March 12, 2015 by The Diamondback

The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper 2015

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SGA approves police advisory board Initiative passes unanimously after long debate; group will allow students to voice police concerns By Taylor Swaak @tswaak27 Staff writer university Police Chief David Mitchell answers questions from the audience and SGA members during a meeting yesterday. stephanie natoli/the diamondback

The SGA voted last night in favor of establishing a Police Chief’s Advisory Board and Review Council in light of

This university’s chapter of the NAACP, Black Student Union, Social Justice Coalition, Asian American Student Union, Student Labor Action last semester’s campuswide protests Project and University Police officers surrounding national police brutality attended the meeting to speak on the idea of creating a board, which and transparency concerns. After about an hour and a half of will facilitate discussion between speakers, questions and debate, the students and police. “It’s students sitti ng on the initiative passed unanimously with council, questioning policy that no abstentions.

POTUS clarifies ‘Bill of rights’ for financing in follow-up conference

Council intervenes to assist Camden apartments residents in safety concerns

By Jon Banister @J_Banister Senior staff writer T he d ay a f ter i nt roduci ng his Student Aid Bill of Rights, President Obama joined Secretary of Education Arne Duncan yesterday in a discussion about his goal to make college more affordable. “We can’t allow higher education to become a luxury; it’s an economic imperative that every American family should be able to afford,” Obama said during a conference call. “Every American family should be able to say to their kids, ‘You can join that middle class or higher, as far as your talents and hard work will take you,’ and that’s what college is all about, and the only way we’re going to be able to do that is if we redouble our attention on making it accessible to everybody.”

By Eleanor Mueller @eleanor_mueller Staff writer In the wake of 12 break-ins and a homicide within the last six months at Camden College Park apartments near IKEA, the College Park City Council sent a letter Tuesday night to the apartments’ management outlining residents’ concerns. The council addressed the letter to the regional vice president of Camden Property Trust, the Houston-based company that owns Camden College Park, requesting a meeting to discuss management’s perceived unresponsiveness and disregard for resident well-being. “The unfortunate part of things is that the management has not been quite responding the way they Twelve break-ins — including four in the same day — and a homicide in the past six months at the Camden apartments prompted the College Park City Council to send a letter to management outlining residents’ concerns. Residents said they’re not being listened to and formed an association. tom hausman/the diamondback

Cole Holocker first liaison to serve twice By Eleanor Mueller @eleanor_mueller Staff writer

Mark Brimhall-Vargas heads to Tufts Univ By Jess Nocera @jessmnocera Staff writer Mark Brimhall-Vargas, deputy chief diversity officer, is leaving to fill a position at Tufts University after two decades working for this university’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion. josh loock/the diamondback University, where he will serve as chief diversity officer and associate provost. “Mark has such a long and deep impact on diversity inclusion work on campus,” said Nick Sakurai, LGBT

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City reappoints SGA student liaison, approves deputy plan

Univ diversity officer, LGBT advocate to leave position

After two decades at this university, Deputy Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall-Vargas has taken another position, and campus LGBT advocates said his absence will be difficult to fi ll. Today marks his last day here. Brimhall-Vargas is moving to Tufts

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camden Residents seek help

Obama: U access for all students

See OBAMA, Page 2

the police may be doing, questioning recent police events, just kind of keeping an open dialogue with the police,” Student Government Association President Patrick Ronk said. University Police Chief David Mitchell said the department is eager to work with students and address their concerns.

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Equity Center associate director at this university. “We have very few senior-level openly LGBT employees on campus. … He has held a unique See LGBT, Page 3

For the first time in city history, the College Park City Council on Tuesday night reappointed its student liaison to serve for a second year. Cole Holocker, a sophomore government and politics major and the current student liaison to the council, requested his own reappointment by the council last week. “I’ve really enjoyed this opportunity, and think I’ve learned a lot,” Holocker said at a March 3

work session. “I think I can use that experience to continue to serve the students and the city as I have this past year.” The eight City Council members and the mayor voted unanimously in favor of Holocker’s reappointment. A student liaison has never served two terms before because most of them graduate or seek different experiences, Holocker said. But he said he hopes his continuation for another year will work in favor of the students and the city. “I’ve done my best to represent students to the City Council,” Holocker said. “I think the continuity between two years will benefit students and residents.” See LiAISON, Page 2

SPORTS

OPINION

DOMINANT OFFENSE

STAFF EDITORIAL: Sustainable dining

Freshman Megan Whittle scored a career-high six goals to lead the Terrapins women’s lacrosse team to a convincing 17-2 victory over Towson last night P. 10

New Pepsi cups demonstrate Dining Services’ priorities P. 4

DIVERSIONS

TABLE FOR ONE On the trials and tribulations of eating alone at 251 North P. 6

MS in Law Infomational Open House March 25 • 5:30-7 p.m. Stamp Student Union Grand Ballroom More info and RSVP at law.umaryland.edu/msl

THE DIAMONDBACK | NEWS | THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015

CAMDEN From PAGE 1 should,” said District 1 Councilman Fazlul Kabir, whose district includes Camden. “That’s why we sent them the letter — to bring them to the council and ask, ‘Why?’” One concern the city council outlined in the letter was a lack of adequate security, which arose following a “rash of break-ins” beginning in October because of broken security gates, among other security lapses. “The world is not perfect — you’re going to have breaki n s,” sa id Cor y Sa nders,

OBAMA From PAGE 1 One of Obama’s more ambitious initiatives is his proposal to provide two years of free community college to all Americans, which he announced in January. He emphasized that students could take advantage of the two free years and transfer credits to earn a degree at a four-year institution. Duncan said this proposal could reduce the total amount Americans pay for college by 30 to 50 percent if it becomes law. Several other countries provide free four-year education to all students, such as G erma ny, wh ich abolished college tuition and fees in October. “Other nations have been more progressive than ours in providing much more affordable four-year educations,” Duncan said, citing programs in Australia, New Zealand and England as examples. “We have watched that very closely. Right now we’re fighting as hard as we can to get our Republican friends in Congress to understand the importance of this and to invest in community colleges.” Duncan said the Obama administration has kept a close

president of t he Ca mden College Park Residents Association. “But 12 break-ins, including four in one day? That’s not normal.” Camden Property Trust representatives did not reply to requests for comment. Sanders created the Camden College Park Residents Association in response to crimes in the building and to address resident concerns. Residents reached out to m a n a ge m e nt i n O c tob e r asking for a plan of action to repair the gates and take other precautions, but they “never heard back anything,” Sanders said. It wasn’t until Stefon Powell, 22, was shot and killed

on the property on New Year’s Day that management agreed to meet with residents and discuss their concerns. “Camden security cameras stopped working two days before the homicide,” Sanders said. “Long story short, the management wasn’t working with us.” Camden residents turned to the city council for help after management answered requests to install deadbolts on doors with a $50 charge and then a claim that deadbolts are against city code, wh ich the letter states is incorrect. “We reached out to the city council and said, ‘You have

eye on how other countries fund higher education, and the community college plan is “a step to get us halfway there.” To help gain support in Congress and “mobilize the entire country around the issue of college affordability,” Obama is encou rag i ng students, parents, faculty, administrators and policymakers to sign his Student Aid Bill of Rights to ensure affordable higher education and fair treatment of student loan borrowers. T h e e x e c ut ive a c t io n s Obama took yesterday focus on holding lending companies accountable to ensure student borrowers are treated fairly. He directed the Education Department to take several steps to increase transparency from these loan-service contractors, who serve as the middlemen between the government and student borrowers. “Yesterday, I took new action to make it easier for students to pay back their loans through an executive action that streamlines and improves the way the federal government interacts with students when it comes to student loans, and helps students cut through the bureaucracy and get faster responses about their loans,” Obama said during the call. More than 40 million Ameri-

cans hold student debt and depend on these servicers as their main point of contact, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s October report. The average graduate holds $28,400 in student loan debt. In this state, 829,000 borrowers hold $24.9 billion in total debt. While the federal government can take steps to help student loan borrowers, states control the level of funding university systems receive and the prices students pay for tuition. Duncan said the administration would put pressure on states to avoid cutting university funding. “We would only invest in states that are holding up their end of the bargain,” Duncan said. “Where they’re looking to reduce their investment and just use our resources, that’s not the kind of partnership we would be interested in doing.” The University System of Maryland projects a $47 million shortfall under Gov. Larry Hogan’s proposed fiscal 2016 budget, which could lead the Board of Regents to implement an additional 5 percent tuition increase for the fall semester, beyond the midyear increases enacted in January. jbanisterdbk@gmail.com

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not taken a stake in Camden at all — you dropped the ball on Camden,’” Sanders said. “‘You allowed a million-dollar empire to come in and build a complex, and you haven’t been on our side.’” Sanders met with Mayor Andrew Fellows and other cou nci l memb ers to ta l k about security and construction concerns. With some balconies left under construction, frequent false fire alarms and the crime rate, Sanders said, some residents are losing patience. “ We’re d e a l i n g w it h a Ca m d e n m a s s e x o d u s of r e s i d e n t s m o v i n g o u t ,” Sanders said.

LIAISON From PAGE 1 Though the student liaison’s job description is fluid, Holocker said, he most enjoys his capability to “help people in the city.” “I’m really passionate about local government and how to help people solve problems,” Holocker said. “In the past year, we’ve worked to serve people on everything from pedestrian improvement … to working with individual students.” Holocker said his proudest accomplishment from the past year is helping students get answers from the city. One example, he said, was successfully connecting a student who had unresolved issues with a landlord to the city public services department and the school’s legal aid office. The student eventually received help with concerns about code violations and civil disputes. “Being able to direct students and connect them with the proper people is one of the important aspects of my

Sanders decided he will run for city council in its November election after he began to think the council was unable to assist him and other Camden residents throughout the past few months, he said. “C ol l e ge Pa rk n e e d s a makeover regarding its relationship with students and with residents,” Sanders said. Fellows said city officials responded to concerns as quickly as they could and have been taking steps to address the issue for a while. “The council members in that district have been involved in a series of things to show support and demonstrate our continuing in-

terest,” Fellows said. “It’s more of a n i ssue t h at we were aware of the murder and some of the issues, but weren’t awa re of t he extent. … We represent all the people who live in our districts, not just those who own homes.” A s one of two cou nci lmen representing the area Camden lies in, Kabir said he is committed to resolving the concerns of the apartments’ tenants. “We have mutual interests to move forward,” Kabir said. “We would like to help them any way we can.” emuellerdbk@gmail.com

job and one of the things I enjoy “BEING ABLE TO the most,” Holocker said. DIRECT STUDENTS T he cou nci l a lso voted AND CONNECT THEM Tuesday to formalize the posiWITH THE PROPER tion of deputy student liaison, formerly student-liaison alPEOPLE IS ONE OF ternate, who would assist HoTHE IMPORTANT locker in his duties and use that ASPECTS OF MY knowledge to potentially take JOB.” over from him. “Part of the idea was … to COLE HOLOCKER give someone who could poCity council student liaison tentially be the liaison in the following year a chance to get comes, said Student Governsome experience and learn the ment Association President ropes, as it is a steep learn- Patrick Ronk. ing curve to be the student “Cole is a rare breed,” Ronk liaison,” District 1 Council- said. “Cole is fantastic. I could man Patrick Wojahn said. look through all 27,000 stu“[Holocker has] done a great dents and wouldn’t be able to job and managed that learning find a more qualified person curve well.” than Cole.” T he deputy wou ld a lso Ronk and SGA Speaker of the provide students with another Legislature Aiden Galloway outlet to make their opinions serve as the two SGA members on city affairs known, Ho- of the committee that nomilocker said. nate student liaisons. “The deputy will not only “Every week we have execube able to share in the experi- tive and cabinet updates, and ence and gain experience in every single week he comes the internal workings of local with something new,” Gallogovernment,” Holocker said, way said. “I think he is a fan“but serve as another voice tastic liaison. I wholeheartedly for students.” endorse him.” But Holocker’s shoes will be difficult to fill when the time emuellerdbk@gmail.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 | news | The Diamondback

SGA From PAGE 1 “I’m look i ng for wa rd to e n g a g i n g a n y v e h i c l e where we can sit down and have dialogue, and go from there,” Mitchell said. “I look for wa rd to conti nu i ng to work with [students].” Johanna DeGuzman, SGA diversity director, said the buzz last semester regarding University Police access to military-grade weapons, the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and the failure to indict police officer Darren Wilson made students anxious about their own safety on the campus. DeGuzman, who headed the bill, expects the board to begin work in the fall semester when the seats are filled. The board will comprise one SGA representative, one faculty or staff member, two graduate students and at least four undergraduate students from diverse campus groups. “A lot of my friends who were leaders i n the black community came up to me and said that they wanted

LGBT From PAGE 1 perspective as being a L GBT person of color for the community.” Brimhall-Vargas is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and joined the Office of Diversity & Inclusion — then called the Office of Human Relations Programs — as an associate director in 1997 and completed his doctorate in educational policy and leadership at this university in 2011. Brimhall-Vargas started out creating training programs and workshops, later

to do something about this to make sure the same thing didn’t happen here in College Park,” DeGuzman said. Chris Bangert-Drowns, a member of SLAP and the Social Justice Coalition, expressed a similar concern, saying there is no current structure to address issues such as racism and racial profiling. “For a while, there’s been an idea of this race-blind society. … With the murder of Michael Brown, this issue has come back into the mainstream,” said Bangert-Drowns, a sophomore economics major. “The problem is there is not a strongenough structure to combat racism on this campus.” Now that the bill passed, Ronk said the board will help alleviate such qualms by allowing students to openly voice concerns and ensure subsequent talks with the police department. “The board would be kind of the bridge between [police and students],” DeGuzman said. “It would be able to A, bring the students’ concerns themselves [to the police] or B, connect the police department and the student who has the concerns.”

moving on to supervising dialogue groups. In his role as deputy chief, he has worked with Chief Diversity Officer Kumea Shorter-Gooden on g ra nt appl ic at ion s a nd a variety of assessments and projects, including diversity assessment and engagement. He also helped found the L at i n a /o Facu lty & Sta f f Association. “Over time, I have found the campus has grown really significantly,” Brimhall-Vargas said. “The work of diversity used to just exist in a few offices — and they still exist and do great work — but now diversity has spread to many other offices across campus.”

Some who attended the meeting expressed concern that the creation of the advisory board — which currently only has the ability to advise the police of student concerns — will not bring sufficient change. Moriah Ray, a senior government and politics major and president of this university’s chapter of NAACP, said she wants the advisory board to have more power, includi n g t he abi l ity to rev iew police policies and conduct police oversight. “What we want is a police advisory board that has a form of power and that these aren’t people that are solely going to be mouthpieces for Chief Mitchell,” Ray said. Bangert-Drowns also said students on the advisory board should have power, including the right to veto any police policy they see as harmful, because students are the ones affected by police policy and actions. “If we see any policy coming through that might detrimentally affect the student body, we would have more knowledge about it than anyone at UMPD would because we are

Colin Byrd, a junior sociology major, speaks at a Student Government Association meeting at which it discussed last night the creation of a Police Chief Advisory Board. He wore a black hoodie during his comments to make a statement to the crowd. stephanie natoli/thediamondback students and could realize how it would affect us,” BangertDrowns said. Mitchell expressed concern over the idea of student veto power and stated that allocating power is not within his jurisdiction. However, he said he plans to work with students to the best of his ability. “I’ll share all of the information I am allowed to share under the law,” Mitchell said.

“OVER TIME, I HAVE FOUND THE CAMPUS HAS GROWN REALLY SIGNIFICANTLY. THE WORK OF DIVERSITY USED TO JUST EXIST IN A FEW OFFICES — AND THEY STILL EXIST AND DO GREAT WORK — BUT NOW DIVERSITY HAS SPREAD TO MANY OTHER OFFICES ACROSS CAMPUS.” MARK BRIMHALL-VARGAS Deputy chief diversity officer

He added that the campus should be proud of its diversity progress. Nana Brantuo, a graduate student studying minority and urban education, works in the diversity office and said it will be tough to replace

Brimhall-Vargas. “I’m happy for Mark, but it was a shock for me for him to be leaving. He was a huge part of the community and this office,” she said. “There’s going to be this hole because h e ’s s u c h a p r o g r e s s i v e

“I’d be happy to sit down and talk, but I can’t grant [power] that I don’t have.” A legal document police provided the SGA spells out what the Maryland Public Information Act prohibits the board from asking about, including information protected by attorney-client privilege, personnel records, records of police internal affairs units, retirement records, medical or

psychological information and personal contact information. “We can say that these are the concerns of the students; this is how we feel; please take into consideration that you’re overseeing us, and what you’re doing is making us feel this certain way,” DeGuzman said. “However, we can’t tell the police how to do their jobs.”

person. He is very concerned about the needs of all people.” At Brimhall-Vargas’ farewe l l re c ep t ion M a rc h 4 , Sakurai said the room was packed w it h f r iend s a nd colleagues from the many different communities and offices Brimhall-Vargas has worked with. “Some people commented at the farewell party that he is just really connected to all kinds of people on campus and really recognizes and understands not what’s just going on for students, administration and faculty, but also the staff,” Sakurai said. Starmanda Duker, a junior gover n ment a nd pol it ics

major, sa id she w i l l m iss interacting with BrimhallVargas during her internship with the office. His unique personality brought something special to the community there, she said. “I’m sad, but I am very happy for him,” Duker said. Brimhall-Vargas said his departure is bittersweet, as he will have to leave some of his close friends and colleagues. “I found that the people at UMD really care about their experience they had here,” he said. “When people build relationships here, things can get moving.”

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THE DIAMONDBACK | THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015

OPINION

EDITORIAL BOARD

Laura Blasey Editor in Chief

MATT SCHNABEL Managing Editor

NATE RABNER

Deputy Managing Editor

MAGGIE CASSIDY Opinion Editor

Give me the flag, or give me death!

A greener way to dine

Opinion Editor

STAFF EDITORIAL

t’s the little things: the first bite of a wildly popular buffalo chicken wrap, scanning the menu screens and realizing it’s buffalo chicken sandwich day, grabbing a slice of buffalo chicken pizza — even ordering a few items that don’t contain the words “buffalo” and “chicken” in tandem. At the North Campus and South Campus dining halls, which pull off the aforementioned spicy whitemeat dishes within a hair of perfection, the particulars of on-campus eating are often the most rewarding — and the most overlooked. With a recent shift to more sustainable Pepsi cups, Dining Services continues this trend of attention to detail, and in this case, it’s not an effort students should ignore. Not that missing it would prove too easy; the cups’ design is a sharp contrast to the iconic blue of their predecessors, and they feel quite different to the touch. Students have found the new white cups — wax-based and made of 50 percent renewable materials — flimsier and unable to hold hot liquids, but perhaps they should stop to consider the beverage containers’ proenvironment implications. This university has long prided itself on its sustainability initiatives, which have landed it at the forefront

CAROLINE CARLSON

of higher education institutions nationwide. In 2014, it received a gold rating, the second-highest rating possible, from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. It has reduced its carbon emissions by 18 percent since 2005 — 7 percentage points short of its 2015 goal but impressive nonetheless. OUR VIEW

Dining Services’ decision to phase in greener cups demonstrates commitment to furthering sustainability efforts. This academic year, the University Sustainability Fund has shelled out about $90,000 for various green projects. And as for Dining Services, the department won the 2013 National Association of College and University Food Services Gold Medal for Waste Management. This attitude lies not just with administrators and campus departments, but also with university students, who often overcome a widespread ambivalence to commit to the school’s sustainability goals. The Student Government Association allocated $5,000 — a tenth

of its legislative budget — toward restoring Campus Creek, a project that’s been on the books for years but had yet to materialize. This university also seems to recognize that sustainability starts at a personal level. Sure, there are bigger, flashier green efforts (dealing with the off-campus power plant on Route 1, for one), but simple, costeffective changes that essentially begin with individuals can bring about measurable advances as well. Recycling in dorms, apartments and off-campus housing, choosing to use a water bottle instead of bottled water, carpooling or biking to work and class — these individual efforts, among others, are means of slowing climate change and preserving natural resources that shouldn’t fall by the wayside. By phasing in these new greener cups, Dining Services demonstrates it feels the same way about these smaller methods of enhancing sustainability. It also showed financial acumen, as officials waited for the price of the Pepsi containers to fall before purchasing them. Balancing environmental concerns and a head for business ensures this university’s sustainability efforts are carried out effectively and aren’t wasted, and this editorial board commends Dining Services for its commonsense cup switch.

EDITORIAL CARTOON

standards.” Rather than actively working toward making America a better place, the students found it more convenient just to issue these cowardly whimpers. Surely, not every action done under our flag has been ideal, but the flag represents America’s most fundamental ideals. While the resolution condemns flags as “weapon[s] for nationalism,” our own flag’s uniqueness lies in that it doesn’t represent any particular background. The real fight is to achieve full implementation of what the flag represents, not to retreat in fear from that lofty goal. An additional concern is that the 12-member Legislative Council, which ostensibly speaks for UCI’s 30,000 students, felt it was right to push forth this bill. These bodies are often composed of resumepadders who usually decide trivial issues, but in an ideal world, they would contribute to the education experience as a meaningful and representative forum for student voices. By making this rogue decision, these student legislators failed their constituency. Like most students, I am not the best at keeping up with the details of our own Student Government Association. But I do hope that it will not be negligent enough to bring nationwide shame upon our university. This action is a reminder that we should keep an eye on our elected decision-makers. In recent years, Congress might have been more likely to accomplish nothing at all rather than something outrageous, but that would change if they didn’t have to answer to the people. As an immigrant from Russia, I find it beautiful in some ways that citizens can so actively disrespect the flag without fear of being jailed or even executed. But in a country with so many freedoms, it is puzzling why anyone would want to. I scoff at these clowns and hoist my own flag even higher.

DANIEL GALITSKY JUNIOR

wo weeks ago, I criticized an Oklahoma politician’s efforts to censor U.S. history education in his state, arguing that his suppression contradicts the very values he attempts to uphold. A week ago, an even more pathetic statement was made by members of the student government at the University of California, Irvine. Some student legislators voted to ban the American flag from the student government’s lobby under the pretext that it “can be interpreted as hate speech” in a space intended to be inclusive. While the resolution included all flags, its intent was to indulge someone who complained of being offended by an American flag hung in the space. Predictably, this incident s t i r re d a va r i e ty o f rea c tions about dishonoring those who fought and died for this country and the way the education system is indoctrinating students. Those claims might have merit, but I am not alarmed about what this one incident involving six student voters says about our country. What is most striking is the level of hypocrisy displayed by students at a public university that receives federal and state money. Sitting under a roof and banging a gavel paid for by the government, they decided to use their limited power to abridge free speech and demonize the symbol of the very freedoms they exercise. Regardless of the school’s funding, students should be able to express themselves freely and criticize any aspect of America as they see fit. However, in this case, the students only made vague and callow statements about how the flag violates a “ dy n a m i c a n d m u l t i fa ce te d Daniel Galitsky is a junior economics culture” and represents “con- and finance major. He can be reached formity and … homogenized at dgalitskydbk@gmail.com. GUEST COLUMN

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Going beyond ‘bad teacher’ EMMA ATLAS SENIOR

rom my 16 years as a student, I have gained a more nuanced understanding of what makes an educator effective than “grades fairly” or “is nice.” Like a superstitious gambler, or more generously, a studied critic, I’ve learned the subtle tip-offs that indicate when I’ll be spending my time at my desk meeting the professor way more than halfway. While I find the idea that any of my professors might deign to read this ridiculous, they should know this is just a mosaic of experience. No single person inspired this column; I’m just looking down from the top. Without further ado, the list: 1. The Quiet Game Despite what you’d hope, classroom control does not stop being a valuable skill after middle school. Failure to control a room full of adults should be an obvious sign that something is wrong. Should students behave? Yes, but one always expects the best and prepares for the worst. There are failures that exist when a professor tries too hard to control the room as well. If a professor needs to take the time to tell people where to sit, how to take notes, when to ask about grades or how often to show up, it indicates that they want a babysitter’s job, not a professional relationship with students. Who goes to office hours to be patronized? 2. The Boy Who Cried ‘Difficult’ When a professor gets in front of the class every day and tells me every new topic is difficult and everything

will be on the test, I throw my hands up. If the content turns out to be easy, the whole class goes off the rails. I take a professor’s recommendations regarding the difficulty of new subjects very seriously. When delivered correctly, warnings are a valuable study aid. Abusing them doesn’t make the course seem “challenging,” it turns studying into guesswork. 3. No Toasters Students can respect a ban on phone use. Oddly, students don’t respect the enforcement of this rule. Stopping the lecture to tell someone to put a phone away, especially if the phone wasn’t a distraction, is itself a distraction. Done repeatedly, it’s a huge distraction. Similarly, students often use phones instead of laptops. If a professor wants students to ask permission before doing this, I can understand that, but with the dawn of tablets, it’s a setup for total confusion. What happens if my neighbor and I take out our iPhone 9s, slap them into keyboards, she starts taking notes and I start texting my mom? Fighting this battle mid-lecture is lunacy. Limit enforcement to classroom distractions, and no further. 4. Falling from the Tree There is no excuse for not understanding how to use ELMS — too many resources are available to faculty. Attempting to pretend that ELMS ate students’ grades or assignments does not work. We know the Internet. This sort of bluff is like trying to tell birds that wings don’t work today. What starts as an innocuous ignorance of technology can quickly spiral into superstitious voodoo, and watching this play out in front of a

room full of savvy students is hard to watch. ELMS doesn’t make mistakes. It’s not a person. 5. A Sixth Sense There’s a metric some students use that I don’t think professors are aware of: “unreliability.” This calculation is a measure of a professor’s tendency to produce an expected response in an interaction. For example: On two different days, two different students’ phones go off. An unreliable professor takes the phone on one day and ignores it the next. Or, a professor is asked about the format of the test and cannot answer. These details might seem like nothing, but the key is that they always seem to translate to grades and testing. Brand-new content appears on the test and previously highlighted material is absent. Grading ignores major mistakes and picks apart synonyms. Participation grades vary wildly. Professors have to try their best to become human input-output tables, or they risk bucking their students off the ride. 6. Going Forward I want to note that none of these are complaints about how I was graded by any professor. Rather, t h e s e s i g n s h i g h l i g h t a d a i ly struggle to learn. I can succeed in a class whose professor fails in all these departments. But it’s a lot of unnecessary work, and I know many students will fail to keep up because of it. Where students might have the capacity to learn a given subject, these traits will get in the way. Emma Atlas is a senior government and politics major. She can be reached at eatlasdbk@gmail.com.

hat? Maryland football fans are now required to pay for the privilege of buying football season tickets for the 2015 season? For the past many seasons, I have bought three or more season tickets for Byrd Stadium games in section 23 (about the 30-yard line). This year, when I called to renew my tickets for 2015, I was informed by the ticket agent that the cost of eligibility for those seats was $1,300, a Diamondback-level contribution to the Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund. The agent politely informed me that this has been the policy all along, unknown to me, and would be enforced this year. To ease the fan base into this policy demand, I would only have to pay 25 percent of that demand this year, 50 percent for 2016, and 100 percent for 2017 and beyond. For sections 24 and 25, the price demand is $2,200. As you move toward the end zone, the demand decreases to $1,300, to $650 and then to $135. For many years, I have voluntarily contributed $100 to the scholarship fund. Is this any way to treat a longstanding loyal fan base? It is an outrageous squeeze on the people. I w i l l b e 8 0 ye a rs o l d i n October and began attending this school’s football games at age 15, about 65 years ago. Then, our team was rated in the top 10 for football, and we were national champions in the early 1950s. I attended this university in 1953-54 and was a sports report-

er for this newspaper before leaving for a long military career. I have returned in recent years through the Golden ID program and even was an academic coach for two football players about 15 years ago. I can recall many happy tailgates in Lot 1 over the years with my father’s friends and my own gang, most of whom have moved on now to greener pastures. In those days, one could park anywhere before the game for free. It was really fun. So, I am the “Last of the Mohicans” from my gang attending games, often with my children, two of whom are graduates of this university. Pregame festivities have improved in some ways. Now, there is free popcorn in the Riggs Alumni Center across from the stadium before kickoff. So let’s rise up, fan base, and boycott season tickets. I guess I will buy an individual ticket for a game or two. I will attend the pregame festivities of the other home games this year for the popcorn and hoopla, but then return home to watch it on TV. Do not count me out for the next bowl game. I have been to some over the years, including last year’s in California. I hope this letter inspires others. Fellow students, tell your parents a n d g ra n d p a re n t s to b oyc o t t football season tickets. Fan base, let’s unite! John Schaffer is a Golden ID student and a former sports reporter for this newspaper. He can be reached at jaschaff@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.

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 | The Diamondback

FEATURES CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Give a big smile 5 Brains, maybe 10 Volvo rival 14 Fully qualified 15 Tatum or Ryan 16 “Swan Lake” attire 17 Raucous diver 18 Edge past 19 Blissful spot 20 Worked clay 22 Kennel noise 24 Pipe bowl, maybe 25 Mountain pass 26 Park amenity 30 Duds 34 Sere 35 Early Teutons 37 Hog food 38 Cowboy’s sweetie 39 Minuscule 40 Hydrocarbon suffix 41 Mediterranean landmark 43 Very very 45 Urn homophone 46 Wanes 48 Voted in 50 Peace offering 51 Auto’s tankful 52 Makes a pit stop 56 Smudged

60 “It was -- -mistake!” 61 Exaggerated 63 King Mongkut’s nanny 64 Smelting waste 65 Lost cause 66 Barge 67 Glass square 68 Smacks a mosquito 69 Bored response

30 That place 31 Wide-awake 32 Metaphysical poet 33 Pace 36 Lunar New Year

42 Ease 43 Disconnects 44 North African port 45 Sheer joy 47 Fair-hiring abbr.

49 Sense organ 52 Rough file 53 First name in jazz 54 Eggy dessert 55 Natural crystals

56 57 58 59

Recital piece Ancient empire Plenty, previously Curfew for Dracula 62 Double helix

DOWN 1 Stop short 2 Poet’s black 3 Lotion additive 4 Threatened 5 Oats holder (2 wds.) 6 Novelist -Bagnold 7 Rainbow band 8 Actress Tyne -9 Horses pull them 10 Treeless plains 11 Car import 12 Pharaoh’s god 13 Keg tap 21 Wall Street figure 23 Links goal 26 Roll with a hole 27 Teed off 28 Pottery ovens 29 Utters a dismal cry

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orn today, you may not always be sure exactly what it is you are meant to do in life. As a result, you may find yourself either drifting freely from one occupation to another without committing fully to anything at all over the long haul, or you may simply decide on something in an almost random attempt to live a life that is responsible, traditional and supportive of self and family. There is, however, one particular endeavor to which your personality and talents are especially suited, but it may take a good deal of searching -- within and without -- before you discover what this is. Once you do discover it, you may find that the world is your oyster! The greatest danger you face in life is one of falsehood, and the greatest falsehood you may face is self-deception. You must always strive to be honest with yourself, for only in that way can you be honest with others. It’s essential that you learn who you really are -- then, perhaps, you’ll also know what you are meant to do. Also born on this date are: Mitt Romney, politician; James Taylor, singer-songwriter; Liza Minnelli, actress and singer; Aaron Eckhart, actor; Al Jarreau, musician; Darryl Strawberry, baseball player; Gordon MacRae, actor; Courtney B. Vance, actor; Jack Kerouac, author; Titus Welliver, actor; Edward Albee, playwright; Frank Welker, voice 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.

FRIDAY, MARCH 13 PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) -- You may be going through a change of heart, but your biggest concern will be how this affects those around you. ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- You may be captivated by someone’s small-town outlook. As a result, you can see things in a way that takes you by surprise. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- The work a friend is doing can be quite inspiring to you. What you want most at this time is to collaborate in some way. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- It’s time to give thanks to those who have done so much to put you where you are. The best way show your gratitude is to give it your all. CANCER (June 21-July 22) -Your confidence will be on display, but take care that you don’t let it get the better of you. Maintain a realistic self-image. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- You may have good reason to change the rules -- but only temporarily. Before day’s end, you’ll want things to be back the way they were. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -You have a great deal of praise to

pass around, but you mustn’t forget that you were an instrumental part of the success you’re enjoying. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- The difference between a right and a privilege will become crystal clear. You have much to be thankful for, indeed. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- You’ve been struggling to find the right vocabulary. With the help of a friend or partner, you’ll find what you’re looking for. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Someone’s trying to get in touch with you, but you’re concerned that you are not ready to engage in the conversation he wants to have. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- You have something to celebrate, yet you may want to keep things under wraps for a while -- if only for the surprise value. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- You’ll want to be ready with the right words when you are given the opportunity to share your thoughts.

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THE DIAMONDBACK | THURSDAY, March 12, 2015

DIVERSIONS

ON THE SITE

KEEP ON ROCKING Staff writers Danny Parisi and Zoë DiGiorgio debate the future of the Rock Band series — fake plastic keytars and all. Visit dbknews.com for their faceoff.

FOOD | ALONE AT 251 NORTH

(Two Fifty-)One is the loneliest NUMBER One writer discovers what it feels like to dine with infinite food — and zero companions By Maeve Dunigan @maevedunigan Staff writer Sometimes you want to be alone. This was not one of those times. It was a Thursday. I had just come to the realization that I had not yet been to 251 North, the buffet-style dining hall on the campus, that entire week. The traditional meal plan gifted me one meal per week in 251 North, and since I knew I couldn’t go on Friday, I didn’t want to let one of my precious 251 swipes fall by the wayside. I proceeded to contact everyone I knew to see whether they wanted to join me. As fate would have it, no one in the enormous group of friends I texted (OK, it was only three) could go to dinner because all (three) of them were busy doing homework assignments. I was left with two choices: I could go to 251 by myself, something I had never even contemplated. Or, I could get takeout from a different dining hall and sacrifice one of my 251 meal swipes.

MY FOOD WAS UNDERWHELMING AND A BIT BLAND, AND, AS USUAL, I ATE ALL OF IT. I knew I could potentially eat an unlimited amount of subpar food items, but was it worth the embarrassment of eating alone at a buffet? Is anything more sad than eating alone at a buffet? Eventually, because I am an old miserly man, I came

to the conclusion that I should go to 251 because it was the practical thing to do. I bottled up my pride and headed out the door. *** Upon entering the dining hall, I saw large groups of students chatting away with their friends at long tables. As I made my way around t h e ro o m to ge t fo o d , I assumed everyone somehow knew I was there alone and was thinking about how strange and sad I was. In reality, if anyone had any thoughts about my presence at all, it was probably something along the lines of, “Why does that girl standing next to the pizza keep sighing melodramatically?” After getting some food, I took a seat at a table of one, which, in a giant dining hall, is actually a table that seats about 12. This particular spot was occupied by five other lonely-looking students who, in an effort to compensate for the fact that everyone was watching them eat alone, were all trying to make it seem like they were doing something really important on their laptops. The guy with the headphones, the girl with the weird sweater — these were my friends now. I will never talk to them or see their faces again, but they still hold a very tiny and dear place in my heart. My food was underwhelming and a bit bland, and, as usual, I ate all of it. The mac ‘n’ cheese was good, but I ate so much that it started to taste like plastic.

I refilled my bowl at the frozen yogurt machine so many times that I eventually just refused to make eye contact with the employee standing by the station. At one point, I attempted to eat a piece of steak, but it was so tough that I had to spit it back onto my plate, as if I were a mother bird feeding her babies. I then waved at a young gentleman two tables over who had been watching me. He looked concerned. *** Eating by myself with virtually nothing else to do was a strange and fairly boring experience. I counted the number of people in the room with backward s hats (five); I made a definitive list of my top three Beyoncé albums ( B ’ D ay , B eyo n c é a n d 4) . Plus, I found out how long I can balance a fork upright on my hand (four seconds, if I’m lucky). In the end, eating alone at 251 North wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be. I didn’t make any new friends, but I also didn’t make any new enemies. I didn’t necessarily eat the best food, but I sure did eat a lot of it. I wasn’t with a large group of people, but I was sitting next to a machine that has (as far as I’m concerned) infinite amounts of frozen yogurt. As I left, I even briefly contemplated going to 251 North alone again someday. I probably never will. mdunigandbk@gmail.com

251 North, located in the heart of the Denton Community, is a haven for groups of students looking to make the most of their meal plans. But how is the all-you-care-to-eat dining experience different if you’re grabbing dinner alone? file phot0s /the diamondback

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THE DIAMONDBACK | SPORTS | THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL | NOTEBOOK

Terps remain in hunt for NCAA tournament No. 1 seed Frese gives players time off during two-week break; coach hopes to see improvement while protecting leads By Ryan Baillargeon @RyanBaillargeon Senior staff writer Three of the past four times the Terrapins women’s basketball team gathered to watch the NCAA tournament selection show, the number four has flashed up next to its name. But after a 30-2 season in which they went 18-0 during Big Ten play and won the conference tournament last weekend, the Terps are in the discussion to be one of the four No. 1 seeds. For redshirt senior Laurin Mincy, that’s what she’s hoping to see in her final season in College Park. “I’m really excited about Selection Monday,” Mincy said. “It’s my fifth one. It’s always a good time.” ESPN Bracketology currently has the Terps as the No. 1 seed in the Spokane region. If that occurs, coach Brenda Frese’s squad will enter the NCAA tournament as the top team in a region for the first time since 2009. Frese is less concerned with the Terps’ seed and more with the path they will be dealt, though. “The biggest thing for us over the years has been your bracket, and is it favorable?” Frese said. Such was the case last season, when the Terps were content with their No. 4 seed because they liked the matchups in their region. They wound up knocking off No. 1-seed Tennessee and No. 3-seed Louisville en route to their first Final Four appearance since they won the national championship in 2006. “The number in front of your name doesn’t guarantee you any games,” Frese said. “For us, as a No. 4 seed, last year worked pretty well.” So while Mincy is hoping to enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed in her fifth and final year with the Terps, the team is content with the resume it has built. After all, it’s matched a program record with 24 consecutive wins dating back to Dec. 7.

guard lexie brown dribbles down the court during a victory over South Florida in November. Brown said the Terps will “be thankful for whatever seed” they get for the NCAA tournament. “We left it all on the court these past couple weeks,” guard Lexie Brown said after the Terps defeated Ohio State in the Big Ten championship Sunday. “We are going to be thankful for whatever seed we get.”

SPRING BREAK PLANS With the Big Ten tournament finished, the Terps have nearly two weeks before the NCAA tournament starts on March 21. Frese likes to use the first weekend of spring break to give her team a chance to rest and see family before the postseason’s final push.

Brown will take the opportunity to see her father, Dee Brown, who played in the NBA and currently serves as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings. He will be in the area Saturday when the Kings play at the Washington Wizards. Mincy is hoping to get the chance to surprise her younger brother, Edward Smith, at his first AAU game Saturday in Pennsylvania. “He’s going to look forward to seeing me in the stands if I end up being there,” Mincy said. “I’m just excited to see him play. He is getting taller and taller each day.”

LATE-GAME SITUATIONS While the Terps managed to go 3-0 over the weekend to clinch their first Big Ten tournament title, the wins didn’t come without anxiety down the stretches of games. Frese’s squad developed a habit of building a double-digit lead during the first 30 minutes of play before watching their opponent chip away. In the quarterfinals against Michigan State, the Terps held a 19-point advantage with 8:26 left, but it was a 10-point game at the final buzzer. The next day, the Terps built another

christian jenkins/the diamondback

19-point lead before allowing Northwestern to piece together a 13-2 run that cut the advantage to eight points. Then, in the championship, the Terps let a 15-point second-half edge slip down to a one-point game before holding on for a 77-74 victory. So in the lengthy break before the NCAA tournament, Frese’s squad is planning to improve its situational play in practice. “We are trying to work on putting a dagger in it,” Mincy said. rbaillargeondbk@gmail.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 | SPORTS | The Diamondback

tigers

“WE PLAYED REALLY WELL TODAY ALL From PAGE 10 OVER THE FIELD. WE DID A REALLY NICE most productive offensive day in a Terps uniform. JOB TAKING CARE OF She tied Cummings, who THE BALL, MAKING recorded two goals and four GOOD DECISIONS assists, for a game-high six ON OFFENSIVE [AND] points. “She’s such a good dodger, PLAYING VERY a n d s h e ’s s u c h a g o o d DISCIPLINED.” shooter,” coach Cathy Reese said of Whittle. “She can be a spark when she has the opportunity.” From the opening draw, the defending national champions’ prowess was on full display. Midfielder Erin Collins scored the Terps’ first goal of the game for the second game in a row off an assist from defender Shanna Brady in transition. From there, the Terps took advantage of free-position opportunities, as Whittle and Cummings converted after Tigers’ fouls to help extend the lead to 4-0. Whittle notched another first-half goal when she took a pass from Mercer, streaked through the circle and deposited a shot past Donnelly. The freshman’s second goal of the half gave the Terps (6-0) a 5-0 lead at the period’s halfway point and contributed to mounting momentum. Attacker Gabby Cha mustered two goals for the Tigers (2-1) against the Terps’ stiff defense before haltime, but Towson, trailing 8-2 at the break, failed to find the back of the net for the remainder of the game. “Our defense took care of the ball,” Reese said. “We only had four turnovers all game. It was a great night.” Despite the Terps’ large lead and control of possession, the Tigers outshot their opponent 14-12 in the opening 30 minutes. But the Terps bested Towson 15-6 in the category in

CATHY REESE

Terrapins women’s lacrosse coach the final period. Reese’s squad also connected on eight of its 12 shots in the first half and 17 of its 27 on the night to improve on its 30 percent shooting efficiency from Saturday’s win over then-No. 5 Syracuse. “That was something that was really important to us is trying to get our shooting percentage up,” Cummings said. “We were … 17 for 27, which is over 50 percent, which is something we strive for every game. So I think that was a big improvement.” T h e Te r ps o p e n e d t h e second half with the same aggression, and they outscored the Tigers 9-0 over the final 30 minutes. Most of the goals came during a running clock resulting from the team’s doubledigit lead. Whittle added four more goals in the second half, midfielder Zoe Stukenberg finished two and Cummings, Hensh and midfielder Kacie Longo tallied one each. Fitzpatrick made 10 saves to anchor the defense, and the Terps turned in a full team effort to extend their winning streak to six games. “We played really well today all over the field,” Reese said. “We did a really nice job taking care of the ball, making good decisions on offensive [and] playing very disciplined.” ccaplandbk@gmail.com

spencer myers stares down a 285-pound Minnesota opponent Feb. 8. Myers will wrestle No. 3 Bobby Telford of Iowa in the NCAA tournament next week. karen tang/the diamondback

selection From PAGE 10 “The expectation from the beginning for most of these guys is to compete for a national championship,” coach Kerry McCoy said. “We’ve had an up and down year, but now it’s a fresh start.” Mascola, who finished the season with just two more wins than losses, will wrestle Duke’s Immanuel Kerr-Brown for a spot in the 32-wrestler field on March 19. Mascola fell 7-3 to Brown at the Grapple at the Garden on Dec. 21. The winner will face No. 5 Cody Pack of South Dakota State. Pack is a three-time NCAA qualifier and finished this season 34-4. In the 133-pound bracket, Geoffrey Alexander is set for

an opening-round bout with No. 8 Kevin Devoy of Drexel. Though Alexander tweaked his hamstring during the conference tournament and did not wrestle in his 11th place match, his injury isn’t serious. In fact, Alexander — who had already locked up a bid to the NCAA Championships earlier in the tournament — wanted to wrestle in that bout, but McCoy sidelined him out of caution. Alexander dropped five of his final six regular season bouts and settled for 12th at the Big Ten Championships, but McCoy has seen improvement from his 133-pound starter. The veteran coach cited his wrestler’s gritty performance in a five-point loss in the conference tournament against Illinois’ Zane Richards, who beat Alexan-

der twice by major decision earlier in the year, as a step in the right direction. The third Terps wrestler to see his name in the field was Myers, who will take on No. 3 Bobby Telford of Iowa in his opening match. Myers has wrestled Telford twice over the past two years but has yet to secure a decision. Telford defeated Myers 3-0 last March, knocking the former Terps football defensive end out of last year’s NCAA tournament. Myers’ struggles with the Hawkeyes heavyweight continued this season when he suffered an identical three-point loss Feb. 6. “At that weight class, they’re all very comparable,” McCoy said. “Ninety p e rce n t o f h i s m a tc h e s this year have been against

guys that are top 10 in the country, so he’s ready.” The NCAA Championships will begin March 19 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis and will conclude March 21 with 10 national champions. And after a season filled with struggles, three wrestlers remain in contention to claim wrestling ’s most prestigious honor. For Mascola, it’s a chance to meet his goal. “ T h e t ra n s i t i o n f ro m setting that goal came from me just being tired of not reaching my full potential,” Mascola said. “Whatever my full potential is this year is what it is, but my ultimate goal is to be that guy standing on top of the podium.” kstackpoledbk@gmail.com

SPORTS

For news and updates on all Terrapins sports teams, follow us on Twitter @DBKSports.

SQUASHING THE SPIDERS

The Terrapins baseball team beat Richmond, 8-3, last night behind a hot offense and solid relief pitching. For more, visit dbknews.com.

PAGE 10

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

WRESTLING | NCAA TOURNAMENT SELECTION SHOW

Terps top Tigers for sixth win Whittle nets six goals in 17-2 victory over intrastate opponent By Callie Caplan @CallieCaplan Staff writer Terrapins women’s lacrosse goalkeeper Alex Fitzpatrick made a lunging save with less than 20 minutes remaining in a game at Towson last night before swinging an outlet pass to defender Alice Mercer. Mercer raced down the sideline and lofted a pass to midfielder Taylor Cummings at the top of the Tigers’ circle. Cummings received the ball and dished a quick assist to attacker Megan Whittle, who fired a shot past Tigers goalkeeper Kelsea Donnelly to extend the lead to 10 goals. The No. 1 Terps used plays like Whittle’s goal to generate their highest offensive output of the season in a 17-2 defeat of Towson at Johnny Unitas Stadium. “On attack, we just really slowed it down and made sure that we executed,” Whittle said. “Our shooting percentage improved, and that was good, and everyone kind of took the right shot, and all in all, I think it was a really good game.” Whittle led the Terps with six goals on seven shots in the game. The freshman also fielded a ground ball in her See TIGERS, Page 9

lou mascola tries to pin a 157-pound Minnesota opponent in the Terps’ loss Feb. 8. Mascola will wrestle Duke’s Immanuel Kerr-Brown on March 19 in his opening match of the NCAA tournament. karen tang/the diamondback

LEARNING THE PATH Committee announces seeding for Mascola, Alexander, Myers as trio gears up for run at titles

By Kyle Stackpole @kylefstackpole Staff writer On April 1, a little more than a week after last year’s NCAA Championships, Terrapins 157pound wrestler Lou Mascola wrote down his ultimate goal for the upcoming season on his bathroom mirror. “I wrote 2015 NCAA champion on my mirror,

so I see that every day when I wake up and see that a couple times a day,” Mascola said. Whether in the practice room or on the mat during team competition, Mascola has kept that objective in mind throughout his redshirt junior season. Almost a year after scribbling that phrase on his mirror, Mascola is one step closer to achieving what he set out to accomplish. After placing eighth at the Big Ten Championships

March 7–8, he earned an automatic berth to the national tournament. And when the NCAA released the brackets during the selection show on Wednesday night, Mascola, along with 133-pound Geoffrey Alexander and 285-pound Spencer Myers, learned of their first-round opponents and their potential paths toward winning national titles. See Selection, Page 9

BIG TEN TOUR NA MEN T PR EV I E W

STAYING THE COURSE

Forward Jake LayMAn takes a shot during his freshman year (left). Now a junior, Layman has developed into a versatile player, as evident by dunks like one late in a win over Michigan on Feb. 28 (right). file photo/the diamondback ; reid poluhovich/for the diamondback

Jake Layman was forced to grow up in a hurry this summer. Now, he and his program are on the rise. By Aaron Kasinitz @AaronKazreports Senior staff writer

teve Hailey drove away in astonishment after a rare dinner with his former pupil. Hailey was in College Park to visit Jake Layman, the Terrapins men’s basketball forward whom he’d coached as a floppy-haired high schooler with a tendency to stumble on his words when speaking to anyone other than his parents or closest friends. Hailey had watched the Terps beat Nebraska, 69-65, earlier that Feb. 19 night, and afterward, Layman took him to a local diner.

They ate Layman’s favorite meal — breakfast for dinner — and chatted about the days when they teamed up on Massachusetts’ most dominant Athletic Amateur Union team. Aside from a few summer workouts, the duo hadn’t been together much since Layman left for college, and their talk dragged on long after the plates emptied and the bill came. Eventually, Hailey said goodbye and began the six-hour drive back to New England. STORY CONTINUES P. 2

THE DIAMONDBACK | BIG TEN TOURNAMENT PREVIEW | THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015

forward jake layman works to get position against Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker during the Terps’ victory over the Badgers on Feb. 24. Layman is averaging a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game this season after grabbing five per contest as a sophomore. alik mcintosh/the diamondback

“JAKE’S WHOLE THING WHEN HE WAS RECRUITED WAS THAT HE WANTED TO RESTORE MARYLAND’S TRADITION AND BE A PART OF THAT. THAT NEVER CHANGED THIS SUMMER.” TIM LAYMAN

Jake Layman’s father “Jake’s whole thing when he was recruited was that he wanted to restore Maryland’s tradition and be a part of that. That never changed this summer,” Tim Layman said. “Now, he’s doing that.”

forward jake layman gears up to rise for a dunk during Maryland Madness on Oct. 17 at Xfinity Center. christian jenkins/the diamondback

layman From PAGE 1 But he couldn’t stop thinking about the Terps’ budding star. When he got home, Hailey called Claire and Tim Layman. He had to tell them about his sit-down with their son. “He’s really blossoming into a young man,” Hailey told Layman’s parents. “He’s sure about himself, sits upright with his chest up. He communicates. We had long conversations about anything. “You can see his maturation. It’s evident.” That’s all those close to

Layman can talk about. The kid from a tiny town who always felt more comfortable in the background is growing up fixed in the foreground. The transformation has extended to the basketball court, where he’s traded a role as a deep threat whose impact from game to game d e p e n d e d s o l e ly o n h i s shooting touch for a spot as the No. 8 Terps’ top rebounder and a multifaceted, physical scorer. Earlier this week, media voted Layman to the All-Big Ten third team. And he’ll be a key part of the lineup when the Terps open Big Ten tournament play to-

morrow afternoon. Perhaps, Layman suggested, his growth is rooted in his hellish offseason. When five Terps transferred away after a disappointing 17-15 campaign last spring, Layman was left amid a program in flux. All three of his roommates had transferred. He was the last remaining piece of his recruiting class after his best friends jumped from a ship he wasn’t ready to abandon. Staying in College Park forced Layman to grow up in a hurry. And through the process, he’s helped pull a once-prominent program up with him.

*** Layman’s hometown of Wrentham, Massachusetts, has a population of about 11,000, and it’s not known for great basketball. Hailey, a guard at Boston College in the early 2000s, used to rib the skinny-as-a-lightpost teenager, saying “when Jake scores 20 points, Wrentham has a parade for him.” Fitting with his small-town upbringing, Layman displayed laidback qualities since he could walk. “That’s just how Jake was,” Claire Layman said of her

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son, one of five brothers. “He was quiet and would go with the flow.” The basketball court was where Layman could make a name for himself. He had sprouted close to 6-foot-8 by the time he was a high school sophomore, and he whipped around the court like a ceiling fan. A f te r a s te l l a r se co n d yea r a t K i n g P h i l i p Re gional High School in 2010, L ay m a n jo i n e d t h e b e s t AAU team in New England, Boston Amateur Basketball Club. Nerlens Noel, a former Kentucky star now playing in the NBA, was the headliner on that BABC team, along with Iowa State All-

America candidate Georges Niang and Kansas standout Wayne Selden. Jaylen Brantley, a Terps commit spending this season in junior college, rounded out the starting lineup. Sometimes, Layman took over games with his length and shooting ability, but with such a talented group around him, he often just spaced the floor while the offense ran through Noel and Niang. He’s done that in College Park, too. Coach Mark Turgeon isn’t afraid to call Layman’s number, but Terps guards Dez Wells and Melo Trimble have a habit of controlling the action late in contests. “Having a guy like Nerlens No e l o n yo u r tea m a n d Georges Niang, I definitely was that guy just knocking threes down, playing defense,” Layman said. “That’s why I think when things get going

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THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 | BIG TEN TOURNAMENT PREVIEW | The Diamondback

layman

BY THE NUMBERS From PAGE 2

for Dez and Melo, it’s definitely not easy, but I handle it well.” As Layman slid into a sidekick role on the court with BABC, he also tried to assimilate onto the team while exposed to an unfamiliar set of circumstances. Layman traveled far away from Wrentham while with the team. He spent time with dominant personalities and was forced to stray from his comfortable surroundings and lifelong friends. Noel and Niang had been highschool teammates, and many kids on BABC had been playing together for years before Layman joined midway through high school. Even with his teammates, he had trouble expressing himself outside of Wrentham, where, as Hailey explained, “He could be himself. He told jokes. He smiled.” “Once he started to work out with me, I was like, ‘Wow, this kid could shoot,’” Hailey said. “I saw the potential with the length and everything; I just had to break that barrier with the shyness and then his game would open because he would develop confidence about himself.” It was a slow process for Layman. But by the second summer he spent with BABC, he had grown used to the travel and the uptick in competition. He had gotten familiar with Noel and Niang and the rest of the group. And after dozens of training sessions with Hailey and other elite players, Layman’s confidence expanded. Then that personable kid from Wrentham started showing up on the hardwood. “You definitely saw it come out,” Hailey said. “He would get a steal, he would get a dunk, and he would bang on his chest and scream, and it was like, ‘OK, he is coming along.’” The newfound emotion on the court was a foreshadowing of sorts. As Layman rolled through competition during his final two high school

53.5 percent of Layman’s shots have been 2-pointers this season, up from 39.6 percent last season

4 free throws Layman has shot per game this season, up from 2.78 last season

47.4 percent Layman has shot from the field this season, up from 40.1 percent last season

seasons, he began to draw interest from top Division I programs. He fell in love with the Terps, thanks to Turgeon’s coaching style, jaw-dropping facilities and the proximity to his father’s family in Bel Air. After spending the summer of 2012 playing with the U.S. National Under-18 team, he came to College Park as part of a four-player recruiting class determined to jump-start the program’s revival.

*** In May, Jake Layman would often come home from training sessions to an empty apartment. His roommates were off on recruiting trips to other schools. For the first two years of Layman’s Terps tenure, he roomed with guard Seth Allen and forwards Charles Mitchell and Shaquille Cleare. The four made up Turgeon’s first full recruiting class in College Park, and they bonded through hundreds of workouts, dozens of road trips and countless hours together off the court. But after the Terps finished their 2013-14 campaign with a 17-15 record and missed the postseason, Cleare announced his decision to transfer in April along with freshman Roddy Peters and junior Nick Faust. Then reports starting circulating that Allen and Mitchell would follow suit. In early May, Allen, who finished second on the Terps in scoring as a sophomore and figured to be a key

forward jake layman talks with a reporter on media day in October. The Terps have since earned a school-record 26 regular-season wins. christian jenkins/the diamondback component of the team’s future, decided to transfer. “Jake hit an emotional low point when Seth left,” Tim Layman said. “It was a surprise because it didn’t really make sense. Seth and Jake were also really close friends. Jake was kind of all alone after that.” On the surface, Layman expressed calm confidence through social media and interviews. To his family, he let feelings of isolation show. Much went through Layman’s mind on those days he was left alone in the apartment, but he never once gave thought to bolting along with his pals. No, Layman thought, he’d stay the course in College Park because he believed in Turgeon. He thought things could turn around. When the doubts about the program’s path crept into his mind, and they did from time to time during the summer, he’d call his parents. “This is your time to hang tough and kind of build a culture around

Maryland basketball,” Layman remembers his parents saying. After Mitchell became the fifth Terp to transfer in the offseason, Turgeon brought his team together for a meeting. He told the remaining players they could leave if they wanted, but if they made a decision to stay, they must buy into the system. “If you’re here, you’re here,” the coach said. Layman didn’t have an issue trusting Turgeon, but suddenly, he was, along with Wells, the longesttenured player on the team. When summer brought a star-studded four-player freshman class to College Park, Layman was thrust into an unfamiliar leadership role while adjusting to life in college without three of his closest companions. “He was kind of at the point in his maturation process where he can take that hit,” Tim Layman said. “He could take it and move on, and maybe it even made him grow up a little bit faster.”

Compassion is a Beautiful Thing.

At the very least, it motivated him to get the Terps back to the NCAA tournament. “With how much work we put in this summer, it was bound to happen,” Layman said.

*** In the final home game of a stunning season, Jake Layman had one more play to make before fans at Xfinity Center. With the Terps leading Michigan, 62-54, late in a Feb. 28 contest, the Wolverines committed to a trapping defense in a last-ditch attempt to spark a comeback. When Wells got the ball near the top of the key, Layman’s defender left his assignment to sprint up from the baseline to try and force a steal. So the Terps junior slipped toward the basket and called for the ball. Wells whipped a pass to him. Layman See layman, Page 4

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THE DIAMONDBACK | BIG TEN TOURNAMENT PREVIEW | thursday, march 12, 2015

TIME TO PAY RESPECTS

Turgeon is a National Coach of the Year candidate, and even if he doesn’t win, he’s proven he deserves recognition for the Terps’ turnaround

COACH MARK TURGEON (left) directs his players during the Terps’ home win over Michigan State on Jan. 17. Turgeon (right) celebrates after guard Dez Wells’ buzzer-beating putback layup gave the Terps a narrow victory against Northwestern.

Men’s basketball columnist Mark Turgeon had lots to worry about last season. As losses mounted and personalities clashed during an underwhelming 17-15 campaign, the Terrapins men’s basketball coach ran out of answers. Trust among teammates dissipated. Turgeon would provide his players with days off only to see them fail to do the right things with their free time. By necessity, he started concentrating less on what was happening on the court and more on what was happening off it. The offseason came. Five rotation players transferred. Fans called for Turgeon’s job. A program that once saw the view from the mountaintop

plunged deeper into mediocrity. A year later, though, the No. 8 Terps are mediocre no more. They’re national title contenders and are seeded No. 2 in this weekend’s Big Ten tournament. And while the wealth of talent at Turgeon’s disposal, highlighted by freshman point guard Melo Trimble, can’t be denied, the fourth-year sideline general has earned the right to be recognized for his tremendous achievement. Turgeon was instrumental in this turnaround. He never wavered in his belief in the program, his principles and those who refused to turn their backs on the team. That’s why he should be strongly considered for the Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year Award — the highest honor in coaching. “He’s had a lot of unfair criticism

f0rward jake layman throws down a dunk in the Terps’ win over Central Connecticut State in November. He’s averaging 13.1 points per game this season. alexander jonesi/the diamondback

layman From PAGE 3 caught it, rose into the air and threw down a thunderous slam dunk while unleashing a scream that matched those of the announced 17,950 in attendance. When he landed he pounded his chest, showing the same emotion he displayed once he got comfortable on the AAU circuit.

“He’s really come into his own this year,” Claire Layman said. Just as it did in his high school years, Layman’s game has transformed as he’s gotten acclimated to College Park. Menacing dunks, like the one against the Wolverines, and physical play have become the norm for a player who entered college as a wiry sharpshooter. A s a s o p h o m o re , 5 3 .5 percent of Layman’s field goals

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over the past couple years,” guard Dez Wells said. “For him to come up and to step up and respond the way that he has and coach us and challenge us the way he has over the last year, it’s been amazing. He deserves it.” Don’t be mistaken; there are plenty of other worthy candidates for the award across college basketball. Virginia’s Tony Bennett has instituted his grind-it-out style to firmly cement the Cavaliers in the top five despite losing his best player, Justin Anderson, to injury. Kentucky’s John Calipari harnessed the potential of nine McDonald’s All-Americans using team-first basketball to lead the Wildcats to a perfect regular season. Ben Jacobson of Northern Iowa and Chris Holtmann of Butler, meanwhile, sustained unexpected success in mid-major conferences.

were 3-pointers, and because he spent most of his time behind the arc, he only shot 2.8 free throws per game. But this season, Layman has primarily played power forward instead of small forward, and he often posts up defenders or drives to the rim. Layman has taken four free throws a game this season, while 39.6 percent of his shots have been from behind the arc. The result has been spikes in field-goal percentage (from 40.1 percent in 2013-14 to 47.4 percent this season) and points per game (from 11.7 to 13.1). He also leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per contest. In February, Layman was named to the Karl Malone Award watch list, putting him in the running for the honor given to the nation’s top power forward. And he’s no longer a role player. He joins Wells and Trimble as Turgeon’s go-to players, a group the coach calls “the big three.” “Jake’s just being Jake this year,” Turgeon said. “It’s always been in there for him. He worked his tail off this spring and summer.” That work in the offseason was geared toward tran-

Any of these coaches is qualified for the award. And odds are, Turgeon won’t bring the coveted honor back to College Park. But that’s not the point. The mere fact that Turgeon is in the conversation for Coach of the Year is a testament to his resolve. Another season of underperformance, and Turgeon’s ouster would have come as no surprise. Now, he has opportunity to build something special. His players understand that. “To be able to go from what happened to where we are now, it’s definitely got to be hard, especially for the head coach,” forward Jake Layman said. “But it just shows how much everyone cares about him on this team because we’re all doing it — not just for each other, but for Coach.” Aside from job security, the Terps’ transformation has had a huge

sitioning Layman’s style of play. He was in the gym with former Terps forward and graduate assistant John Auslander several days each week working on post moves. Layman also credits his improvements on the interior to battles in practice with one of his new roommates, Robert Carter Jr., a redshirting transfer from Georgia Tech who grabbed 8.4 rebounds per game last season. Now, one of Turgeon’s frequented late-game calls is to get the ball to the American studies major in the post, an area he rarely ventured to during his first two college seasons. But the evolution has extended beyond additional strength and fine-tuned spin moves. Layman’s been a leader on a team that shocked the country by winning 26

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only thing that impressed his former coach. Rather, Hailey also noticed how determined and how proud Layman seemed when talked about his Terps team. It’s as though the kid and the program grew up together. “It’s just special to be a part of this,” Layman said, “especially to be one of the guys that kind of turned it around for Maryland.” akasinitzdbk@gmail.com

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games. And for the first time in college, he’s let his personality show this year. “I’m so happy for Jake,” Turgeon said. “Just to watch Jake be this quiet kid for two years and just kind of come out of his shell is great to see. That’s why you coach, is to be a part of those things.” Hailey feels the same way. Back in mid-February over that nighttime breakfast at the diner, Layman’s poise and self-assurance wasn’t the

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impact on how Turgeon conducts himself on a daily basis. He no longer has to worry about his players making good decisions during off days. “He trusts us,” Layman said. Turgeon’s worries this season are much more innocuous. “The biggest issue he might have had this year is if somebody was five minutes late to class,” Wells said. Turgeon smiles more. He’s relaxed. He’s having fun again. He now can focus on the things that matter the most, Wells said: coaching basketball and ensuring the positive development of all his players. And with a team full of confidence and ability, Turgeon can start cementing what will surely be a historic Terps legacy this weekend in Chicago.

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