Enter the Vortex: The Valentine's Day Issue (02.12.09)

02.12.09 vol. xl, no. 15

2 [email protected] 11.02.06 The Harvard Independent

The Indy tries its luck at love.

Cover art by PATRICIA FLORESCU

11.09.06

Sportsmen in LoveSynthesizing Sabermetrics

Arts

8910

Forum

11 Spare the HairThe Meowel

Special

56-7

Demolition DayThe Power of OneReady for Love?Beyond the Old Ball and ChainDIY Valentines

Springing from the SlumsSmall Town, Big DreamsAll the Single LadiesIvy News Roundup

34

Sports

As Harvard College's weekly undergraduate newsmagazine, the Harvard Independent provides in-depth, critical coverage of issues and events of interest to the Harvard College community. The Independent has no political affiliation, instead offering diverse commentary on news, arts, sports, and student life.

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11.06.08

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News Editor Forum Editor Arts Editor Sports Editor Design Editor Graphics Editor

Associate Business Manager Associate Graphics Editor

President Diana Suen ‘11

Editor-in-ChiefSam Jack ‘11

PublisherBrian Shen ’11

independentTHE HARVARD

Technology DirectorSanjay Gandhi ’10

Production ManagerFaith Zhang ‘11

Susan Zhu ‘11Riva Riley ‘12

Pelin Kivrak ‘11 Hao Meng ‘11

Patricia Florescu ‘11Candice Smith ‘11

Jenn Chang ‘11Sonia Coman ‘11

Staff Writers Peter Bacon ‘11 Rachael Becker '11

Andrew Coffman ‘12 Caroline Corbitt ‘09Truc Doan '10 Ray Duer ‘11 Pippa Eccles ‘09

Jessica Estep ‘09 Nicholas Krasney ‘09 Markus Kolic '09Allegra Richards ‘09 Andrew Rist ‘09 Alice Speri ‘09

Graphics, Photography, and Design Staff Ben Huang ‘09 Edward Chen '09 Caitie Kakigi ‘09

Eva Liou ‘11 Sonia Coman '11Caitlin Marquis ‘10 Lidiya Petrova ‘11 Sally Rinehart ‘09

[email protected] 3The Harvard Independent 02.12.09

indysports

IF LIFE WERE REALLY PERFECT, YALE WOULD cease to exist, steroid users would have their foreheads imprinted with shiny

asterisks, and I would be able to take my lovely girlfriend — without social ridicule — to a romantic Cubs game instead of a showing of He’s Just Not That Into You for Valentine’s Day (actually having a girlfriend would be nice as well).

Unfortunately, life hasn’t given most of us fresh lemons; so when we try to immerse the very best of gooey, mushy, and syrupy (yum?) romance into the world of sports, we’re often met with not only a disapproving response, but also a warning-filled picture of Dennis Rodman marrying himself in a wedding dress.

Lesson learned? Not quite. Truth be told, genuine romance

flourishes in sports just as naturally as girls lose their inhibitions at the sight of John Mayer. With so much attention devoted to robotically analyzing mock drafts and contract negations, we tend to forget the simple fact that famous athletes, too, are capable of falling in love. When they do, more often than not, it’s a pleasant sight, and one certainly welcome amidst all the sports cynicism surrounding A-Rod, a drunken Sir Charles, and “incompetent” Super Bowl referees.

So with the upcoming Valentine’s Day in mind, here’s a look at some of the most beautiful, entertaining, and genuine sports relationships still in existence today.

“I’m hot, you’re hot, let’s make

some hot babies”

David Beckham and Posh Spice:

Since 1997, this power duo has been a guilty pleasure for girls and guys alike. Whether it’s because of Beckham’s exotic tattoos (read: the godly body they’re located on) or the former Spice Girl’s sultry legs, we consistently find ourselves irrationally enthralled by the couple. Yet, despite the intense media attention, their marriage has lasted for nearly ten years and continues to remain strong.

In fact, the hopelessly romantic Beckham surprised his wife with a second wedding just last year. They ended up both crying, and Posh later claimed that it was the second best day of her life — after the first wedding. I don’t know about you, but true love in my book doesn’t get much better than David Beckham actually believing he has to impress his wife.

Tony Parker and Eva Longoria: If

you’re tall, dark, and handsome, it’s likely that you’ll have a shot at an attractive spouse. But if you’re also gifted with a charming French accent and ridiculously good basketball skills, you might as well

The Game of LoveDon’t let OJ jade you; some pro athletes do find true love.

By HAO MENG

get used to sleeping in the same bed as #1 of Maxim’s 2006 Hottest Female Stars List. Such is reality for the nimble Spurs point guard, Tony Parker, and his sultry wife, Desperate Housewives’ Eva Longoria.

Luckily, they don’t let their combined beauty detract from their loving marriage. Parker says Longoria is the “best thing in [his] life,” while Longoria claims that Tony has been “nothing short of the perfect husband.” Take from that what you may, but if you want to be immature and have some fun, make sure to put the phrase “in bed” at the end of the couple’s endearing proclamations of love. After all, what’s unsaid can often be true.

Tom Brady and every sexy model

in the world: Enough said.

“That’s cool! You play sports too?”

Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm:

Remember Nomar and his idiosyncratic routine where he taps his feet like a dancer before every swing? Well, it was apparently attractive enough to impress soccer darling, Mia Hamm. Married since 2003, the couple remains very much a united team; in talking about their twin daughters, Mia reveals, “They sleep in different rooms right now, so I have the monitor for one and [Nomar] has the one for the other. When my monitor goes off, I go. When his goes off, he goes.” Now if Nomar could only apply that sense of successful teamwork to his baseball skills…

Yao Ming and Ye Li: I never understood those girls around 5’2” who fantasized about one day marrying the 7’6” Yao. One, he’s not exactly your stereotypical handsome prince, and two, any PDA would most likely involve a short arm wrapped around Yao’s thigh. Fortunately for Yao and the rest of us, he’s now happily married to Ye Li, a 6’3” Chinese basketball player.

Their love story is definitely beyond cute. Hampered with practices and competitions, the two rarely got to see another. To make up for it, Yao often snuck Ye out to midnight movies, while simultaneously finding every opportunity to give Ye cartloads (literally) full of stuffed toys. Who knew that the “Great Wall of China” was such a softy? Maybe Shaq secretly watches Hallmark movies too.

Matt Treanor and Misty May-

Treanor: I can tell you three things about this lovely marriage.

Matt and Misty have been successfully

working around Matt’s baseball schedule and Misty’s beach volleyball schedule since 2004.

Misty and Matt each have the expression “M^2” tattooed on their arms to express the loving connection they share with one another.

Matt can’t possibly be a George W. Bush fan, especially after Bush’s hand became friends with Misty’s buns of steel during the Olympic Games.

Lessons learned

Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Bryant:

There’s no denying that Kobe has treated us to some of the most brilliant basketball performances in recent history. Yet, he never gets enough credit for teaching married men an important fact: The current going price for sleeping with a complete stranger is a four million dollar diamond ring. Kobe, thank you tremendously for your continued wisdom; You are so far beyond your years.

Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson: What ’s the lesson learned here? Kindhearted guys like Romo who give homeless people movie tickets and fix tires for old people stuck on the side of the road are still susceptible to falling for dim-witted blonde bombshells. Hopefully, Romo will change Simpson for the better and eventually persuade her to stop doing things she’s terrible at — like singing.

Anna Kournikova and Enrique

Iglesias: Oh wait, I forgot, this is an article about relationships involving athletes. My mistake. Just watch Iglesias’s music video, Escape, to get an idea of their relationship.

Good people still make good

marriages

Kurt and Brenda Warner: As if Kurt Warner didn’t do enough things right in life, he’s also quite the compassionate husband. In an interview with Gordon Robertson, Brenda Warner offers the following thoughts about her loving husband — thoughts that I think effectively reflect the couple’s genuine love for one another:

“The first night we met, after we danced that night, I told him, ‘I just want you to know I am a divorced mother of two, so if I never hear from you again, I will understand.’ That’s the way it usually worked. The next morning, he showed up with a rose and wanted to meet the kids. He fell in love with the kids a lot sooner than he fell in love with me. He looked at us as three blessings instead of just one. I just kept waiting for the man that I deserved, and God blessed me with him.”

So on this Valentine’s Day, don’t be afraid to implement a bit of sport flair into whatever you’re planning for that special girl. Take her to a ballgame, shoot some hoops with her, or if you have a body like David Beckham, simply take off your shirt and kick a soccer ball back and forth. Just remember, as long as you don’t pull a Kobe, Valentine’s Day is yours to enjoy. And who knows, if you’re daring/stupid enough to ask her to marry you on the Jumbotron, she just might say “yes.”

If l i fe were perfect , Hao Meng

(haomeng@fas) ’11 would have a body

like David Beckham and a girlfriend like

Eva Longoria.


indy sports

VI SHOULD LOVE BOBBY ABREU.

At least I should according to Ed Wade, the GM of the Houston Astros.

Wade told the New York Times that the former all-star is “a sabermetrician’s dream, from the standpoint of what he produces statistically.” Fortunately, Wade is not my most trusted source for baseball analysis. The only dreams real sabermetricians have about the right fielder these days are nightmares about his horrifying outfield defense.

But if we’re using the unfortunate mainstream definition of sabermetrics, Wade is right on the money. Thanks in part to Michael Lewis’ 2003 bestseller, Moneyball, most baseball fans have a limited definition of the term. It mostly conjures images of slow, colossal power hitters blessed with a 6th sense for taking pitches out of the strike zone. A lot of them generate enough wind from their frequent swings and misses to provide electricity for a small town. And for a player to truly be considered sabermetric, he has to be hated by scouts and anyone else who subscribes to a “conventional” method of analysis. Think Adam Dunn or Jason Giambi.

Yet, sabermetrics is so much more than this small subset of players. It can tell you anything from the average horizontal break on Josh Beckett’s slider (2.85 inches in a May 5th start last year) to how much more important a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the 9th inning of a tie game is than the same situation in the 4th inning (1.93 times more). Even if you’re one of those people who dreads fulfilling a Quantitative Reasoning credit, sabermetrics still fits non-numerical studies — like the history of the Negro Leagues — right under its umbrella. According to Bill James, the father of sabermetrics, it is simply “the search for objective knowledge about baseball.”

Let’s take another look at Abreu, this time with a full range of sabermetric tools at our disposal. Thanks to a spectacular career in which he posted over 100 walks for eight seasons in a row with significant power numbers to boot, Wade and friends still have an image of Abreu as a great player.

The Real SabermetricsWhere baseball meets statistics.

By DAVID ROHER

But over the past two years, Abreu has declined precipitously. His offensive numbers have taken a significant hit and his defense has dropped off the table completely. One fielding metric, Ultimate Zone Rating, estimated that he cost the Yankees 25.2 runs compared to an average right fielder. To put that devastating figure in perspective, Minnesota Twins slugger Justin Morneau’s total offensive production compared to the average player was 25.9 runs, and he finished second in AL MVP voting.

Granted, fielding metrics are still in their relative infancy and that figure may be a few runs smaller, but it helps to explain why no team has signed Abreu to a contract into the fourth full month of baseball’s off-season. He would have to walk a hell of a lot more to make up for the lack of running he does in the field.

Now let’s look at another right fielder, the Blue Jays’ Alex Rios. Rios finished among the bottom 20% of qualified players in walk frequency. He hit just 15 home runs, but Rios’s speed helped him to 47 doubles, 32 stolen bases (with an 80% success rate), and 18.2 runs above average saved in the field. With respect to the average Major League salary, FanGraphs.com (a great resource for many different kinds of advanced stats) estimates that Rios was worth $22 million. Abreu? Just $5.7 million. Even Ryan Howard, who led the league in homers by a wide margin, was worth only $14.7 million.

This doesn’t necessarily say that the slow-moving designated hitters and first basemen of the world are totally useless. It simply means that a player is going to have a much easier time being one of the most valuable guys in baseball if he can field well (or just be able to field a difficult position) in addition to being a great hitter. Including this part of the argument also brings statheads and baseball purists closer together, as they should be.

For instance, you might have seen your favorite crotchety beat writer argue that David Ortiz didn’t deserve to win the MVP back in 2006 because he was a DH. Sabermetricians agreed, as players

like Derek Jeter and Joe Mauer were more valuable because of their defensive contribution, even if their defense wasn’t above average (not that any of it mattered, as the award inexplicably went to Morneau). Besides a few specific issues (you’d have a decent shot at starting the next World War if you brought up Jeter’s fielding prowess), statistics and scouting have a lot more in common than what your average member of the mainstream media would think.

This is especially true for pitching, where in addition to calculating overall value, sabermetrics can dig deep and look at what specifically makes a certain pitcher successful. At FanGraphs, location, average velocity and frequency for different types of pitches are readily available. We can say that Mike Mussina was successful despite a below-average fastball because he fooled hitters into taking a league-leading 45% of his pitches in the zone for called strikes, even though he threw more pitches in the zone than all but four other pitchers. A scout might point out Mussina’s wide arsenal of six or seven pitches (depending upon whom you ask) and his ability to locate all of them as an explanation for these figures. These

two methods of analysis are in agreement with and help to explain each other; they certainly are not on two sides of an ideological divide.

There’s still a lot to be done. 2009 marks the debut of a system known as “Hit-f/x” that will track the initial angle, trajectory, and velocity of batted balls (a system for pitches is already in place). This should give us information on precisely what kind of contact makes for a higher probability of getting on base and driving the ball for power. Many sabermetricians are still hard at work at determining a more accurate system of measuring fielding, especially one for catchers. But given how far we’ve come already, the next time you hear a journalist, insider, or fellow-fan sing the “sabermetric” praises of a player simply because he walks (or used to walk) a lot, look somewhere else for an opinion.

David Roher (roher@fas) ’12 is a member

of the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective,

an undergraduate group dedicated to

answering the interesting questions

of sports with statistics, economics or

anything else that is useful. Check out their

blog at hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog.


indyspecial

VALENTINE’S DAY WAS NEVER high in the pecking of order of holidays for me

and my friends. You didn’t get any days off of school to celebrate it, for one thing; in general, the perks for elementary school kids were minimal. At Christmas there were the presents to be had, and at Halloween the candy to be gorged upon. Easter required me to dress in uncomfortable clothes and snooze in a pew for an hour and a half, but at least it reliably produced some candy.

Valentine’s Day had none of these advantages. For each year of elementary school, we purchased stacks of little cards with pictures of Scooby Doo or the Little Mermaid or the Power Rangers, depending on preference. Then we went around and handed one of our cards to each member of the class, so that every student had an identical stack of assorted cartoon characters and cutesy sayings. Anyone who had the idea of using in their intended function — that is, expressing a preference for one person over others — was quickly reprimanded by the teacher. No one ever wrote anything on Valentine’s Day cards, either, or at least not that I recall. I certainly never did. Perhaps some kids wrote “Happy Valentine’s Day,” or signed their names, under parental duress.

Some years we were allowed to attach candy to the cards, which inevitably led to each student taking home 24 full-size candy bars (every kid wanted to be the popular kid who brought the great candy). That led, in other years, to a ban on attached candy, because no one wanted kids to feel “pressured.”

So that was Valentine’s Day, and probably still is Valentine’s Day for that age group. Every year I came home with my stack of identically sized cards. Half the cards were of marginal interest,

A New and Improved

Holiday

Valentine’s Day could be made better with a few simple changes.

because they depicted things like Hot Wheels cars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The other half, decorated with My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake, were of absolutely no interest at all.

Apart from that bounty of anonymous bits of mass-produced cardboard, one could look forward to a night with a babysitter, and perhaps the Charlie Brown Valentine’s Day special.

So I guess my point in bringing all this up is that for little kids, Valentine’s Day was just a terribly

By SAM JACK

disappointing event. It was like tantalizing us with the smell of a holiday. Obviously older people were looking forward to enjoying themselves in some mysterious ways, but what was the upshot for kids? We got the opportunity to participate in a farce, and an immensely profitable farce for the companies that made the little cards. We got an hour off of class to exchange the little cards. That, at least, was something.

But surely there must be something better; how can Valentine’s Day be a good, All-

American holiday when it neglects the younger set so egregiously? To fix the problem, I’d like to suggest that, at least until middle school, Valentine’s Day be celebrated as “Pop All the Little Bubbles in the Bubble Wrap” day.

When I was in third and fourth grade, a sheet of bubble wrap could provide me with literally minutes of enjoyment, and it had a similar effect on my friends. Imagine the ecstasy that could be occasioned, then, by a whole lot of bubble wrap, being popped by a bevy of over-stimulated

munchkins. Imagine the good will that could be produced! World peace in our time.

The pleasure that comes from popping bubble wrap is the pleasure of benign destruction: destroying the usefulness of a thing, and in the process producing very satisfying popping sounds. And there’s no reason a similar enjoyment shouldn’t carry over into adulthood. Probably popping bubble-wrap will no longer be enough for adults, with their larger perspectives. Therefore I suggest that demolitions be scheduled for Valentine’s Day.

All day long on Valentine’s Day, there’d be coverage of large buildings crumbling into dust. Al Roker and Matt Lauer would be in the studio, covering the proceedings like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Too, we could establish incentives for large companies to declare bankruptcy on the magical day. We could award licenses for the clear-cutting of pristine forests, on the condition that the operation begin on Valentine’s Day. We could even blow up the moon.

Naturally the more traditional Valentine’s Day activities would go on as always — except that it would probably be difficult to get a restaurant reservation, because Valentine’s Day would be the ordained day for line cooks to quit and become dissipated drunks.

I’m convinced that we don’t really want half the things we have, and we don’t have half the things we really need. So perhaps we should clear-cut our forests and raze our buildings and destroy our bubble wrap, and then look around and see whatever it is we couldn’t bring ourselves to destroy for the sake of that wonderful, loud POP.

Sam Jack ‘11 (sjack@fas) should be kept away from wrecking balls.

PATRICIA FLORESCU/Independent


indy special

A Repudiation of MelancholyHow your boyfriend-less Valentine’s Day could potentially not suck.

By SALLY RINEHART

Today, my iTunes Genius Sidebar made a bold statement. Upon careful analysis of my listening patterns and overall musical taste, my Genius Sidebar, in its infinite wisdom, recommended that I purchase iTunes Essentials: Valentine’s Day Alone.

First of all … way to go, iTunes. Way to rub salt in the gaping wounds of a lonely undergraduate with an undying crush on Zac Efron and nothing even remotely resembling a boyfriend to speak of. I didn’t even think I was listening to anything that angsty in the first place.

Second of all, this playlist blows. Aside from the fact that no playlist in the world should include songs by both Willie Nelson and Fiona Apple (and the more salient fact that Social Distortion’s cover of “Ring of Fire” shouldn’t even exist), there is absolutely no reason for iTunes to have compiled approximately five hours of the saddest music they could find and fed it to lonely single people. The album’s description commands us listeners to “pour a tall glass of something strong … better yet, grab the bottle … and press play. It’s gonna be a long one.”

This approach is totally unoriginal. For as long as I can remember, the powers that be have required that us single girls spend Valentine’s Day in a mopey state of lonesome mourning – watching Hugh Grant movies, listening to Bright Eyes, and musing the sorrow of our isolated, loveless existence over cheap wine and carbohydrates. It’s about time that us single people stopped accepting this grim diagnosis: Valentine’s Day does not have to be the most depressing day of your life. In fact, if you play your cards right (read: take The Notebook off your Netflix queue), it can be downright enjoyable.

There are tons of single girls out there: get together, celebrate your single-ness, and have a fun, happy Valentine’s Day. Sometimes, a girls’ night in is just what you need to distract yourself from the tragic fact that Zac Efron will never date you. The first step is to ditch the boy-meets-girl romantic comedies – so, in that spirit, here are a few chick flicks about single girls whose lives don’t suck.

Movies in Which Groups of Girls Form Inexorable Bonds and Assert the Power of Their Undying Friendship (In Short, “Girl

Power” Movies)

Spice WorldThe girl power movie to top all girl power movies. Absolutely devoid of romance (or any sort of plot, for that matter) — but chock-full of super

cute platform tennis sneakers.

Romy and Michele’s High School ReunionThe unpopular girls decide to just be themselves. Then they dance in sparkly dresses. The end.

Sisterhood of the Traveling PantsSomehow, a single pair of jeans fits both America Ferrera and Blake Lively (plus some other girls). This makes them all friends.

The First Wives ClubAngry divorcées foster a lifelong friendship by seeking revenge on their exes. They also establish a non-profit organization dedicated to abused

women.

Movies in Which Girls Discover That They Can Be Happy Without Romance

WaitressKeri Russell tries marriage and doesn’t like it. She doesn’t like having an affair either. She ditches both and decides to bake pies instead. We

always knew carbs would win.

Living Out LoudWoman gets divorced and makes friends with the guy that runs the elevator. Queen Latifah is in it too.

Movies in Which Girls Destroy People

CarrieThe most unpopular girl in school gets made fun of a lot. As a result, she harnesses the wrath of God and wreaks havoc on everyone and everything

around her.

TeethA high school girl discovers that she has a toothed vagina, which she ultimately uses to bite guys’ dicks off. If that doesn’t scream “girl power,” I

don’t know what does.

Zac Efron will never date Sally Rinehart ’09 (rinehart@fas).

TODAY, MY ITUNES GENIUS SIDEBAR made a bold statement. Upon careful analysis of my listening patterns and

overall musical taste, my Genius Sidebar, in its infinite wisdom, recommended that I purchase iTunes Essentials: Valentine’s Day Alone.

First of all … way to go, iTunes. Way to rub salt in the gaping wounds of a lonely undergraduate with an undying crush on Zac Efron and nothing even remotely resembling a boyfriend to speak of. I didn’t even think I was listening to anything that angsty in the first place.

Second of all, this playlist blows. Aside from the fact that no playlist in the world should include songs by both Willie Nelson and Fiona Apple (and the more salient fact that Social Distortion’s cover of “Ring of Fire” shouldn’t even exist), there is absolutely no reason for iTunes to have compiled approximately five hours of the saddest music they could find and fed it to lonely single people. The album’s description commands us listeners to “pour a tall glass of something strong … better yet, grab the bottle … and press play. It’s gonna be a long one.”

This approach is totally unoriginal. For as long as I can remember, the powers that be have required that us single girls spend Valentine’s Day in a mopey state of lonesome mourning – watching Hugh Grant movies, listening to Bright Eyes, and musing the sorrow of our isolated, loveless existence over cheap wine and carbohydrates. It’s about time that us single people stopped accepting this grim diagnosis: Valentine’s Day does not have to be the most depressing day of your life. In fact, if you play your cards right (read: take The Notebook off your Netflix queue), it can be downright enjoyable.

There are tons of single girls out there: get together, celebrate your single-ness, and have a fun, happy Valentine’s Day. Sometimes, a girls’ night in is just what you need to distract yourself from the tragic fact that Zac Efron will never date you. The first step is to ditch the boy-meets-girl romantic comedies – so, in that spirit, here are a few chick flicks about single girls whose lives don’t suck.

A Repudiation of Melancholy

How your boyfriend-less Valentine’s Day could potentially

not suck.

By SALLY RINEHART

Movies in Which Groups of Girls

Form Inexorable Bonds and Assert the

Power of Their Undying Friendship (In

Short, “Girl Power” Movies)

Spice WorldThe girl power movie to top all girl power

movies. Absolutely devoid of romance (or any sort of plot, for that matter) — but chock-full of super cute platform tennis sneakers.

Romy and Michele ’s High School Reunion

The unpopular girls decide to just be themselves. Then they dance in sparkly dresses. The end.

Sisterhood of the Traveling PantsSomehow, a single pair of jeans fits both

America Ferrera and Blake Lively (plus some other girls). This makes them all friends.

The First Wives ClubAngry divorcées foster a lifelong friendship

by seeking revenge on their exes. They also establish a non-profit organization dedicated to abused women.

Movies in Which Girls Discover That

They Can Be Happy Without Romance

WaitressKeri Russell tries marriage and doesn’t

like it. She doesn’t like having an affair either. She ditches both and decides to bake pies instead. We always knew carbs would win.

Living Out LoudWoman gets divorced and makes friends

with the guy that runs the elevator. Queen Latifah is in it too.

Movies in Which Girls Destroy

People

CarrieThe most unpopular girl in school gets

made fun of a lot. As a result, she harnesses the wrath of God and wreaks havoc on everyone and everything around her.

TeethA high school girl discovers that she has

a toothed vagina, which she ultimately uses to bite guys’ dicks off. If that doesn’t scream “girl power,” I don’t know what does.

Zac Efron will never date Sally Rinehart ’09 (rinehart@fas).

1.) You’re sitting on the shuttle and there’s only one other person there. You:

a) Ignore them and stare at the ground.b) Stare at them until they feel uncomfortable and look away.c) Say hello and flash them a smile.d) Whisper into their ear, “Hey baby, wanna come back to my place tonight?”

2.) Your crush is heading over to Widener and asks if you want to join. You say:

a) “Great! I’ve been meaning to spend some time with my Life Sci book.”b) “Sure. I don’t want to be away from you for even a second.”c) “Actually, I have some other stuff I need to take care of, but let’s hang out after.”d) “Three words: you, me, stacks.”

3.) You see your crush in the dining hall on the other side of the salad bar. You:

a) Take a sudden interest in tomatoes.b) Rush to the other side and ask him to pour you some dressing.c) Ask if he’s grabbed a seat yet and offer to let him join you and your friends. d) Motion over to the dessert stand and say, “Hey, can I top you off with some whipped cream?”

4.) You see your crush at the “Make It Rain” dance. You:

a) Run and hide in the bathroom until you’re sure he’s left.b) Wrap your arms around him the entire time, making sure he doesn’t check anyone out but you.c) Toss some cash at him flirtatiously and ask for a dance.d) Drop some singles down his shirt and say, “I make it rain on you, ho.”

5.) It’s Valentine’s Day! You:a) Stay in your room and pretend to hate the holiday. b) Knock on your crush’s door first thing in the morning, before he’s even awake.c) Write him a thoughtful letter and wish him a happy Valentine’s Day.d) Show up in your sexiest red corset and tie a cherry stem with your tongue.

Mostly A’s: Let’s face it. You’re not really interested in anything other than understanding the implications of a priori epistemology, but that’s totally cool. That’s why you’re at Harvard, right? Go back to Widener — that’s where your true love is!

Mostly B’s: You bring a new meaning to the phrase, “like two peas in a pod.” Actually, you probably think even that’s too distant. You’d rather be split-pea soup. Stop being so clingy and give him some breathing room. How else is he going to step back and appreciate how amazing you are (when you’re not a stalker)?

Mostly C’s: You’re totally dateable! Get ready to find the man of your dreams – you know, the one who will sweep you off your feet – and change that Facebook status from “single” to “in a relationship.”

Mostly D’s: Whoa there. With a libido like that, even Freud would blush. Make sure you check yourself because you’re on the way to Tucker Max status. But I guess that’s not necessarily a bad thing…

Diana Suen ‘11 (dsuen@fas) is the new Greg Behrendt.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDETo an awesome Valentine's Day

QUIZ: How Dateable Are You?By DIANA SUEN


indyspecial

wifey/jump off distinction has served as a major element in discussions of relationships in the hip hop world, featured in songs as wide-ranging

Know which role you fill and avoid awkwardness.

Are you a Wifey or a Jump Off?

no fuss” situation may just be what you need to get through your thesis or grad school applications.

While this system seems relatively simple, problems can arise when people forget which role they occupy. While you may be expecting your boy or girl to “put a ring on it” come graduation, you may simply be just one more phone number in a mass booty call text message. This inevitably leads to problems on both sides of the equation. If you find yourself confused as to which category a given suitor has placed you in, ask yourself a few questions:

Does this person ever attempt to contact you outside of the hours of 1AM and 5AM on Saturday and Sunday mornings?

Have you ever been seen in public with this person?Have you met any of this person’s friends?Have you met this person’s parents?Have you interacted with this person while you were both sober?If you answered “No” to most of these questions, you are most likely a jump off. So

please, don’t expect flowers, cards, or candy this Valentine’s Day. A 3AM text message, on the other hand…

Welton Blount ‘09 (wblount@gmail) is not no scrub.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDETo an awesome Valentine's Day

WIFEY AND JUMP OFF. FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH hip hop culture, these terms may at first seem foreign. However, they are key to understanding an important

area of social interaction, especially on a college campus. The

as Next’s 2000 hit “Wifey” (“My only love, the only one, you’re my wifey/ [You] make my life complete…”), to Joe Budden’s 2003 debut single “Pump it Up” (“My jump off doesn’t run off at the mouth so much/My jump off never asks why I go

out so much/My jump off never has me goin’ out of my way/She don’t want nothin’ on Valentine’s Day.”).

Of course, like any good college students, before engaging in an analysis, we must first define our terms. “Wifey” is that extra-special someone (male, female, or otherwise) that you just can’t live without. Wifey gets along with your parents, is independent and successful, and shows you affection without being clingy. This person is your “ride-or-die” partner — no matter what goes down, you know that he or she always has your back. As one popular forwarded e-mail message puts it, “if you screw up in any way and lose Wifey, you are screwed, and will NEVER be happy again.”

By contrast, a jump off is a person that you go to simply to satisfy one’s carnal desires, no emotions involved. You aren’t “lovers” or “friends with benefits”—it’s all about satiating your physical needs, then going your separate ways. Although the “wifey” may get most of the honor and praise in popular culture, there’s nothing wrong with being involved in a jump off scenario. In fact, the position actually harbors distinct advantages. As a jump off, you don’t have to worry about remembering birthdays or anniversaries, you get to bypass all the trite courtship rituals and inane pillow talk, and you avoid the emotional pitfalls of falling in love. In a super-stressful environment like Harvard, this “no muss,

By WELTON BLOUNT


indy arts

AS THE LIGHTS IN THE THEATRE DIMMED, I became giddy. I had watched the

trailer for “Slumdog Millionaire”

and was waiting for the fairy tale romance.

But within minutes of the first scene, I realized that this fairy tale is no Disney

classic. t“Slumdog Millionaire” is a

dramatic, touching, and dark tale of the triumph of hope and love over the basest

manifestations of the human spirit.

Instead of being blissfully happy at the

conclusion of the movie, I was left slightly uncomfortable with director Danny

Boyle’s optimism. They say ignorance is

bliss — and “Slumdog” certainly takes away the audience’s ignorance of what

life in poverty might look like. It is so compelling that, even if you don’t normally pull for the underdog, you’ll find yourself pulling for the “slumdog.”

In an energetic narrative style, Danny Boyle (“Trainspotting,” “28 Days Later”) gives us the story of Jamal (the adorably

lanky Dev Patel), an orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who goes on India’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” to find the love of his life. The plot starts backwards, in a hot, dank interrogation room where Jamal is tortured by policemen waiting

for a confession of cheating on the show.

Finally given a chance to defend himself, Jamal reveals how he knew the answers to every question asked of him on the show. The tension and unbearable humidity in

the police station are palpable, and all the while, your mind begs the seemingly heartless officer to believe Jamal.

Jamal didn’t cheat. He didn’t wear

any wires. He didn’t learn from a book or a newspaper, like Harvard kids might. All of the questions were taken from his life. Every experience led him to an

answer. And so starts a roller-coaster

rush of non-stop emotions and brilliant

images, as Jamal weaves through his turbulent childhood to where he is today, a tea-server in a Mumbai telemarketing center, and an unlikely candidate to win 20 million rupees.

The odds were against Jamal from the

beginning . A poor Muslim boy from the

slums of Mumbai who operates outhouses

with his brother? How far is that kid going to get in life? But there’s more.

We watch, with Jamal and his brother Salim, as their mother is killed during an

By SUSAN ZHU

Romance Amid the Rubble“Slumdog Millionaire” is a vivid, emotional experience.

anti-Muslim attack. We think, as Jamal, Salim, and Jamal’s future love, Latika, are taken in by a man who operates a sort of children’s beggar “agency,” that this is too good to be true. As the appalling and

horrifying incidences follow, one after the other, you wonder, “How does this kid ever live to make it to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”

W i t h l u c k a n d a n a d m i r a b l e fearlessness, Jamal and his brother Salim escape from the beggar agency, learn

to pick-pocket, hop on trains, and con Western tourists in a battle of survival.

It looks like fun, until you remember that these kids are just trying to get by until tomorrow. There are some great one-liners

and jokes, but it is what is left unsaid that tugs at your heartstrings.

While Danny Boyle offers vibrant

and colorful portraits of India — the Taj Mahal, the towering cityscape of Mumbai, and even the trash heaps — every portrait

is a careful juxtaposition with the terrible

hardships that Jamal and Salim have

to face. There are plenty of bad guys, wielding beer bottles and brandishing

guns. Sometimes they’re the authorities, and sometimes they’re the equivalent of

mob leaders, complete with tacky jewelry. As the years go by, a bitter fraternal rivalry develops, and we are confronted with the wealthy pig who now has claims

on Jamal’s gorgeous sweetheart, Latika.Jamal’s account of his life and his

reason for being on “Millionaire” — not

for the money, but for Latika, his lost love — is so brutally honest that he wins

over the police officers.The story of “Slumdog Millionaire”

certainly could have taken place anywhere. It is by no means as simple as

a documentary of life in India. While we’re

happy that Jamal gets an opportunity to

play Cinderella, we’re also left wondering about all the other kids the movie shows along the way, who didn’t escape. We’re mesmerized by the striking landscapes and cinematography, but in the same instant, revolted by the cruelty with which society treats its fellow people.

The romance of “Slumdog Millionaire”

is certainly real, in everything that Jamal does is to find Latika again. But this is no Jane Austen romance; there are no

shy moments, no slow turns about the room or balls to attend. “Slumdog” is a

fast-paced, drama-packed romance that leaves you feeling unsettled at the end, adjusting to the changes of inertia instead of sighing with envious joy. Happy, to be sure, that the protagonist has fulfilled his dream, yet uncomfortable with every vivid detail that has flashed before you in the past two hours. But Danny Boyle

didn’t choose to highlight the kids who didn’t make it. Jamal’s story is one of hope; even underdogs can win, with love in their heart. Wholly appropriate for

Valentine’s Day.

And for that kind of emotion — a confused, belabored happiness — “Slumdog Millionaire” certainly deserves

the Golden Globe it has already won for

Best Drama, and the Oscar for which it is nominated

Susan Zhu ‘11 (szhu@fas) is the Independent’s new News Editor. Welcome aboard, Susan!

MOVIE REVIEW

Slumdog Millionaire

Courtesy of Fox Searchlight


indyarts

I’M NOT WHAT YOU’D CALL A FOOTBALL FAN; I barely know the rules of play. And yet I’ve experienced Friday Night Lights

in every phase of its existence. First the

journalistic non-fiction book by Buzz Bissinger, then the 2004 movie, and now the three seasons of teledrama. All three

works tell the story of a football team from a backwater Texas oil boomtown gone bust (Odessa in real life and in the movie, Dillon on the TV series) that struggles with poverty, drug addiction, alcoholism, and, most of all, the overwhelming expectations of a town that lives for football and expects

nothing less than triumph in the state

championship.

Of the three, I think the movie is the least compelling; the stark journalistic objectivity of the book does not translate well to the screen. Much of the nuanced

tone of the book is lost in the horror of the emotional and physical purgatory these

football players are shown to be living in.

Everything is shot in high contrast blacks, whites, and greys. In general, the movie tries to stick too closely to Bissinger’s book.

Friday Night Lights the TV series, on the other hand, takes Bissinger’s style and subject matter as a starting point and rapidly diverges back towards something closer to (but distinct from) other effective television dramas like The Wire and The Sopranos. The dryness of the movie and

book is left behind; the makers of the series understand that all television series need

to have characters people can care about.

Where the book was dry, if emotionally affecting, reportage, and the movie was a sort of emotional grand guignol, the series is a human drama which tasks itself with providing a sympathetic view of the

community without overdoing it.

In both the book and the movie there was something that invited scorn as well as

sympathy towards the denizens of Odessa; there was an intimation that the art created

was a little nobler than the subjects. I don’t get that feeling at all from the TV series.

Take a plot arc from the beginning of the third season (which is now airing on

NBC and Hulu.com, after an initial run on a satellite-only channel): Tami Taylor, the coach’s wife and principal of Dillon High

decides to redirect money donated for a

football Jumbotron towards the rehiring of

laid-off teachers. Buddy Garrity, president of the football boosters and all-around

busy-body, objects and takes his case to the superintendent, a golf buddy.

Friday Night Lights shines the spotlight on a hard-hit, but hardy, Texas town.By SAM JACK

Clearly, in this situation, the viewer is meant to sympathize with Tami, the beleaguered defender of education set upon

by the blinkered good-ole-boys network. But Buddy Garrity is not a one-dimensional

character; his is not a “motiveless malice.”

He just happens to have a blind spot when it comes to the football team. Other plot lines

show Buddy taking in a troubled youth (who happens to be athletically talented), and acting as a caring and conscientious

father to his daughter Lyla. If you need a time-killer (and who

doesn’t around here), you could do worse than Friday Night Lights, which in addition to the requisite juicy drama actually

has something to say about class, race, performance culture, disability, and the intersections of all four. All this, romance, and a football game per episode. It’s hard

for me to understand why Friday Night Lights hasn’t been a bigger hit than it

actually is; there are relatable characters in

every demographic and cultural sub-group, and the show packs in the kind of faux-stoic emotion that makes men get all misty-eyed for their high school sports teams as well

as some plot moves and characters that are

clearly meant to appeal to the sensibilities

of women.

Maybe the title itself is enough to scare

away most of the non-football-fan audience.

Maybe too many people saw the movie or

read the book and decided to themselves that they’d had enough hardscrabble

drama and football. More likely, maybe NBC crushed the show by advertising it

insufficiently and moving its time-slot all over the place.

Whatever the cause of the lack of popularity that has made this season

of Friday Night Lights the last, you can take my word for it that the show is both entertaining and thought-provoking, without ever feeling too heavy or preachy.

The only annoyance I’ve encountered

is how several characters and plotlines

are dropped without explanation at

the beginning of the third season. The

quadriplegic former QB Jason Street, who had been central to the drama of the first two seasons, has yet to appear this season. Also, last season, Landry Clarke killed a man who tried to rape his love interest

and hid the body in the river. But at the

beginning of season three, the emotional, legal, and social consequences of his actions seem to have disappeared. Part of the blame lies with the writer’s strike, which caused season two to be abruptly cut short, and another part lies with actors who

moved on to new jobs after rumors that the show was not going to be renewed for

a third season.

Still, if you resolve not to let the loose ends from season two bother you too

much, there is plenty to occupy you in season three. It’s rare to find a smart non-procedural drama on network television, which is why Friday Night Lights has been

on my “watch” list, along with The Office

and 30 Rock, for the last three years.

Sam Jack ‘11 (sjack@fas) didn’t understand the point of an onside kick until relatively recently.

TV REVIEW

Friday Night Lights


indy arts

CRITICS SAY IT’S NOT WORTHY OF ATTENTION, but “He’s Just Not That Into You” is

just the kind of Valentine’s Day — AKA Singles Awareness Day — medicine

that people need. You might be obsessing

over the signs of a crush, or trying to decode the confusing tricks that guys play, or you might just be depressed over love; whichever of these apply, this movie has something for you.

But though the film is alright, the best remedy is still to buy all the chocolate those

runaway coins in your purse can obtain. Oh and don’t forget to sing Beyonce’s “Single

Ladies” while you’re waiting in line.While the acting by the star studded

cast was sometimes spot on, some of the scenes were just so hokey that viewers needed to remember the fact that this

faux documentary, faux self-help film was marketed as “the ultimate chick-flick.” In other words, you have to remember that you came in looking for a “chick flick,” with all that that entails, and a chick flick is what you get.

And while being “the ultimate chick-flick” is a feat in itself, this film goes even

I’m Into It“He’s Just Not That Into You” is a flawed but heartfelt

romantic comedy. By BRIAN SHEN

further to get all us singles out there to

care by buying into what one character in

the film, Alex (Justin Long), says about the pursuit of love.

The film calls into question the

fundamental basis of what we call

attraction and what the signs are for

determining someone’s attraction to

you. We look through the lens of several attempts at relationships; we see Gigi’s

(Ginnifer Goodwin) forays into the nightlife scene of Baltimore, and the rough relationship of those who won’t commit

and those who are tempted by cheating.

Without giving too much away, the types of relationships examined communicate

a sense of hopefulness that is much more

genuine than your average Matthew

McConaughey movie.

Gigi inspires us to look within ourselves

and put ourselves out there. But the

question is whether resignation and

a blasé attitude are appropriate and

whether these defense mechanisms are

the most pain-free way to find love. True, as the movie demonstrates, you remove the embarrassing moments and you even

disparage the idea of a romantic “spark.” But it’s hard to get rid of the crazy

jitteriness, mindless mistakes, and manic pleasure of the pursuit of a crush?

“He’s Just Not That Into You” makes some serious philosophical points, but does so in a frivolous environment that casual

viewers will be able to relate to. So while

viewing this movie might be some vengeful

act of reveling in Singles Awareness Day, viewers will leave the theater with a

new perspective on the search for love, and that warm fuzzy feeling that always

accompanies a good romantic comedy, where there is that fairy tale ending we

all wish we had, alongside some more realistic situations.

Brian Shen ‘11 (bshen@fas) is a real softy.

MOVIE REVIEW

He's Just Not That Into You

Ivy News Roundup Compiled bySAM JACK

The Cornell Sun

Princeton Men Atop Ivy PileBy Alex Kuczynski-Brown(February 11, 2009)

Junior guard Jeremy Lin’s free throw with no time left on the clock sealed Harvard’s come-from-behind, 64-63, victory against Brown at home on Saturday night. With no choice but to look for a jumper, Lin faked to get two Brown defenders off the floor and earned a foul call –– setting the

stage for his 27th point of the game and 22nd of the second half. Senior forward Evan Harris made

his first start of the season after having midseason

knee surgery only a few weeks ago. He finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks –– two of which came in the final minute against Brown

junior forward Matt Mullery. Harvard committed nine turnovers and shot just 7-for-23 in the opening half, but rebounded in the second, shooting nearly 52 percent overall while going 6-for-10 beyond the arc and making 8-of-9 from the free throw line. With the win, Harvard ends a four-game losing streak and returns to 0.500 (2-4 Ivy). Brown, on the other hand, fell to 6-14 overall and remains winless in the Ivy League.

On the women’s side, Dartmouth derailed a late Yale rally to secure its seventh-straight win

and remain undefeated in the Ivy League. The Green’s offense was led by sophomore forward

Brittney Smith with 16 points and junior Margaret Smith and senior Koren Schram with 10 points each. Schram also contributed a strong defensive

effort, notching five steals. Dartmouth held junior Melissa Colborne, one of the league’s top scorers, to just two points –– well below her average 16.4. Junior forward Haywood Wright was the top

performer for Yale, managing 10 points and eight rebounds. Although the Green preserved its lead

throughout the game, the Bulldogs pulled within four, 43-39, with 3:04 remaining thanks to a Mady Gobrecht three-point play. The 51-42 victory moves Dartmouth to 10-9 overall; with the loss, Yale drops to 2-4 in the Ivy League and 9-11 overall.

The Brown Daily Herald

Col. discusses looted Iraq artifacts

By Brian Mastroianni

(February 11, 2009)

When Col. Matthew Bogdanos first discovered

that the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad had

been looted following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s

regime, he expected to have to spend only two weeks inspecting the complex.

Instead, Bogdanos and his team had to stay in

the region much longer after encountering over 11

acres of museum space still surrounded by combat.

While the war zone around the museum provided

obstacles to the team, inside the complex, Bogdanos discovered that some of the world’s most valued

and ancient artifacts had either been damaged or

looted.

“Our story is about the importance of preserving and protecting history, not just about pieces of alabaster,” Bogdanos told a packed Smith-Buonanno 106 Tuesday evening.

Bogdanos, now a homicide prosecutor for the New York County district attorney’s office, spoke about his experiences dealing with the illegal trade

of artifacts looted from the museum and discussed

his book, “Thieves of Baghdad.” Throughout the lecture, Bogdanos quoted

Shakespeare and paced around the room while recounting his experiences in the Middle East.

“I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would

harrow up the soul,” Bogdanos said, quoting “Hamlet” at the beginning of the lecture. Bogdanos

said the saddest part of his story was that history

was somehow being erased by war.

“Prior to the Iraq war, the museum had been closed for 20 of the past 24 years -- the average Iraqi did not agree that this museum was theirs. They

called it ‘Saddam’s gift shop,’” Bogdanos said.


indyforum

To paraphrase the governor himself, he could have had Mother Teresa and an army of angels testify in his favor and it would not matter, because the legislature simply wasn’t willing to hear a defense on his part.

The legislatures unwillingness was as much about Blagojevich’s politics as about what he did.

Frances Martel ‘09 (fmartel@fas) also

thinks that OJ didn’t get a fair shake.

IN 2005, GOVERNOR JAMES MCGREEVEY

OF NEW JERSEY managed to corner himself. His was a tenure marked

by a taxpayer-sponsored vacations to Ireland, cushy jobs for (as we later found out) his male lovers, and a sea of kickback money that any small-fry Rhode Island politico would drown in.

It ended abruptly when a stronger creature was out to buy the governor’s seat, and had all the connections to take McGreevey to a place from which he could never run New Jersey again: jail. McGreevey should have ended up in prison for the financial, political, and moral damage he did to the nation, but little did Jon Corzine and the Democratic machine know that McGreevey had an ace up his sleeve — he was a Gay American, which is like simply being gay, but more Patriotic. And while his fate is currently that of a political leper in his own land, he can live comfortably with the thought of the penitentiary he deserves far from his mind; he can live off of his tell-all book deal.

His successor, Jon Corzine, may not be gay, but just as he maneuvered McGreevey out of office, he outdid him in the extent of his incompetence and outright political buffoonery. He bought his way to the Senate in the first place with Goldman Sachs money, and made it rain on a few more hungry voters to steal the governor’s mansion right out from under McGreevey. The price tag on those positions? $63 million and $43 million, respectively.

As if buying the seat wasn’t enough, his governing policies seem almost deliberately designed to hurt the state. On a good day, he is trying to prohibit citizens from smoking in the privacy of their own car. On a bad one, he is shutting down the entire state — police, fire, and every aspect of government imaginable —

Give Blago a Break

The disgraced Governor deserved a chance to prove his innocence.

because the legislature has had enough with his astronomical tax increases. With their hands tied behind their backs, the legislature was forced into giving Corzine the 7% tax increase he was after.

In light of the state executive fiascos that have occurred in recent American memory, all unchecked by the other branches of government ( using tax money for vacations, stealing the money for other endeavors, shutting down the state when they refuse to put up with the corruption), the goings-on in Illinois seem like a childish pout in the face of a situation that actually has little impact on the day-to-day lives of citizens.

Really, it is outrageous that a state legislature can choose who the governor of the state is, over the expressed wishes of the citizens, based on allegations that have absolutely nothing to do with state money. While millions struggle below the poverty line to make ends meet, often falling sick with no health care and having no other recourse but the government, the legislature has twiddled its time away demonizing a man who has worked diligently for the people since his ascent in 2002 to the governor’s office.

Say what you wi l l about Rod Blagojevich and his publicity antics, but Blagojevich never raised taxes a single times while in office, nor did he ever given up on expanding health care and making transportation more affordable and accessible for seniors. He estranged family members by refusing to participate in corruption that would have been detrimental to Illinois citizens (just ask his father-in-law, smoky backroom character Richard Mell). He tooks risks to ensure that the lives of his constituents improved. The Obama senate seat scandal is the only thing that anyone can talk about when discussing

Blagojevich, because trying to sell the seat is so taboo and so innately evil that it can overshadow years of struggle and improvement in millions of lives. But the Senate appointment duty is peripheral; it does not actually have anything to do with government money, which no one accused Blagojevich of pocketing. What makes the Blagojevich “scandal” so different from the kind of realpolitik machinations that are endemic to all politics? Not much, other than brazenness. And, in the end, Blagojevich proved everyone wrong by choosing as a Senator a kindly, clear-conscienced African-American man who lost his own governor’s bid against Blagojevich in 2002.

What those that are so desperately looking for reasons to be enraged can’t seem to find, in this case, is a way in which the average citizen is harmed by negotiations to place a senator in power in a way that would benefit the governor. Really, it’s hopelessly naïve to expect governors

not to take their political fortunes into consideration. And even though bribery is immoral, the money transfer would have been completely private: from the candidate to the governor, no tax dollars in between. There was no theft from the people; in fact, in the end there was no theft at all. And this is, of course, assuming that Blagojevich actually did intend to sell the Senate seat, which is not entirely certain.

With Blagojevich’s tax-lowering ways he managed to aggravate everyone from his father-in-law to Mayor Daley, Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, and every single Democratic member of his state legislature. It was the anger of these powerful political figures that put Blagojevich in the desperate political situation that led to his supposed crimes.

By FRANCES MARTEL

PATRICIA FLORESCU/Independent

sell advertisements · write theater reviews · draw illustrations · interview politicians · take

photographs · blog · voice your opinions · create artwork · cover sports · review new music · design

layout · improvise · criticize books · tell stories · watch movies · learn about journalism · analyze current events · design websites · start a column · make connectifons · run a business · develop marketing strategies · cover current events ·

manage finances · develop leads · sponsor events · get press access · sell advertisements · write theater reviews · draw illustrations · interview

politicians · take photographs · blog · voice your opinions · create artwork · cover sports · review new music · design layout · improvise · criticize books · tell stories · watch movies · learn about journalism · analyze current events · design websites · start a column · make connections · run a business ·

develop marketing strategies · cover current events · manage finances · develop leads · sponsor events

what can you do at the indy?

come find out

info session · sunday february 152-3 pm · lamont forum room

Enter the Vortex: The Valentine's Day Issue (02.12.09)

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