OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20070115/WLURG39_RTP_20070115_001.2.txt MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2007 A botched execution Saddam is finally dead and buried, but his wild trial and rushed hanging mean that the tyrant will continue to trouble lraq. -- Page 2 33‘ ‘il“§E SFUWIJEHTS villi! Pfilifl THE Silifififlifl $lHCE ‘SE9? LEE Ul‘lll,«"ERSl’l‘l’ VOLUME CX, NUMBER 10 12 new dark colored towels 12 new white towels peanut butter and as- sorted jellies working electrical outlets catered Jamaican food, including plan- vtains 2 boxes of Lifestyles and Rough Riders condoms Busta gets One of rap ’s biggest names comes to W&L for a special Wednesday night concert ust Busta By Kat Greene EXECUTIVE EDITOR Items In hls espite his Dec. 26 ar- ’ rest, Busta Rh"mes dressing will be perfortnihg at room before Washington and Lee - this Wednesday. he performs. Margo McClinton, who helped the General Activities Board plan the concert, said the incident was not significant enough to prevent Rhymes’s performance Wednes- day night. “Even if you look at the case, its not that big a deal,” she said. “He”s coming, and it’s going to be a great time.” Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith, turned himself in to the Manhattan police on Jan. 4. He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and possession of knives and other weapons. A former bodyguard has filed a police report that claims Rhymes hit him in the face when he came to collect some money he was owed. Rhymes was released on $3 500 bail, but his lawyer told MTV. com that the arrest was “payback” for Rhymes ’s refusal to cooperate with police in an assault case last August. In that incident, police accused Rhymes of kicking a man in the head for spitting on his car. Police later found a machete in the back- seat of Rhymes’s car, but, accord- ing to Rhymes’s lawyer, it was a fake machete used in the rapper’s show. Rhymes is the one of the big- gest acts brought in by GAB. Mc- Clinton said that the group was “kind of shocked” when they found out they had booked him. She said the group felt as though they were in “a little over our heads,” but she credits the students involved with stepping up to prepare for the big perfor- mance. John Allgood, who has led the operation to book Rhymes, said that everyone in the committee has a job to do to pull everything together. “There are about a hundred different things that have to be done,” he said. “It’s a group ef- fort.” The show, which is expected to sell out Wednesday, has already received a big response from the community. A facebook flyer has helped get the word out. McClinton said she has even heard from local high school students who want to attend. McClinton said that the genre change may be the major attrac- tion for most students, who, she See “PLANNERS” on page 4 irebsl*e<3ah~ A yg;‘i:;e::u)i_i_:¢r try gtnegjcammojns‘ “ J the.:sh§nv begins at"‘10j;p.m; 3 .3. 3' it ‘:3 2. C % 3 oet speaks on King By Jacob Geiger MANAGING EDITOR A daylong celebration of Mar- tin Luther King Jr. ‘s life concludes tonight with a speech in Lee Cha- pel by poet Sonia Sanchez. Sanchez, who has written more than a dozen books of poet- ry, will speak at 7:30 p.m. There will be a candlelight march from Lee Chapel to Evans Hall after her speech. Onyx Vice President Yvonne Coker said the Martin Luther King Day planning committee was impressed with Sanchez‘s ac- complishments. “We chose her because of her reputation within the Civil Rights Movement,” Coker said, “and her association with the black arts movement.” Other members of the selec- tion committee included Onyx President Cherrelle Moser, Qui- ana McKenzie of the Multicul- tural Student Association, E”Lon Cohen of the Joyful Noise gospel choir, Associate Dean of Students Tamara Futrell, and English pro- fessor Laura Brodie. Sanchez, a native of Birming- _ ham, Alabama, was born Wilsonia Benita Driver. She spent nearly 30 years in Harlem before mov- ing to Philadelphia and teaching at Temple University from 1976- 1999. She earned the 1985 Amer- ican Book Award for her book “homegirls & handgrenades.” Sanchez has written about sex- ism, child abuse, and class con- flicts. She often abandons formal English and writes in American black speech patterns. Coker said Onyx and the MSA were trying to organize a commu- nity-oriented event for people of all ages. “We want to bring the W&L, VMI, Lexington and even Rock- bridge County communities to- gether,” Coker said. To further involve the local community, Brodie worked with Futrell to organize a birthday party for Dr. King. The party was held this afiemoon in the Commons. Brodie advertised the event in local elementary and pre- schools. “The idea for an event came about from a group of community members, not just W&L folks,” Brodie said. “Mostly it was par- ents wondering what to do with our kids on this day.” Though Brodie originally planned to host a small party, the event was switched to the Com- mons at the invitation of Futrell, who said W&L had both the re- sources and the space. “We want young children to be introduced to Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement,” Brodie said. The party featured games and face painting organized by W&L students. It also, of course, had cake and ice cream. Cyndi Atkins organized a po- etry writing contest for middle Speech by Sonia Sanchez caps a day of celebration and reflection school students. Atkins is a mem- ber of the English Department at Roanoke College and serves as the artistic director of the local Writ- ers at Jordan House program. Brodie said the contest was aimed at middle school students because Atkins thought most pro- grams were focused on elemen- tary or high school students. 95 area middle school students entered the contest, and three stu- dents were selected to read their poems before Sanchez ’s speech. Brodie said some local teachers made the contest part of a class- room assignment. This evening’s program will involve more than just Sanchez ’s speech and the poetry reading. A concert by Joyful Noise and Afri- can drumming are also planned. Coker said she hopes Sanchez will share her memories of King. “We’re interested in hearing her perspective of the Civil Rights movements and [how it relates] to Dr. King’s legacy.” Fraterni brea kd own Now that Tear Night is history and pledgeship is officially underway, here s a breakdown of how many pledges each fraternity will have. Phi Kap has the largest pledge class, and Pi Phi has the smallest. Chi Psi ........................ ..1O Pi Kappa Alpha ......... .. 18 Kappa Alpha ............. ..1O Pi Kappa Phi .............. .. 4 Kappa Sigma ............ .. 13 Sigma Alpha 9 Lambda Chi Alpha .... .. 18 Epsilon ...................... .. 16 _ Phi Delta Theta ......... .. 18 Sigma Chi ................. .. 13 Phi Gamma Delta ..... .. 20 Sigma Nu .................. .. 7 Phi Kappa Psi ........... .. 12 Sigma Phi Epsilon .... .. 9 Phi Kappa Sigma ...... _. 21 OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20070115/WLURG39_RTP_20070115_002.2.txt r"-. Act? ' l.:i:i;-t. -rcsiiou 3. tr urizvsrzsnl iii, -:§§li‘f:’:"-'_w, 3/.-I“. :.*4r;:.+,;_i 2 0 THE RING-TUM PHI t ‘Z 2807 HS MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2007 Saddam Hussein: dangerous dead Saddam is trial, execution screw-ups increase instability By cody Beauchamp C 0 L U M N l S T I have a disturbing feeling that Saddam Hussein had the last laugh. Sure, he’s dead, executed by his enemies for the crime of mass murder. But in his trial and now execution, he may have gotten the death he wanted. First, there was the travesty of his trial. To put it bluntly, the new Iraqi government dropped the ball lobbed to it by America. In December 2003, the Pro- vincial Authority made a poor decision when they decided to let the Iraqis try Hussein. Certainly the people of Iraq de- served to see the man be brought to justice. They also deserved to take part in that justice. But the judiciary set up by the new Iraqi government is untested at best and a downright mess at worst. Throughout the trial, legal scholars and experts worldwide couldn’t help but agree with Hussein’s claims that his trial was fundamentally unjust. Multiple lawyers were killed by insurgents attempting to dis- rupt the trial. The first chief judge, Rizgar gylslloharnmed Amin, mid- t£é?i£°mPlei1.3k!8‘::9§:8¢YFm¥.!E“t . interference. More lawyers were killed. It was the kind of shabby af- fair that would be declared a mis- trial and retried had it occurred in aUnited States court and had it occurred to anyone not named Saddam Hussein. The problem with all of this isn’t that Hussein never had a chance of escaping conviction. The more the execution looked like a lynching, the more ammunition is given to the myth of Saddam. He was a dead man from the moment the U.S. declared war on him. Had he somehow been acquit- ted of the charges of his “Dujail Trial,” he would have most assur- edly been convicted in his “Anfal Trial.” If not with that trial, then any of the numerous other trials that could have been brought against him for torturing and killing his own people for decades. The problem is, the fact that the trial wasn’t done on the up- and-up undermines the Iraqi gov- emment’s legitimacy. To many Sunnis, it made the Shiite-controlled government look incapable of being just. This is the kind of sentiment that will only feed the sectarian violence that is keeping Iraq from stability. The Shiite and Kurd-filled Iraqi court system should have called the trial for what it was—a farce—and retried Hussein. They should haveshown the; world that they weren’t out for re- venge for the decades of mistreat- ment under Hussein by taking their time and doing it right. But they didn’t. The execution botched. If you have the stomach, check out the videos of Hussein’s hang- ing. The witnesses jeered; was also the Wnsnmcmn AND LEE UNIVERSITY -----—-~———— THE RING -’l‘UM PHI. EXECUTIVE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR ARTS&L|FE EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR COPY EDITOR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DESIGN EDITOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS BUSINESS MANAGER MISSION STATEMENT: it is the mission of THE RING-TUM PHI to accurately, truthfully, and thoroughly report news affecting the Washington and Lee community for students, faculty. parents and alumni. Our goal is to look deeper into news affecting campus life and hold leaders accountable. Through our reporting, we aspire to spark discussions that lead to discovering information that prompts change. THE RING-TUM PHI is published Mondays during the undergraduate school year. THE RING-TUM PHI is a member of The Media Board, which can be reached at mediaboard@w|u.edu. but _ is otherwise independent.THE RING-TUM PHI welcomes all letters. We reserve the right to edit submissions for content and length. Letters and advertising do not necessarily reflect the opinion of THE RING-TUM PHI 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 $45 KATHERINE GREENE JACOB GEIGER STACEY GRIJALVA JESSICA SHAW MIKE FAHEY CATHERINE CARLOCK CODY BEAUCHAMP ABEL S. DELGADO BRIAN DEVINE LARA JORDAN MELISSA CA_RON MICHAEL KEENAN LENORA NUNNLEY DAVID SHUBICK _ting (and actuallyahav-i.ng.s_ome le-,,....._. gitimacy in the.S.¢ bcliefgthat the L, hangmen taunted. And with the exception of one outburst (in which he cursed the “Persians,” his Iranian enemies from the Iraqflran War), Hussein, to his credit, looked dignified and calm. The aura he maintained throughout the affair actually— somewhat disturbingly—evokes sympathy. If you could somehow Photo- shop the face of a black man onto Hussein’s, you would think the video was of a K lynching. For shame. The more the execution looked like a lynching, the more ammu- nition is given to the myth of Sad- dam Hussein. There is a dangerous amount of room to view him as a martyr, something that is dangerous for Iraq’s stability. Surmi extremists can now fight on in the insurgency, sadly, with even more tenacity, believ- Shiite government is incapable of actually dispensing fair justice. Hussein most likely believed until his last moment alive that he was still the true leader of Iraq. He would have loved nothing more than to see the new Iraqi govern- ment’s legitimacy questioned. Thanks to the botched job, the lynching-esque air of his execu- tion, Saddam got that last laugh. fl-¢"'. Rush: Thank goodness it’s over. Everyone hates it, and now we can all get back to our lives. In the past week, people have pushed themselves to the limit both physically and emotionally, just to make this momentous Greek event go off without a hitch—which, by the way, it never does- and for what? Some people risked it all, really putting themselves out there, just to be rejected. Oth- ers put in investment-banking hours to help decorate, orga- nize and plan each night. Sure, rush can be very ex- citing, particularly because for many, it decides which let- ters you will wear for the rest of your college career (if not your life). ». comeuat Last week, friendships were both forged and de- stroyed, all because of these long-running traditions that so determine our way of un- ffeditorial The week from hell is finished With bids and balls, our identities are forged derstanding the social envi- ronment at this university. People turned their backs on their actual friends in order to better affiliate themselves with Greek ones. People took it personally when their friends didn’t choose their Greek organizations. The organizations are meant to build bonds. But ofien they destroy more than they build. And to what does all of this stress, all of this lost sleep and all of this pain amount? A social structure that ex- cludes more than it includes, divides more than it unites and, in general, perpetuates stereotypes so much that the casual use of them is accept- able, if not expected, in every- day conversation. It has become so imprinted firm-t.1_1_.<=.,.,.i. ® the W&L Tournament for his im- pressive displays against King’s Point (14 points, 6 rebounds) and Emory (28 points, 11-of-14 from the floor). Though Bienemann’s per- formances have stood out, the team’s play as a whole has risen since losing to Virginia Wesleyan on the 3"" of December. Since then, the Generals are 4-1, with the game at Roanoke their only loss. That contest was a back- and-forth affair, featuring poor shooting from both teams. Roa- noke was paced by Curtis Peery, whose double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds) helped the Maroons make up a 10-point deficit in the last four minutes of the first half. The lead continued to change hands in the second half, until Roanoke pulled ahead 60-56 with ninety seconds left. From then, the Generals were forced to foul to stop the clock, and Roanoke’s success at the charity stripe (26 of 39) proved decisive. Against Bridgewater it was the Generals whose shooting proved superior. They hit 27 of 41 shots from the field. Again led by Bi- enemann (26 points, six rebounds) and fellow junior forward Femi Kusimo (21 points, a career high), the Generals never trailed in the game. The Eagles did make it close in the fourth quarter but the Generals, like Roanoke a week before, were deadly from the foul GREG BIENEMANN, Junior line in the clutch, making 9 of 12 in the final 1:51 of play to seal the victory. The win over the Eagles snapped a 21-game losing streak in ODAC road games, a string of losses dating back to February of 2004. This week the Generals will try to continue their recent suc- cess against ODAC opposi- tion, hosting Emory & Henry on Wednesday before traveling to the second-ranked Hampden-Sydney Tigers at the week’s end. Interested in Girl Scout Cookies? Support local Brownie Troop 161 and order some cookies! $3.50] box with proceeds supporting the troop. Place your order with a Brownie family member: John Blackburn in Uni- versity Computing (for Abby) Alex Brown in Philosophy (for Sophie) Elizabeth Knapp, As- sociate Dean of the Col- lege (for Jenner) Fred LaRiviere in Geolo- gy (for Analiese) Joan Robins with Hillel (for Hannah) Dawn Watkins, Dean of Student Affairs (for Jill) Boxes available on or around February 12 -- just in time for Valentine's Day! buyatoyota.com *NOT All CUSTOMERS WILL QUALIFY. CUSTOMERS RECEIVE $400 FROM TOYOTA TOWARDS LEASING OR FINANCING THE PURCHASE OF NEW UNTITLED TOYOTA MODELS THROUGH PARTICIPATING TOYOTA DEALERS AND TOYOTA FINANCIAL SERVICES. SEE DEALER OR VISIT WWW.TOYOTAFINANCIAL.COM/ FINANCE FOR DETAILS. COLLEGE GRADUATE PROGRAM IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR TERMINATION AT ANY TIME. ‘NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY. MAKING A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. TO ENTER YOU MUST BE A LEGAL U.S. RESIDENT AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD AND YOU MUST HAVE A VALID DRIVER'S LICENSE. VISIT YOUR PARTICIPATING TOYOTA DEALER OR WINAYARISONLINE.COM FOR COMPLETE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND SWEEPSTAKES RULES. OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20070115/WLURG39_RTP_20070115_006.2.txt 6 0 THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2007 snorts deck. Mon Tues Wen Tnuns FRI SAT SuN at King's Wrestling P°'"t Quad 9:30am Men’; vé at at L'B|lNg flask ll -koopm g 4:00pm 3.00pm , VS Women 8 vs R-MC vs MBC Bywate, Basketball 7=°°P'" 7=°°Pm 2:00pm hi 21,33 Pool record setting time recorded by Junior swlmmer Tlm McGlaston In the 50 freestyle for the Washington and Lee men's swimming team. McGlaston also set a pool record In winning the 100 freestyle and was a part of one of W&L’s two 200 free relays that tied for flrst place In a pool-record setting time. Washington and Lee defeated Wlngate Unlverslty 148-114. 75 Number of rebounds pulled in by the Washington and Lee women’s basketball team, setting a new school record. The Generals notched the stat on Saturday afternoon against Randolph-Macon Women’s College. The Generals also recorded 41 offenslve boards. Washington and Lee defeated Randolph-Man Women’s College by a score of 73-49. 3 Numbers of Wrestler’s on the Washington and Lee wrestling team that won the championship In their weight class. Freshman Sam Brusca won the 125-pound weight class, Junior 165-pounder Anthony Bonlello won his weight class, and junior Jesse Sataloff claimed the championship In the‘ 174-pound weight bracket. Junior Dave Shublck and sophomore Rob Terrln placed second In their weight classes. -box “So he can watch me in playoffs. “ —- Chargers LB Shawe Merriman on why he sent Dolphins DE Jason Taylor, who said Merriman shouldn't make the Pro Bowl because she was suspended for taking steroids, a bag of popcorn. From Sl.com ‘‘I had an absolutely wonderful career that I am very proudof. I’m not in control of what happens -— l was in control of hitting the ball.’’ -Mark McGwire’s reaction after coming in 9th in Hall of Fame ballots. McGwire has faced scrutiny for steriod use in the recent past, which many speculate is the reason why he was not selected for the hall of fame. From Sl.com M Anthony Boniello wrestles an opponent at the W&L Tournament. Boniello took the title in the 165-weight division. All jacked up ' MICHAEL KEENAN / Staff Photographer Wrestlers take third place at W&L Tournament as three Generals win titles in their weight classes and two wrestlers take lose in the championship match By Mike Fahey sponrs EDITOR The Washington and Lee wrestling team placed third out of eight teams at the W&L Tourna- ment held on Saturday at the War- ner Center. Muhlenberg won the team title with 86 points, followed by Johns Hopkins with 77.5 points, and W&L with 75.5 points. The Generals were very pleased with their performance. Junior wrestler Anthony Boni- ello said,“As a team we wrestled very well. We were only a couple points behind first place. The competition has definitely gone up since last year.” Three Generals won their weight classes, while two lost in the championship match of their weight classes. Junior Adam Hockensmith was very pleased with the team’s performance at the tournament. He said, “l thought we wrestled well. We could have wrestled bet- ter. Sam Brusca really stepped up. He was down in his match, and he came back with a really good chin whip and pinned his guy.” Freshman Sam Brusca was undefeated going 2-0 overall to win the championship in the 125-pound weight class. Brusca pinned Muhlenberg’s Mike Te- nenhaus in the championship match, 4:28 into the match. Hockensmith added, “[Brus- ca’s victory’] was a big win for the team.” Junior 165-pounder Anthony Boniello also went 2-0 overall to capture the title in his weight class. Boniello downed Scran- ton’s Steve Tatum in the finals of the 165-pound weight class by a score of 3-1. Junior Jesse Sataloff claimed the championship of the 174- pound bracket by winning a total of three matches, including an 11- 2 decision in the championship match. Junior David Shublck fell to SAM BRUSCA, Freshman a Muhlenberg wrestler ranked in . the top 10 nationally in the cham- pionship match of the 133-pound weight class, while sophomore Rob Terrin was defeated in the championship match of the 141- pound bracket by a wrestler from Johns Hopkins. The Generals have started the See “WRESTLERS" on page 5 Winning Weekend for Bball Women ’s basketbell sets new school records for rebounds in one game By Mike Fahey spoms EDITOR The Washington and Lee women’s basketball team won two ODAC contests over the weekend, besting Lynchburg Col- lege on Friday evening and Ran- dolph-Macon Women’s College on Saturday afternoon. On Friday, the Generals ended a six-game losing streak with a 76-68 overtime victory over Lynchburg College. Lynchburg had a two point ad- vantage at halftime, and then held a 40-32 lead with less then 14 KRISTI KROUCHICK, Junior Lynchburg: ‘E :20 points and careerhigli 13 it ’ T? minutes remaining in regulation. However, the Generals countered with an 18-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 50-42 lead with a little over nine minutes re- maining. W&L held the lead for nearly the remainder of regulation time, until Lynchburg nailed a three- pointer with 10 seconds left to tie the game at 62-62. The extra session belonged to the Generals from the start as senior forward Jessica Hunsinger gave W&L the lead on a lay-up just 35 seconds into overtime. The Generals never rebounds Randolph~Macon Women’s college; ’ 14 points and 10 rebounds 5 trailed again. The Generals were paced by junior forward Kristen Krouchick, who notched a season-high 20 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Bethany Ridenhour posted a career-high 20 points and four assists, and junior guard Em- ily Wolff contributed 13 points. Hunsinger added 10 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals. The Generals then set a school record when they grabbed 75 re- bounds, including 41 offensive boards, in defeating Randolph- Macon Women’s College 73-49 on Saturday afternoon. The Generals broke the game open with a 16-6 run midway through the first quarter which helped them to take a 10-point lead into the break. The lead re- mained at 10 points with a little over 12 minutes left in the game, but another W&L run, this time a 21-4 spurt over 10 minutes gave the Generals a commanding 27- point lead with two minutes left in the game. W&L had a 75-21 overall ad- vantage in rebounds and had three Q players record a double-double in points and rebounds. Freshman center Kaitlyn Kamp led the way with career-highs in both points and rebounds. Kamp notched 15 points and added 13 rebounds. Krouchick tallied 14 points and 10 boards, while Hunsinger had 10 points and 13 rebounds. Ridenhour was a ’fourth Gener- als to score double figures as she accounted for 10 points and six rebounds. The Generals have had a great start to their season, behind the . strong play of Krouchick and Hunsinger. They have also had great contributions from Riden- hour and Wolff. Washington and Lee improved their record to 5-7 overall. Wash- ington and Lee returns to action on Tuesday as it hosts Randolph- Macon for a 7:00 pm contest at the Warner Center.