Tuesday, March 15, 2011 Print Edition by Collegiate Times

Ouch Tech denied NCAA bid — again BY MATT JONES | sports reporter

In a year characterized by a tremendous high (a win over No. 1 Duke) and depressing lows (two losses to Virginia and Georgia Tech), the Hokies did not get the news they expected. But it was the same news they have received the past four years: They aren’t invited to the Big Dance. Decked out in an all-white Tech tracksuit, the eighth-year head coach had a slightly different response to the Hokies failing to make the NCAA Tournament this time around. “You almost wonder if someone in that room has their own agenda and that agenda doesn’t include Virginia Tech,” Greenberg said. “Just plain and simple. I totally wonder it, if someone in that room has an agenda.” After being left out of the NCAA Tournament the

previous three seasons, Greenberg and the Hokies had good reason to believe they would be part of the newly expanded field of 68 teams in 2010-11. However, as the bracket was unveiled, the Hokies failed to find their name among the country’s top teams. “What I’d like to know is if there’s ever been a team that’s won nine games in the ACC, played the non-conference schedule that we played, and beat a No. 1 seed and still didn’t get in,” Greenberg said. In fact, since 1985 when the tournament field expanded to 64, Tech is the sixth team to beat a No. 1 seed in the field, have a winning record in conference and be left out of the Big Dance.

DANIEL LIN / SPPS

Virginia Tech men’s basketball coach Seth Greenberg strolled into the team’s practice facility As Sunday night, the questions he faced were all too familiar.

see SNUB / page seven

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Tech loses money at Orange Bowl Illustration used GORDON BLOCK & MEIGHAN DOBER news staff According to recent financial filings to the NCAA, Virginia Tech faces losses of more than $400,000 for its participation in the Orange Bowl in January. The losses come despite a bowl payout of $17.5 million, given directly to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Dividing the payout among the rest of the ACC, Tech’s share of the payout came to $1.725 million. Incurring expenses of $2,146,046, Tech’s losses came to a total of $421,046. Expenses for the Orange Bowl, which Tech lost to Stanford 40-12, included lodging costs of $679,281 and transportation costs of $503,299. Including team players, coaches, administrative staff, band members and cheerleaders, Tech’s travel party totaled 689 people. Tech’s lodging costs were set by the Orange Bowl, with the bowl contract stipulating the hotel for the team and other members of the travel party, along with the number of rooms and the rate for the duration of their stay. Some rooms cost as much as $319 per night. “It’s kind of an expected cost because of the arrangements the bowls have with the hotels in the city,” said Lisa Rudd, Tech’s assistant director of athletics for financial affairs. Rudd added the athletics department had just received its bill from the hotel and wouldn’t have a full grasp of expenses until April. The delay stems from the large number of rooms taken, combined with reimbursement from individual members of the travel party for incidental expenses, such as items taken from a room’s minibar. Additionally, Tech was able to sell some of the unused rooms back to the hotel during the trip. The stipulations of the Orange Bowl contract left little room for Tech to cut costs, requiring personnel including Tech President Charles Steger and Director of Athletics Jim Weaver to make a small handful of appearances, under penalty of a reduced payout from the bowl. An additional $693,928 was allotted for bonuses for coaches and

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Rooms for the team, coaches and staff,at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa

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$258 3 nights $96,750

Rooms for the official party

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$212 7 nights $222,600

$175 3 nights $65,625

Rooms for the Marching Virginians at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel

WEI HANN / COLLEGIATE TIMES

other athletics department staff, along with insurance fees coming in around $17,000. More than $220,000 were spent on a combination of awards, entertainment, promotion and equipment fees. Major expenses were also seen in ticket sales for the game. According to the report, 10,500 tickets valued at $1,243,944 were absorbed by Tech and the ACC, including 6,162 tickets valued at $95 each for a total of $585,390. The ACC absorbed $1,197,643 of that cost, leaving Tech with $46,301 from the unsold ticket total. Athletics department staff said in January they had budgeted between $70,000 and $80,000 for unsold tickets. Tech’s difficulties in selling its ticket allotment were compounded when a large number of discounted tickets became available through its sponsor, ticket reseller Stubhub. An agreement between the site and Tech’s athletics department requires the department keep a Stubhub ad up on its homepage.

Tech was not the only school participating in a BCS Bowl game that was not able to sell all its allotted tickets. Orange Bowl winner Stanford sold 11,000 and the University of Connecticut, which participated in the Fiesta Bowl, sold 4,600. Sugar Bowl participant Arkansas was able to sell more than its allotted tickets, for a total of 24,000 tickets.

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We are representing the conference when we play in the Orange Bowl. SANDY SMITH ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS FOR TICKETING

Despite the financial risks of bowl participation, there was a unanimous opinion that teams would not consider declining a bowl game invite to cut costs. “We are representing the conference when we play in the Orange Bowl,” said Sandy Smith, Tech’s assistant director of athletics for tick-

eting. Mike Enright, executive program director for the athletic sports information department at University of Connecticut, said the university would never consider not going to a bowl game, noting “there are bigger dividends not on a spreadsheet.” Rich Muschell, Stanford’s assistant athletic director of ticket sales, linked the school’s participation to player effort. “Players work really hard and no matter what, if they qualify to go to a bowl game then the dollar sign doesn’t come into play,” Muschell said. While Tech lost money in its participation in the Orange Bowl, the report to the NCAA does not factor in revenues generated by other ACC schools during their bowl games. All conference bowl revenue is distributed among the 12 schools. Seven other ACC teams were in bowl games for the 2010-11 season, including Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, Clemson, Miami, Florida State and Boston College.

Health center looks to lower smoking rates MEIGHAN DOBER news staff writer

JOSH SON / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Virginia Tech’s Schiffert Health Center is offering counseling to help student smokers kick the habit. According to Schiffert’s statistics, between six and 15 percent of Tech students are daily smokers. Schiffert Health Center has been treating tobacco users for the past 15 years. The use of this service by students fluctuates year to year. “The biggest issue with the service is getting the word out that the service exists. Students go through four years of college and don’t even know what services are available,” said Jon Fritsch, assistant director of health education. The health center has two tobacco treatment specialists that see patients. The specialists work with individual treatment plans for different students to put them on a successful course. The students attempting to quit using tobacco products must first go to an initial appointment before they make their attempt to quit. The counselors then decide how the counseling will ben-

efit the student. During the attempt, the student may meet with the counselor as little as once a week or multiple times per week. Many students who use tobacco

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Nearly every smoker that I have treated ﬁrst considered themselves a social smoker. JON FRITSCH ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF HEALTH EDUCATION

products socially or when they drink are in the first step of an addiction problem. “Nearly every smoker that I have treated first considered themselves a social smoker. Now they are trying to quit.” Fritsch said. According to the American Heart Association, from 1998-2009, the smoking percentage of American adults has decreased from 24.1 to 20.6 percent. In 2009, for men 18 and older, 23.1 percent smoked and 18.1 percent of women smoked. The University of Rhode Island conducted a study on college smok-

ing. It found 28.5 percent of college students are smokers and one-third of the smokers consider themselves “casual smokers.” As a result of complaints in the past, the university has created certain policies that put limitations on campus smoking. All facilities owned or leased by Tech are smoke-free. Smoking is allowed outside as long as the smoker is 25 feet away from any air intake. “I should note that it really was a grassroots effort from within the faculty/staff/students at the university to create and subsequently update the policy,” said Heidi McCoy, chief of staff to the vice president for administrative services. Numerous departments said they have not received any complaints from students or faculty regarding smoking. “We are not aware of any complaints on our policies about smoking. It has never been an issue that has come to our office,” said Mark Owczarski, university spokesman. Those looking to make an appointment to speak with a tobacco treatment specialist can call Schiffert Health Center at 540-231-1874.

in Libya protests CLAIRE SANDERSON news reporter

A former Virginia Tech art student is thrilled by the fact that people across the world are tearing, burning and spitting on his work. His illustration is a grisly caricature of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, which has been reproduced on protest posters by hundreds of Libyans in their ongoing struggle to overthrow Gaddafi. Artist Klaus Schmidheiser originally drew the caricature for the “Plaid Avenger” textbook and website. The Plaid Avenger is a character created by World Regions professor John Boyer, used to help teach students international politics in a fun, graphic-novel themed way. Gaddafi has governed Libya for 42 years since he led a revolt against the country’s monarchy in 1969, making him the longest ruling leader in the world today. He has funded international terrorist attacks and is responsible for numerous human rights violations. “It’s a tragedy, what he’s doing to his people,” said Heldana Tekeste, president of the African Student Association. “A more stable Libya would greatly help in the world’s fight against terrorism.” Protests to overthrow Gaddafi began on Feb. 15 and have moved through the country. Gaddafi and his military forces have reportedly brutally repressed the demonstrators. Both Boyer and Schmidheiser were surprised but pleased when they discovered that the image had been taken up by protesters. “I have what I call the ‘World Leader Gallery,’ and Gaddafi has been on that page for several years now,” Boyer said. “In February, we had a bunch of hits from the Middle East of people visiting our site, so they probably got the picture from there.” “I love the fact that people are using it to burn, because he’s a pretty evil world leader,” Schmidheiser said. He said protesters may have chosen the caricature because it depicts Gaddafi’s personality almost better than a photograph. “I think I was

able to capture the smug, arrogant, dastardly guy he is, I guess I captured all the elements of his psyche,” Schmidheiser said, showing his original pen-and-ink copy of the image in Bollo’s Cafe & Bakery. Schmidheiser drew in caricature this past September. The image is even more notable since Gaddafi doesn’t appear publicly in Libya. According to Boyer, Gaddafi only allows one photograph of himself to be used — in which he was young and fit, and wearing a white suit. Needless to say, 42 years later, he looks quite different. “No one in Libya would even recognize him on the street,” Boyer said. Boyer says that he has various pictures of Gaddafi, both young and old, which he shows in his classes to demonstrate this change. “In some of the modern pictures I have he looks like someone who would be arrested in a bad sitcom for selling drugs,” Boyer said. “Dude, you’re worth millions of dollars that you stole from your country — can’t you get a stylist?” Though the image is certainly aiding in the protest movement, Tekeste said that protests are not doing enough. “(I) think the time of peaceful democratic protest movement is over and other world leaders need to step up and get Gaddafi out of power,” Tekeste said. “We shouldn’t be bargaining with this man. We should be taking the necessary steps to get him and his regime out of power. In light of the image being used in Libya, Boyer and the rest of his plaid crew have big plans for their website, PlaidAvenger.com. “As soon as we saw this, we thought, ‘We should have a downloadable create-your-own protest picture website!’” Boyer said. “I’ve created a list of the 12 most evil world leaders who should be taken out of office, called the ‘Dirty Dozen.’” He explained that any revolutionary, protester or member of a grassroots movement for freedom will have full rights to download, print and burn the images as much as they like. “We are here to facilitate the uprising!” Boyer said.

COURTESY OF PLAIDAVENGER.COM

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march 15, 2011

what you’re saying //comments from online readers... On Tech’s gun policy: Anonymous>> There are pros and cons to both sides. Would allowing some students and/or professors to carry make VT safer? In some ways yes, there would definitely be less muggings/assaults if people knew someone might be packing. But I definitely would not want to go to a party and see someone with a gun because that’s just trouble waiting to happen.

Rational American>> The policy is right.No one deserves the right to bear arms on our university campuses except for law enforcement or military purposes. The gun lovers need to withdraw from classes if they can’t abide by the rules. We are here to LEARN not SHOOT. Period. No debate. Zero tolerance.

SomeOthername>>

COLLEGIATETIMES

blacksburg Tech standardizes security camera policy For the past year, Virginia Tech has been implementing a new policy on the use and storage of video surveillance. Before the policy came into effect, there were many cameras around campus, owned and operated by various departments, but there were no rules governing their use. “The reason (the policy) was developed was there were already surveillance cameras on campus,” said Wendell Flinchum, Virginia Tech police chief. “But there wasn’t a university policy that addressed their use, such as how long storage would be, what they’d be used for

and those types of issues.” The policy places the cameras under a single set of rules. “It’s just to make sure that everybody uses cameras in a proper way. There are certain areas where it’s not appropriate to use cameras and we just want to make sure that those type of things weren’t occurring,” said Mike Mulhare, director of emergency management. Flinchum said cameras are fairly routine on college campuses. “When we developed this we looked at policies for other universities and how they managed cameras and made sure we did things in

a similar fashion,” Flinchum said. Flinchum and Mulhare said the policy wasn’t a response to a specific issue or problem. “We observed that departments and other subdivisions of the university were installing and utilizing cameras, however there was no university policy governing the use of those cameras, we saw that as a void,” Mulhare said. “We wanted to make sure that the cameras were used appropriately and that expectations of privacy were met.” — jay speidell, news reporter

Logic:Keep the system which failed, not only here, but 55 more times since April 16, 2007 at other schools.

Thomas>> No, Seth Greenberg and the Hokis have done it again to themselves. We just couldn’t win the regular season games we had to to show the committee that we should be selected. Seth and the team have to take the responsibility for their lackluster performances against BC and Clemson during the last two games of the regular season that resulted in blowout losses.Our weak out of conference schedule also hurt. Embarrassing that Mason, VCU and ODU are in the tourney along with Richmond.Hopefully we get our four injured guys back and the incoming freshman class lives up to it’s hype next year. Should be the start of a good run for Tech.

Anonymous>> Would have lost in first round anyhow. Might have a slight chance of winning an NIT game if the opposition is weak enough.

Anonymous>> Losing in the 1st round in Dance is still better than winning the NIT.

nation & world Professor ﬁred for burlesque performances A California college professor has sued John F. Kennedy University, arguing she was fired after her bosses discovered she performed with a San Francisco Bay Area burlesque group. In her federal suit, filed last week, Sheila Addison of Oakland said she lost her job teaching marriage and family therapy at the Pleasant Hillbased university after administrators found out she was performing anonymously as “Professor Shimmy” with the Hubba Hubba Revue. A male professor who stripped down during a separate show kept his job, Addison argued. The university issued a short state-

ment Monday, calling the lawsuit “completely without merit.” A university spokeswoman did not respond to phone or e-mail messages. Addison’sattorney,GregGroeneveld, said the burlesque performances were the only reason given for the professor’s firing in a letter from JFK President Steven Stargardter in June. Groeneveld declined to provide the letter. Stargardter told Addison her actions were “adverse to the interests of the university,” Groeneveld said. But Addison never mentioned the university or her occupation during the burlesque shows, which mix strip-

ping, commentary and comedy, her attorney said. “Like all artistic performances, it needs to be enjoyable, at least to the audience,” Groeneveld said. “But there also is a political and social message to it.” Performers routinely keep their identities a secret to avoid such reprisals, said a Hubba Hubba Revue performer known as Sparkly Devil. She declined to provide her real name because she feared repercussions in her professional life. — matt krupnick, mcclatchy newspapers

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On Tech missing the NCAA tournament:

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

march 15, 2011

Our Views [staff editorial]

Bowl costs create an unfair equation Virginia Tech football lost more than just the Orange Bowl this January. The athletic department took a financial sack of more than $400,000 simply by participating in the game. While the Hokies pulled in $1.7 million in revenue, their expenses exceeded $2.1 million, producing a net loss of nearly half a million dollars, a stunning result considering the $17.5 million payout that was spread across ACC member schools. Anyone who watched the game will point to the obvious contrast between Sun Life Stadium that night in Miami with other venues such as the Rose Bowl Game on New Year’s Day; while the Rose Bowl was packed with fans, Sun Life Stadium was relatively empty when Stanford demolished Tech en route to a 42-10 victory. That is partly due to timing — the Rose Bowl fell on its traditional Jan. 1 date, while Tech was forced to play the following Monday, when many people were returning to work following the holiday travel season. But while ticket sales were a factor in producing the whopping loss, they only account for 10 percent of the total amount. Others will point to the structure of the contract Tech signed to play in the game, which set strict requirements for where and how long players and other university affiliates could stay. This keeps teams from bringing down lodging costs since they can’t shop around for lower rates. While teams face adverse situations with these contracts — after witnessing the halfempty stadium, the financial loss is not surprising — they

lack the power to alter the terms to allow for making a profit by participating. Because of the large difference in the bargaining power of bowl committees versus individual teams, athletic conferences and the NCAA need to play a larger role in negotiations to help prevent circumstances such as Tech’s. It is unfair to Tech and those who will carry this loss — patrons of the athletic program — that the organizing committee can dictate terms (and thereby, financial results) that in any other business scenario would lead the other party to laugh its way out of the room. If conferences and the NCAA itself cannot help bargain for a more equitable contract, teams should seriously consider boycotting BCS bowls. Currently this would result in large amounts of negativity directed toward the program rejecting the offer, however decisions made collectively — at the NCAA level — should more adequately represent the financial interests of schools. Evidenced by ESPN’s lucrative BCS broadcasting rights, there is money to be made playing major bowl games such as the Orange Bowl. Conferences and the NCAA need to live up to their mission statements of supporting collegiate athletics and help structure more equitable bowl contracts so that losses like those incurred by Tech do not continue to hurt universities and their supporters in the future. Winning should not be a financial loss. -the editorial board is composed of peter velz, scott masselli and gabi seltzer

Farmers’ labor unseen, but remains vital to daily lives or most of us, it’s always a given. Whenever we walk into a grocery F store or a restaurant, we come out with bags bursting with food or with full stomachs. Most of us never even take a second to think about that food, other than how hungry we are or what recipe we’re going to try next. We overlook the fact that the food comes from somewhere other than the supermarket or restaurant. And we forget that behind all of the foods we eat, there are hard working farmers, who strive every day to provide us — and people all over the world — with a safe, wholesome food supply. Today, agricultural enthusiasts of all sorts are celebrating National Agriculture Day, a day to remember and commend the efforts of these diligent farmers and ranchers. So, in honor of National Ag Day, I am dedicating this column to farmers, ranchers and all of those other people involved in agriculture all across Virginia and the United States by sharing some of the ways they serve us each and every day. To start off, if you asked most Virginians what the Commonwealth’s number one industry is, you’d probably hear different answers from all corners of the state. Some might say ship building, some might say government contracting and some may even say natural resources and energy, just to name a few. However, Virginia’s largest industry is by far agriculture. According to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, agriculture and related, value-added industries account for $55 billion in economic impact each year. All together, this provides more than 350,000 jobs for people all across Virginia. However, of these workers, 60,000 of them work directly with production agriculture. In other words, they live or work on a farm. That’s less than one percent of Virginia’s population. On the national level, that percentage is a bit higher, at about two percent (a little less than five million people). With just two percent of our population charged with feeding much of a country with more than 300 million

people, America’s farmers and ranchers have a tough challenge to meet, and they’re meeting it well. Each American farmer, on average, has the capability to feed 155 people with the products he produces. And, contrary to some popular belief, the American family farm is alive and well. According to the American Farm Bureau, 98 percent of farms in the United States are family-owned. Likewise, the stereotype of uneducated farmers is falling apart, as America’s farmers and ranchers are now more educated than ever before, with nearly 30 percent of them having attended college and many even having postgraduate degrees. And most of these are the young farmers, ready to step up and take over the industry as an aging farming population (average age of 55) passes the business on. Agriculture schools at land grant universities, such as Virginia Tech, are gearing up to educate the next generation of farmers, as 90 percent of current farmers have said that they would like to see their children follow in their footsteps and take over the farm. Furthermore, because of the education and research done at those schools and by private agribusinesses, farmers have implemented new technologies that allow them to produce more food on fewer acres. Some of these technologies include breeding and genetics for both crops and livestock, pest management systems, livestock health and safety, feed nutrition and soil quality, just to name a few. Again seeming to run contrary to widespread belief, today’s farmer is more connected to the world than ever before. Farmers are using cell phones and the Internet as tools just like the rest of the country to communicate with each other and stay involved in the global marketplace. Many farmers, like my dad, use smart phones to remain updated on markets and keep records of farm information, like crop and herd data and farm finances. And some in the industry have even taken to social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to both connect and share ideas across the indus-

try as well as share their stories with people across the world. Once again different than what many people have heard or believe, farmers are also some of the nation’s leading environmentalists. Land in agricultural use provides habitats for 75 percent of the nation’s wildlife, with many wild species like moose, deer and waterfowl showing considerable gains in population during the past decades. Research in biotechnology, which is overseen and promoted by government agencies such as the EPA, FDA and USDA, is now allowing farmers to produce even larger yields while using the same, or smaller, amounts of inputs as in the past. Integrated pest management techniques allow farmers to use less and less pesticide while continuing to provide the country with a reliable source of food. The bottom line is that Americans should be mindful of the hard work and dedication of our nation’s farmers and ranchers. Take some time to reflect on the process and the hard work that went on to produce your food the next time you sit down for a meal. Behind each and every bite you take, there is a diligent farmer who works hard every day to provide that food. There are no days off for these dedicated people. When the rest of a region shuts down because of a blizzard, cattle ranchers know there is work to be done to ensure their animals’ health and safety. When most people take a holiday as a day off work, farmers just see that day as another to get the spring planting done. Farmers across the nation work every day to take care of their animals. They work every day to take care of the environment while getting all they can from their crops and the land. They work every day to feed their families, just like the rest of us. The only difference is, while they work to feed themselves, they’re feeding us too.

BRAD COPENHAVER -regular columnist -junior -agricultural economics

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Vengeful response to Japan tsunami defies logic, morality Japan, Remember Pearl ” F“If***Harbor. you wanna feel better about this earthquake in Japan, (G)oogle ‘Pearl Harbor death toll.’” These are just two of the many social media messages littering the Internet days after a deadly earthquake-induced tsunami hit the nation over the weekend. Similar sentiments in an array of colorful words promote a level of hatred I’ve rarely witnessed and are increasingly spewing on the Web. Americans, including a writer of the television show Family Guy (who tweeted the second quote above) appear to believe the deaths occurring in Japan are not tragic due to some political vendetta, some even claiming that the Japanese “deserved it” or to look at the “scoreboard,” which apparently is now 3-1 (Hiroshima, Nagasaki and tsunami). In reading these messages, which left me wide-eyed with horror, I had to wonder if we’ve seriously come to the point when we openly and sincerely

wish death upon innocent people simply out of spite. Some people’s vengeance has come to the point that they are discouraging the sending of aid or relief efforts to Japan as a sort of revenge for past acts of war, even criticizing President Barack Obama for encouraging Americans to help. This level of hatred leaves me disturbed, confused and quite frankly shocked at my fellow Americans, who have so easily forgotten the many people American acts of war have killed as well. When it comes to humanitarian needs, regardless of what happened 70 years ago, I would like to believe that any human being’s heart would be wrenched at the sights of bobbling cars and buildings swept up by the ocean’s ferocity. It seems as though the writer from Family Guy, along with the others, do not give merit to Ghandi’s warning that “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” Who ever decided that the death of one person nullifies the

death of another? The death of innocent Japanese will not avenge the deaths of those 70 years ago, nor will their healthful lives deny the horror of the events of Pearl Harbor — the two sets of lives are completely disconnected. Moreover, if anyone is to “feel better” about the effect of the earthquake in Japan by looking up the death toll of Pearl Harbor, perhaps one may also like to read up on Japanese internment camps. While these camps did not outright kill its detainees, it is worth noting that the Japanese were already subjected to a form of American “revenge.” Likewise, counted in death tolls for those who find these numbers somehow gratifying, one may want to Google America’s retaliation with the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The desensitization and dehumanization many people are undergoing when it comes to mixing politics and death is nothing less than disturbing. This example serves as a warning for

the future and also a point of reflection as America has had its fair share of pre-emptive strikes. If America were to suffer a similar natural disaster as large as the recent tsunami in Japan, whose death toll has already doubled that of Hurricane Katrina, I’m sure we would all hope that able countries would provide aid and support. The context of the two cases could not be any more different. Obviously, while one case was premeditated during an unstable and highly charged political climate, the tsunami-causing earthquake took lives of individuals to no fault of their own, their country, or at the hands of any enemy. The revenge or bit of karma many seek to enjoy, as many of the hate-filled people lurking the Internet and political sphere may not have noticed, isn’t even directed toward anyone who had anything to do with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The government, the citizens, the military personnel, are in all reality entirely different people that some

Americans want to pay for an act of war that occurred almost 70 years ago. I’m aware that hate speech and heartless people are by no means new phenomena, however I’m no less ashamed by the words of my fellow Americans in celebrating the end of innocent lives at the hands of mother nature. I once thought political power, militaries, monetary gains and pride would be overcome when innocent mothers, fathers, husbands, wives and children were concerned. It’s shocking that the reiteration of this fact is necessary at all. I only hope that hateful speech can ignite an equal and opposite reaction by those of us who still have not yet lost our sense of compassion and justice.

NOOR KHALIDI -regular columnist -junior -economics and urban planning

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4 arts & entertainment Lyric hosts mountainous ﬁlms march 15, 2011

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

DIRECTIONS Career Fair WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16TH 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM INN AT VIRGINIA TECH

ANDREW REILLY features staff writer Fans of mountaineering and global cinema will receive a rare treat this week from one of Canada’s premier educational institutions. The world-renowned Banff Mountain Film Festival is bringing its collection of award-winning movies to the Lyric Theatre on Wednesday. Tickets for the event, which are only available from Blue Ridge Mountain Sports located in First & Main, cost $13 in advance and $15 the day of the show. The festival is a project of the Albertabased Banff Centre, a not-for-profit cultural institution offering education in a wide array of areas from traditional arts to mathematical research. Each year — the 2010 Festival was the 35th iteration — nearly 300 films based around a common theme of mountains are submitted to the Banff Centre. A committee narrows the offerings down to approximately 50 to 60 films chosen to screen during the multiday event. When the festival lights dim, Banff World Tour manager Jim Baker’s job begins. To prepare for the tour

— a global event reaching more than 200,000 people in more than 30 countries on all seven continents — Baker and the Centre narrow the selections down to about 25 films offering audiences a taste of that year’s presentation. “The idea that we’re looking for is to provide the kind of diverse and wide ranging experience you can have here at the festival in a very condensed format,” Baker said. Vans leave three days after the November festival to deliver the films to local communities. Baker said the tour is a hot commodity — the Banff Centre receives more requests for appearances than it has the ability to cater to. Each stop on the world tour is set up by a local organizer who works with Baker and his team to prepare a show specifically tuned to the local audience’s tastes. These local organizations, like Blacksburg’s Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, generally pick five to eight of the provided festival films to screen at the event. Baker said the titles shown at each stop vary because of the sheer diversity of films available. “Our selection always includes a wide range of films, everything from dynamic adrenaline-fueled action

sports to looks at remote cultures and traditional cultures, environmental issues, adventures, exploration,” he said. Films provided on this year’s tour (though not necessarily playing on the Blacksburg stop) range from sporting adventures such as “The Asgard Project,” which follows three top mountain climbers in a dangerous Arctic free ascent, to human interest stories such as “Tibet: Murder in the Snow” about the controversial killing of a Tibetan nun by Chinese border police. Baker attributes the tour’s success to the universal appeal of the subject matter. “The films that we show, one doesn’t need to live in a mountainous place, one doesn’t need to be a climber to enjoy,” he said. “There are stories of the amazing natural world, of amazing people, of extraordinary adventures, of challenge, sometimes tragedy, sometimes triumph which speaks to anyone.” The Lyric advises local mountaineering aficionados, cinephiles and anyone interested in a night spent on dizzying peaks looking to attend the festival to purchase tickets soon as last year’s show sold out.

Actors ﬁnd animation difﬁcult Look up companies you plan to visit before the fair at www.directions.career.vt.edu Participating Colleges: The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences The College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences The College of Science

*ALL MAJORS WELCOME!

Actors love working on animated movies because it’s so easy: Just say a few lines into a microphone and pick up your check. That wasn’t the case with “Mars Needs Moms,” where filmmakers used a process called motion capture to create the animation. Instead of just speaking, the actors had to perform every scene. Film of those performances was used to make computer-generated images. “This was the hardest acting job I’ve ever done,” says Seth Green, who spent most of the four-week shooting schedule in a harness to simulate the lesser gravity of Mars. Motion capture allows for some movie magic. The 36-year-old Green ends up looking like a 10 year old. Actors performed the scenes on a soundstage with only minimal scenery. If characters had to hold items _ like phones _ they were given pieces of plastic with similar shapes. They wore nondescript, tight-fitting suits to help animators work with their

movements. Multiple cameras, including an array around each actor’s face, filmed the scenes. Many of the actors ended up with bumps and bruises. Elisabeth Harnois said her face ached because her character perpetually smiles. And every step she took had to be carefully choreographed because apparently a Martian’s gait is more like a horse’s stride. “One of the great compliments that our director Simon Wells gave me was that the thing that everyone needs to appreciate is that it takes a certain kind of actor to be able to deliver a performance in motion capture,” Harnois says. “Some of the greatest actors often don’t come across because they are more subtle actors. “I can be subtle but I knew for this I had to go to my childhood, Disney, over-the-top place. There’s something so liberating about doing that.” Along with the physical work,

Harnois also helped create a Martian language. “Elisabeth and Mindy (Sterling) came in already fluent in Martian. They could ad lib stuff that sounded marvelous,” says director Simon Wells. “We came up with a list of instructions, exclamations, emotional ideas we needed and they would come up with the phrase.” Those ad libs became a Martian dictionary that was recorded and given to the rest of the cast. Joan Cusack didn’t have to worry about the new language, since she plays one of the Earth moms Mars needs. Despite the physicality, she says she loved the motion capture work. “It’s completely different from working on a film like ‘Toy Story’ because this is really performance,” Cusack says. “This is really acting because you’re there and working with other people. It’s really fast and really fun.”

RICK BENTLEY -mcclatchy newspapers

page 5

march 15, 2011

‘Down There’ gets better with time initially released and decide that you love it or hate it, and then a month later have completely changed your mind once you have really had an opportunity to spend some time with it, to explore it, to absorb it completely. For me, this is the case with Avey Tare’s “Down There.” “Down There” was Tare’s first legitimate solo release, and an impressive one at that. During press promotion before its release, the album was purported to have “deep sloshy rhythms, waterlogged bass and moonlit breaks” and for the most part, this is a pretty accurate description of his album. When it was unexpectedly released in October, I listened to it a few times and enjoyed it enough. There were a few tracks that I thought stood out and a handful that I thought could have been left off or should have been left in the incubator a bit longer. As the months have passed and I have had more opportunities to listen to the album in different ways and at different times, I have grown to find it a remarkably well made and impressive piece of work. The album is concise, clocking in at less than 35 minutes. The brevity plays to the album’s advantage, though. The album is dense with lush textures, innumerable layers of vocals and instruments, and thick with sounds that are often times buried deep within the mix. With so many elements floating around the vast atmosphere of the album, it definitely becomes clear that extensive time spent with it is the only way you will even begin to peel back any more than the surface layer. In an interview titled “Down There News” on his website, Tare discussed some of the thematic details of the record, calling it his “death album” and talking about how it would be darker than much of his previous work with Animal Collective. And he was right. The album is dark both thematically and in terms of its sound. Some reviews have called the album a work of “underwater techno” — the album is full of the watery textures listeners have come to associate with Animal Collective, and it does feature some more traditional electronic beats and rhythms. It almost sounds like it was recorded in a murky cavern that exists miles beneath the water’s surface, catching all of the drips and echoes as they bounce around the cave’s walls. Thematically, songs such as “Heather in a Hospital” and “Laughing Hieroglyphic” deal with ideas of sadness, loneliness and illness. Even a song such as “3 Umbrellas,” which sounds happy, has a certain sad quality to it

Album: Down There

Avey Tare

ometimes an album takes a while to really sink in. You might listen S to it for a week straight when it is

Bottom Line: The Arctic Monkeys ﬁnally live up to the hype with this solid release.

you might also like... “Merriweather Post Pavilion” by Animal Collective The most obvious place to ﬁnd similar music to that found on Down There would be Avey Tare’s primary project, Animal Collective. The watery sounds found on Avey’s solo album are featured heavily throughout Merriweather Post Pavilion. Listen to: “Bluish”

“Halcyon Digest” by Deerhunter Halcyon Digest and Merriweather Post Pavilion were both produced by Ben Allen, which might explain why both have so many aquatic inﬂuences. Halycon Digest is less obvious on the bubbling and gurgling, though. Listen to: “Helicopter”

“Dagger Paths” by Forest Swords Forest Swords makes very dark, heavy instrumental music that could easily be seen drifting over the misty surface of a midnight swamp. Dagger Paths is signiﬁcantly less electronically watery and more guitar-driven. For more of the gloomy, dismal sound found on Down There, give Forest Swords’ Dagger Paths a try. Listen to: “Holylake Mist”

when the lyrics (referring to his “three umbrellas” — the other members of Animal Collective — that help alleviate the “heaviness”) are heard in the context of news regarding Tare’s separation from his wife. My early feelings toward the album were mostly based on the fact that much of the center of the album is built around gloomy, shadowy songs that felt too slow and too morose. However, I have learned to accept that these songs are not necessarily for me to enjoy — they are emotional outlets for the artist where he can drain the depressive thoughts from his mind, allowing him to get to the more joyful moments. Almost to prove it true, tracks such as “Heads Hammock” and “Lucky 1” provide the brief glimpses of moonlight that push their way through the dismal, night-time death swamp. “Heads Hammock” bounces along with a bubbly rhythm as Tare sings about someone making him happy and letting another person move on

with their life. “Lucky 1” rivals only “3 Umbrellas” for the title of “HappiestSounding Song on Down There.” Tare’s vocals ride a kaleidoscopic synth riff as strange gurgles and glass-bottle percussion echo from the depths of the track. “Down There” is a strong album that you may not be taken with immediately, given its damp, dark tone — but give it some time and plenty of listens and you will begin to appreciate not just the quality craftsmanship (Josh Deakin, of Animal Collective, did a phenomenal job behind the mixing board) but also the themes and emotions explored through those unique ways in which the members of Animal Collective are so skilled.

KEVIN McALEESE -music reviewer -sophomore -political science major

sports 6

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

march 15, 2011

Women’s hoops coach resigns Baseball swept in Miami After seven years as head coach of the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team, Beth Dunkenberger announced her resignation Monday afternoon. Dunkenberger’s departure seemed inevitable, as the Hokies, with just one Atlantic Coast Conference win this year, ended the 2010-11 season falling to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 81-58, in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Tech, for the fifth year in a row, will not be making a postseason appearance. During the five years prior to Dunkenberger’s reign, the Hokies visited the NCAA Tournament three times and the National Invitation Tournament twice. Dunkenberger continued this postseason success during her first three years, however since then Tech has disappointed.

In her seven years as head coach, Dunkenberger has compiled an overall record of 110-104. Since the 2007-2008 season, Tech has tallied just nine ACC wins. After ending the regular season with an overtime loss to Virginia, Dunkenberger was asked about her future at Tech. However, Dunkenberger did not directly answer the question. Dunkenberger worked under former Tech head coach Carol Alfano from 1988 to 1997, helping lead the Hokies to the 1994 and 1995 NCAA Tournaments. Before returning to Blacksburg, Dunkenberger served as head coach at Western Carolina from 2000-2004. During the 2002-2003 season, Dunkenberger was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year, leading the Wildcats to a record of 21-7. Before the start of the season, junior guard Shanel Harrison expressed her belief in this year’s squad.

“We expect to be a top-four team in the ACC,” Harrison said. Nonetheless, the Hokies did not meet preseason expectations, coming in at dead last in the ACC rankings. Having accomplished so much at Western Carolina and during her first several years coaching the Hokies, it’s unclear what went wrong with Dunkenberger’s program. Nonetheless, it is apparent that significant changes must be made in order for Tech to be competitive in the ACC. According to the Virginia Tech Athletics Department, the search for Dunkenberger’s replacement will begin without delay. Jim Weaver, director of athletics, issued a brief statement Monday afternoon. “I accepted coach Dunkenberger’s letter of resignation today,” Weaver said. “We appreciate all the hard work Beth has put into her position and wish her the best in the future.”

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JOSH PARCELL sports reporter The Virginia Tech baseball team’s bats fell silent over the weekend as the Hokies were swept in three games at Miami. The Hokies managed just three runs for the entire series against the Hurricanes. Meanwhile, Miami tallied 16 runs on 24 hits. In the series opener, Miami loaded the bases in four of the first five innings but managed only two runs. The Hurricanes tacked on a third run in the eighth inning on a Stephen Perez double off of Tech pitcher Brandon Fisher. Ronnie Shaban’s two-out RBI double in the ninth made it 3-1 and brought the potential game-tying run to the plate, but Gabe Ortiz grounded out to end the game. On Saturday, the Hokies lost another tight battle. Trailing 2-1 in the ninth,

the Hokies had two runners on base with two outs and Chad Pinder at the plate. Miami brought in its closer, Sam Robinson, who forced Pinder to fly out to right field and end the Hokies’ rally. Tech’s struggle to find a reliable pitching option for the series finales continued when Miami tagged the Hokies for 11 runs on Sunday. Joe Parsons earned his first weekend start but lasted just three and a third innings, giving up three runs and walking three batters. Miami slugger Harold Martinez was 2-for-2 with four RBI on Sunday. By the numbers, the Hurricanes were the best team the Hokies have faced all season. However, Tech entered the weekend averaging 9.1 runs per game, so the offensive ineptitude came as a surprise. Senior second baseman Michael Seaborn put together the best weekend of any Hokie at the plate. Seaborn went 5-of-11 and scored two of Tech’s three

runs in the series. Sophomore left fielder Andrew Rash continued his breakout season with another home run on Saturday, his seventh of the season. He hit just six home runs all of last season in spot duty. Encouraging for Tech was the defensive effort Friday behind ace pitcher Joe Mantiply. Mantiply lasted five innings, and despite walking four batters and allowing seven hits, the Hokies only allowed two Miami runs. The slow start in conference play is nothing new to coach Pete Hughes. Tech started 1-5 in the ACC last season before recovering to win the most games in his five years as head coach. Tech faces a two-game miniseries starting today against Hartford at home. The Hokies will then stay in town this weekend to face North Carolina in an important Coastal Division battle.

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Volunteers Wanted 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

WORDFIND • Theme: Hokie Sports Locate the list of words in the word bank in the letter grid. I

WORD BANK

Baseball Mens Womens Basketball Cross Country Football Golf Lacrosse Soccer Softball Swimming & Diving Tennis Track & Field Volleyball Wrestling

By Dan Naddor

ACROSS 1 Illustrativ e words 7 Burst 15 Casual top 16 Intimate meeting 17 Baroque composer Cavalier i 18 Apple delivery vehicle? 19 Lob bying gp. bigwig? 21 Great Seal symbol 22 Lab complaints 23 CD-__ 25 Hardy’ s “Pure Woman”

ed Mix scs Di Art Day

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Jaz

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Today’s Radio Schedule

44 It parallels the radius 45 Radar’ s rank: Abbr. 46 Fish-eating bird 48 Pollster’s quer y 49 Hear tache 50 Homer Simpson’ s mo m 53 Chestnut horse 55 Car toonist Walker 56 Nailing, as a test 58 Coalitio n celebration? 61 Cour t dispute over footwear ?

DOWN 1 Mak e way 2 Dept. of the Na vy component 3 Mo vie with style? 4 Blac k __ 5 Luy endyk of aut o racing 6 Greek colonnade 7 Rival of Paris 8 Takes pieces from ? 9 Workout target 10 Carr y 11 Li ke some film s 12 Compact item 13 Things with ltrs . 14 Ho ckey ploys 20 Pipe cleaner 24 Wrapped garment 27 Prefix with economics 28 Inser tion point indicator 30 Biological br istles

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33 Mountain West Conf. team 35 Emplo yee using a word processor? 36 Auspicious 37 Sends , obsolescently 40 Dallas sub urb 43 Hyundai model 47 Cr icket violatio n 50 Family nicknames 51 Carol opening 52 Batter y acron ym 54 Magnalium, e.g. 55 Papier-__ 57 Pluc k 59 Captain’ s under lings 60 Step on it 62 __ du Diab le: former French penal colon y

Friday’s Puzzle Solved

63 Prepare for a break 64 Texas city on I-40 65 Color less gas 66 With composure 67 “__ Waldo?”

3/4/11

4-7 AM - John Hisky

ed Mix cs Dis

march 15, 2011

page 7

Snub: Hokies excluded from Big Dance for fourth straight year from page one

The Hokies were not alone on Selection Sunday, as several other teams with similar resumes failed to make the cut. Colorado, with three wins over Kansas State and six top-50 wins, was among the teams with the biggest complaints. Alabama, who finished 12-4 in the SEC and an RPI of 48, was also on the outside looking in after Sunday’s unveiling. “Look, we’re not alone,” Greenberg said. “It’s not, ‘Oh, oh, pity us.’ I think there are other schools that have a similar argument for sure, because there are really some things that are very confusing, if you really do look at it, in terms of the process.” Greenberg went on to say there are some areas of the selection process that are not clear. “There’s a lot of contradictions, if you look at the body of work,” Greenberg said. “There’s a lot of very mind-boggling contradictions. But I mean, tell us what we need to do. Don’t come on television and say certain things, but then if you look at it under a microscope, what you’re saying is really not what you did.” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, who was serenaded by Hokies fans during his trip to Blacksburg earlier this year for College GameDay, had similar qualms with the selection process. The former Duke player, who in the past has dismissed Tech’s arguments for the Big Dance, took a different tone this time on Selection Sunday and sided with Tech. “The two teams I would say who should have gotten in first would be Virginia Tech ... and Colorado,” Bilas

said on ESPN’s Bracketology following the selection show. “These are horrible decisions,” Bilas added later. “I sometimes wonder if people on the committee know the ball is round.” Dick Vitale, who assured Hokie fans their team would be in during the victory over then-No. 1 Duke, was adamant Tech should have made the tournament field. “You look at Colorado, you look at Virginia Tech, there is no way in the world they should be denied a berth over (UAB and VCU),” Vitale said during the broadcast. In a teleconference with the media, NCAA selection committee chairman Gene Smith continued to exude ambiguity regarding the omission of the Hokies. “At the end of the day, when we stacked Virginia Tech’s resume up against all the other teams, we just didn’t feel like they were a team that should be in the atlarge field,” Smith said. The Hokies, who failed to make last year’s tournament in large part due to a weak non-conference schedule, bolstered their slate in 2010-11. Away/ neutral site games against Kansas State, Oklahoma State, UNLV, St. Bonaventure and Mississippi State were believed to be more than enough to satisfy the selection committee. However when it came down to choosing the at-large teams this year, Smith took a different angle. “It’s all about who you play, where you play and then how you did, relative to that competition,” Smith said. “While

DANIEL LIN / SPPS

Seth Greenberg sits, disappointed, during Tech’s loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament semiﬁnals. The Hokies are now a No. 1 seed in the NIT. they significantly improved their nonconference schedule and the teams that they played, still it’s about how you did. They were considered with many other teams and just weren’t able to get enough votes to be in the at-large field.” While no Tech fan could have fathomed the number of injuries the Hokies would endure this year, the trio of seniors in Malcolm Delaney, Jeff Allen and Terrell Bell fought tooth and nail for everything they achieved. For those three, their careers in Blacksburg will be remembered not by their upsets and great plays, but by the sting of disappointment in mid-March.

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“I feel for these kids,” Greenberg said. “It doesn’t take away from what we accomplished this year ... but it’s extremely disheartening.” Delaney, a scoring wizard and consummate team leader, will go down as one of the greatest players to ever put on a Hokies uniform. With more than 2,200 points and 500 assists, Delaney will leave Blacksburg with his name etched in the record books. An NCAA Tournament appearance in his senior year would have been a fitting cap to the senior’s career. The devastating blow of Sunday’s news was especially evident on the faces

of Tech’s three assistant coaches — John Richardson, James Johnson and Adrian Autry. All three sat in an office of the practice facility, silent. Greenberg and company will move on, and they have no choice. The Hokies, selected as a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament for the second-straight year, must push through the pain. There was even a question as whether the Hokies should accept the NIT bid. “We’re going to play basketball,” Greenberg said. “It’s a chance to continue to play. That’s going to be my approach.”

Less than an hour after hearing their tournament fate, Hokies guard Dorenzo Hudson, who suffered a foot injury in December that cost him his season, was on the practice court shooting jumpers. He wore headphones, tuning out the world as he rained down baskets in the empty gym. The 2011-12 season will start a new chapter in Hokies basketball. A top recruiting class combined with a mixture of juniors and seniors will bring a new energy to the program. So the Hokies will anxiously wait for March 11 next year, when there finally might be celebration in Blacksburg.

march 15, 2011

at test

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Two Locations in Blacksburg! 304 North Main St. Downtown & 1480 S. Main St. Suite 114 www.wirelesszone.com (540)961-4200

Round 2 March 17-18 1 Ohio St. 16 Round 1 Game 1 8 George Mason 9 Villanova 5 West Virginia 12 Round 2 Game 2 4 Kentucky 13 Princeton 6 Xavier 11 Marquette 3 Syracuse 14 Indiana State 7 Washington 10 Georgia 2 North Carolina 15 LIU 1 Duke 16 Hampton 8 Michigan 9 Tennesee 5 Arizona 12 Memphis 4 Texas 13 Oakland 6 Cincinnati 11 Missouri 3 Connecticut 14 Bucknell 7 Temple 10 Penn State 2 San Diego State 15 No. Colorado

Regional Finals March 26-27

AG E

fully furn

National Championship April 4

Houston

National Champion

GAME 2 12 UAB 12 Clemson

National Semi-Finals April 2

16 UT- San Antonio 16 Alabama State

GAME 1

WEST Anaheim

EAST Newark

Regional Semi-Finals March 24-25

ACKS B U

OPPORTUNITY

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Round 1 Games March 15-16

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Round 3 March 19-20

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National Semi-Finals April 2

GAME 3 11 USC 11 VCU

Regional Finals March 26-27

Regional Semi-Finals March 24-25

SOUTHWEST San Antonio

SOUTHEAST New Orleans

GAME 4

16 UNC Ash 16 Ark-LR

Round 2 March 17-18

E n t e r o n l i n e c o n W t e I N s t a t n o i P o d T o u c h !

ncaa bracket ◆ 2011

Round 3 March 19-20

1 Kansas 16 Boston Univ. 8 UNLV 9 Illinois 5 Vanderbilt 12 Richmond 4 Louisville 13 Morehead 6 Georgetown 11 Round 1 Game 3 3 Purdue 14 Saint Peter’s 7 Texas A&M 10 Florida State 2 Notre Dame 15 Akron

1 Pittsburgh 16 Round 1 Game 4 8 Butler 9 Old Dominion 5 Kansas State 12 Utah State 4 Wisconsin 13 Belmont 6 St. John’s 11 Gonzaga 3 BYU 14 Wofford 7 UCLA 10 Michigan St. 2 Florida 15 UC Santa Barbara

EQUAL HOUSING

OPPORTUNITY