The Eagle — Feb. 22, 2010

TAKE TWO With the rest of the world in their native country, Canadian twins Tegan and Sara play the District.

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the EAGLE

FEBRUARY 22, 2010 VOLUME 84 n ISSUE 36

WWW.THEEAGLEONLINE.COM

SLIP ‘N SLIDE Students face harrowing commutes due to snow and ice page 4

EDITORIAL

SOUND AND FURY Harping on Israel’s apartheid controversy: more harm than good? page 3

SCENE CANS OF POP ART GWU’s new exhibit shows Warhol’s art beyond his famous soup cans page 7

SPORTS RUNNING AWAY Late run leads AU women past Holy Cross at home page 8

OUTMATCHED Ohio State downs women’s lacrosse in their second game page 8

TODAY’S WEATHER

HI 43° LO 35° Rain starting Monday afternoon.

TUESDAY HI 45°

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LO 32°

WEDNESDAY HI 41° n LO 30°

the EAGLE 252 Mary Graydon Center 4400 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20016 Newsroom: 202-885-1402 Advertising: 202-885-1414, x3 Fax: 202-885-1428 E-mail: editor@theeagleonline.com Classifieds: adbox@theeagleonline.com

Phi Sig Kap admits to charges

By SARAH RUDNICK Eagle Staff Writer AU fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa received multiple sanctions by the Inter-Fraternity Council Judicial Board after the brothers of PSK admitted to the charges, according to a statement released by the IFC. “Throughout the process, [PSK has] been proactive and cooperative, and the IFC thanks them for that,” the statement reads. “During the hearing, [PSK] admitted to the charges and suggested what they believed to be fair and fitting sanc-

tions.”

PSK will have the opportunity to appeal the sanctions for seven business days, according to Adam Tager, public relations chair for the IFC. It is unclear whether PSK will pursue this option.

PSK had been charged with distributing a controlled substance during a recruitment event, holding an alternative event during another fraternity’s rush time, breaching social function guidelines and posting unauthorized flyers.

A source informed The Eagle of the hearing’s results before the results were supposed to be pub-

lic, prompting the IFC to confirm them in a press release late Sunday.

PSK was informed of IFC Judicial Board’s decision late last week.

The IFC Judicial Board imposed the following sanctions on the fraternity: one-year social probation (including, but not limited to, social events with other greek organizations); no open or closed recruitment for the fall of 2010, though they may take a pledge class; full chapter participation in AU Campus Beautification Day with an additional five hours per member through AU’s Community Service Office and funding and planning a

professional speaker on responsible drinking for the spring of 2011. PSK will be allowed to have a pledge class this semester. “[The IFC was] trying to keep the judicial information until the process was over,” Tager said. “We regret that the information was released sooner than anticipated, but unfortunately we had no choice in the matter.”

The decision will be enforced by the PSK’s local chapter, the IFC, the Office of Greek Life and the PSK national office.

“The IFC is here to hold chapters accountable, yet we do not look

forward to doing so,” the statement said. “We look forward to moving past this situation and focusing on all of the positive aspects that greek life has to offer.”

Mike Kaufman, the president of PSK, did not respond for comment before press time.

Staff writer Charlie Szold contributed to this report.

You can reach this staff writer at srudnick@theeagleonline.com.

Corps’ data questioned SG VP, Founders’ Day director defend actions

By CHRISTOPHER COTTRELL Eagle Staff Writer

Perchlorate levels in the groundwater in and around AU are decreasing according to the Army Corps of Engineers — a claim that was met with skepticism by some community members who said that existing information is insufficient to draw such conclusions.

Spring Valley residents at Tuesday’s Restoration Advisory Board meeting, where the Army Corps made this announcement, were skeptical because the Corps based their findings on readings made more than two years apart and during different seasons of the year.

The Environmental Protection Agency has set the safety standard for perchlorate levels in drinking water at 15 parts per billion, according to Todd Beckwith, the Corps’ project manager for the Spring Valley cleanup.

Perchlorate is a naturally occurring and man-made anion, which can cause eye and skin irritation, coughing, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, even if exposure is only short-term, according to the EPA. Fourteen samples from four wells in the AU and Spring Valley area exceed the EPA perchlorate advisory level, including one sample from a well near the Kreeger Building with perchlorate levels of 146 ppb as of June 2007 — almost 10 times the EPA standard, according to the Corps.

But when the Corps took a reading at that well last November, that number was down to 50.

Jeffrey Hanley, an AU alumnus and former Student Government vice president who was at the meeting, attributes this to the fact that the November sampling was conducted in the fall, while the 2007 sampling was from a summer month.

“It’d be like if you took data in February and measured snow and next year you took data in July ... and declared that the amount of snow in D.C. is decreasing,” he said.

Hanley also called it disingenuous of the Corps to have presented the information the way they did.

By TAMAR HALLERMAN Eagle Staff Writer

PHILLIP OCHS / THE EAGLE

GOOD NEWS? — The Army Corps of Engineers announced perchlorate levels had fallen over the last two years. Some residents denounced the findings as based on insufficient evidence.

“It’s not dishonest, and it’s not inaccurate, but you’re not presenting all the facts,” he said. “You’re taking a very narrow approach to what you’re showing people, and that’s not giving anyone a complete picture and it’s not indicative of what’s actually going on.”

The groundwater investigation commenced in 2005 when 38 monitoring wells were installed to help determine contaminated areas and where groundwater is flowing, according to the Corps.

A number of these wells exist near the Kreeger building, the Child Development Center and 4825 Glenbrook Rd., the site of the Corps’ “Pit

3” investigation next door to the AU President’s residence.

Beckwith said claims that the Corps had tried to present a skewed interpretation of the data were taken out of context.

“Generally speaking, the wells where we had concentrations of perchlorate above the EPA advisory level — those wells from ‘07 to ‘09 — the concentrations had decreased,” he said. “That’s just a fact of the data.”

But Beckwith also said that the Corps’ groundwater investigation is still in the “study phase,” and they are still evaluating the groundwater in n

see WATER on page 2

In a question-and-answer session with the Undergraduate Senate yesterday, Alex Prescott, the Student Government Vice President, defended his and his team’s actions regarding the now-postponed Founders’ Day Ball.

“We got everything in when [the Post Office Pavilion] asked for it, and it was circumstances beyond our control,” Prescott said. “The ball was in their court at that point.”

The Ball, originally scheduled for last Saturday, was put off due to complications from snowfalls earlier this month, as well as contractual complications, The Eagle previously reported.

Prescott said there are no financial ramifications resulting from the postponement aside from a $500 application fee for the Post Office Pavilion, the venue that was supposed to host the Ball.

He said that AU might pursue legal action against the Post Office Pavilion to recover the fee since the site “did not hold up their end of the bargain,” Prescott said in his testimony.

In a subsequent interview, Prescott said he could not comment on the situation. At press time, The Eagle could not get in touch with Student Activities Programs Adviser Jarrod MacNeil, who has helped oversee the planning of the Ball and is now handling relations with the pavilion.

“At this point, it’s escalated to

a level where it has to be our professional office, especially where legal might have to come in,” Prescott said.

Rodney Dyer, general manager of the pavilion, said that the planners of the Ball submitted the application and contract later than recommended.

“Even without the snowstorm, they were already in a situation where they were extremely low on time,” Dyer previously told The Eagle. “If you don’t [submit the contract early] there is a good chance we won’t get back to you.”

MacNeil previously told The Eagle that contract negotiations were on track when Dyer surprised them with an extra step in the process to secure the pavilion. Because of a previous incident at the pavilion where a student was stabbed, all universities must submit an application and a fee before submitting a contract.

In the meantime, Prescott and Jacque Martin, the director of the Founders’ Day Ball said they are looking for other venues to hold the Ball and they are looking at a few dates in mid-March and early April.

“We’re hoping because we have good relations with some of the people we’ve been working with that it shouldn’t be too difficult and that there shouldn’t be too many obstacles in the planning process,” Prescott said.

During his time at the podium, which clocked in at over 30 minutes, Prescott answered extensive questions from senators, some supportive and others n

see FOUNDERS’ on page 4

Incentives offered to students studying abroad in fall

By TAMAR HALLERMAN Eagle Staff Writer Many more AU students choose to study abroad in the spring than in the fall semester, according statistics from AU Abroad.

This year, 84 more students studied abroad in the spring than in the fall, according to Ethan Merritt, a senior study abroad adviser at AU Abroad. In the 20082009 academic year, the disparity was even higher, with 130 more students choosing to study abroad in the spring.

Nevertheless, more students are studying abroad each year, according to the figures.

“Although now the trend is that more students are going abroad in the spring than in the fall, it didn’t used to be that way,” Merritt said. “In fact, for a number of years basically it was the exact opposite.”

Merritt said he is not completely sure what prompted the shift, but he attributes some of it to what he calls the “election ef-

fect.”

“The turning point when that changed was fall ‘08, the election semester and that’s where we saw a fairly significant drop off in the fall numbers and we had a very large spring semester,” he said.

“Everyone probably wanted to be here for the Obama election.”

The trend continued into this year. Merritt said it is hard to pin down the reason why students seem to prefer the spring semester or whether the trend will last.

Nevertheless, this reflects a nation-wide tendency for students to choose the spring to study abroad, according to Merritt.

Housing The disparity has serious implications for campus housing during the fall semester. With more students studying abroad in spring, it is difficult to house the extra students during fall semester. To address this, several departments are working together to prompt more students to study abroad in the fall to balance the

AU Abroad enrollment by the numbers

500

Enrolled Students

NEWS

400

300

200

Spring

Fall

2004-5 2005-6 2006-7 2007-8 2008-9 2009-10 SYLVIA CARIGNAN / THE EAGLE

FALL-OUT — Since fall 2008, many more students have chosen to study abroad in the spring over the fall. SOURCE: AU Abroad.

figures.

Students who choose to study abroad during fall 2010 will receive priority registration for the spring and guaranteed on-campus housing upon their return if desired, according to AU Abroad’s Web site.

Merritt said balancing the figures makes it easier for departments to plan.

“It makes [planning] less complicated and I think it makes things run smoother for the university as a whole if there’s more balance between semesters,” Merritt said.

Executive Director of Housing and Dining Programs Chris Moody said the number of students who study abroad in a given semester has a profound effect on the amount of on-campus rooms available.

“Fall occupancy and spring occupancy are two different scenarios,” he said.

Housing and Dining has been tracking housing requests from n

see ABROAD on page 2

the EAGLE

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

news 2

MON 22

TUES 23 THU 27

WED 24

THURS 25

FRI 26

SAT 27

Stress Less 5:30 - 7 p.m.

WHERE: Kay Lounge A INFO: The Counseling Center offers a workshop to help participants reduce stress and achieve capstone and research success.

CONTACT: For more information, call 202-885-6194.

Film Depicts Global Conservation Program 7 - 8 p.m.

WHERE: Wechsler Theater (MGC 315) INFO: The film “Thinking Big: USAID’s Global Conservation Program” is hosted by the Center for Environmental Filmmaking, followed by a discussion about biodiversity conservation activities.

CONTACT: For more information, call Chris Palmer at 202-885-3408.

Self-Defense Workshop for Women 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

WHERE: Anderson 2U INFO: Public Safety hosts a workshop teaching women how to defend themselves.

CONTACT: For more information, call Public Safety at 202-885-2563.

Speaker Shares Experiences With Binge Eating Disorder 8 - 10 p.m.

WHERE: Butler Board Room INFO: Cheves Turner, Founder and CEO of the Binge Eating Disorders Association, talks about her experience with binge eating for Body Image Awareness Week.

CONTACT: For more information, call Allan Duffy at 202-885-3275.

Friday Forum Speaker Series 5 - 7 p.m.

WHERE: Mary Graydon Center 203 INFO: The International Development Program Speaker Series hosts a speaker from the field of International Development.

CONTACT: For more information, call Crystal J. Wright at 202-8851657.

Beethoven and Maler Performance 8 - 10:30 p.m.

WHERE: Abramson Family Recital Hall INFO: Faculty soloist Barbara Hollinshead and guest soloist Steven Combs perform songs from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.

CONTACT: For more information, call the Katzen Box Office at 202885-ARTS.

SG Senate discusses EagleBucks fraud bill

By STEFANIE DAZIO Eagle Staff Writer The former Student Government bill to reduce fraudulent EagleBucks activity was “dramatically changed” and adopted as a resolution Sunday, according to Class of 2012 Senator Seth Rosenstein.

A bill is legislation that must be signed by the SG President and represents the SG as a whole, said SG Parliamentarian Douglas Bell. A resolution is the Senate stating its “nonbinding opinion.”

The resolution, sponsored by Rosenstein, now asks Housing and Dining Programs to enforce the rules already stipulated in the Merchant Service Agreement in regards to EagleBucks-funded delivery orders and to “explore ways to further safeguard students’ EagleBucks accounts.”

According to the Merchant Service Agreement, merchants must verify by “visual inspection” that the student in possession of the EagleBucks card is the student in the picture. The Agreement also requires merchants to keep

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payment slips for no less than 365 days from the transaction date.

“This is just asking that they enforce it, because as I’m sure, for those of you who currently live in the residence halls, you haven’t exactly had your IDs checked when you get your delivery order,” Rosenstein said to the Senate body.

Class of 2010 Senator Steve Dalton protested the resolution.

“What does this do?” Dalton asked Rosenstein. “Resolutions are non-binding, so we’re not asking them to change anything. We’re just saying, we think that you should ... I don’t know what we’re doing.”

Rosenstein said that this bill would help enforce the rules already in place.

“The problem is that the rules that are currently on the docket are not being enforced,” Rosenstein said. “At least not as much as they should be.”

Rosenstein said he hoped Housing and Dining Programs would instruct the residence hall desk receptionists to “keep an eye out” for possible misuse or fraud.

The resolution is now in effect and Speaker Amanda Merkwae will draft a memo and forward it to Housing and Dining Programs.

You can reach this staff writer at sdazio@theeagleonline.com.

CAMPUS BRIEFS

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES OUTLINES AU’S FUTURE PLANS The Eagle sat down with Board of Trustees Chairman Gary Abramson, President Neil Kerwin’s Chief of Staff David Taylor and Student Trustee Seth Cutter, a senior in the School of Public Affairs, after the Feb. 18, 19 and 20 Board of Trustees meetings. The Board discussed topics relating to current and future plans for AU. New Trustees were appointed, pending approval by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church. In the university’s original charter, the Methodists have the right to approve trustees, according to Abramson.

-First-year Washington College of Law Student Ron Frey will replace Cutter as Student Trustee in May. -Faculty Senate Vice Chair Leigh Riddick will replace Stephen Silvia as Faculty Trustee, pending approval as well. The current class of trustees was re-approved for another three-year rotation, also pending Methodist approval.

The Board discussed the new Campus Plan, a 10-year plan Abramson called a “wish list” of conceptual ideas. Such ideas include: - Redevelopment of Nebraska Avenue parking lot, including the addition of new dorms, - Redevelopment of the old School of International Service building and a parking lot there to connect to the new SIS building’s parking lot, - Possible relocation of the Washington College of Law to the Tenley Campus.

- The Board discussed housing, something Cutter called “the top priority,” and the conversion of Clark and Roper halls into residence facilities, as well as expansion of the Nebraska Hall area.

- The new SIS building will be “totally up and running” in the fall, Taylor said.

The Board approved three new degree programs: - Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology, - Doctor of Philosophy in Behavior, Cognition and Neuroscience, - Masters of Arts Degree in Political Communication.

The Army Corps of Engineers is continuing to “wrap up” their work on university grounds, Taylor said. The work began Jan. 5, 1993.

Abramson reported the university’s endowment saw an increase of approximately 33 percent over the last year, to $375 million.

The next Board of Trustees meeting will be May 13 and 14.

-STEFANIE DAZIO GREEK COUNCILS OPEN OFFICE SPACE IN MGC The AU Inter-Fraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Conference and the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc. have opened their own offices in Mary Graydon Center 248, according to a press release from the IFC. “The IFC is continuing in our drive increase both visibility and accessibility for both Greeks and non-Greeks,” IFC President Seth Gilroy said in the statement. “Our office and our office hours are meant as an outlet to talk on a oneon-one level with anyone who stops by.”

The constitution and bylaws state that these organizations’ executive boards are required to hold office hours, according to Coordinator of Greek Life Curtis Burrill. The new hours will allow time for the executives to increase their communication with Student Activities and hopefully make greek life more prominent on campus, he said.

“The Pan-Hellenic Council, NPHC and IFC have been and will continue to work closely together to assure that all Greek voices are represented,” National Pan-Hellenic Council Secretary Stephanie Eichmann stated in the release.

The office will be staffed by students on a rotating schedule, with the IFC and NPC executive board members holding weekly office hours, according to the release.

The organizations’ executive board members moved in last Thursday, the release states. However, the MGC space — which is shared with AmLit — has always been used by the IFC, NPC and NPHC but has undergone some changes, said IFC Public Relations Chair Adam Tager.

“We have had the office, it just hasn’t been utilized the way it is now,” he said.

The office has been rearranged to be more appealing and equipped with new desks and computers, Tager said. The schedule of office hours is expected to be finalized this week.

-SARAH RUDNICK SENATOR AND BOE CHAIR RESIGN Two Student Government officials resigned Sunday, including the Board of Elections Chair and a School of International Service senator.

BOE Chairwoman Savonia Vassel was not present at the Senate meeting and Erika Zois, chairwoman of the Judicial Board, read her letter of resignation to the body.

Vassel, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, later told The Eagle that as a result of personal matters, she was unable to make the time commitments, as the Senate recently passed legislation making it mandatory for her to be at the Sunday meetings.

The legislation required Vassel to give a written and oral report at every Senate meeting, according to Eric Reath, School of Public Affairs senator and Election Studies Commission chairman.

“Sundays have never been a great day for me to do stuff,” Vassel said, adding that she couldn’t make today’s meeting either. “I’m still a member of the BOE, I’m just not chairwoman.”

Both the Election Studies Commission and recent legislation were enacted after problems during the fall elections, to “look into the conduct of the last election and to see where we could improve,” Reath said.

There is no established line of succession for the position, but the chair must be nominated by the Judicial Board Chair and confirmed by the Senate, according to Reath.

SIS Senator Grant Livingston resigned his position in person Sunday.

“I feel that the Senate now often cares more about putting on a show than accomplishing meaningful work,” he said.

-S.D.

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from WATER on page 1

order to establish a clear trend in the data.

“For us to say we have an absolutely clear trend as to where the concentrations in the groundwater are going, that wouldn’t be fair to say,” he said. “I was just trying to say at the RAB meeting that levels have gone down from ‘07 to ‘09.”

The number of samples that the Army Corps has taken depends on the monitoring well, Beckwith said.

“Some have had four samples starting in ‘05, some have had three. Some have had only one. So it depends on the particular well,” he said.

When asked which monitoring wells served as the basis for the Corps’ conclusions, Beckwith said it was a “handful of wells” with perchlorate levels above the EPA advisory level.

You can reach this staff writer at ccottrell@theeagleonline.com.

from ABROAD on page 1

students studying abroad for the last five years, according to Moody.

Out of students who study abroad in the fall semester, an average of 10 request on-campus housing upon their return, he said. This is compared to an average of 150 students who live on-campus during the fall semester who cancel their spring housing in order to study abroad.

When students return from abroad, there is less desire to live on-campus because while abroad they experience a growth of independence, according to Moody.

Nevertheless, he said there is usually more on-campus housing available in the spring and that Housing and Dining should be able to fill demand.

“Any efforts to reduce the demand for fall housing will certainly help with high occupancy levels,” Moody said.

The shortage of on-campus housing has snowballed in the recent years. Earlier in the semester, Housing and Dining sent out and e-mail to students announcing a lottery system for upperclassmen to compete for 469 on-campus slots; 545 rising juniors and seniors applied for the spots, The Eagle previously reported.

Even as demand for on-campus housing increased, Moody said Housing and Dining has always guaranteed housing for students returning from abroad and that nothing has changed.

Student Government President Andy MacCracken said he was made aware of the trend during a set of discussions with Moody over housing policies in the late fall. While SG has not attempted to encourage more students to study abroad in the fall, MacCracken said he just scheduled a meeting with Director of AU Abroad Sarah Dumont to discuss the issue further.

“The benefits of really promoting that [studying abroad in the fall] I think are substantial, so we should definitely move towards that,” he said.

Academics One important incentive is a plan to allow students who study abroad in the fall to have priority registration. Students who would normally register during the middle of the cycle will be able to do so at the beginning, along with seniors, athletes and students with special needs.

School of Communication Academic Adviser Ashley Ackerley recently sent an e-mail to her students informing them of the incentives. She said in an interview with The Eagle that the priority registration will not hurt rising second-semester seniors who would be registering for classes at the same time as the students coming back from abroad.

“The classes that [the students coming back from abroad] are going to be registering for are not going to be the classes that the seniors are going to be registering for,” she said.

MacCracken, who will be a senior when the incentive is put into place, said it would be frustrating if the incentive changes the class registration process.

“I imagine we would be able to get around it, given our advising at AU,” he said. “But it’s definitely something to be aware of, and it’s worth more discussion.”

Students seem interested in the offer, according to Ackerley. She said of the 300 students she advises, roughly 30 have asked her about the offer.

Overall, Ackerley said there are no academic benefits to studying abroad in one semester over the other.

Merritt echoed Ackerley’s neutrality.

“Either semester, you’re looking at a great experience anywhere you go,” he said. “I guess it just depends on if you want the weather to be really nice when you get there at first, or you want the weather to get gradually nicer as you go on.”

You can reach this staff writer at thallerman@theeagleonline.com.

EDITORIAL

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

JOE WENNER n Editorial Page Editor EdPage@TheEagleOnline.com

JEN CALANTONE n Editor in Chief Editor@TheEagleOnline.com

The apartheid of sound and fury THE STONE TABLET

ISAAC STONE In case you haven’t seen the colorful posters hanging in Bender Library and Ward, the first week of March has apparently been designated as Israel Apartheid Week.

According to the Web site listed on the posters, this means a time for “[educating] people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns as part of a global BDS movement.”

Look, there’s nothing wrong with raising awareness for the Palestinians. The problem here is that doing so in the loudest, most controversial way possible does more harm than good.

I could go on about how Israel isn’t actually “apartheid,” and how throwing the term around like a political hackeysack is disrespectful towards those who suffered under the horrible South African regime.

I could talk about how Americans and Europeans routinely forget about how the wall between Israel and the West Bank helped stop the Second Intifada — a massively bloody uprising between 2000 and 2004. Americans may forget that there were stretches when one couldn’t go two days without reading about how someone assisted the uprising by blowing himself up in the middle of a public space in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

But none of that matters. Because that’s not what this “apartheid week” is really about.

While I’m sure that there are some people involved in this event who truly do care about the plight of the Palestinians, it’s hard to see how they’re going to be helped by this “BDS” campaign. We’ve seen this before, particularly after the 2008 strike on Gaza, when the most hardcore pro-Israel and Palestine groups take on parts in the longrunning soap opera of “Who’s The

Bigger Victim?” where self-promoting “intellectuals” seek to vilify a people who live thousands of miles away on behalf of another, more oppressed group.

If people are going to attempt to take on the voices of these oppressed, then they need to realize the moral qualms involved in representing human lives. As much as the worldwide media is obsessed with the extremists on both sides, Israelis and Palestinians can be just as critical of themselves as they are of each other. Peace is obviously in their best interest, and the majority of the people who actually live there undoubtedly want — and deserve — to live in a world free of air raids, rocket attacks and suicide bombings. And it’s unfortunate whenever the cause gets pushed back because someone with a megaphone decides to treat a complex struggle as if it’s the Super Bowl. The ultimate irony is that a movement against “apartheid” happens to contribute to the ongoing polarization between supporters of Israel and Palestine.

With that said, I do not condone many of Israel’s actions against the Palestinians. To be sure, I believed the Gaza War to have been conducted in the most destructive way imaginable, and I agree with President Barack Obama’s insistence on a settlement freeze. But it is unfair to ignore Hamas’ brainwashing, anti-Semitic television programming and use of human shields that harm the Palestinians just as much as anything Israel has done. What the planners of Israel Apartheid Week do not understand is that being pro-Palestine does not mean you have to be anti-Israel; security on both sides will ultimately lead to the long-sought peace. But if we are going to get serious about this, we must keep in mind the best interests of those who live there and deal with the struggle every day. Let’s talk, not scream.

Isaac Stone is a sophomore in the School of International Service and the College of Arts and Sciences and a liberal columnist for The Eagle. You can reach him at edpage@theeagleonline.com.

Gay blood ban: protest through participation VIEW FROM THE OUTSIDE MAGGIE CAMPBELL Charity is nothing more than an act of giving. The sense of selflessness and heroism we often seek can be achieved by a simple sacrifice; and despite everything we may have to offer, the truest gift is that of oneself.

According to recent information from America’s Blood Center, 4.5 million medical patients require blood transfusions in the United States and Canada each year, and 43,000 pints of donated blood are used each day. One in seven people admitted into a hospital will need blood, and one blood donation can save three lives. On Tuesday, Feb. 23, the College Democrats are teaming up with the College Republicans and EcoSense to host a blood drive through the American Red Cross. Each of us has something to give, and this altruistic deed, the gift of a blood donation, is one that can mean the difference between life and death.

Now, you and I both know that a good thing is never without drawbacks. In choosing to give blood, we risk discomfort, fear and weakness.

We risk having to give up a coveted afternoon nap to wait in a crowded line and eat a bag of pretzels. And, though we may not be aware of it, we risk supporting a controversial policy that with which many of us do not agree.

In 1985, the Food and Drug Administration enacted a policy banning gay men from donating blood through any United States organization, including the Red Cross. As a panicked response to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and perceived isolation of the HIV virus to the gay male community, the FDA made the only decision they felt they could. To this day, any man who has had sex with another man even once since 1977 is excluded from the blood donation process. This is a homophobic policy. Though it may have seemed sensible in 1985, there is no reason why the FDA should continue to uphold

this policy year after year. Medical testing has improved dramatically since the 1980s, and we are now able to test blood for HIV/AIDS in a matter of days. In fact, donated blood currently undergoes routine testing for 11 infectious diseases, including HIV. The FDA is allowing their judgment to be informed by worn out prejudices instead of reliable science.

The United States constantly battles a shortage of donated blood, and allowing queer, bisexual and gay men to give blood would greatly increase the blood supply.

Sadly, if you are a patient who has been in a car accident, had a Caesarean section or are suffering from an immune disease, you will not even be given the option to accept blood from a healthy donor with a matching blood type if he happens to have had sex with a man sometime in the last 30 years. You may be out of luck.

The truth is, this policy is regrettable and–dare I say–offensive.

But that doesn’t change the fact that thousands of Americans need blood every day or that we can make a tiny sacrifice and maybe save a life. I ask you to please sign up for the drive and give blood on Tuesday, not in silent agreement with the gay blood ban, but in solemn protest. If you have an openly gay friend or family member who would be willing to give blood and is denied that right, go in his place.

Prejudice and fear are no excuse for the loss of lives. You have the power to effect change — don’t waste it.

Please visit https://membersforlife.org/rccm/bdc/login.php, click “Donors Login Here” and enter sponsor code 13205 to schedule your life-saving donation. The drive will take place in the McDowell Formal Lounge from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 23.

Maggie Campbell is the Director of AU Dems for LGBT rights.

Responses can be directed to edpage@theeagleonline.com

Courtesy of MCT CAMPUS

Needless prioritizing

To even the number of students studying abroad between semesters, priority course registration will be offered to those who choose the fall. This could cause more problems.

AU now has one more housing problem to worry about. Recent developments with study abroad — one of AU’s hallmarks as a university — threaten to cause more headaches for Housing and Dining. And like many housing problems in the past, the proposed solution seems to disenfranchise a significant portion of AU students.

Over the past year, 84 more students chose to study overseas in the spring rather than the fall. Seemingly inconsequential, this discrepancy creates a problem for Housing and Dining, who must then provide accommodations for students for a sole semester. In an effort to correct this occurrence, AU Abroad has chosen

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Senator resolves to get SG on track In the past few months, Student Government has produced a number of great successes that promote the interest of students. Recently, however, I have been forced to question what the true mission of the SG is; to engage in constant parliamentary wrangling and, in many cases, a failure of stated goals, or to promote the interest and welfare of American University students. Sadly the latter has not been the case. Senate sessions have been spent discussing various motions and how to debate a bill, rather than debating the issues. This is absolutely unacceptable.

This week I have observed comments on the SG’s work in both the public and on the Eagle’s article comments section. It is abundantly apparent to me that students do not approve of the job that their SG is doing.

Students have the absolute right to be upset over the problems with the Founders Day ball. This is an AU tradition that should have occurred on its scheduled date. While it is true that

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to incorporate a number of incentives to encourage students to travel in autumn, such as priority course registration and continuing guaranteed housing upon their return in the spring. While this is sure to make headway into correcting the disparity, it unfairly penalizes the AU students still within U.S. borders.

The Eagle does not believe study abroad warrants priority registration. Traditionally, this privilege has been reserved for those students with extensive university scheduling needs — think RAs and varsity athletes — in addition to those with certain disabilities. In essence, it had been for those who demonstrated a true need for their priority.

Students who study abroad have no such necessity.

While it is admirable that many students choose to forgo a semester at AU in favor of experiencing new cultures, this is no reason for them to by-pass hundreds of seniors and juniors needing specific classes to graduate. As a result, this priority registration potentially punishes students who choose not to study abroad, many of whom do so because of financial or career reasons.

Some may be skeptical that adding those studying abroad in the fall to priority registration would cause such turmoil amongst upperclassmen scheduling classes. Yet it is important to realize that this

would mean that an additional 300 to 400 students could register before even the most advanced senior. For some, that could be the difference between graduating early and staying an extra semester to fulfill one graduation requirement.

Certainly, the study abroad disparity between semesters is an understandable nuisance that should be rectified. Still, a solution that marginalizes the majority of the student body is hardly an adequate answer.

AU Abroad and Housing and Dining must reconvene to structure new incentives. Providing unnecessary priority registration is not an acceptable option.

Washington, D.C., was essentially shut down during the “Snowpocalypse,” this event was to take place many days after classes and business resumed.

Putting the snow aside, not having a venue contracted well in advance of the planned date is reckless and negligent. I do not buy the excuse of snow, and ask that those in charge of planning this event take responsibility and do everything in their power to ensure that the event is held soon and not put off indefinitely.

I’ve had enough of the Student Government taking itself too seriously and not doing its job. Elections for executive positions are quickly approaching and information can be found at ausg. org. For those unhappy with our SG’s work please come out to our information session. Fresh faces and students’ voting is the only way to bring positive change. This is your student government, it’s time to get involved and help put us back on the right track.

analysis, the Army Corps of Engineers has concluded that perchlorate in AU’s groundwater is decreasing in magnitude based upon extremely limited data with too many variables at play.

Even a fifth-grader would know better than to cite it as sound science.

Perchlorate, a chemical that affects the thyroid as well as child development, was noted most recently at an excess of 50 ppb at a monitoring well by the Kreeger building (the EPA water health advisory is 15 ppb).

The Army’s most recent perchlorate sampling with lower numbers comes from tests conducted in November under far different conditions than all previous sampling which had been done in the spring and summer. In their conclusions, the Army neglects to consider soil density and rainwater differences in seasons, and uses, for comparison to the November data, summer sampling more than two years old. They disregard that in the past, perchlorate levels from well water samples have been erratic in nature, ranging from 23 ppb to 124 ppb at the same well. Most troublesome, they fail to account for why some wells actually recently registered an increase in perchlorate levels.

Just as in 1986, when the Army said there was no conclusive evidence of buried munitions, and in 1994 when, after discovering munitions, they declared that no further investigation was needed, and in 2003 when the Army Corps project manager said the entire cleanup would be finished by that summer, the Corps continues to be beleaguered with conclusions as bad as WMATA’s safety determinations.

In convincing itself that the perchlorate plume under AU’s campus is conclusively shrinking, the Army has done the ‘Potomac two-step’ and it is the AU community that will pay. The perchlorate plume, munitions under the Public Safety Building and other chemical debris sites will continue to elude the Army and plague generations of AU students to come if the Army continues to make hasty and conveniently-drawn conclusions. We can only hope that the Army and the Department of Defense will be held to a higher standard than those who constructed the canopy outside MGC.

Seth Rosenstein Senator for the Class of 2012, SPA Perchlorate cause for concern In defiance of sound statistical

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the EAGLE

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

news 4

Profs try online video classes Feds, energy

By NANCY LAVIN Eagle Contributing Writer As the historic snowstorms of February 2010 blanketed D.C. with over 30 inches of snow, canceling classes for nearly a week, some professors turned to the Internet to continue classes.

Wimba, a new video chat feature available to AU professors, elicited mixed feelings from students and teachers.

Eleven teachers used Wimba to conduct online class, according to the Center for Teaching, Research & Learning, which introduced and monitors the use of Wimba. The real-time meeting software, which AU began using in November 2009, allows teachers and students to talk by means of webcams, instant messaging and file sharing.

Many teachers said they appreciated the ability to keep up with their syllabus as a result of the new virtual classroom software.

Lilian Baeza-Mendoza, who teaches a 300-level class in Spanish composition and conversation, noted the convenience of the on-

line classroom.

“Students can participate and learn in class while working in their pajamas,” Baeza-Mendoza said.

Baeza-Mendoza also said that “valuable group discussions” were not nearly as effective online as in

“Students can participate and learn in class while working in their pajamas.” the traditional classroom setting.

An online seminar, or “webinar,” on using Wimba was held on Feb. 11, the day after the Feb. 10 blizzard. In response to the storm, 35 teachers signed up and attended with just two hours of notice.

“This is the type of participation

we love to see,” Center for Teaching, Research & Learning Manager Jim McCabe said regarding the increased interest in Wimba.

Many students had positive experiences with their online classes as well.

“I liked that we didn’t miss an entire class period because of the weather conditions,” said Alexis Nadin, a senior in the School of Public Affairs and the School of International Service, of her Social Entrepreneurship class.

Nadin also said her block class, which usually lasts over two hours, was reduced to a 40-minute lecture via Wimba. Nadin gladly welcomed the condensed class time, she said.

Other students felt that online learning was ineffective in conveying the material and found it difficult to concentrate with the amount of distractions in the dorms.

“It was not nearly as good as a real classroom setting,” said Dan Kelly, a freshman in SIS. “There was far less discussion, and far more opportunity for distraction.”

Sydney Teglia, a freshman in

the College of Arts and Sciences, was also skeptical of the online learning.

“It was much more difficult to ask needed questions through the Wimba program,” Teglia said of her calculus class.

Discussion-based classes were far less successful than lecturestyle classes, according to some students.

“The purpose of the course is to develop conversational skills, which was not facilitated well by the online class,” Corrine Abolafia, a freshman in CAS, said of her Spanish class.

Baeza-Mendoza and some other teachers would like to use Wimba again.

“I’m sure several professors are already thinking of ideas to try during our next storm,” said Baeza-Mendoza.

The Center for Teaching, Research & Learning expects high attendance for future Wimba webinars.

You can reach this writer at news@ theeagleonline.com.

Students slosh through commute

By MEG FOWLER Eagle Staff Writer After the series of historic snowstorms earlier this month, AU students who live off campus struggled to commute to campus in a timely fashion for the startup of classes when snow and slush still filled the streets of D.C. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty lifted the District’s Snow Emergency status on the morning of Feb. 8, but last week Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., requested federal emergency funds for the city for its expenditures on snow removal.

The storms left slush, ice patches and snow mounds that are either still piled on sidewalks and roads or have become massive puddles, according to Prema William, a senior in the Kogod School of Business who lives off campus.

William said it usually takes 15 minutes to walk to campus from her apartment on the corner of New Mexico Avenue and Cathedral Avenue. On the first day back to classes after this month’s snowstorms, the walk took 30 minutes.

“There’s a huge chunk of sidewalk that is blocked on New Mexico Avenue so you have to walk on

n

from FOUNDERS’ on page 1

more pointed in nature.

Class of 2010 Senator Steve Dalton cited his own research into the pavilion’s scheduling practices as a reason why Martin and Prescott should have secured the venue earlier.

When a senator asked Prescott why he did not advertise for the event prior to the snowstorm, Prescott said he was following university policy that groups cannot advertise for events before contracts are finalized.

Martin, who took the stand after Prescott, said her biggest problem throughout the planning process was a lack of communication between her and the pavilion.

A senator asked Martin why she didn’t send members of the senate an e-mail informing them of the contractual issues she was experiencing. She said she needed the approval of Student Activities before she could notify the Senate.

“Student Activities is the one who signs the contracts for us,

the road,” William said in an email. “There have been a couple of times where a car has driven close enough to me that if I had slipped I would’ve probably gotten run over.”

Snow is still in the streets because “it’s got nowhere to go,” according to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty.

“It’s not going to be gone until the temperature is high enough for it to melt ... We’ll move as much of it out of the way as is humanly possible.” Fenty said in a Feb. 18 interview for WRC/NBC4. “But getting it down to the point where there is no snow in the street, whatsoever, is also going to take some cooperation from Mother Nature.”

As of Feb. 18, the total estimate cost that Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority incurred in the snowstorms was $18 million. That total includes $8 million for snow removal and $9.7 million revenue loss from when the Metrorail service was limited to underground stations and from the loss of fees for unusable parking spots, according to a WMATA statement.

“Metro is currently working with the Commonwealth of Virginia, District of Columbia and the

and unfortunately that means I have to report to them before [the Senate],” Martin said.

Overall, Prescott said as time goes by from the day he announced the postponement, more senators are vocalizing their support for him. Yet some meetings with members of the student body took a different tone.

“People are angry, and rightfully so, that the event didn’t happen this weekend, and that’s usually how I’ve been approached, is with a sense of confusion and anger,” Prescott said.

“I don’t think they’re aware of the planning process, and I’ve been able to answer their questions, which has cleared up a lot of things for them and I think students are just most concerned that the event actually happens.”

You can reach this staff writer at thallerman@theeagleonline. com.

State of Maryland to submit costs to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for potential reimbursement associated with the snow storms,” Metro’s Chief Financial Officer Carol Kissal said in the statement.

“There’s a huge chunk of sidewalk that is blocked on New Mexico Avenue so you have to walk on the road.”

– Prema William

In a tweet on Feb. 10, Norton, who does not have a vote in Congress, said she is “Seeking Federal Funds for D.C. Region and Metro Snow Emergencies.”

Norton sent a letter Feb. 18 to the Federal Emergency Management Agency asking for assistance for WMATA to ameliorate the cost of snow damage and cleanup.

“The recent snowstorms that struck the National Capital Region this month have taken a large physical and financial toll on the region,” Norton wrote in the letter to FEMA. “It is my understanding that the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia are preparing to request declarations,” Norton wrote.

In the past, Norton has been successful in securing federal funds for unique D.C. needs, including for demonstrations, the inauguration and security measures, according to a note on her Facebook page.

Merissa McCaw, a junior in the School of International Service, who lives in an apartment across the street from the Woodley ParkZoo/Adams Morgan Metro stop, said that her usual commute time doubled as a result of the snow.

“On the worst day, it took me 75 minutes to go from Woodley Park to American,” McCaw said in an email. “I’m from Maine so this kind of snow is standard … I’ve seen D.C. freak out when it snows so I knew what the deal was going to be.”

You can reach this staff writer at mfowler@theeagleonline.com.

co. dispute SOC report Clean energy money may go abroad

By KIEN BUI Eagle Contributing Writer The American Wind Energy Association and the Department of Energy called a report written in the School of Communication’s Investigative Reporting Workshop false.

The Feb. 8 report was part of the “Blown Away: America’s billions for clean-energy jobs are flying overseas” series by the Workshop, that said that President Barack Obama’s stimulus package did not generate green jobs in the United States and instead sent money overseas.

Of the $2.1 billion allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to green energy plants, $1.7 billion, or 79 percent, has gone to foreign-owned companies, according to the report.

The American Wind Energy Association released a statement on Feb. 11 that listed direct excerpts from the investigation and stated that they were wrong.

“ABC/AU: ‘The study found that nearly 80 percent of that money has gone to foreign manufacturers of wind turbines,’” the AWEA said in the statement, quoting the Investigative Reporting Workshop study. “Fact: 100 [percent] of the Recovery Act money goes to wind projects built in the United States.”

The investigation “could not be further from the truth,” according to the AWEA. Matt Rogers, a senior adviser to the Energy Department, also challenged the investigation’s data was incorrect.

“Every dollar from the Recovery Act is going to create jobs for American workers here in the United States,” Rogers said in an interview with ABC News, which coordinates with the Workshop in the investigation.

Russ Choma, a journalist at the Workshop, said that there are examples that support the investigation’s claim that jobs from the stimulus package are going overseas. One is the Chinese company A-power, which would receive $450 million in stimulus money to help build a $1.5 billion Texas wind farm using Chinese turbines.

“The deal would create dozens of jobs in the [United States] and thousands in China,” Choma said.

There are no provisions on the number of jobs that must be created in order for a company to receive the green stimulus money, he said.

“If you have a green energy plant completed, you can ask for 30 percent of the investment from the government,” Choma said.

Citing an economic model created by the Renewable Energy Policy Project, Choma said that about 6,000 jobs have been created overseas, while a few hundred jobs were created in the United States.

Among 20 wind farm projects completed in the United States, 1,800 turbines were built — 1,200 from overseas and 600 domestic, according to Choma.

Also, some of those wind farm projects were completed even before the stimulus package was passed, which means that they received the stimulus money without creating jobs, he said.

Choma said the Obama administration is changing its policy.

The administration announced that it would give out $2.3 billion in tax credits for both domestic and foreign manufacturers, based on how many jobs would be created in the United States. Another $5 billion would be given out as soon as Congress approves the request, Choma said.

Larry Sawers, an AU professor of economics, said that the investigation shows that the United States is behind in participation in the market for green energy. “[The investigation] just shows how terrible we are in getting into green evolution, and we are behind the curve,” Sawers said.

You can reach this staff writer at news@theeagleonline.com.

Gender gap closing in colleges

By HELEN KILLEEN Eagle Contributing Writer The gender ratio at colleges and universities appears to be stabilizing after a decade of expansion in the gender gap with more women attending college than men, according to a Jan. 26 report from the American Council on Education.

However, the implications of lasting gender imbalances on America’s college campuses are still having an effect on where men and women choose to apply to school, according to USA Today.

From the summer of 2008 through the spring of 2009, AU’s student population was comprised of 6,046 students, 62 percent of whom are women.

Women dominate four of the five major undergraduate schools, according to the 2009 Academic Data Reference Book. The School of Public Affairs has a slight female

majority with about 100 more women than men. The School of International Service, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Communication all have nearly twice as many women as men.

The only school that has a slim male majority is the Kogod School of Business.

Although AU’s population has a female majority, it is not the only university with the same unbalanced ratio.

Universities and colleges around the country are experiencing the same phenomenon because women make up the majority of college applicants, according to the ACE. Kate Peters, a freshman in SIS, said that she does not notice the relative absence of men when she is walking around campus, but in her Spanish class there are only two men in a group of about 25.

Despite the imbalance in class, Peters has not had much trouble finding male friends, she said.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

KELSEY DICKEY / THE EAGLE

Chinese New Year came to a close after a week of celebration Sunday afternoon. Those who celebrated this important part of Chinese culture watched a Chinese Dragon Dance, with firecrackers included, and they honored the event by parading down H Street.

The issue of affirmative action is shifting to include the new minority of men, according to Richard Whitmire, a former editorial writer for USA Today, who wrote a book titled “Why Boys Fail.”

However, it has not yet been established that men are actively held down by the educational system, or if their failure relative to women is due to other factors.

In an interview with USA Today, Whitmire said that boys are struggling to adapt to the new emphasis of verbal skills in primary school, consequently impacting their chances at a college education.

Haven Bradley, a freshman in CAS, said that the K-12 educational system does not cater to boys as much as it does to girls.

“The classroom is a lot of sitting around and being lectured at while boys want to get up and go,” Bradley said.

Another viewpoint suggests that

the desire to escape the classroom is not confined by gender, and men need to start living up to the same standards as women.

Julie Burian, a sophomore in SOC, said her Advanced Placement Psychology class in high school was comprised entirely of girls.

“It’s bullshit that men are having an easier time applying to colleges,” Burian said. “Men don’t work as hard as girls do, and girls are natural overachievers. Guys just don’t care as much as girls.”

Next month, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment is slated to release the 2010 Academic Data Reference Book, which provides the statistics of the student population at AU for the summer and fall of 2009 through spring of 2010.

You can reach this writer at news@theeagleonline.com.

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

THE EAGLE'S ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT SECTION

ANDREW COOPER / PARAMOUNT PICTURES

SHUTTER ME TIMBERS — In famed director Martin Scorsese’s latest film “Shutter Island,” Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a U.S. Marshal given the task to find a missing patient from a maximum-security mental institution for the criminally insane. The film leaves viewers without any idea as to where the film is going, keeping the suspense throughout the entire film with dark music and even darker plot.

DiCaprio, Scorsese join for another hit

By BRYAN KOENIG Eagle Staff Writer

SHUTTER ISLAND

A-

The music pounds like a jackhammer and the plot has all the subtlety of a dark and stormy night.

Yet “Shutter Island” seems perfect, at least in what it sets out to do, though you’re never entirely certain. Even after the credits roll, there remains no certainty and only the slightest inclination of what was

real and what was not.

Such is the power of this exceptionally effective psychological thriller that, even at the end and after much reflection, the truth still remains an illusion, leaving viewers to know only that they know nothing. Director Martin Scorsese has woven a tale that is over the top and seemingly predictable but, in truth, is an elaborate setup of deception, misdirection and madness. Everything about the plot — the haunting, over-the-top musical score, highly deliberate choreography and the great cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio — is employed to one

end, one the audience doesn’t become fully aware of until well into the third act. The movie’s apparent sole aim is to mess with our heads, and “Shutter Island” is a doozy of a mind bender.

DiCaprio plays U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels, who is sent to a maximum-security mental institution for the criminally insane on Shutter Island to find a missing inmate. Immediately, we know that this is like no mental hospital we’ve ever seen, a place that becomes darker and more sinister with each progressive scene. Soon, a storm hits, trapping Daniels and his partner Chuck Aule

(Mark Ruffalo) on the island with its inmates and staff, all of who remain elusive wraiths never to be nailed down or categorized.

Between the storm and the music that alternatively pulses through the screen and fades to maddening quiet, we know the film is trying to build moody atmosphere. The audience spends so much time investing itself in the way they think the film works that they ultimately buy the illusion so completely that, as the plot turns, the after image stays deeply ingrained in our psyche.

The forward momentum of the film is captivating and mystifying,

building suspense and weaving the illusion until the climax. But there never really is a true climax to the film, and almost no falling action.

Instead, the film builds the audience to a precipice and achingly drags them along the edge for the final 20 minutes. It is in those last minutes that a movie that had been loud and over the top reveals its true colors as a deliberate and impossibly effective deception, one that inches along at a pace that leaves the audience uncomfortable in their own skin, unable to look away and totally baffled by what is developing on screen.

Most movies have multiple qual-

ities; “Shutter Island” uses multiple elements to achieve a single goal.

As a mind bender, this technique is exceptional and haunting. As everything else, it can seem nonsensical and abrupt, yet every piece builds on that central puzzle of digging into the audience’s brain inch by inch. As the lights come back on, the audience realizes that in the dark of the theater, they have been lobotomized.

You can reach this staff writer at bkoenig@theeagleonline.com.

Artists hope for Twins cause double-take in D.C. 2010 comebacks

By CLAUDIA NUÑEZ

Eagle Contributing Writer

D.C. felt the presence of Tegan and Sara at the Warner Theatre this past Wednesday. The twins from Canada brought their A-game to the District playing a set list of over 20 songs — most off of their new record “Sainthood” released last October — and bringing back fan favorites from over their last 10 years of making music.

The set opened with “The Ocean,” where the vocals were less than stellar. They were quickly able to set the right tone for the rest of the hour and a half, which was

filled with energy and passion from not only the musicians on stage, but also the crowd.

Known for their on-stage banter, Tegan and Sara did not fail to amuse the crowd with their charm, recalling their past experiences touring in Washington, D.C., sightseeing and joking about “stopping by to have tea with Obama.” Recognizing the awkwardness of playing a rock show at a seated venue, after a few songs Sara asked the crowd “if they’re not too tired from shoveling so much snow” to stand up for a little while. From that point on, even after asking the crowd if they wanted to sit down again, the crowd stood up.

Although they are not an outright political band, they joked about how maybe the crowd “felt like someone from the government should come and shovel your snow, but be careful, ‘cause it’s gonna be a socialist country, because all of a sudden they’re going to wanna take your snow and sell it and use it to make a blanket to someone who doesn’t deserve it,” Sara said jokingly.

When one goes to see a band with such a large discography like Tegan and Sara’s (six records over a period of 10 years) it is easy to feel like certain songs and albums are not recognized. This was clearly not the case, as the band played songs

from almost all of their releases, including “Walking with a Ghost” and “Where Does the Good Go.” They also played songs that they may have felt deserved more recognition, including updated renditions of “Monday, Monday, Monday” and “My Number.” During the encore, they also played “Feel it in My Bones,” a song they collaborated on acoustically with techno powerhouse Tiësto.

Throughout the night, the band showed how versatile their sound is by playing on keyboards during “Alligator” and “Night Watch,” performing acoustic versions of songs like “Back in Your Head” and n

see TEGAN AND SARA on page 6

By MICHAEL W. RICHARDSON Eagle Staff Writer Great musicians aren’t supposed to go out in a blaze of transcendent glory. Bands and singers who break up or disappear at the peak of their careers when they can apparently go nowhere but up break the natural progression of musical careers.

We expect to become disillusioned by our heroes — to be able to say that we loved them once before they fell back to our level.

Failure and embarrassment hunt these music icons. Bob Dylan is singing Christmas tunes; Paul McCartney got it out of his system early with Wings; The Who, the men who dared to sing “hope I die before I get old,” slummed through a lackadaisical Super Bowl halftime with half their original members and even less vigor.

This might explain the cringe we get when we hear about big comeback tours or albums. These n

see COMEBACK on page 7

Keep chills out, heat in with ‘Snowpocalypse Chili’ Slow-cooked favorites make versatile dishes CHEF’S SECRETS

WILL KOPER Spring may seem like it’s just around the corner, but until then I suspect we have more than a few cold winter nights ahead of us. So here are a few of my favorite stews and braises — simple comfort foods to enjoy with a good bottle of wine while you listen to the cold wind rattle your windows.

Stewing and braising generally have three components: meat, vegetables and liquid. The cooking process is done in three steps: sear, sweat and simmer.

Searing means getting the pan and oil good and hot, and browning the hell out of whatever meat you’re cooking. The browner, the

better. The browning, known to cooking nerds as the Maillard reaction, is caused by proteins bonding with carbohydrates to create deliciousness. To achieve this effect, make sure the pan and the oil are good and hot and make sure to leave plenty of space between the pieces of meat.

If you’ve properly browned the meat, you will have bits of meaty goodness stuck to the bottom of the pan. In the sweating stage, you will add the vegetables, and their moisture will help you scrape up the goodness, also known as the fond. At the end of this stage, it helps to add a bit of liquid to help scrape up the last little bits.

And now it’s time to simmer.

The whole point of braising is to turn a tough cut of meat tender.

The key to accomplishing this is to cook it slow and low. If you’re cooking in an oven-safe pot like a Dutch oven, you can put it in a 300 degree oven and forget about it for a couple of hours. If not, you can do the same thing on the stovetop. Just make sure that it doesn’t boil or the meat will only get tougher. You want to keep small bubbles going at all times.

So now that we’ve got the theory, it’s time to put it into practice.

Classic Beef Stew 2 pounds of top round or chuck steak cut into large chunks 1 small onion, roughly chopped 3 ribs of celery, roughly chopped 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 cup red wine 2 bay leaves 1-2 pints of beef stock or broth 2 tablespoons vegetable oil Salt and pepper 2 teaspoons of cornstarch

You can reach this columnist at thescene@theeagleonline.com.

1 Season the roast with salt and

1 Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven.

2 Season the meat with salt and pepper and brown it. Work in batches if necessary.

3 Remove the meat and add the vegetables, garlic and some salt and pepper. Cook for five to 10 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften.

4 Add the red wine and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan 5 Put the meat back into the pot along with any juices that have accumulated, and add enough beef stock to just cover the vegetables.

6 Simmer the stew until the meat falls apart easily.

7 Strain the liquid and put back into the pot over high heat.

8 Dissolve the cornstarch in a little bit of water and add it to the cooking liquid.

9 Boil the liquid until it thickens, then add the meat and vegetables back to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

10 Serve or refrigerate. It will be good now, but even better the next day.

WILL KOPER / THE EAGLE

CHILI NIGHTS — Slow-cooking can turn even the toughest cut of meat into melt-in-your-mouth dishes and warm you up on cold, snowy nights.

Snowpocalypse Chili

Cuban-style Braised Pork Shoulder 3-4 pounds pork shoulder 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 small onion, sliced thin 4-5 cloves garlic, sliced 1 cup mojo criollo (look for it in the ethnic foods section) 1/2 cup lime juice 1 cup chicken stock or broth Salt and pepper pepper.

2 Sear it over high heat, turning it until it’s browned on all sides.

3 Add the onions and garlic and cook for five to 10 minutes.

4 Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the pork falls apart easily.

5 Serve or refrigerate. It’s great with rice and beans, for use in tacos or on bread with some ham and melted Swiss cheese over it.

1 pound ground beef 1 pound dried kidney beans 1 large onion 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 teaspoon garlic powder* 1 teaspoon chili powder* 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard* 1 teaspoon onion powder* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper* 1/4 cup tomato paste Salt and pepper *Note: spices are rough estimates — be prepared to taste and adjust.

1 Soak the beans overnight in a halfgallon of water.

2 Brown the beef along with salt, pepper and spices over high heat. Cook it until all the moisture has evaporated.

3 Add the onions and cook them until they start to soften.

4 Add the tomato paste, the kidney beans and the water you soaked them in.

5 Simmer until the beans are tender.

6 If the chili is soupy, boil it until the sauce reduces.

7 Eat it until the Metro runs again.

the EAGLE

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

the scene 6

Band return to ‘Used’ formula Writer’s block Screamo 9:30 show raises hell

By YOHANA DESTA Eagle Staff Writer Screamo would like you to know that it is still very much alive. Last Wednesday, hardcore alt-rock bands Drive A, Atreyu and The Used performed at the 9:30 club for hundreds of angry teens who came for blood.

After spending a year working on their fourth album, The Used have finally released the esoterically titled “Artwork.” Nine years into a career that was equal parts hardcore and sensitive indie rock, the band is going back to their roots to inspire the fans that loved them since the beginning. Since starting their band, the members have gone gold and platinum in many countries, selling millions of records worldwide and spreading their unique blend of punk and emo rock.

Though they made their past albums with producer John Feldmann, the band went in a new direction and chose to work with Matt Squire, famous for having worked with bands like Panic at the Disco and Boys Like Girls.

Even though it’s more mainstream than Used fans are accustomed to, the album still packs a punch because the boys got more breathing room.

“Squire was great with melody and even though he does do a lot of pop, we were really picky about how it sounded,” Quinn Allman, guitarist for The Used, said. “We didn’t want to be pop — we wanted to be gross.”

As far as favorites of the band, “Blood on My Hands” is a number that they all love, especially Quinn, as he was responsible for most of its development. But it all comes down to lead singer Bert McCracken’s sweetheart lyrics. In part, they are the reason that The Used have had such widespread appeal, and not just to fans of angry slam rock. But it’s certain that the band is going for a more honest approach this time around.

“We wanted the album to have

a collective idea, so we decided to deal with hate,” Quinn said. “It was about conceptualizing your own immortality and realizing how much you can hate yourself and still be okay. We were just inspired by danger, drugs and death.”

The band has toured the United States for the past couple months, with punk band Drive A opening for them at multiple venues. And they made sure to bring their energy to 9:30 club.

Drive A opened, looking like emo little brothers of The Ramones. Clad in skinny jeans and leather coats, Drive A were emo punk personified. Lead singer Bruno Mascolo gripped the mic and screamed at the audience, flipping his blonde mohawk around. During each song, all of the members spat onstage and thrashed around. At one point, the crowd wasn’t quite as wild as Mascolo liked, so he jumped from the stage, crowd surfed, then proceeded to create a mosh pit, shoving everyone in his sight while still trying to sing into the microphone. It was a punk performance through and through, but was only a precursor for what was to come.

For a band based in Orange County, Calif., Atreyu are one of the grittiest metalcore bands around. Active since 1998, they have developed an intense following. Once they hit the stage, the audience went from docile kids to mosh pit monsters — boys ripping off their shirts and girls spinning around, shoving each other as hard as possible.

Atreyu sang songs like “Lonely,” “Falling Down,” “Lip Gloss and Black” and songs from their latest album, “Congregation of the Damned.” Guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel had amazing chemistry onstage, playing their guitars behind their backs for their head-banging fans. But even their hell-raising performance couldn’t compare to the main attraction, The Used.

“D.C., how the fuck are you?” lead singer Bert McCracken yelled at the audience. Looking around, he spat on the front row as the band launched into their first song, “Blood On My Hands.”

McCracken’s voice was low and frightening, building up to the parts where he simply screamed into the mic. There were kids

not easily solved by song covers

ON THE RECORD

I mean, who would argue that Hendrix’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower” isn’t a masterpiece?

Let’s outline a few simple rules about covers:

1 Artists who are already terrible will

RYAN TANNER-READ

Photo by PAUL BROWN

RAIN OR SHINE — The Used played a raucous show at 9:30 club last Wednesday for hundreds of screaming fans. Punk band Drive A and metalcore group Atreyu opened the show, getting the crowd amped up for a night filled with moshpits, crowd surfing and spitting. crowd-surfing all over the ground floor, while other people moshed around.

“We’re The-fucking-Used — and if you don’t have our new album ... go steal it from WalMart,” McCracken shouted to the crowd. The band sang songs like “Blue and Yellow,” and the romantic “I Caught Fire,” dripping with McCracken’s sickeningly sweet lyrics coupled with wicked guitar solos. At one point McCracken sent security guards into the crowd to get as many teenage girls in the audience to come onstage and dance around

to the music. The way The Used interacted with the crowd made the concert that much more memorable. For their final song, McCracken ordered the crowd to split into two sides.

“This is our last song and when the music starts, you’re gonna run at each other like animals!” McCracken yelled. Pandemonium ensued, ending the night with a bang.

You can reach this staff writer at ydesta@theeagleonline.com.

Covers are a huge part of popular music. Can’t think of a new song?

Need some way to suggest that your band is as good as Dylan? Why not just borrow one of his songs?

Covers have become such a venerable practice that it’s not uncommon for artists to release entire albums made up only of covers. Even bands like Poison have been accorded this sort of recording industry honor, which presupposes two things: 1) Poison need another album even if the band can’t write a new song and, more importantly, 2) Bret Michaels and company have enough taste in music to choose an album full of songs to play.

Choosing a song to cover is a difficult thing to do. It requires balancing a number of important factors.

At the most basic level, the song must be good enough to stand on its own, but a band must be able to put an interesting enough spin on it to make it their own.

Yet, you can take making a song your own a little too far. There are limits to which kinds of songs your band may cover. These are tantamount to moral limits. Go listen to Celine Dion’s cover of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” right now.

There is no better way to encapsulate the stakes here.

Choose the right song to cover and you can even make your listeners forget that you didn’t write it. Choose the wrong song and you’ll just leave them scratching their heads.

Unfortunately, these decisions must also often be left to record executives. How else does one explain that Hilary Duff was once allowed to cover “My Generation?” Just think about that for a moment. Let it sink in: “My Generation.” Hilary Duff.

Sometimes, the choice to cover a particular song can lead to greatness.

not be made great by covering great songs. (When Poison covers “Suffragette City,” they somehow manage to debase both Bowie and Poison simultaneously.)

2 Covering a song note-for-note is not interesting. (No Doubt’s cover of Talk Talk’s “It’s My Life,” for example, just leaves you wondering why you aren’t listening to the original.)

3 Ironic covers only work if the artist respects the source material. (Go listen to Jonathan Coulton’s cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” for a hilarious affirmation of this point.)

4 Cover a song too far outside your oeuvre and you’ll lose your audience.

(In 1995, the Meat Puppets promoted their breakout alt-rock album, “Too High To Die,” with a cover of Marty Robbins’ 1957 song, “A White Sport Coat.” No wonder sales of the album were slack.)

A carefully chosen cover can make or break an artist. The right song can send your obscure band rocketing to stardom and the wrong song can banish you forever to the bargain bin to be ridiculed.

Then again, I suppose that is not unlike any song. The politics of choosing a cover song just seem more apparent because you didn’t write it.

However, covers can never really be the bread and butter of a great band. All our Rock Band and Guitar Hero fantasies aside, you will never get famous as the world’s greatest cover band. Still, covers are a venerable institution and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. As long as artists have the option for the cover as the quick fix to flagging creativity or an homage to their favorite influences, they’re going to keep using it. Let’s just hope they use this great power wisely.

You can reach this columnist at thescene@theeagleonline.com.

Indie pop pair resurrect old material for eager fans n

from TEGAN AND SARA on page 5

being able to rock out with songs like “Speak Slow” and their last single “Hell.” The current band members alongside Tegan and Sara are very comfortable on stage with each other and able to cover slip ups. During “The Con,” when Tegan accidentally added an extra measure, the band was able to keep everything in order so well that after the song she remarked that they were her “avatar.”

The crowd was ready to have their socks rocked, something Tegan and Sara quickly realized.

They asked everyone in the crowd

if they each drank a keg of beer before the show, to which the crowd hollered back. However, it was clear that Tegan and Sara knew how to handle their audience, at points letting the crowd “give it to them” and telling them to channel all this energy into singing classics from their fifth record, “Call it Off ” and “Nineteen” — songs that became highlights of the night.

Overall, Tegan and Sara did not disappoint those who came out Wednesday night. They were able to channel all the insane amount of energy from the crowd

into an amazing performance and left Washington, D.C., craving for more.

You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.

Courtesy of TEGAN AND SARA

SIBLING RIVALRY — Tegan and Sara took to the stage for crowd-pleasing show at the Warner Theatre last Wednesday. The sisters explored much of their new material while belting out some classic tunes for their fans’ benefit, who paid them back with high energy.

STUDENT N I G H T CHARACTER

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Warhol exhibit displays artist’s forgotten work

By CHLOË TROIA Eagle Contributing Writer Whether you like him or not, you have probably heard of pop art artist Andy Warhol.

A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol created paintings, films and silkscreen prints. When most people think of Warhol, they think of his famous “Campbell’s Soup Cans,” his bright yellow banana painting or fluorescent silk screens of Marilyn Monroe. However, a trip to George Washington University’s Luther W. Brady Art Gallery reveals a new side of the notorious socialite.

The exhibit, “Warhol: Photographs from the GW Permanent Collection,” features Polaroid and black and white photographs by Warhol. Many of the pieces were not Warhol’s final images. According to the president of the Andy Warhol Foundation Joel Wachs, the exhibit consists of an “important yet relatively unknown body of Andy Warhol’s work.” Most of the pieces came as a gift to GW from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The university received his works as part of the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program, which aims to introduce Warhol to young people. The curators of the gallery emphasized that this exhibit is unique because it demonstrates the depth of his work, his process of creation and the notion that he was not just a silkscreen artist.

Among some of the most recognizable faces in the pieces are Edward Kennedy, Tara Tyson, Mary Martin and Truman Capote. The photograph of Kennedy, a small but interesting Polaroid, was a step in Warhol’s process of creating a campaign poster for Kennedy in the late ‘70s. Warhol was intrigued with politicians, especially the glamorous, idolized Kennedys. One curator confessed that Warhol was obsessed with celebrities and popularized the quote, “In the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes.”

n

from COMEBACK on page 5

artists didn’t do the hard, sad work.

They didn’t stick around and ride the downward slope. These bands broke up and left no tail end to their work; it’s a clean break. And the comeback tour threatens that.

Then again, for certain icons of the music world, 2010 may be the year of the worthy comeback. There are enough big bands that are ending lengthy silences and heading back to the stage that the tainted name of comeback tours might be changed.

Rap grandfather icon Gil ScottHeron released a new album earlier this month — the artist’s first original album in 16 years. Scott-Heron, whose influences included the whole gamut of black musicians, intellectuals and poets from the ‘40s to the ‘60s, was able to create such a distinct style of singing and rapping that, mixed with his aggressively politicized lyrics, was able to make him an icon of the more modern civil rights struggle.

Scott-Heron’s new album continues his same distinctive style, applying sensibilities that were honed in more turbulent times into our own modern world, and they’re more relevant than ever. Scott-Heron is likely to follow up the new album with more releases and possibly a tour, but the aging poet is content to watch all of the attention he’s get-

Warhol’s diary entries, which are also on display at the exhibit, give context to what he was thinking and reveal the details of the wild life he lived.

Out almost every night of the week, Warhol was a big part of Manhattan’s celebrity scene and one of the first artists to brand himself.

Quaint, quiet and intimate, the gallery includes 16 pieces that are relatively unknown to the average Warhol fan. The introduction to the exhibit includes Warhol’s Polaroid of the popular puppet, Howdy Doody.

Warhol captures a unique angle as the puppet’s head is tilted to the side. Even more interesting is Warhol’s partnership with Absolut Vodka. The exhibit shows examples of colorful, whimsical ads that Warhol designed during the ‘70s.

Beyond art created by Warhol, the exhibit is also home to several other paintings, photographs and articles of clothing by other artists that Warhol’s style has influenced. Warhol is known for turning ordinary objects into iconic, colorful images. Lee Newman, an American University alum, famous painter and printmaker, has a piece in the exhibit. His oil painting “Hamburger” turns an ordinary sandwich into a vibrant, detailed spectacle. According to the curators, significant research went into preparing the showing. They searched for pieces that would be culturally relevant to accompany and complement Warhol’s images.

While these pieces are powerful and interesting, the prints from Warhol are what truly make the exhibit. “To become a Warhol was to become an icon,” the curator said.

This free Warhol exhibit will be on display through March 5 on the second floor of GW’s Media and Public Affairs building and is less than a 10-minute walk from the Foggy BottomGWU Metro station.

You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.

ting.

“People keep saying I disappeared,” he told The Guardian in an interview. “Well that’s a gift I didn’t know I had. You ever see someone disappear? I guess that makes me a superhero, right?”

Even if it doesn’t, Scott-Heron’s return to the studio is enough to get a lot of people excited. The singer’s willingness to push boundaries was enough to earn him the respect of the most powerful people in music several decades ago, and it’s enough to give his newest album a reason to exist.

For indie fans, the biggest news of last year was about the upcoming Pavement reunion. Music writers have been scrambling over one another to praise the band with the most histrionic compliments, so suffice to say it’s a large happening. Those music writers are right though; few bands left their mark on the music industry in the ‘90s as clearly as Pavement. And their first live show in over 10 years is a cause celebré for a generation of slackers.

From their early releases onward, Pavement rose quickly in certain circles thanks to a great deal of support from music critics. Albums like “Slanted and Enchanted” and “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain” have become part of the rock canon, and the band might have found some more commercial success had they

Lead actor kills ‘Richard II’ Supporting cast fight to save play

By BEN SCHWARTZ Eagle Contributing Writer In terms of both plot and performance, it’s the titular character (played by Michael Hayden) who causes all the problems in the Shakespeare Theater Company’s production of Shakespeare’s “Richard II.” To borrow a line from another of Shakespeare’s plays, Hayden is “all sound and fury, signifying nothing.” It is a credit to the other actors that they manage to salvage at least a little bit of the production. When Hayden was offstage or minimized, the play was watchable — otherwise, good luck.

Interestingly, Hayden is currently cast as the lead in another Shakespearean history being performed at the same theater at the same time, “Henry V.” It leads one to wonder how much of his shivering, broken delivery was due to a choice (albeit a bad one) about how to play the character, and how much was due to the mental and physical exertion of foolishly agreeing to take on two gigantic parts at once. Hayden should have chosen one, and done it well.

But not everything about Hayden’s performance was bad. He successfully portrayed the king’s petulance and childish greed, especially when confronting his uncles in the first scene. Physically, he remained engrossing throughout the entire play. He wailed, he thrashed, he emoted from every pore on his body. But because of his incompetence with the words, all of this weeping and gnashing of teeth became an incomprehensible spectacle. Though his vocal variety was excellent, he may as well have been intoning a single vowel for all the meaning he was able to convey. He ruined some of Shakespeare’s most devastating lines, especially after intermission when Richard is usurped by his cousin Bolingbroke (who becomes Henry IV after his coronation). The great monologues that Richard delivers in Act IV, scene I and Act V, scene V were rendered to tattered pieces as Hayden stops and starts throughout them. “Richard II” is written almost entirely in verse, a fact that the rest of the actors in the production recognized. But Hayden worked against this, hemming and hawing, spitting out the poetry in four- or five-word chunks. It was like watching Shatner do Shakespeare without the fun of the accompanying irony.

There is a certain point where an actor’s choices in portraying a character need to be accommodated to the audience’s needs.

Hayden strung his words together and spaced them apart at intervals that have no relevance to their meaning.

The plot of “Richard II” is far too intricate and rambling to encapsulate. However, there are a few important points: there is a king who’s pretty lousy at being king; he kills an uncle and banishes a cousin; the cousin comes back and takes over. And it’s Shakespeare, so of course the title character dies in

stuck around for a bit later. But after tense relations between the band members, a breakup at the tail end of 1999 properly ended both the decade and the career of an important band.

Now Pavement is back for an extensive tour, bringing back their fuzzy guitars and inspired lyrics for another go around. Shows are already selling out in big cities, an audience no doubt made up of aging hipsters looking to grab a last look of the band that helped define a new type of apathetic youth more than a decade ago.

Other groups and singers joining Scott-Heron and Pavement this year include British super-group Bad Company, Nigerian singer Sade and apparently a new rock-opera from Pete Townsend himself. These tours can often leave a bitter taste in the mouth — seeing your favorite group debase themselves is a good way to fall out of love — but these people might be deserving of a second chance. There’s a reason we fall for these tricks every time. You’ve got to have hope that heroes can live up to the hype.

You can reach this staff writer at mrichardson@theeagleonline.com

the end. That’s about all you need to know; the rest will explain itself as the show goes on.

It’s the uncles — John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster), the Duke of York (Ted van Griethuysen) and the Duke of Gloucester (Floyd King) — who stood out in this production. King, whose character was offed pretty quickly by his venomous nephew, comes back in the second act as the Bishop of Carlisle. (Don’t worry, though — this double duty actually worked.)

King is a Shakespeare regular who, a couple months ago, took the role of Touchstone in “As You Like It.” While he was banal as the comedic jester, King was compelling as both of these sober whitebeards.

The Duke of York thankfully stuck around for most of the show. Surrounded by the turmoil of usurpation, York is loyal to no individual but rather to the crown. He is even willing (thrilled!) to give up his own son in the name of the throne, no matter who sits on it. York, along with the usurping king Henry IV (played admirably

by Charles Borland), become the moral center of the play because of Hayden’s de facto abdication of Richard’s position of centrality.

Ultimately, however, despite serviceable performances by the vast majority of the cast and a very clever set design, the play falls flat on its face. This snail of a show clocks in at three-plus hours, but feels like five. And, like everything within the play, it’s Richard’s fault.

You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.

FALL OF A KING — Despite a strong performance by the supporting cast of Shakespeare’s “Richard II,” lead actor Michael Hayden brought down the play with over-acting and a lack of substance. Hayden is also simultaneously starring in the Shakespeare Theater Company’s production of “Henry V.”

Photo by SCOTT SUCHMAN

INVITE YOU AND A GUEST TO A SPECIAL Q&A SCREENING WITH STARS ALICE EVE & KRYSTEN RITTER ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD, AT A DC AREA THEATER.

STOP BY THE EAGLE NEWSPAPER OFFICE, LOCATED INSIDE MARY GRAYDON CENTER, TO RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY PASS FOR TWO (2) TO SEE

WWW.GETYOURRATING.COM One pass per person. Each pass admits two. While supplies last.

No purchase necessary.

IN THEATERS MARCH 12

YOU AND A GUEST ARE INVITED TO AN ADVANCE SCREENING

Stop by the Eagle Newspaper Office, located in the Mary Graydon Center, to receive a complimentary pass for two to see One pass per person. While supplies last. No purchase necessary.

Seating is first-come, first-served and not guaranteed.

This film is rated R. No one will be admitted under the age of 17 without a parent or legal guardian.

IN WASHINGTON, DC THEATERS FEBRUARY 26

SPORTS

8

Women take 4th straight

Twins to take back-to-back division titles

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

ANDREW TOMLINSON n Sports Editor 202.885.1404

By TYLER TOMEA Eagle Contributing Writer Lisa Strack scored six points in the final two minutes, and the AU women’s basketball team used a late 10-0 run to defeat the upset-minded Holy Cross Crusaders 70-61 on Saturday at Bender Arena.

Strack totaled 17 points on 6-10 shooting from the field, while Michelle Kirk and Liz Leer scored 17 and 11 points respectively. Amy Lepley scored a season-high 15 points for the Crusaders, who challenged the Eagles all afternoon.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Strack said. “It’s always a tough game with Holy Cross and we’re always going to have a bull’seye on our back because we’re at the top of the league.”

AU opened up a 10-4 lead early in the game when Strack hit one of her game-high three triples on the afternoon. However, Holy Cross fought back to take a 16-15 lead when Meredith Ward converted a layup with 6:43 remaining in the first half.

Whenever the Eagles would try to go on a run Holy Cross would answer. First a Lepley three-pointer knotted the game at 19 apiece with 4:32 left in the half and then a Briana McFadden layup tied it at 21-21 with 2:44 to go. Liz Leer’s layup gave the Eagles a slim 23-21 advantage heading into the locker room.

A three-pointer by Ebony Edwards followed by a three from Strack put the Eagles in front 40-34 seven minutes into the second half.

AU extended its lead to 10 when Strack converted a conventional three-point play to put the Eagles up 46-36.

With AU leading 52-44 and less than 10 minutes to play, the Crusaders made a key 6-0 run to get themselves back into the game. Later, Holy Cross guard Bethany O’Dell nailed a three-pointer to slice the AU lead to 58-57 with 3:20 remaining.

Strack would then hit two clutch shots to nail down the victory for the Eagles. First, she hit a jumper with just over two minutes to play to extend the lead to three. Then, after Lepley’s two free throws cut the margin to one, she hit a dagger three-pointer from the corner to start the 10-0 run that led to the 7061 AU victory.

“She’s an athletic player who can finish around the basket and obviously stepped up and hit some big shots late in the game,” AU Head Coach Matt Corkery said of Strack.

The win improves AU to 18-8 on the year and 11-1 in the Patriot League, which puts them in a firstplace tie with the Lehigh Mountain

OVER THE WALL

SAM LINDAUER This upcoming season, the battle for the American League Central Division in Major League Baseball will continue between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins.

PHILLIP OCHS / THE EAGLE

DEFENSE — Liz Leer defends against the Lafayette Leopards in a game earlier this year. Leer scored 11 points in AU’s 70-61 win over the College of Holy Cross on Saturday. The Eagles moved to 11-1 on the season in Patriot League play. The team has one more home game against Navy on Wednesday.

Hawks. The 11 conference wins are tied for the most in a single season in program history. The loss drops Holy Cross to 8-19 on the season and 4-8 in the league.

The Eagles will play their fi-

nal regular season home game on Wednesday, Feb. 24 against Navy, before going on the road to take on the Lafayette Leopards on Saturday, Feb. 27.

“Next week is an exciting week

because we have the chance to solidify a regular season co-championship,” Corkery said.

You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.

AU wins 100-meter backstroke

By ANDREW TOMLINSON Eagle Staff Writer AU broke two school records, had five top-10 times and captured the 100 back conference championship at the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships over the weekend in Annapolis, Md. The first day of competition on Thursday was the best for AU. After one day the women’s team was in fourth place with 104 points, 193 points behind Navy. While they did not have as strong of a day as the women, the men were able to score 74 points, which was good enough for sixth place.

It was the individual efforts that stood out during the day.

AU junior Dorothy Isaacs posted AU’s best time of the day in the 200-meter individual medley. She posted a time of 2:03.47, giving her a third place finish.

The time was a personal best for Isaacs and a new school record in the event. Her final run beat her qualifying time of 2:04.95 by more than a second.

Senior Matt Pelletier also broke an AU record on the first

day of competition. In the 400meter medley event Pelletier led off the team with a 100-meter backstroke time of 48.89 seconds.

The time was also good enough for an NCAA “B” cut qualifying time, meaning he might have the opportunity to make the NCAA Championships. AU’s Ming Ong, Rick Driscoll and Sean McNamara would finish out the event with a total time of 3:25.36. Their finish was good enough for fifth place.

The Eagles would have three other top-10 times set during the day. Pelletier would finish third place in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 21.04 seconds, which was just .09 seconds slower than his qualifying time. Sophomore Alexandra Wessel finished sixth in the woman’s 500-meter freestyle with a time of 4:59.82.

Sophomore Leah Breen would also earn a top 10 finish. She finished the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 24.13 seconds, good enough for eighth place.

Her time was also third fastest in school history.

Day two of competition was not as strong for AU, but they were able to capture one champi-

onship and nearly missed taking another.

Pelletier followed up his strong first day performance by taking home the Patriot League Championship in the 100-meter backstroke. The senior qualified for the event with a time of 49.16 seconds in the afternoon. In the evening he would post a time of 49.61 seconds, beating out Lehigh University’s Tyler Lareau by just under a half second. He is one of only two members on the squad with a conference championship.

Isaacs is the other member of the team with a championship. She captured the 100-meter breaststroke championship last year. This year she came up just short of taking back-to-back titles. The Junior posted a time of 1:02:23 good enough for second place.

AU junior Jessica Ballance had the strongest day in the pool of all the Eagles. She earned two top-10 finishes. Ballance swam a 57.30 second 100-meter backstroke, placing her in sixth place and posted a seventh place time of 56.93 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly.

In other top finishes, the 200meter medley relay team of Balance, Isaacs, Elinor Shetter and Breen earned third place with a time of 1:45.01. AU junior Kelsey Monarch had the best diving finish, with a tenth place finish in the one-meter dive event.

The men would finish the day in sixth place with 160 points and the women would drop to sixth place with 207 points, just one point behind fifth place Lehigh.

Neither the men nor the women would move up in the rankings on the final day. Both would finish in sixth with the men scoring a total of 209 points and the women scoring a total of 287.5.

AU’s season is not over yet.

Their next meet is the Eagle Invitation hosted at home. It will take place on Feb. 24. The women’s and men’s NCAA Championships take place between March 18 and March 27.

You can reach this writer at atomlinson@theeagleonline.com.

Minnesota Twins: It is hard to believe that just a few years ago there were rumors swirling that the Twins might be dissolved as an organization. Now they have established themselves as a constant contender in the Central Division. Minnesota fans should be happy to see the core of the team return for the 2010 campaign. The success or failure of the team will once again lie with their two offensive stars, reigning MVP Joe Mauer and former MVP Justin Morneau.

The biggest addition to this team does not even play. The Twins will open their new outdoor stadium, Target Field, this season.

Other new faces joining the Twins include established veterans Jim Thome, who should provide some left-handed pop off the bench, and second baseman Orlando Hudson, who gives the team a great defensive second baseman. The Twins’ pitching staff will consist of the usual batch of youngsters; like Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn. Rounding out the rotation are a couple of ofteninjured starters, Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano. The Twins are the favorite to repeat as Central champs simply because they have the same pieces that allowed them to capture it last year, as well as some new players who will help a lot.

Detroit Tigers: Tiger fans must be pretty sick of finishing in second because they have had a pretty stacked team the last few seasons. This is a fairly young team that has a few veterans who absolutely need to produce for Detroit to have a chance at catching the Twins.

The Tigers do have two sure things they can count on—first baseman Miguel Cabrera and starting pitcher Justin Verlander.

Detroit’s big offseason news was the trade of center fielder Curtis Granderson. The Tigers got a pretty good deal by stocking up on young players from the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees. The two players that came over in the deal that will have the biggest impact are new center fielder Austin Jackson and young starter Max Scherzer.

The youth movement going on in Detroit is why the team has problems. Besides Cabrera, the club’s veterans are shaky at best.

Players like Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen are just looking old these days. Not only that, but they recently added Johnny Damon to their roster, and he certainly isn’t getting any younger. Strong performances from their young starters like Rick Porcello, Scherzer and Armando Galarraga will be the deciding factor as to whether the Tigers have to watch the Twins take home another division title.

Chicago White Sox: The White Sox have a perfectly adequate team but do not have much of a shot at the playoffs. Chicago, at this point, lacks enough offensive production to make them one of the real con-

tenders in the league.

The White Sox starting rotation is anchored by the consistently great Mark Buehrle, who tossed a perfect game last season. Following him is the former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, who has yet to prove he can handle the heavierhitting American League.

The White Sox have a strong looking outfield with Juan Pierre, Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios.

Chicago’s most exciting position player is third baseman Gordon Beckham, who had an impressive rookie season hitting 13 home runs with 63 RBIs. The team thinks that he will develop into a big star, so he’s one to look out for.

Unfortunately, the Sox are just not as complete a team as either the Twins or Tigers, so a return to the playoffs may just have to wait.

Cleveland Indians: While the Tigers challenges of getting past the Twins can be frustrating for Detroiters, there are few fans in baseball that have more to complain about than Cleveland Indians fans. Imagine for a moment a team with two Cy Young winners, a young 19game winner, one of the premier power hitting catchers in baseball and a first baseman that is one of the AL’s top power hitters. Now take them all away and that’s what Cleveland fans have dealt with.

To be fair, the young 19-game winner, Fausto Carmona, and the slugger, Travis Hafner, are still with the team, but they are shells of their former selves. Carmona won five games last season with an ERA over 6.00. Hafner, after hitting 42 homers in 2006, has hit 45 home runs in the last three years.

So what do the Indians have to look forward to this season? In short, not much. One of the few bright spots the team has is outfielder Grady Sizemore, who has proven to be one of the game’s best all around players. This is a team composed of young players with a lot of upside, but they haven’t proven anything. The Indians are really years from competing at all in the Central and are probably even farther off from a deep playoff run.

Kansas City Royals: The Royals have been one of baseball’s laughing stocks for years now, as they almost always finish in last place. This team is by no means going to put up much of a fight for the division, but they are an undoubtedly better team.

Their pitching staff is strong with last year’s Cy Young winner Zach Greinke leading the way, but their number two starter is the inconsistent Gil Meche. They also have one of the best closers in the game with Joakim Soria. The team’s weakness lies in their youth.

The Royals are loaded with young potential stars, but the problem is they are just guys with a lot of potential at this point. There has been some production out of players like Billy Butler, but disappointingly little from others like third baseman Alex Gordon. They know they have had enough bad seasons to stack up in the minors, but the real test will be when the players get to the big leagues. If the Royals make an effort to keep their players on the team and don’t let them leave for free agency, they can one day compete.

Prediction: Twins. Sorry Tigers fans, but the Twins have shown they are just too feisty to beat.

Plus this season’s Tigers are just too inexperienced.

You can reach this writer at slindauer@theeagleonline.com.

Ohio State University overwhelms AU lacrosse 16-7

By BEN LASKY Eagle Contributing Writer The AU women’s lacrosse team lost their second game in a row, falling to No. 16 Ohio State on Saturday 16-7.

Ohio State got off to a fast start scoring less than two minutes into the match. The game would settle down after that, however, as both teams traded shots and turnovers. AU had several chances just under 10 minutes in when Bernadette Maher, Amanda Ma-

koid and Samantha Marshall all had shots on net. The Buckeyes would take control of the match after that however, as they scored three goals in the next four minutes. Two of the three goals came off of AU turnovers or draw wins

by OSU. AU would be able to stop some of the bleeding when they finally got scored with just under 13 minutes left in the match. AU was awarded a free position shot after a foul and Makoid fired it home to make it 4-1. While AU cut the

Buckeyes’ lead to just three, a turnover by Makoid and a good

Women’s Lacrosse Ohio State: AU:

16 7

Columbus, Ohio clearing attempt by OSU would lead to another OSU score just

three minutes later.

OSU would score the next five goals to make it 10-1 at half time.

Two of those goals came from Ohio State’s Rachael Cornicello.

She tormented the Eagles during the first half, scoring twice 20 seconds apart in the final five minutes of the half.

The second half started much in the same way the first did, with the Buckeyes dominating early.

OSU added two more goals just five minutes into the half. AU’s Lisa Schaaf would score for AU

just under eight minutes in to make the score 12-2. The Eagles would control the play for much of the rest of the game, outscoring their opponent 5-4. Despite the late offensive flurry in the last 15 minutes, the deficit was too large to overcome.

AU’s Schaaf and Chiara Speziale led the Eagles with two goals each and a team high two points.

Makoid would finish with three shots and a goal. Ohio State’s Kelly Haggerty and Markwordt both scored four goals and Haggerty

had a game-high six points.

The loss drops AU to 0-2 on the season. Their next match is against George Washington University on Feb. 24. In their first two losses AU has been outscored 27-17.

You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.