OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060306/WLURG39_RTP_20060306_001.2.txt 4. WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY THE RING-=TUM PHI. MONDAY, MARCH 6, 2006 BY THE STUDENTS AND FOR THE STUDENTS SINCE 1897 /I3 VOLUME r,Hr,’NuMn£n-H never charged with any crime nside It's a wrap The Phi checks out this year’s Fancy Dress fashions and looks at the history of W&L’s biggest party on page 4. Mayock resigns Associate Dean of the College Ellen Mayock is resigning her position effective June 30. The Phi finds our why on page 2. In full swing E The tennis team continues it’s quest for another ODAC title. Full coverage on page 3. corrections In our Feb. 27 issue, the Phi committed a regrettable error. The feature “Behind Bars,” which appears on page 2, chronicles and pokes fun at student and community arrests from the week. The reporter treks to the police station a few times a week, copies out the arrest reports and then compiles the section. On this particular week, a man named William Jef- fery Moore was arrested and charged with being drunk in public and underage posses- sion of alcohol. The man is 20 years old and a Lexington resident. James William Moore, who attends Washington and Lee, is 19 years old and a Rockbridge County resident. He is a Phi Delta Theta pledge, and his family is well-known in the Rockbridge County area. Unfortunately, the reporter who compiles the police re- ports knows Will Moore, and made an assumption that should not have been made. The insult was compound- ed by the jocular nature of the feature, which has since been changed to model that of the “Rockbridge Advocate” and “Rockbridge Weekly.” Will Moore, who attends Washington and Lee, was over the Washington break. The Phi both apologizes to Will and his family, and retracts the statements released in our Feb. 27 edition. Also in our Feb. 27 edition, Rachael Seidenschnur was quoted saying that Kenneth Cribb did not always support The Spectator during his time at W&L. The Spectator was not in publication when Cribb was a student at W&L. The Phi regrets the error. University may req Spring term absenc Possible proposals include early graduation for seniors or no Spring term for freshmen students By Sarah Kientz surr wnnzn Changes to the academic requirements of Spring term could be coming soon, and one potential proposal might change the number of Spring terms students spend on campus. According to Provost Thomas Williams, changes « will be proposed to alter the academic requirements of Spring term. Also, students will not be permitted to remain on campus for all four Spring terms. Despite the rumors that administrators will be eliminating Spring term altogether, Williams said that after three years of discussion, only a few changes will be proposed. One change is that students will be required to take a of six credits. Currently students are only required to have a three- credit course load. Dean Hank Dobin said the changes will be made in order to “preserve and enhance the flavor of spring term” on an academic level. - ‘ “We’re fully committed to keeping Spring term, but we want to enhance it and make it more academically rigorous,” Dobin said. “There are proposals to require students to take six credits instead of the current minimum of three.” With students taking more courses, Williams said that already overloaded faculty will need to teach more classes. “We want to keep class size the same, and change the faculty teaching load to six courses, as it had been seven,” Williams said. Students taking more classes and professors teaching fewer classes present a problem, Williams said. Twenty—one new undergraduate professors have already been hired to make up for the difference, Williams said. However, another change that will be made in order to ensure students can take six credits each Spring term is that students will only be allowed to attend three out of their four Spring terms, Dobin said. Williams said there are three options that administrators are still considering concerning this issue. One is that freshmen will be asked to leave during their Spring term. Another is that seniors will graduate in April, which, Williams said, “will be early for the Washington and Lee calendar, but near the same time as many other schools.” The third option is to give students the choice. Sophomore Lauren Ottaway does not find the proposed changes a positive idea. “During the spring, courses require more work and class time,” Ottaway said. “The option of one class should be available if one is taking a difficult class they want to be able to focus on more.” Ottaway also said that requiring students to leave campus for one of their Spring terms has more drawbacks than benefits. “I think it would be a good idea to encourage more people to go abroad or do internships off campus during Spring term,” Ottaway said, “but if you make people go abroad during the spring, it will discourage them from doing programs outside of W&L, since our schedule is different, or going abroad for a full semester in the fall or winter.” Ottaway also questioned what effect the new policy would have on spring athletes, tuition and room and board, which are paid jointly for winter and spring. Freshman Laura King also disagreed with the idea of leaving for one of her future Spring terms. “If I’m going to be pre- med I can’t go abroad during a Spring term,” King said. “I don’t understand what students would do if they didn’t want to go abroad or if their major forced them to take classes during all four spring terms.” Ottaway said some students might just enjoy Spring term and not want to miss out on one. “There are many people who don’t want to leave campus for a term, and I don’t think the school should force them to.” Williams also said that W&L’s unique calendar is one reason administrators are trying to retain it. He said administrators have been discussing possible changes or even elimination of spring term for about three years. “Faculty was nearly split “Spring term is so unique to this school that I don ’t think we should be forced to leave for it. ” LAURA KING, Class of 2009 50/50 on retaining the 12-l2-6 calendar and adopting a more traditional semester calendar,” Williams said. “A slight majority preferred our current calendar over using semesters.” The unique opportunities that students have during Spring term are one reason why Williams said the faculty chose to keep it. “The things that go on during Spring term, such as abroad programs and trips by departments to different locations around the world, cannot be done in the long term because you can’t take students off campus when they have three other classes,” Williams said. “Alumni that have graduated since 1971 [when the 12-12-6 calendar was adopted] have loved it and are large supporters of it.” A King agreed that Spring term is a unique experience, and stressed that as the reason why some students might not want to leave during the spring. “I’d rather go abroad or do internships during the summer than lose any time here,” King said. “Spring term is so unique to this school that I don’t think we should be forced to leave for it.” Dobin said the proposed changes are still being discussed by the Courses and Degrees committee and will go in front of the faculty in April. Core requirements cut back Faculty approves reductions to literature, social sciences and humanities requirements without debate ByJacob Geiger N 2 w 5 £0 I T o n The undergraduate faculty has approved significant changes to Washington and Lee’s General Education requirements and has scheduled these changes to take effect in the fall of 2007. The new requirements will re- quire one fewer literature course, one fewer social sciences course — drawing from economics, poli- tics, psychology and anthropol- ogy — and one fewer course from the humanities - history, religion, philosophy and fine arts. Whereas the current system require two literature courses and four humanities courses, the new plan will require students to take one course each from literature, fine arts and the other humanities and then pick a fourth course from any of those three groups. The previous requirements had students take 18 hours of classes in literature and the humanities; the current system requires only 12 hours. These changes come not long after a decision to reduce the number of hours needed for graduation from 121 to 115. Though several faculty mem- bers were interested in discuss- ing the proposal at the faculty meeting on Mon., Feb. 20, Mark Rush moved for an immediate vote and was supported by a sufficient majority to circumvent any debate and move straight to a decision. “The proposal was approved, but the manner of anoroval was unfortunate,” said History De- partment Chairman Holt Mer- chant. “We assumed there would be a long debate but there was no debate whatsoever.” History professor Richard Bidlack, who opposed the pro- posal, argued that the reductions are too large. “In the new curriculum, the number of credits for graduation has been cut by six credits, that is, from 121 to 115. Ifthe cuts in Gen Ed were proportional, Gen Ed would be reduced by three credits because Gen Ed currently comprises somewhat less that half of the total curriculum. The Gen Ed requirement, however, was cut by nine credits.” Both Merchant and Bidlack speculated on how the changes would affect the school’s liberal arts experience; Merchant said that nobody knows that the prac- tical ramifications of the changes will be. “Students could graduate from W&L without ever having taken a course in history, philoso- phy or religion,” Bidlack said. “With such a weak humanities requirement, it is legitimate to ask whether we are really justi- fied in calling W&L a liberal arts university.” ~ Merchant said the ne_w re- quirements would allow students to take more electives. “Right now pre-meds have almost no wiggle room at all,” he said. Dean of the College Hank Dobin, who joined the adminis- tration this vear from Princeton University, said the proposed changes came from two faculty committees that were designated three years ago to make recom- mendations on the subject. Dobin also said that most of the proposals were already for- mulated when they reached the Courses and Degrees committee for final review. He said that he does not think the changes will alter W&L’s liberal arts experi- ence. “We require more courses than other schools, so I ’m con- fident there is still a substantive liberal arts component to W&L. ” ART GOLDSMITH Economics Professor “The decision to cut total credits is a complicated story,” Dobin said. “lt’s a combination of reducing the teaching load for faculty combined with a deci- sion three years ago to maintain the current academic calendar. The Board of Trustees has also approved the hiring of 21 new faculty.” Economics professor Art Goldsmith said the changes will not be dramatic, but he suggested other possible alternatives. “The departments were also asked to look at the size of their majors so not all [of the] reduc- tions would come out of Gen Ed, but that wasn’t part of the proposal sent onto the faculty,” Goldsmith said. “It’s unfortunate we didn’t look at that issue more closely; smaller majors would have al- lowed, maybe, a freshman semi- nar, something that a lot of our peer institutions have tried with great success.” Bidlack suggested that offer- ing minors might help reduce the course load crunch that many students face. Since minors require fewer courses than a second major, students could still study in a second area of interest while still retaining the flexibility to take more elective classes. Merchant said that he does not think the changes will hurt his department in the long run. “We have lots of students now, and we’ll have lots of students forever. People study history because they love it, not because of Gen Ed requirements.” Goldsmith, like Dean Dobin, said he thinks W&L’s liberal arts identity will be largely un- affected. “We require more courses than other schools, so I’m con- fident there is still a substantive liberal arts component to W&L,” said Goldsmith. Though he said that the new changes will not be dramatic, Goldsmith still wishes some of the other ideas could have been 3 «CHANGES j The univerity ap- ; pravéd the follow ingjchanges to the V General education A requiremenb? V - Literature; credits _ 3 credits now res :- e . quired instead om. ~ credits Finefirtscredits , 1- M ” ,3 credits new 113-’ " instead of no . credits I ‘ socianscaencess credits from 2 courses V ‘now required instead . ‘ of? discussed by the faculty. “I would have liked to look at a freshman seminar and the English composition require- ment — twelve weeks of that is a bit lean, and while those of us in other departments can work on students’ writing skills we can’t do it as well as our colleagues over in the English Department. It might have been useful to talk about these things before taking a vote.” OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060306/WLURG39_RTP_20060306_002.2.txt mass is. l1:.YBUPi’~l um «vAs.H:sNc~;ro~ an LEE UNEVEFKSFQ r__e.:<.er-sfua. VA ?4‘4.‘.‘¥!_i' ' 2 0 THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, MARCH 6, 2006 By Katherine Greene EDlTOR-IN-CHIEF In a wave of controversy, As- sociate Dean Ellen Mayock an- nounced she would resign a year early. According to the memo sent by Dean Hank Dobin to faculty and staff members on Tuesday, Feb. 28, Mayock decided to leave her position, “to return full-time to teaching and research.” The memo also suggested that some problems with Mayock’s contract may have prompted the resignation. “I was simply asking them to BA RS put into writing what I under- stood to be the original terms of my contract,” she said. Dobin’s memo said, “the University has agreed to honor all the terms of her compensa- tion.” As Mayock had previously understood her contract, she said, the normal length of a term would be three years. But she said that in the de- bate which lasted several weeks, there was some “turmoil.” “I was offered the flexibility to step down,” she said. Dobin declined to comment on the situation, and interim President Beckley referred only to Dobin’s memo. One student said she found something wrong with the treat- ment of the only female academic dean. Paton Hughes has begun a pe- tition with her friends and other concerned students to show a pro- test of the treatment of women in the administration. “We find it incredible that the administration can’t find and maintain a woman,” she said. Hughes’s group intends to meet Tuesday to discuss a pos- sible “silence protest,” which involves placing duct tape over Campus visit goes awry Brian McKelvey, an eigh- I teen-year-old from East Islip, New York, was arrested and charged with being drunk in public. He was also charged with underage possession of alcohol. McKelvey, a senior in high school, was arrested on Sun., Feb. 26 shortly after 2 a.m. Arrest parade confinues Taylor Gibson was also ar- rested on Feb. 26 around 2 a.m. Like McKelvey, the 21 year-old Gibson was charged with being drunk in public. Couldn’t match the visitor’s spree Judson Smith, a Lexington resident, was charged with breaking and entering and one count of grand larceny. their mouths to demonstrate the idea that women on campus are being silenced. Mayock said she has nothing to do with the women organizing the protest. “I wouldn’t directly encourage anyone to act on my behalf,” she said. Mayock also suggested that her teachings of “activism, as well as forthrightness, candor, and car- ing for other human beings,” may have spurred the support from the students. Hughes said, “She deals with a lot of issues that others don’t.” Mayock has come under pub- Back by popular demand! Here is 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 oolice reports to see what you ’ve been up to. Smith was arrested on Feb. 8 at 2:30 p.m. His alleged larceny attempt came less than two weeks before Portsmouth native Greggory Coffey allegedly began a string of larcenies while in town for his grandmother’s funeral. Too feisty for his own good Buena Vista native Michael Hickman was charged with reckless driving on Mon., Feb. 13. The ticket was is- sued around 1:30 p.m. The 19-year-old was also charged by the arresting oflicer with obstructing justice. Assault and battery Richard Lantz, age 42, was charged with a misdemeanor count of assault and battery. The Lexington resident was charged on Mon., Feb. 20 at 3:41 p.m. Vets feel unrecognized Former troops receive little attention‘ from fellow students, faculty and stafi’ A campus known for its long military tradition fails to recognize the service of alumni veterans and staff members now working for the school. By Jessica Shaw nrponrrn When Director of Public Safe- ty Mike Young turned 21, it was no ordinary day. He spent it in Vietnam. When a Washington and Lee student turns 21, it is a big deal-- a night at the Palms, a celebration with friends, a license to drink alcohol legally. This is a typical night for coming of age. What many do not know, is that numerous faculty and staff at this school never experienced a celebration for their twenty-first birthday. Known or unknown, Vietnam and Korean War veter- ans reside among students on this campus. These heroes want des- perately for students to attain an appreciation for their freedom. “Students generally are into their own lives,” Young said. “They forget the reason they have that life.” Young served in the military from 1966-1969. He now co-co- ordinates Veteran’s Day ceremo- nies with Vietnam veteran Tim Kolly to recognize and remem- ber all who served. He said this also honors those who did not receive gratitude at the time. “If you’ve studied any his- tory about the Vietnam War, there was a lot of protest. A lot of people opted out of service by staying in school. A lot of people that I knew in the ’50’s and ’60’s were protesting the war while I was fighting it.” Because of the fierce oppo- sition to the war, soldiers were treated poorly upon their return to America. “They would treat you like you were less than dirt,” Young said. “It got to the point where I wouldn’t tell anyone I was a Viet- nam veteran.” He emphasized that the sol- diers representing this country must be respected. So far, Veteran’s Day ceremo- nies have been small, consisting only of a few law students, fac- ulty and staff members. Young said they would love to see more participation. According EC President Char- lie Yates, many students are un- aware of alumni, faculty and staff involvement overseas. “Its hard without being per- sonally connected,” he said. “We’re so prosperous as a nation, that it’s easy to lose sight of the sacrifices some people make.” There are currently ten W&L students involved in the ROTC program at Virginia Military Insti- “There [are not] a lot of students that are in ROTC, so its not a thing [students] have to deal with a lot. ” SEAN McKlNLEY Class of 2009 tute. According to freshman Sean McKinley, the level of awareness on this campus is minimal. “There [are not] a lot of stu- dents that are in ROTC, so it’s not a thing [students] have to deal with a lot,” McKinley said. “It’s not a normal part of Washington and Lee discussion. They are in- terested in their own lives and school, but students [need] to be more aware of what their peers outside of W&L are doing.” Yates suggested a plan to have veterans and alumni speak to the student body as a method to in- crease campus knowledge. “A lot of W&L students would be interested to know what alums are serving in Iraq and Afghani- stan,” Yates said. “What you don’t want to do is accuse people of being ignorant. Once they are aware, they will pay attention.” Young agreed that student awareness is a step in the right direction. “I would like every student to know what this is all about so that they would have a gauge of what kids their age went through at the same time,” he said. “It’s alien to a lot of people here what service to this country means. The rea- son this country is the way it is, is because people have died and served.” lic scrutiny in the past week with the release of The Spectator. In two separate articles, she is accused of extreme liberalism in the classroom. “She took a lot of hits from both alumni and students,” Hughes said. Mayock calls herself a politi- cal moderate, and said she is sur- prised at her role as a “beacon of the left.” Several rumors have circulat- ed about campus that Mayock’s controversial politics may have led to her resignation. But Mayock points to the transitions in the university, not Mayock to resign early Students plan protest as controversial associate dean plans resignation after two years in wake of political attacks controversy, as the source of her troubles. “In my nine years here, this institution has known very little stability,” she said. In her not-quite-two years as associate dean, she has had two bosses, and said this led to the confusion over the terms of her contract. Dobin publicly thanked Mayock in his memo for her help in learning the ways of the school. “Ellen has dedicated herself to the college,” he wrote. Her resignation is effective June 30. Robbery spree comes to an end Police arrest man visiting Lexington for funeral By Jacob Geiger u 2 w s so I r o R Lexington police re- cently found a suspect in a short, intense string of robberies. Greggory Coffey of Portsmouth, Virginia was arrested and charged after a five~day robbery spree that included numerous break-ins into both homes and vehicles. Police Chief Bruce Beard says his depart- ment thinks Coffey was in town from about Sun., Feb. 19 until Thur., Feb. 23, when he was arrested by Sgt. Miller of the Lex- ington police force. “We think he was here to attend his grand- mother’s funeral,” Beard said. As of Feb. 28, the city of Lexington was charging Coffey with six counts of grand larceny, one count of burglary and a charge of posses- sion of a firearm by a felon. Miller added that Coffey also faces four more felony charges in the county. “I’ve got three more charges I could add on- but haven’t yet,” Miller said. “He’s already on probation from another felony so he’s got an automatic five years for the gun charge.” According to Miller, the burglar’s methods were simple yet smart. “He’d go up and try a door, and if it was un- locked he’d just slipin. People saw him, but he I would’ve just looked like another contractor doing work on a house,” Miller said. “He did everything in broad daylight.” The burglar would also sit in people’s cars while going through their belongings. Beard says that the accused thief only had to break into two locked houses and ' one car; everything else, including, Beard said, the residence of a Washing- ton and Lee law student, was already unlocked. Miller stressed that students and other resi- dents need to look their doors. I ' “Please emphasize to the students how im- portant it is to lock your door,” Miller said. Coffey’s arrest came about in an unusual manner. According to Miller, W&L campus security saw Coffey cut- ting through campus on Feb. 23. Obtaining a partial license plate number, the security officer called the police, who began searching Lexington for the car. After failing to find a matching tag in the city, police expanded their‘ search outside the city limits. - “Eventually,” Mill- er said, “we found the truck at the Comfort Inn, and it was full of stuff. We weren’t originally suspecting him of the robberies,‘but when we asked the owner of the truck — Coffey’s mother ~— to come look at all the ‘ stuff she said she didn’t know anything about it.” At that point, around 12:30 pm., Miller ar- rested Coffey. Though the police de- partment is working to return theistoien items, most have already been returned. Miller is inves- I tigating whether Coifey was involved with other * recent robberies that have not been solved. The to- tal value of the items sto- _ . len is currently estiniated _ at around $8,000. OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060306/WLURG39_RTP_20060306_003.2.txt MONDAY, MARCH 6, arts 2006 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 3 deck WEDNESDAY T H U R S D A Y Men's lacrosse Baseball vs. Ithaca College, vs. Southern 3:30 pm. Virginia University, 3 p.m. I w°me" 5 Men's tennis lacmsse vs. Randolph-Ma- vs. Frostburg State con College, 3 pm‘ University, 4 p.m. Women's tennis vs. Randolph- Macon Women's College, 4 p.m. Depth key to wins UConn looking to gain second championship in three years ByThomas Gift srrrr warren This year’s UConn team is neither the most talented nor the most skilled group of players that Jim Calhoun has ever assembled in Storrs, Connecticut. The 1999 team of Richard “Rip” Hamilton, Khalid ElAmin, and Ricky Moore certainly possessed more talent. The 2004 team of Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, and Taliek Brown possessed more skill. And yet, there still exists very little doubt that the Huskies will be cutting down the nets at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis come April 3"’. The reason? UConn’s depth. Although plenty of teams can equal the talent and skill of UCo- nn’s starting five, no one comes close to matching the firepower of their bench. Calhoun has a seem- ingly unlimited string of players at his disposal when the game is on the line. In fact, nearly every player on UConn’s bench would be guaranteed a starting position at another Division I school — in- cluding the likes of Duke, Mem- phis, Villanova, and Gonzaga. For example, senior Denham Brown, who once scored lll points in a high-school contest and is averaging 9.4 points per game this year, has turned out to be one of UConn’s most clutch scorers. His last second-shot to win the Maui Invitational secured an early-season championship for the Huskies, and set the tone for a season of dazzling offensive play. Additionally, senior Hilton Armstrong, who did not even make UConn’s starting five at the beginning of the year, is now be- ing considered a legitimate first- round NBA draft pick. His 10.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game have proved valuable when the Huskies have squared off against teams with strong front courts. Finally, fifth-year senior Ed Nelson, who was named ACC Rookie of the Year at Georgia Tech before transferring to UConn in 2002, has been the emotional leader for Calhoun’s squad. The FRIDAY SATURDAY Men & women's track W&L Invitational, 9:30 a.m. Baseball vs. Eastern Menno- nite University (DH), 12 p.m. Men's tennis vs. Denison Univer- sity, 10 a.m. Women's lacrosse @ Franklin & Mar- shall Co||ege,1 p.m. Men's lacrosse vs. Washington Col- lege, 7 p.m. SUNDAYy ’ Women's tennis , ’ vs. Denisonfiolleg 09:30 am. ‘ if Baseball vs. University of - = Tough ODAC run begins next week Golf team predicted to finish third By Elliott Walker surr w ll I TE R The golf team will start the second half of their season Mar. 13-14 at the Lee Nissan-Barton .M3¥¥'W3Sl1l0Q¥0nr College Intercollegiate at Wilson 3 p.m. Country Club in Wilson, NC. The first half of their season took place in the fall. The team competed in four tournaments, finishing first out of 12 teams at the Virginia State In- tercollegiate Championship. At the end of last season, the team was ranked thirteenth in the nation. On Feb. 9, the ODAC picked the team to finish third of nine teams in the league. ' The team will face tough com- petition if they -wish to earn the ODAC title this year. Guilford returns as defending national champions this season, and Randolph-Macon won the ODAC title last year. Ted Williams, captain of the team, is optimistic and said the team does believe they are capa- ble of being ODAC champs. “We have some talented fresh- men and sophomores and some crafly veteran players,” he said. Williams credits their success to hard work during their season and even harder workouts in the gym during the off-season. The team’s only home touma- ment, the W&L Buck Leslie Invi- tational, will be held at the Lex- ington Golf and Country Club on Apr. 17-18, The tournament usually draws around 50 spectators per day. It might be because “golfers normally are good-looking nice guys who women are attracted to,” said to Williams. “Our fan base is wide and good looking.” The golf team has a lot going for them with their good looks, handsome fans and extraordinary talent. Look for them to accomplish great things this spring season. contributions that Nelson brings to UConn through his physical on-the-court play and intense off- the-court personality cannot be quantified into numbers. When go—to-players Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams, and Josh Boone are having off-nights, it is always Nelson who seems to pick up the slack for the Huskies. Ranked number two in both the AP Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, the Huskies are one of the favorites to win this year’s NCAA Championship. They’ve also already clinched the first seed and a first-round bye in the Big East Conference touma- ment this week. But Calhoun’s words reflect those of a seasoned veteran who refuses to let hype overshadow UConn’s ultimate goal: “It’s al- ways good to be number one in anything, but it’s not great at this time of year. I want it at the begin- ning of April.” Fortunately for Calhoun, his team’s depth should be enough to give him just what he wants. “Nearly every player on UConn is bench would be guaran- teed a starting position at another Division I school. ” NEED CLIPS? WRITE ion THE PHI‘ EMAIL PH|@WLU.EDUTODAY Poised to dominate ODACS Despite losses, men is tennis looks to win 11th straight title ByMikeFahey STAFF WRITER Records can often be deceiving, as 5-4 would not appear to be the record of the ODAC leader and perennial champion. However, in the case of the Washington and Lee men’s tennis team, records are deceiving, and the team, ranked eleventh nationally, has had many difficult matches at the start of their season. While playing both Division I and nationally- ranked Di- vision III teams, the Gen- erals have had a slow start to their spring season. With more conference play in the near future, the team is expected to continue with its winning traditions. As sophomore Nat Es- tes said, “I’d say the team has started ofl° a little slow, with some injuries affect- ing the process, but things are coming along.” The team has been on Eichenberger has been a winning record lately, as sophomore Nelson Bunn was recently named ODAC Player of the Week. Bunn had a great week, leading the Generals in singles and doubles in wins over Vir- ginia Wesleyan and Emory and Henry. ’ Leading the way for W&L has also been cap- tains David Shay and Charles Anderson. As Bunn said, “The team has had great lead- ership this year with two seniors as our captains. Every member of the team helps carry the team as a whole in each of our matches.” Also playing large roles for the Generals in the top singles and doubles spots have been senior Jordan Eichenberger, junior Jon Malooly and sophomore Seth Feibelman. Malooly has been a strong com- petitor, playing one of the top singles spots, while dominant at both singles and doubles. Feibelman has had great results playing both singles and doubles. Estes came back from a rough injury during last season to have a strong spring. He’s been a force for the Gener- als, playing both singles and doubles. As the season approach- es the midway mark, Bunn is confident in its ability. He said, “I feel that every- one on the team has indi- vidual things that they need to work on, but with a little extra etfort and hard work, the season should be very successful, hopefirlly cul- minating in another ODAC championship and a bid to the NCAA toumey.” Estes talked about an upcoming battle with Cam- egie Mellon as well as an- other match against Mary Washington as those that will truly test the squad. He said, “We really want to beat [them].” Thriller Ridge Auto Center lffiééi ‘..-"al;c3* Pitt»; L¢:'tl‘§.‘tj:E{}I‘i.. ‘£55.. 2445'? IL. ion sari; the ma‘: ¥«3Eif’€E£J “ ems Einrcégra am cl 'l';i«:in2s::s;ti3t: Rt‘.‘:[3§"l§l'!~‘ iiiél szliatagc and 1.1.s‘tx=e, .-WIT, {Eran ;3=t.1;tc:.' _.lj..~,°:.ag1*r.<.i~:~;t:Er.t:::,-3. ".>l"s1t2" mart? Msrjs -5 lV;l§__3,ll'§t5 §3.it£if?lI:ll!"', ?%'rnl;rv::»:, Fae} E ;v_§st:ti«::.rr :'§i.2~ar-raise, Tr:~:n:ssnr;’ssiar: tiiervice. ('.=.i;1~l;.s at Finals. l~.=’lii:>..ra .:>.:n.l l‘.«‘l’;3.l§..H “Tune wtzgzer-. ‘art ['Z-E’h"'..vll§l“! l":.ar:;li:.sr‘3. ’:—»»;:£§§l:-.1s°%..:.-.~:rv§I E”f!:i:§§’ ;lE1'r§§~:3‘l’t2i':.§ ’ts*§%.flfro1“:: mir:§é; gsmr rt::.:2.:natar-.tr§re'2 tt*arrar2z*,r._ "’ 1 V "4 '3‘ ‘ r , V". H“ , ~“ .4 :":"'c“I’JI OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060306/WLURG39_RTP_20060306_004.2.txt 4 0 THE RING-TUM PHI arts&lile MONDAY, Disco inferno The lights, the music, the drama...Fancy Dress always promises to be a high- profile night. Here are some of the fashion highlights of the party of the year THE LOOK LIT By Katherine Greene / Photos by Emily Hulen Sequins and glitter seemed to be a common theme all night. Sopho- more Polly Smith chose a beautiful '20s-inspired knee-length dress with splash sequins and sheer, dangling fabric accents. The low neckline is set off nicely with the thicker shoulder straps. Everyone was talking about Diana Bur ess’s gorgeous champa ne-col- ore floor—len th gown by t e end of the ni ht. e sequintpatterns ac- cent her ovelyfi ure an accentuate the neckline, an the petals on the bottom made it soft and feminine, with an almost Victorian feel. Choosing a simple wrap pattern, Di- ana Dozier ca tured a ittle bit of the '70s feel with er gold sequins.The em ire waist kee s the dress trendy, an she sets it o well with a delicate pair ofshiny hee|s.The halter top of the dress makes it a little casual, but she wears it well. 99 YEARS IN THE MAKING The evolution of Fancy Dress By Kate Shellnutt STA FF W RITER Over the years, many ques- tions have been asked about the school’s Fancy Dress Ball. One of them includes, “What would Stonewall Jackson think of the youth of Lexington danc- ing to licentious German or disgusting racket?” (asked by an early observer). That’s not the question this article is going to answer. Because Fancy Dress’ ap- peal comes from its over-the—top nature-—the large budget, school- wide attendance, elaborate deco- rations, and flashy theme--this ar- ticle will respond to the question: has Fancy Dress always been this way? Is the tradition of Fancy Dress one of extravagance? According to the Ring-tum Phi, the first annual Fancy Dress Ball could only boast “30 cou- ples and quite a number of stags, all in fancy dress costumes” in attendance on Feb. 12, 1907. Through the ’80s, Fancy Dress was held on weekday nights. The first Fancy Dress Ball was held on a Tuesday. ‘ Despite the small crowd and only $42 budget, the acclaimed Fancy Dress founder librarian Annie Jo White hung evergreens, Japanese lanterns and mural draperies, "threw confetti and hired the Virginia Military Insti- tute orchestra to perform. The next day, students in the whole state of Virginia were call- ing it “the most brilliant event of the season.” Once Fancy Dress became an established tradition in 1913, its attendance rose. Female students from neighboring schools would hope to get “the Bid” to come to Washington and Lee’s midwinter dance. W&L fraternities would have parties the weekends prior to find dates, not unlike the Pink Palace parties of recent years. When Fancy Dress was a figure dance, “Home Sweet Home” would be played at 2 a.m. to signal the dance’s end. The song’s lyrics remind listeners of what seems to be the opposite of Fancy Dress extravagance-—the simple life. A 1972 issue of the Phi warned readers of the problems caused by student drinking at the dance. It reads, “Anyone...seen at the ball with any kind of drink or bottle other than the beer being so1d...will be removed from his bottle, removed from the dance or both.” Co-education brought women to the school for the 1986 Fancy Dress Ball, but instead of taking advantage of the 13:1 male to fe- male ratio, most female students asked Hampton-Sydney or Uni- versity of Virginia boys as dates. That year, the budget reached $65,000. , As an aside——perhaps the $35/couple tickets were a little pricey that year. An advertise- ment from White Front Grocery markets sale-priced Pabst Blue Ribbon, New York strip, Rich- food soda and Pringles Cheez- Urns as their “Fancy Dress Special.” Attendance peaked with 3,500 ball-goers in both 1977 and 1991. The event’s planners have built the appeal of Fancy Dress with performers and decorations: camels, llamas, belly dancers, fortune tellers, carousel horses and authentic reenactments. This year’s “big element,” according to Fancy Dress com- mittee member Stephanie Jordon, was the light-up dance floor. She said students can “expect a lot more” for next year’s one hundredth Fancy Dress celebra- tion. One of the few bold ones to adhere to the "Studio 54”theme, 'unior Michele Theroux borrowed a dress t at knows disco--her mother's prom dress from 1978. F LASHBACK “My sophomore year, the theme was Willy Wonka. That was the first FD that my husband, Adam, and I had been dating-, and it was the most fun I had ever had at a formal. ” “The decorations were also really fun because people starting taking them apart and playing with them. Adam and I played mini kickball for a little while with a gumdrop. ” “We wore Chuck Taylors, which 1 we both love. ’ ASHLEY MAYER, Class of2006 MARCH 6, 2006 OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060306/WLURG39_RTP_20060306_005.2.txt Jr MONDAY, MARCH 6, 2006 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 5 OIIIIIIOIIS I editor J-school responds to broadcast mailer To the Editor: We in the Journalism Depart- ment would like to respond to the campus-wide message sent out Wednesday criticizing a feature that has been running on page 2 of the Ring-tum Phi for several weeks now. The Department of Journalism and Mass Communi- cations has no connection with the Phi nor with any student pub- lication. Like our Honor system, these publications are run by stu- dents, and mainly for students, a W&L tradition that fits this university’s deep commitment to individual responsibility and trust. But, while the journalism professors keep our distance, we think the message sent out to the entire community on Wednesday reflects several misunderstand- ings that need to be addressed. First of all, the Phi does n_ot have “the right to print whatever it pleases.” Newspapers, even inde- pendent student newspapers, are bound by all sorts of constraints, from the role and responsibility of journalists as the information providers in a free society, to standards of accuracy and fair- ness, to legal constraints includ- ing libel law. Those constraints serve both to give journalists a template against which to mea- sure their own performance and to ensure the free flow of infor- mation that is critical to empow- ering citizens. That makes another assertion in the statement particularly curi- ous — that a matter of public re- cord and reader interest -- police incident reports involving W&L students -- ought to be with- held from a student newspaper because they cause unnecessary distress for the students who have been charged. Is W&L really this set apart? If there is to be any zone of “public life” on an other- wise insulated campus, we would think this would be it — arrest records. The names of arrested persons routinely appear in com- munity newspapers across the nation. Is it a violation of W&L’s standards of civility and respect for such information to appear as well in a campus newspaper? This, it seems to us, is suggesting that j oumalism itself is a violation of W&L’s “keep it in the family” culture. It’s an interesting point of view, but we disagree. If the Phi editors’ primary criterion for deciding what should be reported is whether some might find the reporting uncivil, then the W&L community will be poorly served by its student media, and that community will ultimately suf- fer. This is not to defend the way that the Phi has laced the police shorts with catty commentary. Such commentary would never appear in a mainstream news- paper. It is for the Phi to learn what is appropriate for student journalism. Certainly, cattiness is a feature of many a campus newspaper, but the combination in “Behind Bars” perhaps needs revisiting. That is a matter for the ' student staff, not Reid Hall. The Phi printed a noxious er- ror this week, mistaking someone who had been arrested for a W&L student. Errors of fact ought to be acknowledged, apologized for and corrected, as the Phi has done. Errors and misjudgments are committed by all news out- lets, including student media, but we don’t believe that that justifies favoring a civil community over an informed one. Brian Richardson Department Head Dayo Abah Assistant Professor Doug Cumming Assistant Professor Bob de Maria Professor Pam Luecke Reynolds Professor of Business Journalism John X. Miller Reynolds Distinguished Visiting Professor Hampden H. Smith III Professor Ed Wasserman Knight Professor of Journalism Ethics Student questions Phi’s intent To the Editor: I do not understand the point of the Phi ’s section where you ex- pose all the crimes that W&L stu- dents to the community and their parents. The current issue of you publicly accusing someone of falsely committing a crime aside, this section makes public very negative and sometimes sensitive information about our students and casts thepaper and university in college, the consequences of which are more than visited upon them by the Lexington police. What are you really achieving by informing the entire student body and the alumni community about some of our student body’s trans- gressions? I’m sure you have some justification, but I think you would be wise to consider how this section appears to the stu- dents, and the image it creates of would be much better served by an intelligent editorial or other- wise inforrnative article in the place of the police beat, which is essentially tattle-taling. Let the local newspapers spend their time chronicling all the little problems that our students get into, as the paper of a respected academic in- stitution, spend your time writing substance of academic merit. Tyler Van Leeuwen in general in a bad light. Every- the W&L community. C1-ass of2()06 one makes mistakes, especially I think the paper and students .j_____?_{,., WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY 'YI5ItDrS5 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NEWS EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR ARTS&L|FE EDITOR C O P Y ED I T 0 R CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DESIGN DIRECTOR DESIGNER BUSINESS MANAGER THE RING -TUM PHI. THE RING-TUM PHI IS PUBLISHED MONDAYS DURING THE UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL YEAR AT WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY, LEXINGTON. VIRGINIA. THE RING-TUM PHI IS A MEMBER OF THE MEDIA BOARD. WHICH CAN BE REACHED AT MED|ABOARD@WLU.EDU, BUT IS OTHERWISE INDEPENDENT. ' THE RING-TUM PHI WELCOMES ALL LETTERS. ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE E—MAlLED TO PHI@WLU.EDU OR IN THE UNIVERSITY CENTER MAILBOX BY 5 P.M. FRIDAY TO APPEAR IN THE FOLLOWING WEEK'S EDITION. THE RING- TUM PHI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EDIT SUBMISSIONS FOR CONTENT AND LENGTH. LETTERS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OPINION OF THE RING-TUM PHI EDITORIAL BOARD. ADVERTISING DOES NOT REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF THE RING-TUM PHI OR ITS STAFF THIS NEWSPAPER OBSERVES CURRENT COURT DEFINITIONS OF LIBEL AND OBSCENITY. 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@WLU.EDU SUBSCRIPTION RATE $40 KATHERINE GREENE JACOB GEIGER AMANDA THOLKE TIM LIVINGSTON KATHRYN KRALL DANHARRIS E.I.BOYER MIKEFAHEY JACOB GEIGER MADELINE GENT THOMAS GIFT SARAH KIENTZ JESSICA SHAW KATE SHELLNUTT ELLIOTT WALKER STEPH WIECHMANN EMILY HULEN MELISSA (ARON DAVID SEIFERT '_ "I"u=::.n<§atg».f:§atz;rctl.a_g I 1 am until 5: psi: V IT] I730 ' 5:r:t..4t>ec;:a C}.A.i..i.Ii.i(I'g,e.%.r)c:=E on Spring Break Trip! April 9-14, Cost $550 Deadline to sign up: March 12 Spend your break in the Outer Banks of North Carolina hang gliding, sea kayaking, and charter boat fishing. Trip includes transportation, all meals, activities, and equipment. Lodg- ing will be in a wonderful bed—and—breakfast in Manteo, NC. We will cook our own gourmet meals in the kitchen and use of their indoor facilities. Space is extremely limited for this trip so do not delay! For more info, email us at outing@wlu.edu or call ext. 4066. Position Announcement Undergraduate Admissions Counselor The Washington and Lee Office of Undergraduate Admissions wishes to announce an opening for Admissions Counseior. Responsibilities inciude extensive recruitment {rave}, ap;>licar_i_on evaluaticm, and conducting student. interviews and group int'on'nar:ion sessions. Strong communication skills and demonstrated organizationai abiiities are expected. The successful candidate wil} be both willing and able to work as part of a highly successful admissions team, yet will be capable of creative self-direction. Some evening and weekend work is necessary. Candidates should be wiiiing to commit at least two years to the position. : A Bacheiofs degree is required. as is a valid driver’s Iiccnse. latcrestcct candidates should submit a cover letter and resume, including two references, no later than Tuesday, March Zr". Ali materials shouid be sent to: Jonathan Webster Associate Dean of Admissions Ofiiee of Admissions Washington and Lee University Lexington. VA 2.44 50 Vlanltlre ultimate spring physique? Then it's time to start working on it now, and Campus Recreation Fitness classes are a perfect place to start. Classes are held in the Dance Studio located on the 300 level in the Doremus Gym. Unlimited classes forthe rest . of the year — only $50! Purchased one at a time, classes are $10 each. Winter term schedule: Mondays: Power yoga 4:00‘-5:00, Step 5:00-6:00 Tuesdays: Sports Circuit 6:30-7:30 Wednesdays: Yoga 4:30-6:00 Thursdays: Pilates 12:05-12:50, Kickboxing 5:30-6:30 For more info, visit http://studentaffairswlu.edu/campusactivities/fitness_classes.htm OCR::/Vol_108/WLURG39_RTP_20060306/WLURG39_RTP_20060306_006.2.txt 6 0 THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, MARCH 6, 2006 Q 1 \ i 1 '1 . . SMALL ANiMAL PET CARE ' ' f\v'leiiiciziefSur ery1‘I)entis£ry/’Boardin (Grooming 8 . _ 3 . Is _1‘(3IIi‘p(’4’ alone write you are at classes or sports? Bring your pet to our daycare.’ We love the Gkuiermls ’ pets! ‘at I ‘I0‘?«"n {)F}9‘ IWRST VISIIT WITH TB [5 COUPON Route 1] North, ‘A mile beyond Wabmart & Lewes Emphasizing players ’ looks and door prizes would revitalize lagging fan support 463'-2015 i H E S A I D cheerleading squad, but I am sure 5 H E S A I D ignates the captain needs to go. they would be glad to help out I can’t see that. The athlete is Iwas walking around the James the eause- Sometimes I wish I went to a eonstantly in motion so l bet the * ' ’ Madison University campus, and B)’ the Ways has anYone seen state school lwould love to go ref is struggling as well. Ithink Z a Itd Z )- ‘ how ood our cheerleaders have - ' ' their mascot approached me and 2 _ to a football game m my school captains should have to go shirt— tried to a fight gotten thls year? I would be pr0_ud colors’ face painted and actually ICSS. It would eliminate 3 l0t Of NOW, In)’ first instinct Was 110i, t0 have them at all of our Spomng cheer on my team fora full game, problems for the onlookers and ’ “how do you fight Rack against. events next year’ f I like sports, but at this school I those lnV0lVefl- t a Student dressed hke a dog?” Have yoil. Seen the new ace‘ am just disinterested. It seems For that matter» the eaptaln Rather, it was? ufioes W&L have a book group IhSl'10l).I’l’(l Have Gone like everyone is‘ We care about position Should be rotated every mascot like this? So that basically to a State so ool- l am Prett)’ our artiesnboth omica1andso_ week. I understand there are a o .... thinking ..i..... .. win. Jealous aiiomiose cam miphair ciothesvbank is of that goes a 205 5 Magnolia Ave myriad of other things relating to Crazles; In fact, I Own a shlrt Just GP]; :1 BA ’b ’ c0ach,S choice like Com osure B V0 VA 2 44 ,1 W&L and its sports scene. to support Duke an C) ut not really h /f Id 1 dp h. ' ’ why dorm our Students paint Here is my hig idea why not about the athletic prowess of our onlt e Cour; le ab eal iers ll: 2 64~O02 9 their bodies blue and white on a have Duke sorlmmage W&L? 1 fellow students. Did welustrun Polnts score , et.c‘'9 ut Just as daily basis? Does anyone know mean so What 1fWe lose b)’ a sou‘ out of energy to care? gr 3 cguplte addlglonsftfi thl: list‘ that we have All_Amerioah swim- ple hundred points? I would pay Idoubt that. Ihave seen some 0W a ou nurn er 0 00 -ups . . , I so - / at mers walking the Colonnade with for (or at least l Would ofYou on FrldaY nlght at the pelson had thls Weekend"a D T us? But most importantly what can SWip€ home) front 3 a.m. and then again Teal Wlnner makes out a l0t- A . .2 _ v= - . r t . . mils §.»1{.l min order we do to change these perceptions. roW tle kets on Saturday at 4 Captaln should be able to set a Ihave some pretty good ideas that Just to Watch a.m.. If you good example on and off the ‘ Ithink the school should include in J .1. Redick can maintain court. S V ‘ P S b V , its ten-year evaluation plan. sWeat-» 30 those dance It is not like the people play- u S‘ I I think that the sports teams InanY Pee‘ moves for ing are not good looking. We should start doing things to reward P16 Woula that long and all have Facebook and luckily PaSta"EtC. lts rans~ For example, maybe there come 0“ still he stand- for us the athletes have created should be a door prize like free to see the in ~ th ' I Th hl ‘ I it i i , . g in those eir own groups. e at etic _ _i i y _ _i _ . ‘I H tuition at all the games. Bring Sam: thfilit heels then you department Website even has Clpfiplt Il\v‘l0ll(iE_‘y’ lllfli II11.Ilf'Sdd_‘,' . ' ' ma e e ’ t . A lt::;kat(To1c)gra:rri§eafIo(rl aIt1t::Eiii:gfTEi: W0)l,lld stayrt can manage to 5“ plctures to emiouragé. imd 611- I If l\/I football games. eornlng to more through a full foot hance our Stalkmg ablhtlesl We & Siillllilily I Pd also like to I0 036 add_ Ofihem. ball, basketball, soccer or can browse through the roster 7 ing wireless internei) topthe gym The Faoebook group also talks even lacrosse game‘ without leaving our Computer l 1 Ix l ' - ' '- h ' . Th h h ~ . . I mean to be honest, I shouldbe about how people can wear ler— fi dS:)hn0w lt)liat we haVCd1(tl€nt1t :o:1n1re0ne:rV1i1‘(:’he(1I; \t:’:lya::pft<:ll::§ Siinday: getting credits for my Facebooking seys of sports stars at DlVlsloh l e 6 pro em we nee O ge . . . . 1 7 3N1 ' i3 skills. 1 spend a good two hours schools. Maybe jerseys are not for you the games and then keep our nnaglnatlon We Can get up » -=l- - “‘ l S) 5 , ohookmg “other photos of__j’ everyone, but would it be possible you there. Luckily for those in from the Computer and head and “Friends in common with _ 3’ for the bookstore to carry a better charge, I have a few ideas. 0Ver to the field/Court/track and what ifl could spend those two variety of hats? I would like to be Firstoffi there should he pam- watch so-and-so run around in hours while also watching W&L able to Wear a fitted hat Without phlets available to the spectator. their fabulous unlf01'rns- There is play the sport of my choice? l being assumed to be a member of 1am not talking about a program nothing better than aman/woman V suppose the audience participation the W&L baseball team that I pay $10 for and throw away in uniform. _ _ V would be ICSS, but S0 what. Some- In closing: lld like to propose aftgr the game becauselhave Idst I ICEIVC yOU thC most T‘ .. .“ times the bodies in the seats mean an ldea t0 the W&L t‘aeultY- Y’all all use for it_ what 1 need is an obvious of choices: bring back ' _ ‘vie: A more than the noise they mako like to encourage us to se.e-speak- instruction manuai For instance, tailgating. I am only a SophO_ " 7 For my next set of improve" as as part oféoulse requirements what makes a foul ball a foul more, but l do hear the stories - ’ mentS7 l W011l