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Friday, November 5, 2010
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New software reminds users of Internet safety JAY SPEIDELL news staff writer Many people logging in to public WiFi networks aren’t as safe as they think they are. A new program called “Firesheep” allows anybody to intercept cookies being sent over unsecured networks. A cookie is a small file containing identifying data that websites store on a user’s computer, which allows you to move from one page to the next without logging in again. This type of attack, a form of packet sniffing, used to be something that only networking experts could do. But with Firesheep, anybody can hijack accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and most other sites with a single click. “The tools have always been around, for almost 25 years,” said Randy Marchany, Virginia Tech’s information technology security officer and director of IT. “But they never had that nice graphical interface, ‘Oh look, there’s a picture of the person,’ then you click on it and become them,” Marchany said. “It’s a stalker’s heaven.” So how do you protect yourself? “Go to encryption,” Marchany said. Any network that doesn’t require a WPA password or a security certificate is unencrypted. WEP, an older form of encryption, can be easily cracked. This includes free Wi-Fi networks such as those at Starbucks or McDonalds. When connecting to Tech’s wireless Internet, users have a choice between VT-Wireless and VT_WLAN. The former is encrypted and the latter isn’t, making VT_WLAN vulnerable to this exploit. Many opt out of the encrypted network and instead login over VT_WLAN, either because they don’t know the difference between the two networks, or because VT-Wireless requires a security certificate that can be difficult to install. The login page has a link to the certificate page. “I was aware that VT_WLAN is not secure,” said Adam Broda, a mechanical engineering major. “I tried setting it up last year, but I gave up because it was too difficult.” “We’re transitioning away from VT_ WLAN to VT-Wireless,” Marchany said. Marchany encourages students to contact 4Help (answers.vt.edu) if they need any help transitioning to the more secure VT-Wireless. 4Help staff hasn’t had any major issues with certificates. “When we go through it step by step with people it always works,” said Grant Hsu, a computer engineering major who works with 4Help. Eric Butler, the programmer in Seattle who created Firesheep, said in a statementhe released the program to the public to raise awareness about security issues. However, releasing a hacking program the general public can use has raised some ethical issues. “His motive is noble,” Marchany said. “The method — there’s going to be people who are going to argue one way or the other.” Butler’s goal is to force websites to implement the more secure Web stansee SECURITY / page two
WHAT IS FIRESHEEP? Firesheep is a new program that allows anybody to intercept cookies being sent over unsecured networks. With Firesheep, anybody can hijack accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and most other sites with a single click.
HOW CAN I PROTECT MYSELF WHERE CAN I FIND AGAINST THESE PROGRAMS? MORE INFORMATION? Use an encrypted network, such as VT-Wireless instead of VT_WLAN. Any network that doesn’t require a WPA password or a security certificate is unencrypted. WEP, an older form of encryption, can be easily cracked. Be careful of free Wi-Fi networks such as those at Starbucks or McDonalds.
Visit Security.VT.edu or contact Tech’s 4Help computer service group at Computing.VT.edu.
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Fort Hood shooting sent couple on journey Pamplin opens classes, research to non-majors DAVID TARRANT mcclatchy newspapers
DALLAS — When Jessica Hansen awoke that Thursday morning, she found a text message on her cell phone. “Happy Nov. 5th. I love you.” It was from Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler of Fort Hood. He and Jessica, a senior at Boston University, met 11 months earlier on Dec. 5, 2008, and they liked to celebrate each new month of their relationship. They kept in constant communication, so when Patrick followed up his text with a noontime call, it wasn’t unusual — except for the way it ended: “I love you, Jessica,” he said. “I love you, too,” she replied. “No, really, I love you,” he insisted. He sounded serious, unlike his usual wisecracking self. She wondered if he was having a hard day. Hours later, after the news broke of a mass shooting at Fort Hood, after her frantic calls to Patrick’s cell phone went unanswered, after the late-night call from Patrick’s father telling her Patrick had suffered a gunshot wound to the head, Jessica replayed that last conversation over and over. “I love you, Jessica. No, really, I love you.” Jessica needed to see Patrick right away, even if it was to say goodbye. When she boarded the Delta Air Lines flight from Boston through Atlanta to Killeen, she had no idea what lay ahead. She steeled herself with this prayer: Please stay alive until I get there. I just want to hold your hand one more time while it’s warm. In her take-on bag, she carried only pictures of Patrick, his letters and a black dress — for a funeral. ——— One out of every 12 people shot in the head survives. Two-thirds die on the way to the hospital. Recovery varies widely; many are severely disabled or linger in a persistent vegetative state. Patrick’s father told Jessica that Patrick was “currently alive,” but in critical condition. He had been shot four times, with wounds in his arm, shoulder and hip. But the bullet that struck the right front side of his skull — that was the worst. In fact, Patrick, now 29, was one of the most seriously wounded in the slaughter at Fort Hood where 12 soldiers and one civilian died and 32 others were wounded. The shooting took place at the Soldier Readiness Processing
MICHELLE SUTHERLAND news staff writer
persuaded her to join them over Thanksgiving break. On the flight over, she asked everyone she met what to see in Hawaii, and where to go. One spot was the Mai Tai Bar in Waikiki. When the three friends got there, the manager of the band playing there suggested that Jessica meet his friend Patrick. The two hit it off. As they were leaving the bar, Jessica slid down a handrail in her dress and high heels and hopped to a stop, her arms outstretched like an ice skater nailing the landing. “That was awesome,” Patrick gushed. “I think I love you.” They sat in the lobby of Jessica’s hotel, talking until sunrise. By the end of her trip, Jessica found herself fending off marriage proposals from Patrick. He had sung in a ska band and graduated from Florida State University. After serving in combat in Iraq a year earlier, he now wanted to become an officer. She told him that she was studying neuropsychology and wanted to help combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, the two signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As she was about to return to Boston, he made another pitch for her hand. “I can’t just get married,” she said. “My parents don’t even
Business-savvy students outside of the Pamplin College of Business can now take more business classes than previous years. Pamplin, like other colleges within Virginia Tech, gives preference to its students when resources are scarce. “Opening classes to non-majors really is an issue of supply and demand,” said Candice Clemenz, associate dean of undergraduates. For many years there were around 3,000 undergraduates in Pamplin, but numbers recently ballooned to more than 4,200. Large freshmen classes kept increasing while resources stayed the same, and preference went to business majors so they could take the courses necessary for graduation. Pamplin had little control over how many students were accepted to the college as freshmen but now works with the admissions department to keep the incoming freshman class at a more manageable level. Around 4,000 are now business majors. “We’ve always allowed a lot of our classes to be taken for non-business students with the preference being for business students,” said Richard Sorensen, dean of Pamplin. “Part of our goal was to allow students outside of the business school to benefit from our curriculum.” Sorensen feels strongly about allowing non-business majors benefit from Pamplin’s programs because of his own background. He was an electrical engineer from Polytechnic University, and he realized had excellent analytical and practical skills for business. “I went for an MBA because I felt a lack of those courses (finance, marketing and management),” Sorensen said. “We don’t want that to happen to students in other courses.” Students can sign up for any class during open registration, space and prerequisite permitting, or add a business administration minor, a program exclusively
see SOLDIER / page two
see PAMPLIN / page two
MCT CAMPUS
Jessica helps Patrick get ready for duty in their home at Fort Hood, Texas. Center, where soldiers prepare to deploy for war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Police wounded the alleged shooter, Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, a 1995 Virginia Tech graduate, and took him into custody. They took Patrick 30 miles to Temple’s Scott & White Memorial Hospital, the closest Level 1 trauma center in Central Texas. But Patrick’s father, whose name is the same as his son, warned Jessica to expect the worst. “He’s gone,” she recalled Patrick’s dad telling her. “You need to get down here right away.” Tears held in check all night began to flow. “I just kept saying we were going to get married,” said Jessica, now 22. “It was supposed to be fate.” What else could explain how a soldier from Fort Hood, about to deploy to Iraq, and a college student from Boston would meet and fall suddenly in love in Hawaii? The son of a career Navy man, Patrick had moved around. But he spent his formative years in Honolulu. In late November 2008, with a couple of weeks off before going to war, he decided to get together with some old buddies in Hawaii. Back in Boston, two of Jessica’s best friends wanted to celebrate their 21st birthdays in Hawaii. She couldn’t really afford to go, but they
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news editors: philipp kotlaba, liana bayne, gordon block newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
november 5, 2010
COLLEGIATETIMES
Soldier: Slow recovery helped by love, devotion of wife from page one
the C&H Hawaiian Grill, Patrick signed in at the medical section — the 13th and last station — to make sure all his blood tests and immunizations were up to date. About 40 soldiers were ahead of him, sitting in four rows of chairs. He took a seat near the back and waited. Bored, he looked around the room. He saw a man in a soldier’s uniform stand up. The man yelled, “Allahu Akbar!” Patrick froze. He recognized the Arabic for “God is great!” He thought that this might be a training drill. Even as the soldier lifted a handgun, Patrick felt strangely disengaged, an observer watching the scene. He saw a laser sight, a moving beam of red light that crossed his vision. Then, he felt something hit the side of his head, like a metal baseball bat. He fell to the floor, people all around him screaming, shouting and moaning. He tried to drag himself with his right arm, the only one that worked, toward the back exit. Blood poured from his head, pooling on the floor. He grabbed for a chair but it fell over. Everything
know I’m here.” ——— But two weeks later, when Patrick deployed to Iraq, Jessica vowed to be his girlfriend for the year he was away. Patrick’s deployment in 2009 wasn’t as intense as his first combat tour two years earlier. He kept in daily touch with Jessica by Skype and e-mail. He also was accepted into officer candidate school. But his entry was delayed until Nov. 23, 2009, the earliest a slot would open up at Fort Benning, Ga. He arrived back at Fort Hood on Oct. 23. Jessica visited for a week. They made plans to live together the following spring, after her graduation from college and his completion of officer candidate school. After Jessica left, Patrick concentrated on the paperwork to transfer to Fort Benning. That’s why he was at the soldier processing center the afternoon of Nov. 5. About 1 p.m., just after a meal of pork and rice from his favorite takeout spot,
faded to black. It was the next morning when Patrick regained consciousness. He was in a bed at Scott & White Hospital, surrounded by family members and Jessica. The slug entered the right side of his skull and left fragments of bone and bullet embedded in his brain. Surgeons operated immediately and removed a fist-sized portion of the damaged brain matter. When Jessica walked into Patrick’s room the next morning, she could only see the right side of his face. His eye, she said, was “the blackest black I’ve ever seen.” A cast covered his whole left arm except his fingertips. She grasped his fingers. “Patrick, it’s me, I’m here.” He opened his uncovered eye. “Jessica, is that you? How’d you get here so fast?” Patrick’s recovery astonished his family and friends. Despite the brain damage, his memory and intellect seemed unimpaired. He was talking and in good spirits. Although he had lost use of his left arm and leg, he was deter-
mined to walk again. The medical staff was more cautious. “After each bit of progress,” Jessica recalled, they’d say, “Don’t get excited. That might be how he is forever.” Six weeks after the shooting, Patrick was admitted to the Texas NeuroRehab Center in Austin. He wondered if Jessica would follow him. Jessica’s parents wondered the same thing. They didn’t like the idea of her dropping out of school. Jessica’s mother, Lori Hansen, thought her daughter couldn’t possibly be so in love “that she would need to drop everything in her life to be with him.” After talking to Jessica, “we realized she was where she needed to be, and she needed to be there to take care of him,” Lori Hansen said. On Dec. 18, Patrick took Jessica out on their first date since the shooting six weeks earlier. A volunteer drove them to the Oasis, a restaurant with a beautiful view of Lake Travis. Patrick wore his best suit; Jessica helped to dress him, somehow without noticing the small
box he had hidden in his coat pocket. He wore a helmet to protect his skull and leaned on a walker for balance. He hadn’t anticipated the cobblestone path that led up to the restaurant. “Oh, God, what do I do? This is not what I practiced for,” he said to Jessica. But she had a firm grasp on the gait belt tied around his waist, and he made it to their table. When the waiter brought a dessert of chocolate cake and coffee, Patrick took the small case from his jacket. It contained a diamond ring. “Thank you for staying and taking care of me,” Patrick told her. “And will you take care of me the rest of my life?” Jessica doesn’t remember her exact words, but her answer was never in doubt. He had her at “thank you.” ——— On Oct. 14, Patrick came face-to-face again with the man accused of shooting him. He walked slowly into a military courtroom at Fort Hood, the rhythmic click of his metal cane accompanying him, willing himself forward step-bystep.
After relating his experience during the shooting, Patrick rose to leave the stand. He paused and looked straight at Hasan, the man accused in the Fort Hood massacre, who sat motionless in a wheelchair. Then Patrick and Jessica walked from the courtroom. Two days later, he received a hero’s welcome during a football game at his alma mater, Florida State. He’s now back at Fort Hood, living on base with Jessica. He goes every morning to the Warrior Transition Brigade for his daily rehabilitation. He has started riding a modified bicycle. His goal is to do the Ride 2 Recovery race from San Antonio to Arlington in April. They are looking forward to next summer and their wedding — a slender hope just five months ago. At one of Jessica’s lowest points, when Patrick was in a coma and fighting for his life, she recalled thinking not how weak he seemed, but how strong. She watched him and took heart from his courage. “He won’t give up,” she said. “He kept me strong.”
Security: Firesheep can help others hack your Facebook Pamplin: from page one
dards throughout their entire websites. Many websites, such as Facebook, use a secure “https://” for login screens to protect the password, but then they hand the user off to regular “http://” where programs like Firesheep can hijack the account. “We’ve been saying this is how easy it is but nobody actually believes you until they see something like Firesheep come out, so I can understand his goals,” Marchay said. “It’s kind of one of these maddening things with Facebook and a lot of the other social networking sites is that they don’t really treat security as an
issue,” Marchany said. Also watch out for phishing attacks, where a website will pretend to be another website to trick a user into giving a user name and password. To prevent phishing, always look at the address bar to make sure it matches the website you are visiting. One of the biggest security issues online isn’t hackers — it’s the information you release to the public whether you realize it or not. Many people give companies permission to share their information publicly or sell it as marketing data and are shocked to see what comes up when they search for themselves
CORRECTION In “In The Loop” (CT – Nov. 4), the Lolopolis Comedy Group’s performance in Theatre 101 will only cost $5. Further, there is no age limit for attendance. 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.
on Google. “Make sure you read the terms and conditions,” Marchony said. “They’ll turn around and say we told you we were going to do this, and you agreed.” “What you put on the net stays on the net somewhere, and even if you remove it from the primate site it will remain in Google caches,” Marchany said. “Then you have to worry about all the other search engines like Yahoo and Bing, which maintain their own caches and databases.” Marchany said many Internet users have a misconception of the point of search engine caches. “Everybody says, ‘Oh, I don’t mind if
you know what I’m doing because I’m not doing anything wrong,’” Marchany said, “and they think of that in terms of getting caught.” “If a person isn’t really interested in whether you are doing something right or wrong, they just want to know what you’re doing. That’s a whole different story,” Marchany said. Employers also use social networking sites to find out about potential employees. “Let’s say you come in the office and you’re interviewing for a job, and I go on your Facebook and see pictures of you beer bonging on spring break,” Marchany said. “I’m not going to get
mad at you for the beer bonging, I’ll ask why you put up the pictures. It becomes part of your public image.” “If you weren’t discreet enough to not have pictures of yourself beer bonging,” Marchany said, “are you going to be discreet enough to keep sensitive information that you learned at work here in the office?” Even if the user keeps up with Facebook’s privacy settings, a potential employer who looks at your friends list can find people who don’t, allowing access to your pictures or info. Marchany said students looking for more information about Internet security should visit Security.VT.edu.
Hopes to help students from page one
for students outside of Pamplin. For a more unique experience, students within the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences are now able to conduct undergraduate research with Pamplin students, part of a new collaboration between the colleges. “Liberal arts and human science students really do go into the field of business oftentimes, and they need to have the background in this area,” said Diana Ridgwell, director of student development for CLAHS and a pioneer of the partnership. CLAHS and Pamplin students may sign up for Marketing 4994, an undergraduate research course that works with small businesses and nonprofits in the region to identify problems they face and formulate solutions. “It’s not something you see every day,” Ridgwell said. “We know in today’s world you can’t solve problems from one perspective or another, you need to have people thinking about it in very different ways.”
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editors: scott masselli, gabi seltzer opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
november 5, 2010
The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
Outsourcing inevitable Distracted driving despite negative sentiments needs reprimand ay hello to the new wave of distracted driving, the latest S member of a dangerous family of road hazards: driving while texting. Sounds as serious as a DUI. This branch of distracted driving is dominating the news. DWT is considered at least a secondary offense in most states; it is a primary offense in some. A primary offense is a violation that warrants being pulled over. Secondary offenses get tacked onto primary offenses but are not reasons for police to stop violators. Authorities are cracking down on DWT, and decision-makers are writing legislation imposing harsher sanctions. In some cases, the terms “DWT” and “distracted driving” are used interchangeably. We’ve all seen out-of-control DWT drivers. However, that doesn’t mean it is the only and most dangerous form. People have radios or iPods hooked up, along with a GPS above the dash, vanity mirrors in the sun visors, TVs in the back, pet passengers, cigarettes, maps, newspapers, and food and drink. Some haphazard drivers try to shave, apply makeup in the car or eat a plate of food with a knife and fork. Distracted driving includes a whole spectrum of behaviors. Don’t let the issue du jour make you forget there are still many other distractions in the car. Our own Virginia Tech Transportation Institute reports 80 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes result from driver inattention within three seconds of the crash. Three seconds! We’ve all done it: torn our eyes away from the road to skip a song on an iPod, change the radio station or fish for that elusive pack of cigarettes or gum. It’s harmless, right? What could happen? Do the math: You’re going 35 mph and you glance away for those crucial three seconds. You’ve just traveled 159 feet — more than half a football field — without even watching the road. And that’s at only 35 mph. Think about the wreckage a distracted driver could cause going 50 mph or more. Think about the manslaughter charges, the insurance claims, the guilt, just from fishing for a lost item under the seat for three seconds.
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You’re going 35 mph and you glance away for those crucial three seconds. You’ve just traveled 159 feet — more than half a football field — without even watching the road.
Distracted driving caused 5,500 deaths and half a million injuries in 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There are still more than 200 million drivers out there, many of whom may be dedicating their hands and attention to other pursuits in the car and not the most important task in front of them. A University of Utah study discovered distracted driving resulted in a driver as bad as, or even worse than, a drunk driver. We don’t want to drive drunk, do we? Why should we be any less forgiving of distracted drivers? The Highway Loss Data Institute conducted a study comparing collision insurance claims before and after DWT legislation and found there were more accidents after the fact. The problem has become more acute because people not only refuse to obey the law but have become even more distracted by their attempts to evade it. These laws also narrowly focus on texting, excluding from focus all other equally distracting activities. Texting is not the only distraction in the car. Keep the cell phone tucked away, your iPod on a playlist, your GPS pre-routed with the voice guidance on and your eyes on the road. Consider what the police will say when they pull you over: “Keep your hands where I can see them — on the wheel.” Do it now before a police officer commands you or before you’re distracted driving turns your life and the lives of others into a twisted wreck.
LEAH WEISMAN -guest columnist -senior -communication and Spanish major
Your Views [letter to the editor]
Attack politics bad for elections thought we were all on the same team. IWhether you are a Democrat or a Republican, aren’t politicians just supposed to make things a little bit better for you and me? I feel like politicians care more about what will help their party in the 2012 election and what will help Wal-Mart, Ford, GM, coal companies, oil companies and corporate America make more money instead of caring about what is best for the voters. Of course, why should we be surprised by this after the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which lifted bans on political spending by corporations? Now attack advertisements funded with corporate money win elections as much as votes do. In Virginia’s 9th District, more than $2 million was spent by corporations on attack advertisements without having to identify
themselves or the special interests they represent. On another note, I went to vote Tuesday and saw the Morgan Griffith sign saying “Stop Obama,” and I felt it represents everything wrong in politics today. We are all on the same team. We need to work together to pull out of this economic collapse and come out stronger on the other side. Don’t get me wrong: I was not a big supporter of Boucher, but at least he didn’t refer to global warming as a theory. He instead took an especially hard line in Virginia and did what he thought was right and voted for the climate bill because he thought it was the right thing to do, and in this close race he paid for it. I just hope Griffith doesn’t spend this term undermining President Barack Obama and instead does what is right for Southwest Virginia.
Austin Phoenix Graduate student Mechanical engineering
he United States economy is currently in shambles, as evidenced by T the remarkably high rate of unemployment. Meanwhile, we’re in college crossing our fingers hoping things will look up by the time we graduate, and other Americans are cursing businesses that send jobs abroad. Each year some 200,000 jobs are sent abroad, theoretically meaning this many potential jobs at home are foregone. As fired-up as people become upon hearing this, it pains to me think of how much our role in the trend is overlooked. As consumers, we push companies to outsource through our demand for lower prices. In order to provide these lower prices, they must find every possible way to lower operating costs, which, thanks to modern technology, makes resources from across the world feasible, including labor abroad. In addition to our demand, increasingly few people are willing to do many of the jobs being sent abroad. For example, most of us would not say we are enrolled in college so we can answer calls in a call center or stitch clothes. The truth is, if we want to enjoy low prices, we cannot complain about how companies achieve these low prices. The irony lies in the fact we are not willing to work for minimal wages but still expect minimal prices. Therefore I do not understand or agree with the anger I often hear from people when they find out their customer care call is being answered in India. We own fancy computers and gadgets that may very well have been developed in the U.S., but globalization allows the same American companies to take their labor needs elsewhere, as the U.S. offers outrageously expensive labor in comparison. These problems were epitomized by animation mogul Matt Groening’s “The Simpsons.” A recent episode featured an extended title opening sequence, depicting gruesome working conditions in what is supposed to be the show’s ani-
mation and paraphernalia factory. This included scenes of female workers of Asian descent drudgingly drawing animations one after another, dead kittens being stuffed into Simpsons dolls and hazardous materials galore. Apparently, the inclusion of the scene was in response to reports that “The Simpsons” outsources its animation needs to a company in South Korea. This clip served as the rebuttal, in true Simpsons humor, not to sugarcoat the perceived truth of the accusations. Shocked fans and non-fans alike have been vocal about the clip, and there is much to be learned from it, as did “The Simpsons” creators. We are affected by the stereotypes we have of outsourcing, which are largely becoming outdated. The sweatshops and horrors we used to imagine abroad in the 1990s are not as relevant in the new millennium. In fact, labor laws in South Korea are fairly stringent and in many ways comparable to their U.S. counterparts. I suspect we have a horrible image of outsourcing, stemming perhaps from the bitterness of the loss of jobs and even a sense of superiority we feel as Americans in the most developed and therefore most “civilized” nation. Take again, for example, the new NBC television series “Outsourced.” After watching two uninspiring episodes, I wondered what the calling to create this show was. It seems as though an underlying current is to feel a connection to the outsourcing of our allegedly lost jobs at home and poke fun at it to ease our minds. The poking fun is what hones a feeling of superiority, perhaps making ourselves feel better that the jobs being created on our behalf elsewhere are not desirable or missed. The clashing of the American manager with the Indian workers is indeed stereotypical on both ends. However, the existence of the show speaks worlds about where we are as a society and in our thinking. We feel more worldly for being able to
imagine and illustrate what the realities of globalization mean for us, however — as I have mentioned — an integral part of this is realizing our driving role as consumers. Essentially, the beauty of the market system that fuels competition is not on our side for once, and we too will have to adapt. If we would like to have these jobs at home, many more Americans would have to be content and actually look forward to labor-intensive jobs at lower wages. This is the reality other countries have aiding their business models — readily available workers for low wages, because the reality is this is something to look forward to for many in the world. We Americans, particularly college students, instead seek jobs in the higher-valued sectors of services, and research and development. This is understandable; we want to see our investments pay off in the long run, so high-paying jobs are understandably the goal. Nevertheless, the sad truth appears to be we will face lower wages as other countries abroad gain increasingly skilled citizens who can create and do the same things Americans can, often at lower costs. As long as this happens, outsourcing will only increase. As a result, we must be able to accept and cope with the lower wages or face increased outsourcing, which once again happens as a result of our demand for the best products at the cheapest prices. The vicious cycle starts with us as consumers as we are the source generating profit for the companies in the first place, rewarding those who employ cheap labor abroad with our purchases.
NOOR KHALIDI -regular columnist -junior -economics and public urban affairs major
Political satire shows serve to fact-check major networks ealth care reform has been a hot topic in the past year or H so. President Barack Obama called together a meeting with some of the top Republicans in Congress to try to solve this problem in what he deemed a bipartisan manner. On the surface, one might not see a problem in this. However, Republican political commentators, mostly those on Fox News, figure it is a trap. Subsequently, “Daily Show” commentator John Oliver did a special report on a Republican health care meeting in Hawaii, where health care is government-mandated, resulting in near universal coverage. Despite rave reviews from the Hawaiian locals, the Republicans there continue to abhor and denounce the idea of universal health care. Oliver manages to punch holes in the Republican argument, all the while maintaining the tone of someone siding with those who think universal health care is bad. It is this type of satire that keeps the politicians in check. No one wants to end up as the butt of a joke at the hands of Jon Stewart on the “The Daily Show” or Stephen Colbert of the “The Colbert Report.” More often than not, these two shows on Comedy Central become a more reliable source for political news than MSNBC or Fox News. Some people might argue these satirical programs usually point out flaws in certain political groups, but if these people would watch the shows on a regular basis, they would see Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are equal opportunity haters. If someone makes a mistake, they make sure everyone knows and gets a laugh out of it. Shows such as the “The Daily Show” and the “The Colbert Report” are designed to provide biting, humorous satire to the world of politics. Always pushing the envelope, the shows poke fun not only at politicians, but also at any and all political news shows and networks. However, these two shows serve a greater purpose in the world of politics. They essentially function as the ombudsmen of the political world.
“Ombudsmen of the political world”: A pretty lofty title if you ask me, but it seems there are no real ombudsmen at most of the major political news websites. I checked the websites of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News and found no public ombudsmen for these companies. In stark contrast, ESPN has an ombudsman, and the link to his articles can be found by going to this web address: Espn.com. That’s right. One can find a link to the ESPN ombudsman on the front page of the website. In the political world, this is basically never done. That’s where Comedy Central comes in. In essence, they pay the staff members of the “The Daily Show” and the “The Colbert Report” to be the factcheckers for the political media juggernauts of the world. Last fall, Stewart pointed out on his show Fox News had used the wrong footage in order to embellish the number of people attending a rally in Washington, D.C. Shortly thereafter, Colbert poked fun at how Fox News basically celebrated Scott Brown’s election as the new senator from Massachusetts as if the Republicans had just obtained the majority in the Senate, despite the fact the Democrats still hold a 59-41 majority. Had these two television hosts not said anything, Fox likely would have never reported these exaggerations to the public. These are the types of mistakes that raise issues of ethics. In journalism, credibility is everything, and when one media outlet touts itself as “fair and balanced” and then does not live up to that standard, credibility is lost. It’s interesting to ponder whether media outlets watch these shows and make changes based on the flaws pointed out by both Stewart and Colbert. On at least one occasion, a news network has acknowledged a mistake and apologized. Fox News anchor Sean Hannity responded to Stewart’s remarks about using the wrong footage by saying the incident was an “inadvertent mistake.” Perhaps the biggest reason these shows should be considered ombudsmen of the entire political world is they
act as the fact-checkers for our politicians. More often than not, the two shows use footage taken from Congress and interviews of politicians to point out the flaws in their statements. In Oliver’s report on health care from Hawaii, he interviews a politician attending the meeting who admitted to not knowing how health care in Hawaii worked. She went on to say, “What I do know is as a universal rule it simply does not work.” This is wrong on a couple of levels. First, the health care system in Hawaii has worked incredibly well for more than four decades, as Oliver reported. Second, the U.S. is ranked 37th in health care according to the World Health Organization, behind at least 33 countries that utilize a universal health care system. The most frequent thing both these shows do, especially during election coverage, is point out people who flipflop on issues. In this way, they are not only being ombudsmen — they are a viable source of news. So, in essence, they become media news outlets. More and more of the younger generation get their political news from either Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert. Heck, the only reason I know some of the things that go on at other networks is from watching these shows. In July 2009, Stewart won an online poll on Time Magazine’s website as the most trusted newscaster since the passing of Walter Cronkite. Functioning as the ombudsmen of the political world cannot be an easy task, but the “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” do a great job of it. And in the process they have both become viable political news programs. Fox News, MSNBC and the rest of the political world better watch their backs or else these programs may just overtake them in the world of political media. Perhaps they already have.
STEVE RICH -regular columnist -senior -communication major
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editors: lindsey brookbank, kim walter featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
november 5, 2010
She said: In life, success comes he from finding your best study habits she ast night, my friend openly said, “Life is a competition.” I wonder L — is she right? After thinking about her statement, I can’t help but think we are all constantly playing “The Game of Life.” To begin the game you choose a car based on your favorite color. It’s similar to when we were kids. I could dress like Pippi Longstocking, and no one would judge me. I even rocked the middle hair part with platform sneakers back in day. In high school it was all about who had the best car, clothes and, more importantly, grades. You were friends with the kids in your grade, but they were also your competitors. In reality, you fight against them to earn a college acceptance letter from a better institution. Although high school was less serious, we were still making life choices that affected where we ended up in life. Competition didn’t end when we made it to college. Looks and boyfriends are now less important but getting involved and earning positions within organizations are priorities. Today getting a college degree has the importance of what a high school degree once did. You need to get involved, get a great internship and add as many lines on your resume as possible to stay competitive. Everything changes in the game when you land on the first stop sign and have to choose your job. This is the first crucial point on the board where you can positively or negatively affect your chances of becoming a millionaire. My dream is to pick the cop card so I can earn $5,000 when my competi-
tors spin a 10 on the game wheel. It’s all about money — and so is the real world. And how do we get that money? While a college degree is not as prestigious as it once was, grades are still important. Without a good GPA, a student will have a hard time getting a great internship. Without a great internship, one will struggle to get a great job. It’s a vicious cycle. As Virginia Tech students, the first step in this cycle is a Scantron exam. It has been almost a year and a half that I have been an undergraduate student at Tech, and I still cannot remember to bring a pencil. Students are not afraid to skip class or even forget about a homework assignment, but when exam time comes around, we all get serious. It’s all about cramming and note cards when it comes to my study habits. My personal strategy is to use note cards as a way to balance out my procrastination. I may only be studying a day or two in advance, but note cards make me look and feel productive. Exam day is always the same. Even when you feel prepared, you get that feeling when you wake up. You wonder — am I really ready? I try to go into the exam with a positive attitude and tell myself I am as prepared as I’ll ever be. But am I? I sit down, flip through my note cards in a fierce manner and look around to make sure the other students look as nervous as me. It may be evil, but it is comforting to see the faces of those who have just learned it’s exam day. I’ll ask for a pencil from a peer and wish them good luck as the exams are being passed out.
SAID
5
Once I begin an exam, I become very paranoid. I feel trapped. You can’t put four B’s in a row on the Scantron sheet, can you? No professor would do that. But wait — is that what they want me to think? As I continue to debate the question, I get interrupted by students sniffling, breathing heavily and those tapping their pencils. While it is extremely obnoxious, the distracting noises let me know I’m not the only one that is nervous. In high school, I quickly learned that my dad’s advice to always choose C wasn’t the best decision. So when I struggle to come up with a decision, I stick to my gut. I was raised in one of the most competitive families that has ever lived. In fact, one time we didn’t speak for three days after a game of “Sorry.” Therefore, I’ve recently found success by considering exams a game. Note cards may take forever, but they seem to be working for me. I’m dangerously close to approaching the job search space on the game board. To avoid losing and ending up with a home that is split in half, note cards seem to be my secret weapon. I may not be a cop, or even a millionaire at the end of my life, but I do plan to end up somewhat successful. Note cards alone clearly won’t get me there. But hey — they’re a good start.
CHELSEA GUNTER -features staff writer -sophomore -communication major
JAMIE MARTYN / COLLEGIATE TIMES
He said: Study habits only effective if procrastination never sets in his week’s column was supposed to be a lighthearted piece T about funny studying experiences. Unfortunately, Halloween weekend crippled my productivity, and as a result there’s only enough time to prepare for my exam. Thereisn’tmuchinthewayofhumor at Procrastinators Anonymous meetings. The pale faces and tired eyes show only surrender as the inevitable flood of late arrivals delay the start time. To say the room — a shame-filled middle school gymnasium — carries the feeling of a morgue does a disservice to that noble industry. Funeral home corpses mock our disheveled appearances and utter lack of animation, cackling at us in their expertly prepared suits: “You’ll probably be late for your own death.” If a man can’t find humor in the
darkest of places, then he has no chance of making it through them. My levity was found in the naive confessions of cohorts; specifically, their insistence that, “It wasn’t always this way.” Gee, thanks for the blinding flash of the obvious guys. Once upon a time even the sorriest SOB in the circle was a bright-eyed child who caught the school bus and arrived at church 10 minutes before Mass. Somewhere along the way, though, the theme park ride went off the rails, and we had to make our own decisions. Those of us sitting in the room hadn’t just made the wrong ones —we’d waited until the last possible minute to do so. When people find out you are a procrastinator, they tend to assume it’s a flaw that can be fixed — a zit that can be popped and covered by make-
up in time for the school dance. If only it were that easy. It never failed to amuse me when well-meaning friends suggested study skills courses or a course planner, as if they were revealing the answer to a particularly challenging round of charades. The truth is that procrastination, like George Lopez’s twisted obsession with inflicting pain upon his audience, is an internal compulsion for which there is no simple fix. Most people delay starting an assignment or fritter away study time. That’s not chronic procrastination — it’s human nature. My condition was significantly more severe: I enjoyed putting work off until the last minute. The thrill of completing an assignment with my back to the wall became such a high that the idea of doing anything in advance became
preposterous. Pushing the limits of timeliness and emerging on the other side successfully was a drug. Never mind that the quality of my output resembled M. Night Shyamalan’s post-“The Sixth Sense” — my concern was with the adventure not the destination. This behavior had started innocently enough in high school. Like most teens I experimented a little bit with procrastination. It wasn’t much, just the occasional late night paper or lunch study session. I was too young to understand lackadaisical effort rewarded by success would only lead me further and further down the rabbit hole. Sure enough, by the time I arrived at college the occasional poor study habits had snowballed into a last-minute lifestyle. Suddenly I was swept up in a world
of Red Bull and late night infomercials. The Slap Chop became my only tie to humanity as night became morning and myself, a vivacious college student, turned into caffeineaddled zombie. Some concerned friends and family tried to talk sense into me, but I heard nothing of it. “Look at my GPA,” I’d tell them. “If I was really struggling, how could I have a 3.0?” Of course it was all self-deception. I hid behind test grades as validation for an ultimately hollow life fraught with anxiety and constant near misses with failure. By the time I had fallen in with the mob, my life had become a whirlwind of delusion, hostility and empty Diet Coke cases. I can’t go back and warn my youthful self of the dangers of chronic pro-
crastination. The decisions of the past have been made. However, those of you searching for wisdom still have a chance to save yourself from the anxiety and caffeine addiction to which this lifestyle leads. There’s no easy solution, but that’s the point. Sometimes you have to fight the urge to put it off until tomorrow, sit down and take care of business. Save yourself a lot of trouble, rehab and witness protection program relocation — just do the damn thing.
ANDREW REILLY -features staff writer -junior -communication major
Tina Fey talks about Will Ferrell, new movie ‘Megamind’ and receiving Twain Prize JULIE HINDS mcclatchy newspapers
MCT CA MPUS
Tina Fey sounds impressed by the talent of her cartoon alter ego in the upcoming 3D movie “Megamind.” “The animation adds so much and adds this visual element to your performance that I was joking with my husband after I saw the cut. I was like, ‘Oh, my animated self is a much better actor than I am. Her face is so much more expressive,’” says the star of “30 Rock.” As the voice of TV reporter Roxanne Ritchi, Fey brings her smart comic style to the all-star cast of “Megamind,” which opens Friday. In the funny animated adventure, Will Ferrell provides the voice of the title character, a bril-
MCT CAMPUS
liant supervillain who is surprisingly endearing. Brad Pitt is his nemesis, Metro Man, the brave superhero who protects Metro City. Megamind’s efforts to defeat Metro Man consistently fail, so much so that even he is surprised when one of his attempts actually works. Feeling lost without a foe to oppose, Megamind tries to create a new hero, Tighten (Jonah Hill), who quickly becomes destructive. Can Megamind change his supervillainous ways and save the city? As Metro Man’s girlfriend, Fey’s nononsense character is frequently kidnapped by Megamind — and not at all intimidated by him. For the actress, it was a chance to work on a project starring her former “Saturday
Night Live” colleague Ferrell and directed by Tom McGrath, who helmed the hit “Madagascar” movies. She thought the role was pretty cool, too. “I really liked the part, taking that kind of archetypal Lois Lane part and updating it for the 21st century,” says Fey, speaking by phone from Los Angeles. On Friday, she appeared in costume as Roxanne on “Today” for the morning show’s Halloween celebration. Fey is one of the most successful stars of comedy on television and in the movies, but she says she definitely sees herself as a writer first. She was a cast member and the first female head writer for “Saturday Night Live.” Her sitcom “30 Rock,” where she’s a writer and executive producer, is an Emmy favorite. She’s starred in films like 2004’s “Mean Girls,” which she also wrote, 2008’s “Baby Mama” and 2010’s “Date Night.” In the pop-culture arena, she’s had an impact on entertainment and politics with her Sarah Palin impression. On Nov. 9, she will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in Washington. Previous winners include Bill Cosby, George Carlin,Steve Martin, Carl Reiner, Bob Newhart and Richard Pryor. Fey is the third woman to get the prize; it went to Whoopi Goldberg in 2001 and Lily Tomlin in 2003. “It’s a huge honor and I can’t believe the company that (I’m) being included in,” she says. “It’s something I never even dreamed of in my life. It’s the kind of thing that I’m just really excited for my parents to be there.” But Fey isn’t one to talk up her accomplishments. While discussing the recent live episode of “30 Rock,” she credits director Beth McCarthy-Miller as “the MVP of that whole experience.” And she’s quick to point out that many talented women have found success in TV comedy. “I think you’ve seen the face of ‘Saturday Night Live’ and the dynamic of ‘Saturday Night Live’ change so much in the last 10 years. And just in general, I think there are just more
women taking an interest in this, in improv and sketch comedy,” she says. One of the highlights of “Megamind” is the banter between Fey and Ferrell as Roxanne and Megamind. Although such voice work is usually done separately, the “SNL” veterans were able to record some of their dialogue together. “We did do several sessions together, which was a real treat,” she says. “You can improvise a little bit.” Fey describes animation work as “really fun and freeing, because you get to goof around in the studio and you get to try things as many different ways as you want to, because they do all the voice recording first and then they choose what they want and animate it.” And she says it was nice to reunite with Ferrell, describing him as a funny,
generous colleague. “He’s not the kind of person who wants to be doing all the talking all the time, or be stealing the scene. He started in improv and stuff at the Groundlings, and you can tell he’s just like a great, great team player kind of guy.” Fey doesn’t overload her busy schedule with movie roles. “It seems to be that what my family and I can bear is about one every other year. And this animated thing certainly was a great way to be in a movie without having to pick up the whole family and move or something like that,” she says. She wants to write another movie “at some point, but I can’t imagine being able to do that until the TV series is over.” On “30 Rock,” many of the laughs
come from the career and life stress that her character, Liz Lemon, copes with as a single producer of an “SNL”-style TV show. Does the motivation for irritating Liz come from Fey? “I think I must on some level enjoy playing those scenes,” she says. “I would rather be hit in the face with a million pizzas than have to do one genuine love scene, so I think in a way it does come from me.” Fey recently was a guest on Comedy Central’s “Night of Too Many Stars,” the autism education benefit hosted by Jon Stewart, where she pitched a premium for contributors: a wacky Tina Fey calendar — one month showed her as a Chippendales-style male dancer. “I have not heard how many they sold. I hope 80 million, but I don’t have the hard numbers on it,” she jokes.
6 sports
editors: michael bealey, garrett ripa sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
november 5, 2010
Kickoff return and interception cap frantic late-night victory ED LUPIEN sports staff writer With two-and-a-half minutes remaining in Thursday night’s game, sophomore David Wilson blew by 11 Yellow Jackets untouched to return a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to subsequently give No. 22 Virginia Tech its first win over visiting Georgia Tech in two years. “He’s a tough guy to catch,” Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said of Wilson. “He’s been in a couple of those, and those are two big plays in our season.” The season started tumultuously. After losing the first two games of the season, Virginia Tech has bounced back and appears destined to compete for an Atlantic Coast Conference championship. Wilson’s kickoff came after Georgia Tech tied the game at 21. The Hokies defeated the Yellow Jackets 28-21 and took further control of the Coastal Division of the ACC. The Yellow Jackets responded by coming within 20 yards of the endzone but could not counter with a scoring effort as backup quarterback Tevin Washington threw an interception to Hokies cornerback Rashad Carmichael in the final seconds of the game. “I thought defensively we got a little bit used to the speed of them and did a couple of things that countered what they were trying to do against
JOSHUA MILLER / SPPS
The Hokies offensive unit celebrates Tyrod Taylor’s second half touchdown pass to tight end Andre Smith, which gave the Hokies their first lead of the game, 21-14. us,” Beamer said. “Offensively we didn’t take advantage of a couple things early but we did some good things too. It wasn’t a beautiful thing to watch but the score was pretty.”
And the last addition to that score was Wilson’s dash. “The kickoff return was just a killer,” said Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson. “You don’t want to squib kick
and give them the ball on the 40-yardline with 2:35 and all their timeouts left. It was supposed to be a deep right kick and we kick the ball down the middle of the field and don’t adjust.”
Down 14-7 at halftime, the Hokies scored three touchdowns, two of which were by Wilson, in the fourth quarter. “I’m proud of our football team,” Beamer said. “I thought we hung in there and battled. We came back in the second half and got a couple of scores that were needed. We had some good tough play by our offense.” Quarterback Tyrod Taylor found tight end Andre Smith in the endzone on a two-yard pass with six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to give Virginia Tech its first lead of the game. Taylor completed 15 of 25 passes for 136 yards. The senior also rushed for 57 yards. The Yellow Jackets, however, marched down the field on the following drive, with Washington completing a 42-yard pass to wide receiver Tyler Melton. It was the first Yellow Jacket completion of the contest and set up a nineyard touchdown run by running back Orwin Smith to tie the game 21-21. Georgia Tech amassed 346 rushing yards in the game, with running back Anthony Allen accounting for 125. Just as he did in the teams’ meeting last season, Hokies running back Ryan Williams found the endzone to put the Hokies on the board after the Yellow Jackets scored back-to-back touchdowns in the first quarter.
Williams rushed for 30 yards on seven carries in his second game back from a hamstring injury. Redshirt junior running back Darren Evans led the Hokies with 68 rushing yards. The Hokies found themselves in a position to tie seven minutes later until Taylor threw an interception to Georgia Tech cornerback Rod Sweeting on the 10th play of the Hokie drive. After a 33-yard run by Anthony Allen on the following drive brought the Yellow Jackets within striking distance, heralded Yellow Jacket quarterback Josh Nesbitt threw an interception to rover Davon Morgan at the one-yardline. A hard hit on the play knocked Nesbitt out of the game with a right forearm injury. With Nesbitt out, the teams traded scoreless drives for the third quarter until a fourth down pass interference call on the Yellow Jackets set up a 15yard touchdown run by Wilson with 13:21 left in the game to make it a 14-14 game. The Hokies are now 7-2 overall, 5-0 in the ACC and hold a commanding lead atop the Coastal Division standings. “We have some great kids who just hang in there and battle,” Beamer said. “From where we started out to where we are right now, we control our own destiny.”