4.15.05

t h e

Herald

By and for the students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges ISSUE 19

HWS Professor Presents On Nuclear Power in Vienna Economics professor presented his model to compare power sources with their effect on the environment. Office of Communications

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ssociate Professor of Econom ics Tom Drennen has recently returned from Vienna, Austria, where he presented a paper at the second annual International Workshop on Radiological Sciences and Applications: Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology, sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Drennen, an expert in interweaving economics with environmental issues, has created and continues to perfect interactive computer models that explain the relationship between energy use and climate change. These research projects are funded by the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. At the workshop in Vienna, Drennen discussed the economics of building new nuclear power plants. His talk, titled “The Cost Competitiveness of Nuclear Power for Electricity Generation,” compared his own estimates, based on the electricity generation cost simulation model, with other recent studies that have evaluated the economic viability of newly constructed plants, including those performed at Massachusetts Institute of Technol-

ogy (MIT), the University of Chicago emission trade-offs. and the U.S. Department of Energy. For example, Drennen found that Nuclear power’s future economic using pulverized coal and gas to proviability is dependent on several key duce electricity cost the least, and factors, rangnuclear power ing from capiproduction tal, operation costs too much and mainteto compete nance, and fuel with them. costs (both However, when nuclear and its pollution concompetitors) trol was taken to costs assointo considerciated with deation, the emislays in obtainsions and assoing permits ciated costs and licenses from coal and and decisions gas make about climate nuclear power a and other envimore feasible ronmental o p t i o n . policy. Drennen Drennen’s joined the HWS basic conclufaculty in 1995. sion is that Tom Drennen, Professor of Economics He holds a without sigPh.D. in renificant changes in construction time source economics from Cornell Univeror costs, new nuclear facilities in the sity, a master’s degree in public affairs U.S. cannot compete with the alterna- from the University of Minnesota, and tives, such as coal. Drennen notes an- a bachelor of science degree in nuclear other potential option for reducing pro- engineering from MIT. He received top jected costs is through governmental awards and merits while studying at support, such as production tax cred- each institution, most notably having its. his Ph.D. dissertation nominated by Drennen’s model allows the user Cornell University for the Outstanding to quickly conduct sensitivity analysis Doctoral Dissertation Award of the on the key variables, as well as con- American Agricultural Economics Asstruction time, heat rate, capacity and sociation. pollution control options for carbon diIn addition, Drennen has been oxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide called to Washington to discuss doand mercury. The results from the mestic energy policy and the United model compare the economic viability States’ role in the Kyoto Protocol on of each generating technology with the climate change.

Woods Takes 4th Jacket In Sudden Death

Tiger Woods after victory putt.

John Rosenbaum Sports Editor

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fter 10 majors without a win, Tiger Woods won his fourth Masters at Augusta National late Sunday night in a thrilling final round. Woods beat Ryder Cup team-

VOLUME CXXVIII

APRIL 15, 2005

mate Chris DiMarco with a 15-foot birdie putt at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off. The 29-year old Woods seemed to have out-dueled his links antagonist in regulation holes as he hit an immaculate and unforgettable chip-in on the 16th hole to gain a seemingly unattainable two shot lead. Woods thereby gave the Masters a moment as memorable as any that had come before it in the tournaments 71-year old history. Perhaps one of the greatest shots in Masters history – in fact, all of major championship golf – the 16th hole at Augusta National will now always be remembered with the great Tiger Woods in mind. DiMarco, showing great courage after a difficult morning in which he fell from four ahead to three behind when the third round had to be completed, returned with Woods to the 18th tee for the playoff – the first time extra holes

sudden death has started there. Matching Woods almost shot for shot in an epic showdown, DiMarco overcame a two-stroke deficit in the final two holes Sunday, nearly holing out a chip at No. 18 that would have claimed his first major championship. But in the end, it was not to be. In the ensuing playoff DiMarco was forced to settle for par on the first extra hole. Then he could only watch as Woods rolled in a putt almost identical to the one facing 1988 Masters Champion, Sandy Lyle. Incredibly, only four days earlier, the tournament began in nightmarish fashion as Woods put his ball into Rae’s Creek on the 13th, followed by an amateurish 100-yard botched drive on the second hole as he carded an opening round of 74. With the win Woods returned to the world number one spot and is now halfway to the seemingly unfeasible record of 18 major championships, set by Jack Nicklaus 19 years ago at Augusta National. Woods is now joint third in the all-time list alongside Ben

HWS Sailors Headed to Nationals with Prosser Trophy Win

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he fourth-ranked Hobart and William Smith sailing team won each of its six races this weekend to capture the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association Team Race Championship. Winning the Prosser Trophy for the first time in the program’s history, HWS earned a spot in the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association/Layline Team Racing Championship on June 5-7, in Austin, Texas. Sailing in very light conditions throughout the weekend, the seventeam field completed 22 races during the two-day regatta. Competing for the Colleges were senior John Storck and sophomore Mandi Markee, senior Lee Sackett and junior Molly Lawson, and W e e k e n d

Geneva, NY

sophomore Trevor Moore and junior Augusta Nadler. HWS started the weekend with a win over third-ranked Georgetown, the Hoyas lone loss in the regatta, and never looked back as it outraced each of its opponents in the next five races to go undefeated. Also qualifying for nationals were runner-up Georgetown and third-place St. Mary’s College. Hobart and William Smith will compete in the ICSA/Layline Team Racing Championships on June 5-7, at the Austin Yacht Club on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. HWS earned runner-up honors last season, losing to rival St. Mary’s College in a tie-breaker.

W e a t h e r

Geelong, Australia

Friday:

Sunny, 53°/31°

Mostly Sunny, 58°/46°

Saturday:

Mostly Sunny, 58°/34°

Partly Cloudy, 61°/41°

Sunday:

Few Showers, 60°/40°

Partly Cloudy, 64°/44°

Hogan and Gary Player. Moreover, four green jackets is an achievement he now shares with Arnold Palmer. Again, only Nicklaus has more with six. Although stumbling on the verge of the finish line yet again, DiMarco keeps contending in the biggest tournaments – especially at Augusta. He has led at the end of a round five times in five years, including both the 18- and 36-hole marks of this one. Knowing that all of Woods’ previous eight major championship victories had been played from the front and with 16 birdies in his last two rounds – a 13under 131 strokes, which equaled a Masters record – it would take something truly remarkable to stop him. And in the weekend that saw Nicklaus bring the curtain down on his Masters career Woods could take that as a lucky omen. Nicklaus’ last US Open was in 2000 and Woods won by a staggering majors record of 15 strokes. The Golden Bear’s (Nicklaus) farewell to the US PGA tournament was two months later and Woods won that in a play-off against Bob May. If this is a sign of

things to come, being Tiger Woods in 2005 promises to be as good as ever. In an enigmatic display of affection, Woods dedicated his play-off victory to his ailing father, Earl. “He was not healthy enough to come out today,” said Woods. Turning to the TV cameras, he said: “This one’s for you pop,” and added: “He is having a hard time right now. But there is a big bear-hug waiting for him and I dedicate this to him.” Earl Woods suffered a heart attack a few years ago and has recently been receiving treatment for cancer. Defending champion Mickelson double-bogeyed both par-threes on the back nine, and fell back to 10th. Just behind him was American amateur champion Ryan Moore, who matched the 13th-placed finish of Casey Wittenberg last year – the best two performances by amateurs since Charles Coe ended ninth in 1962. Augusta National champion for the fourth time; world number one; golf’s pecking order is once again restored with Tiger Woods as its conducting master.

A Union Pacific freight train lies accordion-style across the track April 5 after derailing in San Bernardino, Calif. Two hundred gallons of flammable liquid leaked from the train, which derailed in a deep trench, forcing the evacuation of about 250 people from two nearby communities.

Photo By: Eric Reed / The Sun

Hip-Hop Show Opens Tonight!

New Houghton House Exhibit

An Up-Close Look at ‘Closer’

Find all the details about opening night of “Concrete Presents a Hip-Hop Story”, which opens tonight, April 15th.

A new sculpture exhibit, featuring visiting Professor Kim Czong Ho’s work, opens tonight.

This popular but dark movie makes its release to video, read two critics takes on the film.

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CAMPUS LIFE the HERALD Page 2

THE HERALD Established 1879 By and for the students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hadley Mongell Caroline Hettinger Editor-in-Chief Katie Bell News Editor Owen Oertling Brandon Currie Layout Editors Melissa Sue Sorrells Copy Editor David Diehl A&E Editor Roderick P Thaler Jr. Opinion/Editorial Editor John Rosenbaum Sports Editor Veronica Mora El Heraldo Editor Kari Balakar Emily Corcione Assistant Copy Editors

CONTRIBUTORS Terri Hannan Amanda Jantzi Sandra Maroska Terri Hannan Alessandra Raimondi Alex Brustowicz Alicia Laible Patricia J. Foster

Colleges students perform “Lysistrata” war. Office of Communications

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s a statement about his own impatience with the conflicts that had been going on between the city-states for more than 20 years, Aristophanes wrote a play about the ravages of war and about the truths of human nature. Students at Hobart and William Smith Colleges will stage the work, “Lysistrata,” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 14, 15 and 16, in the Barn on the Colleges campus. Admission $5; HWS students are admitted free. Tickets are available at the door. Typical of old comedy, this play presents a seemingly ridiculous scheme, presented in this case by a strong woman, Lysistrata, to rid Athens of the scourge of war. Her idea is simple, “No Sex, No War.” The women band together, albeit reluctantly, to withhold sex from the men folk until they stop fighting. Along the way some very public figures wage a battle of their own to try and regain control of the Akropolis, taken over by the elderly women of the city in an effort to control the money that goes to fund the

“Cogent observations of politics and people are what have caused this play to be produced over and over again, and recently to be at the center of a nation-wide event that had people reading the play as a sign of protest against the United States’ invasion of Iraq,” says director David Dannenfelser, HWS assistant professor of English. “The sad truth that we discovered in doing our own production is that not much has changed in the world concerning the reconciling of conflicts. Can there be a Lysistrata out there for us?” The cast includes seniors Kate Delp, from Kinderhook, N.Y.; Andrew Holt, from Boston, Mass.; and Andrew Kasprzak, from Farmington, Conn.; sophomores Ezequiel Cotler, from Maplewood, N.J.; Maggie Cullinan, from Slingerlands, N.Y.; Jenna Gruttadauria, from Gates Mills, Ohio; and Joseph Halko, from Greene, N.Y.; and first-years Adria Baratta, from Tenafly, N.J.; Julius Ferraro, from Philadelphia, Pa.; Danisha Holcomb, from Johnson City, N.Y.; Jonah Levy, from Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Elspeth Scott, from Great Falls, Va.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES The Herald is currently accepting submissions for our coming issue. The Deadline for this issue is Sunday at 7pm. All submissions left in the drop box MUST includeThe name and phone number or e-mail of an individual person that The Herald can contact regarding the submission. BOTH a hard copy and disk copy must be left in the drop box. If you are submitting by email, please make your submission an attatchment. If criteria are not met the Herald may not be able to print the subission.

Hip Hop Hooray for the Hip Hop Show! Office of Communications

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William Smith first-year student has choreographed her own hip-hop show, starring both Hobart and William Smith Colleges students and Geneva High School students. Titled “Concrete Presents a HipHop Story,” the show will be presented at 8:15 p.m. on Friday, April 15, in the Winn-Seeley Dance Theatre, on the Colleges campus. Tickets are $2 for HWS students and $3 for all others, and are on sale before the show in the HWS Scandling Center. Youmie Francois, a first-year student from Bronx, N.Y., wanted to do something on campus to use her choreography and dance skills in hip-hop and R&B. But, she says, “I create dances. I wanted to see my work, not be in it.” The result is a show comprised of 18 dancers, with dances completely choreographed by Francois. Although she is studying to teach English literature, she also plans to own a series of dance studios. For the practice and her

portfolio, Francois intends to put on a hip-hop show at the Colleges every year until she graduates from William Smith. On campus Francois taught a hiphop class earlier this semester at the Sport and Recreation Center, as part of the center’s group exercise series. She holds a choreography certification from the Young Dancemakers Co., a six-week intensive program based in Ethical Culture Fieldston School, in New York, N.Y. She has also choreographed drama productions at her high school. ”I think it’s a great opportunity to be in this show,” says fellow William Smith first-year student Tonnica Thomas, who is one of the dancers and assists in remembering the choreography. “I have taken dance classes in high school, but I’m a Caribbean girl—I did reggae and soca and some R&B. I’d never done hip-hop. It’s challenging at times, but when I practice it all makes sense.” Francois is in the Bible study club, and has participated in the chess club and the Caribbean Student Association.

EL HERALDO EXTRAVAGANZA: An LAO Tradition Extravaganza started in April of 1999 by Reinaldo Llano and has become the biggest event that the Latin American Organization holds every year. When asked: What did you wish to accomplish with this event when you started it? Reinaldo responded, “Extravaganza started as a testament of strength and spirit of the Hispanic Community at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. For most of HWS history there has been a blending of cultures in the minority community to the point where HWS was looked upon as a Black and White campus. Our goal was to represent the diversity of the Minority community through the celebration of the Hispanic culture and all its facets. From day one, the original Latin American Organization was determined to raise awareness at HWS of the Latino identity. We accomplished this through the collective effort of many programs, but Extravaganza was the center-piece. Extravaganza was to become the only event on campus to recognize and honor students, alumni, faculty and administration together and decided by students.” This year the Latin American Organization had the pleasure of collaborating with the Afro Latino Alumni Association (ALAA), which was formed to promote a greater awareness of the association among the alumni and alumnae of color of Hobart and William Smith. About this collaboration, Mr. Llano who is presently the vice-president of the Association comments, said, “ALAA’s involvement and support of Extravaganza is a long-awaited and welcome support of this import Hispanic tradition. I’m extremely pleased about this collaboration between the

two groups.” LAO wishes to continue this tradition year after year as we have so far successfully done it. The collaboration with ALAA this year will hopefully be the beginning of many more projects to come. Lecturer, Performer and Instructor: Eileen Torres Most known as “The Achiever”, Eileen Torres is a native of Lorain, Ohio, and of Mexican decent. She is dedicated to educating, promoting and expanding the public’s knowledge on Latin Culture. She is currently the president of Salsation Productions and publisher of salsamundo.com which is a website dedicated to promote and appreciate salsa music as well as Latin culture in general. The Latin American Organization here at Hobart and William Smith Colleges was extremely honored to have Ms. Eileen as the guest speaker of our Seventh Annual Extravaganza. She represents at a greater scale what the LAO family wishes to achieve in the HWS community—to work to educate and promote Latin American culture at our campus. She has traveled to many college campuses speaking about her various projects and the history of salsa music. Ms. Torres has also delivered workshops at various festivals in the Washington D.C. area and co-founded the University of Coloradoâ€™s Ballet Folklorico in 1972. The Perfomance Downtown The Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble performed for us in the Smith Opera House downtown after the Extravaganza dinner. The performance consisted of a demonstration of the daily classes a ballet dancer takes, followed by excerpts from different

ballets. It was an interesting and enjoyable performance. Nekai Johnson, one of the observers, comments: “As a ballet dancer, I was familiar with the ballet terminology and the dance combinations that the dancers performed at the ballet barre. I enjoyed the demonstration because I was able to listen and watch the dancers as they warm-up at the barre. I picked up a few techniques given by the demonstrator that would help me as a ballet dancer. It is fascinating to see the dancers go through a process or a warm-up that will prepare them for the stage. After the demonstration, the ensemble performed about eight short excerpts from different ballets. I loved the fact that ballet was fused with African movements as well as hip-hop dance. Unlike other major ballet companies, DTH is unique because its company’s dances are innovative. Announcements The Latin American Organization had a very successful SEVENTH ANNUAL EXTRAVAGANZA on April 2, 2004 in the Comstock dinning hall followed by a dance performance in the Smith Opera House downtown and the after party in the Pub from 12 to 4am! On behalf of the entire Latin American Organization Board we would like to thank you for your support and help in making our annual Extravaganza event a great success. Those who attended the event were delighted by the delicious food the show provided the Dance Theater of Harlem and the after party at the Cellar Pub. Once again thanks to all those who came out to support the Latin American Organization community by helping out and taking part in the event.

The LAO Board

PISTOLS AND POODLES The Take over begins the HERALD Page 3

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OPINION-EDITORIAL the HERALD Page 4

The Burden of Irresponsibility Emily Corcione Copy Editor

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or those of you who have read my other article in this issue, I should warn you that while the other piece was written in a completely sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek manner, this piece will take a much more serious tone. This is because I am not talking about some trivial right of expression and the purported value of a free exchange of ideas. I am talking about a value that any educational institute should try its hardest to instill in its students, and a pattern of behavior that all of its students should encourage and support. I am talking about exercising our right to be completely free from taking responsibility for our actions. No one exemplifies this laudable principle more than one Mr. “J. J. Truman,” author of the beautifully-written and cleverly-titled “Vagina Monotony.” J.J. Truman, while it is a very manly and sexy moniker, is in fact not the author’s real name. I was hoping one of the op-ed contributors last week would have pointed this out and extolled the many merits of nom de plumes. You see, I am a part of the Herald’s editorial staff, and I was afraid there might be a conflict of interest if I heaped praise on the editorial decision to run Mr. Truman’s essay without attaching his name. But I don’t think that this would be too inappropriate; I not be discussing the Herald’s policy of allowing pseudonyms, but rather this particular instance of a person using a newspaper’s policy to serve his purely altruistic ends. It really makes me want to vomit up the semen I just swallowed (I can’t help it, I’m a 20-yearold American female; as Mr. Truman pointed out, that’s all we do) when I hear people say that the author of “Vagina Monotony” had no right to publish such an incendiary essay unless he had the courage to put his name on it. Tomfoolery! Just because you think your opinions are so illconceived and indefensible that you are embarrassed to put your name at the top of the page, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to have them put in a respectable newspaper.

It’s not cowardice to use an alias if the use of that alias is central to the distribution of your ideas. Such was obviously the case with “Vagina Monotony.” The viewpoints that Mr. Truman so eloquently expressed would surely have resulted in his suffering severe bodily harm if his identity were made known. We all know that William Smith students have such a tenuous understanding of their own identities as women, and are so insecure about their lifestyle choices, that reading Mr. Truman’s perspicacious insights into their character would have left them with nothing to do but wallow in helpless passivity or resort to force (note: that was a Richard Rorty reference. When you’re writing an op-ed piece, it’s always a good idea either to quote or to name a scholar whose work tangentially relates to the topic at hand. Bonus points if your reference in no way conveys a deep understanding of the author’s principles). Knowing that there was nothing they could possibly say or do to disprove Mr. Truman’s assertions, the women who were not too busy fellating a stranger in the Holiday bathroom would surely have demanded Mr. Truman’s head. They probably would have lynched him right in the quad, or, at the very least, sent him to an insane asylum. Thus, the pseudonym was used solely for his own protection, and had absolutely nothing to do with his being too lazy or too scared to deal with criticism. Using a pseudonym not only protects the writer, but also encourages the readers to evaluate a viewpoint rather than criticize the individual author who espouses that viewpoint. There were quite a few viewpoints worth evaluation in Mr. Truman’s piece. For instance, his illustration of “what it means to be a man”: apparently, being a true man means being courageous enough to refuse to take responsibility for what one writes, thereby exemplifying the self-respect one claims is lacking in so many women on campus. The most intelligent response that any indignant reader could have mustered to such a view-

point, would have been hateful and personal attacks on Mr. Truman’s character rather than an evaluation of his ideas on their own merits. Therefore, it’s not that Mr. Truman was embarrassed to put his name on his comments; he was simply committed to an open and enlightened dialogue in which his essay would be judged purely for the intelligent, sophisticated ideas it contained. Besides, if Mr. Truman been denied access to the Herald because he refused to attach his name to his piece, we would have been denied access to such important lessons as the value of a well-placed and extraordinarily relevant quotation from a famous writer—a lesson we just can’t learn often enough in our studies as undergraduates. Coincidentally, I too am a huge fan of pretentiously inserting arguably-applicable Shakespeare quotes at inopportune moments in pieces I submit to college newspapers. Like this one: “Forbear to judge, for we are sinners all.” Or maybe this unintentional double entendre that in no way suggests a certain anatomical deficiency causing resentment that manifested itself in sanctimonious indignation and hypocritical self-righteousness: “Small things make base men proud.” So you see, we would miss out on some powerful intellectual stimulation if op-ed contributors like Mr. Truman used their real names. And for what? Why should we be inconvenienced by having to stand up for our beliefs? Why should anyone tell us that if we are not willing to take credit for our ideas, maybe we should reconsider how deeply we believe what we’re saying? Besides, promoting a culture of irresponsibility, by not encouraging someone to take credit for inflammatory and insulting remarks, is not just for the author’s individual benefit but for society’s as well. Nothing advances a rich intellectual atmosphere further than promoting the solitary act of saying what happens to be on our mind at the moment, while discouraging the responsibility of defending it and standing up to opposition and criticism after we’ve said it. After all, isn’t that the purpose of freedom of speech?

To Whom It May Concern:

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ast week at approximately 2:30 AM I was abruptly awoken by raps on the door of one of my suitemates. I opened my door to find a female security guard loudly saying, “SECURITY!! (knock, knock, knock) SECURITY!!” When it was finally explained to me what she was actually in our suite for, I realized how I have completely lost faith in the campus security here at HWS to protect our safety. The female security guard was here to get my suitemate to move her car for a crane that was coming to the library this morning. I am completely in awe of how unprofessional and unorganized this attempt was. In speaking with Cal Brown, I now understand that the attempt to get people to move their cars began at 4 PM on Sunday afternoon. I am quite sure that we knew the crane was coming before 4 PM on Sunday. I also understand from Cal Brown that apparently a campus wide email went out on Friday afternoon. I have spoken with all of my suitemates, and I repeatedly check my e-mail, and not one of us received such email. Additionally, as I relayed to Cal, my suitemates and I feel that it was completely unprofessional, very disconcerting, and frightening to be awoken from a dead sleep on a school night. I suggested that if the cars absolutely had to move at that hour, that the colleges should have incurred the expense of towing them, instead of waking students on a school night. Also, I’m sure that over the weekend, a flier on each car in the area saying to move them before Monday morning or be towed would have been sufficient to get students to move their cars. I personally would like to be assured that piss poor planning on the part of campus security will not disrupt my sleep or my Monday classes again. I do understand that you all have a job to do, and I am completely respectful of that job. Keeping students safe at this campus is second to none. However, a 2:30 AM wake up is not keeping with the mission of campus security. Respectfully Submitted, Gretchen L. Sword

OPINION-EDITORIAL

The Pants Debacle Brian Wills Op-Ed Colomnist

Well, the honest answer is that I have gross legs. Really. They’re skinny, replete with large, dare I say bulbous, ankle bones. My feet are like those of a scorched hobbit, lacking the kind obscuring hair to keep prying eyes from their ugliness. Knobby kneed, pale and somewhat scarred, they spend much of the year deeply ensconced in the folds of dirty corduroy, or a soft towel if I’m washing. But then summer rolls around, and I find that I must wear shorts again. What is there to do? Soon I will be sweating it out, puns aside. I called up my friend Mehrun about this, who suggested I wear an Indian skirt-like garment known a Dhoti. His advice is generally worth consulting, but rarely worth following, and I felt that since it was unlikely to come in corduroy, it simply wasn’t for me. Though I did rather fancy the somewhat mystic appeal it gave me. Capris were suggested, but I nixed those as well after I realized they look bad with my super-dork, extra-thick socks. In the end, after much thought, I realized that I could just keep wearing my regular pants. After all, my keys and wallet are already in the pockets. Why make extra work for myself? Perhaps I could get some colorful shirts at one of the myriad local thrift stores, perhaps

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s the seasons change, and campus begins its slow, flower-like transition from the black pea-coats and grey North Face jackets of winter to the warm pinks, yellows, and delicious fresh salmon of spring, I find myself in a bit of a muddle. You see, to most of campus, it would appear that I have only two outfits: khaki corduroys and grey corduroys, complemented with either a grey or possibly rebellious black polypropylene top. This actually is completely true, and it works splendidly for me in winter, but when the weather warms and the people turn into Easter eggs, I feel suddenly exposed. I’m vain enough to imagine I’m important enough for clandestine whispering voices, and I would imagine that they sound something like this: “Who is that grubby spot of tawdry tan cloth and grey-spun plastic flitting between buildings? Why does it sully our clean-striped broadcloth and festive linen image?”

Quit Wining? Amanda Jantzi Op-Ed Contributor

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y birthdays tend to be major productions that I myself ar range. Most attribute this to my anal retentive—I prefer details orientated—personality and not to some sad, deep seated fear that I have where I envision my birthday ending up like Sixteen Candles. Without the hot guy at the end. Freshman year the quest was for nineteen alcoholic beverages, squashed when a fraternity “ran out of beer”/wanted to get rid of my friends. Last year was a road trip to Niagara Falls that involved hitch-hiking, the invasion of our sketchy hotel room by ten Canadian men (culminating in having to forcibly remove them from our room), bargaining to get our friend back by trading her for a forgotten leather jacket, and my friend breaking the window of our hotel room in an attempt to get it back into its sliding frame. By hip checking it. This year, freshly 21, I decided a more sophisticated form of amusement was in order. Friends and family and the significant other were shoved into a minivan to go wine tasting. Our designated driver was a very hung over, greasy haired, unshaven acquaintance/ Herald columnist who repeatedly snarled at us in the rear-view mirror. He looked like he was driving us to hell, or, as a friend observed, “To his favorite dumpster. To make us into parts.” This birthday was also less about me, and more about my mother. Fortysix years old and a part-time nurse, she was allowed to be a college student for a day. My mother is an interesting person: loud and opinionated, it’s rare that she doesn’t say what’s on her mind. She also has fabulous dyed red/purple hair. While waiting for our friends to join us out of Miller, she had an umbrella pressed against the van and the door

some delightful neon green Bugle Boy tees or an old early-90’s plaid standby from The Gap. Then again, I could be reckless and invest in a more serious anti-perspirant and take my chances with malodorousness and continue to wear long underwear shirts. Hmm. I think I’m prepared for a little danger.

open so she could smoke outside, even though she was blowing smoke right in at us. As two larger students left the building, she observed, “I hope those aren’t your friends, because they won’t fit.” She proceeded to smoke a cigarette outside of every winery we attended and inside the bathroom of one when the rain got too hard. As she exited, her friend entered, and made a huge deal about how it smelled like cigarette smoke. “Well, if I had known that,” said a grinning Lynn Jantzi, “I would have smoked in their too.” She also drew genitalia on the fogged over windows and sang songs about them. But the real highlight came when we went to our last winery, advertised as open until 6, only to find the driveway blocked off despite the presence of large canvas open flag. Our driver encouraged us to steal it, and Lynn opened the door for two friends to get out. When they took too long, she poked my six-foot-five-inch boyfriend and urged him to complete the task. He removed the flag, and we booked it down the road in our stylish maroon minivan. Later, in wine induced exuberance, she bought us all more bottles to consume and a nice bottle of whiskey for our driver. Previously, she had decried him as an earth sucker. This is the lowest being on Lynn’s scale of rating people, behind mopes and slugos. Apparently he had grown on her as she drank more. She lamented the fact that she had not attended college as we sat around a co-op dining table, eating pizza, drinking, and playing cards. The point? When she was my age, my mother was working forty plus hour weeks in the pediatric intensive care unit of Children’s Hospital in Buffalo and dating my father. We, four year liberal arts college students, have been afforded a unique experience: to learn, to drink, to meet people, to study abroad, and to just hang out if we want to for fours years. With graduation coming for me in a year, and the real world waiting to eat away my small shred of remaining idealism, it’s important to look towards senior year as a capstone to this experience.

the HERALD Page 5

Collision with Error Emily Corcione Copy Editor

“Where are the editors, and what, exactly, are they doing?” As a part of the editorial staff of the Herald, I have been on the receiving end of many such queries in the past few weeks. I think I owe an answer to questions like that one, which was posed in response to the Herald’s decision to run a tasteless piece entitled “Vagina Monotony” two issues ago. Although I did not take part in the creation of the issue that contained “Vagina Monotony”, and therefore cannot tell you what the editors were thinking or doing when they decided to publish that piece, I can tell you what I would have been thinking in their position. Although it does not bring me joy to have name associated with such a farcically awful piece of writing, I would have been even less ecstatic to have my name associated with a paper that engages in viewpoint discrimination. I have heard accusations that, before I joined the Herald staff, certain op-ed submissions were denied access to the paper because the editors disagreed with the opinions expressed in those pieces. In fact, I have been told that the Martini was a direct result of feelings that the Herald staff was discriminating against certain perspectives. I don’t know what happened before I became a part of the Herald, but I do know that this year I’ve watched the current staff really try to improve the paper in every way possible. After the majority of the staff graduate this May, I plan to work with the new editors to continue the current staff’s commitment to providing students with timely and relevant news, interesting stories, and, most importantly, a medium in which each member of the campus community has a fair and equal chance to express his or her opinion. We could not provide such a forum, however, if we rejected op-ed submissions based upon the ideas they contained. Thus, while classifying “Truman’s” brainless blather as “speech” is a judgment call, I would

An Angel Sent from God Ian Donlon Op-Ed Contributor

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ver spring break I’m sure some of us in the local HWS com munity might have heard about the events that unfolded with Brian Nichols, the courthouse murderer who shot and killed a judge during his trial in an Atlanta courthouse. Hopefully those of us who were aware of the 24/7 media headline were able to learn about the miraculous conclusion to the story involving Ashley Smith.

Rick Warren

Ashley Smith, a 26-year-old widow, accomplished exactly what hundreds of Atlanta police officers and bureaucrats in the system could not achieve during this ordeal. Early Saturday morning, Ashley Smith was returning to her apartment in Duluth when Brian Nichols sneaked up behind her and took her hostage in her own apartment. Ashley would later beg Nichols not to kill her because that would leave her daughter without a mother or father. Ashley’s husband had died previously in a stabbing incident, which threw her life so off balance it forced her daughter to go live with Smith’s aunt. This appeal and connection to Smith’s own suffering fostered an establishment of trust with her capturer as seen by her many opportunities to escape and the loose gun which rested on her bed. At one point during an interview after the ordeal, Smith exclaimed he

have supported its publication in the interest of free speech—perhaps not so much in the interest of his personal freedom of speech (particularly in light of his refusal to attach his real name to the piece), but more for the value that his speech would have for the entire campus community. I’m loathe to dignify “Truman’s” witless twaddle by calling it valuable, but I believe that it is beneficial to publish even the most odious opinions in the interest of furthering a more healthy and intelligent view of the issue. If we had refused to print “Vagina Monotony” on the grounds that it was “hate speech” or simply because we disagreed with the author, we would have been doing a disservice to the entire campus community. People on this campus who may tend toward a “Truman”-esque view of female sexuality would have been deprived of the illuminating experience of seeing such stereotypes in print. Perhaps, in publishing the piece, the editors hoped that such people would be unable to ignore the ridiculous double standards and hypocrisy of such a position if they saw it so crudely expressed in words. Or perhaps the editors hoped that “Truman” and like-minded individuals would be forced to confront the stupidity of their views in light of the criticism of “Truman’s” article, and, unable to formulate a coherent response, would be forced to reexamine their position. People who disagree with “Truman” would also have been deprived—deprived of the opportunity have their views challenged. An important part of developing solid, wellthough-out viewpoints is to have those viewpoints called into question. Although “Truman” could have chosen a much more constructive way to initiate a dialogue on the subject of “romance”, he did provide us with an opportunity to have our views challenged and, by rejecting his notions of female sexuality, further strengthen our own

convictions. Although many people on campus decided not to waste their breath on “Truman’s” brainless invective (a valid response, in my opinion), we were fortunate enough to receive three incredibly intelligent and well-written responses, each with a unique and clever way of exposing “Truman’s” piece for the vulgar, immature idiocy that it was. While it was not the author’s purpose, his article encouraged these three women to express their sophisticated opinions with confidence, conviction, and eloquence. This, in turn, allowed the rest of the campus to see first-hand exactly why the females of this college deserve much more respect than “Truman” would give them. The ideas expressed in “Vagina Monotony” are not simply the misguided opinions of one bitter Hobart student; this sort of perspective is held by many people in our society. It is unpleasant, but it is something we will have to deal with throughout our lives. A college is the perfect place in which to learn how to confront ideas you disagree with and practice intelligently responding to unintelligent opinions, or at least just ignoring them and not responding in kind. When we ask a campus publication to refuse to print a piece like “Vagina Monotony”, we are relieving ourselves of the responsibility to hold well-thought-out opinions that can withstand attack. We’re not talking about silencing someone who cornered a so-called “It girl” and screamed misogynistic insults in her face, or someone who went around harassing women on the campus. We’re talking about silencing opinions that were expressed in a publication, opinions that did not personally threaten anyone and that gave the readers time to evaluate the views and either choose to ignore them or to craft a response. To silence “Truman’s” voice would be to doubt the ability of our own ideas to stand up to even the most banal criticism.

needed hope for his life and in the morning after she was taken hostage, she read to Nichols chapter 33 of the book A Purpose-Driven Life, by Rick Warren, the founding pastor of the Saddleback church in Lake Forest, California. The chapter addressed how real servants act, noting that “We serve God by serving others.” The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you’ve arrived. In our self-serving culture, with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept. After reading the passage, Smith told Nichols that he might have his own purpose to his life, which was to turn himself in to authorities and spread the word of God in prison. Nichols’s responded to this gesture by telling Smith that she was his sister and he was her brother in Christ, and God had led him to her. Nichols later made her follow him so he could drive his car away from the apartment complex, but he gave her the freedom to bring her cell phone which she used to call the police hoping to end Nichols’s killing spree. At 9:00AM Smith pleaded with Nichols to leave so she could go see her daughter. Nichols allowed her to leave, most likely knowing she had already called the police. “I guess he saw my faith and what I really believed in. And I told him I was a child of God and that I wanted to do God’s will...I guess he began to want to. That’s

Ashley Smith’s story is an example of the transcendent power of faith in our daily lives. It was Ashley Smith’s deeply felt faith that allowed her to communicate with Brian Nichols on a human level. It did so because her own suffering allowed her to be a true “servant” in a way that Nichols could appreciate. (Earlier Smith had led a life where she had minor run-ins with the law, such as shoplifting and alcohol abuse. Her discovery of faith enabled her to change behavior and transform her life.) It is important to point out here that this is not a question of which brand of faith Smith chose, but simply her ability to commit to something greater than our own human conception. Smith’s story also demonstrates the power present in religious texts. It

Ashley Smith

what I think” is precisely how Ashley Smith answered the question of how she thought she was able to get away so easily from Nichols. It is essential to understand this event in terms of religion’s power to serve as a life affirming force. Too often our society marginalizes religion.

Brian Nichols

is arguable that Smith’s compassion and kindness carried her only so far with Nichols. She relied on reading aloud religious passages to create an immediate connection with him. Today, we live in a world where religion is seen primarily as a motivational tool for violence, e.g. Palestinian suicide bombers, the 9/11 events, the insurgency associated with the war in Iraq, and the cruelty of the Taliban in Afghanistan. If there is any good to come out of this age of religious violence without cultural understanding it lies with episodes such as Ashley Smith’s. Such stories clearly tell of life’s bitter ironies suggesting that conditions of great danger and human suffering like hers bring the individual closer to a deeper understanding of where one finds true authenticity, identity, and spiritual well-being.

A +E the HERALD Page 6

Contiued Forum Discussing The DVD Release of

Closer

Kailey Voellinger

Herald A&E

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loser, Starring Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen, is a screwed-up movie about people that cheat on each other, repeatedly. It begins beautifully, with Law and Portman walking down the street towards each other, in slowmo with the song Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice playing. As it turns out, the two strangers, Dan (Law) and Alice (Portman), meet and fall in love. Dan, a struggling writer who eventually gets a book published, meets Anna (Roberts) when having photos taken for the book’s cover. Always playing the ladies’ man, Law’s character instantly falls in love with Anna as well. Through a “chance” meeting, Anna meets Larry (Owen), and they begin to date. From there, numerous lies, infidelities and heartbreaks ensue. The plot line of the movie is easy enough to follow, but there are numerous time jumps and context changes that are a little weird. The film jumps from relationship to relationship, and progresses days, months, and years without notice. I felt that this sequencing was rather odd, and it didn’t really add to the context of the movie. The only way you could really tell time that

time was changing was through Alice’s hair changes. The soundtrack to the movie was awesome. I really enjoyed the music selection (Blower’s Daughter). It seemed to fit well with the plot and mood of the movie. I liked the movie, it was entertaining. It was definitely really weird, but it was worth the watch. The acting was really good, as you would have expected from Law, Roberts, Owen and Portman. The Thanks to hollywoodjesus.com movie is also dark, and gets down to real issues that are swept under the rug in most relationships. I would recommend this movie if you have a Jude Law fetish, or you like to ponder relationships, lies and affairs. This movie does not have vivid sex scenes, but, I can see how the topic can be offensive to some. If you don’t like movies that are just about sex, and hurting the ones we love, this movie is not for you.

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Pistols and Poodles Sculpture Opening Office of Communications

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n exhibition of sculptures by Korean sculptor and Visiting Professor of Art Kim Czong Ho will open Frid a y , April 15, at HWS. The pieces being shown are mostly bronze castings, but also include works in ceramic and plaster. The small-scale pieces are considered models for a larger work that may be built on a campus site later this spring. The sculpture has been created while Kim has been in working in residence since January. The exhibit will be in the Houghton House South Gallery, on King’s Lane on the Hobart and William Smith Col-

leges campus. A reception will be held in the gallery from 7-9 p.m., on opening night. Kim will also present a slide lecture on his work at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 21, in Houghton House Room 212. All are free and open to the public. Korean sculptor Kim Czong-Ho expresses his fundamental concerns in both abstract and figurative sculpture, and finds a metaphorical resonance in each style of art making. He is widely acknowledged to be the first artist in Korea to incorporate found objects in his sculptures of the 1980s, using casting methods to transform broken vessels and discarded instruments into uni-

fied metal structures of steel, bronze, and aluminum. By composing his sculptures with scrap-metal fragmentsthat are leftover from either construction or demolition, Kim invokes pre-information age technologies from an era that saw the first skyscrapers, transcontinental highways, suspension bridges and jet airplanes. Kim is a citizen of South Korea, where he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Hong Ik University in Seoul. Further studies brought him to the U.S. for an advanced degree in sculpture from the State University of New York College at New Paltz. Currently, he is a professor of art at Sangmyung University, in Seoul, where he heads the sculpture division. He has exhibited widely in Korea as well as in galleries in New York and Los Angeles, Calif. The show at the Colleges will run through Wednesday, April 27.

Alicia Laible A+E Contributor

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fter watching the movie Closer, I decided it had to be my rental pick of the week. After a semester of watching mediocre to bad movies this one really amazed me. I use the word “amazed” for lack of a better one. In reality, the movie floored me. It is hard for me to pick out one scene that I consider my favorite. The movie is filled with startling dialogue from beginning to end. I fancy myself more of a realist then a romantic, and this movie never let me down. It was an accurate portrayal of modern relationships and just how screwed up they can be. Love, betrayal, lust, and loss, what else could you ask for? If any of you disagree, just come talk to me. I have plenty of stories to back this up, matter of fact I probably have some about your significant other. The movie has an amazing cast of Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Julia Roberts, and Clive Owen. All the characters except Julia played equally remarkable roles. It is hard to say if

anyone upstaged another. If I had to pick, I would say Natalie Portman’s character “Alice” had the best lines. In one scene she is arguing with Daniel (Jude Law) who is about to leave her for Anna (Julia Roberts). She talks about “that moment.” We have all had them, just seconds before we fall in love. That moment where you realize your life is about to change. You feel yourself slipping but you do have the choice to resist. You can walk away as hard as that may be, or you can go with it and bare witness to the destructive force of love. On top of the amazing dialogue, which can be contributed to the fact the movie was once a play, there is the amazing soundtrack. The ever-pleasing Damien Rice has two songs on it, which lend to most of the movie’s mood. With the rapid time changes in the movie, the two songs playing throughout help keep the flow. Adding to my love of the movie, it also features one of my favorite songs, “How soon is now?” by The Smiths. Don’t be mistaken, this is no chick flick and no ordinary love story. It is the anti-love story but with a twist of hope. I have no problem rating it a 9 on my Alicia scale from 1 to 10. My one suggestion is you choose carefully who you watch this movie with. It is easy to find that you have been swept up by its passion and lure. You will begin to question yourself and past relationships. You may even find yourself in “that moment.”

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