Tuesday, February 15, 2011 Print Edition by Collegiate Times

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

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108th year, issue 17

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Questions linger year after BHS collapse MEIGHAN DOBER news staff writer AyearafterthecollapseofBlacksburg High School, Montgomery County officials are far from finalizing plans on the building’s future. The gym collapsed on Feb. 13, 2010, with poor weather conditions, structural deficiencies and foundational issues cited in the collapse. The Montgomery County School Board is currently in the financing phase of the reconstruction of BHS. In December 2010, the board approved $124.5 million for the reconstruction and renovation of BHS and two county schools in Auburn. As of now, the board is discussing which construction method will be used for the BHS replacement. The two different programs are design-bid-build and Public Private Educational Infrastructure Act design. The board has approved moving down both paths at parallel speeds. “There is a lot of negotiation in both groups and room for conversation,” said Brenda Drake Bowdell, public information officer and board clerk of Montgomery County Public Schools. Design-bid-build is a more traditional method. With this program,

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the HS division solicits requests for an architect. An architect will then conduct interviews with various people and come up with a design for the building. After the design is completed, it is put out for a bid from contractors. PPEA is a relatively new program, allowing for private groups to sub-

mit design plans. While the board received a proposal, Bowdell said the submission “does not necessarily rule out design-bid-build.” Now that the school board is evaluating the proposal, there are a series of steps that must be followed. The board must find someone to evaluate the proposal to make sure that it is

sound and what it is looking for. Next, it must advertise it has received an unsolicited proposal. Any competitor may ask to review the proposal and they have 45 days to submit a competing proposal. There is a potential complication in regards to the proposals. The architects who are working on the Auburn

High School are in the design phase of the project, and if the board accepted the submittedd proposal, then that could affect the work on the Auburn High School. “People who have given the unsolicited proposal have said they will take everything that has already been done on the Auburn HS and

put it into their plan, meaning they will work with the current architect. Until we accept that architect’s design, they own that design, and may be unwilling to share it with the new team,” said board member Wat Hopkins. The school board’s next meeting is scheduled for tonight.

Family matters: Shane Beamer Area couple blames Blacksburg to join Hokies coaching staff kennel in mauling of family dog MICHAEL BEALEY sports editor The Virginia Tech football team added a familiar face to its coaching staff today. Shane Beamer, recruiting coordinator and special teams coach at the University of South Carolina, will become the new running backs coach at Tech according to head coach Frank Beamer, who is also his father. The younger Beamer coached the last four seasons at USC, and helped land the nation’s No. 1 recruit for the Gamecocks Monday morning. Jadeveon Clowney, a defensive line prospect from Rock Hill, S.C., announced his decision to attend USC on a televised special. And it was Beamer’s last signee as USC’s recruiting coordinator. Beamer will take the place of longtime assistant Billy Hite, who has taken a new administrative position as an assistant to the head coach and senior advisor. Hite coached the last 32 seasons at Tech and oversaw an impressive stable of backs including Lee Suggs, Kevin Jones, Ryan Williams and Darren Evans. He has also helped develop nine of Tech’s top 11 career rushers. “I would like to thank Coach Beamer and the athletic and university administrators for 33 great years as a coach at Virginia Tech,” Hite said to Hokiesports.com. “I also want to thank all the people who are giving me the opportunity for this new challenge. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Beamer is the son of current Tech head coach Frank Beamer, and was the Hokies long snapper for three seasons under his father, playing in the 1999 Sugar Bowl against Florida State. He earned his degree in 1999 and worked as a graduate assistant for Georgia Tech for one season. Beamer then went to the University of Tennessee as a graduate assistant while helping to coach the defensive backs and special teams areas for three seasons. In 2004, Beamer was hired by then-Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom to coach the team’s cornerbacks. He coached under defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson, who now holds the same position with South Carolina. In the spring of 2006, Beamer moved his duties to running backs coach at MSU. On Feb. 14, 2007, Beamer was hired by South Carolina as the outside linebackers coach and co-coordinator of special teams. In his second season, Beamer moved to coaching the cornerbacks and in 2009 assumed his new role as recruiting coordinator and safeties coach. As recruiting coordinator, he oversaw a consistent top-20 finish in USC’s classes that ranked 12th, 24th, 18th nationally in the last three seasons according to Rivals. Beamer himself lured four-star wide receiver Alshon Jeffery to Columbia, and Jeffery was an All-American this past season after catching 88 passes for 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns.

Beamer also oversaw the signing of running back Marcus Lattimore, the No. 10-ranked player in the nation in 2010, and defensive end Clowney, the No. 1 ranked player in the nation in this season’s class. Beamer will hope to bring his recruiting talents to Blacksburg and improve upon a class that ranked just 33rd in the nation this season. “I think we are fortunate to get Shane to come back to Virginia Tech,” Frank Beamer said to Hokiepsorts.com. “He has had the opportunity to develop a good background, having coached at Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Mississippi State and South Carolina.” “I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to return to Virginia Tech,” Shane Beamer said to Hokiesports. com. “I’ve been gone 11 years and during that time I’ve been around a number of great coaches and great programs and had the opportunity to learn a lot. Now, I look forward to returning to Blacksburg and helping Virginia Tech continue to win championships. “I’m also excited to have the opportunity to be around Coach Hite. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for him and I welcome the chance to learn from him.” Beamer’s departure was met with disappointment by players including current USC defensive back DeVonte Holloman. “(Just) got some bad news,” Holloman tweeted earlier today. “Hate that! Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! Best recruiter/coach ever.”

JONATHAN ROBERTS / SPPS

Ketan Chand holds a picture of his dog Buttons, who died at the Heartstrings Pet Lodging and Spa

2011 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE DATE

OPPONENT

LOCATION

Sat., Apr. 23, 2011

Maroon vs. White (Spring Game) Appalachian State at East Carolina Arkansas State at Marshall Clemson Miami at Wake Forest Boston College at Duke at Georgia Tech North Carolina at Virginia

Lane Stadium Lane Stadium Greenville, N.C. Lane Stadium Huntington, W.Va. Lane Stadium Lane Stadium Winston-Salem, N.C. Lane Stadium Durham, N.C. Atlanta, Ga. Lane Stadium Charlottesville, Va.

Atlantic vs. Coastal

Bank of America, Charlotte, N.C.

Sat., Sep. 3, 2011 Sat., Sep. 10, 2011 Sat., Sep. 17, 2011 Sat., Sep. 24, 2011 Sat., Oct. 1, 2011 Sat., Oct. 8, 2011 Sat., Oct. 15, 2011 Sat., Oct. 22, 2011 Sat., Oct. 29, 2011 Thu., Nov. 10, 2011 Thu., Nov.17, 2011 Sat., Nov. 26, 2011

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP Sat., Dec. 3, 2011

DOG OWNERS POSTPONE THEIR WEDDING DAY FOLLOWING DEATH OF BELOVED FAMILY PET JAY SPEIDELL news reporter A local pet owner faced tragedy on what was supposed to be his wedding day. Ketan Chand, a local software developer, was preparing for his wedding with fiance Wendy Reighard in Washington D.C., on Aug. 28, 2010, when he learned his Yorkshire Terrier, Buttons, had been killed by another dog at Heartstrings Pet Lodgings and Spa in Blacksburg. Chand and Reighard were so distraught they called off the wedding.“At that point we were absolutely incapable of doing anything other than curling up into a ball and just having just every negative emotion you could possibly have,” Chand said. “I just wanted to leave right there and then, but we had everybody there.” Reighard said she rented a private suite for Buttons and her dog Daisy at the kennel.

“They had an area for small dogs,” Reighard said, “and I didn’t want them in that environment because all the dogs were just running around on the floor and sometimes she gets a little freaked out when she’s around other dogs.” Chand said he was told that the incident happened when the dogs were being taken to the bathroom area. “The process was to take the two to the little bathroom area, so she took Buttons to the bathroom area and left him in there, and then came back to get Daisy and brought her into that bathroom area as well,” Chand said. “When she opened the door, my dog came out and it was at that point, when she was preoccupied with Daisy, who knows what happened at that exact moment, but it was undeniable that my dog was out in the hallway at the same time as the other dog. And it was at that point that the other dog attacked.”

The bite broke Button’s ribs and punctured his lung. The staff removed the larger dog and attempted CPR, but Buttons died later at the Virginia Tech Small Animal Hospital. While Chand has filed a lawsuit against the kennel, he said he’s been advised that Virginia court precedent has determined that he can only seek monetary damages in civil court. Chand said he could not pursue a dangerous dog label for the offending dog either, because Virginia law says the rules don’t apply when both dogs are under the care of the same custodian. “When you read that law it’s almost like an exclusive provision that was made just for kennels, almost to give them cover,” Chand said. The kennel owners declined an interview on the incident. Chand, who has tentatively rescheduled his wedding for May 2011, said he wanted to prevent other dog owners from having a similar experience. “I’ve just wanted to get this message out, to let people know,” Chand said.

2 news february 15, 2011

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

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

february 15, 2011

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

Your Views [letter to the editor]

‘Best Dance Crew’ should have been more focused on charity or the most part, the Relay For Life event “Best F Dance Crew” on Friday, Feb. 11, was wonderful. The spirit of giving for cancer research was uppermost, right from the beginning. To add to the excitement, Burruss Hall auditorium was sold out, which hasn’t happened in many years. The proceeds went to cancer research. Although the highlight was Fighting Gravity, the other dancers were enthusiastic, eclectic and so much fun to watch. All had donated their time to prepare and perform for the event. Unfortunately, the show was set up in the format of “America’s Got Talent,” probably as a nod to the show that raised Fighting Gravity to fame. Judges rated each of the acts vocally and numerically. While the judgments were delivered in good humor, the generous

spirit of donation of entertainment for a good cause was torpedoed. In “America’s Got Talent,” people of varying talent levels grab their share of fame and strut their stuff in front of mass America, which apparently delights in seeing the egos of many of them blasted by the judges. Where’s the generosity in any of that? Why should we include that brand of entertainment in this event? I’m pretty sure that some of the dancers are still smarting over their very public criticism. If I were a dance act considering whether to donate my time next year in the same format, I would not participate. Let’s keep to the spirit of giving. Come on, Hokies. We’re better than that.

Janet Donahue Laboratory Specialist Senior Dept. of Biochemistry

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Online comments bashing homosexuality lack integrity the normal course of events I would never do what I am In doing here. As a general rule, I refrain

Social media and politics likely to merge in 2012 he midterm elections are now over, and it’s time for T President Barack Obama and his staff to begin planning for the upcoming presidential election in 2012. Obama’s campaign staff have already been contemplating a strategy for the incumbent presidential candidate to secure his second term in the Oval Office. According to USAToday.com, the President’s campaign staff is planning to focus on the successful economic reforms of the past two years, and also to incorporate an extensive use of social media to reach voters. Facebook has become a cornerstone for regular communication in the modern technological age, and it, along with Twitter, is a powerful and cost-effective tool for political campaigns. But what if there’s just too much coverage about the campaign? Honestly, I find the plethora of aggressive campaign ads on TV during the local news overwhelming. I can only imagine what it will be like when all of this political stumping appears on my Facebook or Twitter feed. Not only will I have to deal with the rampant campaign ads on my social network feeds, but the ads are likely to spur political debate between various Facebook friends. It seems that the campaign managers might be on to something, but I know if I see incessant political debate between my Facebook friends, I will log off of the site until after Election Day. However, I can see where the campaign managers are coming from. Social media can be a great resource to add to the political campaign arsenal. Incorporating social media into a political campaign would probably produce some of the highest political activ-

ity in recent years. It seems that everyone has a Facebook these days; there’s no wonder why such a forum is appealing to campaign managers. Social media outreach may compel many uninterested people to become active in the political process, and thereby increase voter turnout. Voters would also benefit from a deeper understanding of candidates’ views and prospective policies. The notion of campaigning through social media could prove crucial for the Obama administration in this era of divided government. Obama proved that using modern forms of media could be successful after effectively using YouTube to campaign to the ever-growing young, tech-savvy American generation. Overall, the campaign strategists are making a good decision by utilizing social media to promote their candidates. Not only will it increase the exposure to the candidates’ names, it will also reveal the politicians’ stances on various policy issues. As the traditional forms of media begin to become outdated, political candidates will have to discover these new forms of connecting with the electorate. Employing social networking sites will allow constituents to be more cognizant of candidates’ platforms and promote political activity. It’s clear that social media will be a crucial tool in the 2012 election, and failure to utilize such a large form of advertisement to Americans could impede on any candidate’s campaign.

JOSH HIGGINS -regular columnist -communication major -freshman

r. e p a p s w e n R tor i U d O e Y e e r h ’ t e o t w r e . t s t e w l e a vi d r n u e o s y s s e r p x e d an il to a m n e es.comt a d n se iatetim r gues lleg letter o column o c @ hed itor ith your c d a e t s t a w on opini

as a columnist from taking part in comments on any of my columns or other articles appearing in the paper. But as I read Sara Brickman’s column on Friday and the comments that it resulted in, I felt as though a lengthy response was required. Let me first begin by stating my admiration for Ms. Brickman and the high level of esteem I hold her beautifully written column in. I would also like to state my deepest gratitude and respect for those who came to her defense as the shameful comments condemning her message were posted. Having said that, however, I feel a solemn duty to not allow those comments to go unresponded to as both a matter of principle and as a matter of personal devotion to publicly defend her. If it was not so sad and terrifying, it would be hilarious that the responders with the greatest bigotry claim to be the followers of the man who said “judge not, that ye be not judged.” I was a Christian for most of my life, and like many of this new breed I spouted untold hatred and intolerance on my fellow men. I boasted in my exalted position as God’s mouthpiece and ensured that hell was not in want of fresh and sinful souls. After years of allowing my mind and soul to be consumed with hatred, I turned away from God because I recognized I was the one deserving hell’s fire. Like many of the posters on Friday, I held the Bible’s clear intolerance of homosexuality to be absolute truth and when the fact of my own sexuality became clearer than could be ignored, I was forced to turn

away from my loving father. I wept in anguish at the loss of my eternal father and feeling orphaned from a life that I longed for. But how could I, a filthy gay sinner, be worthy of the warm arms of God the Father? With time and maturity, there is a dear fact I have realized about any God that may or may not exist; if He is as the thugs who posted their message of hate on Friday say He is, then He is a tyrant and a bigot and not worth my bent knee. I would sooner find myself in hell for eternity than spend one moment in the presence of a being with such overt hatred toward His creation. I do not, however, believe this kind of God to exist. Instead I choose to believe that if there is a God, then His magnificence is such that simpleminded bullies feel necessitated to construct a being of hatred because of their inability to accept a truly loving God. I recognize the Bible states homosexuality to be a sin. Therefore, I pose a challenge to all those who feel themselves to be the exalted messengers of an unloving God to extend their bigotry and hatred to all those whom God condemns. If they will openly call the killing of anyone who dares works on the Sabbath (Exodus 21:7), to admonish all farmers who plant two different kinds of seeds in their fields (Deuteronomy 22:9-12), and to cast hatred on anyone who cuts their beard unevenly (Leviticus 19:27), I will join in their crusade. Of course there are many more from where I got the above from, but anyone who would condemn gays to hell must know many of the rest of their fellow men deserving of hell. So I will mention no more here. I must say that I

am not against hatred and intolerance per se, but I feel as though it must be extended to everyone except for myself, of course, because we all know Jesus was in error when he said, “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3). I will waste no more space here speaking toward the bigots. Instead I wanted to make a personal plea to all those who do not feel their hearts consumed with hatred toward their fellow men. Please do not allow these people to garner any more power than we have already given them by our silence. I strongly believe in free speech (the right which allows me to write this rebuttal), but I feel as though there is a level of responsibility that comes with free speech not to speak with such blatant intolerance and hatred about each other. This is not about political correctness but simple decency and basic respect we should all have for each other. I do, however, ask all the bigots out there to just leave us alone. I do not understand why you feel it is your duty, let alone your right, to say such horrible things about our way of life (because it is frankly none of your business), but please just stop commenting on what you can never understand. I am for the first time in my life proud of who I am, and I will never allow any bigot or hater to take that away from me. Thanks again, Sara — you are an inspiration to us all.

JASON CAMPBELL -regular columnist -philosophy major -sophomore

Competition overwhelms community during today’s college experience tudents constantly hear people from older generations tell us S how their music was different when they were younger, how their clothes were tie-dyed, how the weather was never this bad and so on. It seems there will always be an ongoing comparative study between new generations and old generations. We have all heard about the past being referred to as, “the good ol’ days” — where life was easygoing and less complicated. Even President Barack Obama addressed the past as a time gone by in his State of the Union address. Who knows? Maybe it really was the good ol’ days. Maybe it wasn’t. History has a way of being rewritten through rose-colored glasses and a tunnel vision of recalled feelings. In other words, emotional responses and feelings attached to particular events are remembered and stored until recall of those events. This made me wonder — how will my generation remember the deluge of competition that encompasses our current academic lives? Competition is healthy — to an extent. It is a necessity in the way that we have our education system set up, and can actually encourage people to do better and stay motivated and active. As more people become educated, the bar is raised higher and higher. It seems, however, this system of competition can pave the way for feelings such as jealousy and envy by threatening one’s sense of self. Truthfully, in our culture, we are not accustomed to the Buddhist practice known as “sympathetic joy.” Sympathetic joy, also known as “mudita,” is being happy for someone else. It is reveling in someone else’s achievements. It is the opposite of jealousy and envy, and can help one live a life of true awareness by show-

ing them how to appreciate all things. Sympathetic joy seems like an easy concept at the surface. However, it is much more difficult to apply to one’s life. In Buddhism, sympathetic joy is often said to be one of the more difficult practices. Think about it. For example, let us say your friend is trying to win a scholarship. This scholarship does not apply to you, and, in fact, is completely out of your realm of interest (you do not even qualify for it). Your friend wins the scholarship. Naturally, you can be happy for them. Now let us say you were applying for that scholarship. Although you can be disappointed you lost, is your happiness for your friend suddenly curtailed? Or is it fake? Or are you bitter? The prevalence of comparative studies at the individual level — the “I can do it better” mentality — is unfortunately higher in today’s world than many of us would like to believe. As stated earlier, the competition within our education system could be related to this. Thus, a question is raised: Is sympathetic joy possible when we are dealing with people that are classified as competition, where their loss is, indirectly, our gain? Is it appropriate that students are treating each other as opponents and not colleagues? One of the most obvious ways jealousy and envy manifest themselves, I have found, is when people are discussing their majors relative to another major. People will claim their major is “harder” than another, or that it requires “more work.” Statements like that are known to be made for either or both of two reasons. The first reason is that someone wants to make you feel bad. The second reason is that someone wants to inflate his or her ego. Regardless, this is not peace-

ful talk. This does not promote unity and cohesiveness. Talk such as this goes against what being a Hokie stands for — one of the Virginia Tech Principles of Community says that we should work to create (or rather, maintain) an environment of “mutual respect and understanding.” Where is the respect and understanding in belittling someone for the volume of work they do or do not do? I have only given two examples, but I know the list goes on and on. I am not trying to complain here — rather, I feel there is something to be learned from all this. By expressing and embodying sympathetic joy, I feel that there can be more cohesiveness between students. Although one can express disappointment at losing something to a friend, they can do this bereft of envy and jealousy. Author Marc Ian Barasch puts it nicely, saying that when we have this sympathetic joy — when we root for someone else’s happiness — we tune to a different wavelength. We feel more beneficent, less deprived, more capable of giving.” I do not feel like this is asking too much. I do understand that sometimes, it can be difficult. I have found myself on both sides of this — the recipient of scorn from my colleagues, and in a weak state of envy. However, being aware of this is the first step toward enlightenment and making a change. Do not be a grudger; instead, delight in the good fortune of others.

JOSH TREBACH -regular columnist -biological sciences major -junior

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

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february 15, 2011

page 4

Obama claims new budget reins in budget deﬁcits federal spending by $90 billion from last year in fiscal 2012, which begins Oct. 1. He also said he would cut this year’s record $1.65 trillion deficit to $1.1 trillion next year, but he avoids tough choices on such big issues as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which together are driving the national debt skyward. His blueprint envisions federal spending jumping by $363 billion in the current year, dropping by $90 billion the next year, then rising again by an average of $218 billion a year for nine years. That would leave the government $26.35 trillion in debt after 10 years — an increase of $10.87 trillion over this year, and $12.82 trillion over last year. Bottom-line analysts called his budget too timid to address

the simmering debt crisis that could weaken America economically and strategically if left untamed. “You’re treading water when you are about to go over Niagara Falls,” said Robert Bixby, the director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan budget watchdog group. Republicans denounced Obama’s budget. “The president’s budget will destroy jobs by spending too much, taxing too much, and borrowing too much,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. “We cannot tax, spend and borrow our way to prosperity,” said House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., adding that Obama’s proposal would increase taxes by $1.6 trillion over 10 years.

Volunteers Wanted

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OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH Sociology graduate student seeking participants for thesis research on bi/ multiracial identity. Recruiting Virginia Tech students to participate in interviews Only criteria: 1) must be 18+ 2) have parents of different races In addition to fulfilling my own research needs, the interview will offer an avenue for individuals to discuss their own racial identities and life experiences in a confidential environment. Contact Melissa at mfburges@vt.edu to express interest in participating or to ask any questions

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STEVEN THOMMA & DAVID LIGHTMAN mcclatchy newspapers President Barack Obama proposed a $3.73 trillion budget Monday for fiscal 2012 that he said will start reining in runaway budget deficits, but his plan envisions the gross national debt swelling by almost $13 trillion over a decade. Obama’s budget sets up a clash with the Republican-led House of Representatives over how to recover from the deep recession of recent years and strengthen the economic foundation for the future, with federal spending the pivotal battleground. Obama would include spending boosts for education, infrastructure and research that he says are critical for recovery, but he would cut overall

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WORDFIND • Theme: Black History Month Locate the list of words in the Politicians and Advocates word bank in the letter grid. J

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

arts & entertainment 5 february 15, 2011

Students can relate to Adam Sandler disappoints ‘Dead Man’s Cell Phone’ in new film ‘Just Go With It’ CHELSEA GUNTER features reporter The first of two main stage spring productions for the Virginia Tech Theatre Department is a play showcasing love, loneliness and society’s dependence on technology. Written by Sarah Ruhl, “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” will explore a woman’s journey as she becomes intertwined in the life of a man who is deceased. Stephanie Ramsey, a senior theatre arts and English major, will play the role of the main character, Jean. Following some contemplation, Jean finds herself caught up in a dead stranger’s life after picking up his cell phone in cafe. “What the playwright talks about, which is one of the themes, is that you don’t ever really know anybody,” said director David Johnson. The audience will be led to different conclusions about the dead man’s character as they view interactions between Jean and the people in his life. However, the audience will not meet the deceased man until act two. Written in 2007, this show is a contemporary play that students can relate to.

“Theater is a motive art form, but it’s been around for several thousand years,” Johnson said. “And people find meaning in it when it reflects the time and the world that they live in, and this play does this.” Besides an intriguing plot, students can enjoy watching one of their own professors perform the role of a horrible woman. Susannah Rinehart, a theatre department professor, will be playing the role of the dead man’s mother. “She’s one of my favorite people, but she’s having fun just being awful,” Johnson said. The stage is set up with a minimal set, but is changed in four units that have 12 different configurations. While the set seems simplistic, the use of technology in the play makes the show very complex. Besides lighting and special effects, there is a dummy cell phone that has been programmed to run through the soundboard. Based on the heavy use of technology, the production team holds traditional and technical rehearsals. The use of technology in this show will amaze the audience if everything goes well, but it will be a very difficult process. In fact, there is a cue in the play that requires the synchronization of everyone at once.

The cast has spent three-and-a-half weeks rehearsing for a show that can fall apart with the slightest technology error. Besides a technology crew, there is a six-person cell phone ballet that helps move the scenery and even performs a dance in the second act. While there have been challenges with the use of technology, the crew and cast feel ready. “To see this show go from nothing to something pretty amazing is the best part about being the stage manager,” said Alyssa Markfort. “Sometimes theatres do shows with Shakespeare and things that are not relatable to an audience. It’s very relatable to a certain extent on how much we rely on technology these days.” The show will question society’s dependence on technology. “Working on the show, I have realized how attached I am to my cell phone,” Markfort said. “I take away that it’s OK to not be very reliant on our cell phones all of the time.” Beginning Feb. 16, this 90-minute dramedy will play in the Squires Studio Theatre with a general ticket fee of $10, and an $8 fee for students and seniors. Just as a friendly reminder, remember to turn your cell phone off before the curtain rises.

he title of Adam Sandler’s newest romantic comedy, “Just Go T With It,” not only fits the theme of the movie, but also offers a great piece of advice for the audience. Don’t expect a lot from this movie, “just go with it.” Starring Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, “Just Go With It” centers on a man who uses a fake wedding ring to seduce women. He complains to them of his marriage woes to make the women feel bad for him and sleep with him. This works up until he meets a woman he truly likes and she rejects him when she sees the ring and thinks he’s married. Enter Aniston. She plays Sandler’s single mother secretary and his faux ex-wife, as he’s too afraid to tell his new girlfriend he uses a fake ring to sleep with women. By introducing Aniston to her and telling her that they are getting a divorce, he hopes to move on with the relationship. But that would be a boring movie if that were all that happened. No, unfortunately the movie keeps going, the lie taking on many

other lies, like the fact that Sandler pretends that Aniston’s children are also his own. My first problem with “Just Go With It” is that the plot is ridiculous. It’s very unbelievable and with every added-on minute it gets harder and harder to relate to. Some movies thrive off their ridiculous plot, making for a fun break from reality. “Just Go With It” is not one of them. There are a few funny moments in the film, but the humor was often misplaced or stale. In many different scenes where a “funny” moment took place, it garnered little more than a few halfhearted chuckles and polite coughs. I won’t say that I sat through the movie with a straight face, but I came close to it. What was most disheartening about “Just Go With It” was Sandler himself. As a big fan of his earlier movies, “Billy Madison,” “Waterboy,” “Big Daddy” and “Happy Gilmore,” to name a few, Sandler has been disappointing,

movie after movie in the recent years. His juvenile humor was what really made me laugh. For a fleeting moment in “Just Go With It,” I could hear 1990s Sandler come through. Perhaps he feels that he’s outgrown the moronic humor that made “Billy Madison” such a side-splitting movie. In my opinion though, just because he’s older, doesn’t mean what originally made him funny is out of date. “Just Go With It” isn’t too funny and is quite predictable. Even so, it wasn’t a complete bore and at least kept a fast tempo. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone to go out and spend money on, but it’s probably one of those movies that will come on TBS in a few years that would be nice to flip to during the commercials of “The Biggest Loser” Season 32 (or whatever season they’re on).

COURTNEY BAKER -movie reviewer -features staff writer

James Blake’s self-titled album hits the right dubstep note hen Britney Spears’ latest single contains a dubstep style breakW down, it’s safe to say that dubstep as a genre has officially crossed over into the mainstream. However, dubstep is nothing new — its origins trace back to music being played in clubs throughout London as far back as the early 2000s. Growing and evolving ever since, we have now arrived at James Blake’s version of dubstep. Some are calling it plain “dubstep.” Some have declared it “postdubstep.” No matter what you choose to call it, there is no denying that what James Blake has crafted on his first full length album is a work of art. James Blake stepped on the scene in a significant way in the middle of 2010 when he released “The Bells Sketch,” the first of a series of EPs he put out over the course of the year. He gained major

notoriety with the release of “CMYK,” which received a “Best New Music” label from the prominent indie music site Pitchfork.com. The end of 2010 saw the release of his third EP that year, “Klavierwerke,” a dark cloud of thumping bass and eerily slowed-down R&B vocal samples. It is important to note that all of the EPs were primarily sample based — sometimes samples of his own voice, looped and distorted, sometimes samples of other songs. All were very electronic and extremely minimal, often consisting of a few notes and beats repeated for the entire song with vocals layered on top. James Blake marks a significant change in its creator’s sound. This time around, Blake chose to employ his own voice to deliver the lines in his songs.

Though he had often sampled his voice on the EPs, this is the first time where his own singing is front and center, and to surprisingly fantastic results. Having studied pop music at university, it is a wonder Blake never sang more in his earlier work. His voice is soulful and smooth, adding the perfect “human” element to the minimalist electronic backings of the album. What’s so great about this album is the attention to detail, every sound being perfectly rendered. Each song is cut with extreme precision, never allowed to stretch on for too long, demonstrating Blake’s immense skill as a producer. The songs “Unluck” and “To Care (Like You)” sound most reminiscent of the music found on Blake’s first EPs, electronics clicking and scratching in the background, the former wonder-

fully backed by gentle piano. “Why Don’t You Call Me” finds Blake sampling, speeding up and distorting his own voice to create incredibly ghostly harmonies. “The Wilhelm Scream” is one of the best songs on the album. Blake’s vocals are effortlessly polished, acting as the sliver of light emerging from the track’s echoing, foggy atmosphere. Eventually the wash of bass and static smother his voice and the song melts into the harmonies that open “I Never Learnt to Share.” “Lindsefarne I” takes the minimalism of the music even further, simply consisting of Blake singing a cappella with his voice run through a vocoder. The track is one of the best examples of Blake’s talent at creating extremely sparse songs packed with rich emotion, mostly thanks to his expressive yet ten-

der singing voice. Album highlight “Limit To Your Love,” a Feist cover, is the one song on the album that is most obviously influenced by dubstep. Breaking up the delicate piano-based verses are thundering basslines, strong and deep enough to shake you to your core. It’s one of James Blake’s strongest songs, for both the excellent vocal performance and the massive bass. “I Mind,” the shortest track on the album, is a swirl of distortion and loops layered over cavernous bass. Closing out the album is the most delicate and soul-influenced song, “Measurements.” Blake voices a multipart harmony that is bound to end up the soundtrack to an extremely emotional scene in a movie. Sung over a soft piano piece, the track rounds out the album in an appropriately simple and sensitive manner.

Building on a string of brilliant EPs released in 2010, James Blake has already delivered one of the most hyped albums of 2011. While it is certainly easy to see listeners rejecting the minimalistic, down-tempo nature of James Blake’s music, it goes without saying that his eponymous debut showcases a high level of talent and production that guarantees this artist will remain on the electronic music world’s (and possibly the mainstream’s) radar for the foreseeable future.

KEVIN MCALEESE -music reviewer -features staff writer -sophomore

6 sports

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

february 15, 2011

Hokies host Terrapins in much-anticipated rematch MATT JONES sports reporter The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team faces a quick turnaround tonight when it takes on the Maryland Terrapins in Cassell Coliseum. After eight days off following their loss at Boston College, the Hokies made easy work of Georgia Tech Sunday in a 102-77 win. “I was really pleased with our guys, and I’d be lying if I’d say I didn’t have anxiety over that eight day period,” said Seth Greenberg, head coach. “The game is easy when you’re making shots, and we made shots.” In last year’s home matchup with the Terrapins on Feb. 27, the Hokies battled into double overtime, but it was not enough to overcome the 41 points from senior Greivis Vasquez in a 104-100 loss.

In defeat, Tech got a big contribution from Jeff Allen, who had 25 points and 15 rebounds. This season, Allen has been much more consistent, especially over his last five games. During a five-game stretch dating back to the Hokies loss in Atlanta to the Yellow Jackets, the Washington D.C., native has averaged 20.2 points and 13.2 rebounds while shooting 56.2 percent from the field. “Our guys know if Jeff Allen is into it,” Greenberg said, “we’ve got a chance to be pretty good.” One issue Tech has faced in recent games has been the lack of bench scoring. In the same stretch of games that Allen has been dominant, the bench has been surprisingly absent. The bench averaging just five points per game over the stretch doesn’t worry Greenberg. “We just need them to play well, it’s not always points or rebounds, but it’s

making the right pass and making sure your man doesn’t get to the offensive glass,” Greenberg said. “Sure you’d like them to make shots, but we aren’t looking at points, rebounds and assists.” With Maryland’s recent loss at Boston College, the Hokies will have played only two Atlantic Coast Conference teams coming off of a win — Virginia over Minnesota and North Carolina over UVa. “Boston College did a great job doing what they had to do to win that game,” said Gary Williams, Maryland head coach. “Virginia Tech had a great win against Georgia Tech, and hopefully we’ll go down there and play well.” The topic of strength of schedule comes to mind in the latest installment of the NCAA Tournament debate. In ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi’s latest “Bracketology” tournament projections, the Hokies are listed as a 10seed in the tournament. That’s nothing

to feel great about. With a strength of schedule of 119th in the country, wins against RPI top-100 teams like Maryland are rare. “(With) Maryland I think about ACC tradition, and what Gary has been able to do, winning Final Fours and National Championships,” Greenberg said about the Terrapins and the Hokies’ statement win on Jan. 20. “They are one of the tradition rich programs in our league and it gives your kids confidence.” Whenever the Terrapins’ Jordan Williams is on the court, he will command a lot of attention. In the Hokies’ win at Maryland, the 2-3 zone was effective against the big man, holding him below his season averages in points and rebounds. “We had good help from support and you’re not going to stop him, you’re just going to slow him down, he’s going to get his,” Greenberg said.

As the Hokies prepare for another tough game with the Terrapins, the focus of the coaches and players will be on making Maryland shoot over the zone. In their first matchup of the season, the Hokies forced Maryland into 20 three-point attempts, allowing the Terrapins to make only three. “We need to be smarter in the way we run our offense,” Williams said. “We missed some looks where we could’ve gotten the ball for easier shots, and we settled for tough shots.” With the limited number of players Greenberg and staff has to use, the Hokies have used a variety of different zone defenses to stop opponents. In Sunday’s game against the Yellow Jackets, the Hokies employed a 3-2 zone for the first time all season, which resulted in a shot clock violation on the first possession. “It’s something new we put in,” said Erick Green, sophomore point guard.

“We keep changing our defenses and the 3-2 worked pretty well today. Hopefully we can keep it going.” While the Hokies will likely use the 23 zone a majority of the time against the Terrapins, the ability to change on the fly is something Greenberg can keep in his back pocket. Primarily a man-toman defensive coach, Greenberg has been pleased with the performance of his team in the zone. “We did a good job of getting over those screens,” Greenberg said. “We did what we needed to do in the zone. I thought our guys were much more active through the length of the game than they were last time.” Games such as this go a long way toward deciding the Hokies’ fate on Selection Sunday. The Hokies take on the Terrapins tonight in Cassell Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m., and will be televised on the ACC Network.

Wrestling wins sixth straight over NC State and Duke ZACH MARINER sports staff writer The Virginia Tech wrestling team lost all of one match on Saturday night, cruising to victories over ACC rivals NC State and Duke. In the first bout against NC State, the Hokies pitched a shutout, winning 40-0, and picked up two pins from freshman Devin Carter (133-pound weight class) and sophomore Chris Penny (197). Jarrod Garnett (125) picked up a technical fall, while 5th-ranked Jesse Dong (157) and 14th-ranked Pete Yates (165) earned major decisions, helping Tech coast to the easy victory. The No. 6 Hokies (19-4, 5-0 ACC) further exerted their ACC dominance in their second match Saturday night, again picking up an easy victory over

the Duke Blue Devils, 39-3, despite having already wrestled one match. “I can say for myself and a lot of other guys, you didn’t feel 100 percent warming up (for the second match),” Dong said. “But, it’s a mentality. You’ve got to change your mentality, you’ve got to psych yourself up. The second match is definitely going be the hardest, but you’ve just got to shower, get off your feet, relax, and do whatever you need to do with your mind right.” The final score seemed to show that fatigue had no impact whatsoever on the Hokies. Duke had to forfeit the 125-, 133and 197-pound weight classes, giving Garnett, Carter and Penny easy victories. Dong earned a technical fall, and senior Matt Epperly (174) picked up a major decision to help Tech finish off its ACC regular season undefeated.

“We’re going to have to dominate,” said Kevin Dresser, head coach. “You have to dominate certain opponents. That’s how we separate ourselves. We talk about it all the time. You have to separate yourselves from the masses.” And the Hokies are doing just that at the perfect time. Since losing to Rutgers on Jan. 21, Tech has six straight wins, with four of those victories coming against ACC opponents. With only one dual match remaining until the ACC Championships on March 5, the team appears ready to take home the title. “We’ve got Liberty on Thursday, but after that, our focus is 100 percent on the ACCs,” Dresser said. “We’ve got to dominate the ACC. If we can do that, that’ll be one feather in our hat. And then, obviously the big goal is to get guys to the podium.” Dresser was referring to the National Championships in Philadelphia in midMarch. Tech has six wrestlers ranked in the top 20 nationally. It has a good shot to finish in the top 10 at the meet, or maybe, with a little luck, the top five. Tech will probably send all six of those wrestlers to the NCAAs, simply based on ranking and RPI. But, it could send a few more depending on how things shake out at the ACCs. A potential X-factor for the Hokies down the stretch could very well be senior Epperly. “Matt’s really putting it together at a perfect time,” Dresser said. “Right now, he’s wrestling the best he ever has in his career, and the most consistent. It’s a good time for him to be making a step, and he’s made a big step for us in the last month.”

AUSTEN MEREDITH / SPPS

Tech’s 19th-ranked Chris Diaz stares down NC State’s Darius Little. The Hokies beat the Wolfpack 40-0. While Epperly dropped his first two contests against ACC opponents earlier in the year, he dominated both matches on Saturday night, which will more than likely earn him the No. 3 seed heading into the ACCs. “It felt good to go out there and get two wins under my belt,” Epperly said.

“It’s good for the NCAAs, and getting in there on the rankings, and getting my RPI up so I can make it to the big show in Philly.” Even though the Hokies have appeared to absolutely dominate the ACC as of late, there is one team that gave them a run for their money back on Jan. 23

— the Maryland Terrapins. Tech barely managed to escape that match with a victory, 18-17. “Maryland’s the second best team in the ACC,” Dresser said. “It’s going to be a three-team race between Maryland, Virginia Tech and Virginia at the ACCs. It’s going to be a war.”

COLLEGIATETIMES COLLEGIATETIMES

career guide

october 15, 20, february 2009 2011

How to get a job: Prepare your resume

Learn interview techniques

BEST RESUME

Know your location Make connections

HERE

Dress the part

Be ready for alternative jobs

DETOUR

106th 108th year issue issue102 17 WEI HANN / COLLEGIATE TIMES

page

collegiatetimes.com february 15, 2011

career guide

Career Services can help students spiff up their resumes JAY SPEIDELL news reporter One of the most critical aspects of any job search is the resume, which employers will often scan over and decide whether to follow up in a matter of seconds. “Our Career Planning Guide is one of the best resources we have,” said Amy McPherson, interim director of Career Services. “Students can come to the Smith Career Center and pick one of these up for free, and it is also available on our website, Career.VT.edu. “There’s a lot of information about resume writing, and a lot of sample resumes to look at to get ideas for how you might want to format your own resume,” she said. McPherson said the guide also contains information about the types of letters you might need to write in a

job search, including cover letters and thank you letters, as well as useful tips about interviewing. “If you send out a resume, you are basically saying, ‘please call me for an interview,’” McPherson said. There are several important things people should keep in mind while writing a resume. “The way that you make your resume stand out is the information you put on it,” McPherson said. “It has to do with the experiences you’ve had, either through work, class projects, leadership activities or volunteer activities.” A resume should be easy to scan, because employers don’t want to have to spend time reading through it. “If you look at the samples we have,” McPherson said, pointing to a page in the Career Planning Guide, “it’s a lot of bulleted items to give quick information.” McPherson also stressed the impor-

tance of word choice. “When you talk about what you’ve done, it’s important to use skill words to start your statements so that you’re describing your skills,” she said. “Begin with words like ‘managed,’ ‘trained,’ ‘analyzed,’ ‘operated’ — things like that, so you’re using really strong skill words to demonstrate your skills.” McPherson warned against trying to use design to make a resume stand out. “Sometimes people look at the samples we have, or they look at some traditional resumes, and they think, ‘well, everybody’s looks like that, and I want mine to look really different,’” McPherson said. “The bad thing about trying to make it look really different is that when employers are getting large stacks of resumes and they have to look through all of them, a standard format is nice for them because they know exactly where to look for the information they want and they don’t have to figure out somebody’s different kind of format.” McPherson said the standard format for resumes doesn’t really vary between disciplines. “The format is really going to be the same,” McPherson said. “You want to avoid a lot of artistic fonts or graphics, but if you are in a design field, you might want to do that because part of displaying your creativity might come

through on your resume.” McPherson suggested sticking to standard fonts, such as Times New Roman or Arial. “It’s always good for students to check with faculty members in their area if they have a question about ‘is there a certain way that people in our field do this?’” McPherson said. “But in general, especially at the undergraduate level, it’s pretty standard.” While the Career Planning Guide is a valuable resource, it is only one of the resources available from Career Services. “We also offer resume critiques,” McPherson said. “We encourage students to come to Career Services with a resume, or with a draft of a resume, and talk with an adviser. Advisers are available for walk-ins from noon to 3 p.m., on weekdays and by appointment. “We’ll look over your resume, we’ll ask you some question and make suggestions, and help you format your resume so that it best targets the type of position that you’re looking for,” McPherson said. There are also a number of events hosted by Career Services to help students look for jobs. Resumania, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., tomorrow, Feb. 16, is a walk-in critique event to prepare students for the Connection Internship and Job Fair in Cassell Colliseum on Feb. 22.

TIPS FOR WRITING

A GOOD RESUME -Make it easy to scan -Use bullet points -Use skill words like “managed,” “trained,” “analyzed” or “operated” -Stick to standard fonts and designs -Include your permanent and college addresses -Keep it no longer than one page -Take your resume to Resumania from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Career Services on Feb. 16 to get a walk-in critique

SAID

career guide

he she

page

after graduation edition

He said: Don’t be afraid to pursue jobs outside major I recently hung my diploma on the wall, I pondered how As that crisp document has influenced my

RYAN ARNOLD -spring 2010 grad -former awardwinning features reporter

JAIME MARTYN / COLLEGIATE TIMES

She said: Calm life in Blacksburg continues Blacksburg. of my friends have graduIatedloveMost and have moved away — to California, Washington D.C., or back to the place they grew up — and they all resoundingly say, “I miss Blacksburg.” Even after my own graduation last May, I’ve stuck around Blacksburg and have enjoyed a very simple life. I got married on a weekday at the Duck Pond gazebo, work two very different jobs and my idea of a great night is meeting my friends for drinks at the London Underground Pub. Although I’d often dreamed of a life as a crazy writer in New York City, I’m glad I can’t say I miss Blacksburg. This place is peaceful, full of friendly faces and the cost of living doesn’t demand any appendages or firstborn children. To me, this is a perfect way to happily start the rest of my post-college life. But it’s not always a charmed existence. True, I no longer have homework and late-night cram sessions, but the job market has been less than kind. I haven’t been able to find a good full-time job, and I’m struggling with the daunting monthly payment toward my private student loans. (If you’re still in school and paying your own way, I implore you to be smarter than I was and start paying off those loans now!) I take consolation in the fact many of my friends are in the same situation. Whether they’re working toward their graduate degrees, making a living, or taking time off

from school, we are all just floating around like jellyfish and waiting to see where the tide takes us. I’m not saying that we haven’t been trying our best. Our whole generation seems to be down on their luck. I know so many people with degrees forced to take jobs that don’t even require a high school diploma after paying big bucks for their tuition. New graduates are stranded because the market is oversaturated and many businesses are cutting their labor costs. Oh, and did I mention the student loan debt crisis? You might not think you will ever be stuck in this situation. Neither did I. Sociologists have noticed this trend in our age bracket and have nicknamed us the “Lost Generation.” We graduate and suddenly find ourselves floundering under the lack of options and lack of direction. What we dreamed when we were younger becomes a little unrealistic, and the job market and our education debt don’t help guide us to where we’d like to be. We want to be happy and secure, but what will get us there? Not to claim myself as the next Holden Caulfield or anything, but I feel like I’m a pretty good case study for this “Lost Generation.” Although I’m happily married, my situation won’t allow me to think about starting a family for a while. I’d really like to go to graduate school, but my debt from undergrad already has me second-guessing before I’ve even applied. And as for what I’d like to do with

my career? Somehow I don’t think “famous Indiana Jones-style archaeologist” would be a feasible answer. But if you graduate and find yourself in a similar position, you have to remain steadfastly optimistic. Even though I have a degree, I’m not a fossil. I still can savor the thrill of being 20something. I may work multiple jobs and strange hours, but I have the energy to play hard, too. I can stay out all night with my girlfriends guiltfree — as long as it’s the weekend. I may be on a tight budget, but a creative evening in with pencil sketches and my husband is still a wonderful date. And when I get a little free time, I’m still planning out novels and hoping they’ll someday pay my bills. A woman can dream, can’t she? This is why I love Blacksburg. I can eke out a living, I can have a quiet night at home, I can revel — I can do all of these things in Blacksburg because it’s the perfect place to be young. So don’t be in too big of a hurry to graduate and leave this town. I guarantee you’ll miss it later.

LAKEN YANCEY -spring 2010 grad -former features staff writer

collegiatetimes.com february 15, 2011

present. Well, the grace period for my student loans just ended, and I live with my older brother and sister-in-law (also a Virginia Tech alumnus). So, I’m a perpetual third wheel that can hardly roll under the crushing weight of debt. Wait. My familial roommates also have two dogs — I’m actually a fifth wheel. (The Border Collie has a penchant for Superman-launching into my man region.) Hooray graduation. Mercifully this is hyperbole, and life is sweeter than it sounds. Since moving to Denver last May, I’ve started to learn the art of home brewing beer (a red ale and coffee stout under my belt), snowboarded nearly every weekend this winter, and seen more concerts than I managed in my last decade of Central Virginia residency. It might seem I’m contradicting my debt with these things that clearly cost money. Yes, I managed to land a job. To those who doubt their futures: It can be done. Maybe more assurance for you is that I’m not practicing exactly what I studied. My communication degree did inform my first Colorado gig. I scored an (unpaid) internship at 5280 Magazine, one of the premier regional lifestyle publications in the country. Come to find out premier magazines inevitably already have premier writers, and considering the seesawing state of the print medium, newbies like me are delusional to think we’re entitled to full-time staff slots. It was cool to flip open an issue at the grocery store and see my name, but we’re actually talking squished, twoinch-wide blurbs that probably received as much attention as my He Said pieces did last year (read: very little). As fall approached, my starved wallet kept biting my ass, begging for my next funded step. (A second job stocking shelves at a college bookstore and a diet of almost strictly eggs kept me afloat. Thankfully, I now have health insurance.) The employment search demanded a wider scope; journalism slots were slim, but the entire communication industry wasn’t emaciated. The opportunity came within public relations, an area of study at Tech I didn’t touch. Still, the crossover of skills was quickly apparent: writing for items such as press releases, client strategy plans and even your own company’s

blog; media relations to increase the broadcast of your clients’ brands or missions — I’ve been “media”; social media proficiency to gauge online conversations and ultimately understand how to best impact clients’ audiences. (And this is still a fraction of the field.) An agency called Pure Brand Communications gave me a chance as an intern (paid!) and has probably risked its very existence by hiring me this past November. Pure comprises numerous disciplines including public relations, advertising and marketing, which all work together. There are no offices or cubicles. Humor and happy hour are part of the culture’s bedrock. This description isn’t intended to be self-congratulatory but merely a suggestion that there is a niche that best hosts your abilities and personality — it just might take some scouring. I never had a perfectly sculpted vision of what post-grad would look like, but I know this is different than that fuzzy picture. But different — as I believe now especially — is really good. Embrace the serpentine journey, if that’s what yours becomes, and ignore your skyrocketing cholesterol while eggs are your entire menu. Atop expanding into more food groups, I’ve been lighting the wicks on more friendships, though it’s challenging. Living with a married couple lends itself to meeting more engaged or married couples; working with predominantly engaged or married colleagues yields few extracurricular hangouts. (Note: This exposure conversely makes me less interested in becoming engaged or married. Seriously, it appears you and your partner become social phantoms.) The dynamics of college — dorms, apartment parties, sporting events, et al. — practically serve friendships on trays. I suppose, then, that my top priority should be finding a studio pad once our lease ends and spending what little disposable income I have on a raging Rocky Mountain kegger. Or better yet, I’ll home brew the beverages. Regardless, you’re all invited. Of course, there is a cover fee: Pokey Stix.

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Interviewers say they favor Tech grads, campus ERIN CHAPMAN news staff writer In a Wall Street Journal ranking from September, Virginia Tech placed 13th out of 25 schools where graduates were top-rated by job recruiters. Tech was ranked higher than the

University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina and the University of South Carolina. Some students might think engineering is the only specialty Tech has to offer. In reality, recruiters come to Tech looking for competent graduates in many fields, including agriculture, liberal arts, business and finance.

Prospective employers on campus are frequently impressed with the quality of applicants Tech produces. According to Career Services, recruiters say Tech students are well-prepared, well-dressed, and have done the research on employers. Many large employers such as Freddie Mac, Lockheed Martin

and Booz Allen Hamilton find Tech is a ‘“key school” for recruiting. Academics, alumni currently employed, reputation of school, past success of hires and technical skills of students are some of the vital things that make Tech a key school for these employers. Employers select schools that meet certain criteria. Skills, type of education and major are all important things recruiters look at when picking a school to see or targeting graduates. “Tech graduates gain experience in the Ware Lab and also with the Lumenhaus project. We are a great research university,” said Lisa Boothe, the senior employer relations coordinator at Tech’s Smith Career Center. Smith Career Center and Hokies4Hire are resources for students looking for employment or internship opportunities. Daniel Watkins with Facility Engineering Associates said he sees a level of maturity in Tech graduates, and a sense of preparedness that can be seen in interview skills and resumes. Watkins recommended stu-

dents seek out opportunities during the summer that will better prepare them for a job. After an employer conducts an on-campus interview, they are asked to fill out a survey asking how they would rate their experience recruiting at Tech. Communication, leadership skills, problem-solving skills and analytical skills are among the top qualities that employers look for in a potential candidate. Alicia Downey with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, who frequently recruits on campus, finds Tech graduates have a great work ethic, classroom knowledge and communication skills. “Tech students are of great caliber, and perform just as well, if not better, than other schools in the area,” she said. In one year, 300 to 400 employers will come to Tech to give on-campus interviews. Anywhere from 7,000 to 9,000 interviews are given each year.

College students not learning critical thinking SARA RIMER

collegiatetimes.com february 15, 2011

mcclatchy newspapers NEW YORK — An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn’t learn the critical thinking, complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education. Many of the students graduated without knowing how to sift fact from opinion, make a clear written argument or objectively review conflicting reports of a situation or event, according to New York University sociologist Richard Arum, lead author of the study. The students, for example, couldn’t determine the cause of an increase in neighborhood crime or how best to respond without being swayed by emotional testimony and political spin. Arum, whose book “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses” (University of Chicago Press) comes out this month, followed 2,322 traditional-age students from the fall of 2005 to the spring of 2009 and examined testing data and student surveys at a broad range of 24 U.S. colleges and universities, from the highly selective to the less selective. Forty-five percent of students made no significant improvement in their

critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during the first two years of college, according to the study. After four years, 36 percent showed no significant gains in these so-called “higher order” thinking skills. Combining the hours spent studying and in class, students devoted less than a fifth of their time each week to academic pursuits. By contrast, students spent 51 percent of their time — or 85 hours a week — socializing or in extracurricular activities. The study also showed that students who studied alone made more significant gains in learning than those who studied in groups. “I’m not surprised at the results,” said Stephen G. Emerson, the president of Haverford College in Pennsylvania. “Our very best students don’t study in groups. They might work in groups in lab projects. But when they study, they study by themselves.” The study marks one of the first times a cohort of undergraduates has been followed over four years to examine whether they’re learning specific skills. It provides a portrait of the complex set of factors, from the quality of secondary school preparation to the academic demands on campus, which determine learning. It comes amid President Barack Obama’s call for more college graduates by 2020 and is likely to shine a spotlight on the quality of the education they receive.

Even with free tuition, hurdles remain for grads

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DAVID JESSIE mcclatchy newspapers KALAMAZOO, Mich. — When Simon Boehme landed President Barack Obama as commencement speaker for his high school graduation last spring, he knew exactly what the president would highlight: the city’s innovative $21.5 million college scholarship program, now being emulated across the U.S. “America has a lot to learn from Kalamazoo,” Obama said at Boehme’s commencement, praising the anonymous donors who started the Kalamazoo Promise in 2005 in this former manufacturing city of 73,000. Already, 1,250 Kalamazoo public school graduates — 81 percent of those eligible — have taken advantage of free or vastly reduced tuition to any public college or university in Michigan. Yet just 54 percent of those who received the first awards under the program are still in college or have graduated, a stark reminder that it will take more than money to achieve the president’s ambitious goal of leading the world in college degrees by 2020. “We took the first hurdle down (not having money for college) and now can see all the hurdles behind it,” said Michelle Miller-Adams, a visiting scholar at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo and the author of the first comprehensive study of the initiative. Cities from Hammond, Ind., to New Haven, Conn., have launched similar programs at a time when, Obama frequently rues, the U.S. has fallen from first to ninth place in the world in the proportion of young people with college degrees. In Pittsburgh’s program, the percentage of scholarship recipients who return to their public four-year colleges after freshman year trails the state average of 81 percent by nearly 3 points, said Saleem Ghubril, the executive director of the Pittsburgh Promise, which launched in 2007 with a $100 million commitment from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. As for community college students on Pittsburgh Promise scholarships, 70.3 percent return for their second

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President Barack Obama addressed the senior class during Kalamazoo Central High School’s graduation in on Monday, June 7, 2010. years, about 10 points above the national average. In Denver, half of the 199 students in the first class eligible for that city’s Promise-style program were still enrolled for the start of their fourth year of college, said Rana Tarkenton, the director of student services at the Denver Scholarship Foundation. Kalamazoo Promise students must be enrolled full time and maintain C averages to keep their scholarships. The program’s graduation rates are lowest at two-year colleges, as they are in the rest

of the U.S.: Only 33 percent of the Class of 2006 who attended community college had graduated by the fall of 2010, program statistics show. The following year’s class didn’t do much better. “What we’re seeing more clearly now is that we need to address the other hurdles,” Miller-Adams said. Nationally, getting students through college has long been a challenge: Only 59.5 percent of students who start bachelor’s degrees finish in four years, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Obstacles include insufficient academic and cultural preparation for higher education, said Stan Jones, the president of Complete College America, a Washington-based nonprofit group. “It’s especially hard for students who come from poor areas and don’t have support networks,” said Jones, one of the founders of Twenty-First Century Scholars, a Promise-style program founded in Indiana in the 1990s. “Just giving them the opportunity to go to college isn’t enough. They need sup-

port once they get there: mentoring, ways for students to connect.” “The hardest adjustment for me is being able to manage my time, and being able to study effectively,” said University of Michigan freshman Adwoa Bobo, a pre-med student on a Promise scholarship. “In high school, I was able to pass through without studying too much. In college, you cannot get good grades without taking notes and studying every night for see KALAMAZOO / page seven

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career guide

Alternative activities boost post-grad resume Career Services CHELSEA GUNTER features reporter Finding a job right out of college is stressful. It becomes even more of an issue when the economy is still recovering over the worst decline since the Great Depression. Spring semester is already starting to fly by. The Super Bowl is over, exams are beginning and the amount of job searches has increased. With little time to spare, how can any senior not have a case of the butterflies? Diplomas may soon be in the hands of seniors, but that does not guarantee a job in this market anymore. So what does a senior do if they cannot find a job immediately after college? It may be cliche and not the most exciting alternative, but waiting tables is always a good start. No matter the job, having cash in your hand and a job is respectful. It is a great way for recent graduates to get started while they continue to search for their ideal job. Besides being a server, graduates have other options such as volunteering. Volunteering may not bring home the bacon, but it can definitely add another beneficial line to a resume. In fact, most medical school applicants take a year off to volunteer in order to make resources and become a better candidate. Whether

one likes it or not, making resources is key in finding a job. Donating time and effort toward a non-profit organization can be a great way to get a letter of recommendation and improve one’s skills. Whether one moves back home or not, it is all about getting proactive. Instead of complaining about the economy and not having a job, get up and do something. Besides letters of recommendation, global experiences can make you stand out. Currently there is a travel program for recent graduates called “Essential Europe.” “This is a unique opportunity hosted by the Virginia Tech Alumni Association that brings students together from all around the university for an unforgettable voyage,” said Gavin McDuff, senior and co-host of the trip. The students will travel through 11 countries in 25 days. This trip offers students the chance to continue their education and to experience the world. “Before having to settle into a new job or graduate school, we want students to celebrate their college success by joining the Virginia Tech Alumni Association for the 11th year of this European summer tour,” McDuff said. Students interested in this opportunity can contact either of the two hosts for the Summer 2011 trip, Gavin McDuff at gtmcduff@vt.edu

and Rachel Uhrig at rluhrig@vt.edu. Students looking for a short-term job opportunity and chance to give back to Tech can apply to work with the Undergraduate Admissions Office. The position requires campus recruiting and runs from late July to mid-November. As an admission adviser, you’ll get paid to talk about Tech and travel to various high schools and college fairs within the East Coast. This job opportunity offers recent graduates the chance to further their communication skills and prepare themselves for future careers. Those interested can learn more at www.admiss. vt.edu/admiss_advisors. When all else fails, graduate school is a great alternative. While going to college was once an honor, it has now become a prerequisite and expectation for most jobs. That being said, earning a graduate degree is another way to stand out among the crowd. There is always more to learn. If you have the funds then why not learn even more about a field that you are passionate about? Finding a job is all about marketing yourself. One needs to be enthusiastic, active and willing to start at the bottom. Finding a job right out of college does not work for everyone, so do not give in. Visit Career Services and get creative. Nothing in life comes easy.

assists students ﬁnding internships “ CHELSEA GUNTER features reporter

Now that the spring semester is underway, the competitive job search has begun. For seniors, their time as an undergraduate student is quickly fading away, and the pressure is on. It’s time for students to get their acts together and tweak their resumes. A college degree is always an accomplishment, but alone, it will not make students stand out anymore. It’s the 21st century, which means many people are earning their degrees. So how does someone stand out in the job market? Most undergraduates spend their time looking for study abroad and internship opportunities to build their resume. Participating in an internship is a great way to gain experience and test out a specific field. Typically, sophomores and juniors seek out internships, but that does not mean that a recent graduate student should not apply for one. Internships give graduates experience and more time to find permanent positions, according to Becca Scott, assistant director of Virginia Tech Career Services. “Applying for internships after graduation is a great opportunity for a student who doesn’t have any other career related experiences yet,” Scott said. “It gives them the opportunity to be more competitive when they look for a full-time position.” Some students will find that their original career path ended up changing. Gaining experience through an internship can highlight unknown passions and guide students in their decision-making process. Completing an internship will give students a competitive edge in the job market. “Getting that experience from an internship is so valuable for your own personal development and growth,” Scott said. “Go get one or do something to get yourself that experience and test the field out.” Those who plan on doing an internship need to get moving. Employee advertising and hiring for internships has already begun. Students can use internship websites such as InternPrograms. com as a way to find opportunities. Besides general search engines, Tech students can also utilize the Hokies4Hire job database.

Applying for internships after graduation is a great opportunity for a student who doesn’t have any other career related experiences yet. It gives them the opportunity to be more competitive when they look for a full-time position. BECCA SCOTT ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA TECH CAREER SERVICES

“Other ways students can find internships is through networking and making connections with people in the field that they are interested in going into,” Scott said. In addition to friends and family, students can use social networking to make connections — students can create their own business profile using websites such as LinkedIn. Besides the Web, students can take advantage of Career Services. The center has several advisers who are available through appointments and walk-ins. Advisers are there to help students practice interviewing, critique their resume and guide through career decisions. Job fairs are also available to students. The fairs inform students about internship opportunities and allow them to meet face-to-face with employers. On Tuesday, Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Career Services will be sponsoring the Connection Coop and Internship Job Fair. This annual job fair will be held in Cassel Coliseum. The event will provide both undergraduate and graduate students with job opportunities. Some of the employers attending the job fair will set up interviews with students for the following day at the Smith Career Center from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students can find a list of employers registered for the event and more information at Career.VT.edu. To get an internship and be competitive, students need to get active. Go to job fairs, do research and take advantage of Career Services to get a competitive edge.

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each class and reading your books thoroughly.” Bobo thinks the high cost of housing, books and other needs also discourages students. Annual total costs at four-year public universities average $16,140, according to the College Board, a nonprofit association of 5,700 colleges and universities. “I think that the reason why so many students have dropped out is because although tuition and fees are paid for, room and board is not,” Bobo said. “These students still have to worry about books, computers and many other expenses.” Concern about the effectiveness of Promise-style programs hasn’t slowed their growth. A group of volunteers in Milwaukee is trying to replicate the program in Wisconsin. The New Haven Promise, financed primarily by Yale University, announced an offer last month to pay the tuition of any student with at least a 3.0 grade-point average who wishes to attend a public college or university in Connecticut. Kalamazoo is trying to figure out what else — beyond free tuition — students need to be successful in college, said Janice Brown, the executive director of the Kalamazoo Promise and former superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools. “We are working to change a culture here,” Brown said. “We’re having conversations about what types of support systems we ... need for our students, both from the community and from families.” More than two-thirds of Kalamazoo students are eligible for free or reducedprice lunches, a key poverty indicator. About 64 percent graduate from high

school in four years. Civic leaders in Kalamazoo have high hopes that the Promise program will widen the pool of high school and college graduates in a city where two-thirds of people 25 and older don’t have college degrees, according to census data. The former paper-mill stronghold is home to Western Michigan University, which enrolls 25,000 students, and its unemployment rate of 10.6 percent is about 2 percentage points lower than the state average in recession-torn Michigan. The city is still struggling to recover from the loss of hundreds of pharmaceutical and auto industry jobs in the 1990s. Since 2006, 56 Kalamazoo Promise graduates have obtained four-year bachelor’s degrees and 21 have graduated with associate degrees. The Promise gives students 10 years to complete degrees. Justin Hamilton, a spokesman for U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, said the Obama administration welcomed the proliferation of Promise-style programs, even if early results were mixed. “These partnerships are an opportunity,” Hamilton said. “We recognize there is a pipeline issue. Not enough kids are graduating ... college- and career-ready, so we have to do what we can to make them well-prepared.” Boehme, who’s now a freshman studying political science and business at the University of Michigan, said the program had at the very least changed the conversation in his hometown of Kalamazoo. “I don’t exactly know what it was like before the Promise, but now everybody in high school is talking about where they are going to college,” Boehme said.

Sotomayor tells Chicago law students of her fear of failure DAHLEEN GLANTON mcclatchy newspapers CHICAGO — Dressed in a black skirt and jacket and sitting, legs crossed, in a leather wingback chair on an auditorium stage Monday, Jan. 31, Justice Sonia Sotomayor looked nothing like the staid image of a U.S. Supreme Court judge most people are used to. Sotomayor visited the University of Chicago Law School to do something she said is as important as the decisions she renders from the bench — engage in lively conversation with young people. That included a rare opportunity to ask any question they wanted and have her as a guest professor during a class. Mostly, the students wanted to know how they could become successful lawyers, what it is like being the first Hispanic woman on the court and whether the justices get along outside the

court. In her typically candid, straightforward fashion pickled with humor, Sotomayor, who was appointed SOTOMAYOR to the high court in 2009, said the justices get along and respect one another, though their views on some issues may be different. She revealed that her knees trembled and her stomach churned as she presided over her first case on the U.S. Court of Appeals, a position she held for 11 years, and that she was frightened during her first year on the Supreme Court. She has spent most of her life, she said, fearful of failure. And as a result, she has worked hard to prepare herself, both by researching the issues and asking probing questions of lawyers who

argue cases. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve been afraid about doing, including being a Supreme Court justice,” said Sotomayor, who is often described as a tough and demanding jurist. But, she said, she often changes her mind on an issue after hearing the facts and she has, though less frequently, changed her vote. As the first Hispanic woman on the court, Sotomayor said she has a special role, but that does not mean she has to make decisions that help a special group of people. She acknowledged, however, that her presence may have contributed to a rise in the number of Spanish-speaking groups visiting the court. More and more young people, she said, are reaching out to her. “To the extent my presence has given people of color a sense of belonging with the court, then I have made a difference,” she said.

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Kalamazoo: Tuition program increasing graduation rate

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Congress may tweak college-savings rules “ ALICE TRUONG

mcclatchy newspapers

college savings

WASHINGTON — Parents are busy prepping their high-school graduates for college — that should include catching up on the latest rules for 529 plans. For the time being, you can tap your student’s 529 college savings plan to pay for tuition costs, room and board, books and a computer. But if you wait till next year to buy that computer, you might find the plan won’t cover it anymore. Families have invested about $134 billion in more than a hundred different 529 plans sold throughout the nation, according to the College Savings Plans Network, a nonprofit association that advocates for the plans. The 529 plan gets its name from the relevant section of the Internal Revenue Service code. The stimulus bill in 2009 included a provision that allowed students to use 529plan money to pay for computers and other equipment. Separately, the stock-market downturn prompted the U.S.

Treasury Department to tweak 529plan rules to allow for two investment changes per year, rather than just one, but that was a temporary rule change that ended in 2009. A college-savings bill currently in the House Ways and Means committee — the Savings Enhancement for Education in College Act, or H.R. 1351 — would make permanent the rules regarding computers and the number of investment changes allowed, plus expand the current Saver’s Credit to apply to college savings. Backers of the college-savings bill, which is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota, say allowing two changes per year is important, given the market’s volatility. “While we don’t want people to move their money all the time, having two times when they can seems reasonable,” said Joan Marshall, executive director of College Savings Plans of Maryland who also sits on the board of the College Savings Plans Network. The saver’s credit offers lowerincome savers a tax credit as a reward for putting money aside, but currently it applies solely to retirement savings contributions. Marshall said that giving this same credit to families who contribute to college savings would encourage low- and moderate-

A college-savings bill currently in the House Ways and Means committee would make permanent the rules regarding computers and the number of investment changes allowed.

income families to save for college. Jacquelyn T. Williams, director of the college savings initiative at the New America Foundation, a nonprofit and nonpartisan public policy organization, said that simply having money stashed away for college can make a difference in whether or not a child matriculates in post-secondary education. At a House discussion in mid-May, she said children with college funds are four times more likely to go to college. Still, many families are hesitant to invest in 529 plans because of misperceptions, Marshall said. For instance, she said, some mistakenly believe that money stashed in a 529 plan can only be used for tuition at four-year colleges, but those funds can be used at any accredited institution that accepts federal aid, including community colleges, technical schools and graduate schools.