OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20130429/WLURG39_RTP_20130429_001.2.txt 37 3 . 755 R552. V. I i 5 r“‘.0 . 2 0 WASHINGTON AND Liar UNIVERSITY « I S I . MONDAY,ltl 013 BY THE STUDENTS AND FORSTHE STUDENTS SINCE 1897 VOLUMEOXV||,NUMBER20 insil-SK ZI)¢:vv:I:'.|.to , D — V . ommu . um mm news | 3 Students are “Boston Strong” Students across the coun- trfy take action in su port 0 the bombing inci ents in Boston. By Lindsey Burke STAFF warren Several W&L students opt out of classes for spring 0 term by spring option— 4%; ing. See how students are ' spending their spring op- tion this term. go social Friend us on Faoebook! K . @ringtumphi Have a story idea for us? Send it to us on Twitter or Facebook with \“ \t\\39 Challenging ' at d d . I s. I S stpicture 0pinions...5 , Ans &ufe___6 I 0 . _ g ‘ n _ é ‘_ H V g V _ We’9«L semor exposes a spo,._.,___g - T V g 2, __ ~ _ . - V. frustrated zmage of Afrzca m e T ’ ‘ ‘_ s so -A 1 Western Media . ‘ A 0'. N V S . , . ' . V . :5‘ By Andrea Owen X Wednesday ' ‘ ‘ STAFF WRITER partly cloudy ’ Atrica’s image in Westem media needs to be I 0 0 , challenged, said sophomore jOLlI'I’1al1SI11 major Waringa ' I .- Kamau in her 10-minute documentary. Kamau, who grew up in Kenya, wrote and narrated ‘ the documentary, “Africa in Western Media,” for her Thursday ‘ = , V , . ~ - Race, Religion, and Media class last term. The video MOSH)’ Sunny . has gotten over 2,000 views on YouTube since being 49 0. 710 ' ~ uploaded about three weeks ago. At the beginning of the video, Kamau said she has . been fortunate to be able to travel across Africa. Friday “The Africa that I have grown to love and call home 7» g pa c|oudy ,__ is beautiful, bursting with cultural diversity, and it has a . ” guy 0 Promising future,” she said. 49 ' But she said that the image of Afiica in Western , media is predominantly negative. , . g __ i . Saturday A‘f:1Isike Afiiclans, I am frutszatedkt/>y tthe way i ' '- - ica an 1 peop e are presen e in es em onns s ' S‘ 0 Mosuy cloudy of media,” she said. “Africans are always starving and - 53 0_ 0 dying and caught up in never—ending war.” _W_ in the film, Kamau asked Washington and Lee d , students to describe how they think Africa is portrayed 8”” 0)’ , in newspapers and television. Few Showers ' , ‘ , p _ ‘_ y Students mentioned starving children, AIDS, 1 4 0 0 ' animals, the savanna, hot weather,‘mosqu_ito nets, 4 4 4 54 ' . 8 poverty; and poor education. . _ _ _ _ However, Kamau said in an interview that not all Monday . &L_ Men’sér%n_nIs;|:s %n|;aA<():f tltrle ma_ny tfiamsgthat taghigéed sticcgsslfugl refsulttis in 0DA(c:l’s. Men's Students beiievethese gtereotypm ’ enms WOI1 - In e C amplons ID 8 ams fl ewa 6|‘ 0 e e 0|‘ 9 SGCOI1 CONSECU- 3h0We|'S ive season this Sunday. Photo courtesy of generalssports.com. V continued on page 2 53°-72° OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20130429/WLURG39_RTP_20130429_002.2.txt 2 0 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 M 0 N DAY, APRIL 29, 2013 Prospective students get a glimpse ByYejean Kim STAFF WRITER if '-. " ' ' "-'.«.,ow_ .4-....;.A<-. _, _ - wot; ...».....a.... . , rut,-nuelnownznvo . _. . =4’ """“"“"*f1='VI2o-nnv:r.v'vy1- . _ .. .,-,... « .,_ _ v . «z ,....,.,'.“, Admitted students and their families got a full tour of the W&L campus last Wednesday. EANKIIVM / staff writer Washington and Lee University was flooded with prospective students this . past Wednesday. According to Chris Browning, an admissions counselor, 211 accepted students were welcomed to campus. In- cluding their families, over 500 visitors were on campus that day. Visitors came from 30 different states, as well as the District of Colum- bia. However, exact statistics will not be available until later this summer, as the , Office is “still in the process” of admit- . ting students, according to Mr. Brown- mg. The day included a continental breakfast, followed by an introduction to W&L with Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William M. Hartog and President Ruscio. Various panels addressed questions not answered during the introduction and student life presentation. A lun- cheon was served on Canaan Green, allowing students and their families to bask in the sunshine and beauty of W&L’s campus. The admitted students experienced a student activities presentation followed by tours of all residence halls. The vari- ous academic departments also had open houses. While Accepted Students’ Day is held mostly for students in closer prox- imity, current W&L students also hosted students from states that were further away. Jacob Strauss, a first-year student, hosted two students, one from Dallas, Texas and one from Colorado Springs, Colo. “They’re both trying to decide be- tween W&L and one other comparable school, so I tried to just be honest and straightforward about the school.” he said. First-year Joy Putney had an accepted student from California. “She was look- ing at the same program I’m in, and I re- ally love the program so of course I tried to sell it to her,” she said. Presenting a full picture of W&L also meant that both hosts took their students out. 8’née/eotilii “Hands Down the Tastiest Truckstop in America” - The Travel Channel, Most Extreme Truckstops Home Cooked Meals & Southern Hospitality! Order from our complete menu 0r Join us for one of our ALL YOU CAN EAT Buffets! Daily Breakfast Bar Monday- Friday 6 am - 10:30 am Saturday& Sunday6 am - 1:30 pm Daily Hot Bar Monday - Thursday 11 am - 10 pm Soup, Salad, & Fruit Bar All Week 10:30 am - 11 pm Friday Night Seafood Buffet 5 pm - 10 pm Saturday Night Pork BBQ Buffet 5 pm - 10 pm Sunday Baked Chicken & Pork Loin11 am - 9 pm Friday & Saturday Late Night Breakfast Buffet 11 pm - 2 am Order Breakfast 24 Hours a day, 7 days a week! I-81 & I-64, Exit 195, 2516 N. Lee Hwy., Lexington, VA 24450 540-463-3478 www.|eehi.com See our menu online Find us on Face book Breaking the Bank By Rachel Adams—Heard STAFF WRITER While the Washington and Lee Spring Break week is free of academic pressures, the travel culture brings a fi- nancial stressor. W&L students ventured near and far for their 2013 spring break. Many stayed within the country, renting houses in Georgia, Alabama and Florida, while others ventured to Cabo San Lucas and Punta Cana. One thing all these trips had in common, however, was a price. Senior Caki Buckthal was one of the more adventurous travelers this spring break. She, along with over 100 other W&L seniors, flew to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for a round- trip price of $550, not including the $60 worth of gas it took to get to the Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C. Once they arrived, the cost of staying at the all-in- $1” clusive resort amounted to $554 per per- son. When factoring in $50 for airport food, Buckthal spentjust over $1200 on her senior spring break trip. _ While upperclassmen tend to choose more expensive and exotic locations for their final undergraduate spring break, first-years and sophomores look domes- tically when picking the perfect spring break spot. First-year Hays Cochran organized her sorority pledge class’ trip to Gulf Shores. For their beachfront property that housed 40, each person paid $357. Cochran collected an additional $30 for a community food fund, which paid for meals the pledge class cooked together. The steepest price was gas for the 827 miles from Lexington to Gulf Shores,- which amounted to almost $500 for Co- chran and her friends to take a fellow sorority sister’s car. An alternative to the relaxing and sandy break spent by many W&L stu- dents was the Reformed University Fel- lowship’s trip to Chicago to help Sun- shine Gospel Ministries and their fight against poverty. First-year Payson Miller paid an initial cost of $540, which included a place to stay at one of Sunshine’s facili- ties and most of his food. Miller said he spent an additional $60 on food and $10 on souvenirs for a total cost of $610. “Even though it was comparable in price to a beach trip, I got the added benefit of personal growth and serving others,” said Miller. » HANNAH MELKUN / photographer ,7 1‘ OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20130429/WLURG39_RTP_20130429_003.2.txt L. MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013 3 ° THE RING-TUM PHI - Unitin By Hannah Howard STAFF WRITER On the days following April 15, it was nearly impossible to tune into any news source that wasn’t talking about the bombings at the Boston Marathon. The nation was on high alert as people across the country anxiously watched thestory unfold.. The immediate coverage of every new detail in the crisis pinpointed the w_ay that news and media have evolved. Information poured in from every pos- sible source. Regular people, notjust of- ficials, got involved with the reporting process, giving the situation an; interac- tive element. Washington and Leejoumalism pro- fessor Claudette Artwick said, “Instead of having th_e authorities of the main- stream media conveying their expert knowledge, coverage of an event like Boston is becoming more ofa conversa- tion.” (A full reportof Artwick’s com- ments can be found on the W&L web- site.) ‘ Regardless of potential positive or negative consequences of such quick and interactive reporting, this change in coverage style heavily impacted the . la‘ » ,. break at the time of the bombing. Many were frantically checking to see if their friends were safe not by going to news sources but by searching for Facebook or Twitter updates. The use of social media in report- “I think so many people wanted to help because it hit so close to home for a lot of us. I was so shocked when I first heard. It could have been me there. LILLIE JOHNSTON ‘16 way in which students across the coun- try heard about and responded to the bombings. Many students first heard about the attack through some kind of social media. This was particularly true for W&L students, who were on spring ing also gave students a way to quickly organize and respond. Despite campus shut downs at many of the major univer- sities in the Boston area, students joined together to do what they could. ‘W&L first-year Lillie Johnston said: “It was incredible to see how so many communities came together to support the city. All ofthe efforts and responses of such a large number of people made me really proud to be a Bostonian.” Two students from Boston Col- lege organized- an event called “Boston Marathon: The Last Five” that will be held on May 3 to provide support for the community and to gather donations. It started as a small event publicized on Facebook and already has over 18,000 planning to attend. Boston University created a scholar- ship to honor a student who was killed in the bombings. In addition, one ofthe fraternities at BU changed their annual laser tag tournament to a fundraiser for Boston. Students everywhere joined in the media conversation by posting on Face- book and Twitter with updates, support statements and personal responses to the g after Boston bombings situation. , Students at the University of Kansas started an online fundraising campaign to assist victims of the explosion. Com- munity runs are also being set up across the country to show support for all in- volved with the Boston Marathon and to gather funds. These runs will be held at the University of Massachusetts, Syra- cuse University, the University of South Carolina and other universities. At ‘W&L, students who are from the Boston area promoted the sale of “Bos- ton Strong” t-shirts. The phrase has become a sort of rallying cry for all of those affected by the attack. “I think so many people wanted to help because it hit so close to home for a lot of us,” said Johnston. “I was so shocked when l first heard. It could have been me there.” ' STAFF WRITER Devastation continues in Texas By Randy Karlson ~* a . .n -.p. Explosions at a fertilizer plant in the small town of West, Texas killed 14 people and injured about 200. Explosions at a fertilizer plant dev- astated the town of West, Texas on April 17. The_blast killed 14 people and injured an additional 200. The event closely fol- lowed the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15. _ West is a small town 70 miles south of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and about 20 miles north of Waco,‘ Texas. It has a population just fewer than 3,000 people and is part of McLennan County. The West Fertilizer Plant exploded at around 8 p.m. and was caused by a fire that started around 7:30 p.m. on April 17. Though the source of the. explosion is known, the cause of the fire is not and is still under investigation. The explo- sion shook houses over 50 miles away and registered a 2.1-magnitude earth- quake by the U.S. Geological Survey. Oflicials from the Safety Engineer- ing Network based out of Milford, Ohio said that a possible cause of the fire is a substance called ammonium nitrate that was stored in the West Fertilizer Plant in excess of 270 tons. This substance is explosive when mixed with a flammable substance and exposed to a flame, and was used in the Oklahoma City bomb- ing in 1995. ProPublica reports that the Occupa- tional Safety and Health Administration had not inspected the plant since 1985 and the plant’s owners had not reported how much possibly flammable fertil- izer they housed to the Department of Homeland Security. This raises many questions about whether the plant was operating under safe conditions and if the ammonium nitrate was housed safe- ly. Even though there are many ques- tions about the specifics of the explo- sion, there has been an incredible out- pouring of support for the victims and the entire town of West during this tough time. The close proximity to the Bos- ton Bombing brought the United States together in a somber reflection and this was expressed throughout many memo- rials and tributes in Texas and the rest of the country. President Obama spoke at the West, Texas memorial service. “You have been tested. West,” he said. “You have been tried. You have gone through fire. But you are and always will be surrounded by an abundance of love.” Obama spoke of the resilience of West and America as a whole. “America needs towns like West,” he said. “That’s what makes this country great, is towns like West.” Not only did President Obama sup- port the victims ofthe explosion, but lo- cal sports teams like the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars also gave support. The Rangers collected relief supplies at the gate of their game against the Los Ange- les Angels on April 23 as well as money throughout the course of the game from fans and the Texas Ranger Baseball Foundation, raising over $40,000. The Dallas Stars Foundation raised over $3,000 during their game against the Vancouver Canucks on April 22. This explosion also affected lives at Washington and Lee due to our school’s large Texas population. Many students reside in Dallas, just 70 miles north of the affected area, including Hal Hundley. ‘ Hundley was home in Dallas when the explosion happened. “I was stunned when I heard about it,” said Hundley. “Mostly just hard to hear that happened in such close timing to the Boston Mara- thon bombings. I don’t know anyone af- fected and I don’t have family out there luckily, but it was just mostly a stunning thing to hear about.” OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20130429/WLURG39_RTP_20130429_004.2.txt mtg-.\-'1"-t-,’2_:.€=‘,! ‘E’ l-l’-‘H’-“.4i‘.l-‘2Il1C%r1(I)1;lS te in « I if excited about thegoveminge win big: weuklngew we sydney ended the Generals’ season the Old Dominion Athletic Conf§r:nce 5 iii;-Iiffiiffrlgrrzrrrr ' fl ll ' 1 °°”ld Play berrer ‘hen we r‘ ” Waxter Sale “We I ,, Tournament Championships this Saturday. l =' *7»!'!§A‘.f5T;§’ I 1.5’ if Jr 1'’: :3 Went into [lasl Wedr‘eSdeY’5l ganle really tlylng_t° Samrdayflhe Generals defeatedtop f‘ .7 ,v,p‘.r-r='ff';’:”.r fifigwi clegn upktline little things likelcatchingandthrowmg dedc .lf d. h ODAC .fi 1, .. - _;_. ,1” viii‘ _ -_-gr)‘ ,,zf,g ; an wo gmoreco esivey. 9 }::l3_ U1 or mt e , gem] nas ,‘T,:'r‘”" 9" lw l _ -. “ , ‘'°' ‘‘ " ‘I Teamdynamicshasplayedahugeroleinthe W&L gained an 8_5 lead by the second 1., g ' '_ Generals’ rise to success andtthheir current peak. The number of games in the Big Ten’s football season start- Ultimately Pulled 014 the el0Se '1 1 " .;- be:1El:c:::i:ll;:f/Sgrgfiillelhviiloli23:11:/ltzaglfiogslgjgo . ing this fall. The conference will be divided into two divi- l The Generals. Were C0T1r1