OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20061204/WLURG39_RTP_20061204_001.2.txt MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2006 ls Beta coming back?“ Beta Theta Pi. fraternity was kicked” offfcampus in 2004, but now their national headquarters is talking with W&L about re-colonizing. -- Page 2 ;EE Umxa earn’ 8‘! §I*§E S¥llBEH¥S RS9 ffiltfi THE Siiitlfitiifi 3'l!iEE tflefii" VOLUME OX, NUMBER 9 Fire damages students ‘country house, but none of the occupants are injured By Alden Wlcker STAFF WRITER Junior Phi Psi and swimmer Alex Sweet lost all ofhis belong- ings when his off-campus house caught fire last Wednesday. “Basically, my room was sub- merged in flames,” Sweet said. Sweet and his two housemates, Bret Cogan and Chris Pow, have also been forced to move out of their house at Beans River Bot- tom. The house is now unin- habitable after the fire gutted a downstairs bathroom and Sweet‘s bedroom. The fire started in the bath- room when Pow's towel got stuck in the small electrical heater-- which Pow had left turned on-- below the towel rack and caught fire. Within 15 minutes, the fire moved through the drywood walls and up into Sweet’s closet above the bathroom. Cogan was in his second sto- ry bedroom checking his email around 8 am. when he smelled smoke. “I opened my door and it was white with smoke. You could not breathe or see,” he said. He ran out to the balcony and called 911. Then he jumped off. He went back inside and tried to put out the fire with a fire extin- guisher, but he realized that most of it was inside the walls. Meanwhile, Sweet was just getting out of class and got the message from Cogan saying the house was on fire. He rushed home. “On the way I heard all these sirens, and I was like ‘Dammit,"” Country needs to quiet down Sweet said. “I knew those were for my house.” When he got there, there were five engines from three different stations attending to the fire. The fire engulfed Sweets bed- room. It moved from the closet to his bed, blew out the windows. and burned his other closet. It climbed the wall and bumed through the roof. Now the room is a charred black hole. “My TV got melted in half." Sweet said. “I lost every article of clothing I have." His fish were also burnt alive invtheir fish tank. “They died a pretty terrible death,” he said. “I feel really bad about that.” Although he was lucky enough to have his computer and books with him, Sweet thinks his grades will probably suffer, especially since he lost thousands of note cards he had made up for his bio- chemistry class. There was also “tremendous water damage” to the whole house. The fire department cl1ain- sawed a hole in Sweet‘s roof and put hoses in to put out the flames. The downstairs was damaged by smoke, with holes smashed in the walls where the fire department checked for flames. Plaster, dry- wall, and mud covered the floor where the firefighters trooped through. “It is completely unlivable." Sweet said. The house’s exterior looks nor- mal, except for a boarded up win- dow upstairs and an inconspicu- ous tarp stretched over the hole in . Fire at Beans Bottom MICHAEL KEENAN / Staff Photogapher Plywood covers a broken wlndow at a house In Bean’s Bottom. The student house caught fire Wednesday mornlng. the roof. According to the fire de- partment, there is about $50,000 worth of damage to the house. It won‘t be renovated and ready to live in again until next year. Sweet and Cogan have moved into a suite in Gaines Hall for the remainder of the year. Pow moved into 21 KA house at Beans Bottom with his fraternity brothers. Although Pow was the one who lefi the heater on, his housemates don’t blame the fire on him. “None of us are mad at Chris,” Sweet said. “We don’t blame him; it was a mistake anyone could have made.” Pow would not comment. Sweet thinks the blame rests with the poor upkeep of the house. “My house was a matchstick waiting to erupt,” he said. “I re- alize now it was really stupid to live there.” He hopes this will serve as a wake-up call to students who move into run-down housing. “I will be more diligent to check that kind of thing,” Sweet said. But Cogan, who did not lose anything in the fire, is just happy the landlords are not angry at them. “They have also been really easy to work with,” he said. When Sweet’s mother helped the boys move their stuff into the house, she tried to tell the boys the house was a fire hazard. “My mom told us ‘This place is going to burn down,’” Sweet says. “Sure enough, it did.” Supervisors say noisy students must continue working to find common ground with their neighbors By Jacob Geiger N EWS EDITOR Julia Garrett is one of the neighbors bothered by the student parties on Windfall. She lives across from Winding Way Road — the driveway that goes to the _ Windfall Hill houses. “The music gets tumed down, but the [Traveller] buses keep running until 2 am. and there is a roar of voices,” Garrett said. “This goes on Wednesday through Saturday. What I want to empha- size is that when the music stops, the party is not over.” Country parties are safe again alter the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors decided last Monday not to pass a tougher, more restrictive noise ordinance. Instead, the board will let students and their neighbors try to work out a solution that satis- fies all groups. But the supervi- -sors warned that students living on Windfall Hill and at the Pole Houses must keep working with their neighbors if the current peace is going to hold. “If the students behave and the neighbors are satisfied, we will leave things alone," said Harvey Hotinger, the supervisor who rep- resents the area around Windfall Hill and the Pole Houses. “We are just trying to make the neigh- bors happy.” Garrett said that she would be happy if the compromise between students and neighbors works, but she said some serious problems need to be addressed. Repeated complaints by neigh- bors who live near the student party areas prompted the board to consider a much stricter plan. The proposed ordinance would have required a permit for parties with loud music or more than 30 people. “lfthe students behave and the neighbors are .s'ati.sfied, we will leave things alone. We are just trying to make the neighbors happy. ” HARVEY HOTINGER, Rockbrldge County Board of Supervisors The ordinance also would have harmed music and other loud noises after 10 p.m. on weeknights and after midnight on weekends. Students and administrators from Washington and Lee turned out Monday night to argue that a new noise ordinance was unnec- essary Most of the people from W&L have been serving on the Community Campus Coalition, a group Director of Student Health Jane Horton started last fall with Dean of Students Dawn Watkins. Executive Committee Presi- dent Rob Rain told the board he was concerned that a stricter ordinance might drive a wedge between students and the com- munity. “Since the student body be- came fully aware of the serious- ness of this issue, many steps have been taken to resolve this issue in a civil manner,” Raid said during his speech to the board. Garrett Clark, a sophomore who will be living on Windfall Hill next year, is a member of the coalition. He asked the board to postpone action on the ordinance. Clark also said he thought the proposed ordinance was far too broad. He said the ordinance could have unintended conse- quences that would harm other residents of the county. Clark said that if county resi- dents want to have a weekday party, under the proposed ordi- nance they would have to register the party and then send everyone home at 10 p.m. Residents who live near the student houses said the coalition had been working hard to find common ground. The coalition held a meet-and-greet earlier this month for at the Pole Houses for students and neighbors. Another dinner is planned for Wednesday night on Windfall Hill. David Dugan said he went to the first meet-and-greet dinner and was pleased with the results. “Allow us and the students to con- tinue to work together,” he said. Don Ford, who lives near Windfall Hill on Woodridge Lane, said he had seen a difference in student behavior this year. “I hope things continue to improve,” he said. “I would not mind giving the students more time if they continue being seri- ous.” Neighbor Ed Bauer told the board to enforce the ordinance it has now. “Bring [the proposed ordinance] back up if problems continue,” he said. The coalition has also invited landlords and law enforcement officials to share their input. Joe Shaner, the landlord for Windfall Hill, told the board that he has enjoyed good relationships with his student tenants. “We are now renting to the second generation in some cases,” See i“N0lSE" on page 2 OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20061204/WLURG39_RTP_20061204_002.2.txt ~'Asie%i%riT‘7*‘..‘t , swat V-" F-‘G’ ”“ ii axensm .s - m r\_. ;x, H,’ as. 2 0 THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY,DECEMBER 4, 2008 NEWS Stopping sexual assault I Summit gathers student leaders from 15 schools to discuss ways to reduce campus assaults the numbers behind sexual assault at W&L: college-age women will suffer rape or attempted rape from the time of their 14th birthday. In the past year, of female W&L students reported sexual touching against their will. This is the national average. In a recent survey of the student body asking students to classify various scenarios as “rape” or “not rape," women and men differed significantly % of the time. Source: "Sex at W&L, ” The Gender Relations Committee 6 By Wesley 0’De|l surr wn ITER enior Matthew Loar is a busy guy. After all, combating sexual assault takes time and heart. Loar, Chairman of the Gender Relations Committee, Co-Chair of 1 in 4, and a volunteer at the Project Horizon women’s crisis center, gets his motivation from an experience close to home. A female friend of his was raped while in high school but didn’t tell anyone about it until college. “Her situation really struck a chord with me, and it made me realize that since I had the power to make some change, I needed to,” Loar said. Part of his work is running the GRC. Its programs like Date Night and Candycane grams are designed to promote healthy gen- der interaction. Loar’s latest proj- ect was a GRC—sponsored summit at W&L designed to “bring stu- dents and administrators together from other universities to collab- orate on efforts to prevent sexual assault.” He characterizes the summit as a big success. “We brought more than 50 people together from 15 different schools. We spent the weekend discussing programs, successes, obstacles to success, and a myriad of other topics re- lated to sexual assault.” He especially enjoyed the all- student discussion group. “It was refreshing for me to see so many other students who cared about this issue. Everybody was very enthusiastic about taking back new ideas to their campuses.” The event’s. keynote speaker was the national founder of 1 in 4, a men’s group that educates men about sexual assault and how to help survivors. It takes its name from the statistic that one in four college-age women will suffer rape or attempted rape from the time of their 14th birthday. Chapter Co-Chair Bill Larson believes l in 4’s presentations and sponsorships are paying off. “The number of sexual as- saults at W&L seems to have lessened slightly and awareness has improved. . .but there is still a lot to be done.” Larson believes sexual assault is offensive to the “honor and ci- vility inherent in the W&L com- munity. All members of the com- munity should work to end sexual assault on our campus.” Junior Paten Hughes, the pres- ident of Knowledge Empowering Women Leaders (KEWL), says getting people involved is an im- portant part of the solution. “We have to find a way to penetrate the culture, to work within it.” KEWL sponsors monthly dis- cussion forums--including one on sexual assault--and is selling T-shirts in the commons atrium “Every group at this university has the power to alter the kind of environment that fosters the behavior that leads to sexual assault. ” Matthew Loar, chairman of the Gender Relations Committee for charity. KEWL’s mission is “to form a community of great women who are leaders, who are smart, who have things to say.” Getting women to speak out is also the goal of SPEAK, a wom- en’s organization educating wom- en about sexual assault. SPEAK’s membership has tripled since its first meeting, and it produced a video and program to present to all freshmen women in the fall. SPEAK President Catie Ful- ton said, “We want women on this campus to be aware of the vari- ous resources available to them if they or a friend have been as- saulted. Talking about sexual as- sault. . .is one of the first steps, in my opinion, towards eliminating the problem.” In addition to presentations to freshmen, SPEAK sponsors pro- grams like Take Back the Night, a vigil against sexual assault featur- ing survivors. University Counselor Jenni- fer Sayre points to W&L’s high sexual assault rate as evidence of a problem. Theta Pi wants to re-colonize on campus Members of the last pledge class say they felt betrayed by Beta nationals By Cody Beauchamp STAFF wmrrn They’re bringing Beta back. Yep. The Beta Theta Pi fraternity hopes to re-colonize a chapter at Washington and Lee University, confirmed J.B. Scherpelz, the organization’s Director of Expan- sion and Recruitment. Scherpelz (representing the fraternity) and Jason Rodocker (representing the University as Director of Student Activities and Greek Life) both confirmed that preliminary discussions were al- ready underway about the possi- bility of Beta re-colonizing. The chapter was suspended from campus in 2004 for hazing incidents. University Director of Re- ligious Life William C. “Burr” Datz, who was involved with in- vestigating the hazing allegations, declined to comment on what specific hazing acts of which Beta was accused. According to both Datz and Rodocker, the fraternity was found to be in clear violation of University anti-hazing policy and was accordingly suspended for a period of one year. Rodocker said that the fra- temity’s national office handed down a longer suspension to the chapter, refusing to allow any sanctioned activity until all of the members of Beta at the time—in- cluding the pledge class who had been hazed—had graduated the university. Barring an unexpected compli- cation, this would mean the sus- pension would be lifted sometime next year--by which time all pre- vious Beta members are expected to have graduated. Rodocker said that the repre- sentatives from the national of- fice said re-colonization could happen shortly after. However, he also said the national organization wants to see what they consider to be a strong alumni base that would support the new chapter. Rodocker also said the na- tional office has several concerns that will need to be adressed. The national executives are interested to see if the chapter can sustain it- self without reverting back to its previous behavior. Scherpelz said that Beta’s na- tional organization also hoped to see greater involvement by the re- colonized chapter in regional and national leadership seminars. The fraternity’s website de- scribes their “Men of Principle” initiative as one that hopes to give “a new voice to the enduring val- ues of our Fraternity. . .calling on men to become leaders and giv- ing them the tools they need to do so.” Scherpelz said that the nation- al organization will also stipulate that the chapter house property be completely dry, although he said that this would not necessarily mean the fraternity ‘chapter itself would have to be dry. Scherpelz said the ban would only forbid alcohol on the physi- cal grounds and property of the “T he chapter that was suspended is not what a Beta chapter, in the eyes of our national orga- J nization, should be. ’ J.B. Scherpelz, BOI1 Director of Expansion and Recruitment chapter house, with possible ex- ceptions for certain social func- tions. Scherpelz also added that po- tential new members would have to maintain a grade point average higher than the W&L all men’s average to receive a bid and go through new member education. The average male GPA at W&L is a 3.159. “We are anxious to return, but if we do, we want to return as an ‘ organization that contributes and is a valuable part of a community, not a chapter that behaves like the one that was suspended did,” Sherpelz said. “We are anxious to meet with the university’s Inter-Frater- nity Council and Student Affairs Council in the spring to see how we can go about doing that.” To Ted Clark and Matt Leis- man—both of whom were mem- bers of the last Beta pledge class before the fraternity was suspend- ed——the stipulations are likely going to make re-establishing the chapter more difficult. “If it’s going to come back with those rules, they’re going to have a hard time rushing people,” said Clark. Leisman believes any new chapter would not see much in- volvement from any pre-suspen- sion brothers. “I think all of us felt betrayed by nationals,” said Leisman. “None of us really want to help them out much.” “It’s sort of an issue too of them not wanting to be involved with us than us wanting to be in- volved with them,” said Clark. Scherpelz confirmed that was the national fratemity’s position, saying that while he feels that what happened to Clark’s and Leisman’s pledge class was “un- fortunate and definitely unfair,” the fraternity’s national board had already decided at the time of the suspension that the class would not be welcome in any future re- colonization efforts. “The chapter that was suspend- ed is not what a Beta chapter, in the eyes of our national organiza- tion, should be,” said Scherpelz. “When the chapter closed, it was for very good reasons,” said Scherpelz. “It is definitely regret- table, but no one involved with that is really welcome back.” “Our numbers are higher than national averages, which is why we’ve been working to develop educational programs that will resonate with our students,” she said. Sayre points to the “hook-up culture” as a major cause of the miscommunication which can lead to sexual assault. If you are sexually assaulted, Sayre encourages you to go to the Health Center. “There is always a physician and counselor on call. We can explain all of a student’s options, attend to medical needs, and establish a support structure to start the process of recovery.” A university counselor will even stay with the student if he or she decides to go to the hospital. For sexual assault survivors seeking justice or mediation through the university, there are several options. “A formal report can be sub- mitted through me, a CAIR (Con- fidential and Impartial Resolution resource),” said Dr. Sayre, “or directly to a Designated Officer, such as a dean. CAIRS are won- derful resources and can advise a student about a range of options from a formal report to less for- mal resolutions.” CAIRs are faculty and staff members trained to assist students with problems involving sexual misconduct. Survivors may also go to the Student-Faculty Hearing Board to seek justice. It is a con- fidential body that may impose a variety of sanctions. It does not, however, enforce Virginia law. Sayre explained that “to be- gin the process of filing criminal charges, the police must be con- tacted. If a student is making a criminal report immediately fol- lowing an incident, it would be best to go to the Health Center so that a counselor can accompany the student... for formal evidence collection.” As for the future, Sayre would like to see “our entire community come together to end sexual vio- lence on our campus.” Loar agreed. “Every group at this university has the power to. . .alter the kind of environment that fosters the behavior that leads to sexual assault.” He considers Greek participa- tion vital, “particularly the men, because they really wield the greatest influence on campus, and thus, they have the greatest power to effect positive change if they choose to do so. It’s up to all of us to do our part.” continued from page 1 Shaner said. “The music and noise get over empha- sized. Give the students some more time to work things out.” Shaneralso said that he has changed next year’s leases in an effort to control noise and trash from par- ties. Watkins said the coali- tion was started to encour- age and support student self-governance. Supervi- sor Carroll Cornstock said Watkins was doing a good job, but that real change would only occur if students stepped up and took action." Watkins said she agreed with Comstock, and that’s why she has been working to involve students in the coalition. “We went to the Student Affairs Committee first: the Executive Commit- tee President, the Chair of Traveller, the Head Dorm Counselor, the Chair of the Student Judicial Coun- cil, and the Presidents of the IFC and Panhellenic,” Watkins said. “We invited each of those student lead- ers to participate or send a designative representative in their place.” Other students, Watkins said, were either recruited by the student leaders or volunteered. “Garrett Clark walked in to my office this sum- Noise rules unchanged - ton, the Director of Student I ‘neat part of campus life. I met and volunteered. He i 1 had some ideas and sugges-. V M tions and then he has started ' recruiting more studentstfor the coalition.” - .; Watkins and Jane Hot-pf Health, started the group, last fall after receivinga L grant in the summer of 2005 ‘ from the Virginia Depart~. ' . ment of Alcoholic Beverage‘ i " Control. _ .. : Clark said the coalition V , hopes to become a perma-ii. » “We are going to try and V ‘ make {the coalition} more . formal,” he said. . “We can 2 7.; useinfrastrueture to develop ?_¥ good relationships with our V l neighbors, which we were . really bad at.” " ‘ I Rain said a long-term sows ' _ lution will involve Cfliltillll.-.., ; ; ing communication . the coalition. V ‘ i i “We want to establish a. 7 ‘ custom of commmiicatingji with your neighbors when‘ . you move out to the coun- 7 try,” he said. “We neighbors to call students 3]: V instead of calling the sher~ V ifitss . f '. Julia Garrett still remains a bit skeptical. ‘ A ’ V . “The students are just V two different people - the i V partier and the person at the I V meeting,” Garrett said. “II if think we have come along f_ . way, but it has been a year ’_ and a half now... there is ab? '7 long way to go. I am justgforp whatever works.” i OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20061204/WLURG39_RTP_20061204_003.2.txt MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2006 THE RING-TUM PHI ° 3 .0|]|Il|0|lS The dangers of Black Friday Injuries, thefts, general chaos on this busy shopping day are the opposite of the Christmas spirit By Grace Andrews C 0 L U M N I S T oday’s topic is Black Friday. For those readers who are not familiar with Black Friday, let me ex- plain. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, that Friday when stores have their huge Christ- mas sales. It’s the busiest shopping day of the year by the number of people out there. I usually refuse to shop on Black Friday out of concern for - my personal well-being. I am a bit on the shorter side, and attempting to outrun the stampedes with the small ap- pendages that I call legs could be disastrous. A However, this year I ended up shopping on Nov. 24: Black Friday. I was just picking up a few snacks for my road trip back to school and not participating in any sort of Christmas shopping. While finishing my shopping list, I saw a friend of mine with a cart full of items. She had a DVD player, a lap- top, a printer/telephone/fax ma- chine and a digital camera. All that she was missing was a life—size robot that could do housework for her. The only problem with her shopping was that it was around 1:30 a.m. Wal—Mart’s sale did not start until 5 a.m., but my friend want- ed to get there early to beat the mad dash that would happen at 4:58 a.m. when the sales offi- cially begun. The problem with her being so prompt was that she had to wait from 1:30 a.m. until 5 a.m., when the Black Friday deals would begin. I am not going to lie, the deals were fabulous, but I do not know if I would have been willing to wait that long to get them. For a second, I considered getting a few items and wait- ing around until five to get the deals. Then I realized that I was GRACE ANDREWS, columnist The teen even at- tempted to reach into my friend is mother 3* cart and remove the item. wearing flip-flops instead of sneakers, thus eliminating my ability to win a footrace to any of my favorite items. Also, I had not done Tae— Bo in months and would not be able to defend myself from anyone who wanted to abduct my items. When I asked my friend why she was there four hours early to buy her items, she informed me that Wal-Mart had a limited number of some of the items. For example there were only 19 laptops on sale, so if she did not go early, she would not get any of the items that she had County residents should just deal College students everywhere throw loud parties. So why are Rockbridge residents surprised we do, too? By Cralg Malkmes COLU M NIST Rockbridge County is really getting on my nerves. Not only have I recently re- ceived a higher punishment for a speeding ticket on my way out to the Mill than my roommate re- ceived when he got a DUI in St. Louis, but the whole noise ordi- nance issue is far beyond absurd. Granted, it didn’t pass on Monday, but it’s still up in the air. Things could still change if we, as students, don’t show any effort to decrease the noise. Many neighbors around the Pole Houses are furious and can’t believe that the decision has been simply put off. They want to push for a new noise ordinance so strict that, on Wednesday nights, parties would have to be shut down before many students even go out. That’s ridiculous. Some neighbors claim that it is impossible to sleep and that the bass from our speakers'is unbear- ably loud long past midnight. I know for a fact that the music is turned off at Pole Three when it’s supposed to be, so that seems like a pretty unwarranted com- plaint to me. Moreover, the neighbors have the audacity to label students as a bunch of rich kids whose parents will pay for any fines received for noise violations. They further complain that they have to wake up at 7 a.m. or 8a.m. for work, whereas students can supposedly sleep for the rest of the day. Many students who attend here do come from wealthy back- grounds. However, it is obvious that thev have not been sooon-fed Technically, we were here first, so in all actuality, the neighbors shouldn’t be making demands. their entire lives. In qualifying for enrollment to this school, one must surely have a great deal of responsibility. Even the existence of an honor system shows that students un- derstand and are willing to face consequences for irresponsible behavior. They don’t neglect to observe the repercussions of misdemean- ors simply because they assume that their parents will pay the fine. They also must attend classes that can possibly begin at 8 a.m., which many times influences their decision to drink the night before. What the neighbors must real- ize is simply that this is college, and these things are going to hap- pen no matter what school you live near. Moving into a college town means constant interaction with students. Therefore, the lifestyles of those students are going to have a big effect on residential areas. Citizens moving into Lex- ington should have already con- sidered this before purchasing a home near students. If they have not, Rockbridge County must have some pretty devious real es- tate agents. College students are going to drink underage. They are going to throw obnoxious parties. They are going to do insane things, like throw kegs on cars, trip into riv- ers, fall into fires, or even make visits to Stonewall Jackson. Deal with it. Also, how can neighbors com- plain about ‘noisy Traveller bus- es’ keeping them up at night? Without that system, there would be much more traffic and parking issues, as well as the dan- ger of a huge amount of drunk driving. Lexington has grown up around the school, not the other way around. Without Washington & Lee, Lexington would not exist as a town. The ‘Ruins’ we know of today include a three-story building that was built in 1793, which was recognized as the larg- est building in the entire county at the time. Obviously, the business from students and faculty at the school gave merchants and craftsmen a reason to settle nearby and even- tually form a town. Technically, we were here first, so in all actuality, the neigh- bors shouldn’t be coming into this town and making demands. Everyone remembers what it was like to be a college student — to drink five nights a week and stay up until four in the morning playing beer pong. I personally only have two and a half more years. The seniors this year just ex- perienced what will prove to be their last Christmas Weekend. So just let the students do their thing, please. wanted. She then told me a story of an incident that occurred last year. Apparently, her mother had gone to Wal-Mart at 5 a.m. and was almost assaulted by a teen- ager who wanted an electronic item that was already gone from the store’s shelves. The teen even attempted to reach into my friend’s mother’s cart and take the item. After this, my friend and her mother wisely decided that they would just go to the stores of- fensively early and wait until the sale hours began. It is because of problems like this that Wal-Mart had three on-duty police officers that day to monitor the doors and walk around the store. The saddest part about my shopping trip to Wal-Mart was that there were other individuals who had began shopping early as well. They all seemed to be wan- dering aimlessly in the aisles, trying to squander four hours. They looked extremely bored and restless. What a shame! It made me sad to see them spending their day after Thanks- giving shopping relentlessly, especially since I was headed home to eat more Thanksgiv- ing food, watch football high- lights with my brother and go to sleep. Later that day, when I arose from my food-induced coma, I decided to take a look at the news and see what Black Friday chaos had ensued. As usual, there were stories of people being trampled, toys being snatched from the unsus- pecting hands of parents and people being robbed outside of department stores and shopping centers. Now if that isn’t the Christ- mas spirit, I don’t know what is! (Sarcasm intended.) Seeing those stories put a damper on my spirit. Christmas is not about re- ceiving gifts or accumulating every item you want. It is about giving to others unselfishly and brightening up someone’s day. As the world around us be- comes more chaotic with finals, last minute shopping and Christ- mas list writing, I would like for you to remember that there is more to life than getting that great deal on that new high tech gadget that you want or buying those stylish new shoes. It is about spreading joy. So whether you do that by donating some items to the Union Mission, giving to the Salvation Army or sponsoring a child in the area through Na- bors, remember that there are countless ways to give this sea- son and throughout the year. lll VVA.‘-'5 1""! I l'\I (ff? ‘('3 l\I I .».z\fi.:> i....1«:1;~: 135 N DOES YOUR PROFESSOR MAKE THE GRADE? YOUBE THE JUDGE! ..@¢ew§54/d é .24 $4,...,.;.,%aa.%.,..,,,.a. Monday, December 1 10:30 P.M. — Midnight Join your favorite professors and staff members as they exhibit their culinary skills in the Marketplace for this exquisite midnight exam breakfast. N C; s 1-5. RV 1c: 12: s 1th OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20061204/WLURG39_RTP_20061204_004.2.txt 4 - THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, DECEMBER 4,2006 mnions The Democrats’ Worst nightmare McCain-Giuliani for president in 2008 now very likely By Abel Delgado c o LU M NIST Just a few days after Election Day 2006, forward-thinking Re- publicans were celebrating every- where. Tliat’s right, after getting a good old—fashioned whipping, Republicans were rejoicing. Why? Because McCain-Giu- liani is not only the Democrats’ worst nightmare, the pair is now looking more likely than ever. Nov, 8 was a definite wake-up call for the Grand Old Party. The Democrats did not really win this election, but the Republi- cans most definitely lost. The Republicans did not just lose, they were completely and utterly dismembered by the vot- ing public. Incumbent Republicans whose names were linked to the Jack Abramofl‘ scandal probably would have lost to the likes of Walter Mondale. The Democrats did not take any chances. They had learned their lesson and realized that ac- tual Democrats were not going to win any elections. So they nominated people like Jim Webb, a former Republican whose only claim to donkey alle- giance is the fact that he opposed the Iraq war and that there hap- pened to be a (D) following his name on the ballot. There were a lot of moderate candidates for the Democrats this time, and the strategy paid off. Voters got to vote for Republican- minded candidates without vot- ing for the disgraced Republican Party. In a way, the Democrats were The Democrats have a whole two years to remind the American public why they kept losing elections. better at being Republicans this election than the Republicans were. So what’s there to be happy about if you’re an elephant? Well, just a few days after the excommunication of the Repub- lican majority in Congress, two extremely prominent, respected, and moderate Republicans finally made their 2008 plans official. Rudolph Giuliani, America’s mayor, and John McCain, every- one’s favorite maverick senator, both have started what we call presidential exploratory commit- tees. They may not be every con- servative’s favorite duo, but they are every Republican’s last hope. We, and I say we both as a moder- ate Republican and an American, need McCain and Giuliani. We need people who do not decide their stands on issues based on party affiliation, but on personal conscience and public sentiment. Both these men represent all that is great with this country, and the Democrats know this. Every poll of expected 2008 presidential candidates shows that there’s really no way either of them would be defeated by any Democratic candidate, especially Hillary “I should be in jail right now for Whitewater but my hub- bie was president so now I’m a senator” Clinton. Yes, her middle name is much too long for her to have a chance. And who else has a shot for the Democrats? John Edwards and Wesley Clark could not even beat John Kerry. That says some- thing about their chances in a gen- eral election. And does the aver- age voter even know what Evan Bayh, Bill Richardson, or Tom Vilsack looks like? What the Democrats also knew is that before Nov. 8, the chances of either McCain or Giuliani win- ning the Republican nomination were not too great. There was far too much dis- tance between them and the base. But now the base has no choice. The Republicans are desperate enough to pick whoever has the best chance of beating the Demo- crats, and the Democrats have a whole two years to remind the American public why they kept losing elections before. If losing in 2006 means Dem- ocrats show Americans they’re a bunch of grade-A do-nothings and McCain or Giuliani gets the nomination, then maybe Republi- cans did not really lose. Maybe this was the best thing that could have possibly hap- pened to the party of Lincoln and Teddy. letterfromtheeditor Editor makes a final request Outgoing editor asks all students to open up It’s hard to believe, but it has been a year since I took over this 110-year-old publi- cation that “nobody rea .” In that time, the newsroom started working the way a real newsroom does, on new soft- ware, on new computers. But the one thing we still can’t win is you. I’ve found that it doesn’t matter what sits between our pages. Each week, there are articles covering students helping charities and perform- ing on stage. We raise issues that affect student life-——like how the community feels about you, or how the laws effect your nightly activities. And yet we’re still unpopu- lar. No one wants to be caught dead reading the Phi in the Commons. That is, except the 500-plus people who tear the issues off the stands on Monday nights. Funny, but despite the claims otherwise, the news- paper has been around so long for a reason. It’s true that the Phi doesn’t have a perfect track record for great journalism; for example, they used to love to reprint an incoherent article from the 1960’s explaining how the Phi got its weird name. (By the way, “Ring-tum Phi” used to be a phrase in some tongue-in—cheek foot- ball cheer dwnk fans used to yell out back in 1897.) It’s also true that the Phi has done some pretty ground- breaking work to tie the com- munity together over the years. I’ve always been an ideal- ist, and it shows in the staff editorials each week. I would love to think that in a perfect world, we could set out to write stories that you all care about. I’d love to give you exactly everything you want and need. But I’ve found that the world is, shockingly, not per- fect. For starters, you don’t talk to us. On the most important sto- ries, the ones that scream to be talked about, you all say IQ/U“/\ Kat Greene, Editor—in-Chief “no comment.” In doing this, you are handing yourself over to the rumor mill, where, trust me, you’ll be butchered for it. I know why you do it: At least, if it’s just a rumor, no one could ever know if it’s ' really true. But if you want us to reach you, you have to let us in. I started my tenure as editor here with a proposal. I asked you to stick with me, believe in me, and the news- paper, and to wait and see what we could do. As I end my time here, I want to ask another favor: Open up to us. Realize that we’re not here to hurt you; we are you. But we can’t tell the truth unless you give us your side. We can’t reach you unless you reach out, too. When I came on as editor, I told you we would try to make sure good journalism started coming out of this publication. As I leave, I’d like to ask you to do your part. Pope’s fightingwords Benedict is anti-Islamic quote demands action against suicide bombers By Cody Beauchamp C 0 LU M N I ST The most iconic Christian alive is telling Islam to put its money where its mouth is. Thank God/Allah. First, before I write another word, let me roll out the disclaim- er — this article is not an attack on the religion of Islam. I understand and acknowledge that, for the millions who count themselves as Muslims, Islam is a legitimate and very real faith. I know that it at its core is not violent. Do not take me to be a blatant racist or soon-to-be crusading evangelical. That being said: On Sept. 12 (note the date, only one day after the 5th an- niversaiy of the 9/ ll terrorism attacks), the leader of the Catho- lic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, made a comment during a speech at the University of Regensburg in Germany that—to put it deli- cately—did not go over well with many Muslims. In his lecture, Benedict quoted a passage written by Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus, in which Manuel said, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” Ouch. It is obvious that Muslims would have reason to be insulted by anyone who read this state- ment or made this assertion. The problem is these terrorists don ’t understand they are not acting in ac- cordance with their faith. This brings up an interesting question—this statement was used in a lecture by the man most representative of all Christians in the world: the Pope. Why? Believe me——it is not that the pontiff did not know what he was doing. Joseph Ratzinger (as Bene- dict was known before adopt- ing his papal name) is one of the greatest theological heavyweights alive today and has been for liter- ally decades. He served for years in impor- tant Church policy-setting bodies, not the least of which was his stint under John Paul II as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He was one of John Paul’s most trusted advisors. He knows his Muslim/Christian poli- tics well. Given that, you will be hard- pressed to convince me he chose to use that particular passage be- cause he either could not find a better one or did not realize that it basically called Islam an evil, militant religion. Why then? Why would the leader of the largest Christian body all of a sudden call Islam a violent faith? Because Benedict is telling the faithfial Muslims and their leaders to put their money where their mouth is and prove that their faith is not anchored in violence. Think about it—name the one unifying thread that runs between the suicide bombers in Pales- tine, Iraq, Afghanistan, between the race riots Europe (especially France) faced last year and be- tween the terrorists who killed innocent people in New York, Washington D.C., Madrid and London. You guessed it—they all claim to have been acting out of reli- gious fervor and faithfiilness. Faithfulness to Islam. Now, I understand that these men (and sometimes women) do not accurately represent the Is- lamic faith. I understand they are extremists. So does Benedict. So do a large majority of Muslims. The problem is these terrorists do not understand they are not acting in accordance with their faith. Benedict called out the ele- phant in the room when he used a quote that said Islam is by nature violent. He expected outraged Is- lamic leaders to rail against the idea, to claim that Islam is not violent. And now that they have, Bene- dict gets to ask them to prove it. It is a masterstroke: as the most visible Christian leader, Benedict gets to show the Islamic world how the Catholic Church has con- demned past violence by Chris- tians (the Crusades, anyone?) and declared itself to be a peace-seek- ing religion. That is the church’s modus operandi for the spread and pro- tection of itself as a religion. He gets to say that Christians are using faith to expand, not for fighting. At that point, the outraged imams and clerics will have to respond. How can they make the same claim Benedict can without decrying the acts of the terrorists and drawing clear separation be- tween Islam and the terrorists? They cannot. John Paul II helped bring down communism by supporting the Polish Solidarity movement, when Poles rejected communism as a system that failed them. Benedict XVI could help bring down terrorism by forcing Muslims to reject terrorists as not acting in accordance with true Is- lamic faith. Praise Allah. Thank God. You choose. WASHINGTON AND LEE UNNERSITY —~——————— THE RING—TUM PHI. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NEWS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR ARTS&LIFE EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR COPY EDITOR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DESIGN EDITOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS BUSINESS MANAGER MISSION STATEMENT: It is the mission of THE RING—TUM PHI to accurately. truthfully, and thoroughly report news affecting the Washington and Lee community for students. faculty, parents and alumni. Our goal is to look deeper into news affecting campus life and hold leaders accountable. Through our reporting. we aspire to spark discussions that lead to discovering information that THE RING—TUM PHI is published Mondays during the undergraduate school year. THE RING-TUM PHI is a member of The Media Board. which can be reached at mediaboard@wlu.edu. but is otherwise independent.THE RING—TUM PHI welcomes all letters. We reserve the right to edit submissions for content and length. Letters and advertising do not necessarily reflect the opinion of THE RING-TUM PHI staff. This newspaper observes current court definitions of libel and obscenity. THE RING—TUM PHI UNIVERSITY COMMONS ROOM. 341 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA 24450 TELEPHONE: (540) 458-4060 FAX: (540) 458-4059 EMAIL: PHI@WLU.EDU SUBSCRIPTION RATE $45 KATHERINE GREENE JACOB GEIGER STACEY GRIJALVA JESSICA SHAW MIKE FAHEY CATHERINE CARLOCK GRACE ANDREWS CODY BEAUCHAMP DANE DAVIS ABEL S. DELGADO BRIAN DEVINE MIKE HUNTRESS LARA JORDAN ADAM LEWIS CRAIG MALKMES WESLEY O'DELL KEVIN TREMPE ALDEN WICKER MELISSA CARON MICHAEL KEENAN DAVID SHUBICK prompts change. OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20061204/WLURG39_RTP_20061204_005.2.txt MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2006 THE RING-TUM PHI ' 5 .arts&lile Mystery of rush unveiled Recruitment rules in place to create more comfortable, l0w—pressure scene for potential members Greek life stats for W&L women: Last year, women participated in recruitment. of women who participated joined a sorority. Overall, of W&L women are in Greek Life Source: “W&L Greek Life News," Office of Student Activities and Greek Life By Cody Beauchamp 8 TA F F W R I T E R Rules in place regulating the sorority recruitment process (rush) at Washington and Lee are designed to protect the women thinking about joining sororities, said Panhellenic Recruitment Chair Kathryn Heaberg. Heaberg understands that the list of rules can oflen seem con- fusing, but said these rules serve the purpose of protecting both the sororities and the potential new sisters. “There are a lot of pressures that come with adjusting to col- lege life,” Heaberg said. “[Panhellenic] understands that, and we don’t want to add to those pressures with sorority rush.” Heaberg said the sorority re- cruitment rules put into place by Panhellenic also seek to promote better relations between the five sororities at W&L. As an example of how the rules seek to take the pressure out of the rush experience for poten- tial members, Heaberg pointed towards rules against involving men in the recruitment process and consuming alcohol in the presence of potential members. There are also rules requiring that rush dates must be composed of certain ratios of sisters to po- tential members. Heaberg said that rush dates where potential members are outnumbered by sisters would be understandably intimidating ex- periences for the potential mem- bers, so Panhellenic has rules that ensure the dates never have more sisters than potential recruits. Heaberg said she believes that if alcohol were shared by sorority sisters and potential members, it would make the potential mem- bers feel strongly pressured to drink. “When you’re looking at one house, and there are sisters from that house encouraging you to drink with them, you would feel a greater pressure to drink, even if you didn’t really want to,” Hea- berg said. Heaberg also said Panhellenic has rules during formal recruit- ment that prevent both potential members and sisters from drink- ing. She said the rules are simi- lar to the requirements that are in place during the informal rush events of Fall term. “Plus,” Heaberg said, “Alco- hol and drinking shouldn’t really be the focus of that week,” When asked why potential members were forbidden from being in any of the sorority hous- es except during special events, Heaberg pointed to the privileges that come from being in a soror- ity. “It’s definitely different from Happy Holidays ' from the Ring-Tum Phi. The Best Newspaper that Comes Out on Monday the fratemities,” Heaberg said about having closed houses. “But that’s a privilege that comes with members to the soror- ity—getting to go in the house.” Heaberg said that potential members are barred from Greek fratemity-sorority mixers because membership in a house should carry some perks and privileges. “You want to have something to look forward to,” Heaberg said. Heaberg also said that mix- ers inherently have an element of men--the fraternity members- -promoting a sorority above the others by association. “We definitely seek to have a level playing field with all the so- rorities,” Heaberg said. She also said it is this desire to foster and maintain good in- ter-house relations that also is the reason behind rules against “dirty rush” and buying items for poten- tial members. “The recruitment process has the potential to really create bad feelings between the sororities,” Heaberg said. “We want to have rules that make sure the process creates as little tension between the sorori- ties as possible.” Heaberg reinforced the fact that once Fall term ends, the for- mal rush process begins for po- tential members. Among the things potential Rules for formal recruitment week - potential members are not allowed in the sorority house with the exception of Greek events and rush week - no contact is permitted between active and potential members during Winter break and rush week - drinking is discouraged for potential members during formal rush week members can expect to see are the implementation of no-contact rules between sisters and potential members and formal rush week invitations to come spend time around sisters in their respective houses. “The no contact is there to take away some of the pressures surrounding the decision-making that potential members have to do,” Heaberg said. “Sororities will get their allot- ted time with the evening meet- ings, but after that it’s a time for the potential members to work on their decisions without pressure.” Heaberg said that potential members can expect to receive invitations from all the sorority houses, after which the potential members and the sororities both list their preferences for member- ship. After that, a weeklong elimi- nation process starts for both the potential members and the sorori- ties, leading up to the extension of bids to potential members on the Friday of formal rush week around 5 p.m. After formal bids are distrib- uted, both the sororities and fra- ternities welcome their new mem- bers with tear night celebrations. Heaberg encourages potential members with any questions to talk to their Rho Gammas, who are sisters who volunteered to “de-afiiliate” from their sorority for the term in order to provide impartial advice and guidance to potential members. Heaberg said: “Ultimately, we want to make this entire process as enjoyable as possible.” Fast, Safe and Effective LASER Hair Removal! Introducing Cutera’s CoolGlide® For Quick, Comfortable Achieves Permanent Hair Reduction. Cools and soothes the skin and Long-Lasting Results as it removes unwanted hair. Non-invasive treatment allows you to resume your normal activities immediately. Call 463-7361 today for a FREE . consultation and see how we can have you looking better fast! Lexington OB/Gyn 110 Houston St. Lexington, VA 24450 www.|exobgyn .com Please DO NOT place any posters on the glass or walls in the Elrod Commons. The posters will be removed. Please place all posters on the bulletin boards. Please remember to post all events online at events.w|u.edu Thank You, Margo McClinton Director of Elrod Commons OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20061204/WLURG39_RTP_20061204_006.2.txt 6 ° THE RING-TUM PHI arts&life MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2006 The Phi is second annual awards for best and worst ' -1- 4? l ~ E: _‘ “ ‘ ' Q dressed frat houses are back by popular demand I ' M MOST IMPROVED: SAE makes drastic improvements over last year’s single strand of pink lights and deflated Santa Claus. This looks truly classy. Photos by Kat Greene and Melissa Caron Text by Jessica Shaw and Jacob Geiger This year’s B EST D R ES DEOKED HALLS’: Sigma Nu celebrates in style with halls filled with Christmas decor and a glowing Santa figure emerg- ing from the chimney. OLASSIEST: Phi Psi prents a symmetrical display with lights defining the staircases and columns. M051’ UN!QUE= Phi Deit Utilizes icicle lights and C0i0re<_i Strands to WINTER WONDERLAND: Lambda goes all out. With the oversized polar bear and Cleate 3"‘ '"te'e5t'”8- °leai'V9 d'SF>iaY that draws atte"tl°“- elaborate nativity scene perched on the roof, it illustrates a holiday utopia. ‘ Join America’: #1 Student Tour Operator Servic-es: “Nam: Aapmcor Sunday l 1. :08 am £2 ’.?':()(3 pm l '€gr Eisfetirsesihay "}’;{}€§ pm I .. ‘V . MIIZIITLAN CABO I t 7 . i~3W‘‘‘:’‘‘%? 3 S0m."'P‘DRE R: I i {about 5 miles ix‘-om mwri) ‘L.-aft on Rt 645 {at gift simrp) FLORIDA’ CRUISES .Stmi,ght z.3.y hiii an Leeufiii. Assrcs Minna: L Don't miss our! Spring Break 2007 is approaching 4§3”34‘§£3 and STS is offering specials lo this year's holiest Pastmyz destinations! Calliorsuvlngs 1.800.648.4849 _ A A , __ or visit www.sistrovel.com SERVICES G‘ Hum“ Phmygs I -soo-a4s-4s49/ wvvw._ststruvel.com "‘,les..r.u; Christ is the sense yrztzzrz-mizagy and zmiay. yes and i;’erew:r.'"‘ P€r:é:.. 13:8 OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20061204/WLURG39_RTP_20061204_007.2.txt THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2008 THE RING-TUM PHI - 7 O ' it best’ I Sigma Chi steals the win with its interspersed zig zag light designs. 0 O‘ This year's :g.“_.uA..~‘ ‘ ‘x»’:‘ai‘“g -nut‘/"4' ‘ MOST PATHETIC: Phi Kap would have earned the title of least effort, but KA forgot to turn its lights on. Get real — fraternity dues should cover more than two strands of lights. I O _ LEAST EFFORT: KA looksjust a little out of place with its lack of holiday a spirit. is Mother Alpha just too cool for Christmas lights? NICE TRY: Pi Phi must have peen too distracted dominating the soccer field to . bother decorating for the holidays. The pink and blue add an awkward touch. 9 gméy a ;? . T PEDAL CAR l)';s-"rm & ’I‘1;\2 Toy (fA1¢‘rE: Afitfi Canter Order from c)u1'<;.o1npZctc menu ( )1" Join ’I¢.s'_f§)r' (.!l’tE.’ qfuur ALL EUU CA;"~1' EA T [$‘24yf7iZt.$':' 1*‘3X]»3}.§§f§m§ Va 24450 ,;f___‘j?" « _ ~ Friday Night Seafood Buffet with Crab Legs 5pm~10pm {S40} 464a-19_§’,? ~ Saturday Night Buffet 5pm~‘lOpm Make this ggggday l~Sunday l3i’3akec;§Chti(;Blr..a. tczuchdoy/.n,..v. ... ». .r The Generals’ second drive faired no better, as sophomore tailback Stuart Sitterson fumbled a pass reception on his own 30- yard line that was recovered by the Colonels’ John Darrah, giv- ing the home side excellent field position. Capitalizing on the Gener- als’ second mistake of the quar- ter, Wilkes tailback Jason Nabba scored to make it 14-0 with only five minutes gone off the clock. Even without the visitors’ mis- takes, the undefeated Wilkes of- fense easily outgunned its W&L counterpart. Led by quarterback Al Karaffa and tailback Tom Andreopolous, the Colonels amassed 387 yards to the Generals’ 141. The Generals frequently failed to convert on third down. Doug Sweeney punted eight times and Ben Long missed two field goals. The Generals’ defense, so ef- fective against regular season ODAC competition, could not contain Andreopolous and the Wilkes offense. Rotating three running backs throughout the game, Wilkes wore down the W&L defense. Andreopolous, the team’s usual starter, had 169 yards on 15 carries. Freshman fullback Drew Letcavage added 55 yards on 16 canies, and short-yardage _ spe- cialist_l}Iabha..chalked.up ;40 yards and two touchdowns. The mistake-filled game was a disappointing end to the best football season in W&L’s recent history. ICHAE ta Photographer Sophomore defensive end Tommy Matteo and senior linebacker Chris Joseph tackle a Wilkes player in the loss. The list of awards and records is a long one: twelve Generals were named all-ODAC for their perforII1aIi9¢s,th.i§.y<=ar-. . H,ea_d_, Coach, , Frank , Miriello, in his 12"‘ season, was named the conference’s coach of the year af- ter taking a team picked to finish fourth in the ODAC to a 7-4 over- all record. Patiently waiting for the big honors Jeter and Manning continue to seek important hardware despite receiving recognition in other ways for their careers By Adam Lewls COLUMNIST Dan Marino, Karl Malone,‘ Tony Gwynn. Hearing these three names mentioned in the same sentence can imply only one thing: great players who retired without win- ning a champi- onship. These ath- lete's compiled some of the best statisti- cal careers in recent history. Yet when sports fans and ana- lysts discuss the greatest players of all time in football, basketball, and baseball, they ofien leave these names out for the sole rea- son that their hands lack jewelry. Having held the same discus- sion on numerous occasions, I understand the logic. At the end of the day (or season for that mat- ter), only one thing matters--the championship, not the regular season stats. . . But let me reverse that argu- ment, coming to the defense of players like Peyton Manning and Alex Rodriguez, who could very well join the likes of the previ- ously mentioned athletes. This past week, the Minne- sota Twins’ Justin Momeau was awarded American League’s M.V.P., to the dismay of Derek Jeter, who was a close second. Over the past decade, Jeter has - been regarded as one of the most elite athletes in the four major sports, and undoubtedly one of the best postseason players in his- tory, (in baseball terms, he is of- ten thought of as “clutch”). As a fifth year player in 2000, he already boasted four rings, ty- ing him with the great Lisa Marie Presley. But equally as notable is the [fact that he still remains lacking an M.V.P. award, and that is the foundation of my argument. I am in no way downplaying his tremendous postseason hero- ics and statistics. But to me, it is only fair to attribute the champi- onships he won to the rest of his team as well, which goes without saying, as they are indeed the Yankees. ’ ‘ The same goes for players like Tom Brady. He may have won three Super Bowls, but his stats are far inferior to Peyton Man- ning. Until Manning gets his ring, Brady will be regarded by most as a better quarterback. If you look at the teams of Jeter and Brady, certain things be- come clear. Jeter’s Yankees, under the ownership of George Stein- brenner, spent by far the most money in baseball since the be- ginning of their dynasty in 1996, so obviously Jeter had plenty of help. In contrast, someone like Alex Rodriguez has won two M.V.P. awards, yet will continued to be criticized until hevwins a champi- onship. , Not to undermine the postsea- son performances of Tom Brady, but in each of his three Super Bowl seasons, he was equipped with one of the league’s best de- fenses. The defensive unit played more than a little role in the Patri- ots’ dominance. Manning, on the other hand, simply put up record-setting num- bers during the regular season; however, he was not fortunate enough to have such a powerful defense. But my object is not to defend Manning, nor is it to downplay J eter and Brady. Rather, I want to point out that championships in no way define a player’s ability, and furthermore, they carry way too much weight in the argument of the “bests” in the various sports. Just because a player is not sur- rounded by championship,-worthy talent should not immediately re- move him from the argument, and in my mind, as well as that of “Borat,” his career should still be considered a “great success!” Junior comerback Mark Snod- dy, who set a new school record with 17 career interceptions in only three years, was named one of two finalists for the small-col- lege Dudley Award, given to the outstanding Division II or III football player in Virginia. Vamer was named ODAC rookie of the year and finished the season with over 1000 yards pass- ing, despite only playing eight games. The Touchdown Club of Rich- mond named Bryant Fulk its Vir- ginia Division II-III defensive lineman of the year. Last in this impressive spree of accomplishments, do-every- thing senior Colton Ward ends his career as the University’s all-time leader in pass receptions with 161, as well as second in kickoff return yards with 1586 and tird all-time in all-purpose yards with 3740. ‘Next season, the”Genera1s will return Vamer and Sitterson as the core of their offense and should be expected to finish at least sec- ond in the conference. Soccer booted from tourney Generals lose in Elite 8 after knocking ofl top seed By Mike Huntress STAFF warren Washington and Lee’s wom- en’s soccer team got knocked out of the NCAA Division III quarterfinals Nov. 19 in a fash- ion emblematic of how they’ve played all season. They recorded a shutout. It took penalty kicks to de- cide a winner, with both teams playing stalwart defense. Ranked 24th nationally, the Generals loss came at the hands of 19th ranked Virginia Wes- leyan. Goalkeeper Kiki Moreo was solid as usual, turning back several scoring opportunities in a game where it was clear a single goal would be the decid- ing factor. Sophomore forward Anne Van Devender nearly put one away for the Generals on a one time shot from ten yards out, but her attempt sailed harm- lessly over the bar. Penalties went 4-3, Virginia Wesleyan’s way to send the Generals’ home packing. The Generals troubles with Virginia Wesleyan were well- documented this season, as the two teams had gone up against one another twice already. Back on Sept. 23, Wesleyan snapped the Generals five-game winning streak to start the sea- son. That game ended in a 0-0 draw after two overtimes. On Nov. 1 the Generals yielded their second goal of the season to Wesleyan and lost 1-0, knocking them out of the ODAC tournament. Wesleyan dominated early, and after their goal the two team’s settled into a virtual stalemate. It seemed fitting, although frustrating, that the only team who had previously been able to beat the Generals should reappear in the NCAA tournament to send them home packing. The penalty-kick ending capped off what was a remarkable season for the Generals. Includ- ing their NCAA performance, they were 19-1-3, setting a school record for victories and setting a new program record for allowing only three goals the entire season, after starting the season with fif- teen straight shutouts. The Generals, despite losing in the ODAC tournament, had the best regular season record and en- tered that ODAC tournament with the top seed. The Generals had an amaz- ing run in the NCAA tournament, knocking off top-seed Washing- ton University in St. Louis in the Sweet 16 of the tournament, 2-1. The Generals were led by goals from junior Martha Caulkins and sophomore Erica Giordano. Caulkins was a force for the Gen- erals offense, and Moreo contin- ued her stellar season in goal for W&L. On an individual level it was also a special season. Head Coach Neil Cunningham was named ODAC Coach of the Year, and the Generals had nine players recog- nized by on the All-ODAC team. Sophomore sensation Van De- vender, senior captain Maggie Megear, and junior captain Haley Bunting were named as first-team All-ODAC players. Freshman Maggie Sutherland, seniors Anne Wiltshire and Jamie Dorsey, and sophomores Marisa Van Brunt and Moreo received All-ODAC Second Team honors. Freshman Roz Klann received an Honorable Mention. Four players were also recog- nized by the All-South Region team. Van Devender was named to the First Team, while Wilshire, Megear, and Moreo were all named to the second team. Three Generals were recognized by the Academic All-District team. Ju- nior Martha Caulkins was given First Team accolades, while soph- omore Kate Corr and Van Dev- ender were selected to be on the Second Team. Of the nine players recognized by the All-ODAC team, six of them return for what should be a very formidable team next year. With eight total seniors leav- ing after this year, there will be gaps to fill, but much of that will be made up by the increased ma- turity of this years’ strong sopho- more and freshman classes. The Generals ended the season ranked tenth overall in a national poll, and set a school record for the best showing by the team in the NCAA tournament. OCR::/Vol_110/WLURG39_RTP_20061204/WLURG39_RTP_20061204_010.2.txt 10 0 THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2006 snurts Mon Tues WED Tnuns FRI SAT Sun women’: at B’water BQSKOWOII 7:00pm numbers 163 Number of passes caught by senlor colton Ward, who ends hls career wlth the Generals as the all-tlme leader In pass receptlons. He also flnlshes second all-tlme at W&L In klckoff return yards wlth 1586 and thlrd all-tlme at W&L In all-purpose yards wlth 3740. 90 Number of polnts scored by the women’s basketball team In thelr 90-26 vlctory over Holllns thls past week. The Generals set a new school record for most polnts scored In a game, surpasslng thelr previous record of 89. 9 Number of Interceptlons thls season recorded by W&L junlor cornerback Mark Snoddy, who lead the Old Domlnlon Athletlc Conference. Snoddy also led the" conference wlth 20 passes defended. He holds the school record for career Interceptlons wlth 17, breaklng a record that had stood for 55 years. Snoddy was named as a flnallst for the Dudley Award, presented to the top college football player In the state of Vlrglnla. 3 School records broken by the men's swlmmlng team In thls past weekend's NIKE cup held at Kenyon College. Alex Sweet set a new school record In the 100 freestyle and led off the school-record settlng 400 freestyle relay team. The record In the 100 freestyle was the second-longest standlng record on the team. Paul crook also set a school record In the 500 backstroke for the Generals, who placed fourth overall at the meet. box “It was cool because he wore it on the Jay Leno show and it was all fun, like ‘OK. He’s wearing it.’ And then afterward I was like, ‘Oh man. That’s all I could say, ‘Man.’ “ — USC WR Dwayne Jarrett on Snoop Dogg wearing hisjersey while getting arrested. Snoop Dogg was arrested after an appearance on the Jay Leno show this past week on charg- es of drugs and weapons charges, courtesy of S|.com “Probably balloons, parades, a lot of signs that say, ‘Welcome home. ’...lt’Il be magical.” — Jets coach Eric Mangini on the reception he expects Sun- day when he returns to New England, where he was an as- sistant coach for six seasons. The Jets defeated the Patriots 17-14. , courtesy of S|.com MICHAEL KEENAN / Staff Photographer Sophomore guard Craig Sauers grabs a rebound In the Generals’ 82-71 vlctory over Denison In the Washlngton and Lee Tlp-Off Tournament held over Thanksglvlng break. Swimmers stroke ahead Generals drop two tough ODAC games over the weekend By Kevin Trempe STAFF wnmsn Just four games into the season, the Washington and Lee men’s basketball team was already ex- ceeding preseason expectations. Off to their fastest start since 2002, the Generals had taken ad- vantage of a veteran roster and have won three out of their first four non-conference games, in- cluding a run to the final round of the W&L Men’s Basketball Tip- off Tournament here in Lexing- ton. It remains to be seen if the momentum of the early season can carry over into conference play. After falling to Division I VMI in an exhibition opener, W&L hosted three other schools in the W&L Men’s Basketball Tip-off, Tournament. The Generals drew Denison in the first round, and, aided by a 21-5 run in the second half, dispatched the Big Red by a score of 82-71. Senior guard Chris Halkitis led W&L with 15 points, in a game where 10 different Generals ' scored. W&L then moved onto the finals to face Averett College. Averett relied on near-perfect shooting and led by 23-point at halftime. The Cougars went 15-17 from inside the three-point arc in the first half and didn’t miss a shot from inside the arc until one min- ute before halftime. Despite 16 points from sopho- . more guard Isaiah Goodman, the Generals could not close this half- time deficit, and took their first loss of the season by a score of 79- 56. Goodman and junior forward Greg Bienemann were named to the all-toumament team. After the disappointing finish to their home tournament, W&L looked to rebound on the road against Dickinson College. Tak- See “MEN’S BASKETBALL" on page 8 Sweet sets two school records and qualifies for NCAA championships By Lara Jordan STAFF WRITER The men’s and women’s swim- ming teams continue the season with strong finishes, school re- cords and individual cuts to qual- ify for the NCAA meet. The women’s swimming team finished fourth out of 11 teams at the Franklin & Marshall Invita- tional on Sunday Dec. 3. One technique that the team has used to achieve a strong re- cord is specialized practices. “We have training specifically with what you compete in,” said freshman Jenna Worsham. “For example, I swim IM, so practices are designed specifically for that race, targeting what you need.” Also, the team has been very focused on nutrition this year. “Our coach handed out pam- phlets on nutrition,” said fresh- man Annaria Nardone. “We have to learn how to keep hydrated, eat a lot of protein, and when to eat throughout the day,” she said. The teams will also be going on a training trip to Florida after Christmas, where they will be coached by Olympic swimmers and have meets twice a day. “For the training trip, we have a few Olympians come coach us and help us with our technique,” said Worsham. “We come back in really good shape with a lot of momentum to send us through the rest of the season.” The Washington and Lee men’s swimming team finished fourth at the NIKE Open, hosted by Ken- yon College on Dec. 2. The men broke three school records and made five NCAA cuts. One reason for the men’s strong finishes is improvement with their breaststroke and butter- fly swimmers. “We are zoned in on every race and really getting some good experience early in the season,” said Alex Sweet, who set a new school record in the 100 freestyle. “Additionally, our breaststrokers and flyers are really stepping up this year, and it looks as if we are going to have a great year in that department.” Sweet was the feel-good story of the weekend. Afier his house burned down on Wednesday monring, Sweet rose to the occa- sion and qualified for the NCAA national championships. With 10 freshmen, the seniors have made an effort to take new members under their wing and to take full advantage of a large team. “We have a huge freshmen 100-yd. Freestyle: 45.30 (school cut) Freestyle relay squad: 3:04.14 scat-tam» class, but also have a much big- ger senior class than last year,” said Sweet. “We have the expe- rienced swimmers who can help the freshmen make the necessary adjustments. This will become in- creasingly more important as con- ference and nationals approach.” The goal of the women’s team is to win ODACS. “We are hoping for another win at the ODACS,” said Worsham. “And we want to beat our biggest rival--Randolph Macon Woman’s College. We can definitely do it, but it’s going to take a lot of train- ing and competitiveness.”