b think critically • act responsibly • lead ... think critically • act responsibly • lead...

BachelorTHINK CRITICALLY • ACT RESPONSIBLY • LEAD EFFECTIVELY • LIVE HUMANELY

the student voice of wabash since 1908March 18, 2011 volume 104 • issue 20

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In This Issue:

Honor Scholar

Immersion Trips Impact Students

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

RREEEEDD HHEEPPBBUURRNN ‘‘1111STAFF WRITER

The well-known and oft-lauded classexcursions taken by Wallies every Thanks-giving break, Spring break, and after finals,are most commonly called “immersiontrips.” To maximize learning and under-standing of a subject, students surroundthemselves with the cultures, languages,or environments that are the subjects oftheir courses. While this phenomenon isassuredly the objective of many suchcourse-related trips, this is not always themain function of these adventures.

This semester, four classes embarked onco-curricular journeys—Travel Writingwent to the Virgin Islands, Econ and Poli-tics of the EU went to Belgium and Ger-many, German 202 visited Vienna, Aus-tria, and Invertebrate Biology explored the

Amazon rainforest in Peru. Every experi-ence, regardless of its goal, seems to havemade a striking impact on the students’understanding and appreciation of theirrespective studies.

One class journey for which the name“immersion trip” does not quite fit wasthat of BKT Assistant Professor of EnglishEric Freeze’s class on travel writing.According to senior English major LukeBlakeslee, the destination of choice actual-ly had little to do with the class’s course-work so far, because the readings had notfocused on any particular geographical areaor any one culture. Instead, the trip servedas a rich source of inspiration on which todraw—a springboard to launch studentsinto their own travel writing during theremainder of the course.

“Everyone took something different fromit,” Blakeslee said, “and there are going to

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Honor Scholars ArriveJJOOSSHH SSAAMMPPSSOONN ‘‘1144STAFF WRITER

Many Wabash men attending classestoday went through the same process thathundreds of high school seniors will under-take this weekend. According to MarcWelch, Senior Assistant Director of Admis-sions, over 400 high school seniors willattend the events this weekend in an effortto earn scholarships and learn more aboutthe Wabash experience. Out of these fresh-men, 100 will stay in dorms while over300 will rely on the hospitality of variousfraternities on campus.

Senior Assistant Director of AdmissionsJaime Watson stated that this weekend isextremely important for prospective stu-dents because, aside from the scholarshipopportunities, the events allow students to

get another look at Wabash life. The highschool seniors will have a chance to formrelationships with other prospective fresh-men and current students and to ask linger-ing questions about campus life. For many,this weekend may be the point at whichthey are finally sold on the Wabash experi-ence.

Watson praised the Wabash student bodyfor its generosity and hospitality in pastyears, and encouraged it to keep up thegreat work. Watson commented that shedoes not know of any student body, espe-cially one the size of Wabash, which couldhandle so many freshmen with the gracethat Wabash exhibits year after year. Manystudents will fly in for the event whichkicks off Thursday night with the Fine ArtsScholarship Event and which ends withimprovisational comedy group perform-ance on Saturday evening.

Haidari’sUncommonJourney

Weekend 2011

TTIIMM TTAANN ‘‘1144STAFF WRITER

Though the Gentleman’sRule reminds all who attendWabash to constantly aspireto greatness, few Wabashmen have come so far asAshraf Haidari ’01. Certain-ly none can trace a path inlife that remotely resemblesHaidari’s: a path that tookhim from his life as ateenage street vendor to aninternational diplomat, fromthe besieged streets of Kab-ul, Afghanistan to the park-lined avenues of Washing-ton, D.C.

Haidari was on campusrecently to meet studentsand old friends and to lead aseries of discussions on thecurrent state of U.S.-Afghanrelations. As Chargé d’af-faires for the Afghan diplo-matic mission to the UnitedStates, Haidari brought hisexpertise and lived experi-ence to bear on a range oftopics—from the pressingsecurity concerns inAfghanistan to the problemsinherent in governmentaland non-governmentalintervention to the responsi-bilities of global citizenship.

Growing up in Kabul,Haidari knew from an earlyage that the only way hecould begin to make a wayin life for him and his fam-ily was to get out. Back in1993, the Hezb-e-Islami hadbegun a three-year cam-paign of Soviet resistance,shelling the city andprompting Haidari and hisfamily to flee northwest toM a z a r - i - S h a r i f ,Afghanistan’s fourth largestcity.

He started learning Eng-lish from an English-Per-sian Oxford Dictionary,committing its contents tomemory. He would trackdown U.N. personnel andattempt to get them to con-verse with him in English,annoying them to the pointwhere they had no optionbut to give him a job work-ing for them. It was whilehe was working with theU.N. that a colleague puthim in contact with Dr.Whitney Azoy, a culturalanthropologist atLawrenceville School inNew Jersey who had hadone of his students, WaseelAzizi ’95, graduate fromWabash.

While a great idea onpaper, as a stateless person– the United States did notrecognize Afghan citizensat that time – Haidari all butconsidered his collegeprospects a pipe dream.Deciding that hanging outin Pakistan would increasethe likelihood of getting avisa, he left his family and

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Baseball StadiumAwaits First ActionGGAABBEE WWAATTSSOONN ‘‘1133NEWS EDITOR

This Saturday the Wabash baseball team will christen thenewly completed stadium on the southwest side of theAllen Center. The Little Giants will face Wilmington Col-lege in their first home game of the season. After spendingalmost a year under construction the field is now ready forits debut.

For the past 52 years baseball games have taken place inMud Hollow Field, and plans to improve the outdoor ath-letic facilities have been in motion since preliminary draw-ings were made four years ago. Economic decline stuntedthe progress of these plans until recent fiscal improve-ments.

With Wabash’s first rate indoor facilities, the need forequally outstanding outdoor facilities became apparent.

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JUSTIN VASQUEZ | WABASH ‘14

This Saturday, the Little Giants will take on WilmingtonCollege for the first game in their new stadium. Slightlybehind schedule, the field and dugouts are functional.

TThhee BBaacchheelloorr MMaarrcchh 1188,, 22001111

301 w. wabash Ave.

crawfordsville, IN

47933

EDITOR IN CHIEFRiley Floyd

[email protected] EDITOR

Joel [email protected]

NEWS EDITORGabe Watson

[email protected] EDITOR

Alex [email protected]

SPORTS EDITORBrandan Alford

[email protected] EDITORJoel Bustamante

[email protected] PHOTO EDITORAlex Moseman

[email protected] ADVISOR

Howard [email protected]

The purpose of The Bachelor is toserve the school audience, includ-ing but not limited to administra-tors, faculty and staff, parents,alumni, community members andmost importantly, the students.Because this is a school paper,the content and character withinwill cater to the student body’sinterests, ideas and issues.Further, this publication will serveas a medium and forum for stu-dent opinions and ideas.

Although an individual newspa-per, the Board of Publicationspublishes The Bachelor. TheBachelor and BOP receive fund-ing from the Wabash CollegeStudent Senate, which derives itsfunds from the Wabash College student body.

Letters (e-mails) to the editor are welcomed and encouraged. Theywill only be published if theyinclude name, phone, or e-mail,and are not longer than 300words. The Bachelor reserves theright to edit letters for content, typographical errors, and length.All letters received become prop-erty of this publication for thepurposes of reprinting and/orredistribution.

Profanity may appear in the pub-lication, but only in cases ofdirect quote or if profanity is nec-essary to the content of the story.Please do not confuse profanitywith obscenity. No article or pic-ture of an obscene nature willappear in this publication.

The Bachelor is printed everyThursday at the Journal Reviewin Crawfordsville. It is deliveredfreely to all students, faculty, andstaff at Wabash College.

All advertising published in The Bachelor is subject to the applica-ble rate card. The Bachelorreserves the right to denyrequests for publication of adver-tisements. Student organizationsof Wabash College may pur-chase advertisements at half thelisted rate.

The Bachelor is a member of the Hoosier State and IndianaCollegiate Press Associations(HSPA and ICPA).

BACHELOR

Welcome to Wabash, H.S.Seniors! Good Luck!www.wabash.edu/alumni/ra/indy

Sustainable Practices:Sparks Staff Caters to Students

SSAAMM BBEENNNNEETTTT ‘‘1144STAFF WRITER

Those who dine in theGreat Hall of the SparksCenter seldom get a chanceto notice the inner workingsof the Bon Appétit foodservice, but a lot happensbehind the serving line fre-quented by students eachday. Each week, managers,staff, and chefs create amenu, prepare fresh, localfood from scratch beforeeach meal, and completemany other tasks to ensurethat Sparks’ food is healthyand nutritious.

The workdays for manyof Bon Appétit’s employeesbegin rather early. “I get towork at 6 a.m. every morn-ing, Monday through Fri-day and leave at 2 p.m.,”Logan Kemp, one of thecooks most well known bythe students, said. The shiftsdiffer, however, as someemployees work during

breakfast and lunch, whileothers work for the durationof dinner. Weekend shiftsalso differ.

As soon as they begin forthe day, the staff maintains afrenetic pace. “Meals arecontinuously being preppedfrom the time we open untilclose. Our morning staff isprepping for lunch as break-fast is being served; produc-tion sheets incorporate din-ner items that need pulledand prepped as lunch isbeing served; throw in fourto six catering events perday, and this makes for avery busy kitchen,” MaryJo Arthur, General Managerof Bon Appétit explained.

The menus are composedin weekly increments—thatis to say that the all of themeals that will be served foran entire week are decidedat least one week prior tothe actual serving of themeals. The Head Chef, Jor-dan Hall, and the Sous Chef,Jason Stacey, synthesize themenu themselves in a veryuncommon manner. “Ourkitchen principles incorpo-rate a menu-writing stylethat allows for the creativi-ty of the chef, seasonalavailability, regional flavors,and guest preferences,”Arthur said. “Uniquely, themenus are not written downor from a collection. Wedo rely on recipes, as need-ed, but the chef and his teamhave a vast knowledge offood preparation and theessential tools for creatingeach dish.”

The food served comesfrom local farms. BonAppétit’s “Farm to Fork”program seeks to emphasizefresh and sustainable dietaryoptions. “Much of our pro-duce, eggs, pork, beef, and

dairy products come fromwithin 150 miles of ouraccount,” Arthur explained.

Bon Appétit also worksto respond to the needs ofcertain students who cannotconsume certain foods orwho require other dietarysupplements. “Our goal isto meet the need of everystudent,” Arthur said.

When eating at the SparksCenter, the customer is suit-ed according to his individ-ual needs and desired. BonAppétit also allows menusuggestions. “We especial-ly appreciate hearing fromthe students, even if it’s justto talk about their personalpreferences or menu sug-gestions. It takes the guess-work out of choosing whatthe students may or may notlike. Menu suggestions arewelcome any time,” Arthursaid.

The Bon Appétit staff isvery community-oriented.Serving produce and foodfrom local areas helps tosupport local farms andorganizations by keeping thelocal farming community

thriving. But the BonAppétit staff is also a com-munity in and of itself. “It’sa team effort. Without theirhelp I would never have mystuff done on time,” Kempsaid.

GRANT MCCLOSKEY | WABASH ‘12

Bon Appétit staff members and chefs begin menu preparations at 6 a.m. and continuethroughout the day. As breakfast service wraps up, preparations for lunch are justbeginning. Menus are planned one week in advance.


In addition to what is on theserving lines, Bon Appétitoffers individualized menuoptions for students whoneed them.


Bon Appétit’s “Farm to Fork” initiative emphasizes usingingredients from local farms to emphasize freshness andsustainable practices.

CampServ. Springs ForwardSSEEAANN HHIILLDDEEBBRRAANNDD ‘‘1144STAFF WRITER

On Monday, students dragged themselves toclasses for the final stretch before summer vaca-tion. Much of their energy seemed completelydepleted, partially due to the fact that we all lostan hour of sleep from Daylight Savings on Sat-urday night. While the sleep-deprived studentbody appeared unprepared for the time change,the College was ready for it.

We often overlook what happens behind thescenes of our daily lives. Probably very fewstudents or professors consider who changes allthe clocks around campus. It’s the group werarely see, the group that takes care of our cam-pus when we aren’t watching – Campus Ser-vices.

“It is not our responsibility to change everyclock around campus, but we do take charge inmaking sure all the clocks are pushed forward,”Director of Campus Services Dave Morgan said.“We change the clocks in the high, hard-to-reachplaces, in classrooms and hallways as well. Mostprofessors change the clocks in their own offices,but other than that we take care of them.”

If you take a walk around campus or wanderthrough the academic buildings, you will seethat almost all of the clocks are set at the righttime (except the grandfather clock on the wall bythe Registrar’s Office, but that one is about sixhours ahead of time anyway). Every clock in Lil-ly Library, Sparks Center, and even the clock inthe kitchen of the MXI building are correct.Only a few clocks had yet to be switched: thefour clocks in the weight room, the two clocks inKnowling Fieldhouse, and the prominent Milli-gan clock in the Arboretum took longer to bechanged.

The clocks in the weight room and the Field-house are tough to switch due to their hecticlocations, but why hasn’t the Milligan clockbeen changed yet? “The Milligan clock is actu-ally regulated by the government,” Morgan said.“Campus Services doesn’t change that clock.”This explains why it is still set back one hour, andwhy it took nearly two weeks for it to be set atthe correct time last year.

The Milligan Clock may still be behind, but the


Clocks around campus offer an inside look atCampus Services as time zones “spring forward”into the new season. Most clocks were changedin time for the resumption of classes on Mondayas students returned from Spring Break.

Announcements

Monday, March 21John F. CharlesLecture by DavidRomano 8 p.m.

Tuesday, March 22IT Services Tech TalkBaxter Hall 11412:10 p.m.

Tuesday, March 22Student SenateMeeting 7 p.m.Goodrich Room

Thursday, March 24Chapel TalkTom Campbell11:10 a.m. Chapel

Friday, March 25Wabash Stand UpComedy ShowBall Theater 8 p.m.

The Bachelor March 18, 2011

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be some really great essays fromthis trip. I’m excited.”

While the islands themselvesfilled the young authors’ headswith salient images from whichto write, the lectures and exercis-es throughout the week impressedupon students the necessity intravel writing of “getting pastyourself,” and focusing more onspecific and powerful descriptionsof place than a self-centered recapof experiences and sites visited.“It’s hard work getting away fromthat,” Blakeslee explained,” stress-ing that this week was “not a paidvacation. It was nice that it was ona tropical island, but with lecturesand required writing time, it was areally valuable experience for theparticular subject of travel writ-ing.”

While Freeze’s students tried tocapture the essence of sea turtlesand jaw-dropping tropical views,Assistant Professor of Biology andBiology Department Chair EricWetzel’s Invertebrate Biologyclass investigated the invertebratewildlife and ecosystems of thePeruvian rainforest. This journeysimilarly served not only to sur-round students with their objectsof study, but to provide fodder forfurther discussion and inquiry dur-ing the remainder of its associatedcourse. Junior Bio major AndrewGoodman said he was at firstskeptical.

“How are we going to under-stand what’s going on around uswhen we only have a loose, gener-al understanding of these four phy-la?” At the end of the trip, howev-er, it was easy to see how theirexperiences would guide the restof the class. “Now we have thatmental image in our minds so wecan resurrect those images whenwe discuss new concepts in class,”

Goodman explained. Theseimages won’t likely be hard toresurrect, either. “The diversity ofinvertebrates there is just ridicu-lous… You could focus on a one-inch unit of the jungle and findthings going on there. One drop ofwater [examined under micro-scope] had on average twelvenematodes [a type of parasite] init. It was just overwhelming. Nomatter what you look at, you’llnever see everything that’s goingon. It’s kind of humbling in away.”

On the other side of the pond,German students, led by AssistantProfessor of Modern Languagesand Literatures Greg Redding andVisiting Professor of Music LarryBennett, immersed themselves inthe German-speaking culture ofVienna, Austria. The class, whichfocused on German history andculture this semester, experiencedart museums, opera performancesand awe-inspiring architecture.

Freshman Zach Churneyrecalled their journey to the topof the famous Stefanskirche (St.Stefan’s Church): “We climbed tothe top of the tower (that wasNOT easy) and got to see an awe-some view of Vienna. I think Ihad one of those ‘Whoa!’moments when I realized that Iwas standing in a church that wasbuilt almost 400 years beforeAmerica was even founded,”Churney said.

Of course, exposure to Austriandaily life and language was a hugepart of the learning experience aswell. “I think of myself as some-what of a German fanatic, so Ispoke [German] a lot. . . . On thefirst day I sat across from awoman on the train and began tospeak to her in German. When Irealized I that I was actually com-municating with her, I waspumped,” Churney said.

Not far away, Assistant Profes-sor of Political Science Ethan Hol-lander and Associate Professor ofEconomics Peter Mikek intro-duced their two respective co-classes—Economics and Politicsof the European Union—to twointegral hubs of EU activity: TheEU Capitol in Brussels, Belgium(specifically the European Coun-cil and the European Commis-sion), and the Deutschbank andEuropean Bank in Frankfurt, Ger-many.

Senior Rhetoric major StephenKleitsch found this to be a classicimmersion trip, and a very enlight-ening one at that.

“We went in knowledgeableenough to ask pertinent questions,and engaged in discussions [withEU representatives] on real andimportant events within the Euro-pean Union,” Kleitsch said.

Central to these discussions bothin Belgium and Germany was thesubject of integration. Kleitschtalked to both EU insiders andcivilians such as university stu-dents in Frankfurt. The politicians,not surprisingly, gave very diplo-matic answers, making everything“family-friendly,” according toKleitsch, but the civilians heengaged, especially the Germanstudents, were “intellectual andcultural” as well as “honest andhospitable.”

From this combination of first-hand official answers and infor-mal, personal commentary,Kleitsch got a strong sense of theprevalent attitudes toward integra-tion. While workers within the EUwere more concerned with the per-ceived failure of economic integra-tion of new EU member states andthe risk of further economic dam-age if candidate states such asTurkey and Kosovo are admitted,students and other citizens focusedon social aspects.

“There is a lot of fear about try-ing to integrate Islam and Chris-tianity,” Kleitsch said, referringto the impending conflict if stateslike the aforementioned gainedEU membership.

There is hope for European inte-gration, however. Kleitsch citedBrussels as a successful example.“You could walk six blocks andhear Pakistani, Hindi, and Chi-nese as well as every major Euro-pean language.”

Based on the consensus viewamong EU insiders, Belgium’s rel-

ative financial stability can belargely attributed to this integra-tion.

“From a US perspective, inte-gration should be easy, almost anon-issue. But there are educa-tional differences, cultural differ-ences, and language barriers, andthis trip really highlighted thosedifferences,” Kleitsch said.

Whether highlighting, inspiring,overwhelming, or all of the above,the variety of effects on studentsthese trips can have is as wide asthe variety of their destinations.

Immersion

PHOTO COURTESY OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Students in Assistant Professor of Political Science and AssociateProfessor of Economics Peter Mikek’s Economics of the European Unioncourse visited Brussels, Belgium and Frankfurt Germany for a SpringBreak immersion trip. One prong of the Challenge of Excellencecampaign is aimed at providing funding for trips like this one.


his job with the U.N.—a leap into the unknown that heknew would be risky. He eventually got his visa, albeit twoweeks after classes started, with the help of people like JoanKudlaty, then Assistant Director of Admissions at the Col-lege.

Looking back at his time at Wabash, Haidari creditsProfessor of Religion David Blix and Professor of Politi-cal Science Melissa Butler for being steadfast partners inhis education. Having only a limited high school education,college-level work was at first a struggle for Haidari. Yethe persevered. He was the guy to go to if you wanted tounload your extra ESH hours – this was back in the daythere was no cap on hours – and Haidari remembers how

he managed to balance the responsibilities of school andhaving to earn enough to be able to send money to his fam-ily.

Haidari was and still is not your typical Wabash son.From Crawfordsville, Indiana, Haidari went on to Geneva,and eventually to the reopened Afghan Embassy where heworks today. In an article he wrote for the G20 summit lastyear, Haidari called for an emphasis on human security overan exclusive focus on physical security, if only becausemore deaths result from infant and maternal mortality thancivilian combat casualties each year. At a reception beforehe left for Afghanistan for his next posting, Haidari reflect-ed on the lessons he has picked up over the course of hisdiplomatic career. “I can be critical about everything and beasked to leave,” Haidari said, “or I can pick my battles andremain able to make a difference.”

Haidari


As Chief Financial Officer and Treasur-er Larry Griffith explained, “they just did-n’t match with the quality of the rest of theplace.”

The recent addition of turf in Byron P.Hollett Little Giant Stadium was the first ofthree phases to upgrade the outdoor facili-ties. The baseball field followed, withupgrades to the soccer fields in Mud Hol-low to come.

While the new baseball stadium is slight-ly behind schedule, all functional aspects ofthe field and dugouts were completed aheadof schedule. The work has even remainedunder budget thanks to the donations ofdedicated alumni. “Our goal is to raise all ofthe money that it costs to build these proj-ects so it is all supported by gifts,” Griffithsaid. “Alumni have been huge in thefundraising.”

The features yet to be completed on thestadium include a viewing hill for fans.This will be a three-and-a-half foot wallwith a grassy slope on which students canrelax while they support the team.

This social area outside left field is to

replace what Griffith referred to as “theLambda Chi experience.” A comfortableatmosphere for students to grill out andenjoy themselves while being positive sup-porters of the baseball program.

Another unique feature of the stadium isthe plaza behind the bleachers. The pressbox and restrooms will be located up abovethe up above the seats. The walk down tothe stadium from the raised entrance createsan impressive visual aspect to the struc-ture.

Also, traditional metal bleachers havebeen replaced by individual seats compara-ble to a professional ballpark. “These arereally impressive features that are going tobe different than what you’ll find at mostsmall colleges,” Griffith said.

“Contractors are still working furiouslyon finishing the stands and plaza,” he con-tinued. The viewing hill still requires sod,which can probably not be laid until Apriland will need time to knit into the ground.

On budget and optimistic, the Wabashcommunity looks forward to the completionof the baseball stadium and future progressto the soccer field in Mud Hollow.

Stadium

PHOTO COURTESY OF PUBLIC

AFFAIRS

The baseball team is readyto head to bat, butcontractors are still workingto finish the new yetunnamed stadium’s standsand plaza.

Opinion 4The Bachelor March 18, 2011

The voice of Wabash since 1908

Bachelor Editorial Board

EDITOR IN CHIEFRiley Floyd

OPINION EDITORAlex Avtgis

MANAGING EDITORJoel Bustamante

NEWS EDITORGabe Watson

SPORTS EDITORBrandan Alford

CAVELIFE EDITORJoel Bustamante

Dear Prospective Students:

The Bachelor staff would like to wel-come you and your parents to our college!This vibrant community serves as a homefor its 850 men—each of whom, if you lis-ten, will tell his own story of trials, tri-umphs and the memories in between.

Be warned, trials do exist—this is farfrom an easy school. Students cannot dodgetheir professors, neglect their readings, orsquander their four years. A rigorous educa-tion is exactly that: rigorous. Forget aspira-tions of weekday partying and other suchfrivolities; if it isn’t tied to some scholasticor extracurricular endeavor, students mostlikely forget it until the weekend. And as forthe whole “no woman” thing, we’ll be hon-est—no buses come around.

As the mission statement readily asserts,Wabash is an atypical liberal arts institutiontraining men “to think critically, act respon-sibly, lead effectively, and live humanely.”During his tenure here, each student pondersthe exact meaning of those terms andattempts, in his own way, to realize them.

As such, if one works hard and learns topersist, then triumphs do dot the horizon.The intimate classroom environment andcollegial personal interaction serve as ade-

quate preparation for the realities of theprofessional world. The social environ-ment, while lacking the opposite sex mid-week, is remedied with a celebrity cast ofprofessors and staff—many of whomengage in their student’s lives on a dailybasis (both inside and outside the class-room). Moreover, the Wabash name signi-fies a leg-up in the career world as manymembers of the class of 2011 have discov-ered over the last few months.

Consider these next few days as a busyand tiresome trial run. Your college decisionwill affect the rest of your life—yourfriends, family, and career. So take yourtime, enjoy it, and do the homework.

Buckle those bootstraps, boys, this is theplace for men who will desire to work hard,sacrifice, and succeed. And once again,welcome to the ‘Bash!

TThhee IIssssuuee:: Honors Scholar Weekend 2011 isfinally here!

OOuurr SSttaannccee::Prospects should take this time todiscover Wabash and reflect on theirupcoming decision.

A Weekend in the Wabash Life

It has recently become difficultto be proud to be an American.Several tumultuous events haveoccurred in the last few weekswhile the federal governmentcontinues to bury its head in thesand. Last weekend, as tens ofthousands of Japanese were fight-ing for their lives after an 8.9earthquake devastated theirnation, our President remainednoticeably absent after giving ageneric “We’re with you” state-ment. Worse than just beingabsent, Obama was caught golf-ing on Saturday afternoon.

As a Japanese nuclear reactormelted down and threatened acatastrophe of biblical propor-tions, CNN reported that Obamawas otherwise engaged Saturdaynight, having a good time atWashington D.C.’s annual Grid-

iron Dinner. There is somethingquite shameful about watchingour President attending a dress-updinner, joking with journalists,as one of America’s best alliesstruggles for life. This is embar-rassing for Americans, as well asinsulting to the Japanese. Obamashould apologize for his brazenactions.

As the turmoil in Libya con-tinues to escalate, Obama has yetto take any position of leader-

ship. It is none other thanFrance— yes, France— that hasfilled the leadership void by pro-posing a no-fly zone over Libya.What is the President of the Unit-ed States, the leader of the freeworld doing? The extent of Oba-ma’s involvement in the crisis inLibya was his approval of the UNno-fly zone over Libya. Obamacalled it an “important step.”, andleft it at that. Does Obama reallybelieve that that is the extent ofhis obligations to the people ofLibya while they continue to bepounded by Gaddafi’s tanks?Instead of golfing, Obama shouldcall a U.S. carrier battle group toenforce the no-fly zone, and toaid the Libyan rebels with sup-porting air strikes. Even thesemeasures are minimal relative theUnited States’ abilities, but they

are still much better than Oba-ma’s dithering.

It is shameful that, under Oba-ma, America is becoming com-fortable with following worldevents instead of shaping them.This recent trend is relievingObama from making difficultdecisions. Obama is shirkingaway from the presidentialresponsibilities that most of hispredecessors embraced. Obama’sactions, or lack thereof, signalsAmerica’s weakness to the restof the world. Contrary to whatObama may believe, this com-placency does not appease Amer-ica’s enemies, it emboldens them.

It is embarrassing that Ameri-ca’s president has chosen to balkon every major issue that has pre-sented itself during his tenure.He refuses to accept any respon-

sibility for America’s troubledeconomy. He refuses to commithimself to causes of Egypt, Libyaor Japan. It seems that Obamawill do nothing but the minimumin order to stay neutral on asmany issues as he can to avoidupsetting any voters. But his neg-ligence will do more than any-thing to disconcert American vot-ers.

Just as many state Democratsare AWOL, President Obama hasbecome AWOL as well. This lax-ity of duty should not be tolerat-ed. Americans deserve vigilantleadership. Americans have longbeen proud of their place as “ashining city on a hill” as one greatpresident put it. It is clear thatduring Obama’s presidency,America will never live up thatvision.

On Pres. Obama’s NegligenceTED PLUMMER ‘13

POLITICALCOLUMNIST

TTIIMM TTAANN ‘‘1144STAFF WRITER

“The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve,but a reality to experience.”

- Frank Herbert, Dune

I spent my first spring break Stateside in one ofthe poorest neighborhoods in the nation, workingwith a team of Wabash men and faculty on aservice project in the Lower Ninth Ward of thecity of New Orleans. We set out to work on ahome that belonged to one Pastor Washington, atireless community leader who had refused tolet his house be worked on until the rest of hisparish had roofs over their heads. Not only did heinvite us into his neighborhood with open arms,we were fortunate enough to be treated to someof the Crescent City’s finest jambalaya and friedchicken. It was truly inspiring to meet a man ofhis 84 years who was fully invested in his visionfor his community. Where many in his positionwould understandably have chosen to look athow the rest of the country had turned theirbacks on them and given up hope, here he was,his responsibility to his parishioners undiminishedby all that had happened to him and his lovedones.

One of the highlights of the trip was spendingan evening with our local partners at WestsideChristian, where we were put up, bonding overconversation and some great eats courtesy ofour traveling chef Dr Warner. We then observedan Ash Wednesday service where we read a pas-sage from Isaiah 58, a meditation on the truepurpose of Lent. Far from being a season mere-ly to fast and scrutinize our own salvation, we

were called upon to seek out injustice aroundus and to ‘break every yoke.’

It made me think that even as we try to studythe etiologies of poverty in an economics class,or ponder the politics of social justice in a govern-ment class, there is still no substitute for thepower of coming face to face with issues in soci-ety that seem to be discouraging and intractable.For if being liberally educated is to mean any-thing, it has to compel us to seek answers tothese difficult questions by actually confrontingthem in person and in praxis. If faith withoutaction is dead, so is knowledge without under-standing.

The day before we left, I was at the front of theworksite when I saw a UPS truck roll by andwondered aloud, “Who gets deliveries here?”:unaware that I was reflecting my own limitedidea of where this community was and buyinginto yet another socioeconomic stereotype. Ibring this up not to imply that we should then belulled into an uncritical optimism, but to empha-size how too often what we suffer is a lack ofimagination and not resources. Certainly there ismuch to be done in the Lower Ninth Ward andother communities. From Katrina to Rita to theDeepwater Horizon oil spill, the people of NewOrleans just can’t seem to catch a break. Yet,though it may very well have been illusory, for abrief time this week there was a feeling that as acommunity they had finally turned a corner.

Looking back now upon the past week of serv-ice in New Orleans, all there remains to do ismarvel at how far we have come, individuallyand as a team. I am grateful to the city of NewOrleans and the residents of the Lower NinthWard for their generosity of spirit, for somehowmanaging to make us feel like kings but at thesame time just like one of their own.

The Promise of Praxis: A NoLa Spring Break Reflection

“Your professors arethere to help you andwant to see you suc-ceed. Talk to them!”

Mark Osnowitz ’12

“This place is kickingmy butt, so my expec-

tations have beenmet.”

Trevor Young ’14

“I expected there wouldhave been women onthe weekends. Go fig-

ure.”Ben Muensterman ’12

“I underestimated howspirited the schoolis...there’s a lot of

genuine care for theCollege, and that’scontagious too.”

Edward Evans ’13

“The things that sur-prised me are all

things that I’ve appre-ciated—things like smallclass sizes and one-on-

one attention.”Greg Huey ’12

“The weekends havegotten significantly bet-ter over the last year.”

Michael Mondovics ’13

Wabash Expectations,Observations and Reflections

The Bachelor March 18, 2011

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Speak Up For Education PROF. STEPHENWEBB, ‘83

GUESTCOLUMNIST

Everyone who knows meknows that I am hard ofhearing. It is a disability thatgets no respect. Most peopleare quite willing to accom-modate most disabilities.People will open a door oroffer a hand to someonewho is blind or in a wheel-chair, for example, becausedisability usually elicits oursympathy. This is not truefor the hard of hearing, how-ever; they are simply annoy-ing. The hearing-challengedhave to lean in close to hearwhat someone is saying.They thus violate the otherperson’s personal space! Thehearing-challenged arealways asking others tospeak up. How intrusive!The hearing-challengedoften speak loudly them-selves. What loud mouths!Sound in general and humanspeech in particular are somuch a part of who weare—such intimate expres-

sions of our personal identi-ty—that nobody shouldmess with our sense of whatthe volume controls shouldbe. The near-deaf are likeyour toddler cousins whocome for a visit and end uppressing all the buttons onyour audio system. If youcan’t yell at them, at leastyou can’t wait for them toleave.

I cannot begin to tell youall of the insensitive, rude,and ignorant encounters Ihave had with people overmy disability. One of themyths of deafness is thathearing aids should correctthe problem, but they don’t.Hearing aids are not like eyeglasses, because hearing isnot like seeing. There are somany environmental factorsthat go into hearing, and aidscan only do so much. Most

aids amplify most sounds,which means that voices canstill be hard to hear.

Low speakers are thedemons on the soundscapeof the hard of hearing. Imag-ine this scenario: Say youhave blurry vision, so thatyou have to get close tosomeone to see who theyare. Most people wouldprobably be ok with this.But imagine a whole groupof people who, every timeyou bend toward them, theynot only shrink back, butthey put up their hands tocover their faces. That wouldbe really weird, wouldn’t it?Can you imagine howembarrassed you would feel,how excluded and hurt youwould be? Now think aboutthe hard of hearing: believeit or not, there are peoplewho speak in really lowvoices, and when you leaninto them, their voice dropsin even more decibels! Lowspeakers are the curse of thehard of hearing.

But this article is notabout me, or my problems.It is about you, or, rather,us. Adequate hearing, it

turns out, is absolutely cru-cial for a good education,and it isn’t happening. Stud-ies estimate that about 15percent of grade school chil-dren have some level ofhearing loss, but morealarmingly, many studiesdocument that even mildhearing challenges can havean adverse impact on learn-ing. A Vanderbilt Universitystudy found that 37 percentof students with mild hear-ing loss failed at least onegrade, compared to a 3 per-cent failure rate for studentswith normal hearing.

Not only does poor hear-ing lead to poor academicperformance, but betteramplification can elevateeveryone’s education. Athree-year study of theimpact of an amplificationsystem in grade schools inFlorida found that 96 per-cent of teachers reported sig-nificant improvement in theattentiveness and compre-hension of their students. AWisconsin school districtthat used a voice amplifica-tion system reported, in2001, a 40-percent drop inthe number of special educa-tion referrals. Indeed, somestudies indicate that 70 per-cent of special educationkids have significant hear-ing loss. Students who arenot learning are frequentlyjust not hearing.

Less research has beenconducted on college-levelstudents, but there is no rea-son to think that the resultswould be any different. Thebetter you hear, the betteryou perform. Good acousticsare crucial for a good educa-tion.

What does this mean forWabash? First, we need asound audit. We need toknow how good (or howbad) the acoustic conditionsare in our classrooms. Sec-ond, we need better amplifi-cation in all large class-

rooms. Third, low speakers need

to speak up—and not justfor me, but for everybody.Most people with mild hear-ing loss just smile and pre-tend like they are hearingeverything, even when theyare not. We need to keep thatin mind when we speak toeach other. In fact, lowspeaking lowers the volumefor everyone, because itmakes everybody overly-conscious of the sounds oftheir own voices. It has theopposite effect of a low betin poker. Low bets in pokeroften incite the other playersto place their bet a bit high-er. A low speaker in a dis-cussion or conversationmakes other speakers low-er their voices, since theymust become quiet just tohear the low speaker. Indeed,people have to bend towardthe low speaker, whichmeans they are not lookingat each other. If low speakerswould raise their voices evenjust a little bit, that wouldbe an important first steptoward making educationmore sound at Wabash Col-lege.

S ou

n

d

!

Before attending the Royal ShakespeareCompany’s production of Romeo & Juli-et on March 5th, I never saw this classicShakespeare play from a racial lens. Ialways imagined both the Montague andCapulet families as rich, privileged fami-lies in late medieval/Renaissance Verona,Italy, essentially leading to the conclusionthat the families and all those around themwere white.

Race wasn’t the issue at the time; reli-gious and local political struggles domi-nate the time period, and unlike The Tem-pest, the text of Romeo & Juliet givesvery few hints as to the existence of acolonial mindset in Verona.

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s pro-duction of Romeo & Juliet took Shake-speare’s text, dormant of race considera-tions, and brought such considerations tothe forefront of my mind. Every Capuletservant without lines were of dark com-plexion, modeled in dress after the mostactive household servant in the play, theNurse of Juliet. Also, the most passivemember of the Montague family in theplay, Lady Montague, was also of darkcomplexion.

Two characters of dark complexionspoke many lines and served more promi-nent roles in the play: the Nurse, and thePrince. Yet each of these characters fur-thers the idea of As the most influentialand visible non-Caucasian character, theNurse furthered many stereotypes of thosewith dark complexion. She spoke with astrong and almost exaggerated Jamaicanaccent, and her role of the servant drawsimmediate comparisons to the role Jamaicaplayed in the triangular slave trade in colo-nial times: a subjugated island nation usedto base the shipment of African slaves tovarious locations in the Americas. Thisrecognizable accent reaffirms the idea thatthe Nurse is ultimately powerless to con-vince Juliet to marry her suitor Paris.

On the contrary, the Prince is a modernman without a real accent; he is the law-enforcer without a lean to either family inspeech, dress, or accent. He demandsrespect and is initially given that respect inthe opening scene’s Montague and Capuletfight. Yet this independent character ispowerless to stop the bloodshed that leadsto the play’s truly tragic ending.

Various scenes gain meaning and dra-

matic extravagance through this raciallens, the most interesting of which is thedinner party at the Capulet house in Act I.An almost African ritualistic dance is sub-stituted for waltzing or other Tudor-era“courtly” dances, clearly drawing out thesensuality of Juliet and the bodily desiresof Romeo to the audience. In a whollyCaucasian context, such a dance wouldpose inaccuracies to the idea of an aristo-cratic medieval family. In a more diverseracial context, this dance can be rational-ized as at least fitting.

With a self-described reputation as acompany that believes in “taking risksand pushing boundaries”, it is obviousthat these casting choices by the RoyalShakespeare Company were anything butunconscious. It is not just textualism atissue but also a potentially racist undertonebrought about through the casting.

This racial dimension to Romeo & Juli-et brings up a fundamental questioninvolving dramatic interpretation of Shake-speare’s plays into the spotlight: should aproduction stay true to the text and histor-ical context of a play, or do companieshave a right as creative persons to extendthe text beyond original intent? Such aquestion is tricky, as original intent isoften a clouded question with cloudedanswers. Shakespeare completely rewrotethe historical events in many of his histo-ry plays, and what evidence speaks ofRomeo & Juliet as historical truth? On theflipside, the invoking of racial considera-tions should never be viewed lightly, asstereotyping by those highly-respectedcan undoubtedly have an impact on oursubconscious views of race. For a per-formance worthy of the Queen’s atten-dance, the company’s reputation shouldbe more conscious of this impact.

KENNY FARRIS ‘12

ABROADCOLUMNIST

OOnn AAuutthhoorriiaall IInntteenntt Racial Romeo/Juliet?

Cavelife 6The Bachelor March 18, 2011

“Cook”-ing Up Character ClothingThe eccentiric professor shares some styling tips

MMIICCHHAAEELL CCAARRPPEERR ‘‘1133CULTURE COLUMNIST

Because Dr. Cook is somewhat of a sar-torial legend (or is circus a better word?), Ihad to take advantage of his presence oncampus and maybe help him impart hiswisdom to my small but hardy band ofreaders. If you would like to someday pos-sess such a wardrobe, heed his words. How-ever, first, a myth dispelled. He’s not color-blind.

1.) Like Dr. Cook, start early. Your mom’sbad decisions are a great place to start. Dr.Cook donned plaid pants in 1958, backwhen no one did. He received snideremarks. But, “since I was doomed to wearthem, I could either figure out a way toenjoy it, or I could be miserable and cynicalall my life.” This is an important exercise inconfidence for all you beginners out there:ugly is relative, so unless you can wearsomething that’s ugly with the same pride asyou would Ermenegildo Zegna, build yourinner wardrobe first.

2.) Give your clothes meaning. “I justlike wacky, colorful things, and for manymany years, it’s been mostly a collection ofthings I get when I travel, and I like the ideaof putting together strange things becausewhen I wear them, they provide me withmemories of things I’ve done. I’ve got ashirt of Kenya on today. I can rememberbuying these shoes in the market in Siena.I bought the socks in Paris, so I can relivemy life when I get dressed.” You may not beable to connect your clothes to the numer-ous countries you’ve traveled in, but a per-fect place to start are those roadtrips youtake. I don’t mean the ugly ‘SB ’11’ t-shirts,but the genuine western wear you browse ina small town’s clothing store as you drive tothe coast.”

3.) If you don’t care about clothes, don’tkid yourself. “I’ve got about, I don’t know,three or four hundred ties. We all have ourexcesses. I don’t have a fancy car. I haven’tremodeled my house in 25 years. We onlyhave a certain amount of disposable income.But I do like collecting shirts and ties espe-

cially.” Spending a lifetime collectingclothes is not everyone’s cup of tea.

4.) If one wishes to follow the example ofDr. Cook, one must ignore the advice Iwould dispense, which is to slowly build upa wardrobe of timeless, quality menswear.“I go to fairly upscale men stores. And Imight say, ‘there’s a tie I really like.’...Butby and large, the really upscale places—Imean Brooks Brothers and stuff—doesn’tsell stuff that’s interesting to me. So you’vegot to find this sort of offbeat. . . . I’veprobably—and I’m not much of an onlinebuyer—but probably I’ve bought in the lastfive years more things online than in theUnited States.” Sticking to a conservativepalette of navy, red, and gray is not going toget you anywhere. If you really want tohave fun while picking our your clothes,(and it’s possible, I swear,) you need to gobig or go home.

5.) Begin with a single inspiration, and“build an outfit around that. Tomorrow isyellow shirt day.” Once you’ve establishedwhich ridiculous piece of clothing you’ll bewearing that day, it’s a matter of findingclothes that don’t “match” in the conven-tional sense, but aren’t so mind-numbingly

clashing that you can’t stand to look at yourreflection.

6.) Dwell on eBay. You’re probablyunable to buy socks from Paris in Paris,but that doesn’t mean you can’t buy socksfrom Paris. eBay allows you to not onlycross that distance gap, but turns buyingclothes into a skill, much like the finer skillof actual bargaining. “The number one ruleof bargaining, after all, is you have to bewilling not to buy it. . . . Every now andthen you’ll see something and say, ‘I wantthat.’ And you’ve got to do a really goodacting job, so the merchant doesn’t knowhow much you want it.” No matter howmuch you want that awesome shirt on eBay,as I covered in my previous articles, youmust place some limits and maintain con-trol.

7.) You might be uncomfortable with it,but to emulate Dr. Cook, you’ll need todress more formally. “I once tried to seri-ously convince students that I was a conser-vative dresser. And this was my argument:you can divide things into form and content.And in content, I’m a wacky dresser, but inform, I’m a very conservative dresser...Ialways wear a tie, I always wear a dress

shirt, I always wear socks, and I alwayswear shoes or leather sandals, and I neverwear sneakers to class...How many profes-sors at Wabash wear ties to class everyday? I think you can count them on onehand.”

8.) Rules about fashion are not only irrel-evant; they don’t exist. “It’s not that I reject[the rules of fashion], it’s that I don’t evenwant to know them. I don’t want to feellike a rebel but I also don’t want to conformto them.” If you think stripes are fitting forthree different clothing items, go for it.However, don’t throw clothes on willy-nil-ly. You need pride.

9.) Get rid of your jeans. Maybe. “I don’tlike jeans of any kind. . . . Real jeans arework clothes. If I’m out in the garden that’sfine. But if I go someplace to church orwherever, I don’t want to wear workclothes, because I don’t think that’s appro-priate. And if jeans have become a fashionstatement, that strikes me as dumb. Youknow, why do I want to wear $200 sexy,tight-fighting slightly interestingly-coloredjeans. . . . I don’t get turning jeans intofashion. If you’re going to wear jeans, godig a hole in the earth or something.” Asyou clear from your mind the image of Dr.Cook wearing sexy, tight-fighting jeans,reflect on the relationship between func-tion and form. Whether something makesthe jump from practical uniform to fashion-able clothing is your judgment call, anddon’t be afraid to be wrong.

This guide hasn’t been a practical manu-al for dressing like Dr. Cook, because hiswardrobe can be ascertained fairly easily bykeeping an eye out for purple or green pantswith bright socks and sandals, strollingacross the Mall. What this guide does do isgive you some insight of the philosophyof the collector of such a wide range ofclothing. But the one lesson you mustremember is that your interest must be gen-uine.

“I dress for me, and not for anybodyelse. I dress to entertain me. And it makesme happy. And if it makes you happy, or ifyou just get uproarious laughter, that’s oktoo.”

JJOOEELL BBUUSSTTAAMMAANNTTEE ‘‘1111CAVELIFE EDITOR

It seems that Wabash College has finally done NationalAct correctly.

Lupe Fiasco, the 29-year-old Chicago native with aknack for hip-hop, will arrive into the hallowed halls ofChadwick Court for what seems to be an already eagerlyanticipated event

. More importantly, however, Fiasco’s latest albumdropped two weeks ago. Not only does he represent mod-ern day relevancy, he is also coming off of a highly antic-ipated record release.

After several release delays and a fan petitioning forthe album to see the light of day, Fiasco has finally releasedthe cornerstone to the career he started nearly seven yearsago.

With this in mind, his newest album, Lasers, is a littletricky. It tastes a little like Fiasco’s Food & Liquor, butinfuses icy lyrics more in line with his previous effort,The Cool. The sporadic synchronization is still there, andthe rise-to-arms equality mandate rings more powerfullythan ever, but Lasers occasionally seems to shine on adull surface.

Like practically all of his previous hits, Fiasco mixesmelodic and memorable hooks amidst intensely soulfulmetaphors. Fiasco’s dependency on catchy hooks, howev-er, proves to be this album’s downfall. Too often, hisprovocative paraphrases pirouette around a guest vocalist’schiming chorus. It’s as if every track is supposed to be mar-keted towards radio play; this simply isn’t Fiasco’s style.

Most tracks, however, do erupt without a hitch. Thelead single, “The Show Goes On,” heralds the return of theFiasco we all know and love. A tastefully tweaked ModestMouse sample becomes perfectly personalized, completewith the incredible wordplay Fiasco so constantly employs.

His powerful lyrics sometimes push towards the radical;“Words I Never Said” begins with, “I really think the waron terror is a bunch of bulls**t.” Of course, given Fiasco’sphenomenal tenure with wordplay, his true meaningremains slyly ambiguous. Other tracks go back to the moreradio-friendly playability, such as “Out of My Head.”These tracks don’t lessen Fiasco’s message, but they dodampen the flow of the more “legitimate” songs. So toodoes “All Black Everything” push the barrier between popand poetry, ultimately succeeding in the long run.

For Wabash, Lasers is more of a preview of the upcom-ing concert. Fiasco’s signature sounds are from samples,which may be a little tricky to pull off in a live situation.Those who remember the Three 6 Mafia debacle knowwhat can happen when one of the members isn’t there.

This shouldn’t be as big of an issue for Fiasco, however,because the actual verses of the majority of his songs are

strictly sung by the man himself. Furthermore, the chorus-es are usually so prominent that the crowd should be ableto back him up anyway.

Overall, Fiasco’s latest effort works well even with a fewhiccups. The simply synthetic choruses are as smooth asever, and the words wrestle with prominent topics in today'shectic world. Obama, racism, war, and the ever-present taskof just living all mesh into a musical matrix branded by thesignature Fiasco flair.

Who knows, with any luck, Lupe Fiasco could be the“big break” Wabash College has been looking for.

Lupe’s Lasers Beams BrightlyFiasco’s follow-up features fantastic freestyle and choruses

PHOTO COURTESY OF FIASCOFANS.ORG

Lupe Fiasco stands poised and prepared to perform at anytime.

Lasers (2011)

Fiasco’s third entryfocuses primarily onthe current state ofmodern inequality,occasionally going offon more pop-fusedbeats.

The Cool (2007)

The singer’s sopho-more album broughtfour nominations forthe 2009 GrammyAwards, including onefor “Best Rap Album.”

Fiasco’s FieryAlbum History

Food & Liquor(2006)

Winner for “BestUrban Song” in 2008for the single“Daydreamin’ feat. JillScott.” Features foodas good and liquor asevil, seetting the stagefor future success.

Sports 7TThhee BBaacchheelloorr MMaarrcchh 1188,, 22001111

Little Giants at Nationals

Waterman’s Near-Miss Rhoads Wrestles HisWay to Eighth Place

KKYYLLEE BBEENNDDEERR ‘‘1122STAFF WRITER

Jake Waterman ’13 made history withhis performance in the 800-meter run atthe NCAA Division III Indoor Track &Field National Championships on March12.

The Noblesville, Ind. native became thefirst Wabash Track & Field athlete to earntwo-time indoor All-America honors. Inthe event in which he finished sixth lastyear, Waterman led this year’s race andwas on pace to set a new Capital Universi-ty Fieldhouse record.

Until the last 5 meters.Waterman was edged at the finish line

by Amherst junior Ben Scheetz, who wonthe national title with a record time of1:51.26. Waterman came in at 1:51.32.

“I followed the strategy the coaches andI talked about,” Waterman said. “I just gottoo cocky on the last lap and kind of squan-dered everything that led up to that last lap.

“It’s the same lesson we were taught inmiddle school. You run through the lineuntil the race is done. Sometimes you haveto learn the same lessons over again untilthey really set in.”

Waterman, a sophomore who has manyraces left in his career, looks to learn fromthe experience and continue to build uponan already unprecedented career at Wabash.

“I’m always careful what I say to ath-letes right after their races,” Head CoachClyde Morgan. “After Jake’s race, I had totake some time to think about what to say.He was so close to being a national cham-pion and it was obvious we were all disap-pointed with the result.

“When I thought about it, it hit me thatJake is just a sophomore. Sometimes weforget that because he’s already done somuch in his career. He has so much poten-tial and is only getting better. This racemight be only the tip of the iceberg forhim, as the hunger and desire from his dis-appointment will carry him to the next lev-el.”

Assistant Coach Roger Busch, whocoaches Waterman during the fall crosscountry season, echoed Morgan’s thoughts.

“This will propel him to the next level interms of building his desire to win and tocontinue to develop the concentration toperform at a very high level in Division IIIand possibly beyond that,” Busch said. “Ithink Jake Waterman will only continue toget better and better.”

As the Little Giants move outside andbegin their second portion of the seasonthis weekend with the J. Owen HuntsmanRelays, they can rely on the efforts of JakeWaterman and others who will work to takeWabash to the ‘Next Level.’

SSEETTHH HHEENNSSLLEEYY ‘‘1144STAFF WRITER

For the first time all season, GregRhaods was on his own when he trav-eled to the national championship inLacrosse, Wis. No teammates? No prob-lem.

. Rhoads entered the National Champi-onship with a record of 38-14 and didn’tdisappoint, finishing 8th overall in Nation-als while also receiving All-Americanhonors for 2010-2011 season.

“Coming into Nationals I wasn’texpecting to win it all, although I wasn’truling anything out either,” Rhoads said.

Rhoads, to be crowned National Cham-pion, would have needed to win 4 consec-utive matches, however his 2 wins innationals were good enough for a top 8finish.

“My main goal was to come back witha trophy and to be on the podium. Mytop eight finish accomplished that forme,” Rhoads said.

In Rhoads’ first match he faced MitchArtist from LaCrosse College. After ahard-fought first match Rhoads ended upjust short of a victory. Advancing to thesecond match Rhoads won in dominatingfashion by pinning his opponent. Usingthat same momentum from match two,Rhoads wrestled a returning All-Ameri-can. Just like in match two, Rhoadsdefeated the returning All-American 10-4in his third match. That third round winpropelled Rhoads to a grueling fourthmatch, but he came up just short in a 6-2loss. That loss dropped him to the 7-ver-sus-8-seed match, in which he finished in8th place.

The loss in the first match automati-cally took Rhoads out of the running forthe National Title.

“I lost but I still had work to do,”Rhoads said. “I still had the opportunity to

win more matches. That is what I set outto do.”

Finishing 8th in Nationals is no smallaccomplishment. A finish like that is def-initely a testament to a strong work ethicwith the mentality of always fighting.

“ I was physical the whole time and Iwas always looking for points. I alsostuck to my game plan, which was tryingto get the first takedown and then keepingthe pedal to medal.” Rhoads said.

In a National tournament there is verylittle room for error. An opponent willtake advantage of and capitalize on anylittle mistake made. Knowing this, it waseven more important for Rhoads to stickto the game plan and to always look forpoints.

It was not only the physicality andalways-running motor that earned Rhoadshis top 8 finish. His attitude and mentalstate helped him when it mattered most.

“The coaches told me to just get it doneand not to be content with just being there,I needed not to hold anything back,”Rhoads said. “They also kept remindingme to make the most of this opportunitybecause another chance at Nationals isn’tguaranteed next year.”

After a long and successful seasonRhoads is resting up, he says, but only fora few days. There is not much of anoffseason at all for this tireless Littlegiant. He has two thumb injuries and isobviously generally sore. Nevertheless,he wants to heal and get back to 100%health. If he doesn’t need any surgery hewill be back and wrestling in 2 weeks.

As for next year, Rhoads is looking toimprove on his feet.

“Getting better on my feet will helpme in my takedowns. That is importantbecause so many matches are won or lostby one point and getting that takedownwhen you need it is huge,” Rhoads Said.

In hindsight Rhoads has no regrets andis eager to start working towards his 2011-2012 National Title charge.

COURTESY OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Less than a second separated sophomore Jake Waterman from a national title in the 800.


Junior Greg Rhoads took home All-America honors with his eighth-place finish.

“When I thought aboutit, it hit me that Jake is

just a sophomore.Sometimes we forget

that because he’salready done so much in

his career.”Track Coach Clyde Morgan

Track and Field Captures NCAC Indoor Title

KKYYLLEE BBEENNDDEERR ‘‘1122STAFF WRITER

With only three events left in the North Coast AthleticConference Indoor Track & Field Championships heldMarch 4 and 5, Wabash led perennial favorite Ohio Wes-leyan by just one point.

The two teams had already separated themselves from therest of the competition and it was clear the conferencechampion would be decided between the two from theresults of the 800-, 3000-, and the 4x400-meter relay races.

“I told the guys all week that it was going to be like a 12-round heavyweight fight,” Head Coach Clyde Morgansaid. “The score went back and forth all day, but our guyswere prepared. Everyone was relaxed and I grabbed the4x400 team at the end and told them to stay loose and treatit like another race.”

Sophomore Jake Waterman and junior Kevin McCarthywent 1-2 in the 800, despite McCarthy battling the flu allweekend. Then, senior Seth Einterz added another all-NCAC performance to his long line of accomplishmentswith a second place finish in the 3000-meter run.

The 4x400 relay team of John Haley, Chet Riddle, Jim-my Kervan, and Jake Waterman simply needed to finish therace in the upper pack to clinch the conference title. Theydid that and more, missing a conference title in the event byless than a half-second to finish second behind Ohio Wes-leyan.

The end results found the Little Giants atop the NCACstandings for the first time since joining the conference in1999. Wabash had twenty-three athletes collect all-confer-ence honors and senior Matt Scheller was named the MostOutstanding Field Athlete. Scheller won the shot put andweight throw, resetting his own school record in the shotput.

“I’ve talked to this team throughout the season aboutbeing who they are,” Morgan said. “We’ve lost some guysfrom last year’s team. We addressed those issues. I toldthem you have to come together and believe in each other.This weekend we came together. NBU [Nothing Breaks Us]can get you through adversity. They did that this weekend.”

With the conclusion of the indoor season, it would beeasy for the Little Giants to take a few weeks off and cel-ebrate their conference title. But with Morgan at the helm,who was also recognized as the NCAC Indoor Coach of theYear, complacency will never become an issue.

“Our team motto all season has been ‘Next Level.’ Thisseems even more appropriate after this win because now wehave to learn to train and compete as champions and try todo it again outdoors.

“We’re excited for the outdoor season because we haveseveral guys joining the team from other sports and someof our athletes simply perform better outside. We are justgoing to worry about ourselves and get ready for the big

meets; we don’t get caught up worrying about other teams.”Even though the championship is two weeks old and the

Little Giants are already focused on new goals, the third-year head coach couldn’t help but reflect upon the pride hehas in his team.

“In all my years of coaching, I’ve never had a teamcome together the way this one has, especially after goingthrough so much,” he said. “It was an awesome experienceto be a part of and I’m excited for the rest of the season.”

The outdoor season kicks off with the J. Owen HuntsmanRelays on Mar. 16 at 10 a.m.

ALEX MOSEMAN | WABASH ‘11

Sophomore Billy Rosson in the 55 meter hurdle finals.


Sophomore John Haley was one of 23 All-NCAC performers.

Little Giants end Ohio Wesleyan’s three-year run atop the North Coast.

BBRRAANNDDAANN AALLFFOORRDD ‘‘1122SPORTS EDITOR

Exactly what the doctor ordered.After limping through an eight-game spring break trip

that resulted in an eight-game losing streak, the Wabashbaseball team needed momentum, and needed it in ahurry.

With Wednesday’s matchup against arch-rivalDePauw, the Little Giants had the chance to do just thatin Greencastle.

After four one-run games went the wrong way in LosAngeles, the Little Giants (3-10) were able to exorcisethose demons at least a little bit with a 7-5, come-from-behind victory over the Tigers on the road.

Coach Cory Stevens’ bunch had struggled in the fieldand at the dish throughout their west coast trip. Thoseoffensive issues, particularly in the clutch, were reme-died, if only for a day.

“This was a huge win for us since we are basicallystarting the second half of our season,” Stevens said. “Wejust finished what we consider to be our spring trainingwith our trip to California. Now we come back and get abig win against a rival.”

After falling behind 5-2, the Little Giants began amethodical comeback capped by a two-run ninth inning.Sparked by sophomore Montana Timmons' leadoff dou-ble, the rally was finished off by senior Tanner Coggins’two-out RBI single which produced the game’s final run.

Starter Luke Zinsmaster lasted 3 1/3 innings in his firststart of the season, allowing four earned runs on eighthits. But as has been a recurring theme early in the 2011campaign, errors in the field did the Little Giant pitchingstaff no favors. For the game, Wabash committed fourerrors, three in the first inning when DePauw put tworuns on the board.

However, after Nate Adams came on to finish off thefourth inning, three Wabash pitchers came on in relief tohold the Tigers hitless over the game’s final five innings,setting the stage for the exciting finish.

The Little Giants finished with ten hits, with BrianLares and Joe Johnson collecting a pair of hits apiece.

Chris Widup (1-3) earned his first win of the season,coming on for two innings of relief. Junior Andrew Swart

closed out the ninth for the Little Giants, earning his firstsave of the season. Swart retired three of the four Tigerbatters he faced in the ninth.

As Stevens intimated, this game begins the most inte-gral portion of the season,with the conference slatequickly approaching.

On the heels of a difficultspring trip, there were stillpositives that Stevens tookfrom his team’s time inCalifornia, including the per-formance of several fresh-men.

“Nate Adams and J.T.Miller showed some promiseon the mound in relief,”Stevens said. “Casey Shipleyshowed that he can be anasset in a few differentways.”

Shipley, who started Wednesday’s game againstDePauw at DH, has gone 2-for-5 at the plate in limitedtime early this season. On an experienced team such asthis one, any opportunity for freshmen will be hard tocome by.

And of those veterans, several pitchers left Stevensimpressed.

“Andrew Swart and Luke Zinsmaster were both com-petitive and consistent on the mound for us throughoutour trip.”

Swart, undoubtedly will be heavily relied upon at thefront of the rotation, and while Zinsmaster startedWednesday’s contest, the junior has been impressive inhis closing role, carrying a 1.35 ERA enteringWednesday.

This weekend the highly-anticipated new baseballcomplex will see its first action when the Little Giantsplay host to the University of Wilmington beginning witha double-header on Saturday.

“The games this weekend and the opening of the newstadium are a culmination of the tireless efforts put forthby many individuals over many years. Hopefullly ourplayers realize this is their opportunity to stand out inWabash athletic history. Our players need to competeagainst the game of baseball itself, not just the opponentin the other dugout.”

First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 1:00.

RRYYAANN LLUUTTZZ ‘‘1133STAFF WRITER

While most students were off in Florida and other springbreak destinations, the tennis team took a training trip toPuerto Rico.

On Friday morning the tennis team headed to the airportto begin their trip to Puerto Rico. During this trip all theplayers and the coach lived in one house. They did every-thing together— cleaned dishes, washed clothes, and mademeals.

“I’m a firm believer that our spring break trip is a hugeteam-building week and everyone staying in one househelped that a lot,” Coach Hutchison said.

Not only did the team live in the same house but they alsocompeted against some premier teams on their trip. OurLittle Giants were actually the only Division III team in thepool of teams competing together. Connecticut, SacredHeart, Minnesota State Mankato and local universityMayaguez are the teams they played. Going against twoDivision I teams and two Division II teams prepared ourLittle Giants for the second half of the season.

In each match, however, the team competed to the bestof their ability. The Sacred Heart match is a prime exam-ple.

“The guys were ready to compete. We lost 7-0 (playingDI scoring) but the scores were not indicative to how theguys played. Every match was close and we definitely

gave them a scare,” Hutchison said. “It is what you wouldcall a good loss; we definitely learned from it.”

Heading into this trip the goal was never to knock offthese Division I powers, it was to challenge the team andprepare them for the grind to the postseason.

The team did have a few surprises during this trip though,as they beat Minnesota State Mankato, 7-2.

“It was a good win for us and we got to play on courtsthat professionals have played on” Hutchison said.

When it came to playing UConn and Mayaguez, theoutcome was a little different but the competitiveness wasstill there.

“They were very competitive matches and they were agreat help in preparing us for Kenyon and Denison,”Hutchison said.

Also Peter Gunderman played his best match of theyear, even in the loss.

Even though the win and loss column did not turn outfavorable for the team, they came out of the trip a strongerand more unified team.

“The guys really got to know each other on a wholenew level during this trip” Hutchison said. This is a goodthing with the toughest part of their season starting soon. Idefinitely think we are ready to compete in our conference.Every game is going to be tight,” Hutchison said. “Wehave to come ready to play and fight to win Conference.”

The way the Little Giants competed during their springbreak could be a positive sign as postseason play nears.

Beating a Division II team and staying competitive

with other Division I teams will get them ready for the post-season push and their shot at winning conference.

After returning to the states, the tennis team is back inaction Friday. The Little Giants will travel to face Elmhurstbefore visiting Lake Forest on Saturday in a pair of region-al matches.

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Tennis Takes To the Courts of Puerto Rico


Coach Jason Hutchison and senior Ricky Ritter chat during abreak in competition off a Puerto Rican coast this past week

Win Over DePauw Remedies Bad Week

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX MOSEMAN ‘11


Sophomore Montana Timmons’ leadoff double in the ninthinning led to the game-winning run over DePauw on Wed.

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