The DA 11-30-2011

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

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

da

Wednesday November 30, 2011

Volume 125, Issue 67

www.THEDAONLINE.com

WVU raises $335,100 for United Way by bryan bumgardner staff writer

West Virginia University helped raise a record $335,100 for its annual United Way Campaign, exceeding this year’s goal by more than $30,000.

Students helped raise $42,000 through events like the Gold Rush T-shirt sale and a Mountaineers United Run/Walk event. A total of 1,283 University employees donated to the Campaign this year.

“I’m so proud of our campaign and of our institution’s commitment to the community. This campaign is another shining example of how WVU is leading the way on engagement and outreach,” said WVU Provost Michele Wheatly, who served as this year’s campaign chair. “It’s the hardest thing to do to ask other people to take their discretionary money and reinvest it in the community.”

Wheatly and other University representatives celebrated

SGA President represents WVU in Moscow, Russia by lacey palmer staff writer

West Virginia University Student Government Association President Jason Bailey recently returned from Moscow, Russia, where he acted as a guest of the Federal Agency on Youth Affairs.

Bailey, a senior international studies and political science student from Ripley, W.Va., was one of 15 young leaders chosen across the country to become a delegate of the Kremlin Fellows.

“Through this program, the Russian government was trying to break down misconceptions that countries may have between each other – especially concerning young people,” Bailey said.

“They’re trying to foster new diplomatic ties and bring leaders together – especially those who they believe are going to be the next leaders of the United States.”

During his week-long trip, he received a firsthand look at the Russian government and met with many government officials and young leaders like himself from all over the United States and the world.

Bailey said he had the opportunity to show student leaders from around the coun-

the successful year Tuesday afternoon at the Morgantown Event Center, where a check was presented to the United Way of Monongalia and Preston counties.

WVU President James P. Clements said he was proud of this year’s record student participation.

“Look at it. That’s an unbelievable number,” Clements said, pointing to the check Tuesday. “We could’ve used our current economy as an excuse

to cut back, but instead, we’re going to continue to make a difference, and improve people’s lives.”

All contributions will stay local, supporting more than 30 organizations in Monongalia and Preston counties, ranging from community health care programs to youth mentoring, said Brett White, operations coordinator for the WVU Center for Civic Engagement.

see united on PAGE 2

LEARNING CURVE

Freshman Jabarie Hinds’ is starting to understand the college game

try as well as leaders from Russia how truly competitive WVU is becoming, nationally and globally.

Student leaders from Columbia University, Duke University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, MIT and Stanford University also traveled alongside Bailey to Moscow.

“I truly think that I traveled with some of America’s future leaders,” Bailey said.

Bailey has traveled to many parts of Europe, Australia and Latin America and said he has experienced many different cultures, but claims this time was different.

“It’s hard to explain what I mean by ‘different.’ You can sense the stagnating remains of the Soviet Union, especially in the older generations. But, when it came to the younger generation that we met with, they were similar to us, and I was very surprised,” Bailey said.

“They were very energetic about their future and optimistic about where their country was going.”

Bailey said the trip helped him land an invaluable learning opportunity that he can’t find in any classroom.

by michael carvelli sports editor

see russia on PAGE 2

City Council aims to clean up downtown area by bryan bumgardner staff writer

Members of the Morgantown City Council discussed cleaning up the streets of the downtown area during a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday.

The council is considering purchasing new equipment that uses high pressurized steam to clean debris off downtown sidewalks, such as chewing gum.

Most of the streets to be considered have not been maintained since their construction in 2006, according to George Papandreas, vice president of the Main Street Morgantown Board.

Papandreas said the equipment can cost anywhere between $5,500 and $35,000, and can clean a city block “as fast as lightning.”

Papandreas said maintaining the cleanliness of the area’s streets and sidewalks is crucial to the upkeep of Morgantown’s image.

“Those cities where people take time to maintain and manicure the downtown areas are much nicer. Downtown is what defines a com-

munity,” Papandreas said.

Council members also discussed the legal status of street vendors in Morgantown.

Morgantown is currently home to about 25 registered street vendors, which mostly supply food or clothing, and members of the community have voiced concerns about their businesses.

Director of Finance J.R. Sabatelli gave a presentation that worked to clarify the legality of the vendors.

According to city law, street vendors are required to be mobile, with the exception of permanent vendors who have written permission from a property owner.

Vendors without permission from property owners must continually move, and local police actively enforce that law, Sabatelli said.

Sabatelli believes maintaining an official record of written permissions for vendors would help avoid conflict.

“The vendors would provide us with a copy of the permission, and we’ll give the police a copy, which would prevent anyone from being

see city on PAGE 2

WVU freshman guard Jabarie Hinds

MATT sunday/the daily athenaeum

Ghanan professor examines history of slavery by kelsey montgomery staff writer

The West Virginia University Africana Studies Program hosted a lecture Tuesday night that addressed slavery and how it has shaped our history and culture today.

The event was led by Ghanan professor Wilhelmina Donkoh, head of the Department of History and Political Studies as well as professor of West African History at Kwame Nkrumah University in Kumasi, Ghana.

Donkoh gave an in-depth Mallory Bracken/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM discussion on the issues surWilhelmina Donkoh, a Fulbright Fellow from Kumasi, Ghana, presents ‘Slavery and the rounding the Atlantic Slave Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Shared History or a Shared Heritage?’ to a packed Gold Ball- Trade and the connecting heritage it gives to today’s Africans room Tuesday evening.

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INSIDE

The CAC will host the World Music Concert Thursday night.

A&E PAGE 6

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News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 3, 6 Sports: 7, 8, 10 Campus Calendar: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 9

There were a lot of things that stood out to West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins when he was recruiting Jabarie Hinds in high school.

But, it was a talk with Hinds’ high school coach Bob Cimmino that sold him.

“When Coach Cimmino says you’re getting another Kevin Jones, that’s good enough for me,” Huggins said. “He’s going to have the same kind of work ethic. He’s going to be the same kind of great person.

“He’s going to represent everybody he’s associated with in a class manner, and he’s a very talented kid.

That’s enough for me.”

Of all the freshmen suiting up for the Mountaineers this season, the point guard from Mount Vernon, N.Y., was the highest-rated in the class – for good reason.

His mix of quickness, athleticism and playmaking ability made him one of the most dangerous high school point guards in the country.

He showed all of that in Monday’s 77-56 victory over Akron.

“He’s a talented guy. He needs to be a point guard, and he knows he needs to be a point guard, but he’s never really been a point guard,” Huggins said. “He gets better all the time and will continue to get better.”

West Virginia led by just six points with 4:32 remaining in the first half, and that’s when Hinds turned the Coliseum into his own personal playground.

For the rest of the half, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound freshman carried the team on his back, scoring 12 of his 19 points in that time with two steals, one assist and one rebound.

“Momentum was going our way; I was feeling it defensively and offensively,” Hinds said.

“I just did everything simple. I took whatever they gave me, basically.”

Hinds has started every game of his Mountaineer career, but Monday served as a coming-out party for him.

In his 30 minutes, he shot 8-for-12 from the floor, moving his field goal percentage up to 60.5 percent for the season.

But Hinds was able to get things going by doing the thing

see hinds on PAGE 2

39° / 27°

SNOW SHOWERS

wvu today

WVU representatives donate a record $335,100 to the United Way of Monongalia and Preston counties.

CONTACT US Newsroom 304-293-5092 or DAnewsroom@mail.wvu.edu Advertising 304-293-4141 or DA-Ads@mail.wvu.edu Fax 304-293-6857

ON THE INSIDE The West Virginia women’s basketball team will host La Salle tonight at the WVU Coliseum.

SPORTS PAGE 10

and African Americans.

“The topic we are discussing tonight is not an easy one,” Donkoh said. “Instead, it is a loaded one.”

Donkoh spoke of the Atlantic Slave Trade, in which many Africans were taken away from their families and forced into labor from 1440 to 1870.

Slavery was used as a social-engineering mechanism, which helped stimulate the economy as well as add to the population of Atlantic colonies, Donkoh said.

Though Donkoh acknowledged many members of the audience may have heard a different history of slavery, she

see slavery on PAGE 2

A FITTING FAREWELL Senior defensive lineman Julian Miller had a career game in his final game at Milan Puskar Stadium in WVU’s 21-20 win over Pitt.

SPORTS PAGE 7

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

2 | NEWS

Wednesday November 30, 2011

Importance of Fla. primary brings Romney to state TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — If there’s any Republican presidential candidate who can afford to spend precious time and money focusing on winning in Florida, it’s the one who campaigned in the state Tuesday.

Florida is the only early primary state Mitt Romney plans to visit this week, little more than a month before voters start weighing in on the GOP nominating fight.

Depending on how he performs in earlier contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina – all three are still uncertain – Florida represents a chance for Romney to either seal the nomination or an opportunity to revive what likely would become, if he’s lost three times, a struggling campaign.

Romney spent all day in Florida, attending several fundraisers and holding public events in Miami and Tampa.

Unlike his rivals, Romney has the resources to compete aggressively here. He had nearly $15 million at the end of October and has spent little of it – a war chest that would allow him to buy expensive TV ads across Florida’s 10 media markets. He has national name recognition from his 2008 bid, an asset his team believes will give him a significant advantage over lesser-known rivals in a large state where retail politicking alone doesn’t cut it. And he’s kept in good touch with the support and fundrais-

ap

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney hugs Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R- Fla., during a campaign stop Tuesday. ing network he built last time around, an effort that’s shown through as he’s picked up endorsements from many of the state’s top Republicans, including former Sens. Mel Martinez and Connie Mack.

All that would also help him in the general election against President Barack Obama, where Florida is a key battleground “They don’t want to see me as the nominee, that’s for sure,” Romney told reporters Tuesday. Democrats started run-

ning paid TV ads against him on Monday. “It shows that they’re awfully afraid of facing me in the general election.

They want to throw the primary process to anybody but me, but bring it on. We’re ready for them.”

But Romney’s team also recognizes that losing Florida could doom his chances of winning the nomination – and Romney’s efforts here show that. He’s stayed on safe ground on Social Security, important to the state’s signifi-

GOP Pres. candidate Cain tells aides he is reassessing his campaign ATLANTA (AP) — Herman Cain told aides Tuesday he is assessing whether the latest allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against him “create too much of a cloud” for his Republican presidential candidacy to go forward.

Acknowledging the “firestorm” arising from an accusation of infidelity, Cain only committed to keeping his campaign schedule for the next several days, in a conference call with his senior staff.

“If a decision is made, different than to plow ahead, you all will be the first to know,” he said, according to a transcript of the call made by the National Review, which listened to the conversation.

It was the first time doubts about Cain’s continued candidacy had surfaced from the candidate himself. As re-

city

Continued from page 1 hassled unnecessarily,” Sabatelli said.

Representatives from the Fairmont and Morgantown Housing Authorities also presented plans to merge.

The two departments have been operating under a joint cooperation agreement for several years, but are now reconsidering due to economic downturns and federal budget cuts.

Rudy Filek from the Morgantown Housing Authority and John Martys, director of the Fairmont Housing Authority, presented a proposal

cently as Tuesday morning, a campaign spokesman had stated unequivocally that Cain would not quit.

Cain denied anew that he had an extramarital affair with a Georgia woman who went public a day earlier with allegations they had been intimate for 13 years.

“It was just a friendship relationship,” he said on the call, according to the transcript. “That being said, obviously, this is a cause for reassessment.”

He went on: “With this latest one, we have to do an assessment as to whether or not this is going to create too much of a cloud, in some people’s minds, as to whether or not they would be able to support us going forth.”

Saying the episode had taken an emotional toll on

him and his family, Cain told the aides that people will have to decide whether they believe him or the accuser. “That’s why we’re going to give it time, to see what type of response we get from our supporters.”

Cain has denied the affair as well as several other accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior that have dogged his candidacy over the past month. He had been publicly resolute about pressing ahead even as his standing in public opinion polls and his fundraising started to slide.

But in the conference call, he pledged only to keep his imminent schedule, including a foreign policy speech at Hillsdale College in Michigan later Tuesday that he promised to deliver with “vim, vigor and enthusiasm.”

Tuesday evening for a possible merger.

“This is essentially an administrative combination.

We’ve already been cooperating for upwards of 15 years,” Martys said.

He believes this change would improve the efficiency of the programs.

“The only thing that would change would be our assets would finally be combined, which would allow us to plan better for the future and do lots more for our customers,” Martys said.

Filek said he believes the merger could save about $45,000 in administrative costs per year.

“It would be in the best in-

terest of both departments to merge,” he said.

The merger is still under consideration of the council.

Council members also discussed the rise of sewage and water fees in relation to upcoming mortgages on water and sewage construction projects.

These projects have placed the city in a debt of almost $6 million, with mortgage payments beginning in January.

Construction projects that have affected this debt include the Decker’s Creek Pump Station and water lines in Sabraton and Scott’s Run. Rates will increase on April 1.

Back

danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

cant elderly population, while hammering rival Rick Perry for calling the program a “Ponzi scheme.” He’s also reached out to the Cuban American community, a historically Republican constituency that plays a significant role in state politics. On Tuesday, Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario DiazBalart and his brother, former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, all backed him at an event in Miami. Those three endorsed Sen. John McCain in 2008.

His campaign is also prepar-

slavery

Continued from page 1 believes the slave trade complicated two spheres in America: history and heritage.

“The question, ‘What is History?’ can generate various responses. There are so many definitions of history that it is not easy to define,” she said.

Donkoh said history is the record kept for the benefit of future generations, while heritage is the passing of traditions and values from one genera-

ing an on-the-ground strategy.

His five paid staffers are preparing volunteers to begin grass roots activities just before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary – a necessity because absentee and military ballots start going out Dec. 27. The Romney campaign is holding three weekly strategy calls with its Florida team.

Contrast that with most of his rivals, who have spent most of the primary campaign jockeying to become the consensus conservative alternative to the former Massachusetts governor – and probably need to win at least one earlier-than-Florida primary to stand a chance of surviving to compete with Romney here.

Newt Gingrich is spending the week in South Carolina and Iowa. Perry and Jon Huntsman are campaigning in New Hampshire. Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann are in Iowa. Herman Cain is scheduled to make stops in Michigan and Ohio, though his campaign is now battling new accusations that he had an extramarital affair.

“It’s almost like every other campaign is focused on this slingshot strategy with having to win one or two other states and then coming into Florida with momentum,” said Brett Doster, who ran President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign in Florida and is now advising Romney.

Almost all of Romney’s ri-

vals, on the other hand, acknowledge they’re barely thinking about Florida.

“This race hasn’t come to Florida yet,” said Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond. Gingrich’s first priority is South Carolina, where he’s hired nearly a dozen people and opened several campaign offices.

“Iowa and New Hampshire and the earliest states are priorities for the governor’s time and our campaign,” said Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan.

“We felt all along that Iowa was going to be our priority from day number one,” said Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart. “As to when and how we campaign in Florida will be decided after the caucuses.” Bachmann will be in Florida for a fundraiser Dec. 1.

Most of the Republican field did gather here for three days of events surrounding a debate and a straw poll at the end of September. But since then, Bachmann and Perry haven’t come back for public events.

Huntsman moved his campaign headquarters from Orlando to Manchester, N.H. Cain, who won the straw poll, was in Miami earlier this month, where he visited a restaurant in Little Havana that’s a frequent stop for political candidates. But he’s dogged by allegations of sexual harassment and now an extramarital affair, and has suffered in polls for it.

tion to the next.

Her presentation dissected how the journey of those before us have made us who we are today.

“Heritage allows us to see the cultural property of things,” Donkoh said. “Through our heritage, we learn to value aesthetics, landscapes and other sights.”

Donkoh also believes African culture has bettered the overall American culture by introducing attributable materials such as clothing and music.

While slavery was a cruel

testament of behavior by the European population from the 15th century to the 19th century, our generation can use it as a learning experience, Donkoh said.

“We can look back at how horribly human beings can treat other human beings and see how our heritage, together with an unpleasant past, can bring good, and healing can be achieved,” Donkoh said. “We can come together and say that this will never happen again.”

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danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

hinds

Continued from page 1 he’s done best all season when he was able to disrupt Akron defensively and force turnovers that helped lead to his team’s easy buckets.

Hinds had five steals and is now averaging 3.2 per game, which is good for best in the Big East Conference.

The most important stat for Hinds was that he had no turnovers, which is something he feels any point guard should strive for.

“That’s real important,” he said. “I want it to be like that, I don’t want to keep turning over the ball, and I was happy that I didn’t have any turnovers tonight.”

Through the first five games, Hinds has started to feel more and more comfortable with each time he’s stepped on the floor.

He’ll be the first to tell you it wasn’t the easiest transition to make, though.

“It’s still early in the season but I can definitely tell I’m feeling more comfortable,” Hinds said. “I just have to make good decisions and run the team as the point guard and get everyone involved.

russia

Continued from page 1 “Here in the United States, when we go through our K-12 education, we learn so much about the history of the Cold War and the Soviet Union. I think sometimes we neglect a lot about the current state of the Russian Federation and how different it actually is from the

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Matt Sunday/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Freshman guard Jabarie Hinds is congratulated by teammates after exiting West Virginia’s game against Akron Monday night.

“And I’ve got to keep playing defense. If you’re not playing defense, you’re not playing.”

But Huggins said that while he’s been good for West Virginia in the first few games of the year, there is still plenty he has to work on before he’s where he wants to be.

“If you watched him play in

high school, he was happy to get 12, 14 (points), but if they needed him to get 30, he’d get 30,” Huggins said. “He’s just got to get more consistent.

“When he becomes more consistent shooting the perimeter shot, he’s going to be really, really hard to guard.”

Soviet Union, in terms of the people, the government and their freedoms,” Bailey said.

“It’s a lot more similar to the United States than I anticipated.

That’s probably one of the main things I gathered on this trip.”

Bailey hopes to one day have a career in foreign policy analysis and diplomacy overseas, and said his experience in Moscow allowed him to have one-onone conversations with the U.S. Ambassador to Russia.

“Of course, foreign policy is my real interest, and when we compare U.S. Foreign Policy and Russian Foreign Policy, we all really want the same thing,” Bailey said. “I think we all have

similarities concerning foreign policy and domestic policy, and there are a lot of things that we’re missing out on that are going to be mutually beneficial to both of us.

“A lot of times, not only as U.S. citizens, but as government, we have to look past some of the differences and look at where similarities are.”

To read more about Bailey’s trip, you can visit his blog at http://sga.wvu.edu/sga_blogs/ pres.

Bailey also tracked his trip on Twitter using the handle “WVUtoRussia.”

united

Continued from page 1 “When we set our goal for this year, we didn’t base it on our past experiences. We based it on the belief that WVU has never let our community down, and that we can continue to do more,” White said.

In the past, WVU’s donations have helped provide more

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james.carvelli@mail.wvu.edu

danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

than 19,000 nights of shelter for homeless individuals, 21,400 prescriptions for the uninsured, 12,600 days of childcare for working families and 36,150 hot meals at the Salvation Army, according to White.

“It’s about people and partnerships. By continuing to work together, we will strengthen our community,” Clements said. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

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THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Wednesday November 30, 2011

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | 3

Underground Sound

‘The Smiths Complete’

‘The Singles Collection 2001 - 2011’

‘777 - The Desanctification ’ Blut Aus Nord

The Smiths

Gorillaz

British alternative rock group The Smiths are one of the most beloved bands of the last 30 years. Based around the unbeatable writing partnership of vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, The Smiths embody the quintessential independent band.

Even though they were only together for five years and released only four proper studio albums, The Smiths have influenced countless scores of artists who followed in their footsteps.

To commemorate the brief but prophetic era of the Smiths, Rhino records has released the deluxe box set “The Smiths Complete.”

The set features CD and vinyl versions of all four studio albums and four compilation and B-side albums, 25 7-inch singles, a DVD containing all of the group’s music videos, multiple posters and extensive liner notes.

This is basically the last and only Smiths-related product you will ever need to buy.

It’s all here, on every format you could ever need. If you’re a diehard Smiths fan, this is the perfect gift. If you’ve never heard of the Smiths before, you should. Go buy this now.

Blut Aus Nord is the avantgarde, black metal project of a mysterious French artist known only as Vindsval. Even though he’s been releasing albums since 1994, very little is known about Vindsval. He doesn’t give interviews, doesn’t tour and refuses to publicize his lyrics. He is extremely secretive about every aspect of his music, often not crediting studio musicians and other artists who collaborate with him.

Despite the aura of mystery surrounding him, Vindsval has become one of the most interesting and innovate artists in black metal. Adding elements from industrial, post-rock and even classical music, the work of Blut Aus Nord as helped to shape and define the modern face of such an amorphous and multicultural genre.

His newest release, “777 – The Desanctification,” the second release in the “777” trilogy, doesn’t disappoint. Each of the seven 10plus minute tracks are complex, multi-layered and filled with musical nuances.

With each new record he releases, Vindsval demonstrates that he doesn’t have anything to prove. But that doesn’t stop him from showing off.

After Brit-pop giants Blur dissolved, leader Damon Albarn teamed with famed comic book artist Jamie Hewlett to create something the world hadn’t seen before: a cartoon band. Albarn provides the music and Hewlett draws and animates the collection of prime apes who fill out its ranks.

Although Gorillaz is primarily a vehicle for Albarn’s pop-minded post-Blur work, the unique concept of a fictional band has allowed him to explore unique collaborations, live presentations and graphic art.

For some it may seem like it was just yesterday the Gorillaz’s debut self-titled release hit stores. Believe it or not, it’s been 10 years since the cartoon monkeys first took up their instruments. To mark its first decade, Albarn has complied “Singles Collection 2001-2011,” a retrospective, greatest hits album.

The compilation includes 15 of the group’s biggest hits on one 12-inch record, a collection of 16 7-inch singles and a bonus DVD of videos and live footage.

For longtime fans of the band, this collection is probably skippable. It’s just a collection and repackaging of the albums you already have. For casual fans or newcomers, however, this might be the perfect way to immerse yourself in the first decade of one of the most engaging musical projects around.

—cdy

—cdy

—cdy

‘BasedGod Velli’ Lil B On the cover of his latest free mixtape, “BasedGod Velli,” Internet sensation rapper Lil B takes a page from Waka Flocka Flame’s book of marketing ideas. Instead of coming up with an original title or cover image, Lil B choose to make a homage to Waka making an homage to Tupac. Like everything else the human-meme releases, “BasedGod Velli” sounds like the work of an unfocused, untalented amateur posturing at greatness and legitimacy.

Throughout the mixtape’s 15 tracks, the only remotely redeeming quality are the beats. If given to another rapper, someone might actually want to hear these songs.

But as each intro fades and Lil B’s nonsensical stream-of-conciseness comes in, the listener is reminded of exactly what this is: yet another effort by Lil B to legitimize his ridiculous fame and hype.

For a rapper who doesn’t even make an effort to rhyme, have a flow or talk about the same subject for more than a verse, Lil B has legions of devoted fans and has developed a personality cult through his social networking sites.

Although I’ve never actually met anyone who will admit to liking Lil B, someone has to be downloading these mixtapes. It goes to show, just because something is popular doesn’t make it good.

—cdy

Comics Uncovered: A look inside the world of independent comics ALEC BERRY WEB Editor

It’s no secret that even comic books have fallen to the schemes of big business, but does that understanding represent the entire medium?

No. Of course not.

If you recall my article a few weeks ago, comic books offer artists an opportunity to create and express with little barrier.

It’s as easy as putting pencil to paper and paying a printer, or in some cases, a late-night trip to Kinkos.

While this outlook seems a little idealistic, I feel such a model does exist. It may exist in various forms, but it’s there, alive. What follows are three examples of the “independent comic book.”

I feel it’s appropriate to begin with Image Comics because it’s arguable Image has created the most awareness in regards to independent comics.

Founded in 1992, Image spiraled out of a collective effort put forth by seven incredibly popular artists of the time.

Guys like Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld and Erik Larsen all held established careers at Marvel Comics. And not just established careers, but careers worthy of the label “superstar.”

Their names were the biggest in the company and, all by themselves, with just their names on the covers of the books, they were moving tons of product. Marvel was raking in the cash with these guys doing the work.

Eventually, the realization hit the artists. They could take their names and talents elsewhere and sell just as many books, while maintaining an artistic control over their work. They weren’t experiencing such freedom in their current situation.

A publishing company was founded (Image Comics) and the collective went on to make a lasting impact.

That’s the brief version of the story. The point is, while the notion of independent publishing existed way before 1992, the Image guys – via the widespread knowledge of their names – brought the idea to a mass audience.

McFarlane sold around like a million copies of his Image

comic “Spawn,” and Larsen ended up with a cartoon series on the USA Network.

At the heart of it, though, was a model of publishing that guaranteed comic creators intellectual property rights as well as free reign over their stories. It was the idea of a publisher who could compete equally with either Marvel or DC Comics, the top dogs, yet offer books with the ability to go new places in terms of plot and artistic choice.

While the sales numbers are no longer as high, Image publishes what I’d say are some of the most exciting and visually appealing comics currently on the market. They are also artistically driven.

While all of the logistics scream “independent,” Image still belongs to what is considered “mainstream” comics.

This is a really ignorant label for comics because they are so small in comparison to other media, nothing about them suggests “mainstream,” but in the world of comics culture, companies like Marvel and DC are considered “mainstream.”

Image, along with publishers like IDW, Dark Horse Comics and BOOM! Studios can also be considered as such. How? It falls to a matter of aesthetics.

Real indie comics present a package and look of, how do I put it, home made-ness. As if a guy hand stapled the book, or rather, the comic book came straight from the artist through self-publishing.

That’s indie.

Image doesn’t necessarily do this. While the intent of creation is the same, Image books run through a series of marketing moves and are printed in high gloss fashion. It’s still, in a way, part of a corporate system. It’s just a super friendly corporate system.

But, that’s what Image Comics is. It was always designed to play in the same sandbox as the big boys, and it does so by presenting its books in similar fashion to Marvel and DC’s output.

They’re looking to catch Marvel and DC readers’ eyes.

Some comic artists don’t necessarily pay much attention to mainstream concerns, though. Some don’t even concern themselves with comic books, per se.

Here we enter the discussion of the “graphic novel” or serious book publisher.

Fantagraphics Books entered the scene in 1976 after founders Gary Groth and Mike Catron decided it was time to establish the comic book as a legitimate art form.

According to the publisher’s website, Fantagraphics, “specialized in seeking out and publishing the kind of innovative work that traditional comics corporations who dealt almost exclusively in super-heroes and fantasy either didn’t know existed or wouldn’t touch.”

These innovative works could be characterized as dramatic, journalistic or satirical.

Really, what happened was Fantagraphics stepped up and presented the thoughtful analysis that could be done on comics by publishing the trade magazine “The Comics Journal,” and Fantagraphics published the actual work that inspired the thought.

Cartoonists like of Robert Crumb, Daniel Clowes, Peter Bagge and Chris Ware have all had work published by Fantagraphics. All of these guys are considered serious acts who provide social relevance within their work, and they all have pushed the medium artistically.

Now, while the above acts published their comics as traditional, floppy comic books in the earlier days, Fantagraphics and the artists it represents, have made an effort to move away from the flimsy comic book format in favor of the bigger, bolder “graphic novel.”

The shift in trends only makes sense when you consider the original intent of the publisher.

In order to find respect and serious consideration, disguising yourself in the format of a hardback book doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea. You know, because scholars read books.

But, I do think it’s skewed Fantagraphics away from being a comics publisher to more of

an actual book publisher, and I think Fantagraphics would be the first to openly tell you that. I mean, the banner reading “Fantagraphics Books” on their website kind of gives it away.

Either way, though, publishers like Fantagraphics, Top Shelf and Picture Box offer avenues for all kinds of alternative cartoonists. And, yes, I’d say all of these outlets uphold the original, idealistic idea of comics: free creative reign.

There’s really only one form that gets as pure as it gets. That form is the self-published mini comic, or zine.

Mini-comics span back many years. You could probably take them all the way back to the underground comic zines of the 1960s. The concept is simple – pamphlets containing only a handful of pages that are, in most cases, completely put together by the artist.

The printing usually takes place under careful eyes either at a professional printer or at Kinkos, and the books are then hand-stapled and sold right out of the artist’s house via a website or blog.

It’s as homegrown as a comic book can get, and the process of it goes back to my original idea of the direct creation comics offer artists.

One hundred percent of the process of production and distribution comes from the actual artist behind the work. No one gets in the way. No manner of responsibility has to be traded off. It’s just the artist literally making comics, from drawing to packaging.

That’s romantic – in the literary sense of the word. So much so, it’s an area where I’m finding much of my own attention and interest gravitating toward because it’s a field so full of possibilities.

It’s also becoming somewhat of a lost art. The move toward

Mutt’s 2129 University Ave. Sunnyside

Specials p Spin Every 1/2 Hour 6-12

WEDNESDAY

Big Blue Wheel!

21+

Spawn #1 By Todd McFarlane is one of the first titles released by Image Comics. graphic novels and digital media seems to pressure the minicomic toward a choice of death, yet, a certain sect of artists still keep it alive. I feel the need to investigate it.

The mini comic is freedom in narrative, visual style and business. That’s something to

IMAGE

respect.

Plus, in a world like ours, when do we ever get the chance to possess or experience the ideal? Not often.

Next time, can you buy both or only chose one side? alexander.berry@mail.wvu.edu

4

OPINION

Wednesday November 30, 2011

CONTACT US 304-293-5092 ext. 4 | DAperspectives@mail.wvu.edu

Taking naps may improve study habits sam viggiano columnist

It is 7 p.m. on a Wednesday night, and you are just starting to study at the library. You crack open your book and you turn on your laptop.

Here you are, being productive, until you reach a word you can’t identify. By searching the word on the Internet, you’ve triggered a need to check your MIX email, because your professor promised a few helpful links for studying.

And, in your email, there is a Facebook notification of an Ugly Sweater Party this weekend. Should you respond?

By checking Facebook, you realize today is your lab partner’s birthday. You have to wish him a happy birthday. You go to send him a text when you realize that you have a missed call from your Mom. Thus, you leave the library to call your Mom, afterward you send a text message, close Facebook after checking it for updates, close your MIX account, and it’s midnight … what were you doing, again?

It’s easy to become distracted in our attempts to study. It’s likely that because a subject is challenging we will want to put forth more effort into studying for it.

Because great mental effort must be put forth in order to study, taking breaks, napping, and sleeping are key components to good grades – and overall less distraction.

The Franklin Institute reported in 2004 that taking a nap may be one of the best ways to correct poor mental performance, especially with a night of restless and stressful sleep.

Improved daytime vigilance was noted in a study with Japanese men who took an afternoon nap. These men were not only more aware and focused on the task at hand, but after a 20-minute nap, their self confidence level improved.

And for those coffee and energy drink lovers, Anahad O’Connor reported in 2011 that a series of sleep studies in England found drinking a cup of

coffee with a 15-minute nap immediately following resulted in improved driving performance on sleep-deprived test subjects.

This “caffeine nap” is believed to work because short power naps clear the brain of adenosine, the sleep-inducing compound.

Because the effects of caffeine go into effect within 2o-minutes of consumption, waking from a “caffeine nap” will result in high energy and focus.

But what can be done to prevent distraction while studying?

Living in a digital age has provided an overly stimulated life style.

The New York Times reported in 2010 that “students have always faced distractions and time-wasters. But computers and cell phones, and the constant stream of stimuli they offer, pose a profound new challenge to focusing and learning.”

Associate Professor at the Harvard Medical School and executive director of the Center on Media and Child Health in Boston Michael Rich’s research said that adolescent and adult brains are rewarded not for staying on task but for jumping to the next thing. In order to effectively process new information and improve focus, Michael Rich advocated for understimulated downtime.

Researchers at the University of Michigan found that people learned significantly more after a walk through nature than in a dense urban environment, therefore indicating the barrage of information leaves people unconsciously fatigued.

As students at West Virginia University, we have nature all around and a less stimulated urban environment on our campus compared to schools located within cities and urban areas.

Even a walk around campus or sitting in Woodburn Circle or anywhere else close by, especially those far from traffic, will restore mental stability.

Studying is our priority as students and some classes can be too much to handle, especially if we have had limited success in the class.

If passing finals and good grades are on your agenda this semester, drink some coffee, catch some Zs and take a walk for greater academic achievement.

www.politicolnews.com

Let the giants crumble doug walp columnist

Big banks across America are failing, again.

Investors are jumping ship.

Account holders are taking their business to credit unions and smaller community banks.

It’s about time.

These companies, including the likes of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and others, have become so engrossed with profit and enveloped with greed it’s finally beginning to catch up with them.

There were, of course, multiple contributing factors to the onset of the recession, but predatory lending by major American banks has become the most infamous – and for good reason.

This is a polarizing issue on many grounds; with rightwinged advocates screaming for those living exorbitantly to

DA

assume some fiscal accountability, and simply dismissing the lender’s antics as pure business, which is supposed to remain amoral.

However, it’s clear the actions of these banks were, in fact, radically immoral, if anything.

In a sworn affidavit, Tony Paschal, who worked as a loan officer for Wells Fargo, said in 2009, “They (loan officers for WF) referred to subprime loans made in minority communities as ‘ghetto loans,’” and admitted the company’s most successful loan officers were offered cash bounties to basically perpetuate the impoverishment in lower-income areas of the country.

The bank even specifically targeted poverty-stricken families and individuals through community churches.

“Wells Fargo mortgage had an emerging-markets unit that specifically target black churches, because it figured church leaders had a lot of influence and could convince congregants to take out sub-

prime loans,” said Beth Jacobsen, another Wells Fargo loan officer.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of people naive enough to think Wells Fargo was the only company partaking in such egregious methods of profiting.

These nefarious exploitations are really just the beginning of a laundry list of problems that are contributing to the collective erosion of confidence in these banks.

JPMorgan Chase, for example, has already had to pay more than a billion dollars in fines for paying off local officials and defrauding local governments.

The fact that this isn’t more widely publicized is startling.

Currently, many of the major investment banks that also serve as commercial banks, handling basic transactions and account services for their clients, have also felt palpable discontent from their clients because of their lack of consideration for the average customer.

And even though they are

often grouped together, it’s extremely important to be able to differentiate between investment and commercial banks; though both sectors have come under scrutiny lately, for different reasons.

The commercial banks have been feeling the squeeze of tighter restrictions and regulations cultivated by Congress and the White House.

They have had to explore other means of acquiring revenue to please shareholders and entice potential investors – most notably through a plethora of newly introduced fees, including the notorious debit card fee, which roused so much angst from account-holders that many banks decided to eradicate them completely, and go back to the drawing board for creating alternative sources of revenue.

One of the more well-known problems within the investment banking industry, at least in the public’s perspective, is the fact the executives of these companies continue to reap massive bonuses and benefits despite the tumultuous eco-

nomic climate.

In fact, it’s reported that the CEO’s of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs received nearly $100 million in bonuses in 2007, an absolutely staggering figure at any time, but even more incomprehensible when you think about the turmoil our nation was facing economically.

“They’re just collecting what they’ve rightly earned,” conservatives will protest.

Wrong.

Seven major financial firms, which include names like Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Washington Mutual, have lost over $100 billion since 2007; these same seven firms have rewarded their unmerited executives with $464 million in “performance pay” since 1995.

Again, numerous experts and economists have decreed the actions of these major financial firms heavily contributed to the onset of the recession and, finally, American citizens are starting to listen – as we’ve seen “Occupy Wall Street” become a regularly identified term.

Instead of letting these giants crumble in 2008, the government threw hundreds of billions of dollars at the largest banks, and “used the bailout to steer funds to stronger banks to purchase weaker ones,” according to a blogger for the New York Times.

But, with the major banks announcing plans to cut over 75,000 jobs this month alone, I think it’s a realistic fear the government could intervene yet again. Creating jobs is at the forefront of the political commentary in this country right now. Is it really inconceivable to think these corporate banks are pumping up their unemployment numbers in order to exploit the government’s “benevolence” once again?

It might seem like a bold accusation initially, but after considering the aforementioned practices of most of the U.S. financial firms, you’ll come to realize rebuilding America and helping its endeared citizens are just about the last things they’re currently concerned with.

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 • JOHN TERRY, MANAGING EDITOR • MACKENZIE MAYS, CITY EDITOR • LYDIA NUZUM, ASSOCIATE CITY EDITOR • JEREMIAH YATES, OPINION EDITOR • MICHAEL CARVELLI, SPORTS EDITOR • BEN GAUGHAN, ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR • CAITLIN GRAZIANI, A&E EDITOR • CHARLES YOUNG, A&E EDITOR • MATT SUNDAY, ART DIRECTOR • ALEX KOSCEVIC, COPY DESK CHIEF • KYLE HESS, BUSINESS MANAGER • ALEC BERRY, WEB EDITOR • PATRICK MCDERMOTT, CAMPUS CALENDAR EDITOR • LUKE NESLER, MULTIMEDIA EDITOR • ALAN WATERS, GENERAL MANAGER

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

5 | CAMPUS CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2011

CAMPUS CALENDAR CAMPUS CALENDAR POLICY To place an announcement, fill out a form in The Daily Athenaeum office no later than three days prior to when the announcement is to run.

Information may also be faxed to 304-293-6857 or emailed to dacalendar@mail.wvu.edu.

Announcements will not be taken over the phone. Please include

THE WEEK AHEAD TODAY NOVEMBER 30

SCIENCE ON TAP presents “Brains on Beer: The effects of alcohol on the young adult brain.” The discussion takes place at the Mountain State Brewing Company on Clay St. at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 304-677-2413 or email bvianna@mix.wvu.edu.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 1

THE SOCIAL SCIENCE CAFE hosts “Public Sociology” as part of its brown-bottle lecture series. The discussion is based on a controversial model of social science that asks sociologists to step down from the ivory tower and engage non-academic audiences. The event begins at 5 p.m. at Jay’s Daily Grind on Willey St.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2

TOMCHIN PLANETARIUM, located in 425 Hodges Hall, will present their annual holiday show “‘Tis The Season” at 7 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. The event is free, but reservations are required and can be made at 304-293-4961. Tomchin Observatory, located on the 4th floor of Hodges Hall, will be open at about 7:30 p.m. for viewing on the same night if the sky is clear and Jupiter should be visible.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

WVU FIRST BOOK ADVISORY BOARD meets at 7 p.m. in the Kanawha Room of the Mountainlair.

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.

CYCLING CLUB meets at 8 p.m. in the Bluestone Room of the Mountainlair. For more information, visit www.wvucycling.com.

THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION meets at 7:30 p.m. at Hatfields in the Mountainlair. For more information, stop by the SGA or SOS offices in the Mountainlair.

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.

TAI CHI is taught from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Other class times are available. For more information, call 304-319-0581.

CATHOLICS ON CAMPUS meets at 8 p.m. at 1481 University Ave. For more information, call 304-296-8231.

ESL CONVERSATION TABLE meets at 6 p.m. at the Blue Moose Cafe. All nationalities are welcome. The table is sponsored by Monongalia County Literacy Volunteers, a member of the United Way family. For more information on Literacy Volunteers, contact Jan at 304-296-3400 or mclv2@comcast.net.

WVU FENCING CLUB hosts advanced fencing practice from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Stansbury Hall Gym. For more information, email wvufencing@gmail.com or visit www.encing-

all pertinent information, including the dates the announcement is to run. Due to space limitations, announcements will only run one day unless otherwise requested. All nonUniversity related events must have free admission to be included in the calendar.

If a group has regularly scheduled meetings, it should submit all

club.studentorgs.wvu.edu.

AIKIDO FOR BEGINNERS is at 6 p.m. at Lakeview Fitness Center. There are special rates for WVU students. For more information, email var3@comcast.net.

STUDENTS FOR SENSIBLE DRUG POLICY meets at 7 p.m. in Room 105 of Woodburn Hall . For more information, email ssdp.wvu@gmail.com.

CHAMPION TRAINING ACADEMY offers free tumbling and stunting from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for those interested in competing on a Coed Open International Level 5 Cheerleading Team. For more information, call 304-291-3547 or email CTA at ctainfo@comcast.net.

WVU’S GENDER EQUALITY MOVEMENT, formerly the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, meets in the Cacapon Room of the Mountainlair at 6:30 p.m. For more information, email wvugem@gmail.com.

CONTINUAL

WELLNESS PROGRAMS on topics such as drinkWELL, loveWELL, chillWELL and more 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 304-293-2311 or visit www.well.edu.wvu/medical.

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS meets nightly in the Morgantown and Fairmont areas. For more information, call the helpline at 800-766-4442 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.

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

CONFIDENTIAL COUNSELING SERVICES are provided for free by the Carruth Center for Psychological and Psychiatric Services. A walk-in clinic is offered weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Services include educational, career, individual, couples and group counseling. Please visit www.well.wvu.edu to find out more information.

WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN needs volunteers. WIC provides education, supplemental foods and immunizations for pregnant women and children under five years of age.

This is an opportunity to earn volunteer hours for class requirements. For more information, call 304-598-5180 or 304-598-5185.

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS, a United Way agency, is looking for volunteers to become Big Brothers and Big Sisters in its one-on-one community-based and school-based mentoring programs. To volunteer, contact Sylvia at 304-983-2823, 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 look-

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.

ing for service organizations to provide dinner for 20 to 40 Family House guests. For more information, call 304598-6094 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 trella.greaser@live.com.

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

THE CONDOM CLOSET is held in the Monongalia room of the Mountainlair from 11 a.m. to noon every Tuesday.

THE CONDOM CARAVAN is held in the Mountainlair from noon to 2 p.m. every Tuesday. The caravan sells condoms for 25 cents each or five for $1.00.

MOUNTAINEER SPAY/NEUTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM is an all-volunteer 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, visit www.m-snap.org.

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.

FREE STUDENT SUCCESS SUPPORT presented by the WVU Office of Retention and Research, helps students improve on time management, note taking reading and study skills as well as get help with the transition to WVU. Free drop-in tutoring is also available every night of the week in different locations. For more information, visit http://retention.wvu.edu or call 304-293-5811.

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.

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, visit www.morgantownnewcomers.com.

NEW GROUP THERAPY OPPORTUNITIES are available for free at the WELLWVU: Carruth Center for Psychological and Psychiatric Services. The groups include: Get More Out of Life, Understanding Self and Others, Insomnia Group, A Place for You, Sexual Assault Survivors Group, Adult Children of Dysfunctional Parents and Transfer Students: Get Started on the Right Foot. For more information call 304-293-4431 or email tandy.mcclung@mail.wvu.edu.

HOROSCOPES

BY JACQUELINE BIGAR BORN TODAY Focus on the quality of your domestic life. Some of you might buy homes, while others could remodel their digs. A new addition becomes possible, or maybe someone moves in. Though many times you are concerned with the professional side of life, don’t lose focus on your personal life. If you are single, you meet people, as you are magnetic. Take your time getting to know someone. If you are attached, you will enjoy a newfound closeness. Don’t allow negativity to seep in through a LIBRA friend.

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19) HHHHH Your ability to understand a group or set of friends becomes even more important.

Sometimes others push beyond what you believe to be appropriate. Learn to say no.

Look to the long term in delineating goals and boundaries. Tonight: Only where the fun is.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20) HHHH Take a long-overdue stand. See what happens when you set limits? You establish a greater rapport. You might be surprised by how much works out. Don’t think about better health habits -- act! Tonight: Enjoy being the lead player.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20) HHHH Your sixth sense and ability to define a situation emerge. Think in terms of gains and growth. Know what you expect from a situation. Your creativity might be low, but your ability to research and think comes out. Tonight: Listen to a favorite piece of music.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22) HHH Be more forthright about expectations from a partner or associate. This same statement could be said about your personal life as well. You are able to move to a new level of understanding. Recognize what is going on behind a situation. Tonight: An important discussion.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22) HHHHH Flex, and you’ll discover that others are more likely to drop rigidity. News comes forward that might force you to take another look at certain matters. Express what works for you. Others often challenge you and your thinking. Don’t look at this behavior as bad; use it to tighten up ideas and toss out those thoughts that are irrelevant. Tonight: Go along with the program.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22) HHH Someone you care about could be sullen or difficult. You, too, might be unusually tense about a financial or emotional matter. Batten down the hatches. Focus on effectiveness and your long-term direction. Cut reacting. Tonight: Do for you.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22) HHHH Your bah-humbug attitude has a tendency to backfire on you more times than not.

Can you release the negative thoughts and welcome more buoyant and creative ideas? Others respond much better to this type of thinking. Tonight: Schedule some good, old-fashioned fun.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21) HHHH Family and friends demand your attention. How you deal with someone and the choices you make could change radically if you relax more. Financial information comes in that might pique your interest.

Still, take no risks today. Tonight: Happily at home.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21) HHHHH Keep conversations moving, and refuse to get locked into any issue for now. Let everybody ponder what they perceive to be problems. You might want to rethink a personal matter involving a friendship. You might not be comfortable with this person. Tonight: Hang out.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19) HHH Your ability to clear your mind takes you to a new level of thought. Someone in charge could evoke your ire, but what would you do if you were in his or her place? Deal with your finances directly, knowing your limitations, which actually might be selfimposed. Tonight: Balance your checkbook first.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18) HHHHH You feel unusually empowered. Launch a project, or perhaps complete one in order to free yourself up. Understanding your limits might be more important than you realize. If you cannot break past a restriction right now, wait -- you will. Tonight: Only what you want.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20) HHH Use today for research and perhaps making an appointment for a checkup. If you can, you might want to vanish for an hour or two.

Do some Christmas shopping or maybe decide on a private unmentionable venture! Tonight: Get some extra rest while you can.

BORN TODAY TV host Dick Clark (1929), director Ridley Scott (1937), actor Ben Stiller (1965)

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 MEDIUM

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.

TUESDAY’S PUZZLE SOLVED

ACROSS 1 Trespass 4 With 36- and 62-Across, kids’ ball game, and something this puzzle’s four longest answers have in common 10 Collar or jacket 14 TNT element?

15 Ring of color 16 Powerful TV princess 17 One of the Gershwins 18 Early Mary Tyler Moore role 20 Puts in a fresh pot 22 Habeas corpus et al.

23 Name of three presidents 24 Noodle product?

26 Glacial ridge 27 Horticulturist’s hangout 31 Happy co-worker?

33 Some TV screens 34 Go for, as a prize 35 Hogwarts messengers 36 See 4-Across 38 Tower city 39 Bolo, for one 40 Nudge 41 “I’m outta here!”

42 Meeting of Congress 44 “Les Girls” actress Elg 46 Latin word on a cornerstone 47 Getaway 49 Ionian Sea island 52 Place for a bargain?

54 She played Carla Tortelli on “Cheers” 57 Genetic carrier 58 Arena level 59 2009 Ruben Studdard album 60 Held by us 61 Numbers for one 62 See 4-Across 63 Little thing to pick DOWN 1 Recipe direction 2 Discount rack abbr.

3 She played Nicole Chapman on “Fame” 4 Trivia game that involves bluffing 5 Autumn color 6 Neither masculine nor feminine 7 Fashion designer Michael 8 She, in São Paulo

9 Jabber 10 Cast-of-thousands actors 11 Actress Hatcher 12 “Don’t count __!”

13 Rob Roy refusals 19 Washstand vessels 21 Gets the consolation prize 24 Creep 25 Snappy dresser 28 1996 Madonna role 29 Increase 30 Wine bottle datum 31 Colon’s pair 32 Abrasion, to a tot 33 Inc. abroad 36 Golfer’s selection 37 Thing to avoid 38 2011 TV show with multiple pilots 40 Calendar girl 41 Traffic cop’s request 43 Jungle journey 44 Working (with)

45 Lash out at 48 World-weariness 49 PC monitors 50 River formed at Pittsburgh 51 Lively dance 52 L.A.’s Sunset, e.g.

53 Bakery offering 55 Stately tree 56 Louis XIV, par exemple

TUESDAY’S PUZZLE SOLVED

He‛s coming to M‛town In just a few weeks.

You can come see him Along with your “peeps.”

A&E

6

Wednesday November 30, 2011

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

WVU ensembles to showcase world music

By Rebecca Lebherz A&E correspondent

The West Virginia University Creative Arts Center will host a World Music Showcase Concert Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

The concert will include the African Music and Dance Ensemble, the Steel Band and the Brazilian Ensemble.

T h e e n s e m b l e s a re comprised of various disciplines across campus in addition to music students, said Michael Vercelli, director of the World Music Performance Center.

“All of the students have worked very hard throughout the semester to prepare for the concert,” Vercelli said. “I’m certain that they will have a rewarding musical experience.”

The groups have been practicing twice a week during this semester to prepare for Thursday’s concert, which will feature music from Ghana, Guinea, Trinidad and Brazil.

Vercelli is an expert in mu-

sic from Bali, Cuba, Brazil and primarily Ghana.

Special guest Chris Wabich, a renowned steel pan and drum set artist from Los Angeles, Calif., will perform with the Steel Band.

Wabich has collaborated with many well-known artists including Sting, Ludacris, Jimmy Haslip and Leonard Cohen.

“Chris Wabich is an outstanding musician.We are grateful to the College of Creative Arts and the WVU School of Music for supporting his visit,” Vercelli said.

Wabich’s recordings have been featured on TV shows such as “Malcolm in the Middle” and “American Idol,” as well as in films like “Wild California,” “Dolphins” and “After the Sunset.”

Vercelli and Rafael Langoni Smith, a graduate exchange student from Brazil studying at WVU as part of the exchange program, will conduct the concert.

Smith has arranged a collection of “choros,” which are

music pieces played by an ensemble of Brazilian street musicians.

In September, Brazilian artist Jorge Martins led a workshop at the CAC where students learned a “maracatu,” a term for two distinct performance genres found in northeastern Brazil. The Brazilian Ensemble will feature this maracatu as well as the choros.

This concert is a great opportunity to hear a diverse selection of music from around the world.

“While musically engaging, there will also be a wide variety of musical cultures represented. These ensembles promote diversity and cultural awareness as well as enrich the artistic lives of those involved,” Vercelli said.

Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 with a WVU ID. They can be purchased at the Mountainlair or Creative Arts Center box offices and by calling 304-293-SHOW.

daa&e@mail.wvu.edu

File Photo

The World Music Concert will feature WVU’s African Music and Dance Ensemble.

Whitechapel releases fourth studio album ‘Recorrupted’ Hunter Homistek A&E Writer

Tennessee deathcore band Whitechapel has released its fourth studio recording, “Recorrupted,” on Metal Blade Records.

With three critically acclaimed full-length albums on its resume, Whitechapel decided to break away from the norm with “Recorrupted”.

This latest excursion is, unlike previous Whitechapel releases, not a full album but rather a five-track EP consisting of one new original song, one cover and three remixes of tracks from previous Whitechapel albums.

Below is a track-by-track breakdown of this diverse and experimental extended play.

“Section 8” “Section 8,” the only newly written material on the EP, is a classic Whitechapel track.

Everything one can expect

from the band, from blast beats to horrifyingly deep growls to low-tuned groovy guitar rhythm, is found in abundance on this track.

Even the lyrical content, which captures vocalist Phil Bozeman’s pessimistic worldview, is similar to the band’s previous outings.

While many might frown upon this “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, “Section 8” is one of Whitechapel’s most brutal songs to date, and it captures their signature sound

perfectly.

Maybe the song isn’t breaking boundaries, but it’s a solid track, and it shows the band has not lost its touch in crafting a ferocious original piece of music.

“Strength Beyond Strength” Track two serves as Whitechapel’s take on the classic Pantera tune, “Strength Beyond Strength.”

While the parts are executed well and the track is instrumentally sound, Whitechapel

took the liberty to transcribe the song to a lower tuning than that of the original, and this causes the song to lose some of its power and force.

Also because of the lower tuning, Bozeman’s vocals fall into his usual growl range, so a track that should be fresh and different ends up sounding like every other Whitechapel song.

When covering a legendary band such a Pantera, results are hit or miss – and this track is certainly a miss.

“Breeding Violence (Big

Chocolate Mix)” The first of two dubstep/ electronic remixes on the EP, Big Chocolate’s “Breeding Violence” is an absolute misfire.

The mix, which was done by Cameron Argon (aka Big Chocolate), starts out well with a nice buildup, but quickly spirals out of control.

After the intense intro, the track sounds like a toddler figured out how to mix tracks and decided to throw together random noises and effects with no care for rhythms and sensible arrangements.

“Breeding Violence” is entirely overdone and, while I respect what Big Chocolate was trying to do with this track, it has no musical coherence and, for that reason, should have never seen the light of day.

“This is Exile (Ben Weinman Remix)” See my thoughts on track three and multiply every negative comment by ten.

Seriously, this track is awful and does both the song and the band a complete injustice.

“End of Flesh (Acoustic Version)” After three failed attempts at stepping outside its comfort zone, I was worried when I saw the band’s final track was an acoustic styling.

Unlike the previous three tracks, however, the acoustic version of “End of Flesh” is beautifully arranged and executed perfectly.

This track shows a never-before-seen side of Whitechapel and displays their musical talents for all to enjoy.

Consisting of only acoustic guitars, “End of Flesh” serves as a perfect arrangement and a masterful ending to an otherwise lackluster outing.

“Recorrupted” is a shaky experiment for Whitechapel and only contains two tracks worth hearing, making it an uninspiring and disappointing release.

For fans of the band or deathcore in general, I highly recommend checking out tracks one and five and avoiding the others like the plague.

‘Recorrupted’ Whitechapel

Tennessee deathcore band releases fourth studio recording ‘Recorrupted.’

««« ««« daa&e@mail.wvu.edu

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SPORTS

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Wednesday November 30, 2011

A FITTING FAREWELL MILLER BY THE NUMBERS

Miller’s career night the perfect ending for final home game at WVU by michael carvelli sports editor

West Virginia’s game against Pittsburgh Friday was a night senior defensive lineman Julian Miller will never forget.

And it started with a story he said he’ll remember and will be telling people for the rest of his life “I ran out of the tunnel (when being recognized as a senior) with my helmet off, and I had one of my teammates hold the helmet,” Miller said. “By the time we come running back in to run out with the team, they had started the smoke already, so I can’t see, and I don’t know where my helmet’s at.

“So I just turned back around and (defensive lineman) Shaq Rowell tosses me my helmet while we’re running out, and I had to make the catch and put the helmet on before we ran out of the tunnel.”

That’s just one of the many stories he will go on to tell from WVU’s 21-20 win in his final home game and his last time facing Pittsburgh.

“It was very emotional, it was different,” he said. “I kind of didn’t even hear anything else.

I just saw all the fans, my teammates and everything else just went blank. Being there with my teammates ... it was a great experience overall.”

Miller, who also turned 23 the night of the Backyard Brawl, made sure everyone else in attendance would remember the game too.

The Columbus, Ohio, native

Tackles Sacks Tackles for Loss Forced Fumbles Fumble Recoveries

recorded career-highs with 12 tackles and four sacks against the Panthers.

“I came off the field, got into the locker room and heard the stats, and I was in disbelief,” Miller said. “Not even the performance but just the experience of tonight. The atmosphere, the way my guys went out there and played, the crowd, the fans, all that. This is probably the greatest experience.

“I love being a Mountaineer, and this just capitalizes my whole experience being a Mountaineer these past five years.”

After struggling to slow down the Pittsburgh offense in the first half, the Mountaineer defense came up big in the second half.

Every time the Panthers looked like they had a chance to put the game away or claw back into the game late in the second half, West Virginia found a way to get a stop.

“I’m so proud of those guys and the way we went out and fought,” Miller said. “All year we’ve been kind of a second half team, but just the way we went out and played in that second half was just lights out. I’m just glad we could do it tonight.”

As one of just a handful of players who has been playing for WVU since its last trip to a BCS game, Miller is anxious for the opportunity to get to go to another one this season and actually play.

But he understands there’s still a lot that has to happen before they get there.

If the Mountaineers win Thursday against South Flor-

179 27.5 40.5 4 4

CAREER MILESTONES

ida and Cincinnati beats Connecticut, WVU will have their BCS bid locked up.

“You really don’t even want to get your mind close to even wrapping around it because regardless of what happens anywhere else, we’ve got to win the last game,” he said. “That’s all we’re focused on now is to try to go down to Tampa and to try to come out of there with a win.”

A Big East Conference title and an appearance in a BCS game would be the icing on the cake for what has already been a great career for Miller.

B u t w h e n people l o o k back at what he did in his time at West Virginia, he doesn’t want to be remembered for how many games he won or how many times he sacked a quarterback.

“Hopefully I defined a West Virginia Mountaineer for (the fans),” he said. “I hope I defined a guy who was willing to go out there, work hard for the team, represent for the fans and this state and just grind it out.”

FIRST HOME GAME

Aug. 30, 2008 vs. Villanova

FIRST TACKLE

Aug. 30, 2008 vs. Villanova

FIRST SACK

Nov. 8, 2008 vs. Cincinnati

FIRST START

Nov. 28, 2008 at Pittsburgh

FIRST BOWL GAME

Dec. 27, 2008 vs. North Carolina Meineke Car Care Bowl

FIRST FORCED FUMBLE

Oct. 17, 2009 vs. Marshall

FIRST FUMBLE RECOVERY

Nov. 22, 2008 at Louisville

FIRST TOUCHDOWN

Nov. 12, 2011 at Cincinnati

FINAL HOME GAME

Nov. 25, 2011 vs. Pittsburgh Career-high 12 tackles Career-high four sacks

IN THE RECORD BOOKS 1.

2.

1.

2.

CAREER SACKS Canute Curtis Julian Miller

34.5 27.5

CAREER TACKLES FOR LOSS Grant Wiley Julian Miller

47.5 40.5

1.

9.

1.

5.

SEASON SACKS Canute Curtis Julian Miller

16.5 9

SEASON TACKLES FOR LOSS Johnny Dingle Julian Miller

19 14

james.carvelli@mail.wvu.edu Photo by Matt Sunday

WVU players, coaches embraced atmosphere of Backyard Brawl by nick arthur sports writer

A meeting between West Virginia and Pittsburgh on a football field is nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the two bitter rivals have now met 104 times.

But, when the Mountaineers defeated the Panthers 21-20 Friday night, it was an inaugural experience for West Virginia first-year head coach Dana Holgorsen.

“It was pretty fun,” Holgorsen said. “I don’t have a voice.”

Holgorsen had been a part of many rivalries during his stints at Texas Tech, Houston and Oklahoma State. However, he had never been involved in a Backyard Brawl.

“That was fun – great atmosphere,” Holgorsen said. “Our sidelines were unbelievable. Obviously, we were feeding off the crowd. The crowd got going in that second half, and it was loud, rowdy and fun.”

While the head coach was having a great time, 22 seniors on Senior Night couldn’t have scripted a better way to end their career.

West Virginia senior defensive tackle Julian Miller was enjoying senior day and his birthday. Despite a great individual performance – four sacks – Miller was pleased he could notch another win over Pittsburgh.

“It (the win) means I can go out of here, and

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

say I beat them (Pittsburgh) three years in row,” Miller said. “I’m proud of it. I know there are not too many guys that can leave here saying that.”

Mountaineer junior quarterback Geno Smith thought the home team took full advantage of the opportunity presented.

“It’s amazing that we get a win for these 22 seniors in this locker room who have given their all to us for four and five years,” Smith said. “It’s just a great opportunity to go out and get a win for the state of West Virginia.”

Smith’s head coach agrees with his quarterback.

“I’m very happy for the 22 seniors,” Holgorsen said. “To go out and be able to win a rival game will be something they remember for a long time.”

West Virginia and Pittsburgh haven’t gone a year without playing since 1942. But with the recent shift in conference realignment, it is very unlikely the two teams will meet in the near future.

The 104th meeting between the two schools Friday may not have been the most important nor the most glamorous, but the drama, as always, was in full force.

“I hope we continue this,” Smith said. “It’s always going to be a tough game; pretty much a classic every time.” nicholas.arthur@mail.wvu.edu

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Defensive lineman Shaq Rowell sings ‘Country Roads’ following West Virginia’s win over Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl.

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THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

8 | SPORTS/CLASSIFIEDS

cross country

Wednesday November 30, 2011

wrestling

matt sunday/the daily athenaeum

wvu sports info

Junior Kaitlyn Gillespie earned all-American honors for the second year and finished 27th in the NCAA championships. She was joined

by Kate Harrison on the all-American team.

WVU finishes eighth in NCAA championships by ethan rohrbaugh sports writer

Before the season, West Virginia head coach Sean Cleary made a prediction his team would finish in the top 10 in the country and have a shot at the national title.

For the fourth time in Cleary’s five-year tenure, the Mountaineers did just that.

Monday Nov. 21, in Terre Haute, Ind., the West Virginia cross country team made good on its head coach’s yearold prediction by finishing in eighth place at the National championship meet at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Championship Course.

“We are so very pleased with this result,” Cleary said. “I do feel as if we maximized our potential this fall.”

The coach said after qualifying for finals just nine days before the race, his group experienced a few rough patches in their championship preparations.

“I was very concerned during the four to five days prior to the finals,” Cleary said of the series of sicknesses and injuries that hammered his team in the days leading up to the NCAA championship race.

“Our atmosphere and pos-

itive presence allowed for the group to emerge with this result,” said Cleary. “Normally an ill-timed sickness can ruin a runner with their final preparations. I am thrilled that we were mentally strong enough to overcome our issues. These girls were incredible.”

Redshirt senior Kate Harrison led the Mountaineers with an eighth place individual finish from her 6k time of 19:50.

The fifth-year runner earned all-American honors for the first time in her WVU cross country career.

Harrison’s championship performance also broke former Mountaineer all-American Megan Metcalfe’s individual record of ninth place at the NCAA Championships in 2002.

Junior Kaitlyn Gillespie crossed the line in second place for the team and finished No. 27 overall in 20:17.

The performance earned Gillespie her second all-American status in as many trips to the National title race.

Redshirt junior Sarah-Anne Brault arrived No. 68 in 20:47, redshirt senior Ahna Lewis placed No. 116 in a time of 21:11, and redshirt junior Stephanie Aldea finished as No. 172 in 21:36 to score points

for the Mountaineers.

After the race, Lewis was named the recipient of the Elite 89 award for Division I women’s cross country. The award recognizes the studentathletes with the highest cumulative grade-point average out of those participating in the National championship for each of the NCAA’s 89 championships.

Georgetown claimed the National title with 162 points, followed by Washington with 170, and the Big East champion Villanova Wildcats with 180.

Villanova senior and Big East individual champion Sheila Reid won her third consecutive individual title with a time of 19:41.2.

“This meet is so unique in terms of a championship,” Cleary said of the experience.

“The 31 best teams in the country line up to establish a pecking order – no politics, no judgement calls – one race at one moment in time to determine a champion.

“Our seniors have been to this meet four times in five years either as competitors or spectators. Their experience played out in our favor.” ethan.rohrbaugh@mail.wvu.edu

volleyball

West Virginia ends season with loss to Marshall by sebouh majarian

Head coach Craig Turnbull’s West Virginia wrestling team finished second at the Navy Classic.

Mountaineers finish second at Navy Classic by ethan rohrbaugh sports writer

Junior Shane Young and redshirt sophomore Nathan Pennesi claimed the title for their respective weight classes for the second consecutive weekend at the Navy Classic in Annapolis, Md., Saturday.

The pair entered the tournament as the top seeds in their weight classes, following first place showings at the Washington & Jefferson tournament the week before.

West Virginia finished second overall at the seven-team meet with 96 points, falling well behind Navy, who took their 19th Classic title in the 34 years they have hosted the tournament.

The Midshipmen captured five individual titles en route to a dominating 147.5 point performance.

WVU redshirt junior Lance Bryson wrestled to the finals of his weight division before dropping a 3-1 decision to the Nation’s No. 20 ranked 174-pound grappler, Navy’s Peter Huntley.

Redshirt freshman George Scheffel, redshirt senior Kyle Eason and redshirt sophomore Mac Mancuso all went for third place showings at the Classic for West Virginia, while true freshman Dominic Prezzia finished in No. 5.

Riggs pleased with teams’ hard work early in season by robert kreis

After a brief stay in Morgantown, the Golden Ball trophy will once again be found in Huntington.

West Virginia (7-19, 5-9 Big East) hung on to the trophy for a year, but gave it up with a 3-1 loss to in-state rival Marshall (10-21, 8-12 C-USA) Friday.

The Mountaineers dropped the sets 19-25, 27-25, 22-25, 23-25 in front of nearly 600 fans at the Cam Henderson Center.

The West Virginia volleyball team holds a 28-16 lead in the all-time series against Marshall. Last year, the Mountaineers brought the Golden Ball back to Morgantown for the first time since 2001, with a three-set sweep of the Thundering Herd.

Head coach Jill Kramer was disappointed to finish her second season at WVU on a losing note, but was grateful for the contributions from her seniors.

“That didn’t feel good, especially for the girls, because I knew they really wanted it, and I really wanted to make sure they were prepared.” Kramer said. “We played hard, but Marshall played their butts off. They played really, really well.”

For Kramer, the loss marks her first against the Mountaineers’ biggest rivals in Pittsburgh and Marshall. WVU beat Pittsburgh in a five-set game earlier this year for the second time in as many years.

West Virginia wraps up the season No. 11 in the Big East and with an RPI of 194. The team also posted a 1-10 record on the road and finished the season on a two-game losing streak.

Marshall had most of their success in the first and last sets, scoring 16 kills and a .222 hitting percentage in the opener and 15 kills with a .256 mark in the final frame. The Herd only made nine errors combined in those sets while erring 20 times in the

Hard training and a good team effort left West Virginia men and women’s swimming and diving head coach Vic Riggs pleased with his teams’ performances in the Pitt Invitational Nov. 18-21.

“This is one of the best training teams I have had since I’ve been here,” Riggs said. “We are getting better at being a team and competing as a team.”

Day one of the Pitt Invitational ended with both the men and women’s swimming and diving teams sitting in good places.

The men’s team sat in second place with 339 points, behind Pittsburgh. The strongest heat for the men came in the 50 free, with Sophomore Tim Squires (20.42) finishing first, senior Brad Eichenseer (20.69) finishing third, freshman Scott Fetsko (21.03) in fifth, junior Bryce Bohman (21.31) in seventh and senior Brandon Carr (21.70) capping off the heat in eighth place.

Riggs has been impressed with the development of Squires in only his sophomore year, and looks for the maturity Squires features while on the recruiting trail.

“Their sophomore year, you are looking for that progression. You are always looking for that kid to take that next step,” Riggs said. “(Squires) continued to stay inside the program and do what was asked of (him).

The women’s 400 IM relay led the women to third place at the end of day one.

Sophomore Danielle Smith, juniors Breanna McCann, Mandie Nugent and Rachel Burnett teamed up to lead the Mountaineers to a second place finish in the I.M. with a time of (3:42.86).

Smith had an extremely pro-

sports writer

wvu sports info

second and third sets.

“They mixed it up a little bit more,” Kramer said. “They spread the ball around pretty well, they utilized all their options for sure and it definitely makes it harder to defend when they have more people killing the ball.”

Marshall had five players record double-digit kills while setter Sammie Bane dished out 50 assists.

The loss will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of the five Mountaineer seniors despite their great performances.

Seniors Kylie Armbruster and Michelle Kopecky led the offense scoring 35 of the team’s 53 kills. Armbruster had a double-double of 12 kills and 17 digs while Kopecky had a career-and-game-high 23 kills while taking 75 attempts.

Senior Kari Post served up 45 assists and Serinna Russo had 27 digs – enough to solidify their places in the team’s record book. Post, a Yuba City, Calif., native, finishes third on the program’s all-time assist list with 3,384 and also added four kills and nine digs.

“Kari did a good job of leading the team, and she did a great job of being consistent

and maintaining her competitiveness throughout the last two weeks of practice, and that’s tough to do,” Kramer said.

Though Kramer has only coached Post for two seasons, she has watched as the senior setter matured and took on more of a leadership role.

“Given the same situation last year, I think she would have struggled to compete every day.

But this year she did not, and that was awesome, and it goes a long way with the team,” she said.

Though there will be a lot of holes to fill in her rotation with only one returning starter, Kramer is looking forward to the challenge and the move to the Big-12.

“We’re much, much, much better in the classroom. We’ve got great team chemistry. We’ve got people on the same page going after the same goals,” Kramer said.

“This group of seniors have really, really added to the volleyball program here at West Virginia and, even though we lost the match, they competed the whole time and really got after it.” sebouh.majarian@mail.wvu.edu

ethan.rohrbaugh@mail.wvu.edu

swimming and diving

sports writer

Head coach Jill Kramer and the West Virginia volleyball team ended the season with a loss over Marshall.

Three nationally ranked starters sat out the meet for West Virginia, including redshirt senior Matt Ryan who missed the Washington and Jefferson Tournament due to what his coach called a small strain in an elbow ligament.

Redshirt junior Colin Johnston and redshirt senior Brandon Williamson also sat out at Navy, but all three are expected to be in the lineup when the Mountaineers return to competition.

The trio, along with Young and Pennesi, find themselves ranked in the top 20 of their respective weight classes in multiple online polls for the fourth consecutive week.

Johnston remains the highest-ranked West Virginia grappler as the 6-0, 133-pounder sits at No. 15 in the InterMat. com poll, No. 14 on WrestlingReport.com, No. 9 on WIN. com and No. 16 on OpenMat. com.

The Mountaineers return to the mat this weekend as the team heads to Las Vegas, Nev., for the prestigious Cliff Keen Invitational.

The Invitational will be the toughest test of the season to date for the Mountaineers, as last season’s field at the meet included 12 of the nation’s top 25 programs.

ductive weekend, tallying a second place finish in the 100 back (54.62) on day two, and another second-place finish in the 200 back on the final day of competition with a time of 1:58.59.

“The biggest thing (about Smith) is she is not putting limits on herself,” Riggs said. “She is getting behind the block and not saying ‘I have to (swim) a certain time.’ She is just going out there and racing.”

After day two, both teams saw themselves in the same positions as day one. Junior Jake Querciagrossa earned a first-place finish in the 400 IM with a time of 5:57.71. Querciagrossa also teamed up with freshman Daeton Davenport, senior Eric Johnson and senior Taylor Camp to take second in the 800 free relay with a time of (7:20.90).

The Mountaineers finished in the same position at the end of day three of the Pitt Invite as they where at the finish of days one and two. The men’s team came in second, while the women finished in third to complete the meet.

Camp took first place on day three in the 200 fly (1:47.900) as well as joining Squires, senior Jake Kudrna and senior Brad Eichenseer to end the meet with a first place-finish in the 400 free relay (3:00.03).

Sophomore Rachel Gorrie, Smith, Nugent, and Burnett capped off the meet for the women’s team with a secondplace finish in the 400 free relay (3:25.24).

Riggs was happy with his teams’ performance at the Pitt Invite and continues to see his team put forth an effort all coaches want to see.

“I thought the teams did great,” Riggs said. “We had some real big swims, and it was an overall a good meet.” dasports@mail.wvu.edu

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The Daily Athenaeum 284 Prospect St. Morgantown, WV 26506

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

10 | SPORTS

Wednesday November 30, 2011

WVU looks to bounce back against La Salle

ben gaughan associate sports editor

WVU special teams must play better

West Virginia sophomore forward Jess Harlee puts up a shot against St. Bonaventure Nov. 18. Harlee is third on the team with 8.4 points per game.

by ben gaughan

associate sports editor

The West Virginia women’s basketball team looks to rebound against La Salle tonight, after dropping a onepoint decision to Cal State Northridge in its last game.

If it comes down to it again, the Mountaineers will want to get a shot off in the final seconds of the game, unlike they weren’t able to do in the 4847 loss against the Matadors.

“We can’t worry about missing two or three (shots).

We have to score,” said West Virginia head coach Mike Carey of his young team.

Sophomore shooting guard Taylor Palmer has been a sur-

prise boost to the Mountaineer offense so far this season.

The Mount Vernon, N.Y., native is leading the team at 18.4 points per game, while playing 32.8 minutes.

Palmer looks to carry her success over from the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Basketball Classic to West Virginia’s matchup with La Salle.

Palmer hit a tying threepointer against Cal State Northridge with three and a half minutes left to keep West Virginia in the game. Palmer is first on the team by a long shot in three-point field goals made (19-49), shooting 38 percent from behind the arc.

Junior center Asya Bussie,

West Virginia’s only returning starter from last season, is second on the team in points per game (9.4) and her nine rebounds per game is second to junior Ayana Dunning.

The Explorers (2-5) are currently on a two-game losing streak. They are lead by junior point guard Alexis Scott, who averages 12.3 points per game, and freshman guard Jada Payne, who averages 10.1 points per game. Payne is the only player to start all seven games this season for LaSalle.

Scott was named the Big 5 Player of the Week after her 13-point effort in a win over Penn last week. She averaged 14.3 points in La Salle’s three

games during the week.

The Mountaineers will want to try to foul La Salle a lot, as the Explorers average only 64.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line as a team.

Sophomore forward Jess Harlee continues to give the Mountaineers help on the inside thus far. The Bel Air, Md., native is third on the team in points per game at 8.4 and second in minutes at 29.8 per game.

West Virginia will look to get back to making better decisions, not turning the ball over as much (it had 15 turnovers against Cal State), and outrebounding its opponent – something the team failed

brooke cassidy/the daily athenaeum

to do in its last contest when it was outrebounded 50-41.

“We want to pound it in, but we’re just going to turn it over,” Carey said. “They just have to get some confidence.

They’re young. They have to quit worrying about if they miss something. Who cares?

They’re going to miss a couple (shots), just make sure it’s good shots, that’s all.

“Let’s check inside, let’s reverse the ball. Get it inside, out. You got your shot, you have to shoot it. I’d rather see a shot go up on the rim than turn it over.”

The game begins tonight at 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum. ben.gaughan@mail.wvu.edu

Special teams play has been a major struggle for the No. 23 West Virginia football team all season.

They’ve fumbled on several kickoff and punt returns, had punts going for 12 yards, missed extra points and missed tackles.

But all of those statistics go out the window Thursday night during the Mountaineers final regular season game against South Florida.

It’s going to be an extremely hostile environment in Tampa, Fla. And USF isn’t going to let up one bit as it will try to ruin West Virginia’s chances of getting to a BCS bowl game.

The Mountaineers have not played well on the road against the Bulls. Their last win against USF in Florida came back in 2005 in a 28-13 victory.

In the last two meetings since, WVU has not scored more than 20 points against USF away from Milan Puskar Stadium.

Against Pitt last week, West Virginia had three kick returns for a grand total of seven yards. Let me say that again – seven. Oh, and punt returns were even worse. WVU returned two punts for two yards, including a fumble by junior receiver Tavon Austin that led to a field goal.

For the season, the Mountaineers average 22.7 yards per kick return and 12.2 yards per punt return, ranking No. 40 and No. 18 in the nation, respectively.

That is surprisingly good, considering how many mistakes the team has made on all areas of the special teams unit.

The Mountaineer coverage team will have to do a superb job Thursday as South Florida has allowed just three punt return yards all season.

Whoever goes out there for returns, whether it is Austin for senior Devon Brown or anyone else – they have to be ready for the challenge.

They have to know when to call for a fair catch or when to tell the blockers to get out of the way, and let the ball hit the ground without anyone touching it.

Winning the field position battle makes a huge difference in the game and making the right decisions during returns is the key to executing it.

It looks like punter redshirt junior punter Corey Smith will get the start against USF, after averaging 57.2 yards on four punts against Pitt. The big question is whether or not he can stay consistent for another game, or two.

Head coach Dana Holgorsen has talked all year about improving the special teams unit and getting better every week.

The major problem for WVU has been playing well one week and horribly the next. Well, it made mistakes in a dismal effort in the Backyard Brawl against Pitt, so maybe that is a good omen for the game against South Florida.

The last time a WVU player had a punt return for a touchdown was in 2006. The last kick return for a touchdown was the first game of the season against Marshall, thanks to Tavon Austin. It would be nice to see him break another one in the last regular season game.

“This game is what this team is going to be remembered for,” Holgorsen said at his weekly press conference Monday.

“You can take the rest of the games, and you can delete them. You can erase them, you can forget them. What this team is going to be remembered for is by what happens this weekend at South Florida,” he said.

“We’re playing a very good team. Their record doesn’t reflect what kind of a team they are, how well-coached they are, or what kind of players they have. We fully expect to get their best.”

Hopefully, West Virginia saved its best special teams performance for last, because it may come down to one important play that wins the game and sends the Mountaineers to a BCS game after all. ben.gaughan@mail.wvu.edu