OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20101115/WLURG39_RTP_20101115_001.2.txt <9 round of ‘the NCAA pl Generals crush Eagles, 45 - 3. , . After easy win over J uniata, hopes momentum W].l_l carifiy over to the first ayo s thefootball team this Saturday. SPORTS / page 8 WAHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY THE RINo—TUM PHI. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2010 ‘BY THE sruinaurs AND FOR THE STUDENTS SINCE 1897 VOLUME CXIV, Giving thanks in Lexington Students fend for themselves over Thanksgiving break By Kelly Mae Ross STAFF WRITER Not all students will be headed home this week- end for Thanksgiving break. According to Dean David Leonard, international students and students from far away states frequent- ly stay in Lexington during the break. One such international student is sophomore Si Young Kim. Kim, who hails from South Korea, will be spend- ing his second Thanksgiving break on campus this . year. He doesn’t get to travel home very often to see his family and friends in South Korea due to the high cost of a plane ticket to his native country. During his Thanksgiving break in Lexington last year, Kim had to fend for himself for meals. This was not easy for him, since as a freshman he had grown accustomed to unlimited sandwiches, fro-yo, etc. all of the time courtesy of D-Hall. “I basically got fat,” Kim said, after explain- ing that his diet during last year’s break consisted of nothing but instant meals that he bought from Kroger. Now a more seasoned veteran when it comes to “Mainly, I am expecting my break to be a perfect rest. ” Sl Young Kim, international student surviving in Lexington during school breaks, Kim has high hopes for this year. He already has plans to take a trip to Washington D.C. on the first day of break to visit a Korean gro- cery store and stock up on food that that has more nutritional value than a Hungry Man TV dinner. He plans on supplementing his healthier eating habits with some exercise as well. But Kim’s Thanksgiving Break will not just be about staying fit. He, like many other college stu- dents on temporary hiatus from their schoolwork, has a list of several movies that he is planning to watch. Topping the list currently are Wallstreet, Wallstreet II and The Social Network. “Mainly, I am expecting my break to be a perfect rest,” said Kim. Kim might have more company this year in Lex- ington than in the past. If they defeat their opponent in the opening round of the NCAA Division III tour- nament, the members of the ODAC-champion foot- ball team will remain on campus over the break. Because staying on campus for Thanksgiving break is often a less than optimal choice for many students, members of the Washington and Lee com- munity have traditionally opened their doors to the students who, for whatever reason, do not go home for Turkey Day. For the past two years the Pi Beta Phi House Di- rector, Carol Garvis, hosted Thanksgiving dinners at the Pi Phi sorority house. Garvis extended invita- tions to the women and house directors who were on campus on Thanksgiving Day, nomatter what soror- ity they were in. According to Garvis, about 20 guests came to each of the dinners. After the feasting was through, everyone played games like Scrabble or Apples to Apples. Garvis said that she would have hosted another dinner this year were she not spending Thanksgiv- ing in Copenhagen where her son, Professor Denny Garvis, is on sabbatical. Although Garvis cannot host a dinner here in Lexington this year, her son seems to have inherited his mother’s desire to share the spirit of Thanksgiv- ing with others. “He is inviting some W&L students that are studying in Copenhagen over for Thanksgiving,” said Garvis. “I guess the tradition will continue but at a different location.” Spring option: the only option? Spring term boasts new “dream ” courses, but that may not encourage students to register By Randi Wilson STAFF WRITER Last spring term, spring option was almost the only option for then sophomore Keke Nichols. Having spent fall term in Brazil with the US-Brazil Exchange for economics and environmental stud- ies, she knew that despiteher great experience studying abroad, neither of those fields was her calling. She then changed her major to romance languages, and knew she would need to take a class for her major in the spring in order to stay on track to graduate in time. But the Spanish class she signed up for wasn’t the spring term she was used to. “I wanted a more traditional course,” said Nichols. What she got was a class that met five days a week for several hours a day, and even involved community service outside of class. After the first day of classes, she wanted to transfer out. She sent six emails to professors to be admitted to their classes. Three had already admitted too many students and two didn’t even reply. Nichols’s advisor recommended she simply take spring option. But luckily the last professor had room , in his 200-level sociology class and Nichols was able to stay on campus. Her story seemed to be the an- ecdotal buzz on campus last spring. Everyone but the freshmen were nos- talgic for the old spring term (an easy class or two with lots of free time to enjoy spring’s festivities). This year’s spring term courses were recently added to the registrar’s page, leaving many students wonder- ing if this year will be better. But according to the numbers, students weren’t nearly as unhappy as they let on. According to a satisfaction sur- vey collected last year at the end of spring term, 80 percent of students were admitted to their first choice class. Even though not everyone was initially satisfied, 97 percent said they ultimately enjoyed their class. Professor Marc Conner, direc- tor of the new spring term, said that Nichols’ case just happened to be the “perfect storm.” “That’s going to happen in the first few years of a large init?ative,” Conner said. And large initiative is an under- statement. Typically it takes 18 months for a professor to develop anew course. According to Conner, l 25 new cours- eswere developed in less than a year to prepare for the new spring term. This was made possible through workshops, roundtable meetings and one impor- tant question: “What is your dream course?” Although many professors leapt course development, ’ at the chance, not all professors were interested in teaching spring term courses. Subsequently, it appeared preregistration numbers indicated that there would be too few courses offered. According to University Reg- istrar Scott Dittman, spring option numbers ballooned in March. “The numbers weren’t even close,” said Dittman. ‘ During preregistration in Decem- ber, 90 students said they were con- sidering spring option. By April, 165 had opted to take spring off. It ended up being a tight fit for the registrar. There was an 18% cushion, or available room for students to fill a course, whereas in a typical semes- ter there is a 25-30% buffer. Had all the students not chosen to take spring option, the cushion would have been much smaller. Even though a few courses have been added to the course listings, it will still be close as to the number of courses offered and the students who want to take them. Dittman recommends that every- one who is really interested in spring option should declare so during win- ter preregistration, and get a form from the Office of the Registrar, which is strongly requested before by March 4. A While both Conner and Dittman acknowledge that spring option is right for some, with reasons varying for studying for grad school exams to getting internships or jobs, they advise students to take classes if they can. “Stick around for spring term,” said Dittman. ’ Spring term is a time to explore and take classes outside of your ma- jor, he said. Conner admitted that even he’s jealous of the opportunities, as he looks at the listings and sees “l5 courses I’d like to take.” Soon-to-be-approved courses in- clude an interdepartmental course on the physics of sound and an art history course on Bollywood, with more being added daily to the re- cently posted listing. This only adds to the plethora of courses offered last year, from The Science of Cooking to Digital Media & Society to Biological Illustration. These courses aren’t supposed to be just another class to meet major requirements, said Conner. lt’s a new way of thinking and teaching for just one term a year. And hopefully, you’ll have a chance at a course that will “change your life.” NUMBER 8 OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20101115/WLURG39_RTP_20101115_002.2.txt UNiVERSl‘lY UBRARY WASHlNGTON & LEE umivgnsny LEXINGTON. VA 24450 NOV 1 7 2913. 2 - THE RING-TUM PHI * MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15,2010 Seniors at/W&L answer the call Job-hunting seniors turn to T each for America for teaching opportunities in low-income communities By Eleanor Kennedy NEWS EDITOR College seniors are faced with myriad options for alter graduation, ranging from gradu- ate school to fellowships to brav- ing the murky waters of the job market. But for some gifted, passionate and talented students there is a third option: Teach for America. Ever since its founding in 1990, Teach for America (TFA) has placed teachers in under- privileged schools throughout the U.S. According to the pro- gram website, TFA has “become one of the nation’s largest pro- viders of teachers for low-in- come schools.” Although TFA began with only 500 teachers in six commu- nities, numbers have risen sharp- ly over the past 20 years. Accord- ing to recruiter Matt Taylor, last year’s 46,000 applications set a record for the program. Taylor said he thinks the TFA’s popu- larity stems from “a growing interest in public service and the reputation [they] have developed for achieving results with under- served students over the past two decades.” Washington and Lee seniors are no strangers to the opportuni- ties in TFA. According to Taylor, 7 percent of the class of 2010 ap- plied. Taylor credits the Shepherd Poverty program for the high in- terest from W&L students. ’ Senior Katie Tonneman, who has already been accepted and offered a job in south Louisiana, also thinks that the many pov- erty-related community service and educational opportunities at W&L peak student interest in the program. Tonneman said she heard about TFA while in high school and always kept it as an option in the back of her mind. She made the decision to apply at the end of this summer. “I thought I wanted to do something mean- ingful before law school,” said Tonneman. Like Tonneman, senior Sar- ah Warsco has graduate school plans but is considering doing TFA first. Warsco wants to get her doctorate in music, and she said that teaching experience before grad school will better prepare her. “I really want an op- portunity to teach,” said Warsco, “and I want to be able to spend that time somewhere I’d be help- ing in the best possible way.” The application process for TFA is anything but simple. Ap- plicants are required to submit an initial application with stan- dard resume information, plus a complete list of every class they have taken in college and the grades they received. After sub- mitting the initial application, some potential teachers have a phone interview while others, like Warsco, skip ahead to a full- day interview. According to Tonneman, who had her full-day . interview in September, applicants who reach that stage must put together a lesson plan and teach other in- terviewees. They must also com- plete several small group activi- ties as well as problem-solving and writing activities. Taylor said that although the application process is lengthy, it helps TFA select the best possible teachers. “The many components of our application process allows us to get to know applicants bet- ter as we look for the charactef- istics that we’ve learned through our 20 years of recruiting and training teachers are predictors of success in the classroom,” said Taylor. Warsco also sees the applica- tion process as a way to weed out people who are not really pas- sionate about the work that TFA does. She said she thinks TFA is looking for people “with the heart for teaching.” “Everybody wants a job,” said Warsco. “But you have to want to teach, and you have to want to help people.” ’ “It Gets Better” at Washington 8: Lee GLBT Equality Initiative hosts event to share youtube videos from the national campaign in response to gay suicides By Paige Gance STAFF WRITER Students and faculty honored Washington and Lee’s GLBT community last Thursday by gathering in the Commons to watch videos from the “It Get Better” project. ’ “It Gets Better” started as a response to the increasing vis- ibility of gay teen suicides in the news. In these videos, openly gay adults urge gay or question- ing teens to value their own life as they promise that everything will get better. Professor Theresa Braunsch- neider began It [Gets Better at W&L with one of her favorite videos from the project, which featured a couple named Dan and Terry. Braunschneider said she used the “Little Red Riding Hood” reference in the video as an ex- cuse to e-mail it to her English students, who were studying the fable. V “But I really just wanted some way to spread the word about this project which I admire so much,” said Braunschneider. Braunschneider and Professor Ellen Mayock received positive feedback leading up to the event. The Women’s and Gender Stud- ies program even donated re- freshments. The event itself attracted around 50 people, who gathered around to watch the video and hear student testimonies. Anthony Nardini, a 2008 W&L -graduate, contributed to the event by describing his jour- P|GE GANCE / staff photographer Professor Theresa Braunschneider addresses students during It Gets Better at W&L in the Elrod Commons living room. Braunschneider opened the event with a video made by a couple named Dan and Terry. What are you going to be when you grow up? Find an answer. Come see us in Career Services. Quick Questions Monday-Friday 10am-12pm, lpm-4pm WASHINGTON AND LEE UNTVERSITY CAREER©SERVICES. 3e-zéay '¢ Eeczawzcmzf PEDAL CAR DINER & TIN TOY CAFE Located at LEE lil® TRAVEL PLAZA Home Cooked Meals & Southern Hospitality.’ Order from our complete menu Or Join usfor one ofour ALL YOU CAN EAT Buffets! Friday Night Seafood Buffet with Crab Legs 5pm-10pm Saturday Night Prime Rib Dinner 5pm-10pm Sunday Baked Chicken, Pork Loin, & Pot Roast 11am-9pm Friday & Saturday Late Night Breakfast Bar 11pm—2am Breakfast Bar 7 Days a Week 6am-11am Daily Hot Country Bar 12Noon —10pm Daily Soup, Salad, & Fruit Bar 10:30am-10pm Order Breakfast 24 Hours a day, 7 days a week! I-81 & I-64, Exit 195, 2516 North Lee Hwy., Lexington, VA 540-463-3478 Great food & a great collection of Antique Pedal Cars & Tin Toys! ney through W&L as a closeted and then openly gay student. “I’m happier about who I am because I’m not trying to hide anything anymore,” said Nardi- ni, who described coming out to his friend in Leybum Library as a weight lifting from his shoul- ders. At first he anticipated W&L being another version of high school and even thought about transferring. But then, he said, he found a support group who accepted him as he was. “It’s not an easy place to be out,” said Braunschneider of the social environment at W&L. She said that most GLBT stu- dents end up transferring. The goal of last Thursday was to celebrate and affirm GLBT students at W&L through the “It Gets Better” project. It was also a follow up to the, candlelight vigil in late October that honored gay teen suicides through a moment of silence. This event, however, was much louder and had a celebra- tory rather than somber nature. When the people in the videos mentioned bullying, the crowd hissed and booed, but when they talked about how life got better, the crowd cheered. First-year Jeromey Mann also took a turn showing the audience his favorite videos. Both clips were lighthearted and at times funny, but the ultimate message was directed at teens struggling through bullying and abuse. According to Braunshneider, although programs like the John- son Scholarship and Questbridge have helped W&L increase di- versity and tolerance, there is still a lot of work to do. Some groups are still struggling for ac- ceptance or are completely unac- knowledged. “Lesbians are invisible at this school,” said Braunschneider. Two of the videos from the event featured women talking about their lives as lesbians. The first was a college first-year only four months out of high school, who talked about how much her life has improved in her few years at college. OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20101115/WLURG39_RTP_20101115_003.2.txt U MONDAY, NOVEMEBER 15, 2010 THE RING-TUM PHI '3 opinions GOP could have done more to affect western political races Despite a hugely successful midterm season, Republicans left a little to be desired in the key area of the Sun Belt By John Paul Beall COLUMNIST They Should Have Said “I’m Meltingll” The Midterm Elections have finally passed and the data gives people the ability to reflect upon the strategies ofthe political par- ties involved. While this election was clear- ly a Republican victory in the short run, GOP administrators and party members alike need to think about posterity. The GOP, while having a large following, has made sev- eral miscalculations in strategy that can only be linked to the absence of strong leadership in the upper echelons of the party structure. This election was disastrous for Democrats, particularly in the house. States that lean Democrat found themselves under the at- tack ofa crimson tidal-wave that spread across much of the East Coast and the Midwest. Many positions assumed to be secured by the Democrats went Republican, with a few pop-up Independents, like Rhode Island’s Governor. Many high-profile Democrats bit the dust, like Senator Fein- gold of Wisconsin. However, the GOP seemed to slip up in the West. and Nancy Pelosi are all influen- tial Representatives from Cali- fornia who were not unseated, and against all odds, Harry Reid of Nevada has survived to tell the tale. Barbara Boxer of California came out on top of a close race Thurmond-in the Sixties. Republicans also lost the gu- bernatorial seat of California (if you consider Schwarzenegger a Republican) to an old hat in the California Democratic Party, Jerry Brown (a former governor with a poor record), against one Because while critical gains could have been made in the West, the Republican Party was concentrating in the East, boosting for people like Rand Paul for Kentucky Senator (a race that was pretty safely his from the moment he announced intention to run). while leaving strong candidates in highly contested races like those in the West out for the wolves. The West is not necessarily as liberal as many believe, but regardless the area is a veritable hotbed for high profile Demo- crats. Maxine Waters, Joe Baca, against a likely winner Carly Fiorina, and the Republicans’ endorsed candidate for Senate in Alaska lost to the first successful write-in campaign since Strom of the most dynamic Republican candidates the nation has seen since Reagan, Meg Whitman. As a matter of fact, the west- ern coast-line north of San Fran- cisco and many of the districts along the southem border held blue. If all odds spoke for Repub- licans to win, and the areas in- volved are not generally liberal in bias, why did this occur? Because while critical gains could have been made in the West, the Republican Party was concentrating in the East, boost- ing for people like Rand Paul for Kentucky Senator (a race that was pretty safely his from the moment he announced intention to run), while leaving strong can- didates in highly contested races like those in the West out for the wolves. While Obama was out sweep- ing the nation and trying to whip up support, the Republicans have no one who could do so, a fault that the leadership of the GOP can surely claim. Furthermore, as demographi- cal changes demonstrate a shift in emphasis from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt, places in the South and the West will be picking up importance in the electoral pro- cess (California has 56 electoral votes as of 2010). Republicans used poor strat- I egy putting up a weak effort in such important areas while in- stead rallying areas in the East, which for the most part are slow- ly losing influence. Those of us who are Republi- cans can still all applaud the his- toric turnout ofthis election. Still we must be skeptical of our party leadership (what little there is), because while the gains Demo- crats made were those made by the Party, those made by Repub- licans were largely the result of public referendum. Those losses and important missed opportunities of the GOP are casualties of Party tunnel-vi- sion and lack of good strategy. Congratulations to all candi- dates and their families. OMG, Emma Watson has short hair: the world must be over Pat Smith contemplates life is true meaning after one tragic haircut shattered all his childhood hopes and dreams By Patrick Smith co LU M N I ST I was casually surfing our campus’ ferociously high-speed Internet one day in the library (hah), and went to the Yahoo homepage. The front headline that appeared was something so obscene, so offensive, and so not fair. Brace yourselves... Emma Watson pulled a Brit- ney Spears. It was one of the hardest days of my life. To see such a great Witch go to waste nearly broke my heart. I have been an avid Harry Potter fan since day one and this travesty ranks up there with the death of Albus Dumbledore, Or- der of the Merlin — First Class, Chief Warlock of the Wizenga- mot, Headmaster — Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wiz- ardry, Founder — Order of the Phoenix (R.l.P.). OK, she didn’t go full-on Brit- ney Spears, but her hair is shorter than mine. Imagine missing the Hogwarts Express and having to highjack a flyingicar in order to get to school. Yea, that’s kind of how I felt. Bad, Bad Dobby. Emma Watson is about the same age as me so I don’t feel bad in saying that I have had a crush on her since the beginning. lfl had even half the skills she has as a Witch, I would be con- tent for the rest of my life. But now, the Whomping Willow has crushed my heart, and I don’t know what to think anymore. I always knew I could win over Hermione one day because quite frankly, Ron is a "wuss. But who to turn to now? I mean, Ginny Weasley is kinda hot,.but only a fool would,’ mess with Harry Potter. Have you seen his Patronus? Now that my life is in sham- bles, I’m debating whether to see the new ‘movie coming or not. I was so pumped to see the first installment of the seventh book, but now that I know Emma Wat- son has gone off the deep end, I question myself. I’m going to see the movie Every memory I have of Har- ry and the gang is now tainted. I’m a lost soul wandering around in the Forbidden Forest. Albus is How the Phi got its name... Taken from the Sept. 25, 1974 issue, this article finally provides the answer to a frequently asked question This is an excerpt from an ar- ticle which originally appeared in the Dec. 5, I967, issue of Ring-tum Phi. In 1897, the same year that the New York Post conferred upon Lexington the title of“Ath- ens of the South,” the Ring-tum Phi was born at Washington and Lee. The name of the fledgling journal was taken from what was then considered a scandal- ous football cheer. The Phi began as both a news publication and a compli- ment to The Collegian, which started as a fairly serious liter- ary magazine and ended in 1968 as a humor magazine. The first editor-in-chief George Houston ran a series of football songs in the fourth issue which he appar- ently thought were the type of thing that the Phi was designed to print. One of these songs was that from which the name of the paper was taken: “Each other’s back, boys, ' Has got a knack, boys, For making gains, sir, Round the end. And it’s a sin, sir, For Oberlin (a W&L player), sir, , To buck the V.M.I. boy’s line So awful hard. Thejoin the yell, boys, And yell like h--I, boys, Sure enough. To W.&L.U., boys, 'And football, too, boys, Let’s give a rousing, Rumbling, Roaring football yell. Ring-tum phi, stickeri bum, We’re hot stuff from Lexing- ton. Well, h--I broke loose. (End excerpt) The editor of the new pa- per received an infuriated let- ter from an anonymous “R” for publishing such this “sinlet” on the first page of the paper, call- ing it a “dark, purple crime.” Times sure have changed. We have no idea what Ring- tum Phi means. We have tried endless translations and creative thinking, and the best we have is that “tum” means “then” in Latin, and “phi” is the symbol, for the golden proportion. Since we are lost, we want to invite you to come up with your own ideas for what this could mean and e-mail them to phi@ wlu.edu. While you are at it, go ahead and come up with some- thing for “stickeri bum.” That one is also beyond us. Every memory I have of Harry and the gang is now tainted. I ’m a lost soul wandering around in the Forbidden Forest. anyway, but only going to be slightly happy about it. Why did she have to go and do this to me now? I had to cancel all of my bids on Ebay for a new Dragon Heartstring wand. dead, Sirius is dead, Fred is dead, and now Hennione Granger might as well be dead. Damn you Draco, this is your entire fault. For all you Harry Potter fans out there, come join me in purchasing a ticket for Rachel McAdams new movie, “Mom- ing Glory” and simultaneously sneaking in to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part I, this Friday, November I9. Ms. Rowling, and most importantly, Emma Watson do not deserve my ticket sales. So how many Gryffindors does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three, and you know who they are... And why did Crabbe and Goyle cross the road? Because Draco did. Roflmao. Comicof the Week “This is We. ” CHRISTIAN RODEN / staff cartoonist OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20101115/WLURG39_RTP_20101115_004.2.txt 4 - THE RING-TUM P‘HI MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2010 opinions Rejected article ideas from thisterm Lacking any solid article ideas, Stockton Bullitt explains some rejects in his quintessential rambling, incolzerant style By Stockton Bullitt OPINIONS EDITOR Sometimes, youjust need to call a spade a spade. I was not in the mood to write an opinion article this week. Most weekends, I can pound these babies out effortlessly, but the anticipation for the Lions-Bills game was simply too much for me to keep properly focused. So what do you do when you can’t think of anything to write about? Use a cheap gimmick that makes it look like you were trying. Thankfully, this is a great week to use a BS gimmick for an ar- ticle. The Ring-Tum Phi only has one more issue left in the first semester, and there’s no way that I won’t have plenty of entertaining material after watching freshmen experience their first Christmas Weekend. So, to keep you entertained, I present to you the seven articles that just didn’t quite make the cut for the first semester of this year. All of these articles were either drunkenly discussed on Windfall or seemed like legitimate articles up until I started to write them. Unfortunately, either they were a little too controversial, offensive or just plain stupid to stretch into a full article. So, while you enjoy your time on the library bathroom toilet, en- joy these article ideas that still beat anything published in the “Stall Street Ioumal.” Kanye West is an iconic genius, which - kind of sucks Ever since I heard his first leak off his new album, I wanted to write an opus convincing the world that although Kanye is a self-righteous douchebag, he is still the greatest musical genius ofthe last decade. Yeah, that may sound like a hyperbole, but if you take out the unpopular “808’s & Healt- break,” every one of Kanye’s al- bums have been simultaneously pop hits and far ahead of their time music wise. “College Dropout,” released in 2004, sounded like music in 2006 and “Late Registration,” released in 2005, sounded like music in 2008. And guess what? His new album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” is getting amazing reviews. Here is what Rolling Stone wrote in their five star review of the album, which drops on November 22: “lt’s his best album, but it’s more than that — it’s also a rock-star mani- festo for a downsizing world. At a time when we all get hectored about lowering our expectations, surrendering our attention spans, settling for less, West wants us to demand more.” Even more stunning was a rap mogul’s description of the album: “Think about the first time you heard Midnight Ma- rauders or Reasonable Doubt or 36 Chambers. It’s hard to take those feelings, sound sub- ject matter and passion -- all of those ingredients -- and take it a step further. It’s stupid.” So, you get it, people think his music is good. But the nor- mal counter to anyone praising Kanye’s music is his complete lack of sanity. However, I have a feeling Kanye knows a lot more than you give him credit for. Just look at how the Taylor Swift moment at the VMA’s worked out for ev- eryone involved. Kanye looked like the bad guy, but still got enough attention to keep people interested in him in a year when he didn’t release an album. Be- yonce got to play victim while still getting praised in public. And Taylor Swift got the best deal of all. She was able to gain tons of fan loyalty and public sympathy for free. Plus, she has earned permanent empathy on any situation even when her new song “Dear John” sounds like it was written by a bitter middle- schooler who just discovered that the boy world doesn’t com- pletely revolve around her. Plus, everyone seems to forget this, but Kanye was freaking right. Taylor Swift’s video for “You Belong to Me” was pedestrian at best, and I’m no diva, but Be- yonce did have one of the best ----————-.——-- WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY —— --»— ~————-——---—- THE RINGIFUM PHI. . MANAGING EDITOR NEWS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR ARTS & LIFE EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR COPY EDITOR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DESIGN EDITOR HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER STAFF CARTOONIST BUSINESS MANAGERS DISTRIBUTION STAFF information that THE RING-TUM PHI IS THE RlNG—TUM PHI IS A PHI@WLU.EDU OR TO MEDIA OUTLETS ON LEEICAMPUS. MEDlABOARD@WLU.EDU. IS AN INDEPENDENT, STUDENT—RUN EDITORIAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE WORKING WITH ALL DIANDRA SPICAK ELEANOR KENNEDY STOCKTON BULLITT HOLLY SUTHERS JAYNA JOHNS EMILY CRAWFORD BARBARA KNIPP IVA WEIDENKELLER JESSIE YKIMOFF JOHN PAUL BEALL LIZZ DYE PAIGE GANCE NAY LIN KELLY MAE ROSS PATRICK SMITH RANDI WILSON KATIE HATFIELD STEELE BURROW CHRISTIAN RODEN ROB GEORGE MATT GOSSETT KELLY LANE JOE MORAVEC ZABRIAWN SMITH EVAN SHARBER DAVE WILSON MISSION STATEMENT: It is the mission of THE RI/\IG—T_UM 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 prompts change. PUBLISHED MONDAYS DURING THE UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL YEAR. MEMBER OF THE MEDIA BOARD, BUT IS OTHERWISE INDEPENDENT. QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THE PHI SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE EDITORS AT THE MEDIA BOARD AT THE MEDIA BOARD THE WASHINGTON & ALL INQUIRIES WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL. 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 videos of all time with “Single Ladies.” Still, there’s no way I could make this into a legitimate arti- cle. People have and always will hate Kanye. George Bush won’t forgive him. Taylor Swift won’t really forgive him. His fans won’t forgive him for “Love Lockdown.” And more impor- tantly, nobody will forgive him for being as cocky as he is. Despite him having a small- er ego than Bono and Kenny Powers, he’s the one who gets viewed in the bad light. I guess that’s what you get for liking fish sticks. How to write an , article in a school publication This article would’ve been one giant hate on both “In- General” and “MockCon.” The only disappointing aspect of the general lack of “I in 4” articles this year is that I have no real enemies to make jokes against. I tried going after the Lexing- ton Police, but unfortunately, their police chief was too damn accommodating and pleasant to interview. So, after the Parent’s Weekend editions of “lnGener- al” and “MockCon” came out, I thought that it’d be nice to throw some cheap shots and make some enemies. I would’ve first tried to ex- plain to “lnGeneraI” what an actual blind date is. I’m no ex- pert, but I don’t think a blind date is when two friends who know each other well go out to dinner without any romantic expectations. I realize that it’s' tough to convince anyone at Washington and Lee to go on an actual date (Oh, that’s just me...um...nevermind), but when you purport a section of your magazine to be about blind dates, at least try and make it a charade. With the “M ockCon” publi- cation, I would’ve taken some even cheaper shots, noting that Career Services already does a fantasticjob telling people how to interview. Also, the whole “we would tell you more sto- ries, but” line is a waste of the energy it took me to read that sentence. That’s like going to all of your friends and telling them, “I have the greatest story from last night, but I can’t re- ally talk about it.” Itjust makes people hate you. I ended up not writing this article for three main reasons. First and foremost, I think you can already tell that I was doing some serious nitpicking there. Overall, both publications were fantastic, and any real criticism I made just sounded a lot like me calling the kettle black. Second, I just wrote an article hating on Republicans. Did you really want another article filled with “Haterade?” I didn’t think so. Third, the editors of both publications hold way too much power at this school, and I can’t waste any opportunities to brown-nose. By the way, “lnGeneral” is that a new top? It looks radiant. Hawto play - preventdefense on yoursisterduring Parent’s Weekend C’mon, tell me you’re not reading this article. As every older sibling knows full well, there is nothing scarier than bringing your younger sibling out on a Friday or Saturday night. Not only is there the worry that he or she will see you for the morally decrepit person you’ve become, but he or she also has a direct line to the parents, which can always be dangerous. Worse is when the younger sibling gets out of your sights. Usually, he or she ends up overly drunk in a very precarious situ- ation. And you’d never believe this, but there is no shortage of students at Washington and Lee who wouldn’t mind hooking up with a high school student. Who would debase themselves so much as to do that? What this means is that the entire night is spent either try- ing to look as religiously pure as possible or playing some serious prevent defense on the sibling. Some quality defensive procedures include accidentally inserting embarrassing child- hood stories into conversation, getting a cadet to bodyguard for the night and keeping a “Call of Duty: Black Ops” level recon on the sibling at all times. Overall, I would’ve loved to write this article and was com- pletely ready to implement all my various strategies when my eighteen year old sister visited campus during Parent’s Week- end. Sadly, nothing came to fru- ition for one main reason. My sister has something in common with Veronica Mantooth and Reggie Bush. She is a SAINT, and would not do anything re- motely incriminating ever. Yeah, I’ll stick with that story. Kevin Gamett and . “cancer”: not a big deal There was a ruckus made in the NBA over the past week over an alleged comment Bos- ton Celtic Kevin Garnett made to another NBA player, Charlie Villanueva. Garnett, a known trash talker, allegedly called Vil- lanueva a “cancer patient” dur- ing a game. Villanueva, who suffers from a skin disease that prohibits him from growing hair anywhere on his body, broke this story over his Twitter account. This story was beat to death on ESPN and other sports news outlets, and it quickly took the Brett Favre’s Body Part Memo- rial Award for dumbest news story of the moment. For one, Kevin Garnett tried to back out of his comment by saying that he called Charlie Vil- lanueva “a cancer to his team and the league.” C’mon KG,just man up and admit what you said. Watch any Celtics game, and ev- ery cut to Garnett on the bench features him dropping a different version ofthe F-Bomb. Like he’s going to resist the softball trash talk line on Charlie Villanueva. Much worse things are said even in IM fiag football games on campus here. Plus, I know it’s brutally offensive and in bad taste, but take the time to look at Charlie Villanueva and try not to laugh. He’s about as good looking as Kenny Powers’ half brother. comAprehensIvegiant’ ' preview ofthe NBA In early October, a friend of mine sent me the 380 page Bas- ketball Prospectus for this up- coming NBA season. As my test grades show, I spent most of the month digesting all the informa- tion I could. Say what you want about the NBA, but this is the best regular season product the league has put out in years. 24 of the 30 NBA franchises have a legitimately exciting element to their game and far fewer teams are employing the coasting method that has alienated sports fans for years. To highlight how great this season would be, I planned to make some bold predictions about the NBA. This would’ve been a sweet idea until I remem- bered that I am terrible at mak- ing predictions. I was certain that the Ivory Coast would be this year’s dream team in the World Cup. I convinced all of my friends that “Avatar” would be taken seriously. Most of all, I knew that laMarcus Russell was a lock for rookie ofthe year. So, even though I did call the success ofthe Golden State War- riors and the New York Knicks, I decided that I’d let the sports section cover sports and stick to the opinions section. Hawto survive being the token dumb kid in class Considering we all go to Washington and Lee, I’m guess- ing that most of us are pretty smart students. However, now that we’re in a pretty tough col- lege, there will always be the classes that seem like they are taught in a different language. Well, yeah some of them actu- ally are, but you get my point. Most of us didn’t spend our high school careers being the kid who simply could not grasp the material no matter what was said. So, I thought now that I’m a junior and I’m getting very good at being the token dumb kid, I’d give some valuable ad- vice to those new to the feeling. See, instead of getting down on yourself and checking out of the class, strategy is most important in the class you’re hoping to get a C in. There are some valuable strat- egies to abide by when donning the dunce cap in class. First, nev- er sit in the front or in the back of class. Sitting in front makes the professor all too aware of your blank stare while she is lectur- ing, and sitting in back makes you the target of the “I’m going to call on a random member of - the class to make sure he or she is paying attention” method that pretty much every liberal arts teacher uses every lecture. Second, get very good at hav- ing your facial expressions mir- ror the professor’s. So when the professor is smiling and giddy, you should look happy and gid- dy yourself. When the profes- sor is serious and focused while lecturing, you need to seem just as focused and serious about the material. Couple this with continuous eye contact with the professor, and you’re guaranteed at least five token pity points, ' which is really what you’re aim- ing for in the dumb kid strategy. Lastly and most importantly, always talk to the professor. You should not do this so you can learn the material better, but rather so you can improve your grade by manipulating every professor’s dream of mi- raculously turning the dumb kid in the class into a hard work- ing genius. Say you didn’t do the reading, then you definitely should visit the professor to talk about the material. Just shoot out some line like “I worked for hours on this material, but I feel like I don’t understand a word,” and boom, the teacher will buy it hook line and sinker. This really couldn’t be a le- gitimate article because then the secret of grade manipulation would be over. Good thing my professors didn’t make it this far because otherwise, I’d actually have to do the reading. Over the last month, every college from Eastern Washing- ton to Harvard has come out against Four Loko. If you’re reading this in a bathroom stall, you also might notice the flyer to the right of you calling for the banishment of Four Loko. Look, I get spreading aware- ness for the potential dangers of mixing alcohol and caffeine, but calling for it to be made illegal is more pointless than hiring a ma- riachi band to accompany farm animals. Having had a Four Loko or two in my life (and even writing an article about it last year) has given me some insight into the drink. For one, everyone who drinks a Four Loko has a pretty good idea of what one are put- ting into his or her body. It’s not like people are drinking these things for pleasure and acciden- tally getting drunk. Second, if you are going to condemn college drinking just for the sake of getting drunk, don’t act like Four Loko is the only enabler here. If you want to go after Four Loko, then go after shots, games like beer pong and funnels. It’s not like Four Loko is breaking any new ground here. Lastly, all the attention these health groups are giving Four Lokos are working against them. Like Pokemon, Miley Cyrus and Razor Scooters, Four Lokos are a fad. Once you drink enough of them, they tend to get old after a while. Instead of letting the fad run its course, these health groups are givingmore attention and coverage to the drink. Letting people know that they will feel less drunk while still having the same damaging ef- fects is not exactly stopping any college student from drinking a Four Loko. If you really want to get people to cut down on their drinking of Four Loko, just film students who are eight to twelve loko deep, and show them the next day how intelligent they sound. End of story. '0 OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20101115/WLURG39_RTP_20101115_005.2.txt U Q MONDAY,NOVEMBER 15, 2010 THE RING-TUM PHI ° 5 arts&|ife International House hosts eye-opening film screening Film exposes the cruel and devastating lives of sugar cane cutters in the Dominican Republic By Nay Lin STAFF wrmen International House hosted a screening of the film “The Price of Sugar” and followed it with a discussion panel. The screen- ing attracted over 50 students, faculty and staff from a variety of disciplines, ranging, from En- vironmental Studies and Ceram- ics (Reeves Center) to Romance Languages and Economics. The idea for the movie screen- ing was motivated by a similar screening event hosted by United Nations Associations for United States ofAmerica (UNAUSA) in New York City. The movie shows the be- hind-the-scenes view of sugar from the perspective of Father Christopher Hartley. The priest traveled to the Dominican Re- public to improve the Haitian sugar cane cutters’ living situa- tion. Haitians’ desperate needs for jobs led them across borders to Dominican Republic’s sugar plantation fields where they were paid minimally in vouchers to exchange food and kept under armed guard called bateyes. Cane cutters suffered from malnutrition and had to rely on sugar cane as the only nutrition source. Jhonny Belizaire says, “I am not afraid because I believe there is no death worse than this.” At one point in the movie, Father Hartley says, ‘‘I’m sure most American families would be embarrassed to know at what price they putsugar in their cof- fee every morning." The discussion following the movie focused on how the Unit- ed State’s sugar protectionism factorslinto this situation and the idea that the free trade of sugar could be a possible solution. The impact of sugar on the consump- tion of tea, coffee and cocoa in the United States, as well as the alternatives for sugar such as maple syrup, corn, honey and ap- ple, were also explored. Panelists included Mike Smitka, Professor of Economics, Susan Dixon, Professor ofFrench, Leah Green, Professor of Environmental Studies and English, Ron Fuchs, Reeves Center Curator, Laura Henry-Stone, Post-Doctoral Fel- low of Environmental Studies and senior Cailin Slattery, the 100 Projects for Peace winner, who spent her summer working with a microfinance organization in the Dominican Republic.) In the spirit of the occassion, Amy Richwine prepared Haitian snacks - Coconut bread, Pain Pa- tat (Sweet Potato Bread), Banane Pese (Fried Plantain) and Pine- apple Nog that were served be- fore the screening. The mission of the Interna- tional House is to promote inter- national learning by facilitating interaction and communication between students and members of the W&L community. The movielposter for The Price of Sugar 1 PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOGLE ‘IMAGES Arts League will host Holiday Art Sale W&L Arts League is accepting donated pieces of art from the community to sell at an art sale before Christmas break By Holly Suthers STAFF WRITER The Arts League of Wash- ington and Lee is sponsoring a holiday art sale for the first time. The sale will be held on Wednes- day, December 1 from 4' p.m. to 7 p.m. in Wilson Hall. The league is currently col- lecting art from students and fac- ulty, and will continue to do so until the end of the week. Com- munity members are encouraged to attend. The pieces will be sold for less than $100 each and the prof- its will go towards a trip to New York City. “We thought that selling art would be an appropriate way to raise money for a trip to visit art galleries and museums in New York City," said freshman lva Weidenkeller. Half of the selling price for each piece will be given to the artist and the other towards the Arts League. The group is hop- ing to travel to New York over the first weekend of Washington Holiday in February. “We’re hoping that this sale can raise a lot of money for the trip and for Arts League, provide a lot of people with Christmas presents, and give some students and local artists some good ex- posure.” Refreshments and music will be provided at the event, as well as holiday cheer while Christmas shopping. Students may submit their aitwork by filling out forms, which are posted around Wilson Hall, by the end ofthis week. The Arts League will host similar events in the future and encourages all interested stu- dents tojoin. ‘ “[Arts League] is not just for visual artists, but musicians, dance performers, art historians, and basically anyone who wants to see and interact with more art on campus.” For more information about participating in the Holiday Arts Sale or to take part in other ac- tivities, e-mail artsleague540@ gmail.com. & American Cuisine SERVING Breakfast~ Lunch~ Dinner (Breakfast served all day!) , Tuesday-Thursday: Friday and Saturday: Sunday: 7AM — 3PM _ Closed Mondays 7AM — 9PM 7AM - 10PM Lunch and Dinner Specials! 0 Carry Out Available Go Greek at Niko’s! 167 South Main Street Lexington, VA Phone: 540.464.9499 Fax: 540.464.1226: Look for menu at www.nikosgrill-cafe.com 'Tc>-JG: I‘) \' 132% 1% N A S T Y 110 South Iefferson Street — Lexington, VA Closed Every Monday — Beer & Wine 540-463-2002 Chinese Buffet . Tuesday — Saturday Lunch Buffet: $6.99 Di ner.Buffet: 12.95 11:30 a.m. — 3:00 pm. Allyou can eat crab legs and sushi 4:30 p.m. — 9:30 pm. All Day Dinner Buffet ' 110 South lefferson Street — Lexington, VA Closed Every Monday — Beer & Wine 540-463-2002 Iapanese Steak House and Sushi Bar Sunda S ecial: 9.99 Hibachi S ecial ll) \' N 12:00 noon — 9:00 p.m. “lfinésfl A A S T Y Dinnerfor Two - $29.99 Shrimp or Chicken 3:30 p.m. -10:00 p.m. 4 No Reservation Required OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20101115/WLURG39_RTP_20101115_006.2.txt SERIOUS UNDERARENOVATIONS W. Dmuwe ’_J__»'*:x, Bénmm 2 Rh‘. FUhN- ; ./"\.» » LIIVDNE Rnnnvn FIRST 4 1 SECOND FLOOR . FLOOR Townhome Style Apartments On Nelson Street NOW LEASING * High Speed Wireless Internet ,. New Heat &Air Conditioning * Water with Washer & Dryer ~k Renovated Kitchens and Baths ,. ALL INCLUDED NOT Affiliated with Washington & Lee University 540-GOGENRET 540-464-3673 filing E .iLDlB IVBKNABEMENT CD OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20101115/WLURG39_RTP_20101115_007.2.txt ..\ \ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15,2010 THE RING-TUM PHI ' 7 ft’ -spouts EDITOR Washington and Lee’s men’s swim- V ming team was at home this Saturday as they swam ‘against two North Carolina teams. They beat Queens University by a score 160-98, but could not quite get passed Wingate University as they fell 139-123. The three teams swam against each other simultaneously for each I "‘fevent., . With the meet, the team moved to 3- -'2 on the season. 9‘ Two Generals won their individual g _ V .53, and S year Déiizédrireland too top spot ieaststrokei in 2:12.52. elandand Sykes swam as part of the 200 yard medley relay team, along .:.with first-year Robert Knuth and junior ..*??37§ieff Stir1ingZ“Tl-‘rey took the top spot in a O time of 1:38.47. "Four swimmers in five ' different events, in addition to a relay team, , _,touched in second. Junior Chris Wash- nock came in‘ twice, taking second in *4 4 }:{""the‘ 100 yard backstroke in 54.61 and; i also in the 200 yard backstroke, which he ‘swam in 1:56.79. Senior, ,Brandon also Wilder swam in a 4:57.32 in the 500 yard freestyle, and junior Brian Stirling swam the 100 yard butterfly in 52.70.- Junior Ian Dexter teamed with Knuth, Sykes and Brian Stirling to swim the 200 yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:27.98 to finish second in the event. The Generals will swim again next Saturday as they face Rochester, Frank- lin & Marshall and Carnegie Mellon. The four teams will compete at Franklin‘ & Marshall at 11:00 a.m. First-year David Ireland competes in his event Saturday in Lexington. STEELE BURROWS / head photographer W&L Women continue to innpress The swimming team racked up its third straight victory as they took down Sweet Briar last Friday an By Jayna Johns SPORTS EDITOR The Washington and Lee women’s' swimming team is on a roll as it cap- tured two victories in two meets the past couple of weekends. in one of those ‘ meets, a relay team broke a pool record that had stood since 1984. Last Saturday, November 6, the women took down Randolph-Macon in Lexington with a score of 153-102 in their first conference meet. Friday, the women travelled to Sweet Briar and came away with a 145-106 win. The Generals now post a 3-1 sea- son record and have not lost since the season opener. Against Randolph-Macon, six swim- mers took home individual first-place finishes in eight events. The Yellow Jackets managed to win both relay events, although one of those the Gen- erals missed by less than a quarter of a second. Sophomore Delaney Rolfe touched in first in two events. She swam the 200 yard free style in 1:59.84 and the 500 yard free style in 5:23.24. Junior Katie Salvati also won two events, coming in first in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:03.32 and in the 200 yard backstroke in a time of 2:14.06. Sophomore Ann McCampbell won the 1000 yard freestyle in 11:06.95, and fellow sophomore Brittany Ross took the 200 yard butterfly in 2:15.49. Junior Dana Fredericks swam the 200 yard breaststroke in a time of 2:35.31_and first-year Lauren Kasoff won the 100 yard butterfly in 1:02.50. The Generals had the top three fin- ishers in the 1000 yard freestyle, the 100 yard backstroke and the 200 yard but- terfly. The following Friday, an exhibition team consisting of_Fredericks, sopho- more Izzy Brassfield and first-years Rebecca Lawrence and Meredith Hardy broke a 26 year old record after finishing the 200 yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:53.06. The women’s day followed that success as they collected eight indi- vidual victories and one relay win, de- spite swimming competitively in only 11 events. They swam the other three events as exhibitions, so their finishes in those races did not count towards the final score. Fredericks won two of her events, coming in first in the 100 yard back- stroke in 1:10.86 and the 100 yard free- style in 1:02.25. . ‘ Senior Tess Hayden won the 400 yard freestyle in a time of4:46.46. Rolfe came in first in 2:32.68 to take the 200 yard butterfly, and McCampbell took the 200 yard backstroke in 2233.67. The team’s younger swimmers had a successful day as well, as three first- year swimmers had top finishes. Kasoff touched in in a time of 2:16.79 to win the 200 yard freestyle, Alexandra Vi- ers finished in 1:25.57 in the 100 yard set a pool breaststroke and Michelle Szymczak'~ came in in 3:02.02 to take the 20() yard breaststroke. The relay team consisting of Hayden, sophomore Stephanie Krasnov, junior Erin Schwartz and senior Becky Guynn brought home the final first-place finish for W&L, winning the 200 yard medley relay in 2:13.02. The women will return to the pool on Nov. 20 as they travel to Franklin & Marshall to compete against Rochester, Carnegie Mellon and Franklin & Mar- shall at 11:00 a.m. Season ends for W&L Volleyball The Generals fell to Number 1 seed Emory University, 3-1, in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament By Lizz Dye STAFF WRITER The Generals volleyball team had a satisfying day when it was granted an at- large bid to the 2010 NCAA Division 111 Women’s Volleyball Championship last Monday, despite losing to Randolph- Macon in the ODAC tournament. Seed- ed No. 4, Washington and Lee (27-6) was picked to play No. 5 Mt. St. Joseph (21-10) in the first round of the touma- ment. “We [are] really excited to... go to Atlanta, but we totally feel that we have earned this and want to compete,” team captain Megan Daily said before her team left. W&L was ultimately victorious over Mt. St. Joseph, defeating them decisively 3-1 in the first round of the tournament. The Generals were led by first-year outside hitter and recent American Volleyball Coaches Associa- tion South Region Freshman of the Year \ M.A. Boles, who totaled 14 kills and 14 digs, while Daily, a junior outside hit- ter, and Louise Brooks, a senior middle blocker, each added 10 kills. Junior blocker Lindsey Dee‘ contributed seven kills and six blocks, while Brooks had four blocks and Boles three. F irst-year setter Nikki DelZenero led the Generals with 32 assists and also chipped in eight digs. Sophomore libero Cameron Hill had a team-high of23~digs for that game and senior defensive specialist added 17 more. The Generals ended up falling to No. 1 seed Emory University 3-1 in the sec- ond round of the tournament on Satur- day evening. Hill notched a match-high of 24 digs and senior defensive special- ist Jenna Finger added nine more digs, as well as a pair of service aces. Boles led the Generals with 15 kills while chipping in 10 digs, and Dee add- ed 1 0 kills and four blocks. Setter Del- Zenxero recorded 19 assists and 12 digs and first-year setter Meghan Meleski contributed 13 assists. This loss ended a very successful Generals season as they finished with a 28-7. OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20101115/WLURG39_RTP_20101115_008.2.txt MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2010 8 ° THE RING-TUM PHI sports ondeck Sm- at Thomas More 12 p.m. Mon Tues WED Tnuns FRI SUN Football pasketball vs at at Dickinson Haverford 7 p.m. 8 p.m, Men's warthmore 3 p.m. Basketball at V5 Christopher Newport Mary Washington Women's 7 p.m. 4 pm- at Mews Franklin & L Marshal 11 a.m. Swlmmlnfi at Franklin & Marshal 11 a.m. Women's swlmmlni W&L Fall Classic 12 p.m. Wrestling in the numbers $575,912.40 A father and son duo payed this much money for the bat that Kurk Gibson used when he played for the Oakland A's in the 1988 World Series. They bought four other items for a total of nearly $1.19 million, but the bat was the most expensive itern. They also bought one of his jerseys, among other things. 1 The number of undefeated teams left in the NBA as the New Orleans Hornets improved to 8-0 after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 107-87. 6 1 “S Q The number of yards Washington Redskins cornerback DeAnge|o Hall has given up, which is the most in the NFL. O_n the flip side, Hall has recorded six interceptions, which also leads the league. 1:53..06 A W&L women's swimmng relay team set a new pool record at Sweet Briar last Saturday, swimming the 200 yard freestyle in this time. It was an exhibition event for the Generals, so the win did not count to- wards the team win. The record they broke was set in 1984. l 1 '7 The number of turnovers that can be directly attributed to Brett Favre this seaon. He has lost four fumblesi and thrown 13 interceptions, and only nine touchdowns, through eight games this season. soapbox “I had to put [a pillow under my shirt] because he truly is looking bad...I’ve always been the big twin, now I'm just the smart, good—Iooking twin. He’s now the big twin.” i I New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan dressed up as his twin brother, Cleveland Brown’s Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan, as a joke for the Jets-Browns game on Sunday. The Jets pulled out a 26-20 overtime win. ‘ “Nope. They tried. I just think we’re not real good right now. Carolina Panthers Head coach John Fox said after being asked if his team gave up in last Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints. The Saints won the match 34- . T STEELE BURROWS/ head photographer Senior center Greg Kurkis celebrates with sophomore running back Brett Murray as fellow sophomore running back Luke Heinsohn walks by after Murray scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Hampden-Sydney to go up 31-14. W&L would hold on to the lead and win 38-27 and win the conference. Football ODAC Champs! A historical season for the Generals continues on as NCAA playofifs loom By Jayna Johns SPORTS EDl_TOR They were expected to finish fifth in a conference of only seven teams. It made sense, really. They were young, they were inexperienced and they were coming off back-to-back losing seasons. Even their head coach understood that this did not look like it was going to be their year. “I didn’t expect this to happen this year. Maybe next year, but not this one,” Head Coach Frank Miriello said. Looks like someone forgot to tell the team that. The Washington and Lee football team shattered expectations while breaking re- cords in a historical season capped by a 45-3 dismantling of Juniata College last Saturday. But that wasjust icing on the cake. The real prize was winning the ODAC title while posting a perfect conference record for the first time in school history. Before a packed Parent’s Weekend crowd on Nov. 6, the Generals sailed by previously-unbeaten conference foe Hampden-Sydney 38-27 to claim the title. The score only looks that close because of a Tiger touchdown with seven seconds left on the clock that meant nothing to the game’s final outcome. W&L took a 31-I4 lead early in the fourth quarter and never looked back. Saturday’s crowd packed the stands, while many more fans were left to find a place to stand. And the crowd’s presence was felt by the team. “The atmosphere...was just electric,” said sophomore running back Brett Mur- ray, who rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Coach Miriello seemed to agree, say- ing the team historically responds well to large crowds. “I wish we could have five parent’s weekends,” he said. Even more surprising than the number of people was that the W&L crowd, infa- mous for leaving games at half-time, stuck with the team through the very end, a de- tail that the team noticed gratefully. “And the crowd stayed!” Miriello ex- claimed, adding emphatically, “Thank God they stayed.” - The Generals added to their already im- pressive resume with a routing of Juniata. Any worry that the team would lose focus was put to rest early as sophomore running back Luke Heinsohn pulled off a 63 yard run in W&L’s first offensive play of the game. Junior running back Harrison Hud- son found the end zone two plays later. W&L was leading 21-0 before Juniata managed to get on board in the final min- utes of the first half. The General’s de- fense absolutely dominated, allowing only a 29-yard field goal for the entire game. This marks the first time this season the General’s kept their opponent out of the end zone. , The win over Juniata marks the first time since 1981 that W&L football has had eight wins in regular season play, and the first time since 1961 that the program has won seven games in a row. That year, W&L went undefeated and was named the best small college team in the nation, according to generalssportscom. There were no conferences in Division lll foot- ball that year. The past two games show just how much the team has improved. This season did not begin promisingly, as the Generals opened by getting “waxed” by Franklin & Marshall, said Miriello. They followed with a promising win over Sewanee, giv- ing the team “a ray of hope,” only to “give one away” against Averett, a game in which they were leading 10-0 going into the fourth quarter and fell apart, giving up 20 unanswered points. At this point, the team looked like they were going to live up to earlier expecta- tions. But something changed within the team. I»-'1-~uv....~. ta...“ . r--it-we-nzaq...-. «._.,, being close. Perhaps most astounding is their ability to end an opponent’s drive with a turnover. Throughout the season, the defense has accumulated an astound- ing 22 interceptions, led by sophomore ball-hawk Jake Pelton, who has had six. in comparison, W&L has been intercepted only three times. Since the team’s turnaround, they have won each game by an average of just over 2l'points. This season was especially nice after “the frustration of the last two years,” Westfal said. He has been the starting quarterback since his freshman year. Next up for the team is the NCAA ‘Championship playoffs. The team is ex- cited, but Westfal also said the idea of competing was a “weird feeling.” The team has always felt like they were on the outside looking in when it came to football on the national stage. Junior linebacker Rob Look takes down a Tiger ball carrier during the Parent’s Weekend match. Look recorded seven solo tackles and two pass break-ups in the game, which lead the team is both areas. Junior quarterback Charlie Westfal said players began stepping up and taking more ' active roles within the team, These players helped foster a positive team chemistry, an internal confidence that grewevery day. Miriello said everything just began to click. The team was no longer “young and inexperienced,” and players were “buying into” the system of focusing on fundamen- tals and discipline. “To achieve success, you have to be disciplined and focused, and that requires maturity,” Miriello said. The team was getting better and playing better every week as a result. And they have not tasted defeat since. The defense took slightly longer to mature than the offense, but they still managed to keep all but one game from “lt’s hard to get a gauge of where [the team] stands compared to other teams na- tionally,” Westfal said. “All the team can ’ do is play the way we’ve been playing.” Miriello hopes that Saturday’s win will give the team momentum heading into the Championship games. . And players are optimistic for the fu- ture of the program. “This season is by no means a fluke, and we plan to continue building upon our success this year,” said Murray. The team wants to “really give the fans something to get excited about [for the] future.” The team’s Cinderella story will con- tinue next Saturday as they face Thomas More in Kentucky at 12 p.m. :9 v