The Eagle — Oct. 15, 2009

FATHER TIME Heartthrob Penn Badgley talks about his transition from ‘Gossip Girl’ to ‘Stepfather.’

SCENE page 5

American University's independent student voice since 1925

the EAGLE

OCTOBER 15, 2009 VOLUME 84 n ISSUE 16

WWW.THEEAGLEONLINE.COM

FALL BREAK The Eagle will not publish on Monday due to fall break, but will resume Thursday. page XX page XX

NEWS

HARRIS’ REVENGE Pirate porn irks Maryland state senator

KELLY BARRETT/ THE EAGLE

page 4

EDITORIAL

KELLY BARRETT / THE EAGLE

GREEN PROGRESS — The new School of International Service building will have several environmentally-friendly features like the rain-water recycler pictured at top.

KELLY BARRETT/ THE EAGLE

SOCIAL JUSTICE? The entire movement is fraudulent, self-serving page 3

SCENE PIZZA PARTY Radius cooks up New York-style pizza for a discount page 7

SPORTS TO THE BITTER END Men’s soccer wins second straight 2OT game page 8

TODAY’S WEATHER

HI 49° LO 44° Cold and rainy all day and night. Rain totals up to one inch.

FRIDAY

AU’s sustainability score rises

By NICOLE GLASS and CHARLIE SZOLD Eagle Staff Writers AU received a grade of B on the annual College Sustainability Report Card.

Its grade has improved every year since the report has existed. Last year it received a B-, and the year before that it received a D+.

SATURDAY

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

sustainable, and likewise some that put a lot of money into sustainability.

“I think a B is actually a pretty appropriate grade,” he said. “Each year, every school is improving, so it’s all kind of relative. We probably deserve a B compared to other schools.”

The campuses that received the best overall report grades (an A- or higher) were the richest, according

to the Chronicle. These included Ivy League schools, small liberal-arts colleges, and some state schools.

AU got an A in “Administration sustainability” because it recently launched the Office of Sustainability and has an Environmental Issues Project Team. Student involvement, transportation and investment priorities also received grades of A, according to the report.

AU has 11 electric vehicles and two trucks that run on biodiesel. AU also offers bike-sharing and commercial car-sharing programs. Still, Veysey said transportation needs a lot of improvement in terms of sustainability.

“A big chunk of our greenhouse gas score comes from transportation,” he said. “We were supposed to n

see SUSTAINABILITY on page 2

AU to promote National GLBT History Month

By ASHLEY DEJEAN Eagle Contributing Writer The Office of Campus Life is working with Queers and Allies to showcase the Pride flag on-campus in honor of GLBT History Month, according to Vice President of the Office of Campus Life Gail Hanson.

Queers and Allies had sent an email to AU President Neil Kerwin on Oct. 6, in an effort to get the Pride flag to fly on every flag pole or alongside both the United States and AU flags sometime in October.

However, it is the policy of the uni-

versity to only fly the AU, D.C. and U.S. flags on the flagpoles, according to Hanson.

OCL is looking for alternative ways to help Q and A, Hanson said.

“I’ve got a couple of staff members involved who have a lot to do with the management of space, so we’re going to try to find a good choice,” she said. “I want to try to accommodate them in a way that works for all of us, and we’re on the job.”

The office is looking to perhaps hang the flag from the Butler n

see FLAG on page 2

Prof. lights up the dance floor

By SARAH PARNASS Eagle Staff Writer

HI 48° n LO 43°

HI 47° n LO 37°

The report was conducted by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, which is a non-profit organization engaged in research and education to advance sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices.

Drew Veysey, president of EcoSense, said a B is an accurate grade for AU’s sustainability. He has seen other schools that were much less

Two days before the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the 9:30 club held a show to celebrate the president-elect. Body upon body packed the floor, forming one great throng, chanting “Obama!” at disc jockey Will Eastman and a screen with a series of images ranging from a psychedelic cityscape to twin neon-Obamas in aviator blinds sunglasses.

After Eastman finished his set, the headlining act took the stage while the images changed to a new motif; Moby pumped his fist in front of a larger-thanlife replica of himself, and the crowd emulated the motion.

Bright-white light filled the room, illuminating the horde of swaying fans. Then suddenly — darkness.

High above the crowd, School of Communication Professor Kyle “Kylos” Brannon put aside his projection equipment and picked up a Flip Video camcorder. With the help of his roommate, Brannon turned the epic event into an impromptu documentary.

That night was just one of many Brannon has spent as a video jockey at an array of D.C. clubs.

Every fourth Saturday of the month, Brannon said he collaborates with Eastman at the Black Cat to create “BLISSPOP,” a dance party n

see BRANNON on page 4

YIPIN LU/ THE EAGLE

POWER OF YOUTH — Journalists such as David Gregory of NBC’s Meet the Press and Jose Antonio Vargas of the Huffington Post discussed Obama’s current relationship with young voters Tuesday night.

Panel explores role of youth in politics

By JEN CALANTONE Eagle Staff Writer Despite the social media phenomenon in today’s society, young people are more concerned over the content of political messages, rather than the way they are delivered, according to some members of Tuesday night’s American Forum panel.

The discussion, “Change+1: Are Young People Talking Back to President Obama?” focused on the way the 18- to 29-year-old cohort feels about politics and President Barack Obama one year after the presidential election. The panel featured some of today’s leading journalists, including AU alumnus David Gregory of NBC’s Meet the Press and Jose Antonio Vargas of the Huffington Post.

While Obama did well at connecting with the younger audience during the campaign, Vargas said that despite his 6.9 million Facebook friends and millions more on his e-mail lists, the real challenge is still to come. What the president needs to do now is to keep these people engaged and paying attention to the policy issues that the administration now faces, he said.

But for young people as a whole, some policy issues are inherently disinteresting, according to Gregory. The constant drama of the 2008 political campaign tends to keep Americans more engaged than policy ever could, he said. As a result, young people are starting to lose a bit of their faith in Obama as a policymaker, Gregory said.

“What you have is faith in a leader and less faith and support in

his policies,” he said.

The 2008 election was not the first time young people were truly a driving force in determining the outcome of an election — that already happened in the 2006 midterm elections, according to Republican strategist and President of The Winston Group David Winston.

The idea of engaging young people may have not been entirely unique to the Obama campaign, he said.

“The interesting dynamic is: Is it 18- to 29-year-olds following Obama, or is it Obama following 18- to 29-year-olds?” he said.

The panel also touched on the constant criticism from voters and the media that the GOP falls short in reaching younger voters compared to its Democratic counterpart. This stems from the thought n

see FORUM on page 2

the EAGLE

OCTOBER 15, 2009

news 2

Crime ring might be behind bike thefts

THURS 15

THU 27 FRI 16

SAT 17

Author Event: Cornel West 6 - 8 p.m.

WHERE: Busboys and Poets 2021 14th St. N.W. METRO: U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (yellow and green lines) INFO: The provocative Princeton University professor, culture critic, social justice advocate and author of “Race Matters” speaks about his new book, “Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.”

COST: Free CONTACT: For more information, call 202-387-7638.

Play: “The Dead” 8 p.m.

WHERE: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center — University of Maryland, University Boulevard and Stadium Drive METRO: College Park-UMD (green lines) INFO: A performance of James Joyce’s classic story about the antics of a group of Dubliners at a Christmas party.

COST: $26 CONTACT: For more information, call 301-405-2787.

Bethesda Row Arts Festival 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

WHERE: Woodmont Avenue between Elm Street and Bethesda Avenue, Bethesda, Md. METRO: Bethesda (red line) INFO: The 12th annual outdoor art show features nearly 200 artists displaying their drawings, sculptures, ceramics and other works. There will also be food vendors and live music.

COST: Free CONTACT: For more information, call 301-637-5715.

SUN 18

MON 19

TUES 20

Exhibit: Robert Bergman - Portraits 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

WHERE: National Gallery of Art, 600 Constitution Ave. N.W. METRO: Archives-Navy MemorialPenn Quarter (yellow and green lines) INFO: Bergman’s showcase includes 30 never-before-seen portraits of average Americans.

COST: Free CONTACT: For more information, call 202-737-4215.

D.C. Labor FilmFest: Six Short Films About Labor 12 p.m.

WHERE: American Film Theater, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W. METRO: Union Station (red line) INFO: The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations presents six short films about labor and the modern workplace.

COST: Free CONTACT: For more information, call 202-974-8150.

Author Event: Zoe Heller 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater, 1529 16th St. N.W. METRO: Dupont Circle (red line) INFO: Heller discusses her new novel about a dysfunctional family and the way they deal with their father Joel’s sudden illness.

COST: $8 CONTACT: For more information, call 202-518-9400.

By NICOLE GLASS Eagle Staff Writer A large number of bikes have been stolen from campus this semester after the locks were destroyed with wire cutters.

Approximately 20 bikes have been stolen this semester and never found again, said Chief Michael McNair, director of Public Safety.

“Most bikes were locked. A few were not,” he said. “The locks used were the cheaper cable type, which can be easily cut with bolt cutters.”

McNair believes the thieves are a group of youths who are not affiliated with AU and are also targeting other communities in D.C. These youths are part of a theft ring operating in the area, he said.

Zachary Lancet, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, has a bike on campus that he locks on the bike racks in the Letts-Anderson Quad. To prevent his bike from getting stolen, he takes the seat off when he’s not using it.

“Take your seat off your bike,” he said. “If you take it off, no one will want to steal it.”

Haroon Butt, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, locks his bike in public places where he knows it will be watched.

“Lock it in a place where everyone can see it,” he said. “Outside of the library, it’s always going to be safe, because there’s always someone watching from the library. Avoid locking it near Ward because someone can come from off-campus and steal it.

Lock your front wheel and the frame together, because people sometimes like to steal front wheels — they are worth a lot of money.”

Butt knows the area in front of the library is safe because he was accused of stealing his own bike. Another student had locked their bike to his, so he took the wheel off his bike to try and release it, he said. The fact that a librarian staff had noticed him trying to free his bike means the area is safe, he said.

McNair advised students to use strong locks that cannot be cut easily

n

from FLAG on page 1

Pavilion Bridge, where people on the main quadrangle could see it, Hansen said.

Carmyn Rios, communications director of Q and A, said that flying the flag would send a “profound message on behalf of the university.”

“It would signify AU’s solidarity with the queer community and the affirming environment many queer students have found here,” she said.

“It would honor the diversity within our student body that students and faculty alike value.”

To start, the group created a petition for members of the AU community to sign. The petition received around 300 signatures. “We took

n

from SUSTAINABILITY on page 1

get biodiesel in the buses years ago, and it’s constantly been delayed. We need to do that.”

AU got D grades in the green building and endowment transparency categories.

“The reason why I think we got such a low score for green buildings is because other schools have hopped onto green building and put a lot [more] money into it,” Veysey said. “So it’s a relative thing.”

The College Sustainability Report Card “is the only comparative evaluation of campus and endowment sustainability activities at coln

from FORUM on page 1

that Republicans have not traditionally reached out to that audience, according to Winston.

“The reason a large part of these [Republican] campaigns didn’t know how to [use social media] is because targeting 18- to 29-yearolds wasn’t even part of their campaign plan, so why would they even

KELLY BARRETT / THE EAGLE

POLICE

not notice the note during his previous patrol at 11:20 p.m. A photograph was taken, and the note was discarded.

A bicycle was taken from the Letts-Anderson Quad. The bike had been secured to a gate via chain.

Housing and Dining received a tip a resident was selling and smoking marijuana in his McDowell Hall dorm room. Housing and Dining requested the presence of DPS as an administrative search was conducted. Illegal drugs were discovered. The Metropolitan Police Department was consulted.

The resident was allowed to call and notify his parents of the situation and was then transported to a District police station for processing.

DOWN TO THE WIRE — This semester, about 20 bikes have been stolen from campus after their locks were cut. The thefts are thought to be the work of a group of youths who are also targeting other D.C. communities, according to Public Safety Director Chief Michael McNair. to secure their bikes.

“There is no need [for students] to keep their bike in their rooms,” he said. “Students need to purchase a sturdy U-shaped lock with reinforcements and the bike should be locked to a regular bike rack.”

Public Safety is increasing their surveillance of bike racks and working with the Metropolitan Police Department to identify the ring of thieves re-

sponsible for stealing the bikes. They are also educating students on campus to watch bike racks and be on the lookout for suspicious persons in the area of bike racks, McNair said. “[The thieves] will be apprehended soon,” he said.

that step not because we necessarily anticipated resistance, although that was definitely a [possibility],” sophomore Rachel Lachenauer, the executive director of Q and A, said.

“We just did it so we could present evidence that this was something that was important to the student population, the faculty, the staff and anyone who signed it.”

After organizing the petition, the Q and A executive board collaboratively wrote an e-mail to send to President Neil Kerwin.

“It was not very long at all,” Lachenauer said. “It explained how we feel like it would be a fantastic symbolic representation of the university and GLBT community coming together, as well as tolerance,

acceptance and nurturance on behalf of the university. We explained that position on it, why we felt that it would be important, and when we were asking for it.”

Lachenauer said she is planning on somehow getting the Pride Flag represented on campus.

“We’re going to try to find alternate options whether it’s hanging it outside of buildings or somewhere else on the quad, but somehow still pushing for that visual representation,” Lachenauer said. “We’re going to try as hard as we can to make those options work if we can’t get what we initially requested.”

leges and universities,” according to greenreportcard.org. The organization sends out surveys to universities asking specific questions about sustainability plans and actions taken. It aggregates the answers to these questions, as well as other public information to arrive at its rating.

“I think its pretty good,” said Lindsay Madeira, the manager of Sustainability Programs. “It has come a long way, they used to do the entire rating based on info they could find ... Often times you would get a grade and you would have no idea where it would come from.”

AU is working to improve on some of the areas where the univer-

sity scored poorly, according to Madeira. AU received a D in the “Green Building” category.

“We have a lot of buildings that we’ve applied for [Leaderships in Energy and Environmental Design] certification, we actually have 30 [in the process of registration],” Madeira said. “We went up from last year, so the fact that we’re improving is a good sign that we’re doing things better than before.”

pick up that skill?” Winston said.

“The challenge of the Republican Party isn’t to learn to use technology; the challenge of the Republican Party is how to have a conversation with 18- to 29-year-olds.”

But Vargas said that despite criticism, Republicans were doing much better than Democrats on Twitter.

“Technology is not a panacea,” Vargas said. “At the end of the day, it’s not technology. It really is the message.”

The way young people are getting their news has affected politics, according to Gregory. There is a divide between generations, where fewer and fewer young people are reading newspapers in print and more and more are getting information from online news. Still, he said, the job of keeping young people involved comes from the federal government.

“The problem is not between left and right and who uses technology better,” Gregory said. “It’s also the role of government in [young people’s] lives and what [the youth] think it should be doing.”

This debate between right and left over whether government is the solution is something that does affect young people, he said.

“That’s the battleground. That’s the proving ground, a lot more than who’s winning the war on Twitter,” Gregory said.

Megabytes Café Now Introducing….!!!

Falafel Sandwich

Comes With: Tzatziki Sauce, Onion, Tomato, Parsley

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

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

You can reach these staff writers at nglass@theeagleonlin.com and cszold@theeagleonline.com.

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

BLOTTER Oct. 7

A tree limb fell on a parked AU vehicle and broke the front passenger window. No injuries were reported.

The Department of Public Safety responded to a report from the front desk of Anderson Hall of a strange smell. DPS discovered a small fire outside in the mulch and extinguished it with water. No damage was reported. The D.C. Fire Department was not notified.

Oct. 8 A sanitizer sign was taken from a men’s bathroom and two bathroom signs were taken from a hallway inside Mary Graydon Center.

As DPS was removing two parking boots from a vehicle in Nebraska Parking Lot, it was noticed the handles of the boots were damaged in such a manner to suggest someone tried to drive the vehicle with the boots attached. An investigation is being conducted, and criminal charges may be filed for destruction of property.

Oct. 9 An employee reported finding a piece of paper containing an offensive note posted in one of the display signs in the new glass room on the lobby level of Bender Library. The employee was conducting patrols in the area and did

Aramark was to be contacted to remove the graffiti.

Oct. 12

An iPhone was taken from a table in the Terrace Dining Room when the complainant left the area for five minutes to get something to drink.

Oct. 11 DPS responded to a report of an intoxicated individual in the main quad. The individual was sitting on a bench adjacent the MGC. He was heavily intoxicated and vomiting. DCFD transported him to a hospital.

DPS responded to a report of an intoxicated individual in Letts Hall. The sick person’s roommate stated she arrived at the room and found the sick person vomiting.

The roommate indicated the sick person would not coherently respond to questions. A resident director arrived on the scene. DCFD responded. The sick individual became responsive to questioning. DCFD indicated it was not necessary to transport her to a hospital. A medical refusal form was signed.

A student left her wallet on a table in her McDowell room and later discovered it missing.

A student left her cell phone unattended on a table while she went to get food in MGC. When she returned a few minutes later, it was gone.

Oct. 13 A resident director requested DPS respond to an Anderson Hall room for a drug violation.

The resident director indicated she made contact with a resident of the room and another student in the room, and they admitted to smoking marijuana in the room.

Suspected marijuana and paraphernalia were confiscated and submitted to DPS. A window was shattered and a GPS was taken from a parked vehicle in the Tenley Parking Lot. Facilities Management reported steam leaking from a mechanical room in Battelle-Tompkins Building. The steam activated a fire alarm prompting an evacuation of the building. No sign of smoke or fire was reported. No injuries were reported. DCFD was not contacted.

A heat detector activated a fire alarm in Hurst Hall. Facilities Management reported a steam leak caused the activation. No sign of smoke or fire was found. DCFD was not needed.

A student reported his wallet, including his AU ID, was stolen from his residence located off campus.

A fire extinguisher was discharged in a Centennial Hall hallway. Aramark was contacted to clean the area.

Graffiti was discovered in a Bender Library men’s restroom.

From theEAGLE blogs

Healthy, hefty eaters hit gold in Greek kitchens

By TAMAR HALLERMAN Eagle Staff Writer MADRID — While there are so many things I adore about Spanish culture, the Greeks have got the Spaniards beat when it comes to food. The contribution that chocolate and churros (fried sweet dough) have made to the culinary world is undeniable, but I often find the other Castilian staples of pork and eggs hard to swallow — literally. Whole grains are also nowhere to be found, and vegetables are often drenched in olive oil.

When my group took an excursion to Greece last week, however, I

truly learned what I was missing in the kitchen. Spaniards and Americans should take note. While Mediterranean cultures are infamous for time spent eating (two-hour lunches are the norm), on the whole the food is much healthier. Mountains of butter are substituted for olive oil (sorry, Paula Deen), and fried foods are few and far between.

For breakfast, Greek-style yogurt (with a super-thick consistency) is plopped high on a plate and drizzled with honey. Sweet cucumbers and juicy tomatoes are served with every meal, as well as tzatziki sauce, a combo of yogurt, cucumbers, dill and olive oil. For lunch, lamb is a

specialty, and savory gyros, souvlakis and kebabs are served with tzatziki, tomatoes and French fries.

On the street, you can buy grilled corn or chestnuts, and for dessert it’s always baklava, thin layers of phyllo dough, honey and various crushed nuts stacked in indulgent perfection.

A week later, and I’m still daydreaming about the food.

Originally published at The Eagle Takes Flight, http://www.theeagleonline.com/takesflight. You can reach this staff writer at thallerman@theeagleonline.com.

EDITORIAL

OCTOBER 15, 2009

GRAHAM VYSE n Editorial Page Editor EdPage@TheEagleOnline.com

JEN CALANTONE n Editor in Chief Editor@TheEagleOnline.com

Radical movement for ‘social justice’ is self-serving fraud ON THE OTHER HAND

ALEX KNEPPER I would like to dedicate this column to Community Action and Social Justice, Students for Justice In Palestine, and everyone who has ever taken a Gender Studies class. Without you all, I would have little to assure me of my personal sanity.

Is America plagued by an epidemic of hatred? Keep your ear to the ground on college campuses and you might hear the rumbling of angry movements struggling against this epidemic.

Such hatred apparently manifests itself in myriad -isms: racism, sexism, classism and so forth. The movement against it — Social Justice — abhors such hatred: California’s anti-gay marriage law is reworked into “Proposition H8” and opposition to liberalizing immigration laws is skewered as unvarnished racism against Hispanics. Hidden behind a wall of obscurantism is the key premise: that there are simply no legitimate conservative arguments to engage with. Opposition to amnesty or same-sex marriage can only be explained by madness, irrationality or pure vitriol stemming from completely illegitimate beliefs.

This rendering of disagreements into moral crusades is even more bizarre when one considers the endless apologies that emerge from the right: one can’t listen to a speech on immigration by Tom Tancredo without hearing a dozen proclamations that he wants even more Hispanics in the United States if the process is legal and involves assimilation. If men of his ilk were truly agents of blind, irrational hatred, one would expect such hatred to manifest itself from time to time in his rhetoric. Did Stalin pay even a token compliment to the bourgeoisie? And yet, when Youth for Western Civilization brought Tancredo to campus, AU Students for Choice (huh?) organized hundreds of silent protesters to make a display against the supposed racism of the former Congressman.

As with all religious crusaders,

though, the mission of the Social Justice advocates is not about the opponent, but about them. Agents of social change with an actual interest in changing hearts and minds engage not in finger-pointing and rigid ideological posturing, but in honest discussion and educational outreach. It is telling that Malcolm X was not the savior of the black cause in the 1960s, but a footnote in history to the conciliatory outreach of Martin Luther King, Jr. In the same vein, the heirs of the tactics of the former — selfproclaimed “queers,” “Chicanos” and “radical feminists” — are political street performers, not agents of positive change. At AU, they are identified by their claims to stand for the cause of “social justice” against “hatred.”

But they further no cause except their own self-perception as an “involved” individual. They belong to an “I’m OK, You’re OK” self-validation club, not a social movement. To echo Barney Frank, they put pressure on nothing but the grass.

Campus supporters of Israel have been trying for ages to arrange a public debate between supporters and opponents of the state. Unfortunately, this seems to be verging on the impossible. De-legitimize the opponent entirely, and you have de-legitimized his argument — and thus, there is no need to combat it with facts or logic.

After all, who needs to bother with debating an imperialist or a racist?

And — here’s that vanity we just discussed — the person who calls out the agent of hate automatically assumes a morally righteous position.

Ignore the other side. Dismiss it as imperialist, racist, homophobic, sexist — just make it illegitimate; make it go away. That’s what passes for winning an argument. And thus, the challenge to one’s own belief system is narrowly averted. Moral heroism is thereby attained, the dragon is slain, and the shadowboxer, assured of his vigilance, goes to sleep for the night, moving himself from one world of dreams into another.

Alex Knepper is a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs and a classical liberal columnist for the Eagle. You can reach him at edpage@theeagleonline.com.

Columbus controversy shows why winners can’t write history ON THE LEFT HAND

PHIL CARDARELLA I’ve always been tired of hearing about celebrities avoiding lawful punishment because of their Hollywood status. That’s why I was glad to hear ABC News report on a certain celebrity who, after years of avoiding the law, has finally been convicted of his crimes. Yes, Christopher Columbus, it’s about time. The jury, comprised of fourth grade students at a Pennsylvania school, found the defendant guilty of terrible crimes and sentenced him to life in prison (No word as of yet about any chance for parole). But these 10-year-olds aren’t the only ones to lay judgment on the Italian explorer. All around the country, people are casting aside Columbus and his federal holiday. For example, Brown University, in a surprise liberal move, has removed the holiday from their calendar, replacing it will a ‘fall break.’

Luckily there still exist holiday patriots, such as David Cicilline, the mayor of Providence, who are fighting back against this persecution. The mayor views the elimination of this holiday to be offensive, particularly to the Italian-Americans in our nation.

Others share the same feelings and, as a young, red-blooded, Italian-American, there was a moment I considered changing my view and jumping on the Mayor’s bandwagon to defend our brother Chris.

Then I actually took a second to think.

Are these people serious? People should be offended by Columbus NOT getting a holiday? It seems like this is one argument the mayor can’t and shouldn’t make. When Christopher Columbus came to America, he

proceeded to kill and place into slavery at least hundreds, if not thousands, of indigenous people. I think we can understand the hostility towards placing his name on a nationally acknowledged holiday.

Yet, we sweep these facts under the carpet, choosing to celebrate the idea that he was a great explorer whose curiosity led him to “discover America.”

But he didn’t. He wasn’t the first person here. He wasn’t even the first European. He was a businessman looking for the same thing as any other businessman: gold, money, the ‘Benjamins’. The only difference between him and a traveling salesman is that he committed far more terrible crimes than bothering us during dinnertime.

Now, it can be argued that he still had a significant role in history, but we can no longer focus on this ideal version. I can understand why there is a movement to remove Columbus’ name. The holiday stands as a yearly insult to the many Americans who are linked to the natives of the time. This is not political correctness, but simply an attempt to do what is correct.

Fortunately, the way we teach children about Columbus has been changing. The students mentioned earlier are a prime example of this. We are beginning to see more of the story told and that is the path on which we need to continue. But it shouldn’t end with Columbus. With regards to Lincoln, Jefferson and even Obama, we can’t ignore the areas of history which are difficult to tell. In our growing and diverse nation, there is no room for history written by the “winner.” The good news is that these 10-year-olds know that. The bad news is that it will be years before they become the mayors of Providence.

Phil Cardarella is a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs and a liberal columnist for the Eagle.

You can reach him at edpage@ theeagleonline.com.

Courtesy of MCT CAMPUS

A positive pride flag resolution In honor of National Coming Out Week, Queers and Allies wanted the gay pride flag flown all over campus. Campus Life said ‘no,’ but they did so compassionately.

AU Queers and Allies got politely turned down this week. The student group asked if the university would be willing to hang the gay pride flag from flagpoles across campus in honor of National Coming Out Week, which began this past Sunday. The Office of Campus Life told the group this was not possible, because it would violate university policy, but the office also proposed several alternative ways for Queers and Allies to show their pride.

All reports indicate that Campus Life was apologetic and supportive, and that Queers and Allies was respectful and understanding.

The student group has been

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Headline on abortion article was biased, unfair While I have always supported (and continue to support) the Eagle’s policy of printing articles with opposing viewpoints, I must point out that the Oct. 11, 2009 article by Alissa Scheller was disingenuously titled.

The article, which was titled, “Pregnancy Centers Questioned” was subtitled, “Anti- Abortion Centers May Give False Info.” While this may be the author’s opinion, it certainly does not meet even The Eagle’s historically low standard

granted permission to hang a pride flag in a public place yet to be determined, visible from the main quad.

This is, in a sense, a noncontroversy. Everyone involved basically went home happy. Which is why both AU Queers and Allies and the Office of Campus Life have our admiration this week. Queers and Allies proved that student advocacy organizations can accept limits on expression with dignity. Campus Life demonstrated how to enforce university policy in a compassionate and flexible fashion.

Obviously, hoisting the gay pride flag this week is appropriate. That Queers and Allies inquired about this is un-

derstandable. Still, AU has a sound policy on this issue. On such a politically active college campus, flying the flag of one specific group — even during a special week — presents problems.

Think about it. Imagine if the university put up rainbow flags all over campus. Other advocacy groups would rightly demand that their flags get equal time atop AU’s flagpoles.

Women’s Initiative would want a turn. The Black Student Alliance would want in on the action. Political groups would make bids. Fraternities and sororities might inquire. Quite frankly, The Eagle might try, too. How better to affirm AU’s commitment to a free press

than by permitting The Eagle’s masthead to whip around in the wind above Main Quad?

Obviously, this is ridiculous. But the point is, our university flagpoles should be reserved for flags that represent us all — queers, allies, women, student journalists, etc. The American flag is obviously one such symbol. So the university and the Office of Campus Life made the right call. But more impressively, they did it in a completely compassionate way that alienated no one.

This newspaper editorializes so often about controversy and conflict. Once and a while, it is refreshing to comment on people getting along.

for journalistic integrity. A more impartial subtitle could have read, “Critics Say Anti-Abortion Centers May Give False Info.”

I cannot imagine that the Eagle would print an article titled, “Abortion Centers Questioned” with a subtitle reading, “Abortion Centers May Kill Expectant Mothers.”

While this may also be someone’s opinion, it is just as inflammatory and biased as the title to the article

by Ms. Scheller.

Michael Moore contributed to the advancement of documentary genre

ing to do so, they simply mask their own bias.

That’s the beauty of Moore’s take on documentary film-making — because his involvement in the artistic process is evident. In this manner, a healthy skepticism on the part of the viewer is encouraged.

Perhaps Moore lets himself get carried away too often. Maybe, as some argue, he’s a hypocrite and a narcissist. But he is in no way responsible for the supposed “destruction of the documentary.” Rather, he has contributed to the advancement of the genre by hammering another nail into the coffin of faked objectivity.

Joseph Riedel Grand Knight Knights of Columbus Council 14465 American University

In Monday’s copy of the Eagle, columnist Donny Sheldon lambastes Michael Moore for abandoning the “fundamental job of the documentary: to present the real, objective truth.” Sheldon’s criticism boils down to his self-professed love for “the good old days” when documentary filmmakers were devoted to presenting information devoid of subjectivity.

Sheldon equates Moore’s embrace of the director’s own subjectivity with the “destruction of the documentary,” failing to recognize it for what it truly is: a rejection of antiquated CinemaVerite nonsense. Artists cannot truly dispose of their subjectivity — by try-

Mikhail Romanov Senior, CAS

Got something to say?

Contact theEAGLE via the means listed below. the EAGLE

American University’s Independent Student Voice MISSION The Eagle, a student-run newspaper at the American University, serves the student readership by reporting news involving the campus community and surrounding areas. The Eagle strives to be impartial in its reporting and believes firmly in its First Amendment Rights.

SUBMISSION AND EDITORIAL POLICIES • Send letters and guest columns to: Editorial Page Editor, The Eagle, 252 Mary Graydon Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C., 20016 or edpage@theeagleonline.com. Letters and guest columns must be received by 7 p.m. on the Thursday before the Monday publication, should be typed and must include the writer's name, year, school and telephone number.

• All submissions become the property of The Eagle. Unsigned letters will not be published.

The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length and clarity. Letters will be limited to 300 words.

• The Staff Editorial represents the majority of the Editorial Board, which is composed of the Editor in Chief, the managing editors for content, a representative from the Campus News, Metro News and National News desks and at

least three elected staff members. All members of the Editorial Board have the same weight during Editorial Board meetings each Sunday and Wednesday. Letters and guest columns are the opinion of the writer.

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

• The Eagle is a member of the Associate Collegiate Press, U-Wire, which syndicates to a national audience, and McClatchey-Tribune wire service.

• One copy of The Eagle is free per student. For additional copies please contact The Eagle in 252 Mary Graydon Center.

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor in Chief Managing Editor for News Managing Editor for The Scene Art Director Design Editors Design Assistant Photo Editor Photo Assistants Campus News Editor Metro/National News Editor

News Assistants Sports Editor

Andrew Tomlinson

Assistant

Sam Lindauer

Editorial Page Editor

Graham Vyse

Arts and Entertainment Editor Music Editor Scene Assistant Calendar Editor

Caitlin Moore Katrina Casino Olivia Stitilis

Kelly Barrett and Elizabeth Robins Lindsey Anderson Marisa Kendall

202-885-1409

Arts & Entertainment Sports

202-885-1404

Jake Paul

Editorial & Opinion

Web Editor

Ethan Klapper

Web Content Editor Multimedia Editor Assistant

Katie Litvin Jordan Coughenour Rocio Gonzalez Chris Cottrell

202-885-1401

TheScene@TheEagleOnline.com

Webmaster

202-885-1400

EdPage@TheEagleOnline.com

Photography

202-885-1401

Photos@TheEagleOnline.com

Design

202-885-1400

Design@TheEagleOnline.com

Business

202-885-3593

Business@TheEagleOnline.com

Classifieds

Mike Lock

Kelsey DIckey

News

Sports@TheEagleOnline.com

Charlie Szold

Katherine Riddle

202-885-1402

News@TheEagleOnline.com

Kristen Boghosian

Sylvia Carignan and Kristen Powell

Editor in Chief Editor@TheEagleOnline.com

Julia Ryan

Copy Editor

Jen Calantone

Meg Fowler and Sarah Parnass

Business Manager

Kushan Doshi

Finance Manager

Ian Delehanty

Sales Director

Ursula Chavez

Public Relations Coordinator Ad Reps

202-885-1414 (x3)

AdBox@TheEagleOnline.com

Public Relations

202-885-1410

PublicRelations@TheEagleOnline.com

Fax Line

202-885-1428

Web site

www.theeagleonline.com

Alex Wells Leela Chengappa and Ben Levy

Mailing Address

252 Mary Graydon Center 4400 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20016

the EAGLE

OCTOBER 15, 2009

news 4

EAGLE RANTS *@#!3*%!

Today’s top rant: If the Crisis Pregnancy Centers are places that have no right dispensing medical advice and can’t help, does that mean the Student Health Center is a Crisis Pregnancy Center?

the Eagle? Since when are people who are pro-choice considered pro-abortion? Is Pat Buchanan on your advisory board?

EDITOR’S NOTE: AP Style confusion, not malicious intent led to that decidedly not-nice phrase making it into the paper.

Can we get a Glee Club at AU? Not a real one, but just one that gets together to watch Glee together.

Dear girl who sits next to me in physics — STOP COUGHING, I’M NOT TRYING TO GET THE SWINE!

Why do box lunches only come with water or soda? Is fruit juice too much to ask for?

Do the damn rent-a-cops not realize that in a library you turn down your little radios? Ugh. Peasants.

Hey skateboarders, your “sport” isn’t real. And you damn well don’t look cooler skating around the LA Quad — go back to middle school.

When I signed Sig Ep’s beach ball did they get a little excited?

I mean I know they’re into that whole ball stuff...

Dear Bryan Fantie, I enjoy your sarcastic wit, even if it inspires endless moaning in my classmates. Keep it up. <3, SOC Student in Psych-115

Did the Washington Times buy

Dear guy who held back the drunk

girls while my friend and I got off of the shuttle this weekend: Thank You. Way to take charge!

Dear Eagle, The length of Monday’s Eagle Rants was far too short. At the phonathon, we don’t have facebook, we don’t have sunlight, we have eagle rants. I don’t care if they’re bad, I just need something to do...

Love, the phonathon EDITOR’S NOTE: Then rant more! We put almost all we had in.

I want Melanie to teach me everything. Take that sexually.

And the award for most annoying, wanna-be-frat-brahs, goes to... AEPi!!!!!

Hey AU kids...so in high school you were nerds...this doesn’t mean that all of the sudden because some lame frat boy let you CENSORED suck his cock that you’re cool.

UMD forced to instate college porn policy

By ALLIE MEYER Eagle Contributing Writer The state university system of Maryland adopted rules governing the acceptable use of pornographic movies on campus after a state senator objected to the showing of “Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge,” a pirate-themed fantasy porn, at the University of Maryland at College Park.

The controversy erupted last spring when a campus student group attempted to show the movie.

When Sen. Andrew P. Harris — a Republican from Baltimore County — heard of the plans, he proposed a bill that would strip state funding from any institution that showed pornographic material.

Legislators have authority to intervene because taxpayer money was used to construct the building in which the film was to be shown and to pay for security and electricity in the building.

State-funded universities in Maryland have until Dec. 1 to submit policies on the “displaying or screening of obscene films and materials,” according to language added to the state operating budget in April. This legislative requirement applies to 11 colleges and universities in the state system as well as St. Mary’s College of Maryland and Baltimore City Community College, according to The Washington Post.

There is no policy on showing pornographic films on campus at AU, and they have been shown here before, according to Michael Elmore, the senior director at AU’s University Center. The last time was approximately eight years ago.

Kenton Stalder, a senior at UMD, said that the students planned to show the film in the campus theater, but when Harris made his views clear, the full showing had to be canceled. The next week the students showed clips of the film accompanied by an educational panel. The group had pre-sold about 50 tickets to the film before Harris became involved, Stalder said. He added the panel housed a significantly larger number of students.

Chetan Mehta, a junior at UMD, said that hundreds of students went to the panel discussion.

“The place was packed,” he said.

“You couldn’t find a spot to sit on the stairs between aisles,” she said.

Robin Sawyer, a public health professor at UMD, was on the educational panel.

“If no one had made a big deal [about the film], about 40 people would have watched it and gone home afterwards,” he said. “If you don’t want students to watch porn, then don’t make such a big deal about it.”

The pirate film has been screened at the University of California at Los Angeles, Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University and others without incident, according to MTV News.

Stalder said he feels the policies that will suppress pornography on campus are unconstitutional.

“I think it’s misguided more so in the way that it sets a horrible precedent that the state legislature can have a problem with something on campus that is perfectly legal and use the funding as a threat,” he said.

Although there has been a negative reaction to Harris’ threat to withhold state funding, that might

have been his only option. This is also not the first time it has been done, according to Elmore.

“If you’re upset by something that a school in your state is doing, what power do you actually have?”

Elmore said. “That may be the only card you can play ... There may be some opportunism, but at the same time, I would not discount that whether it is for religious reasons, or that he is a father of daughters.

There may be many ways that people can be hurt by this and decide to use the power of their office to get that point across.”

AU has a good track record of allowing free speech at the university.

“It is a healthy attitude for campuses to take,” Elmore said. “It takes more work, but if we’re trying to really enhance the student experience here, then we ought to be connected.”

Stalder said the controversy over this topic has not yet died down at UMD. “It’s very exciting,” he said.

“It has been pretty cool to see hundreds of students walking around actively involved in this.”

Mike Lurie, media relations and web manager at the University System of Maryland, said that they had looked to see if other states had similar policies.

“In the process of developing the policy, no precedent has been found in any other state,” he said. “It is believed that Maryland is the first state that has been asked to develop such a policy.”

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

Kerwin moves back to home near dig site

By CHRISTOPHER COTTRELL Eagle Staff Writer President Neil Kerwin and his wife are in the process of moving back into their 4835 Glenbrook Rd. home, AU’s Director of Community and Local Government Relations Penny Pagano said during a Spring Valley Restoration Advisory Board meeting Tuesday night.

The move comes despite an ongoing “high priority” investigation for chemical munitions next door at the Army Corps of Engineers’ “Pit 3” dig.

Kerwin’s Chief of Staff David Taylor said it is normal for people to live near the excavation.

“Other people have been there in that neighborhood,” he said. “To have people living [in the neighborhood] or at 4835 — there’s nothing unusual about that.”

Because the President’s house lies within the Corps’ established 96-foot safety boundary, anyone staying there will have to be familiar with the Corps’ “public protection plan.”

The President’s house is the only structure within the 96-foot circle, said USACE Military Response Program Manager Dan Noble.

However, other nearby properties are crossed by the arc but are not completely within it.

“The Kerwins are not nervous

about moving back in ... and indeed with the safety and security measures ... believe everything is going to be fine,” Taylor said.

He added that the main reason the President’s house had been uninhabited was because work was still underway at the property and the Army Corps had been leasing it from the university.

Also at the meeting, Todd Beckwith, the project manager of the Corps’ military response program, presented different possibilities for munitions destruction.

Options included no action, open detonation, off-site disposal and on-site detonation.

Beckwith recommended that all World War I-era munitions found to date in and around AU, whether chemical or conventional, be destroyed by a controlled, on-site detonation within the Corps’ Explosive Destruction System.

Detonating the chemical munitions on-site could cost an estimated $630,000, while the cheapest option — an open detonation — would only cost an approximate $200,000, according to Beckwith.

An off-site disposal would cost approximately $850,000.

“It was a toss up between cost and safety issues ... and the safety trumped cost,” he said.

He added that such a controlled detonation could also minimize

impacts from noise, contain fragmentation and capture waste products.

For an on-site detonation, Beckwith said, the Corps would not have to pursue a hazardous waste permit because the Spring Valley cleanup is executed in accordance with the Executing Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), also known as Superfund.

Congress established the law to facilitate the cleanup of hazardous waste sites.

“The CERCLA law specifically provides an exemption from obtaining permits,” Beckwith said.

“The thinking was they don’t want to make the cleanup program overly burdensome with paperwork.”

Allen Hengst, co-founder of the Spring Valley Environmental Health Group and the circulation manager at the Pence Law Library in the Washington College of Law, raised concern about where the liquid waste produced from the detonation would be disposed.

“We’ll have to look at who will accept the material and what the pricing is at those different facilities,” Beckwith said.

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

Courtesy of KYLE BRANNON

PROFESSOR VJ— School of Communication Professoor Kyle Brannon teaches Visual Literacy and Digital Imaging by day and mixes graphics and video at local D.C. clubs by night.

Brannon matches video with mood n

from BRANNON on page 1

for all ages. While Eastman plays audio, Brannon said he projects whatever video clip, animation or other image he feels fits the party onto a screen at the back of the stage.

“So I take stock footage,” Brannon said. “I take graphics I’ve created or bought or had exchanges with, and I layer them, and I add effects, and I speed them up, and I slow them down, and I mix it live against whatever is going on in the club.”

Brannon, who could easily be mistaken for a grad student with his shock of red hair and prominent tattoos, said that all of his work is improvised.

“If I hear something that feels red to me, I start working with red stuff, and if I feel that it’s something that needs a lot of cartoons — if it feels playful — I’ll grab some cartoons I have,” Brannon said.

Eastman said he and Brannon have known each other nearly a decade. They first became friends when Eastman noticed Brannon’s black nail polish at a work function.

Eastman said the idea for their collaboration at the Black Cat came about “organically.” After he left his job to DJ full time, Eastman discovered Brannon experimenting with video techniques and asked him to video jockey, or VJ, for his monthly show. Two years later, the duo is still together.

Eastman said his VJ was most like the breakfast cereal, Rice Krispies, “because he has snap, crackle and pop.”

Casey Trebisacci, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, said she had Brannon for Visual Literacy last spring.

“Kylos!” Trebisacci exclaimed upon hearing his name. “I’m friends with him on Facebook!”

Trebisacci said Brannon was very engaging, and his classes were “super fun.”

“One of our assignments was to make an ad for a “BLISSPOP” night, and he actually gave them to DJ Will Eastman, and they chose a winner,” Trebisacci said.

She said the winner received free admission to one of Eastman and Brannon’s performances.

When Brannon was growing up, filmmaking and video play were not part of his life, he said.

“I did a lot of theater in high school and even out of high school,” Brannon said. “In college I worked with a student-run theater group at [Pennsylvania State University], even though I wasn’t a theater major ... I’ve worked on maybe over 100 plays.”

After high school, Brannon earned two bachelor’s degrees from Penn State: one in photography and one in French. At 18years-old, he started a job that shaped his later life.

He worked in an audio-visual department and taught himself Adobe Photoshop when he had nothing to do.

Brannon graduated in 2000 and hit the road, bound for D.C. He wanted to continue his education in film but found many schools required a film major in order to attend their programs.

AU, however, did not.

Brannon said the school believes each student brings a unique background to the table.

While earning his Masters of Fine Arts at AU, the Corcoran College of Art and Design asked Brannon to teach some summer classes in graphic arts.

“It gave me time to do my own projects, and I just found that I enjoyed [teaching],” Brannon said.

In 2007, Brannon began teaching full-time at AU. He said he prefers the job to any others he has held.

“I still remember some of my professors, and some of the things they said to me still comes to mind when I work on my stuff,” Brannon said. “And I would like to think that sometimes I may bring some things to people’s experiences, lives or educations that will stick with them, and sort of pay it forward, always adding to the landscape and people’s experiences and lives by contributing what I learned.”

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

Students who disinfect at lower risk for H1N1 CDC says sanitizing limits flu

By BROOKES MAY Eagle Contributing Writer There could be fecal matter in your refrigerator.

That’s right. Fecal matter.

According to a study financed

by LYSOL brand products and conducted by the Simmons College Center for Hygiene and Health, 30 percent of dorm refrigerators harbor fecal indicators.

“My roommate brought our fridge from home,” said Su Park, a sophomore in the School of International Service and an Anderson Hall resident. “She cleaned it before she brought it, I guess.”

Dorm room refrigerator door handles also harbor twice as many bacteria as shared dorm toilet handles, the study found.

“Oh, disinfect it?” Chris Macdonald, a sophomore in the School of Communication and an Anderson Hall resident, asked of his own refrigerator. “No, I don’t, but I’m pretty clean. I just have clothes on the floor and stuff; you can’t get swine flu from your clothes being on the floor.”

However, the study found that

not disinfecting surfaces regularly could seriously impact students’ health this flu season. It specifies that contact with surfaces that are contaminated with the flu virus could account for 31 percent of infection risk.

Plus, students who touch these surfaces could also be exposed to E. coli, streptococcus, fecal organisms and other harmful bacteria, according to the study results.

William Suter, director of Facilities Management, the department that oversees campus housekeeping, said AU’s cleanliness standards are sufficient for limiting the spread of H1N1.

“All of our normal cleaning protocols deal with the swine flu on surfaces,” Suter said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a list of recommendations for institutes of higher education to implement during this influenza season. One recommendation is for colleges and universities to “provide disposable wipes” for students to use in their rooms on regularly touched surfaces.

AU does not provide disposable wipes but opted instead to install hand sanitizer dispensers in high traffic areas all over campus.

“We haven’t elected to [provide wipes], and I’m not sure how we would make that happen,” Suter said. “Our sense is that anybody leaving a residence hall and entering another campus building will walk by at least two

hand sanitizing dispensers. The one outside of the fitness center is one that has seen some of the most use.”

Students who are sick, or have a sick roommate may request through Housing and Dining that their room be cleaned, according to Suter.

“We aren’t flooded with requests right now,” he said. “It’s a very small number.”

If that’s not enough for swineflu-free peace of mind, Housing and Dining is implementing another recommendation by the CDC: students can be relocated while they or their roommates are sick, according to Chris Moody, executive director of Housing and Dining.

“The [CDC] guidelines actually say that it’s OK for roommates to continue living together during an illness, as long as they wash hands and practice good hygiene,” Moody said. “We do have some lounges that we typically use for temporary housing at the beginning of the year, so that if either a sick or well student would like to relocate, we have those ready.”

Only one student has utilized this service so far, Moody said.

“Most students want to stay in their own rooms. They recuperate faster in their own space.”

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

OCTOBER 15, 2009

THE EAGLE'S ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT SECTION

Badgley faces daddy issues in ‘Stepfather’

By YOHANA DESTA Eagle Staff Writer In the upcoming thriller “The Stepfather,” actor Penn Badgley assumes the role of Michael Harding, an angry teenager fresh from military school who is forced to deal with his mother’s new boyfriend, David. As the two get to know each other, Harding realizes this man is hiding a secret, and in horror film fashion, terror ensues. This remake of the 1987 film — loosely based on a true story — is much less eerie, stepping away from the original’s creepy, slasher film aesthetic.

“The Stepfather” is a different type of scary movie than the horror movies that have recently come out, such as “Sorority Row,” “Pandorum” and “Jennifer’s Body.” It is based on an old-school variety of horror, but with a modern Hollywood twist.

Unlike tales of demonic high school girls, it has a somewhat relatable topic; it plays on the idea that we are all paranoid of strangers and what happens when our worst fears come true. The fact that it is based on a true story makes it all the more haunting.

In the original film, Badgley’s character was a girl, but that was changed to get an in-depth relationship going between the father and son.

“I think they changed it so that the film would have a different kind of tension,” Badgley said in an interview with the Eagle.

In the new version, there are fight scenes and a different kind of story line, one where the audience can get more invested in what is going on.

“Those fight scenes were intense,” said Badgley, who did most of his own stunts. “I have the bruises and scrapes to prove it. Off-set I would be screaming and doing pushups and pull-ups, just to get ready for the fighting.”

Badgley, a 22-year-old Baltimore native, is perhaps best known for his role as Dan Humphrey on the CW’s “Gossip Girl.” He plays a sarcastic, intelligent guy from Brooklyn surrounded by wealthy Manhattanites.

Badgley originally took the role in “The Stepfather” because he assumed it would be a major difference from Dan. “Michael is more pissed off and quiet than Dan,” Badgley said of his character. “It was like mental gymnastics because I had find something real to compel my character.”

However, Badgley said that in real life, he relates more to Michael than Dan. “Dan is kind of the everyman, whereas Michael actually has real problems,” Badgley said. “I remember when I was 16 and would hate my parents for one thing or another.

Dan just seems more ordinary and

CHEF SECRETS

WILL KOPER

Courtesy of CHUCK ZLOTNICK

Eagle Staff Writer Anyone familiar with singersongwriter Daniel Johnston has to expect a concert experience that strays from the norm. In this regard, Tuesday night’s show at the 9:30 club delivered.

The festivities started fairly typically, with the Philadelphia-based group The Capitol Years taking the stage to open the show.

Standard of most concerts, the few fans who had found their way into the club early did not really seem to want anything to do with the opening act. Both the audience and the band were there for Johnston. It was easy for the audience — which at a generous estimate, filled up about a third of the club — to overlook the band’s solid instrumentals. When they finished they were warmly received, but the real love was being saved for the headliner.

Sporting a “9:30 club Talent” shirt, a tattered pair of sweatpants and some old sneakers, Johnston took the stage, looking characteristically disheveled and wasting no time getting through a few of his songs. Johnston’s interactions with the audience were appropriately strange as halfway through his first song he asked the audience, “Are you still with me?” and got his an-

Stir fry is a quick and deceptively simple way to combine a little bit of meat with a whole bunch of veggies and have a tasty and relatively nutritious meal in about 30 minutes.

But here’s the catch: stirfries also involve a whole lot of slicing and dicing, and if you don’t have a rice cooker, this can be one of the most difficult starches to cook properly.

Take heart, though. Practice makes perfect, and people are generally impressed by your ability to make foreign dishes, even if they are not entirely authentic.

The genesis of this dish was economically motivated. I had some dried mushrooms, a carrot and a bell pepper in my fridge and pork was on sale.

And, yes, I happen to have all this other stuff just sitting in my pantry. My dish turned out well, so now I’m recreating it for you.

The Meat and Marinade 1 lb. pork loin, cut into bitesized cubes 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 tsp. mustard powder 1/2 tsp. chili flakes 1 tsp. soy sauce 1 tsp. sesame oil or canola oil Salt to taste

Courtesy of CHUCK ZLOTNICK

FAMILY GOSSIP — In his newest film “The Stepfather,” actor Penn Badgley, mostly known for his role on “Gossip Girl,” takes on a darker role as an angsty teen. According to Badgley, “Anybody who’s ever felt unsure of who they are and where they fit into the world can relate to [my character].” “The Stepfather” hits theaters Friday, Oct. 16. has no real problems.”

Though he may not see it, in essence Badgley is similar to Dan; they are both fast talkers and down to earth guys, but Michael is something more. He is a character with issues and intensity, which will be a change for Badgley fans to see on the silver screen. For Badgley, this character and film is something that

all people, young and old, would like to see.

“Anybody who’s ever felt unsure of who they are and where they fit into the world can relate to Michael,” Badgley said. “For the film, the idea of a stranger being in your home is something anyone can relate to and understand, and, if anything, we can always relate to family experi-

ences, which is what this [movie] is about.”

“The Stepfather” hits theaters this Friday, Oct. 16.

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

Johnston masters imperfection

By SAM LINDAUER

Asian cuisine stirs up easy, quick menu

swer with cheers.

Johnston is not one for banter with his audience. Besides politely thanking the crowd after every song, he basically stuck to burning through his songbook full of old and new tunes. He did, however, have one moment when he took some time to speak to the audience. Following the second song of the night, he suddenly said, “I had a dream a man was sentenced to death for trying to commit suicide.” This is the Daniel Johnston experience.

He followed his description of his dream with another song that he had to stop right in the middle. He chalked it up to nerves because D.C. was the first stop on his tour.

He then plowed ahead, finally getting comfortable with a cover of the beloved Beatles song, “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” With the crowd singing along, Johnston appeared to be more at ease. Johnston continued to cover his favorite band with a rendition of “Help!” Before his Beatles obsession got stale, he returned to his originals — what the crowd was there to hear.

Johnston’s greatest strength is that his songs reflect his life at the time each song was written.

Throughout his adult life, Johnston has dealt with manic depression and been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Some of the darkness came through in one of his later songs,

Courtesy of HIHOWAREYOU

THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON — Singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston started his national tour at the 9:30 club in D.C. Tuesday night.

“Man Obsessed,” where Johnston opines, “The only way you could get her to look at you is to die/Why don’t you die?”

What is also memorable about a Daniel Johnston show is that it is a real experience of the person, not just the songs. The audience could see what type of person he is today: his voice is lower than his early days in the ‘80s and ‘90s from smoking, he has trouble hitting notes (which has always somewhat been a part of

Johnston’s style), he forgets lyrics to his songs and he spent the show grasping the mic with hands that now constantly shake. For all his faults, no one seemed to care.

Johnston continued the concert with a classic song, a Beatles cover and a new song off his latest album, “Is and Always Was.” The new songs he showcased, titled “Fake Records of Rock and Roll” and “High Horse,” were strong, major progressions n

see JOHNSTON on page 7

Vegetables 1/4 oz. dried shittake mushrooms 1 crown of broccoli 1 large bell pepper, sliced into 1/8-inch strips 2 tbsp. onion, sliced thin (about a finger’s worth) 1 carrot, peeled and julienned (cut into very thin square sticks) 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 tsp. chili flakes 2 tbsp. mirin 1 tbsp. soy sauce 1 tsp. corn starch The first thing to do is get about one cup of water boiling to reconstitute the mushrooms. When it boils, pour it over the mushrooms, set it aside and start a pot of water for your rice.

Now, cut up your meat if you didn’t buy it pre-cubed (which you shouldn’t, by the way; it’s a waste of money, and it spoils faster). Throw it in a bowl with the rest of the marinade ingredients, set it aside, wash your cutting board and hands THOROUGHLY. It’s now time to move on to the veggies.

Broccoli is tricky because the florets cook much faster than the stems. What I do is cut the florets off the stem in bite sized pieces, and then slice the stem into 1/8-inch strips (about 1/8 by 1/2 by 2 inches, for all the perfectionists out there).

The carrot is tough too, because it really does have to be ridiculously thin, almost shredded. Start by cutting it in half crosswise (two short pieces). Then cut off and dispose of the round parts. Now, slice the “squared off ” part the long way as thin as you can. Afterwards, stack the slices on top of one another and slice them the other way. Voila, julienne!

By the time you finish with the pepper, onion and garlic, the mushrooms should be re-hydrated, and the water should be transformed into a rich, fragrant mushroom broth. Take the mushrooms out of the broth and cut them into quarter-inch strips. If the broth is cool, mix it with the cornstarch. If not, mix the cornstarch with a little water and then with the broth.

The trick to rice is getting the right ratio of water to rice.

Ideally, all of the water will be absorbed just when the rice is perfectly cooked. Easier said than done.

If you have a rice cooker, all you have to do is measure with your finger: fill it with rice up to the first knuckle, water up to the next, then “set it and forget it.”

“Practice makes perfect, and people are generally impressed by your ability to make foreign dishes...”

If you don’t have a rice cooker, you can fill a saucepan halfway with water. When it boils (like whitewater rapids), I add rice to fill the pan up to three-quarters of the way. Wait for it to come back up to boil for a solid 60 seconds, reduce the heat so the water comes down to a slow boil (pinkysized bubbles) and cover it.

After 10 minutes, start checking to see if it’s done. If the rice on the top is still crunchy, it’s not ready.

Okay, the rice is working. Time to stir-fry. Get that sautee pan nice and hot, add some oil, and when it starts to smoke, add the mushrooms and sauté for 60 seconds.

Add the pork and leave it for a good two minutes until it gets nice and brown. Afterwards, stir the whole thing and flip any pieces of pork that haven’t been turned over already. Wait two more minutes and transfer everything to a plate. Set it aside.

Put the pan back on the flame and add a little more oil. When it smokes again, add the vegetables, garlic and chili flakes. Let everything sit for about 60 seconds and following, stir it every 30 seconds until the carrots and broccoli start to soften. Add the mirin and soy, stirring until the liquid has almost completely evaporated. Next, add the mushroom broth/cornstarch mixture and let it come to a boil. Finally, put the pork and mushrooms back in and stir it together until the liquid boils again.

By now, your rice should be just about ready. Grab a plate and dig in.

Like many of my recipes, this one provides a framework.

Once you learn the ratios and techniques, you can pretty much do whatever you want.

Add snowpeas, bean sprouts, baby corn or sugar snap peas and take out any of the vegetables you don’t like. If you can’t master rice (or want a backup plan) rice noodles are easy, just soak them in warm water and they’re done. You could also use Chinese wheat noodles for a lo mein-type dish. If you can’t find dried mushrooms, you can use beef or chicken broth instead of the mushroom liquid.

As I’ve said before, the ingredients matter much less than the technique. After a while you’ll start to improvise, and what’s for dinner will become less of a chore and more an exercise in creativity and critical thinking. Until then, keep reading, keep practicing and keep eating.

Bon Appetit.

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

the EAGLE

OCTOBER 15, 2009

the scene 6

The Week in Fun: Know Your City THURS 15

FRI 16 THU 27

SAT 17

Music: Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis 8 p.m.

WHERE: Landmark E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. N.W. METRO: Metro Center (red, blue and orange lines) INFO: Landmark E Street Cinema joins six other Landmark movie theaters across the country in showing “Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis Play the Music of Ray Charles,” a recording of Nelson and Marsalis’ concert at the Lincoln Center with Norah Jones.

COST: $15 CONTACT: For more information, call the E Street Cinema at 202-4527672.

The Washington Ballet: Don Quixote 8 p.m.

WHERE: John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts METRO: Foggy Bottom-GWU (orange and blue lines) INFO: The Washington Ballet explores Cervantes’ classic tale of the man who seeks to manifest personal goodness and romantic love.

COST: $20 CONTACT: For more information, call the Kennedy Center at 202-4674600.

Documentary Screening: “A Place to Live — The Story of Triangle Square” 11 a.m.

WHERE: Goethe-Institut, 812 Seventh St. N.W. METRO: Gallery Place-Chinatown (red, yellow and green lines) INFO: The Reel Affirmations Film Festival presents a documentary about early activists in the LGBT movement and the elderly LGBT community in America today.

COST: $10 CONTACT: For more information, call the Reel Affirmations Film Festival at 800-494-8497.

SUN 18

MON 19

TUES 20

Dance: El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea de El Salvador 7 p.m.

WHERE: Dance Place, 3225 Eighth St. N.E. METRO: Brookland-CUA (red line) INFO: El Salvador’s premiere dance company performs traditional El Salvadorean dances.

COST: $22 CONTACT: For more information, call Dance Place at 202-269-1600.

Play: Red Roses and Petrol 7 p.m.

WHERE: Flashpoint, 916 G St. N.W. METRO: Metro Center (red, orange and blue lines) INFO: Kathleen Akerley directs a staged reading of Joseph O’Connor’s play about the emotional twists and turns of familial relationships.

COST: Free CONTACT: For more information, call Flashpoint at 202-315-1303.

Music: Hanson 6 p.m.

WHERE: 9:30 club, 815 V St. N.W. METRO: U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (yellow and green lines) INFO: The popular ‘90s boy band will play their well-known hits as well as some music from their latest album “The Walk.”

COST: $30 CONTACT: For more information, call the 9:30 club at 202-265-0930.

Fans’ wishes come true with ‘11:11’

By YOHANA DESTA Eagle Staff Writer The things that Rodrigo y Gabriela do to their guitars is simply mind-blowing. Their rhythm is absolutely enchanting, and you will be hooked after just one listen. The Mexican acoustic rock duo, made up of Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero, perfectly marry classical guitar with a modern Latino flair.

Although there are only two guitarists, they sound like an army, strumming powerfully on their guitars. They are impossibly fast and completely irresistible. What’s strange is that they started off as a heavy metal band.

To this day, the pair cites Metallica, Megadeth and other heavy metal bands as their influences, even doing covers of songs like Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and Metallica’s “Orion.” But in modern Rodrigo y Gabriela fashion, the songs have been recreated to emanate a ro-

mantic acoustic sound, rather than intense heavy metal. Plus, the fact that they don’t sing makes the music more powerful — their romantic and heart racing strumming does more for the listener than words ever could. With music like this, who needs lyrics?

Their latest release, “11:11,” is homage to all those musicians who have inspired them up to this point.

It is the duo’s third studio album, and each song is dedicated to a musician that has influenced each member in one way or another.

“Hanuman” is dedicated to Carlos Santana, while “Buster Voodoo” is dedicated to the inimitable Jimi Hendrix. Staying true to their metal roots, “Atman” is dedicated to the legendary Dimebag Darrell, of heavy metal band Pantera.

The album’s title song, “11:11,” is a dedication to psychedelic rockers Pink Floyd. Some of the songs are dedicated to more eccentric musicians, such as Astor Piazzolla, the

late Argentine tango composer and player of the bandoneon, an instrument similar to an accordion.

The album is jammed with rhythmic guitars. The sound is sultry, yet intense, promptly sweeping the listener off their feet. Some songs rock out with full-on electric guitar, but most stay acoustic. It is what Hendrix would do if he was Latino and had the patience for acoustic guitars.

Rodrigo y Gabriela play fast, strumming up and down the necks of their guitar so quickly that all you see is a flurry of hands, but what you hear is pure magic. And they don’t just strum their guitars; they pick the strings, they slam the sides, and Gabriela raps out a beat on the body so fast, she might as well be on a drum kit. Every noise that a guitar can make has been charmed out by Rodrigo y Gabriela, making for quite the multi-faceted performance.

Although they have stuck with n

see RODRIGO on page 7

Gossip show invites crowd to ‘Listen Up!’

By KATRINA CASINO Eagle Staff Writer The bass line cuts sharp and staccato through the crowd’s raucous shouts. Lead singer Beth Ditto pours her voice into a microphone, cadenced and smooth, singing, “Dimestore diamond/shines like the real thing, real thing, real thing.” Gossip are performing the lead track from their latest album, “Music for Men.” Crisp, full of swagger and unwavering in its groove, Gossip are a darker shade of dance.

“Dimestore Diamond” is the epitome of Gossip. Never overwrought or dependent on emotional swells of sound, Gossip rely on steady rhythmic funk and Ditto’s soulful but edgy vocals to carry their band.

And carry their band it did. The three-piece, indie dance-punk band from Arkansas, consisting of pinkhaired frontwoman Ditto, guitarist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Blilie, have been going strong since their 2001 debut, “That’s Not What I Heard.” Their success relies not only on the quality of their sound, but also the outrageousness of their shows.

Gossip are momentous. Ditto exudes all that a rock ‘n’ roll frontwoman needs to be. More than confident, she approaches cocky, but only in the good way — she knows the audience is there for her.

Decked out in kabuki-like makeup

and a skin-tight satiny dress, Ditto is as controversial as she is talented.

Self-proclaimed punk and in-yourface outspoken activist, Ditto commands the stage like a woman on a mission, and Paine and Blilie remain her steadfast comrades, backing Ditto in her musical conquest.

Ditto never shies away from controversy; rather, she lets it inspire her performance. Lesbian and feminist in the most riot grrrly way possible, she belted out the words to “Men in Love,” Gossip’s fast-paced track about same-sex romance. Her lyrics are clever and self-aware: “Since the beginning of time/Put your hand in mine/Come along and you’ll find/It’s the perfect crime,” and the audience can only bounce and scream along to the catchy chorus of “na na na’s.”

Gossip don’t interact much verbally with the crowd — they don’t have to. Strutting back and forth, Ditto remains largely on the edge of the stage, convincing each and every audience member that she is singing directly to their moshing, dancing and screaming selves. Every time she held her hand out to the crowd, one was convinced that she was an international pop sensation from the way fans screamed and pushed to touch her.

The best interactions occurred when Ditto broke the barrier between the band and the crowd, stepping onto the chaotic floor during their performance of “Listen Up!,” their single from their

2006 breakout album “Standing in the Way of Control.” “Listen Up!” is a Gossip classic. Dark and almost foreboding but still hip and danceable, this track is a sly warning against, well, gossip. Amidst a sea of belligerently inebriated moshing fans, Ditto’s cool enthusiasm and relentless movement through the audience made her seem like one of the crowd — she seemed almost like a trashed-out fan singing along with her favorite band.

Ditto’s solidarity with the crowd served as a constant reminder that Gossip never forget where they come from. Not only thankful to their fans, the band paid dues to their predecessors, covering pieces of the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” and riot grrrl legends Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl” during their encore.

Ditto couldn’t let it end there, though. She couldn’t even let it end with an extended crowd surf. After Gossip’s encore, she returned to the stage sans her bandmates and led the remaining audience members in a rendition of “We Are the Champions,” yet another throwback to those musicians who came before her.

Gossip just know. They know where they come from, they know where they’re going and they know that, no matter what, they’re taking their army of loyal fans with them.

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

Courtesy of JOHN BAER

LOCKED UP — Gerard Butler takes the law into his own hands in his newest film, “Law Abiding Citizen.” After his family is killed in front of him, Butler’s character goes on a murderous rampage. Oscar winner Jamie Foxx plays the assistant district attorney who is at the center of the controversy.

‘Citizen’ abides

by Butler’s ‘law’

By BRYAN KOENIG Eagle Contributing Writer

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

A-

There is something deeply troubling about a genius who has been stripped of all moral limitations and will kill anyone.

Gerard Butler is Clyde Shelton, a brilliant “tinkerer” and family man who had to watch helplessly as his family was slaughtered in front of him. He found himself then utterly betrayed by the judicial system as he watched the murderer get out of prison in a matter of years in exchange for getting his accomplice sent to death row. Jamie Foxx plays Assistant District Attorney Nick Rice, the man who made the deal and the focal point for what is one of the most compelling and intriguing of all revenge films, “Law Abiding Citizen.”

For Shelton, the men who did the terrible deed are only the tip of an immense iceberg; there is much more behind his disgust with a justice system he has come to despise. The movie is quick to move on to the revenge phase.

The backstory it establishes is important and unrushed, but

little dalliance is made; the audience and film both know full well what everyone has come to see and are eager to dive into a world where anything can be used as a lethal weapon. Piece by piece, body by brutally, yet brilliantly murdered body, the pawns are set in motion as we begin to truly feel an impossibly well-laid plan 10 years in the making.

Well deserving its R rating, “Law Abiding Citizen” is often violent and disturbing, but incredibly captivating with the always-impressive Foxx and a kind of calculating, cold-hearted portrayal not yet seen in Butler. In many ways, his Shelton is more dangerous — more badass — than his King Leonidas in “300.” Where the Spartan king was a beast of inhuman skill and superhuman will, Shelton is a killing machine in his own right, able to kill anyone, anywhere, with everything from explosives to poison to killing gadgets more clever than what often inhabits even the best spy movies.

Each kill is unique and emotional in its own way. In an industry that often regurgitates the same death scenes a dozen times over, “Citizen” remains original and never contrived. We come to truly fear Shelton even as we are captivated by him, being both sympathetic and in fear of

a man who has every right to be the monster he is today. There is something of a Nolan-style “Joker” in director F. Gary Gray’s direction. A complex plan of death and destruction unfolds before our eyes in an execution as elaborate as it is devastating. The director brilliantly takes a calculated approach to the film, tearing away the audience’s footing just when they think they’ve grasped the direction of the film.

Of course, a plan as well set with a killer as unique and intriguing is going to have trouble wrapping itself up and indeed, “Citizen’s” only real weakness is in a lackluster ending. It makes sense, as a story like this has enough energy to fry most brakes applied to it. The film is in some ways too good to end, finishing up as well as can be expected, given the difficultly of this task.

The end is certainly satisfying, but in many ways it just doesn’t seem good enough for a movie that is otherwise truly exceptional in its acting, plot, direction, sheer vibrancy and intrigue.

“Law Abiding Citizen” will hit theaters Friday, Oct. 16.

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

Planning ahead helps ease worries in bed IN SEARCH OF BOOTY

AMBER SPARKLES, MAXWELL HILLCREST & BUSTER DARKHOLE Everyone has had their first time, second time, third time and so on.

With every thrust, every lick or every kiss you learn what you want, who you desire and ultimately begin to understand your sexuality.

Understanding yourself and your desire will cause you to have a more pleasurable experience with your partner, simply because when you know what you want, you can express it to the person you are with.

But during this exploration, you have a responsibility to yourself.

Fundamentally, you are your own best line of defense. In the end, you are the number one advocate for your health and safety. This all being said, horrible and despicable things happen to people, we are not blaming victims of crimes of this nature.

Let’s get right to the butt of this.

Many people enjoy sex without condoms — scratch that, nearly everyone enjoys the sensations of sex more without condoms. With the birth control pill and the invincibility complex of many college-aged people, unprotected sex is bound to happen on a college campus.

But this is a deeply personal choice that should be made by both parties involved. Understanding the outcomes is an important part; however, accepting what may come to pass is paramount. In the end you can cry to as many friends you will like, but you will still have to sit in that

doctor’s office, Planned Parenthood center or in front of an unfriendly nurse as he or she takes your blood for another test.

Everyone makes her or his own choices, and in the end it is about you knowing what you’re doing and being OK with that. Sex is a very natural process, whether you’re vanilla and enjoy the tried and true missionary position or enjoy being carted off by the D.C. Leather Boys from S and M 101 and spanked ‘til your ass is rosy. Don’t have shame in what you enjoy or whom you enjoy it with. In the end, it is your life. It is not the life of the girl who might yell “slut” at you when you walk home

“Don’t have shame in what you enjoy or whom you enjoy it with.

In the end, it is your life.” from a fantastic evening.

For those who attended S and M 101, hosted by Queers and Allies this past week, the leather boys brought up the issue of understanding your true desires. It’s OK if you like to be spanked, hogtied or act like a puppy. While being a dutiful slave to a master is more than OK, people shouldn’t be a slave to society’s perceived notions on sex.

With that being said, girls don’t have to be prudish and lady-like, and boys don’t have to be crude and always looking for “some ass” — or vice versa. We know we may

be preaching to the choir on this campus, but so often we see people fall into the same traps of conforming to what they think people want them to be, and not what they want for themselves.

This leads guys into thinking they can treat girls poorly just because others do it. It leads girls to think they need to get as drunk as possible before a frat party to hook up with a guy. These kinds of actions do not lead to good sex, and they often do not lead to being happy with yourself.

In the end it comes down to taking a personal responsibility for what you want. It is not a decision that can be made for you by society, and it is often not an easy decision.

Take for instance a girl and boy who decide to have unprotected sex. They may enjoy it more, they may feel closer together, but they may also become pregnant. Or imagine two boys at Apex going home together.

They may have amazing sex, but if it is unprotected, the consequences can be fatal.

Finding a medium between personal responsibility and your personal desires is no easy task. With pregnancy, HIV and other complications, not all personal desires are without consequence. The first step is to always understand what you and your partner want together. But the dialogue cannot end there. You and your partner must also realize the possible consequences of your actions, especially if you choose riskier behavior — and know that the responsibility is on you both.

Then, should something unwanted come to pass, you will be as prepared as possible.

Please feel free to contact the AU Threesome with questions or comments at authreesome@theeagleonline.com.

CLASSIFIEDS

OCTOBER 15, 2009

7

KUSHAN DOSHI n Business Manager 202.885.3593

CLASSIFIED ADOPTION

Loving home, sweet dog, all NYC has to offer awaits baby to adopt. Expenses paid. Call Ellen toll free 888868-8778, or email at www.eeadoption.com n

from RODRIGO on page 6

an independent recording label, they have achieved a cult fanbase in America thanks to the publicity machine that is MTV. They were the feature artists of the month, and with that came a slew of new fans, young and old.

And it’s not just the music that is captivating. Watching Rodrigo and Gabriela play their music is a whole other experience. Their passion is reminiscent of, say, Carlos Santana at Woodstock.

They close their eyes, throw their heads back and stomp their feet, and you can’t help but appreciate their intensity and talent.

It’s clear why the two have sold out concerts and topped music n

from JOHNSTON on page 5

from his early work; he now has a significant musical backing, as opposed to just a single organ or guitar.

Johnston continued the trend of mixing in his oldies with crowd favorites like “Speeding Motorcycle,” a song that lands on the happy end of the Daniel Johnston spectrum. Johnston ended the set with another one of his own, “Rock ‘N’ Roll EGA,” a tribute to the Beatles and the entire genre of music.

The small but fervent crowd let him know how much they loved him. He reciprocated by coming back out for an encore. He played maybe his most beautiful and one

charts worldwide.

Their first tour was as support for Muse, but now they are going out on their own on a worldwide tour. But you better hurry if you want tickets — the two sell shows fast, and for good reason. The next place you can catch them is Oct. 24 in Baltimore.

While Rodrigo y Gabriela have never confirmed whether or not they are a couple, one thing is certain — they make sweet music together.

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

of his most covered songs, “True Love Will Find You in the End.” The crowd sang every word with Johnston to end the evening on a beautiful note.

Johnston’s set could be seen as a bit underwhelming since he did not play many of his hits and decided to play more new and cover songs. But when it was all over, his time on stage felt all too brief.

The crowd knew they got to see one of the fantastic singer-songwriters in the country. This was the great Daniel Johnston. He was raw, he was disorganized, he was off-pitch: he was perfect.

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

Visit The Scene blog at: www.theeagleonline.com/behindthescene

Courtesy of NICK SWARDSON

WASN’T ME — Nick Swardson has taken on the role of many comedic characters, but none are as funny as Swardson himself. In his stand-up, Swardson jokes about happy endings, old ladies and girlfriends. He brings his best to his latest comedy album, “Seriously, Who Farted?”

Farts still prove funny

By HAELY JARDAS Eagle Contributing Writer Many have seen Nick Swardson in one of his hilarious and extremely out-landish roles, like the awkward, friendly Bed, Bath and Beyond employee in “Click,” the “Dance Dance Revolution” pro and uncomfortable virgin in “Grandma’s Boy” or the awkward and flamboyant repeat offender Terry on “RENO 911!” We could pretty much sum up Nick Swardson as one awkward individual, and he loves to flaunt it.

In his new comedy album, “Seriously, Who Farted?” Swardson breaks out all the big guns — video games, (lack of) girlfriends and the true story about an old lady that he had a relationship with (“Grandma’s

Boy” was not the first time). Swardson’s style of comedy tends to vary back and forth from the crazy events in his life to interesting opinions on things, using just the right amount of sarcasm mixed with complete seriousness — especially about the fact that he was determined to be a ninja when he was younger.

Part of the album’s charm is that Swardson spits out things you would not expect. It’s shocking to hear the dorky little man discuss his experience getting a massage with a happy ending from an old lady or talk about how his girlfriend thought that the noises he made while playing video games were the sounds of him shooting and producing hardcore gay porn.

Swardson is one of those come-

dians whose expression can handle the transfer from stage to CD. He’s very emotive and enthusiastic, which is even funnier when he tells a story that ends in failure. And because he is so expressive and tells so many stories about his life, by the time he’s done with his act you feel as though you know him.

By the end of the album, Swardson seems not necessarily a friend, but instead that awkward guy in high school who was an acquaintance with. Simply put, he’s that guy everyone would laugh at when he’d get his shirt caught in the door.

Anyone who has seen Swardson in one of his various and hilarious supporting roles and enjoyed his sense of comedy should definitely check out his stand-up. During

his comedic act, it’s as if his entire act swallows up all the characters you’ve ever seen him do, and they decide to jump out whenever they feel like it during his act.

Whether it’s when he mimics the voices in his life or reveals the darkest secrets of his past, anyone in his presence can see that Nick Swardson is one complex, awkward and funny individual.

If you’re looking for something highly entertaining and different to listen to, Swardson’s specials often air on Comedy Central at night, or you can grab a copy of his new comedy album.

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

Radius’ New York pizza widens craving options Taste change at Columbia Heights eatery

By GENNARO ESPOSITO Eagle Contributing Writer We take pizza for granted. Try to describe that iconic food, and inevitably the same general components come to mind: crust, sauce and cheese. But if you’re aiming for specifics, things get dicey. Sure, everybody has favorite toppings, but there is more to the intricacies of pizza than that: upwards of five unique styles of pizza are available within delivery range of AU alone.

There’s the generic delivery pizza, produced en masse across the country at national chains like Pizza Hut and locally, with varying levels of success by pizzerias like Angelico and Café Ro-

Crisp & Juicy

Charbroiled Chicken

meo’s. These aren’t marked by any real defining characteristics other than a frequently stiff, cardboardlike crust.

Then there are regional favorites, like Neapolitan pizza, a product of Southern Italy known for having a thin, traditionally wood-fired crust that carries a light load of toppings; this style is well represented in D.C. by 2 Amy’s on Macomb Street.

Pete’s Apizza in Columbia Heights deals in New Haven style pizza, a variation on the Neapolitan tradition that retains the emphasis on thin crust but redefines topping options.

There’s also the late night favorite, Domino’s. With its doughy crust and thick layer of low-grade cheese that only barely melts, coming together around a thin smear of overly-sweet sauce to form a sort of cross between the aforementioned generic pies and an altogether different beast: Chicago style, or deep-dish pizza.

This latter school of pizza making is represented nationally

by Uno and locally by Armand’s,

both producing those thick, dense products that are as close to pot pies as they are to pizza pies.

These are the options at students’ disposal each time that familiar yearning for pizza strikes — at least until the revelation of Radius Pizza in Columbia Heights.

Radius vindicates New York style pizza, a product of the tristate area that has been hard to find done so well. New York pizza is marked by a thin crust that makes no attempt at stiffness; it flops readily under generous (but not overwhelming) layers of toppings, often inspiring the folding technique. And when done right, it offers a sort of richness and comfort that can’t be matched by the sparse, focused flavors of a usual favorite, the Neapolitan pizza.

Todd Wiss, Radius’ head chef and owner, achieves this and so much more. His pizzas have the perfect balance between crust and toppings, the flavor combinations of his specialty and seasonal pies work beautifully, and he offers his product at reasonable prices:

small pies range from $11 to $13, while larges, each comprised of eight hefty slices, are between $14 and $17.

A recent sampling of the Radius menu was full of winners and without a single disappointment. The Fall Pizza, a seasonal offering that replaces red sauce with pumpkin puree and includes mozzarella, feta, caramelized mushrooms and red onions was simply extraordinary, taking the flavor of pumpkin (too often relegated to the realm of desserts), making it savory. It is then paired with the saltiness of the feta cheese and the simultaneous earthiness and sweetness of the mushrooms and onions.

More traditional standbys (like the “Ducati,” with house-ground Italian sausage, roasted red peppers, onions, mozzarella and red

sauce), while less innovative, are equally successful thanks to their balances of fresh, high-quality ingredients.

And there’s more to Radius than pizza: Chef Wiss makes his pasta fresh in house, exemplified by addicting Heirloom Pumpkin Ravioli ($7 half/$13 whole) that puts another spin on pumpkin by harnessing its sweeter side and then elevating it with a nutty brown butter sauce, sage and walnuts. A range of worthwhile appetizers is also offered, from salads to calamari to an incredible dish of mussel ($7 half/$13 whole) in an almost cloyingly sweet sauce of parsley and Jersey tomatoes, reigned in perfectly by the accompanying smoky, red pepper aioli.

Located at 3155 Mount Pleasant St. N.W. — just steps from

the Columbia Heights Metro station and easily accessible by bus — Radius deserves the AU student body’s attention. Offering cheaper — and far better — food than traditional AU haunts, as well as special deals for AU students, who receive 25 percent off with a valid student ID. The restaurant also offers specials such as buy two large pies on Monday and get another free, both dinein and delivery, there’s no reason not to give it a try. Run, don’t walk, to Radius the next time a pizza craving sets in (or just pick up a phone instead and dial 202234-0808). You won’t miss those fast food restaurant pizzas for a second.

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

Crisp & Juicy GRAND OPENING IN TENLEYTOWN WELCOMES

American University Students

Recieve a FREE Fountain Drink

With Purchase of Any Chicken Platter!

Starting at $5.75

Quarter Chicken Dark, House Salad, French Fries & Dinner Role Not Valid With Any Other Offer...

Please Present this Coupon Upon Purchase

MORGAN JORDAN / THE EAGLE

PIZZA PIZZA — Columbia Heights’ Radius Pizza is a step outside the box from the usual range of pizza chains around AU students. Radius offers a wide variety of flavors, ranging from the traditional Neopolitan to the “fall” pizza, made with pumpkin puree instead of normal tomato sauce, picture above. The pizza also adds to the seasonal flavor mozzarella and feta cheeses, caramalized onions and red oinons. Along with its pizza selection, Radius also offers a variety of Italian foods, including an in house pasta. All of the dishes run under $20, and AU students also get a 25 percent discout with their student ID.

8

SPORTS

OCTOBER 15, 2009

ANDREW TOMLINSON n Sports Editor 202.885.1404

Tigers drop AU field hockey

By TOM SCHAD Eagle Contributing Writer It was a rollercoaster weekend for AU field hockey, while they won against Colgate University, they lost in the final minutes to Princeton University 3-2. “[This weekend] wasn’t the success that we wanted, because we’re always going for two wins,” AU Head Coach Steve Jennings commented. “But we had a good strong league win and played toe to toe with the number four team in the country, so I think you have to feel good about it.”

The Eagles looked to build off of Saturday’s momentum heading into the match against No. 4 Princeton Sunday afternoon. AU came out determined and drew first blood as Anne-Meike DeWiljes scored off a penalty corner 12 minutes in. Unfortunately, Princeton quickly responded with a goal of its own, as Tiger Michelle Cesan deflected a shot past senior goalie Alyssa Poorman. It was a hard-fought, evenly matched game, in which neither team was willing to budge going into the half.

Senior forward Savannah Graybill broke the deadlock in the first minute after halftime by touching a onetimer from Christine Fingerhuth into the back of the cage. Possession went back and forth between the two teams for the majority of the second half and the focused Eagles had a great chance

of pulling off the upset.

Two Princeton goals in the final 10 minutes dashed those hopes. Christina Bortz scored the tying goal, while Kathleen Sharkey snuck the game winner past Poorman in the final minute.

“I thought we played really hard and had some great moments today,” Jennings said. “We’re all bitterly disappointed that we didn’t get a win, but the game was incredibly competitive and we did a really great job overall.”

This weekend’s play puts American at 6-6 on the season, though five of their six losses have come against ranked opponents and four have been by only one goal. Most importantly, the Eagles’ 2-0 league record puts them in good position to repeat as Patriot League champions for the seventh consecutive season.

“This team has so much potential that it’s actually unreal,” Poorman stressed. “We’re a .500 team right now, but I don’t think that any team should ever doubt us; we’re going to take what we’ve learned, move forward, and hopefully produce some results.”

AU field hockey plays the Bucknell University Bison on Saturday and returns to Jacobs Field Wednesday, Oct. 21 for a showdown with Georgetown University.

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

Six teams: NFL’s worst SIDELINE SCHOLAR TYLER TOMEA

PHILLIP OCHS / THE EAGLE

MAKING IT INTERESTING — Sophomore forward Jack Scott takes the ball up field on a fancy move in the team’s 2-1 win. It was the second straight double overtime game for the Eagles and again they pulled out a win. With the win, AU improves to 7-3-1 this season and are 3-0 in the Patriot League, good enough for first place.

Men win second straight 2OT game AU pulls out 2-1 win over Pennsylvania

By JIMMY HASCUP Eagle Contributing Writer

PHILLIP OCHS / THE EAGLE

NOT CLOSE ENOUGH — Junior Cassandra Ricketts and senior Claire Recht go up to block a shot in AU’s 3-1 loss to the College of William and Mary on Tuesday. The team falls to an 8-9 record with the loss.

William and Mary tops AU volleyball 3-1

By CODY SNELL Eagle Contributing Writer AU’s volleyball team looked to finish up an inconsistent non-conference schedule with a win against the College of William and Mary, but the Tribe seemed to have an answer for every American rally.

Although the stat sheet shows a fairly even kill count by both teams throughout the four sets, American was out blocked 21-2.

“We hit the ball into their blocks, we continued to attack balls straight at them,” said Coach Barry Goldberg.

“We didn’t have enough vision to see a block and hit to a different part of the court and that’s how smaller teams can end up blocking bigger teams, they hit around our blocks.”

The loss gives AU a losing record of 9-10, something that the eight-time Patriot League Champions are not used to. That said, however, the players believe it is not too late to turn the season around. “[Our record is] not up to par with what we were expecting, but we’re learning from our losses and celebrating our wins,” said junior hitter Angelina Waterman. “Obviously no team wants to have a losing record, but hopefully the rest of the season will change that.”

William and Mary set the tone of the match early in the first set. They outscored American 25-16, in large part due to AU’s inability to put together clean sets. The sloppy play often led to scramble situations and weak returns.

AU appeared to be more determined in the second set and mounted an impressive comeback attempt after being down 16-24. They scored three straight points to close the gap, but it was not enough, as William and Mary went on to win 25-19.

“I think in the first two games we made a lot of mistakes, which made us lose the set,” junior hitter Magda-

lena Tekiel said. “We were not effective in hitting and we kept making the same mistakes.”

The third set showed some of the reason why this team has won eight league titles in a row. After playing even with William and Mary through the first 15 points, the Eagles broke the set open by winning nine of the next 11 points and winning the set 25-17.

AU’s sets and digs were much cleaner than the first two games, which allowed American to connect on its kills and stop William and Mary’s momentum for the time being.

American came out strong in the final set and stayed within striking distance of William and Mary throughout the match. It was not enough, however, as American committed six costly unforced errors and the Tribe took the set 25-20 to close out the match.

“Unforced errors are based on individual mental mistakes,” said Tekiel.

“Each of us needs to work on it individually to get better.”

Goldberg is taking the loss as a lesson on the team’s mental fortitude.

“We need to find our identity,” he said. “Right now the identity of our team is as soon as there starts to be a little pressure, we back off.”

As for the final nine Patriot League games of the season, Goldberg said his team better start growing more of a backbone.

“The rest of the matches here on out are all conference matches and every team we play is coming after [us],” he said. “Unless we start getting tough, we’re just going to be weak student athletes.”

AU falls to 9-10 on the season and plays their next game Friday against their conference rival the Army Black Knights in West Point.

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

Playing in their second straight double overtime game, the AU men’s soccer team was again able to capture a victory on Tuesday afternoon, defeating the University of Pennsylvania 2-1 with 20 seconds remaining.

With time expiring in the match, an AU cross from the left side deflected off of the Pennsylvania goalkeeper to AU midfielder Jamie Davin, who punched in the game winner, making the Eagles undefeated in their past six games.

“I couldn’t ask for the ball in a better spot,” Davin said. “All I wanted to do was connect and I knew the goalie was screened. There were a lot of guys in front of him and luckily it got through and ended up in the back of the net. It was a good win.”

In the first half, it seemed as if the Eagles were going to run away with the game, as they had nine shots compared to their opponents two. Despite the shot disparity, AU was only able to come away with one goal in the half. David Menzie launched a long pass to sophomore Jack Scott who was able to beat the Penn goalie on a breakaway to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

In the game’s first 45 minutes, AU was aggressive and decisive with the ball. Their defense was solid, dispelling any offensive attempt from the Quakers. The second half was a different story however, as the Eagles played on their heels for most of it.

Pennsylvania forward Loukas Tasigianis knotted the game up on a hard shot that goaltender Matt Makowski got a piece of, but couldn’t prevent from trickling into the net.

From that moment, Makowski single-handedly kept AU in the game. UPenn had nine shots in the half and Makowski made five saves. The goalkeeper stopped a breakaway attempt with 15 minutes remaining, making a diving save to preserve the tie. He also slid to break-up another Pennsylvania chance minutes later.

Nick Kapus looked to break the

tie in regulation with under a minute remaining, but his shot to the goalie’s right required a diving effort to push the game to overtime.

The Quakers dictated the pace in the first overtime frame, but the Eagles did have two scoring chances of their own. Daniel Shannon had his shot sail over the net and Davin, who was alone in front of the net after a cross from Colin Zizzi, chipped his shot high-and-wide.

AU was able to get five shots in the second overtime period, while at the same time preventing UPenn from taking a single one. Ultimately, it was the last one that counted most. “[UPenn] is a good team,” AU Coach Sean West said. “Finding a way to win these games is the difference in having an average season versus what could potentially be a special season.”

The win against Pennsylvania closes out the out-of-conference portion of the schedule for the Eagles. They look to remain undefeated in the Patriot League when they face Navy on Oct. 17.

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

Volleyball’s year may be determined Friday OUTSIDE OPINION ANDREW TOMLINSON Despite losing to the College of William and Mary, the AU volleyball team is more concerned with their next match against Army at West Point on Friday.

Despite already playing 19 total games, the whole season may come down to Friday’s match.

The Black Knights are AU’s biggest rival and toughest competition in the Patriot League. A loss to them could all but destroy any hopes of winning this year’s Patriot League title.

It has been more than nine years since the Eagles have lost more than one conference match and they already have lost two this year. It is not impossible for AU to make a run at the top spot, but if it is to happen it needs to begin Friday. It must start Friday for the simple reason that it may be AU’s only opportunity to hand Army one of two loses. Two loses may be all it takes for AU to take the top spot over Army if the Eagles win out through the rest of conference play.

Army has been a force to be reckoned with all year. Through 20 games, the Black Knights are 17-3 overall with a perfect 5-0 in the conference. In those five victories, they have not lost more than one set and have never been in jeopardy of being upset.

AU, on the other hand, has

not been as efficient as they can be. While they have not lost a set in each of their Patriot League wins, the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in league each beat AU by two sets.

The hard part about those two L’s on their record is that they should have easily won those games.

The Eagles came into the 200910 season as the favorite to run away with the Patriot League.

They had been in the NCAA tournament for more than five years in a row and lost to a strong University of North Carolina team in the tournament last year. Those predictions all changed, however, when the team started 0-5 losing games to cross-town rivals George Washington, Georgetown and George Mason.

Head Coach Barry Goldberg was expected to get his 500th win of his AU career the first weekend, but it took until the eighth game to get that achievement. Both Goldberg and the team insist that the pressure of getting the win didn’t affect their play. Instead, they equated it to injuries and youth on the team.

While every team goes through growing pains, AU has not been through one recently. In over 10 years of consecutively winning seasons, a team must reload every once in a while, or about every two years. It may be that the talent is just not there.

It is clear that the team goes out and gives its all every game, so it is not a question of heart. There is a

very real possibility that the quality of player just isn’t there anymore. With only four freshmen on the whole team, the experience should be there.

All of this can go away for the perennial winning team. They just have to win against Army on Friday. It will be a statement game no matter what the outcome is.

A win, and the Eagles have the chance to turn the season around; a loss means the season is all but lost. For the sake of the rest of the season, the team better hope they win.

The chance of a win is higher seeing as this is a rivalry game. Senior Claire Recht has stressed all year that the team wants to beat Army and that they are the two games they care about most. A big rivalry could be just what the team needs in order to finish the season strong.

Army may only lose two games this year, that is assuming both loses are to AU. The Eagles can get a big start on working towards the first seed in the Patriot League with a win Friday. It is the biggest game of the season, bigger than the UNC rematch. A win gives this team some hope to cling to, since first place will be within reach, but a loss may all but end the season for this struggling powerhouse.

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

The Detroit Lions were embarrassing last year, but the same thing can be said of six NFL teams this year.

The Oakland Raiders are a mess both on and off the field. JaMarcus Russell has not turned into the franchise quarterback that management thought he would be.

Russell has a career quarterback rating of 47.1 and is completing well under 50 percent of his passes. On top of that, his throws miss wide-open receivers by about 15 yards.

Darren McFadden, last year’s first-round draft pick, has not impressed and is out with a knee injury. Meanwhile, rookie wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bay has more names than catches on the season.

Off the field, their coach is in legal trouble. Head Coach Tom Cable may soon be arrested for assaulting Assistant Coach Randy Hanson during August’s training camp. Cable broke Hanson’s jaw when he punched his assistant coach in the face.

The winless St. Louis Rams have scored a total of 34 points this season. Four teams scored that many points in week five alone. St. Louis has been dealt fifteen consecutive losses dating back to October of last season. They have been shut out twice this year and most of their games are over before halftime. The Rams need to find an actual quarterback before they can start wining games. Marc Bulger and Kyle Boller cannot get the job done. Fans in St. Louis will have to endure a massive rebuilding before they see their Rams return to prominence.

Another winless team searching for an identity is the Kansas City Chiefs. A new coach and quarterback were expected to make Kansas City respectable this season.

Things have not worked out that way, however, as the Chiefs are 0-5 after losing late leads to the lowly Raiders in week two and the Dallas Cowboys in week five. Kansas City did play better against Dallas, forcing the Cowboys into overtime and causing Wade Phillips to worry about his job. After all that they were still denied their first win.

Despite a Super Bowl this decade, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still searching for their first win and have lost their five games by an average of more than two touchdowns. Rookie quarterback Josh Johnson was thrown into the fire the past two weeks, replacing the ineffective Byron Leftwich. As is usual with the Bucs, they do not have a true game breaker on offense. Their biggest threat is tight end Kellen Winslow. The Bucs defense is also not what it once was.

Only Ronde Barber remains from the vaunted Tampa Bay defense of years past.

The final two teams must be mentioned together because of the ugly game they played this past Sunday. The Cleveland BrownsBuffalo Bills contest must rank among the poorest games ever played. The Browns defeated the Bills 6-3. Derek Anderson completed two passes with one interception and he was the starting quarterback of the winning team.

Both teams combined for sixteen punts and four turnovers.

Buffalo was flagged thirteen times.

Someone had to win, but the argument can be made that both teams should be charged with a loss.

Of course, there are also the Tennessee Titans or the Detroit Lions, who are a combined 1-9.

The Titans won thirteen games last year, so critics should wait a couple more weeks before they are deemed one of the league’s worst.

Detroit has had plenty of jokes made about them, but they have not looked terrible in ‘09. They defeated the Washington Redskins and only lost by eight to the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

It would not be surprising if one of the teams mentioned above joins Detroit as the only teams to go 0-16 during the regular season.

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