Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Print Edition by Collegiate Times

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

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COLLEGIATETIMES 108th year, issue 21 News, page 2

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Campus to lose 500 beds Student trapped

in cave overnight MALLORY NOE-PAYNE news staff writer

WEI HANN & JOSH SON / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Because of renovations to West Ambler Johnson Hall that will begin in May, 500 fewer students will be able to live on campus next year.

SYSTEMATIC RENOVATIONS OF RESIDENCE HALLS TO DISPLACE 500 STUDENTS NEXT SCHOOL YEAR DAVE DUCKETT news staff writer As West Ambler Johnston Hall closes for renovations this May, there will be 500 fewer beds available on campus next school year, requiring more students to live off campus. Vice President of Student Affairs Ed Spencer said the $75 million renovation project began in May 2009 with East Ambler Johnston and its connecting wing, which is slated to reopen in August 2011. The next phase involves renovations of West AJ, which will be closed for 15 months starting in May. Future scheduled renovation projects are Brodie Hall and Rasche Hall, which will likely be demolished one at a time and rebuilt as larger buildings with Hokie Stone. The Ambler Johnston renovations are the largest capital project the university has engaged in, and the renovations were bid out to the private contractor Barton Malow. “Each year, as a renovated building opens, another one is going to close for renovation, so our capacity,” Spencer said as he held his arm horizontally and waved it up and down, “is going to go like this.” Spencer said the number of offers for on-campus housing is based on a number of factors: the size of the incoming

freshman class, the number of transfers wanting to live on campus, how many people will be dropped for academic deficiency over the summer and how many people will drop out. Since Tech requires freshmen to live on campus their first year, the available beds are held for them. “We hold enough beds for the incoming freshman class, or what is supposed to be the size of the incoming freshman class, and we hope admissions comes in with that number of students, and then the remaining number of beds are offered through an electronic lottery system,” Spencer said. “(Upperclassmen) apply for housing, they are assigned a lottery number by a computer, and we offer to as many of those students as we can based on what the capacity of the residence halls is going to be.” Nick Onopa, a sophomore in urban affairs and planning as well as a part of the Student Life Council, lived in West AJ his freshman year. “It was just really dark, I mean, I’ve heard people call it a dungeon,” Onapa said. “A lot of stuff was just outdated. I mean it worked, but there need to be improvements, definitely.” Onapa said that the noise from construction in East AJ last year was not a big issue. The construction would

Celebrating community

begin at 9 a.m. in the morning and last until 5 p.m., when many students were in class. A negative aspect of the renovations will be a dramatic loss in rooms for a single year.

“

The good news is that when Ambler Johnston comes back up, students are going to be thrilled about what they see and experience. FRANK SHUSHOK ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

“I think it (the purpose of the renovations) is definitely to promote a more academic environment and also a complete life within the building,” Spencer said. As part of the new residential college system, East AJ, which will house honors students only, will have many features that are currently not part of any other residence hall. “There’s going to be a billiards room, not really a game room, but just like a social atmosphere there. There’s going to be a movie theater in there, and that’ll be open to East and West AJ when it’s open. There’s going to be classrooms; there are plenty of faculty offices there,” Spencer said. “Yeah, just everything is really to promote the full (residential) college experience within

the building.” Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Frank Shushok said Ambler Johnston is the first residence hall being worked on as part of the university’s renovation plan and involves more than cosmetics. It is a complete systems overhaul: installing air conditioning, redoing plumbing and electrical, reconfiguring community space and redoing rooms and bathrooms. Any flaws in the structural integrity of the building will also be addressed. “We will no doubt lose some beds, and that’s because of things like ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and fire life safety things, but some of it’s also in our own planning,” Shushok said. “Students want and need more community space — so more space for studying and for interacting with each other.” Though there have been a few complaints related to noise caused by the construction, Shushok said that the construction company works hard to minimize noise and tries to work at reasonable hours and that students have been patient, thoughtful and gracious in regards to the ongoing renovations. “The good news is that when Ambler Johnston comes back up, students are going to be thrilled about what they see and experience,” Shushok said. “On the flipside, that means that they’ll be expecting us to continue to improve buildings, and we are going to do that.”

A Virginia Tech student was rescued from a cave in Giles County after spending more than 11 hours trapped throughout the night on Friday, Feb. 11. David Roesler, 26, is an undergraduate student studying industrial systems engineering. At 3 p.m., he slipped and fell into the entrance of Stay High Cave, located off of Clover Hallow Road in Giles County. He became trapped in the small entry and was unable to remove himself. A friend he had been hiking with called a nearby relative for help. “When you go into the entrance you have to stay up high where it’s wide. If you slip down into the crack, some people can fit and some people can’t,” said John Bowling, president of Tech’s Cave Club. “If you’re not experienced with being stuck like that, it’s really difficult to be able to move when you can’t move your limbs the way you’re used to.” Newport Rescue Squad was called when it became clear that Roesler couldn’t be moved. Light was fading fast as it arrived. Rescuers tried to pull him out using a rope and harness, but it was unsuccessful. Temperatures dropped as the sun set and Newport Rescue contacted Blacksburg Rescue Squad’s Confined Rescue Team. Several members of the rescue squad decided to also contact members of Tech’s Cave Club, who are familiar with the area and rescue techniques. EMS had been on the scene for a couple hours already when they arrived. “We got there, there was a firetruck, rescue, the helicopter had already landed too,” Bowling said. Electric air hammers were used to cut the wall in several locations. The process was tedious, involving a constant shift of technique and slow upward movement. Hypothermia was the primary concern for both the rescuers and Roesler, as temperatures dropped and it was impossible to keep him under blankets

Eddie arrested on marijuana charge

while attempting to remove him. At one point his shirt slipped up, leaving his bare chest against the rock wall. Using the haul system and hammer drill, Roesler was moved upward inch by inch. “We thought we were five minutes from getting him out and it took three hours,” Bowling said. Roesler became stuck in several different locations as he came closer to the cave entrance, forcing the same process to continue. “I got a little frustrated, toward the end of it, when you look down and you’ve only moved like four feet, but I just had to contain myself, because that wasn’t going to help anybody,” Roesler said. As things became more desperate, Roesler remembered hearing rescuers discuss the option of breaking his hips to maneuver him out. “I said, ‘No, this isn’t going to happen.’” With the help of someone both below and above him, and using the very last of his strength, Roesler was able to maneuver out sometime between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Roesler was immediately sent aboard helicopter to Montgomery Regional Hospital. He was treated for hypothermia and crush injury in his left leg, which had been the primary support of his weight for most of the night. And 24 hours after the initial incident, he was released from the hospital. Roesler, who had been caving several times before, attributed his ability to stay calm to his training with the Boy Scouts and military. “I was just thankful there were guys who had that kind of expertise around,” he said. While Roesler admits to still being sore, he said there have been few mental affects. He has returned to work and school, and is doing his best to keep his normal schedule. “Everything came out OK,” he said. “If it had been otherwise I might have a different story.”

MALLORY NOE-PAYNE / SPPS

David Roesler returned to classes after spending a night in a cave. MATT JONES sports reporter

Sixth grader Sterling Sims performed at the Ebony Affair on Saturday night. photo by maziar fahandezh

A Hokie basketball player is playing defense in a different court. Virginia Tech freshman swingman Jarell Eddie is charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana, according to court records. He was arrested Feb. 15. Eddie is due to appear in Montgomery County General District Court in Christiansburg on April 21. Eddie did not play in Saturday’s 6154 loss at Virginia. Tech head coach Seth Greenberg declined to comment on Eddie’s situation during Monday’s weekly teleconference. “If you want to talk about Wake Forest-Duke I’d be glad to talk to you about that,” Greenberg said when asked about Eddie. A Virginian-Pilot report said Eddie will play at Wake Forest after passing a drug test. The Hokies, who have been ravaged by injuries this season, entered the season No. 21 in the country.

After the loss of JT Thompson (knee), Dorenzo Hudson (foot), Cadarian Raines (foot), Allan Chaney (heart condition) and Ben Boggs (transfer), Greenberg’s bench was as short as it has been in his time in Blacksburg. Eddie, a native of Charlotte, N.C., is averaging 10.6 minutes and 2.6 points per game this season. Before Saturday’s loss at Virginia, Eddie had appeared in every game, giving Greenberg and the Hokies a serviceable reserve in the frontcourt. A four-star recruit, Eddie was the highest rated prospect recruited to Tech since 2007’s stellar class of Malcolm Delaney, Jeff Allen and Hudson. He represents a wave in strong recruiting by the Hokies’ staff, continuing next year with the nation’s No. 12 recruiting class. The Hokies face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Tuesday before hosting the Duke Blue Devils Saturday. ESPN’s College GameDay will be in Blacksburg for Saturday’s contest.

Charter school beats the odds NOREEN AHMED-ULLAH mcclatchy newspapers CHICAGO — Fire broke out in Cedric Abdul-Hakeem’s home in Chicago’s Englewood community on Dec. 31. After making sure everyone was out safely, the 17-year-old re-entered the smoke-filled home to retrieve his laptop. “My laptop had all my applications, and most college applications are due Jan. 1,” he explained. “I figured if my laptop burns, I’m through.” He got his laptop. He got the applications in on time. And so far, he’s been accepted to half a dozen colleges, including Grinnell College in Iowa, where most of his tuition will be paid through scholarships and

grants. Abdul-Hakeem is another Urban Prep success story. For the second consecutive year, every senior in Chicago’s only public all-male, allAfrican-American high school has been accepted to a four-year college or university. In all, the 104 members of the 2011 graduating class have been accepted to 103 different colleges, including some of the country’s most selective schools. With many acceptance letters still anticipated, the charter is hoping at least one of its students this year will land an Ivy League invitation. “We would never advocate that see CHARTER / page four

2 news

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

february 22, 2011

what you’re saying //comments from online readers... On local food: Mr. Perspective >> One of many factors that always gets left out of this discussion is the difference in transportation methods. You can’t simply compare food miles. If we’re going to compare sources, at least we need to compare apples to apples. Or how about tomatoes to tomatoes? Say a farmer drives 10 bushels of tomatoes 50 miles to the farmer’s market in a truck. This is roughly 500 lbs of tomatoes, and he travels 100 miles round trip, using 5 gallons of gas. So each pound of tomatoes “costs” 0.01 gallons of gas.Compare that to a 53-foot trailer traveling 1685 miles with roughly 185000 lbs of tomatoes. From what I could find, fuel mileage is about 5 mpg for these trucks. So that’s 337 gallons. The truck doesn’t return empty, so we probably shouldn’t count the round trip. But what the heck, for the sake of argument, count the whole round trip, so 674 gallons for 185000 lbs. That’s still only 0.0036 gallons per pound, roughly 3 times less than the local farmer.Of course, there are other factors pertaining to the energy and environmental efficiency of the farm itself, but I imagine that larger farms probably have higher efficiency in producing food as well.

COLLEGIATETIMES

virginia

Wind, brush ﬁre and now snow? PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — After 70-degree weather Friday and fierce winds Saturday, Prince William County is bracing for another change in weather: snow. The National Weather service issued winter weather advisory for the area starting at 9 p.m. Monday and lasting through 7 a.m. Tuesday. Sleet and snow is expected late tonight, with accumulations of two to five inches possible. There was no word on school closings Monday. Last week, county school officials said snow days were “being monitored very closely.”

As of Feb. 11, the county schools had closed to weather six times this school year, on Dec. 17, Jan. 18, Jan. 16-28, and Feb. 10. The county schools also had three delays or early releases due to weather, on Dec. 16, Jan. 12, and Jan. 19, school officials said. The county schools still have just over nine hours, or about one and a half days, remaining above the state minimum requirement for instructional hours, school officials said. If the schools close due to snow for more than nine more hours, additional days or hours may have to be added to the school calendar.

Manassas City schools have closed four days this school year due to snow, on Jan. 18, Jan. 26, Jan. 27 and Jan. 28. The city schools also dismissed early on Dec. 16, and opened on a twohour delay on Dec. 17 and Jan. 12, said school spokeswoman Almeta Radford. The city schools currently have more than the required number of instructional hours left and have no plans to add days yet, Radford said. Manassas Park school officials were not available for comment Monday. -amanda stewart, mcclatchy newspapers

opınıons 3

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

february 22, 2011

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

Your Views [letter to the editor]

Farmers market, many local food initiatives can be sustainable his is in response to Brad Copenhaver’s colT umn, “Local Food Movement Neglects Sound Economics” (CT, Feb. 10). I disagree with the author’s opinion that local food “is not concurrent with ideas of economic efficiency and comparative advantage.” While we both agree that investment in local business allows for “keeping money circulating within a local region,” our opinions concerning fuel savings and Virginia seasonality differ. In Blacksburg, a main source of local food is the year-round Blacksburg Farmers Market located a block away from campus on Draper Road. The market requires that each vendor travel from within a 50-mile radius surrounding Blacksburg. In a conventional system, one pound of produce was found to have traveled at least 1,685 miles (Pirog et al, 2001, p. 9). By contributing fewer food miles, local food is able to decrease its ecological foot-

print while often providing more fresh products, simply because of the proximity. Growing oranges in Virginia will not give a farmer a competitive price at the market, but neither will coffee, spices or chocolate grown in Virginia. These items are not meant to be grown in Virginia and therefore cannot be sourced locally. For “locavores,” this does not mean chocolate or coffee are cut out of their diet, instead other alternatives are available. Fair Trade and direct market products provide a way for consumers to support ecologically harvested products. Consumers do not meet their grower like they can at the market, but this is the next best alternative. Whether local food can feed the world is one debate, but its economic benefits are certain.

Rial Tombes Environmental Policy And Planning Major

Resource center supports local pregnant women hile attending college, the typicalstudentencounters W many stressful situations. These run the gamut from cramming for a test, being diagnosed with a chronic illness, depression, the death of a family member and countless other scenarios. One of these stressful scenarios is getting pregnant in college. For students facing pregnancy, the Pregnancy Resource Center provides invaluable services free of charge. The PRC of the New River Valley has helped area women since 1985. Conveniently located close to campus — above Eats Natural Foods, at the intersection of Main Street and Prices Fork Road — the facility offers a warm atmosphere with friendly staff who are willing to help. When showing women what options are available to them, the staff strives to be noncoercive and nonjudgmental. Many students go to the PRC to receive a pregnancy test. Women can also get an ultrasound from an on-site registered nurse trained in limited obstetrical ultrasound. The equipment is state-of-the-art, and is the same ultrasound system found in many hospitals across the country. The center also performs limited sexually transmitted infection screening for infections that can complicate pregnancy. All of these services are provided at no cost to the student. Women who are pregnant have several options available to them. PRC staff use an Ottawa Personal Decision Guide to help women understand these options. The decision guide is used by many hospitals to help patients facing crisis think rationally about their choices. The chart that PRC uses weighs the benefits and risks of three options: abortion, adoption or parenting. PRC does not perform abortions, but it does hand out literature that explains the different procedures and risks associated with abortion. Abortion literature comes in the form of booklets printed by the Virginia Department of Health. Reading through the booklet informs

women what they might experience, should they chose to have an abortion. Some women do not want to have an abortion, but do not think that they can take care of a child. This is especially true for students attending college. Adoption is one option, and in this regard, PRC can direct students to organizations that can help. Financial assistance is available to women who are willing to adopt their babies to loving families who desperately want children. Chances are good that all medical expenses will be taken care of. Other pregnant women plan to keep the baby, but could really benefit from extra help and support. It is in this area that the PRC really shines. PRC shows women where they can get both public and private financial support, offers free classes on pregnancy and parenting and provides ways to obtain free necessities like diapers and cribs. Because child care is often a concern, the PRC is able to direct women to where they can find help. Area residents also serve as “mentors” to pregnant women, which means that local families bring them meals and offer them friendship. The idea is to help women and let them know that they are not alone. Dealing with a pregnancy can be a very stressful ordeal for a college student. Institutions like the Pregnancy Resource Center can help alleviate this stress. Women who attend Virginia Tech or work in the New River Valley should take comfort in the fact that such a place is accessible to them. PRC differs from many clinics in that it does not benefit financially from any decision — whether abortion, adoption or parenting — that the woman makes. The staff is simply there to help women in a time of need, while treating them with dignity and respect.

CHRIS DUNN -regular columnist -senior -political science major

we’re YOUR newspaper. send a letter to the editor and express your views. send an e-mail to opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com with your letter or guest column attached.

MCT CAMPUS

‘VP Is In’ session focused on alcohol, academic advising hile only about eight students were present for last W Wednesday’s “The VP Is In” session, SGA President Bo Hart tells me that another 35 students were watching and listening to the streaming video broadcast of the session. Some of those students submitted questions online in order to participate in the discussion. We spent a significant portion of the time talking about the change in the alcohol culture at Virginia Tech over the years, and we focused particularly on how the shift has been toward consumption of far greater quantities of alcohol at a far more intense pace. The self-reported data from students collected by Tech’s College Alcohol Abuse Prevention Center and the data collected by the Applied Behavior Systems research teams from the department of psychology all point to very serious concerns about consumption levels. Recently, I’ve been making it a point in oneon-one conversations with students to ask them if they would honestly tell me how much they drink when they “go out.” The responses I heard last week were: 1) 12 beers, 2) four or five “rails” (equivalent to somewhere around 1620 shots of liquor) and 3) 10 to 12 exotic drinks. I also have been asking how students got to the point of consuming such large quantities, and the responses have varied from, “I established this level of drinking in high school — with alcohol obtained by fake IDs,

through older friends or supplied by parents,” or “I went wild once I arrived at Virginia Tech and, since I eat all I want, I drink all I want.” I and others continue to be concerned about the erosion of responsible drinking and the negative primary and secondary effects which drinkers and non-drinkers are experiencing. One student, now no longer at Tech as a result of his alcohol consumption, has been told that he already has the liver of a 45-year-old man. I wish there were a magic solution to this issue, but there is not. It is clear that we have major work to do simply to prevent this problem from getting worse. I look forward to the forthcoming report and recommendations from our Alcohol Task Force. During the rest of Wednesday’s session, we talked about the multi-year residence hall renovation program, the nature of off-campus housing, how the housing application process (including the lottery for returning students) works and how the community can absorb the 500-plus students who wanted to live on campus next year but will be unable to because of the one-year net loss of beds from the closing of West Ambler-Johnston and the re-opening of East AmblerJohnston. Students were also excited to share their experiences during Hokie Day in Richmond and their thoughts about where a new student center might be located and what it might contain. When I asked those present and those live streaming what they really like about Tech, they singled out the sense

of community, the feeling of a Hokie Nation, how we are a large campus that doesn’t seem large because we have kept the feel of a small campus, and finally, you guessed it: the food. Conversely, when I asked what they did not like, you might again guess what came up first: academic advising. The concerns seem to be about some advisers who do not know the answers to questions, “do not care,” resent having to serve as advisers and have to serve too many students. Just as with our alcohol culture problem, we have a long way to go in trying to provide quality advising to all students and the university. Under the leadership of Daniel Wubah, vice president and dean for undergraduate education, we are working on this, just as we are on the alcohol issues. The other “don’t likes” from Wednesday’s session were: Blacksburg weather, parking, the freshman engineering program (especially the first semester’s part) and the limited mentoring programs for freshmen by upperclassmen (another program on which Wubah and his staff are working). We’ll hear more about these programs in the months ahead. That’s the overview from the fourth “The VP Is In” session. I hope to see you at the next one on Tuesday, March 22 — it will begin at 3 p.m., in the SGA Office in Squires Student Center — or around the campus, or hear from you by e-mail.

EDWARD F. D. SPENCER -Vice President of Student Affairs

Christianity about love, doesn’t encourage hatred and bigotry realize Christianity as a whole has been viewed rather poorly by nonIChristians for as long as it has existed as a religion (especially with the recent antics of Westboro “Baptist” Church). But I want to point something out — the “church” is not merely Christianity. The “church” is not simply our faith. The church is God’s means to bring His word of hope to a sinful world. There are times when the hierarchy of the Church has been corrupt — humans are sinful. Just let me make one point completely clear, please. The Bible, whether you choose to believe, is perfect because it is God-breathed, and while it talks of God’s wrath and God’s persecution, the judgment of the humans in this world is reserved for God alone. The Bible teaches Christians to love one another as brothers and sisters of Christ, love our neighbor as ourselves, love our enemies, to hold one another accountable, to not judge and that love covers a multitude of sins. However, because we teach and believe these principles, we are called out on our sin more often. The difference? We know who we are. We know we are sinners, and we know that if we seek forgiveness (and only God knows if we are being truthful, for He knows our hearts), God will forgive us. We know that sin is unavoidable because of inheriting a sinful nature from our first parents. But we have a comfort in both life and death: God sent Himself down to us in the form of a human Son, and He lived a perfect life (the only human to ever do so because He was God) and died for our sins. We not only know our depravity, but we recognize it, accept that it is unavoidable, but even with all this unavoidable sin around us, we strive to be more like God because that is what we are called to do. We strive for perfection, but we fall

remarkably short because we are human — but God loves us just the same. We are not deserving of His love, and to be perfectly honest, I have no idea why the Creator of the entire universe would bother caring about an insignificant thing such as me, but He is infinite, eternal and unchangeable. Who am I to understand? I am not entirely sure why homosexuality as a sin has gained so much attention recently. In the eyes of Christians who have a firm grasp on their theology, the type of sin should not matter. All of us have sin, and ultimately, all our sin will lead us to one place (yikes) unless we seek forgiveness from God. In trying to spread the word, the majority of the time, Christians are not trying to be judgmental — we are simply being apocalyptic, which (trust me) is never a good way to plant the seed of the gospel in a person. For instance, I knew a girl when I was in high school. She was the stereotypical “shove-my-Bible-downyour-throat” Christian. She pulled her Bible out in lunch one day and started to preach to me about how I was not a Christian (or a “good enough” Christian) because I was in show choir — it was absurd. God gave me the talent to sing and the talent to dance, and every time I sing and dance, I praise Him (or try to at least). To everyone who believes that God is a God of hatred: Have you even read the Bible? Before you dismiss something completely, at least take the time to understand what it was about. For instance, I read the entire book “Intelligent Design — Message from the Designers” by Rael to better understand the UFO religion Raelism, as well as the Book of Mormon. God does not hate you as a person. He abhors sin because He is holy. While humans are creatures of sin, God does not hate us. He loves us and wants to draw us ever closer to

Him, but because He is holy, that can’t happen without our sin being dealt with. To those who started to read it but stopped after a few books: Please keep reading. Nothing frustrates me more than people who claim to know the Bible and start spouting out the Judaic Traditions of the book of Leviticus and ask me why I don’t kill two turtledoves after every time I have my period. When Christ came and died on the cross, He was the ultimate sacrifice and took away all need for sacrifices. Furthermore, the laws and principles that are incredibly important (like love and the divinity of Christ to name a couple) are repeated in both the New and Old Testaments. To Jason Campbell and his column “Online comments bashing homosexuality lack integrity” (CT, Feb. 15): I don’t want to offend you, but by claiming that, as a Christian, you “spouted untold hatred and intolerance on (your) fellow men,” you effectually proclaimed that you know nothing of real Christianity at all. At times, humans distort the Bible for their own purposes, but if you truly reflect on the word, you will realize that Christianity is not about hate at all, but rather about love. Consequently, I feel that you were projecting the turmoil that you felt inside about your denial of your sexuality onto the world around you, but you blamed your hatred on Christian teachings. Also, I really did not appreciate your constant use of the word “bigot” to describe Christians. Please don’t generalize us like that — it has derogatory implications.

EMILY MOUNCE -guest columnist -sophomore -general engineering major

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february 22, 2011

page 4

Charter: School makes college reality for low-income students from page one

provide extra academic help outside the classroom. Jonathan Harvey said teachers have stayed at school till 8 p.m. and met him on weekends to help him master math. To get to school, he has had to cross gang lines in his neighborhood, and he has learned to wait until he gets to school to put on his blazer and tie. “College wasn’t on my map,” Harvey said. “I didn’t think it was reachable.” The hard work has paid off. King said this year the average ACT score for the graduating class was 17.5. The school has taught some students to challenge themselves. When his college counselor told him to apply to 10 colleges, senior Alfonso Henderson sent out 50 applications. He’s been accepted to 21 and been offered $719,000 in scholarships. He’s still holding out, though, for his top three choices — Yale, Harvard and Wheaton College. MCT CAMPUS “I want to prove the stereotypes Tony Moseley is congratulated as he is recognized for his accomplishments in a school assembly. wrong,” he said.

of the school’s missions is to ensure students earn bachelor’s degrees, so King and his staff have helped secure money for plane tickets, driven students to college campuses, held workshops for alumni, and checked up on them. Of the 107 seniors in 2010 — the school’s first graduating class — 101 enrolled in college, King said. Three went into the military and another three joined the work force. By now, Urban Prep’s story has become a national wonder for its success in making college a reality for kids from tough, low-income neighborhoods where college rarely is an option. In Chicago Public Schools, the high school dropout rate for African-American males hovers at 60 percent. Only 11 percent of Urban Prep’s seniors were reading at grade level when they entered the school four years ago, King said. Through a rigorous academic environment and strict uniform and codeof-conduct policies, students are kept on track. Staff also are available at all hours and weekends to drive kids home or

anybody run into a burning building to get a computer or essay or application, but what (Abdul-Hakeem’s story) speaks to is how much our students are dedicated and focused on getting into college,” said Urban Prep’s founder and CEO, Tim King. “They recognize that with college they will have very different lives that will be transformative for them and their communities.” Urban Prep Academy for Young Men recently celebrated its repeat with a tieexchanging ritual in which the final three seniors to receive acceptance letters exchanged their red uniform ties for redand-gold ones as the other seniors did before them. Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Public Schools’ interim chief education officer Charles Payne were on hand. So was alum Israel Wilson, a freshman at Morehouse College, who said he has earned a 3.3 GPA and made the dean’s list his first semester. Skeptics last year had questioned whether grads would actually attend college and be able to succeed. One

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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

NOW HIRING Stop In Food Stores is accepting applications for sales associates. Campus Shell is located at 600 N Main Street in Blacksburg, with a midMarch opening planned. Full and Part time positions available. Print application online at www.stopinfoodstores.com/jobs/ or call 1-800-955-5668. Drug test and background check required. EOE

Help Wanted ATTENTION HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT STUDENTS: Lighthouse Resort Services, the premiere resort management company on the northern Outer Banks, is now hiring students to participate in their 2011 Summer Internship Program. We are seeking out individuals who have an energetic personality, a positive attitude, and the desire and motivation to GET PAID, EARN SCHOOL CREDIT, AND LIVE AT THE BEACH FOR FREE! For more information, please contact us at manager@lighthouseresortservices.com. 252.457.6472

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WORDFIND • Theme: Black History Month Locate the list of words in the Athletes word bank in the letter grid. W W

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

arts & entertainment 5 february 22, 2011

‘The King of Limbs’ shows Winterfest offers fun for all Radiohead’s sonic evolution NICK SMIRNIOTOPOULOS features staff writer

The ordinary Commonwealth Ballroom in Squires Student Center will be transformed into a nostalgic carnival Saturday, with activities and games ranging from a moon bounce to an obstacle course, and even a sumo-wrestling arena. The change will take place as the Virginia Tech Union hosts its annual Winterfest. Winterfest will offer a wide variety of entertainment options and allow bonding between members of the Tech and Blacksburg communities. Adding to the carnival atmosphere, VTU has also provided the opportunity for participants to personalize their own street sign or get their face painted, ways to show Hokie pride and community spirit while ESPN’s College GameDay TV show is on campus. There will also be free authentic carnival food including cotton candy, popcorn and snow cones.

adiohead is certainly a group that enjoys surprises. Four years R after the release of its last album, “In Rainbows,” the band announced last Monday that it would be digitally releasing a new record called “The King of Limbs” at the end of the week, with a physical release to come later in March. The British band made waves in 2007 with the unconventional release of “In Rainbows,” allowing fans to pay what they wished for a digital copy of the songs and similarly releasing the physical copies at a later date, complete with elaborate packaging. This time around, the band charged a set $9.99 for the digital release. Attention was instead placed on the physical version, dubbing it the first ever “newspaper album,” which will include two clear vinyl records, a CD, large pieces of artwork, 625 smaller pieces of artwork and a piece of plastic to hold all of it together, as well a digital download of the album. At $48 dollars, the price is a little steep, but listeners will absolutely get their money’s worth. The “King of Limbs” is largely an “evolution” of the band’s sound, rather than a “revolution.” In many respects, the album sees the band drawing on sounds in its own back catalogue and improving on them. The songs are most influenced by three Radiohead (or Radiohead-related) albums. “In Rainbows”’ spacious acoustics are employed here, but to lesser degrees on certain songs, allowing it all to sound like a step forward rather than a boring retread. The electronic elements found on lead singer Thom Yorke’s solo album “The Eraser” and Radiohead’s “Kid A” are resurrected here, providing understated backings to many of the tracks. The album opens with a glitched electronic beat on a song called “Bloom,” setting the tone for things to come. “Little By Little” features subtle electronic clicks, running a current of electricity under drummer Phil Selway’s more organic form of beats. “Feral” is a three-minute electronic piece where Yorke’s voice attempts to form words but is twisted and warped into shapeless, ghostly echoes. The way the vocal samples are molded into formless sounds feels similar to some of the work of another British electronic artist, James Blake, showing the far reach of Radiohead’s influence. “Feral” blends effortlessly into the

COURTESY OF RADIOHEAD

Not in stores till late March, ‘The King of Limbs’ is digitally available. album’s centerpiece, and standout track, “Lotus Flower.” Yorke performed an acoustic take of the song a few times with Atoms for Peace, a band he created to tour some of his solo material. With the rest of Radiohead’s help, new life is breathed into the track. The song starts with what feels like a slower version of the syncopated electronic beats that start the “In Rainbows” intro, “15 Step.” The vocals are wonderfully reverberant, filling up the song’s voluminous, airy atmosphere. Lyrics are hard to decipher as they fold and sink under one another but from what can be gathered, the song is extremely personal — Yorke sings lines such as, “I can’t kick the habit just to feed my fast ballooning head / Listen to your heart.” “Codex” and “Give Up The Ghost” are “The King of Limbs”’ equivalents of the sprawling “Motion Picture Soundtrack” of “Kid A” and the devastating “Videotape” of “In Rainbows.” Neither matches the length of “Motion Picture Soundtrack” or the emotion of “Videotape,” but serve as emotional peaks for “The King of Limbs.” The album is rounded out by an uptempo piece called “Separator” that adds oxygen to the fire that says “The King of Limbs” is one half of a pair. Since the release, the Internet has exploded with rumors that Radiohead will release

another album to follow this one sooner rather than later. Listeners cite lyrics such as “If you think this is over / Then you’re wrong” and the fact that digital receipts added a “1” to the end of the album title as evidence. “Separator” is most similar to the kind of light, gentle guitar found on “In Rainbows” and closes out the album perfectly. Listeners who were hoping for a dramatic shift in direction akin to the about-face that was “Kid A” will be disappointed in that regard. Instead, “The King of Limbs” represents a band looking back and seeing what it could do better. The album will undoubtedly delight fans of Radiohead’s earlier more guitar-based albums such as “Hail to the Thief” and “In Rainbows” while also satisfying those who enjoyed the electronic experimentation found on “Kid A” and Yorke’s solo record, “The Eraser.” And maybe if we’re lucky, the band will again surprise us with a follow up in the not-too-distant future.

KEVIN MCALEESE -music reviewer -features staff writer -sophomore

One change to this year’s carnival from last year’s is the addition of a movie showing. “Megamind,” the film starring Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt and Tina Fey, will have two showings that day in Squires’ Colonial Hall at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

“

We have student organizations and then organizations even off-campus that sign up. They are required to have some sort of activity. BRANDON LOVE DIRECTOR OF VTU SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE

For additional entertainment, three student acappella groups — Soulstice, Naturally Sharp and Sensations — will be performing in the Commonwealth Ballroom, where most activities will take place. Brandon Love, the director of the VTU Special Events Committee, said he is excited about this year’s

Winterfest, and that the students and the community members will really “mesh well,” at the event. The presence of community and university organizations may help this blending. “We have student organizations and then organizations even off-campus that sign up. They are required to have some sort of activity,” Love said. “We let them have the opportunity to promote themselves.” One unique aspect to this year’s event is the day it falls on: College GameDay’s appearance at Tech will culminate with the highly anticipated men’s basketball matchup between the Duke Blue Devils and the Hokies. Love said this will have a positive impact on the turnout at WinterFest as opposed to a negative one. “We had an interview with the athletics department to try to collaborate with them,” Love said. “We have them kind of helping and we’ll also have volunteers handing out flyers about Winterfest so that at noon people come over here after (College GameDay).”

6 sports

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

february 22, 2011

Walk-off dagger prevents season opening sweep JOSH PARCELL sports reporter The Virginia Tech baseball team came within one out of a perfect opening weekend. After beating Indiana 4-2 on Friday and Tennessee Tech 11-9 Saturday, the Hokies fell to Coastal Carolina, 6-5, on a pinch-hit walk-off home run Sunday night. Tripp Martin knocked the first pitch he faced out of the park for a tworun homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to win it for the Chanticleers. The Hokies broke a 4-4 tie in the top of the final inning when a passed ball allowed Michael Seaborn to score from third base. The Hokies could COURTESY OF HOKIESPORTS.COM have padded their lead with runners on second and third base and two Starting pitcher Joe Mantiply winds up for a pitch last year. He gave up just two runs against Indiana. outs, but Tony Balisteri struck out swinging to end the inning. Tech closer Jake Joyce struck out the first two batters of the ninth and worked K.J. McAllister’s at-bat to a full count before walking him. Coastal coach Gary Gilmore then substituted Martin for catcher John Fidanza, who was 0-3 on the day. The Chanticleers entered the season as a consensus top-25 team among major national rankings. The Hokies, meanwhile, were picked to finish fifth out of six teams in the ACC Coastal Division.

In the Hokies’ season opener against Indiana, sophomore pitcher Joe Mantiply lasted seven innings, giving up two runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and one walk. With the Hokies leading 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, outfielder Andrew Rash hit a two-run home run with two outs for the team’s first round-tripper of the season. On Saturday, Marc Zecchino recovered from an ugly start to last five solid innings. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead but couldn’t fight off a late-inning Hokies rally. Trailing 5-2 in the sixth inning, the Hokies scored three runs off Matt Shepherd and then took a 6-5 lead in the seventh inning. The Golden Eagles responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh off of Hokie reliever Manny Martir. Tech drew within one run heading into the ninth inning at 9-8. Matt Blow’s solo home run with one out tied the score, and Michael Seaborn’s two-out double, followed by Ronnie Shaban’s RBI single, lifted the Hokies to the final margin. Tech moves on to face USC Upstate on the road today, before returning to Blacksburg this weekend for its home-opening four-game series against Niagara.

America Saves Week

February 20-27

Celebrate! VT Savers are eligible for daily drawings for prizes like an iTunes card, a prepaid Visa card, and a US Savings Bond. On Sunday, February 27 join other VT Savers at the BreakZone from 3-5pm for free food, more prizes, bowling and other games! You must be a VT Saver and present to win the iTouch! To become a VT Saver sign up at americasaves.org/vatech/ It’s simple! Find out which VT Saver wins the daily drawing and get more information at VTSave$ on Facebook and VaTechSaves on Twitter.

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