OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20090112/WLURG39_RTP_20090112_001.2.txt s over... Relive your Rush memories with t crossword puzzle ARTS &i.rr=E/ page WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY THE RING-TUM PHI. STUDENTS AND MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2009 BY THE FOR THE STUDENTS SINCE 1397 VOLUME cxu, NUMBER 10 By Jamie Kim STAFF WRITER As theft incidents in the Washington and Lee community increase, local police officers urge students to be more careful with their personal property. In December, the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office arrested Donna Kay Frazier, 45, and charged her with felony, grand larceny and misdemeanor petty larceny. The Lexington Police Department also charged Frazier with two felony grand larcenies and two misdemeanors. Frazier has been a suspect in larcenies around the W&L coin- munity and the investigation of her alleged crimes continues. According to the police re- port, a W&L law student, who wished not to be identified or interviewed, reported on Dec. 9' that her packages were sto- len on three different occasions. The following day, Officer Tim Hickman of the Sheriff’s office had a package delivered to her residence and observed the area. Later he noticed a vehicle come into the parking lot and circle the student’s residence three times. Hickman went to the stu- dents residence the following morning and soon spotted the same vehicle driven by Frazier. She got out, walked up to the victim’s apartment, and took the package that had been sitting in front of the door since the day before. When Hickman approached her and asked her what she was doing, Frazier said she was pick- ing a package up for a friend, but when he asked again who her friend was, she could not produce a name. Hickman later obtained a search warrant and searched Frazier’s residence. “She says it was a single inci-_ dent, but we searched her house and found additional items, like GPS [units] and iPods,” Hick- man said. “It doesn’t take a lot to real- Local woman charged with thefts, po ize that one person doesn’t need five iPods,” said Officer Andy Tanner of the Lexington Police Department, who searched the house with Hickman and other officers. Frazier had actually been caught before in a vehicle ‘be- in the past. “A lot of things get taken all _the time. We got lucky this time to have found a suspect,” said Tanner. “She invoked her right to counsel and called her attor- ney.” Frazier is to go to a prelimi- “She doesn ’t seem to have a lot of experi- ence or she may have done it simply for the thrill and the adrenaline rush. My specula- tion is that she may either be an inexperi- enced thief or a thrill thief ” Officer Andy Tanner, Lexington Police Department longing to a W&L student, but the student did not prosecute, according to the police report. Of the items confiscated from Frazier’s house, one GPS unit and one iPod belonged to W&L students. Sgt. Mark Riley said Frazier may have been involved in other theft incidents reported nary district hearing on Feb. 10. After that, she will proceed to the grand jury and the circuit court. “What’s very strange is that she still had those items that she stole a while ago,” Tanner said. The GPS unit and iPod be- longing to students were stolen in late of October. Usually, thieves either pawn stolen items or sell them online, most frequently on eBay, Tanner said. Pawn shops are required by law to keep records of all items they buy. They hold the items for a certain period and require ID information. But eBay has none of those constraints. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” said Tanner. Officers will attempt to ac- cess Frazier’s eBay account to see if she has sold any stolen items online, he said. “She doesn’t seem to have a lot of experience or she may have done it simply for the thrill and the adrenaline rush,” said Tanner. “My speculation is that she may either be an inexperi- enced thief or a thrill thief.” He further cautioned students to take extra care of their per- sonal items. “These thefts are uniquely a student problem,” he said, add- stolen items 9 ing that students can be “na‘1've’ in how they deal with their per- sonal safety issues. About two years ago, Sgt. Ri- ley arrested professional thieves who had broken into several classrooms of W&L and had stolen electronic projectors from the ceilings, Tanner said. Riley later found out that those projec- tors had been sold on eBay and had been shipped to Baltimore. He was able to recover the'pro- jectors that were worth $50,000- 60,000. Such incidents are rare at W&L, but minor thefts such as Frazier’s commonly occur around college campuses, Ri- ley said. The economy today is likely to exacerbate crime rates, Riley said. “When the economy’s bad, statistically, theft tends to rise. Bad economy pushes people across the line to do something they wouldn’t normally do,” he said. W&L’s endowment bleeds $124m Endowment drops by I 7 percent in 5 mos., administrators blame the economy By Queenie Wong STAFF WRITER Washington and Lee Uni- versity’s endowment lost about $124 million in five months, a 17 percent drop in its market value since July l. The decline brings the en- dowment from $720 million on July 1 to around $596 million at the end of November, Universi- ty Treasurer Steven McAllister said. The plunge in asset values during the financial crisis contin- ues to take its toll on higher edu- cation nationwide. Last month Harvard——the world’s wealthiest university--announced a record 22 percent or $8 billion drop in its endowment. “This is clearly the worst pe- riod that I’ve seen...in terms of the market impact on [W&L’s] endowment,” said McAllister. The loss will mean a reduc- tion in endowment payout, used to support university operations, in 2009 and 2010, McAllister said. The shrinking endowment will also decrease the annual capital budget, which is primar- ily used for projects, he said. Two major projects, the con- struction of the Hillel House and the renovation of the Col- onnade, both depend on gifts. In other words, fundraising will dictate whether those two proj- ects move forward in the next school year, McAllister said. To counteract the possibility of a shrinking endowment, the university created a $20 to $21 losses. “We’re certainly going to do our fair amount of belt tighten- ing. It’s not going to be a period of growth for the university in terms of the traditional sense of “Washington and Lee has been around for over 200 years and it is not going to go down over this. We ’ll manage it. ” June Agrillel University Provost million endowment shortfall re- serve in the last several years, a move that McAllister said will soften the blow of any future business, but it’s also not going to be a period, I don’t believe,‘ of heavy retrenching at the uni- versity.” ‘ Provost June Aprille agrees. “Washington and Lee has been around for over 200 years and it’s not going to go down over this. We’ll manage it,” Aprille said. With 35 percent of the en- dowment allocated to under- graduate financial aid, Aprille and McAllister emphasized their commitment to the students. McAllister said the univer- sity wants to make sure that the school is affordable for all of its students‘. Since it’s unclear whether fi- nancial markets will decline, sta- bilize or grow in coming years, the Board of Trustees plans to discuss different economic sce- narios at February’s board meet- ing, McAllister said. Gerry Lenfest, an alumnus and philanthropist, urged others to continue giving to the univer- sity despite the harsh economic climate. “Now is the time to step up because the university needs it ' more than ever,” Lenfest said. OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20090112/WLURG39_RTP_20090112_002.2.txt RSlTY LIBRARY WASltJll\lil“(iTE0N & LEE UNlVERSlTY LEXlNGT0l\l.VA 2445“ JAN 1. 2958 2 ' THE RING-TUM PHI M 0 N DAY, JANUARY 12, 2009 Gerry Lenfest donates $17 In Two new endowments will allow formore sabbaticals and summer research COURTESY OF THE W&L WEB SITE A $17 million gift from Gerry Lenfest, W&L class of 1953, and W&L Law School class of 1955, will fund new research grants and faculty sabbati- cals. By Queenie Wong STAFF WRITER A $17 million gift by Gerry Len- fest, a university alumnus and philan- thropist, will increase the number of year-long faculty sabbaticals and add funding for summer research grants. Lenfest’s two endowments will fund at least 90 individual research grants every summer, increasing each award by $2500, University Provost June Aprille said. Up to 10 faculty members will be able to leave on full- salaried sabbaticals each year. “His leadership in contributing to and promoting endowments is un- precedented,” said Aprille. The gift also furthers the universi- ty’s ten-year strategic plan “A Liberal Arts Education for the 215‘ Century,” launched in 2007. The plan calls for the recruitment, retention and devel- opment of exceptionally qualified faculty and staff committed to the university’s values outlined in the uni- Vesrity’s strategic plan, Aprille said. Lenfest’s latest gift brings his to- tal support of faculty to $50 million. ‘ In 2007, he committed $33 million to help the university pay its professors competitive salaries. “Among all the gifts of philanthro- Lenfest said: the quality of the stu- dents and the quality of the faculty. Prior to the creation of the H.F. Lenfest Endowment for Faculty Sab- baticals, few professors would leave “We know its very advantageous for some faculty members at certain stages of their career to be gone for the entire year They can get a lot more research done, finish a book, start a new lab proj- J) ect. June Aprille, University Provost py, I think giving back to the school I went to is the most important,” said Lenfest, a member of W&L’s Class of 1953 and the W&L School of Law Class of 1955. There are two components that make up a fine institution like W&L, on year-long sabbaticals because the university could only pay half their full salaries, Aprille said. The univer- sity relied on external grants and fel- lowships to make up the difference for some faculty members. ' “We know it’s very advantageous for some faculty members at certain stages of their career to be gone for the entire year. They can get a lot more re- search done, finish a book, start a new lab project,” she said. After the Mellon Career Trajecto- ries Grant expired last year, Aprille approached Lenfest with the idea of an endowment for faculty support. Lenfest responded with a gift of $9 million for faculty sabbaticals and $8 million for summer research, which he committed to last July. With more funding, Aprille ex- pects more faculty members to apply for year-long sabbaticals and summer research grants this year. Aprille will consult with the deans of the College and the Williams School of Com- merce, Economics and Politics to ad- minister both programs. Applications for a faculty summer research grant, due January 26, are . available on the university’s Web site. 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It’s a minor miracle that we have as many articles in this week’s issue as we do. Who knew there were that many upperclassmen independents? All joking aside, Greek formal recruitment (“Rush” to us older hands) is pretty brutal. For a week, it seems the entire campus is ob- sessed. First-years and others who are rushing are done. You’re get- ting zilch out of them when it comes to class or studies. Zip. Nada. Most upperclassmen aren’t much better. If you’re an upper- wrath for not rushing. Or you’re hiding at the Palms. If you’re an upperclasswoman in a sorority? Well, the absolutely soul-consuming nature of srat rush needs no introduction anymore, does it? We think having Freud explain his theories about the super-ego to us in the original German would be easier to understand than how Panhel’s recruitment system works. And that’s even considering the way in which first-year women are essentially run through a giant grinder emotionally for a week solid. We don’t know how that mythical supercomputer hidden in Terri Cugliari’s office is supposed to work, but we know it’s sure not programmed to consider raw feelings. And then there’s Tear Night. Although we here at the Phi usually don’t wait on pins and needles to read our rival rag, we’re all look- ing forward to the frat / srat / Plan-B stats that will come out later in this week’s Trident. Even when ‘our national GDP stops growing, We’re willing to bet the health center stats keep booming like it’s the 90s and we’re in Silicon Valley. W&L should invest some of the endowment in Tro- jan and Durex. Seriously. So what are we getting at? Is this the annual “down with frats” column the Trident seems to think were under contract to write? Are those nerds at the Phi calling for end of almighty Greek- dom? No. But it’s time to re-assess things. Whatever happened to that oh-so-promising initiative Panhel and the IFC flirted with after last year’s disastrous Tear Night? Where are those exciting new proposals and ideas for improving the system that Alex Duckworth and Jackie DiBiasie were telling us all about a year ago? Our understanding is that the Greek Vision committees are -still meeting. What of it? It’s time for our IFC and Panhel to start either considering their recommendations or demanding they make some. Because though we all love our frats and stats, this last week was rough. It’s time for us to make it easier and better for all. It’s too brutal right now. classman in a fraternity, you’re either rushing like a maniac to win ‘ a freshman over a rival frat, or you’re attracting your rush chair’s —— ————————————————————— ~~- WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY ------------------------------------------- I-- . THE RING-TUM PHI. MANAGING EDITOR ALLISON CHOPIN NEWS EDITOR JOHN HENDERSON , OPINIONS EDITOR CODY BEAUCHAMP ARTS & LIFE EDITOR CELEST CRUZ- CARANDANG SPORTS EDITOR WILL DORRANCE COPY EDITOR BRETT HOLTON MICHAEL MORELLA CONTRIBUTING WRITERS BRIAN CHERRY ABEL DELGADO NEVILLE FOGARTY JACOB GEIGER JAMIE KIM JOAN OGUNTIMEIN MERRITT POLING CHRIS SCHNECK LEE TACKETT QUEENIE WONG DESIGN EDITOR BUSINESS MANAGERS LARA JORDAN STROCK MOORE CHARLES PERSONS DISTRIBUTION MNGR. ROB GEORGE 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 RlNG—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 Q 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 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: PHl@WLU.EDU SUBSCRIPTION RATE $45 ' Democratic Not ‘Sweet Caroline’ Just being a Kennedy shouldn ’t make you a Senator By Abel Delgado COLU M NIST Someone needs to tell Caro- line Kennedy the upper house of Congress is not the House of Lords. The party that claims to rep- resent middle and working class Americans is seriously consider- ing appointing a daughter of a former president with no public oflice experience to the Senate seat currently occupied by the wife of a former president who had no public office experience when she won it. The word nep- otism definitely comes to mind. What happened to our great meritocracy? Wasn’t the elec- tion of President-Elect Obama supposed to prove that anyone, regardless of background, could aspire to be president? Well we can all dream of being president one day, but unless we belong to a political royal family, we should give up all hope of serv- ing as Senator from New York. Just a few months ago, it was Democrats who were ridicul- ing a relatively inexperienced woman running for high office, but at least Sarah Palin was self- made and came from the work- ing class. ' Now some Democrats are favoring a completely inexperi- enced woman running for high office who was apparently born with the silver spoon and the Senate seat, or throne, to look forward to. Republicans would do well to have a field day with this. look like “Sweet Caroline” was into politics. One of the reasons New York Governor David Pa- terson saidjhe was considering Kennedy for the seat is her close relationship with President-Elect Obama, so we can add cronyism to the list of words that come to mind as well. Kennedy didn’t Kennedy has absolutely no legislative experi- ence and no real political experience unless you count the 2008 election speeches and Veep advice she gave for Obama. Is this change we can believe in? Kennedy has absolutely no legislative experience and no real political experience unless you count the 2008 election speeches and Veep advice she gave for Obama. Her public service record is basically a list of charitable boards she sits on. Up until Kennedy and her uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy of Mas- sachusetts, threw their support behind Obama during the Dem- ocratic primaries, it didn’t even even bother voting in some key elections for Democrats in New York. At least she didn’t come to New York solely to run for the Senate, which is an improve- ment from the Senator she may be replacing. America is not supposed to have political family dynasties; the House of Bush should have proved that. But do not tell this to the House of Kennedy or the House of Clinton, for they are determined to stay relevant. With all the problems and scan- dals that greeted Democrats who recently arrived in Congress, having to explain why Caroline Kennedy has earned her place in “the most exclusive clu ” going to cause more headaches and give Republicans more openings. Republicans are just as ca- pable of nepotism and political dynasties, but former Florida Governor Jeb Bush did them a favor when he took his name off the list of potential candi- dates to replace Florida Senator Mel Martinez in 2010. It’s not that Bush was inexperienced; he was very successful and popular Governor, but Bush understood his last name was toxic and that Republicans needed new names. It was no accident that one of the first people Bush called once he made his decision was Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican and former State Speaker of the House who is considered a rising star in the party. Democrats, after finding suc- cess-with an untraditional can- didate, look like they’re return- ing to their old ways. Here’s to wondering if anything has really changed at all. Time for usto ditch politics as usual We need all that change we can believe in sooner rather than later, please By Jacob Geiger COLU MNIST Withvthe United States cur- rently mired in a 13-month long recession that may last for at least another year, there’s no question that the last few months have not been “business as usual.” During Washington and Lee’s fall term we saw the fail- ure of Lehman Brothers; the nationalization of insurance gi- ant AIG plus mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mac; a $700 billion bailout of the finan- cial system and a smaller ~ but equally controversial — bailout of General Motors and Chrys- ler. But despite the incredible economic crisis — not to men- tion a new foreign policy crisis in the Middle East — the last six weeks have been politics as usual. Illinois led off the parade of idiocy with the arrest of its governor, Rod Blagojevich, after a special prosecutor uncovered evidence that Blago, as he’s known in his home state, was brazenly trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder. Despite initially sayingafter his arrest that he would not ap- point anyone to the seat, Blago- jevich changed course on Dec. 30 and appointed Roland Burris, a former state attorney general. That led us to last week’s fiasco, as Burris arrived for the first day of the new Senate session even though he knew his appointment papers had not been signed by the Illinois Secretary of State, as the law requires. He showed up even knowing that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had already said he would not be seated or admitted by the Senate. So on a day that Alcoa, one of the nation’s largest industrial companies, announced that it was laying off ‘l3,500 work- ers, the Senate was focused on whether or not it should admit the appointment of a governor whose ego and idiocy is ex- ceeded only by his alleged cor- ruption. This whole disaster doesn’t even begin to touch on Minne- sota, where Democrat Al Frank- en and Republican Norm Cole- man are still squabbling over who won that Senate race back in November. Coleman led by about 215 votes when the polls closed on Election Night, but a recount that was certified last week gave Franken a 225-vote lead. Coleman announced I an. 6 that he was suing to reverse the result, meaning Minnesota may be one senator short for several months. Republicans have also made some stupid mistakes lately. Chip Saltsman, a former leader Tennessee GOP who is a candi- date to become the new chair- man of the Republican National Committee, sent out a Christmas CD that included a song titled “Barack the Magic Negro.” Saltsman said the song was clearly a satire, but he mostly managed to prove that idiocy is truly a bipartisan position these I days. We’re essentially a po- _ litically paralyzed nation right now. President George Bush is perhaps the lamest duck in the history of lame ducks. Obama is refusing to make any ma- jor statements about economic policy or the new war in Gaza, arguing that the nation can only have one president at a time. From a technical standpoint, he’s right, but that basically means the U.S. has no president right now. This transition period be- tween presidents is usually a quiet one, but with a war in the Middle East and an economic crisis, the world is not cooperat- ing with our power vacuum this time around. Change may have come to America, as Obama said in his Election Night speech, but the last few weeks have also proved ’ that some things in the political world — like greed, arrogance and stupidity — will never change. Israel’s attacks on Hamas justified F resh-back from the Holy Land, columnist Brain Cherry defends Israeli strikes By Brian Cherry co LU MNIST Having visited Israel over my winter break, including hav- ing been there when the war broke out, I feel it necessary to give my opinion on the conflict, and hopefully shed light on a few misconceptions many peo- ple may have about the Israel- Hamas conflict which may have been caused by extreme anti-Is- rael bias in the media. ' For the past two weeks, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has led an offensive inside the Gaza strip with the goal of weaken- ing, if not destroying, Hamas, a terrorist organization centered in Gaza. According to Hamas’ charter, the sole purpose of the group’s existence is to destroy the state of Israel. It should not be surprising that relations between Israel and Hamas have not been peaceful since Hamas’ establishment in 1987. Between February 2008 and June 18, 2008, Israel saw approximately 1,900 rockets fired into its borders by Hamas militants in the Gaza strip. In June of 2008, however, Egypt helped mediate a six- month ceasefire between Israel . and Hamas set to begin on June 19. After the beginning of the ceasefire the rocket fire into Is- rael decreased significantly but did not stop. On November 4, 2008, however, Israel also vio- lated the ceasefire by killing 6 Hamas gunmen upon discover- ing a tunnel into Israel that had been built by Hamas (not only was this tunnel built completely illegally, but the tunnel was not built with peaceful intentions). Following this incident rocket fire into Israel has increased, leading to more Israeli civilian casualties and property damage. Despite demands by Israel for the rocket fire to stop, Hamas rejected a renewing of the truce established in June. Israel had no choice but to lead an assault on the organiza- tion attacking its civilians. News coverage of this con- flict in Gaza has shown the world pictures of civilian casualties, calling Israel a “terror state.” Some are even going as far as to call the conflict genocide and comparing the conflict to the Holocaust (such statements and comparisons are outrageous). The vast majority of casual- ties in Gaza have not been civil- ian casualties. Israel attacks where Hamas‘ is, however, and Hamas has be- trayed the people of Gaza by hav- ing bases in schools, mosques, and other public areas. Hamas does not care if the people of Gaza die, because the more civilian casualties there are, the more sympathy they will receive from the rest of the world. If the people of Gaza would rise, up against the Hamas militants, or at least support the IDF, Hamas would be defeated and no more civilians would die. When a state sees its citizens, its civilians nonetheless, being attacked by militants in an orga- nization, they have no choice but to defend their people. Hamas exists only with the goal of destroying Israel. Be- cause of this, it is Israel’s duty to see to its destruction. Just like the United States has led a War on Terror to see to the destruction of terrorist organizations around the world who wish to see the destruction of the United States, Israel has a responsibility to destroy Hamas. I Only then will there be peace. is just OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20090112/WLURG39_RTP_20090112_004.2.txt THE RING-TUM PHI 0 4 MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2009 arts&|ife Staniar exhibit is weightless New Staniar gallery art exhibit features both photographs and ceramic pieces MICHAEL KEN NA / Artist English photographer Michael Kenna paired up with Japanese ceramlcist Satoru Hoshino to create an exhibit that Interests the viewer In a variety of ways. By Celeste Cruz-Carandang and Merritt Poling ARTS & LIFE EDITOR AND STAFF wnnrn The familiarity of the Staniar Gallery greets a veteran visitor. The same glass doors, the same wooden floors. Something is different about it this time, however. Weightless, the current exhibit by Satoru Hoshino and Michael Kenna, envelops the viewer in its ambience. The exhibit is a surprising blend of mediums, incorporat- ing Hoshino’s ceramic pieces and Kenna’s black and white photo- graphs. Although the works of the two artists are seemingly different, the exhibit still retains a profound coherence. Large, generally indiscemible dark shapes, are immediately ap- parent to anyone even walking by. Upon seeing these shapes, the viewer might feel almost as though he has entered some sort of dream world. The massive, abstracted figures are more easily compared to sculp- ture than to any ceramics. Upon closer examination, the black and white photographs inter- spersed with the ceramics reveal their beauty and significance. The images are small, but powerful. One in particular features a scene somehow familiar to most. At first glance, the photograph is of an ordinary‘ Seascape. But, if you look closely, Kenna’s photo- graph reveals a curious defiance of physics. ‘ One large stone seems to be supported by an impossibly small base. The land above it, weighing hundreds of tons by any estima- tion but somehow retains a power- ful stability. The beauty of Kenna’s work lies in its ability to evoke powerful emotion. Hoshino mimics these same shapes in one of his larger works. The pieces themselves look to be made up of small, dark ceramic stones that seem tiny enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The artist creates a structure with the same concept: a large mass precariously balanced on a small point. More astonishing is the fact that these huge works are made of such small components. Hoshino’s efforts are obvious, but the viewer never feels the stress of the artist’s attention to de- tail and the amount of time it took to construct such a piece. Instead, Hoshino’s works con- tribute to the sense of calm that can be consistently felt throughout the entire exhibit. Saturo Hoshino is a Japanese ceramicist of international ac- claim. He has exhibited his unique pieces in galleries throughout the world, including Japan, Europe and the United States. As a craftsman, his specialty lies in post—object ceramics. Michael Kenna’s work has been featured in countless exhibits in- ternationally since 1979. Kenna’s inspiration for the exhibit came from a book he wrote entitled Ja- pan Which was published in 2006. He has authored several other books in addition to Japan. Kenna currently resides in Se- attle, Wash. Weightless will be exhibited in the Stanair gallery from Jan 5 until Jan 30 during regular gallery hours. There will be an opening lec- ture with a reception to follow on Jan 22 at 6:00 pm. The exhibit evokes a rare sense of tranquility. Both artists have produced striking works through very different mediums. Howev- er, both ceramics and photography work together to produce an unex- pected sense of balance. Artists get their pictures moving Two photographers chose to feature dance in their work By Joan Oguntlmein 5 TA F F W RITE R “Celebrating Dance through Photography” is a photo exhibit showcasing work from photogra- phers Kevin Remington and Fran- ces Dowdy. The exhibit opened in Kamen Gallery, the atrium of Len- fest Hall, on Jan 7 and will continue until Mar 31.. Remington, an award—winning photojournalist, began photograph- ing dance four years ago and like est,“ said Dowdy of her class in her artist’s statement. “Aside from the personal nature of portraiture, much of my satisfaction comes from the process. . .of taking each portrait beyond being a mere pho- tograph and making it a work of art.” Though she opened a portrait studio in Atlanta, her fascination with dance and specifically, dancers led her to photographing dancers for her personal work. As her work in the exhibit shows, Dowdy, as she much of my satisfaction comes from... taking each portrait beond a mere photograph and mak- ing it a work of art...each dancer brings his or her unique experience...and our collaboration takes us on an extraordinary photographic journey Frances Dowdy, artist many admirers of his work, he fell in love with the emotion, light and motion that his photographs cap- ture. q Remington is currently the pho- tographer for both Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute. Many of Rem- ington’s photographs in the exhibit feature students from the W&L Repertory Dance Company. His photos document the dance com- pany’s performances from the last two years. Some photographs were taken during Professor Jennifer Da- vies’s dance class “The images that come alive are definitely most amazing,” Reming- ton said. Remington used a slow shut- ter speed to capture blur to show motion. His favorite piece in the exhibit is a photograph with a girl with a blue scarf in the air. When asked why the photograph was his favorite, Remington said it was “be- cause it just happened .” Remington said he most enjoyed the photos that were of spontaneous movement. Frances Dowdy began her ca- reer in portrait photography several years after majoring in Art History when she enrolled in her first pho- tography class at the age of 40. “Portraiture immediately emerged as an area of special inter- stated in her artist’s statement, has begun “exploring the diverse nature of dance, with more intimate por- trait-like studies.” While many of her photos are in black and white, some are in a “playful pictorial style” in color. Like Remington, Dowdy fea- tures students in the W&L Reper- tory Dance Company in her pho- tographs in this exhibit. Her work also features professional dancers from the Halestone Dance Studio and the Community Dance Connec- tion Theater. “Each dancer brings his or her unique experience, style and vi- sion and our collaboration takes us on an extraordinary photographic journey,” said Dowdy, in her artist’s statement. The works of Remington and Dowdy are captivating. Each pho- tographer captures a wide range of strong feeling and communicates the passion and intense emotion of the dancers. “I really like the exhibit,” said Lenfest Center work-study student Adriana Gonzalez. “The movement and emotion that flows through the pictures is extremely evident. I’m glad I get to look at it every day.” There will be an artist’s recep- tion on Wednesday, Jan 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. KEVIN REMINGTON / Photographer Kevin Remington has been photographing the W&L Repertory dance company for four years. His exhibit portrays some of their classes and past performances. Thank God it's Over! by Neville L. Fogarty ‘Head over to ringtumphicrossword.blogspotcom to check your solution to this week's puzzle! Across I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 it! I I 12 I3 I Scams 6 Place for Mandela, H 15 16 once In Slew l7 l8 I‘) I4 “Home >______‘‘ 15 Gardner and others 16 Latin places 17 Paramecimn propellers 18 The King's once. 20 RUSH 22 Spine~tingIing 23 Takes off’ the bottle 24 Get in a pool‘? 27 "l-loiiday mo, 28 Crooked 43 4,; 45 45, 47 30 Calcuius calculation 32 Siiamelaceti 43 49 5° 5‘ 53 53 37 RUSH , y _ , 54 55 <1, 5? 5x 59 41 Anne Hank. for (me 42 Lawiess mic (,0 5; 43 ”'?viuseum Mile" buiiding. with "The" 62 63 (>4 44 Cling to 47 M or F on a form 63 66 67 -88 Tank type 52 Umps” calls 54 RUSH 60 M iclmel, for (mt: 7 Bring up 29 Whistler. at times 48 Type of goat‘? 61 Mass pan 8 Big name in chips 31 Blood~typ%ng letters :19 "The Price is Right" 52 ]3gm},3rd 9 (’.§Rli-'5 kin 32 Cyndi Laupefs “ ____ M h‘’-‘‘' 63 Canadian tribe ' 10 Pizzeria orécr B"-P" 5° "‘ 3%“ “P” 64 Emulate Ami)’ Rooney 3‘ .-......_. 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In the last 95 years the Yankees have won a major-league leading 26 World Series titles and 39 American League pennants. But the single stat that most people cite for their dislike of the Yankees is their payroll, an astounding $209 million in 2008. George Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees, has an extreme desire to win that is only matched by his seemingly unlimited budget. In 2008, the Yankees’ payroll was $70 mil- lion more than next highest paid team, the New York Mets, and $190 million more than the low- est paid team, the Florida ‘Mar- lins. But despite every resource that money could buy, the 2008 Yankees failed to make the play- offs. Could the Yankees organi- zation be on the downturn? The typical Yankee response to losing is to spend more mon- ey, acquiring new star players. It would appear that was exactly what the Yankees were doing in the 2009 offseason. So far the Yankees have spent $423.5 million since the 2008 baseball season concluded. That sum will be paid to Mark Teixei- ra, CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. Sabathia split his time between the Cleveland Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers, which he led to the NL Wild Card, in 2008. Overall, he was 17-10 with an ERA of 2.70 and 251 strikeouts, but he was 11-2 with three com- plete games with the Brewers. The Yankees signed Sabathia on Dec. 18, 2008, to a seven- year $161 million contract, the ‘largest contract in MLB history given out to a pitcher. On the very same day, the Yankees also signed free agent pitcher AJ Burnett to a five-year, $82.5 million deal. Burnett fin- ished the 2008 season with an 18-10 markland an American League leading 231 strikeouts. But the Yankees were not done yet. On Jan. 6, 2009, Teix- eira was introduced as a Yan- kee. He agreed to a preliminary going according to plan for the Yankees. They had secured the top free agents and had filled their needs by spending, spend- ing and more spending. Again, it appears as though everything was normal in New York, or was it? In 2008, the Yankees ’ payroll was $ 7 0 million more than the highest paid team, the New York Mets, and $190 million more than the lowest paid team, the F lor- ida Marlins. deal woith $180 million over 8 years. Teixeira batted .308 with 33 home runs and 121 RBI’s in 2008. Sabathia, Burnett and Teixeira rank first, fifth and sec- ond respectively on mlbtraderu- mors.com’s ranking of top free agents in 2009. Everything seemed to be Actually, the Yankees are due to spend $30 million less than last year. After players who were high paid and who had under performed such as Andy Petite, Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano came off the books, the Yankees’ payroll was reduced by a great ' amount. Women’s basketball beats While it seems that the Yan- kees are spending as much if not more so than ever, they actually cut payroll by 14 percent. This payroll out came in the same off-season that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the defending AL Champions and the Yankee’s ‘divisional rivals, increased their payroll by 25 percent. But it does not stop there; in the 2009 season the Yankees are opening the new Yankee Stadi- um. The total cost of the project is $l.3_billion. One would think with the constant scllouts, a tele- vision station, and the biggest market in the country that the Yankees and Steinbrenner could foot the bill. But they couldn’t. The Yankees are receiving considerable help from the state of New York in order to com- plete the stadium on time. The land that the stadium and park- ing lies on belongs not to the Yankees, but to the state; the parking constructions will be built and paved not by the Yan- kees, but by the state; the city also will issue tax-exempt bonds for the Yankees’ new stadium. In total, the New York state taxpay- ers will pay $70 million to-help the Yankees, as authorized by the state legislature. - Could the richest team in baseball be in trouble? Could overspending every year finally be catching up with them? Could the recent economic downturn be hurting them too? Could the Yankees be the sports world’s Bernard Madoff, the genius be-_ hind a Ponzi scheme, or simply a fraud who was pretending? Maybe, just maybe King George could be turning into Average Joe. Or maybe a lot more spend- ing is to come. emit? t-trzass. {Eta ttnt;a t:§ re ’t"or tgimft {fitter front ear esraplete arena {Pr Jets: aster tare sffaar /iii. i"'e'.‘}t2’ t’.".t:z‘s a day, 7 days 2: weeiii I .§~:"eaa: feairértl 1'l»§£’{!§§ at .§:rir{§ser;t ii’t2.s;iitzzI§{;>.’ i.,oe;a.te it at 3-iii E-M. §€:«4i£ W5. 3.536 ;‘«3or%§‘2 §.ee ilwg,-=., §..t'x%ngi.t)i1, VA iistti-szitrf§~34i7§i antique ease Cars at its “ieyst Top I0 Skills Employer: Seek \ 1. Communication skills 2. Strong work ethic 3. Teamwork skills 4. Initiative 5. Interpersonal skills 6. Problem-solving skills 7. Analytical skills 8. Flexibility and adaptability 9. Computer skills 10. Technical skills Visit Career Services: before Thanksgiving Break to talk about job Search strategies. Your parents will be proud of you! VVASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY CAREERSERVICES OCR::/Vol_112/WLURG39_RTP_20090112/WLURG39_RTP_20090112_006.2.txt MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2009 6 ° THE RING-TUM PHI sports -deck Mon Tues Wen Tnuns FRI SAT SUN at at M0|'|'S Lynchburg; Roanoke Basketball 7 p.m. 7 p.m. at V5 at Women's Basketball EMU Roanoke Bc 7 p.m. 7 pm. 3 p.m. vs Men’s swlmmlng fettysbmgi 2 p.m. vs Women’s 3 I, lswlmmlngi ems mg‘ 2 p.m. vs $9“: Roanoke rac 4:30 p.m. vs Women’s Track Roanoke , 4:30 p.m. W&L llllrestllng ' Invlte 10 a.m. numbers 0 The number of NFL rookie quarterbacks to win two playoff games be- fore the Ravens’ Joe Flacco beat the Miami Dolphins in the wild card game and the Tennessee Titans in the divisional game this season. 3 The number of times Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has been named the Most Valuable Player. He nowjoins Brett Favre as the only three—time NFL MVP winners. $29 million The amount the New England Patriots will have tied up in their two quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Matt Cassel, if reports are true that they will soon place the team's franchise tag on Cassel for more than $14 million. “Overall, I just felt loyal to this place. I feel like a role model, and a lot of times people start‘ things and don’t finish them. I didn’t want to be like that. I wanted to be loyal to the university. I wanted to finish what I started and play another year." Florlda quarterback Tlm Tebow after he announced hls plan to return for hls senior season at the school’s celebration of Its second football natlonal champlonshlp In three years. Courtesy of espn.com. “If I’m Utah, or if I’m USC or if I’m Texas, I might still have some quibbles That's why we need a playof President-elect Barack Obama, who has on numerous occasions publlclzed hls crltlclsm of college football’s Bowl champlonshlp Serles. Courtesy of cbssports.com. “I said to Leigh, we were sitting at dinner, ‘Every- thing’s equal. Where would you want to play?’ Fi- nally, she broke down and said, ‘I want you to be a Yankee.’ That's what did it for me.” Newly slgned New York Yankee lnflelder Mark Telxelra, cltlng hls wlfe Lelgh’s desire to move to New York as the deciding factor In signing wlth the Yankees. Courtesy of espn.com. . “I think I might be back in Dallas [next season]. ” Free agent cornerback Adam Jones on CBS’ NFL pregame show even though the Dallas cowboys released him on Wednesday after a season In which he was suspended six games for an off-the-fleld flght. The - Cowboys traded for Jones thls sprlng after he was suspended for the 2007 season for numerous lncldents of misconduct. Reviewing the BCS ' Tackett takes a look back at the college football season By Lee Tackett STAFF warren After another virtuoso performance by Florida all-purpose quarterback Tim Tebow in the BCS National Championship game, the 2008-2009 college football sea- son has finally come to a close. Although there were no pure upsets of the magni- tude of last year’s opening week shocker of Appalachian State over Michigan, this year’s season raised new debates regard- ing conference supremacy, the validity of the BCS system and whether there is truly a need for the Magic Jack St. Petersburg bowl. With 34 bowl games played" during this year’s bowl season, 64 of the 120 FBS teams who met the criteria for bowl eligibility of six wins were given the op- portunity to participate in the post-season. The magnitude of bowls is almost entirely dependent on what kind of school is play- ing in a bowl. A traditional power like West Virginia, who knocked off an upstart North Caro- lina team in the Meineke Car Care‘ Bowl, was unable to meet their individual pre- season expectations and was able to use the bowl game as not only a proper send off for one of their programs most deco- rated athletes, quarterback Pat White, but also was able to play younger players in an effort to evaluate talent for the follow- ing season. This isn’t to say that bowl wins aren’t important to bigger schools, especially when a first-year coach like West Vir- ginia’s Bill Stewart is involved, but after huge BCS bowl win in the previous sea- son, West Virginia has reasons to be disap- pointed about the 2008-2009 season. The spirit of the bowl season greatly differs, however, for a team like Colorado State, whose victory in the New Mexico Bowl was the school’s first post-season victory since 2001. Colorado State’s victory will not only be a large boost to recruiting for another first-year coach Steve Fairchild but gives the program significant momen- tum moving into the 2009 season with few - players graduating. In the imperfect system of the Bowl Championship Series, 2008 may have been its most difficult year in truly iden- tifying the top two teams at season’s end. The BCS Championship ended as a match- up between number one ranked Big 12 champion Oklahoma, whose only blemish was a ten-point loss to Texas in the Red River Shootout, against the number two ranked SEC champion Florida Gators, who dropped a early home game to Ole Miss after an extra point was blocked in the game’s closing minutes. Rankings aside, many in the media didn’t question Florida’s position in the national title game. After all, the Gators play in arguably the nation’s toughest con- ference and had just knocked off previous- .15" fifteen teams TCU and BYU, and was given a chance in the Sugar Bowl against SEC runner-up Alabama. After being very large underdogs, Utah pulled possibly the greatest BCS upset ever and knocked off Alabama to complete a 13-0 season. Not to be outdone, USC, who dropped an early season road game to Oregon State, took the hammer to Big 10 champion Penn State in the Rose Bowl to complete another one-loss season that concluded in a convincing win over a top Big 10 team. Florida was crowned national cham-. pion by both the AP and thevCoaches poll Although there were no pure upsets of the magnitude of last year is opening week shocker of Appalachian State over Michigan, this year is season raised new debates regarding conference supremacy, the validity of the BCS system and whether there is truly a need for the magic- ' Jack St. Petersburg bowl.‘ ly undefeated Alabama in the SEC cham- pionship game. ,Oklahoma’s position in the game was much more contested given that their position in the Big 12 champi- onship game came as a notion of winning a three-way tie in the Big 12 south with Texas Tech and Texas. Although Texas beat Oklahoma by ten, they dropped a road game on the final play to Texas Tech. Texas Tech’s claims to be in the Big 12 championship game as a part of the three-way tie were essentially silenced afier a 44-point loss to Oklahoma. When the dust settled, the final tiebreaker for the three teams was the highest rated team in the final BCS rankings, which happened to be Oklahoma. Although Florida defeated Oklahoma by a score of 24 to 14, the situation was nowhere near settled after the perfor- mances of Utah, Texas and USC. Out of the Mountain West Conference, Utah had quietly amassed quite a resume through- out the season with wins over Michigan, Pac 10 contender Oregon state, and top but not without loud complaints from the coaches of USC, Texas and Utah. With more and more controversy emerging each year over who is the true national champion, it will be interesting to. see how long the NCAA can hold off from moving towards a playoff system. The final story line of this season is yet to be finished but will greatly impact the landscape of college football for the next year. With the top two receivers in the nation, Jeremy Maclin of Missouri and ‘ Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech already filing their paper work for the NFL draft, they will be the first of a possible mass exodus of junior skill position players to the NFL. With the nation’s three Heisman final- ists Bradford, McCoy and Tebow all being juniors along with possibly top NFL pros- pect USC quarterback Mark Sanchez, the next few weeks likely have groundbreak- ing effects on the rosters of the nation’s top teams for the 2009 season. Conference Standings As of press time Sunday Men’s Basketball ' Team Conference Overall 1. Roanoke 4-0 12-1 2. Randolph-Macon 4-0 10-31 3_ Guilford 3-0 10-2 Team ' Conference Overall 4. Virginia Wesleyan 3-2 9-5 1- Brldgewater 2'0 2'1 5. Eastern Mennonite 3-2 7-5 2- WASHINGTON & LEE 2-0 5'4 6, B1-jdgewater 3-2 7-7 3. Randolph-Macon 2-1 5-2 7. WASHINGTON & LEE 2-2 9-4 4. Hollins 2-1 2-2 8_ Hampden-Sydney 1-3 6-7 5. Sweet Briar 2-2 4-3 9. Emory & Henry 1-4 7-7 6- Emory & Henry 0-2 1-2 10. Lynchburg 1-4 3-1 1 7. Guilford 0-2 1 -3 11. Randolph 0-6 2-11 8. Randolph 0-3 0-5 Women’s Basketball . Team , Conferencg overall Team Conference Overall 1. Virginia Wesleyan 6-1 9-3 1- MCDaI1i€1 1'0 5‘8 8 2. Eastern Mennonite 5-2 10-2 2- WASHINGTON & LEE 0-0 1-0 3_ Roanoke 5-2 9-2 3. Merchant Marine 0-0 7-3 4. Randolph-Macon 5-2 7-4 4. Ursinus 0-0 2-2 5. WASHINGTON & LEE 4-2 4-6 5. Stevens 0-0 3-5 6. Guilford 4-3 5-7 6. Johns Hopkins 0-0 1-3 7. Bridgewater 3-3 5-6 7. Muhlenberg 0-0 0-2 8. Lynchburg 3 -4 5-7 8. Gettysburg 0-1 1-8 9. Randolph 1-6 1-8 10. Emory & Henry 0-5 1-8 1 1. Hollins 0-6 0-10 The Washington and Lee men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s swimming teams all participate in the Old A Dominion Athletic Conference. The wrestling team competes in the Centennial Conference. The men’s swimming is a part of the Bluegrass Mountain Conference, but it does not publish rankings.