february 7, 2012
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The pdf version of the Feb. 7, 2012 issue of The Eagle.TRANSCRIPT
February 7, 2012Volume 86 �– Issue 16
American University�’s student voice since 1925
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theEAGLE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 20122
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News 3TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012
PRIEBUSRNC Chairman criticizes Obama 4
WORK-STUDYAU students frustrated by lack of non-work study jobs 5
NO ONE’S HOME
D.C. authorities raze Occupy DC camp 6
By MISHIEL AYUB
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING
WRITER
AU’s Honors Program may accept fewer students and institute a core cur-riculum in fall 2014 if a proposal put forth by the Honors Curriculum Task Force is implemented.
The University is still considering these pro-posed changes, which the task force presented Jan. 13.
Of the 6,000 students attending AU, approxi-mately 1,200 are currently enrolled in the Honors program, Honors Program Director Michael Manson said.
The program accepted approximately 220 admit-ted freshman for the 2011-2012 academic school year, which does not in-clude self-nominated or transfer students.
If the task force’s modi-fi cations are implemented, about 80 freshmen will be admitted to the Honors Program for fall 2014.
The new core cur-riculum would include a sequence of classes for Honors students over the course of two years, Man-son said. This curriculum will resemble the General Education program to pro-mote a shared academic experience.
The new core cur-riculum will include four courses — two research-based courses and two in-tensive writing courses — to be completed during the fi rst two years.
In their remaining two years, Honors students will be expected to study abroad, take special honors courses within their majors, conduct
supervised internships or complete their capstones, Manson said.
The task force pre-sented their ideas on the structure and goals of the program Jan. 13 at the Ann Ferren Teaching Confer-ence, a conference for AU faculty and staff focused on teaching, research and learning.
The Honors Curriculum Task Force was formed in September to make rec-ommendations to improve the program. A task force reviews each of AU’s pro-grams every 10 years to ensure advancement, The Eagle previously reported.
College of Arts and Sci-ences Professor and task force member April Shel-ford said the task force is trying to implement changes to improve the program.
“A lot of institutions have a core curriculum,” she said. “Right now, peo-ple feel kind of dispersed. If the program does under-go the proposed changes, honors students will have a shared learning experi-ence.”
Some AU students disa-gree with the proposed changes.
“I already feel as if we have a sense of commu-nity,” said Kogod School of Business freshman Spencer Swan. “We have already established a close knit community since we live together in Hughes Hall and participate in Honors 101.”
Future AU applicants will have to complete a separate application if they wish to join the Hon-ors Program, rather than the University currently
By PATRICK BURNETT
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
The D.C. Superior Court will hear a case April 13 involving a house currently rented to at least two AU students at 4335 Van Ness St. NW.
The District alleges that the woman who owns the house, Margarita Metaxa-tos, does not hold a permit to rent out three proper-ties: 4335 Van Ness St. NW, 4808 44th St. NW and 5183 Linnean Terrace NW.
D.C. law requires a renter to have a one-family rental license to rent out single-family homes, such as the Van Ness property. The fees for such a license total at least $173.
The District fi led a har-assment complain and a motion for a preliminary injunction Jan. 9.
The injunction would halt all “illegal business activity” at the three prop-erties, according to court documents obtained by The Eagle.
If approved, the injunc-tion would order Metaxa-tos to immediately obtain the required license; place rental proceeds from the properties in escrow, or money held by a third-party on behalf of two other parties; and submit monthly reports to the Attorney General’s Offi ce each month.
The reports will list the tenants’ names, sum-marize any calls to D.C. Police, report that no ille-
gal activity has occurred on the properties, confi rm Metaxatos is not harboring fugitives from justice and state that no illegal items such as drugs or weapons are contained anywhere on the properties.
Metaxatos denied The Eagle’s request for com-ment upon advice from her attorney. Her attorney also declined to comment.
The injunction and court case come after the 4335 Van Ness St. house, leased by at least two AU students, has been a source of contention be-tween the residents and their neighbors.
“To my knowledge, the neighbors were get-
ting desperate when they realized there were no real grounds to have us removed and began at-tacking our landlord as an alternative,” said Will, a resident of the 4335 Van Ness St. house and a 2011 graduate of the School of International Service. “She’s a sweet old woman and fortunately has all of her paperwork in order so I’m told it won’t amount to anything other than har-assing my landlord.”
Will and another resi-dent, John, a senior in the School of International Service, asked to remain anonymous to ensure fu-ture employment is not af-fected.
The Van Ness neighbors’ dispute
Kris Persinger, a Van Ness Street neighbor, said he and his wife have had issues with the house for the past two years.
Persinger asked that his wife not be named in this article.
“[John] and others of-ten claim we are the only ones who have complained about them and that’s sim-ply not true,” Persinger said. “Fifty neighbors have signed a petition stating that they have been dis-turbed by the party noise coming from [the house] and are against the use of it as a fraternity meeting house.”
Advisory Neighbor-hood Commission 3E
councilman Jonathan Bender said there are oc-casional problems with students living in the neighborhood.
“Unfortunately, there seem to be about six to ten student houses a year that cause serious chronic problems for folks living nearby,” Bender said.
Persinger said the noise level from the students’ house can be unbearable for his family.
“We have endured party noise so loud we can hear it in the back of our house with the windows closed and earplugs in,” he said.
Persinger said police have been called to the house on numerous occa-sions for noise complaints.
He and his wife co-wrote a petition and col-
lected 50 signatures from disgruntled neighbors asking AU to discipline the students’ actions.
Persinger wrote in the petition that he has found “used condoms, beer bot-tles, cigarette butts and those telltale red plastic beer cups in our yards and others.”
Will denied the claims. “Frankly, we haven’t
done anything wrong,” Will said. “They believe we have and are convinced of it to the point where [Persinger’s wife] actually has a camera pointed on our house, which, if you want to talk about harass-ment, a little blinking red light knowing you’re being fi lmed around the clock, I mean, that’s harassment.”
Persinger said the placement of the camera on their house is legal un-der D.C. law.
“Any business or home-owner can install security cameras on their proper-ty,” he said. “We found that once we began gathering photo and video documen-tation of the problems at [the house], the police, the University, the Zoning Commission and the D.C. Attorney General were in a better position to help us.”
Persinger and his wife began contacting police instead of the tenants re-garding noise complaints upon learning about the new D.C. noise ordinance, passed in March 2011.
The law states, “It is unlawful for a person to make an unreasonably loud noise between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. that is likely to annoy or disturb one or more other persons in their residences.”
Persinger and his wife also worked with Associate Dean of Students Michelle
Student-leased house sparks debate
“We have endured party noise so loud we can hear it in the back of our house with
the windows closed and earplugs in.”–Kris Pesigner, Van Ness Street neighbor
Landlord brought to court over
allegations of illegal rentals
Honors may become more selective
Continued on page 9Continued on page 4
theEAGLE NEWS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 20124
By NICOLE GLASS
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
The National Park Service blocked off a section of McPherson Square Feb. 4 and discarded the tents and belongings of many Occupy D.C. protesters living in the park.
The clean-up attracted more than a dozen AU students, who watched as the Occupy camp was dismantled.
The mass eviction came as a result of a no-camping ban that went into effect Jan. 30. The Occupy protesters responded by draping a large tent over the statue of McPherson in the center of the park.
AU students congregated with the pro-testers as they watched the contents of their four-month long encampment being collected in clear, plastic trash bags.
“It’s been pretty tense,” said Jordan Eck, a 20-year-old full-time occupier who had his own tent on the site. While eat-ing a slice of plain cheese pizza an anony-mous donor provided for the movement,
Eck said the no-sleeping rule had stirred a reactive movement by Occupy DC.
“We’ve made this huge Tent of Dreams, but I don’t think that’s gonna last very long,” he said Jan. 30, referring to the large blue tent painted with stars and hearts. “We’re not supposed to be in that circle at all. At least, that was one of the original National Park Service regula-tions.”
AU occupier Ben Johnson, a fresh-man in the College of Arts and Sciences, spends six to seven days a week at the Oc-cupy DC site attending meetings, hanging out with friends and protesting. He was at McPherson Square during the raising of the Tent of Dreams.
“The plan had been to provoke the cops to come in and force a stand-off, in-stead of trying to remove us one by one from the park,” he said.
But instead, the police watched the tent being draped over the statue without taking action.
“It was a victory in itself that we had an action so big that the cops were nervous to come in,” Johnson said.
The Occupy movement also had a large presence outside the Capitol Hilton Hotel during the Jan. 28 Alfalfa Club din-ner, which led to a confl ict involving glit-ter and vocal protests.
“We rallied there outside the barri-cades and castigated the police a little bit for spending all this time shutting the city
down to make a couple of rich [people] safe when there’s crime going on,” said Paige McNamara, a sophomore in CAS.
She stood outside the event as a mem-ber of Occupy AU. Event attendees in-cluded politicians, members of Congress and President Obama.
Johnson was part of a group that “glitter-bombed” Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., as he entered the hotel.
She said the event was a street party for the 99 percent. They were equipped with a sound system that played songs outside the venue.
But the movement took a turn in the other direction Feb. 4, when the National Park Service swept through the park at dawn and began to raid the tents, discard-ing everything from clothes to shoes to sleeping bags and mattresses.
Wearing hazmat suits and guarded by police with batons, shields and horses, the Park Service spent the whole day fi ll-ing up clear, plastic trash bags with occu-piers’ belongings and hauling them onto dumping trucks.
Occupy protesters were barricaded from the center of the park, standing at the edges and watching as their move-ment’s camp was dissected.
“The scene was kind of depressing,” said School of Public Affairs freshman Mana Aliabadi, watching the decamp-ment with tears in her eyes. “They’re just throwing out the places that people had
been living in. It had a powerful effect on me.”
More than a dozen AU students stood their ground in McPherson Square, chanting and guarding the “library,” a tent fi lled with books, from the police raid.
“Compared to other D.C. schools, AU is here in huge numbers,” Aliabadi said, while hugging another AU student. “We have a really strong network and we’re re-ally passionate about this movement.”
Occupiers stood at the edges of the barricades, complying with police bound-aries in fear of potential police brutality.
“This [raid] is about crushing free speech and that doesn’t have to be at the end of a baton, although I’m worried that’s gonna happen,” said SPA junior Chris Litchfi eld. “It could just be by mak-ing everyone very cold and hungry.”
Shortly after 4 p.m., it began to rain heavily downtown. Equipped with pon-chos, granola bars and a few remaining tents, Occupiers were in no hurry to leave.
“We’re just trying to hold down the fort, because this means something to us,” Aliabadi said. “The people that are part of this movement have spent [every day] for the past four months here.”
Police evict Occupy D.C. protestors
Continued from page 3
Espinosa, who handles student conduct issues, on issues of noise violations.
Espinosa said neigh-bors reported some issues with the house during the 2010-11 academic year, as well as in September 2011. She said she has not heard anything from the neigh-bors since late September or early October.
Espinosa also said she met with the two current AU students who live in the house in late Septem-ber, who agreed to stop hosting social events in the house.
John has held the lease to the house since the fall of 2009, he said.
John and Will said ten-ants of the house have normally held one or two parties per month and
have notifi ed neighbors in advance, while trying to keep the noise down dur-ing these events.
He said they have not held any social events in the house since Septem-ber 2011.
Neighbors claim house is “fraternity house”The petition, which The
Eagle obtained a copy of, states that the house is used as a fraternity house, citing: • pictures of the foreign
service fraternity Del-ta Phi Epsilon (DPE) brothers in front of the house,
• sightings of DPE brothers with their paddles coming and going from the house,
• an article from the Washington Examiner about the house
• and the house’s desig-nation as a “dive bar” on Foursquare, a so-cial networking site.
“The house is not cur-rently, and never was a fra-ternity house,” John said.
Multiple DPE brothers, who wish to remain anony-mous, said the fraternity does not own or lease a house for fraternity use.
The University does not fund any off-campus hous-ing for student organiza-tions, Espinosa said.
“We traditionally have military or former military students living here, but it’s just a lease, and I hap-pen to have a lot of friends who are military,” John said.
The house is also not affi liated with the student organization AU Veterans, according to John and Es-pinosa.
Will said veterans tend to have a special bond due to their shared experienc-es.
“The fact is that mem-bers of the military see themselves as part of a brotherhood and frater-
nity,” Will said.
Students, neighbors at-tempt to solve problem
John and Will said they have tried to work with the neighbors regarding noise, designating Will as the offi cial point of contact in February 2011.
Persinger’s wife has been the offi cial point of contact for neighbors up-set with the noise, accord-ing to John and emails be-tween the two parties that The Eagle obtained.
“We decided, better to work with them than against them,” John said.
John and Will have spo-ken to neighbors before recent parties to let them know they are having guests and have implored them to call if the noise be-comes too unbearable.
The students and the Persinger household ceased communicating with each other in Sep-tember 2011 following a dispute over a social event.
Will and John said they have tried to maintain an amicable relationship with
all of their neighbors, en-suring that anyone can contact them via phone or email at any point in time.
However, Persinger said he believes these is-sues should be solved more preemptively.
“We did try to work di-rectly with the students to curb their noise,” Persing-er said. “The problem with that system is that fi rst we were disturbed and then we had to ask them to quiet down. Why should the burden be on us to get out of bed and call or email them to be quiet?”
Fox’s “A.U. Party House”
Fox 5 aired a promotion Jan. 22 during the NFL playoff games for an up-coming story that labeled the house “A.U. Party House.”
Will and John said the promo came as a surprise to the house’s tenants.
“We were watching the Giants-49ers game like everybody else, and we saw ‘A.U. Party House’, and then it zoomed right
into our house,” John said.The students made
several attempts to con-tact Fox 5 following the promotion. John said Fox 5 reporter Sherri Ly con-tacted him eight days after the promotion aired. He declined to comment on Fox 5’s story, but asked the station to not include the residents’ address and names in its story.
The promotion said the Fox 5 piece would be aired in February, but it did not give a date.
Fox 5 denied The Ea-gle’s request for comment on this story and would not confi rm if the piece will still air.
Persinger’s wife worked for Fox 5 as a senior in-vestigative reporter from 1997 to 2005. Since then, she has worked as corre-spondent for ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Staff writer Lindsey An-derson contributed to this report.
Neighbors file multiple complaints with police about Van Ness house
theEAGLE NEWS TUESDAY, February 7, 2012 5
By RACHEL KARAS
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
One ballot is certain in the 2012 election: Republican Na-tional Committee Chairman Re-ince Priebus will not be voting for President Barack Obama.
Priebus told a full University Club Feb. 6 that America is in the midst of a battle for economic freedom perpetuated by Obama’s fi scal irresponsibility.
“You can’t sustain a country when you’re about to spend 45 cents on every dollar made in America,” he said at the event, sponsored by the Kennedy Politi-cal Union and AU College Repub-licans. “I happen to believe that
a country that has to surrender its sovereignty to its bondhold-ers can’t guarantee prosperity or freedom to anybody. A country that buries its kids and its grand-kids in an avalanche of debt can’t rest in any vestige of a moral high ground. A country that has to sur-render its sovereignty to China can’t actually compete with Chi-na.”
The Wisconsin native said he believes the Republican Party needs to save America from a president who has not delivered on any promises made during his 2008 campaign nor during his fi rst term in offi ce.
According to Priebus, Obama promised to cut the defi cit in half by the end of his fi rst term and get the debt under control, but in-stead has introduced the biggest structural defi cit in the history of the world and added $4.5 trillion of debt over three years.
“The question fi rst is whether or not Barack Obama met the standards that he set for himself,” Priebus said in an interview with The Eagle before the event. “He
can point the fi nger all day long at everyone under the sun, but in the end, he’s the CEO of this country. He’s the man in charge.”
Priebus said the president’s economic actions are negatively impacting young voters as well.
He credits college students for caring about the country’s eco-nomic future and being in tune with national fi nancial issues.
“The unemployment rate among students and young Ameri-cans 24 and younger is a little over 18 percent,” he told The Eagle. “I think that, in order to start a ca-reer, you need to have prospects of good-paying jobs in this coun-try.”
Though the chairman acknowl-
edged that beating an incumbent is diffi cult, he said the GOP is strong and Republican candidates are ready for the challenge.
He made no predictions for who the Party’s presidential nominee will be, but said he will support whoever wins the nomination and believes any of the candidates will fare better in offi ce than Obama.
“I think what we have on our side is a really good debate over how to get our country back on track,” Priebus said in a pre-event interview with ATV. “I think we’ve got great, diverse candidates.”
Priebus said he believes his pride in America, which stems from his childhood with a patriotic Greek grandfather, is a value all U.S. citizens can rally behind dur-ing election season.
“I think we’ve all been blessed in different ways, and we’re not going to agree with each other on every little thing … but I think we can agree that we love this coun-try and we want to get this coun-try back on track,” he said. “It’s not in the right place.”
“In the end, [Obama] is the CEO of this country. He’s the man in charge.”
–Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus
By KIERSTYN SCHNECK
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
AU’s Men of Strength, a proactive club against sexual assault and violence, launched a bystander intervention pro-gram Jan. 31 with George Wash-ington University, Georgetown University and three local high schools.
The program “Where Do You Stand?” is an effort to re-duce sexual violence, accord-ing to School of International Service graduate student and group member Conor Shapiro.
AU had the largest univer-sity presence at a Jan. 31 D.C. meeting of Men Can Stop Rape, said Men of Strength member and School of Public Affairs senior Nate Bronstein.
Men of Strength currently have 15 members and is one of many campus Men of Strength groups nationwide affi liated with the nonprofi t organization Men Can Stop Rape.
The nonprofi t funds the club chapters, trains members and provides materials, according to group member Philip Scranage, a sophomore in the SPA.
The “Where Do You Stand?” program is an expansion of the group’s work against violence, Bronstein said.
The program will teach col-lege men how to intervene in potentially violent situations. It will also raise awareness of men’s ability to prevent vio-
lence against women through skits and group discussions, ac-cording to Bronstein.
SPA sophomore Seth Yates and other D.C. students acted out a scenario at the launch event about an intoxicated girl and a clearly sober man moving in on her at a club.
Men of Strength will hold related workshops and train-ing sessions during meetings to spread Men Can Stop Rape’s initiative at AU.
“(It’s) a more intensive train-ing and awareness campaign to create a culture of looking out for one another and knowing what to intervene on and how to intervene,” Bronstein said.
Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator Daniel Rappaport said Men of Strength was cre-ated as a result of Men Can Stop Rape.
“Without help from a few in-dividuals from MCSR coming out and helping with the group each week, the group would likely not be as strong as it is today,” Rappaport said.
Rappaport said he will facili-tate Men of Strength meetings this semester. These meetings include training, workshops and discussions about prevent-ing violence and challenging ideas of masculinity and sexual assault.
Yates said he joined Men of Strength at its fi rst meeting in early September because he be-lieved in their message.
“I think the major goal is to change the ideas of tradi-tional masculinity that encour-age men to pursue women as trophies and normalize rape,” Yates said. “I think the goal is to convince men that just saying, ‘I think it’s wrong and I don’t do it,’ isn’t enough.”
Men of Strength plans to demonstrate that men can ac-tively increase the safety of AU’s campus, Shapiro said.
“If we prevent even one as-sault, I feel like my time invest-ed!was valuable,” he said.
The club will reach out to AU students through a media campaign for the bystander in-tervention program, according to Rappaport.
“This semester we hope to continue taking on new mem-bers to the club while also working to have a more visible presence on campus,” Rappa-port said.
Yates is featured in one of the ads for Men Can Stop Rape’s na-tional media campaign, which will be posted around campus to inform members of the AU community about the club and its new program.
AU’s Men of Strength fight back against rape culture
By HEATHER MONGILIO
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
The Undergraduate Senate is working to put speed bumps in the Nebraska Parking Lot.
“As a commuter, as someone who parks in the lot, people fl y through there,” said Class of 2012 Sen. Nicholas Anders, who co-sponsored the bill. “People literally go 30-40 miles an hour some-times, literally.”
The lack of speed control on the lot worried the senators, who passed the bill unanimously.
“It can be dangerous,” Anders said. “I’ve never heard of anyone getting hit, but it very well could happen.”
AU students, faculty and members of the out-side community use the lot. If the D.C. Zoning Commission approves the University’s Campus Plan, the lot will become East Campus dorms and academic buildings.
Senators will be contacting the Department of Public Safety to investigate the viability of speed bumps.
The Senate also passed a bill to increase the amount of hand sanitizer dispensers on campus.
“There are very few and kind of far in be-tween,” Anders said.
Senators also called for better maintenance of the hand sanitizer dispensers, which senators have found are often empty.
“I’ve used them many times, and there is never Purell in them,” said Class of 2014 Sen. Samantha Turetsky.
Senators passed the bill passed unanimously with little debate.
SG calls for Nebraska Lot speed bumps
RNC Chairman Priebus attacks Obama’s fiscal
policy at KPU event
theEAGLE NEWS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 20126
Student petitions White House to end Super PACsBy AUSTIN GREEN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Marlena Luhr is sick and tired of Super PACs.
Luhr, a sophmore in the School of Public Affairs, created a petition to end Super PACs called “Stop Super PACs,” which she hopes to send to the White House if it gains enough signatures.
“It is not right to have Americans in the dark about who is funding their candidates and for candi-dates to outsource their campaign fundraising to corporations,” she said.
The Citizens United v. Federal Election Commis-sion! Supreme Court deci-sion allowed corporations to use treasury funds to contribute to political ad-vertising! through! Super PACs, which may raise and spend unlimited amounts of money with limited oversight.
Luhr learned! from AU student Philip Scranage!about the White House’s online petition
tool, “We The People,” an application that allows for the creation of a petition and gathering support and signatures. Once the petition gains 25,000 sig-natures, the Obama Ad-ministration will issue a response.
Luhr said an offi cial re-sponse would bring nation-al attention to the opinion of ending Super PACs.
“With all the noise non-profi ts have been mak-ing about this issue, a re-sponse [from the White House] would not go un-noticed,” Luhr said.
The petition calls for a constitutional amendment that would require any or-ganization that produced campaign ads to limit their spending to $5,000 per election cycle.
Luhr came up with the idea last year when she joined the AU chapter of the! Roosevelt Institute, a! nonprofi t organization devoted to developing pro-gressive ideas and bold leadership. The Roosevelt Institute staff encouraged
her to!publish her thoughts in their 10 Ideas Journal.
Getting a response from the White House is tough, since petitioners need to raise 25,000 signatures in 30 days.
Luhr is working with student-led organizations at 12 other schools, includ-ing Columbia, Tufts, Wake Forest, Michigan State and Georgia Tech University.
However, her big-gest help has come from Scranage. Both Scranage and the Roosevelt staff! helped contribute to writing the policy, Luhr said.
Scranage, a sophomore in SPA, is Luhr’s lead con-tributor on the petition and helped refi ne her vision.
AU’s Roosevelt Institute chapter held an event Feb. 6 in Butler Boardroom!show-ing two documentaries about the Supreme Court decision in order to raise awareness about the case. A student discussion fol-lowed the showing.
By REBECCA ZISSER
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Director of Public Safety Daniel Nich-ols advised students in a Feb. 3 memo to contact Metropolitan Police if they see anything suspicious due to recent armed robberies in Northwest D.C.
Metro police stated the suspects of rob-beries may have been carrying a handgun or other weapon, according to the memo. The crimes are still being investigated.
To stay safe, Nichols encouraged stu-
dents to:• Walk in groups • Avoid traveling in dark or isolated ar-
eas • Pay attention to details in their sur-
roundings • Keep Public Safety’s number in their
phone at all times-- 202-885-3636• Be aware of emergency telephone
boxes, recognizable by their yellow boxes, light blue phone towers and red telephones.
Locals robbed in Northwest D.C.
By PAIGE JONES
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
About 20 Student Worker Alliance members stormed Provost Scott Bass’s offi ce Feb. 3 to de-liver a letter protesting AU’s decision to hire legal counsel to challenge the potential adjunct union.
The club marched around the Quad, shout-ing, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, union busting’s got to go” and holding signs earlier that day.
Student Worker Alli-ance member and College of Arts and Sciences junior Ethan Miller said the club supported an adjunct un-ion because it will benefi t students as well.
“A union will not change the quality of education, it would increase the quality of education,” he said.
Student Worker Alli-ance members protested AU because they believe the University is using stu-dent tuition to pay for this legal counsel, Miller said.
“We pay money for stu-dent tuition and don’t ex-pect the University to use it to stifl e democracy,” he said.
Associate Director of Media Relations Maralee Csellar said the National Labor Relations Board le-gally requires AU to hire legal counsel.
“Both the union and the University must be rep-
resented by legal counsel in these proceedings, and each does so responsibly by working with attorneys whose expertise is in labor law,” Csellar said.
AU adjunct faculty members are currently voting whether they want to unionize. The vote ends Feb. 16.
Miller said the Univer-sity has not remained neu-tral during this election be-cause it distributed fl yers to every adjunct’s mailbox, emphasizing the liabilities of a union.
“They plan to challenge the election in court,” Miller said. “They don’t re-spect the election.”
Student Worker Alli-ance member and School of International Service freshman Emily Ellis said the Student Worker Alli-ance protested to raise stu-dent awareness.
Students march for adjunct union
By KATIE FIEGENBAUM
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
AU formally ended its relationship with its sec-ond overseas school, the American University of Nigeria at the end of last year, according to AU President Neil Kerwin’s Jan. 12 memorandum.
AUN, located in Yola, was founded in January 2004 as a collaborative ef-fort between AU and the vice president of Nigeria and prominent business-man Atiku Abubakar.
AU and the school had a fi ve-year contract that end-ed in 2009. During those fi ve years AU developed and provided support for all aspects of the school. AU then renewed the con-tract for one-year terms until December 2011.
“AUN continues to ma-ture as an institution, has graduated three classes of undergraduates and is now well positioned to function more indepen-dently,” Kerwin said in his memorandum. “There-fore, AU and AUN leaders mutually agreed to end our consultancy when the contract expired at the end of 2011.”
Dr. Robert Pastor, a professor in the School of International Service and the vice president of Inter-national Affairs at AU from 2002 - 2007, spearheaded the project of developing the American University in Nigeria.
“One of my jobs was to
explore new ways to re-late AU to the world, such as setting up universities abroad,” Pastor said.
AUN was the fi rst American-style University in Nigeria, as opposed to the traditional British-style non-interactive education, and is now the best private university in Sub-Saharan Africa, Pastor said.
There are around 1,400 students in three schools: Arts and Sciences, Busi-ness and Information Technology. Three classes have graduated from AUN.
AU was completely in-volved in the process of recruiting teachers, de-signing the curriculum and even designing the buildings.
The advantage of estab-lishing such a university was that Nigerian students could study at an interna-tionally recognized univer-sity without having to leave the country, and were thus more likely to stay in Nige-ria after completing their education, Pastor said.
“Nigeria has had an economic boom over the last several years, and many that benefi ted were inclined to send their chil-dren overseas for a fi rst-rate education,” said Carl LeVan, an SIS professor who coordinated a course with and visited AUN in Fall 2007. “However, there’s a social emphasis on keeping students in the country.”
Over the past several years, AUN has grown
more independent and ma-ture, which is what led AU to stop supporting AUN and dissolve the AUN of-fi ce on-campus.
“Overall, I think the es-tablishment was not only one of the most rewarding things for me, personally, but also one of the most important contributions by AU to education devel-opment in Africa,” Pastor said.
Pastor has not been di-rectly involved in AUN for the past few years, but he said the institution has ma-tured.
“However, I believe, personally, that this also presents a new opportu-nity for AU that would be no longer administrative,” he said.
He said he hopes AU will continue to receive AUN students should they wish to study abroad here.
Forty-nine students from AUN have studied abroad at AU, and a lesser number from AU have studied abroad at AUN, ac-cording to Pastor.
AU will continue to re-ceive students from AUN, but will not send AU stu-dents to Nigeria given security concerns regard-ing the recent ethnic and religious clashes in the country, according to AU Abroad Associate Director Mark Hayes. These clash-es have not been cited as a reason for AU’s decision to end its relationship with AUN.
AU cuts ties with American University of Nigeria
theEAGLE NEWS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012 7
By SAMANTHA HOGAN
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Imagine an AU without trashcans.AU’s Green Eagles are trying to get there, by reach-
ing out to students, faculty and staff to achieve campus-wide zero-waste status this February.
The Green Offi ce’s “Zero Waste Month” initiative is part of the University’s goal to reduce its environmental footprint and increase sustainability practices.
Green Eagles are students involved with the Green Offi ce, part of the Offi ce of Sustainability. The Green Ea-gles are assigned to run green initiatives in the various departments, buildings and residence halls on campus.
Sarah Rouhan, a senior in the School of Public Affairs and Green Eagle for the University Center and Student Activities, explained that zero-waste means diverting as much of the waste that leaves the University for landfi lls as possible.
“About 83 percent of the items that are sent to landfi lls could be either recycled or composted,” said Josephine Chu, a master’s student in the School of International Service and a Green Eagle.
Chu emphasized that zero-waste depends on all three branches of the common adage: “reduce, reuse and re-
cycle.”According to Chu, the emphasis should be on reduc-
ing what individuals’ purchase and thinking about how one can consume less.
“Instead of trying to fi gure out how to dispose of our waste after the fact, we should focus on how to prevent making the waste in the fi rst place,” Chu said.
Simple changes, such as using reusable water bottles and bags, can save students and faculty money while also having positive environmental implications.
Chu also said students and faculty can make a notice-able difference by properly recycling paper, aluminum, glass and plastic.
Of the 250 million tons of trash produced in the Unit-ed States in 2010, only 85 million tons were recycled or composted, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Chu plans to have teachers switch their classroom and offi ce trash cans to recycling bins and place food composting receptacles in the SIS kitchens.
Similarly, Rouhan plans to make sure staff members in the University Center and Student Activities have re-cycling bins next to their trash cans to simplify the recy-cling process.
These small alterations can be the difference between a staff member embracing a change or falling back in to old habits, Rouhan said in an email.
It is easier to say that one will be more proactive in their efforts to be green, Rouhan said. But when it dis-rupts people’s normal routine, they are more inclined to stick to their habits.
“This is the fi rst year of implementation of the Offi ce of Sustainability, so we really are introducing the offi c-es and staff members to the idea of not only becoming more sustainable, but the actual physical presence of someone who is pushing them and encouraging them to do all these things,” Rouhan said.
Ryan Ramirez, a master’s student in SPA and the Green Eagle for Bender Library, said the easiest way to tackle zero-waste is to:
• identify what type of waste is being generated,• look at the AU community’s current disposal hab-
its • and look for new ways to take steps away from
generating that waste.Ramirez is organizing a silverware drive this month
to collect plates, cups and utensils to replace the Bender Library’s disposable utensils and dishes currently used in its kitchen.
Ramirez complimented the Library’s staff for its green efforts so far this school year, saying they were the fi rst staff offi ce at AU to compost. They made one of the largest switches to 100 percent recycled paper of any offi ce on campus. They also “de-lamped,” or removed, 1,000 unused bulbs.
“The greatest challenge will be getting people to change their way of thinking and think more about what they purchase and throw away,” Chu said. “We need to get people to understand that there is no such thing as throwing away; the trash has to go somewhere.”
By REBECCA ZISSER
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Disability rights activists and D.C. City Council members gathered Jan. 30 at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 13th Street in support of more wheelchair ac-cessible and environmentally friendly taxis in the District.
The City Council is considering legis-lation that would require all new cabs to be fueled with compressed natural gas, wheelchair accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The city would also be expected to modify at least 55 percent of cabs already in use to meet these regulations within four years, according to Francesca Mas-trangelo, the New Media Manager for the American Association of People with Dis-abilities.
The AAPD was one of the organiza-tions that testifi ed at last Monday’s out-door hearing.
AAPD members have worked closely with representatives from the National Council on Independent Living, Pride
Mobility Products Corp. and Clean En-ergy, among others, to garner support for their cause.
“I feel like this situation truly demon-strates the success of the American Dis-ability Act,” Mastrangelo said.
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 and amended in 2008. Title II of the Act requires that people with disabilities be guaranteed equal access to public transportation. It is considered dis-crimination if a facility is inaccessible.
Soon after Congress passed the act, the D.C. government made the Metrobus system become more accessible for disa-bled people, but the taxicabs have yet to make the transition, Mastrangelo said.
“This had been going on for years and years and years,” Mastrangelo said.
The passage of the legislation is not guaranteed despite the support of Chair-man of the D.C. City Council Kwame Brown.
“This is the fi rst hearing, so that [the legislation’s success] has yet to be seen,” Mastrangelo said.
The hearing did succeed in bringing attention to the issue and has helped the different groups involved create a more cohesive campaign, she said.
“It’s been a common issue that we can unite on,” Mastrangelo said.
By MISHIEL AYUB
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Geoff Tracy of Chef Geoff’s restaurant took a stand against the speed cameras on Foxhall Road this past week, hiring a sign spinner to warn motorists to slow down.
Tracy hired a sign spinner from a com-pany called Air Signs to work for 40 hours over a seven-day period beginning Jan. 28.
“It cost $30 per hour, so it was $1,200,” said Tracy, who owns Chef Geoff’s on New Mexico Avenue along with four oth-er restaurants. “But I think we should let people know about the speed trap before they get a fi ne.”
The speeding cameras installed on Foxhall Road went live Dec. 21.
“Foxhall Road is a route a travel a lot because it is how I get to work,” Tracy said.
Tracy received his total fi ne of $425 for three speeding tickets in the mail Dec. 29.
His fi rst speeding violation of $125 for driving 36 mph occurred Dec. 23. Tracy received a second and third ticket for driving 43 mph and 42 mph Dec. 26 and 29.
He was fi ned $150 for both latter tick-ets.
“I take full responsibility for driving over the speed limit,” Tracy said. “But two of my busboys received tickets as well. They work all day to make the $125 they lose to a speeding ticket.”
Tracy said the Metropolitan Police Department approves of the steps he has taken to warn other motorists.
However, Tracy said he is skeptical of the motives behind installing the cam-eras.
“Personally, I think 25 mph is too slow for that part of the street where the cam-eras are installed because it’s not a neigh-borhood area,” Tracy said. “It is also a lot of money to charge for driving 11 miles over the limit. It seems like a way for the government to generate revenue more than a way to promote public safety.”
Some AU students who commute agreed with Tracy that the speed limit is unreasonably slow.
“While the cameras are making the roads safer, I think 25 mph is just too slow,” Kogod School of Business fresh-man Ajay Kapoor said.
Other students found Tracy’s signs to be a helpful reminder.
“I was pleasantly surprised to see the signs,” School of Communication sopho-more Rowshan Zabi said. “I didn’t know who was behind them, but it was a nice way for me to keep the speed limit in mind.”
Green Eagles aim for zero on-campus waste
Local residents call for handicap-accessible taxis
Chef Geoff hires sign holder to
warn drivers of speed cameras on
Foxhall RoadCurrent taxis may
violate Americans with Disabilities Act
By RYAN MIGEED
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Army Corps of Engineers found Civil War-era relics, including a piece of a cannon, while looking for chemical munitions and testing the groundwater near the Kreeger Building over winter break.
“We’re looking for buried metallic objects we call anomalies,” said Clem Gaines, public affairs specialist at the Army Corps of Engineers in Baltimore.
The Army Corps used metal detectors to fi nd burial sites where the Army discarded materials used when AU was an “experimental station,” Gaines said.
Army Corps planned to investigate about 18 sites. The Corps investigated most of them by January and will in-vestigate four more sites in March, Gaines said.
The Army Corps still needs to dig under the Kreeger parking lot in four different locations. The Army Corps is waiting until spring break to continue digging, Gaines said.
AU administration expects the Kreeger portion of the Spring Valley clean-up to fi nish by the end of 2013, ac-cording to AU Chief of Staff David Taylor.
The formal search for buried munitions began after “military objects” were found in Spring Valley in 1993, The Eagle reported in 2004.
The soil near Kreeger was tested in 2006, and high arsenic levels were fi rst discovered on campus in 2001, The Eagle previously reported.
The Army Corps’ activities will not interfere with the Campus Plan, since the Army Corps has already investi-gated areas impacted by the Plan, Taylor said.
“There is also a provision written into the Campus Plan, an understanding to inform the Army Corps before we put shovel in ground,” he said.
The Army Corps is also monitoring groundwater for perchlorate, a chemical used in the manufacturing of rocket fuel, missiles, fi reworks, fl ares and batteries, ac-cording to the California Department of Toxic Substanc-
es Control.The perchlorate level in Spring Valley was 146 parts
per billion (ppb) in 2006, and the Army Corps brought it down to about 22ppb by the Army Corps, Hengst said.
However, that number is still much higher than Envi-ronmental Protection Agency guidelines, which call for only 1ppb of perchlorate in drinking water.
D.C. has no enforced regulations on perchlorate con-centration in groundwater but instead recommends fol-lowing the EPA’s guidelines.
“Groundwater is poured into the [McMillan] reser-voir,” Allen Hengst said, a librarian at AU’s Pence Law Li-
brary and a self-proclaimed “environmental activist” who has blogged about the clean-up project over its 19-year history. “Freshwater from the Potomac is pumped in[to the reservoir] every day, so the perchlorate is diluted.”
However, Gaines said Spring Valley gets its water from the Potomac, not from its groundwater.
“All drinking water in Spring Valley comes from D.C.,” he said. “Nobody in Spring Valley drinks water from Spring Valley.”
Continued on Page 9
theEAGLE NEWS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 20128
By ZACH C. COHEN
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Student Government will add 150 more tickets for Founders Day next week in re-sponse to greater than expected demand, said SG Chief of Staff Palak Gosar.
Student organizers of the ball were
able to work with the Library of Congress and catering to increase capacity at little additional cost. Public Safety also agreed to provide offi cers to supplement the pri-vate security hired by the SG, said Student Government Events Director Alex Leiro, whose offi ce puts on Founders Day.
Free tickets to the ball at the Library of
Congress sold out within 90 seconds on Feb. 1 at 8 p.m.
The SG had made 575 free tickets available for undergraduates and 100 for graduate students. Student Government will notify those on the waitlist if a ticket opens up, Leiro said.
There are 25 tickets reserved for alum-ni and administration.
“Library of Congress is such a cool venue that I think people are really ex-cited about it,” Leiro said.
Organizers reserved seven tickets ahead of Feb. 1 for student organizers of the event.
More than 550 students attended last year’s Founders Day Ball, and there were about 20 tickets left over, the Eagle previ-
ously reported.Students who reserved tickets still
need to pick up their tickets Feb. 6 through 10 or they will be given to some-one on the waitlist. At the event itself, at-tendees will need to bring their ticket and their AU ID.
Students who do make it to the Jeffer-son Building Feb. 25 will be able to visit the balcony that overlooks the Reading Room of the Library of Congress.
The Army Corps of Engineers excavated areas surrounding the Kreeger building in search of munitions and chemicals left over from AU’s time as an Army base during World War I. The project is one stage in an ongoing clean-up project on campus and in Spring Valley, the neighborhood surrounding AU. The administration expects to fi nish the Kreeger dig in 2013.
Army Corps uncovers Civil War-era artifacts near Kreeger building
SG adds more Founders Day Ball tickets after first batch sells out online in 90 seconds
WILLA HINE / THE EAGLE
theEAGLE NEWS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2011 9
By VALERIE KHORISHKO
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Allison Arlotta works two off-campus jobs for nearly 20 hours a week. Her round-trip bike commute takes 45 min-utes to an hour each way.
While the School of Communication junior said she realizes employment in the city has turned out to be a blessing in disguise, Arlotta recalls her frustra-tion with trying to fi nd an on-campus job throughout her freshman year.
“That really bothered me because I wanted a job that was convenient when I lived on campus,” she said.
Arlotta is not eligible for Federal Work-Study as part of her fi nancial aid pack-age. She is one of the many students who have found themselves unable to get on-campus jobs at AU because the majority of student positions are open only to ap-plicants who have received a need-based Federal Work-Study award.
Federal Work-Study is a fi nancial aid program that guarantees a $2,000 yearly salary to students who qualify. Financial aid administrators at institutions eligible for work-study have fl exibility in deter-mining the number of students that can receive these awards, according to the
Department of Education. The Department of Education pays
for 75 percent of the Federal Work-Study grants it awards to AU. Each of the depart-ments hiring student workers then has to cover the remaining 25 percent from its own budget, said Ganiat Harris, assistant director of service delivery at AU Human Resources.
Human Resources does not keep re-cords of the total number of Federal Work-Study jobs available on campus, Harris said. It can only provide estimates based on the number of AU students on the University’s payroll who receive Federal Work-Study funds. That number is diffi cult to determine, because many students hold multiple positions or addi-tional off-campus jobs, Harris said.
“We have seen a trend in which most departments will prefer, because it is a positive side to their budget, hiring Fed-eral Work-Study students,” she said.
Some students eventually exhaust the $2,000 salary allocated to their Work-Study package. When that happens, the employing department often will transfer them onto a student worker position fund-ed by the department’s own resources, Harris said.
Out of the 58 on- and off-campus posi-tions publicized to students on the online AU Student Government Student Jobs Board Jan. 27, three required graduate students as applicants, seven more were available for students not eligible for Fed-eral Work-Study and the remaining 48 were restricted to students that qualify for Federal Work-Study.
Brendan Bargmann, a junior at the School of International Service, used to have a non-Federal Work-Study job at the independently-run campus bookstore be-fore a change in management led to staff layoffs.
“Finding a non-Federal Work-Study job since then has been nearly impossible,” said Bargmann, who has held multiple off-campus positions since his layoff.
The position at the bookstore was the only non-Federal Work-Study job he was able to secure in his three years at AU, Bargmann said.
The lack of on-campus work opportu-nities has left the many international stu-dents in an unemployment deadlock.
Most international students are only legally authorized to hold on-campus jobs, not off-campus jobs, but only Ameri-can citizens are eligible for Federal Work-
Study as part of their fi nancial aid pack-age.
Sandra Cai Chen, a College of Arts and Sciences junior from Mexico, said she did not qualify for Federal Work-Study employment because she is not an Ameri-can citizen. Chen’s visa status, however, prohibits her from applying for most off-campus jobs as well.
“International students from middle class families like me are constantly on the look for extra money to buy books or to pay fees in order to lessen the fi nancial burden on our families,” said Chen, who has been looking for on-campus employ-ment with fi xed hours since her sopho-more year.
“We would appreciate more employ-ment options on campus,” she said.
Chen has to resort to less formal jobs such as tutoring to earn the extra cash she needs.
“Federal Work-Study is an important program, and I don’t think it’s inherently unfair that they have fi rst pick,” Arlotta said. “But it would defi nitely be helpful to have maybe an equal number of jobs that anyone can apply for. I guess the truth is that the jobs just don’t exist.”
Non-Work Study students, international students report difficulties finding on-campus jobs
Continued from page 3
Future AU applicants will have to com-plete a separate application if they wish to join the Honors Program, rather than the University currently choosing fresh-man for the program based on their high school GPA and standardized test scores, Mason said.
“AU is at the point now where we at-tract students with high GPAs and test scores,” Manson said. “In high school, it’s about identifying the special students. In college, it’s about identifying the right student,” he said.
The task force has yet to address self-nominations, the process through which a current student who is not in honors can apply to be in the program.
Continued from page 9
The Army Corps is in the last stages of its plan to demolish the AU-owned house at 4825 Glenbrook Rd. The house will be taken down by late March after the resto-ration plan is fi nalized, Gaines said.
The Army Corps hopes for the “removal of the house and restoration of the property for residential use,” Gaines said.
The Army Corps will be tear-ing down the building because it discovered contamination at the site in the past.
A March 2010 investigation was halted after a bucket of fuming arsenic trichloride was found, The Eagle previously reported.
After demolishing the property, the Army Corps will investigate the soil all the way to the bedrock and restore the
perchlorate level to 20ppb, Hengst said.AU wants the level down to 12.6ppb,
according to Hengst. “USACE [U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers], in consultation with our partners – EPA and DDOE – has decided to con-
tinue to use the established remediation goal for arsenic,” said Brenda Barber, the Army Corps’ Spring Valley program man-
ager.The three organizations agreed that
level was healthy and natural in compari-son to other measurements of arsenic content in soil around the D.C. area, Bar-ber said.
The Army Corps does not maintain a well to monitor the perchlorate level at the 4825 property, Gaines said.
“We’ve been doing groundwater study for some time, and any time we’ve found perchlorate values higher than the EPA regulations, we’ve seen those perchlorate values declining,” Gaines said.
AU will be in negotiations with the Army Corps from March to June so the Corps can demolish the build-ing during summer break
Army Corps real estate offi cials are discussing the value of the prop-erty with AU so the Army Corps can purchase it from the University, Gaines said.
The Glenbrook Rd. property is the only AU-owned property that is left for extensive investigation, he said.
AU President Kerwin’s home is right next to the 4825 property but is no longer in need of contamina-
tion investigations.
Army Corps finalizes plans to demolish AU-owned Glenbrook Road house
The Army Corps hopes for the “removal of the house and restoration of the prop-
erty for residential use.”- Clem Gaines, public affairs specialist at the Army Corps of
Engineers in Baltimore.
Honors program has not yet discussed self-nominations
Scene 10TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012
SILVER SCREENThe Scene reviews some of the best new fl icks 11
AUDIOPHILEWVAU reviews new albums 14
D.C. CHILLIN’By CHELSEA CLAYS
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
With Feb. 14 looming around the corner, Valen-tine’s Day can seem like either the most romantic day of the year or the loneliest.
But this year The Eagle gives you ideas that are great for either romancing your signifi cant other or celebrating a “love” of friendships with your best bud-dies. This is D.C. the Valentine’s Day Edition.
DIG IN WITH D.C. METRO CHOCOLATE TOURS
These fun group tours show the sweeter side of D.C., taking participants to Georgetown, U Street or Dupont Circle in search of places to fulfi ll their sweet tooth cravings. Tour guides lead you to chocolate boutiques, famous D.C. bakeries and fun chocolate-themed cafés while engaging par-ticipants with outrageous trivia about one of the world’s favorite treats! Advance reservations are required so book today. For more information on times, dates and prices, visit www.dcmetrochocola-tetours.com/tours/
CLASSIC ROMANCE WITH KRAMERSBOOKS AND AFTERWORDS CAFÉ
If you are really just in the mood for just a great dessert and refi ned conversation on your Valentine’s Day, head over to Kramersbooks and Afterwords Café in Dupont Circle. Peruse their ro-mance and poetry section while reciting your most romantic impressions of Shakespeare and Lord By-ron, then head over to the café to split slice of pie or piece of red velvet cake with your special someone.
For more information on hours and their exqui-site dessert menu, visit www.kramers.com.
DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY AT THE JAM CELLAR
There are few things more romantic than being a showstopper with your date on the dance fl oor. The Jam Cellar runs free swing dancing lessons in Columbia Heights, teaching you and your partner the basic steps, turns and twirls to wow others. Stick around for the $6 dance and groove to hits from the best Lindy Hop bands in D.C.
For more information on times and location, visit http://thejamcellar.com/schedule.php
SEARCHING FOR LOVE: WATSON ADVENTURES SCAVENGER HUNTS
The Naked at the Art Museum Scavenger Hunt has participants search the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery for the naughtier, naked and more risqué side of fi ne art. Un-cover the scandalous secrets of presidents and famous D.C. works of art. This is defi nitely a more scintillating D.C. date for sure.
For information on booking dates and prices, visit http://watsonad-ventures.com/schedule_washington.html#aamn
By KENDALL BREITMAN
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
This year, the 54th annual Grammy Awards are sure to hit some high and low notes as the biggest night for music will be held Feb. 12.
It seems that so far the Grammys have been offering some questionable choices. CBS decided that this year’s host to introduce the most talked about names in the mu-sic industry should be, ironi-cally, one of the least talked about men in 2011: LL Cool J.
As if that isn’t sad enough that LL Cool J will be host-ing, he is also the fi rst offi cial host of the Grammys in seven years. Really music industry, you couldn’t fi nd anyone else to host the most star studded
music event in the year? Despite the disappointing
appointment of a host, the Grammy awards nominations, which were released Nov. 30, seem to offer some of the best names of the past year.
Kanye West has received the most nominations, earn-ing seven including Song of the Year, Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “All of the Lights,” Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for “Otis” and Best Rap Album for “Watch the Throne.” Still, fans have been disappointed that “Watch the Throne,” which was released earlier this year in collabora-tion with Jay-Z, was not nomi-nated for the coveted Album of the Year.
Runner-ups for nomina-
tions include Bruno Mars, Foo Fighters and Adele, each earning six nominations. Radiohead, Skrillex and Lil Wayne all follow closely be-hind with fi ve nominations each.
Nominees this year for the much-awaited Album of the Year title are Adele for “21,” the Foo Fighters for “Wast-ing Light,” Lady Gaga for “Born this Way,” Bruno Mars for “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” and Rihanna for “Loud.”
New to the music scene, The Band Perry, Bon Iver, J. Cole, Nicki Minaj and Skrillex have all been nomi-nated for best new artist. Usu-ally the list of these nominees is among the most awaited of the Grammys, but this year the line up seems to be a lit-tle random. Also worth men-tioning is last year’s surprise win by jazz artist, Esperanza Spalding, upsetting Beliebers and Drake fans everywhere.
From Kanye West to Adele, Grammys offer best music
Continued on Page 13
COURTESY OF D.C. CHOCOLATE METRO TOURS
theEAGLE SCENE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012 11
SILVER SCREEN
By JANE MORICE
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
In the movie “Big Miracle,” based on the true story of the 1988 international rescue of whales trapped under ice, the differences between the cus-toms, beliefs and values of the “melting pot” of American citi-zens are fully exposed.
Rather than simply expos-ing these issues, “Big Miracle” paints an accurate picture of how one event can force some-one to question their position in life.
Stuck in the northernmost city of the United States, in a small town named Barrow, Alaska, reporter Adam Carlson (John Krasinski, “The Offi ce”) is bored with his broadcast ca-reer and constantly dreams of going down to “The Lower 48.”
Yet while up in this town, Carlson befriends a local Inupi-at boy in the town, Nathan (new-comer Ahmaogak Sweeney), and Carlson discovers the story of his career — one that cap-tures the attention of the entire world.
Three California gray whales are trapped beneath thick sheets of ice covering the Beau-fort Sea, preventing them from swimming down the coast and breeding in Baja.
Coming up to breathe through a small hole in the ice outside of town, they will not survive very long unless the ice is forcibly cracked, allowing the whales to swim back into the open sea. Environmental activ-ists, most prominently Green-
peace worker Rachel Kramer (Drew Barrymore, “He’s Just Not That Into You”), protest to save these whales’ lives, while the native Inupiat people are satisfi ed with harpooning the suffering animals and harvest-ing them.
This movie is suspenseful at times, especially when a partic-ular plan to rescue the whales stalls or even fails, and funny at others, like the interactions between Nathan and Adam. It is also exemplary at exposing the issues between oil tycoons — in this movie, J.W. McGraw (Ted Danson, “Bored to Death”) — and environmental workers, as well as the differences between
the same environmental work-ers hoping to protect animals and the Inupiat people who hunt in order to survive.
While each individual part is portrayed well, the interac-tions between characters often felt forced, especially with the love triangle that is supposedly occurring between Carlson and Kramer (who, coincidentally, previously dated) and Carlson and Los Angeles television re-porter Jill Jerard (Kristen Bell, “Burlesque”). The emotions seemed fake and overdone, and the dialogue between the par-ties was silly and unrealistic.
BIG MIRACLEGRADE: B
COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Level: 1 2 3 4
LOOK OFTHE WEEKBack to the Basics
Is it just me or has the weather been a little unpre-dictable lately? ! is range of elements — " rst sun, then rain, then snow, then sun again — as well as the crazy # uctuating temperatures has got my wardrobe crying out for a bit of balance.
Paige Leong, a sophomore studying sociology in the College of Arts and Science, sticks to the basics during seasonal transitions.
“I de" nitely think it’s easier to transition from winter to spring with basic pieces,” Leong said. “I really love wearing brightly colored clothes that are easy to mix and match.”
Leong creates a # exible wardrobe by collecting sta-ples for her closet such as simple cotton mini skirts and chunky knit sweaters that she can layer. She is also an avid fan of the colorblock-ing trend, keeping her closet stocked with a variety of solid, brightly colored gar-ments.
“I think it’s important to be able to easily put together an out" t with any of the items in your closet,” says Leong.
During high school, Leong found style inspiration while interning for her aunts, who work in the fashion industry in New York City.
“I like the way fashion in New York can look so e$ ort-less,” Leong said. “New York-ers look like they roll out of bed looking good — that’s what I try to model my own sense of style a% er.”
While Leong frequents af-fordable retailers like H&M and Express, she acknowl-edges the importance of splurging on items that will complement her wardrobe throughout the seasons.
“I just invested in a pair of light brown, knee high Fran-co Sarto riding boots,” she said. “! ey were de" nitely a splurge, but I am obsessed with them and I wear them almost everyday. ! ey go with everything!”
! e Franco Sarto boots are just one of the numer-
ous pairs of beloved shoes in Leong’s closet. She admits that shoes are her biggest weakness, especially when it comes to high heels.
“I have a huge collection of heels in my closet,” she said. “Some of my favorites in-clude my nude pumps by Jes-sica Simpson, my black and silver wedges from Aldo and my camel suede knee-high boots by Sam Edelman.”
Although Leong likes to keep her look simple and understated, she uses acces-sories and shoes to give her out" ts some extra personal-ity. When sporting a more monotone ensemble, Leong relies on her collection of heels to bring an out" t to life.
“If I’m wearing all black, I’ll put on a brightly colored pair of shoes or handbag to give that pop of color,” she said.
Regardless of tomorrow’s forecast, Leong will continue to rock a basic and sophis-ticated style as the semester progresses. She looks for-ward to spring, not only for the lighter dresses and san-dals, but also the change in campus atmosphere.
“I am so excited for the # owers and the nice weath-er,” shes aid. “I de" nitely miss hanging out on the Quad. During the spring, everyone seems a lot happier to be on campus.”
BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE. LET @THEEAGLEONLINEKNOW WHAT YOU’RE ROCKING THIS WINTER.
MADELINE BEARD — FASHION
Head to ToeBLOUSE
Urban Out tters
SWEATER H&M
TIGHTSTarget
BOOTS Franco Sarto
Photo:MADELINE BEARD / THE EAGLE
By CHRISTINE LY
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It’s midnight on a Thursday but the WVAU radio booth’s lights are on and kicking for the next two hours as DJ Max Tani delivers sweet sound to your ears. Tani, a sophomore in journalism and fi lm, has been running his show for the past four semesters.
His live show, “Baroqueback Mountain,” was born out of a need to “wind down and take a break from schoolwork and stress,” Tani said. Besides a meticulously edited playlist, Tani plans out his time slot so that it includes back-ground information on artists, assorted commentary, interviews and more.
He said his song selection is based on “melodic, catchy or com-plex qualities” ranging from indie rock to hip hop.
One of his current favorites is Unrest, a local ‘80s indie rock band whose lyrics appeal to him because they uses recognizable D.C. references.
When asked about consider-ing airing samples of AU students’ music and promoting fellow mu-sicians, Tani said, “WVAU would love to share [their] work.”
Tani’s audience tunes in from both the East and West coasts. Since all WVAU shows are streamed through the Inter-net, the local AU community and friends from his native California are able to listen.
However, the fact that WVAU is only accessible online also limits who can listen to it.
“It’s not available in a wide
range of locations, like with broad-casts,” Tani said.
Coming from an arts high school in Orange County, Tani easily transitioned to the music scene in D.C.
Sometimes he fi nds himself “holed up in [his] apartment, writ-ing lyrics or messing with guitar pedals” or hanging out at a con-cert at one of D.C.’s numerous small venues.
Tani appreciates that, “[shows] in D.C. are intimate [and] good shows don’t sell out as quickly,” he said.
In addition to DJing, Tani is an assistant music director for WVAU, reviewing dozens of CDs sent by promotional companies and record labels. Several of them are available in his blog at http://streamlinedreviews.wordpress.com. After review, albums deemed “good stuff” are put on “The Rack” which many DJs refer to at some point during their shows.
He also writes reviews on art, fi lm and music for The Eagle and the WVAU blog.
Tani will be the opening act at WVAU’s Capital Punishment con-cert Feb. 10.
The show will also feature two other AU acts: the dream-pop group “Western Affairs” and the jazz/afro-funk band “The Neolo-gians.”
The show starts at 8 p.m. in the Kay Spiritual Life Center Base-ment.
This piece is part of the Audible at AU Series featuring AU musi-cians.
By NICOLE CUSICK
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
What could have happened if Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass had met?
The historical drama “Neces-sary Sacrifi ces,” which made its world premiere at the Ford’s Thea-tre Jan. 26, explores this question.
This piece was the creation of playwright Richard Hellensen, who had written other plays for Ford’s Theatre such as “One Des-tiny.”
In an interview with The Eagle, Hellensen discussed his inspira-tion for the work.
“The collision of history and theatre really appealed to me, and working with Ford’s has been a good amalgamation of the two,” Hellensen said.
Directing this historical drama is Jennifer L. Nelson and portray-ing these historic icons are Craig Wallace as Douglass and David Selby as Lincoln.
Wallace was rather stoic in his portrayal, strongly conveying the struggle that Douglass endured to make it to the position of leader-ship he had as an African Ameri-can in the time of the Civil War.
In contrast Selby was rather lighthearted as Lincoln.
He provided the few instances of comic relief in the show and had a rather unique Southern-mixed-with-Midwest accent, even
though Lincoln was actually from Kentucky.
Together the two made a great pair.
The show was literally a series of conversations between them for two hours, so it was crucial that they had a strong chemistry.
The overall humor of the play was very dry. None of the jokes were funny in a contemporary sense. To fi nd humor in the show, one would have to appreciate his-torical jokes about slavery, wom-en’s rights and small pox.
Despite the rather intimate con-tent of the play and the small cast, the set was very grand.
Most of the show took place in Lincoln’s offi ce, which rolled on and off of the stage to be con-cealed behind a screen when needed for scenes that featured only Douglass or Lincoln.
The most interesting parts of the set were the two main en-trances on either side of the stage that were marked by doorframes. For no reason that would seem co-hesive to the rest of the set, there were several doorframes receding from the main ones. They odd, but not much action occurred in them to be distracting from the main ac-tion of the show.
“Necessary Sacrifi ces” will be at the Ford’s Theatre through Feb. 18.
theEAGLE SCENE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012 13
COURTESY OF T. CHARLES ERICKSON
AU DJ Max Tani moonlights as aspiring musician, set to open WVAU concert Feb. 10
Lincoln, Douglass talk history in fictional ‘Necessary Sacrifices’
COURTESY OF CHRISTINE LY
Presenters for these awards will include Jack Black, Drake, Fergie, Di-erks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ringo Starr.
Performers will include Adele, Foo Fighters, Bru-no Mars, Bruce Springs-teen and the E Street Band, Paul McCartney, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry and Tay-lor Swift. Artist pair-ups will include Jason Aldean performing for the fi rst time on the Grammys with Kelly Clarkson, and Glen Campbell performing with The Band Perry and Blake Shelton.
Along with being a per-former, Paul McCartney will also receive this year’s MusicCare’s Person of the Year award — as if knight-hood wasn’t enough.
Bon Iver will not be per-forming at the Grammys this year, or maybe any year for that matter. Recent interviews with Justin Ver-non, the front man for the critically acclaimed alterna-tive group, said the band stood up the Grammys by refusing to play during the awards ceremony. Vernon claimed the group wanted to play their own music in-stead of a collaboration or cover for the show.
All in all, the Grammys are sure to offer their fair share of amazing perfor-mances, touching wins and outfi ts that will have you wishing you had a dispos-able income. Of course, there are always some questionable performanc-es, wins and outfi ts, but that is part of the reasons to tune in. [email protected]
Grammy performers include Nicki Minaj, Adele
Continued from Page 10
LL Cool J to host music’s biggest night
theEAGLE SCENE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 201214
AUDIOPHILELooking for new music? DJs at WVAU share their thoughts on a range of recent releases.
While Of Montreal has always been a band that focused on the inner torment of frontman Kevin Barnes, “Paralytic Stalks” takes the group’s music to new levels of darkness. On the surface, however, these songs are bursting with color, as strings, fl utes, operatic vocals and swirling elec-tronics provide wonderful accents to the arrangements. This is best captured in the excellent “Dour Percentage,” which blends its whimsical woodwinds with lyr-
ics such as, “This planet is an orphanage, and it cheapens the way you and I torture each other.”
The album gets even wilder in the back half, as “Exorcism Breeding Knife” earns the dubious honor of being this album’s “Revolution 9,” while the 13 minute-long closer “Authentic Pyrrhic Remission” begins with an up-tempo groove before shifting into a long sequence of string drones. It might not be the best introduc-tion to the band, but “Paralytic Stalks” should satisfy most fans and even a few new listeners.
Recommended If You Like: The Flaming Lips, David Bowie
By CAMERON MEINDL
OF MONTREALPARALYTIC STALKS
Jack Tatum returns with his fi rst of-fi cial release since 2010’s hazy debut “Gemini.” The two-song 7”, Tatum’s fi rst release to be recorded in a studio, fea-tures a predictably healthy dose of Wild Nothing’s trademark nostalgic, reverb-drenched yearning but with a slightly more polished, mature sheen.
The single “Nowhere” distances itself from the shimmering ’80s retro synth-pop of “Gemini” for a more straightforward in-die-rock setup, complete with a melodica solo and heavily-twanged guitar lick slid-ing over the top. And, although the band’s songs still draw inspiration from 1980s UK indie acts and Slumberland twee, Tat-um’s songwriting proves itself once again as a cut above many quite good Captured Tracks releases.
RIYL: Beach Fossils, The Cure, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
By MAXWELL TANI
NOWHERE 7
WILD NOTHING
After months of thinkpieces, blog posts and debates, Lana Del Rey’s major label debut is fi nally here. Whether you were introduced to her via her much-discussed “SNL” appearance or have been follow-ing this saga since the beginning, you’ve probably already formulated an opinion on Lana Del Rey. This album is unlikely to change how you feel, as the new ma-terial here rarely deviates from the style captured on singles “Video Games” and
“Born To Die.” This strict adherence to aesthetics
proves to be the album’s biggest downfall; with track after track highlighting grandi-ose strings and Del Rey’s distinctive vocal stylings, the formula wears thin by the al-bum’s conclusion. Still, there is some sol-id material scattered throughout: “Blue Jeans” and the questionably titled “Diet Mountain Dew” are nice twists on mod-ern pop music, and “Video Games” is as good of a representation of what Del Rey is trying to accomplish here.
RIYL: Fiona Apple, (Gangsta) Nancy Sinatra, Hipster Runoff
By CAMERON MEINDL
BORN TO DIELANA DEL REY
Chairlift’s “Something” is an unapolo-getic pop-electronic album with its share of excellent moments. Those few tracks shine with unrestrained beats and an en-ergetic vocal quality that seems to fade in the remainder of the tracks. The opener,
“Sidewalk Safari,” is especially memorable and could even be considered haunting in its melodic intent.
As an album, “Something” is lacking something: energy. The standout tracks are undeniably worth a listen and provide some excellent material for those of us who love an innocent female vocal over danceable beats.
RIYL: Class Actress, Imogen Heap, Twin Sister
By SPENCER SWAN
CHAIRLIFTSOMETHING
The Kills lead onslaught at frenzied 9:30 concert
By SYDNEY GORE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
If there’s one thing vampire shows do well, it’s recruiting an attractive cast and a bloody good sto-ryline.
“The Vampire Diaries” is based on the book se-ries by L.J. Smith. The show takes place in a town called Mystic Falls, which is fi lmed in Atlanta, Ga. The main plot is a love story: girl falls in love with boy, but boy ends up being a vampire. However, the twist with this show is that there are two boys — in fact, two brothers — Ste-fan (Paul Wesley) and Da-mon (Ian Somerhalder), who are both in love with Elena (Nina Dobrev).
This supernatural soap is more than just a glori-fi ed love triangle, howev-er. The Salvatore brothers are kept busy protecting the town from good and bad vampires alike, and Elena has her own demon to fi ght in the form of her vampire doppelganger Katherine.
The fi ghts are intense, gruesome even, and there’s always blood eve-rywhere. The romances between the characters are never cheesy; they’re actually somewhat real-istic considering they’re between vampires, were-wolves, witches and hu-mans. Between “True Blood” and “Twilight,” this show falls somewhere in the middle.
In a surprising twist of circumstances this season, Stefan is the “bad boy” brother and Damon is run-ning around cleaning up his messes while simulta-neously scheming on his own. And the ever-tor-tuous question remains: Which brother will Elena choose?
Tune into the CW on Thursdays at 8 p.m. to fi nd out!
By SEAN MEEHAN
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
The Kills must have brass balls. That’s the only way to explain why any-body in their right mind would agree to follow opening acts Hunters and JEFF the Brotherhood at the 9:30 club.
By the time the fi rst two sets were over, The Kills had made themselves some pretty big shoes to fi ll. And then they fi lled them. Twice.
Immediately notice-able about Hunters, who played fi rst, was that they were a lot like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — all the way down to the sexual tension between the lead singer and lead guitar player.
Next came the realiza-tion that this chemistry wasn’t a bad thing at all.
Prowling the stage like a banshee siren, lead singer Isabel Almieda managed to pull off Karen O better than Karen O could, and in the process made the Yeah Yeah Yeahs seem tame. Almieda thrashed around the stage with energy un-seen since punk died in the ’80s. Her banshee yell didn’t sit above the music, but rather pierced straight through lead guitarist Derek Watson’s reverb-soaked riffs.
For a very short pe-riod, Hunters’ opening set seemed insurmountable for the other bands follow-ing them.
Then JEFF the Brother-hood came out.
In an industry saturat-ed with two-piece guitar/drum bands, JEFF the Brotherhood stands out simply by being louder and kicking more ass than everybody else. JEFF, composed of brothers Jake (guitar and vocals) and Jamin (drums) Orrall, exists in the insane cross-roads of punk, grunge and psych, sounding like the unruly love child of Nir-vana and the Stooges. And
they were just as loud as that sounds. It took seven people to set up their amps before their set.
By the time JEFF reached their most popu-lar song and de facto an-them “The Ripper,” a siz-able mosh pit had already formed, and even those outside of the danger zone were surging along with Jake’s riff, which was rem-iniscent of and every bit as powerful as Black Sab-bath’s “Paranoid.”
However, JEFF wasn’t all garage fuzz; every now and then Jamin would show off his jazz chops with short but great solos, which were then interrupt-ed by more garage fuzz and Iggy Pop-style vocals from his brother.
Any thoughts of The Kills being upstaged by their openers vanished as VV (Alison Mosshart) and Hotel (Jamie Hince) came out like the third and fourth horsemen of the apocalypse, heralding their arrival with full, pow-erful noise rock.
VV came out looking and sounding like a witch, howling over Hotel’s gui-tar playing, which was the kind of fuzzed-out indus-trial drone that’s usually reserved for Lou Reed at his meanest. For almost an hour, he never relented, scratching and punching his guitar into noisy feed-back-laced submission.
When he fi nally did let up, it was for a slowed-down, drone-heavy cover of Willie Nelson’s “Crazy,” representing the fi rst time that somebody has sung the lyric “I’m crazy” and had everyone in the room immediately agree. On this track and throughout the concert, VV’s vocals were spot-on, but were more often than not over-shadowed or drowned out by Hotel’s frenzied guitar attack, which like the rest of the entire show, turned out just like it should have.
TV PICK: THE VAMPIRE
DIARIES
Opinion 15TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012
AU’s Honors Program has long aspired to create a sense of community among its members, and recently that priority has become quite clear.
Since 2010, the program has been self-contained in Hughes Hall, which holds the administrative offi ces and nearly all on-campus residences of honors stu-dents. This shared physical experience may now be joined by a greater shared academic experience should administra-tors implement proposals to reduce the number of honors students and form a new core curriculum.
The desire to form a bond among hon-ors students is more than understanda-ble, and it is an admirable goal. However, the Honors Program must recognize that it pursues this sense of community with the risk of isolating itself from the larger University.
First, the reduction of the program’s size, while certainly making it more ex-clusive and likely prestigious, is a change that should not be underestimated. Cur-rently, each incoming freshman class typically includes around 200 honors stu-dents. In the future, this number would be reduced to about 80.
Not only would there be fewer honors students, but their curriculum would re-
inforce this sense of Honors unity. The Honors Curriculum Task Force has pro-posed a core curriculum consisting of two writing and two research-based courses that would be taken during students’ freshman and sophomore years.
A sense of community is important, there’s no arguing that. And academic prestige is something that should always be associated with an Honors Program.
But in search of the two, the task force cannot lose sight of the fact that part of the overall college experience is social. Living and taking classes with the same handful of students increases the possibil-ity that these honors students might be-come separated from the other 6,000 AU
undergraduates.Beyond this, these changes don’t fully
address one of the Honors Program’s more signifi cant problems: the lack of course options for non-SIS/non-SPA ma-jors. As it stands, students with less popu-
lar majors must supplement the majority of their honors courses if they are to re-ceive honors credit. Unfortunately, the task force does not seem to recommend the expansion of honors classes in a vari-ety of majors.
Administrators may contend that the research and writing courses were estab-lished to address exactly that: to create a multidisciplinary environment for honors students of all majors. However, it is likely
that students of AU’s most popular pro-grams, SIS and SPA, would still dominate these courses, increasing the possibility that course content will eschew other stu-dents.
One of the selling points of the Honors Program has always been that it opens more possibilities to it members. Yet by requiring set courses for all students without convincingly addressing the lack of course diversity, administrators are giving the impressing that Honors is re-stricting academic possibilities. Current honors students would say this isn’t the case, and we hope this doesn’t become the case in future.
Clearly, the effects of any change in the Honors Program will be extensive. Therefore, as always, The Eagle stresses the need for student input.
Yes, these changes did originate from an Honors focus group made of both stu-dents and staff. However, administrators should gauge reaction from all students by establishing an open comment period. That way, before any rules are changed, their lasting effects can be fully under-stood. !E
MAKING HONORABLE CHANGES?STAFF EDITORIAL
The effects of any change in the Honors Program will be extensive. Therefore, we stress the need
for student input.
We’re all lucky to live in our nation’s capital of rhet-oric. A rhetorical capital, if you will.
New York might have publishing, Los Angeles screenwriting, but D.C., has language. The past two weeks have show-cased the importance of good rhetoric, as Presi-dent Obama’s State of the Union is a prime example of the language of politics.
Rhetorical disclaimer: I’m a big fan of Obama’s public speaking ability. I do fi nd his speech pattern to be a tad reminiscent of Captain Kirk, but he cer-tainly knows how to be ef-fective verbally.
One of the most promi-
nent rhetorical devices is anaphora; Obama heavily relied on it two weeks ago.
Anaphora involves the repetition of a word or phrase several times, usu-ally at the beginning of clauses, to instill in the au-dience the importance of the following statement.
It’s not a very diffi cult device. It’s easy to hear and understand, but the emphasis is made.
Anaphora has a power-ful effect on audiences.
Obama repeated, “I will not” three times in three sentences when tackling the issue of jobs.
The use of “we will” fi ve times in fi ve sequen-tial statements not only emphasizes the urgency
we hear in that repetition; it also creates a sense of unity. This is not Obama calling on Congress or ex-plaining his plans happen, this is a call to the Ameri-can people.
Anaphora is effective because of how the hu-man ear functions. We learn language through repetition. Obama’s words become ingrained in our minds in the same way.
Of course, for every brilliant move with words, there is another less ef-fective rhetorical device waiting in the wings. This columnist isn’t even sure exactly what to call the “house of cards” portion of the speech or the “cry-ing over spilt milk” move,
but the nearest name I can fi nd for them is cliché.
The house of cards reference is something mobile and the collapse evoked at least mirrors the actual economic crisis referred to, but I’m still shaking my head at the spilt milk incident.
Clichés do occasion-ally have their place, but certain phrases are groan-inducing for a reason. I ap-plaud the use of humor in politics, but I don’t think his audience knew how to react. Being a good Mid-western girl, I agree that milk spills are not on the level of oil spills, but I must protest a phrase that’s — since we’re using clichés — as old as the hills.
On a personal note, I loved how the broadcast-ers cut to Michelle shaking her head at her husband’s folly after that remark.
I like to imagine that,
as he was practicing in a White House mirror, she called to him that he should cut that bit out. It’s reassuring to know that at least the politics of a union don’t change regardless of what a partner’s job title is.
Then there was the whole “bringing America back” sentiment with which Obama concluded his speech.
The fi rst thing I thought of was JT’s “bringing sexy back.” An unusual parallel, I admit. I remember hear-ing that song and think-ing, “I didn’t know sexy went anywhere,” and upon hearing Obama’s address I thought, “I didn’t know America went anywhere.”
I don’t think it was his intention, but that’s what I heard. The nation is trou-bled economically and so-cially, and the speech laid out plans on how to fi x the problems facing the Un-
ion. However I don’t think telling the nation we’ve lost our place in the world is an effective way of encourag-ing us to work to make it better. It’s not even totally a rhetorical problem. It just could have been han-dled in such a way that didn’t seem like Obama lost faith in America.
Nevertheless, if Shake-speare was right and all the world is a stage, Obama certainly knows his lines.
In a way, politics is act-ing and acting is all about how one performs the script. In both instances, the speaker needs effec-tive delivery as well as ef-fective rhetoric.
Did Obama convince the nation?
Only time will tell.
Francesca Morizio is double major in CAS and Kogod.
FRANCESCA MORIZIO | SPEAK MY LANGUAGE
The State of the Rhetoric
The Student Worker Alliance delivered this letter to all of the school deans and department heads this past Tuesday. The deans also received a copy of a student petition with over 250 signatures calling on the Uni-versity to stop interfering in the
adjunct unionization process. Hello,We are writing to you today
to express a serious concern that we have with the recent actions of the University with regards to the organizing cam-paign among adjunct profes-
sors. The signatures contained within the petitions delivered to the deans of each school repre-sent the collective voice of the student body on this issue, and this letter is meant to expand upon their signatures.
We fi nd the University’s lack of neutrality throughout the organizing campaign to be ex-tremely problematic. Though the administration has on mul-tiple occasions stated that it “respects faculty rights to free-dom of association, expression and participation in democratic
Continued on Page 17
theEAGLE OPINION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 201216
What were you doing last Wednesday at 8 p.m.? Getting out of class? Maybe grabbing a bite at the Tavern?
Well, if you weren’t online reserving your Founders Day Ball tickets, or even if you were, chances are you didn’t get any. By 8:01 p.m., all 575 undergraduate tickets had been reserved.
You probably knew that al-ready. What you might not know, however, is that AU just went through this same story not too long ago.
In 2009, the ball was held in an expensive, high-profi le venue: the Mellon Auditorium in Federal Tri-angle.
Six hundred tickets sold out within hours. Two hundred more students packed a waiting list.
As the situation became con-tentious, two undergraduate sena-tors led the charge to pass a bill di-recting the Student Government to make more tickets available.
The bill was controversial, with executives calling it “unfair,” “un-necessary” and “slanderous.” But the Senate passed it with an 18-2 vote, and the SG managed to make an additional 250 tickets available, thanks in part to a sur-plus of Student Activity Fee rev-enue that year.
Of course, I can certainly rec-ognize that planning an event of this scope is incredibly diffi cult. And as far as Founders Day Balls go, the SG doesn’t have much re-cent precedent to follow.
The 2008 ball doubled as Presi-dent Kerwin’s inauguration ball and hosted 1,000 students, thus ruling it out of comparison.
The 2010 ball didn’t even take place due to the unprecedented incompetence of SG that year.
But SG did put on a successful ball in 2011 and did a lot of things
right to get there. The venue, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, was nice but not excessive. The tickets were cheaper than in prior years. And, most importantly, 600 tick-ets were available and a limited amount was sold each day to en-sure the event wouldn’t sell out immediately.
Surely, this year SG executives could have anticipated a higher demand for such a high-profi le venue as the Library of Congress before they decided to open the event to all undergraduates, grad-uates, staff and alumni; make the tickets free; and make all of them available online at the same time.
Regardless of what attendance numbers in the past may have been, this year’s Founders Day was promoted as being about bringing the AU community to-gether. Yet 675 attendees repre-sent only about 10 percent of AU’s undergraduate students alone.
Also, the $90,000 budget for this event represents $133 being spent per student attendee. That sounds like quite an expensive dinner. I can think of many other ways in which that money could be spent to benefi t the entire stu-dent body as a whole.
At the end of the day, though, the problems plaguing Founders Day are not attributable to its or-ganizers as much as they are to the system in which the SG exists.
American University is so en-tangled in its own bureaucracy that it fails to ensure effectively that the SG is using its 72 percent portion of our Student Activity Fee effi ciently and transparent-ly. It is my hope that the SG will learn from this experience and ensure that future Founders Days are more effi cient, more open and administered in a more equitable manner.
In the meantime, let’s all keep our fi ngers crossed that the SG can fi nd some meaningful solution to this year’s bibbidi-bobbidi-boo-boo.
Douglas Bell is a junior in the School of Communication.
It was around this time last year that I was busily stapling up Teach For America fl yers around AU’s campus and tweet-ing statistics about the achieve-ment gap on the hour to adver-tise for the fi nal TFA application deadline.
Although I learned a tre-mendous amount about Teach For America as an organization while working as a recruiter at American last year, I had abso-lutely no idea what I was getting myself into this year as a TFA Corps Member in Milwaukee.
From the minute I walked into the classroom on the fi rst day of school, my life drastically changed.
I teach 7th and 8th grade so-cial studies and math in a Mil-waukee charter school.
Ninety-nine percent of my students receive free lunch each day, and our school lacks most resources that are readily found in suburban Wisconsin school districts.
After a few days on the job, it was clear that my students were seriously lacking in basic math and reading skills. Unfor-tunately, this is the reality for thousands of other students liv-ing in Milwaukee.
With only 39 percent of stu-dents “at or above basic” in reading by fourth grade and only 59 percent above basic in math, the educational land-scape in this town is awfully grim.
Despite their struggles with literacy, my students proved to me early on that they know how to think critically.
It was a mind-blowing transi-tion from learning about race and the justice system in a Ward classroom to hearing my students share brilliant refl ec-tions about the racial injustices they encounter on a daily basis in Milwaukee.
We talk about “power” in my Civics class, about which groups have it and which groups don’t. It broke my heart when my students were not one bit surprised when I told them Wisconsin has the larg-est black-white achievement gap and Milwaukee is the most segregated city in the United States.
“Ms. Merkwae, that’s bogus … but we can’t really do any-thing about it,” tended to be the phrase I heard most from my kids.
That’s where they’re wrong. AU has prepared me to mold
civically conscious minds here in Milwaukee. Teach For Amer-ica gave me the opportunity to show 7th and 8th grade stu-dents that they do have power in society, that they can change their life prospects by making education a top priority, and that they are completely capa-ble of changing the world like the leaders we learned about in class.
My students know the Bill of Rights like the back of their hands. They can explain the im-portance of allies in creating so-cial change, like the thousands supportive of Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement. They can analyze the differenc-es between the philosophies of
Dr. King and Malcolm X and de-cide for themselves whose ap-proach to civil rights they agree with more. I could not be more proud of my students.
I’ll be honest—it wasn’t al-ways easy to get out of bed each morning. The fi rst few months as a corps member were bru-tal. I got very little sleep, I had never worked harder in my en-tire life, and I still felt like I was getting nowhere with my kids.
But when friends back in D.C. heard what I was going through, the support from my friends and the AU community was unbelievable. Every day I would get a new box full of sup-plies, a case of printer paper or an inspirational “thinking-of-you” card.
AU friend and TFA D.C. Corps Member Meg Miraglia (SPA ’11) sent me boxes full of curriculum resources along with inspirational quotes to hang in my classroom and my apartment.
As I fl y out the door with pho-tocopies, laptop and coffee mug in hand each morning, I catch a glimpse of one quote hanging on the back of my door. It reads, “Smile, you’re going to learn something today.”
Ain’t that the truth. Every day is an adventure, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to take part in the movement that TFA has started.
As you consider whether or not to apply to Teach For Amer-ica’s fi nal deadline, I encourage you to think about my students in Milwaukee and the millions of other students across the country that are shortchanged by the educational system in the United States.
Let’s give them the educa-tion they deserve.
Amanda Merkwae (SPA ’11)
DOUGLAS BELL | WRITER OF OUR DISCONTENTS
Evaluating the Founders’ Day debacle
OP-ED
The hard-earned rewards of Teach for America
Bell turns a critical eye to the dispersal
of Founders’ Day Ball tickets
An open letter to the University community
OP-ED
theEAGLE OPINION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012 17
I didn’t get tickets to President Clinton’s speech a couple weeks ago. A buddy offered an extra, but I told him I had more interesting things to ac-complish, like lounging in the hot tub at the pool at Wilson High School in Tenleytown.
I don’t think I missed much, save for the typical liberal fawning over a man who carries the capital D. That could be taken a cou-ple of different ways, but you know what I mean.
The Eagle’s twitter feed giddily streamed live snip-pets from the event, and many AU students gushed at Clinton’s charisma in the Twittersphere as well. Stu-dents clamored for tickets, hoping to catch a glimpse of the magnanimous NAF-TA signatory.
Remember NAFTA, the agreement largely respon-sible for shipping manufac-turing jobs overseas, the very agreement that con-tinues to hamper employ-ment in this country today?
Yeah, yeah, well at least he supported equal rights, you say.
President Clinton signed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the Defense of
Marriage Act. Not like there’s anything abnormal about awarding the individ-ual culpable for stymieing equal rights at perhaps the most LGBTQ-friendly uni-versity in the nation, right?
Students didn’t notice. Hold on a minute, those
were different times, you say. Equal rights weren’t trendy then — they’re not timeless virtues — they’re fashionable now, like UGG boots.
Naturally, The Eagle’s editorial was also seduced by Clinton’s “grace,” call-ing him “brilliant” and “inspiring,” while trying to “bask in the lingering glow.”
You could mop the fl oor with the obsequious drool.
I could continue, but let’s turn our attention to another orator who com-mands fellow Democrats into servile robocalls.
President Obama spoke to the nation last month as college Democrats gath-ered in Mary Graydon Center to applaud atten-tively.
Our constitutional scholar-in chief, who never met a civil liberty he didn’t want to dismantle, received copious admiration.
And what’s not to like? Nothing spells freedom like compulsory education, invading and bombing na-tions across the globe and mandatory private health insurance.
Wait, at least Obama is a stalwart for the lower- and middle-class, you say. Did I even listen to the speech, you ask?
As president, Obama extended President Bush’s tax cuts for millionaires. As senator, he voted to bail out the banks (TARP) with scarcely a stipulation. Obama is responsible for prosecuting petty drug of-fenses with alacrity that would make Pat Buchanan blush. He’s deported more illegal immigrants than any president. Ever.
Sounds like a freedom-supporting progressive to me.
And the answer is yes. I did watch the State of the Union with a liberal friend who said midway: “He’s just such a good-hearted man.”
Right. Hail to the chief. Wonder if she thought the same of Bush?
I’m unsure how to re-spond to this type of blind obedience, aside from los-
ing all hope in humanity by drowning myself in bub-bles at the hot tub.
Obama, not a liberal or a progressive, still garners affection from his gullible constituents.
It’s easy to understand how ruthless dictators won over the masses. In-dividuals need to believe in someone. They want so earnestly to believe; they ignore empirical evidence in favor of sound bites.
They’re great listeners, but not-so-great analysts.
Clinton and Obama mesmerize and bamboozle Democrats, while they si-multaneously and deliber-ately unravel the very val-ues Democrats supposedly represent. This must elicit quite a chuckle when the dupes vote and mail them checks.
Capitulation is an ac-quired skill cultivated by the average liberal or progressive. We witness it daily from President Hope-Change. We saw it under President Clinton. Yet their constituents cling onto their hero’s perora-tion, longing for promises to be morphed into reality.
Just listen to the man, you say. Can’t you tell he’s on our side?
Sure, totally. Conor Shapiro is a gradu-ate student in the School of International Service.
CONOR SHAPIRO | SMARTER THAN I LOOK
Drooling over Democrats
processes, including the right to unionize,” we have not seen this to be the case in practice.
Specifi cally, we are con-cerned with two actions taken by the University. The fi rst is the retention of the notorious anti-union law fi rm Epstein Becker and Green, the cost of which is sure to exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of the unionization process. As students, we are very concerned with how our tuition dollars are being spent and condemn the use of university funds in efforts to stagnate demo-cratic rights. We are con-fused as to why the admin-istration would rather pay lawyers to fi ght the union instead of paying profes-sors their due. We encour-age the University to open its fi nancial books and re-lease the amount spent in retention of Epstein Beck-er and Green.
Furthermore, we are concerned with the dis-tribution of memoranda and fl yers to the adjunct community outlining what the University sees as un-certainties if the union is
elected. The uncertainty of these situations rests solely on the University. We see the distribution of these materials as happen-ing out of a sincere disre-gard for the democratic process of forming a union and goes against all of our university’s stated values.
We hope that, when the election concludes, the administration will make the responsible decision to respect the results of the election and not chal-lenge them through the courts. We think that, with cooperation from the ad-ministration, the union can bring positive change to the way in which adjunct faculty are treated at our university and the results will be benefi cial for every-one within our community, especially students.
If you wish to follow up on this letter, you may email us at [email protected]
Thank You,
AU Student Worker Alli-ance
Student Worker Alliance advocates for union
Continued from Page 16
Eagle Rants Go ahead, speak your mind. We’ll probably print it.
Can the female Undergrad Senators please fi gure out that “business attire” does not mean wearing hiked up skirts that show off your business? Keep it classy, not trashy, ladies.
New hotties in the Sen-ate...never thought I would ever say that before.
Who’s the kid on the Quad with the embroidered Air Force One fl ight jacket? He’s lookin’ fi nnneee. You can call my red phone any-time.
Being in a new member in a sorority is like being at-tacked by love and atten-tion.
Dear Editor, Be my valentine? Sincerely, You ate all my gummies [Editor’s note: OK : ) ]
Please don’t be a les-bian. Please don’t be dat-ing. Please be mine. I’ve fallen for you. Please just catch me. Don’t let me be crushed.
I like you too much. Any time you want to stop be-ing so nice and charm-ing is good with me, you wonker.
Confession: I spilled lucky charms in the elevator in Hughes
The girl at the front desk of my building with the long red hair is incred-ibly beautiful. I wish I had the courage to talk to her more :(
That awkward moment in Spanish class when your teacher is clarifying in-structions (in spanish) and one of your classmates stands up and begins read-ing them thinking he was asked to read them aloud. We’ve all been there. Span-ish miscommunications.
My feet don’t touch the ground when I sit on the AU Shuttle. HELP.
New policy at AU for guys: Gay until proven straight.
soooo ronery.
Dear Anonymous Ranter, President McBride’s sig-nifi cant other didn’t get a ticket. I doubt any of his “cronies” did. Love, The signifi cant other
Gretchen, stop trying to make Wonk happen, it’s not gonna happen!
I love my Disney Princess gummy vitamins. They make me feel special each morning when I take them.
dear girl I’ve been having sex with, You’re good at the sex. sincerely, guy you’ve been having sex with [Editor’s Note: Get it girl]
Explore-a-dore the vend-ing machines! No regular lemonade? Anywhere? Sad face. D:
By ERIC SALTZMAN
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Perhaps no AU athlete exem-plifi es the term “Big Man on Cam-pus” quite like senior wrestler Ryan Flores.
The heavyweight has been ranked No. 1 in the nation since December and is carrying a per-fect 10-0 record on the season.
Flores’ most recent accom-plishment came Jan. 20, when he pinned North Carolina State’s Josh Davis in a remarkable 24 sec-onds for the fastest pin of his AU career.
“I think physically, I have been in a good place,” Flores said. “Mentally, I have been in a good place. I’ve been trying to stay healthy and stay strong. I think that’s going to be a separating thing for myself this year.”
In his two years at AU, Flores has post-ed an impres-sive 35-6 record while earning Al l -Amer ican status. Last sea-son, as the No. 3 wrestler in the country, he became AU’s second NCAA Finalist after narrowly losing to Lehigh Uni-versity’s Zach Rey in the championship bout.
The 2010-2011 season saw Flo-res win the EIWA championship. In the Midlands Championship that year, Flores beat the then-No. 2 and No. 4 ranked wrestlers en route to a third place fi nish.
“Once you meet Ryan and see what he’s all about, it doesn’t take a lot to see this guy wants to be a national champion,” AU Head Coach Teague Moore said. “He wants to be the best of the best.”
As a junior, Flores had a streak of 11 straight victories, including eight triumphs over opponents ranked in the top fi ve. In total, he fi nished the year with 11 victories over top fi ve opponents.
Flores transferred to AU after two seasons at Columbia Universi-ty, where he posted a 45-12 record over two seasons with the Lions.
In high school, Flores was a four-year letterman at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif. In college, Flores garnered many awards, including two state titles and two All-American honors.
But for all of Flores’ excellence on the mat, his excellence in the classroom is equally as impres-sive. A psychology major, Flores registered the third highest GPA among Division I wrestlers and was named a NWCA Academic All-American in 2011.
“If I can lead on the wrestling mat, there is no reason I can’t lead in academics as well,” Flores said. “That’s really important to me.”
Flores’ success has been part of an Eagle wrestling team ranked No. 11 in the country and featur-ing three other wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their respective weight classes.
“I am re-ally a lead-by-example type person,” Flores said. “I make sure fi rst and foremost I’m doing the right things for me, and then it also puts me in a position where I can tell other people when they are do-ing something wrong.”
Flores’ dedication in his work-outs has translated into victories on the mat.
“When we go through our workouts, we rarely have to tell guys in our room to crank it up,” Moore said. “They are pushing at max pace when we get to those workouts, and Ryan is a great ex-ample.”
Despite what Flores has accom-plished, he still has his eye on the ultimate prize: his fi rst national championship. Should he win the title, he would join Josh Glenn as the only other Eagle to take home the award.
“In the end, it doesn’t matter what happened in the season,” Flores said. “It’s all about getting to the fi nals and winning a nation-al championship.”
By JOSH PAUNIL
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
ESPN anchor and AU alum-nus Bram Weinstein (SOC ’95) visited campus Feb. 2 to speak to the AU community, visit a production class and be a guest on the Jeff Jones Radio Show.
“It’s an honor to be invited back to your alma mater, so I took advantage of it,” Weinstein said. “I love coming home, and I had such a great experience at AU.”
Weinstein also saw the AU men’s basketball team prac-tice and was accompanied by Director of Athletics Keith Gill throughout the day.
“I thought the whole day was wonderful,” Gill said. “It was great having an alum like Bram who’s so accomplished being here and providing a lot of in-sight and knowledge to the stu-dents so when they start their careers, they can learn from his experiences.”
The culminating event of Weinstein’s visit was when he spoke to the AU community at the Katzen Arts Center. For nearly two hours, he discussed his road to ESPN and the les-sons he has learned during his sports journalism career and answered over a dozen ques-tions from the audience.
“It was a very unique expe-rience,” said Kogod freshman Chris Grassano. “Getting in-sight from someone like him who works at ESPN was pretty cool.”
Weinstein covered a myriad of topics during his on-stage discussion with Gill and Jones, from funny stories about ESPN to his career before working in Bristol, Conn., and his time at AU.
“Bram is so affable, open and honest,” Gill said. “He wasn’t guarded at all, and hear-ing about his experiences was neat.”
Some of the highlights from the two-hour event included when the on-stage trio talked about their favorite ESPN com-mercial, when Weinstein gave advice to AU students about job hunting and when he said whom he enjoys anchoring shows with the most.
Weinstein cited the Evander Holyfi eld ad as his favorite ESPN commercial, said per-sistence is the key in fi nding a
job and that Linda Cohn is his favorite co-anchor because of how funny she is.
Weinstein’s father also told a few funny stories about him at the end of the event.
“I liked that Jeff Jones had to ask me questions,” Weinstein said, laughing. “That’s such an unusual position to be in. That was fun that he did that. I just enjoyed talking about my expe-riences and hope that everyone gets to follow in whatever they want to follow.”
One of the fi rst things Wein-stein did after coming to cam-pus Thursday morning was make an in-studio guest appear-ance for the Jeff Jones Radio Show that aired Feb. 4. The two discussed everything from preparation for ESPN shows to his superstitions.
“For me, the highlight of Bram’s visit was having him on the radio show,” Jones said. “I had a chance to talk to him off-air, laugh and talk about a lot of things.”
From morning to night, Weinstein had a busy day on campus, and made many guest appearances while reaching out to the AU community.
“I’ll come back any time they want,” Weinstein said. “Any time they ask, I’ll be happy to come back.”
theEAGLE SPORTS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 201218
RACHEL DEVOR / THE EAGLE
ESPN SportsCenter anchor and AU alumnus Bram Weinstein discussed his career path and the future of sports journalism at a Feb. 2 event hosted by AU Athletics in the Katzen Arts Center.
Weinstein returns to AU community
“Once you meet Ryan and see what he’s all
about, it doesn’t take a lot to see this guy wants to be
a national champion.”- AU Head Coach Teague Moore
No. 1 wrestler Flores has his eyes set on a national championship
ESPN anchor participates in
discussion, guest stars on the Jeff
Jones Radio Show
By SAMANTHA RAPHELSON
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
The AU wrestling team pushed its dual meet re-cord back to the .500 mark with wins over Bingham-ton University in Vestal, N.Y., and Bucknell Univer-sity in Lewisburg, Pa.
The Eagles recorded six decisions en route to defeating Binghamton 18-15 Feb. 3, before tak-ing down EIWA opponent Bucknell 23-13 Feb. 5.
No. 1 Flores breaks tie at Binghamton
The Eagles picked up the victory in the 10-bout match that saw neither side hold more than a three-point advantage.
After falling behind by two points early in the ninth bout, No. 19 Daniel Mitchell came back with four consecutive points to edge Binghamton’s Cody Reed 5-3.
With the dual tied at 15 apiece entering the fi nal bout, top-ranked Ryan Flo-res earned the victory for the Eagles when he took down No. 19 Nick Gwiaz-dowski, 8-1.
Flores earned two points in the fi rst period and gained a 5-0 lead in the second with an escape and a takedown before picking up the seven-point win.
The Eagles and Bear-cats began the match with two victories each. AU’s Thomas Williams started off the night with a 5-3 de-cision at 125 pounds, while No. 15 Matt Mariacher
won at 141 pounds. Corey Borshoff and
Kevin Tao both came up short against Bingham-ton’s Patrick Hunter and No. 4 Donald Vinson, re-spectively.
No. 3 Ganbayar Sanjaa won the 157-pound match for the Eagles, defeating No. 10 Justin Lister, 5-3. Sanjaa recorded a take-down in the third period to pick up the win in the high-ly anticipated matchup.
AU picks up EIWA victory
The Eagles never trailed in the win over Bucknell, jumping out with four straight victories to take an early 17-0 lead over the Bison.
Flores gave AU six points at the outset fol-lowing a forfeit at heavy-weight, while Williams earned a 4-3 decision at 125 pounds for the Eagles.
Borshoff and Mariach-er then followed with back-to-back victories, defeating their opponents 9-0 and 10-2, respectively.
The Bison then came back to win the next four contests of the day. Among these victories was Buck-nell’s Corey Lear defeating Sanjaa 8-5 at 165 pounds when the AU grappler wrestled up a weight class.
With the Eagles in front 17-13, Thomas Barreiro and Daniel Mitchell se-cured the dual victory by posting two wins in their matchups.
The Eagles will next compete at the National Duals Regional Feb. 12 in Ithaca, N.Y. Competitors will include Cornell Uni-versity, Central Michigan University, Purdue Univer-sity, the University of Okla-homa and the University of Illinois.
theEAGLE SPORTS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012 19
Women’s basketball @ Lehigh at 7 p.m.
Men’s basketball vs. Lehigh at 7 p.m.
No games scheduled
Women’s basketball vs. Holy Cross at 2 p.m.
Men’s basketball @ Holy Cross at 2 p.m.
Women’s lacrosse vs. Wales at noon
(Exhibition)
Women’s lacrosse vs. Villanova at 2 p.m.
(Exhibition)
Wrestling @ National Duals Regional at 10 a.m.
FEB. 8FEB. 9FEB. 10FEB. 11
FEB. 12
Patriot LeagueStandings
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL American 8-0 PL, 16-6
Lehigh 6-2 PL, 13-9
Navy 5-3 PL, 12-10
Army 5-3 PL, 11-12
Holy Cross 4-4 PL, 13-10
Lafayette 2-6 PL, 8-15
Colgate 2-6 PL, 5-18
Bucknell 0-8 PL, 2-21
MEN’S BASKETBALLBucknell 8-0 PL, 18-6
Lehigh 6-2 PL, 18-6
American 6-2 PL, 15-8
Lafayette 5-3 PL, 10-13
Army 3-5 PL, 10-13
Holy Cross 3-5 PL, 9-13
Colgate 1-7 PL, 7-16
Navy 0-8 PL, 3-19
Wrestling records two road victories
Corey Borshoff split his two weekend matches for the Ea-gles, who will next head to the National Duals Regional.
COURTESY OF AU EAGLES
Eagles open February with wins over Binghamton and Bucknell to
even dual recordSchedule
Sports 20TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012
WrestlingGet to know AU’s heavyweight star Ryan Flores 18
ESPN at AUESPN anchor Bram
Weinstein visits campus 18
By ARIEL FERNANDEZ
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING
WRITER
The AU women’s bas-ketball team remained unbeaten in the Patriot League by cruising past Colgate University 70-47 Feb. 4 at Bender Arena.
The Eagles set the pace right off the bat, with Lisa Strack scoring the game’s fi rst points in what would be a strong offensive per-formance for the senior. Strack netted a game-high 18 points while going 6-9 from the fi eld and 6-7 from the foul line.
Jen Dumiak helped Strack out with 10 points, while also contributing four rebounds, two steals and four assists.
“Her handles have im-proved, and her decision making has gotten better,” AU Assistant Coach Belle Koclanes said of Dumiak.
Jhazmine Lynch paced the Raiders with 12 points while going 6-6 from the line.
AU had all the momen-tum early in the game, penetrating consistently and holding the Raiders to single digits until 8:48 remained in the fi rst half.
As has been the theme all season, the Eagles forced turnovers and con-verted them into points. Colgate had 21 turnovers, and the Eagles totaled 34 points off the miscues for the afternoon.
Alexis Dobbs and Eb-ony Edwards led AU in steals with four and three, respectively.
The Eagles jumped out to a 29-7 lead midway through the fi rst half, but the Raiders fought back to cut the defi cit. Colgate be-gan to tighten its defense, slowing down AU’s scor-ing and closing the gap to 34-23 Eagles at the half.
“We expected it,” Ko-clanes said of Colgate’s surge. “However, we don’t want other teams to dic-tate us. We want to be in the driver’s seat.”
The Raiders trailed 34-27 three minutes into the second half, as they con-tinued to put the clamps on the AU offense. In over 12 minutes of game time spanning the fi rst and sec-ond halves, AU scored just fi ve points.
But the Eagles quickly got back on track, going on an 11-2 run to extend their lead to 45-29. Strack accounted for nine of the team’s 11 points during
the key spurt. AU main-tained a large lead from then, as Colgate never closed to within 14 points down the stretch.
“We focused on tran-sition defense,” Strack said. “Our goal [became] getting the ball stopped early.”
Colgate shot 35 per-cent from the fi eld for the game and went just 7-23 in the second half.
AU has started the second leg of the Patriot League conference sched-ule with a resounding win, but will now face a tough test in its next game.
The Eagles will travel
to Bethlehem, Pa., Feb. 8 to take on Lehigh Uni-versity, who is in second place in the conference at 6-2.
The Eagles defeated the Mountain Hawks 55-49 Jan. 11 at Bender Arena behind a balanced offensive attack. In that contest, the Eagles had four double-digit scorers, with Sarah Kiely and Eb-ony Edwards leading the way with 12 points apiece.
By JACK KERNOCHAN
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Charles Hinkle drained a clutch, go-ahead 3-pointer with 28.8 seconds remaining, and the AU men’s basketball team hung on for a 59-58 win over Colgate Univer-sity Feb. 4 in Hamilton, N.Y.
Hinkle’s late triple was one of fi ve for him on the night, as he recorded a game-high 23 points. Troy Brewer chipped in nine points and both Daniel Munoz and Tony Wroblicky added fi ve rebounds for the Eagles (15-8, 6-2 PL). Mike Ven-ezia led Colgate (7-16, 1-7 PL) with 13 points.
With 1:47 to play and the Eagles trailing 52-51, Riley Grafft slammed home a pass from Troy Brewer to give AU a one-point advantage. But Ven-ezia promptly responded with a couple of free throws for Colgate, and the Eagles once again found themselves in a one-point hole with less than 90 seconds remain-ing.
Hinkle continued to have the hot hand after an empty possession for the Eagles, burying his fourth 3-pointer to re-claim the lead for AU at 56-54 with 1:11 to play.
The Raiders burned a timeout, and Venezia came right back with a 3-pointer of his own 10 seconds later to give the Raiders a 57-56 edge.
Hinkle would not be denied, as the senior calmly drilled his fi fth and fi nal trey of the night to pull AU in front 59-57 in the game’s closing mo-ments.
With 15 seconds to go, Wroblicky fouled Col-
gate’s Sterling Melville, sending him to the line for two shots. Melville converted 1-2 to make it 59-58 Eagles.
Blake Jolivette’s turnover on the ensuing inbound pass gave the Raiders one fi nal chance for the win, but Mitch Rolls couldn’t connect on a 3-point attempt with three seconds left.
The game was tight throughout, as neither team was ever able to pull away. After a back-and-forth fi rst half, the Eagles headed to the locker room with a slim 25-24 advantage.
Midway through the second half, AU built up a seven point lead after Simon McCormack’s lay-up and a 3-pointer from Hinkle. This was the Ea-gles’ largest lead of the afternoon, and it didn’t last long.
The Raiders promptly answered with a 12-2 run, giving them a 52-49 lead with 3:34 left and setting up the game’s thrilling fi nal minutes.
A key factor in the win for the Eagles was strong shooting. AU shot 54 percent from 3-point range (7-13) and a solid 44 percent from the fi eld (25-57).
Colgate, while shoot-ing 41 percent from the fi eld (19-46), hit just four of 14 attempts from downtown.
The Eagles will return to Bender Arena for the fi rst time since Jan. 21 to take on Lehigh Universi-ty Feb. 9. The two teams are tied for second place in the Patriot League with both holding 6-2 records in conference play. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. [email protected]
Eagles coast to 70-47 winHinkle leads AU to narrow victory
Lisa Strack tallied 18 points to lead AU to a dominating win over Colgate.RACHEL DEVOR / THE EAGLE