OCR::/Vol_105/WLURG39_RTP_20021111/WLURG39_RTP_20021111_001.2.txt K 4,. , r The stzirlerrt t.iria:‘e it . . ’_ Ufii W’,/" ..-....,. .... «Greek groups .con inue to give Panhell follows IFC lead with scholarships ,‘ BY CALEY ANDERSON STAFF WRITER The Panhellenic Council will award scholarships to pay for four freshmen women’s greek fees this year. [Panhellenic Council is the governing organization that supervises Washington and Lee University’s sorori- ties. The scholarships, which will contrbute to the costs of sorority membership for each student who receives ‘them, will be worth $150 for the recipient’s freshman year, and $500 for each subsequent undergraduate year, a total of$l650 in all. Elizabeth Saxton, President of the Panhellenic Coun- gcil, said that “the council is offering the scholarship in an effort to allow several women who might not other- wise be able to join a sorority to be a part of the sys- 93 tern. M Accordingly, the primary criteria for awarding the ‘scholarship will be financial need, although other factors will include strength of interest in greek life, potential to contribute to the greek system, and participation in extra- curricular activites. Leaders hope these aid packages will {ease the financial burden on exceptional women who wish to join sororities. While Saxton said, “at most, four more women may go through recruitment,” the possibility remains that the scholarship will encourage many more Wash- 7ington & Lee women to participate in sorority re- cruitment, thus stimulating activity in. the greek sys- tem as a whole. 72 percent of upperclass female students at ‘Washington & Lee are members of a sorority, down from last year’s mark of 74.4 percent, according to W&L’s Office of Institutional Research. While many sorority members have no problems paying their re- spective organizational dues, some have trouble com- ''ing up with enough money. The Panhellenic Council hopes that it will be able to place some new sorority sisters who might _g_th_erwise Vhaveelecthed not to pledge due to the cost of membershiph in a greek organization. Saxton said,the Interfratemity Council, which over- sees Washington and Lee University’s fraternities, was a helpful source of assistance to its sister organization in drawing up the plans for the scholarship program, (since they “already had their scholarship program in- tact.” The Panhellenic scholarship was therefore in- tended to be similar to the IFC scholarship in every pos- sible way. 3‘. ents. Leaders of both organizations hope that their fi- /tnancial efforts will improve the greek system by allow- ing worthy students to join fraternities or sororities who would otherwise have trouble paying their greek fees. ll l BY IMRAN NAEEMULIAH OPINIONS ronor Washington and Lee students ltenjoyed a taste of India during the Diwali festival held during dinner in Evans Dining Hall on Thursday, Nov. 7. Organized by junior Abby Wolcott, the festival featured Indian dancing, hand decorating using an Indian dye called henna, as well as Indian des- serts. Said Wolcott, “It was a really great event. I had a great time, as did lnrthe rest of the organizers.” Wolcott is chair of the Outreach Committee of the Student Association for Interna- tional Learning (SAIL). i Students enjoyed the activities. Freshman Elizabeth Little, who hails ifiom South Carolina, noted that this was her first real exposure to Indian culture. She said, “I thought it was a really neat lqevent and a good idea. I enjoyed the dancing very much, and thought the rice pudding was excellent.” Food was certainly an attraction for students. Said freshman Gabe hapman, “I would easily say it was the only night at D-Hall where I’m go- ing to be able to eat lamb. It reminded me of going to an Indian New Year ’s fiinner at my friend’s house back home. Ithought [the celebration] was a great idea, and I wish we could do more cultural things like that.” Indeed, students seemed to fiarticularly enjoy the desserts. Freshman Ligia Abreu, who helped organize the event, noted that the The two scholarships are indeed essentially identical in criteria for bestowment and amount, the only real difference being the gender of the recipi- helping out with the festivities.” ,%THER .,:._,. ING-T .i'iigitl’lt arid lee tr l m...n ‘_§- 5-4-4.»- is-«......; T J iiiiittilt”*iZl«ir"rll\Z r*-at F‘ 3:‘ II ll'.’i."l’I...,.’rTil Aumorossrjns BRO0KS/ 7l9eRz'ng4umPh1' Sonny, CHARLIE. Top. ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ crewsworkedallweekendtosetup lights, cables, cameras andwires liketheequipmer1tstrownAbove.'Iheol'I'icial ‘Good Morning America’ logo adorned Lexington, W&L tas es India desserts were a great success. She also pointed out that they were for- tunate to have religion professor Tim Lubin on hand to chat with stu- dents about Indian culture as well as to enjoy the festivities. Lubin was not the sole faculty pres- ence, however. English professors Suzanne Keen and Lesley Wheeler wereboththerewitlitheirfiarniliesirrtovv. Wheeler noted with amusement, “I was grateful [my two-year-old son] Cameron didn’t smear henna on my face imtil af- terthe painthad mostly dri ” Keen agreed,-pointing out that she attended because “I thought it would be a fun change of pace, my husband loves Indian food, and my son loves any kind of festival. [He] has a magnifi- cent henna tattoo that he has been showing off at kindergarten. He also enjoyed the music and dancing.” Wolcott credits the success of the event to the help of various other students, as well as Director of Din- ing Services Alex da Silva and Din- ing Services Administrative Assis- tant Faye Silvea. Wolcott pointed out that one big positive was that stu- dents of many nationalities assisted; for example, henna painting was done by sophomore Alex Schaerrer, who is originally from Switzerland but now lives in Florida. Said Wolcott, who is an American, “ It gave the opportu- nity for students to learn about an- other culture, and it was especially good that non-Indian students were Washington and Lee and Virginia Military Institute. Rzgbt. Crew members tum Lexington back alleys into New York back sets by toting equipment Sunday afternoon. Far right. ‘Good Morning America’ stars come to Lexington‘ Bottom. ABC’s crews left no campus space free of wires and cables. Lex ransformed BY KATIE Howm EDITOR IN CHIEF Quiet Lexington streets were made over this weekend for today’s broadcast of ABC’s morning news program, ‘Good Moming America. ’ Over 200 producers, editors, crew and cast ar- rived in Lexington throughout the weekend to pre- pare for this moming’s live broadcast. The show, fea- turing Lexington as a representative Virginia city, fo- cused on segments of the community including Lex- ington Coffee Shop, Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute. Anchors Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson ar- rived via chartered plane to the Lexington community see GMA, page 4 BY Mmnrw Mcbnmorr EDITOR IN cnrrr FORTHCOMING Radio Free Asia director discusses China, freedom Dan Southerland, executive’ edi- tor of Radio Free Asia, will address “China behind the Headlines” at 8:00pm in Northen Auditorium, Nov 14. Radio Free Asia is a govemment- funded organization that broadcasts Mandarin and Tibetan language news into China. Southerland, who is also vice president for programming for Radio Free Asia, was The Washingmn Post’s bureau chief in Beijing from 1985 to 1990. While there, he covered China’s economic reforms, political develop- ment and human rights. In 1990, his reports on the 1989 Tiananmen dem- onstrations earned him a nomination for a Pulitzer Prize. In 1995, he won the Edward Weintal prize for distin- guished diplomatic reporting for a series on the Mao Zedong years in China. He also wrote on business and energy matters. National authority lectures on balancing life with work Dr. SylviaAnn Hewlett will discuss professional and personal life issues on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Leybum Library’s Northen Auditorium at Wash- ington and Lee University. Hewlett’s talk, “Making Smart Choices in Work and Life,” is sponsored by the Williams School of Commerce, ‘Economics, and Politics and W&L’s ’W"rlliam Lyne Vifrlson Lecture Fund. Her . talk is open to the public without charge. Hewlett is the author of “Creat- ing a Life: Professional Women and the Quest for Children,” a book that inspired the controversial Time maga- zine cover article last spring, “Babies vs. Career.” Hewlett’s book was based on a sur- vey of men and women in high- powered careers, including invest- ment banking, law and academia. Among her otherbooksis“’l‘he War Against Parents,” which was co- Hrswusrr authored with academician Cornell West ' PAsT Newspaper editor covers journalism ethics Walker Lundy, editor and execu- tive vice president of The Philadel- phia Inquirer, will deliver the keynote address at Washington and Lee University’s 34th Institute on the Eth- ics in Journalism conference Friday, Nov. 8. Lundy, a nearly 40-year news- paper veteran, will discuss ethics in . I... «.1. 1:2. . . that the process of forming new memo- lltitlt?i‘”‘S‘ii;if 3i’iit;ir:Tt:t l ii’) Ohltrze rrl: lllrii, irritate ~ ,_ VoLuMECV,No.XlV MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2002 Full speakers ’ roster ddressesmW&L the news business in his speech, “What Would Your Mother Do?” His talk, which is free and open to the public, is at 4:30 p.m. in room 327 of the Will- iams School of Commerce, Eco- nomics, and Poli- tics. The ethics institute is sponsored by W&L’s De- partment of Journalism and Mass Communi- cations and the Knight Program in Journalism Ethics. LUNDY Neuropsychologist discusses your brain on drugs “The Science of Partying” is the topic of a Nov. 7 address at Washing- ton and Lee University by Dr. Scott Swartzwelder, a Duke University neu- ropsychologist and professor of psy- chiatry and behavior sciences. The 7:30 p.m. talk, which is open to the public, is in Northen Audito- rium at Leybum Library. Swartzwelder, a senior research scientist for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, will discuss his re- search on how alcohol and other drugs interact with the brain and par- ticularly with the brain’s mechanisms of learning and memory. His research shows the brain is still developing until people reach their early 20s and ries is disrupted by alcohol and other drugs. Swartzwelder is the author of nu- merous academic journal articles and three books: “The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy”; “Just Say Know: Talking with Kids About Drugs and Alcohol”; and “Pumped: A Straight Facts for Athletes about Drugs, Supplements, and Training.” Veteran investor lectures on Wall St. volatility Jim Awad, a veteran portfolio manager andsenior investment officer, will discuss what’s been happening on Wall St. and what’s ahead in the stock market as Washington and LeeUniversity’s Williams Investment Society guess speaker on Monday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. Awad’s address, “The Stock Market: Where-Have We Come? Where Are We Going?,” will be held in Northen Auditorium in Leybum Li- brary. The talk is open to the public without charge. Awad, chainnan of Awad Asset Management, has been in thesecurities industry for more than 30 years. He is a frequent speaker inthe investment community and of- ten appears on CNBC, CNN, Fox Sat- ellite, CNN FN and Bloomberg Finan- cial News. Awad, a W&L graduate, holds an MBA from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business. OCR::/Vol_105/WLURG39_RTP_20021111/WLURG39_RTP_20021111_002.2.txt MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2002 Si§r}kBiiiiiPfiDlTORlAL New website hard to use, displays poor taste in color choice The eye of the Phi scans all things great and small, and has lately lit upon something inescapable to anyone using an on-campus computer: our website. “Ugly” does not begin to describe it. “Hard to read” is a better beginning. The relentless blue-and-white style makes searching for links oppressive. White text on blue background, blue text on white background, blue lines on blue background, blue shadings on blue back- ground—-blue and white melt together into an impersonal, dark page totally different in spirit from the previous webpage’s mel- low tone palette. How far extends this relentless chro- matic-polarization? To bring Art Professor George Bent’s photo into line with the domi- nant colors scheme, his picture was shaded blue. Bent now looks like Brainy Smurf. The good professor appears besides a full-color picture in the center and another at the top left, exacerbating the webpage’s cluttered look. The busy new site stands in marked contrast with the elegant post-and-lintel de- sign of the previous site, where twin hori- zontal and vertical columns of links made the entire site easy to navigate. We should be careful not to panegyrize the past webpage, which certainly had its faults. Most of these revolve around its photos. The “Foliage of W&L” series, for in- stance, invited derision by its showcase of leaves through which, occasionally, the odd cornice or column peeked through. The only thing worse than the photos were the oversized attributions slathered on top of them. Why anyone would want to be iden- tified with most of the pictures is beyond us. That being said, however, the web page was still pleasant and easy to read. It was a website that was more classy than corporate and more solid than showy. However muchThere’s no use regretting this latest instance of sic transit gloria mundi. The new website may be more appeal- ing to the countless new applicants we will potentially attract as a result of being on Good Morning America, yet it is a cruel insult to the present user community. And where is the Colonnade Cam? As it stands, we now have a slicker and colder portal that stares out at us every time we turn on a campus computer. It reminds us to enjoy our school’s culture while it’s still with us. And it announces that a new Swarthmore is slouching to Lexington to be born. ".‘lr"«:?Iz:'.'I.:‘:I*' "ii 3 -' ’ Editors in chief Katie J. Howell MatthewB.McI)ermott Opinions Editor ImranNaeemuIlah Arts & Life Editor Catherine C. Guy Sports Editor Jeremy Franklin Asst. Sports Editor Dave Crowell Photo Editor Jeb Brooks Photographers Tallie Jamison BarrettDaws Business Manager Paul Seifert Asst. Business Manager Thomasworthy Circulation Director HenryGrimball Advertising Assistant McQueen Calvert The Ring-tum Phi is published Mondays during the undergraduate school year at Washington and Lee Univer- sity, Lexington, Vrrginia. The Washington and Lee Publi- cations Board elects the Editors in chief, but The Ring- tum Phi is otherwise independent. The Ring-tum Phi welcomes all responsible submis- sions and letters. All submissions must be e-mailed to phi@wlu.edu or in the University Center mailbox by 5 p.m Friday to appear in the following week’s edition. The Ring-tum Phi reserves the right to edit submissions for con- tent and length. Letters and columns do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Ring-tum Phi Editorial Board. Ad- vertising does not reflect the opinions of The Ring-tum Phi or its staff. This newspaper observes current court defmi- tions of libel and obscenity. The Ring-tum Phi Mailing Address: University Center Washington and Lee University Lexington, Virginia 24450 Street Address: 31 Washington Street Lexington, Virginia 24450 Telephone: (540) 462-4060 Fax: (540) 462-4059 Email: phi@wlu.edu http://phi.wlu.edu Annual Subscription Rate: $35 THE. RING-not PH]. lnRA\n‘v.IE'~AIorEnI OPINIONS EDrIoR 7 EMA1l.'NAEEvlUllAHl@WllJ.EDU PINIONS e I was going to write about how Shepard Smith is a drunk (he is), but a stroll through town gave me a much better target: us. Yes, Lex Vegas has painted itself up like a cheap garden gnome for the repellent hordes of northern lib- erals who have occupied the town. Once again an army of damn Yankees has conquered the re- gion, and we seem to be at their beck and call. The leaves are blown off the front lawn. Fat roadies are set- ting up speakers and lighting around Lee chapel, their utility belts just barely holding up their sagging jeans, as they crack jokes and generate garbage on our pris- tine lawn. It looks like the Colon- nade has had its paint touched up recently, which will no doubt be dubbed “quaint” by the effepe me- dia elites. Half of the J -School seems to be involved in the production, which I suppose makes some sense, as W&L and VMI have no doubt sold their labor forces (student “vol- unteers”) to the minions of Mordor, ABC. Cadets in camou- flage pants are hauling sound equipment back and forth for dis- gusting media people who se- cretly chuckle at ordering around members of a military tradition they have no respect for. They’ve got the whole bat- tery of 105 millimeter howitzers out on the parade field, and le- gions of cadets are practicing the manual of arms. I hear there’s go- ing to be a two block parade, too. That seems pretty fake to me. A cadet was actually touch- ing up the painting of the VMI ring on the cannon ball by J ack- son Arch with a tiny brush, while ABC people trailing clouds of cigarette smoke positioned cam- eras. ‘ It’s not like Lexington is this way all the time, is it? Not that I remember. Hell, if they wanted to beautify the place, they’d knock ABC will tras W, Le BEMUSED BYSTANDER WILLIAM Fox ‘05 that doesn’t look held together by the remains of a fifteen year old coat of paint. Mass hysteria reigns in the town, as the streets are barricaded with wiring and equip- ment, and the side- walks covered with tape marking where the talking heads are to stand on Monday. down that grim fortress that is the VMI barracks, and replace is with modular apartments or something. try dynamiting the Wilson Field complex and building something The townies smile and nod, se- cretly cursing to themselves, re- senting the presence of so many outsiders. They hate us, but they must really hate the outsiders who put Hillary Clinton in office. The worst part is we all know that the students they interview will ()7 11/WW/.]Ell//5'li’EE}\:.(I)li1 BIASED. Diane Sawyer and her crew will no doubt portray Was they wish to see it be a hand picked crowd that rep- resents diversity and northern lib- eralism as well. In short, it will be a group totally unrepresentative of this school. For better or worse, we’re neither liberal nor di- verse, but we’ll sure as hell do our best to appear like every other small liberal arts college, because that’s what the people who write the college rankings (northern lib- erals, who might actually watch If you want to really improve the appearance of our campus, like rust being YEs,LrxVEcAsIIAsI>An\IrEonsEI.I=uR ABC) expect IIKEACHEAPGARDENGNOIVIEFORIHE This is all just REI>EIrENrIIoRDEsoENoRIIIERN a"°th°’ Step 1“ the development LIEERAIsIIIIo HAVE occLI>IEoIIIEro\tN. of w&L mm that WI'CtChCd hlVC'Of ‘ s c u m and v 11- YANIEES IIAs COINQUEREDIHE REGION, lain}, that is Wi1_ AM) IIE sEEMIo EEAIIIIEIREErI