Volume CXXII, Number 24, May 23, 2005 - Lux

LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1884
The Lawrentian
M O N D A Y • MAY 23, 2 0 0 5 • V O L CXXII, N O . 24
FEATURES
Love, worship, emulate:
LU’s best dressed / Page 2
OP/ED
W W W .LA W R E N TIA N .C O M
Affirmative and negative on
affirmative action / Page 4
SPORTS
Mouse is a true
Renaissance / Page 8
LU students are great in the shack Week of
politics
Veronica DeVore
Staff Writer
Lawrences Main Hall green
turned into a temporary shantytown
May 14-15 as students from 18 cam­
pus organizations came together to
celebrate spring and raise funds for
Habitat for Humanity. Despite the
sometimes less-than-ideal weather
conditions, Shack-a-Thon was well
attended and numerous Lawrentians
took advantage of the rare opportunity
to "shack it up" on the campus lawn.
The Lawrence chapter of Habitat
for Humanity has sponsored this event
for the past four years and it has
grown into a major fundraiser for the
group. The overall goal of Habitat for
Humanity is to provide simple, decent,
affordable houses for those who lack
adequate shelter. According to Habitat
for Humanity International, the orga­
nization has built more than 175,000
houses since 1976, providing shelter
for nearly 900,000 people worldwide. A
Habitat house is built every 26 min­
utes, and Habitat affiliates exist in
over 100 countries.
Organized through the universi­
ty’s Volunteer and Community Service
Center, Lawrence's Habitat chapter
participates in numerous projects with
the Fox Valley chapter. The Lawrence
chapter recently sent a group of 20
students to build homes in Myrtle
Beach, S.C., over spring break.
The specific purpose of the Shacka-Thon fundraiser is for Lawrence
Habitat to eventually be able to spon­
sor a Habitat house. The group is well
on its way; since its inception in 2002,
Shack-a-Thon has already brought in
over $13,000. Fundraising is not the
only goal of the event, however.
"The idea behind Shack-a-Thon is
to not only raise money for Habitat for
Humanity, but also to raise awareness
about the reality of some of the serious
housing issues that we face as a
nation," said Brian Hilgeman, an
events coordinator at the Volunteer
Center. "We want to provide a fun
atmosphere where students as well as
members of the Appleton community
can think about problems such as
homelessness or affordable housing."
A fun atmosphere certainly result­
ed from the participation of campus
groups ranging from residence halls to
Greek organizations to those focused
on politics and student awareness.
Each group earned the right to partic­
ipate by making a preliminary dona­
tion to Habitat. Some of the most
unique entries included Plantz Hall’s
representation of local Muncheez
Pizza, the Co-op/Greenfire/SLA shack
held up by a grand piano, and Beta
Theta Pi's impressive structure with a
front porch.
Unfortunately, creativity did not
always guarantee sleeping comfort,
and many shacks were abandoned in
the early morning hours after a chilly
night spent outdoors. Despite the
harsh Wisconsin spring, Shack-a-Thon
brought in about $3,700 for Habitat for
Humanity.
"The event was a great success,"
said Hilgeman. "We not only raised a
great deal of money for the Habitat for
Humanity group in, the Fox Valley, we
also raised awareness about the mis­
sion and purpose of Habitat for
Humanity on campus as well as in the
Fox Valley Community."
Photo courtesy of Cora Schroeder
Students erect shanties on Main Hall green for Shack-a-Thon.
Residence Life committee considers coed housing
Doris Kim
Staff Writer
Students recently approached the
Residential Life Committee to propose
creating coed floors in Sage as soon as
the 2006-2007 school year. Before the
construction of Hiett two years ago, Sage
was the upperclassmen dorm, with
room-by-room coed floors. With Hiett as
the new upperclassmen dorm, Sage is
now reduced to single-sex floors like
other dorms, allowing only few students
the option of a coed living environment.
LUCC President Pete Snyder and
several other students have expressed
their support for more housing options,
including making coed living available to
those without high housing lottery num­
bers. Sage is the most likely candidate,
given its layout: the dorm could comfort­
ably accommodate coed living with sepa­
rate male and female bathrooms on each
floor.
"Students want it. They're interest­
ed. Lawrence is an anomaly in that they
have little coed housing options. I'd like
to see more besides those in Hiett and
small theme houses. Its part of our
Lawrence bubble' — we can shelter our­
selves or provide opportunities for more
student options like in other colleges"
said Snyder.
The main concern is maintaining
student comfort, especially for the incom­
ing freshmen making the difficult transi­
tion to living in dorms for the first time.
For some, living amongst both men and
women may pose as an additional obsta­
cle.
Limiting this choice to returning
students is not expected. Not only would
this contradict the intent of the recent
proposal, it would also go against the
Board of Trustees' wish to keep a mix­
ture of class years in the dorms other
than Hiett.
'Tve worked at different colleges
that do it differently and typically there
are a lot more problems. By having first
years exposed to upperclassmen rather
than surrounded by other freshmen, it
provides theman easier transition living
with experienced students,” said Nancy
Committee with their proposition left the
meeting feeling unsatisfied. Stephanie
Wille, Emily Saltzman, and Kate Ostler
met with the committee but felt their
ideas were negatively received.
"The majority of the committee
members were unfriendly and defensive.
The response we got was surprising,"
Photo courtesy of lawrence.edu
Sage Hall may be seeing cohabiting coeds as soon as 2006.
Truesdell, dean of students.
Students maintain that coed living
would actually help new students with
the transition, by removing the gender
gap when meeting neighbors in a natur­
al environment.
"[Students will] have a broader
range of neighbors to meet and become
friends with especially when it's rare for
people to travel to other floors just to
socialize" saidjunior Stephanie Wille.
Unfortunately, the students who
approached the Residential Life
said Saltzman.
The Residential Life Committee
maintains its concern for freshmen and
feels that such a decision cannot be made
without asking their opinion. They plan
on surveying the incoming class this fall
and will be willing to consider coed floors
in Sage if there's sufficient positive feed­
back from the freshmen.
"Freshmen will be living on these
floors. There is a chance either the stu­
dents or their parents would be uncom­
fortable with the living situation. We are
neither for nor against it. Wejust need to
make sure that enough freshmen will
want to live there and fill those rooms
instead of unwilling freshmen being
stuck there," said senior Tamika Watson,
a member of the Residential Life
Committee.
"We want to have the majority
understand, it is not realistic for every­
one to necessarily agree," continued
Watson. "If anyone is interested they can
attend the Residential Life meetings."
Some students question the commit­
tee's hesitancy. There will only be 36
rooms set aside for freshmen in Sage
next year. The current housing occupan­
cy executive summary shows that there
are presently 65 unoccupied rooms in
underclassmen dorms besides Sage.
"Incoming freshman make up less
than one fourth of the school. To not
change Sage because of the possibility
that they wouldn’t approve would be
totally unfair to the other three fourths
of the student body that could be in favor
of such a change" said Wille.
Varying the housing at Lawrence
has been a topic of discussion all year.
Students enrolled in a Feminist Theory
class even tabled at Downer, gathering
support for a gender-neutral living
space. They petitioned to allow men and
women to live in the same room. While
some have maintained that such an
arrangement is against the law in
Wisconsin, The Lawrentian, in consulta­
tion with Paul Shrode, found that no
such law currently restricts Lawrence
housing. Support for these and other
changes to the housing policy is a grow­
ing student concern.
"We are changing with the student
times," said Truesdell, "We want to give
students options, comfortable options, in
housing. Especially for freshmen."
Adam Berey
Associate Copy Editor
The College Democrats stepped up
their annual "College Democrats Week'
events this year with a catchy slogan and
a merchandise table in Downer
Commons. Starting last Sunday, the
group gave away blue-colored merchan­
dise and sponsored several on-campus
political events. The College Republicans
also sponsored events as part of
"Republican Pride Week."
The Democrats' slogan, "Think Blue,"
comes from the Think Blue Political
Action Committee, an independent group
that sells blue rubber fundraising
bracelets to aid leftist groups such as
MoveOn.org and 2020 Democrats. The
Lawrence Democrats extended this slo­
gan for use on blue T-shirts, buttons, and
pride ribbons, and adornedcampus foliage
with blue glowsticks.
The evocation of the red state/blue
state major-party rivalry may seem too
partisan to some. College Republicans
president Michael Papincak said
Wednesday, "I don't particularly like it
because it widens the gap between our
two parties."
But the Democrats assert that it is
only a show of pride. According to College
Democrats president Kevin CooperFenske, the week's activities were meant
to increase party enthusiasm, not rivalry
between the two sides. "I don't consider
[the slogan] to be an attack," said the
senior. "It's more of a hopeful thing."
In Cooper-Fenske's eyes, the
Republicans have been less diplomatic.
Posters slamming John Kerry appeared
around campus Monday night and the
group showed "Fahrenhype 9/11"
Thursday, a right-wing response to
Michael Moore’s politically-charged
"Fahrenheit 9/11." The Democrats
screened the non-partisan political satire
Wag the Dog" the same night.
But party politics is what the weeks is
about, says Papincak, a sophomore. "If
they want to watch some Hollywood
Dustin Hoffman movie, let 'emgo."
That both the Republicans and
Democrats planned their events for the
same week was purely coincidental.
Cooper-Fenske said there was a signifi­
cant lack of communication between the
two organizations. When the public rela­
tions office informed them of the overlap,
the club leaders attempted to plan around
each other's events in order to avoid com­
petition.
In addition, they encouraged their
clubs' members to attend both groups'
events. "I didn't want it to be one-sided,"
said Cooper-Fenske. The Democrats
reportedly invited the Republicans to
table with them at Downer, although no
Republican representative made an
appearance.
Papincak has been waryofcollaborat­
ing with the College Democrats because of
what he sees as an abrupt upswing in
their visibility. Anything we do seems
reactionary,'' he said. We don't see any
reason to cooperate with agroup that has­
n't been active and all of a sudden is."
continued on page 2
THE LAWRENTIAN
FQ
FEATURES
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005
LU’s Best Dressed
Meghan McCallum
Feature* Editor
Kate Negri looking glamorous and fashionable.
In the past two weeks, you may have
seen some of the Lawrentian staff tabling
at Downer for our "Best Dressed" poll. We
asked students to vote for the three most
awesomely-clad Lawrentians. The choice
was completely up to them — we received
some votes for professors (Hah and
Spurgin tied with three votes each), one for
Jesus Christ, and one for the women's
Frisbee team. Luckily, most of the votes
were in fact for Lawrence students and we
were able to come up with some results.
Our Best Dressed female on campus is
senior Kate Negri. You may have spotted
her around — she's usually wearing some
pretty cool (often bright-colored) clothes. It
just so happens that Kate won the Best
Dressed award in her senior year of high
school, too. Kate just has an undeniably
sweet style.
We re also proud to announce fresh­
man Gus Christensen as our Best Dressed
Male. "I just wear what I like — clothes
that make me feel confident," he says. He
said this includes "screen-printed T-shirts
that my brother made me, and a lot ofjack­
ets. I like jackets." We hope that Gus con­
tinues to be a fashion role model at
Lawrence for years to come... until he
graduates, that is.
So, congratulations to Kate and Gus,
and for all you other folks out there...
throw on a sweatshirt and get to class!
Leave the fashion to these guys..
Kappa Kappa Awesome
Zack Eustis
Staff Writer
Many Lawrentians have become
enthralled with thefacebook.com.
Some use it to create hilarious fake
profiles, others enjoy finding out how
many Lawrentians actually list their
political views as "very conservative"
(15). The Facebook provides students
not only with the chance to learn deep
personal secrets/factoids about other
Lawrentians, but also serves as a
means to learn more about campus
organizations and their members.
One of the most frequently sought
out groups is none other than the
hottest new fraternity on campus,
Kappa Kappa Awesome. Co-founded
this year by Alex Week, Patrick Breese,
and Peter Griffith, Kappa hosts meet­
ings most Wednesdays, usually at 9:45
p.m. Kappa member Gabriel Davila
describes the meetings as, "Having
hilarious encounters where whatever
we end up talking about is awesome.
(The meetings] usually end up as a
party." When asked about the top
secret Kappa Kappa Awesome initia­
tion, Davila responded by saying,
"Even that was pretty awesome...
though of course I can't tell you any­
thing about it."
Recently, the brothers of Kappa
Kappa Awesome adopted a stretch of
highway which Griffith says they plan
to clean "occasionally." T-shirts pro­
moting the organization are on the
way as well, though there is no known
date of arrival as of yet. The biggest
event Kappa has planned for the
spring is the first annual Kappa
Kappa Awesome formal, where the
brothers are encouraged to find dates
in the most hilarious manner possible.
Promotional material for the event
will be posted in the near future.
One of the group's major struggles
is the lack of a fraternity house,
though their bid for a 2005-2006
theme house could change that signifi­
cantly. While the group's membership
is strong, they will lose both Week and
Griffith after the 2006 school year,
making the future hierarchy of the
group ripe for the climbing. If you are
an independent male who has become
disenchanted with the "Big Five" fra­
ternities on campus, pledging
Awesome may be right up your alley.
Popcorn, music, and inflatables
Jessica Engel
Staff Writer
This past Saturday, Ormsby Hall
Council, with the additional sponsor­
ship of LUCC, put on its annual
Ormsby Zoo Days. It took place from 2
p.m. to midnight, and despite the hail­
storm at about 3 p.m., the smell of
fresh popcorn continued to lure the
eternally hungry student body.
According to Laura Rosenberg, once
the hailstorm started, "people just
made mad dashes for the building."
Y^t, even while the weather was bad,
students partook in the many amuse­
ments offered at Ormsby Zoo Days.
Apparently, the cost of facing the
rain was outweighed by the plethora of
free items offered on Main Hall Green.
A ready swarm of students surrounded
the cotton candy and popcorn table,
while many a painted.face could be
seen around campus that day.
Meanwhile, others utilized the inflata­
bles, which included a Velcro wall, an
obstacle course, as well as a bungee
run. Additionally, from 4:30 to 6:30
pm, an all-campus picnic took place.
Then, from 5 p.m. to midnight, a
milieu of musical acts entertained
Ormsby Zoo Days attendees, as well as
Shack-a-Thon attendees — the two
groups became almost synonymous.
The schedule of musical acts
included Zach Johnson, the Charlie
Christenson Trio, the Blueberry
Scones, GuitARMY, Vale Todo, Cantus
Forte, and LUHME. The musical acts,
which faced Shack-a-Thon's makeshift
homes, were welcomed by their
builders, many of whom had been
camped out since early that day. The
acts kept them going for the long, cold
night ahead.
Shack-a-Thon goers were not the
only ones to be drawn into this funfilled event. Many area teens, presum­
ably on their way to the YUAI’s
Skappleton event, decided to check out
Ormsby Zoo Days. Although many
may have assumed that the planning
of numerous concurrent events cam­
pus-wide would have hindered the
turnout for Ormsby Zoo Days, it only
made it stronger. A little May hail­
storm couldn't stop the excitement
that was Ormsby Zoo Days.
Week of politics
continued from page 1
But there is a flipside to the animosi­
ty. Both groups came together Friday for a
Republican-Democrat picnic and kickball
game —a revival of the traditional match
that the College Republicans played in
previous years against the Students for
Leftist Action.
While both groups have annually
been organizing these weeklong events,
the Democrats' efforts this week have gar­
nered much more attention than in past
years.
Free merchandise may be the best
explanation for the high visibility. TTie
organization started the week with 75 Tshirts and about 100 buttons. They gave
out all the shirts on the first day and the
buttons were gone by Monday night
Cooper-Fenske said that he hopes the
increased publicity will encourage more
students to participate inthe club. CooperFenske himself was unaffiliated with the
club until this year, a fact that he attribut­
es to its low profile. 'Td like to change the
outlook and presence of our group," he
said. "Maybe ifthere was more outreachto
me, I would havejoined [sooner]."
Cooper-Fenske said he hopes to
repeat this week's success in future terms
with a greater frequency of events. "Some
people can’t come to weekly meetings
because they're always the same time,
same place," he said. Tb provide more
opportunities for students to get involved,
Cooper-Fenske intends sponsor at least
one speaker and one event per term.
The College Republicans also intend
to be more active. Papincak cited plans to
picket at this Thursday's convocation fea­
turing left-leaning Columbia president
Lee Bollinger, and a revival of the club's
Right on Time newspaper next year.
Photo by Kate Negri
Gus loves both fashion and trees with a passion.
Who serves your drinks:
Stars of the VR part m
Nora Hertel
tell:
Staff Writer
For those who have been following
this series of profiles, you now have
some knowledge, both general and
obscure, of your VR bartenders. Some
may fill the stereotype of the wise bar­
tender, or they may make your drink
just the way you like it. Employing stu­
dents to bartend is an example of the
intimacy of the Lawrence campus.
Everyone knows almost everyone else
either directly or through association.
The small campus and other elements
like TTiefacebook.comkeep LU students
close. Facebook does not, however, have
a category for favorite drink or best
advice. Eiyoy the last of the profiles.
Now you know just a little bit more
about your peers.
Name: Loni Philbrick-Linzmeyer
Year and Mjyor: Junior, history and
education
Other Jobs: RLA in Hiett Hall
Favorite Drink: water... for real.
And Dirty Girl Scout
Funniest anecdote/joke you like to
"A completely inebriated man was
stumbling down the street with one foot
on the curb and one foot in the gutter. A
cop pulled up and said, I've got to take
you in, pal. You're obviously drunk.'
Our wasted friend asked, Officer,
are ya absolutely sure I'm drunk?'
Yeah, buddy, I'msure,' said the cop.
'Let's go.'
Breathing a sigh of relief, the guy
said, Thank goodness, I thought I was
crippled."'
Sage advice from behind the bar:
"I'Ve never been behind the bar yet, but
if I was to be behind the bar I would say
Keep it real, leave big tips'."
Name: Nidi Heuer
Year and Major: Senior, mathemat­
ics and French
Favorite Drink: Tanqueray and
Tonic
Funniest anecdote/joke you like to
tell: No real anecdote. I just use the
cards I'm dealt that day.
Sage advice from behind the bar:
Don't ASK for free drinks, it's really
ignorant.
iijv ertisen ten t
............ —— -
-
»
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THE LAWRENTIAN
FEATURES
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005
3
Quran, Christians & Modern Islamic Thought
Dan Holbrook
CopyChtef
A relatively new face dealt with
some age-old problems last Tuesday, as
visiting professor Rachel Scott of the
religious studies department present­
ed her lecture on "The Qur'an,
Christians and Modern Islamist
Thought." Main Hall 201 was already
full as the lecture began, and stran­
glers who were late to the presentation
found themselves hunting for seats.
Scott focused on several key verses
in the Quran which deal with the
"People of the Book," the Muslim term
for their monotheist contemporaries —
including but not limited to Jews and
Christians — who had earlier received
a form of the divine revelation. Though
current affairs may have lured some
attendees to the event, the talk actual­
ly focused on the treatment of the
People of the Book within a hypotheti­
cal Islamic state.
Those who've studied any religion
won't be surprised to learn that these
verses have been given many different
interpretations. "Verses in the Quran
about the People of the Book are often
quite ambiguous," cautioned Scott,
later adding that "there are verses
both praising and condemning" the
monotheists.
To interpret a particular verse, a
scholar must keep in mind its "occa­
sion of revelation" — the historical
context surrounding Muhammad's
verbal revelation of the words later
recorded in the Quran. Many verses
concerning the "People of the Book"
may be referring to specific monothe­
ists who were politically involved with
the Muslim prophet. The concept of
abnegation — the process by which a
later verse nullifies an earlier verse —
is also vital to any understanding of
the Quran.
Much of Scott's lecture dealt with
the ways in which modem interpreta-
tive traditions use these methods.
With the caveat that Western concep­
tions of "liberal" or "conservative" are a
poor way to pigeonhole individual
Islamic scholars, she divided the tradi­
tions into three categories: confronta­
tional, conservative, and conciliatory.
Applying these interpretative
lenses to various verses, such as the
"jizga verse" (9:29) and the "verse of
the sword" (9:5), Scott showed the rad­
ically different ways different groups
understand the Quran. And that's a
lesson applicable even today.
S tiff Writer
Last Tuesday, the College Democrats
hosted JamieWall, acandidate for the U.S.
House of Representatives. So far, Wall is
the only Democratic candidate who has
entered the 2006 race for the 8th
Congressional District, which includes
Appleton, Green Bay, and the rest of
Northeast Wisconsin. The seat is currently
held by Republican Mark Green, who
announced May 1 that he would not seek
re-election for his congressional seat, and
would instead run for governor in 2006.
Wall got his bachelor's degree from
UW-Madison, majoring in political science
and history. He was named a Rhodes
Scholar in 1992 and got his master's
degree in political philosophy fromOxford.
He has most recently been the head of the
Wisconsin Economic Development
Program under the Department of
Commerce.
Wall talked mainly about economic
issues facing Northeast Wisconsin, and
howhe feels theycould be managed better.
He described how manufacturing jobs
have been eroded, mainly because we are
better at making things with fewer people
today then we were in the past. He also
talked about how free trade in general is
good, but how in today's world the argu­
ment comes down to how many people are
dislocated and disrupted. He said that the
government’s number-one job should be
making sure its citizens' needs are taken
care of and that this usually is a messy
process. He went on to say that the trade
debate is one that usually divides
Republicans and unites Democrats. But he
still would like to see more free trade and
more treaties that protectAmerican work­
ers, as well as promote free-floating cur­
rency around the world.
He described how it is nowa fret that
smaller businesses, not the Fortune 500
J u
n
io
companies, are providing more jobs for
American workers. TTiisis cuttingdownon
many labor-intensive jobs for people with
minimal educations and drastically affect­
ing the make-up of the job population in
Northeast Wisconsin. His plan for finding
newjob6 and benefiting the most people is
to maximize job opportunities for every­
one, drawing on what America does best:
innovation and hard work. He stated that
we should embrace the dynamism of the
American economy and continue to cele­
brate the entrepreneurs and researchers
who create more jobs for others. He also
stressed that America needs to produce
more scientists and engineers to be able to
keep up with the rest of the world in the
21st century.
Wall described his position on some of
the hot-button issues in Congress today.
He stated that the United States needs to
get its fiscal house in order "Every baby
bom today is $27,000 in debt. That's just
not right from a morality aspect." He also
said that No Child Left Behind was a good
program fundamentally, but was botched
inits execution. "Itwasn't funded," he said,
"and there is too much attention toward
passing exams and not enough attention
towards learning the material."
Wall ended with a discussion on
health care. He stated that 13 percent of
the United States gross domestic product
goes toward health care. "It's the best care
in the world for those that get it," Wall
said, "butthere isjust too much overhead."
Wall said that he is in favor of preventive
measures such as making sure that all
children are immunized and that basic
tests are given to find genetic defects, tests
that can save thousands of dollars in care
later on in life. He also said he would want
to help small businesses and farmers in
getting into larger "risk pools” — insur­
ance plans for normally uninsurable peo­
ple — so that their premiums are not as
difficult to cover financially.
r
WW
NigV
v
/ u
Frldag Mag, 200)
Rear your class colors andget a quarter
off your drinks!
Nextyear you’ll beseniors. In the mean
time this night's for goal
Sarah Buckley
Staff Writer
When comparing our school to
other four-year universities, it is evi­
dent that one of the most striking com­
ponents of the "Lawrence Difference"
is the abundance of off-campus study
programs. Students in good standing
are given the opportunity to select
between a large variety of off-campus
programs to attend; both within the
United States and abroad. And let's
face it — as wonderful as living in
students to have "courage when it Appleton for four straight years may
Beth McHenry
News Editor
counts." Aldrich added that students be, the thought leaves some students
should be careful to avoid flippancy with an itch to break loose and experi­
about free speech and only challenge ence a different culture.
the teaching methods or political agen­
Fortunately, Lawrence encourages
Many Lawrence students and fac­
das of others if the issue is serious, not this kind of thought, and therefore
ulty would probably have categorized
trivial.
provides off-campus study programs
Wednesday's address "Free Speech:
Aldrich also stressed that political for students concentrating in an
Issues on Campus" by former FBI
imbalance is not necessarily a force assortment of academic areas. For
agent Gary Aldrich' as controversial,
here at Lawrence, but cited several example, have you always dreamed of
offensive, or too conservative for
examples of prejudice or harassment scuba diving off the Cayman Islands
Lawrence. But then again, that is pre­
of conservatives at other colleges and and observing the coral reef environ­
cisely Aldrich s point.
universities.
ment? Lawrence provides students
The address, sponsored by the
Aldrich’s background as an FBI with this opportunity with its marine
Lawrence University College
agent made him familiar with the biology program in the British West
Republicans and the Young America's
importance of free speech. For thirty- Indies.
Foundation, attempted to address a
years, Aldrich
Or perhaps you've considered how
serious con­
has worked beneficial and personally rewarding it
cern on col­
with the FBI might be to study in a developing
lege campus­
all over the nation while simultaneously working
es: the rights
nation, pri­ to modernize it. Lawrence offers this
and responsi­
marily with opportunity through its program in
bilities of
political cor­ Tanzania.
students to
ruption and
Or maybe the sophisticated life of
express their
presidential London is more up your alley. Through
opinions,
appointments its collaboration with IES Abroad,
moral beliefs,
beginning Lawrence caters to students' personal
and view­
during the interests through study-abroad: propoints with­
.
♦ vJ
Reagan grams.
• • ••*
out fear o f ,
administra­
For
example,
sophomore
Emily
discrimina­
tion. Palmer plans to participate in the
tion or
Aldrich
study-abroad program offered in
oppression
also served as Santiago, Chile during fall term next
from profes­
a senior FBI year. A fluent Spanish speaker, Palmer
sors and
agent
in will be focusing her studies on the cul­
peers.
charge
of ture of Santiago while simultaneously
Aldrich is
national secu­ taking an upper-level Spanish class.
one of a num­
rity at the She also plans to either take a psy­
ber of
White House chology or sociology class at the
Americans
during the University of Chile. She chose the
who feel
Photo courtesy of www.patrickhenrycenter.org/ aldrich.html
administra­ Santiago program over the program
that the
tions of for­ offered in Mexico because she felt it
intellectual
mer presidents Bush and Clinton. would provide her with a more diverse
atmosphere at most colleges is over­
These terms severely influenced experience.
whelmingly "politically correct," liber­
Aldrich's view of American politics. In
And sophomore Monica Felix
al, and even radical. Aldrich feels that
1996, Aldrich published the New York plans to spend both the winter and
professors rarely present proTimes bestseller, "Unlimited Access: spring terms abroad next year in
American, pro-capitalist viewpoints in
An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton Berlin, studying the German language
the classroom setting and that stu­
White House," which outlined numer­ and linguistics. She intends to execute
dents should have the courage to
ous serious security breaches within a linguistic analysis between the dif­
express conservative and Christian
the White House during President ferences of the Old High German and
views. ”1don’t think professors should
Clinton's office.
Middle High German forms of the lan­
be meddling with students' ideolo­
Aldrich has published two other guage. In addition, she is interested in
gies," he said.
books, the novel "Speak No Evil" and observing the perspective that
According to Aldrich, students, fac­
the recent release "Thunder on the Germans take regarding specific his­
ulty, and administrators in numerous
Left: An Insider's Report on the torical events, especially compared to
American colleges create an imbalance
Hijacking of the Democratic Party." the American way of thinking.
in political atmosphere that favors lib­
Aldrich has also authored editorials
For these students and others like
eral speakers, classes, and opinions.
for publications such as the Wall Street them, the off-campus study programs
This imbalance essentially "makes the
Journal and appeared numerous times offered provide not only the ability to
decision" for students who are unde­
on television shows including "Good immerse oneself within an entirely
cided about their own political opin­
Morning America," "Dateline," "The new culture, but also a chance to pur­
ions; undecided students are likely to
O'Reilly Factor," and "Inside Edition."
sue at a greater length one's personal
side with the majority, regardless of
Aldrich also founded The Patrick interests
and
passions.
their own beliefs. Aldrich feels that the
Henry Center for Individual Liberty, a Congratulations and good luck to all
political imbalance present in colleges
non-profit organization intended to those students selected to study ,off
makes it difficult for a conservative
promote the U.S. Constitution and Bill campus next year —make the most of
professor or conservative student to be
of Rights and support the right of citi­ this wonderful opportunity!
successful in society.
zens to engage in ethical dissent.
The point that Aldrich stressed
most strongly is the importance for
Wall talks economics Aldrich addresses issues
of free speech
Andy York
Get
outta
here!
THE LAWRENTIAN
OPINIONS & EDITORIALS
Letter to the editor
The E-Spot
I t ’s tim e
to
b et on
lo v e
Ethan Denautt
Humor Columnist
While I often gamer many admiring stares as I walk around campus,
this past Monday I was apparently the object of much envy — I literally
turned heads at every comer. From Main Hall to New Science people
"oohed" and "ahhed" as I strode past. Colleagues of mine in the newsroom
immediately wrote the phenomenon off as simply the result of being a wild­
ly popular journalist — a collegiate newsman with the intellect of Walter
Cronkite and the body of Stone Phillips, as one particularly admiring sec­
retary termed it. Yet that night as I lay in bed, clutching tightly to a picture
of myself as a diapered youngster, my confidant Ms. Nelson spoke to me
words I never wanted to hear: "Boulder" she said, calling me by my selfappointed pet name, "It's wasn’t you... it was the outfit."
Gone. Poof. The billowing mushroom cloud which had been my ego but
seconds before shrank to the size of my 1edited1right after a cold shower.
"Noooo!" I screamed, but her words still echoed in my ears. I raced to the
closet. There it was. The outfit. My jodhpurs, riding boots, tweed blazer and
my "26-inch twisted-willow-and-leather-imported-from-England-ridingcrop-handmade-by-Prince-Harry." Was she right? I cried myself to sleep
that night.
The moral of this story is this: It's never too early to prepare for the
Preakness Stakes, no matter what way you choose to celebrate. This
Saturday people from all across the globe flocked to Maryland, where they
enjoyed the timeless art of betting, losing, and wearing really big floral hats.
Yet beyond the simple facade of betting and ostentatious cranial wear,
there was something even more sinister taking place at the race tracks that
those watching from reclining chairs rarely get the chance to see. Forget the
internet dating sites as the premier venue for creepy romances; the horse
track has taken its place and in doing so illustrated a point I made in third
grade anatomy class — it all comes back to Freud.
Even more peculiar are the couples spawned from this fertile meeting
ground. Men from far and wide, penniless, and with nothing more than the
shirts on their backs, wander to the track looking for that perfect mate who
also happens to be sitting on (not literally) a hefty sum of cash. Amazingly
they often seem to find it. Take the case of John Hendrickson, former New
York high-school tennis champ and recent Old Country Buffet connoisseur.
The portly ex-athlete, by luck, somehow made his way to Saratoga Springs
where, by luck, he somehow began to woo Mary Lou Whitney, the famous
inheritor of her husband's sixty million dollar estate and notorious fluffy
hat wearer. Despite a fifty-three year age difference John Hendrickson
wasted no time proclaiming to the world (after two weeks) that he'd found
"true love” and even took his newly discovered "true love" out in a Porsche
911 convertible which was a kind gift bestowed upon him at the promptings
of cupids little arrow finding a place in Ms. Whitney's bosom.
Yet I believe it was Newton who said "everything has an equal and
kinda opposite reaction." While it may seem that the men are the sole
predators of the track, so too do young women frequent the vicinity in
search of some fossil willing to shell out a couple of grand for pair of DD's
and a 'vett in payment for a little lovin’ post-time.
So, the next time you open your purse or wallet and see only a few.
Washingtons or are feeling a little lonely on a cold winters night, maybe you
should think of heading to the nearest track in search of your sugar daddy.
At the very worst you at least know you’d be a more attractive couple than
Liza Minelli and David Geffen.
Letter to the editor
This letter was unintentionally
omitted from the last issue. The
Lawrentian regrets this errpr.
I was dismayed to see the
Lawrentian staff editorial about
the Fellows program in Friday's
paper (speculating that it might be
a "Trojan Horse"
se" designed to
replace tenuretrack faculty).
Let me answer
this
question
clearly
and
unequivocally:
NO, it is not!
The
Fellows
ws \
IHiprogram is an addi­
tion to the tenure-track Lawrence
faculty, not a subtraction or a slow­
ing of its growth. If anything, it
might help to create new tenuretrack lines by establishing student
interest in previously unrepre­
sented areas. In designing and
executing the program, increasing
the quality of education at
Lawrence and students' opportu­
nities for individualized instruc­
tion have been primary goals.
In fact, the Trustees have
specifically donated money that
would not otherwise have been
given to Lawrence because they
are excited about this program. We
also expect the Fellows program to
generate support from charitable
foundations (to whom grant appli­
cations are being written) that
would not normally
fund tenure-track
positions.
Being provoca­
tive and skeptical is
to be encouraged in
a school newspaper,
but sowing suspicions of
< "ulterior motives"
whpn
Y
when von
you haven't
bothered to
investigate your concerns in even
the most preliminary ways is
merely sloppy. You stated that it is
"perhaps impossible to know the
exact intentions of the Fellows pro­
gram." It's not — all you had to do
was to ask.
Peter Glick
Professor of Psychology and
Chair of the Fellows Committee
Affirmative action is one of
those several institutions in
American history that, for its fun­
damental assumption of inequality,
future generations will look back on
and, shaking their heads, wonder
"what were they thinking?"
An argument for the institution
goes that race is just one of many
factors considered in an admissions
decision, no different from being
related to an alum or being from a
geographically underrepresented
area. That's fine, an alum's kid is
more likely to bring money to the
school, and where you’re bom
affects your outlook on life.
But it is staggeringly racist to
suggest that race itself somehow
determines your outlook on life.
Who will think more black,' the son
of a black doctor in a Chicago sub­
urb or an urban white? And assum­
ing all white people attend exclu­
sive schools in swanky areas is just
as out of touch with reality as
assuming all black affirmative
action beneficiaries come from the
ghetto. Perhaps it's this assumption
that has translated the last 20
years of affirmative action into the
splendid intellectual diversity real­
ized on campus today. And as a
reminder to anybody who hopes to
contribute to this diverse intellectu­
al community, he sure to watch for
thrown pies and salad dressing.
Well perhaps, as Lee Bollinger
noted on PBS with Bill Moyers on
6.20.03, if racial preferences in
admissions are banned, "the truth
is, that the enrollment, of AfricanAmericans,
Hispanic,
N a ti v e -
Americans, in
our selective universities
and colleges throughout the coun­
try, will drop dramatically. And we
will have universities that look very
much like they did in 1960." Huh?
You'd be laughed off campus if you
walked into an admissions office
and suggested it was staffed by
racists and segregationists: a col­
lege admissions office today is
about the most p.c. place on Earth.
Bollinger would have us think
that opponents of affirmative action
really want "an entirely new course
of Constitutional law that would
forbid completely any consideration
of race, ever" (same Moyers inter­
view). Even allowing his claim (and
disregarding that annoying little
Brown v. Board of Education deci­
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005
sion where Thurgood Marshall
observed, "Distinctions by race are
so evil, so arbitrary and invidious,
that a state bound to defend the
equal protection of the law, must
not invoke them in any public
sphere"), the real issue here is that
we're trying to figure out which
groups to favor, and by implication
which groups to penalize.
To combat inequities, we need
to embrace college admissions, and
indeed K-12 education, that con­
front all students with the same
opportunities and expectations. In
Milwaukee, under Jim Doyle's edu­
cation department, only one in
three black students will earn a
diploma. What we need isn't a sys­
tem that accommodates failure and
then admits students to college who
wouldn't otherwise make the cut,
but that meets it head on and
defeats it. We can no longer accept
the amazingly racist proposition
that one race simply can't compete
on a level playing field with anoth­
er, that one race can pass a test
while another cannot. And we need
to stop kidding ourselves that race
per se is determinative of character,
intellectual ability, or the content of
anybody's heart.
Jon Home
Point-Counterpoint
Con
Pro
I do not support affirmative action for some simple
reasons. Affirmative action hinders a qualified individ­
ual's pursuit of happiness, as promised by the
Declaration of Independence, just because they happen to
be in a majority. Affirmative action undermines the hard
work and effort that some have put into their own suc­
cess in this society.
I also believe that the affirmative action is a racist
idea. It is profiling at it worst. People who support affir­
mative action are basically saying that particular groups
in society are just not good enough or smart enough to
make it on their own. Therefore, they need the govern­
ment to give them handouts and support so they can suc­
ceed. Does this mean that one group is better than the
other? Isn't that what racism is, the belief that one group
is better than another? If anything affirmative action is
keeping the fire under racism lit and will continue to do
so as long as we keep racial separation alive in society.
In relation to education, I believe that affirmative
action is not advantageous. Again, we have qualified peo­
ple missing out on their pursuit of happiness, which
might be at a certain college, just because the school had
met its quota of white students. And what if the school is
permitting unqualified students just because of race.
What is something like this going to do to the overall
quality of that institution? Lower it, I would assume, as
well as breed a mediocre environment.
All in all, hard work should be rewarded. If the
minorities work hard, they will succeed. If we keep giving
them handouts and allow them to ride on a wave of free­
bies, then racism will still remain and we will never see
true confidence in the minds of minorities.
Michael Papincak
Affirmative action is a hotly disputed and complex issue
faced by many aspects of society including the academic world.
I believe that there is a great misconception, however, about the
role that race currently plays in college admissions. Many feel
that reverse discrimination is commonplace in admissions and
that under-qualified applicants are being unfairly admitted to
prestigious colleges because of their race. Fortunately, this type
of racial discrimination is simply not happening. In a series of
court cases the Supreme Court found that racial quotas and
other university policies that are not narrowly tailored to mini­
mize reverse discrimination are unconstitutional. They ruled
that race can only be considered as one of many factors when
considering a college applicant Such policy, they argued, would
allow colleges to have racially diverse student bodies — some­
thing they considered a significant benefit to the campus com­
munities. Furthermore, the court emphasized that such policy
should be considered short-term with the belief that it would
only be necessary until the time when the glaring racial dis­
crepancies in such things as economics and standardized tests
are eliminated. I would consider this type of affirmative action
to be completely justified, in fact necessary. Having a diverse
campus community is extremely beneficial to colleges as it
increases the range of opinions, backgrounds and experiences
that, together, form a robust community and learning environ­
ment Additionally, one's race, Underthe court's ruling, is not the
only factor considered when evaluating an applicant's possible
contribution to campus diversity. Such factors as what state one
is from, whether the applicant comes from an urban or rural
environment or what his or her economic upbringing was like
can also be considered on the same plane. Such factors, taken
together, ensure that college campuses can be, like Lawrence,
more than just academic bodies but diverse communities with
the free exchange of many different viewpoints.
Ben Pauli
B W U H C W A T K : 101
THE LAWRENTIAN
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005
OPINIONS &EDITORIALS
STAFF EDITORIAL
Year-End Notes
The Lawrentian finishes this year not free from controversy. We
began the year by exposing an email trace conducted by then-LU
employee Andrea Powers with regard to senior streak. Students took
the matter seriously, and LUCC and the Student Welfare committee
— and doubtless not a few faculty and administrative bodies —
began work to clarify the ethics of email tracing. While the results of
these deliberations are not fully known, student awareness of the
benefits and dangers of technology has risen substantially. Also not
far from memory is the "I Stand with Ann” campaign and its aftermath. Student life was directly affected both by the letter to the edi­
tor that kick-started the campaign as well as our subsequent staff
editorial justifying its publication.
The year finishes with controversy over the intent of the
Lawrence Fellows program. While some faculty and administrators
insist that the intent of this program is good, we nevertheless see the
benefit from our discussion: by raising awareness of a growing trend
in liberal arts colleges, Lawrentians are better able to respond to this
issue should it arise as a fundamental change in university policy.
We also left behind one LUCC administration and move forward
to the Snyder administration. Thus far, Snyder and his team have
performed well, resunecting the institutional structure responsible
for funding student activities and channeling student concerns.
While no LUCC administration is beyond'the reach of media criti­
cism, we are again optimistic for the success of student government.
Finally, thanks to the readers. We hope that you shared our crit­
icisms, laughed at bur satire, and were better informed about your
community through our work. Well miss you — and well be back.
PHOTO PO LL:
The
L awrentian
Seniors: what areyou going to niiss
most about Lawrence?
E ditor in Chief:
Katharine Enoch
Managing Editor:
Reid Stratton
Layout Editor:
Cleo Slaughter
Associate Layout Editor:
Corin Howland
Copy Chief:
Dan Holbrook
“W ho cares?
I’m finally in the photo poll!”
-Rachel Koon
Associate Copy Editor:
Adam Berey
Features Editor:
Meghan McCallum
News Editor:
Beth McHenry
Associate News Editor:
Emily Gonzalez
Opinions & Editorials Editor:
William Dalsen
A & E Editor:
Paul Karner
Associate A & E Editor:
Cory Robertson
Guest editorial:
Chalking it up to pride
Sports Editor:
Alex Week
Associate Sports Editor:
Peter Griffith
“ Do 1 have to get photoed?”
-D evin Scheef
Photo Editors:
Sandra Schwert
Christine Beaderstadt
Andy York
Sports Writer
I find it great that as my four
years here at Lawrence come to a close,
the two main political organizations on
this campus, the College Democrats
and College Republicans, are as active
together as I have ever seen. The fact
that College Democrat Week and
College Republican Pride Week are
occurring this week simultaneously,
though without the foreknowledge of
either group, is encouraging. Both
groups are showing their pride and
spirit through chalkings, speakers, and
the lighting up of Main Hall green
with hundreds of blue glowsticks this
past Monday night. That was a sight I
had never seen before.
The chalkings are what I am writ­
ing about however. The Democrats
chalked all over Sunday night, with
their "Think Blue" message, and
themes advocating the Democratic
Party. There was no negativity in any
of their messages. Their chalking was
a thing of pride, thinking towards the
future. However, the Republicans just
can't let the past go. Most of their
chalking was just fine. I didn’t even
have a, problem with the ribbings of
campus about their parking stunt dur­
ing the John Kerry visit on many of the
driveways to parking lots around cam­
pus. That type of humor is tolerable.
The one chalking that did get my ire
was the one right by Sage Hall that
said, "Bush won, and all you can do is
whine," in bright blue chalk. There's
one problem with that message: no one
was whining. Bush won in 2004, its
true, and guess what, we got over it.
We've moved on. The College
Democrats hosted Jamie Wall, a candi­
date for Congress in 2006, this past
week. Yes, 2006. The Democrats are
looking ahead, while the Republicans
are lpoking back. If the Republicans
really wanted to look back with pride,
they at least could go back to Abraham
Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. So, to all
the Republicans who think that all we
are doing is sitting around and whin­
ing, please keep that attitude right up
to the election in 2006. We re looking
ahead to it, and we’ll be ready, will
you?
Due to a strong positive response to his editori­
al on Downer last week, Corin Howland would like
to announce that he will be passing around a peti­
tion to end the mandatory LU meal plan. If you’re
interested in signing, please contact Corin at
x7548
’
Ad Manager:
Jon Horne
Tech Specialist:
Corin Howland
Circulation Manager:
Susan Platz
Journalism Advisers:
Staff of the Appleton
Post-Crescent
Campus Adviser:
Paul Shrode
EDITORIAL POLICY:
“Downer food."
-Tamika Watson
“My ex-girlfriend - well, she's not my
ex yet, wait? She's not going to read
this is she?”
The o p in io n s e x p re s s e d in th e s e e d ito ria ls are th o s e o f th e s tu ­
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THE LAWRENTIAN
ARTS H ENTERTAINMENT
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005
YUAIs bring in ska
A plethora of
bands for annual concert artistic success
Annicka Campbell
Steff Writer
Last Saturday, the YUAI commu­
nity sponsored the 12th annual day­
long ska concert, Skappleton.
Beginning at 12:30 pm and headlined
by Suburban Legends, Deal's Gone
Bad, and The Know How, Skappleton
lasted nearly 10 hours, and brought
over 700 ska fans to the Buchanan
Kiewit Rec Center. Other bands, such
as Umbrella Bed, Stereo 7,1Voted for
Kodos, Something to Do, Catch of the
Day, Hired Geeks, The Fallout, Tusker,
Urizen, Duct Tape Moustache, and
Stamp'd played throughout the after­
noon.
By my estimation, most of the peo­
ple milling around outside of the grill
were between the ages of 8 and 16,
with very few Lawrence students in
attendance. Freshman Jen Cox said,
"The show was great, and it's great for
campus... more LU students should
have gone, but just like any show,
you're going to get people who just
don't go because they don't like the
music."
Deal's Gone Bad, a 9-piece outfit
from Chicago, played second to last.
Their sound combined the rocksteady
style of Second Wave ska with pub
rock, sounding as if The Pogues decid­
ed to make the leap across the pong
from Ireland to the Midwest and start
a ska band. It was refreshing to watch
Deal's Gone Bad play traditional, grit­
ty ska that wavered between Motown
and The Slackers, rather than the
flashy pop-punk-with-horns sound
that most of Saturday's bands favored.
The most popular band on the tick­
et, Suburban Legends, took to the
stage around 10 p.m. Suburban
Legends sounded a little too much like
Reel Big Fish for my own taste, and
looked a little too much like Maroon 5.
But every member of the crowd was
into their choreographed moves and
extremely high energy. I did some
research on the band after the show,
and read on their website that
Suburban Legends have performed
over 962 perfectly choreographed
shows in 2002... at Downtown Disney,
in Orlando, Florida. Interesting.
It's difficult to hear any musical
connections between the bands at
Skappleton and the British bands that
made ska famous in the late '70s, like
The Specials and Madness. But in a
strict sense, ska has always been a
fusion. Half a century ago, it was a
fusion of Jamaican rhythms with
American jazz and R&B, favored by
working-class rude boys.' In 2005, ska
stands for something very different,
but is still a fusion of sorts between
pop and punk rock. And at the end of
the day, if the kids like it and have fun,
I think it's alright.
SUff Writer
Lawrence musicians and artists
emerged from their respective caves last
Saturday to spend 12 hours in a collabo­
ration of art and music, dubbed "Arts
Plethora" by founder Sandi Schwert, a
senior art major. Schwert, assisted by
senior Natasha Prouty, junior Elliot
Rayman, and super-senior Ben Klein,
organized Plethora to allow musicians
and painters to work side by side in creat­
ing works that, inspired by live music,
would find a home in the Lawrence
Conservatory. The paintings, generally
abstract, were created between noon and
midnight in the Wriston Amphitheatre.
For some of the artists, collaborating
with musicians was new, and a bit chal~
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Rock Columnist
player emerging on the canvas, or a squiggled line immediately imitated by a saxo­
phone lick.
As if coordinating two forms of art
wasn't hard enough, the Plethora crew
also had to contend with a surprise rain­
storm. Midway through the afternoon, the
musicians moved their instruments into
the Wriston vestibule and the painters
rushed to carry their canvasses inside. "I
didn't expect the paint to run quite that
much," Prouty remarked. "I guess those
pieces are finished." But the rain let up,
and a pared-down group gathered in front
of the Union to size up their options.
Optimism and enthusiasm for the project
prevailed. Well," Klein suggested, "let's
stretch a new canvas and start over."
When Arts Plethora came to an end,
Klein remarked, "All of us agree that it
Amelia Perron
n
Brad
Lindert
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e a a
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IM
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....
Photo by Lou Perella
Students artists participate in Arts Plethora outside Wriston.
Photo by Lou Perella
Suburban Legends perform at the YUAI sponsored Skappleton.
lenging. Said Prouty, There were so many
different kinds of groups, and even within
one piece there would be changes, so it
was hard to decide how to integrate the
different styles into the painting."
A comparison of the different works is
a study in the vast differences between
artistic styles. Reid Stratton, a euphonium
player, observed that "each artist has a
particular aesthetic, a technique or idea
that they’ve been working on, and they'll
interpret what they hear through that."
The musicians, while inspired by the
presence of artists, weren’t necessarily
playing from what they saw on the can­
vas. Stratton confessed that he "wasn't
really paying attention" to the artists.
Occasionally, a definitive connection
would appear, such as the figure of a bass
Letter to the editor
Freedom to chalk
In celebration of "Freedom
Week" students have been exer­
cising their freedom of speech
and their freedom to chalk. It's
difficult to miss the commentary
on the sidewalks of campus. In
addition to the usual party and
program fliers taped to the
ground, both the College
Democrats and the College
Republicans have made their
presences known.
Seeing as how there is no
pressing debate raging between
the political parties — even
though there are always some
•points of contention — I would
imagine this to be a week of
shared
information.
Presentation of the ideologies
that characterize the two groups
would be a valuable educational
experience for members of each,
or neither, party. Making taunt­
ing comments about the oppo­
site party, however, is a waste of
chalk. This week should be a cel­
ebration of the diverse
voices in our
political system,
not a forum for
immature banter.
Com m entary
like, "Bush won
and all you can do
is WHINE," is hard­
ly productive. In
fact, it encourages animosity
and intolerance of differing opin­
ions. This is not a critique of the
Republican stance; it is a state­
ment against the current tone of
its presentation
on
the
Lawrence campus. Declarations
like the one quoted above invite
contention from the opposing
party. Why pro­
voke conflict as a
means of selfrepresentation?
The attitude
presented
by
some
of the
C o l l e g e
Republicans
reflects poorly on that party, and
the entire political system. The
polarity
between
the
Republicans and Democrats
works to check each party's
I Got My Name
From Rock and Roll
G reatest H its
I'm not going to say goodbye.
I'm just going to give you a list of
albums, artists, and songs that
have made life worth living.
Greatest Albums
Time
of All
4. Better Than Ezra, "Friction
Baby." It has great rock guitar
lines, great pop hooks, and it just
swims in the New Orleans scene.
And you can't forget their ode to
mix tapes: "Rewind."
3. Neutral Milk Hotel, "In the
Aeroplane Over the Sea." This Jeff
Mangum lead album flows fast,
like James Joyce set to music. This
album must have been recorded
on another planet with its trom­
bones, musical saws, and distorted
acoustic guitar. And the epic "Oh
Comely" is a musical journey that
makes McLean's "American Pie"
look like a skip through the park.
2. Tripping Daisy, "Jesus Hits
Like The Atom Bomb." This album
saw the acid trippers from Texas
clean up their act and make the
most original — and out of the
blue — album of all time. From
songs about Band-Aids and watch­
ing TV to the great love song
"Sonic Bloom," this album is a
journey that opens your eyes and
your mind to music.
1. The Cure, "Disintegration."
When I heard the first strike of
"Plainsong" I was awestruck. I did­
n't know that music could sound
like this. There is nothing lusher,
more moving, or more emotional.
was a great success. We persevered
through the rain and we have seven awe­
some works of art." Klein, like many other
students, was excited about the opportu­
nity for art and music students to work
together. As for the artists, he added, "it
gives them a little idea of playing in an
Greatest Artists of All Time
ensemble."
4. Stephin Merritt. Whether
In terms of what’s next for Arts
writing
Chinese operas, scoring
Plethora, the first thing is to get the paint­
ings mounted in the conservatory. But movies, or leading four bands, this
almost universally, the campus wants to man writes the best love songs (in
see more events like this. "This needs to fact he wrote 69 for one album).
3. Matthew Ryan. He is the
happen way more often," a freshman con­
nie remarked, rubbing paint off her fin­ most underrated artist of all time.
gers. "It’s good for us to get out ofour holes And his debut "May Day" is an
and do stuff.” That said, she shouldered album that most people could only
her instrument and headed for a practice dream of making after years of
perfecting their craft.
room.
2. Jeff Tweedy. Besides being
the leader of the best progressive
band out there right now (Wilco),
Tweedy also was a member of
Uncle Tupelo, THE band that
started the alt-country movement.
He also worked with the super­
group Golden Smog.
1. Tom Waits. He's made a
career out of being his own man.
ambitions and balance the vari­
He's always five years ahead of the
ety of opinions in this country.
times.
Ideological differences should be
Greatest Songs of All Time
highlighted and discussed, net
4. "Be Sweet," The Afghan
skirted in favor of irrelevant
Whigs. Who thought being a jerk
mocking.
could make for being one of the
The College Republicans are
most touching songs ever?
a minority on campus, so it’s
3. "Freckles," Gorky's Zygotic
understandable that they feel
Mynci. I still contend that GZM
the need to make their presence
actually recorded all their music
felt. They should represent
in the '70s in a log cabin far from
themselves. They should exer­
the harsh reality that we now face.
cise their freedom of expression.
2. "Sunken Treasure," Wilco.
Why not also exercise respect
"Music is my savior, I was maimed
with the first amendment?
by rock and roll. / I was tamed by
Sidewalk chalk doesn't have
rock and roll. / 1 got my name from
to invite childish behavior.
rock and roll." Need I say more?
Nora Hertel
1. "2 Late," The Cure. The
greatest pop song of all time!
THE LAWRENTIAN
ARTS ft FNTFRTAINMF.NT
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005
Lawrence composers JMTR undertakes Hie unbeaten path
explore the song
have both worked closely with Roberts
since the project’s conception in
November of ‘2003. It has been nice,
Roberts says, because he has gotten to see
the artistic bent in his siblings that they
have not had an opportunity to show in
the past. For Roberts, the collaborative
experience has been very rewarding,
albeit challenging for him since "it is
always hard to work with a new artist. I
usually don’t interact with them as
artists rather than siblings."
Another interesting problem thtft
Roberts has found, in the creation of the
70 minutes of music, is the need for a
coherent line from beginning to end.
Because the text came from all over the
writings of Paul, the need to maintain
flow and incorporate the text effectively
became an obstacle, but not an insur­
mountable one.
Although the majority of his visible
role during the performance will be con­
cerned with the presentation of the text,
Roberts is first and foremost a composer
of music. He experiments with theater,
but in the context of collaboration with
music rather than as a separate endeav­
or. This project is certainly a theatrical
event, but the music comes first.
Roberts anticipates some reluctance
on the part of the audiences for which he
Joe Pfender
Staff Writer
Cory Robertson
Associate Aits A Entertainment Editor
The similarities of poetry and music
make them complimentary art forms,
with elements like meter, articulation, and
timbre serving as necessary structural
influences in both media. In last Sunday's
New Music concert, Lawrence student
composers revealed an appreciationofthis
relationship with settings of a number of
classic poems, as well as several equallycompelling instrumental pieces.
Sophomore Burcu Goker opened the
concert, performing "Verbena,'' her own
piece for solo violin. Her performance
eased the audience into the meditative
but capricious tone that would last
throughout the concert. Goker's sparse
and sonorous piece, interspersed with
double stops, allowed the audience to
savor the purity of her instrument.
Soprano Jeni Houser and pianist
Myer Nore performed a piece by senior
Doug Detrick, a setting of the William
Carlos Williams poem Young Sycamore."
The piece achieved a pleading undertone
while ascending into fervent chords,
reaching musical height as Williams
verse arrived at its verbal capstone.
Detrick s interpretation of the poem
seemed to reveal an acute sense of the
text's musicality. The music came pretty
easily to the poem, said Detrick. "It was­
n't too much of a stretch to think of it in
musical terms."
The first of sophomore Graham
Hand's "Two Songs on Poems by e.e. Cum­
mings" interwove an unexpectedly low,
dark soprano line with capricious pizzicatos and arpeggios from the cello. The
contrasting voices of Liana Francisco and
Jesse Weinberg came together in the sec­
ond piece, withWeinberg's lowand colored
baritone achieving a surprisingly pleasant
harmony with Francisco's birdlike sopra­
no. The two alternated in a sort of paren­
thetical call and response before solemnly
joining their voices together for the piece's
conclusion.
David Werfelmann, a junior,
employed a slightly different style in his
bard-like "Two Songs," written for guitar
and tenor, which borrowed as text the
words of Henry David Thoreau and
Robert Frost. In discussion of the dual ele­
ments of poetry and music in his work,
Werfelmann said that he "attempted to
combine the two so that the music and
text become, in a sense, mirror images of
each other."
Following Werfelmann’s work was
Joe Pfender’s liltingly minor "Waltz."
Performed by bass clarinet, cello, and
vibraphone, the piece achieved a distinct,
slightly klezmer-like sound. Pfender, a
sophomore, said that his piece was influ­
enced in part by "misty tree-covered hills
just after dark."
The concert's trend of diverse artistic
vision continued with junior Scott
Sandersfeld's vocal septet "Stars, hide
your fires!" Sandersfeld was inspired to
set Shakespeare's words to music after
seeing Ian McKellan's performance in the
made-for-television production of
Macbeth. The actor's vocal delivery of the
text, Sandersfeld said, made him "realize
its musical potential." This vision trans­
lated to music well, providing a polished
vocal work that ranged fromtightly chore­
ographed chords to canonic operatic seg­
ments.
Trombonist Rachel Freedman and
pianist Joe Rodenbeck performed the final
piece, Rodenbeck's "Adoration." The com­
position rose and fell in alternate swells of
tunefulness from the bass trombone, by
turns jaunty, triumphant, and grand.
The concert was well received. "We
had a lot of first-time composers," said
composition professor Joanne Metcalf,
"and they all gave very professionally pre­
pared performances." The concert proved
a worthwhile chance to enjoy the creative
endeavors of a number of Lawrence stu­
dents who have taken it upon themselves
to express their own musical visions, poet­
ic or otherwise, for the benefit of those who
will listen.
Clip /n/ Carry
M a y 23 - M a y 30
Mon, 8 p.m. Jazz Singers Concert. Chapel.
Tue, Wed, Thu, 8 p.m. Senior Theatre
Production: "Project Paul." Cloak Theatre.
Wed, 9 p.m. Don Quixote scenes.
Coffeehouse.
Super-senior music theory/composi­
tion and theatre arts major Jonathon
M.T. Roberts' senior theater project,
"Project Paul," is an ambitious attempt to
combine video, music, theater, and spiri­
tuality — Christian spirituality, specifi­
cally. With the bulk of the production's
text taken either from the writings of St.
Paul or from those about Paul from the
biblical book of Acts, Roberts is attempt­
ing to fill what he sees as a gap in con­
temporary art forms.
One of Roberts interests is in com­
bining different contemporary art forms.
From his perspective, "current Christian
music —Christian rock, etc —is not real­
ly digging into the contemporary ideas"
that interest him. This mix of Christian
spirituality and postmodern aesthetics in
musical, theatrical, and video formats is
what gives "Project Paul" its power and
uniqueness.
The mix could not have been realized
without the assistance and collaboration
of Roberts' siblings. His sister, who wrote
the script fromboth original material and
Scripture, and his brother, who created
the video element of the presentation,
will be performing. "Some people maybe
won't like the music [in its religious con­
text], and disagree with it because of
that." He went on to talk about other
peers of his who, approaching the produc­
tion from a strictly musical mindset,
might disagree with his choice of content.
In all, he’s not worried about offending
anyone. Although, said Roberts, "I do
shake my booty in one scene."
In addition to his own prerecorded
compositional work, there are several
Lawrence cameos, including Jill Beck,
Terry Rew-Gottfried, Fred Sturm, and
many others familiar to the Lawrence
student body. The Lawrence Wind
Ensemble andWomen's Choir, in addition
to individual conservatory students, are
also a part of the prerecorded audio.
Roberts hopes that this will help the work
resonate among his Lawrence audience.
Roberts, who will graduate this June,
plans to take his show on the road over
the next year. He has planned out bits
and pieces already, including a month and
a half in California starting late July, and
a cross-country jaunt from October to
November. The Lawrence campus will get
three chances to see the show, which runs
the nights of May 24-26.
Artist spotlight:
Sandi Schwert
In fact it wasn't until the end of
her freshman year at Lawrence that
Schwert decided to get "serious"
about art. As a flutist, Schwert soon
became disillusioned with the
prospect of being solely a music
major and began exploring other dis­
ciplines in the college as a double­
degree student. "I always thought of
art as a dead-end major," Schwert
explains, "but I couldn’t deny the fact
that I was an artist... It's my release: if
I don't make art I kind of go insane."
Sandi's decision to major in art
was not a tough decision, but a logical
concession to the artist that had been
developing in her for years. And it's
her modest, and very personal, view of
herself as an artist that has influenced
her approach to art in recent years.
Schwert claims that "art, like music, is
a language that everyone can under­
stand and speak." She views the com­
municative process between artist and
audience as a conversation, with equal
consideration for the experiences and
thoughts both have to bring to a given
work. Her work is often inspired by
her own personal intuition — a level of
sophistication, she feels, is entirely
accessible to an audience without
Paul Karner
Arts A Entertainment Editqr
When asked why art is important,
liberal arts students will often recite
an excerpt from an application essay
they once wrote or perhaps refer to
their favorite Henry David Thoreau
quote in an answer entirely logical and
for the most part unarguable.
However, there are a handful of stu­
dent artists who will politely smirk
and shrug their shoulders as though
you'd asked them why breathing is
important or something equally pre­
posterous. Sandi Schwert, a senior art
major, is one artist who has not lost
any sleep over the "why," but like a
true artist, has allowed her life to be
consumed with the more elusive "how."
As a high school student in the
rural town of Gays Mills, Wis., Schwert
took to her artistic pursuits with the
zeal of an artist unconcerned with the
looming pulls of academia. She would
often spend long nights in the art room
over paintings and sculptures and in a
number of art classes that she
designed herself, yet she claims she
"was never really serious' about art in
high school."
being necessarily tied to a distinct con­
cept.
Recently Schwert has a number of
paintings and sculptures displayed in
a show at Harmony Cafe on Oneida
Street in Appleton. The paintings
include a couple personal "snapshots"
of the artist herself and a series of
motion paintings inspired by her
younger sister. The sculptures are a
set of plaster casts of the artist's chin,
neck, mouth, and clavicle covered in
wax, which Schwert claims are invit­
ing to the touch but not without a hint
of taboo. There will be a closing recep­
tion on Wednesday, May 15 at 7 p.m.,
complete with refreshments and live
music. The reception is free and open
to the public, a perfect opportunity for.
Lawrentians to get a closer glimpse
into the mind of this promising
Lawrence artist.
Wed, 9 p.m. Soup movie: "Saved!" Wriston.
Fri, 6 p.m. "Twelve: Senior Art Exhibit 2 0 0 5 "
opening reception. Wriston.
"typ
re Jiog / g u y A i
tyut y o u .
We’re laugkin# at Natalie Portman s
Head.
Fri, 8 p.m. LU Jazz Ensemble and Jazz
Band concert. Chapel.
Sun, 3 p.m. Horn studio recital. Harper.
S©
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Working for the Lawrentian is like being
trapped inside the Hotel California. You can check
out, but you can never leave... especially if you’re
the layout editor.
S o -.
MW* N
& A STUDYING
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by Peter G riffith and M att Nelson
Thanks for reading our comic this year. W e ’ll be back next year with more subtle
humor, more inside jokes you probably w on’t get, and above all...much more El Tod.
THE LAWRENTIAN
SPORTS
8
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005
Crew finishes season strong
Tariq
Engineer
Sports Columnist
_______________
Around the Bases
The Last Dance
This is the end, my only friend,
the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
—The Doors
This column first appeared in
The Lawrentian on Friday, January
18, 2002.1 would like to pretend that
it was all my idea, but that is sadly
untrue. Ryan Marx, my first editorin-chief, was the one to suggest it,
though I was quick to acquiesce. The
title is courtesy of Ryan as well.
The column debuted without a
graphic of any kind. Two weeks later
it was accompanied by a small pic­
ture of a baseball diamond (again
Ryan's idea). My mug shot was never
part of the original conception. It just
so happened that the managing edi­
tor of the Post-Crescent agreed to
become our consultant that same
year, and he hated the baseball
graphic. So during one of our meet­
ings he proposed we replace the
graphic with a picture of yours truly,
as long as I had no objections.
I had no objections.
So for the last three years, give or
take a month, this column (and my
mug shot) could be found on the back
page of The Lawrentian. Its subjects
have ranged from the morality of
playing international cricket in
Zimbabwe to lamenting the demise of
boxings heavyweight division to
describing how I became addicted to
Raisinettes. More often than not the
subject involved professional sports,
but every once in a while, as with my
Raisinettes column, the subject
involved Lawrence University.
While the column hasn't always
been consistent in its style and pur­
pose, for what it is worth, I always
attempted to provide commentary on
some issue in or as it pertained to
sports. That issue may have been the
creation of team spirit or the obliga­
tions of sportsman above and beyond
their obligations to their sport.
Either way I tried to provide what I
considered to be a thoughtful and
well-articulated viewpoint. How I
often I succeeded is for you to decide.
I'd like to thank Ryan Marx for
giving me this opportunity, and the
editors who followed him for not tak­
ing it away (as well as for putting up
with the fact that I rarely made a
deadline). I'd like to thank Professor
Ryckman for letting me know when
he thought there had been too much
cricket and not enough baseball. And,
perhaps most importantly, I'd like to
thank everyone who ever read one of
my columns. Nothing has meant
more to me as a writer than to have
one of you come up to me and com­
ment on something I wrote. It is what
has made this entire experience
worthwhile.
Amy Hollister
Sports Writer
A wise varsity women's coach once
said, "If you're gonna talk the trash, you
gotta back it up.”
With these words
in mind, the LU
rowing
team
backed their trash
throughout the
2005 season. The
season
started
early witha regatta
hosted by St.
Norbert in early
April, where the
weather was cold
but the Viking row­
ers were hot. The
novice men shined
in second place and
the novice women
placed third. The
varsity
women
secured Lawrence's
lead by placing first, second, and third: a
true domination combination over all
competitors. Placing second overall, the
Vikings are confident that their competi­
tors will learn how to count before the
next season, thus further increasing their
chances of victory.
Due to bad weather, the team didn't
compete again until traveling to
Marquette on April 30. There the varsity
and novice men and women held their
water, placing second. Unfortunately for
Marquette, the lightweight women
proved to be worth more than their
weight and pulled off a win.
The season culminated with a trip to
Philadelphia for the Dad Vail National
Championship Regatta on May 13 and
14. Facing teams like Purdue, Army, and
Northwestern, the Viking Rowers made
every stroke count. The novice men (Way,
Kraemer, Halverson, Cullen, Shimek) set
the bar, finishing in 7:34, placing 34/51.
The novice women (Sit, Kaszpurenko,
Dunbar-Hester, Hahn, Koons) broke the
finish line at 9:39. The varsity women
(Lutz, O'Mara, Cornelius, Johnson, Klein,
Ufkin, Lawrence, Sobek, Gaudinski) fin­
ished the season strong at 7:43. The light­
weight women (Way, Freeman, Clark,
Nockleby, Hollister) continued their dom-
inating ways with a time of 8:33, placing
8/24. However, fate was not with the row­
ing team, as due to confusion with the
university and a drawer, the varsity men
were unable to compete.
Graduating from the Viking Crew
are varsity women
Elizabeth Freeman and
Mollie O'Mara and
novice Coach Ian Love.
The time and dedication
these rowers have com­
mitted to the team will
always be remembered.
In addition, the team
would like to once again
extend gratitude for the
strong support it receives
from the Lawrence com­
munity, especially to
those who assisted with
the boathouse vandal­
ism.
The 2005 season
was challenging for the
rowing team. Battling
bad weather, an everchanging coaching staff, administration
problems, and vandalism, the team still
maintained focus on the water and
proved themselves as strong competition.
While consistently rowing strongly and
finishing favorably, the team has yet to
break finals at Vails, thus it looks to next
season to make Lawrence History. The
returning coaches and rowers eagerly
anticipate the next year with the deter­
mination and intensity described only by
"Lawrence WHAT?!''
Dynamic change for LU track
Alex Week
Sports Editor
Remember the Arby's ad from a few
years back that claimed "change is
good?" No? OK. Well some of us found
the commercials quite thought-provok­
ing, especially in comparison to their
newest campaign featuring the personi­
fication of a particularly annoying oven
mitt. By any means, to the LU outdoor
track team, the notion of change has
debatable consequences.
Over the past few years, the two
track teams have, in a sense, switched
the quality of their performances. After a
strong third-place finish two years ago,
the women's team has slipped three
spots each of the past two years, to last
place in their last tournament. The men,
on the other hand, after mediocre sixth
place finishes the past few years, moved
up to fourth in their last outing.
Strong finishes came from juniors
Kolade Agbaje-Williams and James
Hahn, placing in four and three events
respectively. Behind them came eight
other male placers.
Colleen Detjens paced the women's
team with two top-eight finishes.
The perplexing story of the men's
team concerns the performance of
Agbaje-Williams. Having been an All-
American as a freshman two years ago,
his second-place longjump finish at 2005
conference was a full 0.32 meters short
of that of 2003. Yet at the same time, the
team has accumulated noteworthy
depth, allowing it into fourth place.
The combined teams will graduate
seven seniors in June, including Kyle
Hewitt and Steve Geisthardt, both of
whom placed at conference. It will be up
to new, yet established, coach Moira
Ruhly to bring in new talent.
Next year will be known as the bat­
tle between Ruhly and Arby's. Will the
change be good or bad? Only time will
tell.
View from the Chapel bleachers
Mouse Braun
for Th« lawrentian
Hi, I’m Mouse Braun, No. 16 on the
LU football team. As you may know,
James Hall, a Conservatory student,
recently attended an LU baseball game
and gave his account of the game in an
extremely distorted fashion. After reading
his article, I knewthat Icouldgive amuch
more accurate account of a Conservatory
event.
On Friday the 13th, like any normal
fan, I began pre-game activities at theVR
I was somewhat surprised that there
were not more people there, but I figured
that most of the other concert attendees
must have been tailgating outside the
chapel.
When I arrived at the chapel for the
Symphonic Band concert, I almost missed
the whole first quarter because I was
attempting to find the concession stand to
get a beer. I concluded that there must be
concession vendors that walk about the
chapel.
When my friends and I finally took
our seats, we chose the balcony, lowering
the risk of being seen at such an event.
Sitting there waitingfor the performers to
come out, I glanced around looking for the
scoreboard. I decided that it was under­
neath where I was sitting, on the main
floor.
While the performers walked onto
the field, I thought the purpose of this
band concert was to see who could play
the largest and shiniest apparatus.
Obviously the people who walked out last
were better at band.
When the first quarter ended, many
of the apparatus players stood up and
shifted their positions. At first, I was con­
fused, but then a new arm-waver stood on
the podium. Of course, it’s like when
Barry Bonds comes to the plate and the
team in the field puts on a defensive shift!
My initial thought was again wrong,
the same arm-waver stood for the rest of
the event, but after every quarter, the
apparatus players would shift. Zone
defense! We were switching between dif­
ferent types of defenses to confuse the
arm-waver. Obviously the sheets in front
of them were game plans telling them
where to move.
Now that I figured out why the team
would switch seats, I came to the realiza­
tion that the purpose of band is not to
have the shiniest apparatus, but to force
as much noise out ofthe apparatus as pos­
sible.
Throughout the concert some embar­
rassing events took place. An usher came
up to me and told me that my peanut
shells were distracting to the performers.
Also, a bathroom break was the cause of
missing the whole third quarter.
Apparently they don't let you back in
while the performers are making their
noise. While my friends and I were wait­
ing for the other band to come out, the
same usher came up to us and instructed
us to leave since the concert was over. I
was surprised: who wins if there is not
another band to play? We discussed the
situation with the usher and from what I
could understand, this was some sort of
exhibition event.
I talked to Chris Clouthier, a pitcher
on the baseball team and a "saxophone”
player in the Symphonic Band, after the
concert. I ran my thoughts by him about
the zone defenses and the purpose of the
concert. He looked at me, shook his head
and said, "Maybe you should get more
beer and watch the Brewers."
That was the best idea all night.
Lawrence University
BOARD
Standings
MWC All Sport Standings
2004-2005
Women
School
Grinnell
St. Norbert
Ripon
Carroll
Lake Forest
Beloit
Monmouth
Lawrence
Illinois C.
Knox
Points
69.0
65.5
63.5
61.5
58.5
55.0
53.0
46.0
44.0
28.0
Men
School •
Monmouth
St. Norbert
Grinnell
Lawrence
Ripon
Beloit
Carroll
Knox
Lake Forest
Illinois C.
Points
73.5
71.5
69.0
64.5
61.5
45.5
43.5
40.0
48.5
35.5
*The Midwest Conference All
Sport Standings combine the
performances of all intercolle­
giate competition through a
point system giving 10 points
to a sport's champion, 9 to its
runner-up, 8 to third place
etc.
Standings courtesy of
www.midwestconferenc'e.org
All statistics are
accurate as of
May 19, 2005
Wanna see
more of
Andrew
Jadtson?
The Lawrentian
Is seehlng layout
staff for next
year. Worhfor
us and get paid.
c a ll X 7 S 4 8 f o r