Bracket busted? We know how you feel. See page eight. Tuesday, March 20, 2012 An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 www.collegiatetimes.com
COLLEGIATETIMES 108th year, issue 32
News, page 2
Arts & Entertainment, page 6
Opinions, page 3
Sports, page 8
Will you get what you need? BY KELSEY JO STARR | news staff writer
Study Break, page 5
Retailer’s new center on the way CODY OWENS news reporter
Departments struggle to maintain enough faculty, meet student demand for course requirements Course request is a stressful process for Rachel Saenz. The sophomore communication major often has to add classes unrelated to her degree because there are not enough courses available in her major or minors. “It’s just been a mess,” Saenz said. “ The y’re pretty much piece-mealing the entire thing.” Saenz was frustrated by the lack of information she received from advising, which ended up hurting her. “They tell you to take two Comm classes per semester as a Comm major,” Saenz said. “I’ve been taking three, so I thought I was getting ahead. But it really
hurt me in the end, even though they informed me to do that.” Many students find that classes they need to take to graduate on time are not being offered when they need them, and a lot of time it is due to a lack of professors available to teach them. This lack of options results in some students not being able to graduate on time or take their desired classes. Many have to settle for something else. In order for Saenz to continue in her major, she has to take prerequisite courses, none of which were offered this past spring semester, forcing her to take unnecessary classes to maintain full-time student status.
COURSE REQUEST OPENS TODAY FOR FALL SEMESTER 2012
Professor to student ratio by major
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
see REQUEST / page five
Mechanical Engineering
Communication
Political Science & International Studies
= 1 STUDENT PER TENURE/TENURE TRACK PROFESSOR OR INSTRUCTOR
DANIELLE BUYNAK / COLLEGIATE TIMES
Online outdoor-retailer BackCountry.com is well on its way to opening its $20 million distribution center in Christiansburg. Ground was broken at the site in early November, but the first wall panels went up on March 12. The center, which will ultimately span 326,000 square feet, has a tentative completion date of Aug. 15. Located in Falling Branch Corporate Park, it will serve as the East Coast presence of the Utah-based company and create 216 jobs in Montgomery County. Applicants for management positions are currently being screened, with other jobs being filled afterwards. According to the Economic Development Authority of Montgomery County, a $2.3 million agreement was made with the company, including a $300,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, among other benefits. “Backcountry’s local taxes will in effect be reduced by 50 percent for the first five years,” said Ruth Richey, public information director of Montgomery County. “During its first five years, Backcountry will still pay an estimated $880,000 in local taxes and after five years yearly estimated taxes will be $336,000.” Montgomery County also gifted a 46-acre lot located in Falling Branch Corporate Park, bought by the EDA in 2000 for over $1.1 million. Warren Hammer of the VEDP said the lot, which Microsoft considered for a potential data center in 2010, was a large part of the deal. see BACK COUNTRY / page two
Team starts new EcoCar project after previous victory footprint, without making it suck. You’ve got to make something someone will actually want to buy and drive.” A team of Virginia Tech engineerThe team chose to design an ing students has started building extended-range electric vehicle, an energy-efficient vehicle for an or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, intercollegiate competition, raising which runs on a large electric motor awareness of the environmental and battery pack. footprint of automobiles. “Just like the Chevy Volt, it can After a first-place finish in the drive nearly 50 miles in electric national EcoCar Challenge this range,” Alley said. “Once the batyear, the Hybrid Electric Vehicle tery dies or gets to a lower state of Team at Tech has charge, it can started working turn on the on EcoCar2, a engine and The focus of the three-year vehikeep going. cle design project Currently, competition is reand competition the team is ally the education and modeling the sponsored by the U.S. Department behavior and learning process of of Energy and efficiency of General Motors. the vehicle. engineers. “It’s the beginJesse Alley In addition, ning of a new HEVT team leader the controls three-year projsub-team is ect,” said Doug developing Nelson, mechanithe vehicle cal engineering professor and facul- controller, which makes decisions ty adviser of the project. “We’ll start — like determining when to shut over and start with a new design down the battery and start the and a new platform.” motor — on how the power train The team began working on the components behave. new car, a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, In addition, by using computerlast semester, in the first phase of aided design software, the team will the design process. develop the layout of the mechani“The broad technical goals of the cal parts in the Malibu’s framework. competitions are to reduce petro“It’s a pretty extraordinarily comleum energy usage and reduce plex task,” Alley said. “In year one, greenhouse gases, without com- we’re focused on getting a good promising safety, consumer appeal start to that.” or performance,” said Jesse Alley, Once the year-one design phase is team leader of HEVT. “Essentially, complete, the team will start piecing you’re looking to make a vehicle a mule vehicle together. that reduces the environmental “It will be something that can run,
JOSH HIGGINS news reporter
“
but will not look pretty,” Alley said. In year three, the team will refine the vehicle and make it consumer friendly — one of the main goals of the project. But in addition to all the design, a major component of the competition is outreach and awareness. “This is one of the overarching goals of the competition — to reach out to the community to raise awareness about vehicle technologies and sustainability and to teach the public,” Alley said. “This is something that makes EcoCar unique from anything else that’s out there. You just won’t find another engineering competition that has an outreach component.” Last November, the HEVT traveled to Kingsport, Tenn. with the EcoCar vehicle and visited middle schools in the area to teach students about engineering, automobiles and sustainability. “Hopefully they got something out of it and learned something,” Alley said. “But more importantly, they were hopefully inspired to reach for a technical field in college in general.” While the competition does not result in cutting-edge technological innovations in the auto industry, Alley said that the competition does prepare student engineers to enter the industry. “GM does not get technical knowledge or designs (from the competition); they get engineers,” he said. “The major goal of the competition is a learning endeavor. The focus of the competition is really the education and learning process of engineers.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROY FELDMAN
Thomas Rohrbaugh works on HEVT’s submission that won the EcoCar Challenge earlier this year. However, the competition may lead to a more environmentally conscious team of automobile designers and help dedicated engineering students get jobs after college. “I’m hopeful that this will help accelerate the adoption and make cost-effective these technologies, so they can really reduce the envi-
ronmental impact of automobiles,” Nelson said. Lynn Gantt, a team leader of HEVT during the first EcoCar Challenge, said that many members of the original team were able to secure jobs straight out of college because of their involvement with the project.
“Once you come out of this competition, you’re going to be astronomically ahead of a peer of yours that hasn’t had the experience because we’re working with real production systems and solving real problems that automotive engineers face every day,” Gantt said.
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news
march 20, 2012 COLLEGIATETIMES
editors: nick cafferky, michelle sutherland newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
Back Country: County lures corporations, jobs from page one
“The land really assisted with the landing of the project in Montgomery County,” Hammer said. “It’s one of the things that a
locality can do to sway the deal toward them because it’s $2 million the company doesn’t have to spend.” Backcountry.com is not the only business that has seen
Montgomery County as a site for potential growth. In 2008, Inorganic Ventures, a leading manufacturer of custom inorganic chemical blends, moved its operations from
New Jersey to Falling Branch Corporate Park. On Jan. 18, the company announced that it will expand its headquarters, manufacturing and distribution center by 20,000
square feet and create 21 new jobs. In addition, global automotive supplier Federal-Mogul Corporation announced plans to expand its 275,000 square
foot facility in the Blacksburg Industrial Park. The $10 million project will create 50 new jobs and is expected to be completed sometime in 2012.
crimeblotter date
time
offense
location
status
2/20/2012
07.00 pm
follow up to larceny of money
Johnston Student Center
arrested
3/16/2012
11.15 am - 5.30 pm
larceny of a cmputer
Litton Reeves
active
3/16/2012
11.37 pm
driving under the influence of alcohol
Washington Street
arrested
3/17/2012
11.31 pm
driving under the influence of alcohol
Washington Street
arrested
3/17/2012
01.33 am
underage possession of alcohol
West Campus Dr.
arrested
3/17/2012
01.56 am
driving under the influence of alcohol
West Campus Dr.
arrested
3/17/2012
02.10 am
underage possession of alcohol
Vawter Hall
arrested
underage possession of alcohol
West Campus Dr.
arrested
3/17/2012
3/17/2012
02.43 am
vandalism/ destruction of property
Vawter Hall
inactive
3/17/2012
11.39 pm
underage possession of alcohol
Cochrane Hall
inactive
3/17/2012
11.40 pm
possession of a concealed weapon
South Main Street
active / arrest made
3/17/2012
11.40 pm
possession of marijuana
South Main Street
active / arrest made
3/17/2012
11.40 pm
possession of drug paraphernalia
South Main Street
active
3/18/2012
01.09 am
possession of drug paraphernalia
South Main Street
active
3/18/2012
02.21 am
appear i ntoxicated in public/ underage possession of alcohol
Campbell Hall
arrested
3/18/2012
01.31 am
underage possession of alcohol
Slusher Tower
arrested
3/18/2012
02.15 - 03.15 pm
vandalism to a vehicle
Coliseum Parking Lot
inactive
3/17/2012
02.40 am
underage possession of alcohol
West Campus Dr
arrested
3/17/2012
03.15 am
underage possession of alcohol
West Campus Dr
arrested
3/17/2012
02.00 am
underage possession of alcohol
West Campus Dr
arrested
3/17/2012
02.00 am
underage possession of alcohol
West Campus Dr
arrested
arestees
editors: scott masselli, sean simons opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
opinions
march 20, 2012 COLLEGIATETIMES
3
Don’t pick Rick
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ith only a few months left before the Republican National Convention, it looks like a brokered convention could be in the works. Before that happens though, the two front-runners, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are making their cases for the presidency. While none of the Republican candidates would make good presidents, Rick Santorum is by far the worst of them because his stances on morality, the economy and foreign affairs are deeply misguided. When it comes to morality, Santorum is simply wrong. There is moral rot in the United States, but it is not found in gay marriage, women’s health issues and pornography; it is found in the public behavior of people who control our economy. While he has discussed the morality of contraception, abortion and gay marriage, Santorum has not discussed where morals have really broken down, Wall Street. In fact, according to Greg Smith, a former Goldman Sachs employee, it made him ill how callously his former coworkers talked “about ripping their clients off, over the last 12 months I have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as ‘muppets’ sometimes over internal email.” Santorum would be better off campaigning to stop Wall Street fraud, exorbitant pay of top executives, financial conflicts of interest, insider trading and the outright bribery of public officials through unlimited campaign “donations.” But no, gay marriage, women’s health issues and pornography are the true measures of morality. If Santorum really wants to reform the morality of the United States, he should start in corporate boardrooms that take advantage of clients, not private people’s bedrooms. Santorum’s economic initiatives aren’t much to write home about either. Like many Republican leaders, he continuously talks about out-of-control debt and the need for spending cuts. On his website he says that as president he would unleash America’s energy by approving the Keystone XL Pipeline. Is that the only way to unleash American energy? I think energy sources such as wind, solar, and other sustainable options are part of America’s long-term energy strategy. Not only that, but while Santorum preaches about balancing the budget, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that his economic policies would
only add to the national debt. Not to mention that while his tax policy would add $4.6 trillion to the national debt, he still has the audacity to call for a balanced budget amendment. Finally, when it comes to entitlement reform, Rick Santorum is off base. He wants to cut means-tested entitlements by 10 percent. But does cutting programs for the poor instead of raising taxes really make for the best public policy? When it comes to foreign affairs, Santorum has demonstrated nothing but ignorance with regard to both allies and enemies of the United States. At a February campaign event in Georgetown, Ohio, Rick Santorum said you could not name a time in the last 20 years the French stood with the U.S. on anything. However, over two decades, through the Persian Gulf War, the Balkans, Afghanistan, counter-terrorism and Iran sanctions, France has worked diplomatically with the U.S. and has repeatedly put its own troops in harm’s way. Santorum’s hawkish stance toward Iran is also misguided. Although some have argued bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities would be good, the fact is, as Colin Kahl of Foreign Affairs magazine puts it, “any war with Iran would be a messy and extraordinarily violent affair, with significant casualties and consequences.” These consequences range from closing the Strait of Hormuz — the maritime chokepoint through which nearly 20 percent of the world's traded oil passes — to launching missiles at southern Europe. Even in the weak field, he is by far the worst candidate. His misplaced sense of moral decay would likely lead to more government intervention into the affairs of private citizens rather than checks against the public behavior of corporations. His economic policies would only add to the national debt, while programs that aid poor working-class Americans are slashed. Finally, his inability to understand and analyze the extreme complexities of international politics would lead to a world that is less safe for Americans. So, if it comes time to pick a president and Rick Santorum has won the Republican nomination, do not pick Rick.
JEFF HOMAN -regular columnist -junior -history major
Stadium Woods worth saving T
he Stadium Woods at Virginia Tech is in the fight for its life of 300-plus years. Many people are aware that construction of a new Tech indoor athletic practice facility is planned in the north end of the old-growth white oak woods. Reasonable estimates suggest between three and five acres of the woods (20 to 35 percent of the total) will be directly affected (removed), with another two to three acres subjected to slow decline due to new forest edge effects, root damage and other natural forest adjustments. No one is opposed to the facility and athletics makes a strong case for its need. However, most are opposed to placing it in rare, 300-year-old Stadium Woods. Tech itself is against placing the new indoor practice facility in Stadium Woods. The original “Plan A,” as outlined in all official university planning documents and maps, was to build the facility along Washington Street. In Plan A, Stadium Woods is locked in as an “Environmental and Cultural Greenway” and is placed in a “nobuild zone.” Then mysteriously a “Plan B” emerged which placed the facility in Stadium Woods. Incredibly, this Plan B never appeared or was hinted at in any official university planning document. Plan B only publicly surfaced when the Virginia Tech Arboretum Committee was informed that the facility was being built in the woods — they were told “it was a done deal.” The committee then briefly discussed plans by the athletics department to plant new trees in place of those destroyed. This discussion was misinterpreted by athletics as “the tree people are on board.” Actually, they were just in shock. When asked for an official written position from university central administration, the committee “strongly opposed” placing the facility in Stadium Woods. When I first heard of Plan B I assumed that there was simply a misunderstanding. I assumed athletics and planning must have presumed the area was simply an abandoned woodlot on a hill, and that once they understood that the forest contains dozens of trees that existed long before Europeans ever stepped on the hill, they would go back to Plan A.
I thought surely when they heard the uniqueness and rarity of an old growth white oak woodland sandwiched between a town and a University, they would use Plan A. Or, if they were not happy with Plan A they could move it to any number of parking lots or open fields (“Plan C’s”). The rarity of this urban oldgrowth woodland has been confirmed by Dr. Neil Pederson, Forest Ecologist at the Tree Ring Laboratory, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. Pederson specializes in eastern old growth forest. “The uniqueness of this stand is that it is so easily accessible to so many people," Pederson wrote of the Stadium Woods. "Most of the old-growth forests are found in rugged or inaccessible areas. This has to be a rare thing in upland areas. But because many, if not most, old white oak forests near human settlement were cut, you might have a truly rare piece of property, the site of yours sounds pretty unique, this sounds like a great find!” Robert T. Leverett, Eastern Native Tree Society Cofounder and Executive Director, adds, “As an old growth forest researcher and a co-author of 5 books, I have come to fully recognize how rare and valuable these old growth remnants are. I urge you to preserve the remnant.” I have shared this and more detailed information with the university administration and the committee charged with evaluating where to place the facility and urged them to spare Stadium Woods. Proceeding with Plan B would be a tragic mistake if based on ignorance; proceeding with Plan B after being enlightened would be shameful, immoral and would not represent the land ethic that is central to a land grant institution. If you would like to register your thoughts with the committee evaluating the fate of Stadium Woods they can be emailed at apfsec@vt.edu. More information on Stadium Woods can be found at www.savestadiumwoods.com
JOHN R. SEILER -alumni distinguished professor of forest biology
MCT CAMPUS
Tyler Arthur featured columnist, junior, finance major
Bounty program not a reason to change game T
he New Orleans Saints are making headlines, but not for their prolific offense, rather, it is because of their callous defense. Allegedly, defensive players were making side bets with each other to encourage menacing tackles and blows to the opposing team throughout the game — essentially putting “bounties” on players to purposefully injure them and take them out of the game. An NFL investigation reported that this “bounty system” was implemented in 2009 (when the Saints won the Super Bowl) under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and ran through 2011, involving between 22 and 27 players. Sports writers and various media commentators have characterized the actions of these players as “debasing the game,” “filthy” and “taking the integrity out of the sport.” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to take punitive action against the team, Williams and the players involved. But is the backlash and incessant criticism of the Saints players and coach truly warranted? Can you honestly say you were surprised and flabbergasted when you found out? This is football we are talking about. It is a rendition of Roman sport, where gladiators would fight each other to give the crowd a grand spectacle. Football has a cherished history of being a tough-guy, macho sport, but with all the new safety rules and counter-culture influencing the game, it has been bastardized and its integrity will shrivel to nothing more than an imitation of twohand touch. If the league has its way, this scandal will be used to justify more safety rules. While Williams’ and the players’ actions are reprehensive, this course of action will do an injustice to the fans and the game, while missing the heart of the issue — improper behavior by a coach and players. First, let’s consider why we love football. Is it because of the camaraderie displayed on the field? No, we see that in other, lessfavored sports such as soccer and baseball. Is it because the best athletes in the world play the game? No, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt are supremely talented, yet neither play football. Is it because we get to see insanely fast and strong people hit each other as hard as they can? Yes. Have you ever screamed at the TV when you saw a big hit? Have you ever watched a replay of a big hit on YouTube, e.g. Joe Theismann and Lawrence Taylor? Have you ever watched a defensive recruit’s game film to see his big hits montage? If you did not say yes to one of those questions then you are not a fan of football and can stop reading this article, as it will be irrelevant to you. But for those of you who answered yes, we must then carry on this logic and ask the next question: What are we really paying for then when we attend a football game? We want to see big hits. We want to see our beloved team go to battle and triumph on the field of glory. Now that we understand our underlying desires, let’s then refocus this discussion back to the Saints and their bounty system. The game of football is supposed to be played hard and instinctively. If this mentality is forced to change, the game will change with it, and not for the better. Although the new NFL rules regarding safety have good intentions, they are detrimental to the sport and create an ambiguous gray area regarding what is legal and what is not. If the league truly cares about player safety, and not just mitigating defensive play so fans can see more touchdowns, then it should research and develop the best equipment and train referees to throw the necessary flags. The league, however, should not pass new rules and put a stranglehold on the tenacious defense fans pay to see. More specifically, in regards to the Saints, it
would be ludicrous for us to believe that a defensive player goes onto the field with the intention to incapacitate, but the same is true for believing that all they want to do is merely tackle the opposing player. Just as there is a common misconception that the FBI’s lethal force doctrine is “shoot to kill” — when it really is “eliminate the threat” — there is a common misconception from a fan perspective when it comes to football psychology. When a player is on the gridiron, it is one versus 11, and those 11 are getting paid to make sure that he does his job poorly. Also, when you sign up to play football, you know — just like investing in the stock market or starting a business — that there are inherent risks that you should be aware of and if you are not comfortable with those risks then you should not play the game. In 2006, after a game against the Tennessee Volunteers, University of Miami tight end Kellen Winslow was asked about his block that injured a Volunteer player. “I don’t give a damn. He would do the same thing to me…they don’t give a freaking you know what about you. They will kill you. They are out there to kill you…if I didn’t hurt him, he would hurt me. They were gunning for my legs. I’m going to come right back at them.” Winslow’s comments and sentiments illuminate how a testosterone-filled, heavy contact sport can lead to a callous mentality, and when you are in the middle of it, survival mode automatically kicks in. The behavior displayed by the Saints is characteristic of football’s culture, big money influence and the nature of competition in general. But yes, it was wrong for the players to make malicious side bets and I will not contend otherwise. However, this kind of activity has plagued sports for years and will continue to do so because so much money is on the line and the fans, regardless of their ostensible objections, want their team to win at almost any cost. This activity is displayed time and time again in the realm of college recruiting. If a big recruit signs to your school, you can expect that he is receiving some sort of preferential treatment or was persuaded by some NCAA-objectionable means. I am not advocating that this is right. But, we are being hypercritical. We object to the methods and treatment of athletes in society, such as their ridiculous wages, the crimes they get away with and the lenient academic standards, yet we have developed a sports culture where superstars are transcendent and winning can erase any off-the-field problem. The activities the Saints players engaged in are representative of the underlying problems a big market sports culture creates. What the NFL should do in this situation is take pointed punitive action: Gregg Williams should be banned from the league and the players should be heavily fined. I do not believe extraordinary actions are necessary because it is retroactive and will only make those players a “poster child” and, moreover, it would be naïve to think that these types of activities were limited to only these few. With that being said, future punitive measures should be raised and one possibility is a whole season suspension. With that kind of punishment hanging over their heads, and the kind of money involved if they have to sit out all season, those malicious betting activities should be eradicated from the locker rooms. The NFL should not use this scandal as an opportunity to adopt more “safety” rules and try to look like a moral paragon. Rather, it should implement a policy of stare decisis or even deregulate. As Coach Carter said: “Let the boys play.” Follow the writer on Twitter: @TylerVA540
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march 20, 2012 COLLEGIATETIMES
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Request: Class availability limits frustrate students from page one
Professors are feeling this pressure as well. Larger departments, such as the department of communication, are finding they have to increase the size of some classes or limit course offerings in order to handle all the majors they currently have. “We need a reasonable number of faculty for the number of majors, and we’re hurting,” said Marlene Preston, assistant department head and undergraduate director for the department of communication. And the communication department isn’t the only one. Many other departments, especially in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, do not have a sufficient number of instructors to offer all the classes they would like. Even if they technically offer enough classes to allow students to graduate, there are limitations on students’ abilities to customize their curriculums to suit their interests. According to Courtney Thomas, a visiting assistant professor and an advisor for political science, this problem is often solved by having graduate students teach classes as opposed to actual faculty. Other departments, such as the department of chemistry, do not face as many pressing issues when it comes to finding instructors.
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“In terms of faculty teaching classes, we have not had that problem yet, but we are a little stressed,” said James Tanko, professor and chair of the department of chemistry. “We get the funding for hiring, but oftentimes the funding comes late. And in some of the higher level courses, it’s hard to find someone on such short notice.” Tanko said chemistry’s biggest issue is filling lab space. Some stu-
takes five or six years to graduate, in fact most students graduate in a little over four years,” McNamee said. “If you look at the pattern, we do a pretty good job with students graduating in four years. This doesn’t mean that every student and every major doesn’t have a problem. We’ve never had as much faculty as we’ve needed, but despite that students are graduating.” According to data from Tech’s department of Institutional Research, the average Tech student graduates in 4.18 We need a reasonable years. This varies by college, with some like number of faculty for the Architecture and Urban number of majors, and Studies and Engineering taking more time, and we’re hurting. others like Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Marlene Preston and Science tend to Undergraduate Director for the graduate in less time. Department of Communication Most people determine if a department has enough faculty by looking at the ratio between dents who need both a lecture and majors and tenure/tenure track a lab for a class, especially general faculty members. Currently, the chemistry, may have to take the department of communication lecture one semester and the lab has a 1:53 ratio in that category, another semester. But according to Mark McNamee, the university provost, the issue of being able to graduate on time is not as prominent as a lot of people believe. “People have this myth that it
“
“There is a lot of emphasis on the STEM areas,” McNamee said. “But that’s not the only area of focus. I think the life sciences are going to continue to grow. The arts are an area for significant area of growth because of the new Center for the Arts. “We just finished a round of major growth in foreign language. There will be about 10-12 new faculty members in languages.” McNamee was unsure of specifics for the number of new faculty in each department for the upcoming year.
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McNamee said, “and then when back up, and then went back down again after the last recession, and is now going back up again.” Typically, Tech hires about 80 faculty members every year. According to McNamee, Tech hired 120 last year. When making hires, McNamee looks at priorities, vacancies and the current strategic plan. Every college is required to submit a hiring plan every year that explains their current vacancies and how they would spend the money they are requesting to fill them.
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but a 1:24 ratio when instructors are included. The department of chemistry has a ratio of 1:10 for majors to tenure/tenure track faculty, chemical engineering has a ratio of 1:5, and the department of political science and international studies has a ratio of 1:47. However, McNamee said that it is more valuable to compare the number of credit hours professors teach in each department as opposed the ratio itself. This number roughly equates to the average number of students a professor actually teaches every semester. Professors in the department of chemistry taught an average of 200 students last fall semester, while professors in the department of communication taught an average of 196. Biochemistry taught an average of 22 students, and both political science and international studies and business information technology taught 98 students. The number of faculty hired each year has been increasing recently. “In tough budget time the number [of faculty hired] went down,”
I recently received an email from the Student Conduct Office asking me to come in for a meeting. What type of meeting will this be and what should I expect?
ANSWER: There are three types of meetings: Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Everything looks more promising now. You have new opportunities for income for the next four weeks, but don’t fall asleep on your laurels. Keep pedaling.
Gemini (May 21-June 21) When organizing, only keep the very best, and give the rest away. Your partner provides an answer. Peace, quiet and stability rejuvenate. Share good food at home.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) With the Sun in Aries for the next month, get even more organized than usual, especially when it comes to inances. Replace something broken at home. Abundance beckons.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You move the idea outside the box, and it has room to grow. Avoid a con lict in scheduling by checking it twice. Prepare more than you think necessary.
Aries (March 21-April 19) The pressure you’ve been under is easing. Relax and enjoy the view, as you guess what to watch for next. A sense of humor is key. Stick to simple work.
Cancer (June 22-July 22) Aim for high marks, as there’s a test coming up. Your willingness to learn new technology gives you an edge. Don’t launch until ready. Expand options.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) You’re getting busier by the minute. Organization and optimism work together to bring you what you want. What if success is doing what you love? No complaining.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Passions are running hot, so communicate clearly to avoid misunderstandings. Your family helps you to move forward. Keep questioning, and you’ll get an answer.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) Use caution while others around you are impetuous. Something you thought wouldn’t work does. Seek funding. Trust love. Explore every lead. It’s basic.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Travel and new endeavors are favored with the Sun in Aries (doublecheck schedules, with Mercury’s retrograde). Keep a solid inancial plan, and take a familiar road.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Your creative wild side is an asset. Adding structure will give you the strength you need to move to the next level. Your intuition’s excellent.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Use the attention you’re attracting to gather supporters for your goals. Work together to improve the economy. Not everything goes according to plan.
pre-hearings, agreed resolutions and formal hearings. 1. A pre-hearing is to discuss the conduct process and prepare for a formal hearing. 2. Agreed resolution is an informal way to discuss a referral and either adjudicate the referral or arrange a formal hearing. Any decisions are final and cannot be appealed. 3. Formal hearings are for more complicated incidents or agreed resolutions that were not resolved.
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march 20, 2012 COLLEGIATETIMES
arts & entertainment
editors: chelsea gunter, patrick murphy featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
Lolopolis prepares for improv show Golden glamour JACOB WILBANKS features staff writer To open the story with a joke seems only appropriate, yet none come to mind that would do Lolopolis justice. The Lolopolis Comedy Group performs improv and sketch comedy and they are holding a show Saturday at 9:30 p.m. in Theatre 101 on College Avenue. The show is free and ticket reservations begin at Theatre 101 an hour before the show. The performance will revolve around a specific theme the group devised for this particular show. The evening will begin with a scripted sketch and then go into improvisation. “The idea (for this show) is that Lolopolis Comedy Group has become Lolopolis Research Institute and we are here to show off new products we have cre-
ated,” said Alex Beard, senior theater arts majors and founder of Lolopolis. “The idea is that the audience is potential investors in the future products that we create. We will do the sketch and then work back into improvisation.” Beard promises that this upcoming show will be very different from past Lolopolis shows. “We’re using the whole Theatre 101 building, which to my knowledge is the first time that that’s ever happened where a performance has utilized the whole building and not just the theater,” Beard said. The group performs a specific type of improvisation called the Harold, which might be quite different from the improv viewers may know or have seen on shows such as “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” The Harold is a long form improv style.
when & where Lolopolis will stage a performance Saturday at 9:30 p.m. in Theatre 101. “Long form improvisation is basically you get a suggestion and you work off of that one suggestion for between 20 and 30 minutes,” Beard said. “Essentially, it is a collaboration of scenes that are created off the inspiration we get from the one word or two word suggestion.” For Beard, the upcoming Lolopolis performance provides a unique alternative to the stereotypical weekend activities of a college student. “I think a lot of people overlook theater as a valuable entertainment source, and because Lolopolis is so different than
a traditional scripted play, I think that (it) provides a great opportunity to do something different and it’s free,” Beard said. “I really encourage people if they’ve never been before to come and just experience what live improvisational comedy is.” There is a notable difference between improv and traditional comedy, according to Beard. “It’s not like stand-up comedy where we are just trying to deliver jokes. The jokes and the comedy come out of the situations provided,” Beard said. That said, it does not mean the group members aren’t truly funny. Matthew Schott, a junior theatre arts major, has high expectations for what people might get out of attending the show. “We’ve got some happy surprises. Maroon 5 may or may not be in attendance,” Schott said. “Along with Uncle Kracker,” Andrew Sisson, a junior international studies major, quickly added. Although hearing improv and rehearse in the same sentence seems like quite a paradox, Lolopolis does rehearse every week to prepare for shows and work on group dynamics. “We work on different format ideas — how do we transition from one scene to another — things like that,” Beard said. “Other things that we work on are sketches because we do sketch work, too.” Their comedy heroes include Childish Gambino, Ricky Gervais and Bob Odenkirk, and are as varied as the members’ personalities. Beard’s passion for theater, along with comedy, is palpable. “You’re never really stuck in one character; you can do whatever you want. The possibilities are endless,” Beard said. For those interested in checking out the show, the group will be handing out fast passes on the Drillfield Friday. The passes offer priority seating at the show. These passes can also be obtained by commenting on the group’s Facebook page.
The Fashion, Merchandising and Design Society (FMDS) at Virginia Tech hosted a fashion show last Friday in Squires Student Center’s Commonwealth Ballroom. The show, titled “Iconic Elegance,” focused on the Golden Era of Hollywood, presenting clothing meant DANIEL LIN / SPPS to mimic the Thandiwe Ogbonna models a mint green styles of some dress designed by Mary Eileen Barber. of the old-time big names, including Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. The pieces shown off were created by student designers, members of FMDS, who said their designs aimed to capture an era that was the pinnacle of glamour, romance and enchanting DANIEL LIN / SPPS allure.
Sarah Yorke models a multi-colored floral skirt designed by Bronwyn Hairston.
march 20, 2012 COLLEGIATETIMES
Hill, Tatum triumph in cop comedy reboot The popular 1980s Fox crime drama “21 Jump Street” helped launched Johnny Depp into stardom. Now, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are helping revive the show on the big screen. Adapting TV shows to movies has proven to be a difficult task for screenwriters and directors. Whether it’s an older show that’s been revamped for a younger generation, like 2000’s “Charlie’s Angels,” or if a movie is more of a continuation of the TV series, like “Hey Arnold!: The Movie” (2002), the results have often been disastrous at worst and lukewarm at best. The fact that “21 Jump Street” fell into the category of “used to be a TV show” made me very skeptical. I am very pleased to report back that despite this hurdle, “21 Jump Street” is the best comedy I’ve seen this year. Hill and Tatum play two undercover cops — one nerdy and smart, the other handsome and stupid. Their assignment is to pose as high school students in order to find the source of a popular drug circulating among teenagers. While the original show is serious, the movie takes a different approach to the premise. The pair of bumbling officers hilariously attempts to fit into high school culture, only to realize that things have changed since they graduated seven years before. The chemistry between Hill and Tatum really kept me invested in the movie, even during the more serious parts. Typically in comedies, I get bored two-thirds of the way in, when the main characters fall apart, only to come back together in the conclusion. When I go to see a comedy, I go to laugh, not to learn some lesson about the importance of friendship or love’s undying nature, or not to leave the oven on when you’re not home. And even though “21 Jump Street” traveled down that avenue (excuse the pun), I truly did care about the characters when they revealed a more human side to their Three Stooges-like act.
I feel like I’ve been writing about Tatum a lot in my recent reviews, and most of the time it’s safe to say he’s a bad actor. I hate to say this, but he really does give a great performance in “21 Jump Street.” He’s no Laurence Olivier, but he’s able to keep the audience laughing. His dumb jock routine is spot on, and what really surprised me was that he was able to also portray his more delicate side. Bravo, Mr. Tatum. Another aspect I love about “21 Jump Street” was how self-aware the movie is. In the first 15 minutes, a character proclaims that the undercover operation is just a rip-off of some other operation from 20 years ago, insinuating the movie’s origins. The high school scene is very different from the stereotypical schools that plague television and movies alike. The popular kids are no longer the cheerleaders and sports stars, but instead are the hipsters. Being environmentally friendly is cool and organized sports are for “conformists.” While the picture of high school still isn’t entirely realistic, it’s much better that the tired formula moviemakers have been using since “The Breakfast Club” (1985). Also, Johnny Depp’s brief cameo is much appreciated. A prior viewing of the show “21 Jump Street” is not needed to enjoy the movie. A standalone film, it is able to combine all the makings of a bad movie: a remake of a television show, a high school setting and Tatum, and turn all of these into gold. It just goes to show that a sense of humor and the right casting can go a long way in any film. Go see it if you’re looking for something that will make you laugh. It’s one of the few tickets you won’t mind paying for.
COURTNEY BAKER -featured columnist -senior -political science major
‘21 Jump Street’ at a glance Run time: 1 hour, 49 minutes Directors: Phil Lord, Chris Miller Key actors: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Dave Franco
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march 20, 2012
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COLLEGIATETIMES
you’re anything like me, then you’re just about ready to pull your hair out over the insanity that is the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. While it was only a week ago that our brackets were so neat and clean, void of any red marks and more than ready to claim themselves victorious over all of our friends, they now stand in complete disarray. Life was so much simpler before half of my Final Four picks were eliminated prior to the Sweet Sixteen. There are plenty of picks I’ve made in this tournament that I’m ashamed of and others that at this point just seem completely ridiculous. However, there are a few that I stand by and even several more I’m actually proud of. Here’s a little overview of my feelings toward a few particular teams to this point in March Madness. Feel free to revel in the fact that someone who watches more basketball than most is just as inept at filling out a bracket as the rest of the country.
I’M DISAPPOINTED IN:
I’M FURIOUS WITH:
I’M HAPPY WITH:
I’M NOT SURPRISED BY:
I’M INDIFFERENT ABOUT:
Murray State OK, being disappointed in a team and being mad at a team are two different things, as you will see momentarily. I’m disappointed in Murray State, not only because I had them playing in the Sweet Sixteen, but also because I wanted them to win one for the little guys. Despite the NCAA’s best record (30-1) the Racers received a No. 6 seed, and I was really hoping they would prove to the committee that they deserved a higher seed. I was obviously sorely mistaken.
Virginia While I only had UVa winning one game, their performance against Florida was flat-out embarrassing. I gave them that one game because I have an ACC bias and I usually try to support the conference. See if I do that again.
NC State
Cincinnati The Bearcats just about gave me a heart attack during the first round when they blew a 19-point lead against Texas, and then just barely hung on to beat the Longhorns. As if that didn’t frustrate me enough, they have to go and ruin what was a perfect East Region for me (albeit, there had been zero upsets to this point) by beating Florida State, who I had in the Final Four. Speaking of the Seminoles…
Like FSU, I picked the Wolfpack to go far in the Tournament because of what I saw in Atlanta (I have them losing to UNC in the Elite Eight). However, this pick has paid off a little better. First-year coach Mark Gottfried has helped lead a team that barely made it into the Big Dance past San Diego State and Georgetown to notch their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2005. Richard Howell, Lorenzo Brown and CJ Leslie have all made big contributions in the team’s first two games, and if they can keep it up, don’t be surprised if they reach the Elite Eight.
Duke
Missouri
I’ve been trying to tell people for weeks that the Blue Devils were extremely overrated. Although I didn’t have them going out until the Sweet Sixteen, their earliest exit since 2007 didn’t really come as a shock. Mike Krzyzewski was up for ACC Coach of the Year because of how well Duke still did despite the lineup they fielded — rightfully so.
Even though I had the Tigers reaching the Final Four in my bracket, when they lost to Norfolk State, it didn’t really bother me so much as it let me know that March Madness had officially begun. Even though I was upset at losing one of my Final Four teams in the first round, I had already spoken with a number of people who had Mizzou winning it all, which made me feel a little better.
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VCU Syracuse Wisconsin Florida State As mad as I am at Cincinnati for beating the ’Noles, I’m more angry with FSU for letting that game get away from them. Tied at 50 with a 1:34 to play, Luke Loucks threw a lazy pass that Dion Dixon picked off and turned into an easy dunk that put the Bearcats up for good. After watching the Seminoles beat Duke and UNC en route to their first ACC championship, I had a lot of confidence in them. I guess that shows how much I know.
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Not much to say here, except for the fact that a lot of people were expecting the Badgers and their stingy defense to fall to Vanderbilt in the second round. I’m proud to say that I did indeed have them in the Sweet Sixteen. While I do have them losing to Syracuse on Thursday, anything is possible, and I wouldn’t mind seeing them advance even further.
Kentucky It’s always a good day when your national champ is still alive.
Once the news got out that 7-footer Fab Melo had been suspended for the Tournament, the entire sports nation rearranged its brackets to accommodate that loss. In hindsight, it might have been a dumb decision. Don’t forget that Jim Boeheim still coaches this team, and with or without Melo, they’re still a force to be reckoned with. Their Sweet Sixteen matchup with Wisconsin is one of the most intriguing this year, and the winner could very well represent the East in the Final Four.
I had the Rams beating Indiana in the second round (which they almost did) and reaching their second straight Sweet Sixteen. However, I should have seen this coming. To say that last year’s Final Four run was a fluke might be an overstatement, but it was definitely something like that. Wherever his success at VCU takes him next season, I wish Shaka Smart the best.
ZACH MARINER - sports editor - sophomore - communication - @ZMarinerCT