030508

HOME COOKING

SAVING FRIDAY NIGHT

Terps knock off Virginia for first time since 2003

The Televisionary makes the case for NBC to renew the football drama for a third season DIVERSIONS | PAGE 7

SPORTS | PAGE 10

THE DIAMONDBACK WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

98TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 98

Masked Santa Fe owner may admit minors crew tries Council skeptical, but Srour insists he will prevent underage drinking robbery on Princeton “So you want to liquor up 18 to 20-year-olds? Good evening, and welcome,” College Park Mayor Brayman said at last night’s council meeting.

By the end of the meeting, Srour still did not see eye to eye with some council members. But he said seeking their approval was

any official approval.

Srour, whose bar has developed a reputation among some students for allowing underage patrons, said the plan would not give younger bar-goers easier access to alcohol. But at last night’s city council meeting, discussion opened with clear skepticism.

BY BRADY HOLT Staff writer

Santa Fe Café owner Mark Srour is seeking city and county approval for a new plan that would allow students as young as 18 into his bar for music events, though he says he does not actually need

just a gesture of goodwill. The city council cannot force him to keep 18 to 20-year old patrons out, but Srour sought their backing for when he appears before the county’s liquor board next Wednesday.

Please See MINORS, Page 3

One victim clubbed with baseball bat

BY BEN WORSLEY Staff writer

Three people wearing ski masks chased two victims and attacked one of them in an attempted robbery Monday night on the 7300 block of Princeton Avenue, police said.

The attempted robbery occurred two hours before a man was seen kicking sideview mirrors of cars in the same area, and less than a week after a robbery occurred two blocks away on the same street, raising residents’ concerns about their safety.

According to a crime alert prepared by University Police, the victims were walking along Princeton Avenue at about 11:50 p.m. when a four-door gray vehicle pulled up to

Please See ROBBERY, Page 3

ADAM FRIED–THE DIAMONDBACK

The unusual circular sanctuary design inside the new Wallace Presbyterian Church on Metzerott Road reflects a novel approach to mixing architectural influences.

CHURCH COMES FULL CIRCLE Congregation hopes to draw students to new location

BY CHIDINMA OKPARANTA

Apartment requests skyrocket

Staff writer

J

ust outside of the reaches of the campus stands the building: A life-size origami creation, with a paper-white exterior, a seven-sided base and a classic steeple. Is its architecture Romanesque?

Gothic? Or just plain geometric?

Whatever the style, students and congregation members say the new building for the Wallace Presbyterian Church — located on Metzerott Road across from the university’s Comcast Center entrance — is an eye-catch-

ing sight to behold.

“I prefer a more traditional church structure, [but] I’ll admit it’s unique,” longtime congregation member and sophomore history major Rebecca Wagner said. “You don’t see a lot of big, white, circular churches.”

Construction for the Wallace Presbyterian’s new church began in November 2005, after almost 100 years spent at the church’s old location off of Riggs Road in Hyattsville, said Martin Rabenhorst, a professor of environmental science and technology at the

Please See CHURCH, Page 3

BY CARRIE WELLS Staff writer

A record 2,921 students applied to live in South Campus Commons and University Courtyards for the first time next fall, leaving Resident Life Department officials pessimistic about the chances of many students securing housing in the complexes.

The number of applications is a 444 person increase from the amount received for Commons and Courtyards last year. The increase came despite measures announced by Resident Life last December aimed at increasing the chances of rising sophomores leasing oncampus. Administrators say they are worried about the number of people who may be left

Please See HOUSING, Page 3

Rise in Applicants for Commons and Courtyards

Tomorrow’s Weather:

Truth in Tuition bill has With Pope’s visit, personal connections activism to pay off Univ. begins backing off previous support

BY MEGAN ECKSTEIN Senior staff writer

Few tuition bills proposed in Annapolis seem to have such personal stakes for lawmakers and university administrators as the Truth in Tuition bill.

But for Del. Heather Mizeur (DMontgomery) and Ann Wylie, university President Dan Mote’s chief of staff, having such a bill in the legislature has some deep personal connections.

The bill would require public universities to set tuition rates four years in advance. And for Mizeur, pushing the bill through the General Assembly would begin to make up for the hardships she faced as a

Partly Cloudy/50s

Index:

college student in Illinois.

Mizeur was the first in her bluecollar family to attend college, and she needed to work her way through school. She said she held two jobs while taking classes and still worried she wouldn’t be able to make ends meet.

“I never knew if tuition hikes would be enough to push me out of college,” she said at a hearing yesterday on the bill, adding that she wanted to make sure students in this state didn’t have that same worry.

Illinois adopted a state-wide “Truth in Tuition” policy in 2003, becoming the only state to mandate

Please See TUITION, Page 3

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Catholic Student Center to reward faithful with stadium Mass tickets

BY MARK MILIAN Staff writer

Charles Fabbri has organized numerous masses and weekly dinners at the Catholic Student Center. He’s on a firstname basis with the staff and hangs out at the center frequently.

But his volunteerism may not be enough to hear Pope Benedict XVI when he comes to Washington next month in what will be the leader’s first appearance in the country as the spiritual head of the Catholic Church.

Diversions . . . . . . . . .7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . .10

As churches around the region are creating systems to divvy a limited number of reserved spots, the center on campus still hasn’t heard how many tickets they will be getting to see the pope speak on the future of Catholicism.

The Rev. Kyle Ingels, who heads the center, said staff will divide the tickets based on an individual’s activism within the center and give preference to undergraduates in their decision. But even so, Fabbri said he’s nervous.

Please See POPE, Page 3

www.diamondbackonline.com

2

THE DIAMONDBACK | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008

Page 2

TODAY

@

MONDAY | NEWSMAKERS

Japanese Noh Dance Workshop

MARYLAND

Richard Emmert of Theatre Nohgaku hosts workshop. 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., St. Mary's Hall: Language House Multipurpose Room

TUESDAY | OVERHEARD

The Senate Executive Committee voted to send a recommendation for mandatory health insurance to the full University Senate yesterday, meaning the proposal will be voted on at the senate meeting next Tuesday.

The proposal would require all students to either prove they have health insurance or to enroll in the university’s health insurance plan. The proposal also recommends the university increase financial aid for students who can’t afford insurance.

Senate to find new executive secretary and director The search committee to find a new Senate executive secretary and director has received about 10 applications, said Art Popper, one of the chairs of the committee.

Popper said interviews could start taking place as early as this week, and a short list could be presented before spring break.

The executive secretary and director is in charge of handling the day-to-day operations of the senate, the university’s most powerful legislative body.

The committee is looking for a replacement for Mary Giles, who left the position in January. Currently, the position is being filled in an interim role by Laura Slavin.

Senate receives more than 50 applications for undergraduate senators The senate received 57 applications for undergraduate senators by the deadline last week. Of the nominations, 22 were from the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, which has four seats in the senate for undergraduates.

The senate received no nominations from the journalism and architecture schools. Laura Slavin, interim executive secretary and director for the senate, said she will go back to both of the colleges, which have one seat in the senate for undergraduates each, and ask them to try to find a student to represent them.

— Kevin Robillard

4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Shipley Field

WEDNESDAY | SCENE + HEARD

THURSDAY | BEST of the BLOGS

Maryland Softball vs. JMU in doubleheader 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Comcast Center: Robert E. Taylor Stadium FRIDAY | Q + A

SCENE + HEARD

BRIEFS

Senate to vote on mandatory insurance

Maryland Baseball hosts Coppin State

Honor in an ice bucket Sen. Chuck Hagel receives award — in the form of a cold tub — on the campus

BY KYLE GOON Staff writer

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) received an unusual party favor when he came to the Memorial Chapel on Monday night — a crystal ice bucket.

The independent-minded Hagel went home with the Millard E. Tydings Award for Courage and Leadership in American Politics, awarded in the form of the ice bucket. As part of the event, Hagel held a brief town hall session to address audience members’ questions about his politics.

The forum — sponsored by the Center for American Politics and Citizenship — allowed Hagel to entertain inquiries on subjects ranging from Guantanamo Bay to Russian politics. The senator was even asked if he would accept a cabinet position from Barack Obama, a rumor that has arisen in recent days, to which he replied he didn’t know.

His answers reflected themes of transparency and adaptation to change. He said he would advise the presidential candidates to “be honest, be direct and be open.”

Hagel also said he thought American politics was in a dynamic state that could result in a legitimate independent presidential candidate by 2012.

Junior government and politics major Jaren Love said he was fascinated to listen to Hagel, who he described as “politically interesting.”

“His views have differed so greatly from those of his party. It’s a great opportunity for students,” Love said.

Hagel is active in foreign affairs and is known for his tendency to break party ranks in Congress.

Hagel was one of two Republican senators who voted for deadlines for

JAMES B. HALE–THE DIAMONDBACK

Joseph D. Tydings (right) presents the Millard E. Tydings Award for Courage and Leadership in American Politics to Sen. Chuck Hagel (RNeb.) Monday night at the Memorial Chapel. troop withdrawal last session. He has also criticized the military’s use of torture and their failure to report any figures regarding civilian deaths in Iraq.

Professor Paul Herrnson, director of the center, acknowledged Hagel’s record of going against the party and the president made him an ideal candidate for the Tydings Award.

“It is difficult to oppose your colleagues, but Sen. Hagel is not afraid to do it when he believes strongly in something,” Herrnson said.

Hagel sometimes rambled on in his carefully measured answers.

After a particularly lengthy response to a question about the twoparty system, he addressed his own verbosity.

“I know that’s too long an answer, but I am a senator,” he said, shrugging.

Former Sen. Joe Tydings, son of Millard Tydings and a personal friend of Hagel, was on hand to present the award. Tydings expressed his deep admiration for Hagel’s political career.

“You are the type of leader that young men and women need to encourage them to become public

A G0urMEt BURrITO,

WitH0UT PreTENSi0N.

KNOX & BALTIMORE

servants,” he said, perhaps a hint to the young men and women in the audience.

Upon receiving the ice bucket, Hagel remarked that it was “exactly what I wanted.” In his acceptance speech, he praised the work of Millard Tydings, the longtime senator and accomplished university alum.

He thanked the center and the university community for the award.

“It’s not often that a Cornhusker is invited to Terrapin Country,” he said. “And I thank you for that.” goondbk@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008 | THE DIAMONDBACK

3

Mayor suggests compromise

NO SLEDDING ALLOWED

MINORS, from Page 1

JAMES B. HALE–THE DIAMONDBACK

Students eating in the South Campus Dining Hall yesterday ate their meals on styrofoam trays. Dining Services said its dishwasher broke down this morning, and that the styrofoam was temporary. The machine was back by the end of the day, and so were the regular trays.

Residents worry about the increase in crime ROBBERY, from Page 1 them. It was reportedly occupied by at least five people.

According to the crime alert, three of the people in the car — all wearing ski masks — exited and began chasing the victims, demanding their wallets. One victim was hit in the leg with a baseball bat, while the other victim fled and called the police.

The three people got into a waiting vehicle, which drove down Princeton Avenue and then made a right onto Knox Road, according to the crime alert.

University Police spokesman Paul Dillon, who prepared the crime alert, could not comment further on the incident because the Prince George’s County Police Department is handling the case.

Last Thursday morning, junior biochemistry major Chris Booze had his cell phone, wallet and keys taken while walking home from the Thirsty Turtle on the 7500 block of Princeton Av e n u e , Booze said.

S e n i o r physiologyneurobiology and psychology major Joshua Roth, who lives near the scene of Monday’s attempted –Larry robbery, said that at about Swartzlander 1:50 a.m., he COLLEGE PARK RESIDENT saw somebody walking along Princeton Avenue kicking sideview mirrors of cars. Roth’s car had one of its mirrors kicked in as well, he added.

The recent string of crimes on Princeton Avenue has raised concerns of longtime residents, who say there has been an increase in crime, as well as student residents, who believe local police resources are not being allocated effectively. “[Crime] is definitely picking up, there’s no two ways about it,” said Larry Swartzlander, a College Park resident who said he has lived on Princeton Avenue since 1991.

“These types of things can happen to anyone at any time.”

One of Swartzlander’s neighbors, who works for the university and asked that his name not be released, agreed there has been an increase in crime in the area recently. He mentioned that even though students are considered “easy prey” for local criminals, there is a sense of apprehension among all residents.

“[Crime] is definitely picking up. ...

These types of things can happen to anyone at any time.”

worsleydbk@gmail.com

“I always try to work with the city,” he said.

Right now, 18-year-olds are allowed in the bar only before 9 p.m., but it is the bar’s own policy rather than a law, Santa Fe general manager Andy Budacki said.

Budacki said Santa Fe’s staff has successfully “weeded out” underage drinking by checking IDs at the door. He and Srour promised extra security at the bar during events, and they said they have a system for preventing underage patrons from consuming alcohol.

Under Srour’s proposed plan, at the door, each patron must show a conventional ID as well as an ID issued by a major university. Anyone underage would be marked on the hand with a large “X” and anyone 21 and older would receive a wristband for each arm to signify that they can drink. Each will be charged a cover fee that Srour estimated will range from $5 to $20, depending on the event.

“I know that when I was undergrad here, there wasn’t much to

do,” Budacki told the council. He did all his underage drinking at house parties, he later admitted in an interview.

Srour explained the Santa Fe’s plans as a way to offer an alternative to the Birchmere music hall planned for the upcoming East Campus development.

Eighteen to 20-year-olds who do not have university IDs will not be allowed in, Srour said.

“Honestly, we are a college town.

I try to be a college bar,” he said.

But some council members had their doubts.

“His business as far as we can tell is selling alcoholic beverages to people,” District 2 Councilman Jack Perry said in an interview before the meeting. “And suddenly he’s providing entertainment?

Come on. What does he think I’ve been smoking?”

District 3 Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich said that while she appreciated the idea of what the mayor began calling the “Birchfe,” she had concerns about safety, bringing up the council’s ongoing fight with the Santa Fe about delinquent sprin-

kler installation.

“This is increasing the risk of you not having sprinklers, because you’re going to have a much more crowded establishment,” Stullich said. “I’d like to support you, but I’m concerned about the risk.”

After some debate, Mayor Brayman suggested a compromise that would “meet the Santa Fe halfway,” in which the Santa Fe would try its new plan provisionally for the rest of the semester, then be re-evaluated during the summer. Srour agreed, but reminded the council that he is not obligated to follow their plan.

But he is obligated to prevent underage drinking at his bar — which several students interviewed said is rampant.

“For every five times I’ve gone, I’ve gotten legitimately carded twice,” said a sophomore finance major who declined to be named because she is an underage drinker.

Staff writer Melissa Weiss contributed to this report. holtdbk@gmail.com

Students intrigued by church’s design CHURCH, from Page 1 university and a church elder who also heads the building committee. In 2003, the congregation decided to relocate — due to a “kind of seedy” area, among other reasons, Wagner said — and sold the old building in Hyattsville to the Turner AME Church for $3.5 million.

Part of that money — and contributions from the congregation totaling more than $2.5 million in the course of the past seven to eight years — have helped cover most of the expenses for the new building, Rabenhorst said, but the congregation will still “carry a significant mortgage as we move into the building.”

He said the congregation, which has 300 members on an average Sunday morning, hopes to grow to an estimated 450 people, the maximum the building will hold.

“It’s a little more modest in size, but I think it’s a lot more beautiful,” Rabenhorst said of the building.

About 30 congregation members are university students, and the congregation hopes its closeness to the campus will help that amount grow, Wagner said.

In fact, that campus connection was a leading factor in choosing the area off of Metzerott, Rabenhorst said.

“We wanted to be closer to the campus,” he added. “We hope to connect with the community in terms of the Gospel, but also to be of service to the community.”

But finding such prime real estate in College Park was no easy task. After nearly two years of searching, the congregation was finally able to find the spot off of Metzerott, land that had previously belonged to a nursery, in 2005.

“It just happened that the owner decided that he wanted to sell at the time that we

ADAM FRIED–THE DIAMONDBACK

The Wallace Presbyterian Church has been under construction since November 2005. were looking to buy,” Rabenhorst said. “I am sure the Lord provided this for us.”

And the building’s unique architecture is partly meant to further accentuate the respect for and love of their faith members of the congregation feel, Rabenhorst added.

For example, the center sanctuary of the church where services will take place appears circular in shape, but it is technically a heptagon — an intricate design detail.

“The decision to build a circular center sanctuary was to show that worship was at the heart of what we do,” Rabenhorst said.

“We were looking for something that would draw attention to glorify the Lord.”

And the professor is confident the unique mix of architectural influences —

which includes a strong cathedral influence, Rabenhorst added — adds to both the church’s practicality and beauty.

“When you go in, there is a cathedral effect that evokes the grandeur of God,” Rabenhorst said. “The nature of the structure will allow us to add more components in the future, while preserving the integrity of the design.”

The design is also appealing to students, they said, with most students noticing the church’s pseudo-circular base.

“I like the fact that it’s more cylindrical,” said Christopher Tabisz, a sophomore Germanic studies major. “It’s a very interesting structure.”

“I like the stained glass windows,” added

Students scrambling for options HOUSING, from Page 1 without the apartments as a housing option.

“There’s going to be a lot of disappointed people, unfortunately,” said Kathleen Blankenship, the Resident Life official who oversees Commons and the Courtyards.

“They don’t have the same guaranteed options that they did last year.”

Blankenship attributed the almost 18 percent increase in new applications to the “uncertainty” of securing on-campus housing.

The complexes have a total capacity of 2,529 residents — with approximately 1,080 vacancies left for new applicants.

Last April, seniors were told they would not be able to live on-campus, resulting in a mass “tent city” protest. In response, Resident Life Director Deb Grandner announced new measures last semester, which included prohibiting rising seniors from being pulled into the complexes and converting two bedroom deluxe apartments in Courtyards to accommodate four tenants.

New applicants will know whether they will be eligible to participate in the leasing process by March 12. Blankenship said the majority of students who applied — 64 percent — are rising juniors and speculated that almost all of the vacant spots would go to those students.

In the meantime, many students are scrambling to find backup housing options.

Sophomore letters and sciences major Remie Dagher is already making plans to find a room off-campus in case her application to the complexes is rejected.

“I don’t have high expectations to get in, that’s why I applied at other places,” she said. On-campus housing is also out of reach.

“My priority number is 1479 out of 1517. Basically I’m at the very end.”

But for some students, the thought of not securing a spot is not even on their radar.

“I haven’t thought of that yet,” said sophomore bioengineering major Charlie Sun. “I’m pretty much banking on this.”

Andrew Casavant, a sophomore landscape architecture major, said off-campus housing would be very inconvenient, as he sometimes works in the architecture studio until 3 a.m.

“I don’t really know any people who have a car,” he said. “I need a flexible way to get there, where I don’t have to be restrained.”

Emily Williams, a freshman marketing major, said she had a better chance of getting housing in a traditional dorm, but applied anyway to keep her options open. She said the thought of not securing housing in a dorm or in Commons or the Courtyards is “terrifying.”

“I probably won’t get in, but I thought I might as well apply and see what happens,” she said. cwellsdbk@gmail.com

Admin worries about bill’s implications TUITION, from Page 1 the funding model.

The Illinois connection is a familiar one for Wylie as well. Her brother, Charles Gilbert III, was a main architect of Illinois’s “Truth in Tuition” model. As a Director of Institutional Research and part of the president’s cabinet at Western Illinois University, he was tasked with finding a way to ensure that students would know how much they would have to pay in total tuition, fees and room and board before they enrolled in the university.

“This was something that I had great sympathy for because I remembered when I was a student at George Washington University how mad I was when at the

end of spring semester the university would announce a 15 or 20 percent increase,” Gilbert said in an e-mail, adding that tuition more than doubled in his four years at the school.

Wylie said she supports her brother’s plan but added that the administration is not confident in Mizeur’s bill as it is written now. The chief concern is that the bill could put universities in the position where the state won’t fund them properly and also won’t let them raise tuition rates steeply enough.

Wylie said the state’s public universities either need full control if raising tuition as needed or a guarantee from the General Assembly that a certain level of state funding will be provided — or both.

Faith Harr, a senior mechanical engineering and regular member of the congregation. “It’s classy.”

Though the congregation had planned to be settled in the building by now — issues ranging from problems with the soil at the site to finding special insulation for the ceiling have kept up the project’s completion, and the congregation is holding services at nearby Northwestern High School until the construction is done — they will probably make the final switch in a few months, Robenhorst said.

“We hope we’ll be in by this summer,” he said. okparantadbk@gmail.com

Pope tickets in limbo POPE, from Page 1 “I really hope I get to see him,” the junior sociology major said. “He’s traveling the world and coming here. It shows that he cares about the whole church, not just the church in Rome, so I want to support him.”

Students and faculty interested in seeing the pope’s April 17 Mass at the newly constructed Washington Nationals ballpark will need to submit a letter detailing their involvement at the center, Ingels said.

“Myself and my assistant are really the only staff here,” Ingels said. “So we rely on student volunteers to help out; the most active people are going to be the ones that get tickets.”

Regardless, Ingels said the competition looks stiff.

“It’s kind of a lose-lose situation,” Ingels said. “Realistically we are probably going to have more people that want to go than tickets.

I’m even getting calls from people in other states looking for tickets.”

At the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on Berwyn Road, the Rev. George Wilkinson said the church

“In return for this promise to families, the state would have to promise that they aren’t going to pull the rug out from under us,” she said, adding that the state took $60 million away from colleges a few years ago and didn’t give them enough time to react, resulting in drastic tuition hikes instead of more spread out increases.

Wylie said administrators are hoping the bill can be amended to make it clear the University System of Maryland has the final say in setting tuition rates, adding that state interference “puts us in a box — in a stranglehold.”

Even though higher education administrators have framed the bill as a measure that would limit the system’s options in increasing tuition as needed, Mizeur defends the bill, saying it’s open-ended enough that universities could deal with

will distribute its 85 tickets through a lottery system.

“We decided that picking people’s names out of a hat is the fairest way,” Wilkinson said. “You can say, ‘This individual has done volunteer work for the Church,’ but you’d inevitably miss somebody.”

Some students agreed a lottery system would be the better option.

“On the one hand you want the people that are most active to get tickets,” said Martino Choi, a senior government and politics major.

“But then again if you can get people more interested in the church by getting them to see the pope, that’s definitely a good thing.

You’re really between a rock and a hard place.”

But freshman landscape architecture major Michael Sullivan, a member of the CIVICUS Living and Learning Program, which organizes community service projects in the area, said he felt confident about his chances.

“I’m on CIVICUS, so I win,” he said. “But I’m going to try and get one from my home parish first.” miliandbk@gmail.com

tuition increases on their own.

“I’m definitely willing to work with anybody on the approach,” she said. “But I already believe that the way the bill is written gives maximum flexibility on how an institution would implement it. The bill requires long-term tuition planning, to do the planning and set a tuition schedule and stick to it. It doesn’t say ‘You shall implement it in this way.’”

P.J. Hogan, the system’s state lobbyist, told lawmakers during testimony yesterday that the system wanted to see the bill go to the Bohanan Commission — more formally known as the Commission to Develop the Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education, of which Hogan was the original chairman — to have the kinks worked out of it. ecksteindbk@gmail.com

4

THE DIAMONDBACK | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008

THE DIAMONDBACK

Opinion

YOUR INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK PHONE: (301) 314-8200 | FAX: (301) 314-8358 3150 SOUTH CAMPUS DINING HALL | COLLEGE PARK, MD 20742 NEWSDESK@DBK .UMD.EDU

KEVIN LITTEN EDITOR IN CHIEF

MEGHA RAJAGOPALAN

NICOLE VAN BERKUM

MANAGING EDITOR

MANAGING EDITOR

AUDREY GOLDBERG

HADASS KOGAN

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR

BENJAMIN JOHNSON

STEFANIE WILLIAMS

OPINION EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR

Staff Editorial

Josh Crawford

“He epitomized hard work, dedication and perseverance, and more importantly compassion, kindness and selflessness.”

- David Stern

JENN YOUNG

Love won out

T

he sectarian divisions in Iraq have become some of the defining features of the war.

The terms “Sunni” and “Shiite” have been the foundations of each report of violence available to the American public. The multiethnic and multi-religious country of Iraq has been unfortunately oversimplified into a country of two large populations that cannot coexist peacefully. While it would be hard to fully understand the intricacies that make the dynamics of the Iraqi population unique, it should be recognized that the relationships between the citizens of Iraq are far more complex than the identification of Sunni or Shiite. Inter-sectarian marriages may be more challenging than a more homogenous relationship, but their commonality is proof that Iraq has been a cosmopolitan society in which people have interacted just as they would in any other country with rich diversity.

The Integrated Regional Information Network, a humanitarian news branch of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reported that an estimated 2 million out of 6.5 million Iraqi marriages are between a Sunni and a Shiite. How could it be that in a country of civil war nearly one-third of the people are sharing a home with “the enemy”?

The IRIN report interviewed many couples who are in a mixed marriage.

In most cases people focus on their religion of Islam and not on their Sunni or Shiite affiliation. One child growing up in a household with Sunni and Shiite traditions saw the violence as strictly outside of the home. The peace between Sunnis and Shiites within a family can be the foundations for more public peace throughout the country.

Children in these dynamic families are learning to value diversity and to combat the sectarian hatred that has become a powerful external pressure to Sunni-Shiite couples.

More recently, challenges to mixed couples in Iraq have intensified due to the growing Iraqi refugee crisis. According to the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration, by the end of 2007 nearly five million Iraqis have been displaced, and half of those have been pushed out of the country. Those couples able to migrate outside of Iraq are safe from much of the sectarian violence; however, it is nearly impossible for those couples who remain in Iraq to find regions safe for both Sunnis and Shiites. According to MyMixedMarriage.com, a website devoted to offering guidance to couples in mixed relationships across the world, the only options for mixed couples in Iraq are emigration to boarding countries or divorce.

For those mixed couples who refuse to submit to the recently intensified pressures calling for divorce or disappearance, safety is hard to secure. MyMixedMarriage.com reports that three mixed couples have been murdered, including the founders of the Union for Peace in Iraq, an organization created to combat sectarian rivalry through inter-sect dialogue and understanding. Fortunately, this violence does not have the power to destroy the courage of many inter-sectarian families.

In an IRIN interview, one mother says she reminds her children every day that “with love, a solution to the violence can be reached.” This woman represents the conviction of many couples who continue to prove that love within the family is the most powerful force to combat the hatred consuming Iraq. The fortitude and open-mindedness of the Sunni and Shiite Iraqis who remain together, despite the intense violence, can provide the foundations for peace in Iraq. As long as their love survives, there is hope for a future for Iraq built on coexistence and understanding.

The extraordinary number of intersectarian marriages is proof that Iraq had functioned successfully as a multiethnic, multi-religious and multicultural country until very recently. Even in the face of the intensifying opposition, many people are putting their lives on the line in defense of inter-sectarian peace. Next time you read a report about the sectarian rifts tearing Iraq apart, do not forget the millions of Iraqi couples fighting against sectarian violence in order to protect their country, their family and their hearts.

Jenn Young is a sophomore history major. She can be reached at jyoung22@umd.edu.

Cutting the problems have the SGA tightening their belts a little bit more ithout a doubt, Student Government than they had originally planned for. These and other Association President Andrew Fried- events need to be taken into consideration before any son’s proposal to slash the current cuts are made. Friedson should not leave future budget for student groups — including administrations struggling to find funds for events the SGA — shows restraint and appro- long after he is gone.

Done correctly, this slash has the ability to allocate priate consideration for other student groups. It is a step in the right direction to help alleviate a problem more funding to a wider variety of student groups.

And while Friedson insists the that plagued the SGA last year after budget cut is not in response to the multiple student groups cried foul debacle last year when multiple when they were either denied fundSGA President Andrew groups were left with inadequate ing or not given an adequate amount.

However, this budget slash will take Friedson took a selfless funding or no funding at all, it is posthis budget cut and reallocation cooperation and major planning, parstep in asking for budget sible of funds will help ensure student ticularly for the SGA, in order to cuts to benefit student groups never have to go through cover all bases of funding for itself and other student groups. groups on the campus. back-alley appeals for funding consideration again. While he may not According to Diamondback reporter Marissa Lang’s story “Friedson proposal be trying to make amends for the issues from last would slash SGA budget,” (March 4) Friedson plans year, he is certainly doing so and ensuring a brighter on cutting the sum to only a fifth of last year’s, reduc- future for student groups seeking funding from the ing the SGA’s allotted sum to $75,000 from $185,000 SGA. Friedson has an important and influential idea on last year. While we agree $185,000 was unnecessary at best for the SGA’s budget, will $75,000 really be his hands, and if handled and executed properly, he adequate for this and future SGA administrations? can make great changes for the future of the SGA and With the addition of the SGA barbecue planned for other student groups. We encourage the SGA to conthis spring and the wish to continue the Crab Fest tra- tinue to pursue measures that will benefit the student dition of the past two years, the budget cuts might population even when it risks their own interests.

W

Our View

Editorial Cartoon: Max Greenberg

Letters to the Editor Time to grow up

Making life harder

Yesterday’s article (“Honestly, it’s like living in a waste disposal”) describing the trashy situation on the fourth floor of Easton Hall is absolutely sickening — but not because of the trash.

Now children, let’s all learn how to share and clean up after ourselves, or else you’re going to be placed in time out.

Two points come to mind from the situation in the article. First and foremost, everyone seems to take the housekeeping staff for granted. Like the article said, they’re not maids. They’re hardworking people, and they do a fantastic job of cleaning up the dorms. If you pass by one, say thank you. Seriously. They deserve it.

And don’t just dump stuff all over the floors. Not only does it make living conditions unbearable for others, but it adds unnecessary work for the housekeeping staff who already do enough. Clean up after yourselves, folks. The trash can is only a few steps away.

Secondly, I’ve seen some pretty disgusting things in my dorm. “Feces in the microwave?” How about waking up one morning and finding feces in the sinks. Yeah.

Let’s assume for one minute you’re a freshman — let’s not even suggest you’re a sophomore or older and doing these kinds of things. You’re 17-18 years old. You’re not 3. I don’t care how drunk you get; regardless of what you think, you came to this institution to learn, not to wreak havoc and act like you’re a misbehaved toddler.

Is this what you do at home? Seriously, I’m wondering if classes should start adding nap time and recess.

I realize most people are decent individuals who try and maintain a clean living environment, but the few people who are causing this chaos in dorms all over the campus — grow up or get out.

Increasing security cameras and making people sign in won’t deter violent crimes. It only makes life miserable for the rest of us who live here.

This is not the first incident at The Towers at University Town Center by any means. Aside from the parties that regularly get broken up, one of the building maintenance technicians was arrested for selling cocaine to residents a few months back. The perpetrator of the most recent crime was not a resident of The Towers and was most likely a “guest” of the resident.

Security cameras were just installed in hallways last week, and it pains me to know I’m spending close to $800 a month on base rent, yet I feel like I’m living on the campus or in some sort of prison. I have to sign my friends in every time they enter the building, which, in effect, prevents me from having parties.

On the other hand, I must applaud the management for its response since the incident happened Friday. They seem to be keeping us updated on any news in this matter. The addition of grief counseling, in particular, had surprised me.

Students need to be mindful of their own apartment. You would think it would be common sense to check the peephole before opening the door to random people. But surprisingly, I know many people don’t seem to follow this at all. This could have happened in any building by any means (including on the campus).

In reality, you don’t need others to protect you; just use your head before you open the door to strangers.

KEVIN KEATING SOPHOMORE ENGLISH

SAMUEL J. DUNIETZ JUNIOR BIOLOGY

Air Your Views The Diamondback welcomes your comments.

Address your letters or guest columns to the Opinion Desk at opinion@dbk.umd.edu. All letters and guest columns must be signed. Include your full name, year, major and day- and night-time phone numbers. Please limit letters to 300 words. Please

limit guest columns to between 550 and 700 words.

Submission of a letter or guest column constitutes an exclusive, worldwide, transferable license to The Diamondback of the copyright in the material in any media. The Diamondback retains the right to edit submissions for content and length.

POLICY: The signed letters, columns and cartoon represent only the opinions of the authors. The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Diamondback’s editorial board and is the responsibility of the editor in chief.

Learning the language

G

outham Ganesan begins his March 3 editorial column, “The Pen is Mightier?” with ambiguous musings about the power of words. He then goes on to deplore the decline of language in today’s culture and finishes his piece with seemingly randomly interjected ramblings about the unfortunate nature of politically correct euphemisms and misnomers.

Putting aside the utter lack of focus of his column, it absolutely cannot be ignored that Mr. Ganesan’s outlook on the nature of language and its evolution is, to be blunt, completely wrong.

In the second paragraph of the column, Mr. Ganesan describes his disgust at having heard an editor for the Oxford English Dictionary talk about its assimilation of pop-culture language into English. Mr. Ganesan shares with us that “the actual purpose of a dictionary is exactly the opposite — to demarcate the boundaries and subtleties between words so that the greatest possible precision in expression is achievable.” This could not be further from the truth.

The Oxford English Dictionary, according to its 1933 preface, “embraces not only the standard language of literature and conversation … but also … a large measure of dialectal usage and slang.” It is by this mean that the OED has become, as it itself proclaims, “the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium.”

The word Mr. Ganesan needs to be focusing more on from the last excerpt is “evolution.” Unfortunately, he seems to be under the strange and highly inaccurate impression that language is somehow fixed. He seems to believe that one authority or another should have the power to dictate how people speak and communicate.

Perhaps he believes that, after the Ten Commandments, God also gave Moses the first edition of the OED, forever prescribing the word of man.

But any professor of linguistics here at the university or abroad could tell Mr. Ganesan that prescriptivism is dead. Dictionaries of today, the OED foremost among them, seek not to “demarcate the boundaries” of words but, instead, to document the unstoppable evolution of language, a process as inevitable as the evolution of society and of man himself.

Mr. Ganesan ends his piece by talking about “change.” By this point he is fulfilling what seems to be a strange and subtle conservative political agenda, and the topic of his diatribe has shifted almost completely from language to politics. Mr. Ganesan asserts that politicians calling for change fail to realize that it has been happening all along and that they will simply drive the country’s politics into the ditch of corruption into which its language has already fallen. Without commenting on any of the political issues apparently at hand, I’d like simply to point out the almost insufferable irony that Mr. Ganesan might presume to lecture us about the inevitability of change when, if we were to apply his outlook on language to the world of government and politics, the Constitution would never have been amended, the Emancipation Proclamation never signed and, in all likelihood, the Magna Carta never written.

Language changes, Mr. Ganesan. Every second of every day it evolves. So the next time you attempt to create an elaborate lingo-political parallelism that only materializes into a metaphor in the last 10 words of your piece, make sure you understand the nature of the linguistics you use to attempt to make your point in the first place.

Josh Crawford is a freshman letters and sciences major. He can be reached at jcrawfor@umd.edu.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008 | THE DIAMONDBACK

5

Features HOROSCOPESTELLA WILDER

CROSSWORD 67 — box ACROSS 68 Consumer gds.

1 Yellow jackets 69 Memsahib’s 6 It has roots nanny 10 Huff and puff 70 Among in Paris 14 Mountainous 71 Parakeet treat 15 Gutter site 72 NBA officials 16 — Khan 73 Double’s job 17 Project starters 18 Siberian river DOWN 19 Eerie sound 1 Sudden impulse 20 Practiced Zen 2 Helper 22 Mr. Haggard 3 Musher’s vehicle 23 Verne skipper 4 Homely 24 Look closely 5 Computer 26 Break in networks 29 Cafe handout 31 So far — — know 6 German 7 Red inside 32 Promise to pay 8 Steer clear of 33 Foul mood 9 Long fish 34 Trill 10 Quail, e.g.

38 Profs, probably (2 wds.)

40 Hold gently 11 Where Aesop 42 Twosomes shopped 43 Attempts 12 “— We Dance?”

46 Put up shingles 13 Sheet of plywood 49 VCR maker 21 Right on!

50 Grassy field 51 Scrubbed mission 22 Butte cousin 25 Deviate, as a (hyph.) rocket 52 Not me 26 Not green 53 Junk mail 27 Appreciative 57 Kept back sounds 59 “Kazaam” star 28 Leafs out 60 Gore and Carter 30 Reversal (hyph.)

65 Wander about 35 Conceal 66 Alley Oop’s girl

Previous Day’s Puzzle Solved:

36 Wacky 37 Jacob tricked him 39 Made an obeisance 41 Bureaucrats (hyph.)

44 45 47 48 53 54

Shout — Paulo, Brazil Ess molding Ziegfeld show Crocus “bulbs” Battery terminal

55 Kid 56 Troll’s cousin 58 “I — hear a thing” 61 Norse king

62 63 64 66

In — (as found) Tattered Dele canceler Boathouse gear

orn today, you are likely to travel far and wide before completing your journey — and you’ll know it the moment you reach your destination, for things will seem to unfold before you with a kind of energy and color that are rarely experienced, and of which you have only dreamed as a youngster. You have big plans and grand ambitions — but what is more important is that you know how to make your dreams come true. What is a real plus is that you also know how to come through for others — and in this way your true Virgo character shines brightly indeed.

Men born on this date tend toward volatile behavior, and may actually endanger themselves or others at times as a result of violent reactions to situations.

Women born on this date, conversely, are the peacemakers; they know how to soothe, how to heal and how to forgive.

Also born on this date are: Samantha Eggar, actress; Marsha Warfield, actress and comedienne; Rex Harrison, actor; Chou En-lai, Chinese leader; Dean Stockwell, actor.

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

© 2008 UNITED FEATURES SYNDICATE

TODAY’S CROSSWORD SPONSORED BY:

15% OFF

THURSDAY, MARCH 6 PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) — You may think it’s the same old thing, but one detail is so dramatically different that everything is quite foreign.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) — Don’t be too harsh in judging those who are judging you. Remember, you are the kind of person to attract such attention; deal with it.

Entire Bill

9204 Baltimore Ave. (Rt. 1) College Park, MD 20740 (Between Super 8 Motel & American Legion – Behind the Barnside Diner)

301-474-3003

Dine-In, Carry-Out or Delivery Not Valid On Catering Or Alcohol. $8.50 minimum required Please specify coupon when ordering.

Not valid with any other offers or specials.

Limited delivery area. Valid on delivery, eat-in or carry-out.

Must have coupon. Expires 3/12/08.

WD1

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — You’ll be involved in the affairs of another, and you may find that things are far more delicate than expected. Tread lightly at all times.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — You’ll find yourself becoming more and more interested in something that you had never considered in the past. A new door is opening for you.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — You’re on the way to the kind of success others only dream about, despite the difficulties you’re currently encountering.

Stay positive.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — Something unexpected may trigger a temporary depression. Concentrate on work issues that are simple, straightforward. Be creative.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Don’t do things with your money that you will regret. Now is the time for saving, not spending. Build your reserves.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — You may not know just how you’re

going to get everything done, but if you prioritize and do one thing at a time, you can succeed.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — You’re not likely to prevail in any kind of verbal battle. You may only find yourself confused, tongue-tied and disappointed.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Your intuition will serve you well, as you uncover certain details that at once surprise you and set your mind at ease.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — The prospects are bright for the future, but you may feel as though a dark cloud is following you around at all times. Your mood will change.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Timing is everything, and you mustn’t allow yourself to alter your schedule in the slightest.

A great many are depending on you.

TODAY’S HOROSCOPE SPONSORED BY:

CORNER OF ROUTE ONE & KNOX ROAD 301-779-7044 www.cornerstonegrill.biz

WEDNESDAY NIGHT SPECIALS $1 Rail Vodka & Bourbon Drinks • $2 Domestic Bottles • $2 Melonball Shooters • 25¢ Wings 10pm-2am

THURSDAY NIGHT SPECIALS LADIES NIGHT – 25¢ Wings 7pm-10pm • $1 Rails NO COVER FOR 8-11pm • $2 Rail Drinks 11pm-Close • LADIES BEFORE $2 Rail Domestic Bottles 10pm-Close • $2 Rocky Mountain Shooters 10pm-Close 11 PM

MIKE O'BRIEN NOT FROM CONCENTRATE

NUT BUTTER

CUSTOM AIRBRUSH College Park SPRAY TAN North Beach

4429 Lehigh Road 301-927-6717

$1 OFF

Any $5 Purchase

Offer Details: One coupon per party.

Coupon void if altered.

THE BEACH TANNING CENTERS OPEN 7 DAYS • Early Bird Special – $7 Before Noon Intro Special Only $25 (Reg. $35) One Time Only

5 Spray Tans - $135 (Reg. $149) 10 Spray Tans - $225

Must have coupon. Not good with any other offer. Expires 4/30/08.

Must have coupon. Not good with any other offer. Expires 4/30/08.

(Reg. $249)

301-441-TANN 8145-I Balt. Ave.

South Beach 301-864-ATAN 4435 Lehigh Rd.

Beltsville Sun Beach 10800M Rhode Island Ave., Sunrise Plaza 301-595-4272

Copyright 2008 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

THOMAS DOBROSIELSKI

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9. For solutions, tips and computer program, see www.sudoku.com Previous Day’s Puzzle Solved:

www.diamondbackonline.com Degree of Difficulty: MEDIUM

TODAY’S SUDOKU PUZZLE SPONSORED BY:

WOMEN EARN $6500 AND UP BE AN EGG DONOR FOR AN INFERTILE COUPLE Healthy • Mature • Non-Smoker • Age 20-29 Average Weight • 2 Weeks Part-Time Commitment Confidentiality at All Times

Family Building Center, Inc. A Licensed Child Placement Agency Specializing in Donor Egg

Ad is upside down at customer request.

LIVING. LEARNING. COMMUNITY. SUSTAINABILITY to live a sustainable lifestyle? +DESIGN Want Grow your own organic food?

We ve got all that and more on the way in the vibrant community of New Leonardtown.

EXPERIENTIAL four walls. Who needs lectures?

LEARNING Forget Learn about watersheds by kayaking through them.

Feel the energy as we tour live power plants.

Ecohouse takes learning outside the classroom.

ECOHOUSE We want you, your ideas, your creativity +YOU and most of all, your enthusiasm.

Join us as we build the University of Maryland s newest living learning program together.

www.ecohouse.umd.edu

Come Learn About EcoHouse!

3/6 Thu 2-3 pm 0118 Symons Hall; 6-7 pm Annapolis MultiPurpose Room 3/10 Mon 4-5 pm 0118 Symons Hall 3/11 Tues 2:30-3:30 1110 Leonardtown Community Center

Application Deadline: Tuesday, March 11th

Please Call: 301.214.4008 • Bethesda, MD 410.296.5126 • Towson, MD www.familybuild.com

6

THE DIAMONDBACK | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008

Classified RATES

35¢ per word $3.50 minimum ALL CAPITAL LETTERS........35¢ extra per word Bold letters..............................70¢ extra per word All ads must be prepaid

CALL

301-314-8000

TO PLACE YOUR AD, OR

BY EMAIL: ADVERTISING@DBK.UMD.EDU

BY FAX: 301-314-8358

CLASSIFIED DISPLAY ADS • Larger Type • Sold In 1” Increments • One Column Wide • $32.00 Per Column Inch

DIAMONDBACKONLINE.COM All Classifieds and Classified Display ads will run on our online edition at no additional charge.

SPECIAL Run the same classified or classified display ad for four consecutive days and get the 5th day

EMPLOYMENT

DELIVERY DRIVERS NEEDED Aggressive Sales The Pita Pit is now hiring FT/PT

Person Wanted

drivers for lunch, dinner & late night.

Please apply at 7313-C Baltimore Ave. Must have reliable car, updated insurance and clean driving record. $10-15/hour potential.

Sales – Commission and Residual Commission. Get in on the ground floor.

Call 301-776-1598 for an interview.

RECEPTIONIST

Free Housing!

Seeking intelligent, experienced and motivated part-time Receptionist for immediate opening with excellent pay at friendly veterinary practice. Contact Silver Spring Animal Hospital, 301-587-6099.

MUST have current references.

Free wireless internet. Free training/ classes, scholarship opportunities and tuition reimbursement program. Become a volunteer firefighter or EMT with Branchville VFC. Contact Jen Chafin at 301-474-1550 or www.bvfco11.com.

Internship/Paid Wanted: Aggressive, outgoing go-getter to work with Senior Vice President at Wachovia Securities. Call Bill Flanigan, Senior Vice President. 301-961-0131

LIFEGUARD and Pool Operator. Must be certified and experienced. Excellent pay and hours. In Gaithersburg. 301-840-1792

RESTAURANT HELP at Varsity Grille Looking for experienced wait staff, cooks, and hostesses. Please call Craig Lorch at 410-852-0465 or come by 9-5 at 8424 Baltimore Ave., College Park.

Now Hiring Service Team Members Servers We offer flexible hours, discounted meals, paid vacations, and a lively environment.

When you’re here, you’re family.

To apply, visit us today at 14650 Baltimore Ave., Laurel, MD 20707 between the hours of 2 and 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

EOE Earn $800-$3200 a month to drive brand new cars with ads placed on them. www.AdCarClub.com.

Galaxy Billiards Cafe In Silver Spring. Nice, friendly servers needed. Outgoing personality.

Come into store to apply after 4 p.m.

8661 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 301-495-0081.

WEB SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENTRockville company seeks fulltime programmer. Experience in Perl, SQL, and HTML preferred. US citizen, BS CS or equivalent. Send resume to jobs@ejpress.com CAMP COUNSELORS needed for great overnight camps in NE Pennsylvania. Gain valuable experience while working with children in the outdoors. Teach/ assist with waterfront, outdoor recreation, ropes course, gymnastics, A&C, athletics, and much more. Office & Nanny positions also available. Apply on-line at www.pineforestcamp.com.

TERRAPINSNEEDJOBS.COM paid survey takers needed in College Park, 100% free to join.

Click on Surveys.

P/T-F/T Tech Writer to assist with proposals, website, etc. Rockville location. Send resume to: a.davis@hsubuilders.com.

BEHNKE NURSERIES is now hiring for these positions: cashiers, general labor and sales associates. Please call 1-301-937-1100, Beltsville location. Or 1-301-983-9200, Potomac location

College Student Part time hours for busy medical office to assist with filing and other office duties.

Please fax resume to 301-490-8750.

Get Paid To Play Video Games! Earn $20-$100 to test and play new video games. www.videogamepay.com NEED MONEY? Conferences & Visitor Services is seeking highly motivated students for various summer positions. Great pay & FREE campus housing for FT employees.

Visit www.cvs.umd.edu for job descriptions and application. EOE

9:30AM – 4:30PM Monday – Friday 3136 South Campus Dining Hall

DEADLINES The deadline for all ads is 2PM, two business days in advance of publication.

v m A

FREE! EMPLOYMENT

OFFICE HOURS

EMPLOYMENT

FOR RENT

FOR RENT

SERVICES

EXOTIC DANCERS

5 BEDROOM HOUSE w/3 FULL BATHS

OLD TOWN COLLEGE PARK

FAX SERVICE

Wanted for Gentleman’s Club (PG County). $300-500/night.

No exp. needed.

240-286-3660 or 301-568-8500 Bartending! $250/Day Potential. No Experience Necessary. Training Provided. 1-800-965-6520 x116 Internship/Paid Wanted: Aggressive, outgoing go-getter to work with Senior Vice President at Wachovia Securities. Call Bill Flanigan, Senior Vice President. 301-961-0131

Now Hiring All Positions We offer great salaries, benefits including paid vacation, insurance plan, tuition assistance, 401K, meal plan & much more!

Apply in person: 11428 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, 301-881-8588.

Undercover Shoppers. Earn up to $70 per day.

Undercover Shoppers needed to judge retail and dining establishments. Experience not required.

Call 800-722-4791.

CHILD CARE Student wanted to play with bright six-year-old girl while mom is occupied with therapies for brother. Part time until summer break, then full time for the summer. In Rockville. energetic, positive, creative, English speaker and driver a must.

Contact smeltz66@hotmail.com

FOR SALE SILVER SPRING. All brick rambler. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. Montgomery County. Close to University of Maryland. $389,895. Call Charlotte Walker 301-365-0066. Coldwell Banker Houses from $1,200 for early decision. 1 block to UM shuttle. On Route 1. 301-753-4301

UMD Math/Science/Tech Grad Students Loudon County’s (Ashburn, VA) First High-Tech Private High School Needs Full- or Part-Time Teachers Beginning September 2008 If you have teaching experience, email your resume to hr@idealschools.org.

STUDENT !

D E D N E T X E DEADLINE MEMBER WANTED FOR STUDENT PUBLICATIONS’ BOARD Maryland Media, Inc., publishing board for the Diamondback, Eclipse, Terrapin, and Mitzpeh, has openings on its Board of Directors for two full-time students.

The Board of Directors sets general policy, approves budgets and selects the Editors-in-Chief for the student publications. The term of office is one year and begins May, 2008. The board meets about once a month during the school year.

For an application, stop by room 3136 South Campus Dining Hall, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and ask for Maggie Levy. Applications are due

by Thursday, March 13th at noon.

2 blocks from Metro.

9732 52nd Ave. $2495.

410-223-2101 KMGinfo@gmail.com GREAT HOUSE 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, huge den, fenced backyard, deck, all appliances, washer and dryer. 1 mile to campus. 8600 48th Avenue, available June 1, $2,950. Call Alan 301-704-6465

Beltsville 1 room for rent in a private home.

15 minutes away from UMD. Either furnished or unfurnished. Females only. $450/month, utilities included. 301-346-0243.

AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS 1 bedroom, $850. 2 bedrooms. $1,200. 3 bedrooms, $1,400.

2 miles from campus, close to shops. 60th Avenue, available August 1. Call Alan 301-704-6465 HOUSE FOR RENT. 5 bedroom, 2 full bath.

Walking distance to campus. On shuttle route.

Washer/dryer. Off street parking. $2500/mo. 1 yr. lease 6/1/08. 301-384-3025 HOUSES. Apartments. 2008-2009 school year.

Walking distance. 301-431-0067. 301-335-7345. ecb1985@hotmail.com HOUSE 4 RENT- 5 bedroom, 2 full bath. House close to campus. Renovated property with 2 large living rooms, CAC, dishwasher, and washer-dryer. $2,375/mo. Call Brit @ 301-806-0790 HOUSES/APARTMENTS. College Park. 2-6 bedrooms. 410-544-4438 3THREE HOUSES AVAILABLE. Adelphi Rd. 1 block from N. Campus Dr. 5+ bedroom house, $3200; 5 bedroom houses $3000/month including a/c, utilities not included. Some off-street parking.

Large yards, washer/dryer, lawn care provided.

Availble June 1 - early signing bonus. Contact Dr. Kruger - 301-408-4801.

Knox Rd. east of Rt. 1. One bedroom garden-style apartments. All utilities paid.

Website: JESAPTS.com. Call J.E. Smith Corp.: 202-582-8824. Evenings/weekends call Vic: 202-489-7040.

2 Bedroom Apartments One Block from Campus Call Now for Summer or Fall 2008 Availability Limited 301-466-4753 Email: jfirth@pinstripeproperty.com

ROOMMATES You’re Sharing a House, Not Renting a Room Lovely Victorian homeshare in old Hyattsville within 1 mile of UMD. Metro and bus accessible, permit and private parking. $800/month includes utilities, cleaning services, wifi, cable, and fully equipped kitchen and laundry with 1-1/2 bath.

Furnished or unfurnished. Move in ready March 1st. Call Denise at 240-731-6000.

SERVICES DISSERTATION EDITING — Theses, papers.

APA, Turabian, MLA experts. Wordprocessing.

Call anytime. 301-474-6000

BREAST IMPLANTS $3350 moshyedimd.com 301-493-5200 READ IT.

THE DIAMONDBACK RECYCLE IT.

Send / Receive Local / Long-Distance (international not available)

Diamondback Business Office 3136 South Campus Dining Hall PHONE: 301-314-8000 Mon.-Fri. 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

PERSONALS You’ve been racing through my mind since the first time I saw you on campus this fall. The chemistry we have is undeniable. The way your face glows and your hair flows makes me want to be the one you wake up to every morning. I will make you feel amazing if you give me a shot. Do you feel it too? Leave me a message or drop me a line. I promise not to disappoint. 312-637-9369 or runninglovesyou@gmail.com

GOT EXTRA STUFF? THE DIAMONDBACK CLASSIFIEDS ARE THE PERFECT PLACE TO SELL YOUR EXTRA STUFF. CALL 301-314-8000 MON.-FRI. 9:30 A.M.-4:30 P.M. TO PLACE YOUR AD WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008 | THE DIAMONDBACK

7

MOVIES AT THE HOFF THIS WEEK:

Diversions ARTS

Today: Into The Wild, 11:30 a.m., 4:20 p.m. | No Country For Old Men, 1:15 p.m. | A View From a Grain of Sand, 7 p.m.

Tomorrow: No Country For Old Men, 12:30 p.m.

Friday: Meeting People Is Easy, 5 p.m. | No Country For Old Men, 8 p.m.

Sunday: The Departed, 9:00 p.m.

LIVING

MUSIC

MOVIES

WEEKEND

COLUMN | THE TELEVISIONARY

Leave the Lights on With a third season in jeopardy and an unfinished second season, fans turn to the Internet to try to save NBC’s Friday Night Lights

BY RUDI GREENBERG Senior staff writer

Friday Night Lights needs your help. Without it, the show may suffer the same fate as Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared — canceled in its prime.

NBC Universal’s hour-long high school football drama set in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas, only made it through 15 episodes of season two before the Writers Guild of America strike preemptively ended its season. Now, as was the case after season one, NBC hasn’t decided whether it will renew the show, which has received consistently poor Nielsen ratings, the standard for measuring a television show’s success.

Season one only averaged 6.1 million viewers a week, placing it as the 95th-highest rated show on network primetime TV, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Faring slightly better, season two averaged 6.2 million viewers a week but came in at No. 101, according to ABC Medianet.

Detractors say despite the show’s critical acclaim and rabid, cult-like fan base, the show just isn’t profitable enough for NBC to keep producing. But Gil Sery, one of the co-creators of the website www.SaveFridayNightLights.tv, said it’s time to start measuring shows by a new standard.

“Well, the thing is that how you measure if a show is profitable or not is through the Nielsen ratings,” Sery said. “And that may have been fine in the ’80s or ’90s, but not anymore. People watch online, through DVR, through iTunes. I read a couple of articles that said Friday Night Lights is one of the most DVRed shows, and it makes sense.

“What I say to those people is, ‘Show me a rating system that takes

into account the way people really watch TV nowadays,’” he added.

Sery said the show’s Friday night time slot hurts it because most people are out doing other things (at their own high school football games, perhaps?).

So, Sery and the website have taken it upon themselves to try and save the show, which focuses on the drama between the Dillon Panthers players, coaches, students and community leaders. The website’s administrators are following in the footsteps of fans of shows such as Roswell, who sent bottles of Tabasco sauce to the now-defunct WB in an effort to save the show, and Jericho, whose fans sent more than 40,000 pounds of peanuts to CBS after the show was canceled.

For fans of Jericho, their efforts were a success, as CBS ultimately renewed the show.

Sery and Co. are asking fans for donations so they can send mini footballs that read: “Save Friday Night Lights! Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose this show!”

They’ve already raised $15,840 — 18,750 footballs — and an additional $2,061 for charity. Sery said they are shipping the footballs to NBC executives, including co-chairman Ben Silverman and Jeff Zucker, the president and CEO of NBC. Neither has responded to their packages. Sery said Silverman received his Thursday and Zucker’s package arrived Monday.

“There’s a long history of sending items to the networks to save a show,” he said. “I think that’s kind of the new gold standard.”

One possible way NBC may bring the show back is through a new cable-network sharing deal, where NBC would premiere an episode, and then it would re-air on a cable network, Sery said. The networks in discussion to share the show are the Comcast-owned E!, G4 and Style networks, TNT,

❖ APARTMENTS

the CW and DirectTV. Sery said his website has sent DVD sets of the show’s first season to executives at each network to entice them to pick up the show.

Lights has often been heralded by critics and its fans for being one of the most realistic shows on television. From the writing to the way it’s shot, the show features some of the most realistic interactions between people you’ll find.

Kyle Chandler may give one of the most realistic portrayals of a coach in film and television history as the Panthers’ head coach Eric Taylor.

But it’s not just Chandler who shines. Nearly every member of the cast is believable in his role (even if some are a bit too old to play high school kids) because the interactions are genuine.

Whether it is Jason Street’s (Scott Porter) frustrations as he deals with adjusting to a wheelchair after a freak tackle leaves him paralyzed in the series pilot, or Matt Saracen’s (Zach Gilford) awkward reluctance to step into the starting role, each actor is able to adapt to the realistic growth the characters face from year to year.

If the show is canceled, Friday Night Lights won’t be the first show to end in its prime due to a lack of viewership, but it would end in one of the most painful ways possible: without closure. At least Freaks and Geeks and Arrested Development, which were both canceled arguably too soon despite online petitions from fans, were able to somewhat wrap their respective shows up. With Lights, almost every story line from season two is still dangling, unfinished and incomplete. NBC at least owes it to the fans to figure out some way to put an end to the Dillon Panthers’ 2007 season,

even if it means a direct-to-DVD series finale.

Season two of Friday Night Lights is available on DVD on April 22. rudi.greenberg@gmail.com

❖ AUTO Oil & Filter Changes Brakes • Suspension Transmission Service Shocks & Struts • Alignments Tires • Hoses & Belts • Tune Ups Custom Exhaust • Performance Exhaust Check Engine Diagnosis • Economy Mufflers Wiper Blades • CV Shaft & Boots • Balance & Rotation Coolant Flush • Brake Flush • Emissions • And More...

10% Off All Parts w/Student/Faculty ID

10815 Baltimore Ave. Beltsville, MD 301-937-0688

UNIVERSITY CITY APARTMENTS Convenient Living Close to UMD

• Utilities Included • Controlled Access • Air Conditioning and High Speed Internet • Shuttle right at front door 2213 University Blvd. www.scottmanagementinc.com Hyattsville, MD 20783

301-434-2414

Heritage Park Apartments

❖ LEGAL

Now Leasing!

• UMD Student Discounts • University of MD Shuttle • 2 Min. from Campus

Call 1-877-273-2458

– 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartment Homes – Roommate Style Doubles – Controlled Access Building

www.Heritage-Park-Apts.com

Unique Student Apartments www.thetowersatutc.com 301-779-2727 Have You Heard? It’s ALL Here

❖ DELIVERY

WILLIAM G. SALMOND

➢ DWI/Traffic/Criminal Defenses

Attorney at Law

➢ Student Misconduct Defenses

Founder of Student Legal Aid Office Serving the University community and students for more than 30 years

➢ Education Law ➢ Civil and Domestic Litigation

Free Consultations by calling 301-779-7858 One block from campus

MONTERO LAW GROUP, LLC •

301-277-0100

WWW.MONTEROLAWGROUP.COM

Criminal/DWI/DUI

Bankruptcy

Personal Injury

Free Consultations – Evening appointments – Reasonable Fees

“We are a debt relief agency. We help individuals file for bankruptcy relief.”

Conveniently located next to Campus/College Park Metro

Hablamos Espanol • Nights and Weekends call: 240-475-4848, 301-395-0187

mv

Nominated Best Food Delivery

LAW OFFICES OF ANNE HOKE

Voted Best Sushi and Best Japanese Food

by Diamondback Readers Across from University View 301.982.9899 www.HanamiJapanese.com

CALL NOW 1-888-334-0707 FOR A FREE CONSULTATION

❖ RECREATION WWW.SKYDIVEORANGE.COM

SKYDIVE!

Easy one-day first jumps year round from 22-Jumper twin-engine airplane! Complete information is on WWW.SKYDIVEORANGE.COM or call (877) 348-3759.We offer complete courses of skydiving instruction for Skydiving certification & instructors ratings too! And don’t worry if you wet your pants.They’ll dry on the way down. GIFT CERTIFICATES!

• DUI/DWI/Traffic • Criminal Charges • Academic Misconduct • Alcohol Citations • Workers’ Compensation • Personal Injury Flat Fee for District Court Cases

❖ TAX

*** Hablamos espan˜ol ***

SERVICES

INCOME TAX PREPARATION GET YOUR MONEY BACK FAST (IN 24 HOURS W/RALS) FREE ELECTRONIC FILING FOR UM STUDENTS & EMPLOYEES

Office - Wheaton/Silver Spring

Kumar (240) 460-1596

DIVERSIONS IS HIRING! Want to see movies for free?

Want to listen to albums before they’re released?

Want to interview your favorite bands?

Got a story about something interesting on the campus no one knows about?

If any of these questions apply to you, then come to the Diversions meeting SUNDAY, MARCH 9 at 6 p.m. in The Diamondback’s office on the third floor of the South Campus Dining Hall.

Interested applicants should attend the meeting and bring a writing sample with them. Writing samples should be recent. If you don’t have any samples, write a 600-800 word review of an album or movie released in 2008.

If you have any questions, please contact Diversions editors Roxana Hadadi and Rudi Greenberg at diversionsdbk@gmail.com.

8

THE DIAMONDBACK | SPORTS | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008

Frese will travel to Greensboro Coach will accompany women’s basketball to ACC tournament

BY GREG SCHIMMEL Senior staff writer

This week, Brenda Frese’s trip to North Carolina will be on the up-and-up.

After taking her own flight Sunday to surprise the Terrapin women’s basketball team in the locker room before its game at N.C. State, Frese will travel with the team today as it heads to Greensboro, N.C. for the ACC tournament.

Frese, who gave birth to twin boys Feb. 17, should provide the Terps (29-2, 13-1 ACC) with an emotional boost this weekend when they play for their first conference championship since 1989.

“Every day, I just get stronger instead of weaker,” Frese said. “I think too —

being around this team and the girls — they give me my energy back, and hopefully I give them energy, so it’s a twoway street.”

Frese attended her first practice since the births yesterday and said she felt better than she had since the first couple months of her pregnancy.

She said she thinks her coaching role will be close to normal this weekend when the Terps open up against either Boston College or Virginia Tech on Friday.

“It felt great just to be able to get up and down the floor, to walk and to have the energy and the stamina like I did,” Frese said after practice.

“When I circled back with the team in the locker room, I had

to pause and reflect on just the fact that I can put consecutive sentences together without having to pause to breathe.”

Even the twins, Markus and Tyler, will be heading to Greensboro with the Terps, but they won’t be going to the games and likely will just stay in the team’s hotel.

Frese’s parents and inlaws are making the trip to make sure everything goes smoothly.

“We’ll have a lot of great help and support down there to allow me to be able to get to the games to coach and the practices,” Frese said. “We’ve got it all taken care of.”

And though they acknowledged assistant coach Daron Park’s excellent job filling in this season during the games and practices Frese had to miss, the Terps are thrilled to have Frese back and getting closer to full strength.

The atmosphere was defi-

nitely more spirited than usual yesterday at practice.

“What better time [for her] to come back to give us more energy,” senior forward Laura Harper said. “Now we’re just ready. We’re kind of supercharged for Coach B to be back.”

“This is probably the most focused we’ve been all season, the most energy we’ve had all season,” junior forward Marissa Coleman said.

Even the Terps’ potential opponents know what it means to have Frese back on the sidelines.

“She could give them a big boost right now, back on the sideline with them,” topseeded UNC’s coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “She’s still got that heart, still got that firepower, and I’m sure she’ll be giving it to her team this weekend.” schimmeldbk@gmail.com YUCHEN NIE–THE DIAMONDBACK

Terps coach Cathy Reese joined the team for a game for the first time this season yesterday, after missing three road games due to her pregnancy.

Baseball not looking past Coppin State FOCUS, from Page 10 second in yesterday’s practice. Regular catcher Chad Durakis was at first base while Mike Murphy was back at third, after playing second in all four games of the Hofstra series.

“I haven’t made any decisions as of yet, but there may be some things,” Rupp said about possible further defensive infield changes. “We’re gonna try a lot of different combinations.”

Even though the Terps tied a program record with 25 hits in a 27-0 win over Coppin State in last season’s first game against the Eagles and had five pitchers combine for a 12-0 no-hit win in the teams’ second game, Rupp said the Terps need to play at a high level if they want to be ready for Florida State this weekend.

“We need to play well,” Rupp said.

“We need to play against ourselves, not our opponent if we’re going to get ready for Florida State.”

His players’ echoed that message.

“You have to play every game the same no matter who you’re playing,” junior left fielder Gerry Spessard said. “Whether you’re up 20 or you’re down, every pitch you just got to play the same.” akrautdbk@gmail.com

VIRGINIA, from Page 10

JACLYN BOROWSKI–THE DIAMONDBACK

Despite starting their ACC schedule with a series against Florida State this weekend, junior infielder and pitcher Jensen Pupa and the Terps aren’t looking past their game against Coppin State tonight.

Terps learn lesson LACROSSE, from Page 9 now that they have completed that portion of the schedule, they can look back on its benefits.

Coach Dave Cottle said while right now he might be regretting loading his young team’s early season schedule with road games and leaving it light on rest, he hopes it will make his team better as the season progresses.

Freshman attackman Travis Reed, who leads the Terps with 12 goals this season, said he has had to learn to adjust his on-field communication to deal with loud, unfriendly crowds.

Sieverts said it’s a valuable lesson for the freshmen to learn.

“Right away, they saw what it’s like to travel and play in front of a hostile crowd, so I think they gained a lot of experience, which can only help them,” Sieverts said.

The rest of the schedule is more favorable for the Terps. They only hit the road three more times this season, including two trips to Baltimore, and they have six more home games starting Saturday, when they host No. 20 Towson at Ludwig Field.

That means more repeats of the

Terps control pace, draws

previously unfamiliar scene after Monday’s win. It was the Friars who loaded their equipment on the bus for a long ride home. The Terp players walked through the parking lot to head back to the team house.

The all-too-familiar black bus with the Terp logo was nowhere in sight. edetweilerdbk@gmail.com

The Terps held Virginia’s high-powered offense, averaging just over 14 goals per game entering the contest, to a season-low five. Senior goalie Allie Buote made ten saves as the Terp defense held the Cavaliers to a dismal .227 shooting percentage.

On the other side of the field, the Terps utilized a methodical offense, eating up the clock and limiting Virginia’s daunting offensive transition by slowing the pace of the game.

“In the past against Virginia, we would just run down and try to score right away,” Kasper said. “We waited for good looks and we got them.”

The tactic worked early on, as the Terps pushed out to a 4-0 lead in the first

17:12 of the game. Virginia got back into their transition game by winning the next two draws, which resulted in two quick goals and finished the first half scoring.

During the game, Dobbie guided the Terps to 11 of 15 draw controls, taking away valuable possessions from Virginia while helping the Terp offense. The Caveliers came within two goals with 16:09 to play, but Dobbie iced the game with the last of her three goals, pushing the score to 7-4.

“I was impressed with the way we played team defense today,” Reese said.

“On offense we took care of the ball, Danna on the draw — it was just a complete team effort all over the field.” bkapurdbk@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008 | SPORTS | THE DIAMONDBACK

9

Vasquez and Hayes: The Odd Couple The players themselves, however, were quick to look past the character disparity.

“He’s a regular guy,” Vasquez said. “People get it wrong because he don’t talk, but he has a pretty strong personality. He’s fun to be with, and I don’t know if he gets a lot of girls or not, but I bet he does.”

Vasquez, the perennial jokester, couldn’t resist a cheap shot at his friend and roommate but went on to ff the court, defend his comrade several Greivis Vasquez times over. He recalled an and Eric Hayes instance when the Terps are polar oppo- played Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., earlier sites.

Vasquez thrusts himself this season, and Hayes wasinto the spotlight with opin- n’t having his best game. ionated responses and vocal Senior forward James Gist outbursts. He’s emotional, went over to say something loud, outgoing and a little to Hayes, and Vasquez remembered Hayes’ reaction crazy.

Hayes, meanwhile, blends very well: “Don’t tell me anyin with his locker. He’s quiet, thing. I know what I’m doing shy and inclined to keep his wrong.”

“People don’t see him feelings to himself. “[With] Eric, once in a doing the shake-and-bake while, I have to look over in and being like me and talking practice and make sure he’s to fans, but he’s got a personthere because he never says ality,” Vasquez said. “He’s just nice to people. anything,” coach This is a guy that Gary Williams said. gives a ride to all the “Greivis is talking all freshmen on the team the time over here, in his truck. He takes and I know where he them to their dorms is. But Eric, when after practice. I’m he’s aggressive, he’s a supposed to be a biggood player. It’s just ger leader than he is, his nature; that’s just but I don’t do that.” the way he is.”

It’s hard for outBut while their persiders to find a way sonalities lie at oppoinside Hayes’ head. site ends of the specHe maintains an even trum, their beds cerkeel and often carries tainly don’t.

The the same demeanor Terps’ two starting after a win as he does guards share a South after a loss. But he Campus Commons –Eric Hayes said his roommate residence and have SOPHOMORE understands him betforged quite a unique GUARD ter than most people. relationship.

“We’re close, and “Those two guys we know each other room together,” Williams said. “That’s an pretty well,” Hayes said.

“You can tell, though, we’re amazing room.”

He smiled at the mere different people. The contrast works out well for us. He’s thought of it.

To onlookers, the bachelor outgoing, and I’m kind of a pad must seem like a sitcom keep-to-myself kind of guy, so waiting to happen. Apples it balances out.”

On the court, Hayes has and oranges. Black and white. Oil and water. Vasquez fallen into somewhat of a slump. In his last four games, and Hayes.

GEREMY BASS

O

“[Vasquez] knows the kind of person I am and what I like doing and the things I dislike.”

ADAM FRIED–THE DIAMONDBACK

Despite divergent personalities, Terp guards Greivis Vasquez (left) and Eric Hayes have formed a bond together as roommates. three of which the Terps have lost, he’s averaged just 11 points and has a 8-15 assistto-turnover ratio.

Maybe the teammate who knows him best can help him break out of this rut.

“He’s just cool to be with,” Vasquez said. “He’s a cool

player, he’s a nice guy, and the most important thing is that he’s quiet, but he’s got your back. That’s something that I really appreciate. We all make mistakes, and he hasn’t played his best lately, but I still have confidence in him. I know him.”

As different as they are, Vasquez and Hayes will surely be like-minded in their mission for the next two weeks.

“Greivis understands me pretty well,” Hayes said. “He knows the kind of person I am and what I like doing and

the things I dislike.”

Winning is something both guys like doing, and it’s become a must if they want to keep their sophomore years on the basketball court alive through March. gbassdbk@gmail.com

Offense coming ‘Born into a gymnastic family’ alive for Terps Kelsey Nelligan joined by coach and father, Bob, with Terps

BY MICHAEL KATZ SOFTBALL, from Page 10 but we toughed it out last Wednesday. Hopefully the upcoming weather will be a little more pleasant.”

Early forecasts are calling for mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the low-to-mid 50s when the Terps square off at 4 p.m. and then again at 6 against the Dukes. The weather should be significantly nicer than the near-freezing conditions that confronted the Terps when they twice dismantled UMBC last Wednesday behind the strong hitting of freshman pitcher Kerry Hickey.

In addition to Hickey’s production, the Terps’ offense as a whole has improved dramatically of late. After seven games, the Terps were averaging 3.78

runs per seven innings, but over the last seven, they have increased their production to 5.66 runs per seven innings.

“That’s what I love about this team, is that every single one of us is willing to give 110 percent in practice just to get better,” sophomore shortstop Alex Schultz said.

“That just shows they’re really accomplishing the goals they’ve set out to achieve,” Watten said. “It also shows that we’ve been getting more clutch hitting. When we see something that we feel we need to change, we’re using the right tools to do it, and the outcome is on the scoreboard.”

And now, it’s showing up in the national rankings as well. jnewmandbk@gmail.com

Staff writer

The relationship between coach and athlete is a tight one, forged during countless hours of practice, exhausting road trips and lengthy seasons. By the end of a player’s career, this bond often comes to parallel the closeness shared by parent and child.

But Kelsey Nelligan, junior cocaptain of the Terrapin gymnastics team, already had this connection with her coach before she ever set foot on the campus.

That is because Kelsey’s father, Bob Nelligan, also happens to be the Terps’ head coach.

Growing up in the Nelligan household, gymnastics was hard for Kelsey to escape. That tends to be the case when both of your parents are gymnastics coaches and your brother is on his way to captaining a college gymnastics team.

IT’S CALIFORNIA TORTILLA

MADNESS! Every Wednesday in March, buy an entrée, then make a free throw to get a FREE chips and queso. Miss and get $1 off your order. Yee-ha!

Kelsey was “always in the gym growing up,” and though she said she never felt forced into gymnastics, her involvement in the sport does not come as a surprise to anyone, least of all her father.

“Unfortunately or fortunately, whichever way you look at it, she was born into a gymnastic family,” Bob said. “No matter where she turned and where she looked, she was exposed to gymnastics.”

When it came time to look at colleges, Kelsey had plenty of options. She received numerous offers for both academics and gymnastics, but this university alone offered her scholarships for cheerleading and diving.

Ultimately, Kelsey had to follow her heart, and those at the helm of the gymnastics program played no small part in the decision.

“I always knew I wanted to come to Maryland. Just growing up and seeing the team, I always wanted to be a part of that,” Kelsey said. “The coaches obviously [were an important factor], not just because it’s my dad or my brother, but they understand gymnastics and how to relate to each athlete individually.”

The commitment pleased Bob, who noted that while he was open to other possibilities, he was happy his daughter chose to stick around College Park.

In addition to helping the team

7419 Baltimore Ave. College Park, MD 20740 (301) 927-8500

Delivery available 7 days a week.

Sunday–Thursday 11:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.

Friday–Saturday 11:00 a.m.–3:00 a.m.

Visit campusfood.com for more information.

Delivery ending a half hour prior to closing.

Dine-in only. One shot per customer. Thanks!

the rim please.

mkatzdbk@gmail.com

Men’s lacrosse started season with three road trips Senior staff writer

CALIFORNIA TORTILLA COLLEGE PARK

ence of college, Kelsey made no effort to hide the fact that she cherishes every moment spent with her dad.

In his 30th year at this university, Bob is glad he can spend so much time with his family — in addition to Kelsey, his son Brett is an assistant coach with the team.

He said coaching his daughter is far more rewarding than it is challenging.

“I have the best job in the country,” Bob said. “If you ask any head coach, they would say that their families, a lot of times, suffer in that they’re not there all the time … I have the best situation because my family is around me every day.”

For her part, Kelsey said competing for her father has not prevented her from getting the full college experience.

While much of her time is spent with the Terps at countless hours of practice and on exhausting road trips, Kelsey makes it clear that she is enjoying her time at the university just as much as her non-athlete peers.

“I still have my freedom,” Kelsey said, laughing. “It’s not like I see [my coaches] every second of my life. I see them in the gym, and I see them when I go home, but it’s not like I go home that often.”

Terps appreciate home game

BY ERIC DETWEILER

No hanging from

in the gym, Bob noted that signing Kelsey helped the Terps keep open a valuable scholarship.

Bob’s tenure at the university allowed him to send his daughter here on a full scholarship.

“We would never have held her to stay here … but there are some real plusses that she brings to the table,” said Bob, citing Kelsey’s mental toughness and leadership as indispensable qualities. “Also, we have a remission of fees because I’ve been at the university so long. I was hoping that one of my children would have an opportunity to take advantage of a great situation at Maryland.”

That they have been able to balance their personal and professional relationships in the gym is a testament to both Bob and Kelsey. During practice, Bob treats Kelsey the same as anyone else on the team, but even so, he admits he sometimes reverts back to his paternal instincts.

“I look at her first as my athlete, and the rest of my team knows that, and then I look at her secondly, as I could always say, ‘As your dad, are you OK?’” Bob said.

Kelsey appreciates her father’s business-like approach, but she does not take for granted her opportunity to spend time with him every day.

While most students relish the opportunity to leave home and enjoy the newfound independ-

For Terrapin men’s lacrosse junior midfielder Jeremy Sieverts, the Terps’ home opener with its 3 p.m. Monday start time felt a little bit like he was back in high school.

Although Sieverts wasn’t used to the weekday, mid-afternoon game, he wasn’t complaining. He was just happy to be home.

After opening up the season with three road trips, a home game was exactly what the young

Terps needed.

“It’s kind of nice not having to travel,” Sieverts said. “Even going out to Mount St. Mary’s was a couple of hours on the bus, so it was nice not having to get up early and travel.”

Avoiding the bus was a positive for the Terps, who were still a little worn out from the five-hour-eachway trip to Duke for Saturday’s game, freshman defender Max Schmidt said. They also had shorter trips to Georgetown and Mount St. Mary’s earlier this season.

The Terps kicked off the home portion of their season with a 13-5 win over Providence at Ludwig Field. A crowd of 679 took advantage of an unseasonably warm afternoon and free admission to the game for everyone.

“It was definitely good to open up at home and kinda get my bearings,” freshman defender Schmidt said. “As a freshman, it was nice to see all the fans out here.”

The good part for the Terps is

Please See LACROSSE, Page 8

10

THE DIAMONDBACK | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008

Associated Press Women’s College Basketball Poll Top 10

Sports

School 1. Connecticut 2. North Carolina 3. Tennessee 4. Rutgers 5. TERRAPINS

Record (29-1) (27-2) (27-2) (24-5) (29-2)

Prev.

1 2 3 4 5

School 6. Stanford 7. LSU 8. Baylor 9. Notre Dame 10. California

Record (27-3) (25-4) (24-4) (23-7) (24-5)

Prev.

7 6 8 14 9

Terps topple Cavaliers No. 5 women’s lacrosse knocks off No. 5 Virginia behind Dobbie, strong defensive performance game. It’s huge. They are a great team and a great opponent; we really worked hard The usually free-flowing and it’s paying off right now.”

The win couldn’t have come offense slowed down to a methodical pace, the tough at a better time. The Terps sufinside defense suffocated the fered a heart-wrenching lastopposition and at the end of the minute loss to Duke on Saturgame, the Terrapin women’s day, but showed no signs of a lacrosse team celebrated like it repeat.

“This was a huge game comwas 2003. ing off Duke,” senior Playing at home for midfielder Dana Dobthe first time this seabie said. “We know son, the No. 5 Terps what we did to let that (3-1, 2-1 ACC) by LACROSSE slip through our finupsetting No. 2 Virginia (3-1, 1-1), 8-5, TERRAPINS. . . . . . . . . . 8 gers. We played discisnapping an eight- Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 plined, and that was the difference today.” game losing streak to The Terps would not allow the Cavaliers in the process.

“It’s so exciting. We haven’t their struggles with fouls and beat them in the four years I clock management against have been here,” senior mid- Duke haunt them. The Terps fielder Kelly Kasper said. “We limited their fouls to a seasonwere confident and on our low 16, and allowed just three BRIAN KAPUR Staff writer

YUCHEN NIE–THE DIAMONDBACK

Senior midfielder Kelly Kasper and the Terps beat Virginia for the first time since 2003 last night.

Baseball working on focus Terps trying to take season one game at a time

BY AARON KRAUT Senior staff writer

Coppin State, today’s Terrapin baseball opponent, doesn’t normally threaten any team it plays, especially an ACC team like the Terps.

After going 0-44 last season, including two blowout losses at the hands of the Terps, the Eagles have started this year 0-8 and are giving up an average of 15.6 runs per game.

But if you ask Terrapin players about preparing for today’s match-

Terps vs. Coppin State Where: Shipley Field When: Today, 4 p.m.

TV/Radio: WMUCsports.com

up, they’ll tell you straight-faced how important it is to be focused and playing their best.

“Anyone can beat any team on any given day,” junior infielder and pitcher Jensen Pupa said. “We can’t look forward to Florida State on the weekend. We have business to take care of [today].”

“We saw what can happen when you come out flat,” senior center fielder Nick Jowers said in reference to last week’s loss to Towson.

“We’re not thinking about anything else right now, we’re going into it just like any other game.”

The concern for not being focused can be traced back to Sunday’s 6-5 loss to Hofstra, when the Terps failed at bunting base runners over three separate times, including the bottom of the ninth inning with runners on first and second, no outs and down a run.

At the end of yesterday’s practice , coach Terry Rupp had his hitters work on bunting during a batting practice session.

“We missed big opportunities on Sunday,” said Rupp. “I just

Softball cracks top-25 national poll No. 25 Terps make first top-25 poll since end of 1999 season

BY JEFF NEWMAN Staff writer

The Terrapin softball team heads into today’s doubleheader against James Madison as a ranked team for the first time since the last poll of the 1999 season, when the Terps finished 51-23.

The Terps debuted at No. 25 in this week’s USA Today/NFCA poll, one spot behind Virginia Tech, the highest-ranked ACC team. The Terps replaced North Carolina on the list as the ACC’s second representative.

“Focus is why we’re doing so well,” coach Laura Watten said.

“If we don’t worry about rankings or record or anything else and just keep playing like we are, I think we’ll learn a lot and continue to be successful.”

The Terps (13-1) are 5-2 alltime against JMU, but both losses came in the last two matchups: two 2-0 defeats in 2006. On paper, the Dukes (7-5) don’t boast as impressive a resumé of some of the Terps’ earlier opponents such as Michigan or Central Florida, but the Terps know that with success comes attention, and that they can ill afford to underestimate teams.

“We don’t take any team lightly,” junior pitcher Meredith Nelles said. “We’re going to keep the same intensity that we

Terps vs. James Madison Where: Robert E. Taylor Stadium When: Today, 4, 6 p.m.

TV/Radio: WMUCsports.com have against the really hard teams.”

“We know we have to keep up our momentum up,” senior outfielder Jenny Belak said.

“We’re not going to ease up and think we can beat everyone. We know we have to keep attacking just as hard as we have all the other teams we played.”

Although excited to kick off a two-week, 14-game homestand, the Terps have mixed feelings on returning from the warm, sunny fields of Florida back to the brisk, windy conditions of College Park.

“I’m excited to finally have our own fans coming out to see us play instead of just our parents,” Belak said. “The weather’s going to be a little bit chillier than it is [in Florida],

Please See SOFTBALL, Page 9

thought we needed to work on it, so we were putting the emphasis on getting the bunts down.”

After Sunday’s loss, Rupp also cited defensive miscues that have plagued the Terp infield all season as an area for improvement.

It’s possible that Rupp will reshuffle the infield positioning for a third time in today’s game.

Pupa, who normally plays first when not pitching, worked out at

Please See FOCUS, Page 8

free-position-shots, none of which Virginia converted. The Terps also played a successful game of keep away, eating up the majority of the clock, after Virginia’s final goal with 9:05 to play.

“Making smarter choices, better decisions, taking better care of the ball, helping out teammates,” coach Cathy Reese said. “We did a better job of that tonight.”

The win extended the Terps’ home winning streak to ten, dating back to last season. The Terps had an added homefield advantage, because for the first time this season, the Terps had Reese on the sideline. Reese had missed the previous three games, all on the road, because of her pregnancy.

Please See VIRGINIA, Page 8