By MATT SUTHERLANDThe Breeze
A few aspects of Purple Out may change next year.
After initial controversy about the dis-tribution of the traditional Purple Out T-shirts during Homecoming weekend, the Student Government Associationâs investigatory committee made its recommendations on Tuesday after interviewing individuals and represen-tatives of organizations.
Among those, the committee that was formed on Nov. recommended that the vice president of Student Aďż˝ airs position, if kept for next year, should remain in charge of Purple Out T-shirt distribution.
âWe acknowledge the need for a strong leadership at the top, which is
why weâre recommending we main-tain control of the execution of this
see SGA, page 4
Serving James Madison University Since 1922 breezejmu.org
Vol. 87, No. 30Thursday, January 20, 2011
Cloudy 42°/ 29°chance of precipitation: 20%
1/20 INSIDE NEWS 3 Essential apology Essence magazineâs editor gives a keynote address during MLK week.
OPINION 5 Shooting wordsPoliticians point ďż˝ ngers, place blame.
SPORTS 7 Sendoff for swimmers Eight seniors participate in ďż˝ nal home meet.
LIFE 9 Capturing constraints Guest artist paints pictures with photos of every day limitation.
ARTHUR MOATSHEIGHT: 6 feet 2 inchesWEIGHT: 250 poundsPOSITION: LinebackerTEAM: Buffalo BillsMAJOR: Political scienceCLAIM TO FAME: Sacked Brett Favre in Week 13 of the NFL season, ending Favreâs record starting streak; nominated twice for NFL Rookie of the Week
THE BOOKSfrom the Bills to
DAVID CASTERLINE / FILE PHOTO
RYAN FREELAND / THE BREEZEArthur Moats, seen here with Senate and congressional reports in Carrier Library, is on schedule to graduate in May with a bachelorâs degree in political science. Moats has several career aspirations for when his time as a professional football player is over, specifi cally in politics.
By MICHAEL DEMSKYThe Breeze
Former JMU football star Arthur Moats reached one of his two life goals when he took the ďż˝ eld in the National Football League this fall.
Now heâs come for the other. Heâs back to graduate.
Last winter, Moats was selected to attend the NFLâs annual Scouting Combine, a show-case for college players to display their skills to the leagueâs brass. Invited with about play-ers from around the country, Moats was in elite company.
But, it also forced him to make one of the most diďż˝ cult decisions of his life.
In his last semester before graduation, Moats left JMU and headed to New Jersey, where he worked out at a facility to better prepare for Aprilâs NFL Draft.
âFor me, in a business sense, it was in my best interests to leave and do my workouts else-where,â Moats said. âBut from the time I came here as a freshman, the objective was to gradu-ate. I came back because it was never really an option not to.â
ďż˝ e choice to leave school last spring turned out to be the right one, as Moats was drafted by the Buďż˝ alo Bills in the sixth round, making him
the th player taken in the draft.To some, the idea of an NFL player return-
ing to school to graduate seemed like a stretch. His four-year, $. million contract with the Bills stood out to those who believed he already had the money and skill set to suďż˝ ce without a diploma.
ďż˝ e skeptics were unaware of what Moats and his family represent. Both of his parents are educators, his father a high school teacher and his mother a pre-kindergarten instructor. His older sister has graduated with an engineering
degree from Old Dominion University and his younger brother is on the deanâs list at Marshall University.
âI looked at my family and was like, âIâm the only one not ďż˝ nishing school right now,â â Moats said. âI was tired of being called just the athlete of the family, so I deďż˝ nitely felt the pressure to come back and get my degree.â
Moats began to deeply connect with his surrounding youth community, participating in about community service events since joining the Bills, both in his hometown of Ports-mouth, Va. and Buďż˝ alo. His contract mandates
see MOATS, page 8
Final size of lake
58% will be drained
Newman Lake to shrink more than half over summer aďż˝ er dam fails regulationsCAMPUS CHANGES
By TYLER McAVOYThe Breeze
JMUâs iconic Newman Lake will be barely larger than a pond by this time next year.
On Jan. , the Board of Visitors approved a project to decrease the size of Newman Lake by more than half.
Fixing the lake is mandatory and must be completed by the end of , according to Charlie King, senior vice president of finance and administration.
ďż˝ e dam that controls the water level for the lake no longer adheres to Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation regulations.
Gary Shears, director of engineering and sustainability, is in charge of the project. A consultant who was hired by JMU to inspect the dam found the spill-way to be too small for the lakeâs current volume of acre-foot of water.
âďż˝ e existing dam is not problem-atic at this time and has caused no problems,â Shears said. âThe dam is not failing. Instead, there was a legisla-tive regulatory change that required a re-evaluation of the existing structure.â
According to Shears, after half of the water is drained from the lake, a new embankment will be installed from Sonner Hall to the WVPT building near Port Republic Road.
ďż˝ e ďż˝ nal size of the lake is expected
to be just acre-foot, percent of its current size. ďż˝ e dam will be reclassi-ďż˝ ed as a storm water structure in order to be in-compliance with the new regulations.
ďż˝ e new regulation guidelines eval-uate dams based on major roadways around them. According to the guide-lines, any bodies of water that could ďż˝ ood over a major roadway in case of dam failure must be reevaluated. New-man Lakeâs proximity to Interstate- made it necessary to be re-evaluated.
In order to preserve the lake and cut costs, the Board of Visitors approved to shrink the lake in size instead of installing a spillway structure under Bluestone Drive.
According to Shears, installing a new spillway would have preserved the size of the lake, but would have closed oďż˝ the roadway going through JMU for a year or more, and been much more costly.
âThe university determined that [shrinking the lake] was the least dis-ruptive, most cost-eďż˝ ective and most environmentally friendly option,â Shears said.
The project, slated to begin by May , was chosen among sever-al proposals to fix the dam. Besides shrinking the lake and building a new spillway, the option of completely
see LAKE, page 4
PART 2 OF 2
âPurple Outâ could be removed from Homecoming
Fall 2010 Purple Out eventâs operational issues âInability of staff to control
chaotic and unorganized linesâ âInability to account for individu-
als receiving multiple T-shirts, non-students receiving T-shirts and individuals attempting to acquire T-shirts by circumventing linesâ
âLack of adequate lightingâ
â For the full report online visit breezejmu.org.â Information taken from the Purple Out Investiga-tive Committee Concluding Report
For part one of the series, âArthur Moats: resounding rookie,â visit breezejmu.org.
SGA
By AARON KOEPPERThe Breeze
A semester after enacting new police patrol regulations, JMUâs alcohol culture may be changing.
ďż˝ atâs what JMUâs Judicial Aďż˝ airs Direc-tor Josh Bacon says after seeing fewer alcohol related charges in the fall.
Judicial Aďż˝ airs handed out referrals for alcohol violations last semester, com-pared to referrals for violations in the fall semester, according to Bacon. Referrals are given out based on arrests and charges made by JMU and the Har-risonburg Police Department.
Bacon said a reduction in the number and severity of violations was concrete evidence that increased enforcement and eďż˝ orts by JMU were changing the attitudes of students.
âďż˝ e community standards might have
see ALCOHOL, page 4
Decrease in alcohol-related violations in fall
Fall 2009
Fall 2010
784 referrals from Judicial Affairs for alcohol violations 830 referrals from
Judicial Affairs for alcohol violations 195 alcohol-related
charges from JMU police 234 alcohol-related
charges from JMU police
GRAPHIC BY JENA THIELGES / THE BREEZE
GRAPHIC BY JENA THIELGES / THE BREEZE
CRIME
Come see us at Student Org. Night
tonight from 9-11 p.m. in the
Festival Ballroom
Todaycloudy42°/29°
Fridaywindy31°/18°
Saturdaysunny30°/20°
Sundaysunny 35°/27°Page 2
EDITORS Elizabeth Baugh & Megan Reichart E-MAIL [email protected] Thursday, January 20, 2011 2
Larceny On Jan. 16, a student
reported the theft of a laptop, valued at $2,300, in Chesapeake Hall.
On Jan. 17, a student reported the theft of bricks, valued at $50, on the Quad.
Property Damage On Jan. 16, a JMU
employee reported $200 worth of damage to a restroom stall in Eagle Hall.
On Jan. 16, a student reported $100 worth of damage to a wall in Chesapeake Hall.
Alcohol and Drugs On Jan. 15, a student
was charged with possession of marijuana in Weaver Hall.
On Jan. 16, a student was charged with underaged consumption at the Godwin bus stop.
On Jan. 16, a student was charged with a drunk in public and underaged possession charge at Frederikson Hall.
On Jan. 14, a student was charged with a drunk in public and underaged possession charge in the G Lot.
On Jan. 16, a student was charged with a drunk in public on Putter Court.
Other On Jan. 17, fi ve students
were charged with dangerous practices while playing on an ice-covered Newman Lake.
POLICE LOGServing James Madison University Since 1922Serving James Madison University Since 1922
G1 Anthony-Seeger Hall, MSC 6805James Madison UniversityHarrisonburg, Va. 22807PHONE: 540-568-6127
FAX: 540-568-6736
MISSIONThe Breeze, the student-run newspaper
of James Madison University, serves student, faculty and staff readership by
reporting news involving the campus and local community. The Breeze strives to
be impartial and fair in its reporting and fi rmly believes in First Amendment rights.
Published Monday and Thursday mornings, The Breeze is distributed throughout
James Madison University and the local Harrisonburg community. Comments and complaints should be addressed to Katie
Thisdell, editor.
Individual copies of The Breeze are free, but multiple copies can be purchased at
The Breeze offi ce.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEFKATIE THISDELL
NEWS [email protected]
LIFE [email protected]
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OPINION [email protected]
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A walk in the woodsEarlier this winter, a black bear wandered at the edge of the Shenandoah National Parkway near
Dark Hollow Falls. Approximately 300 to 600 black bears live in the park, which is about a 30 minute drive from JMU.
ROBERT BOAG / THE BREEZE
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CORRECTIONS In the Jan. 18 issue, the article titled âRewards program rolled outâ had a graphic that was
labeled incorrectly. The prizes for the fi ve-point and 10-point levels should be switched. Also, this rewards program is an initiative for all students, not just Duke Club members. In the Jan. 18 issue, the article titled âPreserving the pastâ misreported that a âfraternity
aims to raise $10,000 to preserve a piece of Harrisonburg history.â The fraternity has not made plans to offi cially begin fundraising.
horoscopesIF YOU WERE BORN TODAY:
Born today, you do not exactly fi t the Capricorn mold, and it may often seem to others â and to you as well â that you are in some way fi lling shoes that were not made for you. What this means, of course, is that you will spend much of your life in a determined search for self â for that part of you that is uniquely and defi nitively you in every way.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Your schedule may make it impossible
for you to join with others in a celebration of sorts that you have actually been anticipating.
PISCES(Feb. 19-March 20) Itâs time to get back to a project
that has been waiting for you long enough.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) You donât want to spend so much
time in preparation that you donât really get down to work.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)You cannot possibly anticipate every
and all eventualities, so be prepared for a little on-the-spot improvisation.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) While waiting for someone else to
get with the program, you may be able to accomplish something that guarantees your victory.
CANCER(June 21-July 22) Donât let anyone else hear you
bad-mouth your team. Now is the time to be supportive â or to keep silent.
LEO(July 23-Aug. 22)What you learn about yourself at
play can be applied to the way you go about your work. Both are closely aligned at this time.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) The communication lines must be kept
open, but that doesnât mean you must be in touch with everyone.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Are you ready to see what a lucky
streak won for you? By dayâs end, youâll have reason to celebrate, but not the one you expect.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Progress can be made either quickly
or slowly, but either is progress worth noting.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)You may be waiting for someone to
bring you something youâve been waiting for, but today is not likely the day.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) All signs point to a certain result that
you should be able to bank on by dayâs end, even though it hasnât yet been realized.
NewsEditors Matt Sutherland & John Sutter E-mail [email protected] Thursday, January 20, 2011 3
in briEfHarrisonburg
SunTrust Bank closed for three more weeksSaturdayâs water heater explosion in the SunTrust Bank on the corner of South Main Street and Port Republic Road will keep the bank closed for three more weeks, according to the Daily News-Record. Customers are encouraged to go to one of the other branches in downtown Harrisonburg or on East Market Street.
by KElsEy PEtErsThe Breeze
âI apologize.âIf American Society of Magazine Editors Hall
of Fame member Susan L. Taylor could say one thing to her hero, Martin Luther King Jr., that is what she would say â I apologize.
Taylor, a NAACP Presidentâs Award recipient inspired and motivated students, professors, JMU Faculty and Harrisonburg residents dur-ing her keynote speech Monday night, for JMUâs 24th annual week-long celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.
âI apologize for dropping the baton,â Taylor said. âMy generation has let you down.â
Kingâs work, protesters of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and civil rights activists marked a path for generations to follow. Taylor was embar-rassed to say that her generation was falling behind.
According to information provided at the event by the National CARES Mentoring Move-ment, 60 percent of African American fourth graders are functionally illiterate.
Erica Hwang, a sophomore psychology major, was surprised by that statistic.
âIt was completely shocking to hear how many children in the education system are under-privileged,â Hwang said.
In some areas, only 20 percent of black males are graduating from high school.
Cuba and Barbados have a higher literacy rates in fourth graders than the U.S., said Taylor.
This is why after 37 years of magazine work at Essence, an esteemed African-American wom-enâs magazine, Taylor left the magazine to found National CARES Mentoring Movement.
Oprah, Mariah Carey and Sean Combs are just
some of the names of celebrities that endorse the NCMM, now active in more than 57 cities.
According to Taylor, the NCMM uses mentor-ing as a way to improve literacy and graduation rates in black communities, and to show the chil-dren that the adults love and care for them.
âI had to leave Essence,â Taylor said. âAt this rate, there wonât be an Essence in the next gen-eration if nothing is done to improve these conditions.â
The Center for Multicultural Student Services put on a video showing the accomplishments of the civil rights movement.
âWhen people come together, they are the mightiest force in the universe,â Taylor said.
Senior English major Sabrina Espada listened to advice from Latino Student Alliance and was encouraged to get involved with other organiza-tions around campus.
âThe more people you get involved, the more you can change,â Espada said.
Making changes in the world takes steps, Tay-lor said.
see sPEaKEr, page 6
sPEaKEr
CrimE
âI apologizeâSusan Taylor encourages a life of giving back to the community through service. Taylor speaks Monday night in Wilson Hall in the culminating event in the 24th annual week-long Martin Luther King Jr. Week celebration.
DaN GoriN / the breeze
âi apologize for dropping the baton. My generation has let you down.âsusan taylorkeynote speaker
JMU Police are investigating reports of a second indecent exposure within a month near Top Dog and Hillcrest House.
On Monday around 1:20 p.m., a female witness reported that a His-panic male exposed himself between Phillips Center and Hillcrest House. The suspect was described as about 30 years old, 5 feet 5 inches in height with a mustache, wearing a blue and gray plaid hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
JMU police released a Timely Notifi-cation Tuesday morning informing the community of the incident.
In a similar case on Dec. 13 around 11:15 a.m., multiple female witnesses reported that a Hispanic male exposed himself to them near the steps out-side Top Dog. The victims described the suspect as approximately 5 feet 7 inches in height with short brown or black hair and wearing white tennis shoes and a dark blue and black long-sleeved jacket.
Lee Shifflett, JMU chief of police, said police canât confirm whether the incidents are related until a suspect is in custody, but did confirm the descrip-tions are similar.
âWe wonât know until the case is closed, but logic would lead one to believe that the characteristics of the crimes are most likely related,â Shif-flett said.
A n y o n e w i t h i n f o r mat i o n i s encouraged to contact JMU police at 540-568-6911.
â staff reports
Campus flasher strikes againTwo indecent exposures occur in one month
by ryan PlattThe Breeze
Two JMU students woke with a surprise Monday night after Harri-sonburg Police notified them that a Dumpster had crashed into their cars.
According to Mary-Hope Vass, Harrisonburg police spokeswoman, officers received a call at 2:11 a.m. on Monday from an anonymous witness of the event.
âIt was reported to us that an indi-vidual saw three unknown males push a Dumpster onto two vehicles,â Vass said.
The occurrence is listed as a prop-erty damage incident that occurred in the 1000 block of Lois Lane in the South View apartment complex.
Police estimate the damages to be $5,000 for each car.
Emily Robinson, a senior integrat-ed science and technology major, was shocked at the news of the vandalism.
âThe police were knocking at our door, and they were the ones who told us,â Robinson said.
Both vehicles belonged to JMU students and residents of South View. According to the witness, the Dumpster was pushed down an embankment and landed on the two cars.
While there were damages to both vehicles, one had more damage than the other.
âMine is a lot worse. The corner of [the Dumpster] hit my car. The front side is pretty mangled, and I canât open the driver side door,â Robin-son said.
The second car, however, ended up with less damage than initially
suspected.â We t h ou g ht i t âd b e w o r s e,
âcause most of it landed on her car, but thereâs just a dent in the hood,âRobinson said.
The two studentsâ auto insurance
covers the entire cost of repair for the cars, according to Robinson.
South View will face will not have to pay for damages, according to Robinson.
âBecause of the lease, they say theyâre not liable for any damages in the parking lot, so theyâre not respon-sible for anything,â Robinson said.
The identity of the three males remains unknown, and there have yet to be any charges, according to Vass.
Anyone with information regard-ing the incident is asked to report it to Crime Solvers at 540-574-5050.
ContaCt Ryan Platt at [email protected].
by stEPHany HolguinThe Breeze
Two members of the JMU College Democrats lobbied legislators in Rich-mond on Monday, opposing a resolution that would ban illegal immigrants from admission to Virginia colleges and universities.
âWe were able to advocate on behalf of college students directly to legisla-tors about issues important to us,â said junior Melanie Goff, president of College Democrats.
The measure, HB 1465, is currently under consideration in the Virginia Gen-eral Assembly and was one of the main bills the two members lobbied about to legislators on Monday. The students part-nered with the Virginia Young Democrats Organization to lobby on behalf of bills that deal with higher education.
Dan Richardson, a junior and caucus chair of the College Democrats, joined Goff in Richmond for the Lobby Day event.
âThe first goal of this effort is to bring people to the capital of the Common-wealth so they can see that their input makes a meaningful difference,â Rich-ardson said.
Other chapters from accross the state participated in this event such as Univer-sity of Virginia., Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University, George Mason University and Longwood University. Approximately 20 students attended as part of the VAYD organiza-tion. Richardson said that each school sent about two to three students.
Even though Goff is from Maryland, she is a registered voter in Virginia and she believes that itâs important for stu-dents to get involved in the community that they live in.
âAs a voting citizen of the Common-wealth, I lobbied on behalf of other college
students, including JMU students,â Goff said.
While in Richmond, the VAYD lob-bies for issues that will impact younger citizens.
Some of the other issues that they lob-bied for included voting accessibility issues, no excuse absentee voting, edu-cational issues such as anti-bullying laws and teacher pay and human rights issues like discrimination protection for LGBT individuals.
VAYD also lobbied for opposition of HB 1465, which prohibits undocumented aliens from admission to any insititution of higher learning in Virginia.
According to Richardson, all the leg-islative items that were lobbied for have a disproportionate impact on young-er people and are valued greatly by our generation.
Many of the items supported by the VAYD are introduced by the Democrats delegates; however, the VAYD made an effort to find legislation proposed by Republicans that VAYD would support.
Neither Goff nor Richardson had ever worked on Lobby day.
âLobby Day is an excellent way to get Senators and Delegates looking at
see lobby, page 4
Two students push Democratic agenda in Richmond
Former editor of Essence magazine gives keynote address for Martin Luther King Jr. Week.
CrimE PolitiCs
âthe first goal of this effort is to bring people to the capital of the Commonwealth so they can see that their input makes a meaningful difference.âdan richardsonjunior
A Dumpster that was pushed down a hill at South View caused $10,000 worth of damage to two parked cars, according to police.
Photo Courtesy of eMily robiNsoN
Police: Three men roll Dumpster onto two cars in South View on Monday night
âMine is a lot worse. the corner of [the Dumpster] hit my car. the front side is pretty mangled, and i canât open the driver side door.âEmily robinsonISAT major
4 Thursday, January 20, 2011 breezejmu.org news
745 East Market StreetHarrisonburg, Virginia
from front
program with the vice president,â said senator Patrick Elwell, who headed the committee. âWe also recommend that whoever is in charge appoints several senators or SGA members to help them out. This is a very big event and itâs complicated.â
Since former VPSA Brock Wal-lace resigned on Nov. 2, many SGA members have called to merge both the two vice presi-dent positions of Student Affairs and Administrative Affairs.
The committee also recom-mended of teaming up with the Department of Athletics to dis-tribute shirts for the first football game of the year instead of dur-ing the traditional Homecoming
weekend. The committee suggest-ed doing this because there would be more daylight to administer the shirts for the first football game, reducing the chances of people stealing shirts.
However, senior class president Kaitlin Solomon was concerned about SGA not being involved in Homecoming weekend.
âThis is the one event we do with Homecoming, and whatâs great about it is itâs the one event that the Homecoming Committee doesnât necessarily do, so it gives the student body a chance to inter-act with Homecoming,â Solomon said.
However, the investigatory committee also emphasized they didnât make many specific sug-gestions regarding this, because
future plans to keep the VPSA position are still unclear, said senior senator Adam Hall.
SGA President Andrew Reese said that even though previous shirt giveaways during Home-coming weekend were dishonest, it didnât mean the office of VPSA should suffer.
âThereâs a chance of corrup-tion, no matter who you assign it to,â Reese said. âYes, there were problems, but the position didnât need to take the heat for that.â
The committee also explained that the T-shirts were sometimes given to friends of SGA mem-bers and student organizations before planned giveaway dates in the past, and the commit-tee recognized that there was âa lack of protocol regarding early
distribution of T-shirts.â According to the committee,
this led to confusion in the SGA and among student organizations regarding which organizations would receive shirts early. Wal-lace gave 10 Purple Out T-shirts to The Breeze after a request.
Elwell also said the inability to account for multiple stolen shirts was a problem regarding the Purple Out distribution. They also said that faculty members and local high school students receiving shirts was an additional problem.
As a result, the committee believed it would be appropriate for SGA as a whole to determine which organizations that were unable to attend the T-shirt give-away would receive them in
advance.âWeâve had a couple problems
with that, and not just this year, but previous years as well,â Elwell said.
In the report, the committee also suggested that T-shirt distrib-utors keep track of who received a shirt by stamping a studentâs hand once before receiving their shirt to identify them as a JACa-rd holder, and another time after they received the shirt.
During Tuesdayâs meeting, SGA also granted $300 to JMUâs chapter of the Physician Assistant Student Society to send two students to attend PASSâ national conference in Las Vegas.
SGA also granted $4,357.44 to the JMU debate team, ranked seventh in the nation last year,
to use for registration and trav-el expenses for eight upcoming tournaments.
The Mozaic dance team received $1,821 to fund a chore-ographer fee for Coalescence, a hip-hop dance showcase. SafeR-ides was granted $3,500 to bring a speaker to One Night, One Ride, One Life, a future presentation about designated driving.
JMUâs Model United Nations received $310 to pay for club reg-istration. The Chinese Student Association also received $4,537.44 to fund its Chinese culture show. Breakdance Club received $3,100 to fund its event, âCircles,â a charity event showcasing hip-hop culture.
ContaCt Matt Sutherland at [email protected].
sGa | Committee finds a âlack of protocolâ in distributing Purple Out T-shirts
aLCoHoL | Fewer total arrests, alcohol-related referrals and violent acts in fall 2010 than fall 2009
Lobby | Students spoke to delegates, aidesfrom page 3
legislation they might over-look,â Richardson said. âWe left the day with commitments from legislators to either sup-port legislation or look at previously ignored items.â
Goff and Richardson met and spoke to several delegates and aides such as Sen. Mark Harring, Del. Richard Bell, Del. Betsy Carr and Del. Mark Keam.
The members felt they made a positive and productive
contribution and got to learn the political process.
âThis was my first time trav-eling to Lobby Day and I would consider it a fantastic intro-duction to the inner working of state politics,â Richardson said. âWe would all agree that our goals for today were exceeded and we are very proud of the work done around the state.â
ContaCt Stephany Holguin at [email protected].
from front
shifted a little bit,â Bacon said. âWeâre not seeing the same stuff that weâve seen in years past â DUIs, fights where parties are intoxicated, assaults against officers.â
In August, President Linwood Rose sent a letter notifying stu-dents of actions the university would be taking in order to change the negative drinking culture at JMU. The university implement-ed programs in the fall regarding increased enforcement, parental involvement and further educa-tion and programming.
In the 2010 fall semester, Judi-cial Affairs gave out 10 referrals for violence to persons violations, down from 21 in fall 2009.
Bacon attributed some of the drops in charges to increased
enforcement off-campus by four new JMU police officers.
âThereâs been many efforts, but I think enforcement was a big part,â Bacon said. âFrom what I hear and what Iâve seen, the cul-ture around Port Republic Road has changed. Thereâs not just huge crowds of students milling
around, maybe not people com-ing from all over just trying to get into parties.â
JMU police made 211 charges off-campus last fall semester, 192 of which were alcohol related, according to JMU Police Chief Lee Shifflett. On campus, JMU police gave out 195 alcohol-relat-ed charges in 2010, down from 234 in 2009.
HPD made 1,258 arrests city-wide during the 2010 fall semester, down from 1,473 in the 2009 fall semester, according to police spokeswoman Mary-Hope Vass.
Shifflett said he believes there was no single explanation for the drop in charges.
âIt might be more students making responsible decisions,â Shifflett said. âIt could have also been Roseâs letter to parents.â
Bacon, who talks with many of
the students that go through Judi-cial Affairs after receiving referrals for violations, said students had differing attitudes compared with semesters before.
âI see students that I meet with and they say, âI appreciate the police being out there. I feel theyâre looking out for us and only focusing on disruptive behavior,â â Bacon said.
Bacon also said the freshmen he talked to felt less pressured to drink and go out.
âThey maybe feel safer and more comfortable to do different things,â Bacon said. âThey feel, âMaybe I donât have to go up and down to all these different parties. Maybe itâs a better choice to stay in this Friday and watch a movie.â â
ContaCt Aaron Koepper at [email protected].
âIt might be more students making responsible decisions. It could have also been Roseâs letter to parents.âLee shifflettJMU Police chief
With Congress back in session after a self-imposed hiatus in reaction to the shooting in Arizona, the ďż˝ rst item on the agenda is a vote to repeal the Patient Protection and Aďż˝ ordable Care Act, otherwise known as health care reform. House Republicans plan to push it through in a bout of political theater to demonstrate their power.
ďż˝ at said, an eďż˝ ort to repeal the bill is fruitless as a vote would not pass the Democratic Senate nor would President Obama sign off on it. Speaker of the House John Boehner outlined his par-tyâs intentions to repeal the âjob-killingâ health care law on the Congressâ ďż˝ rst day in session on Jan. . Boehner and Majority Whip Eric Cantor both said they believe the bill will ďż˝ x the econo-my and lower the nationâs deďż˝ cit, both of which they say âObamacareâ is con-tributing to.
FactCheck.org immediately ďż˝ agged the House Republicansâ constant use of âjob-killingâ in addressing the health care bill as far from correct. It found that not only does the bill have minimal jobsloss â a gain, if anything, with like-ly health care and insurance industry growth â but the Congressional Budget Oďż˝ ce declared the law is self-ďż˝ nancing and projects that it would actually start to reduce the national deďż˝ cit in years.
In the same report, the CBO calculat-ed that repealing the law would actually increase the deďż˝ cit by $ billion over the next years. ďż˝ at certainly doesnât help the Republicansâ case. Yet they still insist on going through with the repeal charade.
While NPR reported Monday that both Republicans and Democrats intend to conduct a more civilized and thoughtful conversation rather than the fervent debate littered with name-call-ing and hyperbolic accusations of the last round, itâs still a futile discussion.
Democrats took the bait, however, and have revamped their defense for the health care law, emphasizing the beneďż˝ ts that have already been put into place. ďż˝ ey are bringing a more uniďż˝ ed
and personal touch to their support, tapping into the moral speech cham-pioned by the Republicans, to make their case using examples of beneďż˝ ts already in action and stories of the peo-ple theyâve helped.
As discussion started, the tone was much more restrained but still divided.
âObviously there are strong feelings on both sides of the bill and we expect the debate to ensue along policy lines,â Cantor said on Tuesday. âWe are going to be about decency here and engage and promote active debate on policy.â
Of course, any discourse is just grandstanding and political theater. ďż˝ e bill will almost certainly fail in the Senate, so while Republicans should be aware that their eďż˝ orts could be of no avail, repealing health care is still their top priority.
Now that theyâre back in a power position, having taking back the House in Novemberâs midterm election, the Republicans seem to enjoy having the opportunity to spew their rhetoric. Yet they are quick to remind us that they do not have majority power in the Senate or the presidency. So if nothing hap-pens or if anything goes wrong, theyâll still be able to point the ďż˝ nger at the Democrats.
Even if they were to succeed in a full repeal, the GOP lack a concrete way to go about replacing âObamacareâ with their own health care bill. It is also unclear what they intend to do this health care vote comes to a redundant close once more. We have yet to see any deďż˝ nite plans for reducing the national deďż˝ cit.
Republicans should be careful. If they keep pursuing a dead end without any future course of action, they might ďż˝ nd their ballot boxes emptier than theyâd like in the next election. No matter whom they try to blame.
Nora McLeese is a senior media arts & design major. Contact Nora at [email protected].
NORA MCLEESE | contributing columnist
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KATIE THISDELLMANAGING EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DREW BEGGS NEWS EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MATT SUTHERLANDNEWS EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN SUTTEROPINION EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KALEIGH SOMERSLIFE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TORIE FOSTER
LIFE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAMELA KIDD SPORTS EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MICHAEL DEMSKY SPORTS EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COLLEEN HAYESCOPY EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ELIZABETH BAUGHCOPY EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MEGAN REICHARTPHOTO EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROBERT BOAG
PHOTO EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KRISTIN McGREGOR DESIGN EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RACHEL DOZIERGRAPHICS EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JENA THIELGESONLINE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEPHEN LEE
The Breeze welcomes and encourages readers to voice their opinions through letters and guest columns. Letters must be no longer than 250 words. Guest columns must be no more than 650 words.
The Breeze reserves the right to edit submissions for length, grammar and if material is libelous, factually inaccurate or unclear. The Breeze assumes the rights to any published work. Opinions expressed in this page, with the exception of editorials, are not necessarily those of The Breeze or its staff.
Letters and guest columns should be submitted in print or via e-mail and must include name, phone number, major/year if author is a current student (or year of graduation), professional title (if applicable) and place of residence if author is not a JMU student.
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â james madison, Serving James Madison University Since 1922Serving James Madison University Since 1922
OpinionEDITOR Kaleigh Somers E-MAIL [email protected] Thursday, January 20, 2011 5
A âcollege-isnât-like-Mean Girlsâdart to the passive girl who asked to sit beside me on an ISAT couch.
From a Regina George who wears pink on Wednesdays.
An âI-canât-even-see-youâ dart to the basketball team for having the student section so far from the court.
From a die-hard Dukes basketball fan who knows a real home court advantage is when the students are right next to it.
A âhappy-new-year!â dart to all the people who crowd UREC for the ďż˝ rst two weeks of the new year.
From a Duke who goes during the rest of the semester too.
A âstop-that-runaway-keg-shellâ pat to the brave soul who took a tumble chasing after his shell as it rolled down Port Republic Road on Saturday night.
From a proud friend who applauds your eďż˝ orts to keep the party going at the stroke of : p.m.
A âletâs-get-a-milk-steakâ pat to the person who wrote âAlwaysSunny Rocks!â in my notebook when I walked away and left an episode up.
From a girl who would love to be a part of the gang with you.
A âsmooth-moveâ pat to the boy who turned his head to surprise me with a kiss on the mouth as I was going for one on the cheek.
From the unsuspecting girl you asked to kiss you.
A âyour-laughter-made-my-dayâpat to the young lady who mistook the computer information desk for the checkout and then laughed heartily at her mistake.
From a bookstore employee who laughs at herself often and was pleased to see someone else do so.
A âletâs-keep-it-classyâ dart to all the girls on campus wearing see-through lace shirts with only a bra on underneath.
From a fellow female Duke who knows thereâs a ďż˝ ne line between sexy and slutty.
An âIâm-just-not-that-into-youâdart to my roommate who turned the heat up in the kitchen this weekend.
From a ďż˝ attered but content friend who is happy to stay that way.
A âyou-are-a-cowardâ dart to the guy who ran into me in front of Memorial Hall and drove oďż˝ without seeing if I was OK.
From the injured girl who wishes you would pay better attention.
An âout-with-the-new-and-in-with-the-oldâ dart to the Convocation Center ďż˝ oor risers.
From the old student bleachers.
A âwanna-streak-an-agar-plate-together?â pat to the extremely helpful biology major in Burruss Hall.
From a procrastinating girl who was trying to watch unloadable bacteria videos when you found all the answers for me on Google.
An âI-donât-want-your-cootiesâdart to the guy in UREC who held his JACard in his mouth before handing it to me.
From an equipment center employee who is trying not to get sick this winter.
A âthis-place-isnât-your-ownâdart to the girl in the Carrier Library Starbucks who put her feet up on a coďż˝ ee table that other people use for food.
From a girl who wanted a place to sit, but not next to you.
A âthanks-for-the-surpriseâ pat to the three girls in South View who made me a cake for my birthday.
From a junior boy whose st birthday was even better because of you.
A âthanks-for-keeping-me-hydratedâ pat to the stranger who brought me a water bottle when I was throwing up in the Taylor Down Under bathroom.
From the girl in the last stall.
A âtalk-about-mixed-messagesâdart to MTV for airing ads for âNo Strings Attachedâ during an episode of âTeen Mom.â
From a viewer who doesnât understand why youâre promoting casual sex during a show that reďż˝ ects its risks.
A âwhat-does-it-matter-if-i-cuss-on-a-consistent-basis?âdart to Mondayâs dart.
From a student who got into this school because of her grades, not her mouth.
Darts & Pats are anonymously submitted and printed on a space-available basis. Submissions creatively depict a given situation, person or event and do not necessarily refl ect the truth.
Submit Darts & Pats at breezejmu.org
It is ďż˝ tting that Martin Luther King Jr. Day occurred as the victims of the shooting in Tucson begin the long pro-cess of healing. As we remember the nonviolent and unifying legacy of King, the American people are left with the task of piecing together the enormous jigsaw puzzle that is Jared Loughner, the one and only suspect in the ram-page in Arizona.
For a brief moment after the attacks, it seemed the national dialogue had shifted, that this tragedy might help the American people overcome the diďż˝ erences that divide us so sharply. Reporters compared the violence in Tucson to the Oklahoma City bomb-ing of , calling attention to the increase in national unity immedi-ately following the attack more than a decade ago. In the days following the rampage, however, the opposite has occurred. ďż˝ e talk on both sides of the political spectrum has only increased in polarity and accusations have ďż˝ own free.
Pundits and politicians from both sides of the political spectrum have quickly developed possible reasons for the attack. While there is no deďż˝ n-itive evidence illuminating Loughnerâs political affiliation, criticism of the national Tea Party movement and the intensiďż˝ ed rhetoric of conservatives has been heavy.
Former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, took the brunt of the attacks from the left, with critics pointing to a map produced by her political action committee, SarahPAC. ďż˝ e commit-tee showed âswingâ congressional districts â including the district of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who Loughner attempted to assassi-nate â marked with what appear to be the crosshairs of a gun. ďż˝ ese critics
argued that this map was proof that Palin advocated violence and even political assassinations.
In response to these claims, Palin released a seven-minute video in which she oďż˝ ered her sympathies to the victims and their families. For more than ďż˝ ve minutes, however, she criti-cized the democrats and the media for the âblood libelâ against her and the Tea Party. Palin attempted to shift the discussion from rhetoric to the gun-man in the attack, invoking pillars of American Conservatism by quot-ing Ronald Reagan saying, âWe must reject the idea that every time a lawâs broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker.â
On the same day that Palin released her response to the attack, President Barack Obama oďż˝ ered his condolences at a memorial service held in Tucson, saying, âI have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today and will stand by you tomorrow.â
Later in the same speech, the pres-ident distanced himself from the political furor over the responsibility of
the Tea Partyâs political rhetoric for the attack, asserting to the national audi-ence, âRather than pointing ďż˝ ngers or assigning blame, letâs use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations.â
ďż˝ at simple phrase, âmoral imagi-nation,â is one of the most important ideas in American history and in the American personality. Throughout our checkered history, Americans have used their moral imaginations to help form a more perfect union. ďż˝ e womenâs suffrage movement called upon Americans to use their moral imagination to grant gender equality. Martin Luther King Jr. led the nation in the civil rights movement with his powerful moral imagination of a bet-ter America for his children.
Now, in , we have another opportunity to put this purely Amer-ican idea of our moral imagination into action. It is time, in the legacy and honor of Martin Luther King Jr., to put aside the crusade to find the one person or group or political party responsible and realize that all of us, every American, can be better. It is our responsibility to not let this hei-nous crime divide us and fracture our spirit, but instead to stand in the face of evil, on the shoulders of all of those Americans who have come before us, and not shrink from our calling to cre-ate a more perfect union.
King, in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, said, âThis is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid todayâs mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow.â
Connor Gwin is a junior religion major. Contact Connor at [email protected].
CONNOR GWIN | contributing columnist
It is time, in the legacy and honor of Martin Luther King Jr., to put aside the crusade to fi nd the one person or group or political party responsible and realize that all of us, every American, can be better.
Radical responsesNation fails to follow Martin Luther King Jr.âs teachings during tragedy.
Health care concernsRepeal will fail in Democrat-fi lled House.
SUBMIT YOUR DARTS & PATS breezejmu.org
6 Thursday, January 20, 2011 breezejmu.org NEWS
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from page 3
âThis is what I love about this world â at any moment, if you want to change, itâs possible.â
Freshman Anthony Sutton attended with a group of his fellow JMU students and was inspired to begin giving back to the community.
âIf I can find balance within myself, then I can give back to the community as a mentor,â said Sutton, a computer sci-ence major.
Taylor said even Martin Luther King Jr. was not always
the hero remembered this week.
In the first college he attend-ed, Taylor said many of his professors only remembered him as a âCâ student.
âIt was not until he started learning about the crises of the world that he really put his behind in the chair,â Taylor said.
Taylor said that the problems of the world can be overwhelm-ing, so it is important pick one issue and be devoted to it.
Jackie Hedeman, a junior communication studies major, agreed with Taylorâs words of
devotion to a single issue. âYou have to take care of
yourself before you take on the world and find that one thing to make difference in,â said Hedeman, a representative of the Jewish organization, Hillel.
Taylor left the audience with a message of selfless service.
âI challenge you to get involved,â Taylor said. âGet involved in your commu-nit y s o Dr. King âs bul let w a s n o t t a k e n i n v a i n .â
CoNtaCt Kelsey Peters at [email protected].
SpEakEr | Leaves audience with a message of generosity, service
Dan Gorin / The breezeSpeaker Susan Taylor emphasized to the audience that Martin Luther King Jr. was not always known as a hero.
from front
r e m o v i n g t h e r o a d w a y t h r o u g h J M U w a s a l s o proposed.
Shears said the picturesque Estes Memorial Fountain will
also be moved to a point fur-ther upstream in the smaller lake.
According to the budget approved by the Board of Visi-tors, the project is expected to cost $950,000 and take three
months to complete. JMU has yet to receive bids on the project from contractors.
CoNtaCt Tyler McAvoy at [email protected].
LakE | Work to cost $950,000
SportsEditors Michael Demsky & Colleen Hayes E-mail [email protected] Thursday, January 20, 2011 7
on page 8 Stadium conStruction photo update
gamEsthis wEEk
mEnâs baskEtballn george mason @ JmU
Saturday, 11 a.m.The match-up between conference rivals will be televised on ESPNU.
womEnâs baskEtballn william & mary @ JmU
Thursday, 7 p.m.The Tribe are last in the conference with a 1-14 record.
n Virginia Commonwealth @ JmUSunday, 2 p.m.VCUâs Courtney Hurt is second in scoring in the nation with 24.1 points per game, behind Dawn Evans.
swimming & diVingn loyola University (md.) and
towson University @ JmUSaturday, 1 p.m.JMU split the meet last year, defeating Loyola but falling to Towson.
basEball
Coaches pick Dukes to take CAA title
In a vote by the Colonial Athletic Associationâs head baseball coaches JMU has been picked to win the CAA baseball championship in 2011.
The Dukes return five starters from a 30-23 squad that finished atop the CAA regular-season standings with an 18-6 mark. Among the returners are three players who received All-CAA hon-ors in 2010 â infielder Trevor Knight, shortstop David Herbek and catcher Jake Lowery.
Also back is outfielder Alex Foltz, who made the All-CAA team in 2009, but sat out last season. Left-hander Alex Valadja and D.J. Brown are among three starting pitchers that return to the rotation.
The Dukes will begin CAA play in the third weekend of the season with a three-game set at William & Mary on March 4-6.
â staff reports
mEnâs baskEtball
making conference, national noise
swim & diVE
Final home meet bittersweet
LEFT Senior guard Ben Louis is the teamâs sole holdover from former head coach Dean Keener. A defensive specialist, Louis has provided valuable experience and leadership for the Dukes and is currently averaging 17.4 minutes a game in CAA contests, up seven minutes from his average during the non-conference schedule. CENTER Senior center Denzel Bowles has emerged as one of the CAAâs top professional prospects this year, averaging 15.7 points and 11 rebounds in conference play. This past summer, Bowles participated in Amarâe Stoudemireâs Skills Academy in Chicago, and now many mock drafts project him to be selected in the 2011 NBA Draft. RIGHT Sophomore point guard Devon Moore has been the floor captain for the Dukes all season. After missing last year with a knee injury, Moore has topped his freshman year form thus far. While his scoring has stayed consistent at 10.6 points per game, his assist average is up from 2.9 to 4.5 per game.
photoS by ryan freeland / the breeze
by thomas EstEsThe Breeze
The last time the JMU menâs basketball team received votes in major national polls was the 1991-1992 season, when the great Charles âLeftyâ Driesell coached the Dukes.
That team finished 21-11 and tied for first place in the Colonial Athletic Association. However, a loss in the CAA tournament resigned their fate to the National Invitation Tournament, not the NCAA Tournament.
With postseason play still a couple months away, this yearâs Dukes reached a small mile-stone, receiving four votes in the Associated
Pressâ Top 25 and two votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
âItâs just good for the program that we got votes,â senior forward Denzel Bowles said. âThey havenât had that in a long time and weâre just trying to bring a winning tradition back to JMU.â
At 15-3, 5-1 in the CAA, the Dukes have seven more wins than they had at this point last season.
In order to bring a winning mentality back to JMU, the Dukes will have to continue their fine play through the toughest part of their schedule.
Nine out of their final 12 regular season
games are against teams currently in the top five of the CAA.
âWe just wanna win as many games as pos-sible,â junior forward Rayshawn Goins said. âGo out there and leave it all on the floor and at the end of the day, everything will take care of itself.â
The Dukes entered the week tied first atop the CAA with Virginia Commonwealth Uni-versity and Hofstra University, but they are not ready to celebrate just yet.
âIt shows that our hard work is paying off,â junior forward Julius Wells said. âItâs motiva-tion for us to keep working hard.â
This week, JMU has a double dose of in-state
rivalry when they play at Old Dominion Uni-versity on Wednesday night and at home against George Mason University on Saturday at 11 a.m.
âThis Old Dominion game and this George Mason game are going to be two great tests,â head coach Matt Brady said. âTheyâre going to be parameters for where our team is right now.â
During Bradyâs tenure, the Dukes are a combined 2-7 against ODU and Mason, with a single win coming against each program.
âThe fact of the matter is weâve only had
see mEnâs, page 8
by alEx Van rEEsThe Breeze
This Saturday is the last home meet for the JMU swim and dive team. The team is a close-knit group of girls who have a strong desire to win, and an even stronger bond among them, specifical-ly the seniors, who will be partaking in their final home meet.
âI am going to take away a family and I have grown a lot on this team,â senior diver Jessie Everett said. âI have learned so much about myself and my leader-ship skills here.â
Once a swimmer herself, head coach Samantha Smith understands the pres-sure that comes with being on the team.
As a senior at JMU, Smith set two school records in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke at the 2001 Colonial Athletic Association Championships.
Smith can recall the emotions the seniors will feel as they hit the water for the last time at home.
In addition to Everett, the seniors include swimmers Lisa Colapietro, Carly Gibson, Jackie Hartman, Emily Konieczny, Erica Lupacchino, Morgan McCarthy and Kristen Wolla.
âPersonally, the last time you dive into your home pool it is definitely a surreal experience and you think back to the first time you dove into that same pool,â Smith said. âYou donât realize itâs the last time until itâs almost too late.â
Of course, there are some aspects of the sport an athlete could live without, but there isnât much that bothers this group.
âThe only part of swim and dive that I am not going to miss will be the mandatory 20 hours a week of physical exertion, on top of meets or any other matches that we have that week,â Gib-son said. âItâs a lot of work, but itâs such a great experience and worth it.â
The team has created a sense of fam-ily, which has been a key aspect to its success this season and last season as well.
âLast year at our conference meet, there were technical issues and we
had no idea what was going to happen,â Gibson said. âBut they started playing music and our entire team got up and started dancing. Everyone looked at us, but we were having a good time, so we didnât care.â
As competitors, the team has had continual success by breaking numer-ous records and advancing in the CAA tournament. The women recently com-pleted the first relay in JMU history that made the NCAA tournament cut.
âThe seniors entered into the pro-gram at a pivotal point in the JMU swim and dive history,â Smith said. âThey knew they wanted to create change and accomplish great things. They have made strides toward a championship.â
This season, the women have tallied eight wins and four losses. Last season, they finished with a 7-4 record, and were third out of nine teams in the CAA Championships, the teamâs highest fin-ish in the last four seasons.
âWe have the same expectations for each season: to be better than ever before,â Smith said.
The team will attempt to surpass its recent success on Feb. 23-26, when the Dukes travel to Fairfax, Va. for this yearâs CAA Championships.
Although Saturday will be a day filled with mixed emotions, the women are ready to compete until the final race.
âWe all want to win the conference, and I think this is definitely the year we can win,â Gibson said.
After Saturday, the seniorsâ focus will turn to whatâs next in the professional world.
âIâm going back home this summer to continue training,â Gibson said. âIâm a half of a second off of the Olympic Trials cut in the 100-fly.â
Everett will continue her tenure at JMU next year as she finishes up her masterâs degree in education.
âI will definitely be around the team a lot next year,â Everett said. âAnd hope-fully I will continue to practice diving.â
ContaCt Alex Van Rees at [email protected].
JMU sophomore diver Kimberly Helfrich was named the Colonial Athletic Association Diver of the Week on Tuesday after leading JMU to a double-dual meet sweep last week. Helfrich won both the one-meter and three-meter diving events to help the Dukes pick up wins over Georgetown (182-115) and American (223-60) last Saturday.
photo courteSy of jmu athleticS photography
8 Thursday, January 20, 2011 breezejmu.org LIFE
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from page 7
a healthy team in two of those nine games,â Brady said. âďż˝ is is the healthiest our team has been at JMU and we played well at Old Dominion [last season]. Now we just have to go try and get a win.â
ďż˝ e Dukes lost last seasonâs match-up at ODU, -, thanks to the Monarchsâ now-senior forward Ben Finneyâs jumper with seconds remaining in the game. Wellsâ three point shot at the buzzer was oďż˝ target.
ďż˝ e sting of that loss still lin-gers in Wells, who was unable to cash in on the Dukesâ final chance at victory.
âIt hurts especially because I missed the game winning shot,â Wells said. âThat could have sealed the win for us, so Iâm really focused going into this game.â
ďż˝ e Dukes will get a chance to showcase that they are deserv-ing of their votes against Mason, as the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
âItâs gonna be packed in here,â Goins said. âEverybody around the world is watching
so itâs gonna be big.âIn the midst of all the excite-
ment surrounding the Dukes, Brady has found it most impor-tant to continue pushing his team toward its full potential.
âWe just want to keep getting better,â Brady said. âWhether itâs national TV or the building is half full, or all the way full or nobody shows up. We only can control how we play and how hard we play.â
Bradyâs encouragement is echoed by G oins, who is no stranger to reaching championships.
With the Cincinnati State Surge of the National Junior College Athletic Association last season, Goins led the team to a - record and a spot in the Division II national title game.
âJust keep it rolling,â Goins said. âWeâre in conference play and every win is big. We just want to bring it every game.â
ďż˝ e Dukes will have to keep it rolling without sophomore forward Andrey Semenov, who may miss Wednesdayâs game at ODU due to nagging back pain, which stems from an injury that cut his - season short,
according to Brady.Sophomore guard Devon
Moore did not practice Monday or Tuesday, but Brady expects his starting point guard to play big minutes Wednesday. Moore mildly sprained his ankle at the end of the UNC Wilmington game on Saturday night.
ďż˝ e Dukes are not using inju-ries as an excuse as they know that they are still capable of get-ting wins.
âIf we go in there and do what we gotta do, weâll come out with the win,â Wells said.
Along with votes in the polls, JMU created buzz after being featured in CBS Sportslineâs most recent NCAA tournament projection. ďż˝ e network has pre-dicted the Dukes to be a -seed in this Marchâs tournament.
ďż˝ e Dukes will need to con-tinue to win if they want to maintain such recognition.
âAll of the good that we have done to date, with the - record, can be undone by spot-ty play, or sporadic play or not enough energy,â Brady said.
CONTACT Thomas Estes at [email protected].
MENâS | Saturdayâs game on ESPNU
Stadium construction on trackThe Bridgeforth Stadium project is currently erecting the structural steel for the upper seating
bowl and press box. There is also progress being made in the mechanical, electrical and plumbing aspects of site work. Overall, the construction team continues to make progress and the project is on schedule, according to Glenn Wayland, project manager.
JAKE THIEWES / THE BREEZE
from front
that he attend just six such events.
He has spoken to a dozen schools about what it takes to get to where he is. He appeared at the opening of a new YMCA in suburban Toronto, and has participated in several of the NFLâs Play initiatives against childhood obesity.
âAs far as what I represent as a man and what I try to preach to these kids, is that education comes ďż˝ rst,â Moats said. âI felt kind of hypocritical because I had put athletics ahead of school. Yeah, it paid oďż˝ from a ďż˝ nancial standpoint, but I told myself from the start that once I had the opportunity to come back, I was going to.â
Now, Moats has returned to campus with just nine credits separating him and his diplo-ma. On the linebackerâs slate: a
senior seminar in political sci-ence, a course on U.S. foreign policy and a general education biology class.
A l re a d y , h eâs e n j oy i n g himself.
âMy classes have been a lot of fun,â said Moats, who carries a . GPA. âI enjoy the in-depth nature of my major classes, and I am deďż˝ nitely intrigued by what I will be learning this semester.â
Living in a one-man apart-ment in Copper Beech, Moats is taking his time to catch up on some much needed rest and relaxation, focusing on his classes and maintaining peak physical shape.
After returning to Harri-sonburg, Moats took his first extended break from training in a year and a half.
âI took about two weeks oďż˝ after the last game,â Moats said, referring the Billsâ Jan. sea-son ďż˝ nale at the New York Jets.
âI needed to recharge my mind and body, considering it had been so long since I last took a rest.â
But starting this week, Moats is back in the Plecker Athletic Performance Center working out with the universityâs director of Strength & Conditioning, Jim Durning. ďż˝ e two have a long-standing relationship, as Moats has been a part of the program since coming to JMU in .
âFrom the time Arthur got here, he has bought into what we were doing, and put every-thing into it,â Durning said. âIt helps Arthur that heâs a good player, but he also does every-thing he needs to do.â
ďż˝ e Bills will design Moatsâ workouts, while Durning will assist him in certain exercises in preparation for next season.
âThe biggest thing for him is to focus on what the Buf-falo organization has mapped
out for him in terms of what he needs to work on,â Durning said. âFrom that, we will plan his workouts.â
In addition to his seven-day-a-week regimen, Moats is dedicated to maintaining his strong grade point average. His senior seminar, focused on religion in politics, has already peaked his interest.
âHeâs participated as much as anybody else in the class and he seems to always have a smile on his face,â said Marty Cohen, assistant professor of political science and Moatsâ instructor in the seminar.
Cohen, who has been at JMU for four years and is an avid football fan, commends Moats for his representation of JMU.
âObviously, it sets a great example,â Cohen said. âItâs refreshing, and it seems like heâs the type of person to set this sort of precedent.â
Away from campus, Moatsâ next moves will be back in Portsmouth and Buďż˝ alo, where he will speak at schools and youth football leagues in the coming weeks.
This April, he and former JMU teammate, Akeem Jordan of the Philadelphia Eagles, plan on holding their own football camp in Harrisonburg.
ďż˝ en in June, he will host the second annual Arthur Moats Football Camp in Portsmouth. Moatsâ first hometown get-together hosted more than kids and was free of charge, something Arthur refuses to negotiate.
âGrowing up, I couldnât aďż˝ ord to go the high-profile sports camps in my area,â Moats said. âSo now that I have the abil-ity to hold the camps myself, it doesnât feel right to deny any kid for ďż˝ nancial reasons.â
To no surpr is e, Moatsâ
primary motivation in graduat-ing was life after football.
With the average length of an NFL career at about three and a half years, he saw the immense value in preparing for another profession, one that may just lead to a new nickname: The Mayor.
âAfter school and football, I was actually considering poli-tics, like being the governor or a mayor of a city,â Moats said. âHey, maybe Iâll try to be the mayor of Harrisonburg.â
For his sake, letâs hope the cityâs newly elected leader, Rich-ard Baugh, doesnât have his heart set on a long tenure in office.
CONTACT Michael Demsky at [email protected].
MOATS | Future grad strives to be model citizen in Buffalo and in hometown
Follow us on Twitter @breeze_sports for basketball updates this weekend.
LifeEditors Torie Foster & Pamela Kidd E-mail [email protected] Thursday, January 20, 2011 9
review of new decemberistsâ aLbum on page 10
By BEth ColEThe Breeze
Ten thousand meals in two hours. This was Monday nightâs goal as stu-
dents and community members met at the RISE United Methodist Faith Com-munity on Cantrell Avenue to help starving families.
âWe are packaging 10,000 meals in one night. Thatâs huge, and thatâs an amazing outreach,â said volunteer Sarah Kyser, a senior math major.
Stop Hunger Now sponsored the event. Since 1998, the international organization has helped provide 34 million meals to 72 different countries worldwide, according to its website.
One of its biggest campaigns is a meal packaging program, where it works with other organizations to pack-age bags that consist of rice, soy, dried vegetables and vitamins. Each bag costs a quarter, can feed a family of six and has a five-year shelf life.
âItâs just an amazing way to work for justice, because hunger is a justice issue,â said Amanda Garber, the head pastor at RISE.
RISE is a faith community founded in September. Stop Hunger Now is one of many community outreach projects it has organized, most of which focus on helping provide support for the less fortunate in the Harrisonburg area. One recent project is called âhygiene ministry,â where members collect items such as toiletries for those who other-wise could not afford them.
The Stop Hunger Now event was RISEâs largest outreach event yet. Gar-ber said the goal for the event was to provide an outlet for their mission: embodying love in the community.
âWe really wanted to have an event where people could come and feel like
they are tangibly giving love,â Garber said.
As the volunteers began to arrive at the RISE center, Garber and other RISE leadership members realized they had a problem: They had planned for about 50 volunteers to attend, but more than 100 from Mary Baldwin College, Bridgewater College, Eastern Men-nonite University, JMU and the local Harrisonburg area crowded into the living-room-sized center. Most of the volunteers had heard about the event through a mass e-mail sent out by the RISE leadership team.
âI saw the JMU e-mail and thought it was just a good opportunity to help out, and it was close to campus,â said Sarah Weissberger, a sophomore math major.
The RISE team welcomed the extra help.
âItâs just a beautiful sight to see so many people giving of themselves,â said Brent Levy, the worship leader at RISE.
Levy said on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, this demonstration of vol-unteerism helped to rekindle Kingâs message of peace.
âHe pushed for love to overcome, for love to just make the way, so in a way, we are honoring that legacy,â Levy said.
To give everyone the opportunity to participate, they broke the group into two shifts, one at 6 p.m. and the other at 6:30 p.m.
Before each shift began, Troy Hen-son, the Lynchburg area program manager for Stop Hunger Now, gave a pep talk explaining the difference vol-unteers were making. Henson said 1 billion people in the world live on only $1 a day. Of the 1 billion, 1 million peo-ple die each day due to hunger. With that in mind, the volunteers began packing.
see Food, page 10
Rising to the challenge
By JEFF WadEThe Breeze
âParks and Recreationâ is the
poster child for the futility of television reviews.
Critiqued for its shaky beginnings, âParksâ (Thursdays 9:30 p.m. on NBC) has become one of the best and most acclaimed comedies currently on TV.
Though it has been eight months since the showâs last episode, the delayed premiere of the third season picks up right where the second season left off.
Overeager bureaucrat Leslie Knopeâs (Amy Poehler) Department of Parks and Recreation is faced with a budget crisis that threatens to shut it down. Consultants Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) are brought in to oversee Leslieâs department and prevent a total government closure.
These newcomers join a cast that contains what might be the most talented and versatile comedic ensemble on air today.
Any given character here would be the highlight of a lesser show.
Co-stars Aziz Ansariâs wannabe playboy Tom Haverford, Chris Prattâs infectiously clueless Andy Dwyer and Audrey Plazaâs deadpan April Ludgate could carry their own shows.
The showâs most inspired creation is without a doubt Ron Swanson, the government-hating, scotch-guzzling head of the department. Thanks to Nick Offerman, Ron and his glorious mustache are well on their way to becoming one of the all-time great
sitcom characters. It bodes well then that many
upcoming episodes serve as a showcase for Ron, the best example being one that sees Ron squaring off with ex-wife Tammy (Megan Mullally). The result is a semi-sequel to an episode from the prior season that ranks among the best episodes the show has ever produced.
âParksâ has achieved the most essential component of creating a great comedy by creating a world populated with characters worth visiting week after week.
The cast has been so fleshed out at this point, it becomes simply a matter of pairing members off and seeing what happens. For example, in one episode where a secondary plot-line places Ron and Andy together, and the giddy playfulness of their interaction makes one wonder why theyâve never shared a plot before.
Itâs a shame the enormous improvement of âParksâ has been largely unnoticed by most viewers.
This is strange, because âParksâ began as a spin-off of âThe Officeâ and has the heart, comedic consistency and scrappy feel that has made its sister show so revered.
If âParksâ is the heir apparent to âThe Officeâ (which considering their pairing on NBCâs re-launched comedy block, it would seem so), then feel free to leave Scranton behind â itâs more fun in Pawnee anyway.
ContaCt Jeff Wade at [email protected].
âParksâ outdoes its sister series
By BEth ColEThe Breeze
Following the lead of late night stars like Conan, Letterman and Car-son, two JMU students will launch a new talk show this weekend, straight from the basements of Harrison Hall.
âThe Early Late Show,â created by senior media arts and design majors Aaron Sturgill and Doug Newton, is a student-run, JMU-based talk show premiering Saturday on the JMU on campus network (channel 55) at 6 p.m.
The David Letterman-style show will feature comedy skits, student musical performances and inter-views with students, staff and faculty currently in the media.
âBasically, we want to get clean stuff on there, but stuff that would still appeal to a college audience, and obviously we want to keep it all rel-evant,â Newton said.
The show began as a project for Sturgill and Newtonâs HD studio production class, SMAD 306. After receiving a positive response to their pilot show in class, they decided to see how far they could take it. They approached media arts and design professor John Hodges with an idea to use the studio in the Harrison Hall basement to produce a series of eight episodes.
âHe loved it because thereâs an HD studio in the SMAD department that no one really uses, so he was all about helping us,â Sturgill said.
In order to motivate students to get involved with the project, Sturgill and Newton decided to create a one-credit class practicum, SMAD 395. Hodges took the idea to Steve Anderson, the SMAD director, who approved. Then Sturgill and Newton began network-ing to find people who could help with the project.
Hodges acts as adviser, reviewing
all material before it is recorded, but most of the organizing and network-ing is done by the students in the class. Newton emphasizes, however, that even though it is a student pro-duction, they strive for excellence.
âWe want to make this show the best we can possibly make it,â Newton said. âI donât want this to be a student thing; I want people to look at this and think itâs professional.â
The JMU Network currently shows university information. However, because it is only available on cam-pus, Sturgill and Newton are working to create a website where they will post all of the episodes along with other interactive material.
Mark Powell, a senior media arts and design major, will host the show. He has been working with his âpart-ner in crime,â Alan Linic, a senior English major, to write a script, coor-dinate guest appearances and create sketches.
âReally, what we emphasize to our writers is anything goes,â Powell
said. âAnything is open for a healthy lampooning.â
Linic, Powell and the other writers have held only one meeting so far, though throughout the winter break, they interacted online almost every day to plan and come up with fresh material.
âItâs one thing writing something on paper, and itâs a whole other thing trying to put life into it and get it on camera,â Linic said. âSo Iâm really excited to see what the response is once itâs filmed.â
The plan for the first two shows is currently underway. The premiere will provide entertainment from the student band, Coach; an interview with the director of the new Forbes Center for the Performing Arts play, âKiss Me Kate;â and a performance by the break dance club. The series will run every other Saturday at 6 p.m.
ContaCt Beth Cole at [email protected].
By KElsEy PEtErsThe Breeze
Francis Bakerâs art is first and foremost photography.
But many attending the premiere of his exhibit could not tell.
Baker, a photographer from San Francisco, flew to Virgin-ia to be part of the opening reception for his exhibit, âProcess,â which premiered Tuesday.
Bakerâs work is on display in New Image Gallery, locat-ed at 131 Grace Street and housed in artWorks Gallery.
The gallery features con-temporary photography by local and international artists.
Molly Murphy of Staunton was one attendee mystified by Bakerâs art.
âI looked from the outside and thought that [his pieces] were painted,â Murphy said. âBut when I walked in, I saw that these were actually pic-tures of roots.â
The message of Bakerâs artwork is simple â the con-tainment in everyday life.
âIndividuals are contained by society, by self-image,â Baker said.
Bakerâs art did not start with the figure-shaped roots on display.
âI started by photograph-ing straight roots,â Baker said, âbut I wanted to extend the metaphor further by letting these plants grow in a shape â a shape that I controlled.â
Simple objects such as a Barbie doll, a babyâs head, a wedding cake figurine and a Buddha figure were cast into rubber. Then Baker took out the figurine so a cast with an empty, negative space was left.
Baker then grew plants into the form, which can take up to
see artist, page 10
Students start late-night show
Students pack 10,000 meals to help end world hunger
Monday nightâs Stop Hunger Now was RISEâs largest outreach event to date.
matt schmachtenberg / contributing photographer
tV shoW rEViEW
Senior Alan Linic helps write scripts and create sketches for âThe Early Late Show.â ashLey grisham / the breeze
escaping containmentartist seeks to emphasize the implied barriers of society
robert boag / the breeze
10 Thursday, January 20, 2011 breezejmu.org life
food Sent abroad
artist | Exhibit displays human issues, violence with childhood themesfrom page 9
seven years to complete.According to Baker, each piece has a
specific meaning. His âContainment Imageâ piece,
or the piece made from a Barbie doll, alluded to restricting ideas of self-image.
âToys that we give our children give them the idea that the Barbie is the ideal form,â Baker said, âand that is just preposterous.â
The unnaturally long legs and super skinny waist give children an unrealistic role model, Baker said.
âIt is something that they may or may not break free from,â Baker said. âIt all goes along with the metaphor of containment.â
The next piece, âContainment Nar-cissism,â was an almost exact replica of Bakerâs sonâs head at birth. He made it from a sculpting material called Plasti-cine, so he did not have to cast his sonâs actual head, according to Baker.
âWe want our progeny to be like us, or at least susceptible to us, which is a very narcissistic form,â Baker said.
Baker believes it is selfish and anthro-pomorphic of parents to try to control that part of nature: our children.
The third piece in his containment collection, âContainment Love ,â was the familiar bride and groom figure traditionally seen on top of wedding cakes.
Kevin Murray, a senior English major, said this piece stood out to him most.
âYou can see a space of human
interaction between the two heads,â Murray said. âYou can see how the two parts relate to the whole.â
The final containment piece, âCon-tainment Concept,â challenged traditional thought while adding in
Buddhist philosophies.Baker emphasized a parable from
Buddhism: When one finishes with a concept, he or she must leave it behind, because it too can be constrictive.
âSometimes your very own thoughts
are not the âproperâ way,â Baker said.Baker is more than familiar with
going against the norm. He was turned down from art galleries when first start-ing out, because his pieces, according to gallery owners, wouldnât turn a profit.
âThey would say, âitâs really beautiful, but we need to make a living,â â Baker said. âWell I guess I showed them.â
In addition to his one-of-a kind style, Baker also creates extremely delicate pieces.
Senior English major Karen Baxter admired the fragility of his work.
âYou can tell a lot of detail and hard work went into [these pieces],â Baxter said.
Bakerâs exhibit includes a âDailinessâ series, which features photos of newspa-per folded into paper airplanes.
What appears as a childâs toy is actu-ally an absurd juxtaposition of content, containing stories and headlines for âbombsâ and âkillings,â Baker said.
âYou look at the shape and become reminiscent of childhood, but then as sight evolves with age and moves beyond the airplane, you start to look at the actual content of the newspaper,â Baker said.
Bakerâs exhibit appears alongside the works of JMU students Casey Flick, Car-men Bolding, Eunyoung Lee and Sarah Murphy, which are on display in the same gallery.
Their art, filled with color, featured elaborate detail and interpretation of student dreams. It contrasted with the natural feel of Bakerâs work.
Bakerâs work will be displayed until March 18, during which different studentsâ artwork will rotate out every two weeks.
ContaCt Kelsey Peters at [email protected].
Francis Baker used photos and a canvas to create this piece, titled âpattern 26, 29, 32 â backdrop of the bodyâs transitory nature.âRobERt boag / thE bREEzE
By amBer logsdoncontributing writer
Over the past decade, The Decemberists have mastered the art of creating miniature worlds in their music.
But unlike 2009âs âHazards of Love,â âThe King is Deadâ tells neither a linear story, nor falls under the rock opera genre. Instead, the band returns to a style more in line with albums like 2006âs âThe Crane Wife,â with heavy use on acoustic guitar, harmonica and accordion.
The first song on the album, âDonât Carry It All,â reflects this style well. Opening the song is a short harmonica solo while acoustic guitar and drums begin a
marching rhythm. The lack of story within, though, betrays the former Decemberists style.
While not a dreary sentiment, and a welcome change from the occasionally frightening tales of âHazards,â the songâs content provides such a stark contrast from whatâs expected of the quartet. Itâs not necessarily a bad thing, and the song itself is an earworm. Itâs one of the few times that the lyricsâ sentiment matches the music.
âDown By The Water,â the first single returns to their familiar ballad style. Instead of the fantastical tales of earlier songs, singer Colin Meloy recounts his own life story as a struggling musician in Portland, Ore.
Peter Buck, the R.E.M. guitarist,
also contributes to the song, making it reminiscent of his bandâs âThe One I Love.â
Itâs hard to pinpoint anything particularly bothersome on this album musically, because every song showcases the band at the most in-tune theyâve ever been. There are some issues diehard Decemberists fans may have with the lyrical structure. When the band released âCastaways and Cutoutsâ nearly 10 years ago, its distinguishing feature was the almost literary lyrics. Now, however, the band features seemingly simpler content.
âThis Is Why We Fight,â probably the best song on the album, does not cut it lyrics-wise. Amid Chris Funkâs intricate guitar lines and
John Moenâs commanding drums throughout the song, the reasons for the aforementioned fighting arenât as strong.
But this is a five-and-a-half minute song of lazy lyrics. Maybe thereâs some clever underlying reason for this song being so simple, but itâs just not making sense as it is.
âThe King Is Deadâ is not a terrible album by any means. It soars above and beyond the repetitive auto-tune and drinking anthems that permeate the Billboard Top 40. Compared to the rest of The Decemberistsâ work, though, it doesnât quite reach the standard theyâve set.
ContaCt Amber Logsdon at [email protected].
alBum review
Decemberistsâ âKing is Deadâ strays from tried, true pastfrom page 9
The center was set up with four sta-tions: filling bags, weighing bags, sealing bags and putting them into boxes.
Volunteers worked as an assembly line, to quickly reach the 10,000 meal mark.
Even after a late start, the volunteers reached their goal by 7:30 p.m. The orga-nization plans to send each meal to places like Haiti, the Dominican Repub-lic or Thailand to feed families.
Garber said afterward that she hopes to continue with the momentum she experienced with this event at RISE and plans to hold a similar event in February.
ContaCt Beth Cole at [email protected].
Classifi edsThursday, January 20, 2011 11
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