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A large donation from Bob Young of Red Hat will help expand and improve eGames over next five years.

Sarah DashowStaff Writer

The Entrepreneurship Initiative has put on the annual N.C. State eGames since 2009. This year, the games are changing with a $250,000 personal donation from Bob Young, founder of Red Hat and CEO of Lulu. It is the first large donation to support the eGames specifically.

The donation will be given over the next five years. The name of the event has been changed to the Lulu eGames to ref lect the new sponsorship. Lulu will also be involved in judging the com-petition.

There are multiple chal lenges at the eGames, and stu-dents can work indi-vidually or in teams. The prizes equal up to $30,000.

A self-starter him-self, Young is a strong supporter of entrepreneurial endeavors. He has a history with Tom Miller, senior vice provost for Academic Outreach and Entrepreneurship, in starting up the Linux Expo and continues to partici-pate in the University’s program.

“[Young] has known the work I’ve been doing ever since the early 90s,

and he serves on my advisory board. He’s been very supportive and always willing to help out ... I was absolutely thrilled when he said let’s get togeth-er,” Miller said.

Miller said he is excited about the prospects of being able to expand the eGames with the assurance the donation provides.

“We started brainstorming a lot of ideas, and one thing that we want to do is add more categories to the eGames so that students can com-pete in different areas,” Miller said.

A new category is being added to the games this year. To show sup-port for the University’s new music entrepreneurship minor, there is

an arts feasibility challenge.

“It’s more broad, the arts entrepre-neurship. We have students who are less technica l ly minded and [want to] give them an opportunity to get involved as well,” Miller said.

Italo Leiva, ju-nior in psychology and founder of Lei-va Strings, partici-pated in 2010 and

won in multiple categories. His com-pany creates colored guitar strings that help make it easier to read sheet music and learn guitar.

“It gave me the tools I needed to go out and pitch my idea, the right way. I am forever thankful for that.

A Chinese New Year celebration was held downtown last night.

Will BrooksDeputy News Editor

While Americans celebrated New Year’s Dec. 31, Chinese-Americans waited patiently for the most widely celebrated holiday in their home country.

Ann Lamm, manager of N.C. State’s Confucius Institute, helped organize the event, which was held in the Mahler Fine Arts Gallery downtown.

“The Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar, that’s why it changes every year. Last year’s event was much later,” Lamm said.

Lamm said the event aimed to cele-brate the Chinese holiday, and provid-ed insight to the holiday’s importance.

“You have the 12 zodiac signs, so every year is a different animal. This year is the Year of the Dragon, they usually last for 15 days, and you have a different event that you do on each day,” Lamm said.

Lu Yang, graduate student in mid-dle grade education, said the event is widely celebrated and very important in China.

“Chinese new year is the most im-portant festival in China,” Yang said.

Yang said the festival is very much like the American holiday season, in that it is celebrated for an extended pe-riod of time and is typically the most widely-celebrated holiday around the country.

“Chinese New Year isn’t just one day, it is 15 days. The last day is a Lantern Festival,” Yang said.

The Lantern Festival was celebrat-ed in downtown Raleigh Wednesday night, representing the end of celebra-tion and the beginning of a new year.

Many other Chinese students ex-plained that they too saw it as the most important holiday in Chinese culture.

Liang Zhang, graduate student in

English, has only been in the United States for a short period of time and said the festival is widespread in China.

“It’s a Chinese festival where every-one gets together and eats food like dumplings,” Zhang said.

Lamm said the event was a net-working opportunity as much as it was a way to celebrate what the Chi-nese regard as their most important holiday.

Beginning in the fall, five more residence halls will adopt a 24-hour visitation regulation.

Laura WilkinsonEditor-in-Chief

Currently, only eight residence halls offer 24-hour hall visitation, but a recently approved proposal will expand that number to 13 this fall.

Berry Hall, Becton Hall, Bagwell Hall, Carroll Hall and Wood Hall Building A will be added to the list of buildings with the 24-hour option.

According to David Meyer, a soph-omore in first year college and vice president of administration in the Inter-Residence Council, 24-hour visitation means a student can have a person of the op-posite gender in the dorm room at any time throughout the day for up to three consecutive days, or 10 days a semester.

The Emerging Is-sue s C om m it te e within IRC conduct-ed a survey in sev-eral residence halls regarding 24-hour visitation, and then presented the results to the University Housing Advisory Committee, accord-ing to Jordan Lohn, freshman in mechanical engineering and IRC representative, said.

The survey indicated that 90 per-cent of on-campus residents who did not already have 24-hour visitation would be in favor of expansion of the regulation. The survey also said 73 percent of respondents claimed visitation hours to be a key factor in choosing where to live the next year.

“The halls wanted 24-hour visita-tion, but students wanted an option for not 24-hour visitation,” Lindsay Skully, president of the IRC and se-

nior in marketing, said. She said some of the buildings surveyed already had 24-hour visitation, so their results were used to evaluate the system al-ready in place.

“IRC started working on this in the late 1980s. The first building didn’t get 24-hour visitation until 2010, for the 2010-2011 school year,” Skully said.

Before the decision was reached in 2010, N.C. State was the only universi-ty in North Carolina that did not have a 24-hour visitation policy. During the fall of 2010, three residence halls — Bragaw, Turlington and North — acted as trial runs for the regulation. In the spring of 2011, the trial period ended and the final decision was made to continue allowing certain residence halls 24-hour visitation.

Currently, residence halls such as Tucker and Owen, which cater mainly to first-year students, will not have 24-hour visitation regulations.

“Down the road, it’s important to have halls that aren’t 24 hours,” Skully said.

One issue students and University Hous-ing face is non-com-pliance to the 24-hour regulations already in place.

At IRC meetings, Skully said there were comments along the

lines of “It’s a rule that’s not enforced.” Susan Grant, director of University Housing, said enforcement falls to resident advisers.

“Students live on floors where RAs live. It’s the RA’s responsibility to communicate what the rules, poli-cies and regulations are,” Grant said.

While 24-hour visitation is an op-tion for students in certain residence halls, Lohn said it is important for roommates to discuss visitation when making roommate agreements.

NCSU’s Confucius Institute celebrates Chinese new year

24-hour visitation regulation expands

University eGames expand with donation

eGames continued page 3

new year continued page 3

thomas obarowski/technicianA man paints Chinese characters on a piece of paper at the Mahler Fine Arts Gallery during a Chinese New Year celebration, Wednesday. Each character symbolizes another day of good health added to the painter’s life.

insidetechnician

viewpoint 4features 5classifieds 7sports 8

Protecting endangered species See page 5.

Ryan Hill is the man of the Mile See page 8.

Responses to “Evolution: theory, not fact”See page 4.

“The halls

wanted 24-hour

visitation, but

students wanted

an option for

not 24-hour

visitation.”Lindsay Skully, IRC president

“It gave me the

tools I needed to

go out and pitch

my idea, the right

way. I am forever

thankful for that.”Italo Leiva, founder of

Leiva Strings

oliver sholder/technicianMs. Wolf and her assistant shoot shirts into the crowd at the N.C. State vs. Boston College game. Every game, a few lucky game attendees will catch a shirt.

MAkE MY dAY

Page 2 Technicianpage 2 • thursday, february 9, 2012

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!BE THE FIRST TO SEE IT

FREE MOVIE PASSESAvailable for these shows:

Journey 2: Mysterious Island

Safe HouseMioT

Just stop by the Technician office, 307 Witherspoon Student Center, to get your free movie passes!

Passes are valid at any Raleigh area Regal Cinema.

Movie pass giveaway is limited to NC State students only. Limit one pair of passes per student. Passes are issued on a first come first serve basis. Contact your local Regal Cinema for movie times.

POLICe BLOTTeRFeb. 71:49 a.m. | SuSpiciouS perSonAvent Ferry ComplexTwo students reported someone had knocked loudly on their door and then left the area. Officers did not locate anyone in the area.

11:04 a.m. | Traffic accidenTAvent Ferry Road/Varsity DriveTwo students were involved in traffic accident. No injuries were reported.

8:08 a.m. | Traffic STopMain Campus DriveNon-student was issued citation for speeding.

1:58 p.m. | diSpuTe/oTherVet Medical CenterStaff member requested officers to respond after juvenile was notified of pet’s death. Subject had calmed down prior to officer’s arrival. No action taken.

10:26 p.m. | LarcenyEngineering Building IIStudent reported bicycle stolen.

11:55 p.m. | drug VioLaTionBowen HallTwo students were referred to the University after officer observed them smoking marijuana.

12:21 p.m. | Traffic accidenTMcKimmon CenterTwo staff members were involved in traffic accident.

2:45 p.m. | SkaTeboard VioLaTionES King VillageReport of skateboard violations. Three students were referred to the University for violating policy.

7:19 p.m. | LarcenyWeisiger-Brown Athletic CenterStudent reported two rings stolen from bag.

8:13 p.m. | SuSpiciouS VehicLePark & Ride LotReport of suspicious vehicle. Officers located student waiting for vehicle to warm up. No action taken.

TaLLey COnsTRuCTIOn sCheduLedeep foundaTionS/underpinningS/fooTingSStart Spring 2012, complete early Fall 2012This phase will be marked by mass excavation, underpinning the building and pouring footings. As soon as the basement excavation has progressed to allow deep foundation work to commence, drill rigs will be mobilized to install auger cast foundation piles. Approximately 550 holes 16- 24 inches in diameter will be drilled on average 60’ deep and filled with concrete to support the new building addition. Footings will be formed on top of these piles to provide a surface to anchor structural steel forming the “skeleton” of the new additions.

STrucTuraL STeeLStart early Fall 2012, complete late 2012

Approximately 1200 tons of structural steel will be used to create a framework for the new addition.

concreTe SLabSStart Fall 2012, complete late 2012Concrete slabs will be poured to provide a foundation for the building’s floor.

uTiLiTy SerVice inSTaLLaTionStart late 2012, complete summer 2013We will install the exterior walls and features, which include glass, brick, terra cotta and metal panels.

buiLding inTeriorSStart early 2013, complete Fall 2013This will include the installation of drywall, finish ceilings, paint and flooring, along with the interior construction. The finishes are available for view at Talley Student Center. Just ask the front desk staff.

Source: Jennifer Gilmore, campuS enterpriSeS

Today:

Saturday:

Source: raymond ruiz

53/31Mostly sunny

WeaTheR WIse

Tomorrow:

5839

Partly cloudy with showers in the evening

5123

Sunny

ThROugh OLIveR’s Lens

Gimme pizzaPhOTO By oLiVer ShoLder

Ian Yancy, a sophomore in civil engineering, carries pizza and pokey sticks to a forum event for the First Year College hosted in the Owen Hall basement lounge. The forum event focused on job and internship opportunities for students. “Pizza

is a great motivator for getting students to attend forum events,” Yancy said.

CORReCTIOns & CLaRIfICaTIOnsIf there is a correction, it goes here. If not, delete this paragraph. Separate corrections with a hard return.

Send all clarifications and corrections to Editor-in-Chief Amanda Wilkins at editor@technicianonline.com

On The WeBSee exclusive audio/photo slideshows. Answer the online poll. Read archived stories. There’s something new every day at technicianonline.com. Check it out!

NewsTechNiciaN thursday, february 9, 2012 • Page 3

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In honor of the Lunar New Year, students were able to explore a Chinese style of painting.

Young LeeDeputy Features Editor

sIn the midst of tests, home-work and classes, many stu-dents find quiet relaxation a necessity. With several art courses offered at discount prices for students, some have found that there is no better source of rest and inspiration than the Craft Center.

Last week, the Craft Center offered a course in Chinese brush painting. According to Ellen Ko, the artist and in-structor that night, this was to commemorate the Lunar

New Year.As Ko introduced the art

form to students who had never experience Chinese brush painting before, it became clear the art form was steeped in traditions and philosophies still very applicable to the col-lege lifestyle.

As Ko said during the class, Chinese brush painting has a long history in Chinese culture. Scholars and their students would spend hours in creat-ing their masterpieces. Even the traditional ink required time and patience of the art-ist as they would grind an ink stone against a block hundreds of time.

Although this art form is still practiced in many places in Asia, this art form is com-pletely alien to many people in

the Western world.With an emphasis on sim-

plicity and feeling, the art form is a challenge for many people. However, the feelings behind the strokes, as Ko pointed out, are applicable even beyond the studio.

Chinese brush painting in-volves a variety of different techniques to create bamboo stalks, orchids, mountains and chrysanthemums. Each tech-nique is in turn associated with certain feelings and emotions.

Ko spent time describing the philosophies behind each stroke.

“Artistic [eyes] always see more things,” Ko said. “Paint-ing helps you appreciate the things around you. It’s very relaxing. When you are frus-trated, paint bamboo. When

you are happy, paint orchids. When you are calm, paint chrysanthemums.”

In many ways, this echoes the purpose of the Craft Center. The Center is open to all stu-dents to try and show that art is not just for design students.

“I’m artistic in general, but I think it’s a lot more fun to take art classes if you aren’t art ma-jors because you get to actually enjoy it,” Tatiana Kulminskaya, a graduate student in analytics and regular attendee at Craft Center courses, said.

“It’s my last semester so I take courses at the Craft Center whenever I can,” Vineha Bhat, a graduate student in computer science, said. “I’ve always liked to paint. I like to paint because I do small things to give away, like in cards and such.”

Even though many students don’t have the materials to do Chinese brush painting on a regular basis, the class remains a beneficial experience.

“For me, it’s time to relax be-cause when you are in school you are so busy,” Kulminskaya said. “Your mind is anywhere but somewhere relaxing. I also took the bead making class, which is also very relaxing.”

Many students often feel the need to be creative and search for a time and place to escape from the chaos of college life. For those with an artistic side, the Craft Center hopes to offer just that kind of escape.

For a full list of classes offered to students you can check the Craft Center website: http://www.ncsu.edu/crafts/classes/students_only.html.

Chinese brush painting lets students relaxIt was a great experience,” Leiva said.

Leiva is now settling in and setting up his business for a future in Raleigh.

“We have secured the capi-tal to make a significant pur-chase and are starting focus groups with the help of our advisers here in Raleigh to determine exactly how to market certain products. In addition to Mom & Pop guitar/music stores, we also have some large scale clients in the music education realm who would like to distribute our strings with their learn-ing programs,” Leiva said.

Miller expressed his hopes that this sponsorship will work as an anchor to draw in more sponsors so they can continue to hold the eGames annually and create more success stories like Leiva’s. Other winners include Scott and Steve Klein’s Sound Around in 2010 and Jason Mueller’s MyFit.com in 2009.

“If there are individuals that want to come in and do a particular category that they’ll give a prize for, we’re open to that. I’d really like to grow these [categories] and grow the prizes as much as we can. I would like to grow it to $100,000, and that would get us on the map in terms of these business plan and innovation competi-tions” Miller said.

Miller said he is a strong believer in emphasizing en-trepreneurship as a career option for students and hopes that the eGames and future endeavors will help the University stand out.

“This is one piece of the larger entrepreneurial eco-system that we’re putting together here at N.C. State, and I want N.C. State to be known all across the nation as the place that you go if you want to be an innovator and entrepreneur,” Miller said.

“This event was not really for students, this was really more of a networking event,” Lamm said.

Liusha Zou, a Chinese mu-sician, played a traditional “pipa” at the celebration: a stringed, upright instrument that produces a soft, twangy sound.

Lamm explained it is im-portant for students to em-brace the Chinese culture and the Confucius Institute aims to do just that.

“China has so many people, and their economy is boom-ing, and they want to come to the United States to get a better education, we want to bring them here to diversify our campus,” Lamm said.

Many of the Chinese stu-dents spent their first New Year away from home at the event, volunteering.

Minwen Gao, graduate in middle grades education, said she has come to the Univer-

sity because of her work, and decided help out with the cel-ebration.

“I have a part-time job to teach secondary Chinese, so that is why I am here today, to volunteer,” Gao said.

Hanbo Chai, graduate stu-dent and teaching assistant in chemistry, explained he has only been at the University for a half of a year, but has no trou-ble with communication, and says he has enjoyed his time in Raleigh.

“Raleigh is nice, it is quiet, a lot of Chinese big cities are crowded, there is a lot of life being enjoyed [in Raleigh,]” Chai said.

The event served as a re-minder to faculty that Chinese culture, along with their eco-nomic development, is some-thing American Universities are coming to embrace.

egamescontinued from page 1

new yearcontinued from page 1

Thomas obarowski/TechnicianLeft: A women plays a Guhzeng, a traditional Chinese instrument, which has 18-23 strings, and moveable bridges. Right: A woman plays a Pipa, a traditional Chinese instrument, which typically has four strings and 12-24 frets.

Viewpoint Technicianpage 4 • thursday, february 9, 2012

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{ }Campus Forum

In response to “Evolution: theory, not fact,” in the Feb. 7 edition of Technician.

Misrepresentation of scientific facts

I was incredibly disappointed by the poor quality of Madison Murphy’s ill-informed and misleading column “Evolution: theory not fact.” Writing an opinion piece does not grant the writer a blank slate to misrepresent basic scientific facts.Evolution has been demonstrated many times. Bacteria have evolved resistance to antibiotics, and Galapagos finches have evolved different sizes of beaks in response to changes in annual precipitation. Researchers have forced algae that normally photosynthesize to adapt to growing in the dark. Evolution happens. Evolution is a theory in the same sense that gravity is a theory—it serves as a framework from which scientists can make testable predictions about the natural world.Another mistake was Ms. Murphy’s presentation of intelligent design (ID) and creationism as alternatives to evolution, when these theories have no place in the science classroom. Science aims to explain the natural world only with reference to natural phenomena. Scientists, including those of us who are religious, generate and test hypotheses based on observable phenomena and well-supported theoretical frameworks. A scientific hypothesis must be both testable and falsifiable. Hypotheses based on the predictions of evolutionary theory meet both of these requirements. ID and creationism, however, presuppose a “higher power,” a supposition which is neither testable nor falsifiable, disqualifying these “theories” from the realm of science.The propagation of misinformation in this column reflects poorly on N.C. State’s science programs and on the University as a whole. I hope Technician editorial staff shows better judgment in the future.

Katherine Gleason

Thanks for the other side

Thank you for writing this column; it was an enjoyable read and something I think everyone needs to hear. I think students should be taught both sides and given the option to choose. I, like you, am a creationist and very interested in Christian apologetics. I think there is more to the Bible, the Gospel and Jesus Christ than what people are exposed to. Science and history actually overwhelmingly support the claim Jesus was who he says he was. Thank you for not being intimidated by your teacher or the student body and for writing this column. I had a similar experience with a teacher in the biochemistry department.

Andy Leffler

Evolution fact, not theory

Do you believe in the theory of gravity? This fatuous question is of the same form creationists use to begin arguments designed to deny the facts of biological evolution. Evolution is indeed a fact, and there are theories employed to explain how we think it works—most famously, Darwin’s theory of evolution by means of natural selection. There are other theoretical aspects to evolution as well, such as Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium theory, the theory of punctuated equilibrium and others.There are theoretical aspects to gravity, as well. But few rational people would deny the existence of gravity, and few biologists deny the existence of evolution.Perhaps it should be pointed out, at the risk of pedantry, just what a theory is. A theory is a man-made explanation, and as such, cannot be proven or disproven, only supported or refuted. Darwin’s theory of evolution by means of natural selection is a theory and is well supported from evidence seen in nature and from designed experiments. Evolution itself, on the other hand, is a fact, like gravity.

Paul Schwartzretired school teacher

Oxford defines a theory

The Oxford English Dictionary has two meanings for theory. The first states: “A theory is a scheme or system of ideas or statements held as an explanation or account of a group of facts or phenomena; a hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation

or experiment, and is propounded or accepted as accounting for the known facts; a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles or causes of something known or observed.”The second, more commonly used definition states: “A theory is a hypothesis proposed as an explanation; hence, a mere hypothesis, speculation, conjecture; an idea or set of ideas about something; an individual view or notion.”Darwin’s theory of evolution is not “a hypothesis proposed as an explanation.” Ms. Murphy is using the second definition of theory, which is causing the confusion as to what evolution actually is. To suggest evolution is “a mere hypothesis, speculation or conjecture” is preposterous.When Ms. Murphy suggests “... these mutations build up until a complex creature is the result,” she is creating a fallacy commonly committed by people who deny evolution. The fact is a chimpanzee will not birth a human, or vice versa ... evolutionary biologists don’t suggest this. We do, however, state we share a common ancestor, and, yes, it probably does appear more chimpanzee-like. Don’t think, though, evolution cannot be seen and tested. Do some research and look up the “Lenski experiments.”This confusion surrounding the conviction “evolution is a fact” is actually a problem with semantics. If you want a proof, become a mathematician, not a scientist. “Theory,” as described by definition one, is the better definition, as shown by the “Lenski experiments.” For more information on this topic, read Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth or Coyne’s Why Evolution is True.

Andrew Loyd

Don’t tell teachers what to teach

As a high school English major here at N.C. State, reading this column irked me. I understand everyone is entitled to his or her own beliefs about Creationism, Intelligent Design or evolution. However, speaking on whether Creationism and Intelligent Design should be taught in schools demonstrates how uninformed a columnist is on the ins and outs of public education.As teachers, we are not permitted to show any sign of our religious affiliation; if we do we are considered to be “forcing it on our students.” Yet those who are religious are outraged when we do not teach religious theories? This seems contradictory to me. There is absolutely no excuse to teach either of the two religious theories above, because, in fact, they are religious. To teach them in the classroom would breach separation of church and state, and it would also lead to absolutely no advancement in personal education, not to mention extreme controversy, more than likely resulting in a teacher losing their livelihood.Yes, evolutionary theory is just that, a scientific theory. But it is also widely accepted in the scientific community, which makes it valid to teach in every classroom. I beseech you; before you start telling teachers what to teach, since we don’t get enough of that already, know your information, know what we can teach and what is appropriate. Religion should not be in the classroom. Period.

Reynolds Bondjunior, English education

Only a theory, like gravity

I do not have a problem with people sharing their viewpoint. However, to be credible, the facts need to be checked. A theory and a scientific theory are not the same thing. A theory in English is just what was said: an unproven assumption. A scientific theory is a supposition explaining scientific observations and has a whole body of proof to support it. In order for something to be a scientific theory, there cannot be anything to refute any part of the theory. In short, it can be treated as fact. Evolution is only a theory in the same way gravity is only a theory. You can go around telling people little fairies and gnomes are using their magical powers to keep things sticking to earth, but people will think you are crazy. Since Newton wrote the Principia, there have not been any scientific observations to disprove gravity. We cannot definitively prove it, but every scientific observation on the matter has pointed toward the gravitational theory, and there has been nothing to disprove it. Evolution cannot be definitively proven, however there is a whole body of scientific and empirical data to support it, and nothing to refute it, other than conjecture. There is no proof to support creationism, or even to cast a credible doubt on evolution. This is the reason it cannot be taught in science class. Creationism is fine for Sunday school, but it does not in any way belong in a scientifically based classroom.

Wesley Thillsophomore, mechanical engineering

Consider reading before writing

It’s quite clear Ms. Murphy, your Christian position has not permitted you to read Darwin’s Origin, and if you had you would have realized that though quickly written, it is a very thorough piece of work. Darwin addressed all the major issues he felt would be brought against his theory in great detail, from his own experience of the living world and those of his almost countless numbers of informers. He deals with theoretical positions against his theory from Paley’s evidences and the limitation of other forms of evolutionary inheritance from Lamarck to his own grandfather, not forgetting the writer of Vestiges. Much of his theory was based on his own experience as a practical experimenting biologist.One sentence in particular prefigures Mendelism.It was an extraordinarily accomplished bit of writing and you would do well to sit down and read it, as I have been for over 40 years—you can always gain insights.He is very careful with his evidence, unlike you, which are simply a rehash of received opinion of something you have been told is wrong.I did not learn evolution at school. It was largely technique which was part of the biology course, and so when it broke as a teenager over my head it swept away all the half-baked notions about religion I’d received, which were mere fairy stories— there’s no difference in kind between Father Christmas and the Virgin birth.If you are going to continue to comment on evolution, you’d better start by giving yourself a serious reading course. Within about three years you’ll be up to speed.

Charles Norrie

Ms. Murphy is wrong

I am embarrassed by the recent column by Madison Murphy, “Evolution: theory, not fact.” I am embarrassed ignorance like this exists, especially at our fine university, and I am embarrassed and outraged the column was allowed to be published. While Ms. Murphy explains the difference between creationism and intelligent design well, the main premise of her column, that evolution is a theory and not a fact, because a theory is an “unproven assumption,” is ignorant, misleading and false. Especially at a school specializing in science and engineering, this statement should have raised red flags. By Ms. Murphy’s logic, other “unproven assumptions” includes gravitational theory, cell theory and germ theory.A few seconds of research by any involved party would have yielded the actual definition of a scientific theory, and what is implied when an idea is accepted as a “theory.” According to Wikipedia, a scientific theory is “a set of principles that explain and predict phenomena.” Furthermore, ‘”scientists create scientific theories with the scientific method, when they are originally proposed as hypotheses and tested for accuracy through observations and experiments. Once a hypothesis is verified, it becomes a theory.”Theories have held up against vigorous testing designed to disprove them, and are thus accepted as true.In the future, please hold Technician to a higher standard. Fact-check your columns, and do not let personal viewpoints get in the way of the facts.

Charles Yu

Common descent: fact

I write in response to the recent column expressing the indignation of an English major at the treatment of evolution as fact in one of her classes. Evolution is a multifaceted concept; it broaches two broad sets of ideas.First, the many biological forms on Earth come from different, previous forms, even one common ancestor. Second, various mechanisms, such as natural selection or genetic drift, or perhaps overt design, can account for the development of new forms. On the latter, there is yet much uncertainty as to how and why new species develop.On the former, however, the facts are unanimous. There is an unbroken line of genetic material from every cell currently living all the way back to the primordial soup’s prokaryotic tangle as witnessed by myriads of facts from comparative genomics, biogeography and the fossil record. Ms. Murphy can be forgiven if she objects to her professor treating some specific mechanistic idea of evolution, such as selectionism, as true.However, that cannot be the case if all she objects to is the treating of evolution, as a broad statement of universal common descent, as fact. Evolution, in a form refuting traditional cosmologies, is unwaveringly true. The only possible way one can be free to choose beliefs is if one is ignorant. The knowledgeable biologist does not choose to believe; evolution’s truth is manifest every day. Perhaps Ms. Murphy should mind her own advice and “research things for [her]self and make an informed opinion” by visiting Wikipedia’s “Evolution of common descent” or Talk.Origins’ “29+ Evidences of Macroevolution.”

Andy VargasWords have multiple meanings

I saw Ms. Murphy’s column earlier. She must learn her “Defined, a theory is ‘an unproven assumption’” is an incorrect definition of what it means within any scientific discussion. I’ll not go into the other meaning here—my point is just to point out the massive, misleading error of this mistake.English is a massively rich language with thousands of its words having multiple meanings. Words can not be assigned one meaning when, in context, it obviously means another. Pitch a baseball; pitch a roof with tar; and that roof has a pitch of 15 degrees; I’m pitching my screenplay “Pitching a Roof” tomorrow; and so on.So theory, scientific context and theory, common usage, are not the same words. And until that is understood there is no way the conversation/debate will have any purpose whatsoever.And, by the way, evolution is a fact as well as a theory—and again has to be understood. But maybe that also should be left for another time.

Peter Wolk

Defining “theory”

I have been studying aspects of evolution and natural selection for nearly seven years. In your column you state a theory is defined as “an unproven assumption.” While this is true, it is only one of many definitions of the term theory.When people refer to the theory of evolution they are doing so while defining theory as “a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain a phenomena.” The reason why they use this definition, and why evolution is plausible and scientifically acceptable, is because there is an overwhelming amount of evidence supporting the theory of evolution.One example providing evidence for the theory of evolution is the case of observed evolution from the Lenski lab where “one of the populations [of bacteria] demonstrated a dramatic change, and evolved to become capable of utilizing citrate, a carbon source in their flasks that E. coli cannot normally use.” It is crucial to use the proper definition of the term theory to ensure that misconceptions don’t arise when students are taught about evolution. Steven Venskodoctoral candidate, genetics department

Don’t disrupt others’ inquiry

You claim your denial of scientific fact does not constitute ignorance. In as much as ignorance refers to a lack of knowledge, you may be correct. You leave unlabeled your refusal to accept proven theory.Your column illustrates a fundamental disconnect endemic to N.C. State University. Religious fundamentalism is diametrically opposed to the evolution of knowledge required of higher education. It is unfortunate those of us seeking to expand our own knowledge, as well as the common human understanding of the world are so often required to kowtow to those of you with such a staggeringly narrow worldview.If you want to learn within the rigid confines of your fantastical dogma, there are institutions made specifically for you: monasteries, convents and madrasahs. Please do not obstruct our own scientific inquiry. Jonas Feit

Theory, not fact—like gravity

I would like to thank Madison for writing her well-worded criticism of what may, for some reason, be one of the most controversial topics in modern science today: the theory of evolution.I too am frustrated by the way scientists use things like evidence and deductive reasoning to draw conclusions. And the way they teach theories by presenting this evidence to students is nothing short of criminal.But we mustn’t stop with the theory of evolution. Why not continue your crusade against theories by attacking one of the most pervasive of all; the so-called theory of gravity. This theory— not fact, let’s keep it that way—suggests objecting exert attractive forces on other objects, and the magnitude of the force is proportional to the product of the two masses involved and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the centers of the masses. How ridiculous is that?There is no way scientists could possibly produce evidence to support something so heinous. Let’s make sure everyone knows the theory of gravity is just a theory, as well. A theory, not a fact. Brandon Mooregraduate, biomolecular engineering

EDITOR’S NOTELetters to the editor are the individual opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Technician staff or N.C. State University. All writers must include their full names and, if applicable, their affiliations, including years and majors for students and professional titles for University employees. For verification purposes, the writers must also include their phone numbers, which will not be published.

If everyone agreed.

Elizabeth Tate, senior in fashion and textile management

The FifthTechnician thursday, february 9, 2012 • Page 5

CONTRIBUTORSJosh Lucas

Elise HeglarMark Herring

Taylor CashdanAlex Sanchez

EditorDeputy EditorWriterDesignerPhotographer

The FiFTh is The Technician’s FirsT parody secTion based on oF collegiaTe liFe. iT is in no way a reFlecTion oF The Technician or a

represenTaTion oF iTs views.

FThe FiFTh

COmmUNICaTe 

Of course we’ll never know what goes on behind closed doors, but, from our perspective, it seems like you never talk to each other. We see you all constantly flirting with each other, waving at each other from across the stadium, twirling each other around the court, but we don’t see you ever talking.

Your relationship needs to become something more than just physical. You need to start communicating outside of flirting. We’re not saying it has to be deep right away, just ask each other about your days and let the conversation evolve from there.

WaRdROBe ChaNge  With a Brickyard full of Uggs and

leggings, we appreciate your style, Mrs. Wuf. You’re always looking classy. The overalls-skirt hybrid you’ve been rocking really works for you. However, wearing the same thing every day, no matter how well it works, can get stale — the last thing you want in a relationship. It’s time to spice things up.

Remind Mr. Wuf of what attracted him to you in the first place. Try losing the turtleneck and throw on some heels. And, if you really want to heat things up, consider a bit of role play. Dress up as a Blue Devil and see what happens. If you want to get even dirtier, try dressing up like a Pirate.

The PUSh-UPS Mr. Wuf, we understand you probably

drew in Mrs. Wuf, in part, due to your feats of strength. It is impressive that you can do more than 100 push-ups over the course of a football game. But, now that you’ve gotten the girl, you can afford to be less showy.

Push-ups are a great exercise, but they shouldn’t be your only exercise. As you’re growing in years, we are sure Mrs. Wuf would prefer a healthy Mr. Wuf to a shredded Mr. Wuf. Consider enrolling in a Zumba class at Carmichael, or if you’re looking for something low-impact, take to the pool. A healthier you is a healthier relationship.

heaRTBReak WaRfaRe 

John Mayer has a term for what you all do; it’s called “heartbreak warfare.” We understand when you all go to events you can’t spend all of your time together. No couple should be that involved. However, you should not be spending your intermittent time making each other jealous.

When you’re apart your tendency is to surround yourself with groups of coeds. On the surface it looks like you’re just being sociable, but we all know this practice is less than friendly. You are just looking to get a rise out of each other and this practice has to stop — it’s not healthy. You two have committed your lives to being together; the days of jealousy and games should long be over.

The CUPCakINg

We will always prefer those with a pleasant disposition to those without one. However, there is such a thing as being too happy. It’s hard to trust the overly happy; it raises too many red flags.

Mr. and Mrs. Wuf, never have we ever seen you come close to a fight; you all are perfect in public. But nobody is perfect and nobody should strive to be. We know you have issues because we all have issues; no relationship is perfect. It’s high time you all stop suppressing whatever is ailing you down deep to keep up your public image. Let it out, fight it out. Now, we don’t want you to turn into the couple that constantly fights, but even that would be better than a couple that never stops cupcaking.

Protecting our endangered

species: wolves and marriage

The woes of the single and cheap on Valentine’s Day are well documented and

will not be covered today. Instead, we have decided to embrace the day. Specifically, we’ve decided to embrace the introspective aspect of the day.

Valentine’s Day, even if it is a Hallmark holiday, forces us to take a moment and evaluate our relationships. What works about it, what doesn’t work. After five minutes of contemplation, we ei-ther get bored or depressed and turn to the relationships of others to draw a comparison.

Today, we turn our attention to the iconic relationship of Mr. and Mrs. Wuf. Mr. and Mrs. Wuf are in the minority when it comes to love. While many collegiate mas-cots have made the life decision to remain single, Mr. and Mrs. Wuf simply could not. They tied the knot in 1981 at a Wake Forest bas-ketball game. The ceremony was held at half-court, bouquet and all, and the two were cheered on by 11,800 of their closest friends.

In the 31 years since, Mr. and Mrs. Wuf still find themselves together and, oddly enough, still in college. And, as with any re-lationship, theirs has had its ups (1983) and downs. In an attempt to revitalize the relationship, Mr. and Mrs. Wuf renewed their vows in January 2011. Romantically enough, it was at a Wake Forest basketball game.

The renewal provided a jolt to their relationship but, a year re-moved, the relationship could use a little more work. We don’t claim to be licensed psychologists, but we’ve seen and cultivated many of their issues ourselves.

We hope through pointing out some of the troubled areas of their relationship they can become an even better couple. We hope we can add another 31 years to their marriage. And maybe, just may-be, their continued marital bliss will finally convince the Blue Devil and Ramses to tie the knot. They’ve been playing games for far too long.

Features Technicianpage 6 • thursday, february 9, 2012

Top5 Reasons to buy

a Yearbook

1. MemoriesRemember what the campus and your fellow students looked like

2. Year in ReviewSee the events that took place and look fondly on a great time in your life

3. Future GenerationsSomething your children and future generations can make fun of later

4. DecorationIt will make a great coffee table book and conversation starter

5.Wolfpack Pride!

Order your book at

ncsu.edu/agromeck

Commentary

A step in the right direction for Square EnixFinal Fantasy XIII-2 provides a great experience for fans of the RPG genre.

Jordan AlsaqaArts & Entertainment Editor

When Final Fantasy XIII was released two years ago, it was met with harsh

criticism and fan backlash across the market. The game was criticized for its confusing story, uninvolved gameplay and linear nature, with players running down a single, long

hallway in each dungeon.With the se-

quel, Final Fanta-sy XIII-2, developer

Square Enix has tried to fix all the complaints

gamers had with the previ-ous title. Fortunately, aside

from a few hiccups in the nar-rative, the title succeeds, pro-viding one of the best games Square Enix has released this console generation.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 opens three years after the

previous game. Lightning, the last game’s pro-tagonist, has gone missing, with only her sister Serah remembering her previ-ous appearances. Soon, however, a mysterious man named Noel appears, claiming to know where Lightning is. Together, the two set off on a journey through time to fix para-doxes and find Lightning.

The narrative in Final Fantasy XIII-2 is one of

its weaker elements, but it still manages

to provide an enter-taining thread to follow.

The time travel nature of the plot also allows for a wide variety of time periods and locales to be visited, making for a more episodic story than its predecessor.

What helps the plot immensely is the strength of the voice actors bringing the characters to life. Though side characters vary in terms of quality, the main stars of the title all manage stellar performances. Jason Mars-den and Laura Bailey share great chemistry as Noel and Serah, while Liam O’Brien sells the threat of main antagonist, Caius Ballad.

The locations are also far more involving than they ever were the last time around. Instead of running from plot point to plot point on the map, XIII-2 allows play-ers the freedom to explore environments. There are treasures to find, sidequests to take on and several other hidden extras for interested players to find.

The game also allows for entire side areas that have nothing to do with the main plot. Areas can be visited at different points in their timeline for optional gameplay, making for a title that offers a great deal of extra content once the main game has been completed.

Another improvement the game has seen is in the battle system, which provides a much smoother and involving experience this time around. The previous title’s Paradigm Shift system returns, allowing charac-ters to switch their role in a fight in the middle of battle.

While many of the game’s challenges can still sim-ply be overcome by executing auto-attacks, the more

involved boss battles require a great deal of preparation and strategic use of role switching in order to be victorious.

This is the one area of Final Fantasy XIII-2 that has seen the least revision, however, and gamers who didn’t enjoy it the first time around aren’t going to

find anything that changes their minds here. However, fans of the battle system will find an all-around much improved experience.

The biggest change to the battle system is the inclusion of monster training. Instead of a third human party member, Noel and Serah have the ability to recruit the monsters they defeat in battle to help them in fights.

While this system could’ve easily proven a complex and unnecessary addition, it works quite easily and al-lows for an extra element of strategy when deciding which monsters should join the battle. Still, the mon-sters you collect don’t add much to the story. A third playable character might’ve been a better idea.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is by no means a perfect game. However, it is a highly enjoyable RPG experience, one that fans of the genre would be remiss to overlook. A fun

battle system, interesting story and areas of exploration all come together to provide a solid game.

If nothing else, Square Enix has taken a step in the right direction with Final Fan-tasy XIII-2. After several rough years, the Japa-nese developer is doing its best to rise back to its former position of glory. The focus seems to once again be on providing gamers with unique and enjoyable experi-ences, something that Final Fantasy XIII-2 certainly manages to do.

Final Fantasy XIII-2developer: square enixConsoles: Xbox 360/ps3

Features& enTerTainmenTarTs

Photos Contributed by square enix

Sports

would be time for the judges to score the dance based on three aspects of the performance. The first aspect was crowd participation.

“No matter how good of a dancer

you are, if you are not fun to watch, the dance means nothing,” Hayden said.

The second aspect of judging came from the originality of the “shag” and just how true each team was to the beauty of the dance and how original-ity was shown through usage of “old-school shag.”

The last aspect was the passion be-

tween the partners.“The beauty of shag is the interac-

tion,” Hayden said. “People now days do these really ‘showy’ steps with a lot of personal variations. The judges wanted to dancers to stay true to the relation-ship of dancers, like shag was intended to be.”

As the scores came in, State pulled

out on top over second-place College of Charleston and third place East Caro-lina University. To win the competition for State was an honor for Hayden and Brenton.

“We had more fun than anyone there,” Hayden said. “We were fun to watch, and I think that is what gave us the trophy.

To place a classified ad, call 919.515.2411, fax 919.515.5133 or visit technicianonline.com/classifieds

ClassifiedsPolicyThe Technician will not be held responsible for damages or losses due to fraudulent advertisements. However, we make every effort to prevent false or misleading advertising from appearing in our publication.

DeaDlinesOur business hours are Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Line ads must be placed by noon the previous day.

RatesFor students, line ads start at $5 for up to 25 words. For non-students, line ads start at $8 for up to 25 words. For detailed rate information, visit technicianonline.com/classifieds. All line ads must be prepaid.

lev

el 2

lev

el 1

TeChniCian THursdAy, FebruAry 9, 2012 • PAge 7

12/20/08

Sudoku By The Mepham Group

Solution to Friday’s puzzleComplete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders)contains everydigit 1 to 9.For strategies on how to solveSudoku, visitwww.sudoku.org.uk.

© 2008 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

Level: 1 2 3 4

3/5/09

Sudoku By The Mepham Group

Solution to Wednesday’s puzzleComplete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders)contains everydigit 1 to 9.For strategies on how to solveSudoku, visitwww.sudoku.org.uk.

© 2009 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

Level: 1 2 3 4

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 9, 2012

ACROSS1 Honda Insight,

e.g.7 Like some mus.

keys10 Bale filler13 2000s New

Hampshiresenator John

14 Be up against16 Roth of

“InglouriousBasterds”

17 Where pros play19 Vital statistic20 Actress Kudrow21 Word with the 57-

Across in 10-Down

23 Woolen caps26 “This American

Life” host Glass28 Like some

silverware29 Prefix with meter30 Lists of priors32 Man of the cloth34 Mean mutt35 She, at sea38 En route to the

mechanic39 Permit40 Twangy guitarist

Eddy41 Word with the 57-

Across in 25-Down

42 In great shape43 Spot on a horse44 Signed up47 Hear here48 Wish50 Cleveland pro, for

short51 Dreyer’s brand,

east of theRockies

52 Olympicsparticipant

54 Far from fatty56 Actress Charlotte57 Night sky feature,

and hint to a four-letter sequencehidden in 17-Across and 10-and 25-Down

62 Short, for short63 Dry run64 Peter of “My

Favorite Year”65 100%66 Dallas opening?67 Stout

DOWN1 Dallas closing?2 Trophy, often3 “Dear Yoko”

dedicatee4 Home perm

features5 One opposed6 Word with the 57-

Across in 17-Across

7 Scratch8 Ill-fated brother9 Gin flavoring

10 Like mostvalentines

11 Aquarium gunk12 Right-of-way sign15 Put on ice18 Org. promoted by

Betty White22 Relishes, as

gossip23 Talking point24 Hersey’s bell

town25 Ammo for a

simple cannon27 Buddhist monk,

e.g.30 Steinbeck’s

“Cannery __”31 Marching syllable33 It shines on the

Seine

36 Cabinet designfeature

37 __ of the realm:noblemen

39 Lucy of “AllyMcBeal”

40 Pa42 Stewed43 Work on film45 Aquafresh rival46 Locker room

supply48 Alfalfa’s sweetie

49 Net sales?51 Belgian avant-

garde painterJames

53 Facility55 Mercury or

Saturn, e.g.58 GPS offering59 One of the small

fry60 Bent piece61 Juan Carlos, to

his subjects

Wednesday’s Puzzle SolvedBy Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel 2/9/12

(c)2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc. 2/9/12

Lookin’ for the

answer key?Visit technicianonline.com

Announcements

Around CAmpus

‘Have a Heart’ Campaign

The North Carolina state university

community is joining the uNC staff

Assembly for the 3rd annual “Have a

Heart” Campaign. during the month

of February, NC state university will be

collecting donations for the Food bank

of Central and eastern North Carolina.

between February 1-24, we hope to

collect 2500 pounds, and we need your

help! Look for boxes at d.H. Hill Library,

McKimmon Center, Talley student

Center, and more!

For more information, additional

donation locations or ways you can get

involved contact staff_senate@ncsu.

edu .

Thank you for “Having a Heart!”

EmploymEnt

Help Wanted

sammy’s Tap & grill - experienced

bartender & server

Hiring 1 nighttime bartender and need

servers - nights & days, apply in person.

www.sammysncsu.com

Help Wanted

Chick-Fil-A

New Chick-Fil-A opening in Cameron

Village shopping center! Now

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positions. Please contact careers@

cameronvillagecfa.com if interested.

Optical retail sales of high end eyewear.

Will train. 15-20 hrs/week, flexible

scheduling, weekends necessary.

Knowledge of fashion trends is helpful.

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email crabtree@2020eyeworks.com

The Museum of Life and science in

durham is now hiring staff for its

2012 summer camps! Locations in

durham and Chapel Hill (rashkis

elem.). Candidates should love working

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or Museum application to leslie.fann@

ncmls.org or via fax 919-2205575. eOe

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raleigh Parks and recreation

department youth Programs division is

seeking applicants that are interested in

working with campers ages 5-11. Please

contact Tiffany Hiller by email, tiffany.

hiller@raleighnc.gov or by phone, 919-

996-6165.

Help Wanted

university Towers is currently hiring

resident Assistants for Fall 2012. All

NC state students with a minimum

2.75 gPA are welcome to apply. Apply

online at www.utpackleader.com

and are due by 11:59pm on Monday,

February 13. Compensation includes

single room with private bath, utilities

including internet and cable TV service,

unlimited meal plan, and parking.

Please direct any questions to shawn

Wagner, resident Manager, at shawn@

universitytowers.net or call 919-327-

3800. (eOe)

research Assistant

PdA, Inc., a health care consulting

firm convenient to NCsu, is seeking a

candidate to fill a part-time research

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for this position should be highly

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ation is going to be. It might be a tight race and I just want to win. You never know.”

Technician : Is it difficult to keep track of time when you are out there running that fast?

Hill : “Every time I came around, I was glancing at the clock because I knew the pace I had to run. It’s not as out of control as you might think; it’s not like it is an all-out sprint. We’ve been training all year and have trained all throughout high school, so it is under con-trol. I still have the wherewithal to look at the clock and assess where I am at. It’s all about pac-ing myself and following my in-ternal clock.”

Technician : When you think about your potential pinnacle at State, what do you think about?

Hill: “Personally, I always dream about winning an NCAA Championship. I’m right on the cusp of getting to that level, and I just want to keep pushing. Hopefully one of these days, the Nationals will be my day and I can win one.”

hillcontinued from page 8

occasionally Raleigh International Church on Capital Boulevard.

Athletes in Action, a group that seeks to help student athletes grow spiritually through weekly meetings and team Bible studies, is another ministry that Johnson used to de-velop his faith. Russ Throckmor-ton, who is the director of AIA at the University, says he met with him for one-on-one talks regularly.

“[We just talked] about God’s faithfulness and what God’s word is really saying about how he is faith-ful, he is trustworthy,” Throckmor-ton said.

Johnson isn’t alone in his faith when it comes to Wolfpack basket-ball players. Senior guard C.J. Wil-liams says he finds encouragement in God, acknowledging he would not

be where he is today without his faith. He says he prays about two or three times before every game.

“Any time I get in to a struggle in a game or I’m going through a tough shooting stretch or something, I kind of just close my eyes and just talk to God and just allow him to take over instead of trying to do ev-erything myself,” Williams said. “I let him handle the situation the way it’s supposed to be handled.”

When asked if being a student-athlete and an outspoken Christian came with any obstacles, Johnson acknowledged getting guys on the team to come to church with him sometimes proved dif-ficult and that the recognition that came

from being a member of a big basketball program was also challenging.

“When you have so many people watching you and you’re a believer of

Christ, you know they always want to see you in a good mood,” Johnson said. “But some-times we kind of walk through the darkness and we’re not always strong when we need to be and it’s tough when God throws the faith tests at you to see how

strong your faith is in him and when things are not going your way, are you quick to say ‘ah man, God you’re not there for me,’ or are you saying ‘God I know you’re here with me in this strug-gle just help me get through.’ That’s the toughest part about it.”

Although Johnson doesn’t feel the need to write them on eye black and display them during games, he says his favorite verses to prepare him for game time are Phillipians 4:13 and Deuteronomy 31:6. In case you already miss “Tebowmania” Johnson is poised to further the trend of the outspoken Christian athlete.

johnsoncontinued from page 8

shagcontinued from page 8

“But sometimes we

kind of walk through

the darkness and we’re

not always strong

when we need to be.”Alex Johnson, graduate student guard

alex Johnson 2011-2012 season:

4.4 points per game

32.3 field goal percentage

3.1 assists per game

14-17 steals per game

Technician was there.

You can be too.

The Technician staff is always looking for new

members to write, design or take photos. Visit

www.ncsu.edu/sma for more information.

Alex Johnson’s journey as a Christian athlete.

Ben ChristophCorrespondent

All athletes hit rough patches in their careers—the MVP slugger who goes 1 for 20 in a playoff series, the sensational rookie quar-terback who goes through a sophomore slump, etc.—and while graduate student guard Alex Johnson is not immune, he manages to find strength and comfort in his faith in God.

Johnson, who has not made a shot in his last 18 attempts over the past three games, is not dis-heartened and is certainly not a stranger to setbacks. During the 2009-10 season while playing for Cal State-Bakersfield, he suffered a torn ACL that caused him to miss the rest of that season.

While he says he was depressed at first, his faith helped him put everything in perspective.

“I felt as though it brought my relationship with God closer, just for the simple fact that he wasn’t taking it away from me,” Johnson said. “He was just kind of saying ‘I just need y o u t o take a step back and see it from a dif fer-ent point of view, I need you to sit back and relax, I’ve got it handled.’”

In his first season back from injury, he had a very strong showing. He earned a career-high 13.3 points per game and matched his personal high of 30 steals in a season. That performance

earned him a scholarship f rom N.C . State and a spot as the backup point guard.

But the tri-als have not ended since he came to Raleigh. Dur-ing a home

game against Virginia in Janu-ary, Johnson missed all 10 shots he took in 15 minutes of action. But after the game, on his Twit-ter account there were no ex-cuses, no LeBron-esque lash-ing out at fans, only a humble declaration of his trust.

“All the praise to you, Lord. Lord, I’m at rock bottom. Hear me Lord, I’m crying out for you! I try to be strong but I am Weak. Help me, Lord.”

Johnson’s spiritual life and Christian values are rooted in his mother’s devotion and her decision to take him to Christian camps and Sunday School as a child. He says it eventually became less about his mom’s decision to take him and more about his wanting to go to church to learn more. Johnson currently attends ser-vices Christian Faith Center Academy in Creedmoor and

COUNTDOWN• 12 days until men’s basketball faces UNC-Chapel Hill

at the RBC Center.

INSIDE• Page 7: A continuation of the feature of

Ryan Hill.SportsTechnicianPage 8 • thursday, february 9, 2012

Men’s and women’s basketball to hit the floor tonightBoth the men’s and women’s basketball programs will look to pick up wins tonight. The men will travel to Atlanta in an attempt to avenge its Jan. 11 loss against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The women’s team will take a break from its ACC schedule to take on the Longwood Lancers at Reynolds Coliseum.

Source: N.c. State athleticS

Former N.C. State diver diesMike DeGruy, a former ACC Champion and All-American in diving, died in a helicopter crash in Australia on Feb. 4th. DeGruy won the ACC Championship in both the one and three-meter events in 1973 and 1974. DeGruy also won several Emmys and British Academy and Television Arts awards for his work as a cinematographer.

Source: N.c. State athleticS

DiD You know?If the men’s basketball team defeats Georgia Tech, it will be the best record through 10 games for the Pack since the 2005-2006 season.

cross country

Ryan Hill is the man of the mile After becoming the first in Pack history to break the four-minute mile, Hill looks for more.

Sean Fairholm Deputy Sports Editor

There was a time, some six decades ago, when no human being on the face of the earth had officially run 5,280 feet in under 2,400 seconds. The first person to do it - Roger Ban-nister May 6, 1954 - would open the flood-gates on a milestone that has been one of the most frequently dis-cussed barriers in all of sport.

In many ways, what Bannister did for runners over half a century ago is precisely what Ryan Hill’s entire career has done for N.C. State track and field.

Beginning his third season at State, the humble native of Hickory, N.C., is an All-ACC runner, an All-Amer-ican, an ACC Champion, an NCAA Regional Qualifier and the owner of four University records. Each of his feats (fastest time in the one mile, 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m) will no doubt be in future peril considering senior Hill has two full seasons re-maining with the Wolfpack. As deco-rated of an athlete as State currently has, it’s not surprising that Hill has his sights set squarely on bringing an NCAA Championship home from Des Moines, Iowa this June.

Heading into the second half of his collegiate career, it doesn’t appear Hill will be resting on his laurels any time soon.

After breaking the four-minute mile to erase the longest-standing record in the Pack track and field re-cord book, Hill sat down with Tech-nician to discuss his accomplishment

in Blacksburg, Va.

Technician : How drastically has the four-minute mile barrier has changed over the years?

Hill: “It’s funny that in the 50 years since someone first broke four minutes, it gets less prestigious every year because so many people do it. At this point, it is like 3:55 is the new four-minute. It’s good for people who aren’t runners, and they hear about running a four-minute mile and think that it is legit. It’s good for comparison outside of the sport, but within the sport that wasn’t even a national-auto time (a set time you have to run to make the National Champion-ship).”

Technician : Even though it may not be as unique a feat as it used to be, what does breaking the four-minute mile mean to you?

Hill: “Being a runner, I have the Rog-er Bannister book back at home that chronicles the whole situation. I’m very aware of the four-minute mile and what it means to the sport, so it’s pretty in-credible to finally do it.”

Technician : Out of the four N.C. State records you currently hold, which one are you most proud of?

Hill: “The best one in terms of quality is the 5K time of 13:31. That is the one I am most proud of because it is the best time for me personally.”

Technician : What’s the next step for you when you run the mile again?

Hill: “The time to automatically get into nationals is 3:57.9, so time-wise I want to make it there. I will run the mile at the end of the month and try to get there, but you never know what the situ-

breNt kitcheN/techNiciaN archive photocross country junior ryan Hill runs in a group of Wolfpack runners during the 2010 Wolfpack Invitational, sept. 17, 2010.hill continued page 7

men’s basketball

johN joyNer/techNiciaNGraduate student guard alex Johnson drives down the court during the game against unc asheville in the rbc center on Friday, nov. 11, 2011. state would go on to beat unc-a 84-75.

Faith, hope and hoops

johnson continued page 7

Women’s basketball

Hayden and Brenton hit

the dance floor for State

Grad student Noah Hayden and sophomore Cally Brenton represent the Pack in the second collegiate Shag Competition.

Adam LutherStaff Writer

On the weekend of Jan. 27 Noah Hayden, a graduate student in communication and member of the N.C. State women’s basketball practice team, and Cally Brenton, a sophomore in fashion and textile man-agement, traveled to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to compete in the second annual Colle-giate “shag” Competition to represent the Wolfpack. Hayden and Brenton would sweep fans off their feet as they grabbed the top spot, finishing first in the compe-tition.

For Hayden, shagging is one of the many activities he enjoys while at-tending the Uni-versity.

“I have been shagging on and off for about two or three years now,” Hayden said. “I have never been able to do anything serious with it until this year. With national ‘shag’ day, any college can compete for the title by submitting the first two people to sign up for the competition.”

Other notable schools that competed were UNC-Charlotte, the University of South Carolina, the College of Charleston, East Caroli-na University and Coastal

Carolina University. In the pre-vious year’s competition, also the first-ever competition, the College of Charleston took the trophy and they headed into this year favored to keep the title in their hands.

“The College of Charleston has a great dance program,” Hayden said. “They always finish in the top two. After ar-riving, it was cool because al-most everything was paid for. When we looked out of our hotel, we were pretty much on the beach.”

After getting an all-expense- paid vacation for the first night, it was time to dance as both Hayden and Brenton made their way to the 2001 Night Club. After watching many of the other schools compete and even meeting some profession-al dancers, it was time to take the stage, and, for Hayden, he knew he had the ideal partner for his shagging style.

“It was great because what we really fo-cused on was the passion between the dancers,” Hayden said. “We d id a lot of ‘mir-ror steps’ in w h i c h w e both would do the same d a nc e a nd mirror one another. Cal-

ly loves to spin, and because I am so much taller than her, it was really easy for me to do.”

For Brenton, on the other hand, dancing with Hayden came as natural as breathing.

“Working with Noah was such a fun adventure,” Bren-ton said. “He’s a hilarious guy who knows how to work it on the dance floor. We became the perfect dynamic duo.”

After the dance was over, it

“[Noah is] a

hilarious guy

who knows how

to work it on the

dance floor.”Cally Brenton, sophomore in

textile management

athletic scheDule

TodayMen’s BasketBall at GeorGia techAtlanta, Ga., 7 p.m.

WoMen’s BasketBall vs. lonGWoodReynolds Coliseum, 7 p.m.

WrestlinG at old doMinionNorfolk, Va., 7:30 p.m.

Fridaytrack at husky classic, tyson invitationalSeattle, Wash., Fayetteville, Ark.; All Day

softBall vs. utah state & st. JohnsAthens, Ga., 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

SaturdayMen’s tennis vs. south carolinaRaleigh, 12 p.m.

WoMen’s tennis at dePaulMadison, Wis., 12 p.m.

softBall vs. caMPBell & arMyAthens, Ga., 3 p.m. & 7 p.m.

GyMnastics vs Penn st., WilliaM & Mary, Geo. Wash.Raleigh, 7 p.m.

SundayWoMen’s Golf at lady Puerto rico classicRio Grand, P.R., All Day

Men’s tennis vs. WilliaM & Mary, unc-GreensBoroRaleigh; 10 a.m., 4 p.m.

WrestlinG vs. indiana & vMiCardinal Gibbons H.S., 11:30 a.m. & 1 p.m.

WoMen’s tennis at WisconsinMadison, Wis., 12 p.m.

softBall at GeorGiaAthens, Ga., 3 p.m.

WoMen’s BasketBall vs. Wake foresthooPs 4 hoPeReynolds Coliseum, 5 p.m.

February 2012

Su M t W th F Sa

29 30 31 1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28

shag continued page 7

“I felt as though

it brought my

relationship with

God closer.”Alex Johnson,

Graduate Student Guard