The Eagle - September 13, 2011

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September 13, 2011

theEAGLE

FROM THE TWITTERSPHERE

IN THIS ISSUE

3 NEWS 3 RANTS, 5 GLBTA SCORE, 14 SEPT. 11 ANNIVERSARY COVERAGE 17 SCENE 17 WE THE KINGS, 18 GOOD EATS, 19 AUDIOPHILE 22 OPINION 22 STAFF EDITORIAL, 23 COLUMNS 24 SPORTS 25 VOLLEYBALL, 26 MEN’S SOCCER, 28 FIELD HOCKEY 13

@TheEagleOnline I saw someone on campus this week with a “hipster wonk ” v-neck. Oh, it was me. #ironic @LouisCona, Sept. 9

THIS WEEK

1-4 p.m. / SIS Founder’s Room / AU alumnus Tridivesh Singh’s launches his newest book “Warriors after War.” There will also be a panel moderated by Professor Akbar Ahmed. / hayden@american.edu

SEPT. 13 — AN ISRAELI LOVE STORY

7-9:30 p.m. / Katzen Abramson Recital Hall / Famed playwright Pnina Gary debuts her new, semiautobiographical, one-woman show. There will be a talkback with the playwright and the actress, as well as a master class at 5 p.m. with Gary. Co-sponsored

by AU Center for Israel Studies, AU Department of Performing Arts and Embassy of Israel. / cutler@ american.edu.

SEPT. 14 — DIALOGUE KICK-OFF EVENT

@TheEagleOnline Earthquakes,hurricanes, terror alertsjust a few things to kick off freshman yr, but nothing scares us here,we are Americans

chance to speak to students with different perspectives. / ddg@american.edu

SEPT. 13 — WARRIORS AFTER WAR BOOK LAUNCH

3-5p.m. / SIS Beacon Conference Room / Learn more about the Dialogue Development Group and get the

K

@blaneyoung, Sept. 9

SEPT. 15 — 90S NIGHT IN THE TAVERN

@TitaniumTwist, Sept. 8

SEPT. 17 — H STREET FESTIVAL

@TheEagleOnline Why does rain turn the whole campus into a giant puddle? Not that I don ’t love having to wade from class to class...

6-11 p.m. / Tavern / Feeling nostalgic? Come watch a marathon of 90s TV classics as part of the Student Government’s Artemas Ward Week. / vp@ausg.org 12-7 p.m. / H St. NE between 8th and 14th Streets / Though the revitalization of D.C.’s next hot spot isn’t quite done yet, go get a chance to learn the upand-coming H Street night life with tattoo and costume contests, karaoke and live music. / info@ HstreetFestival.org

@k8ehoff, Sept. 11

I remember #Sept11 so clearly. A terrifying day in #DC, a soph. @AmericanU. Only 10 yrs ltr can we understand how much that day changed us.

SEPT. 19 — KPU PRESENTS ROBERT GIBBS

8:15 p.m. / University Club / Former President Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will speak to AU students, faculty and staff. / kpu@ausg.org

@lizrr, Sept. 11

Spending my 9/11 anniversary doing community service on the @AmericanU quad with @austudentgov. #AUremembers

CORRECTIONS

Colunist Douglas Bell was incorrectly identified as a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a junior in the School of Communication.

Rachel Devor was listed as the photo editor. In fact, Ana Santos was the photo editor for the previous issue and Rachel Devor was the assistant photo editor.

Kimberle D’aria’s name was misspelled in the photo credit on page eight.

E

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The Eagle has a commitment to accuracy and clarity and will print any corrections or clarifications. To report a mistake, call the editor in chief at (202) 885-1402 or e-mail editor@ theeagleonline.com.

SPORTS EDITOR Tyler Tomea SPORTS ASSISTANT Ben Lasky EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Joe Wenner ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Hoai-Tran Bui MUSIC EDITOR Maeve McDermott BLOG EDITOR Abby Fennewald MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Diana Bowen ASSISTANT WEB EDITOR Cara Bernard BUSINESS MANAGER Michael Slater SALES DIRECTOR Alexander Robinson ACCOUNT MANAGER Kelsey Beck

News 3

theEAGLE

#@%!

EAGLE RANTS

EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to a flood of enraged reader responses about our decision to make Eagle Rants print-only, we’ve decided to bring all Rants back online.

Enjoy!

Dear AU, I pay out of pocket for each text message I send AND RECEIVE. The RaveAlert system is supposed to be used for EMERGENCIES ONLY. A memo from President Kerwin about Irene’s aftermath 12 hours after the rain has stopped does NOT count as an EMERGENCY. The Capital One people seriously need to lay off the pushiness — I didn’t want to open an account the last 20 times you asked, and I still don’t want to.

I have to pick up the print version to get all of the Rants? I’m going abroad this year, and have nothing to do until the end of September … gotta get my scoop.

/

CLASSIFIEDS

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE/PAYROLL/ BOOKKEEPER NO Experience necessary.

Salary Commensurate, and takes little of your time. Requirements: Should be computer literate, must be efcient and dedicated. Please send resume to: distributionspcompany@gmail.com RETAIL SALES Mustard Seed in Bethesda,MD is looking for sales help.

Flexible hrs. Close to campus.

Apply within. Open 7 days/wk. www.mustardseedshop.com Mustard Seed Recycling Co., Inc. 7349 Wisconsin Avenue Bethesda, MD 20814 301/907-4699 www. mustardseedshop.com Sitters Wanted. $12+ per hour.

Register free for jobs near campus or home. www.student-sitters.com

ADVERTISE IN THE EAGLE Visit www.theeagleonline.com or email business@theeagleonline.com for rates and more information.

PUT ALL THE RANTS ONLINE. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING? I know you guys want more people to pick up the paper copy of the Eagle, but this is just annoying.

This is the opposite of a rant, but thanks for the AU students who knocked on my door to let me know that my car lights were still on!

Hey Eag editors — where were the articles in this week’s issue on the two biggest events of the week (the earthquake and Hurricane Irene)?! Most disappointing.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: We did have a story about the earthquake within hours of it happening! It was on our website!]

I don’t want to be a responsible grown up. Can I just stay an undergrad and take classes forever?

Dear World (this means you, too, South Side Pride T-Shirts), WE EXIST! Sincerely, Roper and Clark.

God forbid I ask for Guacamole at Salsa.

WONK is dead.

It’s only the third day of classes, and the library is full! What is it going to be like during finals? AU, please stop over-admitting people, or we will have to start sitting on the floor and stairs.

USA Today? No. Nebraska Hall, where is my Washington Post?! I need my crossword puzzle. Ahhhhhh.

WHAT. THE. HELL. I am so sick of these closed-off Honors sections. Are there really that many Honors kids? SERIOUSLY? I can’t get into the only “Latin America: History, Art, and Literature” class that works with my schedule because it’s an Honors section. BTW it has six open spots. Honors kids are all dumb conceited d-bags anyway.

Tell me I’m not the only one whose financial aid was de-

you have told me to wait and be patient to receive my refund check because there’s a problem with your computer system … GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!

enough — but aren’t we supposed to be a green-obsessed campus? How about you cut back on the amount of paper you print and put all the information online?

Will the Fall 2011 AmLit be another case of the staff almost exclusively publishing and rewarding their own work? Probably.

Please tell Julia Ryan I say hi.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Julia Ryan says hi back!]

Sometimes, it seems as if there are two options on the weekends: suffer prolonged boredom, or get mad wasted and make a fool of yourself.

Wonk is Know spelled backwards. Which reminds me of the Know campaign to know if you have an STD. Good work, AU. Who made this?! http:// abroadwonk.wordpress. com/ Rumor has it that the guy who gives blowjobs in the arboretum is back from his year abroad.

EAGLESECURE, I WILL END YOU. creased by over $10,000 this year.

Dear people above me, I’m glad you have a fulfilling sex life. Really. However, when I can hear you moaning, “Don’t stop,” it makes me wish you would.

Never gonna give you up Never gonna let you down Never gonna run around and desert you Never gonna make you cry Never gonna say goodbye Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you A freshman in a WONK shirt is arguing about Paul Ryan’s plan with another student in front of the ProLife Table by MGC. #WELCOMEBACKTOAU Dear AUCentral, it has now been over a week that

How did I not know that there were Eagle Rants over the summer?!

My Lit professor said that a book we’ll read this semester will “mind-f***” us. Is it bad that this mind-f*** will probably be the most action I’ll get all semester?

It has been over a week since Rants were last posted.

Step up your A-game, The Eagle. Do you not know how badly I want to put off my Russian homework?

Way to show up to your own info session, AU Mock Trial. What a bunch of champions.

Only six Rants per issue?

Are you kidding me? As if leaving us phonathon kids stranded for 3.75 hours with nothing to read wasn’t bad

SUBMIT YOUR RANTS AT THEEAGLEONLINE.COM

Good Lord, people. Give Tim McBride a chance before you start criticizing him.

When will Tim McBride give us more cowbell?

WANTED: Friends.

No specific height/weight/ race/gender/sexual orientation/religious preference required. It would be helpful if you preferred exploring D.C. over booze-and-sex-filled blurs. We can debate about politics and quote TV shows, visit art museums and eat at quirky little bistros. If you, too, are really a neat person but haven’t yet found your niche on campus, come find me.

— Lonely on South side Lack of Eagle Rants last week = major fail, Eagle Nice try, Tavern, but your vegan mac and cheese sucks.

Maybe someone from Bon Appetit should visit Soul Veg or Everlasting Life to learn how real vegan mac is made.

Where is Police Blotter?

Come on, Eagle, I need the stories of drunken antics back!!!!

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Public Safety decided to discontinue the Police Blotter. We are angry, too.]

Really SUB? We The Kings?!

Are we still in 8th grade?!

To those who give the desk receptionists crap about asking for ID’s: It is 9/11 weekend and we are at a school called AMERICAN UNIVERSITY in the nation’s capital.

September 13 , 2011

theEAGLE

Sustainability director, students arrested at White House protest

By MARIE ZOGLO Eagle Staff Writer

American University Director of Sustainability Chris O’Brien and four other members of the AU community were arrested for civil disobedience Sept. 3.

The five AU members were arrested outside the White House during a protest against a proposed pipeline that would bring tar sands oil from Canada to Texas.

Over 1,250 people were arrested over a two-week span while protesting the pipeline. On Saturday alone, 244 people were arrested — including at least five members of the AU community — according to tarsandsaction.org, one of the main websites used to coordinate the protest.

The police started arresting the 244 protesters, who purposefully sat in the sidewalk and street in front of the White House, after giving three warnings to leave.

They then began bringing activists to the Park Police Anacostia Station on the charge of “failure to obey a lawful order.”

Arrestees were able to pay a $100 post-and-forfeit fine, which is not an admission of guilt or a conviction, and were released after only a few hours of jail time.

Tar sands: dirty fuel or steady oil supply?

Protesters argue that the proposed pipeline between Canada and Texas will be environmentally disastrous.

They said the tar sands are the dirtiest source of fuel, and that a leak could contaminate drinking water for 20 million people, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Tar sands are a mixture of clay, sand, water and a heavy black viscous oil that can be processed and refined into oil, according to the Oil Shale and Tar Sands Programmatic EIS Information Center.

TransCanada, the corporation hoping to build the pipeline, says it will provide jobs for Americans in a bad

economy and produce a more steady supply of oil in a time of uncertainty over global sources, according to the Wall Street Journal.

O’Brien, professor and AU students arrested O’Brien, Associate Professor Paul Wapner and a number of AU students were formally arrested for the first time on Saturday around 2 p.m.

“My job at AU is to fight climate change, so what better way to take your work home with you than to fight climate change on the weekend by protesting the tar sands pipeline?” O’Brien said.

When he was being arrested, O’Brien heard a cheer from both other arrestees and protesters in the legal zone, chanting, “AU sustainability.” Once loaded onto the police “paddy wagon,” O’Brien found himself seated next to two AU students.

“It was certainly heartening to know that AU students are doing something about this issue,” he said.

Russel Warburton, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, was also arrested as part of the protest. Warburton attended to protest the longer prison sentences of the initial protesters, as well as to express his disapproval of the pipeline.

“The first day of this protest, they arrested everybody and held them for 48 hours, and it was unprecedented,” Warburton said.

“There was something about people just calmly walking into those Metro vans and into that police bus that I found almost beautiful,” Ian Hitchcock, a sophomore in the School of Communication, said, describing the police’s roundup of protesters. “I’m really honored to be a part of it.”

Associate Professor Paul Wapner of the School of International Service was also arrested at the protest.

“I teach global environmental politics, and I feel like it’d be dishonest of me to teach it without being in-

volved in these kinds of action,” he said.

In preparation for the possibility of being arrested, organizers held non-violence training sessions at two local churches the night before each day of protesting, as well as giving quick training sessions at the actual protest.

“I can’t thank and commend the police enough for the quality and the respect with which they treated us,” Hitchcock said.

AU students cheer on protestors While some AU students were arrested on Saturday, even more came to cheer them on and to rally legally in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House’s North Lawn. Thomas Meyer, a sophomore in the School of International Service who had been arrested on the previous Thursday, also came to protest — legally this time.

“We’re whispering in Obama’s left ear and the oil companies are screaming into his right ear, and we’re hoping that our whisper, with all of this [the two week protest], can turn into a scream,” Meyer said. “But the odds are against us.”

Protests also took place across the world at US embassies and consulates. As a part of this effort to fight the pipeline, the “Stop the Tar Sands” petition was presented to Obama with 618,428 signatures on Saturday, according to tarsandsaction. org.

The Obama Administration has said it will make its final decision on the pipeline by the end of the year, according to the New York Times. Activists plan to continue trying to stop the pipeline, according to the protest’s organizers.

As for the AU students involved in the protest, the arrests have not deterred them from taking a stand on the pipeline.

“I would do it again if I thought it was necessary,” Warburton said. mzoglo@theeagleonline. com

ON THE LINE Over 1,000 protestors were arrested on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House over the past two weeks. At least five members of the AU community were arrested at the protest on Saturday.

GARRY TAM / THE EAGLE

North Hall to have fitness center, suitestyle dorm rooms

By PAIGE JONES Eagle Staff Writer

The new residence building, North Hall, will be open to students by fall 2013, according to a presentation

by Jorge Abud, assistant vice president for Facilities Development and Real Estate, at the Sept. 7 Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D meeting.

North Hall will be located across the road from McDowell Hall, in the existing parking lot next to the President’s House.

North Hall rooms will be 30 percent bigger than a traditional double dorm room, according to Abud.

The rooms are suite-style with two double rooms, a shared bathroom and a living room.

“We modeled it after other buildings on North Campus,” Abud said.

Abud said North Hall will house 365 beds, an increase

from the 360 beds AU reported for the hall in the March version of the Campus Plan.

Floors three through seven will house 62 beds each, while the second floor will have only 55 students and a faculty member.

North Hall to have fitness center The ground floor will be a fitness center big enough to include two to three exercise rooms, with a maximum capacity of 100 people in each room, according to Abud.

ANC 3D chairman Tom Smith suggested placing retail on the ground floor of North Hall in place of the fitness center.

Abud said AU is trying to “cluster retail together” on East Campus, and that a fitness center would be a better use of the space.

“Students on North side would be more inclined to use this,” Abud said.

Only upperclassmen, Honors students to live in hall While the cost to live in North Hall will be the same double room rate, it will only be available to a select group of students, either to upperclassmen or Honors students.

“It will be more of a privilege to live here,” Abud said.

North Hall may be reduced by 48 beds if the government does not approve AU building out of property lines.

“An exception is warranted because there is all this public space, and it is still a good amount of feet away from the street,” Abud said.

Smith and other residents were concerned North Hall’s height would be a visual impairment.

“I’m just worried about the aesthetic view,” Smith said.

North Hall will be as tall as McDowell Hall and other adjacent buildings.

AU submitted this plan to the D.C. Zoning Commission in July, and the hearing to approve the hall will take place Oct. 20. pjones@theeagleonline.com

News 5

theEAGLE

PHOTO OF THE WEEK PAYING RESPECT Members of the AU community came together for a moment of silence in front of the Kay Spiritual Life Center on the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11.

Volunteers planted flags in memory of the victims that lost their lives that day.

ANA SANTOS / THE EAGLE

AU receives perfect score in survey of LGBT-friendly universities

By LAUREN LANDAU Eagle Staff Writer

American University is currently the only D.C. school to hold a perfect, five-star rating on Campus Pride’s LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index.

Campus Pride is a nonprofit organization that works to promote a safe LGBT learning environment on college and university campuses.

On Aug. 8, Campus Pride announced that 33 college campuses across the United States now hold a five-star rating, including AU, which jumped from 4.5 to 5 stars this year.

Campus Pride’s LGBTFriendly Campus Climate Index rates schools based on their responses to a variety of questions related to LGBT life and issues: Academic Life, Student Life, Policies and Practice, Campus Safety,

Housing and Residence Life, Counseling and Health Services, and Recruitment and Retention Efforts.

Queers & Allies Executive Director Jill Altman said she thinks the positive score makes a big difference for incoming students and their parents. The index goes beyond word of mouth and shows that AU is actually LGBT-friendly, she said.

Director of the GLBTA Resource Center Sara Bendoraitis said she was able to report improvements in LGBT housing options in recent years, specifically genderneutral/single occupancy restroom facilities in campus housing.

“I think that for parents who have accepted their children, their biggest fear is harassment,” Altman said. “So to know that they’ll be in a college community away from home that is safe, I think will make them feel a lot better.”

Although AU currently holds a perfect five-star rating, that is an overall score based on a number of different factors. When broken down, AU received five stars in all of the categories except for Housing and Residence Life and Campus Safety, for which the campus earned 4.5 and 3.5 stars, respectively.

Even though AU earned a perfect score overall, the University received only 3.5 stars for LGBT Campus Safety because the questions relating to campus police training for sexual orientation issues and gender identity/expression issues were both marked “no.” Bendoraitis said she marked “no” because the questionnaire is answered from the perspective of the Resource Center, which provides Safe Space and Trans 101 training, but does not offer mandatory training for Public Safety officers.

Public Safety Captain Norman Bailey, manager of patrol operations, disputed the 3.5-star rating, which he said is “technically incorrect” because Public Safety currently receives basic training from Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit as part of a consortium of D.C.-area universities. The training includes clarification on terms such as “transgender,” “gender identity” and “gender expression,” and officers are trained in how to deal with issues ranging from domestic violence to harassment and assault.

In addition, Bailey said Public Safety officers are strongly encouraged to participate in Safe Space and Trans 101 training through the Resource Center. Bendoraitis said she usually sees a few officers at each training session.

“I think next year when we do the evaluation, there will be very different answers,” Bendoraitis said. llandau@theeagleonline.com

Public Safety Chief McNair steps down, citing personal reasons

By LAUREN LANDAU Eagle Staff Writer

Former Department of Public Safety Chief Michael McNair departed AU Aug. 18 for personal reasons.

McNair served as the chief of Public Safety for seven years.

Since the departure involves personal matters, which are confidential, no further information will be provided for McNair’s departure, according to Associate Director of Media Relations Maralee Csellar.

Csellar said in an email that the search process for a new Public Safety director has already begun.

Captain Norman Bailey and Lieutenant Martin Pfeifer will supervise DPS

until a new director is hired.

Bailey serves on the University Council and has worked at AU for seven years, while Pfiefer has been with the University for five years.

“There will be no interruption in Public Safety services as a result of the change,” Csellar said.

The AU community will be informed when a new Public Safety chief is hired. llandau@theeagleonline. com

September 13, 2011

theEAGLE

Facebook meets Foursquare: social networking site, app Spotflag launches at AU

By SOMMER BRUGAL

Eagle Contributing Writer Facebook got its start at Harvard before it spread to the world, and the founders of a new social media website, Spotflag, hope that their site will be equally successful with its AU debut.

Spotflag is a online bulletin board used to inform students about local events.

Users can find out about local events and “flag” specific events.

When a company or organization “flags” an event, they “post a flag” that appears on a user’s homepage if a user would be interested in the event, according to the website.

Students who live on campus will see events that AU flags on their homepage.

The homepage is similar to a Facebook news feed or a Twitter homepage.

“Our idea will succeed because it makes sense,” Spotflag CEO and Founder Sambou Makalou said. “Instead of [a student] having to look at multiple calendars, like Today@AU, Facebook and Twitter, everything is available in one place.”

Anyone or any company can flag an event. Local businesses can flag specific events in order to advertise and spread news about upcoming activities, according to the Spotflag website.

The company first presented their website at AU during a test-run this spring.

Many students used the site to participate in “human vs. zombie” games on campus. The members used Spotflag’s location feature to hunt down competitors and tag them.

“It was the AU community that helped us shift to the bulletin board users see now,” Makalou said.

Spotflag redesigned The company returned this month with a new layout and a set of features designed to benefit the user.

Nicole Pulley, a senior in Kogod School of Business and Spotflag’s AU ambassa-

dor, said the original layout was not aesthetically pleasing.

“My favorite aspect has been watching [the website] evolve from its original layout to what users see now,” she said. “The website allows users to view all the surrounding events in one place so they never miss out.”

The new clutter-free layout allows users to focus on the website’s important features, which now include a map view, specific icons and more event types, Pulley said.

Makalou reached out to multiple universities and campuses last spring, including AU, to launch new Spotflag sites. Nate Bronstein answered quickly, inviting Makalou and his company to do a trial run at AU. Makalou said he chose to launch Spotflag at AU because of the University’s location and its community service-oriented reputation.

Although freshman make up the majority of new members on Spotflag, they aren’t the only group of students eager to join the website.

On Sept. 3, Makalou gathered with student ambassadors and representatives on the Quad to encourage students to join the new website.

The website will be launching at 11 other universities nationwide, and already launched at Howard University and University of California Berkeley.

New users can choose to sync their account with Facebook, Twitter or with an email address at www.spotflag.com. news@theeagleonline.com

SPOT ON Spotflag is a social media website with a bulletin board where students can post information about local events.

The test run done at AU last spring yielded positive results.

Courtesy of SPOTFLAG.COM

News 7

theEAGLE

AU Hillel welcomes new executive director

By ZACHARY COHEN

â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was no question that Jasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy, enthusiasm and experience, as well as his knowledge of AU, was absolutely perfect,â&#x20AC;? said Saul Newman, the President of the AU Hillel Board of Directors and a member of the search committee.

Since his arrival at AU campus, Benkendorf has already made an impact.

Some students and staff members said they were happy to have him back and are impressed with him.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;He can connect with just anyone, in that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approachable to any student,â&#x20AC;? said Kirsh, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and former president of AUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jewish Student Association .

Hillelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary responsibility is to hold services for Jewish students.

However, Benkendorf emphasizes he wants to help improve the campus as a whole by engaging the AU community in debates over

universal questions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hillel has a role to play in the broader campus conversation,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Benkendorf would like to see other student organizations hold Jewish services so students can feel as if they can practice Judaism somewhere other than the Kay Spiritual Life Center. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no reason that, in additional to [regular Hillelsponsored Sabbath services and dinners], fraternities

and sororities canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have their own chapter Shabbat dinners,â&#x20AC;? Benkendorf said. zcohen@theeagleonline. com

WELCOME BACK Alumnus Jason Benkendorf returns to AU as the AU Hillel executive director, replacing former director Rabbi Kenneth Cohen.

Courtesy of AU HILLEL

Eagle Staff Writer

Rabbi Kenneth Cohen stepped down May 13 after serving a decade as the executive director of American University Hillel.

Jason replaced Cohen, the longest serving executive director in AU Hillel history, on Aug. 15.

Benkendorf graduated from AU in 2004 with a major in Political Science and a minor in Jewish Studies. He originally wanted to become involved in politics when he came to college. But eventually he changed his mind, and he ended up working at an organization called The Curriculum Initiative, an organization that works to

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â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Saul Newman, President AU Hillel Board of Directors increase ties among Jewish high school students. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That work that I was doing in the Jewish community as a student leader, through internships and other experiences, was incredibly fulfilling for me,â&#x20AC;?

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The position opened after he finished his graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University.

He was picked for the position in a national search conducted by a committee made of AU Hillel Board of Directors members Saul Newman, Brianna Kirsh and David Manchester, and AU Board of Trustees members Gisela B. Huberman and Marc N. Duber.

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E0154

September 13, 2011

theEAGLE

AU proceeds with plans to move WCL to Tenley Campus

By LINDSEY ANDERSON Eagle Staff Writer

AU took another step to move the Washington College of Law to Tenley Campus Aug. 30, filling an application for further processing with the D.C. Zoning Commission.

The application includes descriptions of the proposed Tenley Campus and renderings of the buildings.

It also includes a list of all

events held at the law school during the 2010-2011 academic year and the number of AU and non-AU attendees. During summer Zoning Commission hearings, representatives from the Tenleytown area had previously questioned AU officials about traffic to and from the law school and how the move would impact the Tenley area.

WCL’s expanding student population and its current

lack of accessible public transportation prompted the move, according to the University. The law school has “outgrown” its location and currently rents 16,000 square feet near the main facility, according to the AU website.

Proposed changes to Tenley Campus Congressional Hall, Federal Hall and Constitution Building will be demolished to make room for new WCL facilities on the Tenley Campus. Capital Hall, its chapel and Dunblane House are considered historic and will remain.

The grass hill on Ward Circle, behind Capital Hall,

will be reconfigured into a flat, grassy courtyard area to make the school more accessible to pedestrians, according to the application.

AU has proposed constructing a four-story building on Nebraska Avenue that will hold WCL’s ceremonial courtroom, a large lobby, tiered classrooms, the Pence Law Library and study areas.

The University also proposed a new four-story building on Yuma Street with tiered classrooms, a dining facility, faculty offices and meeting spaces.

The exterior of Capital Hall will remain the same, but the interior will be converted into office and meet-

Courtesy of AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

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42ND ST N

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NEBR

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YUMA ST

WARREN

Courtesy of AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

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Courtesy of AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

ing spaces, including: Q Lower level — student offices for legal briefs and journals Q First level — administrative support offices such as Student Affairs, Financial Aid and the Registrar Q Chapel — renovated to accommodate the WCL Trial Advocacy program, changing the main sanctuary into a ceremonial moot courtroom and the lower level into teaching courtrooms The full application, plans and descriptions are available to the public on AU’s website. landerson@theeagleonline. com

LAYING DOWN THE LAW Below are the proposed plans for the new Washington College of Law at Tenley Campus.

Congressional Hall, Federal Hall and Constitution Building will be torn down and replaced by WCL buildings.

theEAGLE

News 9

CHEMICAL CLEANUP The Army Corps is considering plans to tear down an AU-owned home at 4825 Glenbrook Rd. The unoccupied, single-family residence sits on top of a site that was a chemical weapons pit during World War I. Demolition of the house would allow the Army Corps to continue their removal of these weapons.

Courtesy of GOOGLE

Army Corps considers demolishing AU-owned Spring Valley home

By SYLVIA CARIGNAN Eagle Staff Writer

The Army Corps of Engineers and American University are endorsing a recommendation to tear down the AU-owned single-family home at 4825 Glenbrook Rd. The residence, located near the south side of campus, is unoccupied.

Though the Army Corps is already in the process of removing World War I-era chemical munitions from the property, the demolition would allow the Army Corps to remove artifacts that it suspects are buried under the house.

The Spring Valley property was the location of a chemical weapon burial pit during World War I, when AU became a chemical warfare laboratory and military base. Similar pits containing laboratory glassware, mustard gas and other toxic chemicals have already been located and excavated.

The demolition is the most expensive option for cleaning up the site, and would cost the Army Corps be-

tween $12 and $14 million.

“It’s what the Spring Valley community has been requesting for years,” Spring Valley resident and activist Allen Hengst said.

The Army Corps estimates the cleanup will take between 12 and 18 months, Project Manager Brenda Barber told the Army Times. After the Army Corps removes the artifacts from the site, it plans to restore the property’s status as a residential lot.

A final plan has not been determined for the home’s demolition. Army Corps Public Affairs Chief Chris Augsberger said it still has to be approved by the Department of Defense in December.

The general public, including Spring Valley residents and the AU community, will be given an opportunity to formally comment on the proposed plan at a meeting later this month. A 30 to 45 day window will then be open for additional comments. news@theeagleonline.com

ADVERTISE IN THE EAGLE Visit www.theeagleonline.com or email business@theeagleonline.com for rates and more information.

September 13, 2011

theEAGLE

Hailfinger steps down AU prof. picks White as KPU director, Kreger House winners in takes over position seven straight races

By KATE FROEHLICH Eagle Staff Writer

Alex Kreger was named director of the Kennedy Political Union by unanimous Undergraduate Senate vote Sept. 7, after former Director Danna Hailfinger stepped down Aug. 30 due to schoolwork and personal reasons.

Kreger is KPU’s third director since May. “[Kreger] is an incredibly qualified candidate, and I am thrilled to see things she will accomplish in KPU,” said Student Government Vice President Liz Richards, who oversees KPU. Kreger served as vice president of College Democrats, booking their speakers for the semester, and has worked with KPU in the past through College Democrats.

Kreger will face an “intensive transition process,” with Robert Gibbs’s speech on Sept. 19 and John Legend coming for parent’s weekend, according to Richards.

Hailfinger chose to step down because she did not believe the role of director

played to her strengths after working with Kid Power D.C., an education-based nonprofit organization.

“Last year, as Logistics Coordinator, I was really in-my-element with KPU, and the directorship did not allow me much of the same type of work,” Hailfinger said. “I think this decision came together by realizing how important it is to play to each person’s strength in the organization.”

Richards, who chose Kreger, was looking for a student that was “passionate about KPU, experienced in programming on campus, a hard worker and able to satisfy the time commitment,” she said.

Hailfinger will remain involved with KPU. She will serve as co-deputy director with Greg Martin and will focus on archiving KPU history and working with the KPU Alumni Board. Martin also briefly served as KPU director this summer, but had to step down due to personal reasons. kfroehlich@theeagleonline. com

MEET THE PRESS SECRETARY New KPU Director Alex Kreger will oversee the club’s upcoming events, including a speech by former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Sept. 19 in the MGC University Club.

By SCOTT MARTURANO Eagle Contributing Writer

President Barack Obama will be re-elected next year, according to AU Professor Allan Lichtman’s predictions.

The AU College of Arts and Sciences professor, who has correctly guessed the outcome of every presidential contest for the last 30 years, is beginning to get notice from various news outlets such as U.S. News and World Report and Fox News.

According to Lichtman, it’s quite simple to predict the winner.

There are 13 “keys,” or factors, that can go for or against the party controlling the White House. If

the party in power has six or more keys going against them, they lose, according to Lichtman.

“You don’t even have to take your shoes off to find out who’s going to win the White House,” Lichtman said. “You just have to count to six.”

He was able to compile his system through presidential election campaign history going back to 1860, the beginning of the two-party Republican-Democratic dichotomy.

Lichtman first developed the system in 1981, and used it to successfully predict the re-election of President Ronald Reagan three years later and again during every subsequent presidential campaign, coming out cor-

rect every time.

Lichtman explained that leading up to the election in 1984, economic conditions seemed poised to make Reagan a one-term president.

However, Professor Lichtman’s keys, such as substantial policy change in his first years in office and the lack of a third party challenge, showed a re-election on the horizon.

He did not develop this methodology alone, citing assistance in developing his “keys” system with Russian geophysicist Volodia KeilisBorok.

“Geophysics, specifically earthquakes, are all about whether there is either stability or upheaval, and the same could be said for political campaigns,” Lichtman said.

The only “key” that Republicans can fully control this campaign season is their candidate’s charisma.

However, that he doesn’t see much promise in that area for the Grand Old Party, Lichtman said.

Chris Litchfield, the president of AU College Democrats, agreed with Lichtman’s speculation that the Republican field candidates will be unable to attract the same amount of voters as President Obama. However, he is apprehensive about basing electoral hopes on predictions made months in advance.

“By any means, I urge [Democrats] to realize that we can’t write this election off,” Litchfield said.

AU College Republicans did not respond to requests for an interview in time for publication.

Professor Lichtman, who has given speeches across the world regarding his system, is ready to stick to his process even among skepticism.

“Despite vast changes [in the American political system], the keys stay the same,” Lichtman said. news@theeagleonline.com

Lichtman’s 13 Keys to the White House

1

Short-term economic conditions: The economy can’t be in recession during the campaign in order to have the incumbent party win this key. Thus, it’s unclear which party the key will fall on.

9

2

Long-term economic conditions: The economy is still in a recession, causing President Obama to LOSE this key.

10

3 4

11

Success in foreign or military affairs: Obama WINS this key, as Osama Bin Laden has been killed.

Failure in foreign or military affairs: There have been no massive military failures, which gives Obama a WIN for this key.

5

Presidential Scandal: President Obama WINS this key, as the Obama Administration has not had a major scandal.

6 7

Incumbency: Obama automatically WINS this key, as he is the incumbent president.

Domestic social unrest: There have been no largescale riots or other large domestic disturbances in the course of the administration. President Obama WINS this key.

Charisma of the opponent: The opposing field doesn’t have someone who can rally large amounts of the electorate through the candidate’s charisma. President Obama WINS this key.

Third party challenge: As of now, there is no serious third party challenger for the presidency, allowing President Obama to WIN this key.

Primary election challenger: Likewise, there is currently no serious challenge to President Obama within his own party for the upcoming Democratic primaries, giving President Obama a WIN here.

12

Significant policy change: However unpopular among some his proposed legislation may be, there have been significant achievements, be it the stimulus or health care reform, among others.

President Obama WINS this key.

13

Party mandate (whether the President’s party holds more seats in the Congress after the midterm elections than the previous term): The Democratic Party’s loss of the House of Representatives in last year’s midterm elections gives President Obama a LOSS in this key.

8

Charisma of the incumbent: President Obama hasn’t used his charisma effectively in the debates over health care and other legislation, causing him to LOSE this key.

Courtesy of KENNEDY POLITICAL UNION

Total: 9 keys in Obama’s favor, three keys against him, with one undecided

theEAGLE

“ I can still smoke” see the

Serge Riddell was not tying his shoes fast enough, as usual, and had been begging his father for a new toy on the way to school Sept. 11, 2001, when a hijacked plane streaked across the bright blue sky and struck the first twin tower.

That morning, James Hare was writing the date in his notebook. Anthony Martinez was sitting in homeroom.

The day had started as usual. That Tuesday morning, most middle schoolaged Americans were doing nothing monumental.

Then at 8:46 a.m., thousands of lives were lost, as was the innocence of a generation not yet even on the cusp of its teen years.

“We had an optimistic outlook on life,” said Martinez, a junior in the School of Communication. “It brings anger because it changed

who we were.”

Martinez recalled the confusion of students and parents outside his school in the Bronx. Hysteria had swept through the borough, Martinez said, with rumors circulating of bombs planted in courthouses and of another immediate attack.

Unlike most Americans, who watched the events unfold on television, Martinez had to listen to the radio. He was one of the many New Yorkers who received their cable connection from the antenna at the top of the World Trade Center. ≥

Special Section 11

Special Section 12 ≤ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 Hare, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, lived 10 miles outside the city in Bergen County, N.J. His father worked only a half-mile away from the World Trade Center.

“His office was just completely covered in dust,” Hare said.

In Alpine, N.J., Greg Saperstein watched across the Hudson River from a state lookout as billowing smoke issued from the New York skyline.

“You could smell the smoke and the fire,” said Saperstein, a senior in SOC. From her home in Long Island, Alexis Zayfert also saw the smoke. Earlier that year she had gone to a New York Yankees game for her

theEAGLE “None of us had any idea,” he said.

Younger students like Riddell have foggier recollections of 9/11, but still remember the despair of that day. Meridian Ganz-Ratzat, now a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, was eight years old at the time.

“From my understanding, I was just really sad about all the people getting hurt,” she said.

She watched the coverage at her friend’s house in Silver Spring, Md. She said that when the plane hit the Pentagon, another wave of grief came over her, but not in the same way as it did when she heard about the attacks in New York.

A decade later, some of those emotions are still raw, she said. On the eighth anni-

SUSANNE EHRENREICH / THE EAGLE

ANA SANTOS / THE EAGLE

“I saw the airplane head straight into the Pentagon”

COME TOGETHER In this Eagle archive photo, Former AU President Ben Ladner waits with students in the Nebraska Parking Lot after a bomb threat a few days after 9/11.

By PAIGE JONES and ZACH COHEN Eagle Staff Writers

As Riddell’s mother’s eyes were glued to the television, he played with his toys.

“None of us had any idea,” he said.

birthday and seen the towers from afar.

“My mother took a picture of me at the game with the twin towers in the background,” said Zayfert, a senior in the Kogod School of Business. “She even drew an arrow towards it.”

For a week, Zayfert and other Long Island residents were on lockdown. Sirens blared constantly from fire engines and police cars.

Years after 9/11, her family moved from that house, but her memories are still vivid.

“Whenever we drive by, I can see the smoke,” Zayfert said. “It’s forever etched in my mind.”

In D.C., the feeling of panic, uncertainty and grief was similar after the plane hit the Pentagon.

Serge Riddell, a sophomore in SPA, was in fourth grade at the time. His mother contacted his father, who worked at the Federal Trade Commission downtown, and advised him to walk back to his home in northwest D.C. As Riddell’s mother’s eyes were glued to the television, he played with his toys.

versary of 9/11, during Zayfert’s freshman year at AU, her anguish flooded back while she watched coverage of the day’s commemorative events.

“I just broke down,” Zayfert said. “I thought, ‘I should have been more scared.’”

For others, 9/11 brought not only uncertainty, but also anger.

“My confusion turned into anger,” Saperstein said. “I didn’t know who to trust.”

And while Americans memorialize the victims of the attack every September, some students believe the heroes who pulled victims from the wreckage are often forgotten.

“It was so disheartening that Congress took so long to pass the bill for the health benefits of the first responders,” Riddell said. “We’ve lost that unifying feature.”

FALSE ALARM BELOW: A bomb threat a few days after 9/11 prompted AU to evacuate to the Nebraska Parking Lot. Students that had been in the shower before the evacuation received donated clothes from the Campus Store, as seen in this Eagle archive photo.

lgiangreco@theeagleonline. com

SUSANNE EHRENREICH / THE EAGLE

School of Communication Professor Richard Benedetto was driving near the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, when he witnessed the third plane crash into the building.

“I heard that two planes had crashed into the twin towers on the radio in the car,” Benedetto said. “Then I heard a loud noise and saw the airplane head straight into the ground and [the] Pentagon.”

Benedetto said traffic stopped and some cars tried to turn around as rumors spread of another plane headed toward D.C. “I just pulled my car over to the side and ran to the

Pentagon,” said Benedetto, who was at the time a reporter for USA Today.

Pentagon personnel had already set up medical stations and were controlling the crowd when he arrived.

He was then moved to a gas station near the Pentagon with other reporters.

“All the cell phones were down and there was only one pay phone in that gas station,” Benedetto said.

“We lined up and each got a minute to talk to our editors and tell them what was going on.”

Benedetto stayed at the gas station all day, calling in reports as the Pentagon updated them.

Donald Rumsfield held a press conference with the reporters at the Pentagon at 6 p.m., busing them to the location.

“The purpose of that press conference was to show that the Pentagon was still operating,” Benedetto said. “But the hallways were filled with smoke and kerosene. Everything was hazy.”

After the press conference, Benedetto retrieved his car from the side of the road and drove back to D.C. to finish working on his story.

“I never saw D.C. so deserted,” he said.

AU came together, “protected” Muslim community after 9/11

Alumni who were students at the time of the attacks remember an AU community that seemed scared and confused, with American flags hanging from dorm windows. There was even talk among some students about going home after the attacks rather than staying in D.C. Theodora Blanchfield was one of the many students who had only been at school for a few weeks when the attacks happened.

“We were all walking around like we were zombies,” said Blanchfield, who was an AU freshman on 9/11. “Everybody was in shock.”

Class of 2005 graduate Steven McGovern remembers going to class before a plane hit the Pentagon later that day. His professor dismissed class so students could take care of personal situations.

The girl next to him was hysterical, he said, because she could not get in touch with her father.

Following the attacks, Class of 2002 alumna Melissa Bevins and her fellow resident assistants in Letts Hall were challenged to deal with the trauma of the event and to help their residents.

“We had to deal with our own emotions and our own grief or stress or concern, but also be a unified front for the students living on CAMPUS, PAGE 13 ≥

Special Section 13

theEAGLE

from the archives:

AU “pulled together ”

By KATE FROEHLICH

on 9-11-2001

Eagle Staff Writer

S

ept. 11, 2001, was a day of unity at AU in the midst of a tragedy, an emotion that would characterize the campus on that Tuesday and in the following days.

Classes were cancelled and the University was closed, with the exception of essential personnel like Public Safety.

Earlier that day, Public Safety officers found a blue and white cooler in the Butler Arena parking garage. They closed down the area for an hour to make sure the cooler was not an explosive device. A Metropolitan Police Department bomb dog determined the package was just a lunch.

With Metro buses and trains down throughout D.C. on Sept. 11, many people walked home, according to Esmond Kim in a Sept. 13 Eagle article. The downtown area of D.C. was a “ghost town” by mid-afternoon.

Off-duty Metro bus drivers picked up people for free on the street, according to Kim. At AU, chaplains helped with the relief effort by going to every dorm to talk to students who had received bad news.

Counselors stayed late and accepted calls late into the night, a service they would continue in the weeks following 9/11 through extended hours and group grief counseling

≤ CAMPUS, PAGE 12 our floors,” Bevins said.

AU students, faculty and staff gathered at Kay Chapel at noon that day to seek comfort in one another and listen to the president and chaplains of different denominations speak.

“We bonded together as a community to mourn tragedy and loss of life,” said AU Chaplain Joe Eldridge, who was at AU on Sept. 11.

AU contacted all Muslim students by email and phone to ensure they felt comfortable and safe during their commute to class, according to Campus Life Vice President Gail Hanson.

“The campus had no retaliatory efforts against Muslim students,” Hanson said. “Students protected the Muslim community and allowed them to practice openly.

Students volunteered to escort Muslim students to campus.”

Hanson said she is proud of AU’s reaction to the 9/11 attack.

“In the most difficult time, we acted nobly as a community,” Hanson said. “AU is inspiring.”

sessions. Over 1,100 students donated blood or worked a blood drive soon after the attacks.

AU community comes together after 9/11 Even in just the basic aspects of campus life, students worked together. They worked in TDR when staff with later shifts couldn’t come in because of traffic, poor public transportation and family obligations. The Resident Hall Association set up movies and events to keep students on campus for the next few days.

“The entire community has pulled together, volunteered for special assistance and focused their concerns and talents on helping others during this crisis,” former AU President Benjamin Ladner told The Eagle.

He himself attended a joint prayer session conducted by the chaplains on campus on Sept. 13. He praised the students for their attitude thus far and encouraged them to seek peace above hate.

AU also increased security to ease students’ fears. Public Safety would only allow people with AU IDs on campus, while extra resident assistants sat at the front desk to check students’ IDs. The University also spent $10,000 to have extra security guards positioned at the main gates, according to a Sept. 24 Eagle article.

Five alumni die in 9/11 attacks Hanson said her first priority that day was to ensure the safety of students and their families.

As a school with a large population from the New York and D.C. metro areas, many now-alumni lost or knew someone who lost a family member or friend in the attacks. “We had many AU students from the New York area,” Hanson said. “We were lucky that no students lost an immediate family member.”

But many alumni also said their loved ones were inches from death and were miraculously late to work that day.

Blanchfield said her uncle was commuting to Manhattan when he saw the plane hit one of the towers.

Five AU alumni died at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the fields of Shanksville, Pa., on Sept. 11. The Class of 2002 senior gift was the monument, that now sits near the Kogod School of Business, engraved with their names: Peter C. Alderman, BSBA ’99; Linda K. Gronlund, JD ’83; John P. O’Neill, BS ’74; Mark E. Schurmeier, MBA ’88; and Earnest

Safety concerns, bomb threat arise Not long after 9/11, AU faced another incident. A bomb threat in Anderson Hall caused the evacuation of campus to the Nebraska Parking Lot on Sept. 13.

While they waited in the parking lot, students were provided with water, food and even clothes from the AU Campus Store for those that had been in the shower at the time of evacuation. The University rerouted the shuttle system during the bomb scare.

AU officials eventually found out the threats were false and came from an AU student across state lines.

Up to 40 AU alumni were still missing as of Sept. 17, according to The Eagle. Hundreds of others used the AU Alumni and Friends check-in website to say they were safe, with 230 doing so within hours of the site’s launch.

The Oct. 1 issue of The Eagle reported that

M Willcher, JD ’68.

AU faced bomb threat days later AU’s courage would be tested again two days later with a bomb threat.

A resident assistant in Anderson Hall received an anonymous phone call around 10 a.m. claiming there was a bomb on campus on Sept. 13, according to Hanson.

“Fire alarms were pulled in all the residence halls and classrooms and office buildings,” Hanson wrote. “As people poured out, staff stood near the entrances informing them that we had received a bomb threat.”

AU students, faculty and staff evacuated to the Nebraska Parking Lot, where they waited until professional bomb detectors and trained dogs searched every building on campus.

“Thousands were in the Nebraska Parking Lot and some sought refuge in the church,” Eldridge said.

“It was a hot day, so they passed out water and other supplies.”

Department of Public Safety confirmed there was no bomb around 3 p.m.

approximately 50 students had either withdrawn from AU or taken a leave of absence since 9/11. A Sept. 17 article reported no students of Middle Eastern descent had been harassed in the wake of the attacks. However, only one issue later, The Eagle reported the vandalism of a Muslim student’s vehicle outside of his apartment, as well as a sharp decline in attendance at Islamic religious services.

D.C. Police Officer Chris Leary expressed his fears about life after 9/11 in a Sept. 13 Eagle article.

“My greatest concern is what is going to happen next,” he said to Esmond Kim. “I know as much as you know.” kfroehlich@theeagleonline.com

“How long does it take to search 84 acres and 37 buildings for a bomb?” Hanson wrote. “We now know the answer: six hours.”

Attacks prompt alumnus to join Homeland Security For McGovern, Sept. 11, 2001, changed the path of his professional life forever. He knew he wanted to get a job with the government to prevent another terrorist attack.

He was eventually hired by the Department of Homeland Security, just down the road from his dorm room in Leonard Hall where he first heard of the attacks.

Even before watching both planes hit the World Trade Center from TVs in Leonard, McGovern had known that he wanted to be involved in government.

“It definitely gave me focus [for] why I came to D.C. and what I was here to do,” McGovern said.

Commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11 As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, AU professors acknowledge the attacks in different ways. Akbar Ahmed, SIS profes-

sor and Chair of Islamic Studies, works to improve the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Ahmed was teaching one of his first classes at AU when the planes crashed into the twin towers.

“I asked Dean Goodman and Provost Kerwin, ‘where do we go from here?’’’ Ahmed said. “And they told me ‘we must engage.’

And that’s the reason I went in with fervor.”

Ahmed has been working on various projects to promote understanding ranging from writing 10 books in 10 years to participating in the Interfaith Council.

“I feel there’s so much work to be done,” Ahmed said. “There’ll be hatred, distortion, and misinterpretation of Islam in the media.

How could I do more?” news@theeagleonline.com

September 13, 2011

theEAGLE

ANA SANTOS / THE EAGLE

AU honors 9/11 victims

By LEIGH GIANGRECO Eagle Staff Writer

vice events on the Quad.

Members of various student organizations gathered to participate in a clothing drive, a trash cleanup, sandwich making for the homeless and assembling care packages for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Community Service Coalition organized the service events with the help of AU Veterans, EcoSense, Interfaith Services, ROTC and Greek Life.

Under a full moon on Sept. 11, 2011, about 450 students and AU religious representatives gathered outside Kay Spiritual Life Center for a candlelight vigil in memory of the 9/11 attacks.

It was the largest group gathered outside Kay since AU students met spontaneously on the steps on Sept. 11, 2001, when the planes first hit the World Trade Center, according to University Chaplain Joe Eldridge.

“Instead of cursing the darkness, we light a candle,” Eldridge said.

Candles were dispersed throughout the crowd and, in solemn silence, each student lit each other’s candles. Once the light reached the back of the crowd at the edges of the grass, student a cappella group On a Sensual Note began singing “Lean on Me.” At the critical verse, “when you’re not strong,” the crowd joined in.

While students seemed to remain stoic during the moment of silence, a rush of emotion suddenly swept over the crowd.

Friends leaned on each other with tears in their eyes and some students clasped their hands over their mouths.

For some students at the vigil, the memories of 9/11 were all too real.

Valerie Cetrulo, Leah Yesepkin and Rachel Amendolagine began tearing up during the vigil. They were among the dozens at the vigil who were directly affected by 9/11. Cetrulo, a senior in the School of International Service, knew six people in her hometown who passed ANA SANTOS / THE EAGLE away on 9/11. Amendolagine, a senior in the Kogod School of Business, had an aunt who died in the attack on the World Trade Center. Yesepkin was more College Democrats and College Republicans began the fortunate, but her family had a close call. day by planting 1,000 flags on the Quad, each representing “My aunt was visiting from Russia, and they were going three individuals who died on 9/11. to take a tour of the World Trade Center that day,” said “There’s no better way to honor those that died, lost loved Yesepkin, a senior in SIS, said. “They were leaving later ones and those that are currently serving to commit yourand saw the plane crash on TV. A lot of things happen for self for at least a day,” Student Government President Tim a reason.”

McBride said.

McBride said he hoped the day would mark the beginA Day of Service ning of a year of community service and that the event AU students began the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with sercontinue as a tradition. By 4 p.m. Sunday he had already

seen over 100 people volunteer.

“Our hope with these projects is that it’s not a one-anddone event,” said Tyler Sadonis, director of the Community Service Coalition. “It’s continued service.”

Sadonis and McBride worked with the Community Council for the Homeless and the Graduate Leadership Council to collect clothing and donate food.

“We’re trying to make some lasting elements for today for students who come in the future, who not only weren’t alive or don’t remember 9/11, but weren’t even there for the 10 years after 9/11,” McBride said.

At one of the tables, students were invited to write their memories of 9/11 on sheets of paper to be included in a 9/11 time capsule box. While the SG does not have a designated location to bury the box yet, they plan on putting it somewhere on campus to be opened by the students in the Class of 2051.

Students also wrote thank you cards to veterans at the Armed Services Retirement Home in Northwest D.C. “Doing community service is a good way to reflect, to direct your confusion into something that’s good,” SG Vice President Liz Richards said.

As the letters stacked up, students packed boxes filled with candy, non-perishables, DVDs and toiletries to send to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Andrew Buchanan, vice president of AU Veterans, has two brothers currently serving in the military who will distribute the packages among their units.

Satchel Kornfeld, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences and the treasurer for AU Vets, said soldiers often request “snivel gear” such as baby wipes.

“Amazingly enough, Q-tips are great for cleaning rifles,” Kornfeld said. lgiangreco@theeagleonline.com

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(Re)Defining Power Paradigms of Praxis the 8th annual public anthropology conference

keynote speakers Max Forte & Barbara Rose Johnston

Anthropology

department

october 15-16, 2011 a conference for activists academics & you

American

University

college of

arts & science

registration is free at american.edu/cas/anthro/public questions, comments, concerns: aupublicanthro@gmail.com

September 13, 2011

ON STAGE

theSCENE

17

FRAMES

Courtesy of LOUISE ROSSKAM

Katzen offers snapshot of six diverse exhibits

By NICOLE CUSICK RACHEL SLATTERY / THE EAGLE

Pop-punk ‘Kings’ reign supreme over Bender

By TRAVIS MCKAYROBERTS

Eagle Contributing Writer It’s not often that Bender Arena gets packed at 9 p.m., but on Sept. 9 the dancing didn’t stop until after midnight. The event was the Student Union Board’s first major event of the year — a free We The Kings concert, featuring an opening act by singer-songwriter Ben Kweller.

Kweller started the night with reckless abandon, hopping between genres almost faster than the crowd could keep up. A lively three-piece pop-punk set gave way to slow acoustic solos, followed by ragtime piano dance numbers and a good dose of bluegrass. Kweller’s musical dexterity did not go unappreciated by the crowd, and the dancing barely stopped throughout his hour-long set.

The only moment when Kweller lost the energy, and maybe even the audience’s attention, was during his

20-minute long piano set.

He quickly recovered, finishing it with a rousing harmonica/piano/vocal piece, showcasing his musical and instrumental range, and encouraging, once again, the crowd to get on their feet and move.

The main act, We The Kings, capitalized on an riled-up audience that had been dancing through the filler songs and practically set the stage on fire with charisma.

Frontman Travis Clark revelled in the spotlight, punctuating every song with an anecdote, and often going off on wild tangents throughout his set.

In between songs, with nearly everyone charged with the peppy energy only pop-punk can provide, Clark would dive into stories about making a fool of himself in Jacobs Fitness Center, cute girls on campus (and in Chipotle) and the history of his “frisky pants” worn to the night’s show.

However, his steady, easygoing and occasionally ex-

citable ramble was often interrupted by his looking backstage and asking “How many strikes do I have now?” or apologizing for saying something he was evidently not allowed to say.

The seemingly rigid guidelines imposed on what Clark could or couldn’t talk about on stage seemed out-ofplace on a college campus.

However, the rules in place didn’t stop Clark from seducing the crowd, and inviting them to party. Perhaps the highlight of Clark’s antics was when the lights went low, the band left the stage and Clark brought out an acoustic guitar. Scanning the crowd, he set eyes on a blonde from the front row.

“You make purple look awesome,” he said, inviting her onstage. Sitting her down on a stool, and turning the lights off completely, Clark proceeded to serenade her with a soulful acoustic rendering of “We’ll Be a Dream.”

Crowd involvement seemed to be a high priority for Clark and We The Kings, as he encouraged multiple sing-a-longs throughout the set. Clark taught the lyrics to some of their lesser-known songs to the crowd and set up several a capella, crowd-

ROYAL FLUSH We the Kings, SUB’s first concert of the year, featured a high-energy, pop-punk show that kept the crowd dancing all night long. Singer-songwriter Ben Kweller played in support. only choruses.

By the end of their set, We The Kings had the entire crowd moving up and down, dancing and singing at lungtop volume to their most well known song, “Check Yes Juliet.” The audience noise was deafening as Clark announced they had one last song, “the song that put us on the map,” he said.

Travis Clark and We the Kings seemed grateful for the show, and the audienceband love was nearly tangible throughout the set.

Ben Kweller never ceased to amaze, and the technical team and roadies from SUB ensured the show moved quickly and flawlessly. SUB started its season strong, and more concerts like this one could ensure a very successful year. thescene@theeagleonline. com

Eagle Contributing Writer A new semester brings new art exhibits to the AU Museum at the Katzen Arts Center. Six exhibits opened Sept. 3, showcasing diverse styles and mediums. Five of the six exhibits will run until Dec. 14, with the exception of Bruce Connor’s, which is closing on Oct. 23.

“Inner Piece: Works from the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection” This exhibit includes photos from Laurel Nakadate that depict a woman “entangled in emotional situations,” according to AU Museum resources, and Clare Langan’s artistic expressions of natural landscapes. Also featured in this collection are painter Julie Roberts and Spanish artist Pilar Albarracín.

“The exhibitions brings together artists rarely — if ever — shown in Washington, D.C.,” said Jack Rasmussen, director and curator of the American University Museum.

“Re-viewing Documentary: The Photographic Life of Louise Rosskam” The work of Rosskam, a pioneer in the golden age of American documentary photography of the

1930s and ’40s is examined within this exhibit. Emphasis is placed on his work in Southwest D.C. and his illustration of the social and economical growth in Puerto Rico, according to AU Museum resources.

“Bruce Conner: An Anonymous Memorial” Fitting in with a topical message is “Bruce Conner: An Anonymous Memorial” which is in dedication to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The artist was listening to the radio when the two airplanes hit the World Trade Center, and created a scroll inkblot drawing with two leaves falling, according to the AU Museum website.

The next day, another piece with three leaves falling was created, then four the next day, eventually becoming the basis for the collection.

“Wayne Barrar: An Expanding Subterra” On a different literal level altogether, Wayne Barrar depicts the life “down under.” His work is a collection of photographs all from underground worksites including mines, power stations and subways. Much of his work is focused on areas in South Australia, as well as the Midwest.

KATZEN EXHIBIT, PAGE 21 ≥

September 13, 2011

theEAGLE Courtesy of ELEVATION BURGER

GOOD EATS D.C. SERVES UP JUICY NEW BURGER JOINTS. HEAD OVER TO ANY OF THESE SPOTS FOR AN ALL-AMERICAN MEAL. Having lived in D.C. for three years and just outside of it for most of my life, I’ve realized that you have to be borderline-obsessed with the Redskins, pandas and cheeseburgers to truly fit in in this town. Have a conversation with any Washingtonian about Hightower’s chances of being the ‘Skins starting running back, giving Tai Shan back to China or Bobby Flay’s potato chip-laden burgers and you’re in for life.

In the recent years, “burgermania” has taken over the city with New York City imports Shake Shack and P.J. Clarke’s, and President Obama’s fixation on Ray’s Hell Burger. Here are a few new-to-the-D.C.-area burger joints worth checking out that won’t break the bank.

SHAKE SHACK Metro: Dupont Circle (Red Line) Having joined D.C. in early summer, Shake Shack has made a seamless transition from New York City to the District’s burger elite. At Shake Shack you’ll find “roadside” burgers, hot dogs, frozen custard and (surprise!) beer and wine. Stick with the classic “ShackBurger” (with cheese, crisp lettuce, roma tomatoes, “ShackSauce” and topped with the best burger bun imaginable), an order of crinkle fries and one of the Shack’s root beer floats.

If you’re feeling extra hungry, try the frozen custard for dessert; along with the signature flavors, the custard menu features a different flavor every day and changes each month.

And, as if they couldn’t make their way further into the hearts of Washingtonians, Shake Shack has a mini-menu at Nationals Park.

WORLD CLASS STUDY/ LONDON

BOBBY’S BURGER PALACE LONDON CALLING•

Learn about the benefits of studying for a UK degree Representatives from three of the leading universities in London invite you to an information session offering advice and guidance for prospective students interested in studying in the UK. Saturday, September 17, 2011 1:00pm – 5:00pm George Washington University

Room 103, Funger Hall 2201 G Street NW Washington, DC 20052

The information session will include the following presentations 1:00pm 2:30pm 4:00pm

Undergraduate Application and Selection University presentations Graduate Application and Selection

Register at: www.kcl.ac.uk/londoncalling

www.imperial.ac.uk

www.kcl.ac.uk

www.ucl.ac.uk

Metro: Foggy Bottom (Blue/Orange Line) Be prepared to wait in line for one of Bobby Flay’s burger creations, as the joint just opened early this month. Flay’s Burger Palace offers every kind of gourmet burger topping you can imagine (watercress and pickled jalapeños, anyone?) along with shakes, sweet potato fries and onion rings. The Palace offers salad and sandwiches too, but why eat one of those when Bobby Flay’s grilling the burgers?

Standouts include the “Crunchburger,” topped with double American cheese and a heap of potato chips (in fact, every burger on the menu can be “crunchified”). Finish your meal with a pistachio milkshake and call it a day.

ELEVATION BURGER Metro: Court House (Orange Line) What makes Elevation Burger so unique is its use of “elevated products” and an “elevated” dining experience, according to the restaurant itself. But what really makes Elevation Burger unique is that you can order any burger “bloody,” catering to the ravenous carnivore in all of us.

Eco-friendly diners can rejoice in the use of organic, grass-fed and free-range beef and fresh produce. (Even the tables, chairs and paint are made of recycled materials.) As for the menu, try a malted milkshake or the “Vertigo burger,” a build-your-own burger that allows the hungriest of hungry to fit ten patties under the bun.

BGR: THE BURGER JOINT Metro: Dupont Circle, Bethesda (Red Line) BGR: The Burger Joint claims that they offer the “one burger YOU MUST HAVE before you die.” While the attitude is a bit egotistical, the place does offer a damn good burger. BGR’s classic burger features the menu’s star: a prime, dry-aged beef patty that’s topped with a sesame seed brioche bun. The menu also offers turkey, tuna, veggie and lamb burgers along with double-fried Yukon Gold and sweet potato fries. Try the sliders, mini versions of the classic burger, with a side of the “green standard” fries: they’re grilled asparagus spears topped with Parmesan cheese.

Want a free meal? Order the “9 pounder,” a massive burger featuring a 15.4-pound patty with two heads of lettuce, eight tomatoes, three red onions and four whole pickles. And finish it.

BY KELLY HOLLIDAY EAGLE STAFF WRITER

September 13, 2011

theEAGLE

AUDIOPHILE Looking for new music? DJs at student-run radio station, WVAU, share their thoughts on a range of recent releases.

THE WAR ON DRUGS

SLAVE AMBIENT

DOM

FAMILY OF LOVE EP It’s easy to understand why people love to hate DOM. The band’s signature whiny vocals, elementary lyrics and generally obnoxious public presentation (see the WVAU website interviewtrolling for a taste) can be alienating to even the most tolerant listener. But despite their best efforts to appear nonchalant and unapologetic, on their new Family of Love EP, DOM demonstrates their growth from blog band jokesters to relatively mature pop musicians.

Gone is the scrappy, lo-fi production, instead replaced by polished, clean tones and dense textures. The band layers playful synthesizers over multiple guitar tracks to great effect, utilizing producer Nicholas Vernhes’s (Bjork, Animal Collective) mixing genius. The record is straightforward pop to the core, with each bubblegum melody bouncing off of the next and sticking in your head for hours. All this is tied together by DOM’s signature snarky, sarcastic vocals, as lead singer Dom continues to wear his narcissism on his sleeve. “I don’t care about anyone else!” he sings in a shout-along chorus.

So while DOM still may be recording his music with a self-aware smirk on his face, the “Family of Love EP” is a perfectly crafted indie-pop masterpiece that is nothing to smirk about.

Recommended if you like: Ariel Pink, Army Navy, STRFKR

— MAXWELL TANI

The War on Drugs’s sophomore album comes in at an opportune time to make us remember that Americana is not dead.

With “Slave Ambient,” this rapidly evolving band brings in some transcending guitar tunes and ambient sounds which are combined with lead singer Adam Granduciel’s enticing voice — bringing us right back to the Dylan/Springsteen times.

Although the band now consists of only three people, ex-member Kurt Vile’s influence remains very much present into this album as the synth, melodica and harmonica fuse together to accompany us through this nostalgic voyage. Shoegaze’s influence lingers, but it is the mixture of the band’s incisive songs and theme of new beginnings seen with “Best Night” and “It’s Your Destiny” that gives this album a refreshing sound.

Recommended if you like: Bruce Springsteen, Kurt Vile, Bob Dylan

— CARLO FIORIO

VERONICA FALLS

VERONICA FALLS (SLUMBERLAND)

It’s impossible to write any review of Veronica Falls

without including the word “twee” about a hundred times. As if right off of the famous “C86” mixtape, this London-based quartet shows a penchant for jangly 1980s British indie pop, with a hint of ’60s garage rock and girl group harmonies. Each song follows the same lo-fi guitar, bass, minimal drums and guy-girl vocal approach with little deviation save the occasional distortion-heavy gallop displayed on the group’s first single “Come On Over.”

However, while this format may seem fairly overdone, the key to the band’s success lies in the simple, yet interesting songwriting. Each song is romantic and earnest, relying mostly on the strength of the vocal melodies to carry the songs. The group doesn’t do anything to reinvent the wheel here, but their solid debut promises more to come with time.

Recommended if you like: Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Vivian Girls, The Pastels

And while its lightest moments are almost trancelike, the album is much more of a bad Radiohead trip or a nightmare soundtrack to Katheryn Bigelow’s “Strange Days.” Its brooding and darkly melodic synths are layered over dissonant bass reverb-steeped vocals.

If you were expecting “Two Weeks” or “Excuses,” I would stay as far away from this record as possible. But if you are curious about what the year’s darkest, densest art-pop record of the year sounds like, give it a spin.

Recommended if you like: Twin Shadow, (dark) Radiohead, Nicholas Jaar

— MAXWELL TANI

— MAXWELL TANI

MISTER HEAVENLY OUT OF LOVE

CANT

DREAMS COME TRUE I blame Department of Eagles for misleading me into thinking that every Grizzly Bear side project sounded a lot like Grizzly Bear. This certainly not true for genius Producer (Morning Benders, Dirty Projectors, Twin Shadow) and Record Label Owner Chris Taylor’s debut solo album under the moniker CANT. Instead, “Dreams Come True” is a wave of dark, atmospheric haze and programmed electronic doom.

The album, which is almost entirely programmed, is a complex arrangement of danceable beats, dystopian synths and harsh, distorted electronic soundscapes.

An indie supergroup featuring members of Islands, Man Man and Modest Mouse, Mister Heavenly have labeled themselves as “doom-wop,” a genre that explores ominous love songs with doo-wop harmonies.

As Ryan Kattner and Nicholas Thornburn trade off vocals, the whole thing feels very natural and fun – It’s the definite sound of a few friends who really wanted to make a record together.

Opener “Bronx Sniper” features a stomping riff derived from Neil Young’s “Southern Man,” while “Reggae Pie” rides a groove that could be mistaken for a Sublime B-side. Most memorable, however, are the pure pop tunes: “I Am a Hologram” is a mid-tempo rocker that piles on hook after hook, while “Pineapple Girl” features swirling organ and the best back-and-forth

ALBUMS, PAGE 20 ≥

Georgetown dresses up for Fashion’s Night Out

By CHRISTINA CHARLERY

Eagle Contributing Writer Despite Friday night’s rain pour, fashionistas flooded the streets of Georgetown on Sept. 8 to enjoy a night of champagne toasting, trend spotting and high-end discount shopping.

Hosted by the Georgetown Business Improvement District and the 2011 Fashion’s Night Out Host committee, over 100 Georgetown salons, stores and restaurants united to create the highly anticipated event that took place simultaneously with other FNO events worldwide.

Fashion’s Night Out took place in 18 countries, 250 cities in the United States and over 1,000 stores in New York City alone, so the expectations at Georgetown were high. But according to attendees such as AU alumna, Jackeline Stewart, these expectations were surpassed.

“My highlight was getting free champagne at the CK Underwear Store,” Stewart said. “Also, Aldo had a great sale. I got Oxford shoes for $34!”

Her friend and sorority sister Keren Odeah Johnson agreed that the event was successful despite the rain.

“The rain made it cooler,” Johnson said. “There’s always something to do when it’s sunny outside. Otherwise I would be indoors right now.”

“Rain doesn’t stop my show. Never has. Never will!” Stewart added Various Georgetown establishments offered incentives for FNO shoppers and each participating store extended their hours to as late at 11 p.m.

Some stores, such as Anthropologie and J. Crew offered personal shopping and others, such as BCBS and Blue Mercury, offered hors d’oeuvres and champagne. Other stores even created a complete party environment with deejays and dancing, like PNC Bank’s outdoor dancing event with DJ Obeyah.

Other Georgetown stores that participated in Fashion’s Night Out’s festivities were Rugby, Charm, Sisky, UGG Australia, TD Bank, Tari, Intermix and more.

Even the businesses that decided not to hold an event in their stores took part in the night’s activities. Coowner of the Georgetown store Shoe Gallery supported his fellow Georgetown businesses by attending many of the events.

The Lululemon Athletica store featured models doing yoga positions in their store window.

“Lululemon [Athletica] was my favorite because the girls are so happy and excited at all times and there was a dance party in there,” he said. thescene@theeagleonline. com

CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC AU students like Erika Finkelstein and Julie Shiever took advantage of Fashion Night Out’s sales and late store hours.

RACHEL SLATTERY / THE EAGLE

Scene 20

theEAGLE ≤ ALBUMS, PAGE 19 vocals of the album. Let’s hope this isn’t a one-timeonly project.

Recommended if you like: Islands, Telekinesis

— CAMERON MEINDL

MOGWAI EARTH DIVISION EP(SLUMBERLAND) For any person that thinks post-rock is an easy genre to exhaust, listen to this EP and stare at your wall in contemplation for a few minutes.

Although this EP takes on a similar feel and formula of other post-rock groups, there are several characteristics that make it distinct.

Though the EP was basically the runoff from their most recent album, “Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will,” it takes on a distinct, strikingly dramatic personality. Strings and pianos are everywhere, layered with heavy fuzz and yet more subdued guitar riffs and lyrics. It’s not entirely a departure from the most recent album, but is more explorative in form and instrumentation.

Recommended if you like: Explosions in the Sky, Do Make Say Think, A Silver Mount Zion

— CLARE TEELING

Dorm ‘sextiquette’ tips Nurturing a healthy body, soul RYAN CARTER — SEX WONK Having sex in the dorms calls for sensitivity and special attention to the cultural mores that govern the florescent-lit halls we call home during the academic terms.

While baby Eagles debate age-old questions like spit or swallow, other issues have traditional answers that are worth reviewing.

1. GET A SMUSH ROOM

In order to set the mood, you should work with your roommate(s) to ensure a sexy scenario that avoids awkward walk-in moments, unless that is a kink for all parties involved. Despite daily cleaning of the restrooms, I maintain that sex in common areas downright offend the sensibilities of the ordinary student. No shower, cement-block study cell or stairwell can take the place of your very own, private smush room (which you probably share with one or two other people). Simply put, the formula is lose the roommate, lock the door and lube up your barrier devices.

2. BE CONSIDERATE OF NEIGHBORS

Even though you have created a sanctuary for you and your sexual partner(s), you might disturb the peace if you do not keep the noise down. Keep in mind that the building is not private, even if your smush room is, so keep the sexual hullabaloo at a minimum. And please,

Post-apocalyptic romance blossoms in “Bellflower” film

BY MIKE CONTE

Eagle Contributing Writer Everyone needs a hobby.

Some people read vampire novels. Some people play video games. Some people, like the two main characters of the film “Bellflower,” prepare for the coming apoca-

lypse by building an arsenal of homemade weapons and heavily armed cars ready to come out on top in the event of “Mad Max”-style gang warfare.

Believe it or not, “Bellflower” is actually (kind of) a love story about two friends obsessed with the postapocalyptic world. Wood-

no hanky panky or anatomy review sessions in the laundry room in hopes of avoiding the noise issue. Keeping sex between you and your consenting partners qualifies as basic polite behavior.

3. KNOW THE SCHMUCK BEFORE YOU F***

Know the sexual history of your partner before you get going. No one wants a sexually transmitted infection, which might not present the obvious symptoms that diseases cause. For example, the most common STI, chlamydia, may “silently” cause pelvic inflammatory disease and permanent damage to reproductive tissues in women. Silent as in most people have no symptoms.

Tell your partner about your most recent STI test and about past sexual partners. Since HIV can take up to three months to appear in testing results, you should let your partner know of any potential risk for infection, even if you came up negative.

If you need to be tested, visit I Want The Kit online at www.iwantthekit.org.

They will send you a kit to test for chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis free of charge. Then, find a location to get a free HIV test at www.hivtest.org. The Student Health Center also offers testing services.

OLIVIA STITLIS — VITAMIN O It always starts the same way: new school year, new health goals. Eating the cookies from TDR only on the weekend, going to every single Zumba class the gym offers and trading in your beloved Diet Cokes for water are just a few examples.

But now the first two weeks of classes have come and gone. You actually have homework (and getting through that should justify one cookie ... or two), 9 a.m. classes have never seemed so early and sleeping in is much more appealing than

ing more oxygen to our tissues.”

What could be easier than this? Grab your friends, settle into an episode of “Modern Family” and immediately feel better inside and out.

2. GO TO BED HALF AN EARLIER INSTEAD OF WASTING TIME ON YOUR COMPUTER.

And while you’re at it, learn to disconnect from technology every now and then. The benefits of sleep, especially for college stu-

Sleep deprivation can have detrimental effects on daily performance, including academics and driving, and has also been linked to depressed mood and behavioral problems. (via ScienceDaily.com)

going to the gym.

Don’t beat yourself up. It takes time to develop a routine and find the best workout time. In the meantime, here are four small things you can do without even breaking a sweat that will keep you healthy and happy.

1. LAUGH

thescene@theeagleonline. com

Not too hard, right? According to Steve Wilson, a psychologist and laugh therapist, “The effects of laughter and exercise are very similar. We change physiologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles throughout our face and body, our pulse and blood pressure go up and we breathe faster, send-

row (director and writer Evan Glodell) is a timid, sensitive type and Aiden (Tyler Dawson) is a charmingly obnoxious bro who forces Woodrow to meet a girl named Milly (Jessie Wiseman) in a contest at a bar to see which of them can eat the most crickets.

The first act of the movie chronicles the blissful days when Woodrow asks Milly out and they drive from Los Angeles to somewhere in Texas to find “the cheapest, nastiest, scariest place” to eat (which, along with the crickets, sums up Milly’s personality in a nutshell).

Though cliché, the story is charming and doesn’t overstay its welcome. The film then cuts well into the future, with the only indication of the passage of time being that Woodrow has grown an epic beard, at which point their relationship comes to a well-foreshadowed end.

In addition to the characters’ obsession with the apocalypse, “Bellflower” distinguishes itself through its unique visual style. Many shots are saturated with orange light, depth-of-field effects often keep the focus on one character by drasti-

dents — a notoriously sleep deprived population — are endless. Better grades, better attitudes, better focus, better hair — you name it, sleep is an all-powerful elixir. Twitter will not magically disappear overnight and Facebook will still be there in the morning, but your first class will feel infinitely more painful on five hours of sleep versus eight.

3. WALK TO TENLEYTOWN INSTEAD OF TAKING THE SHUTTLE (IF IT EVER STOPS RAINING).

Right up there with sleep in the all powerful elixir category is Vitamin D. Best received through daily modcally blurring everything else around them. Dirt and grime accumulate on the lenses of the cameras as the film progresses.

Some quick cuts give the audience the bare minimum of information, while other scenes are as slow and deliberate as a Jim Jarmusch film.

It’s clear a great deal of effort was put into giving the film a careless, indie aesthetic that absolutely works. The setting complements the grimy visual style, as most of the film takes place in an unnamed lower-middle-class suburb that could easily be mistaken for somewhere in

erate levels of natural sunshine, getting enough Vitamin D is even easier than getting enough sleep. While you can find Vitamin D in foods such as fish and eggs, the sun is actually a more effective way to reap its benefits. Plus, you only need 10 minutes outside on a sunny day to prevent deficiencies.

Vitamin D is also a great stress reducer, which explains why people are happier when it’s sunnier.

4. SMILE.

Even if you hate your science class and you didn’t sleep because of your annoying neighbors, smiling, whether you are actually happy or not, has statistically proven health benefits.

Smiling automatically releases endorphins, natural painkillers and serotonin, a recipe for feeling good mentally and physically. And the effects aren’t just short term.

According to studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, smiling can lower your blood pressure, your immune system and make you seem more attractive.

So instead of blaming on yourself for not getting to the gym as much as you wanted this week: Relax.

Rest assured that all you need for major health benefits is a comfy bed, some good friends and a little sunshine. thescene@theeagleonline. com Middle America if not for a nearby beach.

Part of the film’s appeal is how it takes the viewer for a ride through its own apocalyptic wasteland of a plot, shifting from charming, predictable love story to something else entirely. Suffice to say there are two movies contained in “Bellflower,” and they couldn’t be more different from one another.

About halfway through, Woodrow gets into an accident, suffering brain damage as a result, and the rest of the film unfolds in a strange and BELLFLOWER, PAGE 21 ≥

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≤ KATZEN EXHIBIT, PAGE 17 “Gifts of Duncan Phillips” The fifth exhibit is a collection of works to serve as a tribute to Phillips, an individual who played a major role in the development of AU’s Art Department. The exhibit is a collection of pieces he gave directly and indirectly to AU’s Watkins Memorial Collection and pieces from the Art Department’s early faculty members, according to AU Museum resources.

“Seismic Dream” The final exhibit is located in the Sylvia Berlin Katzen Sculpture Garden. The artwork of Pattie Porter Firestone is the first to have a sound component to the exhibit in the sculpture garden. The sound element was composed by Barbara Buchanan and creates a unique experience engaging both the eyes and ears. thescene@theeagleonline.com ≤ BELLFLOWER, PAGE 20 nearly nonlinear fashion.

The filmmakers achieved their unique visual style by constructing some of their own camera setups just as Woodrow and Aiden craft their own weapons, and the parallel works well for the film as a whole. Like their weaponized car Mother Medusa, “Bellflower” is a weapon of mass destruction: It lulls the viewer into a false sense of security with its offkilter love story and then proceeds straight off the deep end.

But it’s far from the perfect crime. “Bellflower” becomes tiresome towards the end, having pushed the envelope a touch too far. Once you get it, it’s not hard to figure out where the movie will end. When a film takes itself seriously enough to be described as an apocalyptic love story, some heavy-handedness is inevitable.

“Bellflower” is a no-budget “500 Days of Summer” that substitutes greeting cards for post-apocalypse armaments and light humor for sheer weirdness. It’s beautiful and dangerous, though artistically indulgent and not for the faint of heart. thescene@theeagleonline.com

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OPINION

September 13, 2011

22

Public Safety to police blotter: cease and desist

The Eagle will no longer be publishing the police blotter. This was not an internal decision, but instead the result of judgment made outside The Eagle in consultation with neither us nor the student body. Because this was one of the most popular features of the paper, we believe we owe our readers an explanation.

Typically, the AU Department of Public Safety sends The Eagle the police blotter each Thursday or Friday preceding our publication date. That text is then published as is, straight from the source, edited only for names, grammar and AP style. However, the Friday before our Aug. 29 issue came and went with no customary email of the weekly crimes, disturbances and general shenanigans occurring on campus. After contacting Public Safety, The Eagle was informed that we would no longer be sent the police blotter as we had come to know it.

Instead, we would be sent a chart that listed the occurrences not with a specific description, but by the general category of their nature. Gone are the detailed accounts, replaced with vague oneword entries and times: Theft — Tunnel Shops — Sept. 8 — 2 a.m.; Burglary — Sports Center-Inside — Sept. 3 — 4 p.m. The descrip-

tions that AU has come to call the police blotter would no longer be available for public use.

We would like to have been given as detailed a justification as possible for Public Safety’s restrictions on student access to information concerning campus crime. And if these reasons were compelling, The Eagle might have accepted

viewed as entertaining by the student body.

To be sure, the police blotter was a source of entertainment for many readers, and The Eagle published it in part with this in mind, including the recent “Best of the Spring 2011 Police Blotter” piece.

Yet the loss of the police blotter amounts to losing more than a

How police blotter entries have influenced Eagle news April 12: Student #1 exited a room in Anderson Hall and left the door unsecured at 10:07 a.m. Student #2 was asleep in the room. When student #1 returned to the room, he discovered his laptop computer was taken.

Later in April, The Eagle published a story on the rise of theft, particularly of laptops.

March 13 A bicycle was taken from a bike rack at the Anderson Hall north bike rack and was reported at 11:35 p.m. The bike had been secured to the rack via a combination cable lock.

This report helped us identify the increase in crime rates — namely bikes.

March 23: A student was on her way to a bathroom at 2:17 a.m. when she noticed paper burning on a resident assistant’s door in Letts Hall. She knocked on the door. The resident assistant opened the door and knocked the burning paper to the floor to extinguish the fire. Public Safety also noticed a small corner of a newspaper burned, which was attached to a bulletin board next to the resident assistant’s room.

The Eagle investigated dorm safety and rise in campus crime rates in April story.

this decision tranquilly and gone gently into the night. Unfortunately, Public Safety has given us no such compelling reasons.

In our meetings with Public Safety following the initial email notification, our calls for the con-

Grade Expectations ADAM GALLAGHER — ANTI-SOCIAL COMMENTARY If you or your friends have a Facebook, you know the Tom Petty quote about college. It’s too long to print, but it encourages students to stop worrying about GPAs and concentrate on being irresponsible. I’ve always knocked it as an easy thing to say for millionaires, but after four years of observation, I find most of those who followed his advice have just as good GPAs as those who didn’t.

The system seemed broken, and swinging my Eagle press credentials like the pistols they are, I went to string-up every smart kid’s favorite villain: grade infla-

tinued free flow of information were met with deaf ears. Officials insisted this new format continued to provide to students the information required by law. It seemed that Public Safety had made the judgment on their own that AU students did not need the additional information the police blotter provided. Yet as far as this pa-

tion.

First stop: the “interwebs.”

A recent article, “A History of College Grade Inflation,” on the New York Times economic blog reports on a study of the distribution of grades. The number of A’s given out has nearly tripled over the past 70 years, to the point where nearly half of all grades given are A’s. I shudder to think what the School of Communication’s statistics are, where two comments on a discussion board assure your good fortune. Am I really the übergenius my mom tells me I am? More on that in next week’s column. (Spoiler

per knows, no students were ever consulted in the alteration.

As far as concrete reasons for changing the format, Public Safety offered few, if any. However, officials did once voice concern that previous blotter releases were

alert: I am.)

Next stop: disgruntled smart kid, i.e., the victim.

I found one in David Park, a senior in the School of International Service, who is intelligent, articulate, brooding and single!

He echoed the researchers behind the study when he said the reason for the inflation is, “due to the tacit agreement between students and professors that if we get inflated grades, they will be indemnified with good enough evaluations to keep their jobs.” He then tearfully recapped how grade inflation has robbed him of the chance to differentiate himself from the pack, how it keeps the least challenging professors employed and how it’s hastening the decay of the higher education system.

David turned out to be a real downer, but he made some good points. I couldn’t let him write my column

couple laughs. It’s the loss of valuable source of campus information — a source of information to which both George Washington University and Georgetown University students continue to have access in their communities.

though, so to gain another perspective I visited Sue Gordon, the director of career development at the AU Career Center. I was sure she would shed some light on the chaos grade inflation must be playing on graduate school applicants and getting top-paying jobs.

She didn’t — instead shunting my obvious tilt by reminding me how little GPAs matter after your first job, how really only financial and consulting firms set bare minimum GPAs (usually around an attainable 3.0 or 3.5) and how other factors like letters of recommendation are huge in getting into grad schools.

My faith in the downfall of American education was shaken.

Grasping for answers and compliments, I called upon Associate Director of Merit Awards and all-around nice lady Joan D. Echols. Her take: it’s terrible, but top stu-

The police blotter acted as a primary source for students to identify trends in on-campus crime and to take necessary action. A string of thefts in Letts? You can bet Eagle readers were locking their doors.

Moreover, the crimes listed by in police blotter frequently led to concrete and detailed stories in The Eagle. Just last spring, our stories on the vandalism in the Letts Sky Lounge were a direct result of initial reports in the police blotter. The same applies to recent reports on campus bike theft and a reduction in overall campus theft, among others.

We at The Eagle are saddened by this recent friction with Public Safety. Traditionally, they have been one of the most cooperative and responsive departments on campus; but since former Public Safety Chief McNair left AU, that has not been the case. By eliminating the police blotter, they are unnecessarily restricting information to which AU students are entitled.

The police blotter shed needed light on threats and disturbances that occurred throughout campus.

And until Public Safety reinstates access to the police blotter, The Eagle urges its readers to join us in protest against the dying of this light.

dents will find a way above the rising tide of 4.0s.

“Beyond the grades, undergraduates can set themselves apart by collaborating with faculty on writing a paper or doing research,” she said. “And it’s a more enriching undergraduate experience.”

She made a lot of sense, and not only because her sentences didn’t include the word “indemnified.” Seeing as how AU produced nine Boren Scholars last year and seven the year before, which is the second most in the nation, it doesn’t seem like the school has felt any negative effects of the grade inflation.

And thus my witch-hunt ended with me deciding the witch isn’t such a bad influence on the neighborhood.

If grade inflation forces our top students to do more than memorize facts, to earn their way in their field as an intern or make their mark doing research, then

maybe it has been a blessing in disguise.

GPAs have never been a good measure of a student’s ability, just as student evaluations have never been a good measure of a professor’s. As GPAs become more uniformly high, graduate schools and employers will have to weigh them less when considering applicants and find other ways to recognize the best and brightest.

To modify the old Ibu axiom, GPAs should be respected, but achievement should be revered. Or was I the only one who did the African Writing homework, you Petty-listening slackers?

Adam Gallagher is a Senior in SOC. Please send comments and responses to: edpage@theeagleonline. com

Opinion 23

Finding reason and purpose in freshman year at AU MANA ALIABADI — THE EXAMINED LIFE About three months ago, after tossing my cap into the air along with the rest of my graduating class, I remember having this strange feeling. Although I was happy to be finished with the tedium of high school — with its irritating bell schedule and all-too-common superficiality — I felt an underlying uncertainty constantly tugging at the strings of my happiness.

This uncertainty was perpetuated by feelings of anxiety about the future and the fear of the unknown. Most of this uncertainty, however, was aided by a highly contagious form of cynicism that resulted in a sort of existential crisis.

The more I realized the prospect of college was cemented onto my life path, the more I heard echoes of this cynicism in my head.

I’d find myself wondering: what if college really is an extension of high school?

Will anything I learn be useful in the so-called real world? Is it worth spending all that time and borrowing all that money, which I can only really hope to pay back someday? And most importantly, why do I actually

want to get a college degree?

So throughout the next three months, these thoughts constantly lurked somewhere in the back of my mind. At times, the doubts would become truly unbearable, even causing me to lash out in uncalledfor anger against my closest friends and family members.

next four years.

It’s been two weeks since that first night. If I have learned anything, it’s that adjusting to a new life has everything to do with figuring out a new routine. It’s about finding constancies to rely on as a sort of comfort. It’s also about bearing in mind the bigger picture and figuring out how you

All I can really say then is that I finally feel at home.

And then it was finally here. I moved in at the end of welcome week, at the start of a hurricane, which seemed to do well in mirroring the whirlwind of my inner thoughts. I unpacked everything I had considered necessary for my new life from a few old suitcases with half-broken zippers and rusty wheels, which I had found in my parents’ basement. After a while, I went to sleep in my new bed, still thoroughly unsure of what to expect out of the

want your college education to fit into the grand scheme of your life.

So now, the sounds of running and screaming down the residence halls into the morning hours are no longer strange to my ears. And TDR sweet potato fries are a staple in my daily diet. All I can really say then is that I finally feel at home.

As for my monetary concerns, I still don’t know if $53,000 a year is worth it.

Maybe I’ll just have to wait to make that assessment in

another four years. Nevertheless, I do know that, given all the odds for the majority of people my age in the world, I am extremely lucky to be able to be here.

For now, the constancies I’ve come to rely on have helped me stay the course.

More importantly though, in light of attempting to see this bigger picture, I’ve been increasingly compelled to ask myself a single question about my reason for being here. Borrowing from a speaker at a recent event on Chilean human rights, I have begun asking myself, “For whom?” as in for whom am I going to get my degree here at AU? Should it be for my parents, in order to please them? Should it be for myself, in order to have a prestigious career?

Or should it be for something greater than that — like a deep commitment to a cause for true social justice?

Ultimately I realize that, despite my adjustment anxiety and initial cynicism, my education isn’t really all about me at all. I’ve come to understand that my four years here are for giving me the tools I need to be become a force in the movement for fundamental global change.

Mana Aliabadi is a Freshman in SPA. Please send comments and responses to: edpage@theeagleonline. com.

QUICK

TAKE

Every week on theeagleonline.com, the Quick Take offers concise views on an issue of significance to American University. This week, columnists and members of the AU community speak to the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and what it means to the university, Washington, D.C., and the globe.

The following are excerpts from their pieces, which can be found online.

9/11 2.0: A NEW OPPORTUNITY

Louis W. Goodman — Professor and Emeritus Dean of SIS “While full trust and capacity for effective collaboration take years to mature, 9/11’s hallowed ground can best be consecrated by building collaborative capacity to enforce and respect the rule of law around the world. The wars of occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Patriot Act restriction of civil rights, ‘tough interrogation’ of prominent prisoners and other measures have to date consumed trillions of dollars world-wide, have brutally truncated millions of lives and have called to question the United States’ commitment to its founding principles …

Perhaps our response during 9/11’s second decade can pull us back from the brink of military stalemate, financial catastrophe, human tragedy and moral attrition that has been the result of the 1.0 response to 9/11.”

REMEMBRANCE THROUGH SERVICE

Sarah Palazzolo “Directly after 9/11, people came together to comfort one another in a time of national mourning. But the sustainability of that unity is worth re-examining. If anything, social divisions have been perpetrated by fear and violence …

If America is willing to be healed, we each individually need to seek opportunities to give and receive service grounded not in charity but in compassion. The National Day of Service here at AU, in Washington and across the country demonstrated that we as a nation are capable of temporarily abandoning our differences to turn a tragic event in our past into a dedication to a hopeful future — at least for a day.”

Sarah Palazzolo is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences and a Quick Take columnist for The Eagle.

THE 9/11 GENERATION

TRENDING TOPICS

In remembrance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, both AU and Washington, D.C., came together in an admirable tribute to those who lost their lives.

Presidential debates on TV? And a presidential address at a joint session of Congress in the same week? It’s practically Christmas at AU. Redskins win!

Economists give 50 percent odds that we’re entering a double dip recession. AU seniors cower in despair.

Tropical Storm Lee brought as much rain as Hurricane Irene brought hype. Too much.

Alas, it’s two weeks in to school and we’ve stopped reading the syllabus aloud in class to do actual work.

Nick Field “For the first few years after 9/11, national security was a kind of country-wide obsession. We invaded Afghanistan under the pretense of capturing Osama bin Laden, and a year and a half later, we invaded Iraq because we were told it was related to the ‘war on terror.’ … In the last few years, however, these issues have fallen completely off our national radar. After the Iraq War became a quagmire, people just seemed to lose interest and soon the global economic crisis became our primary concern. The 2008 presidential election was decided entirely on economic matters and it appears that the 2012 election will be as well.

All this begs the question, how much did 9/11 really change our society? Did it truly change our priorities, or did it just create a short interval that temporarily interrupted the concerns over the long-term economic decline this nation has experienced for decades?”

Nick Field is a senior in the School of Public Affairs and a Quick Take columnist for The Eagle.

READ MORE QUICK TAKE Visit www.theeagleonline.com/front/quicktake

Sports 24

theEAGLE

Three college football teams that could end the SEC’s dominance

★★★★ BRILLIANT.”

“

“A TOTAL BLAST.”

– Peter Travers

– Eric Kohn, indieWIRE

“GOSLING ... IS A JOY TO WATCH.” – Stephanie Zacharek, MOVIELINE

MICHEAL McELVEEN — JUST OBSERVING My only question is: Who can dethrone the Southeastern Conference? I welcome all challengers. As a matter of fact, I am begging for challengers. I am so over watching the most stacked conference in the country stockpile BCS national championships year after year. What fun is that?

I appreciate the richness and depth of the SEC, and I respect its authenticity and tradition, I really do. But I loathe the dominance over NCAA football that the conference has exhibited over the last five years.

A team from the SEC was crowned the BCS National Champion each of the last five years, and the conference has roped in six titles since 2000.

My point: college football needs a change. So who can dethrone the SEC? There are three teams from three different conferences that can do it, and I’ll tell you why: University of Oregon Ducks (Pac-12) The Ducks are coming off a national championship defeat to the Cam Newtonled Auburn Tigers, but they have the offensive firepower to get back to the title game.

Oregon boasts a high-octane offense that averaged 47 points per game to lead the NCAA in scoring last year and you know they’re capable of throwing at least 40 points on the board on any team on any given night.

Oregon lost its season opener to the No. 3 Louisiana State University, but it has a whole season to climb back up national rankings.

The Pac-12 added two teams with a strong pedigree in the University of Utah Utes and the University of Colorado Buffaloes, which will enhance the strength of schedule for Oregon. What also makes the return to a championship game plausible (barring no other loses and a few blowouts) is the fact that the conference now

has a championship game with the addition of the two aforementioned teams. Oregon has an All-American running back in 2010 Heisman Trophy finalist LaMichael James, a stellar quarterback in Darron Thomas, a solid defense, superior coaching and not to mention very awesome jerseys.

The Ducks have the goods to dethrone the SEC. University of Oklahoma Sooners (Big 12) The Sooners have the same offensive capabilities as Oregon, but they are backed with a much more talented defense. Oklahoma averaged 37 points per game last season to rank 14th in the nation, while it finished ninth defensively in sacks.

Quarterback Landry Jones is ready to compete for a Heisman; but most importantly, he is ready to lead his team back to the title game.

Last season, Jones threw more than 4,500 yards, 38 touchdowns and only 12

interceptions. The junior is ready. Even if Oklahoma loses a game, the Sooners can crash SEC’s party.

University of Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big 10) A first-year member of the Big Ten, the Cornhuskers possess every quality necessary to ward off the SEC from copping another BCS National Championship.

Nebraska boasts a stout defense that scored four defensive touchdowns and intercepted 19 passes last year, the eighth-ranked rushing attack in the nation from a year ago and a returning threat at quarterback in Taylor Martinez.

The Cornhuskers are a team on a mission: They are a respected team but are still not mentioned as a top-tier team. So what does a team with their mindset do? Rise to the challenge. And I believe Nebraska is capable of ending the SEC’s parade. sports@theeagleonline.com

“BOLD, DARING AND UNPREDICTABLE!” – Scott Mantz, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD

RYAN

GOSLING

THERE

ARE

NO

CLEAN

GETAWAYS

LOCAL LISTINGS THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES SEPTEMBER 16 IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE FOR CHECK

theEAGLE

Sports 25

Werth is failing both on and off the field for Nationals

PRIME PERFORMER Morgan Hendrix was one of the few bright spots for AU last weekend, as the sophomore was named to the Hokie Classic All-Tournament Team after totaling a combined 24 kills over three games.

BEN LASKY — SIDELINE SCHOLAR

Courtesy of AUEAGLES.COM

Volleyball drops below .500 after weekend’s Hokie Classic ERIC SALTZMAN Eagle Staff Writer

This past weekend the AU volleyball team traveled to Blacksburg, Va., to play Virginia Tech, the University of Tennessee and Seton Hall University in the Hokie Classic. The Eagles (4-6) failed to win any of the three games, losing in straight sets in all three and dropping below .500 on the season.

The Eagles lost their opening match of the Hokie Classic on Friday against Virginia Tech by set scores of 25-22, 25-21 and 25-15. The first two sets were competitive, with each team trading kills until the Hokies (5-4) began to pull away. Virginia Tech dominated the third set as the Eagles struggled to get their attack going.

Freshman Sara Rishell led the Eagles with 10 kills while Morgan Hendrix had

seven. Setter Alexandra Hammer finished the game with 21 assists. For the Hokies, Justine Record and Cara Baarendse led the team with 13 and 10 kills, respectively.

Erin Leaser set up 31 assists.

Tennessee cruises to victory The Eagles took on the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in their second game of the weekend, and the Lady Vols (7-2) notched a straight set victory with set scores of 2514, 25-13 and 25-16.

No Eagle recorded double digit kills in the contest.

Hendrix posted six kills while Rishell and Megan Rosburg tallied four apiece.

Monika Smidova led the Eagles with 12 assists and had 11 digs defensively. Tennessee was led by DeeDee Harrison with 10 kills and Mary Pollmiller with 28 assists.

Eagles fall to Seton Hall The final game of the se-

ries pitted the Eagles against Seton Hall (4-5), and the Pirates won by scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-15.

Hendrix led the team with 11 kills and Juliana Crum finished with eight. Defensively, Hammer led AU with 10 digs while Rosburg registered six.

In the opening set, the Pirates jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before prevailing 25-20. In the second, the Eagles were able to score eight unanswered points to give them a 15-14 lead midway through the set.

However, the Pirates were able to come back for the 25-21 win and take a critical 2-0 advantage. The final set saw the Pirates jump out to a quick lead and cruise to a 25-15 victory.

Of the four teams in the tournament, Tennessee finished with the best record.

The Lady Vols swept Seton Hall and AU, and defeated

When the Washington Nationals signed right fielder Jayson Werth to a sevenyear, $126 million contract in December, many thought it would be a bad deal in years five, six and seven.

Yet, with the regular season coming to a close in just a few weeks, it’s safe to say that it looks like an awful deal after one.

And it’s not why you think, either. The contract doesn’t look like a waste just because of his .230 average.

It’s not just because of his .333 on-base percentage.

It’s not just because of his .394 slugging percentage.

It’s not even about his 141 strikeouts.

What it’s about is the way he has presented himself throughout the season.

When you’re given a monstrous contract, the expectation is not just to put together impressive stats. Unless you sign with the Yankees or Red Sox, when you sign that kind of contract, you become the face of the franchise. When the team loses, like the Nats have done and were expected to do this season, people look to you for answers. You’re expected to handle your struggles and the team’s with class. Werth has not done that.

After a game in May in which the Nationals lost their fifth game in a row and were in last place in the NL East, Werth told reporters that “things need to change.”

He did not clarify which changes he was referring to, but many believed the comments were made in the

direction of then-manager Jim Riggleman. Riggleman eventually resigned amidst a contract dispute, though it had nothing to do with Werth.

The problem with Werth’s comments was that at the time, he was hitting about .240. It’s not like he was helping solve the problem; he was the problem.

The changes he was talking about needed to come from him.

When reporters asked him about his comments the next night, he went on a diatribe about how the whole culture of the team needed

to change, including how Teddy Roosevelt, who as a running joke has never won the fourth inning President’s Race, needed to win. He was dead serious. The fact that a person in a costume never got to win a meaningless race to entertain fans really bothered him.

Yes, that makes sense. The losing wasn’t the fact that at the time Jerry Hairston Jr., Laynce Nix and Roger Bernadina were all in the same everyday lineup. It was definitely the fake Teddy Roosevelt losing pre-determined races that influenced the result.

Then there are the reports that Washington’s right fielder refused to pose for

this season.

Just like A-Rod in New York, fans expect more when you’re being paid nine figures.

But the other reason is that Werth is simply not likeable.

Red Sox fans did not boo David Ortiz when he struggled in the first few months of the 2010 season because fans love the guy. Werth has done nothing but alienate Nationals fans.

Jayson Werth is no superstar. No one ever thought he was, even when he was part of a World Series team in Philadelphia. Now, if he’d only stop acting like one.

host Virginia Tech 3-1. The Hokies finished the weekend at 2-1, Seton Hall finished at 1-2 and the Eagles at 0-3.

After the graduation of the top players from last year’s squad, AU has lost six games on the season, which is double the amount of losses from last year.

The road for the Eagles does not get any easier. After playing a rescheduled D.C. Volleyball Challenge match with George Mason University on Wednesday, Sept. 14, AU returns to Bender Arena

to host the American Classic. That tournament will see the Eagles take on the University of Villanova (73), Western Kentucky University (9-1) and the University of Missouri (11-2).

Eagles struggling in nonconference play Despite entering the tournament on a two-game winning streak, the Eagles have struggled through a tough nonconference schedule.

pictures with fans at a charity event. These are people who paid a lot of money to have this experience, yet Werth could not be bothered to take a few photos.

It’s not right to treat teammates or coaches with disrespect, but when you start disrespecting your own fans, you’ve crossed into a whole different level.

It’s no wonder he’s been booed by Nationals fans when he strikes out looking, which he seems to think is his job. One part of the problem is clearly the money he is being paid to do more than he has done

It’s not like he was helping solve the problem; he was the problem.

blasky@theeagleonline.com

sports@theeagleonline.com

September 13, 2011

theEAGLE

Men’s soccer in rough stretch after two straight overtime losses

By ZOE CRAIN

Eagle Contributing Writer The men’s soccer team has hit a frustrating bump in its season, losing 2-1 in overtime to both Liberty University Sept. 9 and Syracuse University Sept. 11.

Liberty overcomes decit to beat AU The matchup against the Liberty Flames (2-1) started off with AU playing heavy defense while Liberty’s strong offensive attack kept the ball on the AU side for a majority of the opening period.

After an opening half that saw neither team push

across a goal, an energized AU squad flipped the script and controlled possession in the Liberty side of the field at the start of the second half. After 68 minutes, Mark Wysocki scored his first goal of the season, and the first of the game, to put AU up 1-0.

“There were spots in this game where we were good, and we were able to connect and find each other, and move ourselves down the field and get opportunities,” Wysocki said.

The AU celebration didn’t last long, however, as just six minutes later Liberty’s Chris Phillips responded with a goal of his own. The two teams were able to stave off any more goals, ending the

second half with a 1-1 tie after 90 minutes.

That score held through the first period of overtime, as 10 minutes passed without any goals. But with just two minutes left in the second overtime session, Darren Amoo scored the golden goal for Liberty. A first team all-Big South selection with three goals on the season, Amoo’s strike caused the Eagles to suffer a heartbreaking loss in the team’s home opener.

“I’m furious,” Head Coach Todd West said. “I knew it when we warmed up that we weren’t ready. I don’t think it was a quality performance for a home opener.”

West also cited the team’s

lack of effort as one of the major factors contributing to the loss.

“We can control our effort, and we didn’t bring [the] effort that this program is all about,” West said. “They have to look in the mirror, or we’re not going to issue uniforms to guys who aren’t going to bring us the right effort.”

Acknowledging that Liberty outshot AU 13-3 on the afternoon, goalkeeper Matt Makowski said preventing such a large gap is one of the team’s priorities.

“It’s good in one sense, because it keeps you active,” Makowski said. “Obviously that’s a number we don’t want to give up. I think they had some good players, some clever players up front. I would have liked to see two more saves, instead of the number that there was, but it is what it is.”

A four-year player for the Eagles, Makowski made key saves all afternoon to keep the contest tied 1-1.

Eagles defeated in overtime for second straight game Makowski’s hope didn’t come through in the game against the Orange (2-2), as AU was outshot 23-8. In another match decided in overtime, AU was unable to pull out a win, falling yet again by a score of 2-1.

Six minutes into the first period, Syracuse’s Louis Clark scored the only goal in the first half on Makowski.

With just seven minutes left in the game, the Eagles were able to tie up the score, as Jack Scott found the back of the net for AU. The goal gave Scott his third point of the season, after the senior picked up an assist in AU’s D.C. College Cup victory over George Washington

University.

With the score tied at one apiece, AU moved into overtime for the second time in three days.

With the AU offense unable to take any shots on goal, Syracuse’s Nick Roydhouse scored off a free kick for the Syracuse victory.

Roydhouse has now found the back of the net in two straight seasons against AU, scoring the Orange’s lone goal in their 2010 2-1 loss to the Eagles.

AU will play its next four games at home, starting with a game on Friday, Sept.

16 against the California State University Fullerton Titans. sports@theeagleonline.com

with 2-year wireless svc agreement on voice and minimum $15/mo data plan required.

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September 13, 2011

UPCOMING GAMES Home

SEPT. 14

SPORTS

Volleyball @ George Mason at 7 p.m. (D.C. Volleyball Challenge)

SEPT. 15

No games scheduled

Game

SEPT. 16 Men’s

soccer vs. Cal State Fullerton at 1 p.m Women’s soccer vs. Mount St. Mary’s at 4 p.m.

Volleyball vs. Villanova at 7 p.m. (American Classic)

SEPT. 17 Cross

country @ Navy Invitational at 10 a.m.

Volleyball vs. Western Kentucky at 11 a.m. and vs. Missouri at 7 p.m. (American Classic)

28 SEPT. 18

Field hockey vs. Louisville at 2 p.m. soccer vs. UCF at 4 p.m.

Men’s

NFL Week One: five reactions

Courtesy of AUEAGLES.COM

TYLER TOMEA — FROM THE STANDS

1

No. 8 AU field hockey team upset twice

By SAMANTHA RAPHELSON Eagle Staff Writer

The No. 8 AU field hockey team lost a pair of games this weekend at the Terrapin Invitational in College Park, Md. The Eagles (2-3) lost 2-1 in overtime on Saturday against Ohio University and fell to Northwestern University on Sunday 2-1 after outshooting the Wildcats 17-5.

Ohio upsets AU in overtime The Eagles played well against Ohio, who is now riding a six-game winning streak to open the season.

The Bobcats (6-0) maintained offensive control in the first half, but AU’s strong defense was able to deflect three shots on goal.

AU jumped out ready to attack at the start of the second half, scoring a goal on a penalty corner in the 42nd minute. Alex McMackin

was responsible for the lead, after teammate Gina Hofmann’s attempt was deflected right at her, giving her an open lane at the left post.

Less than 10 minutes later, Ohio came back and tied the game on a goal by Louzeth Schutte. AU’s Grace Wilson almost gave the Eagles the lead in the 67th minute but was unable to get a shot past the Bobcats’ Jen McGill, forcing the game into overtime.

After blocking two Ohio penalty corners early, the Eagles were unable to block Taylor Brown’s straight shot off the corner in the 80th minute.

“Ohio played a very strong and disciplined game and while it could have gone either way, they deserved the win,” Head Coach Steve Jennings told AU Athletics.

“I believe we can learn a lot from this loss and use it to

help us focus on the critical elements of our style of play.”

Northwestern clips Eagles The story was similar for the Eagles’ Sept. 11 game, as they could not prevail in another very close game against Northwestern.

The Wildcats (4-2) jumped out first on a goal by Regan Mooney in the 12th minute.

Several minutes later, AU scored on a pass by Grace Wilson that deflected off the stick of Kati Rothenhoefer and slid past Northwestern goalkeeper Maddy Carpenter.

The Eagles entered the second half with the game tied 1-1 even though they outshot the Wildcats 6-2.

The women continued to pressure the Northwestern goal, but their three shots were unable to penetrate the thick Wildcat defense.

Before AU had a chance to setup another attempt, Northwestern took possession on a penalty and Chelsea Armstrong’s goal made it 2-1 Wildcats in the 47th minute of play.

CLOSE CALLS Alex McMackin and the Eagles are coming off two straight 2-1 losses at the Terrapin Invitational. AU hopes to bounce back with four upcoming home games.

The Eagles made several quality attempts to score down the stretch, but the sound Northwestern defense was able to hold onto the lead up until the clock showed zeroes.

Despite outshooting the Wildcats 17-5 and having more chances on penalty corners (5-4), AU was unable to use those opportunities to put shots past the net.

Some positives to come out of the loss were Rothenhoefer’s first career goal and Wilson notching her second assist of the season.

The Eagles will try and bounce back from the two consecutive losses when they host the University of Louisville at Jacobs Field on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. sports@theeagleonline.com

I’m not sure whether it’s more surprising that the Rex Grossman-led Redskins won their season opener against the Giants 28-14, or that this happened and the world didn’t end. As the week wore on and with the Giants defense decimated by injuries, Washington started to become a popular upset pick.

Why did I think that the Giants wouldn’t lose? Rex Grossman was the frickin’ starting quarterback for Washington! But instead making a poor show, he ended up outplaying Eli Manning in giving the Redskins their first win over the Giants at home since 2005. If Grossman throws for more than 300 yards in Week 2 and the Redskins start off 2-0, I’ll be off stockpiling bottled water and canned goods.

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There’s bad, there’s really bad, there’s the Chiefs season-opening 41-7 home loss to the Bills - and then there’s Donvoan McNabb in Week 1. McNabb threw for 39 yards in the Vikings 2417 loss to the Chargers. Let that sink in for a little bit: 39 yards!

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The Ravens defeated the Steelers 35-7 in the most eye-opening score from Sunday. When Pittsburgh cut the deficit to 14-7 after Baltimore opened up a 14-0 lead, Ravens fans were thinking of the different ways their team could blow this game to the Steelers, which has become an annual NFL tradition each fall.

Instead, the Steelers committed seven turnovers, Ray

Rice rushed for over 100 yards against a defense that doesn’t allow 100-yard rushers and Joe Flacco got his first win in seven meetings against Ben Roethlisberger.

I’d compare this game to last year’s Week 1 matchup between the Texans and the Colts. During the 2010 offseason, all the Texans pointed to was their Week 1 home game against Indianapolis. The Texans cruised to a dominating victory, but the Colts finished 10-6 at season’s end and made the playoffs.

All offseason, the Ravens geared up for the Steelers after blowing a 21-7 halftime lead in last year’s divisional playoffs. All offseason, the Steelers were thinking about their three turnovers in last year’s six-point Super Bowl loss. There’s a reason why the Super Bowl loser from the previous season is 2-10 since 2000 in the next year’s season opener.

The cards fell perfectly for Baltimore, and they took care of business. Still, I think this is a team built to make the playoffs, but one that has a ceiling and is not capable of winning a Super Bowl.

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Cam Newton had a historic first game for a rookie. How historic, you ask? His 422 passing yards were tied for the most by a rookie quarterback in NFL history. Now, if only he’d work on his touchdown celebrations.

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No more Brett Favre!

Wooo!

ttomea@theeagleonline. com