BachelorTHINK CRITICALLY • ACT RESPONSIBLY • LEAD EFFECTIVELY • LIVE HUMANELY

the student voice of wabash since 1908January 21, 2011 volume 104 • issue 13

SporSpor ts, 7ts, 7LatLat e Season Pushe Season Push

NNeeww s, 2s, 2A Lie of the MindA Lie of the Mind auditionsauditions

CaCa vvelifelif e, 6e, 6The RThe Real Seal S tuftuf f Yf You Nou Needeed

In This Issue:

Henke, Wade Ready to Take ReinsJJOOHHNN DDYYKKSSTTRRAA ‘‘1133STAFF WRITER

Steve Henke and Tyler Wade plan tomake club activities more efficient by work-ing with the Audit and Finance Committeeto evaluate clubs according to how clubs usethe funds they are allocated by the StudentSenate. The duo also plans to make budgetadjustments depending on feedback fromsaid evaluations.

Henke won the election for Student BodyPresident and Wade won Vice President inthe elections that took place before winterbreak. They will be inaugurated into theirrespective offices during the first meeting ofthe new Student Senate session next Mon-day.

They look to encourage more studentactivities by evaluating clubs. This evalua-tion should ensure that Student Senate fundsare being used efficiently and for exactlywhat clubs plan on using the money for.

“We’re asking for a lot more planningahead. We want the clubs to be a lot moreresponsible in terms of generating budgetsthat have dates and having fully planned outwhat they want to do,” Wade said.

Along those lines, both plan to strive formore event organization and to make stu-dents more aware of activities and clubmeetings ahead of time.

“We want to take the dates from the AFCreports and actually put them into somesort of rough student calendar to give peo-ple an idea [of] when clubs are meeting,”Henke said.

AFC will meet weekly to make sure that

clubs followed through with activities theyplanned and budget efficiently. Clubs thatfail to adhere to their plans and do not real-locate funds to different activities will beforced to forfeit the funds back to StudentSenate.

“If they [clubs] do not do their activity

and if they do not ask to have that moneyreallocated to a different activity, we wouldthen take that money back into the generalfund for the Student Senate,” Wade said.“We think this will help alleviate a lot ofproblems we [Wabash] have had in the pastwhere we spent all the money at the begin-

ning of the semester in terms of allocatingit to clubs and then, clubs would come upwith ideas later in the semester and wewould have to turn them down because wedidn’t have the funds.”

Henke and Wade’s stance on club funding

GRANT MCCLOSKEY | WABASH ‘12

Student Body President-Elect Steve Henke and Vice-President-Elect Tyler Wade hope to make some changes during their tenure in theStudent Senate, especially concerning student clubs and organizations. The pair will be inaugurated next Monday when the Senatereconvenes for its new session at 7 p.m. in the Goodrich Room of the Lilly Library.

TTIIMM TTAANN ‘‘1144STAFF WRITER

This past Monday, on the 25thanniversary of the day that Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr.’s birthday was firstdeclared a federal holiday, TNT broad-casted a special tribute to the civil-rights pioneer during the Celtics-Mag-ic pre-game show.

In an interview with Bernice King,the youngest of Dr. King’s children,King was asked about the relevance ofthe movement her father started totoday’s generation. “It was not only forour people, but for all people. I meetpeople from all over the world,because America is a microcosm ofthe world. And they talk about how hehas impacted their life, that he wasnot just an American civil-rightsleader,” she said. “He was not anAfrican-American leader. He was nota leader of a Southern movement. Hewas a global humanitarian, and thathelps me realize my responsibility tocontinue his legacy.”

Many of these same themes werepresent in a roundtable discussion onTuesday, as students and faculty cametogether to discuss illustrator TracySugarman’s 2009 memoir, We HadSneakers, They Had Guns. A mix ofrecollections, interviews and scrap-book art, Sugarman looks back on thepast 40 years, chronicling his experi-ences with the civil rights movement.

The book is a follow-up to the 1966Stranger at the Gates, his first-handrecounting of the 1964 Mississippivoter registration drive known as the

Freedom Summer, and the lives of thecollege students, white and black, thattraveled into the heart of segregatedAmerica as part of the Student Nonvi-olent Coordinating Committee (SNCC,or Snick).

Many were deeply moved by Sugar-man’s memoir, and almost all agreedthat it shed light on aspects of themovement that were not previouslypart of their conception of that era.Alejandro Maya ’13 observed howcommunity organizing was more thanbeing well-intentioned: for many ofthe students, it was both an art and acraft.

More than once, someone remarkedhow the fairly-recent historical eventsthat the book depicted had already

become shrouded in myth for this gen-eration. Joey Fogel ’13 drew atten-tion to the power of the visual medi-um, and how Sugarman’s untradition-al, unfinished sketches were authenticand personal.

Reginald Steele ’12, a Mississippinative, felt Sugarman did attempt toprovide names and faces instead of asimple textbook rendering, but that itultimately fell short. Reflecting on thepersonal links to 1960s Mississippithat he has through his grandmother,he felt the book left out some of themore gruesome events that took place.

Others also believed Sugarmanover-stated some of the successes of

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Widening the Field of Dreams With New Leadership,MXI Contemplates

Campus Role

SSAAMM BBEENNNNEETTTT ‘‘1144STAFF WRITER

As a social institution oncampus, the Malcolm XInstitute sponsors and initi-ates many social and cul-tural events on campus. Butthe MXI is not merely asocial hangout.

Another important inter-est of the organization is toeducate the College aboutthe culture and history ofAfrican Americans and oth-er minority groups, and thissemester will stand as a tes-tament to the MXI’s interestin pursuing the goal ofachieving recognition as aneducational institution inaddition to an organizationof social interest.

Last semester, Professorof English Tim Lakeresigned as faculty adviserof the MXI, leaving it seem-ingly leaderless. Neverthe-

less, the Institute has arather large event plannedfor the beginning of thisspring semester in recogni-tion of Martin Luther KingDay, speeches by civil rightsactivist Charles McLaurin,and a visit from artist/jour-nalist Tracy Sugarman.MXI Chairman ReggieSteele said that this is thefirst of “more big eventsplanned for this semester,”including many in honor ofthe MXI’s 40th anniversarythis year.

Despite Lake’s resigna-tion, the MXI persevered.In order to fill Lake’s role inthe Institution temporarily,“students voted in an advi-sory board to us that has sixmembers,” Steele said, and“the College adopted ouradvisory board and addedfour more members.”

Two influential andadmired members of the

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GRANT MCCLOSKEY | WABASH ‘11

GRANT MCCLOSKEY | WABASH ‘12

Writer/journalist Tracy Sugarman and civil rights activist Charles McLaurin arrivedon campus Wednesday. McLaurin gave a Chapel Talk, and (along with Sugarman)a Thursday night lecture. Look for full coverage in next week’s issue.

Sugarman, McLaurin Visit Campus, Speak onTheir Experiences During Freedom Summer of ‘64

PAGE 2 The Bachelor January 21, 2011

301 w. wabash Ave.

crawfordsville, IN

47933

EDITOR IN CHIEFRiley Floyd

rhfloyd13@wabash.eduMANAGING EDITOR

Peter Robbinspbrobbin12@wabash.edu

NEWS EDITORPeter Robbins

pbrobbin12@wabash.eduOPINION EDITOR

Alex Avtgisavtgisa@wabash.edu

SPORTS EDITORBrandan Alford

bmalford12@wabash.eduCAVELIFE EDITORJoel Bustamante

bustamaj@wabash.edu PHOTO EDITORAlex Moseman

mosemana@wabash.eduBACHELOR ADVISOR

Howard Hewitthewitth@wabash.edu

The purpose of The Bachelor is toserve the school audience, includ-ing but not limited to administra-tors, faculty and staff, parents,alumni, community members andmost importantly, the students.Because this is a school paper,the content and character withinwill cater to the student body’sinterests, ideas and issues.Further, this publication will serveas a medium and forum for stu-dent opinions and ideas.

Although an individual newspa-per, the Board of Publicationspublishes The Bachelor. TheBachelor and BOP receive fund-ing from the Wabash CollegeStudent Senate, which derives itsfunds from the Wabash College student body.

Letters (e-mails) to the editor are welcomed and encouraged. Theywill only be published if theyinclude name, phone, or e-mail,and are not longer than 300words. The Bachelor reserves theright to edit letters for content, typographical errors, and length.All letters received become prop-erty of this publication for thepurposes of reprinting and/orredistribution.

Profanity may appear in the pub-lication, but only in cases ofdirect quote or if profanity is nec-essary to the content of the story.Please do not confuse profanitywith obscenity. No article or pic-ture of an obscene nature willappear in this publication.

The Bachelor is printed everyThursday at the Journal Reviewin Crawfordsville. It is deliveredfreely to all students, faculty, andstaff at Wabash College.

All advertising published in The Bachelor is subject to the applica-ble rate card. The Bachelorreserves the right to denyrequests for publication of adver-tisements. Student organizationsof Wabash College may pur-chase advertisements at half thelisted rate.

The Bachelor is a member of the Hoosier State and IndianaCollegiate Press Associations(HSPA and ICPA).

BACHELOR

Announcements

Friday, Jan. 21War Council DWI Simulator 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 24Resume & CoverLetter Workshop7 - 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 27Jeremy Hartnett ‘96Chapel Talk 11:10 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 28Celebration ofStudent Research1 - 4:30 p.m.

Friday, January 28Alumni Art Exhibit4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Congratulations, Seniors!www.wabash.edu/alumni/ra/indy

FFrroomm PPaaggee 11

is as strict as it sounds,but it is open in that theyalso plan to help clubs thatare having trouble gaininginterest and being active.

“The next step is meetingwith a lot of the clubs thathave been inactive or havebeen struggling in the pastyears and trying to helpthem find their place oncampus, other clubs theycan work with, or if theyneed to consolidate withother clubs. That way, allstudents have access to themost activities and some

sort of coherent plan as towhat is going on during theyear,” Henke said.

Separating Student Sen-ate from Senior Council isalso on Henke and Wade’sradar for change.

“Senior Council has act-ed as a committee to theStudent Senate, and we aretrying to separate it into itsown organization,” Henkesaid. “So part of that is pro-ducing a set of bylaws togovern the organization.”

Elections for StudentBody Treasurer and Secre-tary will take place duringnext Monday’s Student Sen-ate meeting.

Senate

FFrroomm PPaaggee 11

advisory board are MXI CoordinatorsRob Johnson and Horace Turner, whomTyler Griffin, another very involved mem-ber of the organization, considers “moti-vators” and “patriarchs of the MXI whoare very visible and always at every eventand every meeting.” While Griffin saidthat Lake’s resignation was a “shockingdisappointment,” he does not consider thecurrent advisory board to be anything of thesort.

While the new advisory board is doingvery well in helping the organization,“There are plans to get a new director,”said Steele. The administration, includingthe Deans and the President, are “in theprocess of defining the job description,”Steele said.

In fact, the advisory board is conduct-ing a complete MXI review and is helpingto find the new Director. The chosen can-didate would begin in the fall semester, if all

goes according to the timeline the MXI

was given at Lake’s resignation.

The advisory board is also helping to

define the organization’s new vision. The

events planned for the new semester will

“expose the student body to the new vision

of the MXI,” Griffin said. “We want to

spread our culture, and within the next

semesters we’re working on developing a

new image.” Steele said. “The MXI plans

to be more involved in other organizations

on campus and to share more diversity.”

The new hope is that the MXI will be

able to accomplish its goal of engaging the

campus in African American and minority

studies and issues and become a primarily

educational institution.

MXIFFrroomm PPaaggee 11

the movement, a senti-ment that echoed a linefrom the book itself: “Sickand tired of being sick andtired. Sick of fighting a warwith no power but your ownconvictions.”

Owen Brooks, a veteranof the movement that Sug-arman profiles in the book,speaks to the gradual coars-ening of society since thatsummer, remarking that“ugliness always rises to thesurface and is more visible.”Another veteran, John Har-ris, sees that while the issueshave changed, the inner fireof young people today totackle difficult social issueshas died down. Yet Dr.Samuel Rocha urged the

group to rethink its defini-tion of success: was it in thedismantling of institutionsor in the birth of a new wayof looking at each other?

Ian Kelly ’13 valued mostof all the evolving perspec-tive and hopeful messagethe book conveyed. “As theworld changes, we allchange,” said Kelly.Indeed, Sugarman writesthat “Political change inAmerican society oftencomes in tiny increments,in small movements thatmove the goalposts back afraction.” And every sooften, one generation comesalong that manages to real-ly yank them back andwiden the field of opportu-nity for all.

Dreams

GRANT MCCLOSKEY | WABASH ‘12

Wade ‘12 and Henke ‘12 discuss budget and Student Senate plans for the upcoming year.

Students Audition for Sam Shepard’sA Lie of the Mind

Bachelor Staff Congratulates all Seniors on theCompletion of Comps!

Best of Luck, Gentlemen!

ALEX MOSEMAN | WABASH ‘11

Professor of Theater Michael Abbott will direct the WabashCollege production of Samuel Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind, adark, sometimes comical, American drama. The playpremiers Thursday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. in the Ball Theaterand runs through Sunday, Feb. 26.

PAGE 3The Bachelor January 21, 2011

Seniors Reflect on CompsNow That They’re Done, Seniors Share Their Experiences

Comps demonstrate that we are not just a collection ofdepartments and programs, but that we are a college.

The faculty puts great seriousness on comps; there's asense of symbolic power and rite of passage for students tostand up and show what they think about the liberal arts.

Comps is a moment of synthesis for students; they showthat they can work in a whole range of ways and collect thatinto a manner of synthesis.

--Dean of the College Gary Phillips

“It was not as bad as I was expecting–a great cap to myWabash experience.”

--Adam Brasich

“Not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.”

--Corey Buehner

“It wasn’t as terrible as I thought it would be, but thenagain, I didn’t have Kubiak.”

--BC Nelson

“I was looking forward to them, and I’m glad they’re outof the way. Orals were really enlightening and they reallyexplicate what you learned at Wabash.”

--Kevin Stevens

“They were mentally draining, but I did enjoy lookingback at some notebooks that I haven’t seen in awhile.”

--Andrew Forrester

“It was a wonderful experience that showed my growthas a student.”

--Nolan Eller

“It was an epic experience; challenging and orals werefun. They tested the memory of my years here.”

--Michael Nossett

“I feel fantastic. Now I have class.”

--Rui Liu

Bachelor Callout!We’re looking to add talented writers with a zeal for journalismto our staff. If you’re interested in writing for us, please join usfor lunch next Wednesday at noon in the Private Dining Room of

the Sparks Center.

Opinion 4TThhee BBaacchheelloorr JJaannuuaarryy 2211,, 22001111

Have an opinion?Send your letters to: avtgisa@wabash.edu

Today was the first day in three years Idid not attend a single class in Hays Hall. Isuppose this day is something I anxiouslyanticipated without giving much thoughtto what it would actually mean. Trapped inthe tangles of equations, theories, and mod-els, my heart longed to be challenged inother disciplines; how seductive CenterHall would look from the third floor ofHay’s Hall. Having crossed the Rubicon,however, I can say the other side is tragical-ly bittersweet.

In fact, the entire Senior Comprehensivesprocess was bittersweet. My week of study-ing began with my freshman CHE-111course which was littered with jokes andnotations that made me laugh. Several pageshad large immature scribbles adorning them,compliments of mischievous and energeticlab partners. Others were replete withhumorous quotes from the days lecture or

even a large, “WTF?” here and there. Turn-ing the pages revealed diagrams that onceseemed a foreign language; moreover, theywere now explicable in only a few shortsentences. As nostalgia kicked in, I could-n’t ignore something: in four years, I hadlearned. I had learned a lot.

Several moments I found myself captivat-ed, wandering the library pondering thevarious people strewn about, each sub-merged in their respective discipline. In

my corner were the chemistry majors; myfellow brethren whose well-being I nowcare for and look after. From deep beneaththe books and papers, men who were oncestrangers exposed their now familiar facesfor a brief smirk of sunlight before sub-merging themselves again in their studies.

Yes, we were all in the same position,just days away from writing the final pagesof our Wabash career.

In the evenings, we ascended onto theSpark’s Center for brief moments of hap-hazard conversation, in an attempt to avertour very obvious thoughts, hoping to regaina modicum of sanity, to finish the dream wehad set sail for merely three years earlier. Asthe beast found us—as almost by fate—the task of slaying her was not as difficult asI may have once thought. It seems in threeyears, the stress of Senior Comprehensiveshad been reduced to memories of people

and classes past. As the final drop of ink befell onto our

various papers and tests and the last wordswere spoken at our Oral Comprehensives,one task lay ahead of we men, we seniors.In four months’ time, we must inevitablyturn the page. The final chapter has beenwritten. It’s up to us to decide in what fash-ion we will turn the final page. Do we tearit out and start anew? Fold the corner tomark an important place in our lives?Quickly flip through the next several yearsof our life hoping to forget a tormentingtime? Or with a puff of smoke and a tilt ofthe glass, do we close this chapter in ourlives as elegantly as it began, ringing a bellof optimism, and letting the page fall intoplace?

Today is the first day of the rest of mylife—for tomorrow is a blank page.

On Comps and NostalgiaJAKE EZELL

OPINION COLUMNIST

We all remember last year’s debacle overC&T’s demise. The Senate went into a spe-cial session and drafted a resolution implor-ing the faculty to save C&T. Students lob-bied select members of the faculty to savetheir beloved course. And some lambastedthe APC and Dean Phillips for destroyingthe liberal arts.

While some may still dispute the accura-cy of the projections for the number of fac-ulty, further debate on the mechanics isirrelevant. C&T is gone, and EQ is here tostay. Despite the new course, there are someenduring principles that the Bachelor staffhopes all students in the new course willexperience.

Indeed, the impetus for this editorial wasa comment by Professor Webb in ThePhoenix. While I won’t quote directly, Webbclaimed that placing the all-College coursein the second semester of the freshman yearwas a poor decision. By the second semes-ter, freshmen are finished with pledgeship.Football season is over. They have hadplenty of their peers. Allow them a chanceto breathe and, before EQ, to branch out andto take classes that appeal to their individ-ual interests.

It is additionally unfortunate that the stu-dents who go through EQ will not have anall-College course experience after their

freshman year. After tutorial and EQ,they’re done.

Some initially deplored the idea of C&T.The thought of reading Homer’s Odysseyand ancient Greek and Chinese texts seemedunbearably abominable. Practicality recog-nizes that these texts will have no bearingon career interests. But, they inevitably dolead to some interesting discussions as wellas some great opportunities to discover whoone’s classmates really are. Those personaldiscoveries were the best part of C&T.

It just so happens that the Wabash mancan readily assert that he’s read Sun-Tzu’sThe Art of War, Confucius’Analects, someof Greek literature’s most well knownworks, and several portions of the HebrewBible. And that was only the first semester.

Some even say they enjoy the discus-sions. Yes, occasionally the conversationveered to unexpected places, some of whichwere not productive. And some couldn’tquite distance their own beliefs from thoseadvanced in the texts. Nevertheless, theguys who you will graduate with remainyour companions for two and a half hourseach week as you embark on some of life’smost important discussions regardinghuman essence and culture.

Yes, it was sometimes tedious. But evenin those times, shared commiserationamongst wearied equals remains a com-mon experience not easily forgotten.

The Bachelor staff hopes that the stu-dents who take EQ will have the same expe-rience that they and their classmates had inC&T. And while Wallies may complainabout the breadth of the curriculum, andwhile it may be tedious, there is some inher-ent value to these obscure texts. They helpus to branch out and to explore areas outsideof our majors that we wouldn’t otherwiseexplore. They help us to understand moreabout the world in which we live and howit became that way.

C&T students grappled with definingissues of the human condition that tran-scend cultures and international boundaries.And that was a valuable study and a valu-

able part of the College’s curriculum. TheBachelor only hopes that EQ will provide asimilar experience for its students.

Indeed, some schools are premised onthat exact international understanding andstudy. Such was the driving force behind thecurriculum at the Ross School in EastHampton, NY. Moreover, it is hard to dis-agree that the once isolationist United Statesis increasingly turning to the internationalcommunity on important issues. EvenSupreme Court Justices have cited inter-national law in their opinions (e.g., Kennedyon the death penalty and Scalia on guns).

Without question, C&T had its flaws:occasionally uninspired faculty, disillu-sioned students, and tedious texts. But partof the inherent value of the class was theexperience of it all. And that’s what wehope that EQ will provide to its students.That experience of shared learning and vig-orous discussion among students from dif-ferent backgrounds and lives is just one ofmany driving forces of a Wabash educa-tion.

TThhee IIssssuuee:: The beginning of a new Wabashera dawns with this semester.

OOuurr SSttaannccee:: If EQ improves on C&T, Wabashhas nothing to fear; ourexcellence will continue into thefuture.

The Enduring Question of C&T

PAGE 5TThhee BBaacchheelloorr JJaannuuaarryy 2211,, 22001111

Dear Sir,

I am writing in response to Ted Plummer’s column“The New Big Brother” in your December 3 issue. Icould not agree more about the dangers of unwarrantedexpansion of the surveillance powers of the TSA – and amyriad other overactive federal security agencies.

For what it might be worth, I would like to offer my caseas an example. In 2010, during each of the three timeswhen I re-entered the United States after trips abroad oncollege business, I was subjected to “secondary inspec-tions” that ranged from10 minutes to over one hour, andwere performed by agents whose attitude changed fromunsympathetic to hostile.

To this day, and in spite of having filled a “TRIP” form(“Travel Redress Inquiry Program”) that apparently wentunprocessed and so far unanswered, I have no clue as towhy I have become a person of interest for the goodfolks of the Department of Homeland Security and its TSAand ICE agents. The closest thing to an answer that Ireceived came from a TSA agent at O’Hare who saidthat I was being given a secondary screening due to thefact that my family name is “very common.”

Alas, it has always been a common surname, everyday during the last 11 years since I became a US citizenand even before.While I hope that nothing serious (likebeing sent to Guantánamo) will happen as a consequenceof this unwarranted attention, I wish I could be 100%certain.

Ironically, this new element of uncertainty and worrycomes to me thanks to the action of federal agencies thattheoretically exist for the purpose of enhancing my “secu-rity”—while private contractors who work with thoseagencies fatten their pockets.

Readers of Mr. Plummer’s article are reminded of theconsequences of setting up surveillance systems thateventually run amok and, invoking terrible external andinternal enemies, in fact end up victimizing their owncitizens.

The previous century was full of examples in othercountries, all the way from Germany to Cuba and Argenti-na. Could it also happen here?

Sincerely,

Prof. Gilberto GómezDepartment of Modern Languages

Letter tothe Editor

Thanks to the generosity of the Bachelor staff, this is thefirst of what I hope to be many columns where I get tothrow out positive ideas about how to make Wabash amore fun and productive learning environment. I want tobegin with a roar, or at least a woof. Bring back the dogs!No, this is not a grumpy lament about the banning of man’sbest friend from the campus. It is much more than that. Ihave an idea that could transform the way colleges and uni-versities look at dogs across the nation. My idea couldalso help with our retention rates.

Let me explain before you send me out to the doghouse.When I was a student here, I loved visiting professors whokept dogs in their offices. It helped me relax and feel rightat home. I grew up with dachshunds, and interacting withthe dogs of my professors (and there were many) created aspecial bond. The fraternity house I lived in also had adog, Casey, who would follow us to class and sleep quiet-ly in the corner while we took notes. Casey had too manymasters, which made him a bit eccentric at times, but thatis another story!

My experiences were not unique. There is plenty of sci-entific evidence showing that interacting with dogs pro-motes a whole range of health and societal benefits. I havewritten books and articles about dogs and religion, and I amcurrently supervising a dissertation by a woman at GeorgeFox University who is developing a program for pastorswho want to use dogs in their ministry. Dogs are alreadyused in nursing homes and prisons to alleviate boredom,calm nerves, and, well, just to make people happy. This issometimes called pet-facilitated therapy.

So here is my proposal: Wabash has a long history of hav-ing dogs on campus, and I understand the worry over liti-gation that drove dogs off campus. Why not develop a

program where studentswho want to bring dogsonto campus can certifythem as campus-friend-ly companions? Thereare already many pro-grams that teach dogowners how to traintheir dogs to be respon-sible members of ahuman community.Dogs work well at air-ports, firehouses andpolice stations, and they

could work well on college campuses too. Wabash could bea leader in the certification and use of dogs on collegecampuses, and students who love dogs could learn a lotabout what it means to enter into a responsible relation witha pet and to employ that pet for the good of others. Liabil-ity costs (for insurance purposes) would surely be close tonothing, since the only dogs on campus would be those whohave gone through extensive training.

So let’s bring back the dogs! But let’s do it in a way thatis responsible, educational, and fun. Let’s be the first col-lege in the nation to give students the opportunity to take anon-credit class in pet facilitated therapy and use theirdogs to spread doggy joy around the campus.

I hope someone takes me up on this idea. Email me atwebbs@wabash.edu. In future articles, I plan to presentideas about campus drinking, new wellness efforts, acousti-cal sound checks, all- male education, and more. Staytuned! And thanks, Bachelor, for letting me return to thepublication (I wrote for the paper from 1979 to 1981).

DR. STEPHENWEBB, ‘83

GUESTCOLUMNIST

“Let’s Go to theDogs!”

PPEETTEERR RROOBBBBIINNSS ‘‘1122ABROAD COLUMNIST

Last Monday, the new Wabash semester began as studentswoke up to go to the first meetings of a new set of classes.Although this was certainly a day of focus for both profes-sors and students— when both parties made sure to start theterm off on the right foot—hopefully some were wonder-ing why they were in class at all that day. That specificMonday was the federal holiday of Martin Luther King, Jr.Day, yet Wabash was hard at work as if it weren’t.

To call this policy by the College racist or ignorantwould be quite extreme. In many ways this “tradition” is inline with protocol; after all, Wabash doesn’t honor LaborDay or Presidents’ Day. And it seems so blue-collar to havean “always at work” attitude. But in the end, regardless ofthe motivation or reasoning, Wabash’s neglect of MartinLuther King, Jr. Day appears to show a lack of respect fora great American hero and for all he stood.

Indeed, perception isn’t everything. Some proceduresmust remain despite what some factions may think—espe-cially if they are supported by a strong conviction. Forinstance, many argue that Wabash’s all-male policy isunfair to women, to which Wabash retorts that the all-male environment provides an invaluable experience to avery select group of young men.

But what could possibly be the conviction behind ignor-ing Martin Luther King, Day? Some argue that the fact thatwe don’t take the day doesn’t mean we ignore it. We dohave a civil rights march, don’t we? And at least 100 peo-ple attend every year!

Unfortunately, that really isn’t good enough. Most peo-ple (perhaps, admittedly, less and less people in this eco-nomic climate) get this day off. One argument I’ve heard(from no one in particular) is that most people don’t hon-or Martin Luther King on their day off, so the holiday los-es its merit. If you believe this, how do you expect anyoneto start honoring Martin Luther King if they don’t have thechance?

Very few Americans have been given the honor of an

entire day. This true American, whom Wabash studentshave studied in C&T for years, was a martyr for a veryrighteous cause and one with which the Malcolm X Insti-tute certainly coincides (despite Malcolm and Dr. King’spersonal ideological differences).

Lincoln and Jefferson’s faces were put on currency andgiven national monuments in Washington. Citizens donot go see those monuments and spit on the ground, or chewyour gum rudely, or shout obscenities. In contrast, moststand there and look at them in reverence, contemplating theintangible contributions those men made to their (and our)country.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a monument to whichWabash currently turns its back every year. PerhapsWabash is like the little kid at the Lincoln Memorial whoplays his Gameboy the whole time he’s there and doesn’thave the patience to read the Gettysburg Address on thehuge marble wall. But I’d like to think we, as gentlemen,are better than that.

Let’s grow up. One more day of winter break wouldn’tkill anyone.

MLK Who?

TTEEDD PPLLUUMMMMEERR ‘‘1133POLITICAL COLUMNIST

In the age of ‘political correctness’ and grave lack of indi-vidual responsibility, an irrational event like the recentTucson shooting creates a political mess. In some senses, theshooting was a very simple, albeit tragic, event: a psy-chopath conducted a shooting spree, harming his targetedcrowd. Surprisingly, however, this relatively straightforwardquark in the system has led to a mass hysteria of sorts, play-ing itself out on the national political scene. For example,Chris Matthew attributes the shooting as the fault of any-one who has ever had right-leaning inclinations. To others,the metal music of which Loughner listened is the cul-prit. The shooting seems to be anyone’s or anything’s faultbut the actual perpetrator, Jared Loughner.

It has become commonplace in the media to victimizepeople like Jared Loughner. Pundits commonly fault words,images and inanimate objects for the actions that people,like Mr. Loughner, take. Conveniently, this wipes person-al responsibility off the map entirely. Many elitists in themedia and in government believe the average person to beincapable of thinking for himself, and even incapable of tak-

ing care of himself. Consequently, they believe that someexternal force must have made Loughner into that which heis.

Similarly this ‘politically-correct’ thinking drives themedia to employ any aspect of a criminal’s life that theyperceive as negative. Whether it is the musical interests thecriminal shares, or any political ideology he may sub-scribe to (in this case there isn’t one, but the left is still hellbent on blaming the tea party), something is to blamebesides than the criminal.

This idea is as absurd as it is impractical. If ulteriormotives exist for implicating such ‘vices’ as heavy metaltunes or abnormal political inclinations, then ultimately, theyare confused. If they aim to eliminate everything thatcould negatively influence a criminal, I fear we might pos-sibly have nothing left. What’s more, this ‘progressive’train of thought could encourage many more disturbed orangry individuals to act out violently if they are led tobelieve they have no control over themselves. At that point,the elitist ‘average as incapable’ mindset would in factrealize itself—the average would be convinced of theirlack of self and self-control.

We don’t need to be absolving criminals of their guilt. Weall have a choice in life to do good or evil. Moreover,

when men like Jared Loughner decide to choose the latter,they do not deserve any sympathy. Jared Loughner shot thatgun—not the media.

In addition, political pundits enjoy employing thesetypes of events as convenient excuses to separate actual ide-ology from political discourse. They would rather debatesemantics than core ideological principles— the former ismuch easier. Politics is so heated right now that each sideis desperately looking for something to give them a simple‘one-up’ over the other party. At the end of the day, the winfor the party is more important than the tenets the partyholds. As such, political leaders latch onto tragic eventswithout hesitation (or ill-worded phrases from oppositionpoliticians) and use it for all its worth.

Once again the media has failed to do its job: report thenews. They spun the story by reporting that a poor individ-ual with a fragile mental disposition was negatively influ-enced by the bellicose nature of political, and was driven toa murderous outburst. If media outlets want to know whytheir ratings are disappearing into oblivion, this is a hint: themajority of American people have a much firmer grasp onreality. Despite every effort to condition them, they contin-ue to believe that choice, freedom and accountability arefundamental American ideals.

The Need for Accountability

TTIIMMOOTTHHYY TTAANN ‘‘1144STAFF WRITER

In Joseph Kosinki’s Tron: Legacy(perhaps the most hyped box-office jugger-naut of the holiday season), a director bestknown for his video game commercials anda cast of relative newcomers and veteransteam up to batter the senses of audiencesworldwide or their good taste, dependingon how you see it.

A review byRottenTomatoes.com’s Brett Ehrlich tookaim at the rambling incoherence of the plotand the film’s comically exaggerated visu-als and design, describing it as being “inthis painful region between crap andcamp...It gave [you] cramps to watch it,”he chirped. NPR’s All Tech Consideredblog was somewhat kinder, praising its“technological wizardry” and its ability tofire the creative imagination, even if it did-n’t exactly adhere to the rules of good film-making. The New York Times called it a“freakishly special-effected … bummer”and “in keeping with Disney’s tradition ofviolently separating parents from children.”

Much of the dialogue does soundincredibly contrived, with more than a fewprompting outright laughs – an accusationthat can be equally leveled at the original1982 incarnation. Lines like “Just when Ithought it couldn’t get any more profound,it did” or “He’s knocking on the sky, andlistening for the sound” sound like theywere written by a screenwriter who spentmost of the time in his Eastern religionsclass half-asleep. The cataclysmic show-down between human users and the pro-grams they created looms over the movie, amixed bag of sci-fi motifs on one hand anda fumbling redux of Greek mythology onthe other.

Garrett Hedlund settles easilyenough into his role as the younger Flynn,

bringing a smoldering energy to his geek-hood, although his surfer boy twang startsto get old after a while. The Olivia Wildecharacter seems like an afterthought, andsomeone still needs to explain to me whythe neon jumpsuits are missing their shoul-ders. And let’s not even get started on thehybrid of movie-villain cliches known asCastor. Light in the loafers, check.Annoying like Johnny Depp, check.Albino, really?

Jeff Bridges, whether as the olderand wiser Kevin Flynn or his don’t-hate-me-cause-I’ve got good-teeth alter ego Clu(Codified-Likeness Utility), spends most ofthe movie hanging out and just having a

whale of a time. To his credit, he brings anappropriate gravitas to the badly writtenscenes with Hedlund that attempt to inte-grate the CliffsNotes version of fracturedfather-son dynamics into an already dis-tracted plot. Their relationship is meant tobind together the larger plot points of themovie, but their reunion when it happens isshort-lived and any thematic weight itwould have had fizzles away.

What is redeeming about thisTron, though, is that it shrugs off the anti-intellectual bias of its predecessor and itsLuddite suspicion of all things silicon. (Wedon’t understand how this thing works, sothere must be crazy little people running

around inside!) While some may choose toread Legacy as an outright rejection of thefascist dogma of commoditized technology,the film actually ends on a brazen, forward-looking note: dad sends son out to correcthis past hubris and spread his (hopefully,net neutral) tech gospel. That, and the awe-some soundtrack by Daft Punk, will keepyou nodding your way back to the arcade.

Cavelife 6TThhee BBaacchheelloorr JJaannuuaarryy 2211,, 22001111

Nevermind the BooksMMIICCHHAAEELL CCAARRPPEERR ‘‘1133CULTURE COLUMNIST

This is a little more directed at your parents than you,but hopefully you’re in communication with them. Oneattribute of a fairly homogeneous all-male college is thewants and needs that bring us together. And what better atime to fulfill those wants and needs than after Christmas,when you’ve returned to Wabash and realized that all yourother gifts are completely useless in the academic world?Here are five fairly cheap gifts that Wabash men will (orshould) find incredibly useful.

Wellspring Gifts Flip Notes

In the age of electronics, there remains an undeniablepleasure in jotting notes down in a notebook. However,there are impractical setbacks: a notepad you carry in yourpocket becomes bent, and you just can’t seem able toremember a pencil. That’s where these spring-loaded padsin metal cases come in handy. They’re more durable thanyour average notepad and come with a special-sized penthat is always around. I love mine; and it emanates an auraof preparation and organization (or makes me come off asa total nerd—not untrue)

$9.99, and you can order refills of the pads and pens aswell.

Invisible ShieldScreen

Protector

Speaking ofelectronics, Ilove electron-ics, especiallyones withscreens. Whichis most of them.And if it’s anApple electron-ic, or really anyother brand, itfaces daily threats of scratching. Which is why you shouldstop by the nearest Best Buy or mall with a Zagg InvisibleShield booth. Basically, Zagg makes these indestructiblescreen protectors that you can barely see, and if theytear/get a mark, they’ll replace them. However, speakingfrom personal experience, it’s much better to cough up to atrained Best Buy or Zagg employee to install it on youriPhone, Droid or Blackberry, because putting them on is apain. It’s a worthy investment.

$24.99 for front and back, $14.99 for either, and$5-$10 to get it installed.

Loafer socks

I see you guyswearing yourSperry boat shoes,thinkin’ you’recool and such.(But if everyonewears them...canthey really becool?) ThoughI’m more of aloafer man

myself, we can all agree that you shouldn’t see socks whenwearing either. However, feet can get sweaty, and yourshoes can smell something awful. That’s where loafersocks come in. They’re like no-show socks times 10. Ibought mine in the women’s section of Shoe Carnival,(men’s versions aren’t as common) but you might have

better luck onlineMocc Socks, an online retailer, sells them 3 for $20.

These are higher quality and more expensive than storeversions.

AXE Detailer

The days ofbringing a crustywashcloth orunraveled meshthingy to theshower are over. Ipicked up an Axebody “detailer” ayear ago and I’mstill using it.Though I detestthe smell of AXE and their stupidly macho commercials,which are light years behind those of Old Spice, theirsponge product is ingenious. It’s a mesh sponge with a rub-ber grip. It stays together AND doesn’t take long to dry.

$5-$6 at a drugstore.

Shoeshine wipes

Let’s face it;shining shoes is apain. I’m going toassume you don’thave the properequipment here toshine them, so ifyou live out ofstate, you might

have to go months on end without shining your dressshoes, or loafers. That’s where “instant shine” productscome in. They don’t really “shine,” but they’re an adequatequick fix. You can buy little wipes in a package, or you canbuy a sponge in a plastic case.

$7 for the sponge in a plastic case from Jos. A. Bank

The real stuff you’ll need to get through the semester

Tron Turns Legacy into Thought Visually stunning, but does it all make sense?

COURTESY OF TRON LEGACY.COM

Light cycles, high-speed action chases, and shimmering lights are obvious visual candy, but the muddy plot makes some potholes.

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Basketball Eyes NCAC TitleWire-to-wire loss against #1 Wooster puts Little Giants in must-win situation

BBRRAANNDDAANN AALLFFOORRDD ‘‘1122SPORTS EDITOR

Fifteen games into the 2010-11 basketballseason, Wabash has shown that the NCACtitle is going to be anything but a one-horserace. Led by senior guard Wes Smith, theLittle Giants are right in the thick of thingswith top-ranked Wooster and Wittenbergatop the conference standings. Starting withan early-season upset of Randolph-Macon,Wabash asserted itself among the confer-ence’s elite, answering any lingering ques-tions about the voids left by a pair of 1,000-point scorers in Chase Haltom and AaronBrock.

Running their record to 13-0 and a No. 7national ranking, the Little Giants set up amatchup with the Fighting Scots at Chad-wick Court on Jan. 8 with the conference’sinside track at stake. The game, only thesecond this year to feature two top-tenteams in division III, lived up to the hype,providing a packed Chadwick Court with atwo-point thriller that left the Little Giantsa missed last-second heave short of a secondsignature win on the season. While theScots took the 67-65 victory, the LittleGiants showed the impressive early seasonrun was anything but an aberration.

While the absence of Haltom and Brockwas a question mark entering the season,this year’s group has employed a scoring-by-committee approach. While Smith hasshouldered the load with a conference-lead-ing 23.5 points per game, a deep bench hasensured that this year’s group has been any-thing but a one-man show. Starting pointguard Brian Shelbourne attributes much ofthis team’s successes offensively to the kindof depth that may have been absent fromlast year’s group.

“Guys one through ten, everyone hasmade contributions in a big way when wehave been successful this year,” Shelbournesaid. “It hasn’t just been Wes. He has beenscoring well again this year, but other guyshave stepped up their scoring as well.”

Among those who have stepped up on theoffensive end have been Shelbourne him-self. While only averaging 3.3 points pergame a year ago, the junior has upped that

average to 5.3 to go along with 4.1 assistsper game and 3.9 rebounds per game. Whilehe has been known more as a facilitator inhis first two season’s running the point forthe Little Giants, Shelbourne has becomeincreasingly aggressive on the offensiveend.

“This year, it has been more of a confi-dence thing.” Shelbourne said. “Last year,with Haltom, Brock, and Smith, those werethe guys who the offense ran through. Istill have more of a pass first approach, butI’m looking to score more.”

Along with Shelbourne, impressive scor-ing outputs from juniors Derek Bailey andA.J. Sutherlin off the bench have been awelcome surprise. While Sutherlin has hadto accept a diminished role since transfer-ring from Earlham College this year, heand Bailey’s importance cannot be under-stated.

“Bailey and Sutherlin have been huge

sparks off the bench for us this year,” Shel-boune said. “I’ve never heard A.J. com-plain about minutes or shots since comingfrom Earlham, he has just accepted his role,and he’s done a great job for us.”

Along with the aforementioned pair,freshman Pete Nicksic has come on as adependable option off the bench. While theValparaiso, Ind. native has fewer than 20college games under his belt, he has provid-ed a solid third option in the post.

“Pete has been a great part of this year’ssuccess,” Shelbourne said. “He’s been greatas a post defender all year and has provid-ed solid rebounding on both ends of thecourt. When any of our bench players comeinto the game, there isn’t a big drop-off.They aren’t just in there eating up minutesas the starters rest. The only difference isthat it’s a different guy in the game. Each ofthose guys has brought a different skill-setand abilities when they enter the game.”

Coming off a dominating victory on theroad at Allegheny this past weekend, theLittle Giants continue a stretch of twelveconsecutive NCAC contests to completethe regular season. Beginning with thatAllegheny victory, the Little Giants are fac-ing six of seven games on the road, includ-ing a Feb. 5 matchup with the FightingScots which could decide the regular seasonconference title.

“As well as we have played, in order tomake the post season tournament, theseconference games are what matter,” Shel-bourne said. “We can’t afford to lose any ofthese games that we are expected to win andput ourselves in a good position for theNCAC tournament.”

If the Little Giants are able to handlebusiness on the road in the coming weeks,they very well could be spending more timeat home for that NCAC tournament at theend of February.

COURTESY OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Junior Aaron Zinnerman, who scored 11 points against Wooster, helped shoulder the offensive load in front of a packed crowd on Jan. 5.

Swimming Makes Annual Visit SouthRRYYAANN LLUUTTZZ ‘‘1133STAFF WRITER

Not too many people are here over break. Andwhen the swim team came back to campus onDecember 29th, a long month of training lay aheadof them. Thankfully, the team did not have to spendthe entire time at Wabash, because of their annualFlorida Training Trip.

This Florida Training Camp has been a swim teamtradition for about 50 years. The warmer climate andthe change of scenery help the team keep up thehard work without becoming mentally burnt out.Also, they trained in Olympic-sized pools whichwill help their long distance swimmers as well astheir sprinters.

“It gives us a change of scenery which is a lot morebeneficial than being [at Wabash] for a month”Coach Barnes said.

Not only is the change of scenery good for theteam, but the competition level at the camp offeredsome great exposure for the them. There wereupwards of 40 teams at the camp ranging from Pur-due to Springfield College to Wooster. Plus “whenyou are in a different location it gives you a freshmentality and it is easier to have that in a warmer cli-mate” Barnes said.

The change of scenery is also good for all theteams there because they have a chance to makefriends. “It is really a great chance for them tomake friends on other teams and get to know eachother and not be rivals” Barnes said. This goes forthe coaches as well. While at the camp coaches, havethe opportunity to pick each other’s brains to figureout what works and what doesn’t, and to figure out

one tweak that will help their team when the post sea-son arrives. “I bring back a lot of tweaks to mycoaching style. There are always a couple of goodthings I pick up while at the camp” Barnes said.

The trip also does a lot to foster bonding through-out the team as well. Through travel to the teammeals and the workouts, the team became a lot clos-er.

“The trip definitely adds a lot to the bonding expe-rience of the team” Barnes said. When you add thewarm Florida weather and sunshine team morale isgoing to be really good.

The trip also helped the team out for the two dualmeets they had upon returning to campus. “In bothdual meets we performed better than we did lastyear” Barnes said, “it’s a tough week, though whenwe get back [to Wabash] more mentally than phys-ically though”. Going from the Florida warmth andsunshine to Indiana is never fun, but in spite of thisthey had some season best times in their dual withUniversity of Indianapolis.

Adam Barnes and Charles Williams each pro-duced season-best times, while the senior class putin another solid showing. “These two duals allowedus to post some good times and allowed us to re-eval-uate where we stand as a team” Barnes said. Essen-tially the swim team has one more dual meet andthen they are in the post season.

With the post season right around the corner, theswim team is starting their taper. They are evenusing some of the things they picked up from Flori-da as they ready themselves for the National pushthat has been on their minds since October.

COURTESY OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Senior Evan Rhinesmith and his teammates recently returned from Florida.

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Strausbaugh LeadsRanked Little GiantsKKYYLLEE BBEENNDDEERR ‘‘1122STAFF WRITER

The Wabash wrestling team had severalsuccessful performances over winter breakthat caught the eyes of the nationalwrestling community. They recentlycranked the Brute/Adidas NationalWrestling Coaches Association poll as the28th ranked team in NCAA Division IIIwrestling.

For Head Coach Brian Anderson’s squad– who returned letter winners in eight of the10 weight classes from last season, hasshown a sustained team effort, reflected inan early 4-1 dual meet record. The loneloss came at the hands of Division I power-house, Indiana University.

Sophomore Jake Strausbaugh, whoadvanced last season to the NCAA Cham-pionship Meet losing only to the eventualnational champion, leads the team with a30-5 record. Senior Graham Youngs andjuniors Jake Moore and Greg Rhoads haveeach compiled at least 20 individual wins inthe young season as well.

This past weekend, the team traveled toWilliamsport, Penn. for the Bud Whitehall

Duals. The competition saw eight of thenation’s 30 best teams. Wabash reeled offthree impressive wins, including a 19-19 tieagainst 26th ranked Wisconsin-Whitewaterthat needed eight tiebreakers for the LittleGiants to claim the victory. The team lost to#12 York 21-18 in the finals, finishing sixthout of 18 competing schools. Strausbaughfinished with a 5-0 record on the day.

Earlier in the break, the team traveled tothe Midwest Classic, held at the Universi-ty of Indianapolis. Strausbaugh led the teamwith a 2nd place finish and Moore added a4th place finish in his weight class. TheLittle Giants also journeyed to Knox Col-lege for the Porter Invitational on January 8.The team compiled a perfect record withfour victories and many individuals hadbanner days.

The Little Giants compete at home for thefirst time in over two months to host theMax Servies Duals on Saturday. Named inhonor of legendary Wabash wrestling coach,athletic director, and alumnus Max Servies’58, the tournament will feature severalstrong teams from across the Midwest. Thetournament begins at 9 a.m. at ChadwickCourt.

Upcoming Schedule Date Event LocationJan. 22 Max Servies Duals HomeJan. 28-29 Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational Wheaton, ILFeb. 12 Midstate Conference Championship Manchester

Basketball Squad in Action

COURTESY OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Starters Wes Smith (top left) and Brian Shelbourne (above) have been consistentcontributors. However, senior Dominique Thomas (bottom left) and junior Derek Bailey(below) have given the Little Giants quality minutes off the bench all season.