OCR::/Vol_115/WLURG39_RTP_20120326/WLURG39_RTP_20120326_001.2.txt '\V/‘ ii». '\‘,'”\'«.r_)s"I "1 ,1 if traditidn mater? I “OPINIONS/pagez 1-‘ More Americanthan apple pie. I Generals swimmers left the Division III I NCAA Championships as All-Americans. 7 SPORTS / page 6 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY THE RING-TUM PHI. MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2012 BY THE STUDENTS AND*FOR THE STUDENTS SINCE 1897 VOLUMECXV,NUMB_ER18 Liberal Arts connects with Ads AdLibs oflers students an outlet to build careers in advertising, marketing and PR with a Liberal Arts education By Neil Haggerty N E w 5 E D ITO R With careers in Advertising and other related fields increasing in popularity with students, Washington and Lee Uni- versity will be hosting its second AdLibs conference to connect a Liberal Arts edu- cation to these careers from March 29-30. According to the AdLibs website, the conference will allow students to learn about-advertising and other careers in- volving persuasive communications. Students will have the opportunity to hear from alumni working in advertising related fields and learn about the courses at W&L that are related to these careers. “Not everyone is cut out for a job at a big bank or financial firm and I think W&L students have become more aware of this and have started to consider other options,” said Katie Hatfield ’l2. “The conference aims to bridge the gap be- tween majors and show that careers in ad- vertising, Public Relations and marketing are not specific to those with majors in the C-School.” “Perhaps most importantly, students from all classes and majors across cam- pus will see reflected in alumni how a strong liberal arts educations will prepare them for success in persuasive communi- cations and consumer engagement,” ac- cording the to W&L AdLibs website. C-School Professor Amanda Bower said, “Mass Communications and Busi- ness Administration are probably obvious examples of majors suited to possible ca- reers in advertising. However, I do think students would be surprised to find out the types of majors and expertise suited to advertising.” These other majors that are all poten- tial building blocks for advertising ca- reers include psychology, sociology, an- thropology, religion, philosophy, english, theater, music and studio arts, according to Hatfield. “Ad careers require critical thinking, an ability to assimilate new information and form original ideas based on that new information. Given our small environ- ment [at W&L], you are also used to lots of criticism and getting better,” Bower said. Bower said that the idea for the con- ference started with students asking ques- tions about how to build connections between their education at W&L to both professors and alumni who are involved in fields related to consumer engagement and persuasive communication. “It had started to reach a point where I couldn’t handle all of the needs of our students, so last year we had a few alums come back and sit on a panel about what agency life is like,” said Bower. At last year’s conference, small group interviews were conducted with agen- cies including Euro RSCG, which hired alumni including Courtney Berry ’05 and “realized the quality of our students and was interested in perhaps hiring more,” added Bower. The schedule for the 2012 AdLibs con- ference includes career navigation panels, where students will learn how to appro- priately plan out their careers while at W&L as well as panels on specific careers in advertising and the types of agencies that graduates can work for. The confer- ence will also include career development workshops to help students “package and present their resumes, cover letters and job interview and networking skills,” ac- cording to go.wlu.edu/adlibs. Speakers at the conference include Keynote Speaker John Zamoiski, Chair- ment and CEO of Bottlerocket Marketing Group, Hunter A. Applewhite of Domin- ion Resources, Don Hogle and Stephanie Mansey from Euro RSCG, Brad Haugen of Scooter Braun Projects and Silent Me- dia Group, Gerardy McKee of Starcom ' , MediaVest Group, Will Chamberlain of Condé Nast, and Mary Tomkins Ritter and Sarah Helms from the Martins Agen- cy. I! Merchant gives Stein lecture History Professor uses his dissertation on Laurence Keitt as a starting point for a lecture on his wife, Sue Keitt ByTommy Kent STAFF WRITER History Professor Holt Merchant gave an endowed lecture on the topic “Sue Keitt: Real Life Scarlett O’Hara?” in the Northen Auditorium last Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ‘ President Ken Ruscio said that “the faculty are the core of what W&L is about” and that Martin ‘74 and Brooke Stein set up the endowment in order to recognize an accomplished scholar and exceptional teacher. Professor Ted Delaney, the introducer and head of the history department, de- scribed Merchant as “one of the truly beloved professors on W&L’s campus.” Merchant said he arrived at his lec- ture topic as an extension on his disserta- tion on Laurence Keitt, a South Carolina congressman who served from I853 to 1860 and “fire-eater” whose “rhetoric got him ‘in a lot of fights.” Laurence courted Sue Keitt, who became the topic of his lecture. Merchant said: “If you historians are expecting a historic point, there isn’t one. I ’m not here to reverse the claims of previous historians. I think it is good social history. It is a good story.” Sue came from a prominent, wealthy family that owned 120 acres and 150 slaves. As gathered from the only exist- ing photograph, Merchant said, “[Sue] was a remarkably attractive person. Flashing eyes. Magnificent form. Ac- knowledged beauty.” . . Merchant added, Sue wasn’t “at all eager to find a husband, and especially not Keitt.” Merchant said that part of the evidence suggests that she had had a previous engagement, but that she even- tually married Laurence Keitt. After Sue and Laurence had been married for only 6 months, Sue was al- ready complaining and writing long let- ters expressing her fears and frustration about life in Washington D.C. She said in a letter sent back home, “I don’t like Washington. I want to rest, ride, and fatten up and keep you and father com- pany.” Merchant said it was clear that her- “transformation from sought-after Southern Belle to dutiful wife was far from complete.” By mid-December 1859 Sue was writing, “I detest Wash- ington. I have never fancied politics. I am tired ofold John Brown and the black Republicans.” - I According to Merchant, during their courtship, Laurence Keitt had pursued her “aggressively”; she only accepted after his fifth try with the condition that he resign his seat in Congress and travel throughout Europe with her. When they got back, Laurence would become a cot- ton planter. iMerchant said that Laurence “re- markably agreed,” even while Sue had called off the marriage several times. It was during the “furor caused by the caning of Sumner, that she broke off her engagement” completely and didn’t see Laurence for two years, Merchant said. Merchant described how Laurence tried to forget his lost love back in D.C. by his attendance of endless balls with ‘ an endless number of beautiful belles. However, Sue _did not forget about Lau- rence and after two years wrote to him and eventually married him. After trav- eling Europe for five months Merchant said Sue “was ready to settle down in Paris for serious study.” Merchant said that Sue thought Laurence should avoid the “little disputes” that were taking place at the capital and did not want to go back to D.C. Merchant, prompting laughter from the audience, said, “The country was blowing itself to bits at this point, and she called these ‘little disputes’?” Back in Europe, Merchant said that Laurence offered to let Sue stay but she refused and returned home, bitterly disappointed for having sacrificed her dreams to the “god of politics” as she phrased it. “The life of a wife of a fire- eating Congressman was anything but pleasant. She complained of boredom. She hated D.C. She refused to visit Con- gress because she said, ‘I fear I’ll catch a bullet in the head,”’ said Merchant. Merchant said, “Sue was not your stereotypical Southern Belle. She was beautiful, but she did not have a head full of fluff. She was intelligent.” Mer- chant said that she encouraged Laurence to write about more moving matters, and that she “invariably tried to get [Lau- rence] to be more careful.” Laurence himself wanted to write a history of co- lonial South Carolina. After declining an offer for a meet- ing with the President, Sue said, “I have no fancy for the story-telling old man.” However, Sue later met President Bu- chanan and said he had “one of the most quizzical faces,” having an eye disorder that caused him to cock his head. The President described Sue as “the most cultivated, fascinating woman in Washington,” said Merchant. He added that Sue “absolutely loved her conquest of Washington society,” even though she described the city as “full of rowdy congressmen and insipid dancing young men.” ‘ According to Merchant,,Sue even- tually visited the Capital building, and said: “Was this disorderly mob really the Congress of the United States, the as- sembled wisdom of a nation?” Sue did eventually develop an interest in poli- tics to the extent that she endorsed her husband as the ideal running mate with Stephen Douglas. Merchant said Sue believed that “Douglass could win back the South only by putting an ultra on the ticket.” Merchant said that like Laurence, Sue wanted not to save the Republic but to break it up. Sue wanted Keitt to be on the Democratic ticket as a springboard to be president ofa new Union. None of her hopes, however, came to fruition. The Democratic Party split, giving Lincoln a presidency that “made secession unavoidable,” Merchant said. Laurence became bored by his posi- tion in the Southern government, said Merchant. Spurred by his desire for “glory on the battlefield,” Laurence formed an infantry division and defend- ed Charleston harbor for a large part of the Civil War until he was called to fight at Cold Harbor where new battle tactics did not work well with his idealized vi- sion of “drawing a sword on horseback and charging,” Merchant said. However, Laurence lined his brigade in battle formation, charged straight ahead, and was mortally wounded. After Laurence’s death, Sue disappeared from the record except" for two instances, ac- cording to Merchant. Merchant said the first instance was after she was forced to swear an oath to the Union in order to keep her land. He said that he stumbled upon the second instance in a major collection of letters in the South Carolina library 35 years after having written his dissertation on Laurence. Merchant said, “Siie was alive again.” In 1878, after Sue’s father died, she became determined to hold onto the fam- ily land. Merchant said that it is at this point that the “Scarlett O’Hara bit comes to the fore.” Sue borrowed money from a nouveau riche Irish businessman and bought back the house at an auction. Merchant said that she “set off to restore [the land] to its antebellum prosperity before Sher- man came and destroyed everything ex- cept the house.” The Irishman, however, loaned her the money at l8 percent inter- est and Sue began to miss her payments. When the Irishman pressed her, Sue told him, “I will kill myself and I will come back to haunt you into your grave.” Merchant said that amazingly Sue persevered and even increased the pros- perity of the land. She borrowed money to lure black tenets and became an un- usually good plantation owner, treating the black tenets well. She even some- how found money to educate her daugh- ter and almost married her daughter off to Glover Cleveland, a “fate worse than death” Merchant said, describing him as the most boring President in history. Merchant said that Sue Keitt’s estate came to be worth a quarter of a million dollars, which is remarkable when con- sidering that she had been penniless be- fore the Civil War and later, as a result of the war, became a widow. “She made herself into a real life Scarlett O’Hara and I she proved she didn’t need Rhett Butler to do it,” said Merchant. OCR::/Vol_115/WLURG39_RTP_20120326/WLURG39_RTP_20120326_002.2.txt 2 - THE RING-TUM PHI- opi I1 MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2012 Why should you go to AdLibs? Interested in advertising, marketing, or public relations but not a business major? Sounds like AdLibs is for you By Katie Hatfield COLU M N IST AdLibs is the Advertising and Liberal Arts Conference here at W&L on this coming Friday, March 30"‘. This conference will showcase sever- al alumni that have returned to talk about the advertising, marketing, and public relations industries and the many career paths that are available within them as well as workshops in which students can meet with alums one—on-one for career advice and resume/cover letter review. The main goal of AdLibs is to show that you don’t have to be a business ma- jor to get involved in these fascinating and rapidly growing industries. Agen- cies don’t just want to hire a room full of marketing majors (which is a good thing, since we don’t even have one at W&L). They look for people of all majors and skill sets in order to understand the con- sumer and create better advertising. I think it sounds awesome, and here are the top five reasons why I’m going to attend and why I think you should too: 1. Find out more about the market- ing, advertising, and public relations industries through firsthand experi- ence. There’s nothing better than Ieaming about the ins and outs of a career from people who actually are a part of it. This is the kind of information that you can’t get out of a textbook or a class. 2. Meet and network with alumni. Almost all of the AdLibs present- ers are W&L grads, and because we are W&L students, you know we can never get enough of networking with the alum- ni. Beyond that, however, the lineup is stacked with cool people, cool jobs, and cool life experiences. I mean one ‘of them worked for the circus for six years. That’s pretty neat. 3. Disband the myth of“Oh, you’re a slightly unconventional major other than Business Administration. What are you going to do with that?” AdLibs will allow those who at- tend to explore different career options other than the ones that seem obvious. It can be difficult to answer the skepti- cally asked “what are you going to do with that?” question. Especially if your answer isn’t ‘graduate school’ or ‘teach- ing.’ But AdLibs is here to help. 4. Participate in‘ something that brings the entire campus together. Who doesn’t love a little camarade- rie? Since Mock Convention ended, I know I’ve been hankering for something else that would bring everyone on this campus together more than Leybum on a late Sunday afternoon. AdLibs will bridge the gap between majors so that those who haunt the science center, C-School, or Lenfest can all mix and mingle with one another. It’s a beautiful thing. 5. Make your Friday productive. Meet some talented people. Learn a few things about fascinating industries. Talk to some kids in your grade you wouldn’t normally talk to. Get valuable career advice. F eel fulfilled this coming Friday. I know I feel good about myself any time that I’m actively doing something for a few hours that’s not planning my outfit for that night or poring over Pinter- est for the umpteenth time. Check out the website, go.wlu.edu/ adlibs, to sign up and find more inforrna- tion, the schedule of events and a list of presenters. Join the event on Facebook: Wash- ington & Lee University Advertising and Liberal Arts [AdLib] Conference. &L was cooler five years a O Minus the implementation of the Cinderella rule and the dubstep-craze, Bullitt argues W&L has undergone ew changes For the most part, Washing- ton and Lee has a weird re- lationship with tradition. Stu- dents, faculty, and alumni all see tradition A as a part of the Washington and Lee existence. g ’ j _ K It’s a ‘ selling 83; Stocltton Bullrtt pom to new CD L” H N I 5 1, members of our prestigious club, and it’s a personal point of pride for the majority of current members. How- ever this inherent allegiance to tradition among W&L members causes some con- flict within the school. Everyone who has any relationship with any college institution loves com- plaining about stuff. Professors and ad- ministrative members bemoan the mor- als of their clients, and anyone who has met an eighteen - twenty-two-year-old knows that he or she loves whining about everything from the Nnamdi Asomugha signing to Invisible Children’s frighten- ingly close ties with the Ugandan gov- ernment to the quality of the drank at parties. It’s just what we do. So, if you talk to pretty much every member of the W&L community, he or she will find something that is wrong with the way W&L currently functions. "At the same time, pretty much every member of the community will agree that W&L’s rich and vibrant tradition makes it superior to most other schools in the country. Here’s the problem, most of the things people in this community complain about (frater- — nities, the party scene, the fourth floor of Graham-Lees, etc.) are direct products of W&L’s rich tradition. Basically, we want things to change for the better, but we also believe that tradition at W&L has made everything good the way it is now. \ Since this is by no means an exclu- sive phenomenon to W&L and it’s been going on for quite a while, humanity has developed a pretty nice fix to this con- flict. All you have to do is say that things were better way back when before the new members came in and screwed ev- erything up. By using this form of think- ing, you can still complain about how . rotten your surroundings are while also honoring Tevye’s favorite word. Using this form of thinking is espe- cially vibrant at W&L and is most com- monly used by seniors and directed to- wards freshmen. During rush in 2008, I was led to believe that W&L around MISSION STATEMENT: It is the mission of THE RlNG—TUM PHI to accurately, truthfully, and thoroughly report news affecting the Washington and Lee community for students, faculty. parents and alumni. Ourgoal 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 RlNG—TUM PHI is a member of The Media Board, which can be reached at mediaboard@wlu.edu. but is otherwise independent.THE RING-TUM PHI welcomes all letters. We reserve the right to edit submissions for content and length. Letters and advertising do not necessarily reflect the opinion of THE RING-TUM PHI staff. This newspaper observes current court definitions of libel and obscenity. THE RING-TUM PHI UNIVERSITY COMMONS ROOM. 341 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA 24450. TELEPHONE: (540)458-4060 FAX: (540) 458-4059 EMAIL: PH|@WLU.EDU SUBSCRIPTION RATE $45 2004 and 2005 was ~——}—— WASHINGTONANDLEEUNIVERSITY ——?— a magi- cal place THE RING-TUM PHI- ~ hazing (a.k.a. MANAGING EDITOR JULIANNA SATTERLY boys be- NEWS EDITOR NEIL HAGGERTY ing boys) OPINIONS EDITOR CAMPBELL BURR was ram- ARTS&LlFE EDITOR PAIGE GANCE pant, SPORTS EDITOR LEIGH DANNHAUSER ciasses COPY EDITORS ERIN SCHWARTZ andhome- " workwere STAFF WRITERS :'/l'\$|CEKi1D'(,)|lr\\I”\lB(;lé|E.l\lTZTO Optional’ JANEY I=u_GATE ‘Eire KATIE HATFIELD TOMMY KENT spectacles COLLEEN MOORE *0 be‘ ANNIE PERSONS h01d um‘) ANDREW RENALDO them- PATRICK SMITH selves CATHERINE TINNEY most RACHEL URBAN c1ose]yre- semblin BUSINESS MANAGERS MATT GOSSETT Baccha_g DAVID WILSON n-a1,a.The DISTRIBUTION STAFIF EFIJI/|;(r3lNS|MMYPESROSN fun level KANE THOMAS °f.th.e 1”" strtutron wassome- ' thing that CLASSIFIEID we freshmen could only imagine. How- ever, since those glorious years when “no seriously you could’ve hooked up with any chick you wanted,” the admin- istration has enacted its Top Secret Plan to systematically rule out fun at W&L. As a result, the fun levels at W&L have seen logarithmic declines over the past few years only to level off at Davidson or even worse, Swarthmore levels of fun sometime in the next two or three years (i.e. around-the time the current fresh- men are seniors). When I became a senior, I Started tell- ing this same story to younger students at parties. As a senior, it’s easy to see the change for myself. I was here three and a half years ago, and so I’ve had a large [enough range to View substantial change in this institution. Professors have been here longer, and I’ve heard many “this tended three years ago, not because the W&L itself is all that different, but rather because you are the one that’s changed. Obviously, this is self-evident and me explaining it makes this column seem a lot like the end of a Nickelodeon show. Still, I think it’s a relatively important point. This school has not profoundly changed in the time that I’ve gone here, and it’s strikingly similar to the school that many alumni attended. It’s just that our viewpoint of the whole situation has changed. Take the Speaking Tradition at W&L as an example. Alumni and professors constantly lament the death of the speak- ing tradition on W&L’s campus. To them, back in the day, students would always go out of their way to say hello to each other on campus regardless of social statute or animosity between members. I This school has not profoundly changed in the time that I ’ve gone here, and its strikingly similar to the school that many alumni attended. It s just that our viewpoint of the whole situation has changed. place isn’t the same as it used to be” rants from them as well. I was all ready to express these feelings in a nice little comeback article. It had a pretty catchy title: “How admissions and administra- tion are changing W&L from a good school on Forbes to a good school on US News & World Report.” Trust me, it would’ve made you totally forget that I completely skirted writing a fraternity rankings article this year. Only when I started really thinking about writing this article, I kept finding holes in my argu- ment. Although I would really like to be- lieve that this current freshmen class is a bunch of bland goodie two shoes who don’t really know how to throw down and hang out, that’s simply not the case. Like most senior members of this com- munity, I was blinded by having a differ-. ent relationship to the school than I did when I was a freshman. Since all of us students are going through some form of puberty, it makes sense that our lives drastically change during the four years of college. Further- more, the point of college is to change or at least challenge you in some way, so there’s bound to be a difference be- tween your senior self and your fresh- man self. So, by the time you become a senior, of course you are going to see a different institution than the one you at- Nowadays, students can’t look up from their damn cell phones to even acknowl- edge the presence of other human beings in the institution. That’s a fun thing about which to complain, especially if you’re a big Rodney Dangerfield fan, but in real- ity, the Speaking Tradition has arguably gotten better at W&L over the years that I have attended. Despite the fact that stu- dents have wonderful gadgets in which to stay in tune with everything that is happening in the world while still play- ing Draw Something, students at W&L actually are better than most other kids our age at saying hello to each other on the Hill, and in my experience, it’s the professors and administration who are usually the most reluctant to return a greeting on the hill. Only it’s much more convenient for adults on campus to com- plain that student aren’t living up to the tradition that they themselves don’t re- ally have to abide by. The same goes for students though. Parties aren’t much less chill then they used to be. If someone still wants to rage on Friday night, he or she still can. The one or two fraternities getting in trouble per year rule has stayed relatively con- stant. Classes don’t seem to be that much harder or easier than they used to be. Yes, all these situations aren’t identical to what they were in the past, but they are not so radically difl°erent that they bear constant complaint. There are only two real changes that I have observed in student life over my time at W&L. The first is that parties tend to end around midnight instead of two in the morning. This is a direct result of the town of Lexington’s 2010 effort to make parties end at midnight, and, hey look, they won that fight pretty easily. Once LexPo decided that it was neces- sary to start raising hell once the clock struck midnight, the Cinderella rule started going into effect quickly. I’ve already written about this plenty, so it’s not worth going into the whole morality of the deal, but over the last few months as a result of this Cinderella rule, LexPo has been relatively fairer in their arrests. Now, when I say relatively, I mean rela- tively, and they may just be making up for the egregious acts they committed in the first couple of weeks of this school year, but I have been hearing many less complaints about LexPo lately. Yes, the Cinderella rule did kill off Wednesday night party nights and ragers can’t go as late as they did a few years ago. That has changed, but there are still late night options, and you can now safely register for classes on Thursday morning and ex- pect a passing grade. It’s not great, but there are worse things. The only other real change in the stu- dent body I have seen is in music choice. Most parties throw in the obligatory pop and country songs throughout the night, but outside of those songs, mostly elec- tric and dubstep music is played. Back in the day, rap was the music de jour of most parties. We have inserted Skrillex, Avicii, and Coyote Kisses over the vi- sionary minds of Kevin Rudolf, Kardinal Offishall, and Jay Electronica. I’m pre- posterously offended by the way these new dubstep head have no respect for the calming melodies of hip hops finest like Lil B the Based God and Waka Flocka Flame, but that’s just me. Still, other than music and party closing times, the school has not really changed that much. The students are relatively similar, although we do have a better football team, and the social and academic life is a lot like it has always been. Parties are fun, classes are hard, people get away with cheating when they bring a case to an open trial, etc. Life will go on in a pretty similar fashion at W&L to the way it did five years ago. So, in the end, things change, but they don’t really change. You’re welcome for wasting your time with this article. But, remember, if Payton Manning can go to Denver, causing Tim Tebow to go to HOUSE FOR RENT 3 BR, 3 private BA house, 107 E. Preston Street, Lexington, available 6/1/12, W/D, deck, parking, walk to W&L/town, $1,320 + utilities per mo, 1-yr lease, 1 mo. sec (540) 383-7035 Marc Gingerelli (W&L ’98) I OCR::/Vol_115/WLURG39_RTP_20120326/WLURG39_RTP_20120326_003.2.txt 9 MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2012 3 - THE RING-TUM PHI- opinions W&L student fashion: who’s calling the shots? Rachel Urban encourages women to wear what makes themecomfortable, rather than whatthey see in advertisements Barbour I jackets, rain boots and leg- gings. Fash- ion trends are widespread on the W&L campus, and I have fre- quently heard people com-g plain about the lack of fashion di- versity as a result. How- ever, there are more stressing issues un- derlying our wardrobe uniformity than what you simply see on the surface level at W&L. To bring these to light, I en- courage us to take a step back and look at a larger cultural context. Inaddition to these complaints about a lack of fash- ion diversity, I frequently hear assertions Byflachel Urban 4 CDLUIINIST Are environmentalists and economists at a stando . Not according to Katie D ’Innocenzo. She argues that the renewable energy field oflers opportunity for job creation This sum- mer, while sitting around a game of Monopoly with my fam- ily in Cape May, NJ, the topic of the environ- ment versus the economy came up. As I viciously col- leoted an ob- scene amount of rent from my 16-year-old sister (I’ve always had a knack for Monopoly), my dad chuckled and said, “This is why l’ve always said you would make a great economist.” I smiled triumphantly and left it at that. Then my older brother chimed in, asking how I was planning Anal zin Do opposigb attracg Recently, I was browsing Pinterest with a friend and found a link to a picture of a grandiose wed- ding cake. The cake was dis- played with a piece already cut and posi- tioned sugges- tively toward to camera to provide optimal viewing of its layers of thick, rich butter- cream countered by what was undoubt- edly moist, ‘liuffy yellow cloud of cake within. Being college girls, a discussion of weddings and craving for a piece of cake naturally followed the discovery of this enticing link. I casually mentioned that my favorite part of the cake is the lfrosting; in my mind the perfect ratio of frosting to cake would be around 3:1. ByKatie D"|nnooenzo ccuumusr Byhnnie Persons CCILUMMIST eating Hard to say. that other cultures outside of the US are terribly oppressive, since they force women to wear more modest clothing. While this might seem alien to us, I must ask, is our culture so very different from others? In all cultures, there are specific so- cial influences that affect what people wear. Whereas in other countries it might be harder to wear less clothing, it is often the case that it is harder to wear more clothing in our current fashion cul- ture —just look at the images in adver- tisements. The media often show images of “the perfect woman.” She is tall, tan, super skinny, and wearing clothes that show off her body in the sexiest ways possible. Because that’s what the mar- ket says, right? “Sexy sells.” But while very few can live up to this standard in real life, the average woman is trying to emulate her — buying the clothes, the makeup, and planning the diet. Eventually,vthose fashion trends reach on being an “environment hating econo-I ' mist” with my double major in environ- mental studies and economics. Just a side note: He swims at Texas on a schol- arship, so he’s not the brightest light on the tree, but he made a statement I think a lot of people tend to believe: that sav- ing the economy and saving the environ- ment are two opposing ideals and cannot us at W&L and become norms. For ex- ample: “the leggings trend.” During my sophomore year, many people started wearing black leggings without anything on top of them. When women wear these leggings, you can really see all aspects of their lower bodies —— I mean every- thing. As this trend became widespread on campus among women of all body types, I had the unfortunate experiences of seeing women who do not realize their leggings are not thick enough as well as women drawing unwanted atten- tion from male students, I often wonder if these women really do like this fashion trend, or if they are just going along with the rest of the student body. In reality, the vast majority of women are not stick—thin models, and they do not need to feel pressured into wearing sexy, tight, or revealing clothing. But since we place expectations on ourselves and each other to conform to fashion norms, peer pressure becomes a huge activist, but even I know that this isn’t true. Let’s take the example of energy. Coal is a major source of energy for our country as well as the world. The bum- ing of coal to produce energy emits CO2 into the atmosphere, a major component of global warming. I’m going to assume you will at least go with me on this glob- al warming deal here, since I’m not writ- Emissions enrage the environmental community since they are a primary reason for global warming. be achieved simultaneously. As a humble sophomore with an of- ficially declared economics major for only a few short weeks, I find this com- mon train of thought almost disturbing. I can safely say I am far from being either a great economist or an environmental Let’s just say I like the sweeter things in life. Anyways, my friend was taken aback and exclaimed how she herself was much more of a cake person and would prefer only a slight smear of the stuff. I Trite as it may seem, our simple con- tradiction in taste got me thinking on a deeper level: what does it say about a personality if one would rather eat the frosting then the cake? Most would con- tend that the distinction is scientifically taste bud driven, or perhaps effected somehow by the mother’s diet in the womb (here I must disagree, though, as my mother admits to eating nothing short of oatmeal and pickles while pregnant with me). I, however, was drawn to the deeper question presented by the cake versus frosting issue: when enjoying a piece of cake such as the one on the site, maybe even at my own wedding, would I rather be sharing it with someone who also only liked the frosting? Or ‘would I prefer that my eventual husband and I be able to ‘conserve’ cake, and share a ing this article to debate that fact. While the U.S. is not the largest consumer of coal (and therefore the largest offender in releasing CO2 into the atmosphere), it is my understanding that our initiatif to move towards renewable energy “fill encourage if not force other countries to piece with him eating the cake and me eating the frosting, in front of a crowd of doubtlessly oohing and ahhing guests? The real question I stumbled upon is this: how important is compatibility in a problem when we can’t live up to unre- alistic standards. If this gets out of hand and becomes unhealthy, eating disorders or exercise addictions may develop. And it’s your own choice, then more power to you! But if you want to wear clothes that cover up more parts of your body, then you also deserve much respect. Wearing If this gets out of hand and beaomes unhealthy, eat- ing disorders or exercise addictions may develop. And that is the worst form of fashion oppression in my opinion. that is the worst form of fashion oppres- sion in my opinion. Next time you choose your outfit, make sure your clothing makes you feel comfortable with your body. Nothing is better than an informed decision —— are you choosing these clothes to fit in or do you really like them? If you want to wear tights because you love them and follow suit. Here is where the economic and environmental worlds can unite. ‘ A large component in the upcoming election is the need for jobs. Professor Goldsmith frequently noted how every candidate was the “jobs” candidate in his macroeconomics course last semester. To me, the answer seems obvious, but because I feel like postponing my home- work a little longer, allow meito spell it out for you: jobs need to be created in the renewable energy field. Research and development to perfect alternative forms of energy such as wind and solar could lead to an entirely new industry allow- ing for an abundance of new jobs. Eco- nomics, however, is not (completely) political, but rather a focus on achieving equilibrium and, therefore, efficient mar- kets. On a basic level, both economics and environmental activism agree that the coal industry is bad. The marginal social costs are much greater than the tracted to the fact that you had that weird habit in common? Or would you simply take comfort in the fact that you were not alone in your weirdness habit? She was, of course, perplexed. I coaxed her Or would I prefer that my eventual husband and I be able to ‘conserve ’cake, and share a piece with him eating the cake and me eating the frosting, in flont of a crowd of doubtlessly oohing and ahhing guests? relationship? Do opposites really attract? Take another example. One of my bestlfriends is known for her unique way of eating PopTa1ts. She delicately picks off the surrounding portion from the fruit (?) filled center and munches on their crumbly, shortbread like edges instead. I asked her—if you saw a boy at breakfast also picking off the edges of his PopTart, would you be more at- to picture two scenarios: one where she and her husband split a package of Pop- Tarts for breakfast, casually pinching off the ends (feeding them to each other?) ' and sharing a chuckle over the discarded middles they leave behind before they kiss and depart for work. In the second, she and her husband exchange a'look of mutual understanding as they split apart only one Pop-Tart, she breaking off the more clothing doesn’t mean that you’re a prude or you’re uncomfortable with your body. You can still look “sexy” when you’re clothed — it’s a matter of confi- dence. It might be hard going against the grain of cultural standards, but as long as you yourself are calling the shots, you’re greatly empowering yourself and will get the respect of those around you. Hf‘)! marginal private costs since firms do not have to pay for the negative extemality of emissions they place upon society. These same emissions enrage the envi- ronmental community since they are a primary reason for global warming. Both fields would conclude that emissions need to be, at the very least, significantly reduced in order to achieve equilibrium and save our environment. While this is only one example, I have found in my short time studying both fields that there are many crossovers like this one where economists and environmentalists are fighting for the same thing. Environmen- talists and economists are not at a stand- off - except for in Washington, where they collectively continue to fight for regulations on CO2 emissions that politi- cians seemingly love to shoot down. habits to determine com atibility nnie Persons encourages readers to keep an open min when choosing partners edges and he asking casually, “can I have your middle?” in a morning routine. Both situations certainly have the “cute” factor, but which would truly be the bet- ter marriage?- I believe it is our nature as humans to seek out people who are similar to us as we form friendships and relationships. However, the old adage that opposites at- tract is an old adage for a reason. While I still have not found an answer to this question of compatibility versus similar- ity in relationships, I can conclude that when seeking out a partner in life, it is crucial to not rule anyone out due to ei- ther a shared trait or an opposing one. After all, how cute are both the couple who shares the Pop-Tart ‘and the one who discards the middles? I urge you to keep an open mind to the possible pros and cons of both types of people in relation to yourself. I’m also not ruling out the idea of carrying a slice of cake with you next Wednesday night, just to see what you’re really getting into before you take that “first bite” of love. The rise and fall of W&L: time to say farewell to fun? Is W&L changing for the worse? Columnist Patrick Smith says fun levels are Washing- ton and Lee’s class of 2012 has had the opportunity to see some of the amazing things this in- stitution once offered. As a senior about to graduate, I sit and ponder about the old days. Ithink about a six week spring term that wasn’t labor inten- sive in the slightest. About the Buffalo Creek music festival, which consisted of several D-list bands, but no one seemed §yPatrick:Smith CDLUMNIST to care. It is clear that over the course of my stay at Washington and Lee, the fun levels have gone down considerably. During my freshman year, going out on Mondays, Wednesdays or Thursdays was not a big deal. If you happened to have a slow night of work, or just felt like having a little fun, you could talk to the people on your hall and figure something out. Now, a campus notice couldn’t help you find a buddy to hang out with during the week. A lot of the ‘decreased fun action stems from local enforcement. Fresh- man year, I never remember police be- ing an issue. Now, if you fart, you are thrown in handcuffs and begging for a five minute phone call. Officer, you can tow my car, but you can’t take my soul; I don’t have one, I’m a ginger. The school cracking down on frater- nities seems to be the leading contributor to decreased fun levels. Administration says they want to move more parties on campus, yet they still hand out fines for a few stray beer cans lying around the house. Contact hours for “new mem- bers” has gone from 17 hours a day to 15 hours a day. To top it all off, pledgeship for all fraternities will be six weeks in- stead of eight weeks in the coming years. With the strict punishments to fratemi- ties and the recent disbanding of a lead- ing chapter on campus, it is clear that the university is cracking down. Soon, parties off campus will be scarce. Windfall Hill will be a residen- tial neighborhood in 2-3 years, thus low- ering Lexington’s fun levels by 30% (I ran the numbers myself). Since partying in town-is such a risky thing nowadays, and without Windfall hill, WnL’s off ding straight downhill ment like a swift gazelle. If Washington and Lee’s fun levels were to be plotted ~ on a line graph, it would look like a dou- Windfall hill ‘will be a residential neighborhood in 2-3 years, thus lowering Lexington is fun levels by 30% (I ran the numbers myselfl. campus options are limited to the pole house area, the cabins or way out in the country. Now is my time to stop complaining about the present and start reminiscing about the good days. The days when I could hotwire a Chevy in less than 10 seconds, or when I was young and nim- ble enough to run from local enforce- ble black diamond, straight downhill. Comic relief. -Once upon a time there were two muflins in the microwave. Suddenly, one of the muffins says: ‘ “Man it’s hot in here!!!!” The other muffin exclaims, “Look, a talking muffin! ! ! l” OCR::/Vol_115/WLURG39_RTP_20120326/WLURG39_RTP_20120326_004.2.txt 4 - THE RING-TUM PHI- MONDAY,MARCH 26, 2012 arts&|ife Danae performance provokes thought _ The Repertory Dance Company appeared last week in an emotional and artistic Show By Janey Fugate 5 TA F F w R I T E R Last week, the Repertoryv Dance Company performed its biannual dance show for faculty, parents, and the student body. Rehearsing for an average of four hours every night for two weeks before the show, the dancers put forth one of the highlight performances of the academic year According to the dance company’s artistic director Jenefer Davies, the show offered “a wide range of dance types from contemporary modern dance, cutting edge styles to more traditional pieces.” The breadth and variety of the dances was further diversified through the eclectic music selection such as Alice in Wonderland themed music, the more obscure Icelandic artist Sigur Ros, to Si- mon & Garfunkel. The performances were not only meant to entertain but also to provoke thought and an emotional response from the audience. For example, the first dance juxtaposed three slow, synchro- nized dancers with two wiggling, fidget- ing dancers sitting to the side of them. The dancers switch roles throughout the piece, moving from very strict choreog- raphy to a looser, strange state of impa- tience. Regarding this artistic goal to connect with and engage the audience, first-year Mary Kamp said, “I liked the fact that each dance had a story you had to fig- ure out — more interesting to follow. I thought overall it was really beautiful.” Perhaps one of the most memorable dances of the show was “Veil of Igno- rance.” In this piece Jennifer Ritter ’l3 and Jillian Katterhagan ’l5 performed a slow, sexually charged dance in front of a lava-like drape in which neither of them ever stood completely upright. Though many of the dances were student choreographed, Davies choreo- graphed this piece with very personal interests and experiences _ in mind. “It was a very emotionally rooted piece for [Davies],” said Katterhagan, “which made it an honor and a challenge to try.” She described the experience of striving to create one body with two dancers say- ing, “It was a unique experience to be so aware of another person while you were dancing.” For some of the dancers, this show also functioned as a rehearsal for the Dance Company’s trip to Scotland this coming August. W&L is sending a group of its most talented performers to dance in the annual Fringe Festival — a multicultural celebration of the visual and performing arts held in Edinburgh. There, the dancers will represent W&L by performing several of the pieces they exhibited last week. Alum calls for a return to the earth Alumna Alana DeJoseph went to Mali and came back with a new approach to nature and community By Colleen Moore 5 TA F F w R IT E R Conservationist and father of wildlife management Aldo Leopold wrote “The Sand County Almanac” in 1949, and it . still serves as a timeless inspiration for American environmentalists. Washington and Lee University alumna and cinema producer Alana Deloseph ’92 helped create a tribute to Leopold’s legacy with the film “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold‘ and a Land Ethic for Our Time.” Graduating in 1992 with degrees in Theatre Arts and Business Administra- tion, Deloseph began searching forjobs in a time of high unemployment. Her de- cision not to attend graduate school for business did not help her prospects. Her life outlook changed with a course she took titled “Food, Population and Poverty.” “It was the first glimpse I had that I was part of something larger than my- self,” said Deloseph. With the guidance of a professor, Deloseph entered the Peace Corps and was sent to Mali. There she found that Malians had a more direct connection with their environment and a much stronger sense of their role in their community. Similar to the way Malians ap- proached daily life, Leopold’s land ethic asks us to see the natural world as a com- munity to which we belong. Deloseph said, “It is an ethic that requires us to see beyond our species. The individual is a member ofa community of different parts.” Today, Delospeh hopes Green Fire can pass along Leopold’s land ethic to a 21*‘ century population. “It is one of the crucial remedies to connect everybody back to the land,” she said. To embody nature in a way the Malians did — seeing ourselves a part of the whole that has a responsibility to the larger community — is one way to ad- dress the ecological challenges we are facing today. “It would be nice to recapture what we used to have," said Deloseph. SOCIOLOGY‘, MARCH 29-3o,i2oI2. ~ go.wlu.edu/adlibs matter start. It doesn’t where you ' 0' Washington and Lee University. A£?’lE.7'.T‘SlNG AND LIBERAL ARTS CONFERENCE ib'oN HOGl‘.E.’.75 ,<;o'r'rv MI‘I.I.,ER ’67 E to our sponsors... . , A _ ;I3fIG RIVER ADVERTISING, FRED MooRE,.2ao‘;.l?,".‘:‘ Bo'r'rI.ERocI