OCR::/Vol_113/WLURG39_RTP_20100215/WLURG39_RTP_20100215_001.2.txt Arch - _ 378.755 '. . 2551 v V ‘T _j j .1 ~/.113 - - I1 no.H - 0.0.. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 015, 2010 Donfifeelbad aboutthat /1 + , ,. 22»,/’ =>‘3§\%\ WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY ‘ THE RING-TUM PHI. 1. BY THE STUDENTS AND FOR THE STUDENTS SINCE‘ 1897 V01-UMECXIWNUMBER14 . A winning verdict W&L is mock trial teams advance to next round of competition in Greenville By Eleanor Kennedy STAFF warren After finishing first and fourth at last weekend’s/ regional competition, both of Washington and Lee’s mock trial teams will be advancing to the Open- Welcome ho National honor society returns to its roots in Lexington nearly a century after its founding By Paige Gance & Chelsea Stevenson STAFF WRITERS Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society, will return to its birthplace this summer when it relocates its national headquarters to from W&L to buy the train station. “The decision by ODK to return to its roots here at Washington and Lee is wonderful news,” said W&L ing Round Championship in Greenville, S.C. next the historic Lexington train station. President Kenneth P. Ruscio. “We month. ‘ ODK was founded nearly 100 years look forward to welcoming the na- and Twenty-four schools competed at the regional ago at Washington and Lee.Univer- tional headquarters to Lexington and faC_ meet at the University OfNOI‘lIh Carolina on Feb. 5- sity in 1914. to continuing our historic relation- My lead_ 6. The W&L ‘A’ team placed first and the ‘B’ team “We are excited at the prospect of ship with the society.” erg - finished fourth. According to A-team captain Andy Budzinski, W&L’s toughest" competition was Duke University. The teams spent about 20 hours per week pre- paring for the tournament. They met for four hours every night Sunday through Thursday. During their meetings, team members practiced direct examina- “[Mock trial] is really a great pro— . gram - it brings together a bunch of smart, talented people who might‘ not otherwise socialize. ” ANDY BUDZINSKI, A-team captain tion, cross examination and speeches. In addition to the regional competition last week- end, the team attended four tournaments during the fall. They placed third at Richmond University and second and fifth at Duke, so (leading into regioiials, team members were very_excited. “We were confident that we had built two very strong, competitive teams,” Budzinski said. The results show that the team’s excitement was warranted. They made a last minute change in their case but it paid off with the first and fourth place finishes. In addition to the team’s success, freshman Nate Reisinger received a best witness award for his portrayal of the murder victim’s nerdy assistant. The teams will spend the next month preparing for the Opening Round Championship which will take place on Mar. 26-28. Although the team obvi- ously wants to succeed at the next level, Budzinski says he will be proud of this team no matter what. “As long as they give it their all, I really don’t think winning or losing is the most important thing,” Budzinski said. Mock trial is a huge time commitment and mem- bers often have to miss other events on campus. The next round of competition conflicts with Fancy Dress. But in spite of all the time required, members really enjoy the experience. “We have a lot of fun together, so it is definitely worth missing some things,” first year team member Abbie Caudill said. Caudill’s favorite part of being on the team is get- ting to spend time with such a great group of people. The friendships formed between team members are also important to Budzinski. “It’s really a great program- it brings together a bunch of very smart, talented people who might not otherwise socialize,” says Budzinski. “Every year, we grow closer and support each other to the end, no matter what. It’s really great.” moving the ODK national headquar- ters to Lexington,” the organization’s executive director, Thomas G. Goo- dale said. “Given that our l00th an- niversary is in 2014, it is appropriate to return to the ‘mother ship.’” The move back to Lexington will be a permanent one rather than the temporary locations ODK has used in the past. “We spent many years at the University of Kentucky and the last few years at Transylvania Univer- sity. This move will give us our first permanent home,” Barb Snyder, the office manager of ODK’s national headquarters, said. This also marks the first time ODK will have a facility of its own instead of renting facilities owned by a college or university. According to Goodale, while the Students across the country partic- ipate in circles, their name for chap- ters, at over 320 college campuses. The society also awards membership to faculty, staff and administration, alumni and to persons qualifying for honorary membership or honoris causa. Membership in ()DK is con- sidered one of the highest honors by those involved in collegiate life. Students can be tapped for mem- bership in either theirjunior, senior, or graduate years as long as they rank in the top 35 percent in scholar- ship at their institution. In addition. they must demonstrate leadership in at least one offive categories; ofeam~ pus life. These include scholarship; athletics; campus or community ser- vice; social and religious activities and campus government;journalism, “We are excited at the prospect of moving the ODK national headquarters to the historic Lexing- ton. Given that our ]00th anniversary is in 2014, it is appropriate to return to the ‘mother ship. THOMAS GOODALE, ODK executive director society has always wanted to return to its origin," the move was made possible after they received an offer speech; and the mass media; and cre- ative and performing arts. On Dec. 3, 1914, fifteen W&L for morefphotosof ODK in the spirit of leadership and ide- alism of ,George Washington and Robert l-3. Lee. The history of ODK celebrates these founders who formulated the idea that leadership of exceptional quality and versatil- ity in college should be recognized in all phases of university life. The first public announcement ofthe es- , tablishment ofOmicron Delta Kappa was made in this same newspaper, the Ring Tum Phi, on January 12, 1915. Almost immediately. the new so- ciety received requests from groups at other colleges interested in form- ing their own circles of ODK. ln 1917, there were four circles of ODK, and together they formed the national society. Since its founding, Omicron Delta Kappa has initiated over 300,000 members, and on Mar. 12, 1974, the ODK National Conven- tion convened in New Orleans and approved the initiation of women. In its mission statement, ODK strongly emphasizes three key goals. The first is to recognize those who have attained a high standard of cf- fectiveness in collegiate activities and inspired others by their example. The society also strives to gather stu- dents from all phases of collegiate life in order to “mould the senti- ment of the institution on questions of local and intercollegiate inter- ests.” The last part of their purpose involves bringing together members of the faculty and student body on a basis of mutual interest and under- standing. ODK alumni range from India- napolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning to secretary of state Hill- ary Clinton to singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow. W&L alumni who are members ofODK include former na- tional broadcaster Roger Mudd, the late Supreme Court Justice Lewis l’. Powell in, and forine1' New York Stock Exchange president William R. Johnston. . -The Lexington train station was purchased by W&L in 1971 and has most recently been used to house the Facilities Management offices. Facilities management will move its offices to the old Rockbridge County courthouse. OCR::/Vol_113/WLURG39_RTP_20100215/WLURG39_RTP_20100215_002.2.txt UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY “J6? iiiil 2* THE RlNG~TUM PHI MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15. 2010:- opinions Large possibilities loom on the horizon for microfinance Both at Washington and Lee and abroad, microfinance is developing into a feasible way of helping the third world By Jarrett Brotzman COLU M NIST Around the world, billions of people live in extreme poverty, with approximately one in five individuals living on less than $l.25aday. On an international scale, large-scale poverty reduction campaigns have yielded mixed results. Since 2006, when Mu- hammad Yunus received the Nobel prize for his work with the Grameen Bank and micro- loan program, new attention has been called to the emerging field of microfinance as a sustainable and holistic approach to poverty alleviation and reduction around the world. Microfinance, also called mi- crolending or microloans, serves to provide basic credit services for impoverished entrepreneurs around the globe. Concentrated in developing or third world na- tions, Micro Finance Institutions (MFIS) serve to fill the credit gap to impoverished entrepreneurs. Most of these loans are quite small, ranging from $25 USD to $150 USD, and used by indi- viduals to purchase basic capital equipment, expand their busi- nesses, hire more workers and provide clean water and electric- ity to their families and commu- nities. I ,soIi:m«é;s: Lotliiei I 1.1i"!t!NlST. ~ Thatgwas the year-.tl1&t: I, a .cu:aIg,g green and, starry eyed css 'l/riotzrs, knocking on strang- .’*docts ma; theniiaboutg this ew guy, IBarack, I believed in. fundamental change in Washington;Wa;s needed. I 5 .baxng?s campaign inspired mil- , syefinew voters and arecord umber of small donations to a si-dcntial. campaign. ' It was by stonm ‘ed for, theycampaign rhetoric irtton, that I fell hook, line and miter for; F inally, a mainstream candidate acknowledged that th parties had ail owed “lobby- rig,the,systerri".“ (I . afierob lo,’ 1 900,8.) 7 I I remember‘ that I 7 American? citizen spent count». L _ like me, was also young, 7 5‘ en and starry [eyed and saw ' 2008 was the year that Barack I e year that Barack Obama took‘; It was what Obama said be separated him from Hillary’ .and.. campaign contributions, Theory and practice have re- vealed microfinance to be an ef- fective method for engendering eizonomic development and pov- erty alleviation. Underdeveloped countries around the world are receiving grassroots level cash injections that finance entrepre- neurs who do not otherwise have of MFIS. As a form of poverty alleviation, these loans are also considered a very sustainable form of aid as most profits from loan prepayments are recycled through the communities where the loans were originally made. Since the root causes of ex- treme poverty go deeper than their environment and how to do business in a way that benefits their families, their communities and the welfare of their entire country. In addition to the benefits to these impoverished communi-. ties that microfinance provides, this emerging field offers new As lack of credit and capital is an evident problem for the poor, access to capital through microfinance will give individuals the op- portunity to raise themselves from poverty and develop sustainable businesses that benefit the greater economy. access to financial capital. As lack ofcredit and capital is an evident problem for the poor, access to capital through micro- finance will give individuals the opportunity to raise themselves from poverty and develop sus- tainable businesses that benefit the greater economy. Repayment rates are quite high for these microloans, rang- ing from 90-99% non-delinquent repayments for the vast majority lack of capital; the poor must have access to practical informa- tion and skills in order to suc- ceed. Furthermore, poor health and unexpected deaths from AIDS and childbirth create loan de- linquencies that undemiine the microfinance model. This is why most microfinance institutions have programs to teach borrow- ’ ers how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS, how to protect opportunities to institutional and individual investors. Deutsche Bank has estimated that there is over a $250 billion USD gap in micro financing available around the world, and with only 13 million people be- ing served by these loans, there is an estimated 500 million more potential customers to be served (Source: Deutsche Bank, World Vision). A group of W&L students have seen this financing gap as an opportunity to make an im- pact on poverty around the world and gain experience building, running, and managing a multi- faceted microfinance investment group. Called the General De- velopment Initiative, Inc. (GDI), the group is initially focused on making microloans to high quality MFI’s around the world through a group called Dvelo. org. Dvelo, cofounded by Wash- ington and Lee alum Drew Mc- Way, seeks to help fund MFI’s while returning a portion of the interest rate of the loan to inves- tors. With a motto of “Do Well. Do Good”, Dvelo is opening up- the once-closed nature of micro- finance. The GDI seeks to also expand the opportunities for students at W&L inside and outside the classroom. With the goal of a new spring term class studying the intricacies on microfinance through on-the-ground field- work, managing a ever—growing loan portfolio, and network- ing through other colleges and MFl’s, the GDI seeks to become the premier college-affiliated microfinance initiative. The potential for microfi- nance is large and ever growing. Not only have these small loans been shown to increase the qual- ity of life and access to basic credit services to impoverished individuals around the world, but microfinance is quickly be- coming a new form of invest- ment where individual investors can both earn a quality financial and social retum. To learn more about these possibilities, get involved with the General Development Ini- tiative here at Washington and Lee. Cailin Slattery contributed to this article. ' .~» I could not have been proud- er to campaignfor acandidate : I that admitted to the AFL-CIO” that we “need to ‘chaiienge the V system And if we’re not will- ing to take up that fight, than real ‘(change change that wiii make a lasting difference in the lives or presidency, whetheriin i0IlII$I oriiég 28175, with ‘Washington essen»« tially intact and I the -movement , helinspired betrayed.” fresideatg . A I Ivflbarine has dropped the ‘rhetoric 4 It » of‘ ‘;‘_change’’ in Washington“ a‘nd~ - has decided. to continue’ political I. ' ’ I __age Aniericanfcitizen isjtnadranct as usual. 5: » . Smelt governxnent I pr£'¥testcrs;‘, are 5 mad, I IMaSsaeIru- I ..;;" handiIng.its§o1§., , .Is,eem #01 do an?/thitI.etrie:s=.3n,re. 91‘? how C0ngreS9?.3 I wt. I New is’notptbebnieifcrpolii. ties as Casual. Washington is? I 'What I is V .W1fcng '5 individiiats ,thcmg¢I§eé_ in con; _ ygress. Congress had become an Irnediajdiscourse and obsessed- I\avithpz'ee}ecticn,. "Tliis has Iledf , Congress to become weak, iaef-I I L Ifective and an institution focused vgressikj it’s not lexegg$tvé.’, panissnshgp, 'or::.tlte' hangeneededtobattleconess’endlesscampai institution of constant campaign? L Sing; ‘ Congressional ‘members are 5 dependent on poll numbers, in- fatuated bylginfotainmentt news .or1?fundiiaisir1gI.: om Talk: ««1»......,... m.» A... 8...... ........,i....,:» §Iioi:1cI.ciai:azik3 eiiéiége; , , ’ I . ..,Whether ‘y01Il"iWai1I,t_y {er .. gw 1 that neither wi§Ijbe‘possiblepu.n , , less the.pcon'stant;campaigr1inIg ; Congress stops. 5 * I Lirmost cenaim: won”t;fget ’lt6i‘é:§ if I The ,American lpeopie Tare? L at a"Congress that wont jstandifforl anything‘ unless-Iit . 4 “comes wrap‘ped.witha-campaignd T ‘ “ L _ ntontribution.Congressmen=.eas’tI I I pass policy withcuttcorisitieringl ‘ A I = U how their voteIIwil1.,in§fluence (their carnpaigndonations or next I . I 3€=etiion.: Q “if? t I. 4' z; . . _ , ,ether itgisyou,,rne,.iITea/4;~1'._ I _1?ai;‘~ty, leaders,. MoveOn, orI'Bold‘ 7 . I , ‘I_Pi:ogressive Jeaders,’ someone of must step gupt’-and take the lead- _ p . efrship role in the rnovetnenf for [change if Presiilent Obarna . pnotgflemccrats, Conservatives, . - g ‘Repubiicans“and Liberals alike 0' ernrnentI and 7a sirngiler sys L rem, or bettciflhealtbcarei andba greener,worIc¥,'yotirmist firstse Change, Won”: easy. but I uniessyveinght. ; Jon Salm explains the absurdity of hype that surrounds Girl Talk, who played at the Pavilion last Friday night By Jonathan Salm COLU M N I ST If you attended the same con- cert as I did Friday night, you probably had a great time danc- ing and grooving to the deriva- tive pop mash-ups of Girl Talk (real name: Greg Gillis). I had a great time, too. I’ve been a fan of Girl Talk’s for years, and Gillis’ mash-ups pro- vide a near perfect soundtrack for the current generation of teenag- ers and young adults: a culture ' of easily distracted, Adderall de- pendent pop culture addicts. By seamlessly combining tracks like The Notorious B.I.G"s “Juicy" with Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” into brutally catchy dance music, Girl Talk has quickly become a pop culture phenomenon. Gillis created Girl Talk with two albums of glitch-pop mash- ups as a bored college student in his Case Western Reserve dorm room. . After years of practice, Gillis’ two most recent albums are full of his characteristically smooth and danceableimash-ups featur- ing pop music’s guiltiest plea- sures. However, after seeing Gillis perform live for the first time this weekend, I cannot help but feel betrayed by this so-called “con- cert experience.” Despite putting on an un- doubtedly entertaining, thrilling and mind—numbingly loud show, I couldn’t help but question Gil- lis’ performance. It is not that Gillis puts on an bad show; in fact, it is com- pletely the contrary: the one thing Gillis seems to succeed at is having a good time and mak- ing sure his audience does, too. Everything else, though, reeks of a sham, but nothing annoys me more than Gillis’ claim of ‘‘I’m Not a DJ.” Gillis is as much of a per- former as his music is original — that is, not at all. lfl grew my hair out, rocked a beard, put on a bandanna and sweated my balls of onstage, I could put on ‘the same sort of show that Gillis did (I’m a great dancer and hype man). , The technical aspect of speed- ing up and slowing down tracks and then aligning vocals with beats and instrument tracks is an essentially simple process. ence is less of a concert and more of a party. Loud music, thrashing, sweaty bodies, and an extremely intoxicated crowd. The whole experience could have very well- been reciprocated on windfall or at a_ polerhouse. Despite putting on an undoubtedly entertaining, thrilling and mind—numb- ingly loud show, -I couldn ’t help but question Gillis ’ performance. As for playing live, Gillis simply sequences together the pre-created tracks, often recre- ating some of the same exact mash-ups found on his studio albums. After Friday, it seemed obvi- ous that the Girl Talk live experi- Gillis even invited the crowd to the stage to party with him (the lackluster performance and energy of those students is an- other story altogether). I have ample knowledge and experience of both concerts and parties, and Gillis’ performance was unquestionably more similar to the latter. And atIsuch parties, who decides which hot tracks to play? That’s right, the DJ. Upon examining‘ the DJ vs. not a DJ argument, Gillis does deserve some credit. On one level, Gillis is right — he is not in fact a DJ. He is as much ofa DJ during his shows as I am writing this essay. We both use a computer to do our work, although he seems to get, much more excited about his. As opposed to Gillis’ com- puter-only performances, other modern DJ’s use turntables, synthesizers, mixers, drum ma- chines, as well as computers. By this logic, Gillis would be right in asserting he is not a DJ. On the other hand, I consider him to be even less than a DJ. Now thisjust seems cruel, reduc- ing a critically acclaimed artist (I use this term liberally) to the level of a frat party DJ. Gillis doesn’t deserve that. His mash-ups are exciting dance tracks, and there’s a reason he gets paid inordinate amounts of money to press buttons and dance around in front of college students. Under those param- eters, there is absolutely no de- nying that he is great at what he does. Therefore, there is no way around it: Girl Talk IS A DJ. OCR::/Vol_113/WLURG39_RTP_20100215/WLURG39_RTP_20100215_003.2.txt MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2010 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 3 opinions totheetilnr Staying open in the snow is not a feat to be proud of Student berates W&L administration for not closing the school sooner in the face of a dangerous snowstorm To the editor: ‘Feb. 10, 2010. Another win- try day. for the Washington & Lee student to wake up, look outside his window and see that the roads and sidewalks are once more covered in a thin sheet of snow. Perhaps one particular stu- dent has recently sold an item on eBay that he needs to ship, so he gingerly travels from his home in Davidson Park to the Lexing- ton post ofiice. He almost slips on the ice covered steps leading from his house to the sidewalk, but he regains his balance before he twists an ankle or falls and lands on his backpack, crushing the laptop within. With the hosts of his favorite podcast chatter- ing away in his ears, he crosses Nelson Street and heads west in the direction of his beloved uni- versity and the post otfice. He arrives at the post office at Professor is b the same time as a fellow student with a blue backpack. Both of them arrive at the front door, only to find a sign informing them that due to inclement weather, the post office is closed! They look at each other with shared item to ship shakes his head and laughs to avoid crying. What has caused this sudden wave of sadness? Why, simply the knowledge that today will be another day of frustration and disappointment in his univer- On Thursday night, universities and high schools for miles around shut down in recognition of and preparation for the snowstorm which had a 100 percent chance of occurring... Not W&L. dismay, as the fellow with the blue backpack ironically recites the beginning ofthe USPS’s un- official creed: “Neither snow nor rain, huh?” The student who has the F0 sity, which he knows will not be closed for the day. Feb. 10 was the latest in a se- ries of irresponsible and ignorant decisions (or should I say, inde- cisions) on the part of the admin- istration here at W&L. As the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states are ravaged by a series of snowstorms that simply will not cease, W&L gleefully ignores the multiple feet of snow and po- tentially lethal sheets of ice and demands that its faculty, students and other employees continue to carry on with classes and other activities. Friday, Feb. 5, was the most egregious example of this irre- sponsibility. On Thursday night, universities and high schools for miles around shut down in recognition of and preparation for the snowstorm which had a 100 percent chance of occurring, according to accuweathercom (or any other reputable weather website). Not W&L. Oh, no, the ad- ministration decided to wait until after 8:30 a.m. to declare that classes after noon would be canceled. Small matter that the snow continued to fall that day well into the aftemoon and early eve- ning. Small matter that students still had to travel to campus to attend an ll:l5 class that they dared not miss because a quiz was scheduled. There are only three possible explanations for such foolish be- havior: 1) the administration has access to neither the Internet nor basic television and so had no idea of what was going on out- side of their realm of existence, 2) the administration did have access to these things and decid- ' ed that either every single weath- er prediction was wrong or that the snow and ice would not, in fact, render roads and sidewalks dangerous, or 3) the administra- tion simply does not care about the safety of its faculty, students and other employees. Lest the administration should miss my point, let me state it very clearly here: being the only insti- tution (save for VMI) for miles around to remain open in the face of a 100 percent chance of snow and ice is not something to celebrate. “Look at us and how brave we are” is not the appro- priate sentiment. When even the post office is closed, it’s time to close the doors for a day, W&L. Levi Throckmorton, Class of 2012 led by lack of interest in spring course Prof Cumming asks why no one signed up for his course, wonders if students still prefer old spring term An Open Letter to W&L Stu- dents: The deadline for Spring Term ’lO “cleanup” just ended, so it’s too late for any of you to get into my Journalism 216 “The Press & the Civil Rights Movement.” Sony. The enthusiasm among you was approximately zero. I’m curious why, because it had the opposite effect for a lot of people over 30 who volunteered to give history presentations or host stu- dents on our ll-day field trip through Greensboro, Atlanta, Birmingham and Nashville. 1 was thrilled with the line-up for the trip. _ I had about two dozen W&L alumni opening up their homes, or eager to share ways they are carrying on the legacy of the Movement. One was a W&L Law graduate who runs the Georgia Justice Project next door to Martin Luther King Jr.’s tomb. Another is a ’65 graduate (when W&L was still all-white) Now I have to tell these good people that there’s no class. I also have to tell some journalism he- roes of mine who were looking My colleagues, also bafiied, have offered several theories... W&L students have not bought into the idea of a new fully- engaging spring term, and think they ’d rather just enjoy the old spring term lifestyle in Lex. who helped win grants for Bir- mingham’s Civil Rights Institute and 16th Street Baptist Church, which we were going to visit. forward to telling their Camelot stories to you: Hank Klibanoff, whose Pulitzer-winning history The Race Beat would be our main text; John Siegenthaler, the Nashville Tennessean editor who was knocked unconscious in Montgomery trying to protect the Freedom Riders (the pipe that almost killed him is on display at the John Siegenthaler Center at Vanderbilt); and Brandy Ayres, publisher of the Anniston (Ala.) Star, which was considered a beacon of light and courage dur- ing the Movement years. I just e-mailed Ayers to tell him we weren’t coming to the lavish dinner he had set up for us at a local country inn. He was as dismayed as I. His e-mail back: “If the kids ever awake to the no- tion that a civilization died and a new one arose in their family’s lifetime, we’ll be here, the dead troubadours society.” My father, who as the for- mer Newsweek bureau chief in Atlanta during those embattled years was also on our list of oral history subjects, was just as dis- mayed. My colleagues, also baffled, have offered several theories. 1. The $1,200 extra cost (fi- nancial aid was available, and the alumni hosts allowed me to reduce that by $400). 2. W&L students have not bought into the idea of a new fully-engaging spring term, and think they’d rather just enjoy the old spring term lifestyle in Lex. 3. The course looks like it’s about race, and that makes stu- dents uncomfortable, or pro- foundly bored. 4. Students didn’t know what their options were, so they picked a course that looked like it would satisfy some requirement. Don’t worry, I’ll get over it. I’m just curious — and I think hearing from students about any of the above four theories might help the entire faculty under- stand what level of engagement we can expect from students this spring term. Sincerely, Doug Cumming, Ph.D. Department of Journalism & Mass Communications The course information is on- line at http://journalismwlu. edu/J216/ Have some thoughts? Send in your own witty response to an opinion or news story in a letter to the editor. E—mail phi@wlu.edu. The Phi: Happy 21st birthday to our managing editor. OCR::/Vol_113/WLURG39_RTP_20100215/WLURG39_RTP_20100215_004.2.txt _4 ' THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2010 opinions Learning to live and love the ‘B+’ lifestyle in college Stockton Bullitt provides a happy, stress—free alternative to constantly killing yourself over getting that “A ” By Stockton Bullitt OPINIONS EDITOR When “A” students respond to this article, they will inevita- bly say, “You’re just jealous of ‘what you can’t have.” And you know what, they’re partially right. Without reading this ar- ticle, I can safely say you have already won. Are they gone yet? Good. Okay, while the “A” students do serve to help the school look better to outsiders, the rest of us all know that we really aren’t too jealous of them. This irrational dislike for “A” students stems from the fact that there are two kinds of “A” stu- dents: the blessed few who find success in anything they touch and the unhappy majority ob- sessed with success to the point that they are willing to sacrifice their happiness in favor of a higher GPA. No matter what the rest of us do, we will never be like the blessed few and most of us just cannot seem to bring ourselves to emulate the tiresome work ethic of the unhappy majority of “A” students. So, how do the rest of us cope with not finding the consistent 66A??? Do we spend all our days copying those who have found success‘? Do we say screw it, buy a Volkswagen van and give up on life? Well, let me introduce you to the epiphany that is the “B+” lifestyle. Before I do however, 1 just want to make clear; I am not necessarily talking about grades when I talk about “A” students and the “B+” lifestyle. You can basically attribute grades to all facets of life. While I am certainly not an “A” student with respect to grades, I definite- ly am when it comes to writing insulting things about fratemi- ties. I am B- dresser, B partier and C- video gamer (I always dual-wielded the machine guns in “Halo” instead of sticking with the Battle Rifle). It doesn’t really matter to what facet of your life you attribute this article because it applies to all of them. Anyways, the “B+” lifestyle is a certain way of living that stresses being good at some- thing, but not too good at it. The theory originated that when I was in elementary and middle school. “B+” was the ex- act grade that 1 could get on a test or paper that satisfied both of my personal necessities: I didn’t have to spend too much time working for it and it was just good enough to not let my parents give me the disappointed look. See, nobody can really blame you for getting a “B+” on any- thing because it says that you could’ve done a lot worse and evidently you simply just aren’t is where my issue with “A” stu- dents comes in. When I was in 7th grade, I finally made the “A” team in CYO basketball. I killed myself the summer before getting good at basketball, just so I could be a The “B+ ” lifestyle is a certain way ofliving that stresses being good at something, but not too good at it. talented enough to do better. Like a “B,” it’s in the medi- um, but unlike a “B,” it has that extra plus to make it a happy me- dium. Malcolm Gladwell, a writer for the New Yorker, asserted that you need 10,000 hours of prac- tice to become truly masterful at it. While that is true, unless you are one of the gifted minority, I counter that whatever you’re do- ing most likely stops being fun around hour 3,000 or so. Furthermore, I would much rather do 100 things for 100 hours, rather than stick with that one thing for 10,000. This Why LeBron James is the king of basketball Using a myriad of statistics and references, Zac Burke analyzes why LeBron James is the best player in the NBA _ By Zac Burke COLUMNIST There has been a long debate about who is the best basketball player in the world. For all in- tensive purposes, the debate has been restricted to two players- LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. I am writing this article to tell you one thing: LeBron James is the best player in the NBA and there is no close second. Let me start off by telling you that if you do not enjoy watching and following sports, you will not enjoy this article. It is full of use when saying that Kobe is better than LeBron is that Kobe has four rings to LeBron’s zero. While this is true and is a valid point, Kobe’s rings rarely oc- curred because of him alone. He won three straight from 2000-2002 and all three times Shaquille O’Neal was the fi- nals MVP. Shaq now plays with LeBron on the Cavaliers, but instead of the 28.5 ppg and 12.4 rebounds Shaq averaged from 1999-2002, Shaq now aver- What all these statistics tell you is that LeBron can carry his team essentially by himself while Kobe needs other all—stars around him to dominate. Kobe can be a dominant scorer, but when he is the main option, his team is simply not as good.‘ statistics and basketball specific references. With that disclaimer, I begin my argument. LeBron is first in the NBA in points, sixth in as- sists, l4th in assists and is top 40 in blocks and rebounds. In short, he does everything a basketball player is asked to do extremely well. His team, the Cleveland Cav- aliers, have the best record in the NBA with a starting lineup that is laughable compared to other top teams in the league. Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, has Pau Gasol, one of the most talented big men in the NBA; Andrew Bynum, widely considered one of the best cen- ters in the league; Ron Artest, a four time member of the NBA’s all defensive team and Lamar Odom, one of the best sixth men in the league. LeBron averages more points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, shoots a higher percentage and has led his team to a better re- cord in roughly the same amount of minutes (38.9 to 38.6) than Kobe. The main argument people ages only 11.7 points and 6.9 re- bounds per game. Clearly LeB- ron is not dealing with the same ‘-‘Big Diesel” as Kobe was in the early 2000’s. LeBron won the MVP over Kobe in the 2008-2009 season, averaging 28.4 points, 7.2 as- sists and 7.6 rebounds per game and ranked among the top seven small forwards in 12 of the 16 categories used in most statisti- cal analysis. He has also trans- formed the Cavaliers from one of the perennial worst teams in the league to the team with the best average record in the NBA over the past three years. Many supporters of Kobe Bryant say that they would take Kobe over LeBron if they needed a player to make one shot for the win. While it may seem that Kobe always makes the shots in crunch time, when one looks at the “clutch stats” it appears that LeBron is superior to Kobe. Ac- cording to 82games.com LeBron hit the most field goals in the last 24 seconds of regulation to tie or win a game of any player in the NBA. Kobe hit only three less shots than LeBron, but shot a paltry 25% compared to LeB- ron’s 34% on game winners. In “crunch time” LeBron also had six assists to Kobe’s one, 14 free throws to Kobe’s 12 and four turnovers to Kobe’s five. There is essentially no statistic that can be used to describe Kobe as a better basketball player this season than LeBron. An ESPN columnist named John Hollinger uses a statistic called Player Ef- ficiency Rating, or PER, to rank basketball players using FG%, FT% points, rebounds and assists per 40 minutes, turnovers, usage rate and rebounding rate all com- bined into a single number. LeBron’s player efficiency rating last season was a 31.76, the third best ever and the best of any player not named Michael Jordan. This season, LeBron’s PER is a 31.64 which is the fourth best PER posted all time. Kobe is currently posting a lowly 23.14 and his best PER ever was a 28.11 that he posted in 2005- 2006 when the Lakers lost in the first round of the playoffs. What all these statistics tell you is that LeBron can carry his team essentially by himselfwhile Kobe needs other all-stars around him to dominate. Kobe can be a dominant scorer, but when he is the main option, his team is sim- ply not as good. - Without LeBron the Cavaliers would likely have a lottery pick in next year’s draft while Kobe’s Lakers would be a middle of the road team in the Western Confer- ence. LeBron carries his team in a multitude of ways while Kobe acts as the best player on a great team. If they both retired today, Kobe would leave with a better legacy, but right now LeBron James could likely carry any team deep into the NBA playoffs and will only get better as his ca- reer progresses, which is why he is the best player in the NBA and likely will be for years to come. part of the “A” team. But when I did, I found that I didn’t get any playing time and I didn’t really even know that many people on the team. I was miserable and couldn’t wait until I was back on the “B” team, where I could get quality playing time and once again be the big fish in a small pond. This was the first time I found out that the “B+” lifestyle was much better than the “A-” lifestyle. Does this make me a slacker and kind of a sissy? Yeah, but that doesn’t stop the fact that I had a much better time being both a slacker and a sissy. I found A If you haven’t scoffed at this thesis yet, there are two icons of the “B+” lifestyle that you can work on emulating: Gucci Mane and Nate Robinson. Atlanta based rapper Gucci Mane hardly puts any effort into his rhymes. He does not use Nas’ description, Cam’ron double en- tendres, or Drake’s one liners. Instead, he just chooses good beats and talks about what he likes (drugs, women and any- thing yellow). That being said, he has still incredible success de- spite jail time and has probably the best song of the moment in “Lemonade.” Gucci Mane’s focus on enjoying the moment_ rather than putting in effort has led him to personal success. ‘ New York Knicks point guard Nate Robinson puts the same kind of effort in developing his basketball game as Gucci Mane puts into his lyrics. Robinson is notorious for lackadaisically running around Madison Square Garden looking for his. Furthermore, he used absolutely no imagination in his defense of his Slam Dunk title this past weekend. He was able to win because everyone else in the field was so dreadfully atro- cious at dunking that Zac White seriously considered flying down to Dallas and showing the NBA how to throw down. However, despite his porous effort, Nate the Great used his talent to be just good enough to _ win yet another Slam Dunk title. He knew that giving a “A” effort would’ve been nice, but he had a lot more fun taking the easy road to success. So what am I trying to tell you in this article? I am not tell- ing you to give a half-ass efi"ort at life. But what I am saying is that you should focus on the smaller, more achievable successes in life and go for those. It’s not worth it to waste all of your time worrying about what the “A” students are doing with their lives because they either are predisposed to beating you or they are simply going to care about the goal a little more than you do. Instead, settle for just being “good enough” and enjoy the day. Well, once the snow melts that is. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DESIGN EDITOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER BUSINESS MANAGER DISTRIBUTION STAFF LEE CAMPUS. ~~—----*4~« WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY -—-—-—————~ THE RING-TUM PHI. MANAGING EDITOR ALLISON CHOPIN NEWS EDITOR DIANDRA SPICAK OPINIONS EDITOR STOCKTON BULLITT ARTS & LIFE EDITOR STEPHANIE HARDIMAN SPORTS EDITOR BROOKE SUTHERLAND COPY EDITOR JESSIE YKIMOFF 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. 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THE RING-TUM PHI UNIVERSITY COMMONS ROOM. 341 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA 24450 TELEPHONE: (540) 458-4060 FAX: (540) 458-4059 EMAIL: PHI@WLU.EDU SUBSCRIPTION RATE $45 ZAC BURKE JARRETT BROTZMAN ADAM CANCRYN NEVILLE FOGARTY PAIGE GANCE ELEANOR KENNEDY SUMMER LOLLIE FINDLEY MERRITT STEPHEN PECK JONATHAN SALM CHELSEA STEVENSON RANDI WILSON KATIE HATFIELD STEELE BURROW ROB GEORGE MATT GOSSETT SHAMIRA IBRAHIM TRANG NGUYEN VALAREE TANG ROBERT UHLMAN THE MEDIA BOARD OCR::/Vol_113/WLURG39_RTP_20100215/WLURG39_RTP_20100215_005.2.txt MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2010 ‘ THE RING-TUM PHI 0 5 arts&|ife Girl Talk dazzles W&L audience Crowd packs 2‘ e ‘Pa 'lz'0nf0r a night of mashups, dancing and flashing lights at Girl Talk concert on Friday STEELE BURROW / Staff Photographer OCR::/Vol_113/WLURG39_RTP_20100215/WLURG39_RTP_20100215_006.2.txt 6 ° THE RING-TUM PHI MON DAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2010 arts&life East Asian food, fashion and fans Students ring in the Lunar New Year with performances, fashion show and an array of food in the Commons I ‘. By Findley Merritt STAFF WRITER For many, the Red House is often forgotten on the front comer of Washington and Lee’s campus. But this past week, the Lunar New Year Celebration brought the department of East Asian languages and literature to the forefront. The department, in tandem with the Pan-Asian Association for Cultural Exchange (PAACE), sponsored two events to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Tiger. The Marketplace cooked up a Lunar New Year dinner on Wednesday. Red paper lanterns, table cloths and paper dragons adorned the dining hall while students were greeted by two blow-up Chinese soldiers at the entrance. For dinner, the dining staff served shrimp, rice, stir fry, sweet and sour chicken and green tea ice cream for dessert. There was even a sushi station with California rolls. Then on Thursday, students of East Asian languages and members of PAACE and the Student Association for Intema- tional Learning (SAIL) put on a performance in the Commons to celebrate the New Year. The performance pieces ranged from Chinese and Japanese poetry recitations to karaoke and a mar- tial arts performance. Senior Sophie Xiong and junior Kara Karcher performed a traditional Chinese danc,e com- plete with fans, in front a slide show about the third-year Chinese language students’ adventures in China. The performance ended with a PAACE fashion show showcasing different styles from Burma, Chi- na, Korea, Japan and Vietnam. In the fashion show, female Chinese language students wore Qipaos, which they explained were traditional dresses worn to parties or formal gatherings in China. Viewers ate Chinese food at the conclusion of the performance while they reflected on the chang- ing year. I The Chinese Lunar New Year falls on a different date each year and goes through a cycle of animals that pertain to a specific year. It fell on Valentine’s Day this year. Professor Hongchu Fu, chair of the East Asian languages and literature department, explained that the tiger symbolizes luck in Chinese cultures. He said that Chinese emperors always associated themselves with the tiger, and it became a symbol of reverence and good fortune. ‘ “Hopefully this lucky year will drive away the snow,” Fu joked. Senior Danielle Ausems also explained more about the Chi- nese Zodiac in relation to the Story of love, loss and geometry Randi Wilson sums up the German’ departments passionate weekend performance of “Don Juan ” By Randi Wilson s TA F F w R IT E R They say that 90 percent of communication is nonverbal. But I certainly didn’t under- stand 90 percent of this weekend’s German play, “Don Juan.” Opting not to read the English synopsis, I chose to just watch the play to see what I could comprehend with zero German background. My story went something like this. There’s a man named Don Over the next 13 years, Juan becomes an old-world playboy (in typical Don Juan fashion), steal- ing wives and killing their jealous husbands in self-defense. In the end, he marries one of the many women that he has been involved with, a prostitute enamored with him, just so he can live in peace and practice his geometry. I credit most of what I was able _ “Writing a giant paper versus dressing up in crazy costumes? ” HANNAH MUTHERI ‘junior German mggr Juan who loves geometry but has mixed feelings about women. He’s involved in a complicated love triangle, in which one of the women eventually commits suicide. He gets in a fight with another suitor, and after much sword waving, swiftly kills his opponent for love. He marries his . second lover. I thought it made sense. After the play concluded, I fi- . nally read the synopsis to clear up what I thought were a few minor issues. What I found was that I had been close on some points, and way off on others. Don Juan is a story of pas- sion, but not a typical one. He has found true love in geometry, a discipline so pure that “eternity can be envisioned in two parallel lines.” As a soldier in the Battle of Cordoba, he performed a he- roic act, which promised him the hand of Don Gonzalo’s (a fellow knight in that battle) daughter in marriage. The daughter was the only woman he ever loved, but she killed herself when he refused to marry her. Her father attempted to salvage her honor in a duel with Don Juan, but he died after impaling himself on Don Juan’s sword. to understand to the fantastic job the German students did with the play. There was a great deal of dialogue, which is impressive to master in any language, let alone a second one. The choice of play, while a bit different for its fascination with a math subject, was filled with drama and interesting story turns. I kept wondering what was going on while the audience, most of them following along in their English programs, kept wonder- ing what would happen next. But to all potential German majors, know this: the German department requires involvement in this play rather than a senior thesis. ' Junior Hannah Muther, who played the part of the prostitute “Celestina,” is a German and politics double major. She asks what’s better, “writing a giant paper versus dressing up in crazy costumes?” The choice was clear for her. And if a play with geometry as a central character makes you uneasily reminiscent of your ninth grade math class, just remember that women love an intellectual. ' Chinese zodiac. New Year. She said that the armual cycle of animals represents the race to reach Buddha. The order in which they ap- pear is believed to be the order in which they reached Buddha. Ausems explained that in the Zodiac system, there are five ele- ments: earth, metal, wood, water and fire. Each animal gets paired armu- ally with each element once and creates the 60-year‘ cycle of the She added that the tiger also represents passion, so many of the songs that the students sang were about love. Sophomore Chinese language student Tyler Grant really enjoyed participating in the program. He explained that there are few East Asian language majors, so he was impressed with the number of students who came to see the performance. Grant said that learning Chi- nese is extremely difficult, and students must have the necessary time to devote to studying the language. But because the number of stu- dents is small, they all feel like a family headed by Professor Fu, “Professor Fu is full of love,” concluded Grant. FINDLEY MERRITT / Staff Writer Students pose in traditional dress representing East Asian countries. Members of PAACE and SAIL joined the East Asian languages and llterarue students on Thursday to put on a Lunar New Year celebration. Participants performed songs, dances and poetry, and those who attended could sample East Asian foods. \.‘r Crossword of the Week I Feb Break by Neville L. Fogarty " For the solution to this puzzle, visit phicrosswords.tumblr.com.. . _ l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ll) ll I2 I3 1 Really big supporter? 14 Is 16 5 Slytherin, 1991-98 10 CAT, eg. 14 An ounce and a half 15 Bourne identity? 26 16 Log Cabin rival 17 It's said it happens at forty Q 19 Big do 3“ 3° 20 Kit component 21 "Travel the world and the __" - Eurythmics 23 Up there 49 25 Summer abroad? 53 <4 26 Tcumey freebie 57 5s 59 so or 62 oz oi 27 "Egad!" 30 He speaks for the trees, with 65 67 "The" as «. 33 B‘_ B'rith 71 72 35 Gay "Spamalot" character § 37 Some dips , H , H _ 40 The Police’ eg. 72 Rose (up) 32 The Burial of __ (Girodet, 41 Put into-Haw 73 Preschooler‘s study H308) H H H H H DOWN 34 Lip balm ingredient 43 Reggie“; brother on Rocket _ , j 36 Like Washington and Lee, now Power" 1 Dial—up alternatives 37 Spot at the bar 44 Whence NBC's income 2 Leno's feature _ H 38 Riding as a hbrse H 46 Kibitzer 3 The Crimson Tide, briefly 39 A“ bO)’HS U 48 ;lHi:raIckt:r:inr;'I(:pIo$'Burger" 4 Dactyl starter 42 H bli.mey!H 10 5 H.S.T.'s su . r '- 49 Hammer for Milwaukee and 6 MeChaniC‘SCI(:::::j: 45 To be’ to Tiberius I Auanta 7 Friendly femme 47 Football's Rockne 50 Photo — ' 8 Mirror type 49 Big Hun 51 “Former Florida governor 9 First Occurence 51 "Napoleon in the Plague House 53 Took a load Off 10 Some Jamaican songs at -_ - (Grog, 1804) 55 Car nut 11 Combination French eater 52 Islaind m two States 57 What a mom says after 12 Im . . y 54 Domg battle - \ applying a Band_Aid pressive display 56 Persona non __ 61 Lies] Von —___ 13 l)eath penalty enforcer 58 Puts money on 65 Big berg 18 "Beauty and the ‘Beast role 59 Get an __ effort « 66 Sleeveless shirt, or one who 22 99 Lufiballoons Smger 60 RUS30 0f"G6lSh°1’tY" might wear it 2_4 some pineapples 62 Basic path 68 Bookstore sect. 27 -—~— Loma’ California 63 Orch. section 69 Peerless 28 Whist need 64 They're very good 70 Ring fighter 29 Chefs Storage device 67 It might have a dust ruffle 71 Shows interest (about) 31 Gryffindor’ 199198 . OCR::/Vol_113/WLURG39_RTP_20100215/WLURG39_RTP_20100215_007.2.txt MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15,2010 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 7 n Sports Four in a row for Generals The W&L women ’s basketball team improved to 13-8 overall with wins over Emory and Henry and Randolph Macon By Stephen Peck STAFF WRITER The momentum just keeps building. Two more crucial conference games, two more spectacular blowout wins. The Washington and Lee women’s bas- ketball team stretched its winning streak to four games after knocking off Emory could insert any number of witty “cold outside, hot inside the Warner Center” quips about this one, but to put it simply, W&L manhandled the Wasps. They did just about everything right in this game: they scored, they defended and they Junior Felice Herman had the unenviable task of defending Ariail, but she dominated the match-up. Herman scored 1 6 points, collected 1 0 rebounds, and hassledAriail into a 4 of I I shooting performance. and Henry 88-53 and Randolph Macon 73-56 last week. Last Tuesday, the Gennies (13-8, 12-5 ODAC) welcomed E&H to the winter wonderland of Lexington. One gave E&H wonderful directions for the drive home. The Generals jumped out to an 8-0 lead and led by 46-18 at the half. That margin proved insurmountable. W&L mastered both ends of the court, shoot- ing 51 percent from the field while hold- ing E&H to only 28 percent shooting. While the Wasps were busy rattling their shots off the iron, the Generals had no problem finding the net. For the first time since 1998, six players tallied dou- ble-digit point totals in a game. First-year forward Rachel Warrick led the onslaught with 16 points. First- year guard Katy Wilson was right be- hind with 14. Sophomores Kari Ann Pfannenstein, Meg Ingram, and Becca Bolton netted 13, 12, and 10 points re- spectively, while senior center Kaitlyn Kamp also added 10. Bolton also collected 11 rebounds to bring. her double-double total for the ‘season to 11. Bolton’s end-to-end game seems to be rubbing off on the team, as Wilson also nabbed 11 boards for her first career collegiate double-double. Ingram stretched her ODAC-leading assist average by dropping 8 dimes and Kamp set a personal season-high seven rebounds. ODAC powerhouse RMC came visit- ing on Saturday. They entered the game with an impressive 16-6, 14-4 ODAC record and a legitimate star in 6’ 2” se- nior center Molly Ariail. She came into the game leading the conference with a 20.7 point per game average. But it was W&L who made the statement in this crushing 73-56 victory. ’ Despite the 42-25 halftime score and the eventual 17 point margin of victory, W&L shot just 39 percent in this con- test. However, superior fundamentals turned an otherwise lackluster shooting performance into a basketball clinic. The Generals outrebounded RMC 51-28, 21 of which were offensive boards. With all these extra possesions, W&L was able to fire 61 shots in the game and make the Yellow Jackets pay for letting them have second (and sometimes third) chances. Bolton led all scorers with 21 points and took down 15 rebounds for yet an- other double-double. Ingram used an etficient 6-10 shooting performance to "net 18 points and ripped the twine on all four of her three point attempts. Junior Felice Herman had the un- enviable task of defending Ariail, but she dominated the match—up. Herman scored 16 points, collected 10 rebounds and hassled Ariail into a 4 of l 1 shooting performance and a mere 10 points. With the latest win, W&L set the pro- gram record for consecutive home wins with seven. The Generals will be look- ing for the Warner Center advantage to continue next week as they close out their regular season. The Generals travel to Eastern Mennonite on Tuesday, then have back to back home games versus first place Roanoke College and Bridge- water College on Friday and Saturday. As of right now, W&L has the third seed for the ODAC conference playoffs which begin on Feb. 25. Peyton Manning a choker? Not so fast The QB has gotten a lot of flack for his Super Bowl performance, but the four—time MVP isn ’t as horrible as the media might have you think By Adam cancryn CDLUMNIST Roughly seven years ago, Peyton‘ Manning was labeled a choker. He had just finished throwing four interceptions in the 2003 AFC Cham- pionship game, and the whispers of the past few years had become front-page headlines. Peyton Manning is a choker. When it comes time to win the big game, he collapses. - If that seems like ages ago, you’re not alone. Since then, Manning has worked hard to clear his name. He threw for 49 touchdowns in ‘04, won two more MVPs and threw for 4,000+ yards five times, all while leading the Colts to the playoffs every single year. In the midst of all that, Manning broke through the media-constructed Super Bowl barrier, winning a world championship in 2007. He had his ring, and now, finally, it was acceptable to embrace him again as a great quarter- back. The criticisms turned into praise: “Bland and uninspiring” became “ruth- less and efficient,” “over-thinker” be- came “cerebral.” Where he'once blamed his teammates, now he just tried to make them better. In the weeks leading up to the show- down with the Saints, debate exploded over Manning’s ranking amongst the NFL’s greats. How did he compare to MENS the likes of Joe Montana, John Elway lie, so selfishly tarnish his legacy? Near- The difference, of course, is wins. And that is the catego- ry that will hound Manning throughout his career. More so than in any other sport, wins are precious in football. and, more contemporarily, Tom Brady? Would a win in Miami establish him as the greatest of all time? How silly those disputes seemed as Tracy Porter trotted into the end zone, cradling Manning’s last pass of the sea- son. With one ill-timed throw, the tide once again turned against the Colts QB. He had failed again, had brought his team to the cusp of greatness only to lose it all. He had choked. And this time, we were going to make sure no one forgot it. The days following that fateful interception were filled with rancor. How could Manning, given a second chance by the all-powerful pub- ly everyone with a pen blasted Manning, recounting his failures in each of his 18 postseason games. Forget greatest of all time, Kansas City Star writer and ESPN contributor Jason Whitlock felt he shouldn’t even be in the discussion. “The greatest of all time? Nope. Not even close now. The G.O.A.T. doesn’t throw that kind of awful interception. Joe Montana didn’t throw those in the Super Bowl,” Whitlock wrote‘. “He’s now 9-9 in the playoffs, which is about as far away from G.O.A.T. material as the Middle East is from the Colts’ prac- tice facility.” And so the cycle begins anew. But before the “Manning as choker” band- wagon fills up completely, take a deeper fi\Iuin~Eemtia, 31:11:. MEWS AND LADIES’ APPAREL SINCE ‘I 963 WINTER CLEARANCE! SPORTSCOATS 50% (NOT BLUE BLAZERS) CORDUROYS 50% SWEATERS 50% SELECTED L/S SPORTSHIRTS 50% MENS/LADIES GLOVES, HATS, SCARVES 50% WOMENS RACK OF SHIRTS, SWEATERS, SKIRTS, PANTS 50% ALVIN CARTER OWNER VISA, MC, STUDENT CHARGE . atvindennis@comeast.net ' 540463-5383 1132 W. WASHINGTON STREET LEXINGTON, VWIGINIA 24450 www.aIvindannis.com look at his alleged playofffailures. Man- ning might not be football’s Jordan, but he also isn’t nearly the disaster that many would have you believe. Manning entered the NFL in 1998. One year later, his team was playoff- bound at 13-3, the best record since 1968. Over Manning’s next 11 years, the Colts made the playoffs 10 times. By comparison, Brady has steered his team to the postseason six times in eight full seasons and Kurt Warner just five out of 12. Manning even tops Mon- tana, who made the playoffs just over 70 percent ofthe time. But getting there has never been the problem for Manning. He’s owned the regular season, compiling 32 individual NFL records and winning three MVPs. It is his play when it counts that stinks, critics say. Look at Manning’s stats in the postseason, however, and there is little indication he plays at anything but his best. In 18 playoff games, just two more than a regular season, Manning has 28 touchdowns against 19' interceptions. Additionally, he’s set 11 NFL postsea- son records, including most 300+ and 400+ yard passing games and biggest comeback in AFC Championship his- tory. Compare Manning to Brady, who is often held as the antonym of choke, and thetwo are scarily similar. Over the same number of games, Manning has more yards and a better completion rat- ing, while Brady has four fewer inter- ceptions and a higher quarterback rating byjust 1.05 points. The difference, of course, is wins. And that is the category that will hound Manning throughout his career. More so than in any other sport, wins are precious in football. They are what vaulted a me- diocre Joe Namath to mythical status and buried Jim Kelly’s otherwise stellar career. Manning is 9-9 in the playoffs, a respectable record, but nothing com- pared to Brady’s 14-4 or Montana’s 17- 7. So while Manning might not have deserved G.O.A.T. consideration, so too should he be spared from much of the post-interception vitriol. Sports have become so heavily scrutinized that, of- ten times, perspective is lost within the heap of manufactured debates and hy- per-analyzed storylines. Manning is not the greatest quarterback of all time. He is not the worst choker of all time. He is simply an excellent quarterback, with strengths and weaknesses, and half a ca- reer of hard work left to go. Przfiles in Leadership: Rasaq Lawal because VVC are What energizes you about taking on leadership responsibilities? The innate desire to connect with people and make a positive change in my surround- ing excites me. Being in a position of leadership gives me the outlet to execute my ideas and make them a reality as well as a followership that can assist me in refining my ideas. What has been one ofyour most rewarding aspects of leadership at W&L? The mutual rela- tionship between helping others and self—growth is key. The first year that my fraternity and Pi Beta Phi Sorority did our dance-a-thon we collectively raised over $2,000. Being able to donate that money to the March of Dimes charity was a great feeling. What legacy ofleadership do you hope to leave for others who follow you here? I like to take a broader look at leadership, so as superficial as it may sound I hope peo- ple realize that it is such a great feeling to receive a compliment from someone but at the same time to have made a positive _ impact on that person to pay more attention to their public perception. More importantly, I hope people learn that as a leaders, using the speaking tradition to its fullest and sharing a smile with someone really does have benefits for both parties. Also dancing is fun and shouldn't be intimidating, we dance Any words ofadvice for them? , Find one or maybe twoior three things/organizations that you are passionate about and stay dedicated to them. Sometimes the hardest part of being a leader is saying no. Activities: Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc (President), KLAZICS, Traveller, W&L Dance Repertory, ACK Investments (Portfolio Committee), Heinz Scholar OCR::/Vol_113/WLURG39_RTP_20100215/WLURG39_RTP_20100215_008.2.txt MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2010 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 8 sports FRI SAT at Eastern Mennonite 7 p.m. Tues Wen Tnuns vs vs Roanoke 7 p.m. Men's Pasketbal at Eastern Mennonite vs Roanoke 7 p.m. Women's Basketball 7 p.m. 1 at ,‘ Menls Bluegrass swimming Mtn. Champ 1 1 Women’s ‘Swimming at Cent. conf. Champ I ‘ Wrestling 1 l l l 1 Men's Track and Field 1 Women's Track and Field 1 Men's 1 Tennis 1 numbers 24 The number of points scored by University of Kentucky freshman guard John Wall in Kentucky’s 73-62 win over the University of Ten- nessee on Saturday. Wall's point total was one away from his career high set earlier this season against the University of Connecticut. 11 The length of Syracuse University's win—streak before falling to the Uni- versity of Louisville 66-60 on Sunday. No.3 Syracuse led by 11 in the first half. 3 The number of times New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson has won the NBA slam dunk competition. Robinson won 51 percent of the fan vote on Saturday to hold off Toronto Raptors rookie DeMar DeRozan. 12 The number of double-doubles this season for Washington and Lee sophomore guard Becca Bolton. Bolton scored 21 points and posted 15 boards in the Generals’ 73-56 victory over Randolph—Macon on Saturday. box “I worked on it, I really took pride in it. In ‘O2 I stunk it up. I wanted to come in here and put on a show. I had to work on getting the technique down and knowing what side to pull the ball from, stuff like that. I knew if I got hot I could win it.” Boston Celtics’ guard Paul Pierce on his win in the NBA’s 3-point Shootout on Saturday, proving his lackluster performance in his last appearance was not par for the course. Pierce had 20 points in the final round, making all five of the 2-point money balls, to beat Golden State’s Stephen Curry (17) and Denver's Chauncey Billups (14). Courtesy of espn.com. “The best thing I brought with me, the Dallas cheer- leaders of course. I asked if they could help me out with the dunk. They did their job and I did mine.” New York Knicks’ guard Nate Robinson on bringing the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders out on the court with him durin the NBA Slam Dunk contest on Saturday. Robinson won the compet tion for the third time. Courtesy of espn.com. Two road victories The Generals defeated Lynchburg and Bridgewater to improve to [5-7 overall By Brooke Sutherland SPORTS EDITOR The best way to get over a snapped win-streak is to respond with a new one. After falling to Randolph—Macon at home last week, the Washington and Lee Uni- versity men’s basketball team went back on the road and returned with two more ODAC victories. The Generals ousted Lynchburg College 71-62 on Wednesday and survived a late game surge to defeat Bridgewater College 75-71 on Saturday. The Generals are now 15-7 overall and 7-6 in ODAC conference play. -LC proved a tough competitor for the Generals, but 45.3 percent shooting from the floor and a strong defensive perfor- mance gave the Generals the victory and senior captain forward Zac White a school record. White tied with Rob Smitherman for the most blocked shots in a game with seven. Smitherman posted the record in 1979. The Generals maintained a comfort- able lead through most of the first half. W&L shot 50.0 percent from the floor and first-year guard Hans Harris scored nine consecutive points for the Generals. But the Hornets weren’t about to just hand the W&L a blowout before they even hit the The Hornets now trailed by only one point, level- ing the score out at 48- 47. But that was as close as the Hornets would get. locker room. Lynchburg seized momen- tum and responded with an 1 1-4 run to set the score at 35-29 heading into halftime. The battle of momentum continued into the second half. The Hornets came out shooting, but W&L just kept hitting theirs shots. Senior captain forward Ben Goestch cashed in a lay-up, followed by a 3-pointer from first-year Jeremy Adkins and a tip-in by first-year J.D. Ey to expand the Generals’ lead to 42-33 less than four minutes into the half. A lay-up by senior forward Andrew Payne and back-to-back lay-ups by Goetsch pulled the Generals ahead by 10, giving them a 48-38 lead with 13:20 remaining in the game. But W&L saw its lead squandered as missed shots and turnovers gave the Hor- nets a 9-0 run. The Hornets now trailed by only one point, leveling the score out at 48-47. But that was as close as the Hor- nets would get. The Lynchburg drive was a wake-up call for the Generals and the Hornets never gained the lead. Two foul shots from White and another tip-in from Ey moved the Generals ahead 52-47 and they never looked back. Foul shots from White and Ey se- cured the game in the closing minutes and‘ . W&L won 71-62. W&L finished the game with just nine turnovers. Junior guard Jason Cimino and Goetsch had 13 points apiece to lead the Generals. White put up 12 and Harris and Ey each had nine. The Generals next faced off against Bridgewater who had tripped up the Gen- 1 erals 68-64 in thetwo teams’ last meeting Dec. 2. The Generals had mounted a late game surge, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Eagles. This time around, it was the Eagles who didn’t have enough. STEELE BURROW/ staff photographer Above: Senior captain forward Zac White goes up for a block against an Emory & Henry player in the Generals 77-58 vic- tory last week. Right: Sophomore guard Jon Guest lines up for a free throw against Emory & Henry Bridgewater kept the game close throughout the first half and the Generals led by only four, at 35-31, heading into halftime. But that deficit grew to 51-38 af- ter a 16-7 Generals’ run to open the second half. Bridgewater never regained the lead after the halfway mark. The closest they would come was three points, trailing 69- 66 with a little over a minute left to play. The Eagles were forced to resort to fouling, but the strategy didn’t pay off. W&L drilled six of their last eight free throws to secure the 75-71 victory. Ey earned career highs in both points and rebounds, scoring 14 and posting up nine boards. Goetsch once again led the Generals with 18 points and six boards. Adkins added 14 points and Cimino con- tributed five points, six assists, and four steals. The Generals now head back to their home gym for a rescheduled match-up against No. 1 ranked Guilford. The “Blue Out”‘ begins with a 7 p.m. tip-off in the Warner Center. I