OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20050926/WLURG39_RTP_20050926_001.2.txt WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY . I-IE RING=TUM PHI. MONDAY, SEPT 26,2005 ". WHAT’S INSIDE in tune with Umphrey’s McGee Morgan Harris takes us backstage with the band. For this exclusive coverage, turn to page 7. K .1 The Fish is back Hugh Trout returns to fight for his right to party. See his master plan on page 12. 1 These pom-poms pack a punch Cheerleading makes an art mpt at creating s hool spirit. l‘ More on page 5. Don’t pardon my French 1 Add class to any conversation with these chicforeign phrases. tete-a-tete: a private con- versation between two people. saroir-faire: social graces. je ne sais quoi: literally, ‘‘I don’t know what.” Use when something has a cer- tain inexplicable quality. it double entendre: having double meanings, usually referring to sexual innu- endo; 4 fait accompli: a done deed, in a fatalistic sense. coup d’etat: a governmen- tal overthrow. .c’est la vie: “such is life,” as in a dismissal of respon- sibility to fate. A. faux pas: a foolish error. haute couture: literally, “high sewing.” Used to de- (I note high-class clothing styles. * Too hot to handle? Come check out the Black Crowes playing some of their latest and greatest Friday, Oct *1 l in the Pavilion. Tickets are ' onsale online now, and are $40 General Admission, $20 Students. I ‘One hot Body Jesse Ventura comes to ‘tell it like it is.’ Check out his presentation Tuesday at 7:30 in Lee Chapel. I BY THE STUDENTS AND FOR THE STUDENTS SINCE 1897 Business is blooming Despite concerns, Lexington shop owners prove that they have a green thumb for success By Jacob Geiger R E P O R T E R Despite the closure last spring of College Town Shops and Graden’s Shoe Store, proprietors throughout the downtown area insist Lexington’s historic down- town business district is doing just fine. Shop owners across the busi- ness spectrum — from Al Carter at Alvin-Dennis to Julie Lindsey at Virginia Born and Bred ~ firmly denied any reports that suggest the downtown area is slumping. Carter, who opened his upscale clothing store on the corner of Washington and Jefferson in 1963 and now runs it with the help of his daughter, mentioned that Graden’s didn’t shut down be- cause of flagging sales. “I think his wife, a doctor, just took a job in a different city,” Carter reported. “Besides, some- one moved right into the space and started up another business.” Julie Lindsey has owned Vir- ginia Born and Bred since 1993; the store has operated under that name since it opened in 1986. She says the key to her business lies in catalogue and online sales. “Those sales help as much as anything; they’re just as important to my business as the walk—in sales are.” Lindsey also credits the Lex- ington Downtown Development Association’s Main Street pro- gram as well as what she called “a very active Chamber of Com- merce” for the area’s success. Sammy Moore, a Lexington native who has been the executive director of the Chamber for twelve years, concurred with much of what the shop owners had to say. “What goes out the back door of these stores — in catalogue or intemet sales — is every bit as im- portant as what goes out the front door. During his twelve years at the Chamber of Commerce Moore has developed something of a mantra for the city: “Lexington does what it does well.’’ He said, “the business commu- nity realizes that students and tour- ists are the main customers. Some shop owners have told me that their gross sales during W&L Par- ents’ Weekend can exceed gross sales for the months of January or February.” When asked if the arrival of Wal-Mart had hurt downtown, Moore, whose family ran a down- town food business for over forty years, said it had just made things different, not necessarily worse. “This is a different downtown then it was 30 years ago; back then you had small hardware stores, grocery stores, and even car dealerships. ILLUSTRATION: EMILY HULEN What Wal-Mart has done, he said, is force shop-owners to be better at what they do. “We can’t compete with their prices, so we have to provide something on the service end that you can’t get out there.” Carter, to? VOLUME elf, NUMBER 5 owner of Alvin-Dennis, even ar- gued that the downtown area is ac- tually stronger than it was back in 1963. “When I opened my store,” he said, “Washington Street hardly had any businesses on it. Now it’s full of newer shops, and once the Dutch Inn gets fixed up it’ll spruce up the street even more.” Dan Vance of the Edward Jones Investment Group believes that marketing is a key to success downtown. “Pumpkinseeds probably has the best marketing in town. They’ve figured out how to mar- ket to out-of-town folks. Some of the locals think the stuff that gets sold in there is crazy, but visitors seem to love it.” While Vance points to Pump- kinseeds as a success story, he also notes that some spaces seem to always be turning over. Both he and Lindsey mentioned a bakery on Washington Street that seems to change hands on an annual ba- sis. I “Things definitely aren’t per- fect here,” Vance concluded, “but what in life is perfect?” The Lexington business com- munity is also lucky to have a strong support network. Lindsey credited the local his- torical society for “keeping down- town looking nice. They make sure nobody tries to do something silly like paint a building orange. They’re really in charge of pre- serving the quaint, historical feel of the downtown area,” The Lexington Downtown De- velopment Association is charged with supporting and maintaining the vitality of the area. Don Hasfurther was the direc- tor of the group, but last spring he resigned to take another job. The LDDA has nobody staffing their office right now, but the associa- tion is supposed to be interview- ing candidates for the director’s position. Lydia Pannell, owner of Fun Foods & Accessories and some- one who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the LDDA’s top position, provided information about the group’s Main Street pro- gram. See ‘LEX’ on page 2 Sterner gives different influence Speaker driven to warn of the effects of driving under the influence after spring break disaster By Sarah Kientz RE PORTER The lights in the Lenfest Audi- torium dim and a figure takes the stage. He’s young and wearing laid- back clothing, not dissimilar from the outfits of the audience mem- bers. Instead of delving into a long- winded speech, one that many au- dience members may have ex- pected, he begins by asking a few simple questions. “How many people in the room have ever done something stupid when they were drunk?” Nearly every hand rises. As the questions continue, fewer and fewer people raise their hands. “How many have woken up and thought, “where am I?” “How many have gone on Spring Break with their friends? “How many have driven with a drunk driver? How many have gone on Spring Break, drove drunk, and killed three of their best friends?” At this final question, only the speaker, Mark Sterner, raises his hand. Sterner’s presentation, titled “DUI: A Powerful Lesson”, was intended to raise awareness and warn students of the consequences of drinking and driving. The speech proved effective in reaching the W&L audience as students could relate to Sterner as an individual. Karlyn Gold, president of the Panhellenic Council, worked to bring Sterner to W&L. Gold heard Mark Sterner’s story at a national Greek confer- ‘ ence in Chicago last February, and said, “his presentation was so bru- tally real and evocative that we de- cided students needed to hear it. “Rather than just telling you to not drink and drive, Stemer’s pre- sentation illustrates the actual pain and suffering that resulted from his choosing to di*ive after drink- ing,” Gold said. The presentation opened with a home video Sterner made dur- ing a Spring Break trip he and four “...his presentation was so brutally real and evocative that we decided students needed to hear it.” - Senior KARLYN GOLD, President of the Panhellenic Council of his fraternity brothers took to Sanibel, Florida, their senior year. Sterner told the audience he made the video so he and his friends could look back and laugh. “I’ll never sit down and watch this tape with my friends and laugh,” Sterner said, “because 15 minutes after we made this my three best friends died.” Jan Kaufman, Director of Health Promotion, said that _ Stemer’s presentation was an im- portant one for W&L students to hear. Despite Traveller’s safety and popularity on campus, Kaufman said drinking and driving is still an issue. “I’ve looked at core data from last year and we know that 25% of our students have driven under the influence,” Kaufman said. “We feel that we’d like to do bet- ter than that.” Kaufman said Traveller gives students no excuse to drink and drive. “Traveller being on campus and one of the strongest safe ride programs in the country, there’s no reason why students should be driving under the influence,” Kaufman said. “We want students to know the impact of driving under the influ- ence and its consequences.” Katelyn Giarratana, Travel1er’s Committee Chair, agreed that al- though students do take advantage of Traveller, there is still an incli- nation for older students to drink and drive. “A majority of upperclassmen live off campus and are spread out within a few miles,” Giarratana said. “There’s always the temptation to drink and drive. Traveller gives students no excuse to, but it’s an issue on every college campus.” As well as being an problem on campus, drinking is a large is- sue when students go on vacation as well. Like many college students, Sterner and his friends were de- termined to have an unforgettable Spring Break. “We were going to get out of hand,” Sterner said. “We were going to show Sanibel anight that wouldn’t be soon forgotten. We didn’t realize how true that turned out to be.” Students will be able to appre- ciate Sterner’s message, Giarratana said, because of his similarity W&L students. “I hope students take away how relevant [the problem] is to our community,” Giarratana said. See ‘SPEAKER’ on page 2 OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20050926/WLURG39_RTP_20050926_002.2.txt Ji*I\}.l’E.'}a G. l.E;‘=:’§o‘lf.~'~'$i«l §.l>c‘t% VASHINGTON & LEE omvarzsn , l 53XWGTl"}.'\7. VA 24450 ‘ SEP 2 9 2005 THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2005 it PHOTO: EMILY HULEN CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT: Basking in the glory of homecoming excitement, Jess Good talks with her professors and their families after the homecoming game on Saturday. Good, a representative of Chi Psi, was one in a long line of the fraternity’s winning choices. 1 Staying up . for St. Jude’s; Students show they care by raising funds for childhood cancer By Abri Nelson REPORTER At St. Jude Children’s Re- search Hospital in Memphis, TN it is not uncommon to see children playing on one of the indoor play- grounds or laughing as they run through the painted hallways of the facility. Only these children are different from most of their peers — they all have some form of cancer. St. Jude, founded by late actor Danny Thomas, opened its doors in 1962 to any child suffering from childhood cancer, at no cost to their family whatsoever. In fact, St. Jude feels more like a hotel than a hospital, according to sophomore Erin Vaughn, who visited the facility over the sum- mer along with junior Amanda Dysart and senior Christine Gray. In addition to the patients that come to the hospital every day, about 60 patients live at the hos- pital with their families. Vaughn said that most of the children do not even realize that they have a disease. They are too busy play- ing and having fun to care about chemotherapy or their regular vis- its to the doctors at the facility. The hospital is also a research center, dedicated to finding cures for various types of cancer and sharing their research with doctors around the world. The hospital costs approximately $1 million a day to run the various programs, and that money comes solely from donations. _ Up ‘Til Dawn is a series of fundraisers centered on a letter writing campaign to raise money to support the medical care and research at St. Jude. Dysart, the president of W&L’s chapter of Up ‘Til Dawn, first heard about the program from a friend at Vifrlliam and Mary last spring. She became so excited about the prospect of a similar program here that she con- tacted St. Jude to see if that was possible. According to Dysart, St. Jude has wanted to start the program at W&L for years because of our close—knit community. After hear- ing that such a program would be possible here, she took efforts to put together an executive board and begin planning for the fall. Sophomore Kelly Harvey, the co-publicity chair for the execu- tive board, said that the focus of the program is to form teams of six that will raise money by send- ing letters to friends and family asking for donations. In addition, the teams are free to do whatever other kinds of fundraising they can think of. There will be an event in early November for all of the teams to I write their letters, and then an all night party in March culminating the efforts of the year. It is this event that gives the club its name. Team members stay} “up ‘til dawn” to symbolize the many sleepless nights that parents spend staying up with their chil- dren. According to Harvey, how- ever, “this event is about celebrat’-‘ ing life!” Tentative plans for the event at W&L include movies, bands, food, and games. K All the members of the execu- tive board are very excited about the program here at W&L, espe- cially Vaughn. pt She hopes that Up ‘Til Dawry will be about more than just rais- ing money for a hospital, but rather a common cause that the entire campus can rally around. Any student at W&L can form!‘ a team with five other students. Vaughn also hopes that student organizations will choose to form teams to raise money for the cause. Registration will occur at th Commons from October 3-7 and will include a $10 registration fee known as a “Wig Fee” because it goes to buying a wig for a child a)‘ the hospital. Contact the Team Chairs, Allison Stokan and Christine Gray, in order to receive a regis- tration form. A [Vaughn] hopes- that Up ‘Til Dawn will be about more than just raising money for a hospital, but rather a common cause that the entire campus can rally around. Speaker Warns‘ J students * Lex shops Coast. stay afloat Continued from page 1 charted waters.” He acknowledged that the area Continued from page 1 “Spring break and going on va- and plan ahead when they go to parties.” * Spreading his message was the The program is part of a nation- relies heavily on tourists who 7 igzpigifgawofie cation with your fraternity broth- only thing Sterner had left to do. . wide Main Street USA program dn-Ve up and down the picturesque ~ 7 ers or sorority sisters is something “The only thing I can do rirow aimed at revitalizing and improv- Blue Ridge parkway during the Washington and Lee haS1.e_ ; many W&L students do. It enables is talk to you...so maybe yo , ing American downtowns. Pannell said, “the program has a four point approach: Organiza- tion, Design, Promotion, and Eco- nomic Development.” A business must apply and be accepted to the program, in which Lexington has been involved since the early 1980s. “The first few years were fo- cused on re-vitalizing downtown and improving the look of the area,” Pannell added. For ex- ample, all of the utility lines are now buried underground. In recent years the LDDA has transitioned and is now working on getting more people both 10- cally and outside the area to shop downtown.” Panriell said, “Everyone says that they love our downtown, but their compliments aren’t very helpful if they take their shopping dollars to Charlottesville, Staunton, or Roanoke.” Along with the current leader- ship void at the LDDA, there are also concerns about high gas prices hurting tourism in the area. “Gas prices are a huge concern for us,” Moore reported. “60-70% of our business comes through here between September 1*‘ and January 1*‘, so we could be in un- fall. Lexington business can always depend on revenue from W&L and VMI, especially during Home- coming and Parents’ weekend. “It’ll be interesting to see how our peripheral revenue — the money from casual tourists — is af- fected by the gas prices,” Moore said. “It could be a very interesting fall.” Every merchant interviewed stressed the importance of the two schools to Lexington. “It’s a symbiotic relationship,” Dan Vance said. “You need us; we need you. The relationship might ebb and flow a bit, but both groups still need each other.” Julie Lindsey said, “Lexington is different from the rest of the country; we don’t have a big in- dustry that employs most of the town. Lots of people work for the schools, and those jobs aren’t go- ing anywhere.” Though shops come and go, though the school uses its ever- fancier bookstore to keep student dollars on campus, and though gas prices cloud the economic future with uncertainty, Lexington’s downtown businesses are assur- edly alive and well. sponded in a variety of ways to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, raising money for Red Cross ef- forts, offering tuition-free en-, ,1 i , roilment to guest students from , Tulane and Loyala Universities, and funds to affected W&L ' families. Now, two students are planning a .way'fo1: W&L stu- dents tovglve even more--this ‘ time, of themselves. p8 a e -some -perspe A . s-tr’ Juniors Lorna Golder and ~ I 1 Lisa Smithaze in the orgiartiz- . , . ing stage of making a trip to * Gulfport, Mississippi, over Thanksgiving break. Utilizing personal eoritacts—irr the area, _ r they hopeto work with organi— - » zations such as the Salvation. -1 ' ‘ Army, Habitat for Humanity, and local churches and places A “ - of worship. ’ “ Ideally, they say, they’d like to “not only contributiej to relief effort, but observ[e} how-fl -it is organiz 1 .”. They’d also" like for students to build rel.a- " tionships “with one another and those in need of aid,” andvgivet A ' those they serve “hop‘e,.mate”- ‘ I rial services, and a sense of community.” They also said they hope’ this trip will keep v o 1 * “ I us to see a situation that’s very real to us and gives us real—life conse- quences as opposed to hearing about a something that happened to a friend of a friend.” Sterner stressed the same issue in his speech, noting that most young people believe nothing bad ever happens to them, and he be- lieved it, too. “I was only 21 years old. Old people die. You’re not supposed to die when you’re 21 . . .This kind of stuff didn’t happen to me. It happened to other people,” Sterner said. He suggested that perhaps stu- dents may still believe they would not end up in the same situation. “Maybe you’re cooler, smarter, luckier than [I was]. But maybe you’re not.” Gold said Stemer’s message was particularly important for un- derclassmen to hear so that per- haps W&L can see changes in the future. “[Stemer’s speech is] directed to all students, but I think it’s par- ticularly important to get to the freshmen and sophomores who still live on campus,” Gold said. “Then, when many of them live off campus, they’ll hopefully al- ways think about Stemer’s story won’t have to bury one of your friends or your parents won’t have to bury you.” Sterner said that if his audi- ences could take one piece of ad}, vice with them, it would be to ex- amine their decisions. “I’ve spoken to over a million people and I’ll never know if any of them listened,” Sterner said. A “I just want them to realize that life’s full of choices, and choices have consequences, even little ones. Sometimes don’t just think about yourself.” -" Gold.is hopeful Stemer’s mes- sage will reach students and make a difference. “If even one person acts dif- ferently after seeing Sterner talk," then it’s been an effective pro- gram,” Gold said. “And I’m con- fident that that will happen.” The lights rise in the Lenfe , Center, revealing a chattering au- dience once Stemer’s speech has concluded. There is the feeling of eerie stiffness in the wake of the powerful words that just filled th/H room. Though some students speak of going to parties that night, an extra note of caution resonates in their voices as they leave the room. \ OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20050926/WLURG39_RTP_20050926_003.2.txt 4 _4:00 p.m. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2005 THE RING-TUM PHI ° 3 §Sll(lllS SPORTS BRIEFS Women’s Field Hockey Trounces Bridgewater, 7-0 Sophomore Kendall Korte set a school record by scoring four goals in the team’s rout of division foe Bridgewater. The team’s record is now 3-3, 3-0 in conference play, and their ; next match comes against Mary Baldwin College on Wednesday, 9/28, at 6:00 p.m. on the Turf Field. Women’s Soccer Ties Virginia Wesleyan, 0-0 Playing against No. 10 . Virginia Wesleyan, women’s soccer extended its streak of unbeaten games to six with freshman goalie Kiki Moreo making an impressive five saves for the Generals. The soccer team is now 4-1-2 and 3-0- 1 in the ODAC. The women’s soccer team next hosts Bridgewater at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 9/27. Men’s Soccer Shuts Out Hampden-Sydney, 4-0 ' Sophomore Jack Palmer _ scored twice to aid the men’s soccer team in their defeat of ODAC-rival Hampden-Sydney. The Generals improved their record to 4-2 and 2-1 in conference play. Their next game is Wednesday, 9/28, at Mary Washington at IM goes pro lM deck goes here in one long line across By Dima Slavin A 3 STAFF warren Intramural sports and com- petitions are back and better than ever. Thanks to a com- plete overhaul of the system by Campus Recreation Coor- dinator Will Patterson, IM competitors at W&L now have a brand new website, new equipment, double the amount . of sports/competitions to do battle in and a new ultimate goal to strive for ~ the IM cup. This year, the intramural program at W&L has ex- - pended to an unheard of 24 different competitions from the expected soccer and flag football leagues to EA Sports NCAA 2006, Texas Hold‘em ‘ and dodgeball. Six of the com- petitions are leagues (both men’s and women’s) and the other sixteen are tournaments or special events. One of the biggest and probably most exciting changes to the IM program this year is the IM Cup. The IM Cup, based on similar competitions in nearby col- leges, is a year~long competi- tion spanning the entire IM repertoire. A team registered for the IM Cup competes in many, if not all, of the 24 IM competitions and the top ten finishers in the competitions are awarded points (more points are allocated to top fin- ishers in major leagues). At the end of the year, the team with the most points wins the» ” IM Cupiand gets t'c’>'liojl‘d on to “ it until anotherwinner is de- terrnined. S This year,‘ most of the IM Cup teams are frater- nities and sororities but Patterson hopes that once word of the competition spreads, there will be many more independent teams. Play- ers without teams can easily ’ form one of their own or join the free agent list, allowing teams that need players to eas- ily find them. Another change that should make intramural sports more enjoyable is the launching of the intramural website (http:/1' cms.wlu.edu/intramurals/ defaultasp). The website has all the information someone interested in IM sports would need. It features a list of IM competitions and a registration schedule, all the forms play- ers (and IM teams) need to fill out to compete or to become free agents. The website fea- tures all the rules and regula- tions players must follow in the individual competition as well as the IM Cup and the standings in the current com- petition. A quick check of the website, for example, will an- swer a question that was fre- quently asked this year, whether varsity athletes can compete in IM sports. The an- swer is that they can, but not in the sport that they play var- sity. The transformation of the intramural league is completed by the purchase of new equip- ment and the hiring and train- -ing~of»new officials. Every ef- 'f0'I’2t'h‘<'1S been made to‘make surethe future of intramural sports at W&L is a bright one. GET MONEY WHEBEVER Yllllfl ROAD TRIP TAKES YOU. WABHOVIA FIIEE 8Tll|JElllT CHECKING with BillPay - No monthly service fee - No minimum balance - Free Online Banking - Free Balance Alerts - Premium Savings account - Unlimited access to 3,300 - Free Check Card with Visa Extras rewards program Wachovia Financial Centers and 5,300 ATMs stop liy a Wachovia financial center today, call sou-wncnnvu (922-4584) or visit wacliovia.com/ti-eestullentoliooking. 5-an VVACHOVIA Uncommon Wisdom we want you to know: $50 minimum deposit required to open an account. Some restrictions apply to Visa Extras. ©2005 Wachovia Corporation, Wachovia Bank, N.A., and Wachovia Bank of Delaware N A are Members FDIC ‘fir Text by Amanda Tholke Division Picks by Amanda Tholke and Neil Sheaffer Superbowl Picks by Amanda Tholke, Neil Sheaffer and Jacob Geiger It’s that time of year again, when every person under the sun thinks they’re an expert on the NFL. While we are making our picks two weeks in to the season, it’s still just as difficult to predict how each division will finish. We here at the Phi decided to take our chances and predict how the rest of the upcoming NFL season will go, knowing that we are probably wrong in at least half of our picks. Don’t judge us too harshly by our picks as we spent maybe a whole ten minutes thinking these things through. Thank god football season’s finally here. NFC fl North West Min. Vikings / St. Louis Rams Detroit Lions Arizona Cardinals Green Bay Packers Seattle Seahawks Chicago Bears San Fran. 49”" South Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers Tampa Bay Bucs. New Orleans Saints East Philadelphia Eagles Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Washington Redskins In the NFC, the South looks to be the strong division although the Redskins and Cowboys are making the East rather interesting. Who would’ve thought that the lousy Redskins would’ve started out 2-0? The NFC North is ridiculously weaker than everyone would have thought and, despite their crushing of Detroit last week, I still think Chicago will finish last. The West is again the weakest division by far in the NFC and probably in the whole NFL. It’s so sad that I can’t stand to watch any of those teams in that division play. AFC 5.3.": North West Pittsburgh Steelers Kansas City Chiefs Cincinnati Bengals San Diego Chargers Baltimore Ravens Denver Broncos Cleveland Browns Oakland Raiders South Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Houston Texans Tennessee Titans East New England Patriots Buffalo Bills New York Jets Miami Dolphins I think that the Cincinnati Bengals are going to surprise everyone this year. I know that’s a popular sentiment now that they’re undefeated and because they completely dominated Minnesota last week but I was at that game and I am a die-hard Bengals fan and have been believing this all year. This is the year that the Bengals go to the playoffs after a 15-year drought. I think they will be Pittsburgh’s toughest competition in the AFC this year. While the Chargers will slip a little from last year since they’re still starting Brees when they have a 1*‘ round draft pick on the bench (somebody hasn’t been watching the Bengals), the Colts and Patriots should still dominate their divisions. I think that the Dolphins aren’t nearly as good as they looked in Week 1 against Denver and that they just got pumped up for the home opener with a new coach. Superbowl predictions Neil’s Pick New England Patriots vs. New England Patriots win Jacob’s Pick New England Patriots vs. New England Patriots win Amanda’s Pick Indianapolis Colts D vs. Indianapolis Colts 0 win Atlanta Falcons Philadelphia Eagles Atlanta Falcons I just couldn’t put the Patriots in the Super Bowl again. Their “dynasty” ends this year. Got 0 message? THE RING-TUM PHI. The whole campus is reading it. Email Dovid Seiferf of phi—business@w|u.edu fodoy. OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20050926/WLURG39_RTP_20050926_004.2.txt 4 ° THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26,2005 )4 A grey day for the Generals By Neil Sheaffer STAFF WRITER Under cloudy skies, members of the Washington and Lee com- munity, both past and present, gathered at Wilson Field on Sat- urday afternoon for a match-up between the Generals (2-1) and the Colonels (4-0) of Centre College. Fans from both sides were treated to an exciting game, but unfortunately for Generals fans, Centre came away on top with a 35-26 victory. Centre struck first in the first quarter with a blocked punt re- turned for a touchdown. The Colonels were then able to up the score to 14-0 with a 31 yard touchdown pass with just a few minutes left in the first half. The Generals were not ready to go to the locker room just yet though and with 9.8 seconds left in the first half, senior quarter- back Greg Tweardy connected with junior tight end Ryan Neff for a 16 yard touchdown, which cut the deficit in half. The Colonels came out in the third quarter and were able to in- crease their lead to 21-7 on an eight yard run by quarterback Kevin Phelps. The Generals were able to re- spond two plays later when Tweardy hit sophomore wide re- ceiver Jack Martin for a 68 yard touchdown reception. .The Generals were never able to catch up to the Colonels, who PHOTO: EMILY HULEN Preventing a sack, Tom. Pacicco (21) from South Carolina lunges at a Centre Colonels defenseman. followed up Martin’s big recep- tion with a touchdown pass of their own. Stuart Sitterson, a freshman defensive back, returned the en- suing kickoff 79 yards for a score, but the Generals were un- able to shut down the Colonels on the other side of the ball. Centre struck once again at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a short touchdown run. Martin caught a second touch- down pass from Tweardy with only three minutes remaining in the game, but the two point con- version failed, as did the ensuing onsides kick attempt. Centre ended this hard fought game with the ball as they ran out the clock for the win. The Generals’ defense had a difficult time stopping the C010- nels, who were able to put 415 total yards on the board. Of those 417 yards, 260 of them were gained on the ground against a very stingy Washington and Lee defense, which was ranked second in the country against the run last year. Mark Snoddy, a sophomore starter at comerback, said, “They were big, fast, really disciplined and just outmanned us. We also need to wrap up better.” In regards to his defense’s in- ability to stop the run, Washing- ton and Lee head coach Frank Miriello said, “You can’t win games if you can’t stop the run or run the ball.” The Generals were able to gain 105 yards rushing, but this was not enough L to beat the Colonels. Unfortunately, the defense \ wasn’t the only thing that was not completely on track today. V; Though the offense racked up 415 yards of total offense, three chances within the ten yard line were squandered and no points were scored on those drives. I’ “You have to put your chin down and pound the ball when that close to the goal,” Coach Miriello replied when asked about those situations. The whole game was not negative for the Generals though. Quarterback Greg Tweardy completed 24 of 38 passes for three touchdowns and only one interception. Receiver Jack Martin was exceptional, catching 11 of Tweardy’s 24 re- ceptions while gaining 206 yards ; on those plays. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore defensive back Kyle Luby was the paced the de- fense with ll tackles and Robert “ix Foster and Ryan Hoover each contributed a sack. Sophomore comerback Kyle Harvey was complimentary of the Generals’ effort and the Colonels as well. He said, “Overall it was a great effort, but we had some prob- lems on the edge. Also, their quarterback was a real good ath- lete.” Next week, the Generals travel to Randolph-Macon to take on the Yellow Jackets. Kickoff is at 1:00 pm. I W .. *? LEXEQNGTUN AR’? GALLLER St. www.le)ringteirnrtgnllerymom ‘lees ~ Set ll»-5 Make the most of your spring semester with an exciting internship, challenging college courses, interesting guest speakers and all the drama of Virginia politics. Experience Virginia's capital city during the excitement of a legislative session while continuing your studies on a full-time basis through course work at Virginia Commonwealth University — and earn a $1,000 internship stipend. For more information and application: 0 http://wvvw.vcu.edu/capitalsemester 0 Virginia Capital Semester, School of Govern- ment and Public Affairs, PO. Box 842028, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23284-2028 or 0 Contact Jen Thompson, J.D. at (804) 828-2339 or jlthompson2@vcu.edu 0 Application deadline is Oct. l, 2005. an equal opportunity/affirmative action university OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20050926/WLURG39_RTP_20050926_005.2.txt MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2005 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 Big aspirations dominate W&L Cheerleading as they move towards true competition Cheer ajfjiling at W&L has changed in B significant way since Jessica Taylor, a 2004 graduate, helped pioneer the school’s first cheerleading team in 2001 “n Taylor started, she recalled ng just to maintain a team, often re- sorting to begging friends and classmates to try out for the squad. Today, Taylor finds herself as Head Cheerleading Coach and recruiting athletes is her least concern. “More and more people try out every year,” said Taylor. This year, in addition to cheering for W&L teams, Coach Taylor hopes to compete as a squad. “Football and basketball cheerleading is fun and supporting W&L athletics is our priority,” said Taylor. “But I would like to see us compete as a team this year as well.” In order to create a large enough team, the Generals plan to unite forces with neighbor, Vir- ginia Military Institute’s new squad for team competitions. “We’re actually trying to become a real competitive team,” said Taylor. VMI will add 2 men and 5 women to Washington and Lee’s 10 member squad. Because the NCAA does not recognize cheerleading as a competitive varsity sport, the Generals will not be able to compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Instead, they will compete in leagues developed specifically for cheerleading, the National Cheerleading Association (NCA) or University Cheer Association (UCA). Sophomore Patricia Taylor PHOTO: EMILY HULEN HOW TO GET INTO A GREAT LAW SCHOOL Meet Indiana University School of Law’s Dean of Admissions Dennis Long and learn tips for enhancing your law school application at Indiana Law or wherever you may apply. 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Friday, October 7 The Commons Atrium Indiana University CHOOL op LAW Bloornéngton “Ranked amoung the top 40 law schools in the country INDIANA LAW is GREAT because students, faculty, and staff are genuine, intelligent, caring people that make excellent life-long friends. Indiana Law has a sense of community that makes the experience more than just taking classes. ” ~Jason Rodocker, Indiana Law ‘O5 W€9°L Director of Student Activities and Greek Life By Sarah Bloom STAFF WRITER “We’ve had to have some additional practices to get ready to compete,” said Taylor. The competitions in- clude two- to five- minute shows that involve cheering, stunts, and dancing. “We’ve been a lot more struc- tured this year than last year,” said junior Captain Bree Melton of the change. To prepare for the addition of com- petitive cheerleading, the team hired a professional instructor during the preseason. “We started with a lot of new people,” said Melton. “But they are strong people, we have a strong coach, and after the camp we’ve become united as a team.” Sophomore Nikki Conkling is one of five of the new members on W&L’s squad. Though she has had some experience in tumbling and dancing, cheerleading is something completely new. ' “I was really scared at first when I was getting thrown around,” said Conkling, one of the team flyers. ' “But I learned to trust my team during camp and I’ve learned a whole lot and we have been working really hard as a team.” Coach Taylor is proud of the progress made but she’s not ready to settle. “I would like to see the team progress so that by the time some of the freshman are seniors, we can really be recognized as a competitive team.” The team hopes that with each year of im- provement, they will be able to encourage more fans to come to football and basket- ball games. “We’re looking for school spirit,” said Taylor. “And when there are more fans, we’re a better team.” 5 .,......m. 32...- Catering Available ‘for: IE4"):-aternity, Sorority and Other Campus Events ~;‘§;ui5 ii*e;z_:,r,ir, iiiirrze {Feat ,’§’ul§.s', 371“ at ‘i'2i»’%‘xi§ <.i:‘.£Irrtts:r.s‘, ijffiicfierz. *1'2a.rzdér:I{’£Ztr£.:%r.r~ Now Serving Grab N’ Go Bvreakfast from 7 a...m. to '10 am. Free Delivery! 3! ($I€}1nin order} Call 464~Sl:lBS {)1:2—en "Mon-Titers til 8 p.m., .f<‘r°.i~."~}a.t til. *9‘ pm. OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20050926/WLURG39_RTP_20050926_006.2.txt 6 ° THE RING-TUM PHI artsalile MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26,2005 Steer clear Mark Sterner warns students of the dangers of driving drunk By Mallory Ruymann STAFF WRITER Like most kids here at W&L, I have gone out a couple of times. I have had a good time on several occasions. I’ve even made some bad decisions. Most people, however, think of these episodes as a normal part ofthe college ‘experience,’ which they can look back on and laugh about with their friends . and family. But just imagine that all those supposedly good times abruptly stopped with one bad night. ' Sure, all of us have heard the same old ‘I drove drunk and got in trouble, so don’t be like me’ line in mandatory high school assemblies. Even though they had an important message, never really registered in your mind and influenced your deci- sions the next weekend. You might have been a pas- senger in a car with a drunk driver, or perhaps drove while drunk, and if you are reading this you probably didn’t get into a car accident or kill anyone. Congratulations, you were lucky. Mark Sterner was one of the unlucky individuals who just happened to have gotten behind the wheel drunk, and unlike you, [His] time at college was mined by the dark mark of murder: Every time he looks back... he remembers that he killed three people. l killed three of his best friends just three months shy of gradu- ating college. He now has told his story to nearly a million students in the hopes that maybe someone will listen to him and avoid the mis- take he made. As a freshman who has not experienced much of college- and who has never been in a situation on the W&L campus. where drinking and driving were involved (thank you Trav- e1ler)——-I cannot speak for the whole university ‘in saying how much of an impact Sterner’s pre- sentation made. Conversely, those in the freshmen class who actually at- tended the presentation will agree that such a powerful story at the beginning of four years, in which alcohol will definitely be involved will influence our decisions. W&L has been fabulous thus far and I want it to stay fabu- lous until I graduate. Sterner’s time at college was ruined by the dark mark of mur- der. Every single time he looks back at college, instead of re- membering good times, friends, and parties, he remembers that he killed three people that were part of all of his other memo- ries. Even remembering the little things will connect him back to that one fateful night. When I look back at W&L. I do not want to recall the night that I killed three of my best friends. * All I have to do is stay away from drinking and driving. This decision that is made easier be- cause of the amazing services of Traveller. Hopefully the whole campus will do the same, and from what I have seen, most of you do. So, continue to be one of the lucky people who makes the right decision. If you have been drinking, don’t drive or get into the car with anyone who has been drinking. Make decisions so that when you are eighty and remi- niscing about college, you have nothing to regret. Waves of her own Senior legacy Kristine Holda makes her mark on the campus For Kristine Holda, there is nothing like the song “Shenandoah” to make you re- member just where and who you are. Holda first set foot on this campus when she was just eleven. Holda and her family were cel- ebrating her father’s 20"‘ year col- lege reunion. Ken Holda, a Ger- man and European History major graduated in 1976. Holda remem- bers the first visit in crisp detail. “I loved W&L,” she said. “At the time, I lived in Chicago, and it was a miserable spring. I came out here and the dogwoods were in bloom, it was warm, things were green. It was marvelous.” The Holdas attended a gather- ing in Lee Chapel, where South- ern Comfort and Jubilee ended by singing the folk song. i “We came out of the chapel and looked up at the Colonnade,” Holda remembers. “It was night — there were stars and George was lit up. My dad had tears in his eyes after hearing ‘Shenandoah.’ That’s how I knew this was a spe- cial place.” Holda’s mother remembers that her daughter announced to the family, “Daddy, I’m gonna come here.” Then, Holda appeared as a Summer Scholar in the summer of 2001. “I felt like a real college kid,” said Holda, who participated in the journalism track. She applied early decision and was ecstatic when she learned of her acceptance. “It was the best Christmas gift I received that year,” she said. She arrived on the same carn- pus on Freshman Move-In Day that her father had entered 30 years before. The campus — and the gen- der of half the student body — had changed, but W&L was still her father’s alma mater. But for Holda, it felt different. She had visited Lexington many “I came here and the dogwoods were in bloom, it was warm, things were green. It was marvelous.” - KRISTINE HOLDA. CLASS OF 2006 times and knew people in town, but she still had the freshman jit- ters. “When I was a summer scholar, I knew that if I didn’t like it, I’d be home in a month,” she "said. “But this was the real thing.” After four years, Holda has made a place for herself on the campus with participation in classes and extra-curricular activi- ties. And, frequently, that place is the Cy Twombly Pool. Holda has swurn all four years for the Generals, and this year is co-captain of the women’s team. Holda holds several school records with her teammates in the medley relays. Swimming is a love for Holda, who said, “Swimmers are kind of their own breed. The sport gar- ners a lot of respect because it is so intense.” Swimming, along with being a sport and hobby, is also a summer job. Holda spends her Ohio sum- mers as a lifeguard and swim teacher in her hometown of Strongsville. “As an independent, the swim team is my sorority,” she always quips. “I absolutely love those girls.” In the spring, Holda will gradu- ate with a BA. in Biology. She will then make her waves across the Atlantic Ocean as she spends a year abroad in a little — and little- known — country of Estonia. This Baltic state holds much signifi- cance for her. Holda is a second generation Estonian-American. She will spend a year at an Esto- nian university learning the lan- guage and culture, and as she said, “immersing myself in my heri- tage.” It is an added challenge for all legacy students here at W&L to step out of their parents’ shadow on a campus that often has its gaze in the past. Holda has taken this “special place” she discovered from her father and, as “Shenandoah” lyrics say, made it her own “rollin’ river.” Flexible port-lime hours to dccommoddleclclssschedules Need cos Consider W&L’s department of dinlngiservices ds your future compus VVhy8 We reolize your education is your moinprlorily $7.00 per hour slotting. poy Free meol per shift worked Hours worked con be from 4 lo 20 hoursper week Could most likely use the money! For more information, contact: Dennis Fowler OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20050926/WLURG39_RTP_20050926_007.2.txt MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2005 THE RING-TUM PHI “MEET THE BAND 0 Brendan Bayliss ,,guitar, vocals ’ -(1997 - present) ' Jake Cinninger guitar, vocals (2000 - present) , .. .. el .Cummlns"' - e V k'eyboards,. vocals (1997 - present) ._ 0 Ryan Stasik nbass, (1997 ~ present) Kris Myers drums (2003 — present) Andy‘Farag percussion (1998 - present) “The Successors to Phish” grace the pavilion and support college radio Photos and text by Morgan Harris STA F F W R I T E R eekend’s homecoming is were kicked off by a known but extremely ted band hailing from cago, Umphrey’s McGee. mphrey’s, named the suc- /S on keyboards, Kris Myers on drums, and Andy Farag on secondary percussion. Umphrey’s played a wide variety of music, with covers ranging from Bob Marley’s “Trenchtown Rock” to a hi- larious rendition of Biz Markee’s “Just a Friend” sung by Ryan Stasik. Umphrey’s played a mix of songs off their recent and critically acclaimed album Anchor Drops, in addition to some classics off their older albums. Umphrey’s fanatic junior Joe Green says, “Everyone who didn’t go to the show missed out on a great oppor- tunity. Umphrey’s McGee will never play this small of a show again. In two years, they will be bigger than Phish. It’s such a treat to be able to have them come to W&L.” Junior Andrew Gulotta echoed these sentiments, “this band is at the pinnacle of musical talent; it’s too bad they aren’t more well- known.” Even people who hadn’t heard of the band before had positive reactions. Freshman Addison Sanford exclaims, “They were scintillating and stomp-tacularl Their unique blend of diverse musical styles creates a delightful romp suitable for women and children alike!” Umphrey’s McGee is able to play such a range of styles because of the diverse musi- cal backgrounds of all its , members. While Umphrey’s plays mainly rock—based music, lis- teners get a hint of their country influences on Anchor Drop’s “Bullhead City.” Guitarist Brendan Bayliss said he is working with Jeff Austin of acclaimed blue- grass band Yonder Mountain String Band on an acoustic album “about the trials and tribulations of life.’’ Bayliss isn’t the only one channeling some of his en- ergy into side projects. Guitarist Jake Cinnger re- cently released an album with his old band, Ali Baba’s Tahini. Cinniger, influenced heavily by Mark Knopfler and his early Dire Straits work, has brought a distinct sound to the band since his induction in 2000. “I’m a drummer by trade,” he says, “but my goal is to play every instrument well.” He’s already well on his way to reaching that goal, playing guitar, bass, violin, banjo, mandolin, and many other in- struments. While Umphrey’s is classified as a “jam band,” Cinniger is critical of the genre. “The problem with jam bands is that they get into a good groove, but they can’t break out of that box; they’re afraid to stretch it out. You gotta stretch it out to keep it interesting.” Umphrey’s McGee does just that. The band has a very unique form of jamming. In- stead of laying out a chord progression and improvising within it, Umphrey’s has hand signals for a variety of tricks to pull on stage. They have signals for each key, in addition to signals for modu- lating in various degrees and returning to previous sections of a jam. This way, Umphrey’s en- sures that every show is unique and interesting. Be- cause of the originality of their jams, some material from live Umphrey’s shows actually makes it onto their studio albums. Anchor Drop’s “In the Kitchen,” named Song of the Year at the J ammy’s award festival, was inspired by live perfor- mances. ,, Despite the recent release of Anchor Drops, fans can expect a new Umphrey’s al- bum to be hitting shelves within the next few months. The band has been debuting a plethora of new material that should find its way onto a record sometime soon. The band has also recently produced a new DVD, Wrapped Around Chicago, which will be released on October 16. Bayliss says the new disc should be even bet- ter than 2002’s Live from the Lake Coast Skyline Stage. Bayliss is confident that college radio will continue to help with band recognition. “You pull into a town like Lexington, and you’re getting free advertising. It creates a buzz on campus; usually people like to listen to things that they’re recommended to, not what they’re told, and college radio does that. It’s a legitimate voice because it’s not corporate.” Tune into 91.5 WLUR on Thursday from 5-7 PM and Friday from 12-2 AM for a sampling of Umphrey’s tunes. . If they come to your hometown this summer, don’t hesitate to buy tickets, be- cause it won’t be long before they are going to be the hot- test ticket around. OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20050926/WLURG39_RTP_20050926_008.2.txt - THE RING-TUM PHI I]||l|0IlS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2005‘ BLASTING OFF CARTOON: SHANE WILSON AND EMILY HULEN Moon: madness or mission? The flntique 91/lad‘ p 760 N. Lee Hwy itiext Tn 'E‘i‘ai:::toi‘ Stippijr lri '(.I”1€? Pieart. oi” §.e;s:‘i*:<2.g_tur1, VA 25%-E30 (540) 464-5555 Seiiing t£?1iq'££é3fi£I“?1ifHP8 and utecessariesfo-r rite: Dorm -- Apm*i'men't - Hoizse Monday —- Saturday 10:00 am. -~ 6:00 part. Sttrtday 11:00 a..m. —- 6:00 p.m. at €}r“ea'z" Place to Ez2.i'artain Parerits!!! There Scm.etiiiri.g for Ez.»erycr2.e!!! Moon Men Caley Anderson and Justin McKeen sound ofi’ on both sides of the moon mission argument SHEER LUNACY By Caley Anderson STAFF COLUMNIST President Bush seems bent on increasing spending while simul- taneously decreasing revenue. The present administration has laid out its $100 billion plus plan to return Americans to the moon. Put simply, the nation has bet- ter problems to deal with than a return to the moon. Our national resources are strained. We are en- gaged in a protracted foreign war and already costing billions. We have just witnessed the practical destruction of New Orleans. Why? NASA’s administrators maintain that investment in con- tinued manned lunar landings is a long-terrn investment; much like a European investment in the New World circa 1492. They say that it will be well worth the cost in thelong run. They say that if we do not get our exploration and researching now, other countries will beat us to the punch of moon colonization. What is bad about this mission is the timing- last I checked, China’s moon mission is going to be basic and exploratory, much like the Apollo missions of the 1960s. China, in other words, is not going to be calling first dibs on the moon unless we get there first. We can debate all we want whether the administration is sim- ply throwing out the moon mis- sion as a way to distract Ameri- cans from other problems, but the fact is that China will get there first whether we start now or not- we’d be ready to go in 2018, and China, by even the most conser- vative account, probably won’t delay their program past 2012. And as in the Cold War, we should be wary of a “get there first” mentality— national security is NOT a serious factor in support of a space program. We should worry first about how to preserve national security planet side. The very first mission to reach the moon (though not land on it) was Apollo 1. Apollo 1 never got off the ground- during a test run through» launch procedures, the entire com- mand capsule assembly was en- gulfed in flames, burning to death all three of the astronauts inside. Ominous precedent indeed for NASA given their recent troubles. Should we eliminate space pro- gram funding altogether? N 0. We should maintain an investment in the future that space exploration represents. Should we abandon all hope of returning to the moon? No, we should just wait until a’ more opportune time. The condi- tions, at present, do not justify another moon mission. BEAM ME UP By Justin McKeen STAFF COLUMNIST When Neal Armstrong took mankind’s first steps on the moon in 1969, it was a momentous oc- casion, for the world and espe- cially for America. Early this week, NASA unveiled an ambi- tious plan for the next 13 years. Making good on the words of President Bush in 2004, NASA says it will put astronauts on the moon in 2018; the first time men will have visited the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Immediate concerns have sprung up around the proposed plan. In the wake of devastating natural disasters and skyrocketing costs in Afghanistan and Iraq, some Congressmen and pundits are claiming the space program is a waste of money—money that could be better spent elsewhere. They couldn’t be more wrong. Like 1969, American today faces an uncertain world where danger seems omnipresent. Also like 1969, our society is divided over important issues, both at home and abroad, to the point that civil discourse seems to have bro- ken down, and we are reduced to a state of partisan bickering and finger-pointing. As sad as it is to say, it seems unlikely that these rifts are going to heal anytime soon. No matter how many support-our-troops bumper stickers are out there, con- tention over the war in Iraq will continue. Arguments over welfare and gay marriage will continue. But in the midst of all these frac- tious issues, we have a chance to come together as a country and achieve something that, for the greatest course of human history, was an unthinkable dream. The cost of the plan is 104 bil- lion dollars, but spaced over thir- teen years, it falls within NASA’s l6—billion a year budget. The sci- entific benefits are more question- able (NASA hopes to ascertain whether or not ice exists on the moons south pole), but many of the technologies that we take for granted today are an outgrowth of past space—related research. It is important that help reach those devastated by hurricane Katrina. It is important that the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan re- ceive the equipment and support they need. But it is also important that America continue to lead the way in exploring space and hu- manities place in it. We can ac- complish that goal without weak- ening our response to tragedy, without abandoning prior commit- ments, and what’s more we can instill in ourselves a sense of ca- maraderie and accomplishment that is sadly lacking in our society today. ‘Hispanic’ not sufficient Label creates confusion and a too-large, non-diverse category for a wide array of people By Alejandro Selin GUEST COLUMNIST The September 15”‘ edition of Campus Notices marked the be- ginning of a series of messages announcing Hispanic Heritage Month. The notice was accompanied by a few words from Linda Alvarado, owner of the Colorado Rockies franchise: “Whether we’re called Hispanos or Mexicanos or Puertorriquefios, Cubanos, or Latinos, we are a fam- ily connected to a community of very talented people from very different backgrounds who are doing amazing things that our par- ents did not have the opportunity to do.” Now, what exactly does it mean to be family “from very different backgrounds”? To the American mind His- panic is a race, on par with White, Black, American Indian and East Asian. American institutions cer- tainly do their part to perpetuate this conception, as the many forms which list Hispanic as a distinct race or ethnicity testify. In truth Hispanic, as the word is regularly used today, encom- passes people of all races. Examples of some famous people considered Hispanics will suffice to prove this. Cameron Diaz is a Cuban- American actress of European an- cestry. Baseball star Sammy Sosa, Services: Sunday ii:0(J am 8.: ?:0(} pm Wednesday '?’;{){3 pm .IT}irectie.ria: Rt 1 I North {about 5 miles from town) Lefi on Rt 645 {at gift shop) Straight up hill an .Lee~Hi Acres Phone: 463-5456 Pastor: Ci. 1~:I.unterPliiilip$ “Jesus; Christ’ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever." I Heb. 13:3 born and raised in the Dominican Republic, is of African descent. Mexican—American author Sandra Cisneros wrote the fore- word to the book The Future Is Mestizo; her race, Mestizo, is a mix of White and American In- dian. ’ And former Peruvian Presi- dent Alberto Fujimori was born in Lima to Japanese parents. Four people——-of four different races, ‘from very different back- grounds’——arc all part of the same family? They are all—Hispanics? It would seem foolish to Americans to label themselves as Britannic, including in the word’s definition Canadians, Nigerians, East Indians and people of every other English—speaking country in the world. Why would one want to call oneself a Britannic if the term had such a wide and nebulous appli- cation? Should European-Ameri- cans have to choose between White and Britannic on a form? Or should African-Americans lose their identity and be grouped with Whites as Britannics, be- cause they are from an English- speaking country? The idea is ridiculous, of course, but it is no different to the idea behind popular usage of the word Hispanic. For, just like those from English-speaking countries, people from Spanish-speaking countries are of different racial families. Hispanic, quite simply, will not do. Timber Ridge Auto Center I619 Valley ‘Pike Lexi.rigto'n, "\/A 24450 (540) 464-1997 Oil change and Lube, NC, Coinputer f)ia.gnostics,. Minor and Major Engine Repair, Brakes, Fuel Irijectiun Service. Transm.ission Service, Cooiant Fflusii, ‘Minor and Major Tune maps. We can provide factory authorized maintenance without voiding ya at inant.ifacture’s warranty. Major Credit Cards Accepteri (A OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20050926/WLURG39_RTP_20050926_009.2.txt )1: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26,2005 THE RING-TUM PHI ' 9 4 013 your normal Facing Off , college football spirit Sundresses somewhat lackluster when it comes to pigskin pride By Carissa Shipley STAFF COLUMNIST Tonight, my friends and family from home are heading to a Friday night lights football game. If I were still in high school, I would have gone to school to- day decked out in blue and gold. And I mean decked out. My best friend and I dressed as twins in blue ath- letic pants with gold stripes down the side, blue or yellow Rampart High School t-shirts and blue and gold rib- bon halos. Our nails were painted blue and gold and I wouldn’t let my parents buy me any tennis shoes that didn’t have some kind of blue specifically for the days of home football games. While you might be thinking other- wise, no one actually thought I was a nerd as I ran from class to class, the colored ribbons streaming out behind me. They didn’t even think I was a nerd as Itopped the whole ensemble with my letter jacket or painted my face. This was because everyone else was dressed the same way. The kid who wore__ a Rampart t-shirt with his jeans was the big loser. Where was his spirit anyway? Fast forward to college. I was ready to meet the Greeks on one of my first weekends here and I got ready in my tailgate clothes. I figured the sweatpants might be. a little much and put on jeans with a t-shirt from the first load of W&L clothes I purchased. I was on my way out the door when the RA stopped me, gently explaining what it’s like here. Turns out that what it’s like here is actually minimal school spirit, rarely shown, and certainly not appropriate for football games (besides the occasional cheer from the less-than-packed sta- dium). I find this extremely strange consid- ering that there is a community kind of feeling. As I surf facebook, 1 see that people have friends from various frats and srats and while everybody doesn’t always PHOTO: JESS COBB Feeling fratty enough, Ben Kapur combined Generals formal fratwear and traditional football paint for a true-blue pigskin look on Saturday's homecoming game. _ love everyone else, I think we all get along fairly well. So why don’t we celebrate the insti- tution that brought us all together, where we live and work and play? I blame the atmosphere. Who wants to feel obligated to look their best in roasting heat or freezing wind? I am personally more likely to skip a game I want to see when I know my skirt will lead to purple legs and I can’t just throw on my W&L sweatshirt. ##3##iéhtibfibtbilitfifiiiirfllifig It 3“- 3“ A‘? 1 as s it. as at x 53 £3 '_ -%'9i%r¢#G|0IfiI§0§iO§#iQO§_§CifififidfiflIb¢§0I!v§fiQib%§¥§'§r§9§ LFITAK ..¥m.tsa¢:iiismt _ H .. in LIrI1€:h Buffatf .. azneii *§':iX.?tE’a§.*(:‘Eifé5§1f;‘7ii’‘§C§3ié;‘§::s:t§; ‘’ ntxrieatering needs! 5Q§§§iIE>i‘£>§IDC~DI=DI»I*¢lW'RI'lII»*lE%CI=l0#lI!¥iv£i~i§~fififlfiflri iii lass. ‘alt.’ *. fiassartza * fisraari agt;.ering'l II¥O§.~II‘liQIi‘U‘$‘I=*I