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Tuesday, November 9, 2010
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COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 116
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Arts & Entertainment, page 6
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Board of Visitors tackles budget, construction GORDON BLOCK associate news editor Finances and campus development were focal points as Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors met Sunday and Monday. The board reviewed the development of several projects, including the Signature Engineering Building along Prices Fork Road and a $7.31 million revised expansion of the West End Market dining hall. The board also approved a $2 million expansion of
Tech’s fiber optic capabilities. A joint session of the finance and audit committee and buildings and grounds committee was briefed on the debate over adding Blacksburg meal and lodging taxes to select on-campus purchases. Despite the collaboration in charging local taxes at concessions stands at Lane Stadium and Cassell Coliseum, which brought in an estimated $96,000, the board said a similar action would not be possible on-campus. Those taxes are charged by outside vendors. Tech’s dining halls are operated by the university.
The board noted that case law would not require Tech to pay the tax, and if it did enforce the tax, the funds generated could only be given to the state treasurer, not the town. Vice President of Administrative Services Sherwood Wilson said that if Tech could implement the tax, the town would receive a payment of about “$39,000 and some change.” “It’s a lot to do for a very limited amount of money,” Wilson said. The board also approved a resolution requiring Hokie Stone to be used for all new buildings and expansion
projects for academic or life sciences structures. Sunday’s informational meeting focused primarily on Tech’s progress on its 2006-2012 development plans. While most areas were progressing on schedule, faculty pay was one struggling area for Tech. Tech’s pay for faculty in 2010 fell in the 33rd percentile among peers selected by the State Council for Higher Education Virginia, short of its goal of the 53rd percentile. The ranking is a decline from the 35th percentile in 2009.
The board also noted struggles in both the value of Tech’s endowment and fundraising totals because of the weakened economy. Tech raised $81.8 million in fiscal year 2010, short of its goal of $91 million for the year but an improvement from $79.2 million for fiscal year 2009. President Charles Steger said in the future he’d like to see Tech raise $100 million a year. The board Monday also unanimously passed a resolution honoring Charles Yates, Tech’s first black graduate who passed away in August. Yates had also
served as a professor in the engineering department and as a member of the board. Tech held a celebration honoring Yates’s life this past Friday afternoon. The board had discussed making the resolution in August, but the resolution was pushed to Monday’s meeting. Board member Calvin Jamison said Yates had “the perfect demeanor to be here at that time.” “It’s important for the board to carry on the work he started,” Jamison said. The board’s next scheduled meeting is March 27-28.
Group encourages Tech to use clean energy GLC celebrates fifth anniversary KATIE NOLAND news staff writer
Beyond Coal at Virginia Tech is joining colleges across the nation in its goal to use 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2020. “It’s a starting goal. We believe it’s aggressive but feasible, aggressive in terms of decreased carbon dioxide emissions,” said Kara Dodson, project coordinator of Beyond Coal at Tech. Beyond Coal’s goals coincide with those of the university’s Climate Action Commitment and Sustainability Plan. The plan has three main objectives: stating Tech’s climate action commitment plans specific to the university, creating an action plan to achieve the goals of that commitment and creating a plan to enhance Tech’s sustainability programs and culture. The goal similar to Beyond Coal’s is that Tech intends to reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. However, Beyond Coal is approaching the issue more aggressively. “The university doesn’t agree on the 2020 goal,” Dodson said. Based on the Climate Action Commitment, which says Tech will move off coal between 2025 and 2050, the changes to greenhouse gas emissions seem inevitable. “We want to educate, network and unify research at Tech. We want to see what the conversion will look like,” Dodson said. According to Dodson, renewable technology is clean technology. These kinds of technology include wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels and geothermal energy sources. Biomass is also a strong energy option for Tech. Biomass is biological material from living or recently living organisms. “Wood pellets and waste material turn into combustion material. You still burn it,” Dodson said. “Tech is, in some ways, a unique situation,” said Richard Rich, faculty sponsor for Beyond Coal, director of the center for environmental and energy studies and a professor of political science. “The way in which they use the coal-fired plant limits flexibility. Solar would be easy and obvious for electricity. But we use it to generate steam, so we need something that will do that. Biomass is best here,” Rich said. Dodson also said biomass was a possibility to fuel Tech. “Biomass is a strong option. We support it and it’s sustainably sourced. You can grow and maintain switch grass. Biomass sources are [mainly] in West Virginia and Southwest
Virginia, where there used to be mountaintop removal mines,” Dodson said. Rich said it is also easy to find. “Biomass is a carbon neutral — basically anything that was once living matter, such as wood, agricultural waste, residue from picking up leaves, or dead animals,” Rich said.
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Every power source has advantages and disadvantages. We stick with coal because we already spent so much on infrastructure. ALEK DUERKSEN Ph.D. STUDENT, MINING AND MINERALS ENGINEERING
“When it is burned it releases CO2, but it can’t produce more than the organism had taken in and stored in body,” Rich said. “With coal, we are taking carbon that was out of the global carbon cycle for millions of years and putting it back in, unbalancing it,” Rich said. While it minimizes carbon dioxide emissions, there are other issues with bio-
mass. “Biomass depends on how you approachit,”saidNinoRipepi,research assistant professor at the center for coal and energy research and manager of clean coal technology programs. “There is less CO2 with biomass, but the ash content is higher.” Ripepi also pointed out the economical issues with biomass. “It’s cheaper to use coal and much cheaper to produce electricity,” he said. Two problems with biomass are that it is not as dense in energy as coal and there is limited space to store it. “The more volume, the more it costs to ship. Pelletized biomass gets around that. Better energy density makes storage easier to work with. It depends on economics; there may be more
expenses upfront but it can cheaper in the long run,” Ripepi said. Butsomeofthoseinitialcostscouldbe offset. “You would need to modify boilers,” said Alek Duerksen, a Ph.D. student in mining and minerals engineering. “Co-firing mixed coal and biomass is an option. You wouldn’t spend as much upfront. Boilers are due for replacement in 2020. It would make sense to switch then,” Duerksen said. see COAL / page two
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Above - The power plant is powered by coal. Below - Beyond Coal frequently holds clean energy rallies.
MEIGHAN DOBER news staff writer Virginia Tech alumni, graduate students and staff all gathered in the Graduate Life Center’s multipurpose room last Friday to celebrate its fifth anniversary. The GLC was originally the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center. With the opening of the Inn at Virginia Tech, the vacated building became the new location for the graduate school, which had been housed in Sandy Hall. Karen DePauw, vice president and dean for graduate education, has been working in the GLC since the time of its conversion. “We had an opportunity to create this unique center,” DePauw said. The GLC officially opened to students in August 2005, although it was still undergoing multiple renovations. Since the opening of the GLC, graduate students have been able to claim a place of their own on campus. The GLC houses 110 graduate students, in furnished single or double rooms. Other features of the GLC include an auditorium, various meeting rooms, a video conference room, a graduate student lounge, a multipurpose room and the plaza and an amphitheater located outside. “The GLC has provided a space and a place for graduate students to interact with the community as graduate students,” DePauw said. The GLC houses different academic, social and cultural events throughout the year. These events encourage graduate students to interact with each other and the community. Although called the “Graduate Life Center,” the building is used for undergraduates as well. The auditorium and multiple other rooms are used for undergraduate level classes and corps activities. Although the GLC has proved to be beneficial to students at Tech, it has seen misfortune. A murder took place in the Au Bon Pain in the GLC in January of 2009. “It was very unfortunate,” DePauw said. “The graduate community and residents tried to reclaim the space with all due respect to the victim. A
strong sense of community helped everyone get through that time.” To celebrate the anniversary, there were various activities set up in the multipurpose room. Guests could view a slideshow of graduate students’ pictures that described their everyday life. Prizes were given to those knowledgeable of the GLC, tested through a quiz. One of the favorite stations was the “dream wall.”
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This is student affairs and academic parts coming together. It is a delight to see what it is now and what it is becoming. KAREN DePAUW VICE PRESIDENT AND DEAN FOR GRADUATE EDUCATION
Students and faculty could write down their aspirations for the GLC in the future. Some of the frequent responses were for there to be more social events, more food options, better parking arrangements, a place where graduate students can consume adult beverages and a daycare service to be provided for graduate students with children. Halfway through the event, DePauw addressed the guests. “What you see today are the voices of the graduate students,” DePauw said. “There is nothing like it in the nation.” In her speech, DePauw thanked all the contributors to the GLC. “Outstanding GLC Contributor” awards were given out to those organizations that have offered their services to the GLC. Cook Counseling Center, which has provided its services for the past two years and Career Services, which has provided its services and set up workshops for the past five years, were the two recipients of the award. Superlatives were also awarded to select graduate students. These superlatives ranged from “Most Studious GLC Patron” and “GLC Biker Award” to “Most Reservations in the GLC.” “This is student affairs and academic parts coming together,” Depauw said. “It is a delight to see what it is now and what it is becoming.”
2 news
news editors: philipp kotlaba, liana bayne, gordon block newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
november 9, 2010
[
nation & world headlines
]
BP didn’t ‘favor dollars over safety’ WASHINGTON — The lead counsel for the presidential panel investigating the Gulf oil spill said Monday that his inquiry so far has not found evidence to support earlier, widespread public speculation that BP sacrificed safety to save money as it drilled the Macondo well. In presenting his preliminary findings to the panel, general counsel Fred Bartlit said, “To date we have not seen a single instance where a human being made a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety.” Bartlit also said that based on his team’s work so far, they agreed with “90 percent” of a September report by BP into the causes of the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 men and spewed nearly 5 million barrels of oil — the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The commission’s conclusions, along with those of several other ongoing investigations, are likely to have important implications for government policymakers and the many lawsuits pending against BP. Bartlit shied away from assigning blame for the April 20 disaster. “We are not making any legal judgments on liability, negligence or gross negligence or any legal issues at all,” he said. “It’s a hard thing to do. Our effort is to look at cause, not liability.” During the first of two days of hearings in Washington, Bartlit and his team answered many important questions while posing new ones. -neela banjeree, mcclatchy newspapers
CORRECTIONS JUSTIN GRAVES -Contact our public editor at publiceditor@ collegiatetimes.com if you see anything that needs to be corrected.
COLLEGIATETIMES
Coal: Group wants clean energy by 2020
from page one
Currently, the power plant on campus is used mostly to make steam. “An alternative is having a way to produce heat from each building. It’s expensive, but we might see this before something further down the line,” Ripepi said. “Buying electricity from providers and verifying electricity is from green energy sources is another option,” Ripepi said. Dodson also pointed to solar as an option. “You could power 50 percent of
campus with solar. How cool would it be to see turbines and not a smoke stack? It’s a sign of old technology,” Dodson said. Beyond Coal thinks Tech should be a leading school in switching to renewable energy sources. It sees it as an embodiment of Tech’s motto, Ut Prosim. Duerksen thinks Beyond Coal can achieve the symbolism it’s looking for by simply being good engineers. “Every power source has advantages and disadvantages. We stick with coal because we already spent so much on infrastructure,”
DAILY Offense
Duerksen said. Rich said with the increase of oil prices, the price of coal would also increase. “Oil production is predicted to peak in 2014. The beginning of the gap between supply and demand is predicted for 2030. Tech could insulate itself from price shocks and increasing costs,” Rich said. “Tech is located in area with a lot of biomass resources. We could be keeping money at home rather than sending out of state. It’s prudent to start looking at alternatives,” Rich said. While Tech has committed to eventually moving from
its reliance on coal, it has not yet committed to the 2020 goal. For that reason Beyond Coal continues to hold rallies and events to push Tech toward that decision. “Our school has so much prestige and knowledge and importance in community, region and state. This is something our school can be proud of,” Dodson said. “We (Beyond Coal) are working together, not versus the university,” Dodson said. “A group of ten or so students can’t come up with the answers by themselves.”
CRIME Date
42 Alcohol related offense
Nov. 4
Threatening phone call
Nov. 4
Time 6:30 p.m.9:30 p.m. 8:08 p.m.
BLOTTER
Location
Status
Lane Stadium
42 Arrested
Newman Library
Active
Hit and Run (minor property damage)
Nov. 5
12:46 p.m.
Coliseum lot
Active
Larceny of money and forgery
Nov. 4-5
7:15 p.m.9:17 a.m.
Coliseum (outside)
Active
Larceny of steel tubing
Nov. 1-5
10:00 a.m.3:15 p.m.
Plantation Road
Inactive
Hit and Run (minor property damage)
Nov. 5
2:15 p.m.
B-lot
Active
Larceny of an iPhone
Nov. 4
Lane Stadium
Inactive
Harassment
Nov. 5
10:15 p.m.11:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.11:00 p.m.
Ramble Road
Active
Underage possession of alcohol
Nov. 6
1:14 a.m.
WAJ
Inactive:Referred to Office of Student Conduct
Underage possession of alcohol
Nov. 6
2:23 a.m.
Prichard Hall
Inactive:Referred to Office of Student Conduct
Appearing intoxicated in public
Nov. 6
12:22 a.m.
Squires parking lot
Arrested
Appearing intoxicated in public
Nov. 6
1:08 a.m.
Drillfield
Arrested
Breaking and entering, larceny of money
Nov. 5-6
7:00 p.m.4:00 p.m.
Slusher Tower
Inactive
Underage possession of alcohol Driving under the influence of alcohol
Nov. 7 Nov. 7
1:11 a.m. 1:41a.m.
Drillfield Main St/College Ave
Inactive Arrested
Vandalism (broken window)
Nov. 7
1:49 a.m.
Slusher Tower
Arrested
Assault and Battery (no injuries) Assault and Battery (no injuries)
Nov. 7 Nov. 7
2:52 a.m. 6:55 p.m.
outside Dietrick Hall Eggleston Hall
Arrested Inactive
Daily Fire Log--No incidents to report Traffic--crash (vehicle/pedestrian) on Washington Street reported at 2000 hours on November 5, 2010. One summons was issued for failure to yield to a pedestrian. The pedestrian sustained non-life threatening injuries.
[
nation & world headlines
]
U. of Central Florida probes cheating ORLANDO, Fla. — Close to 600 students in a senior-level business course at University of Central Florida must retake a midterm exam after a professor was tipped off to cheating. Students who admit to cheating will be given the chance to complete the course if they attend an ethics seminar, Professor Richard Quinn told students. Those who don’t step forward will be found out anyway, Quinn promised during an emotional lecture. The incident, Quinn told students, has left him “physically ill, absolutely disgusted” and “completely disillusioned” after 20 years of teaching. All the students must take the rewritten midterm exam by midnight Wednesday. Students who are found not to have cheated will be able to keep the higher score of the two. All faculty have been alerted about the apparent security breach, Quinn told students. Some students were starting to complain about classmates who were bragging about acing the exam because they had copies of the exam key. Quinn reviewed exam scores and discovered it is likely that one-third of the students in the strategic management course cheated. He decided not to cancel the course because it would be unfair to students who did not cheat. But he did toss the exam scores for everybody. Faculty members have rewritten the midterm — 200 questions — so the exam key for the original test is useless. “It’s disappointing these actions took place,” UCF spokesman Grant Heston said of the apparent cheating, but the incident demonstrates policies in place to detect cheating are working. UCF has testing labs that are monitored to deter cheating. -luis zaragoza, mcclatchy newspapers
opınıons 3
editors: scott masselli, gabi seltzer opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
november 9, 2010
The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
Can a house divided still stand strong? ast Tuesday the voters spoke. While the Democrats were L able to hang on to a slim majority in the Senate, they weren’t so lucky in the House of Representatives, where they ceded control. But what does it mean? Does it mean President Barack Obama has really done that bad of a job? While many people may not agree on how to reform health care, I think the majority of Americans know our health care system needs serious reshaping. First, let’s look at some other countries that have affordable and reliable health care coverage. In terms of pure percentage of gross domestic product, Germany spends 10.7 percent of its GDP on health care, and Japan spends only about 8 percent of its GDP on health care. To put that in perspective, the United States spends nearly 16 percent of its GDP on health care costs. When Obama passed what became known as the infamous “Obamacare” health care legislation, it was made out to be not just a health care bill, but also a move toward socialism, authoritarianism, tyranny and despotism. And while I do not think it is OK for the government to mandate you buy anything, I’m perfectly happy with the provision that extends the length of time a person can be on their parents’ insurance by four years. What this election means is Obama’s health care bill is going to come under attack. As Republican Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia said, “If all of Obamacare cannot be immediately repealed, then it is my intention to begin repealing it piece by piece, blocking funding for its implementation and blocking the issuance of the regulations necessary to implement it.” This strategy of trying to kill the bill may backfire because all it will be able to do is create “chaos, which is all the Republicans will be able to manage thanks to Mr. Obama’s veto pen.” Obama’s work on job growth is often misrepresented. I know the
economy has not completely recovered, and many families are still struggling to get by in this recession. One of the main criticisms of Obama is he is bad for private businesses. However, private sector nonfarm payrolls rose 159,000, meaning the economy under Obama has been fueling private sector jobs. The real concern about the divisions in the House is whether we can avoid a government shut down like the one in 1995. For all the talk about how bad the Obama administration has been, and how they’ve made the situation a lot worse, he has done some good. The real problem of the election results is that politics have become more and more polarizing in Washington. The most likely outcome of the election results is that “deadlock over the Bush tax cuts will see them expire, letting taxes rise sharply by default. Without further help from the federal government, cash-strapped states will sack employees and cut benefits next year.” There are too many important economic deadlines coming up to waste time in Washington. On Nov. 30, the temporary stimulus will expire, Dec. 1 is the deadline for the fiscal commission, on Dec. 3 the budget resolution expires, and of course the highly debated Bush tax cuts are set to expire on Dec. 31 this year. There needs to be a compromise on the Bush tax cuts otherwise the amount of withholdings from people’s paychecks will jump nearly 12 percent on average. If all of the time in Washington is spent bickering, these issues are going to go unresolved to the detriment of the entire country.
JEFF HOMAN -regular columnist -sophomore -history major
Your Views [letter to the editor]
The “VP Is In” Wednesday Good morning Hokies, Do you want your voice heard but don’t know how to effectively reach the school administration? Look no further than your Student Government Association. The SGA will be hosting the last “VP Is In” session of the fall on Wednesday, Nov. 10 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., in Squires Student Center, room 321. Edward Spencer, vice president for student affairs, will be hosting office hours in the SGA office to answer questions, field inquiries and help students with any issues in student life at Virginia Tech. Dr. Spencer has taken time out of his day each month to help students better understand what the future holds for
students at Tech and how we can be part of the movement effort. Topics discussed in the past included student parking, student conduct, Greek life, university expansion and more. Students are encouraged to attend if they are looking for clarification on student life or if they have just never met Dr. Spencer before. These conversations serve as the foundation of change for student policies and activities for the years to come. Dr. Spencer is an exemplary representation of what Hokie spirit entails and he would like to hear from students who share the same passion for “Ut Prosim” he does.
Michael Doughty, SGA chief of staff Marketing/management, 2011
we’re YOUR newspaper.
MCT CAMPUS
Heeding the message, Yates’ legacy at Tech his past Friday, as the campus was quietly recovering from the T Hokies’ late-night win over Georgia Tech and the first major chill of the season, a significant event was taking place in War Memorial Chapel. The event was a formal tribute to the late Charlie L. Yates, who passed away in August. It was an opportunity for the university to publicly acknowledge and honor the legacy of the first black student to graduate from Virginia Tech in 1958. Yates faced many struggles during that time but persevered to graduate, and eventually to come back to Tech and serve as an engineering professor, as well as a member of the Board of Visitors. The event itself was quite moving and featured speakers President Charles Steger, Dean Richard Benson from engineering, Vice President William Lewis from Diversity and Inclusion as well as alumni Wayne Robinson and Calvin Jamison. Each spoke about the life and legacy of Yates and his impact on Tech. It was also fitting that English professor Lucinda Roy wrote a special poem that encapsulated the occasion and was a fitting tribute. One of the constant themes during the tribute was the importance of the foundation Yates helped to build — not only for black students — but also other under-represented students, faculty and staff. Speakers noted his work in South Africa during the ’90s, where he spent a year in the immediate aftermath of the end of apartheid to help encourage participation in the math and sciences by young children. Another prominent message was that Tech had a responsibility to ensure Yates’ legacy would be kept alive for future generations. While those in attendance included faculty, staff, close friends, community members and administration officials as well as members of
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about such efforts as the journey of Yates. We need to encourage faculty and staff to be role models and mentors to the students. Many of the faculty and alumni who spoke at the tribute reflected on their interactions with Yates, and how important it was to their own development. Today’s faculty and staff can have that same impact in working with students and their colleagues. In being more deliberate, faculty, staff and administrators need to be unafraid to work with students. Too many times there is a fear of working late with students afterhours, that their work will go unrecognized in the advancement process, or that students won’t participate. Such excuses have been used far too many times by individuals in order to avoid the needed work. If Yates had been afraid of interacting with students, faculty and staff, then his legacy would be very different and Tech would be a different place without him. For a man who while a student was denied the opportunity to live and eat on campus, it is fitting there is a residence hall jointly named for him along with Irving Peddrew. Just as we need to ensure we are more proactive in engaging students and others in activities, we need to ensure we are also more deliberate and more open to working with students and not going back to the same old excuses. Yates didn’t let excuses get in the way of his efforts, and nor should we.
RAY PLAZA -regular columnist -graduate student -curriculum and instruction
American media has significant impact on European attitudes W
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Yates’ immediate family, the one population in the minority was students. As I reflect back, it is disappointing that many students missed out on such a moving and motivational event. While the War Memorial Chapel could not have held the entire student body, it easily could have held many more students. The message about responsibility made me reflect about what this truly means. We often talk about Tech’s responsibility in attracting students from all backgrounds. However, we tend to ignore the other partner in this equation — the students themselves. In the end, it is the students who need to perform in the classroom, complete assignments and participate in group projects. It is this interaction between the students and university that is most critical. It is true Tech does try to make things easier and it also makes things more difficult for students; but what is Tech providing in order to assist in the success of students? I point this out because if more students could have heard about Yates’ efforts, they would have gained a valuable perspective. Why weren’t more students in attendance? Were they not invited? Were they too tired to attend? If we as a university are truly committed to ensuring the success of students and want to honor the foundation Yates helped build, then we should be proactive and not afraid to interact with students and other entities. We need not be afraid of letting students know about such opportunities. If students don’t know, they cannot understand the importance of the footsteps they are retracing as students. We need to be more deliberate in engaging students so they may learn
hen you think of the United States as a global figure, you think of our major corporations, military and economic power (or at least the memory of our economic power) and about our influence on world affairs. Yet, while living these past few months on the Swiss-Italian border, I’ve come to realize when it comes to the day-to-day European citizen, our media power may trump all of our other global influences. Especially the power of entertainment media. In an international dormitory of 70 students from about 10 countries, English is the communal language, and a second language bar me and another American. The fluency of English is pretty amazing; it’s not perfect, but communication with students from 10 other countries is pretty easy. Yet, I was surprised to learn only about half of the students had taken language classes in English. How did they learn such good English you might ask? Movies, music and the Internet. Yes, American media is far more than entertainment for many Europeans; it’s a cultural experience. European kids learn English from reciting movie quotes and lyrics. There have been countless times when I hear someone singing the
Beach Boys or Rihanna in perfect English — which would be normal, if it wasn’t an elementary student who can’t speak a work of English except for the lyrics they are singing. In every store I’ve been in, whether in Milan or a small mountain town grocery, I’ve only heard American music. It seems as though pop music is more popular in Europe than it is in the U.S. The same goes for movies. It is quite staggering how many Hollywood movies European students have seen. The average European would stand up against the most avid American movie-goer. And while most of them know that not everything in the movies is true, it seems movies leave a pretty deep impression on how they view America. The conversations of the first month consisted of me answering questions about the accuracy of movies on American lifestyle. Does everyone really act like that during spring break? Have you ever crashed a wedding? What are sororities like? If I go to Las Vegas, will I wake up with a tiger and a baby? As I saw disappointed faces after answering “no” to their questions (except for the last one), it was clear people view movies as a serious form
of cultural intake. Yet, no force is more influential as a source of American culture than YouTube. Because the videos on YouTube are viewed as real, any insignificant and outrageous video gets generalized. The European students have showed me more gun-toting, hamburgereating, whiskey-drinking American viral videos than I knew existed. Now, there is no denying using movies or music to formulate a perspective on American culture is both unfair and grossly inaccurate. Nonetheless, it is quite amazing how much attention other countries pay to our seemingly shallow entertainment industry. They soak it up eagerly. Personally, I think it’s completely irrational to take entertainment as fact on a country’s lifestyle and culture. But kids are learning the English language through movie quotes and lyrics. That says something about how important other countries think America is. It also shows how eagerly other people absorb the media material made available to them — regardless of how earnest or vile the material is.
MATTHEW ENGLISH -regular columnist -senior -architecture major
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SUBLEASE AVAILABLE NOW Share a 2 bedroom townhome with male roommate. Terrace View, close to campus. $415 + utilities. Heat and water included. Available NOW thru June 11. Contact Brad 703-919-9287
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
*****BARTENDING***** MAKE UP TO $300/ DAY. No Experience Necessary. Training Available. 1-800-965-6520 EXT210
PILATES STUDIO Announcing the opening of Blacksburg Pilates and Fitness Studio. Offering Equipment Based Pilates, Mat Pilates & Personal Training. www. blacksburgfitness.com
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ACROSS 1 Hitchcock’s wife and collaborator 5 Floater with a ladder 9 Garnish on a toothpick 14 Radio tuner 15 Peace Prize city 16 Kind of spray 17 Ringing sound 18 Hurricane zone 20 Unflappable 22 Playful swimmer 23 Craft 24 __ in November 25 Bodybuilder’s pride 28 Alternatively 33 “Time out!” 37 TV ad-skipping aid 40 “M*A*S*H” role 41 Palo __, Calif. 42 Dismay at the dealer 45 1970 World’s Fair site 46 Hearth burn consequence 47 Jacuzzi, e.g. 50 Polite oater response 54 Destroyer destroyer 56 Sprinter’s device 60 Sign of corporate success, and a literal hint to the puzzle theme found in 18-, 20-, 33-, 42- and 56Across 62 Con 63 Supple 64 Cornerstone word 65 Spotted 66 Prayer opening 67 Ball holders 68 Coastal raptors DOWN 1 Appends 2 Ray of “GoodFellas” 3 Some Musée d’Orsay works 4 Pool problem 5 Optimistic
By Dan Naddor
6 “The Thin Man” pooch 7 Dentist’s suggestion 8 Holy scroll 9 Not digressing 10 Prix de __ de Triomphe: annual horse race 11 Writer Dinesen 12 Shop cleaner, briefly 13 Caribou kin 19 Diagnostic proc. 21 “Shoot!” 26 Drag 27 Joust verbally 29 Strong criticism 30 Mardi Gras city’s Amtrak code 31 Trick-or-treat mo. 32 Bout stopper, for short 33 Wallop 34 NFL scores 35 “That’s a riot— not” 36 Cupid, to the Greeks 37 General associated with chicken
11/9/10 Friday’s Puzzle Solved
(c)2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
38 “__ a date!” 39 By way of 43 Negotiated white water, perhaps 44 Thick-bodied fish 47 One vis-à-vis two 48 Oregon State’s conf. 49 Diet doctor 51 Med. drama sets
9/29/10
52 He rid Ire. of snakes, as the legend goes 53 Pooh’s creator 55 Unimpressed 56 __ speak 57 Freq. test giver 58 Prime-time time 59 Pontiac muscle cars 60 Road warning 61 Up to, in ads
november 9, 2010
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F(ield) T(raining) (e)X(ercise) RIGHT - During a mission, the squad sets up an ambush against two enemy soldiers patrolling along a road. Cover and concealment are paramount in a successful ambush. FAR RIGHT - Cadets use any available surface to plot their landnav coordinates. For most, this was the ground. BELOW - A cadet scans for threats as the squad advances through a field en route to a link-up with a local who has information regarding a minefield and improvised explosive devices.
Road to war PHOTOS BY DANIEL LIN | spps
After a break for lunch, a squad of cadets travels to its first Situational Training Exercise lane. STX lanes last 90 minutes and encompass an entire mission, from deployment to extraction.
F(ield) L(eadership) R(eaction) C(ourse) FAR LEFT - On the second day of training, the cadets used a daisychain of belts as a makeshift rope to help hoist each other over the wall. FLRC is designed to test the leadership abilities of cadets in preparation for the Leader Development and Assessment Course. Cadets must complete LDAC before they can become commissioned as officers. LEFT - Cadets on the other side of the wall help pull another cadet up using a chain of belts. The cadets who participated in FLRC were all MS-3s, or juniors at Virginia Tech and Radford University. ABOVE - As the final part of their mission, cadets hoist up and secure the planks used to cross a gap between two wooden platforms. The exercises are designed to test the problem-solving skills of cadets as one unit, as well as the leadership abilities of the commanding officers assigned to the units. For each mission in FLRC, new cadet leaders are selected to command the unit.
entertainment 6‘BlindartsSide’&daughter gives back november 9, 2010
PATRICK MURPHY features staff writer Most know the critically acclaimed film “The Blind Side” is based on a true story. A family took in Michael Oher, now a Baltimore Raven, and he changed life forever. The movie’s success has been kind to the actors and the family alike. The family’s real life daughter, Collins Tuohy, is coming to Virginia Tech to speak. Since the film came out, Tuohy has been busy traveling all over the country, speaking everywhere from Los Angeles to New York to North Dakota. She will be delivering “Behind the Blindside: Overcoming Obstacles of Adversity” in Colonial Hall in Squires Student Center Wednesday at 7 p.m. Admission is $1 for students and $2 for the public. Tuohy spoke over the phone with the Collegiate Times to discuss the movie, her family, Oher and her speech.
COLLEGIATE TIMES: Tell me a little bit about what you’re going to be talking about. COLLINS TUOHY: One theme I talk about is adversity; another is giving. You’re afforded a lot of luxuries at college that you aren’t later on in life. One of those is being able to get involved in a lot of different things at the same time. I talk a lot about taking action and getting involved. You don’t have to be 40 to make a difference in the world.
CT: Why personally is this such a great cause for you? TUOHY: It’s probably because I’ve seen how it affected Michael. I’ve seen (how) doing such a small thing for someone can have such a great impact on them for the rest of their life. When you witness it, it becomes really hard to turn your back on it. You want to explain to everyone else why they should be doing the same thing. And if it works for one kid, it should work for hundreds and adults — there’s not really an age limit. I feel such a strong pull to get out there and share this message because I’ve seen
CT: In terms of your plans for the future, where do you see yourself going? TUOHY: Well I certainly didn’t see myself here. I majored in broadcast journalism. I’ve had endless amounts of offers to do that. I’ve had several offers to write columns in magazines. God has given me the ability to run my mouth about things that I feel are important. So, until people get tired of listening to me talk about it, I’m going to continue talking. Hopefully doors will open through this — but right now, this is keeping me busy full-time. CT: Getting back to the story that started it all, how shocked were you that Michael came into your life? Did your parents really surprise you? TUOHY: No. I talk about all of this in my speech. Michael had such very evident needs, and we didn’t have time to think about all of it. There wasn’t this big sit-down, everyone hold hands and sing “Kum Ba Yah.” We knew what to do. My mom wanted to make sure he was comfortable at school, that he had the right clothes, a lunch card, chemistry goggles — you know, things normal kids take for granted. We (soon) realized he needed a lot more than just that. Michael’s a little bit magical. You fall in love with him in about five seconds ... I don’t think God puts anything in your life that isn’t there for a reason, and he knew exactly what he was doing when he put Michael in our family. CT: Would you say that the movie was pretty accurate and true to your actual life? TUOHY: Yes, of course. There are always a few things that are a little off, but the message was 100 percent correct. We wanted this movie to stay true to the message, and it did — the movie was
COLLEGIATETIMES
RAPID FIRE REVIEWS read BY MATT BORYSEWICZ | features reporter
wonderful.
CT: Can you tell me a little bit about your relationship with Michael, either in high school or college? I didn’t get much of that from the movie. TUOHY: Michael and I were really close. I helped him a lot in high school, and he helped me a lot in college. We’ve lived a lot of life together. We’re the exact same age and (in) the exact same grade, so it’s a little bit like being twins. When he went to Baltimore, I had a little separation anxiety — not seeing him every day — it’s tough, but I see him once a week because I go to all of his games. He’s really busy, and I’m really busy — but we do keep in touch. We tweet, e-mail and text all the time. CT: How have you changed Michael, and how has he changed you? TUOHY: I appreciate everything in life because of Michael. He doesn’t teach it. He just kind of breathes it. He’s very appreciative of everything, and that’s definitely rubbed off on me. I think my outgoing personality has rubbed off on him a little bit. He’s a lot more outgoing now than he was when he first came into our family. CT: How critical is the role of sports in the Tuohy household? TUOHY: Oh, sports is huge. We eat, sleep and breathe it. The Tuohy family equals sports. We learn a lot of life lessons through it, and it’s gotten us through a lot of ups and downs. We have so many great memories that revolve around it. Some people have music or acting. The Tuohy family has sports.
OHY F COLLINS TU COURTESY O
CT: What exactly would you say is the mission of your talks? TUOHY: Obviously my family is a huge advocate of foster care adoption, but our push is that we want people to get off their butts and do something. There are a lot of issues in this world right now, and there are a lot of things — small things — you can do to help out.
first hand that it works. CT: So ultimately what is the message that you want people to take away? TUOHY: I want people to understand the power of one person giving. It can be such a monumental part of someone’s life, and you might have no idea it affected them in that way. It could be as simple as giving your winter coat every single winter. You just need to find something you’re passionate about and do it.
editors: lindsey brookbank, kim walter featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
Newsmap (www.newsmap.jp) The Internet has revolutionized news distribution. With it, several innovations have attempted to make delivery faster and more tailored to the individual. Some of these attempts have been successful, with more than a few ending up less so. Newsmap takes an interesting approach. The website creates treemaps — visual representations of news stories based on content volume — drawn from the Google news aggregator and organizes them based on a rough guesstimate of how “big” a news story is. The end result is an attempt at creating
an ever-changing image of the current news climate. This project sounds great on paper. But unfortunately, I have been less than excited about the end result. The treemaps don’t seem to update frequently enough. I can see roughly the same site when I wake up and when I go to bed on any given day. However, without knowing exactly how Newsmap collects the data, this could just as easily reflect a news climate that doesn’t actually change much throughout the day. I like the idea of Newsmap, but it
needs more polishing. Bonus points go to the customizability. With a click of the mouse, I can deselect the sports and entertainment news I don’t care much for, and it remembers my selections. Newsmap gets three clicks out of five. Keep working Newsmap. You have a great idea that just needs some polishing.
Newsmap gets three clicks out of five.
drink
Red Hook Limited Release Eisbock 28 There have been few times when I have been afraid of trying a beer. But clocking in at 11 percent alcohol by volume, I was definitely weary of Red Hook’s Eisbock 28. Red Hook is a craft brewery that distributes through Anheuser-Busch InBev and is best known for its LongHammer IPA. Eisbock 28 is a limited release beer that has been stored at freezing temperatures. The result is a higher alcohol content. This relatively rare brewing technique has often been used to crack the upper reaches of non-distilled spirits. My first impression of Eisbock 28 was that it was very red. Normally “red”
beers are more auburn in color, but this one takes it a step further and looks a little like cranberry juice. In some circles, “pretty” isn’t an adjective commonly accepted to describe a beer, but Eisbock 28 definitely fits the word. The beer’s aroma took me by surprise. I was expecting the bitterness that accompanies high-alcohol beers, but Eisbock 28 has only the barest hint of this. Instead, it presents a sweetness, which made me think, “Hey, this might not taste bad.” When the brew hit my mouth two things popped into my head. One, it was particularly viscous. The consistency was unexpected, but it wasn’t bad.
How I Met Your Mother I’ll admit, sometimes I’m a little behind the television curve. I blame pickiness and a tad bit of cynicism, but I usually don’t pick up on a new show unless it has come heavily recommended by friends. “How I Met Your Mother” is one of those shows. It premiered in 2005 but is still going strong, and I don’t regret picking it up now. The plot takes place in flashbacks as the main character, Ted, tells his children the story of how he met their mother but
quickly digresses into an autobiography about him and his friends living in New York City after college. As a soon-to-be-graduate, I can identify with many of the show’s situations: bars, friends getting married, being completely broke. The show deals heavily with dating, and both men and women will appreciate the humor, which encompasses everything from the seemingly strange behaviors men exhibit when trying to woo women to crazy ex-girlfriends.
Second, the beer actually tasted pretty darn good. There was a hint of some fruit, probably raisins. The high alcohol content warmed my stomach, a little aspect that I believe makes this a great winter beer. If you’re a barley and hops purist, you may not get the same enjoyment out of it. But for those who like to be little more adventurous, I’ll raise four glasses out of five to Red Hook’s Eisbock 28.
It gets four glasses out of five.
wwatch
The characters are incredibly wellwritten. Everyone has a friend exactly like each character on the show (and probably a little bit of each inside, too). Grab some popcorn and check out “How I Met Your Mother,” preferably marathon-style, if you haven’t already.
It gets five high-fives out of five.
‘Due Date’ delivers 100 minutes of laughs Get ready to turn off your brains and watch a chubby, bearded comedian make an hour-and-a-half of irrelevant but amusing jokes. “Due Date,” starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, is the archetypal journey-across-America film, starting in Georgia and ending in California. Along the way, they learn something about each other and themselves. Pretty standard formula. But, as predictable as this movie is, it’s still entertaining and not a waste of money. Director Todd Phillips is known for directing great comedies such as “Old School” and “The Hangover.” With Galifianakis, star of “The Hangover,” on board once again, “Due Date” looked to be a comedy goldmine. Goldmine it wasn’t, but that doesn’t mean it failed to deliver laughs. Downey and Galifianakis essentially play the same characters they do in every other movie. They team up to
make it to California after they both end up on the “no fly” list and miss their planes. Hilarity ensues. “Due Date,” to me, is an updated version of the 1987 film “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” which starred Steve Martin and John Candy. Like “Due Date,” that film centered around two opposite strangers trying to travel together to get home. Although “Due Date” does feature outlandish comedy, it fails to capture the simple charm and wit of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” Comparisons aside, “Due Date” was a fun ride. Although Galifianakis is completely annoying to the characters at times, he never irks the audience enough to the point the character is hard to watch. He definitely shines in the film and keeps the laughs rolling. Throughout “Due Date” quite a few serious moments take place, mostly having to do with Galifianakis’ character’s past. It transitions suddenly, from
a hilarious moment that has the entire audience laughing, to a heartwarming scene of crying and hugging. These moments only last for about five minutes at a time, but only slow the movie. “Due Date” pales in comparison to some of Phillips’ previous comedies, but it is not to be counted out altogether. The film utilizes the belabored story line of a cross-country trip and gives it a bit of new life. It’s fun and offers the viewer a full 100 minutes of enjoyable debacles from Downey and Galifianakis. I’m still waiting with bated breath for something that actually makes me laugh out loud, something I will be able to quote for years to come. Of course Galifianakis’s quote, “Dad, you were like a father to me,” does have some potential.
COURTNEY BAKER -movie reviewer -political science major
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