PIRATE SONG ‘Pirate Radio’ plays tribute to the way that rock ‘n’ roll brings people together SCENE page 5
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EDITORIAL
New AU frats seek charters By SARAH RUDNICK Eagle Staff Writer Greek life is continuing to expand on AU’s campus with fraternities Tau Kappa Epsilon, Zeta Psi and professional fraternity Delta Phi Epsilon seeking to be chartered. Students will try to form new chapters when they do not find what they seek in other fraternities, according to Coordinator of Greek Life Curtis P. Burrill. “It’s a vastly different experience starting an organization than it is becoming a part of an existing organization,” he said. “Every organization has their own little identity and people identify with like things — it’s just how we function as hu-
man beings. So, if they don’t find one they identify with, why not start their own?” The AU community’s strong interest in international studies is what prompted the beginning of the professional Foreign Service fraternity Delta Phi Epsilon, according to DPE President William J. Hubbard, a junior in the School of International Service. “The one thing that always struck me about AU was people would always say, ‘What’s your major?’ Someone would respond, ‘SIS,’ and then the person would respond with, ‘Of course it is, everybody at AU is SIS,’” Hubbard said. DPE is currently working with Student Activities to find the best
place for it on campus, he said. Tau Kappa Epsilon — also known as “Teke” — was started when a small group of AU students did not find exactly what they were looking for during rush, according to Corey Lim, president of TKE and a junior in the Kogod School of Business. “We had kind of a core group of guys that I was friends with … and we really didn’t feel a great connection to a majority of a chapter here,” he said. “So we decided well, if we don’t feel any commitment to a fraternity here, we can do something else. We can bring something that we like.” One of the reasons AU is seeing more fraternities instead of sororities is the way they’re organized on a
A campus-wide ban would help make AU more eco-friendly page 3
CLEP exams can replace AU gen eds
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MIDLIFE CRISIS Greg Gerilado’s comedy CD does not impress page 7
By SARAH RUDNICK KELSEY DICKEY / THE EAGLE
ANYONE? ANYONE? — A panel including adjunct professor Sean Peterson, right, and D.C. Youth Power Network founder James Pearlstein, second from left, discussed the problems with D.C.’s Public Schools on Nov. 11.
Panel highlights shortfalls of DCPS By JULIA RYAN Eagle Staff Writer
SPORTS STATEMENT WIN Women’s basketball dominates in exhibition opener page 8
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Linking the salaries of D.C. public school teachers to the standardized test scores of their students is highly detrimental and fosters a test-driven learning environment, according to panelists at the “Savage Inequalities: A Close Look at D.C. Public Schools” event. The panel, held Nov. 10, focused on the current status and conditions of DCPS and what can be done to change those conditions. The panel started off with a Time magazine video entitled “Can She Save Our Schools?” about conditions in D.C. public schools and the recent work of
By SARAH PARNASS Eagle Staff Writer
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The planned Women’s Resource Center has ignited some debate on campus about the need for such a center. On one side, students argue that the center will fill a void in the administration, the responsibility for which has previously fallen on a paid Student Government official and several volunteer student activists, namely the staff of Women’s Initiative. In opposition, others point out that this costly expenditure will, in some cases, create services that are already available on campus.
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D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Rhee was appointed chancellor of D.C.’s 144 public schools by Mayor Adrian Fenty in June 2007. In the two years that Rhee has been chancellor she has worked to institute changes to the DCPS system. She has shut down 23 schools and fired over 100 workers from the DCPS administration. She also fired 270 teachers and 36 principals, a move that sparked controversy and outrage among D.C. teachers. However, Rhee says in an interview in the video that she thinks she has made positive changes to the D.C. school system. She says that she has continued support from Mayor Fenty and that scores on stan-
dardized tests have risen eight to 11 percent in elementary and high schools. Panelist James Pearlstein, the founder and executive director of the D.C. Youth Power Network, said that on a recent visit to a school in Southeast he was “struck by how joyless the teaching was.” He said standardized testing makes students disinterested and discourages them from being creative. Sarah Otto, an English teacher at Anacostia High School, argued that standardized testing boxes students into one way of thinking and pushes the notion that school is just about numbers and answers. The moments that students remember most n
see DCPS on page 4
Campus debates need for women’s center
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national level, according to Burrill. “For a sorority to come onto campus there’s a huge process in place,” he said. “They’re very, very structured. They have rules and everything in place for many, many, many things, whereas the men are a little bit looser in terms of how chapters can expand and such.” However, he said it is still difficult and a lot of work to for a fraternity to become chartered. “Typically it takes two or three years to become a chapter,” Burrill said. Zeta Psi became a colony on campus this summer, but may lose its place with amendments to the AU Interfraternity Council’s Constitution, which would ban two colonies
from existing simultaneously. ZP, which became a colony after TKE, is uncertain about its future, according to ZP President Matt Carnovale, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences. It would be strange for the constitution to become effective immediately rather than [in the future], Carnovale said, but he wants to continue working with AU and is willing to “wait in line.” The IFC is scheduled to vote on this amendment next week. It is unclear if the amendment would de-colonize ZP or whether the new rule would only apply to new colonies in future years. One of the more difficult aspects n
see FRATS on page 4
College Board tests offer cheap credit options
BANNING SMOKING
D.C. theater exposes the heart behind the Vietnam War
NOVEMBER 12, 2009 VOLUME 84 n ISSUE 23
THOSE IN FAVOR Former WI directors met with current WI staff Nov. 9 to discuss the debate on campus. Vanessa Mueller, former director of WI, whose term ended in spring 2008, led the meeting. Mueller said one of the main benefits the WRC would offer is a paid professional staffer to be available to students with personal concerns. “For example, one of the big issues our year was a lot of the [work study employees] were reporting awkward situations bordering on sexual harassment, and it was a
concern because we didn’t know who we should be reporting it to,” she said. “Greek life has a person. Athletics has a person. [The Office of Multicultural Affairs] has a person. GLBTA has a person. ... There’s a clearly delineated person of contact in every one of these situations except this one.” Mueller also recounted incidents in which students reported sexual assault to her as the WI director, though she had no formal training in rape-crisis counseling. “[Victims] show up at your office at two in the morning because you’re there all the time,” Mueller n
see CENTER on page 4
Eagle Staff Writer Many AU students have never heard of the College Level Examination Program — a College Board-administered test that can accelerate education at a lower price. The tests, more commonly referred to as CLEP exams, are catered to students who feel they have already mastered the material they would have to cover at their university. Students who take the exams have generally acquired their college-level knowledge from independent studies, advanced high school courses and on-the-job training and cul-
tural pursuits, according to CollegeBoard.com. The cost per credit hour at AU is $1,148. Therefore, if students pass a CLEP exam — which carries a $72 price tag — in place of a three-hour credit course, they will save $3,372. The exams cover 32 topics, according to CollegeBoard. com, but AU only accepts five of them as replacements for general education courses, according to Jamie J. Wyatt, assistant director of General Education. These subjects include American government, general chemistry, introduction to macroeconomics, introduction to microeconomics and introduction to sociology. The only CLEP testing center at a D.C. college is the Catholic University of America, according to the College Board Web site. Students must achieve a score of 75 out of 80 or higher in order to obtain the general education credit, according to the “Exam n
see CLEP on page 4
Field hockey advances to round of 16 By JIMMY HASCUP Eagle Contributing Writer For the sixth time in seven years, the AU Field Hockey team will be playing in the NCAA Tournament, after defeating Lock Haven University for the second consecutive time 2-1 in the play-in game on Tuesday afternoon at Jacobs Field. Although the 0-0 score for the majority of the first half resembled the score from last year’s match, AU controlled the play and time of possession. The Eagles had seven shots in the period, with five penalty corners but was unable to capitalize on any of its chances because of the goaltending by LHU’s Erin Terreson, who made four saves. With 34 seconds remaining in the half, AU’s Anne-Meike De Wiljes finally got a shot by Terreson. She converted on a penalty corner from point blank range with a hard shot to the right side giving AU a 10 advantage. LHU had one shot on goal in the period and no penalty corners as the AU defense, led by De Wiljes. The Eagles withstood every LHU attack and continuously sustained the pressure in opponents’ zone. AU’s leading scorer, junior
Christine Fingerhuth, added to her season totals with a goal 11 minutes into the second half. She swept her shot at the top of the circle past the LHU goalkeeper, for a 2-0 AU lead. “I received the ball at the top of the top of the defense from Rachel Carney,” Fingerhuth said. “And I saw that I had space to pull right, so I pulled right, saw the space and tried to hit the far post and it worked out really well.” Despite the early goal for AU, Lock Haven came out in the second period with renewed energy, engaging their offense more in the AU end. LHU managed the ball more than they had in the early stages of the game, earning a penalty corner and five shots. Less than five minutes after AU’s goal, LHU cut their deficit in half, scoring off a rebound at the right post. “I thought about calling timeout — the tempo of the match had changed about 10 minutes before they scored, and I was very worried about that, but we got a goal in that period and I thought the pressure was really on them,” AU Coach Steve Jennings said. “I just kind of evaluated how we were handling that mentally and psychologically, n
see FIELD HOCKEY on page 8