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RECRUIT WATCH

MY FAIR LADY

Edsall, coaches looking to capitalize on Terps’ buzz

Lady Antebellum’s newest album is a pleasant listen

SPORTS | PAGE 8

DIVERSIONS | PAGE 6

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

THE DIAMONDBACK Our 102ND Year, No. 9

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

County crime SGA tackles group funding process rates drop, police report Committee of student leaders forming soon to revamp allocation procedures

BY LEAH VILLANUEVA Senior staff writer

Overall and violent crime rates down so far in 2011

BY ERIN EGAN Staff writer

Just six months into his tenure as Prince George’s County Police District 1 Commander, Maj. Hector Velez is already seeing dramatic decreases in crime — results of increased county collaborations with local, state and federal agencies, he said.

According to Velez, county officials have reported a 5.2 percent crime decrease this year in District 1, which includes College Park.

Police have also noted a 10.9 percent drop in violent crime, translating to about 257 fewer victims. Velez said these drops are directly related to initiatives the department has launched in his first few months as commander.

“What’s triggered this decline is the approach that this administration is taking,” said Velez, who officially took over in March. “We now have meetings every week with more than 70 people — district commanders, agency heads — and we go over all the problems from the week and

One thing was clear to SGA leaders at the beginning of the semester — the existing process to fund student groups is broken and needs to be fixed this year once and for all.

And now Student Government Association executives are calling on student group leaders

themselves to come together to form a plan for taking this process in a new direction.

Over the next two weeks, the SGA will be accepting applications from presidents and treasurers of student groups to form a Commission on Financial Reform, which will be tasked with submitting a proposal to the SGA on how to revamp the way the student activities fees are allocated.

A NEW ROUTE 1

Currently, the SGA funds student groups through the annual mandatory student activities fee — $31.52 for full-time students — that each undergraduate pays. Student group leaders submit a budget and request an amount of money from the SGA every spring, and a committee then divides up the pool of money. An appeals

see FINANCE, page 3

With completion of new high rises, Route 1 evolves from old self

BY JIM BACH Staff writer

Driving in downtown College Park 10 years ago provided a drastically different sight — boarded up businesses, one-story buildings and vacant lots lined the streets leading up to this nationally recognized university, officials said.

But an area once notorious for singlestory development has seen a shift in the past five years toward mixed-use development projects — such as the University View, the View II and The Varsity — and more pedestrian-friendly communities, according to city and Prince George’s County officials. This aligns with university President Wallace Loh’s overarching goal to turn the city into a more appealing college town for prospective and current students.

“We’re really starting to change that whole midtown section of College Park,” said county Councilman Eric Olson (D-College Park).

District 2 City Councilman Bob Catlin said that developers have shifted their focus along Route 1 to accommodate the university’s needs. Without this recent push for more development from city, county and university officials, the city would have continued to look like it was

see CRIME, page 2

COUNTY CRIME STATISTICS Prince George’s County Police are reporting decreases in crime, both in the county and District 1, which includes College Park, this year.

County crime drops in District 1: 5.2 percent decrease in overall crime 10.9 percent decrease in violent crime 257 fewer victims reported this year

see ROUTE 1, page 2

Officials work to patch roof damages, leaks Hurricane Irene affects 10 on-campus buildings

BY NICK FOLEY Staff writer

Between Hurricane Irene’s arrival at the start of the semester and last week’s record-breaking rainfall, at least 10 buildings on the campus have suffered roof damage, and university officials are working to keep the problem at bay.

Facilities Management staff are now faced with more than 100 complaints of water damage in numerous buildings across the campus and are scrambling to bring buildings back to their original, much drier states.

Water gathered in pools on rooftops and saturated the ground around H.J. Patterson Hall, the Biology-Psychology building, the mathematics building, the Art-Sociology building and several other buildings along McKeldin Mall, causing

see REPAIRS, page 3

CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

One for the kids Junior volunteers at summer camp for children with medical conditions

BY SARAH MEEHAN Senior staff writer

It’s not every day a little girl in a wheelchair can zoom through the treetops on a zipline or a one-armed boy can hit a line drive to left field.

But there’s a special place tucked away in New York’s Adirondack Mountains where these children can come forget their troubles for a

few days and simply be kids.

For the past two summers, junior elementary education major Angela Ranganathan has spent a week volunteering at the Double H Ranch, which is one of a series of free international camps for children with serious medical conditions. From June until August, about 125 children ages 6 to 16 who normally would not be able to

Junior elementary education major Angela Ranganathan spent the last two summers volunteering with children. JEREMY KIM/THE DIAMONDBACK

attend other recreational camps can sleep away in cabins and participate in athletic activities.

“This camp gives the kids the

happiness they need, and it also gives them something to live for,

see RANGANATHAN, page 3

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THE DIAMONDBACK | NEWS | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

CRIME from page 1 compare them to last week.

It’s a collaboration.”

In a district that spans 36 square miles with more than 230,000 documented residents, Velez said collaborations with federal agencies, the State’s Attorney’s office, College Park city officials and local residents have been “ver y important” in increasing police presence on the streets and keeping the crime rate low.

“There are so many levels that have to click in order for someone to be put away,” he said. “Reconnecting with the federal agencies helps us put the right people in the right places and minimize repeat offenses.”

“There are things that the police agencies in both jurisdictions are doing right,” University Police spokesman Capt. Marc Limansky said. “A reduction in crime in Prince George’s County carries into the City of College Park and is certainly good news for the university and the community

where we’re situated. We look forward to a continued decrease in crime especially with increased police involvement in the community.”

Countywide, police also noted an 8.2 percent decrease in total crime, a 10.5 percent decrease in violent crime and a 7.8 percent decrease in property crime, Velez said.

The data, which includes crimes committed up to Sept. 2, also verified that District 1 has seen one less homicide than last year — even though 2011 began with 13 homicide investigations in the first 12 days of the year, including a university student who was shot in his offcampus home in January.

Although University Police have not yet compiled their crime statistics for this year, Limansky said on-campus officers are seeing similar trends.

Despite the decrease in crime, some students said they aren’t convinced new collaborations are the source of the decline. Senior sociology major Karin Arias said she thinks county residents and university students have just become more responsible over the last year.

“There are things that the police agencies in both jurisdictions are doing right.”

MARC LIMANSKY UNIVERSITY POLICE SPOKESMAN

“I think students have just become more aware,” Arias said. “I don’t think the actual crimes are going down because of fewer criminals, I think it’s because people care more. Less people are walking alone at nighttime. People are more aware of danger.”

Junior environmental science and technology major Kevin Pellegrini said that although the numbers seem drastic, they’re still believable.

“I think [the percentages] are a little high and I would have guessed they would be smaller, but I’m not shocked,” Pellegrini said. egan@umdbk.com University President Wallace Loh, second from left, commemorates the opening of The Varsity, Route 1’s newest apartment complex. JEREMY KIM/THE DIAMONDBACK

ON THE BLOG campusdrivedbk.wordpress.com

FILE PHOTO/THE DIAMONDBACK

A TERP FOOTBALL FLAG HELMET CAN BE YOURS FOR MERE THOUSANDS For those of you concerned we’d seen the last of the now-infamous Maryland flag-themed football uniforms the Terps wore Sept. 5 vs. Miami, fret not — Maryland Athletics is generously auctioning

them off to benefit ... Maryland Athletics.

The auctions started last week and will last until Monday; as of last night, bidding was between $600 and $1,000 for the jerseys.

To read more visit The Diamondback’s online news blog, Campus Drive.

ROUTE 1 from page 1 stuck in the 1950s, according to Catlin.

“Certainly the old Route 1 was just a lot of one-stor y buildings,” Catlin said.

“That’s what we would have had more of.”

Over the last hundred years, residents converted houses into small businesses, starting a trend toward onestor y development in the area, according to Facilities Management Director Frank Brewer. Nearly a decade ago, the 8400 block of Route 1 boasted the city’s tallest structure: a three-story office building, Brewer said.

“That is not the wave of the future,” Brewer said. “The future is growing up, not out.”

Sahil Raghavan, a senior government and politics major, said he’s seen the city’s skyline steadily rise.

“It definitely changes the skyline on that part of Route 1,” Raghavan said.

At The Varsity’s ribbon cutting ceremony last week, Olson said the building’s foray into the surge of mixed-use development projects springing up near the campus is a shining example of the “new, revitalized Route 1 corridor.”

This emergence of offcampus high-rise apartment complexes has prompted more students to walk to the university, as opposed to commuting and contributing to the traffic congestion that is characteristic of the crowded downtown streets, Brewer said.

“It encourages folks to use their feet or use public transportation instead of singleoccupancy vehicles,” Brewer said.

Olson noted that the opening of off-campus apartments brought with them a flood of “for rent” signs in neighboring community single-family homes, which indicates a strong shift in the student housing options.

Several students said apartment complexes, such

“That is not the wave of the future. The future is growing up, not out.”

FRANK BREWER FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR

as the View, were a better fit for those who didn’t want to live in dorms. “[The University View] reminded me more of a home,” said Rachel Brown, a freshman business major.

While city and county officials said they were content with the city’s rapid development, District 2 Councilman Jack Perr y said that he feels the city hasn’t really changed — there’s still the same revolving door of businesses shuttering in the city’s harsh economic climate.

“It’s the same that it was 20 years ago,” Perr y said. bach@umdbk.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 | NEWS | THE DIAMONDBACK

3

A new cultural immersion National award lets students study abroad in atypical locations

BY MARIA ROMAS Staff writer

For the 14 students at this university awarded a national study abroad scholarship, their experiences in countries such as Egypt, Tajikistan or Russia are much more than a year-long vacation.

The Boren Scholarship and Fellowship gives students about $20,000 to live and learn in many countries where the university’s Study Abroad Office doesn’t have an official program, said Francis DuVinage, the director of this university’s National Scholarships Office.

The students undergo a lengthy application process for the highly selective program, and this year, this university had the highest percentage of student applicants admitted, DuVinage said.

“These are just not typical places study abroad goes,” said senior government and politics and history major Emily Burke, who is studying in Turkey. “It gives students the opportunity to not only learn in a different country but learn a different culture — it gives an international flavor to education.”

University President Wallace Loh said programs like this align with his vision of creating well-rounded, internationally versed students. While the National Security Education Program funds the Boren awards, this university’s National Scholarships Office is helping a growing number of students apply to receive financial assistance that allows them to take time abroad.

“One of the [strategic goals] is to make this a university without borders, especially

being so close to the nation’s capital. We want to bring the world to College Park and have the international perspective permeate the curriculum,” Loh said. “We want to have a much more systematic plan of making this a global university.”

The students are placed in a hyper-intensive learning environment where they’re submerged in the country’s culture, said Rebecca Hammer, a senior economics and finance major studying in China.

She said a typical day consists of four hour-long classes, decreasing in class size, and ending with a one-on-one session with a professor.

“After that, it’s just study, study, study, study,” Hammer said, adding she is usually required to memorize between 60 to 100 new words per night and a short story, all in Chinese.

While Hammer said the workload is intense, she said knows the experience will be more rewarding than her extracurriculars, including the marching band, Images and the Honors College.

“This is just a completely different experience,” she said. “I’m very glad I did because it’s something that you probably only have one chance to do.”

Sarah Straney, who is studying in Russia, said while the country is drastically different from the United States, she said she’s glad she picked an atypical study abroad location.

“Most people want to study abroad somewhere pristine,” she said. “Russia is gorgeous, but it might look to outsiders a little bit sketchy, if you’re not used to it.”

from page 1

from page 1

Angela Ranganathan, right, volunteers at a camp that provides children with serious medical conditions a traditional camp experience. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGELA RANGANATHAN

stressful and heart-wrenching experience, Ranganathan said seeing these children smile and fully enjoy life is an experience unlike any other.

“The kids give you so much more than you could ever get them,” she said. “It’s an incredible experience to go there and give these kids the week that they deserve.”

Pinney said in the midst of all the activities, even the counselors forget about the kids’ illnesses.

“One of the things that we hear the most is that it’s a very sad place to work from folks on the outside,” she said. “I don’t see that at all. I think there’s more laughter here than anywhere else in the state.”

The children’s maturity and life experiences shine through during the “wish boat” ceremony on the last day of camp, when everyone takes their turn engraving their wishes on tree bark, she said.

“The kids are just such special people. They don’t write like, ‘I want to go to Disney World’ or ‘I want a princess for my birthday,’” Ranganathan said. “One girl wrote like, ‘I want my best friend who’s in the hospital to feel better,’ or one kid wrote, ‘I don’t want to have cancer anymore.’ So it’s just different things like that that you don’t ever want to hear a kid say or wish for.”

Ranganathan, who has also taught children with special

REPAIRS

romas@umdbk.com

RANGANATHAN whether it’s coming back to the camp next year or having the memories to take with them,” Ranganathan said.

Ranganathan said she sees children living with diseases ranging from various cancers to HIV and AIDS, and all of the counselors participate in a rigorous training session preparing them for any potential health emergencies.

Despite the severity of these diseases, the camp provides a safe and secure atmosphere for these children.

“The kids don’t judge each other at all, and you don’t get that a lot. Some of them are in wheelchairs, some are missing limbs, some don’t have hair ... but at this camp, you’re not judged even for a second,” Ranganathan said. “I think that is what kind of creates this safe place for them — they don’t have to worry about being judged because they’re all understanding of each other.”

Abbey Pinney, the volunteer coordinator for the camp, said about half of the volunteers return each year because of the rewarding experience the Double H Ranch provides its counselors and campers.

“We pretty much hear that from everyone who comes through the gates,” Pinney said. “We definitely have adults around here that learn tolerance. We learn patience. I think we learn what it means to be a good friend and how it just opens our hearts to people from different places.”

Although some people may see working at the camp as a

The path between Shoemaker and Garrett halls flooded during Hurricane Irene. This semester’s heavy rains have caused buildings around the campus to leak. FILE PHOTO/THE DIAMONDBACK

needs as a student teacher, said her time at the Double H Ranch has already helped her foster more of an understanding toward children with special needs, which she hopes translates into her career as a school teacher.

“I just want to be the kind of teacher who just completely understands each of the kids’ home life, whether it be if they’re sick or just have a bad home,” Ranganathan said. “I just want to be able to put myself in their position or understand why they act the way they do or why they’re not coming to class and not just be quick to assume the worst.” meehan@umdbk.com

the roofs to leak and water to seep into classrooms and workspaces.

“Between the earthquake, hurricane and torrential downpour, it’s been a pretty hectic couple weeks,” said Jack Baker, Facilities Management’s director of operations and maintenance.

But Baker said these repairs won’t make a dent in the department’s allocated budget, noting these were routine maintenance repairs already.

The damages aren’t a result of poor building structure, Baker said, but because of the unexpected, one-two punch of a hurricane and heavy downpour, most buildings aren’t built for the unrelenting weather.

“When you get five to six inches of rain in a short period of time, there’s a number of leaks that [needed to be] chased,” he said.

According to Baker, water carried debris to the bottom of stairwells and heavy rainfall resulted in pools on top of buildings, which led to drain blockages. The rain also leaked into louvres — metal objects that allow air to be pulled into buildings — sprouting leaks in various buildings.

He added Facilities Management staff worked tirelessly throughout the downpour last

FINANCE from page 1 process is in place for students to request additional funding.

But SGA President Kaiyi Xie said student groups need to have a more active voice in the actual allocation process, rather than just submitting a request and waiting to appeal if they didn’t receive the desired amount.

Xie said after last semester — when student groups requested more than $3 million in primary funding but the SGA only had about $730,000 to dole out — it became clear the system needed to change.

SGA executives said the need for reform has been a long time coming — over the last few years, the mandatory student activities fees have not increased enough to fund the growing number of student groups and amount of money they request annually.

“When you have to cut student group budgets by 75 percent, it’s time for you to look at the fact that something is going wrong, and we need to fix it,” SGA Vice President of Finance David Berlin said. “It’s like saying, ‘OK, here are your dreams, now shrink them.’ But we want it to be, ‘Here are your dreams, and here’s how you can accomplish them with a limited support of funding from the SGA.’” This newest committee, which will be chaired by SGA Assistant Vice President of Finance Gursean Singh, will also include a staff advisor from the Student Organization Resource Center. According to Xie, the committee will work closely with Student Entertainment Events and the university legal department to make sure any proposed changes align with university policies and legal guidelines.

Xie first decided to form a student committee to tackle this issue this summer, and he and Berlin spent the following months brainstorming and talking to administrators about how this could be accomplished.

“There’s a lot of discontent among student groups about the way funds are given out, and I think it isn’t flexible enough for student groups,” Xie said. “We expect groups to perform well with what they need, but we also want to help meet those needs in the SGA.” This is a discontent Xie and Berlin said they are all too familiar with. Xie said he joined the SGA as a freshman member of the university’s debate team after seeing how difficult it was

week to repair the damages as they occurred by hiring roofing contractors to fix the leaks.

“During the heavy rainstorms, folks were literally running around campus dealing with leaks,” Baker said.

Several students said the building leaks were interfering with their schoolwork, including studio art graduate student Pat McGowan, who said the water poses a threat to his artwork and expensive equipment in the Art-Sociology building.

“A couple of my friends’ studios [are leaking], and it’s an aggravation,” McGowan said. “You have to have huge garbage cans in your studio, in the way, and it’s a huge hassle. And that’s just one of the 2,000 things that’s wrong with this building.”

But some have acknowledged Facilities Management’s efforts and said although the repairs have been small, they’re noticeable.

Studio art professor Richard Klank said the building maintenance prevented his classroom on the top floor of the Art-Sociology building from suffering damage.

“You could come in a rainstorm and see puddles all over the floor,” he said. “But, evidently, they’ve done work.”

Staff writer Rebecca Lurye contributed to this report. foley@umdbk.com

to work with the organization to get funding. And Berlin said he ran for his position because of his displeasure with the funding allocation process and seeing the group budget cuts that were made as a member of the Jewish Student Union.

While Xie and Berlin will be the ones to receive the commission’s proposal in the end, they will not have a direct voting role in the final decision. It will be up to the student groups themselves, they said, who should lead the way in deciding how to update the funding process.

“They need to be in charge of making those changes, not just the technocrats,” Berlin said.

Jamie Forzato, sports promotions director for WMUC Radio — which faced some of the most crippling budget cuts last year — said students need more of a voice in how funds are allocated.

While Forzato expressed concern that some committee members might be more interested in finding a solution that’s best for their own group rather than the entire university, she said she supports the SGA’s effort to give student groups a greater say in the funding.

“I think it’s great that there’s more of a transparency and participation from students in the process, especially in the nuts and bolts of the funding,” she said, adding, “I think we’re moving in the right direction.

Erica Johnson, the student group accounts coordinator for Student Organization Services, said while the existing funding allocation process had been effective for many years, she agreed now is the right time to implement a new system.

“Including student group leaders in this process aligns with the purpose of Student Activity Fee and it is important to include their ideas as the funding process plays a key role in groups’ ability to create programming for the campus,” Johnson wrote in an email. “I look forward to hearing their proposal.”

Xie and Berlin said while having a new process in place by the upcoming spring allocations would be ideal, they want the committee to take as much time as it needs to come up with a sustainable plan.

“The goal is for them to make a long-term solution that will work decades from now,” Xie said. “I would rather have a wellthought out plan than have something quickly.” villanueva@umdbk.com

4

THE DIAMONDBACK | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

0pinion

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MANAGING EDITOR

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3150 SOUTH CAMPUS DINING HALL | COLLEGE PARK, MD 20742 NEWS@UMDBK .COM | OPINION@UMDBK .COM

CHRISTOPHER HAXEL

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OPINION EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR

Staff editorial

Guest column

City safety: virtually there

SGA funding: Process in progress

I

magine a student heading home to her off-campus house after a long participate in the program.

And while the city council has a pool of money from speed camera revenue night of studying in McKeldin Librar y. It’s late, so the dark streets are deserted, and she’s alone. She could call University Police to request that must be spent on public safety initiatives such as this, council members an escort, but she’s eager to get home and wants to avoid the long, said they weren’t convinced the technology was worthy of those funds.

Considering the incredible impact it would have on both student and resiawkward walk.

Instead, she pulls out her cell phone. With just a few taps on the screen, she dent safety, this editorial board strongly urges them to reconsider.

It’s understandable that council members are hesiactivates the M-Urgency smartphone app to send video, tant. The technology is new and currently only compatisound and real-time location data to a police dispatcher. ble with Android phones; further development must be A virtual escort is immediately at her service. done to reach the vast population of iPhone users.

Should any trouble arise while the student is walking, The College Park City According to Mitchell’s estimate, expanding the prothe police dispatcher can send officers to provide assisCouncil should reconsider gram to the city carries a one-time price tag of $100,000. tance, simultaneously recording the data for later use. city has $173,141 to spend.

Meanwhile, any nearby security cameras can zero in on University Police’s proposal The Other ideas — such as more security cameras, new the location, and the responding officer can watch the to partner on the M-Urgency streetlights, and a guardrail replacement — have been action unfold on a laptop as he or she drives to the scene. but this editorial board believes M-Urgency That was the vision driving university computer scismartphone app that imme- proposed, would be more useful than those investments. ence professor Ashok Agrawala and his team of The campus is already well-protected by University researchers at the Maryland Information and Network diately connects users to Police and monitored by hundreds of security cameras.

Dynamics Lab when they starting designing the Mofficers in emergencies.

Expanding M-Urgency’s reach would go a long way Urgency app — the first of its kind — two years ago. toward making students who live off the campus feel Today, the program is ready for launch and that scesafer. And as the app becomes more widespread and well-known, it would nario can finally become a reality. become a powerful deterrent to criminals if they know they could easily be Well, sort of.

M-Urgency is now available for 200 students to download as a pilot test and caught on video from two inches away.

Council members need to open their eyes — this program is an innovative will soon be open to more users. But because the College Park City Council declined to participate in the groundbreaking program, the app won’t do approach to tackling one of College Park’s biggest handicaps to becoming the “livable community” it promises to be: its high crime levels, or at least the perthose students much good once they step foot off the campus.

The app is only supported by University Police, so once students enter ception of such.

“Which politician would deny that type of citizen empowerment to the comPrince George’s County Police’s jurisdiction, which includes most off-campus student housing, the technology won’t be of any use. This prompted munity?” Agrawala asked in a November 2010 article in The Diamondback.

University Police Chief David Mitchell over the summer to propose a part- “... Name one. I can’t.”

Well, unless the city council changes its tune, we can name several. nership with the city council, which would enable College Park residents to

Our View

Editorial cartoon: Eun Jeon

Combating the conversation lingerer

E

ver get caught in one of those never-ending conversations — the kind where the level of awkwardness has reached an uncomfortable high because you seem to be the only party involved who realizes it’s gone on for far too long?

You have. I have. We all have.

We’ve all encountered a … (sigh) … conversation lingerer.

He or she is the person who continues to make a last-ditch effort to extend the conversation when you’re tr ying to leave the room or move on with your day. Just at the point when you think you’re going to part ways, he or she will just throw a random zinger your way.

“How about this weather, huh? It’s terrible, isn’t it?” the lingerer will ask, in the midst of a thunderstorm.

You have got to be kidding me, dude. I just walked in from outside; it looks like I tried to wrestle a whale. We just endured the longest minute of awkward silence possible (the tell-tale sign a conversation is

SAM SPIEGELMAN over), and you’re going to throw a cur veball like that at me?

The conversation lingerer has the ability to make a pretty decent joke, sure, but usually proceeds to turn that witty one-liner into an unnecessar y extended metaphor.

Seriously, you’re still going strong with the same joke you made 25 minutes ago? It was funny at first, but how many times can you rephrase it and expect me to conjure up a friendly grin? My jaw hurts, and this is one of the few times I wish I were sitting in class.

The conversation lingerer is the person you just can’t seem to circumvent in your daily routine. No matter which route you travel to your classes, where you choose to

relax when enjoying a bite to eat or which restroom you happen to choose, the lingerer is there, equipped with a long, mind-numbing anecdote for you.

Like a lion on the prowl, ready to pounce on a helpless gazelle, the lingerer is there, waiting for you.

Granted, it may be our fault for chuckling a little bit or encouraging the lingerer with a half-grin, but why does that mean the torment must persist? Why is our attempt at kindness subjecting us to this? Is there such thing as karma? Is it too late to pretend I don’t speak English?

I propose we put a stop to this cruelty. We’re going to end this social awkwardness and prevent conversation lingerers from clogging up the precious free time in our busy days.

When we pronounce a conversation over, we’ll walk away — midsentence, or even mid-word, if we must. When we hear the same joke a fourth time, we’ll expose it and admit the first laugh was only to avoid being rude.

And please, no more attempts to salvage conversations with that random last statement. Tr y to pull one of those and it won’t be pretty. We will walk away like a bride at the altar. No matter how mean, no matter how awkward it may be, it’s going down.

So go ahead, conversation lingerer, make my day. Tell me ever ything you’ve done since I saw you last. Tell me you have a great stor y, just for me. Tell me what the weather is like outside; I haven’t noticed on my own.

Today we become conversationenders. Extend this friendly exchange two seconds past that awkward pause and you’ll be left talking to yourself.

So, folks, the choice is yours: You can either be a lingerer or you can be an ender. I know you’ll make the right call.

Sam Spiegelman is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at spiegelman@umdbk.com.

Dorm disparities

A

bout three years ago, I walked into my first college dorm room — 2108 Wicomico Hall. Coming from a working-class background, I was giddy at the notion of having several pieces of furniture to myself. I marveled at the functional electrical outlets and free Internet connection.

The desk was my favorite. I found great utility in the bookshelf-like wooden piece on top, which I later learned was called a “hutch.”

After three days or so, the romance had ended, and I was over it.

Wicomico Hall is one of the most disgusting, unsafe and obsolete dorms on the campus. The doubles are small and barely equipped to house two human beings uncomfortably, let alone comfortably. The rooms have unsightly pipes sticking out of the walls at odd angles. There is no air conditioning, and for some reason, the rooms resist air circulation, so you’d be lucky to wake up covered in sweat — rather than

MICHAEL CASIANO drenched or drowning in it — when it’s hot out.

In the winter, the radiators either don’t work, forcing you to stay curled up in the mornings for fear of hypothermia, or work overtime, forcing you to swim off the top bunk in a pool of salty sweat.

The dorm itself has a few air conditioners in communal spaces, one microwave and a small laundry room.

Meanwhile, students lucky enough to land assignments in Dorchester Hall benefit from a multipurpose room, air conditioning, a computer lab, a kitchen and a laundry room. They are also situated in a prime location next to Stamp Stu-

dent Union, Tawes Hall and McKeldin Mall.

Despite Dorchester’s stellar amenities, the Resident Life Department classifies both this building and Wicomico as “traditional halls.” This means residents in doubles and singles pay the same basic housing rate in both buildings.

To say this is wrong would be a travesty of characterization. This is tragic.

In any other real-estate venture, you get what you pay for. When it comes to housing at this university, you pay for what you get.

To be fair, Resident Life does adjust the prices to some degree.

Students living in triples and quads get a 15 percent discount off the basic housing rate. Students who live in apartment-style units pay a little extra.

But this allowance is so small it’s practically invalid. Simple logic dictates the following: No air conditioning? Discount. No laundr y room?

Discount. No computer lab? Discount. In the middle of nowhere?

Discount.

Not only that, students should be allowed to pick where they live. What if an incoming freshman desperately wants to live on the campus to get the full collegiate experience but is strapped for cash? He or she would surely suck it up, sacrifice the amenities and live in a dorm like Wicomico or Caroline Hall.

What is the logic behind charging people the same amount to live in terrible buildings?

Are we paying to develop memories, romantic relationships, a sense of camaraderie and long-lasting friendships?

Sorry friends, but I would’ve made different friends in Dorchester, and I would’ve been cozy doing it.

Fix it, Resident Life.

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

L

iving within our means has been a recurring theme over these past few years. From the federal government to small towns, we have seen how drastic budget cuts can affect people’s lives. This situation is no different from the dilemma we face today with the student activities fee at this university.

Each full-time undergraduate student pays approximately $30 per semester for their student activities fee, totaling about $1.5 million. The Student Government Association distributes this money among hundreds of student groups ever y spring in a process known as primar y funding. Each student group uses this money the following academic year, resulting in the thousands of diverse and important programs available to us.

At the end of ever y academic year, any unused money from the student organizations is pooled together and redistributed to groups in the fall as “secondar y funding.” We typically distribute about $300,000 in secondaries; this year, however, unused funds available for redistribution total just $60,000.

In past years, groups have requested a total of $1 million to $1.5 million in funding during the secondary allocation process. If the SGA were to administer a normal secondary allocations process using that $60,000, with groups still requesting $1.5 million, it would result in an average cut of 96 percent to all groups’ requested budgets. These percentage cuts would not benefit anyone and be ultimately unfair.

There are no longer enough funds to sustain a secondary funding process. We refuse to conduct a fundamentally unjust secondaries process, but because money still remains, we will be using this money to bolster the Group Help fund, which provides emergency funding to student groups in a need-based rolling process.

I understand that with the primary budget cuts and lack of a secondary funding process, money will be a crucial issue we at the SGA tackle this year, and for a few years to come. With more money requested each year, and a stagnant pot from which to distribute, it is becoming increasingly clear that the SGA can no longer be the sole means of funding for hundreds of crucial student groups. We will make every effort to be facilitators in helping organizations find the resources needed to build a foundation and foster their unique programming. This is why we will be launching new creative funding workshops throughout the year.

While we strive to work through tough financial times, it is important that we distribute the student activities fee as efficiently and fairly as possible.

Unfortunately, the system we have inherited from the past has flaws and warrants reformation.

In this light, SGA President Kaiyi Xie and I will be charging a commission on financial reform to discover exactly what adjustments are needed in our funding process. We turn to student group leaders, who will make up a voting majority of the commission. They will be able to apply for a position starting today. There will also be spots available for at-large student representatives; applications for these openings will be available in our office (0209J Student Involvement Suite, Stamp Student Union) and on our website (sga.umd.edu), as well as widely distributed across the campus.

We face a prisoners’ dilemma with the current funding system and look to this commission to find a scenario in which we all are victorious. If you care about how your student activities fee is distributed, I implore you to apply.

We are in charge of our school’s financial future. Be a part of the generation that changed the way student group funding is done at this university.

David Berlin is the vice president of finance for the Student Government Association. He can be reached at umdvpfinance@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.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 | THE DIAMONDBACK

5

Features HOROSCOPESTELLA WILDER

CROSSWORD ACROSS 57 Excessively 1 Chicken style sentimental 5 Smiled suddenly 61 Priest’s calendar (2 wds.)

62 Dodge, as taxes 10 Push a raft 63 Soir follower 14 Seacoast eagle 64 Third-rate 15 Treat badly 65 Kind of buffet 16 Kind of rug 66 Encircle 17 Not e’en once DOWN 18 Good insulator 20 Pool-table surface 1 Mammoth Cave 22 Low point in a loc. process 2 Spleen 23 Mariachi gig 3 Flight dir.

25 Cartoon 4 Fragrant chipmunk garden plant 26 Muffin morsel 5 Pirate Jean — 27 Fish choice 6 Spanish resort 28 Dainty pastry island 32 Maui dance 7 Float downriver 33 Shake off 8 Wear and tear 35 Lots and lots 9 Be present 36 Pierre’s here throughout 37 Galleon cargo 10 Warehouse 38 1101, to Brutus platforms 39 Monthly expense 11 Kind of tradition 41 Lightweight 12 — majeste wood 13 Not hard 43 Transvaal settler 19 Hoedown honey 44 Cooler or jug 21 Tempe sch.

45 911 responder 23 Water source 46 Full skirt 24 Urbana eleven 48 Orbit segments 25 Extinct birds 50 False front 26 Rotates with 51 Plaster a buzz 54 Sneezy’s pal 27 Ringlets 55 Equivalent 29 Amaretto flavor

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B

Also born on this date are: Fiona Apple, singer; Jean Smart, actress; Nell Carter, actress and singer; Jacqueline Bisset, actress; Bela Karolyi, gymnastics coach; Mel Torme, musician and singer; Yma Sumac, singer; Roald Dahl, author; Claudette Colbert, actress; John J. Pershing, U.S. military leader; Milton Hershey, chocolate mogul.

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WEDNESDAY

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.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Minimize the chance of injury by minimizing your own vulnerability in situations that you can foresee. Anticipate.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — You can’t afford to spend too much time thinking and not doing. Progress can only be made if you’re on the move.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — You’ll know just what you must do — and what you must not do — because those in charge will be making it clear to everyone, not just you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) — You may have to behave in a certain way that is actually much more difficult than you had imagined. This endeavor may not be for you.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) — You can learn a great deal by

watching someone else who has gained much more experience than you. Imitation is the next step.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — You’ll have to keep the pace up if you expect to come out on top. The competition is bound to keep the pressure on you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — You’re ready to make your move, but the time has not yet come. Don’t let your high state of readiness dissipate; stay primed and eager.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Someone who claims to be doing something in your best interest is only taking unfair advantage of his or her association with you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — You aren’t likely to make mistakes, but guard against having your own progress thwarted by another — even inadvertently.

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6

THE DIAMONDBACK | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

Diversions

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES: There’s more where all this came from. Head online for Zachary Berman’s review of Primus’ bizarrely titled Green Naugahyde and Reese Higgins’ review of last weekend’s Hopscotch Festival, which took place in Raleigh, N.C.

arts. music. living. movies. weekend.

REVIEW | LADY ANTEBELLUM

Lady Antebellum brings calming country vibes to Own the Night sounds like the soundtrack to a beautiful sunset, and this overly relaxed style brings the record down. Rascal Flatts rip-of fs such as For a moment, let’s forget the connotations “Friday Night” tr y to bring up the energy of countr y music and focus on specifics, OK? here and there to no avail — Own the Night Sure, half of you out there are going to men- might be the most relaxed radio-pop record tion how repetitive and dull the genre is while of the year.

Beyond that, songs such as “When You the other half will stand by its tenets until the Were Mine” don’t branch out ver y far from the ver y end.

Has either group ever listened with truly countr y comfort-zone. But no matter how open ears to the vast “countr y” genre? If they clichéd the sounds, Lady Antebellum always had, they’d realize that both sides are right — gives some reason to stick around until the there’s plenty of countr y music worth listen- end of the track.

Part of the success is the ing to and even more that is pairing of singers Charles simply a waste of time.

V E R D I C T : Kelley, Hillar y Scott and Perhaps because of its Dave Haywood, who make strong foothold in pop Though unexciting, Lady Antebelever y song sound like a topmusic, it can’t be denied that lum’s Own the Night still has some of the band’s youthful charm notch Nashville collaboraLady Antebellum is a band patched onto it, making it a worthtion. However, after three worth listening to. records it has begun to feel Regardless of the detracwhile pop-country record. like a gimmick used to tors’ opinions, there is occasionally some reasoning behind Grammy cover up abysmal songwriting such as Award winners’ music, and after talking home “Singing Me Home.”

Other times, songs such as “Love I’ve five honors in Februar y, the group’s latest effort, Own the Night, has been eagerly Found in You” utilize the vocal layers to great ef fect, even if the lyrics are absolutely awaited — and with good reason.

Granted, Lady Antebellum’s music has braindead.

All that aside, it’s hard not to enjoy such always been bland — one mid-tempo countr y-pop ballad after another can begin to painfully plain music, if only because it doesn’t grate on anyone quickly, no matter how nice ask too much of its listeners. That’s not a territhe singers’ voices are. That said, Lady Ante- ble price to pay, so why not give Own the Night bellum’s joint songwriting ventures are of a a listen? Worst comes to worst, it’s just counver y high caliber, even with the cheesy tr y music. string sections.

Lady Antebellum’s newest effort, Own the Night, is predictable and bland, but it’s still a Ever y single track on Own the Night berman@umdbk.com well-constructed and perfectly agreeable country album. PHOTO COURTESY OF LADY ANTEBELLUM

BY ZACHARY BERMAN Senior staff writer

----------------

Classified CALL

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SPECIAL Run the same classified or classified display ad 4 consecutive days and get 5th day FREE!

DIAMONDBACKONLINE.COM All Classifieds & Classified Display ads will run online at no additional charge.

301-314-8000 TO PLACE YOUR AD, OR BY EMAIL: ADVERTISING@DBK.UMD.EDU

EMPLOYMENT Undergraduate Legal Internship Fall Semester Litigation Support and Marketing Regan Zambri Long www.reganfirm.com Resumes accepted by email only: jlawson@reganfirm.com

NEED A JOB??

Canvassers Needed to hand out flyers part-time. Must be able to work weekday afternoons/evenings.

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Opportunity for advancement!!!

Call today for an interview. Immediate openings need to be filled ASAP. Call Robin at 240-418-5217 for an interview!!!

HELP WANTED- $8.50/HR- UM STUDENTS ONLY. The University of Maryland’s Surplus Property Operation (TERRAPIN TRADER) has openings for warehouse & delivery personnel. Hours of operation are 7:30 am 4:30 pm. For more information, call Mike Painter at 301-405-5008/ 5267 or stop by the Terrapin Trader located in the Physical Distribution Center, Bldg. #383 on Paint Branch Parkway near the College Park Metro Station. “NO WHINERS ALLOWED”.

EMPLOYMENT

Media Researchers Part Time Help $11/hour We have immediate part-time openings to maintain our national media database. Job involves gathering information about members of the media via telephone. Looking for hard-working, detail-oriented self motivators with excellent verbal and written English skills.

Fluent in French/Spanish a plus. Requires professional telephone etiquette, strong grammar and writing skills, general computer skills and typing: 40 wpm. Previous telephone experience through telemarketing, fundraising, surveying or polling a plus. Phone-shy people need not apply.

Flexible daytime and evening hours: Monday-Thursday 8:30am-8pm and Friday from 8:30am to 6pm. You must be able to work a minimum of 15 hrs./week.

We are located in College Park just a short distance from campus.

Send your resume to dpost@vocus.com.

Please state that you are responding to the ad placed in the Diamondback and Include the days and times you are available to work.

Earn $1000-$3200/month to drive our brand new cars with ads. www.FreeCarJobs.com.

Hiring Bartenders, Employment Servers & Line Cooks

Consultant

Duties include job development and training, assist clients toward employment goals, network with businesses in Montgomery County around Silver Spring, MD. Must have reliable transportation, and be a Junior or above. Will be working with developmentally disabled population. Full time position, $32-38k a year. Call 301-576-9000 and visit seeconline.org.

MARK A. STEPHENS, LTD. is looking for part-time help with our telemarketing sales operations. Hours are flexible, $12 per hour and health insurance benefits are available.

If you are interested in part-time work Monday through Friday between 9 am and 4 pm, please fax your resume to 301-593-1978 or email: jobs@mastaxpub.com.

EMPLOYMENT

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Bartending! $250/day potential. No experience necessary. Training crse available.

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Administrative Assistant Takoma Park company seeking a strong, self-motivated individual with years of business experience to multitask in customer service, inside sales and basic bookkeeping.

Excellent telephone skills required.

Weekday hours. Part time.

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Accounting Clerk/ Office Assistant Intermediate to advanced Quickbooks knowledge. Part Time/Full Time M-F. $12-15/hour.

Must have own transportation to Silver Spring, MD. Available immediately. Send resume/contact info to sarkides@yahoo.com.

CHILD CARE CHILDCARE NEEDED IN LAUREL, MD. Mon., Tues., Thurs. for 2 girls, ages 10 and 12. 15 minutes from campus. Must have own transportation w/valid driver’s license and excellent driving record. 3:30 pm-6:00 pm.

Please contact leahmontesano@yahoo.com.

-

NEED MONEY FOR RENT? You can find a job in The Diamondback Classifieds!

BY FAX: 301-314-8358

FOR RENT Several rooms available. $450-650 (includes private bathroom)/month plus utilities. Call Alex, 202-409-3412.

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2 Rooms for Rent $450 per room not including utilities. In College Park. Across from Beltway Plaza. On shuttle route. Email rellis6121@yahoo.com or call 301-910-1180.

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Call/Txt Matt: 410-562-2325.

House — 4 bedrooms, 3 baths. 1/2 mile to campus. Available now. Will rent individual rooms. 301-918-0203.

SERVICES Guitar Lessons – Blues, Jazz, Rock, Classical — by former university instructor. Beginning/advanced. All ages welcome. Freddy, 301-445-7726, silverspringguitarlessons.webs.com.

❖ HEALTH/RECREATION

SKYDIVE! Easy one-day first jumps year round from 22-Jumper twin-engine airplane from 13,500 feet! (540) 943-6587. We offer GIFT CERTIFICATES & complete courses of instruction for Skydiving certification & instructors ratings too!

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

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Call now for your appointment!

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CHURCH OF CHRIST University Park • 6420 Adelphi Road 301-927-7277 www.upcoc.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 | SPORTS | THE DIAMONDBACK

RECRUITING from page 8 given the laundr y list of top programs courting him, his interest is indicative of a recent trend among local players.

Good Counsel wide receiver Stefon Diggs and Gilman School athlete Cyrus Jones, two four-star prospects, both reportedly moved the Terps up their short lists following the team’s victory over Miami.

Underclassmen Shane Cockerille (Gilman) and Jalen Tabor (Washington’s Friendship Collegiate Academy) also were reportedly impressed.

Despite the Terps’ recent recruiting strides, though, the immediate future remains somewhat ordinary.

With only 15 commits as of yesterday — and just one player, four-star offensive tackle Mike Madaras, earning higher than three stars from Scout.com — the Terps’ recruiting class ranks eighth in the conference and No. 53 nationally for the graduating class of 2012.

There’s likely a link between their immediate recruiting struggles and the sweeping change that has consumed the Terps’ pro-

UMBC from page 8 starters from a squad that won the America East Tournament last season and reached the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program histor y.

And although they’ve scored only three times this

NOTEBOOK from page 8 shots, including four on goal.

But James Madison goalkeeper Kate Courter thwarted each chance, recording 10 saves in the game, including four in the first half.

7

gram over the past nine months, but coaching changes are far from uncommon in college football.

Miami, which underwent similar offseason change when it replaced coach Randy Shannon with Al Golden in the offseason, boasts the nation’s No. 5 recruiting class in 2012, according to Scout.com.

How the remainder of the 2012 recruiting period plays out likely depends on the Terps’ performance the rest of the season.

“While Edsall’s first class isn’t going to enjoy a lofty national ranking, he proved at UConn that he doesn’t need elite NFL talent across the board to win a lot of games,” Farrell wrote last month.

If they’re able to harness the momentum gained from their Labor Day victory and subsequent spot in the national limelight, there’s a chance Edsall and his staff could expand a relatively unimpressive 2012 class and set a precedent for future classes.

If they can’t maintain the same level of play, though, it will likely only add an extra element of difficulty to the Terps’ recruiting efforts. cwalsh@umdbk.com

COMPETITION from page 8

either overcome slow starts or figure out how to score on tough defenses. The team’s first three ACC opponents, No. 7 Virginia, No. 25 Virginia Tech and No. 15 Boston College, have given up only six first-half goals in a combined 22 games.

of the season Sunday, allowing Villanova to post a 100 percent shooting percentage. The Wildcats ended up taking only three shots, allowing the Terps to move on with a 6-3 victory, but Meharg said those numbers were unfortunate.

“The goals that were scored [against Old Dominion] were completely numbers down. It would be really easy to say Melissa had a bad game with Old Dominion, but she didn’t really,” Meharg said. “[Against Villanova] I’m sure they’re not the statistics that Natalie wants, but we’re going to take every game experience as they come.”

Part of those difficulties stems not from the goalkeepers alone, but rather the defensive unit as a whole. The Terps lost three defenders from last year’s team and switched lifelong forward Hayley Turner to central defense this year, resulting in a relatively inexperienced unit. The young defense is still learning how to work together, Meharg said, which has in turn affected the play of the goalies.

But even through their occasional struggles, both Vassalotti and Hunter said splitting time is not a negative for either player.

“We’re really just working with the new defense we have and trying to be a service to the team,” Vassalotti said. “We’re both really supportive of each other, so it keeps it competitive between us.”

“Splitting time is a great opportunity for us to push each other and make each other better,” Hunter said. “I know I’ve become a better goalie from having competition with Melissa, and we both appreciate that competition.”

Neither goalie has yet to emerge as a clear favorite to win the job outright, so both will likely continue to split time going forward. But regardless of whether one keeper emerges, Meharg said she wants to have both players ready to play at their best, no matter the situation.

“I think one of them will definitely emerge, but they might not even have to. If they both just stay in it and do a great job and serve the team, then I think we might be able to see both of them throughout the whole season, or maybe not,” Meharg said. “I think the women are going to split until the end of the month, and then we’re going to see where we are from there.”

dgallen@umdbk.com

vitale@umdbk.com

Coach Randy Edsall had several highly rated recruits on hand at Byrd Stadium for the Terps’ 32-24 win against Miami on Sept. 5. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

season, UMBC has allowed just one goal through its first four games. Led by senior goalkeeper Dan Louisignau’s 22 saves, the Retrievers’ opponents are connecting on less than 2 percent of their shot attempts.

But then again, UMBC’s backline hasn’t yet faced an of fense with the collective firepower of the Terps.

With a three-headed attack of for wards Patrick Mullins and Casey Townsend and midfielder John Ster tzer, coach Sasho Cirovski’s squad has outscored opponents, 16-2.

With their offense, the Terps have dispatched toptier opponents quite handily this season. They posted three-goal outbursts in the

second period of matches against No. 12 West Virginia and No. 25 St. John’s, and they completely dominated the ball Friday against Boston College, which didn’t even manage a shot on goal.

As soon as they step on the field tonight, though, the Terps know that the past won’t matter. What will is how they perform with the

“We had opportunities and unfortunately, we didn’t capitalize,” Pensky said. “Sometimes in this game, you’re playing against the game of soccer. I think the first 30 [minutes] of the half we were good at creating chances. We were playing forward, and we were getting behind them.”

After the team couldn’t get

out to an early lead Sunday, Pensky acknowledged the defensive pressure was “a little bit sporadic” for the game, something he said could have been a byproduct of playing relative lightweights American, Cornell and St. Louis in the previous three games.

“At times, we were just a little casual in our pressure, and

we’re better when we pressure,” Pensky said. “I think as the game went on, especially as we got to the end of regulation and through overtime, our pressure and our urgency defensively picked up a little bit, and I think that helped us a lot.”

With the start of ACC play approaching, the Terps must

pressures of a likely No. 1 ranking attached to their name.

“As a coach, you’re always working hard to make sure your players are well prepared,” Cirovski said. “And I have no doubt that our team will be ready to go [against UMBC].” letourneau@umdbk.com

DIVERSIONS

REVIEW | ST. VINCENT

REVIEW | WILD FLAG

Supergroup Wild Flag brings no-holdsbarred rock back on its self-titled debut

BY ROBERT GIFFORD Staff writer

To anyone who has prematurely declared rock dead — a ridiculous claim belied by the shortest trip outside the desert of the modern mainstream — here is your rejoinder. The selftitled debut from Portland and D.C.-based supergroup Wild Flag, composed of ex-members of ’90s indie alt-rock mainstays Sleater-Kinney, Helium and The Minders, is rock ‘n’ roll at its most elemental: It’s energetic, rebellious, sexual and a hell of a lot of fun.

It’s an album so in love with the genre that when vocalist Carrie Brownstein — a music writer and, more interestingly, co-star (with Fred Armisen) of

the IFC sketch show Portlandia sings like Joey Ramone, and since Sleater-Kinney’s breakup those guitars are often as — sings to a lover on opening messy and stripped-down as track “Romance,” she doesn’t anything heard in underappear to be addressing a per- ground New York clubs in the ’70s, but they can also turn son so much as rock itself.

At the very least, the founda- around and deliver a solo as spaced-out tion of their as anyrelationship VERDICT: thing is musical played by (“We love the sound/ Wild Flag is the rare supergroup to The Edge at U2’s the sound is meet — and even exceed — high peak, and what found expectations. The band’s self-titled Janet us/ the debut is one of the best records of Weiss’ sound is the the year. drumming blood is as wild as Keith Moon’s. between me and you.”)

“Endless Talk” begins with a On the surface, the music seems like straightforward blues-rock riff that could’ve punk, but it includes inflec- been written by The Black Keys tions that nod in surprising at their best, then flowers into a directions. Yes, Brownstein major-key, organ-backed romp.

Wild Flag’s self-titled debut is an eclectic, stunning first effort for the four-girl supergroup.

It’s a pop song as reinterpreted

by The Ramones.

The epic, nearly seven minute “Racehorse” comes off as the band’s take on Led Zeppelin, both for its bluesy central riff that’s used almost as a punctuation mark for the increasingly freewheeling instrumentation layered on top of it and for fantastically unsubtle lyrics like “Pony up and ride” and “Put your love on me.”

The album, sure to be a fixture on year-end best-of lists, is every bit as wild as its name suggests. It’s loud, adrenalinefueled and as purely, effortlessly entertaining as music gets. Punk isn’t dead — it just went to Oregon. rgifford@umdbk.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF CULTUREBULLY.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIVEMUSICGUIDE.COM

St. Vincent’s Strange Mercy is dark, personal sparse, only to build — sometimes gradually, sometimes suddenly, in a tidal wave of kaleidoSt. Vincent, the moniker for scopic instrumentation — multi-instrumentalist Annie toward an emotional outpourClark, a former member of The ing, as if Clark can barely hold in Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan anything she’s feeling.

When the melody drops away Stevens’ touring band has already released two fantastic on the chorus of “Chloe in the albums. But her third, Strange Afternoon,” leaving only the Mercy, not only equals those beat, or in the ambient stretches achievements, it blows them of “Surgeon” and “Champagne Year,” when there’s little but her away.

It’s a deeply personal, deeply voice and a mood, Clark’s affecting album that revolves singing is virtually all that’s cararound the theme of being rying the song, but she’s more trapped — in a demanding and than up to the challenge.

She gives the resignation of unrewarding family, in dead lyrics such relationas “If you ships, in VERDICT: say it is/ cycles of then I guess self-doubt St. Vincent’s Strange Mercy is odd, it is/ what and selfbeautiful and sad — a potent mix you say it is” destructhat makes for one of the strongest and “Got to tive behavreleases of the year so far. make this ior — and last/ if it it’s a strong contender for best album makes me sick,” all the heartbreak they deserve. The title of the year.

Clark’s music has always had track is a particularly coma fairy-tale quality to it, but the pelling showcase for her vocal merry-go-round melodies just talents — she conveys trembarely hide the darkness under- bling delicacy and tremendous neath. It’s not the gingerbread strength within a single track, and she absolutely nails it. house, it’s the scary forest.

The album ends with the That’s not to say her music isn’t fun to listen to. “Cruel” is at appropriately mellow “Year of once a highly ambivalent take on the Tiger,” which extends the the stresses of family life — in issues facing Clark to society at the music video, Clark is literally large (“Oh America/ Can I owe buried alive by her husband and you one?”). “I’ve always had a children — and at the same time, knack/ with the danger,” she with its glistening Disney sweep sings, but it doesn’t sound like filtered through a lens of club- anyone’s having any fun. Not all ready electronica, is about as fairy tales have a happy ending. purely infectious as music gets.

Many of the songs start out rgifford@umdbk.com

BY ROBERT GIFFORD Staff writer

8

THE DIAMONDBACK | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

Sports

Men’s basketball in action For a window into the Terrapins men’s basketball team’s first preseason under coach Mark Turgeon, check out new video posted on TerrapinTrail.com.

MEN’S SOCCER

Terps off to UMBC with new pressure

WOMEN’S SOCCER | NOTEBOOK

FOOTBALL

Spencer’s injuries a setback First-half play is crucial for Terps

BY DANIEL GALLEN Staff writer

Team likely to earn nation’s top rank

In Brian Pensky’s seven seasons as coach of the Terrapins women’s soccer team, he has seen injury after injury deal blows to the title aspirations of rival programs while his own Terps squads remained largely injury-free.

All of that changed Sunday night, as a collision with a James Madison player with two seconds remaining in overtime left forward Jasmyne Spencer lying on the ground for several minutes.

Entering what Pensky called the “meat” of a difficult ACC schedule, the No. 3 Terps could be without their fiery senior leader for at least five league games. Spencer likely fractured her ribs slightly, according to Pensky, and the possibility of a concussion has not been ruled out.

“I can’t see her returning in time for the first round of ACC play,” said Pensky, who indicated that he expects Spencer to return only as soon as the team’s Oct. 8 game against Wake Forest.

While the team awaits a second opinion on Spencer’s X-rays, James Madison is sending Pensky and his staff video of the play so they can review exactly what happened to Spencer.

BY CONNOR LETOURNEAU Staff writer

As Patrick Mullins trotted off Ludwig Field on Friday night, the Terrapins men’s soccer forward refused to bask in the glory of the moment.

His squad had just routed thenNo. 8 Boston College, 4-0, in front of the more than 4,200 in attendance. Mullins, a converted midfielder thriving in his new role on the frontline, had led the charge with two second-half goals.

Yet as he tried to catch his breath after the milestone performance, Mullins wasn’t ready to make any gaudy declarations or title predictions. Instead, he focused on the Terps’ next task: grabbing their first road win of the season against local rival UMBC tonight.

“We’re just trying to keep it realistic right now,” he said after the win against the Eagles. “Obviously, it’s a great win and we’re enjoying it tonight, but when we come in tomorrow, we’re getting prepared for UMBC.” But staying realistic may be harder than Mullins and the No. 2 Terps could’ve imagined.

In a result Saturday that defied all expectations, No. 1 North Carolina suffered a double-overtime, 1-0 loss to an unranked Virginia Tech squad that had previously lost to Howard. That leaves the Terps (50, 1-0 ACC) poised, for the first time since September 2009, to take over the top spot when the NSCAA Coaches Poll is released today.

“Teams are definitely going to be gunning for us,” said midfielder Jereme Raley, referring to the Terps’ possible No. 1 ranking. “But we can’t really worr y about that. We just have to keep that in the back of our minds and keep playing.”

And as a program desperate for more exposure, UMBC (2-0-2) would like nothing more than to upend the state’s powerhouse.

The Retrievers installed lights at their stadium this offseason and aimed to capitalize on the renovation by scheduling a rigorous nonconference home schedule. In addition to the Terps, they’ll host No. 19 Penn State at Retriever Soccer Park on Oct. 19.

But UMBC possesses more than just ambition. Its squad has two ingredients necessary in any potential upset: senior leadership and a strong backline.

The Retrievers returned eight

see UMBC, page 7

Coach Randy Edsall, shown here during the Terps’ August uniform unveiling, is hoping to reap the rewards of an impressive season-opening victory against Miami in the team’s recruiting. CHARLIE DEBOYACE/THE DIAMONDBACK

“We had a lot of recruits here tonight, and they were all very good,” Edsall said after the Terps’ victory Sept. 5. “You couldn’t come to this game tonight and not be impressed with the different colors that the fans were wearing and the noise.”

That sentiment appears to be ringing true with several local recruits, including one of the nation’s top cornerbacks: Potomac High School senior Ronald Darby.

Darby, who has verbally committed to Notre Dame, was in attendance for the Miami game, and Rivals.com football recruiting analyst Mike Ferrell reported Saturday that Darby called his visit to Byrd Stadium “great” and said he would return if his schedule allowed for it.

While Darby’s eventual enrollment in this university is still unlikely

In six of their eight games this year, the Terps have scored a combined 13 goals in the first half of play.

Their record in those games?

6-0-0. The two games in which they didn’t score a first-half goal? 0-0-2.

So as the team moves on from its third straight undefeated nonconference schedule and into league play, the Terps are hoping any early offensive sluggishness won’t translate to a number of blank scoreboards in their forthcoming ACC gauntlet.

On Sunday night at James Madison, the Terps generated 10 shots in the first 45 minutes of play but came up empty, allowing the Dukes to keep close the rest of the way.

“We knew that once they got to halftime [at] 0-0, they were going to get reenergized in their locker room and come out in a pretty good frame of mind,” Pensky said. “They did just that, they were that. They were a little bit better in the second half.”

The lack of goals wasn’t due to a lack of chances, however.

Spencer and midfielder Olivia Wagner combined to take 13

see RECRUITING, page 7

see NOTEBOOK, page 7

Targets acquired With Miami win creating fresh buzz, Edsall hits recruiting trail

BY CONOR WALSH Senior staff writer

For reasons related to fashion or scandal or the actual game itself, the Terrapins football team’s seasonopening win over Miami on primetime national television did one thing above all else for a program in transition: It garnered attention.

With loud, flashy new uniforms and a boisterous, sold-out Byrd Stadium, many across the nation took notice. Chief among coach Randy Edsall’s concerns, though, were a select handful of 17- and 18-yearolds tuning in.

A number of recruiting targets were on hand for the Terps’ 32-24 win over Miami, and with a week off between that game and Saturday’s matchup with No. 18 West Virginia, Edsall and his staff have hit the recruiting trail hard.

STATED PLANS Last week was an important one for coach Randy Edsall and his pursuit of a number of top Terps prospects. Among his likely in-state targets are: Cyrus Jones, Gilman (Baltimore) Stefon Diggs, Good Counsel (Olney) Ronald Darby, Potomac (Oxon Hill)

STARTING FAST

FIELD HOCKEY

Timeshare in cage affords options, but no answer yet Vassalotti, Hunter see equal action for Terps

BY JOSH VITALE Staff writer

Exactly 420 minutes have come and gone in a Terrapins field hockey season largely defined by its uncertainty in cage. And the Terps have no better metric of the ongoing goalkeeper competition than their actual timeshare.

In six games this year, goalkeepers Melissa Vassalotti and Natalie Hunter have each played exactly 210 minutes.

And as the battle between Vassalotti, a senior who started last year’s ACC and national championships, and Hunter, a sophomore upstart, continues unabated, coach Missy Meharg said she is still unsure of how the situation will play out.

“It’s been interesting,” Meharg said.

“We’ve had games where we’ve given up a fair number of shots and we’ve

given up as low as one or two. I think that we’re just trying both out and seeing where we are.”

Each goalie has started three games for the No. 3 Terps (5-1), and examples of stellar play have dotted some games as inconsistencies have colored the rest. Each keeper has shut out one opponent so far — Vassalotti against Northwestern and Hunter against Temple — but both have also had obvious low-water marks.

Against Old Dominion on Sept. 2, Vassalotti suffered the Terps’ lone defeat of the season, a 4-0 loss during which she allowed four goals to the Monarchs, the second-highest total conceded during her Terps career.

Hunter had her worst performance

see COMPETITION, page 7

Goalkeeper Melissa Vassalotti, who helped lead the Terps’ defense en route to a national championship last year, is now facing competition at the position from sophomore Natalie Hunter. FILE PHOTO/THE DIAMONDBACK