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A LAST HURRAH THINK INC. Terps fall to Tar Heels, ending 2011-12 season SPORTS | PAGE 10

University improv group wins big in Chicago DIVERSIONS | PAGE 8

THE DIAMONDBACK Our 102ND Year, No. 107

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Monday, March 12, 2012

Student threatens ‘shooting rampage’ online Oakland Hall resident placed in psychiatric care after allegedly posting ‘threatening’ messages on websites

BY YASMEEN ABUTALEB AND ERIN EGAN Senior staff writers

After a student allegedly posted on the Internet Saturday that he would go on “a shooting rampage” on the campus, University Police suspended the Oakland Hall resident from the university and placed him in psychiatric care, police Chief David Mitchell said.

Alexander Song — a 19-year-old from Fulton, Md. — allegedly posted the following messages on Reddit.com and Omegle.com (a one-on-one anonymous text or video chat site) Saturday: “I

will be on a shooting rampage tomorrow on campus,” “stay away from the Mall tomorrow at 1:30” and “hopefully I kill enough people to make it to national news,” according to police.

An alumnus who worked as a police aide during his time at the university and several others who chatted with Song online alerted police Saturday night to the threats, according to university President Wallace Loh. The police department collaborated with this university’s Office of Information Technology and “worked all night” to identify where the threats on the Internet were coming from, Loh said.

Plus/minus grading plans move forward

ALEXANDER SONG

University Police found Song at about 10 a.m. yesterday near Cumberland Hall, and he was unarmed, according to University Police spokesman Capt.

Marc Limansky.

Song will be placed in psychiatric care, and police have obtained a warrant

charging him with disturbing the orderly conduct of this university — a crime punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 or up to six months of imprisonment, Mitchell said. Police said they did not find any weapons when they searched his Oakland Hall dorm room.

Police heard from “a variety of people who read online” that Song was a threat, Mitchell added.

“The dialogue that he put out there caused us to think that time was of the essence,” Mitchell said. “We called in every detective. It

see THREAT, page 2

A SMOKING HOT HISTORY

BY JIM BACH Staff writer

Despite student leaders’ efforts to petition the process by which the University Senate voted to implement a plus-and-minus grading system, university officials said they are well on track to have the new grading policy in place by this fall.

Although members of the Student Government Association garnered nearly 2,000 petition signatures from students that felt the senate did not receive enough student input before deciding to forge ahead with such a policy, Provost Ann Wylie sent an

In 1982, an unknown person set fire to the Grand Ballroom Lounge, prompting the university to adopt stricter fire safety enforcement regulations. PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES ROBINSON

see GRADING, page 2

Accomplice in student’s death given 15 years Police say Weaver drove getaway car

BY REBECCA LURYE Senior staff writer

Stephan Weaver, the man who served as the getaway driver in the January 2011 murder of a 22year-old university student, was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday.

Judge Cathy Serrette sen- STEPHAN tenced the 23- WEAVER year-old Bowie resident at Prince George’s County Circuit Court on charges of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and the illegal use of a handgun. Weaver, who pled guilty, drove the getaway car after 24-year-old Deandre Ricardo

see SENTENCING, page 2 TOMORROW’S WEATHER:

Arson in Stamp Student Union’s Grand Ballroom 30 years ago sparked fire safety changes on the campus

BY QUINN KELLEY Staff writer

This past Saturday marked the 30th anniversary of the fire that destroyed the original university Grand Ballroom at the Stamp Student Union — an event which university officials said lastingly reshaped fire safety and protection on this campus.

At about 8:15 p.m. on March 10, 1982, an unknown person intentionally set fire to the Grand Ballroom Lounge in what was then called

the Maryland Student Union, according to Life Safety Systems Assistant Director James Robinson. As the flames spread to the Grand Ballroom, the fire alarm system failed to alert everyone in the building of the emergency, and it took fire personnel 45 minutes to put out the flames because they had difficulty reaching the room — the windows were on the second floor and the patio now located on the east side of the building did not yet exist, Robinson said.

see FIRE, page 3

At forum, some staff say campus abuse persists Justice at Maryland members outline six ‘demands’ for administrators to follow

BY CHAD SINCLAIR Staff writer

EDITOR’S NOTE: Several sources in this story requested their names be withheld due to fear of retribution for speaking against employers.

It’s been almost one year since tales of alleged workplace abuse between managers and employees at this university began pouring out. At least three rallies, six forums and one 62-page report later, employees said this culture of fear still persists.

“They treat us like dogs,” one Hispanic housekeeper said at the town hall forum sponsored by the student-

AM Rain/70s

run organization Justice at Maryland.

More than 100 students, faculty and community members listened in Nyumburu Cultural Center to the emotionally charged testimony from more than a dozen Facilities Management and Residential Facilities employees who told stories of verbal, psychological, xenophobia, sexual and racial abuse, and other alleged incidents. During the two-hour forum — the first of this semester — Justice at Maryland members outlined six “demands” the university should meet.

These include encouraging disciplinary action against those who dis-

INDEX

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

More than 100 community members attended Friday’s Justice at Maryland forum held in the Nyumburu Cultural Center. SU HONG/FOR THE DIAMONDBACK

courage staff from filing grievances, offering more basic computer skills training classes, increasing opportunities for promotions, revising the current accountability system, escorting and dropping off employees who

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

DIVERSIONS . . . . .8 SPORTS . . . . . . . . .10

work the early shifts and re-evaluting the criteria to qualify to attend English as a second language classes.

“We will never stop fighting for

see FORUM, page 3

www.diamondbackonline.com

2

THE DIAMONDBACK | NEWS | MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012

SENTENCING from page 1

Williams allegedly attempted to rob and then shot Justin DeSha-Overcash in his College Park home.

Weaver conspired with Williams in an attempt to rob DeSha-Overcash, a senior astronomy and physics major who did not know the defendants, according to a Washington Post article.

Williams allegedly shot DeShaOvercash twice in the abdomen

GRADING from page 1 email to the university community Friday that said it will go into place beginning in fall 2012. Because many of this university’s peer institutions already have a plus-and-minus grading system, Wylie said it was crucial that this university remain competitive.

“I think that we are almost alone now as an institution who didn’t give the pluses or minuses or counted them,” she said.

Currently, students are allotted the same numerical value for each variation of a letter grade.

Under the new policy, students will be awarded an additional .3 points for a plus and .3 fewer points for a minus — for example, a B+ will be worth 3.3 points while a B- will be worth 2.7 points.

While the original legislation stipulated an A+ would be worth 4.3 points, it was revised so it is now only worth 4 points.

The senate approved similar legislation in December 2005, but the provost’s office delayed implementation because the uni-

COMEDY from page 8

“I don’t know if it’s as much to preserve my sanity for me as much to preserve my insanity. It’s just great to have a supportive, enthusiastic, goofy, weird group of people and environment that push you. You’re out in the world, and nobody else seems like they’re having any fun, so it’s

and then left the scene in a car Weaver drove.

Karen DeSha, the victim’s mother, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, had asked Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Homicide Chief Wesley Adams for leniency on Weaver’s behalf, she said.

Robert Bonsib, Weaver’s attorney, said Weaver’s sentence was a harsh punishment.

“The whole case is a very sad and tragic situation, and you have three young lives that have been forever altered,” Bonsib said. “Mr.

Weaver is a great young man who made some very poor judgments.”

“But he has strong family support and hopefully he’ll make a positive use of his time incarcerated,” Bonsib added.

Williams has been found guilty of first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and first-degree assault and is scheduled to be sentenced April 20. Williams pled “not guilty statement of facts” Feb. 10 and faces up to 30 to 60 years in prison.

versity was in the midst of overhauling its general education program. After a student requested the senate revisit the issue in 2010, the senate’s Academic Procedures and Standards Committee revised it in October. It then moved to the full senate, where the body voted to approve it despite outcry from student senators and SGA leaders.

Some students, including freshman psychology major Kristen Roberts, said although the policy may provide students with an advantage in some circumstances, it has more potential to lower students’ GPAs. “I think if you get an A you should get an A; you shouldn’t get less just for doing a little bit less,” she said. “It has its advantages, but there are more disadvantages.”

While some students and SGA members said the policy is unfair and will ultimately harm students’ chances at getting jobs and applying to graduate school, Wylie said the change was necessary, especially because graduate schools already assess GPAs based on the new scale.

But SGA Director of Govern-

mental Affairs Zach Cohen said students should have had more of a voice in discussions revolving around implementing the new grading standard.

“This is why we come to college, and students would have appreciated more input on the issue,” he said.

Several university task forces studied the impact the new policy would have on students’ grades and ultimately found it would only change GPAs by an average of .03 points.

“We couldn’t find any impact that was greater than that,” Wylie said.

But Graduate Student Government president Anna Bedford said the policy could negatively affect graduate students attempting to stay in good standing and avoid academic probation, since a B- will be worth 2.7 points, rather than 3 points.

“In order to be in good standing with graduate school you need to have a 3.0,” she said. “Obviously with the shift that makes it a little tighter.”

nice to surround myself with people who have fun all the time.” — Whiting “I can’t not do it. I went on winter break, and I was itching. When I discovered it in high school, it was such a cool thing, that there was this whole theater form that scratched my performance bug but ignored my nervous tic.

Since then, it’s almost been therapeutic. I’m graduating in May, and I don’t know what’s going to hap-

lurye@umdbk.com

Alexander Song, a 19-year-old Oakland Hall resident, posted on the Internet Saturday that he would go on a shooting rampage on the campus Sunday afternoon. FILE PHOTO/THE DIAMONDBACK

bach@umdbk.com

pen. I can’t stop. I’m addicted.” — Kasten

Some of the members of Erasable Inc. have specific roles — Whiting and Herder are the creative directors, Kasten is the business director and Latta is the treasurer — but there is little sense of a hierarchy.

Some have more theater experience than others,

THREAT from page 1 was a spider web of information that we have to work backwards from.”

The department posted a press release about the incident on their website at about 8:55 p.m. yesterday followed by a crime alert to the university community at about 11:30 p.m.

Song’s roommate, Brian Barnett, said he did not know about the threatening messages online until he was unexpectedly awoken at about 8:30 a.m. yesterday to police banging on his door.

“They were looking for my roommate; they didn’t tell me any information, just asked questions about what I knew,

“We’re creating worlds here and having so much fun together.”

GEOFF LITTLE ERASABLE INC. MEMBER

and some have none at all. It doesn’t matter.

and I didn’t know anything,” the sophomore biology and psychology major said. “I know he’s been stressed recently, but that’s all I know. I assumed it was schoolwork.”

Loh, who was in Los Angeles at the time of the incident, said although police and university departments quickly mobilized to respond to the threats, he plans to meet with officials across the campus to review the university’s safety procedures and see if the guidelines can be improved.

“I think this is an occasion to review what we have done, and they really prevented what could have been a tragedy,” Loh said. “Let’s have a meeting to see if there are further improvements we can make and to make sure that if this should ever happen again, we

“We’re creating worlds here and having so much fun together,” Little said.

“You can’t reach a pinnacle of how much fun you’re having because you’re constantly creating new stuff and having new experiences. It’s always fresh, and like Maddie said, it’s always safe.”

It’s difficult to blank, they say. Or you can pretend that blanking is what you’re supposed to do.

The fact that there are no

scripted lines makes it easier because there is no pressure to remember what you planned to say — you haven’t planned to say anything.

“You’re playing pretend like you did when you were a kid, and now you’re an adult, and you still get to do it,” Kasten said. “If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong.” mcfischer@umdbk.com

have a successful outcome, that is, preventing a tragic situation from happening.”

Some Oakland Hall residents said the incident was unnerving.

“When we’re having police barge in here, I don’t feel safe,” said Bobby Lanar, a sophomore classics major. “I spent most of the day trying to figure out who it was and why it happened.”

But other students said since police have taken care of the situation, they feel more secure on the campus.

“I’m glad my door locks from the outside,” said Jaclyn Weisz, a sophomore biology major. “It’s freaky, but it’s done now.” abutaleb@umdbk.com, egan@umdbk.com

FREE CLASSIFIEDS Run your classified for 4 consecutive days and receive the 5th day FREE! Call 314-8000 for more information.

MONDAY, MARCH 12 2012 | NEWS | THE DIAMONDBACK

FORUM from page 1 these workers until these demands are met because their voices are trying to be silenced by the university administration,” Justice at Maryland member Tim Baldauf-Lenschen said.

“It is up to us to be there for them and speak up for them.”

After a six-month-long investigation by the university’s Human Resources Working Group, Provost Ann Wylie released a 62-page report in September that consisted of nine recommendations designed to create a better environment for the workplace that an anonymous letter last year called a “labor camp.” Recommendations include crafting a better grievance-reporting system, emphasizing new open positions, providing more ESOL classes and implementing a new LaborManagement Problem Solving Committee.

Another Hispanic housekeeper who spoke at the forum Friday said she submitted her resignation last week because she was forced to clean three buildings by herself.

The common comment many employees — especially the

3

housekeepers — made was that some of their co-workers who face abuse choose to stay silent in fear of losing their jobs.

Residential Facilities worker Ralph Hamme — who said management gave him the “runaround” when he asked for time off in order to care for his ailing wife in December — said it’s important to overcome that fear for the sake of saving others from the abuse.

“If you don’t stand up and fight, [management] will take advantage of you,” Hamme said.

“You’re really nothing to them.”

One Hispanic housekeeper said she’s faced punishment for vocalizing complaints. Her boss told her co-workers she was “problematic” because she spoke out against the injustices and then gave her a second building to clean on top of the one for which she was already responsible, she said.

The testimony of alleged abuse extended past this campus to other University System of Maryland campuses.

David Tracy, a residential facilities worker from the Shady Grove campus, said he filed three grievances against his boss for verbal abuse — one case allegedly took place in front of students. Another time, he

CORRECTION Due to an editing error, Friday’s article “Unionization bill pulled from the Senate” incorrectly stated that graduate assistants and adjunct faculty members will have to pay dues under the meet and confer process.

said, he was forced to work on an icy roof — with no protective equipment — and was withheld pay for three months.

Greg Johnson — president of the campus chapter of the worker’s rights union American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — said he tried for four months to get a meeting with university President Wallace Loh to discuss the alleged abuse.

About three weeks ago, he met with Loh, who listened “very carefully” during their one-hour meeting. Johnson said he sent Loh more grievances on Thursday to use as evidence that incidents are still occurring.

Justice at Maryland member Nisa Williams said it’s time for students to stand up for the rights of the university employees.

“Workers rights are human rights and natural rights,” the senior English and history major said. “This is our time, and we have to act.”

Baldauf-Lenschen said remaining silent is not an option.

“This is not something that you can just choose to ignore,” he said.

“If you do, you become part of the problem … because you are enabling the abuse to continue.” sinclair@umdbk.com

FIRE from page 1 While no one in the building was injured that day, two firefighters suffered minor injuries, and fire officials never found or charged anyone in connection to

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D E V L O V N I T E G O T T N WA DIAMONDBACK

WITH THE TIONS A IC L B U P T N E D U T S R E AND OTH

?

K IC L A E IT R W ’T N A C BUT

STUDENT MEMBER WANTED FOR STUDENT PUBLICATIONS' BOARD

!

D E D N E T X E E N I L D DEA 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 in May, 2012. The Board meets about once a month during the school year.

For an application, stop by room 3136 South Campus Dining Hall and ask for Maggie Levy.

Applications are due

by Thursday, March 15th at noon.

At Friday’s forum in Nyumburu Cultural Center, several staff members said workplace abuse is still an issue, despite attempts by the administration to fix the problems. SU HONG/FOR THE DIAMONDBACK

the fire, Robinson said.

Stamp Associate Director Steve Gnadt still remembers how quickly news of the fire spread across the country 30 years ago.

“I was at a campus in North Carolina and we knew about it really the next day,” Gnadt said.

And Robinson said the incident was a wake-up call to university officials about fire safety issues in campus buildings.

“I think the [Stamp] student union fire was one of the primary movers in getting the attention of the administration,” he said.

Robinson said staff members were already experiencing issues with Stamp’s alarm system when he first began working as a student fire safety employee in 1975 — seven years before the fire. He added the building’s sprinkler system was made up of three connected systems that triggered one another, one from the original 1954 construction and two from the additions made to the building in the ‘60s

and ‘70s.

Stamp Director Marsha Guenzler-Stevens said the incident also drew attention to workplace safety because a construction worker fell from a tall ladder while working on the ballroom’s renovation after the fire.

Today, Stamp features a stateof-the-art fire alarm and detection system as well as a detailed fire evacuation plan.

“Fire safety in general in public buildings has changed a lot over 30 years,” Gnadt said.

University officials have also seen a dramatic increase in sprinklers and fire alarm systems across the campus. Today, 10.5 million square feet of the campus has sprinkler protection compared to the two million square feet of protection in 1982, and all residence halls are now completely sprinkler protected, Robinson said. He added Facilities Management officials will soon work to replace and update all the university’s sprinkler and fire alarm sys-

tems with the goal of making the campus 100 percent sprinklerprotected.

Because of these measures, Robinson said it is unlikely another fire of that magnitude will occur again on this campus.

“We are in much better condition now than we were in 1982,” Robinson said. “The probability is greatly diminished because of the work we’ve done over the past three or four decades.”

However, Guenzler-Stevens said while the Grand Ballroom was renovated and reopened a year after the fire, a significant part of the university’s history had been burnt to ashes.

“That ballroom hosts a number of really significant campus-wide traditional events, so just as if there was a fire in the ballroom now, we’d have a lot of memories,” Guenzler-Stevens said. “For a lot of folks, it was really tugging on the heartstrings.” kelley@umdbk.com

4

THE DIAMONDBACK | MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012

0pinion

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OPINION EDITOR

ASSISTANT OPINION EDITOR

Staff editorial

Guest column

AFT caught in the act

The need for charter schools

G

raduate Student Government representatives were set to testify to kill the collective bargaining legislation, system officials approached before the Senate Finance Committee last Thursday in favor of a O’Malley’s offer with a meet and confer-proposal. After discussions between bill that would finally allow them to collectively bargain — a right the two offices, O’Malley then brought in AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta graduate students at this university have been working toward for Johnson, who has a long-standing professional relationship with the Goveryears. Their testimonies were prepared; they were ready to tell state legisla- nor. Johnson then went back and forth with state officials on the document’s tors exactly how difficult it is to negotiate with administrators on critical language — such as whether or not to include tenured-track faculty members in the agreement, which it eventually excluded — issues such as wages, parental leave and grievance-filuntil all three parties agreed on the current meet and ing procedures. confer agreement.

Unfortunately, at the last moment, graduate students Meanwhile, graduate students and adjuncts — the were denied the opportunity to testify. It seems Univer- If the American Federation ones who will be the most affected by these decisions sity System of Mar yland officials became ner vous of Teachers had graduate — were nowhere at the negotiating table, prompting these truthful testimonies would embarrass the univerPresident Anna Bedford to cr y foul. sity, so they struck a deal with Gov. Martin O’Malley: If students’ best interests at GSG According to AFT–Mar yland Organizer John Monthe state pulled the Senate bill — effectively killing the heart, it would have roe, the union has been actively working toward securlegislation for a year and ensuring pesky things like the ing collective bargaining rights for graduate students truth would be squelched from public hearings — the included them in critical at this university since 2008. In an inter view with the system would agree to offer graduate assistants and editorial board yesterday, Monroe said he sympathizes adjunct professors a watered-down form of collective negotiations. with Bedford’s concerns about being left out of the bargaining known as meet and confer.

Establishing a meet and confer process is only a step in the right direction process, noting that AFT’s commitment has always been ensuring graduate for these constituents looking to unionize. Under the new protocol, both assistants “have a seat at the table for how decisions are being made that graduate assistants and adjunct faculty can create independent bodies rep- eventually affect students.”

While it does seem like AFT representatives were tr ying to act in graduresented by a union. Although university administrators still aren’t obligated to negotiate with these bodies, the process at least gives graduate ate assistants’ best interest by negotiating for them, AFT was also negotiatassistants and adjunct faculty members’ concerns more credence and rep- ing in its own best interest. Because the union has such a long-standing hisresentation. Administrators don’t have to agree to their terms, but they at tor y on the campus, its role in last week’s negotiations all but solidified this university as AFT’s territor y. least have to listen to them.

If that is truly the case, then AFT representatives should have paused This editorial board supports giving these constituents a meet and confer process — it’s the least the university can do for the employees who ser ve for a moment during negotiations to run the proposals by graduate stuas the institution’s integral academic support structure. However, we have dents. Yes, the union helped secure these long-sought rights, but they did serious concerns over how the meet and confer-agreement was made: so by going behind graduate students’ backs. AFT’s sentiment seems to Instead of asking graduate students for their input, the system and O’Mal- largely be, “Don’t worr y, we know what’s best. We’ll take care of it.” They ley chose to negotiate with the American Federation of Teachers, the union might have helped negotiate a meet and confer agreement, but AFT shouldn’t be surprised if it gets treated with the same cold shoulder it gave that will presumably represent graduate students.

From what this editorial board gathers, this is how it went down: Wanting to graduate students.

Our View

Editorial cartoon: Eun Jeon

The questions around Kony Ineffectual ‘clicktivism’ Simplifying the issue

I

nvisible Children’s Kony 2012 video begins like this: “The next 27 minutes are an experiment. But in order for it to work, you have to pay attention.” And we did.

Armed with over 70 million YouTube views and a worldwide-trending #StopKony hashtag, we became armchair activists. We criticized Kony. We criticized the Kony movement. We criticized the criticizers of the Kony movement. In this process, we became nothing more than experimental subjects swept up by an unrelenting emotional tide of anger and disgust — sucked deeply and quickly into the pangs of propaganda and sensationalism. The tragedy of Kony 2012 thus lies not merely in the prevalence of social injustice, but more importantly, in our flawed click-and-flick understanding of activism. This is not about Invisible Children’s questionable financial forays, the policy behind Ugandan conflict or the effectiveness of proposed solutions; this is about our responsibility as active participators in social media.

The party line is that awareness leads to action. But all too often, that action is simply more activity in the media sphere. Kony 2012 does not espouse awareness; it arouses emotion and in this arousal, our research, our thinking and our legitimate understanding take a backseat as emotion drives the discussion forward. In this oversimplification, the video creates a false sense of empowerment, drawing away from sustained and systematic personal investigation. I can discuss disability rights until my face turns blue; however, words alone cannot create change. Expect your actions to do so — words are a mere conduit for meaningful information. Issues of such complexity and international concern require more than just a “please spread this everywhere” mountain-cry, set off in caps and complemented by an assortment of exclamation marks. It mandates careful and collective questioning: Why is Kony resurfacing now? What is this organization’s purpose? What kinds of evidence does the movie portray? Is sending 100 military advisers the most effective solution?

FATIMAH WASEEM The ever-changing and multitudinous bastion of information on the Internet must give rise to skeptics (who, in contrast to cynics, have hope for change).

And how long will it last? The Kony affair illustrates the ephemeral nature of social media activism or ‘clicktivism.’

Social media seem incapable of sustaining prolonged engagement with an issue. Invisible Children utilizes social media effectively, but the idea that popular opinion can be leveraged with viral marketing to induce foreign military intervention is dangerous. It is immoral to sell a sanitized version of the issue — it is folly to like, share and retweet without asking questions. Otherwise, our Facebook posts threaten to remain in books. Our Twitter trends threaten to become trends, popular one day and out the next.

By all means, listening to the people whose lives are being affected is the first and most important step, but let’s go beyond the click — that is the kind of awareness campaign I can support.

The video was 27 minutes — 27 minutes of research would have made a world of difference. We owe that much to the Ugandan people. We owe that much to ourselves.

We have a right to care, but we must never shrink ourselves into the thinking that sharing a Facebook post or spending $30 plus shipping and handling for a Kony 2012 action kit makes us part of the solution to anything. Meanwhile, Syria continues to be shelled, and hundreds of civilians continue to die in factionalized and sustained conflict. Stop Syria, anyone? The key lies in the question mark.

Fatimah Waseem is a freshman neurobiology and physiology and journalism major. She can be reached at waseem@umdbk.com.

T

he Kony 2012 campaign has been one of the most smashingly successful instances of viral marketing in recent history. Right now, postings riddle Facebook newsfeeds, all marveling at the evil of Joseph Kony and his army of child soldiers. People who watch the video are encouraged to give money to Invisible Children, a charity that has tasked itself with killing this man and ending his reign of terror. The energy around this campaign is almost giddy in its single-minded bloodlust — kill Kony and the problems of Central-East Africa will dissipate. I hate to break it to all of you, but killing Kony will not make peace. It turns out reality is not Manichaean and simple solutions to complex problems are doomed to failure.

This is not to say that Kony is not a vile individual. He is. The campaign to stop him is just ridiculous.

It starts with the organization funding Kony 2012. Invisible Children is a non-profit, and roughly a third of the money it acquires is spent on aiding militar y and para-militar y forces in Uganda. In its quest to find a way to kill Kony, Invisible Children is funding a few rather unpleasant and violent organizations with noted histories of rape and violence. Through advertising, it is also attempting to force the countr y to bolster efforts to kill Kony, such as sending 100 militar y “advisers” to Uganda. This is both troubling and worthless. There have been multiple attempts to kill Kony by U.S. or U.S.-backed forces in the region. All have failed, and all have led to bloody reprisals and increased violence. The attempt to end Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army has so far only contributed rather than limiting it.

There are actual implications for specific actions in the real world, and none of them are simple at the socio-political level. I think the question we should be asking is

TOM BRADTKE what the people in that region want.

Coincidentally, Invisible Children’s video does not ask this question. It actually spends more time with one of the filmmakers’ children than it does actual Ugandans. These are the words of an actual Ugandan regarding the Kony 2012 campaign: “Have they thought of the consequences? Making Kony ‘famous’ could make him stronger. Arguing for more U.S. troops could make him scared, and make him abduct more children, or go on the offensive.” Hardly supportive.

The situation in northern Uganda right now is complicated. Ugandans are not interested in a campaign of massive violence to hunt down Kony.

It will kill a whole lot of them, and it will kill a whole lot of their children that were taken by the LRA. Furthermore, the Kony 2012 campaign focuses on northern Uganda as the epicenter of violence and shows it as the key to stopping Kony. This is factually untrue — there have not been LRA attacks in that region since 2006, and Kony is no longer even in Uganda. I have no idea how killing Kony is going to end the LRA or the violence. The problem for the entire region is not the paramilitary organizations; it is the complete lack of stable governments. Central and East Africa are replete with fragile postcolonial governments, weak and easily exploitable economies and poor populations. The cure for the disease is not merely treating the symptoms.

These are the issues that should be addressed, and they are not simple.

Nothing ever is.

Tom Bradtke is a senior history major. He can be reached at bradtke@umdbk.com.

I

f you attend this university, chances are you had access to an excellent education growing up. Chances are you went to a nice public school or — if the public schools in your hometown were low-performing — your family managed to send you to a private school. And chances are whenever you drove through a low-income area growing up, your parents rolled up the car windows, locked the doors and told you to “count your blessings.”

You likely looked around, continued on to your destination, and never looked back.

However, the reality is that children live in those areas. They and their families are trapped, and without access to a quality education, their chances of having better futures are slim to none.

The prevailing ideology in the United States from about 20 years ago was students from lowincome backgrounds in urban and rural school districts could not perform at the same levels as their suburban counterparts.

Now we know that isn’t true — and we have a slew of examples in which students in the most high-need areas are excelling.

And the vast majority of these examples come from students at charter schools.

Charter schools are publiclyfunded, and operate autonomously from their school districts. They are not forced to abide by the restrictive laws and contracts that hinder teachers’ and schools’ abilities to adequately educate their students. However, this past year, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools ranked this state 40 out of 41 among states with public charter school laws. The current law lacks accountability, with unclear standards for performance and renewal; it severely limits autonomy, forcing charters to abide by the local school laws and hire district employees, and it treats charters inequitably in regards to facilities and resources. Despite these setbacks, 18 charters across the state ranked in the top 20 in elementary, middle and high school rankings released last week by MarylandCAN — a nonprofit advocacy group committed to ensuring every student in this state has access to a great public school.

However, with charters as only 3.5 percent of the state’s public schools, families who cannot afford private schools have no choice but to send their children to the neighborhood schools, many of which have been failing students for decades. It doesn’t take much to see that something doesn’t add up.

It is 2012, and equal opportunity is still not a reality for Mar ylanders. It kills me to think that, just a few miles from this campus, there are young students who will never have the same opportunity I have. Until this state steps up and gives parents more choices in where their students attend school, the situation is unlikely to improve. Our children deser ve better. As college students, we have an incredible chance to provide them with a better tomorrow. We need to reach out to our delegates and senators and push them to stand up for an overhaul of this state’s charter school law.

Many have called education reform the civil rights movement of our generation — and they’re right. Despite all of the forces working against us, there is a growing movement of families, educators and students crusading to make the American Dream a reality for ever yone — regardless of their racial, ethnic or socioeconomic background. Our children will read about this in their histor y textbooks. It’s time to stand up and join the fight.

To find out more about how you can get involved in advocating for change in this state — or your home state — join Students For Education Reform at this university. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/SFERumd, and attend our biweekly meetings at 7 p.m. on Thursdays to take part in advocacy projects and gain access to a national internship database. For more on MarylandCAN, visit the website at marylandcan.org.

Ryan Heisinger is a junior English and history major. He is the founder and president of Students For Education Reform. He can be reached at ryanheisinger91@gmail.com.

POLICY: Signed letters, columns and cartoons represent 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.

MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012 | THE DIAMONDBACK

5

Features HOROSCOPESTELLA WILDER

CROSSWORD 31 Comic swamp critter 34 James or Kett 36 NFL players 37 — la vie!

38 He overthrew Galba

39 41 43 46 49

Bygone tyrant Glitches Quaking tree Treated unfairly Travel downer (2 wds.)

51 Hitching posts?

52 Blacktopped 53 “Hasta —, amigo!”

54 Actress Samantha — 55 Eddy or Allman

ACROSS 58 Exceedingly dignified 1 Coffee variety 59 Harmless 6 Music’s 64 First-magnitude Fitzgerald star 10 Pan’s opposite 65 Chair parts 14 Wedding 67 Sports venue acquisition 68 “A Summer (hyph.)

Place” star 15 Where heather 69 Fit to — — grows 70 Social positions 16 Geishas’ apparel 71 Gilded 17 Squirrel away 72 Flits about 18 Hip joint 73 G n’ R guitarist 19 Car-wheel lock 20 Groves DOWN 22 Horse’s gear 1 Gen. category 24 Syngman 2 Latch — of Korea 3 Peal of thunder 25 In a row 4 Hinged closer 26 “The Jungle 5 Give it — — Book” hero 6 Show host 30 Made haste 32 Kyrgyzstan range 7 Biggest, as a shirt 33 Apollo’s mother 8 Deli salmon 35 Disney site 9 Rich, as farmland 40 Improvises 10 Wacky Williams (2 wds.)

11 Dwelling place 42 Attics 12 “Twelfth Night” 44 Godzilla foe heroine 45 Pairs 13 Banana oil, e.g.

47 Workers’ 21 — con carne protection org.

23 Token user 48 Barely open 26 Bryn — College 50 Clergy member 27 Hodgepodge 52 Oath 28 Magician’s tool 56 Pitcher 29 Prefix with byte — Hershiser

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orn today, you are likely to live your life along two — or even three — seemingly parallel paths, and each is likely to present to you enough in the way of opportunity, challenge, adventure and experience for any one path in any one lifetime. You, however, have what it takes to handle the great abundance of life that is sure to come your way — and your particular taste is for the involved, the rich, the varied and even the unusual or downright bizarre. You are not the kind to turn away from the unexpected, and you will not flinch when things get difficult. Indeed, the more complex things get, the more animated and energetic you become!

Others are sure to benefit from the lessons you learn along the way, and you are never unwilling to share what you have been through with those who wish to listen. Indeed, you have a knack for keeping communication open, honest and flowing freely.

Also born on this date are: Frank Catalano, musician; Darryl Strawberry, baseball player; James Taylor, singer and songwriter; Liza Minnelli, actress, singer, entertainer;Al Jarreau, vocalist; Barbara Feldon, actress; Edward Albee, playwright; Jack Kerouac, writer; Gordon MacRae, 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.

TUESDAY, MARCH 13 PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) — You’ll be choosing between two alternatives throughout much of the day; the process will actually carry more import than the final choice.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) — You’re ready to take on an en-

B

deavor that no one else will attempt. What you have going is a stronger-than-usual sense of self.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — The difference between helpful and unhelpful is likely to be demonstrated in no uncertain terms today by someone you trust implicitly.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — You may insist that it is a mistake, but someone else is certain that an act of mischief carries signs that point to your involvement.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Don’t make the mistake of guessing when it is easy enough to collect the evidence needed to support a definitive conclusion.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — The way things work in an official capacity may not please you, but you’ll have to learn to work within the system — up to a point.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Be considerate of others today, and know that even the little things you do will be remembered for quite some time.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — You are likely to take on someone else’s stress, but you are better equipped to vent it properly and get to the heart of the matter.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — You can minimize the danger inherent in a certain situation by doing things according to the rules, with no variation whatsoever.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — You may not be thinking about the long-term effects of your actions, but today you’ll sew the seeds of something big.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — You are eager to get someone else’s attention, but it may be more difficult to secure than you had originally anticipated.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Follow your instincts and you’ll make the contact you need to further your personal agenda.

An important bond can be established.

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6

MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012

MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012

THE DIAMONDBACK

7

THE DIAMONDBACK 1ST ROUND

2ND ROUND

REGIONALS

SEMIFINALS

SEMIFINALS

REGIONALS

2ND ROUND

1ST ROUND

No. 1 Kentucky

No. 1 Syracuse

No. 16 Miss Valley St./WKU

No. 16 UNC-Asheville

No. 8 Iowa State

No. 8 Kansas State

No. 9 UConn

No. 9 Southern Miss

No. 5 Wichita State

No. 5 Vanderbilt

No. 12 VCU

No. 12 Harvard

FINALS

No. 4 Indiana

No. 4 Wisconsin

No. 13 New Mexico St.

No. 13 Montana

No. 6 UNLV

No. 6 Cincinnati

No. 11 Colorado

No. 11 Texas

No. 3 Baylor

No. 3 Florida State

No. 14 South Dakota St.

No. 14 St. Bonaventure

No. 7 Notre Dame

No. 7 Gonzaga

No. 10 Xavier

No. 10 West Virginia

No. 2 Duke

No. 2 Ohio State

No. 15 Lehigh

No. 15 Loyola (MD)

No. 1 Michigan State

No. 1 North Carolina

No. 16 LIU Brooklyn

No. 16 Lamar/Vermont

No. 8 Memphis

No. 8 Creighton

No. 9 Saint Louis

No. 9 Alabama

No. 5 New Mexico

No. 5 Temple

No. 12 Long Beach State

No. 12 California/S. Florida

No. 4 Louisville

No. 4 Michigan

No. 13 Davidson

No. 13 Ohio

No. 6 Murray State

No. 6 San Diego State

No. 11 Colorado State

No. 11 N.C. State

No. 3 Marquette

No. 3 Georgetown

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THE DIAMONDBACK | MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012

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arts. music. living. movies. weekend.

SPOTLIGHT | ERASABLE INC.

INC. UP! University’s all-improv group goes to Chicago, wins fourth place nationally

BY MARY CLARE FISCHER Staff writer

Every Friday at 1 p.m. a crowd gathers on the steps of McKeldin Library, attracted by the yelling that can be heard across the campus. It’s not a protest or a break-up but Erasable Inc., an improv group that invents scenarios and plays games based on suggestions from the audience.

On the campus, the members of Erasable Inc. are known mostly as “the people on the mall,” but nationally, they’re now known as one of the best college improv teams in the country after coming in fourth place at the 2012 College Improv Tournament National Championships in Chicago on Saturday.

The competition was set up playoff style, with 16 teams — whittled down from the original 126 that competed in 13 regional competitions — vying for four spots in the championship round. The three teams that beat Erasable Inc. were also the top three in last year’s competition.

The four members of Erasable Inc. who competed in Chicago said the home support made them feel more comfortable in an environment where there were mostly local teams who had a lot of fans in the theater. The six other members of the group and all of Sketchup, a sketch comedy group at this university, watched the competition through a webcam stream and sent encouraging text messages throughout the day.

The positive feedback from the other teams at the compe-

tition didn’t hurt either.

“The other teams were really, really nice,” said senior psychology major Zach Latta. “This type of improv is so collaborative that they tend to be that way. It is almost weird how kind everyone is to each other.”

“It was cool to feel the support and love from the improvisers,” junior theater major Madeline Whiting said. “We earned a lot of respect yesterday.”

“You want to warm up?”

“Yeah, what did we do last time?”

“We punched things. We did karate closet …

KARATE CLOSET!” “Hu hu phew phew phew phew.” Legs kick carelessly.

“Ah ah ah ah oooh ooh ooh yahhhh.” Hands karatechopped through the air. “Hi yah. Hi yah. Hoi hoi hoi. Mah mahh mahhh mahhhhhh.”

Arms reach up toward the sky.

Boom. Contact.

“Doorsteps always inhibit karate closet,” senior marketing major Jay Kasten explains as three other members of Erasable Inc. continue screaming and grunting at the door of room 2309 in the Art-Sociology building.

Karate closet is just a preview — a way to shake out any instinct to behave normally and channel all their creativity for the next 20 minutes of long-form improvisation.

They have been practicing for months (always Sundays but at least two other days per week as well), and the per-

formance changes drastically every time because they only know one element of their story in advance.

“Excellent, we are Erasable Inc., and all we’re going to need from you is a place to work,” Kasten says to the room of orange plastic chairs, empty except for sophomore computer science major Geoff Little and freshman biology major Brandon Schatt.

(Erasable Inc. had qualified for the national competition in October, before Schatt and Little, two of the newest members, had truly become part of the group, and SGA only paid for the four senior members to make the trip).

“Momma’s … Big … House … of” Schatt says haltingly. He pauses, searching for the lastneeded piece of the setting.

“Applesauce,” Little finishes.

And with that, the members of Erasable Inc. are no longer students at this university.

Latta becomes Big Momma, the matriarch of the most successful applesauce company around who believes her applesauce has made her immortal. Whiting becomes Ginger, a worker in Big Momma’s House of Applesauce with a saucy attitude who tries to burn down a competing applesauce company with one match. Junior environmental engineering major Natalie Herder becomes Gretchen, an old woman who has worked at Big Momma’s house almost as long as Big Momma has, putting aspirin in the applesauce for 40 years.

Kasten becomes Ray, Big Momma’s nephew with a knack for getting into trouble.

Four members of Erasable Inc. — from left, Zach Latta, Natalie Herder, Madeline Whiting and Jay Kasten — perform at the regional improv competition in October. PHOTO COURTESY OF ERASABLE INC.

With only five words to go on, they have already begun to form their new identities.

Ironically, identity is something of a struggle for Erasable Inc., though it has been a group at this university for 26 years. More than 100 people gather to watch its weekly shows, but the members worry that few of their fans actually know who they are.

At the First Look Fair, for instance, interested students frequently go up to other performance groups such as Sketchup, looking for Erasable Inc. “Are you the people on the mall?” they ask.

The other groups are usually kind enough to point them in the right direction.

“I imagine people just going down the line to every table and being like, ‘Are you … nope,’” Kasten said. “They’ll be at Health Leads and be like, ‘Are you the ones that …’ ‘No, that’s them over there.’”

One of the smallest well-

known groups at this university, Erasable Inc. has only 10 members, with six currently in their first year as Inc. performers. Tryouts are in the fall, with games to test the applicants’ abilities. Students who have no intention of actually being in the group come to tryouts simply because they know how fun that hour will be.

For those who are serious about becoming members, Erasable Inc. holds callbacks for anyone seen to have potential by at least one current member of the group. Sometimes they want to see a person be more physical; sometimes, a little bit weirder. Herder said the group breaks people — in a good way, of course.

“Not only does it encourage what’s already there, but we see what’s inside someone and shake it ’til it comes out,” she said.

Ultimately, the entire group has to agree to let a new person become an Inc. performer.

“We really care about what we do,” Latta said. “We practice upwards of eight hours a week; we go to Chicago to be

trained by professionals; we live together; we talk improv all the time. We’re very selective because we want the best of the best, and I think people recognize that we care a lot.”

Here’s why: “I’m an engineering major, and it’s intense academically. I get super stressed out, and it’s great to have a time and place and group where I can just take that shit with me … Once I don’t have this outlet, I think I’m going to get really weird in regular life.” — Herder “I’m motivated within the group. I don’t want to do good improv for the audience; I want to do good improv for Jay or I want to do good improv for Maddie. I want us to continuously oneup each other in our craziness and ability and just have fun with each other.

The audience is a great perk, but we don’t need them.” — Latta

see COMEDY, page 2

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MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012 | SPORTS | THE DIAMONDBACK

9

CAROLINA from page 10 good team.”

North Carolina guard Reggie Bullock started the second half with two 3-pointers, and forward James McAdoo found space on the baseline for a dunk as their lead ballooned to 18.

“I think there were opportunities there for us and we weren’t making them,” Padgett said. “Even if we had offensive rebounds, we just couldn’t make any shots.”

Faust hit a long jumper to cap a 6-1 run and four-point possession that drew the Terps to within nine, but Tar Heels guard P.J. Hariston hit a 3-pointer just six seconds later.

“It just takes one little turnover and they can hit a three, then you miss another shot and they hit another 3, and it goes from nine to 16,” Turgeon said. “You can’t stop it. You need like 19 timeouts to beat Carolina this year for our team. We don’t have 19 timeouts.”

The Terps again came within seven points of the Tar Heels after two field goals by forward Ashton Pankey. But a turnover by forward James Padgett quickly resulted in a layup by North Carolina guard Harrison Barnes.

The Tar Heels would score the next seven and cruise to the win. The Terps never came closer.

“I definitely feel we had the

An injury to North Carolina forward John Henson, shown blocking forward James Padgett’s shot in the team’s second meeting this year, did little to help the Terps’ chances in their eventual loss Saturday. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

comeback coming,” Faust said. “We stayed close the whole game and we just were playing as hard as we can. Carolina’s just a talented team.”

The Terps proved unable to take advantage of first-team All-ACC forward John Henson’s absence from action.

After the sophomore injured

his left wrist early in the first half on a fall, Turgeon said he thought the Terps’ frontcourt would be able to score more without Henson’s length in the way.

But the first basket by a Terps frontcourt player didn’t come until the second half.

Pankey, who finished with seven points and eight rebounds, was the only one of the four bigs to play (Padgett, Weijs and center Alex Len) who scored.

“Alex didn’t play very well.

James was out of it all day,” Turgeon said. “Our [big] guys just weren’t very good.”

The loss wasn’t surprising.

But to the Terps, Friday’s game was one last opportunity to make something of a season filled with frustration. They ultimately left Atlanta after a meaningless rout against a team seemingly headed for the postseason greatness they’re so far removed from.

“I just tip my hat off to all my teammates and my coaches for fighting each and every day in practice and going through the adversity we had to go through with [guard] Pe’Shon [Howard] being hurt at the beginning of the season and the middle of the season,” Mosley said after he removed his Terps uniform for the final time. “In the back of my mind, I always thought we could make some noise and make it to the tournament. It didn’t go that way for us this year.” ceckard@umdbk.com

MARIST from page 10

Midfielder Kevin Cooper was one of 10 Terps to score in the team’s 17-4 blowout of Marist on Saturday. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

SYRACUSE from page 10 all of Division I. The cause of the loss was not lost on coach Cathy Reese, who had not coached the Terps in a regular-season home loss until this weekend.

“We had great looks on goal, but we just didn’t score,” Reese said. “Our shooting is not where it needs to be right now, and we’ve seen this as a pattern for our last couple of games. It’s something we need to figure out and make the adjustment.”

The Terps (5-2, 1-1 ACC) totaled 30 shots against the Orange (3-2), but converted only nine, or less than a third.

Syracuse, meanwhile, shot 20 times on net and converted half of them.

No missed shot was more indicative of the Terps’ biggest weakness than the last one.

Trailing by one with less than 30 seconds left, and armed with a free-position shot with no defenders standing in the way, midfielder Katie Schwarzmann missed the goal entirely. The Orange picked up possession, and Syracuse goalie Alyssa Constantino ran most of the clock out before heaving the ball down the field and being

mobbed by her teammates as they stormed the field.

“It was a game that was really heated,” Reese said. “It was up and back, and both teams have very strong goalies and strong offenses, so it was a tough game. We just fell a few short today.”

The goalie battle was certainly evident. Constantino had 10 saves on the day, including two standout stops against a pair of the Terps’ biggest stars.

The first came in the first half on a breakaway against Schwarzmann, and the second on a free-position shot in the second half from attacker Karri Ellen Johnson.

Brittany Dipper had her moments as well, stopping cold the first shot of the game three minutes into play and adding a huge save with 1:15 left in the second half to give the Terps one more chance.

Syracuse’s deliberate offensive movement, always a key to the team’s game plan, sank the Terps as they sought the lead in the second half. The Orange spread its players out and cut time off the clock with longer possessions that had the Terps fouling late just to get the ball back.

“They marked our drives really well and just manned

do no wrong.

Attackman Joe Cummings had a hat trick less than four minutes into the game. The Terps rattled off 11 unanswered goals before Marist finally got on the scoreboard in the final moments of the first half.

Freshman attackman Jay Carlson came off the bench to net a gamehigh four goals.

All in all, it was the perfect remedy for a team trying to move on from its first loss of the season.

“So much of what the young men in our program learn is dealing with adversity,” coach John Tillman said after the game. “When things don’t go your way, it’s how you respond. … And I’m happy for the guys. I thought they started very strong, we played hard from the get-go, we played with a lot of energy.”

The Terps controlled almost every facet of the game. They outshot Marist, 43-23. They more than doubled them in groundballs, 4419. And goalie Niko Amato rebounded from a tough fourth quarter against UMBC to tie his season high with 13 saves.

Marist goalie Dave Scarcello wasn’t so fortunate. Making his first career start, the freshman allowed nine goals within the game’s first 18 minutes. When he was pulled with 12:44 left in the second quarter, the Terps held a 9-0 lead and Scarcello had recorded just three saves.

“I think for us, it was important for us to come out fast, play tough and just play like Maryland,” Cummings said. “I think we got away from that a little bit on Tuesday, so it was good to come out and play like Maryland does.”

The Terps had no problems implementing their game plan against a team that entered Saturday’s matchup with an impressive resumé.

Marist was coming off wins over two quality opponents in Sacred Heart, which upset No. 16 Yale on Tuesday,

For the second time since 2002, Mark Turgeon will not coach his team in the postseason. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

POSTSEASON from page 10 Faust said Friday. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season.

We might have went through the most that any team’s been through this season. … This was a positive year.”

With the departure of Williams, three players to graduation and another two to professional leagues this offseason, the Terps weren’t expected to get much better this season.

The loss of point guard Pe’Shon

“I think for us, it was important for us to come out fast, play tough and just play like Maryland.”

Howard to a foot injury at the beginning of the year and an ACL tear at the end made an invitation to the Big Dance increasingly unlikely for the Terps this year.

“With a very good recruiting class coming in and looking at the positive aspects of the season we just finished, we look forward to working throughout this upcoming off-season to getting Maryland Basketball where we all want it to be,” Turgeon said in the release. ceckard@umdbk.com

DEACONS from page 10

and Stony Brook.

Rallying around the death of former teammate Edward Coombs, a rising sophomore attackman who died in a car accident in August, the Red Foxes had been playing poised and unified under first-year coach Keegan Wilkinson. They wore No. 34 on their helmets and jersey patches to honor Coombs, and one player wears his jersey each game.

But that didn’t keep them from taking a few steps back Saturday.

Marist committed 18 turnovers and was forced to settle for fewer than 10 goals for the first time this season.

For much of the second half, even the Terps’ second unit outpaced the Red Foxes. Of the five Terps who scored in the final two periods, it was the first career goal for three of them — freshmen Charlie Raffa, Joe LoCascio and David Solomon.

“I think it’s important for them,” Amato said. “They worked real hard in practice since they’ve been here in the fall, so I think it’s good for them to get some game-time experience because you never know when we’re going to need someone later down the road.”

But on Saturday, the Terps weren’t too worried about the future.

They were focused on getting the bad taste of Tuesday’s loss out of their mouth with a convincing win.

“There’s no feeling sorry for ourselves,” Tillman said. “We basically had to get right back at it, and look at areas where we could improve and come back and try to get a W.” Mission accomplished.

strike solo home run by Wake Forest third baseman Mark Rhine off starter Brett Harman (2-1). The Demon Deacons would later add another home run in the fifth and go on to win, 4-3.

“I think that’s just coincidence,” Bakich said. “I don’t think there’s any relevance to the timing of it. I felt like it was back and forth quite a bit. There were some lead changes throughout the game, and we just didn’t come out on the positive end of things as many times as they did.”

Wake Forest’s pitching, meanwhile, kept the Terps’ bats off-balance all weekend long. The team struck out 27 times and left 26 runners stranded on bases.

The Demon Deacons’ bullpen also held strong, allowing only three runs in 10.2 innings of work on the weekend.

“When that happens, sometimes as much as you don’t ever want to give credit to the other team, you have to just tip your hat to them and move forward,” Bakich said.

He did see some bright spots on offense despite the three losses. In the series, the Terps, who’d come into the weekend scoring five runs per game, matched and exceeded that average in their first two games, respectively. They got success from the middle to lower part of the order, as left fielder Michael Montville, third baseman K.J. Hockaday, first baseman Tomo Delp and shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez combined to go 19-for45 (.422) with two home runs, seven RBI and 10 runs scored.

But in the end, that production wasn’t enough to overcome a Wake Forest squad now enjoying a jumpstart in the competitive ACC and a 13-game winning streak.

Despite the three losses, Bakich was so confident his team would rally he said he had closer Jimmy Reed warming up in the bullpen late in each game. The Terps just couldn’t come through.

“We need to find a way to come back and win,” Bakich said. “We never celebrate moral victories or losing close games. We expect to win every game that we play. We expect to dominate our opponent.”

letourneau@umdbk.com

dgallen@umdbk.com

JOE CUMMINGS TERRAPINS MEN’S LACROSSE ATTACKMAN

up,” Johnson said. “We just didn’t execute on the opportunities that we had when we got the ball back.”

The strategy was a near-carbon copy of the Orange’s game plan from last year’s early-season meeting, when the same method limited the Terps to only seven goals in an eventual 7-5 loss.

This time, however, it did enough, thanks to a Syracuse offense that put the ball away when the Terps could not.

Three Orange players had more than one goal, including attacker Michelle Tumolo, who made a living by scoring wraparounds behind Dipper.

“It’s always tough when it gets to that point in the game, and a team is just running time off the clock,” Reese said. “You just got to give everything you have in the last few minutes and step up and pressure — we even had to pull out our goalie a little bit in the last couple of minutes. But we came up with some turnovers, and we had our opportunities off them.”

And for the Terps to remain one of the nation’s elite, not just another competitive lacrosse program, they will have to make those opportunities count. munson@umdbk.com

Attacker Kristy Black, left, and the Terps finished with 10 more shots than Syracuse on Saturday, but they couldn’t outscore the Orange in a 10-9 loss. JEREMY KIM/THE DIAMONDBACK

10

THE DIAMONDBACK | MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012

Sports

More March Madness For updates from the Terrapins women’s basketball team’s Selection Monday event tonight, follow @JoshVitale on Twitter.

TAR HEELS 85, TERPS 69

For Terps, one last loss Team again not picked to play in postseason

North Carolina rules in year’s third meeting

BY CHRIS ECKARD

BY CHRIS ECKARD

Senior staff writer

Senior staff writer

For the second straight year, the Terrapins men’s basketball team won’t be a part of March Madness.

The Terps weren’t selected for the NCAA Tournament or National Invitation Tournament last night, meaning they will not play in the postseason in coach Mark Turgeon’s debut season.

“Given the current financial situation in the athletics department, we feel as though now is not the right time for us to be involved with any of the models of the other postseason tournaments,” Turgeon said in a release late last night.

The snub wasn’t a surprise. Turgeon indicated after Friday’s 85-69 loss to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament that it would be a long shot for his Terps (17-15) to earn another game.

“Been an unsettling day. It’s tough not to be a part of Selection Sunday.

It’s something I am not used to,” Turgeon tweeted Sunday night.

“But, we are working hard and doing the right things to make sure that the Terps return to the excitement of March Madness.”

Turgeon had guided Texas A&M to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances before coming to College Park last May. This will mark just the second time since 2002 that he will not coach a team in a postseason tournament.

It’s also the second straight year the NIT has passed on the Terps. Last year’s absence snapped a 17-year streak of postseason appearances by former coach Gary Williams. The program was barred from the postseason in 1991 and 1992 due to NCAA violations and did not make it in 1993.

This season’s team had its own struggles. The Terps won just once on the road, and a Feb. 25 loss at lowly Georgia Tech dealt a significant blow to the Terps’ NIT chances.

Still, they had hoped for better.

“I definitely think we deserve to play in the postseason,” guard Nick

ATLANTA – Berend Weijs sat in the

see POSTSEASON, page 9

Philips Arena locker room, his eyes noticeably red. He wiped the last tears from his face with a towel draped around his neck as the realization of the season’s likely end set in.

Without a low-post presence to speak of or the scoring options to keep up with No. 1 seed North Carolina, the Terrapins men’s basketball team’s season was finished off in an 85-69 loss in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals Friday.

Five Tar Heels (29-5) scored in double figures, and the Terps (17-15) never came closer than seven points in the second half. It was North Carolina’s third win of the season against the Terps.

“We obviously lost to a great team today that, to be quite honest with you, gets better each time we play them,” Turgeon said. “I was proud of our team. We competed. We tried hard.

We really tried hard. I don’t think we ever quit.”

Guard Terrell Stoglin poured in 30 points on 21 shots, while guards Nick Faust and Sean Mosley also reached double figures, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively. But the fast-paced North Carolina offense rarely sputtered, and the eventual ACC Tournament runners-up never gave up the lead.

“We wanted to win. That was the key to everything,” Mosley said. “This loss hurts. It hurts us.”

An offensive foul by Faust with 4:21 left in the first half relegated the freshman to the bench and ended what little chance the Terps still had.

In his absence, the team ended the half missing all five of its field goals, three of its four free throws and turning over possession two times.

The Tar Heels took a 36-26 lead into halftime and quickly built on it after the break.

“We were right there and we didn’t finish the half,” Turgeon said. “You can’t have stretches like that against a After being passed over for the National Invitation Tournament last night, coach Mark Turgeon said the Terps would not pursue any other postseason opportunities this season. JEREMY KIM/THE DIAMONDBACK

see CAROLINA, page 9

DATES WORTH REMEMBERING

April 10

Deadline to declare or withdraw for 2012 NBA Draft

MEN’S LACROSSE

April 11

First day of spring signing period for 2012 recruits

BASEBALL

June 28

2012 NBA Draft

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Terps’ streak ends as another begins Deacons deal first loss in 11 games, sweep team in conference opener

BY DANIEL GALLEN Staff writer

Attackman Joe Cummings had a hat trick less than four minutes into the Terps’ 17-4 win against previously unbeaten Marist on Saturday. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

After defeat, no doubt in blowout

Terps rout Red Foxes, 17-4, at Byrd

BY CONNOR LETOURNEAU Staff writer

It didn’t take the Terrapins men’s lacrosse team long to move on from Tuesday’s heartbreaking loss at UMBC. Four days after giving up five straight fourth-quarter goals in an 8-7 loss to the Retrievers, the No. 4 Terps

(4-1) routed Marist, 17-4, before a crowd of 1,639 at Byrd Stadium. They manhandled the Red Foxes (2-1) for the full 60 minutes, finishing with their largest margin of victor y since May 1, 2011.

The Terps could seemingly

see MARIST, page 9

For the first three weeks of this season, strong pitching and timely hitting were hallmarks of a Terrapins baseball team on its way to its secondbest start since 1924.

This weekend in WinstonSalem, N.C., Wake Forest turned the tables on the No. 30 Terps, sweeping a three-game series in decisive fashion.

A Terps pitching staff that had given up only nine runs in its previous 10 games promptly gave up 10 in the series opener Friday night and 23 overall for the weekend. As a 10-game winning streak became a three-game losing streak, the staff ERA went from 0.96 to 2.27.

“Our pitching has probably been our biggest bright spot, most consistent element of our team so far,” coach Erik Bakich said. “It was just one of those weekends where we weren’t ahead of the hitters

as much as we usually are, and a good team will make you pay for those mistakes.

And when we made any mistakes, they capitalized on it, and that was kind of the story of all three games.”

The middle innings, especially, were not kind to the Terps (11-4, 0-3 ACC) this weekend. On Friday, the Terps held a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth, at which point the Demon Deacons chased starter Brady Kirkpatrick (1-1) with a sevenrun inning.

The Terps lost another lead in the same inning Saturday, when they had a 4-2 lead.

Wake Forest (14-4, 3-0) tagged reliever Michael Boyden (2-1) for three runs and held on to win, 9-6.

On Sunday, almost the exact same pattern held, as the Terps tied the game, 2-2, in the top of the fourth, only to squander it on a two-out, two-

see DEACONS, page 9

Saturday’s loss to Syracuse at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex marked the Terps’ first regular-season home loss under coach Cathy Reese. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

Terps misfire vs. ’Cuse in rare defeat at home Schwarzmann misses late chance

BY NICHOLAS MUNSON Staff writer

In a tight match against Virginia on March 2, the Terrapins women’s lacrosse team halted the then-No. 6 Cavaliers’ momentum by holding the ball late in the second half of an eventual 12-9 victory.

On Saturday, the script was flipped, and the Terps’ desperate efforts in the final minutes could do little to change what

had happened the week before.

No. 5 Syracuse held off a late rally inside the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex from the No. 4 Terps in a 10-9 win, the team’s second loss this season by that score.

The defeat marked the Terps’ first in College Park since 2008, ending a 36-game home winning streak that had stood as the fifth best in

see SYRACUSE, page 9