OCR::/Vol_106/WLURG39_RTP_20040119/WLURG39_RTP_20040119_001.2.txt I3»- I L WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY G-TUM ilrestiident ooice oflit/rrslringtorr imdlee University since 1897 PHI /W» MONDAY,]ANUARY 19,2004 2’ Honor Court record vanishes from VMI, state police investigate 1 BY PATRICIA BALIANTYNE SENIOR STAFF \vRrrER Someone broke into VMI’s Honor Court files, and few cadets know about it. Only one recent file appears missing. On January 4, an intruder entered the Honor Prosecutor's office in Maury—Brooke Hall. The per- petrator entered by breaking a window on the bot- tom floor, said VIVII Director of Communications Ken White. The detective from the Virginia State Police needed DeShazor and the other Prosecutor, Roderick James, to search their office looking for any missing files. They found a recent file missing, which gave the investigation a suspect. Christian DeShazor, one of the two prosecu- tors’ of VMI’s Honor Code, was relaxing at home when he received an unexpected phone call from the VlVlI Superintendent Representative, telling him someone had broken into his office. The detective from the Virginia State Police needed DeShazor and the other Prosecutor, Roderick James, to search their office for any miss- ing files. They found a recent file missing, which gave the investigation a suspect. Stealing the file accomplished nothing because another one could be put together easily, in a matter of hours. An older file, however, would have been much more difficult to reproduce. The person knew what to do, according to DeShazor, who said that the trespasser came in the back of the building, entered the elevator, and headed for the Prosecutors’ office prepared with a tool to break down the door. “It was pretty calculated,” said DeShazor. The +. -, .- . -I ORBJN LACKFORD I-E ING-TUM I-H Theft. Ari intruder broke into the usually well-guarded Virginia Military Institute and stole an Honor Court file. The intrusion has been kept quiet on VMIs campus. person “went through the filing cabinets and our desk.” According to White, the police discov- ered unlocked office doors to the Honor Court President and the Honor Court Prosecutors of- fices, and no obvious objects were absent. “That room is always locked,” said DeShazor. The Prosecutors’ office contains all of the ‘past files of VMI’s Honor Court. “I could find files from the 1970s if I looked,” said DeShazor; The VMI website calls their Honor System, “the hallmark of VMI education.” Many as- pects, such as Cadets controlling the proce- dures, resemble W&L’s Honor System. Unlike W&L, however, VMI keeps their records. Therefore, the prosecutors’ office holds years of sensitive information. VMI’s Honor Court actions are kept quiet to protect the innocent. But all inves- tigations files remain in the prosecutors’ office. “It’s all very secret,” said DeShazor. “I would hate for all that stuff to leak out.” According to DeShazor, no one at VMI knows about the break—in, especially because it happened over break. The is- sue is still being given attention by investigators. “Certainly, this type of activity is unusual at VMI, so we’re taking this investigation very seri- ously and appreciate the cooperation of the state police,” said White. Flurry of activity precedes Mock Con, keynote speaker remains undetermined Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston, Ronnie Dugger, cofounder of Texas Observer Jim Davis, Florida Representative, committed; no band signed BY KAELA I-IARMON STAFF WRITER Memorabilia has been or- dered, t—shirts have been made, speakers have been lined up and states prepare to make pre- dictions as the highly antici- pated 2004 Mock Convention draws near. All of the chairs have been working hard to make sure that this year’s convention is a success and although there are still a lot of loose ends to tie up things seem to be com- ing together. Jacquelyn Clark, who sits on the executive board as per- sonnel chairmen, said that the memorabilia packages, which include tumbler glasses, top hats, t—shirts and other Mock Con goodies, have been or- dered and the poster design and logo has been completed. The biggest set back she has had is that there was trouble finding enough flatbeds for every state to have a float. “Somehow they have not run into that problem in the past so we didn’t see that one coming. But the parade chair, Emily Tyson, has found 10 more flatbeds for us to use.” Other members of the ex- ecutive board and the steering committee are also working hard to make sure that every- thing is coming together at their end. Anne Idsal is the speak- _ ers chair and her chal- lenge has been lining up keynote speak- ers.’ “We have some minor speak- ers signed on as definites but due to the timing of jg: the primaries its been difficult to get speakers as well as media”. Some of the minor speakers that have been secured include Tho- mas Menino, The Mayor of Boston, Ronnie Dugger, Co- Founder of the Texas Observer and the Alliance for Democracy and Florida Representative Jim Davis. Idsal said that they are still in open dialogue with former New Jersey Senator Bill Brad- ley, Congressman John Lewis, former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn and a number of other politicians who serve as surro- gates to the candidates but she made it clear that “It won’t be until later in this week or early next week that we’ll know some- thing for sure”. Clark reempha— sized Idsal’s challenge by stat- ing, “ We’ve learned that people on campaigns don’t plan very far in advance”. Nonetheless, Idsal is very confident that by the.time the con- vention starts e v e r y‘- thing will be in place, “I’mdef1- nitely W n o t w o r - ried and even if [somebody big] agrees to come at the last minute we will accommodate them”. The state chairs and the re- gional coordinators have the key role of compiling enough information to ensure another successful convention by mak- ing an accurate prediction. This job has required that each state chair and their co chair develop working relation- ships with key contacts in their state who can help them figure out how the voters will swing. Each district is broken down and a formula is used to deter- mine what percentage of the votes each candidate is likely to receive. The state chairs have had to put in several hours of work a week and with the race heat- Brown but he has since de- ing up between the top candi- dates they have a lot of research ahead of them before things are said and done. 2 Oklahoma state chair John I Vollbrecht said that at this point its hard to tell exactly who will win but he’s confident that they will be ready for the convention. “By the time of the convention, I believe I will have enough in- formation to make a correct pre- diction. Despite some states’ un- certainties, John Heath, the re- gional coordinator for the cen- tral states, has the up most con- fidence in his state chairs’ abili- ties to make an accurate predic- tion, “I feel our state chairs have done such a good job that we’ll be just fine on January 30”‘ and 315"’. Other .than the keynote speakers, the only issue that re- mains to be resolved is the question of who will be the band for the weekend; At one point the steering committee was hoping to bring in James clined. The two weeks before the convention will be crucial for everyone involved but ev- eryone is confident that the 2004 Mock Convention will be a success. Tentative Schedule for 2004 Mack Convention Friday, January 30th .l0:30- Parade 1215- Preconvention Entertainment 1245- Call to Order 1250- Presentation of Colors l:55- Pledge of Allegiance 2200- National Anthem 2205- Invocation 2: 10- Call for Convention 2215- Credentials Committee Report 2220- Rules Committee Report 2:25- Election of Permanent Chairman 2:30- Opening Remarks and Addresses 4:25- Benediction 4230- Adjournment 7:15- Entertainment 7:30- Call to Order 7235- Invocation 7240- Address #1 8:00- Address #2 8:25- Platform Committee Report 8:30— Platform Debate 9210- Keynote Address 9:40- Benediction 9145- Adjournment Saturday, January 31st 9200- Call to Order 9105- Presentation of Colors 9210- Pledge of Allegiance 9: 15- National Anthem 9220- Invocation 9:30- Opening Address 9250- Additional Address 10210- Keynote Address l0:40- Roll Call and Nominations for President and Vice President l2:45- Benediction l2:50- Termination of the Convention Newspaper reporter visits, inspires W&L students BY CHRIS LAUDERMAN ASSISTANT ARTS AND LIFE EDITOR Mike Doyle, a veteran newspaper re- porter, spoke in Northern Auditorium on January 13. Doyle works for the McClatchy Newspaper Chain in the Washington Bureau. He reports to newspapers nationwide. Doyle is a witer, preorter an author who has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and the Today Show. He came to speak at Washington and Lee as a Wilson Fellow last week. Doyle, who is orginially from California, graduated from Oberlin with a degree not in jour- nalism, but in government. He siad that a liberal arts education is the best way to learn to become a reporter. While at Washington and Lee, Doyle spoke to many of the journalism and Politics classes including Introduction to Reporting, State and Local Government, and Interna- tional Relations. “I thought that he was an excellent speaker, but he was not decisive,” said sophomore Katie Jenkins. Many students shared Jenkins view that Doyle was very in- decisive. Doyle also spent time with the staff- of each of the campus newspapers. He advised the staff of the Trident while they were working on their most recent edition and went to dinner with several ures forfeit privacy? It is a battle between the right of privacy verses the public’s right to know. The Supreme Court established right of privacy in 1965 in the Griswold versus Con- necticut decision. Doyle believes that there I is no free floating public right to section editors from the In f€P0ftif1g,th¢f€ are times know. James Phil when journalists must turn Madison is Doyle began his - quoted as de- speech, titled “Pub1ic tthe” backsand “°”eP°” fending the Men and Private Lives: MIKEDOYLE theory of the Where Does the Media LWLSONFELLOWSPEAKER public right to Draw the Line?” by speak- ing of what makes a re- porter. The focus of his lecture was on privacy. Gary Condit was a congressman that Doyle followed. It was widely known that Condit was a womanizer, but Doyle chose not to report because that was private. Had he known what would happen to Chandra Levy, he may have reported on Condit’s be- havior sooner. This poses a huge question: do public fig- know. Doyle says that this is taken out of context. Another, more recent example of privacy and the media would be the LA Times releasing a story about Arnold Schwarzenegger groping women five days before the election. Should the story have been written and 1 published? 10,000 readers cancelled their subscriptions, but Doyle feels it was exem- plary reporting.It was good reporting because when electing a public official, many people vote on character. Therefore, as a society, we must know everything about this char- acter. Doyle half agrees with this belief. Half of him thinks otherwise. He never came to a conclusion, stating that in reporting, there are times thatjournalists must turn back and not report. The example Doyle used was Sepemtber l 1, 2001. People were plunging to their deaths on this day, and the media chose to run these messages continually. According to Doyle, there is a time to look away; people will al- ways be falling and if we are wise, we will turn away. Doyle’s book, “The Forestport Breaks: A 19th Century Conspiracy Along the Black River Canal," is set for publication by the Syracuse University Press. The Wilson Fellowship brings a practicing journalist to campus each year to teach, lecture and advise. This visit gives journalists a chance to chare their knowledge with students as well as give students a chance to interact with pro- fessionals in theirfield. I7 VoLUiiEC3dI,No.5v‘liI OCR::/Vol_106/WLURG39_RTP_20040119/WLURG39_RTP_20040119_002.2.txt g ‘ '..§a«':a«. I J.9it,m.- ' “ ‘~;» ~.. iii‘? l’-’»°."".“-;‘.' ;7‘.'Y..’-:‘3‘ 3- .,~.,._. last 2820!}! W PAGE 2 MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2004 ' Hidden Hero Julianne Shelley toils for Literacy Campaign Julianne will also be working this Spring to raise money to support Cystic Fibrosis research, studies hard and loves children Julianne Shelley serves others ‘selflessly. While tutoring middle school students her freshmen year she discovered, much to her surprise, that many could not read well. Now, in her junior year, she is organizing an adopt-a-classroom program for the Literacy Campaign. Although she was involved with th Campaign in previous years, Julianne has be come increasingly active and is assuming lead- ership roles this year, and her hard work is surely to the benefit of the Literacy Campaign. She and Kristin Crawford will beihosting a charity ball for the program soon. Last year, the group hosted a similar cam- paign with the proceeds going towards the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. ' This year, Julianne will be involved in more charitable events to support Cystic Fibrosis research. Julianne spoke of the good times and fun she had work- ing with children over the summer. She worked with kids at a day camp doing various activities outdoors and indoors, in- cluding helping as the Junior Staff at Sea Island. Shelley is a Sociology and Psychology double major. She started as a Pre-Med major, but later decided that she “really wanted to know about people in general, not just the scientific stuff.” . She said that she loved her anthropology courses and loved learning about different cultures. There is always some- thing new to learn. Julianne also said she was very happy to have taken the Campus prepares MLK celebration science courses she did, particularly Chemistry and Biology here at Washington and Lee. Julianne hails from Savannah, Georgia and said that she still isn’t used to the snow and ice here, but the excellent professors and exten- sive extracurricular activities have kept her feel- ing right at home and plenty busy. Julianne isn’t really sure what she wants to do after college, but she knows that she wants to work with kids. Julianne said that, ideally, she would really like to work for a non profit organization sometime in her future. Right now, her plans include graduate school with her psy- chology or sociology degree and “hopefully use that to help out.” Her advice to other students would be is to simply relax, and smile more. “This school and life in general, can get really stressful at times, but as long as you put all you can into what you do you’ll be fine.” Shelley described herself as “caring, hardworking, and thankful.” She has clearly demonstrated all of those traits by her actions on campus and elsewhere. The Ring-tum Phi solicits nominations for students, fac- ulty and staff whom you believe to be hidden heroes. If you know of a member of the community who contributes quietly, please feel free to nominate him or her to be interviewed for our Hidden Hero section. Email your nominations to phi@wlu.edu. Hidden Hero. Juliarme Shelley Works as a tutor and is organzing the Adopt-a-classroom program for the Literacy Campaign. BY KYLE WASS ASSOCIATE EDITOR In the midst of a week- end filled with Robert E. Lee’s Birthday and the Lee- Jackson town parade, Wash- ington and Lee has found time today to celebrate the legacy of legendary civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. Several campus events were planned to mark the significant occasion. King’s actual birthday was January 15, and stu- dents could receive birth- day cake in the living room of the Commons to cel- ebrate. This celebration was sponsored by the Dean of Students Office, Multicultural Student Or- ganizations and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Com- mittee. Today, King’s birth- day is nationally observed as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and is a federal holi- day. Tonight in the Market- place, the dining staff has provided a memorial dinner of King’s favorite foods, including fried chicken, black-eyed peas, cheese biscuits and sweet potato pie. The memorial dinner Brown as she presents “Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Quest for Civil Rights: Then and Now.” Brown graduated from Fordham University in New is sponsored by the York with a B.S., and re- Multicultural Student Or- ceived her J.D. from g a n i z a - Gerxgatiwn tions. Univer- After sity Law dinner, School. there will She has be a pro- taught gram fea— law at turing “re— George flections Mason and pre- Univer- sentations sity and surround- the Uni- ing the im— versity pact that of Cin- Dr. King’s cinnati. legacy has Brown is bad in now a [the] lives profes- of some of our students,” according to Assistant Dean of Students Tamara Futrell. Also in King’s honor, the university will host key- note speaker Dorothy sor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, where she teaches Ad- ministrative Law, Critical Race Theory, Federal In- come Tax and Partnership Tax. Brown’s publications in- clude works such as Racial Equality in the Twenty-First Century: What’s Tax Policy Got to Do With It? Introduc- tion: Symposium on Race, Gender, and Economic Jus- tice, and Critical Race Theory: Cases, Materials, and Problems. Following Brown’s pre- sentation at 7:00 PM tonight in the University Common’s Theater, the University will be holding a processional and vigil march from the Univer- sity Commons to Evans Din- ing Hall to represent the som- bemess of the occasion. According to the Law School’s website, there will be a celebration in Evans that ‘ evening. Dean Futrell said that she is “looking forward to the event and think that it is im— portant that students, faculty, staff, and administrators take the time to honor a man who has played such a significant role in history. . .not just black history, but American his- tory.” Beware of string of laptop thefts There has been a string of thefts in the Williams school and you should contact the Director of Security, Mike Young, at mlyoung@wlu.edu if you have any information relating to the thefts or if you need to report something missing. LIFE is now accepting new members Life is now recruiting new members. LIFErs present programs and organize health—related events. Pick up. an application form outside of Carol Calkins’ office in the University Commons on the second floor. Applications due Monday, January 26. Reserve Sat- urday, February 7 from 1:00-4:00 for training. Questions? Call the Office of Health Promotion X4501. Mock Con predictions begin . 3 3 Despite uncertainty about the outcome of Monday’s Iowa Caucuses, students at Washington and Lee University are predicting that Rep. Dick Gephardt will emerge victorious. According to Gregory Papeika, a W&L senior and the Iowa State Chair- man, Gephardt will win with 28 percent of the vote, followed by Howard Dean with 24 percent, Sen. John Kerry with 21 percent and Sen. John Edwards with 17 percent. “Gephardt seems to have the best organization to get out the vote,” Papeika said. “He maintains the most consistent and stable polling of any of the candidates.” Soul food: true American cuisine for all people to enjoy The white southern BY TED DELANEY PROFESSOR OF HISTORY Traditionally, Washington and Lee Din- ing Services serves a “soul food" meal on the occasion of Martin Luther King’s birth- day. The great civil rights leader was both African-American and a southerner who spent a good portion of his life in Atlanta. King grew up on a diet that is not unfamiliar to either black or white southerners. Both races shared much in common, and food was one of those things. writer Willie Morris explained it best when he described a New Year’s Day party that he spent at the home of Al Murray in Harlem in 1967. The Murrays served bourbon, collard greens, black-‘eyed peas, ham hocks, and cornbread. Morris observed it was “a kind of ritual for all of us. Where else in the East, but in Harlem,” he wrote, “could a Southern white boy greet the New Year with the good—luck food he had had as a child, and feel at home as he seldom had thought he could in [New York].” Not all southern-style cooking is soul food. Spices make the difference! Soul food originated with countless black cooks in the Old South who combined traditional African cooking methods with the foods they found in the New World. The cooks prepared food with their souls rather than written recipes. State laws prevented them from learning to read, and they developed new recipes that they passed on to countless generations of both black and white southerners. chicken, for instance, is a favorite among southern families and African-American fami- Fried ‘ lies in particular. No corporation under- stands how biracial fried chicken is in the. South better than KFC. Two months ago I took Professor Merchant to a black-owned soul food restaurant in Houston. After stuff- ing himself, Merchant said: “I never knew sweet potatoes could taste so good!” But not only sweet potatoes, everything in this restaurant was exceptional. Soul food and/or southern style cooking is truly American cuisine, and it transcends racial boundaries. Have fun eating with W and L’s Dining Services on King’s birthday. Be sure to support SARAH this weekend by attending the infamous LipSync charity event. Need a rest fiom everyday life? Treat yourself to a luxurious full body massage by H 31" 1" 1.8’, BA, CMT Certified Massage Therapist Board of Nursing Certified 13 Years Experience Gift Certificates Make Great Valentine’s Presents! (540) 264-0063 WE CAN DO IT! . Repairs ~ Contacts COOL FRAMES! HOT LENSES! SHADES! raeuew oerueueuis 20 years serving Rockbridge i at 203 N. Main Street, Lexington 463-7440 A Bar A Ranch: Spend a summer in Wyoming Spend your summer in Wyoming on one of America’s best guest ranches. Now hiring for June 1 - September 11 and June 1 - September 25. Check our staff web site at www.coolworl;«r.=te& V 1 V .94’ OCR::/Vol_106/WLURG39_RTP_20040119/WLURG39_RTP_20040119_003.2.txt "mi: Rl\£(}}~’l’UM i3}-‘ii CAIEYANDEMON OPlNlOl\BFDIl0R mm m PINIONS ‘ MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2004 - PAGE 3 O O 1 ‘ :.'i7i‘li.-*»-’«::-*ii,ii.il’}~a2 R t b t t d H V 1 t , ,)lTORlAL ape mus e rea e as onor 10 a ion 1 ' , Drop/Add Policy I’ in place for use, not refusal. The Ring-tum Phi has recently become aware of dozens of students who were turned away from taking ‘’ courses pass/fail. Policies exist for a reason and faculty ought to be willing e to stand up and allow students to explore a topic with the simple goal I of academic enjoyment, not the worry of a grade. Washington and Lee, like many universities, has long scrolls of Q policies. We choose to abide by some and ignore others. We see a problem here. Students who are interested in courses because of the topic should 1‘ have the right to take the class based . solely on that interest without being afraid of getting a bad grade. Professors argue that students will e not take a class as seriously if they take it pass/fail. That reason is not a sufficient one to prevent all scholars from taking a course for the love of its topic. If a pupil does not do an e ' adequate job in a pass/fail course, give , UKHSYOF '1 " ',,, him 3 failing grade. Why Sh0ll1d 3 f6W INTHE SHADOWS OF WHITE COLUMNS‘ Our honor sets us free, but whyisn’t rape considered by the Executive Committee as anHonor Violation? bad apples ruin the yummy apple . cake? A Washington and Lee student, according to the sensitive issues related to rape cases makes realize what they’re doing. But it’s my opinion V others say that students who are the White Book, acts dishonorably when he or handling of such cases by anyone else impos— that, in the end, the bottom line is that if you rape on the waiting list for a course Should she commits a “breach of trust” as interpreted by sible. I disagree. There is no reason that mem- a fellow student, you have breached that have priority Over those optlng to take the student body. through the Executive Cornmit— bers of the EC could go ‘through the same training student’s trust in a horrific manner, whether or the Class pass/l,-all tee. Given this simple policy, I find it astonishing and handle the cases with the same confidential— not you meant to do it, or knew you were doing it, . The grade a student receives - mat rape ls apparently n0_t Con‘ """"""""""""""" '3 """"""""""" " V Hy _ . . or Whether or not you would have dO,ne It Whe,n , _ ~ sidered an Honor Violation at MODERATE SMUSINGS and sensitivity. you were sober. To the person who 1S raped, it Whether It Is an A or 3‘ P ' Should not our University. ‘ Of course, it is not always this makes no difference; you’ve caused an irrevo- inflllence her Chance at getting into a Let us begin with the easi— CALEY ANDERSON easy to judge. If you look at pam— cable trauma in their lives and done untold emo- SeCt1011- est case— one student, free of phlets and listen(ed) to your dorm tional (and perhaps physical) damage to them. n In short, students have an the influence of alcohol, uses violence or threat counselors, you’ll have heardthe ominous statis— That, when the person trusted you not to, is dis- incredible opportunity in the form of of violence to forcibly rape another student, who tic that one in four Washington and Lee women honorable. Can you imagine George Washing- the pass/fail policy. It is a shame when is also sober. Is this not a “breach of trust” of the will be sexually assaulted during her four—year ca— ton or President Lee ever saying that rape, inebri- a student who Simply wants to explore most serious kind? According to the current stu— reer here. While this sounds like a stretch, you ated or otherwise, would not be considered dis- . an interesting eleetlve may not do so dent community, rape of this sort 1S not dishonor— can reconcile it by recognizing that there aren’t honorable conduct? l l _ » without the Worry of a grade able conduct, as the only on—campus appeal a too many out—and-out, sober. rapes on-campus. The bottom line is this— rape is not accept- raped student has 1S to the Student-Faculty Hear- Far more frequent, I would imagine, would be able. I have absolutely no respect, and the ut- Faculty: please let students . . . l . » . . ,. ing Board, which hears issues related to sexual murky goings-on that take place~under~.an alco— most contempt, for men. whoare guilty of this take your Courses for 3' paSS/fa11 assault.‘ The SFHB may or may not dismiss a stu-I holic haze in fraternity basemhnts.‘ 'I;Ihis,raisasian vicious crime. — A person who commits rape lacks my grade- dent found guilty of rape, but this is irrelevant, as important question— if there’s a drunken student common decency and empathy, let alone honor. we’re not considering sanctions, but honor, and making aggressive and questionable advances If you place yourself in a situation where you as one of many lines from the EC President’s an— and actions, is that dishonorable? end up raping someone while drunk, or if you use nual speech to the freshman class oes, honor is Personally, I find this question difficult to re— substances to take advantage of the other per- e not mleasudredbby dlelgrleeeuaitid tlle faftlthat lying is solvelfl all] of lhejopinlon lthaltl olne sldioluld cclntrol son, it’s 11:1) dilfferentlh1;‘lIlkwas ’ lnot ail consi ere a reac o s ,ye ra eis not, seems onese w eni comes oa co o ,an ama soo excuse, an “s ewas ” mos e mi e yisn’ anomalous to me. I am in no wail) critical of the the opinion that being drunk doesn’t absolve you either. I want students who are accused of rape SFHB; they do their job well, but my argument is of guilt or responsibility. I can see that many referred to the EC in addition to their criminal pro- “ - - - - - that when it comes to sexual assault, cases should people might think that drunken ra e is not nec— ceedings, and I want those who are guilty dis- ‘ ‘We hadacommumtyiwlde Chm Supperm fall within the jurisdiction of the EC. essarily dishonorable, and I can se: the reason— missed immediately and without question. I am 2m], and we were havmg bake sales every A convincing argument might be made that ing behind it. Someone under the heavy influ- not willing to tolerate the presence of such people week an herthe l l,, the SFHB s special training and experience with ence of alcohol is not in control, and may not inlmy University and in my Honor System. , 0 ~ W &L students must recognize MLK Day ~Mindy Bailey, 0fKamnaC0mbS’mOm0W0nmn The city allid county govlernrpdient: are closed today. Federal day for the academic community, and students, faculty, and admin- , , overnment o ices are also c ose . T e ublic schools are closed. istrative members scarcel reco nize the holida on their own. Since 1 1%/[any private college campuses are also 1c)losedto— I have beeni studint here, the Miiiiority Student Asso- cancerinordertogarnishdonationsl day. But today, we students at Washington and TllAlN OF Tl_lOUGl_l»l ciation along with the Dean of Student’s office has or- Lee University attended classes and carried on ‘ ganized a celebration for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in W, _-, with our business as if it was any other day in the which the Gospel Choir sings, an important figure e THE PI-H calendar year. Yet it is not. Today is Martin Luther O speaks, and students make reflections. I remember that Edimrin Chief Jeb Brooks King, Jr..Day, a day that our nation has dedicated to the memory of not even half of Lee Chapel was filled last year and the majority of Am-s,a,,,Ed,-,0, Kyle wees (Erie tof lhistogyjts mast lItI‘tlp()SI'IaIt1t[I8.(l'ld belovtedtfligtures. (1)nbthe tltiedstuctlents who attended were minority students, especially black Newsgdimr Erin -us en er s we S1 e, ore a co ing wro e a we ce e ra e 1S _ s u en s. Opinions Editor Caleyilzlllldel-sol; holiday to “commemorate the values of It seems that people here think it is a holi- ' Asst. Opinions Editor Anne Finley courage, truth, justice, compassion, dig— day for blacks but the truth is that it is not. A715 & Life Edil‘07 Megan Morgan nity, humility and service that defined Dr. Martin Luther King did not fight exclusively for A5“ Am &L‘f"’ Ed’:"” Chris Laudeman King’s character and empowered his lead— the rights of black Americans. The dream he :fil;l0§;1Ir7:yE1f1¢f;0r: ershipl.”l _ l had in mind encompassed peoplelfrom every ‘ . Chadmewietdejmge His influence 1S as important to the walk of life. He had a dream to improve the Production Assistants Emllyledwards development and growth oflthis nationlas nature of humanity for everyone, not just for Kelly Je Larsen the original founders of this country. It black Americans. However, he utilized the copy Editors Alexa Moulevalls is because of his efforts, compassion,*and plight of blacks to exemplify the plight of hu- l Katezawymcha courage that our society has progressed manity; the injustice of prejudice applies to Sarah Beth Campbell from a darkened nation to a more enlight— us all, re ardless of how small or how lar e. ' Vanessa Arness ened one. The changes that he and civil We have Erejudices based on physical appear- . Aubrey _Mi“°Y rights activists worked to implement truly ances, personalities, and personal decisions Al::ts";:ssl,::;":fger' £:‘:dS§‘ef;‘:rt made our nation a more civilized nation in life. So essentially, the celebration of Mar- ‘ Cl.m'llan.onDl.rect0; Henry Grimm“ because everyone was at ‘least legally tin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy IS the celebration Asst Clmulafion Dix Stuart Presnell treated as equal human beings. Before of the legacy of human rights and a celebra- D1-Sm-bum" D,-r_ Themes Worthy the Civil Rights era, we were civilized in tion for all humanity. The Ring-tum Phi is published Mondays during the undergraduate school year at Washington and Lee Univer- the sense that we possessed the techno- logical and economic innovations that So I encourage all of you to reconsider the purpose and meaning of Martin Luther King, Jr. sity, Lexington, Virginia The Ring-tum Phi is a member of k The Publications Board, but is otherwise independent The Ring-tum Phi welcomes all responsible sub- missions and letters. All subrriissions 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. Q The Ring-tum Phi reserves the right to edit submissions for content and length. Letters and columns do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Ring-tum Phi ~ Editorial Board. Advertising does not reflect the opin- - ions of The Ring—tum Phi or its staff. This newspaper observes current court definitions of libel and obscenity. ‘V The Ring-tum Phi University Commons Room. 341 Washington and Lee University made us a viable global force, but when there is turmoil and dissention between people in a nation to the extent that we had in the United States at that time, it cannot be said that the United States was a truly civilized nation. Because of King, Americans entered into a new era absent of the racial barbarisms present before. Yet, in spite of the symbolic importance of King’s actions, the Washington and Lee Community fails to recognize the day as a holi- Phi Quick Poll » Day and if you have felt disenfranchised from the celebration, leave your concerns aside and take a moment out for the sake of humanity. This is what Martin Luther King Jr. would have wanted us todo on a holiday to commemorate him. He would not want to simply be remembered and praised; he would want his memory to be a productive and meaningful entity to inspire further progress in the fight to eradicate prejudice for all human beings. So I invite you to come to tonight’s celebration which will be held at 7 pm in the University Commons theater. PHOTO COURTESY OF I I namericarzscom I)u~:Aivm. Dr.MarrinLurherKing,]r.,civiln'ghtsleader. Lexington, Virginia 24450 Yes- 79% Te,el,hm_. (540) 453_4060 A random sample of 28 students were asked 95% Confidence Yes but unofiiciall _ 147 ' Fax: (540) 458-4059 “Are you involved in Mock Convention?” ’ y 0 Email: phi@wlu.edu No- 7% Subscription rate $40 a OCR::/Vol_106/WLURG39_RTP_20040119/WLURG39_RTP_20040119_004.2.txt “Prospective minori ty student zzitlttxzstzistita MONDAY, JANUARY 19,2004 INIONS s”weekend not conducive to genuine diversity PHOTO COURTESY OF HoMoGENoUs? While Washington and Lee is not the most diverse campus, a hushed up “prospective minority student weekend” is not the answer, and in fact seems a little bit insincere. ' You may have noticed that there were an unusually large number of prospective students on campus this weekend. Actually, considering the reason, it is also sad that there were so few. This weekend was an unofficial gathering of minority students. I don’t claim to know all there is to know on this event, but a friend of mine from high school told me in class last year that Washington and Lee was paying for her to come visit the campus for a weekend. At the time, I was jealous. I was a se- nior in high school waiting for my accep- tance letters and still deciding between sev- eral schools. Washington and Lee, obvi- ously, was very high on my list and I won- THE BIG PICTURE ANNE FINLEY ‘O7 dered why I had not been invited along with her or why they didn’t seem to want me as much as my friend. The answer came after she got back from beautiful, his- toric Lexington. She had ar- rived to find herself amongst a very diverse group of pro- . spective students. Under- stand me when I say that this is not a bad thing. I would love for Washington and Lee to have more diversity, and the fact that a school that was already so small was also, very homogenous made me think twice about coming to this fantastic and unique institution. My final choice of which school to at- tend, which I made two days before the May 15‘ deadline while visiting Washington and Lee, was between here and the University of Southern California, which" is its polar opposite in nearly every category. This was especially true in the area of size and di- versity. The only thing that bothers me about this past weekend was that, at least for my friend back in Texas who chose not to attend this school, she was not informed that the weekend was basically arranged, for minority students only. By all means we should invite accom- plished students from all walks of life to visit our beautiful campus and get a feel for the unique experiences that Lexington has to offer. Yet, no one wants to feel that they are only wanted for how they look on paper, or the statistic they can fulfill or improve. If we continue the positive practice of col- lectively bringing minority students onto campus, they need to all be informed of the real motivation for the weekend. We have nothing to be ashamed of, so we should have nothing to withhold from students interested in our university. The level of diversity will only be improved by changing our attitudes and exuding a sense of openness and tolerance. It is not enough just to focus on getting those who have al- ready applied to seriously consider attend- ing Washington and Lee. We must concen- trate on making our school a place that a more heterogeneous mix of people would want to apply in the first place. And mere good in- tentions and secrecy is not the way to do it. ass"->3. arogr; ;w:' s. >5?’ E»‘.’a§:i. 3532 ’(-j<;?s'ss. \;,\-I‘. :91 fies‘ was as .... s-'. c5»'::-$:?vR;_;o air‘. 5. "e.>>'7«v.<_s it-$2a>"1<.'4 €:6::sm3 aw -am /‘~:z_::_;j$3$ Haliicom selection. How smart is 33323: A13 tire textifineiza you need far up to off iratasii ;;:r§::es.. New or used. ail you have to do is go to l”t8tEf.£3=£}rt't amt? type in the no-::2=Ee:t:it1eis.. at 35%: :n;um1:a:er's.. ‘Then let mantra: take its rzuurse. . :__::sssss2<£ "Ike.-‘.99 ';.,. .o6.;~.z':<_*;:f'l-V %*'."";:<2-9395:;.~1-9~;2".:'*‘;a- - ...¢sr;»2< ' - I’ OCR::/Vol_106/WLURG39_RTP_20040119/WLURG39_RTP_20040119_005.2.txt I '1 J(}lNHYIAl\D I '1 AI AsrrANrS1>oRIsE.1rroR mm m MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2004, BY JOHN HYLAND ‘ ASSISTANT SPORTS Eorrorz The W&L men’s basketball team got back on the right track this week, breaking their six game losing streak with a decisive win over Eastern Mennonite on Wednesday night before dropping a tight decision to Lynchburg. The team’s record now stands at 3-10, 2-5 ODAC. In Wednesday’s victory at the Warner Center, the Gen- erals opened up a 41-27 lead at halftime and extended their ’ lead to 18 points with just over five minutes to play. The Royals went on a 23-10 run to cut the lead to five points at 87-82 with under a minute to play. It was too little too late, however, as the Generals were able to connect their free ‘throws to seal a 93-84 victory. For the game, W&L shot 24 of 38 from the charity stripe. The Generals were able to win despite being out rebounded, largely because they shot lights out from the field. They shot a season best 52% from the floor, including 9 of 17 from the three point line. Fresh- man guard, Chris Halkitis, was 5 of 7 from the three point arc, en route to a career high 26 points and 8 rebounds. Junior guard Mike Stuart chipped in with a season high 19 points and sophomore forward David W111 added 16 points and 6 rebounds. The loss dropped the Royals’ record to 3- 9, 1-5 ODAC. PORTS Basketball losing streak ends against Eastern Mennonite ButGenerals drop tough loss to Lynchburg in Wednesday night game ‘ ger roll with just 5 seconds left. The Generals turned the ball ”£°‘:’--iEi>i.l:=\?€;~1’E§E‘»«il}E~-E The Generals and particularly Stuart were able to con- tinue their hot shooting in the first half of Wednesday’s game at Lynchburg. W&L opened a 41-30 halftime lead, led by Stuart’s 23 points on a perfect 8 of 8 from the field, in- cluding 7 of 7 from behind the are. For the half, the Generals shot 16 of 23 from the field and 9 of 12 from three point range. Their sharp shooting would not continue into the second half, however, as they shot just 6 of 21 from the field and 0 of 6 form three point range. The Hornets slowly chipped away at the lead, finally evening the score at 61 with. 3:21 to play. The teams would trade free throws as the score remained tied at 65 with just 17 seconds remaining. On their ensuing possession, the Hornets’ Chris Manos drove the length of the floor and hit the game winning fm- over on the inbounds pass and Lynchburg preserved its first ODAC win of the season, improving their record to 4-9, 1-5 ODAC. Stuart finished with 25 points and Halkitis dropped 15 in the loss. The Generals faced ODAC leader and the top-ranked team in the country, Hampden-Sydney, last night at home. They then travel to Emory and Henry on Wednesday night for another conference match-up. PAGE 5 TEVE V ARINOS 5 ING-77M H1 AIRBORNE. Sophomore Matt Lawless jumps for the goal. Mens’ lacrosse team ranked 10th in Faceoff Division III preseason poll URTIESY PORTS INr<)R1v1ImO1§i ALL AMEUCAN FORM. Senior Dustin Martin is one of three preseason All Americans. W&L SPORTS RELEASE TOWSON, Md. — Inside Lacrosse released its Faceoff Magazine preseason Division III men’s lacrosse coaches poll on Friday afternoon. Washington and Lee ranked 10th overall in the voting. Defending national champion Salisbury sits atop the poll with 68 first-place votes. Middlebury, last season’s NCAA Runner-up, is second in the poll after receiving four first-place votes. Following Middlebury is Cortland, Washington College, Whittier, Ithaca, Hampden-Sydney, Gettysburg, Lynchburg and Wash- ington and Lee. Roanoke was a fourth ODAC school to crack the poll at No. 16. W&L returns six starters from the 2003 squad which posted a 9-5 overall record, 4-2 in the ODAC. The Gen- erals lost three games in overtime and four by’ a goal, including the ODAC Championship game to Lynchburg, 6-5. Leading the returnees are a trio Faceoff Preseason All-Americans in seniors Dustin Martin (Manlius, N .Y./ Fayetteville-Manlius), Lawson Grumbine (Owings Mills, Martin, Grumbine and Sanders tabbed preseason All-Americans by magazine ’s poll Md./Gilman) and Ansel Sanders (White Stone, Va./ Woodberry Forest). Martin, a midfielder, was a second team selection after garnering USILA Honorable Mention All—America and First Team All—ODAC honors last season. He tal- lied 31 pointson 22 goals and nine assists in 2003 and enters his final campaignwith 73 career points on 56 goals and 17 assists. A defenseman, Grumbine was an honorable men- ‘ tion selection after earning First Team All-ODAChon- ors last season. He was a major cog in the Generals’ defense which allowed an average ofjust 5.93 goals per game, third in Division III. He also picked up 37 ground balls on the season. Sanders joined Grumbine on the Preseason Honor- able Mention All-America team. An Honorable Mention USILA All-American last season, he posted a .608 save percentage and ranked second in Division III in goals- against average (5.89). He enters his final campaign with a .602 career save percentage. Washington and Lee begins the 2004 season on Feb- ruary 20 as it travels to Greensboro College for a 3:30 pm contest. Wednesday, January 21 THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE Tuesday, January 20 Thursday, January 22 Friday, January 23 Saturday, January 24 Sunday, January 25 0 Open 0 M Basketball at Emory 0 Open 0 W Basketball at 0 Wrestling at Ursinus 0 Swimming at & Henry-- 7:00 Hollins-- 7 :00 Quad--11 :00 Gettysburg--1:00 0M Basketball vs. Vir- ginia Wesleyan--3:00 0W Basketball at Emory &'Hemy 0 Track at Susquehanna-- TBA Ring-tum Phi: a century/is tradition 637 Waddell St. Lexington, Va. 14450 (540) 464-9042 Fax (54o)4o4-esoo Golf Etiquette Tip of the Week: Make sure you concentrate or you might find yourself sbunking the ball. aaax=z:aaa=eei'isix. ragsazazwgsz 5T5TRAVBL.C°M Joaamaars msazamraxapexau: PHI SPORTS rsW.s°aas§}asl1taa.rs.sem zf" Sell Tri {am task, 60 Rec! Raw mag On~(ctmpus Reps Call for gram: discounts . . SPORTSWEAR 1-309«{»48~¢8-$9 I mmststtn-vc¥..z::m #1 Spring Break Vacations! Cancun, Jamaica, Acapulco, Bahamas & Florida. Best Parties, Best Hotels, Best Prices! Group Discounts, Organizers Travel Free! Space is 1in1ited! Book Now & Save! 1-800-234-7007 endlesssummertours.com OCR::/Vol_106/WLURG39_RTP_20040119/WLURG39_RTP_20040119_006.2.txt PAGE 6 MONDAY,IANUARY 19,2004 Womens’ hoops wins 2 of 3 to even record BY JOHN HYLAND ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR The W&L women’s basket-, ball team won two of three games this past week to improve even their record to 7-7, 5-5 ODAC. They have already. more than doubled their 3 win total from all of last year and currently sit in 6th place in the 12 team ODAC. The Generals opened the week at home on Tuesday evening against Hollins. The first half was tight, with W&L main- taining a close 26-24 edge. Hollins opened up a 17-6 run in the sec- ond half to take a 50-40 lead with just over 9 minutes to play. How- ever, the Generals seemed deter- mined to prevent Hollins from notching their first ODAC victory of the season as they closed the game on 20-7 run led by fresh- man forward Jessica Hunsinger who recorded a career high 24 points and 17 rebounds. Sopho- more guard Louisa Feve also had . . C 3 Sohd an'ar°“nd game Wfih 14 COMING BACK. After winning two games this week, the Generals improved to .500. points 11 rebounds and 5 assists. The Generals were clearly aided by a decisive 47-33 V advantage in rebounds. W&L traveled to Virginia Wesleyan on Friday evening and came out of the gates cold, shooting a woeful 6 of 27 in the first half to allow the Marlins to open a 27-16 halftime for the Marlins. The start COURTESY SPORTS INFORMA'I'ION FRESHMAN MAXWELL COURTNEY of the second half did not prove to be any better for the Generals as they were down by as many as 13 points with 13 minutes remaining. Junior for- ward Emily Barker hit a three pointer to spark an 1 1- 0 run that got the Generals back in the game. W&L was finally able to take the lead at 39-37 when jun- ior guard Bethany Dannelly hit a pair of free throws with 3:39 left. The Generals would not suc- cumb the lead and connected on their free throws down the stretch to preserve a 49-44 win. W&L shot a solid 16 of 20 from the line in the second half to make up for an otherwise poor shooting day in which the Generals shot just 24% from the floor. They were led by Feve’s 13 points and 9 re- bounds. Senior forward Sarah Michaels added 12 points and 9 rebounds. The loss dropped the Marlins’ record to 3-8, 2-6 ODAC. In the first half of Saturday’s game at Lynchburg, the Generals seemed that they would extend their three game winning streak as they opened a 35-25 halftime lead. The Hornets opened the second half on a 14-4 run to even the _score at 39 with 13 minutes to play. The score remained close until the Hornets hit a three to takea55-52 lead with 3:19remain— ing to spark another run to close the game with a 70-61 victory. Along with very poor second half shooting, the Generals were also out rebounded 57-35 for the game. In the loss, W&L was led by Feve’s 22 points and Darmelly’s 10 points and 8 rebounds. The win improved Lynchburg’s record to 5-7, 3-6 ODAC. The Generals face Maiy Washington tonight in out of conference match- up at the Warner Center. Wrestling team finishes sixth in W&L Invitational W&L SPORTS RELEASE LEXINGTON, Va. — Freshman Maxwell Courtney (Jeffersonville, Pa./La Salle College) went 2-2 on the day and finished fourth in the 184-pound weight class as the Washington and Lee wrestling team finished sixth at the 2004 Washington and Lee Invitational on Saturday in the Warner Center. Davidson finished the day as team cham- pion (96.5), followed by Cumberland (74), Wash- ington and Jefferson (60.5), Scranton (48), Pensacola Christian (38) and W&L (5.5). Courtney opened the day by pinning (2:31) Washington and Jefferson’s Phil McCormick in the quarterfinals, but fell to Donnie Scruggs (Cumberland), 17-6, in the semifinals. In the con- solation bracket Courtney defeated Patrick Scandling (Davidson) with a 6-3 decision, but couldn’t hold on in the consolation finals, fall- ing to Trevor Needham (Scranton), 4-2. The individual champions on the day were Davidson sophomore Patrick Coman (Tulsa, Okla.) at 125, Davidson freshman Jim Avola (Montague) at 133, Davidson sophomore Matt Leonard (Pompton Plains, N.J.) at 141, Pensacola’s Steve McGettrick at 149, Davidson senior Adam Sperling (Philadelphia, Pa.) at 157, Davidson freshman Marcus Boyd (Durham, N.C.) at 165, Davidson senior Marc O’Hair (Al- exandria, Va.) at 174, Cumberland sophomore Eric McCray (Miami, Fla.) at 184, Cumberland junior Stephen Westbeld (Kettering, Ohio) at 197 and W&J sophomore Ken McDonald (Washington, Pa.) at 285. W&L will be back on the mat next Satur- day morning at 11:00 am when it competes in the Ursinus Quadrangular. ' Wash & Lee Post Bac 04 The Johns Hopkin Post-Baccai ureate Premedical Programi prepares college graduates with stong cademi apply to the best ' them the persona attentio , science and mat Courses, ans academic advising eCi|C_ If you or someone you know wants to pursue a career as a docto apply by March 1. For more information, visit records to sch ols by giving he necessary www.jhu.edu/potstbac or call 410-516-7748. DI’ : Wantto become a doctor.” IOHNS HOPI{li\i‘S Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program lity: “I don’t have the required courses for medical school. 77 L‘ OCR::/Vol_106/WLURG39_RTP_20040119/WLURG39_RTP_20040119_007.2.txt PAGE 7 . LIFE MIBANMCRGAN ARts&lrrrFDr1oR mm m MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2004 Washington and Lee student brings international experiences BY KELLY Jo LARSEN STAFF WRITER In just a few short months, a W&L sophomore will celebrate a milestone birthday. N 0, he won’t be trying for 21 shots at the Palms (never a wise choice) or traveling to the ABC store for the first time. Rather Ethan Jameson will be saying good-bye to his twen- ties because on April 29, 2004, he celebrates his thir- tieth birthday. Yes, his thirtieth birthday. Ethan grew up and graduated from high school in Durban, South Africa. Though he was accepted to college in South Africa following his graduation he simply had no means to pay for it. Instead, he went to work, tried to put his dreams of college behind him and enjoyed a suc- cessful career doing advertising work. While work- ing in South Africa, Ethan received an invitation to travel to Kuwait to start the creative department of an international ad agency. He spent four years in Kuwait, and remembers the time fondly. “It gave me the opportunity to travel,” he explains. “In four years in the Middle East I traveled to nineteen different countries.” ' The Middle East was “not at all what I imag- ined,” Ethan recalls. First “it was hot, damn hot,” which might have been expected, but “the people are so humble. It surprised me because Kuwait pro- duces 5% of the world oil and has the highest GDP, but you get there and some things still seem back- ward... What struck me was the importance of the family structure. Family and religion are so important to these people.” Ethan was working in Kuwait dur- ing 9/11 and remembers the day and the shock felt through the entire Middle East vividly. Walking through the city, “a man came up to me, grabbed my hand, and said ‘I'm really sorry for what’s happen- ing to your country’ in the little English that he knew. I’m not an American, but I’m white, light haired and blue eyed. That’s when my heart went out to them [Middle Eastemers].” Try as he might, he just couldn’t stop thinking about college. On a whim he decided to apply for a Lip Sync marks twentieth year green card to the United States. In order to curb immi- gration, the USA limits the amount of green cards, or visas, it hands out. Annually it awards 50,000 visas to immigrants who come from countries that have very low past immigration rates—less than 50,0()0 immi- grants to the USA in the last five years. Applicants must have graduated from high school or have two years work experience. Ethan says he simply “sent in my $40 dollars and forgot about it.” A few months later he received a letter informing him that a com- puter had randomly selected his name from a pool of over one half million to receive a green card. Ethan had managed to win the green card lottery! He then decided he was going to go attend col- lege in the United States, no light decision. “I’m the first person in my immediate family to go to college. I’m the first member of my immediate family to even graduate from high school,” Ethan explains. Further- more, he was very concerned about his family back in South Africa. While he was working in Kuwait he had been helping his family financially, and he knew his monetary situation would only become tougher when he quit working. Nonetheless, he began researching good jour- nalism schools, the career he hoped to pursue. Ethan knew he wanted to go to a small liberal arts school, but he couldn’t find a small school with a journalism program. He came to the conclusion that he was going to have to sacrifice small size to get a quality journalism education. However, “I kept coming across W&L. The more I learned about it, the more I was like, wow!” Ethan explains. Even though W&L might not be the traditional school for an older student to choose, Ethan ap- plied to W&L and decided he was going to do any- thing to gain admission to the school. In fact, Ethan flew all the way from Kuwait just for an admission interview at W&L, the only school he even inter- viewed at, and then immediately flew back to Ku- wait. When he arrived in Lexington he instantly fell in love with the town. “We don’t have towns like this in South Africa,” Ethan says. “I remember I walked up from the main entrance, the one down there by Lee Chapel, and I saw the colonnade and said, ‘This is it.’ It’s such the quintessential col- lege.” He gained admission and in the fall of 2002 arrived as the oldest freshman in recent memory of the university, a member of the Class of 2006. Un- fortrmately, W&L was not immediately all that he expected. “I got here and in the first month made up my mind I was going to transfer out,” Ethan recalls. He stuck it out, and he credits pledging Chi Psi with forcing him to stay. “They really kept me here. It’s my little oasis of democracy in this sea of republi- canism,” Ethan says with a smile. Besides Chi Psi, Ethan fell in love with the aca- demics offered by the University. “I came to W&L for the journalism program, then I found out how good the English program is, so I decided to double major. I told my family and they said, ‘Why in the world do you go to America to study English?”’ South Afiica is a former English colony. Things haven’t been easy for Ethan. He was forced to withdraw his little sister from private school in South Africa because he could no longer pay for it. The public school system in South Africa is still recovering from the years of apartheid and the quality of public education can vary drastically. In addtion, Ethan’s older sister just got married, and Ethan couldn’t be present for the wedding. She also due to have a baby soon, and Ethan is not sure how soon he’ll be able to see the infant. The staff of the Ring-tum Phi recognizes that diversity comes in all fomrs, in both traditional and non—traditional definitions. Every week we strive to feature a different student of diversity. If you know a student who adds a little something different to our university, and think they would make a great spotlight in the Phi, please email Kelly Jo Larsen at 1arsenk@wlu.edu and nominate them. Greeks: read this to make, keep friends BY CHRIS LAUDERMAN ASSISTANT ARrs8cL1rE Eorron The 20"'Annual SARAH (Stu- dentsA_gainstRockbridgeAreaHun- ger)LipSyncwillbeheldFriday,Jarru- my 23, in the Pavilion. Doors will open at 8:30 PM. Lip Sync was formdedin 1984byJerryDamell, Di- rector of Dining Services with the prooeedsgoingtofightMultipleScle— rosis. After a few years the profits started going to the 10- Brassil, StevenMarinos, andlitendra Shrestha Taffe saidthatifnotforthestu- dents,IJp Syncwouldnotbethesuc- oess that it is. The fraternities and so- rorities haveputtheirfullweightbe- hind this event. There are no parties schednledforthatevening., and most students attend the event. The physi- calplantalsodoesmuchfortheevent 'IlreysetuptliePavilior1f()r'Ir'p Sync. Last year, the University used leftover money to send 225turkeys to food banks for cal food banks. The money is split between Rockln'dgeAreaRelief Association, Buena V1staFoodPantry, and Natural Bridge/ Glasgow Food Pantry. The food pantries Tlmnksgiving, divid- ing the food propor- tionally among the food pantries. This is the first year that the winning actwillreceiveaner1- graved trophy that send Washington and Leealistoffoodthattheyrreed Last year, Washington and Lee raised 26,761 pounds of food for the three pantries. Apart from advisor JolmTaffe, Lip Sync is student organized Presi- dentofLipSyncthisyearisAnsel Sanders, Vice President is Thonms Worthy and Pierce Owings is also onthecommittee. Next yearWor1hy willbePresident, OwingswillbeVroe Presidentand acurrentfieshman will be appointed to the committee. “This provides continuity to the event,” said Taife. Thisisthefirstyearforanew committee that will be responsible video taping the event headedby Pro- fiessorDeMaria. ThemembersareFr1'c theywillkeepforone year. Another first for Lip Sync is thatitwillfollowa“Gor1gShow”for— ‘ mat. Ifthejudgesfindtheactbad enough, they will hit the gong and the act must stop. This is to keep the offensive acts that have some times been done in the past years check. Actswillbechargeda$100en- try fee, and admission to the event will be $10. Free snacks and bever- ages will be included Sign-ups for acts will be Tuesday and Wednes- dayinfrontoftheco-op. Theorder willbedeterminedbyadrawingheld Thursday night attended by a rep- resentative from each act. Fraterni- tiesareallowedtohaveorreactwliile sororities may have three. BY JEB Bnooxs FDITOR IN CHIEF Greek life is easily the most prevailing force at Wash- ington and Lee and wields a great deal of power over our entire community. The impor- tance of Greek life cannot be questioned. Its significance extends to Greeks and non- Greeks alike. Whether you like it or not, you must deal with its realities. Because of its blinding power, fraternity men and sorority women can miss out on some great oppor- tunities. Greeks at W&L must not fall victim to the hatefulness that pervades many Greek organiza- tions at other institutions. Be- have in a welcoming way. This attitude guarantees a better col- lege experience than the alter- native. Instead of kicking people out of a party, say “hello.” Last Saturday night was tear night. The party-night of party-nights at W&L. On this pinnacle of our famed party- scene, I made a stop at every house, and I felt welcomed at each one. My experience proved that Dubyuhnellers are gentlemen. Though it sounds strange, I think Robert E. Lee would be proud of tear night. There is still room for im- provement, however. A ten- dency exists at W&L for freshmen to pledge a house and stop there for three years. A good college experience is about a collection of memo- ries. Imagine how many more great memories you could have if you don’t pigeonhole yourself into a solitary group of friends. -Don’t get me wrong, your fraternity or so- rority will provide great friends, just don’t allow them to be your only ones. The Greek house you choose (or choose not) to join is'only one part of your life. Don’t let it dictate more than it has to. Worse than never meeting new people is losing touch with hallmates, classmates and other acquaintances. During \ your freshman year, you get to know a lot of people. Dur- ing your sophomore year, it becomes easy to lose touch with many of them. It is shameful to see former friends stop talking (or worse yet, become bitter enemies) just because of their respec- tive Greek organizations. To use a personal ex- ample, I swam against the tide. My roommate is not in my fraternity. When we were freshmen, he and I joined different houses. We have remained friends and live together despite the fact that we don’t share letters. We share something more, a true friendship. I would be willing to argue that no- where in any fraternity or sorority bylaws does it say that members may not remain friends with non—members. None of this is to say that fraternities and sororities don’t provide a venue for lifelong friendships to de- velop, just that there is more out there than “frat—bros.” On another note, we can all agree that the Greek sys- tem at W&L feeds a hierar- chy. I firmly believe that it is phony. No house is inher- ently better or worse than an- other. Every group of guys or girls is awesome for their own reasons. Again, my ex- perience from last Saturday night comes to mind. Stand- ing back and looking at each party from a distance, I real- ized something. One W&L party is pretty much like any other. Put simply, each was just a Washington and Lee fraternity party. None was identifiable by more than the shape of the basement. Avoid the tendency to buy into that hierarchy. Sorry to burst your bubble, but it ain’t real. So, in my humble and un- knowing opinion, college is about new experiences. It is easy for Greeks to miss out on some of them. Take my ad- vice, don’t pigeonhole your- self. Go make some new memories. W&L Mock Convention Parade Downtown Lexington Friday, January 30th at 10:30 a.m. 7 North Jefferson Street 463-3622 University Cleaners THE CLEANEST or TI-IE CLEAN. CALL US FOR ALL or YOUR DRY CLEANING, LAUNDRY AND ALTERATIONS NEEDS Great Service First-Rate Quality dry cleaning, laundry, alterationsj Submit your Quick Hits to anonymous phi@wlu.edu Happy Birthday, Erin! Have a great one. Your pals, ]B, KW, CA, MM, CK, KH, BTK, KJL 86 THE REST OF THE PICA CREW Triple Nine Society Founded 1978 Extraordinary camaraderie in an international society of peers. 99.9th percentile: old SAT 1450, new SAT 1520, GRE 1460, MAT 85; see complete list at: wvvw.tripienine.org Torn James Company Let us help you look and feel Custom and Ready Made Suits Shirts, pants, shoes and all accessories Gi t Certi icates Available Contact Adam Williams C Adam.Williarns@tomjamesretail.com Interviews? Internship? V Special occasion? your best!! and Sports Coats Student Packages & for an appointment or with questions 540-815-4557 OCR::/Vol_106/WLURG39_RTP_20040119/WLURG39_RTP_20040119_008.2.txt Her 8 THE “Elf MEGANMORGAN ARTS&LlFEEDl'lOR mm m ORD MONDAY, JANUARY 19,2004 Students too quick to leave W&L, transfers all too common No one ever said freshman year is easy. There’s so much transition, away from parents, away from the home you know, and away from your comfort zone. As a freshman, we all had to jump into the veritable wilderness that college is. Some of us are more prepared than others, and we all react to college in our own personal way. Most students learn to embrace the freedom. Most learn to cope with the changes. But from time to time, some students just decide to give up, pack it in, and leave. I’m very up—front about my feelings towards transferring. The idea bothers me. So many times, it’s done for the wrong reasons. The one that really peeves me is the “relation- ship—induced-transfer,” in which the guy orgirl transfers back to a school closer to the significant other. Doesn’t that idea make you want to vomit? I have a problem with someone even considering sacrificing their college experience, their well- needed rite of passage, or even their future for a high school relationship which will probably not stand the course of time. Especially if that person planned to leave a great school, and a great edu- cation, to return to a random community college to be with that special someone. Now maybe I’m a pessimist. Maybe, in some cases, these rela- tionships occasionally go the distance and things work out for the best. But, honestly, if it’s a seri- ous relationship, it makes sense that both people can agree to handle the distance and not sacrifice their chosen paths. To me, transferring for some- one else seems like a cardinal sin. Some people transfer for themselves. Maybe they just don’t feel comfortable at the school they’ve ended up at. We can ABSOLUT FRATLORD_ all imagine cases like these. If any true W&L frat lord were TIM ‘O4 at Swarthmore or Middlebury or some other liberal haven, I can certainly understand their desire to leave. Yet, the idea of leaving still bothers me. Really, how can you know, truly know, that it’s the wrong place, if you don’t give it a chance? So many times, it seems people are all too ready to call it quits with- out even actually giving themselves a chance to thrive in the exciting, new, unfamiliar situation they’re in, At W&L we do things differently than most schools, so naturally the transferring issue is dif- ferent as well. In Lexington, everything has a Greek tinge, so it should come as no surprise that the transferring issue can be somewhat of a Greek issue." Consider the situation of a freshman guy who wants so desperately to get into Fraternity X, but for whatever reason, does not get a bid. In the hurt feelings and confusion that follows, that Athletes aggravated by P.E. Hamill Jones has been an integral part of the Washington and Lee men’s basketball team for four years. But he might only get credit for one. Jones, who says he did not realize he needed to register for Intercollegiate Basketball after his fresh- man year, will have to petition the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) in order to receive the customary two—fifths physical education credit for competing on a intercollegiate team for at least two seasons. The current P.E. system does not Hampden-Sydney and Bridgewater College require no physical education, others do have P.E. pro- grams as part of their liberal arts curriculums. All students at Centre and Roanoke College have to take a Health and Human Performance course in order to graduate. However, Roanoke’s student- athletes are exempt from taking an additional P.E. course, otherwise required for non-athletes. Many W&L athletes say they should also re- ceive exemptions from the P.E. pro- reward students with credit past """""""" """"""""" " gram because of their already strin- two seasons of participation. gent commitments to intercollegiate “I fully recognize I made a mis— ' TROITER athletics and the possibility of in- take,”saidJones. “Butlspendsomuch time year—round with basketball and school trying to deal with fulfilling P.E. credits is ahassle. “Athletes should get a P.E. credit for every season he or she competes.” I Jones is just one of many student—athletes unhappy with W&L’s current P.E. curriculum. According to the university’s catalog, “an [in- tercollegiate] course may be repeated once giving the student of a maximum of two terms credit for a single sport. No more than four terms of credit will be recognized for intercollegiate participation by multiple sport athletes.” This means that one—sport athletes must take three P.E. classes and two—sport athletes must take one. All students must com- plete five P.E. courses in order to graduate. “I feel strongly that five [classes] is not that much to ask,” said Director of Physical Education Jan Hathom, who was a PE. major and two-sport athlete in college. “I was exposed to other types of P.E. because I was limited to [receiving only two credits in college for intercollegiate participation] W&L’s modem P.E. curriculum is, in part, a result of the administration’s decision that eliminated subsi- dized athletics in 1954. W&L instituted a PE. program that was intended to supplant the student body’s focus on major college athletics. Coaches were pro- moted to faculty status and RE. classes became part of the core general education requirement. “There are many girls that only know how to do certain things,” said Hathom. “This exposure is positive for them and creates adequate partici- pants from the classes they take.” While many schools of W&L’s size such as Q What was the hot news on the front page of a 1954 Wall Street Journal? Fish sticks, the “bone— less oblongs roughly four inches long.” Ah, life in simpler times T Q Lalli says, “Our fraternity is the coolest. We get all the chicks.” Q Pledgeship needs to involve more wild ani- mals, preferably from other continents. Q Mary Baldwin has stand-up urinals for women. Q Can I get a formal definition of a hook—up? Q Has anyone else noticed the alarming number of l0—year—olds working out in the gym? Q -Way to go, Habitat! Change challenge was an excellent idea. “I think if you’re a varsity athlete [taking a PE], it is stupid,” said Matt Fink, a three-year starter at attack for W&L’s men’s lacrosse team and a mem- ber of the Student Athlete Mentor Group (SAMS). “The time spent practicing and playing a sport is exponentially greater that what you’d do in PE. “It puts athletes in risk of injury and if an athlete - gets hurt, then the school shoots itself in the foot.” Even though several students play more than one sport on campus, those athletes still have to take an additional P.E. course. This usually means these athletes are forced to take a P.E. course in addition to playing on a varsity squad. Instead of lifting weights with her teammates freshman year, Kelly Taffe-—a senior standout on both the women’s lacrosse and field hockey tearns—- registered for weight training and lifted with her class in order to complete the RE. requirement. “It’s not said Taffe. “I don’t think ath- letes should have to take [P.E.] classes.” "lherearesomethingsatthisschoolth.atarelor1g- who directed the school’s PE. programlast year. I “The P.E. program is one of them.” O’Connell says that in correlation with the upcoming review of the curriculum, the athletic department will evaluate the current P.E. program. “We understand that athletes are participat- ing year-round and we’re looking at what the stu- dent—athletes are putting into their sports and mak- ing a change to help the student-atl1lete,” he said. “We’ll look and see if the P.E. curriculum needs to be rethought or modernized.” Q Today is the 585th anniversary of Rouen sur- rendering to Henry V making Normandy part of England. Q If you know anyone in Iowa, call them NOW and tell them to attend the caucuses in support of Dick Gephardt. Do your part to make Mock Con’s prediction right. Q Dirty grout makes me want to slit my wrists. Q The fact that it’s a Louis Vuitton bag does not justify wearing black shoes while carrying a brown bag. Q The Chic FX far surpasses the Mach 3 Turbo in every possible way. Q Seven of the undergraduate faculty have four degrees and none have five, but two of the law faculty do. Q Ifit’s going to be so cold in Microbex, it should at least snow so the winter weather isn’t so n1iser— able. Q Who was that random guy wearing a W&L hat at the Three Doors Down concert? Q Social hugging is wholly inappropriate. Social kissing is even worse~— we’re not French, after all. What’s wrong with a hearty handshake? guy inevitably contemplates the benefits of trans- ferring and of leaving our “elitist” Greek system behind. Furthermore, the small size of our school can make it tough to bear when someone’s skeletons are dragged out of the closet. When seemingly everyone in Lexington knows your deepest se- crets and most embarrassing stories, running away sure sounds like a good idea. Nothing is worse than a student who has her most secret stories broadcast in a very public way. A solu- tion would seem to be transferring. But is it? Is transferring really the answer? I don’t think it is, and here’s why. Life isn’t always as convenient as we want it to be. Things are rarely perfect. If things were, then I’d be ac- cepted into graduate studies at Harvard, on a fast- track to becoming a history professor and even- tually teaching right back here in Lexington. Un- fortunately, things don’t always work out so eas- ily. I have to work to achieve my goals. The situation might not be the best, but that doesn’t mean I should give up on myself. And that’s why transferring bothers me. I just can’t help it — it just seems like throwing up the white flag and saying “Alright, you win, I’m just not cut out for it here.” It seems so much like giving in to the situation, without even giving yourself a chance. Chris Jordan was a brother of my fraternity A who graduated last year. Coming from the out- skirts of Philly, I’ m not really sure he knew what to expect at W&L. When he came to Lexington for the first time, it was the furthest south he had ever been. Throughout his four years here, he kept close ties with his girlfriend from home, even trav- eling home on weekends from time to time to see her. And once, on an Ultimate Frisbee trip to Florida, he admitted to me that he never felt 100% comfortable as a W&L student. He had contem- plated transferring to a school closer to his home. But Chris Jordan never gave in. W&L was not the perfect school for him, but he stayed the course, and now has a pretty cushy job in Atlanta. Who’s . to say how things might have been different for him had he transferred. Maybe things would be better, maybe worse. But he never raised a white flag, and that, to me, means a lot. Inevitably we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations. Given the choice, we would never have to deal with them, but unfortunately that choice is not ours to make. All we can do as people is de- cide how to react, how to respond to the situa- tions we must face. And so, to all you W&L stu- dents who are thinking about calling it quits, here’s a message: whatever you decide, make it for the right reasons, and stay true to yourself. Before giving up, give yourself a chance. HAZING Gimme Veemies. These cadets look like they are really enjoying these hazing practices, would.n’t you? The Virginia Military Institute has since put an end to such activity. We aren’t sure how or why a Phi- tographer from years past was pictures of this covert Virginia Military Institute activity. What We do know is that \Washington and Lee freshman pledges should take note. It could be Worse. You could have to wear a big red “VMI” on your front. Enjoy the rest of your pledgeship. Q Mike Doyle was great, but Alice Steinbach was better. I love you, Alice. Come back to me. Q Ooh! The mayor of Boston is coming to speak at Mock Con. Maybe we can hear what the police are doing to get ready for the convention. Q Is it just me, or is blood a lot darker when it comes out in larger quantities? Q Niceness is overrated. Honesty is more im- portant. Q Hey fraternities: Can we keep the sodomy and bestiality out of Lip Sync this year? Q More on Lip Sync: Who else is excited about Thomas Worthy performing as emcee? Q The art in Wflharns School this semester is a huge improvement over last semester’s installation and an even bigger one over the awful roof tar art we were cursed with last year. Q Is the inGeneral magazine ever going to pub- lish? What are they doing with all the money they received from the EC? Q President Huntley was a terrific speaker. Q Elixirs peldgeship is going on. Watch out for the monochrome outfits. ‘ Q The touch, the feel of cotton, the fabric of our lives. Q Style tip of the week: Store knit ties rolled up lest they stretch out. Q The Phi’s printer is about to celebrate its 10th birthday. We hereby extend a heartfelt invitation to all W&L students, especially the EC budget allocators, to the party. ‘ Q Ansel Sanders just won a Celebrating Student Success award for his work to save Spring Term. What have you done to save oiir beloved Spring Term? Q Lexington Coffee Shop’s days are numbered. 4 The Daily Grind is fantastic. The Peppermint Latte and Caramello are especially good. Thanks a “latte” for moving into Microl_.ex. Q J eb Brooks lost his blue North Face fleece be- tween the Pole Houses and Kappa Sig, but is hesi- tant to publish a Campus Notice. If you find it, call x4060 or e—mail br0oksj@wlu.edu. Q To the person who spit on the floor in the Com- mons: That’s nasty. Q Writing these is harder than it seems. Submit your anonymous Quick Hits to phi@wlu.edu, Y}