Wednesday, January 19, 2011 Print Edition by Collegiate Times

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

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‘This is the biggest win for the Virginia Tech program’ NICK CAFFERKY sports reporter After several years of highly-rated recruiting classes, the Virginia Tech wrestling team finally burst on to the national stage with a secondplace finish in the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duels on Jan. 8-9. Coming into the tournament, the Hokies were ranked No. 12 and given the No. 7 seed in the bracket. However, the Hokies shocked the wrestling world with upsets over No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Wisconsin on consecutive days to reach the finals. “It lets everyone know that Virginia Tech is a force now in Division 1 wrestling,” said Kevin Dresser, the team’s head coach. Tech did lose in the finals against Cornell — the top team in the country — but the second place finish was good enough jump Tech eight spots in the rankings to the No. 4 spot. The weekend started with the Hokies rolling over a No. 17 Central Michigan squad. Tech won eight of the 11 matches, including three by major decision. Following the one match they were actually favored in, the Hokies were put up against Oklahoma State. “Looking at it, we thought we matched up really well against Oklahoma State. Looking at the matchups, we knew that if we got a couple of upsets, we could win that match,” said team member Jarrod Garnett. “We knew we could beat them if everyone fell into their place.” In a much closer battle, the Hokies scrapped by with an 18-16 victory over the Cowboys, thanks to upsets

LUKE MASON / SPPS

(Left) Virginia Tech’s Jarrod Garnett defeats Clarion’s Trey Hicks in the Hokies’ ﬁrst home match of the season. (Right) Matt Epperly wins his match in Cassell Coliseum. by Garnett and Brian Stephens. “By far, this is the biggest win for the Virginia Tech program,” Dresser said. “All 10 guys went out and fought their tails off for us today.” It might have been the biggest win in the program’s history, but that didn’t mean the Hokies were done. In fact, it didn’t get any easier. Tech took to the mat the very next

day against Wisconsin and pulled yet another upset over a Top-5 team. Despite losing six of the 10 matchups, the Hokies took the meet 20-19 thanks to a major decision by Garnett and technical fall victories by Chris Diaz and Matt Epperly. Diaz’s technical fall was also his 100th victory — making him the fifth wrestler in the program’s history to hit

that landmark. Tech wasn’t able to finish off the Cinderella story and fell to the Big Red, 25-10, in the finals later that day, but the loss didn’t keep the Tech program from being the buzz of the weekend. The Hokies have won two meets since their big statement weekend — one at North Carolina to begin

Student spirit driven Library leadership higher by new buses MICHELLE SUTHERLAND news reporter The debut of the Hokie Effect Spirit Bus was a success. In addition to designing the Orange and Maroon Effect T-shirts as usual, the Hokie Effect team and SGA sponsored buses for the first time this year to take students to the Boise State football game in Landover, Md., and the Atlantic Coast Championship Game in Charlotte, N.C. Former Hokie Effect Director Chris Sykes and Assistant Director Chris Saccoccia thought of the idea last year for the ACC Championships, but when Virginia Tech did not make the game there was no need to bus students to Florida. Sykes and Saccoccia decided to try their idea for the Boise State game. “It was the beginning of this year that all that hype with everything going on we went in and we said, ‘It’s a fourand-a-half hour ride to Landover, I think it would be a great thing that Hokie Effect can do,’” Saccoccia said. “You know, we put out these Tshirts and it’s great, but as far as inspiring that other spirit I think it’s a great service we can give to the students,” he said. Because of the tremendous success of the bus ticket sales, Kelsey Heiter and Nicole Mottes, the current leaders of the Hokie Effect who

HOKI E

SPIRIT

were elected in November, worked to bring the service to students again for the ACC Championship Game. Tickets sold out in two days. The SGA sponsored the two buses that went to both games. Tech President Charles Steger donated a third bus to the Boise State game. The tickets to both games were $10 each, but the ride to the Boise State game included a free T-shirt worth $6. “So it was like a $4 bus ride,” Sykes said. “We recovered almost no cost. It was a big step to take because no one had ever done this before. (The SGA said), ‘We’re going to take however big loss it (is) to really service our students properly.’ ” Mottes attributes the project’s success widely to Facebook and hard work at putting the word out. “I had people messaging me on Facebook trying to get tickets that I had never even met,” she said. The team’s only regret was the small scale of the project for the first year. “It would have been really great if we could have just had more,” Saccoccia said. “It worked really well and I expect they should keep on doing it,” he said. “I’m really excited to see that.”

conference play, and another against Clarion in the team’s home opener. Tech’s next meet will be at No. 18 Rutgers on Jan. 21, but the schedule also has the Hokies matched up against ACC foes Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Duke among others. Coming off of an emotional weekend at the National Duels, Tech will

look to use that newfound confidence to improve its play, rather than get complacent and rest on its laurels. “At the beginning of the season, everything was a stepping-stone to the National Duels,” said Jessie Dong. “Now, the National Duels become another stepping-stone and we have to keep improving and we can’t lose our edge.”

Power play

changing hands

PAUL KURLAK / SPPS

Tyler Walters will become dean of university libraries in February. JAY SPEIDELL news staff writer Virginia Tech’s University Libraries are about to begin a new chapter. A search committee has named Tyler Walters the new dean of university libraries. Eileen Hitchingham, the current dean, is retiring in February. Walters, who served as associate dean for technology and resource services at the Library and Information Center at Georgia Tech before taking the position at Virginia Tech, plans to continue bringing the libraries up to date with new technologies. “I spent a lot of time building digital repositories,” Walters said. “So we can collect all of the research and scholarship created on campus.” Tech is currently in the process of purchasing new online resources as well as populating a new, easily searchable database called Summon. Walters said he would continue to listen to students and faculty to help find more ways to use technology to

deliver content. “Trying to be better at that is the holy grail, making it really easy for people to find the things that they need to find,” Walters said. He also plans to focus on improving the study areas in the library. “There seems to be a real interest in taking the good spaces that are already in the library and making them more technological and better designed for student group work,” Walters said. Feedback from students and teachers will play an important role in these plans. “I want to be all ears, I want to hear what people are thinking about the library,” Walters said. “I’m happy to hear from them and I’ll do my best to be available.” Walters will officially become the dean on March 15. “I’m really thrilled to be coming here,” Walters said. “I’ve had some colleagues here and I’ve always heard excellent things about Virginia Tech.”

Following a victory over No. 2 UMBC and a 2-2 tie with Penn State, the Virginia Tech club ice hockey team is ranked seventh in their division. The Hokies have another challenging weekend coming up, with games against ECU and Liberty. photo by luke mason, spps

opınıons 3

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

january 19, 2011

Resolutions should be taken seriously late, I know, but it’s Whether you think we Iaream2011.justa little that much closer to the end of the world, or are taking the new year in stride, I am sure you have some sort of new year’s resolution. I wonder, though, how long those resolutions will last, and whether looking at them in a different way could change how long they last. I mean, let’s face it, a new year’s resolution only makes it until the ‘new year’ has lost its luster and writing 2011 instead of 2010 is something you don’t have to think about anymore. Resolutions, though, are supposed to last through the year, even through your entire life. The point is not to see how long you can go without something (this isn’t Lent, guys, it’s a new year). The point is to change something in your life that you are unhappy about for the better. It really is a resolution — a determined, thoughtful and planned expression of something that you want to change — and in this case, it’s all about you. So why not take it seriously? Why not make a change that betters you, and maybe even helps someone or something else? The nice thing about resolutions is they almost always revolve around you and what you want out of your life. If you do not want to make any changes, then don’t. But if you do, pursue them as avidly as possible. A change for yourself, something you want, should be of the utmost importance to you. If you are not doing what you love or living how you want — and you can change it — then do. Those who constantly make changes in their lives are no strangers to this idea, to better-

ing yourself, to making a change that is definite and long-lasting. Which is why the concept of making resolutions that you will care about and pursue is so important; they will contribute to your happiness. Making yourself happy, which I believe is the most important thing, is the only way to reach a state that will allow you to help others. How can you help others if you yourself are unhappy? How can you show people how to pursue a change if you yourself never do? My point? Change for the better should be pursued and enacted more than just once a year. Not only that, but it should be something you are serious and motivated about. Resolutions themselves are intended to create permanent change, not temporary and unmotivated change. They are the best part of the new year — the possibilities, the start of something better and every other happy cliche out there. But what good is all this potential if it’s just going to be a lukewarm pursuit? Whatever your resolutions are, I hope they are pursued as far as they can be — and they last throughout the year. Keep in mind, though, that changes can occur whenever you wish to enact them, and while the new year allows you to reflect on what you would like to change, and how you would like to change it, it’s never too late to start a new resolution.

SEAN SIMONS -regular columnist -junior -English major

Education reform needed to close gap H

ere’s a familiar fact: Economic inequality is rising in the United States. The rich have gotten richer, the poor have stayed poor, and families in the middle have seen their incomes stagnate. Here’s a less-familiar fact: Opportunity in America isn’t what it used to be either. Among children born into low-income households, more than two-thirds grow up to earn a below-average income, and only 6 percent make it all the way up the ladder into the affluent top one-fifth of income earners, according to a study by economists at Washington’s Brookings Institution. We think of America as a land of opportunity, but other countries appear to offer more upward mobility. Children born into poverty in Canada, Britain, Germany or France have a statistically better chance of reaching the top than poor kids do in the United States. What’s gone wrong? Thanks to globalization, the economy is producing high-income jobs for the educated and low-income jobs for the uneducated — but few middle-income jobs for workers with high school diplomas. Thanks to the decline of public schools, it’s harder for poor kids to get a good education. And Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam argues that thanks partly to the rise of two-income households, intermarriage between rich and poor has declined, choking off another historical upward path for the underprivileged. “We’re becoming two societies, two Americas,” Putnam told me recently. “There’s a deepening class divide that shows up in many places. It’s not just a matter of income. Education is becoming the key discriminant in American life. Family structure is part of it too.” Increasingly, college-educated Americans live in a different country from those who never made it out of high school. As a group, adults with college degrees have an unemployment rate of 5 percent, steady or rising incomes, relatively stable families (their divorce rate declined over the last 10 years) and few children out of wedlock. Adults without a high school education, by contrast, face an unemployment rate over 15 percent, declining incomes, a higher divorce rate and have lots of kids out of wedlock. (Among black women who didn’t finish high school, 96 percent of childbirths are outside marriage; among white women who didn’t finish high school, 43 percent.) And those mutually reinforcing conditions tend to stick from generation to generation. That’s nice for affluent kids but a bad break for the underprivileged. “Success in life increasingly depends on how smart you were in choosing your parents,” Putnam said. “And that flies in the face of the fundamental American bargain — that every kid ought to have access to the same opportunities.” Can anything improve this troubling picture? Actually, yes. If we focus on increasing opportunity for the poor, there’s plenty that can be done — begin-

ning with education. Brookings economists Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill studied the noneconomic components of poverty and came up with a rule. “If young people do three things — graduate from high school, get a job, and get married and wait until they’re 21 before having a baby — they have an almost 75 percent chance of making it into the middle class,” Haskins said. Think of it as a stool with three legs: jobs, family and education. Government programs can help strengthen all three. But the availability of jobs now depends mostly on the pace of economic recovery; the Obama administration’s already done most of what it can on that score. Government promotion of stable families is an elusive goal; President George W. Bush funded programs like “marriage education” to encourage lowincome couples to marry, but it’s hard to measure the results. (The one clear success story, Sawhill noted, has been a marked decline in teenage pregnancy, thanks to government-supported efforts in education and contraception; but 82 percent of teen pregnancies are still unplanned, so there’s still more to be done.) That leaves education, which is the most promising ground for government action, in part because most Americans agree that fixing public education is the government’s responsibility. Haskins and Sawhill say there’s still plenty that can be done to increase access to higher education for low-income kids, including relatively easy things such as simplifying the application for college financial aid, which is an intimidating 127 questions long. But perhaps the most important thing the federal government can do to promote opportunity, they say, is to expand its current efforts to improve public schools. The focus, Haskins said, should be on giving low-income students “more order, more work and more recognition for achievement.” Education reform is already a bipartisan goal. Republicans support it as well as Democrats — incoming House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, as well as President Obama. They will probably disagree over how much to spend and over how much federal direction to give state and local authorities. But overcoming those differences is a worthy challenge for this new year. Most Americans accept inequality in the economy as long as the ladder of opportunity is accessible to anyone who wants to work hard. The best way for America to reclaim its self-image as a land of opportunity is to ensure that every kid has access to a decent education — now more than ever the first step onto the ladder. That’s why bipartisan education reform isn’t just about fixing schools; it’s about repairing the fabric of American society.

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Palin, other politicians need to rethink strong rhetoric U

nless you were a complete Snorlax over winter break, you have heard of the Arizona tragedy. A gunman identified as Jared Lee Loughner opened fire outside a supermarket in Tuscon on Jan. 8, killing six people (one of whom was a nine-year-old girl) and wounding 12. The most critically wounded of those individuals was the one the gunman intended to assassinate — U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Obviously, the question here is “Why?” People have been trying to understand Loughner’s motives. The topic receiving the most attention is Loughner’s political idealology. This is not surprising, as he tried to murder a congressional representative who had a direct political affiliation. The person receiving the harshest condemnations from these events is Sarah Palin. During her campaign in March, Palin posted a map of the United States that showed crosshairs over congressional districts where the legislators had voted for Obama’s health care bill. Giffords’ district was in one of those crosshairs. This map was introduced on to Palin’s Twitter with the statement, “Don’t retreat, instead — RELOAD!” It does not seem a mere coincidence that days after this Twitter posting, the glass door in Giffords’ office was smashed in. Giffords’ father reported to the New York Post that the Tea Party constantly threatened his daughter. Even in the 2010 election, Giffords’ opponent Jesse Kelly held a campaign event that, essentially, involved shooting an M16 rifle

to “help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office.” During an interview with MSNBC, Giffords said when people use violent rhetoric (Giffords used the crosshairs map as an example) and “(fire) people up ... they’ve got to realize there’s consequences (to those actions).” The truth of the matter is that Palin heavily influences the Tea Party. In a video posted Jan. 12, Palin quoted former President Ronald Reagan in saying “we must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty ... each individual is accountable for his actions.” However, this does not mean that people cannot be influenced. When you are in a position of social power like Palin, you cannot be mixing politics with talk of shootings and gun imagery. Why? Because your words have weight and authority that can persuade and manipulate people. (I also feel like I should acknowledge that Reagan’s quote was taken out-of-context by Palin — Reagan was arguing against social-welfare programs, not against murderers). Palin is also getting a lot of attention for referring to this entire situation as a media-constructed “blood libel” against her. This is outrageous. The term “blood libel” comes from the hideous smear against Jews that they secretly round up Christian children, kill them and collect their blood. It is alleged by some that this blood is a necessary ingredient in baking matzos during Passover. One has to wonder whether this phrase was used on purpose, as Giffords was Arizona’s first Jewish congresswoman.

Jim Newell of Gawker.com pointed out how Palin redefined “blood libel” to “an instance when the dumb liberal media is mean to Sarah Palin.” How Palin thought it was appropriate to not only redefine but also to use the term “blood libel” in the first place is beyond me. Ultimately, there is no direct link between Loughner and Palin. However, I do find it unfortunate that Palin acted and continues to act in such a manner. Using words such as “reloading” and utilizing violent imagery is completely uncivil, especially in her position of power and influence. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik put it best, saying that when people use rhetoric infused with hatred and mistrust of government, it works to enflame the public. Dupnik pointed out that this “has impact on people, especially (on those) who are unbalanced personalities to begin with.” I want to, once again, reinforce that I do feel Loughner is personally responsible for his own actions. This situation should just serve as a reminder for how people (Republican or Democrat, not just Palin) should be wary of their rhetoric, lest they wind up in the political, media and social crosshairs.

JOSH TREBACH -regular columnist -junior -biological sciences major

Changes in ocean acidity can result in consequences ometimes, seemingly small numbers can have remarkably S big consequences. Miss a single free throw, and your team loses the championship. The economy slows by few percent, and millions of Americans are out of work. Your temperature rises by a degree or two, and you are down and out with a fever. Nowhere, however, are the big consequences of little numbers becoming clearer than in the health of our oceans. There, a chemical shift of just 0.1 — that’s right, just one-tenth of a point — is already causing “ocean acidification,” a massive, fundamental change that has enormous implications for marine life. It may seem like this shift is no big deal. Don’t buy it: It’s actually another example of why seemingly little things do matter — and why the United States and other nations that attended the big climate change conference in Mexico last month need to do more to curb global warming. If you can’t recall your chemistry, here’s how it all works: Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, we’ve been burning enormous quantities of coal, oil and other fossil fuels. That has released vast clouds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, where it has become the main gas that is warming the planet. Luckily for us, the oceans absorb about 30 million tons of carbon dioxide every day, slowing the pace of warming. Unfortunately, when carbon dioxide mixes with seawater, it spurs chemical reactions that can make the water more acidic, lowering what scientists call “the pH.” The sea’s pH can vary from place to place. But just a few hundred years ago, it was typically about 8.2. Today, due to all the carbon dioxide we’ve spewed into the atmosphere, it is about 8.1. It may seem that such a small change wouldn’t create a big problem, and that ocean ecosystems will cope just fine. The sad reality is that ocean

acidification is a bigger problem than the number suggests. One reason is that, due to the way pH scales work, a 0.1 drop in pH is actually a 26 percent increase in acidity. Another is that this acidification has occurred with “startling” rapidity, scientists say — perhaps 100 times faster than anything Earth’s sea life has experienced in millions of years. Most worrying is that many living things are remarkably sensitive to rising acidity. If acid levels in our blood rise by 26 percent, for instance, we can become very sick indeed. Many kinds of sea creatures are equally vulnerable, especially in their egg and larval stages. And acidification can make it impossible for organisms such as corals, clams and crabs to sustain their hard skeletons and shells, since acids are corrosive and the acidification process can lock up the molecules they use as raw materials. These aren’t just theoretical threats. Already, ocean scientists are seeing just the kind of corrosive effects you would expect from acidification. Last year, for instance, one team reported in the prestigious journal Science that coral growth along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef had declined by 14 percent since 1990 — a “severe and sudden decline” unseen in centuries. Other studies have found that the shells of some “forams” — tiny creatures that are a key part of the marine food chain — are 30 percent lighter today than they were in the past. These trends give a whole new meaning to the phrase “bad chemistry.” But things could get worse. Thanks to some irrefutable laws of physics and math, researchers have calculated that ocean pH will fall to about 7.8 by the end of the century, if we don’t act soon to curb our carbon dioxide emissions. That is a fourtenths pH drop from pre-industrial levels — or a whopping 150 percent increase in acidity. Our seas haven’t been that acidic in tens of millions

of years. You won’t hear these big, deeply troubling numbers from those who are working hard to undermine public understanding of the threats posed by acidification. Instead, they downplay the biological consequences of seemingly small changes in ocean pH, knowing that many Americans have little idea of how the scale works or what it means. In a remarkable display of denial and hair-splitting, some even argue that the ocean is not “acidifying” at all, since the pH of seawater will remain in the “basic” part of the scale. Would they also argue that it isn’t “warming” when the sun comes out on a chilly day and melts the ice, even though it is still cold? Acidification doesn’t mean the oceans turn to acid, it means they are becoming more acidic. We cannot allow such absurdities to distract us from the real risks posed by this massive, uncontrolled chemistry experiment. Fisheries and tourist meccas that employ millions of people and generate billions in annual revenues are at stake; not to mention marine ecosystems that we don’t yet even understand. For instance, researchers recently reported that nearly 150 compounds from marine organisms are now showing promise for use as anti-cancer drugs — and hundreds more await discovery. And that’s just cancer. We will only reap these benefits, however, if the climate treaty negotiators act to protect our oceans from acid. To do that, scientists say we must eventually reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from the current 390 parts per million (ppm) to 350 ppm or less. It may seem a small difference, but sometimes small numbers have big consequences.

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4Lacksports of chemistry, leadership plagues women’s basketball team editors: michael bealey, garrett ripa sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES

ZACH MARINER sports staff writer The new year has not been kind to the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team. After winning four straight to finish out December, the Hokies (9-9, 0-4 ACC) have dropped their first five of 2011. The slump includes a heartbreaker against Atlantic-10 opponent Charlotte, a blowout loss at home to then-No. 24 Florida State and a sloppy performance last Sunday against No. 3-ranked Duke; a game in which Tech turned the ball over 22 times. While some might believe Tech’s

recent run of bad luck is due to a young and inexperienced roster, head coach Beth Dunkenberger thinks differently. “What I am searching for on this team is some chemistry and some leadership,” she said after Sunday’s loss to Duke. “I don’t feel like our seniors are getting it and helping our young kids along. We’ve got some talent on this team but we don’t have a true leader. I need some help out there on that court, some leadership.” Before the season started, it seemed as though senior point guard Nikki Davis would assume the role of Dunkenberger’s help on the floor.

But, after mustering only a 1.57 assist-to-turnover ratio through 16 games, she’s started the last two games on the bench for Tech. Those contests marked only the seventh and eighth times Davis has missed a start in three years. Although it may seem like the Hokies need some sort of drastic turnaround to salvage their season, it might actually come down to fundamentals such as taking care of the ball and boxing out — two things the Hokies haven’t done during their current skid. During the losing streak, they’ve been outrebounded by an average of 40-35 and have turned the ball over 108 times — almost 22 times per game.

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I don’t feel like our seniors are getting it and helping our young kids along. We’ve got some talent on this team but we don’t have a true leader. Beth Dunkenberger Head Coach

“For us to right this ship, we cannot have 22 turnovers in a game, we cannot get outrebounded by 10,” Dunkenberger said. “That’s giving another possession to a team. We have got to rebound the ball, we’ve got to quit turning the ball over so we

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Locate and circle the list of words in the word bank in the letter grid.

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ACROSS 1 Pathfinder org. 5 D-Da y carr iers 9 Hi-tech classroom 14 Sixth Je wish mont h 15 Tuckered out 16 Bo wl, e.g. 17 Siamese checkers? 18 Actress in a classic shower scene 20 Geomet ry truth 22 Lo w-lying area 23 Weight management guru

positive reinforcement. We definitely have the talent. It’s not lack of talent, if anything it’s lack of effort.” The team can turn things around this Sunday, as it travels to Charlottesville to face rival Virginia. The Cavaliers, like the Hokies, are still looking for their first ACC win. It will be a pivotal game for Tech, as a victory could spark a turnaround, and a loss would signify yet another disappointing performance. So what will the keys be for Virginia Tech on Sunday? Protect the ball. Box out. Play hard. Play as a team. Like a wise woman once said: “It’s a pretty simple game.”

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give ourselves a chance on offense. It’s a pretty simple game.” Two bright spots for Tech this year have been junior forward Shanel Harrison and sophomore guard Alyssa Fenyn, who have averaged 12.9 and 8.3 points per game, respectively. Harrison also leads the team in rebounding with 6.2 boards per game. Most of the Hokies still seem to believe that they have what it takes to be a true competitor in the ACC, it’s just a matter of, like Dunkenberger said, playing with chemistry. “We need to come together as a team,” Fenyn said. “We need a lot of

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food & drink 5

COLLEGIATETIMES

Chu-Cho’s: Asi asi

Moe’s

NEW MEXICAN RESTAURANT’S CUISINE COMPETES WITH NEARBY JOINTS FOR FLAVOR AND QUALITY

a diehard El Rodeo fan, I have high — and I mean high — expectations when it comes to Mexican food. For some odd reason, the joint scratches my itch when it comes to quesadillas, which are my all-time favorite. But, with Chu-Cho’s, a newly opened Mexican restaurant, located practically in El Rods’ backyard in Collegiate Square, I vowed to step away from my roots for one night to try the so-called authentic cuisine. Stepping into the space, two friends and I were greeted quickly by a friendly waiter. A large tortilla maker in the front of the restaurant instantly caught my eye, leaving me excited to sink my teeth into the homemade circles. Walking to our booth, I noticed ChuCho’s had more of a generic bar and restaurant feel than a Mexican cultural atmosphere. Sure, there were metal creatures hanging from the walls, but I was hoping for a true Mexican experience: sombreros, fun tunes playing in the background and green, red and white colors galore. But, unfortunately, I was left underwhelmed. Perusing the menu, I put my feelings toward the decor aside and kept an open mind. While munching on warm tortilla chips dipped in salsa, which was smooth and had just the right kick of spiciness, I decided to order a chicken and cheese quesadilla, of course. Waiting for the meals to arrive, our waiter was extremely helpful and refilled our drinks immediately when they became empty. After waiting about 15 to 20 minutes, our meals arrived — this was perfect timing, considering we were busy sipping our drinks and cleansing our palettes with chips and salsa. The quesadilla was massive, consisting of four large triangles spread out on a plate covered with large portions of sour cream, extra shredded white cheese, lettuce and pico de gallo. I was impressed by the size of my dish. However, I was not surprised, considering it cost about $10. I sunk my teeth into one piece of the quesadilla, anticipating what the tortilla would taste like since I have a Hispanic mom who makes them from scratch. Although it was apparent the tortillas were indeed homemade, they were quite doughy. Filled with grilled chicken slices and melted white cheese, the tortillas were

Taco Bell

too heavy to be paired with such filling and rich innards. I barely even tasted the chicken and cheese flavors because the tortillas were so stodgy. Sour cream is my favorite Mexican food topping, but when paired with these quesadillas, it seemed to make the meal even heavier. By the time I ate two triangles of my quesadilla, my stomach was stuffed. I was relieved I opted not to order the queso dip as an appetizer. In the end, I was left with a $14 check, which I consider too expensive for the quality of the meal. On the bright side, I was able to take home my extra food. But, my leftovers may be the last ChuCho’s food I consume. El Rods prevails.

LINDSEY BROOKBANK -features editor -senior -English and communication major

Chu-Cho’s

january 19, 2011

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

Chipotle

El Rods VICTORIA ZIGADLO / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Of ﬁve local Mexican eateries, Chu-Cho’s falls in the middle.

LUKE MASON / SPPS

The hefty helping of a chicken and cheese quesadilla at Chu-Cho’s, paired with various toppings, proved heavy on the stomach and wallet. Chu-Cho’s is a Mexican restaurant located in Collegiate Square.

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