November 15, 2012
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THEEAGLEONLINE.COM American University’s student voice since 1925 BATTLE BUDGET @THEEAGLEONLINE November 15, 2012 Volume 87 – Issue 12 CAUS STORMS KERWIN’S HOUSE | 3 SG: LIMITED TUITION HIKES NEEDED | 4 STAFF EDITORIAL | 12
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The Eagle: American University's Student Voice
Transcript of November 15, 2012
THEEAGLEONLINE.COM
American University’s student voice since 1925
BATT
LE
BUDGET
@THEEAGLEONLINE
November 15, 2012Volume 87 – Issue 12
CAUS STORMS KERWIN’S HOUSE | 3
SG: LIMITED TUITION HIKES NEEDED | 4
STAFF EDITORIAL | 12
COVER PHOTOS (CLOCKWISE STARTING AT TOP) BY: DIANA
ALVARENGA / THE EAGLE, ANA SANTOS / THE EAGLE,
COURTESY OF ALYONA VOGELMANN,
EMMA KNIGHT / THE EAGLE
2 | NOVEMBER 15, 2012 theEAGLE
NOV. 15BOOK TALK WITH FORMER REP. MICKEY EDWARDS
5:30 p.m. / Mickey Edwards, the author of “Reclaiming Conservatism: How a Great American Political Move-ment Got Lost — And How It Can Find Its Way Back,” will be participating in a discussion moderated by Professor James Thurber. / MGC 200 / RSVP: [email protected]
NOV. 16MISSION: IMPROV-ABLE LONG FORM SHOW
11 p.m. / AU comedy improv group delivers their last performance of the semester. / Kreeger Auditorium / [email protected]
NOV. 16FIFTH ANNUAL CARIBBEAN AMBASSADORS DINNER
6:30 to 10:30 p.m. / Join the Carib-bean-U.S. diplomatic core, fellow stu-dents, alumni, parents and friends for a sit-down dinner. / School of Interna-tional Service 113 / Fee: $10 / Host: Caribbean Circle / [email protected]
NOV. 16WVAU PRESENTS OPEN MIC NIGHT
8 p.m. / Show us what you’ve got and grab a cup of coffee at an open mic night hosted by AU’s student-run internet radio station. / Batelle Atrium / [email protected]
NOV. 16AU SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA’S CONCERT
8 to 10:30 p.m. / The AU Symphony Orchestras concert will begin by play-ing music from Latin America, Ger-many and the United States. / Tickets: $15 regular admission, $10 AU commu-nity and seniors. / Katzen Recital Hall / Tickets: american.tix.com / [email protected]
NOV. 18SPRINT IN HER STILETTOS
Noon to 4 p.m. / Support Alpha Chi Omega’s efforts to spread awareness about domestic violence. One female coach and four males make up a team in 4x100 relay races in heels that the or-ganization will provide. / Kim Truong, [email protected]
EventsA story in the Nov. 8 edition
of The Eagle titled, “D.C. con-certs from the coffee-house to the Kennedy Center” misiden-tified band Grass Widow as “Grass Willow.”
Last week’s cover photo should be credited: JARED ANGLE / THE EAGLE.
Both photos are taken by: JARED ANGLE / THE EAGLE
Cover design by: Allie Powell
Corrections
Front Cover
ANA SANTOS / THE EAGLE
AU volleyball finished its regular season in second place and will enter the Patriot League Tourna-ment this weekend. They’ll face Army Nov. 17 at Colgate University in New York. More on page 15.
Healthy adult volunteers neededThe National Institute of MentalHealth is conducting outpatientresearch studies on fear andanxiety at the National Institutesof Health Clinical Center inBethesda,Maryland.
For more informat ion, please cal l :1-800-411-1222 (TTY: 1-866-411-1010)
Se habla españolOr go online, cl inicaltr ials.gov
Department of Health and Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health
National Inst itute of Mental Health
Over a period of one to three visits ofone to three hours each, participantswill be interviewed and complete
computer tasks during which heart rate will be recorded.Volunteers must be between 18-50 years of age,medically healthy, and not be taking medication. There is nocost for study-related tests. Compensation will be provided.
NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health
The NIH Clinical Center, America’s research hospital, is located on the Metrored line in Bethesda, Maryland.
Refer to study #: 01-M-0185 or 02-M-0321
NEWS German ambassador talks economics, Syria 6
By JARED ANGLE
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Members of the Coalition of American University Students (CAUS) marched to President Neil Kerwin’s home on Glen-brook Road Nov. 8 to demand a tuition freeze, leading to the dispatch of two AU Public Safety cars and a Metro-politan Police De-partment car.
“You are in viola-tion of the law,” said an AU Public Safety officer over his car’s loudspeaker as the students ap-proached Kerwin’s home. D.C. currently forbids “unreasonably loud noise” after 10 p.m. No-body was arrested.
Over 40 CAUS members, in-cluding some students from the University of Maryland, College Park, arrived at the home just be-fore 11:30 p.m., banging on pots and pans and shouting protest chants, such as “Hey hey, ho ho, tuition hike has got to go” and “Beat back the tuition attack.”
“You’re hurting yourselves,” said Kerwin, who left his home to address the students.
Kerwin criticized CAUS’s method of protesting, particu-larly the noise level in a residen-tial neighborhood late at night.
“It’s not the way [a tuition freeze is] gonna get done,” Ker-win said.
“Who are you accountable to?” CAUS member Mana Ali-abadi, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, asked Kerwin.
“The [AU] Board of Trust-ees,” he said.
Several CAUS members chanted the name of investment banking firm Goldman Sachs in reaction.
AU Board of Trustees Fi-nance and Investment Commit-tee Chairman Gary Cohn is the
president and chief operating of-ficer of Goldman Sachs.
“One would expect the presi-dent to be accountable to the students,” CAUS member Val-erie Kiebala, a sophomore in the School of International Ser-vice, said in a phone interview with The Eagle after the protest. “We’re really surprised by Ker-
win’s lack of re-spect for us.”
Kiebala said that CAUS mem-bers will expand their focus and plan to approach trustees and other members
of the AU administration to dis-cuss a tuition freeze. She also said students from Portland State University in Oregon and the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania are interested in starting similar campus organi-zations.
“Tuition money comes from students,” said Kiebala. “Stu-dents have a right to a say of where that money goes.”
CAUS brings tuition fight to Kerwin’s home with late-night rally
AU students march down Glenbrook Road to Kerwin’s house to call for a tuition freeze.
Kerwin (right) addresses protesters on his front lawn.
JARED ANGLE / THE EAGLE
JARED ANGLE / THE EAGLE
Cal i forn ia State Univers i ty-Ful lerton
D iko Daghl ian
Char lotte Cooper
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“You’re hurting yourselves” - AU President Neil Kerwin, to CAUS
By HEATHER MONGILIO
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Student Government is ad-vocating for a tuition increase to cover necessary University costs.
SG also endorsed raising the proportion of tuition that is spent on financial aid and asked for more budget transparency, according to their report on the University budget released Nov. 12.
Students currently pay 81 percent of AU’s budget, accord-ing to the University Budget. The rest of the revenue comes from housing and dining fees and donations.
The SG Commission on Uni-versity Budget Policy, which consists of six SG members, re-leased the report in preparation for the town hall with the Board of Trustees and President Neil Kerwin on today at 5:30 p.m. in Ward 1.
“We commend all students who decide to make their voices heard on the University bud-get,” SG Comptroller Joe Ste.Marie said. “We think student engagement is the way this Uni-versity is run and we encourage it.”
SG President Emily Yu, Comptroller Joe Ste.Marie, for-mer Comptroller Eric Reath, Co-Directors of the University Budget Policy David Horowitz and Tionna Lake, and Class of 2015 Sen. Patrick Kelly sit on the Commission.
MARGINAL TUITION INCREASES
SG chose not to advocate for a tuition freeze because of the fi-nancial challenges it may bring to the University, Ste.Marie said.
“We are not advocating for fixed tuition because we think it hurts student interests and we don’t think it’s achievable,” Ste. Marie said.
If the University does not raise tuition during this budget cycle, it could force the Univer-sity to raise tuition even higher in the next budget cycle to re-coup losses. The University could also face millions of dol-lars in cuts if there is no tuition increase, Ste.Marie said.
SG believes that cutting ad-ministration salaries would not replace a tuition increase be-cause the administration salaries are not worth enough to cover the amount needed to cover Uni-versity costs, Ste. Marie said.
“[Administration] are paid less than 1 percent of the bud-get,” Reath said.
Professor salaries would also have to be cut in order to meet the amount needed for a tuition freeze, Ste.Marie said
SG: HIGHER DISCOUNT RATE WILL BENEFIT STUDENTS
Currently, for every dollar paid toward tuition 29 cents
goes to financial aid, Yu said. Ste.Marie said SG would like to see that proportion, called the tuition discount rate, raised to 30 percent.
SG said in the report that a low discount rate is bad for stu-dents, because the higher the discount rate the larger the pool of available financial aid.
A higher tuition discount rate could also result in a larger tu-ition increase, but the amount of financial aid would also in-crease, Ste.Marie said.
The University recently real-located a portion of its financial aid from merit-based to need-based aid, The Eagle previously reported.
With more money for finan-cial aid, both need-based and
merit-based scholarships would increase, Reath said.
STUDENTS’ RIGHTS TO KNOWSG’s final point calls for more
transparency on the budget.SG believes more attention
is needed to explain where stu-dent money goes in the budget, but it does not believe a list of every purchase is needed, Ste.Marie said.
“More transparency on per-sonnel costs, financial aid, and more detailed unit budgets would allow students to better understand how their tuition dollars are being spent,” accord-ing to the SG report.
Staff Writer Sam Raphelson contributed to this report.
By TORI DALCOURT
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
AU is forming plans to address negative feedback in regard to students’ math education.
“The census results are not so bad,” said Mieke Meurs, associ-ate dean of graduate studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. “But they are less than what we would like.”
The feedback was received through the May 2012 Graduate Census, which is given to all un-dergraduate seniors at the time of their graduation.
When asked if AU developed students’ “quantitative skills,” 60 percent of students answered “well” or “very well,” according
to Maralee Csellar, associate di-rector of media relations.
The term “quantitative skills” has several definitions, including a person’s ability to analyze data or the use of general math skills, according to Meurs.
Provost Scott Bass appointed Meurs to be chairwoman of a task force intended to examine AU’s current courses, collect data on students’ learning out-comes in the area of quantita-tive skills and suggest possible changes.
The tasks force also looks into course requirements of dif-ferent programs. For example, a literature major may not be prioritizing classes that empha-size quantitative skills, Meurs
said. Some majors may not need more quantitative math courses while other majors may need more of them.
Bass asked that the task force submit a report by the end of the semester summariz-ing the group’s finding and any suggestions that they may have, according to Meurs.
The task force has begun to collect data on how AU and other schools teach quantitative skills, according to Meurs. She said AU wants to make sure that its course offerings are similar to those of other institutions.
“I would love to have more information about what alumni think,” Meurs said.
4 | NOVEMBER 15, 2012 NEWS theEAGLE
Survey says students lack quantitative skills
SG advocates for limited tuition hikes, budget transparency
BY AMBER COHEN
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Phonathon, a University-run program where stu-dents call alumni for donations, will not meet its fundraising goals due to Hurri-cane Sandy, according to Assistant Director of Annual Giving Grif-fin Ross.
The program has raised $110,000 since May 1 and sought to raise $250,000 by Dec. 1.
“Because of the storm, we
have decided not to call alumni who live in Delaware, New Jer-sey and New York until we come back from winter vacation,” Ariel
Levin, student supervisor of the program, said. “The less people we have to call means less people we have to ask for contributions.”
Callers will begin contacting
alumni and parents who live in the affected areas on the East Coast to make up the deficit starting in January 2013, ac-
cording to Levin. “Student callers
need to ask alumni for donations” in or-der to fully fund the University, Levin said. “I am confi-dent that we will get
them to give back to AU.” Alumni donations currently
make up 2 percent of the Uni-versity’s revenue.
BY LEIGH GIANGRECO
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
The Army Corps announced Nov. 13 that demolition on 4825 Glenbrook Rd. will begin the week of Nov 26.
Site preparation for investi-gative work is set after Dec. 19 when the Corps hopes demoli-tion is completed. This work includes inspecting the site for arsenic trichloride, a dangerous chemical which affects the eyes and lungs. However, the Corps will not search for additional
arsine-filled munitions, of which they previously found three.
The Corps will begin work under a large tent, called a “con-tainment structure,” in January, when they expect to find chemi-cals. Army Corps spokesmen at the meeting said that precautions have been put in place for the in-vestigation. However, they have also instituted voluntary “shel-ter in place” procedures, which instructs people about where to take cover in case something goes wrong at the site.
There are eight properties
which fall into the zone where residents would be advised to “shelter in place,” including Wat-kins Hall and President Neil Ker-win’s home at 4835 Glenbrook Rd.
Brenda Barber, Corps project manager, said she has also com-municated with AU’s athletic department about providing emergency access through the intramural field. Signs, audio and video cues will be located on AU’s campus, according to Barber.
theEAGLE NEWS NOVEMBER 15, 2012 | 5
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Open House Reception Nov. 28, 5:30 pmUniversity of Maryland Van Munching Hall, College Park
BY SUZANNE GABER
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Two years after the death of Professor Sue Marcum, students are still working to honor her memory.
The second annual Sue Mar-cum Day of Service will be held on Nov. 17 through the AU Cam-pus Kitchen, a collaboration with St. Luke’s Mission to provide food to the hungry. The event, hosted by the Accounting Club, is a memorial for the late profes-sor who was murdered in her
Bethesda home Oct. 25, 2010. The Campus Kitchen project
takes food from local restaurants and cafeterias and distributes the food through Regency House. Those who volunteer are often allowed a free meal as well.
Marcum taught accounting and taxation in the Kogod School of Business. She was also the faculty advisor for the Account-ing Club and a faculty brother of Alpha Kappa Psi, which is the professional business fraternity on campus.
Students honor late professor with “Day of Service”
Phonathon falls short of fundraising goal
“The less people who have to call means less people we have to ask for contributions,”
- Ariel Levin, student supervisor of Phonathon
Demolition date set for Glenbrook house
Advertise in
By PETER SEREMETIS
EAGLE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
AU students scribbled sig-natures and phrases along 22- by 28-inch posters, all giv-ing thanks to the University workers who gave their time and energy to help the cam-
pus weather through the harsh conditions of Hurricane Sandy.
The AU United Methodist Student Association collected the signatures on the Quad Nov. 6 and 8, then hand-deliv-ered the posters to the Ara-mark, Public Safety, Housing and Dining, Facilities (2-Fix), Grounds Maintenance, Bon Appétit and Library offices on Nov. 9 as a surprise for the workers.
Ian Urriola, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences who started the project, said he came up with the idea after hearing that students ate at TDR during the superstorm.
“We just wanted to show gratitude for those who came in and made sacrifices to keep AU running during the storm,” Urriola said.
All of the departments were pleased to receive the posters and were thankful for students’ appreciation. The Bon Appétit workers put their poster on the
TDR comment board, accord-ing to Urriola.
“We were ecstatic over re-ceiving the card,” said Holly Mussatti, assistant director of operations at AU Facilities. “It was very fulfilling to be rec-ognized for our efforts during the storm, and we were very
surprised and pleased that the students went out of their way to do this.”
AUUMSA’s worker appre-ciation project was not the first to be arranged after the Hur-ricane. AUUMSA president and Letts Hall Resident As-sistant Cassie Baker said her residents posted signs on their doors as a tribute to Aramark workers for their assistance during the hurricane.
Baker said AUUMSA has not discussed yet whether the poster project will be con-tinuous, but did mention that “getting together with Student Government in the future to provide a student-wide thank you would be great.”
“I was not expecting Ara-mark workers to be cleaning bathrooms during the hur-ricane,” said Zach Robbins, a senior in the School of Interna-tional Service. “Lo and behold, everything was functional.”
By JARED ANGLE
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
German Ambassador to the United States Peter Ammon assured AU students Nov. 13 that the economic situation in Europe is not as dire as it seems.
“There are so many preju-dices flowing around,” Ammon told the audience of about 100 in the School of International Service Founder’s Room. “It’s wrong to be pessimistic about the United States, and it’s very wrong to be pessimistic about Europe.”
Ammon expressed confi-dence in trans-Atlantic eco-nomics, saying that the U.S. and European Union together account for half of the world’s economy, with 600,000 U.S. jobs created through German investment.
The event was hosted by Delta Phi Epsilon and spon-sored by the German Em-bassy’s “Think Transatlantic” initiative.
Ammon painted a picture of Germany and the EU as staunch allies of the U.S. in the foreign policy arena, say-ing that EU countries were
the first to join the U.S. in the 2001 war in Afghanistan.
The ambassador also con-demned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the recent civil war in his country.
Ammon said that while Ger-many has applied tough eco-nomic sanctions on the nation of nearly 21 million people, they have not decided on a military or humanitarian in-tervention, saying that forcing democracy on Syria would fail.
“Democracy will only flour-ish if there is [Syrian] owner-ship of the process,” he said.
6 | NOVEMBER 15, 2012 NEWS theEAGLE
Students thank campus staff who worked during
Hurricane Sandy
JARED ANGLE / THE EAGLE
German ambassador talks war, economics
“We were ecstatic over receiving the card,” - Holly Mussatti, assistant
director of operations at AU Facilities
German Ambassador Peter Ammon speaks to students in the School of International Service.
Check out recommendations for exciting art exhibits 9 SCENE
By REBECCA ZISSER AND
MAEVE MCDERMOTT
EAGLE STAFF WRITERS
The Student Union Board will host Chiddy Bang and Hoodie Al-len for its second concert of the semester.
The show will be held in the Tavern on Nov. 17, and doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets will be free to the first 600 AU students with a student ID.
Chiddy Bang is an American rap group that was founded in 2008 after band members, Chid-dy (real name Chidera Anamege) and Xaphoon Jones (real name Noah Beresin), met during their freshman year at Drexel Univer-sity.
Since then, the band has re-corded four mixtapes, three EPs and one studio album titled “Breakfast,” which was released earlier this year.
The band gained popularity af-ter several features on the music
blog Pretty Much Amazing and releasing their debut mixtape, “The Swelly Express,” in 2009.
Chiddy Bang’s also broke the world record for longest rap at the MTV O Music Awards. The duo rapped for nine hours and 18 minutes without stopping, beat-ing the previous record set by M-Eighty in 2009 by three minutes.
Performing with Chiddy Bang is frat rap upstart Hoodie Allen. After ditching his job at Google in 2011 to pursue rap full time, the University of Pennsylvania gradu-ate and Alpha Epsilon Pi brother released a handful of success-ful mixtapes after his breakout 2010 hit, the Marina and the Di-amonds-sampling “You Are Not A Robot.”
Allen’s March 2012 mixtape “All-American,” his first album featuring his producer RJF’s own beats instead of samples, debuted at No. 1 on iTunes. Stay tuned for a new mixtape, due later this year.
By MARK LIEBERMAN
EAGLE COLUMNIST
The more we talk, the less we listen.
The AU Players have dissect-ed this seemingly paradoxical statement with their production of Eugene Ionesco’s “The Bald Soprano.” This obscure comedy exposes redundancies in mod-ern communication.
Director Jeff Gan, a junior in the School of International Ser-vice and College of Arts and Sci-ences, reinterpreted several key aspects of the production to dis-tinguish this performance from previous iterations, challenging his actors to reveal new mean-ings buried deep within the in-scrutable script.
Admitting that he is “in love with this play,” Gan said that he was inspired to direct this ver-sion after seeing the AU Players’ production of the obscure 13th-century medieval drama “The Conversion of Thais the Whore” last April.
According to Ryan Mays, a freshman in the School of Com-munication, “The Bald Soprano” was once described as “the trag-edy of the English language” be-cause the script demonstrates communication’s destructive ability to diminish truth.
The minimal plot follows
two husband-and-wife duos, the Smiths and the Martins, during an evening of ephemeral, neigh-borly camaraderie gone awry. A visit from the town’s meek but lovable fire chief (Mays) catalyz-es a disturbingly chaotic release of nonsensical dialogue, culmi-nating in a striking reversal that brings the story full circle.
The show’s six characters fall into three categories of compre-hension. The Smiths and Martins struggle to make sense of their meaningless interactions, while the maid chooses not to think about the implications of her dis-course. As for the fire chief?
“He sees the meaningless communication, and it utterly destroys him,” Mays said.
Although the rehearsal pro-cess has ultimately been reward-ing, this play presented several challenges for the actors. Alex Johnson, a freshman in CAS who plays Mrs. Smith, said “put-ting meaning into the lines,” many of which neglect tradi-tional grammar and basic coher-ence, required intense memo-rization. Prior to run-throughs, the actors recited formidable tongue twisters to “maintain fo-cus,” according to Paige Austin, a freshman in CAS.
The actors are also required to provide the show’s only source of light, pointing flash-
lights at themselves and others to illuminate their faces while leaving the rest of the stage in shadow. While initially discon-certing, the eerie absence of traditional lighting reflects the play’s central themes.
“The characters are always trying to define for themselves what their reality is,” Gan ex-plained. “They can only illumi-nate as much as their narrow state of being allows.”
Gan also said that the actors experienced difficulty with the unconventional lighting situa-tion.
“They’ve really taken to it now,” he said, praising the ac-tors for their perseverance in realizing his “slightly darker read” of a play usually presented as pure farce. By fusing rapid wit with disconcerting distress, Gan hopes to provoke thought and laughter in equal measure.
Despite the unfamiliar pro-duction style, Austin experi-enced a comfortable, welcom-ing rehearsal environment.
Will humans ever transcend the crippling limitations of com-munication? Perhaps audiences at this weekend’s performance of “The Bald Soprano” will be one step closer to the answer.
Chiddy Bang, Hoodie Allen to perform for free in Tavern
AU Players tackle comedy with ‘Bald Soprano’
WHERE: KATZEN STUDIO THEATRE
WHEN: NOV. 15 – 17HOW MUCH: $5
COURTESY OF LASTFM/CHIDDY BANG
SARAH JACQUES / THE EAGLEAU Players’ “Bald Soprano” uses only flash lights to light the actors’ faces.
MARK LIEBERMAN — TAKE 5
THIS WEEK’S POP CULTURE HEADLINES SURPRISINGLY DIP INTO PRESIDENTIAL WATERS. VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN WILL GUEST STAR ON AN UPCOMING EPISODE OF “PARKS AND RECREATION,” WHILE DANIEL DAY-LEWIS TACKLES THE ROLE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN STEVEN SPIELBERG FILM “LINCOLN.”
OBAMA? (K)NOPE!Leslie Knope, the optimis-
tic city councilwoman at the heart of NBC’s hilarious and
heartfelt comedy “Parks and Recreation” (Thursdays at 9:30 p.m.), finally meets the man of her dreams next week, as Vice President Joe Biden makes a high-profile guest appearance on the low-rated but critically acclaimed show.
Knope (Amy Poehler) once described her ideal man as someone with “the brains of George Clooney and the body of Joe Biden,” so this meet-ing will likely provide strong fodder for the show’s writers. Viewers who love wacky char-acters and a comedic pathos ought to check out “Parks and Rec.”
LINCOLN LOVIN’What do you get when you
combine a beloved and prolific filmmaker (Steven Spielberg) with the award-winning author of the play “Angels in America” (Tony Kushner) and mix in one of the most impressive actors of his generation (Daniel Day-Lew-is) playing one of the nation’s foremost political heroes? You get “Lincoln,” a biopic about the pressure-filled months leading up to the end of the American Civil War and the 16th presi-dent’s storied life.
The film has already at-tracted raves from critics like Michael Phillips of the Chicago
Tribune, who called the movie “Spielberg’s best in a decade.” Sounds downright presidential.
DID LABEOUF TRANSFORM?Michael Bay once insisted
that he would only direct three “Transformers” films, despite evidence to the contrary. Then he insisted that he would not be casting Mark Wahlberg in a possible fourth installment in the series, despite evidence to the contrary.
Ultimately, Bay proved to be no match for the piling evidence to the contrary, revealing this week that Wahlberg will indeed be the star of a new adventure for the Autobots and Decep-ticons, to be released in June 2014. Speculation has mounted that Wahlberg will play the fa-ther of a teenage son who will take the lead in future install-ments.
AMERICA’S CHOICEThe latest in an endless
string of awards shows with three-letter acronyms airs on ABC this Sunday night at 8 p.m. The American Music Awards (AMAs) are selected purely by music fans, who can vote now by logging on to www.abc.com.
As with any awards show, the show provides the opportunity for popular acts, including Tay-lor Swift, Justin Bieber, Usher, Ke$ha, PSY, Kelly Clarkson,
Carly Rae Jepsen, Nicki Minaj, The Wanted, No Doubt and Christina Aguilera, to reinforce their ubiquity by performing live.
The broadcast will also look back fondly with clips to com-memorate the program’s 40th anniversary.
NO, THANK YOU!This Tuesday marks the an-
nual music industry tradition of flooding the marketplace with high-profile new releases im-mediately before Black Friday sales commence. “American Idol” season 11 winner and “Home” hitmaker Phillip Phil-lips unleashes his debut set, “The World From This Side of the Moon.”
Environmental implications aside, party rockers will be pleased with Pitbull’s “Global Warming,” featuring collabora-tions with the usual suspects: Usher, Jennifer Lopez and Chris Brown. The latter also makes a slightly more controversial appearance on Rihanna’s “Un-apologetic,” her third album in three years.
Finally, Kid Rock’s music has arrived on iTunes just in time for a new addition, “Rebel Soul.”
By DAVID KAHEN-KASHI
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Under the skillful direction of Daniel Abraham, associate professor in! the Department of Performing Arts and director of choral activities at AU, the AU Chamber Choir performed a series of Russian, German and American works on Nov. 10 and 11.
The series precedes the group’s upcoming spring 2013 tour through Russia in May. The choir will forgo most major cit-ies in favor of smaller, less well-known locations.
“Going off the beaten path was more interesting,” Abraham said.
Avoiding the larger cities in favor of more quaint accommo-dations would yield a far more
culturally nourishing experi-ence, Abraham said.
Acquiring a grant from the State Department, the choir will work with Russian youth con-servatories and foster relations with the local Russian commu-nity in addition to singing.
The centerpiece of the pro-gram’s Nov. 10 and 11 perfor-mances was a selection of cho-ral songs by Russian composer Georgy Sviridov, the 20th-centu-ry composer known for his film score to “The Blizzard” (1964), which contained intonations of Russian and low bass humming for the rendition of “Three Cho-
ruses from the Incidental Music to the Tragedy of A. K. Tolstoy’s ‘Czar Feodor Ioannovich.’”
Selecting Sviridov prompted an extensive search for sheet music, with Abraham searching as far as Finland to find proper sheet music transcriptions of the choral music. After the mu-sic was shipped to the U.S., he enlisted the help of AU gradu-ate Angela MacDougall, School of International Service ‘13, to transcribe and translate the Cy-rillic text.
Not as bombastic and nation-alistic as Dmitri Shostakovich and not as experimental as Igor
Stravinsky, Sviridov’s music is melodic, even at times con-taining hints of melancholy, as exhibited in performances of “Inexpressible Wonder” and “Having Witnessed a Wondrous Birth.”
Other pieces of interest were a series of American spirituals: “The Gift to Be Simple,” “Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal” and a sentimental rendition of “Oh Shenandoah.”
The AU Chamber Choir truly proved their strong ability through their evocation of mys-tic folksiness.
TV, FILMS TAKE ON LINCOLN, BIDEN
8 | NOVEMBER 15, 2012 SCENE theEAGLE
AU Chamber Choir performs Russian, German works
CHECK OUT THE SCENE’S REVIEW OF “LINCOLN” ONLINE!
theEAGLE SCENE NOVEMBER 15, 2012 | 9
SEAN MEEHAN — FINE ART FOR FREE
D.C. art exhibits get elemental twist, draw from international influences
COURTESY OF ZENITH GALLERY
EARTH, WIND, FIRE — Peter Kephart’s works use the elements, along with gunpowder and paint.
Living in a big city can be expensive. But it doesn’t have to be. Every week there’s somebody willing to feed, entertain, occupy, educate or annoy you, for free. Fine Art for Free rounds up the best free arts events in the coming week to help you stretch that paycheck just a little bit further.
LAST CALL
“LOW MOMENTS” | PLEASANT PLAINS WORKSHOP OPEN UNTIL NOV. 18
The idea behind “Low Moments” is basically the opposite of what other exhibitions are looking for. Built out of an open call for “artistic failures,” “Low Moments” features various artists show-casing some of their worst moments. A lighthearted change of pace from the seriousness of many exhibitions, this exhibit is a great way to inject some humor into a day at the galleries. As an added bonus, the art hanging in this exhibit all comes from area artists, making it easier to track down some of their work of which they are actually proud.
Pleasant Plains Workshop is located on Georgia Avenue between Euclid and Fairmont Streets, directly across the street from Howard University’s main campus.
WHAT’S NEW
“PASSPORT PLEASE” BY AL BURTS INTERNATIONAL VISIONS GALLERYNOV. 8 - DEC. 8 | OPENING RECEPTION NOV. 10 6:30-9P.M.
In “Passport Please,” Al Burts uses his distinct and intricate style of ballpoint pen drawing to create portraits inspired by the African roots of America. Burts’ attention to detail and intricate shading demonstrate an unrivaled mastery of the somewhat un-conventional ballpoint pen as an artistic medium. The portraits themselves are profiles of strength and resilience, from the silent strength of women working through rough times to the almost messianic calmness of Marvin Gaye.
International Visions Gallery is located at 2629 Connecticut Ave., NW near the Woodley Park Metro station.
“FIRE, WATER, EARTH AND WIND: THE UNFORGETTABLE FIREPAINTINGS OF PETER KEPHART” | ZENITH GALLERY OPEN UNTIL NOV. 27
Combining fire, water, wind, paint, gunpowder and pastel, Pe-ter Kephart’s “firepaintings” are a little more labor-intensive than most paintings. Using a process that leaves a lot of his creations up to chance, Kephart crafts intricately colored and whimsical landscapes that swirl together all the natural elements that go into them. Kephart embraces the elements of chance in nature, work-ing with these elements to create collaborative paintings with beau-tiful, warm colors.
Zenith Gallery is located on the second floor of 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW near the Friendship Heights Metro Station.
AUDIOPHILELooking for new music? DJs at WVAU share their thoughts on a range of recent releases.
The whistling indie violinist goes to a honky-tonk: Andrew Bird is back with his second album of 2012.
“Hands of Glory” is a stripped down, intimate companion to March release “Break It Yourself.”
It’s also a little bit country. Recorded with a few musicians
around a single microphone, “Hands of Glory” is full of covers of Bird’s favorite Americana tunes.
Known to be a huge Townes Van Zandt fan, Bird includes a fairly faithful cover of “If I Needed You.” “When That Helicopter Comes” is an eerie yet swingy version of
the already mysterious Handsome Family song.
“Hands of Glory” is folksy rather than artsy, unlike Bird’s previous albums. He leaves out his virtuosic whistling and exposes his vocals more than ever before. These songs deal with difficult concepts of sin and salvation through story, just like any good country record.
RIYL: Townes Van Zandt, Gillian Welch, M. Ward
By TREVOR LANGAN
“GYPSY SOUL” - THURSDAYS, 6-8 P.M.
ANDREW BIRD HANDS OF GLORY
Pretty good for a collection of odds and ends; Dirty Projectors have already released a full-length studio album this year, the quality of which you may still be contem-plating.
“About To Die,” then, comes as something of a bonus release. Consisting of the titular track (one of the best from the album “Swing Lo Magellan”), three original songs and the two tracks released earlier as a tour-only single, the
17-minute EP is typical Dirty Projectors. There’s the general off-kilter attitude toward meter and key, the usual female vocal harmonies, all topped off by the over-the-top, multi-tracked yelping of David Longstreth.
That being said, it’s still worth a listen. “While You’re Here,” written after the 2007 passing of TV on the Radio member Gerard Smith and features just strings and vocals. But Longstreth’s
unconventionally melismatic ap-proach to singing keeps it from getting boring. “Simple Request” sounds like one of Led Zeppe-lin’s lighter tracks with a Jimmy Page-esque acoustic performance, subtly powerful drum track and crooning, melodic vocals.
The final two tracks, from the tour-only single, are also pretty catchy. And while it might not be anything revolutionary for the band, it is still a great companion to their album this year.
Recommended If You Like: Animal
Collective, Frank Zappa, that David Byrne & St. Vincent collaborationBy BILL OLDHAM, “KERWIN’S KORNER”
TUESDAYS, 8-10 P.M.
DIRTY PROJECTORS ABOUT TO DIE
A cathartic reminder of ‘90s heroes with touches of post-hardcore.
Pile throws Built to Spill’s intri-cate guitar melodies into a blender with Modest Mouse’s angrier mo-ments and sprinkles in touches of folk-punk and Shellac’s hammered drums. The result is a dark, moody album featuring songs that feel absolutely monstrous despite their
relatively short length. “Baby Boy” opens the album
with a grimy story juxtaposing childhood innocence with adult failure.
Their Boston heritage is ap-parent not even a minute into the album as Rick Maguire sings, “He washes his hands in a water bubbler” in a song that owes its quiet-loud-quiet dynamics to fellow Bostonian ‘80s alt-champions, the Pixies.
There’s an abundance of gut-wrenching, honest emotion seeth-ing just beneath the surface, from the shriekingly beautiful guitar
solo that closes “Prom Song” to Maguire’s roaring, bone-cutting refrain on “The Jones.”
If you’re a fan of ‘90s guitar-driv-en indie rock and the snarling ag-gression of post-hardcore, you owe it to yourself to give Pile a chance. While the band is still finding an audience, “Dripping” already feels as classic as the legends that it brings to mind. RIYL: Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Pixies, !e Jesus Lizard
By CAMERON STEWART
“SULTRY RED FEEDBACK”
SATURDAYS, 3-4 A.M.
PILE DRIPPING
10 | NOVEMBER 15, 2012 SCENE theEAGLE
By AURORA DE PERALTA
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
ARETHA FRANKLIN — SAT. @ DAR CONSTITU-TION HALL7:30 P.M.$59.95-$115
Attention, soul music junkies: your queen, Aretha Franklin, is coming to D.C. Despite concert cancella-tions in New York and New Jersey, Franklin is set to perform at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall.
The iconic Lady of Soul’s music is epitomized by her gospel-charged sound. She earned her royal title with a flurry of late ‘60s hits, like “Chain of Fools,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and of course, “Respect.” She continues to make albums today under her self-titled record label, Aretha’s Records. Her title as Queen of Soul still re-mains uncontested.
The ticket price range can seem daunting, but it will be a price well paid to see this music legend live and in all her glory.
DAN DEACON — SAT. @ 9:30 CLUB8 P.M., $15
Known for his euphoric synth electronica, Balti-more-based Dan Deacon will perform at the 9:30 club this Saturday. The bearded electronic music composer will feature songs from his album released last month, “America.”
Having participated in the “Occupy” movement, Deacon’s boldly titled al-bum has undeniable politi-cal undertones. But despite the governmental titles,
his songs don’t go down the route of explicit invest-ment-bank-cursing and Republican-bashing rheto-ric. His music is marked by manipulated instrumentals and furtive atmospherics that bring a cinematic mood to his concerts. Audience members can expect an ear-ringing night of electro-pop from Deacon.
Performing with Dan Deacon will be rap group Heights With Friends, elec-tro-pop producer Chester Endersby Gwazda and vi-sual artist Alan Resnick.
JAZZ JAM SESSIONS — TUESDAYS @ TAKOMA STATION TAVERN7 P.M.-10 P.M.FREE
For weeknight jazz that is fun, friendly and conve-niently located on the red line, look no further than Takoma Station Tavern. Ev-ery Tuesday, this historic venue hosts lively open jazz jam sessions.
Takoma Station Tavern has hosted Jazz Jam Ses-sions since October 2010. The lineup constantly changes with different mu-sicians, but is always led by bass player Raymond Magic. Notable Latin jazz, international jazz and pro-gressive jazz musicians all perform at the venue, and audience members are more than welcome to bring their voices and instruments to play along with them.
But the tavern does de-mand classy attire for their jazz nights. Sneakers and athletic wear are strictly prohibited.
Aretha Franklin, Dan Deacon to tour D.C.
BY YOHANA DESTA
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
When the creators of “Amer-ican Horror Story” decided to completely change the location and characters of the already beloved series for its second season, fans everywhere held their breath.
But even after all the changes, the show (now called “American Horror Story: Asy-lum”) is still as gut-wrenching-ly addicting as it ever was.
Centered around the Briar-cliff Mental Institution, the show follows a handful of characters as they struggle to survive the absurdity around them. Jessica Lange (who won an Emmy for her portrayal as Constance in AHS’s last season) is tantalizing in her lead role as Sister Jude, a pious nun with a dirty past. Oth-er familiar faces from last season include Evan Peters (who plays a good guy framed as a mur-derer), Nora Montgomery (as a devil-possessed nun) and Sarah
Paulson (a journalist who gets trapped in the mental institute).
Thus far the show has pushed its horrific boundaries, including scenes of terrifyingly graphic murders, hell-raising exorcisms, aliens and all-around twisted characters with more than a few skeletons in their closets.
Complete the grid soeach row, column and3-by-3 box (in boldborders) containsevery digit, 1 to 9. Forstrategies on how tosolve Sudoku, visitwww.sudoku.org.uk
SOLUTION TOWEDNESDA S PUZZLE
Level: 1 2
3 4
© 2012 The Mepham Group. Distributed byTribune Media Services. All rights reserved.
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
ACROSS
1 Actress Jessica5 Uses spurs, say
10 Sports squad14 Fortuneteller15 Not yet burning16 Taper off17 Light reddish
shade named fora fish
19 Tehrans land20 Uganda s Amin21 Drawer projection22 Env. stuffing23 Flows slowly25 Children s
imitation game29 Deal, as a blow31 “Then what
happened?”32 Govt. hush-hush
org.33 “Grody to the
max!”34 Dessert served in
triangular slices35 Grub36 Sticky breakfast
sweets40 Relax in the tub41 Solemn promise42 “__ as directed”43 Do some sums44 Crank (up)45 Dormitory, to dirty
room49 Grated citrus peel52 Onetime capital
of Japan53 Swigs from flasks54 Tiny bit56 Chili __ carne57 Go steady with58 Winter cause of
sniffles andsneezes
61 “Deal me a hand”62 Heavenly path63 Golden St.
campus64 Kennel guests65 Pre-meal prayer66 Bouquet
DOWN
1 Birthplace of St.Francis
2 Hard to lift3 Religious
conviction4 Shirt part
TVdetective Peter
6 Not AWOL
7 Perp-to-cop story8 Crowd noise9 Wall St. buy
10 Minnesotabaseballers
11 Auditory passage12 Some therapists13 “Little __”: Alcott
novel18 Thumb-and-
forefinger gesture22 Finish24 Put (down), as a
bet26 Common street
name27 What a solo
homer produces28 Airline to
Copenhagen30 Venezuelan
president Hugo34 “Batman” sound
effect35 Song of mourning36 Alias for a secret
agent37 Words of
confession38 “Shake a leg!”39 Native of Japan s
third mostpopulous city
40 Mineo of“Exodus”
44 OR staffers45 Like numbers in
the periodic table46 Ornate 18th-
century style47 Ring-shaped
reefs48 Workweek start, or
an apt title for thispuzzle based onan abbreviationfound in its fivelongest answers
50 Starts the show
51 “The Lion King”king
55 Beach bag57 Salsa, e.g.58 Gear
tooth59 Hockey
immortal Bobby
60 Coffee container
Saturday s Puzzle Solved
By Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel
(c)2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
“AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM” AIRS ON WEDNESDAY
NIGHTS AT 10P.M. ON FX.
All you LDR people (and I’m one too) - just remember that he/she loves you and wouldn’t be doing it if they didn’t like the Beatles said “love is all you need.” It still sucks.
I would’ve whistled as you walked by, but we were on the silent floor
A guy in the dav currently has whiskers painted on his face and is wearing cat ears. I just want to know why.
My roommate is the one who ranted a couple days ago about how she didn’t remember if she ranted the “I think I’m going crazy” rant. She just said “You’re going to die” completely seriously and out of the blue. Then she said she had no idea why she said it. She IS going crazy.
If a CAUS makes a lot of noise on the quad, and nobody gives a damn, did it really make a sound?
A paper on why a specific ethical issue is an ethical issue? How about our next assignment is on why a certain country is a country or why a certain type of dog is a dog
I have no idea what this person next to me at the library is doing. They are rubbing their pen vigorously on a cinder block. Are they trying to sharpen it? I don’t understand
Liking to be dominated is not super kinky. It’s more like french vanilla.
Anyone saying the CAUS protest was too disruptive has clearly never heard of protesting.
I hate that when I move my feet on my bed it makes farting noises. I’m not farting, roomie!
Not sure which is more pathetic, the fact that I have nothing to do with my saturday night than be on my laptop or that this is actually an average saturday night for me
To all the vets out there, while I may not always agree that war is the answer, I have nothing but utmost respect for you. We civilians may not always show it, but I for one thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service. I am now and forever will be indebted to you.
I wish people knew quiet hours were a thing….second straight night I have been woken up by loud biddies…
Eagle Rants Go ahead, speak your mind. We’ll probably print it.
SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
theEAGLE SCENE NOVEMBER 15, 2012 | 11
Do you generally experience more tension,nervousness, or anxiety than your friendsor family? If so, you may be interested inparticipating in research studies involving:
• Brain imaging• Emotional response tests &
Computer-based tasks• Outpatient visits at the NIH Clinical
Center, Bethesda, MD• Evaluation for study eligibility includes
physical and mental health assessment.
Participants must be between 18-50 years ofage, and medically healthy. There is no costfor participation or any tests associatedwith the research. Financial compensation isavailable for participation.
For more information call: 1-888-644-2694or 1-888-NIH-ANXI (TTY: 1-866-411-1010) E-mail: [email protected]://patientinfo.nimh.nih.gov
Do You Worry A Lot?NIMH RESEARCH STUDIES: Researchers are interested in learning about
brain and body responses associated with generalized anxiety disorder.
www.clinicaltrials.gov
TV PICK: “American Horror Story”
The University’s budget should be a top priority for all stu-dents, but it’s clear that the stu-dents advocating for us, elected or not, are failing.
It’s easy to dismiss raising tu-ition costs as unnecessary and to complain about President Neil Kerwin’s salary. But tuition deci-sions are never that simple, and a tuition freeze is simply misguid-ed.
AU is a private university, meaning it lacks state funding and has to operate from two reve-nue sources: alumni endowments and tuition. AU has only begun to emerge in the last 50 years, so it cannot depend heavily on alumni endowments like competing uni-versities, such as George Wash-ington University.
Tuition accounts for 81 percent of AU’s income. Students pay for almost everything, from air con-ditioning to dry-erase markers, from the WONK campaign to, yes, Kerwin’s salary.
If AU was to instate a tuition freeze, the school would lose tens
of millions of dollars. We would be sacrificing the quality of our professors, speed of construc-tion and the vast resources in our library, just to start. Inflation is going to keep rising. If the Uni-
versity fails to acquire the neces-sary funding, students will end up suffering.
Students, instead, need to fight for a fixed tuition, which was a central message of Student Gov-ernment President Emily Yu’s original campaign. With a fixed tuition, students would play the same rate each year, regardless of inflation. But each class would have a slightly higher tuition than the year graduating before it.
This is not the final solution; it’s a compromise and a place to start. A fixed tuition would re-
quire trustees to acknowledge the high tuition and be honest with all financial expenses.
A fixed tuition could help ac-complish Coalition of American University Students and SG’s first
collaborative goal: transparency in the budget. Tuition freeze or not, students need to hold the University accountable.
Transparency will not be granted without accurate student representation from the two most powerful student groups on cam-pus, CAUS and SG. SG has the official representation students need in negotiations with admin-istration, and CAUS has enough presence to galvanize student ac-tion. But with neither group will-ing to work together, nothing can be accomplished. They’re blind
to the fact that they are working toward the same goals: affordable education and student represen-tation.
Collaboration is not going to happen without some changes.
First, Yu, as a key undergradu-ate voice on the Board of Trust-ees meetings, needs to advocate for students. Yu claimed that if she argues for a complete tuition freeze, the trustees will laugh and ignore her recommendations. But Yu’s job is to represent the students and, so far, the students voicing their opinions want a tu-ition freeze, misguided as that extreme idea might be. If SG is preemptively giving up ground because they are afraid to negoti-ate with the administration, they shouldn’t have been elected.
As for CAUS, the recent pro-tests are a disappointment. CAUS began this semester as the prag-matic version of SG. Students across the board were taking them seriously because they were no longer the rowdy pro-testers. After last Wednesday’s protest outside Kerwin’s personal home, CAUS has dissolved back into another version of the Oc-cupy movement. Actions speak louder than words, and banging pots and pans will not accomplish anything more than angering a few neighbors.
Today, Kerwin and Board of Trustees Chairman Jeff Sine will host a town hall meeting in Ward 1. It’s imperative that students take advantage of this meeting and express their opinions on ev-ery aspect of the budget. Bypass SG and CAUS and make your voice heard.
Take tuition into your own hands, because right now we can-not count on SG or CAUS to do so. ! E
OPINION
Tuition freeze: better in theory than practiceSTAFF EDITORIAL
Banning the sale of bottled wa-ter on campus might seem like an odd way to take a stand against social injustice, but few people ful-ly understand exactly what they are sipping from their disposable plastic bottles. The issues associ-ated with bottled water and the privatization of water in general far exceed those of roadside litter and landfills.
The environmental issues sur-rounding bottled water are noth-
ing new. Plastic bottles are made from a byproduct of refining oil and, when accompanied with the gasoline used to transport the bottles from one place to another, give bottled water a huge carbon footprint. Also, only 10 percent of plastic bottles are recycled, send-ing the rest to landfills, incinera-tors and waterways, according to Food & Water Watch.
One issue AU students may find particularly hard to swallow
is the effect that water privatiza-tion has on human rights in our global community. Buying bottled water supports international com-panies who have succeeded in privatizing all municipal water in third world countries. The privati-zation of Bolivian water has led to a doubling of water prices. Many Bolivians cannot afford the price increase and there have been mass riots across the nation.
In addition to hurting the glob-al water system, buying bottled water supports unjust efforts right here at home. Several towns in our country have had their municipal water sources claimed and bottled by big companies
like Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Even during times of drought, these Americans are forced to buy what used to be a free re-source. Even as they grow thirsty, the companies continue to bottle.
In a survey administered to the AU community in October 2012, one student posed the argument that purchasing bottled water is everyone’s right. In response, stu-dents declared our freedoms only extend until they infringe on the rights of others. Everyone has a right to clean, safe drinking water. This freedom should not be sac-rificed for our luxury of drinking from disposable bottles while our sinks are filled with safer, cleaner
water. The most common miscon-
ception about bottled water is its superiority to tap water. D.C. tap water is checked for bacteria sev-eral times a day and has a water quality report available online. Nationally, tap water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Safe Drinking Water Act and is held to higher standards for safety than bottled water, which is regulated as a food product by the Food and Drug Administration. Addition-
Take tuition into your own hands, because right now we cannot count on SG or CAUS to do so.
Bottled water is far from pure
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 !
theEAGLE OPINION NOVEMBER 15, 2012 | 13
On Monday, the Student Government released its recom-mendations to the AU Board of Trustees, administration and students concerning the cre-ation of the budget for the next two fiscal years.
We presented three recom-mendations: increase the amount of financial aid, limit tuition in-crease as much as possible and make University finances more transparent. The University bud-get provides an opportunity to address the increasing burden of tuition, exacerbated by fall-ing household incomes, elective borrowing and nationwide eco-nomic uncertainty.
Though it is easy to get lost in budget reports and policy recommendations, tuition is not just a number. For parents, it represents another cost atop increasingly strained household budgets. For the University, it represents operating revenue that pays professors’ salaries and heats buildings. For stu-dents, it all too often represents
a future in debt. Let us be clear: Our primary
concern is to make AU as fi-nancially accessible as possible. That means increasing financial aid while keeping a tuition in-crease as close to zero as pos-sible.
Our recommendations, how-ever, offer only one of many opinions about how the Universi-ty’s budget should be addressed. We respect all student perspec-tives and encourage everyone to make their voice heard.
We urge our fellow students to continue this discussion with respect and civility for the cam-pus community, President Ker-win and the Board of Trustees.
After all, we ultimately want the same result: a better AU.
Eric Reath, Chairman of the Commission on University Bud-get Policy Joe Ste.Marie, Comptroller of the Student Government Emily Yu, President of the Stu-dent Government
SG encourages discussion on tuition
EDITOR-IN-CHIEFZach C. Cohen
MANAGING EDITOR FOR WEBSean Meehan
MANAGING EDITOR FOR NEWSAlex Greco
MANAGING EDITOR FOR THE SCENEYohana Desta
DESIGN EDITORAllie Powell
ASSISTANT DESIGN EDITORHeather Mongilio
Zoe StoennerPHOTO EDITOR
Ana SantosASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
Emma KnightNicole Brunet
STUDENT LIFE EDITORSamantha Hogan
ADMINISTRATION & LOCAL NEWS EDITORHeather Mongilio
NEWS ASSISTANTSAmber Cohen
Tori Dalcourt
Suzanne Gaber
MULTIMEDIA EDITORWilla Hine
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORRachel Lomot
ASSISTANT EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
David Lim
SPORTS EDITORTyler Tomea
SPORTS ASSISTANTS
Eric Saltzman
Samantha Raphelson
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Hoai-Tran Bui
MUSIC EDITOR
Maeve McDermott
ASSISTANT SCENE EDITOR
Kendall Breitman
COPY EDITORS
Rachel Karas
Marissa Cetin
BUSINESS MANAGER
Jake Kelderman
EDITORIAL STAFF
MISSION The Eagle, a student-run newspaper at the
American University, serves the community by
reporting news involving the campus commu-
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to be impartial in its reporting and believes
firmly in its First Amendment rights.
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and clarity and will print corrections or clarifi-
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CLASSIFIEDS
Earlier this semester, the Co-alition of American University Students (CAUS) delivered Pres-ident Neil Kerwin a petition con-taining the signatures of more than 1,700 students, demanding a tuition freeze for the next two years and student bargaining rights in budget decisions.
We had hoped, seeing this pe-tition was signed by more than a quarter of undergraduates, Kerwin would respect the will of the students and back down on planned tuition hikes that will re-sult in about a 30 percent tuition increase over the next five years.
Instead, Kerwin responded with a dismissive and conde-scending letter that unambigu-ously indicated that he would not yield to student demands.
Recognizing that working through such “polite” methods would result in no progress to-ward realizing a tuition freeze, the CAUS has embarked on a strategy of disrupting and in-conveniencing the lives of those individuals who are making the decision to saddle us with thou-sands of dollars more in tuition and, for many, thousands of dol-
lars more in debt. The goal here is to escalate such actions to the extent that these decision mak-ers would rather abandon the tu-ition hikes than continue to deal with these disruptions.
The demonstration Nov. 7 was part of that strategy, and to that end it was successful. Kerwin was visibly angry as he emerged from his house after calling the police on student protesters, who had woken him up by banging pots and pans outside his house. He told us that a tuition freeze would not happen, we should just “go home,” and he was account-able to the Board of Trustees, a body packed with corporate ex-ecutives, rather than to the stu-dents.
Kerwin should know that AU students have a proud history of direct action. After all, former AU president and embezzler Benjamin Ladner was forced to resign after student opposition culminated in dozens of students storming a Board of Trustees meeting.
We are sorry for any students who were disturbed by the dem-onstration. Our goal in making
noise on campus was to bring at-tention to the action and increase involvement, not to upset any fel-low students. But it is important to remember that every success-ful social movement in Ameri-can history has involved actions that are loud, disruptive and sometimes even illegal, be they strikes by workers which halted production or marches by civil rights activists that disrupted traffic. Even the particular style of last Wednesday’s demonstra-tion (banging pots and pans at night) was utilized by Montreal students in their recent and suc-cessful campaign to stop tuition hikes.
The action on Wednesday night will not, in itself, wring concessions from the adminis-tration, but it is part of a strategy that can and will. So long as Ker-win does not let us dream of a future in which an AU education doesn’t mean exorbitant fees and enormous debt, we will not let him sleep.
Steve Demarest, SPA 2013The Coalition of American Uni-versity Students
OP-EDBeing polite won’t work
14 | NOVEMBER 15, 2012 OPINION theEAGLE
Election night has come and gone. President Barack Obama was re-elected. Many are still en-joying the after-glow of victory, while many are still tasting the bitter tinge of defeat.
Although this isn’t an article supporting one man over the oth-er, I did find an interesting image online a couple of days ago regard-
ing the elections. Many sites have created “what if” maps of the U.S. divided into blue and red states, and this one caught my eye.
The map was titled, “What the election map would have looked like if only white men could vote.” Practically every state is red, except for blue states Wash-ington, Oregon, Maine, Vermont
and Massachusetts. The gender divide amongst
voters is obvious. White men preferred Romney, while white women preferred Obama.
The latest poll by The New York Times and CBS News found that 52 percent of women and 44 percent of men support Obama, while 51 percent of men
and 44 percent of women pre-ferred Romney.
According to New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, many men who voted for Obama in 2008 were leaning towards Romney be-cause they were frustrated by the president’s handling of the econ-omy, afraid he could not make a decision and lead a recovery.
However, women who are more focused on social issues, the problems they face in the work force and abortion rights lean toward Obama.
Nevertheless, even with most of all white males behind him, why then did Romney and the Repub-lican Party lose an election they were certain they had in the bag?
Gerald Seib of the Wall Street Journal believes that “the party simply failed to catch up with the changing face of America.”
Exit polls showed that Rom-ney won among six in 10 white Americans. But among the ev-er-increasing important ethnic groups Romney lost. Compared to Obama, Romney lost 40 per-centage points among Hispan-ics, 50 points among Asians and by more than 80 points among African-Americans.
Presidential contender Newt Gingrich says, “There is the ob-
jective reality that if ethnic minori-ties voted their economic inter-est, we would have a 65 percent Republican majority nationally.”
Gingrich has not only noticed that these ethnic voters are not going away, but that the Repub-lican Party simply has to learn to appear more inclusive to mi-norities, particularly Hispanics. Whites, who accounted for 87 percent of the vote in 1992, were 72 percent of it this year, exit polls indicated. Hispanics, who were 2 percent then, are 10 per-cent now.
Many women were turned off by what they saw as a “war on women” from the Republicans due to their position on insur-ance coverage for birth control and aid to Planned Parenthood, not to mention the “legitimate rape” blunder.
Yes, white men may pre-fer Romney to now re-elected Obama. But the U.S. is changing and it won’t stop. Female voters and minorities are determining the poll results. If they continue to feel ostracized by the Republican Party, it may take a while before we see a Republican comeback.
Julia Greenwald is a sophomore in the School of Communication.
If only white men voted...JULIA GREENWALD | RANTING WITH MYSELF
GRAPHIC: BUZZFEED / SOURCE: CNN.COM 2012 PRESIDENTIAL RACE EXIT POLLS
With AU President Neil Kerwin and Board of Trustees Chairman Jeff Sine
Thursday, November 15 5:30-6:30 p.m. Ward Circle Building, Room 1
Ban the bottle
FDA gives the responsibility for safety checks directly to the bot-tled water companies, who are never legally required to release this information.
Also, plastic water bottles contain PETs, a chemical that is linked with cancer and repro-ductive issues. PETs begin to leak from the bottle and into the water instantly. The chemicals leak into the water increasingly due to the duration and temper-ature at which the bottle is kept. Ironic that the labels wrapped around those bottles read “pure,” “clean,” and “natural.”
The Take Back the Tap cam-pus group is working to ban the sale of bottled water on campus. Our goal is to have the admin-istration agree to a campus-wide ban of bottled water sales. Bottled water will be available off campus and all other bottled beverages will continue to be available for purchase on cam-pus. To find out more about the issue or get involved, please contact [email protected].
Water is life, and life shouldn’t be privatized.
Samantha Kenny is a fresh-man in the College of Arts and Sciences.
! CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12
By ERIC SALTZMAN
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
AU’s Mark Allen qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships Nov. 17 at Louis-ville following his strong perfor-mance at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals Nov. 9 at Penn State.
Allen led all Eagle runners at Penn State, recording a seventh-place finish in a field of 170 com-petitors.
Allen is the first man to qualify for nationals for the Eagles since 2007, when Brendan Fennell and Steve Hallinan accomplished the feat.
The last time an AU runner qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships was 2010, when then-junior Octavia Rinehardt finished 125th out of 253 runners.
Allen has consistently been one of the top runners for AU throughout the fall. At the Pa-triot League Championships, the senior finished second out of 76 runners. He also placed second in October’s Leopard Invitational at Lafayette.
John Pope was the second Ea-gle to cross the finish line, com-ing in 16th. The junior received
All-Region honors to wrap up a noteworthy fall campaign. He earned a victory in the season-opening Colgate Invitational, placed second at George Mason and finished just behind Allen at Lafayette.
Most recently, Pope was named to the Cross Country Ac-ademic All-Patriot League Team, marking the fourth time in his career he has earned the honor.
Eagle teammate Nick Regan finished 22nd at Penn State, join-ing Allen and Pope in being rec-ognized on the All-Region team to give AU three honorees for the first time since 2007.
Mark Leininger placed 49th and Constantine Matsakis 51st to round out the AU runners.
Georgetown won the event, finishing with 56 points to edge out second-place Villanova. Princeton totaled 61 points to fill out the top three, with the Eagles finishing fourth in the 25-team event.
Both the men and women will begin the indoor track season with the Navy Invitational. The men’s event will be held Dec. 1, with the women competing Dec. 6.
SPORTSAllen reaches NCAA Cross Country Championships
AU prepares for home opener vs. Mount St. Mary’s
ing with nine points and nine re-bounds. When taking on Mount St. Mary’s, one of the keys of the game will be how well AU can control the tempo, something that decided the outcome of each of the Eagles first two matchups. If
AU can slow down the pace, they should be able to find success.
“[Mount St. Mary’s is] a good team, a pressing team that tries to play a very fast pace,” Jones said. “We’re going to need to control the pace similar to what we were able to [do against Quinnipiac].”
! CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16
By JOSH PAUNIL
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Hoping to continue its domi-nance atop the Patriot League, the AU volleyball team enters this weekend’s Patriot League Tour-nament as the No. 2 seed after reeling off seven straight confer-ence wins to finish the regular season.
“We’ve got the momentum running into the tournament,” AU head coach Barry Goldberg said. “These last seven matches are a good sign for us going in, and we’re feeling pretty good about our game.”
The Eagles (20-9, 11-3 PL) will take on third-seeded Army (20-8, 11-3 PL) Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. in Ham-ilton, N.Y. after splitting the sea-son series with the Black Knights. AU swept Army in its last match-up Oct. 20 while playing without setter Kylann Scheidt, who ranks third in the Patriot League in as-sists per set.
The Eagles’ improved hit-ting attack has been key to their
strong play of late, a main reason behind winning 18 of their last 20 sets. The Eagles, who rank first in the Patriot League in hitting per-centage, have seen strong perfor-mances recently from right side hitter Kristyna Lindovska and outside hitter/middle blocker Sara Rishell.
“Kristyna started out really strong in the middle of the sea-son,” Rishell said. “She has gotten back into her rhythm and she’s ripping the ball. She’s playing smart, but she still knows she has that really hard hit both cross and down the line.”
Lindovska, who was named the Molten Patriot League Player of the Week Nov. 12, led the Ea-gles in kills in both their Nov. 9 3-1 victory over Colgate and Nov. 10 sweep of Bucknell. She posted hitting percentages no lower than .500 in each match, and totaled a team-best eight block assists over the weekend.
Rishell, who ranks third in kills and tenth in blocks in Patriot League play, has been named to
the honorable mention list three out of the last four weeks in con-ference awards. She recorded eight kills in each victory last weekend while posting five digs in the Colgate win.
Although the Eagles have his-torically been an excellent hitting team, their outstanding blocking is something they aren’t typically known for. AU ranks atop the con-ference standings and is 22nd in the nation this season in blocks per set.
“We’re hitting the ball pretty well, and our block has been good all year long,” Goldberg said. “All of the top teams in the nation are all in the top 20 in hitting percent-age and blocking. We’re climbing the charts here. It’s a good sign for us.”
If the Eagles pass Army in the Patriot League Semifinals, they will take on either top-seeded Col-gate or fourth-slotted Lehigh Nov. 18.
The Eagles split the season se-ries with both teams.
Volleyball enters PL Tournament on a roll
ANA SANTOS / THE EAGLE
Juliana Crum (right) and Morgan Hendrix will look to lead AU to a Patriot League title.
By JOSH PAUNIL
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
For the first time in eight months, AU men’s basketball re-turns to Bender Arena Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. as the Eagles take on Mount St. Mary’s and attempt to duplicate last year’s early suc-cess at home.
The Eagles (1-1), who won their first 11 games in Bender last year and 13 of 15 overall, will lean on senior point guard Dan-iel Munoz, senior power forward
Stephen Lumpkins and junior center Tony Wroblicky in the home opener. All three have put together strong efforts early in the season and will play a huge part in AU’s success this year.
Since AU’s strength lies within its size, Lumpkins and Wroblicky are two of the focal points on offense and the ball will run through the low post – which is often Lumpkins – much of the time. On the opposite end of the court, the Eagles will have to run a zone defense, something AU
head coach Jeff Jones has never relied on during his tenure.
The interior scoring pres-ence of Lumpkins and the 2-3 matchup zone have been on full display throughout AU’s first two games of the season, particularly in its 61-55 victory over Quinnipiac (1-1) Nov. 12. Lumpkins posted a game-high 19 points on 7-9 shooting, while also recording a team-high six rebounds.
“[We] earned that win,” Jones said of the Quinnipiac vic-tory. “It wasn’t always pretty, but we talked about competing, we talked about toughness. For us to outwork them on their home floor is huge for us.”
Munoz was also critical in the
Quinnipiac contest, as he tallied 13 points, three assists and three rebounds. He also opened up op-portunities for many of his team-mates, especially Lumpkins.
“Lump doesn’t get close to [19 points] if Danny isn’t run-ning the show and doing a good job,” Jones said. “Danny I thought had an outstanding game ... That’s what we’re going to need out of Danny. We’re go-ing to rely on him.”
AU traveled to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota (2-0) in its first game of the season Nov. 9, falling to the Gophers 72-36. Lumpkins led the Eagles in both scoring and rebounding, finish
16 | NOVEMBER 15, 2012 SPORTS theEAGLE
SCHEDULE
PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS
Lumpkins leads men’s basketball in opening week
By MICHAEL GARDNER
EAGLE STAFF WRITER
Fourth time’s the charm will have to turn into five next year, after the Lafayette Leopards de-feated the AU men’s soccer team, 2-0, Nov. 11 at Reeves Field in the Patriot League title game.
The drought continues for AU (11-6-2), as the team lost its fourth straight Patriot League Champi-onship game and second in a row at home.
“You look in a mirror and say, ‘What are we doing wrong?’ be-cause we don’t win it,” AU head coach Todd West said. “On some level, we’re doing something right because we keep getting the team here. This is as hard a loss as I’ve ever had.”
The win gives the Leopards their first league championship since 2005, and they will face Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s been a few years for me so it feels great, but I’m just so proud of our players,” Lafayette head coach Dennis Bohn said.
Lafayette (9-7-4) used its physi-
cal style of play to put the young AU defense on its heels early and converted on a corner kick in the 20th minute.
Sean Peckham took the corner and sent it to Kyle Scharfenberg, who was able to glance a head past AU goalkeeper Billy Knutsen just outside the six-yard box for the 1-0 Lafayette lead.
The Eagles had limited chanc-es to equalize, but a big opportuni-ty came in the 32nd minute. After a corner kick by Colin Seigfreid, a scramble in the box forced the official to give Lafayette defender Rob Bedson a yellow card and Eagles a penalty kick as well.
Alassane Kane stepped up with the chance to tie the game, but Lafayette goalkeeper Nathan Mc-Donald guessed correctly to deny the senior and keep the Leopards up 1-0 going into halftime.
Seigfreid and Dale McDonald registered back-to-back opportu-nities out of the break, but both attempts went just wide.
On an AU corner in the 64th minute, Cristobal Soto’s header forced Nathan McDonald to come away with the diving save.
A brawl ensued moments after the save, ending with Lafayette’s Nate Arronson receiving a cut be-low the eye and Dale McDonald being sent out with a straight red card.
Lafayette quickly capitalized on the advantage, as a miscom-munication between Knutsen and Soto allowed Peter Adubato to take the ball away and finish, putting the Leopards up 2-0 and delivering the knockout punch to the Eagles.
Nate McDonald was named Tournament MVP, as Lafayette shut out both of its tournament
opponents. For AU and West, this loss
hurts just as much as the previ-ous three.
“Obviously I have to credit them, they did what they had to do to get the win,” West said. “Playing with a red card and a man down makes things difficult. Credit to them, but I think we came out a little nervous, tenta-tive. You think having played in a few of these, the guys would know, but it’s still a big stage and we didn’t have our best game on the big stage today.”
Lafayette shuts out AU in PL Championship
Colin Seigfreid and AU couldn’t generate any offense vs. Lafayette.EVAN GRAY / THE EAGLE
NOV. 15Swimming and diving @ George Mason Invitational at 10 a.m.Men’s basketball vs. Mount St. Mary’s at 7:30 p.m. (Home Opener)
NOV. 16Swimming and diving @ George Mason Invitational at 10 a.m.
NOV. 17No. 2 volleyball vs. No. 3 Army at 6 p.m. (Patriot League Semifinals in Hamilton, N.Y.)Swimming and diving @ George Mason Invitational at 10 a.m.
NOV. 18Volleyball Patriot League Championship at 3 p.m. in Hamilton, N.Y. Teams TBD.
NOV. 19Men’s basketball vs. San Francisco at 7:30 p.m.
NOV. 21Women’s basketball @ No. 5 Maryland at 4 p.m.
MEN’S SOCCERPATRIOT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS (REEVES FIELD):
! No. 1 American defeats No. 4 Bucknell, 1-0No. 2 Lafayette defeats No. 3 Colgate, 2-0
PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPION-SHIP (REEVES FIELD):
! No. 2 Lafayette defeats No. 1 American, 2-0
MEN’S BASKETBALLBucknell 2-0, 0-0 PLHoly Cross 2-1, 0-0 PL! American 1-1, 0-0 PLArmy 1-1, 0-0 PLNavy 1-1, 0-0 PLLafayette 1-1, 0-0 PLLehigh 1-2, 0-0 PLColgate 0-2, 0-0 PL
VOLLEYBALLColgate 15-13, 12-2 PL! American 20-9, 11-3 PLArmy 20-8, 11-3 PLLehigh 12-13, 8-6 PLNavy 11-15, 7-7 PLBucknell 9-20, 3-11 PLHoly Cross 3-27, 2-12 PLLafayette 9-17, 2-12 PL
WOMEN’S BASKETBALLHoly Cross 1-1, 0-0 PLArmy 1-1, 0-0 PLColgate 1-1, 0-0 PLLafayette 1-1, 0-0 PLBucknell 0-1, 0-0 PLLehigh 0-1, 0-0 PL!American 0-2, 0-0 PLNavy 0-2, 0-0 PLCONTINUED ON PAGE 15 !
