OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20080922/WLURG39_RTP_20080922_001.2.txt Under the lights of Wilson Field Football team pulls a victory over SVU in aclose game and the first to be held atthe newly reopoened stadium OPINIONS / page 4 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY THE RING-TUM PHI. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22,2008 BY THE STUDENTS AND FOR THE STUDENiTS SINCE 1897 VOLUME CXII, NUMBER 3 By Adrianna Alley STAFF WRITER This fall, the color that’s sweeping the W&L campus is green, green, and more green. With the rise in environmental awareness in recent years, the administration is setting the tone with initiatives intended to help protect the environment. President Ruscio opened the year with the 2008-2009 Insti- tutional Priorities. In this list of priorities lies W&L’s mission to be environmentally conscious. “This initiative is creating an overall structure to support the individual initiatives that are taking place,” said President Ruscio. One, Ruscio said, is to build, “awareness of how we can do better with our use of energy, with minimizing our carbon footprint, and treading gently on our local environment, such as Woods Creek.” Since the start of the environ- mental studies program in the mid 1990s, W&L has committed to informing students about en- vironmental issues. “This year is different because we are ready to move to the next phase. This is a long term com- mitment,” Ruscio said. While there have been efforts on campus to reduce waste with recycling, the administration recognized that was only the be- ginning. “Klean Kanteens” are one way W&L is raising awareness of the importance of sustainabil- ity. With concern about plastic causing cancer and polluting, Klean Kanteens are an environ- mentally friendly alternative to Nalgenes or disposable water bottles. Some services on campus have evolved to fit this initia- tive. In the dining hall, there are no longer food trays, which 60049 green W&L sets Star Units that should result in significant savings in water and energy consumption. For take—out, the Co-op now “It is going to be important for students to accept the challenge. The University is try- ing to set an example and minor changes can make a real difference. ’ 1 Kenneth Ruscio, University President will save water and lessen food waste. The washing machines have been replaced with Energy uses “greenware” containers that are bio—degradable. Moving to bio—degradable products saved . example, adopts green standard almost $7,000 last year for the University. “It is important to encourage consumers to change their behav- iors, but in this way the school has taken a proactive approach by making certain the products are eco-friendly to begin with,” said sophomore Ine Tovo. The sustainability initiative goes beyond the W&L campus. W&L is focusing on working with Lexington on promoting sustainability. Valerie Cushman, Ruscio’s executive assistant, has been ap- pointed as a representative to the See “Sustainability” on page 2 ' Monitors on safe-ride system While students learn new Traveller routes, monitors are there to help By Anne Vesoulis STAFF WRITER Traveller Monitors are help- ing to clear up confusion on new Traveller routes by guiding stu- dents safely and systematically onto buses. Getting shoved and disorient- ed on a Friday night while trying to get home from a party can be I a problem for many students, es- pecially with the introduction of the new routes and stops, so the new system should make a dif- ference. “Traveller monitors assist stu- dents, especially first-years, with learning the different bus routes on Wednesday, Friday, and Sat- urday nights,” said Traveller co- ordinator Rebecca Koval. “Since we have a new Travel- ler system this year, we decided in late August that it would prob- ably be helpful to have Traveller employees standing at the main stops, directing students and an- swering questions,” she said. Traveller monitors gener- ally work in groups of two at the main stops along the blue and red Traveller routes and various other busy locations where stu- dents will be during the night. The monitors work on two shifts from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. and 12 a.m. to 2 a.m.. The job of the Traveller monitor, in addition to directing students to their desti- nation, is to make sure students board the Traveller vehicles in a safe, organized manner. “The purpose of the Monitor system is three-fold,” said se- nior David Vaught, a Traveller Monitor. “Firstly, it is to promote safety boarding and exiting the Traveller vehicles. Secondly, we are here to promote good behav- ior while on Traveller. Lastly, the‘ Monitors help students deter- mine which bus and route to take to get to any given place.” Three to four Monitors work on weekend nights and start off at Red Square and the Baker-Da- vis-Gillam quad to help students get on the correct bus when head- blue route and Windfall and oc- casionally the cabins for the red route. Monitors get on the buses to find out where to go once the parties end. Sometimes Monitors ride the buses with students to be “I think that it is a good idea to have people- assisting students...Many of us are in a new environment and find it hard to get around under normal circumstances. ’ Anna van Erven, flrst-year ing out to parties. They also hand out cards which illustrate the red and blue routes. Monitors stay at these locations until the majority of the crowd has left. Eventually, the monitors move to the party scene: David- son Park and Red Square for the I the eyes and ears for Traveller director, Ed Bulger. “The monitor system also provides a coherent institution and authoritative presence to maintain order,” Vaught said. “Sometimes, students can be very disrespectful to the Travel- ler drivers. What students need to understand is while Travel- ler is there for them, it is also a privilege. “I, as well as many of the oth- er Traveller drivers don’t appre- ciate getting cussed out by bel- ligerent students trying to get to a party or back to their places of residence. 1 think that the moni- tor system is helping to alleviate this issue. It ‘is more effective than simply an ad campaign,” he said. Vaught said keeping order can be difficult depending on the assertiveness and crowd control skills of the monitors. To ad- dress this issue at a Windfall par- ty, some monitors put students in line and gave them numbers to know how many people could fit on the next bus. “This line helped to keep peo- ple in order and prevented them from running around attempting to catch the bus in the middle of the road,” said Vaught. At present, the Monitor sys- tem is being evaluated in order to determine to what extent, if any, the system will continue. Koval said monitors would work on Friday and Saturday nights until September 27 and busy week- ends such as Homecoming and Alumni weekend. “I think that it’s a good idea to have people assisting students to get on the correct bus,” said first- year Anna van Erven. “Many of us are in a new environment and find it hard to get around under normal circumstances.” Many believe that the Travel- ler monitor system has been an effective and much-needed addi- tion to the Traveller program. “I’d give it 8 out of 10,” Vaught said. “It’s been very ef- fective in informing students of the new routes.” I OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20080922/WLURG39_RTP_20080922_002.2.txt l'‘'‘'’ n}. V I 5 - _ .\.-" WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VA 24450 (.3 z-’. ".;?’?.. .,, .. L... .. i i V‘. 2 - THE RING-TUM PHI M 0 N DAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 Johnson Lecture Series begins Brookhiser oflers lessons on leadership and insight into Washington 3 life By Jesslca stralt 3 TA F F W R I T E R Renowned journalist, biog- rapher and historian Richard Brookhiser spoke to a large audi- ence of students, faculty and lo- cals in Lee Chapel on Thursday. Brookhiser is the first guest of the Johnson Lecture Series in Leadership and Integrity. Brookhiser’s topic: one of Amer- ica’s greatest leaders, George Washington. Brookhiser stood at the lec- tern in a patriotic red and white striped shirt. His speech on Washington’s contributions as a leader in the American Revolu- tion and the founding of W&L engrossed audiences for over an houn Brookhiser is a senior edi- rnoiinrnn tor with the National Review, the author of many books on the /founding fathers and the creator of a PBS documentary on Wash- ington. Judging from his well- attended lecture, which was open to the public, many students and locals wanted to get to know George Washington a little bit better. Brookhiser discussed the ways in which Washington was a leader in all areas of his life, including his positions as a poli- tician, military officer and busi- nessman, and argued that the ' same values and traits of leader- ship still apply today. He focused on the importance of facing and solving problems, especially when dealing with others, along with the importance of accepting As a. recent college grad, you may , be eligible for a. $400 Incentive on any new Toyota. of your choice f in addition to other iricentlves,” See your Toyota. dealer for details. 400 Incentive (College GI’€td Ppogmmu) r J + V1I,SITb";W°Y0ta.com 01‘ additional offers the reality of a situation. “All leaders face problems, especially dealing with people, but most importantly,‘ in dealing with themselves,” said Brookhis- er. “Leaders have to know where they are, who they are and what of Washington, which proved ef- fective as they both entertained and educated the audience. “You have to be interested in history because history is inter- ested in you,” he said. “It’s done and it happened, but it keeps on “All leaders face problems, especially dealing with people, but most importantly in dealing with themselves. Leaders have to know where they are, who they are and what they are. ” Rlchard Brookhlser, Johnson Lecture Serles speaker they are, and be able to take that somewhere else.” Bro-okhiseralso told anecdotes happening and affecting how we live and what we do. You never have a clean slate.” Professor Rob Strong, head of the Johnson Program, said the decision to invite Brookhiser was easy. Brookhiser’s talk on Washington and leadership fit with the goals of the Johnson Program. “It made sense in a lot of ways,” Strong said. “Washington is a distant character everyone knows is great, but they have a hard time connecting with him. We often look at him at a dis- tance, from an angle.” Brookhiser is the first of many speakers sponsored by the Series. The Johnson Lecture Series, made possible by a $100 million donation, is one of the largest speaking endowments on campus at $15 million. The next guest speaker will be Liza Mundy, a Washington Post journalist and noted author, who will speak in Lee Chapel on October 7th. “The possibilities for the pro- - gram are endless,” said Strong. “I hope to hear from a lot of stu- dents with ideas.” Students who attended the presentation left with a greater appreciation of Washington and our school. “It gives me a lot of pride to know that W&L is founded on principles of great men like Washington,” said first year Luke Andersen. When asked what he would say to George Washington if they ever met, Richard Brookhiser’s response was “Thank you.” Sustainability contlnued from page 1 the city in finding ways to work with the community on sustainability. As well, dining services has forged relationships with local farmers and producers to bring fresh, local food into the dining hall. Through providing 10- cally grown food, local water supplies, soil fertility and biodiversity are benefit- ted. Likewise, W&L has its own campus garden to further these efforts. Ruscio hopes the initiative will set ' the trend for future sustainability ef- forts. .“It is going to be important for students to accept the challenge. The University is trying to set an example, and minor changes can make a real dif- ference,” Ruscio said. “Sustainability is also being con- scious about your decisions,” Cushman said. “Power down, and think about the length of your showers.” ®'rovoTA Starting September 28, W&L will hold a Campus Sustainability Week to raise the awareness of the effort to be- come a green campus. Events include a kick-off concert featuring the Adrienne Young Band, whose lyrics promote sus- tainability. Cushman said the administration would continue looking for ways to im- prove sustainability efforts on campus, such as the widespread use of recycla- ble stock, including paper and other of- fice supplies. “Of course there are still things we are exploring,” she said. The co-op demonstrates “greenness” wlth blo-degrad- able plates and cups. BRETT HOLTON / Copy Editor moving forward . buyatcyotucom OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20080922/WLURG39_RTP_20080922_003.2.txt THE RING-TUM PHI ° 3 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 opinions Don’t I know you? Joining that Greek house didn’t give you license to forget friends By Gozi Egbuonu COLU M NIST I know you’re wondering if you have picked up the wrong paper, but not to worry, you are reading the Ring—Tum Phi and yes, Gozi is writing a piece for the Phi. Oh, don’t be so shocked. I do know how to write something besides random celebrity gossip. I’ve decided to write this piece because something has really been bothering me on this campus for quite some time, and I would really like to address it. My idea for this piece came about when I engaged in the most awkward encounter I have ever had at Washington and Lee. Yes, more awkward than when I was rapping Geto Boys as I passed president Ruscio on the Colonnade. The moment consisted of someone I had known freshman year awkwardly avoiding eye contact with me so as to save him the trouble of having to acknowledge my presence. Messed up? Yes. I was immediately tempted to yell “Hi!” in the most awk- ward way possible but restrained myself and decided that instead I needed to write a piece addressing this incredibly unfortunate epidemic taking over this campus. The epidemic you ask? The disintegration of friendships as a result of people joining various Greek organizations. Now, don’t get me wrong. There are certainly many people who have been able to carry on relationships and friendships I am not asking for a liver a pint of your blood, your left toe, or your first-born child, but a simple “hello” to acknowledge that you and I once knew each other shared a laugh together, or maybe even cried over something together once upon a time would be nice. with people in a different Greek organization than theirs. I have no problem with those relationships, and I am truly happy that they exist. What frustrates me isn’t a simple matter of ‘I don’t get to pow-wow with Tom, Dick, and Harry because they are out at the Poles and I live in Red Square.’ No, that is definitely not the issue that has been bugging me. My frustration surrounds this misguided idea of a social hier- archy that leads otherwise decent people to choose another ‘rung’ up on the so-called ‘social ladder’ over common decency. I am not asking for a liver, a pint of your blood, your left toe, or your first-bom child, but a simple “hello” to acknowledge that you and I once knew each other, shared a laugh together, or maybe even cried over something together once upon a time would be nice. 4 I It saddens me to see people I once respected buy into (and endorse) this idea that in order for my Greek organization to look ‘cool’ I have to immediately squash all relationships with people who do not fit into my social equation. The fact that you hold yourself to this idea of a social hi- erarchy that governs your every move is, to be honest, pretty pathetic. What does it say about your character if you’re legitimately worried that you will lose the respect of your frat or srat if you ‘ don’t sell out the people who were probably your first friends on campus? The phrase ‘social climber’ immediately comes to mind. ‘Vain,’ ‘delusional,’ and ‘lame’ are also floating around there, too. \ Ultimately, my only advice to you chronic offenders is to get back to reality. I Once you leave W&L, not many people are going to care about how ‘cool’ your fraternity or sorority was on campus. ‘The Man’ won’t care (unless he was in your frat, and then you schmooze until the cows come home). Keep those old friends and say “hi!” when you see him or her on campus. ' Please don’t try the awkward avoid-eye-contact game. Also, the pretend-I—got-a-call—on-vibrate game doesn’t work as well. We are all quite aware that your phone didn’t just go off. And the I-am-so-deep-in-thought-that-I-stare-off-into-the- abyss game is also not kosher. We all know there is nothing else going on in your mind that is preventing you from looking slight- ly to the left or right to notice an old friend. That ‘cool’ frat or srat of yours won’t drop you like a bad habit for opening your mouth and saying “Hey.” Being rude and avoiding those people who were once there for you is really not the General way and frankly, I don’t think either of our institution’s namesakes would be very happy with such behavior. ‘Obamanomics’ load? I Abel Delgado szzes all boats sinking under Dem. plan By Abel Delgado c o L u M N I sr Barack Obama wants us to move past the failed economic policies of the past. 8 years and back to the failed economic policies of the 1960s and 70s. Let’s start with Obama’s promise to lower taxes on 95% of American families. Obama himself has said his other plans would cost around $1 trillion over four years. Lowering taxes and dramati- cally increasing spending is ex- actly what Bush did. There is no possible way for him to do both without ballooning the deficit, something he has criticized Bush for doing. Obama said he would pay for his massive government increase by closing corporate tax loop- holes. He offers no evidence clos- ing those loopholes will generate anything close to a trillion in rev- enue and he ignores the fact that the US already has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world. He somehow thinks that raising business taxes will stop outsourcing and create jobs. Then there are theIinfamous 'top one percent’ income earners that Obama has no qualms about raising taxes on. About 75 percent of them are small-business owners - not mil- lionaire CEOs. Small businesses are the back- bone of our economy, creating jobs while employment has fallen in every other sector. Raising tax- es on their owners will certainly put an end to that. warned Americans that “a gov- ernment big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.” Obamanomics may hold weight in western Europe, but it rings hollow in western Pennsyl- Americans who take a close look at Obam- . anomics will have little hope that if he wins their pockets will be left with more than spare change. Obama’s claim that his tax increases won’t hurt most Ameri- cans assumes that most Ameri- cans don’t buy from businesses or work for them. An increase in business taxes will certainly lead to an increase in prices, a decrease in wages, an increase in layoffs, or all three. Obama’s plan is eerily famil- iar to Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ which most history books will tell you didn’t turn out so great. Obamanomics is all about wealth redistribution, an inher- ently socialist ideal that may not be completely undemocratic but it is utterly at odds with Ameri- can ideals. It was Thomas Jefferson who vania. Obama argues that McCain would offer no tax relief for the middle class. This assumes no one in‘ the middle class has kids since McCain plans to double the child tax credit and no one in the middle class pays for health insurance since McCain would give a $5,000 tax credit per fam- ily for health insurance. It’s little wonder that as finan- cial markets came down crum- bling this week it was Obama who had no specific plan to offer while McCain did. I am not saying McCain’s plans will avoid recession, but considering Obama’s deficit spending and anti-business poli- cies, at least McCain’s won’t cause a depression. With all this fear of the next depression being near, it is impor- tant to remember that protection- ist economic policies were some of the causes of the last one. Obama is as protectionist as you can get, speaking out against free trade agreements with our three biggest allies in the hemi- sphere, Canada, Mexico, and Co- lombia. Obamanomics relies on the John Edwards philosophy of two Americas. As someone who grew up in what Edwards would call the ‘Second America,’ I can attest that there is only one America and it is hurting from Main Street to Wall Street. Working class Americans are smart enough to realize an in- crease in government spending doesn’t always add up to a better future. They realize government should play an important and positive role in getting us out of the mess we are in but an anti- business government is no way to promote a recovery. Americans who take a close look at Obamanomics will have little hope that if he wins their pockets will be lefi with more than spare change. ‘fresh’ controversy Grace Andrews wonders what to make of the first years ’moniker By Grace Andrews c o L u M N I sr A friend of mine, Billy Shake- speare, once said, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Would it really? This year is the first year of ‘first-years,’ and that’s not a rid- dle. Washington and Lee Univer- sity has let the title ‘freshmen’ go in order to embrace the term ‘first-year. ’ When I was asked to write an opinion piece concerning this matter, I was a bit hesitant be- cause I myself had yet to form a strong opinion about the name change. Thus began my search for an answer. I sought out opinions of stu- dents and faculty in order to for- mulate one for myself. Reactions to the name change range from outraged: “It’s ab- solutely ridiculous! We can’t change everything because some- one might get offended at some- thing, that’s part of life! People get offended! Where will we draw the line? It’s preposterous and I’m going out of my way to see to it that I’m still called a ‘freshman,”’ exclaimed first-year Robbie Uhlman; to educational, “‘First-year’ reflects best prac- tices in the field of student affairs and is the terminology used by both of the primary national orga- nizations that support students on college campuses. The national center is entitled the ‘F irst-Year Experience.’ The terms ‘fresh- men’ and ‘dorm’ will probably always exist, but those of us that work in the profession of student affairs much prefer the terms ‘first-year’ and ‘residence halls,”’ said Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Dean of First-Year Students Dean Leonard. Obviously, both quotes show there is diversity of thought con- cerning the change. However, the rumor-mill states that the change has more to do with sexist language than just administrative changes in termi- nology. Professor David Novack stat- ed, “I believe that the change is appropriate as part of a broader attempt to make certain that women at W&L are considered as central as men to our collec- tive life. I see this move as part of a general change from the use of the generic masculine to the use of a true gender neutral lan- guage.” Senior Director of Admis- sions, Erin Hutchinson expressed her opinion in a delightful yet informative way, “I suppose I’m Emily Leary makes a valid argu- ment with these words: “It seems kind of odd to me that the univer- sity would insist on changing the title to ‘first-years’ as opposed to ‘freshman.’ If the problem is the ‘man’ in the term ‘freshman,’ then wouldn’t we also have to stop using words such as fe‘male’ and wo ‘man’. It seems to me to be a slight over-reaction.” I asked many individuals how they felt about the change, but few actually knew or understood why the university had made the change. Others had no idea what I was talking about. “To me, freshman ’and first-year ’mean the same thing, except the latter doesn ’t roll off the tongue as easily. ” Erln Hutchinson, Senlor Dlrector of Admlsslons not as sensitive to nomenclature as others are. To me, ‘freshman’ and ‘first-year’ mean the same thing, except the latter doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily. I didn’t feel excluded or unacknowledged as a woman years ago when I was a called a freshman. And as a (gracefully, I hope) aging wom- an, what I wouldn’t give to have someone consider me ‘fresh.’ The name change doesn’t stir any passionate feelings from me one way or another, but in the deep- est recesses of my heart, I guess I feel that it is unnecessary. Adam and I always tell our children, ‘It isn’t what they call you (that mat- ters), it’s what you answer to.”’ Yet, for me Hutchinson’s words raise a very interesting point. If it’s what you answer to that matters, should women have to answer to a title that has ‘man’ in it? If not, what would women re- spond to? Freshman (or First-Year?) For me, this lack of knowl- edge is one of the biggest prob- lems with the name change. For any sort of change to be effective, the people who are af- fected should know why things have been changed. Senior Jamila Seaton stated, “As a feminist, I think we hinder our progress if we pick at min- .ute issues without looking at the broader spectrum. Instead of try- ing to find new words to define ourselves, maybe we should work on changing the mentality and as- sumptions behind the words. With the rise of women in higher edu- cation, when someone refers to a First Year (or Freshman?) Levi Throckmorton reiterates a bit of Seaton’s perception, “I feel as though they’re trying to change it because contained in the word ‘freshman’ is the word ‘man.’ And it seems as though nowadays, any generic term that contains the word ‘man’ is being criticized as being excluding of women, no matter how ridiculous that accusation may be. I person- ally think it’s silly if we’re trying not to offend anyone when the term wasn’t offensive in the first place.” Throckmorton presents me with a bit of a dilemma because he may be correct about the ge- neric all-inclusive being the term ‘man,’ but one may have to keep in mind that linguistically and historically speaking, most terms are. Will we be changing the Eng- lish language entirely to make it more neutral when we seem to see gendered words as neutral ’ already? ‘freshman,’ it is very likely that I they are referring to a female, so the word has lost its gender ties, which I believe is some show of progress in itself.” I have to agree with some of what Seaton says. If it’s the lan- guage we wish to change, that itself maybe more difficult than changing the mentality behind the words. ‘ Nonetheless, just because someone may use the title ‘first- year’ doesn’t mean that they have disregarded the idea that certain stations in life are only for men. I know that language can be a powerful tool and that by using a word that has ‘man’ in it, you are ultimately excluding a subset of the population, but my real issue is that every word which we use for women has a male gendered noun as a portion of the title. If awareness is what we seek, then we should have open discus- sions about gendered words and truly attempt to understand the effects of such words. It is for that reason that I continue to be neutral about the change. Sometimes, I will use first- years and other times, I will say ‘freshman,’ but I will always say it in reference to all people, male or female. And that’s what’s important. OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20080922/WLURG39_RTP_20080922_004.2.txt MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 4 RING -TUM ALLISON CHOPIN JOHN HENDERSON CODY BEAUCHAMP CELESTE CRUZ- CARANDANG WILL DORRANCE MANAGING EDITOR NEWS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR ARTS & LIFE EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR CRIGHTON ALLEN ADRIANNA ALLEY GRACE ANDREWS LIZ BLACKWOOD LAURA CAMPBELL ABEL DELGADO BRIAN DEVINE LIZZ DYE GOZI EGBUONU ELEANOR KENNEDY FINDLEY MERRITT CHRIS SCHNECK JESSICA STRAIT ANNE VESOULIS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS COPY EDITOR BRETT HOLTON LARA JORDAN RYAN ELSEY MORGAN HARRIS STROCK MOORE CHARLES PERSONS ROB GEORGE DESIGN EDITOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS BUSINESS MANAGERS DISTRIBUTION MNGR. 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, BUT IS OTHERWISE INDEPENDENT. QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THE PHI SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE EDITORS AT PHI@WLU.EDU OR TO THE MEDIA BOARD AT MEDIABOARD@WLU.EDU. THE MEDIA BOARD IS AN INDEPENDENT, STUDENT—RUN EDITORIAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE WORKING WITH ALL MEDIA OUTLETS ON THE WASHINGTON & LEE CAMPUS. ALL INQUIRIES WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL. 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 OPINIONOF 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 letter to the editor W&L broadcast article got facts Wrong Article failed to give WL UR due credit for its role in contributing to B2 is broadcasts and its prior work broadcasting W&L sports, Crighton Allen can ’t help but think we ’re getting screwed By Crighton Allen C 0 L U M N I S T Life in Lex is about as close to perfect as we could reason- ably expect it to be. That is, un- til we all have to face the bane of every student in every college in the nation. These times occur at the beginning and end of each aca- demic term. They are your fa- vorite times and mine, textbook buying and sellback. Get excited. This term, I spent close to $600 at the bookstore. That is absurd. I could get a VIP ticket to the Rolling Stones and still have enough left over to pay for my share of the after-party aboard Mick Jagger’s tour bus for that much. And my case is by far the rule, and not the exception. It’s the premed students I feel the worst for. The textbook for organic chemistry alone costs $170 this year. That stings, es- pecially if your tuition-payer happens to now be working within a l0—mile radius of Wall Street. Well, you ask, if your books cost you $500, surely you must get about half of that back at sellback time, right? Yeah, and I just beat LeBron James in a game of one—on-one. If you’re lucky, you’ll get back $100 of the $500 you origi- nally shelled out. Between new editions of text books coming out, courses being dropped and added, and professors amending their syllabi, hundreds of dol- lars worth of books you bought just 12 weeks earlier are now (monetarily, at least) worthless to you. The sole light in the darkness that is text book buyback is the large crate for Books for Africa that is always overflowing with now obsolete textbooks that people have donated rather than simply hurled into a trashcan in a fit of rage. Instead, those sible to get out of there in less than 30 minutes. Who at W&L really has time to go to Wal-Mart just for a pack of graph paper? No one. Hence the $12 per pack at the bookstore. They charge that much because they can get away with it. Also, what was with the course packs all being switched over to the bookstore? At the start of the term, I went to see who usually handles the course packs, the lovely ladies of New- This term, I spent close to $600 at the book- store. That is absurd. I could get a VIP ticket to the Rolling Stones...for that much. And my case is by far the rule... books can go on for a higher purpose. Those in charge of that pro- gram, keep up the good work. People with books W&L won’t take back, keep giving the gift of education. But I digress. In a related note, just tonight in fact, I heard someone remark that they paid $12 for a spiral notebook of graph paper at the bookstore. That would cost three, maybe four bucks at Wal- Mart. But going to Wal-Mart is such an ordeal; no matter what you run in for, it seems impos- comb Hall, and they pointed me back over to the Commons. That was the first I had heard of it. Where was the advanced warning or perhaps an attempt to solicit student feedback be- fore making a change? If there was, I never heard about it and I keep an ear low to the ground for tidbits like that. I’ve heard from reliable sources, but, to be fair, have not confirmed for myself, that this change of location meant a jack- ing up of prices. If that is so, we’ve got a problem. Because if it is indeed true, that would mean by virtue of saving us an extra stroll down the Colonnade, prices can be raised. Just to rehash: it’s the same packet, just on a different shelf. And that makes it okay to raise the price? Not in my book, no way. Trust me, you’re not doing us that big a favor. I’ll suffer the walk down an historic landmark and take in the breathtaking view of the mountains behind Lee Chapel, it’s ok, really. Bottom line, buying text- books stinks. I know it, you know it, col- lege students and their families nationwide know it. _ Administrators: please help us out here; find a way to re- duce the book prices for your students. Washington & Lee provides its students one of the best edu- cational opportunities in the na- tion, hands down. However, on the way to us re- ceiving that education, it would be nice to not have to play the victim of price-gouging of Ad- vanced Principle of Managerial Accounting, 7"’ Edition. 1 am in Economics 101 this semester so maybe "we haven’t gotten to this lesson yet, but I am pretty sure that there is no economic law that can make $500 shrink to less than $100 in three months’ time. P1 BETA PHI & Phi Beta Sigma Presents: Dear Editor, Your Sept. 15, 2008 front- page article, “W&L sporting events to be broadcast,” omits two key pieces of informa- tion regarding Washington and Lee sports broadcasts. First, the headline itself implies that Generals games have not been aired prior to the school’s contract with B2. This simply isn’t true. Since 1972, WLUR has broadcasted Washing- ton and Lee athletic contests, from football, basketball and lacrosse to more recent addi- tions like soccer, volleyball and field hockey. These broad- _ casts have also been available online for nearly a decade. Nu- merous students and alumni have devoted countless hours to provide commentary for these events, and their dedica- tion has meant a great deal to W&L athletes, parents, alumni and fans. Secondly, I’m curious as to why WLUR’s role in the B2 Networks videocasts was not mentioned in yourarticle. The live audio that accompa- nies every W&L game on B2 will be provided by WLUR announcers. They’re even pro- viding commentary for games that do not air on the radio sta- tion——including the Sept. 13 women’s soccer match against Roanoke, which ran on B2 while W&L’s football contest in Sewanee, Tenn., was broad- casted live on WLUR. The B2 Networks service is a wonderfiil opportunity for Washington and Lee fans to follow their teams online. However, ~ WLUR’s long- standing commitment to cov- erage of the Generals—and its direct contributions to the B2 videocasts—should be ac- knowledged. Sincerely, Jeremy Franklin ‘O4 WLUR General Man- ager/Program Director Bob de Maria Professor of Journalism & Communications F ~ Former WLUR General Man- ager ~ Dance—a—thon 2008 “Dancing around the world” Benefitting: the march of dimes & Pi Phi philanthropy initiatives September 26, 2008 Elrod Commons 8:00 PM Prizes include Fancy Dress 6 package & much more! it opinions Bookstore breaking bank OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20080922/WLURG39_RTP_20080922_005.2.txt - THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 arts&life a donates blood W&L and Red Cross join forces to hold blood drive, promote service By Eleanor Kennedy surr wanna The Washington and Lee community re- sponded to the Red Cross’s call for help by do- nating blood on Tuesday. The American Red Cross’s list of 50 facts about blood donation makes the stunning state- ment that “every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.” Luckily, organizations and volunteers work- ing to satisfy this need. And on Tuesday, Sep- tember l6, the Washington and Lee student body helped out, too. “Donating blood is an easy way to do ser- vice,” said Jenna Walls, the general chair of Na- bors Service Leauge. The Nabors Service League worked in con- junction with the American Red Cross to coor- “People are quick to list excuses for not donating blood... [but] many are ones ., that can be overcome when you think about what your blood donation would mean to a per- son in need. ” SAMARA FRANCISCO, Speclal Projects & Events Co-Chalr for Nabors Servlce dinate a blood drive this past week and W&L students responded in force. . The students involved wanted to send the message that giving blood is an extremely pow- erful form of service. According to the Ameri- can Red Cross Website, “one blood donation can save the lives of up to three people.” Walls reported that approximately 65 stu- dents signed up to donate blood. About 20 peo- ple were deemed ineligible to donate blood due to quick tests run by the workers, so a total of about 45 people gave blood. Based on the esti- mates from the Red Cross, that means that the W&L student body was able to save 135 lives. Samara Francisco, Special Projects and Events Co-Chair for the Nabors Service League, described more reasons to give blood. She ex- plained blood donation is even more important during natural disasters, such as the hurricanes recently experienced in Gulf coast regions. Even without natural disasters, both regional and national supplies are still continually low, needing to be replenished every day, Francisco said. It is this need for replenishing the blood sup- ply that led Austin Rehfield of the American Red Cross to contact the Nabors Service League about sponsoring a blood drive in an attempt to i get large groups of students involved. In the.past, the Nabors Service League has held two blood drives a year. This year, accord- ing to Walls, the club is doubling its effort. Four blood drives will be held. The next one should happen sometime in November. The other two should occur in February and April. Members of Nabors explained that students who are interested in being involved with the future blood drive have several options. First is, of course, donating blood. Students who want to donate should keep their eyes open for sign-ups in the days leading up to future drives. If students are interested in being involved in the sign—up process or any other organizing aspect, they should contact Francisco. She, ac- cording to Walls, is responsible for almost all aspects of coordinating the blood drive Future drives may include incentives to at- tract more donors, such as Sweet Things gift cards, Francisco explained. Potential donors are also reminded to eat iron rich foods and drink plenty of liquids in the days leading up to the day of the drive. Walls and Francisco would like to see greater participation in the drives in the future. Francisco said that although “people are quick to list excuses for not donating blood... many are ones that people can overcome when you think about what your blood donation would mean to a person in need.” Uniqueart “Stampedes” STAFF WRITER Former Buena Vista resident and respected artist, J .J . Cromer, opened his latest exhibit in the Staniar Gal- lery, called “Our Stampedes Are Com- patible,” on Sepember 1. The works, on display until Octo- ber 5, reflect a wide range of styles the artist has tried. Yet, throughout the collection, there is cohesiveness, es- tablished through Cromer’s consistent attention to detail, repetitious motifs, and interesting use of bold color. Cromer has created hundreds of works, each of which he describes as a “letter” in his own personal alphabet. His art, he says, is constantly evolving. Indeed, it is, and this evolution can be observed best in one of his collections. Although the collection in the Staniar Gallery is by no means a large part of all his created works, those selected to be shown are representational of the artist’s growth and experiment. Cromer started with paintings but .. ro . By Llz Blackwood‘ " " (.4 . ltfv;({r": _ has gone on to master pen and ink, colored pencil, and collage media. In fact, in several of Cromer’s designs, cutouts of various jungle animals make an appearance. This is the result of some careful scissor work applied to old school textbooks. Other pictures include slices from some of Cromer’s old paintings. While some artists would never dream of de- filing old artwork, Cromer has adopt- ed a healthy philosophy in which he believes that focusing too much on the past or what you have already done prevents moving forward and evolv- ing. ' That’s not to say Cromer doesn’t draw influences from older pieces. Often, if he likes a certain shape or specific design,.Cromer will incorpo- rate it into another later picture. For instance, the image of a phantom ghost with its hands behind its back appears in several pieces, both as a point of focus, as well as a background pat- tern. His images are fascinating and curious——Cromer himself admits he is unsure of where these ghosts origi- nated from. “His works are expressive and viv- id. Often they are obsessively detailed. Objects may be recognizable but al- ways describe his special viewpoint. They are sometimes witty, sometimes satirical, or even sad, but rarely ‘nor- mal,’” said Grey Carter, Cromer’s ten- year agent, of the artist’s work on his website. “Normal” isn’t a word that can describe Cromer in many ways at all. Even the artist’s start into the field was an unusual one and is part of the reason he has been branded as an ‘outsider’ artist. Sometime during the late 1990’s, Cromer and his wife, a Washington and Lee University Law graduate, decided they wanted to “live with art.” Unable to afford any, however, Cromer picked up a children’s paint palette one night while watching tele- vision and began to paint. This event sparked an obsession in Cromer, caus- ing him to draw about five to six hours BRETT HOLTON / Copy Editor Cromer’s artistic tools include painting, pen and ink, colored pencil, collage and cutouts from previous works of art. Buena Vista native J. J. Cromer showcases art in Lenfest every night, a habit he has continued to keep over the years. Having earned a bachelor’s degree in history and masters in both English and library science, Cromer works as a librarian in Virginia. At work, it’s his job to be organized and locate answers easily and precisely. His art, however, is often a departure from his otherwise very orderly lifestyle. “When he works, he says, he has no plan. Instead, he feels he is let- ting free an expression that is not fully within his control. He describes it as a visionary experience, where all else around him melts away and all that is left is the rhythm and motion of cre- ation,” said Roger Thompson, a pro- fessor at VMI. Pam Simpson, an art history profes- sor at Washington and Lee University, describes Cromer’s work as “so pow- erful,” despite its “flatness.” His work, she said, is far more than just lines. To see Cromer’s fantastic work yourself, visit the gallery Monday through Fri- day from 8 to 5 p.m. Fair to promote programs abroad Study Abroad Fair will provide info, unveil new programs By Laura Campbell STAFF WRITER Washington and Lee’s Study Abroad Fair will be held on Tuesday, September 23 from 1 to 3 pm. on the Stemmons Plaza in front of Leybum Library. Any students considering studying abroad in the coming school years, or who just want to find out more about the programs offered, are encouraged to attend. For ten years, the annual fair has provided a glimpse of the numerous study-abroad opportunities at W&L. “Interest in and enthusiasm for study abroad is high among students,” said Latha Dawson, coordinator of the Spring Term Abroad programs. “This event is usually well attended.” Hosted by the Center for Interna- tional Education, the fair makes study- abroad opportunities accessible to students. The Center for International Education will have a table at the fair, and answer any questions-about study abroad, whether they concern proce- dure, course credits, or financial aid. The fair is an especially good op- portunity for first- and second-year undergraduates looking to learn more . about their options. W&L’s own international programs will be represented at the fair, includ- ing the Spring Terrn Abroad programs for 2009. A variety of disciplines are offered, ranging from Spanish lan-’ guage in Spain to drawing in Italy to political economy in Ghana. One of the W&L-sponsored‘ pro- grams to be represented at the fair is a three-week expedition to Greece and Turkey, led by Professors Scott John- son and Kevin Crotty. Students will study the ancient, late antique, and Byzantine cultures of those nations. “This is a new addition of a pro- gram that we did in the past, about four years ago,” says Professor Crotty, head of the Classics department. “We have done this before, but this is an edited and updated version.” To learn more about this program, students should make sure to stick around for the latter half of the fair, when Professor Johnson will be avail- able to answer questions. Theater Professor Joseph Martinez has been leading an annual expedi- tion to London for 25 years. Having attended graduate school in London, Professor Martinez is well acquainted with the artistic scene in England, and will provide students with a unique chance to learn from professional art- ists and performers. This five-week program is available to all students without prerequisite. Professor Marti- nez will be available at the fair to give further information relating to cost, coursework, and specifics of the trip. “I think the study abroad fair is a good thing, not only in terms of infor- mation, but students get to meet the -director,” said Martinez. “If you’re going to go abroad with someone, it’s important that you get along with that person. F ace-to-face, personal contact is as important as the information it- self.” This year, students are offered a special chance to deepen their un- derstanding of honor—a uniquely valuable asset to a W&L education. Professors Lad Sessions and Harvey Markowitz will lead a comparative study of American Indian and Maori cultures and their perceptions of honor. Open to all students, this is a chance to earn credits in 300-level Philosophy and Anthropology while experiencing the beauty of New Zealand. “This is the first time, last time, and only time we’re doing this,” says Pro- fessor Sessions. ‘‘It is a one-of-a-kind opportunity.” For more information, he and Professor Markowitz will be available at the Fair. Representatives from over twenty non-W&L organizations have also been invited to give information and answer questions. The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), the Institute for Study Abroad (IF SA), the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS), and Syracuse Univer- sity in Florence, as well as many oth- ers, will be represented. Many of these organizations offer multiple programs; the CIEE administers over 100 study- abroad programs in over 35 countries. Programs sponsored by other col- leges and universities will be repre- sented. The University of Virginia pro- gram for Hispanic Studies in Valencia, Spain and VMI’s Arabic Studies in Morocco are open to W&L students, as is Sweetbriar College’s coeduca- tional junior year programs in France or Spain. In case of weather, the fair will take place in the Great Hall of the science center. OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20080922/WLURG39_RTP_20080922_006.2.txt MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 THE RING-TUM PHI - arts&life Supporting the arts Fine arts faculty begins Grassroots Arts Movement By Flndley Merrltt STAFF WRITER The fine arts faculty of Washington and Lee Universi- ty are bringing together artisti- cally geared students to partake in what will be known as The Grassroots Arts Movement. On Wednesday, October 1, students who have committed to an intensive study in either Art History, Art Studio, Music or Theater and Dance will as- semble in Wilson 2018 for a conversation with the common goal of creating camaraderie among the fine arts at W&L. Though the project is being . initiated by faculty members, their hope is that students will lead the discussions and poten- tially create student-led organi- zation. One of the Movement’s proponents, Professor George Bent, said, “We want to help get things started, but we also recognize that it can only hap- pen if students want it to.” The first meeting will pres- ent a summary of what the fine arts department professors dis- cussed, but it will mainly re- volve around students’ input. Bent said faculty will be there for the “meet and greet” part of Wednesday’s meeting, but they will leave thereafter to let students continue the con- versation. The Movement’s propo- nents hope it will be a chance for students interested in the arts to talk about their needs as individual artists as well as their role in the broader com- munity. Another faculty supporter, Art Professor Pamela Simpson stated that “We want students to brainstorm in addition to our proposals. If an organization comes out of that, then great!” Simpsonestimatesthatabout Washington and Lee’s artisti- cally gifted students. “We thought that if there was a student arts organization, that might be one thing that would help,” said Simpson. “But we know that it would have to be organized and led by the students to be effective,” she added. Simpson also stated that there was only so much the fine arts faculty could do to foster “Last year we had a number of freshmen question their decisions to be atW&L.,.. they didn ’tfeel that as students interested in the arts they were fitting in socially. ” Pamela Simpson, Art Professor 25 to 30 students will come, although with the significant number of students enrolled in arts programs, she hopes there will be many more. Simpson added, “Last year we had a number of freshmen question their decision to be at W&L not because they were unhappy with classes, but be- cause they didn’t feel that as students interested in the arts they were fitting in socially.” As a result faculty members ‘ gathered this summer for some “brainstorming” in order to find more ways to build support for campus wide enthusiasm about the arts. “We can send emails letting students know about upcoming showcases, but that can only go so far.” The movement has ulti- mately received an enthusiastic response. Jennefer Davies, head of the dance department, expressed her eagerness for the project to ’ catch on. “The concept is amazing,” said Davies. “lt’s all about creating a group of artists who can sup- port one another on campus.” Professor Bent stated that he hopes students who have “Vested interest in living and learning in an active and en- gaged community of artists and patrons will begin the process of taking on some of the re- sponsibility for nurturing such an environment in Lenfest and Wilson Hall.” Faculty members have stat- ed they are extremely interested in seeing the movement grow within the student body, as it echoes a general trend toward campus arts appreciation. “The need for this kind of group just shows how far the W&L community has come,” said Davies. Despite there being over 50 students majoring in the fine arts, this is first time anyone has tried to initiate a broad arts organization at Washington and Lee. “Other various departments all make sure their majors have support, so why shouldn’t the Lenfest [programs]?” chal- lenged Simpson. On October 1 that could well change as students from across nearly a dozen fine arts programs have the opportunity to form W&L’s first Grassroots Arts Movement. Want to work for the Phi? We are looking for writers, designers and photographers! Gain experience and professional clips Contact managing editor Allison Chopin at phi@wlu.edu 5:00) pm. Jenny Duval will answer questions WASHINGTON ANI) LEE UN CAREERS IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 Chavis Board Room,.Commons 206 Federal Government Employee 0 jlolb Opportunities 0 Federal Resumes o Hiring Procedures‘ ALL STUDENTS IIVVI TED about: IVERSITY careers@w|u.edu 458-8595 CAREERSERVICES http:l/careers.w|u.edu 6,. OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20080922/WLURG39_RTP_20080922_007.2.txt MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 7 sports TOP: Senior run- nlng back and team captaln Stuart Sltterson escapes a few SVU Knights In Saturday’s wln. RIGHT: The Gen- erals celebrate their last second win after scoring twice In the final 6 minutes. BOTTOM RIGHT: Fans show their support at W&L’s first-ever night football home game. BOTTOM LEFT: Sltterson rushes for one of his two touchdowns of the night. Wilson Field is debut MORGAN HARRIS / Staff Photographer RYAN ELSEY / Staff Photographer MORGAN HARRIS / Staff Photographer Bone-Headed Plays continued from page 8 committed the fourth biggest bone-headed play in sports. In a baseball game Larry Walker caught an easy fly ball, thought it was the third out, tossed the ball to a fan. Two problems: There were only two outs, and there was a runner on base. He proceeded to very eagerly ask the fan for the ball back. Another baseball player topped Larry Walker though. Sammy Sosa. During the 2003 season he was jammed on a pitch and broke his bat. Again one little problem, his bat had cork in the middle of it. Putting cork in a baseball bat is illegal because it makes the bat both lighter, easier to swing, and gives it more pop. Essentially corking a bat is a way to hit the ball farther and harder. Now Sammy Sosa said it was an “honest mistake” and that he was using the bat that he usually uses for batting practice, but can we really believe that? Sosa is currently‘ in 4th place for total career homeruns with 609. How many of those do you think he used his “batting prac- tice” bat for? We will never know if it was an honest mistake or intentional cheating but we do know Sammy Sosa made the third dumbest play in sports his- tory, and that is not even consid- ering his probable steroid use... Some fans take wins and loss- es a lot harder than the athletes themselves do. So I am includ- ing one “fan” in my list: Steve Bartman, who made the second dumbest play in sports. He claims to be a Chicago Cub fan, he wears the hat, the MORGAN HARRIS / Staff Photographer By Brian Devlne STAFF WRITER A brand-new stadium, a local oppo- nent, under the lights for the first time. The scene was perfect. The crowd of nearly 3,000 gathered I at the new Wilson Field on Saturday night should have known that something special was going to happen. And happen it did. In one of the most exciting games in program history, the Washington and Lee Generals came from behind in the final six minutes to beat Buena Vista’s Southern Virginia Knights 35-28 in the first home night game in W&L football history. The Generals had to fight every inch of the way and were frustratingly stonewalled on several chances to take a more convincing lead against an SVU team that had never played their cross- county rivals before. The Knights play most of their football games in the Na- tional Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), a sister organization to the NCAA for smaller schools, and have only had a varsity football program since 2003. Thus it was the first edition of the Rockbridge Rivalry, and from the looks of Saturday’s game, it should not be the last. The fans were passionate, loud and involved on both sides of the new sta- dium. The teams were fairly evenly matched and even have similar offen- sive styles. Except for two drives where the Generals, trailing by a touchdown, went almost exclusively through the air, both squads are run-first teams. Saturday was a tale of the schools’ two outstanding running backs: W&L’s Stuart Sitterson and SVU’s Marcus Mc- Collum. Both players were easily the studs of their respective squads. McCol- lum, despite being the number two run- ning back on the SVU depth chart and handling the ball only nine times (Harry Collins, the nominal number one, rushed seventeen times), ran over, around and through the W&L run defense for an av- erage of 8.6 yards per carry. Running primarily delays and draws, McCollum was rarely stopped by the first W&L tackler to reach him. His combination of size, speed and power was devastating. Sitterson, running a combination of quick dives and options, had 169 yards and two rushing touch- downs. Overall, the Knights outgained the Generals 475 yards to 365. In no game this year have the Generals gained more yards than their opponent. But ultimately, the result was made by a couple of key plays in the second half that built to one of the most excit- ing finishes in W&L history. Following Charlie Westfal’s 2-yard touchdown run to put the Generals up 21-14, W&L linebackers Matt Cassilly and Chris Bal- lantyne stopped SVU quarterback Sam Trulock short of the first down marker on 4th-and-7. With the ball back and a chance to take a two-touchdown lead, the first for either team in the game, the opportunity was lost when W&L fullback Harrison Hudson fumbled the football and SVU recovered. On the ensuing drive, Mc- Collum broke away on 4th-and-2 for a 39-yard touchdown. The score was now tied at 21 with 12:43 left on the clock. The Generals then failed on a 4th- " Generals outlast Knights Behind RB Stuart Sitterson is two touchdowns, the Generals came back to beat Southern Virginia 35-28 in final two minutes in the new down conversion of their own when the officials gave a questionable spot to Stu- art Sitterson’s rush over the collapsing offensive line. It appeared to.W&L fans that Sitterson had reached the mark, but the sideline official thought differently and SVU regained the ball with 10:35 to go. Trulock marched his team down the field, using up plenty of the expir- ing clock, threw a 37-yard touchdown pass, and just like that, the visitors were leading by a touchdown with 6: 14 lefi to play. Forlorn Generals fans thought then that tying the game was not out of reach but it seemed unlikely that the Blue-and- White could score twice, and stop Mc- Collum and Trulock, in just six minutes I of play. But the next play changed the entire equation. Sitterson, back to receive the kickoff, fumbled his ‘catch and had to run backwards to his own 6-yard line. With the defense closing in on him, Sit- terson picked the ball up, out to his left, outran several would-be tacklers, cut back inside, made the final two SVU de- fenders missed and racked up a 94-yard kick return for a touchdown. Instantly, the home fans were back in the game and the score was tied, 28-28. Follow- ing as it did the Hudson fumble, the Knights’ methodical drive and Tru1ock’s touchdown pass, the return was one of the most electrifying and invigorating plays in recent W&L history. Inspired by their teammate, the W&L defense came out with a vengeance, forcing a punt by SVU’s Stephen Web- ster after Trulock went three-and-out, W&L was unable to gain much trac- tion on the ensuing possession and were forced to punt as well. SVU’s Kyle Nel- son fumbled the punt was able to dive on it before W&L could recover. The fansithought they had had their break. But two plays 1ater’the‘Knights ran the option to the right and Trulock threwithe toss behind Collins. W&L’s David Love pounced on the loose ball and W&L now had possession, with a chance to win the game, with 1:20 lefi. But it didn’t take nearly’ that long, as Sitterson electrified the crowd again on thefirst play of the drive, running 31 yards for a Generals touchdown. Tru- lock now had 1:10 to drive down the field and tie the game. But W&L place- kicker Tommy Kennedy, always will- ing to make the game more interesting, sent the kickoff out of bounds, and SVU started their drive at their own 40 yard line. Donovan Sawyer was then called for defensive pass interference and the officials placed the ball at the W&L 29- yard line. , With 20 seconds remaining, the Knights tried a trick play, handing the ball off to Collins who pulled up and threw towards the end zone. The pass was too long for his target, and Sawyer made amends by intercepting the throw in the end zone for a touchback. One kneel-down later the game was over, the Generals having snatched vic- tory from the jaws of defeat, winning 35-28. Those fans who left at halfiime are surely regretting their decision, as they missed perhaps themost exciting fourth quarter in W&L football history. It was an auspicious beginning to the Rockbridge Rivalry and to the new Wil- son Field. glove of Moises Alou in Game 6 of_ the 2003 NLCS between the Chicago Cubs and the Florida Marlins. The Cubs were in con- The most bone—headedplay in the history of sports belongs to Chris Webber...in college [in the NCAA Championship game]...with 11 sec- onds left he called a timeout. One problem: His Michigan team was out of timeouts. jersey, and he comes to the games. But a real fan would not have stolen the ball from the trol of the game and were 5 outs away from reaching the World Series when Louis Castillo hit a fly ball down the left field foul line, right where Steve Bartman was sitting. Both Alou, the Cubs lefl fielder, and Bartman, a Cubs “fan,” went for the ball. They both had their own motivations, Alou to win the game and Bart- man, to get a free souvenir. And a free souvenir it was. The Cubs went on to lose the game and the series and Bartman went on to a life of shame in the smallest town North Dakota has to offer. But the most bone-headed play in the history of sports be- longs to Chris Webber. While in college, his basketball team made it to the NCAA Cham- pionship game. Trailing 73-71 to North Carolina, Webber re- bounded the ball with 19 seconds remaining in the game. Webber started dribbling the ball, he crossed midcourt, he ran over to his team’s bench, and to plan the last play with 11 seconds lefi he called timeout. One problem: His Michigan team was out of timeouts. The technical foul and free throws for North Carolina put the game away and the Championship went to the Tar Heels. _ Webber after the ‘game said, “I just called the timeout and that probably cost us the game.” Ap- parently Chris Webber has a very loose definition of probably. The ocean probably contains a lot of water, the grass is probably green, and the Earth probably ro- tates around the sun, but really,‘ who knows for sure? OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20080922/WLURG39_RTP_20080922_008.2.txt MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 8 0 THE RING-TUM PHI sports sadeck Mon Tues WED Tiiuns FRI SAT vs Football AVGFGH 1 p.m. at ' vs H:':.'(:y Lynchburg St. Mary's 1 P-m- 1 p.m. at at Men's V.M.l. ’ Roanoke s°°°°' 4 p.m. 3 p.m. vs vs at Women's Holllns Messiah Randolph soccer 4 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. at vs Nolleyball Brldgewater CNU 11 a.m. 1 p.m. at wo|In°n’s U OT Mlnn. xc Invite 9 am. Men's xc \lllomen’si at ITA Region Tenn“ Championships Men’s Tennis The number of times that W&L’s football team had played its Rock- bridge County neighbor Southern Va. before Saturday's 35-28 win. 5 - 1 5 The Milwaukee Brewers record in September after going 20-7 in Au- gust. Before this month the Brewers were 5.5 games up in the NL Wild Card. Before games started Monday, the Brewers sat 1.5 games back in the Wild Card standings. 1,274 The number of hits by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter at Yan- kee Stadium as of press time Sunday. Jeter broke Lou Gehrig's record of 1,269 Tuesday in a 6-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox. This record will never be broken as the Yankees played their last game at Yankee Stadium Sunday. The team will be moving to the new Yankee Stadium next year. box “I had get out there and hug everybody. We did the appropriate hugging in the dugout, then we took it out on the field. I had to. I’m a hugger. And I’m a Crier.” Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon after beatlng the Mlnnesota Twlns 7-2 Saturday to cllnch a playoff berth for the flrst tlme In the organIzatIon’s history, courtesy of the St. Petersburg Times. “It was a little nerve-wracking going into our fourth overtime of the season of five games, but I had confidence in my teammates, and I’m glad that we could pull through for a win.” W&L fleld hockeyjunlor forward Steph Mansey after the Generals won their first game of the season Saturday 1-0 against Catholic Unlverslty. Every game this season has been decided by only one goal. “Things happen. It was just one of those things. I was just overexcited, just trying to have some fun. I’m young, but I’m kind of mad at myself. I could have had a touchdown.” Phlladelphla Eagles wlde recelver Desean Jackson after he prematurely dropped the ball before crossing the goal Ilne In celebratlon of what he thought was a touchdown In the Eagles’ 37-41 loss to the Dallas (N:owboys on Monday Night Football, courtesy of Phlladelphla Dally ews. - , Washington and Lee’s footbaii team beat southern Virginia 35-28 Saturday in thrilling fashion. or Saturday wasa night of firsts: W&L’s'first‘-ever night home game, the first game on the newly reno- vated Wilson Field, and the flrst~ever meeting of R Virginia. ‘see page 7 for a full recap of. the game. i ockbrldge county schools W&L and Southern RYAN ELSEY / Staff Photographer’ Recounting sports’ dumbest plays Jackson is sports ’newest bone head after MNF celebration mishap By Chris Schneck STAFF WRITER The world of sports provides us with an infinite amount of heroes. As young kids we grew up impersonating the great- est athletes in the world — doing Tiger Woods’ patented fist pump as we drain a putt, sticking out our tongue as we make a layup pretending to be his Aimess, Mi- chael Jordan, or even pointing our bat to the outfield calling our own shot in the neighborhood whiffie ball game a la Babe Ruth. Images such as these and the games that accompany them will stay with us for- ever. These players and others have provided role models for youth and even adults for hundreds of years, teaching us work ethic, teamwork and dedication. Other athletes and sports personas make their name by being the dumbest, the most idiotic, the biggest bone-heads. ‘ So my question is,_who have made the dumbest plays in sports history? Sports are good for many reasons in- cluding providing American viewers with a very goodlist of things never to do. Take last week’s Monday Night Football game for instance. It was an important division game be- tween division rivals, the Philadelphia Ea- gles and the Dallas Cowboys. The winner of the game would take the lead in argu- ably, the toughest division in football. The game was close throughout, but Dallas won in the end by a score of 4'1 -37. But the actual game was outshined by the actions of one man, DeSean Jackson, who put his team’s success at risk. In the second quarter McNabb dropped back and threw a deep ball to a wide open Jackson. The Eagles were going to score and take the lead back from the Cowboys. Jack- son proceeded to waltz into the end zone Jackson was playing in the All-American game, where similar to Monday night his quarterback dropped back, threw the ball to Jackson, and it seemed as though Jackson would score a touchdown. But, in celebration for his “touchdown,” he swan dove for the endzone starting at the five yardline, needless to say, he didn’t make it. And he received a 15 yard unsportsman like conduct penalty for his actions. My question is, who have made the dumbest plays in sports history? Sports are good for many reasons includ- ing providing American viewers with a very good list of things never to do. untouched for an apparent’ touchdown, except for one thing: he forgot to take the football with him. In celebration of his “touchdown,” he flicked the ball into the air before he crossed the end line thus voiding the touchdown. That’s like pulling the cord on your parachute while still in the airplane and then jumping. But DeSean Jackson should have known better, not because of common sense or logic, but rather that this was the second time he did this! As a senior in high school So much from learning from your mis- takes DeSean. But at least you are the most recent addition to the dumbest plays in sports. Athletes’ schoolwork and learning usu- ally take a back seat during high school and college to sports. Many times profes- sors and teachers are more than willing to simply give star athletes a good grade. But Larry Walker should have paid a little more attention in math class during school. He See “Bone-Headed Plays" on page 7 Field Hockey earns first win Team beats Catholic 1-0 in fourth overtime game of season By Will Dorrance and Llzz Dye SPORTS EDITOR & STAFF WRITER The Washington and Lee University field hockey team was 0-4 entering Satur- day’s home game against Catholic Univer- sity. All four of those losses were by one goal; three of them went into overtime. It seems only fitting that the Lady Generals won their first game of the sea- son by one goal in overtime. Junior for- ward Christina Merchant scored to end the game just 54 seconds into overtime to hand W&L the 1-0 victory. The close match was a showcase of strong defensive play as the game saw combined only six shots on goal. Junior keeper Caroline Habliston made two saves for the Generals while earning her first shutout of the season. The Cardinals ju- nior netminder Marian Cassilly registered four saves in her team’s second loss of the season. As the horn blew to signal the end of regulation, the Generals knew they still While we had a tough beginning of the season, we ’ve improved in each game and we really came together as a team for the win. Emmy Mathews, mldflelder had some work to do in overtime. Junior Steph Mansey said, “It was a little nerve- wracking going into our fourth overtime of the season of five games, but I had con- fidence in my teammates and I’m glad that we could pull through for a win.” The game-winning goal came off of W&L’s only second offensive comer of the game. Merchant deflected junior cap- tain Sallie Arrnstrong’s shot into Catholic’s cage to end the sudden-death overtime.‘ Merchant’s goal gave the Generals their first win, and the team hopes it will provide much-needed momentum as they head off to a 1:00 p.m. bout Saturday with two-time defending conference champion Lynchburg College for their ODAC-sea- son opener. “While we had a tough beginning of the season, we’ve improved in each game and we really came together as a team for the win,” said sophomore midfielder Emmy Mathews. xi‘