Front Page - Wabash College

December 11, 2009
volume 102 • issue 13
In This
Issue
2010:
Year of
the
W abash Man?
Students Elect
Stipes/Nossett
N e w s, 3
JOHN MCGAUGHEY ‘11
NEWS EDITOR
A
S tudent
R esear c h?
N e w s, 6
Bask etball
Spor ts, 9
fter a heated week of campaigning, students huddled
for warmth on the steps of the Pioneer Chapel as Election Commissioner Stephen Maynard ’11
announced that Cody Stipes ’11 was
the new Student Body President,
gaining 52 percent of the vote against
his opponent Jacob Moore ’11,
Chairman Pro Tempore of the Senate.
More than 360 students came out
and voted. The presidential race was
also very close, continuing a tradition
of close Senate elections over the
past few years.
“I’m extremely grateful and honored,” said Stipes, former Treasurer
of the Senate. “I just want to thank
everyone who went out and voted. I
want to get started, and I’m pretty
ecstatic right now.”
The polls opened Monday at
10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., and
See, Election, Page 2
DREW CASEY | WABASH ‘12
Assistant Professor of Music and Glee Club Director Richard Bowen leads Glee Club in carols Wednesday at the 42nd Annual Christmas Festival of Music and Readings in Pioneer Chapel.
Will Library Computer Glitches Foil Finals Week?
PATRICK
MCALISTER ‘10
MANAGING EDITOR
“Logging on takes forever; it won’t
load videos; and why the hell can’t I
print?”
Over the last few weeks, complaints
have emanated from students using computers in the lab on the first floor of the
Lily library. As the traditional desktops
have disappeared, students have been facing longer log-in times, printer connectivity issues and an inability to load videos.
Enter the era of the ‘virtual desktop.’
Instead of having traditional stand alone
desktop access to Wabash servers, the
‘virtual desktop’ students encounter in the
Lilly Library is a portal that outsources
traditional computer operations to the
Wabash server.
The Wabash server can then allocate
server capacity much more efficiently
than before.
Like all new technological systems, the
virtual desktop is not without its glitches.
ALEX MOSEMAN | WABASH ‘11
Library computers routinely fail to connect to campus servers.
With the nature of how students use the
computers in Lilly, some resort to bypassing the virtual desktop systems and using
the few remaining desktops at the front of
the library.
I find that many of the tasks I need to
do on library computers are short,” senior
Jon O’Donnell said, “get on the computer,
find some info, and get off the computer.
Log in time really prevents me from doing
that well. I see a lot of people cluster
around the desktops at the front of the
library, and those are taken up pretty
quickly.”
IT Services Director Brad Weaver ‘91
believes the start up problems will be
fixed by the time students get back from
break.
I’m fairly certain the start-up time will
be dramatically improved in the spring,”
Weaver said. “I think that’s the biggest
use-effecting problem. It takes a long time
when you time it, and it takes a longer
seeming time when you’re sitting there
looking at that blue screen waiting for it to
start up. We’ve built some new test pools
See, IT, Page 2
PAGE 2
•
News
The Bachelor
December 11, 2009
BACHELOR
301 w. wabash Ave.
crawfordsville, IN
47933
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Gary James
jamesg@wabash.edu
MANAGING EDITOR
Patrick McAlister
mcalistp@wabash.edu
NEWS EDITOR
John McGaughey
mcgaughj@wabash.edu
OPINION EDITOR
John Henry
henryj@wabash.edu
SPORTS EDITOR
Chuck Summers
summersc@wabash.edu
FEATURES EDITOR
Peter Robbins
pbrobbin12@wabash.edu
PHOTO EDITOR
Alex Moseman
mosemana@wabash.edu
COPY EDITOR
Riley Floyd
rhfloyd13@wabash.edu
BACHELOR ADVISOR
Howard Hewitt
The purpose of The Bachelor is to
serve the school audience, including but not limited to administrators, faculty and staff, parents,
alumni, community members and
most importantly, the students.
Because this is a school paper,
the content and character within
will cater to the student body’s
interests, ideas and issues.
Further, this publication will serve
as a medium and forum for student opinions and ideas.
Although an individual newspaper, the Board of Publications
publishes The Bachelor. The
Bachelor and BOP receive funding from the Wabash College
Student Senate, which derives its
funds from the Wabash College
student body.
Letters (e-mails) to the editor are
welcomed and encouraged. They
will only be published if they
include name, phone, or e-mail,
and are not longer than 300
words. The Bachelor reserves the
right to edit letters for content,
typographical errors, and length.
All letters received become property of this publication for the
purposes of reprinting and/or
redistribution.
Election
From Page 1
reopened that day from 3:00
p.m. till 6:00 p.m. Members of the
election commission sat at the poll
booth in the library collecting ballots. In addition to voting for President, Vice President, and their
respective Class Representatives,
students had the chance to vote yes
or no on a proposed amendment to
the Student Body Constitution.
The amendment was the result of
Nossett’s
senate
committee
attempting to involve student government in the disciplinary
process; the amendment details the
students’ rights in matters of discipline, but does not make any
changes to how discipline is handled at Wabash College. The
amendment passed with over 80
percent.
The polls were opened on Tuesday for the same time slots, and
also from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday morning. Due to
requests from the Inter-fraternity
Council (IFC), the polls were also
open for voting from 8:00 p.m. to
9:00 p.m. Monday night while IFC
held a campus-wide event with
pizza and chicken wings in Sparks
Center. Both candidates, as well as
several Greeks and Independents,
were present at the event, which
had great turnout and ran out of
food in thirty minutes.
The event was so successful
that IFC held another one from
11:30 a.m. till 12:00 p.m. in International Hall in Detchon. During
the election process, IFC hosted
Get out the Vote (GTV), which
promised a free pizza party to the
fraternity with the highest voter
percentage; Theta Delta Chi
earned that honor with 100 percent
voter turnout.
“I’m glad we had a better voter
ALEX MOSEMAN | WABASH ‘11
DEMOCRACY IN ACTION: Filip Lempa ‘11 receives his election ballots from Election Commissioner Steve Maynard.
turnout than in an SCAC survey,”
Moore said.
This election was the most
heated since the 2008 election,
when Sean Clerget ’09 and Juan
Carlos Venis ’09 tied in the polls,
demanding a runoff election. Tensions between students lead to an
email war of insults and harsh
words. “People were trying to get
on there and represent us,” Stipes
said, “but not in the way that we
wanted to be represented. I liked
the enthusiasm, but it could have
been done a different way.”
Several of the emails exacerbated the distinction between Greeks
Profanity may appear in the publication, but only in cases of
direct quote or if profanity is necessary to the content of the story.
Please do not confuse profanity
with obscenity. No article or picture of an obscene nature will
appear in this publication.
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Announcements
Friday, 12/11
Basketball vs.
DePauw 9:30 a.m.
Miracle on 34th St.,
8 p.m.
Saturday, 12/12
Miracle, 8 p.m.
Sunday, 12/13
Miracle, 2 p.m.
Monday 12/14
Finals Begin
Tuesday, 12/15
Spring Tuition Due
Midnight Munch. 11
p.m.
Friday, 12/15
End of Fall Term
ALEX MOSEMAN | WABASH ‘11
Freshman Will Kline casts his vote in his first student body election as
Lempa ‘11 returns his ballot to Maynard.
and Independents, but neither faction was one hundred percent loyal
to either candidate. Several Independents came rushing to Moore’s
defense, while many Greeks continued to support Stipes. The ensuing controversy prompted many
students not to vote at all.
“I didn’t vote simply because
there were so many emails, really
long emails, about why I should
vote one way or another,” Andrew
Miller ’12 said. “I didn’t want to
be involved in something that
seemed to be tearing Wabash
apart. It might make me sound
dumb, and it would piss Diddy off,
but I abstained from voting.”
Stipes’ running mate, Michael
Nossett ’11, who was previously
the Secretary of the Student Senate, won the office of Vice President over his opponent Joseph
Reese ’12 with 66.3 percent of the
vote. “I’m basically speechless,”
Nossett said.
“Nossett and I have been working on this for a long time,” Stipes
said. “I was more excited for him
than myself right now, cause he’s a
great guy and I’m excited to work
with him and try to make this
place better.”
For the Class Representatives,
Rudy Altergott, Michael Carper,
John Dyre, and Riley Floyd were
elected for the Class of 2013.
Steve Henke, Reed Hepburn,
Steven Stankovich, and Adam
Miller won for the Class of 2012;
and Billy Evans, Andrew Forrester, Chris Sidebottom, and Alex
Moseman won for the Class of
2011.
Stipes, ecstatic from his victory,
said he was ready to enact change.
“I want to thank Jake,” he said.
“He’s a great guy. Its sad that one
had to win and one had to lose. I
know if he had won this, he would
have done as well. I hope he can
continue to be a leader on campus
and a Wabash gentlemen. And
he’ll help along the way.”
Election Results
President
Cody Stipes
Vice-President
Michael Nossett
2013 Reps
Rudy Altergott
Michael Carper
Riley Floyd
Rob Dyer
2012 Reps
Steve Stankovich
Adam Miller
Steve Henke
Reed Hepburn
2011 Reps
Billy Evans
Andrew Forrester
Chris Sidebottom
Alex Moseman
IT
From Page 1
that startup much more rapidly. Once the
semester’s over and we’re into the break system, we can rebuild and alleviate that problem.”
Additionally, Weaver pointed out that printer issues were fixed over Thanksgiving break,
but any problem that comes up will be dealt
with.
As to the media quality, Weaver conceded
this to be the major drawback of the new system.
“The biggest technical challenge is highquality video and audio playback,” he said.
“We knew this is a limitation of the [virtual
desktop] system. All the processing happens
on the server, and screen shots are transferred.
For videos to play on the server, that’s a lot of
information to move back and forth.”
Weaver added that he didn’t perceive this to
be a big issue with the way the Lilly computers are used.
“Video playback is pretty poor,” he said,
“but there seems to be less recreational use of
computers in the library. I don’t know how
much the video playback is hindering the academic use; maybe it’s making computers more
available.”
Weaver noted the virtual desktop technology is pretty new and that it won’t be commercially viable unless they fix the video/audio
problems. He expects the technology to
improve.
While students may struggle with less than
effective connectivity at times, the College
hopes to see cost savings in energy consumption (the virtual desktops consume a quarter of
the energy of traditional desktops), server
space, and maintenance costs with the Library
computers alone.
Additionally, Weaver said IT Services is
testing another virtual desktop interface that
allows students to access the server (and programs relevant to their coursework) via their
own laptops in Baxter 202.
“When you think of the total campus
resources,” he said, “effectively every student
has their own computer. Yet we have 400 com-
puters the college pays for just for student
computer use. If there’s a way we can make
better use of the computers students already
have and give them more flexibility, [we can]
save money in these other areas.”
Weaver said he sees money saved by curbing IT services costs helping Wabash in other
ways.
I don’t look at it as saving money for the
sake of saving money,” he said. “I look at it as
if we don’t have to spend $20,000 in this space
and we can provide the same service, maybe
there’s another immersion we can fund. That’s
the kind of trade off we’re dealing with as a
college.”
For now, though, some students like Jon
O’Donnell will be writing their term papers
elsewhere.
“I’ve chosen to begin to work in the science
computer lab on the third floor of Hays hall,”
he said. “I think other students might choose to
work in other places. I think people will still
have to come here because of the location and
the hours, but if I can do my work elsewhere
I’ll do it elsewhere.”
News
The Bachelor
•
PAGE 3
December 11, 2009
Leading
Effectively
Will 2010 be the Year of the Wabash Man?
Five Wabash Alums
Prepare for Higher Office
STEVE HENKE ‘12
GARY JAMES ‘10
Some people called 2008 the year of
change or the year of the woman. So far
this year has been dubbed the year of the
bailout. Is it possible that 2010 will be the
year of the Wabash man, at least in Indiana
politics? With at least five Wallies running
for state and national office in the Hoosier
state, the idea isn’t so far-fetched.
Next year, Luke Messer ‘91, Charlie
White ‘92 , Carlos May ‘01, Aaron Abel
‘09, and Jesse James ‘08 are all running
for office. Messer will challenge longtime Congressman Dan Burton in the
Republican primary in Indiana’s 5th congressional district. White will run for Secretary of State as a Republican, and so far
has no challengers in his party.
May is running for Congress as a
Republican in Indiana’s 7th congressional
district, which includes Indianapolis. So
far he has three republican challengers –
Marvin Scott, Wayne Harmon, and Rafael
Ramirez.
Abel is running for state representative
“My experience with Wabash
men reveals that we are ‘do-ers’
and not ‘be-ers.’ Wabash men
are active in politics because we
can be quite persistent when
action is necessary.”
Jesse James, Wabash ‘08
as a Democrat in House district 67, which
includes his hometown of Greensburg.
Jesse James is running for state representative as a Democrat from House district 45, which includes southwest Indiana
and west Terre Haute.
May is currently Mayor Greg Ballard’s
neighborhood liaison, and he visited campus last week to take part in an event sponsored by the Wabash Conservative Union
to discuss his candidacy for Congress and
to define his brand of conservatism. He
believes in smaller government, lower
taxes, and free trade as the basis for economic growth. However, he sets himself
apart from other politicians because he
rejects the idea of politics as a zero-sum
game.
“A reality of life is that there is not just
one or the other, black or white,” he said.
“There are shades of gray. One thing I
want to do is bring back that sense of
integrity. First I’m an American, then I’m
a Hoosier, then I’m a conservative, then
I’m a Republican. If I’m elected, I’m not
just going to be making decision for my
district, but for my state and for my country.”
If May is successful in the Republican
primary next year, he will likely face
incumbent Congressman Andre Carson, a
Democrat.
If James is successful in next spring’s
Democratic primary, he will face current
Republican Representative Bruce Borders, a two-term state legislator perhaps
best known as an Elvis impersonator.
James, a former student body president
and a current law student at Indiana University, casts himself as an energetic candidate who, if elected, would bring a new
activism on behalf of his district.
“My experience with Wabash men
reveals that we are ‘do-ers’ and not ‘be-
ers,’” he said. “In politics, it appears that
one doesn’t get to any palpable result by
being something. One gets there by doing
something. Wabash men are active in politics because we can be quite persistent
when action is necessary.”
Abel faces an open field in his race.
With the current popular representative
Cleo Duncan not seeking re-election,
Abel, who has no primary challenger,
seems poised to face Decatur County
Assessor Tami Wenning in next year’s
November election. He has always been
interested in politics, and he sees his run
as a logical next step. He was a page for
both houses in the Indiana Assembly and
an intern at Congressman Mike Pence’s
Anderson and Muncie offices.
Abel sees political involvement as part
of Wabash’s mission to lead effectively,
and, if elected, he wants to use the position
to focus on issues related to the economy
and education.
“Wabash men are required to take in a
great deal of information and utilize that
information to drive their behaviors,” he
said. “This tradition, coupled with the
Wabash College culture is one where participation and interaction are paramount.
These together create an atmosphere that
helps develop leaders, and the political
arena is one area where leaders can shine.”
Though Abel is encouraged by the
announcement that a Honda plant is opening in the district, he sees more work that
needs to be done.
“Despite economic developments like
Honda, the district is still lacking opportunities for higher education,” he said. “My
hope is to continue to provide additional
resources to our K-12 schools within the
district, while bringing additional
course/degree offerings to the district’s
college and university learning centers.”
COURTESY OF CAMPAIGNS
Top: Carlos May ‘01
Middle: Aaron Abel ‘09
Bottom: Jesse James ‘08
Outgoing News Editor
Pens Final Farewell
JOHN
MCGAUGHEY ‘11
NEWS EDITOR
This will be the last edition of the Bachelor that I write for before I transfer to IU.
It’s been a long and interesting journey, but
instead of recounting it, I just want to leave
my family here with apologies and goodbyes. To all the people I let down, I am sorry.
To all the people I love, I will miss you. But
I have a final word.
I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Wabash,
you honestly suck sometimes. Since I’ve
been here I’ve seen this school admit complete morons and offer them a free ride to
play sports. I’ve seen people receive enormous scholarships for the mere color of
their skin. I’ve seen two students die. And
because of one of those deaths, I saw a fra-
ternity dissolve and an administration lose
the trust of its students. I’ve seen us enter a
recession and let go of needed professors.
Those are things that shouldn’t happen.
But those are faults of the school, not of the
students. This is my first call to action: students, don’t let your schools suck. Fight to
keep this place wonderful.
Secondly, I’ve seen a student body in a
state of discord. Good. I wouldn’t want it
any other way. During Bell Week, we are all
brothers united against DePauw. The rest of
the time, we aren’t united, and we fight to
get to the top. Keep doing that, but do it in a
way that’s constructive. Learn to let things
go. This isn’t the movies. It’s life, and life is
too damn short to get worked up over nothing. That, in a nutshell, is my second call to
action.
Third, I have noticed how pretentious
people can be. They dress sharp, and attend
Student Senate with the vigor of a real life
senator. They use fancy words while in class
to sound more prestigious, and start snobby
clubs. Live your life that way if you want.
To people who want to be true to themselves, my call to action is to do just that.
Earn your own way in life instead of
padding your resumé.
Lastly, I believe Wabash is supposed to
be a place that opens your mind and allows
it to be exercised frequently and vigorously.
That doesn’t always happen; people can be
closed-minded. I will thank C&T for forcing
me to read Euthyphro, because it forced me
to realize that I didn’t know much of anything. So don’t know anything. You’re not
here to answer questions, but to ask them.
That, brothers, is my final call to action.
Don’t take anything for granted in this
world. Listen to me if you will, but just
know these are the random thoughts of a
DREW CASEY | WABASH ‘12
John McGaughey looks wistfully from the
library steps, reflecting on five semesters
worth of memories with Wabash and with
The Bachelor.
guy who’s leaving Wabash forever, and who
will probably regret for the rest of his life
that his diploma says “Indiana University”
instead of “Wabash.”
December 11, 2009
page 4
A Healthy Drinking Culture
I have learned many things
in my time at Wabash. Of
course, as a college student in
the United States, I have
learned a little bit about drinking. Now I know we as students are getting tired of the
stereotypes of college drinking.
Often these stereotypes are
even stronger and more derogatory when regarding the
Wabash man.
As I recall, the Princeton
Review once stated that
“Wabash men smell bad, drink
too much, fight a lot, and are
probably ten times smarter and
better prepared for post-graduate study than students at other
schools.”
While I must admit that quotation is pretty accurate for
much of what we do in terms of
our drinking at Wabash, it is
not indicative of our drinking
as a whole. Wabash culture is
unlike the typical collegiate
atmosphere, which is laden
with binge drinking of beers
JOHN HENRY
OPINION
EDITOR
that are available in a thirty
pack, a.k.a. the “dirty thirty.”
By the time Wabash men graduate, they have reached a level
of maturity in their drinking
that has impressed me from my
earliest days on our campus.
Unlike the students of other
institutions, a Wabash man discovers how to drink and enjoy
a good beer, liquor, or wine.
We are exposed in the intimate
settings of our dinners or local
taverns to the refined drinking
of our professors and fellow
students. Seniors, rather than
setting an example of simply
how to party, set an example
for underclassman of how to
enjoy a good alcoholic beverage.
I have had my fair share of
these enlightening experiences.
I had the once in a lifetime
opportunity to participate in a
Scotch tasting with the late
great Dr. Placher. This allowed
me to drink excellent Scotch in
a relaxed setting with my fellow students and professors.
The experience was not to get
drunk or binge, it was to share
a common interest and refine
our tastes and minds.
Many students can attest to
having the opportunity to have
a craft beer or liquor at the Iron
Gate with professors or students. It is not rare that I have
bumped into and joined a
friend for a finer drink and fellowship. In fact it has been my
experience that the matured
Wabash men relish in their
knowledge and enjoyment of
various beverages.
These very facts are exhibit-
ed in the existence of our Brew
Society, the WAR Council, and
the annual Senior Drinking
Club. The point of these organizations is not binge drinking,
but rather a fellowship built
around shared experience and
enjoyment.
Drinking is a
social enterprise and has a
prevalent place in our society
and culture at large.
These experiences are at the
height of the liberal arts experience. Learning how to enjoy a
beer, liquor, or wine is a part of
maturing into the real world.
This is abundantly clear in the
ubiquitous nature of business
classes offered in the art of
wine tasting, culture, and fine
dining. Such maturation is
necessary to function in a
diverse workplace and world.
Many cultures define themselves by the liquors or beers
they produce. Germany and
Austria are clearly known for
their proud tradition of brewing
quality beer. And Italy and
France are known for their
quality wines and spirits.
In my own travels on an
immersion course to Greece, I
discovered that the Greek cultural spirit was Ouzo, an anise
flavored liquor. Having such
unique alcoholic beverages is a
point of pride and local cultural identity just about everywhere. Even our home state of
Indiana has developed a recent
reputation for its wine and
wineries.
We as Wabash men challenge ourselves to think critically, and our alcohol culture is
something I think we can be
proud of at times. On the
whole, Wabash men set good
examples, and our culture as an
institution fosters responsible
drinking and enjoyment of not
quantity but quality. At the end
of the day I can say without a
doubt that I would not have an
avid appreciation for fine beer,
wine, and liquor had I not come
to Wabash.
Real Reality Television
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
THOMAS FITZPATRICK
The NFL Combine has seen
an exponential rise in media
coverage. Athletes are determining their future and pay
based on performance, and contender or pretender, they will
be exposed.
February in Indianapolis
means the National Football
League (NFL) Combine. Previously, the RCA Dome hosted
this event, but now that honor
lies with the new Lucas Oil Stadium. Inside the cavernous and
relatively empty stadium, a
running back’s name is called.
Chris Johnson steps up to the
first of many tests that will
most likely decide his future.
Television crews are watching;
camera lights are flashing. He
kneels into his stance breathing
deeply and beginning to lean
forward. The running back
explodes out of his stance
exerting every last drop of
energy he can muster. After
roughly four and a quarter seconds run off the clock, Johnson
bursts through the finish line to
reduce his 40-yard time that
extra hundredth of a second.
Simultaneously, with one eye
closed in concentration and an
extended hand towards the finish line, NFL scouts stop their
watches and eagerly compare
times within their groups.
During this 7-day event,
money is at stake, athletes are
performing at their highest levels, and every rep, tenth of second, inch, or Wonderlic point is
potentially worth hundreds of
thousands and, in select cases,
millions of dollars. Draft-eligible collegiate football players
face what may be the most
nerve-racking few days of their
lives in the NFL Combine. As
a result, media coverage of the
NFL Combine has increased
dramatically over the past few
years. Today, it is displayed as
looping footage on the NFL
Network.
Why has this frenzy happened? Why have football fans
around the country shown such
a sudden increase in interest?
The answer lies in the demand
for reality television. But conventional, reality shows have
come
and
gone
(The
Osbournes, Flavor of Love);
scripted or unscripted, they
have seen their time pass. The
NFL Combine has become the
new must-see reality show.
The NFL Combine, professionally known as the National
Invitational Camp, is raw and
real. An immense amount of
pressure is placed on young
men in their early twenties
seeking NFL contracts. These
young men sweat and bleed
football. They are superhuman
athletes forced to compete at an
exhausting level, all jostling to
take a position on a professional team’s draft board.
This is reality television at
its finest. No scripts exist.
Contrived drama is absent and
unwelcome. There is only a
core of pure reality. The NFL
Combine is not a series of
scripted games taking place
over several weeks. Instead,
athletes decide their future over
the duration of a few days.
In early 2008, sports analysts discussed regularly draft
eligible collegiate players like
Matt Ryan, Jake Long, Darren
McFadden, and Vernon Gholston. No one held too much
stock in unproven Chris Johnson out of unheralded East Carolina University. He was projected as a third, maybe second
rounder, if he lived up to the
hype of his speed. However,
all doubts disappeared during
the Combine. Chris Johnson
recorded a 4.24 forty time, the
fastest ever for a running back.
With careers and future
salaries on the line, what is not
enticing about this reality TV to
the average football fan? Each
year, from over 12,000 collegiate football players in the U.S
on campuses across the country, scouts continuously gather
data on around 850 draft-eligible players.
Allowing for error, approximately 350 of those athletes
will be invited to the NFL
Combine. On draft day, only
256 will hear their names
called. The Combine is closed
to the public; everyone inside
Lucas Oil Stadium needs credentials. The only way football
fans can receive this information is through the media. Consequently, media coverage has
increased because the best of
the best are performing as if
their futures depend upon it,
and the scary thing is, they
actually do.
When this year’s Combine
finally rolls around on Feb. 24,
2010, a college football star’s
statistics and achievements will
no longer matter. Regardless of
how many touchdowns athletes
have scored in college, yards
they have racked up, interceptions, tackles, sacks they have
sacrificed their bodies for, the
numbers will not matter. It will
not matter how many championships those athletes have
won, what trophies are on their
shelves, or even if they have
managed to steal an ever-socoveted Heisman. On Combine
weekend, each athlete will be
placed center stage under the
spotlight and will be expected
to perform. Cameras will be
rolling and America will be
watching, because this is reality television.
Thomas Michael Fitzpatrick
is an intern at National Football Scouting in Indianapolis,
IN.
“With careers and
future salaries on the
line, what is not enticing about this reality
TV to the average football fan?”
Opinion
The Bachelor
PAGE 5
December 11, 2009
Thank You, Wabash
After what I wrote last week, I
was ready for the worst. I assumed
saying ‘Wabash should admit
women’ was a surefire way of
becoming completely ostracized. I
assumed anyone who wanted to
talk to me about the issue would
inevitably take the Glenn Beck
approach to debate. I assumed they
would make fun of me my arguments; and, if all else fails, I
assumed they would start crying
and say how much they love their
country and fear for it.
I assumed a lot, and I was
wrong. I forgot for a minute that
this is Wabash; when it matters,
Wabash engages…most of the
time.
After my column was published, I received two very different
e-mails from two alums. Both had
graduate degrees from elite institutions; both were successful in their
fields – the type of alums we aspire
to be like. One supported my con-
PATRICK
MCALISTER
MANAGING
EDITOR
tention, showing me that I’m not
the only one out there that feels the
way I feel.
The other opposed my belief
that Wabash should admit women,
duly noting that I neglected to mention women’s colleges; he said that
while there were 75 women’s colleges there are only four or so allmale colleges in the U.S. At the end
of his email, he noted that he
respected me for my article but disagreed. Then he said something
I’ve found common about this
place most of the time:
“I find it wonderful that
Wabash is a place where one can
debate all day long and even disagree yet be friends and colleagues
at the end of the day.”
The Wabash community took
what I had said seriously; they
thought about it, and gave me their
take. Many I talked to disagreed
with me. So, we debated. While I
hate the fact that I probably didn’t
convince you, I love the fact that
civil discussion is still possible. We
prove it every time we think about
another position and respond well
to it.
Wabash has the capacity to
engage in civil discussion – but
sometimes we don’t use it. The
recent ‘e-mail wars’ about student
body presidential candidates couldn’t be a better example of this irrationality. Instead of thinking
through their position, students
made broad assertions about candidates without basing their claims
on anything. They use the cable
news approach to ‘truth’– by merely asserting their position to be true.
In their world it becomes true.
This is exactly the type of antiintellectualism that hurts our college most. By not thinking well,
sifting through alternative arguments and attempting to reach
wellreasoned solutions we sidestep
our responsibility to leave this college better than when we found it.
Wabash needs to have a serious
conversation about independent
housing. Over the last ten years,
Wabash spent $30 million on ten
new fraternity houses. The College
covered most of the cost, some of it
by delaying payment on loans they
took out for all-campus buildings
like Hays Hall and the Allen Center. The College has invested heavily in fraternities while neglecting
40% of the campus – 40% whom
they expect to donate to the College
after they graduate. Wabash is not
competitive with other colleges of
its size when it comes to independent housing.
Even if they cannot build anything for a couple of years due to
the financial situation, the administration must plan and raise money
for new independent housing. You
can’t keep stuffing students away
in dormitories built for our grandfathers. Independents–both student
and alumni–need to make their
frustration known to the administration and to the board of trustees.
After all, we are Wallys–hopefully
reason will carry the day.
This is my last Bachelor as a
student. In my three and a half
years, I’ve seen a new president
and the excitement leadership
changes bring; the death of two students, the destruction of our financial stability; the loss of the Bell
and the sweet redemption of its
rightful return. So it goes.
Thank you for arguing with me.
Harper’s Great Expectations
As I prepare to graduate, leaving the college in just one precious week, I realize that Wabash
has not lived up to my expectations. I do not think it will in the
whimsical, sundried summer days
of nostalgia either. With the
restructuring of the College, one
wonders if it will ever live up to
anyone’s expectations. I hope it
doesn’t. I say this because inside
the confines of this great institution, the question should not be
whether Wabash lives up to a student’s standards. It should be
whether students lives up to its.
Turbulent are the days ahead for
Wabash. The fear of losing what
makes Wabash great fills our
minds. I humbly submit, in my
last editorial for The Bachelor,
my reasons why we must hold on
for dear life to what makes this
college beautiful and how little
EMANUEL HARPER
COLUMNIST
our expectations of this college
matter.
It starts with the professors. No
student comes to Wabash without
noticing the impressive array of
faculty on campus. I was no different. Professor Hughes, my
freshmen adviser, never shied
away from softly developing our
fragile minds with her soft and
warm demeanor. Professor Brewer made philosophy class come
alive by pushing us to explore the
depths of humanity. Professor
Webb’s tenacious and provocative
style challenged the security of
my beliefs while Professor Hardy
effortlessly explored the nuances
of phonology. Professor Rogers’
ease with which he taught his students (almost as if it’s just a bunch
of guys sitting at a bar discussing
the nuances of Borges and past
subjunctive) and Professor
Stokes’ travelled insight into the
wider world around us make up
only a fraction of the talent in
Detchon. Professor Helman can’t
be described; his brilliance has to
be experienced. Professor Blix
can’t be defined; his vibrancy
with the text and intuitiveness
with students make him one of the
pillars of the College.
It continues with the traditions.
Monon Bell is arguably the
biggest. The Arch, the mystical
semicircle that dares any student
to tread beneath it, has become an
indelible superstition rooted in
reverence. Pan-Hel is a week
where we suspend our rivalries
and celebrate our commonality
with the coming of spring. Freshman tutorials and Cultures and
Traditions are the connective academic fibers that bind the math
and theatre majors together.
It nears its end with the students. Wabash cannot survive
without the incredible men that
make up its campus. That is the
real reason why Wabash is not coed: our fraternal bonds are and
forever will be instilled in us here.
We met or will meet our best
friends at this college. We met or
will meet our best-man at this college. We are the guys who will
always know how the soul stirs
when Old Wabash is sung from
our hearts.
If we accept these all as true,
then Wabash can’t live up to anyone’s expectations. The experiences at Wabash that would
define our expectations are outside the realm of definition. We
can’t expect of Wabash. Wabash
expects of us. We must experience
the Gentleman’s rule in all its
incarnations, the trials of pledgeship, the frustration of class, and
the joys of winning the Bell.
Wabash reveals itself over the
course of our four years here and
creates for each student its own
expectations. If we are so lucky,
we may have the privilege of saying that we have lived up to them.
Have I? I do not know. I do know,
however, that inside of each classroom, on every field, and beyond
four years here we grow closer to
the ideal that is Wabash.
Have an
Opinion?
Send your letters to:
henryj@wabash.edu
jamesg@wabash.edu
Limit your letters to 600 words.
The Bachelor reserves the right to
edit and withhold content.
Letters to the Editor
A President
Irrelevant
Dear Sir:
No matter who won the student body
election this week, the new president
will enter office facing the same thing
the majority of his predecessors have
faced for years - a tradition of irrelevancy. As an alum, I can now only peer
through the tiny window of The Bachelor (and recently the YouTube channel,
which is really great) to get a sense of
campus issues. From that perspective,
outgoing student body president Mark
Thomas could barely be seen this
semester under the shadow of Sphinx
Club president Will Hoffman, who presides over weekly chapel, Homecoming,
campus guard, Bell Week, and more-orless everything that makes Wabash,
well, Wabash. This too is in the tradition
of his predecessors and thus shouldn’t
be much of a concern to anyone. But
one must ask, were things ever different?
The current state of affairs traces
back to 1968 when an anti-establishment sentiment coursed through the students and caused a great divorce of student government and student life. The
Senior Council became the Student Senate. Student government stopped coordinating Homecoming. Pan-Hel was
suspended. Weekly chapel ceased to
exist after students stormed into a faculty meeting demanding an end to a tradition as old as the College itself. Fortunately, the Sphinx Club managed to survive and was there to pick up the pieces.
In the beginning, the club carried on college spirit as an ultra minority in the
face of a student body that had lost all
interest. As time went on, they organized and encouraged fraternity participation in campus traditions. Independents were still broadly apathetic. But
with the houses, it was said, the Wabash
character would be preserved.
If I count the campaign blurbs in last
week’s issue correctly, it appears that a
full 2/3rds of candidates in the current
election are independent. As a student
myself three years ago and as a reader of
The Bachelor today, I see in the present
time a Wabash student body fully
embracing the great Wabash Spirit that
makes us unique among all colleges and
universities in the nation. A positive
change seems to be just over the horizon.
If my suspicions are correct, there
may now be hundreds of students from
every walk of life on campus who are
qualified to become Sphinx Club members on the basis of their enthusiasm for
this place. As a traditionalist when it
comes to Wabash, I find this prospect
enthralling. Would today’s student body
cast a near-unanimous vote to support
weekly chapel? Chapel Sing? Campus
Guard? If this is so, the next Student
Body President must recognize it and
begin the process of restoring the student government’s most sacred power -
Proper Regard - the ability to regulate
tradition. This was always the first
power of student government, held by
the senior class long before a formal
government or a “student activity fee”
even existed. Nothing would be better
for the life and longevity of our traditions than a representative body of the
entire campus coordinating the events
we all, students and alums, look back on
and cherish. Perhaps just as importantly,
pressure could finally be lifted from the
shoulders of the Sphinx Club, which
could return to its historically supportive role, now 88 years old. I would hate
to see the great tradition of Sphinx Club
change irreparably in response to students and the administration in order to
accommodate the club’s informal leadership of the student body.
So I ask the next student body president - whoever he may be - are the students and their government finally ready
to lead again after 40 long years or will
you become a President Irrelevant?
Ross Dillard ‘07
PAGE 6
•
Photos
The Bachelor
December 11, 2009
Celebration Highlights
Students’ Interests, Talents
Celebration Entry
Deadline Dec. 17
KENNY FARRIS ’12
STAFF WRITER
In the summer of 2008, rhetoric students Grant Gussman and
Daniel King entered Fine Arts 206
with Professor of Rhetoric David
Timmerman. Each spent four
weeks watching and reading The
Boondocks, analyzing the rhetorical aspects in the comic strip and
television show.
“We had each heard the others’
perspective in bits and pieces,”
Timmerman said, “but we had
arrived at a crunch moment.” To
joint-write and release their paper,
the three scholars needed to agree
on a thesis, yet each saw different
rhetorical principles as important.
To Timmerman, this moment
served as a dramatic climax.
“First Grant stood before Daniel
and me, and waxed eloquently for
10 minutes making the case.
Then I stood up, doing the same,
shifting the focus from Grant’s
presentation. Finally Daniel did
this—and he wisely took the
wooden pointer to add to his credibility.”
Gussman, King, and Timmerman ultimately found common
ground for their research project.
After more disagreements and
revisions, the group displayed
their work alongside the work of
fellow Wabash students at last
year’s Celebration of Student
Research.
The Wabash College Celebration of Student Research, which
will be held Jan. 29, 2010, gives
Wabash students in all disciplines
an avenue for displaying their
academic work and personal
interests and talents. “Wabash
men do some amazing things, but
we rarely get to see so much
excellence displayed at once,”
said Professor of Mathematics
Chad Westphal, who is also on the
faculty committee organizing the
GOOGLE IMAGES
ANYTHING GOES: Many perceive that the Celebration of Student
Research is restricted to math and science student scholars. But past
projects (like last year’s presentation by Professor David Timmerman,
Grant Gussman ‘09, and Daniel King ‘10 on the rhetorical elements of the
Boondocks cartoon and comic) show that students, faculty, and staff
members can link scholarly work and personal interests.
COURTESY OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
XingCheng “Merlin” Liu ‘10 explains his research poster to Professor of Physics Dennis Krause.
celebration.
Work for this year’s presentation must be submitted by Dec.
17. Students can submit their
applications
at
http://www.wabash.edu/ugresearch/application.
The set-up of the Celebration
brings together wide varieties of
research topics together in one
event. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., students observe poster projects, listen to 15-20 minute oral presentations, and examine visual art and
photojournalism displays.
“Some academic disciplines
tend to more naturally lend themselves to one style of presentation
over another,” Westphal said.
“The sciences, for example, tend
to do more posters, and the
humanities tend to do more oral
presentations. But this is completely up to the student and his
faculty/staff sponsor.”
King noted how The Boondocks project broadened from his
original assignment for Rhetoric
270: Rhetoric and Humor. “Conducting research is a time when
students can be creative and synthesize theories and ideas across
academic disciplines,” he said.
Their project argued that the show
uses dialogue, visual art drawn
from Japanese animé, and music
to “critique the hypocritical,
misogynist, and homophobic
behavior present in the AfricanAmerican community.”
The Celebration defines how
students can take faculty and student interaction to a new level.
“Wabash students work with
Wabash professors every day in
class,” said Timmerman, “When
professors and students get the
opportunity to work together outside of class, that is icing on the
cake.”
Funding from the Center of
Inquiry in the Liberal Arts
allowed Gussman and King to
work with Professor Timmerman
on campus in the summer. “I felt
as if I was able to bring two things
I love together,” said Timmerman,
“teaching and scholarly research.”
The college distributes other grant
money for broad ranges of study,
notably the Kenneth Rudolph
award for summer study in
Europe as well as the Givens
award to study Western art.
Gussman, King, and Timmerman’s work garnered much positive response from their fellow
students. “Some students were
more excited than we were,” King
said. Westphal noticed this across
all projects. “[The Celebration] is
a great time for the whole campus
to rally around the common goal
of intellectual exploration, and to
stop and look around at what others are doing.”
Wabash research projects go
far beyond the scope of the Celebration. Gussman, King, and
Timmerman submitted their project to the Critical Studies in
Media Communication journal.
The journal’s acceptance of their
work brought about critical
reviews of their work. One
review stated, “I can imagine
assigning [this] in my undergraduate classes.” The group plans to
revise their paper and re-submit it
for additional scrutiny and publication.
“Writing The Boondocks paper
taught me how much work and
effort it takes to prepare a paper
for publication,” King said. “I
have a better idea of the process of
what happens after academics
submit a paper to a journal. It’s a
long process, but it’s rewarding in
the end.
“If you’re an underclassman, I
really encourage that you
approach your favorite professor
and ask to participate in research.
I’m sure that professor will be
excited, especially if you have an
original idea.”
News
The Bachelor
•
PAGE 7
December 11, 2009
Decisions,
Decisions...
Seniors Wade Through Grad School Apps
ADAM BECERRA ‘12
STAFF WRITER
As the number of school days,
along with the temperature,
decreases for seniors at Wabash,
responsibilities of seniors who are
applying for school after Wabash
increase.
As the seniors’ final semester
quickly approaches, they are
beginning to prepare themselves
for the “real world.” Some seniors, however, are making the
decision to try to take their education to the next level. Their reasons, programs, and ultimate
goals in life differ. Yet, they share
a desire to learn more. Seniors
Zachary Lanning, Brandon
Hirsch, and Rabin Paudel decided
that they are not finished filling
their minds with scholarly information.
Lanning made his decision to
attend law school early. “I have
held an interest in the law since
before my time at Wabash College, and I selected Wabash
specifically because I knew it
had a record of producing successful law students and lawyers.
Although the application was
not particularly hard, Lanning
said it does require a decent
amount of extra time and extra
money. “The application is rather
straightforward, but you must
work endlessly on your personal
statement. The GPA and LSAT
are the two most important factors involved in admission, but a
good personal statement can do
wonders if lacking in one of those
two areas. Additionally, with the
costs of taking the LSAT, registering through LSAC, law school
application fees, and the other
various costs it is unlikely one
could go through the entire
process for under $500.”
Lanning was surprised at the
question of whether he had ever
received a speeding ticket. He
expressed that asking of a more
ALEX MOSEMAN | WABASH ‘11
Like many Wabash seniors, Andy Todd is in the midst of application season for grad school and jobs.
serious criminal history such as
robbery or murder would be pertinent; but he felt the question of
whether he had received a speeding ticket was rather trivial.
Lanning described the LSAT
as something different than what
students see at Wabash because it
is a standardized test. Yet, with
the application, he described
Wabash as a great help. “In regard
to the application, Wabash is
incredibly beneficial because you
know professors better and they
will write more personal letters of
recommendation for you. Additionally, the small atmosphere and
fraternity life allow students to
have an impressive resumé that is
commonly submitted with their
law school application.”
After law school, Lanning
would like to practice some
aspect of the law, but is unsure of
a specific practice area or specialty. He plans on selecting a more
specific law-related career path
Study Smarter not Harder.
Good Luck on Finals!
when he is able to observe the different types of law more clearly.
Hirsch is applying to graduate
school with the intention of getting a Ph.D in chemistry. He
takes a different approach to
applying; making evident that he
is strongly driven by the pursuit
of greater knowledge itself. “I am
drawn toward graduate school in
pursuit of an application of the
fundamentals I have learned here.
I want to continue my education
and do research to contribute my
part for a better understanding of
the world around us.”
Hirsch said the application
process for graduate school was
not exceptionally difficult. “It
just takes organization to get all
the elements like transcripts and
references sent to the proper
places. Writing a personal statement is made easy with the help
of the writing center. Scheduling
and studying for the GRE’s was
by far the most stressful portion
of applying to graduate school in
the sciences.”
Hirsch said the process went
smoothly because he observed
Duncan Dam ‘09 apply last year,
so he knew what to do. Wabash’s
prestige also helps Hirsch
because Wabash has a high reputation among graduate schools.
“After talking with Dr. Hopkins, a
senior professor and former
department chair at the University of Chicago, he explained that
attendance at Wabash is noticed.
Wabash pushes its students to
succeed in difficult times and
stressful situations. The amount
of work we put in for our education teamed with the practical display of one’s mastery through
comprehensive exams prepares
Wabash students extremely well
for success in graduate studies.”
Hirsch would like to eventually instruct at a college with a similar teaching style as Wabash. “I
enjoy teaching the concepts of
chemistry and working with students. I look forward to a TA position in graduate school.”
Paudel is applying to graduate
programs in experimental atomic
physics. He is already used to an
amplified amount of learning.
Paudel
completed
physics
research the past three summers.
“During these times, I learned
that there is exciting research
going on in the field of atomic
physics ranging from precision
measurements using cold atoms
to quantum information. I feel
like I am ready to challenge
myself to explore some of these
fascinating ideas as a graduate
student [after graduating Wabash
this spring].”
The physics program application was pretty clear-cut. “All the
schools required an online application, a statement of purpose
describing the past, present
research experience, and career
goals, a curriculum vitae, transcripts, Physics GRE score, General GRE score and evaluations
from three professors/research
advisers,” Paudel said.
For Paudel, the only difficult
part was the GRE test. “The graduate schools that I am applying to
expect a high score in the Physics
Subject GRE. Since I had not
taken all the courses required for
the subject GRE, I was working
really hard this semester to learn
some of those topics and to boost
my score.”
Paudel said he’s established
memorable student-teacher relationships. “I feel really privileged
to have an opportunity to work
with Professor Martin Madsen on
his research project since my
freshman year. He taught me not
only how to think like an experimentalist but also pointed me to a
lot of exciting and promising
research going on in physics. I am
glad the Physics Department has
great physics professors who
helped me with every aspect of
the graduate school preparation.”
PAGE 8•
News
The Bachelor
December 11, 2009
The Future of Free?
GABE WATSON ‘13
STAFF WRITER
Free online content may as well be a
constitutional right. Virtually anyone can
watch videos of virtually anything at virtually any time with free online video sites
like Hulu, YouTube, and Facebook (that’s
right – users stream 217,765 videos on
Facebook in an average month). But with
new developments in the business world,
the online streamer might be in trouble.
Comcast now controls 51% of NBC
Universal. While regulations and general
transitional protocol prevent many
changes from occurring for up to a year
from now, a few possibilities loom in the
future. Among these is the end of the free
television portal, Hulu.
While The Tonight Show and The
Office will join Comcast’s sweeping cable
operation, the side project Hulu remains
in a gray area. “NBC Universal owns 30
percent of Hulu and Comcast will own
only 51 percent of NBC Universal. In
addition, NBC Universal will be a spinoff,
meaning that it will operate in many ways
like an independent company,” said Ben
Parr of Mashable Social Media Guide.
This outlook gives Comcast much less
influence over NBC’s methodology. However, Comcast will undoubtedly have a
respectable amount of say about the monetary aspect of Hulu. Comcast has been
working on its own prescription-based
version: TV Everywhere allows Comcast
and Time Warner subscribers to view certain TV channels and shows online.
So Comcast does embrace the idea of
“No matter who owns the
companies, media businesses
like Hulu are going to start
expanding in new directions,
and they will expect some
support from the viewers.”
Would
You Pay a
Fee?
SCREENRANT.COM
With Comcast’s purchase of a majority stake in NBC, the future of free online videos is uncertain. If services like Hulu have become an
inseparable aspect of today's media culture, would consumers pay a fee for features once available for free?
online television. The odds of it shutting
down Hulu, or even depleting its programming are low. If anything, it will probably
add more material to Hulu. The change
will occur in transforming Hulu into a subscription website. “It’s time to start getting
paid for broadcast content online,” said
News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase
Carey. He added that Hulu must have a
“meaningful subscription model” in order
to grow as a business.
Once again, nothing about Comcast’s
influence is set in stone yet. But Hulu is
simply not as lucrative as it could be if its
viewers paid to watch. Two levels of viewing content would probably be available,
with free trailers and clips but subscription-only TV episodes and movies available.
Senior Dan Brown thinks this arrange-
ment would defeat Hulu’s purpose. “I use
Hulu when I want to watch a certain TV
episode, but I wouldn’t pay for it,” said
Brown. “I’d just find it somewhere else.”
Comcast has long dealt with the issue
of how much online content to supply its
users. Even though subscribers pay for
TV Everywhere, Comcast has instituted a
monthly bandwidth cap because of the
extra expenses of online video. As our
electronic generation increases its demand
for bigger, better, and faster service, companies are scrambling just to keep up.
Maybe they are even giving us too much.
Even before any Comcast influence,
Hulu was “already internally beta testing a
subscription-based video service and is
working out all of the technical details for
the offering,” said analyst Dan Rayburn.
With this updated system, Hulu would join
the ranks of Netflix, and leave its current
realm with YouTube.
Hulu may also simply be trying to
expand. It is currently only available in the
U.S. But an online world-wide subscription television broadcast could be revolutionary. Hulu is in a fragile position, especially with the rapid pattern of advancements already crowding the media. A business cannot give out its product for free
and expect to survive, but selling a product no one will take is hardly better.
Of course only time can tell, but the
world might want to prepare to pay a little
bit for the services it has been receiving
for free. No matter who owns the companies, media businesses like Hulu are going
to start expanding in new directions, and
they will expect some support from the
viewers.
December 11, 2009
Page 9
Basketball Ready for DePauw Rematch
CHUCK SUMMERS
SPORTS EDITOR
The number one problem for
the Wabash basketball team
this season has been their
inability to get out of the gates.
This was certainly the case
when the Little Giants faced
DePauw in the Mike Rokicki
Community vs. Cancer Tournament on Nov. 29.
Wabash was able to muster
just 18 points on in the first
half against the Tigers before
exploding for nearly 40 in the
second half. The late surge was
not enough, as DePauw came
out on top, 65-57.
In their last game against
Rose-Hulman, however, the
Little Giants were able to
reverse this trend. Wabash
jumped to a 40-23 halftime
lead on the Engineers in their
home opener Tuesday night.
The team’s offensive attack
slowed somewhat in the second
half, but they still came away
with an impressive 64-46 victory, ending a two-game skid.
Junior swingman Wes Smith
served as the offensive catalyst, scoring 14 of the team’s
40 first-half points. He finished
with 18, giving him 131 on the
year.
Senior forward Aaron Brock
contributed 14 points and 12
rebounds, giving him his seventh double-double in his
career. Senior point guard
Chase Haltom scored nine
points and grabbed three
boards.
Head coach Mac Petty said
the key to his team’s early
surge was due to increased
intensity and aggressiveness on
defense. Petty said the team
collaborated over the weekend
and came up with a new game
plan, “We thought [the new
defensive game plan] would
pick the offense up. Thankfully, it worked.”
Expect the same game plan
to be in effect when the Little
Giants’
rematch
against
DePauw at home tonight.
In their last meeting,
DePauw was led by guards
Sean Haseley and Steve
Lemasters. Haseley led the
team with 16 points and five
rebounds and Lemasters added
15 points and four rebounds of
his own. The two are averaging
Wabash vs. DePauw
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Chadwick Court
Last Meeting: Nov. 29. DPU
defeated Wabash 65-57
Key Matchup: G/F Wes
Smith (18.7 ppg) vs. G
Steve Lemasters (16 ppg)
See, REMATCH, Page 12
Basketball,
Baseball and
Books
The busy life of Derek Bailey
KYLE BENDER ‘12
STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Sophomore Derek Bailey lays it up against Rose-Hulman in the Little Giants’ home opener Tuesday night.
Derek Bailey may just be one of the busiest men on the Wabash
campus. The sophomore biology major is a key contributor to
both the basketball and baseball teams, while maintaining a spot
on the Dean’s List.
Last spring, in the span of just one week, Bailey made two
round-trips to Ohio for the conference basketball tournament. He
rested a few days at Wabash and then traveled to Texas with the
baseball team for their Spring Break trip. It is estimated that he
spent at least 48 hours on the road during that long week of bus
rides.
While several Indiana colleges recruited him to play basketball,
Bailey’s athletic path to Wabash took on a slightly different route.
“Coach Stevens contacted me first about playing baseball, and
I told him that I was interested in playing both sports,” he said.
“From there, Coach Petty became involved and came to a few of
my basketball games. Wabash was the only school that really
recruited me hard to play both sports.
“In my opinion, we have one of the better recruiting systems
here. The coaches do a really good job of making the students feel
like they’ll be able to play and fit into their programs.”
Much of the initial interest in Bailey stemmed from the strength
and exposure of his high school team. Bailey played at Bloomington South, an Indiana basketball powerhouse, under the direction
of Hall of Fame Coach J.R. Holmes.
“It was an unreal atmosphere,” Bailey said. “Just being able to
compete on a team that had the opportunity to win a state championship every year, it was exciting.
“It made me a better player, competing against guys each day
in practice who were as good as or often better than me. You had
to bring it every day, because we were such a deep team that you
wouldn’t be missed sitting on the bench.
“That team taught me the importance of work ethic,” the six
foot, five inch forward said. “I knew that if I wasn’t working
See, BAILEY, Page 12
Freshman Divers Bring Light-Hearted Approach
RYAN LUTZ ‘13
STAFF WRITER
The Wabash swim team has
obtained an X-factor this year
that will make a difference in the
hunt for Nationals.
Freshmen Jake Schild and
Korrey Short are the only two
divers on the diving team this
year, and the points they rack up
will contribute to the team scoring for Wabash when the conference meet rolls around. “[the
points we earn] are enough to
decide a meet” said Short.
Basically, the diving team
“helps solidify wins” and both of
these divers have fun doing it. “I
love it,” said Short.
The Diving Coach, Wayne
Applegate, gives both divers the
freedom to have loose productive
practices while teaching them
Division I level dives. “He is a
really good coach. He knows
what he is doing,” Schild said.
Applegate knows when to
push the divers to be productive,
and he knows when to let go of
the reigns and let them freelance.
This system of coaching ensures
that neither Schild nor Short will
suffer from burnout.
Why diving? “It just looked
really fun,” Schild said. “I
thought it looked very stimulating and intricate…the way they
flipped through the air was pretty
cool too,” Short added. “Plus,
we love the Speedos.”
As far as their pre-game warm
up goes, Schild and Short have a
set routine. They listen to “Tap”
by 3OH3, followed by a collection of Kids Bop songs.
With a warm up like that, how
can they be stopped? These
divers take their light-hearted
attitude and turn it into their Xfactor. Since neither of these two
are ever tense when they prepare
to make their dive, they flow
through their dives with a surprising ease. But none of this
would be possible without their
diving inspiration, Garrett
McCarthy.
With the push for Nationals
slowly approaching, both Schild
and Short are poised to make a
solid showing at conference and
possibly even make it to Nationals if everything goes their way.
“Our goal is to make it to Nationals…and then quit. Nah, were
just kidding,” said Schild and
Short.
These two divers not only
make the sport fun to watch for
others, they make it fun for themselves too.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Freshman divers Jake Schild (left) and Korrey Short (right) twist and turn
through the air at the Patrick Woehnker Invitational on Nov. 20.
December 11, 2009
Page 10
Wabash Serves: Prosocial Behavior
PETER ROBBINS ‘12
FEATURES EDITOR
According to the 2009 National
Survey of Student Engagement,
nearly 100 percent of Wabash students volunteer in some way. Even
with the Gentleman’s Rule, most
fraternities and clubs are required
to complete a certain number of
community service hours. This is a
statistic to be very proud of.
Perhaps Wabash attracts students who have always been active
in community service and who are
simply continuing the practices
they learned throughout their lives.
Perhaps our Wabash experience
somehow spurs the urge in its students to serve others as part of their
liberal arts education. Or perhaps
it’s a combination of these factors
and something else.
“There is a serious debate
among psychologists about
whether prosocial behavior is
innate or learned,” Psychology
professor Dr. Eric Olofson said.
Whereas altruism is a highly
contested idea of a want to serve
without any personal gain (many
have argued that every situation
has some sort of personal gain),
prosocial behavior is defined as the
simple act of helping other people.
In a study by Hamlin, Wynn,
and Bloom in 2007, six-montholds were shown a character trying
to get up a hill. In one scenario, a
second character helped the
climber get to the top; in the other
scenario, a distinct third character
pushed the climber all the way to
the bottom of the hill. When presented with the choice to play with
the helper or the hinderer, an overwhelming majority of infants
chose the helper. Coincidentally,
senior psychology major Evan
Arnold’s final project is a follow up
of this study.
“According to the study, infants
seem to be able to identify prosocial behavior, as distinct from antisocial behavior,” Olofson said. “In
fact, they clearly seem to prefer
prosocial behavior.”
While these infants seem to be
able to detect the basic act of helping another person when it is presented to them, they must mature in
age before they can actually feel
and understand the need to help
someone else.
In a study by Over and Carpenter in 2009, 18-month-olds were
shown one of four images: two
dolls interacting warmly, one doll
on its own, two dolls not interacting, and wooden blocks instead of
dolls. Next, a person would enter
and drop their belongings on the
floor. Infants who were shown the
dolls that were interacting warmly
were three times more likely to
help the person pick up their
belongings as infants who were
shown another picture.
“Generally, offering infants
rewards or incentives to help other
people doesn’t increase the frequency of helping,” Olofson said.
“However, if they’re primed and
have prosocial behavior on their
minds, such as in the experiment,
they are much more likely to help.
What we have to remember is that
these 18-month-olds generally
don’t speak in more than two word
phrases and aren’t able to understand their parents’ language. But,
they are helping, which is interesting.”
By the time students go to college, their sense of prosocial
behavior has evolved into an intellectual and empathetic part of their
psyche that they more or less completely understand.
“When you look at the development and ability of an adult to be
empathetic, we generally put ourselves in other people’s shoes and
try to understand what they are
going through,” Olofson said.
“Prosocial behavior is a basic part
of functioning in a social environment. It’s all about social connectivity.”
For many Wabash students, like
sophomore Stevan Stankovich, the
urge to help others and to be empathetic is undoubtedly strong.
Stankovich is the student liaison
for the local Habitat for Humanity
chapter, and has organized a house
building project near campus that
was completed last weekend.
“The satisfaction I get out of it is
two-fold,” Stankovich said. “First,
it’s neat to see us building something with our own hands, since a
lot of what we do at college is
abstract. Second, at the dedication
this weekend, it was great to see the
families we served because they
really have great need. What really pleases me is that sometimes,
families [for] whom Habitat has
built houses in the past will help
build our new house.”
DREW CASEY | WABASH ‘12
John Murrell ‘12 swabs his cheek to test his DNA for a possible donor
match for the sisters of Tyler Koch ‘12.
Having completed one house
for Habitat, Stankovich said the
group has already started working
on a second house, and they will
work on a third house simultaneously next semester.
“I just like to help other people,”
Stankovich said. “That’s it. Also,
I’m a very strong Christian, so I
believe it’s part of my duty to help
people.”
Stankovich is also an active
member in Alpha Phi Omega, and
has participated in a large number
of events with that organization,
including a trip to New Orleans last
year to build houses in Katrinadamaged areas. He said that service is second on his list of priorities
at Wabash, with academics being
first. So while Stankovich might
have the same natural urge to help
others as seen in the psychological
studies, his service is no simple
instinct, but rather an active and
conscious effort to seek and help
those less fortunate. And thankfully, he’s not the only one at Wabash
An Album Cobain, Vonnegut Would Like
JOHN
DYKSTRA ‘13
MUSIC COLUMNIST
Thirty Seconds to Mars
makes their lift-off with the
release of their junior album
This is War on Dec. 8. The
evolution of their music
approach from their platinum-selling album A Beautiful Lie to This is War has
proven the band can live up
to their name. The band cuts
ties with their previous
album as they clip their hair
and wash away the make-up.
Do not let their appearance
fool you though.
On a first level interpretation of the album, the listener walks away thinking it is
an upbeat album. The icy
synths account for this less
in-depth analysis. On a deeper level, lead singer and Hollywood star Jared Leto
reveals secrets of his own
life. The nihilistic concepts
of the album are significantly undercut by the presence
of a chorus. The chorus,
along with the synthesizers
demonstrates the band’s
nerve to make their sound
bigger, causing the album to
seem cold and empty at
times.
Leto may have wanted
the album seem that way.
After all, he single-handedly
battled a $30 million lawsuit
from Virgin Records to produce the album. This unsupported battle may have been
a supplemental inspiration
for the isolated and empty
undertones of the album.
Isolation, finding oneself,
and nihilism are all
expressed at the finest
moments of the album.
The album-titled song
“This is War” makes the
band’s break away. War is
typically a fearful and, in
some cases corny topic for
musicians to use, but the
band ties it in well with the
ideals of the album. The
song is “a warning to the
people/ The good and the
evil.” Leto incorporates several types of people (soldiers,
civilians, victims, and religious educators) in his lyrics.
The use of chorus helps infer
that we are not only facing a
“war” against the govern-
ment or socially, but against
ourselves. “It’s the moment
of the truth, the moment to
lie/ The moment to live and
the moment to die” suggests
that each individual will find
themselves in the end.
“From the left to the right,
we will fight to the death”
reveals that the band and
their audience will never
cave in and will take whatever measures necessary to
prove who they are to themselves.
“Search and Destroy”
furthers the concept of finding oneself. Leto’s broke
voice lets out “Found my
fate/ Living in Sin/ I am not
Jesus/ Nor are you my
friend.” Leto shows maturity
in a sense that he is coming
to terms with who he is. This
is a continuation of the concept of their well-known
song “The Kill” from A
Beautiful Lie.
The band collaborated
with the socially erratic
Kanye West to produce the
song “Hurricane.” The title
alone gives a demonstration
of Leto’s mind. Leto’s
screaming of “Where is your
God?” clear cuts the nihilism
whirling around the album;
whereas, “oh, the quiet
silence defines our misery”
runs parallel to isolation.
West’s repetition of
“Heartbeat, I need a heartbeat” coincides with Leto’s
beliefs. The album has a
beating
heart;
and
veins/tubes filled with not
blood, but oil, the representation of a machine and its lack
of feeling—nihilism.
There is no beating
around the bush in “100
Suns” as Leto says “I believe
in nothing…” throughout the
entire song. His message is
made clear in the final lines:
“I believe in nothing/ But the
truth in who we are.”
“Kings and Queens,” the
album’s first single, places
fault amongst ourselves in
the lines: “We were the victims of ourselves/ Maybe the
children of a lesser God/
Between Heaven and Hell.”
The listener is pulled into the
song from the opening
screech of a falcon to the
fading of the guitar.
Overall, 30 Seconds to
Mars accomplishes all that
they set out to achieve on
This is War. Leto takes a
major risk by incorporating
his fan base in his isolation
and turmoil, but it is in every
way a human response to
struggle. The tones of the
album are satirical to the
lyrics. The upbeat, icy synths
and chorus undercut the
lyrics, which reveal Leto’s
feelings
of
isolation,
nihilism, and emptiness. The
album was done their way
and was not stomped on by a
record label—that’s 30 Seconds to Mars for you. The
gamble they took with Virgin Records and a lawsuit
demonstrates their dignity
and willingness to let their
message be expressed in
their unique way no matter
the costs.
This is War is a remarkable and encouraging listen.
The band will capture some
empty hearts and put them in
their army. In some
instances, the album is a cry
for help; in others it is
embedding oneself within
the population as hidden
leaders, a fire inside. The
album mixes the nihilistic,
isolated, and empty feelings
that have driven Nine Inch
Nails and an instrumental
approach similar to Angels
and Airwaves. This album is
an album Kurt Cobain and
satirist Kurt Vonnegut would
have tipped their hats to. It is
one that must be listened to.
Features
The Bachelor
•
PAGE 11
December 11, 2009
Liu ‘12 Thankful for FIJI Brotherhood
HUNG DUONG ‘13
STAFF WRITER
“Wabash is like Vegas. Once
you handle it, you will be able to
enjoy it” said sophomore Yangnan Liu. Coming to America, Liu
brought with him the Chinese tradition from his hometown,
Chengdu – a sub-provincial city
and the capital of Sichuan
province. And his unique experience at Wabash after one year living and learning here has
enriched his life in many ways.
Liu first became acquainted
with the US education system
during his second year of high
school. “A group of U.S. students
came to my school, and two of
them stayed in my house,” Liu
revealed “They introduced me to
the schools in America, the
advantages of studying abroad in
America, and how independent
their students are.”
After talking with them, Liu
found the U.S. education system
a perfect match for his future:
“My high school is a boarding
school, so I am used to an independent life. Thus, I figured it is
time to experience something
new.”
On his way towards his goal of
an American education, Liu discovered Wabash College. “When
I was taking my SAT in Singapore, I saw Wabash in Colleges
that Change Lives. The school is
described as a strong-spirited, traditional liberal arts college.” Liu
still remembered the one statement from the book that led him
to applying to Wabash: “It’s not
easy, but it will be worth it.”
Liu’s first impression of
Wabash was more like that of a
first American experience.
“Wabash is a small community,”
said Liu. He was amazed at the
Monon Bell game and how every
student reinforces the school’s
spirit. “To me, Wabash is quite
similar to a fraternity. Everyone
knows each other very well,” said
Liu.” And it is that connection,
that sense of brotherhood, that
brings forth friendship and networking,”
Upon arriving at the College,
Liu quickly found himself a new
home: his beloved FIJI house.
“FIJI is a very academic fraternity. Many Chinese students at
Wabash recommended the house
to me, and I was quite surprised
that I got a bid. I was probably
among the first Asian brothers in
the house,” he said. “And it turns
out to be a very unique experience.”
As a FIJI pledge, Liu got to
know Wabash’s tradition at its
best. He went through the chal-
COURTESY OF YANGNAN LIU | WABASH ‘12
Chinese-native Yangnan Liu jumped into campus and Greek life since
arriving on campus nearly one year ago, joining FIJI, APO, and doing art.
lenges with his pledge brothers
and built up their brotherhoodsomething he would never experience at a Chinese school. “I
enjoy the environment with many
people around, and a fraternity is
just like that. Moreover the
pledgeship makes you feel worthy of the house once you accomplish it.” Liu has made life-long
brothers in his house. “We treat
each other like real brothers
because we call each other brothers,” he said.
Aside from the eye-opening
experience, Liu also went
through some difficulties that college life brings. “Time management is one of my biggest problems,” Liu admitted. “ We have
freedom now that we are college
students, but you must also use
your freedom effectively to manage your work.” Fortunately, Liu
figured out his solutions as he
went through freshman year:
“Select your courses carefully
and always keep alternatives.
With the courses you like, you
will have more motivation to
study.” The brothers in FIJI also
helped Liu with study tables and
improving his English skills.
Other than handling academic
problems, Liu also managed to
get involved in activities that
embrace the school’s tradition. “ I
joined the APO community fraternity and spend time helping
people.” Liu remembered his first
trip to Tell City in Indiana to help
the local high schools do landscaping and paint the walls. Also,
he enjoyed helping this year’s
pledges with their experience.
Cultural crossing was also
something Liu experienced at
Wabash, especially with holidays
and breaks. “The sense of holiday
is stronger here. In China, I have
Thanksgivings and Christmases
but they aren’t nationally celebrated. But here, I can sense the
holiday atmosphere.” He also
enjoyed the special Thanksgiving
meals of turkey and other traditional dishes. However, Liu still
embraced his Chinese traditions
and introduced them to his
friends. “The Chinese students
hold the New Year dinner annually and people are invited to
come,” he said.
Liu has had some of his most
memorable experiences on the
Wabash campus. And with those
experiences, he is armed to
explore the various possibilities
that his “Vegas” can bring in the
future.
Wallies Reflect on Gift-Giving
JOHN
DYKSTRA ‘13
STAFF WRITER
Wabash Men, it is that
time of the year—finals,
dreams about Christmas
break, and buying gifts for
friends and loved ones, all in
two weeks. Christmas shopping has been, for the most
part, frowned upon by the
male gender. There are several alternatives for purchasing
gifts to avoid all those predacious old ladies and their
shopping carts, long lines,
and shopping cart robbers.
Even though Black Friday
and its mind-blowing prices
have passed in the stains of
time, several stores have discounted prices for the season
of giving. Malls and stores in
Lafayette have provided several rewards for last minute
shoppers with their discount-
ed prices over the years.
On campus, there has
been no better way to pass
gifts than with a secret Santa.
Having a secret Santa allows
college students to retain their
money to a better extent and
still celebrate the traditions of
Christmas. Fraternities partake in these gift exchanges.
“I believe having secret
Santa gift exchanges is a great
idea for college students,”
said junior Diamond Reese.
“The brothers of each fraternity can celebrate the Christmas tradition of giving and do
not have to spend a significant amount of money. Plus,
you can buy more personallysuited gifts for the person you
have. That way everyone has
a use or liking for their gift or
they can all laugh about it.”
Several students are going
on trips together over Christmas break, so gift giving is
not necessary to some extent.
For instance, the swim team
is taking a trip to Florida over
break. “College kids do not
have a lot of money, so most
of our money goes toward
this trip rather than toward
gifts for each other,” said
Junior Eric Vaughn. “We will
be able to go to Florida over
break and hang out. To me,
that is a gift in itself.”
As far as buying gifts for
family members goes, why
not visit the bookstore?
Wabash apparel would make
a wonderful present for the
people who have supported
you throughout your life and
still want to do so. Glass
mugs are a great idea for coffee lovers. Wabash winter
hats are also a phenomenal
idea for the season.
Several people across the
globe do not believe in gift
giving. The true Christmas
spirit is defined as spending
time with family and cele-
brating the birth of Christ
together. Arguments often
surface during this time about
gift giving. “When we buy
for ourselves, every dollar we
spend produces at least a dollar in satisfaction, because we
shop carefully and purchase
items that are worth more
than they cost,” said economist Joel Waldfogel. “Gift
giving is different. We make
less-informed choices, max
out on credit to buy gifts
worth less than the money
spent, and leave recipients
less than satisfied, creating
‘deadweight loss.’”
It is clear cut that most students are pinching pennies to
go to this college. Seeking
discounts is always the easy
way to save that extra penny
and purchase a gift a close
one may like. The cliché “It’s
the thought that counts” does
in fact exist during this time
of year. Extended family
members often send Christmas cards talking about their
year and wishing you a Merry
Christmas—a wonderful, yet
not so pricey gift. Another not
so expensive idea is to buy
cookies or candy. Or you can
make them.
All in all, gift giving can
be very difficult, but very fun.
There are just as many gift
options as there are ways to
celebrate Christmas. So be
creative. The end result is seeing a smile on the recipient’s
face more times than none.
Always remember, “it is the
thought that counts.”
DREW CASEY | WABASH ‘12
Karee Cigan ‘13, Phi Psi, shopping at Walmart for gifts for
his family and friends.
PAGE 12
•
sports
The Bachelor
December 11, 2009
Basketball
Home Opener
Wabash - 64, Rose-Hulman - 46
ALEX MOSEMAN | WABASH ‘11
Left: Junior swingman Wes
Smith posterizes a RoseHulman defender on
Tuesday night.
Top right: Senior forward
Aaron Brock puts up a soft
floater. Brock had 14 points.
Bottom left: Sophomore
guard Brian Shelbourne puts
up a jumper.
Bottom right: Smith drives
the ball downcourt.
Bailey
From Page 9
every day, someone
else on the team was and
they would pass me up.”
Bailey
found
his
biggest Wabash challenge
not to be on the court or
the field, but rather in the
classroom.
“It was somewhat
stressful playing two
sports, but I’ve been doing
it since I was five. For me,
the hardest part was the
amount of schoolwork.
I’m proud of the study
habits I’ve developed,
being able to stay focused
and have things done for
class.”
Staying in shape for
both sports can be a little
tricky. During the first
few months of the school
year, Bailey alternates
baseball and basketball
workout days before fulltime basketball practice
begins in October. In
December, once the routine of basketball season
sets in, he begins to hit in
the batting cage and throw
in mornings before class.
By the time basketball sea-
son wraps up, the first
baseman/designated hitter
is prepared to start practice
with his baseball teammates.
“Derek Bailey is the
type of kid you love to
have on your team,” said
Head Basketball Coach
Mac Petty. “He brings
success and understands
what winning is all about.
“I always tell my
recruits that playing multiple sports is great, as long
as they can handle it academically. They are never
going to get another
opportunity to play at this
competitive level while
still getting an education,
so make the most of it.
Derek is an example of the
type of student needed to
excel at both.”
As basketball season
unfolds and baseball
looms around the corner,
Bailey is eager to begin his
sophomore campaign. He
grabbed 10 rebounds in the
home opener versus RoseHulman on Tuesday and is
averaging six points and
five rebounds per game
during the first seven
games.
“We have the potential
to do some pretty dangerous things in basketball
this year,” he said. “My
job is to make sure the
starters are ready to play
and give them a breath
when needed.
“I feel like the baseball
team should play for the
conference championship
once again. We also need
to set the season wins
record at Wabash. If we
can do that, everything
else will take care of
itself.”
Bailey plans to attend
optometry school following Wabash. When asked
to give words of wisdom
to future athletes, he spoke
about time management.
“Check your priorities.
Is your priority to play two
sports, get good grades, or
hang out with friends
every weekend? Are you
going to be able to plan
ahead and do homework
on the weekend because
you know you have three
games in the upcoming
week? Organization is
key.
It’s worth every minute
though.”
Meet...
Derek Bailey
Hometown:
Bloomington, IN
Favorite Food:
Mastaccioli
Favorite Sports Team:
Indiana Hoosiers
Favorite Movie:
Space Jam
Post-Wabash Plans:
Optometry school at Indiana
Rematch
From Page 9
ALEX MOSEMAN | WABASH ‘11
Junior swingman Wes Smith leads a fast break in the Little Giants’ 64-46 win over Rose-Hulman Tuesday night.
a combined 30.6 points
per game, leading the
way
for
DePauw’s
impressive 6-1 start.
Point guard Tony
James is leading the
Tigers with 33 assists.
Haseley and forward
Ryan Russell lead the
Tigers with 3.7 rebounds
per game each.
The most glaring difference in the score sheet
was points off the bench.
The
Tigers’
bench
outscored Wabash’s 21-6.
If the Little Giants want a
different
outcome
tonight, the bench will
need to step up. Reserves
Dominique
Thomas,
Aaron
Zinnerman,
Andrew Gilman, Derek
Bailey and Nick Curosh
combined for 23 points
against Rose-Hulman.
More than anything
though, Petty said the
team will need to put
“They are a good
team. It will be
a challenge to
play 40 solid
minutes of
basketball
instead of
20 or 30.”
Mac Petty, Head
Basketball Coach
together a complete game
in order to exact revenge
on the Tigers.
“They are a good team;
they’re 6-1,” Petty said.
“It will be a challenge for
us to play 40 solid minutes of basketball instead
of 20 or 30.”
The game begins at
7:30 p.m. at Chadwick
Court.