Thursday, August 4, 2011 Print Edition

COLLEGIATETIMES

august 4, 2011

what’s inside News .............2 Features ........6 0pinions ........4 Sports ...........8 Classifieds ...11 Sudoku ........11 108th year issue 69 blacksburg, va.

Tech offers buyout Mailing system option to students to be updated JOSH HIGGINS news staff writer Overbooking of Virginia Tech’s residence halls for the upcoming school year has forced Tech’s housing department to create a buyout offer to entice students to move off campus, causing a vehement response by Tech students.

Housing and residence life’s offer has generated student response and has sparked controversy, since its announcement in July. The offer gives students currently choosing to live on campus the option to move off campus and receive compensation from housing. Students that choose to live off campus will be refunded their housing contract deposit and will receive $300 in dining dollars for on-campus dining facilities, along with guaranteed suite-style housing for the next school year. Housing and residence life will also assist students accepting the offer find off-campus housing.

The original offer was extended only to returning undergraduate and transfer students, but now the offer has been given to incoming freshmen, who are usually required to live on campus unless meeting certain circumstances. The new buyout offer came after housing’s contract cancellation projection for the coming year was not met, due to factors such as lower transfer and suspension rates from the previous school year and higher demand for on-campus housing.

Tech has also seen a decrease in the number of local residents commuting to campus and an increase in members of the Corps of Cadets.

Housing hopes to see around 200 students accept the offer, although they have received fewer than 100 so far.

Until the offer has been met, housing plans to implement a few strategies to cope with the housing deficit.

Resident advisors will be required to have roommates this year, and some

STUDENTS THAT CHOOSE TO LIVE OFF CAMPUS WILL RECEIVE: • A refund of the housing contract deposit • $300 in dining dollars for on-campus dining facilities • Guaranteed suite-style housing for the next school year • Assistance from Housing and Residence Life to find off-campus housing

PAUL KURLAK / SPPS

STAFF

study lounges will be temporarily converted into rooms for student use until housing has enough rooms to house all on-campus students.

The buyout has spurred a lot of student interest, and students have taken the opportunity to speak out about their opinions of the offer. “I think Tech is messing up by trying to move the freshmen off campus,” said sophomore communication major Erin Connors. “The freshmen are the ones who generally ‘need’ to live on campus, so it’s kind of unfair to ask them to move off.”

Other students had criticisms about the offer, saying that it was unfair to those students who were offered housing for the coming year, yet declined before the buyout offer was given to students. “I think it’s unfair to students who chose to go off campus,” said sophomore business major Shannon Passaro. “Like we are helping the problem by not trying to live on campus as

well, but we don’t get anything for it.”

However, housing and residence life believes that plenty of students have viewed the offer positively. “A number of students have taken it and have been happy with it, and those that don’t find it as worth it aren’t taking it,” said Kenneth Belcher, senior associate director for housing services.

“It’s a self-selecting offer – they’re not required to take it, it’s an option.”

Belcher said that he is excited about students’ preference to live on campus.

“We’re happy that students want to live with us,” Belcher said. “It’s a nice thing for students to want to live on campus.” Belcher also said that he hopes that students will have the opportunity to stay on campus in the future and expressed housing and residence life’s dedication to students. “I just wish we had more space available, and we didn’t have to turn away so many people,” Belcher said. “We love providing housing for students.”

County distributes survey JOSH HIGGINS news staff writer Montgomery County residents will get the opportunity to voice their views on government services and issues within the county.

County government officials have implemented the National Citizen Survey, a survey conducted by the International City/County

Management Association (ICMA) and National Research Center, Inc., to gauge public opinion and inform the county government what problems need to be addressed. “We’re just hoping that we get a great response from citizens selected to participate in the survey,” said Ruth Richey, public information director for Montgomery County. “It’s very important to the community to let us know what they

think about government services, and we’re looking forward to working with the National Citizen Survey to find out what our results are.” 1,200 surveys will be sent to county residents. Random households will be selected, and a member will be randomly selected from those targeted households. The survey responses will then be weightsee SURVEY / page three

Virginia Tech is updating the physical addresses for all VT buildings, which will make navigating campus with GPS devices easier for campus visitors in order to locate buildings.

MAILING SYSTEM TO CONFORM TO US POSTAL SERVICE REGULATIONS, AID EMERGENCY CALLS ELIZABETH HAYDU news staff writer Virginia Tech stays put while addresses change.

Buildings on campus will now be assigned physical addresses to make it easier for 911 to respond to calls, aid in visitor navigation, and help with campus deliveries from external vendors.

“Most of the time physical addresses are used, so this just enhances coordination between the various units,” said Hilary West, communications coordinator for transportation and campus services. “Anywhere else you go you have a street address and it just made sense at this point in time to implement physical street addresses on campus.”

This plan took effect on Aug. 1 and all departments are asked to have completely converted to the new system by June 2012.

The old system used building name and mail code number where as the new system gives all buildings an assigned street name and number.

“We will have some additional signage that will show up during the next year that will have the street address on it,” said Steve Mouras, director of transportation and campus services. “What we plan to do is make a small modification to the existing sign bars on the buildings.”

Due to many major delivery companies requiring a physical address, the change will prove to help those

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vendors make deliveries. Along with that, the addresses will help visitors who use GPS systems find their campus destinations. “There has been a committee who has been heavily involved with the police department and various other stakeholders to assign each building on campus with a street number,” West said. “Of course some buildings are landlocked on campus and not physically facing a street and those were worked with in order to be assigned a street as well.”

This will also help 911 response services who come from off-campus sites. With off-campus responders not knowing all the locations of the buildings, the street addresses will help them respond to events.

“What was discovered further along the line was that the regional 911 was going to essentially mandate that we had street addresses because that is how most first responders respond to a problem,” Mouras said.

The Virginia Tech Police Department, Virginia Tech’s Network Infrastructure and Services, and the Town of Blacksburg were all involved in planning the new system and carrying it out. “There is a very specific protocol of how you change addresses that tie in the phone companies.”

Mouras said. “It took 18 months to roll this whole thing out but this was a nice collaborative process with the town of Blacksburg, the VT Police Department, and the phone managing network CNS.”

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NEWS

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what you’re saying //comments from online readers...

nation

On Debt Growing:

Sens. Webb, Warner aid in debt limit deal

Speedy Gonzales>> A few notes about the border fence proposition: First, illegal immigration across the Mexican border is the lowest it has been in 60 years. In fact, the total net flux of illegal immigration across the border last year was zero. Second, the Mexican people aren’t stupid. They know what ladders and metal clippers are so a fence would only delay the journey by a matter of minutes. Thirdly, a 2000 mile long fence will cost billions to construct and won’t even come close to being covered by donations alone. And finally, a border fence would be a national symbol of disgrace - similar to the Berlin Wall. We need to work with all kinds of people instead of dividing ourselves from them.

On Garage Inflates Permit Costs: Anonymous>> WAAAA!! everyone wants to complain about no parking, then people are surprised that it cost money to build parking garages... did anyone think it would be free? Ride the bus people, the BT is one of the quickest ways to get to class... and you already pay for it.

On Modern Day Unions: Mike>> You bring up a good point about the “unseen violence” that could have arisen if the union ran this family out of business. I read something a few weeks ago about high suicide rate amongst farmers because they become depressed when they lose their farms. It is sad when people lose their livelihood. There is also the possibility that when you push people too hard, you may cause them to snap. Of course we see this all the time when kids are bullied and rampage a school. But I am willing to guess it happens in the working world too.

Virginia Democrats Jim Webb and Mark Warner voted with a majority of the U.S. Senate today to pass a compromise measure to increase the nation’s debt limit.

The bill now goes to President Barack Obama’s desk.

The bill passed by a vote of 7426. It needed 60 votes to pass.

The Senate’s vote ended weeks of partisan warfare that pushed the country to the edge of default and cast more uncertainty on an already fragile economy.

The House of Representatives passed the measure late Monday.

Warner, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, has argued for a comprehensive approach to tackling the country’s deficit and debt problem and said the compromise passed today is not a long-term solution.

The former Virginia governor is a key member of the Senate’s bipartisan “Gang of Six” that produced a framework for cutting the deficit by $3.7 trillion over 10 years through spending cuts,

entitlement reforms and tax reforms.

The task of tackling issues such as entitlements and taxes will be left to a 12-member joint committee appointed by the party leaders in both houses of Congress.

Warner said Monday that he would like to be appointed to the panel, but expressed concerns that “ideologically rigid” legislators will be appointed instead.

In a television appearance this morning, Warner was asked about reports that Republican leaders will appoint members who won’t consider tax increa es.

Warner said most economists believe deficits must be pared by close to $4 trillion over the next 10 years, at least $1.5 trillion more than the savings generated by the bill passed today. “That’s got to include revenues; it’s got to include entitlement reform,” Warner said in an appearance on MSNBC. -michael sluss, mcclatchy newspapers

Debt ceiling raised, Congress debates future DAVID LIGHTMAN & LESLEY CLARK

collegiatetimes.com august 4, 2011

mcclatchy newspapers Congress and President Barack Obama beat the deadline for raising the nation’s debt ceiling by just a few hours Tuesday, but they hardly ended the clash over the size and reach of government. The next confrontation promises to be at least as contentious as the one they just finished.

Congressional leaders have two weeks to name members of a special 12-member legislative panel that’s assigned under the debt-limit law Obama signed Tuesday to find ways to cut the government’s budget deficit by as much as $1.5 trillion by Nov. 23. That number can be reached by reductions in spending and increases in revenues, and the brawl over how to do that already has begun.

“We’ve had too much talk (from) Republican leaders in the Senate saying there will be no revenue. That’s not going to happen,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. “The only

way we can arrive at a fair arrangement for the American people with this joint committee is to have equal sharing.”

Republicans signaled that they have a different view, and it doesn’t include higher taxes.

“The answer to this is not giving the government more money to spend,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.

The Senate ended the latest phase of the budget battle Tuesday by voting 74-26 to increase the $14.3 trillion debt limit failing to do so could have triggered a government default—and to cut federal spending by trillions. The first reductions are aimed at reducing federal deficits by $917 billion over the next decade. The bill, which the House of Representatives had approved Monday, was sent immediately to Obama, who signed it.

The president called the weeks-long standoff over raising the debt ceiling “a manufactured crisis” that didn’t help a faltering economy.

Democrats are furious that tax rev-

enues weren’t part of the package, and the president pledged to continue to press for tax increases to help balance the budget.

“Everyone is going to have to chip in. It’s only fair,” Obama said in a Rose Garden address, singling out subsidies to oil and gas companies and tax loopholes. “That’s the principle I’ll be fighting for during the next phase of this process.”

How the 12-member panel will decide to trim the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years is anybody’s guess. Without an agreement, which Congress then must approve without any amendments by Dec. 23, the debt-ceiling law would impose cuts automatically on so-called discretionary spending programs, including the defense budget.

Indeed, it’s still unknown even how most of the members of the panel will be selected.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell plans to interview applicants, but the other legislative leaders—Reid, House Speaker John

Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., haven’t described their selection plans. Each will name three members to the panel.

In the past, such panels have been staffed by lawmakers who were wellversed in budget matters but loyal to the leadership.

For instance, in spring talks on the debt ceiling headed by Vice President Joe Biden, Republicans were represented by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona, considered conservative hard-liners.

Democrats included Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, who’s the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee and the assistant minority leader—both of them close to party leaders—as well as Sens. Max Baucus of Montana and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, key committee chairmen.

That committee illustrated the promise and problems Congress faces on fiscal matters. After about six weeks of meetings, it came up with a package of

cuts that became the model for those in Tuesday’s law.

But it broke up when Cantor refused to attend any more meetings because Democrats were insisting on including more revenue.

Lawmakers hope that such an outcome is less likely this time, because a breakdown in talks would trigger cuts not just in programs Democrats favor, but also in those, such as defense spending, that Republicans champion.

Under the terms of the debt-ceiling pact, if the 12-member legislative committee can’t reach a deal that Congress will approve, half the automatic cuts would come from the defense budget and half from other domestic programs, such as education, housing and transportation. The cuts would begin in 2013.

But major portions of the federal budget would remain off-limits, including Social Security, Medicaid, military and civilian federal pensions, and most low-income programs. Cuts in Medicare would be limited to payments to providers.

FloydFest pleases families, audiences of all ages Although FloydFest attendees had to brave high temperatures, drenching rains, and cramped camping quarters, the 10th annual festival left all with good feelings and hopefulness for years to come.

This year the festival sold out to its capacity of 14,000 people — including artists, staff members and vendors as well as ticket-holders — for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with only a few day tickets left for Sunday. This was the first year that the festival was at such high capacity.

Although some people might have felt a little close to their neighbors, festival spokeswoman and co-organizer Linda DeVito said she hadn’t heard complaints, although she said there were “some growing pains this year” with so many attendees. But she doesn’t think that the festival’s size this year would deter people from coming back.

“Logistically, we have some challenges in front of us. But we have always faced each year’s challenges with a committed effort to come up with solutions and provide for our attendees the best possible festival ever,” she said.

“We truly believe that quality is worth more than quantity,” DeVito said. “We want to make sure that our festival patrons want to come back. At this point, 67 percent of our attendees are returning customers. Any business that has that kind of success rate will continue to thrive.”

Even with so many attendees and varying weather conditions — with temperatures in the 90s on Friday and Saturday and a cold rain drenching everything on Sunday — medical worker David Lander said he didn’t see many issues.

Lander said his team dealt mainly with minor issues like cuts, scrapes, splinters, and a few broken fingers and toes. But he said one of his biggest compliments to the festival is the fact that in its 10year history, there has never been a case of interpersonal violence.

“It’s a pretty mellow group,” he said.

Lander said the worst injury his team treated this weekend was a person who

DANIEL LIN / SPPS

Railroad Earth performs to a sold-out crowd on the Dreamin’ Creek Main Stage at Floydfest X, which took place July 27-31. Check the FloydFest gallery online at collegiatetimes.com. got burned by a flamethrower that is part of Davina the Dragon, a dragon made of metal and an old station wagon, that was a common sight near the Global Village stage.

“I don’t think it was the fault of anyone,” Lander said. “The person who got burned was a little bit of a discombobulated person, let’s put it that way.”

The festival takes place every summer on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Patrick County, about six miles from the town of Floyd. It attracts mainly Americana acts, but there is certainly musical variety, with girl rocker Grace Potter and the Nocturnals being one of this year’s headliners. The outdoorsiness of the festival attracts many artists. Brian J, the lead singer of the group The Pimps of Joytime, said his band loves attending the festival.

“I like this festival because I like the surroundings,” he said. “It’s really beautiful here. We do a lot of festivals and they’re not all like this. It’s great with the trees and fresh air. The vibe is positive and people have a lot of energy.”

One of the biggest differences between

FloydFest and other summer music festivals is the notable lack of electronic music.

Papadosio, a band from Asheville, N.C. that frequents venues around the New River Valley area, played at their second FloydFest this year.

“It’s amazing, we love this festival. It’s seriously probably the best vibe we’ve been to this year,” said band member and drummer Mike Healy. “It’s a family atmosphere, not a lot of people doing crazy drugs. ... It’s just really loving and friendly.”

As Healy mentioned, another characteristic of the festival is that it is familyfriendly. Many summer music festivals are not as open to small children.

There were many families in attendance this year, with special family and quiet camping areas designated for those who didn’t want their neighbors keeping them up until the early morning.

There is even a whole area of the festival with a playground, sandbox, and craft stations called the Children’s Universe. It’s gated and geared specifically toward families.

Festival-goer Georgiann Brown and her six-year-old daughter Emma were making crafts in an arts and crafts tent in the Children’s Universe on Friday afternoon. Even though the sun was out in full force on Friday, Emma seemed quite content as she colored her project.

“She loves it,” Brown said. “I think it’s very family-friendly. I definitely wouldn’t bring her if it wasn’t.”

Brown said this is the second year her family has attended the festival.

DeVito attributed some of the family-friendliness to the fact that patrons are asked to drink alcohol only in designated beer and wine gardens, not at their camping sites.

“What we have found is we truly have managed to communicate to a certain segment of festival-goers that this is a festival that truly is a family event,” DeVito said. “And the debauchery, for lack of a better word, that normally accompanies certain festivals, we didn’t really have that this year.”

FloydFest also emphasizes the idea of being local. Many of the food, clothing and trinket vendors come from the

area. And some of the musicians are local as well.

Felecia Shelor, who works with the Poor Farmers’ Market in the Meadows of Dan, the small area on the Blue Ridge Parkway near the festival grounds, said that over the years, she’s seen more local people getting involved.

“In the first year it was people who came from all over the place who just followed these kinds of events, but now I see a lot more people that I know,” she said.

George Lipson, the co-owner and founder of Green Label organic clothing company, is also a local businessman from Floyd. He and his wife Rain started the company in Floyd in 2004 and they now distribute to more than 500 vendors around the country.

The Lipsons have had a booth at FloydFest every year since founding their company. George Lipson said he enjoys talking with old and new customers during the festival. He said he’s been able to connect with every age demographic of people who attend.

“We have been amazed that our designs and T-shirts sell as well to 20year-olds as they do to 50-year-olds,” he said. “And we’re very pleasantly surprised by that.”

Tom Phelps, a ceramics artist from Floyd, had his signature wares of colorful bowls and mugs that feature gremlin faces out for sale during the festival. He has attended every FloydFest. “This has been a successful venue for us to do ever since the beginning. And we do arts shows and crafts shows and festivals on the whole East Coast and this is right in my backyard and it’s become one of the most successful ones,” he said. “It’s grown by the attendance, number of vendors — but it still has the same feel.”

DeVito summed up her feelings as she gazed pensively over the beer garden from the VIP porch on Sunday afternoon. “I keep looking out and going, how is it that I have found something to do in life that brings so much joy to so many people?” she said. “You look out and everybody’s smiling, everybody’s feeling good, people smile at each other as they walk through the field. I mean, I don’t know how it gets any better, really.”

3 NEWS

LIANA BAYNE special sections editor

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Survey: Montgomery County to better understand local opinion from page one

to participate and providing an extra copy of the survey, ensuring the highest response rate possible.

Richey emphasized the importance of taking the survey, saying that it will help the county government serve the community better. “It’s very important that people who receive the survey participate in it, so we can get an accurate view of people’s thoughts and impressions of the county,” Richey said.

The survey attempts to gauge public opinion on varying topics, from the

quality of the area to services provided by the local government, businesses, and companies.

The survey will consist of questions about the amount of development and shopping, recreation, employment and educational opportunities in the area, along with questions regarding the quality of housing, public transportation, roads and traffic, child and health care, food options, and health services.

In addition, the survey may also ask about the quality of public and pri-

vate services, including public libraries, recreational facilities, religious and cultural opportunities, emergency services, along with paid services such as cable television. The survey will include questions formulated by government officials asking about potential or current governmental policies and whether residents support or oppose those policies.

County officials believe that the survey will allow them to serve local residents better in the future, by using the

results of the survey to understand public opinion and to decide which issues are prevalent in the county.

“This is an opportunity for community residents to let us know what they think about the quality of services in the county,” Richey said. “It will offer the Board of Supervisors the ability to review those results and decide where they want the county to go in the future – it will help make the decisions that will affect the entire community.”

collegiatetimes.com august 4, 2011

ed based on demographic information from the most recent census statistics compiled in 2010. The surveys will be mailed to selected area residents from Aug. 26 to Sept. 9, and the results are expected to become available in midNovember. The county will mail an initial postcard, notifying the recipient that they have been selected for the survey, and then the survey will be mailed.

A second wave of surveys will also be mailed, reminding those selected

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Intellectual power reigns in politics

OPINIONS

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the dawn of the 17th century the Western world was in the At midst of one of its greatest ideological conflicts in history.

For the nearly 500 years prior, this intellectual thought was held hostage by the science of Aristotle and the theology of the Christian church.

Though Aristotle’s outlook fared well for the primitive knowledge of that early science but with the recent breakthroughs of modern science now becoming less assailable, Europe was in need of a new outlook on the universe.

It was at this time that Rene Descartes published his philosophy MCT CAMPUS which sought to end the Greek view of the world as being full of quality and value and replace it with a purely mechanical and mathematical outlook.

Thus modern science and modern philosophy came together to force people to rid themselves of the common sense outlook of the world and replace it with a less intuitive and more difficult outlook to grasp.

If there is one phrase that has ence of helping others. become the battle cry of the current While this phrase or ideal right-wing radicals it is ‘common may not be directly included sense solutions.’ in one’s official job description, it Extolled by such banal minds should be a given. as Michelle Bachmann, Sarah I believe that some of us within the Palin, Glenn Beck and John community have forgotten this along Boehner this notion strives for a less the way. intellectual set of solutions for this As I think about the impact of our nation’s problems and instead calls for interactions, I point to the Principles something that simply ‘makes more of Community and their signifisense.’ This is of course nothing new. cance.

For most of our recent politiWhile there may be some remnants cal history there have always been of the community that are clueless societal elements that have strived about the Principles, I believe that a to end the intellectual elitism of majority is aware.

Washington and replace it with someThe challenge is that most may thing that was more common and not have reflected on the complete down-to-earth. meaning and significance of the This notion has been used to jusdocument. tify nearly every failure of modern The Principles of Community proconservatism from President Regan’s vides the basis for how we should absurd ‘trickle-down economics’ to interact within the community.

President Bush’s war in Iraq.

It does not mandate what we can But never before have Americans see, hear or do, but it is about how we witnessed a spectacle such as the one should be treating each other. that’s been gaining during the Obama In the end, it is those unsung Administration from the recent surge heroes that exemplify the true meanin radical-rightists. ing of the Principles of Community The current conservative movethrough their actions. ment, which is now held prisoner by As I think about the interacthe radical Tea Party believers, stands tions with these unsung heroes, as the leaders of finding common it forces me to reflect about my sense solutions to not-so common own interactions with others and sense problems. what I could do to improve upon Consistently their response to those efforts. I acknowledge that every political, social and economthere are individuals that have appreic problem and crisis has been to ciated their interactions with me, abandon intellectualism in favor of while there are others that despise common sense, to abandon realist me because of past interactions. complexity in favor of irrational simWhile I can’t go back in time and plicity.

The results: a perversion of one of see HEROES / page five the few chances we have had recently

Recognizing the unsung heroes in our community

collegiatetimes.com august 4, 2011

I travel through Europe with students this summer, As we have come across many unsung heroes who have made a difference in our journey.

Whether it has been a friendly smile, a kind gesture, an attentive ear in listening to our concerns, or helping us with a problem, their actions have made a difference.

Often times, we tend to forget how important our interactions with others can be and the impact of these experiences. Just as we’ve come across many unsung heroes on our journey this summer, the same can be said for our respective experiences within the Virginia Tech community.

I suspect that each of us can name one or more individuals that have made a positive impact through their welcoming smile, their providing information, et al.

These impacts are powerful in making us feel welcome within our community.

As I think about the individuals that have made an impact through their unsung efforts, I wonder about what could I or we do in order to acknowledge these efforts?

As I reflect on this recognition of these unsung heroes, I realize that we often tend to focus on the negative side of our interactions.

As a result, most of the positive impacts are often negated by the less than positive interactions that we encounter. I suspect that each of us

has a hall of fame of negative interactions with individuals at Tech.

The criteria for entry in this hall of fame could be being sent to the wrong office to get information, being treated like just another number, made to feel isolated in the classroom, etc.

These are just some of the many things that can make for an unwelcoming experience in our community. As we prepare for the start of another academic year and the opportunity to welcome new members within our Hokie family, it is important that each of us (faculty, staff, administrators, students) think about our interactions with others.

For those that will be new members to the community, these interactions can make or break their experience. I realize that there are many factors that influence these interactions as it is certainly a twoway street, and depends on the individual seeking assistance.

I have seen this first hand from the tone of attitude that I get from a student to the sense of entitlement based on someone’s presumed position or status.

It is frustrating when certain individuals throw around their titles or degree certifications in one’s face.

The challenge is that we cannot allow these negative interactions to generalize the opinions of every other person. While some would say that all of this is about basic customer service, I believe that it is much more.

I see it being about common sense, and about being open to the experi-

to overhaul our healthcare industry, the perpetration of the myth of Reagan and Bush’s tax policies, and the eradication of the possibility of finding sensible and intelligent solutions to our debt problem.

At its core the neo-conservatives that are now running wild through the halls of Capitol Hill are being purported by this notion that intellectualism is vile and common sense is virtuous.

This country has always known trends of anti-intellectualism but it is difficult to grasp how people can so casually bask in our current apex of human ingenuity and progress while damn the methods which brought us here.

People forget that it was not common sense that allowed for the invention of the computer chip or for the allied victory against fascism; it was not common sense that brought down the Soviet Union or isolated Penicillin’s active ingredient.

Intellectual analysis conducted by those who stand as the brilliant leaders in their fields achieved all of this and nearly every other facet of modern life.

But whether out of fear, distrust or jealousy some people have consistently and happily accepted the fruits of this labor but spat on the method and people who created it.

There is a place for common sense in life. This mode of thinking is beneficial and right for most of our daily lives and overt intellectual analysis could be quite detrimental as its replacement.

But this mode of thinking is not appropriate when attempting to find a solution to our nation’s finances or to decide the appropriate and inappropriate places for government to interfere.

In these matters as is the case for nearly all levels of socio-economic and political policies what we need is not common thinking but uncommon thinking, not average conclusions but brilliant conclusions.

What we need are men and women of genius who rise above the common thought patterns to find the solutions that make history and better the lives of all.

What we need is to elect leaders not because we want to have a beer with them but because they rise above normalcy and attain the greatness our problems demand.

This is not the time for petty jealousy or insecurity; now is the time for us to rely on those whom our species always has relied on for our achievements, namely the men and women of intellectual greatness.

JASON S. CAMPELL regular columnist

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from page four

alter the circumstances of those negative interactions, I can show that I have learned from those experiences and have moved on.

Unfortunately, some will never let go of the past and I can only hope that they will be open to new interactions with me. In the end, as I explore ways in which I can better acknowledge those unsung heroes that I encounter, I encourage others in our community to do the same. Are we doing enough

as a community to acknowledge these efforts?

These unsung heroes play a vital role in helping to make our community a welcoming space for everyone. As we do this, we canthink about ways RAY that we can reduce any new entries in PLAZA the negative hall of regular fame. columnist

we’re YOUR newspaper.

5

send a letter to the editor and express your views.

Sign language rises as popular course you have not fulfilled your foreign language requirement, then If consider American Sign Language.

Virginia Tech does not offer ASL courses but students can take them through New River Community College.

The courses are taught every semester at New River’s Dublin branch, as well as online through a distance education program. First you need to run a Degree Audit Report through Hokie Spa. This informs you of whether or not your foreign language requirement has been met. Unless you took foreign language classes for a number of years in high school, you more than likely will have to take two semesters worth in college.

Your academic advisor can clear up any confusion you may have about the language requirement.

Next talk to your advisor or department head and explain to them that you wish to take classes at New River.

You may have to fill out an “authorization to take courses elsewhere” form, and have it signed by the department head or dean of your college.

After following the proper procedures at Tech, head over to New River’s website and register to take classes.

Patrick Bryant teaches the ASL classes. It is evident that he has done so for a number of years because he knows how to sign the same word differently, depending on what part of the country one is in.

There are also times when he will show how a sign has evolved and changed over the past few decades. And of course the syllabus is very organized and clearly presents what is expected of the student. This fall, Bryant is teaching American Sign Language I, II and III;

History and Culture of the Deaf; and Comparative Linguistics.

Three of these classes, including ASL I and ASL II, are available to take online. The distance education program requires students to take half a dozen tests at the Dublin campus, or the satellite branch located inside the mall in Christiansburg.

The tests consist of a DVD in which Bryant signs a word or a sentence. Students are required to write, in English, the words and sentences that are being signed in ASL. I found that it is easier to express a word in sign language than it is to read and understand signs from another person.

To help me better understand ASL, I recorded a video of myself making signs that I learned throughout the semester. Watching these video flashcards helped me tremendously and I was able to do fairly well on the tests.

If you end up taking ASL classes I highly suggest giving this method of study a try.

Learning American Sign Language was more enjoyable for me than the Spanish and French classes I took years ago. If you still need to fulfill your foreign language requirement, and find none of the languages offered

by Tech exciting, you may want to consider taking ASL through New River Community College.

The classes do not cost much and you will learn a language CHRIS that enables you to communicate with DUNN America’s deaf and regular hard of hearing. columnist

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OPINIONS

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FEATURES

6

New laundry service offered for Tech students fall 2011

Owling and batting replace planking as the trend of choice

BRENTON LAING features staff writer Campus Carriers, a new full-service laundry delivery and pick-up business, will be available to Virginia Tech offcampus students beginning fall 2011.

Tech alumni Daniel Burdi and Kevin Bowen created this service because they understand the level of time it takes to do well here at Tech.

“Having experienced the hectic and sometimes stressful schedule of a college student, I know that worrying about chores like laundry can be the last thing on a person’s mind,” Bowen said. “That is why we want to help. Our full-service laundry pick-up and delivery program will alleviate one more ‘to do’ on students’ already full list.”

When it comes to doing laundry, if you are like me, you hate it.

Maybe it is the washing, or the waiting, or the restarting of the dryer for the third straight time because your clothes are still damp. Instead the jeans pile up on shirts which are piled up on towels.

It seems like there is always something better to do. Study now. Party now.

Work out now.

Laundry always comes later. Before you know it there is no space left in your room to walk and you are forced to make a choice. Skip studying for the big exam or forego laundry and convince yourself that it is alright to take the test smelling like Jabba the Hutt. The cute girl from class will probably sit next to you that day, too. Luckily, now you can smell fresh the day of the test.

Campus Carriers will pick up, wash, dry, fold and deliver your laundry on a

COURTESY WASHINGTON POST

A soldier in Baghdad practices ‘batting’ during his down time.

PAUL KURLAK / SPPS

Entrepreneur Kevin Bowen, recent Tech alumnus, plans to start a laundry service for students with fellow Tech graduate Daniel Burdi. weekly basis with a 24-hour turnaround.

Students will be able to sign up for 10, 15, or 20 pounds of laundry to be serviced weekly for the semester. If the name Campus Carriers sounds familiar, it’s because Burdi has previously partnered with the Residence Hall Federation to provide a great service for students living on-campus who need help with move-out and summer storage of their belongings.

“The full-service moving and storage program at Virginia Tech has received such great feedback that we felt offering an additional full-service laundry program to save students the hassle of such a mundane task would be the next best service to offer,” Burdi said.

Billy Costagliola, a junior civil engi-

neering major, said he used Campus Carriers when he moved from a residence hall to an off-campus apartment.

“They handled my valuable items with care and delivered those items back to me in a timely, professional, and friendly fashion,” Costagliola said. “Their expansion into laundry service will be beneficial to the students in Blacksburg, and I am certain they will live up to the standards associated with the Campus Carriers name.” Burdi, who graduated in 2009 after earning a degree in residential property management, and Bowen who graduated in May after receiving a degree in entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology management understand the needs of Hokies. For more information, visit campuscarriers.com.

BATTING AND OWLING ARE NOW SWEEPING THE NATION AS THE PRACTICE BECOMES POPULAR ALLY HAMMOND features editor Several weeks ago, planking was all the rage in the United States, as well as many other countries. However this Australian game had to be outdone.

The old trend of planking involved people lying down, remaining motionless and expressionless, pointing their fingers and toes, and then proving their plank with photo evidence.

Planking came into many of our lives as suddenly as it left. The short-lived trend has paved the way for many new fads like it.

Owling, an evolution of planking, involves the owler to simply squat down and “perch”. Their owl is then captured in a picture and uploaded to the internet for all to see. Owlers have

quickly deleted their planking pictures to be more hip to the trends.

But wait, owling is apparently on the up and out too. Batting is now the newest of these crazes. Batting, recently promoted by the website dothebat.com, involves the batter to hang by their knees, and place their hands on their hips while upside down. Do The Bat takes submissions from batters around the globe, from citizens in Blacksburg to soldiers in Afghanistan.

While owling can be done on practically any surface, batting proves harder to find the best location. Some have done cubicle walls, playground structures, and even fences. While these trends continue to escalate all one can ask is, “what’s coming next?”

My money is on flamingoing, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Express Yourself.

collegiatetimes.com august 4, 2011

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CODY OWENS features staff writer With the arrival of August, Blacksburg prepares for one of its largest and most exciting events: Steppin’ Out. Since 1980, the festival has been held annually on the first full weekend in August and will occur this year on Aug 5 and 6 , running from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day.

Steppin’ Out closes the streets of downtown Blacksburg for two days as they are lined with nearly 200 vendors from across the country and three stages featuring dozens of musicians.

Steppin’ Out began over thirty years ago to build a sense of community and to encourage commerce in a financially-dry time of the year.

The festival brings income through the vendors, each of whom pay a fee, and the festival shirts, which have been a Steppin’ Out mainstay since the beginning.

This year’s shirt was designed by local artist Sara McCarter and will be available during the festival at a booth across from the Lyric Theatre.

The main component of Steppin’ Out is the vendors.

This year, over 185 vendors, both local and national, will be present at the festival, selling wares such as jewelry, artwork, baskets, textiles, pottery,

DANIEL LIN / SPPS

Vendors come from around the nation to line the streets of downtown Blacksburg for Steppin’ Out 2010. furniture, stained glass, and artisan foods, among other goods. Vendors will be located on Main Street, College Avenue, Draper Road, Jackson Street, and in Market Square Park.

Steppin’ Out coincides with Virginia’s sales tax holiday, lowering the costs of clothing from many downtown merchants that will be present such

as Campus Emporium and Fringe Benefit.

Many popular downtown restaurants will make an appearance, bringing their food to the street. Restaurants such as Top of the Stairs, The Cellar, Cabo Fish Taco and Rita’s will be present to offer their food on top of the conventional festival fare.

Double Berry Smoothie

As you see all that the vendors have to offer, you can enjoy the live music that fills the air.

Steppin’ Out features three stages located throughout downtown. The Main Stage is located on College Avenue and features a variety of music.

The Acoustic Stage features folk and contemporary music and is located

on the corner of Main Street and Lee Street. The Community Stage, located on Roanoke Street, highlights local artists and is also the location of children’s events.

The Main Stage will offer the sounds of 15 diverse musical sets. It is here that local artists, such as PolyChrome, PanJammers, and Laura Beth & Clover Hollow, can be heard alongside names like Larkin Poe, Lucy Woodward, and TR3 featuring Tim Reynolds of Dave Matthew’s Band fame.

Part of Steppin’ Out’s history is the annual Draper Mile, which sees runners race down the sloping Draper Road and finish in the midst of the festival on Friday night.

Steppin’ Out is a free event for attendees. Admission to the festival, along with musical performances, is free, but most impressive is the cost related to transportation. During Steppin’ Out, you won’t have to fumble for change for the meter or the BT because both are free.

The festival encourages you to bring your friends, bring your family, but not to bring your dog.

Due to the crowds, man’s best friend can’t come, but you can leave your dogs in the Canine Corral, with pet care provided by New River Varmints, on Henderson Lawn near College Avenue all day on Friday and Saturday.

Steppin’ Out is a Blacksburg tradition that still continues.

7 FEATURES

Steppin’ Out rocks Blacksburg

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Give the gift of memories!

This thick berry treat is sure to make your mouth water. - sarah watson, editor-in-chief

CT Recipes Serves:

2

Ingredients: 1 cup milk 1 cup strawberries 1 cup blueberries 3 tablespoons sugar 1 cup ice chips Directions:

2. Garnish with strawberries and blueberries.

Visit our website for more gift ideas for Hokies! collegiatetimes.com august 4, 2011

1. Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Frame memorable moments or print them onto tshirts, posters, coffee mugs and more!

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SPORTS

8

Eagles off-season moves raise big expectations CODY ELLIOT sports columnist “Not five, not six, not seven..”

We all remember this quote.

This is the quote that turned a team of three worldwide superstars into three of the biggest villains to ever play the game of basketball.

Now, football season is here and we may have found our villains of the NFL: the Philadelphia Eagles.

While Andy Reid’s squad hasn’t promised multiple championships or thrown a preseason parade celebrating the emergence of their team, they certainly haven’t been shy about their mindset.

Vince Young, the former Tennessee Titans starting quarterback, signed a deal with the Eagles as a backup to Michael Vick and immediately proclaimed them as a “dream team.”

Then, after prized free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha signed so suddenly with Philadelphia, he spoke of how they already had a “championship feel” to them.

The Eagles also traded for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from the Cardinals, and also signed former Packers defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins.

Now, they have been proclaimed as the Super Bowl favorites and their offseason spending for big name free agents has put them in the same class as the Miami Heat; big expectations and a lot of criticism.

While every team in the NFL certainly hopes to win the Super Bowl each year they compete, I certainly was shocked by Young and Asomugha’s early quotes about win-

ning a title.

The entire league and its fans can see that the Eagles have bolstered their roster dramatically this offseason.

That is clear.

Why add more pressure by calling it a “dream team?”

Andy Reid is known as a tough nosed head coach who doesn’t deal with much off the field drama. Well, I would certainly expect that he is not enjoying this focus.

The Eagles now face an extremely tough challenge.

They will go into every week of their

“

Their offseason spending for big name free agents has put them in the same class as the Miami Heat; big expectations and a lot of criticism CODY ELLIOT SPORTS STAFF WRITER

regular season and be the favorites, more than likely, to win each time.

They will be expected to get a first round by in the playoffs, proceed to win the next two games and make a trip to the Super Bowl for the first time since Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens took the team there in 2005.

They will then be expected to win the Super Bowl, get championship rings, and live up to the hype that has been placed upon them immediately after signing all of their big time free agents.

The Eagles have the most talented team on paper.

That is certainly true.

However, none of this guarantees

anything for the upcoming season. It was proven by the Heat this past year.

The Heat, like the Eagles, faced scrutiny and adversity throughout the entire season simply because they had such high expectations and were always being held to a higher standard than the rest of the league.

The Eagles offense did not make many changes or add too many additional faces besides Young in the backup role.

They still have the most explosive quarterback in the game in Vick.

They also bring back running back LeSean McCoy and receivers Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson.

The offensive line remains in form and Andy Reid is known as an offensive guru around the league.

On defense, they bolstered their secondary tremendously by adding Rodgers-Cromartie and Asomugha to a unit that already featured Asante Samuel.

Now, they just have to figure out how to get all three of them on the field, or how to trade Samuel.

It’s simple. The Eagles’ expectations are extremely high not only in the buildings of the franchise but nationally by the media and fans.

I worry about Vince Young. This guy is a proven winner and I believe he deserved a starting job before he signed with Philadelphia and he clearly believed the same thing.

He never backed away from the fact that he thought he should be a starter in the NFL during his tenure in Tennessee.

Now, he is with the Eagles, backing up a top ten quarterback in the

JENKINS / MCT

Former Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young was signed by the Eagles last week. Young immediately proclaimed them as a “dream team.” league.

I just hope he can handle carrying a clipboard and actually learning behind Vick like a professional rather than focusing on the negatives

of being stuck behind such a tremendous athlete.

The secondary is certainly bolstered but could it be too much? see NFL / page nine

Downhill Draper Mile continues to grow in popularity CODY OWENS

collegiatetimes.com august 4, 2011

sports staff writer The Draper Mile offers the Blacksburg running community a competitive way to end the summer with a race in the heart of downtown.

The one-mile road race occurs annually alongside Blacksburg’s Steppin’ Out Festival during the first weekend of August.

Participants are separated into two racing divisions based on speed, with the faster group starting their race ten minutes before the other group. Runners start the race outside Children’s Nest Pre-School and run south down Draper Road to finish near Bolo’s Café & Bakery in the midst of the street festival.

Beginning in 1982, the 2011 Draper Mile, which will take place on Aug. 6, marks the 30th anniversary of the race.

“I was in Blacksburg when the then-president of Blacksburg Striders came up with the idea of the Draper Mile,” said Beth Howell, runner and long-time meet director of the Draper Mile.

“I said that he was crazy to have a race finish in a street fair. Since then, I have been involved with the race every year in one way or another.”

Many changes have occurred since the genesis of the Draper Mile. In 1982, 97 runners participated.

The popular race has seen larger numbers nearly every year.

In 2010, 251 runners came out to run together. However, with these larger numbers, further changes had to be made.

“For years, we had only one event limited to the first 150 participants,” Howell said. “Several years ago, however, we formed two running heats, much like in track, so that we can accommodate more runners.”

The 30th anniversary race will potentially incorporate another change.

New racing technology in the form of automatic transponder chips will shorten the amount of time to gather each racer’s time to determine the top finishers in each age group and the top overall finishers.

An appealing aspect of the Draper Mile is that the course goes downhill along Draper Road without any upward slopes or large hills to climb.

The constantly descending slope is beneficial for speed, making the race an opportunity to set personal records that likely could not be set in other road races.

In 1987, Gary Cobb broke the four minute threshold and finished at an extremely impressive three minutes and 54 seconds.

Over the years, many runners have finished barely over four minutes,

but so far Cobb has been the only individual to finish in less than four minutes.

“You will run around 10 to 12 seconds faster than you would for a track mile,” said Kimberly Homer, a member of Blacksburg Striders who in 2008 placed 2nd in the women’s 45-49 age division with a time of five minutes and 33 seconds.

“I would encourage others to do it because it will likely be your fastest mile,” Homer said.

The Draper Mile is also unique in its diversity of runners.

Rather than merely having high school and college age runners participate, the race has both the young and the old pound the pavement of Draper Road.

Homer, whose three young daughters have also raced in the Draper Mile, stated that racers can be anywhere from eight years old to over 85.

One of the members of Blacksburg Striders along with Homer is John

Hosner, who set the men’s age group record for ages 55-59 with a time of four minutes and 46 seconds during the first Draper Mile in 1982. Hosner returned to set another men’s age group record 29 years later in 2010, finishing first in the ages 85 and over with a time of seven minutes and 38 seconds.

Spectators will see more than a difference of ages between the runners, however.

Many racers choose to dress up for the event, with runners wearing costumes such as a banana suit. In the 2010 event, one of the top finishing women crossed the finish line donning a ballet tutu.

So, whether you are a competitive runner seeking to sprint through the finish line or a novice looking for an opportunity to enter the Steppin’ Out Festival with flair, the Draper Mile has proven to be an exciting event for runners of every kind.

page

Eagles free agent signings come with consequences 9 The Heat dealt with the problem of Wade and James not knowing who should take the last shot in crunch time situations.

Now, for the Eagles, who should get the most reps amongst the three cornerbacks and how do they keep all three satisfied with their time on the field? That’s not exactly an easy puzzle to solve.

We haven’t mentioned the fact that coveted wide receiver DeSean Jackson

hasn’t even reported to training camp yet because of a contract dispute. He is currently holding out from camp completely.

The Eagles can only hope and pray that he reports soon and the issue does not become another distraction to that locker room. If it does linger into the season, that situation only gets uglier.

I think the Eagles will and should be the favorites around the entire NFL this season.

They have the most explosive offense in the league, filled with young weapons all around Michael Vick.

They have an athletic and fast defense that now features possibly one of the top five cornerbacks in NFL history.

Oh, and they have a coach that is a proven winner in this league and has always done a great job keeping his team focused on the task at hand not on anything outside of the painted lines.

If you need an example, look at how he handled his time with Terrell Owens.

They have it all. A great offense, a solid defense, and a founded head coach.

I just want to see the product on the field.

With the big signings, the Eagles have now become the Miami Heat of the NFL. Fans will buy tickets to games they had no interest in just to see this tal-

ented team play.

They will get mocked, ridiculed, and criticized throughout the entire year for something, no matter how irrelevant it may be to the team.

While it was more than likely unintentional what Asomugha and Young said upon their early arrivals, it only added gasoline to the burning fire.

The expectations are there. The adversity is waiting.

Now, we’ll just have to wait and see how they respond.

SPORTS

from page eight

Baseball’s unwritten rules go unspoken KEVN BAXTER mcclatchy newspapers

“

It’s just one of the things you don’t talk about. I’m superstitious. I’ll always be that, especially when it comes to baseball.

VICTOR ROJAS ANGELS TV BROADCASTER

“That’s when you try to pitch inside.

And sometimes that ball gets away,” said Mark Gubicza, a two-time AllStar pitcher with the Kansas City Royals and Rojas’ partner on Angels broadcasts. “You have to protect your teammates at all costs because ... you (could) lose respect.

“It’s basically all different forms of the word respect. You’ve got to respect your opponent. Don’t show them up.

Respect the game itself. And if a guy’s hit by a pitch and you pretty much think it was on purpose, then to keep the respect of your teammates you have to do something back to them.”

That eye-for-an-eye policy also extends to who should get hit, especially in the American League, where offending pitchers don’t bat.

“We know who’s going to get hit,” Hunter said. “If the four-hole hitter, the big money on the team, if he gets hit, we’re going to hit your big-money guy.

If it’s the little second baseman that gets hit and hit on purpose, we’re going to hit your little second baseman.”

Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly says some umpires who don’t understand the code are too quick to censure pitchers for throwing inside, denying the other team a chance to even the score and causing tensions to linger. Mattingly pointed to an episode last July in which both benches were warned after San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum, locked in a duel with the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, hit slugger Matt Kemp. “So Lincecum gets a free shot,” Mattingly said. “Kershaw wants to protect his players, but if he protects his player he gets thrown out.

“The old way is, you let that go.

Kershaw goes out, (hits a Giant), OK, that’s it. You did it right. You got hit here, you got hit there.”

Some old-school managers, such as Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals, Jim Leyland of the Detroit Tigers and Kirk Gibson of the Arizona Diamondbacks, are sticklers for the code, and their veteran players enforce it. On other teams, rookies have to figure things out for themselves.

“They don’t, like, sit you down,” said Hank Conger, a rookie catcher with the Angels before recently being demoted to triple A. “If you watch baseball, you get a feel. You listen to what people say.”

In a subtle way, baseball’s unwritten rules extend beyond players and coaches to include bat boys, trainers, sportswriters and, of course, certain TV broadcasters. Not only is it bad form for those people to talk about a no-hitter while it is in progress, but they aren’t to speak with the starting pitcher in the hours before a game or remind players that they’re on a hot or cold streak.

And baseball’s unwritten rules are unwritten in languages other than English. When former big leaguer Hee-Seop Choi was suffering through a bad slump with the Marlins, the throng of Korean reporters sent to cover him didn’t speak with Choi for several days out of respect for the slump.

Then there is the long list of things

FOX / MCT

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ervin Santana fires a pitch during his first career no-hitter last week against the Cleveland Indians. rookies should and shouldn’t do. It’s a list that varies in both length and severity from team to team, but in the Angels clubhouse they’re known as the “Torii Rules” and they address everything from who gets to eat and shower

first after games (hint: not the rookies) to who gets on the team bus and team plane last (hint: the rookies).

Or, as Conger put it, it’s all about “trying to be respectful of your standing, what you’re supposed to do.”

collegiatetimes.com august 4, 2011

Between innings of his no-hitter last week in Cleveland, Ervin Santana rested in the Angels’ dugout next to an orange Gatorade cooler.

The Baseball Gods long ago decreed that a pitcher in the midst of a nohitter is not to be disturbed by idle chatter that might disrupt his concentration or upset his mojo. But it was 81 degrees and humid Wednesday, and with Santana sitting next to the Gatorade cooler his thirsty teammates had to say something when they went by.

“We were talking to him in the dugout throughout the game,” second baseman Howie Kendrick said.

“We didn’t mention what was going on because it’s kind of one of those unwritten rules. But we tried to have fun.”

Up in the TV booth, though, Angels broadcaster Victor Rojas was unwilling to tempt the Gods so he refused to talk about the no-hitter.

“It’s just kind of the way I grew up,” Rojas, whose father Cookie was a fivetime All-Star infielder, said Friday. “It’s just one of the things you don’t talk about.

“I’m superstitious. I’ll always be that, especially when it comes to baseball.”

Baseball has long been guided by such superstition. It’s why even players with Ivy League educations won’t change their underwear when they’re on a hot streak or avoid stepping on the baselines when they take the field.

And those are only a few of baseball’s unwritten rules _ informal but widely agreed-upon guidelines that dictate how the game should be played. The first unwritten rule?

“Thou shalt not speak of the unwritten rules,” said Michael Duca, an official scorer in the San Francisco Bay Area and coauthor of “The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing and BenchClearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime.”

But written or not, there are certain basic elements of baseball etiquette that everyone agrees on, and not talking during a no-hitter is only one of

them. Don’t hurt, embarrass or show up the other team, for example. Never disrespect the game. And if you hit one of our guys, we’ll hit one of yours.

“That’s the way it is,” the Angels’ Torii Hunter said. “I prefer that. You take care of it on the field and it’s over.”

Exactly what you’re taking care of on the field and when it’s over can be open to interpretation, though. One unwritten rule is never steal a base when your team has a big lead late in a game.

How big a lead and how late in the game? Well, no one knows.

“One thing that I’ve learned is everyone has a different viewpoint,” Dodgers pitcher Ted Lilly said. “Individuals have their opinions as to where that line is. It’s a gray area.”

Yet when that line is crossed there’s a favored response. A painful one.

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collegiatetimes.com august 4, 2011

SPORTS

10 On or off field, Reggie Bush always directly under spotlight DAVID J. NEAL mcclatchy newspapers Reggie Bush came into the NFL with a Heisman Trophy, a national championship and as much hype and highlights as any player in the modern age. Bush went to New Orleans, a city rebuilding itself with a team rebuilding itself, both rebuilding their home stadium to continue a love affair that lasted 39 seasons without much playoff success.

Bush now comes to the Miami Dolphins without that trophy (officially), with a Super Bowl ring he got as a role player, much less hype and still some of the most electrifying highlights in the NFL Films library. And almost as many injuries. He comes to South Florida, an area increasingly disconnecting with its NFL team because real playoff success stands (depending on your definition) 27 or 38 years in the past.

To say Bush and the Dolphins share the same space would be accurate, even as metaphor.

“I feel like I have a lot to prove,” Bush said. “I feel like, there are obviously a lot of critics and naysayers, and I feel like. ...

I wear my heart on my sleeve, so I am one of those guys who also feels like he always has something to prove, year in and year out, but more so now. Coming to a new organization and getting the opportunity to be that featured back, I feel like there is an even bigger chip on my shoulder.”

In a Freaky Friday role swap, many Dolphins fans react to the trade for Bush with the cold statistical eyes usually reserved for coaches and players. They see a player who averages 12 games and 522.5 rushing yards a season and season reception numbers that started at 88, then dropped each of the succeeding four seasons.

Meanwhile, some Dolphins players reacted like fans, who often get heavily influenced by the hot flashes.

“Me and (Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby) looked at each other and said, ‘Oh, God, thank you!’ “ then-Dolphins middle linebacker Channing Crowder said on Friday afternoon. “We really just looked at each other and smiled.

Karlos played him in the playoffs (while with Arizona), and Reggie made him look stupid. I played him in the regular season, and he made me look stupid.

Any time the ball touches his hands, he can go the distance. It’s really once in 100 years you find a player like that ... any play he touches the ball, he can go the distance.”

During the Saints’ 2009 Super Bowl season, Bush gained only 26 yards rushing and receiving against the Dolphins.

But 10 of those yards came on a touchdown run that saw him do a Superman liftoff over the last 5 to 7 yards, Dolphins defenders and the goal line. In that playoff game against Arizona, Bush scored on a darting 46-yard, gear-shifting run and an 83-yard punt return.

As Bush and Southern California galloped over the nation, Dolphins cornerback Sean Smith played running back and returned kicks at Pasadena (Calif.)

Blair High School.

“Everybody wanted to be Reggie Bush,” Smith said. “He was definitely a guy that the younger community looked up to. To be on the same team, see him in real life, see his work ethic and all the work he puts into it, just to know it’s not just what you do on game day, it’s how you prepare. That’s definitely going to be fun.”

Flash. Dash. It has been Bush’s trademark. Many previous high school players could roll highlight film. Bush might have been the first in the Internet age whose highlight film went viral. Few players in college-affiliated football history riveted fans, coaches and players on both sidelines the way Bush did at USC. He has more than a million followers on Twitter because football fans can’t forget the thrill of possibility Bush puts into every snap, and people who don’t follow football know his name as a celebrity boyfriend. New Orleans’ offense worked best the past five seasons when Bush detonated often enough for coach Sean Payton to use him as a marvelous decoy. That’s how Bush averages 8.8 touchdowns every 16 games, a solid total for a running back averaging fewer than nine carries and five receptions a game.

A football version of a free-swinging designated hitter isn’t what anybody envisions for a scintillating No. 2 overall pick. But the Saints made three playoff appearances, reached two NFC Championship Games and won a Super Bowl using Bush that way.

“

Coming to a new organization and getting the opportunity to be that featured back, I feel like there is an even bigger chip on my shoulder.

REGGIE BUSH DOLPHINS RUNNING BACK

“I think when he’s in the game, you’ve got to account for him,” Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline said. “I know we did when we played the Saints. With that being said, there’s only so many guys you can account for. After a while, you start to lose track of a guy here or there.

Then, it becomes important to make sure we get the ball to the right guy.”

Hanging the offense on the smallish Bush didn’t make sense when you have Drew Brees at quarterback, every type of wide receiver you could want and bigger running backs (Deuce McAllister, then Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas) to pound the ball when necessary.

Besides, they were there. Bush played all 16 games only as a rookie. Broken calf bone. Various knee injuries. The injuries seemed to be even more regular than the highlights.

Off the field, there always has been something happening with Bush.

Checkout-line paparazzi gossip magazines such as Star and InTouch used his relationship with famous-for-being famous Kim Kardashian the way some people use a Super Target: one-stop shopping. Photos, sightings (they were

KAPUSTIN / MCT

Former New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush looks for running room against the Baltimore Ravens in last year’s 30-24 loss on December 19. Bush was traded to the Miami Dolphins last week. hardly invisible), speculations on their status. They were easier to find in those magazines than the table of contents.

Then, sparked by Yahoo.com news reports, the NCAA began looking into gifts Bush’s family received from a sports marketing group in which Bush and his family were partners with two other men. A year ago, the NCAA dropped a truckload of penalties on USC, the harshest punishment since the Southern Methodist University “death penalty” of 1986.

The Heisman Trust officially vacated the award for the 2005 season, Bush’s year. Bush offered to give the award back, although recent reports have the actual trophy back in the hands of the Bush family after they lent it to the San Diego Hall of Champions.

“We all deal with off-the-field stuff, but I look at football, the football field as kind of my sanctuary, my home away from home, where I get a chance to escape all the off-the-field stuff and just focus on football and focus on what I love to do and my passion and that is playing football,” Bush said. “So I am not too much worried about any the distractions of the off the field stuff or anything else that comes along with playing in Miami.

“I am looking forward to getting on the football field and just doing what I love to do.” So, now he’s here with the Dolphins, trying to do what he can do, do what he has done, but do it more often. “I think I have been through every emotion possible, these last 48 hours,” Bush said Friday. “I’ve been happy, sad, excited. So it’s been a little bit of an emotional roller coaster, but at the end of the day, I know that this is a great opportunity for me to make a differFARRELL / MCT ence and do something special here and hopefully help this organization turn Reggie Bush watches his new team’s practice on a knee last Sunday at the Dolphin’s practice facility in Davie, Florida. things around.”

page 11

Thursday, August 4, 2011

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By Brad Wilber ACROSS 1 Closer ’s bane 10 Like some drinking cups 15 “My Father at 100: A Memoir” author 16 Race arbiter, at times 17 Spoiled brat, stereotypically 18 Fibonacci, by birth 19 __ missio n 20 Eagle relativ e 21 Comic strip units 22 __ Lisa V ito: “M y Cousin Vinny” role 24 Tree with aboveground roots 26 “Out of Sight” co-star, familiarly

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8/4/11 27 PMs or GMs 29 Sleeper , for one 30 Surge in sales 31 Thematic musical release 35 Environmental summit topic 38 Gluck opera based on a Euripides play 39 Like architecture involving cedar shakes 41 Hand over 42 Cheerios grain 43 Pinned arrangement 46 Galoot 47 Feature of some Birkenstocks

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Thursday’s Puzzle Solved

Complete the grid so that each column, row and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1-9.

Copyright 2007 Puzzles

by Pappocom

(c)2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

7/28/11

Solution, tips and computer program at www.soduku.com.

collegiatetimes.com august 4, 2011

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