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Friday, February 4, 2011 • Volume 96, Issue 21 • nique.net Magic at Pemberton

Competitioncenter

finished

Tech’s student competition teams located in the Mechanical Engineering Research Building were notified in early Aug. that they would be relocated to a new facility on 14th Street. Commonly known as the Tin Building building, the building will be demolished in April as a part of the Institute’s move for more green space on campus.

The new building on 14th Street, cur-rently named the Competition Center, is a building that is owned by Tech and was previously used as storage for Housing materials and other campus property. The competition teams were required to move out of the building before the start of the Spring semester due to construction and modifications to the Skiles walkway area.

According to Andrea Kuklenyik, Vice President of Wrek Racing and second-year ME major, a decision had to be made by the Institute to either bring the old Tin Building up to code, or tear it down and move the organizations within it.

“We found out that the final decision had been made after [Institute] President G.P. ‘Bud’ Peterson met with the respec-tive presidents of the teams housed with in the Tin Building and informed them that they could use this situation to their benefit, and this could be a growing point for the teams,” Kuklenyik said.

This shift will have an effect on a

By TJ KaplanStaff Writer

MSFAC approves fee increases for campus servicesBy Hahnming Lee

Editor-in-Chief

The Mandatory Student Fee Advisory Committee (MSFAC) unanimously approved $4 fee in-creases for Health, Transportation and Athletics on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

“It is my opinion that the members of MSFAC had to act in order for these valuable services to the entire student body to contin-ue uninterrupted,” said Graduate Student Body President Anthony

Baldridge.Transportation received their

full request while Athletics and Health were cut from proposed $6 and $5 increases, respectively.

“We gave them an incredible amount of scrutiny and provided due diligence. I think we were very thoughtful in the increase to fees we provided this year,” said Undergraduate Student Body President Corey T. Boone.

Representatives from each group made cases to a committee

made up primarily of students, both undergraduate and graduate, for why an increase was necessary and justified.

Dr. Gregory Moore of Health Services came before the commit-tee asking to increase the health fee from $150 to $155. One of the reasons that Moore gave for the fee increase was a plan to hire two nurse practitioners and partially fund the salary for a dietician.

HOPE White Paper unveiled during GT Day at the CapitolBy Emily Cardin

Assistant News Editor

On Tuesday, Feb. 1, nearly 50 students from the Institute gathered on the steps of the State Capitol to celebrate the 2011 GT Student Day at the Capitol. Dur-ing this event, the SGA presented their HOPE Scholarship White Paper, with the assistance of the College Democrats at Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Col-lege Republicans.

Students from a variety of years and majors attended in order to meet legislators, to see the in-ner workings of the political pro-cess and to witness the unveiling

of SGA’s White Paper.“I’m here to fight for HOPE,”

said Zachary Gardner, a first-year MGT major. “I wanted to make sure that we have a fighting chance in regards to keeping our scholarships.”

The day’s activities, coordi-nated by SGA, began with a re-ception with the students, faculty from Tech as well as members of the Senate and the House. Dur-ing the reception, Kristen Greig, Student Lobby Board Chair and third-year IAML major, read the contents of the White Paper.

SGA has been working in co-operation with the Georgia Tech College Republicans and Col-

lege Democrats at Georgia Tech to brainstorm some possible so-lutions for the large problems, specifically the continued lack of funding that surround the HOPE Scholarship.

The ideas generated were pre-sented during the day to the State Senate in the HOPE Scholarship White Paper by Greig, SGA Di-rector of External Affairs and third year MGT major, Elle Creel and Undergraduate Student Body President Corey T. Boone.

“The HOPE Scholarship should aim to fund 100 percent of the tuition costs for qualified

FBI raids on-campus dorm

Photos by Michael James and Maddie Cook / Student Publications

Top: Jack Chen’s possessions were confiscated by the FBI on Thursday, Jan. 27. Left: Fliers were posted in support of Chen.

Photo by Sean Kolk / Student Publications

Attendees at the event had the opportunity to meet with representatives and learn about different legislative processes.

See Competition, page 5

See MSFAC, page 3

By Vijai NarayananNews Editor

On Jan. 27, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided a dorm in Towers Hall to serve a search warrant to a student allegedly involved in Operation Payback, a set of coordinated cyber attacks launched against the websites of financial institutions. The companies were targeted for denying financial services to the WikiLeaks group, which released hundreds of thou-sands of diplomatic cables online.

The Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), an attack used by the activists to dis-able networks by flooding them with useless commands and information, temporarily shut down website operations for all three institutions.

A variety of electronic equipment, including com-puters and peripheral stor-age devices, were confiscated from Zhiwei “Jack” Chen, a first-year CmpE major to whom the warrant was served.

In a post made on Thurs-day, Jan. 27 on the social news website Reddit.com, Chen confirmed that the raid had indeed occurred that morning.

“FBI had a warrant to take

all my electronics. They came in the dorm room bustin in @7:00, and pushed everyone out of bed. They searched the place and questioned all peo-ple involved,” Chen wrote in the post.

Chen also claims to have been affiliated with the group that carried out the attacks.

“I was a passive admin for Operation Payback and quit early to avoid complications with the law, but it seems the FBI has gotten the better of me,” Chen wrote in the same post.

Before his account was deleted, Chen offered more details surrounding the situa-tion. Upon request, he posted a copy of the search war-rant and the identity of the FBI agent who executed the search. He stated that he nev-er participated in the DDoS attacks, but was an adminis-trator on the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel used to coordinate operations.

The FBI executed more than 40 search warrants last week in the U.S. as part of its ongoing investigation into Operation Payback. Accord-ing to the FBI, anyone in-volved in executing or facili-tating a DDoS attack faces up to 10 years in prison and can be exposed to civil liability.

Freshman student served search warrant

2011 STudENT FEES

HeALTH: $154

ATHLeTIC: $127

STudenT ACTIvITy: $123

TeCHnoLogy: $107

TrAnSporTATIon: $76

See Capitol, page 5

Photo illustration by Vivian Fan / Student Publications

2 • February 4, 2011 • Technique NEWS

POLL OF THE WEEKWhich of the following proposals for HOPE do you support?

20%Bring revenue through other taxes

52%Add an SAT requirement.

28%Raise the minimum GPA requirement

Next issue’s question:

Tell us atnique.net

How do you feel about the approved fee

increases?

Based on 125 responses

Founded in 1911, the Technique is the student newspaper of the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is an official publication of the Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. The Technique publishes on Fridays weekly during the fall and spring and biweekly during the summer.

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Copyright © 2011, Hahnming Lee, Editor-in-Chief, and by the Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from the Editor-in-Chief or from the Board of Student Publications. The ideas expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of Student Publications, the students, staff, or faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology or the University System of Georgia.

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news editor: Vijai Narayanan / news@nique.netopinions editor: Matt Hoffman / opinions@nique.netfoCus editor: Kamna Bohra / focus@nique.netentertAinment editor: Patricia Uceda / entertainment@nique.netsports editor: Alex Mitchell / sports@nique.net

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By Matt SchrichteContributing Writer

From the files of the GTPD...

Campus Crime

Hooked on chronics Three Eighth Street Apart-

ment students were issued code of conduct violations for marijuana possession on the night of Jan. 22. Officers received calls about a strong scent of marijuana coming from one of the rooms.

After knocking on the door of the room in question, the two officers and the housing represen-tative heard a shuffle inside the room. Upon opening, the officers immediately noticed a strong odor of marijuana. The students inside the apartment denied knowing about any marijuana in the apart-ment. While housing did not per-

form a search, the students were all issued code of conduct viola-tions.

Bobby Dod(d)gedTwo students were issued crim-

inal trespass warnings for enter-ing Bobby Dodd Stadium at 3:00 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 22. The two students, one male and one female, were seen by an officer conducting a stadium check. The officer made contact with the two in the West stands. The two stated that they were on a date and were cooperative with the officer. They were able to gain entry through the bottom of gate two.

Arrest assuredOfficers arrested a wanted

person after briefly letting him go on Jan. 25. While checking ticket scalpers’ identifications, one of them was found to be a pos-sible wanted suspect. At that time, Communication gave the officers the name and profile of someone who might be using a false ID. Communication advised that the suspect had a large tattoo on his neck, which the officers were un-able to locate on the subject being questioned, who was released.

After reviewing a picture of the subject at police headquarters, the officers realized that the subject in question had a warrant for his arrest in Clayton County. They were able to relocate the suspect and place him under arrest nearby Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The suspect admitted that he and another person routinely use each other’s license number.

Technique • February 4, 2011 • 3 NEWS

GSSBill Amount GSS UHR

Bill Summary

You can follow Mike at the Nique’s blog, The Pulse. Check in at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday for updates from UHR sessions at nique.net/pulse.

Council ClippingsThis week in Student Government

By Mike Donohue, SGA Editor

Each week, this section includes coverage of different aspects of Student Government, including the Undergraduate House of Representatives, Graduate Student Senate and the Executive Branch of both governments. Engineers without Borders

Tau Beta Phi E-weekCollege Republicans

Women’s Club Basketball

$702$605$1320$550

29-0-030-1-015-17-128-2-3

44-0-041-0-328-10-339-0-0College Republicans

The Georgia Tech College Re-publicans successfully submitted a bill on Tuesday for $1320 to attend the Conservative Politi-cal Action Conference in Wash-ington, DC. The bill will pay for registration fees and travel to the conference. The Graduate Stu-dent Senate failed the bill 15-17-1, but the Undergraduate House of Representatives passed it 28-10-6 which allowed the bill to pass the necessary enactment ratio.

According to its website, “CPAC [is] the premiere event for any major elected official or pub-lic personality seeking to discuss issues of the day with conserva-tives.” This year’s conference will include keynotes by Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), former Rep. Newt Gingrich and Senate Mi-nority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

During the Senate meeting Tuesday morning, debate was brief. The only Senator to speak up, AE Sen. Michael Ellis, ex-pressed concern over the fact that no graduates were attending and that it was a networking event.

“As the bill was presented by the organizational representative, I was hesitant to vote yes sim-

ply because the bill appeared to violate—or at least stretch—JFC policy regarding political activ-ity,” Ellis said in an email. “In summary, to best represent my constituents and in light of acting with fiscal responsibility, I voted against the bill.”

After the bill was failed, ChBE Sen. Jana Blume and ME Sen. Mi-hir Pathak spoke out against the lack of debate on the bill. Pathak, the sponsor of the bill and the coordinating officer with UHR, expressed concern that he would have no explanation for why the bill failed in the Senate when pre-senting to the House.

The Undergraduate Represen-tatives debated at length on the appropriate action to take after College Republican Chairman Kristin Greig told representatives that one fewer student would be traveling with the organization. Representatives spent some time sorting out the implications of this before passing the bill.

“I think there was a lack of

communication and misunder-standing from many sides over the bill. Many facets of the bill raised questions, and then there were some procedural issues on the floor of the House. Pieces were unclear from the very beginning with the writing of the bill itself in its line items and then, JFC’s recommendation could not be of-ficially established in the House,” said BC Rep. Grace Stephens.

“Thirteen members will be at-tending from GTCR. The error occurred due to miscalculation or miscommunication by several parties involved. We are happy with the final outcome,” Grieg said over email when asked about the confusion over the number of students attending.

According to Joint Finance Committee Policy, SGA may not fund “Political Activities,” defined as activities “the primary purpose of which is to support the election or defeat of a candidate for pub-lic office or to provide a monetary contribution to a political party.”

Neither Undergraduate Stu-dent Body President Corey Boone nor Graduate Student Body Presi-dent Anthony Baldridge said this information would make them veto the bill.

“I have no intentions on veto-ing the bill. The event is a con-ference, not a political rally. It is my understanding that it is fo-cused on leadership development not mobilizing for a conservative cause.” Boone said in an email.

With the increase in the number of visits to the center and a rise in the number of more serious medi-cal problems, the nurse practitio-ners could help treat more com-mon problems like a cold or sore throat. The Health Center has already committed to closing its Dental Clinic.

“When you look at Health, the amount of demand is outpacing their current ability, and they just need additional staff members. We were well below the industry standard [relating to patient-to-staff ratio],” Boone said.

Parking and Transportation proposed an increase from $72 to $76 for their fee to help maintain services. Lance Lunsway, director of Parking and Transportation, and David Williamson, assistant director of Parking and Trans-portation, stated that every $1 not received would be a cut in nearly 800 hours in service. Further-more, the rising cost of fuel neces-sitated a fuel surcharge.

Athletic Director Dan Rada-kovich asked for a $6 increase to Athletics to help some of its costs, from $123 to $129. The down year in football coupled with the some-what lackluster home schedule made it a disappointing round of sales of football tickets, leading to less revenue. While there is a pos-sibility that the ticket sales will in-crease next year, the way the foot-ball scheduling works makes it difficult to predict the sales from year-to-year. Radakovich said the increase would give some stability to the funding of the program.

MSFAC from page 1

CorreCtionsThe graph on the front page of last week’s issue was mislabeled. The infographic regarding deposits and ex-penditures were switched. The legend at the bottom of the graph was labeled correctly.

Technique • February 4, 2011 • 5 NEWS

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number of organizations that were housed in the building, in-cluding Wrek Racing, GT Mo-torsports, GT Off Road, EcoCar, Solar Jackets and RoboJackets. The effect will vary greatly from organization to organization, based on their space, mechanical and recruitment needs.

“This move will have both a negative and positive effect on our organization, as we now have much more space and amenities, but at the same time it makes it very difficult for our members to come work with the team—the new buildling on 14th Street is far from campus,” said Luis Romero,

Capitol from page 1

students,” the document stated. “To meet the original intent of the merit scholarship, students who deserve HOPE in Ga. should not have to go into debt in order to cover tuition costs.”

A Sunday alcohol sales tax and a lottery-regulated casino are pro-posed to generate revenue, while a reduction in Pre-K funding, an exclusion of remedial courses from the scholarship, a limit placed on for-profit institutions and an increase in high school GPA requirements to keep the scholarship afloat have all been discussed as solutions.

The paper was presented first to students, faculty and legislators during a private morning recep-tion, and then was presented for official resolution recognition in the State Senate by Senate Ma-jority leader Chip Rogers. Rogers spoke to the students at the recep-tion about what it means to be in political office and fielded ques-tions about the State legislatures’ seeming hesitancy to address the problems surrounding the HOPE Scholarship.

“There are millions of examples of what people think we ought to

do [about the HOPE Scholar-ship],” Rogers said. “But up here, this issue is hard to handle. Our national Congress is afraid to touch Social Security for fear of political repercussion. In Ga., the

HOPE Scholarship is similar to that.”

Rogers stressed the need for a comprehensive and cohesive plan to solve the HOPE problem as soon as possible.

“[The Senate] needs to work with Governor Deal and the House in order to come together with one single plan to address this issue,” Rogers said. “We have many options and suggestions,

Photo by Sean Kolk / Student Publications

Students were invited to sit inside the House Chamber as part of the event. SgA presented a White paper regarding possible changes to the Hope Scholarship, which was discussed by representatives.

Competition from page 1 President of GT Motorsports and fourth-year ME major.

The distance that the new building is from campus has caused the leaders in these orga-nizations to become concerned about possible recruitment in the coming years, and the logistics of younger team members travelling to the building to work.

“We are a little worried that it is going to be somewhat of an is-sue to recruit kids next year and then get them to come through Home Park to get here—its not like you can just drop by the shop on your way back from the library,” said Jonathan Skoczylas, member of GT Motorsports and third-year ME major.

According to Kuklenyik, Tech paid for all of the moving costs and allowed organizations the use of institute vehicles, but the other machines and equipment that could not be moved individually and had to be moved by profes-sional movers. Moving forward, the organizations involved are still in process of organizing all of their materials.

“We are still working on mov-ing everything in and getting situ-ated — it’s a lot of stuff to move around, and now that we have so much space, there is a lot to unpack. We’re definitely glad to be out of a building that sounds like its about to fall down all the time,” Skoczylas said.

Photo by Kevin Bandy / Student Publications

The new student competition center is located on 14th Street. organizations made the move at the end of the Fall semester.

but ultimately we must make one plan. If we cherry-pick solutions, we can really create conflict.”

Institute President G.P. “Bud” Peterson also addressed the stu-dents, faculty and legislators in regards to the issue of HOPE, as well as budgeting and financial is-sues. He addressed the loss of for-mula funding and expressed his concern over the HOPE Scholar-ship.

Peterson outlined the adminis-tration’s decision to continue with a six percent budgetary reduction plan for FY2011 as opposed to the four percent reduction plan once suggested by the Board of Re-gents.

“If we have been overly cau-tious, and the finances aren’t as tight as we believed, instead of asking to get money back, we can simply allocate more funding,” Peterson said. “[Tech] faces some challenges, but by no means are they catastrophic.”

Peterson also encouraged stu-dents to learn from the day’s ac-tivities, and to remember the ulti-mate purpose of government.

“Democracy is a marvelous thing,” Peterson said, “but it doesn’t work unless we are partici-patory.”

This year, 21 months before the presidential elections, the Conser-vative Political Action Conference will feature keynotes by presi-dential contenders such as Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty. Attending the event will be 13 members of the College Republicans. They will be doing so, supporting these politi-cal candidates, using Student Ac-tivity Fee (SAF).

Joint Finance Committee pol-icy prohibits the use of the SAF for political activities. CPAC cer-tainly qualifies as a political activ-ity. While College Republicans may claim that CPAC is simply a networking opportunity for its members, the purpose of the Con-ference goes well beyond that. The conference attendees conduct a straw poll each year, naming their top picks for the Republican presi-dential nomination. Candidates use CPAC keynotes to push their campaigns, hoping to curry fa-vor with the conservative wing of their party. These are the activities of an organization that supports a political agenda and can make or break the career of a budding Re-publican nominee.

JFC never considered the pos-sibility that this bill violated the political activities clause of JFC policy. Any bill put forward by the College Republicans (or the Col-lege Democrats for that matter) ought to be scrutinized carefully to make sure it does not violate this rule. Although GSS did fail the bill, there was no debate at all, save for a single statement of op-position by AE Sen. Michael Ellis. No one mentioned the fact that CPAC is a partisan activity, and no one thought to fight for the failure or the passage of the bill based on what they thought SGA ought to finance with the SAF.

UHR, though it did debate the bill at length, got bogged down in details, distracted by miscom-munications and errors among UHR, GSS, JFC and College Republicans. Based on this con-fusion alone, UHR should have failed or postponed the bill and asked College Republicans to come back the following week. Al-though this would have prevented College Republicans from using the funds since the event would have been completed by the time funds would have been available, it would have served as an apt warning to student organizations to be prepared before asking for a rushed decision from SGA.

Regardless of the procedural confusion that resulted from the debate, UHR completely failed to consider the wisdom of the bill. Not one representative asked

his or her colleagues to pause and consider the ramifications of funding a political activity. No one brought up JFC policy. No one uttered even the weakest of opposition.

However, both student body presidents have the opportunity to correct this error. Undergradu-ate Corey T. Boone and Graduate President Anthony Baldridge can use their veto pens to make sure that the SAF is properly spent. They should do so quickly and with confidence.

Why did the bill get as far as it did? In part, the bill’s success is due to the Chairman of College Republicans, Kristen Greig. Greig stood on the floor of UHR through the entirety of debate Tuesday evening, speaking up with com-mentary and support. This was in violation of House rules, but she was rarely reminded of that fact. Greig had also presented earlier that evening, leading the HOPE Open Forum. Perhaps this is why the Representatives were comfort-able with her causally participat-ing in debate. The fact that she could represent the student body in a political issue as important as HOPE and then turn around to represent the interests of College Republicans, a goal of which is to elect candidates who hold Repub-lican ideals, is troubling.

Greig should remove this con-flict of interest immediately by resigning as either Student Lobby Board Chair or as Chair of the College Republicans. The mem-bers of SGA who represent the student body should not split their loyalties.

This week’s SGA meetings revealed several troubling issues with the way SGA views its rela-tionship with partisan political activities. With tough fights over the future of HOPE and the bud-get about to peak, it’s important that the representatives of the stu-dent body rededicate themselves to the people who elected them: the student body.

OpinionsTechnique

6Friday,

February 4, 2011

There are a terrible lot of lies going around the world, the worst of it is half of them are true. —Winston Churchill

Opinions Editor: Matt Hoffman

“”OUR VIEWS Consensus opinion

Fair, frivolous feesFee increases should be considered more carefullyThe fee increases approved by the

Mandatory Student Fee Advisory Committee add some necessary fund augmentations to departments in real need of the funds, but some increases seem frivolous in this time of austerity. As campus continues to grow, the need to have efficient transportation around Tech becomes even more necessary. The Transportation fee increase also seems reasonable considering the rising cost of fuel, which heavily affects the department’s bottom line. The Health fee increase also has its merits since the money will be used for tangible goals that the Health Center has clearly laid out for the campus. SGA and the Office of Information Technology should also be applauded for their ability to make do with what they already receive from the student body.

The increase in the Athletic Fee, however, seems poorly timed and unnecessary. Given that the substantial increase in the student fee four years ago

has been followed by an added cost for block seating as well as several marginal increases, the Athletic Association must learn to balance its own budget and not try to dip into the pockets of students when the department’s ticket sales fall short. While the AA is no doubt being affected by the stagnant economic conditions, they must not forget that students are as well.

But the underlying problem with the system is the lack of transparency of the whole process. The majority of the students voting on the fees will never pay the fees themselves, and the vast majority of student are completely unaware of the proposal before they go to vote. Instead of a secretive committee, the fee increases should be put to the vote in UHR and GSS. If Representatives and Senators were allowed to vote, fee increases would be considered more thoroughly and debating them in the legislative bodies would bring the situation to the forefront.

EDITORIAL CARTOON By CASEy TISDEL

College Republicans funding improper

Write to us: letters@nique.net

We welcome your letters in response to Technique content as well as topics relevant to campus. We will print letters on a timely and space-available basis.

Letters should not exceed 400 words and should be submitted by Tuesday at 7 p.m. in order to be printed in the following Friday’s issue. Include your full name, year (1st, 2nd, etc.) and major. We re-serve the right to edit for style and length. Only one submission per person will be printed per term.

The Consensus Opinion reflects the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of the Technique, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.

Technique Editorial BoardHahnming Lee, Editor-in-Chief

Vivian Fan, Managing EditorKate Comstock, Business Manager

Jennifer Aldoretta, Layout EditorKamna Bohra, Focus EditorSteven Cappetta, Advertising ManagerMike Donohue, SGA EditorMatt Hoffman, Opinions EditorReem Mansoura, Outreach Editor

Alex Mitchell, Sports EditorVijai Narayanan, News EditorNishant Prasadh, Online Sports EditorChris Russell, Online EditorJarrett Skov, Photo EditorPatricia Uceda, Entertainment Editor

“JFC never considered the possibility that this bill violated the political activities clause of

JFC policy.”

Mike DonohueSGA Editor

Technique • February 4, 2011 • 7 OPINIONS

The Constitution has made quite a comeback in the last year or so, becoming a symbol of good government to whom-ever is holding it up. When the Republicans took back the House in early Jan., some congressmen took turns read-ing the Constitution aloud, in nearly its entirety, as a show of their commitment to it.

While the Constitution is undoubtedly one of the most important documents in American history, the scene was a completely unnecessary stunt and speaks volumes on the poor state of discourse about the document.

Nobody outside of court-houses and law schools actu-ally discusses what is in it any-more. Most people just say that they know it better than some other people on the opposite end of the political spectrum. Still, with everyone claiming that some other group of peo-ple do not know it, I ask you this: have you actually read the Constitution? All 4400 or so words?

If you have and think you know it as well as those in Washington do, test yourself on it with this slightly modi-fied question that used to ap-pear in popular polling ser-vices: Which of these phrases appear in our Constitution? “The consent of the governed,” “Of the people, by the people, for the people,” and “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” The answer? None of them.

When the actual question (with five choices, none of which are in the Constitution) was asked in a poll, nearly nine-out-of-10 Americans got it wrong. How can people hold it up as sacred when they do not even know what is in it? But do not worry, it turns out some of the most prominent people in Washington know the exact words just as well as the average American.

In a debate with Tea Party darling Christine O’Donnell, Senator Chris Coons claimed that separation of church-and-state was in the Constitution, and O’Donnell said she did not realize it. Liberals every-where rejoiced that the witch was proven to be an even bigger idiot, but guess what, Senator? It is not in the First Amendment as you claim, or really anywhere in the Consti-tution.

Earlier in the year, at a Tea Party rally, John Boehner, the new Speaker of the House, er-roneously said he thought that “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” was a part of the preamble to the Constitu-tion at a rally where he talked

about restoring its importance within government. Unfor-tunately Mr. Speaker, you are thinking of the Declaration of Independence.

Some reading may think that it is horrible that our politicians cannot even recite simple lines from the Consti-tution, but it is because the American people now expect politicians to engage in these “gotcha” and pop-quiz mo-ments at any given moment on a public stage

While I do not find Boeh-ner to be a particularly compe-tent politician, it is not because he made a mistake relating to the Constitution at some rally. Honestly, I would not hold it against my politicians that they do not know the Consti-tution word-for-word. Sure, I would much prefer if they had a deep understanding of the document, and I think that this would stop a lot of the talk of “unconstitutional” every time someone does not like a law, but I do not think that knowing the document’s ex-act wordage at any given point equates to knowledge. As engi-neers who regularly take open-

notebook tests, I think that we would be holding them up to an unfair and hypocritical standard.

America has been reduced to thinking that a Spelling Bee relating to the Constitu-tion is sufficient, and that it is often better just to claim that you know it better than some other people than to consider the idea that there are still le-gitimate and different ways to interpret it.

Instead of latching on to these phrases that really are just rhetoric, people should first read it, and then really think about how it applies to modern life.

If people continue to en-gage in these petty fights over exact wordings, they miss an opportunity to really think about its applications. I point to the second amendment, now widely believe to be about individuals owning guns. The phrase “the right to bear arms” actually may have had (arguably, of course) a mili-tary connotation and a focus on the militia at the time it was written, only really shift-ing in meaning in the last 30 years and with interest groups like the N.R.A. pushing for the now more commonly ac-cepted meaning.

People will miss an oppor-tunity to think about this and the meaning of it if the Con-stitution continues to act like a prop, proof of patriotism purely based on memoriza-tion.

Constitution degraded to political prop“America has been reduced

to thinking that a Spelling Bee relating to the Constitution is

sufficient.”

Hahnming LeeEditor-in-Chief

Amrinder ChawlaFourth-year ECE

“Steelers, because they are better overall.”

Sam PakFirst-year BMED

“I’m really not paying at-tention to it.”

Zachary ChurneySecond-year ME

“I’d say the Packers because I hate the Steelers.”

Michael PolsonThird-year CS

“I’ve never really followed football.”

Who do you think will win the Superbowl?

BUZZAround Campus

Michelle Obama’s recent partnering with Wal-Mart in a campaign that aspires to of-fer more healthful options to shoppers highlights just how much power almighty corpo-rations have in the world. In a worldwide economy where many of the top-50 organi-zations have larger budgets than some countries, these organizations have a fright-ening amount of authority of markets and thus, many con-sumers’ lifestyles. Wal-Mart, which garnered $408.21 bil-lion in sales in 2009, can be categorized as an organiza-tion that has almost unlimited power in the grocery market sector. It’s about time that we see this retailing giant con-duct a campaign that really attempts to offer corporate re-sponsibility in a form that will see some direct benefits to the markets it serves.

While Wal-Mart’s move to decide to participate with the initiatives that the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign is fairly transparent in its posi-tive public relations implica-tions, it is still an admirable move. Wal-Mart is hoping to convince their suppliers to cut back sodium levels by 25 per-cent and sugar by 10 percent by the year 2015.

These goals directly align with the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign which aims to decrease childhood obesity by educating children at an early age about healthy eat-

ing habits and physical activ-ity. The campaign has also pushed for better food options in schools and improved food labeling. It is estimated that about 32 percent of children are considered overweight or obese. Children that grow up overweight or obese have a higher chance of becoming overweight and obese adults, which could lead to a plethora of medical problems associated with obesity.

In addition to working with suppliers to offer healthier food options, Wal-Mart also hopes to help address “food deserts,” a problem that has historically plagued low-income neighbor-hoods. The organization is well poised to utilize its economies of scale to offer healthier food options to low-income areas at prices that are still competi-tive with cheap and unhealthy food. The result could lead to better nutrition for children and families that live in areas that don’t traditionally have access to better food options.

The task will still be no small feat, but considering

the control that Wal-Mart has over many of its suppliers, it is an attainable goal. Wal-Mart has the potential to be more successful in its endeavors to promote a healthy lifestyle to its shoppers than the U.S. government has in attempts to promote regulations that promote health. We as a soci-ety are heavily relying on cor-porate social responsibility to steer our buying patterns, and, by extension, our health as a society.

It is no secret that Wal-Mart is perceived as less-than-favorable by many that feel the organization utilizes unfair la-bor practices and the presence of the stores in small commu-nities often drives small town competitors out of business. Indeed, it is somewhat diffi-cult to accept the news of their partnership with the First Lady as something other than a public relations stunt. Al-though, if more relationships like the one that Wal-Mart and the First Lady recently created existed there could be more situations where change

could be realized much sooner through collaborative initia-tives. These are the kinds of relationships that should be further explored by the cur-rent administration in order to leverage the power that these large corporations possess.

While some might bristle at the idea of the govern-ment working in cahoots with large corporations, it makes sense from a perspective that there is a mutual relationship that can be exploited by both sides. Both large corporations and the government can ben-efit from the positive public relations that can be gener-ated from these kinds of cam-paigns, corporations can reap benefits from greater sales and the government has accom-plished their goal of adding to the welfare of society.

However, the future of these kinds of endeavors with large corporations should not rely solely on initiatives coming out of Washington. Because of the growing influ-ence that the modern business organization has on society, they should strive to introduce initiatives that will also add to their bottom line and contrib-ute to the welfare of society.

These mega-corporations, like Wal-Mart, have potential to create real changes through corporate responsibility initia-tives, but if they fail to act on their own accord, other corpo-rations could fail to capitalize on this unique opportunity.

Public-private co-op aids social change“Large corporations and the

government can benefit from the positive public relations

that can be generated.”

Kate ComstockBusiness Manager

Photos by Benny Lee

8 • February 4, 2011 • Technique OPINIONS

Fiscal restraint, understanding needed during budget season

Every semester you’re charged a Student Activity Fee. Your SGA is charged with being a steward of that fee with the purpose of filling the gap in areas of student life that the Institute cannot fill. The story all told, SAF revenues amount to nearly $4.8 million dollars ($4,753,968 to be exact). If you weren’t aware of this fee or that it added up to a few million dollars, I’ll let that sink in for a moment. If you were aware of these num-bers, we’ll keep moving.

While a great deal of money is collected each year in SAF rev-enue, the number of requests by student organizations consistently outpaces the money that we over-see. Hence we reach the inherent problem that has surrounded the SAF since its inception. There is a great disparity between collect-ed revenues and yearly requests. Historically, both revenue and requests trend upward at a fairly steady rate, but what is driving this trend? The poor state of the economy? Increased enrollment? Sheer necessity for more funds? It is likely a combination of all of these factors driving the need for greater SAF revenue.

The question then seems to be: who is making these requests? Requiring just under one third of its total operating budget from SAF funds, the CRC accounts for nearly 40 percent of the total budget requests. While the Stu-dent Center requests significantly less ($1.25 million), it still comes to some 25 percent of overall re-quests. Combined, these two campus staples garner nearly two thirds of collected SAF revenue. With such widespread student use, many might be asking them-selves: why shouldn’t they? Any

one of the 109 student organi-zations requesting budgets can probably give a few reasons why.

Given the poor state of the economy, many of these organi-zations depend on SAF funding to maintain normal operations. For some this means travel to a tournament, to others it means hosting a yearly event. Regard-less of the occasion, organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain outside funding, and it seems a Skiles walkway bake sale doesn’t go as far as it used to. Un-fortunately, a bad economy doesn’t increase the amount of SAF rev-enue. Equally unfortunate is that UHR and GSS still expect orga-nizations requesting funds to use SGA as a last resort. This expec-tation may seem an impossibility to some, but as long as the voting bodies continue to see groups that do raise their own funds and pay higher dues, the expectation will remain. Still, a problem remains.

While the number of student organizations that submit bud-gets each year has remained fairly consistent, the number of newly chartered organizations on cam-pus, and the amount of each bud-get request continues to climb. Thus, the solution to the current fiscal issue is both a commitment to fiscal responsibility on behalf of SGA and a great deal of under-

standing from the students. As Chairman of the JFC, I

am responsible for ensuring that each submitted budget is checked, combed and considered with the utmost scrutiny. The idea is not to deter organizations from request-ing funds, it is simply a process by which we ensure that the student’s money is being allocated properly and that fiscal responsibility is be-ing practiced.

In furtherance of this idea, UHR and GSS passed a bill ear-lier last Fall that effectively tight-ened the requirements on bud-gets. These new restrictions now require each organization request-ing a budget to attend a budget in-formation session, update contact information regularly and attend a budget hearing. Although these requirements have been enforced in the past to some extent, failure to complete them is now accom-panied with the possible budget denial or reduction.

Although I do believe SGA has taken positive steps towards fiscal responsibility with these policy changes as well as some other ini-tiatives, I still foresee an increase in the SAF coming down the pike in the coming years. That is why I believe that the relationship be-tween the student body and SGA will only succeed if the students are understanding of that fact.

OUR VIEWS Hot or not

Stairway to PurgatoryWhile few people who live

in NAA would categorize it as ‘heavenly,’ it certainly got much less hellish late last week when the stairway to the com-plex at Techwood and North Ave. reopened. Now residents have to brace for the next in-convenience that Housing will no doubt dump on the stu-dents who live in the facility that seems to be perpetually under construction.

HOT– or –NOT“Given the poor state of the

economy, many organizations depend on the SAF funding to maintain normal operations.”

Brad BauerkemperJFC Chairman

Frightening turtleThe men’s basketball team

regrettably was not able to keep its home-court streak going in its loss to Maryland on Sunday night. Hopefully the flu and other medical rea-sons won’t continue to hinder the team as the Jackets begin their final stretch of the regu-lar season. They are going to need a lot of momentum going into the ACC Tournament in March and maybe beyond.

Fishy eveningWhile some students

take to drinking like fish on Thursday nights, this upcom-ing Thursday they can just go hang out with them instead. The annual GT Night at the Aquarium has become a treat for students in need of an early semester break, albeit a very short break. Such activities help to build a sense of campus community and provides ac-cess to Atlanta hot spots.

Fed upWhile some people believe

that all publicity is good pub-licity, last week, the theory was proven incorrect. The F.B.I raiding of Tower Resident Hall brought a load of nega-tive attention to Tech. Though nothing has been settled yet, ideally, the Tech student in question will be cleared of all wrong doing, and the situation will quickly blow over and cleared up.

www.nique.netsliver

Alex, I’m a vegetarian.To the weird girl in my CS class who always wants to sit with me. You’re weird.the odds are good but the goods are gay...you know when there’s a turbo on the front of your book the class is going to blowyou were doing 55 in a 54is it sad that I only read the technique for the slivers?My sociology homework this weekend was to be a troll. Problem, society? U mad?to the drunk girl singing justin beiber at 2am with a megaphone: no one loves youThe girl with Hebrew tattoo behind her ear is gorgeousHigh 37 degrees.... well, i guess time to move further southTo the pretty VSA secretary, I will miss your spams next yeari don’t even know what my hobbies are anymore.My machine design teacher def looks like the Asian guy from mythbusters. Busted!!!The world don’t move to the beat of just one class...Yes, I have in fact played 6 hours of video games. You would if you saw Incursion, too.If they truly anticipated such drastic budget cuts, why are we continuing to begin new construction projects??It ain’t test time professor. It’s T-SHIRT TiiiiimeYou figure there’s a lot of tiger mom kids at tech?What’s a tech exam like? Well it’s kinda like a wombo combo... on youleggings and tights arent pants. thats why they’re AWESOMETime definitely flows slower in most of my lecturesJuggling 3 different girls is a lot of work. I don’t know how the mormons could do this.Is it appropriate to hit on girl’s at the gym?Hahah, the first thing the raided kid did was broadcast every-thing he knows/did to the world on reddit. Ahhahahaha great job.I love Cabbage like ze diabetics like ze candy

@gtsga: Tell us what you think about the HOPE Scholarship Debate here:... http://fb.me/yRTZU5I8Focus

focus@nique.netFocus Editor:Kamna Bohra

Technique

9Friday,

February 4, 2011

By Divya VarahabhatlaContributing Writer

On Jan. 12, 2010, the Republic of Haiti experienced a massive earthquake which left thousands homeless, injured or dead. As reported by New York Times, “the [estimated] total cost of the disaster was between $7.2 billion to $13.2 bil-lion, based on a death toll from 200,000 to 250,000.” The destruction was not limited to the population, but also the environment.

Now, a year later, the rebuilding of Haiti continues as part of an interna-tional effort for the “poorest country in the western hemisphere,” according to a BBC article. More recently, Tech profes-sors Reginald DesRoches and Kimberly Kurtis have been researching cheap al-ternatives to building construction as part of a larger effort to reconstruct the

buildings, shops and homes that once made up the country’s infrastructure.

As members of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Des-Roches and Kurtis have conducted the project with Joshua J. Gresham and Brett Holland, CEE graduate students.

Recently, “[the researchers] devel-oped a method to recycle rubble into a strong construction material, which could be a possible solution for safely and inexpensively rebuilding Haiti’s structures,” according to a press release.

A New York Times article reported that “less than five percent of this has been removed since Jan., and even less has been properly disposed of…. The United States Army Corps of Engineers’ debris management plan says it would take a dump truck with a 20-cubic-yard bed 1000 days to clear the debris, if it carried 1000 loads a day—or about

three years.” For such a problem, DesRoches and

Kurtis developed a research idea to use the problematic rubble and debris as starting materials of concrete.

“The concrete is made from recycled rubble and indigenous raw materials us-ing simple techniques. And it meets or exceeds the minimum strength stan-dards defined by the American Concrete Institute and used in the U.S.,” accord-ing to a press release.

“We have found we can turn one of the dilemmas—the rubble—into a solu-tion via some fairly simple methods of recycling the rubble and debris into new concrete,” DesRoches said.

DesRoches himself is personally in-vested, as he is originally from Haiti. As part of the project, he and Gresham

Ellis speaks on energy sources,

leadershipBy Amira Saleh

Contributing Writer

On Wednesday, Feb. 2, students and alumni gathered in the LeCraw Auditorium of the Management building to hear Ad-miral James O. Ellis, Jr. speak on “Energy, Prosperity, and Leadership” as part of the weekly IMPACT series.

Ellis completed 39 years in the Navy in 2004. His career included services as a naval fighter pilot, commander of the USS Abra-ham Lincoln, a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and commander of the U.S. Strategic Command.

Along with holding a bachelor’s degree from the US Naval Academy, Ellis, MS AE ‘70, is a member of the Tech’s Engineering Hall of Fame as of 2005.

Ellis is president and CEO of the Insti-tute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), a nonprofit organization which monitors and promotes the safety and excellence of nucle-ar electric generating plants in the United States.

INPO is sponsored by the commercial nuclear industry.

“Energy generates prosperity,” Ellis said in his speech.

For every one percent increase in per capita income, a 0.5 percent increase in elec-tric generating capacity is required. In the U.S., nuclear energy accounts for 20 percent of electricity generated annually. In France,

Spring offers alternative breaksBy Allyn Woodward

Contributing Writer

Although people may have complained of boredom during the unexpected snow days at the beginning of the semester, an-other break from school is already on ev-eryone’s mind: spring break.

As many students think of locations such as Panama City, Daytona and Miami as spring break locations, students from across the country are going to be flock-ing to the warm weather areas to escape the frigid temperatures of the North or the frigid temperatures in their droning, everlasting lectures.

While some students look for pure re-laxation for their breaks, others consider alternatives that combine relaxation and service. With the beaches packed with high school and college students, there are plenty of other opportunities to get some

sun and fresh air and to help improve oth-er communities and the wildlife.

This is exactly what Katie Lebedev, a fourth-year HTS major, accomplished when she went on an alternative spring break to Tucson, Ariz. Lebedev joined Trailblazers in a trip two years ago as sev-eral students spent a week in the Sierra National Park to help clear and upkeep the trails for other visitors to enjoy.

“I didn’t live on campus anymore, and it was awesome how we all came together in the middle of nowhere, alone. We had to take all our food together and make clean water together. I got to meet a lot of people I would never have talked to, and I still keep in touch with them,” Lebedev said.

As part of a small, diverse group, Leb-edev met students from different parts of the world such as France and China, while they backpacked through the park.

“It was definitely one of the best experi-ences I have had at Tech—the best social experience. I plan on going to California on another Trailblazers trip,” Lebedev said.

Going to a new place with new stu-dents and not knowing the logistics of the area can feel overwhelming, but rest assured, all groups have a leader to help group members safely get to their destina-tions.

Lebedev and her group went with a leader who organized the entire trip from choosing the location to finding volun-teers to join the program. The leader even arranged for someone to come and to pick them up from the airport and take them to the trails.

In addition to the Trailblazers’ annual alternative spring breaks, Habitat for Hu-Photo by Jonathon Cornwell / Student Publications

Ellis discussed nuclear energy in democratic and nondemocratic settings. See Break, page 11

See IMPACT, page 10

Image courtesy of Ruth Gregory

REBUILDINGH A I T I

Tech professors unite to reconstruct Haiti

See Haiti, page 10

10 • February 4, 2011 • Technique FOCUS

traveled to Haiti to gather sam-ples and to study the techniques and tools used by local workers. They also engaged in recycling to eliminate the obstacles to recon-struction, which include getting rid of the rubble that is plaguing the streets and landfills of Haiti and finding a cheap alternative to buying brand-new construction materials. Reusing the rubble also eliminated the costliness of clear-ing and storing rubble in landfills.

“I feel fortunate to have been involved in this research because

it demonstrates that the rubble which continues to impede rede-velopment in Haiti can actually be used in the reconstruction ef-fort. We are hopeful that this re-search will spur reuse of concrete rubble, when appropriate, in new construction in Haiti,” Kurtis said.

The team hopes to share its study with government officials of Haiti and any organizations that are working with the reconstruc-tion of the country. The hope is to help Haiti develop strong materi-als for construction and to speed along the recovery of the nation.

Image courtesy of Ruth Gregory

In Haiti, the research team met volunteers from around the world, along with journalists who were reporting on the catastrophe.

on the other hand, 80 percent of annual electricity consumption is due to nuclear energy.

Ellis pointed out, however, that approximately 25 percent of the world has no access to electric-ity, which means that basic needs of health and well being are not being met globally.

Nuclear energy will lead to economic success and prosperity, and is also “an essential element to democratization around the world,” Ellis said.

Tech students wanted to know what the issues were concerning nuclear waste and whether or not the U.S. should be concerned with non-democratic countries around the world that are presently devel-oping commercial nuclear indus-tries.

Ellis discussed the importance of recycling the byproducts of energy generation, and said these nondemocratic countries must place value on a culture of safety. They must be able to question authority to ensure that proper safety measures are in place and upheld.

Along with his discussion of energy options and the economy, Ellis also shared his views on lead-ership and teamwork with Tech students.

“Leadership isn’t management. You manage things and processes, and you lead people,” Ellis said.

“Don’t fake it. You cannot be what you are not, but [you] can change what you are. You have to find out for yourself what your leadership style is and modify

Haiti from page 9

what you don’t like about it,” Ellis said of practicing and finding dif-ferent leadership styles.

To Ellis, leadership is a process of continuous learning.

“It is amazing what you can learn by dropping yourself into something that is not your com-fort zone,” Ellis said.

“In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists,” Ellis said, quoting author and philoso-pher Eric Hoffer.

Ellis presently serves on the

board of directors for Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Additionally, Ellis has recently served as a Presidential Appointee on the President’s Intelligence Ad-visory Board and has functioned as a member of the Military Ad-visory Panel for the Iraq Study Group.

The IMPACT Speaker series, which brings business leaders to campus to share experiences and to offer advice to students and to other entrepreneurs, occurs every Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in the LeCraw Auditorium of the Man-agement building.

IMPACT from page 9

Photo by Jonathon Cornwell / Student Publications

In addition to his discussion of nuclear power, Ellis spoke about finding the right leadership style by leaving one’s comfort zone.

Technique • February 4, 2011 • 11 FOCUS

techniquethe south’s liveliest college newspaper.

manity is hosting an upcoming trip to Jacksonville Beach, Fla., at which students can learn new skills and help give a family a home.

“I enjoyed the alternative spring break not only because it was community service, but also because I was working with peo-ple passionate about community service,” said Andy Barrenechea, a second-year BME major who participated in the Habitat for Humanity trip during his 2010 spring break. In collaboration with the Office of Community Service, Barrenechea is now plan-ning the 2011 spring break.

During the trip, students will conduct house-building and meet the future residents on-site during the day, and be able to go to the beach, see movies and relax dur-ing the evenings.

These alternative programs are offered during the fall semesters as well.

During one of his fall breaks, Subi Mohan, ISyE ‘10, went on another program hosted by Geor-gia Tech Trailblazers to Saint Marks Wildlife Refuge in Talla-hassee, Fla., where he helped to clean up wilderness trails.

Another fall semester service

project was a one-week winter venture with Project H.O.N.O.R in New Orleans that Cameron Williams, a third-year MGT ma-jor, attended. During his winter break, Williams helped rebuild communities that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

“It was a really friendly envi-ronment, and though it was rough waking up in the mornings some-times, we had time to go out to the city,” Williams said.

Different student groups, reli-gious groups, companies and col-leges sponsor host trips annually,

Break from page 10

Photo by Ben Keyserling / Student Publications

Students who attend alternative spring breaks often work to clean up wildlife areas, including parks, beaches and riversides.

offering different perspectives on the respective service projects.

“Spring break is not only a great time to relax, but also a great opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life,” Barrene-chea said. “The more you give, the more you get back.”

Image courtesy of Georgia Tech Communications & Marketing

The Office of Community Service and recreational, corporate and religious organizations host alternative spring breaks annually.

Entertainmententertainment@nique.netEntertainment Editor:Patricia UcedaAssistant Entertainment Editor:Zheng Zheng

Technique

13Friday,

February 4, 2011

Peter Pan

Cast dusts crowd with magic at Pemberton Place

Step Afrika stomps expectations

By Chris ErnstSenior Staff Writer

Step Afrika is the first professional dance troupe in the world dedicated to the new tradition of step-ping.

Their excellent full-length shows blend story-telling, humor, dance and music in an easily-digest-

ible vignette style. While some audience members may learn a lot, others can

see straight to the slightly exaggerated truth of the presentations, making the show entertaining for both seasoned steppers as well as those who are just having their first encounter. The complexly choreographed routines were executed with astonishing skill and grace while easily combining all the different elements of the show together.

At its most fundamental, stepping is a form of dance. How-ever, it is much more than that in that it often includes song and theatrics to augment the polyrhythmic movements of the dancers. It is more than movement; it is chanting and singing in and out of time with stomps, claps, slaps and hits sometimes combined with skits or mime to tell a story.

Stepping is always percussive dance which means the sounds of the dancers’ movements are significant, or even primary ele-ments, of the whole experience.

Step Afrika’s goal is for everyone to understand and appreci-ate the dance form while also seeing it as an educational tool. As a distinctly American art form, Step Afrika is a global ambas-sador touring around the world through the Americas, Europe and Africa.

The group also hosts an annual conference of sorts in Johan-nesburg, South Africa called the International Cultural Festi-val, the fruit of a 10-year collaboration with the Soweto Dance Theatre. Step Afrika uses their shows and workshops to promote teamwork, academic achievement and cross-cultural under-standing.

The show at the Ferst Center is in a vignette style with about eight different sections. Each section highlights a different or re-lated aspect of stepping. This format is surprisingly entertaining because it would otherwise sound boring just having 10-minute sections lined up one after the other.

However, each vignette is its own story and has its own func-tion. For instance, one section may use several props to make different sounds while another section may be literally tell a story which revolves around stepping.

All of the different aspects and influences of stepping from traditional African tribal dances to the black fraternity and so-rority pledging process are expertly explored in this informa-

SHOWS

Peter PanPERFORMER: Threesixty Entertainment

LOCATION: Threesixty Tent, Pemberton Place

DATE: Jan. 21 - Mar. 20

OUR TAKE: «««««

By Dimple BansalContributing Writer

Between the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium stands a 100-foot tent encom-passing the scenery of 1904 London, the perilous seas on which Captain Hook of the Jolly Roger sails and the fabled island of Neverland. Threesi-xty Entertainment has created a fresh interpretation of J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan at Pemberton Place. For those that grew up with the Disney film, this ad-aptation is markedly different, striving to be more faithful to Barrie’s original work. Techni-cal issues are clearly present, but it is hard to walk away un-moved by what happens on the stage.

The feeling sluggishness permeates most of the first act; however, a few standout moments leave the audience breathless. Of particular note is the sequence when the chil-dren make the breathtaking journey from their London home to Neverland. This is an impressive demonstration of

the first-of-its-kind 360-degree projection of computer-generated imagery, faithfully rendering over 400 square miles of London while showcasing the acrobatic prowess of the actors.

The first act also brings out the impressive work of Sue Buckmas-ter, director of puppetry. Nana, the ostrich and the infamous croc-odile are presented in a unique and creative manner through the use of simple objects and the pup-peteers’ skills, particularly that of Christopher Keller. While some might see this as a flaw that de-tracts from the realism of the act-ing, it adds another dimension to this unconventional production.

In the same way, the ropes and coat hangers used for flying are clearly visible, and this can either be seen as unprofessional or cre-ative, depending on the audience member’s perspective. It seems clear that director Ben Harrison realized that certain elements such as flying and the animal characters would be more or less impossible to pull off convincing-ly. Choosing to embrace this fact, rather than unsuccessfully try to avoid it, is admirable.

Despite these innovative addi-tions to a classic story, the show is not without its flaws. Ciaran Joyce is fittingly cast as the titular Pe-ter Pan. While most actors do the best with what they are given, the decision to cast adults as children negatively impacts the overall performance. As a whole, the dia-logue consists of too much yelling, which limits the range of emotions

that can be expressed. Too many set changes are clumsily executed and draw the audience’s attention away from the main action. While billed as an exciting aspect of the performance, the sword fighting instances are unimpressive due to their lack of believability.

While the first act leaves some-thing to be desired, once intermis-sion is over, the story immediately picks up. Finally it seems as if the narrative has some direction as opposed to feeling like a dis-jointed collection of adventures. Relationships between characters are developed more thoroughly, particularly that between Peter and Wendy.

A brief duel between Hook and Pan while balanced on the plank is another standout moment of entertainment. It all culminates in a heart-wrenching ending that leaves the audience grappling with a gamut of emotions; here more than ever, one can see the strik-ing difference between Barrie’s thought-provoking work and the simple tale of youth told in the Disney adaptation. The emotional gravity of the show makes it dif-ficult not to recommend.

The performance venue itself provides an intimate setting in which to view the show. Even the back row is not too far removed from the stage, and actors often walk out into the audience adding to the feeling of immersion in the tale. The combination of acrobat-ics, puppetry, technology and the-ater brings out a unique retelling of this timeless story.

EVENTS

Step Afrika!

PERFORMER: Step Afrika!

LOCATION: Ferst Center for the Arts

DATE: Jan. 29, 2011

OUR TAKE: «««««

See Afrika, page 14

Image courtesy of Ferst CenterImages courtesy of BRAVE Public Relations

14 • February 4, 2011 • Technique ENTERTAINMENT

Beam gives Kiss experimental, pop sound

By Matt CohenContributing Writer

For nearly a decade, Sam Beam, the core and only constant member of Iron and Wine, has whispered his way into the hearts of listeners with his soft, entranc-ing voice and minimalist folk mu-sic. Over the years, however, the style of his music has evolved, and the sound has advanced tremen-dously. Unlike in the beginning stages of the project, when Sam Beam was using a four-track re-corder to compile his songs into demos, the current trend for Iron and Wine’s albums has been to embellish the poetic lyrical struc-tures with a wider assortment of instrumentation. Since 2005’s In the Reins, which featured the in-strumentally diverse Calexico as the backing band, Iron and Wine has continued to move away from the early sounds of stripped-down acoustic guitar and quiet vocals into a territory dominated by greater diversity and pop acces-sibility. This progression is appar-ent in Kiss Each Other Clean, the newest album by Iron and Wine, which delves into a more experi-mental realm than the band’s pre-vious releases.

The opening track of the al-bum, “Walking Far From Home,” is probably the track that is most

MUSIC

Iron and WineKiss Each Other Clean

LABEL: Warner Bros.

GENRE: Alternative

TRACK PICKS: “Walking Far From Home,” “Tree by the River” and “Monkeys Uptown”

OUR TAKE: «««««

reminiscent of the traditional Iron and Wine instrumental and lyrical structure, with a verse-only structure lacking choruses or bridges that begins each line of the verses with the same two state-ments. It evokes emotions of a de-parture from home or any other haven, with the primary means of conveyance being the images con-jured by the lyrics.

Imagery is the crucial com-ponent of Beam’s lyrics. While the true interpretation of many of his lyrics are open-ended, and could seemingly be analyzed for a semester-long course, the images depicted are the truly important elements. His songs summon one to stroll through memories, to feel the bittersweet sting of love and the vice-like, ever-present grip of death. They allow one to under-stand that all humans share some of the same underlying experi-ences. “Walking Far From Home” is one of those tracks, urging the listener to remember the difficulty in leaving a comfortable niche, but also the vastness and beauty of that which was awaiting upon departure.

The most likely candidate for a first single from the album is

“Tree by the River,” a bright, tex-tured track filled with sweet and uplifting backing vocals, chime-like bell runs, a galloping pace set by shakers and the gentle buzz of a synthesizer. The latter is a new addition to the Iron and Wine instrumentation which plays a large part in the album. “Tree by the River” tells of long-lost rela-tionships from childhood, a time when new lovers first etch their names in a tree near a roman-tic sanctuary, and when one of them truly begins to understand the harsh duality of love as being both “the thorns and the roses.” It is easily the most relatable and approachable track on the entire album.

It is at this point in the album where the experimentation begins to flourish. Tracks like “Monkeys Uptown” and “Rabbit Will Run” include chunky, Gorillaz-esque bass riffs and trill-filled guitar runs befitting a Mars Volta break-down. Along with drum ma-chines, quick-paced marimba fills and synth lines. “Monkeys Up-town” provides the listener with a glimpse at the possible future direction of Iron and Wine mu-sically and allows the listener to

decide whether the style transition that is occurring will be captivat-ing or merely disappointing. But this track does little to fall short of the exciting, enthralling mark that it tries to make.

The album reaches one of its high points with the track “God-less Brother in Love,” a painfully beautiful song that is comparable to earlier Iron and Wine gems such as Our Endless Numbered Days’ “Naked As We Came” and The Shepherd’s Dog’s vampire-friendly “Flightless Bird, Ameri-can Mouth.” Light piano chords and the smooth stroking of a harp add a rich melodic layer to the song’s already immaculate structure. This track will likely please people across a wide lis-tening spectrum. Unfortunately, once this high point is reached, the album loses steam for a sub-stantial interval, barring the pow-erful “Your Fake Name Is Good Enough for Me,” the closing track of the album which plays on for seven minutes of inventive instru-mentation, squealing vocal melo-dies and prophetic vocal lines.

Stylistically , Kiss Each Other Clean can be thought of as Sam Beam “walking far from home.” What was once primarily folk rock is now a conglomeration of atypi-cal structures, electronic sounds, saxophones and horns and vary-ing percussion beats and fills. This venture into a more experimental musical domain is likely to catch some devoted Iron and Wine fans off-guard, but it also encompasses a great potential to attract a more diverse group of listeners and to please the already established fan base. The album won’t please all listeners, and many of its songs fall short of the usual Iron and Wine grandeur, but it’s hard to deny that Sam Beam is still a mu-sical blessing to the world.

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

Afrika from page 13

tive show. Stepping is made up of many different types of danc-ing from South African gumboot dance to the powerful techniques of the Zulu people. The most popular stepping, however, takes place on college campuses. Most steppers were college students who pledged a black fraternity or soror-ity. But a similar style of dance permeates Africa, which is what the show explores.

Overall, the dancers were sub-lime. Their choreographed move-ments entertained both the eyes and ears in a way only stepping can. Every movement was prac-ticed and perfect.

While what they do may be slightly esoteric, this dance troupe obviously knows what they are doing and immensely enjoys bringing their art to new people as well as those who already enjoy it.

People who already know all about stepping will see the show as a showcase about something they already know they like.

Those who do not know any-thing about stepping will see the show as an almost purely educa-tional but still thoroughly enjoy-able experience. Both are effective and entertaining in their own ways. While the focus of the show is the dancing, there is a cursory explanation of the history of the form, its roots and its practices.

Step Afrika is one of the most energetic shows around. Between the jumping, chanting, rhythm and noise, the dancing can almost fall by the wayside. As a multidis-ciplinary form, stepping encom-passes much more than dancing, and this entertaining and enthusi-astic show grasps it all.

Step Afrika excitingly blends history, dance, theater and music to create a show that will leave all the audience members walk-ing out of the theatre wanting to recreate some of those sweet dance moves they just saw.

Technique • February 4, 2011 • 15 ENTERTAINMENT

Dead Space 2 fails to impressGAMES

Dead Space 2CONSOLE: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Miscrosoft Windows

GENRE: Survival Shooter

DEVELOPER: Visceral Games

RATING: M

RELEASED: Jan. 25, 2011

OUR TAKE: «««««

By Hank WhitsonStaff Writer

The Dead Space series seems to live by the motto “Mediocre Games borrow. Great Games Steal.” Fortunately, it takes from the best. It cribs Alien’s aesthetics, boosts its gunplay from Resident Evil 4 and pilfers Final Fantasy X ’s sphere grid system for upgrading weapons. It sounds like a win-ning recipe, but I felt that the first game was not equal to the sum of its parts.

So how does Dead Space 2 compare? The single-player cam-paign starts off with its stron-gest moment. Our engineer-hero Isaac Clarke is helplessly bound in a straightjacket and running for his life as the space colony is over-run with necromorphs. Clarke has a bit more baggage than your typical survival-horror hero. He is stricken with grief over his girlfriend’s death in the events of the first game, and these issues are made manifest in the sequel through creepy hallucina-tions and conversations with her ghost. I also want to applaud Vis-ceral Games’ decision to give Isaac a face and voice the second time around. He’s no Nathan Drake, but I actually felt like I was con-trolling an actual character as op-

posed to a mannequin.Another area where Dead Space

2 has improved is level-design, though it is a case of two steps forward and one step back. Set-ting the game on a colony as op-posed to a space-ship has allowed developers to throw in a little more variation, though most of the new sites are outer-space takes on typical horror destinations. We have a creepy space church level, a creepy space kindergarten level and a few creepy space streets. It is an improvement over the end-less sea of dark industrial corridors in the first game, but all the en-vironments still feel like hallways, with the exception of the fantastic zero-g sections, which are greatly improved over the first game.

In Dead Space 2, Combat is very similar to its predecessor. The main innovation the series brings to the table is the novelty of shoot-ing off enemies’ limbs to weaken them. There is more depth there than you might think, since all of the weapons have geometric fir-ing patterns that help distinguish them from your typical third-per-son shooter arsenal, and picking the right gun for the right ten-tacled horror involves some strat-egy. You must also mix in time-slowing stasis fields and bursts of

telekinetic energy to thwart the mutant space zombie hoards, and everything feels a little faster and more cohesive this time around.

Due to the scarcity of resourc-es, you have to be very careful about which weapons you choose to buy and upgrade. Conse-quently, you are punished for ex-perimenting and trying different weapons. The game attempts to alleviate the situation by allowing you to re-allocate your upgrades later on in the campaign, but that service also comes at a cost.

Visceral expects you to love the game so much that you will play through it multiple times, upgrading your gear and expand-ing your arsenal each time, and the higher difficulty settings are calibrated with these replays in mind. The campaign is only about 10 hours long, so three runs is still a lighter time-investment than Dragon Age or Mass Effect, but it is still frustrating to have to wait for the second go-round to try out that flamethrower.

But is it scary? It is scarier than the latest installments of the Resi-dent Evil franchise, though it is less frightening than games like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame. Lim-

Speech triumphs with strong actors

FILM

The King’s SpeechGENRE: Drama, History

STARRING: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter

DIRECTOR: Tom Hooper

RATING: R

RELEASE DATE: Dec. 24, 2010

OUR TAKE: «««««

By Robert SolomanContributing Writer

The King’s Speech stars Colin Firth as Prince Albert, second in line to the British throne and plagued by a crippling affliction for a public figure: a pronounced stammer. Albert’s awkwardness is highlighted in an early scene where he is thrust in front of a microphone, resulting in strained silences that make the viewer as uncomfortable as the on-screen audience.

Albert at the least can rest rela-tively easy, knowing that his more

charismatic brother Edward, played by Guy Pearce, is ahead of him in succession. Despite this, with prodding from his domi-neering father King George V, Al-bert is compelled to overcome his speaking problem.

At first, this results in a se-quence of absurd remedies, in-cluding smoking cigarettes to “relax the throat.” None of this works, leaving Albert’s wife Eliza-beth searching for more uncon-ventional measures.

What Elizabeth finds is Aus-tralian speech therapist Lionel Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush, who goes beyond the jaw-relaxing exercises to discover the psycho-logical cause behind the stammer.

Few of the subsequent plot points would surprise anyone. It is clear that Albert will overcome his stammer, though not with-out significant hiccups along the way. The title of the film tells us that Albert will become King of England. For those who pride a twisty plot, this movie will not satisfy. Of course, fans of difficult

See DS2, page 16

See Speech, page 16

Image courtesy of Visceral Games

Image courtesy of The Weinstein Company

16 • February 4, 2011 • Technique ENTERTAINMENT

Archer provides endless laughsTELEVISION

ArcherNETWORK: FX

WHEN: Thursday, 10 p.m.

STARRING: H. Jon Benjamin, Judy Greer, Jessica Walter

OUR TAKE: «««««

By Jordan KillpackContributing Writer

FX’s animated comedy Ar-cher follows the exploits of the eponymous Sterling Archer as he navigates the treacherous waters of international espionage office politics.

Sterling Archer has a lot in common with James Bond. Both are handsome, debonair, notori-ously womanizing and, of course, highly-trained secret agents. The difference is that Archer is an endlessly self-centered, obnoxious jerk whose neuroses and obses-sions with minutiae rival those of George Costanza from Seinfeld. Add to this the fact that his boss, the M to his Bond, is his domi-neering mother and that his crazy ex-girlfriend is a spy at the same agency, high jinks must ensue.

Archer is a show defined by contrasts. It takes a manly, rogu-ish super-spy, one of pop cul-ture’s most enduring images, and then puts him in such mundane circumstances as justifying his expense report or dealing with a

human resources representative. Instead of being suave and sophis-ticated, Sterling Archer is often boorish and egomaniacal, focus-ing more on coming across as cool or cracking stupid jokes than on completing the mission at hand.

The show is highly indebted to the style of pop culture-heavy absurdism popularized by Adult Swim. In fact, Archer’s creator, Adam Reed, was also responsible for that network’s under-watched series Frisky Dingo.

In addition, viewers may rec-ognize the voice of Archer as H. Jon Benjamin, who voiced Coach McGuirk on Adult Swim’s Home Movies.

However, Archer is far more tightly written than typical late-night fare, a characteristic that makes it more akin to Arrested Development than Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Jessica Walter and Judy Greer, two regulars on Ar-rested Development, also voice characters here. The show transi-

tions seamlessly between scenes so that a character in the next scene will often finish a sentence started in the previous. Recurring jokes provide more continuity than any semblance of a serial plot does. Pop culture references, such as a continuing fascination with Ken-ny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” (the theme song from Top Gun), lend the series a “Seinfeldian” silliness without weighing it down.

The premiere of the second season, which aired on Thursday, Jan. 27, finds Archer’s spy agency, ISIS, in a financial predicament. As a result, Archer and crew take a menial job (menial for super-spies, anyway) protecting a Ger-man dignitary’s teenage daughter from plotting Spanish commu-nists who want to kidnap her for a hefty ransom.

Archer never takes itself too se-riously, and any attempt the show seems to make at tapping a vein of emotional truth is always sub-verted soon enough.

themes do not dominate Academy Awards voting, either.

The highlights of the film lie not in the individual acting mer-its, but in the interplay between Albert and Lionel. Lionel pushes Albert, calling him by his child-hood nickname Bertie in order to bring him to an equal level.

Rather than diminishing Al-bert, this act shows that he can rise above the place he has placed himself: second-best. By engag-ing with Lionel as an equal and demonstrating his worth, Albert demonstrates his worthiness to be King.

The film is altogether very lovely and well-acted. It is certain-ly worthy of much of the praise

ited resources and firepower help establish tension, but the bombas-tic blood and gore will wear you out. Some of Isaac’s death anima-tions are so drawn-out that you will grow numb to the violence before the necromorphs finish dis-membering him. For the inevita-ble follow-up, I would love to see Visceral take a page from Eternal Darkness’ book and do some more with Isaac’s mind games.

As with the single player, Dead Space 2’s new multiplayer mode is a mixture of other titles’ suc-cesses. Each game is divided into two rounds, where two teams take turns playing as human sol-diers and necromorphs. Imagine a lighter, quicker version of Left 4 Dead ’s competitive multiplayer

thrust upon it. Another thing the film does

that is completely extraordinary is make the audience believe that a member of British royalty is an underdog. A lot of credit is due to Firth for humanizing this charac-ter, but an equal praise must be given to the direction.

Much of the film is shot through a wide-angle lens, which is not a flattering effect. As a re-sult, rather than the lush cinema-tography that one would expect, the film manages to feel very real for what it is.

It is admirable to see a film of this type so grounded, and if you have any inclination to see it you certainly should, as it is a con-tender to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards this month.

overlaid with Call of Duty’s rank-based unlockables. There is quite a lot to unlock too, but with only five maps, the core game lacks the depth to hold your attention for long.

While it is initially thrilling to rip through stronger human opponents as a necromorph, that manic bloodlust will abate over the course of a week of play. It would be the perfect rental if EA had not locked access to the mul-tiplayer with a one-use-per-copy registration key.

All in all, Dead Space 2 is a very polished addition to the survival horror genre. If you enjoyed the first game, you will love this one. But for me, it is still missing that spark of innovation that would set it apart from the titles that in-spired it.

DS2 from page 15

Speech from page 15

Image courtesy of Radical Axis

Technique • February 4, 2011 • 17 ENTERTAINMENT

Theme Crossword: GeT a move onBy Robert ZimmermanUnited Features Syndicate

ACROSS1. Blooper5. Lorikeet cousin10. Sonogram, for example14. Phase19. Jason’s ship20. City in Florida21. French department22. Piano part23. Barrel’s contents24. Hold25. Gritty fruit26. Flavoring for liqueur27. Unexpected success29. Start of a quip by Joey Adams: 5 wds.32. Corms34. Saharan35. Port in Pennsylvania36. Attachment: hyph.39. Unwanted elements41. Work by Bizet45. Part 2 of quip: 4 wds.

51. Old greeting52. Paddy plant53. Redirect54. Swellhead’s problem55. Contemporary of Gauguin57. Elect58. Eyes59. Common symptom60. Disencumbers61. Morse or Clemens63. Welfare org.65. Celtic language66. Toddler67. Part 3 of quip: 2 wds.71. Rent72. Bursts73. Beethoven’s “Fur --”74. Canceled77. You bet!78. Cubicle79. 41 Across, e.g.81. Fleece or soak83. Chandelier part85. -- tempore

DOWN1. Chatters2. City on the Oka3. Cyma reversa4. Portend5. Prototype6. Sour to the taste7. Low- --; nutritious8. Jai --9. Traveler on foot10. Specious reasoner11. Confession of faith12. Morphology: abbr.13. Chutzpah

14. Castilian15. Offer16. Passage into a mine17. Kitchen injury18. Gen. Robert -- --28. Box sleigh30. Staffordshire’s river31. Medieval strongbox33. Carell or Jobs36. Hairstyle37. Dribbles38. Overbearing40. Son of Zeus and Hera42. Authoritative

43. Duck44. Promontory46. Proceed gradually47. Writer -- Cather48. Paint-on-plaster technique49. Old Irish alphabet50. Rival56. Misjudged58. Ins and --59. Church part62. Low spirits (with “the”)63. Seed covering64. Elmo and Olaf: abbr.

65. Lamb, alternatively68. Equals69. Admit70. Great name in tennis72. Prize money75. One of 50: abbr.76. Italian title77. Digging tool78. PC part79. Ye -- Ale House80. Swimming holes82. Good deals

84. Eyeglasses86. Pomegranate cousin87. Kind of battery88. Sat in on91. Points of convergence92. Rhetoricians93. Merit95. Rub raw99. Spore case100. Greek goddesses of destiny

86. In abundance88. Indigenous Japanese89. Serv. branch90. Part 4 of quip: 5 wds.94. Franklin -- Roosevelt96. Sloping, as a stage97. Telamon98. -- Raton100. Kind of bean101. Basilique du -- -Coeur104. End of the quip: 3 wds.109. Aspiring unknown113. Magnificent114. Roman statesman115. Davenport native117. Perished118. Sultan’s decree119. End- --; consumer120. Bete --121. Krabappel of the “Simpsons”122. Ciphers123. Meeting: abbr.124. Take the stage125. Judge

102. Cognizant103. Wicker artisan104. Stoltz or Idle105. Dry: prefix106. Yikes!107. Relaxation108. Diving bird110. Officer’s assistant111. Part of NB112. A cheese116. Intelligence

18 • February 4, 2011 • Technique COMICS

non sequiTur by WileyPiled hiGher & deePer by Jorge Cham

Crossword soluTion from page 17

Technique • February 4, 2011 • 19 COMICS

dilBerT ® by SCott adamSnon sequiTur by Wiley

Technique • February 4, 2011 • 21 SPORTS

2011 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL SIGNEES

NAmE POSITION

Trey Braun

Bryan Chamberlain

Chaz Cheeks

Corey Dennis

Jamal Golden

Jeff Greene

Anthony Harrell

Jabari Hunt-Days

Errin Joe

Zach Laskey

Vad Lee

Tyler Marcodes

Shaquille Mason

Tremayne McNair

Nick Menocal

Chris Milton

Domonique Noble

Demontevious Smith

Broderick Snoody

Sean Tobin

Kyle Travis

Darren Waller

OL

OL

LB

WR/DB

DB

WR

LB

LB

OL

RB

QB

LB

OL

LB

LB

RB

DB

QB/DB

RB

SN/LB

LB

WR/DB

HOmETOwN

Tallahassee, Fla.

Albany, Ga.

Gainesville, Ga.

Troy, Ala.

Wetumpka, Ala.

Peachtree City, Ga.

Tampa, Fla.

Marietta, Ga.

Lakeland, Fla.

Peachtree City, Ga.

Durham, N.C.

Normal, Ill.

Columbia, Tenn.

Jacksonville, N.C.

Miami, Fla.

Folkston, Ga.

Mount Ulla, N.C.

Monroe, Ga.

Carrollton, Ga.

Holmdel, N.J.

Cumming, Ga.

Acworth, Ga.

Football gets largest class since ‘04 By Alex Sohani

Assistant Sports Editor

On Wednesday, Feb. 2, the Jackets signed a total of 22 foot-ball players to letters of intent for the 2011 season. The class consist-ed of 10 prospects from within the state of Ga., making this the third straight year with at least 10 in-state signings. Unlike the previ-ous two years, the majority of the class came from out of state, with four players from Fla., three from N.C., two from Ala., and one each from Tenn., Ill., and N.J.

Tech, needing depth at the linebacker position, used this class to address its No. 1 need. The eight newly signed linebackers will be developed in order to fit into the new 3-4 defense implemented by Defensive Coordinator Al Groh. Highlighting the linebacker pros-pects is Jabari Hunt-Days. Days is the brother of Tech quarterback Synjyn Days, and will be joining after playing in Marietta, Ga.

Sean Tobin, recruited to aid the recent struggles on special teams, will be working at the long snapper position along with linebacker. As a late addition to the class, Nick Menocal of Mi-ami, Fla. decommitted from the Miami Hurricanes and joined the Jackets, adding a run stop-ping ability that could help Tech’s rushing defense. Anthony Harrell from Tampa, Fla. comes from Je-suit High School, which has sent Tech talented athletes such as for-

mer B-back Anthony Allen.With two starters leaving the

offensive line after the 2010 sea-son, the Jackets were expected to recruit some replacements. Tech picked up some major size on the line, with two linemen over 300 pounds and all four over 285 pounds. Errin Joe is a prototypi-cal lineman for Head Coach Paul Johnson’s offense, combining speed along with the ability to knock defenders over.

Keeping up with the tradition of tall receivers, Tech signed two tall athletes in Darren Waller and Jeff Greene. Waller, at six-foot-five, could be seeing time at re-ceiver or safety and has been heav-ily praised for his blocking ability that is crucial to the execution of the spread option. Greene, the tallest recruit at six-foot-six, will be looked upon to use his size to jump up and catch the ball over the heads of defenders.

Another need addressed in the class was at the running back position with the majority of the experienced backs leaving at the end of the 2011 season. Broder-ick Snoddy from Carollton, Ga. is a speedy track athlete that will play at A-back and possibly as a re-turner in the kicking game. Zach Laskey will likely see time at the B-back position with his physical running style. However, he will need to gain some muscle weight to shape up for the position.

Many of the players who signed in the class are versatile

athletes that could see time at one of many positions. Seven former quarterbacks appear on the com-mitments list, such as Demontevi-ous Smith who may see time un-der center or as a defensive back. Tech appears to have gotten a steal in commitment Jamal Golden, the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year. Golden could see time at many positions but likely will be tested at the cornerback position.

Arguably the biggest recruit signed in the class, however, is Vad Lee from Durham, N.C. Lee fits the spread option scheme very well with his natural scrambling ability. During his senior season in high school, he led Hillside High School to an undefeated season and a class 4A state cham-pionship. His arm impresses the Tech coaches as well, as he threw for 3223 yards, and rushed for an-other 1300 during his career. His excitement to join the team has the Tech coaches and fans alike ready to see the results in the fu-ture at the quarterback position.

The only player in the class to enroll early is offensive lineman Trey Braun, with the rest joining the team during the summer for fall practices.

“I think we addressed our needs and signed a very balanced, talented group...We are excited about this class and feel like we have a number of players who are not only quality players, but qual-ity young men as well,” Johnson said.

22 • February 4, 2011 • Technique SPORTS

Women’s BBall loses in OTBy Kyle Gifford

Staff Writer

The No. 25 ranked Tech wom-en’s basketball team traveled to Coral Gables, Fla. to take on ACC rival Miami Sunday, Jan. 30. The Jackets came in having won 14 of their 15 previous games. The night ended in disappointment though, as Tech fell to the Hurricanes 84-74 in overtime. The loss marked only the second ACC loss for the Jackets, and they now sit in third place in the conference.

Senior guard Alex Montgom-ery led Tech with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists on six-of-13 shooting. She also added two steals to round out an all-around solid game. Junior center Sasha Goodlett and freshman guard Tyaunna Marshall both contributed double-digit points in the losing effort, scoring 18 and 11, respectively.

Tech played well in the first half, shooting just over 55 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. The Jackets even led by 11 points late in the first half and went into the break with a seven-point lead but lacked momentum as Miami continued to eat at Tech’s lead. Tech domi-nated points in the paint and points off turnovers in the first half, besting the Hurricanes 26-12 and 18-6 in those categories, respectively.

The second half proved to be the Jackets’ undoing, as Tech saw

their seven-point lead evaporate at the hands of a much sharper look-ing Miami team. The Hurricanes shot 50 percent from the floor and from three-point range in the sec-ond half as the Jackets’ shooting percentages fell to 41.7 percent from two and zero percent from downtown. Miami also took the second half advantage in points in the paint and points off turnovers, outscoring Tech 20-14 and 12-10, respectively.

Miami continued to capitalize on their second half adjustments and took the lead from the Jackets with 0:44 to go in the second half. It took a jumper by junior guard Mo Bennett with six seconds left for Tech to pull even and force overtime.

Overtime proved to be too much for Tech to overcome, as they were outscored 14-4 in extra time. Miami’s sophomore guard Stephanie Yderstrom nailed two three pointers to go along with teammate junior guard Shenise Johnson’s six-for-six free throw shooting to seal the game.

Despite Tech’s dominance in important statistics, Tech gave up 48.1 percent shooting from the floor and 42.9 percent from three-point land. Tech also sent Miami to the line 36 times, which Miami capitalized on, making 26 of those shots.

Tech looked to rebound against another ACC foe, Maryland, on Thursday at Alexander Memorial Stadium.

Photo by Joey Cerone / Student Publications

Alex Montgomery drives past a defender in a game against Connecticut. Montgomery led Tech with 19 points versus Miami.

Ramblin’ WithKelsi Weseman by Wayne Bishop

Contributing Writer

Technique: What or who got you interested in softball?

Weseman: When I was young-er my older brother played base-ball, so I got interested in that.

Technique: Is there another sport you wanted to play as a kid?

Weseman: I used to want to play basketball, but then I got too short.

Technique: Do you have any role models in sports?

Weseman: I never really looked up to any big names, but just to the older players in my sport.

Technique: Do you have any hobbies outside of softball?

Weseman: Not really, softball takes up a lot of my time.

Technique: Do you have a fa-

vorite band?Weseman: It changes on a

regular basis, but right now it’s a band called Every Avenue.

Technique: Do you have any favorite TV shows?

Weseman: I always try to watch Grey’s Anatomy and Glee. I usually end up having to watch them online.

Technique: Do you like to cook much?

Weseman: I do like to cook, but I usually don’t get to do much of it so I end up going to the din-ing halls.

Technique: Do you have any favorite dish to cook when you get a chance?

Weseman: Shepherd’s Pie.Technique: Do you have a fa-

vorite restaurant when you don’t get to cook?

Weseman: I like California Pizza Kitchen or La Parilla.

Technique: If you could have one super power, what would it be?

Weseman: I would like to be in multiple places at once.

Technique: Do you prefer ice cream or frozen yogurt?

Weseman: Ice creamTechnique: Do you have a fa-

vorite flavor?Weseman: I usually like rocky

road without the nuts in it, just chocolate with marshmallows, and chocolate chips.

Image courtesy of GTAA

Kelsi Weseman is a junior short stop for Tech’s softball team.

Technique • February 4, 2011 • 23 SPORTS

Guards from page 24

There are more experienced play-ers at the end of Tech’s bench, and even though they are guards, they can all contribute at the same time on both ends of the court.

Offensively, Tech can gain by having five guards on the court at the same time by quickly scoring points. A lineup of junior guard Iman Shumpert, freshman guard Jason Morris and sophomore guards Glen Rice Jr., Brian Oli-ver and Mfon Udofia would av-erage 54.5 points per game. That number would actually go up if the Jackets used this lineup more because Udofia and Morris only average 22.7 and 16.8 minuets per game, respectively, so more play-ing time would probably equal more points.

Another huge offensive area that could be affected by the move to a smaller lineup is team free-throw percentage. If Hewitt subbed Daniel Miller for senior guard Mo Miller, he would trade the big man’s 39 percent free throw shooting for the guard’s 92 percent.

The new lineup would also give this team an identity that has been lacking over the past four seasons. The Jackets could become a frenetic, fast-paced full-court offense. Tech’s running offense could become as famous as Syra-cuse’s 2-3 zone or the Princeton offense. Tech teams have always excelled athletically, so this small-er lineup would allow the team to

run up and down the court, and wear down opposing teams.

Also, if Tech’s opponents left their big men in the game, then they would be forced to match up on a perimeter player. The advan-tages of this are two-fold.

First, the player who was being guarded by the taller man would have a significant advantage in that he could take his man off the dribble and probably beat him to the basket.

Second, this would force the opponent’s big men to hang around the perimeter, clearing the lane for potential drives to the basket.

One might think that this smaller lineup would hurt Tech’s

team in terms of defending tall-er opponents and grabbing re-bounds, but that might not be the case.

Tech is not a team that is go-ing to beat most opponents on the boards. At this point, losing a big man would not dramatically hin-der the team.

In fact, Shumpert leads the team in rebounds playing from the point guard position with 117 and fellow guard Rice is second on the team with 111.

Employing an all-guard system would mean that Tech would have to use a full-court press defense. The press would limit the num-ber of possessions that opposing teams would have for their half-

Photo by Doug Kim / Student Publications

Mo Miller looks to dish the ball inside in the game against Maryland. Miller’s 92 percent free throw shooting leads the team.

Terps from page 24court offense and force opponents to turn the ball over. Given each players’ steal average, a five guard system to start the game would produce 7.2 steals per game, ver-sus the 6.3 steals the team aver-ages per game in the current two forward system.

The current Tech forwards are also not doing a good job guard-ing their fellow big men. Mary-land’s center Jordan Williams had 21 points, Virginia Tech’s forward Jeff Allen had 18 and Clemson’s forward Jeral Grant had 20 in games against the Jackets, and those are just ACC games.

Syracuse’s Kris Joseph had 19 points and Georgia’s Trey Tomp-kins had 21 in nonconference games. Subbing out a forward would not allow opposing big men to score significantly more points than what they are scor-ing now, but it might even make forwards score less because their teams would get a lower number of possessions due to Tech’s steals in the press.

At 10-10 overall and 3-4 in ACC play, Tech needs all the help it can get for any hope of a NCAA Tournament bid. Although it was only employed for 15 minutes this season, the five-guard lineup looked better against Maryland than the alternatives.

With a lot of practice, Tech could perfect an up-tempo offense and a full-court press to change the pace of play and hopefully win enough games to receive a NCAA tournament bid.

front late in the first half, but Tech came back again by going on a 7-2 run to end the half, highlighted by a three from senior guard Lance Storrs and a layup from Shumpert.

Storrs’ three was his first points since Nov. 30 against Northwest-ern.

Maryland opened the game up later in the second half with a 10-point run that was sparked by a pair of Holsey turnovers. Wil-liams capped off the run with a highlight reel dunk.

Williams finished the game with 21 points and 15 rebounds, leading all players in both catego-ries.

“I just wasn’t prepared tonight. [Williams] is a big, good player, and I came out and didn’t do my assignment,” Miller said.

Tech cut Maryland’s lead to four when four different Tech guards hit baskets. This included Rice, who dropped his 16th and last point of the game with a six-foot jumper. Along with his 16 points, Rice also led the Jackets with 12 rebounds.

“Our guys are playing hard. The effort is great, and Glen did give us a great effort with 12 re-bounds,” said Hewitt.

Tech was within four, but time was running out so the Jackets were forced to start fouling Mary-land to stop the clock. Maryland made its free throws and won the game.

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Technique

24Friday,

February 4, 2011

Men’s hoops falls to Terps, 74-63 Small lineup could lead to big success

Photo by John Nakano / Student Publications

Jason Morris drives past a defender in Sunday’s game against Maryland. Morris, playing in his 20th consecutive game, made five of his seven shots for 10 points in a backup role.

By Alex MItchellSports Editor

On Jan. 30, the Tech men’s basketball team put its 3-0 conference home record on the line when it hosted Maryland. The Terrapins only made one shot outside of the paint but held off the Jackets for a 74-63 victory.

The Jackets got bad news to start the game as both sopho-more guard Brian Oliver and freshman center Nate Hicks would miss the game. Oliver missed the game due to the flu, and Hicks was recovering from an appendectomy.

“Having [Oliver and Hicks] might have helped, but I thought that we had enough to win this game. I really did. I was very confident because of how we were playing and at-tacking our assignments over the last few games,” said Head Coach Paul Hewitt.

The game started off rough for the Jackets as Maryland’s star player, Jordan Williams, scored the first four points of the game to give the Terps an early lead. Williams’ second basket was off of a teammates’ miss that he leaped up high for and tipped in.

“[Williams] established himself early in the game with all of those offensive rebounds and put backs and put us on our heels. He establishes a presence around the basket that we just didn’t have an an-swer for,” Hewitt said.

Maryland extended its lead to eight when Sean Mosley hit a layup at the 15 minute mark to make the score 14-6.

At this point, freshman for-

ward Kammeon Holsey picked up his second foul of the game, forcing him to sit for the rest of the half. This, combined with freshman center Daniel Miller’s second foul earlier in the half, forced the Jackets to use a five-guard lineup.

With this unorthodox lineup, Tech came storming back as freshman guard Jason Morris hit a jumper that was

sandwiched in between threes from sophomore guard Glen Rice Jr. and junior guard Iman Shumpert, tying the score at 14.

Maryland finally found a way to get the ball to Wil-liams after the tie, as Williams put the Terps back in the lead by four. Williams had his way with Tech’s all-guard lineup as he found easy paths to the

basket by towering over the six-foot tall sophomore guard Mfon Udofia who was guard-ing him.

Tech’s small team fought hard to stay in the game, and re-tied the game at 25 when Rice got fouled by Molsey and hit the two free throws.

Maryland went back in

Men’s tennis splits matches in Athens tournament

Photo by Blake Israel / Student Publications

Eliot Potvin hits a backhand in a recent home match. Potvin, teamed with Ryan Smith, beat Oklahoma State’s team, 8-2.

By Kyle GiffordStaff Writer

The No. 23 ranked Tech’s men’s tennis team trav-eled to Athens on Jan. 29 to participate in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend against No. 20 North Carolina and No. 47 Oklahoma State.

Tech’s tennis team was coming off back-to-back wins to kick off 2011 against South Carolina and South Carolina Upstate. The Jackets looked to contin-ue their win streak and stay hot going into conference play. Tech worked its way to a draw in the tournament, losing to the Tar Heels, 4-3, and beating Oklahoma State, 4-2.

On the first day of the tournament, the Jackets struggled against a talented team from North Caro-lina.

The day kicked off with the doubles portion of the match up. Tech posted just a 1-2 record, with the only win coming from the team of seniors Guillermo Go-mez and Dean O’Brien, who defeated the Tar Heel’s team of junior Cameron Ahari and sophomore Wil-liam Parker, 8-5. It was the team’s first point it had lost on doubles the entire season.

Tech went on to split its singles match to end the day, with wins by sophomores Juan Spir and Magin Ortiga and junior Kevin King.

No. 48 ranked Spir had a back-and-forth match as he needed a tiebreaker to win the first set 7-6 (7-1). Spir performed much better in the second set as he easily took down No. 103 ranked Stefan Hardy 6-2 to win the point for Tech.

No. 13 ranked Gomez struggled in singles and

dropped his match against the Tar Heels’ No. 30 ranked sophomore Jose Hernandez, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.

The second day of the Kick-Off proved to be much better for the Jackets as they swept the doubles matches to go along with a 3-3 split in the singles matches.

All three doubles teams posted impressive wins. The first win came from Gomez and O’Brien, who

defeated the Cowboys’ team of junior Eric West and freshman Tomas Patino, 8-2.

The second win was scored by seniors Eliot Potvin and Ryan Smith, who put down Oklahoma State’s Bains and senior Vlad Bondarenko, 8-5.

In the matchup of ranked teams, the No. 8 doubles team of King and Spir did battle with the Cowboys’ No. 9 ranked doubles pair of junior Aleksey Bessonov and freshman Rifat Biktyakov. The match went unfin-ished, but at the time it was called, Tech was leading 6-5, earning them the win on the scoreboard.

Tech’s first singles win came courtesy of Gomez, who beat Oklahoma State’s freshman Maniel Bains in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Tech earned two more wins, with King winning in three sets and Ortiga notching a victory after his opponent retired following the eighth game of their match.

Tech looks to post another win in their next match, as they take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sat-urday, Feb. 5 at home. That match begins at 1:00 p.m. They then play Georgia State at 2:30 p.m. on Wednes-day.

Tech’s top players will also look to continue to play at a high level leading up to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, which will be held Feb. 18 in Seattle, Wash.

By Alex MitchellSports Editor

In its recent game versus Maryland, the Tech men’s basketball team was forced into using a five-guard lineup for nearly 15 min-utes of the first half. While this may seem like a disadvantage for the Jackets, having five guards on the court actually turned out well for Tech and could work to the team’s advantage in the future.

The Jackets lost freshman center Nate Hicks before the game because of an appen-dectomy and sophomore guard Brian Oliver missed the game due to the flu. These inju-ries left the Jackets with only two forwards, and by the five-minute mark of the first half, both had two fouls. The Jackets only had guards remaining on their bench for the rest of the half.

When freshman forward Kammeon Hol-sey went out of the game with his second foul, Tech was down by eight points. By the time the half ended, Tech’s small lineup had cut Maryland’s lead down to one and forced seven turnovers.

“[The five-guard lineup] was probably the most effective offensively. We felt like we had options, but it was certainly their threes that got us back in the game. Maybe you go with them more, but there were times offensively that they could not get anything going,” said Head Coach Paul Hewitt.

Hewitt may want to re-think his strategy and go with this lineup more often.

First and foremost, running a five-guard system will put the best players on the court for the Jackets. Freshman center Daniel Miller, Holsey and Hicks are just not expe-rienced enough to handle ACC play at this point in their young careers. The three big men rank seventh, eighth and ninth respec-tively in team scoring, yet only Miller is in the top five in terms of rebounds per game.

See Guards, page 23See Terps, page 23