120909

MOSLEY’S TURN

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM

Sophomore is using improved offensive game to pace Terps

The Culinarian enjoys the Far Eastern tastes of Pho 88 in Beltsville

SPORTS | PAGE 8

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

DIVERSIONS | PAGE 6

THE DIAMONDBACK THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Our 100TH Year, No. 70

Feedback New mayor will bring new approach on diversity plan covers wide range Andy Fellows promises to govern by consensus

Committee will meet Thurs. to revise plan

INCOMING

BY BRADY HOLT Senior staff writer

College Park traded an arm-twister for a “consensus builder” when Andy Fellows formally replaced Steve Brayman as the mayor of College Park last night.

After an era marked by Brayman’s frequently abrasive leadership style in which he sought to dominate council discussions, Fellows said he will allow the council to set the direction of city policy.

Few city officials have been willing to speculate whether this alternate method will produce meaningful changes to the city beyond shorter, more civil council meetings. Even still, the two men emphasized their distinct approaches in speeches at City Hall last night while also stressing their shared vision for the city.

“I think Andy’s going to expect the council members to do more talking. Whether that leads to better results, it’s hard to tell,” longtime District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin said. “I don’t foresee any big changes in the future.”

Or as Brayman put it: “Although we might get to the same end result in different ways, it’s the result that counts.”

Fellows was sworn in last night for a two-year term as mayor, having cruised unopposed through last month’s election, after Brayman decided to step down earlier this year after serving as mayor since 2002.

Fellows will oversee a newly reshuffled city council that some officials have praised as more “cohesive” than the outgoing body but that will likely need to face declining city tax revenues and

BY ADELE HAMPTON Staff writer

In the first steps toward finalizing its blueprint, the committee charged with developing the campus diversity plan will review and implement feedback tomorrow.

Since dozens of people raised issues with the diversity plan at October’s diversity town hall meeting, the Diversity Plan Steering Committee has continued to receive a steady stream of commentary from the university community. Members have said they welcome the challenge of filtering through the countless letters, e-mails and phone messages of input, which are as diverse as the campus itself.

The entire committee will meet later this week to evaluate each suggestion and debate what to incorporate, said Assistant to the President for Equity and Diversity and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Rob Waters, who chairs the committee.

“We’re going to first focus conceptually, then go into particulars after that,” Waters said. “The committee vets each idea and votes ... We’re going to let the majority decide what the good of the plan is and what to try to do.”

The feedback the committee has received ranges from broad suggestions about how campus diversity can

Former District 3 Councilman Andy Fellows was sworn in last night as the new mayor of College Park. VINCE SALAMONE/THE DIAMONDBACK

Over eight years as mayor, Brayman used a relentless, hard-nosed approach to win policy battles again and again

BY BEN SLIVNICK Senior staff writer

see FEEDBACK, page 2

Outgoing College Park Mayor Stephen Brayman likes winning.

He played defensive back for an undefeated football team in high school and never lost his jock mentality. In eight years as mayor, he swept four citywide elections. In between, he counted each and every policy victory.

“I think I’ve gotten between 90 and 95 percent of what I’ve pushed,” said Brayman, 46, whose

Students battling sickness Health Center group aims to educate peers

see FELLOWS, page 3

tenure ended last night.

Among his victories, Brayman counts hiring three part-time police officers to focus solely on the city, constructing a downtown parking garage and stepping up the city’s lobbying efforts on the county and state levels.

While past mayors took a hands-off approach to city leadership and allowed the council to do the grunt work of crafting legislation, Brayman has earned a reputation as a hard worker and

see BRAYMAN, page 3

OUTGOING

After eight years, Stephen Brayman presided over his last meeting as mayor yesterday night.

VINCE SALAMONE/THE DIAMONDBACK

BY DARREN BOTELHO Staff writer

It’s flu season, and many students far away from home don’t have their mothers around to tell them to cover their coughs and clean their hands.

Instead, the health center’s marketing peer program has taken up the crusade against disease.

The Health Advertising, Marketing Peer Program, a semester-old group comprised of eight students responsible for marketing health-center initiatives, is responsible for the advertisements that litter campus reminding students to “cover your cough, clean your hands.” The group has been responsible for this semester’s fluprevention campaign, promotions of the mid-October flu drill, Suicide Awareness Week, World AIDS Week and this week’s National Hand Washing activities.

Advertising and Marketing Peer Program Coordinator Julia Matute said National Hand Washing Week is the group’s most recent venture in an ongoing effort to encourage students to take responsibility for their role in flu prevention.

“Signs will be posted on the

see MARKETING, page 3 TOMORROW’S WEATHER:

Speaker links evolutionary theory, climate change solutions As talks begin in Copenhagen, Princeton University professor says cooperation is key

BY DANA CETRONE Staff writer

The theories of evolution, besides explaining the origin of species, could also pinpoint the path to a sustainable future, according to a prominent expert who visited the campus yesterday.

Simon Levin, an evolutionar y biology professor at Princeton University and adjunct professor at Cornell University, cited examples from evolutionar y theor y to show how global cooperation could provide a brighter future for the generations to come. Levin, who was featured as part of the 15th annual Shih-I Pai Lecture, presented evidence on how groups that band together make better decisions to before a crowd of more than 100 people yesterday.

Sunny/30s

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference kicking off in Copenhagen this week, Levin’s call for a concerted worldwide effort to combat global warming is especially timely.

“How we relate to our future interests to generations now — that’s what Copenhagen is all about,” Levin said. “Scientific consensus is strong on many core environmental issues, but despite that, adequate action hasn’t happened.”

One of the reasons for the lack of a synchronized global effort is the absence of a tangible enemy, he said.

Levin also used game theor y’s “Prisoner’s Dilemma” — a hypothetical situation that demonstrates why two people might not cooperate even if it’s in their best interest

INDEX

see SUSTAINABILITY, page 2 NEWS . . . . . . . . . .2 OPINION . . . . . . . .4

Simon Levin, a Princeton University professor, spoke at the 15th Annual Shih-I Pai Lecture about how evolutionary theories point to the need for a concerted global effort to combat climate change. MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

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THE DIAMONDBACK | NEWS | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009

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THE SMARTEST COLLEGE TOWNS You may not believe we squeezed into the top 20 of The Daily Beast’s list of the smartest college towns, given the downtown bar scene and the vast majority of the students who raise their hands in lecture. But our very own College Park landed at the 19th spot in the rankings, thanks to our research prowess, as well as our partnerships with NASA and federal departments like Homeland Security.

The Daily Beast awarded College Park an overall grade of C (given that we didn’t study for this test, we'll take it!) by crunching numbers like bachelor’s and graduate degrees per capita for the over-25 population, student SAT scores, and voter turnout, the latter of which is an indicator of higher intelligence.

Chapel Hill took the gold, followed by Ann Arbor and Boulder, Colo. Athens, Ga., home to the University of Georgia, finished dead last. Other students who might want to study harder next year include the Notre Dame students living in South Bend, Ind., which, despite boasting the second highest median SAT score, has the fewest bachelor’s degrees per capita.

For other blog posts like this one, visit the Diamondback’s newsroom blog, Campus Drive, at blogs.umdbk.com/campusdrive, updated daily to bring you juicy tidbits from around the globe.

To find out about what’s going on around the campus and in your community, check us out on Twitter at twitter.com/dbk, where we post breaking news every day.

Go to Terrapintrail.com, the official sports blog of the Diamondback, for indepth coverage of all your favorite Terp sports during winter break.

Follow us on Twitter for game updates, breaking news and links to online coverage at twitter.com/DBKSports.

SUSTAINABILITY from page 1 to do so — along with more complex mathematical models to explain group dynamics from an evolutionary perspective. However, real-life human interactions and decisions don’t always unfold according to evolutionary models, he noted.

Levin said the goal of sustainability is part of the big picture, or “macroscopic features,” but the lower levels of organizations control those features, much like how microscopic elements in an ecosystem affect macroscopic levels.

“We need new institutions, and they will have to be adaptive,” Levin said. “To have cooperation we need to find ways beyond local groups.

Individual variations are the source of adaptation.”

Susan Lerche, a freshman biochemistry major, said although she didn’t understand all parts of the lecture, she was impressed by what she learned from Levin.

“It was cool to hear a renowned professor talk about how sustainability was related to macroscopic and microscopic levels, and how different groups are involved,” Lerche said.

The lecture was part of a series organized by the Institute for Physical Science and Technology, and named for Shih-I Pai, a professor of

FEEDBACK from page 1 fit into the university’s efforts to become a more globally competitive institution to specific questions about how diversity will be handled in the schools of language and literature.

Bill Norwood, an equipment manager for the physics department, penned his own version of the diversity plan and sent it to members of the University Senate, Student Government Association, student religious groups and alumni. Some of his suggestions called for the removal of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population from diversity efforts, saying the university needs to alter its stance on how the LGBT community is categorized.

“The openness of the [diversity plan] is one of the reasons why I submitted my own comments,” Norwood said. “I didn’t get a single hostile response. I think people should dare to argue. There should be an exchange of feedback, of thought.”

Simon Levin, a professor of evolutionary biology at Princeton, cited theories of evolution to prove the need for global cooperation on climate change. His lecture drew more than 100 people. MATTHEW CREGER/THE DIAMONDBACK

fluid dynamics at the university for 47 years, said Frank Olver, a professor emeritus and one of the organizers.

“It’s a series to honor his contributions to the university and kept up by funding from his family members,”

Olver said. “We choose distinguished speakers in areas like applied mathematics and fluid dynamics.”

Olver said the choice of speaker is made by Rajarshi Roy, the institute’s director, with the advice of faculty

members and the event is usually well-attended by faculty, graduate students and researchers at nearby universities and institutions.

Others take a more subtle approach, sending their suggestions and comments only to Waters and subcommittee chairs.

Since the town hall meeting two months ago, comments have been coming in constantly from faculty, staff and students, said committee member Kim Nickerson, assistant dean for the behavioral and social sciences college and the assistant dean for diversity in the public health school.

“We’re not only getting feedback online, but we’re getting it from individuals who didn’t attend or speak at [October’s] meeting,” Nickerson said. “The feedback spans various aspects of the plan, and we’re going to thoughtfully go through it.”

The way the steering committee plans to deal with the comments is similar to how Provost Nariman Farvardin handled campus feedback for the university’s strategic plan last semester, Waters said. Members will sift through all the suggestions, omitting the ones that are off-topic or unsuitable, before fleshing out the finer details.

Although Nor wood said his version of the diversity plan was far from perfect and could be called inflammator y, he said he was grateful for its cordial reception by the committee.

“Waters said he would distribute it to the committee and that he was thankful for the feedback,” Norwood said. “I know it’s controversial, but

feedback was solicited from the whole campus, and I’m certainly licensed to say what I think.”

Committee members agree, saying the signature component of the diversity plan is feedback from the campus, no matter its content or perspective.

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BRAYMAN from page 1 aggressive negotiator. When it comes to council legislation, he is relentless in lobbying his peers. And when developers and businesses approach the city, he acknowledges he’s nothing short of demanding.

Just last week, in a move he dubbed “classic Brayman,” the outgoing mayor finally succeeded in a push for the city to buy and tear down Number 1 Liquor Store. Brayman said he saw the store as an eyesore and a deterrent to the type of development he tried to promote. While some of his peers saw the buy-out approach as too harsh, in the end Brayman’s side had the votes.

“He’s a tenacious person,” said District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin. “If you dis-

FELLOWS from page 1 state funding in the current economic climate.

He has pledged himself to a stricter interpretation of College Park’s “council-manager” form of government that requires a weak mayor whose primary job is to reach out to other jurisdictions and to run council meetings, rather than to try and set the city’s agenda.

“That means that the need to speak on every issue, well, I don’t see it maybe as strongly as my predecessor,” Fellows said in an interview last month. “It’s not that I believe I have all the answers, but I believe I’m a pretty good listener and I can build consensus.”

Fellows, 51, who serves as the Chesapeake Regional Director for the Clean Water Action environmental group as his day job, said while he doesn’t plan to argue with councilmembers during public meetings,

MARKETING from page 1 Washington quad to target some of our upper classmen who live in that vicinity,” Matute said.

Originally, the pilot program was developed in line with the University Health Center’s recent emphasis on public health, Assistant Director to Health Promotions Kelly Kesler said.

The group has facilitated the University Health Center’s ability to reach out to the campus community. Students involved

“The potential impact on health behavior changing or increasing health awareness occurs to some degree.”

JULIA MATUTE PEER PROGRAM COORDINATOR

3

agree with him, he can be difficult.”

One developer’s lawyer learned that last winter when Brayman threatened to drag him through a long and tedious meeting for bucking the city’s wishes on a parking garage proposal. But while some have questioned Brayman’s hardline approach, Catlin said it has given the city an upper hand for pushing developers to meet higher standards and when lobbying the state and county.

“The city charter puts him as such a weak mayor, it puts him in a difficult spot,” Catlin said. “To move things forward, he has to be aggressive.”

But outgoing District 4 Councilwoman Mary Cook has emerged as one of Brayman’s chief critics, in part, she said, because of the domineering attitude he took toward businesses. She blamed his brash demeanor for souring relations, and questioned why he didn’t

he will be sure to privately share his views with them.

“I’m not envisioning that my style would be secretive as possible to make it hard to know what I’m doing.

I see the council as taking the lead in setting policy. I will be assisting the decision-making process,” Fellows said. “I don’t think that every single belief or thought of every elected official needs to be public.”

His three top priorities will be education, economic development and environmental issues, Fellows said, and he will also continue Brayman’s focus on public safety initiatives like the city’s contract police program and proposed security camera network — but he emphasized he will not seek to impose his will on the council.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the way it really works when you’re mayor,” said former District 4 Councilwoman Mary Cook, who had considered challenging Fellows in the mayoral race. “You do set a direction, whether intentionally or not. ... You make it very clear which issues are more important to you and which way

said doing so helped them to gain invaluable advertising and marketing experience.

“We worked on social marketing exercises that took the students [in the group] through the process step-bystep. Our end result is National Hand Washing Week being promoted through a Facebook event page,” Matute said.

“When students go to that event page, they can take an online quiz/poll to test their hand-washing knowledge and become more aware about hand-washing habits.”

The group meets weekly at the health center to discuss current projects and upcoming campaigns, Matute said. Peers will sometimes break into smaller groups to learn about something new that’s health related, but she said the most interesting activity thus far has been SpotLight Presentations.

In these presentations, students educate each other on an issue, which allows them to practice their ability to communicate complicated topics, like those often associated with health.

“Students are required to give 15-minute presentations

explore tax incentives to support local businesses.

“He has many times displayed an abrasive presence that does rub some people the wrong way, and that has big impact on doing business in College Park,” Cook said. “If we had perhaps had better relationships with some of the property owners, perhaps that would have been helpful.”

But while the city has struggled to attract and keep independent businesses, its housing stock boomed under Brayman’s watch. Two high-rise student housing complexes built during his tenure added thousands of beds to the city, and several more buildings are moving through the planning stages.

The city’s political influence has also grown during his tenure. Since he has taken office, four city residents have risen to positions in the State Senate,

you’d like to see things go.”

Catlin also said he wasn’t sure whether Fellows’ philosophy would survive the “fireworks” of drawn-out discussion on a controversial issue, saying only that council meetings “might be more amicable in the first few months.”

And after that?

“Less amicable ... I can see things going back to the way things are now,” Catlin said. “Fellows has a much gentler style [than Brayman]; whether he can retain it we may have to find out. It can be difficult to be gentle and to try to get the meetings finished at a reasonable time. That’s where Brayman hit the skids.”

Fellows has lived in College Park since 1991, when he moved to the city to attend graduate school at the university and serve as the Graduate Student Government president.

Last night’s council meeting also saw the swearing-in of three new council members and five re-elected incumbents.

botelho@umdbk.com

closing speech that individually recognized every councilmember he’s served with — including District 2 Councilman Jack Perry, a long-time foe — and laid lavish praise upon the city staff. He called his vote to hire City Manager Joe Nagro his proudest moment in serving the city.

With his battles at City Hall behind him, Brayman said he looked forward to being with his family. But even after he’s stepped down from his position, his battling won’t end. Brayman said he’ll be fighting for the Prince George’s County school district to meet the needs of a daughter with a developmental disability.

“The school system has met me and hopefully they’ll see me even fiercer,” Brayman said at the conclusion of last night’s meeting. “I am going to be spending a lot of time searching for a cure.” slivnick@umdbk.com

Andrew Fellows (right) replaced outgoing mayor Stephen Brayman last night, and was sworn in at City Hall in front of a crowd of dignitaries and local residents. VINCE SALAMONE/THE DIAMONDBACK

bholt@umdbk.com

on just about anything, but they must relate the topic to marketing,” Matute said. “We have learned so much from each other.”

After advertising around campus for a semester, group members have also learned from their own experiences.

Promotions for National Hand Washing Week, for example, will be posted around Washington quad, because that area has lacked attention from the group in the past.

“The group identified that our activities didn’t always address that population or community,” Matute said.

“Outreach is also being made to the academic departments to promote the posting of our hand-washing and coveryour-cough posters.” “[The group] expanded the reach of health messages and ser vices across campus,” Matute said. “Also, most importantly, the potential impact on health behavior changing or increasing health awareness occurs to some degree.”

House of Delegates and County Council. In a testament to Brayman’s increased political outreach, two county councilmen, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey, a representative for Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), and Del. Barbara Frush (D-Prince George’s) all showed for his last meeting.

County Councilman Eric Olson (DPrince George’s), a former councilman, particularly praised Brayman’s work to bring the city a contract police force.

“That was something that vexed the city for decades, but with your own unique style, you were able to get through at an affordable rate,” he said.

Incoming Mayor Andrew Fellows was less euphemistic.

“He’s kind of Sinatra-esque,” Fellows said. “He does it his way.”

Despite Brayman’s brash reputation, he left office on a gracious note with a

RHA: Housing lottery should be based on past behavior Clean records will yield more optimal lottery numbers

BY AMANDA PINO Staff writer

After a contentious debate over the fate of the housing lotter y, RHA members voted last night to support a compromise measure that would give the best-behaving current residents a better chance at receiving housing their junior year.

Last month, Residence Hall Association President Josef Mensah moved to support the abolition of the lotter y system entirely, calling it unfair and unnecessar y.

RHA senators rejected his plan then, but approved last night’s resolution 33-6.

The current lotter y randomly assigns rising juniors a number, and students with lower numbers are more

“This should come into effect right now, for everyone ...

Otherwise, we’re robbing a whole year or two of students from a fair lottery process.”

YONATAN LEVY RHA SENATOR

likely to receive a room in a dorm. Senators argued this system was unfair because model citizens could receive high numbers while those who repeatedly broke Resident Life rules were awarded with lower ones.

“As a rising junior whose housing lotter y number just came out, I want to say that my housing number was ver y, ver y deep into the red,” said RHA Senator Kate Hartinger, a sophomore business major. “And as someone who hasn’t had any infractions, it would have made me feel better if I knew that I had a better chance because of that.”

The RHA wanted Resident Life to group students according to the number of probation periods they have received. Those without probationar y periods will get the lowest numbers, followed by those with one period, and then those who have two or more.

Though senators proposed amendments supporting the absolution of firstsemester freshman and students who committed violations before the resolution passed, both amendments failed.

“This should come into effect right now, for ever yone,” senior Arabic studies major and RHA senator Yonatan Levy said. “Otherwise, we’re robbing a whole year or two of students from

a fair lotter y process.”

But many of those who opposed the resolution said they did so because the amendments weren’t adopted. Ellie Farr, the student groups liaison on RHA’s executive board, said “real” laws don’t punish people who committed an of fense before the law was enacted. As a result, she ultimately voted against the resolution despite suppor ting the general idea of the compromise.

“Right now you’re saying you can punish students and give them a lower lotter y number when they didn’t realize that that was going to be a consequence,” said Farr. “The whole point for the bill was to change the fairness of the policy and that goes against fairness to those students.”

Although Mensah voted for the resolution, he said senators should be aware of other ways to reform the lotter y system.

“We’ve talked about a lot of ways to prioritize who gets housing, from basing it on how far you live from campus to whether or not you’re in student government,” Mensah said. “I’m not sure this is the answer. Is it fair to take away housing from a rising junior who broke the rules first semester of their freshman year?” pino@umdbk.com

4

THE DIAMONDBACK | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009

Opinion

KEVIN ROBILLARD

THE DIAMONDBACK

EDITOR IN CHIEF

YOUR INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK PHONE: (301) 314-8200 | FAX: (301) 314-8358 3150 SOUTH CAMPUS DINING HALL | COLLEGE PARK, MD., 20742 NEWS@UMDBK .COM | OPINION@UMDBK .COM

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OPINION EDITOR

Staff editorial

Guest column

The chief issue

Clearing the air

W

hen students return next semester after winter break, Univer- police chiefs, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. In their place, sity Police will have a new chief. Ken Krouse, who has com- a lone superintendent would oversee each institution’s department, which manded the department since 1989, will retire at the end of this would instead be structured like a state police barrack. Each campus would year. Maj. Mark Sparks will temporarily fill Krouse’s position have a barrack with a commander, holding the rank of major or lieutenant until a new chief is selected. But before the search committee makes a selec- colonel, who would lead the police forces on that campus and make decition, Annapolis should examine Krouse’s departure as a unique opportunity sions previously made by the police chief, but they would ultimately report to the superintendent. to save money.

Reworking of the state’s higher education police forces would simplify and Six years ago, the Commission on the Structure and Efficiency of State strengthen the university system. Training, uniforms and Government issued a report laying out ways the state equipment would be identical and forces could be shared in could cut costs and become more productive. One suggesemergencies, driving down costs over time. The leftover tion was consolidating the police departments of the 11 funds could then be used for the system’s central mission: institutions in the University System of Maryland. This The General Assembly educating students. would allow a unified department to save money by sharUltimately, educating students should be what’s most ing recruitment and training costs and making joint equipshould assess the reality of important for the university system. It’s likely administrament purchases. Plus, the need for one chief would mean merging higher education tors will merge several academic departments here as a fewer high-salary employees. result of the fiscal downturn. Any possible cost-saving But there are plenty of reasons the report’s recommenpolice departments. measures that don’t impact education should be made dations haven’t been implemented. It’s not logistically posbefore class sizes skyrocket or departments are eliminated. sible for one police chief to be responsible for departments stretching from Salisbury to College Park to Towson to Frostburg. If crises Safety would remain the primary concern, but it can still be achieved under broke out simultaneously at two campuses, the chief would somehow have to different structures.

There’s no doubt such a massive restructuring would be alarming. But the manage both operations.

And police chief is anything but a ceremonial position. As the department’s university system in New York has consolidated its police department, and in top official, he or she is responsible for most administrative and management the Old Line State, the Maryland Port Authority Police merged with the tasks, like hiring and firing officers, and is the final decision-maker. It would Maryland Transportation Authority Police in 1998.

The General Assembly should take a second look at the commission’s be difficult for one person to be the decider for all the campuses.

But before dismissing the report entirely, the state should consider report and examine the feasibility of merging the departments. Options for changing the structure of the university police departments entirely to mir- cutting costs without sacrificing services are out there — sometimes they just ror that of the state police. Doing so would eliminate the jobs of several require a second look.

Our View

Editorial cartoon: Jenna Brager

Failures: Yours won’t be the worst

T

his is the last week of classes before finals and, for some, it’s the last week of real classes ever. With end-ofsemester projects and upcoming finals, I view this week as the Professor Plum in the library savagely beating my GPA with a textbook.

In typical pseudo-intellectual collegiate fashion, I enjoy the occasional inclass debate (no matter how asinine).

But a 10-page term paper or any exam sends my mind into a panic.

I once studied so hard for a final that I exhausted myself to the point where I passed out during the exam. I remember waking up multiple times during the exam and seeing my teaching assistant scoff at my inadequacy. If I had studied even a third less I could’ve avoided being an epic fail.

But hey, my academic failure isn’t really important in the grand scheme of things. And guess what? Neither is yours. We’re faring quite nicely in com-

SHRUTI

RASTOGI parison to the “greater society.”

Presenting: “Fails that make your fails seem like less of a failure.”

SuriCruiseFashion.Blogspot.com: Someone is tracking a three-year-old’s fashion, and aren’t you glad it’s not you?

Booty Pop panties exist, and Hollywood endorses them. They’re a padded brassiere for a lady’s derrière, pads placed on the balls of her cheeks create a fuller bottom. According to a press release about Booty Pop panties in the consolation gifts bags for non-winning 2009 Oscar nominees, Jennifer Rosenblatt and Kelly Ripa are among many celeb fans. Ripa “may never take them off.” They were also included in the 2009

Emmy nominee consolation gift bags.

Miley Cyrus has never heard a JayZ song, yet claims to “put her hands up” when “the taxi man turned on the radio and a Jay-Z song was on.” She admitted this in a Halloween interview (she was dressed as an Native American) for MileyWorld.com, and explains, “I don’t really listen to pop music.” But, isn’t she a teeny boppin’ pop star?

Chefs in China developed a fish dish to live for — a deep-fried fish covered in sauce and served alive complete with a twitching head. It can watch you eat its flesh. It’s called the “yin yang fish” or “dead-and-alive fish.”

In 2007, The China Post reported that it was a popular dish in China, but many veteran chefs in Taiwan refused to serve it “due to the great cruelty inflicted on the fish.”

Finally, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott accidentally helped outlaw all Texas marriages by supporting a 2005 amendment to the Texas constitu-

tion that was intended to outlaw gay marriage.

Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who is challenging Abbott, was the one to discover the mistake. The amendment defines marriage as a union solely between a man and a woman, but wait — there’s more. As Radnofsky wrote in The Huffington Post, “The [Texas] Constitution provides, in very clear language, that Texas ‘may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.’” Newsflash: marriage is identical to marriage.

She wants the amendment amended, but Abbott “continues to defend” the amendment on the grounds that it is “constitutional.”

So, good luck to all with presentations, projects and papers — it would be really hard to fail harder than these people.

Shruti Rastogi is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at rastogi@umdbk.com.

Semester in review: Poor timing and bad decisions

A

s this semester draws to a close, I’m reminded of how many ridiculous things have happened over the past four months. In case you all forgot, I scoured my memory and picked the five biggest events of the fall 2009 semester. I also ranked them for you.

You’re welcome.

5: The revoking of Zeta Beta Tau’s university recognition I’m bummed the brothers of Zeta Beta Tau didn’t get busted over something cooler. I mean, they were given the boot because University Police found drugs in their house. Really?

That’s it? I always thought fraternities were crazy. When I first heard the news, I figured the police caught ZBT doing something ridiculous. I thought I’d be hearing about a hazing ritual that involved jabbing a syringe filled with antifreeze into a pledge’s arm.

But hey, the members of ZBT did pour a mixture of bleach and water on a

pledge’s face two years ago, nearly blinding him. Why weren’t they disbanded then? What a way to go out that would’ve been.

4: Steve Glickman’s bad timing I’m slightly conflicted over this one, because when Student Government Association President Steve Glickman left a Committee for the Review of Student Fees meeting early and missed an important vote that saddled us with even more student fees, but he also inadvertently gave us a week of Justin Cousson’s hilarious cartoons.

Remember those? They were pretty damn funny.

3. The ousting of Cordell Black Holy crap! Read that one again. It sounds like the title of a baller movie. I picture it as a sort of detective flick: The main character is a grizzled veteran who ... I’ll stop. Let’s get back to Black. Honestly, I’d never heard of Black until this whole fiasco happened, but he seems like a swell

MIKE

SANDERS enough dude — so it’s hard to understand why he got dismissed. What’s even harder to understand, though, is the stupidity of our university. Black was the associate provost for equity and diversity, right? “Diversity” is in his freakin’ job title. But after he was told he wouldn’t be in that position any longer, the university officials insisted he was let go purely for financial reasons and they were committed to promoting diversity. So let me get this straight: You love diversity, you want to promote diversity, but you demote the guy whose job it is to do that? Wait, there’s more. Shortly before Black was dismissed, a report was released

which showed black student enrollment is down 28 percent from last year. Forget Glicky-poo: The university administration has the worst timing I’ve ever seen.

2. Shelling out $250,000 for a marketing plan everyone hates I keep trying to write an explanation for this, but every time I try to my brain explodes into 250,000 small pieces.

1. The Diamondback hiring me This one should have been obvious.

When The Diamondback hired me, they simply wanted a pretty face to put on the opinion section. But they got more than my looks — they got my personality, charm, intelligence and humor. I am seriously the greatest person of all time.

Like I needed a list to tell me that.

Mike Sanders is a junior history major.

He can be reached at msanders@umdbk.com.

CHRISTOPHER BANERJEE, ROB MUTSCHLER AND JEFFERY GRAY

W

e are extremely strong supporters of Israel, one of the United States’ closest allies and one of the few democracies in the Middle East. Throughout its history, Israel has been under attack by belligerent and hateful powers, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, the tyrannical regimes in Iran — which have not declared war against Israel, but allegedly provided supplies, training and funding for militants, and Syria, which seeks to destroy Israel and murder its inhabitants.

However, wars are not only fought on the battlefield — Israel is also under attack intellectually and politically throughout the world. Because many of the anti-Israel attacks, on college campuses in particular, tend to be subtle and indirect, we are always vigilant and will always act swiftly and decisively to stand up for Israel and condemn any anti-Israel claims we perceive. If these claims are not forcefully refuted, students and members of the public who are uninformed about the conflict may be misled into becoming hostile toward Israel.

We acknowledge that people who consider themselves pro-Israel may disagree on issues relating to the conflict. At a university that treasures diversity, fairness and tolerance must be displayed when opinions vary.

Recently, we participated in a debate with the College Democrats in which U.S. foreign policy toward Israel was discussed. The debate became quite heated, with differing opinions expressed by the participants and by members of the audience. We strongly disagreed with certain views expressed by a member of the College Democrats.

We felt that some of the statements, as we remembered them, made by College Democrats Campaign Director Michael Besser could be considered anti-Israel and were disturbed by the College Democrats’ decision to withdraw their co-sponsorship of an event featuring Matthew Levitt, a respected Middle East expert.

At this point, we were concerned that a disturbing trend was developing, and a press release was issued criticizing the views expressed at the debate and characterizing Besser’s statements as anti-Israel. The description of the debate and of the views expressed by the campaign director reflected our memory of what occurred, as well as the recollection of others who were present.

In response, the College Democrats accused us of intentionally lying about his statement.

We strongly reject these allegations and maintain that our general description of what occurred is accurate. We would never deliberately publicize inaccurate information.

Nevertheless, we are willing to concede there are differing recollections of the statements made at the debate. After discussing the matter with members of the College Democrats and with Besser, we acknowledge the possibility that he may have been misquoted in the original press release.

Moreover, we have spoken to Besser, and we no longer believe he is anti-Israel. He made clear to us that while he is critical of certain Israeli policies (such as the Israeli settlements in the West Bank) he is indeed pro-Israel. Additionally, friends of his, whose pro-Israel credentials are beyond question and whom we trust, have vouched for him. We now feel that the language we used to criticize his statements in the press release was overly harsh.

To be clear, the three of us now believe that the College Democrats’ campaign director, Michael Besser, is pro-Israel. Our criticism of him in the press release resulted from a regrettable misunderstanding. We, the authors of this piece, apologize for accusing Besser of being antiIsrael and for criticizing him in the press release.

We now consider this matter to be resolved. We call upon the College Democrats to join us in ending this dispute, and we look forward to participating in a forum where we can discuss our views on the Middle East conflict. We look forward to defending a strong, unified and bipartisan U.S.–Israel relationship in the future.

The authors are members of the university’s College Republicans chapter. Banerjee can be reached at chrispat@umd.edu.

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.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009 | THE DIAMONDBACK

5

Features HOROSCOPESTELLA WILDER

CROSSWORD ACROSS 56 Part of PGA 1 Moneyman 57 Big celebration Donald 58 Wagers 6 For argument’s — 60 Alfalfa or oats 10 Run 100 meters 61 Woe is me!

14 “Iliad” writer 62 Do a double-take 15 Small brown bird 63 Coffee brewers 16 Furry red 64 Well-bred chap Muppet 65 Airheads 17 Walk slowly DOWN 18 Brats 19 Salad-dressing 1 Be gracious cheese 2 Mercutio’s pal 20 Bridal notice 3 Earth tone word 4 Brooks or Allen 21 Oil and gas 5 Economical (2 wds.) homes 24 Some East Asians 6 Type of cheese 26 Sporty sock 7 Tattoo sites 27 FedEx units 8 French Legion 28 Blacktops attire 30 Wild guesses 9 Kept in thrall 33 Imposed a levy 10 Fixes software 34 Travel on powder 11 Narrow passage 37 Mystique 12 Reek 38 Strode along 13 Frat quarters 39 Put on weight 22 Switch positions 40 VII tripled 23 Astaire or Rogers 41 Virtuous 25 Isle of exile 42 Drafts of air 28 Some parents 43 Thick wools 29 Ice skater’s leap 44 Sticky fruit 30 Jazz instrument 45 Galaxy shape 31 Wedding rental 48 Cylindrical pillow 32 Onassis nickname 52 Pretty smart 33 Legal wrong (2 wds.)

34 — Quentin 55 Fiesta cheer 35 Nanny’s charge

© 2009 UNITED FEATURES SYNDICATE

Previous Day’s Puzzle Solved:

TODAY’S CROSSWORD SPONSORED BY:

AH GU AG RE

A R E A

B CRU U REN D OS I DYM I X H AWN MOR A L E A AMO E L G I DEAR L AD AGNES ME MAS T ERED ACED L AV I SH G OPA L A L I I S L E BOR NEED SU L

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47 “Ghosts” playwright 48 Crow over 49 Kind of eclipse 50 Go to the polls 7

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orn today, you are both sensitive and courageous, and your dealings with people are always straightforward, honest, understanding and positive — even when you are dealing directly with a complicated, uncomfortable or downright difficult situation. You have impeccable timing, and this combined with your understanding of human nature will enable you, again and again, to step into a situation just when you are needed and do just what is necessary to see it all come out all right. You have a good heart, a good head and a good spirit — and you bring out the best in those around you.

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There are times when you may be almost too uncompromising for your own good, especially when it comes to promoting one of your philanthropic projects.

You want things to turn out as you envision them, and you don’t respond well when you have to accept less than the best.

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way of the past.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — A loved one who feels slighted once again is likely to demand an apology from you for something you may have done a long time ago.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) — Someone close to you is confident that things are looking up, but you have the sense that they’ll get worse before they get better.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) — Your interest in an unusual and perhaps forbidden topic is likely to be piqued. Don’t embarrass yourself.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — A little nostalgia goes a long way, and in the midst of a dear memory, you’re likely to get an idea that propels you toward a future success.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — You can impress others with how smoothly you transition from one thing to the next throughout the day. It’s not as easy as it looks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Someone who has been by your side for some time is likely to capture your attention in a new and surprising way. Don’t get into trouble.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — You may actually be seeking out trouble without even knowing it. In fact, you think you’re trying to avoid it, but that’s not the case.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Don’t shy away from conversation that involves real feelings.

Today, you would benefit from increased honesty and openness.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — You may need more time to complete a current project according to your own high standards — even though others are already satisfied.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — The way you are talking about people from your past is sure to confuse those who know you best. Some think you’re just making it all up.

Copyright 2009 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

TODAY’S HOROSCOPE SPONSORED BY:

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10 SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Though you’re also dealing with one or two big issues, it’s the little things that will prove most important to you at this time.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — You may be granted a valuable glimpse into the future — and, as usual, it will come to you by

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THE DIAMONDBACK | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE:

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COLUMN | THE CULINARIAN

Cooking pho real!

Pho 88 in Beltsville serves soup-erb Vietnamese food ALEX

RUSH Although Vietnam is considered to be a socialist republic and a single-party state, its cuisine is as democratic as it gets.

When my party and I took our seats inside Pho 88, a nofrills, single-dining-room spot about a 10-minute drive from the campus on Route 1 in a Beltsville strip mall, we were initially enticed by all the condiments on the table.

“Awesome, chili sauce!” I exclaimed as I examined a spoonful of the chunky, darkred mixture housed in a small, tin container. There were also bottles of Sriracha, soy sauce and Hoisin sauce (a tangy and sweet concoction reminiscent of barbecue sauce). Our waitress soon brought out a bowl of bean sprouts, a branch of basil leaves, lime slices and ripe forest-green jalapeño slices to accompany our respective orders of pho — the main event.

Pho is Vietnamese beef and

herb broth noodle soup for the soul, and Pho 88 concocts some soothing versions of the classic dish.

Pho 88’s menu offers 19 different meat, veggie and noodle combinations of pho — plus the option to build your own — because choice is what a dining democracy is all about. “Regular” and “large” bowl sizes are available, but only fervently hungry eaters should opt for the large bowl, which appears nearly wide and deep enough for a baby to swim in. But at $6.84, the bigger pho is only 80 cents more expensive than the “regular.”

My three dining companions opted for meat additions they considered non-intimidating and normal: well-done brisket, fatty brisket, flank steak and round steak. A few cuts that floated on top appeared rare, but quickly became seared by the hot broth. I decided to make my friends cringe and get the offal-filled combo No. 1: rice noodles with soft tendon and tripe (stomach lining), in addition to the typical round steak, flank steak and brisket.

We all happily slurped (a

practice that is not impolite and actually expected while eating pho) our springy, nongummy noodles. The meats — sliced and chopped about a centimeter thick — were pleasingly tender enough to warrant only a few chews. My tripe, which looked like a palm-sized white jungle gym and had the texture of al dente pasta, tasted mild without any distinct flavor.

As poorly prepared tripe often tastes and smells like urine, the quality of my prepared tripe was up to par. The clear broth could have absorbed the essence of the beef a bit more and been less salty, but it still was fragrant enough to make me think it could serve as a tobacco flavor for a hookah.

I like my pho spicy, so I added a handful of jalapeño slices and doused it with Sriracha until the broth took on a red tint. I balanced out the heat with Hoisin sauce and threw in some bean sprouts to give my mouth a muchneeded crunchy sensation.

Everyone’s pho bowls looked different based on our varying tastes, but the sounds

Classified CALL

Pho is a traditional Vietnamese soup served with choices including noodles, brisket, tendon and tripe. COURTESY TELEBURST.FILES.WORDPRESS.COM

of our slurps of satisfaction blended together in harmony.

Pho 88 also serves hearty portions of rice with chicken, pork chop, shrimp or vegetables. These platters cost slightly more than $10 — a bargain given the plate looks about twice the size of the average person’s face.

And don’t miss the Vietnamese iced coffee, which our waitress brought to the table

in a metal canister before she grounded the beans fresh in front of us. We followed the traditional cultural practice, sweetening and thickening the coffee by adding condensed milk. Forget Seattlefounded Starbucks — Vietnam’s caffeine-laden nod to its French colonial past is how I want to start each mornings.

All the possibilities for pho construction make Pho 88 and

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Looking for female to sublet apartment at University View. Rent $855.09 monthly/utilities not included. Contact Gretchen Hasfurter at 240-888-3510 for questions/more information.

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1-800-965-6520 x 116 Parttime store clerk/stockperson wanted at beer and wine store near campus. Flexible hours. Call Jim or Ted: 301-277-9271 Marketing: Wells Fargo Advisors Marketing Internship. We are currently hiring for part-time paid marketing internship for Spring and Fall semesters. If interested, please email a resume to joseph.schillaci@wachovia.com for more details. Please reference req. #290708. Wells Fargo is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F/D/V. ©2009 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009 | SPORTS | THE DIAMONDBACK

7

guard lineup, Mosley’s offense has flourished With guard Greivis Vasquez struggling to find his shot so far this season, Mosley has provided a reliable mid-range game as a necessary scoring option.

His trademark toughness has translated to the offensive end, as shown by a firsthalf play against the Wildcats in which he knocked the ball away from preseason Wooden Award candidate Scottie Reynolds and finished with a 15-foot jump shot in transition.

Mosley dished out a career-high 10 assists in his first career double-double in a win against New Hampshire on Nov. 20.

And the former high school for ward has hit more 3-pointers already this season (6) than he did all of last season (5).

“Last year, I’m sure a lot of scouting reports were you could help off Sean a lot onto me and Greivis and the other shooters,” guard Eric Hayes said. “This year, they can’t play off as much on Sean because he’s going to make those shots.”

Williams has been quick to point out that Mosley battled through an ankle injur y for most of last season that made it hard to get proper lift on his jump shots.

Now, he’s fully healthy and tr ying to show that he can sustain his hot start into the ACC season.

MOSLEY from page 8

Sean Mosley typically guards the opponent’s best perimeter player. The Baltimore native defended Villanova star Scottie Reynolds in Sunday’s game. ADAM FRIED/THE DIAMONDBACK

RECAP from page 8 mid-September, severely limiting what he could do for the Terps on the rare occasions he played during the regular season.

Midfielder Doug Rodkey broke the metatarsal bone in his right foot against the Tar Heels, shelving him for the rest of the season and pressing other players into action sooner than anticipated.

Clearly, the injuries hurt. The Terps dropped two straight on the road to George Mason and Duke and struggled mightily in wins against Loyola (Chicago) and Virginia Tech. Even as the young

defense matured, a hamstrung offense dictated what the Terps could and couldn’t do.

As frustrated as the Terps might have been, their struggles paled in comparison to what they faced off the pitch. On Oct. 10, starting defender Alex Lee was struck by a vehicle while crossing a street in Washington, throwing the team’s lineup and emotions into limbo.

The accident impacted the Terps so deeply that the team wondered whether it should even play its next game, against Georgetown. With a revamped lineup and their sidelined teammate in mind, though, the Terps triumphed over the Hoyas to begin a season-ending run in which they lost only once.

work, including long sessions working with a shooting gun, an apparatus that can feed passes to a practicing shooter in succession.

But Mosley, who spent time in August playing with the Global Sports Academy Team USA All-Stars in Europe, said that wasn’t all he did.

Traditionally, he had focused on improving a specific area of his game each offseason.

Heading into this season, the Baltimore product opted for a more eclectic approach, helped by the workouts designed by strength and conditioning coach Paul Ricci.

The results have been instant and obvious, even if coach Gar y Williams — who this preseason quipped that he did not recruit Mosley as a shooter — never worried about the 6-foot-4 guard.

“I thought he needed to work on his shooting to be a good college player, but I thought he could do ever ything else,” Williams said.

“Some people felt that there wasn’t a position for him, but sometimes that means he can play three positions.”

Even while often being asked to lock down the opposing team’s best guard and at times play the power for ward position in a four-

In the ACC Tournament, the team’s early-season injuries manifested in ways the Terps couldn’t afford. An out-of-sync attack couldn’t beat a Virginia squad a man down for much of the second half, and a late Cavaliers goal killed the Terps’ chances of another conference tournament title and probably a seed in the NCAA Tournament.

For a couple of rounds, it didn’t matter. The Terps, unseeded in the tournament for the first time since 2001, did just enough to top Loyola (Md.), Penn State and Harvard. But when they encountered Virginia again, old issues resurfaced. Even with a healthy Townsend, the Terps couldn’t score when it mattered most, and for only the third time in

Mosley said he’s noticed defenders respecting his offensive game.

But before the Villanova game, he seemed just as excited about his newfound opportunity to set his teammates up for more open shots.

Perhaps most impressively, Mosley’s improvement, which has been evident since the Terps’ first public workouts, has allowed him to quickly shed the supporting role he played last season and prove he can pose an offensive threat on a team with a roster that has hardly changed from last season.

“I was kinda frustrated, angry at myself because I’m a better basketball player than that,” Mosley said of his first year as a Terp.

After Mosley particularly impressed during a preseason scrimmage, Vasquez outlined Mosley’s importance to the team, reciting a long list of ways Mosley could score and succeed in the flex offense.

“That’s expecting a lot of things from Sean this year,” said Vasquez, who has been known to hyperbolize. “But he worked hard the whole summer, and he deser ves to have a great season.”

With each jumper and tricky finish around the basket Mosley makes, that assessment is looking less brash than ever. edetweiler@umdbk.com

the last eight years, didn’t advance to the College Cup. Next season, though, they should be a contender. If Rodkey is able to secure a medical redshirt for his time missed this season and the team does not lose any others to the professional ranks, the Terps will return nine starters from their season-opening lineup, as well as several other promising freshmen still adjusting to the college game.

“I know the program’s gonna get better,” senior defender Kevin Tangney said. “The guys coming back next year are unbelievably talented. Next year, the sky’s the limit for this team.”

Midfielder Drew Yates helped the Terps win two road NCAA Tournament games. JACLYN BOROWSKI/THE DIAMONDBACK

shaffer@umdbk.com

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8

THE DIAMONDBACK | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009

Sports

Check out Terrapin Trail

In the season’s final NSCAA/adidas women’s soccer poll, the Terps garnered a No. 11 ranking after their surprising run to the Sweet 16. Read about it on our blog, Terrapintrail.com.

Defender Kevin Tangney and the Terps finished the 2009 season 15-6-2 after their 3-0 NCAA quarterfinal loss to Virginia. JACLYN BOROWSKI/THE DIAMONDBACK

MEN’S SOCCER SEASON RECAP

Terps’ title defense grew in difficulty

BY JONAS SHAFFER Staff writer

It was what happened last winter — not early this fall — that was supposed to doom the Terrapin men’s soccer team.

After winning their second national championship in four years last December, the Terps and coach Sasho Cirovski said their good-byes to six starters who had accounted for more than half of the team’s scoring, led one of the nation’s best defenses and orchestrated a program-best 23 wins.

Out went star veterans Omar Gonzalez (Major League Soccer’s Rookie of the Year for the Los Angeles Galaxy), Jeremy Hall (22 starts for the New York Red Bulls) and Rodney Wallace (three goals and three assists for the D.C. United). In came relatively anonymous freshmen such as Ethan White, Taylor Kemp and Paul Torres.

Amazingly, for a while, it seemed as if the changes wouldn’t change anything. Under the scrutiny and pressure any defending champion faces, Cirovski had the Terps clicking at points earlier this season better than they were at the same time last season.

But when adversity hit, it hit hard. Two crucial injuries in late September and an off-the-field accident in early October turned the middle of the Terps’ season into a nightmarish stretch that ultimately cost

the Terps come tournament time.

Three months of maddeningly inconsistent play ended in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals Friday with a 3-0 loss to a superior Virginia squad, capping a 15-6-2 season for a Terp team whose successes and failures this season largely resulted from its bumps and bruises.

“I’m remarkably proud of what our team was able to accomplish this year, in light of the adversity that we’ve faced this year,” Cirovski said following the Terps’ defeat at Virginia.

From the actual start of the season, it was clear the Terps would need to etch out a legacy of their own. In the team’s regularseason opener against UCLA, the team lost for the first time in 16 games.

After that hiccup, however, things got progressively better. The Terps tore through their schedule for much of September, going unbeaten and outscoring opponents 14-2 in the six games following their loss to the Bruins.

But for all the good the stretch delivered — a remarkable 7-0 thrashing of Duquesne, an unforgettable 1-0 win over then-No. 2 North Carolina — it did an equal amount of harm to the team’s prospects.

Forward Casey Townsend injured his ankle in a 1-1 tie against N.C. State in

see RECAP, page 7

Mosley has made noticeable progress Terp sophomore using improved shooting stroke

BY ERIC DETWEILER Senior staff writer

Sean Mosley caught the ball near the edge of the foul line with his back to a Villanova defender and the hoop early in the second half of Sunday’s BB&T Classic at Verizon Center.

It certainly wasn’t the type of spot where the Terrapins’ sophomore guard would normally be considered a scoring threat, especially for a player who shot just 37 percent as a freshman.

But Mosley turned and hoisted a shot, ending up on his bottom as the ball sunk through the basket. The tricky attempt capped a run of seven points in a less than 1:30 span for Mosley as part of a career night in a 95-86 loss to the No. 3 Wildcats.

Mosley’s 26-point effort on 11of-14 shooting against the Big East preseason favorites was just the latest example of a stunningly quick personal transformation from hard-working grinder to respected scorer in just one offseason.

Amid the team’s unmet early season expectations, Mosley, with a team-leading 14.8 points per game on a blistering 64 percent shooting, has been an overwhelming bright spot. After earning a

Sean Mosley shot an efficient 11-of-14 from the floor during Sunday’s loss to Villanova. The sophomore is shooting 64 percent overall and leads the Terps in scoring, averaging of 14.8 points. ADAM FRIED/THE DIAMONDBACK

starting role in the second half of last season with his defense and toughness despite scoring just 5.3 points per game, Mosley has seamlessly taken the next step toward something bigger.

“I did all the hustle plays and made the passes last year — that’s what got me in the game,”

Mosley said earlier this season.

“But now I let the game come to me, and it feels a lot better.”

Most of the hype early this season has been on Mosley’s muchimproved shooting stroke.

That, indeed, came from hard

see MOSLEY, page 7