OCR::/Vol_097_098/WLURG39_RTP_19970909/WLURG39_RTP_19970909_001.2.txt K including major revisions of the Automatic Rule and the Pass/Fail Policy ‘ PAGE 2 , Washington and Lee University returning to several policy changes, fling-tum lflljt Summer flix: P111’ film critic Alex Christensen breathes a sigh of relief as the curtain falls on a disappointing season JAMES G. LEYBURN l.lBi-IAH . ‘ WASHINGTON 8: LEE lJNlVER5t%' Students get a head start on the year wi snazzyfi GJIS —— a survey of campus student parking lots. And they're off.’ Tuesday SEPTEMBER 9, 1997 V‘ VOLUME 9976 . .« GAINING THE FRESHMAN 15 Frozen yogurt. Tacos. Chocolate mousse. Marshmallow flufl After a few months at the D-hall, the first class of the new millennium may be less trim by the next century. ~W&L’s rank is movin’ BY ANDREA EWING —j—AssocIATE EDITOR T Washington and Lee’s standing rose from 12th to 8th in the national ranking of liberal arts colleges in September’s U.S. News and World 4 Report. According to the 1997 “Best Col- leges” issue of the magazine, Wash- ington and Lee is one of the ten best national liberal arts colleges. The Vuniversity is in a six-way tie with schools such as Bryn Mawr College, Middlebury College and Davidson College. “We are tied with other fine schools much like Washington and Lee,” Dean of Students David Howison said. “It is an honor to be ranked in the Top Ten.” ‘Science center damaged in ‘$30,000 prank BY SYBIL PRINCE W&L received an overall score of 91 out of a possible 100. The aca- demic reputation of the school rated a 3.2 with the top possible being a 4.0. The school is among the top ten uni- versities in the country in other cat- egories like graduation and retention, faculty resources and student selectiv- ity. “I believe the criteria used to make the rankings are valid measures of quality,” Howison said. According to U.S. News and World Report, there are 159 national liberal arts colleges based on the cat- egories established by the Carnegie Foundation of the Advancement of Teaching. The key criteria in judging the schools were listed as acceptance rates, graduation rates and classes of un- der 20. W&L is one of the schools with low acceptance rates with only 34% of those applying actually being accepted. At the same time, W&L An apparent prank and a malfunction over the sum- mer at the new $20 million science center will cost Wash- ington and Lee over $30,000. An emergency shower outwash station on the 2nd floor was pulled by an unknown person and was left run- ning, causing water damage to three floors. Repairs in the amount of $30,000 took one week as ceiling tiles had to be replaced. STAFF WRITER has one of the A leaky pipe burst in the animal laboratory above Dr. Helen I’Anson’s office causing extensive damage. 4 “Some of the things damaged were invaluable, like “her research notes,” Erika Woodson, a Robert E . Lee scholar who worked in the Biology lab this summer said. Director of Buildings and Grounds Scott Beebe said this was due to a malfunction in the deionized water sys- ‘item in the new science building. President Elrod feels there is no need to fear acts of pranks or vandalism to the major investment. “The students take good care of their school,” Elrod said. Whatever the case of events this summer, the new the crimes. science center is fully functional. The dedication of the building will be held in the second week of October. THEFT ALERT More than $700 in cash has been stolen from various areas around cam- pus this past week. Money was stolen from rooms in Gaines Dormitory, Woods Creek Apartments, and from cars parked in the Law School and the Corral. Security Chief Young asks anyone who sees a non-student on campus to‘ immediately inform the security office. Young states that there might be a connection among highest graduation rates, boasting 87% of all entering students finishing a degree. “Rankings are valuable in alert- ing students to the best schools in the country,” Howison said. “There is no question that as students and parents look for colleges they turn to re- sources such as US. News and World Report.” W&L also has an impressive freshman retention rate of 93% and a student-faculty ratio of 10- 1. The univer- sity has 67% of BYOB: it’s the law of the land BY KATHRYN MAYURNIK Te NEWS EDITOR YOB is here, and if things work the way the Interfrater- nity Council hopes, it is here to stay. This does not mean that drinking will end at fraternity parties, it just means that instead of the fraternities footing the bill, it’s the partier’s penny —- or a willing brother’s. The IFC decided at the end of last year that fraternities are to adhere a “Bring Your Own Booze” policy at fraternity houses, meaning that frater- nities can no longer use house funds to purchase alcohol. “Students who want to drink at fraternity parties have two choices now,” IFC President Jason Callen said. “They could bring their own alcohol or they could drink alcohol purchased by brothers.” According to Callen, BYOB has actually always been policy in the IFC Constitution, but it has never been en- forced. The IF C meets this week with fra- ternities to discuss ways they can carry out BYOB. Fraternities do not have to have enforce BYOB the same way, but will each come up with a system that works best for them, Callen said. on up its classes under 20 students and 75% of the freshmen were in the top 10% of their high school class. Freshman Jean Rowan said she chose W&L because it was a good school with an excellent business pro- gram. “I liked the small school and safe atmosphere,” she said. She also pointed out that other factors not in- cluded in the ratings such as the Honor System and the speaking tradition also helped her to make her final college decision. “It was that it all came together,” Rowan said. Howison also noted that key things go beyond the rankings tend to influence potential students more af- ter they have visited the campus. He feels that such aspects of the school make it stand out from the others in a student’s potential decision. Washington and Lee has been steadily climbing the rankings of U.S. News and World Report in the last few years, and this will potentially bring an even higher caliber of student to the campus. Dennis Manning, Dean of the Freshmen Pro- QDSEERANKPAGEZ Some fraternities might use a tag bar, where students would place their alcohol behind the bar. Others mays use a ticket system. Brothers would distribute tickets to students that they could trade in for a share of a particu- lar brother’s alcohol. Students could also request alcohol at parties from specific brothers. “This might make a fraternity brother think twice about giving a beer to a drunk person,” Callen said. “Fratemties were always liable, but now the brothers will be personally liable for the alcohol they distribute.” This policy might be more of a shock to Washington and Lee women, who have traditionally received alco- hol with no questions asked. “But on the other hand, what fratemtiy guy will refuse giving a woman a beer?” Callen said. The penalty for a fratemity's first offense of the BYOB policy is a $2,000 fine and two weeks of social probation. A second time offense is a $2,500 fine, social probation for the rest of the term and a potential refer- ral to the Student Affairs Committee. The SAC could suspend a fraternity charter, kick them off campus or im- pose other stringent punishments. “A third offense would mean very serious problems for the frater- nity,” Callen said. “Maybe I’m just being optimistic, but I don’t think that it will ever get as far as a third offense, or‘ even a second.” Other IFC changes include ban- ning fratemties from having grain al- cohol on the premises. This fell un- der the existing regulation that pro- hibits communal sources, such as kegs and barrels of grain alcohol, but now it will be enforced more strictly. IFC will observe parties to ensure that the policies are being enforced. V “I think that it is a positive step for IFC and the fraternities them- selves,” Callen said. “This is some- thing that we’ve done completely on our own without orders from the Hill like Winter Rush.” Winter Rush was instituted last year in place of the long standing Fall Rush. “I think that BYOB will reform irresponsible and unsafe behavior that often went on at W&L,” Callen said. W&L President John Elrod is supportive of the new policies. “It was refreshing to read the new policies. I do think it will be a chal- lenge to enforce them,” Elrod said. “If this is enforced, alcohol abuse at W&L will disappear.” Dead rats scurry mysteriously from freezer to VMI BY KATHRYN MAYURNIK —j—--— NEWS EDITOR Virginia Military Institute Post Po- lice Larry Coffey called it a hate crime. Some called it a harmless prank. But no one can deny the strange cir- cumstances surrounding the discovery of 24 dead rats accompanied by a “Save the Males” sign found by children on the grounds in front of Superintendent Josiah Bunting’s house. Authorities believe that the act was committed by a Washington and Lee student. Coffey believes now that it was probably a prank, but at the time, it looked like something much more se- rious. “It was almost like a civil rights violation, like burning a cross,” Coffey said. “One gender was singled out in this prank, and that makes it a threat. It is a situation that could have gotten se- rious.” The rats and the sign were discov- ered on August 20,just two days after the anival of the first female cadets at VIVH. Chief Coffey contacted W&L Se- curity Chief Michael Young after the incident. Young traced the rodents to ' a group of 100 that were to be inciner- ated by two W&L students working for Building and Grounds over the sum- mer. _ The unnamed students claim that they took 24 rats and placed them in a freezer to play a prank on a friend. “It was a get-even kind of thing,” Young said. The rats mysteriously made their way out of the freezer and over to VMI. “I think it was kind of funny,” a VMI cadet said. “The school was try- ing so hard with the press to keep ev- erything nice and pretty for the arrival of the women, and then something like this happened to mess it all up.” ' There is an enormous amount of circumstantial evidence that places the blame on a W&L student, Young said, but there is still the possibility that it was not someone from W&L. President John Elrod called the prank “vulgar” and called Bunting to apologize for the incident. He also i®? heart attack. of admissions. W&L geology professor dies July 21 at age 66 Geology Professor Samuel Joseph Kozak, 66, died on July 21, 1997 at Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Lexington after suffering a Kozak was an important part of the Washington and Lee community. He was the W&L representative for the Keck Consortium, an undergraduate research project which sought to improve the quality of geology education at 12 liberal arts member colleges. He was also a dedicated supporter of the W&L athletic program. Kozak’s degrees include a B.S. from Bates College in 1954, an M.S. from Brown University in 1958 and a Ph.D from the State University of Iowa in 1961. Kozak joined the W&L staff in 1961. He is survived by his wife, Julia Marie Kozak, W&L associate dean Dr. Samuel Kozak Bsrsr GREEN/RING TUM Pm OCR::/Vol_097_098/WLURG39_RTP_19970909/WLURG39_RTP_19970909_002.2.txt ITGWS lectronic renovation’ SEPTEMBER 9, 1997 9 of student computing BY Curr Wooiuzv Cow EDITOR Returning students will find dra- matic changes in student computing awaiting them this school year. Per- haps the most outwardly apparent changes have been in the public com- puter labs around campus, but the electronic renovations of the campus computing environment can be felt even in campus housing. Incoming students will not have had an opportunity to become famil- iar with the older systems around the University; however, even they will feel the benefits of the improved lab and dormitory computing strategies. This year’s incoming freshman class represents the first class to be auto- matically assigned network accounts on the new student computing server, Jefferson, instead of the old UNIX server, Liberty. Returning students will retain their Liberty accounts in ad- dition to accounts on the new system. The Jefferson server is running the latest version of Novell’s lntranetware, a file server operating system which is far easier to integrate with today’s \}Vindows95 operating system than past systems. This case of integration allows for seamless file transfers and printing over the net- work, as well as the use of the Pegasus e-mail program, which is more user- friendly than its UNIX counterpart, Pine. The first minor obstacle students must overcome to familiarize them- selves with the new environment is the login procedure. New students’ usemames are their full last names followed by their first initial. Retum- ing students retain the same usernames they have on Liberty, which have nomially been their first initial followed by the first seven let- ters of their last name. There is a catch, however, which requires further explanation. Users of lntranetware do not actually log into an individual server; they log into a tree of network resources called the Novell Directory Services. This can give them access to resources scattered among multiple servers. The catch is that to access the tree, the user must specify to the login program which ‘branch’ of the tree contains his or her user-object. Students are divided into sub- branches by class year; this means that students must also specify their class _ C C Improved network file sharing is one of the major enhancements provided by the new system. year to log into the network. This is accomplished by adding a period and the class year after the usemame, as in smithj. 01 for an undergraduate freshman or smithj. 001 for a first-year law student. Improved network file sharing is one of the major enhancements pro- vided by the new system. Students can save documents in one of several places on the network for easy access from their rooms and the labs. The ‘H:’ drive is mapped for each user to that user’s individual home directory. The home directory is personal space in which only that individual has read or write privileges. The ‘K:’ drive is mapped to a shared workspace. Any- one can read or write to this area, and items placed there are subject to dele- tion at any time. However, it is ideal for short-temi storage or transfer of files from one user to another. The ‘L:’ drive is reserved for course work. Professors wishing to utilize the space can contact University Computing, and a separate area for their class will be created under the ‘L:’ drive. Stu- dents enrolled in the class will be given access to the files and folders under that course’s directory as the Professor sees fit. The other major benefit students will see is in the network printing arena. Returning students may won- der why there are no longer card- reader devices attached to all of the laser printers in the labs, and why the dot-matrix printers have disappeared. The card-readers are gone because accounting for the lasers is now handled automatically by the server once a user has logged in. Printing charges are assessed at $.10 per page, and are billed at the end of the term. However, undergraduate students have been given a $20 print subsidy, so the first 200 pages printed per temi are fiee. Users wishing to check their printing balance may do so by logging into any lab machine and then click- ing on the ‘$’ symbol in the bottom right-hand comer of the screen. The dot-matrix printers have been re- moved because of their age and high- maintenance nature. The print sub- sidy is intended to make up for the lack of a free printing facility that the removal of these older printers has caused. University Computing has high hopes that these changes to the stu- dent computing environment will fa- cilitate the ease of use of the University’s ever-growing base of computer resources and will allow users to take better advantage of the computing power available to them. Questions about the procedures for the use of computing resources on cam- pus can be answered online at the ‘Computing at W&L’ section of the University’s website, or by contact- ing the University Computing HelpDesk at 462-HELP (extension 4357 from on-campus). £9 RAN K CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 gram, is pleased with W&L’s rank- ing, but feels that the university would still be a superior institution without the status of ranking. “I can’t imagine reducing the quality of an institution like W&L and reducing it to numerical rankings,” Manning said. “I am pleased that we’ve moved up in the rankings, but I don’t think that it’s something that we should be jumping up and click- ing our heels about.” RATS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 urges the culprit to come forward and admit the deed. “It is the honorable thing to do,” he said. Young asks anyone with informa- tion about the incident to contact him. an e Phi took a little road trip iiiiiiii in V ing lots. What we found was enough style to fit a show-_ room and more than enough street value to support a third world country. Yuppie Cars - 52 Sedans - 26 » sport Utility Vehicles - 51 Luxury - 14 Saturn: - 8 Trucks - 7 Convertibles 6 Sports Cars - 4 Grandma Cars - 4 Retu m i ng W&L V students face * l' po icy changes . BY JASON ZACI-IER —S—— EXECUTIVE EDITOR There are several changes greet- ing Washington and Lee Students as they come back to school this fall. While most of the changes are minor, several will have an impact on students. “Some of it is a desire to be pre- cise in the language for students and for legal reasons,” said University Registrar Scott Dittman. Some of the changes include flb Changes to five majors: Chemistry, Classics, English, Music and Neuroscience. QD Interdepartmental 110 was added to the general education options for Social Science. fit: The minimum grade-point average for a major in Independent Work has been raised to 2.75. _ The SJC’s policies and procedures are spelled out in the course catalog. According to Dittman, perhaps the biggest change to the catalog lies within the Automatic Rule. The Automatic Rule changes were confirmed by the Committee on Courses and Degrees and then by the full faculty. The changes were made in March and takeeffect this fall. The Automatic Rule has been expanded to include students who have under a 1.0 GPA for two con- secutive terms. Dittman cited a stu- dent who had a 0.0 GPA afier fall, winter and spring terms. Under the old 7 catalog, the student could not be re- moved from the university until June, but with the changes, he could have been removed afier Winter Term. Any student falling under the’ Automatic Rule is subject to review by the Committee on the Automatic Rule and Readmissions. The other substanitive change is y with overload classes. Previously, stu- dents had six weeks to drop an over- load class, but that has been.changed to three weeks. The deadline for this tem is October 1. Also, late pass/fail‘ declarations will require a fee. Students are urged to visit the Registrar’s web page at http:// www.wlu.edu/~registra for more in-..‘ formation about the changes, and con- sult with your adviser about changes to your major. The Source Entertainment (540) 463-9800 Stonewall Square. Lexington Virginia 24450 ~ Special Student Offer: Show Student ID and Get 1.) Free Poster of your choice and 2.) Either cassingle of your choice (a $3.65 value) or a Free movie rental. (Certain Restrictions Apply) September Specials: All Full Length CD's — $2.50 OH‘ All Full Length Cassettes - $1.50 OH‘ 99 cent Action Movie Selection OCR::/Vol_097_098/WLURG39_RTP_19970909/WLURG39_RTP_19970909_003.2.txt g. .. no hI.V_U‘ x-’.‘s.3.:_v \ .».v.u .9 .v.'>'.~. .-.v.~.~ .» u -4* ~41 -.\ -av vayq ~.- ‘I av-. ww n ~. ~ .~-. ~. ., , -» n . » . . la .. ‘.0 u -.- ».,v x. .. v vw.-.~ ~.-.v.~.n. x.. x..»_ -34.‘-.\ .v.. ,\.u_.\ 4...» - .»..v<..v..~.-.vv_-.«.v.v.,- A X L _ L h-rt. rte‘-'1 -. - £01: an are re: U . v .'.'¢'A"A'¢VA' .-u -\ - 5Q'm&'§"L'L'lQ .%.~'..1‘$~. . 5 .52 ..«.. . SEPTEMBER 9, 1997 HODGES NAMED TO KNIGHT CHAIR Professor Louis W. Hodges was named to the new Knight Chair in June. The Chair,’made possible by a $1.5 million endowment from the John S. and James C. Knight Foundation, is a professorship that concen- trates on journalism ethics. W&L PROFESSOR TO GIVE RECITAL Professor of Music Timothy Gaylard will present a piano recital at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. ‘ Gaylard will be performing “Sextet” by Donitotti and I Schubert’s Fantasia in C major, among other works. The recital will be held in the Lenfest Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 16. Admis- sion is free and a reception in the lobby will follow the performance. FALL CONVOCATION On Wednesday Sept. lo, the W&L year will officially begin with the traditional convocation. The Fall convocation speaker is Ruel W. Tyson, J. ’53, professor of religious studies and director of the Institute for Arts and Humanities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The event will begin at S p.m. on the front lawn. . MATRICULATION Undergraduate Matriculation will begin at 8:30 am. on Wednesday. The University Registrar’s homepage claims that the shortest lines will be between 9:00 and ll:30 a.m. IMAGES OF JAPAN ON DISPLAY Artist Nancy Dahlstrom will be showing her etchings and monotypes of Japan on Sept. 16 - Oct 9. On Sept. 18 at 5:30, Dahlstrom will have an opening reception and talk to kick of the event. The artist invites the visitors to “feel the breeze” of Japan with her. ACTIVITIES FAIR ON WEDNESDAY The Activities Fair will be held on Wednesday from noon to 1:30 p.m. on the front lawn. Students are encouraged to attend and learn more about the various activities on campus. Rain site: Warner Center. - Compiled by Tom Wadlow Obituaries TOM RIEGEL Journalism emeritus professor. O.W.(Tom) Riegel, 94, a world au- thority on propaganda, died August 22, 1997 at Stonewall Jackson Hos- pital in Lexington, Va., following a minor stroke the previous day. His contributions to the study of journalism at Washington and Lee are legendary. He introduced the study of film to the school and started W&L’s first radio station, WLUR- FM, in 1967. He came to W&L in 1930 as an assistant professor, and was named director of the department ofjoumalism and mass communica- tions in 1934, a position he held for 34 years. “He was a master ofjoumalism,” author Philippe Labro said. “He is the stuff that W&L legends are made of.” Riegel made a name for himself in the field of propaganda and public opinion research with the 1934 publi- cation of his award winning study, Mobilizting for Chaos:The Story of New Propaganda.” During World War II he took a leave of absence from W&L to become principal propa- ganda analyst in the Office of War In- formation. He was survived by his wife, five childrem 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. BOYD HORACE WILLIAMS Boyd Horace Williams Jr.,75, former assistant football coach at W&L died on August 19, 1997 at Vir- ginia Veterans Care Center in Roanoke after suffering a heart attack. Williams was a I943 Syracuse graduate, where he played four years of football. Williams played for the NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1947 season. Williams coached football at W&L for 37 years. He is survived by his wife, two brothers, one sister and two grandchil- dren. IIGWS PAGE 3 The College Town Shop 111 W. Nelson St. MASTERCARD - WSA — AMERICAN EXPRESS — HOUSE CHARGES 0% tllll‘ Men’s Suits and Sportcoats and Ladies Sweaters Our way of welcoming * all our students! Serving the community since 1926. Watch for other upcoming specials in future issues. *2’ k‘ T‘§;’=‘I.”7“ Experience Springtime In the Nation's Capital 0 Learn From and Network Among "Washington |nsiders" 0 live 3 blocks from the White House 0 Produce Radio and TV Advertisements in Campaign Simulations 0 Bike and Rollerblade by DC’s Cherry Blossoms 0 Compete as Consulting Groups on Strategic Lobbying Plans Make Connections to launch YOUR CAREER The The Graduate r e - SCIIOOI Of Political ...s.....o.o~ DC Management GW is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution Spring, Summer, and Fall Sessions GW emester in Washington An Ilmlcrgratluatc Progrant in Political ltlanagcinent For More Information, And To Receive An A lication, Contact: PP (800) 367-4776, (202) 994-6000 htlpz//www.gwu.edU/~gspm Now Accepting Applications On A Rolling Admissions Basis. Apply NOW! Spring Session Deadline: October 3l, I997 7 NORTH MAIN STREET LEXINGTON, VA 5 ‘zit _ilIi' ‘DAN WELCOME BACK STUDENTS 2'72 us on tflepcztzb for your favorite mixed drink from our lounge. FL’; I‘ See our website at httpNvww.webIeat-inc.com/sheridanlivery 35 North Main Street - Call for reservations 464-1887 OCR::/Vol_097_098/WLURG39_RTP_19970909/WLURG39_RTP_19970909_004.2.txt -«»:§.3:’-:i.'*::§‘:‘3$':'Z:¥«‘:‘E:¥~..e«. W bets _2£aJLl.eu1nn¢dl BY ALEX CHRISTENSEN FIIMCRITIC Well, the results are in. The highly anticipated sum- mer of ‘97 is over, the most recent action-adventure mas- terpieces have unspooled to record box office numbers—~ and can you really remember a favorite moment from any of them? Here’s a short review of the disastrous summer that was, with its high points and low points and some notable points in between. Catchphrase of the summer. You may have read the \ tag and thought, “Get off my plane!” or “Woo-wee you good—lookin’ l” or “If I let you suck on my tongue, would you be grateful?” or even, God help us, that obscene thing a whacked-out and whacked—on Demi Moore screams at Viggo Mortensen in one of the summer’s worst crap-fests, but no. You didn’t think I’d go for any of those, did you? (Although I must admit I often turn to myself in the mir- ror and scowl deeply while growling, “Get off my plane!” Try it. “Get off my plane!” Oh, yeah.) No, the true catchphrase of the summer comes from an unlikely source flfé the children’s basketball-playing-dog movie “Air Bud.” ~ When the coach of the team (Bill Cobbs) tries to put the iv} dog in the final moments of the state championship, one i of the referees searches frantically through his rulebook, looks up and delivers one of those lines of dialogue that will never die, pure Hollywood magic, the reason we go to . summer movies in the first place: “Ain’t no rule says adog can’t .s'$7'I.\"§‘5's'3‘a\"§\"A‘§‘o.7'a3s”t"A’1"§"1"-5”v.l'¢'K'5‘\."cl'4.l'«.‘t.‘-. . B 1 J ‘ ‘ - — - T W ~ ’ T T - - — n T ‘- play basketball.” Isn’t that the truth? An honorable mention to the re-release of “Dirty Dancing,” which still contains that im- mortal line, “Nobody puts Baby in a comer.” Best blockbuster. I don’t know how you define a blockbuster exactly, but the definition I’m using here is a movie the studios made and marketed, from beginning to end, with the intention of making $100 million or more. So “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” though it beat “Batman and Robin” at the box office, wouldn’t qualify, though “Batman and Robin,” while it did only slightly ing each other masterfully, with an almost ee- rie glee. The idea itself was a killer. Just watch- ing them, understanding the concept that each was supposed to be behind the other’s face, was alternately unsettling and hilarious, and ulti- mately more satisfying than it had any right to be. Worst blockbuster. Nicolas Cage made his first bow of the summer in “Con Air” as Cameron Poe, a prison inmate being transferred by plane with a bunch of crazy serial killers when the plane is hi- jacked and holy heck breaks loose. For some reason he does a silly Southem-fried accent, sadly all-too—typical of Hollywood efforts. And if you’ve made an action movie in which the coolest catchphrase is “Put down the bunny,” you know you’ve failed. Not one believable character, not one effect that didn’t look just like the teeny model it really was, no fun at all. No stars from me. Trends. Of course, this brings up one of the most disturbing trends of the summer. It seems like every movie star had two films this year: Cage had “Face/Off” and “Con Air,” Travolta “Face/Off’ and “She’s So Lovely,” Julia Roberts “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and “Conspiracy BYLIZDEHER —— W&I.IFE ASSISTANT EDITOR hat would inspire a laid-back women’s swimming coach who shys the spotlight to put her heart Coach Klkl on the line in front of 300 stu- MOOFC W215 dents and parents? It could , only be love. plomoted to During the ODAC Aquatic DiI'CC[O1' Championships on February 22, Coach Kristin “Kiki” Jacobs constructed a huge sign in the parking lot. Just before the race, she called her team together for a pep talk, but this time, she was the one who had thejitters. “I was ready to have a stroke!” she recalled. The coach asked the team captains, Laura Marshall, ‘97, and Maggie George, ‘97, to go upstairs with the banner. ‘‘I made them cflaezmhrzuaci emwl. “Get off my plane ” Theory,” Alicia Silverstone Batman and Robin” and “Ex- cess Baggage,” and so on and so on. Even stars who don’t traditionally carry a movie, like Tommy Lee Jones, Laurence Fishbume, Patrick Stewart, Mira Sorvino, Gary Oldman, Andy Garcia and Kelly Preston, all bowed twice this summer. Is there some kind of shortage of stars out there? It seems like Quentin Tarantino is the only director out there willing to stake his movie on actors because of their ac- tual acting ability without needing “star insurance.” It’s good that he is, because Travolta wouldn’t be in the $20 million club if he weren’t. Tarantino understands how good work creates stars, and not the other way around, unlike this summer’s movie producers. Think about it. If “Conspiracy Theory” didn’t have Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, it wouldn’t have been rewritten into stupidity with its unnecessary subplots and goofy breakneck struc- ture made up of 240 thirty-second scenes. Arnold Schwarzenegger might not have had to be cast in “Batman and Robin.” Not that “Batman and Robin” would have been any better, you understand, but it certainly couldn’t have been any worse. The art-house. While the art—house (or independent and foreign) films generally seem to be an oasis from the desert of Hollywood uncreativity, this summer only of- fered a few really good films. “In the Company of Men” is the best movie l’ve seen all year, a ruthless and disturb- ing film about two business executives who decide to play on the affections of a deaf office secretary to get back at the women in their lives. (It also produced a best catchphrase contender, a weird twist on “Jerry Maguire”: “Show me your balls.”) Other notable films were the Japa- nese dance comedy “Shall We Dance?”, the British male strip-off film “The Full Monty,” and Nick Cassavetes’s romantic fable “She’s So Lovely,” with a stunner of a per- formance from Sean Penn. The biggest art-house hit of . the summer, however, “Ulee’s Gold,” proved to be an exercise in boredom and cliche. God knows why the crit- ics loved it. Peter Fonda wascompetent, but the film was so tedious I’m surprised so many people seem to have", stayed awake for it. Fall flicks, winter picks... In closing, let’s look forward rather than back. Here are five sure bets for the fall and winter, in order of sure- fireness. You heard it here first: “Jackie Brown” marks Quentin Tarantino’s return to directing. It’s an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s fine novel “Rum Punch,” starring better than “Tnrbni A P°WeT Rangers AdVen' Tun] [0 blaxploitation superstar Pam Grier, Robert ture,” would. Without further ado, the best Forster of “Medium cool”, along with Robert blockbuster of summer ‘97 is “Face/Off,” John" J/Out‘-§€]f' Delqlro, Samuel L_ Jackson’ Mlehael Keaton, . W003 keeky take 0n e0nne'b0°k Snpeneallt)’ _ and Bridget Fonda. It opens Christmas Day. and absolute action bravura. John Travolta and [[26 111L[]‘01; “U_Tum” marks Oliver gtoners retom to Nicolas Cage Perfenned One Oftne mes‘ mind‘ “Natural Born Killers” territory, and what amaz- bending acting feat5 in recent hlSt01')’a Pema)" 'sC0W] ing territory that is. Sean Penn plays a man trapped in the little town of Superior, Arizona, as the town’s crazy inhabitants go crazy. The trailer offers a potential fall catchphrase: “Is ev- erybody in this crazy town crazy?” Also star- ring Jon Voight, Claire Danes, Jennifer Lopez, Billy Bob Thornton, Nick Nolte, and Joaquin Phoenix, this film opens October 3. “In & Out,” from writer Paul Rudnick (“Addams Family Values,” “Jeffrey”), features Kevin Kline as a teacher who is outed by a former student at the Academy Awards. Also starring Tom Selleck as an openly gay tabloid reporter, the film opens September 19. “Gattaca” features Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman in a film about a future in which everyone’s destiny is determined by their DNA. A job interview consists of a quick needle—stick. What happens when Ethan Hawke’s character tries to switch identities? Look for it on Octo- ber 24. ‘ “Tomorrow Never Dies” is the latest in the Bond se- ries, and Pierce Brosnan’s second. Featuring Jonathan Pryce as the Bond villain, with Michelle Yeoh (“Super- cop”) and _Teri Hatcher as our femmes fatales. Opens December 19. For whom the (wedding) bell tolls... Swimming coach ties knot promise on their honor not to look at it until their names were called.” Coach Jacobs announced, “For those of you who know me, this is not something I would nomially do. Sammy, please look up over the timeclocks.” Six hundred eyes turned in the same direction to read the words, “SAMMY, WILL YOU MARRY ME?” Much to her delight, Mr. Moore responded “Yes” to the big question. “We alljust about fell in the pool!” said junior Laura Goodwin. Senior swimmer Kendall Cruickshanks remembers “It was kind of atypical Kiki. The seniors who opened the ban- ner were really honored, and we were all shocked and thrilled for Kiki and Sammy.” The team went on to win the meet, and finished the season well under the direction of Coach Jacobs -- now Coach Moore. A 1989 graduate of Dickinson College, Kiki Moore has been coaching at W&L since 1991. She also teaches Lifeguarding, First Aid and CPR, and swimming. “The coach is kind of quiet, really warm, easygoing, and I lacking. This weekend the Inter Fra- . ing Club sent the members of the class»o=f52001»' a let- SEPIEMBER 9, 1997 BY SYBIL PRINCE STAFFWRITER tween freshman orientation ctivities and the slew of par- ties this week, the social scene in Lexington definitely hasn’t been temity Council will throw another log onto W&L’s burning fire of night life. The first IFC-sponsored band party of the academic year will be on Saturday night. W&L favorites Magraw Gap and the Convertibles will heat up the night with their original music. The concert will start at 5 p.m. and continue until 10 p.m. on the soc- cer/lacrosse practice field, according to IFC Junior Justice David Lehman. The rain site is the Pavilion. Magraw Gap, one of W&L ’s most popular bands, entertains students both on- and ofl-campus with their progressive bluegrass music. PH0T() (.'()l/RTIYSY 01> ARNE K I/HLMANN ’ :3” *2 , '°'''!‘%u. ucnnnfi“ ‘Q9 It’s “bonding,” not hazing... Over mountains, through forests, across rivers, the 2,159-mile Appalachian Trail traverses 14 states from Maine to Georgia. Last week, Outing Club members led 35 new students on a small stretch of the world famous path. BY STEPHH\I Pi«3ci~: STAFF Wanna Over 30 freshmen and eight upperclassman hike lead- ers set out on a freshman orientation favorite Sept. 6: the overnight hike along the Appalachian Trail. Early this summer, the Washington and Lee Out- ter about the hike. Since only 35 students couldbe accommodated, participants were selected by a lot- tery system from the 133 who expressed interest be- fore the application deadline. When these frightened 35 arrived to meet the hike leaders Tuesday af- ternoon, none could expect the won- derful experience that would follow. The hikers were separated into groups of about 10 people. They knew few, if any, of the other group members, yet all would soon acquaint them- selves with the hopes, fears and just plain wacked- up idiosyncrasies of the others. Some would use words such as “wicked.” Some would not say “y’all.” And still others had never heard of a grit. (First of all, never speak of “a grit.” They are a team, a package deal and prepared on a stove, not in a microwave. As is made unmistakably clear by one of the witnesses in “My Cousin Vinnie” (a movie destined to be a classic), “No self-respecting Southerner ever eats instant grits”) Though each member of the group displayed individual strengths and weaknesses, all united under the common bond of a unique adventure. The hike provided the oppor- tunity to spend time away from the traditional college par- ties and university-arranged activities to truly get to know other freshmen in real life. One freshman claims that the trip was “the best intro- duction to W&L possible. I now have over eleven friends whom I know I’ ll stay in touch with, which has also boosted my mind-set for meeting new freshmen as a whole. It was wicked cool!” The four groups hiked miles upon miles of tough ter- rain together; learned that they all need some cooking les- sons; and, most importantly, learned that each must lend a helping hand to others for the sake of the whole. The true heroes of the trip were the group leaders. Not takes things as they come,” said Goodwin. “She doesn’t sweatthe little things. She’s a great coach, and always has time for everyone; she’s not just concerned with coaching.” The wedding was held at the Trinity United Methodist Church on Main St., and followed by a recep- tion in the Dining Hall. The center- piece of the D-Hall’s decorating scheme was the famous banner. The wedding wasn’t Kiki Moore’s only cause for celebration this summer. She was recently promoted to Aquatic Director, making Moore the first woman to hold that position at W&L. With a new men’s swimming coach and a new assistant this year, Moore looks forward to a “good year and lots of changes.” Upperclassmen help a freshmen take a hike only were the eight upperclassmen knowledgeable about hiking necessities, but they were also down-to-earth and understanding. These students, like all other Washing- ton and Lee students, bent over backwards to make the freshmen feel comfortable. The leaders became friends with, as well as advisers to, the freshmen as they got an early taste of the W&L experience of fun, teamwork and respect in the relationships with group leaders. Group leader Brian White remembers a night spent watching the sunset and the stars atop the Priest and says that the leaders enjoyed the trip just as much as the freshmen did. White believes that the trip accomplished its goal of getting the freshmen to have fun and feel comfortable with the new setting. He adds that al- though this was most freshmen’s first long hike ‘ and the physicalstrains were demanding, the hik- ers feel proud of their accomplishment. The true tragedyiof the freshmen hike is that all were not able to participate. Next year the outing club hopes to increase the number of partici- V pants to 55. This will require upperclass- man support. _ Fortunately, opportunities to par- ticipate this year in outing club activities abound. Those freshmen who were not able to go on the hike are invited to the freshmen day hikes on Sept. 14. Outing Club Coordinator Nick Tatar says that the club hopes to hold five activities per week. Club membership is only $20 for the entire year and allows participation in all club hikes and classes and the use of Outing Club gear. The university also offers backpacking classes for physical edu- cation credit. Further information about the Outing Club and its activities may be obtained from Nick Tatar, club members, the club’s newsletter, The House Mm. Shadow, or the main bulletin board in front of the co-op. Many thanks to Nick and the upperclassmen who generously gave their time, effort and support to the freshmen who participated in the hike. Meet Caleb... It’s a job that will change a life. If you are interested in psychology, special education, speech development or social science, apply to join the team of instructors who teach five-year- old Caleb Lambart, son of W&L Professor Ken- neth Lambert and Professor Demaree Peck. Take advantage of this opportunity for a mean- ingful job, an internship for course credit or the beginning of a deeply satisfying career. Com- pensation is commensurate with experience. Call 464-1420 to find out how to get involved. Y Y "Q -t OCR::/Vol_097_098/WLURG39_RTP_19970909/WLURG39_RTP_19970909_005.2.txt 0 SW” € ‘V H. V '1 ‘v I": random feed‘. 4 t i———H~«—~l l 2 3 L N — cEcUnvE EDrroR This is to the class of 2001. I was in your shoes three years ago, free of my parents, their rules, their curfews, free to do whatever I wanted. It felt great and still does. There are, however, so many things I wished I’d known. Ask anyone who knew me three years ago. I was naive. Maybe some of you have already been advised by your team mates, or upperclassmen friends. But there are lots of you ——a lot— like me a little clueless, a little lost and a little scared. You’re doing great. Most of you found Aqua Velva Saturday night. Although y’all didn’t get tear gassed like the class of 1998, it was a pretty crazy night. Here’s a little free unsolicited advice picked up from countless conversa- tions l’ve had and people I’ve asked, “What do you wish you knew your freshman year?” The Hill Grade infla- tion is a myth. If you were hoping to get a four point . the first semester, forget about it. Few professors understand the late nights and hoopla of your freshman year, but most expect pupils to be awake and ca- pable of speech. Second, registration does not get any easier as you get FREsH1vr A N older. The lines will always be long and no matter how early you get up, someone will be there before you. If you want to get an understanding professor, consult upperclassmen for the real low-down on a professor. Your advisor, caring as he or she may be, will not divulge this crucial information. The Dorms This will be the place where the best memories are made. Become friends with someone who has a room facing the quad. Those windows are the best place for people wathching. Domino’s will take at least $100 from you by the year’s end. Roommates can be wonderful. There is nothing better than late-night chats about abso- lutely nothing with people you never thought you’d meet. D-Hall The food may seem great and endless, but six months and 20 pounds from now things will seem a little bit different. A word on University Cards: Dont ever forget them and don’t lose them. Bad things will happen to you, trust me. lt’s $10 to replace the sucker (I lost mine three times freshman year.) Actually there’s more bad news about that card the picture is permanent, so even now when I show my ID, people see my foolish freshman face. Apricot Glazed Pork Loin will appear on the menu once too often for comfort. Theme nights: Teh quality of the food does not improve in propotions to the number of square dancers whirling by your table. The midnight feast during exam week is a must. I mean a must. The Greeks I thought Greeks were a figment of Hollywood’s imagination — having created such great films as “Animal House” and of course, the Nerds series. I hadn’t a clue about the extent or reach of the fraternity system. The free beer, great bands and innumerable formal events explain the long tradition of the Greek system at W&L. I must warn (I)SeeAD\/ICEpage6~ Al Vull rmru I/Ill’, fsiicnr OWL MUSIC COS Open 11 san. ’til 7 pm. -Friday 11 mm. - 5 pan. Saturday 25 8. Jefferson Street Lexington, VA 24450 , Between 1112 Palms ‘ 464-.4050 & Domino’s Pizza . NEW & USED COMPACT DISCS CASSETTES & LPs Everyday Low Prices on New Items ($‘1.’00 Less Than List Price) FREE Fast Special Order Service (2-4 Days For Most New Items) music stop. Order by e—mail at Lexington's original, REAL alternative efe G nightowl@rccl