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Thursday, Mar. 31 edition of The ParthenonTRANSCRIPT
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Thursday, March 31, 2011Marshall University’s Student Newspaper marshallparthenon.com
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Volume 114 I No. 110
News .......................... 2Sports ........................ 3Opinion ....................... 4Cartoon ...................... 5Life ............................. 6
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Big Sandy Arena
renovations long
overdue
Page 4
University College hosts
majors fair
Page 2
“Greek” protrays
realities of Greek life
Page 6
Marshall looks to
replace last year’s
starting quarterback
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BY ASHLEY MANNONTHE PARTHENON
� e Big Sandy Superstore Arena will be closed most of the summer for seating replacement and other renovations.
Deron Runyon, � nance director for the city of Huntington, said the renovations are estimated to cost $4.6 million.
“We’re talking about a pretty substantial amount of development that needs to happen over there,” Run-yon said. “For seating and for some other items.”
� e replacement of seating is the main focus of the renovation. Runyon said the plastic seats have been replaced once since the arena was built in 1977. But this time, the entire mechanism will be replaced, in-cluding the metal the chairs are attached to and the system allowing seating to be folded away. � e new seating system will be similar to the current one.
Runyon said two bids are currently being reviewed for the seating project. He said he anticipates a de-cision of which bid is a better choice will be made within the next month.
Steve Kessick, director of operations for the Big Sandy Superstore Arena, said the seating project will take over the arena for the majority of the summer.
“We’re going to be demo-ing out the old seats start-ing about June 15 and lasting until June 30,” Kessick said. “And we’re going to have the new seats going in through the middle of September, barring any complications.”
Kessick said coils for the building’s heating and cooling will be replaced, along with the implemen-tation of better temperature controls. He said a new boiler will be purchased to replace the current one, which is almost 35 years old.
Runyon said a special opportunity allowed the city to receive economic development bonds speci� ed for projects.
“� ey’re part of the Recovery Act that President Obama passed in 2010,” Runyon said. “A portion of the interest costs is paid for by the federal govern-ment. � e interest cost, I think 45 percent of that cost, is paid for by the federal taxpayers. So that made the ability to issue the bonds that much more a� ord-able for the city.”
“Piping will be cleaned and areas of the � oor re-paired,” Kessick said, “so the arena is prepared to have an ice rink if the opportunity arises.”
“Basically, it’s some housekeeping and getting it back in shape,” Kessick said. “So if we have an ice show, or stars on ice, to come.”
Kessick said the possibility of an ice rink is not cer-tain at this time. He said a suitor, such as a hockey team, is � rst needed before an ice rink can happen. Kessick said at this time, no one has approached the arena about that, but they want to be prepared.
“We don’t want to have a shut door,” Kessick said. “What we’re doing is basically prep work, making
Big Sandy Arena to close for renovations
See RENOVATIONS I 5
MARCUS CONSTANTINO | THE PARTHENON
Big Sandy Arena will begin undergoing renovations estimating to $4.6 million. The changes will involve replacing the seating, better heating and cooling and repaired fl oors.
BY ANNA SWIFTTHE PARTHENON
A discussion about redistricting is in the works among state o� cials since the release of census data last week for West Virginia.
Jacqueline Proctor, communications spe-cialist for acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, said the governor is one such person working on redistricting. She also said a special session may need to be called.
“� e governor anticipates a special ses-sion might be needed to complete the process, but additional work must be com-pleted � rst,” Proctor said. “So perhaps there will be a special session sometime late this summer or late in the summer, somewhere around there.”
Redistricting is the process of redraw-ing congressional, as well as legislative, districts so as to account for population shifts, according to the U.S. Census Bu-reau’s website. Since the creation of the Constitution, the founders of the United States have called for equal represen-tation, or “one person – one vote.” To enact this principle, a census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790 to determine the current population level.
Data, which is sent to state o� cials, helps determine not only redistricting but also the apportionment of federal funds and seats in the U.S. House of Representatives per state.
Marybeth Beller, associate professor of political science, said an issue such as redis-tricting is a highly political one.
“Everybody will still have equal represen-tation, but it depends on how the lines are drawn,” Beller said. “Lines can be drawn to include or exclude communities that might heavily favor one party over another; they can include or exclude communities that might favor one candidate over another.”
Beller also said redistricting could have an a� ect on politicians themselves.
“Depending on how the lines are redrawn, we could actually have two people who for-merly each had a separate district, and now they have the same district and are being forced to run against each other,” Beller said.
Released March 23, the data on the bureau’s website shows Charleston is the largest city in West Virginia with over 51,000 residents. Huntington, which has a population of over 49,000, is the sec-ond-highest populated city; although its population figure declined by nearly 5 percent since 2000.
While Kanawha County is the largest county, Cabell County is the third largest, despite a decline of 0.5 percent. � e state, which had its � gures released back in De-cember, has seen a 2.5 percent increase in population and stands at a total of nearly 2 million.
According to the bureau’s website, the 2010 census has received the largest feed-back in the bureau’s history and has been one of the shortest surveys administered, much like the � rst one made in 1790.
Anna Swift can be contacted at [email protected].
Census results call for redistricting
BY CHRYSTAL PHILLIPSTHE PARTHENON
Every semester has its array of challenges and, with � nals around the corner, some New Year’s health resolutions may have fallen to the way side.
Students probably have to face a full time class schedule, and adding a New Year’s health resolution on top of the to-do list may not be ideal.
“School is the main focus for everyone in college,” said Hannah Brewer, applied math-ematics major from Barboursville, W.Va. “It takes over your life and prevents you from doing things that you wish you could do
more of, like work out.”Brewer had many health resolutions, such
as getting into shape or cutting sugar out of her diet, but she said it could be hard for anyone to � nd time to complete a New Year’s health resolution with a full time load of classes.
“If you � nd time to workout, it’s either early in the morning or late at night,” Brewer said. “Sometimes you don’t want to wake up in the morning and a§ er a full day of classes you could be too tired. So it’s hard to go work out.”
� ough, some students have a di� erent
Students’ resolutions on back burner
See RESOLUTIONS I 5
MARCUS CONSTANTINO | THE PARTHENON
Students face the diffi culties of balancing their classes and maintaining their New Year’s health resolutions.
Thursday, March 31, 20112 marshallparthenon.com
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BY WILLIAM LINEBERRYTHE PARTHENON
� e University College sponsored a fair Wednesday aimed to help stu-dents � nd a major that suits their interests and goals.
“Majors, Minors and More has be-come a regular fair at Marshall for the past six years,” said Sherri Stepp, di-rector of University College.
“We have been doing the fair for as long as myself and all the other advis-ers have been here,” Stepp said. “We run the fair once in the fall and once in the spring. It has become a regular event for us to coordinate.”
Stepp said the fair is geared towards all students at Marshall University who � nd themselves without a major.
“� is is an opportunity for students to come and shop for a major,” Stepp said. “It gives students a chance to see what majors and minors are there all in one viewing. Every college is represented by at least one of their subdivisions.”
Stepp said every college was present and sent their representatives.
“We at the University College want to encourage students to explore their options,” Stepp said. “It is possible that students � nd themselves backed into a corner and we want to do ev-erything possible to prevent that; feeling comfortable and content with your major is very important.”
Stepp said the College of Liberal Arts at Marshall currently has 200
undecided majors enrolled. All Uni-versity College students are undecided until they obtain general admission status; all colleges at Marshall, such as the Lewis College of Business, Col-lege of Science, College of Education and Human Services have students who have not declared an emphasis in their � eld but are enrolled in a spe-ci� c college. � e College of Liberal Arts houses all undecided students who have not selected a � eld for their major.
Kasey � ompson, sophomore nurs-ing major from Greenwood, Del., said the fair o� ered her the opportunity to search even though she feels comfort-able in her major.
“I have my major,” � ompson said. “But it is still neat to explore and see all the di� erent programs laid out together.”
Cody Collins, senior political sci-ence and psychology major in from Fairmont, W.Va., said the fair ben-e� ted him in his search for extending his education.
“I came to get information on di� er-ent graduate programs,” Collins said. “I was also able to get some information on the National Student Exchange.”
Collins said the search for gradu-ate departments can be intimidating and the fair provided him with a con-densed view of his options at Marshall.
“It’s scary when you are nearing graduation,” Collins said. “Going through your options is important.”
William Lineberry can be contacted at [email protected].
MAJORS, MINORS & MOREAnnual fair helps Marshall students
WILLIAM LINEBERRY | THE PARTHENON
A Marshall student receives information about political science majors at the sixth annual Majors, Minors and More fair in the Memorial Student Center. The fair helps students who are undecided majors fi nd what is right for them.
By David ZucchinoLOS ANGELES TIMESMCT
PORT BREGA, Libya — Dispirited rebel � ghters continued their headlong retreat across eastern Libya on Wednesday, surren-dering a strategic oil city they captured just three days earlier and � eeing eastward by the hundreds.
Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadha� appeared poised late in the day to seize a second oil re� nery city, Port Brega, as rebels in gun trucks near the city turned and � ed at the sound of exploding rockets and ar-tillery. Gadha� ’s men had pushed rebels out of Ras Lanuf, site of a petrochemical complex and port, Wednesday morning.
Escaping rebels poured through the western gate of the crucial crossroads city of Ajdabiya, where allied airstrikes Saturday ended a 10-day government siege. Some rebels vowed to make a bloody stand in the nearly deserted city, but others � ed in panic.
Most of the rebels in Ajdabiya had retreated 130 miles from Ras Lanuf since daybreak. Since early Tuesday, rebel forces arriving in Ajdabiya have backpedaled more than 200 miles in a desperate attempt to avoid confronting Gada� ’s better armed and better trained forces.
� e rebel e� ort was plagued by confusion and dissension. Clusters of volunteer � ghters bickered over tactics and weapons, with many refusing to take orders from defecting army regulars nominally in command. Others de-manded to know why allied warplanes were not attacking their enemy, and why tanks and rocket batteries captured from Gadha� ’s men were not in use.
Rebels in gun trucks with mounted antiair-cra� guns, heavy machine guns and recoilless ri� es seemed unwilling to � re on advancing gov-ernment troops. Many rebel gunners seemed content to melt away and hope — or pray, as one said — that allied airstrikes would save them.
It was unclear how far Gadha� would push his forces and expose his men and weapons to allied warplanes in the � at, open desert
between Port Brega and Ajdabiya.� e chaotic retreat sent rebel vehicles speed-
ing past burned-out hulks of government tanks, rocket launchers and troop carriers de-stroyed in allied airstrikes at Ajdabiya. It was uncertain Wednesday whether warplanes had attacked government forces pushing relent-lessly eastward.
“We’re hearing that the planes are bombing near Ras Lanuf,” said Ashral Kwai� , an oil en-gineer turned rebel at a checkpoint north of Ajdabiya.
But Kwai� conceded that the information was little more than conjecture. With no cell-phone coverage in the war zone, rebels o� en repeat rumors spread by passing motorists.
Last weekend, airstrikes cleared the way for a rapid rebel advance by demolishing government armor. Late Sunday, rebel fight-ers were within 50 miles of Sirte, Gadhafi’s hometown with a well-defended garrison. The rebels had advanced 150 miles in less than 24 hours.
But they have been running from
government forces since. Among those � eeing were soldiers who defected last month from Gadha� ’s army in eastern Libya — men who opposition leaders say are leading undisci-plined rebel forces.
Many rebels have rebuked regulars and commandos brought in by Gadha� ’s former interior minister, Gen. Abdul Fatah Yunis, a defector whom opposition leaders describe as the rebel commander. � ey say they don’t trust Yunis or his troops because of their long-standing service to Gadha� .
Some rebels accused commandos and army defectors of hoarding tanks and Grad rocket systems abandoned by Gadha� ’s � ghters dur-ing airstrikes and recovered by opposition forces. � ose heavy weapons have not been seen at the front.
“Where are our tanks and Grads?” asked Hamsa Mohammed Cherkasi, 25, a rebel � ghter just outside Port Brega as the crash of government artillery sounded nearby. “� at’s all we have to stop these Gadha� people, but the army is keeping them for itself.”
At an army base in Benghazi, Yahya Ab-dulsalam, a rebel guard, said nine captured government T-72 Soviet-made tanks inside the garrison could not be operated because rebels don’t know how to turn on the engines.
“We’re trying to � nd some soldiers who know how to use these tanks, but the only tanks they know are the older ones,” Abdul-salam said.
In an attempt to preclude coups, Gadha� out� tted army units in eastern Libya with old, outdated or poorly maintained weapons.
� e rebels have no command and control, and no e� ective leadership. Volunteer � ght-ers in each gun truck or private car make their own decisions, o� en a� er animated arguments with gunmen from other vehicles.
In Benghazi, the rebels’ de facto capital, residents and opposition leaders seemed con-� dent that allied airstrikes would protect them from Gadha� ’s armored columns. � ere were few gun trucks on the streets and no signs of defensive barricades.
A rebel military spokesman, Col. Ahmad Omar Bani, called the wholesale retreat a “tactical withdrawal.” He said rebel � ghters were confront-ing government forces around Port Brega, and he promised that Ajdabiya would not fall.
But several rebel gun trucks were seen � eeing Ajdabiya late in the day, joining cars packed with children, bedding and suitcases speeding north through undefended desert toward Benghazi.
Also Wednesday, Human Rights Watch ac-cused Gadha� ’s forces of planting three dozen anti-personnel mines and two dozen anti-ve-hicle mines in Ajdabiya.
“Libya should immediately stop using an-tipersonnel mines, which most of the world banned years ago,” Peter Bouckaert, emergen-cies director for the agency in Libya, said in a statement.
LUIS SINCO | LOS ANGELES TIMES | MCT
Rebel fi ghters retreat from Port Brega, Libya, on Wednesday, March 30, 2011.
Rebels continue retreat across eastern Libya
Thursday, March 31, 2011marshallparthenon.com
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BY MYRON P. MEDCALFSTAR TRIBUNEMCT
� ey don’t pay their coaches millions of dollars. � eir players didn’t come to campus with ve-star rank-ings. And prior to their fabulous runs to the Final Four, you likely didn’t see Butler or Virginia Common-wealth on TV.
VCU, a No. 11 seed, and Butler, a No. 8 seed, made history as the lowest com-bined seeds to advance to the Final Four with their out-of-this-world victories over Kansas and Florida, respec-tively, in the Elite Eight.
But the two schools also crushed an archaic and o� en inappropriate label, one that I have used too o� en in recent years.
� e term “midmajor” —used to describe programs outside of the six major con-ferences—has historically separated college basketball’s wealthy from its poor.
Big schools enjoy a variety of luxuries: practice facilities, trips on private jets, multimil-lion-dollar budgets and TV exposure. Some “midmajors” ride coach buses on road trips, only play on national TV during their conference tournaments and pick up the scraps that their superiors scat-ter along the recruiting trail, if they’re lucky. � e smaller, lesser-known programs get treated like outcasts on the
national scene. But that should change with the success of VCU and Butler.
� eir accomplishments are
noteworthy on their own. VCU is a survivor of the “First Four,” one of the eight schools sent to Dayton, Ohio, to play in a “ rst-round game,” meaning the Rams had to play three times in the tournament’s rst week. Butler already made his-tory a year ago by advancing all the way to the national championship game, falling two points short to Duke; now the Bulldogs are back in the Final Four, putting their NCAA tournament record at 9-1 over the past two seasons.
As the Rams and Bulldogs face each other Saturday, one of these two teams will be play-ing for the title Monday night.
Despite their achieve-ments, both teams lack any NBA rst-round picks, ac-cording to ESPN.com’s projections. � e one-and-done stars that carried North Carolina to the Elite Eight and Kentucky to the Final Four? Zero on VCU’s or But-ler’s roster.
Among the ve teams VCU has beaten are a Big East con-tender (Georgetown), the No. 2 squad in the Big Ten (Purdue) and the top team in the Big 12 (Kansas). Butler upset top-seeded Pitt, a Big Ten squad led
Butler and VCU break the NCAA tournament mold as low seeds
MARCUS CONSTANTINO I THE PARTHENON
(Above) A.J. Graham practices with the team for the fi rst time this year during the fi rst spring practice on Tuesday. (Below) Marshall head coach Doc Holliday talks to the team during a break in practice
by a pair of all-conference rst-teamers (Wisconsin) and the SEC’s regular-season champ (Florida).
Neither school supports BCS-level college football and the big dollars that come with it. � ey are far from the most popular programs in their own states.
VCU’s Shaka Smart reportedly makes $325,000 a year before incentives. Butler doesn’t report Brad Stevens’ salary because it’s a private school, but when Stevens agreed to an extension last year, he admitted that money was an issue for the Bulldogs’ brass.
Despite their perceived disadvantages, however, they have reached college basketball’s pinnacle and voided every how-to book on building a program by demonstrating qualities that no recruiting service can project: chemistry and the ability to execute in adverse situations.
� e Rams withstood a sec-ond-half rally by one of the most prestigious programs in college basketball history Sunday. � e Jayhawks had
size, speed, versatility and NBA talent.
Butler lost a lottery pick from last year’s Final Four squad. But they kept their poise.
Florida led by 11 with under 10 minutes to play Saturday. Butler stayed calm and outplayed the Gators the rest of the way.
George Mason’s Final Four run in 2006 and Butler’s last year proved that pro-grams without the trinkets of major-conference schools can win at the highest levels in today’s climate, a nearly impossible feat in college football.
Butler’s repeat shows that a team from a below-the-radar conference can compete with the nation’s top schools over time.
VCU wasn’t even on the bub-ble, according to some of the top bracketologists. Now, the Rams might become the rst school in history to win seven games in the NCAA tournament.
Both teams clearly deserve new labels.
“Midmajor” just doesn’t cut it.
HARRY E. WALKER I MCT
Butler forward Khyle Marshall battles for the ball against Pittsburgh forward Dante Taylor and guard Travon Woodall during second-half action in the third round of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship tournament Saturday, March 19, 2011. Butler defeated Pitt, 71-70.
A� er splitting two and two at the Miami Ohio Invitational, our Marshall University so� -ball program will be heading to Houston this week along with
the baseball program for a three game series with Houston. It’s been a season full of ups and downs for the Herd, but I’m determined to look at
the positives heading into this week’s series.
For starters, we got ourselves a wee bit’ o’ momentum fol-lowing a brilliant win over Ball State on March 27 — what bet-ter way to cap o© a spring break schedule than with a wicked wild win on the wings of a Bri Anna Hope grand slam?
Pretty damn awesome.Hope, our beloved second-
baseman and powerhouse batter nished 2-for-4 that game — and the way I see it, if you’re gonna nish with four RBIs, then they might as well happen with one swing. Atta way Hope!
Not to spend too much time playing with Hope’s last name as a ridiculously overdone pun, I think the girls should fare well down in sunny Hous-ton. A� er all, that Ball State victory included eight runs on nine hits.
If we were to break it down inning by inning, it’s safe to say that Marshall just couldn’t nd any luck in the rst ve frames, and Ball had been chipping away since the rst inning — a run here, a run there... a pretty dismal a� ernoon for Marshall.
Enter the sixth inning rally.Down by four and score-
less up until the sixth, Marshall got formerly silent bats to scream and dumped eight runs in an inning.
An inning. As in one inning.What does this show us?
� at as long as there’s one crazy big inning in the mix, Marshall’s alright?
Negative, Ghost Writer.It shows us that this team
has got the potential to not just be great, but outstand-ing. If you can throw up eight runs in an inning (mind you, Ball State only committed two errors the entire game) and earn them from the box, then you’ve got yourself somewhat of an advantage.
� e key against Houston will be to see if Marshall can take that o© ensive prowess and extrapolate it across 21 opportunities.
I think there’s a good chance the Herd will surprise Houston this weekend. Center elder Melissa Loesing smashed her way to a 2-for-2 performance at the plate complete with a run scored, while pinch hit-ter Taylor Winton garnered three delicious runs cooking up a crucial hit in her only at bat. Catcher Rebecca Gamby, nishing 1-for-4 on that day, found a way to bat one in. On the base paths, pinch run-ners Jessica Hughes, Brittney Ybarra and Morgan Cottrell were gunning for the score-board — and while Cottrell couldn’t be brought home — it goes to show that in a single inning, Marshall has the com-petence to deliver an entire game’s worth of o© ense.
So good luck to Coach Stanton and Co. in Houston this weekend; may Ball State be the marker for an upli� -ing rest of the year.
BY JAKE SNYDERTHE PARTHENON
� undering Herd spring football practice began Tuesday and quar-terbacks were on the mind of many. Marshall will look to some new faces to replace last year’s starter Brian An-derson, who graduated last year.
Head coach Doc Holliday will poten-tially look to one of three candidates to step in under center the Herd. Redshirt sophomore A.J. Graham, sophomore Eddie Sullivan and freshman Conelius Jones are the three most likely choices.
“You have to have leadership skills with Coach Holliday,” Graham said about the qualities of a starting quar-terback. “He’s really big on that. He wants you to come out and set the standard o© the top. � at’s really what a quarterback is.”
� is early in the spring, it seems no favorite has been established to take the job. Sullivan provides the most ex-perience, playing in seven games last season. He was six for 24 passing with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Sullivan was in agreement with Graham about the qualities of a good quarterback.
“I think he needs to be a leader,” Graham said. “Everyone needs to be able to con de in him. Everyone needs to be able to trust their quarterback.”
Graham also saw action last season, playing in two games before going down for the season with an injury. Graham said getting back on the eld a� er the season-ending injury last sea-son was a good feeling.
“I’ve been waiting on it for a long time,” Graham said. “I’m just happy to get back out here with my teammates and play football.”
� e missing face from the opening day of spring practice was the highly touted Jones. Jones enrolled at Mar-shall in January and was expected to be ready for spring practice.
At this point, Jones is awaiting certi cation from the NCAA Clear-inghouse. � e Clearinghouse is the governing body for the eligibility of NCAA players.
“Unfortunately, sometimes the
Clearinghouse takes a little longer than you expect it to — so he’ll get here when he can,” Holliday said of his missing freshman.
� at leaves the spring in the hands of Graham and Sullivan. Sullivan said the low number of quarterbacks allowed for the two to have individual time with co-o© ensive coordinator and quarterback’s coach Tony Peterson.
“Every time we get a chance, it’s not three people attacking him — it’s just one, maybe two at tops,” Sullivan said. “It’s only me and A.J. So getting that one-on-one time with Coach Peterson has been a great help.”
With having just two quarterbacks over the o© -season, it has given Sul-livan and Graham the chance to establish a relationship on and o© the eld.
“We’ve grown more so since last year,” Graham said. “Because it’s been us two, we just come in. We’ll call each other up and want to watch lm. We come out and throw with each other. We’re just trying to get each other better.”
“I’d say we’ve become much better friends,” Sullivan said. “O© the eld, on the eld, hanging out, workouts and time in the lm room — we’ve re-ally helped each other out.”
As the Herd continues through spring practice, both quarterbacks (and Jones, should he get cleared) will be looking to separate themselves from the pack. As for now, Holliday said he was just focused on improving the players.
“I thought they made good decisions,” Holliday said of the perfor-mance of Sullivan and Graham during the rst practice. “� ey at least know where the ball goes. At times, it didn’t go in the right place; but they made good decisions and they took care of the ball.”
Marshall will have 14 more spring practices culminating with the annual Green and White game on April 23. � e rst game of the fall season comes on Sept. 3 when the Herd takes on West Virginia.
Jake Snyder can be contacted at [email protected].
Herd quarterbacks fi ght for starting position
BRANDON ANCICH
QUICK PITCH
Herd preparefor Houston
In American politics, it’s hard to get an over-whelming majority to agree on anything. So when former Governor Joe Manchin managed to get a 70 percent ap-proval rating, eyebrows were raised.
But then again strange things tend to happen in West Virginia, and with just reason.
The now junior U.S. Senator has played the game of politics for quite a while in the Mountain State, and I be-lieve he truly understands how we work. A solid understanding of your con-stituency’s collective mindset is an art, a blessing, and a science practiced by all good leaders.
What’s most important now is that he’s taking this to Washington D.C.
What’s better is that he’s already making major waves as a freshman Sena-tor from a stereotypically lowly state.
National Public Radio reported online earlier this month that Manchin had “gone rogue” rebuking President Obama for budget shortfalls and sup-posed lack of leadership in Congress.
So much for being a rubber stamp for Obama, right, John Raese? Effective? We’ll see.
Do I love it? Absolutely. It isn’t the fact that he’s jumping the
President’s case. Any Republican could do that. It’s there fact that a freshman Senator born and raised in good ‘ole West Virginia can stand on the Senate fl oor with ice water in his veins and his tongue on fi re.
The Senate’s second-in-command Dick Durbin D-Ill., told NPR “(Man-chin) is not new to politics, nor new to West Virginia and their feelings.”
And maybe what I like most is that he isn’t just staying on his side of the aisle. According to NPR, Machin has met with 20 GOP senators and has made a special bond with fellow freshman Mark Kirk R-Ill., often having lunch with him. Kirk was quoted as telling NPR “I cannot tell you how much I’m beginning to admire (Manchin) and his independent streak”.
Maybe I’m biased because I can cer-tainly relate to a man who grew up in the same hills as me, but Joe’s looking like a regular model senator. If stepping up for your people and what you believe is right is going rogue, count me among the fold.
And you thought only Republicans could be mavericks.
Contact Bishop Nash at [email protected].
EDITORIAL
The Big Sandy Superstore Are-na will be closed the majority of the summer for renovations of an estimated $4.6 million cost seat-ing. Events are now being planned for the Harris Riverfront Park.
“They’re part of the Recovery Act that President Obama passed in 2010,” said Deron Runyon, fi nance director for the city of Huntington. “A portion of the
interest costs is paid for by the federal government. The interest cost, I think 45 percent of that cost, is paid for by the federal tax-payers. So that made the ability to issue the bonds that much more affordable for the city.”
“Basically, it’s some house-keeping and getting it back in shape. So if we have an ice show, or stars on ice, to come,” said
Steve Kessick, director of opera-tions for the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.
These changes might seem minute, but they could make a signifi cant difference to many aspects of the Huntington area. If the arena is nice, more variety of shows for the city and could bring more people of the Tri-State area to come into Huntington.
The arena is outdated
compared to similar sized cities across the country; Binghamton, N.Y. has built an arena that hosts events from baseball and hockey games to cultural performances. Cities are building bigger arenas that attract big name artists and series that brings money to the area. Upgrading this arena is the fi rst step for Huntington to com-pete across the country.
Big Sandy Superstore Arena
is not an awful arena and we are thankful for the shows and events they host, but improvements are needed to make Huntington a more enticing city. We look forward to seeing the new renova-tions to the Big Sandy Arena, and hopefully the improvements are signifi cant enough to make an im-pact in the community.
Move to D.C. is a good move for W.Va.
Arena improvements will benefi t Tri-State area
Who do you want to win the NCAA men’s basketball tournament?
EDITORIAL CARTOON I LEE JUDGE I THE KANSAS CITY STAR
■ Kentucky■ VCU■ Butler■ UConn
OpinionThursday, March 31, 2011marshallparthenon.com
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Big Sandy Superstore Arena upgrades needed
BISHOP NASHCHICKEN SOUP
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What are your plans for spring break?■ Stay at home .......................................................78%■ Go to the beach ..................................................... 17%■ Go on a mission trip ................................................. 6%
RESULTS
As the United States becomes deeper involved in its third war in a Muslim state, comparisons with the war in Iraq are inevitably made. Before any discussion of the two confl icts is made, it is important to note that differences between the wars in Libya and Iraq undeni-ably differentiate the two confl icts. President Barack Obama continued his foreign policy trend of limiting U.S. combat involvement in Libya, while former President George W. Bush overwhelmingly devoted large numbers of troops to overthrowing Saddam Hussein in Iraq — though sustainability concerns limited the number of soldiers he committed as well.
There has been some internation-al support for intervention in Libya, although these resolutions have ad-vocated for a much narrower range of military options than explored in Libya. Even the Arab League vote has been regretted substantially by those who voted for it. Libya has been overwhelmingly portrayed as a humanitarian confl ict that will pro-tect the lives of civilians, while Iraq was sold to the international com-munity as a security action against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction primarily and a humani-tarian action secondly.
The bombing of Libya is some-what similar to the NATO assault on Serbia, which saw the international community intervening to stop the destructive trend of regional politics. It is worrying that despite successes in the Slavic states, the United Na-tions is still skeptical about the capacity of ethnic tensions to ease in the region and these developments may be replicated in Libya.
The difference between Iraq and Libya is that Bush at least attempted to maintain a semblance of democra-cy by lubricating the months leading up to the beginning of the confl ict with a public relations campaign concerning the necessity of the con-fl ict. Let us not forget that Iraq was supposed to be a confl ict concluded in a matter of months, not years. It seems reasonable to believe that Libya, while we are still stationed in Iraq, may become Obama’s Iraq. The gap of history is so minuscule be-tween the two confl icts that it would be inexcusable if this were the case.
BILAL AHMEDDAILY TARGUMRUTGERS UNIVERSITYUWIRE
Separate Libya from Iraq
BISHOP NASHCOLUMNIST
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opinion when they said they’re too busy with school to keep up their New Year’s resolutions.
“I think school is an ex-cuse for everyone,” said Ayo Akinsete, mathematics ma-jor from Proctorville, Ohio. “If you say ‘oh, I gained 10 pounds. Well, you know, � nals came around and I didn’t care what I ate because I just ate what was available,’ then you’re failing to do what you probably promised yourself.”
Brewer has another look on school being an excuse for failing to reach any goal, especially a healthy lifestyle change.
“I don’t think that it is an excuse because knowing my schedule, with � nals and everything, it is going to be re-ally tough,” Brewer said. “You wake up, you study, you eat, and you sleep. � at’s just the way it goes and you just don’t have time to work out.”
When it comes to eat-ing whatever is available, as Akinsete mentioned, Brewer said sometimes she might want to go to the vending machine and grab a snack
just to make sure she is stay-ing alert while studying or for other reasons.
“Sometimes during � nals you’re so stressed out that you kind of see that donut and think ‘man, I owe it to myself,’” Brewer said.
Brewer said she doesn’t eat healthy on a regular basis and it is because of her life-style. � erefore, people need to look at changing their lives to be healthier � rst, then setting a goal a� er.
Changing one’s life habits to be healthier can help stu-dents lose those 10 pounds that Akinsete said they could have gained during � -nals week.
However, with summer break around the corner, Akinsete said summer is always about looking good and students may be again losing weight for the time being.
“Summer will mean go-ing out, being more active because it’s the thing to do and it’s about wearing cloth-ing that is more revealing,” Akinsete said. “So you can’t be walking out and running with a mu� n top.”
Chrystal Phillips can be contacted at [email protected].
ResolutionContinued from Page 1
sure that if someone does come in we’ll be able to start the ice up and chill down the pad and make ice if we need to.”
Because the arena will be closed most of the summer, Kessick said events are be-ing planned for the Harris Riverfront Park. Kessick said there were some upcoming announcements that the are-na’s general manager would be making in the near future.
“Look for things at the riv-erfront park,” Kessick said. “As we’re dark inside, we still have to work, we still have to bring shows in, so they’re going to be outside. � e riv-erfront park will be a nice asset for us this year.”
General Manager Brian Sipe said the renovations can bene� t the arena.
“I think we’ll be able to provide better comfort for all of our patrons,” Sipe said. “We’re able to market that we have a renovation coming to downtown Huntington
when we are trying to pro-cure entertainment.”
Sipe said the renovations and improvements show the hard work that has been put forth by SMG, the man-agement company for the arena, to bring more people downtown.
Sipe said he is looking for-ward to having more events at Harris Riverfront Park.
“I think we can do more events at the river park,” Sipe said. “� at’s one thing I am trying to do now — to solidify some more enter-tainment there.”
He said these e� orts have been taking place and the park is not being used because the arena will be unavailable.
“I think we will use it more in the future,” Sipe said. “But I don’t think it’s because the arena’s closed. We are trying to use it more than we cur-rently are and the fact that the arena will be closed is just a coincidence.”
Ashley Mannon can be contacted at [email protected].
RenovationsContinued from Page 1
THE PARTHENON
Fall registration is approaching for currently enrolled Mar-shall students. April 11 is the � rst day of advanced registration for fall 2011.
“Before students register for classes it is essential to see an adviser no matter what major they are or what class rank,” said Frances Hensley, senior associate vice president for Academic A� airs and dean of Undergraduate Studies.
Hensley said students should be looking at the online catalog because most majors have a certain four-year curriculum they need to take. She said students need to be responsible enough to chart their own progress; however, there is no substitute for seeing an adviser.
“By the time students see their adviser, they should already have a dra� schedule set up,” Hensley said. “It would be inap-propriate not to do so.”
Hensley said when students are dra� ing a schedule, they should make sure to have back up times and classes in case their � rst choice is not available.
“When making a schedule, build it around the classes that you absolutely have to have,” Hensley said.
Hensley said it’s important for students to think strategically when planning which courses to take. Courses that ful� ll more than one requirement are ideal. Also, it’s a good idea to plan taking classes sequentially if a student is required to take cer-tain classes one a� er another.
Besides just meeting with an adviser, Hensley said there are other supplemental resources around campus. � ere is the Student Resource Center, the H.E.L.P. program and the Buck Harless Student Athlete program.
“It is important to know that a students’ adviser should be the absolute last step in the registration process,” Hensley said.
Early registration for fall semester approaches
BY CAMMY CLARKMCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERSMCT
MIAMI — � e Hausch family will return home to Illinois with a great souvenir of their Florida Keys vacation: a barb from a majestic spotted eagle ray that jumped onto their char-tered boat.
“I’ve only known two cases of that happening in the Keys in 22 years,” said Bobby Dube, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
� e � rst case, in 2008, ended with the death of a 55-year-old tourist from Michigan. � is � sh tale, which started out scary, has a happy ending.
Hausch, 39, was struck in the chest by the � ve-foot-wide, approximately 200-pound sea creature last week. � e collision knocked her to the deck, with the ray on top of her. But when she managed to crawl out from under it, she was not injured – not even su� ering a bruise.
� e equally stunned spotted eagle ray apparently also sur-vived the rare ordeal, swimming away a� er being helped o� the 26-foot, pontoon boat.
“I’m absolutely shocked she was not injured,” said FWC of-� cer Aja Vickers, who responded to screams for help from the boat’s captain, Kelly Klein. “� e huge animal landed on top of her and was thrashing around trying to get o� the boat.”
� e freak accident happened about 1 p.m. Friday on Whale Harbor Channel, which runs underneath U.S. 1 in Islamorada, connecting the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
Hausch, her husband David and their three children — Jake, 11; Ben, 10; and Delaney, 6 — had just � nished snorkeling and collecting shells at the popular sandbar that runs along the
deep channel.While cruising back from the sandbar, Klein estimated, 15 to
20 spotted eagle rays were jumping in the channel, a sight that many visitors and locals have been delighted by over the years.
“I see it quite a bit, especially around mating season when they are trying to show o� ,” Vickers said.
Marine scientists don’t know for sure, but they believe the rays jump — o� en 10 feet into the air — for two major reasons: to rid themselves of parasites that attach to rays, or to avoid predators such as sharks.
� e spotted eagle rays, a state-protected species, are not jumping to attack, said Bob Hueter, director at Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research in Sarasota, Fla.
“You get enough rays and enough boats and it will happen,” he said of collisions between man and jumping marine life.
Exactly three years and four days earlier, a much smaller spotted eagle ray (about 75 pounds) jumped into the air and struck Judy Kay Zagorski while she was on a boat with her family.
She died from blunt force trauma caused by her head hitting the side of the boat. � e ray also perished.
In one other such known case in South Florida, a spotted eagle ray leapt from the water and its foot-long barb pierced the chest of James Bertakis of Broward County while he was near Lighthouse Point. Bertakis spent several weeks in intensive care but survived.
� e Hausch family is lucky their up-close encounter with the stingray is now an amazing memory.
Jenny Hausch had just captured an awe-inspiring jump on her camera when the same ray jumped again, this time into her chest.
It was a scary few minutes as Klein ordered everybody to the back of the boat to avoid getting slammed by the thrashing creature. It does not breathe air and was � ghting for its own survival.
Fla. tourist survives collision with jumping sea creature
COURTESY OF HAUSCH FAMILY | MIAMI HERALD | MCT
Jenny Hausch was stunned but uninjured after being struck by this spotted eagle ray that leapt in the air from a channel in Islamorada, Fla.
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Thursday, March 31, 2011marshallparthenon.com
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BY CRYSTAL MYERS THE PARTHENON
When little is known about a subject from personal experience, the media plays a big role in educating about the un-known parts. How much of what you’ve learned is accurate?
The ABC Family series “Greek” ended earlier this month after four seasons on the air. “Greek” followed the lives of a group of freshmen students entering col-lege and joining Greek life. As the actors progress through four years of college, viewers watched the lives of students in the Greek community unfold from the first Greek rush to graduation day.
Syracuse University television and pop-ular culture professor Robert Thompson said TV shows and movies are art and should not be considered realistic.
“We should never look to a TV series or movie for a realistic view on anything,” Thompson said.
Thompson has studied TV and popu-lar culture for almost 30 years and said he has noticed a trend between media and the information viewers absorb.
“We, as humans, can only learn so much by ourselves,” Thompson said. “Certain things we don’t have the time or willing-ness to learn about and when we see new information from visual media, it is so compelling that there are things we re-member and information we hold about those things we wouldn’t learn elsewhere.”
Thompson said most people don’t know a lot about the things on television and that is why we watch.
“I’m guilty myself,” Thompson said. “I’ve never been involved with the Mafia for instance, but the biggest impression and all the ideas I have about it come from multiple series of “The Sopranos.”
Thompson said this is the same among all lifestyles that have very few
representations in the media. “There are surprisingly few shows
about college life,” Thompson said. “In comparison to cops, doctors and lawyers, there are only a handful of long-lasting college series and even less that deal di-rectly with Greek life.”
Thompson said it is easy for people to confuse these series with reality because unlike the mass amounts of shows about doctors that give viewers many angles to see, shows like “Greek,” have only a few.
Sophomore business major from Hun-tington, Brett Mayo said shows like “Greek” should be used as a way for those unfamiliar with Greek life to gain some interest in the subject.
“As with every media, it’s important to view any portrayals with a grain of salt,” Mayo said. “If the shows pique an interest in viewers that leads to them exploring the Greek community, then those people will discover the truer, more positive re-ality of Greek life.”
Thompson said his first portrayal of Greek life came from the movie “Animal House” and was upset because of this when his much younger sister told him she was going to rush for a sorority.
“The image I had about Greeks was amusing but not terribly accurate,” Thompson said. “I thought to myself ‘what is she getting herself into,’ but it turned out to be an amazing experience for her.”
Shows like “Greek” highlight sex and drinking in fraternities because it is in-teresting to viewers. Thompson said although this is true, the shows are not completely inaccurate.
“One can walk down fraternity row at any college in the middle of the night and see some of the things they see in the media,” Thompson said. “But this is not all that happens, it is just what the media chooses to show. Because let’s face it, if
a camera followed around a Greek mem-ber for the day some of the things, they do wouldn’t be all that interesting. Who would want to watch someone falling asleep on a couch while watching TV or maybe even doing a little studying.”
Mayo said the least accurate things about the show is how Greek social lives are over-exaggerated.
“In reality the Greek community takes pride on bettering the community and our campus,” Mayo said. “We aim to become leaders in the community, the campus and beginning our careers.”
Thompson said to what degree of accu-racy TV and films are depends on what one chooses to watch.
“I can say that everything I know about how a cheetah attacks a gazelle I’ve learned from the Discovery Channel, and I can say that it seems to be pretty accu-rate,” Thompson said.
Both Thompson and Mayo said shows like these are juiced up for rating pur-poses and everyone should understand this while watching the shows.
Mayo said the various shows and mov-ies do deserve some credit for accurately depicting the most important part of a fraternity.
“No matter what your circumstances may be, you know your brothers al-ways have your back,” Thompson said. “The bond you create goes beyond what is to be considered a friendship; it is a brotherhood.”
So as we say goodbye to the series “Greek,” will the impressions of Greek life stick with those viewers who have not had a personal experience with it? Thompson said yes, popular culture and media have a lot to do with how we de-velop as a society. Crystal Myers can be contacted at [email protected].
Pop culture and Greek life
By David HiltbrandMCT
Next time you’re out at Citizens Bank Park, you may want to pay closer attention to your neighbor.
� at rangy, slightly rumpled guy you’re shoulder to shoulder with on Ashburn’s Alley? He could very well be Philadelphia’s best-known, least-recognized chart-topping singer/songwriter.
“I’m not a mass-appeal artist,” said Amos Lee. “I live a pretty anonymous life.”
� e sta� at his local bar treats him like a regular, not a rock star, when he strolls in for an interview. His boho ensemble (lumberjack shirt, jeans, and sneakers) is topped o� with a resplendent Phillies cap.
He’s counting the days until the baseball sea-son begins.
“I just like going to the games,” Lee said. “Es-pecially with this new stadium. � ere’s not a better way to spend a night.”
Work limits his attendance. Lee spends most of his evenings on stage, singing his crystalline songs with his wiry but expressive voice.
His most recent release, “Mission Bell,” de-buted atop the Billboard album chart two months ago. “I was just happy to chart any-where,” he says.
� e signal accomplishment was asterisked with an unfortunate music-industry statistic. � e � rst-week sales of 40,478 set a record low mark for a No. 1 album.
Lee shrugs it o� . “Even if you were the lowest-scoring winner in Super Bowl history,” he says, “you still won the Super Bowl.”
“Mission Bell,” which features contributions from Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam, and others, is notably rootsier and looser than Lee’s previous three al-bums. And the singing is far more assertive and forceful.
In part, that’s the in¥ uence of “Mission Bell’s” producer, Joey Burns, leader of the band Calexico.
In part, it’s a byproduct of the studio layout in Tucson, Ariz., where it was recorded.
“� e singing on the record is part and par-cel of the arrangements,” says Lee. “I was also just more comfortable than I had been in the past. Sometimes you get in the (isolated sing-ing) booth and all of a sudden the world shuts down for you.
“� is time it wasn’t really like that. � e way that studio works, it’s kind of just open, instru-ments all over the place. You never feel like you’re alone. I always sound much better that way when everything is basically live.”
Burns favors an improvisational approach.“� ere was a set of vibes in the studio,” he
says. “Amos was tinkering on them and I’m playing piano. I said, ‘� at sounds great.’ He said, ‘I don’t play the vibes.’ I said, ‘� at’s all right. Nobody really plays the vibes.’ “
� e ensuing eight-minute jam inspired the arrangement for “Violin,” the single Lee per-formed this month on “Late Night With David Letterman.”
“I would listen to music and sing along,” he says. “It was just checking out what was on the radio and connecting to it like a lot of people do.”
His real passion was roundball.“I was real into basketball for a long time,” he
says. “Like devoted. Like religiously.”� at changed during his � rst semester at
the University of South Carolina, when he was given his � rst guitar.
“It was mesmerizing. Like a snake coming out of a barrel,” he says. “It was, ‘Oh, my God. I need this in my life. � is is something powerful.’”
He didn’t follow the usual pattern of learning other people’s songs.
“It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested,” he says. “It’s that I wasn’t talented enough. My ear wasn’t good. I couldn’t even get halfway through a cover song.”
But composing original material with rudi-mentary skills can be daunting.
“As I would listen to more music, I would hate what I was doing. I really had a problem with it. I would see all the ¥ aws.”
A ̈er graduating he returned to Philly, teach-ing second grade.
“� ere should be a crash course in the reali-ties of teaching,” he says. “It’s a really di© cult job.”
He began performing at local clubs. Even-tually he was signed by the Blue Note label, releasing a widely praised eponymous EP in 2005.
Six years and four albums later, Lee still con-siders Philadelphia home.
“When I come o� the road, this is where I go,” he says. “Although I’ve been spending more time in San Francisco, where I have friends, be-cause the winters here have been so brutal.”
Amos Lee: Philadelphia’s anonymous hit-maker