Friday, March 12, 2010 • Volume 95, Issue 27 • nique.net
Technique The South’s Liveliest College Newspaper
Students to rally against budget cuts
A whole lot of <3 Students celebrate their love for Tech through I <3 GT Week.49
MORE THAN A THOUSAND STUDENTS
Take back The nighT
by Matt Schrichte Staf Writer
Students from universities across the state of Georgia will march to and rally at the state capitol on Monday, March 15. he rally is being organized primarily by SGA Presidents from Tech and UGA in order to combat a proposed additional $385 million cut from the state’s higher education system budget. Estimates by University System of Georgia (USG) Chancellor Erroll Davis suggest that it would take a 77% tuition increase to meet the budget cut. According to those proposed increases, tuition costs alone at research universities like Tech could rise to over $10,000 a year. After the initial budget cuts were projected, SGA presidents from around the state began conversing about how to best address the additional USG budget reductions. “he idea of a rally was born through the need to put a student face on the issue of cutting the state allocation to the University System,” Undergraduate SGA President Alina Staskevicius said. “All too often, I think that some tend to forget exactly who these budget cuts affect directly, and who would have to pay the increased tuition.” he stated plan is to irst march to the Capitol from nearby Hurt Park at 9:30 a.m, on Monday, March 15. After the march, a press conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. on the Capitol’s steps. “My hope is that the rally gets students talking to legislators, and that it puts a student face on this story of cutting money going to higher education in the state of Georgia,” Staskevicius said. “We are the future of the state – and funding our education and preserving the quality of our degrees should be a priority for the legislature.” he third part of the initial plan was for the rally’s organizers and participants to meet with legislators and their subcommittees starting at 11 am. However, on Tuesday, March 9, legislators in both houses adopted House Resolution 1514, which calls for a day See Rally, page 5
Photo by Joey Cerone/Student Publications
Students and community members congregate at the Campanile on Tuesday night at a candle light vigil for WAM’s “Take the Back the Night.” Audience members listened to and relected on speeches and poetry from survivors of sexual abuse. by Zimu Yang Staf Writer
Photo by Joey Cerone/Student Publications
A student reads a passage along with students by candlelight at Tuesday’s Take Back the Night.
As a part of Women’s Awareness Month (WAM), Tech hosted a candle light vigil for victims and survivors of sexual assault called Take Back the Night (TBTN) at the Campanile. he event was held on March 9, and featured speakers from Tech, Georgia State and alumni. hey highlighted their personal experiences with sexual assault, both as survivors and secondary survivors. “We want to spread the word that sexual assault in the community could happen to anyone whether they are male or female,” said Kelli Hunter, a third year BIO major and executive co-chair of WAM. “I think what stood out the most to me from TBTN were the personal stories that seemed to give very shocking details of their experiences being assaulted,” said Albert Leung, third year MGT major. “I was at last year’s TBTN... so I thought I wouldn’t be as shocked as I was that irst time, but it still hit me the same way.” his year marks the 16th anni-
versary of the event, which seeks to honor survivors and victims of sexual assault and to inform students on its presence on college campuses across the nation. “Before I was sexually assaulted I didn’t understand it was so common, I just hope that people understood the rate of assault and the efect it has on people,” said Liz Tans, a third year ME student. he event presented information about the efects and prevalence of sexual assault in the US, particularly among college students. One in six women and one in 33 men are sexually assaulted during their lifetime. Also, a person in the US is sexually assaulted every two minutes. “To me there’s such a stigma around sexual assault which only feeds the fact that it is labeled a crime of silence. When someone says the word rape it is common in hushed whispers and quiet tones. My goal is for this to change. My goal is for women and men who are victims of assault to speak and the only response See Night, page 5
BuzzCard pilot program testing at athletic venues by kamna bohra Contributing Writer
Photo by John Nakano/Student Publications
SGA has began a new pilot program to test the use of Buzzcard at athletic venues such as Alexander Memorial Coliseum and Bobby Dodd Stadium.
SGA recently launched a BuzzCard pilot program at the Tech vs. UNC basketball game to test the efect on concessions sales with the added option of BuzzCard payments. After evaluating statistics from Auburn University’s student card program that showed a 50 percent increase in sales with the implementation of the card system, SGA decided to expand BuzzCard access at Tech’s sporting events as well. “You use BuzzCard to get into the stadium and to get your tickets. Why not use it for concessions?” said Jimmy Williams, third year BME ma-
jor and vice president of campus afairs. “he ultimate goal with the pilot program would be to take it into the football stadium. Several of our peer institutions have had fantastic success integrating student cards and football concessions, both inancially and in terms of student satisfaction,” said Kaitlyn Whiteside, second-year HTS major and committee chair of campus services. he revenues in merchandise purchased with BuzzCards at the basketball game totaled to approximately $700. “We ended up with a little less than expected in the turnout. It was ten percent of the
students [at the game]. But... we don’t know what to compare it to,” Williams said. SGA plans to pilot the program at all upcoming basketball games and a few baseball and football games. However, SGA is currently focusing more on the percentage of students at each game using the BuzzCard than the actual revenue. he current concern is the source of the initial investments in permanent BuzzCard machines and the transaction fees. he BuzzCard oice waived the transaction fee for the recent basketball game, but SGA hopes for the Athletic See BuzzCard, page 5
2 • March 12, 2010 • Technique
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Technique
The South’s Liveliest College Newspaper
Founded in 1911, the Technique is the student newspaper of the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is an oicial publication of the Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. he Technique publishes on Fridays weekly during the fall and spring and biweekly during the summer. A DVERTISING: Information and rate cards can be found online at nique.net/ads. he deadline for reserving ad space is Friday at 5 p.m. one week before publication. To place a reservation, for billing information, or for any other questions please e-mail us at ads@nique.net. You may reach us by telephone at (404) 894-2830, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. COVERAGE R EQUESTS: Requests for coverage and tips should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief and/or the relevant section editor. OFFICE: 353 Ferst Dr., Room 137 Atlanta, GA 30332-0290 Telephone: (404) 894-2830 Fax: (404) 894-1650
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Copyright © 2009, Craig Tabita, Editor-in-Chief, and by the Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from the Editor-in-Chief or from the Board of Student Publications. he ideas expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of Student Publications, the students, staf, or faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology or the University System of Georgia. First copy free—for additional copies call (404) 894-2830
From the iles of the GTPD...
asked if he had anything to drink, the driver replied “a couple beers early at Ted’s Montana Grill.” he driver was then put through a number of sobriety tests, which he failed. he oicer then sent him to Fulton County Jail and the car to a friend of the driver’s house.
campus crime By Vivian Fan News Editor Home phone sex?
A student’s father contacted that GTPD after receiving a phone call from his daughter’s cell phone from a group of fraternity members on Feb. 27. he fraternity brothers proceeded to describe sexual acts that they had engaged in with his daughter. He believed it to be a prank until one of the brothers mentioned his daughter’s name. Upon contacting his daughter, the father learned that she had attended a party at that
fraternity with three friends earlier that night and had lost her phone. he father realized there was no exact criminal oice, but has reported the incident to the Dean of Students oice. Wasted at Ted’s
A GTPD oicer pulled over a Jeep Grand Cherokee on Tenth St. after observing the car turning on a red light. After approaching the driver, the oicer found that he smelled of alcohol. When
POLL OF THE WEEK How do you feel about the budget cuts? 61.7% I am very against them
5.3% I am alright with them
3.2%
he Technique on break until April 2 In order to accomodate for students being of-campus during spring break (March 22 - 26), he Technique will not be printed until April 2. Updates will be posted consistently on www.nique.net.
Be a Man
GTPD oicers were called to North Avenue Apartments after reports that a male was injured in a ight. he student was covered in blood, but refused any treatment, stating that he would “handle the situation like a man” and refused to state anything futher. Another witness stated that the irst student had threatened to kill the witnesses. he irst student was later arrested.
What budget cuts?
Based on 94 responses
advertise With Us!
29.8% I am against them, but they necessary given the circumstance
Next issue’s question:
After “I <3 GT” Week, how do you feel about Tech? Tell us at nique.net
Technique • March 12, 2010 • 3
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Council Clippings
Breaking
This week in Student Government
E
ach Tuesday, elected members of the two houses of the Student Government Association, the Undergraduate House of Representatives (UHR) and the Graduate Student Senate (GSS), convene to consider allocation bills and discuss issues facing campus. Here is a summary of those two meetings.
By Vijai Narayanan, Assistant News Editor
Bubble the
A
lot of things went on outside the bubble of Tech in the past week. Here are a few important events taking place throughout the nation and the world.
Senate approves $150 bln unemployment bill
Photo by Kelvin Kuo/Student Publications
A student representative reacts to a proposed bill presentation at this week’s UHR meeting. his edition of Council Clippings covers the UHR and GSS meetings from Mar. 8, 2010. Greek Neighborhood Recycling
he Greek Neighborhood Association (GNA) submitted a bill to SGA requesting funding to expand recycling centers in ive zones of the Greek sector, including 36 Greek chapters and ive interfaith organizations, encompassing an area inhabited by over 4,000 students. he organization proposed the placement of 3-yd dumpsters for recycling in each of the ive zones and trash cans at each oranization. GNA requested $3,099.25 and was passed in
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of the legislative session’s adjournment on the day of the rally. In turn legislators won’t be required to be at the Capitol on the morning of the rally on the Capitol’s steps as the organizers had hoped, thus putting the prospect of discussing the additional budget cuts and alternative solutions with legislators and their subcommittees on the day of the rally in serious jeopardy. Still, a Facebook event established for the USG student rally
UHR 38-1-1 and GSS 16-5-0. JFC Stipend Policy
Representatives considered a bill to amend the Joint Finance Committee’s stipend policy to fund student positions in Tier II organizations. he bill set maximum stipend caps as percentage of tuition for various positions, including those of SGA Presidents, IFC positions, and Student Publications. A debate ensued as to whether certain postions deserved to receive stipends, and whether those positions deserved to receive stipends as high as that. Several representatives took issue with the fact that IFC positions received stipends, because the money used at the Capitol has over 2,000 conirmed attendees listed. he attendees are made up of students representing almost every USG institution. “My goal is to have a thousand students at the Capitol, although I have absolutely no idea how many will actually be there. Seeing as how Georgia Tech is so close to the Capitol, I hope that we can bring several hundred.” Over the past weekend Staskevicius hosted 18 SGA presidents from around the state to draft an oicial USG student stance on the
to fund IFC would come from the entire student body. Others argued that this bill was merely a roadmap for the budget meeting, and individual stipends should be discussed then. he bill was amended only to relect slight changes in wording and passed GSS 18-4-1 and UHR 33-4-3. Undergraduate Research Fair
Tau Beta Pi requested funding from SGA to host an Undergraduate Research Fair for students actively seeking undergraduate assistantships. he organization requested funding to publicize the event, totaling $369.50. he bill passed UHR 41-0-0 and was postponed by GSS for one week. budget cuts. “SGA Presidents around the state have developed a central message that is rational and logical. If we want to be taken seriously, it is my opinion that we have to make solid arguments with legislators and also present solutions to deal with the tax revenue shortfall,” Staskevicius said. he drafted message’s primary focus is to maintain Georgia’s quality of public higher education and to uphold the integrity of graduates’ degrees through four priorities. hese include remain-
he Senate voted on Wednesday to approve $150 billion worth of extensions to last year’s stimulus program, including unemployment aid beneits for the jobless and cash to help states pay for healthcare. he bill passed 62-36, receiving votes from six Republicans. As a result, unemployment beneits may be extended for up to 99 weeks in many states. he bill will prevent doctors from receiving a 21% cut in Medicare payments, as well as subsidizing health insurance for unemployed through the COBRA and Medicaid.
“JihadJane” arrested for suspected terror plot Colleen LaRose, a woman from the town of Pennsburg, Pennsylvania was indicted by federal authorities on March 9, ing competitive on a national and global scale with other universities, conserving access of quality public education to Georgia’s residents, allowing USG students to comply with the Board of Regents’ listed graduation timelines, and recruiting and retaining faculty members who contribute to each institution’s reputation. “he primary goal throughout this process is to preserve the quality of our education and the reputation of our degrees. Although I cannot say this for sure, I would expect budget cuts to Tech to have
2010 for allegedly trying to recruit Islamic terrorists to murder Swedish artist Lars Vilks. Vilks is the artist at the center of the controversy over the 2007 Muhammad drawings in a Swedish newspaper. Acting under the name JihadJane, LaRose broadcast online her readiness to help terrorists, including recruiting men and women, and raise money for terror operations in Asia and the West. LaRose could be jailed for life and ined $1 million if convicted.
Biden-Israel diplomatic row over settlements Vice President Joe Biden visited Israel this week in an efort to restart stalled peace negotiations in the region. Within hours of Biden’s arrival Israel announced an expansion of 1600 settlements in the region, complicating the peace process, angering US oficials and leading to a sharp rebuke by the Vice President. Israel claims that the timing of the announcement was unfortunate but coincidental. a serious impact on money available to fund activities outside the classroom. I would also be concerned about more furlough days for faculty and staf and increased tuition for students,” Staskevicius said. Although there has been talk of rescheduling it, the rally will remain scheduled for Monday, March 15, even though the legislature will not be in session. Attendees will begin organizing in Hurt Park, which is located a couple of blocks from the Capitol at 8:30 a.m.
Technique • March 12, 2010 • 5
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Tech hosts second health logistics conference by coby Lu Contributing Writer
he Center for Health and Humanitarian Logistics (CHHL) held a conference on Health and Humanitarian Logistics on March 4 and 5. he main objective of the conference was to articulate the opportunities and challenges in humanitarian response and discuss the possibilities in health logistics research. he conference had 175 participants from all over the world. Representatives were present from various NGOs, governmental organizations, industry, academia, foundations and the military. “We hope that the conference will initiate some collaboration between these organizations and possibly lead to synergies,” said Dr. Pinar Keskinocak, co-director and ISyE associate professor. In addition to these panels there were two keynote presentations poster presentations, and lunch discussions. “We had these four panels and we had ive speakers in each panel. Each speaker represented a different type of organization such as academia, non-governmental organization, government organization, military, industries and foundations or some combination,” Keskinocak said. Organizers hope to turn it into an annual event. hey also plan
buzzcard
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Association to eventually foot the bill using revenues from its partnership with Sodexo, Tech’s food service provider. “he biggest obstacle right now is funding. he program is going to take an initial investment in BuzzCard readers to really get of the ground. Donald Smith in the BuzzCard Oice was kind enough
Photo by Kelvin Kuo/Student Publications
A member of the military reads one of the 45 posters present at last weekend’s second annual Health and Humanitarian Logistics Conference. The event took place at the Georgia Tech hotel. to expand the number of international participants in the event. hese representatives came from various countries including Canada, Kenya and South Africa. “We received very positive feedback both verbally and through conference evaluation forms,” said Dr. Julie Swann, ISyE Associate Professor and co-director. “Almost everyone said they
would come back to another conference, both from the academic and organization side.” ISyE Associate Professors Dr. Ozlem Ergun, Keskinocak and Swann co-founded the center to improve logistics for humanitarian eforts around manmade or natural disasters. he center works with non-governmental organizations, governments and private
industry to improve communications between these groups, as well as present them with the research and practical applications to improve logistics. “he conference is an opportunity for students to see a diferent kind of way to take your science and engineering and other skills to make an impact on the world,” said Swann.
to loan us handheld scanners for the basketball trial, but that won’t be an option for the permanent program,” Whiteside said. However, it is common consensus that the statistics are too preliminary to make any inal investment decisions. “he pilot project indicated that there was little if any measurable interest in using the BuzzCard at our concessions
stand. Predicting pros and cons or future events would be premature at this time,” said Grant Reed, general manager of Sodexo. SGA continues to press the results from peer institutions. “We believe that this program will also increase revenue for the Athletic Association and Sodexo as Vanderbilt and Auburn saw enormous increases in overall student purchasing after their re-
spective programs were put into place,” Whiteside said. In the future, Tech looks to expand BuzzCard use as a debit card around Atlanta, initially focusing on the immediate vicinity. Potential locations for BuzzCard use include Moe’s and the MARTA, but the limitation is that the BuzzCard system is run by the institution, not an outside organization.
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is support,” said Kelsey Tucker, a third year psychology student and a survivor of sexual assault herself. For speakers, the event was a chance to tell their story and spread awareness about sexual assault, but also a way for them to come to terms with their own experiences. Gypsee Yo, a survivor at the event delivered a poem called “Secondary Survival” detailing the plight of sexual assault victims. “For the past two years, I’ve been on this podium and shared my experience with you. I’ve shared the same story and the same words each year but this year, something is a little diferent. I realize the diference was within myself. Each time I share the story, I continue to heal piece by piece,” Tucker said. “My date is Nov. 17, 2004. It’s not the date I was sexually assaulted. It was the day my voice was heard at Georgia Tech. It was the day I sat at the Georgia Tech undergraduate judiciary committee and retold my story,” said Rachel Weinstein, a Tech alumnus and survivor of sexual assault. George Ewing, a Tech student, and Margaret Ewing, a Georgia State grad student, are secondary survivors who were present at the event. hey shared their story about how they lost their mother to a convicted murderer and rapist. Another student, Margie Caraballo spoke about how she nearly lost a friend to suicide after victimization from her father. Others in attendance were representatives from the Tech police department and the Counseling Center. hey discussed services ofered by their organizations including counseling to any victims or associates of victims who needed it and strategies for sexual assault prevention or self-defense. WAM will continue to host events throughout the rest of March.
Opinions
Opinions editor: Matt Hofman My idea of an agreeable person is one who agrees with me.
“ ”
—Benjamin Disraeli
Technique
6
Friday, March 12, 2010
OUR VIEWS CONSENSUS OPINION
YOUR VIEWS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Power in numbers
Prioritizing key to making efective cuts
Protest an opportunity for students to be heard With the student protest against the cuts to the University System of Ga. (USG) set for Monday morning, students need to understand the importance of this event. With students coming from across the state show their displeasure with the ongoing budget situation, Tech must be well represented at this event, and this goal can only be achieved through a whole-hearted efort by the student body. Tech is a lagship institute of the USG, and our students have an opportunity to reinforce and strengthen this status in the minds of our fellow students. his march will only be efective if people and the media are forced to acknowledge it, and such acknowledgment will only come from the power of the masses. Every student that marches makes the voice of the student population as a whole that much louder, and regardless of if the legislature is in session on the day of the protest, a large mass of people marching through the streets of Atlanta
and rallying cannot be ignored. An efective protest is just as much about what is not said or done as what is said or done. Students must show respect and, if needed, restraint. he protest on Monday will take place on the same streets that many of the most efective protests in our nation’s history took place; those protests were so efective because the people protesting were peaceable and did not incite chaos. A repeat of the protest in California will do nothing to advance the cause of students; it will only make students seem irrational in a time when rationale thought is needed. Students should also take great pride in knowing that their Student Government Association was the leading body organizing this protest. SGA should continue to use this inluence to lead the student movement through this time of uncertainty and in the future. Hopefully, this strong leadership at the top will lead to a strong voice of the students throughout.
he Consensus Opinion relects the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of the Technique, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.
Technique Editorial Board Emily Chambers, Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Saethang, Managing Editor Hahnming Lee, Business Manager Jennifer Aldoretta, Entertainment Editor Vivian Fan, News Editor Nishant Prasadh, Sports Editor Kate Comstock, Focus Editor Matt Hofman, Opinions Editor
Steven Cappetta, Advertising Manager Kelvin Kuo, Photography Editor Reem Mansoura, Development Editor Chris Russell, Online Editor
EDITORIAL CARTOON BY MAGGIE SMITH
I have seen with a huge disappointment the budget proposals that are on the table for next year. Looking at how some Ga. lawmakers shamelessly despise higher education is simply disheartening and very disheartening when you think twice about it and you realize that they are about to sacriice what will be the future leaders of the state and of the nation. What strikes me most are the regular “doomsday” letters we get from our President telling us all about the bad news and psychologically preparing us for some catastrophic tuition raises. Still, it is much better than what we got two years ago when we were advised two weeks before the end of the Fall semester of some new academic fees. But our administration is not doing its best to protect us, our parents or the labs that do pay our tuitions. From what I heard, the budget proposals ask for some substantial tuition increases as well as some drastic increases in fees. Some of you may not care but think twice about it: in the end, it will be you, your parents or your advisor that will have to pay several thousand dollars more per year. Isn’t there anything else we can do to limit this impact? In hard times such as the one we are experiencing right now, I am surprised by the number of ancillary fees that pop up in our Tech bill every semester. Athletic fees, activity fees, transportation fees… Do we really need all that? Do they actually deliver something that is useful? Is everything on our bill really worth it? I am convinced that we need to scale back on some of the services we have. he impact of the crisis shall not impact only our families and our advisors. We need to scale back on the service expectation we have as well as on our own quality of life. Are you willing to substantially increase your debt to have the CRC open until midnight every day? Are you willing to substantially impact your parents’ budget to have the Library open 24/7? But the main issue I see is prioritization. here will be little revenue in the coming years so we need to prioritize our spending as is done in every other business. Every day when I go to Tech I continue to see relentless construction all over the campus. Do we really need all that right now? Cannot we postpone some of that for better days? Of course many in the administration think it is good to invest in the future of Tech. Maybe, but with what funding? he money that comes from our empty pockets? When everything goes well it might be worth it. But here we are spending millions a day to build the CULC and at the same time the State asks Tech to limit enrollment of new freshmen. So do we need this building right now?
Write to us: letters@nique.net We welcome your letters in response to Technique content as well as topics relevant to campus. We will print letters on a timely and space-available basis. Letters should not exceed 400 words and should be submitted by Tuesday at 7 p.m. in order to be printed in the following Friday’s issue. Include your full name, year (1st, 2nd, etc.) and major. We reserve the right to edit for style and length. Only one submission per person will be printed per term.
In addition, we are spending tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars bringing down what used to be the North Avenue Graduate Apartments. Do we really have to do that right now? Can’t we save money on that? Cannot this wait for better times? So my questions are: Is the administration really aware of the hardship we will endure and is it doing its best to alleviate the budget crisis impact on us, students, professors and staf? Is it necessary to fork several million a day to build buildings that are supposed to accommodate future students that may never come if Tech caps enrollment? Can’t we live with what we have now until the situation recovers? Alex Sevy Grad-Student AE
Education has a price I read your article in the Technique on student debt [“Student debt will hinder future growth,” printed March 5] and am curious as to who you think should pay for your education. Tech has got to be one of the best values in the nation. If tuition goes from $3400 to $4000 in-state how could anyone possibly complain? I have managed to keep my student loans low because 1) Tech is inherently cheap and 2) I have worked parttime within my ield of study all during school. his economy hits everyone and it will inevitably hit students. But students have the beneit of extra low interest rates, generally low responsibilities, and plenty of time to pay things of. If every facet of government and society are expected to take a hit, students need to be in that line as well. I’ll bet you could have gone to a local college on a full scholarship for free. But you chose to come to Tech because you wanted to invest in yourself. hat was your decision with knowledge of all the costs. Students can and should take advantage of any monetary opportunities given to them but ultimately they need to be the ones responsible for the costs of their own education. Paul Knight Grad-Student ARCH
Technique • March 12, 2010 • 7
OPiniOnS
Rash new budget cuts more than money As the budget woes only seem to be growing because of decreased state revenue, legislators are frantically looking to cut “fat” and balance the budget. In the scare that rippled through college campuses across the state, it was proposed by the legislature that the USG might have to cut their budget by approximately $385 million, which is no small feat for schools already hurting from the most recent cuts. On Feb. 25, the school’s presidents were ordered to complete an outline of proposed budget cuts within 48 hours; and Tech was asked to ind $38 million worth of possible cuts. Tech’s budget has already been reduced by $54.2 million. It was recently suggested by members of the Ga. legislature that the cuts will be much less severe than initially anticipated and schools will be able to save some of the items that they had planned to cut, should the cuts go through. In a recent interview with the AJC on March 8, Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) said, “It’ll be a manageable cut.” Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that they hypothesize that the budget cuts will be “manageable” but, my question is: why did it have to it ever have to come down to proposing signiicantly large cuts in state-wide education in order to balance the budget? And what exactly do legislators
“It is tragic that a whole university system... has to reverse or reduce the growth they have accomplished” kate comstock Focus Editor feel is manageable? I do understand that it can be a virtually insurmountable task to try and igure out a way that cuts the state budget by about $1 billion and not make some people very upset. But, I believe that the USG should not have been put in a position where they had to ind ways to cut the budget drastically and in a short amount of time. Education is not a commodity that is expendable and the recent proposed drastic cuts put universities in a very diicult situation where they have to decide what part of our education is superluous enough to eliminate. Anyone that read the document outlining where each school in the USG would cut their budget knows that there would be some very signiicant and drastic changes to the operation of Tech if the legislator follows through with the initially states budget cuts. Although Tech oicials tried to best mitigate the cuts so that the impact would not signiicantly afect the quality
of Tech students’ education, they were forced to make decisions that could hinder the growth of Tech and the development of its students. It is unfair that university presidents were forced to make important decisions in such a short amount of time. Fortyeight hours is not enough time for the university to ind ineficiencies within the budget and cut things that might not afect students’ educations. Within that time frame of two days it is only possible to make quick decisions that could be harmful to the education system as a whole. I applaud the Oice of the President for suggesting cuts to the Tech budget in areas like landscaping; unfortunately, there is only so much they can cut from those budgeted areas, and they had to propose cuts to vital areas like research assistants and library hours. It is tragic that a whole university system, and in particular a school like Tech, has to potentially reduce or reverse the growth they have accom-
plished. It is also a diicult process because we know the immediate results of the budget cuts but we cannot easily quantify the long-term results. Lawmakers should be more cautious when handling the budget, because the results of this decrease in funding for the last year could have a much longer efect than intended if the cuts are not strategically reviewed. If they are not implemented judiciously, the ramiications of the budget crisis could be felt in higher education long after the recession. As students, it is important that we let lawmakers know how we feel about the potential budget cuts could afect our education. here is no reason why Ga. students should not be able to receive a decent education that is relatively inexpensive without having to worry about the quality of that education receding because of luctuations in the state budget. If you feel that cuts to the budget are encroaching on your rights as a student of the USG and as a Tech student, I urge you to contact your representative to let them know your opinion. here will also be a state-wide rally for students against the budget cuts at the capitol on Monday, March 15 if you are demonstrating your disapproval of the proposed budget cuts.
Deining happiness diferently at Tech Two weeks before spring break generally means a nonstop succession of tests, quizzes, essays and all other assignments painful and depressing to the average Tech student. With dreams of glistening Fla. beaches or the unlimited hours of the new Final Fantasy XIII game play, spring break stands as a shining Valhalla of college student emancipation from the interminable months of Calculus problems and lab reports. After all, Tech is, as some may call it, “where fun goes to die.” Yes, Tech students may ind their own comfort in the face of high stress levels, whether it is a relaxing past time like baking or a more on-edge one that may or may not be illegal. he stress outlet that may not exactly be the irst one to pop in one’s head is Tech itself. When has one ever fought ire with ire anyway? Such was my reaction when I irst walked groggily and half awake through Tech Square on Monday morning at 7:55 a.m. to my 8 a.m. inance class in the College of Management (mind you, I live all the way on the west side of campus where it is cold and far to walk from). Stumbling past the strange early morning smells of bacon wafting around Tin Drum, my eyes were a tad startled to see an electric blue chalk stenciling of the words “I <3 GT” across the pavement the entire walk to class. Upon
bardment of bright colored chalk drawings, free shirts and stickers only proves the broad efect SGA and Student Foundation has in mobilizing its students. But why not use the money and the resources editorial Writer for something productive? 800 students acting together Editor to ight against budget reductions at the capitol goes much further than 800 students Tech student expressed any wearing cute stickers that exhint of excitement or ecstasy pounds on a meaningless love. about a library archive tour? Fundamentally, Tech stu(hough on my part, I can at- dents are built to sufer to a test that the library archives certain extent. It’s simply our are a pretty interesting). purpose to work hard for our If the goal of the organizing education, through whining parties is to increase morale and complaining. After all, at Tech, shouldn’t they attack there is a kinship between student discontent at its root? alumni who sit together and he average Tech student is regale with pride as to how not unhappy or dissatisied they “got out” of the institute. because they are not receiving In some cases, we are even enough free doughnuts and masochists, since most of the T-shirts, nor does the thought time we are the enactors of “Man, I could really use a lash our own misery. We in any mob right now,” ever frequent- case choose our schedules and ly appear in one’s head. Rather, our activities (whether it be the average Tech student wor- dedicating countless hours to ries about the passing huge World of Warcraft or the Techphysics test they have coming nique), and as much as we kick up or the possibility of not be- ourselves about our involveing able to pay for next year’s ment afterwards. However, we tuition. I’m sure a resolution do it to ourselves nonetheless. to those problems would make Truly, sufering could be students much more satisied an unspoken tradition. We with their university than a grow together as a community lash mob performance that by commiserating about the everyone knows about. tough test, and then by celI <3 GT Week does prove ebrating with those companthe power that these organi- ions afterwards. We create our zations have at reaching to its own happiness and we don’t students though. he bom- need reminders.
BUZZ Around Campus
How are you participating in I <3 GT week?
nicholas Robson First-year AE
“I organized the chalking on Cherry Street, and I publicized it.”
Mary Margaret Swanson First-year MGT
“I am hosting the tye-dye T-shirt event.”
“What does it say about our school when we need to remind ourselves to like our school?”
recognizing that the stenciling was an efort on the university and a number of student organizations to increase the morale of Tech students through a week’s worth of events, I laughed. What does it say about our school when we need to remind ourselves to like our school? Believe it or not, the irst two lines of I <3 Week’s Facebook event description reads “his March 8th-12th Remember Why you LOVE Georgia Tech!” his critique is said not to insult any of the other organizing parties. Rather, it’s incredibly admirable that the governing bodies at our school care about its student body enough to attempt instill pride and increase satisfaction in their alma mater. As an average Tech student, I also enjoy my fair share of free food and other goodies. However, how humorous is it when we have to not only remind ourselves through a week’s worth of events, free t-shirts and stickers, but also inance such events with our own funds? When has any
Manish Paryana Second-year BC
“I helped with the chalking and the lash mob.”
Mariel benson Fifth-year ECE
“I love GT, so I got a sticker and a T-shirt.” Photos by Benny Lee
8 • March 12, 2010 • Technique
OPiniOnS
OUR VIEWS HOT OR NOT
HOT– or –NOT Technical love
I <3 GT Week was unleashed upon campus perking the spirits of students, and reminding everybody why we all love to sometimes love Tech. heses pleasant reminders of our school pride are helping many students get through the spring crunch. After all, there is nothing students love more than free T-shirts and free food, except maybe their beloved school... maybe.
Enlightened darkness
Taking Back the Night was again a sobering and efective reminder of the persistence of violence against women. he only way an end to such violence can be achieved is through education of both women and men. It is reassuring that so many students turned out for the event again this year, and future growth and awareness will prove to be invaluable to campus.
Problematic protesters
he movement of the provocative and graphic pro-life protesters into the Student Center was an unhappy midweek intrusion. While the protesters have a right to express their beliefs on the issue, their methods are only polarizing and are counterproductive to constructive debate. here are enough weird people at Tech; hopefully, these protesters can ind someone else to annoy.
he silk road
he giant, steam-spewing abyss, seemingly large and deep enough to go all the way to China, that has appeared next to the Ferst Center has made the commute to the western part of campus from the center of campus more diicult. he smell of the hot steam is also putrid, which raises the not-so-pleasant question: “what is in the water at Tech?”.
Students must unite to ensure an equitable solution to budget crisis his past Monday, Governor Perdue announced that the net revenue collections for the month of Feb. 2010 totaled $567.251 million. which is a 9.9 percent decrease, or $62.197 million, from the previous year. he University System of Georgia (USG) has seen $361 million in budget cuts between the FY11 recommendations and the FY09 original budget. None of us can deny that Ga. is in a recession and facing challenging times. On Feb. 27, Tech proposed the absolute worst case measures that would have to be taken to accommodate an additional $38 million cut from the current budget to share in the $300 million cut that the state legislature was seeking to impose upon the USG. he state legislature had set forth strict constraints, such as assuming that there would be no tuition increases and no additional formula funding. To see the full USG proposal set forth before the State Legislature, you can visit www. usg.edu/iscal_afairs. he most frequently asked question is what does this mean for graduate students? It is diicult to predict the inal outcome, but likely it will be a measured approached. I can assure you that we are working hard to ensure that our quality of education and the integrity of our degrees are preserved. here are many proposals on the table that will afect Tech graduate students to some degree, but none as contentious as another fee increase. he Board of Regents (BOR) sets the tuition and fee levels, not the state Legislature. Ask any student to choose between an increase in fees or tuition and 99 percent of the time
“It is vitally important that we as Tech students come together on this issue in a peaceful and respectable manner.” Linda harley Graduate Student Body President they will answer tuition. Tuition is covered by loans, employers, grants, and scholarships. Fees have to be paid out of pocket. For graduate students that are already living below the poverty line, paying increased fees would be catastrophic and would most likely cause some graduate students to drop out of school. Why is a fee increase being considered? hree words. Fixed For Four. his program was initially implemented by the BOR to ensure that all undergraduate students paid the same amount of tuition for the irst four years, in order to motivate them to graduate within that time. Last year the BOR decided to do away with Fixed For Four, but the university system already had insuicient funds. herefore, instead of increasing tuition, the BOR added the “Academic Excellence Fee”. Although graduate students were never eligible for the Fixed for Four plans, we have had to sufer the same consequences. What can you do? Sign up at www.sga.gatech. edu to join in the Student Rally. On Monday, March 15, at 9 a.m. we will meet other Ga. public university students at Hurt Park, near Georgia State University and march to the Capitol. Please wear your school colors. his peaceful
march will demonstrate to the public and to the General Assembly that we as students are not sitting idly by as observers, but stand united to ensure the preservation of our education and the integrity of our degrees. At 10 a.m. there will be a press conference at the Capitol, after which your elected SGA members will attend meetings with our state representatives. hese representatives will express our concerns that between the Governor’s FY11 recommendation and the FY09 original budget, the USG has seen $361 million in budget cuts. We recognize that the USG is highly likely to see additional budget cuts due to the tax revenue shortfall; however, those cuts should be proportional to the amount allocated from the state budget to the USG in FY10. Also, sign the online petition found at www.sga.gatech.edu, and write to your senators and representatives and share with them your concerns. In closing, it is vitally important that we as Tech students come together on this issue in a peaceful and respected manner, so that we will be taken seriously. I do not envy the decisions that the BOR have to make in the upcoming weeks, and I can only hope that they will take a measured approach and listen to our concerns.
Focus Yahoo! Hack Week opens doors for technological creativity
focus@nique.net Focus editor: Kate Comstock
Organization Spotlight: Tech Tennis club Play team tennis competitively against other schools, local ladder, and local practices. Contact: nvolvement.gatech.edu/tennisclub
See Hack, page 13
9
Friday, March 12, 2010
i <3 gT Week renews school spirit
chris Russell Online Editor
If you’ve strayed anywhere near the College of Computing this week, odds are, things have looked a bit more purple than usual. All week, Yahoo! and the Tech chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) have been hosting their annual Hack Week, an extension of Yahoo!’s annual University Hack Day programming contest. he week’s main attraction, the 24-hour programming contest, begins Friday, March 12. Participants—either individuals or teams—get together to see who can throw together the best application—or “hack”—before the contest ends midday Saturday. he reasons behind the week are a mixture of industry and university relations and professional education. Students get a chance to learn about a number of diferent web technologies from industry experts from Yahoo!, and Yahoo! gets the chance to work with young programmers and possibly recruit. Students also get a chance to learn about how professional software development works in the real world and, speciically, what work at Yahoo! is like. he event kicked of hursday, March 4 with a “Intro to Hack” event, where potential participants could learn more about how the event works. Hack Week itself began with a kick-of event on Tuesday, March 9. Engineers from Yahoo!— armed with purple wizard hats and video-gamethemed t-shirts—came and explained how the competition worked and showed of past winners’ hacks. Last year’s winner—Roger Pincombe, fourth-year CS—showed of his hack, a program called DialPrice. In a nutshell, the idea behind Pincombe’s program is that users can ind a product in a store, call a phone number, dial the products UPC code, and be told the prices of the same product at nearby stores and on popular online vendors. his way, they can see whether they’re getting a good deal at their current location, or if they can get it much cheaper of the web. Hacks run the gamut of every kind of ap-
Technique
Illustration by Jarrett Skov/ Student Publications
kate comstock Focus Editor
Students were invited this week to remember why they love Tech and take part in SGA’s I <3 GT Week. he week featured events all over campus that tried to renew the school spirit in Tech students. he idea for the themed week came about because SGA wanted to ind a way to beat the exhaustion that students sometimes feel before spring break. “Every spring everyone gets down because there’s so
much going on and fall is fun because of football so we just wanted to remind people why we’re proud to be Yellow Jackets,” said Corey Boone, SGA vice president of communications and third-year MGT. SGA gave away T-shirts and stickers all week with the logo “I <3 GT Week” on them. Approximately 6,000 T-shirts and 10,000 stickers were given away to students in various locations on campus. he events kicked of on Monday with breakfast with the Wreck, a breakfast event that gave away Krispy Kreme donuts from the Ramblin’
Wreck to students walking to class. On Tuesday there was an all day exhibit in the library that allowed students to have a look at historical Tech artifacts like R.A.T. caps. here was also an opportunity for students to participate in the Take a Professor to lunch event on Tuesday. hursday also featured another breakfast event where Chick-il-A biscuits were given to students by the Chickil-A cow from the back of the Wreck. he freshmen leadership organization, FreShGA, is
also hosted a block party at the campanile. here was also a lash mob—an event where a group of people meet, perform an unusual act in unison, and then disperse again —on hursday in the Student Center. he movie Up in the Air is going to be shown for free on Skiles Walkway at 7 p.m. on Friday. he events will wrap up on Saturday with the performance of Hypnotech, a hypnotist performance by Brian Imbus, at the Ferst Center. During his performance, Imbus randomly selects members out of the audience and hypnotizes them while they are on stage. here were also organized lecture crashes throughout the week where professors had previously agreed to let Buzz appear in classes and write, “class dismissed,” on the board to release students 10-15 minutes early. “We want I <3 GT Week to be a sustainable initiative that can grow and be around Tech for years to come,” said Camelia Andrews, ifth-year IAML, who was in charge of creating the arranged lecture crashes. SGA collaborated with RHA, Student Center Programs Council, the Ramblin’ Wreck Club, IFC, Pan-Hellenic, the Band and FreShGA to create the programs that were ofered this week. hrougout the week, SGA also partnered with prominent Tech igures like head men’s basketball coach Paul Hewitt to make appearances at the I <3 GT Events. he events were funded by SGA, Buzz funds and corporate sponsors like Krispy Kreme and Chick-il-A.
GT Jam for Haiti to rock out for a good cause by andrew nelson Staf Writer
When passionate Tech students aren’t spending their 72hour days on studying, they are dedicating 72-hour days to a noble cause. Jesse Clark, an MCRP grad student, and several others from student organizations have spent the last month organizing the GT Jam for Haiti: a beneit concert to relief for Haiti. he concert will host four prominent local bands, several comedians from the Laughing Skull Lounge and improv performances from Dad’s Garage. he event starts Saturday, March 13, at 6 p.m. on the south side of the Burger Bowl. Ticket prices are $12 in advance or $16 at the door. Clark expects for the turnout to be in the thousands, with all proceeds donated to
CARE relief agency and the Fuller Center for Housing— major Atlanta-area nonproits involved in relief and rebuilding in Haiti. “A concert seemed like a great idea; everybody loves music, and it’s something to bring everyone together versus just asking people for a donation or a handout,” Clark said. he concert will start with an introduction by the Atlanta Haiti Alliance, followed by alternating stand-up routines by Laughing Skull Lounge comedians and local bands—Do It To Julia (folk-rock), Heavy Mojo (hip-hop and rock), Teddy and the Bears (alternative rock) and hird Creek (hiphop, rock and R&B). Finally, the improv comedy troupe from Dad’s Garage will perform. “he Laughing Skull Lounge wanted to get involved because we believe in com-
munity involvement, this is our way of giving back,” Trey Toler, a comedian with the Laughing Skull Lounge, said, “Personally, I ind the organization of the concert inspiring because it was initiated by students who saw an opportunity and embraced it all in the name of giving back—that is pretty stellar!” he Student Planning Association and Clark took the idea of a Haiti relief concert to Institute President G.P. “Bud” Peterson, who approved; however, organizing a large concert required the cooperation of the compartmentalized Tech administration. “We thought that after we got the president’s permission to have the concert and it’d be easy, but the most challenging part was bringing all the compartments together for one See Jam, page 10
Photo courtesy of Jesse Clark
Do It To Julia will perform at the Burger Bowl on March 13 for the GT Jam for Haiti. Proceeds will go to Haitian relief eforts for earthquake victims.
10 • March 12, 2010 • Technique
Jam
from page 9
event that afected every one of them,” Clark said, “Even though it was diicult, [administration] rallied around this and were all very cooperative. Some even bent over backwards to help us out and have been really great to work with.” he plethora of tasks involved with organizing this event are preparing the budget, inding local bands that are both good and willing to perform pro bono, procuring security and safety support, coordinating with parking and transportation oices and coordinating with Facilities for site preparation and electrical services. To facilitate these tasks, Clark turned to the President’s Oice and the Student Center Programs Council. “We have served as unoicial advisors to this event, sharing a typical concert time line and budget, familiarizing him with campus policies and procedures,” Sally Hammock, Associate Director for Programs, said, ”Jesse and his group have done all the work involved, and they have been very creative in obtaining reduced or free rates for this fundraiser, inding someone to design eye-catching promotion, iguring out how to handle donations/ticket sales, and other details.” Student organizations are playing a major role in organization and maintenance of the event, especially MOVE who is largely responsible for reducing cost for manpower by volunteering for tickets sales, concessions, setup and breakdown. While the SPA and MOVE have both contributed the most to the event, other student organizations like the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellinic Council, Caribbean Student Association, and the Musicians’ Network have contributed their eforts as well to publicity and organization.
FOcUS
DoPP Executive Director retires by Malvika kapoor Contributing Writer
Tech’s Division of Professional Practice (DoPP) is one of the oldest and largest programs on campus, involving around 4,000 Georgia Tech students. DoPP’s long-time Executive Director Tom Akins has been a leading igure in the department’s progress. Akins, a former graduate of the Industrial Engineering department and Tech’s Co-op Program, has been a long-time igure on campus. In 1976, Akins returned to Tech as the Assistant Director of the Cooperative Division. In the position, he oversaw the admissions into the Co-op Program, orientations of all new students and student advisement within the division. A year later, he garnered a Masters in Business Administration from Georgia State University. “I wanted to go to back into industry, that was the plan,” says Akins, referring to his choice for coming back to take the Assistant Director position, “but I was having so much fun. And I continued to have fun,” said Atkins. In 1990, Akins was named the Director of the Cooperative Division. hen, in 2002, he became the Executive Director of the Division of Professional Practice, under which title he oversaw all co-ops and undergraduate internships. “When I became the Director of the Cooperative Division, there were only one or two computers,” said Akins when asked about the initial goals he had for the Coop program, “he primary thing I wanted to do was to make the department more eicient, bring technology more into our work place to help improve some of the
process and procedures.” here are four divisions of the Division of Professional Practice. he Undergraduate Cooperative Education Program, the oldest of the four sectors of the DoPP, has existed for over 90 years and is the largest optional cooperative education program in the nation. he Undergraduate Professional Internship Program, another sector of the DoPP, allows students to gain work experience if they cannot or choose not to obtain a co-op. he last two sectors are the Graduate Cooperative Program and the Work Abroad Program. he DoPP, according to Akins, has two major beneits for students. First, it allows them to igure out what they want to do but, more essentially, what they don’t want to do. Akins himself, cooped as an undergraduate student at Tech. He worked for a grocery store chain, as an intern in the Inventory Department. “I knew I didn’t want to do that when I graduated, even though I was good at it” he says. he second most valuable thing to gain from the co-op program is experience. Doing a co-op and actually getting the hands-on experience “teaches skills that can’t be taught in a classroom,” said Atkins. Along with his involvement within DoPP, Akins has also been very involved on the Tech campus. He has been elected to multiple terms to the Institute’s Faculty Assembly, Academic Senate, and Executive Board, and has also served on search and standing committees. Akins has also been involved nationally and internationally in Cooperative Education. He has been involved in the Cooperative Education Division (CED) of the
Photo by Kelvin Kuo/ Student Publications
Alum Tom Atkins retires this week, he has been with the DoPP since 1976 and has been a signiicant presence in the program. American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), where he has served two years as Secretary-Treasurer, a one-year term as Chair-Elect and one term as Chairman. In 1998, he received the Borman Award from CED for his contribution to the Cooperative Education Field. He is the current president of the Accreditation Council for Cooperative Education. Internationally, he holds a membership to World Association for Co-operative Education (WACE), among others. Akins is retiring in March after 34 years with the department but will not be leaving the DoPP entirely. He plans to work on the centennial celebration for the Cooperative Program. Later goals
include a Co-op Alumni Hall of Fame that recognizes the work of some Alumni and their contribution to Tech and also a commemorative book detailing the history of the Cooperative Program at Tech. “I would like to see [the DoPP] to become the umbrella organization for all experiential learning. he students at Georgia Tech should receive the best education,” said Atkins. To all the student body, for which he has been working for during the last 34 years, Atkin’s parting message is, “make the most of your education at Georgia Tech. It has so much to ofer. Make the most of every opportunity. And don’t forget to give back. To Hell With Georgia!”
sliver
www.nique.net
Chatroulette is taking over my life Folk band still seeks banjo hottie. Got on bus with crutches, all the seats were taken, and no one got up. Only at Tech. no more j.b writing ‘poison’ on the milk...classic Drop it like its Hot --Phys 2213 sliver? his should be called “Romantic Failure Tweet Column” signing a petition doesnt magically create more $$$ Dear guy wearing the Firefox shirt last week: you really should work on your posture. So you didn’t take me to your formal...at least I got new tennis shoes Falconnnn PUNCH! 2 people != he entire sidewalk shorts season So hottie.. whats your favorite polygon? I use a pirated version of Adobe CS4 at my campus job. he entire campus smells like those green chemicals they keep spraying on the grass. Pokemon is popular again? whaat? you wear that ‘i’m a programmer’ shirt every day. change it. his campus has an odd infatuation with redheads. Unfortunately, so do I. TWO BITS TWO BITS TWO BITS Womens crew team morning workouts: why I work out in the afternoon. yiiick to the person who lives in NAN525: tap dancing on your bedroom loor is not the way to be a good neighbor... swimming class shold be a tech requirement so we can all survive when the ice caps melt and lood the world. herrrrrrooooo?????? Do you believe in life after love? Short people of Tech: use the short waterfountain. Love, the tall people Why would you take the bus on a day like today?
Technique • March 12, 2010 • 11
FOcUS
Honors class replicates horeau timber-frame house by Rebecca Tattersield Contributing Writer
A Tech Honors Program class, self named the horeau Housing Collective, assembled a timber frame replica of the cabin Henry David horeau lived in and described in his book Walden. he class objective was to build the cabin as horeau built his, with a borrowed axe and a lot of selfreliance. Hugh Crawford, professor of the class and CEO of the horeau Housing Collective said, “I had to turn it into something like problem-based learning. I walked in the irst day of class and I said, by the end of this class you will have timber framed a house with 19th-century tools, you will have made a documentary ilm and we will have learned a whole bunch of stuf along the way that you will present in lots of diferent venues but, I wasn’t quite sure what the stuf that we were going to learn was.” Initial diiculties included the lack of instructions provided. horeau left little detailed explanation of the building of his cabin out of his otherwise descriptive work. he class had to seek out the knowledge of felling trees and squaring timber in a completely authentic, 19th century style. “In Crawford’s classes you tend to get out what you put in,” Victor Lesniewski third-year BME said, and building the house was only a part of the class and the experience. “It’s layered; it’s dense,” Lesniewski said about the grand theme of the class. “On the surface you want to ind out what type of experience horeau had building this… on the other side we were trying to make the case for embodied knowledge rather than represen-
tational knowledge,” said Lesniewski. On his practical path to this embodied knowledge, Lesniewski had an accident with an adze that resulted in a trip to the hospital. “It’s a sharp blade attached to a handle. You swing it between your legs so it self-regulates to a lat plane so essentially you’re shaving of pieces of the wood and squaring it to that lat plane. I thought that I was getting the feel of the adze a bit more…and on a follow through I barely tapped my leg. I keep on going, adze-ing away, and I realize that there’s a pool of blood around my ankle,” Lesniewski said. Four stitches later he was back to squaring the planks. he timber frame took around ive months to complete. he class has 12 students, but by the time of the raising of the frame, over 30 people had joined in with the project. Now that the frame is up, Crawford said that he wanted to pursue the communication part of the initial class objective. “his [was] a course about making things public. Everything that we did we are going to ind a way to talk about it,” Crawford said. he class has already presented the project in various venues, including the library, the Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts (SLSA) convention, and the Octane cofee shop. “his was a course where I didn’t stand up and lecture about much of anything. We spent most of our time iguring out what we needed to know,” said Professor Crawford. Nobody in the class had any extensive knowledge of carpentry or construction. “he learning curve was tremendous,” said Le-
Photo courtesy of Drew Marlatt
sniewski. Only Professor Crawford had experience with this type of project. Two years ago, he started the Mad Houser project in which he and his English Composition class constructed homeless housing in front of the architecture building. he future of the horeau house is at this point uncertain. Professor Crawford has plans to perhaps place the house in Fernbank Forest where it can be used as a learning experience for anybody interested in the project. he Tech Honors program is an undergraduate program that aims to bring together students and faculty to create a more intense and creative learning experience for those involved. Professor Crawford, on the subject of honors classes said, “with honors classes, I always feel you can push them in a slight way because they’re volunteering.”
Photo courtesy of Drew Marlatt
Photo by Virginia Lin/ Student Publications
The replica of Thoreau’s cabin, built by the Thoreau Housing Collective, can be found on the College of Architecture lawn.
12 • March 12, 2010 • Technique
hack
from page 9
plication imaginable. Some go the route of data visualization (like a site that allowed users to sort through a database of politician’s speeches by a hot-button issue), to techie politics (a search engine that pointed out poor web design by only showing websites that pass a gauntlet of tests), to games (a Google Earth/Pacman mashup), to just plain new ideas (a hack that lets you see where other visitors to a website spend the most time reading a page). Above all, the event’s presenters stress that it’s not the complexity or technical correctness that make a great hack, so much as it is having a great idea to back it up. A statement on the Hack U website developer.yahoo. com/hacku, said, “Be ofbeat. Show your style. Let your freak lag ly, if you’ve got one. Most of all, engage your audi-
ence with your sense of humor and the clear perception that you are thrilled to be up there showing your stuf.“ Prizes go to the top three hacks at each university, and each local winner moves on to another round. his year, irst prize for the local rounds is a netbook for each team member for up to four members. Second and third prize are, respectively, high-end headphones and gift certiicates to hink Geek, a web vendor known for its wide selection of geeky swag. he programming contest will kick of at 1 p.m. Friday and last until 1p.m. Saturday. hough they are allowed to plan as much as possible, participants are forbidden from writing code for their project until the event begins. Yahoo! engineers will be available throughout the contest to provide assistance with writing and debugging the hacks.
FOcUS
Other smaller events leading to the coding contest were spread throughout the week, mostly accompanied by a storm of giveaways, free tshirts and free food. Wednesday, the main event was a lunch discussion of open source development. Open source software—software that allows users to build of of it without having to fret over copyrights and patents—is a popular topic in computing and students got to see how some web tools are making open-source development possible. Afterwords, Yahoo! and the ACM hosted several informal tech talks on how to use a half-dozen diferent web technologies. he day ended with a talk on Javascript by Douglas Crockford, the inventor of JSON. hursday had more tech talks, keynoted by a talk on Hadoop (a system that allows
users to maintain large distributed applications) and another by a talk on design. On campus, the ACM hosts events that often reach outside of the College of Computing. he organization is broken into a collection of special interest groups, or SIGs, and Tech’s largest annual LAN party, GT Gamefest, is hosted by the ACM’s SIG GAME. he ACM is also responsible for bringing a collection of big names to campus every year, including tech talks by companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon, as well as individuals like Bjarne Stroustrup, the inventor of C++,. Students interested in participating in future Hack Days can learn about the event at developer.yahoo.com/hacku. Students interested in the ACM can learn more about the Tech branch at gtacm.org or more about the international organization at acm.org.
Photo by William Brawley/ Student Publications
Roger Pincombe, last year’s winner of Yahoo! Hack Week, is a participant this year.
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entertainment editor: Jennifer Aldoretta
Friday, March 12, 2010
assistant entertainment editor: Zheng Zheng
Burton’s Alice spins in new direction by Patricia Uceda Contributing Writer
Tim Burton’s take on Alice in Wonderland has an eerie, gothic vibe, in keeping with his unique ilm style. It succeeds in being visually engaging, with its garish characters and stunning visual efects. However, much like James Cameron’s Avatar, its plot falls short from achieving any substantial originality. his adaptation takes place after Alice’s irst visit to Wonderland when she was a little girl. Now she is a 19-yearold rebellious, free-spirited teenager, played by newcomer Mia Waiskowska. Waiskowska does a decent job, although in many scenes Alice’s surroundings seem to overshadow her small screen presence. Alice does not remember her irst visit to Wonderland, and is plagued by dreams of this mythical place that she cannot explain. Because of the demands of the society in which she lives, Alice feels trapped and seeks to get out. Following a particularly stressful situation, she manages to escape by following a white rabbit down a rabbit hole. She ends up in a Burton-esque Underland, not Wonderland; it is explained that she misheard the name in her initial visit. Underland is a war-ravaged land ruled over by the evil Red Queen, played wonderfully by Helena Bonham Carter. he Red Queen is a petulant, childlike tyrant who does not hesitate to chop heads of at the slightest of whims. She has no rivals because she has killed them all, except for her sister, the good White Queen, played by Anne Hathaway. Hathaway does a good job playing Bonham Carter’s paciist counterpart, and is especially amusing with the dramatic elegance of the White Queen. he setup alone was entertaining enough; but then of course, the archetypal “epic ilm” plot just had to be thrown in. In this case, apparently Alice is the “chosen one”, and must go on a quest to ind a mythical sword so that she can slay the Red Queen’s Jabberwocky and restore power to the White Queen. It is very generic, and plays out very predictably. What saves this ilm from its less than engaging plot are its stunning visual efects. Although the 3D seemed a bit unnecessary, Burton does a wonderful job of painting an intriguing Wonderland that is foreboding as well as fascinating through the use of ominous shadows contrasted with bright and vivid scenery. he mixture of live action with green screen and motion
FILM
alice in Wonderland genRe: Adventure/Fantasy STaRRing: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter DiRecTOR: Tim Burton RaTing: PG ReLeaSeD: March 5, 2010
See Alice, page 15
OUR Take: ««««« Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
Giants thrill Variety fans Illusionist Stone wows by chris ernst Staf Writer
CONCERT
They Might be giants with Johnathan coulton VenUe: Variety Playhouse genRe: Alternative TRackS: “The Future Soon,” “Still Alive” and “Code Monkey”
OUR Take: ««««« by andrew guyton Contributing Writer
I’d imagine that the musical tastes of Tech students vary a bit from what is considered the “norm.” Even when you compensate for factors such as age, I would imagine a few unusual band names would pop through. he only time I hear techno or video game music is while listening to WREK Radio. hus, when I say that
the concert I was at this past weekend was probably the best concert I’d ever been to, some of you are likely to understand. Nerd culture icons Jonathan Coulton and hey Might Be Giants were at the Variety Playhouse on Friday, March 5. Surprisingly, I’d never been to a concert at the Variety Playhouse. It’s a cozy venue and I was easily able to get right up near the stage at the beginning of the performance, even though the event was sold out. Many people arrived after Coulton had left the stage, making for a much tighter crowd. Another bonus for this subculture is that the screaming inherent in some fan bases is kept to a minimum. Also nice was the lack of your stereotypically bad opening band. For those unfamiliar with
Jonathan Coulton, he is a geek, singer/songwriter and former programmer. He released his irst music in 2003 and his song “Still Alive” was the credit song for 2007’s Portal. At the concert, Coulton’s set stuck to more popular songs and felt relatively short. While this was presumably traditional for his role as an opener, I know that Coulton is capable of illing the room on his own merits and would personally prefer that he co-headline rather than open. Either way, I was happy to see him. Coulton opened with “he Future Soon,” a classic tale of one man’s unrequited love, mad science, cybernetics research, robot Armageddon and eventual reacquaintance with his lost love. See Giants, page 14
Many students may have seen a strange, stout man walking around campus last Friday wowing passers-by with mind-bending magic tricks. Asking for no spare change, what could be his motivation to perform such altruistic feats of fun? Well, turns out this shiny-headed shrewdster is Mick Stone, magician and entertainer. For hours he meandered about campus enticing people to his show Friday night in the Instructional Center Auditorium. He was brought to Tech by Campus Freethinkers. he show, called “WTF: Magic hat Doesn’t Suck,” features some cringeinducing tricks, like narrowly avoiding thrusting his hand on a metal spike and nearly hanging himself like a witch for his magic. “What hrilling Fun” indeed! But not all of his tricks are for the strong-stomached. He managed to correctly call a member of the audience from on stage and reveal the irst person she kissed. his is an example of a series of tricks Stone did to show what he would do if he wanted to prove to people that
he has psychic abilities. As another example, he asked several audience members to write down a question, maybe about the future, that did not really have a right or wrong answer, like “When will I graduate?” He answered the questions with a surprising amount of detail, generally giving hope to the inquisitors. He never claimed to have any extrasensory faculty. He never challenged the audience to try to test his preternatural capacity, but merely demonstrated how he would go about doing such a thing if such a claim was claimed. he whole show was done with a wink and a smile, establishing a tongue-in-cheek, facetious mood that permeated the performance. He poked fun at himself, and to a lesser extent, the audience, which correctly answered him the math problem of how many pages one would have to rip through after folding a newspaper in half eight times. Surprised at the intellectual prowess present, he continued, the jokes not being not too cheesy and augmenting the sense of wonder with well-timed See Stone, page 14
14 • March 12, 2010 • Technique
giants
from page 13
Coulton also played “Shop Vac,” “Code Monkey” (a crowd favorite and probably familiar to many readers) and “Skullcrusher Mountain.” Never having been to a Coulton performance, I was surprised when he broke out his Zendrum. A Zendrum is basically a cross between a sound board and a keytar, allowing him to “play” the song “Mr. Fancy Pants” live in a fairly creative way. here are several easy-to-ind videos online, and I highly recommend you seek one out. he last song in Coulton’s set was “Re: Your Brains,” in which the narrator beseeches his (former) co-worker to open the doors. After all, “We’re not unreasonable, I mean, no one’s gonna eat your eyes.” In his concert version, Coulton has the audience sing the primary chorus line, “All we want to do is
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eat your brains” as if the audience were zombies, a rare treat indeed. After Coulton’s set inished, there was an unusually long delay before hey Might Be Giants came to the stage. I’m aware it’s a large group with plenty of extras, but we were just standing around listening to the Variety Playhouse’s (admittedly good) iller music. A delay between sets doesn’t directly impact my decision to see a concert, but that combined with how much the bouncer-types were harassing anyone that tried to take pictures or video, I will be slightly less inclined to pick Variety Playhouse when there are other options. hey Might Be Giants is originally a ive-person group from Brooklyn, NY that formed in 1982, and they have also made their mark in niches such as children’s music and television theme songs. he group relies on a wide vari-
ety of instruments; not simply the typical drums, guitar(s) and vocals, although those are included. heir equipment also included a keyboard, an accordion, a trombone and an electronic drum set (used for sound efects in “Why Does he Sun Shine?”). In part due to great lighting and efects, the group had an impressive stage presence. I am admittedly less familiar with hey Might Be Giants than I am with Jonathan Coulton, so I was thrilled when their irst song was one that I knew: “Meet the Elements,” a must-know for anyone who has taken some form of chemistry. hey performed other memorable songs include their hits from nearly 20 years ago “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” and “Doctor Worm.” he hey Might Be Giants concert also featured a song or two by a sock puppet band. A screen was lowered and a video
camera on one side of the stage had a couple people working the puppets, who called themselves the “Avatars of hey.” he puppets performed “What is a Shooting Star.” his was deinitely an interesting way to perform the song, but entertaining all the same. Near the end of their performance, there was a surprise appearance by Homestar Runner (another musical puppet performance). At that point, hey Might Be Giants requested that anyone in the crowd with a device capable of recording video do so and post it on YouTube, so that it could be combined into a “crowd-sourced” video of the song. Two encores later, it was time to go home. I would deinitely recommend both Coulton and hey Might Be Giants. Be sure to catch them when they come back to Atlanta, as they surely will.
Stone
from page 13
humor. He involved the audience a lot, almost for each trick. Members of the audience would pick which noose by which he would hang himself, the questions for him to answer, and under which cups the metal spike hid. Giving the audience such a sense of ownership over the show and actively involving many other people make the show seem more special and ephemeral. he audience is experiencing something that will never happen quite that same way again. he people that are lucky enough to see Stone in action will likely not forget any time soon the show they witnessed. Stone’s blend of humor, wonder and frankness creates an experience unlike any other. If the chance happens to come around again, do not hesitate to see this master of magic and mystery in action.
technique making friday lectures more interesting
Technique • March 12, 2010 • 15
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League delivers with big laughs, looks FILM
She’s Out of My League genRe: Comedy/Romance STaRRing: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve DiRecTOR: Jim Field Smith RaTing: R ReLeaSe D: March 12, 2010
OUR Take: ««««« by chris ernst Staf Writer
She’s Out of My League is technically a romantic comedy, but one that obviously favors the comedy side. Even the romantic side, a nerdy, “uncoordinated” high-school graduate trying his best to court an obviously much hotter broad, is inherently funny. Even when the romance rears its comedy killing head, the laughs are never very far away because a suitor so inexperienced can never quite be as suave as the heroine’s pervious partners. he ilm stars Alice Eve and Jay Baruchel with Jim Field Smith directing them, all relatively unknown in mainstream Hollywood, and is written by the writing team of Sex Drive and Hot Tub Time Machine. hese movies are pretty straightforward comedies, and really so is She’s Out of My League. here is the angle, which happens to be romantic, but that is really as far as the movie forays into the arena of romance. If this movie itself was a relationship, there is no “where is the relationship going” talk to slow it down. It is there for the fun and it does not sufer because of it. he hilarity revolves around the situations, which can get pretty ridiculous. It is not one-
liners, pop culture references or higher-brow allusions that aim to tickle. he oddness of the circumstances just keeps piling on until it all comes to a screeching halt, generally with someone futilely trying to escape. he whole time the audience squeams just to be witnessing such screwball behavior. But it always comes back to an exasperation at the disparity between the protagonists’ looks, shown by a simple 1-10 scale. What could have easily been the slowest and most boring aspect of the ilm, explaining the numerical rating system to compare people, is quite quick. Since the audience already knows (and probably uses) this system, the jokes about it are funny and do not have to be explained. his, however, is not the source of most of the jokes of the movie. he movie uses the romantic situation to its advantage, emphasizing the problems a so-called 5 would have dating a 10. It is really easy to see the main character as a stereotypical Tech student: sweet and with good intentions, but without much sweettalking game. he entire movie, the audience is rooting for this underdog like it is the Georgia game. His bumbling clumsiness is endearing. He just cannot quite igure out why someone so obviously out of his league would even be interested. It is very easy to fall in love with the poor guy who just does not know what to do with himself around a hot girl. So good thing he has his friends to lead him (astray). One of the highlights of the movie is TJ Miller, who plays one of friends (who she’s also way too hot for). He is the fast-talking, usually inappropriate, shallow devil on the shoulder. He always has something to say, which he may or probably did not ilter before he
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said it. Sporadically, whenever he comes on screen, a little bit of the dementia simmering inside spills all over everything. And as soon as it comes, it goes and the audience is left to pick up the pieces and wonder what just happened. She’s Out of My League is really a comedy, with a romantic wrapper, which is perhaps to entice the feminine half of couples into the theater. here are plenty of laughs
at the eccentric character and the situations that arise when these star-crossed elements mix. his movie is hilarious and does not sink to the level to make Britney Spears jokes, although there are some body-luids jokes. hough it may not be very high brow, She’s Out of My League delivers the laughs in buckets and barrels bringing plenty of bellybusting hysterics.
alice
from page 13
capture is very efective in creating this fantasy world. he vibrant costume design is another commendable feature of this ilm. he period pieces are spot on, as well as the exaggerated gowns shown in Wonderland. Alice unexplainably changes dresses a countless number of times, but they are all beautiful dresses. Also, the costumes of the Mad Hatter and the Red Queen do a good job of conveying their respective character traits, with the Mad Hatter wearing a tattered array of mismatched fabrics, and the Red Queen dressed head to toe in red. Costume designer Colleen Atwood did a wonderful job crafting this visual aspect of the ilm. Additionally, all of the classic Wonderland characters were reinvented using state-of-the-art animation. he Tweedle brothers, voiced by Matt Lucas, are extremely eerie looking because of how realistic they look. hese bickering brothers help provide some comic relief. he Chesire Cat, played by Stephen Fry, looks creepier than ever with a disturbingly realistic face and huge smile. Unfortunately, his persona is made more familyfriendly in this ilm, in contrast to the distrustful trickster he was in the original ilm. All of the characters seem to have been adapted to help Alice along her epic quest, most notably the Mad Hatter, and it is not a very welcome change. Johnny Depp does a fantastic job portraying the Mad Hatter; it’s not his fault his character has been reduced to a jumbled mess whose only purpose is guiding Alice. All in all, this is an enjoyable ilm. Kids will love it, even though there are a few parts that might be a tad too graphic. As for adults, the visual efects will make up for the lackluster plot.
Technique • March 12, 2010 • 17
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THEME CROSSWORD: SURPRISE! by Robert Zimmerman United Features Syndicate ACROSS 1. Pedestal 5. Grows weary 10. Scurry 15. Prices ofered 19. Shepherd killed by a farmer 20. Yellow-green 21. “Stick ‘em up!” 22. Melville title 23. French army hat 24. Start of a quip by Orson Welles: 5 wds. 27. Jubilant 29. Jai -30. “-- Boots are Made for Walkin’ “ 31. Med. specialty 32. Save from sin 34. Stretch marks 36. Entertain 38. Watery part of a luid 40. “-- --, Brute?” 41. Perched
42. Cowslip and oxlip 46. Palin or McLachlan 49. Marsh bird 53. Free electron 54. Underworld river 56. Part 2 of quip: 2 wds. 58. Parrot 61. Craze 63. Partly: preix 64. Such -- -- is 65. Talisman 67. Pastoral poem 69. Barber or Gardner 71. Native of New Mexico 72. Part 3 of quip: 4 wds. 77. AMA cousin 79. Visit 80. Column molding 81. Harangue 84. Collections 86. Ski lift 89. Nearly 90. Overalls material 91. Part 4 of quip: 3 wds. 94. Caisson
97. Dot- -98. Place near Jordan 99. Imprisons 101. Peridy 104. Mineral spring 106. Turns left 108. Wraparound garment 109. Hunger 112. Brought to bay 114. Amounted to 118. Evergreen 119. Pester in fun 121. “-- go bragh!” 123. Yearn 124. End of the quip: 5 wds. 128. Release 129. Barge 130. Indigenous Alaskan 131. “-- porridge hot “ 132. Costa -133. Carryall 134. Perceive 135. Glacial ridge 136. Immediately
DOWN 1. Hardened by heating 2. Poplar 3. Plant part 4. Snobbery 5. Stuf and nonsense 6. Heavyweight champ 7. Prima donna 8. Curses 9. Governing body 10. -- Lanka 11. Southern constellation 12. Swear word
13. Earthy pigment 14. Dissertations 15. Feather scarf 16. Drive 17. Blackmore’s Lorna 18. Lenient 25. Encircles 26. Bequest 28. At any time 33. Misleading trick 35. Type style: abbr. 37. Heart chambers 39. Measuring standard 42. Arizona tribe 43. Range
44. Brooder for chicks 45. Specter 47. Edge tool 48. Earthling 50. Self-conidence 51. Grow together 52. Diminutive suix 55. Transcontinental country 57. Fix irmly 59. Insect’s wing 60. Joins 62. Sir -- Hercules John 66. Efectiveness
68. Songlike 70. Eager 73. Mediterranean ship 74. “here -- to be a law ...” 75. heater employees 76. Before 77. Invites 78. Gainsay 82. Noted couturier 83. Entertainment award 85. Helvetian 87. Literary collection
88. Morally justiiable 92. Deer 93. Lachrymal secretion 95. Seven -96. Material for waterprooing 100. Good-natured 102. Homophone for seize 103. Allies 105. Hippodromes 107. Mexican shawl 109. hat ‘70s music
110. Rye fungus 111. Golf score 113. Eats 115. Cap 116. Genus of evergreens 117. Coup -118. Clenched hand 120. British gun 122. Neighbor of Minn. 125. Be in the red 126. Sanctiied one: abbr 127. Application
18 • March 12, 2010 • Technique
PILED HIGHER & DEEPER BY JORGE CHAM
CROSSWORD SOLUTION FROM PAGE 17
cOMicS
NON SEQUITUR BY WILEY
cOMicS
NON SEQUITUR BY WILEY
DILBERT ® BY SCOTT ADAMS
Technique • March 12, 2010 • 19
20 • March 12, 2010 • Technique
baseball
SPORTS
from page 24
day nights from time to time... Jumping out to an early lead like that was big,” McGuire said. Tech was quiet until the seventh, when Rowland hit a solo homer; it was his third of the season and capped a 2-for-4 day for the leadof man, who was hitting just .219 entering the game. “He was just trying to be a little more patient...Today I thought he had a good approach at the plate,” Hall said. Sophomore second baseman Jacob Esch drove in Skole on an RBI double in the eighth to cap the Jackets’ scoring on the day. McGuire had hoped to take the mound in the ninth and attempt to pick up his irst complete game, but he was relieved by junior closer Kevin Jacob. “I felt like today was a pretty good chance for me to go out and inish one. But...I have no problem with coming out and letting any one of [our relievers] come in to inish,” McGuire said. “We had a nice lead and no need to extend [McGuire], and I honestly just want to get Jacob in there more, just to get him more consistent work,” Hall said. Jacob pitched a scoreless frame to seal the 5-0 victory. It was Tech’s ifth shutout of the year, accounting for more than half the team’s games to that point. Saturday’s contest was a far different story, as Tech’s bats were the key to victory. Eight players had at least one RBI, and the Jackets racked up 20 hits in the 19-5 win. Tech’s lineup exploded for double-digit runs to build a comfortable lead. he Jackets batted around in an eight-run second inning, then put up four runs in the ifth and scored in each of the three following innings. he biggest star at the plate was junior catcher Cole Leonida, who went 4-for-5 on the day and had Tech’s only home run in the rout.
By Ryan Gomba / Student Publications
Brandon Cumpton ires the ball to home plate in Saturday’s win over Rutgers. Cumpton pitched ive innings and improved to 3-0. Leonida led of the big second inning for Tech and had two hits in the frame, including his homer. Esch went 3-for-4 with a walk, scoring four runs and driving in two. Plagman and redshirt senior left ielder Jay Dantzler each had three RBI, and Skole reached base in ive of his six plate appearances, going 3-for-4 with a pair of walks. he ofensive outburst has been a trend for the Jackets this year; they have scored at least 15 runs in each of their three Saturday games in 2010. he strong hitting helped Tech overcome a shaky start by junior right-hander Brandon Cumpton. Despite permitting just one hit in seven innings a week earlier against Xavier, Cumpton ran into trouble quickly against Rutgers and allowed a more patient Scarlet Knights lineup to score four runs while forcing him to throw 39 pitches in the irst inning.
Cumpton settled down afterward, though, giving up a run in the third but otherwise holding the Rutgers bats in check. He left the game after ive innings, giving up ive runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks. Ultimately, the Jackets went on to a 19-5 win after four relievers— freshman right-hander Luke Bard, senior right-hander Patrick Long, junior left-hander Zach Brewster and freshman left-hander Jake Davies—each pitched a scoreless inning to inish the game. Sunday’s series inale saw Tech combine a strong start from sophomore left-hander Jed Bradley with another quick strike at the plate in picking up a 9-4 victory. he Jackets’ power bats were sharp from the start, as two doubles and a Skole two-run homer resulted in a four-run irst inning. Two frames later, junior right ielder Chase Burnette clocked a
three-run shot as part of another four-run inning, and the Jackets led 8-0 after three. It was all the scoring they would need, as sophomore lefthander Jed Bradley rebounded from a rough start a week earlier against Xavier. Bradley displayed the form he had shown in his opening weekend start against Missouri State as he pitched six shutout innings, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out nine. He was eicient in shutting down the Rutgers lineup, throwing just 79 pitches. After Sunday’s start, Bradley’s season ERA dipped to 2.12. In 17.0 innings pitched, he has allowed just 17 baserunners and has recorded 27 strikeouts. Freshman right-hander Buck Farmer and senior right-hander Andrew Robinson held Rutgers scoreless in the seventh and eighth, respectively. With Jacob on to pitch the ninth, though, the Scarlet Knights avoided the shutout in a big way. Jacob, who entered the game with a 1.76 ERA, gave up four runs on two walks and two hits, including a three-run homer. Still, the comeback attempt fell well short, and the Jackets completed the sweep with a 9-4 win. After Wednesday’s midweek game at Mercer was rained out, the Jackets will return to the diamond on Mar. 12, opening ACC play in a weekend set against Wake Forest at Russ Chandler Stadium. he series precedes Tech’s irst game against Georgia on March 16. McGuire will take the mound for the Friday night game, and the junior is looking forward to the start of conference play this coming weekend. “I’m slowly getting stronger after taking the summer of...and I’m starting to get a better feel for pitching and just a better feel overall. I think I’m right where I want to be going into ACC play,” McGuire said.
Men’s
from page 24
one foul shot to put his team up by four. Bell missed a three on the Jackets’ next possession, forcing them to foul to stop the clock. VT converted both opportunities, increasing their lead to six with 22 seconds remaining. Shumpert tried to hit a tough three, but he was unable to make it count, again forcing a Tech foul to conserve time. Delaney added two from the stripe, and although Favors added a quick layup to cut the deicit to six, time expired with the Jackets down 88-82. he consistency and accuracy of the Hokies’ ofense carried them through the entire game, as they inished the game shooting 51 percent from the ield, 9-for-17 from beyond the arc, and 80 percent from the line. VT also inished with four players in double-igures in the points column, with Delaney leading the pack at 32. Allen and guard Terrell Bell each recorded double-doubles; Allen had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Bell notched 14 points and a gamehigh 13 rebounds, all on the defensive end. “We didn’t do a great job today defensively, but at the same time VT deserves credit coming in,” Hewitt said. “hey made some big shots.” Favors and Lawal led the Jackets in the scoring department, each registering 18 points in their inal home game of the season. he loss puts the Jackets at 1911 overall and 7-9 in conference play, putting their hopes for an NCAA tournament bid at risk. When asked about their chances, Hewitt focused on the ACC tournament ahead. “I still think we have a very good shot, but obviously we’ve got to go to Greensboro and play well,” Hewitt said. “hey’re not handing out bids tomorrow, and that’s how we have to look at it.”
Technique • March 12, 2010 • 21
SPORTS
M-Tennis tops UNC-Wilmington by alex Mitchell and Steven cappetta Assistant Sports Editor / Advertising Manager
On Sunday, March 7 the No. 29 ranked Tech men’s tennis team defeated a non-conference foe in No 48 UNC-Wilmington 6-1. With the win Tech improved to 9-3 for the spring season and has remained undefeated at home, 8-0. Tech started out by sweeping all three of the doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead. he third-light team of juniors Guillermo Gomez and Ryan Smith did not allow the UNC-Wilmington team of Michael Pereira and Alex Wetherell to win a single game, defeating them 8-0. he tandem of juniors Eliot Potvin and Dean O’Brien also picked up a win against the UNCWilmington team of Illia Ziamtsou and Kosta Blank 8-3. Both Kevin King and freshman Juan Spir slipped by Michael Pereira and Alex Wetherell in an 8-6 inish to inish of the sweep in the doubles matches. In singles play, none of the matches went to three sets, and Tech picked up wins at the top three positions. Gomez was the irst to inish, cruising with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Pereira on court number one. Gomez, currently ranked No. 5 in the nation, improved his record to 19-4 in singles and 6-2 in dual matches this spring. Following Gomez’s match, King overtook the Seahawks’ Kinshuk Sharma 6-2, 6-1 and accounted for his fourth consecutive win since returning from injury. King had played in the top light against Georgia State with Gomez out, and he shifted back to the No. 2 spot for his win over Sharma. At the No. 6 position Spir de-
By Kelvin Kuo / Student Publications
Juan Spir hits a return volley at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. Spir took down his opponent Anton Nikolov in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. feated Anton Nikolov 6-3, 6-3 and clinched the win for Tech with the game score of 4-0. Freshman Magin Ortiga increased the Jackets’ lead to 5-0 when he overtook Wetherell 6-0, 6-1. Ortiga improved his record to 7-3 in the spring with his win over Wetherell. Ortiga started out the year with a 6-6 record in the fall but has come on strong since then. UNC-Wilmington received its lone point on the day when Blank beat O’Brien 6-3, 6-1 and put the Seahawks on the board at 5-1. In the inal match, Potvin defeated
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Ziamtsou in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 to end the day with a Tech victory of 6-1. he Jackets will resume conference play when they face the No. 39 Miami Hurricanes on March 14 at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. he Hurricanes are currently 4-3 on the year and are still searching for an ACC win. Tech has played one conference match to date, losing on Feb. 21 to a Florida State squad that also defeated Miami earlier this season. All of Tech’s ten remaining matches are against ACC teams.
Softball
from page 24
before the mercy rule ended the game 11-0. Junior pitcher Kristen Adkins started the game for the Jackets only giving up two hits and one walk in six innings pitched. Adkins moved to 4-0 with her second shutout of the season. he game was scoreless until the top of the third inning. Yee, Rush, and Priebe all singled to load the bases and Adkins hit a sac-ly to plate Yee. Sophomore third baseman Danielle Dike singled to left scoring another run and giving the Jackets a 2-0 lead. he Jackets got two homers in the sixth with Rush’s eighth of the season and Dike’s second of the game en route to the 11-0 victory. In Tech’s second game of the day and third of the tournament, the Jackets defeated No. 23 Kentucky 6-3. Yee got the Jackets of to a fast start by hitting a solo homer in the bottom of the irst inning. Kentucky tied the game in the third inning and had a chance to take the lead in the fourth, getting a runner in scoring position with no outs. However, Rush got out of the fourth inning jam by getting a strikeout and two ly outs. Kentucky was able to take the lead in the ifth inning with a pair of two-out runs, but Tech re-took the lead in the bottom of the inning. Junior center ielder Christy Jones hit a two-out single and sophomore shortstop Kelsi Weseman walked to put Jones into scoring position. hen Yee hit her second home run of the game to give the Jackets the lead 4-3. he Jackets added a couple of insurance runs in the sixth inning and Rush shut down the Wildcats in the seventh to improve her record to 8-2. Tech played two more games on Sunday, March 7, defeating Dartmouth 8-1 and Ole Miss 1-0. Yee hit another irst inning solo
home run against Dartmouth to give Tech an early 1-0 lead. Tech kept the momentum going in the second inning with an RBI single by Weseman. Tech loaded the bases in the fourth inning before Rush hit a single that scored two runs. Coan gave up her only hit of the game in the fourth inning when Dartmouth’s Leigha Clarkson hit a home run to put Dartmouth on the scoreboard. Tech added a few more runs to give Coan her ifth win of the season and Adkins pitched the inal three innings for her irst save of the season. Tech played Ole Miss in the second game of the day, and it turned out to be a pitchers dual with both teams only combining for four hits. he only run of the game came in the third inning when Yee and Rush walked, setting up an RBI single for Jordan. Rush would not need any more support as she only gave up two hits in seven innings and struck out ive hitters. Tech inished of the week by defeating Georgia State on Tuesday, March 9. he Jackets traveled to Panthersville and defeated their inter-city rival 7-3. Adkins started the game for the Jackets and gave up three unearned runs on seven hits and four walks. Coan came into the game in the ifth inning and recorded her irst save of the season. Weseman led of the game with a double and Yee and Rush both walked to load the bases. A wild pitch would score the irst run of the game for the Jackets. Sophomore right ielder Jessica Sinclair hit a three-run homer later in the inning to give the Jackets a 5-0 lead. he Panthers would score three runs to pull within two, but the Jackets added two insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings to preserve the victory.
22 • March 12, 2010 • Technique
SPORTS
Fencing hosts irst Yellow Jacket Open by Vivian Fan and nishant Prasadh News Editor / Sports Editor
he Yellow Jacket Fencing Club (YJFC) conducted its irst ever event sanctioned by the United States Fencing Association (USFA) last weekend, when from March 6-7 the club hosted the Yellow Jacket Open at the North Avenue Apartments recreation center. It was a landmark event for the club, which began in 2005 as a group of 12 members. he Open brought together 22 teams from Ga. and across the South. “We came together a lot for this tournament...People really know who we are [now] and we’re really trying to grow on [an intercollegiate] scale,” said sophomore Blake Watson, the team captain. Seven events were held over the two days, encompassing all three fencing disciplines—epee, foil and saber, each distinguished by a diferent sword and techniques attributed to each. Epee, which is the largest of the weapons, allows fencers to hit their opponent anywhere on their body—including the head and below the legs. he style of play tends to be more defensive. Foil and saber limit hits to only the torso up; however, saber does allow for head hits. Foil is the smallest and lightest of the weapons, and it tends to be the starting point for new fencers. “Typically, starting everyone on foil gives everyone good fundamentals. [After that], they can go where they want,” said junior Joseph Conn, the club president. Saber, the most dynamic discipline, contrasts the defensive, fundamental-heavy nature of the others and relies on dynamic, offensive techniques. Notably while each of the fenc-
Photo by Kelvin Kuo / Student Publications
Fencers compete in a Sunday foil bout in the Yellow Jacket Invitational. The event was the irst USFAsanctioned event hosted at Tech and involved fencers from 22 universities and independent clubs. ers who competed was ailiated with a club or school, fencers competed on an individual basis only. “Typically, [fencing is] a sport of individuals,” Conn said. Saturday featured open mixed epee for all fencers, followed by epee for C-and-under fencers. Additionally, wheelchair foil and saber took place. Tech had only two fencers in each of the epee events. Junior Michael Starosto took 10th place in the open mixed epee ield. In Sunday’s foil and saber events, Tech had many more participants. Six YJFC members took part in C-and-under mixed foil. Leading the way was Conn, who tied for third place and was promoted to a D rating. Senior Scott Risher inished ninth in the event, and
the runner-up, Paul Herin, was a co-founder of the YJFC in 2005 (though he competed as a member of the Augusta Fencing Club). Open mixed foil saw a number of high-rated players compete for the top spot. Watson, an A-rated fencer, took third place for Tech’s highest inish in the event. Another YJFC fencer, Scott Cummins, inished 12th and earned an E rating after being unrated previously. Six YJFC fencers took part in open mixed saber, the inal competition of the Open. Graduate student Bradley Jankowiak and freshman Bryan Sprague inished sixth and seventh, respectively. On the whole, club membership is constantly in a state of lux. he large time commitment means many prospective members
are unable to stay long-term. “We practice two hours a day, four days a week...Some people manage it really well, but...it’s hard,” Watson said. he club has focused on members who have strong ties to the sport and would be both willing to devote time to the club and able to assist newer members. “We’re trying to get...people who at least can stay for a couple of years, just so they can help the continuing crowd. In this we’ve become a lot more structured and organized,” Watson said. “I’m graduating next year, so my goal is to build a strong foundation of people who are...excited about it like these guys, and hopefully get them to do the same thing later,” Conn said.
acc
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soon as she was able. “It hurt, but it wasn’t going to keep me out of the game. I knew I had to come back in strong,” Ardossi said. With Wake ahead 40-34 at that point, Tech did not falter, but rather held Wake scoreless until Ardossi returned with 6:37 left. Just under two minutes later, a pair of Montgomery free throws capped a 7-1 Tech run that tied the game at 41 with 4:49 left. he next few minutes were largely defensive, but a short Ardossi jumper with 1:05 to go gave Tech its irst lead, 45-43. With Wake scrambling to tie the game, the Jackets forced two turnovers in the inal minute and hit ive free throws—part of a solid 14for-17 performance from the line in the second half—and eventually secured a 52-45 victory. “he fact we were able to step up at the end and make plays, it’s a tribute to these players and their resiliency,” Joseph said. Tech’s success would end there, though, as on Friday the Jackets were unable to secure their irst win over Duke since 1993. Tech played well, staying within four throughout the irst half, but the Blue Devils pulled away in the inal 20 minutes for a 67-55 victory. Tech remained close deep into the second half, trailing just 5148 with eight minutes left in the game, but at that point Duke began a 12-2 run to pull away. he loss overshadowed a stellar performance by Montgomery. he junior shot 7-for-13 from the ield and recorded game-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore center Sasha Goodlett had 13 points, and Ardossi posted eight rebounds as Tech won the rebounding battle 38-28. Duke’s top scorer was junior guard Karima Christmas, who had 15 points and hit 10 of 13 free throw attempts.
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3/3 woot maulding fball players keep setting of ire alarms with their scooters under the over hang traits(girlfriend) == TBS; boyfriend = douche; else; boyfriend = prettycooldude; end Why does everyone always think I’m slivering about them?. HALO REACH IS GONNAA BE SWEET! Big Daddy, meet Little Sister.... Caitlin is freaking awesome! Watching all the 2110 kiddies is fun knowing im done with all that Cocoa powder, meet wales. Wales, meet cocoa powder Seriously, who would buy decaf cofee?! Cutting education, cause nobody is the future... I want In-n-Out Burgers right now. Shame they’re on the other coast I think the new library hours should be from 6pm to 8am his is my JAM!!! To a girl in North Ave Apts. I love your itunes music. I wonder if you are as beautiful as you taste in music. So on the Dance Marathon page, I totally drew a DDR screen. Does that make me a nerd? Architorture irst years try to de-stress with beer pong...in studio Does anyone else still use XP? I just cleaned my apartment’s toilet for the irst time. Only a mere 7 months since moving in! he guy from the ADAPs oice is so hot! If I fail out of Chem E I can always start a meth lab. all hail king neptune and his water breathers; not snail thing too quick for his water feeders. guy in a wheelchair giving a girl a ride outside van leer - you just made my day Dear Juliet? Do you really want a Romeo? I’m your Montague. lamest slivers get picked how does “i want to write my paper” get a sliver, but “FAB blows” doesn’t??
Technique • March 12, 2010 • 23
SPORTS
Basketball trails VT early, drops regular season inale by kyle conarro Staf Writer
he Jackets headed into Alexander Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, March 6 for their inal regular season game, squaring of against Virginia Tech. Despite rallying late in the game to pull within three, Tech was unable to go ahead, falling 88-82 to close out regular season play. Senior forward Zachery Peacock, who was honored alongside redshirt senior guard D’Andre Bell for senior night, opened up the game with a three-pointer to put the Jackets on top. Just over ive minutes later, though, VT had jumped in front 10-8, seizing the lead that would carry them through the rest of the game. Hokies’ guard Malcolm Delaney led his team’s efort, scoring 12 points in the irst eight minutes of play. By the 12:08 mark, VT had gone up 19-8, building an early double-digit lead behind Delaney’s scoring attack.
By Tim Nowack / Student Publications
Iman Shumpert dribbles to the hoop during Saturday’s game.
he Jackets responded with a 14-4 run in the ensuing ive minutes, putting them within one at 23-22. Tech was able to keep it close for a short stretch, but the Hokies hit three consecutive three-pointers to go back on top by 10 with 3:41 remaining. “hey shot the ball really well,” said Tech Head Coach Paul Hewitt of the Hokies’ ofensive production. “hey shot 52 percent from three.” In fact, the three-point shooting was VT’s main weapon in the irst half. hey shot 8-for-10 in the irst half, four of which came of the hands of Delaney. Tech shot well from beyond the arc as well, going 6-for-16 in the irst period, but they were unable to match the Hokies’ pace. he Jackets outscored VT 12-8 in the inal minutes of the half, narrowing the gap to six heading into the break. Junior forward Gani Lawal hit a layup and drew the foul to open the second half, narrowing the lead to four, but he was unable to hit the ensuing free-throw Tech shot relatively well from the stripe on Saturday, shooting 18-for-26 on the day for a free throw mark of 69.2 percent. Lawal, however, continued to struggle, hitting just four of his eight opportunities from the line. Despite their solid efort, the Jackets were unable to compensate for the Hokies’ 29-for-36 performance in this category. Delaney alone notched 14 points from the line, only four less than the entire Jackets’ squad. “In [VT’s] best games of the year, he’s gone to the foul line a lot,” Hewitt said of Delaney’s free throw shooting. he teams traded baskets over the next ive minutes, as the Hokies edged their way in front 55-47 with 15 minutes left to play. Del-
aney hit a layup to put the diferential at 10, but sophomore guard Iman Shumpert countered with a three-pointer at the 14:13 mark to cut it back to single-digits. he next two minutes saw no scoring from the Jackets. VT recorded six straight points to widen the spread to 12. Shumpert and freshman forward Derrick Favors added two points with just over 12 minutes remaining, each hitting one of two from the line to put the score at 62-52. he Hokies responded with a jumper, but Favors put one home and drew the foul, completing the three-point play to bring Tech within nine with 11:22 on the clock. VT went on an 11-4 run over the next three minutes with six of their points coming from the free throw line. he run gave the Hokies a 16-point edge with 8:34 to play, although they led by as much as 17 during the stretch. he Jackets struggled to stay within reach. Lawal caused a turnover and put in a layup, but Peacock got called for a technical foul, giving VT forward Jef Allen the chance to hit two free throws. Shumpert followed with a three, but another Tech foul allowed Allen to hit two more foul shots, extending the Hokies’ lead back to 15 with just over six minutes to play. Favors and Shumpert ignited the Jackets ofense, though, adding a dunk and a three-pointer respectively to jump to within 10. Two Favors’ free throws with 3:31 remaining brought Tech back within single-digits for the irst time in over nine minutes. Shumpert hit another three to put the score at 80-74, bringing the Jackets within striking distance with 2:13 left. “Iman [Shumpert] made some great shots. He took some threes,
knocked them down, got the ball inside and converted,” Hewitt said of Tech’s late-game rally. Bell hit two from the line after getting fouled in the paint, but Delaney answered with two free throws of his own at the 1:02 mark, maintaining VT’s 6-point advantage. Peacock knocked down two more free throws, but again Del-
aney responded, this time hitting just one of his two opportunities. On Tech’s next possession, Favors got the ball down low and powered his way in for the layup, making the score 83-80 with only 36 seconds on the game clock. Another Tech foul put Allen at the line for the Hokies, and he hit See Men’s, page 20
By Kelvin Kuo / Student Publications
Zach Peacock rises up for a layup attempt in Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech. Peacock scored nine points on Senior Night.
Sports
sports@nique.net Sports editor: Nishant Prasadh assistant Sports editor: Alex Mitchell
Tech Touché
Technique
The Yellow Jacket Fencing Club hosted its irst-ever USFA-sanctioned tournament over the weekend421
Friday, March 12, 2010
24
W-basketball downed in acc tourney Softball wins by nishant Prasadh Sports Editor
Tech’s women’s basketball team fell just shy of reaching the ACC Tournament inals for what would have been the second time ever. he Jackets, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, battled back from a 16-point deicit to defeat ifth seed Wake Forest 52-45 on Friday, March 5, but they could not pull the upset over Duke and fell to the No. 1 seed Blue Devils 64-50 on March 6 in Greensboro, N.C. he Jackets last reached the conference tourney inals in 1992, when as the No. 7 seed they upset Clemson and Maryland before losing by one point against top-seeded Virginia. hat was also the only year that Tech was able to secure two wins in the ACC Tournament; Tech had reached the semiinal round twice since then—in 2000 and 2003— and lost to Duke both times. his year, a irst-round bye meant that Tech needed only one win to reach the semiinals. After Wake took down No. 12 seed Miami in the irst round, the Jackets had their matchup set and took on the Demon Deacons on Friday. he contest was characterized by strong defensive play and poor shooting from both teams early on. Tech and Wake combined to shoot just 24 percent (12-for-50) from the ield in the irst half. and over the irst 11:59 of the game Tech did not hit a shot from the ield, going 0-for-10 on ield
goal tries in that span while committing six turnovers. After junior guard Alex Montgomery hit a jumper to give Tech its irst basket of the day, the Jackets went cold again. hey picked up a handful of points on free throws, but in total, over the irst 18:35 the Jackets shot 1-for-17 from the ield with 10 turnovers. A key factor in that was the absence of senior forward Brigitte Ardossi, who was forced to sit for most of the half after committing two fouls in the irst 90 seconds of the game. “We couldn’t buy a basket in the irst half. It seemed like when Brigitte got out we lost our ofensive low…When she was out of the game we were kind of disjointed,” said Head Coach MaChelle Joseph. With Wake ahead 25-11 with 1:30 to go, Tech began to claw back into the game. Ardossi scored on a layup on the post and sophomore point guard Metra Walthour added a pair of free throws, and after forcing a Wake turnover, Ardossi hit a jumper that cut Wake’s lead to 25-17 heading into halftime. Defense was key late in the half for Tech. he Jackets did not allow Wake to score in the inal 4:30, and the Deacons had no rebounds on either end in the last three minutes. “We built this program on defensive rebounding. [Our defense] is what kept us in the game,” Joseph said. In the second half, the Jackets collectively began to ind their stroke. Wake scored the
Buzz Classic, tops Ga. St. by alex Mitchell Assistant Sports Editor
a charge against Wake guard Brooke homas, but instead Ardossi took an elbow to the face. he senior sat for threeplus minutes but returned as
he Tech softball team improved its record to 19-2 with six wins in ive days. Over the weekend, Tech traveled to Woodstock, Ga. to take part in the Buzz Classic. In the tournament, the Jackets won all ive of their games, including two wins over SEC opponents. On Friday, March 5, the Jackets defeated Seton Hall 16-0 in only ive innings. he Jackets put up big ofensive numbers throughout the game, but the key to Tech’s success was the performance of sophomore starting pitcher Jessica Coan. Coan pitched the irst four innings of the game for the Jackets and only gave up one hit while striking out 10 batters. In the top of the irst inning, redshirt senior Jen Yee drew a walk and freshman designated player Hope Rush drilled the irst pitch she saw for a two-run homer. In the second, Yee continued to have solid at bats when she hit an RBI single. Junior irst baseman Kristine Priebe also had two RBIs in the inning as part of a three-run inning pushing Tech’s lead to 5-0. he Jackets blew the game wide open in the fourth inning by scoring seven runs. With the bases loaded, junior catcher Jessica Weaver came into pinch hit for sophomore Kate Kuzma and hit a triple, scoring all three runners on base. he Jackets played two diferent opponents on Saturday, March 6 and defeated them by a combined score of 17-3. he Jackets played James Madison in the irst game and needed six innings this time
See ACC, page 22
See Softball, page 21
Photo courtesy of the Athletic Association
Brigitte Ardossi rises for a shot in Friday’s ACC Tournament game versus Wake Forest. Ardossi had 23 points in the win. irst four points, but Tech rallied with a 13-4 run—which included six points from Ardossi—to close within three. Ardossi was forced to leave the game with 10:08 left with a bloody nose. She tried to draw
No. 4 Baseball sweeps Rutgers in weekend set, now 10-1 by nishant Prasadh Sports Editor
By Sandler / Student Publications
Tony Plagman hits a drive to center in Sunday’s game at Russ Chandler Stadium. Plagman batted .333 in the series with ive RBI.
Tech’s No. 4 baseball team continued its strong start to 2010 with a weekend sweep of Rutgers at Russ Chandler Stadium from March 5-7. Another stellar pitching performance by junior righthander Deck McGuire led the way to a 5-0 victory on Friday afternoon, and Tech’s bats powered the way to a 19-5 win on Saturday and a 9-4 triumph on Sunday. he start of Friday’s game was not easy for McGuire, as the junior struggled with his control, particularly in locating his ofspeed pitches. McGuire gave up three hits and a walk in the irst two innings and threw a wild pitch. Despite allowing runners to reach third base in both of the irst two innings he escaped without surrendering a run. After that, the junior was in command. From the third inning on, McGuire allowed just three hits and did not let a Rutgers runner reach third base. “He pitched out of a jam in the irst inning and really settled in and started throwing his fastball downhill, and he had great location...I was really impressed from the middle innings on with how he threw his fastball,” said
Head Coach Danny Hall. single driving home junior center McGuire had to throw more ielder Jef Rowland. pitches in the irst couple of inWith the bases loaded, Rutgers nings, but later on he took advan- pitcher Casey Gaynor balked, altage of the Scarlet Knights’ ag- lowing junior shortstop Derek gressiveness early in the count and Dietrich to score. Sophomore induced a number of quick outs. third baseman Matt Skole capped “Today I felt like I did a good of scoring with a sac ly. job initiating contact. I got a lot “For whatever reason we’ve of irst-pitch swings, and pop-ups had trouble scoring runs on Friand ground balls. I think that’s the See Baseball, page 20 most ground balls I’ve ever had in my life, so I’m looking forward to continuing that trend,” McGuire said. All in all, it was a very eicient performance for McGuire. He threw 96 pitches in eight innings, allowing six hits and a walk while striking out nine. He lowered his season ERA to 0.82 and his season WHIP to 0.95, and his opponents’ batting average dropped to .231. McGuire received all the run support he needed in the irst inning. Each of Tech’s irst four hitBy Kelvin Kuo / Student Publications ters reached base, with Matt Skole throws to irst after ielding senior irst baseman a ground ball at Russ Chandler Stadium. Tony Plagman’s RBI