OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060227/WLURG39_RTP_20060227_001.2.txt A Po +° 37'€<..?5‘S #71552... ‘$4.03 V\O.IT /' "-». WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY THE RING-TUM PHI. MONDAY, FEB. 27, 2006 BY THE STUDENTS AND FOR THE STUDENTS SINCE 1897 /08 T‘!- VOLUME-G-IX‘, NUMBER—1*5‘ esiiamlnside A political move W&L’s defunct conserva- tive political review, “The Spectator”, returns to campus this month. Check page 2 for details on the recently—revived publication. Rollin’ deep The Posse Foundation poses some serious ques- tions about the value of GPA and SATs. Article on page 3--and don’t forget to check out our take on page 6! Save the date The Phi pits the boys and the girls against one an— other in our newest col- umn! Mike Fahey and Madeline Gent take on the always—diff1cult issue of finding Fancy Dress dates in our feature, Hot Topic. Check out their hints, tips and other words of wisdom--or lack thereof——on page 8. Swimming in success After a successful season ends in ODAC titles for both the men’s and women’s srnim teams, Elliott Walker breaks down the conference meet and previews the men’s chances of qualify- ing for the upcoming NCAA meet. Her cover- age can be found on page J jDisco.;ififem9 I . 571; Fancy Dress, W&L’s ' . i most-anticipated. ’ - ‘eventvof the"-vyearg 5 _Sat.,,Mar. 4., it ' Party ¥p.m. 3uit.ti1 1 am. ‘ V . Lwktfdr ‘fttli cavetti.‘ as £if"i:he 99mm. r W31 i?ancyfiDfeSSt "j -I3all.vii:r;1ext'week’s=I 1 issue. I ADVERTISEMENT 3 W. Nelson Hours: Mora.-Set. if-8 Featztrirtg wine: In a Variety of sauces A/so grilled chicken tenders, hog wild wings, Tex-Mex B-8-Q .s‘a/tcfwic/res, hamburgers: and tasty Cajun and Southwestern style side dishes Delivery 464- 1003 The hidden heroes With little fanfare at home, university alumni serve in Iraq and Afghanistan Bylessica Shaw REPORTER CNN blares monotonously in the Commons as more updates from Iraq and the ongoing quest for Osarna flash across the screen. In this comfortable haven of Lex- ington, it is easy to dismiss this repetitive ‘drab’ from the anchor- man as irrelevant. What many stu- dents do not realize is courageous Washington and Lee alums risk their lives daily in this dangerous War on Terror. “Never in my wildest Law School dreams could I have imag- ined that one day I would be in western Afghanistan wearing twenty pounds of body armor, car- rying an M4 carbine, a 9mm pis- tol, a hand grenade, signal mirror and various other accouterrnents of war,” Bill Abernathy, ’8l, said. “Yet here I am, about 70 miles from the Iranian border, doing just that.” Abernathy is one among many alumni who currently serve in the United States Military or National Guard. An Army Lieutenant Colo- nel, he presently leads a team as Army Chief of Embedded Train- ers stationed in western Afghani- stan. He said the mission of his unit is to train the Afghanistan National Army (ANA), to effec- tively control violence and to se- cure the safety of the nation. “Any political scientist will tell you that you cannot just brew up democracy,” he said. “It has to simmer and steep for decades.” Recently, Abemathy’s unit suc- cessfully maintained peace during the parliamentary and presidential elections. He said this was a big step in the democratic direction. I Despite significant improve- ments, Abernathy said there re- main many obstacles involving living conditions. “[Afghanistan has] hand- pumped wells, open ditches that carry water and waste and abject poverty, where neither running water not electricity is taken for granted,” he said. “Afghanistan truly is where the 21“ century meets 100 B.C.” Abernathy assumes many po- sitions aside from military leader. He said he often assists children with their English skills. “The English classes are seg- regated by gender, and the teacher poignantly said that, for girls, Lt. Colonel Abernathy chats with local residents during a patrol near his base in Western Afghanistan learning English is not just a class, it’s a chance at liberation.” Abernathy said protection is always a concern, even though the region is generally safe. “I sleep with a loaded 9mm automatic pistol at my headboard, my loaded M4 carbine leaning against a chair, a loaded AK-47 right next to it and even an old .303 British Enfield at my door. Even inside our compound, I carry the pistol with me everywhere ex- cept the shower.” Abernathy will serve in Af- ghanistan for one year, at which point his unit will be replaced by others committed to the same task. “I am both proud and humbled to be here in service to my coun- try and to this country. I am con- vinced I and my team are making a difference and will leave Afr-‘ ghanistan a better place for our efforts.” Across the continent, William Fox, ’05, is stationed at Camp Hovey in South Korea. Fox is a platoon leader, in charge of train- ing 27 American enlisted men and stifling North Korean aggression. Fox said he is very confident in his position, and he wishes to de- ploy to Iraq in the near future. “Ask me again when I’m step- ping off the plane in the desert, when the possibility of my own death might start to seem real to me,” he said. “I can’t think of any- thing more important I will do in my life [now] than lead young sol- diers into combat and bring them ‘*'baCk'aiiva““""~-* ’ Fox said he sig"rie”d'”'u'p"'f6'r" ‘I ROTC in 2001 because of the challenge and the opportunity to serve in the military before settling down with a family. “Due to the war on terror, I now have a great opportunity to un- dergo the greatest challenge I can conceive of: leading men in com- ’ bat,” he said. Back in the United States at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Quincy Springs, ‘O3, is a com- mander for a basic training unit, transforming 188 civilians into soldiers. “My job there is to design the “Any political scientist will tell you that you cannot just brew up democracy. It has to simmer and steep for decades.” LIEUTENANT COLONEL BILL ABERNATHY, UnitedStatesArmy, Classof 1981 training and plan the training that is most identical to what they will see in Iraq or Afghanistan,” he "said. “We have a basic outline of what each soldier needs to know before they go to the next stage.” Springs said he began ROTC training as a sophomore after be- ing inspired by a Thomas Nagle book about life and death in a Phi- losophy course taught by Profes- sor Sessions. Springs ended his college career in 2003 as a distin- guished military graduate and a Philosophy major. “One of the major contributing factors to my career in the mili- tary was my degree in Philoso- phy,” he said. “The liberal arts education allows me to see things from multiple sides in the mili- tary.” Prior to his assignment in South Carolina, Springs was sta- tioned in Korea where his unit See ‘VARIETY’ on page 2 Bringing balance to the lectern Prominent conservative thinker and policy maker comes to campus for Lee Chapel address By Jacob Geiger NEWS EDITOR The Contact committee has in- vited a man born in India to tell the campus about America. Dinesh D’Souza, who received widespread national attention in 1991 when he published Illiberal Education, is known for his at- tacks against political correctness on college campuses. “Contact wants to promote a balanced debate on campus,” committee member Rachel Seidenschnur said. “A lot of the time there’s a per- ception that the administration only brings in liberal speakers,” she said. “We thought D’Souza was one of the best people to add a different viewpoint.” D’Souza plans to discuss top- ics he addressed in his most recent book, “What’s so Great About America.” Born and raised in India, his background gives him a unique perspective on American politics. He came to the United States as an exchange student at age 17 and after high school graduation en- rolled at Dartmouth College. He feels that his life in India helped him see issues differently than most Americans. “The immigrant brings to America a comparative perspec- tive. How does US compare to other existing cultures? What hap- pens in US is you hear lots of cri- tiques but they’re utopian com- parisons.” D’Souza said that his ideologi- cal beliefs really began to develop while he was at school. “I think I reflect the social con- servatism that stretches from China to India to the Middle East, but I just wasn’t really aware of it until my political views started developing at Dartmouth.” D’Souza said that critics of America point to politics that are “based on self—interest.” But he added that people outside the US do not attack this idea. “An immigrant has maybe a more realistic perspective, be- cause they’ve gotten to see an- other system first hand.” D’Souza also speaks out against affirmative action. “I’m in favor of diversity,” he said, “but the question to ask is what kind of diversity we are look- ing for.” “I ’m in favor of di- versity, but the ques- tion to ask is what kind of diversity we are looking for. ” DINESH D’SOUZA He questioned whether the tra- ditional views of diversity are in line with a liberal education. “Should we focus on gender di- versity and racial diversity, or things like diversity of thought and belief?” he said. Professor Mark Rush, Chair- man of W&L’s politics depart- ment, said that the school still con- tinues to deal with diversity of opinion. Rush pointed to the rural loca- tion of the university as a factor in its struggle for diversity. He added that over the past de- cades the university has become more geographically diverse. At age 44, D’Souza is consid- ered one of the most influential policy makers in the US and is a fellow at Stanford. D’Souza plans to cover several other topics in his speech, includ- ing a discussion of the war in Iraq. Though his articles regularly appear in major publications like The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, D’Souza has few friendly things to say about the mainstream media. “As far as I can tell, all the ma- jor city newspapers — Washington Post, Boston Globe, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Examiner) tilt sharply to the left. They manifestly do this on editorial pages, which I don’t mind, but they also do it on their news pages.” D’Souza argues that conserva- tive media outlets have sprung up in an attempt to find a way to get the conservative message out over the public airwaves. “Conservative bloggers, talk radio, Fox News Channel, and the Washington Times,” ‘D’Souza said, “represent a frus- trated effort to get around main stream media.” D’Souza plans to discuss several of the issues raised in his books, including “The End of Racism,” and “Letters to a Young Conservative.” Seidenshnur said D’Souza may also touch on problems he feels America faces in the world today. “America has simulta- neously become the most loved and most hated society in the world. We need to vindicate idea of liberty by showing that America can be materially and morally strong.” D’Souza will speak in Lee Chapel on Mar. 2. PHOTO C0 RTESY BILL ABERNATHY OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060227/WLURG39_RTP_20060227_002.2.txt .0 it 3.44;. ' ' 2 ° THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006 BEIND BARS Here’s the latest update on who ran afoul of the law during the last few weeks. News editor Jacob Geiger took a peek at this weeks police reports to see what you ’ve been up to. Lawless law students Though W&L’s undergradu- ates took last week off, the law students carried on the party unabated. Bassel Khalaf picked up a DIP on Sat., Feb. 18. Khalaf was ar- rested at 3:30 a.m., becom- ing one of only a few law students to run into serious legal trouble this year. As always, Behind Bars hopes a few of his classmates will help defend him in court. Wrong seat at the defense table Patricia Fenton, another first-year law student, also ran afoul of the police earlier this month. She was cited for being drunk in public around 2:00 a.m. on Fri., Feb. 3. As if she didn’t have problems enough already, Fenton was then charged with resisting arrest. Per- haps in the future, when she passes the bar exam, she will advise her clients to go qui- etly down to the station and urge them not to cause a fuss. No break for the police With fewer people to watch for during Feb. Break, the police were able to track down Cyrus Carawan. The 20-year-old was charged with being drunk in public as well as underage possession of alcohol. In an effort to cut down on arrest numbers, maybe W&L can work out a way to send the police on a paid vacation of their own (somewhere far from stu- dents, of course). Then Lex- ington could finally drink in peace. Should have left town Will Moore, a W&L fresh- man and Lexington resident, was arrested on Fri., Feb. 17 and charged with underage possession of alcohol and a DIP. Moore was arrested around 11:35 p.m., and he was also charged with ob- structing justice. Apparently the snow and lack of light has increased the combative- ness of both students and po- lice officers, as the last few weeks have seen a dramatic up tick in charges of resist- ing arrest or obstructing jus- tice. With age comes wisdom, right? Though earlier editions of Behind Bars were stocked with plenty of freshman ar- rests, it’s been a tough few weeks for older students. Samuel Nickles, a senior, was arrested on Sun., Feb. 4 at 2:17 p.m. and hit with a DIP. Five people — four of them W&L students — have received DIPs in the last month. February may be dark and depressing, but the ever—vigilant officers of Lex- ington are waiting for you to meander on by in the wee hours of a weekend morning. Mind your manners Clifton»Forge resident Jason Staggs had a rough go of things last Saturday, being cited for a DUI as well as re- fusal to comply with an officer’s instructions. Staggs was arrested at 3:05 a.m. on Feb. 18. In all honesty, a DUI stop is really not the time to practice your favorite methods of civil disobedi- ence. Maybe it would have just been better to climb into the squad car. You can drink at 21... Christopher Woods, age 21, of Buena Vista was arrested on Fri., Feb. 3 around 10:30 p.m. Not only was he charged with reckless driv- ing, he faces a DUI charge. To review: you were drink- ing, you were driving, you can’t do that. But not drive at 21 Like Woods, another 21- year-old faces a DUI charge stemming from the first weekend of February. Rob- ert Stockwell was arrested that Sunday morning, Feb. 5, around 3:40 a.m. As count- less students and locals could have told Stockwell, the police patrol all night. You cannot just hope to outlast them and then try to drive. Though Police Chief Bruce Beard reports that DUI arrest rates are drop- ping, it appears the latest generation of legal drinkers still hasn’t quite caught on yet. For form's sake David Mann received a ticket for driving the wrong way on a one way street. Like most other ‘wrong wayers,’ Mann’s ticket came late at night — 12:15 a.m. in his case.Though the ticket it- self is not very serious, Be- hind Bars is continually sur- prised at how many people continue to have trouble with the concept. There is good news on the horizon, though; since Mann’s ticket on Sun. Feb. 5, not one person in Lexington has received a ticket for this offense. Maybe there is hope for ev- eryone after all. All bark, all bite Bruce Cooper was ticketed on Feb. 21 for keeping a dangerous dog. The charge apparently stems from his pet pit bull, since when the ticket was issued at 9 a.m. he was also charged with allow- ing a pit bull to run at large. Watch dogs are all well and good, but usually they should confine themselves to a bit of growling and bark- ing. Cooper’s dogs aren’t accused of attacking anyone, but Lexington Police de- cided that maybe Cooper’s friendly ole’ guard dog should not be a breed that is capable of mauling most adults. Keeping Watch Variety of alumni The Spectator political review returns to campus By Sarah Kientz R E P 0 RT E R The conservative magazine The Spectator reappears on cam- pus this week. According to the W&L Stu- dent Affairs website, The Spec- tator is “a non—partisan publica- tion dedicated to promoting the free exchange of ideas in an en- vironment where meaningful de- bate and ideological diversity are often lacking.” Senior co-editor-in-chief Alex Weintz said the magazine will focus on three central val- ues: free speech, student au- tonomy and honor. “Free speech on college cam- puses around the country has been jeopardized by political correctness,” Weintz said. “We are not trying to offend anyone but we’re not going to not say something just because it might.” Weintz said the first issue will include articles on the presiden- tial search, pro-life movements on campus and an appeal for ad- ministration to take a more “hands—off” approach to Con- tact, as well as two articles on national issues. The issue will tentatively ap- pear on newsstands Mar. 1, and the staff hopes to publish two more issues by the end of the school year. Editor-at—Large Rachael Seidenschnur said the magazine will “concentrate first and fore- most on campus issues.” “We want to address intellec- tual issues occurring on campus and provide serious arguments for or against those topics,” Seidenschnur said. Seidenschnur has been work- ing. with alumnus Kenneth Cribb, Class of I970, to bring The Spectator back to campus. Seidenschnur said that although some students may not agree with what the magazine says, there will be a place for it at W&L. “[Cribb] said he didn’t sup- port everything the magazine said [during his college years], but he supported the student au- tonomy and that there was a publication of its kind,” she said. . Seidenschnur said this was the reason she wanted to bring “We are not trying to offend anyone but we’re not going to not say something just be- cause it might.” A L E X W E I N T Z Co—Editor of The Spectator The Spectator back to campus. Weintz said he feels The Spectator needs to reappear at W&L because there is a need for a more “serious” publication. “I have nothing against pub- lications such as The Ring-tum Phi, The Trident and inGeneral, but a large portion of those pub- lications focus on drinking and parties and issues like that,” Weintz said. “There’s a gaping void for serious student publica- tions that addresses local and national issues.” Weintz said the magazine will address news issues while tak- ing a “traditionalist” outlook. He stressed that the magazine is not affiliated with College Republi- cans, but will have a conserva- tive or libertarian spin. The magazine’s mission state- ment on the Student Affairs website states, “We take it as our mission to expose the inadequa- cies of the non—traditionalist ideas that do not understand and fail to work with our student body.” Weintz also added that he hopes students who do not share conservative views will take in- terest in The Spectator. “I would think they’d be happy,” Weintz said of liberal students. “I enjoy reading things from all sorts of people with dif- ferent opinions and I’d hope they’d appreciate it.” David Mitchell, president of Young Democrats, said he thinks the magazine will “contribute the conservative stereotype of W&L students.” He does not think The Spectator will have a large audi- ence from the W&L liberal com- munity. “Democrats will probably pay The Spectator as little attention and respect as we currently give to media such as FOX News,” Mitchell said. “I will not person- ally be an avid reader of the magazine, but I respect the rights of individuals with conservative political views to exercise their first amendment rights.” Overall, Weintz said he hopes students, no matter their politi- cal affiliation, will read the magazine. “I hope people will read it, take interest in it and talk about it,” Weintz said. “It will be a posi- tive impact for people to talk about it even if they don’t agree with it.” serve overseas CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 took charge of keeping the peace. A few months after his de- ployment, he was ordered to transport 3,000 American sol» diers and thousands of supplies to Iraq in a brief amount of time. Springs has not been de- ployed to Iraq, but he says he will be happy to serve his coun- try if the time comes. “There’s nothing like America,” he said. “It is, in my opinion, thegreatest country on the face of the planet. In the military, you do your duty. If I’m called up to do it, I will do it. It just so happens that my number hasn’t been called up.” Davis White, ’03, currently works for the Afghanistan Re- construction Group, stationed in Kabul as the Special Assis- tant to the Ambassador. White discovered the opportunity af- ter his work on the Bush- Cheney campaign and his ef- forts serving on the presiden- tial inaugural committee. “W&L teaches you to be in- dependent from my experi- ence,” he said. “That’s what led me to look for jobs out of the box.” Though much of Davis’ work involves an office, he said there have been times of danger. “I was on a day-trip with the US. ambassador, and there was a suicide bombing about a quarter mile from us which killed 12 and injured 50-plus,” he said. Currently stationed in Iraq, Brian Tinklepaugh, ’03, has experienced constant action. Last Spring, Tall Afar, a region in Iraq, was overtaken by an Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda. This region was transformed into a terrorist training ground for re- ligious extremists and other rebels. Tinklepaugh’s mission was to halt its existence and restore peace to the region. “The city was totally out of control, with insurgents domi- nating the city physically and psychologically,” he said. Tinklepaugh’s unit was un- der constant attack for a period of time. He said every vehicle in his platoon had sustained damage from RPG fire or other artillery. During a mu- tine patrol, he and his unit were fired upon by an insur- gent vehicle. “The explosion was like nothing I had ever seen,” he ’ said. “It shook my 34-ton ve- hicle and threw us around in- side the turret. When I looked back, all I saw was a fireball and billowing black smoke.’’ a Tinklepaugh said his expe- rience at W&L and training at Virginia. Military Instutute helped him achieve many of his missions. . According to Scholarship and Enrollment Officer at VMI Major John Wranek, un- til the early 1990s, W&L of- fered its own ROTC program to students. In, 1996, W&L and VMI established a partnership that now allows students to enroll in ROTC classes on the VMI campus. “Right now, out of those that commission, we see two or three per year,” he said; “We like to see three per year, and I think we can get there.” Presently, there are five "freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and one senior involved in the joint pro- gram. V Sophomore Rob Modlin is in his second year with the program. Though one is not committed to military service when enrolled in this pro- gram, Modlin plans to serve for a number of years. Modlin said that W&L is pre- paring him in critical ways for his time in the military. “Washington and Lee be- lieves that students should be the leaders in their commu- nity,” he said. “The military is completely centered on the idea of leadership and vi», sion.” ’ I Freshman Sean McKinley‘ ‘ is also enrolled in the ROTC program. McKinley said his « decision is based on moral? reasons. “I believe in what we’re. doing over there,” he said. “I feel it’s my duty to serve my country in its time of need.” . Many of the troops sta-. ’ tioned overseas want stu- -.' _ dents to realize how fortu-V" , V nate they are in such a liber- ated environment. _ I “The essentials of life we .- Americans take for granted - are often lacking inAfghani—‘ ' ' stan,” Abemathy said. “They i are so poor they cannot af- ford pencils and paper. Count your blessings, America; you . don’t know how good you; ' have it.” ‘ OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060227/WLURG39_RTP_20060227_003.2.txt MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006 arts&life THE RING-TUM PHI - 3 Language of home Making the move from Ghana to Virginia brought numerous lifestyle changes and cultural adjustments After traveling from Africa, Ghanaian students at Washington and Lee had to master another language and adjust to new customs and social traditions. By Steph Wiechmann 5 TA F F W R IT E R Efia. For sophomore Marian Botchway and freshman Grace Andrews, that translates “home.” And home is an ocean away. Both Botchway and Andrews were born in Ghana, West Africa, a small country about the size of Oregon. Botchway still makes her home there, in a city called Tema, about 30 minutes away from the capital city of Accra. Andrews and her family moved to the U.S. 13 years ago, but she carries dual citizenship and considers Ghana just as much her home as her residence in Tennessee. “At home [in Tennessee],” she said, “we ate the food, spoke the language and wore the clothes. It’s so much a part of who I am.” Botchway and Andrews speak Twi, which is pronounced like “tree,” one of the major native languages of Ghana. There are many different dialects of the language. B otc hw ay speaks the dialect of her father’s tribe, A k u a p i m . A n d r e w s ’ dialect comes from her mother’s tribe, Achim. Both girls are able to understand each other. But, since they are the only two current Ghanaian students at Washington and Lee, they don’t get to speak Twi very much. Grace Andrews“. Original Italian Restaurant 2055 Magnolia Ave Buena Vista, VA 24416 264-0029 FREE DE.LIVl:TRY with 3310 min order Stromboli-Pizza-Subs- Pasta-Etc. Open. iM.onday tfihrtl Thursday: I ‘l AM-I {}Pl‘vl Friday 8; Saturday: 1 l AM-1 1 PM Sunday: l.2PIM- €)P%\vl I. l .. . .m...,;:..;»l...u.\1...“-‘ . : ' . ,1 l.‘.ru.u1» l\1-.1’.X|-vzhl 1-nihl Tl1oRicl1nmntl Ballot luv-., lx-la. 33. llitlh .1! 5 jun. \‘A'(l., .\l.H'¢‘lI '7.llll(\.:l 8|1.nI. l{..-ll.-r ‘l‘l".'(ll I't‘ ‘in r\ -mu lit |.‘\'l~', tn)” .. l:..\ < ma..- 3.-III --i-S8 Snlln “I miss speaking Ga and Twi with my friends,” said Botchway, who also speaks another major native language of Ghana. “I talk to Grace sometimes,” she added, but since both are usually in company of others, they usually speak English. Twi is different from romance languages, like Spanish and French, because it does not differentiate between feminine and masculine words. “It’s not he or she, it’s they,” said Andrews. The language was originally written in symbols. Over time, it was “Romanized” and written with letters, though sometimes letters different from the Roman alphabet. The Twi alphabet includes letters that look like a backwards “a,” “c” and “h.” The Ghanaian culture, however, is not just about the language. “I miss the closeness,” said Botchway, who has not been back to Ghana since she left the country to begin college in 2004. “Lots of people who are close to you in Ghana live within an hour of each other.” Botchway recently went to visit a Ghanaian friend who goes to college in Boston and found the ten-hour drive unsettling. Both women, like many other international students, went through their share of culture shock when they entered the United States. Botchway, who had attended an international boarding school at home, was prepared for what awaited her and was old enough to successfully deal with the differences. “The food wasn’t spicy enough,” Botchway said. Then, she had to get used to the way people behave in America. “In Ghana, you don’t give something to someone with your left hand. It’s disrespectful.” In America, she had to learn that that gesture did not mean anything bad. Andrews moved to the U.S. when she was four years—old and immediately attended an international school. She had begun school in Ghana at two-years, so she had a basic understanding of English. But, she refused to speak it — she spoke Twi. “My brother attended school across the street,” she said. “My teacher had to call his school and have him come over at snack time so he could translate what I wanted to eat.” Being in an international school was beneficial, she said, “Ghana is where my family is, and that’s my home.” MARIAN BOTCHWAY Class of 2008 because other students had the same problems. “We were all going through culture shock together.” There were things that the Andrews family and Botchway had to learn through time. In Ghana, almost everything is eaten with your hands, and Ghanians have to learn what foods are typically eaten with utensils in the U.S. But, as Andrews said, not everything can be learned. “Sarcasm is lost on my mother,” she said. “Sarcasm is a very American thing.” Botchway and Andrews both hope to someday return to Ghana. “There’s a resurgence of my generation,” said Andrews. “Many have a desire to go back.” Andrews, a politics and Spanish major with a concentration in Women’s Studies, wants to work for women and children’s rights. Botchway, a biology major, wants to stay in the U.S. for graduate studies, but does intend to go back to Ghana. She said, “Ghana is where my family is and that’s my home.” Urban development W&L considers partnering with the Posse Foundation in order to acquire much—needed diversity By EJ. Boyer STAFF WRITER On a campus known for its lack of diversity, there may be a new Posse next year to teach us a thing or two. The Posse Foundation, which develops, trains, and enables underprivileged youth leaders to attend top colleges and univer- sities, is in talks with Washing- ton and Lee to bring its program to the school. ' If adopted, a “multicultural Posse” of ten students whom the traditional admissions procedure may have missed, would attend W&L on full scholarships. Be- sides obtaining a top—rate educa- tion, the Posse would “help pro- mote cross-cultural communica- tion on campus.” The Posse program recruits 6,000 students graduating from public high schools in New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles, and after a three—step admissions pro- cess, chooses around 300 Posse Scholars each year. To be chosen as a Posse Scholar, students must perform well on the Posse-innovated Dy- namic Assessment Process (DAP), an alternative way to judge a student’s capabilities and potential beyond the traditional SAT and GPA approach. Posse identifies its three main criteria in selection as a student’s “lead- ership talent, ability to work in a team with people from diverse backgrounds and desire to suc- ceed.” Once chosen, Posse scholars select their top three universities and colleges of the 24 currently participating, which include Middlebury, Vanderbilt and Pomona. Then, the admissions office at the universities and the Posse staff pick the ten kids best fit for each school. These ten kids are now a “posse,” and go through a training program to- gether that requires them to meet weekly for two hours over an eight-month period. The training targets team building and group support, cross-cultural commu- nication, leadership, and aca- demic excellence. The leadership ability found in their students is one of Posse’s prized accomplishments. About 70 percent of Posse students be- come leaders or founders of cam- pus groups. “They don’t star as students,” President Harlan Beckley said, “they star as lead- ers and do well as students.” One concern skeptics have is the academic record of the Posse students. They would bring down the average SAT score of any university they attend. Beckley estimates that the SAT_scores of an entering class including Posse students would drop the average from 1380 to 1372. The grades of Posse stu- dents in their freshman year are typically lower than the grades of their school’s average student. However, by graduation, Posse grades are usually equal or even a little better than those of the average student. Beckley said he would like to see clear-cut data on Posse students’ GPAs before any decision is made, but said there is every reason to be- lieve they do just as well as the average student by the time they graduate. / ‘ Professor Gwyn Campbell of the Language Department dis- missed the objection about the lowered GPA, saying, “We don’t need to see GPAs. I trust Beckley, and he trusts Posse.” Another concern about the Posse program is how the stu- dents factor into the campus population and how the program would be funded. Posse students can either be “add-ons” to the university enrollment, meaning the student body size would ex- pand; or, Posse students can re- place members of the student body, and the size would not change. In terms of financing the Posse students, President Beckley said the university would need a “huge infusion” of need—based money or to convert some of the existing merit—based money, or both. Another student raised the concern that the Posse students might find it difficult to acclimate to W&L. President Beckley stressed that even though 90 per- cent of Posse students are people of color, “they themselves are di- verse.” They are so different from one another, Beckley said, that he foresees no problem with them branching out from one an- “I was really excited because I think anything that brings diversity to W&L is important and will help us.” JENNY NIEMANN, Class of 2008 other and mixing well with the student body. Beckley heard about Posse at an academic conference he at- tended in New York City, at which Posse’s founder, Deborah Bial, spoke about the program. The Posse Foundation then ap- proached W&L about a possible partnership.He said that Posse students who would attend W&L are students who would flourish here, but don’t have opportuni- ties or are overlooked in the ad- missions process. He also said that diversification would actu- ally help the university’s rankings. The possibility of a Posse at W&L is nonetheless controver- sial. Sophomore Jenny N iemann heard about the-Posse program when Bial came to campus to speak. “I was really excited be- cause I think anything that brings diversity to W&L is important and will help us,” she said. However, a sophomore man who wishes to remain anony- mous said he hopes that W&L does not partner with the Posse Foundation. He said he does not think that a forced diversification process is the answer, much less one that allows some students to be accepted regardless of SAT scores, grades and other tradi- tional academic qualifiers that the rest of the student body needs for admission regardless of need or race. One professor at the informa- tion session pointed out that next year is the fortieth anniversary of integration at W&L. Introducing the Posse program seems like the ultimate way to commemorate that anniversary, but Beckley said he does not know when a de- cision will be made. OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060227/WLURG39_RTP_20060227_004.2.txt 4° THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006 SD01’ 18 sdeck TUESDAY WEDNESDAY Basebafl @ Shenandoah University, 3:00 PM Women’s tennis @ Hollins Univer- sity, 3:30 PM Women’s lacrosse vs. Roanoke Col- Iege, 4:00 PM THURSDAY FRIDAY Women’s tennis vs. Bridgewater College, 3:00 PM vs. Muhlenberg College, 3:30 PM SATURDAY Men's tennis , vs. Carnegie Mellon, 10:00 AM Men 8: women's 9 Track _@ Virginia Tech Last Chance, 10:00 AM Basebali vs. Emory and Henry, 12:00 PM Men’s lacrosse @ Gettysburg, 1:00 PM Women’s lacrosse @ Randolph-Ma- ~« con, 2:00 PM ASE (,.;R"§ ». fl fcljzii>?‘ C Timber Ridge Auto Center tilt? \~’all::y E’ilL:te'r £}i21gnostét:::;, Mirror and Magfior iitigine Rerfiziiz‘, Bra§.s;es. tenet l'nj<2ciir:r: Service, "l‘m1'isx'riiss§on éierriee, Cit::-elant Fiush, lVllt3{)i'1-mtl Major ‘Terr-.--r -----ups. We £32111 'p;‘s:wide factory 2£ttli‘i4;t§‘i’zL’.t;‘{§ zi‘iaint:::riai‘t<:t:: v.-itiiout voiding };'f.it§E° rnarizst’ac%t::v:’s W§:l‘t‘§.’Z’t.Elij_~:'”. Long year over in first round g Ups and downs of girls basketball season end with tough loss in ODAC tournament By Andy McEnroe G U EST WRITER “It was a long bus ride back,” described Sophomore point guard Emily Wolff, after their disappointing 71-46 loss to Bridgewater College on Jan. 18. At the time, Washington and Lee stood with a record of 4-11 overall and a conference record of 3-9. The Generals had lost five in a row, all to ODAC foes. The team now also had to face the facts that Sophomore Forward Hayley James was lost for the season with a knee injury. It appeared that the Generals were looking at the possibility of not being in the 2006 ODAC tournament. But if there was one word to describe the 2005-2006 Wash- ington and Lee Generals women’s basketball team it would be “resilient.” After the Bridgewater loss, the Generals went on to win six of their final nine regular sea- son games with key conference wins over Emory and Henry, Roanoke and Lynchburg, play- ing their way into the ODAC tournament as the 8"‘ seed. During this stretch W&L was paced by Senior guard Louisa Feve. Feve, who was only aver- aging 9.1 points per game before this final stretch of the regular season, carried the Generals on her back, scoring 16 points with six assists and 10 rebounds in the Generals win over E&H, on Jan. 24, and 20 points and six assists in a huge road victory over Roanoke on Jan. 28. “We saw a side of Feve’s game that we had not seen this year starting with the Emory and Henry victory. Feve had distrib- uted the ball well throughout the season but now she was begin- ning to take it to the basket her- self and score,” said WLUR women’s basketball Analyst Will Waller on Feve’s outstanding play. Feve finished the regular season in the top 20 for scoring in the ODAC and in the top five for assists. Feve’s passing ability has helped Sophomore Kristen Krouchick and Junior Jessica Hunsinger provide a formidable dynarnic—duo offensive threat for the Generals. Krouchick averaged 14.5 points per game, shooting an outstanding 49.1 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from beyond the three point are. Krouchick also contributed on the boards as she pulled down an average of 5.3 rebounds per game. “When Kristin is on, she is one of, if not the best, shooters in the conference. There were many times when our offense was stalled and we relied on Kristen to get us a big basket,” said Wolff. Krouchick finished in the top ten in ODAC in scoring and shooting percentage. Where Krouchick is the threat from the outside, Hunsinger pro- vides a strong post presence for the Generals. Hunsinger led the Generals in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game. She was also finished first in the conference in blocks and second in rebounding, aver- aging 2.8 blocks per game and 10.1 rebounds per game. Said Waller, “The Generals were a different team when Jes- sica was not on the floor. With- out Jessica, the Generals were undersized, but with Jessica on the floor it gave the team an ad- vantage on both the offensive and defensive ends. Waller called Hunsinger “someone who could score down low as well as create second chance opportunities with her offensive rebounding prowess. On the defensive end, her shot- blocking ability caused many opposing players to alter their shot when driving into the paint.” The Generals also received solid contributions throughout the year from two first year start- ers, Wolff and Freshmen For- ward Kara Nadeau. “Emily has done a great job “The Generals played inspired basketball, giving the number one seed...their biggest scare by far in the tournament. ” End of the fight Wrestling team finishes 8th at Centennial Tourney despite strong season By Mike Fahey STAFF WRITER Conference championships are supposed to be when a team peaks and has its best performance. In the case of the Washington and Lee Wrestling team, the Cen- tennial Conference Champion- ships were marred by the injury of one of the team’s stars and the dis- qualification of another key per- former because he did not make weight. Earlier in the season, Jesse Sataloff, one of team strongest wrestlers, sustained a minor con- cussion while wrestling an oppo- nent. At the tri-match between W&L, Ursinus and Muhlenberg, Sataloff suffered a second concus- sion within two weeks of his first concussion. The injury not only sent him home, but it also side- lined him for the rest of the sea- son. Peter Lawrence did not make weight in the 149 pound weight class, leaving the Generals with- out an entry in the weight division. Down two of their best wres- tlers, the Generals were faced with an uphill battle as they began their quest. As freshman John Christopher explained, “I think we may have peaked at the wrong time.” While the team did not place as high as they would have had they been wrestling at full strength, two young stars were still able to make their mark at the con- ference championships. Christopher placed third over- all in the heavyweight division, one of only two Generals to place in the conference championships. Christopher was humble about his results in the championships, say- ing, “This year was a learning year for me along with several others and hopefully we can put every- thing together come next season.” The only other General to place at the conference championships was Tom Hosford, who placed fourth in the 125 weight class. Sophomore Anthony Boniello, who wrestled in the 165 weight class said, “I feel like the wres- tling team had a lot more poten- tial than how we wrestled at the Centennial Conference. We had Jesse out due to an injury and Pe- ter didn’t make weight. These two kids could have easily put on a lot more points for the team standing, elevating our team standing.” While this season may have had a disappointing ending, the young team is excited about sea- sons to come, as it only has one junior, Max Courtney. Boniello explained, “We had an excellent season, surpassing many people’s expectations...We’re all looking forward to next year’s season with high expectations due to our ex- perience gained from this season.” of stepping up into the role of starting point guard. One of the things that impresses me most about her is how she always goes hard. “Kara has really made a great transition into college basketball and gives us a true post. She knows how to use her body well offensively and defensively, but she can also step out and knock down a three.” said sophomore forward Hayley James. Wolff averaged 7.1 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game and 2.6 assists per game on the year, while Nadeau averaged a solid 6.6 points per game and 5.4 rebounds. A big part of W&L’s success- ful turnaround can be credited to the bench play of sophomore Amanda Kane, freshman Bethany Ridenhour and senior Taylor Gibson. “Our bench was a key part of our success the second half of the season both in the game and in practice.” said Wolff, “without them I don’t think we would have been able to pull off the kind of streak we did to make the tour- nament.” W&L finished the regular season with a record of 11-14 overall, and an ODAC record of 8-12. Their conference record was good enough for the Generals to garner the eighth seed in the tour- nament where they faced the‘ number one seed Randolph Ma- con Yellow Jackets (2l—2 over- all, 18—1 in the ODAC). The Yel- low Jackets came into the tour- nament ranked ninth in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA national poll. The Generals played inspired basketball, giving the number one seed Yellow Jackets their toughest game and biggest scare by far in the tournament. The Generals were led by sophomore forward Kristen Krouchick , who scored a team- high 21 points, dished out a ca- reer—high seven assists and grabbed five rebounds. Hunsinger finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Feve notched 16 points, nine rebounds, a game-high eight as- sists and a game-best five steals. Despite the outcome, the Generals Women’s Basketball program is strong, graduating only three seniors. Look for the Generals to build on their late season success and continue to develop into a for- midable ODAC contender for years to come. Why rent a tuxedo for $89 when you can buy one for S78? Direct from the factory! 8lIl1Sirom$98%SPflIIIl:flAISfrom$462%lllXEll0Sfrom$78éénIlEsS8H|lI1Sfrom$l0.!l9%TIE8frornS9.9!I (} SamsFactoryOut|et of Roanoke, inc, crossroads Mall. Iloanoke (54o)zo5-oeoo vmw.samsiactoryout|et.eorn waulumniovmed OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060227/WLURG39_RTP_20060227_005.2.txt MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006 THE RING-TUM PHI Decades of winning Women ’s swimming wins thirteenth straight ODACS By Elliott Walker STAFF WRITER Thirteen may be an unlucky number for some, but for the women’s swim team, it meant just the opposite. The team claimed their thirteenth consecutive ODAC championship last week- end, beating 11 other teams in their quest to be number one. Like the men’s team, the women had an overwhelming vic- tory, beating their opponents by 260.5 points. To keep the team motivated to swim their best, head coach Kiki Jacobs said she gave them point goals for each meet. Although the team had some struggles, said Jacobs, the team was able to come together in the end to win the meet. Some of their top swimmers were present at the meet, but were unable to score points for the team. These girls were swimming exhibition, mean- ing that they can still swim for time, but do not count in the team score. Even though these girls were not scoring, the team still managed to emerge victorious. “It was a fun championship” said head coach Kiki Jacobs, who was named ODAC coach of the year for the tenth time at the meet. Freshman Jule Miata said Jacobs “brings such a positive atmo- sphere to the team” and has been one of the most amazing coaches she’s ever had. Jacobs also credits the strong parental support that the girls re- ceive throughout the season. Nineteen sets of parents came to supportthe 21 girls swimming at the ODAC championships this year. The parents bring presents for all of the girls, as well as Gatorade and other things to keep everyone going, said Danielle Cardone, a sophomore on the team. “It’s our own little cheering section,” she said. “It’s great to have them.” The team finished their season with a perfect 6-0 ODAC record and 10-5 overall. Miata says their success this season was partly due to the encouraging attitudes among teammates. Next year, Jacobs said she’d like the team to have more than 10 dual meet wins, set new school recordsyand of course, win that fourteenth ODAC championship. Recruiting efforts promise to bring in talented new swimmers for next year, said Miata. “I only see the team getting better,” she said. Men eye top ten spot at nationals Men’s swimming heads to Maryland as ODAC champs By Elliott Walker STAFF warren The men’s swimming team was only predicted to win the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championship by 30-40 points, but the closest team lagged behind by a whopping 315 points last weekend. The Gener- als’ impressive win was their third straight championship title. “We knew that there would be good competition at the meet and that we would have to rise to the occasion to win,”,said Tim McGlaston, a sophomore on the team. ~ Head coach Joel Shinofield credits the team’s success so far this year to the “Every member of the team has contributed to our success this year; and I coaldn’t be happier with the eflort they gave.” JOEL SHINOFIELD, Head coach leadership skills of the upperclass— men on the team. He also men- tioned that Burr Datz has worked with the team for thepast two years to improve communication and goal-setting on the team. Shinofield went on to say that this has been his favorite season in the past ten years. “Every mem- ber of the team has contributed to our success this year, and I couldn’t be happier with the ef- fort they gave,” he said. The Generals may have reason to celebratepnow, but they have Baseball has promising start Despite wins, team says they have room for improvement on skills By Mike Fahey STAFF WRITER The Washington and Lee base- ball team is off to a great start, opening with a 3-1-1 record. Junior pitcher Johnson Brownlow said, “The most impor- tant thing about this team is that we have some great potential. We have a good chance to win a lot of games this year, but there are lots of improvements that need to be made by all members of the team.” The Generals opened the sea- son in Georgia, with an impres- sive 9-3 win over Piedmont. Sophomore rightfielder James Madden led the way for the Gen- erals going 3-4 with a double, a homerun and three RBIs. W&L jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning when senior first basement Taylor McConnell had an RBI single, followed by a two-run double by 1II IF *NOT All CUSTOMERS WILL QUALIFY. CUSTOMERS RECEIVE $400 FROM TOYOTA TOWARDS MODELS THROUGH PARTICIPATING TOYOTA DEALERS AND TOYOT @ TOYOTA COROLLA STZFSLRIIEZELEEIE IFEZATIWIEEESE MAOPIIERSON STRUT I-'RONT SUSPENSION + AMI FMI OD WITH 6 SPEAKERS + SIDE ROOKER PANELS + 38 MPG IIWYI junior designated hitter Richard Garland. Brownlow took the hill for the Generals in the opener and pitched well, giving up only two unearned runs on four hits in four innings to capture the victory. Sophomore Steve Marcott then came in and pitched four scoreless innings, striking out five batters. After a tough loss to Emory, the Generals were back in the swing of things as they dominated Oglethorpe. Senior second baseman Scott Gosselink was 4-6 with a homerun, two doubles and five RBIs to pace the Generals, and junior Jordan Wesley also homered. Junior righthander Clayton Edwards got the win af- ter giving up three runs in six in- nings of work. Freshman righthander Andrew Henderson came in to pitch three scoreless inning to pick up the save. In a 15-4 victory over Virginia Intermont, James Madden again led the way for the Generals, go- ing 3-4 with a triple, a homerun, three runs and four RBIs. The Generals jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning on a pair of RBI singles by Wesley and Mad- den. Once they had the lead, they never gave it up. Senior first baseman Taylor McConnell went 3-5 with two doubles and two runs, while junior leftfielder David Miller was 2-4 with two stolen bases, two runs and three RBIs. Sophomore lefthander John Parker pitched four and one-thirds innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Sopho- more righthander Tim Livingston picked up the win, throwing one and one-thirds innings of scoreless ball. Madden has had an incredible start to the season, with three home runs in the team’s first six games. Parker said, “At the begin- ning of the season the third out- field spot was up for grabs, and I think James has secured it with his excellent all- around perfor- mance.” Parker also was very compli- mentary to the man behind the plate, Wesley. Parker said, “Jor- dan is the defensive rock of this team, and has been doing a fan- tastic job at game calling and han- dling the pitching staff, which to this point has underachieved in terms of preseason expectations.” Wesley said, “Overall, we have played well enough to get off to a good start, though I don’t think anyone on the team will deny that we are playing to less than our po- tential.” The season has only just begun as the Generals have yet to begin conference play. As Wesley said, “the most important part of the year [is] conference play.” ®TovoTA ANY NEW TOYOTA OF YOUR OI'IOIOE* = YOUR NEW CAR A8 snown 317,330” ‘EPA ESTIMATED MPG FOR 2005 COROLLA 5 MODEL I 8I2 4 SPEED AUTO. ACTUAL MILEAGE MAY VARY. IIMSRP FOR 2006 SPORT MODEL I 8I2 EXCLUDING TAX, TAGS AND LICENSE FEES. DEALER SETS FINAL PRICE. their eyes on a higher prize. They want to place in the top ten at Na- tionals this year. Last year, the team sent two athletes to the meet and placed eighteenth overall. The year before, they were twenty- first. As of now, they have one ath- lete qualified to swim. Michael Ginder, a junior standout, quali- fied with his time in the 200 back- stroke event. Five other athletes, said Shinofield, received NCAA “B” cut times at the meet. The top 20 athletes across the country with “B” cut times will make it to Nationals, so the team will travel to Maryland this week- end to try to improve to “A” cut times. An “A” cut time automatically sends a swim- mer to Nationals. Addition- ally, two of the Generals’ re- lay teams hope to make it to the meet as well. “If everything goes well at Maryland, which it will, then we will have an army of, swimmers at Nationals who will be prepared both physi~ cally and mentally to turn heads and upset the big boys at Nationals,” said sophomore Alex Sweet. Ginder added, “If we get the relays in and have four or five guys swim individual events, we should reach our go ?x‘**‘''”‘’\‘ /“’>_ ‘T _/ \ S Z ./s_», /3‘; xx / \,w,~ 31 =,_ J 1 . t / /i/W xxx. ~§,V/= 13%.: ‘ xii’ '33‘ 3/~‘.:‘.li..,'”r»'.,%?:i§?‘.:VE>*I€E,': §‘3I\e‘§Al..,£... Al‘~é3?‘«‘I.%7».i... F"E."'l" £§é’\§' OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060227/WLURG39_RTP_20060227_006.2.txt 6 ° THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006 ODIIIIIIIIS editorial Posse for everyone With the very. best of intentions, administration at this school is trying to attract diversity with the Posse Foundation. The idea behind Posse is solid: ' students are chosen based on some other set of criteria, in order to seek out talent which would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Seems flawless, right? Well, maybe. The Posse program seems like a great idea in the sense that these students, who would not otherwise have been glanced at, get the chance to move out of that station. Without the program, our school is a poorly-tossed salad bowl of WASPS with pretty uniform upper middle class breeding. Consistently, W&L turns out successful kids--people who go on to do something big with their lives. Do students outside of this network deserve the same opportunity? Certainly. If they weren’t offered the opportunity by W&L, would they be forever denied success? Unlikely. But if they attend W&L as a part of this generous program--a veritable form of bussing on a much larger scale--then the program and the school can take credit for saving a life. If you think about it, one of the most commonly—asked questions in any given class is always, “Is this going to be on the test?” The people chosen under “normal” criteria at Washington and Lee do not start class discussions. Rare is the class where stimulating intellectual discussion can be held. And yet many students manage to get above a 3.0. That is because W&L students know how to get the A. We know how to take a test, and how to study, and how to wheedle extra credit from our professors. But we cannot, for some reason, advance beyond success on paper. The Posse Scholars would come from the type of families and schools that don’t understand or care about grades in the same way that many W&L students do. In the world of a non-W&L student, getting a C is okay if you learn something and do your best. In the world of the Posse Scholar, getting somewhere in life means going the extra mile, not running the fastest around the track. Further, how comfortable would a Posse scholar be in the country club that is our school? No amount of financial aid can compensate for a life spent in the much-larger bracket of American society--the lower-middle class. Without some kind of parental‘ funding, it would be difficult to participate in the ever-prevalent Greek system which rules all. Road trips and vacations are out of the question. Nice new clothes for every event would be a burden. Would the misery of societal rejection encourage a healthy learning environment? The fact is that this school was not designed for a low-income student. Should the Posse scholars be thankful? Should the program expect absolute servitude in thanks for the opportunity? That would be truly unfair. But let’s say, for example, that this program were implemented, that we conned ten kids into going here so that we can learn from them and they can make us look better. The Posse students, who would be, effectively, stuck together in a “posse,” would likely not mingle into the crowds on the hill or at the frat parties. They would stick together for the simple reason that they are alike in their common bond--a somewhat unique one at W&L. Worse yet-—if the Posse scholars have these special characteristics that are so valuable to the institution, why aren’t they the admissions criteria for everyone? The program is designed to bring diversity to the school and opportunity for the scholar. But it raises questions about the caliber of student W&L admits. Apparently, the school admits any schmuck with a good GPA and high SAT score. The administration should hold every incoming student to the same standards as the Posse scholar. We need leaders rather than another kid who gets good grades. We need students to care about their subject matter, and not their resume and honor roll status. But let’s start with baby steps. The Posse Foundation, with its program, has a goal that is laudable and important--as long as it avoids setting quotas on race or financial background. The Posse student, who has talents outside of classroom work is more useful at this institution filled with students who do their best not to stand out. It is both unrealistic and unfair to expect an 18-year-old to set an example, but the leadership tendencies of the Posse scholars may prove useful. Concerns that the Posse scholars, with their not-so- impressive GPAs, would hurt the school’s average and make us look bad are not unfounded, either. Most Posse students are not necessarily “good” at school. They didn’t get A’s in high school- -and they won’t get A’s here. But those concerns are purely about appearance rather than content--not unlike the behavior of most W&L students in class. In truth, we need Posse scholars at this university. We need students who remember how to learn they way we did when we were small children. We need students who question the professor over his material, and not his tests. We need people who are not afraid to speak in class. We need to become Posse scl1olars—-all of us. The above represents the majority opinion of the editorial staff of the Ring-tum Phi. “If they attend W&L as a part of this generous program--a veritable form of bussing on a much-larger scale--then the program can take credit for saving a life. ” Home, version 2.0 As New Orleans rebuilds, one citizen reflects on her experiences Her life torn apart by a natural disaster, Bonnie Fay visited home only to find a cesspool of ruin. She talks about the wreckage and waits for healing. By Bonnie Fay GUEST COLUMNIST I am from New Orleans. I guess I should say, I was from New Orleans. I was from a city famous for its lively spirit, great food, superb music and laid back way of life. I was from a big city with a small town mentality and a personality not found anywhere else in this country. That city is gone. Now I say that I am from the new New Orleans. That’s what they’re calling it down there now, the new New Orleans. I am from a city whose heart has been broken. You can see it in the face of every person you meet. We have all had our hearts broken and, as Chris Rose of the Times Picayune so plainly put it, “when you look into our eyes, you will see the saddest story ever told.” Fortunately, the city that we all were from hasn’t been forgotten. Being from the old New Orleans meant possessing not only a first class sense of humor, but an inordinate amount of patience and an ever-hopeful smile; a sort of grin-and-nod, go with the flow attitude that made life a little less stressful. And if you look very hard, past the sad story that our eyes will tell you, you will find that easy optimism lurking beneath the surface, silently assuring us that, surely, things will get better. For right now though, things are not getting better. Driving into the city from the east over Winter Break, past some of the hardest hit areas, it looks the same as it did when I drove in for Christmas and much the same as it must have looked in the weeks immediately following the storm. Trash, fallen trees and other debris and demolished homes and businesses surround the interstate. Car dealerships and grocery stores are flattened; Lowe’s, Wal-mart and other big chain stores are boarded up and abandoned. Coming back home makes my heart break all over again. If you can make it past the wasteland scene and into the city, you find what my mother, only partly in jest, calls “Soviet. :9 Russia. Here is the twenty ‘percent of the city that ‘didn’t find itself under ten or more feet of water and where most of those brave enough to return have settled. Everywhere you go, from the gas stations to the grocery stores to the restaurants, there are lines that stretch out the door and sometimes down the block. There are piles of trash and lumber on the street comers and their pickup is, at best, sporadic. Ominous warnings of “Looters shot on site” are still painted on the brick walls of homes and businesses, a glowing reminder of the days of anarchy immediately following the storm. Few of the traffic lights are functional; those that work at all flicker and blink uncertainly. Not that it matters, since traffic laws seem to have been washed away with the floodwaters. Where the traffic signals are out, stop signs have been hastily erected, propped up on sandbags or partially hidden behind tree limbs or piles of trash. Driving in new New Orleans is strictly at your own risk. If you travel downtown, you will find the area which suffered the least damage from the storm, but which is suffering ten—fold in its aftermath. Pre—Katrina, New Orleans’ primary industry was tourism. While home for break, I went with a friend down to the French Quarter one night, but the streets were eerily empty. Café du Monde is open again and serving beignets 24 hours a day, but they have no one to whom they can sell their sweets. Those few souls adventurous enough to come to the city on holiday are no longer interested in all the things in which we took pride: the French Quarter, historic architecture, great food and fantastic music. Now those who come to visit want to see the carnage. They “For the low price of $4] .95 per person, all the carnage you can stomach will be shown to you from the climate-controlled safety of a coach bus.” editor Reports insensitive To the Editor: I would like to comment on your recent editorial concerning Behind Bars, the new feature to the Phi. While I fully support the First Amendment and enjoy the right to free speech, as well as my right to examine matters of public record, I don’t support nor understand the vindictive nature and defense of this feature. The Phi writes of their support of the “acquisition and publication of knowledge which is pertinent to this campus.” How is a reproduction of police records containing the names and actions of fellow students pertinent? This isn’t actual . reporting nor is it news. It isn’t even original. By publishing the column, you only succeed at making a small campus even smaller by pointing a finger at every student that makes a mistake. It should never be the responsibility of the Phi to punish students for their actions. They are already being punished by the police, the university and quite probably, their families. Why mock them by making the entire campus aware of what they’ve done? This seems entirely contrary to the founding ideals of integrity and honor that our founders intended to this campus. ' Furthermore, many columns such as Behind Bars simply use nouns and ages to describe arrests. Why doesn’t the Phi utilize this format rather than calling out specific students? I believe it’s disrespectful to your fellow students. Just because you can publish it doesn’t make it right. A column just to “stir people up” seems like a weak excuse to rehabilitate an ailing paper and certainly didn’t get me to read any further than page 2. - Elizabeth Eckman Class of 2007 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY ———~—~— TIERING-TUM PHI. want to see what happens when the indifference of nature and the miscalculations of human engineering meet. And that is exactly what they see. Opportunists, encouraged by city officials, have set up tour buses to show people around the areas hardest hit by the storm. For the low price of $41.95 per person, all the carnage you can stomach will be shown to you from the climate- controlled safety of a coach bus. Since over three quarters of the city still lies untouched by , rebuilding efforts and in complete ruin, there is no shortage of “sights” for seeing: people’s ruined livelihoods laid to waste for your viewing pleasure. I can’t decide if this is a good effort by some to make the best of a bad situation or if it’s just sick. No one has stepped up to the plate to work past the self—interest and the bullshit politics that were responsible for the chaos in the days immediately following the storm. Not one of the powers that be is willing to step up and take responsibility, to bear the burden of blame and then move past it to try and fix our broken hearts. The potential for the “rebirth” that is so often spoken of is there, the people are willing. But rebirth will not happen without leadership and intelligence, both of which are in short supply right now. While the new New Orleans searches for its new leader, it slowly picks up the pieces of its broken heart. Little by little, businesses reopen. Schools are starting to come back. We are even having Mardi Gras this year. Very slowly, we are picking up the pieces and building the new New Orleans up to its potential. Maybe soon the tourists will start coming down for the food and fun again. But until then, we take it one day at a time and tell ourselves that, surely, things will get better. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NEWS EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR ARTS&L|FE EDITOR COPY EDITOR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DESIGN DIRECTOR DESIGNER WEBMASTER BUSINESS MANAGER The Ring-rum Phi is published Mondays during the undergraduate school year at Washington and Lee University, Lexington. Wglnia. The Ringtum Phi is a member of The Media Board. which can be readied at rnediaboardfiwtuedu, but ls otherwise independent The Bing-turn Phi welcomes all letters. All submissions must be e-mailed to phi0w1u.edu or in the University Center mailbox by 5 pm. Friday to appear in the following week's The Ring-tum Phl reserves the right to edit tor ooment and length. Lenore do not necessarily reflect the opinion or The Hingtum PhiEditoria| Board. Advertising does not reflect the opinions of The Fling-(um Phlor its stall. subm' KATHERINE GREENE JACOB GEIGER AMANDA THOLKE TIM LIVINGSTON KATHRYN KRALL DAN HARRIS E.J. BOYER MIKE FAHEY BONNIE FAY JACOB GEIGER MADELINE GENT SARAH KIENTZ TIM LIVINGSTON ANDY MCENROE JESSICA SHAW ELLIOTT WALKER STEPH WIECHMANN EMILY HULEN MELISSA CARON ROB ARMSTRONG DAVID SEIFERT This ‘ The Ring—tum Phi University Commons Room. 341 Washington and Lee University Lexington, Virginia 24450 Telephone: (540) 458-4060 Fax: (540) 458-4059 Email: phi@wIu.edu Subscription rate $40 OUIYETII (XNJI1 oi libel and OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060227/WLURG39_RTP_20060227_007.2.txt A Jr. 4! MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006 Announcing THE RING-TUM PHI ° 7 6 SARAHG.BALL TEACHING AWARD COMPETITION 2006-2007 9 Are you a member of the Class of 2006 who Wants to make a difference in the lives of young people? 9 Are you interested in teaching students with a diversity of needs? 9 Havsyou Completed either Student Teaching or the Education Practicum? If you answered YES to these questions, you are eligible to apply for this $4, 000 salary stipend.’ A fennzfer Miller ’04 3 class atfo/in Blair Elementary Lauren Partridge 05 at Nicaragua C/aristian Acaclemy Ann Bailey Lynn '03 and /yer class at Annanclale Terrace Elementary Application Deadline is March 31, 2006. For more information about applying for the Ball Award and/ or how to qualify in the future, please contact Nannette Partlett, Director of Teacher Education (458—8722 or partlettni@wlu.edu) OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060227/WLURG39_RTP_20060227_008.2.txt 8 I THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006 word Just a Tribute The cowboy hat gives this ensemble a less—generic feel. Otherwise, the look is a throwback to everything flattering about last year’s outfits. There’s nothing wrong with a little fashion recycling--if it’s done right. THE LOOK LIST The recent fashion show designed by Isabel Seward, pictured here, gave Lexington a little taste of this year’s flavors in fashion. Feelin’ it Spring, like fall, is all about tough textures. Don’t overlook this season’s tweed--try a wheat-colored solid ccented with some ultra—trendy jet I beading. Put on your dancing shoes Seward knows how to choose the shoes--this pair , by the usually inept Steve Madden, makes any girl’s foot look gorgeous. The T- strap is always safe——and he doesn’t overdo it with the embellishments here. The pretty wrap around the ankles is very ballerina——gracefu1 and delicate. Fancy frenzy The hunt for a date to Fancy Dress can be a perilous adventure HE SAID Fancy Dress is right around the corner, and unfortunately y’all know what that means: it is time to start searching for a date. Well, before you decide that you want to import a date from an- other time zone or you finally want to get up the courage to ask your Facebook crush, let’s talk about all the potential methods you can use to find the perfect date. There’s my favorite, the “I asked you while blackout and don’t remember your answer” approach to finding the perfect FD date. We’ve all been there. A few Natty’s into the night, and you’re feeling pretty good about yourself. So you figure, I’m drunk. She’s drunk. Let’s be dates. However, when you wake up the next morning, you find yourself wondering a few things. “Who did I ask?” or “What did she say?” may be the questions that plague your hangover. Don’t worry, if your date is meant to be, more than likely she’l1 re- member asking and answering. And if not, she is probably in your 8 a.m. class waiting to laugh at you first thing tomorrow morning. For those bashful folk out there you can try the, “I’m stalk- ing you via Facebook. Does it scare you that I know your date of birth and home address?” method of finding the perfect date for you. Okay, so maybe it verges on stalking, but there’s nothing wrong with making a few new friends with the aid of the intemet. However, when approaching your future date, I ’d recommend not bringing up how you have viewed all of their tagged pic- tures on the Facebook over 100 times. It will save you from some socially awkward situations. For those who are even too shy to ask a random stranger that you are stalking via the internet to FD, you could always use the tried and true method of having your friends find you a date. I pride myself at finding great dates for my friends. Last year, one of my best friends went to FD with a gentle- man who found himself in jail at the end of the night. I am quite the matchmaker. Let me know if you want me to work my magic for you. For those of you currently avoiding a DTR, you could al- ways use the “Let’s not define the relationship. Let’s go to FD to- gether instea ” method to having the best FD yet. I mean SHE SAID You think we would have mastered it by now. I mean even as freshmen we had homecom- ing, Christmas weekend and maybe even a fraternity formal under our belt. Before that we had prom, graduation formals and other high school dances to force us to find a partner. Yet why is that we still have not mas- tered the art of finding a date? Well I guess some of us have. For those of you who have a boy- fn'end— well, this article is not for you. You don’t have to make any sketchy late night trips like the rest of us in 100k at it this our quest to find W 3 Y a Mr. Right or just Y 0 U ’ V 5 Mr. RightN0w. l'lO0l(Cd up F a n c y With this Dress is here. I girlafew said it. If you hm55sWhY don’t have a 110i have date (like me as another 20 of press time) then around? You already know this person, and I mean you don’t have to worry about whether or not there will be an awkward hookup at the end of the night. This is the safe choice, and in most cases, probably the best choice. Also, do you really want the girl that you’ve been hooking up with to go with an- other guy? I think not. However, if all of these meth- ods fail, you can always go with the “We’re friends. Let’s go to- gether.” method of finding a date. Figure, you are going to want a date. It’s a whole lot easier than importing one. So be a man about it and ask one of your friends to go to FD with you. It’s a guaranteed night of fun, and the night has endless poten- tial. It won’t be awkward in the end, and you will have a great time. You’re friends with your date so she won’t get mad if you get really drunk at the after party. you have to resort to some tried and true tac- tics of assuring yourself a guy. A wise man once told me, “Girls don’t find dates, dates find them.” I can see where he thinks this is correct, but there is so much in being found. You have to place yourself perfectly be- tween the frat basement and nearest stash of Natty Light within direct eyesight of the best- looking and most fun dateless guy at the party. Also a girl can ask a guy to FD- yeah I said it. It happens, but that’s not what I am here to write about. Now you must master the art of positioning and location. Our away messages become more detailed than ever. You can tell an especially desperate girl by the way she lists her activities on her instant messenger. You’re not just at class- you’re at Span- ish, then math, quick lunch, and then back around 1:00. You know not every guy will get the hint that you are making yourself easily accessible, but one might. Just don’t go too overboard. Then it’s borderline sad. Next it’s time for the frater- nity house shuflle. You’re just increasing your hunting ground. If you go to a house and come up empty handed, at least get yourself a drink for your good effort. It was not in vain. Avoid going overboard on the alcohol on the days leading up to Fancy Dress. You might say yes to aa random person and then where would you be but in an awkward situation? FD is no place to play blind date. Do not import a boy unless he is your boyfriend. The ratio is close enough and the boys are pretty enough. You can find something here. I mean I guess you could import a suitable boy, but what would you do for din- ner? You would spend the en- tire night introducing him that by the end you both would just be annoyed. Also, you can’t hook up with anyone else but the date when you ship them in. That’s just poor form. Don’t be afraid of last ditch efforts. Thursday before fancy dress is a perfectly acceptable place to find a date. You’re not desperate. You know along with everyone else that some guys don’t realize they need a date for a date func- tion until the night before. Avoid a cry of desperation. You always have your friends to bail you out. Even if you barely know your date, and you’re go- ing out to eat with a bunch of your friends, you’re going to have fun. After all that’s really what the night is about. And tak- ing some fabulous party pics. This week’s Hot Topic was written by columnists Mike Fahey and Madeline Gent. Down in the slumps After the excitement of freshman year, sophomore girls feel the pain of neglect By Ashley Hubbard GUEST COLUMNIST Last term was rough- very rough. I believe I actually interacted with society, outside of class and work, about five times in total. I napped whenever I had a free minute and could not seem to es- cape a rather overwhelming weight on my shoulders due to either stress or an excessive amount of cranial weight gain. When confronted about my recently developed isolationist behavior, I would give my an- swer: I am tired; I have endless amounts of work to do, and Ire- ally am just not up to it. I was comforted when many of my peers would give me an understanding nod and pat on the back like my mother used to do when I would tell her the end of the world was fast approaching, but my comfort dissolved once they kindly explained to me the unavoidable cause of my plight. The source of all my woes was summed up by the fact that I was a sophomore and a female; a debilitating combination. I was diagnosed with the sophomore slump- the use of al- literation indicates the high level of education those who con- cocted it possess. I can only conclude that the catchiness of the phrase is re- sponsible for its widespread popularity, or perhaps its popu- larity is due to the concept’s revolutionary premise. For those of you who have yet to be acquainted with the sopho- more slump, it is the idea that as a sophomore female I have lost my appeal and am now in a sort of, well, slump. It was clear that I had grown accustomed to the uncharacter- istically high interest I received from the male population during The source of all my woes was summed up by the fact that I was a sophomore and a female; a debilitating combination. my freshman year, and, because my quality of life is wholly de- pendent upon the amount of at- tention I receive from the oppo- site sex, it only makes sense that I have had a hard time adjusting to my new sophomore status. The difficult class schedule, 20-plus hours of workl clock per week, regular volunteering, radio show, sorority obligations and general dislike of daily vitamins had nothing to do with my ever present feeling of blah. Unfortunately, no solution to this extremely healthy social construct exists. There was little I could do but sit in a dark cor- ner and eat away my emotions only to gain an additional ten pounds which proved to even further lessen my allure while freshman women swarmed the parties and monopolized the male interest. Theories like the sophomore slump make me wish that our little liberal arts school turned out more psychology and soci- ology majors than C-school ma- jors because I think that society at large could really benefit from the profound insight our school has concerning what really mat- ters in life. Pink Palace on the j ‘Z