INDEX
Emory Events Calendar, Page 2
Crossword Puzzle, Page 8
Staff Editorial, Page 6
Police Record, Page 2
Student Life, Page 9
On Fire, Page 11
THE EMORY WHEEL Since 1919
The Independent Student Newspaper of Emory University www.emorywheel.com
Friday, February 21, 2014 FINANCES
Every Tuesday and Friday CRIME
WHERE’S THE SNOW?
Police Investigate Sexual Assaults Near Campus
Tuition to Increase By 2.3 Percent
By Jordan Friedman Executive Editor
By Jordan Friedman Executive Editor Emory College undergraduate tuition will rise by 2.3 percent in the 2014-2015 academic year, marking the smallest percentage increase in the past decade, the University announced Wednesday. The University’s Board of Trustees approved the increased tuition to $44,400 for next year from $43,400 this year, according to a University statement. Combined undergraduate tuition, fees, room and board will rise by 2.5 percent, to $57,768 from $56,370. Claire Sterk, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said in the statement that the tuition increase “reflects Emory’s commitment to an excellent learning experience for our students” without them going into excessive debt. “We know that students and their families make a tremendous investment in obtaining a world-class education at Emory,” Sterk said. “By holding down annual increases, while at the same time continuously enhancing the Emory experience, we deliver an extraordinary value proposition for extraordinary students.” Oxford College will see a 4.2 percent increase in tuition and a 4.1 percent increase for the total tuition, fees, room and board. Many other universities have yet to announce their tuitions for next year, but Washington University in St. Louis’ tuition will be $45,700 for 2014-2015, a 3.6 percent increase
See EMORY, Page 4
Volume 95, Issue 30
James Crissman/Photography Editor
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s the snow melted away, that Atlanta green emerged. The sky cleared and the Midtown skyline was visible from campus. This view can be seen from Houston Mill Rd. at the corner of Clifton. The tallest building will light up with a deep yellow as the sun sets, igniting the Atlanta sky.
EVENT
Tatum Delivers State of Race Talk By Rupsha Basu Asst. News Editor and Cindy Tang Contributing Writer
victories are a major indication of social change and attributed his win to “cross-racial coalitions.” Tatum acknowledged, however, that despite the social changes of the past decade, the United States is not “post-racial” because people are still very well aware of racial differences. College senior Shezza Shagarabi said she found Tatum’s point interesting. “[Tatum] encapsulated a lot of issues that regarded race from the standpoint that post-racialism does not exist,” she said. “It can’t be just one person such as [Obama] getting elected to the White House for all these issues to be resolved.” Tatum also encouraged the audience to always speak up in the face of racism and to seek out a dialogue with those uneducated about races outside their own. She attributed a “sense of urgency” to the problem of racism. She added
The University welcomed race relations expert Beverly Daniel Tatum, president of Spelman College, to speak at College Council’s (CC) Social Justice Week’s 14th annual State of Race on Thursday evening. The week commenced on Monday with a documentary screening and will conclude today with a networking event for those interested in careers in social justice. A diverse audience of students, faculty, alumni and Atlanta residents listened to her speech, entitled “Diversity, Democracy and Leadership: The Challenge of the 21st Century.” Tatum began her portion of the night by addressing President Barack Obama’s two elections. She said his
OBITUARY
that leaders head social change, as people often look to authority figures to determine how to act. Tatum urged the audience to become leaders and create communities that welcome everyone, regardless of race or culture. Tatum concluded with other dynamics of racial issues within and outside of college campuses, emphasizing the important role students can play in creating constructive dialogue about social justice. Monday’s screening of the documentary “Girl Rising,” which is about girls’ access to education around the world, was followed by a panel discussion with the Presidents of Feminists in Action (FIA), Sexual Assault Peer Advocates and Amnesty International. “Although there were many differences in opinion at the panel, I
See SOCIAL, Page 5
The DeKalb County Police Department and Emory Police Department (EPD) have determined that the suspect in the reported rape in Emory Village last week may be linked to three open cases of attempted sexual assault that occurred in DeKalb County, according to a DeKalb County Police Department statement released Wednesday evening. The police departments are conducting a joint investigation. The three other reported incidents occurred between December 2013 and January 2014 and involved young females who were walking alone in the Emory vicinity off campus, the statement says. The suspect “approached and attempted to overpower” the victims, according to the statement, which does not specify whether the victims have any affiliation with the University. These victims were able to fight off the suspect and alert police, the police department said. They were not physically injured. Last Tuesday, a female Emory student reported to EPD that she was raped near Emory Village in a wooded area between Oxford Road and Dowman Drive at around 11:15 p.m. A University-wide email alerted the Emory community about the reported incident last Wednesday. The description of the suspect in the DeKalb County cases is consistent with a sketch that the Emory Village survivor provided to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation official. EPD released the sketch on Saturday night. The suspect is described as a white male, about 5 feet 10 inches with medium build and around 50 years old. The University-wide email also specified that he has a reddish or brown beard and at the time of the reported incident was wearing a brown or green beanie cap, tan or
EVENT
Alma Billings, a long-time Sodexo employee who worked in the Dobbs University Center (DUC) and is remembered for her smile and laughter, died Feb. 14. She was 62. The cause of death was a stroke, according to Dobbs Market Executive Chef Colin Quirk and numerous Sodexo employees. Billings was working at the Dobbs University Center (DUC) on Friday when she suddenly fell to the ground. She was immediately transported to Emory University Hospital and died later that night. Fellow Sodexo employee and Billings’ friend Paulette Howard said Billings had worked at the University for 23 years. She began working at the DUC salad bar and then she moved on to deli supervisor and ultimately, cashier. Howard said Billings did a fantastic job at all three stations. Billings and Howard have always referred to themselves as “twins” because they shared the same birthday, Nov. 28. Before coming to the University, Billings worked for the Peachtree Café and the Carter Center and enjoyed reading and cooking in her free time, Quirk said. Billings’ friends and co-workers remember this caring nature of Billings. Fellow Sodexo employee Tenecia Isom recalls Billings as somebody who was always happy and dedicated to her job. “Ms. Billings stayed young by
Saturday, Feb. 15 Emory Police Department releases sketch of suspect
Wednesday, Feb. 19 Police cite possible link between reported incident, other cases brown jacket, dark blue jeans and brown boots. “The community is encouraged to remain vigilant about their safety and exercise safety practices,” the DeKalb County Police Department said in the statement. The statement encourages the Emory community to remain alert about their surroundings, including walking in groups at night, avoiding distractions such as texting or talking on the phone and avoiding “isolated and dimly lit areas.” DeKalb and Emory authorities are “aggressively investigating” these cases, according to the statement, and are encouraging anyone with information about the suspect or anyone who may have been a victim to contact the DeKalb County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit at (770) 724-6111 or EPD at (404) 727-6111. — Contact Jordan Friedman at jordan.m.friedman@emory.edu
If you have been affected by sexual assault, abuse in a relationship or stalking, you have support at Emory. Contact Lauren (LB) Bernstein in the Respect Program in the Office of Health Promotion at 404-727-1514 or Lauren. Bernstein@emory.edu to schedule a confidential consultation.
By Stephen Fowler Asst. News Editor
nizations planned included a speehc called “How to Lose Your Virginity” by Youtube celebrity Laci Green, a poetry reading by poet and Assistant Professor of English/Creative Writing Jericho Brown, “Sex Trivia,” “SexEd101,” and “Q and A with Hanne Blank.” College sophomore Emily Dixon, president of SHAG, and SHAG member and College senior Rachel Ezrol coordinated the
Emory College senior Kyle Niezgoda was named one of 18 nationwide Luce Scholars recipients this month, according to Director of National Scholarships and Fellowships Dee McGraw. Niezgoda is also the only recipient from Emory. The Luce Scholars Award is a yearlong fellowship given to students from various academic disciplines and provides stipends, Kyle language training and individual- Niezgoda ized professional was named placement in Asia for applicants one of 18 ranging from nationwide college seniors Luce to professionals Scholars up to 29 years old, according to the Luce Scholars website. Niezgoda, an Environmental Studies and Mathematics double
See CAMPUS, Page 4
See EMORY, Page 5
James Crissman/Photography Editor
Passersby point at uniquely shaped cakes at this week’s Wonderful Wednesday. Emory’s Sexual Health Advocacy Group and Office of Health Promotion Hosted Emory’s first Sex Week Wonderful Wednesday.
Students Collaborate to Host Sex Week By Catherine Pilishvili Contributing Writer Emory hosted its first Sex Week Wonderful Wednesday on Feb. 19 after being forced to reschedule the week of events due to last week’s snowstorm that closed the University for three days. Emory’s Sexual Health Advocacy Group (SHAG) and Emory’s Office of Health Promotion (OHP), along with several other campus organizations, collaborated to organized Sex
See POSTER, Page 5
Week. Before the previous week’s snowstorm, the group planned Sex Week as a weeklong event on campus, which was to include a variety of activities, including sex trivia and sex education. But with the unexpected snow, the team had to scatter the events through a few weeks. “It has been kind of disappointing because we have been working so hard on it,” Dixon said. The specific programs the orga-
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HUMANITY
Female Emory student reportedly raped in Village
Niezgoda Named Luce Scholar
coming to work and making people laugh,” Isom said. Sodexo employee Belinda David told the Wheel that Billings was always a hard worker, a good person and mostly, “real fun.” Howard said Billings had an obvious concern for others and told the Wheel that Billings always kept gum, safety pins and ibuprofen in her purse in case anyone needed anything. Howard added that Billings would have done anything for anyone, calling others “darling” whenever she could. College junior Jovonna Jones posted on her personal Facebook page that Billings always made sure to check on her and was extremely genuine. A funeral is being held today at 8 a.m. There will also be a “Homegoing Service” for friends and family to celebrate Billing’s journey back “home” to heaven, held on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Helping Hands Church. To further honor Billings, many of the Sodexo employees who worked with Billings through the years are putting together a fund to donate to Diane Billings, her daughter. Howard told the Wheel that Sodexo employees always take care of one another. “We’re a great big family,” she said. Howard, Isom and David all agreed that they will miss Billings and love her very much, and that Valentine’s Day was very appropri-
NEWS STUDENT GOVERNMENT PASSES ELECTION BOARD REFORM ... PAGE 4
Tuesday, Feb. 11
AWARD
Alma Billings, 62, Left Legacy at Dobbs Market By Naomi Maisel Campus Life Beat Writer
REPORTED VILLAGE RAPE
...
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IMPROVES TO
NEXT ISSUE BOBBY JONES SCHOLARS TO BE ANNOUNCED ... TUESDAY
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NEWS ROUNDUP National, Local and Higher Education News • On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and three opposition leaders signed a truce. The negotiations follow the deaths of 26 people in clashes with police last week. According to an opposition leader present, police would halt their plans of storming the main protest site, the Maidan, in the capital city of Kiev. • No arrests were made after several Sochi patrolmen beat members of the Russian band Pussy Riot ahead of a planned protest. In a video released Wednesday, an officer sprayed a substance into a band member’s face, pulling off her ski mask. Another proceeded to strike the band members, and later the man filming the attack, with a horsewhip. Several more patrolmen joined, punching the women and throwing them to the floor. • Federal Reserve policy makers announced plans to continue reducing economic stimulus measures on Wednesday. According to its January meeting minutes, the Central Bank plans to cut monthly bond-buying in predictable $10 billion steps. Members backed their decision on
THE EMORY WHEEL
NEWS
Friday, February 21, 2014
the prospect of the unemployment rate soon dropping below 6.5 percent. • In its biggest acquisition to date, Facebook bought messaging app WhatsApp on Wednesday for a total of $19 billion in shares and cash. WhatsApp allows its more than 450 million users to send messages using Internet connections, avoiding text message fees. While offering a free model, WhatsApp charges users a subscription fee of $1 per year and claims to currently be registering 1 million new users each day. • The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a proposal Wednesday to prevent Internet service providers from blocking legal sites and services from consumers. Broadband companies like Verizon and Time Warner Cable argue that they should manage their networks as they like. The FCC, however, aims to restrict online discrimination and discourage providers from charging higher fees for faster service.
— Compiled by Senior Staff Writer Lydia O’Neal
Corrections 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 30 © 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 Feb 14 at 2:38 a.m., Emory Police Department (EPD) responded to a fire alarm at Alabama Residence Hall. Officers found burnt popcorn in the second floor laundry room. Facilities management also responded to the location and reset the alarm. • On Feb. 14 between 9:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m., EPD responded to a call regarding a theft at O. Wayne Rollins Research Building. A staff member reported that she placed her lunch bag in the refrigerator. When she came back to retrieve her lunch, it was missing. The bag and its contents are valued at $30. The case has been turned over to an investigator. • On Feb. 14 at 4 p.m., EPD responded to a complaint of reck-
less driving on Clifton Road. The complainant stated that a vehicle was going in and out of his lane several times. The driver of the blue Subaru appeared to be texting at the time. The complainant said he thought the driver could have been an employee of Emory University Hospital. The case has been turned over to an investigator.
• On Feb 16. at 11:39 p.m., EPD responded to a fire alarm at Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. The alarm went off in the first floor dining room. Facilities management also responded to the location and reset the alarm.
— Compiled by Crime Beat Writer Brandon Fuhr
• On Feb. 14 at 1:24 a.m., EPD received a noise complaint from an individual located on Clairmont Campus. The complainant said the noise was coming from an area between Building D and Building B. EPD located the individuals who were members of Zeta Phi Beta sorority. The individuals cooperated with EPD and turned the music down.
Feb. 14, 1995 The Alumni Memorial building hosted a campus blood drive in February 1952. Schools in the southeastern U.S., including Auburn University, competed to donate the most blood. The donations were requested by the U.S. Defense Department, which, according to a 1952 article in the Wheel, had an urgent need for donations to support troops in Korea. “Plenty of guys are getting hit over there and need the blood we civilians can send them,” Korea veteran Ken Murrah. The article also added that 475 student donations were necessary to “win ranking honors among competing southern campuses.”
EVENTS AT EMORY FRIDAY Event: Goizueta Diverse Leadership Conference Time: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Location: Goizueta Business School Event: Essentials of Personal Income Tax Time: 12-1 p.m. Location: Harland Cinema, DUC Event: Who are the (Real) Chosen People? The Meaning of Divine Election in Judaism, Christianity and Islam Time: 12-1:30 p.m. Location: Miller-Ward Alumni House, Governor’s Hall Event: Chemistry Studies Information Session Time: 3-5 p.m. Location: Atwood 204 Event: Social Justice Week Alumni Panel and Networking Event Time: 5-7 p.m. Location: DUC Faculty Dining Room Event: Startup Crunch Time: 5-6 p.m. Location: Eagles Landing Event: Athletics — Women’s Basketball
Time: 6-8 p.m. Location: Woodruff P.E. Center Event: Men’s Lacrosse Game Time: 7 p.m. Location: Kaminsky Field Event: Athletics — Men’s Basketball Time: 8-10 p.m. Location: Woodruff P.E. Center
SATURDAY Event: Emory Best Buddies 5k 2014: Spread the Word to End the “R” Word Time: 11 a.m. Location: Asbury Circle Event: Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Tournament Time: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Location: Kaminsky Field Event: Athletics — Softball Time: 12-1:45 p.m. Location: Emory Softball Field Event: Dodgeball Tournament Time: 12 p.m. Location: Woodruff P.E. Center Arena Event: Feeling Into Words: A Conversation about Seamus Heaney Time: 1 p.m. Location: Woodruff Library Jones
Room Event: Athletics — Softball Time: 2-3:45 p.m. Location: Emory Softball Field Event: Paul Muldoon Poetry Reading Time: 4-5:30 p.m. Location: Glenn Memorial Auditorium Event: Men’s Lacrosse Game Time: 5 p.m. Location: Kaminsky Field Event: “Seamus Heaney: The Music of What Happens” Exhibition Grand Opening Celebration Time: 5:30 p.m. Location: Schatten Gallery Event: Emory Wind Ensemble Time: 8 p.m. Location: Emerson Concert Hall, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts Event: Women’s Ultimate Tournament Time: 8 p.m.-4 p.m. Location: Kaminsky Field
SUNDAY Event: Athletics — Softball Time: 10-11:45 a.m. Location: Emory Softball Field
Event: Athletics — Men’s Basketball Time: 12-2 p.m. Location: Woodruff P.E. Center Event: Athletics— Softball Time: 2-3:45 p.m. Location: Emory Softball Field Event: Athletics — Women’s Basketball Time: 2-4 p.m. Location: Woodruff P.E. Center Event: Christopher Young, Organ Time: 4 p.m. Location: Emerson Concert Hall, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
MONDAY Event: The Prophet Muhammad’s Heavenly Journey Time: 4-6 p.m. Location: Candler School of Theology 102 Event: Three-Minute Thesis Competition at Emory Time: 4-6 p.m. Location: Oxford Road Building Presentation Building Event: Film Screening: Gasland, Part II Time: 6:30-7:30 p.m. Location: White Hall 207
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Friday, February 21, 2014
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ADMINISTRATION
SOCIAL JUSTICE WEEK
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Wagner Salary Among Top College Executives
SGA Restructures Elections Code, Updates Bylaws By Rupsha Basu Asst. News Editor
By Naomi Maisel Senior Staff Writer University President James W. Wagner ranked 27 out of the 550 top paid college executives, according to a Dec. 15 Chronicle of Higher Education article. Wagner, who has acted as Emory’s President for the past eight years, receives a total yearly compensation of $1,200,633, according to the article. This amount is broken down into a base compensation of $931,097 with an added $269,536 in deferred compensation and non-taxable benefits, according to Interim Vice President for University Communications and Marketing Nancy Seideman. Seideman added that The Chronicle based its article on Form 990, which is titled “Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax Form.” Form 990 is filled out by taxexempt non-profit organizations and is filed each year with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The form allows the IRS and the public to evaluate non-profits and how they operate.
“It’s humbling to know that our trustees believe I am justly compensated...” — James W. Wagner University president According to Seideman, compensation for Emory’s senior leadership is reviewed annually by the Committee on Executive Compensation and Trustees’ Conflict of Interest of the Board of Trustees. Senior leadership includes Wagner as well as executive vice presidents, certain senior vice presidents and vice presidents, deans and Emory Healthcare senior executives, Seideman said. According to Seideman, in addition to the annual review, the committee periodically engages independent outside consultants to review the accuracy of Emory’s executive pay as compared with other peer institutions. Seideman added that the outside reviews are for all senior leadership groups and occur on a biannual schedule. There was no additional review done after the release of The Chronicle’s article, Seideman said. In an email to the Wheel, Wagner said he is grateful because his compensation is the result of the deliberation of others. “It is humbling to know that our trustees believe that I am justly compensated for my work on Emory’s behalf,” he wrote. According to Wagner, he and his wife have chosen to adopt a “discipline of philanthropy” that encourages them to give money to important institutions. Up until three years ago, money donated by Wagner enriched a discretionary fund meant to support certain student activities, he said. However, Wagner added that in recent years most of his donations have gone to support student financial aid.
— Contact Naomi Maisel at namaise@emory.edu
Emory Named Best Value by Organizations Continued from Page 1 from the year before, according to a Jan. 24 Wash U. press release. Princeton’s tuition will rise by 4.1 percent to $55,440, the school said on its website. According to the University statement, Emory “maintains a commitment to meet 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for admitted domestic undergraduates and their families,” and about 60 percent of Emory undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid.
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has also ranked Emory 14th nationally as a “best value” among private universities. And, The Princeton Review has named Emory a “Best Value College.” — Contact Jordan Friedman at jordan.m.friedman@emory.edu
James Crissman/Photography Editor
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ollege senior Courtney Thomas (Left) and College sophomore Chidimma Egbulem (Right) pose for a picture holding signs advocating for a “real man” and “real woman.” The signs were part of the social justice-themed Wonderful Wednesday.
ACADEMICS
‘Death and Dying’ Course a Student Favorite By Alyssa Posklensky Staff Writer What happens when people die? For about the past 20 years, that’s the question that Gary Laderman, professor and chair in the Department of Religion, has sought to discuss in his course “Death and Dying,” which he inherited from Professor Emeritus Gene Bianchi. The class studies the concept of death in Hinduism, Ancient Egypt, Islam, Native American cultures, Christianity and the United States, Laderman said. In the 1970s, the course started with eight students and grew to 12 in the second year, 80 a few years later and 170 presently, according to Laderman. The course fills the largest lecture hall in the Math and Science Center. While he can’t create the same personal relationships with the larger class size, Laderman said he has found through the years that students take the course for a multitude of reasons, including experiences with death, natural curiosity or future careers in a health-related field. According to Laderman, a possible explanation for the increased enrollment is the increase of people within the college age group who claim no religious affiliation. These students are more curious about religion and religious responses to death. Laderman said the rise of “nones” who claim no religious affiliation may be unique in this moment in time and contributes to the popularity of the course.
Gary Laderman, professor and chair in the Department of Religion, teaches ‘Death and Dying.’ College freshman Maddie Klingeman said she decided to take the class after taking “Religion and Sexuality” with Laderman during the fall semester, which inspired her to learn more about religion. She also said she enjoyed how “he shifts the focus from grades to learning, allowing students to truly appreciate the topic instead of getting wrapped up in grades.” Klingeman said she considers herself more culturally religious than spiritually religious, but that wasn’t the determining factor when she decided to take the course. “Personally, I think the class is relevant to everyday life because not only does everyone experience death firsthand, but secondhand with loved ones as well,” Klingeman said. One of the ways Laderman makes the topic more relatable is the inclusion of references to pop culture, especially music, according to Klingeman. College freshman Sabrina Paxton said she is fascinated by how religions that are less prevalent in our society, including Hinduism and Native American traditions, think
differently about death and the soul. “The class teaches students the ways in which each has focused on death over time, especially in pop culture, where today it is very prevalent,” Paxton said. While the class is much larger than the “Religion and Sexuality” class, Laderman takes command of the class and keeps the attention on the exciting material, according to Klingeman. Similar classes are being taught at schools around the country, according to Laderman. According to a July 2 HeraldTribune article, the University of Florida has offered a class by the same name taught by Hannelore Wass, former professor of gerontology and founder of the journal Death Studies who died in 2013, since 1970. “This is a class where you walk out and look at trees differently,” Wass said in the article. “You look at life differently.” Laderman said that while he imagines each student has some experience with death coming into the class, he tries to keep the personal out of the classroom. The only personal question he poses is whether or not the students have seen a corpse, with students who answer yes rising in recent years. “Death is so overwhelmingly present in popular culture — music, films, gaming, literature and so on — that this course is a natural fit in the popular imagination of college students,” Laderman said. — Contact Alyssa Posklensky at alyssa.posklensky@emory.edu
The 47th Legislature of the Student Government Association (SGA) voted to restructure the elections code as recommended by the Elections Reform Task Force and enacted a number of constitutional amendments to the SGA code during its last two legislative sessions. The chair of the task force, College senior Matthew Pesce, presented the bill to the legislature and outlined the changes it makes to the elections code. Pesce identified challenges to elections and the redundancy of having multiple election boards as reasons for the changes. To rectify the first problem, the bill repeals the election codes and boards for all of the divisional councils and unifies them under one election code and board, which Pesce will lead. The unified board will include representatives from each subsidiary body. This includes the Graduate School SGA, College Council, the Goizueta Business School and the School of Law. Specifically, the new code outlines the qualifications for candidacy and what methods of campaigning candidates are not permitted to use rather than describing what they are allowed to do, Pesce said. According to the bill, the new code permits campaigning 10 days prior to Election Day and prohibits campaigning starting at 11:59 p.m. the night before. The code no longer restricts what candidates may post on social media but instead mandates that all vote solicitation materials be submitted to the board for approval prior to dissemination. It also prohibits candidates from “randomly call[ing] students to solicit votes” and from encouraging students to vote by providing them with a laptop. Any challenges to an election result must be submitted within 48 hours of the election and will be subject to review by the SGA Board of Elections. In addition to these stipulations, Pesce said the new code allows divisional councils autonomy because they may submit their own rules that would serve as supplements to the code. Because the divisional councils will be appointing those representing them on the board, some SGA members raised concerns that the same people running for office are appointing the board that reviews them. Pesce responded that he did not think this was a concern because it is how elections operate in the status quo. “This is a product of a whole
bunch of delicate compromises,” Pesce said. The bill passed 19-0-1. In addition to unifying the elections code, the legislature also voted to temporarily create the Office of the Associate Vice President. The purpose of the position, according to SGA Vice President for Communications and College sophomore Jon Darby, is to train the associate vice president to take over the position of vice president for communications. The addition of this office requires a referendum of the student population in order to pass, so the bill temporarily establishes the office until a referendum is held to amend the constitution officially. That bill passed on a 24-0-4 decision, and legislators voted unanimously to appoint College sophomore Yuxuan Chen to the newly created position. The legislature also passed a number of constitutional amendments to the SGA code that enumerate the powers of the executive and legislative branches. The amendments also update the bylaws to reflect practice, according to SGA Speaker of the House and College sophomore Kimberly Varadi. The amendments add the power to choose internal officers to the legislature and the power to set the Student Activities Fee as determined by the Board of Trustees. These amendments also limit the executive branch to solely Universitywide positions, meaning the SGA Chief of Staff is no longer considered a part of the executive branch. The responsibilities of the newly created Office of Secretary were also codified. The bill also requires that the University Senate approve all constitutional amendments. The Legislature tabled the bill after the 17th legislative session because some members of SGA said they wanted time to review the old document and compare it to the amendments. However, at the 18th legislative session the bills to amend the constitutions were passed unanimously by the legislature. The legislature also voted to approve the Student Locker Transfer Act, which transfers control of the lockers in Eagles’ Landing from the President and Executive Branch to the Legislature. Finally, SGA also passed a bill that establishes that all standing rules in the bylaws that apply to the Legislature are independent from the President and no longer require his or her approval. That bill also passed unanimously.
— Contact Rupsha Basu at rupsha.basu@emory.edu
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Friday, February 21, 2014
Emory Experience Spurs Luce Scholar’s Passion Continued from Page 1 major, will learn his country placement in late April or May. He is the University’s seventh Luce Scholar since 1999 and this year is the third Emory recipient in the last three years, according to McGraw. Berry Brosi, Environmental Sciences professor and Niezgoda’s faculty advisor, said the selection of Niezgoda did not come as a surprise. “Kyle stands out for several reasons — intelligence, curiosity and quantitative abilities among them,” Brosi said. “He is also very interested in climate issues and how they relate to Asia.” Outside his role as an advisor, Brosi has gotten to know Niezgoda professionally. Niezgoda served as a field assistant in Brosi’s Colorado research lab, working on projects dealing with bee pollination ecology. “Kyle is naturally very curiositydriven, and he has let his interests drive him, rather than focusing on things just to build his resume,” Brosi said. “I think this experience will be transformative for Kyle in terms of giving him the kind of broadened world view that one can only get by immersive living and working in a very different culture.” The selection process for the Luce Scholars is a long, involved process that focuses on personal traits and
goals, according to Niezgoda. After submitting a personal statement reflecting on long-term career interests, ideas of leadership and his reason for applying to the scholarship, Niezgoda said he went through several rounds of interviews with past Luce Scholars. Niezgoda said he believes he was recognized due to his academic success and leadership potential, especially demonstrated through his work with Brosi. He applied to the scholarship, he said, under the future goal of a career in climatology and meteorology, although he joked, “nobody really knows what their career path will be at the age of 21.” Niezgoda added that his passion and fascination with the weather came from his background in rural Delaware, where he spent a lot of time interacting with the natural world. After he completes his year abroad through the scholarship program, Niezgoda hopes to use his experience to grow as a person and take steps toward a Ph.D. in atmospheric science. “I hope this opportunity gives me a chance to grow and develop both as an academic and personally as a global citizen,” Niezgoda said. “Global collaborative research is essential to successful research, so hopefully my year in Asia will allow me to gather the connections and
resources to make this type of work a reality [in] the future.” Niezgoda said that since his selection for the scholarship he has experienced many emotions about the experience. “There are so many feelings I’ve experienced over the past few weeks or so — extreme excitement, pride, humility and honestly quite a bit of nervousness,” Niezgoda said. “I know very little about Eastern culture, and now I’m going to be thrown into it all ... It’s quite overwhelming at some points.” Nonetheless, Niezgoda said it is a “dream come true,” and a dream that could not be possible without his experiences at Emory. “Brosi has been an incredible advisor and has helped me more than I could ever ask for,” Niezgoda said. “Without his belief in me, I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am today.” Niezgoda also attributed his selection to the rich cultural diversity at Emory that propelled him to understanding cultural acceptance and the support of friends and his classmates. “[Spending] the past four years with bright students and future leaders from all over the globe opened my mind to the world around me and opportunities that exist outside of America,” Niezgoda said.
— Contact Stephen Fowler at smfowle@emory.edu
Campus Organizations Played Role Poster to In Sex Week’s Success, Ezrol Says Honor Billings Placed in DUC
Continued from Page 1
week’s events, particularly “Sex Trivia” and “Misconceptions About Contraception.” The event also invited speakers such as Laci Green, the YouTube phenomenon who hosts a channel discussing sexuality, and writer and public speaker Hanne Blank, to promote healthy sexuality on campus, according to Dixon. Despite the unexpected delay in hosting the events, the team pushed on by putting on Sex Week Wonderful Wednesday. The event included free food and drinks, gifts like iPhone cases and laptop stickers, sex-themed cakes and free condoms and lubricant. Ezrol gave credit to several organizations on campus, which also helped SHAG and the Office of Health Promotion in organizing the week’s events. “The Office of Health Promotion has been a huge support for us and a great resource to find speakers and sponsors,” Dixon said.
“But all of these other organizations have also helped to make this work, and contributed in different ways to get the word out.” Sarah Corrigan, first-year graduate student in Candler School of Theology, noted the importance of providing college students with this experience and common misconceptions of students regarding “sex talk.” “College students tend to think that sexual education was an awkward lecture that happened in high school,” Corrigan said. “But it is important to recognize that sexual education and identity are ongoing processes that need attention and care.” Ezrol expressed her satisfaction with the turnout of Sex Week Wonderful Wednesday. “Considering the craziness associated with the date change, we were ultimately really excited with how things turned out,” Ezrol said. “People seemed to enjoy the food, drinks, activities, and swag.” — Contact Catherine Pilishvili at cpilish@emory.edu
Continued from Page 1 ate for the passing of such a lovely woman. Billings is survived by her daughter and brother. If anyone would like to show their support for Billings, a poster will be set up at the ticket booth at the DUC from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for people to sign. The poster will then be given to her family.
— Contact Naomi Maisel at namaise@emory.edu
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THE STATE OF RACE
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tudents gathered in the Cox Hall Ballroom to listen to President of Spelman College and race relations scholar Beverly Daniel Tatum for the 14th annual State of Race speech. The event was a part of College Council’s second annual Social Justice Week.
Social Justice Week Features Slam Poetry, LGBTQ Discussion Continued from Page 1 personally appreciate how everyone was comfortable sharing their views and how interactive and emotive the audience was,” said College junior and Wheel Editorials editor Priyanka Krishnamurthy, who served on the panel as the President of FIA. On Tuesday, a showcase of slam poetry was held in Canon Chapel. The event, entitled Café Unity, featured a duo called Sister Outsider Poetry. The two women, Dominique Christina and Denice Frohman, recited slam poetry inspired by civil rights activist Audre Lorde. “The room was full of energy, snapping, oohs, ahhs and hollers — the standing ovation made it clear to me that the duo’s words were as meaningful to those in attendance as they have been for me,” said College senior Rachel Ezrol, who helped organize the event. “It’s powerful to have your ‘otherness’ celebrated and your individuality validated, some-
thing I think Sister Outsider Poetry does really well.” She added that she was in awe of the students who decided to recite their own spoken work poetry after the performance.
“It’s powerful to have your ‘otherness’ celebrated and your individuality validated, something I think Sister Outsider Poetry does really well. ” — Rachel Ezrol, College senior
The poems addressed a range of topics from political issues to personal experiences of the poets
and centered on the experience of “otherness.” “Watching these two women speak about deep and emotion filled stories while still keeping the entire performance relatively light-hearted was pretty incredible,” College sophomore Casey Costello said. Wednesday evening, Reverend Joshua Nobitt, the minister of social justice at Saint Mark Methodist Church, and Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, led a discussion about about the Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual and Queer movement in the Dobbs University Center. Social Justice Week will conclude with a roundtable discussion, whose panelists are made up of alumni in social justice careers. The panel is sponsored by the Student Alumni Board.
—Contact Rupsha Basu at rupsha.basu@emory.edu and Cindy Tang at xin.tang@emory.edu
EDITORIALS THE EMORY WHEEL
Friday, February 21, 2014 Editorials Editor: Priyanka Krishnamurthy
Our Opinion
CONTRIBUTE Email: pkrish4@emory.edu
Zachary Elkwood
Zachary Elkwood is a member of the Class of 2015. His cartoons appear in every other Friday issue of the Wheel.
What Qualifies As Teaching? Salman Rushdie Should Lead Workshops In 2011, USA Today ranked Emory’s creative writing program as number one in the nation, and the program continues to be ranked in the top five best for budding writers. This ranking is undoubtedly due in part to Salman Rushdie’s presence at Emory. In 2007, esteemed novelist and essayist Salman Rushdie joined the Emory faculty as a Distinguished Writer in Residence. Rushdie is the author of numerous and highly regarded novels. He won the Booker Prize in 1981 for his novel Midnight’s Children, and in 2007, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his dedication and contributions to literature. According to Emory’s website, “Emory students have access to a remarkable asset: Emory faculty.” And Rushdie is just one of many notable faculty members Emory boasts, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, Pulitzer Prizewinning author Hank Kilbanoff, Former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Jeffrey Koplan and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey. However, unlike Klibanoff and Trethewey, Rushdie does not teach traditional college courses. He gives lectures, leads one-day class sessions and occasionally teaches a master class, which meets four times throughout a semester. Although it is an incredible opportunity for those students who are able to attend these events, we at the Wheel would like to see Rushdie further engage students in a traditional creative writing workshop. Generally, creative writing courses at Emory are centered around workshops: students read each others’ stories, plays, poems or screenplays and then spend the class period offering feedback and critiques. With as distinguished a writer as Rushdie on faculty, it seems strange that the College would not employ his expertise in teaching its creative writing students how to, well, write. Although having someone like Rushdie on faculty is certainly a point of pride and a mark of the University’s prestige, we at the Wheel question whether his title as a faculty member is misleading for prospective creative writing students, most of whom will never meet him, let alone take a course with him. We value Emory’s ability to attract prominent cultural, academic and artistic figures to campus. However, we urge the University to ensure that students, and not just Emory’s name and reputation, are benefiting from these notable faculty. If the University is going to spend time and money recruiting and maintaining notable, distinguished faculty, we feel these members should be engaging with students in the same way, or in a compa-
Mariana Hernandez | Staff
‘Domain’ Offers Personal Portfolios Students Should Learn Online Safety This year, around 30 classes are participating in Domain of One’s Own. The program offers students the opportunity to purchase a web domain and publish their coursework online. Domain of One’s Own is part of a growing trend of integrating the Internet into undergraduate education, and we at the Wheel recognize that the program offers several opportunities to students at Emory. We believe that the program will be an effective way for students to develop a public archive of work to present to potential employers. The Internet continues to become more important in contemporary life, and Domain of One’s Own will encourage and educate students to consider how to present themselves and their work online. Regardless of the field a student is interested in entering, an easily accessible body of work may be a great supplement to a student’s public and professional pursuits. Though we support a more technologically-engaged educational method, we do have a few concerns. We worry that some instructors may not know how to best integrate Domain of One’s Own into their classes in a way that is organic and helpful for the course. We also worry that students may not be educated in online safety in regards to their private information. Students are required to pay for their domain name and its yearly upkeep, and we think that students who receive stipends for textbooks should receive financial assistance for this as well. Additionally, some students are using the program in multiple classes, and we hope that professors understand this and do not expect students to purchase more than one domain. In spite of these hesitations, we approve of Domain of One’s Own and its presence on campus. We eagerly await to see how its use will evolve over time at Emory, but we are hopeful that it will be a positive step towards greater online literacy. The above staff editorials represents the majority opinion of the Wheel Editorial Board.
The Hermit Kingdom Demanding Accountability for North Korea’s Crimes BENAZIR WEHELIE
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry released a 372-page report on Monday after a year-long investigation detailing human rights in North Korea. In addition to the Commission’s report, Human Rights Watch released a video, “North Korea: Tales from Camp Survivors,” focusing on North Koreans once incarcerated in political prison camps. Essentially, both the report and the video reveal that human rights in North Korea do not exist. This fact, however, should not come as a complete shock to the world, considering this is the same government in which Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un executed his own uncle, Jang Song-thaek, last December. Details in the report include violations of the freedoms of thought, expression and HE MORY HEEL religion, and discrimination on the basis of Arianna Skibell EDITOR-IN-CHIEF state-assigned social class, gender and disabilJordan Friedman Executive Editor ity. The report also outlined violations of the Lane Billings Managing Editor freedom of movement and residence, includVolume 95 | Number 30 Copy Chief Ross Fogg ing the freedom to leave one’s own country Sonam Vashi Social Media Editors and the prohibition of refoulement, as well News Editors Miriam Cash Dustin Slade Business and Advertising Dana Youngentob as violations of the right to food and related Karishma Mehrotra Asst. Editorials Editor Editorials Editor aspects of the right to life. Rhett Henry Akeel Williams BUSINESS MANAGER Priyanka Krishnamurthy Asst. Copy Chiefs The list does not end there. Crimes against Student Life Editors Blaire Chennault Sales Manager Benazir Wehelie Lizzie Howell humanity are a major focus of the report, Harmeet Kaur Maggie Daorai Design Manager Jenna Kingsley Asst. News Editors Arts & Entertainment Editor and in particular, crimes against humanity Rupsha Basu Account Executives Emelia Fredlick in political prison camps, which are further Stephen Fowler Bryce Robertson, Lena Erpaiboon, Salaar Ahmed, Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Ryan Smith Christopher Hwang Przybylski, Annabelle Zhuno, Julia documented in the video. Zak Hudak Photo Editors Leonardos Asst. Student Life Editor According to the report, crimes against James Crissman Business/Advertising Office Number Loli Lucaciu Thomas Han humanity under international law entail: “(a) (404) 727-6178 Associate Editors Features Editor Nathaniel Ludewig Ashley Bianco Individuals must commit inhumane acts with Online Editor Nicholas Sommariva the requisite criminal intent; and (b) These inhumane acts must form part of a wideThe Emory Wheel welcomes letters and op-ed submissions from the Emory community. spread or systematic attack directed against a Letters should be limited to 300 words and op-eds should be limited to 700. Those selected civilian population […] [and] the attack must may be shortened to fit allotted space or edited for grammar, punctuation and libelous content. be pursuant to, or in furtherance of, a state or Submissions reflect the opinions of individual writers and not of the Wheel Editorial Board organizational policy.” or Emory University. Send e-mail to askibel@emory.edu or postal mail to The Emory Wheel, Based on the findings and witness Drawer W, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga. 30322. accounts by the Commission and Human Rights Watch, the North Korean government
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has, without question, violated both elements. The sole purpose of the North Korean political prison camps is to purge and imprison anyone deemed as a threat to the North Korean political system and its leadership. To achieve this objective, prison guards and authorities are instructed to treat prisoners as sub-humans who no longer have rights. Imprisonment of North Koreans by their government does not adhere to the basic principles of due process, as prisoners are prohibited from inquiring about their crimes. They do not receive judicial court hearings, and therefore are never formally charged, convicted or sentenced to their imprisonment. Their citizenship rights are removed and the prisoners are detained in remote political prison camps that do not officially exist. Once in prison, those incarcerated endure living conditions created with the intent to bring about mass deaths. Deaths are brought about by executions, torture, denial of medical care, work accidents, lack of shelter and lack of appropriate clothing, in addition to death by starvation resulting from the combination of grueling labor and food rations. In an interview contained in the video, a former North Korean police official confessed: “The camps are a living hell […] When I saw the lives of the prisoners, I’d be the first to kill myself if I had to live there.” Torture so vicious, prison guards spit phlegm into prisoners’ mouths’ and beat them if they gag. Children so disfigured due to malnourishment, which makes their heads grow big while their bodies remain tiny and thin. Starvation so severe prisoners eat the corn from cow dung just to survive another day. Executions so tragic prisoners’ mouths’ are shoved with pebbles, their faces covered with rags and patches placed over their eyes before they are tied up to a stake and shot in the head, chest and belly. Yet among such terror, tears so absent
because family members and friends are prohibited from crying at such executions, unless they themselves want to share a similar nightmarish fate. These are the details revealed by the survivors in the video. The treatment of prisoners and the conditions in which they are forced to live, or more accurately, die, at North Korean political prisons demand urgent attention. For decades, the North Korean government has committed inhumane acts against its people. Too much time has passed without an adequate response from the international community to address such crimes. The Commission has called on the United Nations Security Council to take action against those most responsible for the crimes against humanity. One suggestion is that the Security Council should refer the situation in North Korea to the International Criminal Court. Also, the Security Council should adopt targeted sanctions specifically against those responsible for the crimes against humanity. These are necessary measures that the Security Council should follow through with. It is vital that they enforce accountability by the North Korean government for the crimes against humanity that have been and continue to be committed against its own people. As concluded in the Commission’s report: “The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.” The North Korean government should not expect they can simply make the details within the report and video vanish using Photoshop, as they did to Kim Jong-un’s uncle in photos after his execution. The Hermit Kingdom must be removed from its shell of secrecy and face the repercussions that are long overdue. Asst. Copy Chief Benazir Wehelie is a College sophomore from Johannesburg, South Africa.
THE EMORY WHEEL
Friday, February 21, 2014
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Understanding Respect Re-Imagining Political Donations As a Material Condition DAVID GIFFIN
Dispelling Misconceptions About the Election Process The Hill recently reported that over the last few weeks, an increasing number of Senate Democrats who are facing tough reelection campaigns this fall have called upon the Internal Revenue Service to increase their policing of political groups with tax-exempt 501(c)(4) status. As this controversy intensifies, it means that we once again will be faced with the eternal debate of how much money should influence our political institutions. One organization that has fallen under particularly harsh scrutiny as a result of this effort to criticize 501(c)(4) groups is Americans for Prosperity, an organization funded in part by none other than Koch Industries. Yes, THAT Koch Industries, owned by none other than the infamous Koch brothers, who are often attacked by left-leaning pundits and activists as the biggest funders of right-wing political operations. No doubt, these ne’er-do-wells are the root cause of all things corrupt in American politics. At least, that’s what their critics tell us. But are they really the gigantic source of darkness that we have been told they are? The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), a nonpartisan organization that according to its website seeks to “inform, empower, and advocate” on issues of governmental transparency and money in politics, released a chart listing the all-time top 156 major political donors from 1984 to today. Their list, which is ranked in total dollars spent and is further broken down by percentages donated to either GOP- or Democrat-affiliated candidates or Political Action Committees (PACs), is based on official data released in December by the Federal Elections Commission. For those who subscribe to the evil-rightwing-corporate-funding theory of politics, the findings are certainly surprising. According to the data, there are equal numbers of large-scale donors that give to either political party. Of the top 156, CRP identified approximately 50 that gave primarily to the GOP and 48 that gave primarily to Democrats, while the rest were “on the fence” and gave to both major parties in roughly comparable amounts. In addition, many groups did not give fully to either major party, instead contributing a portion of their political contributions to third-party candidates or independents. While the numbers of companies that donate to either party may be on par, the biggest donors aren’t who you think they are: out of the top 25 all-time largest political donors, 15 companies donated almost exclusively to Democrats. By contrast, only three—yes, you read that correctly—donated predominately to the GOP. Even expanding the list to the top 50 doesn’t change the imbalance all that much: 20 companies still donated predominately to Democrats, and only nine donated to Republicans. The raw dollar figures are also
eye-opening: out of the total political donations made by these top donors, totaling almost three billion dollars, Democrats raked in roughly $1.66 billion of that amount. Republicans, by contrast, only raked in $1.16 billion, almost $500 million behind their left-leaning competitors. (Independents and third-party candidates, in case you are interested, only received a paltry $158 million.) The single largest donors to either party are also eye-opening. The top donor out of all donors was not some evil right-wing corporation as many might expect, but was rather a liberal one: ActBlue, an organization dedicated to funding liberal causes, donated over 99 percent of their total $97.1 million in political donations to Democrats. The single largest corporate donor to Republicans, by contrast, was communications provider AT&T, which donated only $32.2 million to the cause. What is more fascinating, however, is that AT&T isn’t even listed by CRP as a right-leaning donor: it falls within CRP’s “on the fence” category, as it also donated $23.1 million to Democrats during the same time period.
We all need to pay better attention to where the money comes from... And those nefarious Koch Brothers? They didn’t even make the top 50. In fact, Koch Industries only made it to number 59 on the list, donating just under $16.3 million to Republicans. Interestingly enough, Koch Industries also donated just under $1.5 million to Democrats during that same time period— making Koch Industries far more generous to “opposition” candidates than ActBlue, which donated zero dollars to Republicans. So what, then, do these numbers from CRP tell us about political funding in America? Despite what the media or political leaders may want us to think about political spending, the left in this country is in no way at a disadvantage. Based purely on the numbers, Democrats actually raked in almost half a billion dollars more in campaign contributions from large donors than did Republicans. Stereotypically “right wing” corporations actually aren’t as monolithic as we have been led to believe. Companies that donated primarily to conservatives have actually been more generous in donating to Democrat candidates than “left wing” groups are in donating to Republicans. Over 21 left-leaning large donors donated less than ten percent of their total political contributions to opposition candidates, whereas only four right-leaning groups did the same for their opposition. We don’t know who the political
“little guy” actually is anymore. Many of the groups that were the largest donors were groups like unions and activist organizations, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the American Federation of Teachers and EMILY’s List, all of whom the media tends to portray as sticking up for the average Joe or Jane. Based on the numbers, however, these groups are actually quite large and influential. By contrast, “evil corporations” like Koch Industries, Exxon and British Petroleum (BP) actually fall quite low on the list of big donors and may not be as influential as we have been led to believe. Now, it is important to note that this list does only focus on donations made to candidates and PACs. It does not include independent expenditures that companies made following the Citizens United decision (though CRP does offer a separate list with those expenditures on their website).Nor, to my knowledge, does the list include donations to the maligned 501(c)(4) organizations mentioned previously. Spending data published by the Sunlight Foundation, another nonpartisan organization that focuses on political spending, suggest that 501(c)(4) spending was in fact high during the 2012 election, and that many of the biggest spenders were right-ofcenter groups. Given the CRP data above, however, that shows such a strong leaning toward the Democrat side of the donation spectrum, the concerns expressed by Democrats in the Hill article cited above now seem patently political. If the IRS began cracking down in this way, it would have a similar effect on 501(c)(4)s as did the IRS’s previous efforts to overly-scrutinize conservative groups applying for tax-exempt 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) status. Those prior efforts, which had hamstrung conservative grassroots efforts and have since prompted waves of congressional investigations, began before the 2010 elections and continued until former IRS Commissioner Doug Schulman resigned five days after the 2012 election. Taking conservative 501(c)(4) groups out of the picture come election time while simultaneously leaving large Democrat donors intact would put at-risk Democrats well ahead of their competitors financially, right at a time when advertising dollars matter most. If anything, these numbers should prove to us just how delicate and complicated the world of political campaign financing actually is. We all need to pay better attention to where the money comes from, because everything we think we know about money in politics is at best incomplete and at worst completely wrong. David Giffin is an Alumnus of the Masters program in Theological Studies at the Candler School of Theology and is currently attending law school at Wake Forest University. He is from Charleston, Ill.
Priyanka Pai | Staff
CHARLIE PRICE I came across two interesting statements from Emory students last week. The first, a confession about spending $1000 in one week and the second, a passionate plea for students to give the workers of Emory all the “thank you’s” they rightfully deserve. These comments, one overheard at the gym, the other posted on Emory Secrets, illustrate both the enormous privilege and ignorance often characteristic of members of an elite university. Emory is a top 20 school. Almost 100 percent of Goizueta Business School graduates are employed three months after graduating with average base salaries starting at over $100,000. The majority of us were in the top ten percent of our classes. I could go on. This privilege and intelligence should come with an equally impressive political engagement and social awareness. Before we pat ourselves too smugly on the back, let’s not forget that our life chances were largely set out for us before we were even born — class is a self-reproducing system. Less than three percent of individuals from working class backgrounds earn a four year degree, and the vast majority of students at elite universities are from middle and elite classes. Combine these numbers with the fact that college degrees, especially from elite universities, are correlated with wealth and success, and it doesn’t take an Ivy education to see that inequality reproduces itself over generations (perhaps not incidentally, it may take an Ivy education to not understand these basic facts - Bill O’Reilly with his fetishization of hard work is a prime example). At this point some might want to rejoin with the racist/classist “culture of poverty” argument that states the poor are poor because of their degenerate culture, but even here, if it were true, little blame should be placed on the individual- they no more chose their “culture of poverty” than some college students choose alcohol and H&M. Cultures are largely unconscious, internalized systems that structure our behavior and thought. Arguments about hard work, bootstraps, etc.
seem equally dubious given the data. Because of the general efficacy of social reproduction, haves and have-not positions are largely accidents of birth, and a large part of our existence as future managerial and capitalist class members depends on workers like the laborers at Emory; these are the same lower class people who many of us will manage, sell products to and employ to perform service and production jobs. As if this debt weren’t enough, the functioning of our current society depends on individuals who do the jobs that many people don’t really want to do. Just as capitalism was built on the backs of slaves, elite success depends on the misfortunes of the poor. In this context, stopping at a simple “thank you” looks not only inadequate but virtually criminal. We have an obligation to act. There are plenty of easy things we can do right now, many of which don’t even require us closing our MacBook Pros, that would have much more lasting and concrete benefits on the working poor than the fleeting emotion that follows a “thank you.” Emory students are smart and can come up with their own solutions, but as a point of departure I recommend sending a letter to University President James W. Wagner asking him to pressure Sodexo, to hold them to the same ethical standards for their workers on campus as non-contracted, Emory-employed labor. Or sign one of the numerous online petitions to increase the minimum wage to the real value of the 1968 level: $10. The latter won’t immediately affect contracted labor at Emory (contracted labor is not subject to federal minimum wage requirements), but it will benefit millions of working poor people across America. These are simple measures that won’t get you arrested or consume an inordinate amount of time. We can and should do more than offer a meaningless “thank you,” and if you truly care about working people (I have no doubt that the author of the misguided Emory Secrets post does), you will do more. Charlie Price is a College junior from Oxford, Ga.
A PowerPoint Powered by Insomnia ALAN SHEN Now: This is me, thinking about what happens when I have insomnia. It rather feels like I’m sitting in a dark room and a PowerPoint is being presented on a screen. Insomnia: Closing eyes is the first step of entering the oblivion. (Loops of different colors start showing up and expanding in the darkness under my eyelids). It’s easy: every one can do it. To open them is the harder task. Some people, usually the ones that have been through what is included in this PowerPoint one too many times, simply do the first step and forfeit. That would definitely feel fabulous. To open up your eyes again is so very difficult. Ok, this is what’s going to happen to me if I ever pull up my eyelids. First, there shall be light coming at me with mercy. It covers up every dirty corner of your mind. Second, oh dear, my sister’s birthday is tomorrow. I really want to pick up a very nice cake for her from that far away bakery shop. But it’s so cold and… far. On the top of that, my paper for Chemistry is due tomorrow! Umm, interesting. Why do I need to write a paper for my Chemistry class? Do Chemistry students ever need to write a paper? But, I’m not even in any Chemistry classes… Now: This stage of insomnia, I call it random-mindless-no-logic-involved-drifting. It is actually quite fun. Insomnia: (Loops of different colors keep expanding in the darkness under my eyelids). Why am I not falling a sleep? Why are there so many why’s for myself? I’m just making things so much harder for myself. Everything stops making any sense. By the way, I think that girl in DUC was totally checking me out… Oh, there comes the picture of the girl, right when I want it. She is dark, wearing a black North Face jacket and gray leggings, maybe jeans. She has a nice figure and beautiful face. I’m pretty sure she has a good personality, too. I think she is beautiful. It’d be nice if they make a Mind Printer, so I can print her off right now and try to find her out of the thousands of people on campus. No, actually, I’m pretty sure that if there were such a printer, I’m going to print a lot of other things that are much more beautiful
Katrina Hernandez | Staff
and much more inappropriate. Did I just say “if they make a Mind Printer?” I can’t hide anywhere at all! “They say it’s going to snow tomorrow,” “they say it’s a good movie” and “they say: ‘oh, they have found out the cure for cancer—money!’”… The “they” tracks me down everywhere and strikes me with all of its might. I can only live my life when there is the “they.” What am I? Am I not some entity that is by my own being? Am I? Hamlet, oh dear brother, “whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or take arms against a sea of trouble, and by opposing end them?” In my average-
everydayness, who is going to understand me as I possibly understand the being of myself? Here, in the center of nothing and nowhere, in the mud of insomnia, I am being busy with notions of ontology and dying alone. It is not even the loneliness that makes “this place” so cold. It is the deep frustration, the anxiety of hopelessness and the hollow that eclipses the well-lit and colorful wrap of the wall standing between me and the rest of entities that surround and conceal. Now: This is the stage when insomnia has taken away too much power. There are many muddy problems accumulated in my brain
through average everydayness, years after years. Some are simply bad, and the others are systematically bad and need to be dealt with. It is not wise to face these problems when I’m half way to Narnia (yes that is the place I’m always dreaming of). Insomnia stirs the peaceful water up until the logs that have been buried and decayed finally resurface and blow out several stinky bubbles. I might have ignored them when they first showed up; I threw them into the water and let them sink. It happened so fast that I wouldn’t even remember. Insomnia: “Stop thinking. Stop logic.” I
imagine a bucket of white paint and pour it everywhere, as far as my eyes can see. A brush is needed, so there it is. To paint on the screen is to erase every bit of it. Bakery shop, paper, Chemistry, girl, printer, Heidegger, the world, water, logs—everything is erased from the PowerPoint. I sit down, nice and tight, in the middle of a room that is warm and fuzzy. All the walls are white, soft and possibly filled with cushion. I put cuffs on my wrists and stare into the whiteness. Alan Shen is College freshman from Hangzhou, China.
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Friday, February 21, 2014
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ACROSS Frigid Question at the door Miss out on a board “’Sup?” Subject for a golf lesson Emphatic approval Petition 51-Down and others: Abbr. Nighttime Hunky-dory Clobbered Birds in a clutch Group that no one on earth has ever joined Sun disk wearer, in myth Petition “That’s quite enough!” Abridged “What’s it gonna be?” Feature of a certain bandit 20-Down, e.g. Nut What a nonconformist ignores “___ magnifique!” Big employer in Hartford, Conn.
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Edited by Will Shortz No. 1224
Canal checker?: Abbr. One who’s trustworthy? Doesn’t just grab Green shade Public, as views Instruments played with mizraabs “I’d like you to leave” Nips in the bud Bank guards? Ambush locale in Episode 1 of “The Lone Ranger”
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DOWN “Cute” remarks Thallium sulfate, e.g. Figure out on the street? Stick with it One way to pay Civic leader? “Beg pardon?!” Shop alternative Takes credit? Gabriel or Giorgio Basic library stock Iron-pumper Australia’s ___ Rock Lose a lot? Nissan ___ Italian friend
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PUZZLE BY IAN LIVENGOOD
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Question in a long-distance relationship Humble dwellings Civil engineering safety feature Square, in old slang, as indicated by forming a square with one’s hands 1969 hit with the repeated lyric “Big wheel keep on turnin’”
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So that one can Takes some hits Red states Humble dwellings Short trunks Possible protein shake ingredient Sample in a swab test Weber per square meter Turn red, say Drill bits? Away from port
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Frequent form request: Abbr.
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE J U M P
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H A D W A M T D S S T R B U R N O G A C H
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For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554. 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. ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE
THE EMORY WHEEL
Student Life Friday, February 21, 2014 Student Life Editor: Elizabeth Howell (ehowel5@emory.edu) and Jenna Kingsley (jdkings@emory.edu)
PHOTOGRAPHY
Austin Price/Staff
In Senegal, communal eating is communal living. The communal bowl is a symbol of the self-sacrifice of one’s individuality for the sake of family, common in a nation known for its hospitality. The bowl above contains ceebu jën, a traditional Senegalese dish of fish and rice, cooked with carrots, cabbage, okra and peeled tomatoes.
A Taste of Humanity: Shared Lunch in Senegal By Austin Price Staff Writer From a concrete, free-standing kitchen at a coastal village of Senegal, the redolence of sweet cassava and red palm oil implies the arrival of lunchtime. Propane hisses and burns over an open valve. A lidded cast-iron bowl bathes in the steady flame atop the rusted burner of the 20-pound tank. Carrots, cabbage, okra and peeled tomatoes breathe in the steam and exhale away their raw rigidity – their aroma escapes the lid.
The meal is almost ready. Awa Diouf turns the knob, cutting off the gas. She yells from the doorway across the sand-swept yard of the compound. Her shrill voice carries across the mango orchard to the football pitch, where many of her children carouse in young revelry among donkeys and chickens. “Yangi an!” she calls shrilly, without repeating herself, and disappears back into the shade. I have learned enough Wolof vocabulary to know what she has announced, but if I am unsure, the steam and scent emanat-
ing from the kitchen doorway affirm my understanding. It’s time to eat. In Senegal, lunch is often the most eventful meal of the day. As opposed to the way things are typically conducted in the States, where we build up throughout the day to a relatively sizable dinner, the Senegalese meal plan follows the arch of the sun. Both appetite and daylight share their highest moments, and a heavy lunch compliments the day’s peak. This way seems logical, especially in a village that still depends on the mercies of the sun. The shade beneath
the village palaver tree and tin-roof structures seems more inviting at the hottest part of the day, and the darkness of night remains still a long way off: the perfect moment to sit without schedule and eat without restraint. Awa re-emerges. She balances the fruits of her labor in aluminum bowls stacked three-high atop her flower-printed headpiece. Steam clouds break and twirl behind her. The compound residents, gathered around bamboo mats beneath the shade of the tree, await their communal bowl. Awa flattens the earth with her foot
STUDENT EVENTS
and brushes away ripples of sand that have collected on the mat and, while keeping her back straight, bends her legs and places a bowl on the ground. One goes to the children, the next to the men, the last to the women. Today, I eat with the children. Eight of us crouch around the battered bowl no larger than a meter in diameter. The oldest daughter removes the lid, revealing ceebu jën, the archetype of Senegalese cuisine: fish and rice, cooked in palm oil and served with steamed vegetables and, today, mango chutney. A picture-
perfect lunch. But the picture doesn’t last long as a hunger-driven motion sets in. The lid barely leaves the lips of the bowl before eight eager hands scoop into the rice and tear at the fish. We barely talk as we shovel food into our mouths and pass around the vegetables. This communal meal – eight of us digging into a single bowl – would look silly in the States. But here, it makes sense. Senegal has maintained
See COMMUNAL, Page 10
MANIFESTO
The Woodruff Library Manifesto By Casey Horowitz Contributing Writer In the early 1900s, Robert Winship Woodruff attended Emory University. However, Woodruff’s academic performance was not on par with University standards and he ended up leaving Emory after only one term. He later went on to become president of The Coca-Cola Company, where he used his immense fortune to financially support Emory University’s development as an esteemed academic institution. To express their gratitude, the Emory administration instructed that a landmark be built in his namesake, and in 1982, the Robert W. Woodruff Library was completed. I owe Woodruff many thanks. Although at times I chuckle humbly to myself upon entering the library because I personally believe that the building is an ironic testament to Woodruff’s notorious academic legacy, the building offers the University community an academic safe haven. What students may not realize, however, is that Woodruff Library is not just a place for pre-midterm binge studying, power napping and having the occasional 4 a.m. panic attack. I believe that the Woodruff Library is bursting at the seams with history and opportunity, and for this reason, I intend to live my life in accordance with the Woodruff Library Manifesto: Courtesy of ECCC
Fiona Li (left) and Charles Wang (right) emcee Emory China Care Club’s Valentine’s Date Auction. At the event, Emory students bid on their peers, with proceeds benefitting the National China Care Foundation. This year, the organization raised $3000.
China Care Club Hosts Date Auction By Loli Lucaciu Asst. Student Life Editor Emory China Care Club’s (ECCC) Valentine’s Date Auction, held the evening of Feb. 7, enticed students with the prospect of a new romantic
interest as well as the chance to offer assistance to Chinese children in need of medical help. During this annual event, Emory students are auctioned on stage for their volunteering to hold a romantic date with the winner. If a romantic
date is not quite their cup-of-tea, they can choose to showcase their talents in exchange of a bid. The total amount raised through admission fees and auction money is then donated to Chinese orphans who need surgery.
The club noted that the event would not have taken place if dedicated people did not help make it happen. Emory Chinese Theatre Club (ECTC), sisters of Delta Phi Lambda Sorority and the Emory Tea
See VALENTINE’S, Page 10
1. I will fulfill the most basic obligations of every Emory student who visits the library, which entails (a) pulling one all-nighter in the stacks, (b) obtaining a bird’s eye view of the University via the balcony accessible through the 10th floor, (c) eating two meals in Jazzman’s Café during one study session and (d) showering in the third floor bathroom showers located near the art exhibits. 2. By the time I graduate, I will rent everything available to students from the Music and Media Library on the fourth floor, which includes DVDs, iPads, iPods, music records, laptops, cameras, microphones and projectors. More importantly, I will rent Zoolander on DVD, a laptop to play it on and a projector to display the film on a white wall in my residence hall so that I may celebrate the film’s historical significance on a particular evening with my friends. 3. I will take advantage of the Lynda.com Online Training Library that computers have loaded on the second floor of the Woodruff Library. I will use
See LIBRARY, Page 10
10
THE EMORY WHEEL
STUDENT LIFE
Friday, February 21, 2014
HOROSCOPES
Communal Bowl Offers New Outlook
DREAM-CRUSHING EDITION Aries (3/21-4/19)
You know that thing? That thing that you’ve been worrying about all week? Well, you’re going to fail at it, and probably embarrass yourself in the process. Sucks to be you, huh?
Continued from Page 9
In fulfilling the items listed above, I will maximize my Emory experience by utilizing the Woodruff Library to the best of my ability. This is how I have decided to live my Emory experience. How will you live yours?
a way of eating that matches perfectly its familial cultural values. As eight-year-old Mamadou tosses bits of carrot and cabbage into my vicinity, my mind wanders for a moment to other writers before me who have gone to foreign places and seen familiar aspects of life rearranged for a distinctive time and culture. In 1946, Albert Camus stepped onto the docks of New York Harbor, where the city immediately hit him with la puissance, la force économique – a forceful display of economic power. A funeral home advertises private death arrangements – “You die and we do the rest” – and renders the afterlife as consumable as anything else in mid-twentieth-century New York. Economic power until death, and beyond. Consequently, Camus writes that knowing a place is knowing how its people die. The sudden sweetness of chutney amid the savory draws my attention back to the bowl. But Camus’ observation and conclusion sticks with me. I can make a similarly constructed remark here: knowing a place is knowing how its people eat. Communal eating is communal living – a normalcy in this rural Senegalese village. Everyone dies, everyone eats, but how they do it determines who (or where) they are. I remember my first day in Senegal, when my host mother licked her fingers clean of palm oil and rice and then proceeded to pass bits of fish across the bowl in my direction. Before I could object at any sanitary violations in this act, I shrugged my shoulders and ate the fish. Here in Senegal, the communal bowl is a symbol of self-sacrifice. For better or for worse, coming to the bowl renders a releasing of all individuality for the sake of family. It’s a lesson in codependency from a nation of teranga, or hospitality. Back home, I have grown accustomed to my individuality, preferring to stand tall as a single oak tree, or as a temple pillar that stands apart from the rest. The communal bowl offers a new perspective, one that is distinctly African: the chance to become part of a forest, or part of the temple itself.
— Contact Casey Horowitz at cdhorow@emory.edu
— Contact Austin Price at ampric4@emory.edu
Taurus (4/20-5/20)
So, you probably have an activity that you enjoy. This week, something will go HORRIBLY WRONG during that activity. There’s nothing you can do to stop it, so just wait.
Gemini (5/21-6/21)
You’ve been feeling pretty emotional this week. And you probably think you have a good reason to be pretty emotional. Stop, though. Stop being so emotional.
Cancer (6/22-7/22)
This week, it is essential that you be strong and get enough sleep. But you won’t. This will negatively impact your life in many ways. Sorry.
Leo (7/23-8/22)
Leo, it is time for you to chill out. You’ve been pretty annoying lately, and it is getting on our nerves. Maybe you should just go away right now and leave the rest of us alone. I think that would be best.
Virgo (8/23-9/22)
That shirt you always wear is really ugly, but none of your friends are brave enough to tell you. It’s not just the color...though...it’s the fit... and the material. It’s just bad. Really bad. Stop wearing it. Please.
Libra (9/23-10/22)
You have a big decision to make this week, and you won’t stop talking about it. Classic Libra. Be aware of how incessant you sound to the people surrounding you. They probably don’t want to hear about your trivial problems. Take a hint. Jeez.
Scorpio (10/23-11/21)
You are getting excited for Spring Break, but you probably shouldn’t be. You’re going to have a terrible time and not do anything fun. Don’t get your hopes up, because if you do, they will be shattered into millions of tiny, shattereddream-sized pieces.
Sagittarius (11/22-12/21)
You’re going to have a great week! You’re an awesome person, and you’re also very good looking. People generally say that you are funny and great to be around, and it is true. Everyone should be more like you, Sagittarius. Rock on!
Capricorn (12/22-1/19)
Midterms are coming up, and you’re going to do DREADFULLY. You definitely won’t recover from the terrible things that will happen to your grades this week. Call your parents and warn them in advance. They’ll be disappointed, but not surprised.
Aquarius (1/20-2/18)
Aquarius, you will have the worst week of all. This is because you are a bad person, and you deserve it. You’ll also trip on a lot of things, like stairs, this week, but that’s not because you’re a bad person. It’s because you’re clumsy.
Pisces (2/19-3/20)
THANK YOU ??????? This week’s stars interpreted by Nathaniel Ludewig
Casey Horowitz/Contributor
College junior Casey Horowitz resolves to read at least one copy of The Emory Wheel dating back to 1920. The Manuscript, Archives and Rare Books Library (MARBL) contains more than 90 years of archived Wheel issues.
Library Bucket List: Test Matheson Sneeze Hypothesis Continued from Page 9 these training videos to educate myself on digital software and technology, such as photography, web design, animation and coding because I am grateful that my university offers me this $250 subscription for free. 4. I will peruse the Recreational Reading Collection on the second floor of the Woodruff Library on a particular evening before spring break. After thinking about the popular literary trends in fiction and non-fiction that this collection showcases, I will violate cultural and gender norms by renting a copy of 50 Shades of Grey. 5. If I am unsuccessful in procuring a physical copy of 50 Shades of Grey from the Recreational Reading Collection, I will rent an eBook for free through overdrive.emory.edu and will unapologetically read through it on my Kindle rented through the Goizueta Business School Library. 6. I will remain faithful to my favorite newspapers, Iceland’s Frettabladid and Cambodia’s The Phnom Penh Post, because I know I can access them through the library-offered PressDisplay, which gives me instant online access to more than 2,000 newspapers around the globe. 7. I will test the Sneeze Hypothesis in the Matheson Reading Room. This entails sneezing unsuspectingly and recording the average number of threatening glances I receive from studying students. The reported record is 12 threatening glances for one sneeze. 8. I will pay my respect to Seamus Heaney, recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature and beloved friend of Emory University, by visiting the exhibit that celebrates his life and work located in Schatten Gallery on the third floor of the library. 9. I will attend at least three speeches, discussions or live readings by famous authors and poets who visit the Woodruff Library. 10. I will spend one afternoon in the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Book Library (MARBL) located on the 10th floor of the Woodruff Library. I will read the first edition signed copy of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. I will peruse the digital archives of Salman Rushdie and examine notable works by Flannery O’Connor and Alice Walker. But most importantly, I will read one copy of the Wheel dating back to 1920 from start to finish, because MARBL has more than 90 years worth of Wheel articles archived for students to explore the rich history and culture of Emory University.
Valentine’s Auction Aids Orphans
HUMANS OF EMORY
Continued from Page 9 Ceremony Club were groups who helped the ECCC executive board members with the auction. This year, the organization was able to raise $3,000, with the highest bid rising to $550. According to College senior Yuka Watanabe, co-president of the club, Emory China Care is part of the National China Care Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps disabled Chinese orphans by providing them with medical care and lifechanging surgeries. ECCC, in association with Beijing-based Half the Sky foundation, distributed the money where needed. “For the past few years, we have helped numerous children; we received appreciative emails back from the Half the Sky organization, together with photos and rapports on the current conditions of these children,” B-school senior and ECCC Co-President Ted Yiyang Zhang said. By means of the surgeries the children not only receive the chance to a healthy life, but they also improve their chances to be adopted. One orphan whom the Emory China Care Club helped by means of the Valentine’s Date Auction event is MeiNuo, a young orphan from Central Asia who was born with congenital imperforate anus, a defect in which the anus opening is blocked or missing. The Club was able to raise the money to provide her with the needed anoplasty surgery, which tries to create an opening to the anus. Following the procedure, MeiNuo recovered successfully and is now able to enjoy a healthy childhood. ECCC plans to hold monthly Charity Bubble Tea Sales in White Hall as well as host the event, “Voice of Emory” and collaborate with the ECTC for a charity yard sale. The funds resulting from these events will also be employed in supplying needed surgeries for Chinese orphans.
— Contact Loli Lucaciu at florina.lucaciu@emory.edu
Bahar Amalfard/Staff
“We are the Operations and Maintenance staff that are in charge of shoveling snow during the winter storm and stayed out here overnight.” “It was hard. My back hurts. My legs hurt.” “Don’t say that, they’ll think you’re old.” “My socks are wet. Went through two pairs of shoes, eight pairs of socks, three t-shirts…” “It was a lot of work, but we didn’t mind doing it to support the students and make sure we have a safe environment and workplace where everyone can travel safely to get to their destination.”
THE EMORY WHEEL
agle xchange FRI 21
SAT 22
SUN 23 vs. Brandeis University 12 p.m. WoodPEC
vs. New York University 6 p.m. WoodPEC
vs. Brandeis University 2 p.m. WoodPEC at Methodist University 1 p.m. Fayetteville, N.C.
at Methodist University 2 p.m. Fayetteville, N.C.
vs. Case Western Reserve 12 p.m. Cooper Field
vs. Case Western Reserve 10 a.m.. Cooper Field
ITA National Indoor Champs 2:30 p.m. Cleveland
ITA National Indoor Champs 2:30 p.m. Cleveland
at Sewanee 12 p.m. Sewanee, Tenn. DePauw DePauw Invitational Invitational All Day All Day Greenover, Ind. Greenover, Ind.
SWIMMING & DIVING
WOMEN’S TENNIS
ITA National Indoor Champs 2:30 p.m. Cleveland
TRACK AND FIELD
MEN’S TENNIS
BASEBALL
vs. New York University 8 p.m. WoodPEC
SOFTBALL
MEN’S WOMEN’S BASKETBALL BASKETBALL
E
SPORTS
Midwest Invitational All Day Chicago
MON 24
Apparently Nathaniel is actually smart... Who knew?
Courtesy of Hans Hansen and Andrew Doetsch
Hans Hansen (left) delivers a pitch. Andrew Doetsch (right) begins his windup. Hansen and Doetsch have been key in the baseball team’s 6-2 start. vs. Georgia Gwinnett 1:30 p.m. WoodPEC
Emory Baseball’s Freshmen Phenoms By Zak Hudak Asst. Sports Editor
Squad Wins Second Straight, Shuts Out Shorter the right place,” Head Coach John Browning said. After losing their first match of the season, the Eagles have responded by winning their next matches by a combined 18-0. Though with an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) matchup upcoming, Emory will most surely be handed their biggest challenge yet. “This weekend will be a litmus test for us, with the ITA tournament, and to prepare we plan to take things one day at a time,” Browning added. — Contact Joe Toledano at joseph.alexander.toledano@ emory.edu
The Wheel sports team caught up with two impressive freshmen pitchers on Emory baseball team, which is off to a 6-2 start this season. Hans Hansen is a righty from Playa del Rey, Calif. He’s already made two stars on the year, winning both of them--a pair of six-inning, eight-hit, three-run efforts against Cal Lutheran and Piedmont College. For the season, he’s 2-0 with a 4.50 earned-run average, numbers good enough to earn him UAA Pitcher of the Week. Andrew Doetsch is a righty from Atlanta. He’s also appeared twice on the season, both times in relief. He’s totaled two and a third innings thus far, posting a 3.86 ERA and four strikeouts. Wheel: Tell me a little about the trip to California. Hansen: The California trip was a lot of fun, especially because I’m from there. It was nice to go home to see my family and girlfriend and play there a little. We played Cal Lutheran, Pomona, Occidental. There’s talk about Cal Lutheran being ranked as the number three team in D-III. We split with them which is huge.
Doetsch: It was an incredible way to start out season. I’ve never experienced anything like it. I’m from Georgia. That’s how I got interested in Emory. I had mostly played local games here. The experience playing in California was absolutely incredible. Wheel: What has the transition to college ball been like? Hansen: It’s interesting. College ball is more my thing. It’s weird because I was a closer in high school and now I’m a starter. It’s a little different. I’m adjusting. I’m used to throwing 80 or 90 pitches every time I go out. It’s a lot of fun. Doetsch: College ball is completely different. In high school, I was the man. Coming to Emory, I have to prove everything again. Getting to work with all the coaches has been an outstanding experience. Even from the brief time I’ve had with them, I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge and progressed as a player way more than I ever had before. Wheel: What are your expectations for the team this year? Hansen: I expect us to at least
make regionals. I think we have a good enough team to do that. If we don’t, it’ll be because of ourselves, not because other teams are better. Doetsch: Keep on the track that we’re on. Everybody’s been working hard, both the pitchers and hitters. All the freshman were thrown into the mix, but the team chemistry is so fantastic that I really think if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll have a shot. Wheel: You have a roster of 37 this year. What is it like to play on such a big team? Doetsch: We’re almost the same size as a Major League team [on a 40-man roster], so it’s been great just because there are so many people you can learn from and so many people you get to work with. It creates that sense of competition, but we still work together as a team and we’re really blessed to have the people we have. Everyone contributes. Hansen and Doetsch will be back in action this weekend when the Eagles take on Methodist University (N.C.) in a road doubleheader starting Saturday at 1 p.m. — Contact Zak Hudak at zachary.j.hudak@emory.edu
Patel: Sam Is Being Judged Unfairly Continued from the Back Page only crime is being unfairly judged by those too narrow-minded to view past his sexual orientation enters the picture, we flee. I would love to meet those NFL GMs who said that they would not draft Sam. I wonder how the atmosphere of their locker room is doing. I’m sure those teams are probably picking yet again at the top of the draft, wondering what could possibly be wrong. The NFL does have an image problem. And they are doing nothing to rectify it. The 2014 NFL draft is being held from May 8-May 10, and Sam does have much to prove. He needs to prove that he can make the transition from a down-defensive lineman to a standing up outside linebacker. He needs to prove that he has the speed and agility to keep up with NFL playmakers. He needs to prove that he has the stamina to stay on the field for every defensive snap. But there is one thing that Sam has already proven: that he is a courageous young man who deserves to be in the NFL due to his impressive array of talent confirmed by a wide variety of accolades. I know I would be proud to see him don the green and white of my hometown Jets, and not only because I would be proud of the Jets becoming the home of the first openly gay player, but because Sam would be a great addition to our defense. Sam, I applaud you for your courage at a time where most other people would choose to stay silent. In a world where success trumps all, I hope that Sam goes down as a Hall of Fame outside linebacker, with a few championships to boot. Oh right, and that he was the first openly gay player, too. — Contact Jayson Patel at jayson.patel@emory.edu
Courtesy of Flickr/Keith Allison
New York Yankees Derek Jeter admires his hit. Jeter, a 13-time all-star, announced that he plans to retire after the 2014 season. Jeter only played 17 games in 2013.
Hudak: Jeter Provided Hope in Baseball’s Steroid-Infested Era Continued from the Back Page Don’t get me wrong, Jeter has some pop. But he is not a power hitter. He is a guy who gets on base and moves around. He plays the way Cobb played — minus the high-spike slides. When powerhouses McGwire, Sosa, Bonds and Giambi were accused of steroid use almost 10 years ago, fans felt cheated by their former heroes. The 2007 Mitchell Report only made matters worse. It may have kept Jeter off a few Top 10 lists, but being a Hall of Fame caliber player who was a contact hitter gave fans a glimmer of hope that nobility still existed in the sport. And he has five Gold Gloves too.
11
On Fire
vs. Oglethorpe University 2 p.m. Chappell Park
MEN’S TENNIS
On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the men’s tennis team (2-1) followed up its last performance with one just as dominating, defeating Shorter University (1-2) 9-0. “Last year we beat this team 5-4, so to win 9-0 shows our improvement,” junior Eric Halpern said. With a record above .500 on the season, the Eagles seem to be back on the same track as past years. “It was a good effort as the score indicated, energy levels were at
Q&A
TUES 25
Midwest Invitational All Day Chicago
By Joe Toledano Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 21, 2014
In high school, he was getting clocked at 90 mph. from shortstop. That unequaled arm strength is at no time more event than when he makes his infamous leaping throw. When a ball is hit towards third base, a shortstop often doesn’t have time to square around it and must backhand it. With his left foot pointed towards third, his right pivoted, his back facing first base and his feet reset before he can throw. When Jeter has to backhand a ball, he leaps in the air, simultane-
ously twisting his torso toward first base, and throws while still in the air, miraculously making the throw on a perfect line. His retirement statement was not bitter. Realizing that his body is aging exponentially, he said, “The one thing I always said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job, it would be time to move forward.” Nonetheless, it’s tough to see a player like Jeter age and retire, because he’s seemed like more than an athlete. You expected him to
It’s tough to see a player like Jeter age and retire.
always be there. He’s been a role model, a remnant of class in professional sport and a guy who always seemed to find a way to win and win with pride. This retirement announcement, however, is yet another reason we ought to commend Jeter. Referring to his dream to play shortstop for the Yankees, he said, “It started as an empty canvas more than 20 years ago, and now that I look at it, it’s almost complete ... Now it is time for the next chapter. I have new dreams and aspirations, and I want new challenges. ” I, for one, an eager to see what the Yankee captain will do next. — Contact Zak Hudak at zachary.j.hudak@emory.edu
Apparently, Russians take hockey very seriously. The host country came in to the Olympics with high expectations for their squad (at least, your hockey-loving On Fire correspondent is assuming as much based on what follows). The Russians were eliminated from medal contention Wednesday, losing to Finland 3-1. After the game, head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov spoke with the press. Q: Mr. Bilyaletdinov, in what way exactly, do you see yourself at fault for what happened? A: I’m at fault for everything. I didn’t fulfill the task before me. Q: What future, if any, do you see for your own work and for your coaching staff? Because, you know, your predecessor was eaten alive after the Olympics— A: Well then, eat me alive right now— Q: No, I mean— A: Eat me, and I won’t be here anymore. Q: But we have the world championship coming up! A: Well then, there will be a different coach because I won’t exist any more, since you will have eaten me. Q: But you’re staying, aren’t you? A: Yes, I will remain living. There is a lot that can and should be said about this incredible exchange. But one questions stands out above all others. What the hell happened to the old Russian hockey coach?!?! Seriously, this is an urgent, pressing, major, important question. Yet no one seems to be asking it. Why was this poor man eaten alive? No one else in the media is asking this question. Your confused On Fire correspondent has read numerous articles on this subject while doing his (or her) background research, from publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Yahoo! Sports, CBS Sports and Totalfratmove.com, and no one explained why the previous Russian hockey coach was eaten alive. No one has even bothered to ask the question! This matter seems to bother no one besides your conscientious On Fire correspondent. What happened to the old Russian hockey coach? A Google search with the terms “Why was the old Russian hockey coach eaten alive?” brings up 36,400,000 results, and none of them explain the fate of this poor man (at least, none of the results on the first two pages). Why the apathy? Your concerned On Fire correspondent cannot even discover the name of this digested man. Someone needs to do some research on this matter and ascertain exactly the fate of Russia’s previous hockey coach. And while they are at it, they should look into the fate of coaches past – have these men been eaten too? Russia is a crazy place. Although, who are we to judge? All of us here at On Fire applaud Mr. Bilyaletdinov (say that five times fast) for his calm acceptance of his fate. Imagine the strength, the confidence, the quiet dignity it takes to say, “Eat me alive right now.” The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, “My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it, but love it.” There is no man to whom this statement applies better to than Mr. Bilyaletdinov. He loves his fate. He literally cannot wait to be eaten alive. He is not just bearing his fate, he is not concealing his fate – he is grabbing the bull by the horns, diving into the snake pit and getting eaten alive. How can we tell this? Mr Bilyaletdinov says so himself. “Eat me, and I won’t be here anymore.” This is not just a statement. This is a threat. He is challenging the Russian journalist to eat him. But, if this journalists steps up to the challenge, Mr. Bilyaletdinov wants him to be aware of the consequences of his actions. “I won’t exist anymore, since you will have eaten me.” But, he clarifies, “Yes, I will remain among the living.” Upon reading this last line of Mr. Bilyaletdinov’s interview, your stillconfused On Fire correspondent is beginning to think that “eaten alive” is more of a figure of speech. Still, we would like to see the previous coach, alive and uneaten, to confirm this new hypothesis.
SPORTS THE EMORY WHEEL
Friday, February 21, 2014 Sports Editors: Bennett Ostdiek (bostdie@emory.edu) and Ryan Smith (ryan.smith@emory.edu)
NFL
BASEBALL
Eagles Take Down LaGrange, Now 6-2 By Oliver Rockman Staff Writer
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Mark Schierbecker
University of Missouri students line up in support of Michael Sam. Sam, according to draft experts, is projected to be the first openly gay player in the NFL.
The Beej Knows Best The NFL’s Got a Problem, and Michael Sam Can Fix It
Jayson Patel Michael Sam, a former standout defensive lineman at the University of Missouri, came out as gay last week. If the draft predictions hold true, he could become the first openly gay player in the NFL. And to some people, this is an awful predicament that needs resolving immediately. Players like Jonathan Vilma feel as though having a gay player in the locker room would be uncomfortable and foster an unhealthy environment. Additionally, some league general managers (GM’s), who wished to remain anonymous, believe that Sam’s sexual orientation will cause him to slide in the upcoming NFL draft. It is almost as if NFL locker rooms are a fortress of good, filled with individuals who are perfect in every way, and having a gay man join this clan would be heinous. For everyone that seems to be supporting Sam’s decision to come out, there is another person who believes that the NFL is no place for homosexuality.
I have been writing for The Emory Wheel since my sophomore year, and I’ve always tried to keep my political agenda out of the discussion. Although I have been willing to say which team is going to win, or which player has the most potential, I understand that people have many different belief systems on heated topics, and I respect the differences I have with my peers. But on this topic, it seems that there is only one logical point of view. Sam is an extraordinary football player; in fact he was voted the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year of college football’s best conference, the SEC. And that should be where the discussion begins and ends about Sam. After reading Vilma’s quotes, I feel as though society as a whole has been brought back about 70 years, to when Jackie Robinson was entering MLB for the first time. Because he was different, because his “kind,” so-to-speak, was not accepted by much of the population, people were angered that Robinson, a black man, was playing a white man’s game. Is this scenario much different? Sam, a gay man, is entering a supposedly straight man’s game. How there can be people in society who refuse to see him for what he is, an exceptional athlete who can add value to the
defensive side of a ball for whichever team drafts him, and instead only focus in on one aspect of his life is truly mind-boggling. Vilma, a player who participated in the bounty scandal targeting opposing players specifically to cause injury, should be the poster child for all people against Sam. I guess someone willing to participate in such an abhorrent system would be worried about a gay man sharing a locker room, instead of worrying about improving his own game to hopefully compete for a championship. I have never been in an NFL locker room, so I cannot speak to the atmosphere inside. But what I do know is that there have been many issues recently regarding sensitivity and perception. The Richie Incognito scandal is confirmation that there is some sort of stigma about being an NFL player, and if someone does not fit the rigid mold, they are ridiculed and harassed until the breaking point. And some people actually believe that Incognito was right, and that his bullying was acceptable. I am all for teasing of friends; I think the ability to make jokes at the expense of people you love, and take jokes as well, fosters strong relationships. But there is an absolute, definite line between that and Incognito’s persistent bullying. Sam
came out to his college teammates in August 2013. They protected his secret, accepted him for who he was, and moved on. That is how true locker room culture should be. And while none of us actually know what went on for the eight months during the season, we didn’t hear anything negative from that locker room. The point here is that if a college team full of immature young men can come together and band around one teammate’s differences, there is absolutely no reason that we keep allowing the grown men of the NFL to abide by a different set of social and moral codes. Some people say these events (and concussion worries, and poor retirement benefits, and more) are causing the NFL to have a festering perception problem. I would argue that this perception problem has been going on long before Sam ever decided to open himself up to the world. There have been — and currently are — murderers, rapists, women-beaters, drug-dealers, drug-users and a bevy of other criminals to play this game. And we love them, so long as our team wins at the end of the day. We proudly wear their names on our backs, rooting for their success. Yet, when an upstanding citizen whose
See PATEL, Page 11
The baseball team continued its strong start to the season with a 10-4 home win over LaGrange College on Wednesday. The team responded well despite falling behind by two runs in the top of the first inning, and won their fifth game out of the last six. The Eagles now stand at 6-2 on the young season. Senior Ben Hinojosa started the game for the Eagles, his first game back after missing the entirety of the 2013 season with an injury. Hinojosa initially displayed a bit of rust to begin the game, allowing two early runs, but recovered strongly and proceeded to retire the next nine batters, all while not recording a walk. It didn’t take long for Emory to erase the deficit, and by the end of the second inning, the score was level. Junior center fielder Wes Peacock provided the initial spark, knocking in a run on a sacrifice fly, before senior third baseman Ryan Toscano singled home another run. Peacock then would give the Eagles the lead in the third inning, which they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. Freshman pitcher Jackson Weeg entered the game in the top of the fourth inning. Weeg pitced four innings, striking out five while allowing only five hits and a solitary run. Weeg earned the win for his performance, outdueling Tyler Brooks of LaGrange. Each team scored a single run in the fourth inning, preceding a scoring explosion by Emory that would
last for the fifth and sixth innings, scoring three runs in each. The runs in the fifth were scored on singles by senior catcher Jared Welch and freshman third baseman Philip Maldari, and Peacock also scored off of a LaGrange balk to extend the Eagles’ lead further. Senior left fielder Daniel Iturrey batted in another two runs in the sixth inning, and then scored himself after a poor pitch by LaGrange. Seniors Robert Gross and Mike Bitanga finished out the game pitching for Emory, with Gross allowing a single run, and Bitanga earning the save. Another individual highlight from the game was Senior Brandon Hannon continuing his stellar basestealing, stealing twice against LaGrange. Hannon has not been caught by the opposing team the last 26 times he has attempted to take a base. The six-run victory saw Emory score 10 runs with great efficiency, as they did not hit a triple or home run the entire game. The Eagles have been on a scoring binge as of late, scoring nine or more runs in all but one of their last five games, a 4-3 win against Piedmont. They scored a season-high 17 runs in a win over Pomona-Pizter (Calif.), and posted 11 runs twice against Cal Lutheran and Occidental College (Calif.) Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Fayetteville, N.C., and a weekend doubleheader against Methodist University (N.C.). — Contact Oliver Rockman at oliver.m.rockman@emory.edu
Christine Hines/Staff
Sophomore pitcher Steven Summey delivers a pitch. Summey has appeared in one game this season for the Eagles.
MLB
Women’s Tennis The women’s tennis team opened their spring season with a bang, defeating Shorter University on Thursday afternoon to start off with a 1-0 record. The Eagles were on the road to face both Shorter and Berry College, but the latter game was rained out. Emory topped Shorter by a dominant score of 9-0. The only competitive match game in the No. 1 singles spot, where senior Gabrielle Clark defeated Shorter’s Candice Laurent 7-5, 6-2. No other Eagles player dropped more than a game. Emory’s two through five spots won by a combined margin of 60-2. The second-ranked Eagles will be in action next against Sewanee University (Tenn.) on Saturday.
Derek Jeter: The Baseball Connoisseur’s Player Zak Hudak In 2010, I went with my parents to Luna Park in Coney Island — more specifically, directly next to the timeless Luna Park — to see the short season Single A minor league Brooklyn Cyclones play the Staten Island Yankees. Before the game, my father and I watched as the Staten Island shortstop, a compact, limber kid too young to shave, took ground balls and we listened as the pounding of his throws into the equally young first baseman’s mitt echoed off the waves crashing just outside the center
field wall. I turned to my father, “I feel bad for him.” No explanation was necessary. If this kid, probably still living in euphoria of his signing bonus, made it to the Majors, he’d be behind Derek Jeter. On Wednesday, Feb. 12, Jeter announced via Facebook that he will retire after the 2014 season. This past year, the now 39-year-old Jeter, once a kid from Kalamazoo, Mich. who told everyone he met that he was going to play shortstop for the Yankees, showed for the first time that he was in fact a mere human. Reoccurring leg and ankle injuries kept his total games played to 17 and in that small sample size, the .312 lifetime hitter hit a Mendoza line .190. Since Jeter’s 1996 Rookie of the Year season, the Yankees have won five World Series’. To put that number in perspective, if the Yankees only existed since that year, they would
still be in the top 50th percentile of MLB teams in total World Series wins. Jeter is one of the best clutch players of all time, with a nickname of Mr. November and 20 home runs and a .308 batting average in post season play. He is already the all-time Yankees leader in hits with 3,316, atbats with 10,614, games with 2,602 and stolen bases with 348. In any year during that time period, however, if you had asked anyone who the best player in baseball was, there would have been a slim chance they’d say “Derek Jeter.” In the late 1990’s, you’d hear “McGwire” or “Sosa.” At the turn of the century, you’d get “Giambi” or “A-Rod.” Today, it’s “Miguel Cabrera.” But not being on the cover of Sports Illustrated every year is part of what comes with being the most honorable and pure athlete in your sport.
The Steinbrenner’s preach “Pride in Pinstripes.” They even made Johnny Damon shave his beard and cut his hair when he signed. But the Bronx Bombers often end up a team of mercenaries. A-Rod was bought from the Rangers, Granderson stolen from the Tigers, Teixeira taken from the Braves. Jeter has been in the Yankees’ franchise since he was drafted sixth overall in the 1992 draft. Cano, the only lifetime Yankee star last season left for more money with Seattle in December. Jeter may have said last year that he’d be open to offers from other teams, but he will retire as he was born in baseball: as a Yankee. That security Jeter gave fans, however, kept him out of the spotlight. When Jimmy Rollins predicted in 2009 that the Phillies would beat the Yankees in five World Series games,
Jeter was confident, but quiet. Then again, maybe Jeter simply wasn’t the everyman’s player. Throughout the biggest power surge in baseball history, he never had a season with over 24 home runs or 102 RBIs. He’s almost a connoisseur’s player. Supposedly, Ty Cobb didn’t believe in the sort of baseball that came with Babe Ruth. He believed in slapping a single, stealing second, and scoring on the next batter’s single. According to Charles C. Alexander’s biography of Cobb, the outfielder, outraged at hype over Ruth’s power, told a sports writer, “I’ll show you something today. I’m going for home runs for the first time in my career.” Cobb then proceeded to go 6-6 on the day with three home runs, a double and two singles.
See HUDAK, Page 11