OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110321/WLURG39_RTP_20110321_001.2.txt 79 IQ -': . 5:92. v. HT me.) . ‘I 7 753 I nu ’) —'7 “ Oh my God...Shoes_. OPINIONS / pages T Generals get ‘ ‘Baseball sh ufts. "umbo” boost over uts down the 17th-ranked F - team, 5 - 0. SPORTS / pages WASHINGTON AND. Z.-EE UNIVERSITY THE RING-TUM PHI. MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011 81' THE STUDENTS AIID FOR‘ THE STUDENTS SINCE 1597 VOLUME cxIv, ,wIi_i_ Mo‘oRI-Li)’ A skeleton is all that remains of Pole 2. No one was at home when the fire broke out, and all of the residents, though shaken up, are not injured. Pole 2 fire: housedestroyed ’ Residents lose everything, but remain unharmed - Stockton Bullitt has eyewitness report By Stockton Bullitt OPINIONS EDITOR. EYEWITNESS A student house at 232 Furrs Mill_ Road in Lexington burned down on Sunday night, Mar. 20th. The house, otherwise known as “Pole 2," housed six Washington and Lee senior women. No one was at the house when the fire started, and none were in the injured in the fire. According to multiple sources, the fire started a little after 8 p.m. below the first floor of the house. Within min- utes, the entire house was completely engulfed in flames. Flames extended t_o twenty to thirty feet above the house. The flames could be seen from clearly from the Route ll Bridge. The flames were even visible from campus. The origin of the fire is currently un- known. However, the flames appeared very strong‘ and powerful. They were so strong that they blew a power line near to the house, cutting off power to the rest of the pole houses. A student’s car underneath the pole house was lost to the fire. A neighbor to Pole 2, an eyewitness to the fire, did not notice the fire until approximately ten minutes after the fire started. After he and his roommates evacuated their house, they called the Lexington Fire Department, who had al- ready been notified about the fire. Around 8:15, the Lexington and Buena Vista Fire Department arrived at the scene. The armada of fire trucks then spent the next hour putting out the rag- ing fire at the scene. After half an hour of spraying water at the roaring flames, the fire departments were finally able to quell most of the flames by around 8:45, when the roof collapsed. For most of the fire’s duration, a group of about fifty W&L students gath- ered on Furrs Mill Road to watch. Al- though ambulances arrived quickly to the scene, no students were injured by the fire or by any consequences of the fire. News sources were also quick on the scene filming the situation at hand. Students at the surrounding pole houses were evacuated from their houses, while the situation was being resolved. If you would like to help out, please bring donations of clothes to your next chapter meeting or to your Greek house ASAP. ’ W&L feels tremors from Japan’s quake Students, professors and alumni all aflected by the events halfway across the world; relief fund set up by organizations By Emily Mosh smrr WRITER For more than a week, the world has watched Japan fight against the worst. natural disaster in the country’s history. Even Washington and Lee in Lexington, Va. isn’t immune to its effects. By now, everyone on campus likely knows the approximate death toll after the earthquake and tsunami hit the small island country—8,000. Everyone has heard about the ongoing nuclear crisis. Everyone, however, might not know about the personal effects the event has had on members of the W&L commu- nity. Not only do students and faculty have familymembers and loved ones in Japan, but two recent alumni are cur- rently living and working there. John Henzel, ‘I0, is in a teaching program stationed in Japan. He is there with his wife, Beth Valentine Henzel, a member of the class of 20ll who graduated early. Though he could not be reached for an interview directly, Henzel did post a note on his Facebook I S ‘ page days after the earthquake struck. It was his way of answering the hundreds ' of questions he knew he’d receive in the upcoming weeks about his experience. . “My experiences were relatively mundane,” he wrote. “I never had to evacuate or anything, and mostly just had to put up with being without utili- ties for a little while.” In his note, Henzel said the hard- est part now is that several of the local stores are still closed and getting such necessities asdrinking water is difficult. The school he’s been teaching at has been particularly helpful, though, both to the Henzels and to its students. It has been serving as a shelter and has been offering food and water to those who need it. The disaster has also affected stu- dents and professors on campus.- I Sophomore Vera Higgs has family in Japan. Her 97-year-old grandmother lives in Tokyo, as do four of her aunts and their families. One other aunt lives even closer to the center of the disaster. “I called my mother as soon as I heard the news,” said Higgs. “[She] was desperately trying to get a hold of my family...l believe one of the worst feelings in life is that of not knowing; not only is it unbelievably frustrating, but also overwhelmingly frightening.” Higgs’s mother was able to make contact with one of her sisters in Japan. One of Higgs’s aunts was in a shelter, and her grandmother’s house had caved in. ‘Though shaken, they were all safe. Mary Knighton, a visiting assistant professor of Japanese, received news of the earthquake and tsunami on Friday morning through an email news alert. Her husband, Scott Gold, is an archi- tect who is currently running his firm’s Japan office in Tokyo. She was luckily able to contact him by Skype that mom- ing. ' “We looked together at the news and terrifying images of the tsunami,” she said. “Time and space just shrunk, and the planet seemed very fragile and small—my home here in Lexington si- multaneously connected with my hus- band at his worksite in Tokyo.” Knighton made it to her 8 a.m. class, though she said she was shaky the whole day. She constantly checked for updates and watched live streaming videos. “Eerily enough, in disasters, the peo- ple right there sometimes cannot see the bigger picture that family and others are seeing via television on the other side of the country, even the world,” she said. Knighton said she could see the de- struction and devastation the tsunami had left all over Japan on every channel and website she visited, while her hus- band and his colleagues had only their small office television set to receive in- formation. “By Saturday late afternoon, 1 was thoroughly depressed and worried de- spite having spoken to Scott,” Knighton said. Her husband had assured herithat he was fine, facing only inconveniences. Knighton said her husband has re- ceived several emails from friends over- seas concerned about the nuclear crisis and asking him when he intended on leaving. “He had no intention or thought of leaving at this stage,” she explained, despite her husband noting that several foreigners iniJapan had already started fleeing the area. “Panic can be danger- ous and exacerbate an already crisis situation.” Knighton said she knew she had to do something to distract herself from worrying. She quickly contacted stu- dent groups to ask for help in setting up a relief fund for Tohoku. “Within the hour, SAIL had started organizing and even getting a poster made,” she said, calling them “compas- sionate about the cause and eager to be part ofthe solution.” Soon, PAACE and other organizations were helping too. There is a table in Elrod Commons taking donations for the relief effort,. with money going to the Japanese Red Cross. Also, There will be a panel of East Asian Studies professors and His- tory Department professors leading a discussion about the crisis next Wednes- day at noon. 5 AP PHOTO / copyright 2011 Sumi Abe, 80, reacts after she was rescued from her destroyed home in lshinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, Sunday, Mar. 20, 2011. Sumi Abe and her grandson Jin, 16, were rescued when the teenager is able to pull himself out of their flattened two-story home Sunday, nine days after the devastating earthquake and tsu- nami. (AP Photo/Mainichi Shimbun, Takashi Morita) NUMBER 15 OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110321/WLURG39_RTP_20110321_002.2.txt UNNERSWYLBRARY WASHINGTON & LEE UNNERSITY LEXlNGTON. VA 24550 MAR 2 2 AM 2 ' THE RING-TUM PHI ' MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011 NEWS Kickballfor a cause Philanthropy event supports CASA By Lizz Dye STAFF wrmza LIZZ DYE / staff writer Ten teams from various organi- zations participated in Theta’s kickball tournament Saturday. A Kappa Alpha Theta hosted their second annual “Kicks for CASA” on Fuge Field last Saturday. Ten teams participated with participation from various fraternities and sororities on campus. CASA, which stands for “Court Ap- pointed Special Advocates,” is a national network of 1,000 program offices that are recruiting, training and supporting volun- teers to represent abused and neglected children in the courtroom and other set- tings. Senior Lauren Bohdan is a certified CASA. She said her experience has taught her important lessons about both law and social services. “I feel like I understand the problems with the foster care process and system and can be useful in making it work more effectively,” Bohdan said. Emily Zankman, Theta’s philanthropy chair, ran the event. According to Zank- man, over $3000 were raised for CASA. “It was the perfect day for a kickball tournament, the competition was fierce, and the donations were plentiful. It was a greatsuccess,” Zankman said. The winning team, composed mostly of Washington and Lee soccer players, won a $100 gift certificate to Macado’s. Sweet Things, Frank’s, and the Livery also do- nated gift cards for raffie prizes. Registration redux: the new system’s big test " Seniors begin registration this week while students wonder the new system will work By Kelly Mae Ross STAFF WRITER The new WebAdvisor registration software will be tested this week as stu- dents begin the first round of registra- tion for the upcoming fall term. Registration for seniors begins at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 22. The new registration software that will be used was implemented during spring term registration of this year, but now students will be registering for four or five courses instead of just one. Some students had a relatively seamless spring term registration ex- perience, but others were not so lucky. Freshman Melissa Campion said she thought spring term registration was going to be easy. All she had to do was register for her study abroad class in Costa Rica. But Campion said she had to try to register on three different computers before the new web registration pro- gram would process her request. Campion said she did not want to have another stressful registration ex- perience, so she attended last Friday’s web registration information session, led by University Registrar Scott Dit- tman. A total of four students attended the session. Why the switch? Dittman said that his office was re- ‘gezée '¢ PEDAL CAR DINER & TIN TOY CAFE Located at LEE EEI® TRAVEL PLAZA Home Cooked Meals & Southern Hospitality.’ Order from our complete menu 0r Join usfor one ofour ALL YOU CAN EA T Buffets! Friday Night Seafood Buffet 5pm-10pm Saturday Night Prime Rib Dinner 5pm-10pm Sunday Baked Chicken, Pork Loin, & Pot Roast 1'1am—9pm Friday & Saturday Late Night Breakfast Bar 11pm-2am Breakfast Bar 7 Days a Week 6am-11am Daily Hot Country Bar 12Noon -10pm Daily Soup, Salad, & Fruit Bar 10:30am-10pm Order Breakfast 24 Hours a day, 7 days a week! ceiving a lot of pressure from students to switch to a system in which they could pick their own course times. The students’ requests and the fact that the old web registration software was 13 years old contributed to the university’s decision to implement the new registration software. The new web registration software was studied for about two and a half years, Ditt- man said, and has been used at the law school before. Thanks to the new software, stu- dents’ schedules will now be built around specific sections of courses. Gone are the days when the Registrar’s Office would sort students into sections that would fit their schedule—students now have to decide on their own which section of a course they want sign up for. The drop/add process will also change. The new system makes it all electronic. Students will no longer need to run around with those blue sheets of paper trying to get signatures. Passwords have also been eliminat- ed. Instead of having to get a password from their adviser and keep it safe until their registration window opens, stu- dents will now receive an email from their [adviser informing them that they have been given permission to regis- ter. Again, the paper component of this E l\ Yb’li‘ll_..lil‘ process has been eliminated. What could go wrong One of the biggest problems that Dittman sees with the new registration process is that the software on WebAd- visor does not provide all of the details about the courses that it lists, such as prerequisites required for the course. In order to obtain full course informa- tion, students need to go to the course offerings section of the Registrar’s website, making it even more impor- tant that students plan for registration in advance, Dittman said. ‘The new waiting list process, which will actually begin after regular regis- tration is complete, is another aspect of registration that could potentially be problematic, according to Dittman. “We’re still kind of fooling with this to find the best way to do it,” said Dit- tman. Waiti-ng lists will now be ap- proached on a student-by-student basis. If a ‘spot in a course opens up, emails will be sent out to one student at a time offering them a chance to go online and remove their name from a waiting list and enroll in a course. “That seat offer is. yours and yours alone until the time runs out,” Dittman . said. H r’ These emails will be time sensitive, typically giving a student 24 hours to take action and enroll in a class. But the emails will only be sent out Monday through Thursday, so students will not have to worry about constantly check- _ ing their’ email over the weekends. Dittman said that the new waiting list process will stay open all summer long, providing ample time for students to change their mind about courses and/or get off of waiting lists. While the new registration software offers benefits to students, it also re- quires that they take some time to get acclimated to the system. “It requires more work on our part,” said current junior Frank Cullo as he scrolled through the list of politics courses available for him to take next fall. Cullo said that he had already tried to make a preferred course list once, but the registration software gave him nothing but error messages. He had to wait a few days and try again. More information about the new WebAdvisor registration process, in- cluding 'a schedule of registration times, can be found on the Registrar’s website: /zttp://www. wlu. edu/x52408. xml. «I 0' I-81 & I-64, Exit 195, 2516 North Lee Hwy., Lexington, VA J 540-463-3478 , Great food & a great collection of Antique Pedal Cars & Tin Toys! ills .li;'u.ls:arli’:—;;—.>»;:_; uiiiiiuiayaur saiiiasiar ?;’i2i.ifsi-uiajji;-.1-:lrtil;—.i‘x3i;la ,3 ;4lj,';,l' 2lill,;—)_.,i- mus LIFE: . It’yInterv\4}u3p érjolri-€u,nz‘f;v1g«Sea/sow Admice _Ha1vu‘.y Resources’ Increaéeyoiwoddarof beénguwceufid/! Monday, March 28, ’l ’l :1 5-1 2:1 5 . Interviewing & the Hidden Agenda SPACE LIMITED CALL OK COME BY CAREER SERVICES TO KEGISTEK H\\ F,‘ ‘ Kicks for CASA raised over $3000 for the organization which helps abused and neglected childen. RESERVE NOW! www.stiidenthousing.org 800-Z97-4,594 Career Services OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110321/WLURG39_RTP_20110321_003.2.txt MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011 3 ° THE RING-TUM PHI ° opinions ' These shoes ruIe...These shoes suck W&L women are not creative when it comes to shoe fashion, but is fashion really the only reason to buy shoes? By Ali Greenberg C0 LU M N I ST Girls like shoes,just like fat kids like cake or Kobe Bryant likes hotel con- cierges. (Allegedly.) In fact, surveys show that Ameri- _can women on average have 17 pairs of shoes. I personally own 13 pairs of TOMS alone, but I did intern for them and am a sucker for charity shopping. Well, for shopping in general. And shoes. It comes with being female middle class and white. So in my opinion, and this is an opin- ions column after all, a shoe article has been a long time coming. However, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to approach the topic until my deadline itself was approaching, and I remembered a recent Spanish class. On a recent abnonnally warm spring day, in between learning about la prim- era y segunda republica, I was staring at my feet overcome with the hazy feeling of aftemoon sunshine and the chirping ’ of the birds far outside of DuPont’s as- bestos riddled walls. (Allegedly.) Soon I carried my gaze around the classroom floor, and spotted the follow- ing: Uggs, Cowboy Boots, Frye Boots, Rainbows, Tory . phenomenon in one of your classes, chances are you have. Chances are you are wearing one of those types of shoes right now. each type of shoe, I decided that I actu- ally wanted to use the rest of this space to talk about something that is actually, well, important. As mentioned Burch’s. Clarks Wal- labees, New Balanc- es and Sperry’s. Since it" wasn’t raining, we were missing Hunter’s and Bean Boots, and giv- en the calendar, Jack Rogers would have been about as aggres- sive as the chick that took off her pants at Das Klub. Honestly, thejokes write themselves. here because every female in the class was wearing one of the above varieties; it was like a real life fun house where every irony I have ever thought about came true! Maybe you have observed a similar It is sometimes difieult to remember how lucky we are when our biggest issue is which pair of overpriced ballet flats go better with our summer shift dress. VI want to be clear that there is no shame in this, not even in wearing Uggs, which are really just bundles of warmth, lambs and clouds enveloping your feet with love. Shoes are a highly personal choice and whatever you choose is fine by me. But because it is boring to go through previously, I own a borderline obscene amount of TOMS shoes. However, I did not become inter- ested in these shoes because they are stylish, but because they actually help the world. If you aren’t familiar with the TOMS model, their motto is very sim- ple: One for One. This means that for each pair of shoes a customer buys, TOMS will donate a pair of shoes to a child in need. It is sometimes difiicult to remember how lucky we are when our biggest is- sue is which pair of overpriced ballet flats go better with our summer shift dress. However, for much of the world, whether or not they have shoes in gen- eral is the real concern. . If the world ‘were a village of 100 people, 40 of them would have no shoes and in much of the third world, walking is the primary mode of transportation, often on unpaved and underdeveloped streets. And much like the dance floors on Windfall, the water that covers these ' streets is infested with parasites. Being barefoot in these conditions opens the door for cuts, infection and disease. I guess my point is, before you look into your closet and think you have nothing to wear, remember how privi- leged you and your ugly shoes are. Also, Virginia Tech got screwed in _ the NCAA Tournament. Not allegedly. FACT. New album does not live up to former glory Jon Salm forgets that 2002 was nine years ago and reviews the album “Angles” by rock band The Strokes ByJon Salm COLUMNIST Dear The Strokes, Hey guys, how have you been? I’m sure the five years you’ve spent since First Impressions of Earth have served you well. Albert, I really enjoyed your two solo records. I couldn’t wait to hear more of those jangly, simplistic pop tunes. Julian, your own solo release left something to be desired, but it was great to finally hear that snarl again (even if it sounded more like l980’s Miami than tum-of-the-millennium Manhattan). Nick, Nikolai, and Fabrizio - I know you all spent the break working on the guitar riff to the next “Last Nite,” the bass line to the next “Reptillia,” and the drum into to the next “The Way It Is.” So, what the hell happened? The Strokes were supposed to be the saviors of Rock n’ Roll, for Christ’s sake! You hit the stage with such ven- geance, such swagger, such pure, un- adulterated tenacity that you were im- possible to ignore. You were the darlings of the New York music scene. You were the hippest of the hip, the coolest of the cool. You were the kings of the lower east side. Your songs were described as a mix of“punky brevity and gnarly faux simplicity.” But on Is This It. However, this is clearly not the case. Angles is an unfocused mix ofvintage garage rock and failed experimentation. tunately, those are the only two tracks on par with anything else in your back catalog. The rest of the album sounds like a good band that has your newest record, Angles, it sounds like you’re lost. Angles is unlike anything you have done before, but is unmistakably a re- cord by The Strokes. There are intricate- ly linked guitars, steady, pounding bass lines, and Julian Casablancas’ signa- ture baritone. But at the same time, this is not The Strokes that I know. After a mid-career misstep on your last record, you promised a return to form on Angles. “Rolling Stone” even declared Angles your best record since your slick and self-assured 2001 debut, ignore. The Strokes were supposed to be the saviors of Rock n ’Roll, for Christis sake! You hit the stage with such vengeance, such swagger, such pure, unadulterated tenacity that you were impossible to When your return to your roots works, it works well. Lead single “Under Cover of Darkness” could fit in seamlessly on any ofyour releases, and “Life is Simple in the Moonlight” has a surging chorus that could ignite any crowd. Both are sharp, catchy and charismatic. Unfor- lost its way. “Gratis- faction” has a saccha- rine hook but quickly falls into a repetitive trap. The opening guitar riff on “Me- tabolism” echoes the main riff of “Elec- tricityscape,” one of the weaker tracks on First Impressions. Don’t even get me started on the Carib- bean drumbeats of “Games” or the failed Coldplay imita- tion on “Call Me Back.” Were you even trying? On previous releases, your band op- erated under a sort of advantageous dic- tatorship under Casablancas’ leadership. Despite this, you opted for a much more democratic approach on Angles. Each of you shares in the songwriting credits, and it shows. The result is a distracted album that tries to do too much. _ “I won’t just be a puppet on a string,” Casablancas croons on “Under Cover of Darkness,” but he appears to be wrong. Angles is a record made by five individ- uals with five distinct personalities and approaches to songwriting. Such collab- oration may work for some bands, but for a group known for an iconic sound and tightly coiled production, it does not work here. Angles_ is inherently flawed. Al- though it does have its moments, it is by far your weakest offering. It does show . a desire for growth and experimentation, but remains a sad reminder of a band that was once great. ' “€- Ra“ Sincerely, Jon Salm The Washington and Lee Office of Undergraduate Admissions announces an opening for Admissions Counselor. Responsibilities include managing a recruitment territory and travel schedule, conducting group information sessions and interviews, and evaluating admission applications. Other duties will be assigned based on the selected candidate’s background and skills.‘ Evening and weekend work is expected during the Job Opening Undergraduate Admissions Counselor” academic year, especially during peak application reading and travel seasons. A Bachelor’s degree, a valid driver’s license, and the willingness to commit to the position for a minimum of two years are required. Strong communication skills and demonstrated organizational abilities are expected. The successful candidate will be both willing and able to work as part of a highly successful ‘admissions team, yet will be capable of creative self-direction. Preference will be given to W&L graduates and to candidates with proven writing skills and social media savvy. Interested candidates should apply for the position through W&L’s Human Resources website(http://go.wlu.edu/jobs) no later than Sunday, March 27, 2011. A W&L Employment Application, a cover letter, resume’, and the names and contact information of three references are required. EOE. Q 1 OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110321/WLURG39_RTP_20110321_004.2.txt 4 - THE RING-TUM PHI - MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011 opinions o -c bulary: howtounderstand bros PatSmith explains the unnecessary necessities of a typical college male is vocabulary - complete with definitions By Patrick Smith c o L u M N I sr After a conference sweep, a win over a ranked opponent and countless bone- less wings and tequila shots with the baseball team, I decided to write my first article under the influence of alco- hol. At least that’s what you all think... Over February Break I had the pleas- ant opportunity to frequent Atlanta for .the second time in my life as a member ofthe Generals’ baseball team. Many of school actually read my articles. I don’t even read my own articles, which is why they suck. Finding out that all of these mothers read the Phi was both exciting and horrifying for me at the same time. I was excited to see that I am not the only one who laughs at my lamejokes. I was horrified to discover that a substan- tial number of people know that I love beer and am a closet Guido. True story; I don ’t even read my own articles,_which is why they suck. my teammates’ parents, as well as mine, were in attendance for this trip. The At- lanta baseball trip is a great way to catch up with the parental units and get some free meals. I love pocketing my per diem from the university. While in Atlanta, I came to realize from many of the mothers of the base- ball team that people outside of this my left ear is indeed pierced. ‘Twas a game-time decision at the Jersey Shore. Shit got real, and I was doing it live. Knowing that such a wide demo- graphic of individuals read what I have to say, I thought I would put a bit more thought into this one. In addition, know- ing that so many mothers of W& L’s sons read the Phi, I think it would be nice to clue them in on some real shit. What I would like to do is highlight some of the key words apparent in the average male’s vocabulary for today’s standards. I have carefully picked five words that men on this campus use far too much, yet cannot refrain from using. These words are vital to everyday com- munication and have several different meanings, depending on the context. Let me start you off with a few ex- amples: “Dude...” “Bro... Das Klub was so dank..” “Damn, chill out, bro.” If you were in any way able to de- cipher the meanings of these phrases/ sentences: congratulations, you are not a complete loser. Without further ado, the five unnec- essary necessities of a college male‘s everyday vocabulary. Dude: Dude is a great word. In the afore- mentioned phrase, “Dude. . .,” this could mean several different things. For ex- ample, this could be interpreted as, “What the hell,” \“Check out this shit,” “That chick is smokin’,” etc., etc. Dude is an extremely flexible word. That is perhaps the reason so many males butcher it to death daily. It is a fantastic conversation starter, conversa- tion continuer, and conversation closer. It is the triple threat of prose, ladies and gentlemen. Bro: Bro is a word that has come to frui- tion over the past couple ofyears. There is a strong positive correlation between saying the word bro and drinking beers. One can imagine that at a sausage fest this word is said quite often. Bro is a great way to address a friend or acquain- tancc. Chill: Chill is a legitimate word. This word encapsulates my lifestyle to the nth degree. When someone or some- thing is described as “chill,” than that is something worth your time. For ex- ample: Draco Malfoy : not chill. Mario Kart 64 : Chill. Damn: Damn is a word used to ex- plain unfortunate situations. Student A does poorly on a test: “damn..." Stu- dent B sees Student A’s grade on that test: “damn...” ' Dank: Dank can be used to describe fortuitous situations. Hosting a great party is something that is dank. Sweet hair flowing out of the back of your lax helmet is dank. Trying to fold a fitted sheet is not dank. Where does the one legged waitress work‘? The lHop. Freedom by force, not an option John Paul Beall argues that America should not intervene and decide how a foreign government should govern itself By John Paul Beall COLUMNIST A few days ago I was beset with the question of whether or not America has the right to impose republican govem- ment on other countries. Does America have the mandate to force choice upon another nation? The answer is a resounding no. While in some cases intervention is justified for various reasons, the overwhelming majority of cases will not turn out as planned, wasting America’s resources and political capital, and only further destabilizing the delicate societies in which we intervene. Where does this idea even origi- nate? It is born from a national idea called American Exceptionalism—a kind of nationalism. This article is not placing American Exceptionalism on trial, as I am an Exceptionalist myself, but complex phenomena have benefits and drawbacks. The resulting philoso- phy is essentially a “mother knows best” you that it is ugly, or that white socks have no place with a black suit, but they still have no right to rip it offofyou and dress you. ently contradictory in the idea that you can impose freedom on anyone. But then there are those who would agree and further claim that republican mentality that is favored by many on the For every dictator we topple, we assist another Plus, there is something inherently contradictory in the idea that _ you can impose freedom on anyone. left, yet they are not the only perpetra- tors. The resulting foreign policy is in- herently hypocritical on multiple levels. It is not America’s job to be the police- man ofthe world. Examine the following analogy. It is not our job to choose what govern- ment another group of people should have more than it is anyone’s job to tell you what to wear! Sure, people can tell MANAGING EDITOR NEWS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR ARTS&L|FE EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR COPY EDITORS STAFF WRITERS DESIGN EDITOR HEAD PHOTOGRAPHERS BUSINESS MANAGERS DISTRIBUTION STAFF MISSION STATEMENT: thoroughly report news and Lee community into news affecting cam PHI is a member of T welcomes all letters. edit submissions for co the opinion of THE RI libel and WASHINGTON AN TELEPHONE:( FAX: (540 SUBSCRIPTI ——-—-——- WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY —— —‘——— — - — THE RING -TUM RING-TUM PHI to accurately, truthfully, and parents and alumni. Our goal is to look deeper 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 can be reached at mediaboard@wlu.edu, but is otherwise independent.THE RING-TUM PHI and advertising do not necessarily reflect newspaper observes current court definitions of THE RING-TUM PHI UNIVERSITY COMMONS ROOM. 341 LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA 24450 EMAIL: PHI@WLU.EDU PHI. DIANDRA SPICAK ELEANOR KENNEDY STOCKTON BULLITT HOLLY SUTHERS IAYNA JOHNS SAMUEL GILLERAN JOHN PAUL BEALL LIZZ DYE GRETCHEN FRITCHIE ALI GREENBERG ALEX MARAGOS EMILY MOSH STEPHEN PECK KELLY MAE ROSS JON SAI.M PATRICK SMITH DIANDRA SPICAK STEELE BURROW ROB GEORGE MATT GOSSETT KELLY LANE JOE MORAVEC ZABRIAWN SMITH EVAN SHARBER DAVE WILSON It is the mission of THE affecting the Washington for students, faculty, pus life and hold leaders he Media Board, which We reserve the right to ntent and length. Letters NG-TL/M PHI staff. This obscenity. D LEE UNIVERSITY 540) 458-4060 ) 458-4059 ON RATE $45 If your shirt does not fit well and you ask for someones help, that person can help you go shopping for a new shirt and help you remove it, but it is not anyone’s job to dress people. Although ,with some people, sometimes I wish it were. Consider the French. They did not in- tervene in our revolution until we asked for help, and never did they impose upon the thirteen colonies to construct an ab- solute monarchy modeled on the French government (and thank God, they did not). Unless a country’s people ask for assistance, it is nothing more than barg- ing in; and often times when America has barged in and toppled governments it finds unsavory, it negotiated with an- other unsavory government to be able to get into this country in the first place! For every dictator we topple, we assist another. Plus, there is something inher- govemment and freedoms are not a one size fits all solution but cannot really be true. The most important step in estab- lishing a republic is investing popular sovereignty in a country‘s people. As long as they retain sovereignty over the legislative process, they can literally make the country whatever they want it to be. - This cuts both ways. If a country is not ready for such a step, then the gov- ernment will sink back into the abyss of dictatorship, often times with more strength than the last go-round, because then it can possess the veneer of repub- lican deliberation. Take Egypt, for ex- ample. It was a puppet monarchy dur- ing the time Great Britain occupied it. After they relinquished control during decolonization, the Western world as- sisted the construction of a new Egyp- tian govemment. After it was complete, the military developed a powerful grip on the country’s political system, and it took fifty years for the people to finally rise up to cast off this organization. This uprising was the populace deciding for itselfthat it was ready to take its govem- ment into its own hands~something it was not ready to do during decoloniza- _ tion. Americans see the bestowal ofour political system as a gift, and indeed it is, but it is a monumental gift that is ul- timately the receivers’ to accept. There are cases where people are so oppressed and impoverished that they are unable to revolt, and indeed it would be justified to grant them assistance in some form. but again, is it solely America’s burden to help these people? . America should not totally block it- self out from foreign policy—that would only be detrimental to America’s inter- ests. Rather, America must cease mean- ingless government toppling, because it will almost always make conditions in that country even worse than they already are. Instead, let caution guide American foreign policy. Intervention is not always the answer. Looking for some fun the night after FD? Come spend some time in the Phi office! We could always use more copy editors, staffwriters, photographers and generally Emailphi@wlu.edu or spicakd12@mail. wlu.edu if you have any questions. fun people. OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110321/WLURG39_RTP_20110321_005.2.txt MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011 5 - THE RING-TUM PHI . arts&life upcoming events. Wednesday, Mar. 23 Thursday, Mar. 24 Friday, Mar. 25 Saturday, Mar. 26 Tuesday, Mar. 22 Monday, Mar. 21 Poetry Reading by Kevin Hart Time _ 5:00. p.m. Place Spanish Conversation Table Time 3:30 p.m. 5 Place Film Screening: W&L Photo Instructor Richard Robinson's “Rothstein’s First Assignment” Time Portuguese Conversation Table V » Time _ 12:00 p.m. Place Visiting Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature Professor Luis Ramos: "Kindred Republics” Fancy Dress 2011 Time y 9:00 p.m. Place 5:00 p.m. Place Stackhouse Theater The Marketplace Hillel House The Marketplace Time 12:20 p.m. Place 214 Elrod Commons, Room Doremus Gymnasium Donald W. Reynolds Distinguished Visiting Professor Charlotte Hall: "Journalism v 2.0: Chaos, Creativity and the New Culture of News Time 5:00 p.m. Place Huntley Hall 327 Contact Comittee Presents Frank Warren,»the founder of Postsecret Time 7:00 p.m. Place Stackhouse Theater Warsco Time Place Senior Voice Recital: Sarah 8:00 p.m. Concert Hall, Wilson Hall Legacy Time 10:00 p.m. Place Commons Movie: Tron: Stackhouse Theater Shakespeare Society Nothing Time 7:30 p.m. Place Johnson Theatre, Lenfest Hall presents Much Ado About Rockbridge Area Conservation Council Community Cleanup Day Time All Day Register at racc@rockbridge.net Tennessee orchestra blings beloved musical to life Two weeks ago, the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra performed the music from Sweeney Todd at Washington and Lee By Holly Suthers ARTS&L|FE EDITOR The booming sounds of saxophones, trombones and trumpets filled the con- cert hall in Wilson Hall two weeks ago. The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra performed “Fleet Street: The Music of Sweeney Todd” to a large audience. Led by com- poser Terry Vosbein, the jazz orchestra played two acts filled with memorable music pieces from the musical. The music of the play is emotional, vehement and robust. The tone of each piece captures the setting of the scene and the mood of each character. Vos— bein’s rendition ofthe music maintained the same feelings and portrayed the twisted and unusual plot ofthe play. “Even though I hadn’t seen Sweeney Todd, the music was both well-played and well—written. l enjoyed the per- formance and actually went home and watched the musical afterward because I wanted to know the story that went with the music,” said senior Cameron Dewing. V The concert consisted of two acts with a brief intermission between the two. The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra had a complete brass section, a percussion- ist, pianist, bassist, and drummer. The compilation of the diverse sections united the music throughout the entire performance. Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber ' of Fleet Street was written by Stephen Sondheim and performed for the first time in 1979. The musical is based on the play under the same name and fol- lows the tale of Benjamin Barker, also known as Sweeny Todd, and his retum to London. Todd returns l5 years af- ter he was expelled from the city on false charges. The plot follows the pro- tagonist’s plan of revenge on the city’s prominent judge whom forced him to leave, raped his wife and kept his daughter away from him. “It lnade me feel like l was on Fleet Street. It really conveyed a message.” said junior Connor Danielowski. Vosbein is a professor of music at Washington and Lee and an active composer. He and the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra released l)l‘()gl'C.S'.\‘ll’€ Jazz in 2009. It has been praised as "a masterful and rewarding tribute" and continlles to receive high marks since its release. The CD is a tribute to formerjazz bandleader Stan Kenton, a model and inspiration for Vosbein. W&L will host several upcoming concerts in the future. For a schedule and lnore information on future events, please visit www.lenfest.wlu.edu. Kathekon and the Office of Alumni Affairs wish you a jgreatFancy Dress weekend OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110321/WLURG39_RTP_20110321_006.2.txt Enter to Win @ Genera|sRetreat on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @GenRetreat RETREAT ADARTMENTSE NOT Affiliated with Washington & Lee U Ask us about our INCREDIBLE referral program and save $$$$! 540-464-3673 ian@tbmcom.com $100 Gift Card at Kroger 4 OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110321/WLURG39_RTP_20110321_007.2.txt MONDAY, MARCH 21,2011 7 0 THE RING-TUM PHI - sports in conference W&L still Men is tennis easily defeated 2n By Gretchen Fritchie V STAFF WRITER The Washington and Lee men’s ten- nis team achieved their third consecutive win Friday aftemoon against Hampden- Sydney at home. ‘ Following an easy 9-0 away victory over Randolph College on Tuesday af- ternoon, the Generals gave up only one of their six singles matches against the HSC Tigers. This win led the team to an 8-0 record in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The match was a clash between the top two teams in the conference, but the Generals made their win look easy. Senior Will Hall’s match was the only one to go into a third set, which he even- tually pulled out with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 vic- tory. In the rest of singles play, junior Jere- my Becht won 6-2, 6-3, and fellowjunior Jonathan Gaffney took his match with a By Alex Maragos STAFF WRITER Washington and Lee women’s la- crosse is currently in the thick of its schedule after playing three nationally ranked opponents in the span of only a week. After losing to No.l ranked Salis- bury last Saturday at home, the Gener- als dropped another home contest to 8th ranked Cortland State, 8-7. Ranked 11th nationally, the Generals jumped out to an early lead after senior similar score of 6-2, 6-3. Also, juniors Michael Freeman and Ben Fass defeated their opponents 6-2, 7-5 and 6-1, 6-0, respectively. Senior Hayden White dropped his match 6-3, 6-3, giving HSC their singles win for the day. In doubles play,junior Mac Davis and Hall defeated their opponent 8-5 while perfect -ranked Hamden-Sydney at home Friday to move to an 8-0 recod in the White and junior Brian Roberts took -. I their match 8-3. All together, this 7-2 win over the sec- ond ranked ODAC team tallied W&L’s f third consecutive win. The Generals will return to the court -. to try to continue their winning streak next Saturday at Christopher Newport for a l0 a.m. match. Wilton Megargel scored two goals and freshman Margaret Klein added another. After Megargel scored another just be- fore the half, the Generals struggled of- fensively and managed just 3 goals the rest ofthe game. W&L is 0-3 when held to I0 goals or less this season. This is the second loss in a row for W&L, and third in their last four games—the only win came in a blowout I33)’ "*'=‘e-.i’3§-»‘~*.' ~23, - at-'49:. w~‘«a-an '§-I-"'1." ‘ PHOTO COURTESY OF GENERALSSPORTS.COM The Generals have posted an impressive 9-1 record on the season, including an easy win over the conference’s second ranked team. They currenlty lead the conference. No time to relax for women’s lax Three consecutive games against nationally ranked opponents left the Generals without a win for the week Mar. 8 vs. Hollins. 2l-0. The Generals look to get back on the winning track when they play l4th ranked Catho- lic University at home on Saturday. Though W&L has hit a rough patch in the schedule, their conference record has remained intact at 1-0, thanks to the win versus Hollins. W&L had the upper hand against Cortland State in shots and ground con- trols, but a series of turnovers in the sec- ond half hurt the Generals’ chance for a win. Klein added another goal in the 2nd half and freshman Meade Brewster had two consecutive goals to tie the game at 7-7 with 8:01 left on the clock. The Red Dragons gained the lead for good when junior midfielder Jor- dan Miller netted her second goal of the game at the 4:48 mark. Senior Katherine Farrar played all 60:00 for the Generals in net, stoppingsix shots. However, the effort of W&L’s defensive unit was not enough to stop Cortland State, who re- lied on six different scorers to win the game, theirthird in the last four games. The women will play again this Thursday at Roanoke College. The game will start at 7 p.m. Best basketball blockbusters In honor of March Madness, an AP writer lists her favorite basketball movies...but where s “Love and Basketball”? By Christy Lemire AP MOVIE crmrc LOS ANGELES (AP) — There are a lot of basketball movies in the world, _ and most of them are pretty terrible. They’re corny or too feel-good, they feature awkward celebrity cameos or they try to wedge in an uncomfortable romance. But some of them get the sport — and the people who play it — just right. With March Madness upon us, these are five of my favorite basketball mov- ies. Your bracket will probably look dif- ferent. You will notice the omission of “Hoosiers,” which is not an oversight. Yes, it’s the standard for basketball films, but it’s too obvious, and has long since felt like a manipulative underdog cliche. Gene Hackman is always great, but sorry, the slow clap doesn’t play here; I cringe just thinking about it. — “Hoop Dreams” (1994): Steve James" documentary about" a pair of . inner-city Chicago youngsters who as- pire to basketball stardom is at once March 31, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. W&L, Repertor sprawling and intimate. James follows the highs and lows of Arthur Agee and William Gates over about five years, en- courages us to root for them by depicting them exactly as they are, lets us get to know their families, their playgrounds, their neighborhoods. lt’s both inspiring and heartbreaking without trying too hard to be either, and it’s far more en- thralling in its realistic twists than any scripted melodrama. Not just one of the best basketball films ever, but one ofthe best documentaries ever. ~ “He Got Game” (1998): Young Ray Allen does just fine here, showing off that pure shooting ability and hold- ing his own opposite a nicely under- , stated Denzel Washington. Allen had only been in the NBA a couple years at this point and had never acted in a film before, but he rises to the challenges of some highly charged scenes as the na- tion’s top high school prospect, who’s struggling not just with theidecisiion of Department of Theater and Dance presents \ V April 1, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. April 2, 2011 at 2 p.m. Keller Theatre/ Lenfest Hall dance.wlu.cdu WASHINGTONANDLEE ' UNIVERSITY what college to play for, but also with his father’s return from prison. Writer- director Spike Lee, the world’s most famous New York Knicks fan, actually lets you see the game played out; he doesn’t clutter it up with frantic camera-_ work and needless cuts. A “Blue Chips” (1995): Directed by William Friedkin and written by Ron Shelton, this thing is crammed with both celebrities and athletes without feeling forced. There’s Nick Nolte as a volatile, Bobby Knight-type coach at a UCLA- type school, Ed O’Neill as the reporter who grills him and former Boston Celt- ics great Bob Cousy as the university’s athletic director (who likes to shoot free throws after hours). Most amus- ing of all, though, is seeing a young (and much leaner) Shaquille O’Neal as a beast of a prospect from the swamps of Louisiana, alongside his then-real- life Orlando Magic teammate Anfemee “Penny” Hardaway (with Alfre Wood- yDance Company Jenefer Davies, Artistic Director ard as Hardaway’s bad-ass mom). Larry Bird and Rick" Pitino are among the big names who are surprisingly believable showing up as themselves. A “The Basketball Diaries” (1995): Leonardo DiCaprio is electrifying as Jim Carroll, the late New York poet and musician who chronicled his teen- age descent into heroin addiction in his memoir of the same name. Growing up in Manhattan, Carroll played basketball for his elite Catholic high school and dreamed of athletic stardom. Instead, he would follow a dangerous path of sex and drugs, artistic inspiration and self-destruction. (The film moves the time period from the 1960s to the pres- ent.) This early DiCaprio performance, along with his Oscar-nominated work in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” offer an exciting glimpse at the fearless actor he would become. W “Teen Wolf” (1985): Who doesn’t like young, furry Michael J. Fox? At the 3 . American I 3 I ’l3reakfast~ Lunch~ I siaminc if height of his “Family Ties” and “Back to the Future” fame, Fox came out with this comedy about a scrawny player on a struggling high school basketball team who discovers he’s a werewolf. It’s as high-concept as you can get. Turning into a werewolf turns him into a mon- ster both on and off the court — and yes, “Teen Wolf” turns into a very tradition- ally ‘80s-style cautionary tale about the perils of instant popularity. But there’s something nostalgically comforting about that, and Fox, with his endear- ing sense of self-deprecation and natu- ral comic timing, somehow makes it all work better than it should. Think of any other examples? Share them with AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire through Twitter: http://twitter. com/christylemire. ' .;_.(Breakfast served _all”_da_yl)- 5 » if V . ‘Tuesday-Thursday: 7AM , Friday and Saturday: 7AM -. 10PM‘ '; if -Liinch and Dinner Specialsél 7 A Sunday: 7AM -‘3PM "Closed Mondays I if i Carry Out Available pf. g n ' Go Greek at Niko’s!f7,j ’ 167 South Main Street Lexington, VA Phone: 540.464.9499 ll it, I I 1:"? A Fax: 540.464.1226 . r. ' v r ‘ Look for menu at www.nikosgrill-c“afe.'co‘r'nfIj “if A I OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110321/WLURG39_RTP_20110321_008.2.txt 8 ' THE RING-TUM PHI * MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011 sports Geerals sliding up ondeck Mon Tues WED Tr-runs FRI SAT Sun vs vs $henan- Hampde Baseball doah Sydney 3:30pm 12 pm Menus V5 V5 Guilford Lynchburg Lacrosse 5 pm 3 pm Women's R at k oano e Lauosse -7 pm i at Men's vs WAC N_c_ Tennis 2:30pm Wfglgfi" Women’s Vs V5 , "_5 vs ‘ ROGDOKGI Tufts Williams Chicago Tennis 4 pm 2 pm 10 am 9 am VMl- VM|- V ‘W&L W&L flack carnival carnival 11 am 11 am M , NCAA NCAA NCAA NCAA 9" S Champ- Champ- Champ- Champ- sw|mm|ng ionships ionships ionshlpionships in the numbers 2.2 With this many seconds left on the clock, Butler Univer- sity’s basketball team went from having a secure win over top-seeded Pitt to committing a pointless foul to give up the lead. Then, in a crazy twist, Pitt committed an even more pointless foul to give the victory back to Butler. Pitt is the first #1 team to go home so far. 24 The number of times the University of North Carolina bas- ketball team has made it to the Sweet Sixteen in March Madness, more than any other team in the country. 90%) The number of games Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski has won in his career after defeating Michigan 73-71. He is now only two wins behind Bob Knight, the all- time leader in wins as a head college basketball coach. 12 The number of lower-seeded teams who have advanced over higher seeds since the opening of March Madness, includ- ing #8 Butler over #1 Pit-tsburgh,i#10 FSU over #2 Notre Dame and #13 Morehead St over #4 Louisville. #11 VCU has taken down three higher seeds and stunned #3 Purdue 94-76. They will now face'FSU, marking the first time in NCAA history that a #11 seed and a #10 seed will meet. soapbox “They don't want us to be alone. Their families have loaned them to us.” —Jocelyn Leonard,themotherol'the 1Byaarold Mlchlan teen who died suddenlyngrtaflier hltunga nme-winning baskatballshoteanlorthls month. Everynlgtrtslnce then, mernbersoftheteam havcspentthe nlghtatthc Leonards’ horne.0ourl:asyfcxspor13.com. “That is what you wanted to see? That what you were trying to get out of him? Make him cry here in front of people? Good question. -Head Kansasstata basketball coach Frank Martin scoldedarepor1ieral'harheasl