Friday, September 17, 2010 Print Edition

The Collegiate Times’ comprehensive guide to Virginia Tech football

Friday, September 17, 2010

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THE

EXTRAPOINT

Walking the pla plan nk

LUKE MASON / SPPS

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor scrambled away from defenders during last year’s Nov. 5 game at ECU. The Hokies won 16-3, which triggered a five-game winning streak including a win in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Embattled Hokies desperately seek first win over East Carolina MATT JONES sports staff writer When the East Carolina Pirates roll into Blacksburg on Saturday, they’ll encounter a wounded, battered bunch of Hokies.

Coming off a devastating loss to James Madison, Virginia Tech hopes to rebound against a Pirates team that is off to a fast 2-0 start.

Led by first-year head coach Ruffin McNeill, the Pirates run a fast-paced, high-scoring offense brought over from McNeill’s time at Texas Tech. Coming from Texas Tech with McNeill is top offensive assistant Lincoln Riley, who is only 27 years old.

“I watched him grow from a student to a graduate assistant to a full-time coach,” McNeill said about his first-year offensive coordinator.

“He understands the game, he understands how to relate well to kids. There was no hesitation naming Lincoln as the coordinator then.”

Riley certainly has talented players to plug into the high-flying Air Raid offense. Junior quarterback Dominique Davis, a transfer from Boston College, has taken the reigns of the offense after playing last season at Fort Scott Community College. He originally signed with the Pirates as a mid-year signee in December and remained committed after McNeill’s hire.

“He was the first home that Lincoln (Riley) and I went into my first night out,” McNeill said in reference to Davis.

Davis, at 6 feet, 3 inches and 215 pounds, is a physical specimen. Burdened with the challenge of replacing two-year starter and fanfavorite Patrick Pinkney, he has his work cut out for him. Davis’ second stint in FBS college football got off to a great start in ECU’s opening game against Tulsa, when he connected on a dramatic Hail Mary pass to tight end Jason Jones for the 51-49 win as time expired.

“The kids on the team love (Davis),” McNeill said. “What I’ve really noticed about him is his poise. He’s also a great leader, our kids really gravitate towards him.”

Alongside Davis is senior wide receiver Dwayne Harris, a first-team All-Conference USA selection in 2009.

“Dwayne has taken on some extra roles for me, one of them being a leader,” McNeill said.

“He’s a quiet guy at practice, just goes about his job.”

Harris, who caught 83 balls or 978 yards in 2009, plays the role similar to Michael Crabtree, former Texas Tech standout and current the San Francisco 49ers starter, in ECU’s version of the Air Raid offense. The Hokies secondary will need to key on Harris and the rest of the

ECU receiving corps, making sure they wrap up and eliminate the big play.

“We’re definitely looking forward to the challenge,” said Rashad Carmichael, senior cornerback. “I know they’re pretty good receivers, and the quarterback as well. ECU has a couple playmakers. Last year playing against those guys was fun. We’re not talking any trash, but we’re going to come to play.”

Harris, who was originally a highly recruited option-style quarterback, is also one of the country’s most dynamic return men. He used his speed to take back three kicks for touchdowns last season, when he averaged 27 yards per return. Harris will look to exploit the Hokies kick coverage team, which has allowed 20.4 yards per return already this season.

McNeill, formerly Texas Tech defensive coordinator, brings his defensive schemes with him to Greenville. McNeill admitted he has taken certain aspects of Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s system and added it to past game plans.

“I like what Bud does defensively,” McNeill said. “A year before, we beat Nebraska in overtime, and they really got me. We had to come back and fight and scrap to win the game. They were a big bootleg team and zone read team.

I watched how Bud played it and stole some things he did to play Nebraska. We ended up beating them, in Nebraska. So thank you, Bud.” The Hokies will look to pound the football Saturday, as the Pirates lack the size of a typical defensive front seven. ECU’s defensive linemen average only 241 pounds, a size advantage the Tech offensive line should easily be able to take advantage of. However, in its previous two games the offensive line has had trouble giving running backs room to run.

“I think our effort is there, we give a lot of effort,” said Beau Warren, redshirt senior center. “Just sometimes, we don’t get on the same page. After two losses like this, you got to come together.”

Saturday’s matchup will go beyond the expanses of Lane Stadium. In a press conference Monday afternoon, McNeill explained he is hoping to tap into the fertile recruiting grounds of Virginia’s Hampton Roads area, better known as the “757.”

“There are some really good coaches and athletes in that area,” McNeill. “The biggest thing in recruiting is winning football games. We’re working hard on it. The coaches up there have been very receptive to East Carolina.”

Tech hopes to defend its turf, and state, when the time comes Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN3.com.

Offensive issues need addressing for Hokies to get back on track MICHAEL BEALEY sports editor High expectations this season have quickly subsided for the Virginia Tech football team after a debilitating loss to James Madison Saturday, dropping the team to 0-2 on the season.

At the forefront of the issues is Virginia Tech’s offense, which was supposed to be one of the best in the country. Featuring senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor, former ACC Rookie of the Year winners Ryan Williams and Darren Evans, as well as an experienced wide receiving corps, the Hokies were poised for a high-flying attack rivaling the Michael Vick-led offenses of the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

Instead, the offensive weapons have been shut down by shaky offensive line play and particularly a lack of execution in the red zone. Last season, the Hokies were 52nd in red zone touchdown percentage and through two games this year Tech has spiraled to 96th in that category.

STINESPRING To put that in perspective, Tech has had 10 red zone opportunities this season with just four touchdowns, and three times the Hokies came up empty with no points.

Offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring described the reasons he thought were behind the Hokies’ red zone woes.

“Sometimes (with) this game you’re a halfsecond too fast, sometimes you’re a half-second too slow,” Stinespring said. “Sometimes you needed six more inches of push or whatever it is and it was a combination of all those things.”

Taylor agreed, emphasizing the offense needs to change its mindset when getting close to the goal line.

“I think the main thing is, as far as the offense goes, we’re just not finishing our drives like we should be,” Taylor said. “We sat down and talked as an offense, we need the attitude when we step on the field it needs to be a score every time. That needs to be in our head, every time we step on the field, we need to put points on the board.”

Although the offense has sputtered this season, it shouldn’t be a surprise to Hokie fans who have been accustomed to the defense-first mindset throughout the years. However, criticism for Stinespring has mounted considering

JAMIE CHUNG / SPPS

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor surveys the defense Saturday against James Madison. the expectations heading into this season.

Former Tech wideout David Clowney, who played for Tech from 2003-06, was critical of Stinespring on his Twitter page during the Boise State game.

“If we lose (to Boise State) I’m blaming (Stinespring),” Clowney tweeted. “He hasn’t changed one bit.”

Additionally, the blog “Fire Bryan Stinespring” has continued to offer its opinion on the offense and Stinespring. Nonetheless, Stinespring admits there is some validity to comments saying he needs to improve on simply coaching the players.

“Every game you have good calls, every game you have a bad one you’d like to have back,” Stinespring said. “It’s not any different than anything that you do. I’m not going to go back and sit there and say well we need to overhaul what we’re doing or what we’re calling. Just we need to do better, I need to do a better job of coaching. Put that down, that’s what needs to happen.

“We’re in position to be more successful than we are and you don’t need to point at this guy, that guy, this position. I need to do a better job of coaching them. That’s it, period.”

Evans, whose fumble late in the fourth quarter sealed JMU’s victory, said the team wasn’t expecting the outcomes from the first two games.

“I’m pretty sure everybody had a different view of how this season was going to go for the first two games,” Evans said. “Just the way that the other two teams have played, just hard, we

got to give them credit for that. I wouldn’t say they shocked us, but there were times that we didn’t step up. We made mistakes.”

While Tech is searching for answers on offense, there was concern the Hokies’ play calling was predictable. Tech is 43rd in rushing offense, 83rd in total offense, and 85th in scoring offense. However, the first two games are a far cry from last year’s numbers when the Hokies were 14th in rushing offense, 50th in total offense, and 24th in scoring offense.

There was also discussion that Tech was possibly tipping plays to opponents, however Stinespring denied that claim and asserted the offense brings a variety of different looks.

“There was not really anything we did that tipped off (JMU),” Stinespring said. “There was not anything that was predictable in terms of what we do or how we do it. We’re a multiple offense with a lot of different looks. It’s not anything we shouldn’t have been able to handle, not anything we shouldn’t have been prepared for or could have handled a little bit better.”

Despite the lack of offensive success, Taylor made a point that the team must stick together to get back on track.

“The main thing is just to keep everybody focused and make sure still (there’s) high intensity reps, make sure no one’s dragging around,” Taylor said. “We don’t need no negativity, all the seniors told everybody if you want to quit, just go ahead and quit. Don’t step on the field if you want to be out there slacking, because there’s a lot of football to be played and we have a lot of good plays ahead of us.”

september 17, 2010

WHAT TO EXPECT

tech vs. ecu pirates

page 2

5

RB/#2 Jonathan Williams Rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns for the Pirates thus far

AP Top 25 1. Alabama (52) 2. Ohio State (5) 3. Boise State (1) 4. TCU 5. Oregon 6. Texas (1) 7. Oklahoma 8. Nebraska 9. Iowa 10. Florida 11. Wisconsin 12. Arkansas 13. South Carolina

14. Utah 15. LSU 16. Auburn 17. Miami (FL) 18. USC 19. Stanford 20. Michigan 21. West Virginia 22. Penn State 23. Houston 24. Arizona 25. Oregon State

Virginia Tech

Tech dominates thanks to 222 team rushing yards

Lee Suggs gains 122 rushing yards helping Tech win

Mom wants you to be in the yearbook.

Do it for Mom.

WR/#88 Lance Lewis Caught six balls for 105 yards against Tulsa, has size advantage at 6’3”

East Carolina

183.0

Rushing

164.0

155.0

Passing

317.5

338.0

Total

481.5

Scoring

50.0

Conf 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Conf 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1

Overall 2-0 2-0 2-0 2-0 2-0 1-1 Overall 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-1 0-2 1-1

141.0

Rushing

140.5

168.0

Passing

355.5

Total

309.0

Scoring

27.0

496.0 38.0

special teams 33.75

Net Punting

-1.33 20.4

Punt Returns

-1

45-28

WR/#84 Justin Jones Physical monster at 6’8”, 252 pounds caught game-winning vs.

Tulsa in opener

defense

ACC Standings Atlantic Wake Forest Boston College Clemson Maryland North Carolina State Florida State Coastal Georgia Tech Miami (FL) Virginia North Carolina Virginia Tech Duke

WR/#17 Dwayne Harris Multi-purpose athlete who had 15 total touchdowns during the 2009 season

offense

23.0

the last five ECU-Tech game results 1998 2000 2007 38-3

to Fear

QB/#4 Dominique Davis Former Boston College has thrown for 627 yards and eight touchdowns in just two games

17-7

Hokies’ first game since April 16th tragedy

Kickoff Returns Turnover Margin

2008 22-27

Blocked punt return gives Pirates first win since 1992

41.4 3.5 17.2 +2

2009 16-3

Ryan Williams rushes for 179 yards in victory

september 17, 2010

page 3

Tech fans need to show more consistent support for team T

here is no doubt operations within the Virginia Tech football program need to be a little more than tweaked after Saturday’s loss to James Madison.

Apparently, there are issues in the stands as well.

Where was the fan support come halftime on Saturday?

The transformation of the occupancy of the north endzone section from kickoff to the start of the fourth quarter was reminiscent of accounts of the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the American Civil War. On the morning of the battle, hundreds of socialites, prominent political figures, and reporters, making the short trip from Washington, D.C., to Manassas, Va., lined the battlefield to get a glimpse of what was sure to be a glorious victory for the Union army. It was an event that had been anticipated for months.

Initially, the Union army claimed the advantage on the field but a strong and unexpected counterattack from the Confederates ultimately forced the Yankees to retreat back to Washington.

Upon sight of the carnage inflicted and the panic in the eyes of their boys in blue, reality struck the civilians in attendance, who originally thought they would bear witness to something more along the lines of a sporting event or a play. In turn, they scampered back to their carriages and horses.

All of the Tech students who showed up Saturday thought they were going to erase thoughts of the heartbreaking loss to Boise State and christen the home football season by jumping up and down to “Enter Sandman,” eating a few turkey legs and experiencing the rumble of the cannon, Skipper, as it fired about a dozen times.

Then, James Madison’s quarterback Drew Dudzik connected on a 77-yard touchdown pass to running back Jamal Sullivan in the final minutes of the first half to cut Tech’s lead to three points.

Things started to get a little too real for Hokie fans, who began scurrying for the exits.

The caliber of support shown last Saturday is a testament to how greedy this team’s fanbase has become. The win was never out of reach for the home team, yet Tech fans did not seem to care. They did not want to see if their team could merely escape with a win over an FCS program. The game needed to be a blowout.

CALLIE HYDER / SPPS

Tech fans appear less than pleased during the 21-16 loss to James Madison on Saturday. The Hokies and their fans will look to bounce back against East Carolina this Saturday.

They were given the rare opportunity of watching a competitive football game inside the gates of Lane Stadium in mid-September but decided to pass.

Such is the concept of Hokie football — the expectation of a 9-10 win season does not need to be stated, and I am continually left wondering if anybody on this campus realizes how fortunate this school is to feature a football program that is always competitive and almost always declared the favorite.

It has been taken for granted way too often over the past decade and the loss over the weekend was, needless to say, a rude awakening for most.

But there is little need to fret, as the state of Tech football is not in complete disarray. Jim Weaver, director of athletics, and presumably head coach Frank Beamer decided to schedule

a top FCS program five days after playing a nationally-televised game against the No. 3 team in the country.

It was a gamble that they lost.

Boise State, on the other hand, was off last weekend. Believe it or not, these 20-year-olds into whom we put so much stock and faith are not machines.

During last Wednesday’s afternoon press conference, neither Beamer nor any of the interviewed players seemed to have a clue about the Dukes’ style of play. To say they were pressed for preparation time would be an understatement.

The Hokies are still in the ACC race and, as of Wednesday afternoon, 20point favorites over East Carolina.

You may remember that the Pirates upset the then-No. 17 Hokies two seasons ago in Charlotte. Thankfully, Patrick Pickney, the ECU quarter-

back who completed 19 of his 23 passing attempts for 211 yards that day, is gone.

As is Sean Glennon, who threw two interceptions and no touchdowns that day as Tech’s starting quarterback.

The game opened the season for both teams and was the first for the Hokies since losing Brandon Flowers, Eddie Royal, Xavier Adibi, Vince Hall, Chris Ellis and several others who played important roles on the team to either graduation or early declaration for the NFL draft.

It was also the first game for the Hokies since losing featured tailback Brandon Ore, who was kicked off the team in the spring by Beamer for an undisclosed reason.

In other words, the Hokies spent much of the game trying to find their voice. Kenny Lewis Jr. ended up as the

team’s leading rusher in the contest.

Such will not be the case this Saturday and it’s not simply because Lewis is no longer on the team.

The ECU defense has left something to be desired, especially the Pirates’ pass defense, which is averaging 355.5 yards allowed this season.

The Pirates do feature an explosive offense guided by junior quarterback Dominique Davis, who holds a rating of 156.03 and has thrown for 627 yards and eight touchdowns in games against Tulsa and Memphis.

Remarkably, however, Davis has been outslung by his respective counterpart in each of East Carolina’s contests.

There is no comparison between the Hokies’ defense and those of Tulsa and Memphis. Memphis was blown out by Mississippi State 49-7 this season, and Tulsa allowed 250 passing

yards against a Bowling Green team which featured a freshman quarterback playing in just his second collegiate game. The Pirates are facing a team unlike any other they’ve met this season.

If Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor can come anywhere near replicating his performance against Boise State, the Hokies should finally infiltrate the win column, this time with ease.

Don’t sell your season tickets just yet.

ED LUPIEN -sports reporter -senior communication major

ACC looks to stop the bleeding this weekend with high-profile Saturday matchups COURTNEY LOFGREN sports reporter Following a weekend in which all of the ranked Atlantic Coast Conference teams lost, the conference will look to turn things around. This week will prove to be a challenge as many teams will be playing ranked opponents for the first time this season.

Here’s a breakdown of each game: 7:30 P.M. THURSDAY, CINCINNATI at NORTH CAROLINA STATE, ESPN An intriguing battle between the Bearcats and the Wolfpack kicks off the college football weekend.

If Cincinnati does not pick up a win against NC State, the Bearcats may be facing a 1-3 start, while the Wolfpack would improve to 3-0.

If all goes as planned for Cincinnati, this game will serve as a tune-up to next week’s anticipated match up against Oklahoma.

Cincinnati will be NC State’s last out-of-conference game for a while, so the team hopes to gain momentum going into the ACC portion of its schedule.

Predicted winner: Cincinnati

NOON, GEORGIA TECH at NORTH CAROLINA, ACC NETWORK Last season, Georgia Tech and North Carolina were two of the more successful teams in the ACC. This season, both teams have significantly different rosters for one reason or another.

Georgia Tech ranks second in the nation in rushing offense with 331.5 yards per game. Yet, following its loss to Kansas on Saturday, the Yellow Jackets are unranked for the first time since September 2009.

The most interesting matchup on the field will be between the quarterbacks, the Tar Heels’ T.J.Yates and the Yellow Jackets’ Josh Nesbitt.

Predicted winner: UNC NOON, MARYLAND at No. 21 WEST VIRGINIA, ESPNU In one of the most exciting matchups of the weekend, Maryland will try to slow the momentum of the Mountaineers following their comefrom-behind, overtime win against Marshall.

Both teams are 2-0 headed into the contest in Morgantown, and the Terps will try to snap their three-game losing streak in Morgantown.

So far this season, the Mountaineers have averaged 435.5 yards per game while scoring 27.5 points per game.

Meanwhile, the defense is holding opponents to 10.5 points per game.

Even though it will be a tough fight, and an overall good football game, the Mountaineers will be successful against the Terps.

Predicted winner: WVU 1:30 P.M., EAST CAROLINIA at VIRGINIA TECH, ESPN3.COM The Hokies are still looking for their first win of the season and will get another shot against the East Carolina Pirates.

This is no small feat, as the Hokies have struggled against the Pirates over the past few seasons, including an opening game loss two years ago.

ECU is 2-0 following wins against Tulsa in its season-opening overtime thriller and a commanding 49-27 win over Memphis last week.

It will be interesting to see if the Hokies can finally utilize their running game to earn win No. 1.

Predicted winner: Hokies

3:30 P.M., No. 1 ALABAMA at DUKE, ABC After a high-scoring defeat at the hands of Wake Forest, the Blue Devils will have their hands full against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

With a 1-1 record, Duke will have a tall task containing the defending national champions’ prolific offense, led by quarterback Greg McElroy, wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram. Ingram is last year’s Heisman winner and will be making his season debut following offseason knee surgery.

Alabama already has 1,000 yards of total offense on the season, while the Duke defense has given up 81 points to its opponents.

This could be a long day for the Blue Devils.

Predicted winner: Alabama 3:30 P.M., BYU at FLORIDA STATE, ESPNU Following Saturday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma, Florida State will look to rebound against Brigham Young.

FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher saw his defense give up 487 total yards

of offense to the Sooners. Although BYU’s offense is not nearly as complex as Oklahoma’s, FSU will still have its hands full.

The Seminoles will be facing a duo of quarterbacks in junior Riley Nelson and freshman Jake Heaps.

Nelson and Heaps will be playing alternating series in a more situational offense.

Predicted winner: FSU 7 P.M., CLEMSON at No. 16 AUBURN, ESPN Thanks to a cushioned opening schedule with games against North Texas and Presbyterian, Clemson has its offense firing on all cylinders.

These two schools provided tune-up games for the Tigers before they take on rival Auburn.

Clemson is just outside the top-25 in the major polls, most likely because of its soft schedule.

However, the game is so highly anticipated that ESPN’s College GameDay will do its show from Auburn on Saturday.

Auburn, on the other hand, could be a legitimate threat to the Alabama Crimson tide for the SEC

title. The Tigers will have to show it starting with its first test against Clemson.

Prediction winner: Auburn 11:15 P.M., WAKE FOREST at No. 19 STANFORD, ESPN2 After a wild win over Duke last weekend, Wake Forest will look to continue its success against Stanford.

The teams have identical 2-0 records.

Wake Forest could play the role of spoiler to the Cardinal this week, but the Demon Deacons would have to do so with a new starting quarterback, freshman Tanner Price.

Price was forced into action last week against Duke following an injury to Ted Stachitas.

Meanwhile, Stanford shut out UCLA last week, 35-0.

Because of Price’s inexperience, and other contributing factors such as traveling to the West Coast, the Stanford offense will likely be too much for the Demon Deacons to handle.

Predicted winner: Stanford

september 17, 2010

page 4

Foster addresses defensive woes, seeks to uphold tradition NICK CAFFERKY sports reporter It hasn’t taken long for Virginia Tech fans to realize the rebuilding process for the Hokies’ defense can’t happen over night.

Following losses to Boise State and James Madison, the Hokies are 02 for the first time since 1995, and defensive miscues have been some of the most costly errors.

The story of what the Hokies’ defense has had to overcome this season is old by now — seven starting roles to fill including the spot formerly held by star linebacker Cody Grimm.

However, the majority of Tech fans shrugged off this glaring problem because defensive coordinator Bud Foster has spoiled them with top defenses year after year.

Now, after seeing the Hokies drop out of the Top 25, fans are starting to see that filling holes on defense may not be as easy as Foster has made it look in the past decade.

“This is a rebuilding year,” Foster said. “We have a bunch of young guys that haven’t played a college football snap. They still have a lot of growing to do and to experience.”

As if Tech didn’t have enough starting spots to fill, the Hokies have lost starting defensive tackle Kwamaine Battle for the season because of a left ACL tear that he suffered during Saturday’s loss to JMU. Redshirt sophomore Antoine Hopkins will take his place on the D-line alongside redshirt senior John Graves and will look make sure the defense doesn’t lose a step with Battle on the sideline.

“Its tough, you know,” Graves said.

“Kwamaine is a good friend of ours and he is like a brother to me. It’s tough to see him go down and be out for the season. We are young, but Antoine Hopkins has been working really hard and we’ve got a lot of confidence in him.”

While the defense wasn’t spectacular against Boise State, more light was shed on the problems when the Hokies lost to JMU. The Hokies surrendered 21 points to the Dukes — the most JMU has ever scored on Tech.

The Hokies faithful watched their defense fail to stop the JMU offense in the fourth quarter when trying to get the ball back.

The Dukes ran out the final 5:30 of the game with their running attack en route to shocking the then-No. 13 Hokies.

“To me it’s inexcusable, it really is, and we are going to get that corrected,” Foster said. “We’ve got too good a tradition here and history here.”

One of the biggest problems for the Hokies has been defending the big play.

Tech has given up a run of more than 70 yards in both games this season.

JAMIE CHUNG / SPPS

Tech’s Jeron Gouveia-Winslow goes for a tackle against JMU’s Drew Dudzik. Gouveia-Winslow is replacing All-American whip linebacker Cody Grimm, who is now in the NFL. On both occasions, it absolutely killed momentum, and in JMU’s case, it awoke the opposing team’s offense, which had only generated 15 yards to that point.

Behind both of those plays are tackling issues. Several Hokies — including linebacker Bruce Taylor and corner Jayron Hosley — had opportunities to bring JMU running back Jamal Sullivan to the ground during his 77 yard touchdown scamper.

Foster changed his Monday routine this week to get his message across, electing to watch the film of Saturday’s game as a defense instead of splitting into positional groups — and to watch it at 6:45 a.m.

“When we go in there, we want to watch the bad plays and mistakes, but it’s not to embarrass anybody — it’s just to show that it isn’t the defense,” said Jeron Gouveia-Winslow, whip

“

We have a bunch of young guys that haven’t played a college football snap. They still have a lot of growing to do and to experience.

BUD FOSTER DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR

linebacker. “If we execute the plays and the calls, we’ll be fine and it shows on the film.”

Winslow, among others, has been disappointing in the first two starts of his career, but there are no personnel changes on the horizon for the unit.

Other than watching film as a defense, Foster will not change anything this week in practice to try and solve the issues with missed

tackles.

“We go hard until we pop, but try to stay up for injury purposes,” Winslow said. “We do tackling drills every day and work on the fundamentals of tackling. The rest of it on the field is wanting it and doing it.”

Up next for the Hokies is East Carolina, a team led by quarterback Dominique Davis. While this is Davis’ first season starting for the Pirates, it is not his first time playing the Hokies — he started in the 2008 ACC Championship game as a member of the Boston College Eagles.

“You can tell he’s matured since his redshirt freshman year at Boston College. He throws the ball well. He can run. He’s a dual-threat, and he makes plays,” Graves said. “They are averaging something like 50 points a game, and I’m sure he is a big part of that.”

JAMIE CHUNG / SPPS

Redshirt senior Steven Friday makes a tackle in the second quarter.

Friday, September 17, 2010

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Parkour club reaches new heights Thompson MATT BORYSEWICZ features reporter Monday nights, in the corners of campus, the Virginia Tech parkour club teaches members to navigate terrain like Spider-Man. Parkour, or free running as some call it, is a hobby enjoyed worldwide. It involves learning different

techniques, such as flips and jumps, to bypass obstacles without stopping movement.

Those who practice parkour foster a mental attitude toward overcoming non-physical obstacles by training both their bodies and minds to overcome any obstacle in their paths. This often translates into vaults over walls and backflips off ledges.

While most people see a wall as

blocking a path, parkour club members see it as a better route to where they are going.

Tech’s parkour club has been active for four years and has been an official student organization for the past two.

This year has been its biggest year yet. With an increase in membership, thanks in part to Gobblerfest, the group had around 140 new members

BENJAMIN CHOI / SPPS

Tech’s free runners soar from building to building, not only to gain physical strength, but also for fun.

attend recent “newbie night,” making it the largest parkour “newbie night” in the country.

Chris Kessler, a senior English major and club officer, has been practicing parkour for four years. He also edits the online magazine for AmericanParkour.com, the largest forum for parkour enthusiasts.

“Parkour is fun. It also has a great community, everyone’s really nice,” Kessler said. “I’ve gone on trips and crashed at a complete stranger’s house just because we both do parkour. It’s the safest, most full-body training method there is.”

The parkour club meets every Monday outside D2. Practices begin very simply with stretches and then progress to learning how to jump and land on flat ground without putting pressure on joints. These newbie sessions are led by instructors like Alex “Nubz” Smith, a senior human nutrition, foods and exercise major who has been practicing parkour for four years.

The instructors are keen on safety.

“Progression and safety is key,” Smith said. “You have to understand your own limits and comfort. You start jumping off of one step and slowly move up when you have the skill and confidence.”

Constant mindfulness of the area in which they train, and techniques to reduce stress on the body, have led to an impeccable safety record. In the four years the club has existed, there have been no major injuries.

Students jump into parkour for a variety of reasons, according to new member Paul Pappas, a sophomore human nutrition, foods and exercise major.

“It looked like fun. I’m not good at it but I’m going to keep coming,” Pappas said.

Like many new members, Pappas had seen videos of people doing parkour tricks on YouTube. Heather Duvall, a sophomore animal sciences major, accompanied Pappas.

“I like to jump. This is one of the best, hardest workouts ever,” Duvall said.

Smith was invited by a former member for his first night.

“We had to write autobiographies in freshman English and people read them,” Smith said. “I used to run in high school and someone had read mine and asked me ‘How would you like to run up a wall?’”

The parkour club also gives back to the community and occasionally holds fundraising events. Backflips for Haiti, where members literally did backflips in exchange for donations, was a success. The club raised more than $300 for Haitian earthquake relief.

injures ACL

FILE / SPPS

Thompson averaged 7.3 points in 34 games with the squad.

HOKIE BASKETBALL’S SIXTH MAN TO MISS ALL OF THE UPCOMING 2010-11 SEASON MICHAEL BEALEY sports editor The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team received news Thursday that senior forward JT Thompson will miss the entire upcoming season due to a torn ACL, according to the Virginia Tech Athletics Department.

Last season, the 6-foot-6-inch Monroe, N.C. native averaged 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 34 games with the Hokies. Thompson figured to be the first man off the bench this season for head coach Seth Greenberg’s squad. However, Tech will now look further down the bench for help on the front line. It is also uncertain whether Thompson will redshirt this season to retain a year of eligibility.

The Hokies are already without the services of transfer forward

Allen Chaney. The redshirt sophomore, who came to Blacksburg from the University of Florida last season, fainted during an individual workout on April 21 because of dehydration. Chaney also underwent a diagnostic procedure on Aug. 3, which revealed a viral inflammation of the heart.

It is unclear how long Chaney will be sidelined as a result of his medical condition.

Sophomore Cadarian Raines and freshman Jarell Eddie are the only two remaining reserve forwards on Tech’s roster. Raines played last year as a freshman in 21 games, while Eddie is a highly touted prospect from Charlotte, N.C. Rivals.com recruiting service rated Eddie as the 70th best basketball prospect coming out of high school in the nation.

Science writer Clicker usage affects class engagement talks journalism TRISH WILSON

mcclatchy newspapers

CLAIRE SANDERSON news reporter Award-winning science writer and editor John Carey will visit Virginia Tech on Tuesday, Sept. 21 to give a speech titled, “Why scientists should help stop the decline in journalism.”

Carey has more than 30 years of experience in journalism, including work at Ne w s w e e k , Business Week and The CAREY Scientist. He is coming to Tech as the College of Engineering Visiting Scholar..

The speech is at 4 p.m. in ICTAS room 310, and is open to the general public. Before coming to campus, Carey took the time to talk with the Collegiate Times about his upcoming lecture.

CT: Your talk is titled, “Why scientists should help stop the decline in journalism.” What do you consider to be the most pressing problems in the journalism industry today?

CAREY: Well, I think you can break it down into several things.

The first is just the sheer amount of resources and numbers. You see the number of especially science journalists that have been laid off — CNN laid off its entire science staff. It’s just kind of a bloodbath out there. I recall one year at the AAA Science Writing Awards where both of the newspaper writ-

ers who had won the award had been laid off after they won the award. So it’s just a big drop in the number of veteran science writers that are doing this.

And then, at the same time you add the larger secular trend of the decline in traditional mainstream journalism anyway with newspapers getting smaller and magazines folding and things like that. And so there’s been a big loss in expertise. The blogosphere is exploding, and you see an increase in some of the science coverage there, but unfortunately, you can pick it apart and see that much of it is either not credible, or just wrong. So you have this decline in traditional journalism and this rise in new journalism, which I think is just not filling the gap. So there’s this big gap between what’s really out there and what’s been covered.

CT: Why can scientists fix this and how?

CAREY: I’m not completely sure, and I was hoping to put a question mark on my talk.

If you think about this gap that I just mentioned, you could pick a whole bunch of different topics, whether it’s trying to assess whether a drug really works or not, or climate science. And climate science is a good one because there’s so much misinformation out there ,and it’s probably because journalists haven’t been doing their job well or there haven’t been enough journalists to do the job — so I see CAREY / page two

PHILADELPHIA — Freshman Sarah Speicher stared down at her syllabus in the bookstore at Temple University, considering her next purchase. “Clicker?” she asked out loud.

“What’s a clicker?”

A clicker, she soon discovered, is a “personal response device,” a small electronic gadget the size of a slim calculator that she and her 399 classmates in Law and American Society would be toting to class.

The trendy, high-tech learning tool, used to take attendance, poll student opinion, and administer quizzes, is taking hold on campuses across the country, with an estimated two million college students now using them, transforming teaching — and learning.

“I think they are the greatest educational innovation since chalk,” said Neil Sheflin, an associate professor of economics at Rutgers University.

The use of clickers, which can cost $35 to $45 apiece, is shifting education away from the age-old practice of putting a professor at the front of a room to lecture to a passive audience. Instead, it forces participation from all students and encourages peer learning. It is, as one pair of professors titled a journal article, like “waking the dead.”

Michelle Benton, a junior at Gwynedd-Mercy College, said the format has let her know if she understood the material. “And you get to see where you stand in comparison to your classmates.”

On a recent Tuesday morning, the first day Speicher would use her clicker, she filed into a large lecture hall at Temple and found a desk in the amphitheater.

A “Seinfeld” rerun played on the

MCT CAMPUS

An estimated two million students use the clickers in their classes. cinema-size screen as students settled in.

At 8:10, “Seinfeld” faded out, and law professor Samuel D. Hodge Jr. popped the first question onto the big screen: “What year in school are you in?”

There were five multiple-choice options.

The students started clicking, while a small counter at the top of the screen scrolled the number of responses and a stopwatch measured the time.

Within seconds, the transmitter in Hodge’s computer — which collected the signals by radio frequency — spit out the results. They flashed on the screen: 66 percent were freshmen.

Students had registered their clickers online, so each click could be traced back to them.

The clickers would count for about 7 percent of the final grade — reflecting participation in class polls and grades on clicker quizzes.

Then Hodge launched into the difference between common law, determined by judges, and statutory law, made by a government body.

A cartoon version of Eagles coach Andy Reid appeared on the screen, talking about whether fans who lost their season tickets should be given new ones, or have to pay for them. If there was no law on the books; it would be up to the judge.

Hodge told the students about a real case involving a Jets fan who sued after he lost his tickets and the team refused to replace them for free.

A clicker question popped up. Was the law on the fan’s side?

“Who should win?” asked Hodge.

“The fan or the team?”

The students started clicking.

The counter scrolled the number of responses, and then a bar chart displayed the results: 75 percent of the students voted for the Jets.

“That shocked me,” Hodge said later. “Usually, the students are consumer-oriented, but they did it on a business basis. They looked at the law.

It was great.”

Hodge started using clickers more than five years ago in hopes of captivating the elusive attention of the college student.

“They’re used to getting visual stimulation,” said Hodge. “Not only do they want to be educated, they want to be entertained.”

With a mix of video clips, amusing advertisements, animated figures, and clicker questions, he tries to continually assault their s enses.

The clickers allow both Hodge and his students to gauge comprehension and gather opinions. Throughout class, Hodge marches up and down the aisles, calling on students and repeating their comments into his mike.

“It’s like a game show,” he said.

Sheflin, at Rutgers, says that by forcing participation from a sometimes somnambulant audience, clickers offer “proof of life.”

“Clickers allow me to teach in pseudo-Socratic dialogue,” he said. “I ask them something, and they are pushed to respond.”

About 90 percent of his students like using the clickers, he said. “The majority find that it’s a lot more fun and a lot more interesting and a lot less sleep-inducing.”

Without clickers, particularly in large survey courses of more than 100 students, professors looking upon a sea of faces have no idea if students are listening, let alone learning.

“If I ask a question, and half the class gets it wrong, I can work on that right away, instead of waiting for a test,” said Felicia Corsaro-Barbieri, a chemistry professor at Gwynedd-Mercy see CLICKER / page two

2 news

university editor: philipp kotlaba, liana bayne, gordon block newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865

september 17, 2010

[

blacksburg headlines

COLLEGIATETIMES

Carey: ‘Disconnect’ in science IQ ]

Tech alum excels on TV’s ‘Jeopardy!’

A Virginia Tech graduate has broken the single-day money record on the popular TV game show “Jeopardy!”

Delaware native Roger Craig, who graduated from Tech with a biological sciences degree in 1999, banked $77,000 on Tuesday night’s episode, breaking the record of $75,000 previously set

by Ken Jennings.

Jennings took home more than $2.5 million in 2004, appearing on 74 episodes of the show.

Craig is currently working toward his doctorate at the University of Delaware, where he received his master’s diploma.

In his record-breaking win Tuesday, Craig entered Final Jeopardy with $47,000, then wagered $30,000 on the category “Literary and Movie Title Objects.” Craig won by correctly answered the final question, identifying “The Bridge on the River Kwai” as the title object spanning the Mae Khlung River that inspiring a novel and 1957 film.

In his fourth show Thursday, Craig dominated the competition, winning with a final score of $28,400, bringing his four day total to $166,801.

Craig will return for Friday’s episode, which will run on CBS at 7:30 p.m.

-gordon block, associate news editor

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

from page one

think the only other people that could help fill that gap would be scientists themselves.

And so, in general my advice to scientists is to get involved.

And I’m going to suggest a number of ways that they can do that and show some examples of where it works and where it doesn’t work.

There is just so much misinformation and scientists the people that are supposed to have the facts. So there’s a disconnect between getting that information to the public that isn’t happening now and could happen if scientists got more involved.

There’s a whole bunch of ways you can do it, either in developing relationships with reporters, or starting their own blogs — and there are examples of researchers

that have done this successfully and come to be seen as experts in their own right — or in having a sort of corrective role where things appear in a paper and the scientists will take the time to point out the error and try to work with the paper to try to fix the error and get the coverage better and things like that.

So there is a whole range of steps that scientists can do.

Just when you called I was looking at a story that someone wrote on what scientists’ role is, and had interviewed a number of people on this same topic, and the first principle that came out in this story is that scientists should do this because it’s their duty, which is an interesting idea.

The idea is that here are the people with the expertise and the information isn’t getting out there so someone needs to step

up and get involved and do their part.

CT: What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in journalism during your time in the industry?

CAREY: It’s funny, because I started at Newsweek about 30 years ago and that was just at the time when USA Today came out, and everyone was handwringing about how that was going to be the decline of magazine journalism — the whole new model of shorter stories and pithier things. And of course in that particular trend of shorter bits of info, less thoroughly researched, less nuanced, what we saw back then is just a tiny slice of what we’re seeing now.

So that’s the big trend, that you’ve gone from, at its best, stories are long and nuanced and carefully written to tremendous numbers of quick hitting kinds of things out

[

there online that often have one source or no source and may or may not be right.

CT: Where do you see it going in the future?

CAREY: I wish I knew, maybe someone like you has a better idea.

I’m astonished at the things that are possible. I ran into one guy recently who was able to almost instantly shoot and edit a movie on his iPhone and has it ready for sending out in a matter of minutes.

And you can see this tremendous possibility and you’ve already seen what’s happening out in the media in general now that news cycles are so much quicker you can also see how much richer (the stories become) by adding video and maybe more voices and things like that.

So quicker and richer would be the hope.

Clicker: Students get used to technology from page one

College. “The misconceptions are being cleared up immediately rather than later.”

It also gives the usually silent majority a voice.

“It can be very intimidating in front of 400 people to raise your hand and answer the question,” said Nicholas Staich, a Temple senior who is a teaching assistant for Hodge. “There is a security in anonymity. That ability to contribute without having to worry about people laughing at you is something that most students have never seen before.”

At Ursinus College, all students taking this year’s general chemistry class are using clickers for the first time, after the physics faculty persuaded the chemistry professors to try them out, said Eric

Williamsen, an associate professor of chemistry.

One key to using the technology is to encourage student discussion. After a clicked answer produces mixed results, students are told to work out the problem with their neighbors for a few minutes, and then are asked the question again.

So far, research shows that the sequence works. Students do better the second time around.

Douglas Duncan, an astronomy professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder and author of Clickers in the Classroom, predicts clickers on campus will eventually be as common as cell phones.

“Clickers will be here forever,” he said, because they eliminate embarrassment, provoke inter-

action, and ultimately improve learning.

“There is a big cadre of students who say, ‘Do I like them?

No, but I know they’re good for me.’ Sort of like broccoli,” Duncan said.

In earlier incarnations, clickers were hard to love: Entire classes and quiz scores would collapse due to technological problems. And on many campuses, students had to purchase different brands of clicker for different classes, though colleges are now standardizing so one clicker can be used for all four or five years of college.

Finally, the existence of a clicker means classes cannot be skipped without penalty, unless students can get a classmate to take a clicker to class for them.

Professors are on to that.

“I will usually send them an e-

mail reminding them that that is an academic-integrity violation.

And that fixes it,” said Daniel King, an assistant chemistry professor at Drexel University.

At Colorado, clickers have been credited with helping to increase learning gains in the physics department over a 10-year period, Duncan said.

“We don’t just say clickers are better because they look cool,” he said.

The combination of clickers and peer instruction changes behavior and puts more responsibility for learning onto the student.

“They can’t just sit back, flip open their laptop, and look at Facebook while the professor is talking,” Duncan said. “Because the professor isn’t talking.

“They are talking.”

nation & world headlines

Violence plagues Afghani elections KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Candidates in Saturday’s parliamentary election in Afghanistan’s second-biggest city don’t hold rallies. They don’t even leave their homes or hotel rooms. In the face of Taliban assassinations, it’s just too dangerous for them to venture out.

The specter of violence and fraud hangs over the election in Kandahar, as it does elsewhere in Afghanistan. Many anticipate that the Taliban will use polling day for attacks and that the authorities will repeat the ballot-stuffing in last year’s presidential election.

The U.S.-led coalition asserts that security in Kandahar province has improved, the result of a major operation launched earlier this year. However, it remains a perilous place.

Thursday,theKandaharmorgue released the bodies of three police officers who had been ambushed in nearby Arghandab district earlier in the week and the corpse of a civilian whom the Taliban had hanged over the weekend, also in Arghandab — his two companions are still missing.

In northern Balkh province, two employees of the Independent Election Commission were shot to death, the United Nations mission said. This brought to 14 the number of candidates, campaign staff and election workers who have been killed in the run-up to the polls.

About 50 contestants, including 10 women, are vying across Kandahar province for its 11 open seats in the 249-seat lower house, and all of them ought to be campaigning across the province’s 17 districts.

-saeed shah, mcclatchy newspapers

First Amendment Week at Virginia Tech Essay Contest Winner

The real value of freedom KIRSTEN KUBE “The real value of freedom is not to the minority that wants to talk, but to the majority that does not want to listen.” I recently came across this quote by Zechariah Chafee and it made me rethink my feelings towards the First Amendment.

This quote completely encompasses what the First Amendment aims to protect. The First Amendment provides a protection to the minority. However, to those citizens who are oppressed and prevented from sharing their thoughts, opinions, and beliefs, its protection is deeper and more powerful than that. The First Amendment ensures that the majority listens, even if they don’t want to. This is a powerful sentiment. Citizens, companies, and institutions that have the power and are reluctant to change, adverse to new ideas, and opposed to contradictory beliefs cannot disregard those that they do not agree with. The First Amendment guarantees to all citizens that if they choose to speak their mind, what they are saying cannot be silenced, cannot be restrained, and cannot be ignored. That is the true value of the First Amendment and that is what makes it one of the most important parts of our Constitution.

While we may disagree with what someone says, or what someone believes in, or the reasons for which someone protests, we must still protect his or her right to do so. The First Amendment represents the values on which this country was founded. When the colonies voiced their disapproval of King George III, they were exercising their freedom of speech. The Declaration of Independence itself is perhaps the first document in which a formal “freedom of speech” is evident. Thomas Jefferson eloquently and assertively listed the numerous grievances the colonies had against the King.

The document is essentially petitioning the Government of England for a redress of grievances, one of the guarantees listed in the First Amendment. The values underlying the First Amendment were evident long before there was a United States of America.

collegemedia.com/firstamendment

I believe free speech should be protected in almost every instance. However, this belief was tested when I read Texas v. Johnson in a Constitutional Law class last year. I am an incredibly patriotic person and to read a case involving the burning of the American flag was difficult for me to comprehend. I was initially against the majority opinion and I found it to be quite troubling. In fact, I almost found myself agreeing more with Justice Stevens’ conservative dissent.

Then I remembered what my Dad has continuously told me from the time I was a little girl, “Kirsten, always remember to keep an open mind.” So I read Justice Brennan’s opinion again. The more I read, the more I began to understand the importance and astounding simplicity of the First Amendment. In the majority opinion for Texas v. Johnson, Brennan writes, “…the flag’s deservedly cherished place in our community will be strengthened, not weakened, by our holding today. Our decision is a reaffirmation of the principles of freedom and inclusiveness that the flag best reflects, and of the conviction that our toleration of criticism such as Johnson’s is a sign and source of our strength…” Brennan claims that our toleration of the flag burning and the very fact that our Constitution protects it as a form of symbolic speech illustrates the power and importance of the First Amendment. It exemplifies the strength and resilience of our ideals. Brennan adds, “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” As Americans, we should not be afraid to listen to someone who disagrees with us. In fact, Brennan argues we should welcome it. We should yearn for someone to deny what we believe in, to test our values, and to question our principles. Without that challenge, how can we be absolutely certain that what we believe is true? While we may not want to hear about another religion, or read an opposing political opinion, or

witness someone burn the flag we hold so dear to our hearts, it is imperative that we protect this right. For without it, our country would be paralyzed in a state of disillusionment, recession, and subjugation. We would not move our civilization forward, we would not advance our ideals, and we would be forever trapped in a moment in time that would neither allow us to continue or permit us to return.

When President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation he was exercising his First Amendment rights. As Martin Luther King Junior delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech, he was employing his First Amendment protections. Americans who participated in sit-ins advocating equal rights or citizens who protested the Vietnam War exercised their First Amendment rights. When Jews or Christians or Muslims worship, they are exercising their First Amendment guarantees. I am able to vote because women before me challenged the laws of their time. Without the freedom to speak, or to protest, or to practice whatever religion one chooses, these victories would not have occurred. Yet to this day, we continue to challenge these essential freedoms. In New York City, the construction of an Islamic Mosque is being aggressively opposed. Why? The First Amendment protects a freedom of religion. To prevent this mosque from being built would be a reckless abandonment of the principles and freedoms contained in the First Amendment.

In America, we are given a precious gift: freedom. This is something we should never take for granted. Our Constitution is a rare and powerful document that has persisted for over two hundred years. It protects our freedom and has ensured our way of life for centuries. The First Amendment will continue to be challenged, but it will persevere. It will continue to guard the citizens of this country just as the American Flag flies over the land of the free, even if it is burned along the way.

Kirsten Kube is a senior majoring in political science.

]

september 17, 2010

page 3

Rise of bedbug infestations sparks new research SARAH AVERY mcclatchy newspapers RALEIGH, N.C. — For anyone hoping there’s a quick, easy treatment for bedbugs in the near future, take note of the hesitation in Coby Schal’s response.

Schal is a North Carolina State University urban entomologist — the academic title for a guy who studies cockroaches and, of late, bedbugs — and he gets asked all the time whether a miracle might soon hit the market to stem growing infestations of the bloodsucking pests.

Pause. Long, scary pause.

“I wish I had a short-term answer to that,” he says. Another pause. “But I don’t.”

Oh, agony and woe.

And the pessimism among leading bug scientists is nothing compared to the downer from exterminators, who now rank bedbugs among their worst and most prevalent problems.

Donnie Shelton, owner of Triangle Pest Control in Raleigh, said his bedbug business has increased 400-fold just this year.

He bought a dog, named Scout, who is specially trained to sniff out bedbug infestations. Next month Shelton will offer a heat-based eradication system, which uses industrial heaters to roast the bugs dead in their tracks.

Pesticides, he says, are increasingly

ineffective.

“They become more resistant every single day,” Shelton says. “They’re insane. You can’t do anything with them. Everything in the arsenal isn’t working.”

Overuse of pesticides has likely contributed to the bedbugs’ resurgence, and that exact process is one of the mysteries Schal’s team at NCSU is trying to figure out.

Until only recently, bedbugs seemed to be a scourge of the past, but their comeback has been a triumph of selective resilience that would be a marvel if it wasn’t so creepy.

“Bedbugs just drive people mad,” Shelton says. “The thought of an insect coming out and biting you when you’re sleeping — it makes people crazy.”

Infestations have hit area hotels, North Carolina State University and Wake Forest University dorm rooms, a home for the elderly in downtown Raleigh and untold numbers of private residences.

Treatments can be extensive and expensive, requiring repeat visits that can run costs to well over $1,000.

When bedbugs first started showing up in North Carolina four years ago, Shelton says, a pesticide that relied on the chemical compound pyrethroid worked well. That didn’t last.

Exterminators then switched to another chemical, also a pyrethroid-based compound, and it, too, failed.

Schal says he has dunked bedbugs in pyrethroid — literally soaked them — and they live. “They just walk away,” he says.

As a result, he suspects the bugs that are now infesting the United States hitchhiked here from Africa or South America, where pyrethroid-based insecticides have been sprayed liberally to eradicate mosquitoes that carry malaria and so-called kissing bugs that transmit Chagas disease.

When poisons are usedover and over again, the vulnerable bugs die, while the hardy ones live and breed, creating a master race that is impervious to the toxins.

And since bedbugs are notorious travelers, they easily spread in a go-go world.

Schal’s group at NCSU has a $350,000 grant to use DNA sequencing to trace the origins of current bedbug populations in the United States. The information, he says, will clarify “where they came from and why they’re here and why we’re having problems now that we didn’t have two decades ago.”

The failure of pyrethroid-based insecticides has created a unique situation in the battle against bedbugs.

With cockroaches, which have also grown resistant to the pesticide, exterminators have other weapons. They can use baits to attract the insects. But bedbugs are built to suck blood, not

scrounge food particles. In addition, scientists don’t know exactly what draws bedbugs to humans, other than the prospect of a blood meal.

Answering that question is another goal of Schal and his team at NCSU, in hopes the knowledge may result in something that lures bedbugs from the nooks and crannies where they hide.

That would be a major advance, because it’s a sneaky breed. Bedbugs can go months without a meal, burrow deep into furniture and walls, and are creative in where they hide their progeny; eggs have been found in picture frames, behind baseboards, even along the threads of headboard bolts.

Pest experts note that such survival skills make it hard for trained exterminators to clear an infestation, let alone doit-yourselfers. They particularly caution people from using pesticide “bombs,” which contain pyrethroid and are generally ineffective. Multiple bombs only put residents at risk, not the bugs.

Mike Waldvogel, another NCSU entomologist, says there are steps people can take to prevent infestations in the first place. He says people who travel should check their hotel rooms for tell-tale signs of bedbugs, notably brown stains along the seams of mattresses, and keep their luggage off the floors, beds and chairs.

Once they return home, he says, people should unpack in the bathtub, where they’re more likely to see a hitchhiking

bug, and immediately wash and dry their clothes.

And while Waldvogel urges diligence, he also says there’s no reason to panic.

“You can’t just stay at home and hun-

ker down and watch TV and never invite anyone into your house,” he says.

Then again, that doesn’t sound quite so bad.

4 sports

editors: michael bealey, garrett ripa sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES

september 17, 2010

Wounded Eagles sport new look Female reporter NICK FIERRO mcclatchy newspapers PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles returned to work Wednesday with new signal-callers on both sides of the line of scrimmage, a new starting center and a new running back alignment in the wake of all their injury setbacks in last Sunday’s season-opening loss to Green Bay. Though coach Andy Reid wasn’t ready to count quarterback Kevin Kolb and middle linebacker Stewart Bradley out of Sunday’s contest at Detroit, there is little doubt that Michael Vick and Omar Gaither will handle those roles, respectively.

Kolb and Bradley, recovering from concussions, are not even able to attend meetings yet, much less resume the physical portions of their jobs.

“If they continue to progress Thursday morning, then they’ll have the opportunity to sit in on meetings,” Reid said. “They did not do that Wednesday.

Again, they are feeling better. Let me tell you, Stewart is ahead of Kevin right now as far as how they feel.

“I’m going to take this day by day, so I’m not going to tell you if they’re in or out. I’m just going to follow what the doctor’s testing ... and we’ll cross that bridge down the road later in the week as far as status.”

In addition, Kolb and Bradley were not seen or made available for interviews Wednesday; Mike McGlynn has been confirmed as the fulltime replacement center for Jamaal Jackson (torn triceps); and backups Eldra Buckley and Mike Bell will combine with newly signed free agent Owen Schmitt to help fill the void created when fullback Leonard Weaver tore his ACL, according to Reid.

All of the above is adding up to Vick’s first start (other than gimmick appearances at running back last season and wide receiver last week) since 2006, before a dogfighting conviction landed him in jail for 18 months and kept him out of the league for all of 2007 and 2008.

“I just have to make the most out of the opportunity and try to help

this football team win until Kevin comes back and he’s healthy,” Vick said.

Vick almost did that against the Packers, leading the Eagles to 17 second-half points while completing 16 of 24 passes.

Vick knows the expectations will be even higher after a full week of practice repetitions with the first team if he starts against Detroit. He has them himself.

“Ultimately, it’s going to help getting all the reps and I can’t see it doing anything but helping this team move forward,” he said. “So it’s going to be good for me and beneficial for everybody on this offense.

“Since the day I got here, I’ve been working as hard as I can and as diligently as I can to try to get better. ... As far as accuracy, I think I’ve gotten better in that department. I still have a lot of work to do. I still have a tendency sometimes to stand too tall in the pocket and not bend my knees when I throw. It’s a work in progress. There are always things to work on. You have to have the attitude and the fortitude to want to get better.”

Reid has seen it and will be only too happy to reward it. He’s been most impressed with Vick’s throwfirst mentality, which he probably had to work on most since joining the team last summer.

“I thought he did that well,” Reid said. “When he takes off and goes, he goes. He’s got a little juice to him there. I thought he made some great decisions, when to take off and run and when to move outside of the pocket. You saw a couple plays where he just slow-played it outside of the pocket, made sure he allowed the receivers to get to their position, and then if he had to take off and go, then he ran.

“There were a couple of different paces that he had going there.

But the thing he was, he was very decisive in everything he did, and that was the important thing.”

The confidence Reid has in Vick extends to the locker room, where the players all believe Vick will be even better prepared after a full week of practice as the No. 1 quarterback.

“He’s a great quarterback and he can adjust to anything on the run, things like that,” wide receiver

accepts Jets owner’s apology for team conduct ART STAPLETON mcclatchy newspapers

MICHAEL S. WIRTZ / MCT CAMPUS

Green Bay linebacker Nick Barnett trips up Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick in the first quarter of Sunday’s game.

DeSean Jackson said. “But the biggest thing is just him being able to be in the huddle with the first group, all the receivers he doesn’t get that many reps with.

“So I think the timing and just little things like that will be able to help him a lot more this week, because he’s able to go through, you know, a full week, hopefully.”

McGlynn will be the new center for sure, a position he’s waited three seasons to get into since being drafted in 2008.

“My goal has always been to

be a starter in the NFL,” he said.

“That’s the way I’ve been looking at it, and I feel this is my opportunity. ... It’s all in my hands now, and it’s a good feeling, because most of the time it hasn’t really felt that way. You feel like you’ve played well but there was always a lot of guys in front of me, so you don’t get a chance.

“And now I get an opportunity and it’s in my hands and it’s all I can ask for. Because if it’s in my hands, that’s all that matters to me.”

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The woman sports reporter at the center of a reported Jets’ sexualharassment controversy accepted the apology of team owner Woody Johnson for the behavior of his players and coaches at their practice facility Saturday.

Ines Sainz, 32, was in attendance at New Meadowlands Stadium for Monday’s season opener against the Ravens.

“He was very concerned about the situation,” Sainz said of Johnson.

“He told me that he expected all the members of his team to have good behavior and he is not tolerant about anything.

“I explained to him that I did not want to be a problem for you and for your team, and I did not want to distract anybody (from the game).

“He told me, ‘No, no, I want to be responsible for that and apologize for the team.

“No woman needs to feel like that in the locker room.’”

A sports reporter for Mexico’s Azteca TV, Sainz spent the pregame on the Jets’ sideline.

She then made her way to the press box once the game began.

Though she said she did not believe any comments directed at her Saturday were “sexually aggressive,” Sainz acknowledged feeling uncomfortable in the situation.

“Yeah, I was (uncomfortable),” Sainz told The Record.

“When you hear the players talking about you, saying something like, ‘I want to live in Mexico,’ I know that the players are joking around.

“But, OK, it’s not the best place to

be; I’m just not going to think about it.”

Sainz said that although she had clearance to be in the Jets’ locker room following the game, she did not plan to be there.

“I have the media credential for the locker room, but I decided not to go (after the game),” Sainz said.

“I don’t want to be the focus of the attention in the (postgame) locker room, and this is not the best time to do it.

“Right now I think the best is not to be there.”

Sainz also recalled the incident, accounting how she was the target of catcalls and other frat house-like behavior.

She said Johnson called her Sunday morning to apologize for what happened.

Sainz was at the Jets’ facility to interview Mark Sanchez and drew attention from players and coaches while standing on the sidelines.

NFL officials were investigating the incident, and the Association for Women in Sports Media issued a formal complaint to the NFL on Sainz’s behalf.

“I was there with only one mission, and that was the interview with Mark. I pretended that nothing was happening,” said Sainz, who plans on returning to Mexico City on a flight today.

“I know the rest of the media hears something and they are the ones that said, ‘Hey, something bad is happening right now.’

“What I feel is uncomfortable in the way that, I know that they are looking at me and saying something about me, but I never feel in danger.”

Celebrate Active Commuting!

Join us on the Drillfield, Wednesday, September 22 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Free Breakfast Free bike safety checks Transit Information

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Participants in the event include: Blacksburg Transit Recreational Sports East Coasters Bike Barn NRV Bike Association Yield 2 Life VT Sustainability Office Sustainable Blacksburg U Car Share Town of Blacksburg Bring this ad to East Coasters or Bike Barn in Blacksburg and receive 15% off any bike helmet or light!

To learn more about the Active Commute Celebration or about Virginia Tech’s Alternative Transportation programs visit www.tcs.vt.edu or contact Debby Freed at dfreed@vt.edu or 231-0248.

opınıons 5

editors: scott masselli, gabi seltzer opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES

september 17, 2010

Measuring the M a s t e r ’$ 30K

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Part one of a two-part series. Check out Tuesday’s CT for the conclusion, including an opposing staff editorial and more columns.

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Educators must restore value of master’s degrees W

MAHEEN KHURSHID / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Our Views [staff editorial]

Public scholarships are an investment C

old. Calculating. When referring to the way we think about issues, these are not words we tend to take as compliments.

Most people grimace at the prospect of approaching life with the mindset of an accountant. We prefer to be seen as kind or generous; asking, “What’s in it for me?” is implicitly discouraged, and that’s not a bad thing.

Many worthy causes, like charities, offer no direct gain to the individual who supports them, yet their persistence is essential.

But when an economy as a whole decides to invest public funds in particular areas, it does, and should, have to do so with some expectation of a return.

High school students who work hard should not be deprived of a college education for lack of funding; that is both morally and economically undesirable. Furthermore, nothing in human history rivals the transformative effect of education on an individual’s health, wealth and happiness.

Still, it is undeniable that the main argument for public scholarships has an economic dimension. The calculating part of our brain creeps in, and we begin to see taxpayer dollars funding higher education as an investment in students’ futures, rather than an entitlement.

There is no denying that a bachelor’s degree in any field merits the national investment in underprivileged students. The additional skills learned greatly increase one’s earning potential from a mere high school diploma. However, master’s degrees widely vary with regard to the value they add to one’s marketability.

Graduate degrees in the liberal arts add less to one’s paycheck than a master’s in engineering would. Without worshipping the almighty dollar, this means that adding the letters M.A. in philosophy to a B.A. in the same field creates only a marginal benefit to society in terms of measurable, tangible assets. This leads to the conclusion that public funds in graduate studies should be directed toward fields with high returns.

When the public funds are divvied up, and we have to make decisions about how to best manage our scarce resources (the latter being the entire premise of the study of economics), it is irrational, as far as public funds are concerned, to view graduate education as anything more than an investment.

Like any investment, deciding whether to undertake it is based on weighing the cost relative to the return. For example, the valueadded of a master’s in French literature on top of a bachelor’s is miniscule and it begs the question: Why should taxpayers subsidize one person’s experience when it presents no prospect of return value for them?

Master’s degrees are expensive, involving tuition costs, housing costs, not to mention the cost of foregoing entering the job market — all of which are borne out by society as well as the student.

Those who find this view cold and self-interested fail to see the irony that the reverse (one person asking for public funds to pursue a degree they never plan to use) is grossly selfish, far more than seeking a return on invested resources.

This is not to say graduate degrees in topics other than engineering or science don’t have their value. Far from it.

For people who can gather the funds privately, a master’s is the culmination of a year or two’s worth of intellectual indulgence — something greatly lacking in our world today. But there are many paths to this end, and if our motive is purely curiosity, then spending resources and publicly investing is unwise, not to mention unfair and unsustainable.

It is argued that graduate degrees enhance a nation’s culture beyond economic measurement, developing a smarter citizenry.

But having two letters after one’s name does not automatically make a person any more intelligent.

Their counterparts who got jobs and paid their debts at 22 years old and are financially stable by 25 seem a lot more rational than a starving 28-year-old with one extra diploma on his wall.

We often forget that every resource available is limited. Time, money and materials are all constrained in some way. Every time we invest in one sector, it drains money from another. Therefore, kindness and calculation are not antithetical. In fact, it is only by a rational, economic calculation that we can hope to optimize our management of resources, and thus be as charitable as our good intentions seek.

ith all the money, time and energy put into obtaining a master’s degree (especially after obtaining a bachelor’s degree), you would think that earning one would carry with it a high level of prestige.

However, as college costs continue to increase and master’s degree programs increase in availability, the result has been decreased monetary reward for master’s degrees and diminished prestige. Without a standard exit exam, the master’s degree is reduced to a prize awarded to those who could not cut it in the doctorate program. Master’s degrees (at least in the field of liberal arts and social sciences) are no longer seen as the pursuit of higher education, but as poor economic investments.

Why has the perception of the master’s degree changed? Since a majority of workers in the United States now have an undergraduate degree, you would think a master’s would be a great way to distinguish yourself from other potential job applicants.

The perception has changed because a master’s degree is not financially viable. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the average college debt is $23,186 after four years.

That’s a lot of debt, especially when only 40 percent of undergraduate students are expected to graduate in four years.

Now add the cost of getting a master’s degree on top of that.

When someone with a master’s degree only earns $5 more a month than someone with a bachelor’s degree in the same field, getting a master’s degree just means more debt.

The master’s degree has lost a great deal of prestige because it does not always translate into a marketable skill.

“What is important is being able to demonstrate that you have the ‘real world’ skills to hit the ground running,” wrote Scott Rostan, a business class teacher and columnist for the Wall Street Journal. So, a master’s degree is not essential to career success.

I also want to distinguish among programs. A master’s degree in engineering, math or science is marketable and often necessary for a career in those fields, and they do carry a great deal of prestige.

However, a master’s degree in liberal arts or social sciences is not marketable. The average person with a master’s degree in liberal arts earns $300 less a month than the average bachelor’s degree recipient. If we applied the saying “a group is only as good as its weakest member,” then master’s degrees are a pretty weak degree.

With the expansion of for-profit online education programs, the number of master’s degree programs is only going to increase, which could further hurt the overall prestige of the degree program.

Try to think of what has happened to the master’s degree programs in terms of economic inflation.

When the Federal Reserve prints more money, the value of the dollar goes down. The more master’s degree programs there are, the less valuable a master’s degree becomes.

Law schools and medical schools remain prestigious largely because there are only a handful of law schools and medical schools in the United States.

Limit the number of master’s degree programs and the value will increase.

By limiting the number of programs to about 300 in the United States, it would force students to become better students as they compete against each other for the few spots in master’s degree programs.

There are only 200 American Bar Association law schools and only 133 accredited medical schools in the United States. It’s no wonder having a law degree or a medical school degree carries so much prestige, since there are only a handful of people who have them.

Competition is healthy and good.

With fewer master’s degree programs, students would be forced to compete, creating better undergraduate students and master’s degree applicants.

Requiring a national or state standard exam at the end of the master’s degree program, much like the Certified Public Accountant exam, would help restore the prestige to the degree as well. By limiting the number of master’s degree schools, it will be harder to get a master’s degree.

And the harder it is to get a master’s degree, the more prestige it will carry.

The master’s degree is not a useless degree. The effort and research put forth into higher learning will be useful for future careers. I respect the people who have gotten their master’s degree. However, with respect to the level of work and money that goes into earning the diploma, the returns in current job markets do not justify the investment.

JEFF HOMAN -regular columnist -junior -history major

Graduate studies offer second chance for earning potential T

he academic rigors of college are not relaxing, and the financial rigors of college are just as obstructive.

It’s very rare to find a student among my senior class who entered Virginia Tech as an English major and stuck with it for four years.

Personally, I did not start my freshman year majoring in English at Tech; I was instead an electronic and print journalism major at George Mason University.

George Mason was not a good fit for me, and neither was journalism. It took an entire first year of college to determine this. Because picking a major is hit-or-miss, pursuing graduate studies is not exactly an easy task.

Graduating from college takes careful planning, unparalleled work ethic and a lot of stress. Tech offers degrees in almost anything, which is quite a luxury for students who are not completely certain what major is the best fit for them. Unfortunately, undergraduate programs yield to a bureaucracy in the form of different academic colleges. These colleges require different courses for graduating.

One’s undergraduate course of study is similar to writing an essay: There are a lot of different directions to focus on, but nothing will get accomplished if it continues to get reconsidered and scrapped.

But what if you have backed yourself in a corner with your major and realize demand is not high for workers with your degree? You can’t just switch to something more promising — you have already dedicated a few semesters of effort and money to your major.

Two years of in-state tuition (calculated as if 2010’s rate were to remain constant) would total nearly $15,000.

So, now you’re going to scrap that and throw down at least an extra $7,500 because you realized you prefer studying English to communication?

Luckily for me, I had focused my freshman and sophomore years

on the core classes and did not have to venture down that rabbit hole.

But now, I am nearing the end of my collegiate career with a degree that will not be the most useful (how I envy you chemical engineers) and am realizing that $30,000 in tuition over four years will most likely lead to a job where I make close to that amount as my yearly salary. With this in mind, I am now working on applications for my post-baccalaureate studies.

I’m going to law school. I have spent dozens of hours searching for the law school of my dreams: One that would accept my less-than-admirable GPA but not charge me more than $30,000 per year, all while situating me in the best position to pass its state’s bar exam.

Unfortunately, I am going to take out a breathtaking $90,000 in loans — this price does not include the loan I need to take out for personal expenses like rent and food while studying for the bar.

I’m going to be in large amounts of debt. But I already am, considering the $30,000 in tuition I will have had to pay while spending time at Tech.

This is why the process of choosing graduate programs is completed in the first few years of school — most students do not come from the bottomless pits of money that can put them through seven years of college, followed by another two or three years of graduate school.

While I am staring down enormous law school expenses, a few of my friends are researching M.F.A. programs and M.S. programs that offer yearly stipends up to $25,000 — New York University’s M.F.A. program is the highest I’ve seen thus far. Though I would be foolish to not pursue an education that paid me all that money, I have heard some encourage students to avoid pursuing such degrees.

Junot Diaz, author of the New

York Times Bestseller, “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” visited Tech Sept. 1 and fielded questions from the members of the English department.

His sentiments regarding the immediate entry into M.F.A. programs were negative, stating that we should “get our hearts broken in three continents first,” meaning we should travel and indulge in life while we could.

My father graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a biology degree in the early 1980s and has had a long, fulfilling career. He just earned his M.B.A. in 2004. He has gotten one promotion since, but it was not as significant as he would have expected.

Finally, the last horror story — my sister’s boyfriend’s brother graduated from the University of Richmond with a J.D. and is employed by a nonprofit organization, making $35,000 a year.

Graduating from college is still a huge accomplishment, but I’m not convinced that it carries the same weight in today’s negative climate.

A bachelor’s degree is a step in the right direction, but I feel like a law degree will give me the best shot of getting my money’s worth from my undergraduate degree. The most attractive common logic regarding taking on $100,000 in loans is that a lawyer’s salary will easily pay off these loans.

But I have to remind myself I am not guaranteed a $100,000 salary. It’s really a gamble, but it could still happen.

After all, how else would I apply my critical reading and writing skills?

BEN WOODY -regular columnist -senior -english major

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september 17, 2010

COLLEGIATETIMES

She Said: Tech’s food proves to be top-notch A

lthough this year’s football season has been an utter disappointment, know that we still have a reliable resource unlike any other campus.

For those of you who have been recently eating your feelings thanks to Hokie football, you may already know what I’m referring to. That’s right — the Virginia Tech dining halls.

Last year Tech was ranked best food in the nation according to the Princeton Review’s “Best 371 Colleges: 2010 Edition.” With options like West End Market, open buffets at D2 or even small coffee shops like Au Bon Pain, Tech truly stands out.

As I entered West End for the first time last fall, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Having only eaten at various college dining halls during summer athletic camps, I was prepared to face food that wasn’t exactly fresh.

I walked around West End for 30 minutes before I actually got in line for food. I was overwhelmed by all of the choices. Did I want London broil, spaghetti, quesadillas or a wrap? As I looked around, I noticed that I was not the only indecisive freshman.

We were sardines shuffling around getting elbowed as we fought for tables, but it never changed the excitement.

When it comes to food, Hokies don’t mess around. Everyone seems to have his or her own way of working system. I won’t mention any names, but a lot of my friends had unique eating habits last year. One ate Chick-Fil-A every day while another refused to eat anything but pasta, pizza and mac & cheese with a Coke.

Living in Slusher Tower meant I was at a prime location near the dining halls. While I consider West End to be one of the best places on earth, I constantly found myself at DX, whether it was for a study break or a race to get there before 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Over the summer I had to make a decision about which dining plan to buy for this semester.

The off-campus traditional option is the minor-flex plan, which is $700 per semester.

Most of my friends tried to convince

me I would only need the minor plan.

Clearly they didn’t understand.

On Monday, I found proof that I had made the right, and maybe even safer decision, when my roommate almost burned our apartment down while trying to cook Bagel Bites.

Cooking may sound like a great idea, but why do it when I have food at the tips of my fingers right down the street?

If you thought I was too serious about food, my best friend who lives off-campus felt it was necessary to buy the premium flex plan, which is $1,523 a semester.

With great bargains, variety and convenience, how could anyone resist a major plan? Many of my girlfriends found themselves at Deets or buying Owens candy after a rough day with their boyfriends, while my guy friends couldn’t resist their craving for a latenight DX snack.

And so what if you have extra money left over at the end of the semester? In the fall it rolls over, and in the spring your remaining dollars can be used for leftover cakes, cookies, sodas and candy bags from Owens.

It’s like Christmas.

And what do I do when the dining halls close too early for me, like D2 at 7 p.m.? I find the take-out menu and order Chinese, Campus Cookies, or my favorite — pokie sticks.

Although we’re already ranked number one in the country, we have another dining hall on the way. As an off-campus student, I’m lazy enough to complain about walking across the Drillfield to get to the dining halls, but Tech has now offered me the perfect solution.

With a dining hall under construction that combines the aspects of West End and Hokie Grill, I may have to reconsider my spring 2013 graduation date.

I’m already planning my adventure to D2 brunch for Sunday.

CHELSEA GUNTER -features staff writer -senior -communication major

7

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editors: lindsey brookbank, kim walter featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865

he she

SAID CARTOON BY SHEA GEGAN

He Said: Life without a meal plan is over-rated M

eal plans, like fences or Associated Press rankings, are not missed until they are gone.

I am a survivor of a long, flex-less year at Virginia Tech and cannot wish this misery on even the most despicable people.

I would feel genuine pity for Sidney Crosby as he stared longingly at a Fantastic Frank. A worthless existence doesn’t mean Heidi Montag has to miss out on the sumptuous Chick-filA spicy chicken sandwich. Why, even Glenn Beck should be allowed to enjoy a tender London broil from West End Market.

It just seems wrong to deny anyone the best college food in the nation.

Unfortunately, it took me a year of selfdeprivation to appreciate just how good Hokies have it.

Last fall I convinced my parents (and myself) that a meal plan was unnecessary because this would be the year I embraced cooking. The argument was made so charismatically that we ignored obvious red flags, most notably that I do not know how to cook.

My lack of expertise in preparing meals that are not egg sandwiches or Lean Pockets became a moot point.

The prospect of living in my own apartment had put visions of Bobby Flayesque kitchen theatrics in my head.

Logic had been crushed by the arrival

of the imagination train, an old friend from my gifted, talented and ADHDaddled childhood.

This culinary delusion of grandeur was only the latest in a series of farfetched schemes. From Andrew’s Vehicle Vacuuming Service to the sixth grade novel, a 450-word magnum opus, I had a slight propensity to dream up plans far exceeding my gnat-sized attention span.

The highlight of this era was my Spielberg Jr. phase. During this time the Reilly family was graced with such classics as “G.I. Joe vs. My Cousin’s Hand Holding a Mummy” and “Rosie: Uncut,” a nausea-inducing tribute to my beagle. I still argue that the shaky camera technique was ahead of its time (“Cloverfield” was an obvious rip-off) but my family’s subdued reaction and subsequent migraines marked the end of my brief but illustrious career behind the camera.

The cooking adventure followed in the footsteps of these ambitious ideas but resulted in far less childlike whimsy.

Fanciful notions of Academy-worthy LEGO films and Giada de Laurentiisstyle home cooked meals are cute when you are 10, but much less so when you are 20 eating your third microwavezapped ham and cheese sandwich of the day.

By the end of September, Au Bon

Pain breakfast sandwiches had teamed up with Owens to vanquish my $200 commuter plan. At this point, strapped for both funds and motivation, my diet reached new lows. Multiple egg sandwiches were consumed each day.

Special occasions were celebrated with a can of Chef Boyardee’s finest ravioli and Diet Coke.

Fruits and vegetables were replaced by a comparable nutritional substitute, Cream Cheese & Chives Captain’s Wafers. It was a dark time.

Some progress was made by second semester — I received a cookbook aimed at college slackers for Christmas and made an edible meatloaf from it — but my dreams of culinary aptitude had largely faded, replaced by an addiction to Taco Bell’s 99 cent specials.

Top Chef, I’m not. The experience taught me a valuable lesson: Stick to what you do best and pay others exorbitant rates to do everything else.

This year, when I sit down to write an article, I will do so without my customary ramen sprinkled with shredded cheese. There will be a bona fide meal next to my laptop — a southwestern chicken salad from Leaf and Ladle, perhaps, or a delicious Philly City cheese steak. Even a slice of buffalo chicken pizza from Sbarro has to be considered a dining upgrade.

There is now once again an abun-

dance of delicious food at my disposal. Unlike freshmen year, however, I appreciate my mega-flex plan and the convenience it offers. You don’t miss the simple pleasure of impulse-buying mozzarella sticks until that luxury is taken away.

Truth be told, I don’t feel any shame about my lack of kitchen prowess, at least not for the time being. Students only have a limited window of opportunity to take advantage of Tech’s awardwinning dining facilities before being booted out into the real world, forced to fend and cook for themselves.

I plan on swiping my Hokie Passport around campus until they drag me out of here kicking and screaming.

And when that happens? Well, the adventures of a flex-plan spoiled graduate trying to conquer the kitchen would make for a great documentary.

Time to break out the old video camera. Spielberg Jr. is back and this time I can smell the Oscar.

ANDREW REILLY -features staff writer -junior -communication major

september 17, 2010

page 8

Young boy’s cake business ‘The Town’ could earn Oscar flourishes at farmers markets nominations come spring MATTHEW BORYSEWICZ features reporter For the past four months, 11-yearold Brayden Shushok has served up his special Crazy Cakes at a stand in the Blacksburg Farmers Market, under the supervision of his parents, Frank and Kelly Shushok.

Crazy Cakes are balls of cake batter dough mixed with a sticking agent to keep the dough together, which are then dipped in chocolate.

Brayden is always experimenting with new flavor mixtures of different fruits, extracts and hard chocolate coatings.

“This was all Brayden’s idea,” Kelly Shushok said. “He’s had the entrepreneurial spirit since he was about four, and we let him go with it.”

Kelly Shushok recalled a lemonade stand Brayden started when the family lived in Texas. Frank Shushok worked at Baylor University before his current position as Virginia Tech’s associate vice president for student affairs.

“It was a hot day and no one was coming to buy lemonade. Since it was slow I told Brayden he could do the lemonade stand himself and went inside,” Kelly Shushok said. “When I checked back up on Brayden, my yard was full of people. He had gone

through my cell-phone contact list and called everyone.”

While other 11-year-olds are busy playing with action figures or riding their bicycles, Brayden thinks up business plans.

“We always made the Crazy Cakes, and I wanted a way to make some money,” Brayden said. “I spend it on fireworks and fishing supplies mostly.”

Right now, he is saving for an Amazon Kindle.

“

This was all Brayden’s idea. He’s had the entrepreneurial spirit since he was about four, and we let him go with it.

KELLY SHUSHOK BRAYDEN’S MOTHER

This affinity for technology shows the direction Brayden hopes to take Crazy Cakes.

“We’re into social networking right now,” Brayden said. “We have a Twitter (@Crazy_Cakes) set up, and we’re hoping to be able to take orders and hold contests for new flavors.”

Brayden is always looking to the future with Crazy Cakes and hopes that some day he can open a store and perhaps hire employees from the Tech campus. For now,

his siblings, eight-year-old Christian Shushok and five-year-old Ivy Anne Shushok, help out when he needs an extra hand.

“I come in and help if Brayden is sick,” Christian said, who is happy to accept payment from his older brother in exchange for the help.

Brayden’s parents fully endorse his business venture.

“I match what he makes,” Kelly Shushok said. “If he makes a batch of one flavor, I will make a batch of another. It’s all up to him. We let him start Crazy Cakes to help keep his mind alive and reflect his school teaching in the real world, but now we’re just trying to play keep-up with him.”

Brayden loves the farmers market, where he sells the Crazy Cakes, which shoppers love. They sell for $1 each but one shopper grabbed six for $5, and in a typical college town fashion, claimed they were his breakfast, at about noon.

“Brayden sees the other vendors at the farmers market as his colleagues,” Kelly Shushok said.

Crazy Cakes are available at the farmers market, which is open from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

B

en Affleck’s “The Town” should earn him an Oscar hat trick: nominations for best director, writer and actor.

Such praise is well deserved for “The Town.” Affleck never undercuts an emotional moment for the sake of an action sequence, which creates a perfect blend of humanity and thrill that even more experienced directors can’t find.

The town is Charlestown, a Boston neighborhood that’s produced multiple generations of bank and armored-car robbers. Larceny skills are passed down the way most people share family heirlooms.

Doug MacRay (Affleck) wants out after he falls for a hostage from a previous robbery. He thinks he’s found a way to financially escape through a huge heist he’s being forced to commit. His big problem will be severing ties with family and friends.

That Affleck has such a sharp directing style is no surprise. He showed skill handling the criminal and personal sides of a complicated story in his 2007 release “Gone Baby Gone.”

“The Town” is more impressive because Affleck blends a compelling story with interesting characters AND amps up the action with a high-speed chase and high-caliber shootout.

There’s no sign Affleck lost focus by also playing the lead role. His work as director and actor are equally keen.

Affleck’s acting efforts are magnified by a standout supporting cast topped

by Jeremy Renner as Doug’s best friend

MCT CAMPUS

Ben Affleck appears on location while filming crime drama “The Town.” and criminal partner. Renner has a talent for creating characters who appear to live in the dark space between sanity and insanity, and this performance is razor sharp.

The surprise is Blake Lively as Doug’s occasional love interest _ drugged-out single mom Krista Coughlin. Lively, who is so closely associated with the high fashion, high society CW series “Gossip Girl,” transforms herself. Pulling off the role was pivotal to the structure

of the film.

Good movies are the result of great directing decisions. Great movies come from making decisions no one else will make. Affleck shows with “The Town” how he’s turned a lot of tough decisions into one of the best films of the year.

RICK BENTLEY -mcclatchy newspapers