INDEX
Emory Events Calendar, Page 2
Student Life, Page 9
Crossword Puzzle, Page 8
Staff Editorial, Page 6
Police Record, Page 2
On Fire, Page 11
THE EMORY WHEEL Since 1919
The Independent Student Newspaper of Emory University
Volume 95, Issue 11
www.emorywheel.com
Friday, October 4, 2013 TRANSPORTATION
Every Tuesday and Friday
CRIME
Students, Faculty Change Annual Emory Crime Report Released Parking Permit Use Reported Sexual Offenses, Drug Violations Rise Parking Services Notices Increase In Demand, Implements Solutions By Karishma Mehrotra Asst. News Editor Due to unexpected changes in the times that students and faculty with campus parking permits utilize the Peavine and Michael St. parking decks, Emory’s Transportation and Parking Services has changed some of its parking practices this semester, according to parking officials. Cumulatively, the two have never seen such ongoing changes like the ones they observed this year, they said. After the normal weeklong Labor Day rush, Director of Parking and Transportation Adele Clements and Associate Vice President Lisa Underwood said they noticed an unusual and persistent pattern: a lack of vacant spaces and an increase in complaints beyond the expected temporary surge. Compared to the situation at Peavine, the situation at the Michael St. parking garage was slightly more strenuous and challenging during the week of Sept. 9, they said in a joint interview. “It’s one of those things that goes well most of the time so people don’t think about it,” Underwood said. The parking services reassigned
students and employees who volunteered about two weeks ago, and they converted several visitor parking spots into permit parking spots, resolving the issue, according to Clements. Earlier in September, parking deck attendants were required to hand out passes for cars that had to park elsewhere, but they have not had to do so in about a week, after the short-term changes the department implemented. Also, in the last two weeks, complaints have subsided, they said. “It’s been coming together,” Underwood said. “I do think it’s fully resolved now, for the most part. We’ve got a little bit of a straggling thing in Peavine but we have a good plan.” The two hypothesized that the recent credit-hour changes have caused students to park in the parking decks longer and more often than usual, since the Department of Parking and Transportation did not distribute more parking permits than they did in previous years. “There is not a parking shortage,” Underwood said. “It’s really a simple
See UNDERWOOD, Page 5
James Crissman/Editor
Parking Services hypothesizes that students are using their permits differently because of recent credit hour and scheduling changes.
By Karishma Mehrotra Asst. News Editor And Dustin Slade Asst. News Editor In the past three years, reported forcible sex offenses have increased 150 percent, reported drug law violations with disciplinary referrals have risen 213 percent and reported liquor law violations with disciplinary referrals increased 9.46 percent, according to Emory’s annual security report released via a University-wide email this week. Emory releases the Annual Security Report, Annual Fire Safety Report and Statement of Campus Security Policy in accordance with the “Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act,” which mandates all colleges that receive federal funding to release crime and violation statistics, as well as the “Higher Education Opportunity Act,” which details numerous reporting requirements. In 2010, 10 forcible sex offenses were reported; in 2011, there were 12; and in 2012, 25. Meanwhile, 46 drug law violations were reported in 2010, then 66 in 2011 and 144 in 2012. In 2010, 169 liquor law violations were reported, followed 177 and 185 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Reported burglaries decreased 50 percent in the three years, from 14 in 2012 to seven in 2010. The Emory Police Department (EPD) compiles these statistics based on the information that they receive directly as well as crimes reported to other campus security and local police, according to this year’s report. Senior Associate Dean and Director of Campus Life External Relations Life Andy Wilson said his office takes the increase in violations very seriously and that his office will continue to educate, monitor and enforce alcohol and drug policies. Wilson added that he believes changes in protocol and some additional training practices that Residence Life and Housing implemented in 2012 may be related to the enforcement of the drug polices in particular in the residence halls. This enhancement may have prompted the
Liberal Arts Commission Kicks Off Semester By Naomi Maisel Staff Writer Emory’s Commission on the Liberal Arts (CoLA) has taken on new leadership on and will begin working toward establishing the liberal arts on campus. Robyn Fivush, the Samuel Candler Dobbs professor of Psychology and CoLA’s current chair, is replacing former Provost Earl Lewis, who began the effort last year. Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Public Health and previous CoLA Co-Chair Claire Sterk said the commission is making liberal education “a key domain of focus.” The commission plans to develop three subcommittees that will focus
*Data compiled from annual crime report, released this week
forcible sexual offenses
2010
10
2011
10
20
2011
177
185
2012
14
2011
since 2010
7 5
2010
15
10
46
2011
66 144
2012 50
100
since 2010
150
The Wheel would like to clarify that these statistics do not necessarily indicate an increase or decrease in crime. Rather, they could indicate changes in enforcement. Graphic by Jordan Friedman/Executive Editor
increase in reported drug law violations on the main campus, he said. According to Senior Communications Officer Beverly Clark, nearly all the forcible sex offenses in the statistics were reported anonymously through Emory’s Respect Program. “The University works proactively to build a safe community,” she wrote in an email to the Wheel. “According to the Clery Center for Security on Campus, colleges and universities that are effectively educating their students and responding to victims may likely have higher numbers of sexual misconduct cases reported to campus officials.” Clark added that Emory treats all complaints and accusations of sexual misconduct seriously. “[Emory] provides multiple resources to students, faculty and
staff for outreach, support, reporting and advocacy,” she wrote, citing appointed coordinators to serve the affected, Creating Emory, the programs administered by the Respect Program. Lauren Bernstein, the Respect Program’s coordinator, wrote in an email to the Wheel that sexual violence is a “pervasive public-health problem” affecting about one in four women and one in 33 men on college campuses nationwide. “Increased reporting is actually a positive sign that more students are coming forward and getting help who have survived sexual violence,” she said. Clark explained that the Respect Program facilitates Creating Emory — a first-year Orientation program — as well as a sexual misconduct prevention and advocacy training for
student leaders and staff, including Orientation leaders and resident advisors, among many other initiatives. Additionally, Emory has appointed a University Title IX Coordinator and Title IX Coordinator for Students, who serve as an initial point of contact for students affected by sexual misconduct, she wrote. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is “a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally-funded education programs,” she wrote. College junior Abi Averill said she does not know if these statistics surprise her. “I feel like most students on Emory’s campus, and honestly at every college around the country, are taking part in drinking and drugs,”
See INCREASED, Page 5
By Ashley Bianco Contributing Writer
In recent years Emory has become a force to be reckoned with in terms of college rankings, as it has maintained its status as one of U.S. News and World Report’s top 20 universities. In August, Forbes Magazine decided to drop Emory from its list of top universities as a consequence of last summer’s revelation that Emory had been intentionally misreporting admissions test scores. Although Emory has succeeded in maintaining its standing, it faces a new challenge: as of Aug. 22, President Barack Obama has changed the face of college rankings. As high school seniors struggle to decide where they’ll be spending their college career, publicized rankings have become an increasingly important factor in their decision. The college ranking system has traditionally been dependent upon factors such as academic resources, selectivity and SAT/ACT scores. However, according to a recent New York Times article, Obama is planning to change these factors. According to the Office of the Press
Secretary, the new college ranking system will place an increased focus on financial aid, scholarships and job placement after college, while also striving to lower the cost of a college education. Although there are those at Emory who fear that Obama’s new ranking system will overlook some of the more unique aspects of the university, Charlie Harman, vice president of government and community affairs at Emory, firmly believes that with the university focused on excellence and education, there shouldn’t be a need to worry. “It is premature to assess any of the concepts [Obama] introduced because the Administration, much less Congress, has not developed specifics around the broad proposals he has put forward including his scorecard,” Harman said. Harman also said he believed that Emory would always be recognized as a leader amongst universities because, as he put it, “we put the
See WAGNER, Page 5
Hagar Elsayed/Contributor
The Sorority and Fraternity Life Review Board, which is made up of students, will oversee conduct violations of Greek organizations.
New Board to Review Greek Life Conduct By Lydia O’Neal Greek Beat Writer For the first time in recent years, Emory’s Office of Student Conduct has established a permanent Greek Conduct Review Board, in which representatives from each of the four Greek councils review and educate Greek peers and their organizations accused of violating conduct. The last time a board similar to this one existed at Emory was more than six years ago, according to Senior Associate Vice President of Campus Life Carolyn Livingston. Created during the summer, the
board solves issues of overlap within the Conduct Code hearing process and gives Greek organizations the opportunity to self-govern. Half of the 16 student board members handle hearings, while the other half works to educate the Greek community on hazing prevention, sexual assault prevention and risk management. Members of the Greek Conduct Review Board — or the Sorority and Fraternity Life Review Board (SFLRB) — applied for their positions in the spring. They then took part in collaborative discussion-based training and
NEWS LOCAL RESIDENTS
OP-EDS WRITERS
STUDENT LIFE
SPORTS GOLF TEAM
COMPLAIN ABOUT CONCERT
DISCUSS GOV’T SHUTDOWN AND
WRITERS CHOOSE THE BEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME ... PAGE 9
FINISHES IN NINTH PLACE AT
...
213% increase
Obama’s New Rankings to Emphasize Financial Aid
See AUDIENCE, Page 5
NOISE
since 2010
50% decrease
8
2012
9.46% increase
180
120
2010
Drug law violations
30
169
60
burglaries
since 2010
25
2012
2010
liquor law violations
150% increase
12
GREEK LIFE
FEATURE
ACADEMICS
reported crimes at emory, 2010-2012*
PAGE 3
ITS IMPLICATIONS
...
PAGE 7
GORDIWN CLASSIC... BACK PAGE
mock hearings in August and began taking cases on the first Friday of this semester. Associate Director of Student Conduct Marlon Gibson, who advises the Sorority and Fraternity Life Review Board, helped recruit and train the board members. Despite his advisory role, Gibson said he has little to no influence over the group. “I answer their questions — I like advising them,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we want them to have a lot of independence.” Two groups of eight students each
See GREEK, Page 5
NEXT ISSUE THE TIBET-EMORY PARTNERSHIP AND ITS FORMATION... TUESDAY
2
NEWS ROUNDUP National, Local and Higher Education News • Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced Monday, Sept. 30 that he is expelling three U.S. diplomats due to their alleged involvement in acts of sabotage against the South American nation. Kelly Keiderling, the top U.S. diplomat in Venezuela as the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, was among the three Maduro listed in his speech on state-run TV. After accusing the group of diplomats of meeting with and financing right-wing political opponents to his government and encouraging them to sabotage the country’s economy and electrical system, Maduro gave the three Americans 48 hours to get out of the country. • After President Barack Obama and congressional leaders failed to break a budget deadlock that led to a partial government shutdown Tuesday, Obama held White House talks with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on
THE EMORY WHEEL
NEWS
Friday, October 4, 2013
Wednesday. Boehner left the meeting complaining of the Democrats’ inability to negotiate, while Obama warned that he would not let an extremist wing hold the government to ransom. The U.S. government closed nonessential operations on Tuesday, leaving more than 700,000 employees on unpaid leave. National parks, tourist sites, government websites and office buildings were closed. • Eight passengers died after a church bus headed home to Statesville, N.C. from a gospel event in Gatlinburg, Tenn., crashed into a tractor-trailer and an SUV Wednesday afternoon. Fourteen other people were injured in the violent crash, during which the bus blew a tire and veered across a highway median. The tractor-trailer driver and one of the three passengers of the SUV were also killed. None of the victims have been identified.
— Compiled by Senior Staff Writer Lydia O’Neal
Corrections • In the previous edition of the Wheel, the article, “Law School Alumni Personal Info Taken From Emory,” said the information was “stolen” from Emory’s online databases. However, it is actually unclear how the information was accessed, and it is currently under investigation. In addition, the original version said this was discovered in early September. This is incorrect; the investigation is active. The Wheel reports and corrects all errors published in the newspaper and at emorywheel.com. Please contact Editor-in-Chief Arianna Skibell at arianna.skibell@emory.edu.
THE EMORY WHEEL Volume 95, Number 11 © 2013 The Emory Wheel
Dobbs University Center, Room 540 605 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322 Business (404) 727-6178 Editor-in-Chief Arianna Skibell (404) 727-0279 Founded in 1919, The Emory Wheel is the financially and editorially independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University in Atlanta. The Wheel is a member publication of Media Council, Emory’s organization of student publications. The Wheel reserves the rights to all content as it appears in these pages, and permission to reproduce material must be granted by the editor in chief. The Wheel is published twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions. A single copy of the Wheel is free of charge. To purchase additional copies, please call (404) 727-6178. The statements and opinions expressed in the Wheel are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Wheel Editorial Board or of Emory University, its faculty, staff or administration. The Wheel is also available online at www.emorywheel.com.
This Week In Emory History
POLICE RECORD • On Sept. 28, officers responded to a report of an individual smoking marijuana during the Fall Band Party. Officers identified a male subject but when they made contact with the individual, only the odor of marijuana was noticeable. The incident has been handed over to Campus Life. • On Sept. 27, officers responded to a call from the Alpha Kappa Alpha house. According to the report, an individual was found sleeping in the bushes in front of the house. The subject was intoxicated and Emergency Medical Services was contacted. The individual denied treatment and a friend took him back to his residence hall. The incident has been turned over to Campus Life.
• On Sept. 21 at 2:10 a.m. EPD responded to an underage person down due to alcohol in the LongstreetMeans residence hall. According to officers, the individual had slurred speech and claimed to have had consumed alcohol at both the Alpha Epsilon Phi and Kappa Alpha houses. Emergency Medical Services medically cleared the individual. Campus Life was notified.
individual was transported to Emory hospital. Campus Life was notified.
— Compiled by Asst. News Editor Dustin Slade
• On Sept. 27 at 1:15 a.m. officers responded to a call from the Few residence hall. The individual was unconscious in the lobby of the building and appeared to be intoxicated. According to the individual, she was at a Beta Theta Pi party and tried to walk back to her residence hall but was only able to make it to Few. The
Oct. 7, 1994 For Faculty Appreciation Week, students could redeem $10 vouchers to take faculty members out to lunch at campus dining locations, including the Faculty Dining Room, Caffe Antico, Cappuccino Joe’s and Woodruff Grill, among others. A panel of seven professors of various departments also held a discussion for students to voice their concerns and receive immediate feedback. At the end of the week, author of “Beyond the Culture Wars” Gerald Graff gave a lecture on teaching strategies. The week’s events helped facilitate mingling between students and faculty outside the classroom environment.
EVENTS AT EMORY FRIDAY Event: Sustainable Food Fair Time: 10:30 a.m-1 p.m. Location: Cox Hall Bridge/Asbury Circle Event: International Coffee Hour Time: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Location: DUC, Winship Ballroom Event: SmartPath V: Making Money in My Sleep — Investing Time: 12-1 p.m. Location: Harland Cinema, DUC Event: Dr. Eban Goodstein: A Discussion on Sustainability Careers and the Future of the Earth Time: 1-2 p.m. Location: Candler Library 121 Event: IM 3v3 Basketball Tournament Time: 6-9 p.m. Location: Woodruff PE Center Event: Shakespeare: I am not that I play (Gender and Disguise) Time: 7 p.m. Location: Theater Lab, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts Event: AHANA & Starving Artist Productions Present: “9 Parts of Desire” by Heather Raffo Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Burlington Road Building
SATURDAY Event: Winship Win the Fight 5K Time: 8:30-11:30 a.m. Location: McDonough Field Event: Men’s Water Polo Southeast Championships Time: 12-9 p.m. Location: Woodruff PE Center Pool Event: Schubertiad Time: 8 p.m. Location: Emerson Concert Hall, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts
SUNDAY Event: Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church Worship Time: 8:30-9:30 a.m. Location: The Little Chapel in the Church School Building Event: Athletics — Men’s Soccer Time: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Location: Woodruff PE Center Event: Emory University Worship with Mr. Richard Moore Time: 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Location: Cannon Chapel
Event: Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church Worship Time: 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Location: Glenn Sanctuary Auditorium Event: Athletics — Women’s Soccer Time: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Location: Woodruff PE Center Event: Guest Lecture by Dr. Andrea M. Berlin Time: 3-5 p.m. Location: Carlos Museum Reception Hall Event: The Gathering @ 5:05 Worship Time: 5:05-6:05 p.m. Location: Ward Fellowship Hall at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church
MONDAY Event: Queer Coffee Klatch Time: 9-11 a.m. Location: DUC E232 Event: Some Na Ceremonies-Film screening and discussion Time: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Location: Anthropology 206 Event: Tech Tools for Retirees Time: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Location: Goizueta Business School
Event: Deutscher Mittagstisch Time: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Location: Dooley’s Den in Cox Hall Food Court neben Freshens Yoghurt Event: Digital Learning: Creating a Virtual Tour with your Smartphone Time: 12-1 p.m. Location: Woodruff Library 217 Event: Peer-Tutoren (Justin Groot) Time: 12-1 p.m. Location: Modern Languages 219 Event: Freedom From Smoking Time: 4:30-6 p.m. Location: Emory Wellness Center Event: Bi/Pansexual Discussion Group Time: 6-7 p.m. Location: 232E DUC Event: DARE Hablar — Spanish Conversation Club Time: 6-7 p.m. Location: White Hall Main Lobby
THE EMORY WHEEL
NEWS
Friday, October 4, 2013
3
AWARD WINNERS: Emory alum and professor honored for accomplishments
Laney Alum Becomes MacArthur Fellow By Brandon Fuhr Contributing Writer The MacArthur Foundation named Julie Livingston (’01G) a 2013 MacArthur Fellow on Sept. 24, for which she will receive a $625,000 grant. Known as the “genius grant,” the MacArthur Fellowship awards those who portray excellent creativity in their work, the foundations website said. In 2001, Livingston graduated from the Laney Graduate School with a Ph.D. in History, according to the website of Rutgers University, where she currently teaches. Her studies included the care and treatment of chronic illnesses and debilitating ailments in Botswana. Since 2003, Livingston has taught a number of undergraduate history courses, including “The History of Southern Africa” and “The History of the AIDS Pandemic” at Rutgers University. Livingston teaches graduate courses in Women’s Studies as well. Livingston said the skills that she acquired at Emory helped prepare her for her career as a researcher and professor. “I do want to say how incredibly critical the Institute of African Studies at Emory and the history
department were in my training,” Livingston said. “[They] both encouraged and enabled the sort of crossdisciplinary perspective I use in my work.” Using her acquired skills, Livingston took what she learned at Emory and applied it to real-world problems.
“[Davis’] cutting edge work represents the essential contributions made ... to improving well-being and health.” — Lisa Tedesco, dean of Laney Graduate School Lisa Tedesco, the dean of the Laney Graduate School, said she is pleased about Livingston’s “welldeserved recognition.” “Her cutting-edge work represents the essential contributions made through interdisciplinary research and commitments to improving wellbeing and health on a global scale,” she said. She added that Livingston’s work embodies the significance of an undergraduate education.
“[Her work] is an example of how faculty work across disciplines to prepare scholar leaders in the Laney Graduate School,” Tedesco said. As Livingston continues her research, the Laney Graduate School will continue to send people into fields with a toolbox that they can use to help others and impact the world, she said. The monetary award that Livingston earned will be paid in quarterly installments for five years, according to the foundation’s website. The MacArthur Fellowship is designed so that the fiscal reward will be used for “intellectual, social and artistic endeavors.” The recipient will be free to use the money however he or she would like. John MacArthur created the MacArthur Foundation in 1970, according to the website. Each year, a pool of rotating judges nominates candidates. Usually, the judges nominate 100 candidates and award fellowships to around 25 of those nominations. The MacArthur Foundation supports individuals committed to “building a more just, verdant and peaceful world,” according to their website. — Contact Brandon Fuhr at brandon.spencer.fuhr@emory.edu
Candler Professor Receives Herty Medal By Harmeet Kaur Staff Writer Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Chemistry and Biology David Lynn is the latest recipient of the Charles H. Herty Medal, which recognizes scientists in the Southeast who have made significant contributions in research and the advancement of the chemical industry. Presented annually by the Georgia Section of the American Chemical Society, the award commemorates Charles Herty, a Georgia chemist known for his contributions to the growth of the chemical industry during the World War I era, Lynn said. Just as Charles Herty engaged the American community about the chemical industry, Lynn said he is engaging the Emory community to inform them about scientific concepts, particularly through the arts. Lynn collaborates with Emory’s theater, music and arts departments to supplement concepts that he teaches in class, he said. For example, Lynn helped organize a flash mob on campus to illustrate evolution at the molecular level. He also collaborated with the Emory Chamber Music Society to integrate music into science. Lynn said he is fortunate that the Emory community is so supportive of his “very crazy
ideas.” “Emory’s been marvelous to provide the resources and flexibility to be able explore things and to do things that are different,” Lynn said. Lynn’s lab seeks to understand the processes of chemical evolution on a molecular level. Much of this work involves molecular self-assembly, which refers to how molecules organize with respect to one another. Molecular self-assembly applies evolutionary concepts to the survival of molecular functions, Lynn said, which then helps us better understand the physical processes of evolution. “The process of understanding evolution at multiple levels gives us a different way of communicating to the society at large about how that informs the world that we live in,” Lynn said. Rigoberto Hernandez, the current chair of the Herty Award Committee and a professor of chemistry at Georgia Tech, said the decision to award Lynn the Herty Medal stemmed from his advances in understanding molecular chemistry. He also noted Lynn’s interdisciplinary teaching approach and his work in engaging the community. “He’s done a significant amount of work in providing outreach activities to students in K-12 and engaging and motivating them to become scien-
tists,” Hernandez said. Lynn, along with Emory Theater professor Leslie Taylor, also leads a freshman seminar called On Recent Discoveries by Emory Researchers (ORDER), which brings in graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to teach students about research happening at Emory. Lynn said this was part of a greater university movement to create innovative ways of collaborating. According to him, it is important to work together to find ways of “integrating and taking advantage of the diversity our community represents,” which is critical to advancing scientific understanding. “As a university community, I think we can take great lessons from the contributions that people like Herty made in the past for how we can move forward in the future,” Lynn said. Emory Professor of Pedagogy Arri Eisen said he and Lynn have collaborated on several science-arts initiatives. “[Lynn]’s been a real transformative force for getting people to think about science in different ways,” Eisen said. “I think we just have a great appreciation for the value of science in our everyday lives.”
— Contact Harmeet Kaur at hbhagra@emory.edu
LOCAL
Residents Call DeKalb Police With Noise Complaints During Concert By Stephen Fowler Contributing Writer More than 30 noise complaints were called in to the Emory Police Department (EPD) during Danny Avila’s Sept. 27 performance on McDonough Field as part of Swoop’s Week, according to EPD. The noise from Spanish electronic dance music (EDM) performer Danny Avila’s concert traveled as far as the Morningside neighborhood, more than three miles from the Emory campus, according to a Sept. 30 Midtown Patch article. “The noise from [the concert] was nearly unbearable and affected the entire neighborhood,” an anony-
mous Zimmer Drive resident wrote in a letter obtained by the Wheel, which circulated the neighborhood. “If we don’t protest, it’ll continue happening.” The resident was one of many who alerted EPD that night, as more than 30 callers dialed 911 to complain about the noise from the concert, Emory police said. The Student Programming Council (SPC), which organized Swoop’s Week, applied for a sound permit to host the concert, according to Jill Camper, associate director of student leadership and programming in the Office of Student Leadership and Service. Camper, who is also the advi-
sor to SPC, outlined in an email to the Wheel the exact process taken to ensure compliance with city ordinances. “Since Emory is located in DeKalb County, the Student Programming Council must follow DeKalb County city ordinances with each event they put on,” Camper said. “For the balls, SPC applies for a sound permit to host the event until midnight.” Other restrictions include working with a production crew to minimize noise traveling outside of campus and keeping the sound less than 100 decibels on the stage. The resident’s letter further outlines a number of offices and Emory administrators to contact in protest
of the noise, including Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Ajay Nair and University President James W. Wagner. “Both their inboxes need to be flooded with angry complaints for sanctioning such nonsense,” the resident wrote. DeKalb County government was also a target for the neighborhood letter’s displeasure for authorizing “such a public nuisance.” This is not the first time SPC has hosted a concert that sparked noise complaints. According to Camper, after rebuilding the stage in 2008, SPC received a number of serious complaints during the course of a year,
similar in nature to Friday night’s event. “To help mitigate the concerns, we hired a sound engineer to help reposition speakers to ensure that more sound was absorbed by McDonough Field and campus buildings, such as the [Woodruff P.E. Center and Few and Evans Residence Halls],” Camper said. Camper then offered an apology on behalf of SPC for the “inconveniences” Friday night’s concert caused for local residents, and noted that they are taking the noise complaints seriously. “We can assure [the local residents] we are already looking into ways to help decrease noise for future
events,” Camper said. Some Emory students said that they were surprised with the noise complaints given the nature of the concert. “Sure it’s loud, but it’s a concert,” College junior Lauren Krucke said. “I don’t think it was excessive.” College freshman Kayley Scruggs attributes the potential cause of the complaints to the size of McDonough Field. “It was just as noisy as any concert I’ve been to,” Scruggs commented. “It wasn’t even as loud as most EDM shows, but those have been in enclosed venues.”
— Contact Stephen Fowler at smfowle@emory.edu
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THE EMORY WHEEL
NEWS
Friday, October 4, 2013
EVENT
WONDERFUL TREATS
Religious Speaker Postponed Due to Shutdown By Alyssa Posklensky Contributing Writer
Dawa Tsering/Contributor
A
s usual, Wonderful Wednesday provided students with treats, ranging from frozen yogurt to King of Pops. Sexual Assault Peer Advocates (SAPA) also had a booth where they sold shot glasses that promoted consensual sex.
In light of this week’s federal government shutdown, a talk scheduled for this Friday, featuring Shaun Casey, the head of the U.S. Department of States new Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives, has been postponed, according to an Oct. 1 Emory Press Release. A rescheduled date will depend on how long the shutdown lasts. Casey was scheduled to give a talk about religion, sponsored by the Graduate Division of Religion along with the Laney Graduate School, Candler School of Theology and the Department of Religion, according to the press release. Carl Holladay, the C.H. Candler professor of New Testament of the Candler School of Theology, said Casey had notified the department during the weekend that it was possible his visit to Emory would be postponed in the event of a
government shutdown. According to the U.S. Department of State website, the Office of FaithBased Community Initiatives works with faith-based communities to advance American diplomacy and development objectives through initiatives to engage faith-based communities respectfully and responsibly. Bobbi Patterson, professor of pedagogy in the Department of Religion, said that this is the first time the State Department has named an officer to increase inter-religious understanding. She said she believes this is a significant moment in the State Department because they have acknowledged that religion is crucial to the future of the planet. As a school with a nationally recognized religion department, Patterson said that she feels Emory is well positioned to be the first school Casey addresses. “It may be that future relationships
with the work of this officer and his goals will integrate with Emory, including the Carter Center. We are poised for such innovative steps,” Patterson said. The State Department’s initiative has resonance with the Emory Graduate Division of Religion’s concentrations in Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding, according to Carol Newsom, C.H. Candler professor of Old Testament and director of the Graduate Division of Religion. Holladay said the purpose of the program is “to explore the connections between religion and public, especially foreign policy.” Holladay said that naturally, they were disappointed by the postponement because excitement had been building around the talk. Patterson said that Casey was simply “caught in the current government stalemate.” — Contact Alyssa Posklensky at alyssa.posklensky@emory.edu
ADMINISTRATION
New Campus Life Office Plans Events for International Students By Rupsha Basu Asst. News Editor Emory has created a new department under the Division of Campus Life to provide a space for international students on campus. Coordinator for International Student Life Natalie Cruz joined Emory this summer and is spearheading the efforts of the Office of International Student Life (OISL), which is located on the second floor of the Dobbs University Center (DUC). According to Cruz, in 2008, nationwide budget cuts that coincided with an influx of international students may have increased the demand for programs to support these students on campuses. At Emory, international students account for more than 25 percent of all undergraduate and graduate divisions and come from more than 120 countries, according to Emory’s website. Cruz said there is a disconnect between international and domestic
students on campus, and said she hopes to improve the situation. She has already begun collaborating with a number of on-campus organizations to do so.
“I think that the new office has definitely become a vital resource for international students.” — Zhe Wu, Goizueta Business School junior
In November the OISL, in conjunction with the Barkley Forum, Emory’s debate team, will host a debate tournament for non-native English speaks, according to Cruz. Additionally, the department plans to work with the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life to provide information sessions geared toward international students with the hopes of
attracting them to Greek recruitment. “I don’t think it’s anybody’s fault, but sometimes it really takes us who live here and are comfortable with the culture reaching out to the students,” Cruz said. He added international students told her that American students have not been welcoming and international students are unsure what to talk about with them. One of the department’s main goals for this academic year is to modify the orientation program for international students. In the past, orientation has lasted only a day, which makes it difficult for international students to overcome jetlag, according to Cruz. Zhe Wu, a Goizueta Business School junior who grew up a few hours outside Shanghai, has helped make a number of changes to the orientation and introduction of international students. Due to Wu’s efforts since his arrival at Emory in 2011,international students are now greeted at the airport with care packages. Wu conducted a sociological
survey asking international students what they thought could be improved. Based on the results, he sent a list of 10 recommendations to the University administration. Wu said much of the new department’s efforts are a result of his survey. “I think that the new office has definitely become a vital resource for international students,” Wu said. “I think international students have become part of the Emory spirit and the Emory culture [since I got here].” According to Wu, the development of a Chinese newsletter and other community services are two ways international students contribute to the community. The Division of Campus Life focuses more on undergraduate students, but Cruz hopes OISL will appeal to international students from all divisions. Additionally, Cruz said, international students participate more in the Emory community undergraduate level than in the graduate schools because of a difference in mindset. “Graduate students view it very
much as ‘I’m here to get a job,’” she said. “I think that the undergraduate students tend to get a little bit better integrated; a big part of that [is] living in the residence hall.” While the OISL was designed as a
“... Being able to have strong relationships with people who are totally different from you is a huge benefit.” — Natalie Cruz, coordinator for International Student Life space for international students to feel welcome and comfortable at Emory, it is also a vehicle through which domestic students can get to know people they would not normally meet otherwise, Cruz said. “In our interconnected world, learning about different cultures and
being able to have strong relationships with people who are totally different from you is a huge benefit,” she said. Contributing to the community includes becoming familiar with the greater Atlanta area. International students can attend events around the Atlanta area through the office, the next one of which is an Atlanta Silverbacks — the local soccer team — game. Wu added that newer international students tend to be more willing to explore new opportunities because of the existence of the new office and its consistent, weekly efforts to involve the students. Cruz also said she hopes to implement a language partner program for both international and domestic students in the near future. “One of the most beautiful things about international students is that there is no cap on their potential to contribute to the Emory spirit,” Wu said.
— Contact Rupsha Basu at rupsha.basu@emory.edu
THE EMORY WHEEL
NEWS
Friday, October 4, 2013
KICKLINE IN THE CIRCLE
Wagner Says Universities Move Toward Improving Education Continued from Page 1 horse before the cart.” The president’s new system plans to focus on workforce success and rank colleges based on the number of graduates that obtain and keep jobs. With the new rankings recently released by the U.S. News and World Report, more emphasis has already been placed on graduation rates. Emory University President James W. Wagner said that this proposal is a demonstration of our country working towards improving its system of higher education. Although the new system still presents itself with several flaws, students would benefit greatly from this information. In an email to the Wheel, Paul Fowler, executive director of Emory’s career center, said that Emory guarantees a “return on investment” for its education. A recent survey done in 2013 by the career center on fiveyear post-grad resolutions for Emory college graduates showed that over 73 percent of graduates are seeking out graduate or professional school,
employment and internships after graduation. The new ranking system also intends to create incentives for universities to work on accessibility and affordability. Dean Bentley, Emory’s director of financial aid, said that this proposal would set ranking standards and link the standards back to a university’s financial aid. Yet there are those, especially on Emory Secrets, who complain that Emory’s financial aid fails to measure up to its reputation. However, Bentley said the average undergraduate need-based scholarship or grant is approximately $33,833 and in 2012, Kiplinger rated Emory as one of the best valuedprivate colleges. However, this new plan also seems to have a dark side as other private universities like the College of William and Mary have voiced a possibility of a ‘shame list.’ They fear that perverse incentives will force universities to reject ‘at-risk’ students and ‘dumb’ down various standards in order to obtain
higher rankings. Wagner said that it would be unwise to say that this won’t affect Emory. “A lot of academic leadership are provided by schools like Emory, it would be wrong for us to say that this really isn’t going to rock our boat so we aren’t going to take a position, that’s why I say with concern that no I don’t think this will pervert what Emory does,” Wagner said. But as a higher institution it is Emory’s duty to not sit back and watch as other Universities succumb to such incentives. With this said, Wagner states that Emory will voice its opinion should the time come when we start to see such effects hurting this ranking system. “[Emory has] a responsibility, as part of the American university system to not sit on the sidelines, just because we might not be directly affected [by these perverse incentives]” Wagner said.
—Contact Ashley Bianco at ashley.bianco@emory.edu
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tudents celebrated the Tibet-themed Wonderful Wednesday by dancing around the middle of Asbury Circle to Tibetan music. Other clubs like the Hindu Students Association and the Indian dance team SaRaas sold samosas and mango lassi as refreshments.
Underwood Says Students, Faculty Parking Illegally Is Probably Not the Issue Audience Asks About Dept. Changes
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parking allocation problem.” Compared to last year, Clements said, a higher percentage of students are using their permits. Additionally, students’ arrival and departure times have changed since last year. “We tend to have to put together the puzzle after ... we see the impact on parking demand,” Underwood said. Sorting out the puzzle is not easy for the parking department. Underwood said that the division parcels parking permits after careful analysis of students, Emory Healthcare employees, faculty and others’ arrival and departure times. Since the largest variable is the student group, they said, a shift in the way students use their permits has a larger impact on the parking demand. “Students have always been the group with the largest turnover,”
Clements said. “They go to class and leave. They don’t usually stay. [Now,] they are coming and staying.” Michael St. and Peavine have similar user group ratios, they said, which may explain the nearly identical increase in demand. Clements, who handles the data aspects of the department, said it is important to figure out which user group is experiencing changes in order to reallocate permits appropriately. “Campus is so dynamic,” Underwood said. “We always try to be as agile as possible and be ready to react to surprises ... and hopefully react quickly enough that we minimize the inconvenience to our customers.” At this point, Clements and Underwood said that given these changes, a reexamination and subsequent alteration of permit allocations is necessary for January.
“We have fixed the short-term problem,” Underwood said. “The next step is to go back to the bigmodel and ask, ‘Okay, now we have a new reality. So what do we need to change permanently?’” Underwood said that illegal, permit-less parkers are probably not the root of the issue. “Overall ... I don’t feel like there is an overwhelming number of violators,” Underwood said, considering the number of tickets her department has issued. “I think we have probably the same violation patterns as we had last year. I don’t think that is a significant problem.” She did say that there is always a chance that the lack of vacancy spots may be because of people parking illegally. “That is always a possibility,” she said. “We work really hard to try to stay ahead of that kind of thing.”
According to Underwood, there is an enforcement program in place, which includes a license plate recognition system and a system of checking permits in all the decks in the middle of the night, when many students leave their unauthorized vehicles in the parking decks. Underwood said she understands that people jump to the conclusion that there are not enough parking spaces because drivers are parking their cars illegally. Regardless of the complaint, Underwood and Clements said they encourage more feedback from their customers. “The goal is to use the parking assets as efficiently as possible,” Underwood said. “We just want people to get where they’re going. College junior Michelle York said she recently observed a “significant decrease in the number of available spots” in Peavine. “On days I have shown up [around
10 a.m.], I have generally been unable to find a spot,” she wrote in an email to the Wheel. “All of my friends have experienced this as well. I’ve found that if it is after 9:30 a.m., it is almost better to walk from my apartment because you are not guaranteed to find a spot, even on the uppermost level.” York said she believes the department should either “dramatically decrease” the cost of parking in order to justify the lack of spots or build another lot on campus. College senior Misha Sharp also said she feels it is more difficult to park in Peavine this year. “I’ve driven around for [at a maximum] 20 minutes looking for a parking spot in both Peavine garages before giving up,” she wrote in an email to the Wheel. “[However], the Emory parking staff are very nice and helpful when asked.”
judicial affairs. “Our main goal is not to be punitive, but ultimately to educate Greek organizations or members on how to learn from their choices,” he said, referring to the entire board’s objectives. The board may assign Greek organizations or individuals guilty of breaching conduct a warning, an organizational improvement plan or, in the most severe cases, social probation. For the formal warning, described in more detail in the official 201314 Code of Conduct, Sorority and Fraternity Life Review Board sends a written notice to the organization or individual in question informing them of the violation and demanding that they do not repeat the action. The organizational improvement plan, according to Gibson, requires Greeks who have violated conduct to create a strategy for fixing the issue that brought them to the board. For example, the organization might hold an educational seminar on risk management or host a speaker on the specific area of conduct violation. Finally, a social probation would ban, for an amount of time specified by the board, any hosting of events sponsored by the organization. Emily Caesar, a College senior affiliated with an ISC chapter, said “it makes sense that Greek members are a part of the hearing process.” “I just hope the punishment is not too light-hearted,” Caesar said. “There still have to be repercussions for the decisions people make.” Allowing Greek students themselves to decide on such consequences for their peers “gives students a chance to see both sides of how things work,” Arthur Doctor, the assistant director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, said. “It began as a conversation between our office and Conduct as a way for Greek organizations to self-govern,” he said, adding that the equal representation of all four councils “gives members a chance to interact with students of other chapters.” Before the implementation of SFLRB, Livingston added, the Office of Student Conduct or the judicial board of each respective council would hold hearings for conduct violation matters involving Greek organizations. The addition of the new board will help speed up the hearing process by eliminating the need to determine which group would review the incident on a case-by-case basis.
on and are subsequently named “Learning through Instruction,” “Learning through Innovation” and “Learning through Integration,” Fivush announced at the Fall Forum on the Liberal Arts held Monday in Cox Hall Ballroom. The subcommittees’ names represent the fact that learning is at the heart of any university and its decision making, she said. According to Fivush, the commission wants representative yet manageable subcommittees that contain about 15 members each. These subcommittees will meet to discuss mandates and develop goals for liberal arts on Emory’s campus, working closely with the Executive Council, a group of board members who are in charge of general university affairs, she said. The Fall Forum “emphasize[d] the importance of faculty, staff and student voice in the process of change,” according to its website. The forum outlined Emory’s aim to move forward with the discussion of liberal arts and stated that this was to start with CoLA’s subcommittees. The forum’s panel consisted of University President James W. Wagner, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Wright Caughman, Dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences Robin Forman, Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Ajay Nair, and Board of Trustees member Laura Hardman. Although many topics were covered, the audience’s questions predominately concerned the future steps of the commission. Katherine Bryant, a fifth-year neuroscience graduate student, asked the panel how this forum related to the department changes announced last fall and how it would affect their futures. In response, Wagner promoted the idea that to reach its highest potential, we must focus on areas where we may “excel” and therefore must work “within the confines of the resources we have.” Caughman added later that it is not a question of doing more with less, but is rather about doing our best with what Emory has. Other topics discussed included Emory’s generosity in practice, the importance of residence and graduate students to the liberal arts at Emory and the shift in educational systems due to last year’s program cuts. After the forum, College senior David Mullins said he wondered whether or not liberal arts professors were part of the conversation. Kwame Phillips, an eighth-year Emory graduate student, said that he felt this forum was a positive opportunity for starting dialogue but was a missed opportunity as the conversation felt more like a “back-patting” exercise than a productive discussion. Forman, on the other hand, said the forum was not meant to be an answer to all questions but rather the beginning of a dialogue. Wagner agreed with Forman’s statements and said that the forum was more of a way to open discussion than a way to solve every problem that has arisen in the past surrounding Emory’s liberal arts. Wagner added that he hopes the depth of questions asked at the forum mirrored the importance of the issues present surrounding liberal arts at Emory. “We really don’t know what the outcome is going to be,” Fivush said at the closing of the event, adding that “this will be a year of discovery” and that she is excited to engage in this process.
— Contact Lydia O’Neal at lmoneal@emory.edu
— Contact Naomi Maisel at namaise@emory.edu
—Contact Karishma Mehrotra at kmehrot@emory.edu
Increased Stats Greek Conduct Board Works to May Be Due to Prevent Hazing, Sexual Assault Better Reporting Continued from Page 1
Continued from Page 1 she wrote in an email to the Wheel. “It is really only the sexual assault statistic that scares me. While drinking and doing drugs are personal decisions, a ‘forcible sex offense’ isn’t something that I, or any other student, can control in our own lives — and that definitely scares me.” She added that the rise may be due to an increased “effort to realistically portray what is actually going on around campus” because she hasn’t seen student behavior change that much in three years. “I think that Emory as a whole is a pretty safe place to be — at least I always feel safe, but I would say that with regards to sexual assault I think that more could be done,” she wrote. “I think that it starts with accurately reporting all sexual crimes on campus, despite how that might look for the University.” Averill also said Emory should place more emphasis on organizations like the Sexual Assault Prevention Association. College junior Anusha Ravi, vice president of advocate management for Sexual Assault Peer Advocates (SAPA) , wrote in an email to the Wheel that she highly doubts that the increase in numbers indicates a rise in offenses. “There’s no concrete evidence to prove that more rapes and sexual assaults are taking place,” Ravi wrote. “However, there is strong evidence that groups on campus are promoting more awareness for the issues of sexual assault and rape and are educating students on how to report and their options after an assault.”
—Contact Karishma Mehrotra at kmehrot@emory.edu and Dustin Slade at dpslade@emory.edu
make up the board, according to Gibson. Within each group of eight, two students represent each of the four councils: the Intersorority Council (ISC), Interfraternity Council (IFC), Multicultural Greek Council (MCG) and National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). According to Gibson, the first group of eight holds hearings for Greek individuals or organizations accused of violating conduct. Before Sorority and Fraternity Life Review Board receives the case, Assistant Dean for Campus Life and Director of Student Conduct Eric Hoffman reviews it first. If Hoffman determines the case too tedious for the peer review process, he hands it to Gibson. If Hoffman considers the case too serious for a board of Greek students, the Conduct Council takes over. The entire board reviews the case for a week before coming to a consensus, upon which the former group convenes to determine the individual’s or organization’s responsibility, Gibson said. The second eight-member group, which Gibson referred to as an “educational outreach” group, works with Greek organizations and individuals who have breached conduct to prevent such violations from reoccurring. Organizations can also meet voluntarily with this group if they are interested in working on risk management, according to Gibson. Within this group, three students work specifically on hazing prevention, three on sexual assault prevention and two on risk management awareness. “The board is necessary as an outreach of education,” Gibson said. “We want to make sure we’re working to educate Greek organizations on risk management.” College senior Nate Causey, president of Sigma Nu and vice president of Judicial Affairs for IFC, said that he applied to become an SFLRB member because he wanted “a handson role in holding Greek organizations accountable.” Though Causey, a member of the group handling hearings, was not at liberty to reveal details of cases, he said “each one is tough, because it can involve poor decisions and holding your peers accountable for their actions.” After three weeks on SFLRB, he said he has already handled more cases than he dealt with throughout his first term — the entire spring 2013 semester — as vice president of
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EDITORIALS THE EMORY WHEEL
Friday, October 4, 2013 Editorials Editor: Priyanka Krishnamurthy (pkrish4@emory.edu)
Our Opinion
International Office Proves Wise
CONTRIBUTE Email: pkrish4@emory.edu
Max Cohen
Max Cohen’s cartoons have become a staple at the the Emory Wheel. He is a second-year medical school student from Brooklyn, N.Y.
A Much Needed Feature on Emory’s Campus This year, Emory’s Division of Campus Life opened a new office to provide support for the international students that attend our university. Not only will the Office of International Student Life (OISL) strive to welcome international students once they arrive on campus, but it will also host events geared toward these students throughout their Emory career. We at the Wheel are glad to see a division of campus life dedicated to helping international students transition to Emory’s campus. We believe this office will be integral in not only helping international students thrive, but also in playing a role in further collaboration and socialization between domestic and international students. Often there exists a cultural barrier that prevents domestic and international students from getting to know one other. Especially in the first year at Emory, these barriers can be hard to overcome. We hope the OISL will play an integral role in helping both groups of students participate in positive dialogue. Although many students have strived to bridge the gap, so to speak, there is only so much students on their own can accomplish. Offices like OISL have the financial resources to put on programs and host events that can facilitate connections both between students and students, and students and the university. We recognize that students may feel hesitant about “offices” as the word connotates a formalized space. To combat this student-borne fear of formal offices, we encourage OISL and similar programs to be proactive about welcoming students into their spaces. For instance, OISL could work with certain students as ambassadors, and have them reach out to fellow students to attend programs.We feel that the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services (OMPS), which provides services geared toward making Emory a more inclusive community, does a particularly good job of welcoming students into its office. Located in the DUC, OMPS’s office usually resembles a lounge of sorts, and is promoted as such by OMPS staff. We suggest that OISL endeavor to replicate this atmosphere in its own office.
Editorial Roundup College editorials from across the country The Harvard Crimson Harvard University Tuesday, October 1, 2013 In its staff editorial, “Smolder the Smoking Ban” The Harvard Crimson discusses the problematic nature of Harvard’s smoking ban. They argue that the ban threatens the rights and liberty of Cambridge’s lower class citizens. They understand the negative externalities that come with smoking tobacco; however, they argue that individuals have a right to their own bodies, therefore it is their choice as to whether they should smoke or not. Last week, the commissioners on the Cambridge Housing Authority voted 3-1 to ban smoking in public housing buildings, forcing low-income residents to leave the privacy of their own homes before they light up. Public housing buildings are owned by the government, and the government—and that means taxpayers—has the right to make the right to live in public housing conditional upon certain stipulations. That said, this is a serious infringement on the liberty of those who rely on taxpayer assistance for housing. The fact that the ban applies to those from low-income backgrounds makes the new regulation even less tenable, as the Cambridge Housing Authority unfairly makes it such that the prohibition of smoking in one’s own abode only applies to those without the means to independently purchase their own house or apartment. We believe that individuals have a right over their own bodies, and an outright ban of smoking—other than a Pigovian tax for public health
reasons—threatens the relationship between a government and the citizens whose rights it was elected to protect. It becomes especially difficult to support this restriction when all the facts are considered. Many tenants in public housing are elderly, implying that the government has taken the measure that robs these residents of a right they have enjoyed their entire lives. Certainly, smoking—especially in a densely populated urban area—creates public health concerns, and it is understandable that the Cambridge Housing Authority wishes to establish better living conditions for those who make the conscious decision not to smoke. Yet, as instituted, the ban on smoking in public housing strikes as a simple case of tyranny of the majority. The Cambridge Housing Authority should instead set up designated non-smoking housing, instead of forcing those who do smoke to leave the confines of their home for the solace of a cigarette. Those whose circumstances force them to live in low-income housing should be neither punished nor shamed, and it is hard to imagine this restriction acting as anything but a repetitious indication that others have control over such a fundamental aspect of their lives. Everyone has the right to feel at home in his place of residence. This ban threatens that right and reminds those living in public housing that their liberty is in jeopardy on all fronts. Regardless of lung cancer rates, such a menace does not a healthy community make.
Priyanka Pai | Staff
One Senate, ‘Under God’ Chaplain Blurs Line Between State and Faith ROBERT WEISBLATT
Since its signing in 1789, the articles and amendments of the United States Constitution have been the guiding force for American political discourse. One of the primary principles from the Constitution that still enters the public sphere is the separation of church and state as ensured by Article VI. Despite this assertion, there are still several inconsistencies and gray areas surrounding the role of religion in modern American government. A lesserHE MORY HEEL known example of this rests with the elected Arianna Skibell EDITOR-IN-CHIEF position of United States Senate Chaplain. This position dates back to the first meeting Jordan Friedman Executive Editor of the Senate on April 25, 1789, and each Volume 95 | Number 11 Lane Billings Managing Editor subsequent Congress has elected a delegate to fill this position. News Editor Features Editor Business and Advertising Nicholas Sommariva Nick Bradley The Chaplain is elected by a majority Editorials Editor Copy Chief Akeel Williams BUSINESS MANAGER vote among Senate members and fulfills his Priyanka Krishnamurthy Sonam Vashi Sports Editor Blaire Chennault Sales Manager Associate Editors position by offering spiritual counseling to Ryan Smith Justin Groot Maggie Daorai Design Manager Student Life Editor Senators and their families, as well as inauguVincent Xu Jenna Kingsley Emily Lin rating sessions of the Senate with a traditional Account Executives Arts & Entertainment Editor Nathaniel Ludewig Emelia Fredlick Bryce Robertson, Lena Erpaiboon, Salaar Ahmed, prayer. The government claims that the posiOnline Editor Photo Editor Christopher Hwang Przybylski, Annabelle Zhuno, Julia Ross Fogg James Crissman tion is open to members of any religious faith; Leonardos Asst. News Editors Business/Advertising Office Number however, thus far, every elected Chaplain Karishma Mehrotra (404) 727-6178 Dustin Slade has been of a Christian denomination. The Rupsha Basu current Senate Chaplain is Barry C. Black, a Seventh-Day-Adventist. The official government website for the The Emory Wheel welcomes letters and op-ed submissions from the Emory community. U.S. Senate provides a directory of pages that Letters should be limited to 300 words and op-eds should be limited to 700. Those selected explain the positions and duties of various may be shortened to fit allotted space or edited for grammar, punctuation and libelous content. elected members of the Senate. Submissions reflect the opinions of individual writers and not of the Wheel Editorial Board On the page for the Senate Chaplain, or Emory University. Send e-mail to askibel@emory.edu or postal mail to The Emory Wheel, the Chaplain’s Office is described as such: Drawer W, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga. 30322. “throughout the years, the United States Senate has honored the historic separation
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of Church and State, but not the separation of God and State ... During the past two hundred and seven years, all sessions of the Senate have been opened with prayer, strongly affirming the Senate’s faith in God as Sovereign Lord of our Nation ... The office of the Chaplain is nonpartisan, nonpolitical and nonsectarian.” The fact that an official government website provides this information is a massive problem. The description of the Senate Chaplain is riddled with unclear language and logical fallacies. First of all, the excerpt starts by noting that the government endorses a difference between the words ‘church’ and ‘God.’ Although these are clearly words with specifically different meanings, when they are used in the context of describing the relationship between faith and politics, they become increasingly similar. Distinguishing between the two in their relation to government is an extremely subjective task and one that should not be undertaken by a government web site. Secondly, proclaiming the position of Senate Chaplain as nonpolitical and nonsectarian is simply nonsensical. This is an elected position of government that functions within one of the houses of Congress, thus calling it nonpolitical is an illogical inversion of where and why the position exists. The Chaplain is a spiritual aid for political figures, thus making the position political in nature. Although the Chaplain may counsel these politicians with a very general sense of faith, Barry C. Black is a proclaimed Seventh-Day-Adventist (Christian denomination) making him hardly
nonsectarian. These logical errors in word choice are certainly off-putting. The truly troublesome part of the Chaplain’s description, however, is its sweeping remark that all members of the U.S. Senate acknowledge God as their sovereign. The purpose of the Chaplain’s prayer is described as being necessary to affirm this acknowledgement in each of these Senators. This is an irrefutable abuse of a representative government that claims to deliberate on behalf of continuants from all religious faiths, and some with no specific faith at all. The imposition of God in political spheres is pervasive in forms such as printed money or the Pledge of Allegiance. However, neither of these are factors in the legislative process. In a time when our government is demonstrating potential instability, it is in the best interest of American citizens to be fully aware of the foundations that are established throughout our government, especially in Congress. In the wake of the government shutdown on Monday, Senate Chaplain Black preached on the Senate floor: “Eternal God, our ever present help in trouble, as our nation stumbles toward a seemingly unavoidable government shutdown, keep our lawmakers from sowing to the wind, thereby risking reaping the whirlwind.” If this position is truly “nonpartisan, nonpolitical and nonsectarian,” and if our government claims to respect the separation of church and state, then it is not at all appropriate that in the wake of a shutdown, our Congress turns to prayer. Robert Weisblatt is a College junior from Belle Mead, N.J.
THE EMORY WHEEL
Friday, October 4, 2013
OP ED
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Government Shutdown: Revelations and Implications Despite Problems, Progress in Congress REBECCA BERGE
Katrina Worsham | Staff
Systematic Issues: No Surprises Here LOGAN LOCKNER Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator who reclaimed the former seat of Ted Kennedy for the Democratic Party last year, opened her remarks to the Senate on Sept. 30 by saying, “Madame President, I come to the floor today in a state of disbelief...” She then continued to list various consequences — which we now all know have come to pass — resulting from the impending government shutdown. The brand of incredulity Warren uses to frame her argument is a classic rhetorical device, useful in its effects and simple in its execution. Disbelief (or at least a claim of disbelief) distances one’s actions from those of one’s opponent, creating a disputatious environment where there was none or — as is obviously the case here — intensifying the charged dynamics of rhetorical combat. Importantly, this claim of disbelief also rejects culpability, serving as an attempt to deny any accountability for or familiarity with the situation being addressed. I am not singling out Warren because I disagree with her politics — in fact, quite the opposite — but because I find her incredulity hackneyed, unchallenging and quite boring. Ultimately, how genuinely shocked by this turn of events can any of us claim to be? In the ideologically rigid climate that has defined American politics for at least the last decade and a half, impasse and indecision have become this country’s legislative procedures. There is no reason that anyone familiar with the fierce, blindly partisan Congressional politics of both the Bush and
Obama administrations should be surprised at all by what happened this past Monday night (nor by the name calling and mudslinging that have ensued in the following days). This shutdown, no matter how long it lasts, is just another punctuation mark in an ever expanding, increasingly tedious narrative of American political brinkmanship. It remains easy and obvious for politicians of both parties, as well as for the public they aspire to represent, to affect a stance of disbelief. At this point, however, the rhetoric of incredulity and the discourse of disintegration and separateness it represents are exasperatingly obsolete. As we judiciously (though somewhat selfrighteously) bemoan the essential government services eviscerated by this legislative indecision, should we not also consider the fact that the system we live in — the system we have accepted and, in our complicity, helped to construct — was primed for these problems already? This is not to say that the government shutdown is anything short of a catastrophe, but we should also consider that the larger catastrophe is the systematic injustice we have allowed to infiltrate our civic institutions, on both state and federal levels. It’s not as if the political priorities that are now being revealed in this state of partial shutdown — that drones continue to fly and deportation continues to occur as WIC and Head Start cease to offer their services — are anything new. These plans existed before midnight on Sept. 30, and as we (justifiably) attack House Republicans for their supreme capacities for deliberate inattention to injustice in this country, we cannot neglect to remember that we, the
proverbial people, though perhaps through passive ignorance and distraction, have allowed for these legislators to govern our country in this fashion. Our own inattention to injustice, to poverty, to inequality, is no excuse for us to now form a self-righteous, incredulous public that has distanced itself from the decision made in our nation’s capital Monday night. In a country that is governed by privilege, political and economical but also psychological, it is possible for legislators to continue being paid even as the government technically runs out of funds, even as millions of their constituents continue living without income or sustained employment. (Though not, it should be noted, without health care.) This privilege is not accidental but is rather the product of a carefully constructed and maintained system. The current shutdown may constitute a failure of that system, but given the events of the past week, it seems that this was a system built to fail precisely in this way. Certain privileged groups (including those individuals directly responsible for the shutdown) are impervious to the detrimental effects of that failure. Yes, Yosemite and the Smithsonian are closed and the Panda Cam is shut off, but in many ways, this is a continuation of an uninterrupted story of privilege, inequality and injustice in America. This is a catastrophe that occurred not in one fell legislative swoop at the stroke of midnight, but by increments of inattention and incredulity over the course of decades. No surprises here.
Logan Lockner is a College senior from Jonesborough, Tenn.
“What Has Congress Done?” This was the title of a provocative flyer advertising an event, taped to the front doors of Tarbutton Hall. I was struck by the timeliness of the event — planned months in advance by the Political Institutions and Methodology Working Group (PIM) — which was a colloquium led by Stephen Ansolabehere, a well-known researcher and Professor of Government at Harvard University. The colloquium took place on Tuesday, the first day of the government’s fiscal year. And as everyone on Facebook should know, this particular Tuesday marked Day One of the “government shutdown.” With current events on my mind, the question on the flyer read like an indictment of the institution. Little did I suspect that Ansolabehere had planned a very different kind of lecture. Here is a brief recap of the drama, if you happened to look past those particular comments on your newsfeed. A lot of Republicans in Congress have been vocal in their opposition to Obamacare. This attitude was evident in Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) controversial faux filibuster on the floor of the Senate. In a last-ditch, kamikaze effort to avoid the inevitable, the Republican-controlled House passed amendments to its yearly spending bill. These amendments rendered the passage of the federal budget conditional: The budget can pass once the health care law is stripped of its funding. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), after pointing out that the Democrat-controlled Senate would never pass the spending bill with the offending amendments, closed Congress over the weekend but reopened it only two hours before the midnight deadline in an attempt to pass the amended budget. In the meantime, the Senate produced a clean budget bill, without unrelated amendments. In short: neither bill was passed. The government shut down. Obamacare went into effect on the same day. It would seem to many that the “power of the purse” is in the hands of a defunct legislature. Attaching the Obamacare provision to the yearly spending bill was a dubious political move and not one supported by all of the Republican congressmen. Cruz represented only one faction within the Republican Party when he recited Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham” on the floor of the Senate. Many recognized the pointlessness of holding the spending bill hostage for the sake of yet another anti-Obamacare demonstration. Here was a case of Tea Party members grandstanding for the entertainment of their own political base. The split interests of his party certain-
ly put the Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner in a difficult position: either bring the clean Senate bill to the floor of the House for an up-or-down vote in capitulation to Democratic demands, or succumb to the pull of the far right wing of his party. In short, the far right hijacked the Republican Party in the House, and a high-stakes political standoff ensued. Unfortunately for everyone, political feather fluffing took precedent over governance. The divided House did not stand. Now might be a good time to return to the question, “What has Congress done?” According to Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress is supposed to fund the government. Last Tuesday is not the first time that Congress has failed to do this. In light of this much-publicized development, how can the public expect Congress to pass any useful legislation at all? It’s tempting to decry the 113th Congress as “the worst Congress ever,” or to give up altogether and move to Canada. But Congress has never been popular. Ansolabehere began Tuesday’s colloquium by reminding us that Congress has been “pilloried since 1789.” Mark Twain was appealing to the popular conception of politicians when he wrote “Cannibalism in the Cars,” a short story in which a train is derailed in the mountains during a snowstorm. When rescuers finally reach the train, they find only a Congressman — the sole survivor. He has survived by “electing” his fellow passengers to be eaten. However, that wasn’t the subject of Ansolabehere’s lecture. Instead, he spent an hour and a half talking about what Congress has done. Although in the last few decades, Congress has passed progressively less legislation, it is still, even now, passing more legislation per session than it did for the first 200 years of its existence. Not only that, but the bills that are passed nowadays are more complex than ever before. For example, while the Pacific Coast Railway Act of 1862 was only a few paragraphs long, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is hundreds of pages long, divided over nearly 11,000 sections. Although you might not know it by skimming your Facebook newsfeed, legislation is happening. It was comforting to hear from a leading government scholar that our legislative branch is not broken. At least, not yet. The “government shutdown” standoff was only over discretionary spending. In two weeks, the U.S. Treasury is scheduled to hit the debt ceiling. But that’s another story.
Rebecca Berge is a College senior from Woodinville, Wash. She is a Member at Large of the Young Democrats of Emory.
The Costs of North and South Korean Reunification DOO LEE In his book, The Private Life of a Nation, Lee Eung-Jun portrays a bleak future for a reunified Korea. The dystopian novel depicts the united peninsula five years after an abrupt reunification. The setting he renders is grim, if not medieval. In the book, the 1.2 million former members of the disbanded North Korean People’s Army have descended into a shadowy class of gangs and thugs. The stockpiles of North Korean weapons have gone missing in the clumsy process of disarmament and have made the country, which previously had no gun crime, into a violent LA-style gang war zone. Meanwhile, wealthy South Koreans have scrambled for the North, each fighting to buy up as much of the neglected land there as possible. Corruption and waste have depleted the national treasury as the South is gripped in panic over the government’s failure to tame the out-of-control North. Lee’s book is a dramatization, but it does hint at the gloomy (and imaginative) view many South Koreans hold towards reunification. Many dread its prospects, and many more feel an overwhelming sense of ambivalence. Not much can be known about the public mood in the North, but it’s obvious that the average Southerner has no particular enthusiasm towards unification. In a study conducted by Seoul National University in 1994, 92 percent of South Koreans considered unification absolutely “essential.” By 2007, that opinion fell to 64 percent. Today, support for unification is barely above 50 percent, with support lowest among the young: a 2010 survey revealed that only 49 percent of young adults judged unification as necessary. Among teens, the figure dropped even lower to 20 percent. This sentiment is seldom declared openly but is felt by all long-time dwellers of Seoul and with good reason too: the financial cost of
reunification would be astronomical. It would cost South Korean taxpayers seven percent of the country’s GDP for every year for the 10 years after reunifying. A joint estimate by the country’s Finance Ministry and universities put the cost of unification — if it were to occur by 2020 — around $2.8 trillion. The cost is expected to only increase with time as consumer prices climb and socioeconomic disparities widen. For the first few years, a majority of the costs will go into consolidating the North’s basic administrative, judicial and social services and raising its basic standard of living. Steep government investments and transfer payments will likely follow for many decades after. For the South, the early stage of reunification will resemble more of an expensive occupation than a real unification. Then there is also the question of socially integrating the two countries. Vast cultural riffs, hardened by decades of separation, will make social development harder and slower than economic development. The South is far more Westernized and accustomed to habits and norms different from than that of the North. Politically, as it was with Germany and Vietnam, the absorption and the merger of a formerly Communist, authoritarian state will most likely tilt the nation to the left as more people come to demand and expect greater government involvement. Political prisoners will need medical help, mental recuperation and rehabilitation. Aggressive investments in education will be needed to assist North Korean children and young adults to catch up with their southern counterparts. In a culture of cutthroat competition for entrance into the best schools and accelerating education costs, such feat may take decades to achieve. For South Koreans, reunification will also mean taking on the costs of the North’s societal ills, including vituperative drug addictions (North Korea is one of the largest supplier of methamphetamine. Due to the drug’s use as substitute painkillers, the country is
Doo Lee | Contributor
suffering a meth epidemic), displaced soldiers and thousands of orphans and indigents. Furthermore, discrimination against North Koreans is a problem certain to happen. The difficulty of simply normalizing life will be a massive challenge. One concluding consensus from all of this is that swift reunification will not be good for either North or South Koreas. An abrupt merger will badly damage the South’s economy and credit, leaving the North to experience Soviet-style “shock therapy.”
Hong Kong’s model of a gradual integration with China appears to be the less fiscallydisruptive path to reunification as opposed to the speedy, unilateral model of the Germans. A slow unification would mean maintaining separate currencies and restricting the flow of migrants from the North until the socioeconomic gap significantly narrows. This may potentially mean erecting a zone of economic separation. If the South can replicate past successes and quickly build up the North’s infrastruc-
ture and attract foreign investments, it may be able to bring down reunification to a more affordable level. For Koreans, slow and steady wins the race. All of these are, of course, innately speculative. We do not know how reunification will come about or what it will explicitly entail. For now, the only thing certain about reunification is that it is still a long way off. Doo Lee is a College sophomore from Suwanee, Ga.
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THE EMORY WHEEL
Friday, October 4, 2013
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Crossword Puzzle Sudoku 1
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ACROSS TV host who won a Best Comedy Album Grammy Vegan lunch option, informally Cry used to pump up a crowd Following Fortune Beast in a Marco Polo tale Old station name Abbr. in a birth announcement Request in pool or beer pong Hudson River school? “Eww!” Soundtrack to many a bombdefusing scene Prizes given to good docs? “Kazaam” star, informally Crying need? A wedge might come out of it Beast hunted by Hemingway in “Green Hills of Africa” Work set mostly in Cyprus Herbal quaff
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The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Friday, October 4, 2013 Edited by Will Shortz
Wilde wrote “De Profundis” in one Lion runner Unlike a showboat Rash application Reception opening Hull sealer 1-Across’s home, once: Abbr. Resistance figure Like pickle juice Dated Many a donor, in brief Go around, but not quite go in W.W. II defense Sun ___ Fall fallout, some believe Short agreement Scorsese film before “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”
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His, modernstyle? Roll up and bind Source of the word “alcohol” Glass protector Velázquez’s “___ Meninas” Repute Orange and blue wearer, for short It opens during the fall Some trade barriers Nada On the line Dangerous thing to sell
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PUZZLE BY JOSH KNAPP
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Humphries of the N.B.A. Southern site of an 1865 battle Weak spots Wrap session? Slant one’s words, in a way Picture with a lot of gunplay Game controller button Cholesterollowering food First-choice Hand over (to) Self-titled debut album of 1991 Sign at a game
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“Au Revoir, Les Enfants” writer/ director
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For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800814-5554. Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/ mobilexword for more information. Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.
SUDOKU Instructions: •Each row, column and “area” (3-by-3 square) should contain the numbers 1 to 9. Rules: •Each number can appear only once in each row. •Each number can appear only once in each column. •Each number can appear only once in each area.
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No. 0831
THE EMORY WHEEL
Student Life Friday, October 4, 2013 Student Life Editor: Jenna Kingsley (jdkings@emory.edu)
COMMUNITY ACTIVISM
Courtesy of Ioulia Fenton
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) led a protest this Thursday at the Ponce de Leon Publix. The CIW works to improve the conditions and pay for workers in Florida’s tomato industry. Around 150 peaceful protestors came out to show support.
Coalition Campaigns to Secure Farmworker Rights By Ioulia Fenton Contributing Writer “Consciousness plus commitment equals change.” This is the message of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a grassroots organization working to secure human rights for farmworkers. On Tuesday, Sept. 17, CIW spoke with Emory staff and students about the Campaign for Fair Food and the peaceful demonstration, which took place this Thursday at the Ponce de Leon Publix.
The coalition primarily works to improve the pay and practices in Florida’s tomato industry. According to the Florida Tomato Committee, a federal marketing body, the state produces virtually all field-grown tomatoes in the Unites States and around half of the country’s entire fresh tomato crop between October and June. US agriculture relies on migrant labor, and the tomato sector is no different. Latin American men and women make up much of the 80,000 to 90,000 strong workforce that keeps
the industry functioning every year. Originally from Guatemala, Santiago Perez has worked in agriculture nearly all his life. Now a parttime staff member with the CIW, he spoke to Emory students and staff in Spanish, apologizing for his inability to communicate in English. “We don’t have much use for English in the fields, or even Spanish; generally it is best to stay silent,” he joked. A typical working day on the farm is arduous, especially for the women who make up around 20 percent of
the workforce. To meet their quotas, pickers have to fill a bucket of tomatoes, lift it on their shoulder, run to the tomato truck and pass the bucket up to the loading worker once every four minutes for 10 hours a day. Many of the Emory talk attendees who tried could not lift a demonstration bucket above their waists. Perez explained that while he has seen the cost of living increase dramatically, the farmworkers’ wages have remained stagnant for more than 30 years. For every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes the workers pick they are
paid around 45 cents. In 1978, they were paid 40 cents. “Now imagine that 20 years ago they would only need to fill one bucket to buy a can of coke, now they need at least three,” added Joe Parker, a student and Farmworker Alliance member who translated for Perez. In search of a possible solution, CIW members analyzed the Florida tomato production and distribution chain. They realized that while farmworkers were squeezed financially, the farm owners and managers were too. Every year, the big food corpora-
tions, mainly fast food and supermarket chains, use their large buying power to demand lower and lower prices. CIW decided to focus its efforts on the big players. The Campaign for Fair Food, launched in 2001, first asked Taco Bell to sign up to the CIW Fair Food Program. Through the program, the company would pay just one cent more for every pound of tomatoes it bought and implement a human rights-based Code of
See CIW, Page 10
HUMOR
CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHT
A Letter From Disney
Would You Be a Bystander?
In Reply to Madonna’s Request to Star in Her Own Disney Channel Original Series By Tony Walner Contributing Writer Madonna, We very much appreciated your letters concerning your request to star in your own Disney Channel original series. I must apologize for only now replying to your last three letters. To be honest, we thought a joke was being played on us. I take full responsibility. Anyhow, we loved the pitch you had of playing an adult singer by night and normal housewife by day,
but we feel as though we covered the idea in a similar program. We also loved your other show idea, Milf, but we worry how children, our main audience, might react. Although it was quite compelling, it contained a bit more nudity than we are comfortable showing. We still have yet to read your other pilot, Hooters’ Cooter’s Revealed, but we’ll write back as soon as we give it a good read. We also very much appreciated your help in writing a new episode of Hannah Montana. We just didn’t think it was characteristic
of Billy Ray Cyrus to tell Miley’s friends to “Grow some balls, you little ****heads.” We see where you were going with the idea; however, it wasn’t right for us. Even if we did feel it was right, the series, unfortunately, ended a few years ago. And although we’re not exactly responsible for your flattering iCarly comments, we will be sure to send your kind words to the creators at Nickelodeon. I’m sure they will be interested to hear who you think should play iCarly’s “milfy
See MADONNA, Page 10
ASK A MAJOR
Comparative Literature What’s the difference between the English major and the Comparative Literature major? I will give you a partisan opinion. I think a lot of interesting things happen in English departments, but Comparative Literature is much more radical in terms of how literary texts are approached. It spends a lot more time asking the vital question: what is reading? In the past 50 years there was a lot of work done on questions of Literary Theory, particularly in France, but English courses tend to forget these 50 years ever happened. The cutting edge of Comparative Literature tries to get to the heart of what makes literature “literature” — the “literariness of literature.” It’s really important to me to know what literature “is” if I am going to spend my life studying it, so an English major is not for me.
David Michael Mullins College ’14
Why did you choose Comparative Literature as your major? Literary theory is the smartest stuff I’ve ever seen. It is like the best of philosophy and the best of literature put together. I was going to be a philosophy major in a past life, but the philosophy in
See DISCOVER, Page 10
By Emily Li Contributing Writer Picture this: you’re at a party with your best friend. She’s clearly had too much to drink, and a guy neither of you know is actively flirting with her. You know she’s not in the right state of mind to consent. What do you do? This was one of the scenarios presented to the student body last Wonderful Wednesday by a student organization called Feminists in Action (FIA) as part of their Bystander Campaign. FIA is a group chartered by the Center for Women that primarily acts as a weekly discussion forum for relevant genderrelated issues. The Bystander Campaign is one of many projects the group is involved in on campus. The idea is slightly modeled off of a campaign called Make Your Move, an effort from Missoula’s Intervention in Action project. At last week’s Wonderful Wednesday, FIA suggested several realistic scenarios involving sexual harassment and encouraged students to come and write down what they would do in the situation. Then, FIA took pictures of the approximately 40 students that participated in the activity, holding their answer and thus creating a powerful visual of the realities of sexual harassment. This is similar to another photo project FIA conducted, in which students posed with signs stating why they needed feminism in their lives. Other campus projects they are involved with include volunteer trips to all-girls schools and the Vagina Monologues, a performance commenting on various aspects of the feminine experience. That scenario is especially relevant now; according to officials at the University of North Carolina, September is “Red Zone month,” marking the period with the highest
Courtesy of Feminists in Action
The Bystander Campaign encourages students to write a response to hypothetical situations involving sexual assault. number of sexual assaults on college campuses. This month, FIA launched a bystander campaign against sexual assault and harassment, hoping to encourage bystanders to step up and speak out in dangerous situations. Several other organizations have stepped up to shed light on this topic, including Sexual Assault Peer Advocates (SAPA) and Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP), but FIA chose to conduct the Bystander Campaign independently. “I wanted to do [the campaign] independent of SAPA and ASAP not because I didn’t want to collaborate with them, but because I think that every organization – even
those not dealing with gender issues – should make a comment on it,” College junior, FIA President and Wheel Editorials Editor Priyanka Krishnamurthy said. FIA’s main goal is to stress awareness. As college students, it’s not implausible that at one point or another, we will find ourselves in a difficult or dangerous situation. It might not be your best friend that’s in trouble – it might be a stranger, a hall mate or a student from another university. It might be at a party, in someone’s room or in an off campus apartment. Sexual harassment can take place
See BYSTANDER, Page 10
10
THE EMORY WHEEL
STUDENT LIFE
Friday, October 4, 2013
SPINNING THE WHEEL OF FINANCES
HOROSCOPES
Madonna Wants Cameo In ‘Wizards’
THE STARS HAVE SPOKEN, AND THE SECRETS OF YOUR VERY DESTINY ARE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!
PREPARE FOR THE PAINFUL STUDENT LIFE’S FREAKISHLY INSIGHTFUL HOROSCOPES!
TRUTH, AS PRESENTED IN
Continued from Page 1 mother.” Nickelodeon has forwarded us a letter you sent to them, and we very much appreciate how much you love what happens to be Disney’s show, Wizards of Waverly Place. We were actually quite impressed with your idea of how we might fit you into that show. How you came up with having Lord Voldemort cast an Avada Kedavra curse on Selena Gomez, and then having her “milfy muggle mother,” you, take over as the star was, well, ingenious. And as much as we would love to have you on the show, it is currently off the air as well. We promise we will try and fit you into one of our upcoming shows. We have been trying for a while now to reach an adult audience, and have been extraordinarily successful with our cartoon, Phineas and Ferb, which we learned you were a big fan of ever since Cartoon Network forwarded us your kind remarks. We’ll brainstorm an idea for you and let you know what we come up with.
Aries (3/21-4/19)
Your emotional energy will be high this weekend, Aries. Try to avoid being moody towards your most important relationships. Some personal time will help keep your emotions in check.
Taurus (4/20-5/20)
The new moon has you feeling optimistic and encouraged. Be careful to resist the impulse to spend a little too much money due to your good mood. It is a good time to start a new financial plan.
Gemini (5/21-6/21)
It may seem you have a million things to do, but do not be discouraged, Gemini! You will have more focus and energy this weekend to finish what you need to, and you may even be able to have a little fun once it’s over.
Cancer (6/22-7/22)
Jenna Kingsley/Student Life Editor
A
lex Ting (center) speaks to a student about Emory’s Peer Financial Counseling program at its kickoff event recognizing Default Prevention Awareness Month this Tuesday on the DUC terraces. The organization is sponsored by the Office of Financial Aid and works with student volunteers who are trained to teach their peers about financial issues.
Best of luck, Your Friends at Disney
— Contact Tony Walner at awalner@emory.edu
Use your generous and sympathetic spirit to do something philanthropic this weekend. There is a deserving cause that could use your attention, and you will feel great afterwards!
Leo (7/23-8/22)
This is a good weekend to spend with someone special. Plan for one-on-one time with a close friend or a romantic evening with your significant other. The stars are aligned to help you foster deep connections.
Virgo (8/23-9/22)
It’s all about love for you this weekend, Virgo. Keep your heart open and get ready to discover something, or someone, new. Your existing relationships will strengthen, or a completely fresh prospect could enter your life.
Libra (9/23-10/22)
You tend to be a bit idealistic, Libra, but this weekend, luck is on your side. Feel free to take some risks; you may find that they will yield the best possible outcome.
Scorpio (10/23-11/21)
Scorpio, remember that sometimes your words can sting like a scorpion (hence the name, right?). Filter what you say this weekend because there could be a major miscommunication if you mention everything on your mind.
Sagittarius (11/22-12/21)
You have been feeling adventurous and tired of your typical routine. Be spontaneous this weekend and go somewhere out of the ordinary. This may open a new spiritual connection and leave you feeling very free.
Capricorn (12/22-1/19)
You will find yourself needing to rely on peers this weekend, Capricorn. Your leadership skills and loyalty will help draw people towards you, but be sure to trust their contributions.
Aquarius (1/20-2/18)
You have been stuck in a “funk” for a while now, but the new moon will have you feeling rejuvenated and ready to seize some new opportunities. Be open to trying something different this weekend to break your routine.
Pisces (2/19-3/20)
A lot will be expected of you this weekend, physically, socially and financially. Stay focused and avoid getting overwhelmed. You will accomplish what you need to if you keep your priorities straight. This week’s stars interpreted by Celia Greenlaw
Courtesy of Feminists in Action
Emory students reflect and respond to a question regarding sexual assault posed by Feminists in Action at this week’s Wonderful Wednesday. Over 40 students contributed to the campaign.
Bystander Campaign Aims to Productively Discuss Implications of Sexual Assault on Campus Continued from Page 9 anywhere if you simply open your eyes to it. And there’s always something you can do. However, the point of FIA’s campaign isn’t to immediately invoke vast
sweeping change. Rather, according to Krishnamurthy, the point of the exercise is to spread the word about the realities of sexual harassment and assault. “We want to get the student body to recognize that there are
systemic problems on campus,” Krishnamurthy said, “and that you, as an individual, have a way to stop them...As an individual, you have an obligation.” Dangerous situations aren’t the only times students can participate
in ending sexual assault. In fact, it’s equally helpful to bring it up in dayto-day conversation. “Discussion is the first step to actual change,” Krishnamurthy said. “The way you talk about things kind of shapes the reality. If we start talk-
ing about this more, bringing it more into conversations, people will think about it more. That’s kind of the point – to get the word out and get people thinking.”
— Contact Emily Li at emily.li@emory.edu
Discover the Secrets of the Universe With Comparative Lit Continued from Page 9 Comparative Literature is so much more interesting than the stuff I was reading before. What has been your favorite class in the major so far? Geoffrey Bennington’s course on the work of Jacques Derrida. What’s the hardest thing about being a Comparative Literature major? Doing justice to works of literature and philosophy which I have a deep admiration for, both in their intellectual rigor and political radicality. In the face of a masterpiece, one’s work always seems to come up short. Are there any perks to being a Comparative Literature major? Your writing improves a lot. Sometimes you begin to feel as if you are uncovering the secrets of the universe, but this feeling passes quickly. Is comparative literature all just reading and writing? Yeah, pretty much. What are you looking to do, in terms of a career, with your major? I’m going to be an academic, but I could just as easily, using my comparative literature training, work as a writer or a translator of German. What role does study abroad play in the major? Do most majors
study abroad? It’s heavily encouraged. I didn’t do it, and it was pretty dumb not to. If you could create your own class within the major, what would it be? Why? I’d love a course on the relation and correspondence between Carl Schmidt, Martin Heidegger and Walter Benjamin. They are philosophers, not writers of literature. But part of Comparative Literature is learning how to read philosophy as well. They all read each other’s work enthusiastically, yet they seem to be so different, as if you couldn’t find more different thinkers than them. I am not a good reader of any of them, but from what I can tell, Schmidt is a conservative Catholic and a Nazi legal theorist, Heidegger is the dominant figure of twentieth century philosophy who himself had an uncomfortable relationship with Nazism and Walter Benjamin was a brilliant thinker of what it means to be ‘modern’ and was also quite antiNazi and anti-capitalist. Yet they all “hung out” intellectually. Insane. I want to figure out how that happened. What is your favorite piece of literature and why? Have you ever gotten to study it in a class? “Prometheus Unbound” by Percy Shelley. I didn’t know what it meant to hope before I read that poem. I’ve never studied it in a class but I’m writing an honor’s thesis chapter on it.
Courtesy of CIW
Farmworkers protest the declining prices fast food chains and supermarkets are demanding from Florida’s tomato industry.
CIW Leads Peaceful Protest at Local Publix Continued from Page 9 Conduct on the farms that grow their tomatoes. After four years of campaigning and major student boycotts, Taco Bell agreed to the farmworkers’ requests. The extra penny per pound went directly to the pickers, raising their piece rate by almost 42 percent. Having gained momentum, the campaign enjoyed further success. Today, four of the largest fast food companies and three of the largest food service providers are part of the Fair Food Program. These include Subway, McDonalds, Chipotle, Bon Appétit and Emory’s food supplier, Sodexo, although the university is one of few places where Sodexo uses Fair Food Program tomatoes. The initiative is Florida-wide and covers about 90 percent of the state’s
growers. However, half of the tomato buyers’ market belongs to supermarkets. While Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have signed the Fair Food Program, Publix has yet to enter conversations with the coalition. “Publix’s refusal to come to the table is astonishing given that, even if they passed the cost of the extra penny onto their consumers, most shoppers would not notice the difference,” said Parker. To pressure the company to engage in a debate, the CIW held a peaceful protest at the Publix on Ponce de Leon at 6 p.m. on Oct. 3. To pressure the company to engage in a debate, last night, the CIW led a peaceful protest at the Publix on Ponce de Leon. The event was attended by around 150 peaceful demonstrators, ranging in age from
four month old Aliana to 84 year old Dick, and it included several Emory students. “I am here because I am a strong believer in human rights and think it is really unjust and unfair how farm workers get paid so little,” said Emory Rollins School of Public Health student Cho Hee Shrader. An hour into the protest, small signs of progress surfaced as the Ponce de Leon Publix local management was seen talking with CIW organizers at the front of the store. Interested parties can join the cause by getting in touch with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers or sending a letter to a Publix Executive, which can be downloaded from the CIW website.
— Contact Ioulia Fenton at ioulia.fenton@emory.edu
THE EMORY WHEEL
FRI 4
SAT 5
VOLLEYBALL WOMEN’S SOCCER
SUN 6
MON 7
Real talk: Scrufizzer’s verse on “Dubstep”
TUES 8
1. Risky Business in the A
vs. Washington University 1:30 p.m. WoodPEC vs. Carnegie Mellon & New York University 10:30 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.
at Case Western Reserve 12 p.m. Cleveland
vs. Lee College 7 p.m. WoodPEC
Greater Louisville Classic 10:45 a.m. Louisville, Ky.
Courtesy of Emory Athletics
Lukas Mees leads the Emory runners in a race last year. Mees has been out with an injury this season. The Eagles hope to get him back this season. Oglethorpe Invitational TBA Flowery Branch, Ga.
Oglethorpe Invitational TBA Flowery Branch, Ga.
Eagles Hope to Continue Success at Louisville Continued from the Back Page The men’s team is still without Lukas Mees, who won Emory’s Most Valuable Runner and Rookie of the Year awards last year. He is recovering from an infection in his back. His return date is still unknown. Like many of the early season races, the primary objective of the upcoming Greater Louisville Classic is to establish who the top runners are. It will give younger runners more experience competing at the Division III level. Additionally, most runners at the high school level compete in the 5K. Conversely, at the Division III level, the women’s team competes
in the 6K, while the men compete in the 8K runs. Early season races provide young runners the chance to compete at further distances than they are used to. Along with added experience, it also gives the runners an opportunity to see where they are, both within the team itself and against their opponents. Lastly, they have the chance to test different strategies. While the teams are preparing for the upcoming Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble on Oct. 19 and the UAA Championships on Nov. 2, the team is not overlooking this upcoming event. Every race has its importance and the
team has no plans to take the Greater Louisville Classic lightly. One underrated aspect about the Greater Louisville Classic is travel. Louisville is far from Atlanta and provides the team with an additional mental challenge of extended travel. While in the short term, it’s not ideal, in the long term, it will make other long trips seem less taxing. The temperature conditions could be a factor, but weather forecasts project a high of 84 and a low of 66, warm conditions that are familiar in Atlanta. — Contact Shawn Farshchi at sfarshc@emory.edu
Storylines Worth Buying Into...
1. Pirates 2. A’s 3. Braves 4. Rays 5. Dodgers 6. Tigers 7. Cardinals 8. Not the Red Sox 9. A Different Team 10. Reds and Indians (RIP) 11. Your Uncle’s IM Softball Team 12. Joe Maddon’s Glasses 13. The Pirates Again 14. Billy Beane 15. Brad Pitt in “Moneyball” 16. Cookie Monster 482. Red Sox
5. ROSS FOGG is so, so close to being .500. He was actually .500 for a day last week before he picked the Dolphins over the Saints in Monday Night Football. Foolish, Ross Fogg. Foolish.
New Orleans at Chicago New England at Cincinnati
29-30 r inks
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6. PRIYANKA K., picked the opposite of Ross Fogg two weeks ago and the opposite of Dustin last week. See if you can spot the pattern in this week’s picks! Priyanka’s Pick ‘Ems are a children’s book.
NFL
The NFL recently released a twodecade research campaign that denies any and all links between smashing your head into other people repeatedly and developing concussions. This is essentially the NFL’s formalized way of sticking its fingers in its ears and going “I can’t heaaaaaaar you.”
6. MLB Playoff Teams Ranked
4. ADAM TROYETSKY pulled into the lead in Week Four but dropped to third this week. He’s still within striking distance, which is more than can be said for some of his competitors.
8-21
The quality of a team’s ballpark is often a measure of the fans’ devotion to the team. Politicians spend public funds to gain public support. Atlanta gave the Braves a new ballpark two ears after their world series win in 1995, but it was a second-hand gift. “Centennial Olympic Stadium” was built to host track and field events and the closing ceremony of the 1996 Olympics, and only then converted into the Turner Field we know and, well, don’t really love today. I like to think I appreciate all kinds of ball parks. I love PNC Park because every seat has a good view, it overlooks the Allegheny River and the city of Pittsburgh, and it’s genuinely new and nice. I love Wrigley and Fenway because of the brotherhood of fans you find yourself with at both of them, along with the knowledge that great events have taken place in both ballparks. To me, Turner Field is the old Yankee Stadium if you took away the Wrigley-Fenway appeal and only filled it about 60 percent. I doubt anyone would be surprised if it were discovered that the entire interior of Turner was made by filling an enormous mold with very gray cement. This Olympic stadium turned baseball park maneuver was first implemented in Montreal after the 1976 Olympics. We might never know the extent to which Montreal’s Olympic Stadium played a role in the dismal attendance at Expos’ games culminating in the team’s relocation to Washington to became the Nationals in 2005, but we do know that if Atlanta fans were ever to passionately embrace baseball, it would be a political coup to replace Turner Field. So, why isn’t the Braves Nation stronger? Or why is there not really much of a Braves Nation to begin with? A number of reasons are obvious. The love of baseball is passed down, father to son, father to daughter, grandmother to grandson. Baseball fans grow up having a catch in the back yard and eating a hotdog at the ballpark. And more often than not, they grow up rooting for, praying for and being ready to die for the same team as their parents. The Braves only came to Atlanta in 1966. They had played 83 years in Boston with the Red Sox as a
crosstown rival, then another 12 in Milwaukee before moving to Atlanta. The parents of Atlanta’s baby boomers couldn’t have passed down love of the Braves to their children. When they were growing up, there were no Atlanta Braves. To the extent that there are longtime Braves’ fans dating back to the Braves’ arrival in 1966, there aren’t too many. In 1970, metro Atlanta’s population was 1.2 million, about one-fourth what it is today. Atlanta is known to have many “transplants” or residents from other parts of the country or world living there for work today. They have no more history with the Braves than they have a southern accent. Perhaps most important, football — specifically college football — reigns supreme in this part of the South. The Southeastern Conference has the highest average attendance of any conference in the NCAA, at 75,538 per game. The University of Georgia, a mere hour and 20 minutes from Atlanta, averages 92,703 per game, placing it 6th among all NCAA teams and three times that of the average Braves’ game. That means that UGA averages over 22,000 more fans per game than the NFL Atlanta Falcons, although the Falcons sell out the Georgia Dome for every game. The facts that the Atlanta Hawks are fifth from last in NBA average attendance and that the NHL Thrashers had such a weak fan base that they left for Winnipeg, a city with less that one fifth the population of Atlanta, suggests that Atlanta isn’t a good sports town in general, outside of football. But the lack of Braves Pride stands out because the Braves are one of the most talented teams in baseball. They will likely continue winning, but that isn’t supposed to be the only reward for being a great team. Van Gogh and Dickinson created great things during their lifetimes. We say that neither was great until after death, however, because neither was appreciated until then. A great team is loved by its fans. Atlanta: don’t wait for the Braves to start losing to appreciate what you have now. Don’t make Heyward, the Uptons and Freddie Freeman’s careers great only as an echo of a tree that fell in the forest in the past. — Contact Zak Hudak at zachary.j.hudak@emory.edu
3. But... You...
The University of Alabama suspended all-SEC safety Ha Ha ClintonDix indefinitely. Important: there is a person named Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
3. DUSTIN SLADE, a.k.a. [REDACTED], had a rough week. Not in Pick ‘Ems, but his beloved Dolphins dropped their first game of the season to the Saints. We haven’t seen Dustin since. Please contact the Wheel or Pick ‘Ems if you see him around campus.
MITH
Continued from the Back Page
In light of the government shutdown, America has lost sight of what’s really important: college football games between service academies. Until last night, the Air ForceNavy game this weekend had been cancelled. After receiving official approval from the secretary of defense, the game will thankfully be played. It’s a relief to know that the government is spending its time during the shutdown resolving only the most important issues. Muricah.
5. Not So Funny
2. RYAN SMITH is in second place. He had a pretty unremarkable week, and this is a pretty unremarkable description. In contrast, he considers himself a pretty remarkable guy.
RYAN S
Hudak: Braves Fans Should Appreciate the Team They Have
2. Thanks, Obama
49ers’ safety Donte Whitner is legally changing his last name to “Hitner”. There are so many problems with this that we at On Fire don’t even know where to begin.
1. NATHANIEL LUDEWIG has moved on from his post as Sports Editor, but his legacy continues to grow. He had a fantastic Week Four, launching himself into first place with a comfortable two-game lead. What will do he do for an encore?
NATHA
Former Braves star Chipper Jones stands at the plate. Jones was a key part of several successful Braves teams.
What’s going on with the Falcons? One season after being a questionable pass interference non-call away from the Super Bowl, Matty Ice and company have limped to a 1-3 record. Your On Fire correspondent is really hoping they pull it together soon because having a good hometown team takes away the pain from whatever is happening up in Philly right now, where Peyton Manning just scored another touchdown. Also, hearing “Who Dat” all the time gets really annoying. Thankfully, they play the Jets this weekend.
4. Oh No
Welcome to the fifth week of NFL Pick ‘Ems! Follow along as the Wheel staff attempts to pick each week’s NFL games.
Form NIEL LUDE er Spo W r ts Ed IG itor, 3
Matt Barnett/Flickr
11
On Fire
vs. Washington University 11 a.m. WoodPEC
GOLF
CROSS COUNTRY
Friday, October 4, 2013
agle xchange
MEN’S SOCCER
E
SPORTS
Troyetsky: Niners Over Texans
Detroit at Green Bay
Continued from the Back Page
Kansas City at Tennessee
the Chargers are favored by four points. Chargers 34 Raiders 20
Seattle at Indianapolis
Houston Texans (2-2) at San Francisco 49ers (2-2)
Jacksonville at St. Louis Baltimore at Miami Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants
Carolina at Arizona Denver at Dallas Houston at San Francisco San Diego at Oakland N.Y. Jets at Atlanta
The Texans travel to San Francisco in the earlier of the Sunday night match ups. Kaepernick and the ‘niners have stepped up their game after going through a rough skid that included losses to Seattle and Indianapolis. Last week, Frank Gore proved to everyone that although he may be 30 years old, he can still run the ball like a pro-bowler; he ran for 153 yards on 20 carries averaging nearly 7.5 yards per carry. Despite their loss last week, the Texans did play well. Is it enough to beat the 49ers at home? Patrick Willis will return to the ‘niners defense this week to re-spark a team that has been inconsistent this season. Despite the Texans’ high-powered offense, the 49ers seem to have returned to their normal selves after last week. Texans 27 49ers 34 — Contact Adam Troyetsky at adam.troyetsky@emory.edu
SPORTS THE EMORY WHEEL
Friday, October , Sports Editor: Ryan Smith (ryan.smith@emory.edu)
NFL
MLB
Week Five Game Preview Adam Troyetsky Philadelphia Eagles (1-3) at New York Giants (0-4) The Giants will play the Eagles this week in the hope that they can turn their tumultuous season around. The Giants have done everything wrong and have not been able to do anything right. They have scored a combined seven points in the last two weeks while allowing 69 points. Their offense is looking terrible; Eli Manning is not on the same page as his receivers. In addition, David Wilson isn’t shaping up to be the running back of the future that the Giants thought he was. Even though the Giants are 0-4, the Eagles are not much better. The Eagles won their first game against the Redskins but haven’t won since. Last week, the Eagles defense was absolutely obliterated by Peyton Manning who led the Broncos to a 52-20 win. However, despite their weary defense, the Eagles offense ranks first in rushing yards per game with nearly 200 yards per game and 11th in passing yards per game with 260 yards per game. This should be an interesting matchup seeing as the Giants have the worst rushing defense in the league, allowing just over 120 yards per game on the ground. Look for LeSean McCoy to have another big game this week and the Giants to fall to 0-5. If the Giants continue to play this bad, who knows. They might get lucky and be able to draft Jadeveon Clowney. Eagles 31 Giants 21 Seattle Seahawks (4-0) at Indianapolis Colts (3-1) If not for Matt Schaub’s decision to practically lob the ball up to Richard Sherman last week, the Seahawks would have had their first loss. Luckily for them, the Texans nearly handed them the game on a platter. I do not mean to discredit the Seahawks in any way but quite frankly, they should have lost last week. We’ll see what happens this week as they head to Indianapolis to face the Colts who made mince meat of the Jaguars last weekend (who doesn’t make mince meat of the Jaguars, though?). Despite their week two loss, the Colts are +58 in point differential in the three games that they have won. Like I said last week, the Seahawks usually struggle on the road and do not play nearly as well as they do at home. With all of the options the Colts have on offense, I think the Colts will be the team to hand the Seahawks their first loss of the season in a close game. Seahawks 23 Colts 27 San Diego Chargers (2-2) at Oakland Raiders (1-3) Philip Rivers is looking more and more like the Philip Rivers from the 2008 season. Rivers is averaging roughly 300 passing yards per game and has thrown for 11 touchdowns and two interceptions. In addition, the Rivers-Antonio Gates combination looks to have revived itself. Gates looks to have once again become Rivers’ favorite target. The Raiders seem to be having some troubles at quarterback after Matt Flynn’s disappointing performance last week. Terrelle Pryor had been playing well for Oakland but could be out this weekend again with post-concussion symptoms. Without Pryor, I think the Raiders will have trouble winning this game in which
See TROYETSKY, Page 11
Matt Barnett/Flickr
The view at the Atlanta Braves’ Turner Field. The Braves finished with the second-best record in the National League en route to securing the N.L. East crown. They host the Dodgers in the first round of the playoffs.
Where Is the Braves’ Fan Support? Zak Hudak If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The possibility of unperceived existence has troubled philosophers since the early 16th century. This week it troubles me — and most assuredly the National League Eastern Division champion Atlanta Braves. If a team plays great and has great talent but no one notices, is it still a great team? On Tuesday of last week, my hometown Pittsburgh Pirates clinched a National League Wild Card spot. That meant that if the Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card game (which they did 6-1 this past Tuesday), they would play the best-offive, first round of MLB’s postseason against the team with the best winloss record in the National League. Until they were inched out by a single game this past weekend, that team was the Atlanta Braves, who are still in the playoffs as the best team in the NL East. Two days after my Pirates clinched, I checked the balance in my
bank account for the several hundred dollars I expected to pay for a ticket to one of the Pirates-Braves playoff games. With about $300 in disposable funds, I logged onto StubHub, the eBay of tickets. This marketplace of heartfelt dreams priced astronomically out of grasp had never before to my eyes held so many tickets offered clearly way below face price. As James Bond stated when he first heard the name of the voluptuous Pussy Galore, so I thought, “I must be dreaming.” And like the great Carl Yastrzemski, I often do “dream baseball.” To check reality, I googled the Braves’ official website. In one way I had been dreaming. Those StubHub tickets were not being sold way below face price; they were being sold at face price. A pair of tickets to the Braves’ first playoff game, three-fourths of the way down the first base line, a mere 12 rows off the field, which I’d expected to go for maybe $100 face price each, $200-250 on StubHub, I snatched for $45. To convince myself that I wasn’t dreaming, I paid the $5 instant download fee and as the tickets rolled off my printer, I clutched them in my hand. The Atlanta Braves spent the majority of the 2013 MLB season with the best win-loss record in baseball. Yet the city we Emory students
live in doesn’t seem to care. My friends from St. Louis and Boston, by contrast, wake up in the morning, think of the Cardinals and Red Sox (respectively) and spend the rest of their day in euphoria. I’m not basing my observation of the lack of baseball spirit in Atlanta on the Braves fan depicted in the viral YouTube video titled “Baseball Fan Fondles Woman’s Breast Instead of Watching Baseball” either. Rather, as I see it, money doesn’t lie. Nor does the absence of excited clamor for tickets. The price of Braves’ playoff tickets and the availability of Braves’ playoff tickets say a lot. Thus my philosophical quandary: if a team is truly great — and keeps winning — and no one cares, is it a truly great team? Do the Atlanta Braves exist as a great team? Perhaps a better question is, “Why do the Braves not exist as a great team?” If the essence of an object is the sum of its manifestations, the essence of a baseball team must be the sum of the characteristics of its fans: their loyalty and passion, their knowledge, insight and debate, and most of all in a spectacular season like this one, their energy and excitement. Why does this not exist in Atlanta? The Braves have an outfield rivaled only by that of my home team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and
the L.A. Angels of Anaheim. In left field, they have the hard-hitting Justin Upton. In center is Justin’s swift footed brother, B.J. And in right field, Jason Heyward and his bazooka arm. Twenty-four-year-old first baseman Freddie Freeman is an MVP candidate, batting. 319 with 23 home runs. In a column for ESPN New York titled “City of Atlanta Doesn’t Deserve Win,” Rob Parker talks about the Braves’ 2011 end-of-season collapse and says, “Heads should have rolled. Instead, Braves firstyear manager Fredi Gonzalez wasn’t under fire from the fan base and will be back this coming season. Again, most probably [the fans] didn’t even notice.” This year, as one of the strongest — if not the strongest — teams in baseball, the Braves ranked 13th in average attendance. In the 1990’s, the Braves’ pitching rotation was lethal for opposing teams. Over a 10-year period, Atlanta made it to the World Series five times. Even the overpowering Yankees of the ‘90s only made it to three. In 1995, the Braves won it. Adam Lazarus, a senior analyst on BleacherReport.com ranked their pitching rotation that year the best of all time. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Steve Avery and Kent Mercker are widely considered to to be an unparalleled combination. The
Braves of this area were managed by the brilliant Bobby Cox, led by David Justice for the first half of the decade and Chipper Jones the second, and were, in terms of talent, a great team. Parker points out that over a 14-year streak, of winning division titles, the Braves only led the league in attendance once. In 1998, during that dynasty, Rich Dorsey wrote a column for The Augusta Chronicle with the headline “Turnout Shows Atlanta’s No Baseball Town.” Dorsey calls the empty upper right field deck of Turner Field “a blue hole, an eyesore in its blue-seated uniformity.” Dorsey chastised Braves fans for not even selling out playoff games. He cites Glavine and Cox as defending the fans with arguments that the unsold seats weren’t the best seats in the house. What true fan would miss a key game because he or she wasn’t happy with the available seats? This isn’t even a money issue because the worst seats are priced accordingly. He also cites the theory that Braves fans were so spoiled by winning that it came to be nothing special. This theory, he explains, is faulty because fan devotion to the Jordan-Pippen-Rodman Chicago Bulls of the same time period never diminished.
See HUDAK, Page 11
CROSS COUNTRY
GOLF
Eagles Finish Ninth at Columbus Teams to Compete By Seanette Ting Staff Writer The Eagles continued their fall tournament season this past Monday and Tuesday, finishing ninth place at the Gordin Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The 54-hole event was held at the 6,968-yard, par-72 Columbus Country Club, with two rounds at on Monday and a final round on Tuesday. The reputable two-day event was hosted by Ohio Wesleyan and attracted some of the top programs in Division III amongst the 12 competing teams. “It was a good course and a great field, Wittenburg won this tournament this year as well as last year, and Methodist is always good. We had a few good rounds in this event, but it wasn’t enough to put together good scores,” Head Coach John Sjoberg said. The team posted a score of 902 (306-292-300) over three rounds. “Monday’s second round score of 292 put us in a better spot, but we
need to learn to continue bearing down and playing well,” Sjoberg said. “It’s important to have a stronger sense of urgency, and our seniors can not feel complacent with their game. We’re in a tough stretch with midterm season but we need to step up play well next week.” Junior Alex Wunderlich lead the team with a three-round score of 227 (76-76-75), finishing tied for 33rd in a field of 90 players. One shot behind him, senior Will Roth carded a score of 228 (81-72-75), tying for 37th. Seniors Alec Berens and Johnathan Chen came in with scores of 229, with Berens carding 80-75-74 over three rounds and Chen with a scorecard of 73-80-76. Freshman Colby Hipp rounded out the scores with 232 (77-73-82). Taking first place was Wittenburg at 863 (295-287-281), followed by St. John Fisher with 876 (285-291300). Transylvania (877), Methodist University (878) and Guilford (881), finished out the top five teams at the Classic. “Competition was tough, it was
a really good field. Unfortunately we didn’t show up to play. We have a quick turnover before our event at Royal Lakes and hopefully our guys, including myself, can work it out,” Chen said. The team will work on consistency in their remaining two fall tournaments. “It seems that many times our bad rounds are a result of two or three bad holes. Limiting the damage when we get out of position is going to be the first and most controllable part of playing better,” Roth said. He continued: “If we just focus on limiting the big numbers, we can make birdies and come away with good scores,” The team now turns their focus to their next tournament held Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 7-8, at the Oglethorpe Fall Invitational. This will be the Eagles’ third tournament in three weeks and will be held at the Royal Lakes Golf Course near Flowery Branch, Ga. — Contact Seanette Ting at seanette.ting@emory.edu
In Louisville Classic By Shawn Farshchi Contributing Writer This upcoming Saturday, Oct. 5, both the men and women’s cross country teams will travel to Louisville, Ky. to compete in the Greater Louisville Classic at Tom Sawyer State Park. The women’s team will compete at 11:30 a.m. in the 6K race along with 50 other schools, including many of the “B” teams of Division I schools such as Marquette University (Wisc.) and Vanderbilt University (Tenn.). The men’s team will compete in the 8K race at 10:45 a.m. against 41 other schools. The women’s team is coming off a fourth place finish at the Charlotte Invitational, where senior Emily Caesar placed ninth and junior Marissa Gogniat placed 11th among runners from Division III schools. Their times would have placed 25th
and 29th respectively among the Division I runners. The men’s team is coming off a third place finish at the Charlotte Invitational. Senior Alex Fleischhacker placed tenth and fellow senior Eddie Mulder placed 18th among Division III runners. Their times would have placed 20th and 34th among the Division I runners respectively. Previously, the women’s team had placed first in all three meets until Charlotte, while the men’s team has placed in the top three at every meet they have competed in. The women’s team recently received good news. Senior Meredith Lorch, the team’s sixth best runner a year ago, will make her debut at the Greater Louisville Classic. Her added presence will give the team a boost.
See EAGLES, Page 11