Wednesday, August 31, 2011 Print Edition by Collegiate Times

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

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COLLEGIATETIMES Start your game day off right, page ﬁve 108th year, issue 77

News, page 2

Food & Drink, page 5

‘Best professors’ teach in Pamplin JOSH HIGGINS news reporter Hospitality and tourism management professors in the Pamplin College of Business are ranked as some of the best in the world, according to a study. The August edition of the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism ranked the professors in the top 100 scholars worldwide in the discipline. Virginia Tech also fared well, placing eighth in the top 100 universities for hospitality and tourism research. The publication decided its rankings based on the number of research articles published in prominent hospitality and tourism research journals between 2000 and 2009. The list of scholars includes HTM professors Vince Magnini and Ken McCleary, along with professor emeritus Michael Olson. The list also includes Zvi Schwartz, a former professor from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who began working with the Tech HTM department this fall. Magnini placed 19th in hospitality and 55th overall. He focuses on

job management and customer communication, management impact on employee performance, and employee-customer relations. Schwartz rank00ed 21st in hospitality and 47th overall. Schwartz studies tourism and hospitality forecasting, as well as revenue management. Olsen received 21st in hospitality and tied with Magnini as 55th overall. Olsen studies strategic and financial management. He also played a large role in founding Tech’s HTM department. McCleary, who placed 100th in the combined rankings, studies marketing strategy and consumer behavior in the tourism industry. Pamplin recognized that these achievements mark a milestone for the school. “The fact that four of (HTM) fellow faculty received this top researcher recognition was celebrated throughout the faculty as a wonderful achievement for the individuals who were recognized,” said Richard Sorensen, the dean of Pamplin, “and also outstanding recognition for the entire department, as well as Pamplin College.”

Key legacy of 9/11 is FBI surveillance

MCT CAMPUS

The FBI demanded the Internet records of one of Nicholas Merrill’s client.

Opinions, page 3

Sports, page 6

Classifieds, page age 4

Sudoku, Sudoku, page 4

Modea moves in

DANIEL LIN / SPPS

Modea employees are quickly outgrowing their ofﬁces while the company waits for a new headquarters to be built.

AWFUL ARTHUR’S STAGE MOVES DOWNSTAIRS AS MODEA TAKES OVER THE TOP FLOOR ERIN CHAPMAN news staff writer Fans of Blacksburg’s live music scene have recently seen a change of scenery at Awful Arthur’s. The popular downtown music venue, restaurant and bar has created a more coherent space by moving the stage downstairs — leaving the upstairs as a place for Modea, a digital advertising agency, to expand its business. Modea approached Awful Arthur’s about leasing the building’s upstairs, said Jen Morrison, the Awful Arthur’s general manager for the Blacksburg location. “We weren’t actively looking to lease the space, but it made sense,” Morrison said. “We have a great relationship with Modea.” None of the four suites Modea currently uses, which are situated in Kent Square and the University Gateway Center — two suites per location — are permanent, said Meaghan Hinder, a Modea employee. Once the multi-million dollar headquarters is completed at

the old Blacksburg Middle School site, all employees will be moved into that space. The upstairs at Awful Arthur’s will simply make room for the growing company, which will take over the lease at an undetermined date. Although the new addition was unplanned, Modea seems to be excited about its location. “This space is close to all that we love about downtown Blacksburg,” Hinder said. “We love being in the middle of the action.” To accommodate the change, Awful Arthur’s will solely operate on the first floor, a shift Morrison said was wellrecieved by guests. “With the stage downstairs, we have an improved quality of sound,” she said. “DJs and guests have said they actually prefer the stage downstairs.” But others have mixed feelings. “I liked it better when it was two floors. If they had kept a floor, I think they should have kept the top floor,” said Mimi Richardson, a senior human nutrition, foods and exercise major.

Although I understand that the downstairs space is bigger, I don’t think it’s going to hurt Awful Arthur’s in any way. The stage looks nice, and I think it will still be a large enough venue to host musicians and sorority events.” Anneke Nelson, a senior materials science and engineering major, is also unsure about the changes. “I liked it, and I didn’t like it,” she said. “I liked it because sometimes people are scattered around Awful’s, and it used to feel empty when it was two floors. I didn’t like (the stage downstairs) because the stage upstairs seemed more open, and there was a lot of room to move around.” John Gaskins, an organizer for Boogieburg Soundsystem, which is a DJ crew that brings music acts to Blacksburg, hasn’t had a chance to check out the new set up. “We have our first party there in September,” he said. “I’m sure it will be great.” Modea does not yet have a move-in date for the upstairs space.

HOMELAND SECURITY MEASURES LET OFFICIALS COLLECT AND ANALIZE DATA WITHOUT WARRANTS KEN DILANIAN mcclatchy newspapers WASHINGTON — Internet entrepreneur Nicholas Merrill was working in his Manhattan office when an FBI agent in a trench coat arrived with an envelope. It was fall 2004, and federal investigators were using new legal authority they had acquired after Sept. 11, 2001. Merrill ran a small Internet service provider with clients including IKEA, Mitsubishi and freelance journalists. The agent handed Merrill a document called a National Security Letter, which demanded that he turn over 16 categories of detailed records on one of his customers. The letter wasn’t signed by a judge or prosecutor. It instructed him to tell no one. “Not even my lawyer? Not even my business partners?” Merrill asked. The agent shrugged and left. Merrill had gotten a rare glimpse of the secret domestic intelligence gathering that is one of the most significant legacies of Sept. 11. Determined to ferret out terrorist plots, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies now collect, store and analyze vast quantities of digital data produced by law-abiding Americans. The data mining receives limited congressional oversight, rare judicial review and almost no public scrutiny. Thanks to new laws and technologies, authorities track and eavesdrop on Americans as they never could before, hauling in billions of bank records, travel receipts and other information. In several cases, they have wiretapped conversations between lawyers and defendants, challenging the long-established legal principle that attorney-client communication is inviolate. Advocates say the expanded sur-

veillance has helped eliminate vulnerabilities identified after the Sept. 11 attacks. Some critics, unconvinced, say the snooping undermines privacy and civil liberties and leads inevitably to abuse. They argue that the new systems have weakened security by burying investigators in irrelevant information. “We are caught in the middle of a perfect storm in which every thought we communicate, every step we take, every transaction we enter into is captured in digital data and is subject to government collection,” said Fred H. Cate, a professor at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law who has written extensively on privacy and security and who testifies frequently before Congress. A robust debate on the new intelligence gathering has been impossible, for the simple reason that most of the activity is officially secret. In lawsuits alleging improper eavesdropping, the Justice Department has invoked state secrecy to prevent disclosure of classified information and systems. In May, two members of the Senate intelligence committee said that Americans would be disturbed if they knew about some of the government’s data gathering procedures. But Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mark Udall, D-Colo., said they were prohibited from revealing the facts. “When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted” surveillance law, “they will be stunned and they will be angry,” Wyden said. The National Security Agency, which eavesdrops on foreign targets, once had to get a court-approved warrant to monitor a U.S. citizen’s communications over wires that traverse the United States. Now the agency is free to vacuum up communications see FBI / page four

COURTESY OF DANIEL LIN

DJ Rahbee performs on the new stage at Awful Arthur’s. The music venue claims the new area has better sound quality.

Explorers try to reach deepest point on earth HANNAH DREIER mcclatchy newspapers RICHMOND, Calif. — It's been more than 50 years since humanity ventured to the deepest place on Earth, but four crews now are racing to make a return trip. One of the futuristic crafts in the works comes courtesy of

Graham Hawkes. For years his minisubmarine, which resembles an underwater fighter jet, has sat in a bare concrete room in Point Richmond, Calif. This fall, it is destined for a muddy gorge in the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest known point, 36,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean near

Guam. Hawkes is in good company in the pursuit of what many think will be the next big thing in human exploration: manned submersibles that can maneuver through the crushing pressure at the bottom of the world. "Avatar" director James Cameron is closing in with a team

in Australia, and Florida-based Triton Submarines also is in the hunt. Another hopeful, scientist Sylvia Earle, is rounding out the pack with a kind of hovering deep sea space station, which her Alameda-based company promises will become a "world asset." No one has visited the cragsee PACIFIC / page two

2 news

news editors: michelle sutherland and claire sanderson newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865

august 31, 2011

COLLEGIATETIMES

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

Paciﬁc: Exploration may spark sea tourism

On Tech’s revised alcohol-reporting policy:

from page one

Manny>> A step in the right direction. Nobody should be kicked out of school for something as harmless as cannabis.

Ben>> It’s about time.

Ben>> Ditto Manny. Even suspension seems too excessive in the majority of cases, let alone expulsion.The new policy on alcohol in which a bystander or the very person in question reports an incident to VT Rescue and does not necessarily get in trouble is a huge improvement as well. Now we just need to work towards full amnesty for such cases in which one’s safety is in question and even cases involving any drug as well. One should not get in trouble for doing the responsible thing and getting help when necessary. Because of policies in which students get in trouble for doing so, people die. Let’s push for the Good Samaritan Act here at Virginia Tech!

On PTSD affecting the Tech community post-April 16: Ben>> The campus shootings actually claimed 33 lives, not just 32.

Anonymous>> Geeze, Mr. Technical, give it a rest. The shooter claimed 32 lives that he had no right to take. These lives are tallied in a different category and I see no reason why it is incorrect to exclude the perpetrator in the count. Reports of murder/suicides often list only the number of victims.

Anonymous>>

CORRECTIONS

32 lives were CLAIMED, 1 person took his life of his own volition.

On the Welcome Back Map (CT - Aug. 22), Cheatham Hall is mistakenly identified as a dining center. Also, in "Former official heads Va. education," (CT - Aug. 24) Fornash formerly served as Deputy Secretary of Education under former Secretary Gerard Robinson. The Collegiate Times regrets these errors.

JUSTIN GRAVES -public editor -senior -sociology major

gy, frigid spot seven miles below the surface known as Challenger Deep since 1960, when two divers plunged to the bottom in U.S. Navy's Trieste, a specially designed, deep-diving research vessel. The challenge at the time was figuring out how to withstand pressures at the bottom of the sea — 1,000 times what we experience on land. Under those conditions, the slightest crack or weakness in a vessel spells instant death for anyone inside. The Trieste's response was a hull reinforced with thick steel walls. The heavy craft used a traditional ballast system: Take water in to sink, release it to rise. Without the possibility of lateral motion, the two divers spent 20 minutes at the bottom of the world surrounded by their own sediment cloud. The next explorers hope to take a look around. A convergence of technological leaps — from ultra-strong materials to lightweight batteries — has rekindled interest in exploring this black world where photosynthesis doesn't happen. British-born Hawkes has been at it the longest. His craft, the DeepFlight Challenger, is "a few weeks away" from seaworthiness, while his competitors are still in design and testing stages. Hawkes thinks the sub would have already set the solo record and be sitting in the Smithsonian if not for the untimely death of its original owner, uber-adventurer Steve Fossett, in 2007. As it happened, the Challenger languished until this past spring. That's when Virgin impresario Sir Richard Branson and his colleague Chris Welsh announced that they had bought the $5 million craft and would soon be taking it on an "epic adventure." It is Welsh who is set to make the historic dive to the Mariana Trench. If conventional submarines are like elevators or hot-air balloons, Hawkes' subs, which replace heavy steel with carbon fiber and titanium, are like fighter jets. With elongated fuselages and fixed wings, they use the same principles as an airplane — or, as Hawkes points out, a flippered sea creature. The Triton team, which also announced in the spring that it was jumping into "the race to inner space," is using an entirely different

but equally appealing analogy — the crystal ball. "Our vehicle is completely transparent," Triton President Patrick Lahey said. "It is the cleanest, most elegant solution for the deep ocean." The $15 million sealed glass sphere can carry as many as three people straight down to the bottom of the ocean. Triton hopes to popularize deep sea tourism. Lahey imagines that the exotic marine denizens of the abyss one day will keep company with packs of hedge fund managers and thrill-seeking scions. Cameron, meanwhile, has revealed that he is working on an $8 million steel craft that he plans to pilot to the trench. He has written in Wired Magazine that he was "infected by the deep-sea-exploration virus" during the filming of "Titanic." Taking a more conventional path to the deeps is Sylvia Earle, a longtime Oakland, Calif., resident who is Hawkes' ex-wife. She has the enviable title of "explorer in residence" at the National Geographic Society. With funding from Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Earle's company is designing a blimp-like craft with cameras and robotic arms that will be able to stop and float in the depths. At $40 million, it costs more than three times as much as the other contenders. Although Earle will most likely pilot the craft, the project is intended as a resource for many scientists. While others seek profits, adventure and scientific discoveries, Hawkes is hoping that the race to the deep will usher in the era of "flying" subs. "It is the pointy end of the spear that will pierce open the realm of possibility," he said. Hawkes, 63, pioneered the idea of deep sea sightseeing with the DeepFlight Super Falcon, which he sold to Bay Area venture capitalist Tom Perkins in 2008 and promptly replicated for himself. The soft-spoken engineer billed the Falcon as "the first fully productionized submersible capable of sub-sea flight." So far, however, few researchers or well-heeled adventurers have come knocking. Today, the sleek craft sits just beyond the mirrored double doors of Hawkes' cluttered Point Richmond headquarters, in the space you might expect to meet a receptionist.

While his peers acknowledge his genius for technological innovation, some also dismiss Hawkes as a monomaniac working on the fringes of the profession. Soaring in the ocean may be cool, but if you're a scientist, what you really want to do is stop and hover. "I love Graham's vision of flight," Earle said. "He's been smitten with the idea of flying in the ocean. But as a scientist, I need to be able to pause when I want to, to stay for minutes or hours." Her craft will allow scientists to linger, as opposed to performing what she dismissively called "bounce dives" and "fly-throughs." Other researchers spurn the notion of manned deep sea exploration altogether. Chris Harrold, director of conservation research at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, has been to 19,000 feet in a safe, "workhorse" sub and has no desire to go deeper. "Going down into a submersible to tropic depth is one thing," he said. "There's light, there's stuff to see, you're not freezing cold. Go deeper and most of the time you're in blackness." There is little scientific incentive to risk lives when robots can do the job just was well, Harrold said, though he acknowledged that "there's this human spirit thing that we need to get a person down there." The Hawkes, Cameron and Triton teams are pursuing the business model of the jet industry. Hawkes offers $15,000, three-day underwater flight courses that regularly sell out, and he recently took the Falcon to Jordan at the request of the Royal Hashemite Court. Ultimately, the best defense of the race to the deep may be sentimental, rather than scientific. The exploration of our planet, Hawkes believes, is a fundamentally human endeavor. He expects his submersibles will one day float among the million-dollar yachts moored outside his fog-shrouded studio — not because of their commercial or scientific potential, but because of the allure of the unknown. That is one point upon which all those racing to the deep can agree. "We don't climb mountains halfway," Earle said. "There is no other place where we have access to where life exists with 16,000 pounds of pressure on it. How can we resist wanting to see who lives there?"

opınıons 3

editors: scott masselli, sean simons opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES

august 31, 2011

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

MCT CAMPUS

Our Views [staff editorial]

Vick has paid dues, earned forgiveness the mid-2000s, Nike In released a commercial advertising a pair of cleats. Like any good Nike advertisement, it featured one of the most dominant, freakishly athletic sports stars at the time. The ad took viewers on a rollercoaster ride at an amusement park. The ride sped through a football field, evading would-be tacklers with leaps, spins, and of course, pure, lethal speed. A female voice-over is the only one to address the audience saying, “Welcome to the Michael Vick Experience.” For Hokie fans, it must seem as if Phil Knight is a fortune-teller with a knack for imagery. No Virginia Tech character has been the root of so many emotional spikes. When Vick led an undefeated Tech to the national championship game against Florida State in 1999, he dazzled not only Blacksburg, but the entire country. During his sophomore year, Tech only lost one game, as Miami beat the Hokies, while Vick, injured, sat on the sidelines. When Vick left that spring for the NFL Draft, citing a desire to provide a paycheck for his family, he was taken No. 1 overall, a fitting culmination to a career that secured Tech’s spot as a national powerhouse. ESPN soon reported that Vick purchased a new home for his mother in a well-todo section of Suffolk, Va. For students who did not grow up watching Tech football, it may be hard to understand, but in 1998, the team was hardly what it is today. The Hokies put together a few good years under Frank Beamer, but it only reached the 10-win mark twice — a benchmark now taken for granted. The program was perhaps akin to (dare I say) Boise State, a team that has

strung together some good seasons, but whose future is uncertain. Vick’s two-year tenure put a spotlight on Tech and made it sustainable. That the program was a beneficiary of Vick’s skills is undeniable. For all the embarrassment, anger and sorrow Tech fans felt in the aftermath of Vick’s 2008 arrest, it is difficult — and perhaps wrong — for them to harden their hearts against a man who seems to have sincerely tried to perform his penance. He has spoken out against dog fighting, and has worked with and taken the advice of respected figures, including former Colts coach Tony Dungy. Vick later humbled himself, taking a third-string spot with the Philadelphia Eagles. He avoided any unwise remarks during the quarterback battle with Kevin Kolb in his second year, and he now has a six-year, $100-million deal to show for his efforts. All this after speculation that he would be too old, foot-reliant or injury-prone. The thing about forgiveness is that it’s actually not difficult, as long as in doing so, you don’t have to interact with the person that offended you. It is a little harder when that person is asking you to trust him, yet again. “The Michael Vick Experience” has been more volatile than Nike could have ever imagined. Fans have felt betrayed and ashamed, and those are two hard emotions to forget. The thought of being fooled again is painful to imagine, but it is far worse to never be able to forgive a truly repentant member of your family. the editorial board consists of Scott Masselli and Sean Simons

Politics, religion can mix election year is just around the corner, and An right on schedule we’re witnessing the return of the liberal obsession with conservative politicians’ religious beliefs. Every time a Republican candidate for high office surfaces who is also a dedicated Christian, the left warns in apocalyptic tones that if you vote for him, America will sink into a “theocracy.” Long ago these fear-mongers warned us about Ronald Reagan. Then it was George W. Bush, and after that, Sarah Palin. Now it’s Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. Elect Perry or Bachmann, this year’s warnings go, and make way for “Jesusland” — a country in which adulterers will be stoned, creationism taught in the schools and gay people sent to reorientation therapy. In a recent New Yorker profile of Bachmann, Ryan Lizza characterized the Minnesota congresswoman as “a politician with a history of pushing sectarian religious beliefs in government.” Around the same time, Salon’s Alex Pareene accused Perry of “purposefully evoking some of the most radical far-right movements and ideas of the last 200 years.” A few days later, Michelle Goldberg, who in 2006 wrote a theocrats-under-the-bed book titled “Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism,” warned in the Daily Beast that both Bachmann, a Lutheran, and Perry, a lifelong Methodist who currently worships at an evangelical megachurch, “are deeply associated with a theocratic strain of Christian fundamentalism known as Dominionism.” You may wonder what on Earth “dominionism” is. That’s because the word wasn’t coined by dominionists (partly because it’s unclear whether there actually are any) but by writers who worry about dominionism. The word derives from a passage in the Book of Genesis in which God gives Adam and Eve “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the Earth.” It’s a stretch from there to the idea that the Christian right has a secret plan to take over America, but plenty among the paranoid intelligentsia have been willing to make that stretch. Sara Diamond, who wrote the 2002 book “Facing the Wrath: Confronting the Right in Dangerous Times,” concluded that dominion theology — the

notion that “Christians, and Christians alone, are biblically mandated to occupy all secular positions” — is ubiquitous in evangelical circles. Her position was enthusiastically adopted by many of her fellow intellectuals, who were already freaked out by the Bible-reading George W. Bush. Books such as Goldberg’s “Kingdom Coming,” Chris Hedges’ “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America,” Kevin Phillips’ “American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century” and James Rudin’s “The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right’s Plans for the Rest of Us” flowed feverishly from the presses. On the Internet, Andrew Sullivan coined the word “Christianist,” and bloggers across the country echoed each others’ daily alarms about the coming fundamentalist jihad. Lately, the alarmist left has focused on Rousas John Rushdoony, a Presbyterian minister who died in 2001. Rushdoony, part of a Calvinist offshoot known as Christian Reconstructionism, believed that biblical law, including the eyefor-an-eye mandates of the Old Testament, should form the basis of government. But linking Rushdoony to present-day evangelicals involves connecting a dubious series of dots. In the case of the New Yorker’s Bachmann profile, the dots included the fact that she attended law school at Oral Roberts University, where professors taught her to seek “legal means and political means” to change laws that conflicted with biblical values. It also pointed to her admiration for the evangelical theologian and bestselling author Francis Schaeffer, who died in 1984. No matter that Schaeffer specifically condemned Rushdoony’s proposal that Old Testament law should govern America. As for Perry, well, um, he led a prayer rally on Aug. 6 that was protested by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Oh, and he prayed with some Pentecostal preachers who have been accused by his critics of being closet dominionists. “Close to” and “associated with” are favorite phrases in the vocabulary of the religion-fearing left. To listen to those warning of dominionism, you’d think there was a tidal wave of mil-

lions of theocrats poised to crash over American democracy. In “Kingdom Coming” Goldberg accused David Gibbs, Terri Schiavo’s lawyer, of Rushdoonyism, even as she acknowledged that he was actually a Baptist: “But whether he knew it or not, Reconstructionism shaped his thinking, just as it shaped the thinking of the Christian nationalist movement as a whole.” Sarah Palin got tagged as a “dominionist stalking-horse” by leftwing bloggers in 2008 because she had led a prayer service at her former church, Wasilla Assembly of God, in which she declared that U.S. troops in Iraq were “on a task that is from God.” Such groups as Campus Crusade for Christ, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Feminists for Life have been characterized as dominionist fronts. Most recently — and hilariously — New York Times religion columnist Mark Oppenheimer postulated that Christian Reconstructionism might have been behind the recent antipublic union demonstrations in Wisconsin. After all, Gary North, Rushdoony’s son-in-law, has argued that the Bible forbids public employees from organizing. It is hard to figure out why no one in the liberal media seems to mind, say, that one of President Barack Obama’s spiritual advisers, the progressive evangelical Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine, also has a political agenda — income redistribution and greater social spending — that he says is influenced by his Christian values. Many Jews believe that the rabbinic concept of tikkun olam, or “repairing the world,” is a mandate for bettering society at large. Yet when conservative-voting Christians seek to implement their values in the public square, using the language of their faith, they’re feared like carriers of bubonic plague. The opponents of the religious right would gain a bit more credibility if they didn’t feel compelled to manufacture a vast conspiracy called dominionism and throw around words like “theocracy” every time the GOP threatens to win an election. You know what they sound like? Their opposite number from the 1950s: the John Birch Society.

CHARLOTTE ALLEN -mcclatchy newspapers

Both political parties should fight to balance budget ust as every American is expectJ ed to live within our means, the federal government should be expected to do the same. Our government currently borrows more than 40 cents out of every dollar it spends; as a college student I wonder what kind of future is in store for my generation if we continue down this path. The new version of the balanced budget amendment would be a permanent measure to make sure that our generation would not be left with the bill. I believe that the House, Senate and state legislators should pass this legislation in order to create an amendment to our Constitution. After the debt ceiling debate, Congress has decided to create a “supercommittee” of six republicans and six democrats in order to deal with our growing deficit. They are expected to find $1.5 trillion in savings over a ten-year period. As the committee strives to reduce the

deficit, Congress should keep in mind a permanent measure that would ensure that such a situation would never occur again. The amendment process is not going to happen overnight, but Republicans have to push for a step in the right direction. The House and Senate are now being required to vote on a version of a balanced budget amendment sometime this fall. This requirement was another measure included in the recent deal to raise the government’s debt ceiling. The amendment being discussed is supported by the tea party and would require a two-thirds vote to approve any tax increases. It would also include capping federal government spending at 18 percent of the nation’s total economic output per year. This would help the government prioritize the programs they provide to the public as well as force them to reform the

major non-discretionary spending programs such as Social Security and Medicare. As of this year our spending is at an out of control rate of 25 percent of the gross domestic product. If the government has no restrictions on the amount it can spend, this rate could escalate. I feel as though some of the programs the government is spending our money on are wasteful or can be consolidated with similar local or state programs. If enacted, this amendment would give congressional members and bureaucrats a chance to look into cost saving ideas in all of the government run programs. The balanced budget amendment is something I feel Republicans and Democrats should be fighting for together. As of now, the tea party backed version of the amendment has republican support only. Some feel as though the 1995 version of the bill, which to some is less

controversial, and requires a simple majority to raise taxes, would get more votes than the currently proposed amendment. I foresee that tea party and fiscally conservative members would vote no on the 1995 version of the proposed amendment. The problem with the older version of the proposed amendment is the fear that since cutting will be enforced by the Constitution, members may vote to increase taxes in order to subsidize programs they feel were unfairly cut. Though raising taxes would help the program and its beneficiaries, it would hurt the millions of Americans, small businesses, and corporations that cannot afford to pay such tax increases. Our high tax rates are already hurting the economic growth of the country. For example, our corporate tax rate is the highest in the world and is resulting in businesses going abroad and hiring fewer new

employees. If taxes are raised or even sustained at the current levels, companies will have little incentive to hire recent graduates, which is something that should be of concern to every Virginia Tech student. As a senior, and soon to be taxpayer, I hope that Congress will consider passing as is, the newly proposed budget amendment, and that the Republican leaders will not revert back to the 1995 version of the bill. As students I hope you will urge your congressional member to vote for such a balanced budget amendment. If Congress has any concern at all for the burden of debt being dealt to our generation and those to come, they will vote yes on a resolution to bring our nation’s spending in line with what our nation can afford.

MADELINE HENNINGS -mcclatchy newspapers

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august 31, 2011

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FBI: Little leglislative or judicial oversight exists for surveillance tactics from page one

by Americans and foreigners alike, as long as the target of the surveillance is a foreigner. Exactly what records are kept and how they are used is not well understood even by lawmakers who oversee the intelligence agencies, said Rep. Rush D. Holt, D-N.J., who chaired the now-expired Select Intelligence Oversight Panel. “The NSA finds it pretty easy to snow members of Congress by confusing them,” Holt said in an interview. Officials from the FBI and NSA say they follow strict rules to avoid abuses. But in 2007, the Justice Department’s inspector general found that the FBI had engaged in “serious misuse” of its authority to issue National Security Letters, claiming urgency in cases where when none existed

Such letters, a kind of administrative subpoena, are key to the increased surveillance. Courts have ruled that the government doesn’t need a search warrant, which requires a judge’s approval, to obtain records held by “third parties,” such as hotels, banks, phone companies or Internet providers. So the government has used National Security Letters to get the data, issuing 192,500 of the letters between 2003 and 2006, according to an audit by the Justice Department inspector general. The numbers have dropped sharply since then, but the FBI issued 24,287 National Security Letters last year for data on 14,212 Americans. That’s up from a few thousand letters a year before 2001. “It used to be the case that if the government wanted to find out what

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you read and what you wrote, it would have to get a warrant and search your home,” said Daniel J. Solove, a law professor at George Washington University and the author of numerous books and articles on privacy law. Now, “it just obtains your Amazon purchase records, your Facebook posts, your Internet browsing history — without you even knowing.” There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, advocates argue. “As we put more data in the cloud, as we share more data online, we become less shocked when the police have access to it,” said Stewart Baker, a former NSA general counsel and policy chief at the Department of Homeland Security. Privacy activists disagree. “I think it’s a world of difference between what a person decides to post pub-

licly and what the FBI collects about them secretly,” said Gregory Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy&Technology, a Washington-based civil liberties group. U.S. intelligence officials insist that the new surveillance powers have been crucial to stopping terrorist plots. They cite the case of Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan-American who planned to bomb New York City subways in 2009. Warrants were obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, to search Zazi’s vehicle and eavesdrop on his calls. The evidence was used to secure his guilty plea to terrorism charges. Unlike a search warrant in a criminal case, obtaining a FISA warrant does not require convincing a judge that there is probable cause to believe a

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WORDSEARCH: Back to School Locate the list of words in the word bank in the letter grid. P

W A

W T

W X

W D

W R

W X

W Y

W N

By Kurt Mengel and Jan-Michele Gianette

ACROSS 1 Crick in the neck, e.g. 6 Exec’ s “I want it now!” 10 Sci. class 14 Foil maker 15 The Big Easy, briefly 16 Golden rule word 17 Having a sense of the Prairie State? 20 Retreats 21 Pub quaf fs 22 Between then and now 23 “V for V endetta ” actor Stephen

24 Mil. morale booster 25 Scandinavian capita l 27 Webster ’s impression of the Natural State? 33 ’50s song, e.g. 35 Fr. holy women 36 Not con 37 Soccer score 38 En __: all together 40 Like the Reaper 41 Breakfast food 42 __ rug: dance 43 Skip over 44 Watch the Evergreen State?

WORD BANK 1 Pencils 2 Pens 3 Fall 4 Football 5 Laptop 6 Classes 7 Professor 8 McBryde 9 Torgerson 10 Surge 11 Burruss 12 Planner 13 Clubs 14 Dorms 15 Apartments 16 Downtown 17 West End 18 Lane

9/1/11

DOW N 1 Not so dangerous 2 West Point rookie 3 Injury treatment brand 4 Beethoven’s fifths? 5 Spring month in Paris 6 Latino’ s white American buddies 7 Sorbonne silk 8 What it takes, in an inclusive idiom 9 Budd y 10 Toe inflammation 11 Aware of 12 Suf fix with narc 13 Misplace 18 Poet Ogden 19 __ Canarias 24 Its cap. is Abu Dhabi 26 __-Ball: arcade game 28 Olive or peanut product 29 Very, in music 30 Emulate a jackin-the-box

48 One-named Deco designer 49 Mine output 50 Verizon 67 Things to solve forerunner for, in some 53 Test during equations pregnancy , briefly 56 Start of a birth announcement 58 Potting soil 59 Close to the Magnolia State? 62 Have to hav e 63 Sooner State tribe 64 Staggering 65 Estimate words 66 Political org. until 1991

31 Saharan 32 Vague number 33 Architect ’s Scurve 34 Feeling sluggish 38 Has to 39 Nonbelievers 40 Mop & __: floor cleaner 42 Pool shot 43 Lyon summer 45 Nut 46 More snoopy 47 Mardi __ 51 Recorded, in a way 52 Most popular baby girl’ s name, 1996-2007 53 A.D. part 54 The Mediterranean, to Hans 55 Scot ’s turndowns 57 General __ chicken 58 Old Italian dough 60 Debt acknowledgment 61 Clinton played one

Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

8/31/11

crime was committed. Instead, the government must show probable cause that the target is an agent of a foreign power, whether a diplomat, terrorist or spy. Because of the different legal standard, information gathered from FISA warrants tended not to be used in criminal cases a decade ago. Now that line has been blurred. In the Zazi case, the wiretapped conversations were revealed during pretrial discovery and are believed to have helped persuade the defendant to plead guilty. “Zazi is a very good example of the melding of intelligence authorities and criminal authorities,” said a senior law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We needed to move quickly, and we never could have done it like that” before Sept. 11.

The Zazi case revealed another new reality. Earlier this year, the government disclosed it had recorded 43 conversations between Zazi’s codefendant, Adis Medunjanin, and his lawyer, Robert Gottlieb. With rare exceptions, such conversations are offlimits to investigators in criminal cases — unless they obtain a FISA warrant. FISA warrants also enabled the FBI to bug the phones and break into the home of Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield, a convert to Islam, after a faulty FBI fingerprint analysis linked him to the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed nearly 200 people. The FBI initially refused to tell Mayfield or his family why or where he was being held. He wasn’t released until Spanish authorities announced that the fingerprint belonged to an Algerian suspect.

august 31, 2011

editors: chelsea gunter, patrick murphy featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865

food & drink

COLLEGIATETIMES

Review: Bollo's Cafe and Bakery exudes cozy atmosphere ucked away among the buzzing T college streets of downtown Blacksburg, there survives, and thrives, Bollo’s Cafe and Bakery. While the area has slowly transformed to accommodate the busy lives of a growing student population, Bollo’s still manages to capture that small-town feel. The cafe is nestled along Draper Road, which is just off College Avenue. Bollo’s is a conveniently located a short distance from campus, offering students an alternative to Au Bon Pain or Starbucks. Bollo’s began in 1994 with Ranae Bolognese Gillie’s vision of expanding her cuisine from Gillie’s restaurant, according to the cafe’s website. She wanted to provide people with gourmet coffee and baked goods that weren’t offered at Gillie’s. After hearing about Bollo’s tremendous atmosphere and quality food, I decided to check it out for myself. Upon entering the cafe, I was immediately at ease in its warm, comforting atmosphere. It reminded me of St. Elmo’s, a similar small town coffee shop I used to go to with my parents in Alexandria — what a refreshing relief compared to the modern and mundane interiors of today’s typical coffee shops. The sound of smooth jazz and chatter from nearby customers

calmed my mood. However, my good mood was soon countered by a bold sign reading, “Cash and Checks Only.” As I felt around my pockets searching for some cash, I was relieved when I found a few dollar bills behind my credit card. I had eagerly awaited the intimate atmosphere, but the lack of modernization almost drove me, albeit unwillingly, out the door. As I approached the counter, I was at a loss for what to order, probably still frazzled by the sign. With the guidance of a friendly employee, I boldly ordered a hot chocolate, and my curiosity drove me to complement the beverage with a blueberry lemon poppy seed muffin. I sat down for my mid-afternoon snack and found that I was thoroughly satisfied. The hot chocolate was rich and creamy, and as I held the warm cup between my hands I reminisced of cold winter days as a child, sipping hot cocoa by the fire. The muffin was a pleasant surprise — warm, soft and unlike any muffin I’ve ever had. Needless to say, the overall experience was a good one. The atmosphere was comforting, the other customers and employees were friendly, and the food was tasty and reasonably priced. I found myself enjoying a local business without

burning a hole in my pocket, which we all know is of the utmost importance for college students. I will definitely remember my experience at Bollo’s the next time I am craving a warm cup of coffee or other hot drink in a few months when Blacksburg is met with harsh winter weather. It was definitely nice to see that remnants of Blacksburg’s smalltown vibe is alive and can be shared with locals and students. Although I normally gravitate more toward the fast-paced, modern businesses that facilitate my busy lifestyle, it was a breath of fresh air to actually sit down, relax and enjoy the experience. If you aren’t interested in that kind of atmosphere and just want to grab your coffee on the go, or enjoy the convenience of using your credit card or Hokie passport, then Bollo’s might not be the place for you. However, if you are looking for a getaway from the stressful college lifestyle — maybe a place to study, read or just relax, while enjoying gourmet coffee and fresh pastries — then Bollo’s is a great option for you.

NICK SMIRNIOTOPOULOS -features reporter -sophomore -communication major

BRAD KLODOWSKI / SPPS

Left: Customers use their down time in Bollo’s Cafe and Bakery, which is located on Draper Road, to catch up on work, chat with friends or relax. Above: A piping hot cup of coffee awaits a customer.

Game day sunrise

EMMA GODDARD features staff writer

rink

Homemade Pop-Tarts

PATRICK MURPHY features editor

of the week

As the ﬁrst home game of the season approaches, it’s time to start thinking about the inaugural tailgate, where drinks are an obvious staple. So consider making the Game Day Sunrise your beverage-of-choice Saturday morning. Ingredients: (serves one) 1 1/2 shots plain vodka Half shot triple sec Half cup orange juice Half cup pineapple juice Splash of grenadine Fruit garnish if desired Ice Directions: 1. Fill a large mimosa-style glass with a handful of ice. 2. Add in the juices and liquors, and stir. 3. Add a splash of grenadine on top of the drink. It sinks, creating the sunrise and Hokie-colored effect. Don’t stir — you want to maintain this effect. 4. Finish with an orange slice on rim of glass if desired.

PATRICK MURPHY / COLLEGIATE TIMES

EMMA GODDARD / COLLEGIATE TIMES

With classes bac back in full swing, the primal need for an on-the-go snack sn has returned. Just gra grab one of these flaky creatio creations as you dash out the door to ensure an energy boost for those early morning — or afternoon — classes. The tarts require a little prep time the night before, but catching those extra snoozes snooze the next morning could be worth it. Prep Time: 30 minutes mi Cook Time: Abou About 10 minutes Ingredients: 1 box of

re refrigerated

piecrust 1 jar of jam or preserves (flavor of your choice) Glaze or egg wash Sparkling sugar (for decoration) 1 cup powdered sugar Milk Directions for Pop-Tarts: 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 2. Unroll piecrust into a rectangle then cut into smaller rectangles. Place one teaspoon of jam in the center of a rectangle and top with another piece of crust. 3. Crimp all four edges with a fork (this helps to hold the

crust together). Repeat until all of the crust is used. If necessary, use a rolling pin to flatten out the extra crust. 4. Bake the tarts for about 10 minutes or until slightly brown. 5. Allow them to cool, then spread glaze (recipe below) onto each tart and decorate with sparkling sugar, or whatever decoration you desire. Directions for Glaze: 1. Place powdered sugar in bowl. 2. Add milk in very slowly until it has a thick consistency.

6 sports AFC teams reload for 2011 editors: matt jones, zach mariner sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES

august 31, 2011

BRIAN MARCOLINI sports staff writer After much concern that a lockout would prevent professional football from starting on time, the NFL regular season is going to kick off Sept. 11. Here is a look at how the AFC may shake out:

AFC East Sticking to the island of misfit toys philosophy, which has been shown over recent offseasons, the New England Patriots acquired former Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco and former Redskins cast off defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Despite those signings, the core of a team that won 14 games is back, headlined by All-Pro quarterback Tom Brady and 1,000-yard rusher BenJarvus Green-Ellis. The New York Jets made a splash by signing formerly incarcerated wide receiver Plaxico Burress, but the team’s hopes rise and fall with quarterback Mark Sanchez’s occasionally sporadic play and head coach Rex Ryan’s stingy defense. Both the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills are looking at a rough year ahead of them. The Dolphins signed running back Reggie Bush, but their problems lie in the inconsistent hands of quarterback Chad Henne — who was booed by fans during a team scrimmage in early August. The Bills showed signs of life under first year coach Chan Gailey last season, but the team still lacks the overall talent to be a regular competitor in the division. Predicted Winner: New York Jets

AFC North Despite a rash of injuries and the five-game suspension of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC Championship last season. With Roethlisberger poised to play an entire season alongside extremely talented running back Rashard Mendenhall and the lightning-fast Mike Wallace, the Steelers’ offense should be more explosive than ever.

Also, if star safety Troy Polamalu stays healthy, look for the Steelers defense to be better than the unit a year ago. The Baltimore Ravens have nearly turned the corner from being a good team to a great one in recent years, but have ultimately fallen short in the playoffs. The Ravens look to change that this year, with their trademark hardhitting defense and lethal running attack led by Ray Rice. Like the Jets, however, the Ravens will only go so far as its young quarterback will carry them, and quarterback Joe Flacco looks poised for a big year. The Bengals were the topic of controversy during the offseason, when quarterback Carson Palmer decided to retire instead of playing another game in a Bengals uniform. That leaves the reins to rookie Andy Dalton, who will be throwing to another talented rookie, A.J. Green. The Browns looked like an improved team last season, but lost a staggering seven games by a touchdown or less, ultimately going 4-12. With a full season under his belt, quarterback Colt McCoy is a player to watch for improvement, along with the record of this young team. Predicted Winner: Baltimore Ravens

AFC South All eyes are currently on injured Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning, who had his second neck surgery in two years this March, is the lifeblood of the Colts. If he were to miss multiple games, it would mean disaster for the aging franchise. The up-and-coming Houston Texans have seemed to be destined to break the Colts stranglehold on the division, and with an improved defense, this just may be their year. Quarterback Matt Schaub, running back Arian Foster and wide receiver Andre Johnson lead an explosive offense, and if the secondary (ranked last out of 32 teams in passing defense) can improve, look for the Texans to make its first ever playoff appearance.

MCT CAMPUS

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez stands over the line of scrimmage in their preseason game against the Cincinnatti Bengals earlier this month. The Jets, who added former New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress, have a high-powered offense and tough defense. The Tennessee Titans made a change this winter when they fired longtime head coach Jeff Fisher and promoted offensive line coach Mike Munchak to the lead role. Gone also is enigmatic quarterback Vince Young, as well as aging journeyman Kerry Collins, who recently signed with the Colts. Blazing fast running back Chris Johnson looks to be the centerpiece of the offense, while rookie signal caller Jake Locker learns from veteran Matt Hasselbeck. Another team with a rookie quarterback, the Jacksonville Jaguars, looks to be in limbo. Blaine Gabbert was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, but back is veteran David Garrard.

Star running back Maurice JonesDrew has seen little preseason action while recovering from knee surgery, another bad sign for Jaguars fans. Predicted Winner: Houston Texans

AFC West The Kansas City Chiefs unexpectedly won the division last season, with much thanks to a hardnosed ground game and a very soft schedule. Look for the Chiefs to regress from their 10-6 season a year ago. The San Diego Chargers seemed to do everything right last year, having both the No. 1 offense and

defense in terms of yards. Because of bad luck and horrendous special teams, the Chargers only went 9-7. Phillip Rivers directs a dynamic offense, and healthy running back Ryan Mathews adds balance to the attack. Another surprise team in the AFC last season was the Oakland Raiders. The consistently abysmal Raiders went a steady 8-8 last season thanks to a stingy pass defense led by stalwart corner back Nnamdi Asomugha. Gone, however, is Asomugha, so it will be interesting to see how the Oakland defense recovers from that loss. One of the biggest quarterback battles was in Denver, where

veteran Kyle Orton and second year player Tim Tebow battled it out for the Broncos starting job. Orton won but is set to lead a team whose defense was one of the worst in the league. It looks to be a long season in the Mile High City. Predicted Winner: San Diego Chargers Predicted AFC Champion: The Jets look like the team that may finally turn the corner, and they are the pick to win the AFC. Sanchez should put up better numbers with wide receiver Santonio Holmes around for the entire season, and defense still has the ability to strike fear in offenses all over the conference.

august 31, 2011

editors: chelsea gunter, patrick murphy featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES

food & drink

In a caffeine crunch?

Bollo’s This cafe and bakery is burrowed in the heart of downtown Blacksburg, along Draper Road. The hip and cozy joint is the perfect place to get lost in a book or engage in intimate conversation with a friend — all while sipping on a hot bevarage and munching on a tasty baked good. Among the pasties Bollo’s offers, are scones, pies, cakes, muffins, bars and cookies. Breads, ranging from honey wheat to buttermilk rye, are also cooked up homemade from the bakery’s in-house kitchen — hence the warm smells trickling through the cafe. The list of coffees and teas Bollo’s provides is seemingly endless, giving customers many beverage options to pair with food. And the cafe hasn’t forgotten about Blacksburg’s art scene. Local artwork is displayed in the shop for guests to peruse.

BETHANY MELSON AND VICTORIA ZIGADLO/ CT

Easy Chair This hot spot gives customers a two-part deal — a coffee shop and a book store cafe. Located in the University Mall, which also houses Virginia Tech’s Math Emporium, Easy Chair is a relaxing place for people to take a break from intense studying to read a head-clearing novel. Or, if doing work in a chill atmosphere intrigues you, take your notes and textbooks to Easy Chair, instead of spending hours on end in the windowless Empo. While customer’s are at it, they also have the option to order food and drinks from a vast menu, which includes coffee, bagels, sandwiches and more. This homey nook, along with its flavorful menu, is sure to put your mind at ease, or in a focused state, depending on whichever you choose. And if you forget a book to read, don’t fret. Easy Chair has a variety of novels for sale.

Mill Mountain Resting along North Main Street, Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea should not be forgotten, even with rubble from ongoing downtown construction heaping in front of its doors. The shop is the place in town to slowly take in scents of fresh coffee. And the term fresh is not taken lightly at Mill Mountain — the cafe prides itself on its coffee, which is roasted in-house. The large roaster sitting amid tables and chairs in the restaurant is difficult to miss. The burlap bags filled with beans also give Mill Mountain a down-to-earth atmosphere — it’s obvious it is serving fresh, honest products. If customers thoroughly enjoy their cup of joe from Mill Mountain, they can actually purchase grounds to take home. And Mill Moutain doesn’t just serve coffee. They have a long breakfast and lunch menu as well.

Starbucks Although Starbucks is the only brand-name coffee joint among those listed, it still deserves recognition. Its logo has been well-known and highly acclaimed for years — popular for the smooth coffee blends and delicious food pairings it offers. Two Starbucks shops reside in Blacksburg — one in Kent Square and the other along University Boulevard. Both of the spaces are excellent for studying, with soothing music reverberating softly throughout.

Blacksburg is filled with cozy coffee shops, each of which can be used for reading, chatting, studying or relaxing. Wondering where your spot is? Check out these caffeine-filled hot spots to figure out which one pleases your coffee palette.

6 weekend august 31, 2011

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