OCR::/Vol_115/WLURG39_RTP_20120430/WLURG39_RTP_20120430_001.2.txt l-‘Ie|d[s]ofdreams. p , Volunteer goalie coach inspires players on I both the fieldhockey and lacrosse fields. v SPORTS / page 6 oamon I . it * - - WASHINACTEON AND La: UN1\n3Rsr1“Y THE RING-TUM PHI.. /// VOLUME CXV, NUMBER 18 0 BY THE STUDENTS AND FOR THE STUDENTS SINCE 1897 ' Prospectives get a sneak MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2012 Accepted students were able to experience W&L academics and student life last week New “'l'rospip” Statistics By Graham Colton CO PY E DITO R On Accepted Students’ Day last Wednesday, I93 admitted students from 34 states flocked to Washington and Lee University to get a head start on their collegiate careers. Accompanied by 282 family members, 73 confirmed students and I20 unconfirmed students attended a continental breakfast, panel sessions, a Student Activities Fair and Residence Hall tours, a luncheon and Department Open Houses. This special preview of the Univer- sity was put on by the Office of Admis- sions staff. “Accepted Students’ Day is a chance for admitted students and their families to see inside what it's like to be a student at W&L,” explained Jenny Ratzel ’07, Assistant Director of Ad-- missions. “It’s also a great opportunity for students who are still undecided to ask questions and learn more about the school before confirming." With the University as their oyster, high school seniors and their parents flooded the campus to go to college for a day. Armani Smith, from Indianapolis, IN, said: “Greek life is a pretty big deal here...I went to a few frat parties last night. They were pretty chill.” Others, like Paulsboro, N.l native Billy Davis, were in awe of a campus where Robert E. Lee himself once re- sided. “Nobody walked on the grass,” Davis stated. Other admitted students also revered the Honor System and the school pride it has instilled in W&L stu- dents past and present. “[Wednesday’s] event was a success thanks to the hard work of our staff, stu- dents and faculty,” Ratzel said. Lizzie Engel ’l3, coordinator of the Student Recruitment Committee’s in- volvement in Accepted Students’ Day, served the students by “working the reg- istration tables, leading campus tours, manning information kiosks, and just generally being around to help direct ac- cepted students and their families.” President Kenneth Ruscio and Wil- liam M. Hartog, the Dean of Admis- sions and Financial Aid, lent their time to welcome visitors at the Keller Theater of the Lenfest Center. Faculty members also made themselves available to pro- spective students at campus-wide De- partment Open Houses. By doing so, “students who are still undecided [may] ask questions and learn more about the school before confirming,” said Ratzel. Before going to the Activities Fair on the Commons Lawn and touring the Graham-Lees Dormitoryat midday, stu- dents attended panel sessions on topics ranging from athletics to research and studying abroad. A future varsity athlete who attended the athletics panel session emphasized the value of school over sports. He said, “Lacrosse doesn’t come before academics.” Other high school students, after at- tending a research panel, were struck by the breadth and availability of research opportunities for undergraduate stu- dents. Davis said he was “shocked that one [student] had four different research projects.” Emily Streeper, an admitted student interested in pre-med from Pennsylva- nia, said she will matriculate here not only for the “very strong neuroscience department,” but also for “the research. .. available after the first year.” Amy Hui, from Gretna, LA, ex- pressed her excitement regarding “the ability to do whatever [she] wants for research.” Several students were intrigued by the diverse opportunities to study over- seas. At the panel on studying abroad, Smith said that there was “an All—Amer- ican swimmer who studied abroad in Spain.” Virginia F eddeman, from Annandale, VA, said she “liked the St. Andrews part—' nership” and observed that the Scottish university offers transferable credits in an American-style system. Yet, for all parties involved, the high- light of the day was the chance to begin ' and leadership culmi- building friendships that will last beyond the four short years on campus. Ratzel’s fa- vorite part of the day was “watching the ad- mitted students get to know each other. They start to form friend- ships and bonds with their classmates before they even get to cam- pus.” In the afternoon, students and families chatted with one an- other over lunch on Cannan Green. The Admissions Office’s planning, coordination, nated in eight events on a day which, according to Streeper, was “one of the best, well run [Accepted Students’ Days]” which she had attended. Grenier talks paparazzi at W&L Contact Committee brings Actor Adrian Grenier to talk about teenagers and the media and. photography ByTi|den Bowditch STA F F WRITE R Grenier poses with the CONTACT committee Chapel PHOTO COURTESY OF DIAN DRA SPICAK after his speech in Lee Adrian Grenier, best known as '2 Vince Chase-in the HBO’s Entou- rage, made an appearance in Lee ' Chapel on Tuesday, April 24. Wash- ington and Lee was the last stop on his college tour, during which he has promoted his 2010 HBO documen- tary Teenage Paparazzo, and starting conversations with college students about the effect of media and tech- nology on the world. “Whether it’s paparazzi or a kid bullying on Facebook, we have to start having conversations about how to use the tools we have.” he stated. Grenier invited the audience to ask questions about the documentary and the role of media and technology in today’s world. He described Teenage Paparazzo as a documentary about a 14-year- old paparazzo named Austin Viss- chedyk. Grenier detailed going out in Hollywood one night when he noticed Visschedyk among the pa- parazzi. “When I was 13, I was out that late and I wasn’t doing anything creative,” said Grenier. Grenier started by making a _ documentary about the teenager to explore the society’s obsession with celebrities. Now, he uses his foot- age to start conversations around the country about the media. “There’s a wisdom in exchange,” said Grenier. “It’s not enough to ab- sorb what you’re bombarded with by the media everyday. You have to think about it and regurgitate it in some way.” Grenier said the public and the paparazzi have to take responsibility for the media produced today. “We’re indulging this celebrity industry fi- nancially,” he said. The paparazzi can claim that this indulgence is a‘ matter of survival for them, because people pay for the scandalous shots and salacious gossip. When asked whether some ce- lebrities court the paparazzi, Grenier said they sometimes do. “If you’re going to make a career choice to. be a performer, you want people to watch your performance,” he said. Interestingly, he named Paris Hilton as the first postmodern “ar- tiste” to use the tabloids as her can- vas. “The stunts she pulled [for the paparazzi] were kind of genius,” he said. “I think Andy Warhol would be proud.” Greenier also pointed_ out that with all the technology available today, there’s more opportunity for creativity than ever before. Accord- ing to him, most people don’t realize that technology is not “confined to the design dictated by Apple.” “The real artists are the guys and girls who can program,” he said. In an age where it seems like ba- bies are “out of the womb and onto a computer,” Grenier states that it is this generation’s responsibility to learn to use technology and the me- diacwell--he said people need to start talking about these different tools, how they’re being used, and how they should be used. ‘ “I think we’re going to figure this out,” said Grenier, holding his phone in the air. At the end of the discussion, Gre- nier asked the audience to pull out their iPhones, take a picture of them- selves, and send it to him via his free app, “Reckless Adrian Grenier.” Fol- lowing the discussion, Grenier and students went to the Commons Liv- ing Room where several art pieces related to the film were on display. Grenier then joined students at the Alumni House for a reception and photos. (Oh, and if you missed it: When asked who his best on-screen kiss was with he said, “Politically speak- ing, they were all fantastic, but not as good as the real thing.”) OCR::/Vol_115/WLURG39_RTP_20120430/WLURG39_RTP_20120430_002.2.txt 2 - THE RING—TUM PHI - MONDAY, APRIL 30,2012 opinions #whyiwishtwitterdidnotexist @Justapersons.° @RingTumPhi Sooo not a fan of twitter #hearmeout Let me start off by saying that I have a Twitter ac- count, so don’t take the criti- cal tone of this column too se- riously. While it may seem hypocritical that I have such strong feel- ings against the tweeting sensa- tion that’ grips the nation, I feel as though I must make my voice heard. Consider this my epic tweet: #Ihatetwitter. Let me explain: first, there is the conceited nature of the tweet. Why is it that people think that the rest of the world is so interested in what they are doing? Do you really think anyone cares that you’re eating breakfast, taking a nap, or feeling nauseous? Why do we feel the need to share every intimate detail of our daily lives to people who are only fol- lowing us to compare what we are doing to what they are doing? Bringing me to my next point: Twitter is nothing more than a techno- . bi. - By Annie Persons HEAD COPY" EDITOR are trying to make known to the rest of their friends what they are doing...with their other friends. Therein lies the beauty of the “mention,” which allows you to tag an- other person in your tweet, just in case “#nowwatching Revenge with my besties” wasn’t good enough. If you can “tweet at” your “bes- ties,” they too can broad- cast their status to the world of Twitter. And there is the fact that people who can see your tweets are called “fol- lowers.” Followers. Need I say more? _ And, of course, there is hashtagging, or “trending.” Trending has no clear definition on Twit- ter, other than the unspoken rule that the funnier or wit- tier your trend is, the bet- ter the tweet. I like to think of trending as adding a little spice to a tweet, taking it from something like, “Just got to class” to, “Just got to class #canileavenow?” In this case, the addi- tion of a hashtag conveys the emotion and adds a sardonic edge. Yet albeit the Welcome to Twitter. _ , Find out what's happening, right now, with the people and organizations you care about. ’ ing to craft a statement in less than 140 characters to promote not only our own sense of self worth, but others sense of us, is sad. Even worse is the alarming regularity at which Twitter is checked. Surreptitiously whipping out one’s phone during class simply to logical way of projecting to your follow- ers your dot on the social road map. When was the last time you saw a tweet that read, “At home on a Saturday night,” or “my friends are all hanging out without me?” No—when a person tweets, they When was the last time you saw a tweet that read -“At home on a Saturday night, ” or, “My friends are all hanging out without me? ” \ level of “spiciness” your tweet achieves with its trend, the fact that we as Twitter users would spend time and energy try- WASHINGTON AND l£E UNIVERSITY THE RING—TUM PHI. check Twitter, or tweeting a snide comment about some- thing a teacher hasjust said in class, takes rudeness to new levels. I am guilty ofthis, and I know I speak for the Twitter community when I say that it is humorous to read a tweet with a funny quote from a classmate or professor. But to spend time that our parents have paid for (in a class we “get to” be in) only to see what is go- Username or email Pas s w on: D P.v2rnerr:be.r me - Forgot password? New to Twitter? Sign up Full name Email ing on in other classes, is absurd. This brings me to my final and most sincere critique of Twitter. I find it ironic that something made to function as a method of connecting people can create such a sense of disconnect among friends. Why would you check Twitter when you’re surrounded by people, if not to make sure that nothing “better” is going on at the same time? Even. when surrounded by their friends, I have seen people (and I myselfhave done this) take the precious moments they should be en- joying together to, yes, check Twitter. It is an unconscious (or conscious) attempt to check out what the rest of the commu- nity is doing and mentally compare it to what you are_doing. Again, I have to emphasize that this column is meant to be a channel to Passx-¢oI‘c vent about Twitter. I hate Twitter because it has made our community appear self- absorbed and disconnected. But, like I said, I have a Twitter and I tweet on a somewhat regular basis. I have a Twitter because it exists, and I have one in order to feel like I “belong.” But, my wish is that it didn’t exist. . .I hate Twitter. Mission impossible BCCOU edit su and STAFFWRITERS STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER BUSINESS MANAGERS DISTRIBUTION STAFF MANAGING EDITOR JULIANNA SATTERLY NEWS EDITOR NEIL HAGGERTY OPINIONS EDITOR CAMPBELL BURR ARTS&L|FE EDITOR CYNTHIA LAM SPORTS EDITOR LEIGH DANNHAUSER HEAD COPY EDITOR ANNIE PERSONS ' TILDEN BOWDITCH JONATHAN GUEST ANDREW RENALDO CATHERINE TINNEY GABRIELLE TREMO YATES WILBURN COPY EDITOR GRAHAM COLTON COY FERRELL MATT GOSSETT DAVID WILSON DILLON MYERS BRIAN SIMPSON KANE THOMAS MISSION STATEMENT: It is the mission of THE RING—TUM PHI to accurately, truthfully, and thoroughly report news affecting the Washington and Lee community for students, faculty, parents and alumni. Our goal is to look deeper into news affecting campus life and hold leaders ntable. Through our reporting, we aspire to spark discussions that lead to discovering information that prompts change. THE RING—TUM PHI is published Mondays during the undergraduate school year. THE RING—TUM PHI is a member of The Media,Board, which can be reached at mediaboard@wlu.edu, but is otherwise independent.TH_E RING—TUM PHI welcomes all letters. We reserve the right to bmissions for content and length. Letters 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: PHI@WLU.EDU SUBSCRIPTION RATE $45 CHRISTINA BENEDETTI Campbell Burr describes her struggle to find feminine work attire . .’ “What is wrong «- I ‘ with short?” my mom ' " ’ asks as I zip up the newest “work skirt” she has purchased for me. It rides mid—thigh and looks more like something I would wear clubbing in Eu- rope than in an office. “Mom, I can’t wear this in an ofiice! . Are you kidding me?” “It’s so cute though. You’re a sum- mer intern, it’s fine.” She makes a good point. Do I really need a suit to get coffee and sit in a small cubicle en- tering data into an Excel spreadsheet? Ehlih, well-— yes. The male interns will be wearing suits so I, of course, must be dressed in the female equivalent. After a week of shopping, it seems like there are few options, unless I want to be “one ofthe boys” and fill my ward- robe with dull, black pantsuits. We began the week shopping for pantsuits, which my mom was not particularly excited about. “Why would you try to dress like a man?” I agreed, but hoped that we would come across a suit with a little feminine flair. After all, I’m not the only woman in the workforce. I found some suit jackets that had a nice cut, cute buttons, or were made by a designer whose clothes usually fit me well. When it came time to try everything on in the dress- ing room, I had the worst of luck. Every time, the jacket would fit but the pants would be too short, too wide around the waist, or too By Campbell Burr OPINIONS EDITOR baggy, sometimes so much so that my body appeared lost in the suit (this is coming from someone who wears all—black outfits like they are her uniform). After trying on one particularly dreadful option, a positive idea came to mind. Well, if] get apromotion, at least I will be 100% can- fident that it s a result of my hard work. After a few more bad options, I decided to move on. Enough looking like a little girl trying on her father’s clothes, time to scan the racks for call. Maybe I could find a few suitable pieces and go from there. My mom decided that she would look through her closet as well, since we can usually fit into the same size. She lay all of her options across my bed. Did she think I was interning for a housewife? These were anything but business profes- sionall One dress was sleeveless with a high neckline and a white floral pattern. I put it on. I was missing one thing! An apron. An- other skirt was long and wavy, with a big bow After trying on one particularly dreadful option, a positive idea came to mind: Well, if I _get a promotion, at least I will be 100% confident that it s a result of my hard work. work dresses. This pursuit was not as successful as I had hoped and I began feeling like the world was out to get me. Either I) I would find a dress that fit me perfectly and then I would find some tacky detail, like a large silver zipper across the front, that made it unbearable (kind of like shopping for corduroys at Limited Too: finding the perfect pair and then turning them around to find sparkles across the back pockets). 2) I would come across lots of cute dresses at a place where I frequently shop but they would be made for someone with a curvier figure. Maybe I should check the chil- dren’s section? After chugging a Double-Big Gulp of Diet Coke, the ultimate moral booster, I decided that revisiting my wardrobe would be a good across the waist. I looked like a mom straight out of the 1950s. I imagined walking into work the first day and asking my boss where he had put my typewriter. My mom has continued shopping for me since and has fortunately had luck. Even though many of my work dresses will be black and have similar cuts, at least I will know that I am not wearing the same thing everyday. So, next time you hear a boy complain- ing about how hot he gets in his suit in the summer, remind him to be thankful that he can buy all of his suits, shirts, and ties in one place and never worry about whether or not he looks “work appropriate.” ‘P OCR::/Vol_115/WLURG39_RTP_20120430/WLURG39_RTP_20120430_003.2.txt MONDAY, APRIL 30,2012 3 - THE RING-TUM PHI ~ opinions Just about ' two weeks ago, after an unbear- ably long and T horribly predict- able « primary season, Mr. Santorum gave up his campaign for the Republi- can nomination for ' President following the release of poor polling numbers out of his home state of Pennsylvania and the illness of his daughter. This added to his poor per- formance in the primaries in Maryland, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin, where Mitt Romney swept the floor to 655 of the 1,144 delegates he needed to clinch the Republican nomination. This put him miles ahead of political arch-nemesis Rick Santorum, who at the time carried only 278, despite commanding wins in numerous states that truly represent the identity of America; states like Colora- do, Tennessee, North Dakota, Louisiana, Iowa, Alabama, and Mississippi. This string of losses and the overwhelming odds Santorum suffered put his cam- paign on the ropes. The majority of ana- lysts and my fellow Republican voters across the country at the time were ten- tatively removing their necks from their suspended belts (probably brown belts to go with those great Sperrys they bought last year) to delay the merciful embrace ofDeath, finally reconsidering the worth of our lives after Santorum’s concession. Regardless, Santorum’s refusal to bow to the harsh mistress that is reality contin- ued until his concession on April 10th, Santorum appeared dead-set on fighting. I’d like to offer my own opinion on why Santorum failed to clinch the nomina- By Yates Wilburn COLU M N I sr tion, some notes on his seemingly sense- less determination, and a few tips on what he could have done to improve his chances of victory. Santorum’s poor performance in the primaries can be partially attributed to the fact that he was very busy with other pursuits that took up much of his time. These notable endeavors include prominent roles on a couple of Comedy Central TV shows, expanding negative Catholic stereotypes to a new genera- tion of voters, not to mention efforts to weed out several undesirables from the ranks of the Republican Party (nobody we’d miss+just Hispanics, blacks, gays, women, poor people, college students, college grads, and white collar profes- I sionals).'However, his poor electoral performance, busy schedule, and not even math deterred him from seeking vindication in the eyes of the Republi- "5 can Party,vAmerica, and probably a fa- ther that never said,“Good job, son.”:':. No! He continues to fight on, for as he -. said (a mere week before conceding) it was “only half-time” in the Republican primary season, and this church league basketball game has a no mercy rule... unless what you’re referring to is San- torum’s mercy in conceding to the other team and letting all the bored parents go home and watch real basketball on TV. Rick Santorum’s determination and courage to tell the truth about the gay conspiracy to destroy the country, to mumble half-formulated racial slurs, and to stare American women right in the uterus with a straight face and tell them that the pill is dangerous has inspired me so much that l’ve decided to give him a few tips for any future pursuits for the White House. Here are a few things in his campaign he could have done better. If Santorum’s campaign was going to have any shot at the White House, it had to get back some ofthat momentum / ‘WHGOSHI’ ‘and then it had just a few short weeks before the Pennsylvania primary. What better way to do that than to roll out a fresh, new campaign slogan! Santorum needed something catchy, short, and memorable that really_sp_‘o_ke_to the issues that Amer- ilcanisiicare about} Here at‘€’a“fevt?g:sugges- tions: r , Rick Santorum for President: 1. “Protecting your right to re-consi‘ er your party affiliation!” 2. “Le,ading.,ttte_ fight against all them “‘ smarty coll; with their big words and fancy 1earnin’1!?.’: .3. “Defending'America’s youthufrorn F the dark arts and math!” r '4. “If I can’t be President,‘.nvo R 1ic9n_c.a.n!” 5."r“Protectix:t§?? . BL,f§iMO!’ and Willis is all lil