Any university built after 1990 would be fully compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which created architecture accessibility standards. Students with disabilities might also be drawn to a small campus that is easier to navigate.

“What we do isn’t necessarily what another college will do,” said Susan Angle, director of SSD. Most Tech students with a disability aren’t as obvious as a wheelchair user. A documented disability can range from a psychological condition to Attention Deficit Disorder to the quadriplegia that put Jones in his wheelchair three years ago. see PATH / page two

East AJ to serve as ‘residential college’ UNIVERSITY HONORS TO INHERIT RENOVATED EAST AJ DORMITORY FOR RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE EXPERIMENT LIANA BAYNE news reporter Starting in 2011, about 400 students in the honors program will have the opportunity to live in a refurbished East Ambler Johnston Hall that will serve as Virginia Tech’s first residential college.

Terry Papillon, director of the university honors program, said the roughly $80 million project would encourage “learning encounters.”

The residential college model essentially invites faculty and classrooms into the residence hall. Both East and West AJ will have one large faculty residence apartment each, into which one faculty member and his family will move permanently. Other faculty members will have the opportunity to relocate their offices into the building.

“Faculty who have academic offices in the building will be a real part of that learning environment, making education a whole person experience,” Papillon said.

A residential college combines faculty offices and residences with classrooms and student residences. For example, East AJ will feature a 49-seat movie theater in addition to classrooms.

“The idea of a residential college is the

faculty presence,” Papillon said.

Papillon said there might be extra fees for students living in the residential college to offset the costs of special programming and stipends for the faculty living there.

Hugh Latimer, a campus planner within Tech’s Office of the University Architect, said in East and West AJ crews are renovating bathrooms and adding air conditioning. The changes are in addition to the faculty apartments, classroom areas and improvement to the common areas in the crossover bridge between East and West AJ that will contain libraries, study lounges and kitchens.

Latimer said the connector space “will be much different.”

“It should be the most utilized space,” he said.

Although the intent all along was to renovate AJ, it was not originally intended to be transformed into the first residential college at Virginia Tech, according to Rick Johnson, director of housing and dining services.

Papillon said the idea of a residential college came up during construction during conversations with Frank Shushok, associate vice president of student affairs, about potentially expanding housing for honors students.

JACK HOWELL/SPPS

East Ambler Johnson Hall, currently being renovated, will open in 2011.

Shushok, who came to Tech from Baylor University in Texas last summer, worked to open the first two residential colleges there, one of which is an honors college.

“I said I would like to have more beds for honors students,” Papillon said.

“When (Shushok) came, he knew AJ was being renovated. He wanted to open (East and West AJ), not as residential halls, but as residential colleges.”

Shushok said he felt administrators at Tech “were really inspired by the possibilities” residential colleges offer. One of his platforms in support of residential colleges is the push to create a four-year residential experience.

“We want it to be a place that focuses on all parts of their life and have easy interaction with faculty,” Shushok said. “It will be a four-year residential experience in one location.”

Shushok said residential colleges “create a conversation among diverse groups of students. It integrates intellectual needs with residential needs and increases chance encounters with learning with faculty offices and residences,” he said.

Papillon said the decision to create a residential college was made possible because the original construction was done under budget. The renovations see HOUSING / page four

A male lacrosse player from UVa has been charged with first-degree murder in connection to the death of a female UVa lacrosse player.

George Huguely, a 22-year-old senior men’s lacrosse player from Chevy Chase, Md., is being held in the CharlottesvilleAlbemarle Regional Jail, according to HUGUELY police.

The victim, Yeardley Love, a 22-yearold senior women’s lacrosse player from Cockeysville, Md., was found in an apartment on 14th Street Northwest early this morning. Police have not yet determined a cause of death, though a statement released this afternoon said Love “suffered visible physical trauma.”

LOVE According to the police statement, witnesses have indicated that Huguely and Love “had a past relationship.”

John Casteen, president of UVa, released a statement this afternoon about the death.

“Although we know nothing other than what appears in the Charlottesville Police Department’s more recent statement, this death moves us to deep anguish for the loss of a student of uncommon talent and promise, and we express the University’s and our own sympathy for Yeardley’s family, teammates, and friends,” Casteen wrote.

“That she appears now to have been murdered by another student compounds this sense of loss by suggesting that Yeardley died without comfort or consolation from those closest to her,” he wrote. “We mourn her death and feel anger on reading that the investigators believe that another student caused it.”

Police are continuing to investigate the case. Anyone with additional information about this incident is asked to call Charlottesville Police Sgt. Mark Brake at 434-970-3970 or Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000.

‘College, Inc.’ premiering Tuesday on ‘Frontline’ MARY McNAMARA mcclatchy newspapers LOS ANGELES — Let’s hear it for “Frontline,” which continues to take on topics for no earthly reason save they’re important.

In this week’s “College, Inc.,” you won’t meet lovely coeds who are stripping to make tuition or nerdy con men amassing small fortunes through prefab thesis papers. No, it’s all those Universities of Phoenix, whose signs are becoming more ubiquitous than lapband billboards, and their fellow for-profit colleges that the show’s indefatigable correspondent Martin Smith has in his sights.

Never before has a college education become so important to those who hope to enter the work force and yet acquiring one has become increasingly expensive and logistically difficult. In this landscape of dwindling resources and increased need, the emergence of a new breed of education entrepreneur would appear to be the perfect solution. If the citizenry of the United States is unwilling or unable to fund colleges either through taxes or private endowments, then perhaps folks like former GE Chief Executive Jack Welch and former musician Michael Clifford can help by buying small struggling institutions and turning them into for-profit companies that have the capacity for seemingly endless growth.

The most successful for-profit college system, and the one that serves as model for most, is the University of Phoenix, founded in 1976 by John Sperling, an American with a doctorate in economics from Cambridge who was frustrated with the limitations of traditional academe. He created a network of freeway-accessible colleges, now owned by the Apollo Group, that cater to adult students who want an education and may not be able to accommodate normal university hours. Many classes are at night, many do not follow the traditional academic year, and many are now taken online.

To keep costs down, few for-profit colleges have traditional campuses (although some, like Grand Canyon College, do, though mainly to create a pleasing image for their many online students) and most employ teachers via short-term contracts rather than tenure.

That they are filling a need is evident by their success — the various Universities of Phoenix have almost half a million students enrolled and similar systems now crisscross the country. Wall Street could not be happier.

But whenever there is money to be made — and according to one former top executive of the University of Phoenix there is a lot of money to be made in for-profit colleges — there is the potential for abuse. Some for-profits have been charged with using pressure tactics and even fraud to boost enrollment, while others have been accused of not fulfilling their promises to provide the training and accreditation for students to enter their chosen fields. And in some cases, everything winds up costing almost twice as much, on average, as most community colleges.

Like homeowners underwater by a huge mortgage payment, some students at for-profits discover that high-interest educational loans and a depressed job market makes these almost impossible to pay. Smith interviews several for-profit alums who are

2 news

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

may 4, 2010

COLLEGIATETIMES

Path: Students adapt to Tech’s accessibility challenges from page one

B

ill Holbach has defined “assisted technology” more than a few times in his life.

Just ask him, and he’ll tell you without stumbling that AT is “any service system or equipment that can enhance, increase or maintain your abilities for working, learning or playing.”

“Once students are trained” he says, “our goal is independence.”

Holbach, the director of assisted technologies and research applications at Virginia Tech works with students and faculty to provide them with the technology helpful — or necessary — for their disability.

The AT lab in 1080 Torgersen shelves technology such as the screen-less computer with a Braille keyboard and the textbook scanner that scans hundreds of pages in minutes.

Most commonly, he works to put adjustable tables in all computer labs and shows people how to use the audio and visual tool on their computers, such as the magnifying text tool and the text-to-audio function.

“A lot of people don’t realize there’s a lot of built-in features,” Holbach said of personal laptops and desktops.

Holbach uses a wheelchair, but he really began working in the AT field when his son was born with cerebral palsy, and he began developing a device that helped his son.

He works with Hal Brackett, assisted technologies coordinator and lab manager in the AT lab. For Brackett, his interest in AT began when he became familiar with the tools his wife used with her students as a speech pathologist. As foster parents, the Bracketts started adapting the house to various disabilities, and Hal Brackett eventually pursued training in AT. AT conferences keep Holbach and Brackett knowledgeable about technological advances.

Brackett believes that assisted technologies will become more of a regular feature than an added-on function.

“I think we’re going to see it becoming more integrated into operating systems,” he said in reference to cars and computers.

Holbach pointed out that already some integrated technology, such as GPS systems, don’t appear assisted to just those with disabilities.

“For people without disabilities, it makes things easier,” he said. “For people with one, it makes things possible.” by sara mitchell, ct editor-in-chief

accommodating.

Jones and his friends had signed a lease in Terrace View when he had his accident, and he still wanted to live off campus.

“I checked it out, and there were no curb cuts,” he said. “I asked, ‘How do I get up on the sidewalk?”

The apartment complex paid to install a ramp from the parking lot, widened doors and installed a passcode device on his door since he can’t turn locks.

As for downtown, the 22-year-old Jones says the Cellar and Sharkey’s are fairly accessible bars, and he added that the bouncers at Hokie House usually help him up the handful of steps.

“But obviously, I’ve never been to Top of the Stairs,” he said with a laugh.

Accessibility would have been more of a factor for Jones had he come into college with his disability.

Knowing what he knows now about Tech, “I would’ve still come regardless.”

SARA MITCHELL/COLLEGIATE TIMES

Computer science major T.C. Jones normally takes a BT Access bus to and from school, but he was Alison Wood’s first wheelchair rider in her two-and-a-half years as a Blacksburg Transit driver. types of student disability for the 08-09 school year

Assisted technology creates more independence

A CHANGE Like most freshmen, Jones came to Tech in 2006 and found his own routes on campus.

Then the Powhatan native broke his neck on a snowboarding trip to Snowshoe, W.Va. in February 2007.

Jones is now a C7 complete quadriplegic, which means he has no feeling in his legs and very little use of his hands.

Jones took the rest of the semester off, but he came back to Tech in fall 2007 — and had to completely retrain his brain when it came to the campus.

“I got used to the ways I walked,” Jones said. “It was hard to figure out where the ramps were. Initially I had to kind of keep a mental map of the place.”

An access map is available on campus, but it hasn’t been updated since 2006. David Bingham, architect for ADA Services, said the map should be updated within the next month.

Through trial and error, Jones would sometimes be late to class while learning the best routes. Now, his schedule is like clockwork.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:30 a.m., the Blacksburg Transit Access bus is scheduled to pick Jones up from his Terrace View apartment. Any later, and he might not get to his 11:15 a.m. class on time in Hahn Hall North — the bus can show up in a 20-minute frame before or after 10:30, and it leaves within five minutes without him if he doesn’t show up.

Like a trivia game, Jones can rattle off the best ways to get around campus. McBryde and Torgersen halls are easiest to navigate. Davidson Hall may have a few power doors, but they are never in the hallways where he has classes — some doors are extremely heavy to push in his electric chair and nearly impossible in the manual one.

McBryde only recently got a power door for the first-floor ramp way.

Torgersen’s bathroom doors could use power doors.

“But you can’t expect it for all doors,” he said.

On one Friday, Jones sat with friends in the Graduate Life Center Plaza, drinking a peach smoothie from Owens. He started up the hill past Squires Student Center but a truck on the path stopped him in his tracks. On this occasion, he evaluated the path and saw that he could still take the path in his wheelchair.

This is a normal occurrence for Jones, as the biggest challenge for him is the unpredictability of the campus — sometimes vehicles on the path or construction will completely prohibit him from taking his normal route and he has to find another way to class.

He can get from Hahn Hall North to Squires in seven to 10 minutes, but if his route is blocked by construction, it can throw that off considerably.

The record-breaking winter Blacksburg experienced this year occasionally left Jones without a way to class. One time he even got stuck on ice, and someone had to help him out.

SSD’s temporary location in Kent

disability

number of students

attention deficit disorder

272

learning disability

245

psychological disability

113

medical disability

91

mobility impaired

13

deaf, hard of hearing

11

traumatic brain injury

10

vision impaired

9

communication disability

1

MICHAEL MCDERMOTT/COLLEGIATE TIMES

Square made the winter harder for Jones.

“I called the SSD office and said, ‘So, are the sidewalks cleared?’” he explained. “They said, ‘I’m not sure, since we’re off-campus.’

“It’d be nice if they had a system to gauge sidewalks,” Jones said, adding that he makes sure to discuss with all professors the possibility of missing class during bad weather.

Angle agreed that bad weather is “particularly difficult” when it came to maintenance. She said mainte-

nance staff tries to clear the busiest access points and then bases other decisions off the students’ schedules.

SSD will move into the future Academic and Student Affairs building behind McBryde Hall when it’s completed in 2012.

The most common accommodation for students is for tests. SSD will send official accommodation letters to professors to allow for extended test-taking times or for tests to be taken in a different room or with a special desk.

In addition to requesting a special desk, Jones uses the office to extend his test-taking time, because it takes him so long to write.

At first, SSD also found students in Jones’ classes to take notes for him but it was “kind of a hassle” to pick the notes up from the office. Now he can write quickly enough to take notes on his own.

SSD can also help relocate student’s classes to buildings that are accessible. Once a student’s courses are chosen, any classes that aren’t accessible are moved.

Jones recalls one time when a professor wasn’t aware why his class moved from Whittemore Hall and tried to move it back. Jones had to talk to him about his disability and explain the move. But usually, Jones said the instructors are aware and

PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS SSD has worked with 72 families and prospective students in the 2008-09 year who had questions about Tech’s accessibility. The university also created College Bound, a summer program where high school students with disabilities and their parents can spend time on Tech’s campus and experience the more independent lifestyle a college student would have.

Sarah Gilbert, a chemical engineering major from Goochland, had narrowed her college search to four colleges. Accessibility was a factor for the freshman, who had been in a wheelchair for six years since a surgeon accidentally damaged her spinal cord. Also on her list was Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, where 10 percent of students are in a wheelchair. The school has seven private vans that take students from residence halls to classes and wheelchair maintenance services.

Gilbert knew she would have received a lot of care at Edinboro, where her teal wheelchair with her name engraved on the side could have been one of more than 700 on campus. But she decided to go to the hilly, wintry, less-accessible Tech where she wanted to study chemical engineering.

“I’d rather put up with crap than put up with bad schooling,” she said of her decision.

Unlike Jones, Gilbert started out on campus in Harper Hall. But after Thanksgiving break she moved to the GLC because the elevator broke so many times in Harper, leaving her unable to reach her third-floor room.

Having handicap rooms on floors other than the first “didn’t make any sense,” she said. When this would happen, she would try to call Hudson or the SSD office, but sometimes no one would answer. She would have to call the Virginia Tech Police Department, which would have to go up to her room to grab her books for the next class.

“It was kind of a pain in the butt,” she said. She will live in the GLC

with a friend next year, and she plans to move off campus the year after.

Now, Gilbert says she has a good relationship with SSD and has been able to get her classes changed when needed. As someone who came to Tech as a prospective student with a disability, Gilbert is happy with her decision to come to Tech.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said BEYOND THE WHEELCHAIR In the 2008-09 school year there were 546 students with documented disabilities within the SSD office, and Angle says there are many more on campus who either don’t go to SSD for special accommodations or who have undiagnosed disabilities.

The most common disability is a learning disability — 245 students were documented with a learning disability in the 2008-09 year. There were 113 students with a documented psychological disability and 91 students with a medical disability, which could include allergies.

In addition, the office worked with 33 students with a temporary disability.

About half of the students with disabilities were not diagnosed until coming to Tech. Angle said between 45-53 percent of students with a documented disability were either referred — usually by a professor — or came in with questions and were eventually diagnosed. The SSD office handled 338 referrals in the 2008-09 year.

A reason for so many referrals is the difference between high school and college when it comes to workload and independence level.

“Parents had been their guide,” Angle said of high school students.

“That’s where it starts to fall apart in college.”

Patricia Amateis has referred many students to SSD in the 26 years she’s been a chemistry professor at Tech.

She says sometimes students who have problems taking tests don’t think of the possibility that they have a learning disability.

“It never crossed their mind,” she said. “Then they realize, ‘Wow, maybe this could help.”

CREATING A MORE ACCESSIBLE UNIVERSITY For all the students that come to Tech already with a disability or are referred, there are eight full-time staff and four wageworkers at SSD. “There’s a lot to be done,” Angle said.

The ADA executive committee, comprised of administrators, professional staff and faculty, plans to draft up a “refined mission statement,” over the summer, according to Ferraro, a member of the committee.

With the university-wide budget cuts, he said accessibility priorities are about being frugal.

Angle said that her office has developed its own missions in the 16 years she’s been at Tech that now include creating awareness in addition to the accommodations.

“We are evolving,” she said.

Read tomorrow’s installment about access renovations on campus.

features 3

editor: topher forhecz featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com / 540.231.9865

may 4, 2010

COLLEGIATETIMES

Local restaurant and brewery Minus the Bear combines sensual features Tech student’s own beer lyrics, experimental sounds on OMNI T

COURTESY OF THE RIVER COMPANY

The River Company Restaurant and Brewery features a new beer recipe from a local contest winner.

ERIC ENGLAND, TECH GRAD STUDENT, HAS ALE FEATURED AT THE RIVER COMPANY IN RADFORD ANDREW REILY features staff writer During a recent visit to the River Company restaurant and brewery in Radford, Virginia Tech graduate student Eric England was greeted by a familiar sight on the menu. Alongside the usual beer offerings was Belgian Blonde Ale — his very own creation.

Seeing his own beer for sale was a unique thrill for the animal science doctoral student and home brewing aficionado. “(It was) a little bit surreal,” he said, “it was a pretty neat experience.”

The Blonde Ale’s selection as the River Company’s seasonal recipe marks a milestone in England’s relatively brief brewing career. After only two-and-a-half years since beginning the hobby while studying at Purdue University, he now has a professionally produced beer to his name.

England enjoys casual brewing but never expected such quick success.

He let out a hearty laugh when asked if the ale was his first distributed beer.

“Yes, it definitely is. It was a little surprising to be selected,” England said.

The beer’s journey from England’s home workshop to the restaurant menu began with his membership in the New River Valley Brewer’s Guild, a local beer enthusiast group.

Joshua Colt Gambrel, Tech philosophy instructor and fellow group member, said the group provides local beer lovers with an outlet for their passion. “(It’s) all beer lovers, lots of fun to hang out with,” he said. “I mean you can imagine, our meetings are all about beer, we just go and hang out and talk about beer.”

In addition to providing a forum for home-brewers looking to improve

their craft, the Guild promotes brewing competitions in the area. England’s first big success was at one of these contests: the Blacksburg Brew Do, held in October 2009.

England submitted his newest European-inspired recipe to the event, billed as the area’s first ever craft beer competition. His yeast-based Blonde Ale was rated highly and won first place in its category as well as third overall.

Good fortune continued for England. In attendance at the contest was Mike Pensinger, chief brewer at the River Company.

“I felt that the beer itself was outstanding,” Pensinger said. He contacted England the same day and offered him professional distribution.

For Pensinger, a burly ex-Navy veteran who turned down a six-figure network security salary for the chance to brew as a career, the move was a nobrainer.

“It had the right marriage stylistically, and honestly it’s a way for us to connect out to the home brewing community, and therefore the rest of the community,” he said.

Pensinger told England that when the restaurant started running out of the seasonal beer at the time, the Apple Brown Ale, he would begin production of the Blonde Ale batches. Several months later, England was summoned to Pensinger’s self-described “office” to see the brewing process.

“Not only did they take the recipe, but they let me come in and see the process on a more commercial scale,” England said. “He really let me be involved with the entire process — it wasn’t just a watching thing.”

In April, two months after a Saturday of boiling, weighing and mashing, the Blonde Ale was introduced as the

HOST FAMILIES NEEDED Generous remuneration per student. students arriving to study at the VT Language and Culture Institute.

Homes should be near public transit For info call 540-552-1149 or email: maryann@blacksburghomestay.com

River Company’s featured spring beer.

When England finally made it to the restaurant a few weeks ago to try it, his verdict on Pensinger’s adaptation of his recipe was positive.

“It’s pretty good,” he said, adding that the changes Pensinger made for scaling and ingredient purposes didn’t impact the fundamental appeal of the ale’s light on hops, yeast-based taste.

“There are very few specialty grains,” England said, when asked to describe the ale’s distinctive recipe. “It really is a yeast driven beer, and they produce a lot of flavor compounds that make it unique.”

Pensinger reported strong sales of the ale during its first few weeks available. He said that when the initial batch of five barrels (155 gallons) is sold, he will evaluate the beer’s performance in regards to a future return to the menu.

In the meantime, he is excited about the next seasonal beer, his own Peach Apricot Blonde, and more upcoming opportunities to reach out to the local brewing community.

“We like to participate in the local beer festivals,” he said. “I’m a big fan of orienting ourselves so that people go, ‘Oh yeah, the River Company. They had this guy coming out. They do things with the community.’”

England has already brewed another keg of Belgian and is also working on stout and wheat beers. He remains active in the Brewer’s Guild and plans on entering the Brew Do again this fall with a new recipe.

He’s grateful to Pensinger and the restaurant for helping him take his hobby to the next level, and he encourages people to give the Belgian Blonde Ale a chance.

“Go try it and support the River Company. They make some really good beers,” England said. “If you don’t like it, it’s OK — they make a lot of other options that are just fantastic.”

he five members sit together on a sofa, all wearing white shirts and white pants. Each person holds a flower to his face, which inevitably conceals part of his identity.

Today, Minus the Bear releases its fourth full-length album, “OMNI,” through Dangerbird Records, a label that includes artists such as Hot Hot Heat and Silversun Pickups.

The effort, like the photograph’s wardrobe suggests, smoothly fuses individual contributions into a singular, crisp entity. The vibrancy of the different flower colors, however, curbs any notion that all-white translates as monotony. “OMNI” certainly has personality and a rather suggestive one at that.

What hides behind the petals is a risque exploration of sexuality. Lead singer and guitarist Jake Snider crafted every track with lyrics that have intimate implications.

This sensual aura isn’t unfamiliar to Minus the Bear. Its three prior full-length releases, all through Suicide Squeeze Records, featured songs drenched in romance. And really, drenched in water. Snider seems to have quite the affinity for liquid when it comes to narrating love — or more accurately, lust.

At the edge of a lake in “Secret Country,” Snider sings, “There’s water on the concrete, rivulets on your face, and you release me from your kiss, and do a dance for me in the rain.”

“Secret Country” is the most aggressive track on “OMNI,” with lead guitarist Dave Knudson dictating each line of verse with picks at his axe that emit coarse grunts.

The song’s final minute is a dense sound cloud that complements an impassioned Snider shouting, “We forget where we are.” He has confidence in his ability to make his partner(s) swoon, a skill that he declares outright on the album opener “My Time.”

Drummer Erin Tate introduces “My Time” with a simple beat that becomes highly distorted before Knudson and keyboardist

you might also like

Minus the Bear

“Blue Sky Noise” by Circa Survive Coincidentally, lead singer Anthony Green’s voice is as high as the sky. If that doesn’t deter you, Green shares eloquent and honest lyrics atop vigorous instrumentation.

“A Forest of Polarity” by Rooftops This four-piece instrumental band from Washington State crafted a dizzying first release. They frolic on guitar necks with urgency that can also calm to a lullaby.

“You Can’t Take It with You” by As Tall As Lions These guys impressed at Tech’s own Soundfest in 2008. The band’s latest album feels somber, but tracks like “In Case of Rapture” have an imploring energy.

Alex Rose jump in with a peppy back-and-forth of guitar and synthesizer.

Snider doesn’t veil his intentions as he sings, “Turn off the lights, and touch me in the dark, fade into the feeling.”

He’s such a supposed stud that he claims, “I got your nights, I got your days, I got you on my time.”

While the theme of “OMNI” shouldn’t surprise Minus the Bear fans, the album isn’t as musically eccentric as 2002’s “Highly Refined Pirates.” Songs such as “Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse” had structures as wandering as their titles. Even 2007’s “Planet of Ice,” an intriguing shift in the Minus the Bear discography, can be noted for its odd — but great — quirks.

With no shortage of hooks and catchy choruses, “OMNI” is the band’s most accessible composition to date. “Excuses” prances with light feet as Knudson plucks soft ambience and Tate taps his cymbals with care. Knudson’s progressive guitar tapping and whirlwind pedal work aren’t as prominent, while the myriad tones of Rose’s keys, on the other hand, have a more defined

Album: OMNI Bottom Line: The sultry lyrics and upbeat instrumentation make for a frisky fourth album.

face.

But Minus the Bear’s inclination to experiment is infused in “OMNI,” just not in the let’s-makeeverything-sound-crazy way some might desire. “The Thief” rides an undulating pace and maintains a funky twang throughout. “Animal Backwards” takes the preceding song, “Into the Mirror,” and reverses its instrumental audio. The two come together and create a new layer over which Snider sings, “She is a wolf looking through my window.”

There is something irresistible about this unnamed woman’s “green eyed glow.”

Maybe Snider had her “on his time.”

Regardless, “OMNI” is deserving of your time. For returners, it could take a few extra spins to bloom. Rest assured: Minus the Bear knows its flowers.

RYAN ARNOLD -features reporter -senior -communication major

4 news

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

may 4, 2010 may 4, 2010

[

nation & world headlines

]

COLLEGIATETIMES

Corps of cadets conducts pass in review

by paul richter and julian e. barnes, mcclatchy newspapers

CORRECTION -In “Popular class granted ‘signature’ resources,” (CT, April 29), the physics department at Virginia Tech is still under consideration for additional resources, which is contrary to what the headline suggested.

The Collegiate Times regrets this error.

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

]

Ahmadinejad, Clinton clash over Iran’s nuclear enrichment plans

US discloses size of nuclear arsenal UNITED NATIONS — The Obama administration disclosed the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal for the first time Monday, issuing a set of figures that has remained an official government secret since the Manhattan Project during World War II. The administration said the stockpile consists of 5,113 active and inactive warheads, down from a high of 31,255 in 1967, in the years after the Cuban missile crisis.

Although no U.S. administration had ever revealed the current size of its weapons stockpile, the number came as little surprise.

Most experts had made estimates close to the actual figures. The Federation of American Scientists, which advocates arms control, for instance, had estimated the inventory at 5,100.

However, administration officials and advocates who supported the public release of the information said the figures would help demonstrate a U.S. commitment to openness about its arms program and prod other countries, especially China, to do likewise.

[

nation & world headlines

Parents and spectators observe the corps of cadets pass in review on the Drillfield on Saturday, May 1. The event and parade honored the class of 2010 as its members became alumni of the corps, as well as leaders from the class of 2011. photo by mark umansky

Housing: Cost savings enable idea from page one

would have needed an extra $1 million, but the architect in charge of the project, Gary Mason, had not used the entire allotted budget. Because no extra money was needed, the idea was introduced and approved quickly.

Shushok proposed the switch to a residential college format in November. By January, Papillon said, the decision to go with that model was made final.

“The original plan was to have a spa and tanning facility. (Shushok’s) reaction was, ‘What?’” Papillon said. “(We decided to) rip that (salon) out and make that faculty offices.”

East AJ, which will open in 2011, will be open only to honors students.

West AJ, set to open in 2012, will be open for any student, not just those in the honors program.

Papillon said he hopes to give honors students more opportunities to live together in residential communities. There are currently two honors communities, one in Main Campbell Hall and the other in Hillcrest Hall.

“We have about 1,700 honors students in the university, but only 200 honors beds,” Papillon said. “It’s a small group.”

He said only 55 of the more than 5,000 new freshmen this year were admitted to live in one of the honors residential communities.

Papillon said he supports the idea of residential colleges and would like to see more put in as the university renovates residence halls.

“My goal is to have East and West AJ be so successful then I can convince the university to retrofit Hillcrest and turn all the dorms into residential colleges,” he said. “My goal in life is

for the university to recognize the value and have all residential situations be residential colleges.”

Papillon said he thought it would take between 40 and 50 years to retrofit all of the dorms into residential colleges.

“I wish we had done that to New Hall West,” he said.

Papillon said he hopes to give honors students across years and majors larger opportunities to work together and mentor one another with the opening of East AJ as an honors residential community. He said students with the ability to live in the residential college model would only reap more benefits from the honors residential community, as they would be able to interact with faculty more often.

“We want to foster discussion and debate,” he said. “We want students who want to be part of a community

and be outstanding.”

He also said he hoped the opening of West AJ to all students across the university would work in the same fashion.

“I wouldn’t have agreed if there wasn’t going to be an option for all students,” Papillon said. “But it was possible for honors to model it.”

Papillon said a committee composed of students and staff from current honors residential communities would help craft programs and screen applicants for East AJ to ensure the program worked the way it is intended.

“The important thing for all of us to keep in mind is you create a residential college because you want students to have a better social and intellectual experience,” he said. “We want coursework, community and conversations to make something special.”

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday demanded strong U.N. sanctions against Iran for defying demands to halt its enrichment of uranium after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted there was no “credible proof” his regime is seeking nuclear weapons.

The public clash over the aims of Iran’s nuclear program dominated the opening day of a major U.N. review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the 40year-old pact underpinning the global system to curb the spread of nuclear arms.

U.S., French and British diplomats walked out of the U.N. General Assembly during Ahmadinejad’s morning address, in which he charged all the major nuclear powers were seeking to deny access to nuclear power in the name of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

“It is crystal clear that the hegemonic policy has failed, and the dreams for establishing new empires are vain hopes,” he said.

Clinton accused Ahmadinejad of offering “the same tired, false, and sometimes wild accusations against the U.S. and other parties at this conference” in an effort “to divert attention away from its own record and to attempt to evade accountability.”

“Iran will not succeed in its efforts to divert and divide,” Clinton said. “The treaty is weakened when a state flouts the rules and develops illicit nuclear weapons capabilities.” by jonathan s. landay, mcclatchy newspapers

opınıons 5

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

may 4, 2010

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

Human have advantages but are not perfect H

umans are cocky, plain and simple. We think we are better and smarter than every other organism on this planet. From a human perspective, we are all that and more.

We have navigated the four corners of the earth, inhabited every continent, and explored and left our mark everywhere — from the ocean’s bottom to outer space.

“Survival of the fittest” is the most common phrase for the justification of human egocentrism. Being raised a vegetarian and studying Buddhist philosophy during my teenage years, I never felt this was true. Sometimes, in the midst of discussion, a friend of mine may reference the stupidity of other animals (an example being chickens and turkeys hold their beaks up to the sky in the rain and drown — which is horribly untrue, I might add). A friend might also claim how these animals essentially deserve to be eaten or out-competed by the human race.

The truth, however, is that evolution has resulted in each and every organism having specific character-

istics that help it survive. Perfect? No. Adequate? You bet.

What is it about the human race that makes us special? The one thing we have going for us is our extreme cephalization, or brains, that allow us to solve problems, use tools and so on. It was only a matter of time before an organism like us came along.

However, there are other organisms that do have large brains, such as parrots and octopi. Humans as a whole are not that strong and cannot outrun many predators — in this day and age, we would probably not survive in the wild.

Take a look at organisms containing chloroplasts — they can, leaving the details out, convert sunlight into a useable form of energy for their cells and basic functions.

Other organisms, such as some bacteria, can form endospores that let them withstand extremely high temperatures and chemical penetration and avoid drying out, lasting up to 11 years at a time. Humans cannot do this, because the situation never called for it. At the risk of sounding cheesy,

staying in Blacksburg this summer? write for opinions and get published.

everyone and everything is special in its own way — these “special” characteristics simply arose via evolution if the situation warranted it.

I am not trying to bash humans in any way — I simply think we need an ego check. It is at times like these where I think of the lottery and gambling.

Brought to my attention by Terry Burnham and Jay Phelan in their book “Mean Genes,” the California State Lottery consists of picking six numbers, any combination, between one and 51, and having these numbers match up to the numbers randomly drawn. Most lotteries and gambles have awful odds, yet humans do not realize it statistically — studies show that humans oftentimes overestimate odds by more than 1,000 percent.

Perhaps this is the reason that more than $50 billion a year are lost on gambling, and perhaps it is also the reason you did not realize that the odds of winning the California lottery are one in 18 million.

Burnham and Phelan praise the sta-

Iceland’s favor to the world, environment N

ow that the leader boards in European airports are again listing flights that are on time, and stranded travelers are finding their way, perhaps we might pause to say thanks to the volcano that blew its stack in Iceland.

When Eyjafjallajokull erupted on April 14, the diminutive but destructive Icelandic corker did us an unheralded favor.

Believe it or not, all that ash swirling into the upper atmosphere was actually a minor boon to the war on global warming.

About 11,000 European and international flights a day were canceled, and grounded aircraft don’t pollute.

With air travel over much of the continent slashed by 60 percent, carbon-dioxide emissions from aviation fell by about 200,000 tons a day, according to data from the independent British research group RDC Aviation.

Because the volcano is estimated to be issuing 150,000 tons of carbondioxide daily, Europe temporarily lowered its carbon footprint by about 50,000 tons a day.

The reduction is a mere hiccup, of course.

The savings is a little more than Luxembourg’s and a little bit less than Estonia’s daily output of heat-trapping gases.

In the course of a year, the change will be almost imperceptible since, as the United Nations reports, humans produce about 73 million metric tons of carbon a day.

With aviation emissions estimated at about 2 percent of the worldwide total, unless Eyjafjallajokull does what it did the last time it erupted — belching the Earth’s gaseous juices for more than a year, from December 1821 to January 1823 — then the halt won’t amount to much.

But what the present storm cloud over Europe demonstrates is our growing dependence on a form of travel that, if unchecked, will swamp many of the reductions made elsewhere in the battle to combat global warming.

The fact is, despite the falloff in passengers after 9/11, airplanes are the fastest-growing source of man-made

greenhouse gases, according to a 2006 report by the European Federation for Transport and Environment.

While aircraft fuel efficiency is predicted to improve by 1 percent to 2 percent a year, annual air traffic is predicted to climb by 5 percent every year, pushing carbon-dioxide emissions up.

Cars still cough out far more greenhouse gases than aircraft, but according to the Aviation Environment Federation in Britain, flight emissions are growing six times as fast as tailpipe emissions.

What’s more, burning jet fuel at altitude has double the damaging effect. The AEF estimates that if the current growth rates in air travel continue, when added to the greater harm carbon dioxide does in the clouds, “aviation’s impacts will exceed road traffic’s in under 20 years.”

There are not many ways, at least in the near term, that airplanes can become more fuel efficient or that high-octane kerosene can be replaced by more environmentally friendly fuels.

For example, one alternative fuel, biobutanol, which can be processed from sugar beets or straw or soybeans, would require farmland the size of Florida to produce just 15 percent of the industry’s needs.

The most efficient way to slash these carbon emissions is to build high-speed electric trains, because they emit anywhere between a tenth and a quarter of aircraft greenhouse gases.

We all know how feeble passenger trains are in the United States, and the climate change bill now wallowing in the Senate will do little to lay bullet train tracks, let alone mandate airlines to dramatically conserve.

So perhaps our hope for the near term should be that Katla, one of Iceland’s “Angry Sisters,” will blow its restless top.

If that happens, perhaps airports as far away as Los Angeles will have leader boards flashing “Delayed” for every flight.

GREG GOLDIN -mcclatchy newspapers

ism, including humans. Humans are by no means the winners of the evolutionary race — we are no “Darwinian Demons.”

This is just an opinion of mine.

People will disagree with me, saying that humans were made in the image and likeness of God, and so be it. I acknowledge that if I deny evolution and take a creationist standpoint, my argument would suddenly crumble.

However, if you do take an evolutionist standpoint, it stands that there are no such things as higher organisms. There are simply more and less complex organisms, made adequate enough to survive in their environment. Humans have no right to hold their noses up high — if we do, we just might drown in the rain.

JOSH TREBACH -regular columnist -junior -biology major

War is still not the answer, even with a new president I

send an e-mail to opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com.

tistical prowess of the woodpecker.

Woodpeckers have to take their luck and guess which tree contains their next meal. However, how do they know if the tree they’re pecking on is completely empty, or if they are simply looking in a bad spot? Complex mathematics shows that in a tree with 26 holes, woodpeckers should leave after encountering six empty holes — and studies show that woodpeckers do just this. We can call woodpeckers and other organisms stupid all we want, but we will still lose to them in a game of Texas Hold ’em, no matter how good our poker face is.

In my evolutionary biology class, we learned about one of the most flawless organisms ever. This organism, nicknamed the “Darwinian Demon,” essentially maximizes all aspects of fitness, with an extremely high reproductive rate after birth, high-quality offspring and an indefinite life span.

The only catch is that this organism is purely hypothetical — it cannot exist because of the tradeoffs and constraints of life. If it were to exist, it would out-compete all other organ-

t’s been a while since I have written about the war. It’s actually been a while since I’ve heard very much about the war at all. However, rest assured that the undeclared “police action” the United States government is conducting against the people of the Middle East is still raging, and there is absolutely no definitive timeframe of when it will actually end.

A recent series of discussion with my so-called “liberal” friends has led me to believe that many Americans don’t really care if it ends. My other acquaintances involved with Tea Party factions indicate that Tea Party groups are relatively silent on ending the war.

Perhaps in some respects me writing another column on the war is beating a dead horse. However, with a topic of such importance, it seems appropriate to make sure the Collegiate Times opinions page contains a column on the war every once in a while.

After all, it has always been the nation’s college-aged youth that have been the main force behind anti-war movements, including those dismal wars started by the Bush administration.

I’d like to remind all of the people reading this column that those very same wars continue. Simply because the supreme commander of the military is now a different politician does not mean that the wars aren’t still raging for the same reasons of profit and the expansion of American state influence.

It is my contention that there is a general feeling among those who are Democratically aligned that the new leader is a bit of an altruist, and thus the wars are now being conducted for reasons of justice and American safety.

It’s very hard to argue against this mindset considering that President Barack Obama was granted the onceimportant Nobel Peace Prize. I’d like to be very clear that the prize was given to a man who some could declare the world’s most vicious warmonger.

It seemed common to hear President George W. Bush being rightfully called a murderer and a tyrant during his reign as “war chief.” One of my favorite works of art was “War President,” a mosaic of George W. Bush made up of the photos of deceased soldiers serving in the Middle East. The work was created by Joe Wezorek, a software programmer and self-proclaimed leftist.

“War President” was a bold example of a cultural trend leaning toward an understanding that murders conducted by the state are little different than those conducted by any other human being. The work received worldwide media coverage, with a mix of positive and negative reactions.

Joe Wezorek seemed to understand that actual lives were being used by the state to conduct a game of warfare. All of this is done under the false guise of heroism, and service to one’s country.

Where has this vicious dissent

“

I value a right to life for all people, and real lives are being lost to bullets and bombs on a daily basis. I value all human life, not just the lives of Americans.

gone?

There was once a certain safety in declaring the horrible actions of the United States government as being murderous. Despite the actions themselves never changing, declaring Obama and the United States government as being aggressively violent has become a taboo.

I want the anti-war movement back; I want creative artists and college students to fearlessly protest elected officials for carelessly destroying lives. It is my greatest wish to have a movement that dissents against the Obama administration with the same fervor as those who opposed the awful Bush administration.

I feel now I must once again mention the Tea Party patriots: Much like the now defunct anti-war movement of the left, the Tea Party movement has moved partisan, forgetting that Republican leaders are just as evil as the Progressives it so adamantly opposes. The Tea Party groups are relatively silent on the war and appear to embrace nationalism. This type of collectivist unity only pollutes rational minds by falsely declaring a sense of American identity.

It’s absolutely pathetic. If there is one thing that breeds wars — if there is one commonality all war nations have — it’s that the culture in those countries imposes a strong sense of nationalism. Like it or not, blind pride in one’s country amounts to little more than a declaration of superiority of that nation to all others. This is absolutely nationalism at its most disgusting.

Let it also be noted that loving America simply because you are an American citizen is blind pride in one’s country. Waving American flags, national anthems, and sense of collectivist unity to the United States is accurately equated to love for your favorite sports team. The mindset is really no different, except the former is seen as very important by an objective standard that I fail to comprehend.

If there is one thing the government loves, it’s for the citizens of this country to feel a sense of nationalistic pride. This keeps the minds of citizens numb to any evils a state wishes to conduct. The best thing any of us can do is remain loyal to ourselves as individual people, while ignoring the pressures to feel this false sense of a commonality by birthright.

Some would now argue that it is the values of this country that allow for me to write a column like this today.

Some will even fallaciously argue that my right to freedom of expression is granted by soldiers dying in combat.

I will remind all of these people that rights are naturally inherent, and have absolutely nothing to do with imaginary lines drawn on maps. It actually states this fact in the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States of America.

Soldiers and wars are used by those in power to meet their goals. An assumption that somehow warfare has freed people from tyranny can be refuted by countless examples of war being used as a mechanism for oppression, and that includes the wars being conducted presently.

Despite how I deeply deplore violence, there is little doubt in my mind that some nationalistic types believe I would be aligned with the “enemy” because of my unsupportive stance towards patriotism and the aggressive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s very sad that I live in a nation where lines have been drawn in the sand, and it has become a requirement to support flags, soldiers and the American dream.

I love American culture very much.

The United States produces some of the world’s most amazing art, and there is present a freedom of expression in media unlike any other nation in the world. I also do not believe for a second I owe thanks to the American legal system for any of these positive cultural attributes. Rights are something that should be granted to all individual people, not simply Americans.

I’d like to be very clear that I do not love my country. I will argue that under no circumstance is it ever healthy for any person to love his nation. Loving the culture of your nation should never be confused with nationalistic identity. Where you live should not define your values or what you believe in.

I value a right to life for all people, and real lives are being lost to bullets and bombs on a daily basis. I value all human life, not just the lives of Americans. I am not one to believe that the life of an American is more valuable than that of an Afghani simply because of my shared proximity.

I feel a sense of sadness when any individual life is lost in this corporatist war-game.

We need to put an end to this game immediately.

Waving flags, the Pledges of Allegiance, patriotism, soldier worship — it all serves to prolong American imperialism. This war could end tomorrow, but Obama and the United States government refuse to withdraw. As individual people, we need to stand up and fight to end the violence, without fear of being labeled a terrorist.

CHAD VAN ALSTIN -regular columnist -senior -communication major

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may 4, 2010

Baseball team earns series sweep over Boston College RAY NIMMO sports reporter There was little doubt at English Field this weekend as the No. 18 Virginia Tech baseball team swept Boston College with relative ease.

The Hokies only trailed for onehalf inning in the three games combined.

Tech (32-14, 14-10 Atlantic Coast Conference) earned its first ACC sweep of the season over the Eagles (24-20, 12-12 ACC) by 9-4, 3-1 and 10-5 margins. “(The sweep) creates more space for us in the league,” said head coach Pete Hughes. “When you talk about at-large bids and hosting regionals, every win is critical, and it’s one step closer to Omaha. So everything is important.”

The last victory brought the Hokies’ home record to 20-5 and showed that the Hokies had no hangover after facing a slew of top10 teams.

Redshirt senior center fielder Sean Ryan led the way offensively, going 7-for-13 with two runs batted in over the three games.

“I played really good this weekend,” Ryan said. “I didn’t play that well against Georgia Tech last weekend, so I really worked mid-week on my swing and my approach, and it paid off this weekend. I was being over-anxious against Georgia Tech by swinging at pitches that were out of the zone. This week I had to make sure I was staying aggressive and swinging at strikes.”

The three starting pitchers for Tech, junior Justin Wright, sophomore Mathew Price and freshman Joe Mantiply, held the Eagles just enough for the offense to propel the team to victory.

In game one, Wright (5-3) tossed six and one-third innings, allowing just five hits and striking out nine.

“I’ll tell you a guy who doesn’t get enough credit — Justin Wright,” Hughes said. “I think we got a lot of guys in our program who get a lot of attention — and rightfully so — but Justin is in the background a little bit. He’s our Friday night guy, and he’s given us great outing after great outing.”

In game two, Price (6-3) threw a complete game while striking out nine and allowing one run.

“Matt Price threw a gem yesterday,” said redshirt senior catcher Steve Domecus, “one of the best games he’s ever thrown in his life.”

JACK HOWELL/SPPS

Junior right fielder Austin Wates looks to connect on a pitch low in the strike zone during the Hokies’ 9-4 victory over Boston College on Friday afternoon at English Field.

Mantiply (3-1) struck out five and allowed four runs on five hits in game three.

With the pitchers suffocating the Eagles’ hitters, the Hokies capitalized on opportunities and held onto leads.

Anytime Boston College scored, the Hokies responded with runs of their own. After falling behind for the first time in game three, Tech rallied by scoring four runs and regaining the lead.

The key for the offense was twoout hitting as Tech notched 13 twoout RBIs “That’s just ridiculous,” Domecus said. “We’re a good two-out team.

Coach always says no one’s better than us with two outs.”

Each game featured a 1-1 tie at some point, but Tech always pulled

away.

The first game of the series saw Ryan and sophomore third baseman Ronnie Shaban pummel the Eagles’ pitching staff by going a combined 6-for-9.

It was complete domination until the Eagles broke through for three runs in the top of the ninth inning, but the Hokies won 9-4.

For game two, Boston College sent out then-undefeated pitcher Pat Dean to tie the series. However, Tech was able to tack three runs on him.

Two of the runs came off the bat of redshirt freshman Andrew Rash, who has been seeing increased playing time.

Those runs would be all Price needed to lock the game down as Tech won, 3-1.

“I’m most proud of these role

players who don’t always get to play every day,” Hughes said. “Like Andrew Rash, Brent Zimmerman and Matt Blow. They’re always ready to play and they’re never moping around. They’re always practicing and preparing and getting ready for the opportunity to play.”

Tech’s normal Sunday starter, Jesse Hahn, did not pitch because of general soreness in his forearm, so Mantiply was called upon for a replacement.

Mantiply held the Boston College batters to one run until springing a leak in the sixth when he allowed three.

After seeing its lead evaporate for the first time all series, Tech exploded for seven runs in the next three innings. Ryan and redshirt sophomore left fielder Buddy Sosnoskie

paced the Hokies by going 7-for-9, amassing three RBIs and scoring three runs.

Tech held on for a 10-5 victory.

The Hokies continue to pile up ACC series wins. With every conference victory, Tech sets a new record for wins. Last year the Hokies set a record with 12 ACC wins, and that statistic currently sits at 14 wins.

Any doubt about the Hokies’ potential and play should be gone.

Baseball America has moved the Hokies up in the top-25 rankings over the last few weeks, and after the sweep of Boston College, Tech is now No. 16 — two spots up from last week.

“We’re not going to get overconfident,” Ryan said, “but at the same time we got to stay confident, believe in ourselves and believe that we can

beat all these teams. If we can play our game, we’re going to be pretty successful in the ACC.” Tech has a week off from ACC play, but it will play Davidson on Tuesday and Savannah State on Saturday and Sunday. Hughes decided to schedule games during exam week so the team wouldn’t lose momentum.

“This weekend you always worry about finals and everything else,” Hughes said. “We got Savannah State in there Saturday night and Sunday. I always worry about this weekend, but it’s important for us to play this weekend and not sit idle so we can play good the next weekend.

You can’t sit for 10 days and expect to get hits in the ACC.” First pitch against Davidson is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at English Field.

Hokies’ matchup against Boise State comes at inopportune point in the season A

BRIAN CLAY/SPPS

Receiver Dyrell Roberts carries the ball during the Spring Game.

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fter concluding the 2009 season by defeating Tennessee 37-14 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Virginia Tech will open the 2010 regular season on the largest of stages.

Tech will kick off its season against championship contender Boise State on Labor Day, Sept. 6, in what will certainly be a matchup between two teams in the preseason top-10.

The game will be ESPN’s kickoff coverage of college football and will take place at FedEx Field — home of the Washington Redskins.

Originally scheduled for Oct. 2, the game was moved up to Labor Day weekend in an attempt to generate immediate buzz about college football and get fans excited about the upcoming season.

However, facing elite competition right out of the gate might not be the best thing for a Tech team that has had a tendency to struggle in the beginning of the season.

Since 2004, Tech has started its schedule by playing a Football Bowl Subdivision school five times, compiling a mediocre 2-3 record to show for it.

While two of those losses were to teams that would go on to win the national championship, University of Southern California in 2004 and Alabama in 2009, there was an embarrassing home loss to East Carolina in 2008.

The two wins, both of which were unimpressive, came against North Carolina State in 2005 by a tune of 2016, and East Carolina in 2007, 17-7.

More importantly, the Hokies have a tendency to struggle with offense early on, averaging just 19 points per game in these contests.

Last season was a perfect example of the early-season issues on offense.

While some of the struggles can be credited to Alabama’s impressive defense, the Hokie offense was very anemic. Tech could only muster 155 total yards the entire night and was forced to punt eight times.

In contrast, the Hokies finished the season with an average of 208 yards a game on the ground alone.

While Tech has never been known for dominating teams with offense, it could start changing in 2010 with the seemingly limitless weapons it brings back.

A backfield with redshirt sophomore Ryan Williams and healthy redshirt junior Darren Evans could bring the most potent running attack Tech has ever seen. Combining that with dynamic senior Tyrod Taylor and receivers Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale, head coach Frank Beamer might have an offense that gives any defense fits.

However, involving all of the weapons in one system could take time.

The Hokies’ first opponent, Boise State, is returning 21 starters from last year’s

undefeated season. Come September, the Broncos will likely already be in sync and ready to start a run at the Bowl Championship Series title.

If the game were played in October, offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring would have ample time to work out any kinks in the system during the first few games.

Now he will be forced to make those adjustments while playing some of the toughest competition in the country.

Typically, programs schedule big games against out-of-conference opponents to improve BCS ratings, but in Tech’s case, it has shown to be just the opposite.

In 2007, the Hokies epitomized this, falling one spot away from the title game because of a week two loss to LSU, the eventual national champion.

So early in the season, the Hokies were but a shell of the team they came

to be. In fact, it was in that loss to LSU that Hokie Nation was introduced to quarterback Taylor, changing the direction of Tech’s season.

In years where one loss can ruin a shot at a national championship, scheduling a big game to an Alabama or LSU in the opening weeks is an extremely risky move.

While there is no doubt that Beamer will do all he can to get his boys prepared for Boise State, there are just some things that only a tune-up game or two can fix.

NICK CAFFERKY -sports staff writer -freshman -communication major

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may 4, 2010