COLLEGIATETIMES
june 23, 2011
what’s inside News .............2 Features ........6 0pinions ........5 Sports ...........8 Classifieds ...11 Sudoku ........11 108th year issue 63 blacksburg, va.
Future Kids Museum Suspicious opening in Blacksburg briefcase found CARA MCBROOM news editor At around 8 p.m. last Thursday, the Blacksburg Police Department taped off the area in front of Sharkey’s and the Cellar for about four hours. A suspicious briefcase was spotted sitting on top of a trash can. According to Blacksburg police Lt. Steve Taylor, a briefcase left on top of a trash can was brought to the attention of police by a citizen. The intersection in front of The Cellar restaurant was cordoned off as a precautionary measure, he said. The briefcase was found to be empty, Taylor said, and police have reason to believe “that it was simply discarded.”
PAUL KURLAK / SPPS
A volunteer at the Children’s Museum watches as a boy works on a craft. The Children’s Museum set up a booth Summer Solstice Fest last Saturday.
THE FUTURE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM LOOKS TO REVITALIZE THE DOWNTOWN BLACKSBURG AREA CARA MCBROOM news editor Local citizen of Blacksburg Janine Kniola aspires to open a children’s museum within the next five years, if all goes well with fundraising. The Blacksburg Children’s Museum will focus on art, science, technology and regional heritage. All components of art, like drama and music, will be included. Regional heritage will educate children about the local Southwestern Virgina region and the history of area, among other things. The future museum will serve families across the entire New River Valley and surrounding regions from ages 012.The pre-school age is most popular but will still attract other kids in the 0-12 range. “I have an 11- and 8-year-old, and even now they like to go to museums. I’ve been to several around the country so having a resource like a museum in the New River Valley would be great,” said Lori Greiner, a local supporter of the museum. Kniola said the the idea came about between she and some friends a couple of years ago at one of their children’s birthday parties. “Most of us had relocated from other areas that had children’s museums and that’s how we
came up with it,” Kniola said. “Once you’ve taken your children to a kid’s museum, they want to go to more, either the same or a different one. That will be the exact thing that we’re hoping for. We hope to drive business to more programs.” The community gave Kniola feedback on the museum and the general consensus is to support her and the volunteers. The only opposition heard thus far is the concern for competition among other programs. “We dont want to be in competition,” Kniola said. “We want to colloborate with whoever we can. There’s always more we can offer to our community and we wouldn’t want to take away from anyone’s program.” The future children’s museum hopes to work with Virginia Tech in addition to other organizations. The civil and environmental engineering department brought the idea of their research on oil spills to the Children’s Museum of Blacksburg’s booth at the Summer Solstice festival last Saturday. The kids were taught about oil spills and how to clean up after them. “One kid enjoyed it so much, he came back several times and with great questions. That’s whay we really hope to do – have more exhibits like that that,” Kniola said.
The museum’s planning does not have direct exhibit ideas. Instead, there’s a call for exhibit application that’s on the website so people in the community can share their ideas of potential exhibits. The board will review each application on a rolling basis and if the idea is accepted, they will partner with the person credited with the idea to discuss future plans. “I think it’s great what they’ve been doing with the traveling exhibits but having a permanent location somewhere with rotating exhibitis would be great,” Greiner said. The future museum still needs to find a place, a search that has not narrowed down very much as of yet. Kniola said she and several others want to have it in Blacksburg, near Virginia Tech and the downtown area. According to Kniola, if the musuem were to open in the downtown area, it would drive people to come to the museum for the day and then stay for lunch or dinner and it would be part of the downtown revitalization. “In talking to town council, we’ve spoken to them about the museum as an economic driver,” Kniola said. “It would boost other retail spaces.” Also, students would be able to engage with the museum by volunteering or doing an internship since it would be a non-profit organization. “Certainly seeing how enthusiastic the kids are has been the most rewarding,” Kniola said.
COURTESY OF WENDELL JONES
The briefcase was left in a trash can outside Sharkey’s.
HEVT takes first place at nationals JOSH HIGGINS news staff wrtier
Virginia Tech engineering students and faculty are making progress toward more environmentally friendly vehicles. Virginia Tech’s Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team, (HEVT) recently won first place in the EcoCAR Challenge, a three-year competition sponsored by General Motors and the U.S.
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Department of Energy. Tech’s team, a group consisting mainly of senior and graduate engineering students, competed against 16 North American universities trying to reduce environmental impact of motor vehicles by designing eco-friendly vehicles that maintain performance, safety, and consumer features. The team’s car, named Virginia Tech Range Extended Crossover see HEVT / page three
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NEWS
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what you’re saying //comments from online readers... On new firearm laws: Anonymous>> Once again a bunch of people are getting all worked up over nothing. You still can’t fire if the projectile leaves your property. Seems to me that in areas where the population density is high, most people won’t have enough land to abide by this new law if they try to fire pneumatic guns, while it does allow those with sufficient space the ability to shoot if they want. Non issue. Also, to the author: pneumatic guns are not firearms. Parse the word. Fire means combustion.
Robert Yarush >> Wow... this is certainly compelling legislation. Its almost like gun laws in Virginia are a joke... Now does anyone really think that a madman... with real weapontry... even cares about gun laws?? Does anyone really think that because there are no weapons “Allowed” on the campus of Va. Tech... that someone that has some kind of a grudge... shoot up on campus?? Kind of silly lumping paintball and BB guns with real deadly weapons.
On EPA regulations retiring power plants: Texas Mike>> It won’t be long until the enviro-nuts who pushed for closing coal plants are screaming about the greed of power companies due to the higher rates. Of course it will be the power companies’ fault for the lost jobs as well. Hope! Change!
Jim Pease >> Those of us who live in the pollution plume from the Glen Lyn power plant are thankful to the EPA for finally shutting down that particular environmental and health disaster.
On Virginia Tech’s preparedness for disasters: Emergency Preparedness >> Ray, Ray, Ray, the university has air raid sirens and nuclear fall-out bunkers. Welcome to 1961.
collegiatetimes.com june 23, 2011
On the story about changing our view on political leaders: Anonymous >> I think this is a good point. Truthfully, everybody has some dirt. I bet there’s dirt on the supreme court justices. I think in the coming 10 years or so when the current early 20’s generation becomes old enough to be elected to office, how much their early life and mistakes (assuming that these are well documented on the internet) will play in elections.
blacksburg Lights Out/Power Down Virgina Tech’s Office of Energy and Sustainability asks all students, faculty, and staff on the Blacksburg campus to participate in its “Lights Out!/Power Down!” event. Community members will be asked to turn off and unplug all non-critical lighting and electrical loads during the one-hour event to kick-off the university’s sum-
mer electrical demand management program. The event is this Thursday, June 23, from 3 to 4 p.m. Facilities Services employees will monitor Tech’s electricity usage during the event to assess the reduction in electricity use on campus. -elizabeth haydu, collegiate times
nation Jon Huntsman announces candidacy Jon Huntsman declared himself a candidate for president Tuesday, offering himself as a strong leader capable of restoring the nation to greatness. The former Utah governor used a scenic backdrop that included the Statue of Liberty to begin a campaign against a president he served under just months earlier as ambassador to China. His speech included its share of swipes at President Obama, as he said the nation was in need of new leadership “that knows we need more than hope. Leadership that knows that we need answers.” “We will not be the first American generation that lets down the next generation,” he said. “We have the power, we have the means, we have the character to astonish the world again by making from adversity a new and better country.” Huntsman’s speech spanned roughly 15 minutes, offering a cursory overview of his resume and the outlines of his economicfocused message. Under his leadership Utah weathered the economic downturn better than most, he argued, proving that “government doesn’t have to choose between fiscal responsibility and economic growth.” He said the nation must make “hard decisions that are necessary to avert disaster,” or else the nation will be overwhelmed by entitlement and debt spending, and forced to go deeper into debt. “Our influence in the world will wane. Our security will be more precarious. The 21st century then will be known as the end of the American century. We can’t accept this, and we won’t,” he said. Playing off Obama’s “win the future” slogan, he said the nation “can and will own the future.”In a brief discussion of foreign policy, he appealed to a war-weary pub-
lic in saying that the “best longterm national security strategy is rebuilding our core here at home.” Tuesday’s announcement caps an unusual and heavily thematic multiweek roll-out. Short videos posted to his website over the last week show a man riding his motorcycle through scenic Utah, with vague one-line messages such as “The candidate for president who rides motocross to relax.” On his Facebook page Monday, dozens of photos from throughout his life were posted. “In order to beat the president, we’re going to have to beat him at his own game. And that involves being big and being bigger than the president,” a campaign aide said Monday of the buildup. “We’re introducing a fresh candidate; we’re introducing an outsider to a lot of the country. The ramp-up is part of our effort to introduce him and his unique background.” Huntsman has already drawn fire from Democrats and the Republican candidates he will have to defeat to win the nomination. In his speech, Huntsman promised to “conduct this campaign on the high road.” “I don’t think you need to run down anyone’s reputation to run for president,” he said. “I respect my fellow Republican candidates. And I respect the president. He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help the country we both love. But the question each of us wants the voters to answer is, who will be the better president, not who’s the better American.” After his announcement, Huntsman is to travel to New Hampshire. Other stops this week are planned in South Carolina, Florida, Utah and Nevada. -michael a. memoli, mcclatchy newspaper
Tech professors preform research in cell talk news staff wrtier
Researchers at Virginia Tech will begin a ground-breaking new project about how cells communicate with one another. Richard Helm from biochemistry, T.M. Murali from computer science, and Padma Rajagopalan from chemical engineering have teamed up for a collaborative research project studying systems biology, the study of how cells work as a system. The team began the research project after being awarded a $1.12 million grant by the National Science Foundation’s Advances in Biological Informatics Program. The research project, which is in its beginning stages, focuses on the way that two different types of cells communicate in a synthetic liver tissues created by Rajagopalan. The liver mimic is used to establish and maintain several simulated liver functions, and is composed of two major types of cells naturally found in the liver. “Sometimes Cell A will release a protein that will bind to Cell B that will cause it to react in a certain way,” Helm said. Helm said that creating a simple
PAUL KURLAK / SPPS
Virginia Tech researchers Richard Helm, Padma Rajagopalan, and T.M. Murali stand in Dr. Rajagopalan’s laboratory in ICTAS I. The team is studying the ways in which cells in the human body communicate. system to study cellular communication between two cells will lay the foundation leading to more research on more complex cell systems and organisms. “This system can be used as a model where we can control where we know that there are only two cell types,” Helm said. “So it’s much easier to piece together who is putting out a
compound and who is binding that compound.” So far, the liver mimic, though not a perfect replica of a real liver, has performed very well, resulting in enhanced liver functions after the two cell types are put into the liver mimic. “Both cell types are communicating with each other, which is why the liver function is enhanced,” Rajagopalan
said. The successful arrangement of cells in the liver mimic has been another achievement of the research. In addition to studying the liver mimic, Helm has used biochemical studies and mass spectrometry experiments to study what happens outside of a cell through chemical means. Helm believes that studying the
biochemical characteristics of cellular communication in the liver mimic will lead to a better understanding of how cells manage to communicate with each other. The new research is also believed to provide a strong foundation for understanding how cells communicate with each other and will lead to monumental discoveries in the study of humans and medicine. “Will it have a direct impact on medicine right now? I would say no, but will it lay down the foundation to reach that point? I would say yes,” Helm said. Rajagopalan also believes that the research will lead to medical breakthroughs. “If you’re trying to look at different tissues, and you want to understand why they are performing in a certain way, using our approaches, you would potentially find out why different tissues are performing well or poorly depending on the conditions,” Rajagopalan said. Although the research has had success since it began, Helm acknowledges that there is still a lot of research to be done to completely understand cellular communication and systems biology. “There are too many variables that we don’t really understand right now.”
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JOSH HIGGINS
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HEVT: team wins big; Tech EcoCAR from page one
see HEVT / page four
collegiatetimes.com june 23, 2011
or VT-REX, competed against other universities’ vehicles after being constantly altered, redesigned, and updated by the HEVT members over the past three years. The car is designed to use more energy from the power grid than from fuel, reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. The car is designed to go over 50 miles on battery power before the engine starts to burn fuel. The team wanted to design a car that maintained efficiency while lessening the effects on the environment, according to HEVT’s faculty advisor, Doug Nelson. “That was our work up to when we sent our vehicle off to competition – to make sure that it performed well, was very efficient, and yet still drove very well,” Nelson said. Last year, the car competed in the Phase 2 portion of the challenge, winning second place. The team then altered the design to
further improve the vehicle. “We came home with the goal of winning,” HEVT Team Leader Lynn Gantt said of the team’s second-place win last year. After making major improvements during the third year of the project, VT-REX competed in the final competition, and won first place overall. The team was thrilled about their accomplishment at the end of the competition. “It was pretty exciting,” Nelson said. “We knew we were doing well, but a big piece of the points and results were still not completely known to us at the awards ceremony, so we didn’t know for sure until they announced us as first place at the awards ceremony.” After the completion of a threeyear program and winning first place, members of the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team believe that the program has helped expand their expertise in engineering,
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HEVT:designs awardwinning vehicle from page three
while helping make progress toward more energy efficient vehicles. “I think they’ve (HEVT) grown a lot in terms of their knowledge, abilities, and leadership abilities,” Nelson said. The program has also helped members of the team secure jobs in the motor industry. “Over 90% of the team have jobs already secured after graduation, and it’s because of their involvement with this project,” Gantt said. Nelson believes that the influx of experienced individuals into the motor industry, such as those participating in the EcoCAR program, will help accelerate the innovation of eco-friendly vehicles and help make
these technologies more cost-effective. “The main impact of our vehicle and our project is really the learning of the students,” Nelson said. “These students have learned about the technologies and are ready to hit the ground running when they go into the industry and become leaders in this area of technology.” The graduating members also believe that the skills they’ve gained from this program will help them excel in their careers. “The skills that I’ve learned will pretty much directly translate to my day job,” Team Leader Patrick Walsh said. The HEVT team plans to continue their work with a new group of students in the fall. The team wrote a proposal and was chosen to enter into the EcoCAR
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That was our work up to when we sent our vehicle off to competition – to make sure that it performed well, was very efficient, and yet still drove very well,” DOUG NELSON HEVT FACULTY ADVISOR
2 competition, where they will be designing a new eco-friendly vehicle, this time a Chevrolet Malibu. Nelson believes that the program will continue having a monumental effect on the industry. “The big impact is the learning and the education of the students and that they carry that into the industry.”
collegiatetimes.com june 23, 2011
middle school demolition
A construction crew works on the demolition of the old Blacksburg Middle School. The building is being demolished for the the property to be sold. photo by brad klodowski
TechPad Opens in Blacksburg ESKII KEBEDE news staff writer Downtown Blacksburg is known for the local bars, restaurants and shops, but starting this summer, it is also the home of new entrepreunerial offices. The offices of TechPad are to be located right above PK’s Bar and Grill, serving as a co-working space for those with an idea and no place to go. As founder Bob Summers described it, TechPad is “a community of like-minded people in a convenient location.” When Summers began TechPad in January, it was originally named Blacksburg Innovation Center, but Summers changed the name to better capture the goal of the company. “It’s a fun place to work and learn, pad is a laid back type of place, and tech to focus around technology products. Companies that are software oriented for social, mobile are typical kind of companies that are here,” Summers said. Summers was in search of a job himself when a friend from his undergraduate days at Virginia Tech reached out to help him start his business. Mike Whaley, owner of PK’s and Top of the Stairs, offered Summers the 6,000 square feet of office space upstairs to start his own business. Within that 6,000 square feet there are two conference rooms, four private suites, broadband internet, and lots of open space members can all use starting as little as $60 a month. Summers said he now has a sole interest in helping student entrepreneurs get their own start. TechPad will also offer help from a local angel investment group, 460 Angels, who are 33 investors that provide capital as well as mentoring to the new companies to help them grow. Although TechPad is still in its early stages, there are already 12 different member companies, all of which heard about the company through word of mouth. Marek Zareba, a recent Tech graduate, is a member of TechPad working on launching his company Engagn. Engagn is a software that helps businesses connect to their customers via mobile sharing, a simple scan from your smart phone will take you to a website the Engagn developers created, on which you will find different information about the business, especially helpful if you have never been. For now, PK’s Bar and Grill
is the only business which uses Engagn, but Zareba is working with Sharkey’s next. “Our team needed an office to meet, we now have employees and being so close to campus attracted us,” Zareba said. “In the early stages [of starting a business] you are really careful of how you spend your money and this is a great deal.” Zareba works for the university so his hours at TechPad usually start in the afternoon and continues through the wee hours of the night. TechPad is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. For Tech gradutate Michael Rihani the story is different.
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It’s a fun place to work and learn, pad is a laid back type of place, and tech to focus around technology products. Companies that are software oriented for social, mobile are typical kind of companies that are here,” BOB SUMMERS FOUNDER OF TECHPAD
During his time as a student, he and his friends made history in their dorm rooms by founding the popular campus information sharing website Koofers. “[TechPad] didn’t exist when I was here four years ago, and I would have loved coming here,” Rihani said. “This would be the first place I would have come because we just had to work in our dorms, we didn’t have a place. You have a space here to bring people and use the conference rooms, as well as a big advantage of working with everyone else. We can bounce ideas off of each other as well as receive mentoring from someone as experienced as Bob. There are a lot of cool companies in here and you bounce off ideas and get in touch with what we are building.” Koofers headquarters are located in Reston, Va, however Rihani just moved into TechPad a few weeks ago and will be in Blacksburg for the next three months working on campus deals, working with local businesses, the university, and most importantly, students to get their perspective about what they want from Koofers. As Summers described it, TechPad is “a community of like-minded people in a convenient location.“
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make every American feel ashamed. But when we look beyond this number the ugly truth becomes far more horrifying than we could have imagined. Since 1980, the incarceration rates for drug offenses in American prisons have increased tenfold. Within the current 500,000 number, 4/5 of them are in prison for minimal amounts of drugs with no intent to sell and no violent acts correlated with the arrest. And while we continue to imprison our citizens and pour money into this campaign, drug overdose recently became the leading cause of death for adults 35-54. This is not entirely surprising considering the fact that even though the U.S. government spent nearly $68 billion on prisons last year, nearly half of the current prison population released in 2011 is expected to be back behind bars by 2014. There is an old adage that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results each time. There are few examples that illustrate this point as well as this government’s “War on Drugs.” Between the untold amounts of money wasted and the absurd amount of time and resources consumed by the execution of this disgustingly oppressive campaign, this nation has brought shame upon itself. Beyond the money and the time, however, are the lives of those destroyed by this crusade. This government has taken upon itself the right to act as a parental authority for the people of this nation by saying what substantives we can and cannot ingest. Though having no constitutional backing and no justification in precedent the “War on Drugs” stands as the seminal example of the illegal campaigns of our government. We must end this absurdity and state in a resounding voice that our government shall no longer be allowed to actively campaign for the persecution of our rights. We must declare with a solemn voice that this nation shall once again have the integrity and honor it deserves. Until the day comes when our government stops being our parent and starts being our servant this people shall not know the freedom that was intended for us.
JASON S. CAMPBELL regular columnist
inally. It looks as though members of Congress might actually F do their job this week. It is about time. Congress has been derelict in its duty to the American people for three months now. During the past 90 days they sat idly by while President Obama waged an illegal, unconstitutional war against Libya. In regards to war the Constitution is very straightforward: the President wages war only after Congress decides to take the country to war. This is exactly what is written in the founding document. Article II lays out the few powers enumerated to the President. It states that, “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into actual Service of the United States.” Notice that it says, “When called into actual service.” So who calls the military into service? The Congress. The powers enumerated to Congress are described in Article I. To provide for the common defense, Article I, Section 8 states that Congress retains the following powers: to raise and support armies; to provide and maintain a navy; to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces; to provide for calling forth the militia; and perhaps most importantly, to declare war. That is correct—the power to declare war resides with Congress. As if the plain language of the Constitution were not enough, there are numerous writings by the founding fathers that inform us of this truth. The founding generation of Americans was very leery of setting up a dictatorship. They did not want to create an allpowerful king. One of the checks they put in place was that the branch closest to the people—the Congress—was the branch that took them to war. Regardless of the intent of the founders, and despite their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, presidents of the 20th century have engaged in countless overseas hostilities without the consent of Congress. After losing over 60,000 troops to the needless war in Vietnam, Congress decided to reassert itself as the war-deciding body by passing the War Powers Act. Using a two thirds majority to override Nixon’s veto, this bill states that if the president engages in hostilities he must notify Congress within 48 hours, and that to continue hostilities beyond 60 days Congress must authorize force or declare war. If Congress fails to authorize military action within 60 days then the president has 30 more days to withdraw all forces from the region. President Obama did none of this: he failed to notify Congress within 48 hours, failed to gain an authorization for his war within 60 days, and failed to withdraw all forces from the region before 90 days expired. Besides,
even if he had complied with the War Powers Act it is still unconstitutional for a president to take the country to war. The Constitution clearly states that Congress initiates hostilities and nowhere does the founding document state that Congress can hand this power over to another branch of government. Top lawyers in government agree that Obama’s actions are illegal. Last week the New York Times reported that Obama, in an “extraordinarily rare” move, rejected the views of the general counsel at the Pentagon and the head of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. Both offices believed that U.S. military actions in Libya amounted to hostilities. According to these lawyers, the President had to terminate or scale back the mission starting May 20th. Obama claims that the actions in Libya do not amount to war because no conventional troops are on the ground and no Americans have been killed. So in his mind these actions are not subject to the Constitution or the War Powers Act. Thankfully, this week, members of Congress decided to take action against the President. From the House, Democrat Dennis Kucinich, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul and a dozen other representatives from both parties filed a lawsuit against the President. The suit claims that Obama violated the law and calls upon the courts to “move to protect the American people from the results of these illegal policies.” Members of the Senate are also speaking out. This past weekend Democrat Dick Durbin claimed that Obama’s actions were unconstitutional and Republican Senator Rand Paul joined Dennis Kucinich on CNN to denounce the president. House majority leader John Boehner also stated that he would put forth legislation to cut funding for Obama’s hostilities in Libya. The fact that some members of Congress are doing their job is a step in the right direction. The country is on the precipice of an economic collapse and cannot afford any more fruitless military endeavors. The Associated Press just reported that U.S. and NATO have already killed innocent civilians, including two toddlers a few days ago. The President is out of line. The action in Libya is either an illegal and unconstitutional war, or it is the killing of persons who did not attack us— CHRIS otherwise known as DUNN murder. Either way, regular U.S. attacks in Libya columnist must end now.
collegiatetimes.com june 23, 2011
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L
ast week, the United States witnessed the 40th anniversary of its “War on Drugs.” Regardless of the nature of any anniversary, a common theme is that they force us to pause and reflect on the value of it in our lives. In this nation, there are fewer anniversaries that deserve such attention as the commencement of the “War on Drugs.” Regardless of how one feels about narcotic use in the general public, there is no arguing with the fact that this crusade by the federal government has caused untold amounts of damage to our national fabric. In financial, legal and ethical terms, the “War on Drugs” may stand as the greatest domestic absurdity this nation has ever created. When President Nixon declared drug abuse to be America’s “Public enemy number one” in 1971, I do not think he ever conceived the extent to which his petty program would evolve. When it was first established this campaign had an annual budget of $100 million, when adjusted for inflation. This year, the Obama administration has asked congress for $26.2 billion for the effort to eradicate drug use in this nation. While we are still trying to bring ourselves back from the precipice of economic oblivion our president has seen it fit to pour billions of more dollars into a campaign that he has declared in both 2004 and 2009 to be an “utter failure.” Obama’s lies and hypocrisies are well known to all Americans but when the question at hand is the future and livelihood of the nearly 500,000 people in prison right now for drug offenses, perhaps he owed us the courtesy of being more true to his word. Recently in California, the state’s supreme court ordered the release of nearly 32,000 inmates from its prisons due to overcrowding. The court declared that the overcrowding occurring in nearly all of California’s prisons is resulting in the destruction of the constitutional rights of the inmates. Though I applaud the court for conducting itself in favor of the rights of those who seldom have a voice, I do not understand why it is seeing an infringement in rights only now. The fact that the United States holds 25 percent of the world’s prison population while only having five percent of its population is a statistic that should
5 OPINIONS
Collegiate Times Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief Sarah Watson Managing Editor Kelsey Heiter News Editor Cara McBroom Features Editor Ally Hammond Sports Editor Zach Mariner Head Copy Editor Kayla St. Clair Photo Editor Paul Kurlak Online Director Jamie Chung
‘War on Drugs’ a It’s time for Congress to step up to its job waste of money
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Annual Summer Solstice Festival
FEATURES
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PAUL KURLAK / SPPS
A young girl tries to throw a football through a wooden cut-out to win prizes at the fourth annual Summer Solstice Festival.
DOWNTOWN BLACKSBURG KICKS OFF SUMMER WITH ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SOLSTICE FESTIVAL ALLY HAMMOND
collegiatetimes.com june 23, 2011
features editor
......radio for everyone
Blacksburg residents took to the streets this past Saturday to celebrate the summer solstice - the longest day of the year. The fourth annual Summer Solstice Festival began at 2 p.m. and continued until 11 p.m., only interrupted briefly by a late afternoon thunderstorm. North Main Street was closed from Roanoke Street to Washington Street, with live bands set up at the foot of Lee Street. Local vendors, businesses and groups set up their booths in the middle of the road. You could pay a dollar to play games from the famous TV show “The Price is Right” or wait in line and get your face beautifully painted by a talented woman in fairy-wings. “The festival was the biggest and best we have ever had. It’s grown immensely in the past four years,” said Laureen Blakemore, Downtown Blacksburg’s special events coordinator. This year’s festival not only had the most vendors but also the most visitors.
“They’re all estimates we have no way of actually recording, but we think about 3,500 people attended,” said Blakemore. “Thank you f or coming and look out for the event next year, it’s only going to continue to grow!” said Blakemore. The Key West Band attracted a large crowd at night boosting the sales in the festival’s Beer Garden, always a popular spot. While the adults sauntered around the Beer Garden with bright yellow cups, kids could play on moon bounces set up in the middle of the road—breaking all the usual rules for outdoor play—or enjoy a big fluff of cotton-candy. After such a successful Summer Solstice Festival, Blacksburg locals and students alike are anxious for other events sponsored by Downtown Blacksburg. Luckily, they don’t have to wait too long; Steppin’ Out occurs on August 5th and 6th, and holds just as much promise as Summer Solstice did last weekend. “Steppin’ Out is totally different. This year we have 200 craft vendors this year, making it the biggest ever. We also have three stages of entertainment running for two days,” said Blakemore.
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Summer Arts Festival production opens Thursday 7 features staff writer The play “Rumplestiltskin” will be perofrmed in Blacksburg for the next two weeks as a part of the Summer Arts Festival, made possible by the Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts & Cinema and the Town of Blacksburg. The production of “Rumplestiltskin” is presented by the Department of Theatre & Cinema at Virginia Tech and is directed by Michael Anthony Williams. The storyline is based on a familiar19th-century Brothers Grimm fairy tale about a miller’s daughter who is falsely said to be able to spin straw into gold. When the king demands that she spin him gold in three days or be executed, the miller’s daughter is aided by a creature who demands her first-born son in exchange for his work in spinning gold. Seeing no other option, she agrees. The creature performs the task, allowing the miller’s daughter to marry the king and bear his child. When the creature comes to receive his payment, the only way that the miller’s daughter can spare her child is if she can guess the creature’s name. “Rumplestiltskin” opens Thursday, June 23 at 2 p.m. and will run through July 2.
[
Summer Arts Festival Check performance dates and times on the School of Performing Arts & Cinema website: www.sopac.vt.edu
FEATURES
Performance dates and times can be foundontheSchoolofPerformingArts& Cinema website. All performances of “Rumplestiltskin” are free to the public and will take place in Squires Studio Theatre. The Department of Performing Arts
CODY OWENS
]
& Cinema is opening “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” this week as well. Directed by Gregory Justice, this production is a “hysterical comic parody of all of the plays of Shakespeare… (in shortened form),” according to the play’s description. “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” opens Wednesday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. and runs through July 2. Performance dates and times can be found on the School of Performing Arts & Cinema website. All performances of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” are free to the public and will take place in Theatre 101 on College Avenue.
PAUL KURLAK / SPPS
The creature, played by Katie Griggs, looks out from the stage as the queen, played by Tierney Jones, tries to talk to her during forest scene in a rehearsal of the play “Rumplestiltskin,” on Sunday.
Caipirissima
Give the gift of memories!
A little lime bite for a day at the pool. - sarah watson, editor-in-chief
CT Recipes Serves:
2
Ingredients: 4 limes 4 tablespoons sugar 5 ounces white rum Ice Directions: 1. Cut limes in half and muddle in a highball glass.
3. Stir until it is mixed well.
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2. Fill the glass with ice, add sugar and rum.
Frame memorable moments or print them onto tshirts, posters, coffee mugs and more!
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SPORTS
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Packers marvel at Super Bowl rings MICHAEL HUNT mcclatchy newspapers Charles Woodson was asked to hold up The Ring on his right hand for the benefit of the cameras. “It’s kind of heavy,” Woodson said. “It won’t be (for) long.” I’ll say. Woodson hasn’t held up something that big since Tony Gonzalez. Win a Super Bowl, though, and the spoils tend to be super-sized. “They wanted big and they wanted bling,” Packers President Mark Murphy said. “We were successful in that.” Look, I don’t know Tiffany the jeweler from Tiffany the singer, so I’ll have to take Woodson’s word for it when he said, “It’s the best ring I’ve ever seen and I’m not saying it because it’s our night. It’s an incredible ring.” For the record, I’ll quote from the Packers’ official release on the monstrosity, even if it does read like a game-show announcer talking about what’s behind Door No. 3. “The crest of the ring features the Green Bay “G” logo crest in 18-karat yellow gold placed on a green stone tablet. Thirteen diamonds are embedded in the logo, each one representing the team’s NFL-record 13 championships. The iconic logo is illuminated by round, brilliant-cut diamonds and four marquis-cut diamonds representing the Packers’ four Super Bowl
triumphs. Surrounding the crest are 92 diamonds which recognize the 92-year history of Green Bay Packers football.” So there’s your bling. And here’s your big: It says right here that it weighs 116 grams. Grams? What is this, Canadian football? It’s made of platinum, with 18-karat gold. It’s got 3.35 carats of diamonds, for all you Kardashian followers out there. As for the cost, the Packers are standing behind the company line: They say the NFL “pays for up to 150 rings at $5,000 per ring. Further information about the rings was not disclosed.” That sounds about right, considering that no one associated with the NFL would’ve confirmed that the ring celebration was held on a Thursday night without prior approval. But let’s just say the overrun could keep a whole bunch of out-of-work players financially afloat for however long the lockout lasts. It was somewhat fitting, then, that the Packers held the news conference after their private party inside a Lambeau Field ice cream parlor, given the league-wide frosty relations between employers and employees that thawed for one memorable evening of detente. And it was somehow appropriate that team reps showed up about 80 minutes late to display their rings to
RICK WOOD / MCT CAMPUS
Packers cornerback Charles Woodson greets fans at Lambeau Field one day after helping Green Bay win their first Super Bowl since 1997. The team received their championship rings last week. the public. If they can’t properly organize something that relatively simple, no wonder it’s taking so long to sort through all the legal minutiae of the labor dispute. But, hey, it was the Packers’ night to celebrate a marvelous season and
revel in the moment. “The adversity we overcame . . . everybody in that room thought this was a pretty special championship,” Murphy said. And so it was for a team that finally took its rightful place among the lore of a special franchise. One more quibble, though: The Packers came off looking a little cheap by not giving every player a ring. Murphy defended it by saying, “It’s a challenge where you draw the line. We tried to be very inclusive. Most teams have one o w n e r. We have 112,000 owners and we can’t give each one of them a ring.” Otherwise, the players who got one had their names and numbers engraved. Their numbers were cir-
cled, just like on the Green Bay jerseys from the 1929 championship season. The ring also has an engraving of the Lombardi Trophy and Lambeau Field. The ring has the scores of all four postseason games and the number “1” flanked by the words, “Mind, Goal, Purpose, Heart.” That’s pretty cool, because those were Woodson’s words to the team just before the Packers took the field against the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game. The Packers deserved to have those words inscribed as much as Woodson deserved to win his first championship. “It’s all about getting the ring,” Woodson said. “This seals the deal.”
......radio for
everyone
NBA Draft features several top prospects sports staff writer Every team in the NBA is looking for contributors in the upcoming NBA draft, but time tells us that many will be unsuccessful in their pursuit. Every team’s biggest goal is to separate the Kevin Durants from the Greg Odens. Thursday night at 7 p.m. the Cleveland Cavaliers have the opportunity to fill the gaping hole that Lebron James’ exit created. The city in need of a star is most likely to pick up Kyrie Irving, a point guard from Duke University who chose to make the jump to the NBA after only one year as a Blue Devil. He led the team in points per game and shooting percentage before severely injuring his right big toe in the 8th game of the season. He returned in the NCAA tournament and scored 28 points in a losing effort against Arizona during the Sweet 16. There is also talk that the Cavaliers will select Derrick Williams with pick number one, a small forward from Arizona who averaged 19.5 points per game in 2010-2011. He scored 32 points in the Sweet 16 victory against Irving’s Blue Devils. This pick is less likely because of how dominant of a player Kyrie Irving can be, but it would be a huge part of the healing process for Cleveland if they can replace James’ star power and position in one selection. The Minnesota Timberwolves are picking second and will likely select whichever of the two
players the Cavaliers pass on. Either way, this team is going to get a lot better Thursday night. The Utah Jazz will be hoping that somehow Kyrie Irving can fall to them, but if not they are going to look to other point guards in the draft. Brandon Knight is good value at the 3 position and is likely to be the pick due to his instinctual scoring ability, clutch tendencies (in high school and college), and spread-the-ball mindset. Knight needs to develop his ball handling, decision making skills, and is a bit undersized at only 177 pounds but is still a great prospect and should be a good contributor for the Jazz, filling the void created when they traded Deron Williams. The Washington Wizards already have two solid big men and are in need of a small forward who can shoot which is why Kawhi Leonard makes good sense in the 6th slot of the draft. Leonard will be primarily a perimeter player at the next level, so it is possible that the Wizards go in a different direction toward a player with more size. Jan Vesely, a 6’11 small forward who played internationally for Partizan Belgrade, might be just the player the Wizards are looking for. Vesely is raw offensively, but has all the tangibles that are required to play in the NBA with a frame that has room to put on plenty of strength. Despite already having a good set of big men, if center Enes Kanter falls to the sixth spot there might be too much value in that selection to pass up. Kemba Walker, one of college basketball’s most dominant players, is an interesting prospect because nobody
knows how well he will be able to make the transition from college to the NBA. With a standing reach of only 7’7.5 (like Isaiah Thomas) he will have difficulty covering the longer point guards in the game like Derrick Rose who has an 8’3 standing reach. Still, it is impossible to deny the intangibles that Walker brings to the table that will help him compensate. The ACC will have a few names called this draft. Duke players likely to get drafted include Kyrie Irving, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith. Power forward Chris Singleton from Florida State is also likely to go in the first round. Reggie Jackson out of Boston College is a late first to early second round prospect. Jordan Williams, a power forward out of Maryland, is a second round prospect. Ima Shumpert is a potential late second round prospect out of Georgia Tech. The NBA will be modeling the NFL draft this year by inviting 15 players to attend the draft. The 15 prospects invited to the 2011 NBA Draft are: Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Enes Kanter, Brandon, Knight, Kemba Walker, Jonas Valanciunas, Jan Vesely, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Singleton, Klay Thompson, Tristan Thompson, Jimmer Fredette, Marcus Morris, and Alec Burks, and Markieff Morris. Every year the NBA draft includes busts, booms, and role players. This Thursday night we will find out CHUCK LIDDY / MCT CAMPUS where these prospects are going to start Former Duke point guard Kyrie Irving dribbles by an Arizona defender off their careers. The balance of the league changes with each draft and this during last year’s Sweet 16 match-up. The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to take Irving with the number one pick in tonight’s NBA Draft. year should be no different.
9 SPORTS
BRENTON LAING
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SPORTS
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College football programs change coaching TOM DIENHART mcclatchy newspapers Change is constant, as programs look for new styles on offense and defense in hopes of better fortunes. This offseason was no different. The following is a look at 10 big scheme changes at some prominent schools.
CLEMSON’S OFFENSE New coordinator Chad Morris arrived from Tulsa and installed an offense that is closely aligned with that of friend/Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s in that both are predicated on stretching the field horizontally and vertically while pushing the tempo. Like Malzahn, Morris gets peeved when he hears his offense labeled as a version of the spread. To him, it’s more of a run/playaction attack. The attack uses a lot of motion and formations, but is rooted in a downhill running game that sets up play-action passes. It’s obviously worlds different from Mike Leach’s spread, and it’s different from Rich Rodriguez’s spread because Rodriguez’s is based heavily on zone running. The Malzahn/Morris running philosophy is based much more on power-running, I-formation principles; they just don’t do it out of the I, instead choosing to confuse and deceive linebackers
and safeties with all sorts of window dressing. New starting quarterback Tajh Boyd won’t remind anyone of Cam Newton, but he will be a running threat in this attack. All of the horizontal action in this offense, along with some good options at the skill positions, should create some openings for Boyd. But there are questions about Boyd’s ability to execute with consistency and precision. This offense should be improved from the Tigers’ 2010 unit, but there could be sputters as Boyd adapts and develops. That said, most Tigers watchers are excited because they know their offense will have an identity unlike last season.
FLORIDA’S OFFENSE Charlie Weis has arrived from the NFL with his pro-style attack, which means an end to Urban Meyer’s version of the spread. Meyer’s spread helped the Gators win two national titles, but last season’s offense was mediocre and struggled to produce in the red zone. Expect a variety of looks from Weis, from two-back/twotight end sets to empty backfield/fourwide sets. The key for Weis is finding a quarterback. But can senior John Brantley, who played poorly in 2010, do what is needed? He was ill-suited for the spread because no opponent worried about him on the option. He ran a pass-happy attack in high
school, and coaches were happy with his grasp of the offense during spring drills. There also are potential issues at receiver (there is no proven go-to guy) and running back (is there a feature back on the roster?). In addition, the line will have four new starters, and two of the projected starters have been extremely injury-prone in their careers (junior tackle Matt Patchan and senior guard James Wilson). The bottom line: Florida may lack the personnel to take full advantage of Weis’ attack in 2011.
LSU’S OFFENSE Despite an offense that ranked 11th in the SEC and 86th nationally (341.3 ypg) in 2010, LSU still won 11 games. Coach Les Miles knew he had to improve the attack, especially if the Tigers hope to fulfill the national championship aspirations many have for them. So, Gary Crowton is out (to Maryland) as offensive coordinator and Steve Kragthorpe is in. The offense may not look radically different. Kragthorpe has switched the terminology so that the players won’t have a steep learning curve. The biggest area of improvement should come at quarterback, a position that Kragthorpe oversees. The onus is on Kragthorpe to make senior Jordan Jefferson a steady force; Jefferson’s career has been marked by inconsistency. The passing attack must go from awful (last in the
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SEC, 155.6 ypg with 10 touchdowns) to average if the Tigers’ BCS dreams are to be realized. There is a good group of receivers, but they have been underutilized the past few seasons. That should change.
MICHIGAN’S OFFENSE This will be one of the most-watched scheme changes in the nation. Rich Rodriguez’s spread offense is out, and new coach Brady Hoke is known for a West Coast-type of look. Michigan will be focused on man blocking and being able to run the power game. That said, new offensive coordinator Al Borges says he’s never had a quarterback quite like Denard Robinson and that he will play to Robinson’s strengths. The Wolverines could be in shotgun as much as 50 percent of the time, and use rollouts and designed quarterback runs. But the new staff will not run Robinson 30 times a game and expose him to being injured. Too often last season, Robinson got dinged up from excessive use: The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year came out of 10 of 13 games last season. Look for a blend of some of Robinson’s highlight-reel stuff of last season along with a heavier emphasis on throwing out of the pocket. The staff also wants to get more help from the running backs.
NEBRASKA’S OFFENSE Bo Pelini promoted Tim Beck from running backs coach to coordinator to inject some life into a Huskers attack that ranked last in the Big 12 in passing (150.6 ypg) last season under Shawn Watson. The offense really bogged down late in the season, scoring 20 or fewer points in four of the last five games. Look for Nebraska to run more of an up-tempo, no-huddle approach, which will look similar to the 2007 Kansas offense that Beck helped install. That season, the Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl over Virginia Tech. The Huskers figure to execute lots of short, quick throws in space to a collection of speedy receivers. Still, don’t be surprised if there remains an emphasis on the ground game.
PITTSBURGH’S DEFENSE Panthers coaches say the defense is “multiple,” as they don’t like to label it. But the scheme preferred by new coach Todd Graham is a 3-4, which is a change from the pro-style 4-3 that Pitt ran and ran well under Dave Wannstedt. It’s not a “traditional” 3-4 set. One outside linebacker acts like a stand-up defensive end, and the other is a hybrid linebacker/safety. The idea is that both outside ‘backers have the versatility to shift the defense from a 34 to a 4-3 to a 3-3-5 or a 4-2-5 without a substitution, if the coaches so desire.
TEXAS’ OFFENSE
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Both sides of the ball feature new coordinators, but all eyes will be on the offense under Bryan Harsin, the former Boise State coordinator. He must
amp up an attack that ranked eighth in the Big 12 in total offense (382.5 ypg) and 10th in scoring (23.8 ppg) last season. Look for the offense to be balanced, with a lot of motion and shifting. That will be a stark contrast to the offense favored by former coordinator Greg Davis. His philosophy was to line up and run it, with no disguise. Harsin’s offense is all about disguise and using multiple formations before the snap to gain mismatches in the run and the pass. Harsin’s Broncos attack ranked second in the nation in total offense (521.3 ypg) and second in scoring (45.1 ppg) last season. It also featured a downhill rushing attack, one that averaged 200.2 yards per game.
TEXAS TECH’S DEFENSE Say hello to Chad Glasgow, the Red Raiders’ third defensive coordinator in as many seasons. Tech’s 3-4 alignment is out, and Glasgow who had been TCU’s safeties coach has installed the 4-2-5 scheme that the Horned Frogs have used under Gary Patterson. Tech ranked 93rd in the nation in scoring defense (30.9 ppg) last season. The new scheme will play to the Red Raiders’ strengths, masking a lack of depth at linebacker and playing to depth at safety. The 4-2-5 is a speed defense that should fare well in a Big 12 conference that has a heavy flavor of spread offenses. The “extra” safety can drop into coverage or cheat toward the line to help against the run.
UTAH’S OFFENSE Kyle Whittingham is hoping new coordinator Norm Chow who ran UCLA’s offense the past three seasons can rev up what had become a stale offense. The Utes had run an offshoot of the spread but now will utilize mostly a pro-style set with the quarterback taking snaps under center about 85 percent of the time. Chow also will mix in some play-action. The area Whittingham wants bolstered the most is the ground game. Chow knows running isn’t a strength for quarterback Jordan Wynn, so Wynn won’t be asked to do it often in this West Coast-flavored attack.
WEST VIRGINIA’S OFFENSE New coach Dana Holgorsen has begun to install his potent version of the spread that helped Oklahoma State rank No. 1 in the nation in total offense (520.2 ypg), No. 2 in passing (345.9 ypg) and No. 3 in scoring (44.2 ppg) last season. A stodgy offense cost the Mountaineers a BCS bowl in 2010, as WVU lost four times despite the defense not yielding more than 23 points in any game. Holgorsen trained under Mike Leach, so look for him to flood the field with receivers and make defenses adjust on the fly. But unlike Leach, Holgorsen makes an effort to run the ball on a regular basis. Still, the Mountaineers’ offense will have an aerial flavor, which should please quarterback Geno Smith, who wasn’t a good fit in the old spread attack.
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ACROSS 1 Org. distributing a “Close Guantánamo” handbook 5 Cloud 10 Stupefied 14 Geographical border 16 Native Nebraskan 17 Five-time All-Star second baseman 18 Item used in Wright Brothers experiments 19 Advertises 20 Salt
Advertise
6/23/11 22 How writers often work 24 Honeysuckle shrubs 25 Algerian quarter 28 Dragging 30 Historical Russian region 31 1987 Costner role 33 Climber ’s observatio n 37 Classic diner feature 39 “Private Benjamin” Oscar nominee Eileen
41 First AfricanAmerican majorleague coach Buck 42 Clinton Transportation secretary 44 Encircle 45 Suppressed 47 Way to make it? 49 In 52 Rhino relative 54 Very much 56 Land rover 60 Sphere lead-in 61 Gibberish
DOW N 1 Credit Union holding: Abbr. 2 Fish also called a blue jack 3 Tiki torch setting 4 It’s radioactive 5 Sch. associated with the LD S Business College 6 John of England 7 Some bass pieces 8 Linear , for short 9 Jet creator 10 “Seriously” 11 Functional 12 Drive 13 Cold drafts 15 Magnetic induction unit 21 Pain relief brand 23 “This can’t be!” 25 Rabid dog of Castle Rock 26 Make __ for it
27 Interest 29 Amazon.com ID 32 Fair 34 Prune 35 You might see one on a woodpile 36 Singer Williams 38 Rap 40 Abrasive sound 43 Lays away 46 Ally 48 Common video game fighter 49 Jordan’ s only port 50 Personally train 51 Bleachers sign 53 Up 55 Moon goddess 57 XC years from now 58 Not up 59 Extinct pigeon relative 62 “__ Buttermilk Sky”: 1946 song
Thursday’s Puzzle Solved
63 Toon modeled after Clara Bow 64 One-sided 65 Nice weapon 66 Edit menu command 67 Prank
Complete the grid so that each column, row and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1-9. Copyright 2007 Puzzles by Pappocom
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collegiatetimes.com june 23, 2011
SPORTS
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McIlroy dominates, wins US Open CODY OWENS sports staff writer Professional golf finally has a new superstar: Rory McIlroy. Just ask legendary golfer Gary Player, who said McIlroy is “the most exciting young player in the world,” or 2010 U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell, who called McIlroy the best player he had ever seen. After a mere four years of professional status, the 22-year-old native of Northern Ireland thrilled the golf world Sunday by walking away from the 2011 U.S. Open with his first major championship and a heap of broken records. Making his victory at the Open even sweeter is the contrast it has with McIlroy’s last major appearance at the 2011 Masters Tournament in April. There, he started out very impressively, becoming the youngest player to ever lead the first round of the tournament. McIlroy kept this lead over the first three rounds, entering Sunday’s final round as the leader. In a finish that disappointed many, however, McIlroy’s game faltered and he ended the day with a score of 80. The U.S. Open, played this year at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, began the first of its four rounds last Thursday, June 16th. McIlroy was as an early leader, ending the day with a six-under score of 65, three shots ahead of 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. However, it was on the second day that McIlroy really shined. The young golfer, aided by a series of birdies and an eagle, attained a score of 12-under par, achieving the then-record lowest under par U.S. Open score faster than any other golfer in the tournament’s history. At the 17th hole, McIlroy shot a
birdie to achieve a record 13-under par. A double bogey on the next hole saw McIlroy finish with an 11-under score of 66, but he finished the day with the lowest 36-hole total score in U.S. Open history and a six-shot lead over his closest competitor Y.E. Yang, giving McIlroy the largest 36-hole lead in Major history. Saturday’s third round proved even kinder to McIlroy. After the front nine and with the help of an eagle on the 9th hole, he was able to regain his 13under lead. While a bogey on the 10th hole brought his lead down as it had on Friday, McIlroy quickly came back.
“
You run out of superlatives to describe what he’s doing this week [...] he’s decimating a field.” GRAEME MCDOWELL PREVIOUS U.S. OPEN CHAMPION
A birdie on the 14th hole allowed him to break the record he set the previous day, this time as being the first golfer to have a score 14-under-par at the U.S. Open. McIlroy exited the day with an eightshot lead over closest pursuer Yang, the second biggest 54-hole lead in U.S. Open history, bested only by Tiger Woods’ ten-shot lead in the 2000 Open. “You run out of superlatives to describe what he’s doing this week,” previous U.S. Open champion McDowell told GOLF Magazine. “He’s decimating a field.” With the final round being all that remained between McIlroy and a Major championship, the question remained if he could pull it off again nd close the tournament. His inability to carry over his per-
formance into the final round of the Masters created questions of whether the Open’s final round would see McIlroy slip up. McIlroy was confident, however, saying in a press conference Saturday that his similar experience at the Masters had taught him how to approach the final round. McIlroy erased the doubts swiftly on Sunday. Entering the round with 14under-par, he picked up birdies on the 1st, 4th, and 6th, increasing that score to 16-under. McIlroy began the back-nine on the par-3 10th hole, which caused him to bogey in the last round. His shot cleared the water on that hole and curved neatly towards the hole, allowing the Northern Irishman to score a tournament-best 17-under-par. However, putting woes on the 12th and the 17th caused him to shoot two bogeys that day. McIlroy was able to walk triumphantly to the 18th green, where he made par to win his first U.S. Open and his first Major title. McIlroy, whose final score of 268 is the lowest in the history of the U.S. Open, was all smiles afterwards as he was named the 111th U.S. Open champion. “Overall, the whole week has been incredible,” said McIlroy. “I couldn’t ask for much more and I’m just so happy to be holding this trophy.” McIlroy was quick to share the victory with others. He praised 2010 U.S. open winner and fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell as well as his father Gerry McIlroy, who taught Rory the game of golf while he was still a toddler. “Happy Father’s Day, Dad,” McIlroy said as he raised his Open trophy. “This one’s for you.” Comparisons to Tiger Woods’ victory at the 2000 Open at Pebble Beach have
GEORGE BRIDGES / MCT CAMPUS
Rory McIlroy tees off on the 1st hole during Sunday’s final round of the US Open. McIlroy shot 2-under on the day, putting his overall score at 16-under and giving him his first major championship. been flooding from golf fans, many of whom say that McIlroy is poised to be one of the next great golfers. Indeed, McIlroy has already shown his merit by not only winning the U.S. Open at such a young age (the young-
est to do so since Bobby Jones in 1923), but also by playing extremely well at the Masters and by placing in the top three in the two other major championships in golf. Simply by listening to the crowd this week, it was evident that the fans loved McIlroy, and with good reason. He hails from a small town, and has kept the same coach his entire life. He comes from a working-class family, and is consistently humble both on and off the green. When he lost Augusta after a strong initial three rounds earlier this year, he tweeted a picture of himself beside tournament champion Charl Schwartzel in his green jacket. He has said that he has tried to be cockier on the course for his game’s sake, but emphasized that he should leave that attitude on the golf course. Perhaps most endearing, McIlroy was in Haiti last week with UNICEF, spending time seeing the work that the organization has done in the country and meeting Haitian children. Many speculate that Rory McIlroy will become the next Tiger Woods, but others claim he will be someone even greater. Either way, with his unique mixture of talent, humility, focus, and fan support, he is poised to shake up the golf world.