Issue 1, Vol. CV

The Student Newspaper of Washington & Jefferson College

Red & Black

Page 2 New Faces

VOL. CV ... NO. I

T h u r s d a y , F e b r ua r y 0 7 , 2 0 1 3

Washington, Penna.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

ESTABLISHED 1909

W&J Spends Intersession Abroad

Wang Qi, a Chinese foreign exchange student, joins W&J for the Spring semester.

Page 3

North Korea

With the recent transfer of power, what is the future of North Korea’s Nuclear Program?

Page 10

Evolving Market

Should authors be worried about the increasing sales of E-Readers?

Page 12 New Art Gallery Sam Blanchard opens up exhibit at Olin Arts Center

Page 18 Men’s Baseball W&J Men’s team grabs spot on national rankings.

Keep up to date with the Red&Black! Scan this QR Code with your smartphone to visit out Facebook page! Or follow us on twitter @rednblackWJ

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Above, students document and photograph different plants native to the deserts of Arizona. The trip was an opportunity for students to study field ecology as well as conservation in different American landscapes.

These students were among many W&J students that spent their Intersession studying away from campus.

Saturday, 2/09 High: 34°, Low: 26°

Sunday, 2/10 High: 45°, Low: 36°

Monday, 2/11 High: 48°, Low: 31°

SEE Life, SECTION PAGE 5

INDEX:

FIVE DAY FORECAST

Friday, 2/08 High: 35°, Low: 20°

Courtesy Jake Meyers

Tuesday, 2/12 High: 38°, Low: 25°

Campus-News ..... 1-5 Life ......................... 6-9 Arts .................... 10-13 Op-Ed ............... 14-17 Sports ................ 18-20

2 CAMPUS NEWS

07 F ebruary 2013

Red & Black

Studying Abroad: Meet Wang Qi S e c u r i t y L o g S compiled by Mike Nemchick/ Red&Black

Jake Meyers Red&Black Staff

He is a third year student from China studying abroad at Washington & Jefferson College for this Spring semester.

His home university, Fudan University, is located in Shanghai, and he is a chemistry major.

Wang Qi was born in Beijing and grew up near the center of the city.

His name directly translated into English is King Luck, and if you prefer you can certainly call him by that name.

Wang means king in English, while Qi translates to luck or happiness.

Wang Qi is excited to study here at W&J because he has a strong desire to pursue a doctorate degree in physical chemistry at a graduate school in the United States.

He is also ecstatic to become immersed into another culture.

Last summer, he took a general chemistry course and a public speaking course at Georgetown University, and this semester at W&J Wang Qi is taking advanced chemistry courses as well as an English and American history course.

Besides chemistry, Wang Qi is interested in topics such as history and has an appreciation for musicals.

Some of his favorites include Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Cats, and Les Miserables. His two favorite American movies are the Titanic and Forest Gump, and he admires actors like Tom Hanks and Nicole Kidman.

Wang Qi also loves to play ping pong and is always rooting for the Houston Rockets, his favorite

1/20/13 Criminal Mischief At the above date, protection services was called to report that a group of students was attempting to start a fire between Bica Ross and Upperclass dorms. Four students were found standing in front of Bica Ross, watching the small fire on the sidewalk in front of Upperclass dorm. One of the students busted a coffee table from a lobby in Bica Ross and asked the other students if they wanted to start a fire with it.

They tried to burn the table and a cardboard box, but the fire would not start. The table and cardboard box were moved in front of Bica Ross so maintenance could pick it up in the morning.

1/23/13 Fire Alarm The Protection Services office received a call of a fire alarm in one of the residence buildings. Upon arrival with the fire department, it was discovered that someone had burnt popcorn in the microwave of a third floor study room. The bag was thrown out and the room was vented. There was no one around to claim responsibility. The alarm was reset and the scene cleared.

1/29/13 Information

Courtesy Jake Meyers

Above is a photograph of Wang Qi holding a traditional Chinese hand fan. These fans have been used for a variety of purposes throughout the century, including decoration and in some forms of dance, but they are typically used for cooling.

NBA team. Wang Qi has quite the sense of humor and loves telling jokes, especially ones that compare China to the United States.

Back in China, Wang Qi is involved with a teaching program where he helps run middle school classrooms on the weekend.

He is also involved with an American-Chinese cross educational exchange program where he meets with American students and discusses topics such as energy, education and international studies. Coming from a school of 12,000 in an entirely different

C ontac t

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continent, let alone culture, Wang Qi has already noted some of the many differences between Fudan and W&J. “The professors here interact in a much more personal way with students than in China,” Wang Qi explains. “American lifestyle has a lot more comfort and convenience compared to China.”

Wang Qi does miss the food back home, and misses speaking in his native tongue.

Get the chance to know Wang Qi, especially if you happen to know any Mandarin!

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Companies who advertise with the Red & Black are not necessarily endorsed by the publication or its staff, or Washington & Jefferson College or its administration.

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When entering the Tech Center, a security officer was informed by a member of the maintenance crew that three students had entered the building, but they were not sure of where the students went. While checking the building, the security officer found the door in the north side stair well to the fourth floor unlocked. While looking around the third and fourth floor, it was apparent people had been inside. Soda cans and candy wrappers were found on the floor as well as chairs that were put in a circle. The door was locked and the scene cleared.

1/30/13 Act 64 On the above date, security officers were on their routine patrol.

While walking on Chestnut Street, the officers noticed a strong odor of marijuana, coming from the open second floor window of a building.

The officers made entrance into the building and made contact with the resident student of the offending room. Four students in total were in the room. Found in plain view were the following: one red grinder, one multicolor grinder, one plastic bag with a small amount of vegetable matter, two glass pipes, one clear glass pipe five and one half inches in height, one multi glass pipe, one multiple colored pipe, one glass pipe with gray stripes, one water pipe 12 inches in height, one water pipe 22 inches in height, and one clear pipe tube. The smoke detector was also covered with a plastic bag, held on by a clothes hanger.

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The Red & Black is the official, registered, student-produced newspaper of Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Penna. It is published Thursdays with the exception of exams and break periods. Production run is 1250 copies, both on and off campus. Published by the Observer Publishing Company.

07 F ebruary 2013

3 CAMPUS NEWS

Red & Black

N. Korea’s Nuclear Programs Future British Petroleum Pleads Guilty Jake Meyers Red&Black Staff

Hla Hpone “Jack” Myint Red&Black Staff

North Korea’s States run news agency, KCNA announced that the supreme leader Kim JeongUn has made an “important decision” that would help “strengthen the country” in an address to his top officials at a military occasion held as of Sunday morning.

Other than that, there was no more elaboration made and many are assuming that this comment relates to North Korea’s nuclear and missiles program that is so widely discussed about today in the international community.

Since North Korea’s Unha-3 rocket has put the satellite Kwangmyongsong -3 into orbit in December 2012, the west have exerted more international pressure on the country with concerns that this is very likely a disguised missile test.

The United Nations has expanded its pre-existing sanctions against North Korea and the Security Council released an order for North Korea to refrain from a nuclear test or face “significant action”.

The United States joined South Korea and Japan in warning the North Korean government against any “provocative behavior” and that continuing so would lead to severe consequences.

North Korea made a statement that due to these “American led U.N. sanctions”, it has made the U.S. the target of its future possible attacks.

It has also turned down/ criticized all resolutions saying that as a country, it reserves the right to launch a satellite as part of the civilian space program.

Its argument is largely based on the International Outer Space treaty which states “outer space shall be the province of all mankind” and that “outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies shall be free for exploration and used by all States without discrimination of any kind.” With that, North Korea also confirms that this act is just part of a space program like that

Courtesy ABC News

Kim Jeong Un is the son and successor to Kim Jeong Il. His father’s recent passing, and Un’s appoitment as the new leader of North Korea has raised questions from the international community over the future of their nuclear program.

of any other country and means no harm or effect on international peace and security.

The statement however, is highly doubted by most governments and media alike and looking back at North Korea’s reputation, there is no reason not to be doubtful about.

A recent CIA report shows that North Korea possesses a substantial arsenal of chemical weapons and also participates in secret missile technology negotiation with rogue regimes such as Iran and Syria.

As of 2006, North Korea has already become the World’s 8th atomic power and as of 2012, proclaims itself a nuclear state and has made public releases with regards to the “jungle rule” as the rightful rule of survival.

Also, this is not the first nuclear test that North Korea has carried out.

Back in 2006 and 2009 under the leadership of Kim Jeong-Il, there were two similar tests, causing North Korea sanctions and criticism from many countries around the world.

During George W. Bush’s presidency, North Korea was declared as part of the “Axis of Evil” and Kim Jeong-Il has consistently been ranked by news agencies on the list of the world’s most fierce dictators.

Kim Jeong-Il died in December 2011 and his position inher-

ited by son, Kim JeongUn, who apparently feels the need to live up to the reputation of his dictator father. A research study based in South Korea states that “Kim JeongUn could very likely order a nuclear test ahead of the February 16th birthday of his father in order to create a festive mood”.

This might sound somewhat silly to most readers but it should be bore in mind that when it comes to his father’s honor, Kim JeongUn gets extremely superstitious. For example, he reserved the “eternal” Chairman of the National Defense Commission position for his dead father and launched the Unha-3 rocket missile on the day of his father’s death anniversary.

With North Korea’s attacks targeted at the United States, it’s interesting how U.S. Foreign Policy makers would approach this situation.

Under the leadership of the newly appointed Secretary of State John Kerry, who criticized the Obama administration’s approach to North Korea’s nuclear and missile program as “inadequate” in a public statement a couple of years ago, it is expected that “Kerry would be much more forwardleaning and more interested in a less condition approach to North Korea while bringing about more engagement and interaction” said a State Department spokesperson.

BP oil is still making headlines nearly three years after the explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

The explosion released oil for three months until crews could cap off the underwater wellhead with a cement dome.

Nearly 4.9 million barrels of oil were released into the marine environment, making it the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

An oil dispersant called Corexit was utilized throughout the oil cleanup, but a later study found that it had actually increased the toxicity of the oil in the Gulf by 52 times.

Nearly 8,000 birds, sea turtles, and marine mammals were found injured or dead in the six months after the spill.

Coral reefs within the area have died off, shrimp and crab species mutation rates have increased exponentially, fish populations have decreased dramatically, and an overall disarray of the food web has taken place. Scientists will not be able to fully assess the damages caused from nearly 4.9 million barrels of oil and two million gallons of chemicals on the environment in the Gulf of Mexico that could be seen from NASA imaging satellites from outer space.

The EPA temporally banned BP from seeking new contracts in the Gulf of Mexico on the grounds of “lack of business integrity.”

The White House released a report regarding the incident concluding that BP decided to make a series of cost-cutting decisions which resulted in the lack of a system to ensure well safety.

After conducting an internal investigation, BP admitted that they made a series of mistakes.

The petroleum company already has racked up more than $24 billion in spill-related expenses, and could pay a total of $42 billion in liability fines to the people of the Gulf who were directly affected from the spill like

fisherman and personnel from the tourism industry. The Justice Department concluded its criminal probing of the oil spill on January 29th after District Judge Sarah Vance agreed to let BP plead guilty to manslaughter charges for the deaths of 11 rig workers and pay a record $4 billion in penalties.

The criminal settlement demands BP to pay nearly $1.3 billion in fines, making it the largest corporate criminal penalty assessed by the Justice Department.

The plea deal also includes payments of nearly $2.4 billion to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and $350 million to the National Academy of Sciences.

The two groups will administer the money to fund Gulf restoration and oil spill prevention projects.

The $4 billion in total penalties are 160 times greater than the $25 million fine that Exxon paid for the 1989 Valdez spill in Alaska.

Family members of the lost oil rig workers claim that $4 billion is petty cash to the multibillion dollar oil giant.

BP agreed in Nov. to plead guilty to charges involving the workers’ deaths and for lying to Congress about the size of the spill from its broken well.

A series of government investigations have blamed the April 20, 2010, blowout on time-saving, cost-cutting decisions by BP and its partners on the drilling project.

Several BP personnel are still awaiting a trial, including rig supervisors Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, who are charged with manslaughter and are accused of disregarding abnormal high-pressure readings.

David Rainey, BP’s former vice president of exploration for the Gulf of Mexico, was charged with withholding information from Congress about the amount of oil that was pouring out of the well into the gulf.

Former BP engineer Kurt Mix was charged with deleting text messages about the company’s spill response as well.

CAMPUS NEWS 4

?

Campus Question

07 F ebruary 2013

Red & Black

“What Did You Do For Intersession?”

Chelsea Cummings/ Red&Black

? ?

“I went to Prague, Czech Republic with Kyle Simpsons’ music class” -Sarah Knizat ‘16

?

Chelsea Cummings/ Red&Black

“I took Graphic Memoir” -Elizabeth Ekstrand ‘16

Chelsea Cummings/ Red&Black

“I took Organizational Behavior Management with Dr. Cavoti.”

-Megan Lemley ‘13”

“During Intersession I took the class “Entrepreneurship and the Arts”. Also, I am part of the track team and had some meets during January. .”

-Harley Straub ‘14

Chelsea Cummings/ Red&Black

“I took “The Beat Generation in Literature and Film” with Dr. Mulvania” — Josh Deckman ‘13 Chelsea Cummings/ Red&Black

Campus Question, compiled by Chelsea Cummings/Red&Black

07 F ebruary 2013

Red & Black

CAMPUS NEWS 5

Breath of Fresh Air: Chinese Environmentalist Combats Pollution

Jake Meyers Red&Black Staff

The Chinese government has been forced to cancel flights in Beijing and has warned the citizens of the sixth largest city on the planet to stay indoors.

An enormous amount of smog has been cascading over the Forbidden City, creating poor visibility and terrible air quality for its people.

The U.S. embassy reported a level of PM2.5, one of the worst pollutants, at 526 micrograms per cubic meter, or “beyond index”, and more than 20 times higher than World Health Organization safety levels over a 24-hour period.

Hospitals reported a sharp rise in respiratory-related admissions and political leaders took emergency pollution-reduction measures and vowed to tackle the underlying problems. Chen Guangbiao, a philanthropist be-

lieved to be one of China’s richest individuals, is capitalizing on one of China’s biggest environmental problems by selling canned fresh air.

These “fresh air in soft drink cans” sell for about five Chinese Yuan, or $0.80 USD a can.

Profits from these new canned goods are donated to a number of different charities in China.

Consumers have a couple of different choices in terms of flavor, including “pristine Tibet” and “post-industrial Taiwan.”

“Every day, we are inhaling the exhaust fumes of cars,” Chen told China’s Sina News last year, as news broke out about his new business endeavor. “And now we have pollution-free air to sell -- a benefit to everyone’s health and longevity.”

“Chen said he wanted to make a point that China’s air was turning so bad that the idea of bottled fresh air is no longer fanciful,” explains the Sydney Morning Herald. Chen believes “If we don’t

Just the Facts: Gun Violence in the U.S. Murders by Guns Between 2006 & 2010

47,856

(Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report)

Num. of Guns in U.S. (Source: ABC News)

Approx. 350 Million 129 Million are Federally Licensed.

Guns Sold Without a Background Check

40% of Total Gun Sales

Since Sandy Hook: Gun Deaths (Source: Slate Magazine)

1619 or more

(Source: Brady Campaign)

New NRA Membership-- (Source: MSN)

Brady Camp. Donations-(Source: Politico)

110 or more were Teens or Children

250,000

(Members: 4.25 Million)

$5 Million Compiled By Kyle Sossi

start caring for the environment then after 20 or 30 years our children and grandchildren might be wearing gas masks and carry oxygen tanks.”

Chen is not one to shy away from the media.

An environmentalist at heart, Guangbiao has orchestrated bizarre publicity stunts in the past to highlight the dire state of China’s air quality.

Last August, for example, Chen had used a hammer to smash up a number of electric scooters in protest of lead contamination.

He also has done other public stunts, like showering earthquake victims with 100 yuan bills, demolishing a Mercedes Benz and giving away 5,000 bicycles to push the message that people should ride their bikes not drive.

Chen’s wealth is said to be around $740 million USD, and he has reportedly donated millions of his personal wealth to charitable causes. When asked about his attitude towards environmen-

Courtesy Geeksofdoom.com

In a recent project, a Chinese environmentalist has begun selling canned air as a way to curb air pollution within China’s major cities.

This new product is eerily similar to one comedically used by Mel Brooks in the 1987 satire “Spaceballs.”

talism, Chen responded “2012 did not bring the end of the world but if human beings keep consuming resources, keep polluting the

environment, I think Doomsday will arrive.” His newest product is gaining much attention worldwide.

Zack Kopplin Fights for Science Education Adam Kmett Red&Black Staff Only 19 years old, Zack Kopplin has teamed up with scientists and Louisiana lawmakers to overturn a controversial law that promoted and encourage the teaching of “intelligent design” in the classroom.

What began as Kopplin’s senior year project has now made Kopplin famous worldwide.

Starting in June of 2010, Kopplin became alarmed that creationism, essentially “dressed up” as intelligent design, was being taught as science in Louisiana classrooms.

His work led him to challenge the law known as the Louisiana State Education Act, passed in 2008 and signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal.

“Supplementary materials,” meant to inspire creative thinking, offered alternative ideas on the origins of human life or cli-

mate change. Kopplin found such discussions at odds with legitimate science.

Explaining his reasoning for challenging the law, Kopplin pointed out, “You don’t need a law to teach critical thinking. That’s what science is. You need a law to teach creationism.”

Koppling took his case to the state legislature, and joined forces with Louisiana State Senator Karen Peterson, a Democrat from New Orleans, to help sponsor a repeal of the bill.

It was at that point support for Kopplin’s efforts gained international attention.

Sixty Nobel laureates, an unprecedented number, publicly expressed their support to repeal the “bogus science” law.

Multiple science foundations, teacher’s associations and even the city of New Orleans joined forces with Kopplin in his effort to take make a statement. In 2012, Kopplin went two-to-two with

state legislatures and argued for the repeal of the creationist bill in the state capitol.

Taking on his challengers, Kopplin presented an intelligible and tempered case for why evolution is science and for that reason, why evolution should be taught in schools.

Contrasted with that image of sensitivity, lawmakers often went on the attack with contempt against Kopplin and evolution, with a complete lack of respect at times.

As of this publication, Kopplin has twice tried to repeal the law, but both attempts have failed.

A third effort to repeal the creationist law is now being considered.

Facing stiff opposition, it seems likely this third effort will not bring about the change Kopplin is fighting for in the state law, but regardless, Kopplin has played a significant part in raising awareness of science issues in America.

07 F ebruary 2013

LIFE

LIFE 6

Red & Black

Have You Joined the Facebook Settlement?

Just like every Halloween at Washington & Jefferson, we were all in for

5 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues a treat. When it came to costumes this year, let’s face it, there was the good, the bad and the ugly. F

Courtesy huffpost.com

It seems like almost everyone got an email about joining onto the settlement and receiving up to 10 dollars.

Sara Mitchell Red&Black Staff

Courtesy tumblr.com

One of the best cures for winter sadness is a warm cup of hot cocoa.

Carley Adams Red&Black Staff

Having been blessed with 48 hours of 60 degree weather only to have it yanked out from beneath our feet, most residents of Washington, PA agree that being surrounded by a winter wonderland is not always as joyous as it sounds.

So, courtesy of the students of Washington & Jefferson College, here is a compilation of things you can do to beat the winter blues: Play the hand you’re dealt!

Think of all of the adventurous activities you and your friends can do outside while ankle-deep in snow.

Gather up a group, divide off into teams, and play a game of football or capture the flag.

Getting tackled to the ground is nearly as painful when you’ve got a nice (but chilly!) cushion to soften your fall.

Make the indoors “the place to be.” You don’t need to go out to have a good time. Cozy-up your dorm room so your friends will come to you. Gather up a few mugs, stock up on warm beverage

options like tea or hot chocolate and host the warmest get-together of the season!

Get a good workout! Not that college students need another reason to exercise, but working out (even if only for 30 minutes a day!) is a great way to get fit, relieve stress and, of course, warm yourself up after traipsing around through all that darn snow.

Find a friend and start a workout regimen; you’ll feel warmer, happier and more energized in no time.

Use it is an excuse to “move in closer.” Got a special guy or gal on your radar? Looking for the perfect reason to reach out and hold that hand?

Go for it now, because “baby, it’s cold outside!” And what’s the best thing after kissing in the rain?

Kissing in the snow, of course!

Get lots and lots of “Zzzz’s.”

Just like exercise, it is one thing college students can certainly use a lot more of.

Cherish whatever free time you have, and don’t feel bad about spending it beneath the blankets of your nice, warm bed. You deserve it.

As all Facebook users know, Facebook is free to use, and the company generates revenue through advertising.

When Facebook shared the names, nicknames, photos and likes with companies to help generate more revenue through advertising, they became the defendant in this, now, class action lawsuit, Fraley v.

Facebook, Inc. So, no those emails you received were not a scam. You are entitled up to $10, as part of an out of court settlement.

However, it is recommended that you visit this website to receive more information about possible inclusion in this settlement: fraleyfacebooksettlement.com.

This suit was originally filed in a District Court of California under California’s Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code.

The plaintiffs are claiming unjust enrichment, as Facebook illegally shared their names, nicknames, photos and likes with

companies to help generate more revenue.

Facebook, however, claims that they have done nothing wrong or even within the grey areas of the law.

They released a statement claiming that this settlement was not an admission of guilt, but rather far less than what a trial

practices.

This is not the first major lawsuit against Facebook for information sharing.

In 2007 Facebook was sued in Lane v. Facebook for their Beacon Program.

This Beacon Program allowed Facebook and several hundred other businesses to share information. This information pertained specifically to online purchases.

For example, in Lane v. Facebook, Facebook and its partners could post your online purchases to your Facebook wall without a user’s knowledge.

This is highly illegal under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and Video Protection Privacy Act. Most importantly there is something that everyone, Facebook user or not, can take Courtesy autoadvisorsnh.com away from this lawsuit. would likely cost them.

Privacy and surveillance on the Many law professors have internet goes largely unpunished made statements claiming that because the average user does not they are happy to see someone have the ability track surveillance taking Facebook to court, and until it is too late. that they hope that this $20 So make note of what you put million consequence will force out on the internet.

Facebook to reevaluate the Be aware that companies can ethical implications if not just and do, legally or illegally, track this practice, all of their business your actions on their websites.

07 F ebruary 2013

Red & Black

LIFE 7

W&J Students Spend Intersession Abroad!

Courtesy Alexandra Martinez

Courtesy Heather Gatens Courtesy Joseline Cortez

Courtesy Joseline Cortez

Courtesy Joseline Cortez

This year's Intersession trips sent students around the world to countries like Spain, Italy and Puerto Rico. W&J takes pride in sending record numbers of students abroad every year.

8 LIFE

07 F ebruary 2013

Red & Black

Wonder Woman Out, Male Hero Sequels In

Courtesy wired.com

Courtesy deviantart.net

Courtesy blogspot.com

Courtesy fanpop.com

While Thor and Captain America are on their second movies (with Iron Man on his third), Wonder Woman’s new TV show was recently cancelled and movie prospects are nonexistent.

Alexis Geeza Red&Black Staff With 2013 well in progress, new information continues to roll out about Marvel and DC’s movie enterprises as studios prepare their lineups for the next several years’ worth of movies. To absolutely no one’s surprise, they’re all movies about straight white men.

Marvel Studios’ Phase Two is currently in production, with “Iron Man 3” and “Thor: The Dark World” coming out this year; “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” coming out in 2014 and “The Avengers 2” slated for 2015.

They’re all sequels to Marvel’s wildly popular superhero films (all staring, yes, straight white men), with the exception of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” a comic featuring a team of interstellar heroes.

According to concept art released at the 2012 ComicCon, the movie team-up features a sentient tree person and an anthropomorphic raccoon, but only one female character and no characters of color.

(Other possible former members of the comic Guardians they could have chosen include a half-Vietnamese woman and two women who are openly lesbian or bisexual.)

Aside from some aliens and a couple supporting characters, not much diversity is coming from Marvel’s Phase Two.

Perhaps Phase Three will be better on that front.

According to Marvel film producer and President of Production Kevin Feige, “Ant-Man” will lead the way into Phase Three.

Feige is also fairly insistent that a Doctor Strange film will follow “Ant-Man,” saying that Strange is “totally different from anything else we have.”

I’m sorry, a straight, cis, white male has horrible hardship thrown at him that he fights to overcome and ends up being the best at what he does, and this is somehow different from the last ten or so Marvel movies to come before it?

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love a Doctor Strange movie (and even an Ant-Man one, if it meant getting to see Wasp on the big screen), but don’t pretend like it’s never been done before. Marvel, where is my Black Panther movie?

My Captain Marvel movie? Black Widow still doesn’t have her own film yet and she’s been a core character in the Phase One movies.

Feige has stated that a Black Panther movie has been “in development” since 2007. Does it honestly take more than six years to produce a movie about a hero from a fictional African country, while a movie about aliens fighting in space is already in development?

DC is looking even shakier on these grounds due to their inability to put out a movie that can rival Marvel’s success that’s not Christopher Nolan’s Batman series (which, let’s face it, did pretty poorly in the diversity category, hello whitewashing).

Though Batman is over and just waiting to be rebooted again, Nolan has moved on to “Man of Steel,” a Superman reboot set to come out June 2013.

The recent Green Lantern film was kind of a dud, and they also have “Arrow” currently airing, a television show based on Green Arrow.

Not exactly a hearty lineup at the moment. Despite this, Warner Bros has a Justice League movie slated for 2015 after much rumor and many cancellations.

There’s a prominent DC character missing from this list and that’s Wonder Woman, though not from lack of trying. Recent news shows that the CW has just passed on a Wonder Woman show for the fall, pushing the pilot back until next year.

This is the second attempt in three years to create a Wonder Woman TV show (the former a show starring Adrianne Palicki that was passed on by NBC). No recent efforts to make a Wonder Woman film have even gotten far enough to spread rumors.

No Wonder Woman movie and yet they’re trying to put together a Justice League film? While Wonder Woman is part of the primary trio in the League? Why am I not surprised.

There’s this myth that Wonder Woman is just no good for entertaining the general public and that a good TV series or film can’t be done, but they expect me to believe that everyone really wanted yet another Superman reboot?

Please, pull the other one, it’s got bells on.

07 F ebruary 2013

Red & Black

Bacteria Apocalypse Now!: Greater Risk For New Supervirus

LIFE 9

“iPhone Fatigue” in Asia

Courtesy hindustantimes.com

iPhone use has declined in Asia recently in favor of Android devices.

Shari Kaminski Red&Black Columnist Courtesy metblogs.com/foundwalls.com; Compiled by Alexis Geeza and Deidre Parker

Humanity’s due for a new supervirus which could annihilate millions thanks to our anti-bacterial resistance.

Morgan Mattingly Red&Black Editor

threat of “antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis and gonorrhea” and the bacterial infections “A c i n e t o b a c t e r b a u m a n n i i , Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia” are particularly concerning.

Dr. Brad Spellberg, assistant professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, identified these infections as ones that have grown resistant to antibiotics. But, are these improving strains of superbugs really so surprising?The mass

For example, chickens raised with the intention of becoming food are kept in cramped “poultry houses” and fed combinations of The threat of an “apocalyptic corn, steroids and antibiotics. scenario” seems to be a recurring The chickens and those who theme for news. eat them, often develop resistance Anything from the end of the to antibiotics as a result of this Mayan calendar to the fiscal cliff system of production. is reason enough to start hoarding The same is true of beef and canned goods and preparing pork production, whose proximity underground bunkers. to other farms can lead to infected Now, the chief medical officer fecal runoff contaminating other (a position equivalent to the products. surgeon general) of the United Cooking meet can kill bacteria, Kingdom, Dame Sally and the companies that Davies, has declared that we sell the meat wash it in will soon face another crisis “Throughout history, there bleach to kill bacteria— through antibiotic-resistant but the unhealthiness of have been diseases...that killed the process cannot be diseases.

In the Guardian, Davies millions. If we aren’t careful, denied. is reported to have said: By eating meat raised “There are few public health these diseases may resurge in a in such conditions we too issues of potentially greater consume the antibiotics form we have no cure for.” importance for society than and steroids, leading antibiotic resistance.” to human resistance to Apparently, in our money antibiotics. driven world pharmaceutical production needs of our food Despite the common threat companies prefer not to invest industry have slowly been of “apocalypse,” this is a problem in antibiotic drug development corrupting the antibiotics that are that needs to be addressed. because patients only take those already developed.

Throughout history, there drugs for a few weeks. It is far The documentary “Food, have been diseases like influenza, more lucrative to develop drugs INC.” explored the fallout of the polio, tuberculosis, small pox and for chronic diseases because ways Americans consume food, the black plague that have killed it requires a lifelong supply of including health disasters like millions. drugs. e.coli and the effect of the food If we aren’t careful, these According to a LifeScience fed to animals intended for the diseases may resurge in a form we article on the matter, the slaughterhouse. have no cure for.

It seems like ads for the newest Apple products are popping up everywhere all the time.

They are on television, online, on billboards and included in the newspaper.

People line up hours in advance the day new iPhones and iPads are released so they can buy one.

In Asia, however, the frenzy over Apple products has been dying down, and “iPhone fatigue” has set in.

In 2010, Apple products were so popular in Singapore that the country had more devices running the iOS operating system per capita than anywhere else in the world.

Along with “iPhone fatigue,” a desire to be different and the many competing brands, more people have been turning to Samsung for cell phones and other devices.

In the past year, the number of mobile devices from Apple in Singapore has declined from 72 percent to 50 percent.

Android devices, on the other hand, have increased from 20 percent to 43 percent.

In Hong Kong, use of Apple devices has declined from 45 percent to 30 percent, while Android accounts for two-thirds of mobile device use.

What is significant about this, is the rest of Asia tends to follow where Hong Kong and Singapore lead.

Are there other reasons for the sudden rise in popularity of devices from Android, Samsung and other companies?

While for some it simply is the need to be different, some find the use of devices from other companies better suited to their needs.

Android devices in particular are higher-powered with bigger screens, which make it easier to watch videos and type using Chinese characters.

The cost of switching devices is also lower, which is a bigger draw now that popular gaming and social apps are available on platforms other than the iPhone or iPad. Another reason for the drop in iPhone use has to do with the current pop culture in the whole of Asia.

Korean pop music, movies and television have seen a rise in popularity in the region, and Samsung has been taking advantage of it.

What about outside of Asia? Jim Wagstaff, who runs Jam Factory, a Singapore-based company that develops mobile apps, says: “Singapore and Hong Kong tend to be, from an electronics perspective, leading indicators on what is going to be hot in Western Europe and North America, as well as what is going to take off in the region.”

Could the rest of the world soon see a similar case of iPhone fatigue? We’ll have to wait and see.

ARTS 07 F ebruary 2013

Red & Black

Should Authors Be Worried About EBooks?

Ashley Burk Red&Black Staff Over the last few years, the popularity of ebooks has steadily been rising.

Along with the rising popularity, the price has also continued to rise.

There is no one specific price set for ebooks and publishers struggle daily with how they should price the ebooks, because before ebooks became popular everything was paper based.

Five years ago, to publish a mid-list novel with a nice cover and a $10,000 author advance, it cost at least $250,000.

However, when it comes to ebooks there is no cost difference between one or a million digital downloads because the supplies are limitless.

Since there is no difference in cost, the main thing authors need to worry about is the demand. Building demand for individual authors is difficult

because authors need to take into consideration what the reader’s expectations are and what the value of the ebook is.

When ebooks were first introduced on Amazon back in 2008, ebooks were priced “free” because it was guaranteed to attract customers. Many successful indie ebooks were able to garner audiences because the authors offered at least one or more of the works for free.

In an interview with Forbes last fall, Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, says of a company study of ebook price points: “At the Apple iBook store, free books are downloaded about 100 times more that paid books.

The lesson for authors who want to rapidly build their platform is that free books are a very powerful tool.”

Unfortunately, on Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s websites there are no more “free” books.

Courtesy brandwatch.com

Last year, Amazon introduced its Kindle Direct Publishing system, which offers a lot of great features for authors. One of its most prominent features is the price setting feature.

This feature allows authors to set the price of their book between $2.99 and $9.99 in exchange for receiving 70 percent of the take. Kindle Direct Publishing system also offers the option for authors to receive a certain amount of free days where they can substantially lower the price of their ebook or make it available for free.

Using these free days almost guarantees that the number of downloads will significantly increase and this is a great thing if you are an unknown author.

It is true that price increases decrease sales, but authors must ask the question of what yields the greatest income.

If readers like a particular ebook by an author that was priced at 99 cents, then maybe in the next year if that author had another ebook come out that was prices at $2.99 the customer would be willing to pay the price increase.

Authors should always monitor and pay attention to what readers are looking for and what they would be willing to pay.

ARTS 10

The Noble Art of Declining Book Sales Ashley Burk Red&Black Staff First, it was Borders Books and now a new report by the Wall Street Journal has said that Barnes & Noble will be closing 30 percent of their stores in the next decade.

Since 2003, Barnes & Noble has been closing an average of 15 stores a year, but they have also been opening about 30 stores a year as well.

However, in this past year, 14 Barnes & Noble stores were closed and none were opened.

Already this year, a prominent Manhattan store closed down and, due to no more openings, all of the closings will result in the total number of Barnes & Noble stores to decrease by a third.

The main reason for so many stores being closed this year and in the future is the Internet.

But this isn’t the first rough patch that Barnes & Noble has hit over the years.

During the past holiday period, store revenue for Barnes & Noble dropped 11 percent, but still they were still able to make $317 million earnings in the last year.

The amount of earnings they made in the last year was more that enough to offset the losses from the Nook ereader section of the company, which relies heavily on advertising and new technology.

As ebooks and other digital devices have become more popular, print books sales nationwide dropped by 22 percent over the last five years.

One way that Barnes & Noble may be able to come back from this rough patch is to target customers who don’t use the Internet.

Like other big box retailers, Barnes & Noble has been facing similar issues with customers using their stores as showrooms and then turning to the web to purchase that product because is can be found cheaper elsewhere.

As of right now, it is not a problem that so many stores are projected to close in the future; but Barnes & Noble will need to keep an eye on digital sales.

Digital sales are now a huge force in the market place and before long they will become the main competition as paper based books will start to diminish.

Courtesy technobuffalo.com/ modified by Red&Black Editor

07 F ebruary 2013

ARTS 11

Red & Black

Intersession: Where They Went and What They Saw

Courtesy Michael Nemchick/Red&Black

Many students travelled abroad this past intersession. Students travelled to places like Puerto Rico, Japan, London, Italy, and many more. Michael Nemchick, ‘13, travelled around France during this past intersession. He went to Paris along with many other places. Emily Kaufman, ‘14, travelled to Puerto Rico on a spontaneous trip: “I bought my plane ticket within an hour of deciding that I wanted to go, left the next day, and arrived that night. Altogether, the decision, the planning process, the trip, and the arrival took less than 24 hours. I stayed in a beautiful section of the capital called Viejo San Juan.”

Courtesy Michael Nemchick/Red&Black

Courtesy Michael Nemchick/Red&Black

Courtesy Emily Kaufman/Red&Black Courtesy Emily Kaufman/Red&Black

Courtesy Emily Kaufman/Red&Black

Courtesy Emily Kaufman/Red&Black

12 ARTS

Red & Black

07 F ebruary 2013

Sam Blanchard Comes to Washington & Jefferson “Les Miserables” Well Worth the Wait Carley Adams Red&Black Staff At 7 p.m. on the night of Friday, Feb. 1, W&J students and faculty alike flocked to the Olin Fine Arts Center to get a glimpse of the whimsically striking installations of Olin Art Gallery’s most recently featured artist, Sam Blanchard.

In an exhibition entitled “Three States of Discomfort,” Blanchard uses an amalgam of installation, sculpture and projected video to chronicle the daily difficulties faced by the socially enfeebled human being.

A humble character with an impressive résumé, Blanchard received his BA from the Ohio University in Athens, OH and his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI, but while giving the customary artist’s talk, he exhibited no hesitation in tagging himself slightly “socially awkward.”

Blanchard explained that he had a “quiet upbringing” and that—while he may not have a diagnosable case of social anxiety disorder—dayto-day activities most people consider trivial prove physically discomforting, socially discomforting or even anxiety-inducing for Blanchard.

Arguably the most eyecatching of Blanchard’s three pieces (due to its moving parts as well as its sheer size) is a work entitled “This Used to be Easier.” The piece appears like a scaled-down wooden rollercoaster, constructed of laser-cut wooden beams and planks, a metal track and a battery-run car complete with

a tiny projector that travels continuously along the track, all the while projecting onto the gallery walls a video of Blanchard himself jogging around his neighborhood. Or at least, trying to jog around his neighborhood.

Not quite as fit as he once was, Blanchard explained that quite a bit of awkwardness ensues when he realizes that he no longer has the physical capabilities of his 18-year-old self; hence, the title, “This Used to be Easier.”

The second state of discomfort Blanchard visits in his work was social anxiety, a concept he believes can be summed up in the experience of taking a trip to the barber.

In order to illustrate this, Blanchard created a sculpture entitled “A Little off the Top.” It is a barber chair elevated absurdly high, the white backrest of which serves as a screen on which is displayed a video projection of Blanchard himself being shaved by the hands of a mysterious, offscreen, mechanized barber.

The exaggerated height of the chair is something Blanchard explained to be a “physical hyperbole.”

Since there are more people with anxiety about heights than there are people with anxiety about barber shops, the physical hyperbole helps translate Blanchard’s anxiety for viewers who have never experienced the same sensation firsthand. The third and final piece in Blanchard’s exhibition, entitled “As Light as a 200lb Cloud,” uses electricity and lighting effects to convey the social discomfort that accompanies entering a conver-

sation.

Blanchard explained the feeling with a comparison: just as lightning strikes brightly at first but then dissipates into the clouds around it, sometimes the urge to enter a conversation emerges with energy, then slowly disintegrates as the conversation goes on.

The piece is a low-to-theground mass of compounded white semi-spheres that emits both an occasional flash of blue light from its center (an allusion to the lightning metaphor) and sound effect of a muffled, far-off conversation that starts up, then – like the socially awkward human’s interest – slowly fades away.

Combined with his impeccable ability to translate abstract concepts into concrete objects and his ingenious use of “trickle-down technology,” Blanchard’s ability to string three distinctly different pieces together with one universal concept emphasizes complex mental capacity necessary to become a great artist today.

The Art Department and entire W&J community appreciated Blanchard’s work momentously, socially awkward or not.

Courtesy washjeff.edu

Shari Kaminski Red&Black Columnist “Les Miserables,” one of the most anticipated movies of 2012, was finally released in theaters on Christmas Day. For those who have been fans of the musical since it first premiered in the 1980s, the wait was over twenty years.

The movie was originally supposed to be released in 1992, but the only thing ever released for it was a teaser poster with the drawing of little Cosette holding two tickets.

In the mid-2000s, rumors of the movie being in development again surfaced, usually with an announcement from producer Cameron Mackintosh and the promise of a studio or a director; but nothing would come of them and the same announcement would be made again a few years later.

So, when it was announced the movie would be made by Universal with Tom Hooper directing, it was easy to be skeptical.

Then Hugh Jackman was revealed to be playing Jean Valjean, and “Les Miserables” finally entered production.

The wait was well worth it, and the movie is amazing.

For those who still are not familiar with the plot, the story begins when Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) steals a loaf of bread to feed

his starving family, and is sent to prison.

After twenty years, he is given parole from Javert (Russell Crowe), which he violates after not being able to find a job due to the papers he must carry as proof he is a criminal.

Javert vows to find Jean Valjean no matter what it takes, while Jean Valjean goes on to adopt a young girl, Cosette, after her mother Fantine’s (Anne Hathaway) death. The characters also become involved in an uprising in Paris.

The movie stayed faithful to the musical, with little getting cut.

Anne Hathaway is practically a lock for the Oscar this year (she also won the Golden Globe a few weeks ago).

The only problem I had with the movie was Russell Crowe’s Javert.

For the movie, the actors sang more realistically, instead of belting all of the numbers like they would have on stage. While this is understandable, and worked for the most part, Russell Crowe could have been stronger in his big moments as Javert.

Eddie Redmayne was another stand-out as Marius. His song “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” was one of the many moments that brought the audience to tears. Personally, I cried six times.

“Les Miserables” is also up for Best Actor (Hugh Jackman) and Best Picture at the Oscars on Feb. 24.

07 F ebruary 2013

ARTS 13

Red & Black

“The Following” on FOX Gathers a Following of Its Own Shari Kaminski Red&Black Columnist Are you following “The Following?” If not, you should be.

It is arguably one of the best new shows to come out this year, and it is a nice break from the countless other runof-the-mill crime procedural shows.

“The Following” stars Kevin Bacon as Ryan Hardy, an ex-FBI agent who is famous for catching serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) in 2003. Ten years later, Carroll escapes, and begins killing again, and Ryan is brought

back to help catch him.

While Carroll is recaptured, the cult following he has built over the last decade is now killing in his name.

Anyone could be one of Carroll’s followers, and nobody can be trusted.

Unlike other crime procedurals, such as “Law & Order”, “CSI” or “NCIS,” “The Following” is focusing on one case: that of Joe Carroll and his followers.

In the first two episodes alone there are many plot twists. While some are predictable, the ones I did not see coming left me on the edge of my seat for next week.

One great thing about “The

Following,” at least for the first season, is all fourteen episodes will be shown without taking a break, even for one week.

Carroll’s inspiration for his crimes was his interpretation of Edgar Allen Poe’s works, and there are many references to Poe’s works which will be recognized by those who have read them.

It is interesting to see how Carroll manipulated people into joining his following by being a charismatic English professor and author who taught a class on the works of Emerson, Thoreau, and of course, Poe. Writing appears to be a theme of the show; not only

with references to Poe, but with mentions of Carroll’s failed novel and the book written by Hardy after he first captured Carroll.

Carroll also views the emergence of his following as a chance for Ryan to write a sequel to his book; a sequel that doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending.

While it could certainly improve in places, “The Following” is a great new show that deserves an audience (Warning: there is a lot of violence on the show, so it is not for those uncomfortable with blood and gore).

The actors are great, and it will be interesting to see where

the writers take the show if it lasts beyond its first season.

While the first three episodes have already aired, they can be found online on FOX’s website.

“The Following” airs Mondays at 9 P.M. on FOX.

Courtesy tvrage.com

UPCOMING ARTS Now Through Feb. 24

Art Gallery Exhibition: Sam Blanchard

Thurs., Fri., Sat. Feb. 14-16 Winter Tales XI 7:30 p.m. in Olin

Fri. Feb. 22

Arts Series: Oscar Nominated Short Subjects, Live Action 7:30 p.m. in Olin Ticketed Event

OR

Feb. 28 through March 2 Thurs., Fri., Sat. at 7:30 Sat. Matinee at 2 in Olin Theatre Department: “Trifles” and “Woman’s Honors”

Fri. March 8

Art Gallery Talk and Opening: George Lorio Runs through April 7 in Olin

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OPINIONS 14

07 F ebruary 2013

Red & Black

First Impressions with Nick Ma

Red & Black

The W&J Experience, “A to Z” Nick Ma Red&Black Contributor

a common practice whether you know s/he or not.

With excitement, I came to the USA for W&J for one semester and for the first time from China, a totally different area, Listed below from A to Z are some of my personal experiences when I came to W&J.

Fat: One thing, which is so different from China, is that here the food is so full of calories. Seldom do we have so much fried food. But here chips and hamburgers are nothing special. Better to go to gym, otherwise pay attention to your weight.

Adventurous: To be in a new environment is challenging, funny and full of thrills. I nearly got lost at the transfer airport, but with the push of time, it shifts from a journey to an adventure.

Brotherly: It is my first time to hear about a “Fraternity House”. Party, party and party!

Greek people will be sure to complain: what are you doing with a Greek life style?

Cute: Squirrels sometimes appear on campus.

Oh man, it is winter. Look at you, not hibernating, but stay silly and cute.

Dizzy: Loud music, Lots of people and Lots of beer. With Epinephrine increasing and heartbeat accelerating, party is where you can be crazy and dizzy.

courtesy Nick Ma

Easygoing: People can be friends with anyone new here. Saying “Hi” to everyone is

views of its students, faculty or administration.

The Red & Black welcomes all reader contributions, but reserves the right to reject letters of pure promotional nature, as well as letters which do not meet its standard of integrity, accuracy and decency. The Red & Black also reserves the right to edit submissions.

Gigantic: There is a place where you are like Gulliver in the Brobdingnag. Lay’s giant potato chips freaked me out. A lady came out with a cart full of stuff which is one and a half times taller than her.

Letters are due the Monday before print publication and may not exceed 600 words.

All letters must include the author’s name, campus box and telephone number. Names may be withheld upon request under certain conditions on rare occasions. All letters may be submitted to redandblackstaff@ jay.washjeff.edu.

Abrianne Rhoad Mina Ademovic Meghan Watelet Kara Beck Kyle Sossi Deidre Parker Tori Smith Various, tbd Alex Bernardi Jacquelin Radin Antoinette Arabia Morgan Mattingly Ted McClain Dale Lolley

Hardworking: If you ask someone to hang out, the most usual answer if s/he cannot make it is that they have homework.

Homework here is to homework in my home what a river is to a creek.

Icy: It snows and snows and snows a lot.

Some days do not snow because the sky is preparing for the next snow. Snow and ice are everywhere.

Just: Professors use a quite diverse range of criteria to judge a student’s performance. 10 or 20 percent per item means you have to be really devoted and excellent each time to be

C ontac t

E ditorial P olic y The Red & Black is the official, registered, student-produced newspaper of Washington & Jefferson College. It is published Thursdays with the exception of exams and break periods.

Editorials are based upon the opinion of the respective writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper, the College, nor the

Established 1909

Telephone: FAX: E-mail:

(724) 223-6049 (724) 503-1049 redandblackstaff@jay. washjeff.edu

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successful. Unlike 50 or 80 percent per item, it is more just, avoiding pure speculation and one-night rush.

Kind: Once you have a problem, just speak out. Everyone here will try to care you and solve the problem if they can. People look nice, sound nice and are really nice.

Low: Having been stuck in skyscrapers for so long, it frees me when I’m in a place where buildings are low and more traditional.

SEE WJA-Z Page 16

S taff Carley Adams Abbey Bashor Ashley Burk Gretchen Cline Allyse Corbin Chelsea Cummings Ashley Figlar

Alexis Geeza Alessandra Jacobs Shari Kaminski Adam Kmett Brittany Lander Jennifer Marabella Thomas Marcotte

Jake Meyers Bailey Mudrick Hla Hpone “Jack” Myint Mike Nemchick Sarah O’Donnell Alexandra Sossi Harley Straub

07 F ebruary 2013

OPINIONS 15

Red & Black

The Question of Gun Control: A Fair and Nuanced Look Thomas Marcotte Red&Black Syaff

The gun question is one that comes up in America every few years when we have some kind of major tragedy involving a crazed gunman.

And, like most major issues in this country, the liberals and conservatives spend their entire time talking past each other and nothing gets fixed.

I can’t honestly claim to be any better, but seeing as how this is the first time in recent memory that major new gun legislation has been put forward, it seems to be worth commenting upon a few major talking points this debate dredges up.

To begin, I would like to point out that I have absolutely no firearms experience at all. Having grown up in the endless grassy limbo of suburban Massachusetts,

possibly the most liberal state in the Union, I have never even seen anyone fire a gun. So I don’t really feel like I understand the “gun culture” that seems to exist in places like Pennsylvania or Texas, and have to view it as an outsider looking in.

With that caveat, I have issue with some of the arguments for opposing gun restrictions.

One common argument is that people need guns to protect themselves from criminals. This seems reasonable, but a bit impractical.

Most armed criminals approach their victims with their guns already drawn; the chances of any one gun-owner having the presence of mind to unholster their gun, turn off the safety, and shoot before the mugger or robber can twitch his trigger finger seem fairly unlikely.

Likewise, most burglars target houses that are already unoccupied, so there doesn’t seem to be much one can do about that with

a gun. Also, crimes-in-progress seem like very bad environments to introduce another gun into. It seems like it would cause more panic than anything else.

Another argument gun-owners sometimes make is that they need their guns to help protect themselves from the government.

I know plenty of liberals that will laugh in your face if you bring the possibility up, but it doesn’t seem that unreasonable to me; remember, people have their houses raided for flimsy or nonexistent reasons fairly regularly.

In my opinion, the possibility is always there. But again, this doesn’t seem practical.

The average gun-owner is much less well-equipped to wage war than the average Taliban fighter, and we have drones mowing them down by the dozens.

Even one tank could take down a few guys with hunting rifles.

So while the situation they posit could take place, I fail to see

what the average man with a gun could do to prevent it.

Finally, many gun-owners simply say that they’re not hurting anyone with their guns, and just want to be left alone. This is something I do understand, and it’s the main reason why I oppose new gun laws.

We need to remember that the average gun-owner is not a bloodthirsty maniac out to kill your children. The average gun owner is just an average guy with a hobby. They’re not hurting anyone and don’t intend to, why should they be punished for the actions of a few mentally-unbalanced killers?

You can always argue (as many liberals do) that their hobby is unimportant compared to the risk of another Columbine or Aurora Theatre.

But this throws probability out the window. You’re vastly more likely to get hurt slipping on an icy sidewalk than being shot.

I don’t think that we as a culture have a right to say “no, you’re not allowed to engage in your largely peaceful hobby because there’s a miniscule chance you could go crazy and shoot someone.” I don’t think that’s right.

If the vast majority of gun owners are peaceful and law-abiding citizens, then how is it right to punish them for the actions of someone else?

If people aren’t hurting others, then they shouldn’t be demonized as unstable potential murderers just because you think you can run their lives better than they can. What happened to tolerating different cultures?

In short, even though I think a lot of the arguments for the usefulness of guns are flawed and impractical, at the end of the day I don’t think we have the right to pass legislation against peaceful hobbyists, which would most likely just create a larger black market for guns in the first place.

Robo Exo-Skeleton Never to be Considered an Equal in Society Sara Mitchell Red&Black Syaff

Scientists have recently completed Rex, short for robotic exo-skeleton. Rex cost $1,000,000 to build. Rex is built entirely of artificial limbs and organs.

He was built for a TV show, which was based on a social psychologist that lost his left hand. The Psychologist took special interest in the case because his £30,000 robotic left hand was the most advanced until Rex. The Psychologist, although impressed that technology is catching up with science fiction, warns of the potential implications of creating a robotic man.

However, I believe that as long as the man is not fully functioning, or at least doesn’t have brain capacity, this technology can only be a good thing.

This is a generation of amputees from violent wars and violent weapons used worldwide. If technology like Rex remained completely robotic, and no attempt to program brain activity was made, then I believe that Rex represents some semblance of normal life for many amputees.

The issue with Rex taking on independent brain function lies in

most legal issues, not social issues. Where would Rex be a citizen of? Would he be able to live on his own?

How would Rex qualify for anything, since technically he could be programed to do anything? And since he could be programmed to do everything, what is stopping employers from never hiring another human again?

And some might argue that Rex could be used to fight wars, so humans don’t have to.

Well, that means that Rex would never be considered

an equal. Despite the fact that he would, to many, represent life, most of society at large would not support him.

And if Rex was being used to fight wars, then even more physical destruction would be achieved. If the attempt in not to kill a human but kill a bionic man, then what’s to stop society at large from using its humanity and becoming ever more vicious and developing ever more destructive weapons.

Rex’s potential to return some semblance of normalcy to any amputee in the world is absolutely heartwarming.

However, the legal and social implications of giving Rex independent thought would create more grey areas in so many aspects of life that neither law, nor society’s psyche, would be able to keep up with the far reaching and never ending effects of giving a non-human brain activity.

Scientists need to realize that what they have achieved is fantastic.

They have eliminated long transplant lists, and given people normal lives.

They need to accept the greatness in what they have achieved and realize also the chaos and uncertainty they could leave Source: neatorama.com society with if they continue.

16 OPINIONS FROM WJA-Z Page 14 I can see far away here, not blocked by people and tall buildings.

Metro-free: It is strange that such big cities such as Pittsburgh do not have a complete net of metros.

Neither do a lot of other cities. We depend on metros.

Shanghai has 13 lines and 285 metro stations. By the way, spending one or two hours on metro is nothing unimaginable in Shanghai.

Natural: Falling water is a perfect combination of nature and human intelligence. Humans can never ever be so close to nature.

Occasional: Living without a car in the U.S. is terrible.

School buses travel you to different places occasionally, so be better to schedule the time and plan ahead.

Peculiar: Orientation is nothing peculiar. Campus tour is nothing peculiar. “Whichi coax” is something a little bit peculiar to us. We have a school motto, but this is interesting.

Quick: With the schedule of pipelines and shuttles, I have to be quick in order not to miss it, especially when I come

Red & Black

back. Otherwise, I might be stuck in nowhere.

Remarkable: Protection office is an amazing place here. If you lost your keys, call them. If you lost yourself, call them.

If you get drunk and cannot come back, call them. If you are hungry at night, just call them as well. They have snacks and coffee.

Sociable: Students here are much more open and sociable than kids in my university. Kids hang out and go to parties for socializing.

Thankful: It is so surprising to receive an email which suggests writing a thank-you letter to college sponsors. It is so great to possess an attitude of thanksgiving.

07 F ebruary 2013 deprive any warmth around you. X-box: Where there TV is, X-box is always around it. In Wal-Mart, in college rules, in commercials X-box is a cultural icon of entertainment.

Yelping: People scream at parties, shouting your name, screaming to welcome, as if anything is loud, it is good.

Zesty: "Play hard, work hard" may be the motto here.

On weekdays, study hard. On weekends, play hard. One can attend several clubs at a time and join sports team, devoting four hours each day. He can sleep only six hours and be energetic at the same time.

Universal: It seems that student activities are similar everywhere on the globe. Lectures are settled. Trips are interesting. Sports can always attract a lot of students.

Versatile: Kids do well in sports, music or language.

Swimming, soccer and basketball. Saxophone, e-guitar and singing. Spanish, French and German. People master at least one thing or two.

Courtesy Washington & Jefferson College Office of Global Education Windless: It is lucky that there isn’t much wind here, or otherwise I will freeze to death. Shanghai is not so cold Our new (spring 2013) students are from Austria, China, on the thermometer screen. However, a blow of wind can Denmark, Ecuador, the Netherlands, and Norway.

Mayan Apocalypse: Seven Billion Reported Unharmed Thus, when I awoke on Dec.22, I was more than a little confused. Why hadn’t my house been demolished by an earthquake?

Why weren’t the poles shifting?

On the morning of Dec. 22, 2012, I awoke, sat up in bed How come there wasn’t a tornado roaring down the and was immediately depressed by the fact that I was not street? dead.

What happened to all the fire that was supposed to be Now wait, let me explain. raining from the sky?

The reason I was so disappointed was that I was very Why hadn’t Kukulkan, the feathered-serpent god, much looking forward to the prophesied and much- returned to embrace the earth in shadow and judge all talked-about Mayan Apocalypse, predicted by many to mortal beings? take place on Dec.21, 2012.

As you can imagine, I was more I was looking at a rather dull and than a little angry. sedate Winter Break at home, and How dare reality cheat me out of my Even if your actual time thought that the impending collapse of post-apocalyptic survivalist fantasy! roaming the post-apocalyp- This was turning into the dullest endsociety and the extinction of the human tic wasteland is pretty short, of-the-world ever. race would at least be exciting.

After all, apocalypses are popular in the idea of your life hanging Depressed over the prospect of fiction for a reason. by a thread ... has a kind of spending Winter Break with my Even if your actual time roaming family instead traversing the burned dark grandeur to? the post-apocalyptic wasteland is pretty and scarred wastes of Massachusetts short, the idea of your life hanging by a and killing strangers over cans of thread and only your wits keeping you alive another day baked beans, I began some serious soul-searching, prying has a kind of dark grandeur to it. for answers.

It makes you feel like you’re in control of your own Had I been lied to the entire time? Had a simple destiny. misreading of an ancient Mayan calendar been shamelessly So as you could well imagine, I was pretty excited for exploited by unscrupulous publicity-seekers? the apocalypse to draw nigh.

Had these people exploited America’s antiUnfortunately for me, our knowledge of how the intellectualism and near-crippling scientific illiteracy, universe actually works is far more advanced than what suckering naïve New-Agers into panicking over a the ancient Mayans could ever have known, and it was nonexistent apocalypse? not on my side.

Sadly, the answer appears to be yes.

Thomas Marcotte Red&Black Staff

I’m sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but the world did not end on Dec. 21, 2012.

But at least we can take heart in knowing we all helped the History Channel and a few con-artists get a fair profit out of the deal. And isn’t that just the greatest gift of all?

Courtesy internethaber.com

07 F ebruary 2013

OPINIONS 17

Red & Black

Anonymous Takes Action Against Officials in Steubenville Case

Courtesy graceandthetruthtabernacle.com

Sara Mitchell Red&Black Staff In recent months, especially with the exponential growth of social networking, hacktivist groups, like Anonymous have become ever more prevalent.

This past August, several Steubenville (a small old steel town in Ohio) football players, namely Trent Mays and Malik Richmond, drug a girl from party to party until she was passed out.

Then the girl was gang raped while she was unconscious, and then urinated on.

These horrific events were documented using several forms of social media. There were pic-

tures taken, videos posted and of course several tweets and Facebook posts.

In this storm of social media activity the boys that were involved dubbed themselves the “rape crew” and made several jokes, laughing in the video. The boys all appear to understand what they did, but appear to show no remorse.

Recently a hacktivist group name Anonymous has leaked deleted tweets, posts and videos that strong implicate many of Steubenville’s young football players.

This evidence points at several key members of the community as attempting to cover up what really happened that night.

The football coach was strong-

ly attacked by Anonymous for not punishing the boys during the football season. And several judges and persecutors have recused themselves, stating that they know too many people involved in this case.

Anonymous is claiming that their hacking has recovered information that would condemn a lot of people, and that anyone involved should issue an apology or Anonymous will release personal information including social security numbers, family relations and much more private information.

All information that they have recovered by hacking.

While I do not support what those young men were involved

in, I also do not believe that two wrongs make a right. Anonymous broke several federal laws by acquiring that information.

And a law is a law. Breaking one law to make sure that someone else is punished for an even more criminal act is not justice.

In this country we are fortunate to have codified laws that apply to everyone. Not everyone in the world is afforded that privilege. Anonymous’s actions do not support any notion of justice; they support revenge.

Trust me, I want to see those boys rot in jail just as much as the next person, but I do not think that Anonymous’s involvement will bring out any greater sense of justice; in fact, their involvement

is stalling the justice process further by giving everyone involved in the prosecution one more thing to worry about.

Bad things happen all the time to good people, bad people, in small towns and in big cities.

Drawing the kind of attention Anonymous has is not for the better. There is a system in place; one that is not perfect, granted, but one of the best in the world.

And as much as it would pain anyone to see those boys walk, we as an American people have to have faith that what we have built and believe in is the best way.

Creating doubt about the justice system is not the way to achieve justice for that poor girl.

It accomplished just the opposite.

18

SPORTS Red & Black

07 F ebruary 2013

Field Hockey Honored by Empire 8

Baseball Team Appears on National Rankings

Harley Straub Red&Black Staff

courtesy washjeff.edu

Sara Mitchell Red&Black Staff Last year the President’s baseball team made its third NCAA tour-

“The attention that the team is getting this year is nothing that these guys can’t handle.”

-Coach Mountain nament appearance in 4 years.

The team broke two school records for victories and conference wins.

This earned them a national ranking by D3baseball.com.

While speaking with Coach Mountain, head coach of the Presidents baseball team for 11 years, he mentioned that it’s always an honor to be ranked, however it had lost its fervor over the past few years.

Coach Mountain would really like to focus, not on just getting to the NCAA tournament, but Mountain would really love for the team to hunker down and go for a long stretch in the post season.

Mountain believes that this will not prove as easy as it has been for the last four years.

Mountain said that really until this past season they had been able to “sneak up” on other teams, and use their underestimating against them.

This year, other schools will be expecting them.

And in addition to this expectation Coach Mountain has helped set up the toughest out of conference season for the presidents yet.

With all of this promotion and wide acceptance of W&J’s standing in the nation I asked Coach Mountain how he thought his team would react to this attention.

He believed that this attention was nothing that his guys couldn’t handle.

He also stated that a lot of his

confidence in his team stemmed from this year’s junior class.

Mountain even went as far to claim that the junior class was “the core of the team.” This junior class holds a lot of the talent of the team.

However, Coach Mountain did admit that some of this year’s sophomore and freshman classes were really pushing the juniors to play at that next level.

When I asked Mountain about the senior class he said that there were only four, and he was grateful for that, because the small graduating classes this year and the last year have really allowed this program to take on a dynasty stature in the PAC conference.

But overall Coach Mountain and his players are excited and ready to play a full season of ball.

Coach Mountain stated that he believed that there seemed to be this hunger for more among his players.

Coach Mountain believes that without this hunger and the competition the younger classes are providing the team would not hold the promise that it does.

On Tuesday January 29th, the Washington & Jefferson College field hockey team was honored by the Empire 8 Conference. The team received the honors of being recognized as an All-Academic team.

Also, five players were named to the league’s President’s List. In order for a team to be named allacademic in the Empire 8 Conference, they must have a team grade-point average of 3.2 or higher during the fall semester.

W&J’s team GPA was 3.215.

The five players on the league’s President’s list are: seniors Elizabeth Herb, Arielle King and Meaghan Thornlow, and freshmen Allison Morrissey and Natalie Paul.

In order to be named to this list, the athletes need to earn a GPA of at least 3.75 during the fall semester and display a positive attitude on and off the field. Herb mentioned she was proud of the team and grades are important to the team.

“It is very important that we are successful in the classroom as well as on the field. I am very proud of the team for receiving these accolades because it shows how hard we work in academics, and also on the field. I am very proud of the team for working hard.

The freshmen came in and put in the time outside of class to make sure they got the grades that were needed.” Herb is a psychology major and was also honored as

courtesy washjeff.edu

Sportswoman of the Year for the Empire 8 Conference. For Herb’s four years playing field hockey, she played in a total of 69 games and scored two goals and had four assists.

Herb was proud to be honored by people who do not always see her play. “It’s nice to be recognized by people who do not always see me play and they saw I played with respect and heart toward others.

It’s nice to be honored by the Empire 8 because I play with integrity. I try to be respectful when I play, even if emotions are high.”

King majors in child development and finished the season with 21 points, seven goals and seven assists.

Overall, King finishes her college career ranked sixth in school history with 14 assists, ninth in total points with 44 and tenth in goals with 15. Thornlow is a Spanish major who played in 66 games.

In school history, she is second in defensive saves with six. She was named the Most Valuable Player in 2012 after the team won the Empire 8 Tournament. Morrissey and Paul played in 13 games their freshmen year. Morrissey scored two goals and Paul scored one. Herb wanted to mention one last thing about the seniors on the team.

“I am very proud of the seniors who came the whole way.

We started out with 15 in our class, and only six came the whole way through. It was nice to be honored year after year.”

07 F ebruary 2013

SPORTS 19

Red & Black

Men and Women’s Basketball Teams Host Thiel Alumni Day At W&J and How the Presidents Secured the Victory Bailey Mudrick Red&Black Staff

victory.

After The Washington & Jefferson women have lost back-

The Washington & Jefferson College basketball teams hosted Thiel College on Saturday the 26th at the Henry Memorial Center. Before the Presidents’ Athletic Conference doubleheader began, both programs held alumni games as former men’s and women’s basketball stars hit the court.

The W&J-Thiel women’s game kicked off the doubleheader first while the men’s game was shortly after. The women’s team was able to push past Thiel for a 73-67 Presidents’ Athletic Conference

“The Presidents secured the victory by making all four of their free throw attempts during the final minute.” to-back games after winning six of their previous seven, the win against Tomcats was just what the

team needed.

Thiel who was 5-14 got was able to an early lead against The Presidents. However, The Presidents secured the victory by making all four of their free throw attempts during the final minute.

The Washington and Jefferson trailed 60-59, but reeled off 10straight points to move in front 69-60 with 1:33 to play.

Junior forward Chelsea Apke got the surge started with a jumper and followed with a three-point play.

Junior Alexa Burzese added a three-pointer and sophomore Alexa DelGreco capped the run with a pair of free throws.

Apke posted a team-high 21 points along with nine rebounds, while Burzese tallied nine points, five assists and three boards.

Sophomore center Valerie Dunlap recorded 17 points and seven rebounds and senior guard Emily Abraham added 13 points for the Presidents, who shot 41 percent (27-65) from the field.

W&J recorded 20 assists on 27 baskets and outrebounded the Tomcats 36-29.

The President’s men did not have the same luck as the women’s team, as Thiel’s me beat The Presidents 67-58.

Tomcats Marquis Jackson, who only played six minutes, buried back-to-back three-pointers

during a key stretch in the second half to lift Thiel to victory.

The win by the Tomcats Saturday sweep the season series and gave Thiel College Men’s basketball team the tiebreaker over the Presidents.

Thiel defeated W&J 57-48 in Greenville on Dec. 1 behind 22 points from Kamran McCaskill, who made 16-of-18 free throws.

The Tomcats sank 25-of-36 foul shots overall, while W&J made 9-of-17 shots from the charity stripe.

Both teams shot 35 percent, but Thiel controlled the boards by a 44-28 margin, including 17 on the offensive end, which resulted in 18 second-chance points.

courtesy washjeff.edu

Senior Emily Abraham ‘13, protects the ball during the game on Saturday against Thiel. Abraham was named to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District Women’s Basketball Team on Thursday. This years Capital One Academic All-District basketball teams were chosen by the College Sports Information Director of America.

The Women’s basketball team dominated the entire game and came out with a 73-67 victory over the Tomcats.

courtesy washjeff.edu

Nate Bellhy dribbles past his opponent during the President’s home game against Thiel.

This was also Alumni Day where former Washington and Jefferson basketball players come back to participate in their own exciting game of basketball before the double header of men and women’s basketball begins.

20

07 F ebruary 2013

SPORTS A Look At This Month’s World Wide Sports Red & Black

Courtesy powdermag.com

Courtesy espn.com

Courtesy http://bleacherreport.com

Harley Straub Red&Black Staff On Friday January 25th, the Boston Celtics star point guard Rajon Rondo tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the game against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Celtics lost the game in double overtime, but the bigger loss was Rondo.

Before going out with the injury, he delivered a triple-double with 16 points, ten rebounds, and 11 assists.

The first diagnosis was a hyperextended right knee but after an MRI, a torn ACL was confirmed.

He will miss the rest of the season due to this injury. Rondo did not think he had injured his knee, he thought he tweaked his hamstring. Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he was disappointed and the news is terrible.

“Obviously the Rondo news is tough.

I knew before the game (Sunday’s), but I didn’t tell anyone. Obviously it was pretty emotional.”

Rondo earned a spot on the East-

ern Conference’s All-Star starting team with his performances before the injury.

Due to the injury, a replacement will have to be found. Rondo may be able to return at the beginning of the 2013-’14 season, but this will not be known until after he receives surgery.

The Celtics are hoping he will be ready for the start of next season. Rondo averaged 13.7 points per game, 11.1 assists, and 5.6 rebounds in the 38 games he played this season.

On Sunday January 27th, Rondo was expecting to play in the game against the Miami Heat, but was scratched after meeting with the team doctor.

After the game against the Heat, Rondo was telling people that he would be back in six months.

The Celtics still look to be in the hunt to win it all.

The team’s expectations are still the same, even with the loss of Rondo.

There are two times during the year that some of the worlds best athletes come together to compete in some of the most extreme types of sports.

Winter X Games 2013 took place January 24 – 27 in Aspen Colorado and once again records were made and records were broken. Each year, the dimensions that the athletes bring to the table are exceptional and this year was no different.

Twenty-three year old Elena Hight was one of the first people at the competition who stood out among the rest. During training for the U.S. Snowboarding Team, Hight landed a maneuver that no man, let alone woman has ever been able to do.

The maneuver is called a double backside alley-oop rodeo and due to its difficulty, it caught the attention of Shaun White who declared it his mission to land the same trick in a competition setting.

When Hight dropped in for her first run in Saturday’s Superpipe final, no one had ever performed the trick during competition, but Hight managed to land the trick flawlessly.

Hight’s performance has great

Ashley Burk Red&Black Staff significance because its historic feat is among the rarest of athletic achievements. However, when it came down to who would claim gold in the competition it was not Hight, but instead two-time defending champion Kelly Clark.

Even though Hight’s score was not good enough to beat Clark’s, the second place to Clark matters less than her maneuver that challenges what is possible.

Hight’s breakthrough wasn’t the only memorable and bar-raising feat on Colorado’s Elk Mountain during the week.

On the same night Hight made history, Henrik Hariaut, a 21 yearold from Sweden, landed a trick that some of the most esteemed athletes didn’t think was possible.

His maneuver is called a nose butter triple cork 1620 and the best part about his performance was that he had never even tried the trick before he used it in the competition, ultimately winning him the gold medal.

The night before, Norwegian snowboarder Torstein Horgmo brought a new level of difficulty to the competition by landing a switch triple.

Three years ago Horgmo became the first to land a vaulted

triple cork so is his no stranger to taking center stage in the competitions.

Tucker Hibbert who is a long time veteran, made his return to the X Games something to remember.

Hibbert six-peated in Snowmobile SnoCross and at 28, won his seventh career SnoCross gold medal, 13 years after he won his first at age 15.

Levi Lavalle also won double gold during the competition for his performances in Freestyle and Speed and Style and above-theknee amputee Mike Shultz made an inspiring comeback winning gold in Snowmobile SnoCross Adaptive.

Also, Shaun White did not let us forget that he is still the King of Superpipe, winning gold in the finals.

With every triumphant moment in the X Games, we must not forget about the risk that comes with those moments.

Caleb Moore’s crash in Snowmobile Freestyle, which caused ensuing heart and brain complications, cast a sobering shadow over the weekend, as well as Rose Batterby’s lumbar spine fracture during Ski Slopestlye practice.