OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20121105/WLURG39_RTP_20121105_001.2.txt R55 v. ll - .. $78-75$ V\ 5 . 8 Fattfhshiowmdemskstgle A&L / page 8 Al.Lt:hcv~/orlol is a stage. And Professor Dobin is makingthe most of it. You'd never guess that Michael Stewartwas channeling good old William. opinions / page 4 ~ WASHINGTON AND LEE ' THE RING-TUM PHI. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5,2012 Taking action with Hurricane Sandy By Yejean Kim s TA F F w R I T E R In light of Hurricane Sandy, the state of Virginia took several precautionary measures to ensure the safety of its residents. Governor Bob McDonnell de- elared a state of emergency, ordering all state agen- cies to be closed on Oct. 29. Several schools also cancelled classes, including nearby James Madison University and the Univer- sity of Virginia. While Washington and Lee did not cancel classes because it “did not suffer a serious event," according to Director of Public Safety Mike Young. Sotne precautionary measures were taken in case of other problems such as power loss. Registration was pushed back in anticipation of “potential Inter- net disruptions and power outages" in a schoolwide email sent Oct. 29, and Public Safety also performed “readiness procedures” ensuring that they were pre- pared for a large storm, according to Young. These procedures involve monitoring weather reports and taking proper precautionary measures. However, as the storm turned north. it did not affect W&L as an- ticipated. Young said that there was a “danger ofpower loss,” but as some buildings have “generators or other emergency power” this was not seen as constituting an emergency. An emergency management plan is published on the University website, and is updated annually after "tabletop discussions” between an emergency management team according to Assistant Director of Public Safety Steve Tomlinson. In case of a prolonged power outage, which was the biggest threat expected from Hurricane Sandy. this plan states that students should gather in the El- rod University Commons as it has an “uninterrupt- ible emergency power supply.” As advice to students in light of future inclement weather, Director Young advised: “Stay calm, fol- low directions when given them, and remain close to your residences so that you can be accounted for should it be necessary to find you. We will have some winter weather this year that may cause some school cancellations or delays. Just stay close to your electronic devices and you will have the best oppor- tunity to know what is going on. We provide a lot of information electronically.“ Updates on inclement weather are provided both on the University website, via the campus emergen- cy hotline. and on WLUR 91.5, W&L’s radio station. BY THE STUDENTS AND FOR THE STUDENTS SINCE 1897 VOLUME CXVII, NUMBER 8 Registration gets complicated By Krysta Huber STAFF WRITER Due to the threat of severe weather last week, Washington and Lee ad- ministration made the decision to postpone registration for winter term courses. Course registration will take place this week, beginning to- In order to simplify the registration process, Locy encourages her advi- sees to complete their FDR require- ments as well as their tnajor require- ments as soon as possible. “If you wait until your senior year “It can be really tough to Coordinate schedules be- cause there are a finite number of hours in the day and there are a finite number offaculty members, and there are going to be conflicts ” Toni Locy, Journalism professor morrow and continuing through Nov. 9, according to Scott Dittman of the University Registrar’s Office. Seniors will’ register on Tuesday, juniors on Wednesday, sophomores on Thursday and first-years will coin- plete course registration on Friday. Registration times will remain the same. beginning at 7 a.m. on each re- spective date. “Our concern was that there would be power outages, no Internet access or Internet interruptions, especially for students who live out in the coun- ty,” said Dittman. "Their temptation might be to drive somewhere to get an Internet connection and with the possibility of high water, we didn’t want to fool with any ofthat." When it comes to course registra- tion, accessing the Internet at the ex- act time registration begins is some- times only halfofthe battle. Students at W&L can experience scheduling conflicts, where two courses that they are interested in meet at the same time or overlapping times. According to Reynolds Professor of Legal Report- ing Toni Locy, scheduling confiicts happen frequently with her advisees. “It can be really tough to coordi- nate schedules because there are a finite number ofhours in the day and there are a finite number of faculty members, and there are going to be conflicts,” Locy said. “At times it‘s a logistical nightmare.” to take a course you need, you are asking for trouble." said Locy. “Un- fortunately, that's what some students do. and that”:; why students panic.” In order to minimize scheduling dif- Iiculty and determine the number of sections to offer for a certain class, Dittman explained that the Registrar ()tI’ice examines the history of en- rollmcnt in particular courses. The ()fficc also communicates withother departments that indicate how many students are of a certain major and have to take a certain class required to fulfill their degree. When conllicts are unavoidable, the 1., willing to work with stu- dents to figure out the best possible solution. According to both Dittman and Locy, students will discuss with their professor the possibility ofleav— ing one class early and arriving a few minutes late to the subsequent class. In special cases, students have the option of taking a directed individual study of a course. According to Ditt- man, an example of such a situation occurred this year when a student de- clared a second major in the middle of the fall term. One of the courses required for that major was being taught for the last time during the fall term and the student could not coor- dinate the course around her other classes. She is instead working with faculty to plan an independent study for the winter term. i‘ .i. .;.\..iit\ According to Dittman, a directed individual study can be designed in several ways and is up to the faculty member working with the student. “Sometimes it involves indepen- dent reading and discussion, a big paper, or meeting with the professor three times a week,” Dittman said. The approach of each new term brings changes and additions to the course catalog. According to Dit- tman, there is a tab on the W&L course catalog website where stu- dents can view a list of every catalog revision for the academic year. The page also lists deleted courses and changes made to degree and major requirements and can be accessed at catalog.wlu.edu. For major requirement changes, Dittman noted that changes only ap- ply to students who declare their major under that year’s catalog. If the changes result in a course being deleted, the University must make ac- commodations for the students who declared their major under the previ- ous catalog. “If we delete a course, we have to substitute it with another one and al- low it to go towards your major re- quirements,” Dittman said. The list for spring term courses will also be available for students to re- view in the coming days. According to Dittman, the most updated version of the spring term course offerings will be released this week. Ditttnan said that he finds it dis- appointing when students simply choose a spring term course by word of mouth because it limits them from exploring the many different options available. “I think the problem is that people hear this reputation of a course or a faculty member and immediately go to tunnel vision without looking around at all the cool, new courses,” Dittman said. JULIANNA SATTERLY / EIC It all comes down to Tuesday’s vote By Randy Karlson STAFF WRITER After months of watching debates, campaign advertisements and attending last year’s Mock Convention, registered voters will finally have the chance to vote in the Presidential election on Tues- day. For those students who don’t know where to vote, the precinct for Washing- ton and Lee students is in the Piovano Building at 350 Spotswood Drive (lo- cated near Stonewall Jackson Hospital) and is open tomorrow from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. The voting precinct urges all stu- dents to “bring everything you got” in terms ofvoter registration cards, a valid driver’s license and college ID cards. There will be many different items on the ballot aside from the all-important Presidential election, including: a U.S. Senate race, a U.S. House of Represen- tatives race, a Lexington City Council W&L is getting ready for the election on Tuesday. Students registered to vote in Lexington can vote from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be an Election Watch Party at the Hillel House at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. race, the mayoral race and two separate Virginia Constitution Amendments. In the Senate race, Republican incum- bent George Allen is running against Democratic challenger Tim Kaine. Washington and Lee Law graduate Bob Goodlatte is the Republican incum- bent candidate running against Andy Schmookler for the 6th District of Vir- ginia’s House seat. In Lexington, Marylin Alexander, Frank Friedman, Camille Miller and John Morman are running for city coun- of voting this week. “It is extremely im- pottant that students vote, regardless of their affiliation,” said Luther. “Democ- racy cannot function without popular participation.” Another point of emphasis for Luther was how important it is for young col- lege students to vote. “Studies show that if citizens are en- gaged at a younger age in the process they are more likely to continue that trend into adulthood. If there is only one thing from this past term I hope it’s that “It is extremely important that students vote, re- gardless of their afiiliation, ” sald Luther. “Democ- racy can not function without popular participa- 1 tion. ’ Lex Luther, College Republicans President cil. Mimi Elrod is facing off against Mary P. Harvey-Halseth in the Mayoral Election. The two Virginia Constitutional Amendments are Question I, which would prohibit local governments from using eminent domain for economic de- velopment and job creation and require the seizure of land to be used strictly as public areas. Question 2 would allow the General Assembly to delay its veto ses- sion by up to a week to avoid sessions interfering with events like government or religious holidays. Lex Luther, President of the College Republicans, emphasized the importance we have helped people become engaged in the process and they will continue to be so after W&L,” said Luther. When asked about the state of the election, and the prospects of Governor Romney against President Obama, Lu- ther said, “Romney is the clear under- dog.” For students interested in watching the results of Election Night on Tuesday‘ night, stop by the Hillel House from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., where the College Re- publicans and College Democrats will be broadcasting election results live as well as selling Chick—fil-A. OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20121105/WLURG39_RTP_20121105_002.2.txt UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 1!‘/AS!-!_l1‘JGTC-1\ Si LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VA 24450 2 - THE RING-TUM PHI - M 0 N DAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012 NOV 0 6 2012 / Breaking down heal By Andrea Owen STAFF WRITER _ The Congressional Budget Office has projected $ 1 . 1 7 trillion of spending on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act between 2012 and 2013, said Profes- sor Timothy Jost, Washington and Lee Professor of Law, as part of the PPACA panel discussion on Monday. The panel, which consisted of three fac- ulty members, representatives from Col- lege Democrats and Republicans, and a Registered Nurse from the Stonewall Jackson Hospital, sought to clarify, dis- cuss, and formally debate the provisions of the PPACA, also known as Obamacare. Jost began the discussion by clarify- ing certain aspects of the Act. He said that under the PPACA, Medicaid will be expanded to all Americans under 138% of the poverty line—~not just widows and orphans as before—with discretion by the states. However, he said he thought that most states would end up adopting the policy for personal benefit. And regarding the individual mandate, Dr. Harlan Beckley, the Director of the Shepherd Poverty Program at W&L, clari- fied that although people will not have to purchase healthcare, they will have to pay a penalty ifthey do not. According to Jost, some of the other ex- penses that will be undertaken under the PPACA include $11 billion for community health centers, $250 million for pregnant and parenting teen programs, $200 million for school-based health centers, $5 billion for expanding the National Health Ser- vices Core, and $1.5 billion in grants for maternal infant and early childhood home visiting programs. There will also be ex- tensive reforms of Indian Health Services. The audience seemed primarily con- cerned with this realm of costs. Questions said that the goal of the PPACA is to make care more affordable to everyone in the long-term. But despite costs, the overall attitudes of the panel towards the PPACA, were over- archingly positive. “I think there are positive mental health effects,” said Timothy Diette, Professor of Economics at W&L, citing the Colorado theater shootings this summer and how a prime concern for those harmed, strangely enough, was insurance coverage. Diette explained that not having to worry about personal healthcare can help reduce stress for individuals, and that the PPACA could facilitate the mitigation of this stress. The economist even thought that extend- ing, coverage would positively affect the economy on the macro scale. “A lot of people are concerned with ex- tending coverage solely because it increas- es productivity, it reduces poverty, in the long run it reduces welfare rolls, and in- creases educational outcome,” said Diette. Professor Beckley also thought the PPA- CA was an important move and looked at it from what he described as a “moral” perspective. “[Healthcare] is not a commodity,” said Beckley, saying that healthcare should not be compared to clothing and other like en- tities. “Healthcare, like education, is nec- essary for equal opportunity.” Todd Smith, President of the College Democrats, agreed with Beckley. “I think we have a moral imperative to address this problem for the working poor,” said Smith. However, Lex Luther, President of the College Republicans, disagreed on the beneficiality ofthe act. “I am fighting an uphill battle here,” he tre facts age, and they will be forced into PPACA exchanges. Jost responded with a semi-rebuttal, cit- ing different statistics from the CBO which in fact projected an increase of 3 million people who will be able to get health in- surance coverage from their employers. He said that employers will have the rea- son they have now for offering health in- surance: a more productive workforce and huge tax benefits. The largest tax subsidy in our country, he said, is for employee- related health insurance. The panel discussion also shed light on a local perspective on the Act with the voice of Robert Capiro, an RN of Stonewall Jackson Hospital. Capiro described the need for reforms for the local healthcare system. Capiro said that there is only one physi- cian in Rockbridge County that will take new Medicare patients. “65-70 percent ofthe people at our facili- ties at any one time are Medicare patients,” _ he said, explaining that many have chronic conditions, or are elderly. He described the complications ofthese people going home in confusion after treatment, unable to take care of themselves, and getting sent back to the hospital. He praised the PPACA because it in- cludes provisions to keep people from needing to come back to the hospital and also gives money to help create electronic records. In addition, Capiro said that federal Medicare regulations help his hospital by mandating only 25 patients in at time, with the average stay lasting less than four days. As for the future for healthcare quality, Capiro was positive. ' “As there are more patients who have the I: ~ — - t A panel of W&L professors, students, and a registeredinurse from the Stonewall Jackson Hospital debate Obamacare. were raised as to where funding would come from, as well as whether healthcare could really be more affordable under the PPACA. Jost explained that much of the funding would come from cutting Medicare costs, but that the federal budget deficit would still increase by $109 billion. “We aren’t going to reduce healthcare costs,” J ost said regarding affordability. “That’s not a realistic goal.” However, he saidjokingly following the other panelists. Luther cited a CBO projection suggest- ing that employers would drop 11 million employees from coverage. He then pointed to studies from McKenzie, Deloit, and the Heritage foundation that suggested a num- ber closer to the 20 million mark would be dropped from employee benefit programs. Lex said that even those with healthcare right now might be forced into Obamacare because their employer will drop cover- By Douglas McNiel STAFF WRITER Professor Nathan.Feldman gave his in- augural lecture for his Rupert and Lillian Radford professorship on Thursday. The lecture was titled “Beauty and Surprise in Mathematics.” Professor Feldman began his career at Washington and Lee University in 1999. “His research is in functional analysis, complex analysis and operator theory,” according to a W&L News update. “Much of his work has focused on the chaotic dynamics of linear operators and matrices.” Besides teaching a wide variety of math classes, Feldman also helps stu- dents with summer research. At the be- ginning of the lecture, he said that he Bringig Radford professorship. Professor Nathan Feldman discusses his Rupert and Lillian ability to be insured, even ifit is Medicaid, and with some of the aspects of the Afford- able Care Act, reimbursement will indeed be better to the physician,” he said. “One would hope that more physicians in the community would rise to the occasion.” Jost explainedthat while there are pro- visions in the PPACA to improve quality, he was unsure about their ability to be ef- fective. However, he hopes the long-terrn effect on quality will be beneficial. By Hannah Howard STAFF WRITER Holy Sepulchre in danger of closing , ‘ The popular pilgrimage site, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is in danger of closing its doors as a result of a dispute with a water company. Many church of- ficials believe the church is exempt from paying water bills. However, the Israeli company is now demanding payment. The church’s bank accounts were frozen two years ago. Mediation attempts are still going on between the two groups. Greek journalist faces charges for publishing probable tax evaders Kostas Vaxevanis, a Greek journalist, faced serious charges for publishing a list of influential citizens who are probable tax evaders. He was arrested last Sunday — an action that suggests press freedom is waning. However, he was acquitted late Thursday night in front of an exuberant crowd. Egyptian policemen met with gunfire Egyptian policemen in the el-Arish region of the Sinai Peninsula were met with gunfire on Saturday morning. The shooters were most likely Islamic fight- ers that have been hunted by Egyptian police recently. At least three policemen were pronounced dead after the shooting along with one wounded. Officials in the country are working to bring peace to the region. China implements new organ donor policy The Chinese govemment is implementing a new system for organ" donation in the country. The new system will be in place early next year. This allows for less dependence on organs harvested from executed prisoners. The old system did not require consent of the executed or of their family. This enraged many human rights groups who claimed that it was highly unethical. Syrian rebels attempt “to liberate Taftanaz airbase” 1 Rebels in Syria mounted a major attack on a large air force base. The group is calling the attack an attempt “to liberate Taftanaz airbase.” The assault started the night before an important meeting in Qatar to discuss the nation’s plans for opposition. The attacks seem to be a response to the military air strikes earlier last week. The destruction of the air base is evidence of the rebels’ gains in northern Syria. ,~ Train derailing in Australia leads to one death and several injuries A train derailed in Australia on Saturday. The accident happened when the back trailer of a truck attempting to cross was hit by the train. The driver of the truck was unharmed, but it took over an hour to free the train driver. He sus- tained serious injuries. Almost a dozen other train passengers received minor injuries. One man was pronounced dead on the scene. Demonstration in Bahrain against ban on public gatherings Several demonstrations took place in Bahrain on Friday. People are enraged by the government ban on public gatherings and thus came together in peaceful protests. A few hundred people marched across the country. The Bahraini police fired tear gas into the crowds to stop the protesters. Many arrests followed, in- cluding that of the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. ’ loved the tradition that surrounds W&L, he mentioned the University Chamber Singers and graduation as two of his fa- vorite W&L traditions. Feldman began his talk by relating math to the two most influential men in the history of the University—George Washington and Robert E Lee. He point- ed out that both men loved the study of mathematics. Lee was even an Assistant Professor of Mathematics during his ten- ure at West Point, according to Feldman. After his brief historical discussion, Feldman began to show several differ- ent topics in math that inspire beauty and surprise. He discussed the golden ratio, a cine. Feldman also used the Pythagorean ics. F eldman said that there are over 500 different proofs that prove the validity of the theorem, including one created by . former U.S. president James Garfield. Toward the end of his presentation, F eldman brought up the extremely rel- evant topic of math in elections. He said that a candidate only needs .000006 per- cent of the popular vote to win an ‘elec- tion. « Other topics included in the lecture were the ‘math involved in skateboarding and probability and statistics in medi- number that is seen in many works of art. theorem in his discussion of mathemat-» gh- OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20121105/WLURG39_RTP_20121105_003.2.txt Parents MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012 3 - THE RING-TUM PHI ° GWS By Graham Colton HEAD COPY EDITOR Parents were at the center of campus activities this weekend at Washington and Lee. . Parents and families of current students visited campus to sit in on classes, attend musical concerts and go to the football game at W&L’s annual Parents Week- end. The weekend officially began as par- ents and relatives joined students in the classroom on Friday. Parents also had the opportunity to see students demonstrate physics phenomena at a Physics Fest in the Science Center, Robert E. Lee Re- search Scholars present posters on their summer research projects in Leybum Li- brary, and senior English majors discuss their capstone projects in Payne Hall.‘ Various academic departments invited students and families to meet with fac- ulty. In Stackhouse Theater on Friday, Stu- dent Affairs staff and sorority and fra- ternity leaders answered questions about Greek Life. Also in Stackhouse Theater, Kate Chenery Tweedy and Leeanne Meadows Ladin discussed their new book, “Sec- retariat’s Meadow: The Land, the Fam- ily, the Legend,” a pictorial history of Secretariat, the Triple Crown champion racehorse. On Friday night, Cantatrici, the Men’s Glee Club, and the W&L Chamber Sing- ers performed in the Parents and Fam- ily Weekend Choral Concert in Wilson Hall. On Saturday, the football team defeat- ed Hampden-Sydney College, 45-42, at Wilson Field. Other attractions included Applied Music Recitals in the Concert Hall in Wilson Hall and an A Cappella Concert, including General Admission, JubiLee, Southern Comfort, and the Washing- tones. The University Wind Ensemble also gave a concert at Wilson Hall. Some special exhibits took place over the weekend. In the Lykes Atrium in Wilson Hall, recreated photographs’ of Rockbridge County, taken by students from a 2012 Spring Term class, were displayed alongside the original photographs taken by Michael Miley in the 1890s and early 1900s. The exhibit is called “Then & Parents got a weekend look into the life of a general in Lexington this past wekend. Now: Photographs after Michael Miley.” The McCarthy Gallery in Holekamp 4 r r .. W&L parents and families have the oppornity to try out the University dining facilities durin Parents Weekend. get a peek at Lex Life It . :8 PHOTO COURTESY OF WLU.EDU Hall showed paintings by Ohio Wes- leyan University professor Frank Hobbs, who once taught drawing at W&L. The exhibit, which runs through December, presents his paintings of the Ohio and Virginia landscapes and figure paintings from his time in Italy. In the Reeves Center on Friday, ceram- ics collections from America, Europe , and Asia were displayed to the general :U_ public. The collections, most of which PHOTO COURTESY OF WLU.EDU 5‘ are Chinese export porcelain, feature , some ceramics that are more than 4,000 years old. The Staniar Gallery in Wilson Hall ‘ showcased the work of Brent Green, a, storyteller, visual artist, and filmmaker A known for his “DIY folk-punk” animat- T ed films. His films have been shown at the J. Paul Getty Museum ofArt in Los Angeles and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Leybum Library held its Annual Book Sale from Friday to Sunday. Next year, Parents and Family Week- end will occur about a month earlier, from Oct. 4 through Oct. 6. ED 1 flexible in the wake of By Hamlet Fort 5 TA F F w R IT E R In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the Washington and Lee Admissions Office extended the Early Decision application deadline, allowing applicants affected by the storm an extra week or so to submit their applications. Nov. l marked the formal deadline for the first round of ED applications. ' Early Decision is an important and widely-used method of applying to col- leges, especially at W&L, where a large percentage of the school’s applicants are positive W&L is their number one choice. From the Class of 2016, 48 per- cent were admitted through ED - a num- ber consistent with previous years, ac- cording to Senior Associate Director of Admissions Erin Hutchinson. ED only differs from Regular Decision applications in that the results are bind- ing. Ifaccepted, the applicant will enroll. Hutchinson says this is the only major difference between ED and Regular De- spatial thefrED?l e _ Hurricane Sandy cision applicants as well. “The only way that ED applicants differ from Regular Decision applicants in any meaningful way is in their burning desire to be Generals,” said Hutchinson. “With regard to their academic credentials and their extra-curricular accomplishments, they are virtually indistinguishable from their Regular Decision peers.” For the Admissions Office, accepting students from Early Decision is as much of the part of the process of building a first-year class as Regular Decision. There is no distinction between the type of applicants in the two pools, except for Sandy the deadline. “Our goal is always to recruit a well- rounded class, featuring students who excel in different academic and extra- curricular areas and who represent a broad range of geographic, socio- economic, religious, and ethnic back- grounds,” said Hutchinson. The ED deadline of Nov. l is the first of the Admissions season’s deadlines, but the Admissions Office will continue to receive applications through the week following for applicants in regions af- fected by Hurricane Sandy. The second deadline is Jan. 1, 2013. Sunday brunches become weekly event By Christian Kennedy STAFF warren Oct. 21 marked the first of the upper- classmen Sunday brunches sponsored by the Executive Committee. From ll a.m. to l p.m., many upperclassmen students came together for the inaugural event. The brunch is a joint project with the EC, originating with the Student Health Committee. The Student Health Com- mittee came up with the brunch as part of an initiative to bring both male and female students together across campus outside of the school setting. The brunch took place in Evans Dining Hall, and had a great turnout of students for its first event. It was open to sopho-_ mores, juniors and seniors, and offers upperclass students a wide range of food options, for a reasonable price of five dollars per person. The EC has worked very hard to subsidize costs in a way to offer a high quality meal for a very affordable price. Stu- dents were able to pay with cash, Food Flex, and General Debit for the first brunch. For future events, students should also have the option to swipe their brunch home. The EC hopes to make the brunch a more regular event with continued suc- cess. The idea of the brunch was to offer students an opportunity to eat together in a different setting outside of the typical social scene. When asked about the brunch, sopho- more EC representative Daniel Raubolt explained, “We wanted to give upperclassmen an- other place to eat on the weekend, as it can be dif- ficult for older students to find easy and afford- able dining options.” Raubolt mentioned that he was impressed by the turnout, and was , excited for the upcoming brunches. The success of the begin- ning brunches may start a tradi- tion to continue on through the rest of the year. There was no brunch this past week due to Parents Weekend, but there are sure to be many more to come. Eezée 'e at “Hands Down the Tastiest Truckstop in America” - The Travel Channel, Most Extreme Truckstops Home Cooked Meals & Southern Hospitality! Order from our complete menu 0r Join usfor one ofour ALL YOU CAN EA T Buffets.’ Daily Breakfast Bar Monday - Friday 6 am — 10:30 am Saturday & Sunday 6 am - 1:30 pm Daily Hot Bar Monday - Thursday 11 am - 10 pm Soup, Salad, & Fruit Bar All Week 10:30 am - 11 pm Friday Night Seafood Buffet 5 pm 4 10 pm Saturday Night Pork BBQ Buffet 5 pm - 10 pm Sunday Baked Chicken & Pork Loin11 am - 9 pm Friday & Saturday Late Night Breakfast Buffet 11 pm - 2 am Order Breakfast 24 Hours a day, 7 days a week! I-81 & I-64, Exit 195, 2516 N. Lee Hwy., Lexington, VA 24450 540-463-3478 www.|eehi.com See our menu online Twitter @berkysfood Find us on Face book OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20121105/WLURG39_RTP_20121105_004.2.txt 4 ° THE RING-TUM PHI 0 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012 opinions Robbing Uncle Sam: social insecurity ‘ By Ben Ruffle GUEST WRITER ._,..-___,...,__..__, .. K 5 ; Pr . I-4: rt-‘W-/.n-«I In «Ill-Ill ME .-.- ..-. .1-1...: Ida May Fuller received the first monthly Social Security benefit check ever written on January 31, 1940. Over the preceding three years, Mrs. Full- er paid into the system payroll taxes amounting to $24.75. After she retired, the Social Security Administration sent her a check every month until she died, at the age of 100, in 1975. By the time of her death, Mrs. Fuller had collected $22,888.92 from the federal government, representing a return rate of 92,480 per- cent on her investment. The problems posed by entitlement spending are not at the forefront of the average young voter’s mind. Yet en- titlement spending represents one of the greatest crises in American politics to- day. Without reform, young people will have the opposite experience of Mrs. Fuller with our entitlement programs: they will pay large amounts in taxes throughout their working lives, then when they retire they will receive little to nothing in return. Voters face a clear choice on Novem- ber 6. They can either accept President Obama’s status quo, mixed in with the wrong approach toward reform, or con- sider Governor Romney’s moderate and workable plan to solve the entitlement crisis. There is much disinfonnation out there—~a key stratagem of the Obama campaign appears to be asserting that Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan would personally escort our nation’s grandmothers off a precipice—but noth- ing disinfects like sunshine. There are three principal entitlement programs: Social Security, designed to supply supplementary income for the re- tired, the disabled, and their dependents; Medicare, crafted to provide healthcare support for the elderly; and Medicaid, a healthcare program that aims to assist the poor. The worst kept secret in Wash- ington is that all three are unsustainable. Without reform, these three programs will either go bankrupt or continue to absorb higher and higher proportions of the federal budget, crowding out spend- ing on education, infrastructure, defense, and eventually, the rest of the economy. If nothing changes, young people, and even adults in their 30s and 40s, will have serious reason to question whether the healthcare and Social Security that they have been promised will be there when they need them. There is bipartisan acknowledgement that our entitlement programs need fix- ing. As President Obama himself said in 2008, “What we have done is kick this can down the road. We’re now at the end of the road, and we’re not in a position to kick it any further.” Obama’s record in office, however, has not lived up to his rhetoric. The president ignored his own national com- mission on fiscal reform, known as the Simpson-Bowles Commission after its bipartisan chairmen, when it offered an equitable proposal for entitlement re- form. With Obamacare, the president expanded the rolls of Medicaid, dump- ing as many as l8 million people on the over-extended program by 2016. The law also took $716 billion away from payments owed to healthcare provid- ers of Medicare patients, a cut that will cause a reduction in the service given to seniors. Obama has at this point for- warded no concrete plan to return Med- icaid or Social Security to solvency. The only nod toward cost control that Obama has offered is the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), an entity created by Obamacare. IPAB is comprised of I5 unelected bureaucrats, and is tasked with restraining the costs of Medicare. This board has the power to cut the amount of money the govem- ment pays to doctors and hospitals that care for those on Medicare. Despite the administration’s denials, this cost cutting would take the form of fewer services for the elderly, a backdoor path to rationing. Democrats want people to trust that po- litical appointees in Washington are wise enough to control the healthcare costs of seniors in a fair way. But there is a better choice than ceding such responsibility to an unelected body. Governor Romney has put forth a practical plan to save our entitlement programs. First and foremost, Romney would repeal Obamacare, restoring the ~ $716 billion to Medicare and eliminat- ing IPAB. Secondly, for Medicare, Rom- ney would implement a premium sup- port system for those who are currently younger than 55. The premium support system, which has a long bipartisan pedigree, would grant future seniors a choice in their healthcare plan. The government would give seniors a fixed- amount benefit to choose an insurance plan. They would then be able to pick a less expensive plan, and receive money back from the government, or go with a more expensive plan, and pay a little extra. It is important to stress that all of these plans would by law be required to offer coverage at least comparable to present-day benefits. For Medicaid, Romney would block I grant the program, which means that the federal government would give states the money that it already spends on Medicaid. This change would give states the flexibility and incentive to experi- ment with the program to make it more efficient, effective, and sustainable. Block granting has proven successful in the past—President Clinton signed off on welfare reform in 1996 that involved giving control of the program to the states—an‘d will help secure healthcare for the neediest for years to come. Finally, for Social Security, Rom- ney proposes to raise the eligibility age I‘ gradually to keep in line with increas- ing longevity. He would also institute means-testing for benefits, so that more affluent seniors, who do not need addi- tional retirement income, would receive less. Such reforms are reasonable and fair; they would strengthen Social Se- curity and would ensure that it remains strong for generations to come. Romney’s decision to put forward specific plans for entitlement reform is politically perilous. Both parties have used “Mediscare” tactics—making vot- ers fearful of such changes to entitlement programseto great effect in the past. But the time for such fear mongering is long past. Demographics, and arith- metic, will ensure that these entitlement programs will soon have to change. The choice in November is clear: either to vote Romney, and accept some reforms to guarantee the survival of these en- titlements, or side with Obama, and put your faith in rhetoric and your health in the hands of unelected bureaucrats. But whatever your choice, younger voters should make no mistake: there will be no lda May F ullers in our generation. President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at Mentor High School, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, in Mentor, Ohio, before traveling to Mil- waukee for another Campaign event. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) WASHINGTON AND In UNIVERSITY THE RING- TUM PHI. EDITOR IN CHIEF NEWS EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR ARTS&LIFE EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR HEAD COPY EDITOR DESIGN EDITORS SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR STAFF WRITERS GUESTWRITERS BUSINESS MANAGERS DISTRIBUTION STAFF IULIANNA SATTERLY NEIL HAGGERTY' .IP BEALL Crouching NASA, hidden Dragon By Allie Weiss DESIGN EDITOR ,. CYNTHIA LAM . LEIGH DANNHAUSER GRAHAM COLTON JULIA LANG ALLIE WEISS SARA J. KORASH-SCHIFF SHELBY FLORES HAMLET FORT CAROLINE HAMP HAILEY HARTLEY HANNAH HOWARD KRYSTA HUBER KYLE IAEGER RANDY KARLSON YEJEAN KIM PAT MCCARRON DOUGLAS MCNIEL ANDREA OWEN BAILEY RUSSELL YATES WILBURN PROF. HANK DOBIN BEN RUFFLE KRISTINA SEON TODD SMITH- SCHOENWALDER DAVID ZEKAN DAVID WILSON DILLON MYERS KANE THOMA'S 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@wlu.'edu, but is otherwise independent.THE RING—TUM PHI welcomes all letters. We reserve the right to edit submissions for content and length. Letters and advertising do not necessarily reflect the opinion of THE RING—TUM PHI staff. This newspaper observes current court definitions of libel and obscenity. THE RING-TUM PHI UNIVERSITY COMMONS ROOM. 341 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA 24450 TELEPHONE: (540) 458-4060 FAX: (540) 458-4059 EMAIL: PH|@WLU.EDU SUBSCRIPTION RATE $45 -9 . Today, the world is a lot smaller than ‘A it wasza hundred years ago. London, once afar-ofi‘ land to native Virginians, isonly . about nine hours away by plane. A train ride from Staunton to New York. is‘ only ‘ half a .day’s journey.;And.-if you’re reading I this paper over your morning cup of cof- I there’s no traffic on the highway. In fact, you could probably travel to anywhere within the Eaith’s atmosphere in twenty four hours or less. And, coming soon, you’ll be able to travel even further than that. ' Space Exploration Technologies Cor- ' oration (SpaceX) has begun to plan for the day when human beings could buy tickets to the moon as easily as they might buy tickets to France. Founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla Motors, SpaceX has worked closely with NASA for years, anticipating the historical launch which would project one of their shuttles, called the Dragon, to the International __ October 7, 2012, making SpaceX the world’s first privately-owned company to ‘- send cargo to the I SS. , fee, you could be in Canada for dinner if L‘ Space Station. That launch happened on’ SpaceX. isn’t alone, of. course. Com- . mercial space travel, being amongst the most exciting prospects of the day, has ' I become the goal of many brilliant minds. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is the ’ newest branch of the ‘Virgin Group, con.- cerned primarily with space tourism. Jeff I‘ ' , Bezos, founder of »Amazon.com, is also ~' v ‘under, contract with NASA to fiirther the exploration into commercialized space A j , travel. Roderick and Randa Milliron co- » 5 founded Trans I Lunar Research in «the , ' hopes of creating a manned space station C on the moon, and are now in the race to create a shuttle that could transport people to the moon. . i The Dragon capsule isn’t intended to ' shuttle mere cargo to the ISS. Though the spacecraft was unmanned on its most re I cent journey, SpaceX fully intends that it ’ one day be used to transport humans. The ISS, a habitable structure that resides in ._ low Earth orbit, could conceivably be afx travel destination open to Vacationers in the near future. Once believed to be only the product of fantasy films and wild imag- inations, space travel is on the verge of be- coming the most recent feat of humankind OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20121105/WLURG39_RTP_20121105_005.2.txt \ M 0 N DAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012 5 ' THE RING-TUM PHI 0 opinions My kingdom for a kiss By Hank Dobm PROFESSOR or ENGLISH Over the past two months, I have had the privilege to be a cast member in the production of Bye, Bye Birdie, which played six performances to packed hous- es last week. The thing I most want to say is how much I admire and respect the many student cast members who worked so hard, and so joyfully, on the musical; their dedication and their talents were very much on display in the Johnson Theater. I also want to thank Jenny Da- vies for asking me to join the cast and to compliment the combination of tire- less work and creative imagination she brought to the production. But I also want to share some thoughts about the play itself because, for all of its fun and l950’s innocence, Bye, Bye Birdie is a dated dramatic work, and one that features umnistakably racist and sexist characters and attitudes. In fact, Bye, Bye Birdie is far easier to stomach as social satire today, with more than fifty years of distance from its open- ing night on Broadway. The overt sex- ism and racism (directed at Latinos) in the play would have made the original audiences of this Tony-award winning musical much more uncomfortable in 1960 because the play lampooned and ridiculed attitudes that were current, and largely unquestioned, in the post—war boom years‘ of the 50’s. The civil rights and women’s movements were only be- ginning to challenge the status quo. The play takes on these serious issues with a playful but clearly satiric touch—by making Albert’s mother’s casual slurs about Latinos and other foreigners dis- tastefully ignorant and by making the male authority figures blustery, silly, and impotent. What upends the comfortable and complacent idyll of l950’s American domestic existence (complacent precise- ly because the oppression and repression that made it possible were unacknowl- edged) in Bye, Bye Birdie? Simple: the subversive power of rock-and—roll! This new music threatened the very social structure of society: it crossed racial di- visions at the same time it declared gen- marriage partner. - ‘“"’“‘ battles over power or sex. adult sexuality. What are the main conflicts in Shakespearean Comedy? ' Generational conflict: typically the father tries to control »__,_____,his daughter, block her happiness, and prevent her choice of .. Gender Conflict: women and men are almost always at each ' J other, often in skirmishes of wit that mask more serious Conflict between love and sex: the young people in w”_,Shakespeare’s comedies must resolve the tension between idealized romantic love and the enticements (and, dangers) of erational warfare. Itcreated a powerful youth culture and unleashed the sexual energy of the buttoned-up, bobby—socks generation. The parents in the play la- ment: “What’s the matter with kids to- day?” And Elvis (or Conrad Birdie) was at the epicenter of this quake that rocked society. The 60’s — with short skirts, long hair, drugs, and free sex»-were about to be born. But why my subtitle above? What can Shakespeare possibly have to do with Bye, Bye Birdie? Well, for all the fun and froth of the musical, the play is deeply traditional in its main comedic preoccupations, and—upon analysis- yields insights that are downright Shake- spearean. And how do Shakespeare’s comedies typically end? With the defeat of the fa- ther figure, with the daughter marrying the man of her own choice (but almost always one who seems unworthy of her), with some sort of truce between the lovers (often after the woman bests the man but then, problematically, appears to cede authority back to him), and with the young couple heading off to the wed- ding bed as the play ends. But careful! Sex is all foreplay in the comedies; once sexual consummation occurs, we enter the world of Shakespearean tragedy. This simplistic tour of the genre of Shakespearean comedy can guide our analysis of the conflicts and resolutions of Bye, Bye Birdie. Generational conflict? The two X. central blocking figures in the play are Alber’t’s mother—obsessively possessive and demanding of Albert’s love and attention~and Mr. McAfee— trying to maintain control over his fam- ily, especially Kim. (Fascinatingly, he tries to block both rivals for Kim’s affec- tions; the virtually pre-pubescent ‘Hugo is as much a threat to his patriarchal do- minion. as is the hyper-sexualized Con- rad.) But both blocking characters lose in the end. Gender conflict? The play 2 . mocks male authority as both ridiculous and futile—whether it is Mr. McAfee’s pitiful attempts to exercise do- mestic control (“Nero is back in town!”) or the Mayor’s dismay as Conrad’s phys- ical presence lets loose an explosion of female sexual energy and willfulness that turns his quiet town into utter cha- os. (The Mayor’s own wife comically swoons at the least twitch of Birdie’s hips.) And Albert himself is no match for Rosie, who is much more clever, resourceful, and confident than he will ever be. Rosie describes him as a “tower of jello” and wonders in song what she even sees in him. When Albert tries to assert his masculine prerogative at the end of the play in an overtly sexist rant, the audience just laughs at him, at least in part because we know he doesn’t even mean it. We all know who will wear the pants in the relationship — just like Rosa- lind, or Viola, or Portia. - Love vs‘. sex? The lovers in 3. Bye, Bye Birdie—like those in Shakespeare’s comedies—are trapped in an idealized notion of romantic love that is simultaneously drawn to and fear- ful ofthe power of sexual love. Kim and Hugo may get “pinned” but they are so clearly non-sexual that the revelation at the end of the play that Hugo has pro- posed to Kim can only appear ridiculous. Mr. and Mrs. McAfee are the epitome of the de-sexualized suburban mar- ried couple. And there is absolutely no “chemistry” between Albert and Rosie. He seems virtually neutered; any passion comes only from the frustrated Rosie- although when she unwittingly rouses the Shriners’ dormant libidos, she flees in alarm. The sexual energy of the play ema- nates from Conrad and threatens to overwhelm any semblance of order or decorum. Like Elvis, whose hip thrusts were too offensive to be aired on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, Conrad symbol- izes freedom, rebelliousness, and fun. The teenage girls of Sweet Apple lose all self-control, flirting not just with Conrad but with danger. The parents panic. The girls play at grown-up seduction (“Let’s have an orgyl”). And when Kim and Conrad are alone, the mood turns vague- ly menacing. Only by arresting Conrad, getting him out of town, and ultimately subjecting him to the regimentation of the army can the specter of unbridled sexuality once again be contained by the societally-approved institutions of romantic love (marriage for Rose and Albert or “going steady” for Kim and Hugo). Interestingly, mama has to go too; an infantilized and de-sexualized Albert won’t do Rosie any good either. And so order and peace are restored in Sweet Apple. As they are in lllyria, Arden, Ephesus, and Padua. Okay, Bye, Bye Birdie is not exactly Twelfth Night. But any work of art is both a product of its own time and place as well as an ob- ject for enjoyment and interpretation in our own. Bye, Bye Birdie may be dated, but it came to life — in all of its fun and all of its possible meanings — on stage at the Johnson Theater last weekend. Is San By Julianna Satterly EDITOR IN CHIEF A strange tidbit finally broke the Lex- ington bubble this morning. A hurricane, newly dubbed “Sandy” is slowly mean- dering its way up from the Caribbean and heading for the Atlantic seaboard. Nobody around here seems concerned. Hurricanes never make it past Florida, right? I secretly hope it does. I have nev- er seen the fury of a storm before, and I want a piece of the action. I want to cower in the basement with candles and a good book. Sandy has already killed 21 people in dy all Washe the Caribbean, and by this morning has devoured almost 2000 miles of ocean. The storm is continuing to stretch like a spring: reaching from the tip of Florida all the way up through North Carolina. There is a strange wind in the air, and bruised clouds blanket the entire sky. She is coming. I went to Wally World today to get cooking supplies, and there are no bat- teries. There are no flashlights. There is no water, or candles, or canned foods. There are no people to watch. I have never seen a Wal-Mart that silent. The employees looked at me questioningly as I went about my business, shopping for everyday supplies. It reminds me of Y2K when there was no rice to be found for hundreds of miles. Every conversa- tion leads to what they are now referring to as the “Frankenstorm.” Sandy com- bined with an arctic front then added to a jet stream. Strange things are happening here. I woke up this morning to a how]- ing wind. The trees are shuddering, and the leaves are winding their way to the ground. As Pooh would have said, it was quite a blustery day. And yet all two thousand of us had to trudge our way through the wind to school. But the weather man is predicting snow for tomorrow, and with snow comes power outages. We can’t possibly have class with a power outage, right? It is now only 7 p.m., and the world is black. The clouds covered the sunset and moon and stars. All there is around is wind. As I walk back to my apartment I am surrounded by groaning giants; their cracking limbs making a» dull thud as they hit the sidewalkfl start to walk a little faster, because I would 11 . prefer not to be impaled. As I walk in- side the lights start to flicker. Well, there goes the power. I think Sandy is ~ officially upon us. Every other school for two hundred miles is closed tomor- row, and yet we haven’t heard anything. The TV is blaring that conditions will only worsen throughout the night. I’ve called my family in New York and heard of how Manhattan is in terrible shape. People are kayaking through the streets of Long Island. There are SCUBA div- ers in Times Square station. Fires have destroyed almost a hundred homes in Queens. The area’s schools have official- ly been suspended until further notice. Any moment now, and Sandy is going to reach us, almost three hours inland. Before I go to bed I unplug all important electronics; 1 don’t want them to fry during a power surge. I parked my car on the second floor of the parking deck: covered from the elements and too high for flooding. I put a flashlight by my head and candles within reach. We have lots of bottled water stockpiled and extra batteries, and we all showered today in case the hot water is suspended. I called‘ my parents and told them not to worry, and that I love them. We are so ready! Bring it on, Sandy. T-Minus twelve hours until apocalypse level. Nothing. I woke up and it was a beautiful day, with a few wispy clouds in the sky. No snow. No storm. The school website tells me that “Washington and ' Lee is operating on a normal schedule.” Well, crap. I guess I’d better do that homework I was so sure I wouldn’t have to turn in today... By Yates Wilburn STAF F W RITE R . t ’ Some interesting remarks were made recently by Ambassador Shin Bong-kil, Secretary-General of the Trilateral Co- operation Secretariat—an organization dedicated to strengthening economic ties between China, South Korea, and Japan. In the remarks, made during a round- table discussion at the Center for Stra- tegic and lntemational Studies in early September, the Ambassador claimed that the “deepening economic ties and boom- ing people-to-people exchanges are driv- ing the three countries towards a greater integration than ever before.” Specifi- cally, he pointed to a recent agreement between the three countries to discuss the “Trilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA)” which he equated to an East Asian version of NAFTA as evidence of this dynamic. In addition, he cited the overwhelming amount of aid from China and South Korea to Japan in the wake of the devastating earthquake last year as evidence of deepening ties. However, these remarks were made well before the anti-Japanese riots in China and Repub- lie of China (Taiwan), as well as the in- crease of Chinese maritime presence in the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. While the Ambassador did mention the dispute be- tween China and Japan (as they stood at the time) in the remarks, it was only in a passing reference and he provided little to no explanation as to why this seri- ous disagreement would not impede any progress on such an economic union. While the economic ties between Ja- pan and China in particular have become a huge source of revenue for both coun- tries—China is Japan’s biggest trading partner, Japan is China’s third—that trend has shown signs of decline recently. Ac- cording to recently released economic data (cited in the New York Times), Japanese trade has decreased by 1.4% in the past 8 months after an increase of 14.3% last year. According to the NYT ‘ article, Japanese officials blamed both the global economy but also “concems over political issues.” Officials added that growth of investment from Japan to China has slowed to 16% growth in the most recent 8 months, with the same period last year showing a 50% growth. This news comes despite Japan’s “near- total reliance” upon China for rare earth minerals, as “Japanese companies seek out countries with even cheaper work forces and less-touchy diplomatic rela- tions.” Despite the incredible volume of trade and dependence China and Japan share with one another, it does not ap- pear to be enough to smooth over these “concems over political issues,” nor is it a situation that many Chinese citizens support, as protests in China have ex- posed a segment of the population that does not appreciate the amount of trade done with Japan.iStill, both countries seem to need the other for the near fu- ture, as both economies are very fragile, still weathering a tenuous global recov- ery. Hopefully, this will be enough to keep the region from becoming more - Trade reorients eastern tension diplomatically tense as territorial dis- putes cloud the judgments of the govem- ments of Japan, China, and South Korea. OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20121105/WLURG39_RTP_20121105_006.2.txt 6 - THE RING-TUM PHI - M 0 N DAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012 opinions By David Zekan G U E ST w R I T E R Although the October 29th discus- sion on the Affordable Care Act proved to be insightful regarding the specifics of the act, it was ultimately very one-sided with only the positive aspects ofthe act being addressed by the collection ofleft- leaning professionals. The six-inan pan- el consisted ofthree professors, an R.N., and two student representatives from their respective political organizations. The perspective ofa physician was only mentioned when it came to serving one’s community. Not once was the sustainability of medical practices or physician’s opinions on specifics of the act mentioned. In a Nov. 1 interview with a practicing physician. who re- quested to remain anonymous, the attack on doctors by federal institli- tions was adamantly afiirmed. He claimed that medical records are being attacked and it is becoming such that more importance is placed on documentation than on care for pa- tients. The federal govemment has mandated electronic medical records, a practice which is “turning MDs into computer technicians” and dehuman- izing the bookkeeping that comes with a medical practice. Although this may simplify management, it puts patients at risk and a question ofthe constitutional- ity ofthis mandate arises. According to the interviewee, the goal of the federal government is to force doctors to work for hospitals instead of in private practices because the govern- ment has a substantial amount ofcontrol O . R s t I 1 m ‘V 11' it. over these bureaucra- forms could be made _to the Ameri- gig cies. Government can system, the physician referenced d€t€FmiI1a- healthcare savings accounts, ‘ ’ which he believes should be As this election cycle nears a expanded. He claimed conclusion, we are reminded of our that “the expansion of greatest political freedom: the right tion of a healthcare savings to vote. However, we must also rec- pl‘-V' aC°0U“‘ W0U1d lead ognize that no such freedom can exist 5'' ‘O ‘he lowermg Of without its necessary protectors. l“S:j”a“°e. ‘ates Throughout our history, American in 3" lnciease liberties have been challenged over C in deductibles. . _ Essentially un_ and over again; each time, honorable der 3 heaithcare men and women respond by sacrific- Savings account ing themselves in war to defend the a pariem puts rights of their tellow citizens. If we money into the are to truly do justice to their service, account indepen- then we must exercise the most basic dent of his or her tenant of our democracy. We must insurance and uses Voto_ ‘his m°“e3’ ‘O Pa-V dc‘ As president of College Demo- ductlbles if he °‘ She is crats lmake this pledge‘ If on de- in need of care.” He also . ’ . . ' .y cide to vote in Lexington this Tuesday, added that these would not C " D ," _ be mandatory, but a good option 0 ege emoctats WI gladly provide . for healthy, young individuals who the transportation. Arrangements . wanted insurance, or under the AC A had can be made through 5m'th5ch°e"' ‘ mg]. to have insurance due to the unconstitu- W3ld9Vt14@m3"-Wl|l-ed|l- Funnel" ciaii’s practice tional individual mandate. Physicians more, this invitation is open to each l'eimburse- insurance that are not just looking out for themselves student, regardless of political affili- ments is common Lin- was approximated to cost and their practices in opposing the ACA, ations_ der Medicaid, and will remain this way $31,000 a year with a $100,000 they are also promoting quality of care Let us honor the Americans who under the ACA. The interviewed physi- deduciib1o if something does go wrong and the rights of individuals to choose have made the ultimate sacrifice for cian claimed to be paid $430 to remove during the procedure, The sheer magni- which physician they see and when they our fl,eedoms_ This Tuesday, let us an appendix from 8 lVlCdlCal‘Cl patient tude of these numbers brings mio ques- SCC him Or‘ her. t While The h05Pllal lnakes avwcximately tion the sustainability of a private prac- V0 e' . $5000 for the paticnt’s slay during What tice and the government’s so-called free sincerely’ is normally a two to three day recovery. market values, _ roddsmltbschoenwalder . However, the physician is required to buy when asked what i-ogpoiigib1e ro- P’9-“dent ofcollege Democrats 0 I I O 0 o G‘ . A cappella has been lirepresented in recent years by the.likes of angst-ridden:h_igh school 1students and overly.—reminiscent' /Qffice workers, Howey/ier, on’;,Sa’tur,day night, acappella «donned a different, kindev"of.lth_e*atri\ iVty;.’lr'our Washington and Lee groups took the stage in“ ‘l.ee1__~ .l);a’pe,l to perform mash-ups of their 1 favorite songs. The .Vl/aIsh£i__,rfgT,ones~(center)‘started the show 9 with an arrangement_c_onfi.bining Ben E. l<_ing’s “Standby Me”9 and The Police's *‘Eve‘ry Breath You Take.” General Admission (top),took the stageivneitgttaclkliing Michael Bubl_e1‘s“Just Haven’t, Met .You Yet” and;J‘aso‘r1_Mraz:’;s,"fl.Tm.:Yours.” JubiLee (bottom)~ took on Michael 'Bub!:e’s“:Heartache Tonight" and" Diana Ross’-s “Ain't No Mountaiyn‘Hig;"*En9ug,h,,”’A Southern Comfort (not 1 pictured), aftera brief ,pij ’_ otijyingito convinocelthe audience that this would be .tl1eir.;‘last:»show..Outside of the wedding circuit, performed ’N‘ellly’fjs,“f-‘Ride Wit Me,” The Clovers’s “One 0' Mint Julep,” and !‘fSou1‘v-to’.-$lo;u_,l;.” -- 1. 1‘ O OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20121105/WLURG39_RTP_20121105_007.2.txt M 0 N DAY, NOVEMBER 5,‘ 2012 7 ' THE RING-TUM PHI 0 arts&|ife Betweena rock and a hard place By Caroline Hamp STA F F w R I T E R Instead of getting caught up on how your life looks on paper, focus on the things that really matter, like your family and friends. That was the advice skilled outdoorsman and adventurer Mr. Aron Ralston offered to a packed audience during his speech in Keller Theater last Thursday night. Invited by the CONTACT Committee and Outing Club to share his story, Aron Ralston is the hero behind “127 Hours,” the movie which documented his hor- rific, yet life-changing experience in late April and early May of 2003. While hiking through the majestic canyons of Utah, a boulder, suddenly unsecure, fell on Ralston and pinned his hand against the canyon wall. He stayed there for 5 days until he ran out of water, and was left dehydrated and mentally exhausted. Within an hour of that boulder falling, Ralston knew that he would not be able to survive; he had not told anyone where he was going and didn’t expect anyone _ to be searching for him. On the fifth day, Ralston accepted his death. He wrote his name, birth date, and assumed death date on the canyon wall; in other words, he was standing in his grave with an epitaph already engraved above his head. Ralston then proceeded to make a video of his last will and testament. ‘ ‘,‘As I’m sitting under that tape,‘ I’m learning a lot,” said Ralston, recalling that critical moment. ‘‘It was a great reminder to know what is important... I was standing in my grave, yet I was smiling.” I In his tape, Ralston didn’t'mention school, work, or money. He didn’t dwell on those silly little accomplishments that, at the time of their achievement, had seemed so huge. His normally type- A, overly ambitious attitude faded away. Instead, he spoke to the people in his life. He professed his love to his family and friends. ' And then, in the midst of these final words, he experienced the strangest, most realistic vision of all — a vision of-his future life. The vision included a beautiful baby boy, laughing and playing and calling him ‘daddy.’ Sud- denly, death was no longer in the cards. Ralston had a future, and he was going to I Ralston, pictured with his hunting gear and equipment, at the scene of the boulder. He was see it through. With that in mind, Ralston broke his radius and his ulna, and then cut through his flesh and bone with a multipurpose knife that he had gotten for free with a Wal-Mart flashlight. It was the most pain he had‘ ever experienced when that knife tore through the nerve. Despite the pain and suffering the boul- der had given him, Ralston did one last thing before he escaped his grave — he thanked the boulder. He didn’t lose any- thing (except a dismembered hand), but he had gained the insight to a better life. He had learned the strength of the power of love. “Our will to love — our strength and courage comes from that,” Ralston said. “It saved me.” ' So when you have to deal with that l5—page midterm paper, a stressful chemistry test, or a nerve-racking in- ternship interview, remember that those aren’t the only things in life. Tum those anxiety-filled obstacles into blessings: talk to your professor about the paper, study with a friend for the test, and get a few pointers from your parent for the trapped here for five days before deciding to make his harrowing escape. &L Outng cm, 3*?‘ «:; ed 24 participants, representing Alejandro Paniagua '16 (Costa Rica) takes a bow. L. Alna Hamrick 6 (Korea) shows off a traditional bow. Stephanie Do"15 (Vietnam), Sofia Sequeira '15 (Costa Rica), Waringa, Kamau '15 (Ethiopia), Daphine Mugayo '15 (Uganda), and Susan Dittma shion Fred Gisa '16 (Rwanda) showcased a family chief cane andanimai skins. '5 n (Kenya) proudly flaunt their costumes. v'_ . ‘A- ’15(china), Maria Herrera Multiple countries were represented by Sofia Sequeira ’15 (Costa iiica), Cathy O p '16 (Costa, Rica), Stephanie Do '15 (Vietnam), Oyumaa Daichinkhuu '16 (Mongolia), and Ahn ‘la '16 (Vietnam). V g OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20121105/WLURG39_RTP_20121105_009.2.txt 1 M 0 N DAY, NOVEMBER 5,2012 9 0 THE RING-TUM PHI 0 ..sports Kyle Jaeger In perhaps the most shocking trade of the offsea- son, the Oklahoma City Thunder decided to break up their powerful young core by shipping James Harden to the Houston Rockets. This trade was perplexing to many who asked, why break up a big three of James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook who led the Thunder to the Finals just one year prior? Others understood the trade but felt that the Thunder should have waited until the end of the season to trade Harden, especially when there was no threat of losing him for another six months. I believe that the Thunder made a great trade, and their timing was right. The Thunder could not afford to keep Serge Ibaka, Durant, Westbrook and Harden due to the luxury tax. In signing lbaka to a new contract, the Thunder essentially chose him over Harden. They valued Ibaka’s presence and the pieces they could get in return for Harden over maintaining their big three. They asked Harden to take less money, and he refused. Harden is not to blame for wanting what he felt he deserved. The Thunder showed poise in a difficult situation. They showed they could make hard choices to better their team, which is promis- ing for the organization. The Thunder made this move before the season started for two reasons. First and foremost, they got more value in this trade than they could have next year, when there would be more pressure to sign or trade Harden. The Thunder got Kevin Mar- tin, a comparable offensive threat, Jeremy Lamb, a promising prospect, and two first round picks. These picks are especially valuable, because one of them is indirectly from the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors project to be a lottery team, so in this draft, the Thunder will most likely have a lottery pick. It is rare for a deep playoff team to acquire such high lev- el picks. Sec- ondly, if the Thunder had let the contract nego- tiations drag on, Hailey Hartley The Rock- ets believe that they have found a player that they can build a it could’ve turned ugly. The Thunder have a very specific strategy, and they made their position clear by trading The Oklahoma City Thunder traded James Harden to Ithe Houston Rockets for Kevin Marlin, Jeremy Lamb, and twafirst-round draft picks. Hailey and Kyle tip off about whether or not it was . good trade. championship team around in James Harden. A young, skilled guard, he still has so much room for improve- Harden when he refused to accept less money for the good of the team: lfthey hadn’t traded Harden, the situation could’ve turned dra- matic and distracting for the Thunder, in a similar way to the Orlando Magic last year. The Thunder are looking beyond the immediate impact of this trade and towards the future. The transformation of the Lakers this offseason has made the Thunder’s current path to the Finals more difficult. In making this trade, the Thunder may sacrifice some ability to contend in the present, but in the future they will emerge stronger. The Lakers team can only last so long, and stockpiling draft picks and young players for Harden will help the Thunder contend when the Lakers team grows old. Overall the Thunder again demonstrated their savvy management skills. They were unafraid to make an unpopular and risky move to better their team. The Thunder make moves that time and time again serve as the blue print for the rest of the small market NBA teams. Surely, we will all look back in five years and marvel at the foresight of the Thunder. ment. So why did A the Thunder seem to give a player with so much potential away? The Thunder have a superstar in Kevin Durant. Russell Westbrook, Serge Iba- ka, Kendrick Perkins, and Thabo Sefolosha round out ,a solid starting five. The team will be a dominant force in the Western Confer- ence for years to come. Despite the strong roster, the team chose to trade away James Harden rather than give him the deal he de- served. Harden averaged over 30 minutes off of the bench last year with an average of four rebounds and almost 17 points. His efforts earned him the Sixth Man Award for the sea- son. Harden played like a starter, and giv- en time, could be one of the most dominant players in the NBA. He was the Thunder’s first round pick in the 2009 draft, and is only 23-years-old. The guy seriously had nowhere to go but up. The Thunder were not willing to give Harden the deal he felt he deserved. And they will suffer because of it. Sure they will still be a playoff caliber team, they’re talented there is no doubt about it. But, Harden only improved the Thunder and he may have been the key to more playoff runs. Harden wanted a big deal that he knew he was unlikely to get, and was given a choice. Accept the deal shorter, lower salary deal being offered, or book plane tickets to Houston. The Thun- der’s loss is ten times the Rockets gain, and they took the opportunity to basically steal what they believe is an all-star level player for many years to come. The Thunder are losing what potentially could have been a major player for the Thun- der for years to come. He was an offensive threat, and still with plenty of years to so- lidify himself as a consistent and all-star NBA starter. And yes, hindsight is 20/20, but we can already see just a week into the NBA season that Harden has MVP potential. He’s playing at a high lev- el that is proving he is worthy of the contract he de- manded from the , Thunder. Only time will tell, ; but the Thun- der are looking " to be on the losing side of the deal. . Soccer falls ' to VA Wes By Hendley Badcock 1 ou ned 110 about IM sports By Hailey Hartley STA F F w R IT E R The Washington and Lee men’s soccer team’s hunt for the Old Do- minion Athletic Conference cham- pionship ended when they suffered a loss in penalty kicks to Virginia Wes- leyan on Thursday. . Virginia Wesleyan was the first on the board just over six minutes into , the first half. Sophomore Isaac Ar- rington found the net to give Virginia Wesleyan an early lead. Senior Dave Phillips responded in the second halfoff of a cross coming in from fellow senior Basti Richter. Neither team was able to find the goal during the rest of regular play, or the two sessions of overtime play. Generals’ goalkeeper, sophomore Albert Civitarese, had three saves during the 110 minutes of total play before the game went to a shootout. Virginia Wesleyan goalie Jake Burtch was forced to make just two saves in the same time period. Although the game officially end- ed in a tie the shootout determined who would move on in the ODAC tournament. The Generals were un- able to top the Marlins in the penalty kicks, losing 3-1. With the loss the Generals’ season ends. They had a record of 1 1-4-3. STA F F w R I T E R “Get out and just play,” Ray Ellington. Assistant Director of Campus Recreation, encourages Washington and Lee students, faculty and staff. The flexibility and ac- cessibility of intramurals allow even the busiest student to take part in some light- hearted competition. W&L offers a wide variety of sports-—- including soccer, ten- nis, dodgeball, and volleyball. The flag football season is currently underway, with the championships expected to take place before Thanksgiving break. Hand- ball, the newest intramural on campus, will begin this Monday. Throughout the year, Campus Recreation also offers special events such as the Big Pink Volleyball toumament for breast cancer awareness held in October. In the spirit of the Presidential election, the Red, White and Blue Fun Run will take place on Nov. 6. Finally, a softball tournament will occur in late April. Campus Rec welcomes anyone to cre- ate a team and register. Greek Houses comprise a large number of the intramu- ral groups. Ellington points out that “the fantastic job the Resident Advisers have done helping to promote intramurals,” has increased the number of Residence Hall teams this year. Furthermore, he said that an Intemational House Team, a Hil- lel Team, a Faculty/Staff Team and a Law School team participate in most sports as well. Registration for intramurals is simple. Each league and tournament has a differ- ent deadline, posted on a variety of media, including Campus Notices, posters, and the Campus Rec website. Forms, avail- able on the website, must be turned in along with a registration fee to the Intra- mural Office, 416 Warner Center. Look out for the next registration deadline; Campus Rec will accept forms for volley- ball Jan. 7 through Jan. 10. For those interested in assuming a paid intramural position, “there are also opportunities to join the Intramural Staff as a game official, supervisor and score/ clock keeper,” Ellington advises. Please contact Ellington at sellington@wlu.edu. . ODAC spells consistency By Pat Mccarron STAFF WRITER Seven out of nine. 78 percent. No matter which way you cut it, this value signifies the consistency of .Washing- ton and Lee’s women’s cross country throughout the last nine seasons. The team has captured nine Old Dominion Athletic Conference titles, while Coach Kris Hoey has received ODAC Coach of the Year as many times. But while the success itself throughout the years re- mains consistent, the year—to—year make- up of each team is unique. ‘.‘As you win more and more championships, they all mean something different. lt’s really all about the ladies on the team right now, and each one has been different,” explains Hoey. And this year’s ODAC champion- ship stood head and shoulders above the rest: for the first time since she began coaching at W&L, Hoey’s team scored a miniscule 29 total points, placing five runners in the top nine. A victory of this fashion places the team in a good posi- tion as the team prepares for the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Champion- ship meet this Saturday. The changes in roster and different ways of win- ning, however, seem to have been the only variables in W&L’s women’s cross country throughout the years. From the approach to coaching, to the team’s preparation for competing, consistency has been the source for success. “We try to instill similar values: hard work and dedication. It’s something we try to maintain throughout different years. Success comes from drive and determination from current athletes, but the approach never changes,” said Hoey who, along with Assistant Coach Kristin Cupido, is always tough on her runners. Just as the team values remain constant from year to year, so does the team’s mindset from race to race: “A lot of people think we have to do things differently [for the NCAA South/ Southeast Regional Championship], but one of the goals from the beginning was to contend for the title of every meet,” said Hoey. “We’ve been running in a manner to win the title in every meet, large and small.” The team has won four of the five meets that it has participated for W&L XC, Kris Hoey in this season. It is the work outside of the meets that have been instrumental in setting the stage for the team’s success. Lexing- ton’s hilly terrain is ideal for cross coun- , try training, and Coach Hoey has taken advantage of this during her time coach- ing in the Rockbridge area. For example, when the team goes to compete at Har- risonburg, a course Hoey describes as “hilly and challenging,” her team is con- fidently prepared going in. They have trained in a comparably tiring environ- ment. Thus, the team faces no challenge that it is reluctant to face head-on. The ODAC championship that the W&L women’s cross-country team has recently won signifies the habitual suc- cess of the team under Coach Hoey’s reign. Still, Hoey is first to admit that she sets thebar high for her athletes. If she hadn’t, the team would not have won the conference championship seven out of nine years. This is just the first step of the women’s cross country cham- pionship season, one that Coach Hoey hopes will end with a national title. If and when the team competes there, don’t expect a change in approach. The women’s cross-country team competes next Saturday, November 10 in Atlanta for the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championship. OCR::/Vol_116/WLURG39_RTP_20121105/WLURG39_RTP_20121105_010.2.txt 10 ° THE RING-TUM PHI 0 M 0 N DAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012 sports in the numbers ¢433 The total number of yards that Andrew Luck threw for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday on the way to defeating the Miami Dolphins 23-30. This is the most ever by a rookie. He surpassed Ryan Tan- nehill’s record of 431 set earlier this season. 1!l The age of Guan Tianglang, a Chinese golfer. He became the youngest person ever invited to the Masters after win- ning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. 45]. The total number of rushing yards that Washington and Lee had in Saturday’s game versus Hampden-Sydney. W&L de- feated Hampden-Sydney 45-42 after four overtimes. :13 The total number of years since the New York Knicks opened their season 2-0. So far this season they have de- feated the reigning NBA champions, the Miami Heat, 104- 84. On Sunday they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 100-84. soapbox “Its like when you find out that Santa Claus isn ’t real.” - Spencer Conway, one of over 600 runners that went to unofflclally run the New York City marathon after It was cancelled due to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. Many of these runners ran with supplies to give to people that they ran Into along the route. from ESPN.oom “It's particularly hard for me, because I'm not the most patient individual in the world.” —LosAngslesLakerKobeBryant.1heLakershavaopened theseasono-3.theflrsttlmedolngthatsInoe1978.0vor thethreegames Bryanthasaveraged30.7 polrrlspergame, fromE.SPN.oom ondeck Generals Voted eighth 1n pre-season poll By Bailey Russell STAFF WRITER _ ~ In Forest, Va., the Old Dominion Athletic Conference released its 2012-13 men’s bas- ketball preseason coaches’ poll last Thursday, putting Washington and Lee eighth out of 12 i A - ' schools. Virginia Wesleyan, defending league champion, took the top spot with 11 out of 12 - first-place votes. The Generals will hit the court this season with 11 returning players, including all five .. starters from the 2011-12 team that went 13- 14 overall and 5-9 in the ODAC. Senior for- ward .l.D. Ey returns as the Generals’ leading scorer and leading rebounder. Last season, Ey earned Second Team All-ODAC honors. In addition, W&L returns with sophomore guard Javon McDonald and junior forward Larry Whitaker. Ey, McDonald, and Whitaker had the three highest points per game average last season. W&L will scrimmage against Southern Virginia University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Warner Center before their regular “‘ - season begins on Nov. 16. Generals take bac: ODAC By Kristina Seon s TA F F w R IT E R After four overtime periods, Washington and Lee came out on top over Hampden-Syd- ney 45-42 to take the Old Dominion Athletic Conference title. 451 of their total 489 yards was gained on the ground. Senior running back Luke Heinsohn rushed the ball for three yards and scored the first points for the Generals with 2:35 left in the second quarter. The Generals headed into the locker room at halftime losing 17-6. The Generals took advantage of the first drive ofthe second halfto score a touchdown. Heinsohn carried the ball for 35 yards to score his third touchdown ofthe game with 2:35 left in the quarter. With 0:39 left in the fourth quarter, Heinsohn again rushed the ball into the end- zone to tie up the game at 27 points. After a scoreless first overtime period, senior running back Brett Murray scored a CTOWI1 touchdown in each of the second and third overtime periods. Heinsohn kicked a field goal in the fourth overtime period and the Generals defense was able to stop Hampden-Sydney. “lt was the most unbelievable game l’ve ried the ball 30 times for 170 yards, breaking his career high single game record. He also passed for 36 yards on two completed passes. The Generals’ defense was led by seniors safety Jake Pelton and linebacker Doug Fra- “It was the most unbelievable game I’ve ever been a part of ” said sophomore running backAus‘tz'n Eisenhofer. “T0 fight back firom 1 7 down and to win in four overtimes‘ showed a lot of heart and fight that personifies this team. ” ever been a part of,“ said sophomore running back Austin Eiscnhofer. “T0 fight back from 17 down and to win in four overtimes showed a lot of heart and fight that personifies this team.” Senior quarterback Nick Lombardo car- ser, andjunior cornerback Mitchell Thompson with ten, eight, and seven tackles, respectively. The Generals will host the Hornets of Shenandoah University on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. for the last game of the regular season. Volleyball sets themselves into N CAAS By Shelby Flores STAF F W RITE R The Washington & Lee volleyball team will return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. The Generals came back from a first game loss to defeat Lynchburg 3-1 in the Old Do- minion Athletic Conference Championship match Saturday afternoon. The win gave W&L an automatic berth into the NCAA Tour- nament. F ourth-seeded Lynchburg upset first-seed- ed Randolph-Macon in a semifinal match ear- lier Saturday morning to earn its spot in the ODAC Championship. Head Coach Bryan Snyder said he expect- ed that Randolph-Macon would win because it had the home-court advantage but he was not surprised when Lynchburg pulled off the upset. Snyder said the team did not change its mindset in the championship game because they simply focus on the team across the net. First-year outside hitter Anna Lausberg and first-year right side hitter Maddie Kosar had career numbers in the Championship match. Lausberg led the team with 21 kills and Kosar added 14. Junior outside hitter M.A. Boles had 19 kills and led the team with 17 digs. Lausberg, Kosar, and Boles represented W&L on the ODAC Tournament All-Tourna- ment Team. The W&L players were chosen for the all-tournament team based on each player’s individual performances in the tour- nament against Roanoke, Bridgewater, and Lynchburg. Snyder said that the team’s overall prepa- ration will remain the same no matter what opponent they face in the tournament and that they will attempt to keep to their normal weekly schedule. The team will also continue to strive for a national championship, a goal the team set at the beginning ofthe season. The Generals will not find out who or where they play until the NCAA selection show on Monday. Nov. 5 at 11 am. NCAA Regionals are from Nov. 9 to Nov. 1 l. 1 Courtesy of W&L Sports Info; Men’s Basketball Tuesday Wednesday vs Southern Va. 7:30 ' Thursday Saturday Women's Swimming at Sweet Briar 7 pm W o m e n ’ s X C NCAA Regionals M e n ’ s X C NCAA Regionals W 1' 6 5 T l l n g at Wash. and Jeff. Invite F 0 0t b a ll vs Shenandoah 1 pm