012411

BOWLED OVER

A MIXED BAG

Terps send out Friedgen with a win vs. ECU

Winter break movies don’t drum up much excitement

SPORTS | PAGE 18

DIVERSIONS | PAGE 6

Monday, January 24, 2011

THE DIAMONDBACK Our 101ST Year, No. 75

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Student fires gun during scuffle Police arrest unaffiliated man in connection with off-campus disturbance

BY ERIN EGAN Staff writer

A man kicked in the door of a College Park Woods rental home early Saturday morning in a suspected domestic dispute, leading to fight in which a student resident fired a gun, police said.

Police arrested the 19-year-old boyfriend of a student at the resi-

and a group of eight people were outside threatening him and other students with him, he went straight for his handgun.

Mari — who is in the Marine Corps and is on the D.C. Special Forces police force — fired a shot into the ground when the assailant advanced toward him, he said.

“I was just trying to do my part and protect everyone while mak-

dence after the brawl, which began as an argument after the alleged assailant broke into the house in the 9300 block of St. Andrews Place, Prince George’s County Police District 1 Commander Robert Liberati said.

Alex Mari, a junior sociology and criminology and criminal justice major who lives in the house, said when the door was kicked in

ing sure that no one got hurt,” Mari said. “Yeah, I drew a weapon, but it was only to alleviate the situation without anyone getting hurt.”

Several students suffered minor injuries in the “scuffling,” but no one was struck by gunfire.

Mari said he fired one more shot

see ARREST, page 11

New Terrapin football coach Randy Edsall addresses the press during a news conference earlier this month. MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

Edsall replaces Friedgen as football coach Former UConn coach hired after leading Huskies to Fiesta Bowl

BY JONAS SHAFFER Senior staff writer

Former Connecticut coach Randy Edsall, who spent 12 years transforming the Huskies from Division I-A neophytes to Big East champions, was named coach of the Terrapin football team Jan. 2, capping a turbulent search to replace the ousted Ralph Friedgen.

Edsall’s hire culminated two weeks of speculation over whom Athletics Director Kevin Anderson would select to succeed Friedgen, whose contract was bought out last month after compiling a 75-50 record in 10 seasons.

Names such as former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach and Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn had emerged as possible candidates for the vacancy since Anderson announced Friedgen’s buyout Dec. 20. Leach,

Photos of 22-year-old Justin DeSha-Overcash were placed around the Memorial Chapel during Thursday’s vigil, which was held to commemorate the life of the senior who was killed in his off-campus home Jan. 11. MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

Shooter of slain student remains at large Senior’s mother calls for public apology after police allege drug involvement County this year. After the shooting, which occurred on the 8800 block of 38th Avenue on Jan. 11 at about 11:30 a.m., police said they had enough evidence to suggest the incident was both targeted and drug-related — most likely a botched robbery. But friends and family have lined up to defend DeSha-Overcash, and his mother, Karen DeSha, said she will not back off police until they

BY BEN PRESENT Senior staff writer

see EDSALL, page 15

Farvardin steps down as provost Stevens Institute welcomes Farvardin as seventh president

Prince George’s County Police are still looking for the man who shot and killed senior physics and astronomy major Justin DeSha-Overcash inside his 38th Avenue home earlier this month.

The murder was the 11th in as many days in Prince George’s

BY RACHEL ROUBEIN Dozens gathered in the Memorial Chapel on Jan. 20 to commemorate the life of Justin DeSha-Overcash, a senior astronomy and physics major, who was shot in his College Park home earlier this month in a robbery gone wrong.

Although DeSha-Overcash’s death has been stained by controversy — Prince George’s County Police called the incident targeted and drug-related — his parents and close friends, who told tales of DeSha-Overcash’s positive attitude, natural humor and

see FARVARDIN, page 8

TOMORROW’S WEATHER:

see SLAYING, page 2

Many mourn senior amid controversy Staff writer

Nariman Farvardin announced his resignation last week after 27 years of rising steadily through the ranks from professor to provost to take a new title at a new university: president of the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Farvardin, who has served as this university’s provost for almost four years, will officially step down at the end of February. On July 1, Farvardin will begin his presidential position at Stevens, a research institution in Hoboken, N.J. As Stevens’ seventh president, he will oversee an institution that has been recognized by the federal government as a “national center of excellence” in systems engineering and port security research with a starting base salary of $625,000 — about double his salary as provost.

Although Farvardin said he was intrigued upon first learning he was nominated for the top job at the end of

enough marijuana to suggest a dealing operation, packaging materials and a digital scale from the house, which was blocked off by police tape for hours after the shooting.

County police are still searching for the suspect, who was described as a black man with a thin build and a possible wound

Justin DeSha-Overcash, 1988-2011

BY LEAH VILLANUEVA Staff writer

retract their initial report.

“This one moment of horrific, of horrendous, of ungodly — what happened to my son is not going to define 22 years of his life,” DeSha said the week of the shooting. “Everyone loved him except one person. I will take nothing less than a public retraction and apology.”

Following the shooting, police said they confiscated

Sunny/40s

INDEX

studious nature at last week’s vigil, said they find police’s allegations hard to believe.

Karen DeSha said although her son was killed, she still carries with her the memories and the close bond the two shared.

“We confided in each other,” she said. “And we had so much fun. Last Christmas we had a Silly String fight.”

A Baltimore native, DeShaOvercash, 22, moved to Salisbury, N.C., at a young age and then to Bucks County, Pa., in 2002 before returning to his Maryland roots for college. He

see VIGIL, page 12

NEWS . . . . . . . . . .2 OPINION . . . . . . . .4

FEATURES . . . . . .5 CLASSIFIED . . . . .6

JUSTIN DESHA-OVERCASH

DIVERSIONS . . . . .6 SPORTS . . . . . . . . .18

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THE DIAMONDBACK | NEWS | MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

SLAYING from page 1 on his face — DeSha-Overcash allegedly hit his attacker in the face with a glass jar before he was killed. At the time, the man was wearing dark clothing and some type of mask or scarf to cover his face, witnesses told police.

“This was not a random act,” Deputy Chief Kevin Davis said that day. “When you engage in a criminal lifestyle, you are going to cause someone enough concern to do you wrong.”

Police recently said the suspect was heard specifically asking for Justin in the house, and the rental property had been a place of interest for police because of possible drug-related activity. County police spokesman Maj. Andy Ellis would not specify whether police had been building a case against DeShaOvercash and said the best information about a possible drug operation out of that house came to police after the senior had been killed.

Despite DeSha’s allegations that police mischaracterized her son, police officials said releasing information about the circumstances of DeSha-Overcash’s shooting was necessar y to promote public safety.

“It’s a tough line to walk between informing the public yet being respectful of a victim,” Ellis said. “It’s not an easy job.”

Ellis said despite the evidence, police never wanted to take any honor away from the victim. Rather, their early reports stemmed from an obligation to keep the public informed and safe.

“It was never our intent to embarrass or tarnish the reputation of a crime victim,” Ellis said. “Our focus in Justin’s case remains on identifying and apprehending the person who killed him.”

On Friday, DeSha staked out county police headquarters in Palmer Park with a cooler, a beach chair and pictures of her son to demand an apology.

She said she would not leave until she got her retrac-

Speaking to reporters after Justin DeSha-Overcash was killed in his rental home, Prince George’s County Deputy Police Chief Kevin Davis said the victim’s “criminal lifestyle” brought on his death. MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

tion, specifically of statements made by Davis immediately following the murder.

DeSha, who will be meeting with various police officials today, said there was no way her son was a drug kingpin.

She said he simply didn’t have the time.

When her son wasn’t at one of his two jobs, she said, he was tutoring athletes or working as a teaching assistant.

He also worked at the obser vator y as a telescope operator in addition to taking a full course load ever y semester, DeSha said. And even then, she added, he made time for his friends and family. He would have graduated in May. When asked if there was any way DeSha-Overcash could have been selling drugs, she said she couldn’t know for sure. Still, she insisted police had spoken too soon, just hours after the shooting took place. “[Justin was] not perfect, but he tried to live with honor and integrity,” DeSha said. “I just want my son’s honor back. ... No one deserved what happened to my son.”

DeSha has involved Maryland Crime Victims, a local advocacy group.

Pauline Mandel, a legal director for the group, was not

“I just want my son’s honor back. ... No one deserved what happened to my son.”

KAREN DESHA VICTIM’S MOTHER

ready to say police directly violated Article 47 of the state constitution, which states crime victims should be treated “by agents of the State with dignity, respect, and sensitivity during all phases of the criminal justice process.”

As the police investigation continues, Mandel said it is her priority to work closely with DeSha to make sure she is comfortable and that discussions with police go smoothly.

At this point, Ellis added, little else from the incident is salient to police.

“It doesn’t matter to us that the son may have been involved in some type of marijuana distribution operation,” Ellis said. “But we have to put that information out to inform and help the public protect themselves.” present@umdbk.com

Karen DeSha, mother of slain student Justin DeSha-Overcash, says Prince George’s County Police were too quick to label her son a drug dealer. GARY CHEN/THE DIAMONDBACK

MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011 | THE DIAMONDBACK

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THE DIAMONDBACK | MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

Opinion

THE DIAMONDBACK

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MANAGING EDITOR

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JUSTIN SNOW

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OPINION EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR

Staff editorial

Guest column

Unnecessary roughness

Renewing priorities

R

Anderson has been working hard to fill seats in Byrd Stadium after fan alph Friedgen deserved better. turnout has been weak at best for the past two seasons. But other than stuIn perhaps one of the most unprofessional and inconsiderate firdents who receive free tickets, there is only one other group that follows Terings by administrators in recent memory, the 10th-year Terrapin rapin sports with as much ferocity — alumni. The firing of an alumnus does litfootball coach was given the shaft last month while most students tle to strengthen bonds with these essential fans. were home for the holidays.

While some may say it is only football, this is a school whose foundation Having been assured by Kevin Anderson, who took over as athletics director only three months prior, that he would return as coach in 2011 to finish out is cemented in sports. Indeed, our coaches are often more visible and rechis contract, Friedgen was blindsided when Anderson bought out the remain- ognizable than some of the most important figures of the administration. der of his contract for $2 million, after coach-in-waiting James Franklin left to Their visibility thus makes them a major topic of conversation both on and become Vanderbilt’s head coach and just days before Friedgen was to take his off the campus.

And so it seems Anderson, whose history at this university is practically team to the Military Bowl. And before he could even address his players, who nonexistent, has sent a disturbing message about how had finished the regular season with an impressive 8-4 this university treats its own. One can only wonder how record after having won only two games the previous seaFriedgen’s treatment will be interpreted by future unison, the news was plastered on ESPN and sports blogs Firing Ralph Friedgen from his versity recruits. But it seems safe to say it will do little to for the world to see.

Friedgen revived Terrapin football. Friedgen’s long hisposition as Terrapin football encourage applicants.

After all, who in their right mind would want to uproot tory with the Terps began when he was an undergraduate and played on the team himself. In coaching the team for a coach was a decision lacking in their lives to work at a school with administrators so severely lacking in tact? decade, Friedgen took the Terps to seven bowl games — compassion and tact.

In the end, Friedgen’s dismissal cannot be changed, the team had been to only one in the previous 15 seasons.

None of that seems to be relevant to Anderson, however. For the new athletics nor can the way in which he was let go. In an interview with The Washington director, this was a “strategic business decision.” But for many students and Post, Friedgen said, “I’ve always been very loyal to Maryland. But it doesn’t feel like they’ve been very loyal to me.” While his firing may have indeed been alumni, it was a slight against one of their own.

Had Friedgen been shown the door last year, the outcry would have been strictly business, for Friedgen and many others, it was personal. And beyond softer. After all, it was then that the Terps went 2-10, the worst record of Fried- that, the highly publicized fiasco hurt the university’s reputation.

With the university actively seeking a new provost, vice president for research gen’s career. But his ousting comes on the heels of a highly successful season.

And rather than turn the program over to former Texas Tech coach Mike and other key positions, Friedgen’s public disposal could not have come at a worse Leach, a nationally known replacement, the Terps will instead welcome Con- time. However, and perhaps more importantly, the outcry from fans, students and necticut coach Randy Edsall, whose resumé and abilities are not much differ- alumni should have sent a clear message to newcomers such as Anderson and university President Wallace Loh — that is not how we treat one of our own. ent from Friedgen’s by most accounts.

Our View

Editorial cartoon: Eric Owusu

Ethnic studies: Worth fighting for

A

rizona has done it again.

House Bill 2281 just went into effect Dec. 31 in all charter schools and school districts in the Copper State. The legislation begins with a declaration of policy that states, “The legislation finds and declares that public school pupils should be taught to treat and value each other as individuals and not be taught to resent or hate other races or classes of people.”

So far so good. I can get behind not hating other people. But wait, how did the Arizona legislature go about ensuring tolerance? They enacted a bill that eliminates the instruction of ethnic studies courses. According to the legislation, a course is prohibited if it does one of the following: 1. Promotes the overthrow of the United States government. (Because that’s feasible.)

2. Promotes resentment toward a race or class of people. (Because we’ve already mastered that.)

3. Is designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group. (Because there’s no way a white student would

MICHAEL CASIANO ever want to learn about Latinos in the United States.)

4. Advocates ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.

(Because “ethnic solidarity” is just communism wearing a pink hat.)

I’m no sociologist, but whenever a word like “ethnic” is thrown about, for my sanity, I need the thrower to define exactly how he or she is using it. What constitutes an ethnic group? Unfortunately, the legislation doesn’t provide a definition of what qualifies as “ethnic.”

Instead, it gives the Arizona State Board of Education and the superintendent of public instruction the power to determine if a course violates any of the above. If they find it does, the school district or charter school has 60 days to toss the course. If it doesn’t, the Department of Education can take

away 10 percent of its monthly apportionment from state aid.

Implicit in the law’s conception of ethnicity is the notion that white European-Americans do not constitute an ethnic group. Reading the third point, the first thing that came to mind was every U.S. history course I ever took in high school. Save the two seconds spent on Native Americans in the very first pages of the textbook, I was taught very little about other groups of people in my U.S. history courses.

Descriptions of wars fought against Mexico and Spain didn’t even touch on the effects U.S. imperialism had on their newly won colonial subjects. I might even hazard to say that those classes were most assuredly “designed particularly for pupils of a particular ethnic group.”

The law will adversely affect programs such as the Mexican American Studies program in the Tucson Unified School District, which, according to its website, aims to teach children about “historic and contemporary Mexican American contributions.” Tom Horne, the law’s biggest cheerleader and state

superintendent of public instruction, is quoted in The New York Times as saying, “They are teaching a radical ideology in Raza, including that Arizona and other states were stolen from Mexico and should be given back.”

This might seem like a strange connection, but given Horne’s quote and the four points outlined at the beginning of this article, I think I get it! If you get Mexican-American children to resent whites by crafting specially designed courses with a strong ethnic bias, it will eventually generate enough solidarity among the Mexican-American community to create a mass movement that will overthrow the U.S. government!

I hope the kids in Arizona find their way over to this university, where we have tons of diversity courses and a special U.S. Latina/o Studies minor designed in part for Latinos. Don’t believe me? Just ask my white classmates.

Michael Casiano is a junior American studies and English major. He can be reached at casiano@umdbk.com.

Sarah Palin: The worst president we’ll never have

Y

ou’ve got to hand it to Sarah Palin. Despite all her faults, she really has a knack for making the story all about Sarah.

After all, when news broke a few weeks ago that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) had been shot in the head at a meet and greet with constituents, who else but the Mama Grizzly herself could have manipulated the tragedy so well as to make herself out to be the victim and not the 14 wounded and six killed?

The former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate is no stranger to the blame game. During the 2008 presidential election, it was Katie Couric who was out to get her when she asked Palin what publications she reads. And after the election, Palin blamed the McCain campaign for practically everything that went wrong. It wasn’t her who made the mistakes — it was the Republican establishment that was trying to bring her down.

Not long after the shooting, Palin’s fiery rhetoric soon garnered attention as perhaps having influenced the shooter. When some began to refer-

ence a controversial map from the 2010 midterm election, on which Palin’s political action committee had pasted crosshairs of a gun sight on Giffords’ district to signify a Democrat who conservatives should “target,” Palin was silent, and the map was soon scrubbed from the website (although a Palin aide did laughably try to argue the crosshairs could have been perceived as “surveyor’s symbols”).

When commentators singled out her obsessive use of gun rhetoric (“don’t retreat, reload!”), Palin was silent. In fact, it wasn’t until almost a week after the shooting that Palin actually opened her mouth in a video statement from her Alaskan mock-Oval Office.

For eight minutes, with an American flag perched over her shoulder, she decried the shooting and expressed her sympathies for the victims’ families. She proclaimed America’s greatness. And she played the victim. Journalists and pundits, it seemed, were to blame for the negative attention of her incendiary rhetoric. Their attention to those details was distracting and encouraged hate — unlike her rhetoric, of course. Indeed, she was the vic-

JUSTIN SNOW tim of “blood libel” — a term whose meaning Palin seemed oblivious to and that sparked outrage from the Jewish community because of its roots in alleging Jews kill Christian children for their blood on Passover.

But Palin’s woe-is-me response demonstrated exactly why she will never be president.

She can no doubt connect with a large portion of the country that has been vocal about its support for her.

When she speaks, both sides listen.

But her statement on the shooting demonstrates just how limited her range is. The role of president is to speak to and for all Americans. And when our country is reeling from shock and grief, the last thing anyone wants to hear is how their leaders have been slighted in the political game. Palin seems all but incapable of

talking about anything but herself.

In contrast, President Barack Obama did the opposite during his speech at the memorial service in Tucson, Ariz. Whereas Palin had seemed defensive, whiny and distracting, Obama appeared somber, hopeful and unifying. He urged Americans to talk in “a way that heals, not wounds” and, in reference to the 9-year-old girl who was killed, proclaimed that he wants “America to be as good as she imagined it.”

It was perhaps the best speech of his presidency. And in a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 78 percent of Americans (including 71 percent of Republicans) expressed approval of Obama’s response. Only 30 percent approved of Palin’s.

For whatever legitimate criticisms there are of Obama’s presidency, he showed what it means to lead and to hold that office. Palin did not. And that, it seems, will be her downfall — her sheer inability to speak to all Americans and her pathological insistence to make it all about me, me, me.

Justin Snow is a senior history major. He can be reached at snow@umdbk.com.

W

elcome back!

As the semester starts to get back into full gear, many students have a lot on their minds, ranging from classes to on-campus events.

Seniors are thinking about graduation while other undergraduate students are thinking about their futures at the university and how they are going to leave their mark. The Student Government Association, however, is thinking about picking up right where it left off and making sure goals are reached and the student voice is heard.

With the start of the spring semester, our work in Annapolis steadily picks up. Since the newly elected legislature went back into session about two weeks ago, the SGA has been working with state representatives to ensure student concerns and university issues are at the top of their list.

Our top priorities in Annapolis include addressing the budget shortfall and the projected tuition increase, as well as starting a dialogue about open-source textbooks. Gov. Martin O’Malley is expected to submit his final budget at the end of the month, which will define both the budget allocations for the university and the tuition level for next year.

At the university level, we are still working with administration and University Police to bring forth a Good Samaritan policy. At this time, the Promoting Responsible Action in Medical Emergencies protocol still remains, but the University Senate is still looking into the impacts of a stronger comprehensive policy.

We are excited that university President Wallace Loh has expressed support for a full policy and look forward to developing one in the near future. Additionally, with basketball season in full swing, big games are coming our way. The men’s team faces Duke on Feb. 2. The SGA has teamed with the athletics department to make sure the night of the game is a safe night for students.

Another top priority for the semester is to continue toward implementing a Dean’s Student Advisory Committee for every college.

In addition to advocating for student interests in Annapolis and to the university administration, the SGA will provide the student body with many events and opportunities. We have a handful of events being planned; among them are several more installments of the SGA/Alumni Association Speaker Series, our annual zero-waste Spring BBQ and the Multicultural Expo in April. We will also be hosting another Keep Me Maryland drive this semester, so make sure to donate your dining points to help keep your fellow students stay at the university. The SGA finance committee will also be hard at work to ensure the primary allocation process for all student groups is clear and fair. We always encourage student group leaders to use us as a resource to guide them through the budget process, so do not hesitate to ask for help.

As we go forth with what we have planned to work on, we would still like to hear from you. We will soon be introducing a new site layout at www.sga.umd.edu that is more userfriendly and interactive, so use this as a guide to both keep up with what we’re doing and to contact your representatives. Be sure to friend and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UMDSGA, so that we can keep everyone informed of both university and SGA events. Most importantly, do not be afraid to contact your representatives — we want to hear from you! On behalf of the SGA, I wish all of you the best of luck in your classes this spring! Go Terps!

Steve Glickman is the Student Government Association president.

He can be reached at SGAPresident@umd.edu.

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MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011 | THE DIAMONDBACK

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Features HOROSCOPESTELLA WILDER

CROSSWORD ACROSS 69 Trial figure, once 70 Cropland 1 Family man measure 4 Wearing boots 71 Shaft locale 8 Urbane 72 Cowpoke’s 13 Hoedown prop greeting 14 Melville novel 73 Wolf’s expression 15 Not burning 74 Depot (abbr.)

16 Polite cough 17 Pizzeria supply DOWN 19 Recess 1 Kids’ writer 21 Still Roald — 22 Votes in favor 23 Shooting marbles 2 Waugh or Baldwin 25 Cabinet part 3 Lower in rank 27 In a group 4 Rather 31 Cope 5 MD employer 35 Unseal, to a poet 36 — Jessica Parker 6 Squishy 7 Nodded off 38 Operatic voice 8 California’s 39 Draft of air Big — 41 Henry VIII’s 9 Like some income house 10 Enemy’s opposite 43 Earl — Biggers 11 Nasty 44 Register for 12 Sweater letters 46 Stuck in the mud 13 Moo companion 48 Historical period 18 Lepton locale 49 Save from 20 Cauldrons disaster 24 Antitoxin 51 Racked up, 26 Nutritious grain as debt 27 Skyscraper 53 Health-food buy 28 Hazard a guess 55 — -eyed 29 Polite blokes 56 Pour forth 30 Diameter halves 59 Skirt border 61 Peron’s third wife 32 Close, to Keats 33 Canyon 65 Ghost 34 Fouled up 68 Knight’s wife

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orn today, you rely a great deal on all of your skills, and when they are not working in harmony, you are not likely to score the successes you would otherwise anticipate. You are a fine example of physical, mental and emotional equilibrium; rarely does one facet of your being take precedence over another for long, and it is essential that you maintain a rare kind of harmony throughout your lifetime — for when you do not, you are likely to experience a kind of uncertainty and existential clumsiness that can actually be quite dangerous.

B

Though you may not be beautiful in a classical way, there is something about you that will surely hold members of the opposite sex in something of a spell whenever you are around. Indeed, you are likely to get more romantic attention than others known for their beauty and sex appeal.

Also born on this date are Nastassja Kinski, actress and model; Edith Wharton, novelist; Mary Lou Retton, Olympic gymnast; Neil Diamond, singer and songwriter; John Belushi, actor and comedian; Aaron Neville, singer.

To see what is in store for you tomorrow, find your birthday and read the corresponding paragraph. Let your birthday star be your daily guide.

B A L I

A R N E

T S A R

E A S E L

S T E E D

T E E N S

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — You’ll want to interrupt one line of endeavor to follow another, and both are likely to intersect at some point.

UDE RRS SAP AWN

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) — You may receive a message that is rather cryptic, but if you engage your imagination,

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25

NEW CARTOONIST WANTED

you’ll conjure a scenario in which it makes perfect sense.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) — You’ll want to channel any frustration you may feel at this time into a productive endeavor. Don’t let negative feelings fester.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — You’ve been trying to get in touch with someone who has been a peripheral part of a current project; today, he or she can play a larger role.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — You may require more assistance than you had first thought, but it will be difficult to coordinate schedules as a result.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Focus on those things that bring you gratification almost immediately, but know that the good feelings they bring will not last forever.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — An early start doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be able to knock off earlier; indeed, this is shaping up to be a rather long day.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — What you do in and around the home is not only necessary from a maintenance and upkeep standpoint but it can be emotional satisfying, too.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — You may feel as though you have lost touch with that part of yourself that can derive inspiration from routine events.

What has changed?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — It’s a good day to look back and recap what has happened — what you’ve brought about, what others have done and what’s been done to you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Take care that you aren’t guilty of some sort of negligence; you’ll want to pay attention to everything going on around you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — A meeting of the minds results in the formulation of a new play that promises greater — and faster — results. What’s the starting date?

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THE DIAMONDBACK | MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE:

Diversions

SHAMELESS AND EPISODES ON SHOWTIME Premium cable channel Showtime started a new season of television with Shameless, the American adaptation of a British comedy-drama, and Episodes, about the process of adapting a smart British show into a dumb American program. Senior staff writer Zachary Berman sizes up the new shows online. Just click the Diversions tab at: WWW.DIAMONDBACKONLINE.COM

arts. music. living. movies. weekend.

REVIEW | WINTER BREAK ROUNDUP

While you were out

Winona Ryder and Kevin James do their best to enliven director Ron Howard’s new comedy, The Dilemma, but fail. Vince Vaughn co-stars. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MOVIEWEB.COM

Diversions wraps up the movies worth seeing — and not — from winter break

LITTLE FOCKERS Greg Focker (Ben Stiller, Megamind) and Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro, Stone) once again embark on an entertaining power struggle in Little Fockers, the latest installment of the Meet the Parents franchise.

Since tying the knot in Meet the Fockers, Greg and Pam (Teri Polo, Glory Daze) have settled down into a happy family routine with their young twins. Chaos ensues when Greg’s in-laws visit for Thanksgiving, and once again, Greg tries desperately to impress Jack and prove he is a capable head of the family. The movie is a solid reunion of old characters and a revival of past situations and jokes with minor revisions. — Kaitlin Bulavinetz RATING: 3.5 stars out of 5

TRUE GRIT Expectations for the Coen brothers’ (the writing and THE DILEMMA The Dilemma is the type of movie that fills 111 minutes with a directing duo behind A Serione-sentence conflict. Vince Vaughn (Couples Retreat) is the ous Man) first legitimate absurdly named Ronny Valentine, an auto designer who stumbles western, True Grit, were sky into the realization that the wife (Winona Ryder, Black Swan) of his high, given the endearingly best friend and business partner Nick (Kevin James, Grown Ups) is campy original and Joel and cheating on him. Ron Howard (Angels & Demons) liked Arrested Ethan Coen’s penchant for making Development before you did, but his eye for comedy betrays him fantastic movies.

The story follows the adventures of Mathere. Howard tries to hold the film together with a Swingers-type dynamic between Vaughn and James. He fails because James only tie Ross (newcomer Hailee Steinfeld), a kind of looks like Jon Favreau, Swingers wasn’t that good in the first scrappy young lass out to avenge her place, and everyone involved is too old and too parched of creativ- father’s death with the aid of a perpetually drunken federal marshal (Jeff Bridges, ity to put the romance in bromance. — Vaman Muppala Crazy Heart) and a conniving Texas ranger RATING: 1.5 stars out of 5

(Matt Damon, Hereafter). An intriguing premise, memorable performances and bold cinematography are squandered by poor pacing. Almost all of the plot developments and secondary character introductions are squeezed into the last act, resulting in a boring first two-thirds and a bewildering conclusion. Still, botched editing only makes this stylish Western disappointing, not unwatchable. — Warren Zhang RATING: 3 stars out of 5 TRON: LEGACY Visually terrific and intellectually dimwitted, this TRON sequel (left) is a sometimes-fun romp for 3-D IMAX viewers.

Legacy shows great thematic potential but it never rises above its kid-friendly eye candy. The convoluted plot involves Sam (Garrett Hedlund, Death Sentence) entering “the grid,” a video gamelike computer world, and finding his long-lost dad (Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart). The two attempt to escape dad’s failed digital utopia with the help of a sexy computer program (Olivia Wilde, The Next Three Days).

The threesome does its best to evade the evil Clu, a digital copy of Bridges’ character, also played by a younger-looking Bridges, with the aid of special effects. The CGI Bridges looks fine in the grid, but dur-

ing an appearance in the real world at the beginning of the film, his mouth doesn’t even sync up with his voice. Powerful themes about loss, fatherhood and the futility of perfection are hinted at but never realized. It’s a shame — we could have had a film for the ages. What we’re left with are some cool action sequences and some dumb dialogue. — Reese Higgins RATING: 2.5 stars out of 5

see MOVIES, page 7

Jeff Bridges stars as a federal marshal with a drinking problem in True Grit.

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7

Lame dramas and mediocre indies MOVIES from page 6 COUNTRY STRONG The problem with Country Strong is, well, just about everything. The script is atrocious and riddled with wornout cliches, the editing causes the already loosely-connected stor y to make even less sense, and the melodrama is off the charts.

Sure, Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man 2) does just fine as the troubled country star Kelly Canter, and the supporting cast attempts to make lemonade with the material at hand, but it is simply a mess.

The music is actually quite good, but this isn’t a soundtrack — it’s a movie, and a really bad one at that. — Kyle Lucas RATING: 1.5 out of 5 stars

BLUE VALENTINE The fact that indie director Derek Cianfrance (Brother Tied) reportedly spent 12 years writing the screenplay for Blue Valentine is rather surprising, considering the film’s lack of story and over-reliance on unsatisfying plot devices.

Blue Valentine chronicles the story of two lovers who fall out of love, with repetitive flashbacks serving as a substitute for character development and an actual plot.

Any credit Blue Valentine receives must be given to its lead actors, Michelle Williams (Shutter Island) and Ryan Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl). The pair delivers the

year’s finest and most naturalistic performances, injecting poignancy and depth to the otherwise dull screenplay. — W.Z. RATING: 2.5 stars out of 5

THE COMPANY MEN Writer-director John Wells’ (ER) The Company Men is an agonizingly slow film about three men who have all been laid off by the same giant company. Unfortunately, the focus is on the least-interesting character of the trio, Bobby

(Ben Affleck, The Town).

Bobby is an egotistical jerk who is more furious about his wife canceling their country club membership than he is about losing his job.

The old-timer characters of Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah) and Chris Cooper (The Town) appear to have much more depth, but we are only afforded glimpses in this slowmoving drama. Along with the dull

antics of the characters, Aaron Zigman provides a cliché-riddled score, seemingly compiled from commercials for scented candles.

The most unexpected element of the film comes from the last few scrolls of the end credits, where it is revealed under-the-radar Baltimore group Future Islands and a couple other indie rock bands provided songs for the soundtrack.

You know your film has a problem when the credits are the most captivating part. — R.H. RATING: 1 star out of 5

SOMEWHERE Writer-director Sofia Coppola’s (Marie Antoinette) latest voyeuristic glimpse into the lives of the privileged is Somewhere, which casts Stephen Dorff (Public Enemies) as Johnny Marco, an apathetic Alist movie star meandering about Hollywood. Enter daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), a responsible adolescent thrust into Marco’s life as a way to guide him into cultivating a sense of meaning and purpose.

Unfortunately, that’s where the movie ends — most of its run time is filled with scenes of Marco and Cleo messing around in lavish hotels and press junkets. Coppola’s screenplay lacks the substance to enthrall for 100 minutes.

To its credit, Somewhere is definitely effective: By the time the credits roll, you’ll be as bored and frustrated with life as Marco is.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw star as a couple in a — W.Z. RATING: troubled marriage in the awful Country Strong.

2 stars out of 5 PHOTO COURTESY OF CELEBRITYWONDER.COM

winter break music roundup James Blunt — Some Kind of Trouble As his name implies, James Blunt is a pretty one-sided fellow.

He’s forever singing as if he is trying to court girls at a coffee shop, no matter how big his stage is.

Aside from his stunning eyes, Blunt gladly sings the same song track after track on Some Kind of Trouble, his third record to date.

The album manages to stretch such a fake, overproduced sheen of so-called “chill” and “love” that the record becomes intolerably sappy. Tracks such as “Dangerous” slide between fun-loving and condescendingly derivative so quickly that after one listen through — if listeners even make it that far — few will care to put more on their iPod than lead-off single “Stay the Night” and even then only so to impress friends or hot dates more shallow than themselves. To be blunt, listeners are better off just not listening at all. — Zachary Berman RATING: 1.5 stars out of 5

The Decemberists — The King Is Dead After The Decemberists took a proggy — and to many fans, overwrought — detour into a harderrocking concept album, 2009’s The Hazards of Love, the band has settled down with The King Is Dead.

The band’s newest release brings back the acoustic-based indie folk the group built its name upon. However, while The Hazards of Love was criticized for indulging in an overambitious concept that ultimately fell flat, at least it showed a band pushing past its comfort zone. The King Is Dead shows a bored band making easygoing, uninspired music just for the sake of getting music out there. — Jon Wolper RATING: 2 stars out of 5

Cake — Showroom of Compassion Cake is perhaps the world’s most perfect argument for the idea that all a band needs to make it big is to have the right delivery. Frontman and lead singer John McCrea’s bizarre working man’s rap-croon over minimalist funk rock has been the band’s staple for years, which is why Showroom of Compassion offers both a happy return to form and a somewhat regretful overuse of said form.

The band seems bored, almost annoyed with what they are doing on the record. Cake obviously know what sort of tracks are expected of it, yet instead of playing with what is being asked of the band, Cake simply ham-fists some very uninspired retreads back to the audience. Perhaps Cake is also the world’s finest example of why reusing the same delivery time and time again can squash a band into irrelevance. — Z.B. RATING: 2.5 stars out of 5 For more music reviews, just click the Diversions tab at:

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8

THE DIAMONDBACK | NEWS | MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

FARVARDIN from page 1 the summer, he admitted he had “mixed feelings” about leaving this university, which he has served for so many years.

“I have a lot of pride in the university,” he said. “I know the university very well. I’m very emotionally attached to the university. On the other hand, it was not a difficult decision in that this is an exciting opportunity. It’s the chance to utilize all the knowledge and experience I gained at this university to advance another innovative, forward-looking institution.”

University President Wallace Loh disseminated the news of Farvardin’s appointment through an e-mail to the university community Jan. 18. In a Stevens’ press release issued the same day, Farvardin was hailed as having the credentials to build upon the institution’s legacy.

“He has the vision and experience to further Stevens’ position as a global leader in education, research and innovation,” said Larry Babbio, chairman of the Stevens Board of Trustees, in the press release.

Before succeeding Bill Destler as university provost in May 2007, Farvardin held positions in the engineering college as a professor, department chairman and dean. He also served as acting university president for more than two months last year while Loh transitioned into office.

As provost, Farvardin spearheaded a number of major university initiatives, including the development of the redesigned General Education program, a new Honors College and the establishment of a new Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research. But his crowning achievement, Farvardin said, was the creation of the university’s strategic plan — a 10-year roadmap for advancing the university’s future. He reportedly went two days without sleeping while drafting it two years ago.

The day the plan was approved by the University Senate in May 2008 was the most defining moment of his career as provost, Farvardin said.

“It represented the pinnacle of my achievement during my tenure,” he said. “The strategic plan is a plan for the university’s future, and the university will go to very, very high places from here.”

But his tenure at the university was not without controversy.

Farvardin came under fire for what some called a lack of transparency during budget cuts and the dismissal of former Associate Provost for Equity and Diversity Cordell Black in the fall of 2009. Despite such criticism, former university President Dan Mote — who hand-picked Farvardin as provost — said he expected the young administrator to succeed him.

And although it was ultimately Loh who got the job after Mote retired last year, those close to Farvardin said it came as no surprise he was eventually offered a presidential post elsewhere.

Serving as provost is traditionally a stepping stone to presidency — Destler, who served as this university’s provost for seven years, was appointed president of Rochester Institute of Technology, and Loh worked as provost of the University of Iowa before accepting his current position.

“The University takes great pride in Dr. Farvardin’s presidential appointment as it reflects on the academic distinction and national stature of the institution,” Loh wrote to the university community. “During my own short tenure as President, Nariman has provided me with invaluable counsel and support, and has been a trusted colleague.”

Associate Provost of Academic Affairs Betsy Beise described Farvardin as a driven leader and a great colleague.

“He provides decisive leadership, while at the same time being very consultative,” Beise wrote in an e-mail.

“He has had to make some very difficult, and sometimes unpopular, decisions in these tough budget times, but he always looks at the bigger picture — what will ultimately make us a better university — when doing so.”

As he prepares to take on his new role at Stevens, Farvardin said he hopes his legacy will largely be defined by a commitment to increasing the quality of the university.

“I hope that people say I made a difference in making the university increase in its appreciation of excellence,” he said. “I hope the university stays committed in the higher levels of excellence in everything that we do.”

The process of finding both an interim and permanent provost will begin after consulting with the university community, Loh said.

Despite increase in county crime, many students still feel safe on campus Prince George’s County saw 13 homicides in the first 19 days of 2011

BY ERIN EGAN Staff writer

After a student was fatally shot in one of 13 homicides this year and the university community was warned not to open any mail during a state government bomb scare, many students still said nothing can surprise them anymore.

“I’ve become desensitized to it because of the constant crime alerts, and it’s all over the news, so it’s just like, ‘Oh look, more crime,’” freshman animal sciences major Kayla Miner said. “There’s definitely concern that there’s all this crime, but overexposure makes it more of a statistic and less a big news item.”

In the first 19 days of this year, there were 265 violent crimes — homicides, sexual assaults, robberies and assaults — in Prince George’s County, compared to 250 between Jan. 1, 2010, and Jan. 19, 2010.

The 2011 figure includes 13 homicides — including the Jan. 11 killing of student Justin DeSha-Overcash — compared to just six in 2010.

“I feel like there should be more security to get those numbers down,” said Chris Williams, a freshman civil engineering major. “But having high crime rates is just the way it’s always been around here.”

Other students, such as junior economics, international business and marketing major Lizzi Bollinger,

said although crime rates seem to be rising, they will not change their behavior.

“The recent crimes off campus don’t affect me,” Bollinger said. “I’ll keep on doing what I’m doing. I’m still going to run to the gym by myself.”

Junior criminology and criminal justice major Corey Zoldan said many students feel like they are imper vious to the rising crime rates.

“I think the university only comprises a fraction of [Prince George’s] County, and the increase in crime may not be in areas where students are likely to go,” Zoldan said.

Most of this year’s homicides occurred in high-crime neighborhoods near the Washington border, in such locales as Capitol Heights and Suitland, and police said nearly all — including the off-campus shooting — are drug-related, and University Police spokesman Sgt. Ken Leonard said the campus itself has been quiet so far this year.

In fact, the campus has seen no reports of homicide, rape, robbery or assault at all this month.

“One of the major things that the chief and the department is working on is the perception of crime on campus,” he said.

“There really is not much, especially when compared to surrounding areas. There is the misperception of a crime-ridden campus, which

“I’ve become desensitized to it because of the the constant crime alerts .... it’s just like, ‘Oh look, more crime.’”

KAYLA MINER FRESHMAN ANIMAL SCIENCES MAJOR

has never been backed up by statistics.”

Even so, Zoldan said he would never roam the streets of College Park alone at night.

“I went to Toronto in November and was walking alone late at night, and I felt 100 percent comfortable,” he said. “It’s a totally different feel in College Park.”

To improve relations with the university community and help deter criminals, Leonard said University Police officers will soon begin concentrating their patrols on several specific areas across the campus.

“The new patrolling, I think, will help make us more visible to the community, which can further help [students’] perception of safety on our campus,” he said. “I think that students will be more careful about their offcampus housing and their surroundings.”

University Police have a

concurrent jurisdiction with county officers to help patrol student-heavy neighborhoods near the campus; Leonard said his department was part of an effort to prevent off-campus break-ins during the winter vacation but wouldn’t describe what police were doing.

Proactive efforts to prevent crime are what College Park needs, criminology and criminal justice lecturer Cortney Fisher said. The high level of crime in the county is an ongoing problem that police need to treat proactively, she said.

“It is ver y important to keep the focus on the perpetration, rather than the victims of the homicide,” Fisher said. “For example, keep the focus on if the perpetrators are gang involved or drug involved, or whether the murder was committed in the course of another crime.”

Despite a consistent nonchalant attitude of many students, freshman environmental science and policy major Micah Miles said she is still frightened by the area’s crime.

“It’s pretty scar y,” Miles said. “We don’t exactly live in the heart of the county, but it’s scar y to think that that stuff could get on our campus and affect us. One of those people could come on campus, come into my building and rob me. It could happen to anyone.” egan@umdbk.com

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9

ResLife launches single-stream recycling in three residence halls Pilot program could spread across campus by fall

BY CLAIRE SARAVIA Staff writer

The owner of Bethesda’s Barking Dog restaurant and bar is applying for a liquor license at Thirsty Turtle’s former location but won’t say what he might open there. FILE PHOTO/THE DIAMONDBACK

License sought for Turtle site Barking Dog owner may set up shop at former bar

BY RACHEL ROUBEIN Staff writer

A Bethesda restaurateur is considering opening up in the former Thirsty Turtle location and will come before the College Park City Council and Prince George’s County liquor board next month to discuss his plans for the site.

John McManus, who owns the Barking Dog bar and restaurant, has applied for a liquor license at 7416 Baltimore Ave. and may lease the space.

Turtle closed in November after the county Board of License Commissioners revoked its license to serve alcohol — the popular bar was allegedly serving underage patrons — leaving downtown with only two bars and a party scene that many students and some officials have said is shifting from the bars to houses. And many say a new bar that acts in a legal manner would be a welcome addition to the city.

District 4 Councilman Marcus Afzali said, in general, the members of the city council agree: A new bar could help downtown’s nightlife.

“We want there to be a nice bar scene,” he said. “Many colleges have nice-looking bars. ...

It gives students a place to go instead of house parties. I think

the vast majority of us want it to do well.”

But McManus said operating in College Park is still just a concept and declined to specify what sort of business he has in mind.

“It’s still in its infancy right now,” he said. “Until I get some answers from the city, the county and the previous tenants, it’s just speculation right now.”

District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin said he was surprised the building garnered an interested tenant so soon after the Sept. 23 admittance of two underage police aides and an Oct. 12 quadruple stabbing outside Cornerstone Grill and Loft involving nearly a dozen people who were allegedly drinking at Turtle — incidents that had University Police calling for the bar to shutter its doors.

“I suspect that whoever wants to run the bar knows its history, so hopefully they’re going to operate a little bit better,” Catlin said. “Otherwise, they should know they’ll be in trouble; people will be watching them. It’s not a good place to go if you want to escape scrutiny.”

University Police spokesman Sgt. Ken Leonard said he hopes a new tenant will act within the realm of the law.

“Obviously we’re concerned that the same thing could happen that has multiple times, but he has a right to go and try and get a

license,” he said. “If the county gives it to him, we hope he’s a responsible business owner and citizen for College Park.”

Afzali said filling up a bar with a capacity of more than 900 without letting in underage patrons is difficult — a previous bar in the space, Terrapin Station, had also been closed due to underage violations — and added that the city council agrees ID scanners should be required to help alleviate the problem.

“The biggest problem is that it’s a really big space, and making a space that big financially viable without breaking the law has seemed to be a problem,” he said. “That space is tough and consistently been challenging.”

But many students, such as junior psychology major Meghan Reeves, bemoaned the closing of yet another downtown bar — The Mark and Santa Fe Cafe closed last spring — and are in favor of a new business.

“I’m all for it,” she said. “I don’t think they’ll have a problem surviving. I just think they should be smarter than Turtle about letting so many underage people in.”

McManus is tentatively scheduled to come before the city council Feb. 1 and the liquor board Feb. 22. roubein@umdbk.com

A single-stream recycling pilot program began this semester in three dorms, and officials said the system may spread throughout the university’s on-campus housing in the fall if recycling rates improve.

The dorm program — being piloted in Anne Arundel, Ellicott and LaPlata halls — follows last March’s conversion to singlestream in academic and administrative buildings, allowing the university community to dispose of all recyclable items in one bin instead of separating paper, glass, aluminum and plastic.

Students in dorms generally must take recyclable paper items to a designated bin in the lounge area because the potential for high volumes of paper in hallways creates a fire hazard. But Resident Life Associate Director Cindy Felice said since a singlestream conversion would permit disposal of paper with other recyclable items in the hall — because the other items weigh down the paper — a lounge detour would be avoided.

In hopes of increasing the number of items recycled, Felice said the trash and recycling bins will be swapped in hallways so recycling bins outnumber trash bins.

Residential Facilities Building Services Assistant Director Jeff McGee, who oversees the housekeeping staff in campus housing, said the pilot will be administered by converting two of the four or five waste bins in each dorm hallway to single-stream recycling and posting labels on the walls and on converted bins to encourage residents to take advantage of the new method of waste disposal.

“It won’t be such a bother to figure out what is and what isn’t recyclable,” McGee said. “We’re try-

A single-stream recycling pilot program will debut in three dorms this semester. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

ing to make it more convenient.”

Facilities Management recycling coordinator Bill Guididas, who explained collection methods and the types of items to be recycled at a meeting with Residential Facilities, Resident Life and Facilities Management last semester, said he anticipated the pilot program results would be similar to the successful results from the campus conversion.

“We think the easier we make recycling, the more people will contribute,” Guididas said.

Even so, Felice said, there are potential problems the university will want to identify before every dorm goes single-stream.

“We wanted to do a pilot to sort of work out the kinks,” Felice said.

Felice said students in dorms are good candidates for the program because most disposable items in dorm rooms are already recyclable.

“Students probably have more recyclables than they think about, from soda cans to paper in printers,” she said.

But despite the promising potential littering dorm room floors, McGee said Residential Facilities is starting conservatively by only converting two bins in every

wing to avoid a possible waste overload, especially after parties held in the dorms on weekends.

“Every year we get loaded in the corridor, especially after weekends,” McGee said. “Students, as they’re having their fun time on weekends, wouldn’t be conscientious about where stuff was going, so we wanted to avoid that overload.”

McGee said Residential Facilities will be measuring how much waste and recyclable items are going into properly labeled bins before determining whether to change the number of singlestream recycling bins in hallways.

Some residents believe recycling is already easy enough in dorms so converting to singlestream might not bring the dramatic recycling rate increase officials are hoping for.

“They make it really easy for us to recycle, and I definitely use it all the time,” said sophomore animal sciences major Morgan Buchanan, who lives in LaPlata Hall. “I think since the three bins are right next to each other you can just put stuff in separate bins; I don’t think it’ll really matter.” saravia@umdbk.com

10

THE DIAMONDBACK | MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011 | NEWS | THE DIAMONDBACK

11

ANNAPOLIS 2011

O’Malley seeks 3 percent tuition increase, avoids furloughs in budget Proposed state budget highlights incentive program to encourage early retirement instead of unpaid days off

BY YASMEEN ABUTALEB Staff writer

Tuition will likely increase 3 percent for the second year in a row as part of a broader effort to close a projected $1.35 billion state budget shortfall, but university and other state employees may avoid layoffs or furloughs.

Gov. Martin O’Malley detailed his recommendations for $34.2 billion in state spending in the 2012 fiscal year on Friday, and that figure includes nearly $1.7 billion for this university — a 3.7 percent increase over the current fiscal year.

Over the next several months, the Maryland General Assembly can cut but not otherwise change O’Malley’s proposed budget; tuition increases must also be ap-

proved by the Board of Regents, the governing body of the University System of Maryland.

Besides a four-year in-state tuition freeze — lasting from 2007 to 2010 — funding for higher education has been hit hard by budget cuts in the past, university lobbyist Ross Stern said, but he hopes the General Assembly will preserve university funds during this year’s legislative session.

“The state has to figure out a way to balance the budget, so we’ll work hard this session to balance that budget while protecting the higher education budget,” Stern said. “Both the governor and the General Assembly understand the challenges of higher education, and we’ll do our very best to protect that budget.”

Del. John Bohanan (D-St. Mary’s), who chairs the House Education and Economic Development Subcommittee, said he also hopes to “minimize the pain to higher education.”

“The General Assembly and governor have worked hard to preserve funding for education in general, and by using stimulus money over the last couple of years, we’ve been able to avoid serious reductions to education,” Bohanan said. “Those stimulus funds aren’t going to be available now. ...

We’ll be taking some tough cuts.”

Despite the lack of funds, O’Malley found $9 million in the budget to cap the tuition increase at 3 percent rather than the 5 percent increase the Board of Regents proposed.

In-state tuition, including mandatory fees, now stands at $8,416 per year; out-of-state students pay $24,831.

Under O’Malley’s proposal, the rates would increase to $8,655 and $25,794, increasing this university’s projected tuition revenue from about $418 million to about $432 million.

“The governor remains very committed to keep [tuition] low and affordable for students,” Stern said.

The legislature will also work to improve conditions for state employees, including university faculty and staff, Bohanan said, especially since their salaries have been held flat for three years, and they have been forced to take unpaid absences.

“In essence, our state employees have made less than they were making a couple years ago,” Bohanan said. “They’re making less than they did in 2008 because there’s been no increase, plus increased health deductions, plus we’ve asked them to take furloughs. We can’t continue to do that without consequences.”

But instead of requiring employees to take furlough days — as the state has done in the past three years — it provides an incentive for employees to retire early; the proposed “Voluntary Separation Program” would offer a $15,000 incentive to retire.

The plan predicts that if 1,000 employees retire under this program — about 1,400 have applied so far, officials said — the state

would save $40 million a year.

Officials are quick to point out O’Malley has demonstrated his support for higher education, as universities around the country have adopted more drastic measures to curb spending on education in the face of a tough economy.

“The governor has provided tremendous support for higher education given how difficult this situation is,” said P.J. Hogan, the university system lobbyist. “This government provided funding for higher education that is not happening around the rest of the country. Hopefully the General Assembly will maintain the governor’s support.”

ARREST

and their female guests.

Mari and his housemates, who have not been charged, forced them back out into the street, where the already-injured man was beaten up again as he tried to take down his assailants’ license plate number, Mari said; he suffered scratches on his face.

This break-in continues a rash of violence that has plagued Prince George’s County this year. There have been 14 homicides in the county so far, including a student who was shot and killed in his rental home Jan. 11 just across Metzerott Road from College Park Woods.

“We take firearm incidents very seriously, especially incidents that involve students,” Liberati said. “This incident is not related to any other incidents, specifically the recent homicides.”

from page 1 into the ground as the eight drove away, and another witness took down the vehicle’s license plate number.

Police later pulled over the boyfriend and arrested him, Liberati said. Bond has not yet been set, and Liberati declined to identify the man in custody except to say neither he nor his alleged companions were students.

Mari said the dispute began when the assailant called his girlfriend and threatened her. Mari then took the phone and “called him out,” he said.

The man and his companions tracked down the female student, who Mari said was visiting the St. Andrews Place house, and broke into the house, punched one man in the face and started shouting at the residents

abutaleb@umdbk.com

egan@umdbk.com

University scores

high in bang for buck, judged No. 5 value Value rating from Kiplinger’s moves up 23 positions over three years

BY KELLY FARRELL Staff writer

A new ranking that boasts the university as one of the best values in public education may prove to be a silver lining for students and administrators preparing to deal with possible tuition hikes next year.

The article by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, which ranked 100 four-year colleges and universities in providing highquality education at an affordable price, moved this university up to No. 5 — three slots higher than the 2010 report and 23 spots higher than just three years ago.

Students and administrators alike said the improved ranking was well-deserved and would benefit the school, especially as the university grapples with budget uncertainties and a possible 3 percent tuition increase recently proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley.

University Provost Nariman Farvardin said the university could expect to reap numerous benefits from the ranking, including an increase in the number of undergraduate applications, as well as more impressive and diverse applicants. He added it could also entice out-of-state students to chose this university over a local institution.

“From a national or international standpoint, this will make the University of Maryland a university of choice,” Farvardin said.

Kristina Taylor, a sophomore biochemistry major, said the ranking will probably positively affect students who are considering the university.

“I looked at rankings when I was applying,” she said. “It wasn’t a huge determining factor, but it played into it. When you’re going to such a big school, rankings go along with that.”

According to Kiplinger’s, a number of factors played into the university’s high ranking, including the state’s devotion to keeping higher education affordable, the university’s proximity to Washington and the premier programs that are offered.

“Maryland has held the line on costs, keeping the total for in-state students to $19,040, only a few

hundred dollars over last year’s cost,” the article said. “The school’s proximity to Washington, D.C., its engineering and journalism programs, and its top athletic program are among the strengths that keep Maryland on a winning streak.”

The magazine annually examines more than 500 public fouryear schools for ranking. Once the list is narrowed down to 120 institutions with exceptional academic quality — based on SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student to faculty ratios and graduation rates — the remaining schools are ranked by lowest cost and most financial aid offered.

But junior fire protection engineering major Pam Herald said even without considering such factors, many students choose the university because its reputation precedes it.

“Before I went to college, I didn’t look up rankings but heard that Maryland had a great engineering program,” she said.

“Even if you don’t go look [the rankings] up, the reputation still gets around.”

Taylor said she appreciates O’Malley’s efforts to keep in-state tuition costs low in difficult economic times.

“I agree with [Kiplinger’s],” she said. “I think it’s a good price for the quality of education we’re getting at this university, and I hope the state continues to focus on keeping tuition affordable.”

O’Malley issued a press release congratulating the university, as well as four others in the state, on being among Kiplinger’s top schools.

“At a time when many states have significantly increased tuition at public colleges and universities, we have made the choice to protect our greatest investment in the talents, skills, innovation, and education of our people,” the press release said.

For Farvardin, the benefits of ranking so high on Kiplinger’s list are clear.

“I think this will simply make UMD one of the most desirable locations to come for an undergraduate education,” he said. farrell@umdbk.com

12

THE DIAMONDBACK | NEWS | MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

VIGIL from page 1 created a niche for himself at this university; friends said DeShaOvercash was so involved he spent limited time in his 38th Avenue home.

During the vigil, high school and college friends recounted countless memories of their time with the senior, from playing with a Slip ’N Slide on a mattress during his freshman year to just hanging out in his Pennsylvania home.

They said Justin always took time out of his busy schedule for those he cared about.

“He was a down-to-earth, genuine guy,” said Nam Nguyen, a university alumnus and close friend of DeSha-Overcash. “He always took everyone in with open hands.”

DeSha said her son, a football player in high school, graduated with a 4.2 GPA and took this work ethic with him to college.

“I never had to say, ‘Did you do your homework?’” DeSha said.

“He was focused by day one.”

Since he was 7 years old, DeSha-Overcash wanted to become a physicist, DeSha added.

“This kid started asking me to give him math problems from the time he was 5 years old,” she said.

DeSha-Overcash — who recently received the physics department’s Angelo Bardasis Fellowship scholarship — tutored athletes in math and science, operated a telescope at the university’s observatory and worked last spring as a teaching assistant for ASTR 101: General Astronomy.

To Elizabeth Warner, coordinator of the university’s observatory, DeSha-Overcash was more than just a student employee.

His silly pranks — from knocking on one door and quickly running to the other to putting a sign on Warner’s door that read “Warning: Nerd at Work” — were a welcome distraction.

“He would come by my office and visit, sometimes just for the heck of it, to say hello,” she said.

“He was a good kid. Some of us here in the office were talking ... and he’s kind of like the pesky little brother with the huge age difference; it was kind of nice. He was funny; he didn’t mind joking around with us in our office.”

Besides his harmless pranks, DeSha-Overcash was known for his love of sports — particularly North Carolina.

He was often seen sporting a Tar Heels T-shirt around the campus, and eventually, his mom said, her son received an email saying he couldn’t tutor Terrapin football players while wearing their rival’s garb.

DeSha said he had taken on three jobs to help his family with daily expenses.

“The last time I talked to him, I was trying to get a full-time job,” DeSha said. “‘He said, ‘Mama, I’ll pray for you.’ Those were the last words from my son: ‘I’ll pray for you.’”

Friends of slain student Justin DeSha-Overcash recalled his life in pages for a memory book. MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

Friends who attended the vigil said they will remember DeSha-Overcash for his warm demeanor.

“He took me under his wing, and eventually he was my best friend,” senior biology major

Josh Jagirdar said. “He was an older brother figure to me.”

“Justin, to me, he was like my brother. I just felt good around him,” Nguyen added.

“He was always there for me.

No matter what, I never saw

Family and friends of Justin DeSha-Overcash, who was shot and killed Jan. 11, filled the Memorial Chapel for a vigil in his honor on Thursday. MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

him in a bad mood.”

DeSha said she wants to restore her son’s honor after police quickly pegged him as a drug dealer.

To her and many others who spoke at the vigil, his positive

aura is what he should be remembered for.

“His smile — when he walked in the room, he lit it up. He just had his own style and his own swagger,” she said. “He was a good guy — not perfect, but a

good guy.”

He is survived by his parents, DeSha, who lives in Bel Air, and Randy Allen Overcash, of Warminster, Pa. roubein@umdbk.com

MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011 | SPORTS | THE DIAMONDBACK

13

BOWL from page 18

Coach Ralph Friedgen celebrates after the Terps’ Military Bowl win.

MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

cries before a surprising 9-4 season seemed to secure his job for at least one more year.

“People are concerned about my legacy,” Friedgen said. “My legacy is what it is. It is 75-50, how I treated people, who I am as a person, what I represent. I can look in the mirror and have no problems with doing that. I gave it the best I had for 10 years.

Obviously that’s not good enough right now, and that’s what hurts.”

The on-field action inside RFK Stadium, punctuated by a pair of scoring sprints from Scott, including a 91-yard touchdown that marked the beginning of the end of a blowout victory and a coach’s tenure, served as mere footnotes to Friedgen’s final minutes on a sideline for the near future.

Little but the fourth-quarter chants of “Ralph, Ralph, Ralph” and “Thank you, Fried-gen” indicated the 63-year-old was enjoying the final notes of his swan song.

He stood stolidly as he watched his defense

contain an explosive East Carolina offense.

He gesticulated wildly and barked angrily at officials for perceived missed calls.

But at a postgame press conference with his wife and three daughters in attendance, Friedgen fought off tears as he thanked the “120 sons” in his football family who had given him an enduring memory to cap a career that would soon end.

“He didn’t get as bad as I thought he would,” linebacker Alex Wujciak said of Friedgen’s postgame message to the team. “He said our prayer after the game.

He thanked all of us. He told us we could call him whenever we want and that he would be there for us for the rest of our lives. He just broke it down one last time.”

TERP NOTE: First-team All-ACC wide receiver Torrey Smith announced after the game that he will forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. Smith finished the season with 67 receptions for 1,055 yards and an ACC-best 12 touchdowns. His 2,983 yards on kickoff returns are a conference career record. sports@umdbk.com

WRESTLING

MOUNTAINEERS

Hokies manage to wrestle win away from Terps late

BY JOSH VITALE Staff writer

Trailing 15-14 in his conference opener yesterday, 197pound Christian Boley brought the crowd inside Comcast Pavilion to its feet, scoring a takedown in the final seconds to give the Terrapin wrestling team its first lead of the match against visiting Virginia Tech.

But not 10 minutes later, the Terps had their first taste of defeat in 2011, falling to the No. 16 Hokies, 18-17, after Terp heavyweight Spencer Myers fell by decision.

“In a match of this caliber, we knew it was going to come down to the last match,” coach Kerry McCoy said. “We thought we had a chance to win, but it just didn’t go our way.”

The Hokies, who feature six top-15 wrestlers, built an early 154 lead over the No. 33 Terps. Four straight victories by Terp wrestlers, however, gave the team a two-point edge going into the final match. But Myers’ loss handed the Terps a close setback against arguably the conference’s toughest foe.

The defeat was a first for the Terps (10-4, 0-1 ACC) in the new year. Coming into yesterday’s con-

test, the Terps had finished 13th out of 44 teams at the Midlands Championships and won five straight duals matches, four of them against top-50 competition.

The loss marked a step back for the Terps, according to McCoy. With just more than a month until the ACC Championships and only four conference matches remaining, the Terps will have to find a way to regain the momentum they had gathered during their fivematch win streak.

“This loss hurts a lot,” McCoy said, “But we’ve gotten better every match. ... We need to keep this momentum going, but ultimately it’s all getting ready for March. It’s nice to build some confidence, get some wins and just go out there and keep doing what we do.”

The Terps will have a chance to start a new winning streak Saturday, when they host North Carolina. A loss in the ACC opener hurts, but McCoy believes it is imperative the Terps find a way to move past it.

“This match is over and done with,” McCoy said. “We just have to go out tomorrow and wrestle better than we did today.” vitale@umdbk.com

Heavyweight Spencer Myers, right, fell to Virginia Tech's David Marone in the final match of the Terps’ 18-17 loss yesterday. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

from page 14 a hand on the wall in numerous races, whether it was first or second or for that fourth or fifth spot.”

Junior Andrew Relihan grabbed second-place finishes in the 200 back (1:51.79), 200 free (1:42.74) and 400 IM (4:07.40). Terp freshmen John Hauser (500 and 1000 free) and Brad Dillon (100 back) together added a trio of second-place finishes, as well.

While the improved times the Terrapin men recently posted have not translated into wins, Schimmel believes the team is headed firmly in the right direction.

“I think that they’re starting to realize what they need to do as a team, and it’s starting to show up,” he said of the men’s side after losses to Pittsburgh and Penn Sate last weekend.

“Middle of January, it’s starting to show up, and good things are happening because of it.”

“It’s a process of the competition that’s out there and where we are and how much they really need each other and to come together as a team.”

The Terps return to competition when the Georgetown men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams visit College Park on Feb. 5 on Senior Day. castello@umdbk.com

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14

THE DIAMONDBACK | SPORTS | MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

SWIMMING AND DIVING

CLEMSON from page 18

Terps split meet with W. Virginia

Williams (16 points, 11 rebounds) recorded his 13th consecutive double-double, breaking Len Elmore’s program record of 12 straight set in 1973-74.

“I never came in expecting to get a record my sophomore year, or at all,” Williams said. “I just want to do whatever I can to help us get the win with that record. It’s a great honor to be in the same category as Len Elmore.”

After a crushing 74-57 loss to the Hokies 40 hours earlier, the Terps came out with a swagger against the Tigers on Saturday.

At a team meeting Friday, the Terps’ three seniors spoke to the younger players, saying they were at a “crossroads” in their season.

“Me, Dino and Cliff went to the NIT our freshman year,” Bowie said. “We spoke on the experience of being there and how we never want to be there ever again. This was a big game for us, and hopefully it’s a stepping stone.”

The team heeded the seniors’ message, finally finishing out a close game. Before Saturday’s contest, the Terps had fallen in six singledigit losses by a combined 35 points.

“We finally got a win in the clutch,” Tucker said. “So hopefully we know how to win games in the crunch time and can keep it going.”

TERP NOTE: Forward Haukur Palsson got his first career start against Clemson, while guard Sean Mosley came off the bench for the first time in 40 games. It was the second straight and fifth overall game this season that the Terps have changed their starting five.

BY MATT CASTELLO Staff writer

The final road dual meet of the season produced a familiar win-loss split for the Terrapin men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams Saturday. Against a strong West Virginia program, the Terp women outpaced the Mountaineers, 202-96, while the men’s team was routed, 213-87, its largest margin of defeat this year.

The Terp women (8-2) continued their winning ways following a rare loss to Penn State, 205-146, in a quad meet last weekend. With an abundance of depth, the team appears poised to challenge for a top-three finish at the ACC Championships in Atlanta next month.

Co-captain Annie Fittin nabbed individual wins in the 100 back (57.57) and 50 free (23.52) and swam on both winning ‘A’ relay teams (200 medley and 200 free relay) for the Terps. Megan Lafferty, a sophomore, also won a pair of individual events, capturing the 100 free (52.12) by more than a second and narrowly besting teammate Addison Koelle (56.64) in the 100 fly (56.04).

With only one meet remaining before the ACC Championships, coach Sean Schimmel is stressing the importance of preparation to his swimmers and divers.

“What we’re focused on and where I’m at with them is to be uncommon,” Schimmel said after Saturday’s meet. “Be uncommon in their preparation, be uncommon in their willingness, in their leadership and to go above and beyond.”

The Terp men’s side (1-8) suffered its fourth straight defeat since winning the Terrapin Cup, the team’s fall championship meet, in November.

“It was a tough meet, that’s for sure. I don’t think the score reflects how close the meet was when you look at the results in a lot of the closest races that we had,” Schimmel said. “Unfortunately, West Virginia just did a better job getting

jengelke@umdbk.com

WHILE YOU WERE AWAY The Terps went 5-3 during winter break and moved to 2-3 in ACC play.

W vs. NJIT, 89-50 W vs. North Florida, 85-62 W vs. Colgate, 95-40 L @ Duke, 71-64 W @ Wake Forest, 74-55 L @ Villanova, 74-66 L vs. Virginia Tech, 74-57 W vs. Clemson, 79-77

ALL UTILITIES INCLUDED!

Guard Cliff Tucker finished with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists in the Terps’ win Saturday, which snapped a two-game losing skid. MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

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MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011 | SPORTS | THE DIAMONDBACK

15

EDSALL

ENGELKE from page 1

from page 18

whose pass-happy brand of offense seemingly made him an attractive fit for a diminished Terp fan base, appeared to be the front-runner for the job through much of the process.

But less than 24 hours after Edsall’s Huskies lost to Oklahoma, 48-20, in the Fiesta Bowl, the program’s first BCS bowl berth, Anderson announced the hiring of the 52year-old Glen Rock, Pa., native.

“I was able to look at his body of work,” Anderson said of Edsall at his introductory press conference, “and it speaks for itself.”

Tasked with overseeing the Huskies’ transition from Division I-AA (or Football Championship Subdivision) competition to the Big East, Edsall won two of the league’s past four titles and posted a 74-70 overall record and 22-26 mark in conference play.

Under Edsall, Connecticut also ushered in the construction of a new football stadium and consistently posted impressive graduation rates for players.

“This man is a builder and a champion,” Anderson said.

Calling the opportunity a “dream job,” Edsall reminisced about his earliest exposures to Terp athletics. He fondly recalled seeing his first college football game in Byrd Stadium in the 1970s and making annual treks to former men’s basketball coach Lefty Driesell’s basketball camp as a youth.

“It’s not every time in your life that you get to go and have an opportunity to do something that you’ve really wanted to do once you entered the

conference play.

Edsall went 3-2 in bowl games, capped by a 28-point loss to Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Friedgen went 5-2 in bowl games and finished his career as a Terp with a 51-20 thrashing of East Carolina.

And appropriately, the Terps replaced their ACC Coach of the Year with the Big East Coach of the Year. How fitting.

Edsall wasn’t necessarily a bad hire, and he shouldn’t be shunned for leaving his old post to take a better job. The guy can obviously coach, bringing Connecticut from irrelevance to a BCS bowl berth.

But hadn’t Friedgen done essentially the same thing at this university? Before the Friedgen era, the Terps had not won a bowl game in 16 years and produced just one winning season since 1990. During his 10 years in College Park, the Terps went to seven bowl games.

“Ralph has done a tremendous job, and he’s a great Terp,” Anderson said. “A 9-4 season speaks for itself, and the bowl win. I want to thank Ralph for everything he’s done because he’s truly laid the foundation for why we’re here today and passing on the baton to coach Edsall.”

The hire could prove to be a good thing a few years down the road. If Edsall can take the Terps to a few ACC Championship games and even one or two Orange Bowl appearances, fans will start to come around. But with the talent the Terps have on their roster, Friedgen could have done the same thing.

A month ago, the firing of Friedgen made sense, even if it was done in a disrespectful manner.

Anderson chalked the move up to the Terps’ dire bottom line, and his motives were valid.

The Terps averaged 39,168 fans — out of a capacity of 54,000 — per home game in 2010, and they needed a new coach who would infuse life and energy into the program.

Edsall at this point just doesn’t do that. Seats won’t be filled at Byrd — just like they weren’t with Friedgen — unless the

Coach Randy Edsall called the Terps’ position a “dream job.”

career field that you chose,” Edsall said.

Edsall said he was proud to follow Friedgen, whom he worked with while at Georgia Tech. A former Syracuse quarterback, Edsall also was an assistant with the Orange and Boston College before working under then-Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin in the mid-1990s.

With a no-nonsense approach and straightforward tone to his words, Edsall offered little hesitation in stating his goals of winning championships.

“I’m a coach, and I want to win at the highest level, and if we’re going to put the effort and the time that we do as coaches and these young men do as student-athletes, every year our goal is to win the ACC Championship,” Edsall said.

“That’s what we’re going to

MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

shoot for each and every year because if you don’t, there’s no sense for me to be here.”

In Friedgen, Edsall replaces a fiercely loyal alumnus and two-time ACC Coach of the Year whose undoing was as much a result of his failures off the field than as any shortcomings on it. A year after the Terps suffered through a 2-10 season — a program-worst mark — Friedgen struggled to energize a fan base even as he orchestrated the second-greatest turnaround in wins in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Only once this season did fans fill Byrd Stadium to at least 75 percent capacity.

When coach-in-waiting James Franklin accepted an offer to become the coach at Vanderbilt in mid-December, Anderson was unwilling to allow Friedgen to coach through the 2011 season,

instead opting to buy out the remaining year on his contract.

As the Terps prepared for Friedgen’s final send-off, a 5120 win against East Carolina in the Military Bowl, Leach, Malzahn and other names, such as Southern Methodist coach June Jones and thenMichigan coach Rich Rodriguez, reportedly were considered as candidates for the vacancy.

But ultimately it was Edsall who won out as Anderson’s choice to take the Terps from “good to great.”

“I had to make a hard decision when we decided to make a change,” Anderson said. “We know that we are good, but we want to be great and take this football program to another level. That’s why Randy is sitting here.” sports@umdbk.com

team proves it can do some serious damage in the ACC. Had Leach been brought in, the Terps would have filled up Byrd at the beginning of the season. Now, it’s going to take a 10-win campaign and a shot at the ACC title. Terp fans who had been dreaming of Leach’s “Air Raid” offense, with returning ACC Rookie of the Year Danny O’Brien at quarterback, now have to bide their time with a defensive-minded coach whose Connecticut team averaged 151.1 passing yards per game last season.

The hire just doesn’t make that much sense. After firing Friedgen, Anderson said the Terps were going from “good to great.” This hire moves the Terps from good to still good. It really isn’t that big of a change, which is why Friedgen’s firing can’t be rationalized anymore.

Players did respond positively to Edsall’s hiring after having met with their new coach. But both O’Brien and defensive tackle A.J. Francis said Edsall resembles their former coach.

“When we met him, he seems like a really down-toearth guy,” Francis said. “He seems like a guy that doesn’t take crap from anybody. He seems a lot like Coach Friedgen, to be honest.”

“He seems like a no-BS kind of guy, which I like,” O’Brien said. “It’s similar things to what Friedgen did.”

Which is exactly the point.

Why fire Friedgen and replace him with a near-identical version, only younger and a bit slimmer?

Leach, or even Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, would have made the firing of Friedgen worthwhile. Edsall doesn’t.

With the short-term ramifications of this hire clearly not what Anderson originally intended after Friedgen was ousted, Terp fans must ask themselves the big question: Is the program really that much better off with Edsall in the long term than it would have been with Friedgen, or even former offensive coordinator and coach-in-waiting James Franklin?

Only time will tell, but I don’t think the Terps are. jengelke@umdbk.com

16

THE DIAMONDBACK | SPORTS | MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Terps control No. 10 Tar Heels, boards in victory Freshmen step up as defense hounds North Carolina in decisive 88-65 win; team moves to 3-2 in league play

BY CONOR WALSH Staff writer

An eruption of cheers filled Comcast Center with just more than a minute remaining in the Terrapin women’s basketball team’s game against No. 10 North Carolina last night.

Before tip-off, most would have presumed such late-game excitement between two of the ACC’s top teams could stem only from the result of a game-changing play. But last night it was for a curtain call, as coach Brenda Frese emptied her bench with the No. 15 Terps holding a commanding 21-point lead over the Tar Heels.

The game had long since been decided, and the Terps rolled past the Tar Heels, 88-65, in the team’s first signature win of the season.

“This shows us what level we can play at,” Frese said. “Dominating win from start to finish.”

After jumping out to an early 20-7 lead, the Terps (16-3, 3-2 ACC) never relinquished control of the game. With a stifling man-to-man defense, the Terps systematically dismantled the Tar Heels, holding the nation’s sixth-best scoring of fense to just 65 points and 33.8 percent shooting.

That defensive effort exemplified a banner day for the Terps, who started the game with energy and maintained it until the final whistle. And while the Tar Heels (17-3, 3-2) stirred up comeback hopes with occasional streaks of solid play, it was the Terps’ intensity that often brought the home team back into control.

“We’re relentless,” said guard Anjale Barrett, who finished the

WHILE YOU WERE AWAY The Terps went 6-2 during winter break and moved to 3-2 in ACC play.

W vs. Delaware State, 79-49 W vs. La Salle, 83-45 W vs. St. John’s, 74-60 L @ Duke, 71-64 L vs. Boston College, 78-69 W @ Clemson, 80-59 W @ Virginia, 77-75 (OT) W vs. North Carolina, 88-65

game with eight points and 11 assists. “We knew if we got lax, they’d come back and fight.”

“Our defense absolutely led to our offense,” added Frese, whose team posted its highest point total of the season.

The Terps’ persistent intensity was enough to even nullify their 28 turnovers, a mark one shy of their season high. And when the Tar Heels couldn’t capitalize, the Terps dominated them in transition.

Forward Diandra Tchatchouang nixed two fast-break layup attempts with emphatic blocks. Other times, the Terps forced North Carolina into wild shot attempts that led to fastbreak points of their own. Much of the time, the Terps retreated back into position and dared the Tar Heels to break through their stifling defense.

That defensive effort was certainly helped by the absence of the Tar Heels’ second-leading scorer, forward Jessica Breland, who did not make the trip

after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery Saturday.

Breland’s absence was also obvious on the boards, where the Terps nearly doubled the Tar Heels’ rebounding totals, 55-32.

“There’s no doubt that we missed [Breland],” Tar Heel coach Sylvia Hatchell said.

The Terps’ balanced offensive attack was led by freshman for wards Alyssa Thomas (16 points, 13 rebounds) and Alicia DeVaughn (12 points).

The game marked Thomas’ fourth double-double in the past five games.

“You could see our confidence at an all-time high,” Frese said.

“You’re starting to see a team coming together.”

Even as turnovers remained an issue, the Terps’ typical downfalls were nonexistent.

The team shot 92 percent from the free-throw line, where the Terps have shot just more than 60 percent this season. And from behind the arc, where the Terps have often searched for answers this season while shooting a conference-worst 25 percent, the Terps delivered, making their first three 3-pointers and nearly half of their attempts throughout the game to help protect their lead.

“Everybody contributed.

Everybody did what they had to do,” center Lynetta Kizer said.

“We set the bar tonight.”

TERP NOTE: The Terps’ game this Sunday against Wake Forest will feature a leukemia awareness event in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Team Tyler Foundation.

For more information, visit www.umterps.com/awareness. cwalsh@umdbk.com

Guard Anjale Barrett, right, finished with 11 assists last night. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

Guard Kim Rodgers, left, was one of five Terps to hit a 3-pointer in the team’s win last night. The Terps shot 5-for-11 from beyond the arc. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011 | THE DIAMONDBACK

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THE DIAMONDBACK | MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

Sports

Get more coverage online Check out www.diamondbackonline.com for updates on the Terp gymnastics team’s weekend performance and visit TerrapinTrail.com for other news and notes.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Terps barely outlast Tigers Two days after crushing home loss against Virginia Tech, team hangs on late for important 79-77 victory against conference foe Clemson

BY JAKOB ENGELKE Senior staff writer

With just one second left on the clock Saturday, Clemson guard Demontez Stitt threw a prayer toward the basket. As the ball clanked off the backboard — just off target — the Terrapin men’s basketball team, and many of the 17,950 in attendance, breathed a sigh of relief.

It took the full 40 minutes of action for the Terps to finally shake off Clemson, but Stitt’s errant half-court shot cemented a much-needed 79-77 victory and halted the team’s two-game slide.

“I thought it was going in,” forward Jordan Williams said. “Anytime he throws the ball up, it looks like it’s going in. My heart dropped. We fought so hard that whole game, for it to go that way, it would’ve been tough. But thank God he

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missed it.”

“Demontez took a decent shot,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell added. “It just didn’t make it in.”

Despite leading for more than 32 minutes, the Terps couldn’t pull away from the Tigers, who came within one point with just seconds remaining in the contest.

But thanks to clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch, the Terps (12-7, 2-3 ACC) left Comcast Center with their first home ACC victory of the season after suffering their worst-ever loss inside the venue just two days earlier against Virginia Tech.

The Terps have struggled with freethrow shooting this season, but they went 13-for-18 from the charity stripe in the second half to close out the game against the Tigers (13-6, 2-3).

“I’m very pleased with the foul shooting

down the stretch,” coach Gary Williams said. “We stepped up when we had to and made big free throws. It was great to see.”

Four players — Jordan Williams and guards Adrian Bowie, Terrell Stoglin and Cliff Tucker — scored in double digits for the Terps, who used a balanced attack to produce one of their most efficient offensive games of the season.

The Terps also had a good day from beyond the arc, hitting eight of 14 shots from 3-point range. Tucker and Stoglin each made three 3-pointers.

“The main thing was to get the ball inside,” Tucker said. “They were doubleteaming Dino [Gregory] and Jordan, who made some great passes outside. Fortunately, we were just hitting our shots today. We were shooting with confidence.”

see CLEMSON, page 14

Guard Adrian Bowie was one of four Terps to finish with a doubledigit point total Saturday. MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

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2010 MILITARY BOWL

OUT WITH A BANG

Coach Ralph Friedgen thanked the “120 sons” he coached this year after the Terps’ 51-20 Military Bowl win against East Carolina, his last as Terp coach.

MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

Terps dominate ECU in Friedgen’s finale Mr. New is just

BY JONAS SHAFFER Senior staff writer

WASHINGTON – Ralph Friedgen never wanted his team’s Dec. 29 Military Bowl appearance to be their last together.

But the result — a 51-20 pummeling of East Carolina before tens of thousands of wistful fans in RFK Stadium — was just fine for the longtime Terrapin football coach.

Running back Da’Rel Scott ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns and the Terp defense forced four turnovers to send Friedgen out in style from the job he had held for the past decade.

“If you have to go out, this is the best way to do it,” Friedgen said. “I am happy to watch this team, and I wish them the very best. I am with them in spirit every step of the way.”

Friedgen left his alma mater with a 75-50 record, a pair of ACC Coach of the Year honors

and bowl appearances in seven of his 10 seasons.

But for Athletics Director Kevin Anderson, it wasn’t enough. More than a week before Friedgen was doused in Gatorade one final time by his victorious Terp team, Anderson had announced the remaining year on Friedgen’s contract would be bought out and the search for his replacement would begin in earnest.

“I feel like he is a great coach,” Scott said afterward.

“But it is a business, and it was a business decision.”

In his wake, Friedgen leaves a muddled mark on the program’s history. Friedgen followed three straight 10-win seasons and an ACC Championship with a string of topsyturvy campaigns that led to calls for his ouster. A programworst 2-10 record in 2009 only intensified a weary fan base’s

see BOWL, page 13

like Mr. Old JAKOB

ENGELKE

T

Running back Da’Rel Scott ran for 200 yards and two long touchdown runs in the Terps’ Military Bowl victory. MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

oday I want to introduce to you coach Randy Edsall, our new head football coach at the University of Maryland.

What was that, Kevin Anderson? I think I misheard you. Did you really say Randy Edsall, and not Mike Leach?

So after all that — after the humiliating ouster of Terrapin football coach Ralph Friedgen under the guise of a “strategic business decision,” the $2 million contract buyout and the on-campus interview with former Texas Tech coach Leach — the Terp football team’s next coach is going to be Edsall.

It seemed Anderson, who was hired as athletics director in September, originally wanted to hire the home-run hitter in Leach, the guy who would have put people in all those empty seats at Byrd Stadium. Instead, he went with the guy with the .300 batting average — or in this case, eight wins a season.

Edsall isn’t the flashy hire that many Terp fans wanted. He won’t fill more seats than Friedgen would have next season. The two coaches do, after all, boast very similar coaching pedigrees.

While at Connecticut, Edsall went 74-70 and 22-26 in Big East play after the Huskies made the jump from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Friedgen, on the other hand, went 75-50 and 43-37 in

see ENGELKE, page 15