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    TechniqueThe Souths Liveliest College Newspaper

    Atlanta ballet putson a stunning showat the Cobb Energy

    Center.415

    Friday, February 18, 2011 Volume 96, Issue 23 nique.net Beautycaptivates

    Good Samaritan

    Provision

    unveiled

    By Henry DuongContributing Writer

    e Student Regulation Committee of thefaculty senate approved the new Good Samari-tan Provision during its Tuesday meeting. Asa result, the Oce of the Dean of Students

    will add the Good Samar itan Provision to itsexisting policies governing alcohol consump-tion on campus. e provision will providesupport and conditional protection from Insti-tute disciplinary actions to students who pro-actively contact Institute sta or emergencypersonnel for any student whose judgmentor health is severely aected by alcohol con-

    sumption. e policy will go into eect onMarch 1.

    e primary intent of the Good SamaritanProvision is to further emphasize and safeguardthe health and safety of the members of theTech community. Its goal is to provide a morehealth and safety focused response to incidentsinvolving alcohol consumption within Tech,and shift the response away from being strictlydisciplinary.

    According to Assistant Dean of Studentsand Director of Student Integrity ChristopherSchmidt, the Good Samaritan Provision is theoutcome of research and study done by mem-bers of the Institute and outside consultants. Itis something that both the student body andthe administration had wanted. Its institution

    was through the work of SGA, the Alcohol TaskForce, the Alcohol Implementation Committee

    and the various administrative oces.In general, its a fantastic way to not let peo-ple be bystanders. It encourages our organiza-tions to take the better stance, to say this personis not well and needs medical attention. It pro-vides protection for both the organizations andstudents involved when they need to request as-sistance, said Shane Sandridge, president of theInterfraternity Council.

    More specically, the Good Samaritan Pro-vision applies to alcohol related policy violationsfrom students or student organizations underreview by the Oce of Student Integrity and/orthe Department of Housing.

    ese administrative bodies reserve the rightto determine whether or not the provision ap-plies to the incident based on the totality of thecircumstances.

    See Samaritan, page 4

    Dining hall set to open in June

    Photo by John Nakano / Student Publications

    The new dining acility has been ofcially LEED Gold certied, and a number o

    the new eatures in the building will allow it to use a little energy as possible.

    Photo by John Nakano / Student Publications

    Construction on the new dining hall began during Fall 2010, ollowing months

    o planning. The acility will be opened to students in the Fall 2011 semester.

    By TJ KaplanStaf Writer

    Construction of the new North Ave-nue Dining Facility, which began in May2010, is scheduled to be completed bythe end of this semester. A soft openingis scheduled for the summer semester in

    June, and the fac ility will be open to allstudents beginning in Fall 2011.

    According to Rich Steele, acting ex-

    ecutive director of Auxiliary Services,the new dining hall will occupy the retailspace previously facing North Avenueand is set to accommodate approximately300 people. e dining format will beall you care to eat, and will serve theTech community 24 hours a day, vedays a week.

    A variety of new menu options willbe made available to students at the newfacility, including Vietnamese Pho, Dim

    Sum and Chinese Wok. e facility willalso include the regular menu served atBrittain and Woodru dining halls, in-cluding pizza/pasta stations, salad bar,

    wings, fries, chee seburgers and tradition-al grill food.

    One of the main features of this newfacility is the ability of students to cus-tomize their meals. Not only will theynd more options and more exibility,but they will also nd healthier and moreunique choices, Steele said.

    Additionally, the construction bringsmany new changes to the North Avenuefacility, including a renovation of the rstoor of the North Avenue ApartmentsNorth Building, bringing the total spaceto 20,000 square feet.

    is project also includes improve-

    ments to the landscape and lightingalong North Avenue, and a renovation ofthe plaza leading up to the apartments.e new plaza will include both an eleva-tor for disability access and a water fea-ture that uses recycled water.

    Initial planning began for this proj-ect in March 2007 when Tech acquiredthe North Avenue apartments and hasbeen in development ever since. Fromthe beginning of the planning process,a bi-weekly meeting with student lead-ers from RHA and SGA has been held todetermine student views on the construc-tion project.

    Additionally, a student focus groupwas convened in early Feb. 2010 to pro-vide valuable feedback, and additionalfocus groups will be used as the project

    moves forward. Some of the concernsraised dealt with issues regarding thevariety of food choices, hours the estab-lishment will be open, and sustainabilitypractices that could be implemented.

    e design of the new dining hall al-lows for most of the food to be cookedand prepared in front of the custom-ers. e facility also includes featuressuch as a semi-private dining area, 30ft. long LED lit walls and custom-madesteel plating to allow for easy service andcleaning of xtures and cooking surfaces.

    A major improvement that this din-ing hall will see is its sustainable natureand LEED Gold certication. We haveput a number of features in this buildingthat allow it to use as little energy andresources as possible, said TP Bullock,

    Details surrounding new McCamish Pavilion announcedBy Maddie Cook

    Staf Writer

    e Georgia Tech BusinessNetwork hosted an informationalmeeting update Tuesday nightcalled rillerdome 2.0 detail-ing the reconstruction of the

    Alexander Memorial Coliseum(AMC), which will now be callede Hank McCamish Pavilion(HMP).

    e McCamish family has pre-viously donated to Tech anony-

    mously, but their name will beused in this $15 million dona-tion. e total estimated cost forthe pavilion is $45 million, as ap-proved by the Board of Regentslast Oct.

    Tech Athletic Director DanRadakovich began the meeting by

    sharing updated photos and infor-mation about the reconstructionof the facility.

    Radakovich reviewed the rea-sons for the reconstruction, detail-ing the cost to the Athletic Asso-ciation of maintaining the AMC.Short-term, midterm and long-term costs totaled approximately$23 million in repairs.

    e HMP aims to qualify fora few dierent construction stan-dards. One goal is to qualify forthe LEED certication. Water

    will be collected on the roof andstored in cisterns underground forirrigation purposes. Other LEEDpoints will be gained by replac-ing xtures in the bathrooms, alighting system that will turn oautomatically at midnight andhave scheduled times to turn on

    for games and practices. A newwater-based cooling system willalso be set up, which will havemechanical features to preserveenergy when the facility is not be-ing used.

    Another set of construct ionstandards the arena is hoping tomeet are the the ones set by the

    American Disability Associat ion.erefore, the facility will requirean installation of a miles worth ofrailing.

    Trevor Pitt, from Whiting-

    Turner Contracting, leads the re-construction as project manager.A Tech alumnus, Pitt highlightedthat 90 percent of waste from thereconstruction will be recycled.

    e interior of the arena willPhoto courtesy of Victor Lee / Student Publications

    Athletic Director Dan Radakovich gives a presentation detailing

    the latest construction plans or the Hank McCamish pavilion.

    See Hall, page 5

    See Pavilion, page 6

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    2 February 18, 2011 Technique NEWS

    POLL OF THE WEEKWhat kind of programming do you enjoy on WREK?

    25%Just Jazz

    60%Rock, Rhythm, Roll

    3%The Classics

    12%ElectricBoogaloo

    Next issues

    question:

    Tell us at

    nique.net

    What do you

    think about the

    Good Samaritan

    Policy?

    Based on 52 responses

    Founded in 1911, the Techniqueis the student newspaper of theGeorgia Institute of Technology, and is an ocial publication of theGeorgia Tech Board of Student Publications. e Technique publisheson Fridays weekly during the fall and spring and biweekly during thesummer.

    Advertising :Information and rate cards can be found online atnique.net/ads. e deadline for reserving ad space is Friday at 5 p.m.one week before publication. To place a reservation, for billing infor-mation, or for any other questions please e-mail us at [email protected].

    You may reach us by telephone at (404) 894-2830, Monday throughFriday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

    CoverAge requests:Requests for coverage and tips should besubmitted to the Editor-in-Chief and/or the relevant section editor.

    TechniqueThe Souths Liveliest College Newspaper

    offiCe:

    353 Ferst Dr., Room 137Atlanta , GA 30332-0290Telephone: (404) 894-2830Fax: (404) 894-1650

    editor-in-Chief:

    Hahnming [email protected]: (404) 894-2831

    Copyright 2011, Hahnming Lee, Editor-in-Chief, and by the GeorgiaTech Board of Student Publications. No part of this paper may be reproducedin any manner without written permission from the Editor-in-Chief or fromthe Board of Student Publications. e ideas expressed herein are those of theindividual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board ofStudent Publications, the students, sta, or faculty of the Georgia Institute ofTechnology or the University System of Georgia.

    First copy freefor additional copies call (404) 894-2830

    news editor: Vijai Narayanan / [email protected] editor: Matt Homan / [email protected] editor: Kamna Bohra / [email protected] editor: Patricia Uceda / [email protected] editor: Alex Mitchell / [email protected]

    followusonline:http://nique.net

    Twitter: @the_nique

    By Matt SchrichteContributing Writer

    From the les of the GTPD...

    Campus Crime

    Cover up

    GTPD arrested a male suspecton the second oor of the Stu-dent Center on charges of publicindecency and criminal trespass.

    Police responded to a report of aman exposing himself just out-side of the Student Center com-puter lab around 1 p.m. on Feb.12. Upon arriving, the respond-ing ocer observed a black male

    with the top of his penis exposedthrough the y of his jeans. esubject was holding a small bookand touching himself inappropri-ately. According to the police re-port, he appeared to be staring ata female seated nearby. e ocer

    placed the subject under arrest af-ter ordering him to cover himselfand stand up.

    Going green

    A driver operating a ToyotaPrius was arrested for possessionof marijuana after being pulledover for a broken passenger-sidetail light on Feb. 13. e arrestingocer noticed an odor of marijua-na emanating from the car.Policefound a Ziploc back with whatthey believed to be marijuana lo-cated in the center console of thecar. e suspect stated that thebag was his and was arrested forpossession of marijuana. e sub-

    ject was also issued a citation for abroken tail light.

    Tags and bagsOn Monday, Feb. 14, an ocer

    pulled over a silver truck after no-ticing an improper drive out tag.e ocer called for backup afterthe truck took an extended periodof time to come to a stop. edriver didnt roll down his win-dow until the ocer approached.e ocer immediately smelled a

    marijuana odor.With the driver still in thefront seat, the ocer noticed agreen leafy substance near wherethe driver was sitting. e driver

    was then taken to the rear of thevehicle and patted down. While

    walking around the vehicle afterhis search, the ocer noticed asmall bag containing a green leafysubstance. e suspect was placedunder arrest and transported toFulton County Jail.

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    Technique February 18, 2011 3NEWS

    Bill Amount GSS UHR

    Bill Summary

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

    Council ClippingsThis week in Student Government

    By Mike Donohue, SGA Editor

    Each week, this section includes coverage of di erent aspects of StudentGovernment, including the Undergraduate House of Representatives,Graduate Student Senate and the Executive Branch of both governments.

    Fee resolution

    e Graduate Student Sen-

    ate voted unanimously to expressits concern over the high cost ofmandatory fees during its meetingon Tuesday morning. GraduateStudent Body President AnthonyBaldridge authored the resolution,

    which will be submitted to theInstitutes administration and theBoard of Regents.

    e resolution states that thefees cost graduate students overtwo months of their typical re-search stipends and that Techranks sixth among its peer institu-tions for the total cost of manda-tory fees. e Senators identiedthe Academic Excellence Fee as apoint of contention, saying thatconcern is explicitly raised overthe Academic Excellence Fee due

    to a lack of transparent purposeand student input and the inabil-ity to discuss its imposition uponthe graduate student body.

    e Senate said that the highcost of fees has an adverse eecton the recruitment and retentionof graduate students. While Sena-tors recognized that fees are nec-essary for the operation of certaincampus services, they asked theadministration to review the wayfees are determined and charged

    to students.Senate Secretary James Black

    submitted the resolution andan accompanying letter fromGraduate SGAs executive boardto Techs adminsitration andthe Board of Regents. e let-ter, signed by each executive o-cer including Baldridge, laid outsome specic suggestions for im-provement and further developedthe points raised in the resolution.

    Fees, as a single topic, repre-sent one of the most signicant is-sues that aect the entire graduatepopulation, the letter said. Ad-ressing the Academic ExcellenceFee specically, the executiveboard asks that Techs adminis-tration and the Board of Regentsto address the possibility of theinclusion of the Academic Excel-

    lence Fee into tu ition.[Fees represent] a true nan-

    cial burden to graduate students,as well as undergraduates, for thatmatter. Many graduates are self-reliant and rely solely on theirstipends as their only source ofincome, which raises my concernthat these high fees are puttinga heavy nancial burden uponthe entire graduate student bodythat might be a dierent situationcompared to undergraduate stu-

    dents, Baldridge said in an email.Undergraduate SGA, however,

    does not wish to join in this eortto revise the fee structure.

    e Graduate Student Senatecertainly has the right to expressthemselves and what they feel isthe best interest of their constitu-ents, said Undergraduate StudentBody President Corey Boone. I

    have always said to the Board ofRegents that the mandatory Stu-dent Excellence Fee is cumber-some on everyone, and it shouldbe repealed immediately. But Idont think joining in with thegraduates would achieve anythingin the sense that the role of the un-dergraduate is dierent than thatof the graduate.

    Saying that graduates and un-dergraduates are distinct becausegraduates are paid for their re-search and undergraduates pay tolearn at Tech, Boone said that theundergraduates have been raisingconcerns about fees to the admin-istration and the BoR in a dier-ent manner.

    In response to the resolution

    and letter, Institute President G.P.Bud Peterson sympathized withthe graduates eorts and said he

    was committed to working on theissue.

    Our guiding principles areto ensure transparency and ac-countability for the spending ofthese student fees, including the

    Academic Excellence Fee; andto ensure that the fringe benetsfor graduate students, which cur-rently include $100 in the fall and

    spring semesters, are appropriatelyadministered, Peterson said inan email statement referring tohealth and similar benets.

    e Board of Regents will dis-cuss fees during its April meeting.e Board of Regents appreci-ates the input of the Georgia TechGraduate SGA on this important

    issue, said John Millsaps, Associ-ate Vice Chancellor of Media &Publications for the Board of Re-gents in an email statement.

    e [Academic ExcellenceFee] is currently scheduled to sun-set on June 30, 2012.

    WAM

    e Undergraduate Houseof Representatives waived JointFinance Committee Policy andvoted 47-1-0 to allocate $1072 to

    Grad. Career SymposiumFee Resolution

    Senator AppointmentBlack Leadership Conference

    Triple Helix

    Table TennisProgress and Service Award

    $1912.50------

    $2239.38$1744.82

    $500$2000

    31-1-035-0-0

    Pass22-1-021-2-0

    23-0-0---

    ---------

    45-1-149-0-1

    47-0-047-1-1

    Prior Year: $ 121,584 Capital Outlay: $381,295

    Womens Awareness Month. eorganization originally requested$5453, but JFC recommendedcutting 85 percent of that amount.

    JFC Cha ir Brad Bauerkemper de-fended the cuts during debate bysaying that too much money inthe original bill would go towardsdecorations. JFC recommended

    allocating only $50 towards thatpurpose. After amending the billaccording to JFCs recommenda-tions, representatives noticed that$231 in funds for candles used forthe Take Back the Night event hadbeen cut because JFC ruled thatthey were decorations. Take Backthe Night is a candlelit vigil whichraises awareness of sexual assaultagainst women. Representativesvoted to waive policy and to resin-state funding.

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    4 February 18, 2011 Technique NEWS

    e provision states that if astudent assists another in receiv-ing appropriate assistance fromInstitute sta or emergency per-sonnel, then that student, as wellas those who are assisted, will notbe subject to Institute or Housingdisciplinary action with respect tothe incident. It goes on to statethat this provision only applies ifthe intoxicated students involved

    agree to complete any recom-mended treatment or educationdeemed appropriate by the Oceof Student Integrity.

    e current student conductpolicies regarding alcohol viola-tions would typically result innes, probation and other disci-plinary consequences for alcoholrelated incidents. However, withthis provision, there is more ofan opportunity for more forgiv-ing disciplinary actions under thespecied circumstances.

    If determined to be protectedby the provision, the studentsocial school record would notdocument the incident. It typi-cally applies to rst time oend-ers. Repeat oenses are strictly

    scrutinized, and the provisiondoes not apply to repeated and de-liberate violations of policies. Itsnot meant to be used as a get-out-of-jail-free card, said MatlockRogers, vice president of studentorganizations of SGA.

    I think its a good thing, saidOlivia Gibson, third-year ISyEmajor. It will make me morelikely to call for help in situations

    when I know that Im not going toget into trouble with the school.

    Campus Construction Updatese temporary weather

    barriers in the building havebeen removed in order toacccomodate the newglass plates on the facadeof the building. einstallation is nearly

    complete on three sidesof the building and theroof monitors, shown

    here on the left. esewindows will provide natu-

    ral light into the atrium.

    P r o g r e s son the landscape

    work surroundingthe CULC has beendelayed due to poor

    weather earlier in theyear. Still, undergroundpipes are being installed,

    materials have been or-dered and the contrac-tor is continuing tograde the site.

    At the transithub, workers have

    put erosion control andtree protection measuresin place. Work has beencompleted on the demoli-tion of the parking lot, anda storm installation is stillunderway. e work onthe transit hub shouldbe completed by Dec.2011

    Partial demolition of theseating area near the Campa-nile is under way. e areasurrounding the Campa-

    nile has been barricaded,creating a pathway be-tween the campanile con-struction and the CULCsite. Work will soon beginto reinstall and repair the

    fountains water systems.

    Samaritan from page 1

    Photos by Chris Russell / Student Publications

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    6 February 18, 2011 Technique NEWS

    www.nique.net

    sliver

    where are the lecture crashers? come back!CS = death, and a slow and painful one at thatMy roommate walked from West to East campus to watch someboys build a computerTo people on the ledge Friday night: sorry for leaving. Wouldlike to meet yall. If you go back there and ask around for thehomecoming guy you can nd me :)I saw the buritto lady on Marta!Molly hands down has the best taste in eece socks that I haveever seen.

    Shaving your head to look like Brad Pitt in Oceans 12 is the newcool thing to do.I wonder if Brittain realizes how much food gets stolen out of thedining hall in those white cups...I cant believe I drunk dialed my parents.Dear GT Police, thank you for patrolling Home Park. It feelssafer. Love, Resident of Home Park

    Advisor wants me to do research, department wants me to studyfor prelim exam.piedmont hospital icu room 752 - thats where the parties at!ece3085 cute blonde girl: i am smitten when you ask intelligentquestions I am to lazy to ask in lectureswimmers have abs, abs, abs!

    whats w ith all the hello-copters ying around campus? isnt itloud enough without them?

    justin beiber movie!!! !!blah blah blah homework blah blah blah tiredPretty girl with ha zel eyes/brown hair working at library circula-tion. Not man enough to talk to you, will appreciate from afarthe only thing worse than t-square is our basketball teamI was happy about a 70 on a test... wthgirl who came and sat down nex t to me in van leer hallway: yourecute. show me a siigggnnnnne above poll needs a I dont like any of their music option.kid who entered the wrong classroom in skiles, you chose wiselyto leave; AVS is not your friend

    technique

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    have many changes, specicallyto the concourse. All conces-sions will be located on one sideof the concourse, while the otherside will include a view into theplaying area. e width will beincreased so that more people cantravel through the concourse. econcourse will not cover the fullperimeter of the stadium.

    In the seating and court area,

    new features will be added suchas a four-sided scoreboard andbenched, backed seating. A newcourt will be installed, but theCremins Court title will remain.

    e seating capacity will hold ap-proximately 8800 seats, about 300seats less than AMC.

    Currently, over 20 Tech alum-ni are involved in the reconstruc-tion project. Seven are on thedesign team, seven on generalcontracting, four in mechanicalengineering and ve in electricalengineering.

    Construction will begin inApril after the mens teams lasthome game against Miami on

    March 7. e demolition is to oc-cur in the beginning of July. eHMP is scheduled to open Oct.2012.

    As for the 2011-12 basketball

    seasons, the mens team will beplaying 14 games at Philips Are-na, and the womens team will beplaying at the Gwinnett Arena.

    e Alumni Association andGeorgia Tech Real Estate AlumniGroup jointly hosted the event,sponsored by Whiting-TurnerContracting. Radakovich alsodiscussed the exterior features ofthe building. e new facility willeliminate the current gates cur-rently surrounding the perimeter

    of the property in eort to makethe complex more inviting.e HMP will include a court-

    yard that can hold crowds up450-475 people to socialize before

    the games. e courtyard will benamed the William AlexanderCourtyard to honor the formerfootball coach.

    e event included a panel dis-cussion featuring Sachin Shailen-dra, the president of SG Contract-ing, Norman Friedman, associateprincipal of Populous and TrevorPitt, AMC project manager for

    Whiting-Turner Contracting.e architectural rm, Popu-

    lous, has previously worked on

    projects such as the Yankee Sta-dium, New York Mets Citi Field,Philips Arena and the BobbyDodd Stadium addition.

    Other Athletic Association

    construction materializing oncampus includes the footballpractice eld coming this Aug., anew tennis facility and a potentialrevamp of the golf facility for themens golf team.

    Radakovich noted that Techrebuilds its facilities for new peo-ple coming to Tech. Accordingto Lucius Sanford, director of theLetterwinners Club, there is also amotive to build to appeal for per-spective student-athletes. As pro-

    spective recruits consider whichschool to attend, a new basketballfacility could go a long way to-

    wards convincing them to at tendTech.

    Pavilion from page 1

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    Technique February 18, 2011 7NEWS

    Home Depot CEO explains business philosophy

    Photo by Sho Kitamura / Student Publications

    Blake spoke about his personal experiences in business and

    industry. The event was moderated by MGT Dean Steve Salbu.

    By Emily CardinAssistant News Editor

    Chairman and CEO of eHome Depot, Frank Blake, dis-cussed his own unique leader-ship style with MGT studentsand others as a part of the ird

    Annual omas R. Williams Dis-

    tinguished Lecture series. Heldin the LeCraw Auditorium in theManagement building, the eventdrew a number of students, fac-ulty and Home Depot employees.

    e Williams Lecture is a spe-cial event of the IMPACT Speak-er Series, organized by GeorgiaTechs Institute for Leadershipand Entrepreneurship. It is namedin honor of omas R. Williams,a 1950 graduate of Tech who diedin 2002.

    e talk was moderated byDean of the College of Manage-ment, Steve Salbu, and began

    with an introduction by RachelGates, third-year MGT major.Gates gave a brief backgroundabout the history of the Home

    Depot company and its experi-ence in philanthropic and youth-focused activities.

    According to Gates, e HomeDepot brings in over $66 millionin revenue and is ranked 29thon the Fortune 500 list. She alsosaid that Blake is known for hisquiet-mannered leadership style,though Blake refuses to take thecredit.

    I have learned a lot of things[about management] from many

    people, Blake said. I haveworked for a lot of extraordinaryleaders, who have each left a markon my ability to lead.

    Salbu asked Blake several ques-tions relating to career paths,resumes, and general career di-rection. Blake oered a uniqueperspective to the students in at-tendance as a former attorney

    with exper ience in many dierentelds.

    Dont worry about titles,Blake said. People can get toopath focused. Careers are a pro-gression of solving more and moredicult problems. Look for those

    challenges and work in an areathat excites you. Participate insomething that you are passionateabout.

    Gaining insight from formerbosses, Blake has worked with avariety of famous leaders, includ-ing George W. Bush Sr. and JohnJack Welch, business guru andformer Chairman and CEO ofGeneral Electric. Blake workedfor Bush when Bush was Vice-President and learned the powerof recognizing excellent workfrom him.

    At the start of each day, [Bush]would spend an hour a day typing

    out notes to people. e feelingafter receiving one of those notes

    was indescribable. He showed mehow much we all thrive on recog-nition.

    From Welch, Blake learned toemphasize simplicity in each andevery business interaction in thecompany.

    [Welch] always said that ifyou cant express something sim-ply, then you dont understand itcompletely. Now, around the of-ce, I say that a manager must beable to absorb simplicity up anddrive complexity down.

    Blake has taken these lessonsand applied them to his currentbusiness model, radically chal-lenging the existing businessmodel that was in place when hetook over the role of CEO threeyears ago.

    Customers are our companyslifebloodand the sole reason

    we have been able to build sucha successful company is becauseof their support, Blake said inresponse to numerous complaints

    about customer service raised ina 2007 MSN Money article byScott Burns. e only way weregoing to continue to be successfulis by regaining [the customers]trust and condence...and we willdo that.

    In concordance with thatpromise, Blake has made somesignicant structural changes toaddress the new challenges thatface e Home Depot. e HomeDepot owned several dierent

    business lines, targeting govern-ment contracts and large-scaleindustrial buyers. According toBlake, these businesses were allsold to oer a course correction,allowing e Home Depot tofocus solely on improving theirbrick-and-mortar retail store ex-perience.

    e Home Depot has insti-tuted a new measure to help im-prove customer service. A veritablepower hour, associate stores arerequired to spend approximatelyfour hours each weekday and ev-ery weekend to do nothing butcustomer service.

    About half of our operatinghours is spent tasking, or do-ing what is necessary to keep thestore running, Blake said. Asso-ciate stores are required to spenda minimum amount of time nottasking, but instead focusing onmeeting the needs of customers.

    With a unique backgroundspanning a variety of dierentelds including government, lawand energy, Blake brings a unique

    perspective to a competitive com-pany.

    Hearing Mr. Blake speak wasa great pleasure, said DouglasCox, a rst-year ME major. It

    was easy to tell that he is a verydown-to-earth man in spite of be-ing Chairman and CEO of sucha large company. It was also veryfascinating to hear how his re-sume spans the many elds, mak-ing him an extremely knowledge-able and versatile leader.

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    I dont mean to be rude, butHahnming Lee [Constitutiondegraded printed on Feb. 4] isclearly misinformed about ei-ther the First Amendment or

    what was stated between Sena-tor Coons and Mrs. ODonnell.Lees assertion that, ...[separationof church and state] is not in theFirst Amendment, seems a bitmuch, given that the rst sentenceof said amendment is Congressshall make no law respecting anestablishment of religion, or pro-hibiting the free exercise thereof.Senator Coons didnt claim that

    the literal phrase separation ofChurch and State is in the First

    Amendment. He stated that theFirst Amendment establishes theseparation, the fact that the fed-eral government shall not estab-lish any religion, which is to me,a logical paraphrasing of the above

    wording. ODonnell was clearlywrong in this case.

    Brian PogioliFirst-year AE

    Commencement plansunderwhelming

    I just wanted to write and ex-press my sincere disappointment

    with Masters graduation ceremo-ny this Spring. Not only is it onMothers Day...I hope [InstitutePresident G.P.] Bud [Peterson]

    and Val [Peterson] dont mindgiving up their Sunday and holi-day to listen to not only Mastersstudents being announced one-by-one, but Bachelors studentsas well. I had come to terms withbeing bored to tears for a fewhours while you announced bach-elors students at high noon onSunday, but to top it o we nowmust be subjected to the mus-ings of the CEO of Wal-Mart.I cant wait to hear all about so-cially responsible business prac-tices from such an outstanding

    company. Really? I am amazed atTechs inability to enlist someone

    OpinionsTechnique

    8Friday,

    February 18, 2011

    An economist is a man who states theobvious in terms of the incomprehensible.

    Alfred Knopf

    Opinions Editor: Matt Hofman

    OUR VIEWS Consensus opinion

    Promising policyGood Samaritan policy allows for better behaviore goal of the Good Samaritan

    provision is simple: help prevent seriousharm to students who made a baddecision. Underage drinking has longbeen well ingrained into collegiate society.Time and time again, attempts to preventstudents from partaking in such activitieshave caused students to fear calling forhelp when a fellow student has consumeddangerous amounts of alcohol. Whiledrinking in such excess is by no meansresponsible or acceptable, it is equally

    irresponsible to discourage students fromseeking help in such a situation becausepotential penalties could be hanging overthe heads of rst-time oenders.

    College serves both as an academicand social learning environment. Bygiving students and organizations onefree pass when helping a person in need ofmedical assistance, students will have theobvious option and feel safer when facinga situation that they have not foundthemselves in. Hopefully, the provision

    will allow students to learn from theunfortunate experience without majorphysical harm.

    is policy is sensible in its endeavors,and students must be made aware of it.Interfraternity Council and other studentorganizations need to take the time toexplain the nature of the policy andthe reasoning behind it. If students areunaware of the policy, then it is useless.e administration should also considerother policies that encourage safer

    behavior in light of poor decision making.Ultimately, though, the eectivenessof this policy lies with the students. Ifstudents make the wise decision to besafe in social situations, then there wouldno need for this policy to begin with.e student body as a whole must workto make the policy obsolete through theencouragement of responsible behavior.But until that time comes, students mustnot hesitate to seek medical assistance fortheir friend when needed.

    EDITORIAL CARTOON By CASEy TISDEL

    yOUR VIEWS Letterstothe editor

    First amendment

    misunderstood

    Te Consensus Opinion reects the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of theTechnique, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.

    TechniqueEditorial BoardHahnming Lee, Editor-in-Chief

    Vivian Fan,Managing EditorKate Comstock, Business Manager

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

    Alex Mitchell, Sports EditorVijai Narayanan, News EditorNishant Prasadh, Online Sports EditorChris Russell, Online Editor

    Jarrett Skov, Photo EditorPatricia Uceda, Entertainment Editor

    Write to us:[email protected]

    We welcome your letters inresponse to Technique content as

    well a s topics relevant to campus .We w ill print letters on a timelyand space-available basis.

    Letters should not exceed 400words and should be submitte d byTuesday at 7 p.m. in order to beprinted in the following Fridaysissue. Include your full name, year(1st, 2nd, etc.) and major. We re-serve the right to edit for style and

    length. Only one submission perperson will be printed per term.

    Comcast-NBC dealposes risk to press

    See Letters, Page 10

    By Anusree GargThe Lantern

    Eugene, Ore.roughoutmy higher education I have heardcyberspace referred to as a place

    where consumers wield a greatdeal of power. My professors havecited blogging and social net-

    working as tools that will ensureour Internet freedom.

    I have lived in this fantasyworld, believing in earnest thatmaybe the power really had shift-ed from the hands of the produc-ers to the consumers.

    ose days are over.With the FCC approval of the

    Comcast-NBC Universal mergeron Jan. 18, any hope for net neu-trality has been washed away withthe sewage. Comcast owns moretelecommunications lines andcontrols more Internet connec-tions than any other service pro-vider in the nation.

    e company has been caught

    slowing down trac and even pri-oritizing data and information onits servers. And now it controls theface of that information.

    Comcast, as an Internet serviceprovider, owns the framework andpipelines of the Internet in ourcountry. e company is, in es-

    sence, a distributor and providerof the means by which we receiveand transmit our information.is used to be a minor topic inour eld of discourse, but now wehave reason to be seriously con-cerned.

    For example, take Tracy Re-cord, who covers local news inthe West Seattle neighborhood.In light of ve major corpora-tions owning the vast majorityof American media, she and herhusband have taken it upon them-selves to cover local news in theirneighborhood.

    Tracy writes the articles, herhusband, Patrick, sells the adsand their middle school-aged sonedits the photos. e family notonly supports itself this way; theyprovide relevant news to theircommunity supported by localadvertisers. Like many bloggers,they use WordPress, an extremelycheap Web publishing platform tomanage the content.

    Before this pinnacle merger,the family had a fair opportu-nity to distribute its informationthrough the Internet. Using tech-niques like search engine optimi-zation, they could inform and em-

    See Merger, Page 10

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    Technique February 18, 2011 9OPINIONS

    As the global demand forenergy rises, the world faces adaunting array of challengesin order to supply energy in aclean and aordable manner.e U.S. is taking a huge gam-ble by neglecting the adoptionof clean energy sources, allow-ing emerging economies like

    China to take the lead in man-ufacturing renewable energyproducts such as wind turbinesand solar panels.

    According to the Interna-tional Energy Agency (IEA),approximately $26 trillion willbe spent on the worlds energyinfrastructure between 2010and 2035. is investmentpresents an unprecedentedopportunity for economicgrowth. e country that po-sitions itself as the center forinnovation and manufactur-ing of clean energy technologystands to benet tremendouslyover the coming decades.

    e private sector in Amer-ica has been unable to com-

    mercialize many clean techinnovations due to the lack ofa long term energy policy. Inthe meantime, the EuropeanUnion (EU) and China haveled the push for the adoptionof clean energy technologies,many of which were origi-nally developed in the U.S. If

    America hopes to remain com-petitive in this rapidly growingmarket, the government mustdevelop a national energy poli-cy that puts forth a clear set ofincentives and goals for com-panies to pursue.

    Clean energy legislation has

    been led thus far by progressivestate governments interested inattracting more manufactur-ing jobs. A state-led initiativeto make the energy transitionhas several disadvantages. Dueto the high xed costs associ-ated with manufacturing anddeploying energy technologies,companies require condencethat their investment will payo in the long term.

    A national Feed-in Tarithat mandates utilities to pur-chase a portion of their baseload from renewable energysources would go a long waytowards encouraging compa-

    nies and investors to pursuemore domestic projects.

    Furthermore, the establish-ment of a nationwide targetfor renewable electricity gen-eration and a strategic planfor Americas energy mix willencourage companies to set-up domestic manufacturingplants. During his State of theUnion address four weeks ago,President Obama set a goal toproduce 80 percent of Ameri-cas electricity from clean ener-gy sources. is is an extreme-ly ambitious task that requireslong term planning on the part

    of government and industry.e most immediate man-

    date of a national energy policyshould be to eliminate Ameri-cas dependence on foreignoil. According to the CensusBureau, over $1.3 trillion wasspent on oil imports over thepast four years, accountingfor nearly half of the nationstrade decit. Between 2000and 2008, the price of gaso-line shot up from $1 to nearly$4.20 per gallon, adding anaverage annual burden of$3200 on each household. Byproviding tax credits to electricvehicle consumers and subsi-

    dizing battery and vehicle re-search, the federal governmentcan hasten the transition to anoil-independent economy.

    As the transportation sec-tor shifts to become less oil-dependent, the demand forelectricity will rise, making re-newable sources such as windand solar more economicallyviable. e federal governmentmust ensure that America has amanufacturing base capable ofsupplying this demand by in-vesting in vocational programsto create a highly-skilled laborforce.

    According to a report pub-lished by the Pew ResearchCenter, China spent over$34.6 billion on clean energycommercialization in 2009,exceeding the U.S. by $18.6billion. is trend must bereversed if the U.S. hopes toprevent emerging economies

    from out-competing Ameri-can rms for domestic cleanenergy projects.

    Some say that the federalgovernment should not inter-vene to help clean technolo-gies be more viable, and thatany solution to our energycrisis must be driven solely byprivate industry. While I agree

    with this sentiment, the cur-rent energy ecosystem is setupto unfairly favor conventionalenergy sources.

    ere are also those whoargue that now is not the timefor a massive government ledinvestment in clean energy,

    with the rising national debtand high unemployment.

    Most experts agree that cleanenergy investments can helpthe U.S. lower its unemploy-ment rate and lead to econom-ic growth. If not now, when?

    Solving the energy prob-lem will be one of the den-ing challenges of my genera-tion. e federal governmentmust act now and provide anational energy strategy thataddresses all the issues facingthe industry today. Doing so

    will return manufacturingjobs to America and providelong term economic growthand prosperity.

    Comprehensive energy policy lackingAccording to the Census

    Bureau, $1.3 trillion was spenton oil imports over the past

    four years.

    Vijai NarayananNews Editor

    Chibueze IhenachoSecond-year ISYE

    Im not surprised that itwon.

    Parul KapurTird-year ME

    I think humans are now injeopardy.

    Loren WeaverTird-year CEE

    If we use this technologyproperly, it will be a good

    thing for us.

    Jerica RichardsonFourth-year BMED

    What is Watson?

    What do you think aboutWatson winning Jeopardy?

    BUZZAround Campus

    Baseball is nally back.With spring training in sessionand the college season startingo this weekend, its a beauti-ful time of year.

    For fans of college baseball,however, this season will havea distinctly dierent feel fromyears past. is weekendsgames will be the rst playedunder the latest round of alu-minum bat regulations, which

    were enacted by the NCAAover the summer. ese newregulations have sought to lim-it the capabilities of the metalbats by reducing the permittedlength of the sweet spot andaltering the testing policy usedto determine the power gener-ated by various bats.

    Prior to this season, a us-able bat was permitted to havea sweet spot, the part of thebat most eective at drivingthe ball upon contact, of up to22 inches. Truthfully, this mayhave been somewhat excessive,but the new regulations haveslashed the permitted sweetspot down to ve incheslessthan two baseball diameters.

    Along with this change, theNCAA has turned to a dier-ent testing method, one thatexamines what happens to thebat upon impact instead of

    the ball. Previously, the stan-dard was the Ball Exit SpeedRatio (BESR), which, as thename suggests, would measurethe speed of batted balls im-mediately after contact. Bats

    would only be approved foruse in college baseball if they

    fell within a certain BESRthreshold.

    e new standard is theBatted Ball Coecient ofResolution (BBCOR), whichinstead examines the trampo-line eect, an aspect of alumi-num bats that allows them toprovide additional power. etrampoline eect is essentiallynegligible for wooden bats,

    which have virtua lly no elas-tic properties, and as such theBBCOR seeks to severely limithow well aluminum bats cantake advantage of this eect.

    It is true that the newchanges will be very eec-tive in terms of increasingplayer and fan safety becausethe speed of balls hit into thestands will be reduced dra-matically. e problem withthese regulations is that they

    were not enacted in the name

    of safety; this was simply asecondary objective. e maingoal was to reduce the amountof oense that exists in themodern college game by forc-ing aluminum bats to performmore like wooden bats, whichnaturally are far less powerful.

    In many ways, the issue hasfallen into a battle betweenthose who favor the more of-fensive nature of the game andthose who prefer low-scoringaairs.

    Ever since USC defeatedArizona State 21-14 in thenational title game in 1998,there has been an eort toreduce the level of oense inthe modern game, and scoringhas generally decreased in theyears sincewith the notableexception of the past two sea-sons. Even with restrictions,though, oensive numbersin college baseball tend to bemuch more prolic than thosetypically seen among MLBteams. In 2010, the medianbatting average for the ACC

    was .303 whi le the median forthe pro circuit was .257.

    is begs a question: why is

    this a problem?While attendance at base-ball games at all levels corre-lates most directly with win-ning, home runs tend to sellmore tickets than pitchers du-els if all other things a re equal.e college game simply takes

    advantage of this. e ping ofan aluminum bat connecting

    with a ball is one of the iconicsounds of college baseball, andhigh-scoring oenses are col-lectively a traditional part ofthe game.

    Additionally, beyond thesimple matter of oense ver-sus pitching, one point thatdeserves more attention is theidea that these changes seek tomake the college game as simi-lar as possible to the MLB.

    One of the biggest issueswith college football and bas-ketball is that each is to somedegree a minor league of sortsfor its corresponding profes-sional league, diminishing theamateur aspect of each game.e eligibility system involvedin college baseball has allowedthe sport to avoid serving as ashort bridge to the MLB. eresult has been a better overallproduct, as college baseballhas developed its own identity

    with respect to the pro gameand yet just about every year,an increasing majority of MLBdraft picks are from the collegeranks.

    If the NCAA had pushedfor the new bat regulationsbased primarily on the groundsthat they would improve safe-

    ty, the organization wouldhave had a better case overall.eir current eort will likelydo little to improve the qual-ity of college baseball but willalmost certainly diminish theuniqueness and entertainmentvalue of the game.

    Changes to college bats for wrong reasonsThe eligibility system involvedin college baseball has allowedthe sport to avoid serving as a

    short bridge to the MLB.

    Nishant PrasadhOnline Sports Editor

    Photos by Jarrett Skov

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    10 February 18, 2011 Technique OPINIONS

    OUR VIEWS hotornot

    Dogs downede mens tennis team beat

    Bulldogs from that other stateschool for the rst time in 23years. Ironically enough, thelast time the Jackets beat theBulldogs, current mens tennisHead Coach Kenny orneand womens tennis HeadCoach Bryan Shelton were starplayers on Techs 1988 squad.Lets hope the football teamcan begin their own streakagainst the Dogs in the fall.

    HOT o r NOT

    Partially preparede news that the new din-

    ning hall will not be open onthe weekends seems ridicu-lous. e last time we checked,students still eat on Saturdaysand even Sundays. But onceagain, GT Dining has man-aged to make what could havebeen a very benecial additionto campus into a marginalizedextension of the already bro-ken system. Dining needs toreconsider its hours.

    Rubber plunderValentines Day is a day to

    express your love for the spe-cial person in your heart. Well,at least it is for some. For oth-ers, its an opportunity to buyan expensive dinner, expensiveroses and expensive candy inhopes at the end of the nightit all pays o. anks to thethoughtfulness of the Col-

    lege Democrats, Tech studentsdidnt have to spend any extramoney on condoms.

    Grammy gone Gagae publicity train known

    as Lady Gaga pulled into theGrammys on Sunday in anegg. While the meat dressmade people gag-gag, thisstunt was simply clich. eidea of coming out of an eggto sing a song titled Born this

    Way is about as origina l as thesong itself. But as just about

    everything else pop-culture, alack of originality is a key tosuccess.

    who could actua lly inspire thenext generation. Oh yeah, andfor that talk Tech throws aroundabout being so special and elite,Georgia State has former Presi-dent Jimmy Carter speaking on aSaturday.

    Andrea RattrayGrad. ARCH

    Stealing a T is notstealing the T

    A few days a go a conversationwith some Tech buddies turnedto the tradition of stealing the T.

    We discussed some dierent signsaround campus missing Ts andsome stories we knew about them.

    And then we decided that a num-

    ber of these stolen Ts just lookedbad, so we came up with a twonew guidelines for continuing thisrich Tech tradition.

    First, if youre going to steal aT, youve got to actually steal it.By this I mean, you have to beable to hold it in your hand afterthe act. So quit scraping Ts o ofStinger signs and campus maps.ose little white lings on theground no longer constitute a T,and instead of being clever, you

    have only succeeded in makingour campus look bad.Second, if youre going to steal

    a T, youve got to steal THE T.As any good Jacket knows, theorigins of stealing the T are foundat the top of Tech tower. Whenthe Magnicent Seven rst stolethe T in 1969, they scaled a towerthat read TECH and descended

    from one that read ECH. eydidnt climb halfway up, lookover, and decide to steal the Tout of D. M. Smith instead. Sono more Ts out of Insititute, orFerst, or stinger route, or anyother word that isnt Tech.

    I neither promote nor frownupon students trying to steal theT. Short of the Reck itself, I cantthink of a single emblem of TechId like to take with me after I getout more that a nice ve foot tall

    T. And thats sort of the point; ifyoure going to steal the T, therehas to be meaning behind it.

    Whether its making memorieswith some fr iends, stealing one totake with you later or just stealingone to prove that you can, therehas to be signicance to the act.

    Chris Rodesneyird-year PHYS

    Letters rom page 8

    Merger rom page 8

    power their community.Well, now the West Seattle

    blog will have to compete with amerged media and distributioncompany that can prioritize infor-mation. Interestingly enough, theFederal Communications Com-

    mission (FCC) insists this mergeris in the interest of American con-sumers.

    When Comcast can silenceits critics, it will be dicult forsuch a ludicrous statement to re-ceive any backlash. Previous tothis conjoining of two major me-dia conglomerates, we had hopefor freedom of information. Ourfree speech rights in the U.S. weresomething many countries in the

    world could hardly begin to evendream of.

    We were a paradigm for free-dom of speech. Now that speechcan be controlled, manipulated oreven silenced.

    e internet was the fth es-

    tate. It was a forum for watch-dogs to keep our fourth estatemedia in check. Techniques of

    web advertising were the Wild

    West, with technology entre-preneurs creating new marketsaround the world for informationon an hourly basis.

    But now we are entering anew world of cyberspace: a world

    where NBC Universal w ill be thevehicle for propelling the econom-ic interests of Comcast.

    We live in a world where blog-gers can be supressed, independent

    Web developers are imprisonedand information entrepreneursare left fresh out of options. Andone government organization is toblame.

    e FCC wields a great dealof power of who speaks to it. Itregulates satellite, radio and TVtransmissions. It controls owner-ship rules that most of the U.S.does not even know exist. eselaws regulate how many televisionor radio stations a single ownercan own, or whether newspaperscan own television stations, andhow many. ese are regulationsthat are supposed to ensure di-

    verse ownership of media, whichsubsequently encourages a fairnessof ideas.

    e concentration of media

    in the hands of fewer and fewercorporations is not a new develop-ment, but the reforms in the lasttwo decades have been astonish-ing.

    In 1983, more than 80 per-cent of the media was controlledby just 50 companies. By 1992,that number had been more than

    halved to 14. By 2010, the over-whelming majority of the massmedia was owned by only vecorporations. At this point, theFCC has relaxed ownership rulesso much that fairness in media isnearly impossible to achieve. Wehave a set of changes that willmove us in exactly in the wrongdirection.

    Comcast-NBC can now domi-nate the dialogue of our commu-nities, moving it in whatever di-rection that satises its investorsand advertisers. Alternative ideasfrom independent media compa-nies will become nearly impos-sible, as Comcast can prioritizeinformation at will. It will control

    the reservoir of information, thepipelines and the dams.I fear for the day when it buys

    Facebook or Google.

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    [email protected]

    Focus Editor:Kamna Bohra

    Technique

    11Friday,

    February 18, 2011

    @GTLibrary: The Library on the Radio?Today at noon on WREK 91.1 FM. Streamslive at noon http://wrek.org and onfacebook at http://lostinthestacks.org

    Tech history reects rigor, traditionBy Kamna BohraFocus Editor

    With crumbled covers, browned pages andaged words o wisdom rom Tech students past,the frst ew decades o the T-Books existencereveal much about students lives in the orma-tive years o the Institute.

    Originally published by the Young MensChristian Association (YMCA) in the early1900s, the T-Book provided inormation orincoming reshmen about Tech traditions andadvice concerning everything rom academicsto religion.

    We hope that you will not become discour-aged and disheartened, but that this session willhelp you to a higher and stronger intellectual,physical, moral and Christian manhood, the1909-10 edition o the T-Book said.

    Christian belies ran deep in early Tech lie,

    as several pages o each T-Book were dedicatedto the processes o the YMCA, the importanceo joining such an organization and the urgencyo regularly attending church.

    e 1932-33 edition o the T-Book detaileda rigorous inspection schedule that all dormi-tory residents had to undergo.

    e frst inspection is made at 7:10 a.m.(except Sunday). At this time, rooms must bein order, beds made and students ully dressed.

    At 7:05 p.m., the second inspection is made. Atthis time all students must be on their oor orstudy. No visiting is allowed except by permis-sion o the inspector. Quiet shall be maintained.e third inspection is made at 11 p.m. At thistime all students must be in their rooms exceptin extreme cases. Written permission must besecured rom the dormitory oce to miss thisinspection, the 1932-33 edition said.

    Following up with this strict weekday sched-ule, the administrators were more relaxed onFriday and Saturday nights, allowing studentsto be out until 12:30 a.m.

    e authors o the T-Book suggested to re-member to be a man, that all spare momentsmay be proftably spent in the Library and theriends you make in college will be your riendsthrough lie choose them with care, in the1910-11 version.

    e T-Book also advised students not toloa, orget Monday morning chapel, ailto write home regularly, orget to join the

    YMCA and enter a Bible class or orm a habito cutting classes. e authors also advisednot to become discouraged. It will all come outright in the end.

    e early editions o the T-Book show the be-ginnings o many extracurriculars that are stillactive on campus today, including the band, the

    Glee Club, the ANAK Society, Radio Club, Yel-low Jacket Club (now known as the RamblinReck Club) and even a orm o Freshman Coun-cil. Many organizations were dedicated to spe-cifc majors, such as the Architectural Societyand the Society o Civil Engineers. Other clubsincluded literary societies, church groups, Greeklie and social organizations.

    e T-Book also provided advice about top-ics other than academic excellence and religiousmaintenance.

    Now i you expect to date the SYTs (SweetYoung ings), get some o your riends, the up-per classmen to introduce you around, or maybeyou know some girl rom the old home town

    who is at school in one o our girls schools, aswritten in the 1932-33 edition o the T-Book.

    Graduates redirect career goals to Peace CorpsBy Allyn Woodward

    Contributing Writer

    With spring semester comesapplications, applications andmore applications. Undergraduatestudents are attending inorma-tional sessions and major careerairs. Resumes are being critiqued,and cover letters are being pol-ished.

    While many undergraduatestudents are looking or summerinternships, graduating seniors arefghting through the last rontiero college. ey must get a job.ey need that job. A job. Any

    job.e process is exhausting and

    daunting. However, the time isnear to beat out the competitionand get the dream job. Upongraduation, all Tech students arelooking or a way to utilize theskills theyve learned or a purposethey believe in, like, accept and,most importantly, love.

    is is why 22 undergraduatealumni chose the Peace Corps astheir dream job. eir contribu-tion, along with grad school a lum-nus, brought Tech to the Peace

    Corps Top University and CollegeRankings or the third consecu-tive year.

    Overall, this year, Tech ranks24th nationwide, and in theSoutheast Division, Tech is 10thout o 250 schools.

    One undergraduate student

    currently serving in the PeaceCorps is Jing Li, ISyE 10.

    From her internship at the O-fce o Policy Research and Analy-sis (OPAR) in the Georgia TechResearch Institute (GTRI), Li

    ound her inspiration to serve inthe experiences and stories sharedby Marlit Hayslett, OPAR direc-tor. Li also based her decision onher study abroad summer trip

    with the Tech ISyE program in

    China and Singapore.ough she applied to other

    engineering jobs in logistics andsupply chains, Li fnally chose thePeace Corps ater working on hersenior design project. rough her

    supply chain optimization projectwith the World Food Programme(WFP), Li knew this experiencecould be combined with her pas-sion to help peoples lives aroundthe world.

    She now serves in a small towncalled Shevchenkove, located onthe eastern side o Ukraine, whereshe teaches English to students ina wide range o grades.

    Along with teaching at thelyceum, which are secondaryschools ocusing on math and sci-ence, Li helps in English clubs toeducate her students in a varietyo topics, including healthy lie-styles, environmental awarenessand creative writing. She alsohelps with HIV/AIDS awarenesseducation and creative art lessonsin music and dance.

    Working as a Peace CorpsVolunteer here in Ukraine hastaught me the value o patience,and rearmed the belie that any-thing is possible i you are deter-mined enough to ollow through

    with it tenaciously, Li said.is is confrmed through the

    Peace Corps experiences o An-thony Giarrusso, a research scien-

    tist in the College o Architecture.Giarrusso worked with thePeace Corps or a total o threeand a hal years in the mid-1990sbeore completing grad school atTech in 2000.

    Image courtesy of Jing Li

    Jing Li chose to pursue teaching in a small town in Ukraine after completing her ISyE degree at

    Tech. Through this career choice, she can educate children both inside and outside the classroom.

    See Peace, page 12

    See T-Book, page 14

    Photo by Blake Israel / Student Publications

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    12 February 18, 2011 Technique FOCUS

    Even though he completed hisundergraduate degree elsewhere,Giarrusso has relayed his reward-ing experience with the PeaceCorps to Tech students through-out his time here.

    As a research scientist at theCenter or Geographic Inorma-tion Systems or Tech, he workedas a fsheries extension agent inBurundi, Gabon and Zambia,

    where there is no running water,electricity or privacy.

    He chose the Peace Corps be-cause he believed it would helphim ocus and he let with abroader, enlightened experienceabout the world and the commonactors o humanity.

    It has made me realize thatwe are all more similar than wethink. Mothers in Gabon experi-ence the same issues as mothers inthe US, Giarrusso said.

    Peace from page 11

    Image courtesy of Jing Li

    Over 20 recent graduates have joined the Peace Corps, and Tech

    now ranks 24th nationwide in producing Peace Corps volunteers.

    Students discuss honor codeBy Mehfouz JalalContributing Writer

    I commit to uphold the idealso honor and integrity by reusingto betray the trust bestowed uponme as a member o the GeorgiaTech community.

    I the lines look amiliar, it is

    probably because nearly everyclassroom on campus has thisstatement, engraved onto a plaqueat the entrance. It is the GeorgiaTech Honor Challenge. Manypass it not knowing what those

    words actually mean and whattheir relevance and importance is.It is what students abide each dayhere at Tech.

    Cheating and plagiarism haveand always will be a challengein society. Hence, enorcing it isone o the biggest challenges with

    which all administrators have todeal.

    Proessors have tried to dealwith this issue, be it in copyinghomework or cheating o o an-other exam. Recently, CS proes-

    sors have encouraged that studentswork with each other regardingsolutions. Although this is thepolicy in most classes, in the CSdepartment, proessors have askedstudents to list collaborators along

    with the homework. is helpsgive people a sense o accountabil-ity and makes sure that they are

    wary o the honor code.Despite the various methods

    proessors implement, certain stu-dents eel that there is negligence

    regarding the honor code.e honor code is not taken

    seriously by students at Technot at all, said Smruti Keshani, afrst-year ARCH major.

    e act that each studentmust write on each assignment ithey worked on the assignment

    alone, or i they took help romanother, makes the students con-scious o doing their own workproperly. is action...can workon some minds...[but] those who

    want to cheat will still cheat nomatter [what even] i they have to

    write some extra words on a pa-per, Keshani said when hearingabout the policy o the CS depart-ment.

    While college helps most ma-ture so that they can ace chal-

    lenges in the real world, somestudents eel that cheating andplagiarism at Tech are not given aair trial and that a much better

    job can be done in enorcing thehonor code and the like.

    I think that the process thatis taken or the honor code viola-

    tions is not dealt with very well...Idont think the honor code is usu-ally thought o as a deterrent orcheating, but its more o [a] moralcompass o most o our students,said Whitney Wright, a ourth-year CEE major.

    Others eel the honor codeis not enorced the way that itshould be and that much can bedone to gear it toward violation

    See Honor, page 14

    Photo by Blake Israel / Student Publications

    The Honor Code appears at the doorway of every Tech classroom

    as a reminder to students of the ideals upon which Tech was built.

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    Technique February 18, 2011 13FOCUS

    Erato pursues other venues for spreading artsBy Chris Russell

    Online Editor

    ough Tech students typi-cally have labored under the ste-reotype o the totally logical, un-creative and unartistic nerd, somestudents have ought to keep thearts alive on campus.

    At the ront o this group isErato, Techs arts and literaturejournal. As a yearly publication, itprovides students with an artisticbent the chance to see their workpublished.

    In addition to the publication,the Erato sta also holds eventsdedicated to the arts year round,among them being the EratoReading Series and Erato Coee-houses.

    According to Eratos co-editorsJulia Turner and Sarah McMahon,both third-year STAC majors, theReading Series was started by lastyears editor, Amaris Gutierrez-Ray, STAC 10.

    e frst time we met over thesummer, we agreed that we really

    liked it, and that we had to keep itgoing, Turner said o the Read-ing Series continuation.

    According to Turner, ater theydecided to continue the series, thefrst concern was how to fnd writ-ers to speak.

    At the start, we were [wor-ried], since we didnt know any

    writers or poets in Atlanta, exceptor a ew Tech proessors, Turnersaid.

    e editors reached out to some

    o the speakers rom last year, and

    also got a list o potential namesrom their aculty advisor, KarenHead. e editors then startedcontacting writers on the lists,and tried to get together a poolo writers that were interested inspeaking.

    Most o the speakers havebeen poets, but weve had a non-fction writer, too, and KodacHarrison [one o the readers romthe Feb. 15th reading] also doessong-writing, so his was more o

    a spoken-word lyrical piece, Mc-

    Mahon said.e editors said that it took a

    while to get both advertising orthe events and the events them-selves up and running.

    According to McMahon, onlytwo events were held last semes-ter, and only the frst had a goodturnout.

    A combination o not know-ing how to get the word out, bad

    weather and bad luck resulted indisappointing attendance or the

    second event, according to Turner.

    McMahon said that thingshave improved dramatically thissemester.

    We came back this semesterwith the goal o having a readingevery month o the semester. Soar, [we have], and the attendancehas been great, McMahon said.

    According to Turner, the peo-ple attending the events make upa diverse group. Faculty, sta andstudents rom around the Insti-tute attend the readings, not just

    members o the School o LCC.In general, the people that

    come to Erato unctionsandeven the Erato staarent reallyLCC people. I think [McMahon]and I are the only STAC majors.ere a ew other Ivan Allen stu-dents, but there are a lot o engi-neers, too, Turner said.

    While several speakers havebeen people unaliated withTech, many o the writers who doreadings or the series are Techproessors, and the editors say thatthis has provided them a chanceto see another side o their proes-sors.

    ey say that whereas one othe previous speakers was very se-rious in the classroom, his poetryhad a quirky, tongue-in-cheeksense o humor.

    e ormat o the series haschanged a bit since the originalormat was conceived.

    e original plan was to havethree speakers per series, but thathasnt really worked out, Turnersaid.

    I think its actually nice withjust two speakers. at way, itsjust 30 to 45 minutes o an ater-noon, so its easy or authors toft it into their schedule, and alsoeasier or anyone else who wantsto attend, McMahon said o thelogistics o the new plan.

    While the speaker series o-cuses solely on spoken-word arts,Erato also provides an outlet or

    See Erato, page 14

    Photo by Andrew Saulters / Student Publications

    Tech professors and authors from around the Atlanta community alike can share their personalities

    and present their pieces of poetry, short stories and other writings as part ofEratos reading series.

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    14 February 18, 2011 Technique FOCUS

    e T-Book suggested AgnesScott College, Brenau University,Oglethorpe University, EmoryUniversity and the North AvenuePresbyterian School as locationsor students o the then-all-maleuniversity to fnd girls.

    Along with the currently well-known Up With the White andGold and Ramblin Wreck romGeorgia Tech fght songs, some

    lesser known chants were includedin the T-Books, including Trian-gle Yell, Drum Yell, Tech Rah

    Yell, Ever Firm and Staid andAt Georgia Tech.

    Much like the overall charactero the books, these songs spoke todetermination and brotherhood.

    e early traditions also in-cluded a cap to help upper class-men distinguish between them-selves and reshmen, similar totodays Recently Acquired TechStudent (RATS) cap.

    e Institutes global inu-ences began to appear ater World

    War II, as members o Techsadministration began to work inChina and several other countries.

    e ocus o the modern ver-

    sion o the T-Book is entirely di-erent rom the early years. e

    YMCA version o the T-Bookended publication in 1970 dueto lack o unding and an end othe partnership between Tech and

    YMCA, according to the Ramb-lin Reck Clubs website. e T-Book reappeared online in 1997,and then again as an actual bookthat detailed Tech traditions andguidelines or flling out RATScaps.

    T-Book from page 11

    Image courtesy of Georgia Tech Library Archives

    While Techs lifestyle was rmly rooted in academics and everything else was peripheral, students

    felt strong bonds to the Institute and reected such emotions in traditional ght songs and chants.

    other orms o art at its coee-houses.

    In addition to authors, poetsand song-writers, the Erato coee-houses encourage photographers,painters, and other artists to comeand display their crat.

    e next coeehouse will be at6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at theH20 Ca in the CRC, and will beco-sponsored by Techs Body Im-

    age Committee.e next installment o thespeaker series is likely to be inmid-to-late March.

    e next issues publicationdate is scheduled or the week o

    April 18.According to McMahon, the

    plan is to have the same procedureas last years publication, wherethe release o the print editionis preceded by a radio special on

    WREK radio the Sunday beorepublication.

    prevention.I think that actions taken

    against those [who] violate the

    honor code are too harsh. ebest course o action would beor more assignments, especiallyin science classes, to be submittedonline to easily check or plagia-rism, said Amruta Divan, a frst-year IAML major.

    Regardless o student opinion,cheating and plagiarism are con-sidered intolerable at Tech.

    us, dierent methods o en-orcement and punishments willappear over upcoming years.

    Erato from page 13

    Honor from page 12

    In the fairest Southerncity,

    Honored by its love,Stands our dear old

    Alma Mater.Strengthened fromabove.

    Lauded ever by hersons,

    Lavish in their aid,Hail to thee, Old Tech

    of Georgia,Ever rm and staid.

    Sons of Tech, all comeand join us,Let us gather round,Greet our dear old

    Alma Mater.

    At

    Georgia

    Tech

    Our college days atGeorgia Tech

    Well neer forgetThe college yells, the

    songs we sang,The friends we met,In after life, through

    trials or strife,

    Well love her yet,And fondest memories

    come to usOf dear old Tech.The stories of her

    widening fameThrill us with pride.Her growing force of

    Ever

    Firm

    and

    Staid

    And with joy abound,Let us gather round

    her feet,

    Loyally arrayed.Hail to thee, Old Techof Georgia,

    Ever rm and staid.

    famous songs,In onward stride,Are proving that her

    motto grandWill never die.To know, to do, to be,Our ever-ringing cry.

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    [email protected]

    Entertainment Editor:Patricia UcedaAssistant Entertainment Editor:Zheng Zheng

    Technique

    15Friday,

    February 18, 2011

    Sleeping Beauty awakens audiences

    By Hank WhitsonStaf Writer

    chaikovskys adaptation of Marius PetipasSleeping Beautyis widely regarded as one of themost technically challenging classical balletsever choreographed. Te story will be familiarto anyone who has seen the 1959 Disney lm,though it is more faithful to the traditionalBrothers Grimm fairy tale.

    It tells the story of Aurora, a princess happilyborn to King and Queen Florestan XXIV aftermany childless years. At her christening, Au-rora is blessed by six benevolent fairies, but sheis also cursed by Carabosse, a seventh fairy who

    was uninvited. Te curse dictates that Aurorawill be pricked by a sewing need le and die. TeLilac fairy uses her own magic to alter the curse

    so the needle will put Aurora into an agelesssleep until she is awakened by a kis s of true love.

    Te curse comes to pass, of course, and theentire kingdom slumbers for one hundred years,

    when Prince Desir arrives at the enchanted for-est. With some help from the Lilac Fairy, De-sir defeats Carabosse, nds Aurora and liftsthe curse. Te ballet concludes with a weddingscene attended by many other popular BrothersGrimm characters like Little Red Riding Hood,om Tumb, Puss in Boots and the Big Bad

    Wolf. Atlanta Ballets production of Beauty isfantastic. Te dancers are expressive and tech-nically superb. Te elaborate costumes and setsare gorgeous. Te Atlanta Ballet orchestra per-formed the score.

    Te prologue is the fairies time to shine.While the score is not as iconic as chaikovskysother ballets, there are a few lovely and famil-

    iar pieces like the waltz theme and Te AtlantaBallet Orchestra performed them splendidly,matching the tempo of the dancers without no-ticeably altering the music.

    Te prologue, which covers the christeningscene, is essentially an act unto itself, and it isthe fairies and character actors time to shine.

    Abigail ans port rayal of the Lilac Fairy fea-tured ephemeral movements, and her gestures

    were crisp. Peng-Yu Chen gave a stand-outperformance with her vivacious Canari Fairyvariation. ara Lee stole the show as Carabos se,though. Her lines were sharp, and her dramat-ic gestures seethed with malevolence. Herghouls also delivered comic buoonery togive the mice from Nutcracker arun for their money.

    Act 1opens with a staple of classi-

    cal ballet, happy peasants dancing agarland waltz in celebration. Te princes whovie for Auroras aections had great individualtechnique, though their formations were a lit-tle askew. Kristine Necessary lit up the stageas Aurora with a smile that you could seefrom the rafters. Her precise, delicate tech-nique paired with the relentlessly prettychoreography is almost too sweet to bearat times.

    You could see a little bit of strainin her leg during the infamous Rose

    Adagio, but she kept her smilethroughout all four excruciating,consecutive promenades. Herpantomime of the dreaded nee-dle prick was also incrediblysharp. You would be surprisedat how dramatic dropping a

    spool of thread can be.

    Monster Jam destroys the weekend competition

    By Michael ValenteContributing Writer

    It was late last Saturday nightwhen the Georgia Dome eruptedwith the sound of applause thatdeafened the already overwhelm-ing sound of roaring engines from

    within.Sixty-ve thousand fans all

    were on their feet giv ing a stand-ing ovation to the spectacle thatlaid beneath them.

    Gravedigger, a massive 1500horsepower monster truck, had

    just clinched the Advance AutoParts 2011 Monster Jam Freestylecompetition with a run that hadseemingly deed the laws of phys-ics.

    Te broken, barely runningtruck triumphantly pulled intoplace as the fans slowly quieted, See Monster, page 17

    SHOWS

    Monster Jam

    PERFORMER: Monster Jam

    LOCATION: Philips Arena

    DATE: Feb. 12 2011

    OUR TAKE:

    SHOWS

    The Sleeping Beauty

    PERFORMER: Atlanta Ballet

    LOCATION: Cobb EnergyCentre

    DATE: Feb. 11 2011

    OUR TAKE:

    and the results were made ocial.Tis is Monster Jam, an annual

    event that tours the country pit-ting truly behemoth sized trucksagainst each other in a series ofraces and freestyle trick runs infront of a screaming, cheering au-dience of thousands.

    Monster Jam is actually hostedunder the United States Hot Rod

    Association, or USHRA, whichhosts a variety of events from mo-tocross and quad racing to Tun-der Nationals, another monstertruck competition.

    It is arguably the most popu-lar of the monster truck racingcircuits and features some of themost recognizable trucks includ-ing Gravedigger and MaximumDestruction.

    Te phenomenon of monstertrucks as we know it now had ahumble beginning. In the late1970s, mud bogging and truck

    pulling started to gain popularityin the southern US.As this sport g rew, the drivers

    of these trucks started to upgradetheir vehicles, adding bigger andbigger tires, axles and better sus-pension in order to have an advan-tage in the competition.

    Te real catalyst point, though,was in 1981 when Bob Chandler,a driver for a truck named Big-foot, decided to make a promo-tional video using Bigfoot for hisfour wheel drive repair shop. Inthe video Chandler drove Bigfootover a few junk cars, crushingthem.

    Once word of the video spread,Bob Chandler and Bigfoot startedtraveling and crushing cars for au-diences around the country.

    By 1988 the rst champion se-ries for racing monster trucks hadstarted and soon after that freestyle portions were added.

    Tis year the 2011 Mon-ster Jam took the action to newheights. Te event is split into twomain parts.

    In the rst the trucks competein a single elimination brackettournament race featuring jumpsand obstacles.

    Te trucks competed quickly,and soon, the championship racewas being held between the nick-named Te Icon Gravediggerand the aptly named Advance

    Auto Parts Grinder.

    Photo by Basheer Tome / Student Publications

    Image Courtesy of Atlanta Ballet

    See Sleeping, page 16

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    16 February 18, 2011 Technique ENTERTAINMENT

    Attn: Student Organizations

    This space could beyour ad for only

    $36

    nique.net/ads

    By Alex KesslerContributing Writer

    Hankook aqueria is the rstof its kind to emerge on the At-lanta scene. Te rather peculiarcombination of Korean and exMex may seem like a simple idea,but it is a stroke of culinary geniusthat demands nothing less thanthe highest honors and medals of

    human achievement.Te prices are astonishingly

    cheap for such quality food. endollars will buy nachos, sesamefries and a taco or a burrito withfried dumplings. Te portions areoften large enough to feed a per-son and a half. It is amazing foranyone on a college budget.

    Te menu is extraordinaryand by far the most interestingculinary creative in the metro At-lanta area. For those unfamiliar,Korean cuisine comprises of rice,sh, grilled meats, or Gui, andkimchi, which is any combinationof vegetables and hot spices.

    Often dishes are made witha red chili paste, and therein lay

    the eternal and grand connectionwith Mexican food: spiciness.Te rst item on the menu that

    should grab anyones attention is

    RESTARUANTS

    Hankook Taqueria

    LOCATION: 1341 Collier Road

    CUISINE: Korean BBQ and

    Mexican Fusion

    COST: ~ $10

    HOURS: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

    PHONE: 404-352-8881

    OUR TAKE:

    the Calamari tacos with jalap-enos and sweet chili sauce, or thepulled pork tacos with spicy Ko-rean BBQ sauce.

    All, yes all, tacos and burritos

    come with green onion, green cab-bage, soy sesame vinaigrette, ci-lantro and jack cheese. It is of myconspiring nature that I believeMexico was actually colonized bythe Koreans and not the Spanish.Otherwise there is no explanationfor why their foods complementanother so well.

    In addition, the menu oersnachos with Korean beef, tem-pura fried sweet potatoes, tilapiaburritos, BBQ beef quesadillasand a spicy hot dog with cabbagekimchi.

    Last but not least, a personalfavorite is bibim-bop, a seriouslyspicy dish with beef, vegetables,mounds of rice, pepper sauce anda fried egg on top to wrap the

    package in a neat little bow.Te main feature of Hankook

    aqueria is its unique food, whichis great because the atmosphere,dcor and mostly everything elseare nothing to get excited about.Te interior has white walls with

    wood booths, the tables have plas-tic utensils, and the food is eitherserved in baskets or Styrofoamboxes.

    Tis is a place to just hang outand get your hands messy, perhapsnot the ideal location for a rstdate or business lunch. It has thatI know this little place down theroad sort of feel to it, like it is wellknown amongst the locals and hasloyal and frequent customers but

    otherwise unknown to the outsideworld. Hankook is a rare Atlantagem that you nd only once everycouple of years.

    Cuisines around Atlanta

    Eating Atlanta Sleeping from page 15Te second act was JacobBushs time to shine as Prince De-sir, and his technique was suit-ably bold and gallant.

    He was not as obviously ex-pressive as Necessary, but his pan-tomimes call for him to be pen-sive and withdrawn, so it is hardto fault him.

    Te highlight of the entireballet was the frenzied, pas de

    deux duel between Desir andCarabosse, as he struggles to turnher own knife against her.

    In a neat bit of stage magic,Carabosse melts into the stage

    with a pu of smoke as she is fa-tally stabbed. Te transition isclean and organic.

    After such a stirr ing scene, thefated kiss between Desir and

    Aurora seemed somewhat anti-climactic. It was still convincing,however, and the pas that followed

    was suitably romantic, with thedancers icking away the swirlinghaze and bringing down the cur-tain as Bush literally sweeps Nec-

    essary o her feet.Te big wedding scene is simi-

    lar to the Nutcrackerssecond halfin that it is parade of light-heartedcelebratory dances, and a splendidmix of character acting and sharptechnique.

    Te Gold and Gems doublepas was exquisitely coordinatedand the lady soloists were verysharp. Te playful pas betweenthe rakish Puss in Boots and theprissy White Cat was a lot of fun

    and garnered a few laughs fromthe audience.Little Red Riding Hood dis-

    played some precise and blister-ing pointe-work, and the Big Bad

    Wolf seemed to be having a greattime. Te uttering bluebird pas

    was solid, though there have beenmore elaborate takes on the vir-tuoso solo variations.

    Te quick bris vol sectionswere present and impressive, how-ever. Brian Wallenbergs omTumb variation takes rst prize.He displayed impressive ballon,

    wonderful timing and wore an in-fectious smile.

    Again, the very traditionalgrand pas between Aurora andher prince felt somewhat anticli-mactic after the parade of playfulcharacter dances.

    Bush and Necessary are verywell paired technically, thoughthey lacked the sort of luminouschemistry required to truly andfully realize the tales legendary,eternal love.

    It would be interesting to com-pare them to the alternate cast fea-

    turing John Welker and ChristineWinkler, who are husband andwife in real life.

    If you are looking to introducea loved one or a child to the plea-sures of classical ballet, Te Nut-cracker is a more accessible entrypoint, being considerably brieferand boasting ashier, more easilyappreciated choreography.

    But if you are looking for anexample of classical dancers whohave mastered their craft of move-ment, or an unabashedly roman-tic way to spend Valentines Day

    weekend, Atlanta Ba llets SleepingBeautyis an excellent choice.

    Image courtesy of Atlanta Ballet

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    Technique February 18, 2011 17ENTERTAINMENT

    Gnomeo passes as kids entertainmentFILM

    Gnomeo & Juliet

    GENRE: AnimationAdventure

    STARRING: James McAvoyand Emily Blunt

    DIRECTOR: Kelly Asbury

    RATING: G

    RELEASE DATE: Feb. 11 2011

    OUR TAKE:

    By Nick ReardonContributing Writer

    Since the turn of the old cen-tury in lm, the tragic tale ofthe two star-crossed lovers hascertainly been revived and refur-bished enough times to a consid-erable point of exhaustion. As itbegan, the original theatre pro-duction was rst adapted to t theprojector screen in the year 1936,and was from that point forwardrecreated nearly every ten years.

    Seventy-ve years later, Holly-wood is going at it once again.Only this time, it is to be a chil-drens picture.

    Gnomio & Juliettells the tale ofa predictable set of young lovers:Gnomeo, a blue-dressed gardengnome living in Ms. Mantaguesbackyard; and Juliet, a red-dressedgarden gnome living in Mr. Cap-ulets backyard. Te lm was goodfun in passing, but, not to muchsurprise, it lacks originality as wellas any form of expansion upon theoriginal version. Is this to be ex-pected? Of course. Should we holdthis against the lm? Perhaps, butif we do so we best make sure that

    we attr ibute each fault justly. We

    cannot go ahead and compare itto West Side Story, can we? Afterall, the lm is called Gnomeo &

    Juliet. Te lm at least adequately

    translates the elevated themes ofthe original story to a context by

    which younger audiences can beentertained and enlightened at thesame time.

    Te biggest problem with thelm stems from the numerousaws in the writing. Te charac-terizations and situations imposed

    here, for example, are designed forthe sake of viewer convenience.Gnomeo is no longer a bystanderto the inter-family feud, but in-stead is a leader of the movementagainst the Capulets. An earlyscene shows our hero compet-ing in a dangerous lawn mowerrace against the ill-tempered redgnome, ybalt.

    Gnomeo continues to actrashly violent and vindictive ina way that exceeds the originalcharacterization. I can only at-tribute this to Hollywoods un-fortunately recurring incentive toaccommodate roles for the actors,rather than have the actors accom-modate themselves for the role.Likewise, Juliet is portrayed as

    adventurous and rebellious fromthe outset a characteristic that isonly supposed to emerge well intoher relationship with the Romeocharacter.

    Te plot also follows a self-con-tradictory and, at times, choppynarrative. For example, the rsthalf of the lm explicitly portraysybalt as the villain of the story,and then afterwards the role of thevillain shifts to the very fate thatconventional wisdom will tell usthe lm is heading toward. Fate,in the later portions of the lm, ispersonied through a park statueof William Shakespeare, whoclaims that he knows the endingof the gnomes conict. From here

    (and this is very near the end ofthe lm), the story breaks from itspreceding half and continues asa competition against an alleged

    destiny. Tis shift of directiondamages the narrative uency andmakes the lm less focused andhalf-baked.

    Tere are, however, redeem-ing qualities to the lm. Fromthe opening scene, for example,a curious little gnome stands infront of a set of draped red cur-tains, speaking directly to theaudience from what looks to be a

    classical theatre stage. Te gnomeproceeds in telling us that the fol-lowing picture will be yet anotherinterpretation of Romeo and Ju-liet, only that this time, it willbe told dierently. He pulls outa long script that he is apparentlyobligated to recite when suddenlyhe comically falls through a trapdoor and eectively sets the sto-ry into motion. Tis is the mostcommon sort of slapstick humorsprinkled throughout the movie.In fact, it is one of the storys im-portant elements that keep theaudience on edge and interested.One particular scene involvinga television advertisement for asuper-powered lawn mower actu-

    ally made me laugh out loud inthe theatre. Tat was a standaloneincident, though; the rest of thehumor intends either to lighten

    the tragedy embedded in the ill-fated tale, or to target laughter inthe more susceptible children