Tuesday, October 26, 2010 Print Edition by Collegiate Times

What’s up, Bobby Ray? MAJONI HARNAL features reporter

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

B.o.B became involved in music as a young teenager. He began rapping at age 13 and writing his music at age 15 after encouragement from his brother. He broke into the music scene early, earning a record deal the year he graduated from high school. His inclusion under Atlantic Records opened the door to the industry and the charts. Although he released two albums before “The Adventures of Bobby Ray,” his early popularity was largely confined to the Atlanta area where he grew up. Songs like “Haterz Everywhere” dominated in the South, but it was not until his collaboration with Paramore’s Hayley Williams that B.o.B caught America’s

attention. The lyric, “can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars,” became pervasive and even helped land B.o.B a performance at the 2010 VMAs. Many may not realize B.o.B is not only a talented rapper, but is also learning to play multiple instruments, including the piano, French horn and trumpet. With a firm belief in empowerment through music, B.o.B explores multiple genres to craft his songs. The show at Tech is bound to be different than what is usually expected from a rap performance because of the live band he travels with. Kardinal Offishall and Playboy Tre will be opening for B.o.B. Kardinal

Offishall is probably best known for his song “Dangerous” featuring Akon. B.o.B began working with Playboy Tre in the early days of his career when he first began recording in a professional studio. They are currently on tour together. Although crowd control is always an issue for concerts, VTU chose B.o.B because it wanted a fun show for the students. Tickets are still available, and VTU has thrown out all the stops to sell out the show. The talent-studded concert will be tonight in Burruss Auditorium. The doors open at 7 p.m. and the show is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

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

COURTESY ATLANT IC RECORDS

Bobby Ray Simmons Jr.’s familiar lyrics dominated the air waves over the past year, as he skyrocketed to fame. “I could use a dream or a genie or a wish/To go back to a place much simpler than this,” raps Simmons in the hit song “Airplanes.” Better known to his fans as B.o.B, the musician with other popular tracks, such as “Nothin’ on You” and “Magic,” was chosen by Virginia Tech Union’s concerts committee to perform this semester. Originally slated to appear in

September, B.o.B’s explosive rise to fame caused a conflict in dates with new college locations being added to his tour and his performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. Only 22 years old, B.o.B has already worked with big names such as T.I., Eminem and Lupe Fiasco, among his many musical collaborations. In fact, the success of his music led to his album release being pushed up earlier this year. B.o.B has also been nominated for numerous awards, ranging from BET awards to Teen Choice Awards to the VMAs, for an astounding total of 22 nominations in 2010 alone.

www.collegiatetimes.com

COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 108

News, page 2

Arts & Entertainment, page 6

Opinions, page 3

Sports, page 5

Classifieds, page 4

Sudoku, page 4

Awareness month helps women fight breast cancer JAY SPEIDELL news staff writer A cancer diagnosis can be devastating, but it’s no longer a death sentence. October is breast cancer awareness month, and philanthropic organizations are out in force around Virginia Tech’s campus promoting awareness and fundraising. Athletic teams are wearing pink wristbands to games, Greek organizations are setting up booths and organizing fundraisers, the solo cups at the Math Emporium are pink and girls are updating their Facebook statuses with exactly where they like — their purses. The football team recently auctioned off the wristbands players wore during the Central Michigan game for $3,750 and gave the proceeds to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. “There are so many women who battle breast cancer every day,” said Erin Beksel, the philanthropy chair of Tech’s Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. Beksel said Zeta Tau Alpha has teamed up with the women’s soccer and volleyball teams to wear pink and raise money by selling the athletic department’s pink Beamerball bracelets for $1 each. The sorority works with Think Pink, PAUL KURLAK / SPPS a national campaign that raises breast cancer awareness. One notable activity Abbie Kohler (left) and Margaret McQuain (right) are both faculty members in the math department and have suffered from breast cancer. involves the distribution of pink ribbons Kohler was diagnosed with aggressive cancer 20 years ago, while McQuain was diagnosed with a less aggressive form more recently. stamped with the phrase “think pink.” Aside from promoting awareness, research on Tech’s campus is looking into a potential treatment for cancer. Chemistry professor Karen Brewer and a team led by biology department head Brenda Winkel have recently developed photodynamic compounds that can target cancer cells. These comJAY SPEIDELL pounds are inactive until stimulated by news staff writer a laser, allowing precision treatments. The team is continuing to research this treatment. Students are getting a new way to But for many women on Tech’s faculty, reap the benefits of locally grown breast cancer awareness month is more food. than pink ribbons or photodynamic The United States Department of compounds. Agriculture is giving the Blacksburg Margaret McQuain and Abbie Kohler, Farmers Market a $50,041 grant to both instructors in the math departfund technology to accept payment ment, have fought breast cancer perfrom Hokie Passports and EBT sonally. (food stamp) cards. The grant will Kohler was diagnosed with cancer 20 also fund educational programs. years ago, while McQuain was diag“We’ve really seen an increase in nosed more recently. the number of students who want to McQuain’s doctors had been looking shop here,” said Ellen Stewart, farmat a calcification in her breast for about ers market director. “But it’s limiting a year before she decided to have it for some of the students who get removed. “I had a lumpectomy, and most of their money through their they thought the lumpectomy would be Hokie Passport.” all that I had to have. It was a very, very The farmers market directs sevtiny calcification,” McQuain said. eral educational programs on camBefore doing a biopsy, doctors pus to raise interest among the thought the calcification was benign. students. “It was really a shock when the results “Last spring we did a mini farmers came back and it wasn’t, it was cancermarket in front of the Graduate Life ous,” McQuain said. “They decided that Center,” Stewart said, “to give kids a MALLORY NOE-PAYNE / SPPS I needed to do radiation and now they taste of what happens over here and Mary Predny of “Merry Peas” farm in Floyd County serves a customer at the Blacksburg Farmers have me on tamoxifen.” encourage them to walk just a couple Radiation is a targeted treatment that blocks further and come to the real Market during Saturday’s market. Predney has been a vendor in the market for the past ﬁve years. damages the DNA of cells to kill them market.” or prevent them from dividing. It harms The farmers market will now be ping, will partner with the farmnormal cells as well as cancer cells, and able to host similar events at least two ers market to raise awareness of the can have unpleasant side effects. or three times per year because of the changes. But McQuain didn’t have to go “We’ll be giving them the same grant money. through it alone. Stewart also credited student inter- opportunity everybody else has to “It’s amazing the number of faculty est to efforts on the part of teachers at buy fresh, local food,” Stewart said. women that have had breast cancer,” Many vendors are looking forVirginia Tech. McQuain said. “They have a support “A lot of professors have made ward to being able to accept Hokie group and they called me immediately.” assignments for students to come Passports and EBT cards. The treatment wasn’t the only thing “I think it’s a great idea,” said down to the farmers market and McQuain had to deal with. She also had interview vendors,” Stewart said. Denise Knight, a market vendor more than three hundred students in “And I think the common book this who runs the Delight’s Home Bakery her classes at the time. year, ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,’ stand. “It just needs to be planned “The thing of it was, I was teaching a really got a lot of kids thinking about properly.” lot of large classes,” McQuain said. “And The Blacksburg farmers marit and talking about it. And once they I didn’t know when I was going to have ket brings vendors from a 50-mile get here, they usually love it.” to have my surgery, when I was going The farmers market is also using radius to offer locally-grown food to to have chemo, I didn’t know anything the opportunity to reach out to low- Blacksburg residents. about this and I didn’t know what to do Vendors can only sell homeincome residents. MALLORY NOE-PAYNE / SPPS with these classes.” “We’re excited because we’re going grown or homemade food, which Kohler suggested McQuain just tell to be able to broaden our custom- many of them say is healthier than The Greenstar Farms booth sells not only farm-grown food but the class what was going on. er base,” Stewart said, “by offering what consumers could buy in a naturally made cosmetics, including lip balms and hand creams. “So I did, I just told them what the opportunities for people who are on supermarket. situation was,” McQuain said. “And the “It makes a big difference nutrition- milk, even homemade candles and winter. food stamps.” support from the classes was just phe“It’s created a wonderful comBlacksburg’s poverty rate was ally, and I think flavor-wise too,” said chapstick. nomenal. I got e-mails, I got cards, it was The area was full of people check- munity gathering place for people,” 44 percent, more than double the Nancy Crompton, owner of Sterling just so nice. All of Tech seemed to be national average, when the pre- Bridge Dairy Farm, about the cheese ing out the vendors, participating in Stewart said. “There’s a number of really supportive.” vious Census was taken in 2000. she was selling during Saturday’s pumpkin-painting activities, listen- the people in the community who McQuain’s doctors removed the canMany Blacksburg residents are cur- market. “You are getting more nutri- ing to live music and just hanging just believe in the farmers market and have worked hard to make it cer and gave her radiation treatments. rently enrolled in the Supplemental tion and there are enzymes in raw out. She’s made a full recovery and does not Stewart attributed the popularity what it is today.” Nutritional Assistance Program, products that are not there in pasThe farmers market is open need chemotherapy. to the recent improvements to the teurized ones.” commonly known as food stamps. But not all cancers are the same, some The market was active on Saturday, area, such as the new roof and con- every Wednesday afternoon until The SNAP education program are much more difficult to treat. Kohler’s at Tech, which provides informa- with vendors selling everything from verting part of the parking lot to a Dec. 31 and Saturday mornings cancer was more aggressive. tion about nutrition and shop- peppers and potatoes to muffins and lawn, which were both added last year-round.

Market receives $50,000 USDA grant

“It was also a calcification, but it was much bigger,” Kohler said. “As soon as they noticed it they did a biopsy, and it was cancer and I had a mastectomy.” When a cancer is localized, it can often be easily removed. The biggest complication with cancer is metastasis, the spreading to another area of the body. Cancer is considered to be metastasized when it can be detected in more than two lymph nodes. “It was in five of my lymph nodes,” Kohler said. “That means it had already spread.” Metastasized cancers are often treated with chemotherapy, a drug that kills off quickly dividing cells all over the body. “I had the chemo, they give you three different kinds at once,” Kohler said. “Two weeks on and two weeks off.” Unfortunately, cancer cells aren’t the only cells that divide quickly, cells in hair follicles, the digestive tract, bone marrow and fingernails, among other areas, also share this attribute. Chemo targets them all, taking a toll on the body. “I was supposed to have six treatments like that, but I ended up having five because my body just couldn’t take any more,” Kohler said. “They didn’t have the things now where they give you a shot and your blood will come back up.” At the time, Kohler’s youngest children were in fourth and sixth grade. “There was no way I could hide it,” Kohler said. “All their teachers knew about it and gave (my children) lots of support. A guidance counselor from Blacksburg High School would pull them out and talk to them every once in a while. “And I just had fantastic support, from our church, our neighbors, our friends, and the students at Tech,” Kohler said. “I couldn’t believe it, they were so good. When my hair started growing back in I used to joke with the corps (of cadets) guys who had longer hair,” Kohler said. Kohler made it through the treatments and made a full recovery. Both women stressed the importance of exercise to help deal with cancer. “The things I recommend are exercise and trying to eat reasonably,” McQuain said. “They’ve really tied exercise to — I don’t know if I’d say preventing cancer — but making it an easier situation.” “I think too, that you’re in better shape when you have to go through all this treatment if you’ve been exercising,” Kohler said. “The chemo can get your insides all going, and walking was really helpful when I was going through treatment.” Attitude also has a positive effect on getting through treatments. “When I had to do radiation, every woman I met there just had a positive attitude,” McQuain said. “You take that first step and once you take it the support is there.” “There are times when you are going through it when you really have to work some things out,” Kohler said. “With me it was if I didn’t make it, I had to be sure that my kids were taken care of. And I saw that, people were so good and so helpful I thought, ‘Well, OK, if this doesn’t work they’ll be fine.’ And so then you can relax and just take it, and have a real positive attitude. I never thought I was going to die.” Early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer, or any type of cancer. It is much more treatable if caught before it has a chance to metastasize. “Women just need to do these breast examinations on a regular basis,” McQuain said. “My daughter has a little tag up in her shower that has all the steps on how to do the examinations.” And treatment has come a long way in recent years. Survival rates keep rising and there is much that can be done that wasn’t possible a generation ago. “I think that unless there’s a real complication involved, most people are surviving,” McQuain said. “The biopsies are so much better, they can tell so much more about your cancer than they could, say, 20 years ago,” Kohler said. One thing they both took away from their experiences was hope. “One thing that I learned with my treatment is that it’s not a death sentence anymore,” McQuain said. “I don’t know how close they are to anything in the way of a cure, but the treatments are just phenomenal.”

2 news

news editors: philipp kotlaba, liana bayne, gordon block newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865

october 26, 2010

[

nation & world headlines

]

French protesting pension reform plan PARIS — Protests continued Saturday in France against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s controversial pension reform plan approved by the Senate late Friday. Oil refineries remained closed and national railways were forced to cut back services after employees failed to report for duty. The French government tried forcibly to restore the flow of fuel to the country for the start of the mid-term school holiday, which is expected to see hundreds of thousands of families take to the roads in their cars. The government requisitioned the refinery at Grandpuits near Paris and forced dozens of striking workers to return to their jobs for the second day in a row, citing national interests. All 12 French refineries have been on strike since October 12. Environment Minister Jean-Lois Borloo said Friday that about onefifth of the country’s 12,300 service stations were out of petrol. Unions have complained against the government’s use of the police to break up strikes. Before the pension reform becomes law, it must still be approved by a parliamentary committee and voted again by a joint session of parliament. -staff, mcclatchy newspapers

CORRECTIONS In “Class of 1960 reminisces about Tech life 50 years ago” (CT – Oct. 22), Tech home games were at Miles Stadium while the Thanksgiving rivalry game against VMI was held in Victory Stadium in Roanoke. The latter venue no longer exists. the collegiate times regrets this error.

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

COLLEGIATETIMES

Cholera outbreak spreading in Haiti TRENTON DANIEL & JACQUELINE CHARLES mcclarchy newspapers

ST. MARC, Haiti — Doctors and health care workers in Haiti struggled on Friday to stem a cholera outbreak as a hospital in this central port town swelled with patients as Haitian health officials called on the population to protect themselves.

“The government, the ministers, everyone is mobilized. It is confirmed. It is cholera,” Dr. Claude Surena with Haiti’s Health Ministry told The Miami Herald. “We are talking to the population.” Surena said he could not confirm rumors that the contagious disease may already have spread outside of the lower Artibonite Valley in the center of the country to other parts of Haiti.

The country is still reeling from the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 300,000 and left at least 1.5 million people living in tents and tarps. So far, 138 people were confirmed dead and at least 1,500 have been hospitalized in the region in recent days. “We are very, very worried about it spreading,” Surena said. At a hospital in St. Marc, located 55

miles north of the Port-au-Prince, doctors saw an influx of patients through the night and into the morning. One health care worker said the hospital had treated 476 people through the night. “You have people coming out of fear,” said the health care worker, who declined to be named because she said she wasn’t authorized to speak to the press. “You can see we’re completely full.”

[

nation & world headlines

]

G-20 recovery underway, “uneven” CHICAGO — Meeting in South Korea, the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers noted Saturday that a global economic recovery is under way but is uneven, and warned of the need to move toward more “market-determined” currency exchange rates. A recovery “continues to advance, albeit in a fragile and uneven way,” the group said in a joint communique. “Growth has been strong in many emergingmarket economies, but the pace of activity remains modest in many advanced economies.” Plenty of risks remain, they added, and those risks differ by country and region, “yet given the high interdependence among our countries in the global economic and financial system, uncoordinated responses will lead to worse outcomes for everyone.” Cooperation is essential, the group said, in urging a “move towards more market-determined exchange rate systems that reflect underlying economic fundamentals and refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies.” More advanced nations need to be “vigilant against excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates” in order to “help mitigate the risk of excessive volatility in capital flows facing some emerging countries.” For his part, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, attending the summit, said that the world’s economy “is going through a necessary, but complicated process of adjustment” following “large financial imbalances” that include excess borrowing, overinvestment in real estate and “unsustainable leverage in the financial sector.” All of these factors contributed to the current crisis and will likely slow the pace of recovery, he said, although “emerging-market economies are expanding at a rapid pace, and are attracting substantial flows of capital.” -william spain, mcclatchy newspapers

opınıons 3

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

october 26, 2010

Humiliating website not appropriate for Hokies February 2010, a website called UIUC No Pants was In launched. It includes pictures of students on campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign wearing leggings or tights as pants, a trend that began making its way around college campuses about two years ago. The pictures are accompanied by “funny” and sometimes very cruel captions poking fun at these ladies. The website popped up capturing Virginia Tech students wearing these comfortable clothing articles around campus. The site recently went offline. VT No Pants began documenting girls on our campus in their leggings in early October. A good number of you may be laughing at this, as I did the first time I came across the site. However, the more and more I think about it, the idea of a website created anonymously to try to publicly humiliate people is disgusting. Juicy Campus and College ACB were bad enough, but anonymous gossip and rumor sites dedicated to making sure college students are “in” on all the latest talk is different than taking pictures of girls’ behinds and posting them on the Internet. There is no excuse for websites like Juicy Campus but, in my opinion, it is downright wrong to photograph women walking to class and post those photos on the Internet for a good chuckle. It’s no secret that the overwhelming majority of college-aged women are insecure about their bodies. I know if I saw a picture of my butt plastered all over the Internet I could find at least five things I hated about it.

What makes these girls any different? Websites like VT No Pants contribute to the overwhelming and unrealistic standards women are held to. I can’t believe anyone, especially a Hokie, would do this to his peers. Welcome back to high school, my friends. I thought college was supposed to be a new era in our lives that slowly matured us and took us away from the time in our lives when we didn’t sit next to the computer geeks at lunch. Is this not the same kind of bullying resulting in high school suicides and mass acts of violence? Is our campus not familiar with the hate that can be created in an individual who is bullied? Where did Hokies Respect go, or the American value of freedom for that matter? Who is this anonymous person to tell the thousands of girls who wear leggings almost daily they are wrong. It hit even closer to home for the weeks the site chose Tech as its prey. We are a campus prized for our humility. We teach all incoming students Tech is a place where you can be who you want to be, say what you want to say and wear what you want to wear. The person who posted the website is obviously insecure and stuck in high school. Sorry you can’t go back and beat kids up for their lunch money, but keep your cruelty off of our campus.

STEVIE KNUTSON -regular columnist -junior -political science major

Your Views [letter to the editor]

Beyond Coal has a plan In response to Matthew Hurt’s article “Beyond Coal lacks suitable plan for Tech” (CT, Oct. 13), I am addressing the errors or misrepresentations of the student campaign. I have many issues with how his narrow argument was presented. The first set of problems Hurt identifies with the campaign begins with his assertion “Beyond Coal is far from being a movement with a well thought out mission.” Hurt, however, does not mention some of the fundamentals of the group. Beyond Coal’s mission is to get campuses nationwide to move off of their coal-fired power plants by 2020. It is a 10-year plan, which is not a short amount of time, especially given the increasing developments in renewable energy. This plan is also timed closely with the beginning of the Climate Action Commitment and Sustainability plan, which binds the university to move off of the cogeneration plant between 2025 and 2050. Second, he claims a “the lack of current interest from the university to invest in alternative energies.” Interest to invest in alternative energies comes from more than just the university administration. Substantial student and community support for alternative energies would help create the shift in campus priorities. A large-scale change in mentality on our campus and in Blacksburg is the best way to promote clean energy investments. Third, Hurt asks, “Why make this change given the current state of our economy?” Should our campus become energy independent, the university would have economic stability in the future. Also, investing in clean energy is a choice that has more benefits than the outright cost. Protecting the environment, the Appalachian communities around Tech, increasing the university’s prestige and improving the health of students are benefits that can’t be factored into a price tag. While Hurt is correct “there is no avoiding the fact that switching to alternative energy will have a massive financial cost to the university,” he is not taking into account the massive costs coal will also have. In the Tech sustainability plan, the university’s coal prices have tripled from 2004 to 2008. These prices will only continue to rise as our coal supply decreases. Student tuition is already affected by burning coal. With potential

Environmental Protection Agency crackdowns on coal ash pollution, the 4,200 tons of coal waste we produce will be a lot more expensive to dispose of as well. Hurt also draws a comparison between the annual cost of coal to the costs of wind energy, solar thermal and solar photovoltaics. He only uses figures from a residential unit. Any of those alternative energies would be costly upfront, but would be cheaper as larger units for the campus. And the true cost of coal is much more than $2,200 a year. The second argument Hurt identifies is that “Beyond Coal fails to say which alternative energy source Tech should use in place of coal.” Beyond Coal is a student organization. Those students cannot dedicate their time and energy to finding that solution. The engineering science and mechanical department would be much better equipped. Instead, however, Beyond Coal focuses its efforts on uniting researchers, giving students a voice on coal issues and gathering university support. Beyond Coal’s mission is to advocate for clean energy research that can be applied to Tech. It is putting this into effect in a number of ways. A research exhibit on Nov. 29 will have representatives for coalitions and personal research, and will show what other schools are doing to move off of coal. Beyond Coal also has an open dialogue with local renewable energy providers that might make a sale to the university. Finally, Hurt states the “free market should dictate the switch” to renewable energy. This is a linear way of thinking. Tech should dictate that switch. This university should be able to act on what is in the best interest of the school, students, community and world. The free market doesn’t display the environmental and social costs of nonrenewable energy. The right time to begin switching to renewable energy is now. Beyond Coal would not advocate an economically or technologically unfeasible plan. Tech should take advantage of this opportunity to pioneer the way toward clean energy on campuses and throughout the world. The upfront cost of energy independence and a clean campus is much less than the lurking environmental, social and public costs should Tech continue burning coal for the next 10 years.

Mae Gowin Communication, 2013 Media Coordinator, VT Beyond Coal

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

MCT CAMPUS

Tech needs more space to share information M

ost of us at some point have ventured through Squires Student Center, whether it was going to class, attending a performance, having a meeting or just grabbing some food. If you travel through the first floor, you will notice two counter areas, Information Booths A and B, to the left and right of the information desk. These counter areas are often used by different groups to convey information to members of the university and local community. They can be difficult to reserve, especially at peak times, because of their popularity. One of the areas is diagonally across from the Au Bon Pain kiosk, while the other one is next door to the Freedom First Credit Union. If you’ve spent time in Squires, you likely noticed the wide range of things promoted in these areas. Just this past week, you had Amnesty International asking for signatures for postcards to be sent to Iran for the release of American hikers, Relay for Life promoting participation in its fundraising effort, while others were selling baked goods for a charity or distributing information about the Red Flag campaign. As I have seen over the years, these spaces have proven to be extremely versatile and are seen as a popular way of reaching the community. The challenge is on any given day, only a small segment of the university community makes it through Squires to even see the information booths. The same can be said for the tables on the Drillfield, those in front of Owens Dining Hall or D2, or the space by the library or the Graduate Life Center Plaza area (no relation, of course). Imagine if we had more deliberate spaces where organizations and departments could share information about their causes and efforts? It would certainly expand the reach of the efforts to the broader university community. We know there are a lot of activities

at Virginia Tech. However, the biggest challenge is trying to share that wealth of knowledge with the whole community. Oftentimes, we find out about things when it is too late, or we don’t even realize there are people and/or organizations working on such causes. The absence of awareness creates the perception that nothing is taking place, when the opposite is true. While the information booths in Squires work well, could we potentially envision other locations on campus where this booth concept could be utilized? We need to examine ways in which we could do a better job in providing departments and organizations spaces to promote their efforts and causes. Clearly the advantage in Squires is its indoor location and the ease of set-up, with no need to reserve tables or chairs. Another advantage is being visible in high traffic areas, especially at class change time. The open areas work well too, but the variable of the weather and the logistics of bringing tables and chairs can be daunting for groups and departments. As I think broadly, why could we not consider an information booth system for G. Burke Johnson Student Center? I think one between Subway and Seatle’s Best Coffee would be popular and effective, and provide an opportunity for student groups to engage that area of campus. It is often filled during the day at peak times and would give organizations a new outlet to promote efforts. Another idea is looking within and near the dining halls. For example, the area outside of Dietrick Hall is a popular spot for groups. Why not consider developing a type of modular set-up that could be assembled on a temporary basis, rather than having random tables? I envision a series of modular booths like you would find at an outdoor festival, each with coverings and partitions. It could be designed to fit in

with the gray exterior so as not to be an eyesore. Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to provide another venue to promote efforts? Yes, it would cost money. But in return, it would provide added venues for student organizations and departments to showcase their efforts. I think it would bring more people out to the area and would be a win-win situation for the University Bookstore, as well as dining programs. Take for example the current display of the award-winning Lumenhaus. While it has been located on campus before, its prime spot on the Drillfield attracts even greater attention. The same can be said of the information booths at Squires. I realize that some will argue such changes would be a waste of time and money and with today’s technology, we could use such things as Facebook to promote events. I certainly get my fair share of event invites on Facebook, but it pales in comparison to the wealth of events and efforts taking place. We need to be more intentional and deliberate in looking at this issue. As we pride ourselves about inventing the future, we need to explore ways to better communicate with each other about the efforts and causes taking place. While technology is a wonderful thing, face-to-face interaction is often the most meaningful. If anything, a look at the usage of the information booths showcases the wide variety of efforts being made by the different student organizations and departments. We need to continue to use such spaces to their best ability and consider duplicating them in other areas of campus.

RAY PLAZA -regular columnist -graduate student -curriculum and instruction

Admitting a mistake, moving on, is sign of a strong nation cannot change the past, and many in this country would We argue that we should never apologize for it. No matter how atrocious the act or acts done in the name of the United States of America, there are those who suggest that it weakens us as a nation to admit a wrongdoing or an error in judgment. They have criticized President Barack Obama for being an apologist to the rest of the world and, in doing so, casting a negative image on “the greatest country on Earth.” Well, this month the president apologized to a Central American country for what our nation did to some of its citizens some 60 years ago He was right to do so, as offering this nation’s regrets was the least we could do for such ghastly deeds. “Shocking,” “tragic” and “reprehensible” — the words White House press secretary Robert Gibbs used — don’t begin to describe my feelings about the experiments conducted by this country on prisoners and mental patients in Guatemala between 1946 and 1948 It was reported this month that Wellesley College medical historian Susan Reverby discovered the long-hidden National Institute of Health-sanctioned study of syphilis experiments on Guatemalans And what makes this research project even more appalling is, unlike the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study, the Guatemalans were deliberately infected

with the disease — first with the use of prostitutes and then with direct inoculations. To its credit, the current administration wasted no time in offering apologies after learning of the experiments. This month Obama made a call to Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, while Gibbs publicly declared, “It’s tragic, and the U.S. by all means apologizes to all those who were impacted.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a statement saying, “We are outraged that such reprehensible research could have occurred under the guise of public health. It took the United States 25 years to apologize after revelations in 1972 of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment in which 399, mostly poor black sharecroppers, were “observed” over a 40-year period by not being treated for their infections by the U.S. Public Health Service. The idea was to watch them, see how the disease affected them and wait for them to die in order to conduct postmortems. In 1997, with five of the eight remaining survivors of the Tuskegee project (and family members of others) present, President Bill Clinton offered the nation’s apology: “The United States government did something that was wrong — deeply, profoundly, morally wrong. It was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all our citizens. “To the survivors, to the wives and family members, the children and the

grandchildren, I say what you know: No power on Earth can give you back the lives lost, the pain suffered, the years of internal torment and anguish. What was done cannot be undone. But we can end the silence. We can stop turning our heads away. We can look at you in the eye and finally say on behalf of the American people, what the United States government did was shameful, and I am sorry.” That was a touching moment; a teachable moment. Admitting mistakes and apologizing for them does not lessen a country’s greatness or diminish its achievements. On the contrary, such actions add to its character. Through the history of the United States, there have been times when some people here were treated like animals — in some cases, less than animals. There have been periods when government (local, state and national) closed its eyes to injustice, was a willing participant in the denial of human rights and, yes, many times tried to hide its wrongdoing by burying reports like the horrendous syphilis experiments As a citizen, and one who has been on the receiving end of government’s discrimination, I am more proud of my country when it is capable of facing its past, learning from it, making amends for it and vowing to continue addressing the issues of its inherent inequality.

BOB RAY SANDERS -mcclatchy newspapers

Collegiate Times Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief: Peter Velz Managing Editors: Zach Crizer, Michael McDermott Public Editor: Justin Graves Senior News Editor: Philipp Kotlaba Associate News Editors: Liana Bayne, Gordon Block News Reporters: Claire Sanderson, Sarah Watson News Staff Writers: Katie Noland, Jay Speidell, Michelle Sutherland Features Editors: Lindsey Brookbank, Kim Walter Features Reporters: Mika Maloney, Matthew Borysewicz, Majoni Harnal Opinions Editors: Scott Masselli, Gabi Seltzer Sports Editors: Michael Bealey, Garrett Ripa Sports Reporters: Nick Cafferky, Alex Jackson, Matt Jones, Courtney Lofgren, Josh Parcell Sports Staff Writers: Ed Lupien, George Tillerson Public Information Director: Dishu Maheshwari Training Director: Kelsey Heiter Copy Editors: Taylor Chakurda, Thandiwe Ogbonna, Nora McGann Spenser Snarr Layout Designers: Katie Biondo, Danielle Buynak, Cathleen Campbell, Maya Shah, Josh Son, Victoria Zigadlo Online Director: Jamie Chung Collegiate Times Business Staff Business Manager: David Harries Distribution Assistant: Ryan Francis Student Publications Photo Staff Director of Photography: Sara Mitchell Business Manager: Luke Mason Lab Manager: Mark Umansky College Media Solutions Ad Director: Nik Bando Asst Ad Director: Brandon Collins Account Executives: Emily Africa, Matt Freedman, David George, Melanie Knoth, Hunter Loving Inside Sales Manager: Wade Stephenson Assistant Inside Sales Manager: Diane Revalski Assistant Account Executives: Maddie Abram, Katie Berkel, Kaelynn Kurtz, Erin Shuba Creative Director: Chloé Skibba Asst Production Manager: Casey Stoneman Creative Services Staff: Katie Biondo, Colleen Hill, Jenn Le, Erin Weisiger

Voice your opinion. Readers are encouraged to send letters to the Collegiate Times. 365 Squires Student Center Blacksburg, VA, 24061 Fax: (540) 231-9151 opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com All letters to the editor must include a name and daytime phone number. Students must include year and major. Faculty and staff must include position and department. All other submissions must include city of residence, and if applicable, relationship to Virginia Tech (i.e., alumni, parent, etc.). All letters should be in MS Word (.doc) format, if possible. Letters, commentaries and editorial cartoons do not reflect the views of the Collegiate Times. Editorials are written by the Collegiate Times editorial board, which is composed of the opinions editors, editor-in-chief and the managing editors. Letters to the editor are submissions from Collegiate Times readers. We reserve the right to edit for any reason. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Have a news tip? Call or text 200-TIPS or e-mail newstips@collegiatetimes.com Student Media Phone Numbers Collegiate Times Newsroom 231-9865 Editor-in-Chief 231-9867 College Media Solutions Advertising 961-9860 The Collegiate Times, a division of the Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech, was established in 1903 by and for the students of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Collegiate Times is published every Tuesday through Friday of the academic year except during exams and vacations. The Collegiate Times receives no funding from the university. The Collegiate Times can be found online at www.collegiatetimes.com. Except where noted, all photographs were taken by the Student Publications Photo Staff. To order a reprint of a photograph printed in the Collegiate Times, e-mail spps@vt.edu. The Collegiate Times is located in 365 Squires Student Center, Blacksburg, VA, 24061. (540) 231-9865. Fax (540) 2319151. Subscription rates: $65 semester; $110 academic year. The first copy is free, any copy of the paper after that is 50 cents per issue. © Collegiate Times, 2010. All rights reserved. Material published in the Collegiate Times is the property thereof, and may not be reprinted without the express written consent of the Collegiate Times.

october 26, 2010

page 4

Policies:

Place An Ad Today

CLASSIFIEDS WWW.COLLEGIATETIMES.COM 540.961.9860

Visit our business office at 618 N. Main St. 9am–5pm 9am 5pm Monday–Friday Monday Friday,, or place an ad online at collegiatetimes.com.

Deadline: Three business days prior to publication by 3PM.

Rates: Rates as low as 32¢ per word, contingent on the number of days to run. Prepaid. 15 word minimum. Cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.

FREE CLASSIFIEDS FOR VT STUDENTS! students must come to 618 N Main ST to place the ad Childcare Tickets for Sale Tickets Wanted Volunteers

Sub-Lease Travel Rides Campus

Textbooks for Sale Textbooks Wanted Lost & Found Help Wanted

Legal

Help Wanted

LEGAL TROUBLES?

*****BARTENDING***** MAKE UP TO $300/ DAY. No Experience Necessary. Training Available. 1-800-965-6520 EXT210

Call for Free Consultation with Attorney on Alcohol, Assault, Drug, Traffic Charges, and VT Student Conduct Referral. Joel S. Jackson, PC. www.joeljacksonpc.com. 540.961.5297

Furniture for Sale BRAND NEW mattress sets: twin $89, full $99, queen $119, king $169 We can layaway/deliver 540.260.9091

Travel GETTING COLD TIME to Plan your Spring Break 2010 Get Away! Learn how to travel to beautiful locations like Jamaica, Acapulco and the Bahamas on a party cruise. Find out what other Virginia Tech Hokies are headed to your destination. -Adrian Email: Awhite@Studentcity.com for more information

LOOKING FOR A JOB? We are currently looking for motivated people to work for a company that has been around since 1936. We offer base pay + bonuses. It’s great pay and great for being able to earn money around college classes and projects. I am an engineering student myself and it works great with my classes. You can start training tomorrow and start working in less than a week! Please email me for a guaranteed interview: vellines@vt.edu

Health & Fitness PILATES STUDIO Announcing the opening of Blacksburg Pilates and Fitness Studio. Offering Equipment Based Pilates, Mat Pilates & Personal Training. www. blacksburgfitness.com ZUMBA CLASSES Dance-Tech, 1101 North Main St. Blacksburg Mondays & Wednesdays 9:30 a.m., Thursdays 3:30 p.m., Saturdays 8:15 a.m. 540-241-1061

Notices

For Sale

HEATING FUELS

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES, WIGS, MAKEUP AND ACCESSORIES. SHOP EARLY AND BEAT THE CROWD. PARTY CENTRAL, 1701 S. MAIN (NEXT TO WENDY’S). 9531170

Best Price - Prompt Service We deliver to all of the New River Valley. Call BELL OIL COMPANY 540.381.1023

COME IN NOW AND FIND YOUR PERFECT COSTUME! Shop early and beat the crowd! Halloween is just around the corner!

Visit our expanded Halloween store featuring one of the largest selections of adult costumes, wigs, makeup and accessories for sale in the area. Shop early and beat the crowd!

1701 South Main Street, Blacksburg,VA 24060 • 540-953-1170 located next to Wendy’s

ACROSS 1 Persian Gulf emirate 6 Aptly named novelist 11 Check for drinks 14 Rocket scientist Wernher von __ 15 Use for dinner, as dishes 16 Realm from 8001806: Abbr. 17 Jazzy O’Day 18 On the __: broken 19 Approx. landing hr. 20 Daydreaming 23 More intimate 25 __-mutuel: type of betting 26 Funny Costello 27 Abel’s slayer 30 Tsar or emperor 32 It follows the overture 34 Pressed for time 36 Failing to grasp a key element 41 Conceived of 42 IRS agent 43 What ballerinas dance on 46 Slangy agreement 48 HVAC measure 49 Utah city near Provo 50 Uproar 52 Not expected back at work until tomorrow 58 Econ. yardstick 59 Nebraska city 60 Tee shot 63 Mauna __ 64 Lees competitor 65 Ocean ship 66 Bigger picture: Abbr. 67 Kosher deli offering 68 Sharp-eyed bird DOWN 1 Trade name abbr. 2 Caterer’s vessel 3 Controversial financial rescues 4 Cars

By Samantha Wine

5 “Be right there!” 6 Get a better int. rate, probably 7 Make on the job 8 Working busily 9 “The lady __ protest too much”: “Hamlet” 10 Automaker Ferrari 11 Store to “fall into,” in old ads 12 Prefix with scopic 13 “Scram!” 21 New employee 22 End result 23 Littleneck, e.g. 24 Centers of activity 28 Actress Swenson 29 Smartly dressed 30 Obstetrician’s calculation 31 Psychic’s asset, for short 33 “Surely I’m not the only one?!” 35 South Korea’s first president 37 Altar promise 38 “Drinks are on yours truly”

10/25/10 Friday’ s Puzzle Solved

39 MLB league 40 Letter-shaped fastener 43 Flip back and forth, as an onoff switch 44 Like some denim patches 45 Letter-writing friend 47 Circular gridiron gathering

9/20/10

51 “West Side Story” heroine 53 Music genre that experienced a ’50s-’60s revival 54 Sign of the future 55 Sitarist Shankar 56 That’s partner 57 Corned beef dish 61 Commercial prefix with -cro 62 Prior to

For Sale Events Health & Fitness Automotive

AVON Buy or Sell AVON Call your representative today, Jordan Perdue at 540-256-3679.

Personals ADOPTION

Pediatrician and hubby in northern Virginia wish to adopt newborn. Approved by licensed child-placing agency. Med/legal expenses. Loving home! Contact us toll free 1-866581-5494 www. EdandMargaretB. freehomepage.com ADOPTION Pregnant? Think about adoption as an option! Warm, loving nurse wishes to adopt a baby. I promise a lifetime of love, happiness and security. Contact Susanne anytime at 1-571-882-3533 www.babyloveva.com ADOPTION: Loving Christian couple wants to open our hearts, share our lives, and provide unconditional love for your baby. Expenses paid Michelle/Bill, 1-877881-9436

brighten your day... read the

Notices Wanted Musical Roommates

Greek Notes For Rent Personals Furniture for Sale

Downtown Living South Main Living North Main Living Prices Fork Living

The Collegiate Times reserves the right to reject or edit any advertisement it deems objectionable, at any time. No refunds are available. The advertiser assumes full responsibility for his or her advertisements and agrees to hold the Collegiate Times harmless for the content of all advertisements authorized for publication and any claims that made may be against the Collegiate Times. Any questions concerning ads, please call the Better Business Bureau at 1.800.533.5501. We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity. To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at 1.800.669.9777.

Patrick Henry Living Christiansburg Living

sports 5

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

october 26, 2010

Hokies head into heart of ACC schedule

Virginia Tech 44, Duke 7 Noon, Oct. 23, 2010 Lane Stadium/Worsham Field, Blacksburg, Va.

#25

DUKE VT

0 14

0 13

7 17

0 0

7 44

FIRST QUARTER DUKE