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MO?\ll>;‘i'r’, ;\'l.-'il«‘.t'Tl~E ll, 2élt)2 ‘C ‘tr 't5 W&Ld t f ‘d ' BY MATTHEW MC15ERMOTr Acting President Laurent Boetsch both Boetsch and Dean of the Law “I am no longer a candidate in the The Search and Screen Commit- rnittee, consisting of two non-voting EDITOR_N_CH1EF announced the number of finalists at School David Partlett strong candi— presidential search,” Boetsch said. “It tee had received approximately 150 faculty and 15 of the Board’s 25 mem- * ‘ Monday’s faculty meeting. He also re— dates for the position. has been a special privilege for me to nominations by its January 1 dead— bers. JAMES G. Larwm L.lt;u’;;il:';~y The Search and Screening Com- mittee has nominated five finalists to fill the vacant position of university T president. All have taught college , classes, at least one is female and none ‘ work at Washington and Lee, said Search and Screening Committee Chair A Harlan Beckley. vealed that none of the finalists were W&L faculty or administrators. “The committee has concluded that the University’s best interests will be served best by leadership from the outside,” Boetsch said, Though nominees’ names are withheld, student opinion considered “I was privileged to be inter- viewed for the presidency,” said Partlett. “I look forward to working with a new president who will con- tinue the tradition of superb leaders of this great university.” Partlett came to W&L Law School from Vanderbilt in 2000. serve in the capacity of acting president” Boetsch, an alumnus, joined W&L in 1976 and was named dean of the col- lege and academic vice president in 1996. The Board of Trustees ap- pointed Boetsch acting president in August 2001, a position he will oc- line. “Every candidate has had experi- ence teaching and in administration,” said Beckley. “Each strongly personifies the published presidential attributes.” Each of the comnrittee’s five nomi- nees must now be considered by the Board of Trustee’s Nominating Com- Phi Delta Theta disassociates 6 Comatose pledge admitted to emergency room FROM STAFF REPORTS A Phi Delta Theta pledge in the hospital for alcohol poisioning lead to the disassociation of six brothers. Following the pledge’s admission to the hospital, Phi Delt officers drove to Interfratemity Advisor Burr Datz’s house to discuss the issue. For about twenty minutes, Datz said, they discussed the concept of responsibility. “My impression wasn’t that any- one was being forced to drink,” Datz said. “It was more like no one inter- vened in the middle of the situation.” During the meeting, Datz said, ‘ “We just talked about whether every- one was acting in their fratemity’s best interests and in the best interest of the student who had to be hospi- talized.” According to Datz, the fraternity officers then ap- proached six Phi Delt members and discussed the situa- tion with them. The members agreed to deactivate from the fraternity. The Phi was unable to reach Phi Delt president Doug Aldridge for comment. Six students are annually sent to the hospital for alcohol poisoning or an alcohol related injury, said Dr. Jane Horton, Health Center director. Two undergraduates so far have been treated there this term. “This is the first time this year that a student has been referred just for intoxication,” Horton said. In the past students have been emitted into the inten- ATZ cupy until June 30. FOOD FOR THOUGHT BY MATTHEW McDBRMOTr EDlTOR—lN—CHIEF Honor Scholars came to campus last week with little to lose and four years of tuition, room and board to gain. The 104 candidates compete over three days for George Wash- ington Honor Scholarships, which make W&L nearly free. These candidates were chosen from the 840 honor scholar appli- cants, 100 more than last year. “This year’s group is the strongest we’ve ever had,” said Admissions Counselor Kristen Binette, who headed the program. “Half of them are valedictorians or salutatorians, nearly every person is in student government or edits the paper, or is a captain of a var- sity team.” The group also tests well, with an average SAT score of 1480 and ACT of 33. up are selected based on their over- BINETTE “(Candidates) who get invited I sive care unit for rehabilitation. Worst case scenarios have involved intubation, where FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR. This term’s LipSync netted food for three area food kitchens. One of M" ur- all application, including test scores, high school record, recom- The Nominating Committee will conduct further interviews, and rec- ommend a candidate to the full Board by early April. The board will then select W&L’s twenty-third president. “And then everyone will be informed at the same time,” Beckley said. High schoolers contend for cash 104 candidates inten/iew for full tutifion honor scholarships plicant body, the key to winning an honor scholarship is impress- ing faculty and student panels. “We look for raw intelligence and favor students with unusual back- grounds,” said History Professor Holt Merchant, who has interviewed since the program began 30 years ago. “Everyone has been student council president or helped out in a soup kitchen,” Merchant said. “We look for people who have done unusual things.” In an interview, Mer- chant said, faculty look for students who have “opinions without being opinionated,” and are able to talk logically about their political, religious, and intellectual beliefs. After their 1 1 interviews, the fac- ulty panels gives three “ones,” four “twos,” and four “threes.” The stu- dent panels have a similar scoring system.‘ Candidates with the highest av- erage get full rides. Other students are eligible for other grants or awards. “With a few exceptions, all of the finalists here this week will receive a tube has been inserted down a student’s throat to fore- stall airway closing. This has not occurred for four years, Horton said. “Nurses admit students to the emergency room when they don’t feel comfortable monitoring them in the Health Center,” Horton said. At Stonewall Jackson’s emergency room, heart and oxy- gen monitors are placed on stu- dents, who are given IV fluids and tested for injuries. Emergency room costs are not covered by the university. “From talking with Burr, I think the Phi Delts handled this matter in a responsible matter,” Dean of Stu- dents David Howison said. Dean of Freshmen Dawn Watkins was not informed about the freshman pledge’s medical problem. “I don’t know whether (students) are in the hospital or the health center,” Watkins said. “Still, students admitted to the health center have to undergo alcohol education,” she said. HOWISON W&L i—shares liable for fed BY PETER DJALALIEV INTEIWET EDITOR College campuses have been relatively untouched by copy- right violation investigations. This may not be true for long. In December 2001 government agents raided com- puter sites and confiscated hard drives at, among others, MIT, UCLA, Duke and Purdue. There they found thou- sands of shared music, video and software files, the vol- , untary sharing of which violates copyright law. A number of students are under investigation and “probably a few” will soon face criminal charges, said Allan J. Doody, special agent of U.S. Customs’ Baltimore office. These students are suspected to belong to the Internet piracy group DrinkOrDie. Founded in 1994 in Mos- cow, the group became notorious for releasing a pirated them requested cash, and got one third of the total take. The other two, however, requested food, seen above. W&L students oversee the movement of supplies, which will benefit the needy in Rockbridge County. LipSync, a time honored tradition, allows pledges to humiliate themselves for a worthy cause; this year a bachelor auction followed the event. mendations, extracurricular record, as well as the essay,” Admissions Counselor Alexis_Yee—Garcia said. With such a distinguished ap- one half tuition (grants),” Y e e - Garcia said. see SCHOLARS, page 2 MSA, NAACP host forum on black reparations FROM STAFF REPPRTS The federal govemment’s debt to the descendants of former slaves will be dis- cussed at a Washington and Lee confer- ence “Black Reparations: Recompense or Retribution” on Wednesday from 7 to 9:30 in Leybum Library’s N orthen Auditorium. Guest participants include Musaemura Zimunya, a poet from the University of Zim- babwe, Ronald Walters, director of the Af- 'rican-American Leadership Institute at the University of Maryland, N ikitah Okembe- RA Imani, assistant professor of critical sociology at James Madison University, and J immy Robinson, Roanoke attorney and winner of the Thurgood Marshall Hu- manitarian Award. Walters is the most widely known of the group, having appeared on CNN Crossfire, CBS News Nightline, NBC To- day Show, C—Span and the Jim Lehrer News Hour. “The symposium is essentially the beginning of a series of critical issues dis- cussions,” said senior Justin Arnold, who brainstormed the conference. “As different student organizations began planning programs for this academic year, one idea that floated around was hav- ing a series of campus discussions that centered around various sociopolitical is- sues.” Arnold’s idea for a conference was inspired by a treatment of the subject in the publication Black Issues in Higher Education. “Justin was really the one behind this program,” said Minority Student Associa- tion Toussaint Crawford. Arnold sees the conference’s focus as much on academics as politics. “We wanted to begin with an issue that would be interesting, yet challenging, and one that would perhaps expose our community to something new,” Arnold said. “College is the place where we begin to formulate and challenge our belief sys- tems by being exposed to various perspec- tives with which we are unfamiliar.” . Politics Professor Lucas Morel’s Black American Politics class will participate in the discussion. . The W&L chapter of the NAACP and the Minority Student Associate are spon- soring the symposium, which is funded by the departments of sociology, politics and economics. The Office of Minority Affairs, headed by Associate Dean of Students Courtney Penn, also contributed. PHUJU BY Mun’ GUY/Ring—tz1mP/11' -copy of Microsoft Vtfrndows 95 two weeks before the origi- nal version came out. One of the two suspected ringlead- ers of the group has recently pled guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. He awaits a sentence in the next weeks. The otherring— leader is still under investigation. It is not surprising that the government soon may charge students with copyright infringement on their personal computers. Unexpected, however, is its raids on college campuses and seizure of computers. Considering that Washington and Lee’s University Computing department has had to limit the Internet bandwidth used for peer—to-peer file sharing software, W&L students might potentially face similar problems. University Computing has already been contacted by the Recording Industry Association of America, the _l_\lBws ANAL_Ys1s eral prosecution Motion Picture Association of America and a firm repre- senting Adobe Systems, Inc., about students distributing (sharing with or without intention) copyrighted products. University Computing has not been surveilling stu- dent accounts. From complainants, however, the depart- ment receives the network address of the computer from which files are being shared, and the date when the shar- ing took place. So far, the University Computing has been only de- termining theidentity behind the network address and to sent him a written notification that he should stop sharing those files. They do not reveal the identities of the users violating the copyright. Now, however, government agents have started raiding campuses, and W&L users cannot feel as secure anymore. “We are not going to enforce the law ourselves, but if ordered by court, we would have no other choice but to ‘ reveal who stands behind those network *—”~" addresses,” said John Stuckey, director of University Computing. Students using peer-to-peer sharing software, such as Morpheus, violate the copyright of a work by sharing, and also by downloading it to their own computer. This makes an unauthorized reproduction of the work. Downloading songs is thus acrime and some see FILE-SHARING‘, page 2 Beckley awarded VA legislature honors religion professor BY IMRAN NAEEMULLAH ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR After almost 30 years of teaching at Washington and Lee, Religion Professor Harlan R. Beckley was one of 11 professors statewide honored with the Virginia Legislature’s Faculty Award. The award is annually given to professors for commitment to class- room instruction, scholarship and par- ticularly service to the community. Community service played the largest part in his winning of the award, Beckley said. Beckley founded the W&L Shepherd Poverty Program at W&L, and works with the Bonner Leaders program and Nabors Service League. “(The award) represents even more recognition for what we’ve done to create and develop the Shep- herd program,” Beckley said. “Students have helped to make the program what it is.” I Chemistry Professor Frank Settle andArt History Pro- fessor Pamela Simpson are past winners of the FacultyAward Faculty are nominated by their university. Nomi- nees are then selected by a committee appointed by the State Council on Higher Education. BECKLEY OCR::/Vol_104/WLURG39_RTP_20020311/WLURG39_RTP_20020311_002.2.txt PAGE 2 N 'l}A;Ri\;<;n;tri’s-ii SCHOLARSZ Expensive event deemed worth the price from page 1 Student interviews tended to be more un- orthodox. Some scholars had to answer questions with the sugar chicks Peeps in their mouths, to test their ability to handle unexpected situations with equanitiniity. “We had our guys draw their states on the chalkboard and answer questions about the population density,” senior Mike Reynolds said. Though the interviews are the competition’s centerpiece, the university also sponsors open houses, an activities fair and meals with upperclassmen. The competition is expensive. For instance, competitors’ airfare alone costs about $40,000, Yee-Garcia said, outside of airport shuttles and gas reiumbursement. “It’s worth it because these (candidates) are dynamic,” Binnette said. “They have self confidence and academic curiostiy.” “It’s incredibly tiring, but I really enj oiy do- ing.it,” Merchant said. “It contributes to the welfare and groth of W&L. As a teacher I have an interest in getting the best students possible.” FlLE—SHARlNGI Feds may be coming to W&L with a warrant from page 1 what a risk itself. If matter comes to court, the explanation “Everybody does it, why can’t I do it?” would not be valid le- gal reasoning. However, stu- dents can protect themselves by not sharing their files. Ev- ery peer-to-peer software sys- tem has some way of prevent- ing sharing the user’s files. Well, this violates the whole idea of having peer-to-peer sharing software systems be- cause.if nobody shares their files, there would be no shared files. However, this would not be a valid legal reasoning in court either. So, it is really a matter or personal decision whether to take the risk or not. Now that there is a precedence of government officials going through college campuses, the risk users are taking is a little higher, especially for those that have already re- As I already said, all shar- ing software has some way to prevent sharing (without pre- venting downloading). Any- body in W&L who wants to stop sharing files from his computer, but does not know how to do it, can contact the University Computing HelpDesk (x4357) and ask for assistance. Or he could take risk and hope that nobody is 2 W /3 7:30 p.m.—Lecture. “Inventing Guilt and In- nocence in the Early Witch Trials,” Prof. Rich- ard Kieckhefer, Northwestern University. N orthen Auditorium. 8:30 p.m.—Java at the GHQ features Recov- ering Alice. GHQ. 'Ilresday,Mar.5 7:30 p.m.——Lecture. “Conquering Love: the Bride of God as Knight Errant,” Prof. Barbara Newman, Northwestern University. Northen Au- ditorium. 8 p.m.—Lenfest Series. Gateway/Cand1e- wood International presents “How to Succeed in Business Wlth0Ut Really Trying.” Keller The- atre, Lenfest Center. ceived written notifications to going to knock on his door with stop sharing files. . a court order. WednesdVay,Mai-.6 6:30 p.m.—Leadership Seminar Series. Lead- ing with Intelligence and Knowledge. Room 205, University Center. Facilitated by WC. “Burr” Datz, director of Leadership Development. 7 p.m.—A Critical Issues Debate. “Black Repara- tions: Recompense or Ret1ibut:ion.”Aroundtable dis- cussion format covering the various philosophical, sociological, economic and legal approaches to black reparations. Northen Auditorium, Leybum library. 8 p.m—Aleoholics Anonymous Meeting. Fairfax Lounge. All W&L students, faculty/staff and the Lex- ington community are welcorrie. Coffee is provided 'Il1ursday,Mar.7 7 pm.—WinterwPoli1ics Filmfest. “Blade Run- nei” (US, 1982). DirectedbyRidley Scott Room 221, Williams School. — Eida3gMan8 2 p.m.——Terroiism: An Interdisciplinary Per- spective Series. “Terrorism & American Foreign Policy,” Paul Pillar, Washington policymaker. Room A214, Science Center. 4:30 p.m—33rd Institute on the Ethics of Jounial- ism. “WhatAre Jomnalists For‘.7”Wrl1iam Raspbeny. Room 327, Williams School. Open to the Public. MONDAY. MARCH 11. 2002 GOING FOR THE BRONZE Dean Howison to retire David L. Howison, Washington and Lee University’s Dean of Students, has an- nounced his intention to retire after the _ 2002-03 academic year. » Howison joined W&L as dean of stu- dents in 1990 after 22 years at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N .Y., where he served as dean of student affairs, director of the school’s Noble University Center and as an assistant dean of students. In a recent letter to his staff, Howison said he wanted to retire at a time that was suitable for the University, while also ac- commodating the retirement dreams he shares with his wife, Chris. “As I considered the timing of my re- tirement, I wanted to balance my personal needs with what would be best for the Uni- versity. The end of the 2003 academic year is the right time,” said Howison. “This will allow the new president to select a new dean of students and, if all goes well, I’ll have a month or two overlap with the new dean to facilitate the transition. . W&L acting President Laurent Boetsch ex- pressed best wishes to Howison, adding that his career has been a great asset to the University. “I am enormously grateful for the won- derful work that David has done here at W&L in a position that is arguably the most diffi- cult on this or any campus,” said Boetsch. On a personal note in his letter, Howison told his colleagues that, 20 years ago, “I prom- ised myself if I was still on my feet at 60 land had my wits about me, I would have the good sense to move on to the next stage of my life. Well, I’m 60 now and it’s time to move on. “I want to play golf. I want to work on ‘my chess game and play in some touma- ments. I want to get involved with the Rockbridge Area Recreational Organization and help with the youth recreation program in Lexington,” he noted. “And, if my body holds up, I want to win the national champi- onship in the 800-meters run before I’m 90.” As dean of students, Howison brought his academic background in higher educa- tion, outdoor recreation and counseling into his work both as an administrator and as a personal friend to many students. He is known for his “auxiliary office” that he often sets up outside the University snack bar. Alumnus wins an award For their outstanding efforts to educate and enlighten through art, Dudley Cocke Jr. (W &L ’68) and Rick Lowe have been jointly awarded the 8th Annual Heinz Award for Arts and Hu- manities. Cocke has helped bring to life aregional theater that celebrates the culture and voices of people living in the Appalachian Mountains, while Lowe has brought public art to beleaguered parts of Houston’s urban landscape. A . meetavedframihe c’enIerwherestwlw1;sad!u::s1-r.~.«.:\~».—_! MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2002 .-. ».. 1.2:.» sr3a‘.*-1Hro€z,v£w€'§-:u¢2Irx::\rnuc:v&.-rs-<~\;2- -..-_c:-. ”':'!Iur:7.°.I:’.‘.-_;‘lIa _'.-v.ac..~. aL-'K':f' -W-..~n-.-_ .-.- um-xv -.;.»-.- .. -3.... .;—. ‘.21-_.-.;. RrNG-'r'tN:l°i«ii TAFF EDITORIAL It is not acceptable to ask your FD date on Mar. 21 The Phi admittedly does present a chill- ingly androgynous face, devoid of sex, age or national origin. The distillation of objective truth, a brew this paper dolls out weekly, does not permit these foreign substances. However, one of the purposes of the staff editorial (besides dispensing enlightenment and speaking truth to power) is to occasionally drop the mask and let the human face show through. Fancy Dress is one of those occasions. Because of W&L’s charmingly old-fash- ioned/ridiculously out-dated social mechanics, it is the gentleman’s responsibility to secure a date. Some men take this for granted, and, as a result, our women languish. , We have a patriotic duty to ask W&L girls, since imports tend to dilute our exclusivity. With the best possible will, and acknowl- edging exceptions, most of those schools’ women’s families do not have the net worth of their W&L counterparts. How are we to con- tinue concentrating this country’s wealth into fewer and fewer hands if We have a patriotic we date the help? Also, think of the poor, duty to ask W&L unasked W&L girls (mostly girls, since imports tend to dilute our exclusivity. C-school majors, likely) who will be forced to spend March 22"“ poring over their spreadsheets and bud- get statements. No one wants to spend the biggest social night of the year over an asset liability portfo- lio. Rather, we should be adding to our per- sonal portfolio through selective dating. There are other reasons besides financial for inviting a female student of the home grown variety. I W&L women are better versed in the in- tricacies of inebriation ettiquent. They have far more experience in nursing drunks back to a semblance of sobriety or plotting the quickest course to the infirmary. Consider finally that there are fewer women than men on campus. However, the tardiness of FD proposals to consummately eligible W&L ladies suggests that there are even fewer men than we think. UOTE OF THE WEEK: ‘‘I WAS NEVER A GIRL SCOUT.” —ANONYMOUS PHI ASSOCIATE EDITOR REFLECITNG ON A MISSPENT LIEE: zzws-.- Editor—in—chief Associate Editor Asst. News Editor Asst. News Editor Opinions Editor Asst. Opinions Editor W&Life Editors Matthew B. McDerrnott Katie J. Howell Latrina Stokes Irnran Naeemullah Brett T. Kirwan Andrew Latimer MatthewA. Coursen Catherine C. Guy , Jeremy S. Franklin Dave Crowell Alison M. Trinidad Mary E Guy J eb Brooks Meg Ferrara Paul A. Seifert Brian Castleberry Emily Barker William Litton Peter L. Djalaliev Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Contributing Editor Photo Editor Photographers Business Manager Circulation Manager Asst. Business Manager Advertising Managers ‘Internet Editor The Ring-tum Phi is published Mondays during the undergraduate school year at Washington and Lee Univer- sity, Lexington, Virginia. The Washington and Lee Publi- cations Board elects the Editor-in-chief, but The Ring- tum Phi is otherwise independent. The Ring-tum Phi welcomes all responsible submis- sions and letters. All submissions must be e-mailed to phi@wlu.edu or in the University Center mailbox by 5 p.m. Friday to appear in the following week’s edition. The Ring-tum Phi reserves the right to edit submissions for con- tent and length. Letters and columns do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Ring-tum Phi Editorial Board. Ad- vertising does not reflect the opinions of The Ring-tum Phi or its staff. This newspaper observes current court defini- tions of libel and obscenity. The Ring-tum Phi Mailing Address: University Center Washington and Lee University Lexington, Virginia 24450 Street Address: 31 Washington Street Lexington, Virginia 24450 Telephone: (540) 462-4060 Fax: (540) 462-4059 Email: phi@wlu.edu http://phi.wlu.edu TEE RrNG~*nn:r PHQI PINIONS BRErr T. KIRWAN OPINIONS EDIIOR FMAIE-KRwANr@\nnEDU Fear of envy drives liberals In his speech last Tuesday, Dr. Jack Wheeler, in addition to sharing fascinating stories of an adventure- filled life, gave a summary of very con- vincing, consistent and well-founded theory on the trouble with Muslim terrorism. Identifying al—Qaeda, Yasser Arafat and others as “Arab Nazis,” Wheeler explained that the ideology of Muslim terrorism is part and parcel with Nazism and Communism. He ex- plained that these three “social dis- eases” go together because they are all “religions of envy.” Nazis were envious of Jews, Communists were ' envious of the bourgeois, and Mus- lim terrorists are envious of the West. Dr. Wheeler was unafraid of call- ing the West, and America in particu- lar, better than the cultures that have produced these terrorists. The differ- ence, he said, stems from cultural “memes,” which, in the same way that genes control a species’ development, are traditions and beliefs that control a cu1ture’s development. America is successful because we have the memes of the rule of law, separation of church and state and equality for all races and sexes. Muslim cultures have produced terrorism because they have the defective memes of re- ligious government, abusive attitudes toward women and intolerance of non—Muslims. He concluded that if we are to ever defeat Muslim terrorism as surely as we defeated Nazism and Communism, we must change the very cultures of Muslims and create secu- lar states along the line of Turkey. ' With so much evidence piled up in favor of America and against Mus- lim terrorists, why do some Ameri- cans insist on claiming equality be- tween our cultures ?_ Just as many lib- erals denied the true nature of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, many today deny the true nature of the culture that produces Muslim ter- rorism and instead point to the fail- ures of the United tively disgusted by America’s display of patriotism following Sept. 11 and rather than cheer the unifying influ- ence on the nation, he has called into question our moral uprightness in the battle against terrorism. Another fine example of liberal confusion on the justifiability of our « anti—terrorism action is Robert Scheer, a columnist for The Los Angeles Times, who claims that dissent and intellec- tual freedom have suffered since the attacks so much so that America is equivalent to the Soviet Union. Frank Rich of The New York Times has accused the President of stifling dissent in his own cabinet claiming, that “only after (Homeland Security Director) Mr. States and deny that RIGHT OF THE AISLE Ridge arrived on the we have moral superi— scene was the sur- ority in this war. BRETT _ geon general liber- ‘ For example, - ated from the gulag.” feminists who previously were, rightly so, appalled by the Taliban’s treat- ment of women, have changed their tune since the war began. As soon as they saw that ousting the regime and rescuing the women of Afghanistan would require military action, they have focused on the minuscule num- bers of Afghan civilian casualties rather than the success we have had in bringing women out from behind the burqa. Norman Mailer, featured in last week’s “Coward of the Week,” is an- other excellent example. Mailer is posi- Letter to the Editor Sober? drivers conflict with tow trucks Dear Editor, I, a law-abiding freshman, made the mistake of leav- ing my car parked overnight on Saturday in the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity parking lot. The car was there be- cause I had been sober driving for the fraternity earlier in the evening. I had plans to pick the car up Sunday afternoon. Sunday morning, I was startled by a phone call tell- ing me that my car was being towed. The call came, not 4 from University Security, who had no plans to contact me, but from a friend who was up at the house. I made a mad dash from my home in Graham-Lees to the Lambda Chi parking lot where I was greeted by a tow tr'uck and Officer M. Davis who informed me that I was to pay $35 to the individual in the truck. My problem is not with this pay- ment, the fact that I was almost towed or that I have to pay an additional $25 ticket because I was “not in freshman lot.” My concern arises from a discovery made during a brief interview with Officer Davis. I was informed that fresh- men sober drivers are not permitted to park their cars in any parking lot; not even for a second. Fraternities often’ ‘strongly encourage’ their fresh- men pledges to be sober drivers. Those freshmen al- Rich claimed that Pres. Bush had forced Surgeon General David Satcher out of the public eye as if the KGB had carted him off to Siberia. I sup- pose it couldn’ t be that the public was more interested in hearing about the war than they were in the Surgeon General’s news on obesity and Dr. Satcher knew to stay out of the way. Finally, Alexander Cockburn writes in the New York Press that America is approaching “the tradi- tional barriers of imperial retribution,” but more startlingly, he concocts a conspiracy theory involving the CIA Meg Ferrara/ The Ring—tz1m Phi ALL ABOUT MEMES: V/heeler, with walrus bone, expounds on the uprightness of the West and a Bush 41-connected biotechnol- ogy corporation producing and de- liverin g the anthrax that killed the tab- loid writers in Boca Raton. That’s right, America is at war, but the CIAis using it only as an opportunity to use anthrax to kill off editors at The Sun. Where does all this idiocy and self—loathing come from? How can, in this time of the utmost moral clarity, these people be so confused as to the uprightness of our cause? It stems from the liberal fear of envy. Muslim terrorists conduct their war due to un- controllable envy toward the West. Liberals decry ours because they can- not stand to be envied. Examples abound from more peaceful times. Social Security pro- tects young, wealthy liberals from the envy of the elderly and retired. Wel- fare protects liberals from the envy of the poor and less—fortunate. Soft stances on crime and opposition to the death penalty protect liberals from the envy of criminals. Opposition to a strong national defense protects lib- erals from the envy of our sworn en- emies and nations that cannot sup- port such large forces. Anti— globaliza- tion and support for massive humani- tarian aid protects liberals from the envy. of the poor and dispossessed world wide. But as Dr. Wheeler said, no na- tion is free of defective memes. Ap- parently, America has some of her own to work out. most always drive cars that are permitted to be parked only in the freshmen lot. The drivers, according to Officer Davis, are never permitted to leave their ve- simple “no.” hicles in non—freshmen lots. I asked him if fraternities might alert University Security to the identities of the sober drivers for the evening and that they might then give those individuals a little more freedom when it comes to parking procedures. He responded with a I have the utmost respect for University Security Officers; they are simply doing their jobs. I also have the utmost respect for sober drivers who are one of the most important lines of defense against disaster. Officer Davis was following his rules and regulations, and sober drivers are following theirs. I see an inherent conflict that exists within the behavior of both parties. I would hope that the rules governing both groups may be dis- cussed and an agreement reached that allows sober driv- ers to focus on the care of Washington & Lee students who need their help and not a fear of losing their car or a great deal of money. Sober drivers should be given free- reign to do what they need without the encumbering concern of towing. Sincerely, J eb Brooks ‘05 PAGE 3 Pledgeship demands mirror fraternity crisis Hell Week has descended upon our fair campus, and every fraternity brother on campus is working dili- gently to guarantee that name isn’t a misnomer. Suddenly, classrooms seem a lot less populated. Sales of caffeine pills rise noticeably. Pledges who aren’t donning ridiculous costumes wear their blue blazers and talk in hushed voices with fellow brothers-to-be. To most freshmen the somber mood that pervades Lexington’s atmosphere is unmistakable. As one of those many freshmen teetering on the brink of Hell, an images of a pressure cooker comes to mind. Even though the Greek system taxes our strength more than ever, profes— , sors refuse to give in and budge an inch. For the next 144 hours we lowly Greek warmabes will feel strain and stress heaped upon us from all sides at nearly every COGENT COMMENTARY _. @£9§ .... - hour of the day. The warnings have been clear: when- _ ever you are not at the house, attending class or catch- ing the daily allotment of two hours of sleep, use every moment to do your schoolwork. Little wonder that posters touting checklists for depression and suicide hotlines just so happened to spring up all over the freshman dormitories. I’d be hard pressed to call that a mere coincidence. All in all, if one assessed Washington and Lee Greek life based solely upon the days leading up to initiation, it wouldn’t be hard to make a case for abol- ishing the system altogether and writing off fraterni- ties as exercises of collective sadism. You’d argue that the only ones who would suffer would be the employ- ees of the local wooden paddle industry. Yet just as freshmen have the nasty habit of put- ting their blinders on during Hell Week, so too do crit- ics of fraternity life. Sure, treatment might be harsh for eight weeks, but even a languishing pledge can recog- nize that the benefits far outweigh the detractions. However, t1'ying to describe the positive side of Greek life to someone who has never been in a frater- nity is like attempting to explain colors to someone who’s been locked away in a cave all his life. What they can’t realize is that while there exist extreme cases that defy any defense, for the most part what may seem unnecessary or abusive in fact builds unity. The situation is doubly precarious for school ad- ministrators, the ones who are held responsible in case a house runs afoul of the law during Winter Term. Surely the specter of such infamous tragedies such as the 1998 untimely end of a University of Washington student who hanged himself the day after initiation or the recent alcohol poisoning deaths at the University of Maryland dances in their nightmares. The last thing Washington Hall wants is a lawsuit or high-profile hazing death to mar Washington and Lee’s reputation. Naturally, it must feel inclined to take a clear cut course of action: continue to extend official domain over fraternities while forcefully minimizing their influence. The first major salvo in this battle was fired with the completion of the first official dining hall in 1959, unseating the fraternity houses as the student’s pri- mary option for meals. The current construction of the University Commons is a continuation of this effort to move the axis of extracurricular life farther away from the orbit of Greek authority. Some might even say that the Fraternity Renaissance also constituted an admin- istration victory. . When does it stop? When is enough enough? Whether the fear is justified or not, the sense amongst students is that university management from the top down is through—and-through anti-fraternity. Rumors of certain houses being kicked off campus in the future’ run rampant, especially at times like these when ten- sions run high. I don’t know if I’m the only person who sees this, but it looks like the nextyear and the selection of a new president will shape what direction the Greek system will take from here on out. The feeling I got from man- dated Inter-Fraternity Council Meetings indicated that even they were conscious of the fact that we’re skat- ing on thin ice. In order to counteract university pressure, the IFC must become far more robust. Whereas houses may be rooted in tradition and ritual, the IFC has to force itself to consistently update and consolidate its power, a seemingly daunting task to an outsider like me. Yet it lies with the Council, not individual fraternities, to expand Greek control lest the entire system crumble. In these days of constant demands upon pledges, Greek life at large also faces pressure on all sides. It will take greater cooperation and selflessness in order to preserve the system as we know it, but instead of eight weeks of effort, this struggle might rage for years. TALKBACY: CADETS, irtEYDONr\X/&LANDVMI GET ALONG? “The girls don’t talk to me when I run through.” —-Williarn Butt, ‘05 “The uppity attitude of “We can’t go to the “We can’t go to . “Id ’tkr1 .” A . . ,, the parties.” the students.” on ow Yvhy fraternity parties. —-Daniel Harrison, ‘05 --Kathy Aldrich, ‘O5 --Paul Stamp’ 02 «Chris Meyers ‘04 OCR::/Vol_104/WLURG39_RTP_20020311/WLURG39_RTP_20020311_004.2.txt PAGE 4 People often question me about my association with and membership in the controversial organization Greenpeace. True, some of the things they protest may seem a bit unnecessary and their tactics a bit over the top. I, however, do not agree. One topic of interest to myself and Greenpeace has been in the news this week: genetically altered food. I recently had a friend of mine who is staunchly conserva- tive and Republican bring this issue up with me. He sent me an online article that I wish I could find. It had some hilarious ideas about how genetically altered food could be of some great benefit in the world. One of the really amusing suggestions was that this food could be made more durable and sent overseas to victims of war and fam- ine in need of assistance. First of all, let’s think about this for a minute. What do we sent to countries in need of aid? To answer this we have to think about what is really basic. What are the fundamental ingredients that can easily be used to make food? It is usually things like flour and grain? A few of the more easily used and durable grains that come to mind are things like wheat and com. A Well, if you had noticed the tiny article on the very back page of the A Section to Friday’s Washington Post, then you know that genetically altered corn just cost the food industry $9 million in lawsuits. This week a Chicago judge awarded the firm of Krislov and Associates $2.4 million in a class action lawsuit the firm filed on behalf of consumers. Aside from paying this fee, the companies involved also had to include over $6 million in coupons on their prod- ucts as payment back to the public. i So, what was the problem you ask? Apparently these companies had been using something known as Oiiiiii bNs Genetically altered foods illicitly made way ont supermarket shelves LEFT OF CENTER NICK RAMSEY ‘03 MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2002 Starlink corn seed in products that had made their way into supermarkets. Now the Environmental Protection _Agency has ap- proved the use of Starlink corn seed. But they have ap- proved it for use in animal feed. It has not been approved as of yet for human consumption, however. Oops. As a matter of fact, this genetically engineered corn is known to cause a high number of allergic reactions in humans. Therefore, had this wonderful product been sent to the war—ravaged villages of Afghanistan marked as “Re— lief Packages,” as suggested by this article given to me, it actually could have made many individuals sick. What’s more, these products are still right under our noses. Many of the country’s more popular chain grocery stores use genetically engineered ingredi- ents in its own store brand products. Therefore, as part of its 2002 Supermarket Campaign, Greenpeace will be taking on the large chain store, Safeway. As the case in Chicago demonstrates, as of yet there are too many uncertainties when it comes to prod- ucts like these. There are reasons that we grow foods naturally. There are reasons we look forthe words, “All Natural,” on the packaging of the things we buy. However, we now have evidence that some companies A are using products that are not even approved for human consumption. It kind of makes you wonder what exactly you are eating. I realize that all foods have a certain level of impurities in them. That is to be expected. But when science comes in and purposefully begins to change food in an effort to make it “better” we begin to encounter problems. So get educated. Find out what it is you are actually eating. Realize that there is actually a reason people like me are concerned. Like they say, the body is a temple. Just be sure that you know what is going into it. I have found that my typi- cal pre—deadline writer’s block can be easily alleviated by virtue of Top ‘ 10 Lists. David Letterman’s suc- cess revealed. I mean, there’s a lot of pressure in picking just one topic to write about. If a ton of people have nega- tive amounts of interest in said sub- . ject, then there’s seven- hundred- words rendered useless. However, with a Top 10 list, you cover a wider audience, thereby increasing you success rate exponentially. As a follow up to my last piece on the “Top 10 People I Wish I Were Friends With,” I thus present for you reading quasi-pleasure, The Top 10 People that Should Be Phased Out of the Evolutionary Cycle. They are most definitely not contributing to the betterment of humanity as a whole. Superficial Darwinism at its absolute finest. 1. Anyone with a vanity plate. Standard. 2. Anyone who engages in ar- guments about who has more work to do. That is unequivocally the biggest waste of time in the his- tory of life. By eliminating these people, and therefore their argu- ments, time is saved in the long run. All such saved time can be accumulated, and an extra day can be added on to the calendar. For a big party celebrating the merits of Mix CD’s. Or some other worth- while cause. 3. Any sophomore who didn’t wholly appreciate the literary ge- nius of his freshman reading book, “Franny and Zooey.” Given the other repertoire of summer reading, it was a gift from God. ' 4. People who interrupt jokes with the punchline. 5. Anyone who constantly re- lates a story by to him or herself. I think that’s a technique fine-tuned in upper level education. The abil- ity to somehow twist a story so that +-(M. .m.e.e.~..-¢-;,~.: ¥'o:v;..>.:, llllll lllll ill IHE PM : ~ we Fm‘. organize mmmas and them where they're mmtw meat.-. Esavacisfily figfitziag as 21%;: ttttris 313.5%}.-'_g’f’?t5m tr” s,~mt‘rt:. in at mmzmaziay gamma. ask it was cam «Sc vs at Z {ling itttifttrél El Elllléltlllfllll Elllllllll. he teatntatg up waif: a cesztaazniry éeaéfirécm. tta realty =5:-;m;_:l¢-. gum $7,‘; er ta}: I~£.'1"‘NttD§«3t.3 ta mxtwx it rmmwnftztr ' . in your area. Thaw: mt was %‘;'?té’tt§!ZIl'( ymr grantee an train. Yaulifi be rszgsrariited at sieétat. Wu Rt agent. Am mm: was ran 3€.£'!I;‘il'Xt§It§§i‘§3'ta.. Y'fl=’U GE’? Mfltlfi ‘hlflifi "(fill G=ET,'TQGE'5'flE3I (I )ll(IIi\\' ll'll'll'.'TRl I7<'X)[).V()ll',(1R(} FRANKENPOOD: This assortment of Greenpeace stickers exhorts consumers to reconsider their purchasing choices. Whom would you vote off the island? Pollina offers her picks its theme does a 180 and pertains to you. “French toast isn’t the same thing in France as it is in America.” “One time I was in Chicago eat- » ing French food.” 6. Easily offended people. My favorite part about Michael Denbow's NoRTHERNoi’s.'l§.A:EosURE notoriety is that in Kris PoLL1AA_f03 harassing him, i you’re just prov- ing his point. 7. Anyone who employs the phrase, “I wasn’t drunk enough to enjoy myself.” 8. People who entertain per- sonal vendettas through thinly veiled class discussions or news- paper articles. 9. People who don’t leave mes- sages on answering machines. I used to never do it either, because I hated the idea of my voice being recorded, and what if there were other people in the room listening, and what if——a very high risk—I said something erring on the side of idiotic and then it was on tape for everyone to fully understand the caliber of my lack of coherence. But then on the other hand, leaving messages takes all this pressure off you. You’re no longer in charge of keeping the conversa- tion going. You did your duty as an American and called, and now the ball’s in the cal1ee’s court. 10. Any of those college dudes or chicks that go on “The Price is Right” with their entire fraternity or sorority. A That totally doesn’t eliminate that much of the population at all. We can absolutely still survive without the aforementioned unfortunates. Yet, at the same time, we can probably still live with them, too. I suppose once again I have contributed to the delinquency of readers. Mylgrievous apologies extend to those who were hoping to save time and get that extra day at the end of the year. I owe you. av if “ ¥_/.. / ,)°*"*" 2 , OCR::/Vol_104/WLURG39_RTP_20020311/WLURG39_RTP_20020311_005.2.txt Gerald lltus, law student, elected president BY MATTHEW A. COURSEN w&LIEE EDITOR How does it feel to be the President-elect of the Executive Committee ? It feels great. I’m very excited and eager to get started. So you went to W&L for your undergraduate degree also ? Yes, I graduated in 2000 and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. I also played on the varsity basketball team. I’m now a second-year law student across campus. Is this your first time serving on the student government? No, I’ ve been the EC representative to the law school for the past two years. I was never involved with student government in high school, but I was always interested in it. When I graduated from W&L a couple of years ago, one of the things that brought me back here for law school was my desire to be on the EC. What one quality do you think is essential to have in order to be an eflective leader on the EC? Experience is the key factor. Learning the procedures and protocol is a big part of the job, and I think it would be ex- tremely difficult for someone who had never experienced that to come in and serve as president. What is the one thing about this school that you do not want to see changed? The Honor System at W&L is definitely much stronger now than it was when I first arrived here 6 years ago. I would like to see that continue, and I encourage the faculty to con- tinue embracing the Honor System. We need their support. ‘ What do you like to do on your free time? Well, with what little I have between studying, classes, and spending time at home with my wife and our dog, I just love to hunt and fish as much as possible. I grew up in a little town in West Virginia much like Lexington only with- out the history, tradition, student population and charm. What do you hope to improve while you serve as the leader of the student body? Well, online cheating has been brought to the atten- tion of the EC recently. Fortunately, Rob [Naftel] has done a great job of addressing this issue appropriately and force- fully. We’re seeing more and more of this new-age cheat- ing going on, mostly with younger students, and I would , like to see that stopped altogether. Does this job make you nervous at all? Well, it is a big job with a lot of responsibility, but I’m excited about the opportunity to represent a school with such a rich history and strong student autonomy. I’m very proud and happy to be the next President of the EC. Preview of BY MICHEAL GEORGE STAFF WRITER The 74th annual Academy Awards are fast approach- ing, and everyone is wondering who will win. ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘A Beautiful Mind’ seem poised to sweep every category, but strong performances and amazing direction in such films as ‘Black Hawk Down’ and ‘Ali’ could make these awards exciting and unpredictable. I’m not a prophet, but here are my predictions for this year’s Oscars: ‘ Best Picture: Nominees: ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ ‘Gosford Park,’ ‘In the Bedroom,’ ‘Moulin Rouge!’ Predictions: There are only two clear contenders in this category. The Oscar will go to either ‘The Lord of the ’ Rings’ or ‘A Beautiful Mind.’ The other three nominees are strong films, but not one can be called the best film of the year. My vote goes to ‘The Lord of the Rings.’ Ron Howard’s ‘A Beautiful Mind’ is a stirring examination of the horrors of mental illness and the beauty of nature, but it does not compare in scope and grandeur to ‘Rings.’ It just doesn’t have the impact. Winner: ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.’ ' Best Actor: ‘ Nominees: Russell Crowe (‘A Beautiful Mind’), Sean Penn (‘I Am Sam’), Will Smith (‘Ali’), Denzel Wash- ington (‘Training Day’), Tom Wilkinson (‘In The Bed- room’). Predictions: This is a tough one. Let me begin by stating that I am praying that Russell Crowe does not win again. His performance pales in comparison to the real John Nash, and the Academy will be voting for ce- lebrity if they give this New Zealander another award. It’s a toss-up between Will Smith and Denzel Washing- ton. After a string of movies that showcased his more annoying qualities, Sn1ith’s portrayal of Muhammad Ali solidified him as a legitimate actor. Denzel Washington has been waiting for years for this award, and I think it is time for the Academy to recognize his ability. Although Smith was strong, I think the Oscar will go to Denzel Washington, he deserves it. Winner: Denzel Washington (‘Training Day’). Best Actress: Nominees: Halle Berry (‘Monster’s Ball’), Judi Dench (‘his’), Nicole Kidrnan (‘Moulin Rouge!’ ), _Sissy Spacek (‘In The Bedroom’), Renee Zellweger (‘Bridget Jones’ Diary’). Predictions: Again, another tough pick. My guess is the Oscar will go to either Sissy Spacek or Halle Berry. My vote goes to Sissy Spacek. Her performance was amazing. But I’m pretty sure this one could go either way. Winner”: Sissy Spacek (‘In The Bedroom’). K’ ‘ 'l’HE .lilNi’}—’iEf‘IFj.‘ri PI-sI1I1 W & IFE Titus, Hughs t assume EC offices I\I\RY GIY/ IIzeRr'ng-rumP/21' GERALD TITUS l’rl(lI()(I)ll(Il-.\) HI: 'l1.).\ HELEN HUGHES ‘organization, Helen Hughes joins elite cadre of female officers BY KATIE J. HOWELL ASSOCIATE EDITOR “They always want me to bake cookies,” sophomore Helen Hughes jokingly said of her relationship with the other members of the male- dominated Executive Committee. Students elected Hughes as EC secretary last week from two male candidates. Hughes is the first female EC officer since Beth Forrnidoni served as president as a third—year law student in 1998-1999. “I didn’t run to be a ‘first,’ I just ran because I care about the school and the Honor System,” Hughes said. Hughes, who currently serves as an EC class representative, said she ran for EC secretary in order to “step up her responsibilities” within student government and to serve the school in a different way. She thinks, however, that it is important for women to hold leadership roles on campus. ‘ “Women in leadership roles is important, because I think the women students may feel more comfortable when their perspectives are heard and understood,” she said. “When considering a difficult issue, diversity always leads to a better decision.” Women around campus look forward to having more representation in the school’s primary student government organization. Associate Dean of Students and Counseling Psychologist Anne Schroer—Lamont believes women should be equally represented in all aspects of campus life. - “Women need to be half of the leadership force in every corporation, association, university/college which is in existence to serve a mix of women and men and/or children,” she said. “The best of all decisions will be made when all people who are affected by outcomes are represented in balanced ratios. Diversity of cultures, gender, race and religion need to be represented in judicial bodies especially and groups who are dispersing funds.” Hughes, who believes she has an obligation to her gender as an EC representative, thinks that the EC and other student organizations do not have high female representation because of W&L’s all—male history. “The EC is deeply rooted in tradition, and all traditions are slow to change,” Hughes said. “The school hasn’t had a lot of time to experience women in the job. . I’m glad they are getting to see more women do it now.” After sixteen years of coeducation at W&L only a handful of women have served the school as EC representatives and even fewer as officers. Schroer—Lamont thinks women could be better represented on campus. “Women are not well represented on campus to the extent that they could be, with the exceptions of our nursing staff and our secretaries,” she said. “We are not yet balanced in admissions, on the faculty, in the administration, or among the Trustees. We can do much better and must.” According to “Washington and Lee University Fact Book 2001- 2002,” the ratio of female to male students is 45% to 55%. Of the thirteen member 2001-2002 EC, Hughes and freshman representative Anne Johansen are the only two female members. Students will vote for next year’s sophomore, junior, senior, second and third—year law class representatives next week. See Helen Hughes On page 6 the 74th annual Oscars (Illl’lF.\\'\‘I"\WL'.l.\lD\'.U).\l Best Supporting Actor: I Nominees: Jim Broadbent (‘Iris’), Ethan Hawke (‘Training Day’ ), Ben Kingsley (‘Sexy Beast’), Ian McKellen (‘The Lord ofThe Rings’), Jon Voight (‘Ali’). Predictions: Ben Kingsley should win this award. His performance as a British gangster in ‘Sexy Beast’ en- veloped the screen. Ian McKellen is a top contender, as well as Jon Voight. But their performances lacked the presence of Kingsley’s. Voight and McKellen have celeb- rity, but Kingsley is the dark horse candidate I’m voting for. Winner: Ben Kingsley (‘Sexy Beast’). Best Supporting Actress: Nominees: Jennifer Connelly (‘A Beautiful Mind’), Helen Mirren (‘Gosford Park’), Maggie Smith (‘Gosford Park’), Marisa Tomei (‘In The Bedroom’), Kate Winslet (‘Iris’). ' Predictions: Jennifer Connelly’s performance as the wife of mathematician John Nash will take home the Oscar this year. Connelly’s performance draws you to her, and every moment she appeared on screen she grabbed my attention. Her subtle strength and courage shines through throughout the film. Marissa Tomei could be a dark horse in this category, but my vote still goes to Connelly Winner: Jennifer Connelly (‘A Beautiful Mind’). Best Director: Nominew: PeterJackson (‘The Lord of The Rings’), Robert Altrnan(‘GosfordPark’), RidleyScott(‘BlackHawkDown’), David Lynch(‘Mullholand Drive’), Ron Howard(‘ABeautiful Mind’). l-(I'll).//\\\Y\‘\".\lll’(1s'lIl?St(1)lI/G.\llI-RY..\\I’?.\lI):2867&Ill1F3089l6 Predictions: This may be the hardest category to predict. My vote goes to Peter Jackson. The diffi- culty of bringing Tolkein’s infinitely complex fantasy to the screen was immense. Jackson’s story is detailed enough to be interesting, but not so detailed that it goes on complex tangents and becomes confusing. Ron Howard surprised me with ‘A Beautiful Mind.’ I always saw him as more of a storyteller than a director, but his soft tones and quiet scene direction make the details of nature beautiful and vivid. Ridley Scott, Robert Altman, and David Lynch all display a rare ge- nius, but the massive effort that Jackson heaped onto his film will prevail. l\LAI'IHE\x'CODRsEN&CATIIER1I\IEGUY W&lIIE EDITORS EAIAr;couRsEI\M@\IInEDU&GIIYO@vIInEDU MONDAY, MARCH ll, 2002 The guy next door: 1 :3, Why I wenttoVlVlI V BY SAMIAGRONE/STAH= r Nobody thought I would go to military school. I graduated from Gar-Field Senior High in Woodbiidge, Va., which is mainly known for the high ratioofgas stations-to—people and an outlet mall so big that it’s measured in miles, not stores. Most of the kids I knew had parents that worked in Washington, in and around the federal government. Almost all of them had an undergraduate degree. So the institutions of higher education that their kids at- tended was a big deal in the cul-de—sacs. Around late March’ 1999, the heat started to build. Moms and dads in the neighborhood would set a round—the—clock patrol, surrounding mailboxes for ac- ceptance letters. They established security checkpoints around their property. They would validate drivers’ licenses of mailmen, and they would pull guns when Ed McMahon’s mug showed up on an envelope — all to make room for the all-important “fat letter.” As soon as word came back and the choice was made, cars’ back windows were plastered with enough stickers to make parallel parking dangerous. College flags were raised ceremoniously on the front porch with the whole family pledging allegiance to the re- public of My—kid— $°eS"°‘UVa' SOIAPPLIEDTOSIX lstan. Kids were SCHOOLS. MY IDEA WAs THAT showing up to school in future alma mater gear, slapping each other high-fives because they TIONs ALL OVER THE sTATE, I’D END UP SOMEWHERE GOOD. THEN THE PAPER- ‘ didn’t have to settle for their safety school. I was excited about getting out of high school, too. But I felt the whole college thing would just drop into my lap. I had a pretty laissez—faire attitude about the whole thing. My grades were marginal. My SATs were skewed towards verbal, and my extracur- ricular activities included: academic team co—captain and lacrosse announcer. Other than the year I spent as an exchange stu- dent on a reindeer farm in northern Finland, nothing really popped off the page. Any school that would take me would be all right with me. So I applied to six schools. My idea was that if I shot- gunned applica- tions all over the state, I’d end up somewhere good. Then came the pa- p e r w 0 r k . Mary Wash- ington College was . the first one to go out. (I liked that one because the application was easy to fill out). Virginia was next. I I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE TO GO TO VMI, WHAT WITH MY WIT AND WISDOM CIRCULATING IN THE HIGHEST ACADEMIC CIRCLES OF THE COMMON- WEALTH. hated that one. The fact that you had to send away for - the second part of their application struck me as irritat- ing and pretentious (that, and their crappy form’s rnis— sion in life was to get smudged). By the third one, the College of William and Mary, I was getting cocky. My essay: “William and Mary was founded on pirate booty, and I like pirates.” The other forms trickled out and the last one to go in was VMI. I sent one out to VMI at the request of my father, an alumnus. I never thought I would have to go to VMI, what with my wit and wisdom circulating in the highest aca- demic circles of the Commonwealth. That’s when my thin letters started coming back. UVA turned me down flat. Mary Washington and Wil- liam and Mary were kind enough to wait—list me. Vir- ginia Tech wanted me to wait until second semester in January — and on it went. At the end I was left with two green lights: Huntingdon, a tiny liberal arts school in Montgomery, Ala., and VMI. I wasn’t too keen on the idea of the Alabama school. It was the only one I had visited on my hunt, and the people I met in the student body just smiled too much. (Not that I have anything against friendli- ness. They were nice guys, but I felt I was way outside of the ice cream social demographic). That left me with community college or VMI. As I waited out schools that put me on hold, the idea of military school started to grow on me. “It might not be so bad,” I thought. “I mean, my dad had some crazy stories from the place. Like the one time he and a buddy dumped a bucket of poop on this other guys head [see issue No. XX].” That, and all the kids from high school were going to a lot of the same places. I wanted something different I wasn’t drawn to the idea of tradition or how proud my parents would be. The more I mulled it over the more it made sense. I sent in my confirmation letter two weeks later. It did make my parents happy, I think. I’m glad they had the restraint not to buy the oversized golf umbrella right away. Reach Sam LaGrone at lagronesr@mail.vmi.edu. Join us! W&Life is looking for new writers coursenm@wlu.edu guyc@wlu.edu ‘IF I SHOT—GUNNED APPLICA— _ OCR::/Vol_104/WLURG39_RTP_20020311/WLURG39_RTP_20020311_006.2.txt ,1, PAGE 6 ‘(:4 iii’-ii W ¥ ‘Come dance with the dragon’: past photos and Fancy Dress 2002 theme released to campus BY CATHERINE C. GUY w&nEE EDITOR With only two weeks until this year’s Fancy Dress Ball, " Washington and Lee students have f entered the frenzied search for " dates, formal wear, plans, and more. For most of us, FD will be one "memorable weekend, but for the /7 members of the Steering Committee, FD has been a yearlong commitment. They have been hard at work, planning every detail, in order to 4 create a magical night for the rest of the student body. This year’s theme, “Come dance with the * dragon,” the Chinese Imperial Ball, ' is one with historical ties. The 1921 and 1985 balls had a Chinese theme. One of this ‘year’s chairs, Valerie 5 Bruneau has answered a few questions about this year’s upcoming ball and why it should ’ be one of the best thus far. r How did you come up with this ' year’s theme? The committee narrows down ’the choices to the best few ‘options, and then committee members do presentations on 5those to show choices for “decorations, memorabilia, publicity and entertainment. Then we vote to decide on the final theme. How will this year ’s FD be different from past years? We are going for more of a total atmosphere this year. Instead of" building a bunch of big objects to .be spaced out on the floor, we are focusing on two huge structures, - thanks to construction chair Glenn Singleton, and then using the ‘ceiling for a majority of the decorations. We want the gym to ‘have an overall feeling to it, as if you were in thegmiddle of an actual Chinese New Year celebration Zan HELEN HUGHES from page,5 Freshmen and first-year law representatives will be chosen next year. “We have had a number of women serve on the EC over the years,” Schroer—Lamont said. “We just never seem to get more than three or four and that is not balanced enough to give women a voice.” Both Schroer—Lamont and Hughes encourage more women to become involved with campus activities. Hughes hopes her election will inspire other W&L women to seek leadership roles around campus. Schroer—Lamont thinks both men and women should encourage and help women build greater prominence in leadership positions on campus. “Women need to see inclusive language on the forms put out by the EC. Women need to be encouraged by their professors and advisors to run. Men students need to encourage their women friends and girlfriends to run. Women need to be supported more consistently by their women friends and classmates. Women must vote! ! l” Meanwhile, Hughes looks forward to a productive year as EC secretary. “I feel like I have an obligation to my gender, but also I have obligation to all the students and to the school,” she said. “To the extent that I do a good job, I hope it will reflect well on all of them.” Ellison and Kelli Carpenter have done an amazing job as decorations chairs to make everything tie. together. Look for lots of color and lighting effects. What sort of turnout are you expecting? We had a great turnout last year, and we hope to improve upon it this year. We would especially love to see more faculty and staff participation. ‘ Have you worked on the committee in past years? For the past three years. Will the next few weeks be very busy for the committee? ‘ Definitely. We have contract workers helping us out as well to make sure everything gets done. How do you feel, knowing that this is you last FD? I am excited...this committee is extremely creative and we are doing a lot of things differently. I think this year will stand out in terms of decorations and memorabilia especially, so seniors will have a very memorable FD to end on. What kinds of music will the bands be performing? The Tyrone Smith Revue is an upbeat Motown/funk band; they will play in the big gym. Big Ray and the Cool Cats, a 10-piece swing band, will play in the small What do you, personally like most about FD? It’s a great opportunity for the whole school to get together, faculty and staff included. FD is a unique tradition in that way. It sort of symbolizes W&L culture...everyone is dressed up and in a celebratory mood. For more information, feel free to visit http:// fancydress.wlu.edu, the official website of the ball. I MOND.-\ggY, MARCH ii, T2/Q02? current news V AIL PHOTOS COURTESY or ‘COME CHEER FOR W.isHtNGioN AND LEE’ FXCEPT (ENlE{Pl~lOlU. 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L Lexington, VA 24450 ‘ , A , 1‘-377-cEL11c-2 www.oelticconnex.com www.irishmealsbymeail.com 540-464-6545 t 9 !ayMarc i1 OCR::/Vol_104/WLURG39_RTP_20020311/WLURG39_RTP_20020311_007.2.txt Mom, MARCH 11, 2002 BY JEREMY FRANKLIN SPORTS EDITOR For most of 45 minutes on Saturday, the sixth-ranked Washington and Lee men’s lacrosse team kept pace with visiting Gettysburg. But the Bullets (3-0) justified their No. 2 Division IH ranking by scoring four straight goals for a 10-7 win at Wilson Field. “For a young team, you’ve got to be excited for the fact that they were competing for as long as they were,” said W&L coach Mike Cerino, whose team fell to 2-2. Sophomore Matt Fink had ‘two goals and an assist, while senior Andrew Barnett added a pair of goals. Fresh- man Gavin Molinelli had a trio of assists for W&L. For Gettysburg, senior Ric Bremer and sophomore Jake Van Nostrand each recorded three goals, and Van Nostrand added two assists. Sophomore Nick Purkat had two goals and two assists for the Bullets. “It’s a great group of attackmen they’ve got in there,” Cerino said of the Bullets. “One of the tough things they do is a nice job of picking their spots and when they want to move the ball at people. We held pretty well, but those are some top—notch players.” . The Generals struck for an early 1-0 lead, as Fink scored off Molinelli’s assist less than a minute into the game. Bremer’s first tally at 9:28, assisted by Purkat, tied the score. Junior Rob Brown gave the Generals a 2-1 lead two minutes later off an assist from senior John Moore. But Bremer scored at 6:32, assisted by Van Nostrand, for an- other tie. Gettysburg would take its first lead of the game at 2:26 when senior Chris Baran assisted classmate Wes Cadman’s Men’s lacrosse bitten by No. 2 Gettysburg scores 4 straight goals to b . THE RlN(.§v~T'l.lfhl‘ Piil ]EREMYFRANl0>l'\> Doubles 1. Bruno/Strang (W&L) d. Stephenson/Moss (Hollins), 8-4 «Q 2. Hagerman/Willard (W&L) d. Howard/Strager (Hollins), 8-1 3. Law/McCracken (W&L) d. Schnare/Penry (Hollins), 8-2 Serious; D=E:§(:o1m 1 -t»1r.co:.rnciitra1ael.cnmr 1-SGDQCUNCIL West Virginia Tech at W&L (DH), 1 . Laura Bruno (W&L) d. Cayce Schnare (Hollins), 3-6, 6-1 (7-5) I‘ . Elizabeth McCracken (W&L) d. Kendra Penry (Hollins), 6-0, 6-1 .4