OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110214/WLURG39_RTP_20110214_001.2.txt / Arc‘ 2- "I55 —~c'_' Rbmjl 45 -:2. V. he c Stockton’s V-Day thesis A case-by-case look at how members of each fraternity will spend toni ht with their dates... if they have one, that is. e warned: Stockton’s extra longwinded this week. OPINIONS / page 3 SHINT LEEUNIVERSITY THE RINo—TUM PHI. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2011 By Paige Gance STAFF WRITER 2 Students turned out in droves to com- pete in last Sunday’s dodgeball tourna- ment and to show their support for their classmates, Natalie Stier and Kevin Dyer. The event raised over $2000 each for the Stier and Dyer family to help pay medical bills that resulted from the car accident in December. Before the teams hit the court to unleash their completive spirit, Doug Bealle and Sarah Monte, the event or- ganizers, presented Dyer and Stier with ceremonial super-sized $2000 checks. But with t-shirt sales and donations yet to be finalized, they said the final amount would definitely be higher. Sixteen teams entered the competi- tion, but only one could win could win the tournament and Fancy Dress tickets for the entire squad. The rounds in- Wells appointed to Executive Commi volved some impressive evasive maneu- vers and more than a few painful look- ing smacks of ball hitting skin. if the officials decided a match was running too long, they would abolish the boundary lines, allowing a mad dash free-for-all as the remaining players chased each other down. Both Stier’s track and field team- mates and Dyer’s Phi Kappa Sigma brothers battled their way through the bracket to the final match, and after a close championship game, the track run- ners finished first. Marissa Thompson, who helped or- ganize the track team, said it was a great bonding experience for a team that has been missing its captain since the De- cember accident. After the accident, which involved five Washington and Lee students, both Stier and Dyer were in critical condi- tion. They each remained in the hospital for over a month. But both have made stunning prog- ress and they continue to improve with physical therapy. Stier is expected to make a full recovery. Although Dyer is currently confined to a wheelchair, his outlook on life re- mains resiliently positive. “Since my accident, I have come to realize that it is true that 10% of life is what happens to you, and 90% is how you deal with it,” reads one of his jour- nal entries on Caringbridge.com, a site that connects patients to their friends and family. The W&L community also needed to recover after the accident. Bealle said STUDENTS AND FOR THE STUDENTS SINCE 1897 the idea for the tournament came to him over winter break because so many peo- ple were asking how they could help. He said the event was as much about helping out the Dyer and Stier families as it was about the student body coming together to support their injured friends. He called the event a “cathartic experi- ence,” and said he thanks everyone for the outpouring of support. When Bealle told Monte about the idea, she said she thought it would be a great way to help both Dyer and Sti- er, who she said is one of her closest friends. Monte, Bealle and other volunteers I went door to door in downtown Lexing- ton asking for donations for the raffle. They designed t-shirts, reserved the gym and even overcame a few problems VOLUME CXVI, NUMBER W&L students team up to support their injured classmates with the swipe machines. “l’m really proud of the student body,” said Monte after the tournament. Stier said she was also very excited about the number of students that par- ticipated. “The turnout was awesome, more than I expected,” she said. Overall, Stier said, the tournament was a lot of fun and that dodgeball was a good choice because it’s a sport every- one can play. Stier had one other reason to smile after the tournament. ‘‘I’m very happy the track team won,” Stier said. ee After an intensive nomination and interview process, EC appoints new junior representative to fill vacant spot By Eleanor Kennedy NEWS EDITOR John Wells, a junior from Columbia, S.C., is the newest member of Washing- ton and Lee’s Executive Committee. Wells was appointed to the EC to replace junior Luke Anderson, who resigned last Tuesday for personal rea- sons. ' When a member steps down, the Stu- dent Body Constitution requires the EC to fill the vacancy, but does not specify how a new member should be selected. Although special elections have been held in the past, the EC decided not to do so this time. President Scott Centorino said that since regular elections are only a month and a half away, the EC felt “that to ap- point someone would be the best thing for the class.” ‘ Centorino asked all members of the EC to nominate juniors whom they felt could best represent their peers. About 30 names were suggested at first, and that list was eventually pared down to six. The EC tried to be as thorough as possible in its selection of potential members. “We didn’t want to leave any stone unturned,” Centorino said. ' The six nominees were invited to interview for the position last Sunday. One student chose not to participate because of other commitments. The EC conducted 25 minute interviews with the rest of nominees in order to make their selection. Centorino said subjects _covered ranged from the honor system, to the candidate’s personal temperament to other activities they were involved in. Every current member was allowed to ask questions, and Centorino said that made for some very interesting inter- views. L “Everybody on the EC is looking for something different,” Centorino said, “but we all want the best representa- tive.” One area which the EC paid special attention to was nominees’ experience in other governing bodies. Because the new member must immediately begin representing his peers and ruling on EC business, current members wanted someone who would be prepared to take on that level of responsibility. Centorino said that choosing the new member was one of the most difficult decisions he has made in his time on the EC. “Once we got to theinterviews, it was clear we were going to get a great new member,” Centorino said. That new member is Wells, a biology major who currently serves as treasurer of the IFC. . Centorino said Wells was selected because members believe that he can represent his class effectively while still keeping an open mind to others’ points of view. “His abilities are unquestionable," Centorino said. “Nobody had anything bad to say about the guy.” Wells said. he feels honored that he was even considered for the position. Although he has not beeninvolved with student government before, he said he thinks his time on IFC will give him a strong perspective on Greek life and stu- dent government. Wells said he is not sure whether he will run for EC in the upcoming elec- tions, but he sees this time as a great opportunity to see if he would like to continue representing his class. 1‘: “I look forward to representing the A class of 2012,” Wells said. “l'hope peo- ple will feel comfortable coming to me if they have any questions about the EC or about me.” count mews, and the first to email phi@wIu.edu will receive a special shout-out in the next issue of the Ring-tum Phi. OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110214/WLURG39_RTP_20110214_002.2.txt UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VA 24450 FEBl52llIl— 2 0 THE RING-TUM PHI - M 0 N DAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2011 IIBWS Ben Stein “love, |ove,loves” W&L Economist, actor, game show host, professor and author Ben Stein speaks to Generals about his priorities in life By Chelsea Stevenson STAFF WRITER “The most polite, well-mannered,and charming people I have ever met have come from Washington and Lee," said author, speechwriter, presidential advi- sor, professor, actor and economist Ben Stein. Last Tuesday, Stein visited W&L as a result ofpersistent efforts by the student- run Contact Committee. Depending on how you look at the Columbia under- graduate and Yale Law School gradu- ate, Stein is mostly known for his role in the 1986 classic Ferris Bue/[er Is Day Ofl, his Comedy Central show Win Ben Stein 3 Money, and his role as a speech- writer to Presidents Richard ‘Nixon and subsequently Gerald Ford. But after lis- tening to Stein’s lecture in Lee Chapel, W&L community members will surely remember Stein differently. Stein began his lecture by telling three brief anecdotes. Before the stories, he said, “I have to tell you some sto- ries, or else it’s not me!” But after the stories, Stein spent the rest of his lecture expressing an intense sense of gratitude for every- thing that our country has~from his wife to our armed forces. “I thank God every day for wak- ing up with my wife,” Stein said. “Getting married to the right person is the biggest step you take in life and finding the right life partner is V the most challenoin step in life.” D A Stein referred to his wife as a “literal saint” numerous times throughout his lecture. Despite all I he has accomplished and succeeded in throughout his life, Stein said his family has been the most impor- tant,‘ along with those who serve for our country. Stein said everyone should be grateful for our military, IMAGE COURTESY OF WWW.WLU.EDU our nurses and doctors, our teachers and professors, and for our military wives. Stein also said that he is not con- cerned with recent challenges that America may face with the increas- ing economic stability of China. “America has always been a great country,” said Stein. “China is four and half times the size of the United States. It doesn’t bother me if we don’t stay as the world’s most indus- trial power.” What worries Stein the most about China’s increasing stability is the education system in the United States. Stein said he is concerned that at other universities and especially at high schools, most students cannot handle basic-level work. According to Stein, many college sophomores know less about history and English than theydid in high school. “If people don’t know history or basic things, how will they know to be grateful for good in America?” asked Stein. “How will they know how much to sacrifice to keep America as [glori- ous] as it is?” When asked by an audience mem- ber, Stein said that he has sacrificed very few things, if any, throughout his life. He thoroughly enjoys sharing his_ accomplishments and experiences with other educated individuals throughout the world. I Stein will always have the utmost re- spect for W&L. After all, he did say, “I love, love, love Washington and Lee.” Brewery with W&L roots I Faculty members open Lexington sfirst brewery specializing in flavored beverages By Chelsea Stevenson STAFF WRITER On Saturday Jan. 29, the city of Lexington officially welcomed its first brewery, one with a Washington and Lee connection. W&L Associate Di- rector ofAlumni Programs Tom Lovell and Associate Professor of Biology Bill Hamilton opened Blue Lab Brewing Company. The brewery, located at 123 South Randolph St., will be open three days a week for customers to buy beer on tap or in take home containers, called growlers. The growlers that come in 1 liter and 2 liters can be returned and re- The Blue Lab Brewery, located at 123 South Randolph St., sells a variety of Pale Ale and Scotch Ale, as well as some specialty beers. filled each Visit. Currently, Blue Lab is selling a variety of Pale Ale and Scotch Ale, although some specialty beers will be available for a limited time. These include Dunkelweizen and Imperial In- dia Pale Ale. For those who are under 21 years of age, short sleeve and long sleeve T-shirts are available for $15 and $20 respectively. Lovell and Hamilton, who both moved to Lexington approximately 10 years ago, have always brewed their own beer and decided to give Blue Lab Brewing Company a try. Prior to its cur- Alumni-in-Residence Doug Matia ‘94 Operations & Performance Executive Sapere Consulting Information Session about Sapere Consulting ‘ Thursday, February I7 5:00 p. m., Hillel House Individual Meetings with Students Friday, February I8 9:00 a.m — Noon, Career Services Lunch with Students & Faculty Friday, February /8 I2: I5 p. m., Career Services Space limited for Friday events. ' Call or come by for information. Career Services 'l'uesdrI_v — Friday Tuesday - Friday All Day Dinner Bu/7'8! ma owG.,, 110 South Jefferson Street - Lexington, VA Closed livery Monday — Beer & Wine ‘ 540-463-2002 Chinese Buffet . Lunch Buffet: §§,22 11:30 a.m. — 3:00 p.m. Dinner Buffet: 9.99 4:30 p.m. — 9:30 pm. 5 turda and Sund ia : .99 11:30 a.m. — 9:00 p.m. ' Free Delivervl — Minimum $25 13:3-sfli ")"ouCi.,. Iapanese Steak House and Sushi Bar Hiba iS i l Dinnerfor Two - $2999 Shrimp or Chicken - 3:30 pm. -10:00 p.m. Nu ltowu vatmn Rt-quimrl .‘ Arnericani Cuisine-;.l“g nj I V _ SERVING 0, 2 - _ I; p ;B4reakfast~~Lunch~ Dinner, (Breakfast served all day!)‘: ‘_ :7 _ Tuesday-Thursday: 7AM — 9PM I Friday and Saturday: 7AM - 10PM ', ' ‘ Sunday: 7AM — 3PM; Closed Mondays A. :2, Lunch and Dinner Specials! i}‘..- I V J: i ‘L A ;_Carry Out Available , if V_{‘3 .9 T 7G0 Greek at Niko’s! I 167 South Main Street ;_*§ ’ . Lexington, VA 9*: j Phone: 540.464.9499 I I Fax: 540.464.1226 I lzoekfor menu at www.nikosgrill-cafe.com_' I ll “ )3?‘ ' I rent use, the grey two-story Randolph. Street storefront was a doctor’s office and years ago, the main feed store — it is directly across from The Lexington Carriage Company. Customers are welcome to the brew- ery on Wednesdays from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm, on Fridays from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm, and on Saturdays from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. 9 I" OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110214/WLURG39_RTP_20110214_003.2.txt MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2011 THE RING-TUM PHI '3 opinions ‘ Enjoy By Stockton Bullitt OPINIONS EDITOR I’d like to thank Hallmark. No, not for their channel. When your programming makes Oxy- gen seem masculine, WE seem tolerable and Lifetime seem not that melodramatic, you know that you have the worst channel since My9. I’m not even a big fanof the cards either. The Hallmark aisle in CVS is probably the second worst aisle in the whole store. The worst, of course, is the femi- nine hygiene aisle. That aisle is a trail of tears in its own right. But I digress: I want to thank Hallmark for an action that has gotten a good amount of ridicule over the last few years: turning Valentine’s Day into the con- glomerated nightmare it is to- day. I have heard many protests against the company claiming h'ow evil Valentine’s Day has be- come. I mean, the holiday origi- nally was about an early Chris- tian martyr who was not even a big Cupid fan himself. How could Hallmark turn such a holy holiday into a movie that starred Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift among other horrible actors? After doing a little bit of light research on the subject (see: MLA’s favorite Wikipedia), I found out that Hallmark wasn’t even started as a company until the.modem view of Valentine’s was established. Nevertheless, they still receive others’ blame and my praise. See, I want to thank Hallmark for their piece in the destruction of American society because I ac- tually like the modern Valentine’s Day. The cultural phenomenon it has developed into has been an annual adventure for me. After numerous failures and successes, I think I can now say that I have conquered Valentine’s Day, and as a true connoisseur of the subject, I will do my best to defend it and advise others on how to conquer it. The most common case made against the modern Valentine’s Day is its superficiality. As America seems to get more and more focused on surface appear- ance as a result of its heavy re- liance on the service industry, Americans seem threatened by the lack of depth that the upcom- ing youth perceive in others. They argue that because we no longer rely on making things as a country, the value of what someone does is no longer as important as what others think he can do or what he looks like. Also, with an economy of excess wealth, we have more money to spend on these unnecessary fri- volities that heighten our surface appearance without us having to better our spirit or intellectual determination. Valentine’s Day, these others argue, is the epitome of this problem. We buy pieces folded pieces of paper, terrible tasting candies with no nutrition- al value, buy cotton stuffed fake animals and purchase millions of dollars worth of shiny things for no real reason other than satisfy- ing our temporary wants or bet- ting the surface appearance of those we are close to. While these other people might have somewhat of a point (mostly because I made up their argument), why does America’s superficiality seem like a new thing and why is Valentine’s Day seeming embrace of excess wealth and surface appearance so bad in its own right? Let’s not kid ourselves; America has been superficial since about day one. Unfortu- nately though, back in the days — before Valentine’s Day, it was just called racism and it was a much less dapper form of super- ficiality. Nowadays, superficial- ity just hurts people’s feelings. Back then, it hurt their backs. I say we made progress. Furthermore, if we’re go- ing to bunch the entire country and compare it to other coun- tries, then it’s probably safe to say that we do have a little too much excess wealth. So, what’s so bad about using that wealth to ing Valentine’s Day at W&L@ buy stuff that makes us happy? I know that about 100 economics majors just scoffed loudly (I’m looking at you, freshman room- mate), but it’s not like we’re investing our money into smart decisions anyway, so why not gratify ourselves? Every civiliza- tion has their certain things that they spend capital on to make themselves look pretty, so why should we be any different? Okay, I even bored myself with all that mumbo-jumbo. I know that you just want to get to my lead—in about fraternities. We’re getting there. Be patient. So, now that we know Valen- tine’s Day isn’t evil, what’s so good about it? Well, there are two answers to that question, depending on whether or not you have a Y chromosome. If you do, that means you are a male, and you have a really hard time seeing how Valentine’s Day is anything other than a drain on your wallet. Look, guys, by not embracing Valentine’s Day you are doing terrible things to your reproductive organs. Don’t view Valentine’s Day as a burden, but rather as an opportunity. For 364 days out of the year, you have to earn affection by spending time with girls, pretending to pay at- tention to their problems and getting involved in drama. How- ever, Hallmark and a little known martyr have given you a valuable gift: the ability for one night to simply purchase affection. Okay, KEWL, chill out, I’m not that shallow. Well, maybe a little, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make. See, the pur- chased affection does not neces- sarily need to come in the form of money. By putting in a little time and effort, you V eally get far with va1en;m'é‘*§‘b ‘ “ there also get you far with Valegitiije’s Day, so don’t neces- sarily discount that. What5gI’m really trying to say is that,fiVaIer1tine’s Day is the day of the year when you literally get the best/"bang=;~..for your buck. In that respecll‘,-dtjtii‘-narrowly edges out Tear Night"-fo'r.—i.tl'ie..‘night of the year when ‘results in high dividends in theisédidom. For you Econ majors, theiiiagvj opportunity cost lets you break? down those barriers to entry cre- ating a night of high utility. Plus, this year, Valentine’s Day is on a Monday. C’mon, have you ever tried to hook up on a Monday without chocolate or a teddy bear to back you up? It’s hard. Girls here are usually hav- ing a bad case of the Mondays and are more focused on the TV lineup for ABC Family than on making some bad decisions. This is the only real opportunity you have for a quality Monday. hook- up the entire year and all it costs is a dinner at the Red Hen or a thoughtfully put together “Roses are Red” poem. Is that really so difficult? And for you single guys with seemingly no one to turn to on Valentine’s Day, this is the only day of the year when you can make an ass out of yourself and actually, maybe get positive re- sults. If you tell a girl way hotter than you that you have loved her for the last six months at KA’s Resurrection party, you will probably be greeted with a nice little restraining order or an SJC hearing. But if you confess that same love to the same girl on Valentine’s Day and accompany it with a cute song or poem and a glass of champagne, there’s a chance that you might actually get lucky. In other words, Valen- tine’s Day is the only day where “Eww, creepy” becomes “Aww, cute.” Now for the ladies, I know that you all probably love Valen- tine’s Day, so I don’t need to do that much convincing. However, there are some single ones out there who sadly will be without a pursuer this Valentine’s Day, and I’m guessing that this article is making you reach for that box of chocolates extra fast. _ y':“weii.; also ~ putting little money here ait'tl'— However, even for you guys, there is an upside to Valentine’s Day. You have a no holds barred excuse to throw your very own pity party for an entire day. No self respecting ‘girl is going to quell the complaints of the girl who wasn’t sent flowers on Val- entine’s Day because every girl isjust as afraid that that might be her next year. Normally, buying yourself flowers, teddy bears and boatloads of chocolate would be enough for you-r friends to have a little intervention about the re- lationshipbetween you and your sanity. However, it’s Valentine’s Day, the only day when watching “He’s Just Not That Into You” seven times isn’t a committable offense! And for you girls in relation- ships at Washington and Lee, be warned. Make sure you know what you are getting into when you celebrate Valentine’s Day with your W&L date. Each fra- ternity has developed their men in very specific ways, meaning that each fraternity will give you a unique experience when it comes to your Valentine’s Day date. Now, if your date is a GDI or an Independent if you will, there are a whole slew of problems you might confront. Mostly like- ly, your Independent date is too busy to take you out to dinner be- cause he’s too busy in the library, in the church or in his own room being lame and playing video games. Either that, or he’s bak- ing you such a fantastic meal and treating you so exquisitely that you have no est of this ami_<;il§', 6 let’sjust_fdr’”", big brother didn’t agree with me. Let’s be honest, if an SAE is tak- ing you out on a Valentine’s Day date, you are probably a Kappa. And because you are a Kappa, you will need to rush to dinner. You and your date are probably not that famous of lovers, but I’m sure ifyou rush to dinner fast enough, you’ll get there in five or six snaps. Still, your shrimp and grits dinner will be delightful, or maybe it was steak and grits. Who knows? The details with what happens with SAEs at night are always so questionable. Kappa Alpha - Don’t try and wiggle your way out of it, your KA date is taking you to a buffet for Valentine’s Day. Yeah, he will give you tons of presents throughout your date, so you will be plenty entertained, but most likely they will all come from Walmart. As you’re explaining to your date that bigger does not al- ways mean better, he will notice some ofhis pledges eating dinner at the table next to him. You will see his face getting red as the pledges obviously are not study- ing as they should be. But have no fear, because soon the anger will subside when he realizes that those are just KA’s “B” team pledges, and as you leave, he’ll wish them luck in the Kappa Sig house next year. Sigma Chi — Your Sigma Chi date will pick you up early for your wonderful night on the town. You will think to yourself that Niko’s probably isn’t the most romantic place to ‘spend a Valentine’s Day, but he’s a little about _Ip§iependents and"‘their‘3§s;;broke from rush. That won’t dates folifnow. I’m just goingto focus the fraternities and their,‘ g H ‘a, member of the Big 3. As he’s respeétive dates for now. " ffiliis is whatto expect from lily «date from each frater- nity,;_and it is organized in the most"logical way 1 could think of: by the latest rankings in the comment section of the W&L fraternity section of the site GreekRank.com. I’m guessing these rankings were done using a complicated statistical formula based on community service and GPA, so I’m going to trust that 3:‘ Phi Delta (‘U ike many of the subseqiientif ater- nities on this list, you carfmeet your Phi Delt at his house before going out to dinner. Yeah, he might wear a suit and tie out to the Bistro, but you can bet that the tie will be loosened and the shirt unbuttoned. Make sure that you have candles at your table because I’m guessing that it’s been a while since his last show- er. After dinner, he’ll probably take you out partying. So, either you’ll end up in the basement having a Helen Keller themed party so security doesn’t hear, or some freshmen from a sweet Southern prep school will pick you and take you fifteen minutes out to a party. Your cell phone is not needed because there’s no service. Phi Kappa sigma — Unless you want to meet him at Woods Creek, you will be picked up in (at worst) a 5 series BMW be- cause lax bros simply don’t put up with Lexus. Before getting in the car, make sure you move his mirror into the backseat. I know you probably wanted a group date with some friends, but Phi Kaps are no longer Congregationalists. Luckily, you will not even have to reach for the check because he’ll be signing the bill “Trust - Fund.” After dinner, you’ll get your group date with the armada developing outside County Seat, but I don’t think you’ll love the atmosphere: they’re all too nosy. Sigma Alpha Epsilon — Well, I was going to give you certain advice about going out on a date with SAE, but the school overrode my decision because ‘iiétgop him from picking you up i111‘f;a limo for your night with a merftioning to you how nice be- ling? inthe Big 3 is, he’ll pour ‘.yoi1 some champagne. However, Qthig I ink champagne tastes less _-ililie ose and more like Volt and .iAfisiocrat. Dinner will be nice, 5 efcépt for the moment when he .7’ r§a¥l‘izes that your table only re- ° tiejved eight rolls. Just put your down when he goes from gitgble to table asking if anyone as any extra rolls,'but at least all ‘ lg‘; of his friends join the date after- ~ they are accurate‘ and whollyyfepsffliii wards to giggle with each other ‘eaaegent fraternities at this schoogg’ i and chat about how the night’s going. You might wonder where their dates are though. Pi Kappa Phi —Your dinner will be average with your date Pi Phi Joe, but he’ll constantly be lamenting the fact that he’s get- ting shut down by Globo Gym. The night will be pretty nonde- script for the most part. Yeah, you’ll get chocolates, but they will be your run of the mill Rus- sell Stover’s. He"ll almost get you the teddy bear that you really wanted for Valentine’s Day, but he won’t. Finally, after having a pretty good night spent mostly in shaded areas, you will head home to whoops from his pledge brothers. That is, until you step into the light... Phi Kappa Psi — Speaking of face issues, if you are the type of girl-who likes giving her date useful gifts for Valentine’s Day, why not give the gift that keeps on giving? Proactiv. You will not find a date who tries harder to impress you than a Phi Psi on Valentine’s Day. He will pull out all the stops, just for you. So what if the dinner is ined- ible and whatever-that-thing-is that he made you himself as a gift will soon makes its way into the dumpster, who are you to take away that adorable shit eat- ing grin? Just make sure that his busy schedule doesn’t get in the way of your date; it would be a major downer if he skipped an- other date to attend KA’s'class on social climbing. Beta Theta Pi — You are going to have to remind your Beta date that it is, in fact, Val- entine’s Day, and that means he does, in fact, have to take you out on a date or at least buy you J something. Finally realizing that you’re serious, he’ll put on his Monday best: an NBA jersey that shows off his...well...are those muscles? He’ll take you to his version of a fancy restaurant: Taco Bell, where you’ll probably have to pay because he “forgot his wallet at home.” Better use the drive-thru though, because if you eat inside, he’ll find some random dude looking at you the wrong way and haymaker him _ for no reason whatsoever. As he’s kicking the guy while he’s down, you’ll leave quietly. Later on that night, he’ll either text you numerous times or just call you and mumble incoherently as he attempts for a Hail Mary booty call. Lambda chi Alpha — You are going to spend most of your time trying to find an amply fancy enough dress for dinner. If you assume that he will be wear- ing anything other than interview attire, you will be overshadowed in dressiness on Valentine’s Day and guys should never be the center of attention today. This is your day, but since no Lambda owns a t-shirt, he won’t get that memo. You’ll have to pick up your date at the freshmen dorms because he’ll be busy advising his resident freshmen boys -- well, the ones that are still there on a Monday evening in Febru- ary. The most important thing to remember is to never mention the fact that you voted for Obama in 2008 or like any government in- tervention whatsoever, because if you do, he probably won’t pay for the check. Phi Gamma Delta — Do not, I repeat, do not try and pick your Fiji date up at his house. GPS can’t even find that house. Also be sure to ask refrain from replying, “No really what fra- ternity did you pledge?” when he tells you how great Fiji is. I assure you that people are mem- bers there.,Speaking of, if you are tired of the small school atmosphere and feel like meet- ing l7 people who go to school with you who I’m sure you have never met, try hanging out with the Fiji pledge class before going on your date. They’re a blast. I’m sure you’ll get adequate gifts and have a fine dinner with your Fiji, date, but make sure you remem- ber his name or the whole night will be for naught. Pi Kappa Alpha — Expect vast bouquets of flowers from your PiKA date. In fact, expect a fruitful accompaniment to your vast bouquets of flowers. You will lose track oftime over dinner because you and your date will be chatting for such an extended period of time that you will not know what happened to your din- ner. How can he be so focused on the conversation at hand and yet talk so fast and excitedly for the three to five hours you will hang out for the night? No idea; he must just be a tangential thinker. He will graciously pay for the bill even though he didn’t even touch his salad. However, the night will end up on somewhat of a sour note when you reach for his endowment, and he looks at his watch and exclaims, “Look at the time! I have so much work to finish” Chi Psi — After dinner, your date will take you back to the Chi Psi house for an after dinner ren- dezvous. You will be thoroughly surprised to discover something you haven’t seen since Roeth1is- berger held the Lombardi Tro- phy: freshmen running around the house. After you wipe your ‘eyes in disbelief, you will start heading upstairs with your date when one of these mysterious freshman will finally speak up. Yeah, it’ll be a little bit ofa tum- off when your date has to fetch the freshman water and then do pushups for not doing it with a smile, but, hey, who are you to complain? After you get upstairs, be careful not to make out with your date too «loudly or a kid down the hall will call security on you for distracting his study- ing. Good news for you though: if you actually do spend the late night at Chi Psi, hanging out up- stairs at that hour will end the same way as hanging out in their basement at the hour. . .with your pants off. Sigma Phi Epsilon - Try to wear ear plugs on the drive over to dinner, because your Sig Ep date will probably be playing his new CD in the car. If you don’t bring the ear plugs, make sure you zone out, and if he asks, say his music sounds edgy and “kind of like a revolution of your ears,” and he’ll be appeased enough to pay for the check. If you want gifts to go with the check how- ever, you’ll probably have to do a little more appeasing during dinner. Just keep nodding and smiling whenever he tells you, “No seriously, we’re getting cool now. Have you seen our pledge class? Have you been to our par- ties? They are legit now. We’re getting hot girls here all the time, especially freshman bitties.” Try and avoid adding sarcastic u’s to your “Sure,” or you won’t be getting the earrings he got from Jared. Kappa Sigma — Look, I don’t know anything about Kap- pa Sig. You don’t know anything about Kappa Sig. And even if we did know anything about,Kappa Sig, I have a feeling that they are more random than Lady Gaga arriving inside of an egg at the Grammy’s. Therefore, I’m go- ing to talk about something else: C0llegeACB. After traveling to the site for the first time in a year, let me tell you how hilariously awful this site has become. Not only do people still say phrases like “when was the last time any respectable big 3 guy attended a KA party? NEVER” (I must be hanging out with the wrong people if there are people who actually think like that), but there are other students who somehow only seem to find enjoyment in going past the school’s encryp- tion to a blocked website just to question the validity of the statements made on that site. Really? You’re going to change someone’s degrading comment by going onto a blocked website and patronizingly waxing po- etic about how you shouldn’t be mean on an anonymous site that’s designed for people to say mean things? Two questions: how did you get into this school and have you ever tried not reading these postings? One last thing: I rarely like to give the administration credit, but you have to admit they did a pretty good job with the whole “Jdicy Campus” situation. It was a legitimate problem two years ago, and now that problem is damn near close to extinction at W&L. You really can’t say that their initiatives weren’t as successful as they could possibly be in that respect. Parents, make sure you read that last sentence, and administration, I will now gladly accept my get out of jail free card now. Sigma Nu — Hopefully on Tuesday, there isn’t a math or science test. If so, you will ba- sically have the same problems dating a Sigma Nu on Valentine’s Day as you do dating an indepen- dent on Valentine’s Day (not that you don’t without the test). Your dinner will be fantastic... as long as you know Elvish. That’s re- ally where the Sigma Nu knows his best love poetry. Don’t be worried on the walk over to the Bistro: just because he’s follow- ing you at a distance of 100 feet, doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you. That’sjust his MO. Unlike going on a date with a Phi Delt, you are definitely going to need your cell phone with your date with a SNu. If you need a ride home the next day, you can’t borrow his phone to call a friend: he used all his minutes calling the cops on par- ties and snowball fights. OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110214/WLURG39_RTP_20110214_004.2.txt 4 - THE RING-TUM PHI MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2011 opinions Protecting the Chesapeake Bay Doing your part to help protect the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is imperative in preserving the area 3 natural beauty By Jackson Buttery C 0 L U M N IS I To the Students, Faculty, and Members of the Washington and Lee University Community: There exists neither a simple nor singular way to save the en- vironment. Neither Superman nor Cap- tain Planet will appear from the clouds; no solution no matter how brilliant will eradicate the unfathomable amounts of waste from the surface of the earth; no magic chemical will erase the stains of human pollution. While saving the environ- ment is the ultimate and most important goal, it is also terribly impractical. The environment is and isn’t the world around us. I can best define it as a series of interconnected, various and unique natural systems whose roots ,can each be traced deeply and specifically. The most prac- tical goal, then, is to save our environment and hope and con- vince others to save theirs. Our school, Washington and Lee University, belongs to one of the most important and largest bio-regions in the United States, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. As Ned Tillman, the author of The Chesapeake Watershed writes: “The Chesapeake Bay Wa- tershed is large and diverse, col- lecting waters that fall on parts of six states. Rain falling on farms, factories, and probably even on your house,,lawn, and driveway flows along countless streams and rivers that crisscross the land and eventually mixes with the saltier waters of the bay. The water quality, biodiversity, and health of the bay and its fisher- ies are all related to every part of the habitat throughout this vast, fifty-million acre watershed. We are all in this together” (91). While many daunting issues face the bay — including pollu- tion, the rising level of sea water and the declines of the popula- tions of many native species, to name a few — perhaps the big- gest problem the bay must deal with is its own reputation. While I can not speak for the rest of the country, for years the only environmental rally cries I heard (besides SAVE THE PO- LAR BEARS! and SAVE THE AMAZON!) were SAVE THE BAY! and THE BAY IS DY- ING! As hard as it was to not hear about the dying bay, it was just as easy to believe that the en- vironmentalists — who I then imagined as scraggly ex-hippies munching granola in some sort ofenvironmental VW bus — were already handling the issue. The bay wasn’t my prob- lem because I live in northeast Philadelphia, far away from the the Chesapeake Bay. My fam- ily doesn’t even recycle. Most nights we eat from cheap paper plates. The Bay was at least a couple of hours away and I had only been there once, a long time ago. My brother says we went in the water and crabbed with met- al cages and raw chicken necks, but all I can remember is eating crabcakes sitting in a mostly- wooden restaurant that was little more than a shack. I still haven’t been back and the bay, for me, is a region I am very unfamiliar with and a natu- ral beauty that I truthfully can not picture in my mind. —--—-———— WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY ——--———— — « -THE-RING=?rUM-PHI. MANAGING EDITOR NEWS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR ARTS & LIFE EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR COPY EDITORS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DESIGN EDITOR HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER BUSINESS MANAGERS DISTRIBUTION STAFF MISSION STATEMENT: LEE CAMPUS. DIANDRA SPICAK ELEANOR KENNEDY STOCKTON BULLITT HOLLY SUTHERS JAYNA JOHNS SAMUEL GILLERAN DIANDRA SPICAK JACKSON BUTTERY MIKE DECEMBRINO JUSTIN DONATI GRETCHEN FRITCHIE PAIGE GANcE ALIGREENBERG COLLINS RICE GAGE SMITH ' cHELsEA STEVENSON DIANDRA SPICAK STEELE BURROW ROB GEORGE MATT GOSSETT KELLY LANE JOE MORAVEC EVAN SHARBER ZABRIAWN SMITH DAVE WILSON 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 prompts change. _ THE RING—TUM PHI IS ‘PUBLISHED MONDAYS DURING THE UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL YEAR. THE RlNG—TUM PHI IS A MEMBER OF THE MEDIA BOARD, BUT IS OTHERWISE INDEPENDENT. QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THE PHI SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE EDITORS AT PHI@WLU.EDU OR TO THE MEDIA BOARD AT MEDIABOARD@WLU.EDU. IS AN INDEPENDENT, STUDENT-RUN EDITORIAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE WORKING WITH ALL MEDIA OUTLETS ON 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 UNIVERVSITY LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA 24450 TELEPHONE: (540) 458-4060 FAX: (540)458-4059 EMAIL: PHI@WLU.EDU SUBSCRIPTION RATE $45 THE MEDIA BOARD I can read books about it and look at pictures and try to put the pieces together but I still can not grasp it completely. It is not mine. While I am not as well ac- quainted with the landscape of our university as well as I am with the city grid of Philadelphia or the trails of Pennypack Park, I have gained a deep apprecia- tion for the wonder this region holds. Upon first driving down Interstate 81, the green roll- ing hills and lush grass and the mountains shading the sky in the background brought vivid memories ofthe summer before, of a train ride through the tran- quil Austrian countryside, from Munich to Salzburg, with the similar framing and colors ofthe Shenandoah Valley. There is something unde- niably special about this area. Maybe it’s the way the sun sets over the Blue Ridge Mountains, or the red brick paired with the snow lying fresh on the ground, or the bike trail along Woods Creek in late fall when no one else is around and the crisp air cuts into your lungs but you feel alive. I traded skyscrapers, row- homes and subways for Traveler and the Colonnade and the bones of Robert Edward Lee, and this place is my homejust as well as yours. To preserve and maintain our university and its surround- ing environment, we -- all of us -- must continue the “green” ef- forts we have already began and create others when possible, not just practical. The environment isn’t some ambiguous form that can be solved at once. It is a series of systems and we are capable of tracing our system to its root and beginning our undertaking there. While helping to clean the Chesapeake Bay is the recogniz- able opposite-endpoint of our route, we are not going to save the Chesapeake Bay by setting out to do exactly that. We are too small and too few to accomplish such a feat. But our area of Virginia is a part of the Bay Watershed, and Rockbridge County is a part ofthis Virginian area, and this university is a part of Rockbridge County, and each member of this university com- munity is a part ofthis university and it is there that we must start cleaning the bay: with each of our individual efforts. Our minute efforts arejointly amplified just like a single rain- drop or a single drop of acid dropped into our little Woods Creek will eventually flow into the Maury River, which will eventually flow into the James, which will eventually flow into the Chesapeake itself. . The university is already do- ing its part: installing energy-ef- ficient light bulbs, keeping the temperature in student dormito- ries at moderate levels so as to conserve energy, working with local food sellers to distance itself. from chemicals and the inhumane treatment of animals, using recycled paper cups and offering the option of re—usable to-go trays at all meals and reno- vating each building ofthe icon- ic Colonnade to make it more energy-efficient. But our university’s efforts should reflect our individual at- totheetilior Respected Editor, 1 am writing to you today to take issue with a piece pub- lished in the February 8, 2011 is- sue of the Ring-Tum Phi. When flipping through this paper the other evening, I, as well as those around me, was appalled by the article entitled “Take me out to- night to a frat party”. After reading the dismissive and generalizing statements written with a condescending tone, I could not decide whether to laugh or cry. The way that this columnist portrayed freshmen girls at W&L was diflicult to read—after all of the initiatives to change the way that women in our community are treated, things like this are a big step in the wrong direction. The use of .valley girl-isms like “totes adorbs”, discussion of trying to “DFM” and looking “‘edgy-’ but not slutty” is simply embarrass- ing. I can speak for most of the population in saying that I love some quality satire, but this was just distasteful arid tactless. W&L girls are more than willing to poke fun at themselves,’ but this article was demeaning in a way that crossed many a bound- ary. My feelings about this ar- ticle aside, I think in the future it is imperative to consider the circulation of this newspaper. I am never one for censorship, but were I to pick up a copy of the Phi as a prospective student in the admissions office, this ar- ticle alone would have deterred me from applying to Washington and Lee. With W&L’s desires to retain tradition while diversify- ing its population, how does it look to have a female member of the community deriding her peers like this? It makes this place seem unwelcoming and shallow, which I don’t believe _ it is. I look forward to quality journalism in the future~—speak your mind, opinion writers, but consider your audience as well. Sincerely, Noel Price titudes and work towards better- ing the environment: we must begin with ourselves. Simple acts that may have been previously seen as mean- ingless inconveniences can eventually change the health of the bay. To “restore the bay’s water quality and fisheries,” Tillman writes that “individuals...can replace aging septic systems with new nitrogen-reducing sys- tems. Garbage disposals in our sinks should not be ‘used at all. Nor should we dump medicines or pharmaceuticals down the drains” (68). To fix “erosion, siltation, and legacy sediments,” we should “start learning more about natu- ral processes and how our every- day activities affect the water- ways and the bay. Right in our back yards we can begin shifting focus fi‘om encouraging water to run off our land and instead en- courage it to filter into the soil” (25). To combat “sea level rise” we “can help immediately by changing our wasteful energy practices; We can stop buying things we don’t need, because it takes energy to create, dis- tribute, maintain, and dispose of things. Each of us can also help create and articulate a vision of a healthier earth to our friends, families, and representatives. If people lead, politicians will fol- low” (I3-I4). These suggestions are good places to start, for we must start somewhere. Every member of this com- munity has the potential to be- come an environmentalist. It’s not left-wing to be an it Being previously lost for a (topic for‘ this week, I was actu- fgally slightly relieved to receive ,§an email from our “respected 'f'editor” (Stockton was also ex- {tremely pleased to be respected ‘(for once in his life) giving me }-something to respond to. 3? First, I would like to thank ,,,the reader for reading my article. zgsecond, I would like to thank the Ereader for having an opinion of Eher own; I appreciate construc- lfitive criticism and understand that‘ fiputting my name on something asking for it to be published opening the door for potential ijdisagreement. I want to be clear that my in- iitent has always been, and will ’ ""always be, to playfully poke fun at this uniform we seem to have on this campus. Malicious is not a word that comes into my vo- cabulary and I have never, ever, targeted an individual. Except for Stockton. And he deserves it. The outfit I described in “Take me out to a frat party” was the exact same one that I wore to the White Panda/Ghostland Observatory concert (except my going-out boots are Cole Haan, which is even worse). I was that environmentalist; it’s not right- wing. It’s not the hip thing to do, it’s not a bunch of ex Dead Heads, it’s not wrong and it is not some hobby. It is a duty that each of us owes the earth. It is a justified and rightful cause that rests in not only bet- tering the world but bettering ourselves. We are not going to save the Chesapeake alone. But it’s not only about saving the Chesa- peake. It’s about starting small, with ourselves, and nurturing the root of a thick and compli- cated system of environments, eco-systems and bio-regions. It’s because Rockbridge County is an environment that depends on the well-being of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Because if we don’t start somewhere, if we as individuals and parts of a larger group allow the Chesapeake to die, then what else but the same fate can we ex- pect for our university? If we lose the Chesapeake, if it becomes more over-polluted and overrun and undesirable and unfit for natural species, if we allow these things to pass, the university we love will never be the same. Citations to: Tillman, Ned. The Chesa- peake Watersheds A Sense of Place and a Call To Action. Bal- timore: The Chesapeake Book Company, 2009. freshman who has dropped her phone in the gin bucket and lost her jacket in the depths of the Poplar Hill basement. I am the topic. I am my audience. So if I can take being “demean[ed]” and “embarrass[ed]” in a “conde- scending” tone that was “appall- ing,” “distastefiil,” “tactless,” “unwelcoming” and “shallow,” then I should hope that everyone could be in on the joke as well. I sincerely apologize if any- one else was offended by what has been published in any of my previous articles. But at the same time, this is the opinions section of a school newspaper, one to which anyone is encour- aged to contribute. So I ask, why so serious? Trust me whenlsay that] can handle it when someone criti- ‘ cizes my clearly Pulitzer-worthy “quality journalism”. However, I do not believe thatquestioning someone’s character is the cor- rect approach in bringing about this criticism. Ali Greenberg_ OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110214/WLURG39_RTP_20110214_005.2.txt Now with 4BR/ 2BA Units. Kitchen, Laundry & Huge Living Room FOUR BEDROOMS AVAILABLE GENERALS’ RETREAT . APARfMENTs NOT Affiliated with Washington & Lee University *Where you can live near your friends without having to live with them. *Un|ess of course you want to live with them, which you can also do here. 3 *Where cats and dogs play together. And the trash. water. & internet are FREE. I Townhome Style Apartments A On Nelson Street ~ Now WITH -B 2 BA UNITS ' OPEN House EVERYSATURDAYAIN JANUARY FR ACOMECHECK us our: A r I } 1 ‘ = » L O I 1 i <9 O: 79 I540-464-36 ian@tbmcom.com OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110214/WLURG39_RTP_20110214_006.2.txt 6 ° THE RING-TUM PHI ' arts&life% MONDAY, SAlLsponsorsshowcasefor Kyrgyzstan Organization hosts talent show to raise money and awareness for displaced victims of violence and revolution By Collins Rice STAFF warren Every year, the members of the Student Association for Inter- national Learning (SAIL) focus on raising awareness on campus about a particular country in need. This year, the organization, which addresses international is- sues and promotes exchanges between diverse cultures repre- sented at Washington and Lee, has chosen to shed light upon the violence in Kyrgyzstan. On Friday, March 4, the club‘ will present its Showcase for Kyrgyzstan, a fund-raising event in the form of a talent show. “We invite students from the university to perform and com- pete with their talents,” said Bermet Zhumakadyr kyzy, the event’s organizer. In the two decades since the breakup of the former So- viet Union, the small central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan has struggled to attain political stability. Despite showing signs of development in the form of civil society and a free press, the country’s fledgling government Order from our complete menu Or Join usfor one ofour ALL YOU CAN EA T,Buffets.' 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! PEDAL CAR DINER & TIN Tov CAFE Located at LEE lll® TRAVEL PLAZA Home Cooked Meals & Southern Hospitality.’ Friday Night Seafood Buffet 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 crumbled in 2005s Tulip Revo- lution, wherein President Askar Akayev was deposed amid accu- sations of corruption, nepotism and authoritarianism. Unfortunately, Akayev’s successor, Kurmanbek Baki- yev failed to lead the country to prosperity. Under Bakiyev, the government was again subject to opposition for its abuses of hu- man rights including censorship within the press and fixing of elections. Last April, the people of Director of Stanr Gallery awarded Fellowship Kyrgyzstan mounted a second revolution in the nation’s capital, Bishkek. The event left 85 peo- ple dead, the capital was looted and Bakiyev was removed from power. The country fell into so- cial chaos and the violence in the city spread into southern Kyr- gyzstan in the form of inter-eth- nic clashes. Currently, the death toll re- mains unclear. The official num- ber is over 400, but many claim that it exceeds l,000. More than 2,000 buildings were destroyed, displacing 300,000 people and forcing many to seek refuge in nearby Uzbekistan. Today, even under a provisional government, the south of Kyrgyzstan remains volatile. Students may sign up or pur- chase tickets and t-shirts for the showcase in the commons. All proceeds will be sent directly to the Unity Fund, an organization established to help children’s hospitals suffering from severe shortage ofsupplies as a result of the violence that occurred there. “All in the Lexington com- munity and beyond are invited to come, enjoy the show, and win raffle prizes, while making a big difference in someone’s life,” said Bennet. Clover Archer Lyle receives $8, 000 from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts from the W&L News Office Clover Archer Lyle, artist and director ofthe Staniar Gallery in Wilson Hall at Washington and Lee University, has been award- ed a 2011-2012 Fellowship by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA). The 18 fellowship recipients will be recognized by the General Assembly in Rich- mond on Feb. 18. A luncheon will follow at the VMFA. Archer Lyle received a pro- fessional fellowship for $8,000 in the area of drawing. She will use the funds to continue work- ing on her current body of work which takes the Samuel Beckett play “Waiting for Godot” as a point of departure. The drawings and cast resin objects from that series will be exhibited at Page Bond Gallery in Richmond in February 2012. Two fellowships, _includ- ing Archer Lyle’s, were given for drawing this year. The juror for the professional fellowship awards was Alison de Lima Greene, curator of contemporary art and special projects at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Started in 1940 by Fredericks- burg, Va., resident and museum benefactor John Lee Pratt, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Program supports Virginia’s professional artists and art students. Since its incep- tion, the program has awarded more than $4.4 million dollars APARTMENT FOR RENT 2 BRs and 1 Bath in downtown location $600.00 per month. Available in June for 1 year lease. to Virginia artists. According to Alex Nyerges, VMFA director, “We are grateful to the late John Lee Pratt for establishing this VMFA endowment that makes this support possible, as well as others who have added funds to the endowment throughout the years.” During the VMFA Fellow- ship Program’s 71 years, the mu- seum has given more than 1,140 awards to Virginia’s art students and professional artists. An addi- tional eight fellowships (four stu- dent and four professional) were awarded this year in celebration of VMFA‘s 75th anniversary. Archer Lyle joined W&L in , 2008 as a visiting instructor of Call Joe Vita, Broker, at 463-9551. Vita And Associates, Inc. photography and director of the Staniar Gallery. She received her bachelor of fine arts with a con- centration in photography from the University of New Hamp- shire and her master of fine arts - in studio art from New York University. FEBRUARY 14, 2011 OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110214/WLURG39_RTP_20110214_007.2.txt 1 V o l MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2011 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 7 sports Senior Night ends withvictory T he final home game for two W&L seniors closes with a 67-58 win over conference rival Randolph-Macon By Mike Decembrino STAFF WRITER The final home game for Washington and Lee seniors Allie Long and Felice Herman could not have turned out any better as the Generals women’s basket- ball team snapped the Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets’ 12-game win streak with a 67-58 victory on Tuesday evening at the Warner Center. Long and Herman were honored be- fore the game for “Senior Night,” which recognized thetremendous four year ca- reers of both players. Long and junior forward Becca Bolton led the attack for the Generals. Bolton scored 26 points, going 7-for- l0 from the field and connecting on all 12 of her free throws. Long played the entire 40 minutes for the Generals and keyed a 21-4 game winning second half run in which she knocked down three 3- pointers to finish with 13 points. Earlier this year, W&L lost to first place Randolph-Macon on the road 72- 55. That, combined with the Jackets’ 12-game winning streak and the Gen- erals’ two game losing streak heading into this game, would lead many to pick R-MC as the favorite for this contest. W&L Head Coach Mandy King thought otherwise. “We really didn’t pay attention to their winning streak or our losing streak. We just focused on what we had to do for these 40 minutes,” King said. “We ' actually had a lot of confidence [heading into this game]. We had a great practice yesterday and we were just excited for the opportunity today.” After Maggie Roy of the Jackets scored the game’s first field goal two seconds into the game, W&L went on a 6-0 run keyed by Bolton. The Generals held onto the lead until Jordan Cantrell of R-MC hit a 3-pointer in the comer with 6:56 to play in the first half to bring the score to a 16-16 tie. - Down by two points with 30 seconds to play in the first half, Bolton connect- ed on a short-range jump shot to tie the score at 26 going into half time. Bolton went 6-for-6 from the field in the first ' half. “I thought we were terrific on the defensive side of the ball,” King said of the Generals first half defensive perfor- mance. They held R-MC’s top scorer, Maggie Roy, to only two points and blocked six shots in the first half. Three of those blocks came from sophomore Rachel Warrick. » Trailing 35-33 with 15:38 to play in the second half, Long hit a 3-pointer to make the score 36-35 in favor of the Generals. This began the 21-4 run that buried the Jackets. Long made two more consecutive 3’s and junior guard Meg Ingram added another to cap off the run. At the end of this run, the Generals led 54-39 and never looked back. R- MC made a push in the final six minutes thanks to the sharpshooting of Roy, but it was not enough as the Generals held on fortthe 67-58 win. King was happy with the defense in the second half as well. “We knew we needed to maintain the pressure against them and keep them from scoring points in transition,” she said. The Generals did just that, as they held the Jackets to just 27.1% shooting from the field. Ingram scored 12 points and picked up seven rebounds while sophomore, Katy Wilson led the team with nine re- bounds. The Generals shot 42% from the field, just above their season mark of 40.6%. - V The win improves the Generals’ re- cord to 14-7 overall and 10-6 in Old Do- minion Athletic Conference play. They have won seven of their last ten games and are on track to make the ODAC Conference Tournament to try to repeat as champions. The Generals finish off the regular season with a four game road ‘ trip beginning on February 11 at Guil- ford College. Men drop close gameto Bridgewate r Last second free-throws give Eagles a one-point win over Generals in W&L is last home game of the season By Gage Smith /STAFF WRITER Washington and Lee’s men’s bas- ketball lost a heartbreaker Saturday as Bridgewater defeated the Generals 65- 64. The Generals, who were up by as many as 8 and led 27-22 going into the half, played a strong defensive game, but chose poor shots throughout .the game. Both teams played a messy first half, each making less than 30% of their field goal attempts. First-year Drew Kimberly had the V , first score of the game on a free throw, putting the Generals up 1-0 30 seconds into the game. Bridgewater answered a minute later, as Rick Maloney hit a la- yup to give the Eagles their first 2 points of the half. ' With sloppy play as the most promi- nent factor of the first half, neither team seemed to be able to make an impact on the court. The Eagles shot 60% from the free throw line, while the Generals shot 50%. Both teams struggled from outside the arch, with Bridgewater shooting fail- ing to make a single 3-pointer. Generals sophomore Jeremy Atkins lead the team in the first half with 12 points, and Bridgewater senior Maloney added 9 points for the Eagles. The Generals entered the second half up by 5, but the game soon became more heated as the Eagles scored 5 un- answered points in the first 4 minutes to bring them within 2 points of the lead. By the halfway mark of the second half, Bridgewater had cut W&L’s lead to one, and took the lead 47-46 on another layup by Maloney. From there the game was a back- and-forth battle between the two teams. Bridgewater lead by as many as 7 with 3:28 left in the second half, and for a I moment it looked at if the Generals were about to give up without a fight. W&L didn’t quit, however, and scored 7 unanswered points to tie the game up 60-60 on a layup from Kim- berly assisted by sophomore JD Ey with just under 2 minutes left in the game. The Generals suffered a setback as ‘Bridgewater senior Kyle Hammond hit a triple with just over one minute left in the game, but scored 4 unanswered thanks to ajumper by Atkins after Kim- berly stole the ball with 27 seconds left. The final shots in the game came on two three throws made by Hammond after being fouled by W&L junior Kyle Bond, which brought the Eaglesup 65- 64 with 13 seconds left. The Generals inbounded the ball, but were unable to score on a missed jumper by Atkins with 2 seconds left. - The Generals were unable to beat out Bridgewater on‘ what was senior Jason Cimino’s last home game. Having lost 5 of their last 6 games, W&L will take on Hampden-Sydney away at 7 pm on February 14. Wrestling struggles continue Injuries continue to hurt the team as the season goes on, resulting in forfeited matches that are hard to overcome’ By Gretchen Fritchie STAFF WRITER ,T he Washington and Lee wrestling ‘team fell to the Apprentice School Build- ers 36-9 in an away match Saturday af- ternoon. Twelve of Apprentice School’s points were attributed to a W&L, and the Generals could not overcome this ‘ disadvantage. W&L first-year Eric Fessel put the first points on the board for the Generals. Following a forfeit at 125 pounds and an uncontested match at 133 pounds, the first-year scored a late reversal to defeat junior Marcus Chevres at 148 pounds 10-9. Junior Sam Campbell tied the score up at 6-6 in his match against Odis Wes- by at 149 pounds, but two consecutive pins put the Apprentice School up 18- 6 against the Generals. Kyle Spmill for the Builders pinned at 157 pounds and Ricky Anderson for the Builders was able to pin his opponent after only 52 seconds at 165 pounds. " Daniel Igel, first year from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., put up the Generals’ final three points at 174 pounds with a 12-11 win over junior Anthony Damico to make the score 18-9. The Builders’ fi- .nal 12 points came from W&L forfeits, and determined the ultimate defeat for the Generals wrestling team. The Generals’ wrestling team will return to action on February 26 against Centennial Conference Championships in the Warner Center at 10:00 am. OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110214/WLURG39_RTP_20110214_008.2.txt sports MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2011 8 0 THE RING-TUM PHI Tues WED THURS Fm SAr - a Men's ampden Eastern Basketbal Sydney Vlennonite 7 DJ“ 7 p.m. t . Women's Em; & at at Basketbal Henry Lynchburg Randolph 7 p.m. 4 DJ“- 7 p.m. vs V5 M°"'5 Ferrum lwittenberg Lacrosse 5 p.m. 1 DJ"- at Women's Ma” Law-F0550 Nashlngton 10 a.m. Bluegrassi ’ M°"’s M°""tai" Continued continued continued swlmming Champion 6:30 p.m. vs Women's ridgeuate '°'“"5 10-30 a m. Hollins hiding "*5" ' Invite Track Dickinson Invite 10 a.m. ' at Baseball Oglethorpe 2 p.m. in the numbers 2 1 Washington and Lee's women's swim team has now won the ODAC conference title this many times. They earned their latest one over the weekend after finishing first in the championship tournament. , $3 Million This is the average cost of getting a 30 second ad to run during this year’s Super Bowl, up from last year’s estimated cost of $2.7 million. 101 The oldest living Major League Baseball player passed away last Tues- day at this age. Tony Malinosky played in the league for nine years starting in 1937. Most of his time was spent playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. 4,064 Astonishingly, this many tweets were sent per second during the peak times of last week's Su per Bowl, completely shattering any previous records for the highest volume of tweets experienced to date. “All along, it’s been about trying to do the right thing. This whole process has never been about getting Kevin back on the field. This has always ‘ been about Kevin having a chance at a normal Iife.” Wake Forest Head Baseball Coach Tom Walter said after he donated one of his kidneys to a freshman player on his team. The player, Kevin Jordan, was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disorder but is now recovering well from the transplant surgery. ‘‘I’m here to race. I understand the situation. I ’m looking forward to seeing how my father’s remembered and honored throughout the week. i enjoy that...[but] I don’t really get into the hypo- thetical, fairytale sort of stuff. I just want to focus on my job...That’s what I’m going to concern my- self with.” Dale Earnhardt Jr. response to questions about where his focus is as the start of the Daytona 500 gets closer, as well as the 10 year anniversary of his father’s death on the track. This will be Earnhardt’s 400th career start, but the last two years at Daytona have been particularly challenging. Men’s lacrosse preview An in-depth look at the upcoming season for this year ’s Generals By Justin Donati STA FF w R lTE R The 2011 W&L men’s lacrosse program looks to rebound this year after a disappointing 2010 season (1 1-6 overall). Despite being left out of pre-season Top 25 polls, fifth year head coach Gene McCabe be- lieves that his 2011 squad has all the necessary tools and talent to achieve its goal of returning to the NCAA tournament. F Looking ahead, the team will undoubtedly face some challenges along the way. The most discern- able roadblock is their schedule. In addition to the teams difficult.in conference schedule, the Generals will continue to face top ranked powers such as Middlebury, and Ohio Wesleyan. McCabe has also arranged match-ups against two new Top 25 teams, Salisbury and Denison. McCabe admitted that “this year’s schedule will prove the ulti- matetest of skill and talent for my men.” However, McCabe is quick to say that every team has to make choices about how they perceive challenges and adversity. In his opinion, “to be the best you have to play the best,” he said. onship team, when multiple play- ers have the potential to finish the season in the double-digit points category,” said McCabe. On the other side of the ball, the defense continues to remain a sta- ple of the Washington and Lee pro- gram. Last year, the defense con- ceded only 6.71 goals per game. Although the defense has im- proved year after year statistically, Coach McCabe still sees room for improvement. From his "observa- tions, “the defense has been very strong statistically, but collectively the group struggles to hold the top teams under 10 goals per game.” In large part, McCabe recognizes that overall team defense, which includes midfielders, must im- prove in order to prevail in the big games. The loss of two-year defensive coordinator Jason Archbell ap- peared troublesome for the defense earlier this fall as the group looked for leader to fill his void. How- ever, McCabe said, ‘‘I have been impressed so far with the work accomplished by Michael Kruger experience with the Generals, he will undoubtedly have to improve the team’s extra man offense from last year. As a special teams group in 2009, the W&L men’s team posted a national best 51 percent conversion ratio. However, last year that number fell to roughly 31 percent on the season. A The coaching staff attributed this decline in efficiency last year to new personnel and a lack of chemistry between the players on the man-up unit. On the contrary, they see this year group as much more experienced and cohesive. “For the most part, last years unit remains intact, minus Will Kiegler,” McCabe said. Another part of their game that the team will have to improve on is its ability to successfully clear the ball. McCabe asserted, “our clear- ing percentage was not where we wanted it to be last year.” In fact, the team only managed to success- fully clear the ball out of its defen- sive half at a rate of 75 percent in 2010. ’ The team’s adjustments to its , stick-work pro- grams during the Beyond the dif- ficulty of this year’s schedule, the Gen- erals also face the task of replacing nine graduated se- niors. The big- gest setback comes from the loss of Will Kiegler, who posted 212 points for the Generals over his career. To replicate the offensive production provided by Kiegler and other graduates, the players and coaching staff have ap- proached this year with increased testing standards that have forced each player hone their skills and become more rounded players. The coaching staff has also re- vamped some of its offensive and , defensive tactics to align with the team’s renovated roster and abili- ties. With this new approach in place, McCabe recognizes that the team has grown by leaps and bounds from the end of last year. Already in pre-season practices, the team has demonstrated a more balanced offensive attack then it had in previous years. At the helm are “a core group of four to five at- tackmen and around six midfielders that are regularly‘ producing scor- ing opportunities on the offensive side of the ball,” said McCabe. In previous years the Generals relied on one or two players to win; however, this year’s“ squad is find- ing increased production from all over the field. “This is the mark of a champi- strengths ” “If you look at the way we played the Lee Jackson game this fall, and the way we dominated on the defensive end of the field, I feel confident saying that our defense will again be one of our team 3 GENE McCABE, headcoach who took over the reins following Archbell’s departure.” McCabe went on to explain that “Kruger’s addition of new defen- sive schemes, and his focus on teaching better defensive mechan- ics has already proven invaluable to keeping the defense on track to‘ become a nationally ranked unit.” “If you look at the way we played the Lee Jackson game this fall, and the way we dominated on the defensive end of the field, I feel confident saying that our defense will again be one of our team’s strengths,” said the Generals’ head coach. _ Nat Saint Laurent also returns to the Generals’ coaching staff this year. As a member of the coaching staff during the 2009 championship season, Saint Laurent knows what it takes to win. Now heading what looks to be a new and rejuvenated offense, “Coach Saint Laurent’s continuity and familiarity with the Generals is perfectly suited to this year’s players and program,” said McCabe. Even with Coach Saint Laurent’s /as off-season targeted this exact vulner- ability. Now with increased stick-han- dling ability from the defense down to the attack, “as a coaching staff, I don’t think we have any glaring weak- nesses, but we need to prove that on the field” said the fifth- year head coach. With all of the modifications made to the team during the off- season, the biggest unknown head- ing into 2011 remains the starting- goalie position. After graduating starting goalies in back,-to-back years, the team must find a man ca- pable of commanding the defense, and quickly dishing the ball to midfielders who have been trained to push transition opportunities. McCabe has four players con- tending for the starting role at goalie. Two are veteran seniors that have both seen time between the pipes. Regardless of who takes the starting nod, with a strong defense behind them, McCabe feels confi- dent that whoever wins the job will have an outstanding season. Now the real question that re- mains to be seen is whether or not the Generals will get off to a hot start in the beginning of their sea- son. Playing three of its first four games against teams that were in the NCAA tournament last year, the Generals must come out of this first stretch rather unblemished if it hopes to keep alive any dream of reaching the Division III playoffs. The team begins its season on Tuesday, February 15, as it ' takes on Ferrum College (5:00 PM) on Wilson Field. Fans are strongly encouraged to at- tend the game, as it marks the first time in national lacrosse history that a men’s team will sponsor the Green Dot Pro- gram, an initiative that trains individuals how to look for and prevent sexual assault and misconduct. IMAGE COURTESY OFKGOOGLE IMAGES