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Snapshot: A day in the life of a campus chef

Lael Telles — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:10:15 -0800

As I walked up to the woman working at the cash register in Eleven 01, the dining hall located between Terry and Lander halls, I never expected her to be Kathy Hanken, the executive chef and general manager of the restaurant. Although she does have her own office next to the kitchen, Hanken looked right at home in her green kitchen coat doing a job usually filled by one of the 100 student employees who work at the dining hall.

After working in fancy Seattle hotels and restaurants, Hanken wanted a change, so she responded to an ad in the paper for a chance to reinvent college dining. Hanken attended Seattle University for her undergraduate degree but was disappointed by the dining experience, so the chance to influence college dining was a challenge she was excited about.

“I wanted to take the skill sets I had from working in restaurants and change the way we look at university dining halls,” Hanken said.

Hanken believes in catering to students. She said it is her job to worry about the cooking and cleaning so students can focus on their schoolwork. When Hanken arrived at Eleven 01 in 2000, the kitchen consisted of “scoop-and-serve” food service, a style reminiscent of high-school lunchrooms, but she was determined to change the vibe to that of a restaurant arranged just for students.

She wanted to ensure that students could customize their dining experience to their taste, attempting to create many options out of the three eating stations located in the hall. The build-your-own burger station and wok station where students can pick all of their ingredients are the results of this goal.

But, even with all of this planning, eating at the same place every day can become repetitive.

“It gets tiring to see that they have the same food over and over again: pasta, burgers and sandwiches,” said Juanita Tellez, a resident of Terry Hall.

Hanken sees this as a challenge to create variety, so she continues to try to morph the limited number of stations, but she admits it’s difficult.

Special diets are another challenge Hanken faces because she is responsible for feeding so many people. There is always a vegan option available for lunch and dinner, brought on by a high student demand for it several years ago. Two years ago, Eleven 01 became a peanut-free environment, but now Hanken is faced with creating gluten-free options for students with celiac disease. Not only does she want to offer these types of meals, but she also wants students to enjoy them.

“I ask myself: How do I make something gluten-free taste great?” Hanken said.

Religious diets are more difficult to manage, though, Hanken said. Eleven 01 offers kosher sandwiches at all times, but that’s about the extent she said she can handle in a facility that feeds such a large number of people.

Feeding so many people also runs the risk of getting someone sick. While all of the food served at Eleven 01 is checked upon arrival and all of the kitchen employees are issued thermometers that they wear on their shoulders to check meat temperature, students still call to complain of food poisoning. Once the complaint has been filed, the student meets with Charles Easterberg, the public health adviser. With so many people living in such close quarters in the dorms, however, it’s rare that an illness is successfully traced back to the dining hall.

Because Lander and Terry are freshman-oriented dorms, Hanken wanted an open dining area where students could spot their friends to study and eat together. She recognized that Eleven 01 is a common area where students can create friendships, and this is something she values in her job.

When Hanken worked in restaurants, she was always hidden in the kitchen and unable to see the customer, but now, she hands meals directly to students.

“I never had that connection before,” Hanken said. “It’s a lot more casual and energetic.”

Not only does she see the students who eat her food, but Hanken also works with many student employees at Eleven 01. While the full-time employees are the backbone of the dining hall, Hanken calls the student coordinators “the glue that holds everything together.”

“Student coordinators are the link between the student employees and the full-time staff,” said Lisa Meyer, a student coordinator at Eleven 01 who has worked there for about 14 months. “It is our job to check in with all the cooks and see what they need from the student employees to make the meal service run smoothly.”

Hanken values her student employees, but Meyer admitted that her hard-working attitude could be a little intimidating.

“She has pretty high expectations,” Meyer said. “And if you don’t meet those expectations, she will let you know that you need to step it up.”

The executive chef also recognizes her role as a teacher. She wants to educate the palates of students, so she has created programs for the dining hall where students can learn about food.

“You can watch the Food Network, but it doesn’t mean you know what yuzu tastes like,” Hanken said.

(In case you’re curious, it’s a type of East Asian citrus fruit.)

To combine food and student life, Hanken arranges events such as slumber parties and dances in the dining hall, as well as themed dinners. Even with food options that are sometimes repetitive, students know Eleven 01 is a place made for them.

“It’s a place I could say that I feel comfortable,” Tellez said.

And that is something Hanken is proud of.

“I love my job,” Hanken said. “I wouldn’t still be here if I didn’t.”

Reach reporter Lael Telles at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.

Another acquisition

Katie McVicker — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

In an effort to aqquire more space for university programs, and possibly further development in the future, the Board of Regents approved a proposal to purchase the Alumni House from the University of Washington Alumni Association (UWAA) for an estimated price of $1.8 million yesterday afternoon.

The now-vacant building, which is located on the corner of Northeast 45th Street and 15th Avenue Northeast, has served as a home for the UWAA for many years. However, this August, the association moved into a section of the UW Tower because they needed a bigger space.

“[The building] was no longer meeting our business needs,” said Paul Rucker, the executive director of the UWAA.

Though the UWAA is a private, non-profit organization, its leaders have been working in a close partnership with the university during the last 10 years and thought moving into the UW Tower, where other university offices are located, would be more beneficial for both entities.

“We felt that the collaboration and the opportunity to serve alums would be better if we were all together,” Rucker said.

The UWAA agreed to give the university first priority to make an offer on the Alumni House property.

Jeanette Henderson, the director of the UW Real Estate Office, said the UWAA’s move has given the university a great chance to expand its offices near campus.

The Alumni House contains 13,200 square feet of available office space and 18 underground parking stalls.

It hasn’t yet been decided which specific programs will occupy the building in the coming year, Henderson said, but her proposal notes that its short-term use is to house university programs, while its long-term use is to create potential development opportunities.

This is one of several land acquisitions the university has secured in the last few years. The University came under ownership of the former Safeco building, now UW Tower, in April 2008. The University also recently purchased the Cavalier Apartment building, located on Brooklyn Avenue Northeast and Northeast Campus Parkway, in January 2009 to be demolished to make way for a new residence hall.

The Real Estate Office will manage the occupancy of the Alumni House, but the university’s Facilities Services Office will handle its operation and maintenance. The costs of both services will be factored into the costs of rent, which will be paid for by the departments who occupy the space.

A building condition assessment of the Alumni House was completed earlier this year in order to determine an appropriate purchase price. Additionally, a Phase-1 environmental assessment was conducted of the property, and no major issues were noted.

“We’re still evaluating whether or not a second assessment will be necessary,” Henderson said.

According to the Finance, Audit and Facilities Committee there will be no financing on this transaction and normal closing costs are expected. The $1.8-million price will be covered by UW funds.

“We’re anticipating closing in the January to February time frame,” Henderson said.

The Alumni House was constructed in 1962 and does not sit on any local, state or federal historic registers. It was originally designed to be a faith-based center for students.

Reach reporter Katie McVicker at news@dailyuw.com.

Campus crime blotter: Mistaken marijuana; strong armed robbery by Stevens Court

Lexie Krell — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

From stolen family heirlooms to intoxicated students, this weekly crime blotter aims to inform readers about offenses on and surrounding campus. While in-depth articles may be written about specific incidents, this column provides a brief overview of recent crimes that impact the UW community.

Friday, Nov. 13

Officers responded to the Husky Union Building after a victim reported receiving harassing e-mails and text messages from someone she formerly dated. He continued contacting her after she asked him to stop and reportedly made threats to kill the victim and other coworkers. A protection order was obtained due to concerns that the suspect would follow through with his threats.

During a building check in the Social Work and Speech Building, officers discovered a man sleeping in the back corner of a classroom. He had a container of malt liquor on his person and appeared to be intoxicated. The man told officers he was looking for a place to sleep, and authorities formally trespassed him from the building.

Sunday, Nov. 15

Police encountered a man in the N8 parking lot who stumbled towards an officer and asked the policeman if he was lost. The officer then asked the suspect for identification, at which point the man argued that he was 21 and was allowed to drink vodka and iced tea when he wanted. The officer explained open-container regulations and issued the man a citation as the suspect dumped out the liquid and threw his cup.

Officers found five people huddled underneath the University Bridge and approached the individuals, who possessed a red pipe with burnt marijuana residue. The suspects handed over the pipe and a bag of a green leafy substance that appeared to be marijuana. Out of the five suspects, four were UW students, and all were cooperative and left without incidence.

Two males and a female walking toward Lander Hall were approached by two males near the Children’s Care Center by Lincoln Way and Cowlitz Road. One of the suspects pointed a black handgun at the three, taking three laptops, a cell phone, a wallet and an external hard drive. A third female suspect stood about 40 feet from the scene, waving and yelling at the males to hurry. There are no suspects at this time.

Officers responded to Lander Hall after a report of the smell of marijuana coming from one of the rooms. Police contacted the inhabitants of the room and found that one had red eyes. The suspect produced a glass pipe from under his bed, and his roommate said he thought the suspect had been smoking cigarettes. Officers confiscated the paraphernalia and gave the individuals a verbal warning.

Monday, Nov. 16

An unknown suspect tagged Condon Hall with graffiti on an outside wall and a pay booth on the South side of the building. The estimated damage is $200.

Tuesday, Nov. 17

A cashier at the Plaza Café called authorities after receiving a $20 bill with an upside-down White House. Officers contacted the customer who used the counterfeit bill and sent the evidence to the Secret Service after the suspect said he was not aware that the money was fraudulent.

A victim reported that a ring, given to her by her recently deceased grandmother, and some cash were stolen from her locker in the Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The room has key, code and fingerprint locks, and other people told the victim that someone had rummaged through her things. It appeared that someone propped open the door and forgot to close it.

The UWPD and the SPD provide the information for this column.

Reach columnist Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.

Free Speech Friday: Nov. 20, 2009

Various — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

In response to “The new masculinity” by Celina Kareiva, Nov. 12, 2009

I find Arlie Hochschild’s writings on the sociology of gender to be interesting, insightful and very accessible, and I recommended her to Celina Kareiva for the article on gender and occupations. I was therefore distressed to see that work misrepresented.

Hochschild does not say that men who are not primary breadwinners feel “emasculated” (a word that really should be dropped from our vocabularies). What she does say is that social expectations for men have changed far less than they have for women. Men are still more likely to be judged as successful based mainly on their careers, whereas women are increasingly judged on their careers and their families, relationships, and household-management skills. The effect of this is that many women work what Hochschild calls “the second shift,” in which they come home from paid jobs to do the unpaid work of childcare, kin care, cooking and cleaning.

To focus on the alleged insecurities of men is to get the priorities exactly backwards; the core problem is the uneven distribution of physical and emotional labor. What I try to tell my male students is not just to be quiet (though listening skills are important), but rather, “Brother, do your share!”

Stephen M. Padgett

Lecturer, Department of Psychosocial and Community Health

University of Washington School of Nursing

In response to “Congress bill to increase government funds for student aid if passed” by Joanna Nolasco, Nov. 17, 2009

I think if they can increase Pell Grants, it is really going to help out with all the students and people who want to learn. Right now, people are still suffering from the economic downturn, which affects students who can’t afford to go to school. The university budget cut caused tuition to increase and classes to be cut, which created problems for students. If the SAFRA bill is passed, it will help out a lot for students and people who can’t afford to go to school. This will create more opportunities for the community to have a better and stronger education.

Wit Wannakrairoj

Freshman, pre-economics

In response to “Staff editorial: Examining diversity in the newsroom” by Casey Smith, Nov. 17, 2009

Editor,

As an alumnus of both the UW and The Daily, I read Editor-in-Chief Casey Smith’s thoughtful Nov. 17 commentary on the perceived lack of diversity on the current Daily staff with great interest. The solutions Smith has proposed to amend this problem — including open editorial-board meetings and encouragement of applications for Daily staff positions by minorities — are all commendable. I would like to suggest an additional way in which The Daily could better serve as a voice for all its many campus constituents, especially the UW’s historically under-represented communities.

Rather than merely hiring more minorities on its staff, The Daily could also devote regular editorial space to minority voices outside its staff. This has in fact been done before. The Daily’s Nov. 27, 2001, edition included a special insert section entitled “Voices,” specifically devoted to providing space to leaders from the Ethnic Cultural Center/Theatre and the ASUW minority commissions to represent their respective campus communities in The Daily’s pages. Regular Daily staff members were also given space to comment in “Voices” on the subject of diversity.

“Voices” was launched in response to an inflammatorily racist “humor” piece published in The Daily in May 2000. By all accounts, “Voices” was a success in terms of its reception on campus, and plans were thus made to make “Voices” a regular Daily feature — a yearly, if not quarterly, special section.

Eight years later, a second installment of “Voices” has yet to materialize.

This leads to my more specific suggestion to the current Daily Editor-in-Chief and staff: Making the long-overdue second installment of “Voices” a reality would go a long way toward amending any perceived failure by The Daily to fairly represent true diversity, both on campus and on its staff.

The Nov. 27, 2001 issue of The Daily, including “Voices,” can be viewed in all its newsprint glory in the bound copies of The Daily archives kept in The Daily’s newsroom.

Jeff Stevens

Alumnus, linguistics, ‘01, ‘05

Daily staff member, 2000-2002

In response to “U-district defenders ain’t going out like that” by Greg Albert, Nov. 17, 2009

I’m writing in response to the controversy surrounding Stanley Luong and his U-District Defenders group. First of all, I’d like to say that I don’t agree with Stanley’s tactics. If one looks at the U-District Defenders Facebook page, it’ll be pretty obvious that these guys are at best untrained and irresponsible.

That being said, I give props to Stanley for actually having some cajones. Which is more than can be said for most people living in the U-District or Seattle in general. He’s the only one with some ideas on how to combat crime in the area, no matter how crude his ideas. And while walking in groups and not staying out too late are good deterrents against crime, these tactics can’t keep us safe all the time. An example would be the three students who were robbed near Terry-Lander Hall just this week. Obviously the U-District is not a safe part of town.

Stanley and other students have every right to carry firearms to protect themselves. They have every right to walk around their neighborhood when they choose, even alone if they’d like. And if you don’t like guns, don’t get one. Gun ownership is an individual’s right and one that is protected by the Second Amendment. You may take advantage of the rights you have or you may not. And that’s the beauty of true freedom. So the next time you hear a person say they don’t support the right to bear arms, don’t listen to this person. This person is a pansy.

Kuzma Kovzun

Senior, biochemistry and psychology

In response to “Trying terrorists in civilian court is unnecessary” by Russ Wung, Nov. 18, 2009

Russ Wung makes the statement concerning the “much over-hyped issue of water-boarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.” First of all, water-boarding is torture that Americans supposedly don’t do. Torture! KSM was water-boarded or tortured more than 180 times in one month! That averages out to being water-boarded or tortured six times every day. Incredible. I have precious little sympathy for KSM, but he and all the rest of the “bad guys” should have their day in court. Civilian courts work perfectly well and give the United States more credibility in this process. And I don’t believe New Yorkers are that afraid to have the trials in their city. After all, they were the ones attacked. The bottom line is we’ve already tried and convicted dangerous terrorists in this country, and we can do it again. They are now doing long sentences in our prison system.

Richard B. Ellenberger

Campus mailing services

In response to “Open up more green spaces” by Thomas Cloud, Nov. 19, 2009

Great column by Thomas Cloud on the ever-shrinking green space of the UW’s beautiful campus. There are many bureaucracies driving the expansion of brick and asphalt but few strong advocates for that random blade of grass. As an institution, we have no self control if a donor can be found to fund a building. In the last 20 years that I have been here, one substitute for making these hard decisions has been that if land is a surface parking lot, then it is fair game for a new building. Maybe it shouldn’t have been a parking lot in the first place!

Notice as well that every time a sidewalk or pathway is paved, they make it wider, displacing yet more grass. Concrete pads are now placed along walks for benches — a nice amenity or naming opportunity for donors? It’s definitely a lower maintenance cost than that pesky grass needing to be cut all the time.

Future donors will not love our campus as much if it turns into a sterile urban grid like USC.

If I was as rich as Bill Gates, I would donate $1 million to the UW for every 5 square-feet of concrete that we convert back to green space.

Blake Hannaford

Department of Electrical Engineering

Huskies trying to avenge ’08 loss to Gonzaga

Taylor Soper — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

After Wednesday’s unbelievable comeback win in its home opener against BYU, the Washington women’s basketball team kept repeating one word: redemption.

Redemption, because the Huskies responded to their season-opening, buzzer-beater loss to PSU by doing the same thing to BYU on Wednesday night. This time, it was senior Sami Whitcomb who nailed a 3-pointer with two seconds left to give the Huskies a 67-66 win, their first of the year.

As the UW travels to Spokane this weekend to face Gonzaga, the Huskies might want to keep repeating the word redemption.

Last year, Gonzaga prevailed on the road against the Huskies, as the Bulldogs pulled out a 64-59 victory at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Maybe this season, a “different” Husky team can get some redemption for last year’s loss.

Head coach Tia Jackson hinted, after Wednesday’s win, that her squad this year is much different than the eight-win team last season. In a coaches’ meeting earlier this week, track and field and cross-country head coach Greg Metcalf said something that Jackson could relate to after Wednesday’s win.

“Greg told us good teams figure out how to win,” Jackson said after Wednesday’s victory. “And [on Wednesday night], our young ladies were good, and we figured out how to win.”

Jackson was at loss for words when describing her excitement for the team, which she feels has a different sentiment to it.

“[Winning in that fashion] is a different feeling for us, and something that I know we’re going to grow accustomed to,” Jackson said. “I’m dumbfounded with words because I’m so excited.”

The Huskies will play Gonzaga Sunday at 2 p.m. Senior forward/center Laura McLellan figures to be key, as she put up 16 points and eight rebounds in the match-up last year. The Huskies will need to watch their turnovers and rebounds, as they turned the ball over 31 times in last year’s game and were out-rebounded on the offensive glass 21-13.

On Tuesday, the team received some bad news. Senior forward Lydia Young will miss the entire season because of tendinitis in her right knee and will undergo surgery within the next three weeks. The 5-foot-11-inch forward from Detroit, Mich., will be missed on the court, but not on the sidelines.

When asked what types of contributions Young will make now that she is done for the season, Jackson didn’t hesitate for a second.

“Did you see that girl on the bench [Wednesday]?” Jackson said. “Her enthusiasm, her leadership — she is on it. I think it’s been a rough reality for her. We’ve spent several times in my office in the last few days just talking, and I think accepting the reality of her never playing again: It’s hard. As a team, we don’t want to have any regrets, and I think our effort [Wednesday] was a tribute to Lydia.”

Young will graduate as planned this year and will be with the team this season providing leadership and encouragement. Last year, Young started in six games and averaged 2.5 points and 2.9 rebounds.

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.

Nordstrom Open to feature tennis players of all ages

Taylor Soper — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Men’s tennis head coach Matt Anger is excited for his players to compete in their last fall event at this weekend’s Nordstrom Open. But part of that excitement is marked with a downside of the tournament that differs from a usual collegiate tennis event.

“One thing that is tough for me is that, as coaches, we cannot coach during the matches because it is an open tournament,” Anger said. “We have to observe from off the court, but we’ll be OK with that.”

That rule aside, Anger and his players are ready to get some more live-match action. Although the Nordstrom Open allows all USTA members — including juniors, high-school players, and older players — to compete, Anger still sees the value of the tournament.

“We are looking forward to the tourney this weekend,” Anger said. “Top junior players, high-school players as well as older guys — they all want to play against the Husky player. It’s good experience for them, and we get good match play ourselves.”

With the exception of junior Martin Kildahl, all Husky players will be competing this weekend. Kildahl, who has done limited hitting on the court after undergoing foot surgery, will not compete in the Nordstrom Open, but he figures he’ll be ready when the regular season begins in January.

Overall, Anger has been happy with the current health of his team, noting that “we are healthier now than we were at the beginning of the fall.”

Senior Derek Drabble has been the most consistent Husky this season, Anger said, and an “excellent leader” as a senior. Anger has also been impressed with the team as a whole, and he is ready for the regular season to get underway in January.

“A lot of guys are doing well and improving, so I can’t wait,” he said.

The Nordstrom Open is held at the Nordstrom Tennis Center on the UW campus. Last year, 2007 graduate Daniel Chu captured the tournament.

On a side note, both the men’s and women’s teams recently signed recruits for the 2010 class. Local prep standout Nicholas Kamisar, the No. 2-ranked player in the Pacific Northwest Section by the USTA, has signed a letter of intent for the Huskies and will be joining the team in the fall of 2010. He has known Anger since he was 8 years old and figures to be a big part of the future of men’s tennis at the UW.

Women’s head coach Jill Hultquist also announced an addition of her own: Andjela Nemcevic of Serbia has signed a letter of intent and will join the squad next fall. Nemcevic should fit right in at the UW, as the native of Belgrade is friends with former Husky men’s tennis great Alex Slovic. Junior Aleksandra Krsljanin, who is also from Belgrade, should be a perfect mentor and role model for Nemcevic.

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.

Regents discuss need for advocacy amid funding cuts

Katie McVicker — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

The theme at last night’s Board of Regents meeting was advocacy.

President Emmert opened the meeting with a brief speech praising the continued tradition of excellence at the UW amid the recent state-revenue forecast.

According to the Office of Financial Management, Gov. Gregoire and the state legislators can expect a budget deficit of about $2.6 billion as they put together the 2010 supplemental budget.

James W. Harrington, vice chair of the Faculty Senate, stressed the need for non-UW leaders to advocate on behalf of the university during this difficult economic time.

“We need a new, aggressive, clear voice to come from constituents,” Harrington said.

Other items on the agenda included approving the purchase of the Alumni House, discussing the UW’s capital plan and recognizing Housing and Food Services’ new timeline for future student housing. The revised plan has most dormitory renovations, including those to Terry and Lander, happening a year earlier, with renovations beginning in 2012 rather than 2013.

Reach reporter Katie McVicker at news@dailyuw.com.

Trying to get even

Taylor Soper — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

It isn’t an ordinary weekend for the No. 4 Washington volleyball team.

For one, Saturday’s match is UW-KJR Dads & Daughters day, and participants can meet and talk with the Husky volleyball players and staff after the game. Also, the Husky marketing department has coined the match “Pack the House with Purple” in an attempt to purple-out the arena. Finally, the Huskies only play one game this weekend, opposed to the normal two matches.

And yet perhaps the biggest part of the weekend is the opponent visiting the UW Saturday at 7 p.m.: cross-state rival Washington State (17-10, 5-10).

On Oct. 23, the Huskies went into Pullman not having lost in 12 matches to WSU. But behind a rowdy Cougar crowd, WSU prevailed on its home court, handing the Huskies just their second loss of the season.

The rivalry returns to Seattle tomorrow night in a pivotal Pac-10 matchup for the UW (21-4, 11-4 Pac-10). After defeating No. 6 UCLA last Saturday, the Huskies find themselves in a two-way tie for first place atop the Pac-10 with Stanford, with UCLA trailing by just a half-game. If the Huskies win their final three matches, which are all at home, they will claim a share of the Pac-10 title.

The UW hasn’t won the conference since 2005 and has been the runner-up to three-time Pac-10 champion Stanford for three consecutive years. This year, winning the conference has been a goal from the very beginning.

“It’s been a goal from day one, but we haven’t ever talked about it,” head coach Jim McLaughlin said. “The key is, we keep improving every single day and the girls are doing that. [Winning a Pac-10 title] is always a goal here at Washington.”

Last weekend started off slow but ended well for the UW. An upset-loss to No. 17 USC last Friday was a cause for concern, but any worries were quickly put away after the Huskies rebounded by sweeping UCLA Sunday.

“The UCLA win was big and definitely a character-building thing for us,” said junior Kindra Carlson, who had a double-double against the Bruins with 18 kills and 11 digs. “The way we responded was really good. We just need to continue to grow, and the best way to protect a win is getting another win.”

McLaughlin was impressed with his players’ ability to rebound from their loss at USC a day before the UCLA match. The preparation leading to UCLA was focused, and it showed on the court.

“[The UCLA match] was the first time for an extended period of time that the preparation and the execution clicked,” McLaughlin said. “You’re just hoping that sometime in November it clicks, and now we have to maintain that.”

Regardless of record, conference standing, or the loss at WSU earlier this year, the simple fact is that tomorrow’s match is a rivalry game that has the players excited to get out on the court.

“We get pumped up,” senior Tamari Miyashiro said. “Its Wazzu, and I think if you don’t [get pumped], then there’s something wrong with you. It’s always a good match.”

WSU hasn’t won in Seattle since 2001. As long as the Husky players play their game, they don’t see the Cougars breaking that streak.

“There’s hype all over it; it’s Wazzu versus UW,” Carlson said. “We’re going to go out and do the stuff we do. If we serve, pass and hit well, then I think we’re going to win.”

The team celebrated McLaughlin’s birthday at the end of Wednesday’s practice by belting out an off-tune happy birthday rendition for the ninth-year head coach. Would a win this weekend make for a nice birthday present for McLaughlin?

“It’d be huge,” McLaughlin said. “But birthday, no birthday, it’s always a good deal to get a win in the Pac-10.”

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.

Vicitms of hate crimes to be remembered

Celina Kareiva — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Rita Hester was stabbed to death in her own home on Nov. 28, 1998 because the gender she identified with didn’t align with what society thought she should be presenting. Hester’s killer has yet to be identified.

A year later in San Francisco, a small candlelight vigil spawned the concept behind today’s Trans Day of Remembrance — a day of mourning celebrated nationwide, intended to expose hate crimes against members of the transgender community.

“We want to let the campus know that these hate crimes don’t just affect trans people,” said Anthony Calgari Heimuli, who has helped coordinate campus activities for the event. “We’re still not equal. We may have this equality in marriage for straight people, but our transgender brothers and sisters are still out there.”

Since the San Francisco vigil, 538 murders relating to transgender hate crimes have been documented worldwide, 118 of which occurred within this past year.

Members of the Q Center and various other student groups on campus have arranged for a quiet remembering space in the Q Center’s conference room. A candlelight vigil will also be held at 6 p.m. tonight at Montlake and Pacific in front of the UW entrance. Candles will be distributed and each victim’s name will be read off.

“Unlike sexism that is aimed at half the world, or racism or other forms of bigotry that directly affect large, visible populations, hatred of trans people could easily go unnoticed and ignored,” said Chloe (who wished to have her full name withheld), a member of the Q Center on campus. “And it means so much that a larger community stands up against that and says, ‘Even though you’re just a few compared to all of us, we see your pain and won’t tolerate this disease of hatred.’”

After the ceremonious reading of names, community members are welcomed to share poems, prayers and stories.

Trans Day of Remembrance is more than a time of mourning or acknowledgment, Heimuli said. Members and allies of the LGBT community hope to engage people in a discussion about gender and the reverberating effects that a single hate crime can have.

There’s often a misunderstanding even within the LGBT community. Heimuli, for instance, attended a Catholic school for much of his life, and while he knew what transgender meant, he assumed that anyone who was transitioning between genders was striving for this fixed American dream.

Simple issues that are often taken for granted by some, like finding gender-neutral bathrooms or registering as a student can be difficult and sensitive topics for trans people.

“I’m a transperson. I’m small and slow. There were times and places in my life where my personal safety was a daily worry,” UW junior Mickey Balderas said. “I am very, very lucky to no longer be in those situations, but worry about my safety still comes up occasionally.”

Tonight’s vigil will be happening in unison with many other campuses and cities nationwide. The Q Center invites everyone to attend regardless of gender identity.

Reach reporter Celina Kareiva at news@dailyuw.com.

Wurzberger points to future as sign of hope for men’s soccer team

Mark Morgan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

When the final whistle blew against Oregon State Nov. 14, the Huskies appeared exhausted, both physically and emotionally. The Washington men’s soccer team staggered off the pitch that cold evening knowing its chances at an NCAA tournament bid were officially gone.

No more wishful thinking. No more praying for a UCLA loss or a San Diego State tie. The season was literally over.

Washington finished with an overall record of 5-7-6 and only 2-3-5 in the Pac-10. The five wins are the fewest in head coach Dean Wurzberger’s 18 years at the school.

“Overall, we’re disappointed with the overall record,” Wurzberger said. “You have to say that right off the bat.”

The team will lose four starters from 2009: two midfielders, Casey Cunningham and Taylor Hoss; a defender, Adam Lang; and goalkeeper Rylan Hawkins, who was named to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-America First Team.

Hawkins will be a huge loss for the Huskies, but redshirt junior Stephen Fung — who took over for Hawkins in 2007 because of injury and shared duties with the senior in 2008 — is a proven veteran in goal.

“There were a lot of positive developments, big wins on the road, developments with our players that I was pleased with as we look forward to next season,” Wurzberger said.

“That’s really an exciting thought, because I think we have a large stock of returning players that did very well this year and are going to continue to improve and get better. We had three players recognized as All-Pac-10 second-teamers, all returning next season [junior defender Taylor Mueller, junior midfielder Matt Van Houten and sophomore forward Brent Richards].”

Wurzberger said the scoring output will improve in 2010 with the maturation and development at the forward positions, with both Richards and freshman forward Ryan Moore.

In 2010, the Huskies will look to Mueller as their captain, who made the All-Pac-10 second team in 2009.

“I think we’ve got a natural-born leader for a captain in Taylor Mueller, who will be a senior next year,” said Wurzberger. “We are delighted, and we think the team has internal leadership for sure. So, all the positive things that you’d look toward for next year. So I’m really excited and absolutely positive that we’ll turn this thing around.”

On another positive note, the Huskies will get a full season out of sophomore defender Tyler Klein, who went down with a knee injury and missed half of Pac-10 play. Klein teamed with Mueller on the backline to create nightmares for opposing forwards. Another full season together should give the pair even more chemistry.

However, the 2009 season is still fresh in Wurzberger’s mind.

“With the ’09 season we didn’t get off to the greatest start,” Wurzberger said. “We didn’t win enough games early, but we did play well in the Pac-10. The last game was a big disappointment to me. Having lost that game — especially with a 2-0 lead and in command of the game — that hurt.”

The head coach looks to resurrect Washington’s poor finishes in 2008 and 2009 with a resurgent 2010 season. In Wurzberger’s 18 years at the UW, the Huskies have only missed the NCAA tournament in consecutive years twice: this year, and after the 1993-1994 seasons.

But the UW made it back in 1995. Wurzberger expects that kind of revival in 2010, too.

“I’m predicting a similar type of future for this team,” Wurzberger said. “We get back in there and continue to get stronger and stronger. We have a talented recruiting class coming in; we’ve got a great attitude and a team culture that wants to do way better than we’ve done, so I think everyone’s excited about the future. That’s what we point toward.”

Reach reporter Mark Morgan at sports@dailyuw.com.

The biology of obsession

Mary Jean Spadafora — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:32:23 -0800

On a Monday night, Holly Johnson sits in her living room plugging away at her physics pre-labs. As 9 p.m. ticks closer, the girls in her apartment start filing downstairs. Gossip Girl starts in a few minutes, and no one wants to miss a second. The drama, lies and deceit that drive the show keep each girl on the edge of her seat, and by the end of the hour, they can’t wait for next week’s episode.

Gossip has been around probably since we learned to talk, but the urge to obsess over celebrities is something that is still fairly new. With the deaths of multiple celebrities this summer, attention to the popularity these people have and why so much emphasis has been put into their lifestyles has increased. It is more convenient than ever to find someone to gossip with.

“Everyone knows who [celebrities] are, so that automatically displays them as being popular,” Johnson said. “People are really trying to live the way that they see life on TV. We idolize things that we see because it’s a trend. It’s the thing to do.”

Sometimes, it is an attraction to these individuals that captivates the attention of viewers; they portray the alpha figures of society. It may also be that regular people desire to live like the rich and famous, or even just the need to fit in.

LeiLani Nishime, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication, believes that stars are a way for the population, as a culture, to work out anxieties. Celebrities who don’t fit into neat categories are the ones that are focused on.

“As a culture, we might ask what motherhood looks like,” Nishime said. “So, [we] look to people like Britney Spears. She’s sexy. She drives without a seatbelt. We look at her to work through what motherhood looks like or what it isn’t. Even Michael Jackson was a lightning rod for many issues.”

Psychology professor David Barash has studied biological adaptation in non-human primates and believes obsession with these public figures is more than just a crush or a feeling of being included.

He believes that our sense of community is something that is biologically programmed into each individual and that humans have adapted to societal growth to treat celebrities as leaders and to maintain connections.

“It is biologically adapted, in a certain way, to have concern for the dominant individual,” Barash said. “Highly social species develop ‘local cultures,’ such as characteristic vocalization patterns, ways of obtaining food and so forth, which are then passed around among members largely by individuals watching each other. This involves paying particular attention to the dominant individuals and often mimicking them.”

The focus on prominent individuals is hard-wired into the human system because there is a natural instinct to look for an example of how to live. Celebrity lives are so public that it is easy to use them as role models. They are a focal point in a society that has grown so large that it is impossible to keep track of every person. To compensate, members of society check in on celebrities in the same way their would their closest friends. Barash believes that gossip has taken the place of these local cultures, and, through obsessions, humans metaphorically groom and mimic celebrities.

“Their actions show us how we can improve our own status, and in some aspects, how to ruin it,” said Nicole Zarfos, a sophomore interested in celebrity attention.

However, the ability to decide how a celebrity should be portrayed to the public eye is in the hands of the media. They determine what is important and what we are reading about in People or Us Weekly or watching on cable TV.

“Celebrity culture grew up with media,” Nishime explained. “They’ve been around since the beginning of the century. What they do gets multiplied and distributed. The fact that someone in Hollywood can do something and it gets repeated creates a national discussion.”

If the public is not concerned with a particular celebrity, the media will not highlight that individual. If the dominant individual was not important to human nature, then celebrities would not exist.

Their professional careers are only a pathway through which these individuals receive attention. How they lead their personal lives, Barash said, influences society much more because the relatively subordinate individuals look up to them.

“The attention structure and who watches whom is important to note,” Barash said. “By watching dominant and prominent individuals, the inconspicuous public may gain clues as to how to improve their own dominance status by imitating what the more successful individuals do. Needless to say, this tendency can be exaggerated to unhealthy levels.”

Humans are creatures of habit, and because of this, attention to celebrities will remain prominent in society. The life of comfort and of leisure is something that the rest of the world will strive for.

To a degree, each person — like Johnson and her roommates — is biologically predisposed to focus on dominant individuals. They provide examples of how to lead our own lives. The modern adaptation is an obsession with celebrities, and through the gossip and discussion that is being created about these individuals, a national sense of identity and community has been born.

“Celebrity obsessions are a way for us to work out our problems as a group,” Nishime said. “It creates a sense of national identity. These celebrities represent our culture, so following along with them helps us feel a part of American culture.”

Reach contributing writer Mary Jean Spadafora at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.

2012

Morgan Gard — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

So, 2012 came out this week, and has been getting some pretty mixed reviews, in the sense that every review says the exact same thing about the film, but every reviewer has a different angle on it.

To wit, every review has a line that says, to some extent, “absolutely terrible and trite, but entertaining enough.” From there, a great argument ensues — no one can agree on whether it’s possible for a film’s entertainment value to outweigh its filmmaking faults. We’ve seen a lot of this lately, as film budgets get progressively more bloated and fewer and fewer dollars are spent paying for good actors or a solid screenwriter.

2012 is a legitimate wonder, a film that costs a couple hundred million dollars to make, lasts for more than two and a half hours and contains every single action-and-destruction-film cliché from the past 30 years. It’s unquestionably the most bloated, unnecessary film of all time, but it is, at its base, painfully entertaining. No one can explain how a film filled to the brim with so much bad can feel so good.

Imagine a huge plate of chocolate chip cookies, and imagine yourself lustfully scarfing down every single one. You know it’s bad for you, but it just tastes so good. 2012 is pretty much the same way: The over-acting is so rich, the family drama so overwrought, the special effects scenes too overdone, the whole experience so overtly fattening, it has to be good.

So why the vitriol against 2012 and its ilk, the over-budgeted action films whose only redeeming quality is the laughability of it all? Most people claim to not want to be challenged at the movies, but will rail endlessly against a film that is utterly devoid of “artistic merit.” It’s not even a double-standard of expectation; 2012 was never supposed to be anything but pure schlock.

There’s been a dearth of these films released lately, from Snakes on a Plane to Speed Racer, and even G.I. Joe earlier this year. Snakes on a Plane made money and was widely watched, despite the fact that everyone who’s seen it playing on TV since has dismissed it as a “terrible movie.” Speed Racer, a good movie which was awesome, failed critically and at the box office despite featuring groundbreaking animation and a likeable cast. And G.I. Joe was G.I. Joe — why did anyone expect anything different from that movie?

In summary, hush, everyone who rips on 2012. It is a terribly-made movie, but a well-executed one. Stupidity and simplicity drive the film industry more than creativity and genius, a fact movie-industry idealists like myself hate to acknowledge. Every year has its indie darling, just as every year has its big-budget disaster. Keep your Juno and Little Miss Sunshine, let me have my 2012 and Spider-man 4. The two can co-exist, and we all know you’ll see 2012 in three weeks anyway.

Reach reporter Morgan Gard at weekender@dailyuw.com.

Artist Spotlight: Peoples Republic of Clothing

Nick Feldman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Stepping into the Roosevelt Way warehouse space cluttered with t-shirts and hangers, it’s instantly obvious that the crew seated around the central table are friends — friends with a mission. Shirts rest on hangers and in stacked boxes, all boasting the same slogan: “Peoples Republic of Clothing”.

The streetwear clothing company that would come to be known as Peoples Republic of Clothing (PRC), initially began as idle talk between two distracted sophomore classmates — Lars Lee and Andrew Fung — spending “study time” in the library back in 2007.

“We’d just go off on these tangents talking about life and what we’re doing in college,” Lee said. “We kind of felt like there was this whole rat race thing that people get forced into, this path where you go to school, get a job, work for 30 years and retire. That just seemed unfulfilling, so we wondered, ‘why wouldn’t we want to try something different for ourselves?’”

With the support of friends and family and without the “real-world” burdens of bills, the two pitched the idea to Lee’s father, Justin, and the duo quickly became a trio. The trio became a company named, at first jokingly, after the founders’ Chinese heritage. Over time, new members were added, and the original home-printing process that yielded “temporary” designs — an uncommon grassroots approach to starting a clothing company — gave way to more polished, professional products.

Now, the group consists of nine members: Andrew Chang, Kristian Sanford, Andrew’s brother David Fung, Sophie Luc, Kiwon Suh and Daniel Chang round out the young and talented team of designers, businesspeople, salespeople and marketers. As a way to keep the company stable, the PRC crew also maintains a custom screen-printing company called Roosevelt Design.

“We really use PRC as an entity to branch out,” said Sanford, one of the group’s marketing experts. “There are so many related creative outlets, and I love all of them. Our outlook really ties into ‘Peoples’ itself, from the ‘Peoples’ that we brand ourselves with to the people we want to connect with.”

Their most successful design to date (rocked by the likes of Common, Hieroglyphics, and Gary Locke) features the college basketball version of President Barack Obama, encircled by his trademark “O” logo, accented by the word “fresh” in script lettering. Other designs make plays on pop-culture icons, like the Kool-Aid Man, as well as original art and typographical design, but all are created by both Suh and Justin Lee — a meshing of old and new.

“I’m really an outsider. Often during the meetings I ask more questions than I have things to say — but that’s part of the fun,” said Justin Lee, who’s made a living as an artist for three decades. “What we’re working with is a visual language, and learning others’ language. There are many levels of meaning, and not all layers need to be seen at once. But somewhere in them is positivity; an important part of these designs is honesty, not trying just to ‘have the look’ but to have honest feeling put into the design.”

Currently sold online and in local shops like Gems, Moksha, EQPT — the site of their recent line release party that featured rapper SOL and dance crew PG Boyz — the crew is making an impression among artists of all trades. On Dec. 10, the company is sponsoring a club night with New York mixtape DJ Mick Boogie at Capitol Hill’s Baltic Room. Sanford said the superstar’s interest in the brand is just one more giant step toward the company’s ultimate goal: “bringing Seattle up.”

“I think we could be Seattle’s brand,” Lars Lee said. “Really, Seattle doesn’t necessarily have any large influence on urban fashion. If anything, it’s the last stop. There are a couple of brands from Seattle that are starting to make it big, but the door’s wide open for us to step in.”

Reach reporter Nick Feldman at weekender@dailyuw.com.

The Bottom Shelf: Spaced

Robert Frankel — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Before they brought you Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright developed a short-lived TV series that would become one of the best sitcoms at the time. Spaced, as the project came to be known, is a genuinely creative, screamingly funny and easily quotable half-hour of television that deserves to be seen — and loved — by far more people.

The series focuses on Tim (Pegg) and Daisy (Jessica Hynes), two strangers who pose as a “professional couple” in order to rent a flat. Living in a world that isn’t quite normal, Tim and Daisy, along with their friends and neighbors Mike, Twist, Marsha and Brian endure a series of misadventures and absurdities ripped straight from the annals of pop culture.

Heralded as comic genius by none other than Kevin Smith, Judd Apatow, and even Quentin Tarantino, Spaced is a fast-paced and heavily allusive sitcom for the inner nerd in all of us, playing fast and loose with film, video game and comic lore. Although the focus is mostly on the science fiction and horror genres, anything and everything is fair game in the Spaced universe, from Star Wars and Jurassic Park to Pulp Fiction, Woody Allen films, and even trends in pop culture and modern art.

The humor of the show is unique in that it isn’t so much a parody of beloved films like the early work of Mel Brooks, but is instead a sort of retooling of situations, so that each excursion comes off more as homage rather than as satire. What makes Spaced so brilliant, however, isn’t in its surplus of allusions and in-jokes, but in its execution of them. Lesser projects would present only a string of gags and simply ask the audience to name the reference; not so with Spaced, which, through an adroit mixture of clever plotting and skilled direction, manages to neatly weave each allusion into the general and specific arcs of the episodes and even the series as a whole.

Like Arrested Development, another under-watched sitcom in its day, Spaced benefits greatly from sequential and repeated viewings. This is not to say that a single episode can’t stand alone, because each one easily could; however, running jokes and subtle callbacks present in each episode that would otherwise go unnoticed shine very well if the episodes are viewed in order a second or third time.

A criticism some may have of the show is its rapid pacing and barrage of references, particularly in the first season.

Viewers who can’t keep up with the episode, or are unacquainted with the countless filmic allusions, may find themselves missing punchlines or puzzled at what could seem to be random tangential vignettes. This could initially make Spaced seem to be a niche favorite, appealing only to fanboys, fangirls and lovers of British humor, but few others.

However, anyone looking for something different and vastly superior to the American comedies of the same era will find plenty to enjoy in Spaced. There’s something for everyone, whether you’re a Trekkie or just a lover of oddball humor. Don’t be surprised when you find yourself reciting one of the show’s many quotable lines.

Spaced can be checked out from Odegaard Library under the call number DVD WHV 001.

Reach reporter Robert Frankel at weekender@dailyuw.com.

College Republicans and Young Democrats face off on health care and the economy

Celina Kareiva — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

The Young Democrats and the College Republicans debated health care and the economy in last night’s political debate, a quarterly UW tradition between the two parties’ supporters.

“I think it encourages a discussion on important topics,” said Justin Bryant, president of the College Republicans. “Also, it brings a certain relevance to these issues which students would otherwise just read about in the newspaper.”

Previous topics have included same-sex marriage, education and the Iraq War. This quarter, the politicos chose health care and the economy because of their relevance to current events.

Bryant and his teammates presented a health-care plan mirroring that of their own political party in Congress. He suggested that, to increase competition, the carrier must be extended past state borders.

“For instance, right now in Washington [state], there are four to five carriers, and ideally, we’d like to expand that to the 15 or 30 national carriers to add competition,” said Bryant. “Adding high-risk pools in every state and on a national level is really important. If you are denied health insurance, then you can get it through the state as a high-risk group.”

The democrats responded by citing a Washington Post article that said their plan was actually cheaper, covering 12 times as many people while saving $36 billion more than the Republicans.

And the debate didn’t end there. Further discussion led both parties to the topic of financial regulation, as they attempted to answer the question of how to prevent future financial crises.

“The economy is so complex and so globalized that to let a company collapse would not just make the people responsible feel the failure, but would have a cascading effect that has the potential to hurt everyone involved,” said Young Democrat Zach Charat. “We either need to prevent companies from becoming too big or regulate them so they don’t make irresponsible decisions.”

Though the sides could reach no agreement on last night’s topics, both concurred that the atmosphere of these political discussions tended to grow more passionate as the night wore on.

“It’s friendly, but certainly combative,” said Quinn Majeski, president of the Young Democrats. “We’re two groups with very strong beliefs who aren’t afraid to express our views.”

The College Republicans and the Young Democrats rarely collaborate on political campaigns or campus projects, but both groups feel that this quarterly discussion is a useful resource for students who want to make their own decisions on hot topics.

“From the republican perspective, we’re vastly outnumbered on campus, so presenting our ideas is just an opportunity to represent our party. Our goal is basically to demonstrate that there are two sides to every argument,” Bryant said. “And hopefully, they’ll see that our ideas are better and become a republican.”

Reach reporter Celina Kareiva at news@dailyuw.com.

Editorial cartoon and rants and raves

Martin Jarmick, Various — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Rants:

According to PC World, Forrester Research conducted a study about whether people would be willing to pay for online newspaper content. Of the 4,000 people polled, 80 percent said they would not pay for online newspapers or magazines.

The Associated Press reported that a Seattle man impaled his face on a fence after attempting to jump over it. Police say that he was “overconfident in his abilities,” and that alcohol likely played a role.

Raves:

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, after receiving calls from former Scientology members saying that the church committed “shocking” crimes, Australian Sen. Nick Xenophon has called for an investigation.

New Jersey’s Star-Ledger is reporting that drug makers have developed a pill that boosts female sexual desire. The drug is designed to be taken once a day for women with sexual dysfunction.

Graduate Fee taken off agenda

Katie McVicker — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

In an executive committee meeting of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) last night, GPSS President Jake Faleschini announced that university officials decided to pull the graduate-degree fee proposal from the agenda of today’s Board of Regents meeting.

Doug Wadden, executive vice provost for Academic Affairs and Planning, told Faleschini that President Emmert and Provost Phyllis Wise had reconsidered the issue and would not implement a fee to current UW graduate students.

The decision was made after Faleschini and Student Regent Ben Golden met several times with university officials to express their concerns.

“This was literally going to attach on Friday [if approved],” Faleschini said. “Everybody would have had to pay this fee out of nowhere. Undergrads don’t have to pay this fee, and there’s no way that this should apply to current students who have had no notice or chance to comment.”

Golden was worried about the slippery slope that approval of the graduate-degree fee could have caused at the university. He and GPSS officials feared that administrators would be tempted to implement new fees every time they didn’t have funding for new services.

The graduate-degree fee may be back on the table at the regents meeting in January. In the meantime, the administration will be having a broader conversation about the appropriate procedures for creating fees.

“What is the university’s holistic approach going to be to fees?” Golden asked. “We want to lay out a complete picture of fees at the University of Washington and then we can discuss this.”

Issues that will be discussed today include the UW budget overview, the University’s purchase of the Alumni House, the acceleration of renovating residence halls, and the UW being used as a test site for new ways to monitor energy usage.

Reach reporter Katie McVicker at news@dailyuw.com.

Liquor? No shot

Brian Byrnes — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

In an effort to reduce what they have deemed “car barring” — a practice of drinking heavily before entering a party — members of the UW Interfraternity Council (IFC) proposed an amendment to the Risk Management Policy that would allow single-house parties to serve hard alcohol. The amendment was voted down by a majority in an IFC executive meeting last night.

The amendment was originally proposed by Spencer Launer, president of Alpha Epsilon Pi, at the president’s meeting two weeks ago. Launer chose not to comment for this article, but Thai Dang, president of the IFC, said he was not in favor of the amendment, as it would be a step back from last year’s decision by the IFC to disallow beverages with alcohol contents above 8 percent at any type of party in the Greek community or at tier II events.

“I voted against it because it would have been a major step backwards [for the Greek community],” said Ryan Herbert, president of Delta Chi, who attended the meeting.

The amendment would have moved single-house parties, in which one fraternity is responsible for the hosting of the party, into the tier I classification. As a result, single-house parties would be allowed to serve hard alcohol.

Under the recently implemented tier system, parties are classified as tier I, tier II or tier III events. Tier I events include grab-a-dates, cocktails and dances. These are known as “exchanges” with sororities, and hard alcohol can be served.

Single-house parties are classified as tier II events, along with bi-ads and tri-ads.

At these tier II events, no hard alcohol can be served — only beer and flavored malt beverages with less than 8 percent alcohol content.

The amendment’s supporters suggested that this change would help cut down on car barring by guests, which sometimes occurs due to such limitations.

When students participate in this practice, it is much harder for the fraternity to ensure that guests are drinking responsibly, supporters said at the meeting two weeks ago.

However, those opposed to the amendment suggested that it would mitigate the effort made last year to ban hard alcohol from all parties.

“The direction we were going [after last year’s action] was very proactive,” said Tony Nelli, president of Psi Upsilon fraternity, “and this amendment would have only been a step backwards.”

Nick Feldman, IFC vice president of public relations, said that many of the presidents who voted the amendment down saw it as “unnecessary restructuring.”

After all, the same group of presidents who worked on amending the Risk Management Policy last year to ban hard alcohol are still in office, and most of them are still in support of the decision.

Currently, the police do not conduct walkthroughs of tier I “date exchange” events. However, the police regularly conduct walkthroughs of registered parties. The amendment would have jeopardized the tier I events’ immunity to police walkthroughs, Herbert said.

“When there are registered parties at fraternities, officers regularly do checks. There is an expectation that the [fraternities] will be acting in compliance with the law and the IFC’s rules and regulations,” said UWPD Lieutenant Craig Wilson. “Anything approved by the IFC, we would be enforcing.”

As for the future of alcohol policy in the Greek community, some members seem to think the status quo is just fine.

“I never really understood the purpose of the amendment,” Nelli said. “It didn’t seem like it would help us out in the Greek community, anyways.”

Reach reporter Brian Byrnes at features@dailyuw.com.

Making strides

Zachary Gussin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Kendra Schaaf, UW: winner of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Cross Country Championship as a senior in high school.

Jordan Hasay, UO: two-time Foot Locker Champion, two-time USA Track and Field Cross Country Junior Champion.

Mel Lawrence, UW: four-time Foot Locker All-American, three-time runner-up.

Kailey Campbell, UW: did not compete in high school.

Listed above are the first four women across the line at the West Regional cross-country meet in Springfield, Ore., this past Saturday, along with highlights from their high-school cross-country careers. Three of them were among the most successful runners in the history of high-school cross country. The fourth, Kailey Campbell, played soccer for Ballard High School in the fall. Campbell did run track in the spring, but she specialized in the middle-distance events of the mile and 800-meter dash. Though Ballard is only four miles from the UW, Campbell has come a long way since her time there. However, it would be inaccurate to portray her emergence among the top cross-country runners in the nation as a surprise. To anyone who knows her, it’s really anything but.

Head coach Greg Metcalf picked up on this while recruiting her as a senior.

“The one thing I was struck by when I went and visited her,” Metcalf said, “was that she came across as a young woman who did not know how to fail. She’s incredibly smart, a very bright young woman, and she has some talent, but more importantly, she had self confidence.”

Campbell’s teammate, Colton Tully-Doyle, expressed a similar impression.

“She’s super nice, but underneath that kind person who’s helped me out, she’s so competitive that, in a split second, she will bring the fury,” Tully-Doyle said. “If I challenge her to something, it’s like a switch is turned. Immediately, she wants to win, and she’ll rain down hell on me.”

That passion for competition has been a constant in Campbell’s career as a runner.

“When I was a little kid on the playground, I was always challenging kids,” Campbell said. “It was, ‘Oh, you want to race? Lets race!’ I guess I’ve always had that drive.”

As a freshman lacking the cross-country experience of her teammates, that drive could sometimes get her into trouble. She went from running about 15 miles a week for 12-15 weeks a year in high school, to the UW, where she was expected to run 40 miles a week.

“It was a big change, and I was really feeling it freshman year,” Campbell said. “I was tired all the time. I came in anemic, and that made it a little more difficult. But if there were shorter workouts where I felt I could put my nose in it and compete with the other girls to push myself harder, I did. That helped me, but it hurt me, too, because the next day I’d be even more tired. Quite frankly, I came to UW, and I got schooled. I was tired, and I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t want that to happen again, and I don’t like to lose.”

Since then, Campbell has put together the years of consistent and rigorous training that have led to her current cross-country success.

“Coach Metcalf is a really good coach, and he’s going to do what’s best for his athletes,” Campbell said. “It comes down to consistency, especially when it comes to 5k and 6k. It takes a little while. A lot of the girls coming in have been doing this since they were 14 or 15 years old.”

It hasn’t always been easy, and there have been plenty of obstacles to overcome. Campbell had pneumonia her freshman year, bronchitis last year, and has battled through injury after injury. On top of that, Campbell had to stay motivated during the bleak Seattle winters.

“I’m like everyone else,” said Campbell, “and there are days when it’s pouring rain, and I think, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t want to do this.’ But I do it because I know the end result is something that I want to put my time into.”

Metcalf has been there to watch her development and has played a key role in it as well.

“Kailey, over the last three years, has really developed,” Metcalf said. “Part of that has been that I’ve been pretty hard on her sometimes. I wasn’t going to let her be anything less than great. There were moments along the way when she couldn’t finish a workout or a race. This year we learned from a bad Notre Dame Invite and from stopping at PAC-10s, but she’s trained at a high level, she’s been consistent over time, and that’s led her to where she is now.”

Monday, the Huskies will be counting on Campbell to help lead the women in their national championship-defense bid. If the course conditions comply, Campbell could find herself toward the front of the pack again.

“She could be 20th, she could be 15th [at nationals],” predicted Metcalf. “She’ll be aggressive, and she’ll go run with her teammates.”

Campbell’s own predictions are very much the same.

“At nationals, I’m going to put myself in a position where I have a chance to finish well. I do have goals: I’d like to achieve an All-American title,” Campbell said. “I’m not saying it’s not going to be comfortable, but in the past, that’s how I’ve done well. I like to kick, and I like to sink my teeth into it.”

If Terre Haute is as wet and muddy as Springfield was last Saturday, and the race goes out at a conservative pace as a result, expect Campbell to be running with the rest of the nation’s fastest runners. After the last few seasons, she certainly belongs with that group.

“What our races have shown us is that, as a team, we do have that depth, where if you fall down you know someone’s got your back. But we’ll still bring it every time,” she said. “Right now, it’s the end of the cross-country season, it’s nationals, and it’s all about racing bodies.”

Reach reporter Zachary Gussin at sports@dailyuw.com.

Neighborhood Watch

Ashleen Aguilar, Ivan Vukovic, Nick Feldman, Robert Frankel — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

University District

Meiro Koizumi: Open Satellite lecture

Japanese artist Meiro Koizumi examines, through several forms of media and expression, the plight of Japanese Americans residing in Bellevue, Wash. during World War II.

Thursday, Nov. 19 @ 7 p.m.

General admission: $5

Henry Art Gallery Auditorium

Campus Thank You Celebration

Customer appreciation celebration at the University Book Store, including Husky drawstring bag giveaways, scavenger hunts and music provided by DJ Hayes.

Thursday, Nov. 19 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

University Book Store U-District Branch

Dyno Jamz

Student hip-hop/jazz fusion is set to do an intimate performance at an Ave coffeehouse.

Friday, Nov. 20 @ 8 p.m.

$7

Café Solstice

A-Y-P Symposium

A one-day public symposium about the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, featuring keynote speaker Robert Rydell, the premier World’s Fair historian.

Saturday, Nov. 21 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Free admission

Kane Hall, Room 110

Capitol Hill:

Artifacts of Consequence

Written by young New York playwright Ashlin Halfnight and performed by Capitol Hill’s The Satori Group, the play centers around a post-apocalyptic group of survivors stationed in a bunker buried under Puget Sound. This play questions everything from Huey Lewis to hula hoops.

Thursday to Sunday, Nov. 19 to 22 @ 8 p.m.

$15

Little Theater

610 19th Ave. E.

Chali 2na and Gift of Gab

Two of hip-hop’s old-school legends (hailing from revered groups Jurassic 5 and Blackalicious) come together under one roof for a night not to be missed.

Thursday, Nov. 19 @ 8 p.m.

$18

Neumos

925 E. Pike St.

Smash Putt: Miniature Golf Apocalypse

The aptly titled 10-hole mini-golf course/art installation features the opportunity to launch a ball through an air-powered machine gun toward catapults, power tools, and the upturned innards of a piano.

Friday to Sunday, Nov. 20 to 22 from 6 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.

$10-$15

The Hazard Factory

912 12th Ave.

Hugo Literary Series: Visiting Hours

The quarterly spotlight features KUOW poetry producer Elizabeth Austen, Portland novelist Benjamin Parzybok, performer Matt Smith and singer-songwriter Molly Rose.

Friday, Nov. 20 @ 7:30 p.m.

$15-$25

Richard Hugo House

1634 11th Ave.

A Hard Day’s Night

The 1964 Beatles mockumentary — widely credited for influencing ‘60s spy flicks and The Monkees’ TV show — was named as one of TIME magazine’s top 100 films of all time.

Friday & Saturday, Nov. 20 & 21 @ midnight

$8-$10

Egyptian Theatre

805 E. Pine St.

Na’alehu Theatre: Hawaiian Slack Key Festival

The islands’ treasured guitar tradition heads to the Northwest for the festival’s inaugural year, featuring Grammy–winning master Cyril Pahinui.

Sunday, Nov. 22 @ 2 p.m.

$25-$75

Town Hall

1119 Eighth Ave.

Warren G

After breaking into the game with help from his stepbrother Dr. Dre, the rapper best known for his explosive 1994 single “Regulate” tours on his sixth studio album, The G Files.

Sunday, Nov. 22 @ 8 p.m.

$18

Neumos

925 E. Pike St.

Downtown:

Built to Spill

Boise-based Built to Spill is touring on their latest full-length release, There is No Enemy. Disco Doom and Finn Riggins provide support.

Nov. 19 @ 8 p.m.

Tickets: $20 adv/$25 door

Showbox at the Market

Kids and Animals CD Release Party

Celebrate the CD release of local indie-rockers Kids and Animals. Colonies, Black Whales, New Faces, Conservative Dad and Post Harbor support.

Nov. 20 @ 6 p.m.

Tickets: $7/$6 with club card

The Vera Project

Michael Partington

See the director of the UW guitar program perform classical guitar pieces this weekend.

Nov. 21 @ 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $30

Benaroya Hall — Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall

Taj Mahal Trio

Jazz Alley’s annual Thanksgiving show features the Taj Mahal Trio, touring on Maestro, their latest release. Reservations are required.

Nov. 20–22, 24–25, and 27–29 @ 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Times vary, check jazzalley.com

Tickets: $28.50

Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley

Festival of Trees Celebration

Take a walk through the 31st annual Seattle Festival of Trees. The celebration will include local entertainment and cookies. Each tree sponsors a patient at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Nov. 22 from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

Free

The Fairmont Hotel

Joe Henry

The Best of Seattle Comedy Showcase presents Joe Henry, a popular local comedian. Henry recently appeared at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, Ore.

Nov. 22 from 8 to 10:30 p.m.

Tickets: $5

Seattle Comedy Underground

Major League Soccer Cup

Seattle is hosting the 2009 MLS Cup game at Qwest Field. ESPN will televise the event, but locals can attend the championship game.

Nov. 22 from 5:30 to 9 p.m.

Ticket price varies

Qwest Field

Ballard:

Pre-Yulefest Nordic Beer Tasting

The Nordic Heritage Museum has a special line of beer brewed specifically by a special team. Try out their three beers, brewed locally in Edmonds, Wash. They are Pillager’s Pilsner, Yuletide Amber and Midnight Sun. Appetizers will be served at the event. Let the yuletide fun flow — but only if you’re 21 or over.

Friday, Nov. 20 @ 7 p.m.

$15 suggested donation

Nordic Heritage Museum

3014 NW 67th St.

Mt. Fuji Records Showcase

Mt. Fuji Records will be showcasing a few of their bands in Seattle this weekend. The Whore Moans, Black Whales, Virgin Islands (who are releasing an EP), and Mr. Gnome will all be present at the Sunset to play a few hours of their music. Buy tickets at http://www.sunsettavern.com/ and remember that the venue is for the 21-and-over crowd.

Saturday, Nov. 21 @ 9 p.m.

$8

Sunset Tavern

5433 Ballard Ave NW

Yulefest 2009

A Christmas celebration in the spirit of Nordic tradition, this festival is bound to bring holiday cheer with its myriad collection of hand-crafted gifts and Nordic cuisine, not to mention plenty of Scandinavian musical performances.

Saturday, Nov. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

$3 for adults

Nordic Heritage Museum

3014 NW 67th St.

Fremont:

The Diamond Light

It’s indie-rock night at Nectar Lounge, and The Diamond Light will be fronting the gig. The Last American Buffalo and The Northwest Son will accompany them. Nectar serves alcohol, so be sure to bring an ID — preferably a legal one.

Sunday, Nov. 22 @ 8 p.m.

$5

Nectar Lounge

412 N. 36th St.

Wallingford:

Nonsequitur presents Music by John Luther Adams

Another part of the Wayward Music Series, a program dedicated to progressive and experimental music, John Luther Adam’s music is characterized by the Alaskan space he grew up in: an icy kingliness, stretching silence and atmospheric eruptions. His work has been hailed by The New Yorker as “one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century.” Three of his pieces will be performed: Among Red Mountains, Nunataks and The Mathematics of Resonant Bodies.

Saturday, Nov. 21 @ 8 p.m.

$5 - $15

Good Shepherd Center

4649 Sunnyside Ave N.

Reach reporters Ashleen Aguilar, Nick Feldman, Robert Frankel & Weekender editor Ivan Vukovic at weekender@dailyuw.com.

Open up more green spaces

Thomas Cloud — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

I’m not really a city person — well, a big city person, that is. I grew up in a bedroom community with a pleasant mix of town and country. I like the semi-rural and pastoral atmosphere with the convenience of a grocery store or two. Unfortunately, convenience often encroaches upon green places. Pavement displaces grass, and the streams are diverted.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not what you would consider a Green Party member; I do favor some development, of course, and I am always very skeptical of proposals that forbid property owners from cutting down trees on their own land, however much I may dislike it when they do. But I’d rather have a few less dams and few more wild rivers, if that’s understandable. The Grand Coulee Dam, for example, provides vast amounts of clean electricity, but it destroyed the salmon runs further upstream because it lacks a fish ladder.

I hear so much about green energy and green products, and I am quite aware of how committed the UW is to providing biodegradable everything. Still, I can’t help but knit my brows when I see so many green items and so few green spaces. Bricks and asphalt and concrete and steel — all of them crowding into the campus and filling up all the plots that used to be lawns bothers me. We have not escaped the drive for convenience and have sacrificed some of the beauty of the campus.

Part of the college experience, at least ideally, is being able to study in beautiful surroundings, which include both beautiful buildings and beautiful spaces. It is evident from the various architectural styles around campus that concern over aesthetic construction has not always been primary with new buildings. Simply compare the neo-gothic Quad to Condon Hall or Balmer Hall.

Thankfully, we are moving away a little from the utilitarian designs on the outside of the buildings, though the insides are still rather bland. Mary Gates Hall is definitely a step in the right direction. Still, I’d prefer fewer buildings on campus. It’s crowded already and is taking on more of a city feel. It’s unfair to say, probably, but it’s almost as if the Ave is spilling over into the university, and not the other way around.

I’ve seen this drive for convenience firsthand. My hometown fought off developers who wanted to build a Walmart, and it seriously considered not allowing a McDonald’s to be built, only conceding after extracting a promise that McDonald’s would not put up any large signs or its characteristic golden arches. I have nothing against McDonald’s or Walmart, and I understand that they provide jobs and inexpensive products, but they do take away from the feel of the community sometimes, particularly in small towns.

Alas, my hometown, which took such a firm stance against Walmart a few years later, did an abrupt about-face. It started simply and reasonably with a Target and an Albertsons, but now it has everything — except Walmart. Where there was one McDonald’s, there are now two. Where there were once a few acres of woodland next to the library, now there are high-end luxury shops and restaurants. All kinds of goods and services are available to us now, but at the expense of the last forrested remnants of a quiet village.

I’d implore the regents, then — if any of them read this — to please contain any urges they may have to fill up what’s left of the open space on campus with more buildings. Instead, look to tear down buildings, and try to buy more property in the already-urbanized U-District if expansion is desired. I know that many want to see the UW as a “green” campus, but could we also have a green campus?

Reach columnist Thomas Cloud at opinion@dailyuw.com.

Record Review: Them Crooked Vultures

Joanna Nolasco — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Not since Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” shook me from my coma of Fall-Out-Boy-esque rock mediocrity have I been so moved by a band as when I stumbled upon Them Crooked Vultures (TCV).

With Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age as the vocalist and guitarist, Jon Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin as the bassist and keyboardist and Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters as the drummer, the TCV ensemble reads like a rock enthusiast’s wildest dream — and these boys do not disappoint.

Their 13-track self-titled debut album is not for the faint of heart. From Homme’s racy devil-may-care lyrics (“And oh, it’s like cleaning up after an orgy when it’s over”) to Jones’ dizzying riffs and Grohl’s heart-racing beats, TCV’s performance is, in a word, fearless.

The album opens with “No One Loves Me, Neither Do I,” a tongue-in-cheek ode to succumbing to lust. An appropriate introduction to the entirety of the album, the song crescendos at around 2:45 to a mammoth instrumental that would compel any listener to rock his head to the beat, however involuntarily. As if that weren’t enough, the tempo and volume escalate even further toward the end, before coming to an abrupt halt.

Other highlights of the album include “Reptiles,” a song with a melody as hypnotic and somehow slithering as its title would imply, and “Gunman,” a quintessential expression of rock aggression with lyrics like, “I’m the trigger, quick to fire / punctuate betwixt the eyes / you’re clever; it ain’t gonna help you.”

One unexpected deviation from the formula of blunt vocals plus powerhouse instrumentals is the song “Interlude with Ludes.” Its haunting and often incoherent tune is reminiscent of an experience with, as Homme sings, “acid and poison and chemicals, baby.”

My only criticism of the album is that the continuous outpouring of heavy rock, with little breaks in tension besides “Interludes with Ludes,” may leave the listener fatigued towards the end. However, that may be the very nature of the beast.

TCV ends with a more-than-7-minute track entitled “Spinning in Daffodils.”

The song embodies the rollercoaster-like experience of listening to the entire album. It begins with an inviting piano introduction, which is taken over by six minutes of bass-heavy rock, and, not to be outdone, ends with a fading polka tune.

TCV provides exactly what you would expect from a collaboration of three titans of the rock genre: rock excellence.

Them Crooked Vultures will be performing at the Paramount Theater this Saturday, Nov. 21.

A.

Reach contributing writer Joanna Nolasco at weekender@dailyuw.com.

Restaurant Review: HoneyHole Sandwiches

Ashleen Aguilar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Two blocks west of Broadway along Pike Street in Capitol Hill exists a small restaurant, HoneyHole Sandwiches. It’s almost invisible to those who aren’t looking for it. I nearly walked past it, but the BOOZE light caught my eye.

Twenty-somethings filled the hole-in-the-wall café. Odds and ends speckled the ketchup-colored walls, and rock music vibrated the speakers. Only a couple of tables were open, and they were quickly taken by walk-ins.

“Damn, that’s a good sandwich,” headed the “Almost Legendary” menu selection of hot, cold and vegetarian sandwiches.

Many people find the idea of vegetarian bacon oxymoronic and/or repulsive. Personally, I find the unique taste oddly comforting. HoneyHole’s Vegi BLT – Smart Bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on the guest’s choice of bread — is only one of HoneyHole’s vegetarian options. El Capitan is another: marinara sauce, red onions, green bell pepper, tomato, parmesan, mozzarella and provolone stuff a sourdough roll.

The hot specialty sandwich I ordered, the Waverider, was tasty. Smoked turkey, red onions, tomatoes, smoked Gouda and roasted red peppers loaded a pesto-smeared sourdough roll. A toasted shell of bread guarded the sandwich, but breaking that barrier led to warm and fluffy sourdough. The strong flavors never overwhelmed, but rather complemented each other.

Each half of the sandwich was comparable in size to a burger from Dick’s, and one half of the Waverider was sufficient to satisfy my appetite. Having taken the leftovers home for lunch the next day, I warmed the sandwich in the microwave and toasted the fries in the oven. Granted, the sandwich did not have the same toasty shell, but it was just as satisfying the second time around.

HoneyHole’s day menu is about the same as the night menu, but cheaper. Meals range from about $4-6. Another option is the HoneyHole Lunch Pail Boxed Lunch, which includes a half sandwich, Tim’s Cascade chips, coleslaw and a cookie for $8.25.

Most of the dinner menu sandwiches cost between $7-9; the Waverider was $8.50. I tend to drink water, so that cost didn’t add into my bill, but a soda or a beer may push the check to just a little more than $10. However, with the overall taste and leftover potential, I’d say HoneyHole Sandwiches is worthy of a student’s budget.

B.

Reach reporter Ashleen Aguilar at weekender@dailyuw.com.

Staff Editorial: Avoiding the pitfall of bandwagon journalism

Various — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

There’s a quote on the wall of The Daily’s newsroom from a previous editor-in-chief that reads: “I would rather run a photo-less story than a libelous one.”

As those in the newsroom recall, the night the quote was written, there was a discussion about which news stories should run the next day. Some of the stories had been fact-checked and worked on for days but had no artwork to go with them. Others needed more work to verify details, but they had great photos ready to run. Some people in the newsroom were ready to compromise on the integrity of a story if it meant having a good-looking paper the next day.

The editor-in-chief wasn’t, and so the quote was born.

This year, our staff has been reminded of the importance of the idea behind that quote — the idea that the integrity and accuracy of a story should come before all else.

About a month ago, The Daily ran a story about a student who said he’d been robbed on multiple occasions, and so he obtained a concealed pistol permit and made an effort to organize other students who also had concealed weapons permits.

The following day, the newsroom started getting calls from local television news stations, and, by that night, the story was on Q13 Fox News. Lexie Krell, the reporter who wrote the original story, spent almost two weeks on it, conducting multiple interviews and researching laws on the issue. Q13 put out its story in a matter of hours, with a blatant factual error in the very first line.

“Two students who were recently attacked have organized armed patrols on campus,” the news anchor announced.

Absolutely false.

Not only had the students not organized any such patrols, they had also never admitted to carrying firearms on campus. That assumption implicated the individuals in illegal activities. (It is illegal to carry firearms on campus.)

That didn’t seem to matter, though, as a link to Q13’s story was featured on the CNN U.S. home page only two days later and was turned around just as quickly by almost every broadcast station, radio show and print publication in the area.

We watched as a bad game of Telephone unfolded before our eyes.

It was as if the story was being mumbled from one person to the next, and suddenly, the original story of one student trying to organize a group of concealed-weapons-permit carriers became a story about armed students roving the campus and surrounding areas. Even people living hundreds of miles away have witnessed equally inaccurate recaps that were played on their own local news stations.

As both producers and consumers of journalism, this experience has taught us some valuable lessons and has reminded us of the importance of that quote on the wall. When we become obsessed with quick-turnaround, bandwagon journalism, the story and issues being discussed suffer.

We need to be critical of the news we consume and demand well-researched and accurate information rather than a quick turnaround that looks — or sounds — good.

This is the opinion of The Daily’s editorial board: Editor-in-Chief Casey Smith, Production Director Colleen Kirsten, Opinion Editor Allen Wagner, Lifestyles Editor Rachel Solomon and Sports Editor Christian Caple. The Daily’s editorial-board meetings are open to all students. Our final editorial-board meeting is next Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. We encourage you to come and discuss campus issues with us.

Tribute to the Spirit: Little Big Band Preview

Katelin Chow — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Little Big Band will fill Meany Hall with its stories on native culture and funk-inspired music when its band members combine jazz, rock and blues with theatrical performance, poetry and the spoken word.

The band will be the feature of the Burke Museum’s concert event “Tribute to the Spirit,” which begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20.

“Tribute to the Spirit,” the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific (A-Y-P) symposium and the Burke Museum’s current exhibit, A-Y-P: Indigenous Voices Reply, all correspond with the end of the 100th-year anniversary of the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition.

The Burke Museum, Simpson Center for the Humanities and the Bill Holm Center for the Study of Northwest Coast Art will also be presenting a one-day symposium on Saturday, Nov. 21 about the A-Y-P Exposition. The symposium will feature keynote speaker Dr. Robert Rydell, a World’s Fair historian.

Little Big Band is composed of artists who have diverse backgrounds in music, theater, visual arts and traditional Native American cultures.

With Grammy-Award-winning singer Star Nayea, electric bassist and Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary, storyteller and musician Gene Tagaban, comic and violinist Swil Kanim, storyteller and percussionist James Luna and many others, this funk-inspired band blends all of these components into an energetic and soulful performance.

“Little Big Band is a collective reflection of the kaleidoscope of feelings from all the cultures that are involved,” Swil Kanim said. He added that every band member is a performer in his or her own right.

The band’s award-winning vocalist, Star Nayea, has a blues-soul-style voice that Singletary said is as powerful as his amplifier. James Luna, a visual and performance artist who has been featured at the Venice Biennale by the Smithsonian, challenges how people perceive Native Americans and how they perceive themselves.

Little Big Band’s members work together to create performances that draw the audience in while showing that they don’t have to give up who they are to do what they do, said Swil Kanim.

Friday’s concert event will be made up of a broad selection of different performances and theatrical skits that include poetry and the spoken word followed by the band’s set.

One of their songs, “Twenty-First Century Skinz,” incorporates all of the band members and is about “the old ways” and how native cultures change.

Although the song is about something serious — the way a competitive casino culture has developed within the tribal community — Swil Kanim believes that the funk-style music lightens the mood.

“The music is greater than the situation. And the fun is bigger than this; this is the joy of the Little Big Band … We may be small, but the music is really big,” said Swil Kanim.

The band began when Singletary and Tagaban got together to produce a soundtrack for a documentary at the Seattle Art Museum that was featuring Singletary’s glasswork.

Singletary, who had always loved funk music and was inspired by the syncopated rhythms of the likes of Scott Joplin and George Clinton, realized that there were no native-funk bands that he knew of.

“Funk embodies the very best of dance music, soul, gospel, rock and jazz; it’s very intellectual, it’s fun,” Singletary said. “It just makes you move. And really, what attracts me to music is that rhythmic syncopation that just makes you start moving your head.”

To the members of Little Big Band, music is an aural language.

“You play music, and it’s this organic thing that unfolds. That’s the exciting thing about music, performing and the spontaneity of [it], and the way you can convey [messages through it],” Singletary said. “And the audience can respond, and you can feed off how they’re feeling.”

Reach contributing writer Kat Chow at weekender@dailyuw.com.

UW Alert system noble but not without flaws

Colin Gorenstein — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

You’re sitting in the study room on a Sunday evening because you’re boring and have nothing better to do with your life. Mid nose-pick, you receive a text message accompanied by a glaring red exclamation mark. It reads: “Armed robbery occurred in West Campus, Terry-Lander area. Armed suspect at large. Pls. be alert.” You’re in Terry. So now what do you do?

If you’re me, you spend the next five minutes examining the creative usage of “Pls.” and the exceedingly ambiguous terminology. And after that? Nothing.

This predicament, for me, flawlessly illustrates the very nature of the UW Alert system. The intention of these alerts is a noble one, but most of the time, it falls flat: We stare blankly at the message, eventually process the information, note the “prevention tips” at the bottom, and then realize that we ultimately have no control over the fact that an armed robber may or may not jump out from behind us at any given second and demand that we hand over our laptop and money. Also, who gave these criminals the idea that we starving college students have money to be robbed of?

Sunday’s robbery added confirmation to this theory of mine. The victims had adhered to all of the listed prevention tips: they were in a group, they had removed themselves from potentially dangerous situations (or so they thought), they were aware of their environment (they were on campus after all), and, well, “avoiding confrontation” — this appeared to be beyond their control.

So, what now? Great, we understand the whole “avoiding potentially dangerous situations” thing — but what happens when we’re already stuck in a dangerous situation? I find the overly simplified prevention tips to be not only demeaning and patronizing — suggesting that, as students, we seek out these dangerous situations and inflict harm upon ourselves — but also irrelevant. Most of us want to know how to act in dangerous situations, not how to avoid them.

Sometimes, I find the alerts mildly helpful. Knowing which direction the criminals are headed on indicated streets has, more than once, helped me avoid danger. But in the case of Sunday’s text message, I was left in a confused state, wondering if I should evacuate or simply stay put. There were no street names given.

Some students had passed rumors that the robber had entered the building, while others were pretty adamant that the robber was blocks away. This confusion drove most to take no action at all. One student continued playing his piece on the piano, and a huddle of girls continued their giggle session in the corner of the lobby. The only choice any of us really had was to twiddle our thumbs and wait for the issue to take care of itself.

According to Appendix B of the Crisis and Mass Communications Tools of the UW Crisis Communication Plan, the alert system is “used to disseminate official information during emergencies or crisis situations that may disrupt the normal operation of the UW or threaten the health or safety of members of the UW community.”

Yes, it’s disseminated. But because the service is offered through SMS and Twitter, the message that is being disseminated is also being condensed to 140 characters. Is this enough room to get the message across?

There are a lot of things that can be adequately communicated in 140 characters. Some manage to properly communicate the depths of their deep, black hearts over Twitter every day. But, as far as I can tell, local crime and safety usually require much more in-depth reporting, with a lot more words.

I mean, I’d like to have enough notice and information to prepare one of those poetic deaths, like Beethoven, who muttered, “Friends, applaud — the comedy is over,” or Vincent van Gogh, Virgina Woolf or even Elliott Smith.

Because, shoot, dying with my Situating Inquiry textbook in one hand and a cup of ramen in the other would be so pathetic.

Reach columnist Colin Gorenstein at opinion@dailyuw.com.

Whitcomb 3-pointer gives Huskies last-second win over BYU

Taylor Soper — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Less than a week after losing on a heartbreaking buzzer beater in its season opener, the Washington women’s basketball team got a sweet taste of the other side in last night’s home opener.

With five seconds left in the game and the Huskies down by 2 points, senior Sami Whitcomb had the ball two feet behind the 3-point arc. As time ticked away, Whitcomb could only do one thing: shoot.

“It wasn’t necessarily the original plan, but once I got it up there, it felt like the surest thing,” Whitcomb said. “We only had five seconds left, and I just believed it was going in. It had to go in; we couldn’t lose this game.”

Whitcomb’s confidence was enough, as the senior’s shot swished through the net with just two seconds left, sending both the Husky bench and the crowd into a frenzy. BYU’s last-second, desperate half-court shot missed, and the Huskies miraculously came out on top for their first win of the season, 67-66.

The feeling was a complete turnaround after Saturday’s loss to Portland State. The Huskies had control of that game, only to be beaten by a last-second 15-foot jumper at the buzzer. But last night, it was the Huskies (1-1) who got to celebrate.

“I guess this is what it feels like on the other side,” head coach Tia Jackson said. “I’m so excited for these girls. These ladies played their tails off, and they deserved a victory today.”

Whitcomb, who finished with a game-high 25 points, entered a zone with four minutes left in the game and didn’t leave it until the buzzer sounded. With the Huskies down 59-50, Whitcomb single-handedly brought the team back into the game, scoring UW’s final 12 points. She made a layup, knocked down five free throws and added another layup with 30 seconds to play.

With the UW down 66-64 and 22 seconds left on the clock, Jackson drew up a play to get the ball to Whitcomb in the post. It didn’t work out as planned, so junior guard Sarah Morton brought the ball around the right wing and found Whitcomb. Without hesitation, the senior set her feet and launched the game winner.

“When the player guarding Sami popped back up, she played her with her hands down,” Jackson said of the last play. “We call it playing airplane defense; Sami read it and took advantage of it. It was a big-time shot.”

BYU had taken control of the game in the second half. Their 3-point shooting caused problems all night for the Huskies, as the Cougars hit 10 compared to only two by the UW team. Guard Haley Hall hit her fourth three of the game to put the Cougars up 59-50, but the Huskies managed to claw their way back, thanks in large part to Whitcomb.

After Saturday’s tough season-opening loss to PSU, last night’s win was a sigh of relief for the UW. Players and coaches kept repeating one word after the game: redemption.

“I felt we deserved it,” said Morton, who finished with 12 points and five assists. “We played so hard against PSU and got robbed. I think this was redemption, and it felt amazing.”

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.

Pillow Talk

Parisa Sadrzadeh — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:55:10 -0800

As I was walking back home from the gym one day last week, I passed a couple slowly making their way across the bridge to the IMA. Subtly yet lovingly, they would look at each other and smile, the boy with his arm draped over the girl’s shoulders while shielding her from the rain. I felt almost voyeuristic looking at them in their simple bliss, but the way that they displayed their affection for one another was clear, while not making me uncomfortable.

This led me to think about the public displays of affection — better known as PDA — that happen on and around campus. And, after some pondering, I realized I don’t ever really see much of it. In high school, I felt like I was interrupting make-out sessions every time I leaned over a couple to get to my locker, every time I walked through cars in the parking lot, every time I’d take the back entrance into the school — the list could go on forever.

As much as young love is wonderful in many ways, that kind of affection was nothing I wanted to see on a daily basis. One of my classmates explained my sentiments quite simply: “Yeah, sure, it’s great when you’re the one doing it. But for those of us having to be witness to that affection, we just want to say, ‘Do it behind closed doors.’”

On campus, however, most of the PDA that I see is subtle, like that of the young couple I saw last week. Quick pecks on the way to class, holding hands while walking through the Quad, holding each other at rainy bus stops — that’s pretty much the extent of what I’ve seen. It’s usually just enough for the couple to let all passersby know that they’re together.

Now, why would it make sense that the same people, who just a couple of years ago were sucking face any time they could slip away from class, could contain their affection to simple displays once in awhile? Aren’t we more sexual and affectionate beings now that our bodies, minds and relationships are more mature?

There has to be a reason, and it seems to me that it might be because people our age have more time to spend with one another and more space to spend that time in. Before, we were mostly bound to seeing our significant others within a seven-hour period, when school was not just the place of our education, but our main social event.

Now that we have our own houses and apartments, where we can be separate from the outside world when we want to show our affection, we don’t feel the need to jump on our partners whenever the urge hits. And the rest of us who have had to be unwilling witnesses of this in the past are thankful for this new phenomenon.

My summer trip to Argentina proved how open other cultures are to PDA, but quite frankly, I’m glad we like to maintain a bit more privacy in our relationships. Unfortunately, not all college situations prove to be as PG as most: Parties surely seem to be the exception to this trend. The culture of parties is definitely a separate entity, with different social rules and heightened PDA (that seems like an understatement). But that’s the exception.

Maybe one day our culture will become as passionate as that of Argentina, but until then, I would like to commend most of my fellow college students for generally keeping it clean on campus.

Reach Copy Chief Parisa Sadrzadeh at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.

Inside the all-nighter

William Denman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:50:52 -0800

It’s 3:30 a.m. and just 27 helpless souls remain within the confines of Odegaard Undergraduate Library. Of those, three are asleep and one student appears to be unconscious. Head planted firmly among a tornado of papers and both arms erected downward as if rigor mortis were beginning to set in, his gasping snore is an unexpected relief. Like many each quarter, his studies have led him to the proverbial all-night study session.

Midway through the quarter, assignments begin to snowball. If not that, then perhaps an upcoming midterm will send you scrambling for a quiet place to write a paper or read the textbook you still haven’t unwrapped. Regardless of the reason, late nights are a common study trend.

“Numbers have increased to the point where we see about 2,000 people between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. during a finals week,” said Steve Weber, who has been Odegaard’s head librarian for the past decade. “I guess it’s something everyone should try at least once. Then, maybe they can prepare more so they never have to do it again.”

This specific type of study binge is something that is unique to college campuses. In pursuit of advice, the following is a partial account of my all-night experiment: the good, the bad and the sleepy.

With things in order, I set out on my venture. Sun down and potholes difficult to spot on my 10-speed, I remind myself the next ride will be in daylight.

10:02: I arrive at my hotel. The exterior is plush and the vacancy seems satisfactory, though the bellhop is a bit brash.

“ID!” she demands. I fumble to find my Husky Card and, in doing so, find myself explaining my planned all-nighter to my budding friend. “That’s really nothing,” she responds to my description. “I stayed up 72 hours straight last year writing a research paper.” A little impressed, I continue to probe. It turns out HK, a sophomore from India who requested her real name be withheld, begins class at 8 a.m. and works at Suzzallo and then Odegaard until 3 a.m.

11:09: First hour productivity rating: 0 percent. After settling in, I down an Amped energy drink and proceed to super-surf through thousands of Facebook pictures, most of them not even of friends. Around me, the level of production seems comparable to my own. The group of students in front of me is currently in a heated debate over Halloween costumes. To my right are two fellow social networkers and beyond them, a concert of chatter.

Over by the media center, I run into junior Paul Chavez. For him, coming to the library is a quarterly event.

“The library gives me a chance to get myself on track,” Chavez said. “I commit myself to a few all-nighters and a bunch of time at the library to put myself in a better position. This quarter it kind of backfired though when I got the H1N1. I don’t know if it was because I wasn’t sleeping or not, but I felt like death.”

The connection between sleep deprivation and feeling ill may be more than just a theory. In a study done by the International Archive of Medicine in January of this year, people who sleep less than seven hours were three times as likely to develop a cold than those sleeping eight hours or more.

12:30: Last call at By George, the restaurant and lounge on the ground floor of Odegaard. Not one to ever miss a last call, I head down. Though hot-food service ends at 5 p.m. each night, the café portion of By George remains open until 1 a.m.. Refreshment options include smoothies, coffee, pre-made sandwiches and assorted side items. With all this caffeine coursing through me, a chocolate-chip cookie sounds like the right way to balance it out.

Once I return upstairs to the library, I decide its time to venture upstairs to the silent-study area.

Before finding a seat, I am reminded by a coughing student to use the Airborne I brought along.

2:15: Eureka! The combination of a dwindling Facebook-chat buddy list and the surrounding silence has finally led to productivity. As I scan the vicinity, I notice similar constructive efforts. In the distance, I notice Chavez has made the trek up as well. Aided by Bose headphones, he seems unlikely to hear an explosion, let alone the noise below. This floor is surely were the studying happens.

4:48: Numbers have dwindled now. Instead of a Kane Hall lecture, the library has become more reminiscent of a Condon Hall quiz section. Again on the lower level, I begin a conversation with another victim of the late hour. Unlike myself, Daniel George seems to be relatively comfortable. His response to this observation is experience.

“I usually pull an all-nighter about four times a quarter, maybe more if it calls for it,” George said.

In the days following my experience, I met with counselor Sara Dale to ask her about frequent late-night studying. She relates the ability to retain information to a personal capacity, citing that some people can be extremely productive in the wee hours of the morning.

“For other people, however,” Dale said, “everything is so muddled the next day that they can’t really benefit from staying up all night studying because they are unable to grab those memories and information they might need for the test.”

5:46: Feeling antsy, I decide to find another new staff member to probe. To my amazement, Weber informs me that there is no one else on duty tonight. The combination of late hours and heavy flu affliction has left the library short staffed. Even HK had checked out.

“As long as you have a UW ID, you’re welcome to rest on any of our couches or a piece of carpet if you feel it fit,” Weber said when I continually mentioned my sleep-deprived malaise. His judge-like position behind the front desk intimidated me in the past, but tonight, Weber is nothing but accommodating.

7:04: My body has gone through a transition. The Mack trucks formerly attached to my eyelids have lifted, and I am entering a state of fatigued inebriation. Feeling like a prisoner of war, I realize the tank is empty. My methodical repacking is the white flag and, with my snack supply exhausted, I need to find a pick-me-up before my 8:30 lecture.

7:12: I salute Weber and no longer feel in charge of my own body. As I exit, the rising sun casts a blanket over Red Square, and I momentarily become Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai. There is nothing separating me from insanity.

With four hours of class ahead, I begin to question whether this was ever a good idea. A daily hour of homework would suffice to keep me from this monster forever more. Then again, there’s a reason tonight’s twilight-bender makes a baker’s dozen for my studious career.

Reach contributing writer William Denman at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.

Campus watch: football bandits; Rhode Island’s ‘wet’ campus

Morgan Gard — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN QUITS KINDLES

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s daily newspaper The Badger Herald is reporting that after just a couple of months, the school will drop its support of the Kindle device in replacing textbooks.

The move comes from widespread complaints that the device is less-than-accessible to blind students, offering a text-to-speech program but still requiring a user with sight to navigate the menus. Ken Frazier, the University of Wisconsin director of libraries and the person who instituted the program in the first place, is responsible for the pull-out, saying he hopes to push Amazon to make the device more friendly to the sightless.

“The university is a leader and innovator in the education field,” said Gregg Vanderheiden, a professor at University of Wisconsin. “For it to say we are not going to proceed with the Kindle if the Kindle is not designed for all students — that is significant.”

The Kindles had been used only by a small group of 20 students in one particular professor’s upper-level history seminar, as part of a small experiment that cost the school $10,000.

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOOTBALL PLAYERS ARRESTED FOR ROBBERY

Last week, three freshmen from the University of Tennessee (UT) football team, Nu’Keese Richardson, Janzen Jackson and Mike Edwards, were charged with armed robbery after victims positively identified them and their car.

The UT athletic department, their coach and recruiter Lane Kiffin all initially refused to comment on the matter, saying they would wait to release a statement until they were done “evaluating the circumstances” of the arrests. Meanwhile, Richardson and Edwards have been dismissed from team activities.

Jenzen’s fate is still unknown. He was the first to be let out of prison after the arrests — $15,000 bail reduced to recognizance — and has been left off Kiffin’s chopping block, despite having a history of disciplinary problems at the school.

The three were arrested along with their driver, non-student Marie Montmarquet, Thursday night. The police report states Richardson and Jackson initiated the robbery, holding up three people in a car outside a convenience store while Jenzen and Montmarquet waited in the car.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND OBTAINS LIQUOR LICENSE

The Good 5¢ Cigar is reporting that the University of Rhode Island obtained a Class P liquor license last week, which will allow caterers to serve alcohol at campus events as well as in the school’s Ryan Center, a massive multipurpose for-rent facility.

“The immediate goal of this license is to generate more food and beverage sales,” Associate Commissioner for Finance and Management Susan LaPanne said, “but the larger objective is to increase participation of alumni in special events on campus.”

The university has already sent several of its caterers to the training mandated by the Class P license, and more will be trained in the coming months.

Reach columnist Morgan Gard at news@dailyuw.com.

Editorial cartoons and rants and raves

Martin Jarmick, Ryan Rosendal, Various — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Rants:

According to Yahoo! News, “unfriend” is the New Oxford American Dictionary’s 2009 Word of the Year. It is defined as the removal of someone as a friend on social networking sites.

Reuters reported that a hotel in France now offers guests the chance to live like hamsters. Hamster grain, giant wheels and hay stacks are all part of the $148.10-per-night deal.

Raves:

According to Reuters, a man who stole $16.5 million while driving his security van in eastern France turned himself in without any explanation. The heist is regarded by many as the perfect crime.

Yahoo! News reported that more than 45 countries agreed to cut the quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna, a popular sushi fish that has been hurt by commercial fishing.

The final fee

Katie McVicker — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

At the Board of Regents meeting tomorrow, officials from the Graduate School will request approval for a $75 graduate-degree fee that would be charged to all graduate students when they file for graduation. While there was no fee before, the proposed fee will go toward administrative services related to graduation and will help alleviate cuts the school sustained last year.

The fee will help fund these changes to the system and will go towards developing a system for electronically submitting dissertations and theses. Electronic submission of these documents is quickly becoming the national standard, said Gerald J. Baldasty, the dean of the Graduate School, and the UW has not yet made the switch due to lack of essential funding.

Indeed, this fiscal year the Graduate School lost $900,000 in budget cuts. At the three UW campuses, about 3,300 students apply for graduation with a master’s or doctoral degree each year, so the graduate-degree fee would bring in about $250,000 for the Graduate School, which will be used largely to sustain and implement the new changes to graduation services.

In May 2009, the UW Internal Technology Audit reported that there were serious problems with the backup server for the Graduate School’s extensive technology network known as MyGradProgram. The audit discussed school’s inability to accept and process incoming admissions applications and to process graduations.

The fee would provide for services like reviewing graduation applications to certify that all requirements have been met, having individual consultations with master’s degree and doctoral candidates, operating the automated workflow process (the MyGradProgram) and implementing system enhancements.

“We don’t have the revenue to meet these needs, so that’s why we’re trying to do this,” Baldasty said. “This is a service; fees are for services.”

The university has spent about two years assessing the online graduation systems at other institutions and has to work now to implement similar services, Baldasty said.

“It’s time for us to do this, or else we’re going to fall way behind,” he said.

Baldasty pointed out that other universities, such as the University of Arizona and the University of Iowa, charge higher tuition than the UW and still require a similar fee for graduate-student services. However, Jake Faleschini, the Graduate Professional Student Senate president, isn’t sure that makes the fee ethical.

“It seems to me that this fee that would go towards something that is essential for graduate education, and if it is essential, in my opinion, this money should go through provost or tuition revenue,” Faleschini said. “There is precedent, but there isn’t precedent here at the university where no other departments have this sort of fee.”

Student Regent Ben Golden expressed similar concerns.

“While the benefits certainly outweigh the $75 cost, I am deeply concerned about the trend of new fees replacing costs previously covered by central operating funds,” Golden said in an e-mail to The Daily.

Provost Phyllis Wise said a fee would best cover the services because it increases transparency by linking the cost to specific activities. But despite this reasoning, Faleschini also worries that graduate students will perceive the fee as extortionate. Federal grants and other aid services that graduate students receive to help pay for their education will cover tuition charges, but they won’t cover additional fees.

“A graduate student is going to go through all of their time at UW and then get stopped at the gate and have to pay another 75 bucks,” he said. “I understand the bind that the grad school is in: They’re not going to be able to provide because their budget was so severely cut this year. I don’t blame the grad school; I blame the university.”

The fee could be implemented as soon as Friday, said Gary Quarfoth, the associate vice provost of Planning and Budgeting.

Quarfoth said in an e-mail to The Daily: “On the assumption that the Regents approve the new fee, it would go into effect immediately, i.e., any graduate student applying for graduation on or after Nov. 20.”

Reach reporter Katie McVicker at news@dailyuw.com.

Global citizens without borders

Marissa Beach — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

The illegality of human beings is a breeding ground for exploitation, cheap labor, civil unrest and outright war. Borders impose identities and make us blind to our own policies; they’re a guilt-free way of criminalizing our neighbors for migrating to survive, to travel, or to visit their families and friends. Why is it that multinational corporations, for example, have freedom to “live” wherever they want, but humans do not?

Immigration is nothing new, and neither is “the law.” We cannot learn from history if we do not know our history, and we should not abide by laws that are fixed on “isms,” like racism, sexism, classism and nationalism. Citizenship laws make people look like they’re from another planet (think “alien” or “illegal immigrant.”) They make humans into criminals for crossing boundaries and “stealing identities,” and for wanting to actually implement the international human-rights laws.

However, these human-rights “laws” are not quite laws, because they are nonbinding. They are recommendations. It isn’t happenstance, either, that governments choose which laws to keep, which to enforce and which to disregard. It’s purposeful amnesia and convenient political mantra.

After all, who actually believes that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” that “everyone has the right to leave any country, including his [or her] own,” and the right to “just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment”? And, who actually believes that all human beings deserve “equal pay for equal work,” and that all peoples have the right to “freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, should not necessarily apply to the United States, because we have our own rights — and reservations — about these “international” rights, too.

The United States reserves the right “to impose capital punishment on any person (other than a pregnant woman),” to define “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” under our constitutional amendments, to “treat juveniles as adults” in “exceptional circumstances,” and the “right to bear arms.”

According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, the U.S.-Mexico 190-mile wall is “10 times deadlier to migrants from Mexico during the past nine years [1995-2005] than the Berlin Wall to East Germans throughout its 28-year existence.”

The war in Iraq has resulted in at least 94,000 (up to 102,624) Iraqi civilian deaths and 4,363 U.S. military deaths, with more than 100,000 estimated wounded. By the end of this year, the U.S. government will hold more than 440,000 people in immigration custody in 400 facilities. God forbid we actually give them our rights.

This is contradictory to the image of peace and democracy, of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It also negates the fact that denying a woman’s right to choose is capital punishment; that treating juveniles as adults is inhumane; and that the Mexican-American War let us reap the natural resources of several southwestern states and deny citizenship to American Indians and former Mexican citizens.

We should build bridges, not walls, and join the movement for global citizenship. We could burn our passports, like to feminists who burned their bras (even though this is a myth) and peace protestors who burned their Vietnam draft cards. We seem to forget that we live in a borderless world, and that Einstein and John Nash were immigrant advocates — because they, too, considered themselves global citizens.

Reach contributing columnist Marissa Beach at opinion@dailyuw.com.

Mary Gates Hall to get a makeover

Joanna Nolasco — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Mary Gates Hall (MGH) is set to undergo restructuring, which is expected to streamline advising services and bring diversity to the center of campus.

Ed Taylor, vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, and Eric Godfrey, vice president and vice provost for Student Life, presented the MGH restructuring plan to the ASUW Board of Directors last week. The renovation will relocate several advising offices across campus into the building, thereby addressing logistical concerns with those resources being separated and centralizing academic services.

“Our students were accessing research opportunities in different spaces, in different parts of the campus,” Taylor said. “It makes sense for us to bring those efforts together.”

Sheila Edwards Lange, vice president and vice provost for Minority Affairs and Diversity, along with Taylor and Godfrey, initiated plans for these changes about four years ago.

In a report issued December 2005 by the Committee to Improve the UW Undergraduate Experience, which is comprised of several administrators of UW departments and facilities, one long-term goal listed was that: “The University must create and sustain a coordinated campus-wide guide to assist students in navigating the undergraduate experience. … The organization of a set of interactive student services designed for simplicity and access, and appealing to the full diversity of students, is the critical first step in this process. … An advising resource, for example, that allows students to explore interactively course and major opportunities and requirements would provide greater access to information.”

The offices that will be moved into the first floor of MGH include those for the Equal Opportunity Program, Early Identification Program, McNair Scholarship Program and the Lewis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, all of which are programs affiliated with the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and most of which were traditionally located in Schmitz Hall. They will collocate with the Career Center and the offices of Academic Advising, CLUE/Academic Support, First Year Programs and the Experiential Learning Program, which currently operate in MGH.

The Computer Resource Center will be displaced from MGH as a result of this endeavor. However, there are discussions to move this service into Odegaard Library and perhaps repurpose some space in the Allen Library for computer and technology support, Taylor said.

There have been preliminary conversations regarding what resources will occupy the spaces in Schmitz Hall that will be made available after the relocations, but there are no concrete plans yet, Godfrey said. They may provide relief for other offices in the building, such as the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Reconstruction will begin around June 2010, and the repurposing of MGH is tentatively scheduled to be completed by February 2011.

Unlike a number of other changes taking place in the operations of the UW, the repurposing of MGH is not driven by the budget crisis.

“At the time we started this conversation, we were experiencing a very strong and good budget, so the conversation was really more about values than about budget retrenchment,” Taylor said.

Upholding diversity is a value that has driven the conversation to a large extent.

“Students were accessing scholarships and scholarship information in different parts of campus, oftentimes separated by virtue of racial designation,” Taylor said. “We believe it’s time to actually bring that support and those services and resources together, and we believe that students are ready to engage with each other in very different ways.”

The cost of this endeavor is associated primarily with the renovation of the Computer Resource Center, the exact figures of which have not yet been finalized.

Apart from the Computer Resource Center, all other offices involved in the relocation process will be available in their current spaces during the renovation period.

Reach contributing writer Joanna Nolasco at news@dailyuw.com.

News media needs balance, more debate

Chris Jordan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

As a liberal, and an avid news consumer, there is no cable news channel that warms my heart more than MSNBC.

Why do I find MSNBC so appealing? The network made a business decision in recent years that it was good for ratings to move to the political left. With a few exceptions, strong liberal commentators like Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, and Chris Matthews have become the face of MSNBC.

The same trend is taking place on the opposite side of the cable divide. We’ve known for years that Fox News’ “Fair and Balanced” act was a charade, but since Obama’s election, they’ve taken it to a whole new level.

Fox was instrumental in relentlessly promoting the right-wing “tea parties,” even going so far as to inform its viewers of their times and locations. Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has been given his own talk show. Glenn Beck has also joined Fox and has seen his ratings skyrocket after labeling the president a racist.

While Fox and MSNBC have shifted further away from the center, CNN has largely stuck to simply covering the news.

Anchors Larry King, Wolf Blitzer, and Anderson Cooper rarely promote a politically slanted agenda on their shows. What’s been their reward? Declining ratings.

The trend toward more partisan news is clear. Cable stations are transitioning to more and more commentary, less and less hard news.

I’m not trying to argue that opinions are bad. Heck, I’d be out of a job if we didn’t have opinions in the media. But this trend seems to indicate that news stations are increasingly going to have to “pick sides” or suffer lower ratings, and citizens are getting more news from one-sided sources.

Simultaneously, high-profile stories of late have demonstrated the mainstream media’s obsession with the political angle over substantive discussion and debate.

A perfect example is coverage of the health care issue. Until several weeks ago, the phrase, “the public option is dead” was spouted on cable news, oh, about 10,231 times, by my count. We’ve seen endless stories about the “fate” of this proposal, but it’s hard to remember if there was even a serious and thorough discussion of its merits.

While partisan news sources are on the rise, we are seeing less and less debate of key issues. News channels obsess over the politics of health care — Will it pass? Are there enough votes? Obama’s approval rating is down! — without paying much attention to the actual components of reform.

It’s no wonder then, that less than half of Americans, 47 percent, say they are very or somewhat familiar with the details of the health-care legislation, according to a recent Washington Post survey. While Congress is on the verge of passing the most important reform in decades, most people don’t even know what is in the bill.

Thanks a lot, news media.

As we strive to be informed citizens, it is important that we make extra effort to get a range of perspectives instead of merely “picking a team.” One-sided news is becoming increasingly prevalent. So next time you’re watching MSNBC, consider switching over to Fox during the commercial break (I know it’s painful) just to see what they’re saying, or seek out conservative opinions elsewhere. The same idea applies if Fox News is the channel that warms your heart: Seek out other views.

As far as a robust debate in the news media goes, we can only hope that the recent trend reverses itself and consumers start to reward those programs that go truly in depth on the issues.

Reach columnist Chris Jordan at opinion@dailyuw.com.