Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Print Edition by Collegiate Times

check out the ring dance photo essay on page six

BRAD KLODOWSKI / SPPS

Tuesday, March 27, 2012 An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 www.collegiatetimes.com

COLLEGIATETIMES 108th year, issue 36

Arts & Entertainment, page 2

Board of Visitors alters gun policy

Opinions, page 3

Sports, page 5

Study Break, page 4

Sudoku, page 4

The original ‘Torg’ BY NICK SMIRNIOTOPOULOS | features reporter

FILE 2011 / SPPS

People gather at an anti-gun rally outside Squires last semester.

BOV discusses change in university gun policy, tribute to Ofﬁcer Deriek Crouse, as well as building renaming CODY OWENS

Ad d it i on a l l y, the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute announced Tech will host the World Polymer Congress in June. Eleven international leaders in polymer science, including one Nobel laureate, will be present on campus to discuss research and education in the field.

news reporter

The regulation of guns on campus, a resolution honoring Officer Deriek Crouse and the naming of a university building were among the items discussed when the Board of Visitors met Sunday and Monday. Virginia Tech has long had a policy that prohibits weapWe haven’t changed the ons and firearms from being carried way we perceive guns on on campus, regardless of a permit. campus; all we’ve done is However, the state we’ve made it compliant Supreme Court decreed last year with the broader state that policies of laws so that it’s actually public institutions regarding weapenforceable on a state ons are not legally enforceable. In level.” response, Virginia Mark Owczarski Attorney General University spokesman Ken Cuccinelli suggested the commonwealth’s campuses change their policies to regulations — a change the Other topics of discussion Tech board ultimately made. included the reformation of cir“A regulation is something that riculum for liberal education syscan be enforced legally on our tem, the construction on the new campuses,” said Mark Owczarski, Sigma Phi Epsilon house, the renuniversity spokesman. “We haven’t ovation of Davidson Hall, as well changed the way we perceive guns as the university’s support plan for on campus; all we’ve done is we’ve small businesses, minority-owned made it compliant with the broad- businesses and female-owned er state laws so that it’s actually businesses. enforceable on a state level.” Apart from policy, members of The university’s 14-member the board mentioned the retiregoverning body also passed a ment of state Sen. William C. proposal to honor and pay trib- Wampler Jr. Wampler serves on the ute to Crouse, the Virginia Tech Budget Conference Committee, Police Department officer who which crafts Virginia’s budget, and was killed on Dec. 8, 2011, in the is known as a supporter of Tech line of duty. The resolution will be in the state legislature. His retirepassed to Crouse’s surviving wife ment could leave the university and five children. without beneficial support in the The under-construction aca- future. demic and student affairs buildTuition for the 2012-13 fiscal ing on Old Turner Street, which year was not discussed in this has been on the capital plan meeting because the state’s budsince 2005, was renamed Lavery get has yet to be passed by the Hall after former Tech presi- Virginia General Assembly, which dent William E. Lavery. Lavery meets this week. The unknown served as the university’s 12th factor of state support prevents the president, between 1975 and board from setting its budget. 1987, and saw the creation of After the General Assembly sets the Virginia-Maryland Regional its budget, the financial support College of Veterinary Medicine will be studied by the board memand the Corporate Research bers, who will then reconvene in Center. an open session in April.

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students saunter about campus, they get a feel for Virginia Tech’s rich history, with various buildings named after distinguished individuals. Very rarely, however, do students get to meet or interact with these individuals who have devoted their lives to the betterment of the university. Paul E. Torgersen — the John W. Hancock Jr. Chair in Engineering — has a building on campus with his name on it. On Oct. 6, 2000, the Communication and Information Technology facility across from Newman Library was officially named Paul E. Torgersen Hall. While Torgersen initially retired that year, the dean requested him to stay and continue to teach Theory of Organization, a course he has taught since coming to Tech in 1967. “One thing I am very proud (of) is that I have taught a course every semester that I have been here,” Torgersen said. Torgersen was named Virginia’s Engineering Educator of the Year in 1992 and received the Sporn Award for Teaching Excellence the same year. He has continued to teach despite holding primarily administrative positions, including university president. “(Teaching) is a very rewarding profession, which is why I insisted on teaching all these years,” Torgersen said. “You have to have that connection with students to be a part of the university.” Torgersen originally came to Tech to be the head of the Department of Industrial Engineering. In 1970, after only three years of being at the university, Torgersen was promoted to dean of the College of Engineering, a position he held for more than 20 years. Despite receiving more administrative power, Torgersen desired to maintain connections with both students and faculty. “I would go and walk down the halls and just talk to people. It would give me the feel for the pulse of what was going on,” Torgersen said. When Torgersen became university president in 1993, he maintained his commitment to relationships with members of the Tech community, whether it were students, faculty or alumni. Being in administrative positions provided Torgersen the opportunity to positively impact the university experience for students and faculty, without forfeiting his direct interactions with students. see TORGERSEN / page two PAUL E. TORGERSEN DANIEL LIN / SPPS

Books to sink your teeth in GINA PATTERSON news staff writer Virginia Tech will take bite out of books as it holds its Edible Book Contest. Contestants make books out of food, and can enter in categories for best young adult/children’s, best fiction, best non-fiction, punny-est, most artistic and best overall. The universally known contest is usually held near April Fool’s Day in remembrance of the humorous time of year. “It’s really just a fun event, completely light hearted, completely silly,” said Rebecca Miller, a librarian at Newman Library. “I think it humanizes the library a little bit — that’s one of the reasons we wanted to do this.” In addition to the light heartedness, it allows the Tech community to show off its imaginative side. “It’s really a creative way to think about books,” Miller said. “What you really see is a lot of is people being creative with plays on words and really showing off their artistic skills with food. That is what I enjoyed seeing the

most this summer.” Anyone in the Tech community can vote or be a contestant. “We just want to encourage people to come out and see what’s going on,” said Kara Dietz, processing and acquisitions archivist. “We’re really hoping that this is going to be an annual event.” Dietz said there has been a variety of people who have expressed interest, from liberal arts students to engineering majors. A former contestant from the summer has already been concocting ideas for the contest. “(I’m) probably going to base my entries on puns,” said Scott Fralin, who works at the library. “I like to bake already. It’s really just taking that kind of stuff to the next step and taking a lot more time and catering to it. Miller said the staff began planning in July and came together to do a pilot program to see if the contest would be successful. “It was a huge hit,” Miller said of t h e

pilot program. “Everyone had a really great time.” After the pilot program, contestants realized something had to be done to implement a traditional Edible Book Contest at Tech. “We started doing some Google searches and seeing what else was out there,” Miller said. “Of course, all of the other contests that had gone before had put up pictures online. We just wanted to be able to have that opportunity here right on campus.” Other schools that have had similar edible book contests are Duke

University, Michigan State University and University of Illinois. The event depends on attendance. “We want people to come because we want people to vote,” Dietz said. “We are not doing judges, so all the awards that are going to go out are based entirely on people showing up and voting.”

event info The Edible Book Contest will be held Friday in Torgersen Hall Room 1100 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

COURTESY OF BEA NETTLES & UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY

“The Missing Piece” and “Grapes of Wrath” were entries in different categories in the University of Illinois’ edible book contest in 2011.

march 27, 2012 COLLEGIATETIMES

arts & entertainment

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

‘Games’ starts strong New Shins album shines It D

riving by the Christiansburg movie theater last Thursday night, one would think that a ninth “Harry Potter” movie was about to premiere based on the crowd. But instead of wizards and wands, these people lined up to see battles and blood. “The Hunger Games,” based on the best-selling novel, opened to excited fans all over the country last Friday. I have to say, the book lover part of me really liked the movie because of how close it was to the novel, but my inner movie critic was not as satisfied. To save everyone from the tedious discussion of differences and similarities between the book and movie, I would have to say that for the most part, “The Hunger Games” movie stayed very true to the book. Of course some scenes were shortened and minor characters omitted, but to capture every detail of the book would have been impossible in two-and-a-half hours. Die-hard fans of the book series will most likely nitpick about how characters didn’t look like they imagined or how a certain scene was not given enough time, but this is a movie review, not a comparative essay. For those who have not read “The Hunger Games,” the plot is quite similar to “Gladiator” (2000), only it takes place in the future, the fighters are children ages 12 to 18 and the main character is a female — not an enslaved Roman general. OK, it’s not that similar. In the dystopian world of Panem, the citizens of the 12 “districts” are forced to send a young girl and boy to the nation’s capital to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a televised arena-based battle. There, the children must fight to the death, until only one person remains and is crowned the victor. Jennifer Lawrence plays protagonist Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers to fight in the games after her younger sister’s name is called out in the lottery. Lawrence, an Academy Award nominee, is able to convey Katniss’s tough outer shell, while letting her vulnerable side shine through when appropriate. Another standout performance is Woody Harrelson, who plays Haymitch, Katniss’s mentor throughout the games. Starting out as a drunken misanthrope, Haymitch slowly transforms into a somewhat caring person as he sees Katniss’s true abilities and spirit. And both of Katniss’s two love interests Peeta, played by Josh Hutcherson, and Gale, played by Liam Hemsworth, give decent performances. Even better, the love triangle is not exploited to the point where the whole franchise becomes a question of who will Katniss chose as her boyfriend. That’s what “The Twilight Saga” is for. The production design was stunning. From the woodland-based arena to the modern city of the Capitol, the scenery was amazing.

‘The Hunger Games’ at a glance Run time: 2 hours, 22 minutes Director: Gary Ross Leads: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth I definitely related to the setting of the arena as most of the movie was filmed in North Carolina. The Appalachian Mountains are not hard to identify. Unfortunately much of the awesome scenery and set design were hard to see. This is where I began to get frustrated with “The Hunger Games.” The cinematography was abysmal. From the first moments of the movie, the camera is not only incredibly shaky, but also favors close-up facial shots over all others. Don’t get me wrong, close-up shots can be great, but when I have to start looking past the talking heads to the blurry background to get a sense of the surrounding, it’s a bit excessive. I thought perhaps the director, Gary Ross, was going for a more rustic feel in the beginning, considering Katniss’s home district is way out in the country and very poor. Maybe Ross thought the shaky camera would help portray this. But as the movie moved to the wealthier, more affluent Capitol, my hope for some sort of camera stability was lost. Even when I began to become accustomed to the shaking, there would be an action sequence, and I was caught in a battle myself, try-

ing to decide whether to look away or watch the wildly moving camera shots and vomit. Switching angles every half second and zooming this way and that, the battle scenes reminded me of those filmed by a little kid, playing with a video camera for the first time. Honestly, I didn’t get a good sense of what had happened in these fight scenes until they were over and the camera would steadily (really, now?) pan over the dead and wounded. If I had to give “The Hunger Games” a report card, the acting and production design would earn an “A,” but the cinematography would get a low “C.” So that’s a solid “B” overall. Despite my annoyance at the camerawork, “The Hunger Games” was very entertaining. Though it is a lengthy film, I felt that it went by quick. I’m definitely excited about the next installment to the series. If you want to go to the movies this week, “The Hunger Games” is a pretty safe bet that you will walk away pleased and hungry for more.

has been five whole years since The Shins released an album. It seemed as if there might never be new music from the band, after its threealbum contract with Sub Pop Records ended, and James Mercer, the band’s front man, put it on indefinite hiatus. Mercer focused on other projects, like “Broken Bells” with producer Danger Mouse, while The Shins disappeared from the spotlight created by 2007’s “Wincing The Night Away.” Thankfully for music fans, The Shins have finally returned with “Port of Morrow,” and the group has never sounded better. “Port of Morrow” is sonically pleasing and insanely listenable. The Shins’ pop sensibilities provide an instant hook for listeners upon first hearing the songs, but beneath this is a richly textured and multi-layered album that keeps it refreshing listen after listen. The album travels around a bunch of different musical landscapes but never sounds like it isn’t an album by The Shins. The album has ventured far enough away from the band’s past material to give it its own unique identity and character, without losing the familiar old sound and alienating fans. Fans of the band were guarded about the potential changes that might have resulted on the new album. For starters, the five-year hiatus is cause for some concern, as no one really knows how an artist will sound after such a long time. The topic of the hiatus seems to be addressed on “It’s Only Life” when Mercer sings, “but did you really think I’d shut an open door? The future’s calling.” He knows that The Shins is his most successful project and not returning to it would be disappointing for fans and Mercer alike. There were also major concerns as a result of two huge changes

since the last album: a new label and a new lineup. As already mentioned, the band ended its tenure with Sub Pop, releasing “Port of Morrow” on Mercer’s own Aural Apothecary label, via Columbia Records. The jump to the majors will always raise the hair on the back of indie kids’ necks. The Shins also had a completely new lineup for this record after Mercer left drummer Jesse Sandoval and keyboardist Marty Crandall, though the latter did contribute to the album some. Mercer worked with a plethora of musicians on “Port of Morrow” — Modest Mouse’s Joe Plummer, Fruit Bats’ Eric Johnson and singer/songwriter Nik Freitas just to name a few. Despite all these changes, “Port of Morrow” is still definitively an album by The Shins. The album kicks off with “The Rifle’s Spiral,” a downright catchy tune with some electronic undertones that hearkens back to “Wincing The Night Away.” The next song on the album is lead single “Simple Song,” which starts slow before exploding with fuzzy guitars and a great powerpop melody. Some other notable tracks on the album are “Fall of ’82,” with its trumpet solo, “Port of Morrow,” a “Broken Bells”inspired jam, and “September,” a slow song that contains some of the best lyrics on the album.

Mercer has always been a sort of nonsensical lyricist. It’s not that the songs don’t say anything, but they are not always immediately evident. Mercer undoubtedly writes beautiful lyrics like “September’s,” “Love is the ink in the well when her body writes.” He also touches a lot on the dual nature of life’s beauty and ugliness, a recurring theme, with lines like, “There are flowers in the garbage, and a skull under your curls.” The lyrics on the album will please past Shins fans as Mercer continues in that style of writing. The themes of the album of love, life and relationships are a reflection of Mercer’s own life. He has certainly gone through considerable maturation since the last record, both musically and personally. He worked with Danger Mouse on their joint project “Broken Bells,” which allowed Mercer to explore new musical directions and production techniques. He also got married just before “Wincing The Night Away” came out and has since had two daughters. The personal changes certainly shine through as a lot of the album deals with the themes of love and relationships. The result of the time off and Mercer working with whom he wants is the culmination of The Shins back catalogue of work morphed into a cohesive album. The crisp production of “Wincing The Night Away” is ever present on this record, but the quirkiness of “Oh, Inverted World” and the brilliant songwriting of “Chutes Too Narrow” shine through, to ultimately create the best Shins record yet.

JACOB WILBANKS -features staff writer -sophomore -communication major

you might also like: “Fleet Foxes” by Fleet Foxes Before Robin Pecknold and company started creating beautiful folk ballads, they released this hidden gem of an album. It is noticeably different from the Fleet Foxes you may know, but has six excellent songs of indie rock. The album is certainly less complex than their newer material, but showcases them with a different sound that still pleases. “The Ruminant Band” by Fruit Bats This album is more similar to the old Shins sound, so if you like that style, this record should please you. Eric Johnson, the main person of Fruit Bats, sometimes plays with The Shins, so the musical similarities are evident. This fun indie folk album is very mellow and an easy listen.

COURTNEY BAKER -featured columnist -senior -political science major

Torgersen: Former Tech president continues teaching from page one

“In both cases (when I was promoted), I was asked to do it. Being (an administrator) gives you the chance to exert more influence on the institution,” Torgersen said. Chris Chegin, a senior industrial and systems engineer, was a

student in Torgersen’s Theory of Organization course in spring 2011. “As a teacher, Torgersen goes above and beyond communicating his lessons to his students,” Chegin said. “The life lessons and advice he shares with his students can surely be applied to all of his students postgraduation.”

Chegin currently serves as a teacher’s assistant for Theory of Organization, working alongside Torgersen to help the class run smoothly. Chegin has had the opportunity to see Torgersen’s impact on his students as a direct beneficiary and a supporter.

“Before every class, (Torgersen will) go around the room asking students how they are doing or if they caught the most recent Virginia Tech football win,” Chegrin said. “He possesses a great sense of humor that is hard to match and keeps the learning environment fun and interactive.” Since it is hard to interact with each student individually in a class of more than 120, Torgersen also reaches out to his students outside of class. Every semester, Torgersen invites his class over to his house for lunch to create an opportunity to interact with his students in a more informal setting. In addition to his thorough involvement with students, Torgersen has remained passionately involved with university athletics. As a college tennis player, Torgersen developed a fondness for athletics and an appreciation for the determination and rigor demanded in collegiate athletics. “Athletics can be a wonderful showcase for the university if you do it well. I have been a big advocate for (Tech) athletics,” Torgersen said. Torgersen is a big football fan and has developed a close relationship with Frank Beamer over the years. He has lifetime sideline passes to football games and maintained his commitment to see the team play even during his time as president, taking several away trips with the team to support the players on the road. “Whether it’s catching Torgersen on the sideline of a Hokie basketball game, catching him in the hallway or after class, you will always feel his Hokie pride,” Chegin said.

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

opinions

march 27, 2012 COLLEGIATETIMES

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

Your Views [letter to the editor]

Intervention policies destructive to peace

evin Miller recently wrote an opinion piece criticizing Ron Paul’s foreign policy. Frankly, I think he may be on to something. It is clear that bombing, invading, occupying and instilling puppet governments in foreign nations has served our country well. The few million innocent people killed in the process? Well, I guess you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet. Clearly, the rest of the world has an extremely favorable opinion of the United States and our actions, especially in the regions we occupy. I mean, if they were mad about what we were doing, you might expect some sort of backlash, which has not happened. Obviously, 9/11 occurred because the terrorists hated us for our freedom. They can’t possibly hate us now because we gave up all of our freedom when bills like the Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Act were passed. Checkmate, terrorists. Also, it is quite clear we have unlimited funds to

continue our global adventurism. Forget about the trillions of dollars in debt we have, let’s hand out billions of free dollars to foreign companies in the form of “aid.” It worked quite well in Egypt, as long as we ignore the tyrannical ruler brutally oppressing his people — but hey, Egypt and Israel were at peace. Success. Finally, we can certainly trust the government wholeheartedly to have our best interests in mind. They would never lie to us or tell us a country had weapons of mass destruction if that was not the case. In fact, we should just go ahead and invade Iran to stop them from getting a nuclear bomb, which they have in no way denied that they are doing so. Interventionism is merely an euphemism for murder, theft, tyranny and deception in the name of profit for special interests and politicians. Isolationism is merely a derogatory term to insinuate that peace, truth and fiscal responsibility are harmful to society.

sraeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made a bizarrely amateurish speech — characterized by anticlimax and seasoned heartily with equivocation — at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, 2012 conference on March 5. In his speech, he made a statement regarding the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons that he implied would be used to undertake a second Holocaust. He said, “If it looks a duck, if it walks a duck, if it quacks like a duck, then what is it? What is it? That’s right, it’s a duck. But this duck is a nuclear duck, and it’s time the world started calling a duck a duck.” Two days after the speech, I stood outside the massive Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. where an AIPAC gala was being held. Code Pink, a peace and social justice organization, was leading a demonstration against AIPAC — the largest pro-Israel lobbying organization in the United States — specifically against calls for war with Iran. “Hey, could you take this for me? My arms are tired,” said an aging hippie, one of many who had come to protest, as he extended me a sign. “Stop Settlements,” it read — a rather uncontroversial position articulated by every U.S. president since Lyndon Johnson, including Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, as well as by the International Court of Justice, the United Nations and numerous human rights organizations. There’s nothing that could possibly go wrong. “Thank you,” I said while taking hold of the sign. It was then that I was immediately accosted by an irate a woman in her 70s, complete with terrible haircut. “You’re an idiot,” she screamed a few inches from my face. “You have no idea what the hell you’re doing. You are such an idiot.” How would George W. Bush appreciate being called “such an idiot,” I thought as I stared nonplussed at this angry woman. “I did not give you your terrible haircut,” was all I could muster as the strikingly blonde old lady marched into the lavish convention center, presumably to create some very intelligent settlements. Confused, I continued holding the sign, while wishing her hairdresser would have given her a refund. There’s good reason, however, for vociferous AIPAC supporters and likeminded individuals to be upset with anti-war protestors — it’s been nearly a decade, and they still don’t have what they wanted. “There is no more time for diplomatic ‘solutions’,” wrote Michael Leeden in the National Review Online in 2003. “We will have to deal with the terror masters, here and now. Iran, at least, offers us the possibility of a memorable victory, because the Iranian people openly loath the regime, and will enthusiastically combat it, if only

MCT CAMPUS

Ausan Al-Eryani featured columnist, junior, political science major

Eric Smith President, Libertarians at Virginia Tech

Netanyahu too close to inciting war with Iran the United States supports them in their just struggle.” That was back when “no more time” meant “at least nine more years.” Many may ask: Why hasn’t the U.S. already invaded Iran? Primarily, it seems, because the Defense Department, State Department, Joint Chiefs of Staff and the president are of the opinion that it would be a grave mistake. Many journalists, military experts and political scientists believe bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities would be a disastrous mistake for America’s Middle East policy. Beyond that — Netanyahu’s references to the “Book of Esther” notwithstanding — there seems to be limited evidence that Iran is developing a nuclear weapons program. The International Atomic Energy Association has declined to say Iran is running one. Yet, even if Iran were to develop nuclear weapons — the more likely scenario being that Iran would get within range of producing weapons but not actually make them — then it would be joining nations such as Pakistan, Russia and North Korea. These countries don’t have the most rational of rulers and have not used their weapons at all, much less attack a close ally of the most powerful military nation in the world. The Iranian nuclear threat to Israel seems minimal. But even this is something the current Israeli government is not willing to tolerate. Given the size and strength of Iranian military power, Netanyahu wants the U.S. to do the heavy lifting. This, of course, is pure insanity. U.S. citizens accept, like anyone, that their daily security is not a given. But this is no justification for preemptive violence. In the “Book of Esther,” which Netanyahu repeatedly referenced in his trip to the U.S. earlier this month, the Persian King Ahasuerus was justified in letting his kingdom’s Jews slay their enemies because there was indisputable evidence that Jewish lives were in imminent danger. Today, the story is much different. Critics who one day describe Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a puppet, the next day point to his mistranslated statement that Israel should be “wiped off the map” as evidence that he plans to kill every Israeli in existence. For these people, evidence contrary to their paranoid views is utterly unconvincing. But for the majority of Americans, liberal dialogue remains persuasive. And when the anti-war voices are greater and more diverse than the pro-war ones, I suspect most Americans will begin to ask themselves a simple question: What does a nuclear duck look like anyway?

BRYCE STUCKI -regular columnist -senior -economics major

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Ryan’s budget proposal would hurt US influence In

an attempt to create a blueprint to manage America’s fiscal nightmare, House Budget chairman Paul Ryan — a Republican in Wisconsin — recently released his fiscal year 2013 budget resolution. But his proposal for international development and aid, in particular, is irresponsible, flawed and absolutely the wrong approach. Specifically, the congressman seems to believe that international aid and development serves no purpose to American National Security. Ryan’s proposal would slash the international affairs budget from roughly $48 billion in FY-12 to $43 billion in FY-13. Eventually, the chairman would like to see account levels fall to roughly $38 billion by FY-16. Moreover, the expectation is that the State Department and United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, would only begin to see modest increases in their respective budgets in 2022. On the other hand, Ryan proposes increasing the national defense budget from about $560 billion to $603 billion over the same period. Even more, his budget asks for more than $550 billion for the Pentagon — an amount roughly $30 billion more than President Barack Obama requested earlier this year.

In 2010, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen criticized the general Republican approach to U.S. foreign policy, stating that “U.S. foreign policy is still too dominated by the military.” Even former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called for an increase in the State Department budget in 2007 and went on to say the U.S. needed to move past its intense focus (and reliance) on “the guns and steel of the military.” If anything, the congressman’s plan essentially outlines the blueprint for the militarization of American foreign policy. His argument for more guns and less diplomats shows his deep misunderstanding of modern warfare. In today’s world, battles are fought in the banks more than they are on land. Ultimately, a nation’s power and prestige rests in its economic vitality. For example, Germany is without a nuclear bomb and has even planned to phase out its use of nuclear power. Yet it remains — without question — the most powerful country within Europe and certainly the standard much of the continent (and arguably the entire world) ought to hold itself to. Another example of money over might is China. Beijing is certainly building up its weapons stockpile, but China’s power has never been predicated on how many missiles Above all, it is disappointing it compiles. Instead, countries from America to Africa respect that Ryan has vastly under- Latin China because of its economic effiestimated the beneﬁts of ciency and prosperity. Without its success, Beijing would look international development fiscal more like North Korea than the serious alternative to American and aid.” power it represents today. The good congressman ought to know that military power is only The congressman’s draconian cuts one of many tools the U.S. has at its showcase his extreme ideological disposal. His failure to recognize the tendencies, as opposed to his self- importance of diplomacy and developproclaimed fiscal pragmatism. For ment to American National Security instance, take note of the language interests is disturbing. For every menRyan evokes in his 99-page so-called tion of the effectiveness of a soldier “Path to Prosperity.” The chairman fighting in Afghanistan, there ought to attacks President Obama for supposed- be a reference to the more-than-likely ly preferring “to subordinate national presence of the Pashtun-speaking State security strategy to his other spending Department diplomat and USAID priorities.” He references the planned agent by his side. $350 billion reduction in military International aid and development spending that is part of Obama’s bud- are critical because they represent get plan as a clear indicator of his plan some of the best ways to protect the to hasten America’s decline. U.S., promote economic prosperity But the congressman does have for all sides involved and ultimately, an alternative. To secure the United to ensure American power remains States’ role as the world’s dominant strong in the 21st century. While counsuperpower, he suggests inflating the tries such as India and China continue Pentagon’s budget to nearly $710 bil- to make new friends and huge business lion by 2022. Of course, there is no deals in every corner of the globe, the mention of any potential conflicts or chairman would have us spend more emergencies that would justify such a of our stretched dollars on an endless dramatic increase. Ryan’s only explana- supply of weapons fighting wars he tion is that his plan will ensure national claims will consume us in the future. security remains the government’s top Above all, it is disappointing that priority. Ryan has vastly underestimated the Part of the reason the chairman benefits of international development seems to be getting away with such and aid. He is irresponsible and irrairresponsibility is the misconception tional in his proposals to increase surrounding the foreign affairs budget. the military’s budget, while slashing Polls consistently show that a sub- diplomacy programs the military itself stantial number of Americans believe deems vital to American supremacy. that foreign affairs spending represents Consequently, the proposed foreign about 40 percent of the federal budget. affairs budget should be dismissed as a It actually represents less than 1 per- clear exercise of partisan politicking, as cent. If anything, we should be talking opposed to a serious discussion on the about increasing — not scaling back future of U.S. power and security. — international aid and development, Follow the writer on Twitter: instead of automatically deeming it and @aycheck slashing it.

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drlisdal

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march 27, 2012 COLLEGIATETIMES

Tiger resurrects career O

ne hundred and eight tournaments; 911 days; or two years, five months and 28 days. Any way you break it down, it has been a very long time since anyone engraved Tiger Woods’ name on a trophy. That all changed on Sunday, when Tiger finally made it back to the winner’s circle in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, coasting along while the competition crumbled around him. It wasn’t anything special, but it was a typical Tiger win: He shot a two-under 70 and finished a full five shots ahead of Graeme McDowell. Only one person in the top 25 finished with a better Sunday score than Tiger (Brian Harman shot a 68 to finish T-15), and only two others in the top 10 broke even par. It was almost as if people were scared to challenge him. But this won’t go down in history as “a typical Tiger victory.” It’s far more relevant than any of the six previous victories at Bay Hill — it signifies the return of the king. As someone who grew up on a golf course and associates spring more so with the return of golf than baseball or any other nature activity, Sunday was probably the greatest day I’ve had in a long time. Why? Because it made golf relevant again. Since Woods’ well-documented fall from the top just more than two years ago, golf has faded into the background for even the most die-hard golf fan. I was no different. Sure I watched the majors and joined the Rory McIlroy love fest, but it wasn’t the same. Without Tiger, I had no reason to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to watch the Open Championship or skip class to watch Thursday coverage of a nonmajor. Throughout all of that, I held on to the small chance that the world’s best would rise like a phoenix from the ashes and take back the sport he helped redefine. It happened on Sunday, and that’s why I am elated. And don’t let anyone convince you that this weekend was the waning swan song for an athlete past his prime. Tiger has played well all season, but has had one round each tournament where he inexplicably struggled. Now that he has seen himself put together a complete week of solid golf, I can’t see Woods do anything other than continue to

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Tiger Woods ﬁnally got the monkey off his back Sunday, winning for the ﬁrst time in more than two years at the Arnold Palmer invitational. Woods will tee up next on April 5, in the Masters.

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improve. The re-emergence of Woods makes the Masters in two weeks the most anticipated event on my calendar, and in my mind, I would bet on Tiger regardless of odds. I might even bet on Tiger versus the entire field. Tiger owns Augusta National. He’s won it four times, and even amid controversy and turmoil, he cranked out two T-4 finishes in 2010 and 2011. It takes a special talent to not collapse on Amen Corner, and Tiger is as comfortable on Sunday at the Masters as he is in his own backyard. Sure, his putting might not be where he wants it yet, but it is also important to note that what Tiger is doing off of the tee has never been part of his game level yet either. This season, Woods is hitting 67.94 percent of fairways, which is 14th best on tour — far better than his career-best finish in 1999 when he finished 49th. Keep in mind, in Tiger’s 16 years on the PGA Tour, he has finished in the top 100 in the category just five times. Sean Foley, Woods’ new swing coach, has essentially played miracle healer with Woods, because his swing has been completely revamped. It was a slower process than the impatient fans wanted, but the end result was worth the wait. But statistics and technical skills weren’t what made Tiger the best anyways; it was his killer instinct. If that’s back like I think it is, only one statistic matters: He’s four majors away from Jack Nicklaus. Expect that to shrink this year As Tiger coasted through the back nine of Bay Hill, NBC analyst Johnny Miller made an interesting statement. He said all great players go through two spurts of success with a difficult period in the middle and that can be seen with the Golden Bear himself. Maybe that’s all 2009-11 was — an intermission between two acts for Tiger. If that’s the case, golf is going to be exciting for a long time.

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Send your information and a photo to the Collegiate Times at studybreak@collegemedia.com to make an announcement.

Aries (March 21-April 19) Whatever you need, you can learn. Your concentration is especially keen, and things are fun. Allow ideas to gel. Review notes. Avoid daydreams and distractions.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) Slow down and contemplate. Clarify your direction, and copy the itinerary so others get it. Include a budget. Save up and complete projects so you can go.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) If anyone can enjoy the ups and downs of today, it’s you, Libra. You may be interrupted often by others and even yourself. In the end, things work out, and you get a morale booster.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Put the pedal to the metal, and complete projects without delay. Don’t worry about the money. Conserve resources and stay home. Get into a workaholic phase.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Spending could come easily for the next few days, so keep an eye on the budget. You have tons of pro itable ideas, so keep in action. Shake, rattle and roll.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Socializing takes the forefront, whether networking at meetings and parties, through social media, commenting publicly or participating on teams. New doors open.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Today may feel hit and miss. Celebrate victories, and learn lessons from defeats. You gain experience points and move up to the next level. Call it a win.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Love is a wondrous thing, and it’s getting more intense. Harness this energy to accomplish projects you’re passionate about. In case of doubt, trust your intuition.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) Hold off on travel for now. Meditation delivers insight. Feel the undercurrent of emotion. Ask advice from an older, wealthier person. Be respectful, and stay true to yourself.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Consider new opportunities over the next few days. They could include a test or challenge; you’re up to it. Stick to what you know. A partner helps.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Consult with experts over the next couple of days. Partners hold the keys to strategy. A bolt from the blue takes you by surprise. Wait to decide, and consider opinions.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Today you can discover new stories from your past. Dig deeper and fertilize your family tree. A surprise discovery allows you to see yourself in a new light.

I was arrested inside a bar for being intoxicated. What’s the deal, I was not in public and I’m 22?

ANSWER:

It is illegal to be intoxicated in any establishment that sells alcohol for either on-premise or off-premise consumption. So you can be arrested in a bar or even 7-11. I was drinking in my yard and got a ticket for consuming alcohol in public. Can I drink in my yard?

ANSWER:

It is illegal to consume alcohol in public, which is defined as anywhere you can be seen from public property or a public right-of-way (i.e., any street or sidewalk). Police will not typically come onto your porch.

march 27, 2012 COLLEGIATETIMES

Ringing in the class of 2013 PHOTOS BY BRAD KLODOWSKI / SPPS

Far left: Zach Kiernan (philosophy) takes a photo of Elaine Bartku (civil engineering), Kristianne Macaraeg (chemical engineering) and Aimee Fatico (accounting) in front of the class of 2013 logo. Near left: Chris Ott (biology) dances to the music before the formal ring presentation begins.

Above left: Cadets march under the saber arch as they enter the formal ring presentation ceremony. Above right: Members of the Corps of Cadets stand across from their dates as they each prepare to present one another with their class rings. Far right: A Cadet looks on as fireworks explode over the Drillfield. The fireworks are traditionally set off after the dance to commemorate the ring tradition.