The DA 05-25-2011

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”

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Wednesday May 25, 2011

Volume 124, Issue 148

www.THEDAONLINE.com

Clements named to advisory board

By AMY Rogers Corespondent

West Virginia University President James P. Clements has been selected to serve as one of 15 board members on the U.S. Commerce Department new Innovation Advisory Board.

President Barack Obama established the panel in January of this year under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010.

Members of the board serve to create more effective policies affecting education, sci-

ence, technology and business development. Research generated through this board will assist in creating more jobs for the U.S. and stimulate economic growth.

“We’re very proud that Clements was selected to be serving as the only academic on this council. This council is full of very prestigious people,” said Carolyn Long, WVU Board of Governors Chair. “I was thrilled for him, because I think he is an outstanding president here at WVU.” Clements was invited to serve

on this newly formed board by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

The purpose of the board is to increase America’s global competitiveness while increasing economic growth through creating more jobs, innovative developments and higher productivity.

Long said she believes Clements will be able to bring a diverse and unique opinion to the newly created board, since Clements comes from WVU, a land grant institution.

“To have President Clements

participate on the board is good for WVU, because it allows the University to participate in a national discussion on a very important topic,” said John Bolt, director of University News and Relations.

With a background in higher education and experience in leading universities as well as serving on numerous educational boards, Clements is the perfect candidate to represent the quality of education in America on the new Innovation Advisory Board, Long said.

“He seems to have a very

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good grasp on common sense approaches to decisions. He is also very student-oriented, as the students are very important to him,” Long said. “It is an honor for all of us at WVU to be represented on this council by President Clements.”

The board serves to examine how the U.S.’ economy stacks up against the rest of the world in global competition.

All aspects of the economy will be covered by each board member’s experience in such areas as national policies, education, research and devel-

City Editor

Matt Sunday/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Woodburn Hall completed construction earlier in May, which cost about $3.2 million. Improvements included repairs of the slate roof, repainted trim, repairs or replacements of old brickwork and copper gutters were installed.

West Virginia University’s College of Business & Economics will host a U.S. Census Bureau workshop focusing on data collected from the 2010 census and how it can be utilized.

The June 9 workshop will teach participants about the changes implemented in the 2010 census compared to previous censuses, how to access data on a new search engine, and how business owners and lawmakers can take advantage of census data.

Christadi, a research assistant and demographer with the College of B&E, said the 2010 census would provide valuable count data about distribution patterns within the state population, which were left out of previous data collections.

Data collection was done differently for the 2010 cen-

correspondent

Kristen Basham/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Kristen Basham/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Biometric technology used in Osama bin Laden’s death

By GINA DaBALDO CORRESPONDENT

Students at West Virginia University took to the streets of Morgantown, burning couches and singing in celebration of Osama bin Laden’s death.

On May 2, bin Laden, leader of international terrorist organization al-Qaida, was shot and killed by an elite team of Navy SEALS while he was hiding in Pakistan.

After celebrating this victory, public attention has shifted to curiosity about how bin Laden’s death came

happened.

Bojan Cukic, a professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at WVU, gave insight on the biometric technology used to bring down bin Laden.

Cukic said SEEK, or Secure Electronic Enrolment Kit, was one crucial tool used by the team of Navy SEALS to ensure they had identified the correct target.

“SEEK is a handheld device, which integrates cameras for face and iris recognition and a sensor for fingerprint matching”, Cukic explained.

This device can store large amounts of personal data on multiple people. This data, which includes hundreds of photographs, is compared to a possible subject to identify a possible match. Cukic said bin Laden’s fingerprints were not available, so facial recognition was key.

As for its accuracy, Cukic said SEEK was very reliable, depending on the quality of the photos used. Modern technologies have made facial recognition almost as accurate as fingerprinting and iris scans, he said.

“Navy SEALS were quite

certain they had the right guy even before his DNA was submitted for testing in the base in Afghanistan”, Cukic said.

“If there was any doubt, the president of the United States would not have gone to the national television announcing the success of the mission before DNA matching results became available.”

However, some mistakes are known to happen. Facial recognition can be impaired if the person in question alters their appearance or is too far away, Cukic said.

see bin laden on PAGE 2

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ON THE INSIDE Ryan Nehlen emerged as a legitimate threat in the WVU passing game this spring. SPORTS PAGE3

sus because it was the first time only “short forms” were distributed. In the 2008 census both “short” and “long” forms were used.

Christadi said understanding the difference between and reasoning behind the two methods was essential to understanding census data.

“Comparing census 2010 and previous decennial censuses enables users to see the trends – which places grew strong and which places lost population instead,” he said.

After data collection methods are understood, it’s important to learn how census data is used, Christadi said.

“Business can use this data to anticipate the current and future demand for certain goods and services. Policy makers can use this data to help them decide the distribution of the state grants,

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WVU Foundation selects new finance VP, CFO

By STEVEN YOUNG

The entrance to Woodburn Hall is covered by scaffolding while the building was under Scaffolding covers Woodburn Hall as construction on the building continues in construction in February.

Februrary.

danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

B&E college to host U.S. census workshop

by Charles Young

Iconic Woodburn Hall at West Virginia University stands free of construction work after months of scaffolding surrounding the building.

opment, immigration and tax policy.

The first board meeting will take place on June 6 in Alexandria, Va., at the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office. The board will meet again for the second time in the fall.

All of the 15 board members will serve the board on a strictly volunteer basis until January 4, 2012. Board members are not considered employees of the United States Government since participation is voluntary.

The West Virginia University Foundation has appointed a new vice president of finance and chief financial officer.

Michael Augustine, a former West Virginia native, will serve both positions, effective June 27.

“I very much look forward to coming back to West Virginia,” said Augustine, who will be returning to Morgantown after spending three years in Florida as vice president and chief financial officer for the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies.

Before moving to Florida, Augustine spent 10 years in the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

His time there included a position as vice president, CFO and chief administrative officer. Augustine also worked for the West Virginia Network for Educational Telecomputing in Morgantown from 1993 to 1998.

“I am looking forward to this position. I think it will be a great opportunity to work with the various colleges throughout the University, and I look forward to making a difference at the foun-

dation,” Augustine said.

Wayne King, president and CEO of the WVU Foundation, said he was pleased with the selection of Augustine’s and looked forward to his addition to the foundation.

“Mike Augustine brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in the world of finance and accounting,” King said. “We are looking forward to his leadership and expertise as part of our team, and welcome him and Audra to Morgantown.”

Working with an organization like the WVU Foundation, there are sure to be challenges, Augustine said.

“I think the challenges of the position are many – working with the investment portfolio, the accounting associated with the various donations and also the diversity of the programs across the University.”

Despite these challenges, Augustine said he was looking forward to becoming a part of the WVU community.

“The quality of the education, the wonderful location and the diversity of its programs. WVU is such an important asset to the state of West Virginia,” he said. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

BASEBALL AVOIDS SWEEP After losing the first two games of the weekend, the West Virginia baseball team was able to beat Rutgers, 14-5 on Senior Day. SPORTS PAGE 7

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

2 | NEWS

Wednesday May 25, 2011

Summer youth sports national news camp starts its 24th year Post-tornado search focuses on complexes

BY Rebeccah Griffith STAFF WRITER

Once the charm of school letting out wears out, summer often brings with it boredom, humidity and more boredom.

However, Morgantown youth can look forward to the 24th summer of the National Youth Sports Program sponsored by West Virginia University.

The program, aimed at economically disadvantaged youth, hopes to enrich children through improved physical fitness and a focus on educational opportunities. The program takes place in WVU facilities, taking advantage of the resources around campus such as the Natatorium, the Thomchin Planetarium and the Creative Arts Center.

Supported by WVU, Monongalia County Board of Education, the City of Morgantown and individual donors, the National Youth Sports Program has continued to operate for four weeks out of the summer for the past 24 years. The program provides a medical examination, daily lunch, physical fitness and educational opportunities.

The NYSP will offer model rocketry for the first time this summer, providing campers with the opportunity to experience and understand math and science hands-on.

The program tries to switch up the variety of activities it offers in an attempt to keep the program fresh and interesting for returning campers.

“Last year, they went to a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game. This year we’re doing model rockets,” said program administrator Mary Wolk.

census

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as well as anticipate an increase or a drop in demand for public services such as schools and local roads,” he said.

During the workshop, Christadi said participants would also learn how to use the new American FactFinder 2 search engine. The fact finder system is used to access and download information published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

“It’s supposed to be a more user friendly search tool that average people use to download census 2010

“We try to keep it new and exciting.” The program offers daily swimming and sports activities, as well as the educational activities such as viewing the Planetarium or making crafts in the Creative Arts Center.

“We’ve always had enrichment activities as well as sports, drug awareness and career counseling. We’ve also been moving toward a much stronger math and science focus,” said Dean of the College of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences Dana Brooks.

The program runs solely off of donations and sponsorship from the community. Hosted

by CPASS, the program receives much of its funding through individual and community donors rather than corporate sponsorship.

“We wouldn’t have this without WVU and the Morgantown community,” Wolk said. Though the camp continues to need ongoing financial support in order to continue operating, generous donations have permitted the program to provide this valuable service.

“We hope to be funded by the United Way in the future,” Brooks said.

The community has assisted with more than just financial means, donating time, clothing, shoes and medical care to the camp.

In time, the program hopes to continue growing and expanding to enhance campers’ physical and social wellness even more than in the past.

“We try to teach good sportsmanship and offer that friendship and camaraderie that you get at summer camp,” Wolk said. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

data and other census data,” he said.

Janet Spry, a research analyst with the West Virginia Development Office, said an alternative workshop will also be hosted in Charleston June 7 and 8.

“Studying census data is great for learning about where people live and learning about the people themselves,” Spry said.

Attendance in both classes is free, but space is limited.

Fo r a d d i t i o na l i n formation please visit http://www.be.wvu.edu/ bber/2010censusworkshop. htm charles.young@mail.wvu.edu

bin laden

“Crossing the borders, accessing medicine cabinets Continued from page 1 in hospitals, even logging in onto our laptops is simHe said biometric tech- ply easier more convenient nology is becoming more of and more secure with bioan important factor in every- metrics”, he said. day lives of people across the globe. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

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JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Crews busted holes in concrete slabs and sifted through strewn home goods Tuesday as rescuers focused on crumpled big-box stores and apartment complexes in Joplin in a frantic search for survivors, after nearly 120 people were killed by the deadliest single U.S. tornado in about 60 years.

One team poked through the remains of a Home Depot store, while others searched a Walmart and wrecked apartments as the clock ticked down on another round of severe storms. A hunt through the rubble using search-andrescue dogs was planned, and officials expected to test the city’s nine warning sirens while the sun was still shining.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., warned of severe weather starting Tuesday afternoon in a band from northern Texas up to southern Illinois and stretching east into western Kentucky, western Tennessee and northwest Mississippi. Meteorologist David Imy said conditions were ripe for tornadoes in central and eastern Kansas, almost all of Oklahoma and northern portions of Texas.

“It looks like prime time for the greatest tornado coverage and intensity will be between 3 to 4 p.m. and 9 to 10 p.m.,” Imy said. “That will be when the greatest coverage and most intense storms occur.”

Thunderstorms are forecast in Joplin from 6 p.m. to midnight, and there’s a possibility of tornadoes, he said.

The massive tornado that ripped through the heart of the blue-collar southwest Missouri city of 50,000 people on Sunday was the deadliest on record in nearly six decades.

Sam Murphey, a spokesman for Gov. Jay Nixon’s office, said Tuesday that 117 bodies had been found but he didn’t know when or where the latest one was discovered.

Fire chief Mitch Randles said he knew of only 116 bodies.

Nixon has said 17 survivors have been found, but Randles said he knew of only seven.

“We’re getting sporadic calls of cries for help from rubble piles ... most of those are turning out to be false,”

AP

The path of a powerful tornado is seen in Joplin, Mo., Tuesday, May 24, 2011. A tornado moved through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 116 people.

Randles said.

Rescuers found one person alive at the Home Depot on Monday, but they also discovered seven bodies under a concrete slab, officials said. Search-andrescue team leader Doug Westhoff said team members have searched as much of the store’s interior as they can and are now focused on what is under collapsed concrete slabs that once helped hold up the store. After the holes are drilled, dogs will be brought in to try to detect any human scent.

Randles said teams were taking advantage of the best weather they’d had in two days to go through every damaged and destroyed building. After seven survivors were pulled from rubble Monday, he and others said they hoped to find more.

“It’s really incredible the fact that we’re still finding people,” Randles said.

Westhoff also expressed hope, but said the outlook at the Home Depot was bleak because of the size of the slabs and magnitude of the collapse.

People in Joplin and beyond have turned to online social networks as they try to find relatives missing since the tornado struck, or simply because they’re curious.

Multiple Facebook pages

created since the tornado are filled with requests for information about people who haven’t been heard from since Sunday, sometimes including photos of the missing. Other posts on the same pages share news about Joplin residents who are alive and well.

Several social-networking efforts specifically focus on finding information about Will Norton, a teenager who is reported to have been sucked out of the sun roof of a car on his way home from a graduation ceremony. More than 10,000 people like the “Help Find Will Norton” community page on Facebook, and Twitter users are tweeting heavily about the missing teen.

Until this week, the deadliest single tornado on record with the National Weather Service in the past six decades was a twister that killed 116 people in Flint, Mich., in 1953.

More deaths have resulted from outbreaks of multiple tornadoes. On April 27, a pack of twisters roared across six Southern states, killing 314 people, more than two-thirds of them in Alabama. That was the single deadliest day for tornadoes since the National Weather Service began keeping such records in 1950.

The agency has conducted research that shows deadlier

outbreaks before 1950. It says the single deadliest day that it is aware of was March 18, 1925, when tornadoes killed 747 people. The day also saw what weather officials believe was the single deadliest tornado when one twister ripped through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, killing 695 people.

The most deaths from the tristate tornado, which started near Gang, Mo., and ended near Princeton, Ind., were in Murphysboro, Ill., where the tornado hit an elementary school in session.

President Barack Obama said he would travel to Missouri on Sunday to meet with people whose lives have been turned upside down by the twister. He vowed to make all federal resources available for efforts to recover and rebuild.

“The American people are by your side,” Obama said from London. “We’re going to stay there until every home is repaired, until every neighborhood is rebuilt, until every business is back on its feet.”

State Sen. Ron Richard flew over the area with state and federal officials Tuesday to check out the damage to his hometown.

“It’s like taking a mower through tall grass. That’s what it looks like,” Richard said.

“The devastation is complete. It is down to the ground.”

Receding floodwaters reveal ruined homes, crops MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Mississippi River crest has passed through the South, but the misery caused by flooding is far from over.

As water recedes, residents from Tennessee to Louisiana face the task of gutting houses soaked in polluted water. Farmers will have to scrub their fields of sandy sludge before trying to use what’s left of the growing season. Shipping is likely to be restricted for weeks because of pressure on levees, and a close watch will be kept well into the summer on strained levees, bridges and other structures.

“It’s falling now, slowly but surely. But it ain’t falling that fast for me to get home,” said William Jefferson, who has had at least 6 feet of water in his Vicksburg, Miss., house for two weeks. “I don’t know what to

expect. I won’t know what to expect until I open the doors.

Nobody knows until they open the door, then all hell breaks loose.”

Some of the worst flooding has been along tributaries, and not all of the smaller rivers in Louisiana have hit their peak.

The Atchafalaya River took on water diverted from the swollen Mississippi to spare more populous cities downstream, and it’s expected to rise several more feet this week in Cajun communities like Butte Larose. Residents there were ordered to leave by Tuesday.

Upstream in Tennessee, people have been returning home to find damaged appliances, water-soaked beds and ruined clothing. Residents in several states are fretting about where they’ll get rebuilding money as government in-

spectors evaluate homes, with some leaving behind colorcoded stickers to say whether dwellings can be salvaged at all. Officials haven’t yet put an overall dollar figure on residential damage, but thousands of homes were flooded in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Tuesday was the second day Memphis resident Wesley Roberts has been allowed back to his rented mobile home to retrieve possessions since it flooded to its 10-foot ceiling.

It now sits on dry land with a red sticker on the glass sliding door indicating it’s no longer inhabitable.

“I’ve never lost everything before,” said the 59-year-old retiree. “It’s new to me.”

Roberts came back from a trip to Texas on May 1 to find the home near a tributary on

the north side of town already underwater. His is among 2,500 houses and businesses in Shelby County that sustained at least some damage.

“There wasn’t nothing I could do,” he said. “I didn’t have no boat. I just had to sit up there on that hill and watch my house get more and more underwater.”

Scrubbing walls and floors with bleach, south Memphis resident Billy Burke counted himself lucky that floodwaters from a tributary didn’t rise higher than his basement.

He expects to spend $3,000 to $4,000 to clean out the basement and replace his water heater.

“That water had a bad smell to it,” Burke said of the murky, brown soup that also filled his backyard. “I had to get rid of the bacteria and the mold. I

local news

W.Va. DNR seeks urban bears for study

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — State wildlife officials plan to study bears in and around three cities to determine whether they’re transients or permanent residents.

The study also will examine how vulnerable urban bears are to hunting and what kinds of urban habitat create bear “movement corridors.

Radio collars with Global Positioning System receivers will be put on 15 bears in Charleston, Beckley and Morgantown to track the animals’ movements, said Chris Ryan, research supervisor for the Division of Natural Resources.

“We want to know if they’re making big moves back into the woods at different times of the year,” Ryan told The Charleston Gazette. “They’re pretty smart animals, so they might be doing that. This is one of those ‘we really don’t know’ studies. We can guess, but until we get hard data we really won’t know what these bears are doing.”

But the DNR needs the public’s help in finding bears for the

study.

“In years past, we would have had no shortage of urban ‘nuisance bears’ to trap and place collars on,” Ryan said.

“But lately, we’re not getting many nuisance complaints.

Apparently our field personnel have been very effective at teaching people in urban and suburban areas how to avoid attracting bears.”

Normally, the DNR asks residents not to call if a bear sighting is a one-time incident. Ryan said an exception is being made for bears near the three cities. Even if a bear isn’t causing problems, Ryan said the DNR wants residents to report it.

The study is part of a multistate project that originated in Pennsylvania. Ryan said West Virginia’s study is expected to last two years.

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Pedestrians at risk in many areas of W.Va. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia ranked 24th in the nation in pedestrian deaths as 237 people died on the state’s highways between 2000-2009, according to a report released Tuesday by Transportation for America.

McDowell County led the state in the number of pedestrian deaths per county with 3.22 deaths per 100,000 residents.

Charleston topped the metropolitan fatality list with 1.8 deaths per 100,000 residents.

The national average is 1.6 deaths per 100,000 residents.

During the reporting period, 47,700 pedestrians were killed nationwide.

The report said highway design and traffic speed account for the majority of deaths. The group encouraged the installation of sidewalks, bicycle lanes, crosswalks and reducing crossing distances to improve pedestrian

safety on the nation’s highways.

“Our tax money that goes to the federal government and comes back to West Virginia should be used to build streets, roads and highways that are safe for all users,” said Gary Zuckett, executive director of West Virginia Citizen Action.

Nationally about 1.5 percent of all federal highway dollars are used to upgrade roadways even though 67 percent of all pedestrian deaths over the past decade occurred on federal-aid roads, said James Corless, Transport for America’s director. The Washington, D.C.-based group works on transportation issues.

West Virginia is a rural state so highway improvements to accommodate pedestrians are more focused in urban, rather than rural areas, said Cindy Cramer, traffic engineer with the state Division of Highways.

The DOH has a design directive to give consideration to pedestrian needs when designing new roadways, she said. The cost of such improvements depends on a project’s scope.

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SPORTS JUST NEEDED THE CHANCE CONTACT US 304-293-5092 ext. 3 | DAsports@mail.wvu.edu

Wednesday May 25, 2011

nick arthur sports writer

WVU will be fine without Dalton Pepper

Since being hired as head coach of the West Virginia Men’s Basketball team in 2007, Bob Huggins attracted many highly touted recruits to Morgantown, but in some cases, he hasn’t been able to get those recruits to stick around for their whole career.

The 2009 recruiting class alone has had two players leave the program. Dan Jennings left the bench during the South Florida game never to be seen again, and Dalton Pepper recently walked away from a potential starting spot next year to transfer to be close to his sick father.

With five seniors graduating from last season’s team, Huggins will have very little experience returning for next season.

Pepper would have joined Truck Bryant, Kevin Jones and Deniz Kilicli as the only Mountaineers to return with significant experience. The only other returning player who saw more than 10 minutes of floor action all of last season is redshirt freshman forward Kevin Noreen, who missed the final half of last season with a knee injury.

However, Huggins seems to have his most impressive recruiting class since he took over prepared to contribute immediately next season.

With the likes of Jabarie Hinds, Keaton Miles and other top-notch recruits, it is reasonable to believe these freshmen can immediately make an impact on the program.

After first hearing the news of Pepper’s parting, I instantly thought the team was taking a major hit.

I then looked up the statistics of Dalton Pepper from his first two years in Morgantown – particularly last season – to see what potential contributions the team would be losing for next season.

What I discovered was baffling.

He averaged 3.9 points per game last season and shot just under 34 percent from the three-point line. But those numbers weren’t the baffling ones.

I wanted to see to what degree Pepper contributed in key wins last season, so I looked closely at the Mountaineers’ five wins over ranked opponents.

In those games, Pepper never played more than ten minutes. Against Georgetown, the Mountaineers’ only road win against a ranked opponent all season, he didn’t play at all.

Pepper never scored more than three points in any of those five games, averaging just 1.5 per game.

He also did not record a single assist in any of the above mentioned wins.

I understand a player’s contributions cannot be determined solely on scoring and assists.

I understand Huggins’ system mostly revolves around defense, which Pepper played very well throughout the season – most notably against Clemson in the NCAA Tournament.

But the fact of the matter is, when the Mountaineers were playing their best basketball, Pepper did not contribute and, in some cases, did not play.

I’ll let you take all that in, and then pose this question.

Will the departure of Dalton Pepper significantly affect the team’s success next season?

Since the Huggins era began around this time of year in 2007, he has enforced his infamous “violation of team rules” policy multiple times.

With star players on the bench, the team has consistently been able to produce with a lack of resources.

Just last year, after Jennings left the team, Huggins suspended leading scorer Casey Mitchell, which left the Mountaineers just eight healthy scholarship players – and even when Mitchell was allowed to return, there

see arthur on PAGE 7

Walk-on WR Nehlen looking to keep improving after great spring by michael carvelli sports editor

Right now in college football, a player’s talent and ability to contribute depends a lot on how many stars are beside his name on recruiting websites.

However, one West Virginia football player used this spring to emerge from an afterthought into a legitimate passcatching threat.

Redshirt junior Ryan Nehlen has only played in eight games in his WVU career and has never played for more than 13 snaps in a game. He wasn’t highly recruited out of high school, and up until this spring, his biggest claim to fame was that he was former Mountaineer head coach Don Nehlen’s grandson.

But now, heading into the 2011 season, Nehlen is looking to make a different name for himself in offensive coordinator and head coach-in-waiting Dana Holgorsen’s new offense.

“I’ve kept working hard and just trying to mature physically so that when that opportunity did come, it wasn’t a waste,” Nehlen said. “I definitely feel like I have the ability to go out there and make plays and help this team.”

It’s not often that somebody like Nehlen, who is a walk-on, would get the chance to be out there and make plays with the first team offense, but, he FILE PHOTO said, thanks to Holgorsen and West Virginia wide receiver Ryan Nehlen emerged as a major threat in the passing the new offensive staff, it allowed everybody to come into game this spring.

women’s basketball

Mountaineers set attendance record

By John Terry Sports Writer

West Virginia women’s basketball head coach Mike Carey has pleaded with fans to come to more games.

He’s increased the team’s presence in the community, invited more groups to games and even started a kid’s club called Carey’s Crew.

That hard work has finally paid off.

The women’s basketball team set a new total attendance record, totaling 49,648 fans last season. The previous school record was set in 2010 with 33,094 fans.

A new average attendance record was also set, as 3,103 fans attended games. Just 1,947 fans attended games in 2010.

“It’s great to see our attendance improve over the years,” Carey said. “Our players really feel the support of the fans when people are in the seats, and that makes the WVU Coliseum that much harder for opponents to play in.

“This year was the best attendance we’ve had since I’ve been here, and I hope that number continues to get better in the years to come.”

The new total attendance record ranks No. 35 among all NCAA Division I-A programs.

Its average single-game jump was the fifth-largest jump in the country.

West Virginia’s largest crowd last season was 8,025 on Feb. 5 against rival Pittsburgh, a 60-

Matt Sunday/The Daily Athenaeum

West Virginia head coach Mike Carey has been doing whatever it takes to get more people out to games.

53 loss. The season-opener against Loyola was attended by 6,299, and its home game against top-ranked Connecticut had 5,855 in attendance.

Carey said the improved attendance helps future teams just as much as last year’s team, and that attendance is always something he’s looking to improve.

“Not only do the current players feel the support, but the recruits and future Mountaineers get to see the type of support our fans have to offer,” Carey said.

The team was able to set new attendance marks despite having a disappointing 10-loss season.

The Mountaineers entered the season ranked top 10 in numerous preseason polls.

The Mountaineers raced off to a 19-1 start before finishing the season with a 5-9 mark.

West Virginia’s season ended with a second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament to No. 1 seeded Baylor.

The Big East Conference had the fourth highest attendance numbers out of the 31 conferences and seven independent teams at the NCAA Division I-A level with a total of 889,026 people attending games.

The Big 12 Conference led all conferences with more than 1 million passing through the gates.

The Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference were ranked second and third, respectively.

camp with a shot to show the coaches what they could do to help the team.

“Obviously the coaches knew who Tavon (Austin) was and Bradley (Starks),” Nehlen said. “It definitely helped that everybody was on a clean slate and it gave everybody an opportunity to show what they could do.”

And, there was one thing that the Morgantown, W.Va., native did time and time again, which eventually allowed him to stand out among the Mountaineer receivers.

Catch the ball.

Alongside of senior tight end Tyler Urban, Nehlen was probably the most consistent receiver when it came to regularly catching passes on the roster this spring.

In the Mountaineers’ three scrimmages, he caught 12 passes for 198 yards. That output was capped off with a strong showing in the GoldBlue Game, in which he caught five passes for 79 yards.

For him, this spring was just the first step in realizing his dream of getting to contribute to West Virginia.

“I always had aspirations to get on the field and make plays,” Nehlen said after the Gold-Blue Game. “Today was a big step.”

There weren’t many negatives to be found in Nehlen’s play in the spring, but there was one thing that Holgorsen pointed to a few times, jokingly. He had to leave practice early a lot due to class.

“The problem with Ryan is he’s never here – he takes a lot of classes,” Holgorsen said earlier in the spring. “He’s only here for about 30 minutes on weekdays, and then we get him on the weekends.”

And with the Spring Game on a Friday night, Nehlen thought it would be a good time to have some fun with the coaches after they gave him a hard time for missing practice for class.

“I told them before the scrimmage that I had to leave in 20 minutes,” he said. “Coach Holgorsen actually thought I was serious for a second.

“I definitely did a better job of scheduling my classes for the fall.”

After the progress he made during the spring, Nehlen was awarded the Tom Nickolich Memorial Award, which is given every year to the team’s top walk-on.

He doesn’t want to be the next in a long line of Mountaineers who have a great showing during the spring but aren’t heard of once the regular season starts in the fall. But he’ll never disappoint in his ability to make plays when he gets the chance.

“Each year I strive to do a little bit better, and this year I definitely want to get on the field and make some contributions to this team,” he said. “I never doubt (myself ) because when you doubt, good things aren’t going to happen.” james.carvelli@mail.wvu.edu

football opponent preview

WVU kicks off 2011 against Marshall by tony dobies sports writer

Last year West Virginia went to Huntington, W.Va., with a sophomore quarterback and hopes of not being upset by Marshall.

That’s where the legendary status of then-sophomore signal caller Geno Smith started, as he brought the Mountaineers back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to win 24-21 in overtime.

It’s safe to say West Virginia fans breathed a sigh of relief, as losing to the instate rival in football for the first time would’ve been a disaster.

Disaster averted for 12 more months until the two face off again. This year, it will be both teams’ season opener in Morgantown. Redemption will be a key for Marshall, and WVU will try to weather that with a new offense in its debut under offensive coordinator and head coach-in-waiting Dana Holgorsen.

WVU’s offensive line will get an early test, as the Thundering Herd features one of the best defensive lineman in the country.

Defensive end Vinny Curry might be the best defensive end in the state of West Virginia if it wasn’t for the Mountaineers’ superstar defender Bruce Irvin.

Cu r r y , a 6 - f o o t- 4 , 260-pound senior, was fifth in the nation in sacks with 12 (Irvin had 14 in 2010).

The first-team all-Conference USA honoree led the nation in tackles by a defensive lineman (94). And he would’ve had even better statistics if it wasn’t for a knee injury that limited him in the team’s last four games.

Marshall will rely heavily on the front four of its defense. The Thundering Herd will have to replace talented linebacker and leading tackler from last season Mario Harvey. That will be the biggest loss for the Thundering Herd heading into 2011.

see marshall on PAGE 7

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OPINION

Wednesday May 25, 2011

CONTACT US 304-293-5092 ext. 3 | DAperspectives@mail.wvu.edu

Massey Energy to blame for mine disaster “An accident waiting to happen.”

These words were uttered by independent investigator and former federal director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration J. Davitt McAteer as he described conditions in the Upper Big Branch coal mine in Raleigh County, W.Va., prior to the historic disaster that left 29 coal miners dead last year.

Last week, McAteer presented a 126-page report to Gov. Early Ray Tomblin, concluding the year-long independent investigation that was commissioned by then-Gover-

nor Joe Manchin.

The damning conclusions of this report confirmed what many had long suspected: The tragedy at Upper Big Branch was largely the result of Massey Energy’s disregard for safety regulations.

The report described the disaster as “man-made” and asserted that the tragedy “could have been prevented had Massey Energy followed basic, well-tested and historically proven safety procedures.”

The explosion is suspected to have been caused by methane, and the investigators found

that methane detectors in the mine were often turned off.

There were even cases where fake readings were recorded to cover up the fact that these monitors were not being used.

There was also evidence that not enough was done to control the buildup of coal dust in the mine, a measure that is required by federal law.

Autopsies revealed that of the 29 coal miners who died, 75 percent of them suffered from black lung disease as a result of inhaling coal dust. The national rate of black lung disease for underground miners is only

3.2 percent. This startling disparity, described by McAteer as “terrifying” and “astonishing,” clearly illustrates the lack of care taken to ensure a safe working environment for these miners.

While the federal investigation into this tragedy is still ongoing, it is clear this disaster could have been averted if it wasn’t for a willful disobedience of laws and regulations designed to protect coal miners.

Massey officials continue to deny any wrongdoing and claim the disaster was caused by a freak accident that was be-

yond their control. This investigation rebukes this claim and reveals that Massey had routinely cut corners when it came to the safety of their workers. As a result, 29 coal miners prematurely lost their lives.

This negligence is undoubtedly criminal and should be prosecuted accordingly. Making an example out of those who are responsible for this tragedy is the only way to ensure that such disregard for the safety of workers will not continue. daperspectives@mail.wvu.edu

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@dailyathenaeum

Those who try to predict end of world should be ignored Sam Viggiano columnist

On Saturday I watched the clock so carefully that one might have thought I had an obsession with time – as if I had somewhere to go or something to do.

I watched the blinking digital numbers surface and resurface again with every moment approaching the apparent rapture.

Although I am not a highly metaphysical man, I find myself enraptured with the rapture. Doomsday, the coming of Christ and the end of the world – what does it mean, and why do so many people want to predict it?

It is likely that May 21, 2011, will forever be remembered as the day that virtually nothing happened.

Self taught biblical “genius” Harold Camping has incorrectly predicted two doomsday events since 1994, according New York Times writer Jesse McKinley.

The former civil engineer was very distraught when May 21 came and went. He said, “I was truly wondering what is going on. In my mind, I went back through all of the promises God has made, all of the proofs, all of the signs and everything was fitting perfectly, so what in the world happened? I really was praying and praying and praying, oh Lord, what happened?”

And what should one do when one’s predication is proven false? In science, if a hypothesis is proven wrong, the subject is noted as unaffected or

unchanged, and then perhaps a new predication resurfaces.

In religion, at least in terms of critics like Harold Camping, apparently one chooses a new date and a new excuse. For Harold Camping, he glossed over his falsified date with an “invisible judgment day” of the spiritual variety and believes that October 21, 2011, will be the coming of Christ. During his ABC interview, he would not answer questions from the press saying, “The world has been warned ...

We don’t have to talk about this anymore.”

Just as January 1, 2000, came and went, so have many other doomsday predictions. Unfortunately for modern peoples, we are subjected to too much doomsday media that we think that these natural disasters are actual signs that the world is ending.

It is an unfortunate truth that earthquakes, floods and tornadoes cannot be predicted in enough time to save people and I believe that we, the population of the Earth, need to take care of our space and support those in need. Coming together is the only positive message that can be taken from doomsday predictors.

What we don’t need to do is worry.

For a spiritual man, Harold Camping and other religious doomsday predictors like him have taken gypsy-like, pagan approaches to predicting the coming of Christ. They seem to wave their hand over a crystal ball, watch the weather and follow politics closely enough to reinterpret these incredible events as signs. I am surprised these

AP

Signs on an RV announce the end of the world outside of Harold Camping’s ministry in Oakland, Calif. men have not been confronted with Mark 13:32, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Thus, these astrological, metaphysical and earthly “signs” should be taken with a grain of salt. Both religious and scientific men do not know when or if the world is ending. But it is hard to ignore what we cannot control – which is why we find the end of the world so exciting.

There was no one to check the

Mayan’s math, and who would have predicted the Sistine Chapel would be unable to handle just one more picture of a pope.

These apparent signs are out of the hands of modern people, and it scares us that we do not have control.

This anticipation is equivalent to that of Christmas morning. After writing a letter and being good for a month or so, presents magically appear under the Christmas tree. And the greatest anticipation of all is

that you don’t know what you are getting. It is a surprise. Thus, Santa Claus must be real, because who else would have read your letter or known what to get you for Christmas? Likewise, we do research and interpret signs the world is ending and then wait for our present under the tree.

This Santa Claus phenomenon is a sociological event, in which we give reason to something that cannot be explained.

There must be a reason for it,

and it must be proven true. We must have control. If we stopped writing letters to Santa and we stopped trying to predict the end of the world, what do you think would happen?

Would natural disasters still happen? Would the economy still be in ruins? Would the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or other human versus human conflicts still happen? Do we still need to unite and be one human body?

Yes.

WR’s recoverable amount accounts to just over 4 percent of our current domestic production and barely 1 percent of world production. Certainly, the “super majors” are already lining up to get a hand in that.

Proponents for domestic production seem to skip over how negligible a contribution that tapping the ANWR oil reserves would make. Nine hundred thousand extra barrels – in 2025 nonetheless – does not make up any ground in efforts to reduce foreign dependency.

Finally, and most important of all the reasons to reduce foreign oil dependency the public would support, domestic production suggests that gas prices would be lowered. Unfortunately, again, it wouldn’t fix this problem either.

In a 2009 EIA report, “Impact of Limitations on Access to Oil and Natural Gas Resources in the Federal Outer Continental Shelf,” the EIA projected domestic crude oil production through 2030 based on historical and current data for production and reserve availability.

The report explores two options for the future of domestic oil production: the OCS

“limited” case, where the currently suspended limits on the development of oil production in the Outer Continental Shelf are reinstated, and the OCS “access” case, which examines the “potential impacts of lifting of federal restrictions on access to the OCS in various parts of the U.S., such as those sites made available in 2008 when the moratoria was lifted.

So it’s limited production versus possible production.

The EIA projected that crude oil production in the limited OCS case would be 6.83 million barrels per day by 2030, and gas prices would average $3.91 per gallon.

Now, for the access case – examining the great potential of domestic oil production by furthering utilization of the OCS – the EIA estimates that by 2030, 7.37 million barrels of oil would be produced per day, bringing the price of gas to $3.88 per gallon.

Just think, in under 20 years, by opening our “possible” OCS reserves, we would save 3 cents a gallon! Rejoice, baby, rejoice! Domestic production makes gas cheap(er).

Within the remarks and the push to expand domestic oil production, one may hear ar-

guments for reducing “foreign dependency,” “creating of American jobs,” relying on “American resources” and so on. But never do you hear a proponent of domestic production directly state that gas prices will go down, or even remain steady – and rightfully so. As shown, more American oil does not truly mean lower American gas prices.

Despite the major downsides, domestic production does do one thing: create jobs. While environmental organizations dispute statistics handed out by petroleum-related coalitions – for example, the 9.2 million jobs related to petroleum industry estimated by the Petroleum Institute – it makes sense that more rigs and transportation would create more jobs.

Yet, on the other hand, the industry also has the power to destroy thousands of jobs, as seen in the British Petroleum oil spill. Furthermore, these companies, as stressed within the aforementioned reasons, are international.

Wouldn’t the labor be given to those who would take it for the cheapest salary?

Overall, the benefits of domestic production do not ex-

ist, or granted, are negligible.

“Drill, baby, drill” is a myth.

The concept is unrealistic, unprofitable and misleading.

The power of domestic production lies purely in political gain, vying for a constituency that stands against the assumed expensive and inconvenient lifestyle changes that comes along with alternative energies.

The reasons given against domestic drilling don’t even touch upon the negative environmental aspects related to oil, and they don’t need to.

Proponents of domestic production can be beaten at their own game. Politics, economics and social welfare – domestic production doesn’t better any of it.

We’ve been sold the need to reduce foreign oil for decades, yet nothing has happened. It’s fair to say it never will. Change will only come when global oil becomes scarce. When the resource becomes scarce, control becomes necessary. Consider when that day comes, and the U.S. is still dependent on it, would America then rethink alternative sources?

Eh, who cares? Let’s have the next generation deal with that issue.

Debunking the myth of domestic oil: all about the money Armand resto The daily barometer

Uwire The unraveling of the domestic oil production myth begins with the concept of a global oil market – companies beholden to no specific country – and the dominance of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

But the domestic oil production myth truly unwinds on a few other key points that proponents of domestic resources often pass over.

First is the amount of time between when a company receives its permit to begin production and the first drop of oil that is recovered.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, it takes an average of around five years for an oil company that was just awarded a lease of reserve land to recover the first drop of oil. Why not ignore alternative sources for five more years and hope for more oil?

To call this procrastination would be an understatement.

Second, America generally doesn’t come close in total reserves compared to the rest of the world. Again according to the EIA, in 2009 the average amount of proven oil reserves within the United States was 21.7 billion barrels of oil. By comparison, Venezuela had 99.3 billion, Canada 178 billion, Europe 13.6 billion, Russia 60 billion, Africa 117 billion, and the Middle East, collectively, is sitting on 745 billion.

But consider the possibility that one of the “super major” oil companies – all international producers – develops an interest in tapping America’s oil reserves either in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or off shore. How much oil could America get?

On optimistic speculation

by EIA’s analysis of “technically recoverable” amounts surveyed by geologists, it has been estimated that ANWR could produce about 876,000 barrels of oil each day. As of 2009, the U.S. produces 9 million barrels of oil a day and consumes just over 18 million.

With a world market that consumes a total of about 86 million barrels a day according to data from 2007, AN-

SEND US YOUR LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS Email your letters and guest columns of more than 500 words to daperspectives@mail.wvu.edu.

Include a name and title with your submission.

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Letters to the Editor can be sent 284 Prospect St. or emailed to DAPERSPECTIVES@mail.wvu.edu. Letters should include NAME, TITLE and be no more than 300 words. Letters and columns, excluding the editorial, are not necessarily representative of The Daily Athenaeum’s opinion. Letters may be faxed to 304-293-6857 or delivered to The Daily Athenaeum.

EDITORIAL STAFF: ERIN FITZWILLIAMS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/MANAGING EDITOR • CHARLES YOUNG, CITY EDITOR • OMAR GHABRA, OPINION EDITOR • MICHAEL CARVELLI, SPORTS EDITOR • JAMES CARBONE, A&E EDITOR/CAMPUS CALENDAR EDITOR • MATT SUNDAY, ART DIRECTOR • ALEX KOSCEVIC, COPY DESK CHIEF • KYLE HESS, BUSINESS MANAGER • ALEC BERRY, WEB EDITOR • ALAN WATERS, GENERAL MANAGER

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Wednesday May 25, 2011

SPORTS | 5

baseball

Buckner’s final home game one to remember by michael carvelli sports editor

When West Virginia shortstop Grant Buckner walked in the bottom of the eighth inning of Saturday’s game against Rutgers, he knew it would be his final at bat as a Mountaineer at Hawley Field.

“It was definitely a weird feeling,” he said. “The last time being out here, ideally, I didn’t want to walk, but I’ll take it.”

While in a perfect world Buckner would’ve actually gotten to get a hit in his final trip to the plate on his home field, he had already done enough to make his Senior Day one that he will surely remember for a long time.

The Elkview, W.Va., native finished the day 2-for-4 with a grand slam, five RBI and three runs scored in the Mountaineers’ 14-5 rout of Rutgers.

“I couldn’t write that one up any better myself,” Buckner said after the game. “Any time you hit a grand slam on Senior Day with a lot of friends

and family here, that’s big.”

But even though Buckner’s performance on Saturday was a great one by almost everybody’s standards, there was one guy who wasn’t surprised at all.

In WVU head coach Greg Van Zant’s mind, it was just another day at the office for his senior shortstop.

“He didn’t do anything different than he normally does.

He always plays great,” Van Zant said. “He just went out there and played great like he always does. He’s very consistent, and that’s what makes him a heck of a player for us.”

Buckner’s RBI single in the bottom of the first gave the Mountaineers an early 1-0 lead. It also extended his streak of reaching base safely to 47 games, the fourth longest active streak in the country.

And he’ll be the first to tell you it really isn’t anything extra special that he’s doing to help. Instead, he gave a lot of credit to the players hitting around him in the batting or-

der, like senior Jeremy Gum and redshirt junior Dan DiBartolomeo, for being dangerous hitters close to him in the lineup so pitchers have to give him pitches to hit.

“The big thing is having guys behind me,” Buckner said. “They’ve been able to drive me in, and I’ve been able to score a lot of runs during this streak.

“Because I’ve got guys behind me who can hit, I don’t go into games thinking I’ve got to get on base. I can just try to let the pitches come to me.”

This senior year has been a very impressive one for Buckner, who, after serving last year as the sidekick to Jedd Gyorko, was thrown into the spotlight as the most established power hitter on this WVU team.

And he hasn’t disappointed. On top of his streak of reaching base safely, Buckner is heading into the Big East Conference Tournament leading the team in nearly every offensive category, hit-

ting .368 – which is good for fourth in the Big East – with eight home runs and 46 RBI. “Grant’s a tremendous player. He’s got the strength to go out and play at his best every day,” Van Zant said. “He just goes out and tries to make plays, and he tries to hit the ball hard.”

While Buckner admitted that hitting the home run in his final game was definitely very special, there’s one thing that he will perhaps remember for even longer.

Those who were paying attention at the end of Saturday’s game might have seen Buckner slide the game ball into his back pocket after recording the final force out of the game at second base. And he never gave it back, either.

“It hasn’t moved,” he said.

“That thing’s not going to leave my bag, and I’ll remember that ball forever.

“That’s the type of stuff that you’ll remember most.” james.carvelli@mail.wvu.edu

matt sunday/the daily athenaeum

West Virginia shortstop Grant Buckner has become one of the Big East Conference’s best hitters this season.

Strong performances save Mountaineers to face Seton weekend series vs. Rutgers Hall in Big East Tournament West Virginia Four-seed

Brooke Cassidy/The Daily Athenaeum

West Virginia freshman Marshall Thompson will get the start against Seton Hall tonight.

by brad joyal sports writer

Matt Sunday/The Daily Athenaeum

West Virginia second baseman Isaac Franklin is greeted by teammates after scoring a run in this weekend’s series against Rutgers.

by cody schuler sports writer

The West Virginia baseball team sent its seniors off in grand fashion Saturday with a 14-5 home victory over Rutgers.

The regular season finale served as Senior Day and the final game at Hawley Field for the team’s ten seniors.

After dropping the first two games of the three-game set, the Mountaineers were able to bounce back in impressive fashion, snapping a sixgame losing streak in the process - just in time to gain some crucial momentum going into the Big East Conference Tournament.

Senior shortstop Grant Buckner led the hit parade, going 2–for–4 with a grand slam, five RBIs, two runs and two walks, as the Mountaineers clinched the No. 4 seed for the conference postseason tournament.

“We’ve been really struggling offensively lately, and scoring (14) runs going into the conference tournament is big,” Buckner said.

The Elkview, W.Va., native has now reached base safely in 47 consecutive games, the fourth longest such streak in the country.

Buckner, along with head coach Greg Van Zant, was quick to mention the return of redshirt junior designated hitter Dan DiBartolomeo to the lineup. In his first game in over three weeks, DiBartolomeo went 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored.

“It’s unbelievable,” Buckner said of his teammate’s ability to return from the injury so quickly and contribute. “The guy takes three weeks off and comes in, homers – we really need his bat in the lineup, it adds a lot in there, for sure.”

All of the Mountaineer starters recorded at least one hit, and the team tallied 15 hits total.

Stellar performances from senior standouts seemed to be the theme of the afternoon, and the starting pitching of Andy Berry didn’t deviate from that notion, as he tossed seven strong innings of three

run ball, surrendering eight hits and striking out three.

Freshman Ryan Tezak came on in relief in the eighth inning and held the Scarlet Knights to two runs on two hits in the final two innings.

The seven innings the Mountaineers got out of Berry pleased Van Zant, as the team continues to suffer from injuries to both the starting rotation and the bullpen.

“We’ve only got ten available pitchers right now,” Van Zant said. “It’s very important for our starters to go deep into games.”

The victory on Saturday cemented a winning record overall, as well as a winning conference record.

“We did need to win that game,” Van Zant said. “We take

N JOI

AY! D O T

a lot of pride in winning, and that win right there was as big as any we’ve ever had here.”

That first game will be against No. 5 seed Seton Hall,Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. The Pirates are riding into the tournament with momentum of their own, winning seven of their last nine conference games.

The Mountaineers will go with redshirt freshman lefthander Marshall Thompson in game one. Leading the team in strikeouts, Thompson totes a 5-3 record and 4.59 ERA for the season.

Live streams of all the Big East Conference Tournament games are available on www.

BIGEASTBaseball.com. dasports@mail.wvu.edu

When: Tonight at 5 Where: Clearwater, Fla. (Bright House Field) Video: Live stream of the game can be found on www.bigeast.org Radio: 1440 AM WAJR Coverage: Check out The Daily Athenaeum’s Twitter (@dailyathenaeum) for in-game updates. Read next week’s edition for a full recap of the Big East tournament.

season series against Rutgers to get some extra rest.

Thompson has a 5-3 record on the season with a 4.59 ERA and a team-high 47 strikeouts.

Thompson got the start in WVU’s lone loss to Seton Hall in the regular season, after pitching 6.2 innings of eighthit ball while allowing three earned runs.

Van Zant said he believes Thompson gives the Mountaineers a great opportunity to win their first game, but he will have to attack the strike zone and have strong defense behind him.

“We have to throw strikes, especially in the lower half of the zone,” Van Zant said. “The team will have to take care of the ball in the field, and our hitters will have to do a great job.

“Our goal is to win the first game.”

The Mountaineers participated in the tournament’s opening ceremonies yesterday, and senior catcher Kevin Griffin participated in the Home Run Derby.

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This season, the West Virginia baseball team used a combination of veteran leadership from its 10 seniors and the surprise progression of multiple underclassmen. Head coach Greg Van Zant’s formula has worked, as the Mountaineers captured the No. 4 seed heading into the Big East Conference tournament.

The Mountaineers finished the season 28-25, and after a 14-5 win over Rutgers in the regular season finale, had a 14-13 record in the conference for the second time in three years. West Virginia will host No. 5 seed Seton Hall in the first game of the double-elimination tournament tonight.

“We’re extremely excited for the tournament,” Van Zant said. “The guys are fired up.

We’re prepared as much as we can be. We got down to Florida to try to get acclimated with the weather, and we had the opportunity to go in and check out the main stadium.”

This season’s tournament

marks the Mountaineers’ 10th visit to the conference championships in Van Zant’s 16-year tenure.

West Virginia took two out of three against Seton Hall in Morgantown in April, but the Pirates have had strong outings to close the season and will provide a challenge for WVU. The Pirates closed the season with seven wins in their last nine conference games, including sweeps over Louisville and Georgetown.

West Virginia claimed the No. 4 seed even though it tied Seton Hall, Cincinnati and Louisville in conference record.

When the four teams were paired into a four-team miniconference, WVU won the tiebreaker.

“We are extremely happy to be the No. 4 seed. It’s a real honor,” Van Zant said. “It is huge, because the top four seeds get to be the home team in the first game.”

Redshirt freshman lefthander Marshall Thompson will take the rubber after sitting out the team’s last regular

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6 | CAMPUS CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY MAY 25, 2011

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Students and faculty are welcome to attend and get involved with First Book and the WVU Advisory Board. For more information, email wvu@firstbook.org.

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WVU ULTIMATE CLUB/TEAM meets at 5 p.m. at the WVU Intramural Fields and is always looking for new participants. Experience playing ultimate frisbee isn’t necessary. For more information, email Zach at wvultimate@yahoo.com or visit www.sugit.org.

WVU-ACLU meets at 6 p.m. in the Monongalia Room of the Mountainlair.

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visit www.lutheranmountaineer. org/disaster.

MUSLIM STUDENTS ASSOCIATION hosts a weekly Islam and Arabic class at 6:30 p.m. in the Monongahela Room of the Mountainlair.

For more information, contact Sohail Chaudhry at 304-906-8183 or schaudhr@mix.wvu.edu.

Continual WELLNESS PROGRAMS on topics such as nutrition, sexual health and healthy living are provided for interested student groups, organizations or classes by WELLWVU Wellness and Health Promotion. For more information, visit www.well. wvu.edu/wellness.

WELLWVU STUDENT HEALTH is paid for by tuition and fees and is confidential. For appointments or more information, call 304-2932311 or visit www.well.edu.wvu/ medical.

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS meets nightly in the Morgantown and Fairmont areas. For more information, call the helpline at 800-7664442 or visit www.mrscna.org.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS meets daily. To find a meeting, visit www.aawv.org. For those who need help urgently, call 304-291-7918.

CARITAS HOUSE, a local nonprofit organization serving West Virginians with HIV/AIDS, needs donations of food and personal care items and volunteers to support all aspects of the organization’s activities. For more information, call 304-985-0021.

CONFIDENTIAL COUNSELING SERVICES are provided for free by the Carruth Center for Psychological and Psychiatric Services. A walkin clinic is offered weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Services include educational, career, individual, couple and group counseling. Please visit www.well.wvu.edu to find out more information.

SCOTT’S RUN SETTLEMENT HOUSE, a local outreach organization, needs volunteers for daily programs and special events. For more information or to volunteer, contact Adrienne Hines at vc_srsh@hotmail.com or 304-599-5020.

WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN needs volunteers. WIC provides education, supplemental foods and immunizations for pregnant women and children under 5 years of age. This is an opportunity to earn volunteer hours for class requirements. For more information, contact Michelle Prudnick at 304598-5180 or 304-598-5185.

FREE RAPID HIV TESTING is available on the first Monday of every month from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Caritas House office located at 391 Scott Ave. Test results are available in 20 minutes and are confidential.

To make an appointment, call 304293-4117. For more information, visit www.caritashouse.net.

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS, a United Way agency, is looking for volunteers to become Big Brothers and Big Sisters in its one-onone community-based and schoolbased mentoring programs. To volunteer, contact Sylvia at 304983-2823, ext. 104 or email bigs4kids@yahoo.com.

ROSENBAUM FAMILY HOUSE, which provides a place for adult patients and their families to stay while receiving medical care at WVU, is looking for service organi-

information along with instructions for regular appearance in the Campus Calendar. These announcements must be resubmitted each semester.

The editors reserve the right to edit or delete any submission.

There is no charge for publication. Questions should be directed to the Campus Calendar Editor at 304-293-5092.

zations to provide dinner for 20 to 40 Family House guests. For more information, call 304-598-6094 or email rfh@wvuh.com.

LITERACY VOLUNTEERS is seeking volunteers for one-on-one tutoring in basic reading and English as a second language. Volunteer tutors will complete tutor training, meet weekly with their adult learners, report volunteer hours quarterly, attend at least two in-service trainings per year, and help with one fundraising event. For more information, call 304-296-3400 or email MCLV2@comcast.net.

CATHOLIC MASS is held at St. John University Parish at 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

MOUNTAINEER SPAY/NEUTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM is an allvolunteer nonprofit that promotes spay/neuter to reduce the number of homeless pets that are euthanized every year. M-SNAP needs new members to help its cause, as does ReTails, a thrift shop located in the Morgantown Mall. For more information, go to www.m-snap. org.

THE CONDOM CARAVAN will be in Room G304 of the Health Sciences Center on Mondays and the Mountainlair on Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m. The caravan sells condoms for 25 cents or five for $1.

INTERVARSITY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP is an interdenominational student-led organization that meets weekly on campus. Everyone is welcome to attend events.

For more information, email Daniel at ivcfwvu@yahoo.com or visit the IVCF website at www.wvuiv. org.edu.

THE ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE meets on the second Monday and fourth Tuesday of every month at noon at Hatfields in the Mountainlair. All students and faculty are invited. For more information, email amy.keesee@mail. wvu.edu.

THE CHEMISTRY LEARNING CENTER, located on the ground floor of the Chemistry Research Laboratories, is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.

THE M-TOWN MPOWERMENT PROJECT, a community-building program run by and geared toward young gay or bisexual men 18 to 29, is creating an environment in the Morgantown community where young men can feel empowered to make a difference in their lives. Mpowerment also focuses on HIV and STD prevention education. For more information, call 304-319-1803.

THE MORGANTOWN FUN FACTORY, a nonprofit organization, is looking for volunteers to work at the Children’s Discovery Museum of West Virginia. For more information, go to www.thefunfactory.org or email CDMofWV@gmail.com.

CHRISTIAN HELP, a nonprofit that offers free resources to the less fortunate, is in need of volunteers to assist with its programs. For more information, call 304-296-0221.

COMMUNITY NEWCOMERS CLUB is a group organized to allow new residents of the Morgantown area an opportunity to gather socially and assimilate into their new home community. For more information, email morgantownnewcomers. com.

HOROSCOPES

BY JACQUELINE BIGAR BORN TODAYThis year, you often feel as if you have to repeat the same action over and over, or the same conversation over and over. On the other hand, you gain a great deal of prominence in your chosen field or in your community. Your instincts always lead you in the right direction when dealing with authority figures. You simply know what is correct and take the most effective suggestion or action. If you are single, you could meet someone through your community or professional involvements. This person could be quite a gem.

Whether he or she is the gem of your life might be another issue. If you are attached, the two of you will bond more intensely if you pursue a common commitment together. PISCES understands you well.

on impacts your well-being. Feedback might be more valuable than you initially thought. Tonight: A must appearance.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22) HHHHH Be willing to go past the immediate. Clear your mind of present thinking in an attempt to get past restrictions. The more innovative your thinking, the better off you are. Let someone else play devil’s advocate.

Tonight: Take in new vistas.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22) HHHH Deal directly with others about funds and money issues. You will see how open you can become if you relax and take in an alternative perspective. Conversations about a community responsibility and investment might be more important than you realize.

Tonight: Chat over dinner.

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19) HHHH Your instincts will lead you in the right direction. Your vision of possibilities comes from your depth, experience and creativity. Make it OK not to test out your ideas just yet. Many of them are still in the toddler stages. Tonight: Where you envision yourself.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22) HHHH Others continue with their controlling attitude, though a discussion could open up a situation. An invitation to brainstorm needs to be accepted. You gain new depth about a situation involving someone at a distance or a behind-the-scenes work matter. Tonight: Visualize.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20) HHHHH Become a home-run slugger in your life.

Aim for what you want, knowing you have appeal and savvy. How you handle a personal matter could change once you see the dynamics involved. You are not necessarily the problem. Tonight: Zero in on the possibilities.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22) HHH Know that if you don’t follow through on a project or work-related matter, it is unlikely another person will. Certainly, the job won’t be up to your standards. A partner has many interesting sharings, if you are willing to listen. Tonight: Do what makes you smile.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20) HHHH You stand up to criticism well, but sometimes it is difficult to handle someone’s compliments. You will see that much that goes

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21) HHHHH Creativity stems from a different situation that could be challenging on some level.

A partnership opens up and you see mat-

ters in a different light as a result of this talk. You might be more easygoing with this person than in the past. Tonight: Say “yes” to an invitation.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21) HHHH Your concern seems to focus on what is happening within your personal life. You have gone out of your way for someone you care about. A conversation between the two of you involving expectations and choices might be important. Tonight: Make it easy.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19) HHHHH Your words help motivate others. Your creativity helps people find solutions. Stay open to a healthy amount of personal activity. Everyone gains at the present. A mutual admiration society could be forming.

Tonight: Catch up with a loved one and his or her news.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18) HHHH You might want to rethink your involvement in a financial investment. In order to add to and update your home, you might want to splurge. Make sure you are getting what you want and need here. Tonight: Balance your checkbook first.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20) HHHHH Your words seem to be unusually moving and important. Don’t stop the flow of a talk with a child and/or loved one. Finally, the air starts to clear. You wonder what is going on here. Ask yourself a question about who, what and where. Tonight: All smiles.

BORN TODAY Boxer Gene Tunney (1897), poet, philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803), jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926)

COMICS

Pearls Before Swine

by Stephan Pastis

F Minus

by Tony Carrillo

Get Fuzzy

by Darby Conley

Cow and Boy

by Mark Leiknes

PUZZLES DIFFICULTY LEVEL EASY

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk.

LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE SOLVED

ACROSS 1 Strikebreaker 5 Start of a childhood learning song 9 Music groups 14 Movie director’s unit 15 Linguist Chomsky 16 Each 17 Song with a cadenza, perhaps 18 Defunct Atlanta arena 19 Floored 20 Quilter’s layer 23 Comedian/actor Robert 24 Wagon wheel depression 25 Country with borders on three diff. oceans 28 Camper’s activity 33 Onetime Leno announcer Hall 36 Hockey score 37 Capital west of Haiphong 38 Graceland middle name 40 Agile mountain animals 43 Earth 42-Down 44 Copy room powder 46 Ancient Andean 48 Zoo swinger 49 Not out of contention 53 Mario Brothers letters 54 Demand payment from 55 Ancient Greek region 59 “Tom Jones” author 64 TV spot 66 Shoppe adjective 67 Actress/artist Sommer 68 Some woodwinds 69 Pass unprofitably, as time 70 Tiger’s 2004 bride 71 Petrol purchase 72 French summers 73 Huff and puff DOWN 1 Pile neatly 2 Holiday tune 3 “Go fly __!”

4 “Amscray!”

5 In a short time, old-style 6 Box office disaster 7 Where Jesus turned water to wine 8 Composer Shostakovich 9 Cast a spell over 10 Bell-ringing fragrance giant 11 World’s second largest island

The Daily Crossword

12 Rap’s Dr. __ 13 Guitarist Barrett 21 10 C-notes 22 Syllable of rebuke 26 Prying sort 27 Like a contortionist 29 Eggy seasonal drink 30 Lao-tzu principle 31 Like the nose on your face?

32 Broom rider 33 Skip the bistro 34 Monotonous sound 35 Plea made with one’s hands up 39 Bk. after Ezra 41 Former Opry network 42 Chem. or phys.

45 Rudolph tip-off 47 Indigo dye source 50 Capek play about automatons 51 Break up a team?

52 Smack a homer, in baseball lingo 56 Nabisco wafer brand 57 Finish, as a comic strip

58 Rep 60 Part of EMT: Abbr.

61 Move like a butterfly 62 Not working 63 Marine shockers 64 D.C. deal maker 65 Squeeze bunt stat

LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE SOLVED

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THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Wednesday May 25, 2011

wvu notebook

track and field

Mountaineers sending 12 to regionals by tony sotelo

sports correspondent

chelsi baker/the daily athenaeum

Now that the audition process is over, former WVU gymnast Amy Bieski has to wait to see where she will be performing.

Former gymnast passes Cirque de Soleil auditions Former West Virginia gymnast Amy Bieski has been admitted into the Cirque de Soleil system.

Bieski competed in a threeday long audition process in Orlando, Fla., and although she hasn’t signed a contract yet, she is now eligible to participate in future Cirque de Soleil productions.

“This is a great opportunity that not many receive, and I am honored to have been selected,” Bieski said in a press release. “I am anxious and hopeful that I will be placed in a show.

“I am thankful for the chance to continue to use my gymnastics and athletic skills, and I look forward to meeting so many wonderful people and traveling the nation and the world.”

As a senior, Bieski was named the East Athletic Gymnastics League Gymnast of the Year.

Repella, Campriani win Red Brown Cup Women’s basketball guard Liz Repella and the rifle team’s Nicco Campriani have been named the recipients of the 2011 Red Brown

Cup. The Red Brown Cup is given annually to West Virginia University’s most outstanding allaround student athletes.

Repella was a Lowe’s Senior CLASS all-American and graduated with a 3.96 GPA and a degree in exercise physiology.

Campriani, who won the air rifle national championship earlier this year, maintained a 3.87 GPA in industrial engineering.

WVU Sports Hall of Fame inductees announced On Sunday, West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck announced the six former WVU athletes who will be inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.

The 2011 class includes Warren Baker, Canute Curtis, Joseph Harrick, Jim Heise, Pat Itanyi Williams and Steve Newberry.

Induction ceremonies will take place Saturday, Oct. 8, prior to the West Virginia-Connecticut football game. This class brings the total number of inductees to 134.

— Compiled by Michael Carvelli

marshall Continued from page 3

Back

The defense will look to safety Donald Brown to lead a secondary with a lot of experience. Last year, Brown had 75 tackles. With nine starters returning from a unit that finished 71st in total defense, it only makes sense to believe that the Thundering Herd will be improved from a season ago when it gave up an average of nearly 29 points per game.

On offense, it was an interesting spring for the Thundering Herd, as it was trying to replace quarterback Brian Anderson.

A slew of quarterbacks were up for the position, and it seems that sophomore Eddie Sullivan may have gained the upper hand over redshirt sophomore A.J. Graham. In the spring game, Sullivan was 10-of-20 for 160 yards and one touchdown.

Graham was 9-of-19 for 56 yards.

The Thundering Herd will hope that sophomore running back Tron Martinez can be the team’s go-to running back to replace Martin Ward. Martinez rushed for 262 yards last season.

At receiver, Marshall should be set.

Two of the top three pass catchers from last year,

arthur

Continued from page 3

Back

wasn’t much depth.

However, the Mountaineers still did a lot better than many people expected them to, winning 21 games and making it to the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Huggins has an impressive ability to make the most of his resources, no matter how bare the cupboard is, and I don’t see this situation being any different.

SPORTS | 7

Twelve members of the West Virginia track and field team will be traveling to Bloomington, Ind., this weekend for the NCAA East Regional meet.

The twelve athletes earned their trip to Regionals after impressive performances at the Big East Championships on May 6-8.

“We’re not preparing for this like a regional meet,” said WVU head coach Sean Cleary.

“We’re treating this like it’s a semifinal in the NCAA Championships.

“When we walk into this facility, it will feel every bit as pressure-filled as the NCAA Championships.”

The top finishers from the East and West regionals will compete in the NCAA Championships on June 8-11 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

At the conference championships, the Mountaineers finished with a school-record second place finish, while Chelsea Carrier took home Outstanding Track Performer at the meet.

Carrier has been an integral part of the Mountaineers’ success this season while participating in a variety of events.

At the Big East Championships, the Buckhannon, W.Va., native captured conference titles in long jump, 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles. Her time in the 100-meter hurdles was a Villanova Stadium record, and her performance in the 400-meter hurdles marks the best time in the Big East this season.

Despite her dominance at the Big East Championships, Carrier did not compete in her strongest event, the heptathlon, because she has already qualified for the NCAA National Championships in that event.

Instead, Cleary opted to run Carrier in other events in an effort to earn more team points.

Since there is no heptath-

lon at regionals, Carrier will be competing in the 100-meter hurdles and long jump.

“I haven’t been to regionals since my sophomore year, so I am very excited,” Carrier said. “Even though there is no heptathlon, I am glad I am doing these two events, because the competition is going to be great.”

At regionals, Carrier will be joined in the 100-meter hurdles by freshman Chene Townsend, who posted a fifthplace finish at the conference championships, and junior Meghan Mock, who finished eighth in the long jump.

“Because it is only a 100-meter race, there is no room for mistakes,” Townsend said.

“When you get in the blocks you have to concentrate on getting a good start, not worry about the hurdles and go as fast as you can.”

Carrier and Townsend will have their work cut out for them at regionals, competing against one of the toughest fields in that event’s history.

This year, the East region includes eight different sprinters running times under 13 seconds.

“It’s incredible,” Cleary said.

“That’s like the first or second round of the Olympics.

“There are very few countries in the world that have girls running under thirteen seconds, and our East region has eight.”

Another athlete who had a strong showing at the Big East Championships and will be making the trip to Indiana is senior sprinter April Rotilio.

At the conference meet, Rotilio posted a school-record time of 52.71 in the 400-meter dash, which was good enough for first place.

Rotilio also finished sixth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.19.

Senior Katelyn Williams punched her ticket to regionals after placing third in the heptathlon for the Mountaineers.

She followed that up the very next day by finishing third

MATT Sunday/the daily athenaeum

West Virginia senior Chelsea Carrier will be one of 12 Mountaineers competing in the East regional. in the high jump clearing 7.9 meters.

Sophomore Sydney Cummings finished close behind in fifth place, earning a trip to regionals as well.

Following in the footsteps of a long line of great WVU distance runners, the 2011 group has done its part to carry on the tradition.

The Mountaineers will send a pair of all-Americans, seniors Keri Bland and Kaylyn Christopher, to regionals to compete in the 1,500-meter run.

After finishing first, second, fourth and eighth in the 10,000-meter run at the Big East Championships, WVU

will have four runners participating at regionals in the same event.

Senior Kate Harrison’s firstplace time of 33:59.8 at the conference championships was just over five seconds faster than junior Sarah-Anne Brault’s second place time.

Harrison and Brault were followed by Mountaineer runners freshman Kaitlyn Gillespie and senior Ahna Lewis, who finished fourth and eighth in the event, respectively.

The 12 athletes tie the record for the most competitors WVU has ever sent to a regional meet.

Matt Sunday/The Daily Athenaeum

West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith led the Mountaineers to a comeback win over Marshall last season.

Aaron Dobson and Antavious Wilson, return.

The rivalry between West Virginia and Marshall heated up last year with the close battle in Huntington, W.Va. There is some bad blood between these two teams and coaching staffs.

It could be one of the biggest season openers for West Virginia in quite some time. anthony.dobies@mail.wvu.edu

Dalton Pepper is a very talented basketball player and will make an impact on a program in the future.

But coach Huggins and his staff will continue their resilience and go forth.

They will do what they have done since their first year in Morgantown – continue to succeed with whatever spices they have in the cupboard.

Even if that doesn’t include Pepper. dasports@mail.wvu.edu

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THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

8 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Wednesday May 25, 2011

Action Lab Entertainment to release first comic by alec berry web editor

The comic book industry may be experiencing weak sales, but the men behind Action Lab Entertainment push forward as they prepare the July release of their comic, “Fracture!�

Consisting of comics creators Dave Dwonch, Shawn Pryor, Shawn Gabborin, Jason Grice and Chad Cicconi, Action Lab Entertainment holds one purpose: to offer up quality comic books that please readers.

The company is a new startup, but as the Lab’s website boasts, they have a combined 25 years experience working in the medium. They are showing it by pushing hard for their first major release.

Described as a superhero dark comedy, “Fracture!� features the work of comics creators Chad Cicconi and Shawn Gabborin. The book chronicles a tale of multiple personalities and secret lives as a young man discovers his life is upside down.

The book is relatively small in a market where Superman and Batman define the playing field, and it is even more microscopic in the minds of retailers, as comics face record low sales.

This does not minimize the importance of this release for Action Lab, though.

If anything, the factors against it only raise the importance.

“If our sales aren’t strong in the direct market, we could have issues with our distribution into comic book stores and also lose our direct market distribution, period,� said Shawn Pryor, President of Action Lab. The direct market in this case would be local comic book stores. For “Fracture!,� most attention and love is seen solely online via the publisher’s website and Twitter following. Having a brick-and-mortar presence could allow Action Lab the next step. “Retailers will have more faith in us with each comic, original graphic novel or other content we bring to the table,�

Pryor said. “If they know that we truly value their money spent with us and treat them with the respect that they deserve, it can only increase our longevity in the comics market.�

Actions Lab possesses a plan of action to spread the word. Its crew is hitting the Internet hard and marketing to the physical world. “We’re using many forms of social media� Pryor said. “But we’re spreading the word at our own local shops and popular retailers, as well as reaching out to online comic book vendors for advertising as well.�

The company was even been picked up by New York City’s own Midtown Comics for Free Comic Book Day. Items embossed with the Action Lab logo were handed out from the large chain just a few short

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Chad Cicconi and Shawn Pryor are both members of Action Lab Entertainment. Action Labâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first comic, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fracture!,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; will come out later this year. weeks ago. a big difference between the question, potential readers can But, even with the pressure pace of a horror story and a su- pre-order the book from online against them, Action Lab is cer- perhero story. So I had to work vendors such as www.dcbsertainly familiar with the work out a way to get the pacing to vice.com or www.tfaw.com. needed for success. feel right for the genre and to â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want readers to know that To produce the first issue of serve the story, but still keep theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to get what they â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fracture!â&#x20AC;?the company con- my own style to it.â&#x20AC;? pay for with each comic Action ducted a kick-start campaign Gabborin feels the book will Lab Entertainment produces,â&#x20AC;? to raise funds, and $3,600 were stand out on the retail shelves. Pryor said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A great story with pledged in favor of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fracture!â&#x20AC;? While the comic is about mul- wonderful art that keeps them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and now Action Lab gets its tiple personalities, a topic that coming back for more instead shot at telling stories to a wider pops up from time to time in of feeling cheated after turning the medium, Gabborin says the the last page.â&#x20AC;? audience.

For writer Shawn Gabbo- point of view of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fracture!â&#x20AC;? is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fracture!â&#x20AC;?, a three-issue miniseries, drops in July. Fans rin, the challenge of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Frac- â&#x20AC;&#x153;very unique.â&#x20AC;? ture!â&#x20AC;? laid all in the pacing and Retailers can order the first can also visit Action Lab Enterâ&#x20AC;&#x153;Fracture!â&#x20AC;? issue through the tainmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website to preview lighter tone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;First and foremost, my Diamond Distribution Sys- the comic usual genre of writing is hor- tem by using the code â&#x20AC;&#x153;MAY ror.â&#x20AC;? Gabborin said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is 110783.â&#x20AC;? If a retailer is out of the alexander.berry@mail.wvu.edu

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tidesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wash out jesse tabit a&e writer

I was not impressed by â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s End.â&#x20AC;?

Yes, it was the epic conclusion to a trilogy of pirate movies based on a Disney theme park ride, but it was also contrived,

too long and relied heavily on computer generated effects.

However, in the end, the film left room for another installment. So, with that, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m happy to say that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tidesâ&#x20AC;? is great summer entertainment and a promising direction for the franchise.

Johnny Depp (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Alice in Wonderlandâ&#x20AC;?) once again reprises his role as the infamous Cap-

63(&,$/ 127,&(6

tain Jack Sparrow, this time, searching for the legendary Fountain of Youth. This wellpaced adventure sees Jack up against a swash-buckling Angelica (Penelope Cruz, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vicky Cristina Barcelonaâ&#x20AC;?), a treacherous pirate named Blackbeard (Ian McShane, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Death Raceâ&#x20AC;?) and a host of venomous mermaids â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as well as a few other dangerous obstacles that I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t spoil here.

While the film gets off to a slow start, things ramp up rather quickly as Jack is captured aboard Captain Blackbeardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ship and is forced to help him find the mythical Fountain of Youth.

The crew races against time as English and Spanish forces also sail in search of the fountain, adding confrontation and backstory to the plot.

Geoffrey Rush (â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Speechâ&#x20AC;?) also returns to the series as Barbossa, an English captain, a slightly different role than what we have seen in previous installments.

Not returning, at least in an expected fashion, is Jackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ship The Black Pearl and most of itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crew, which has met a fate some may consider worse then death.

Replacing the romance of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley in the previous films is Jack and Angelica, who used to be an item. The banter between the two is spot on, and the actors exhibit great chemistry.

However, another romance, which I found equally enjoyably, is between a man named Philip, also stuck on Blackbeardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ship, and a mermaid named Syrena.

Contrary to the sauciness of Jack and Angelica, this relationship exhibits heart and sacrifice, and I found that I genuinely cared about these characters.

Director Rob Marshall has a keen eye for cinematography, and, while not as extravagant or useful of CGI as previous â&#x20AC;&#x153;Piratesâ&#x20AC;? director Gore Verbinski, Marshall delivers a solid return for Sparrow.

Also returning is the music of Hans Zimmer, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iconic Jack Sparrow theme is featured alongside other equally epic tunes.

Depp is in top form as Jack, and Cruz brings spice and bravery to her character, while McShane makes Blackbeard an appropriate villain.

Despite its slow start and its lengthy runtime, I found â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tidesâ&#x20AC;? to be great entertainment and a swashbuckling good time, with fantastic scenes with deadly mermaids and an intense battle at the Fountain of Youth.

Feel free to skip the 3-D, as I did, and I had a great time.

ÂŤÂŤÂŤÂŤ ÂŤÂŤ jesse.tabit@mail.wvu.edu

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Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush and Penelope Cruz star in the latest of the series.

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WEDNESDAY MAY 25, 2011

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

CLASSIFIEDS | 9

10

A&E

Wednesday May 25, 2011

CONTACT US 304-293-5092 ext. 3 | DAA&E@mail.wvu.edu

‘L.A. Noire’ combines gaming, film traits for noir fans Jamie Carbone A&E Editor

There are a lot of people who enjoy the titles released by developer Rockstar Games.

From “Grand Theft Auto IV” to “Red Dead Redemption,” their impressive sandbox worlds are a great way to lose ourselves and have fun doing it.

Their latest game, “L.A. Noire,” sees the company teaming up with newcomer Team Bondi, who has been working on the title for years.

This game captures the feeling of a gritty detective story such as films like “Chinatown,” and anyone who enjoys 1940s period pieces will definitely enjoy this game.

Players take on the role of Cole Phelps, World War II veteran and up-and-coming police officer who is about to be promoted to detective in Los Angeles during 1946. The cars are classic, the men are men and the slang varies between impressive and ridiculous.

As Phelps, it is up to players to solve crimes around town, from murders to drug deals, and, as they continue their investigation, may find that Tin-

seltown isn’t as beautiful as films portray it.

While this game may seem like an action game similar to “Grand Theft Auto,” it is more comparable to an adventure game where players have to use their brains more than their firearms.

Each case has a crime scene to investigate where musical cues can help players find the best piece of evidence to get a conviction or convince a witness to fess up the information they know.

Once you’ve completed your investigation, you can question “persons of interest” to accumulate more evidence and get a lead on where to go next.

These questioning sessions play out like a minigame, where players have to read the faces of those they’re questioning and choose to believe, doubt or consider their statement an outright lie with some evidence. Thanks to technology, “L.A. Noire” has the most realistic faces ever seen in a video game.

This is because they actually recorded real faces. Everyone players interact with, from murderers to that guy walking down the street, are actors who were hired to act

out their role and have their face recorded while they said their lines. This was then digitized, so everyone has realistic features, which can be used as hints towards whether or not someone is being honest.

It also means many of the characters players will run into will be somewhat recognizable if you watch a lot of television, with actors like Greg Grunberg and Travis Schuldt. They don’t necessarily play a big role, but it is kind of neat to run into and interact with them.

The acting is well-done too. many video games can suffer from poor voice acting, but “L.A. Noire” isn’t one of them.

When they’re not solving cases, players can drive around L.A., collecting cars and golden film reels and seeing the sights. They can also be called onto street crimes, which are more action-oriented pieces of gameplay where players will have a standoff with bank robbers or chase down a murderer.

They can do these things during regular cases as well, but the questioning and crime scene moments are clearly more important.

Unlike previous Rock-

“There must be more than this provincial life”

Rockstar Games and Team Bondi’s latest release, ‘L.A. Noire.’ The game uses new technology to give characters realistic faces. star sandbox-based games, players don’t have control over the radio, with it playing pretty much whatever it is scripted to. This is actually a positive thing, as the music the developers have chosen does a great job of setting the necessary mood for the ingame action.

Another interesting element is that players interact directly with history, working on cases that invole the “Black Dahlia” killer as well

a&e writer

Matt Sunday/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Developing Leaders in Challenging Times

August 3– 4, 2011

I’m not saying this is a bad thing, and the game is still very enjoyable, but some might see this as a detriment.

“L.A. Noire” is a great investment for those who want to take on the role of gritty detective themselves, but for those looking for a game like “Grand Theft Auto,” this isn’t it.

««««« jamie.carbone@mail.wvu.edu

‘Bridesmaids’ is a movie couples can enjoy together jesse tabit

Gaston waits for Belle to notice him in the opening act of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. The performance on Friday night was the first of three sold-out weekend performances.

chasing perps over the set of D.W. Griffith’s grand flop “Intolerance.”

Because of the way the game was designed, it feels like a combination of a video game and a film. The presence of the actors, the cutscenes and the musical score all make it very theatrical. Granted, everything is handled by the player, but if someone were to describe this game as an interactive film, they wouldn’t be wrong.

WEB

“Bridesmaids” is not your typical romantic comedy. As a matter of fact, as far as most romantic comedies go, it’s on a whole different playing field.

And that’s a compliment.

“Bridesmaids” is the funniest movie I have seen this year. It is so refreshing to find a comedy that has heart, wit and brains to go along with its gross-out gags and hilarious scenarios.

Let’s just say if more romantic comedies are like this, you can consider me a huge fan of “chick flicks.” This is largely in part due to the involvement of Judd Apatow, who produced of “Knocked Up” and “Superbad;” the chemistry of the cast; and laugh-out-loud jokes.

Looking back, I believe I laughed (or at least giggled) every five minutes of this movie, and while that may sound silly, it says something when everyone else in the theater was doing the same.

Annie (Kristen Wiig, “Saturday Night Live”) is happily surprised when she learns her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph, “Away We Go”) is engaged to be married. She is even happier to be the maid of honor, since the two have been best friends since childhood. She cannot wait to help Lillian try on wedding dresses, plan dinners and host parties.

Well, that is, until she meets the rest of the bridal party, including Lillian’s future sister-in-law Megan, coworker Becca, cousin Rita and wealthy friend Helen. Each one of these ladies showcase ridiculous traits from the innocent, Disney-enthused Becca, to the ritzy, elegant and

annoying Helen, that allow for ridiculous situations including a goofy plane ride and an unforgettable streak of food poisoning while trying on dresses.

When Helen attempts to put herself in Annie’s place and as act if Lillian should have chosen her as maid of honor, Annie fights back to show that money can’t buy happiness, although it can help.

Kristen Wiig is a comedic genius and with excellent direction (Paul Feig, “Freaks and Geeks”) and a great screenplay (written by Wiig herself ), this comedy shines. Ellie Kemper (“The Office”), Rose Byrne (“Sunshine”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“Reno 911!”) and Melissa McCarthy (“Mike and Molly”) make up the wacky bridal party, with McCarthy stealing the show with her vulgar antics and overtly confident attitude.

The movie also features several appearances from British comedians, with “IT Crowd” star Chris O’Dowd appearing as a love interest for Wiig and popular comedian Matt Lucas also making an appearance.

“Bridesmaids” is the first self-created hit for Feig, whose earlier film “Unaccompanied Minors” failed at the box office and his TV show “Freaks and Geeks” was cancelled after one season.

“Bridesmaids” proves that a cast composed of primarily females can be just as provocative and raunchy as the male stars of comedies like “The Hangover” and “Old School.”

«««««

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Attend the third annual Leader in Me Global Education Summit, August 3-4, 2011, at California University of Pennsylvania (just 35 miles south of Pittsburgh, Pa).

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‘Bridesmaids’ stars Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy.

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