Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Print Edition by Collegiate Times

Height can’t hold her down BY ASHLEIGH LANZA | sports staff writer When opposing softball teams come to play Virginia Tech, they may be surprised at how much talent the shortest girl, and the best pitcher, possesses. Just 5-feet 4-inches tall, sophomore Jasmin Harrell may stand short in the circle, but gives nothing less than a great performance. “I never get softball,” Harrell said. “Everyone thinks I play lacrosse, track or soccer. Once I tell them I play softball and that I pitch, most people say I’m too short.” Teams last year may have thought this before facing Harrell. However, what they received was a hard fastball and pitches that were anything but expected. Harrell struck out 11 against Longwood and nine against Liberty, both examples of then-freshman skill and talent that was bigger than her body gives her credit for. She first picked up a ball and bat when she was just four years old. Her father, who played baseball throughout high school and continued in college at Loyola University, got her into the sport. “I was a really good hitter but I could care less about defense,” Harrell said. “I wanted to be an outfielder because I can’t pay attention well and I wanted to chase the butterflies.” A few years later, though, Harrell was forced into the circle, a position she dreaded playing. When she was playing for a team coached by her father when she was eight, the need for a pitcher arose. No one wanted to take the task, so she was forced to the mound. see HARRELL / page ﬁve

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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

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COLLEGIATETIMES 108th year, issue 49

News, page 2

Food & Drink, page 4

Sbarro will remain open ERIN CHAPMAN news staff writer Meal plan holders can rest easy — Virginia Tech’s Sbarro franchise will not be affected by the national Sbarro chain’s recent bankruptcy filing. Sbarro filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will undergo a corporate restructuring to manage its debt. A spokesperson for Sbarro said all chains will continue to operate as normal. Everything will continue as normal for customers at the Sbarro in Squires Student Center, said Luther Moseley, assistant director for dining services at Shultz. The Sbarro at Tech is operated by dining services and works independently from the regular restaurant chain. Dining services pays licensing fees for the use of the name and recipes and they also send monthly reports to Sbarro. So far there haven’t been any noticeable changes in Sbarro’s sales, and it has actually seen a small increase in sales compared to this time last year. There are no plans to close Sbarro. Moseley said dining services harbors a very close relationship with

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This generation has grown up going to malls, students have certain expectations and they want to see the same brands on campus. LUTHER MOSELEY ASST DIRECTOR OF SHULTZ DINING SERVICES

SGA, and its relationship with the students is essential to keep Tech’s dining program one of the top dining programs in the country. “We listen to the students and we try to bring what they want to campus,” Moseley said. He said having restaurants students are familiar with in dining halls is important for the success of the dining program. At the newest dining hall, Turner Place, which is now under construction, three out of the eight dining venues will be national franchises. These will be Jamba Juice, Qdoba and Bruegger’s Bagels. “This generation has grown up going to malls, students have certain expectations and they want to see the same brands on campus. Dining services recognizes this and tries to bring popular chains to campus,” Moseley said.

Opinions, page 3

Sports, page 5

Classifieds, page 4

Sudoku, page 4

Car deemed best commute method MEAGAN MCGEE news staff writer Commuters get to campus in the shortest amount of time when they drive their cars, according to a study that tracks commute times. The study, called the 2011 Commuter Challenge, was done by Virginia Tech’s Transportation and Campus Services and Blacksburg Transit. The results of the challenge were revealed on the Drillfield yesterday during Alternative Transportation Day of Earth Week. The study found that car commuters spent about 12.3 minutes traveling 5.8 miles. Bike commuters spent about 12.3 minutes traveling 2.6 miles. Bus commuters spent 24.19 minutes traveling 6.5 miles. Walking commuters spent 23.6 minutes traveling 0.7 miles. By holding the Commuter Challenge during Earth Week, TCS and BT hoped to show students the advantages to alternative transportation. “We would like to raise awareness of these options and benefits people may experience by trying an alternative transportation option,” said Amanda Chassot, alternative transportation coordinator for TCS. Students who participated in the Commuter Challenge logged their commute times on an online survey promoted by TCS.

JOSH SON / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Students in the Commuter Challenge 2011 logged their commutes to campus using online surveys. The survey let students enter the time and distance of their commute, and the methods they used to get from point A to point B, according to Chassot. Every time a participant entered his information, he was automatically entered into a daily prize drawing. “The cost is minimal,” Chassot said. “Prizes for the participants were

graciously provided by Blacksburg Transit.” Andy Reagan, a student intern with TCS, initially had the idea for a challenge that would compare the speed of a student riding the bus and a student riding a bike from the same starting point to the same ending point. He brought the idea to

Deborah Freed, the alternative transportation manager for TCS. “The original idea just came to me,” Reagan, an avid biker said. “We morphed the event into a weeklong thing where people could track their commutes, and we’d put all of the times together for a celebration on Alt Trans day of Earth Week.”

Author to speak about growing up gay in South Africa ELIZABETH HAYDU news staff writer Author Glen Retief will be on campus Thursday to talk about his new memoir, “The Jack Bank.” The book tells of his experiences growing up as a white gay man in South Africa along with the knotty memories of an abusive childhood. Today, Retief is an assistant professor of creative nonfiction at Susquehanna University, where he teaches advanced courses in memoir, personal essay and introductory courses in creative nonfiction. Retief will speak at 5 p.m. tomorrow in Shanks Hall 370/380. COLLEGIATE TIMES: What motivated you to write your memoir now? GLEN RETIEF: I’ve been writing about the experiences that I dealt with in my memoir for many years, probably since I became a serious writer back in 1997, so about 13 years ago. I’ve written about these memories, memories of growing up in the wilderness, being scared of wildlife, memories of boarding school violence, of a sort of accelerating liberation in South Africa, of fighting racism, of pursuing love relationships across the color land, of coming to terms with sexuality, of being gay in a police state which was very opposed to homosexuality and all of that. I have been writing about this for a very long time and you know what writers need to do in order to become successful creative writers is just practice a lot of the time. It is kind of like basketball. Michael Jordan had to practice for hours and hours and hours and hours before he got good at basketball, so writers sort of have to do the same thing. They have to write and write and write and write in terms of subject matter, but I didn’t feel that it really clicked into a voice, a way of understanding my experience, a way of using images, just a way

of talking about what I remember, that didn’t really click into place for me until I wrote an essay called “The Jack Bank,” which deals with the central experience of my book or the experience that give me my title. Jack is South African slang for corporal punishment and the title of “The Jack Bank” refers to a 17-year-old boy who was responsible for maintaining discipline in a whole big dormitory, a whole big room where 40 young boys slept. So 40 young, 12-year-olds were under the control of these two 17-yearold-prefects, and one of those 17-yearolds invented a bank where we could deposit beatings, corporal punishments and then earn interest and then make withdrawals when we did something wrong. So that’s where the title comes from and then I wrote an essay about that experience. To me, what the metaphor means is that violence has a tendency to multiply and earn interest, so if you invest in violence, then it tends to increase. So I wrote an essay and I really felt that I hit it. That one got published in Virginia Quarterly Review, which I think comes from down the road from you. It is a really terrific magazine and a bunch of agents contacted me after the essay from the magazine and said, “Why don’t you write a memoir, this can be a whole book,” and so I wrote a book proposal, and St. Martins Press bought the idea for the book and gave me a contract to write the book; so that is why I wrote this specific book at this time. CT: One of the things that makes your books so interesting is the perspective you have as a gay young adult in this boarding school. How would you say that defined you at that age? RETIEF: At the time I didn’t have any sense of it defining me. At the time, I wasn’t sure that was why. I suspected it might have something to do with me not being very good at sports and not

being stereotypically masculine, being a little bit different. Maybe being a little bit more gender non-conforming than some of the other boys. So I had a vague sense of that, I had a vague sense of romantics because I was a clever bookish sort of bookworm kid, not the popular kid.

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To me, what the metaphor means is that violence has a tendency to multiply and earn interest, so if you invest in violence, then it tends to increase.

But I wasn’t sure exactly why, and then later on I sort of realized: part of it was that (the 17-year-old prefect) sensed that I might be gay and maybe he was gay himself, I didn’t know, I am not in touch with him anymore. I don’t know what his sexual orientation is but that’s what I thought over the years, maybe he had some tendencies in that direction himself or maybe he was just homophobic. When I remember some of the things he said, now in hindsight, it seems to me that that’s what was going on. So at the time I was unhappy, and later on I became somewhat happier and then I struggled over the years with, “should I participate in this system” and I went through different phases. I went through phases where I said, “I do not want to administer corporal punishment to any boy younger than me” and then I went through other times when I said “No, I have to, otherwise they are going to walk all over me and everyone else is doing this and they are going to think I am a weakling if I don’t.” So I write about that in the book. I write about having been violent myself at times and then not at times, and struggling with that issue so that’s how it affected me at the time.

When I moved to the United States at the end of ‘93 beginning of ‘94, I talked to people about my school experiences and I describe those kinds of things. That is when people started to say to me, “I can’t believe that happened to you. Nothing like that would ever happen at schools that I went to.” And I would say, “Oh it happened a lot in South Africa,” and that’s when I started to think of it as something very important that made my youth distinctive. Then it became part of my identity as a South African, and in time it became part of my identity as a gay man. I was sort of gay, bashed at a point in my life, only much later in my life did I think about it as really important in that way. CT: When you came to America, was there any major differences you experienced in tolerance towards gay life or towards racial differences? RETIEF: It was very different. The place I immigrated to was New York City, we’re not talking about rural Kansas here. I was so excited about New York City, just how diverse it was, just how many cultures there were - everything from the number of restaurants to the variety of books and movies, and then just all the people that I would see on the subway. New York isn’t a utopia, people still live in their little ethnic neighborhoods and they still have some tensions, but I thought when I lived in New York, for the most part, after South Africa anyway, it was very impressive the way people managed to share a city. Everybody was together on the subway and working together, and friends with each other and had relationships across the color land and across different cultures. I loved how cosmopolitan, international and racially and ethnically diverse it was, and it was just much easier. In the South Africa that I grew up in, even in the large cities, I am not saying there weren’t relationships across the

COURTESY OF GLEN RETIEF

Glen Retief will speak about his new memoir, “The Jack Bank.” color land, but any romantic relationship had to be kept completely secret because they would go to jail for that. So you certainly saw, and I don’t want to give the impression that it was totally taboo, unacceptable, or judged if you had an interracial relationship, but it still wasn’t very usual. It would be more of something that people did as a sort of active rebellion. When I got to New York it was just so

much more relaxed and normal, so that was very different. In terms of gay life, it’s a funny paradox, one of the things I write about in the book is how I was part of a small group of activists who really worked on lobbying the liberation movement, especially Mandela’s party. In the African National Congress we lobbied those parties to include nondiscrimination on the grounds of sexual see AUTHOR / page two

2 news

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

april 20, 2011

COLLEGIATETIMES

Author: Parents, teachers often blind to students’ misery from page one

orientation in the Bill of Rights and it worked. They accepted that, and soon enough I left South Africa and they included that in their new constitution. So South Africa legally is ahead of the United States in terms of LGBT rights. For example, you have same sex marriage in South Africa, you have employment — non-discrimination — gay people can serve in the military, they are not some of the legal forms of discrimination that you still find here. What is different is that in South Africa, although the laws are so advanced (because of people like Nelson Mandela

who exercised great leadership in saying there should not be discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people), it is still pretty conservative, and so I found New York very liberal in terms of social attitudes if not the law. CT: What message do you hope readers come away with after reading The Jack Bank? RETIEF: I hope that readers understand that human beings have a capacity for great good and great evil and either of those can grow depending on where you make your deposits. I hope that readers connect with the longing for

belonging and for community that I think is at the heart of the story I am telling. I would love parents, teachers and adult leaders to be aware of how much can be going on underneath the surface. I think it is safe to say that none of the teachers, or the principals, or my parents, had even ten percent of an idea of what was going on in the dormitory that I describe some of the scenes. People were just clueless. So I would love schoolteachers and principals to be aware of what might be happening that’s invisible to them, and try and take steps to protect students against that.

what you’re saying //comments from online readers... About the Old Blacksburg Middle School being rezoned: Bill B >> Wait... Hager-Smith is calling First and Main a ‘cookie-cutter mall’?The success of the concept (and actual facility) aside, what in the hell is she smoking? First and Main is a beautiful complex and makes other commercial properties near by look terrible in comparison (Blacksburg Square, in particular). I’m not denying the entire First and Main saga has been a disaster, but Hager-Smith spewing nonsense and throwing that development (and, in turn, its businesses) under the bus because of a personal vendetta is counter-productive to say the least.For what its worth; I have 0 affiliation with any of the parties mentioned. I am, however, a proud resident of Blacksburg. Just for fun, I’ll use Mrs. Hager-Smith’s words and express my discontent with her positions by warning that Blacksburg’s voters will ‘not be duped again’ when it comes to her reelection.

Mark@Adam >> While the recession certainly had something to do with the outparcels not being developed (as well as some of the stores not being occupied), the majority of the reason lies in the denial of Walmart being on the scene. Do some research, and you will find that several were purchased/leased but pulled out due to Walmart’s being denied. I personally am not a proponent of Walmart, but what the Town did to them was wrong. The result? Undeveloped land in F&M and more empty storefronts. Hooray Blacksburg!

About Tech introducing a meterology degree: Anon >> If only they offered this 6 years ago I would have majored in this. I almost went out of state to find a meteorology program before I just settled for an engineering degree at tech (it’s cheaper). They should have had this offered decades ago, I don’t understand why they just started this now.

Anonymous >> Why “should” they have offered this decades ago? Just because you wanted it? These things take time to develop and to ensure that they are supportable. Universities need to be fiscally responsible just like any other organization. Also, in many cases you can get in-state tuition status to attend an out-of-state school if your home state doesn’t offer a particular program. I know someone who did this at VT and enrolled in 1998, so it’s been around for a while (search Southern Regional Education Board Academic Common Market). Sorry to burst your bubble...

Anon >> Because the NWS office is right next door and has been for years, it would make sense

CT: As a gay South African and having to go through such a hard childhood, what advice can you offer others in the same circumstances? RETIEF: I think my main advice is to have the courage to talk to people, ask for help, and as much as you can humanly muster, tell other people what is going on. That is assuming they are trustworthy. I think I had wonderful parents. I was worried about telling my parents what was going on because I was afraid that it would make things worse and I would get punished worse for it. In hindsight, I wish I had told my parents earlier. So

my main advice to young people is try to not be afraid to ask for help because you might regret it like me later on if you don’t ask for help. Whatever happens to you as a child or a young teenager you assume is what life is. One example from my book is growing up with racial segregation. I didn’t think, ‘Oh I live in a racially segregated society.’ This is just the way things were. The shop was for whites only and if you were black you had to have a letter giving you permission to shop in the store and as a young child I didn’t ask ‘Oh is this weird? Is this strange?’ That was just the way things were. The same thing

happened with violence. It didn’t seem strange to me, so I just assumed this was the way the world was. So that is what I would love to tell young people, not only that it gets better, but the world is a big place. There are lots and lots of different life experiences out there. There are lots of different communities that you can live in. There are lots of different jobs you can do. There are lots of different places you can be. So if you are miserable in eighth grade, don’t assume that you are always going to be miserable in exactly the same way because life changes a lot.

nation Supreme Court may dismiss lawsuit WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court justices indicated Tuesday they would throw out a huge global warming lawsuit brought by six states against coalfired power plants in the South and Midwest. And they would do so with the support of the Obama administration. Acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal urged the justices to end the lawsuit, insisting the problem of global warming and greenhouse gases is too big and unwieldy for a single judge to handle. It is a regulatory problem for the Environmental Protection Agency, he said. Four years ago, the justices cleared the way for the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases under the Clean Air Act. Since then, the government has adopted stricter standards for motor vehicles. The agency is debating regulations for power plants, but has taken no firm action. But several states — led by Connecticut, New York and California — have pressed ahead with a lawsuit that calls carbon pollution a “public nuisance” and asks a federal judge to restrict emissions from power plants. During Tuesday’s argument, most of the justices — liberal and

conservative — said they were skeptical about turning over such a complicated and politically charged issue to a single federal judge. This “sounds to me a lot like what the EPA does,” said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A judge cannot be “a super EPA” who sets detailed regulations for power plants, she said. Justice Elena Kagan agreed. Prior to the 1970s, when Congress enacted the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, judges decided “nuisance” lawsuits where one state sued another for causing pollution. “It’s a different world,” she said, now that the EPA has the legal authority to regulate pollution, including greenhouses gases. Last summer, Katyal surprised and angered some environmentalists when he filed a brief on the side of the major power producers asking the Supreme Court to throw out the “public nuisance” lawsuit. During Tuesday’s argument, he called the global warming suit unlike any that has come before the high court before. Because there are “billions of emitters” of carbon pollution and “billions of potential victims” of climate change, there is no way for a judge to decide such a case based on a legal principle, he said.

TURN OFFS:

Katyal said the EPA planned to issue proposed regulations for power plants next year. In defense of the lawsuit, New York state Solicitor General Barbara Underwood said the EPA’s “promise of regulation” in the future was not a good reason for “closing the courthouse door” prior to a trial. She said the suit, which began in 2004, targeted the coal-fired power plants that emit about 10 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gases. “It could be a long time before the EPA acts,” she said. She also said the suit was still in its early stages and that the states would have to prove the need for strict emissions standards for power plants. But she spent most of her time at the lectern trying to explain why the suit should not be thrown out now. Other states joining in the suit are Rhode Island, Vermont and Iowa, plus New York City. Justice Sonia Sotomayor withdrew from the case of American Electric Power Company v. Connecticut because she was on the U.S. appeals court in New York when its judges cleared the suit to go forward. – david g. savage, mcclatchy newspapers

thing. ’t learned a

STUDYING ALL NIGHT and i haven LONG LINES AT WEST END SLY?? GUY NEXT TO YOU IN CLASS WHO HASN’T SHOWERED SERIOU ROOMATE YOU CAN’T STAND yep. NOT GETTING A FOOTBALL TICKET IS THIS A JOKE?!!

GET AWAY FROMTHAT.

GET TURNED ON.

CHANNEL 33 ON CAMPUS WWW.VTTV.VT.EDU

opınıons 3

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

april 20, 2011

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

Your Views [letter to the editor]

‘VP is In’ SGA ofﬁce today On behalf of the Student Government Association, I’d like to invite each of you to join us for our last “VP is In” today from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the SGA Office (321 Squires Student Center). “VP is In” is a year-long program co-hosted by the SGA and Division of Student Affairs, where Edward Spencer, vice president for student affairs, does “office hours” each month. These office hours can be very useful for students who would like to express their feelings about issues on Virginia Tech’s campus. In the past, Dr. Spencer has conversed with students regarding campus alcohol policies, the university’s move for expansion, dining center

capabilities and the push for a new student center on-campus. Dr. Spencer is always there to answer questions for all students and he would like to know what is on the mind of students for the betterment of campus life at Tech. For students who have specific questions or students who have never met Dr. Spencer before, I encourage you to come by the SGA office and let your voice be heard. Oftentimes, students speak informally about changes they would like to see the University make but don’t believe that what they say will be taken into account. The conversations at “VP is In” can serve as the foundation of change for student policies and activities. MCT CAMPUS

Michael Doughty sga chief of staff, 2010-11

Sarah Palin not qualified to run for president in 2012 we move closer to election season, both the As bold and the cowardly are coming forward to test their bids for the White House. President Barack Obama has lost his position as the champion of hope and the “yes we can” mentality is under fire from all corners of the GOP’s relentless push to retake the presidency. Within all of the noise and banter of those who would like to reach the apex of their own personal ambition, what is most fascinating about this current race is the gaggle of potential candidates who will seek Mr. Obama’s position. Whereas it has been the case throughout this nation’s history that the presidency is reserved for the best and brightest of our citizenry, the Republican Party has made it its mission to find a candidate who represents the worst elements of our social make-up. There is no greater example of such a pursuit as the former governor of Alaska and failed vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. As I have been recently watching Palin’s speeches along with her other GOP contenders, I suddenly found myself wondering how this woman has been able to bring herself to the position she now occupies. Palin, whose only serious accomplishment is being excellent at making her corruption look like the fight for the “common man,” also stirred up such levels of hatred that she was almost blamed for the shooting of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Watching her muddle through a language she obviously has yet to master and scream out falsified facts and baseless opinions makes me wonder how the force of Palin was unleashed upon an innocent nation. The Republican Party is no newcomer to finding its most unqualified members as the contenders for this nation’s highest office. We have learned this lesson already through the numerous preceding GOP administrations of recent decades, but Palin represents something that is both new and far more terrifying. Whereas in the past the Republican Party has, at its minimum, erected the facade of an intelligent and charismatic leader, with both the Bush administration as evidence and the growing list of possible 2012 contenders, it appears that this party is no longer making such an effort. Instead, Republicans are content with finding the candidate who represents the greatest level of incompetence and idiocy we as modern humans are capable of imagining. President Bush’s famed persona of being the “guy you want to have a beer with” has unleashed upon this nation the most disgusting and horrifying movement of celebrated stupidity and ineptness. The results of this movement are now becoming clear as our capital is quickly filling with people holding a level of intelligence and judgement comparable to an infant. Palin has mastered the art of

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Whereas in our past we gloriﬁed intelligence and were unafraid to support candidates who were smarter than we are, now we glorify stupidity and support the candidates who appear no more intelligent than our house pets.

presenting herself as a regular “run of the mill” country girl and fighter of the intellectual elites in this nation. While she envisions herself as being the champion of American values embedded in her version of history, the mass psychosis she has generated is nothing more than absolute delusion. Recall that the founders of this nation, and its leaders for most of its history, have been members of this intellectual and financial elite. Though in recent times, the push to make money a non-issue when determining a candidate has been a wonderful force for good, it has unfortunately come at the cost of a rising movement of anti-intellectualism. Whereas in our past we glorified intelligence and were unafraid to support candidates who were smarter than we are, now we glorify stupidity and support the candidates who appear no more intelligent than our house pets. Palin stands at the center of this movement where she celebrates her position as fighter for the greatest anti-intellectual movement of recent years, the Tea Party. When the presidential election is being decided between a president whose failures should seem to disqualify him from possible re-election and a group of opposition candidates who may not even be able to spell the title of their desired office, this country has a serious problem. Our budget crisis, foreign relations crisis, social erosion and myriad other problems and difficulties before us collapse into nothingness in the face of the problem symbolized by Palin. Her disgusting pride at her stupidity, her horrifying lack of apology for her hate speech and corruption, her despicable inability to admit her own incompetence and failure all make her the figurehead for one of the most terrifying movements in recent American history. Whereas in the past, she would be incapable of even being considered for the position of a town’s dogcatcher, in the presence of this anti-intellectual movement, she is being considered for the position as commander-in-chief of the greatest military to ever walk the earth. The world mocks us and we turn an arrogantly deaf ear and bask in the light of one of the most worthless and inept people to be considered for this nation’s highest office.

JASON CAMPBELL -regular columnist -sophomore -philosphy major

Employee uniform change sends significant message ll of us have had experiences where we interact with employA ees in our community, whether it is the gas attendant, the fast-food employee or a police officer. One of the commonalities is what these individuals wear while at work. In some cases, there is a standard uniform that is widely recognized, as in the case of police officers and postal workers. In other cases, the uniform is established by a corporate headquarters such as a McDonald’s, while in other situations, it is established by the respective local organization. Virginia Tech is no different, as certain employees have extreme flexibility in what they can wear. In other cases, certain employee roles have very specific rules for attire, as explained when they are hired. Take those who work in the dining halls as an example. Because of health regulations, employees are not allowed to have any form of facial hair, nails have to be free of any nail polish and trimmed, and side burns have to be at a certain length. Certain roles within dining also have specific types of uniforms. We can also point to those that work with ROTC or the corps of cadets, as they are often seen in their military outfits. On the other end of the spectrum would be instructional faculty. While there are no specific university rules on attire for faculty, a lot of it will depend on the culture of a department, a specific field and the comfort level of the faculty member. There is certainly a wide range that can be seen in the classroom. In most cases, the prevailing attire on the campus is a form of business casual, with more formal dress reserved for administrators or for special occasions. For the most part, the goal is that everyone looks professional. Why am I talking about attire on our campus? Recently, a group on campus has been significantly affected by a change in the dress code — employees who work in the Facilities Services Division. You may recog-

nize them as the housekeepers that work in the academic buildings keeping them clean, the maintenance workers working behind the scenes, the grounds crew and other facility roles. Before the change, these employees would wear a Hokie maroon top and khaki pants in most cases. Today, the ensemble is a completely blue outfit (the blue is a cross between a light blue and navy). It also has an embroidered patch with the words, “Facilities Services Division”. While the outfit is wearable, the color scheme seems to be out of place. If you were to come across these employees, you would have no idea that they actually work at Tech, unless they were wearing their name tag. Recently, as I have encountered staff members, I have asked about the change, and they honestly don’t know why it was made. Was this made to save money? Is this color easier to clean? Was it easier to go with the blue color? What was wrong with the maroon? Thanks to the decentralized nature of things at Tech, not all housekeepers have to face this change. Those that work in the residence halls still have their maroon tops and khakis, while those who work in student activities have a special designed Hokie colored top that they can wear. I wonder what type of input employees in facilities services had in this change? Were they involved in the process? If anything, this brings the term “blue-collar” to life within our campus community. I really thought that as progressive as we are as an institution, we would be more creative in the approach with required attire. While these staff members perform traditionally blue-collar roles, I didn’t think that we would be using an actual blue outfit. Attire changes are not laughing matters. Over the past few years, companies have looked at revamping their attire to reflect more modern times without forgetting their rich heritage, with Delta being one of them. The process can be a

complicated one, as they look at variables such as breathability, ease of wear, design elements and how the outfit looks on men and women. While I understand the desire to develop a set uniform, it just seems that this decision regarding the blue outfit for the facilities services staff seems out of place. Within the context of the university setting, these staff members are among the lowest paid comparatively, often don’t get much respect and face different economic realities. The truth is that these individuals are among the hardest working within our community, are at work before most of us are awake and perform tasks that most of us would not consider doing. I share this because I see the change in the outfits as affecting the morale of the staff in this area, and that sends the wrong message. While I am not advocating for the university to impose a dress code, I am asking that departments consider the broader picture when making decisions about attire. In some cases, the requirements for certain roles will never change — as with police officers or dining employees — but in the areas where there is flexibility, we should be willing to consider it. I point to examples before a football game, where departments are more flexible in allowing Hokie shirts to be worn. This flexibility provides options for employees to escape from the everyday, same old pattern. I see attire as an important morale issue. I know from experience as I juggle two different uniform requirements between my work in dining services and my work at Wal-Mart. While some of you may view it as insignificant, these small things do matter.

RAY PLAZA -regular columnist -graduate student -curriculum and instruction

Colleges price out middle class: Even brightest can afford tuition wildest college admissions story the year involves a 4-year-old. TTheheoftyke’ s mother sued a New York City preschool, claiming it hadn’t lived up to advertising claims that the $19,000-a-year tuition would set her child on the path to the promised land. Instead of drilling for the intelligence test needed for admittance to a prestigious elementary school, it seems the girl spent most of her time — believe it, folks — playing. “It is no secret that getting a child into the Ivy League starts in nursery school,” the mom said in a legal brief. Well, Harvard admitted only 6.2 percent of its applicants this year, so perhaps this mother is on to something. In other news, waiting lists for selective schools are at an all-time high. And being raised by a tiger mother paid off. The daughter of Amy Chua — the Chinese mom who recounted her stern childrearing methods in a controversial book — was accepted by Harvard and Yale. These are the stories we hear this time of year, as the acceptance and rejection notices from top-flight colleges roll in. It’s an entertaining exercise to watch. But from a public policy perspective, it’s almost irrelevant. Dips in endowments aside, the Ivies and their students will

be fine. Kids who aspire to the Ivy League usually have plenty of other choices. Here are some more meaningful higher education stories to keep an eye on: —Students at all four campuses of the University of Missouri system will pay higher tuition next year. Increases also may be in store at some Kansas universities. A report last year by theAmerican Council of Trustees and Alumni warned that if tuition at Big 12 universities continues to increase at the rate seen in the last five years, the average family with a middle school student can expect to spend a quarter of its annual household income on that child’s college tuition. —In a milestone moment last year, the total amount of debt owed on student loans moved ahead of the nation’s collective credit card debt. Students who borrowed money left college last year with an average debt of $24,000. And many are asking whether a college degree still carries enough weight in the job market to make the cost worthwhile. —Every autumn, on community college campuses, students and teachers alike weep over test results that show too many high school graduates lack the reading and math skills to enroll in college courses. These students are channeled into remedial classes — an

expense they hadn’t budgeted for. Lack of preparedness is a big reason that less than a third of the students who enroll in a community college with the goal of attaining a two-year degree ever receive one. For too long, we’ve been focused on the campus entrance. “Go to college,” we’ve told our young men and women, holding out a degree as the key to the American dream. We’ve offered them scholarships and grants and loans and applauded them as they’ve walked through the front gate. But no one pays much attention when they slip quietly out the back door with no degree and tons of debt. That’s starting to change. The Obama administration has asked states to come up with new approaches for improving college completion rates. The Gates Foundation is offering incentives to community colleges to work on the problem. Those are good moves, but they confine themselves to the conventional wisdom that at least some college is good for everyone. The solution isn’t one approach or another. Students need options other than college and those who opt for college need support once they get there.

BARBARA SHELLY -mcclatchy campus

Collegiate Times Editorial Staff Editor in Chief: Peter Velz Managing Editors: Zach Crizer, Katie Biondo, Josh Son Public Editor: Justin Graves Senior News Editor: Philipp Kotlaba Associate News Editors: Liana Bayne, Gordon Block News Reporters: Claire Sanderson, Jay Speidell, Michelle Sutherland, Sarah Watson News Staff Writers: Erin Chapman, Meighan Dober Features Editors: Lindsey Brookbank, Kim Walter Features Reporters: Chelsea Gunter, Mia Perry Features Staff Writers: Andrew Reilly, Nick Smirniotopoulos Opinions Editors: Scott Masselli, Gabi Seltzer Sports Editors: Michael Bealey, Garrett Ripa Sports Reporters: Nick Cafferky, Matt Jones, Courtney Lofgren, Josh Parcell Sports Staff Writers: Alyssa Bedrosian, Alex Koma, Ashleigh Lanza, Zach Mariner Special Sections Editor: Bethany Buchanan Public Information Director: Dishu Maheshwari Training Director: Kelsey Heiter Copy Editors: Taylor Chakurda, Thandiwe Ogbonna, Spenser Snarr, Brittany Kelly, Debra Houchins Layout Designers: Danielle Buynak, Victoria Zigadlo, Wei Hann, Maya Shah Online Director: Jamie Chung Collegiate Times Business Staff Business Manager: David Harries Distribution Assistant: Ryan Francis Student Publications Photo Staff Director of Photography: Sara Mitchell Business Manager: Luke Mason Lab Manager: Mark Umansky College Media Solutions Ad Director: Nik Bando Asst Ad Director: Brandon Collins Account Executives: Emily Africa, Matt Freedman, Connor Geiran, Mario Gazzola Inside Sales Manager: Wade Stephenson Assistant Inside Sales Manager: Diane Revalski Assistant Account Executives: Maddie Abram, Katie Berkel, Kaelynn Kurtz, Erin Shuba Creative Director: Chloé Skibba Asst Production Manager: Casey Stoneman Creative Services Staff: Tim Austin, Colleen Hill, Jenn Le, Erin Weisiger Voice your opinion. Readers are encouraged to send letters to the Collegiate Times. 365 Squires Student Center Blacksburg, VA, 24061 Fax: (540) 231-9151 opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com All letters to the editor must include a name and daytime phone number. Students must include year and major. Faculty and staff must include position and department. All other submissions must include city of residence, and if applicable, relationship to Virginia Tech (i.e., alumni, parent, etc.). All letters should be in MS Word (.doc) format, if possible. Letters, commentaries and editorial cartoons do not reflect the views of the Collegiate Times. Editorials are written by the Collegiate Times editorial board, which is composed of the opinions editors, editor-in-chief and the managing editors. Letters to the editor are submissions from Collegiate Times readers. We reserve the right to edit for any reason. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Have a news tip? Call or text 200-TIPS or e-mail newstips@collegiatetimes.com Student Media Phone Numbers Collegiate Times Newsroom 231-9865 Editor-in-Chief 231-9867 College Media Solutions Advertising 961-9860 The Collegiate Times, a division of the Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech, was established in 1903 by and for the students of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Collegiate Times is published every Tuesday through Friday of the academic year except during exams and vacations. The Collegiate Times receives no direct funding from the university. The Collegiate Times can be found online at www.collegiatetimes.com. Except where noted, all photographs were taken by the Student Publications Photo Staff. To order a reprint of a photograph printed in the Collegiate Times, visit reprints.collegemedia.com. Subscription rates: $65 semester; $110 fall/spring. The first copy is free, any copy of the paper after that is 50 cents per issue. © Collegiate Times, 2011. All rights reserved. Material published in the Collegiate Times is the property thereof, and may not be reprinted without the express written consent of the Collegiate Times.

4 food & drink april 20, 2011

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

Sandwich cookbook Orange chocolate egg trufﬂes mixes food, history SUSAN RUSSO mcclatchy newspapers

The humble sandwich has a history as lively as its makings. Susan Russo’s “The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches” can be viewed as just a cookbook, but it can also be enjoyed as a thought-provoking history lesson. The term “sandwich” dates to the 1760s, when the British Earl of Sandwich first demanded a snack of putting meat between two slices of bread and ate it then and there. He probably wasn’t the first human to come up with the idea but is generally credited with popularizing the term. The trend spread to America. In the 1830s a cookbook came out with a recipe for a ham sandwich. The concept had obviously blossomed, since other fillings, such as sardines, cheese, nuts, and jelly, were also listed. Every ethnic group that came to America brought a new quirk to the humble sandwich. Liverwurst from Germany, the Cubano from Cuba, the Caprese from Italy. The “classic club” started in a

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gentleman’s club in the 1890s. If you overstuff it, Russo notes, you have a “Dagwood” named for the “Blondie” comic strip character — a multi-level sandwich taller than most human mouths can bite. Sandwiches come as open-faced, bagel, pouched, wrapped, unleavened, in sugary doughnuts, and even as dessert, like in ice cream sandwiches. Explore exotics like Lobster Roll or Croque-Monsieur or stick with the homespun pleasure of a BLT — bacon, lettuce and tomato. One thing becomes clear as you go through the book. Between 1890 and the 1920s, there was an explosion of new sandwiches. The wellloved Fluffernutter — white bread, peanut butter and a thick layer of marshmallow fluff — first started appearing after World War I. There are trends in sandwiches. The sandwich loaf of stacked bread slices with layers of garnishes and then frosted like a cake with unsweetened cream cheese was popular in the 1950s but by the 1970s was scarcely seen. “The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches” might even get your child interested in the history behind a PB&J.

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Although you may be stuck in Blacksburg for the weekend — alone on Easter — treat yourself to these orange chocolate egg truffles. Ingredients: 1/2 cup whipping cream 12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (chocolate chips work fine) 1/2 cup unsalted butter About 2 1/2 tablespoons of orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, or orange juice 4 teaspoons of grated orange peel Unsweetened cocoa powder Directions: 1. Bring whipping cream to a simmer in a saucepan on medium heat. Once bubbling, add the chocolate and stir until it is melted and smooth. Add the stick of butter, doing the same. 2. Remove the saucepan from the burner, and add in the orange liqueur and orange peel, mixing until it is incorporated into the mixture. 3. Pour mixture into an 8-by-8-by-2-inch glass baking dish or similar pan. Refrigerate until the mixture is firm enough to shape, which can take up to two hours. Check the chocolate periodically to see its consistency. 4. When ready, line a baking sheet with foil or wax paper. Using two teaspoons or similar utensils, take spoonfuls of the chocolate and use the two spoons to mold it into an egg shape. If you are trying to make it look as egg-like as possible, use

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Sub-Lease

Today’s Radio Schedule ed Mix scs Di Art Day

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7-9 AM - Tyler Vance

WUVT “5 Minute” News at 5 PM (is easy because he’s beautfiul)

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7-9 PM - The Local Zone

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12-2PM - Evan Bowles & Chris Shores

9 PM-12 AM - The Big Waste of Time

rt ht A Nig

2-3:30PM - Ngo More w/ Anh Ngo

12-2 AM - Roland & Shan

3:30-5 PM - Ben Woody

2-4 AM - Maddie & Malvika

5-7 PM - Commodore Ace Fever

4-7 AM - Appalachian Sunrise

9AM-12PM - Lovin Nathan

By Jack McInturff

ACROSS 1 Rope material 5 Ready for the picking 9 Staf f symbol 14 Old apple spray 15 Like some vaccines 16 “The Magic Flute,” for one 17 Diamond team 18 Knock of f 20 Screwups 22 Capitol worker 23 Doomed fairy tale abode 26 Overcharge, in slang 30 Max of “The Beverly Hillbillies”

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4/20/11 31 Point a finger at 33 Satisfied sound 36 Drink away, as sorrow s 39 Largest of the Philippines 40 Stick to formalities 43 Reef material 44 Milo of “Ulysses” 45 Place for buoys and gulls 46 Gibson of tennis 48 Let us know, in an invite 50 __ bargaining 51 Fast-cook grain product 57 Meat pkg. letters 58 It has banks and a mout h

MIA PERRY features reporter

59 Penultimate, and where you might see the first words of 18-, 23-, 40- and 51Across 65 Ice cream drink 66 Writer __ Rogers St. Johns 67 Cavern sound 68 Metal sources 69 Veranda 70 Gush 71 Wall St. market DOW N 1 Associates (with), slangily 2 “The Naming of Cats” poet

ed Mix cs Dis

your hands or the back of the spoon to smooth the surface. Do this until the mixture is all used.

cocoa powder over the eggs, covering them completely.

5. If you want the eggs firmer, refrigerate more until they reach the desired firmness. Then sift

6. If serving to friends, garnish with orange peels.

WORDFIND • Theme: US Presidents Locate the list of words in the word bank in the letter grid. T

3 Lord’ s estate 4 Ready-made home 5 Legendary bird 6 Songwriter Gershwin 7 2005 “Survivor” island 8 __ Island, former immigration center 9 Coop 10 No.-crunching pro 11 Guided 12 Big Band __ 13 Wray of “King Kong” 19 It may be halfbaked 21 Wrap, as an infant 24 Saver of the day 25 Maine college town 26 Pond problem 27 Greek liqueurs 28 What “two shall be” after the I do’s, in song 29 Land of Obama’s father

32 Butcher ’s tool 33 Musicians’ org. 34 Lagoon border 35 Poker Flat creator 37 Loos, briefly 38 Big name in Indian politics 41 Okinawa’ s capital 42 Musical silence 47 Playground retort 49 Place up the 58 Across? 52 Sits at a light, say 53 Anti-racism gp. since 1909 54 Classic Procter & Gamble soap brand 55 Formally gives up 56 Wipe of f the board 57 Colorado neighbor 59 Short sleep 60 Tokyo, once 61 Signer , at times 62 Jilted lover ’s need, briefly 63 Miss identification 64 Stranded motorist’ s need Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

4/19/11

WORD BANK Harrison Cleveland McKinley FD Roosevelt Taft Wilson Harding Coolidge Hoover T. Roosevelt Truman Eisenhower Kennedy Johnson Nixon Ford Carter Reagan Bush Sr. Clinton Bush Jr. Obama

sports 5

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

april 20, 2011

Tennis seeks redemption Harrell: Overcame adversity to become stellar pitcher in 2011 ACC tournament from page one

ALEX KOMA sports staff writer More often than not, it seems that history repeats itself. At least the men’s tennis team certainly hopes it does. Last year at this time, the team won a close match against Clemson and lost an equally close match to Georgia Tech in its final weekend of the regular season. This year, they achieved eerily similar results, as they just barely failed to score an upset against the Yellow Jackets and squeezed by the Tigers. After these matches last year, the team advanced to the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. Team members hope they can repeat that success this year, and use the results of these matches to go even further in the tournament. “We went into the (ACC) tournament in a very similar situation last year,” said Jim Thompson, head coach. “We proved that some of the matches we lost in the regular season we could win the second time around, and we’re fired up to have that opportunity again this year.” The team has quite the challenge ahead of it, as it attempts to correct some of the issues that surfaced in this weekend’s matches. Against Georgia Tech, the team struggled in doubles play, and team members believe those problems contributed to the close 4-3 loss. “Doubles are so important to starting a match off well, and we couldn’t quite come through (against Georgia Tech),” said Lucas Oliveira, a sophomore. “They’re a really good team, and we still were at least able to make it a really close match.” Coaches agreed that the team

proved a lot simply by competing so fiercely. “The team played really well, and obviously we wanted to have a few different things go our way, but, with the exception of doubles, I was really pleased with their effort,” Thompson said. The match against Clemson presented its own set of challenges, as the team was tasked with handling the emotion of senior day, while taking on a tough ACC foe. Despite the distractions it faced, the team came through with a big win against the Tigers, with Oliveira clinching the 4-3 victory by winning his match. “(Senior day) is always really emotional, especially with these guys who have been through so many tough matches and have given all they can to the school,” Thompson said. “Our guys wanted to go out on a good note, and Lucas really came through for us.” For the seniors, the final regular season match of their career was an emotional one. “The whole season has gone by so quickly, and it’s going to be really weird not being on a team anymore,” said Will Beck, a senior. “I’ve played tennis my whole life, but after competing with other guys all through high school and college, it’s going to be strange not having them around.” Beck has been a steadying force in the lineup all year, and he continued to prove himself as he scored a pair of wins at the number four spot this weekend. “Will has been an absolute rock in the lineup, and won so many matches in both doubles and singles,” Thompson said. “He is going to be

really hard to replace.” The team will need the stable influence of the seniors as it heads into its opening round matchup with North Carolina State in the ACC tournament. “We lost our last match to (the Wolfpack) in the regular season, since we were at their place and they had a lot of fans at the match,” Oliveira said. “We’ll be at a neutral site this time around, so hopefully we can get a different result.” With only two days to prepare for the tournament, team members stress that the team will be drawing greatly from their experiences during the regular season. “We’ve only got two days to practice, but we’ve been getting prepared for these matches all year,” Beck said. “At this point, you can only do so much physically, so our mental preparation is really key in these next few days.” If the team were to advance to the second round, they would face the Duke Blue Devils, and many are eager to get a second chance against this ACC rival. “The matchups couldn’t be more perfect,” Beck said. “We all agree that we shouldn’t have lost to them last time, so we really want to come out and make a statement.” However, the team must be careful not to overlook its opening match as it tries to advance to face Duke. “The ACC is one of the best conferences in college tennis, so we’re really excited to be competing against these teams,” Thompson said. “It’s important that we don’t overlook our first match and prove that we know how to beat these good teams.”

ZETON LI / SPPS

Senior Pedro Graber celebrates after winning a point in his doubles match this past Friday against Georgia Tech. The Hokies dropped a 4-3 decision to the 15th-ranked Yellow Jackets at home.

“I was really fast but I would always hit people, I was the wildest thing,” Harrell said. “I would gas out because I would give it my all every pitch so I could never go an entire game, better yet five innings.” After a few rough games, Harrell’s father pushed her to practice pitching more and more. The constant work made Harrell hate the position, but she loved it at the same time because she started to do well. A couple years later, Harrell’s parents divorced. “I haven’t talked to him for years,” Harrell said of her father. “I don’t even know if he knows I’m here playing softball.” After the divorce, the only time she spent with her father was at the softball diamond. Harrell was her father’s trophy — a talent and flashback to his own youth. She only saw her father at ball games, as he skipped birthdays and school events and then stopped coming around altogether. Harrell last spoke to her father the day she won the California Interscholastic Federation or CIF, a win comparable to a state championship. This was during Harrell’s sophomore year of high school, in which she pitched every game of the tournament, including the championship game. “I don’t know where he even lives,” Harrell said. “He dropped off the face of the earth. No bye, no nothing.” Through it all, her mother was by her side, and Harrell said she is her biggest influence and role model. “My mom supported and encouraged me to do my best,” Harrell said. “She came to every game, even though she never played herself.” When her father left, Harrell did not want to pitch. He was the only reason she was a pitcher to begin with. But after a long talk with her mom, she realized she was going to continue playing, not in spite of her father but because she loved the game. “Softball is her passion so it was an outlet for her as well,” said Kim Watson, Harrell’s mother. “It’s very calming for her and if anything is bothering her, softball has helped her to get through things.” She continued to pitch for the next two years for her travel team and her high school, Beckman High. Pete Henson, who co-coached with Harrell’s father her sophomore year, took over the head coach position when the older Harrell disappeared. Henson coached Harrell for the rest of her high school career. “She (Harrell) was great, unlike anyone I’ve ever coached,” Henson said. “I’ve never seen anyone play with as much intensity, determination and confidence. She controls the infield and understands her pitches and moves her players accordingly.” This shows as you look at her 14-3 junior season at Beckman with a 0.66 ERA. At the plate, she had a .410 batting average and 21 RBIs. Harrell came to Tech from California, in part because her travel coach’s daughter, Erin Ota, was a second baseman for the Hokies. The coach, Blair Ota, called Tech softball head coach Scot Thomas to tell him he had a pitcher perfect for the Hokies. Thomas went to a tournament in Long Beach, Calif. to watch the then-sophomore Harrell perform. Harrell pitched a no-hitter and had a good game offensively with Thomas in the stands, and was offered a full ride shortly after. Harrell had offers from other schools, including UCLA, University of Washington, and Cal. Watson said this was a “fresh start from everything that has happened in California.” “I wanted to get away,” Harrell said. “I wanted something different. Everything out here is so different.” Her freshman year in college got off

LUKE MASON / SPPS

Harrell winds up and ﬁres in the circle at Tech Softball Park. to a rough start, as an elbow sprain threatened her playing time. However, the sprain only put her out for a short time, and she was ready to go by the spring season. This year, shoulder problems kept her out for several weeks, but doctors and an MRI concluded nothing was wrong, so she returned to action. “She doesn’t give much expression on the mound,” Watson said. “Some coaches urge her to react. She won’t show if she’s tired or hurting.” She faced the most problems in high school, when hip flexor problems kept her in physical therapy three times a week, although she was able to play with the injury. When it comes time to practice, Harrell and the rest of the team meet four days a week, Tuesday through Friday. On Friday, the team practices if its game is at home, or leave to travel to an away game. They typically play two games on Saturdays and one on Sundays during the season “When I was in high school I pitched three or four times a week in practice, and then I came here and we pitch every day,” Harrell said. In a routine practice, Harrell will join the team at the field. From there, she will get ground balls and throw in the bullpen, but will not participate in the hitting activities the other girls do. She instead watches from the sidelines, relaxes and cheers on her teammates. “I hit in high school and I have been a good hitter since I started playing,” she said. “At first it frustrated me that I couldn’t hit but now I’m used to it. It doesn’t bother me now, it’s just different.” Harrell does not get it easy, though. Behind the scenes, the pitching staff does cardio workouts before or after practices that keeps their stamina up for games, including the use of ellipticals, stairmasters, bikes and treadmills. Harrell, who went 11-10 last year, has already improved by going 15-5 so far this season. She has managed this by changing her form and throwing harder, as well as learning to be more precise with hitting her spots. Even so, Harrell has given up more home runs this year than last year, going from 13 in the 2010 season to a staggering 16 just past the halfway mark this season.

“She doesn’t walk a lot and stays in the strike zone,” Thomas said. “It ends up giving up a lot of home runs but no one is really beating us with home runs.” Harrell turns to assistant coach Barb Sherwood for advice on limiting homeruns. Sherwood pushes her to her limits, forcing her to be more precise with pitch counts. Sherwood sees Harrell having a bright future as a Hokie, and being a player that the team can rely on. “She learned to spin the ball and be more of a pitcher than a thrower. I expect her to continue to get better and stronger,” Sherwood said. The only downside of being an athlete, however, are the events on campus that you miss because of practice, study hall, class, homework or competition, and the small amounts of sleep that you find in between. “It would be cool to be in clubs, but we have no time,” Harrell said. “We miss out on a lot of parties and events when we are gone.” This is not something new to Harrell, though. Since she was five, she has voluntarily missed birthday parties and swim parties so it would not interfere with playing softball. Even through high school, Watson remembers that she was a senior before she started going out more. Her life revolved around softball. Even though she may not be able to make spontaneous trips home on the weekends, she cannot picture herself anywhere else. “It’s totally worth it,” Harrell said. “I love hanging out with all of these girls.” For the future, Harrell is not exactly sure where she will end up. However, she does know that softball may not be in the long-term picture. “As of right now I don’t really want to play softball after college,” Harrell said. “It is what it is. You can’t play softball forever. You have to accept how important the sport is to the American people, as much as I think it should be ranked differently.” A sophomore, Harrell has the potential to leave her mark on the program. “She needs to look within herself and be the best she has to be,” Thomas said. “If she continues to grow and get better then she will be in great shape.”

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april 20, 2011