OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110502/WLURG39_RTP_20110502_001.2.txt ‘D: Arc # 37% :13‘; 955"). v- ll‘? gym). :2 :3 c v Q.- __.l. cakes oDAcs “E . ssiponrs/pageie T Down and Derby 2 A ‘Ladies, where is the sportsmanship — or sportsWOMANship? Columnist Noel Price A takes 3 look OPINIONS/page2E MONDAY, MAY 2, 2011 WASHINGTON no LEE UNIVERSi”l'Y TI-IE RING-T M PHI. AI‘! IKE SIUIIEHIS AID FIIHJTHE SIUIIEITS 5lIICE1l!7voLuMEcxiv,NuMBER17 Convention kicks off Former Bush advisor Karl . Rove keynotes weekend of events By Leigh Dannhauser STAFF WRlTER The Washington and Lee Mock Convention, con- sidered one of the most accurate in the United States, is finally about to begin. V This Wednesday marks the start of the kickoff to the quadrennial event. Kickoff events continue each evening through Saturday night. Karl Rove, the event’s keynote speaker, served as President George W. Bush’s deputy chief of staff. He is currently a Fox News contributor and a Wall Street Journal columnist. Sophomore Juhi Amin is one of many looking for- ~ ward to the kickoff as a whole, but especially Karl Rove. “I’m looking forward to the fantastic speakers and like most of the W&L student body, can’t wait to see Karl Rove speak” Amin said. She’s additionally ex- cited because Rove will be speaking on her birthday. “The band party and BBQ will also be a great op- portunity for the W&L community to interact and en- joy spring term,” Amin said. A lot of work went into bringing Rove to Lexing- ton, along with the planning of the entire event as a whole. Members of the steering committee have been working on kick-off for months. They’ll continue planning until the actual Mock Convention happens in February 2012. _ A countdown to the Convention, along with more information about the convention itself, can be found at www. mockconventioncom. Mock C-Ion 5 WEDNESDAY , _ » 2 6:00 PM open reception forpthe guests of The Capitol‘ Steps. (see! below) ‘ 7:00PM *M.ock}fConi'_afndl Contact . Committee Present The Capitol Steps (A comedy troupe -that satirizes politics) in Keller ‘Theater (Lenfest) *Tickets may jbepurch-ased online athttp://www.wlu. tfedu/x19050.xml . V T _r . . 3.‘,_.THURSDAY_ . T .1; 7.f0_0PM .Pr'e‘sidential' Issues ‘Panel ‘ in iWilson'A'uditorium (Lenfest)- doors Pan" lists: ;Mike Allen", Kellyanne may, Rhodes _Coo_k,‘Larry. Sabato . ‘ Moderator: William Conneiy ary Matalin, Republican. liticalconsultant and CNN A Contribu- _' M g‘ in Wilson - Auditoriums (Lcnfest)- ivdoorspopen at-‘5:30]p.m. ,7 ' ram? Con’ Davidson"‘P,ark jd flfejatiuring The Dickens‘ (Da- jdson Park) L}. ' i E » ” . . , _'M*‘;Sprin‘gr [Kickoff Keynote «r_.: pe‘ai_ker:“‘Karl Rove j(Front Lawn, in i‘.frontv,iofr.}Lee“Chape1 H j . *Book signing to follow on the lawn V6.-i0oi>M_A’ All-American: »;BB;Q T and i{Band Party featuring-A-Maina_’s Lovexan i_,C1ass‘Ac,t (Red square). T T’ E .Featuring a Co,lonnad'e«cake_ [Ace of Cakes! 5 * it Party in the USA Osama bin Laden killed by American forces, President Obama announces By Eleanor Kennedy N E w s E D 1 T 0 R « Washington and Lee students cel- ebrated with fireworks, triumphant runs through campus with American flags, and unified cheers of “USA! USA! USA!” as word spread late Sunday night of the death of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden, the leader of the ji- hadist al-Quaeda and the mastermind behind the Sept. ll attacks, has been a major target of the U.S. War on Ter- ror for a decade. Nine years, seven months, and 20 days after that attack, and exact- ly eight years after’President Bush declared “mission accomplished,” President Obama told the nation that a group of American soldiers had killed bin Laden in a firefight. Around 9:45 p.m. Sunday, the White House announced Obama would give a public statement. Al- though the topic was initially un- known, major news networks and Twitter feeds reported that Bin Laden was dead and the U.S. had his body. By the time Obama’s speech be- ganjust before i 1:40 p.m., W&L stu- dents had been celebrating for over an hour. Fire- who was raised on a military base in Germany and is enrolled in ROTC at VMI could hardly find words to ex- press her emotion. “What I wouldn’t give to be back on the military base with all my friends and their dads who have been hunting [bin Laden],” Lowry said. Celebrations raged across wall at the Virginia Military Institute, but cadets declined to comment. Although Macado’s had already closed by the time celebrations be- gan, its employees celebrated on the bar’s porch. Macado’s employee Marshall Ol- szewski said everyone could partake in the celebration with equal excite- ment. “We’ve got a white guy, an Asian and a Mexican, and they’re all happy that bin Laden is dead,” Olszewski said. While celebrations raged on the streets, the online community lit up. Facebook status after Facebook sta- tus and tweet after tweet announced the death of bin Laden and included patriotic messages and song lyrics. crackers exploded in Red Square, Davidson Park and the fresh- men quad. Groups ran through campus shouting, cheering and singing patriotic songs. The cel- ebrations got so rowdy that the po- lice were called on the Red Square residents, who were asked to quiet down to avoid a noise violation. W&L first-year Christina Lowry, “What I wouldn ’t give to be back on the mili- tary base with all my friends and their dads who have been hunting [bin Laden. ] CHRISTINA LOWRY, first—year Obama’s speech was streamed live from the White House, as well as on the Washington Post, the New York Times and several other news organizations’ websites. In his speech, Obama said he made the capture and/or killing of bin Laden a “top priority” when he took office two years ago. _ Intelligence of- ficials briefed him on a strong lead in ‘late August which they continued to investigate for the past several months, Obama said. Obama deter- mined late last _ week that there was enough intelligence to pursue the lead and he authorized a “targeted opera- tion” to find and kill bin Laden. Earlier in the day on Sunday a group ofAmericans found Obama hiding in a compound deep inside Pakistan. A firefight oc- curred, but no Americans were hurt, according to Obama. Bin Laden was killed and the Americans took possession of his body. Although Obama called bin Laden’s death “the most significant achievement to date” in the War on Terror, he emphasized that this con- fiict is by no means over. “We must, and will, remain vigi- lant at home and abroad,” Obama said. Obama emphasized the impor- tance of Pakistan’s assistance with the operation, calling the event a “good and historic day” for both America and Pakistan. He added that the War on Terror is not and has never been a war on Islam. Bin Laden was I COPYRIGHT 2011 / AP PHOTO a mass murderer of many groups, including Muslims, Pakistanis and Americans, Obama said. “His death should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and hu- man dignity,” Obama said. ' He also took the opportunity to remember the victims of the Septem- ber llth attacks and those who have fought and died in the years since then. “On nights like this one,” Obama said, “we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to _al-Quae- da’s terror, ‘Justice has been done.’” River rises C Weeks of storms in southwestern Virginia have pushed water levels in the Maury River up. As spring term begins and students partake in traditional acitvities like visiting Goshen and tubing, the high water levels make for record tubing times and fast-paced rapids along the way. MARY HUERSTER / staff photographer Tonas tea through southern states Alabama natives at Washington and Lee feel the eflects of massive tornadoes By Eleanor Kennedy NEWS EDITOR Massive tornados and. wind- storrns ripped through the seven southeastern states last week, killing at least 342 people, according to the Associated Press. Although the dam- age in Virginia was relatively low, Washington and Lee students from hard-hit Alabama have heard plen- ty of stories of destruction in their hometowns. F irst-year Allison Swagler is from Birmingham, Alabama. Swa- gler’ said her parents found papers from Tuscaloosa in their yard from a filing cabinet that made the 60 mile journey between cities in the air. “My parents also found a huge chunk of a building with a pole through it,” Swagler said. “It was scary.” As scary as the damage was, Swageler’s family was luckier than many Alabama residents. The latest death toll from the storms, according to the AP, is 250 in Alabama, 35 in Mississippi, 34 in Tennessee, 15 in Georgia, five in Virginia, and one in Kentucky. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox told the AP that he expects more fa- talities. Four hundred and thirty-four people are still unaccounted for in his city. The storms also wreaked havoc on homes and businesses, destroying 5,700 in Tuscaloosa, 2,600 in Mis- sissippi and 500 here in Virginia. Although Lexington and Rock- bridge County avoided direct con- tact with any of the tornados, the National Weather Service did issue a tornado warning for both Rock- bridge County and Lexington at 1:35 a.m. on Thursday. According to the weather service, Halifax County, Farmville, Gooch- land and western Hanover counties were all hit with tornadoes. OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110502/WLURG39_RTP_20110502_002.2.txt IJi\iE‘-IERSITY LIBRARY msiit-ls"i0N & LEE UNIVERSITY ‘ LEXINGTON, VA 24450 MAY 0 3 am 2 - THE RING-TUM PHI- MONDAY, MAY 2,2011 opinions Bu||itt’s By Stockton Bullitt OPINIONS EDITOR Usually I don’t like to write stories only about my life. I tried that in high school, and now I am no longer allowed back for reunions. Instead, I prefer to broadly generalize something that re- lates to my life. This writing process allows me to utilize an ability I have: I can say something that seems impor- tant without really ever saying anything. And let’s be honest, even when I do say something important, the people I’m talking about call it libelous and post my’ article in a computer lab with “Don’t re- spond to the idiot” written next to it. However, I had a pretty terrible weekend, and I think that you the reader can learn from the two important les- sons that I learned from my weekend. Because of these two valuable lessons, I will rehash my weekend. Warning: if you do not feeling like me talking about myself more than usual, just re-read the other articles in this opinion section, they are much more quality. Anyway, the two lessons you should learn from this story are l) I am a dumbass, and there- fore, you should not‘ emulate anything I do, and 2) southern Alabama is one step above Zimbabwe when it comes to reli- ability and infrastructure. This story starts during Spring Break, when I participated in the annual “W&L goes to the beach!” migration to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Never having wit- nessed that many W&L students outside of Lexington, I was amused by the week of events that ensued. By far the most entertaining was seeing more forced evictions than gentrification. By the end of the week, I saw more homeless people than the underside of the George Wash- ington Bridge. But that’s irrelevant. Towards the end of my stay in Gulf Shores, my car’s engine decided not to turn over. Now, at this point I was in no mood to deal with a dead_ car. I was com- ing back from the local grocery store, where the crazy owner would refuse to sell you alcohol (even at double the price) if there was anyone below 21 in a five mile radius. So, I decided that I would deal with the problem of a dead car the next morning. Waking up with a hangover did not help my analytical thinking, so instead‘ of calling my parents and asking them for their AAA card _ number, which would’ve made »more sense (but I’m bu|I**itt weekend, in full Opinions editor Stockton Bullitt tells a story explaining his utter incompetence and why the South lost the Civil War an idiot), I borrowed my friend’s card. Since I am from Connecticut and my certain friend is from California, I had to put on my best California accent, so I mispronounced words and talked like I had a big nose. The AAA representative told me that I had an expired card, and I could only get towed from a service sta- tion in a three mile radius. Since I was in Gulf Shores (remember: Zimbabwe 2.0), there was no station remotely close to where I was, so I fibbed my location, but only because I didn’t have to sign any honor code. My ploy worked and the tow truck came an hour later. Instead of choosing to bring my Honda to a Honda dealership 40 minutes away (remember: I’m dumb), I trusted the tow truck’s company: Gulf Shores Auto Service. I met the owner of the re- pair shop, a 300 pound man in overalls, and since I am more naive thenHNewt’s next girlfriend, I instantly trusted him. I started to describe to him the problem when my fib came back to haunt me. The tow truck driver, the owner’s broth- er, started charging California me for the towing at the same time as the Connecti- cut me was giving the owner informa- tion. Luckily, all I got was a raised eye- brow following a hurried excuse. After checking out the car for a day, the owner called me back the next day to tell me that my car’s engine was in ma- jor trouble. The timing chain had been messed up which disrupted a turning belt which bent a couple of valves. In other words, I had no idea what he was talking about. All I knew.was that my car was more abused than the San An- tonio Spurs’ interior defense. The owner told me that he would need to order parts to get the car fixed. I gave him the okay as I left in another car to return home to W&L. ' The next Monday, I got a call from the secretary asking if they should order the parts. I once again gave her the go- ahead. She told me that there was $2000 in damages, which meant that I spent the next two hours on the phones with each of my parents pretending to be interest- ed in their lives before quickly dropping my little piece of news at the end of the conversation. The secretary also told me that once the parts were in, the re- pair would be easy. She told me that ev- "erything would be done by Wednesday, THE MANAGING NEWS EDITOR EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR ARTS&LIFE EDITOR SPORTS'ED|TOR COPY EDITORS STAFF WRITERS DESIGN EDITOR HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS BUSINESS MANAGER DISTRIBUTION STAFF libel and lkunuumtulhusn-r RING-TUM PHI. MISSION STATEMENT: It is the mission of THE RING-TUM PHI to accurately, truthfully, and thoroughly, report news affecting the Washington and Lee community for students, faculty, parents and alumni. Our goal is to look deeper into news affecting campus life and hold leaders accountable. Through our reporting, we aspire to spark discussions that lead to discovering information that prompts change. THE RING-TUM PHI is published Mondays during the undergraduate school year. THE RING—TUM PHI is a member of The Media Board, which can be reached at mediaboard@w|u.edu,“but is otherwise independent.THE RING-TUM PHI welcomes all letters. We reserve the right to edit submissions for content and length. Letters and advertising do not necessarily reflect the opinion of THERING-TUM PHI staff. This newspaper observes current court definitions of THE RING-TUM PHI UNIVERSITY COMMONS ROOM. 341 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA 24450 TELEPHONE: (540) 458-4060 FAX: (540) 458-4059 EMAIL: PHl@WLU.EDU SUBSCRIPTION RATE $45 DIANDRA SPICAK ELEANOR KENNEDY STOCKTON BULLITT PAIGE GANCE JAYNA JOHNS LEIGH DANNHAUSER ALI GREENBERG SALLY PLATT NOEL PRICE ADRIAN WILLIAMSON JULIANNA SATTERLY STEELE BURROW BECKY GUYNN MARY HUVERSTER MATT GOSSETT KELLY LANE JOE MORAVEC ZABRIAWN SMITH EVAN SHARBER DAVE WILSON obscenity. Thursday latest. I told her that I would come down that Saturday to pick up my car and drive it back, and she said that would be just fine. And then Spring Term came. I be- came the latest victim of the adminis- tration telling professors to make their classes as hard as possible. Furthermore, I had other things to worry about: girls were playing football, Mock Con was assigning actual work, and the Grizzlies - were actually beating the Spurs. Re- member, I am a dumbass, so of course, I assumed that if there was a problem, the Gulf Shores Auto Service would tell me. I booked the plane tickets to Pensacola without Traveler’s Insurance (Who needs it?), and somehow I convinced my girlfriend to join me on a flight down to beautiful Pensacola and an enticing 14 hour drive back to Lexington. In other words, I am going to have to spend a lot more money on her birthday present. I was going to get a ride to the air- port on Friday, and then I realized that I scheduled my flight at the end of Derby Days, so no one was going to be able to drive me to the airport if LexPo had any- thing to say about it. As a result, we took my girlfriend’s car, and I incurred a nice parking fee to go along with hotel and flight plans. The flights were pretty nice, and the Homewood Suites in Pensacola was a fantastic hotel, fantastic enough in fact to mask the fact that Pensacola is populated only by military personnel and old people. As punishment for bringing her on this trip, my girlfriend made me spend the next morning watching The Royal Wedding on TLC no less. About as ex- citing as a Tim Pawlenty speech,'I fig- ured that watching someone else’s wed- ding would be the worst part of my day. And then I called the Gulf Shores Auto Service center for the first time since the secretary told me that everything would be fine by the previous Wednesday. Af- ter multiple rings, a surly man picks up. He tells me that the repair shop is closed on Saturdays, and that he is only doing service calls. This is news to me. How- ever, I tell him that I’m only picking up a car, and he says that I can come by and he’ll do me a favor and let me get my car. Then came the problem of getting to Gulf Shores. See, Pensacola is over an hour away from Gulf Shores, and since Gulf Shores isn’t even in the good part of Alabama that gets hit by tornadoes, there is no damn reasonable form of transport to the city besides a $100 cab ride. I call a cab and am lucky enough to have a cabby that literally talks the en- tire hour plus long drive. He explains to me about the good old days of hitchhik- ing, his divorce, his recurring visits to the doctor over his painful leg and many other fantastically interesting stories. As I pass the border of ‘F lorida and Ala- bama, there is about fifteen minutes of tralfic because, according to the cabby, there is a yearly party on this weekend when tens of thousands of people gather to toss fish across the border. Apparently, this is an excuse for a party in this part of the country. God, I miss civilization. I finally arrive at the Gulf Shores Auto Service station to find absolutely nobody there. I call the guy making service calls. No answer. I look around- for a bit and find a guy working in the shop. He tells me that he can’t help me at all because “he has no money.” Yep, I was questioning why I was a Democrat at that moment. I called the guy making service calls again, and he picked up only to tell me that he wouldn’t be there for two hours. Now, I was stuck in a scene from “Deliverance” for two more hours. I find the repairman who has no money, point to my car and beg him to just let me pay him and drive home. He looks at my car in the lot and says, “Oh that car. Oh, we haven’t even started working on that one yet.” Sorry, what? My heart starts beating a little faster, and I ask for the owner’s personal cell phone. I get it and give him a little call. He tells me that they are still missing a part because it hasn’t come in yet, and this prevents them from do- ing anything to the engine. He says that once the part comes in the fix should be easy and asks if I could stick around un- til Monday to get my car. Since that was about as likely as Rihanna getting to- gether with Chris Brown, I told him that this was the only time I could pick up my car myself. He said that he had no idea that I was coming down this weekend. This is where lessons come in handy for the story. I was a dumbass for not being more on top of this earlier and‘ talking to the owner myself, and the South lost the Civil War because secretaries don’t have the wherewithal to either make correct statements or communicate with their bosses. After talking to my girlfriend and my parents, I finally turned down the options of hiring another tow truck to bring my car to another dealership and/or buying a machine gun. I finallyjsettled down by watching Rachel McAdams’ new movie “Moming Glory.” Yeah, it’s about as girly as they come, but I’ll be damned if I can stay furious while watching Rachel McAdams cutely struggle to handle her demanding job and love life at the same time. I went back to Pensacola with my girlfriend, booked a 6 am flight, and drowned my sorrows at Chili’s. All in all,'having to deal with incom- petence in both the Deep South and your own stupidity is pretty frustrating. But, in the end of the day, that’s why we’re in college. We are all old enough to have actual consequences to our failures and the failures of those around us, but we still have a support structure around us protecting us from the worst of these consequences. I was an idiot for not cussing out the repair shop earlier, but I also was able to get a flight home and eat at a Chili’s that night, which was a hidden gem in its own right. Still, we are old enough that we have no excuses for not learning from ours and others’ mis- takes, so I hope that you can learn from my stupidity and Gulf Shores’ lack ofre- liability and not waste a weekend flying down to the middle of nowhere only to not get your car back. Rachel McAdams won’t always be there to comfort you. Well, my weekend was pretty bad until Osama bin Laden died. Let’s go America! What makes the good girls go bad? Feminism and sportsmanship can exist in sorority competition during Spring Term is Derby Days By Noel Price COLUMNIST Ah, Derby_Days... In a mere week, girls are pitted against each other to raise money for the Make-a-Wish foundation while also showing their fun-loving, do- mestic, and ferocious natures. Are these qualities at all contradic- tory? Of course not! It’s all in good competition. But in the midst of the competition, a few negatives arise which include con- cussions, broken appendages, derogato- ry slurs, and five days of discomfort rid- ing on Traveller with girls in opposing sororities. The sidelines of a powderpuff football game are about the furthest cry from the inside of a sorority house dur- ing recruitment week (if you exclude the inane chanting how cute and fun we are and how we currently spend an unbelievable amount of time as current members displaying the same to the “first-years”. All that lost in the midst of a hot day, in a dirty tank top, looking at your former hallmates and classmates alike with disdain. In all ofthis lies one ofthe great dou- ble standards of life as a female. Some have called Derby Days a crime against feminism, as we are encouraged to cook and run around on a field to be examined and laughed at by men. However, I argue it is a great week in the life of a first-year Greek girl and a sort of rite of passage as well. It can, and should, be a time to bond with your walk away broadcasting their superior- ity, and the losers walk away with bitter mumbles about the winners. Perhaps this word is antiquated, but I feel a need to work on being much more ladylike. If we are as internally divided as we look during Derby Days, how will unite for anything? Complaints can be heard in every part of the world by women trying to be taken seriously by their male counter- parts. Women don’t earn as much, they are judged more on their appearances, and just because of history, they have something to prove. What does aggressively beating an- other sorority in football prove? Ath- leticism, maybe, but that occurs in both places). But these are the same exact girls, underclassmen and upperclassmen. Why all the bad blood? This is the one time of the year that girls get to be in each other’s faces about the fact that they made the right choice. However, playfiil rivalries have lost their place behind Pole 3. Somehow, we have a tendency to turn savage upon application of paint to faces and sorority letters to chests. I am as guilty as the next girl—in .the heat of the moment, I forget the golden rule immediately. I find myself spewing hateful things that I didn’t even mean from the abyss of my subconscious. I left the field on Thursday pretty frustrat- ed with myself and the things that had been said by myself and others in the name of our sororities. All I could think about was the way we tirelessly worked as “first-years” to show the older girls The double standard exists not in female partici- pation in Derby Days, but rather in the manner in which we have come to participate. pledge class and waltz around in your letters like they were branded into your skin (but of course, they’re not. That’s hazing and disgusting and‘ we’re not cows). The double standardlexists not in fe- — male participation in Derby Days, but rather in the manner in which we have come to participate. Boys and men at W&L (yes, two distinct categories ex- ist) are called by our beloved Robert E. Lee to be gentlemen in every part of their lives. If they played out their fra- ternity rivalries on a field, I believe both teams would walk away in good spirits. When girls play football, the winners aggressiveness could be laughed at just as hard as cowardice. Neither is ladylike (or whatever you deem the female equivalent of “gentlemanly” to be). I believe Derby Days can be a week of sportsmanship and camaraderie, and its competition can be fair. We must not fall back on the expec- tation that only men must be gentle, but as we are on this campus and not going anywhere anytime soon, women should be, too. OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110502/WLURG39_RTP_20110502_003.2.txt MONDAY, MAY 2,2011 3 - THE R|NG~TUM PHI- |et:er*:otheedi:or Ladies_and Gentlemen: I am glad my friend Ted Delaney expressed eloquently his concern about the ‘-Speaking Tradition in the March 14 PHI. It has spawned some good conversations which I hope will continue during Spring Term and beyond. Some days when I walk around campus, my experience is like Professor Del- aney’s. The Speaking Tradition seems to be on life support at best, and I am con- , coined. The next day, more people are speaking, or at least nodding. It seems to come and go. Does it really matter? Should we be concerned? Why not realize that things change and move on? Is it a relic of days gone by? People we speak to (or not) will notice, but beyond that why should speaking matter to the current W&L generation? Is it ok to be silent strangers in this small community? V q Permit me to offer some observations based on my long affiliation with W& as a student, law student, EC president, ac_tive alumnus, former trustee, and current member of the administration. To be sure, simply saying hello or waving should not ’-be conflated into the singular measure of the strength of this place, or as the most important barometer of what we do here. It is not the only indicator of civility, or a Substitute for our genuine feelings and how we treat one another, but I respectfully submit that the Speaking Tradition is notjust a relic of yesteryear. . A wise and respected senior professor, who came to W&L years ago from a very different geographic and cultural setting, once told me how he grew to revere our » practice of acknowledging each other. This simple act means much more.to him than saluting the past or just saying hello by rote. It is a valuable first step in how we treat each other, and it supports the core virtue of civility, about which we care deeply. ‘ Especially when we do it without regard to age, job, appearance or title, it is a J foundation stone for a broader culture of respect. Speaking says: ‘I acknowledge you.’ Regardless of who you are, you matter, and I will not just ignore you and walk on'by. Does this resonate? If so, perhaps it is easier to focus less on speaking as a tradition and more on simply showing respect for the person right in front of you. Late president John Elrod was fond of saying that the university community is all about conversations in and out of the classrooms. The living room in Elrod Com- mons honors that premise. In what kind of climate will we seek to converse about important or challenging issues? Is it probable that we will fare better if we are ac- customed to being civil and promoting a culture of respect? I believe so. Looking externally, many families and visitors notice us speaking to each other and to them. Speaking helps create a welcoming atmosphere which is appealing to promising high school students. It is quite impressive and they say so, as a family told me ten minutes before I began drafting this letter. Three separate families cited it when I talked with them on Admitted Students Day. A good friend’s daughter fell for W&L because a professor saw her walking around, said hello, and engaged her about academic life at W&L. These stories abound. « People interviewing for jobs, parents who have entrusted their most valuable as- set to us, and alumni friends and donors who support W&L and help make it special also embrace the Speaking Tradition. Exhibit A is the story of Doremus Gym, made possible by a gift from two strangers to W&L, who were powerfully influenced by the simple kindness shown them by a student when they visited our campus. Alumni of other schools attend our Special Programs campus , symposia ‘and travel with W&L alumni. Our solicitous attitude impresses and connects them to ' us. Similarly, I travel to various alumni gatherings across the country. Two things happen pretty regularly. Alumni ask about the Speaking Tradition because they cherish it. Non-W&L guests will frequently comment favorably on the warmth of our culture, an attribute which develops during our time together on campus. A few years ago, I conducted an informal experiment by visiting a peer college. It had acquired an unfortunate descriptive label, so I wanted to see for myself. In my 45 minutes walking around the small campus on a pretty day, one person spoke to me because asked for directions. No one else spoke or acknowledged me. The students trudged along with grim faces and heads down; they weren’t talking to each other either! The campus was without life or excitement, hence its characterization as ‘a place where joy goes to die.’ Surely we don’t want that phrase to be applied to . W&L. That is one reason why this fall we will welcome each member of the new class of 2015 with a shirt which says simply: “Speak.” These observations lead’ to some simple opinions. We don’t need to be silly or robotic. No one can speak to 23 people in a row while changing classes. You do not need to contort your head if you are on a cell,’ but often it is easy to wave or say hello. It’s a simple and meaningful thing. We can do more of it, I hope we will, W&L will be better for it, and thousands of alumni and friends who cherish our Speaking Tradition will be glad to see it on display. Beau Dudley, ’74, ’79 Law Executive Director of Alumni Affairs April 27, 2011 Win $100 Gift Cards! by completing short surveys First-years, Sophomores, Juniors Complete a survey about your summer experience. Seniors Tell us about your post-graduation plans. Survey links can be found on your W&L JobLink homepage and on the W&L Career Services web site. These surveys will be live for the four weeks of Spring term. Drawings will be held each Friday to choose a winner. The earlier you complete the survey, the more chances you have to win! Career Services It's notT\/, its gold... The wonderful shows featured on HBO will give you some much needed rest from Spring Term By All Greenberg co LU M N I sr I was going to talk about Spring Term this week, and then I forgot to write an article. So after an eventful weekend of “late nights” and getting “ship- wrecked-face”, I found myself reliv- ing my life as a freshman late Saturday night and watching HBO reruns in the dorms. This is because I may or may not have eaten at show was golden, like silence (take that Ari Gold). It was as dry as the Sa- hara and looked like your 6-year old niece drew it, but it just worked, unlike when Tim, our protagonist, tried to pay Debbie the Hooker in meatloaf. Or Summer Heights High: A “moc- kumentary” mini-series about a high school in Australia where it is totally ed 360 degrees during a raunchy tryst with a vampire, or see possessed towns people eating a delicious gumbo made from human heart. No seriously, this is obscene stufl° we are dealing with. Yet, there is much to be praised about True Blood. The society that is developed is absolutely fascinating, ripe with political and social com- mentary about mis- D-Hall six times last week. Despite the ever-rising tu- ition, our school does not provide HBO on campus, so it had been awhile since I had watched my shows. It should . really be included with 1 room and board, because without debate, HBO has the best programming available on your television set, and I refuse to en- tertain any claims otherwise. Past hits are numerous and iconic, and current programs consistently bring the awards and the ratings, with millions ofpeople tuning in every Sun- day for new episodes. Even their flops are fantastic when. compared to cable, and many of the shows on HBO never even go past one season, not because they suck but be- cause one season was enough. From news shows like Real Time with Bill Maher to award winning miniseries like John Adams or Mildred Pierce, HBO puts in work and produc- es incredible programs that can appeal to just about any audience. I would be ecstatic if you have ever heard of Life & Times of Tim, but I won’t be surprised if you haven’t. This It just worked... unlike when Tim, our protagonist, tried to pay Debbie the Hooker in meatloaf acceptable for you to take an entire epi- sode to figure out whether it is real or fake. While not actually an HBO origi- nal, HBO was genius enough to bring it to the states a few years ago. Hilarity ensues when one actor plays the schools overzealous and flamingly flamboyant Drama teacher, a 13 year-old Samoan troublemaker and the Queen Bee private-public school exchange student Ja’mie. Just Google “Mr. G” and thank me later. On the other side of the spectrum we have True Blood. Which while it does have its comedic moments, main- ly thanks to the well-meaning Jason Stackhouse, it is most definitely not a comedy. If you didn’t follow this show from the very first episode, I beg you not to try picking it up later. You will be shocked, disturbed, dazed and con- fused. If you tune in at the wrong moment, you may see a woman’s head be rotat- understood facets of humanity. And then the Vampire King of Mississippi rips out a newscaster’s spine on live TV. I could wax poetic about Curb Your En- thusiasm, Entourage, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, Rome, or Big Love, but I cannot even come close to doing justice to these programs. So in conclusion; Sloane is hot, we get it. Kenny Powers is more of a man than you will ever be. That guy on Hung gives it away for free. SATC (editor’s note: for males, she is refer- ring to the apparently popular program, Sex and the City) will never get old, al- though the women will. And, of course, it’s not TV, its HBO. What, exactly, is”lhe Boondocks”? Sally Platt rationalizes the jokes behind the controversial cartoon By Sally Platt COLUMNIST I had never heard of “The Boon- docks” until a few weeks ago. I’m not sure how I managed to miss out for so long on such a sweet show, but there you have it. I found out about the car- toon when someone asked me to fill out a survey for a psych class about race relations in The Boondocks. I thought she was referring to The Boondock Saints so I went ahead and filled out the survey. I got a little stumped when I got to the question “How do you think the cartoon is por- traying black people?” because there are no black people in The Boondock Saints, a movie about thelrish mafia. But I went ahead and answered the question anyway. Ofcourse I later re- alized my mistake and decided I bet- ter check out what the real show was about. _ Wow. The Boondocks is just very “wow” at first. I mean if we’re talking politically incorrect, the show has it all. Stereotypes, cuss words, all those things were not allowed to talk about in normal society, all of these appear in the show. It was actually sort of refreshing. Mostly though it was just horrifying. I watched the first episode by myself and didn’t catch any of the humor. As I sat back after it ended, I couldn’t be- lieve that this was something allowed to be aired on TV. Then I watched it again with people and when they were laughing at all the worst (best?) parts I reassessed and started to see some of the humor that has made this show one of the most talked about cartoons since it came out in 2005. Really, the show is more contested than talked about. Its three seasons [have created quite a buzz. Rever- end Al Sharpton said in response to one episode, “Cartoon Network must apologize and also commit to pulling ‘episodes that desecrate black historic figures.” This particular episode had satirized Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The producer, Aaron McGruder, said that this was done in a spirit of humor and meant rather to satirize incor- rect responses to the great civil rights leader than criticize the man himself. He said Sharpton had missed the joke. That is the hard thing about The Boondocks: it is so easy to miss the joke. Everything is offensive and so everything must be funny (and really is). Occasionally, however, it can make you feel kind of guilty to be laughing at the jokes. Isn’t the show rather en- forcing these stereotypes of African- American culture? As the producers tackle subjects like Barack Obama’s presidency, BET, gangsta rap, civil rights, R. Kelly, graf- fiti art and beyond, are they taking it too far? Perhaps, but what is important is that the show is making people talk. Contentious comedy can often have this effect. For this reason, comedy has for a long time been used to influence politics. Through its veil of laughter, comedy can say things that can’t be said out in the open. After all, how can people get mad when it’s all only a joke? The Boondocks may be a joke, but what it is accomplishing is not. It is making people face issues that other-- wise might be swept under the table. Not just issues of African American culture but problems in America as a whole. The show is bringing these out into the open where they can be dis- cussed. And isn’t realizing that there is a problem the first step in solving it? So while The Boondocks may anger many people it serves an important so- cial function. But more than that, the show just makes us laugh. And couldn’t we all do with a few more chuckles, giggles and ho-ho’s? So here’s to hop- ing there will be a Season 4. Oh and while I’m here I’d like to apologize to the person who’s psych survey I took. Hope my response didn’t mess up your results too much! OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110502/WLURG39_RTP_20110502_004.2.txt 4 - THE RING-TUM PHI- MONDAY, MAY 2,2011 / ,.r Dressed up in their preppiest sundresses and floppiest hats, Washington and Lee students bask in the spring day. Foxfields, an annual horse race in Charlottesville, has become a popular destination for members ofthe Greek community from UVA and other nearby schools. Sundresses and bowties and more: students travel an hour away to the “biggest frat party ever” in Charlottesville ByDaneDavis STAFF WRITER Most college students would be ap- palled at even the idea of waking up be- fore 8 a.m. on a Saturday. But it’s spring term, so Washington and Lee students are willing to invest a day to socialize and experience an unique event. This weekend, instead of spending the Satur- day in the great LexVegas, some W&L students decided to wake up much ear- lier than usual to drive to Charlottesville Rusted Root Managing editor reviews the concert, gives thumbs up to GAB By Diandra Spicak MANAGING EDITOR Last Thursday, the Generals Activi- ties Board hosted yet another musical act ~ and this time for free. Headlining the night, the Pittsburgh band Rusted Root played to a sparsely filled Pavilion, but that didn’t seem to stop the nineties < band of “Send Me on my Way” fame (think Matilda and Ice Age). Unfortunately, I spent too much time at Derby Days to make it in time to see The New Mastersounds, but, let me tell you, Rusted Root did not disappoint. I, along with many in the audience (just an assumption here), only knew of the uplifting song about growing up. How- ever, “Send Me on my Way” was not the best ofthe set-list at all that evening. Channeling a folk and bluesy sound, with a fusion ofAfrican, Native Ameri- can and Latin American percussive influences, Rusted Root had nearly everyone dancing, jumping and sway- ing to their music. Using a multitude of percussion instruments, including bongos and (surprise!) a washboard, the band kept the momentum and the mood high. The show, overall, was high energy — the audience could not stop moving, from swing dancing to various rave-inspired movements (someone had what looked like, to me, light up yo-yos and was spinning them behind the audi- ence). ‘ While the audience called for Rusted Root to “send them on their way,” the highlights of the night included some of their newer material. “Dance in the to watch the F oxfield horse races. Students dedicated enough to this adventure, woke up Saturday morning and quickly changed into exceptionally preppy attire consisting of sundresses, Sunday-afternoon hats, button-down shirts, and maybe a bowtie. The Lee stu- dents drove for about an hour to this fes- tival ioutside of Charlottesville. These students found themselves in the middle Middle,” a bluegrass jam song, featur- ing the washboard, particularly stood out for me — in fact, it was the single from their newest album, Stereo Rodeo! . And, those in attendance were able to hear three unreleased songs. Chatting with the band after the show, I found out these few songs have yet to be recorded. The members were affable and conge- nial, speaking to everyone that came up to the merch table (I even scored a photo with two of my friends). Walking out, I looked at my srat sister and we were un- able to hold back our smiles (mind you, we, even though attending Derby Days merely hours before, were not intoxicat- ed). The ride back was littered with ex- clamations of “that was the best concert l’ve ever been to on campus!” “That was so much more fun than Wale!” “And no one left after the one song everyone knew!” So, a round of applause for Rusted Root and for GAB’s hosting them. De- spite a small audience turnout, I would call this latest concert 21 success. The biggest plus? It was free A but, after the music I heard, I would’ve gladly paid $10. The band kept the energy of the crowd up by playing fast~paced music — with interesting instru- ments (like the washboard on the right). of a circular track watching horses and jockeys gallop around on an attractive spring day. University of Virginia students have turned these horse races into a Greek af- filiated social event by setting up many large tents with refreshments and food. The few W&L students who did attend the event had the opportunity to social- ize with students from other universities. Leaving the Lexington bubble to go to what has been referred to as the “biggest frat party ever” by Katie Jar- rell via twitter, made the students of our university feel at home. After watching the races with the well dressed crowd, the students had to make their trek back to Lex. And, in order to leave the grass field, students had to get in a long line of traffic leading to the picturesque high- performs a Paon way. In short, the Foxfield races provide a nice, yet familiar, diversion to the ev- eryday Lexington life. New friends are made, and the spring weather is enjoyed - all a short drive away from W&L. BECKY GUYNN / staff photographer ii STEELE BURROW/ head photographer arts&|ife Foxfeldsz W&LS day at the races , OCR::/Vol_114/WLURG39_RTP_20110502/WLURG39_RTP_20110502_005.2.txt ($4 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY A_, Greek Specialties 8: American Cuisine 6 srenvrpir.‘ Breal’ CNU c assic 81 Track Twmght Combine d Events 1:00pm Riding IHSA National Zhampiorships MT in the numbers 14 Total number ofwashington and Lee tennis players, both men and women, selected to the ODAC al|—conference teams. Sev- en women were given first team honors, while six men were selected to the first team and one was an honorable mention honoree. 109 The age ofViolet Smith, a Michigan woman who threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Thursday for the Great Lakes Loons, the Low Class A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Smith was celebrating her birthday that day. 18-6 The average score for the W&L women's lacrosse team in con- ference play this season. While one game was close, a 7-6 win over Lynchburg, most of their matches were won by 10 points or more, with the largest margin of victory, 21 points, coming against three different opponents. 27 Los Ange|es’s Andre Ethier currently holds a hitting streak of this many games, the longest streak this season. He continued his streak on Sunday against the San Diego Padres despite his teams’ 7-0 loss that day, and is only five games away from set- ting a new franchise record. The major league record, set by Joe DiMaggio, is a little more out of reach at 56 straight games. soapbox “Has there ever been a red—headed quarterback in the NFL who’s really done well? It sounds idiotic, but is there any way that could be a factor?” --Dlaunalriafliommmoflcllquaruarbaclmndyballnn. wlIohaaradl1alr,anNFLcoacl1,whowaaleftnamalaaa oonaldarshlspouanualdmwbaolc. “I don't like to give Philadelphia fans too much credit, but they go»: this one right... lt’s a proud moment to stand out there and you've got 45—50,000 chanting [U—S—A, U-S-A]. That was pretty special." -NowYorkMal31hlnl baseman Davldwrlfiitsald, following hla1nam’s 2-ivlclnryovartha Phlladalphla Phllllaa on smdqv.Nowsol'Oaama Bln Ladonbdaalhspraadtluouai lhaslmds durlmtha nlmh-lnnlng oftha 14-lnnlnggama, raaulllnaln a unlnadchantbraaldngoutacmasthe Phlladalphlastndlum. ODAC Champions Both W&L tennis teams record wins over Hampden-Sydney to win conference title By Jayna Johns SPORTS EDITOR The Washington and Lee men’s and women’s tennis teams followed a nearly iden- tical path last weekend as they both claimed a 5-0 victory over Hampden—Sydney College in Lexington on Saturday, earn- ing the Old Dominion Athletic Conference title. This year marks the 30th conference title W&L men have won and their second con- secutive title; the conference has been recognizing a cham- pion for only 35 years. Similarly, the women have‘ now claimed 10 consecutive ODAC titles, making this their 21st title in the 26 years that W&L women have been com- peting. On Saturday, the team won all three of their doubles match- es. Juniors Jonathan Gaffney and Mac Davis paired up at No. 1 doubles to win 8-4, while ju- nior Brian Roberts and sopho- more Hayden White combined at No. 2 to also win with a score of 8-4. At the No. 3 position, ju- niors Jeremy Becht and Mi- chael Freeman teamed together to win 8-2. ' For singles play, Becht, playing at the No. 2 position, defeated his opponent 6-1, 6-2, and Roberts won his match ‘6-2, 6-2 while playing at the No. 6 position. The rest of the singles matches were called off because W&L had already se- cured victory by winning the first five matches. 'The win gives the men a l5-3 overall record on their season. » ' The men will receive an au- tomatic bid into the NCAA Di- vision III Tournament because of their conference title. The national tournament begins on May 13, but the team will play again on May 7 when they go to 12th-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan to end their regular season. That match will begin at 1:00 pm. The eighth—ranked women, who held the top seed in the ODAC tournament, won in similar fashion. Juniors Trelsie Sadler and Lauren Lukas won 8-2 play- ing at the No. 1 doubles spot, and fellow juniors Ellen Yeat- man and Jen Snyder took their match 8-3 at the No. 2 spot. Junior Ann Morris teamed with senior Catherine Reed at the No. 3 team to win their match 8-4. In singles play, Sadler and Reed each brought in a 6-0, 6-0 victory in their matches while playing at the No. 4 spot and the No. 6 spot, respectively. The rest of the matches were called off. The women now have 18-6 overall record for their season. Like the men, the women have earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which starts on May 13. Unlike the men, the victory over Hamp- den-Sydney marked the end of their regular season, so the team will return to play at the national tournament. Lax defeats and destroys W&L women Continue conference domination as they take down their final opponents By Jayna Johns SPORTS EDITOR Washington and Lee’s wom- en’s lacrosse team finished con- ference play this week in the same fashion it had been play- ing all seasonz complete domi- nation. The No. 15 Generals defeat- ed Randolph—Macon College last Saturday 18-8, and then destroyed Randolph College on Thursday with a score of 22-1 to notch a perfect 8-0 confer- ence record. The team now has an 11-4 overall record for the season. Senior Emmy Mathews led the team in scoring against Randolph-Macon, making six goals and recording a new ca- reer high. Mathews scored her first goal of the day just 17 sec- onds after play had begun. The women jumped out to a 6-0 lead before R—MC got on the board, aided by two more goals from Mathews, two by senior Wilton Megargel and a score by junior Alli Shearin. ' ‘The Yellow Jackets man- aged to put in two goals con- secutively to get within four points, but this was the clos- est they would get for the resf of the game. The Generals an- swered with four more goals, with two coming from Megar- gel, and one from Mathews and junior Maddie McKaig. « R—MC managed one more goal in the first half, while the Generals put in another four to go into the break leading 14-3. The Generals gave up two consecutive goals to open the second half, but responded by netting three consecutive shots and gaining a 12-point advan- tage, their largest of the game. First-years Alex Van Horn and Meade Brewster each contrib- uted one of the shots, and se- nior Kate Donnelly added the third. The Yellow Jackets got hot in the final minutes of the game, putting in three straight shots, but there was no way for them to overcome their deficit. The game marked the seventh straight W&L victory over Randolph-Macon. Megargel finished the game with a total of four goals, Van Horn and Shearin each made two, and McKaig, ‘Donnelly, Brewster, and first-year Mere- W&L senior Emmyivlathews made eight goals throughout the week, includinlg con, contributing to an 18-8 victory over R-MC and a 22-1 victory. over Rando ph College. dith Lavin all added one. McK- aig led the team with three as- sists, while Van Horn had two and Mathews had one. Senior keeper Alex Flam- mia played every minute of the match in the net and recorded 10 saves for the day. The following Thursday, Randolph College never stood much of a chance as 14 differ- ent W&L players scored at least one goal Mathews again scored first for the Generals, netting an assist from sophomore Eliza- beth Bucklee. The WildCats, who were unable to record a conference victory this season, responded with a goal of their own a few minutes later to tie the match. Randolph’s quest to make the game competitive was shut down, however, as the Gener- als proceeded to put in 13 more goals before the end of the half. The second half was more of the same, but this time without the WildCat goal. W&L net- ted eight goals to finish with a 21-point victory. Amazingly, this ties with two other games for the team’s largest margin of victory on the season, as the women recorded 21-0 wins over Hollins and Sweet Briar. Senior Katharine Farrar and sophomore Alex Hamill took turns in the net, each recording one save. Randolph’s lone goal managed to get by Farrar. McKaig led the team in points, putting in four goals. Bucklee, Mathews, Lavin, sophomore Ashley Barnes, and first-year, Katie Hagen each made two; Brewster, Donnelly, Shearin, senior Kate Speare, and first—years Kerstin Hjelm, Kelsey Cotter, Margaret Klein and Greta Witter all contributed one. Bucklee led with three as- sists while Brewster and Don- nelly had two. Van, Horn, Klein, .Mathews, Megargel and Shea- rin each also had an assist. ' The Generals will play again on Wednesday in Lexington as they face Virginia Wesleyan in the first round of the" ODAC championships. PHOTO COURTESY GENERALSSPORTSCOM a career—high six against Randolph-Ma-